Spike yawned as he stumbled into the "Throne" room of Twilight's (and his) new home. Spotting his adopted mother/sister and her pupil, one Starlight Glimmer conversing over some scrolls laid out on the Cutie Map; he called out, while rubbing his eyes, sleepily, "What's up?"
Looking over at her freshly awoken Number One Assistant, Twilight beamed a smile, "Morning Spike! Starlight and I were just reviewing the formula for a spell that I thought might give us more information on the map, and how Starlight was able to use it for her time travel spell!"
"This should be fun, why don't you stay and watch Spike?" Starlight had noticed the little dragon had flinched slightly at the mention of the aforementioned incident with the map, and tried to not let her smile waiver.
Spike just looked at both mares before turning around, a deadpan expression on his face, and walked out, "Just don't try to blow anything up this time."
"Those were accidents!" Twilight shouted after him. "I don't try to blow things up! ...usually...." Twilight failed to notice the worried expression on Starlight's face at that comment.
"Oh,... I'm so excited to try out this new spell, Starlight. If it works, we should be able to do so much more with the Cutie Map!" Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, expressed to her pupil after Spike left. "Ready to get started?!"
Smiling shakily, Starlight responded, "Sure! ...Are you sure we thought of everything?"
Twilight smiled smartly, "Yes! No errant magical surges should occur while we're doing this. I even made sure we didn't do this on a day when Discord was meeting with Fluttershy." Then turning her attention to the Cutie Map she started powering her portion of the spell with Starlight starting hers. "Let's get started!"
A beam of magic lanced out from both the unicorn and the alicorn towards a point fixated above the table that started to grow and pulse as the spell-matrix took form, slowly it started pulling in ambient magic from across Ponyville....
Meanwhile...
"Thank you for attending this impromptu performance by the Great and Penitent Trixie!" The blue showmare shouted to her audience of young foals at the Ponyville Schoolhouse playground. She intended to finish with a large cascade of spell-shot fireworks, but was dismayed as her magic seemed to wain and only produced a meager six explosions.
Across town...
"Oh thank you for dropping by so quickly, Discord! I know you and Tree Hugger didn't start off on the right hoof last time you met; so I thought, since she stopped by, you two could try again over some tea and brownies?" The demure Fluttershy greeted her friend the door to her cottage.
"Oh think nothing of it, dear Fluttershy. I guess I could start getting more friends." Just as the draconequus was stepping into the doorway, he sneezed and felt a slight wisp of chaos fly towards the new sparkly castle in town.
"Oh! I hope you're not coming down with a cold, Discord?" the pale-yellow pegasus asked worriedly as she followed him inside.
"Don't worry Fluttershy, it's nothing to feel blue about."
Back at the castle...
Spike was in the castle's library about to send of a letter to Princess Celestia (to warn her of potential problems if Twilight's spell went wrong) by his magic-laced dragonfire; when the green flames leapt away from his mouth and instead of consuming the scroll in his claws, turned and left through the door.
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The spell-matrix was almost complete when Twilight registered three new magical signatures getting sucked into the matrix right before it detonated in a giant explosion of power and light. Before her in the heart of the explosion, Twilight saw many simultaneous scenes before being blinded by a sheer white light. Then she saw darkness as her body impacted the castle wall behind her. In her unconscious state three scenes replayed themselves again.
Scene 1...
Twilight saw herself standing in the throne room with a yellow mare with a gold and red mane in the midst of spell casting.
Scene 2...
Twilight saw herself with Starlight, whose mane was styled differently, also in the midst of casting a spell.
Scene 3...
Twilight saw an unascended version of herself with Trixie, sans hat and cape, apparently also casting a spell.
What was evident was that it seemed every replayed scene was that Twilight and the other mare were casting a spell similar to the one she and her Starlight had tried casting. But, the strange thing was that in each of those scenes both Twilight and the other mare were wearing matching rings on their horns....
When Starlight Glimmer came to, the first thing she saw her mentor lying unconscious against a crystal wall in darkness. Lighting her horn and rushing to her side, Starlight attempted to shake her awake. This action was paused only momentarily as Starlight heard a sound from across the room, the sight she beheld only causing her to redouble her efforts with vigor. A shadowy figure moved in the darkness.
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Moonsparkle groaned as she came to, the floor she was on felt like a ground dwelling and not the cloud floor of her Aunt (honorary) Rainbow Dash's aerial acrobatics school. What the hay did those colts put in the punch this time? It even feels like one of those fat-flanks is laying on me! As she struggle to get up, and out from whoever was on top of her, Moonsparkle noticed that the surroundings in the darkness were A) reminiscent of her mothers' home and B) were faintly lit by a source on the other side of the table in front of her.
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Sunrise Blitz felt something warm, but lumpy, wriggle underneath her. Being jostled thus didn't help the headache she was developing. Ugh, how hard did I party? Well guess I can't complain too much, it isn't everyday that you get to graduate from Celestia school for Gifted Unicorns. But I should probably get up before either of my mom's see me. Opening her eyes showed her surroundings to be dark so she lit her horn, revealing herself to be lying a top a strange pegasus-mare who was apparently trying to get out from under her. "Sorry." She apologized to the other mare as she quickly clambered off her. Looking around Sunrise felt a chill in her gut as she recognized her mother's (the Princess one) throne/council room. Um... oops?
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Twilight was slowly rousing from somepony shaking her, and realized that A) Starlight had been trying to waken her, and was staring at something across the dark room; and B) that with a glance out a nearby window that the reason it was dark was because it was apparently night. Casting a quick spell to turn on the recessed glowstones in the room, Twilight looked at what Starlight was staring at (less frightened by now) and saw a pair of young strange mares staring back at her in confusion (and in one case awe.)
Moonsparkle looked at the two mares across from her (ignoring the one beside her for now). She didn't know who the violet colored one was, but the other... oh she was familiar accept for one thing.... "Mother? When did you ascend? Does Mom know? Where is she?" Pausing because another difference became apparent, Moonsparkle procede in more volume, "Who is this mare? And where is your wedding ring?!"
Sunrise stared at her mother in shock; her fear of being in trouble for partying too hard was replace as she noticed something off about her parent. "Mom? Where's Momma? Who is this mare? And where is your wedding ring?" Her vocalizations coinciding with the mare beside her. It was only a moment before she turned her attention to the pegaus (noting her periwinkle coat, two-toned lavender and silver mane, purple eyes, and cutie mark of a winged star in flight trailing a haze with mare stars) as the other mare first words registered. "What do you mean 'when did you ascend'? She's been an alicorn since before I was born! And why are you calling her mother?"
Moonsparkle shot a seething gaze at the mare beside her. "Because she's my mother! And what, were you born like five seconds ago?" The unicorn-mare (with a white coat; a mane mixed with the colors of red, lavender, and gold ; teal eyes; and a cutie mark of a rising sun below a field of stars) looked back at her with a deadpan look.
"I'm fifteen years old. She's MY mother, and I never had any siblings missy!" Sunrise growled at the pegasus.
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Starlight keeping an eye on the bickering pair, queried her mentor, "Twilight, what's going on?"
The alicorn princess's brain could not process her pupil's question as it was too busy with other matters. "Wedding ring?" she vocalized softly. Those were wedding rings I was wearing... and the others... Trixie, Starlight, the other one.... It was then that the second issue hit her. Mom? Mother?... Me?... Eenope! And with that Twilight passed out again.
