Not All That Sparkles Is Twilight

I usually come awake very slowly of a morning, something I can treasure doing after my time in the Military. The light shining softly through my windows wasn't really a concern for me, having learned to ignore it's brilliance as well. Birds chirped and sang loudly outside, but they also went ignored as I stretched lazily, my mind slowly booting up my body for the day.

I stretched as I usually do, not really realising that I was lying on my side instead of my front, as was normal for me. My brain was still ninety percent asleep as my autopilot system also booted up. Without even opening my eyes, I slid out of bed slowly, coming to rest on what my autopilot said was my usual standing position, and headed for where my mind knew the bathroom was. But my still-asleep conscious mind didn't take in that I was walking on all fours, nor that when I stretched and yawned, a pair of wings at my sides actually opened and stretched wide. I entered the bathroom and headed for the toilet, as my very-slowly-waking mind said to my autopilot 'Toilet', and I used it. Once the bidet function had finished, I moved to the sink to wash my face, and there my eyes opened for the first time that morning. It was then I realised that, in the mirror was not what I expected to see. A flash of purple in an unfamiliar form sank in as it became clearer, my Military-trained mind then kicked in and my much-bigger-than-usual eyes opened wide. I felt myself leap backwards, trip over as I tried to get to my feet and failed, and collapsed in a heap on the bathroom floor.

I breathed in fast and deep, barely stopping myself from hyperventilating due to my training coming into full operation. I felt the shock dissipate quickly and my mind cleared, as I took stock of my situation. Realising there was a limb of some kind over what I thought was my nose at first, I lifted it and looked it over. "Lavender..." was the first word I uttered that morning, then I noticed it wasn't an arm with a hand, as my logic told me should be there, but something else entirely. It looked like a leg with what I could only describe as a 'hoof' at the end of it, something that I was finding hard to take in. I wiggled it mentally and the leg and hoof responded, making me frown. "What in all the bloody world is going on?" I said in a louder tone than usual, and it hit me as well as I tried to make sense of the jumble of limbs I had fallen into, that my voice was also different. It had a much higher pitch than normal and sounded very feminine, which only added to my puzzlement.

I eventually managed to roll over on my belly, sorting out my four primary limbs and two extra ones that seemed to fold up along my sides by themselves. I also knocked something jutting out from my forehead on the marble-tiled floor that made my forehead ache and my brain rattle around inside my skull... or what certainly felt the same way. "Okay... this can't be happening." I assured myself, even if the pain in my skull certainly felt real enough. "People just don't wake up as other... um... things... or whatever I saw." I looked at my front limbs, as something at the side of my head swung back and forth in and out of my view. "But if this is happening," I looked at my sides, my much longer neck craning around to look along them, "then I have to be in serious trouble here."

I struggled to my four feet, or hoofs I realised as it sank in a bit deeper into my conscious mind, and waited until I got my balance. The other two limbs at my sides were moving only a little as I steadied myself and seemed content to stay where they were for now, so I left thinking about them to one side for the moment as I tried to take a few tentative steps forwards towards the mirror. I could see myself now, as I'd done before, the sink seemingly mounted at chest-height to me, and what it showed me wasn't a shock any longer, but a major source of confusion.

Turning side-on carefully, I could see what looked like a stylised equine form covered in lavender fur, with a very cartoon-like head that wasn't really anatomically-correct to horses I had seen before. The eyes were huge, the irises a purple color, and what I tentatively called a mane was a hue of dark blackish-blue, with two stripes of purple and pink running through it from the base of it to the ends. Looking back, I could see the tail I'd felt moving behind me was also colored in the same fashion. The limbs at my sides fully revealed themselves to be really big wings, and what was attached to my forehead was a long, straight, spiral-grooved horn, with quite a sharp tip. I frowned at my new reflection, something that really didn't suit such an extremely-cute face, I had to admit, but after moving around to see the rest of me, I couldn't see how this could be anything less than reality. There was no way I was still asleep, unless I was so drugged that my mind was warping reality around with free abandon, and this also couldn't be a costume since I now had six limbs, and the horn was definitely a part of my skull, not glued on.

My mane was a real mess, but I couldn't see any real way to relieve the nasty shock of bed-hair (bed-mane?) that I was suffering from. Instead, I turned slowly and walked out of the bathroom and made my way back into the bedroom, which was enormous compared to my small home. The windows filled one wall of what looked like a circular room, with a huge hourglass in the middle of the central floor, the bed was on a raised section to one side, and bookcases lined much of the rest of the wall-space, save for a big double-door entryway. I'd just started heading for the windows for a look, when there was a knock at the door from something much harder than human knuckles. I blinked and turned to face the bathroom quickly, as my mind figured that acting half-asleep might account for any slips I might make to whomever was at the door. Still looking fairly bleary-eyed, I turned my head back towards the door and said in a sleepy voice "Uh... come in?"

The door opened to reveal two figures that had a general resemblance to the body I was in, but had shorter horns and white coats with golden-blonde manes and tails. "Good morning, Princess Twilight Sparkle." They chorussed.

I gave them a sour look from two bleary, bloodshot eyes and replied in a sleepy, pained voice "What's so good about it?" They stopped and looked at me, shocked looks on their faces. I winced and added. "Sorry, sorry. Good morning, girls." I replied again.

They gave me knowing smiles. "Too much Apple Acres cider again, Princess?" One of them asked.

They other one grinned mischievously. "Don't worry, Princess, we'll get you presentable for breakfast with Princesses Celestia and Luna." She said.

I gave them what I hoped was a soft, weary smile and answered "Thanks, girls."

The pair giggled and walked me into the bathroom, where I was showered, washed clean and dried. Then out to the bedroom, where more of the white and gold unicorns (as I realised they were, now,) and two white and gold pegasi joined my pair. They ushered me to the now-made bed and they groomed me with gentle touches, the pegasi even preening my wing feathers for me, something that felt heavenly. I saw the unicorn girls (mares, I figured was the proper term) using their magic, their horns glowing softly as they brushed me, combed through my mane and tail and even filed and painted my hoofs, my eyes covered in two slices of what I assumed was cucumber. "To help remove the redness in your eyes, Princess." It was explained to me.

"Uh-huh." I replied. I got the idea there were a lot of questions that I wanted to ask that would not be wise to do so, since I got the feeling that I should already know the answers to those questions, and to ask them would reveal that I really wasn't this 'Twilight Sparkle' princess whose body I assumed I was currently occupying. That could be disastrous for me at this point in time, so I played along until I could get answers in a more subtle way.

The unicorns, who I assumed were the equivalent of 'ladies-in-waiting' for the princesses, including myself, then dressed me in golden hoof-shoes, a little scarf-like necklace with a big ruby in the center, and a tiara that had five pretty gems in it. Rather minimalist gear, but I guessed it was suitable for a 'pony' like myself. I'd gleaned from their morning chatter that we, as a species, were called ponies, and that I was a very special sub-species of pony called an 'Alicorn', and the other princesses were also alicorns. I also worked out that I was not actually part of the rulers of the land I was in, but a kind-of adjunct or former student of the head ruler, Celestia, who ruled the Day, and her sister, Luna, who ruled at Night. Kind-of made sense, I guessed.

The next hurdle I had was making my way to the dining room where the other princesses would be waiting. I was surprised, though, when I walked out the door to my room, to see four unicorn guards in fancy ceremonial-style armor outside in the hall. Then I smiled. I looked at the pair opposite me and asked "Would you gentlecolts escort me to Princesses Celestia's current location, please?"

The pair came to attention and one replied "Certainly, Your Highness", and I fell in with them. The presence of two of the mares behind me made them walk slightly ahead of us, so they could lead me where I needed to go, instead of me having to guess. The trip made me realise that I could never have guessed the way by myself, but I would certainly be able to find my way back again, since my training wouldn't let me forget a route, especially if I was trying to remember it. The 'clop-clop-clop' of the four unshod ponys' hoofs was counter-pointed by the sharper 'Tip-tip-tip' of my shod hoofs as we walked along through the marble hallways. Funnily, to my mind, it was a comforting sound, and I managed to relax myself as we proceeded to the 'Celestial Sisters' ' private dining room.

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The castle was a grand construction, I had to admit; beautiful and majestic in it's wide-open hallways and rooms, yet somewhat homey in the smaller areas, such as the room where I found Celestia and Luna already sitting around a round dining table inside what I'd have to call a 'parlour' more than a dining 'room', per se. I was announced and walked in smiling as if it was the greatest joy in my life to be with the pair, who rose to greet me.

"Twilight." The taller, white-furred alicorn said, a very warm smile bursting out on her face as she saw me. The look she was giving me was more like that given to a favored daughter than a mere student, so I decided to treat her in a similar manner.

"Pri... Celestia." I said, deliberately fudging the greeting, before I crossed to her and stood before her sideways, as a foal did with their dam. I knew I'd done the right thing when Celestia leaned her neck across mine, nuzzling me and covering me warmly with a wing in greeting. I nuzzled her back, seeing a warm look in Luna's eyes as well as her sister and I embraced. Then, once Celestia let me go, I moved to Luna and gave her a short bow. "Good morning, Luna." I greeted her a little more formally, since the mares had made me feel that she was much more formal in her manners than Celestia was.

"And a good morning to you, Twilight Sparkle." Luna replied, the smile on her face brightening a little more. "You seem... well recovered after last's night soiree." She commented as we were seated. "I hadst felt that the amount of cider thou consumed would have hadst thou a little more under-the-weather than thou seems."

I giggled at that, grinning, as Celestia let out a giggle herself. "I have to admit, I definitely wasn't at my best when I woke up, and I'm not sure I would trust my magic completely yet, but I'm not as badly hung over as the others that were drinking with me." I answered Luna.

Luna chuckled. "Thou speakest the truth, Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash and several of the nobles were passed out long before you succumbed." She told me, and I figured that 'Rainbow Dash' was a name I'd best remember. She sounded like someone that I knew well.

"Indeed, Twilight." Celestia added. "The only mare standing from your friends was Applejack, and even Rarity had to call off early. At least she knows her limit."

I nodded in reply." And the others?" I asked.

Celestia grinned as the serving staff started delivering stacks of pancakes, as well as other delectables to the table. "Fluttershy begged off early as well. I swear she got drunk on only one tankard-full." Celestia answered. "And Pinkie Pie... well." Celestia sighed, still smiling. "I had the Captain of the Guard ask me if he should tranquillise her, she was bouncing so high in the ballroom." We all laughed at that. "Even Cadance and your brother were amazed she wasn't hitting her head on the dome."

I'd made note of every name they'd given me, as well as the fact my brother (insert-name-here) and someone called Cadance were obviously known to me. Okay, names to research when I got the chance. "Will they be joining us for breakfast?" I asked Celestia and Luna as I poured syrup over my pancake stack, having seen the way things 'stuck' to the hoofs of the pegasi back in my bedroom. I'd tried it myself until I'd worked out how to do it, using my hangover as cover for my failures.

Celestia shook her head. "Your friends should be along shortly, but Shining Armor and Cadance left this morning on the first train. They didn't want to leave Flurry Heart alone in the Crystal Empire for long."

"After all," Luna then added, "She is a growing filly, and your niece is proving to be becoming as rambunctious as her aunt was at her age."

I pouted. "I wasn't that bad, was I?" I asked as I added the references together. Shining Armor must be my brother's name, and Cadance must be his wife, if this Flurry Heart was my niece and their foal.

Then the guard at the door said "Announcing Dame Applejack and Dame Rarity Belle." I turned to see an orange-coated mare with a blonde mane and tail and a Stetson-style hat walk in, with a white unicorn mare with a heavily-styled and curled mane and tail following. With the three apples that adorned her flank, I guessed the one with the hat was Applejack. I had seen my 'Cutie-mark', as the mares-in-waiting had called them, and I knew they were very important to ponies, but their reason escaped me at the moment. Still, they could be useful in identifying ponies, sometimes.

A few at a time, the others all joined us, and I was able to put faces and cutie-marks to the names. Rainbow Dash was obvious, as was Pinkie Pie, by the way she acted. No other pony could be THAT bouncy that early. But my instincts were slowly cutting through the fog that clouded my memories, and all these ponies started to seem familiar to me, and not just because I'd worked out who they were and since they were treating me as if we'd apparently known one another for years. No, my instincts told me I'd seen them all before... but where?

Then I winced as I bit on my fork, but not because of that. I got a spike of pain that slammed through my head, and a voice that sounded like my new one said, in a bleary voice 'Ugh... how much did I drink last night?'

I'd managed to keep a fairly straight face, so only Applejack noticed I'd winced. "Y'all okay, Twi?" She asked, showing the sort-of concern only a close friend or family member could.

"Yeah, Applejack, thanks." I replied.

'Applejack? What's she doing in my bed?' The other voice asked silently. Then I felt a wash of incredulity go through me, as if the other Me was able to notice where we were. 'The... Celestia's dining room? How the hay did I get here? And when did everybody else arrive?' She asked, stunned.

Acting as if nothing was wrong, as I watched Applejack give Rainbow Dash a ribbing about letting a princess beat her at drinking, I slowly found out how to talk to the other Me. "We've been awake for about an hour or so now." I said.

'Huh? What the?' She replied. 'Who the BUCK are you? And why can't I control my body?' She asked in an angry tone.

"Not sure yet why I'm here." I answered. "But whatever did this to us... I think it stuck me in as default controller. Sorry."

I turned my attention fully back to the others, as Fluttershy asked me "Are we still going to go to the Crystal Empire tomorrow?"

I dithered for a moment, thinking. "As far as I know, Fluttershy, yes we will be. I assume no-pony else has anything that could change that happening?" I asked the others.

'Oh Celestia above!' The other Me said. 'How am I going to explain this to Shiny and Cadance?'

"What's to explain at the moment?" I asked her. "And I take it you're the real Twilight Sparkle?" I added, hoping my guess was correct.

'You'd better believe it, whoever you are!' Twilight replied angrily. 'When I get control of myself again...'

"Hey hey, chill out, Twilight." *I interrupted her. *"I'm as much a victim of this as you are. I'm barely getting by here, trying to keep your friends and the other princesses from finding out this has happened. I'd rather not get them angry or panicking over this until we can figure out what's happened... and by the way, you do not know how glad I am you're actually back there." I told Twilight.* "The thought that someone or something might have destroyed you, just to implant me in here is..."*

'Frightening?' Twilight asked, but she knew it wasn't the word I was looking for.

"Abhorrent. Disgusting. An anathema." I corrected her.

I felt her nod. 'Actually, I am glad you feel that way.' She replied. 'And I'm... well, I guess I'm sorry I raged out at you before. I can see you're not hostile or malicious... just confused, as I am right now.' Twilight told me.

I nodded mentally. "As soon as I can figure out a way to either get us separated or perhaps explain things to the others, then I shall." I promised Twilight. "But for now, I'd just better be you to the others... although any pointers you give me would be very welcome. I've been getting by on my training and a good dose of luck."

Twilight considered that. 'I guess it would be for the best.' She agreed. 'After all, I do need you to go and research what we can find about reversing this... situation.'

"Indeed." I replied, smiling to her and myself. Then I found myself distracted, as the conversation turned back towards myself.

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Later on, I found my way back to my rooms in the Palace and sat down, thinking about what to do. I closed my eyes, seeking that place in my mind where I thought at my best.

I found myself inside my mind, in my mind's eye, as I'd been trained to do, but my body-image wasn't what I expected. I found I still looked like Twilight Sparkle, instead of something else... that I couldn't quite remember. I was feeling extremely puzzled when, from out of the edge of the area, another Twilight Sparkle walked in. I smiled and stood to meet her, but she stopped and frowned. "If this is where I think it is," She said to me, "Shouldn't you be looking... somewhat different?" Twilight asked.

"I know." I answered. "But for the life of me, I can't seem to remember what I looked like before... nor my former name." I explained to Twilight. "It's almost as if someone is trying to make sure I don't know what to go back to, if we can be separated."

Twilight sighed. "If this is Discord's idea of a prank, I am going to take his curly horn and... and..."

"Shove it where the sun don't shine?" I concluded helpfully.

That got a grin and giggle out of her. "Very eloquently put." Twilight commented. "But, seriously, if he's not behind this... then I don't have any clue as to who could be."

"Me neither." I had to agree. "But, as I said before, I apologise for putting you through this inconvenience."

That got another grin out of Twilight. "That's understating things just a teeny-weeny bit, but I thank you for that. Even if it isn't your fault, it's nice of you to apologise."

"What are friends for?" I said, smiling back at her.

Twilight frowned a little. "You think of me as a friend?" She asked.

"I'd like to think so." I answered. "We're both stuck together in a very annoying situation, unable to do anything about fixing it yet, but we're not yelling and screaming at one another or accusing each other of being behind it. We're acting like the mature beings we are, working together to try and find a mutually-acceptable solution. And isn't that what friends would do?"

Twilight thought on that for a moment, then nodded as I sat down. "I have to admit... you're starting to even sound like me." She replied with a smile, sitting down herself.

"Thank you." I said back, grinning. "I must admit, after the initial shock, this form is starting to grow on me." I admitted. "Hopefully, if we do get separated, I might find myself occupying a pony body of my own." Then I frowned. "Although I hope that's fully my own opinion, and not one given to me by whoever's behind this."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I have to say that it appears they might be making changes to you to make sure you adapt, and I will say that I don't agree with that at all. You should have a free mind when making any decisions over such an important issue." Twilight then stood and shook herself out. "We really need to be getting to the Royal Archives. There's several books there we need to be looking through to see if we can find some clues."

I nodded and rose, too. "Okay. Just direct me to the Archives and tell me which books you need to read, and I'll do the legwork for us both." I said with a smile.

Twilight smiled back. "Okay... and thanks for being so reasonable."

"I'm always reasonable." I shot back. "Even when I'm screaming my head off."

That got a big laugh out of Twilight. "Good to know!" She shot back as she disappeared into the darkness at the edge of my sub-conscious.

I rose as well, then turned to walk out and found myself back in my bedroom... with a pink pony face inches from my own. I gave out a squeak and barely stopped myself rolling over backwards with my wings. "Pinkie!?!" I didn't-quite yell at her.

"Who were you talking to, Twilight?" She asked me.

I smiled. "Myself." I replied. "At least I can have an intelligent conversation that way."

Pinkie giggled and moved back. "Know the feeling!" She replied, then looked at me seriously. "What's wrong, Twilight?" She asked.

I looked her over. "Pinkie Sense?" I asked.

Pinkie nodded. "Yeppers." She simply replied.

I sighed. "Sorry, Pinkie, but this... this is something that I'm not sure anyone can help me with." I explained. "But I already have good help, and if I know you and the other girls can help me with this, I Pinkie Promise I will get you all together as quickly as I can." I made the motions of the Pinkie Promise to her.

Pinkie's muzzle split with a grin again. "Okay, Twily, I know you'd never break a Pinkie Promise." She told me, before I got up and walked out with her.

As we were walking along, it occurred to me... how the hay did I know what Pinkie's Pinkie Sense and Pinkie Promise were? Did I get that from Twilight... or was it something entirely different?

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The Royal Archives were huge, to say the least. At least having Twilight along helped the search for the right books go much quicker than if I'd been trying to look through them myself. 'Okay, this one's got nothing.' Twilight said to me. 'Try Prancer Vale's Guide to Transformation tome, aisle sixteen, third shelf from the top.' She suggested. I found and pulled the indicated book from the shelf, this time without even looking like it was going to drop from my telepathic grip. 'Hey, not bad. You're really starting to get the hang of using magic.' Twilight complimented me.

I chuckled softly. "Not anywhere near your league yet." I replied. "But thanks." I moved back to the huge table where we'd been looking through a stack of books that numbered close to thirty now. "Lessee now..." I flicked carefully through the pages using my horn's magic, my touch being as gentle as I could make it. I'd barely managed to stop ripping pages out of the first book I tried this with, and thank goodness Twilight had been there to show me the library's magickal repair station. I did not want her to get a bad reputation for tearing books apart, not after so many years with a good one.

'No... no... no...' Twilight commented as we read through the book 'Hmmm... what to do when merging yourself with another form doesn't go to plan... sounds promising.' Twilight said.

I scowled after reading through the chapter. "Nope. Just talks about physical merging." I told her, feeling gypped. I set the tome in a new pile, then sighed. "Any other suggestions?" I asked her.

'Ummm...' I heard her say as she searched her memory. 'Try... Lake's Magickal Mental Morphology, aisle twenty, should be at eyeline height.' Twilight told me.

I walked though to aisle twenty, but found the book was replaced by a form with a card in it. "Huh?" I said, puzzled.

'Oh, bother.' Twilight answered my unsaid question. 'That means someone's taken it out. Who's name is on the card?' She asked.

"Umm... yours." I answered.

I chuckled as I felt a mental facehoof. 'Drat! The blasted book is back in my castle's library. We'll have to go back there and look at it.' She told me.

"Okay then, Twi." I said. I returned to the table and started putting the books on the 'Return' plate, marvelling as they disappeared, only to return to their space on the shelves. "Absolutely marvelous." I commented. "I bet the national archives of my world would scream for a system like this."

'You said you were having trouble remembering things.' Twilight said. 'Does that mean you're remembering more?'

'Most of what I know is fairly clear to me, Twi." I explained. "But it's personal information that's missing, such as who I was, where I lived, anything that could identify me as a person before I ended up inside you is being either erased or censored."

'Hmmm... that's very troubling.' Twilight replied. 'That sounds like a definite indication that your merging with me was a deliberate act... although maybe not a malicious one. After all, whoever-they-were didn't get rid of me, as you said. Maybe we are meant to be separate, eventually.'

"Keep holding onto that thought, Twi." I told her as I put the last book back on the plate and watched it vanish.

We moved to the center of an open area and Twilight started coaching me again. 'Okay, a teleport spell isn't the easiest one for anyone to do, but I've done this successfully a number of times, so you shouldn't have any trouble doing it either... at least physically or magically.' She explained to me. 'Your biggest hurdle is the mental aspect. You haven't done this before and you haven't seen my castle before, so you're going to have to trust me that: one; you can and will be able to do it easily. As an alicorn we have done this, as I said, a good number of times without magickal strain. Self belief is paramount and critical to success.'

"Got it." I replied. "No biggie, for us this is easy." I got myself in the right frame of mind.

'The second thing is, I need to see if I can give you an image of what the main casting room in my castle looks like.' Twilight told me. 'Since you've never been there before, this is the hardest part of teleporting... but I've also teleported blind in the past successfully. The spell has safeguards to prevent us ending up inside a wall or anything else, so don't worry too much about getting it wrong. Even if we really, really fudge it up, the castle's defenses will simply deposit us outside at a pre-determined location.' Twilight grinned. 'I know, I cast the spells myself.' She even sounded smug.

I smiled tolerantly at her. "Okay, Twi, then give me the visualisation." I cleared my mind and waited, as a fuzzy image slowly oozed into my conscious thoughts. As it cleared, I found myself standing inside a three-dimensional image of a large, circular room, with the most intricate pattern on the floor, as if I was standing there myself. I could even turn about and see all around me, fixing the room in my mind. "Wow, way to go Twilight." I commented. "It's almost as if I was really there."

'That's what I'm hoping.' Twilight's voice said softly in my ear. 'Now, focus on your location, bring up your magic, then simply will yourself to be there.' She told me.

"That's it?" I asked.

'That's it.' Twilight confirmed.

I smiled confidently. "Okay, then. Let's do this." And I summoned Twilight's power again, this time letting it build up a lot more than I had before, concentrating on being in that room. Then, for just an instant, I was nowhere and everything was a soft, off-white grey, But before the sensation could impinge on my 'worry-center', the room appeared around me with a 'Pop!', and I dropped about an inch to the floor. I did feel a little nausea, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as the first time I jumped out of an aircraft being buffeted by a big storm... which I somehow remembered doing several times. I growled softly to myself over being able to remember such things, but not who or what I had been. Then it hit me... I'd successfully teleported myself from one place to another, and NOT fudged it up. I then did something I thought I'd never do in my life: I squee'd like a ten year old filly given the best Hearths-warming present ever and bounced in place, spinning, for about thirty seconds, until I heard Twilight giggling in the back of my mind.

"What?" I asked her, now very self-conscious.

That cracked Twilight up. 'I NEVER did that, even when I teleported for the first time!' She told me. "Celestia, that was so cute!' Her laughter slowly abated as I frowned at her mentally.

"Hey, As far as I can remember, no-one on my planet has done anything like that successfully." I reminded Twilight. "Although, I do remember stories of pon... people apparently disappearing from one place and ending up entire continents away, and not knowing how they got there, so maybe teleporting on my former world is possible, but it can't be controlled yet." I surmised as I headed for the room's doors.

Before I got to them, though, the doors opened, to reveal another light-purple pony with darker hair. "Twilight?" She asked.

'That's Starlight Glimmer, my student.' Twilight said  in the back of my mind.

"Thanks." I thanked Twilight silently before I answered Starlight. "Hi Starlight." I said casually, as if I'd know her for ages.

"I thought you were in Canterlot." Starlight said as I passed her. "Weren't you going to the Crystal Empire tomorrow?"

"Still am." I answered. "But I found out I need to consult a book that was back here, not there, so I came home to find it." I explained.

"Oh." Starlight answered, as she turned to follow me.

'Turn left, second door to the left.' Twilight directed me. 'The first one's a fake.'

"Good to know." I said as I passed it by.

"So what's the book that's so important you had to teleport back here to get it?" Starlight asked.

"Lake's Magickal Mental Morphology." I quoted the name Twilight had mentioned in the Archives.

That made Starlight stop. "Huh? Why that book?" She asked. "Surely Prancer Vale's Guide to Transformation would be more suitable..."

"Looked in that one." I interrupted. "It didn't have what I need to find." I explained.

Starlight chuckled. "I should have known you, of all ponies, would have checked everything else there first." She commented.

I chuckled with her as we reached the door to the Library. "Ah, you're starting to know me too well, Starlight." I told her as the door opened and we walked in. I looked about and found the book just where Twilight would have filed it. I was starting to know my host, too.

I sat with the book at one of the tables and started leafing through it. "So... what's the problem?" Starlight asked me.

"A tricky one." I answered. "Imagine, one body, with two minds... and maybe two souls stuck in it, one the original pony, the other a stranger." I looked at her.

Starlight blinked with surprise at my scenario. "That's... that's horrible!" She stated. "Who would do such a thing? Discord?"

"I thought that at first as well." I said back as I leafed through the pages. "But I'm not so sure any more. It feels kind-of like something he might do, but I didn't find a trace of his magic anywhere when I looked for it."

"All right, that is very puzzling." Starlight said with a sigh. "So, if it's not Discord...?"

"Yeah, that's the most puzzling part." I replied. "But first, I have to see if I can find a spell to separate the pair, without killing one or both of them."

Starlight gulped nervously. "Yeah... that's the trick, isn't it?"

I nodded as I came to the end of the book and sighed sadly. "Well, no help there." I told Starlight, as I closed the book and put it back on the Return square. It vanished as I rubbed my hoof on the bridge of my muzzle. "I've been through just about every book I know on anything even partially related to this and there's nothing, almost as if no-one's ever faced this sort of situation before."

"Maybe they haven't." Starlight said as she looked at me. "So... what's the plan now?"

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehoof to the bridge of my muzzle again and sighed. "Frankly, Starlight... I don't know."

================================

I returned to the casting room after Starlight said she was going to go to town and get some things. I sat in the middle of it and turned my sight inwards again.

Twilight walked out into my Mind's Eye once again, and she looked pensive. "I'm... well, stumped, to be honest." She admitted.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm not much better." I admitted back. "I'm not even as read up on magic as you are. This... is all just craziness to me, save for the fact that I can actually DO magic. That alone takes a lot of my logic and makes a mockery of it."

Twilight chuckled. "Maybe we need to find a new type of logic." She suggested.

I humphed and kept thinking... then it hit me. "Maybe instead of a new type of logic, we need another type of magic." I told her.

Twilight frowned. "Another type of magic? What do you mean?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." I answered. "But, according to what little I do know of you, you're the bearer of the Element of Magic." I reminded Twilight. "Maybe we should try using it on ourselves."

Twilight looked surprised. "That's... I never even thought of that." She said thoughtfully.

"Can you teach me how to summon it, then?" I asked Twilight.

"I think so." Twilight said. "But what do you think it might do?" She asked.

"Well, from the few memories and other things I got from you, the first time you used the Elements was to separate Nightmare Moon from Princess Luna." I reminded Twilight. "Maybe we can use it to separate us from each other."

Twilight grinned. "You may be right!" She exclaimed happily. "Okay, I'll see you out there, and we'll try it."

I nodded and turned to walk out of the agreed space. Once back in the real world, I moved to the center of the casting room and waited for Twilight to return. 'Okay. Now, you should be able to feel the connection to the Element of Magic near the center of my magic 'core', if you slowly feel for it.' She explained.

"Okay." I replied, then I did as she asked. I was already familiar with the feel of Twilight's natural magic, due to teleporting and levitation, so when I felt something different and much more powerful than what Twilight used normally, I touched it with my magic sense, and it pulsed powerfully. "Wow!" I said as it flowed through me.

'That's it!' Twilight said enthusiastically. 'Now, you know how to activate my magic, so do the same for the Element, and you should transform into the Elemental state I become when the Tree of Harmony imbues me with it's power.' She explained further. 'Hopefully, it might separate us out.'

"Okay, here it goes." I said, and called forth the power of the Element... and it fizzled. "Okayyyy..." I said, confused.

'No, that wasn't right.' Twilight said. 'You're trying to force it, and the Element doesn't work that way. You need to submerge yourself in it, let it flow through you completely, not just through your horn.'

"Harder than it sounds, then." I said, as I tried to steady and relax my mind.

'That's it, be at peace. Feel the power of the Element flowing through you.'

I chuckled. "Yes, Master Yoda." I replied, grinning. The, before Twilight could answer, the power leaped from inside me and surrounded me brilliantly. I felt... transcended by it and it filled me in a way Twilight's magic didn't, and it felt like she and I were drawing closer together. I felt things/images flowing into my mind, things that weren't from me, as well a lot of knowledge. Then it collapsed again, leaving me stunned and a bit wobbly.

'Owww.' Twilight's voice sounded pained.

"Yeah, that felt like a Seven on the Slam-o-meter." I agreed as I dropped my plot to the floor. The images I'd seen were slowly filtering themselves into my sub-conscious, and sorting themselves out onto what appeared to be knowledge and personal memories - memories that weren't mine, but appeared as if from my own perspective. The knowledge, I realised, was magickal theory and a lot more, connected to memories of reading books and listening to teachers, including Celestia herself.

Then Twilight sounded huffy. 'I do NOT look OR sound like a little green... whatever that Yoda fellow is!' She exclaimed in a peeved tone.

That got me laughing and rolling on the floor. Even Twilight started giggling after a minute or two. Then it struck me. "Hey, I never told you who Yoda was." I stated. "How do you know?"

'Um... something happened when the Element was powering us up.' Twilight answered. 'I have a huge load of new information, including several dozen movies stuck in my mind, Star Wars and it's companion films close to the forefront.' She told me. 'By Celestia, your people were creative! Imagining whole new universes and then being able to make movies about them! It's so incredible and lifelike! If I didn't know they were faked, I'd swear you'd actually been there.' She sounded really overjoyed. 'And the weapons! Aircraft! Cars! Tanks! Computers, both desktops, tablets and mainframes! So much... Technology!'

I chuckled as the pain in my head faded. "Yeah. It seems as if we got a lot of crossway action going there, Twi, but something happened before we could be merged. I don't think the Element of Magic wants to make us one."

'Hmmm, you could be right.' Twilight sounded a bit soured by my statement. 'Maybe we should try it one more time, just to be sure.'

"Okay." I told her, sounding unsure. "But if we come to, feeling like an AT-AT ran us over, it's your fault." I snarked at Twi as I got to my feet and tried to get in a relaxed state once again. When I felt ready for it, and the power was calm inside me, I reached for it again...

...with pretty much the same result. This time I was lying on the floor, groaning, with my head tucked under my outstretched wings, the pain consistent with the level of a class-nine migraine.

'Arrrgh!' Twilight moaned. 'Okay... no more trying that.'

"No kidding." I agreed. Then a spell that I hadn't known before ran through my aching head. Grabbing onto it, I cast it and the migraine eased off so quickly, Twilight and I both moaned with relief.

'Oh by blessed Celestia.' Twilight sighed thankfully. 'Hey, I never taught you how to do that headache relief spell. How did you know how to do it?' She asked.

I checked inside my memories. "Yep." I said, as my suspicions were confirmed. "I've got ALL your memories, Twi. Every single one of them, as well as every book or scrap of information you've ever learned."

'Huh? Wait.' Twilight said, sounding concerned. 'And the verdict is unanimous.' She said what seemed like only a minute later. 'Not only have I got all of your memories, minus the edited bits, but all my own memories are ordered far beyond anything I'd been trying to achieve. It's almost like... I have an eidetic memory now.'

Checking back on my own memories, I found the same thing. "Same here, Twi. Apart from the things that have been deliberately cut out, I can remember pretty much everything. And all your memories are as clear as anything... save that they seem to be in a different file from my own, but otherwise completely accessible."

'Okay, that's weird.' Twilight stated.

"Not if you think about it." I replied.

'Umm... so, what do you mean this time?' She sounded confuzzled.

I chuckled. "If you were going to merge two people's memories together, it'd be a LOT easier if they were fully ordered and sequential, with nothing left out. That way, you could slot them together far more easily than if they were all over the place." I logically suggested. "So, we got our memories laid out, everything fully ordered and ready to be slid together... when I bet the edited parts of my memories caused the whole process to abort, leaving us with each others' memories intact, but still separate."

'That's a pretty half-plotted theory," Twilight said in a skeptical tone, 'but, barring anything that sounds better, I guess it'll do for now.' She concluded.

I got to my feet. "And, now that I know exactly what happened when we separated out Nightmare Moon and Luna, I know what we need to do next." I told Twilight as I headed for the doors to the corridor.

'And that is?' Twilight asked.

I smiled in a convincing way. "Call the others."

===============================

I headed for the throne room and went to the Table. It was all so familiar to me now, as I hopped up on Twilight's throne and touched the table's edge, the Map appearing to me as if I'd done this a hundred times or more. Once it had stabilised, I could see the others all waiting in Canterlot, their cutie-marks as clear as day spread out around the city. Nodding, I slammed a hoof onto the image of my castle, and the cutie-marks on the others' thrones lit up, pulsing like Hearths warming lights.

I could feel Twilight watching what I was doing from inside my head, and while she didn't exactly know what I'd concluded, I felt that she was placing her trust in me. 'Okay, they're going to get here as fast as they can, now.' Twilight's voice echoed in my head. 'So why are we calling them back here? What can we do here we can't do elsewhere?'

"I realised as the memory of you lot separating Nightmare Moon from Luna fully coalesced in my memory, Twi." I explained. "I realised that it required ALL of you, not just the one, to pull the pair apart. And I think it'll work the same with us." I stated firmly.

'Or, at least, you hope it will.' Twilight said, drolly.

"Got any better ideas?" I asked. When she said nothing, I added. "Thought not."

================================

In five different places around Canterlot, five cutie-marks on five ponies pulsed with energy, and the five of them knew what that meant.

• Applejack finished paying for the new seeds she'd bought and, sliding them into her saddlebags, she made a beeline for the train station. Her feeling that something was wrong with Twilight was growing stronger. While her friend hadn't been openly dishonest, she was hiding something, and Applejack was determined to see this sorted before anything else happened;

• In the Wonderbolts Compound, Rainbow Dash's eyes crossed, and those she was with - Spitfire, Soarin and Fleetfoot - saw what was happening. Spitfire caught Dash's eye, then nodded. Saluting, Rainbow Dash respectfully left her office, after giving Soarin a nuzzle and a wink to Fleetfoot. Then she raced down the corridor, flew down the stairs and crossed the lobby, scattering other ponies before her, and blasted off right outside the front door. The train be damned, She thought to herself, Twi needs me, and the faster the better!

• Fluttershy had just finished ordering the new veterinary supplies and books from the animal hospital at the edge of Canterlot, when she felt the summons. Once she'd paid for her order and organised delivery, she apologised profusely and left, flying along at her usual slow pace for the train station. She'd felt something was very wrong with Twilight, but she hoped that maybe she was ready to get help at last;

• Rarity looked up as the summons lit up her cutie-mark and sighed. Sassy Saddles looked at her pulsing flank and raised an eyebrow at Rarity, then nodded. Rarity gave her a thankful look, then headed for the train station after gathering her bags. At least she and Sassy had managed to sort out the new summer lines before this happened and, down deep, part of her said that this was an 'about time' moment. Twilight had some explaining to do, and Rarity was going to be there for it;

• Pinkie Pie bounced out of Canterlot Castle, giggling to herself, as Celestia gaped at the massive seven-tiered rainbow-hued cake that dominated the floor as she walked out to begin Day Court that afternoon after lunch. All the other attendees were also staring at it in confusion. Celestia closed her muzzle, sighed with resignation and, after calling the Royal serving staff, began having the cake passed out amongst those attending the court... after having one slice of each color/flavor reserved for herself, of course.

================================

Back in Ponyville, I relaxed and headed for the kitchen. My stomach was rumbling emptily and I needed something to munch on, badly. "Heya, Spike." I said as I entered. "Do we have any fish in the fridge?"

'Fish?' Twilight said, sounding confused.

"Uh, sure, Twilight." Spike replied.

"Good. I'm feeling hungry, and I'm not sure a hayburger, flower sandwich and hay fries are going to cut it today." I told him. "I know we keep some trout on-hand for Rainbow Dash, so cook us both up a good big one each."

Spike looked confused. "You expecting Rainbow Dash here soon?"

"Yep. In about ten minutes, give or take." I confirmed.

Spike opened the fridge and nodded. "Okay, Twilight. If you say so." Spike said, and took out the filleted and de-boned trout from the fridge.

'But... I don't eat fish!' Twilight said apprehensively.

"Don't worry. You're part-pegasus now, and even unicorns can eat meat if they want to." I reminded Twilight.

'I knew there was a down-side to you having access to ALL my memories.' Twilight grumbled.

I chuckled. "Don't worry, Twi. It'll taste awesome. If Spike can cook it properly." I thought to her.

Twilight sighed. 'He should. Rainbow Dash never complains about his cooking.' She admitted.

"Then think of it this way." I told her. "You'll get to taste what fish tastes like, without having to procrastinate over the technicalities of eating it." I reminded her. I licked my lips. "Trout tastes really good, too, even if Salmon tastes even better. Hmmm... note to one's self: teach Spike how to make sushi." I added.

'Sushi?' Twilight asked, now curious.

"Search my memories." I directed Twilight as I walked down towards the balcony at one end of the castle.  Once I got there, I looked at the big clock on the wall and waited.

'Rice, seaweed paper, vegetables and various meats, wrapped together, as well as other bits of raw meat and eggs and other stuff?' Twilight eventually replied. 'If it wasn't that I can remember how it tastes, I'd be disgusted... But now you have me curious as well.'

"If done properly, it tastes wonderful, yeah." I chuckled at Twilight's growing curiosity. I checked the time, counted to ten and opened the door, just as Rainbow Dash raced through and went spiralling down the circular corridor. I closed the door and then caught her in a force-field as she came back around. "Hi Dash!" I said to her, as she stopped flapping her wings.

"Twilight!?" Dash asked. "What's the emergency?"

"Not really an emergency, but I need you all here." I answered. "Sorry if it seemed really urgent."

Rainbow Dash huffed, then shook herself as I set her hoofs on the floor. "Well... okay." She said, looking disgruntled.

I smiled. "I have fish cooking..." I told her softly.

Dash's eyes opened wide, as her ears and wings pricked up. "Fish?" She asked, even sounding hungry.

I nodded. "Pan-fried trout." I confirmed.

Dash practically drooled. "Okay, I can forgive you." She said with a smirk. We laughed as we walked back towards the kitchen. "So, what's so urgent?" Dash asked.

"I'd rather tell everyone when we're together, because I need all the Elements together." I said in way of explanation.

Dash nodded. "That's cool. The others should have caught the train by now."

"Good. The sooner they get here, the better." I told her as we entered the kitchen. The smell of freshly-fried fish wafted into the dining room, leaving both the pegasus and alicorn mares drooling.

Then Dash looked at Twilight. "Hey, Twi, I didn't know you liked fish." She commented.

I blushed a little. "Yeah, I, uh, tried fish when I went to Griffonia that time. And I found it to be... " I searched for the right word, "...delectable."

Dash laughed. "Now THAT'S the right word for trout, yeah!" She heartily agreed. We both laughed as Spike brought out two plates with a beautifully fried trout on each, as well as hay fries, with two big cups and a tall jug of iced tea.

"Bon appetit." Spike said in Prench as he placed everything on the table, and Dash could barely restrain herself from gobbling the fish in one go, but as she saw Twilight pick up a fork and start daintily picking the fish apart, she sighed and also grabbed a fork and followed suit. I smiled softly and continued eating.

================================

It took about an hour for the Ponyville Express to pull into the station outside of Ponyville, the four friends disembarking leisurely. "Well, ah hope that Dash ain't had her ear talked off by Twi while they've been waitin' fer us." Applejack told the other three.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Applejack Dear." Rarity replied. "It's quite possible Twilight has distracted Rainbow Dash with something they both enjoy, like a board-game or something."

"Ooh! Ooh! I love board-games!" Pinkie said with a big grin as she pronked next to Fluttershy, who was so used to it that Pinkie's bouncing didn't even bother her any more.

Applejack chuckled. "Yeah, we all know that, Sugarcube." She said as they walked off the platform. To their surprise, there was a taxi-carriage sitting there, the driver waiting for them. They all knew him, a large Earth Pony stallion by the name of Tallmark. He had a placard with their names already displayed on it with small, pre-made letters. "Well, heya Tallmark." Applejack said. "Whatcha doin' here?"

"As the sign says, Applejack." Tallmark replied. "The Princess asked me to bring you to the castle. Said you deserve the ride after your long trip from Canterlot."

Rarity brightened. "Well! That is most thoughtful of her." She commented as she walked up the stairs into the rustic-styled open carriage. The others joined her, then Tallmark hooked himself up to the traces and started pulling the carriage towards Ponyville proper.

"Twilight must be feeling either rushed or a little guilty for calling us back from Canterlot." Fluttershy suggested.

"Yeah! This is real service." Pinkie agreed as she settled into the comfy seats.

"Probably a bit o' both, I'd reckon." Applejack added. "Not like her ta use the Table ta call us on a whim or anythin' like that."

"Indeed." Rarity agreed. "Tell me, have any of you noticed that she's been acting... a little odd since this morning?" She asked her friends.

"Darn right I noticed it." Applejack confirmed, as Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded. "She's been acting real nice, but also a bit weird, as if she weren't... herself." Applejack's mind clicked over and came to a conclusion.

Rarity narrowed her eyes. "Am I right in guessing that you've come to the same conclusion I have, Applejack?" She asked her friend.

"Ah'm not sure if I reckon she's been 'replaced', if'n that's what yer thinkin', Rarity." Applejack told her as Fluttershy's and Pinkie's eyes widened in shock.

"Nah nah! That's not right." Pinkie said. The other three looked at her. "I spoke to her before she headed for the archives! It's her, all right. My Pinkie Sense wouldn't lie to me." Pinkie stated. "But there IS something wrong, she even admitted it to me. But she Pinkie-Promised me that, if she found she needed us to help her, she would call us, and she has, like she promised!"

Rarity looked surprised, but Applejack nodded. "Yep, that's the Twilight we know, all right." She stated. "Always tries ta fix things on her own first, but always knows when ta call her friends in." She smiled softly. "Learned that lesson well, ah know she did."

"Well, that's all well and good." Rarity said. "But why do you think she needs us now?"

"Because she knows she does." Fluttershy then spoke up. "She wouldn't ask for our help unless she knew she had to, especially with us being in Canterlot instead of Ponyville. It has to be a big thing, or else she would have waited."

The others nodded in agreement. "Yep, ah reckon ya gone and hit the nail right on tha' head, Sugarcube." Applejack spoke up.

"And it's the least we can do for Twilight, after she's done so many things to help us!" Pinkie almost shouted as she tried hard not to bounce in the carriage.

Rarity smiled. "Once again, girls, you've shown why I love you so much as my friends." She told them. "And if Twilight needs our help, far be it from me to say 'Come back tomorrow, I'm busy', after everything we've shared together. We would not be friends if we failed her, especially if and when she needed us most."

"Exactly." Applejack simply replied.

Then they saw the castle coming up towards them, as they crested the hill between the station and the castle.

================================

In the castle kitchen's small informal dining area, both Rainbow Dash and the pair of minds sharing Twilight's body were relaxing, stuffed with delicious fish. 'Darn it, you were right! That was incredible!' Twilight's voice rang through my head. 'I never realised fish tasted so good.'

"You never know it until you try it, Twi." I replied silently, as I looked at Dash, who was patting her full stomach and moaning in pleasure.

"Spike!" Dash called out.

"Yeah?" Spike asked as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Best fish ever!" Dash said and grinned at Spike.

Spike chuckled. "Thanks, Dash. Glad you liked it." He said back, and headed back into the kitchen itself.

Twilight heard the whistle of the Ponyville Express arriving at the station. "Well, I hear the train pulling in. The girls should be here in about ten minutes."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Takes them as long to get from the station to here as it did for me to fly from Canterlot to here." She stated smugly.

I chuckled with her. "Hey, not everypony can fly as fast as you, Dash." I admitted. "Now, let's go down and greet them." I stood up, but it looked like Dash was having a little problem standing. "Or would you rather wait for everypony else in the casting room?" I asked her.

"Casting room. Definitely casting room." Dash said with a groan.

I laughed softly, then picked her up with my levitation and carried her into the room. I never knew how easily Twilight's alicorn magic could do things until now, after having all her training and experience as my own. I left Dash lying on a thick, soft cushion on one area of the floor, then headed downstairs.

I was surprised to see Starlight Glimmer coming in through the front door as I reached the lobby area. "Starlight!" I said with a grin.

"Heya Twilight." Starlight said, smiling back as she closed the door, her bags full of things.

"Just in time." I told her as I reached her. "Did you get everything you wanted?"

"Uh, yeah. I got everything I wanted, but some of what Spike asked me to get is on order." Starlight answered.

"That's okay." I told Starlight. "Now, the other Element Bearers should be here any minute now. I'm going to try and fix that problem we talked about earlier."

"Really?" Starlight asked. "And you're going to let me watch?"

"Sure." I confirmed.

"Goody." Starlight almost was bouncing as she walked away. "Where's the pony in question?" She then asked.

"Already here." I replied. "So's Rainbow Dash. She's in the casting room, sleeping off a nice feed of trout."

Starlight smirked. "Sounds like her speed." She said back. "Okay, I'll put things away, then join you there." Starlight told me, just as I heard Tallmark's carriage pull up outside. I headed out to greet my friends.

"Hey, everypony!" I called out as they started to disembark. "Thanks, Tallmark." I said to the big stallion, as I handed him his fare.

"Always a pleasure, Twilight." He replied, knowing I preferred to drop my title when in Ponyville. Once Tallmark was gone, I led everyone inside.

"So, what's this all about, Twilight?" Rarity asked, still a little miffed. "I was rather busy in my boutique when your summons reached me.

"Yeah, Twilight!" Pinkie said. "I missed out on seeing Celestia's face when she saw my gift to her in court this morning!" She pouted at me for a moment.

"Gift, Pinkie?" I asked, dreading what she might have done.

"Yeppers." Pinkie grinned again. "I left her a cake to help cheer up everypony in the court today."

Applejack chuckled. "By tha amount of ponies waitin' ta get in ta see Celestia, Pinkie, that had ta be one mighty big cake." She commented.

"Big enough." Was all Pinkie said in reply.

"You are feeling all right, aren't you, Twilight?" Fluttershy then asked me, from my other side.

"Well, yeah, I'm feeling okay, Fluttershy, but there is a problem, and I've come to the conclusion I need all of you to help fix it."

'You've come to that conclusion, you mean.' Twilight's voice echoed in my head.

"Hush, no comments from the peanut gallery unless it's helpful." I replied silently.

"I prefer popcorn to peanuts." Pinkie then said, out of nowhere.

I blinked with surprise at that. "She heard us speaking?" I asked Twilight.

'One can never be sure with the Pink. It's powers are random and unfathomable.' Twilight replied.

"Careful, Twilight, you're starting to sound like Yoda again." I ribbed her helpfully.

That actually got a chuckle from her. 'I guess it's the whole Mentor thing.'

"More than likely." I agreed as we all headed for the casting room.

"So, what's tha problem then, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"And where's Rainbow Dash?" Rarity wanted to know.

"Rainbow Dash is in my casting room, stuffed with fish." I answered Rarity first.

That got a few giggles and titters. "So that's how ya made things up ta her, then." Applejack concluded.

"Yeppers." I confirmed, getting more giggles. "And as for the problem... I can't seem to connect to the Element of Magic."

That got gasps. "But... but how?" Rarity sounded stunned.

"Yeah, Twi, if'n ya can't pull yer Element to ya, what happens if'n we need 'em?" Applejack asked.

"I have a theory, but I need the other five Elements in order to try for a cure." I explained as we reached the casting room door and entered it. Opening the door released a wash of loud snores from inside, and as we entered, Starlight was sitting on a couch in a niche to one side, while Rainbow Dash was on her cushion, on her back, snoring loudly. Starlight rose to greet everypony, while Applejack went and woke up Rainbow Dash.

"Wha?!?" Rainbow Dash said with a snort, as Applejack tapped her gently on the head.

"Time ta wake up, Sugarcube." Applejack told her.

"Huh? How'd you guys get here so fast?" Dash asked as she rolled over. "I just closed my eyes for a second, and you're here."

"It's been a little longer than a second." Fluttershy added helpfully. "You were fast asleep when we came in."

"Awww... and I was having the most wonderful dream, too." Dash lamented.

"Don't tell me: You leading the Wonderbolts." Rarity said with a little snarkiness in her voice.

"Hey, how'd you know that?" Dash asked Rarity.

"Because that's all ya ever seem ta dream about, Sugarcube." Applejack replied with a grin.

Everypony laughed at that, save for Rainbow Dash, who frowned and huffed back. "Yeah, well, after actually joining the Wonderbolts, it's the next big phase in my plan, so I have to work out how it's all going to go, don't I?" She grumbled.

"Y'all will do it just fine, Dash." Applejack told her, patting her on the back.

"Anyway, getting back to why we're here: Twilight, you said you needed the Elements." Rarity refocused everypony's attention.

"Yes." I confirmed again. "Now, this might sound a little crazy, but I'm going to need you all to focus the rainbow power of your Elements on me, while I try and call for the Element of Magic again." I explained what I needed. "If I'm right, it'll jump-start my element and fix whatever's blocking me from powering up completely."

"Uh, isn't that a little bit dangerous, with something as powerful as the Elements?" Starlight then asked.

I nodded. "I know it is, but after not finding any answers in any of the books I've read, and with the Element of Magic being... uncooperative, this is the only thing I can think of right now." I sighed. "Anypony else got any ideas?" I asked.

Everypony thought on the problem for a minute or two, but all they could do was shake their heads or shrug. "Well, okay Twi. If'n y'all are thinkin' this'll work, then we're gonna give it a shot."

"Yeah!" Pinkie agreed and bounced in place.

I smiled. "Thanks, Girls." I replied. "Now, I need you all to stand around the circle and get ready." I turned to Starlight. "Starlight, I need you to stand in the circle over there. It will protect you from any stray energy that might try to engulf and change you." I warned her.

Starlight nodded and headed for the protection circle, while the others took their places. I headed for the center of the main circle as the protection circle activated, sealing Starlight in. "Power up!" I yelled out, and five ponies were surrounded by brilliant radiance, transforming into their Primal Elemental forms, then I nodded at them. I closed my eyes, relaxed and went to that place inside us, the place Twilight had shown me, and felt the power flow into me again. "Now!" I called out. Five beams of pure elemental power slammed into me, just as the surge of power from the Element of Magic filled me once again... but this time, it felt different.

================================

Starlight watched as Twilight was surrounded by the power of the Elements of Harmony. She was fretting something fierce, hoping that they'd cure Twilight of whatever was... afflicting her. Then her eyes widened as she remembered something Twilight had told her earlier. "One body - two minds." She said softly. That was what Twilight had called the others to cure... but it was Twilight in the center! Was she... the one that was affected?

Starlight tried to call out, but the barrier kept her from being heard. This was beyond anything she'd ever read about, beyond her experience. And what would happen if it failed?

Then, as the blinding radiance faded just a little, she saw one sphere of energy split and become two. The two took form, and both formed ponies. One looked, to Starlight, like images Twilight had shown her of herself as a unicorn, before she ascended; the other, although colored exactly the same as Twilight, had no horn, but two huge wings adorned her sides: Twilight as if born as a pegasus. Starlight saw them open their eyes and look at one another...

================================

In the Palace in Canterlot, Princess Celestia had just concluded Day Court and was walking back to her sitting rooms, ready to relax until Luna rose and they fulfilled the second part of their responsibilities: ending the day and beginning the night. But then, as the guards moved to allow her to pass, Celestia flinched, then writhed. She screamed and almost fell, saved only by the quick thnking of the guards in the corridor and her escort, who slammed together around her to hold her up.

Luna, too, was resting, but at that same moment, she arched her back and screamed, eyes wide but not seeing, her whole being in agony for a brief time, as her attendants stared, shocked, before they raced to comfort her.

Outside, all over the planet, save for one small place, the ground shook as if Equis itself writhed gently in tune with the princesses. Then, as quickly as it began, the earth tremors ceased.

================================

I felt the power filling me beyond anything I'd felt before, and Twilight's presence faded from my head. I felt my hoofs touch the floor again, and I opened my eyes. Before me was an image like that I had seen in the mirror, of Twilight Sparkle, but I noticed she had no wings now and was smaller, like the other ponies. Then I noticed the weight of the horn that I'd always been conscious of was gone from my head. My mind then turned to my sides, and I felt the comfortable ruffling of my wings. A peace filled me as I smiled softly, a smile I saw echoed in Twilight's face opposite me. We both nodded our heads and closed our eyes. If being ordinary ponies was the price for retrieving our individual lives... then so be it.

For herself, Twilight gazed upon the other pony opposite her, that looked so familiar, yet with no horn and a really big pair of wings, more like her alicorn pair than those of a pegasus. She found the comparison... fascinating. Then she smiled at her counterpart and nodded to her. Then she and her other self closed their eyes, as the power of the Elements flowed over them again.

================================

Starlight was almost ready to try and blast her way out of the protection circle, when the light quickly faded, swirls of magic racing around and dissipating, to reveal not one, but two alicorns standing in the center of the casting circle. The protection barrier then dropped, freeing her, as the two alicorn Twilight Sparkles opened their eyes and looked at one another again, the other Element Bearers also gasping in surprise as their Elemental forms dropped away.

"Twilight?" Starlight asked, as she approached. Then, as the twins were about to say something, their eyes rolled up into their heads and they collapsed, one on her side, the other on her barrel.

Starlight looked at the others. "Quickly! Get them out of here!" She ordered, and the others hastened to obey, unheeding that it was Starlight telling them what to do. "Rainbow Dash! Go get Nurse Redheart and anyone else you can!"

"Aye aye!" Dash replied, saluting, and shot out of the castle like a cannonball.

Starlight and Rarity lifted one Twilight up, while Pinkie and Fluttershy helped lift the other one onto Applejack's back. "We'll take them to the Royal Guestroom." Starlight told the others as the door was opened by Spike, who'd heard Rainbow Dash speed out.

"What the?" He asked as he saw what was happening.

"Spike, get a letter to Princess Celestia!" Starlight said as they carried the two Twilights out of the casting room.

"No need!" Said a familiar voice loudly, as Celestia and Luna appeared in the corridor behind them. The Princesses gasped as they saw who the group were carrying, and lifted the two Twilights with greater ease and speed than the others. "Lead on." Celestia told them, and they all headed for the room that Twilight kept two big beds in, specifically for when Celestia and Luna stayed at the Castle.

Once the twins were lying in separate beds and resting peacefully, Celestia looked at Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie and asked. "Now, could someone please fill us in with what has transpired here today?"

================================

"...and that's when you arrived, Your Highnesses." Starlight Glimmer concluded. She and the others had told everything they knew, only interrupted when Rainbow Dash and the medical team from Ponyville General had arrived.

Luna frowned. "This is most vexing, and very unlike Twilight." She commented, looking at Celestia.

"Very true, Luna." She agreed. "But, whatever happens, we will make sure they survive, no matter what." Celestia stated. "For one of them must be the real Twilight Sparkle, and therefore we must make sure they both live."

"Well, there's not much chance of anything else happening in that regard." Said Nurse Redheart when she came in at that moment.

The others crowded around, all asking questions. Celestia shouted out "ENOUGH! Let Nurse Redheart speak."

After everyone had apologised and backed away, Nurse Redheart said. "Thank you, Your Highness." Celestia smiled and nodded at Redheart. "Okay... from the doctors' examinations, both of the Twilights appear to be stable and now sleeping off whatever happened." She told them all. "They're both suffering from mild magic overload and mana depletion, but that is rectifying itself as we speak. But we have one slight problem." She looked at them all. "We can't tell them apart."

"Why not?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Can't ya just... I dunno, read their memories or sumthin'?" Applejack asked. "If'n they're not tha same pony, then shouldn't their memories be different?"

"We tried that." Nurse Redheart answered. "And even their memories are so similar, we can't distinguish between them. Physically, they are identical as well, even to their cutie-marks and Itineris patterns." She sighed. "They're literally clones of each other, made from the same pattern, as it were."

"Hmmm..." Celestia thought. "Starlight, you said Twilight said something about someone with a problem of having two minds and souls in the one body, and you deduced as she subjected herself to this... casting, that Twilight was talking about herself." Starlight nodded. "And in the middle of the casting, you saw two Twilights, but one was her old unicorn self; the other, an almost identical pegasus." Starlight nodded again.

"I've never heard of such a thing, Sister." Luna commented.

"Neither have I, Luna, but if Twilight was so sure about this that she would undergo such an almost insane... I hardly dare call it a cure, then she must have been sure it would work." Celestia stated. "And since there is now two of them, I would surmise that, perhaps, she was indeed correct."

"But how could that happen in the first place?" Starlight asked.

"There are several possibilities, but I hesitate to speculate at this time." Celestia answered. "But for now, we should work on getting them both back to health, then find out what happened that made them decide to take such a radical and dangerous action." 'And find out why it affected both myself and Luna.' Celestia added silently.

================================

I slowly came to, to find myself in a similar state to waking up first thing in the morning, or that's what it felt like to me. My body was completely relaxed and there was that slight euphoric state, with no real pain to speak of. That was something I was glad of, because I was expecting a massive headache, to be honest. But when I tried to open my eyes and stretch, I found I couldn't move. I couldn't feel anything strapping me down, just the sheets lying on top of me. I was glad to hear my heart beating and I could feel myself breathing, which was a blessed relief, but apart from that, I couldn't move a muscle.

There was the familiar sound of medical monitors beeping away around me, but since the sheets were very soft and had that slippery feel of silk, I figured that, if I wasn't in Canterlot Castle's infirmary, then I wasn't in hospital, either. "Probably one of the rooms of Twi's castle." I thought to myself. "Okay, if gross movements are too hard, let's try some small movements."

I tried moving a hoof, since I remembered I didn't have toes anymore. I grumbled to myself when even that proved a little too hard and nothing happened. "Great! Did things work, only to leave me paralysed in my new body?" I asked myself. "Oh Celestia! I hope Twilight's doing better than I am!" Sighing, I calmed myself again and thought about my pony body. "I can't panic. That won't help. Now, what could cause something like this? I hope it's only temporary." I tried accessing the memories Twilight had given me, and I found that all my old memories and the new ones were all intermixed now, as if they'd happened to me in a more natural fashion. That alone was even more confusing, but I was thankful that I had everything Twilight had given me, still.

"Okay. Smaller steps. Now, I don't have fingers or toes, so what muscles are small and easily moved?" I asked myself. I wandered my memories over the image of Twilight in my mind, and it hit me: Those big mobile pony ears. I relaxed and slowly let myself walk through my body until I could concentrate on where my ears were. I'd hardly been conscious of the way they moved about, seeking sounds almost autonomously, but I also knew I could move them if I wanted to focus on a sound. One ear was trapped under the side of my head, but the other was lying free, my left ear, I realised. I carefully focused on the muscles that moved it and tried to make it twitch.

To some blessed relief, it took me several minutes, but then it moved. I carefully started making it move as much as I could and eventually, I could move it through it's range of movement. "Hmmm... this is strange." I said to myself. Then I found I could move the skin around it, feeling it tic consciously... and the sensation of control moved to one eyebrow, as I found I could make it lift and lower. "How interesting... it seems like... like a computer that's lost all it's driver software for it's peripherals. I can locate the peripherals of my body, but they won't respond, just like a computer booting up... for the first time!" It then struck me. "Of course! That's why moving around in Twilight's body was so easy when I was stuck in it. All her parts already had their 'software' map in place, and control of them had been switched over to me. That's why my autopilot software still worked in her body, because the instructions were simply interpreted by her long-established body-awareness software." I chuckled. "Gods-damn it. Who'd have thought I'd be using computer debugging principles to learn how to use my new body?" Relief washed through me and I relaxed almost totally, as the rising feeling of panic was flushed away.

But it was a lot harder than I thought, and debugging my new self was going to take quite a while, I could sense that by the little progress I was making in gaining control. "Hmmm... this is going to be harder than I thought... then again, I have all of Twilight's memories. I know what it felt like to move around in her body. Let's see if the memories will translate into moving my own. After all, they are essentially the exact same hardware. Okay, let's concentrate on the head and chest, so I can talk."

Things slowly became clearer as the haze of non-control slowly lifted. I could now hear voices moving around me, but the language was unknown to me... at least, I thought it was. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite understand the individual words. I grumbled and kept at learning to move and speak again.

================================

Twilight, on the other hand, slowly came awake at about the same time, but she had no trouble at all stretching and yawning. Then her demeanour brightened no end. She could move! Her body was her's again! She opened her eyes wide and lifted her head to look about. She recognised the Royal Guestroom instantly. The room resembled the Royal apartments in Canterlot, the only part of the castle to do so. She looked up to see she was in Celestia's bed. The beeping of medical monitors and the drone of hushed voices filled her ears as well, and she gazed across to Luna's bed... to see herself lying there in it. Twilight gasped and checked herself over, catching the attention of Nurse Redheart, as she lifted her wings and pushed the sheets back.

"Princess!" Redheart exclaimed as she rushed to Twilight. "How are you feeling?" Redheart asked as she started scanning Twilight.

"I feel... well, pretty good, actually." Twilight responded. "There's no headache, no stiffness. Apart from being a bit low on mana, I'm feeling like I just woke up from a long sleep." She told Redheart.

Redheart gave a big sigh of relief. "That's wonderful, Twilight." She replied, remembering Twilight's strict injunction that Ponyville residents call her by her name, not title, when in the village. "We'd thought something really terrible had befallen you."

"Yeah, it had." Twilight agreed. "Fortunately, I seem to have come through it without any complications." She looked over at her doppelganger, who was seemingly still asleep in Luna's guest-bed. "What about her?" Twilight asked.

"We're not sure." Redheart admitted. "She seems to still be unconscious. But she's stable, her breathing and heart rate are all normal for you at rest." When Twilight looked at Redheart with a querying look, she smiled. "We used your medical history to get a baseline to work from, Twilight."

'Ah." Twilight nodded. "Where's everypony else?" She asked.

"In the room opposite this one." Redheart answered, as Twilight stretched again. She started removing the monitor's contacts from Twilight as she moved to get up. "Even Princesses Celestia and Luna are here." She informed Twilight.

"Really? How'd they know something was wrong?" Twilight asked, as she made to stand.

"I don't know, I wasn't here when they arrived." Redheart answered as Twilight dropped to the floor. "Here, one last series of checks and you can go join them."

Twilight nodded and stood still, moving as Redheart directed her. Twilight knew Redheart was very close to becoming a fully-fledged doctor in her own right, so she was more than happy to let her check her over, rather than the other doctors.

"Well, if you were any healthier, I'd be out of work." Redheart chuckled. "One thing: Don't cast any really big spells for a while and limit your levitation. Your mana levels are still very low, so you'll need time and rest to build them up again."

Twilight nodded. "Right. I don't think that'll be a problem. I'm more than likely going to be exercising my talking muscles more than anything for a very long while for the time being." She told Redheart.

Redheart giggled softly. "Yeah, I can imagine everypony's going to want an explanation." She agreed.

Twilight sighed wearily. "Well, better get this over with. I can't keep Celestia and Luna waiting, let alone my friends." She said, heading for the door.

Redheart nodded as she headed for the still-bedridden second Twilight. "No, and I think this one's explanation is going to be wanted even more than yours." She thought out-loud, as she noticed the ear-twitch that was sporadically occurring on the other patient.

===      ===       ===      ===      ===      ===

Twilight was feeling much better as she crossed the corridor and entered the parlour that she'd designated to service the Princesses when they visited her castle. Almost all the furniture was bigger than usual, to be comfortable for Celestia's bigger height and size. She grinned when she saw everypony was there, talking away in hushed tones to the point that they didn't see her enter. "Hey, everypony." She said in a bright tone. "Anypony miss me?"

All of the others turned to look at Twilight, and exclaimed "TWILIGHT!" Rainbow Dash was just barely beaten by Pinkie Pie in getting to hug Twilight first. Twilight found herself partially lifted off her hoofs and carried into the middle of the room, hugged by all, save for the Princesses, but they moved close as well and greeted her warmly.

Twilight laughed out loud as she hugged each and every one of them, even Luna got a gentle nuzzle on the side of her head, as touchy-feely as Luna ever got to anyone besides Celestia. The gaggle of voices all settled down as Celestia said "Come now, my little ponies, let Twilight breathe and tell us what happened."

Twilight grinned as she settled onto a lounge and took a deep breath. "Okay. You're probably all as curious as hay as to what's been going on." She started, to lots of nods and curious faces. "Well, since this morning, I've been sharing my body with somepony else. Somepony who, while she was friendly enough and wasn't trying to replace me, was stuck in there and was in control. Until now, you've all been talking to her, not me."

"Now that's a surprise." Starlight was the first to comment.

"Yeah, whoever she was she did a really good job of makin' us think she was ya, Twi." Applejack added.

"Indeed." Celestia then said. "Even I was fooled. Her reactions were very true to your nature."

Twilight nodded. "To be frank, I wasn't even awake for the first hour she was in control." She revealed. "I woke up to find things like this during breakfast. You would remember it best, Applejack. You were the first to ask if I was all right. That flinch was apparently due to me waking up inside myself and finding out I wasn't in control."

"So, how'd she get in there, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked. "And how'd she get control of you?"

"And who is she?" Rarity asked as well.

Twilight shook her head. "Well, neither of us have any idea how it happened. Plus, it seems whoever did it had selectively erased a good deal of her memories, not so much information, but any references to who she was or what she looked like were very expertly censored." She explained. "And no, before you go accusing him, I do not believe Discord had anything to do with this at all. While it sounds like something he might do, we both couldn't find any trace of him or his influence anywhere."

"That doesn't leave very many who could do such a thing then, Twilight." Celestia said. Then Luna got her attention. "Excuse us, we'll be back in a moment." And the Princesses rose and left the room.

Twilight found herself being snuggled by all her friends a few seconds after the door closed. She even held her forelegs out to allow Starlight to give her a big hug. "We were so worried!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Yes." Fluttershy actually piped up and said. "When we saw you split in two, we thought everything had gone wrong."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, well, the whole thing with the Elements was our last resort." She explained further. "After finding nothing in any of the books I knew had anything to do with anything even remotely related to this, We were willing to try anything. After she remembered that the Elements had separated Luna from Nightmare Moon, we decided it was worth a try."

"So, the whole thing about not being able to use the Element of Magic was a ruse?" Starlight asked.

"No, we really couldn't get the Element to work properly." Twilight replied. "Apparently our dichotomy meant it wouldn't activate properly, so we had to do it the way we did it." She concluded.

By that time, everyone had relaxed, and then the Princesses returned. "So, how is our visitor?" Luna asked.

Twilight sighed sadly. "I'm not sure. She hasn't regained consciousness yet, apparently."

Luna looked worried. "That is not a good sign at all, Twilight Sparkle. If you're conscious, then she should not be far off being so as well." Luna said. "Maybe we should go and check on her."

Celestia nodded. "A good idea, indeed, Sister." She agreed.

Twilight looked at the others, but they seemed content to stay there for the moment. "Y'all go, Twi. We'll stay here fer tha moment."

"Yeah, or it'll get too crowded in there if we're all in there at once." Rainbow Dash agreed, in a moment of rare lucidity.

Twilight smiled. "Thanks, Girls." She said appreciatively, and she led the Princesses through to the guest quarters her 'twin' was resting in.

==================================

Things were still going really slow. I could twitch both ears, wince, I'd gotten my mouth to open and close and now I was working on opening my eyes. They felt like they weighed a ton, but I'd had hangovers like that before. Slowly but surely, I managed to get them to open. Luckily the lights were set low, so I wasn't dazzled.

I'd also managed to make progress on re-learning Equestrian. Twilight's lessons from her earliest memories were proving very useful, since she was a prodigy, I'd realised. In an hour, I'd gone from hardly understanding a word of what was said to understanding pretty much everything of what was said. I wondered if Twilight had gotten around to learning any of the other languages I knew, like Russian.

I looked about slowly, exercising my eyes and helping them to learn to focus again. I was definitely still in Twilight's castle, I could tell. The room might look like it was part of Canterlot Castle, but the furnishings were different, more home-made and very lovely in that style. Finally I got my eyes to be able to blink and focus properly, and I worked on my mouth, nose, tongue and throat. My tongue licked over my teeth fairly easily, funnily enough. Then I saw a face I didn't know looking me over. "Hello... can you understand me?" The mare with the nurse's uniform asked me.

I looked at her and flicked an ear.

"Does that mean yes?" She asked.

I flicked my ear again.

"I see. I take it two flicks means 'no'."

One flick.

She smiled at me. "Good. I take it you're having trouble moving your body about."

One flick.

"Hmmm... Do you remember what happened?"

I gave her another ear-flick.

"Do you remember who you are?"

I flicked my ear twice this time.

"I see. But you remember where you are?"

One flick.

"That's very good." She said. Then I managed to get my tail to flick as well. She looked back along me and then back at me. "More things starting to wake up, then?" She asked, moving and uncovering my tail. I gave it a slow swish. "Good. Keep it up at your own pace and I'll help where I can." She told me. I gave her one last ear-twitch and concentrated on getting my speech back, just as someone entered the room and she moved away from me. I heard voices, one of which I recognised as Twilight...

==================================

Twilight preceeded Celestia and Luna into the guestroom, where she saw Nurse Redheart sitting next to her twin, talking to her softly. The doctors appeared to have gone, she noticed. Redheart then rose and moved over to them. "Your Highnesses." She said, bowing to all of them.

"How goes it, Nurse Redheart?" Celestia asked first.

"I actually have some progress to report." Redheart reported with a happy tone. "She's awake, but is having trouble with her body, by the looks of it." She explained. "But she is lucid and can communicate to 'yes' and 'no' questions by flicking her ears; her eyes are open and she's trying to move her mouth and tail."

All three alicorns breathed sighs of relief, Twilight most of all. "That's good news." Twilight said to Celestia and Luna.

"Apart from that and her mana depletion, she's perfectly healthy, as far as the doctors could tell." Redheart added. "Dr Rubber Hose has returned to Canterlot, Your Highnesses, and Dr Steady Hoofs went back to Ponyville General for the time being. He has an operation to perform, but he has assigned me here until the crisis has been resolved."

"Excellent." Celestia said. "Then she is in the best of care. Hopefully she'll be out of bed fairly soon."

"To be honest, it might take a while." Redheart said, not trying to sound too enthusiastic. "Most of the muscle groups she's regained control of are minor ones, which is good, but it might take a while before she can use any major ones, such as her legs. But we shall proceed as quickly as she is able."

"We understand." Twilight then replied. "Can I talk to her?"

Redheart nodded and said "She's able to answer things, as I said. But try not to wear her out too much. I'm not sure how much stamina she has at the moment."

Twilight nodded in affirmation, then moved to be with her twin as Celestia and Luna talked on with Nurse Redheart.

==================================

I had watched and heard all of this and waited for Twilight to come over to me. I was able to give her a nice smile as she came close and she returned it. "Hey there." She said. "Good to see you're finally conscious. I take it, though, this isn't what you expected would happen, being somewhat paralysed at the moment?"

I rolled my eyes, glad that I could do that, and gave her an ear-twitch in reply.

Twilight chuckled. "It seems you got more than you wanted: A perfectly unsullied body based on my own, as you desired. However, it seems that the operating instructions got left behind, I take it?"

I flicked my ear again, then twitched my tail.

Twilight nodded at me. "I see. But at the least, you did survive the procedure. And you got your wish that I'd come through it okay."

I smiled at that.

Twilight smiled back. "We're talking about ways to feed you. We might have to resort to a stomach tube, since we don't know when you'll be able to get up and about again. Does that bother you?" She asked.

I flicked my ear twice at that. I'd used one of those before. Then I tried saying something, as I felt my larynx seemingly tighten and loosen. "Roh-oh-oh-oh..." Was all that came out, and very softly at that.

Twilight's eyes opened wide with surprise, but she grinned. "That's... really good. Wow, you're really making progress." She told me.

I smiled and wagged my tail weakly, then tried again. "Roh-oh-oll mmmee oh-oh-oh-v-v-v-errr. Uh-h-h r-r-i-i-htt." I was barely able to say.

Twilight looked surprised again, but nodded. "Hey, can somepony give me a hand here? She wants to be upright, but I haven't got the strength to levitate her at the moment." She asked.

Luna had been watching and she quickly walked over. "I can." She said as Twilight removed the blankets from me. I felt Luna's magic encompass me as her horn glowed and she lifted me into the air, as Nurse Redheart came over as well. They tucked my legs forward and to my sides as Luna slowly lowered me down onto my barrel, and I breathed deeper as I relaxed onto the bed again. My wings were drooping as well, but not lying on one of them was a relief, even as my head lowered down to a bunch of pillows Twilight had assembled for it. My neck still wasn't capable of lifting my head. "Thhhhh-a-an-an-k-s."

Luna nodded, her solemn face giving a bare smile as Twilight beamed at me. "I hope you get better soon, my dear." Luna told me. "I would talk with you again, sometime, as would my sister. We have much to discuss."

I closed my eyes slowly and just barely managed to incline my head forward, but when it got stuck there, Twilight had to gently slide my head back until I wasn't sitting with my muzzle buried in the pillows.

Luna bowed her head slightly in return. "Until you are better, then." She replied, and turned to head for Celestia.

Twilight climbed onto the bed and moved until she was facing me, the bed being huge enough to do so with clearance around us both. "Wow, you're really starting to get the hang of this, aren't you?" She asked.

I flicked once with my left ear and twice with my right.

Twilight giggled. "Yes and no, eh? I can understand your frustration. Going from a fully-functional body to this one must have been a huge shock when you woke up."

I flicked an ear.

Then Twilight became serious. "Having any doubts about doing it?" She asked me.

I flicked my ears twice and gave her a filthy look.

Twilight then smiled at me. "Glad to hear it." She said. "I just wish we'd found another way to do it, so you wouldn't have to go through all of this."

I just sighed softly, the gave her a 'yes-and-no' flick.

Twilight nodded, smiling softly at me, almost... fondly. "At least you're looking good." She said. "Do you remember seeing us in the energy field, when you looked like a pegasus?" She asked me.

I smiled and slowly said "Y-y-y-e-sss."

Twilight grinned. "I remember it. I think you looked fantastic." She told me. "I don't think I would have minded if I'd been born a pegasus... but I don't think I'd have become an alicorn by now if I had." She told me. "But you still looked awesome." Twilight grinned at me and I smiled back, my tail wagging a little bit easier now.

Then, to my surprise, Twilight moved forward and gently nuzzled me. I tried leaning my head into it, sighing softly. "Maybe you and I can become sisters." She told me. "I'd like a twin sister. I have the best big brother in all of Equis, but a sister would be fantastic, especially one who could understand me being me." She said softly.

I nodded slowly, then my horn gently contacted hers and there was a flash through my mind. I heard Twilight gasp, but she didn't pull away and I heard in my head "Huh?"

I grasped this hard. 'Twilight?' I asked in my head.

"I can hear you!" She replied to me.

'And I can hear you!' I said at a normal tone.

I could almost feel the thoughts spinning through her head. Then it faded as she moved away slightly. "My horn!" Twilight said in an excited tone, and touched her horn to mine again. "Can you hear me, Sis?" She asked.

'Loud and clear, Twi.' I replied.

"It must be our horns." Twilight said, her mental voice sounding so excited. "Maybe because we're literally copies of each other, our horns can act as a conduit."

'Good a theory as any.' I agreed. 'But I can at least talk to you properly now. That is SUCH a relief.'

"Yeah, you're telling me!" Twilight replied. "What do you think went wrong?" She asked me.

'I think you're right with you saying this is a totally new body, with nothing but the autonomic systems fully operational yet.' I answered. 'It's like I'm having to slowly work my way through it's systems, activating the muscle groups one at a time. By the way, do you still have all my memories?' I asked her.

"Yep. Sure do, and some of them are bizarre, but some are so wonderful." She replied.

'Good. Look up computers again, as in problems with such.' I felt her mental nod. 'I think I'm like a computer with all the drivers for it's peripheral devices deleted. Can you make sense of that?'

"Yes, actually." Twilight answered. "I know what you're referring to, from your memories. So, you're having to load the drivers manually, as in one at a time?" She asked.

'Yes, it's exactly like that.' I confirmed. 'I'm having to load the drivers by activating every muscle and muscle group one at a time, which is really slow, but it appears to be working.'

"So I see. Pretty slow, but it is working, and that says you'll be up and about again before you know it." Twilight said with a smile. But then, she opened her wings up unconsciously and, to our great surprise, my wings opened as well. "Huh?!?" She asked, furling her wings, only to see mine do the same and not droop back down again where they'd been sitting.

'Do that again!' I insisted.

Twilight opened her wings to their full spread, and mine followed suit. She moved them around a bit, and mine echoed her actions precisely. "That's incredible!" She thought to me, as she furled her wings again and mine followed her actions again.

'Well, I'll be tarred and feathered.' I said to myself, but she heard it too, and Twilight giggled. 'Move your horn away. I want to see if it's made any difference.' Twilight nodded, then I felt the link fade as she moved her head away from mine. I tried to feel my wings and the sensations were a lot clearer than they had been before. I carefully opened my right wing... and it moved. Nowhere was it as easy or precise as Twilight's movements, but it opened about half-way before gravity grabbed it and it drooped slowly to the bed. I grumbled audibly under my breath as I dragged it furled again against me.

"Definite progress." Twilight said with a grin. She slid back onto the bed and reconnected to me. "What's next?" She asked.

'Talking and neck/head area.' I answered. Twilight nodded, and we spent the next hour working on me using my neck and being able to speak coherently and with some ease. Celestia and Luna had left by then, but now we could talk without being linked by our horns.

But I was also tired out and Twilight had felt that. "Hey, Sis, maybe it's time you rested. We've come a really long way in a very short time, so don't tire yourself out." She encouraged me. "We can work on other things tomorrow, like maybe your legs."

I looked at Twilight and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds great." I agreed. "Maybe I'll be able to get something solid to eat, too, and get to the toilet. I'll probably need it by then, once my digestive system wakes up." She gave me a smile, then nuzzled me again and this time, I was able to return her affection. "Hey, Twi..." I then asked her. "Why are you treating me like we're related, y'know, after everything I put you through?"

Twilight looked at me and thought about it. "I guess... it's because I know you." She eventually answered me. "I know almost everything about you, You're a pony of honor, and everything you did while you were me, you did to try and give me back myself, albeit without sacrificing yourself, of course." She looked at me again and gave me that fond look again. "I don't think you would betray me or do anything to harm me in any way, unless it was to save me from myself... and you'd expect the same thing of me, right?" She asked.

I smiled back at her, then nodded. "Yeah." I simply replied.

Twilight grinned. "And... I can feel something between us, too." She added. "I don't know what, precisely... but it feels like... we're bonded. I have your memories, you have mine. Can you feel it too?"

I pondered this. I closed my eyes and felt inside me. It was then that I felt it, and Twilight saw my horn-tip light up. She grinned and did the same. The fields mixed, and the feeling I got was incredible. I could feel her. I could feel what Twilight was feeling. Maybe it was because we were so close, but it felt like the description I'd read about the connection, the bond that twins sometimes shared. "I can." I told Twilight. "I can feel you."

"And I can feel you." Twilight replied.

"Maybe... maybe we are twins, after all." I suggested.

Twilight nodded, grinning. "Well..."

I giggled. "If you're willing to have me as your sister." I said.

Twilight stuck out her tongue, then giggled as well. "Like I would let you go out of my sight." She said. "You could ruin my reputation so easily."

I gave her an evil grin. "Oh yeah..." I agreed. "I wonder how many stallions I can do in one night?"

Twilight laughed at that. "If that's all you're going to do, I'm coming along!" She stated with enthusiasm. We laughed, then pressed our heads together. "Sisters?" She asked.

"Yeah, sisters." I said. "Oh boy! Breaking this news to your family..."

"OUR family." Twilight corrected me.

"Okay, our family... that's going to be something." I finished.

Twilight nodded. "Oh, and the pranks we can pull!" That got us laughing again.

"Gonna have to get Rainbow Dash, and good!" I agreed.

We sighed happily and settled down. "Okay, Sis. Get some sleep, and we'll continue tomorrow." Twilight told me. I nodded and she rolled me back over onto my side again, being careful of my wing, until I was settled comfortably. To my surprise, she gave me a soft kiss on my cheek, then said "See you in the morning, Sis." And exited.

I relaxed and smiled to myself. This day was ending a lot better than it started...

==================================

Twilight sat in her study on the lower floor and thought about what had been happening. The situation was, as even her new twin sister had said, was unprecedented. Nothing like it had ever been seen before, which, considering the state of lore in Equestria, was almost unheard-of. Twilight's mind looked back, going back through everything she'd ever read about anything that might have been similar, and sighed with frustration when she found nothing that even came close to correlating with this event. But she also sat down and wrote everything that had happened down. She, Twilight Sparkle, would make sure that, even if nothing like this had been recorded before, that it would be recorded down this time, without fail.

As Spike served dinner, she smiled at him and said "Spike, bring your dinner in here. I want to spend some time with you."

Spike grinned. "Sure, Twilight." He replied, and came back with his dinner, a big piece of meat with a lot of gems on the side.

For some reason, watching Spike eat meat didn't bother Twilight anywhere near as much as she remembered it. She figured it might be because of the memories she'd gotten from... 'Ugh, I have to help her find a name.' Twilight thought to herself. She and Spike talked a lot as they ate. Twilight found out that Spike didn't really have a problem with there being two if her, now, and he understood the second Twilight wasn't actually her, even if she did act a lot like Twilight.

"Well, yeah, I know she's not you." Spike told Twilight. "I mean, she might look like you, but she doesn't act like you. And she only sounds a little like you, now." He detailed to her. "I mean, when she was in your body, I kinda figured out she wasn't you, but then again, sometimes you don't act like yourself either, Twilight."

Twilight snorted. "Thanks very much, Spike." She retorted.

Spike chuckled. "Want it, need it..." He simply said, making Twilight cringe.

Twilight sighed in resigned affirmation. "Yeah, I guess I can go overboard, sometimes." She agreed.

Spike nodded. "Yeppers, as Pinkie would say." He agreed. "But then again, it was everything she did right that really threw me. She was acting so much like you that I'd doubted my own gut instinct, and that says a lot."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, for her to make you do that shows she really was... I suppose you could say she was 'channeling' me." Twilight suggested. "Still, to fool even Celestia...' Twilight shook her head. "She told me how good her observational skills were, but I didn't believe she could take only minor things and get that good in less than an hour. Shows that I guess I could learn from her."

"You don't have to read a book to learn something, Twilight." Spike reminded her.

"Yes, advice that I really do need to remember." Twilight agreed.

==================================

The next morning saw me working out with Twilight helping. What didn't help too much was Starlight walking in on us when we were on our backs, horns touching, waving our legs in the air like pedalling bikes and giggling like crazy.

"What in the hay are you two doing?" Starlight asked us as we burst out into real laughter.

"Well..." Twilight began, but I interrupted her.

"We found out that, if we touch horns, Twilight can send signals down into my body and make certain muscle groups work if she exercises the same ones on herself." I told an upside-down Starlight. "So, for the moment, she's giving my legs a lesson in how to move."

Starlight was lost for a moment there, I could tell by her eyes dilating and the vacant look behind them. "Did I break her?" I asked Twilight.

"Nah. She's just thinking things over." Twilight answered. "It happens to all ponies occasionally. If we get information that overloads our capacity to take it in and process it, we stop and work on it."

"I see. Gonna have to make sure I don't do that if I'm in the middle of combat." I replied. "That could be a death-moment right there, if I get a brain-fart like that."

"A what?"  Both Twilight and Starlight asked at that moment, making me burst out into giggles again, as I stretched my legs on my own... which I found made Twilight do it as well. "Looks like this goes both ways, Sis." I said.

"What in the world is a brain-fart?" Twilight asked.

"Look it up." I told Twilight, then I crossed my eyes and let go a normal blast from my plot. "Okay... I think my digestive system just woke up."

"Eww!" Both Twilight and Starlight headed out of my new room at a fast trot.

"Hey! No fair! I can't move that fast yet!" I said as I tried to roll over and escape. Then I sniffed and blinked. "Okay, I keep forgetting there's nothing in my body yet to make smells..." Then I winced and curled into a ball as my stomach roared at me. "Ow! Okay! Definitely hungry now!" I said, as I uncurled and tried wriggling to the edge of the bed. I yelled in triumph as I made my legs work. "Now, to get onto my hoofs." I slid slowly off the bed onto my front legs and stretched them, wriggled them and slowly put weight on them. Convinced they were not about to collapse on me, I slowly slid forward until I had one back leg on the floor and exercised that, as Twilight looked back in. I gave my sister a grin, then carefully pulled my other back leg off the bed, keeping my rump on it as much as possible as I exercised my back legs together, then as Twilight walked in, I stood up completely.

Twilight grinned and walked up to me. "Wow, Sis! That's great. I didn't think we'd get that far today."

"Neither did I, Twi. I guess our little exercise session was better than I thought." I said, before I took a step and fell on my face. Twilight stifled a giggle as I grumbled. "Bleeding back legs..."

"Where?" Twilight asked as she looked over my still-vertical back legs. "Oh... the use of the word 'bleeding' as a mild expletive. I see." She then said.

I smirked as I struggled to my hoofs. "I see you're still assimilating my memories and vocabulary." I said to her as I got back upright again.

"Yes. I can see them all there, but it's... it's like the difference between seeing all the pages of a book at once, and having to read them to completely understand what they have written on them." She explained. "I still haven't read them all."

I nodded. "I know. I've only gotten past your tenth year myself." I said as I tried lifting my back legs one at a time and the opposite front leg with them.

"You've been going through ALL my memories?" Twilight asked.

"Sure. I'll never understand them if I don't." I explained. I stopped moving, then closed my eyes and concentrated. My horn lit up and I levitated myself and Twilight off the ground. We swung around to face each other, and I gently lowered us to the ground. As we settled, I blinked and my horn stopped glowing.

Twilight was amazed. "That's incredible! I didn't think you'd be able to control your magic at all yet."

"Remember, Twi, you're a magickal prodigy." I reminded her. "I have your body, your magic, and a lot of memories to work from. Plus it doesn't really take any physical effort to cast magic, so I found that my magic awoke a lot more easily than my physical body has."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I can see that..." She said, her mind working.

I chuckled. I could almost hear the gears turning over as she ran on several tracks at once. While she was lost in thought, I closed my eyes and tried marching in place again. It didn't surprise me that I found it much easier now, my legs working in synch to move, but when I tried to move forward, they were reluctant to switch motions. Then I remembered what Twilight said. "Autopilot." I said softly, and looked at the door. I thought about walking out of it and my legs seemed to switch modes without conscious thought. I saw the room moving about me as I walked forward, slowly moving towards the door. I grinned as I walked out of it, to see Starlight in the corridor. "Hey Starlight." I said as I walked past her.

"Uh, hi." She replied as I continued to walk down the corridor, trying everything I could think of to NOT think of my legs walking under me. "Are you Twilight?" She asked.

I turned to look at her with a smile. "Nuh-uh." I said back.

Starlight blinked. "That's... amazing." She said as she walked alongside with me, keeping pace.

"Actually, my body's doing the walking for me." I told her. "All I have to do is keep myself from accidentally taking actual control of my legs or even thinking about it, and they seem to know how to move properly."

Starlight stopped and face-hoofed. "Of course!" She said as she caught up. "It's so ingrained that I don't think we ponies ever think about the fact that our walking motion's instinctive. It's only on rough terrain that we have to consciously place our hoofs where they have to be. Normal walking... we just walk."

"Yeah." I agreed as we moved around the circular corridor that went all the way around the second story of Castle Friendship. "So what did you want to tell Twilight?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh." Starlight blinked while still walking, then shook her head. "Yeah, Spike said lunch will be ready soon, and our friends have turned up... well, all but Rainbow Dash." Starlight told me. "Apparently she went back to Canterlot last night. Something about getting a week's leave while you're convalescing."

I smiled. "She's a Wonderbolt, if I understand things correctly, right?"

"Yes. It's a big responsibility, considering she's the captain of her own recruit squad." Starlight answered me.

I nodded. "Something tells me I know what that's like... although a lot of my memories and Twilight's are still jumbled up in my head."

"How did that happen, anyway?" She asked.

"It was when we tried to call the Element of Magic's power when you weren't here." I explained. "The Element's power-up fizzled just before it energised up completely... but it seemed to be trying to merge our memories together. That didn't work out completely, but it did order our memories completely and transfer them over between our minds, so we both had all of each other's memories as well as our own, but in separate folders, if you can understand what that means."

Starlight nodded as we passed the doors to the Royal Guestroom. "I think I do." She replied.

I smiled. "Yeah... but it also had a negative effect, I think, from it fizzling right at that point. Twilight and I got the nastiest migraines after each attempt, which is why we gave up after two."

"Ohh, yeah, I don't blame you." Starlight agreed. "I remember a few botched spells and the after-effects. Never good."

"Yeah. Okay, I'm going to try and turn around now, to walk the other way." I told her.

Starlight nodded and moved back, watching as I turned my head to look back along the corridor and tried to turn without thinking too hard about it. Starlight gasped as I almost tripped over my legs, but after a shakey turn, I was facing back the way I'd come and was still upright. She grinned as she walked back over to me and we continued on down the corridor, circling the other way.

"Getting better." She commented.

I grinned. "Yeah. I should be ready for the Running of the Leaves this year by this rate." I said, chuckling as Starlight giggled.

"Want to try a trot?" She asked.

"I guess." I said. "That's a fast one-two gait, isn't it, not the steady one-two-three-four of a walk."

"That's right." Starlight replied, then she sped up and showed me, trotting around me as I studied her gait.

"Okay... looks a bit easier than walking." I said, and I closed my eyes and tried speeding up, counting 'One-Two-One-Two" in my head. What happened was strange. It felt like there was an almost-physical shift in my brain, as I changed gaits, Starlight staying on my outside to keep me from ploughing into the wall. I opened my eyes to find myself slowly jogging along at a steady rate, the motions quite easy. I could see myself jogging along from here to Ponyville with a music player going with a good beat. I grinned as I turned and looked at Starlight, who was jogging/trotting along with me.

"Hey! You're really picking this up!" She commented.

I nodded. "I've got a beat running through my mind, and I think my body's using it to go with." I explained.

"Good idea." Starlight agreed, as we went along.

"I only wish I had a portable music player with me. This would be so good to do outside." I said.

"You had such things?" Starlight asked.

"I remember them, yeah. Our technology in electronics and such things were really advanced. I don't know if I could really tell other ponies how they worked, the technology requires a huge amount of infrastructure and previous developments to reproduce at the levels I'm more familiar with." I explained.

Starlight sighed. "Sounds wonderful, though." She said.

"Yeah. There's so much I wish I had here right now. But with everything that's been edited from my memories, it makes so much more so... fractured and mushy." I snorted. "Sometimes I can't tell if what I remember is the truth or not. Well, not if it's true, but if it's completely accurate." I told her. "Funnily enough, the clearest things in my memories are movies, songs and music."

"Really?" Starlight asked. "That's... interesting."

I chuckled. "I guess I just really liked my music."

Starlight giggled as we came around to my bedroom again, to see Twilight looking out, her eyes wide as she saw us trotting along together. "Heya Twi!" I said as we went past her.

Twilight came out and raced along until she caught up with us. "How the..." She asked.

"Autopilot." I told her. "As long as I'm not really thinking about how I'm doing it, I can do it."

Twilight grinned as she fell into step. "That's amazing." She said, to both Starlight and myself giggling. "Score one for Pony physiology."

I nodded, then we came to the stairs leading downstairs. I was a little apprehensive as Twilight and Starlight steered me down them, but with us synchronised in-step, I just closed my eyes and let them guide me down the wide, sweeping stairs. As long as I kept pace with them and stayed with them, it all went so fast I was on the ground floor before I knew it. I stopped and looked back at the stairs, as Twi and Starlight turned around to face me. "That was just..."

"...Amazing." Twilight and Starlight said, as I turned back to look at them and all three of us giggled like fillies.

==================================

We walked into the dining room to see four other ponies sitting around, enjoying lunch together. "Heya!" Everypony said together, then they got up as they saw me walking alongside Twilight and Starlight.

"Hey! Good ta see you up an' around, uh..." Applejack said.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know I don't have a name yet, but it's coming." I told her, and the others.

"But you're up and walking, and so well!" Rarity commented. "Such progress is to be commended."

"As the song goes, I get by with a little help from my friends." I told Rarity.

"Song?" She asked.

"Yeah, not one you know." I explained.

"Oh, I see." She said, clearly not seeing.

"But Rarity is right. You being able to walk so well is a very amazing thing." Fluttershy agreed.

I nodded. "Yep, I have to agree. well, as long as I don't think about it too hard." I admitted, before I ended up hitting my jaw on the carpet. Before everypony could rush to help, I waved them off. "No! No. I have to do this myself." I said, as I got my feet back under me again and stood up.

They nodded and we all headed for the table. Spike was bringing out lots of food and making a buffet banquet. He even brought me a covered bowl. "Here." He said, putting it down before me. "I got some of my beef and made you a broth." He said. "I hope you like it."

I took the cover off with my magic and breathed deeply. "Oh Celestia, that smells good..." I said.

"Somepony mention my name?" Came from the door, and we all stood as Celestia and Luna walked in. We all bowed deeply to her, and she gestured for us to stand. "Rise, my little ponies. It is good to see you all, especially you, in good spirits." I saw her look at me as she said the last.

"Thank you, Your Highness." I replied, bowing my head to her.

"Indeed. One would think that it wasn't you who was paralysed only a day ago." Luna added.

"Truth be told, Princess Luna, there's still things I haven't worked out yet, but the most important things are in working order." I explained, then my belly rumbled. "Yeah, and other things are making themselves heard."

Everyone giggled at that, even Luna. "Then by all means, let us eat." Celestia said, picking up a plate and assembling a salad for herself, as I started consuming the very tasty broth Spike had made me.

==================================

Later, in a common room, we all sat down and both Twilight and I told everypony exactly what had happened to us, and how everything fit together. By the time we had finished, Rainbow Dash had even joined us and was listening intently.

"I see." Celestia said after we'd finished. "So... you have no idea how you got into Twilight, or why. Your memories are heavily edited, so you have no idea what you were originally or where you came from."

"Yeah, that's about the size of it." I had to agree. "I don't know if whoever did this intended me to take over from Twilight, to become Twilight, or if me being default controller was just a fluke, not that it matters now." I said.

"And you do not know who you are, either, or even your name?" Luna asked.

I shrugged. "I have a feeling I have a name, I just can't remember it." I said. "Mind you, it's only within the last hour that that feeling's descended upon me, so I'm not sure if it's valid or not."

"Ooh! Maybe we can give you a name!" Pinkie then butted in.

I sighed. "Pinkie. I'm not..."

"Oooh! Maybe... say Grape! Or Goober! Or Purple Haze!" She started firing off weird names.

Everyone was trying to hold in snickers, but I just got a bit fed up. "Pinkie! I don't need a name! I just can't remember the one I have!" I told her.

"But if you can't remember your name, why can't we give you one?" Pinkie asked, as the others looked on.

"Because, Pinkie... something tells me I know my name, it's just on the tip of my tongue and I can't seem to say it." I explained further, getting a little more exasperated.

"Oooh! Oooh! Can I see? Maybe I can read it to you!" Pinkie said, as she suddenly appeared before me and tried to open my mouth. "Now, stick out your tongue and say your name." She said with a grin.

"Pinkie!!" I tried to stop her.

"That's MY name, not yours!" Pinkie said. "But... if your name is Pinkie too, does that make you my sister instead of Twilight's?" She asked.

I face-hoofed. "Pinkie, my name is not Pinkie, or Twilight, or Purple Haze, or anything like that!" I almost yelled at her.

"Then what IS your name?" She asked again.

"I DON'T KNOW!" I yelled back. "Honestly, would I have spent all this time being as confused as anypony if I was able to tell you that my name is Stellar Light Sparkle?"

It took a few seconds to sink in, as I breathed hard. "Stellar Light Sparkle?" Celestia's voice broke through the silence.

Then, I realised what I'd said. "Stellar Light Sparkle..." Then I gasped, my eyes lighting up with white light as my cutie-mark also glowed a brilliant white. As the others retreated, I rose off the ground, my legs and wings going wide as my cutie-mark rearranged itself.

===      ===      ===      ===      ===      ===

Twilight and Celestia saw it the clearest. The newly-named Stellar's cutie-mark changed, as the Sparkle Star shrank slightly, the white stars of Twilight's cutie-mark growing and merging to form a single longsword vertically behind the star, and a circle being drawn behind it filled in to become a silver-colored round shield with dark-blue edging. Then it flashed and Stellar was dropped to the floor again, barely catching herself with her wings.

Everypony breathed again, then Stellar smiled. "Wow... my own..." And her eyes turned up in her head and she fainted.

"What the...?" Twilight said, and she rushed over to Stellar. "What's going on?"

Rainbow Dash was out of the common room before anypony could even say anything, and Nurse Redheart was back with her in just over a minute, her hand-held mana scanner out of her bag. She ran it over Stellar and grimaced. "Dammit!" She said. "Her mana levels have dropped to almost zero! She's dying!"