Chapter 4

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Princess Celestia dismissed the business ponies with whom she’d been helping settle a debate. She sighed once they’d left.

Not even noon and I’m already drained, she shook her head to try and clear it. Luna has it so much easier. How I envy her. She just has to spend the night giving ponies lovely dreams, while I...

Wherever that train of thought was headed halted when she noticed a shimmer of ashes floating in the air towards her.

Oh. Twilight’s sent me a letter. Hmm. It’s been a while. The ashes coalesced in front of her, becoming coming to together and turning into a scroll in a puff of green flame.

She opened the scroll, interested to read what her former pupil had written her... only for her expression to change when she realized it was neither from Twilight or the other Elmenet Bearers at all.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m sending you letter while desperately trying not to freak out, as I have a lot of reason to at the moment.

You may know me from letters Twilight Sparkle has sent you in the past. My name is Trixie Lulamoon. I used to be a unicorn that did stage magic and I believe was once the subject of one of the Friendship Reports you received back before Twilight Sparkle became an Alicorn.

You may be wondering why I said I used to be a unicorn that did stage magic. Well, that works on two reasons. One reason is that I’m unsure whether or not I’ll be able to go back to being a stage magician after recent events. The second reason is that said events have changed what I am, literally.

I do not know if Twilight told you about the time I came to Ponyville wearing the infamous Alicorn Amulet? If she did, then you might be able to guess it sadly played a part in the recent events I spoke of.

You see, after Twilight and her friends outsmarted me back then, Twilight went out of her way to keep in contact with me. Of course, who wouldn’t want to keep in touch with Trixie and... No. Spike, cross that out.

Anyway, while I had gotten over most of my jealously of who Twilight had bested me, I did still harbour some feelings and... they scared me. they would always manifest in horrible nightmares, where I would take my actions with the amulet even farther than I did. They were horrible.

It got so bad, I went to a pony who I thought was a hypnotist that would help rid me of my nightmares. Instead, they hypnotized me into forget about my still building friendship with Twilight and, to put it lightly, made me want to become famous through her.

How would this work? Sadly, the Amulet gave me knowledge of spells I’m fairly certain you either have locked away somewhere that nopony can get to them, or outright destroyed because of how horrible they are.

I used such spells, turning Twilight and her friends into foals, before forcing them inside my womb, where they were altered and I ended up giving birth to them all the next morning.

As shocking as I’m sure that in itself sounds, I’m afraid there’s more. Due to my still wearing the amulet while the six were within me, Twilight’s magic somehow sensed the danger of it as it tried to corrupt me and, as such, the six foals within my charge. It surged, separating my magicl core from the amulet, but in doing so, exposed my core directly to Twilight’s Alicorn Magic, transforming myself into one and, since they were all within me at the time, the other five ponies.

All seven of us are now Alicorns and the Element Bearers a bunch of babbling baby bumpkins!

Trixie is so, so, so-so-so-so SO SORRY! I swear, I never wanted this! I wish I could just fix it, but I have no idea how! Spike and the sisters of three of the Bearers are here with me.

I desperately beg for your help. I don’t know what to do. this is out of my league and I’m at a complete loss as to how to fix what I’ve done.

I’m also terrified of what you and their families will do to me!

Please, I beg you, come as soon as you can. I think there is a slim chance we can save them all, maybe figure out a way to get the six of them back to normal. Twilight seems to remember Spike and Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity seem to recognize their sisters, but I don’t know if we’ve a time limit to this or not.

Please, get here as soon as you can.

Your new fellow and currently freaking the flying hay out of her mind princess,

Trixie.

Celestia was silent for several long minutes, not even blinking, her brain trying to process what she had just read and all the heavy implications it carried.

She was still for so long, several of the guards become nervous, wondering what they should do, not knowing what the contents of the scroll had been, nor how damaging their implications were.

After what felt like an eternity, Celestia scowled, causing all present to flinch.

She stood up, before looking to one of the guards. “Have my sister awoken and brought to my personal chambers at once. There are grave matters we must attend to down in Ponyville.”

“At once, Your Highness,” a unicorn guard nearest the door said, saluting, though from his expression it was clear he’d rather be doing anything but that as he left to rouse the Night Princess.

I don’t envy him, Celestia thought as she moved down the steps and headed out of the throne room and towards her private chambers. Luna is not friendly when woken early.

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Trixie paced back and forth in front of the map, her anxiety seeming to grow with each step.

Spike had sent the letter to the princess several hours age and they had yet to hear back from Canterlot.

Were the princesses angry at her? Were they bringing all the Royal Guard with them to take her away? Were they going to banish her? Lock her in a prison? Lock her in a prison in the place they banished her to? Was she going to be locked in the moon?

So many worst-case scenarios played out in her mind, each worst than the last, on a constant loop.

“Would you stop already?” Scootaloo demanded from the throne with Rainbow Dash’s Cutie Mark, where she was sitting, while Sweetie and Apple Bloom sat in the thrones of their big sisters respectively. “You’re not making us feel any easier about this.”

“What do you expect?!” Trixie demanded, turning to the filly, her mane frazzled with worry. “Trixie has done something unforgivable and now the princesses know about it! And they haven’t responded back! And we still have no idea how we’re going to get your sisters and the rest of the Element Bearers back to normal.”

“I gotta agree that I want them all back to normal soon, too. And not just because I care about them,” Spike grumbled, walking back into the room with a giggle Pinkie Pie held in her claws. “Keeping track of an adult Pinkie is bad enough, but a foal Pinkie is even worse.”

Before any of them could respond, there was a loud knocking from the castle doors. More like banging really.

As the five slowly moved out towards the hallway, Trixie levitating the six foals along in her magic, they could make out angry shouts from the other side, cuaisng the cyan Alicorn to wilt, her ears splaying back.

Spike moved to comfort the anxious mare, but halted when a loud, booming voice spoke out, rooting them all to the spot.

“SILENCE! WE DID NOT BRING YOU ALL HERE TO BRING HARM UPON TRIXIE LULAMOON! AS STATED IN HER LETTER, WHAT SHE DID WAS BEYOND HER OWN CONTORL. TAKING YOUR ANGER OUT ON HER WILL DO NOTHING BUT DISTRESS A MARE WHOM HAS ALREADY BEEN THROUGH AN ORDEAL NONE OF YOU COULD IMAGINE!”

There was silence for several long moments, before a much gentler set of knocks sounded against the door.

“Spike,” Princess Celestia’s voice gently called out from the other side. “Can you please let us in?”

Spike looked from the Crusaders to Trixie, whom gulped and nodded.

The little drake stepped forward and opened the door. At once they noticed a yellow magical barrier around the doorway, though the reason for such became clear just as quickly as the barrier caught their attention.

Standing in front of the doorway were Luna and Celestia, the latter’s glowing horn indicating her magic was keeping the barrier up. Behind her however, were several ponies. Having been informed of several of these ponies by the CMC and Spike over the last couple hours, Trixie could identify Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie’s parents. The last part of clear parents, however, caused Scootaloo to scream with delight and start spining in a circle.

Trixie, the other Crusaders and Spike gave her deadpan glares, causing her to realize what she was doing and smile sheepishly.

However, it was not just parents that had come. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith were there, along with three ponies that Trixie had to guess were Pinkie Pie’s siblings, as they were standing next to a grey Earth Pony mare with a flat purple mane whom she recognised as Pinkie’s big sister Maud from what Spike had told her.

They were not the only siblings though. In fact, the other two were the siblings Trixie had been dreading to encounter the most, especially as they were royalty.

Standing right behind Celestia and Luna, both giving her the darkest glares Trixie had ever received, were Prince Shining Armour and a very pregnant Princess Cadance.

Trixie wilted under their gazes, tightening her wings against herself. Fluttershy, whom had been resting on Trixie’s back this whole time, cowered into her new mother’s fur.

All eyes widened at the seven Alicorns present before them, all save one being cyan.

“You were not in any way making jest,” Luna said, her mouth hanging open as she looked to each of the Alicorn foals.

Trixie lowered her head, before trotting up to the two rulers. “Trixie is ready for any punishment you see fit for her.”

“I can’t think of a punishment horrible enough to fit,” Shining Armour snarled.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh growled.

Both Alicorns blinked, before glancing to each other, then back to Trixie.

It was Luna who stepped forward, pacing through the barrier and placed a hoof on the new Alicorn, causing her to wince. “We do not blame thee, Trixie Lulamoon,” she said in a firm, yet comforting tone. “You stated you were not of sound mind at the time. We know it would never be possible a pony could truly feel grief as your letter stated if you had truly meant for this to happen.” She then turned and glared at the assembled ponies outside. “As we just stated to all gathered here!”

That caused the others to all back up a bit and look sheepish.

Trixie’s head shot up, her eyes wide with shock.

“We are not pleased with what you did, but, you were not truly at fault, so punishing you would do nopony any good,” Celestia agreed, nodding, before sweeping her attention around at the six foal Alicorns around them. “We have an idea how we may be able to fix this... in a sense.”

Trixie, Spike and the CMC’s eyes lit up with joy.

The princesses led the large gathering of ponies out of Ponyville, gaining quite the crowd of onlookers as they did, though it’s not often you see ten Alicorns, six of them foals, being led through town by the rulers of the sun and moon.

The group was led into the Everfree Forest and to the old Castle of the Two Sisters, where they all journeyed down to the cave that led held Tree of Harmony within.

“Come, Trixie,” Luna said, herself and Celestia standing either side of the cave entrance. “Bring the six foals with you into the cave and bow before the Tree of Harmony.”

Trixie gulped, feeling like she was being sized up by a pack of Timber Wolves as she walked past the families of the foals she was now the biological mother two and enter the cave, followed by the royal sisters.

They all walked up to the Tree of Harmony, where Trixie levitated the six Alicorn foals down in front of it, before bowing, her head hung low.

She had no clue what the princesses had in mind, but she was certain it would end horribly for herself.

There was silence for several moments, before the foals began babbling happily. Looking up, Trixie saw the Elments of Harmony within the tree were glowing.

Suddenly, a beam of light coloured that of its Element shot from each shaped gemstone, hitting the foal it had once belonged to.

Trixie watched with wide eyes as the foals were raised into the air, giggling and cheering, before there was a blinding flash of light.

When it faded, all six foals were gently lowered to the ground, their Cutie Marks restored to their flanks, though nothing else seemed to have changed.

They were all still for a moment, before glancing around, then down at themselves.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said in a high and squeaky voice that made Trixie briefly forget everything else and daw at how cute it sounded. “Why’we we hewe? Why’we we foaws? And why can’ I tawk nowmal?!”

“That... would be because of me,” Trixie said glumly, her previous moment of joy now gone.

“Twixie!” Twilight whirled around, her eyes wide, before they seemed to widen further, though now from shock. “Twixie?!”

The light-blue Alicorn nodded, giving a sad smile.

“Um... wha happen?” Applejack asked, glancing around in both fear and confusion. “Wast I wemember, yoo said yoo’d make us you’we foaws, den nu’n.”

Trixie blinked, looking to the princesses for an answer, though they just shrugged.

“Perhaps the Tree took the more traumatic of those memories when it gave back their senses of self?” Luna offered.

Trixie sighed with relief. She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if the six of them remembered that horrible ordeal. She shuddered at the memories of it she had, but could only imagine how much worse it had been from their perspectives.

“Um, Pwincess Cewestia?” Twilight asked, looking from her friends, to Trixie, to the royal sisters. “What’s going on?”

Celestia sighed, glancing out the cave. “That is a long story, my former student. However, I think it best we let your families know you are all alright.”

Upon exiting the cave, the mane 6 were rushed by their families, all hugging them and murmuring prays of thanks. Of course, once that wore off, nopony was able to ignore how cute the six foals were, even with their colours altered. Rainbow Dash seemed to find it the least amusing of all as Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistle fawned over her.

After a few minutes, the princesses called all the ponies to attention to discuss where things would go from here.

Trixie attested that it would be impossible to reverse what the rebirth of the six foals had done to their appearances by normal magical means, even if they now had another Alicorn whom could help.

It was decided that they would wait for Discord. Since he and Fluttershy had a weekly tea party, he would know something was up when he arrived at her cottage and couldn’t find her there, though a note would be left on her front door telling him to come to the castle.

Of all beings, Discord was the best choice to fix the changes that had been made. Until then, the families of the Element Beares would all be living in Princess Twilight’s castle.

“Well, Ah don’ like leaving things like this for any longer than need be,” Granny Smith said, though she cooed at the sight of Applejack sitting atop Big Mac. “But, if’n it’s the only way, Ah guess we’ve got no other choice.”

“You’d better make this up to us,” Limestone glared at Trixie, causing the Alicorn to wilt. “Once this is all over, you’ll help us make up for the time we lost on the Rock Farm.”

Trixie lowered her head. “Trixie accepts.”

“Don’ wowwy,” Flutteshy said, smiling cutely from within her mother’s forelimbs. “Dat’s tomowwow, so it won’ be too wong.”

“Very well, then,” Luna nodded, looking to all the gathered ponies. “However, there is still the matter of this hypnotist whom caused all of this to begin with.”

“Don’t worry, Princess Luna,” Trixie said, showing the first sign of resolve any of them had seen. “I think I have an idea.”

Author's Note

this is the second-to-last chapter of this.

was originally planning on having it span a long while, but i'm going to cut it short before i royally screw this fic over.

the next chapter will be up shortly after this one, so you should be able to go right on ahead and read it.

see you there