The Switch

Chapters

The Switch: Chapter 1
The Switch: Chapter 2
The Switch: Chapter 3
The Switch: Chapter 4
The Switch: Chapter 5
The Switch: Chapter 6

The Switch: Chapter 1

The sun was shining bright in the sky, bearing down on a group of six ponies who were walking together. Twilight Sparkle and her five friends were walking in the Everfree forest towards Zecora's house. As the six friends entered the Everfree Forest, one of them got very nervous. "So, what exactly are we doing here Twilight?" asked Fluttershy nervously walking looking around for fear that something would come out at them at any moment.

"Well, Zecora's going back to her native homeland to visit her family for a few weeks so she asked us to check in on her house while she is away. See, her cousin was conveniently in town for the weeks that she was gone so she asked us to check up on him, make him feel welcome or see if there is anything he needs while staying at her house."

"Well I think that's mighty dandy Twilight," said Applejack. "I can't wait to meet another Zebra. This should be really interesting."

"I agree," said Rarity. "If he's anything like his cousin then he should be a delight to get to know better." Pinkie Pie bounced up in the air happily.

"Ooh, ooh! Do you know what we should do for him? We should throw him a party!" she said happily. All five of her friends mouthed the words along with her as she said them. They all chucked to themselves at they saw Zecora's modest hut grow nearer to them as they continued walking. When they reached it, Twilight walked up to the door and gave a few loud knocks. They all heard a crash inside and some stumbling and muttering but in a few seconds the door was opened and they saw Zecora's cousin. He was a zebra with a wild mane and tail who was roughly the size of the six friends. He was wearing a white lab coat with a few odds and ends inside of the front pocket and lab goggles were perched on his forehead. He looked down at the six friends curiously for a moment but when he saw who it was, he began grinning at them excitedly.

"Well hello everyone." he said before grabbing Twilight's hoof and shaking it vigorously. "You must be Applejack! I've heard so much about you from Cousin Z and it is a delight to finally meet you all!"

Twilight pulled her hoof away and smiled an amused smile at him. "No, no, I'm Twilight Sparkle." she pointed at Applejack. "That's Applejack." Zecora's cousin looked at Applejack with interest.

"Well goodness, you don't say! Well sorry about that, Cousin Z sent me a letter telling me all about you six, and I guess I didn't read it well enough. But please do come in," he said grabbing Twilight's hoof again and pulling her inside the house, followed by the other five. "My name is Willem and it is a pleasure to meet all of you!" He ran over to a scrap of parchment and began reading it furiously.

"Did you say your name is William?" asked Fluttershy, who was having a bit of difficulty understanding the happy zebra with the accent.

"No, no, my name is Willem. Professor Willem Q Giraffe is my full name but do please call me Willem, everybody does." He scanned the parchment a few more times and pointed at Rarity while still reading it. Okay, I got their names but if the info Cousin Z has given me is spot on then you are...Rarity."

"Yes that's right," said Rarity happily. Her face turned into a confused frown as she said "You said 'Giraffe' is your last name?"

"Indeed it is lass! Sometimes life is funny that way am I right? And you," he said pointing to Pinkie Pie "Are Pinkie Pie, am I correct?"

"Indeed you are," said Pinkie Pie bouncing happily.

"Splendid and you two are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash then right?" said Willem pointing to the respective ponies."

"Right on," said Rainbow Dash.

"Right on indeed! I must say that it is wonderful to have met you all. I'm sure you know that I'll be staying in Ponyville, well, roughly speaking, for the next 18 days."

"That's what Zecora said. If you need anything please do let us know," said Twilight.

"I highly appreciate that." Willem thought for a moment. "Actually, I could use a little help with something that I am working on."

"Sure, what do you need?" asked Pinkie.

"Well do you all see that?" said Willem pointing to a large bubbling cauldron filled with a strange orange liquid. "I have been working on a little experiment while Cousin Z is away. The technical aspects of it would bore you to tears but suffice to say, I think I am on the verge of a breakthrough but I realized I am missing a vital ingredient that I believe was said to grow somewhere around here. Since you six have lived here for a while, I was wondering if you might know something about it."

"Oh sure, Fluttershy and I know all of the plants around here. What is it called?" asked Applejack.

"Well I believe the layman's term for it is 'Poison Joke' are you familiar with it?" The six ponies looked at each other uncomfortably. Noting the shift in mood, Willem asked curiously "What's the matter?"

"Well, we've run into Poison Joke before," said Fluttershy. "It played little jokes on us when we were exposed to it; so for example, it changed my voice into a deep bass voice." Willem's eyes widened in excitement.

"You don't say! Oh my goodness is that what it does!?" he excitedly. He rushed over to a stray scrap of parchment and began furiously scribbling notes on it. "Indeed, indeed, and all six of you were affected?"

"Oh yeah, Rarity's hair got all tangled, it turned Rainbow's wings upside-down, Applejack shrank down to a small size, Pinkie's tongue swelled and it rendered my horn useless," said Twilight. Willem was positively giddy with excitement at this.

"Amazing! Simply amazing! The scientific community will love to hear about this! I mean, there were rumors that that was what it did but no real data to speak of."

"R...really?" said Rainbow Dash, finding that hard to believe.

"Oh yes, P.J. is really rare and hard to find but this is real data!" he said, practically squealing in delight. He looked around the room excitedly but noted the expressions of the other six and calmed down just a bit. "Oh umm, yes," he said clearing his throat embarrassedly. "Well um, see I was wondering if one of you six could get a sample for me. Two or three leaves should suffice. If it is too much trouble just let me know and simply point me in the direction of it."

"Well, I suppose it isn't too much trouble, we just have to be careful with it is all," said Twilight. Willem brightened again.

"Brilliant! You won't regret this I promise, do you have any idea what I am about to accomplish here!?"

"Umm, do you?" asked Fluttershy timidly. Willem rushed over to her and put his hoof over her shoulder.

"Not in the slightest, but that's half the fun am I right?" said Willem grinning.

The ponies were getting nervous about Willem, but Zecora had mentioned that while he was eccentric, he certainly wasn't dangerous or even the slightest bit mean. Twilight went over to the door.

"Don't worry, I'll be back with a sample in a few minutes," said Twilight as she walked out the door and into the forest.

"Hurry back!" said Willem who was bouncing with excitement. Twilight looked back to see that Pinkie was bouncing with him.

"Whoo hoo, I love bouncing!" said Pinkie.

"Isn't it the best?" said Willem happily as Twilight rolled her eyes and walked out the door. using her mental map of the forest, she walked in the direction where she knew the Poison Joke was and soon, she came to a small clearing at the edge of the forest. The clearing was full of Poison Joke and she used her magic to gingerly collect a few leaves. She held them as far away from her as her magic allowed, memories of what this plant was capable of were still fresh in her mind, and went back to Zecora's hut.

When she opened the door she saw Willem doing his best to explain what he was working on in the cauldron as he placed new herbs and such inside and the other five looked on in genuine interest. When he saw Twilight, he smiled. "Excellent! Now I just need you to put it in this bowl here and I can begin."

Twilight walked over to the counter while her friends backed away from the plant like it was a live hand grenade. She placed the leaves in a bowl and Willem went over to the bowl and began grinding the leaves down. After a minute or so, to the surprise of everyone, the leaves had been ground into a liquid. Willem looked at the dark blue liquid with interest. "Ooh, it turns into a liquid when ground down? Oh this stuff just keeps getting better and better. Now then, any volunteers to put it in the cauldron?" said Willem looking around expectantly.

"Well, not to be rude or anything but uh, why can't you do it?" asked Applejack who was trying her best to never have contact with the plant.

"Oh that's not rude at all my dear, it's a perfectly reasonable question. See, I need to be Johnny-on-the-spot with observations, taking notes studying it for reactions and so forth so I need to be watching at all times to take notes my dear," said Willem.

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense," said Applejack who was still clearly nervous about the whole affair.

"Well, I'll do it Willem. I have magic so I don't even have to touch the bowl and I have a scientific background," said Twilight.

"Excellent!" said Willem who promptly dove behind a couch and popped his head up. "Proceed when ready!"

"Umm...are you taking cover?" asked Fluttershy nervously.

"Of course I am! I have no idea what is going to happen," said Willem. "But please Miss Sparkle, we are at a critical moment in the process! You have to put it in now!" he said worriedly. Twilight bit her lip but proceeded to pour the contents of the bowl into the cauldron. Everyone stared at the cauldron expectantly, each of the six friends were expecting the worst to come of this. Willem's quill was at the ready so he could record any changes and a huge grin was plastered on his face. The liquid inside the cauldron bubbled green for a few minutes before turning dark blue. It stayed that way and everyone looked at it in total silence. Willem stood back up, a disappointed look on his face. "Well I..." said Willem before gasping and ducking behind the couch again. The six ponies looked at him worriedly but before they could react, the cauldron exploded. The blast knocked the six ponies not hiding behind furniture against the walls and the contents of the hut shook wildly. Everypony in the room had her mane completely straight from the force of the explosion and silence once again filled the hut as everypony tried to register what had just happened. There was silence for a few more seconds, broken only when Pinkie's mane and tail bounced back to their normal forms. Willem popped his head up with a gigantic grin on his face. "BRILLIANT!" he yelled in delight. "That was absolutely brilliant! Oh my gosh did you see the explosion from that one! My goodness I...I...that was beautiful!" he said charging over to his notes and furiously scribbling on his parchment. The six dazed ponies got up slowly.

"Everypony okay?" asked Applejack. The six looked themselves over. There didn't seem to be any damage at all. They looked completely normal.

"I think I'm okay," said Twilight, examining herself.

"Well I for one say that explosion was magnificent! Much better than the one I caused the other week. So you all say that there was no damage to you? Well that's very good," he said before scribbling down some more notes.

"Yeah, we seem to be okay," said Rarity. "Umm...is there anything else you need?" she asked, hoping to get out of there before they were caught up in another explosion. Willem tapped his quill on his chin thoughtfully.

"I think I'm good for now, this is going to keep me up all night! The scientific community is going to adore this one!" he said happily.

"Well if you're fine, I think we're going to go, we got stuff of our own to attend to," said Fluttershy.

"Oh by all means please don't let me keep you from your own work! Do come back again anytime you wish! Oh, and if there are any side effects to that explosion please do let me know."

"Uh, will do Willem. We'll see you later," said Rainbow Dash.

"Goodbye!" said Willem. The ponies left the hut and walked out of the forest, back to Ponyville.

"I really hope that there were no side effects of his explosion," said Pinkie who was bouncing nervously next to the group.

"It's the fact that what made it explode was Poison Joke that makes me the most nervous," said Rarity. "But we all do seem to be fine."

"I hope we are, I hope we are," said Twilight. "Well girls, I think we had better go our separate ways right now. It's getting late and I still have some work to do."

"And I as well," said Rarity. The other four nodded in agreement and they went back to their respective homes. When Twilight did get back to her library home, she realized that she was way too tired to do any work. Despite the fact that the day had hardly begun, Twilight felt like she had just run a marathon and decided that her work could wait for now while she took a nap for a few hours. She shuffled up to her room, plopped down on her bed, and immediately fell asleep.

Twilight's dreams during the nap were all pretty normal for her: she was taking a test in Canterlot, she was fighting Discord again, and she was playing with her friends in the fields. The only odd thing about her dreams was that they all seemed to be narrated by Willem.

Eventually, Twilight could sleep no more and she woke up groggily, partially wishing she could just go back to sleep. She decided against it and she sat up with a tired groan. "What a rough nap," she said to herself. "I still have to do my essay for Princess Celestia on Pegasus cloud artists throughout history," she said, clearly not in the best state to write such a thing. She walked over to her writing desk, steadily becoming more awake, and tried to summon a quill and a scroll of parchment to do her essay. They didn't come. She looked around and saw on the table next to her was a scroll and a quill. She tried to summon them but they did not budge. She was getting really confused now until she remembered being caught in the explosion this morning. She remembered the last time she had been exposed to poison joke and she bolted over to the mirror to examine her horn. She gave a startled yell. Her horn wasn't floppy...it wasn't there. She pulled back her mane on her forehead but she didn't find her horn, it was completely gone. She looked around frantically, hoping to find something to help her. She ran up to her bed and tore back the sheets. She turned over every item in her room in the vain hope that she would find it. She even overturned Spike's basket but with no luck. She didn't expect to find her broken off horn but she didn't know what else to do. Suddenly, she heard Applejack call from outside.

"Twilight! Come out here, we need your help!" Twilight bolted out the door and saw her five friends. She gasped. She knew what had happened to her horn.

The Switch: Chapter 2

Twilight knew what had happened to her horn now, or more accurately at this point, Rainbow Dash's horn. Twilight rubbed her eyes, hardly able to believe what she was seeing. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of her with a purple horn sticking out of her mane that was clearly Twilight's and on top of it all, her wings were gone. "I...u...w...HUH!? How did you get my horn!?" said Twilight, her mind reeling with shock.

"It happened to all of us Twilight," said Applejack. Twilight looked at Applejack and jumped back with a startled yell. Twilight saw that Applejack had Rarity's horn on her head. She looked at Rarity who was now an Earth Pony. Fluttershy too had no wings as Pinkie Pie had gotten those and was levitating above the group with her new yellow wings.

"No, no this isn't happening," said Twilight, rubbing her temple with her hoof. She froze for a moment, coming to a horrifying realization. "Uh Rainbow, where are your wings?" said Twilight already knowing the answer, but fearing it anyway. Rainbow grimaced and pointed at Twilight who looked at her back to see Rainbow Dash's wings folded by her sides. She jumped up in the air with a startled yelp and the wings spread themselves and levitated her. "Oh my gosh! This can't be happening," said Twilight, folding her wings and landing back on the ground.

"That's what we all said too!" said Rainbow.

"Well, what now?” said Applejack looking uneasily at her new horn. "I don't know what to do as a unicorn pony. I was always proud to be an Earth Pony."

"Same here!" said Rainbow Dash. "My wings were who I was and now I'm a unicorn!"

"I think being a Pegasus pony will be awesome!" said Pinkie flying around happily. The other five glared at her. She calmed down and smiled nervously. "Oh...yeah, we should probably get this changed back huh?"

"Oh you think?" said Rarity sarcastically. "I can't design clothes as well as I used to without my magic to help me since now I won't be able to find any jewels for my outfits!"

"I know we all want to switch back! We just have to go back to Zecora's place and have Willem switch us back," said Twilight. The six ponies nodded in determined agreement and ran (or in Pinkie's case flew) to Zecora's house to see if Willem could change them back to their normal forms. They ran throughout Ponyville, not even stopping to explain to their friends what was going on, they ignored all of the startled yelps and pointing ponies. They ran faster than ever once they reached the Everfree Forest and within a few short minutes, they found themselves back in front of Zecora's hut. Twilight banged on the door again.

"Coming!" said Willem happily. He opened the door and said "Oh it's you six! What can I do for...?" he stopped in mid-sentence and stared at them in total silence. "I...I..." he said in pure shock before his eyes widened with joy. ”I can't believe it! I have discovered a brew that will change the species of a pony! Oh this...this is the most important scientific breakthrough in the history of Equestria!" He began babbling to himself about how amazing this was before Applejack broke into his rant.

"Yes, yes that's all well and good, but we want to be changed back!" said Applejack irritatedly. Willem calmed down enough and nodded at the six.

"Oh I imagine you do. Yes well, I'm afraid that, since this is a new brew and all, I don't quite know an antidote for your problem," he said nervously. "However, I did run some more tests on the poison joke plant. It seems the effects wear off after a little while on their own so I imagine that you will change back to your normal selves eventually."

"How long will that take though?" asked Fluttershy hopefully.

"Well," said Willem thoughtfully. "If my calculations are correct, then the half-life of the chemical in poison joke that alters DNA, a previously undiscovered element that I named Funnyium, is about 3 years so I would say that it is going to take at least that long."

"Three years!" said Rainbow with a shocked expression that mirrored the other five. "I can't be a unicorn pony for three years, I need to fly!"

"Yes well think about it this way, you six are now a part of something much larger than yourselves! Tests have to be done!" said Willem who glanced inside to see if there were any spare scraps of parchment lying around with which he could take notes on the situation.

"The last time we were involved in a test of yours, our race changed!" said Fluttershy angrily.

"Yes, well at the very least we have to see if your powers changed with you. So, does Rainbow Dash now have the same level of magic that Twilight did or will she have the same skills as a newborn filly? Can Pinkie fly as fast as Fluttershy or faster or slower? We have to discover these things! After all, don't you want to know? You could be stuck this way for a long time!" said Willem excitedly. The six glared at him and he chucked nervously. "I will of course be working on an antidote as best as I can in the meantime, so I suppose I'll be staying in Ponyville for a little while longer."

"Well girls," said Twilight turning towards her friends "I suppose that we should at least see what we can do with our new wings and horns."

"Splendid!" said Willem "I'll go and..."

"Start working on that antidote?" said Twilight.

"Oh, yes of course," said Willem dropping his grin.

"We'll let you know about how everything goes," said Rarity.

"Right, jolly good. I'll see you six later," said Willem, trying his best to hide his disappointment at being left out.

The six left the forest and discussed where exactly would be the best place to test their new powers. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Applejack's farm would be the ideal spot for such an endeavor.

Once they had gotten to Sweet Apple Acres, they went to a small, secluded part of the farm, stopping only to briefly explain the situation to Big Macintosh who reacted to the whole thing with his normal demeanor.

When they reached their destination, Twilight levitated herself a few feet off of the ground and turned to her friends. "Okay, time to see what we can do," said Twilight. Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all looked at each other excitedly, while Rarity and Fluttershy sat down on a log dejectedly. "Sorry girls," said Twilight sympathetically.

"It's okay; I just hope he gets that antidote ready soon. I want my horn back!" said Rarity bitterly.

"We all want to go back to the way we were," said Twilight. She turned to the other three. "Okay, should we get started?" The other three grinned and nodded. Twilight flew over to a tree and picked two apples off of it. Placing them on the ground, she addressed the two new unicorns of the group. "Okay, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, try to use your magic to lift them up in the air." The pair looked at Twilight blankly.

"Uh Twilight, how exactly do we do that?" asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight thought about it for a moment.

"It's just instinct. Think about it real hard and it'll come to you," she said, backing away as Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at each other uneasily. They turned to the apples and scrunched their faces up and concentrated on lifting the apples. Their horns sparked a bit before shining. They both lifted up the apples with ease. They looked at the other ponies excitedly. Rainbow used her magic to bring the apple towards her and she happily ate it whole the other ponies cheered the two of them on and Rainbow Dash and Applejack grinned and high-hooved each other.

Secure in the knowledge that Rainbow and Applejack had at least a rudimentary knowledge of casting spells, they began work on testing Twilight and Pinkie. "Okay Rainbow Dash," said Twilight. "You're the big flier of the group, what do you want us to do?" Rainbow looked at the two new Pegasi excitedly.

"I want you two to race around Sweet Apple Acres! I want to see which of you two can go faster," said Rainbow.

"Uh, sure, I guess we can do that, yeah! You up for it Pinkie?" said Twilight. Pinkie smiled and bounced up and down like she always did, except now she did it in midair.

"Okie Dokie Loki!" said Pinkie "I think it would be fun!"

"It's settled then! A race around your farm between Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie!" said Rarity who snapped out of her depressed funk for the first time today at the thought of this.

"Okay, Pinkie, let's line up here and we'll start the race then okay?" said Twilight.

"Okie Dokie Loki!" said Pinkie happily. Twilight and Pinkie lined up on top of a large apple tree and got into position to start the race.

"Okay you two, we're gonna get on top of the barn. When I shoot up some red sparks, you go and race around the edges of the farm until you get to the finish. First one back to this tree wins, got it?" said Applejack excitedly.

"Got it," said Twilight and Pinkie together. They lounged around on the tree for a few seconds before they saw a flash of red sparks come from the tip of Apple Jack's horn. Twilight zoomed away from the tree as fast as she could. as she flew, she realized why Rainbow Dash centered her life around flying. There were few thrills quite like seeing the ground zoom away below you and to feel the wind in your mane. She liked it, a lot. She stopped focusing on her flying and looked around to see where Pinkie was. This was a race after all and despite herself, she did want to win. She didn't see Pinkie in front of her but she when she looked behind her, she saw that Pinkie was bouncing behind her in mid-air with that typical Pinkie grin on her face. With each bounce, her wings flapped once which was enough to keep Pinkie in the air. Twilight was confused how, despite her leisurely pace, Pinkie was only just behind her. Twilight knew that she was flying fast, that was no illusion, but Pinkie Pie was somehow always right behind her, no matter how fast she was flying. Twilight looked forward and sped up. She flew faster than ever and soon the starting tree came into view. She knew that she had this one in the bag and smiled to herself. She could see why Rainbow loved racing so much. She looked behind her, and to her continued surprise, there was Pinkie! She was still leisurely bouncing along, still only flapping her wings once per bounce, still smiling that happy Pinkie Pie smile. Twilight was surprised that Pinkie was still behind her, but she was still in the lead and would win this.

Twilight blinked. When she opened her eyes after blinking, Pinkie Pie was in front of her. She was still going at the pace that she had been going this entire time. Twilight's jaw dropped in shock. How in Equestria did she...? No, Twilight had to win this! She flew as fast as her new wings would let her but somehow, Pinkie always stayed the same distance in front of her. Despite Twilight's best efforts, Pinkie bounced and landed on top of the tree before Twilight, winning the race. Twilight landed on the tree a few seconds afterwards.

"Pinkie Pie, how did you do that? You were going so slow!"

"Well, not that slow then I guess!" said Pinkie happily.

"We all saw what happened, Pinkie didn't cheat at all, It's hard to exactly describe what she did but it was a sight to see," said Applejack.

"I'll bet," said an out of breath Twilight. "Good race Pinkie."

"Well thanks Twilight! I had a lot of fun!" said Pinkie Pie, who was now flying around the tree in the same manner that she had flown around in the race.

The six spent the rest of the day doing various other tests of their new abilities. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both tried their hooves at teleporting but neither successfully pulled it off. They spent hours practicing teleporting but the result was always the same, they would try casting the teleporting spell that Twilight had taught them and their horns would begin sparking but they would always stop sparking after a few seconds and Applejack and Rainbow would collapse on the ground from the effort.

Twilight and Pinkie Pie had another race only this time, Pinkie wasn't allowed to bounce, she had to fly like Twilight did. To the surprise of everypony, the results of the race were the same, Pinkie Pie won easily. If anything else, she was faster than before. It was obvious to the group that Pinkie was just naturally faster than Twilight, despite the fact that she was using Fluttershy's weaker wings.

Near the end of the day, the six of them were lounging around the town square discussing their day. They had spent some of it explaining what had happened to the townsponies and they all seemed to accept this without much trouble, but they still got stares from time to time. Rainbow leaned back on the fountain and used her magic to bring an apple to her and she took a bite out of it. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"Hey Twilight, I just had a thought," she said, chewing on the apple.

"Yes Rainbow Dash?"

"I was wondering, since you are using my wings, do you think you could pull of a Sonic Rainboom?" Twilight looked at her wings thoughtfully.

"I don't know, possibly," said Twilight.

"I myself would love to know if it is possible," said Rarity excitedly. "It would be a true test of your new wings Twilight!"

"I suppose it would be."

"Go on and try it sugar cube," said Applejack. She turned to Rainbow "You don't mind do you Rainbow?"

"No! said Rainbow excitedly, tossing the apple core aside. "I want to see this!"

"Okay..." said Twilight nervously. "How do you do it?"

"You just fly really high and then dive down as fast as you can with your legs in front of you like this," she said demonstrating the proper pose to take when she was flying down. Twilight nodded and flew up a few inches.

"Okay girls, here goes nothing I guess," she said. Twilight zoomed up in the air as fast as she could. She flew as high into the air as she could but stopped after a few hundred feet as she was higher than she felt comfortable going. She looked around and to her surprise, she saw that Pinkie was flying next to her. "Pinkie? are you going to try this too?" she asked.

"Oh no silly, I'm just here to say that Rainbow says you need to go about 300 feet higher!" said Pinkie happily. Twilight looked down.

"H...higher?" she said, not really believing she was capable of going higher than this.

"Yep, higher!" said Pinkie excitedly. Twilight slowly flew higher in the air until Twilight began to worry that her psyche would prevent her from going higher by shutting her wings down, causing her to plummet to the ground. Pinkie flew next to her again. "Okay, you're good. see you at the bottom!" said Pinkie, who then flew down to join the others. Twilight looked down. Ponyville looked way smaller from here and the ponies weren't even visible. She gulped nervously before taking a deep breath.

"Okay Twilight, here goes nothing," she said, trying to reassure herself. She turned her head towards the ground and started flying as fast as she could, straight down towards the ground. The wind resistance alone almost sent her blasting away but she kept flying as fast as she could. The ground was coming towards her very fast, growing larger and larger by the second and she was worried that she would hit it instead of make a Sonic Rainboom. As she flew faster and faster, she saw the cone of light appear before her that marked the beginning of the Rainboom. She started to gain a little hope that she could pull this off and actually create a Sonic Rainboom but now the resistance was getting stronger. She tried to keep pushing through, but the resistance was too strong and she was flung back with a yelp. She spun out of control for a few seconds before she righted herself and flew back to her friends, still breathing heavily from the attempt. She landed next to Rarity with a small grin. "I guess I can't," she said to her amused friends.

"That's okay Twilight, I gotta admit that I'm glad that I'm the only pony who has ever done it," said Rainbow. The six ponies began laughing when a familiar voice came up behind them.

"Ah, there you six are!" said Willem happily. "I've been looking all over for you! Nice flying there Twilight."

"Thanks. What's up?" she said, a little uneasy to see the eccentric zebra again.

"Well, I have been working on an antidote all day and I have come to a discovery."

"Yes?" said the six of them excitedly.

"I don't think an antidote is possible..."

"WHAT!?" they all said in unison.

"..right now. I think it is very possible in the near future. You see, I have sent samples of poison joke to all of my esteemed colleagues all over Equestria. They are running multiple tests on it as we speak. They should have plenty of data between the plant itself and my notes on the plant. Combine that with my notes of what I was brewing as well as a sample of it and I think they can have a good cure ready for you in a few months. I don't think we can create anything that will work before that time."

"A few...months?" said Fluttershy.

"I can't take a break as a fashion designer for a few months!" said Rarity with a small whine.

"Now hold your horses girl, we are all going to help each other through this. With this here horn of yours I can do the magic part of your job for you. Big Macintosh should be able to work the farm well enough when I can't be there and Twilight and Pinkie can surely do the weather jobs around Ponyville since Rainbow can't. We'll all get though this, you'll see," said Applejack.

"Applejack is right. We have to stick together, we can get through this if we just try!" said Rainbow Dash determinedly. The other five ponies cheered in agreement.

"Wonderful!" said Willem. "I'll..." the six glared at him. "...run some more tests about an antidote."

"Thank you," said Twilight. She looked at the slightly crestfallen zebra and sighed. "Look, we don't mean to be so mean to you. We know you didn't mean for this to happen to us, we're just still kind of getting used to all of this. I'm sorry if we've been acting mean." Willem gave a small smile.

"I appreciate you saying that Twilight, I really do. I'll work harder than ever to find an antidote for you, you'll see!" The six smiled at him and thanked him as he rushed off to Zecora's hut.

The Switch: Chapter 3

It had been two weeks since the disastrous Poison Joke concoction had switched the races of Twilight Sparkle and her six friends and they were just beginning to get into a consistent routine with their lives.

Pinkie and Twilight had taken Rainbow Dash's job in the weather patrol and had spent a lot of time learning the tricks of the trade. While neither of them were as efficient as Rainbow Dash at clearing up the clouds (when Rainbow was motivated to actually do the job) seeing as how even though Twilight had Rainbow's wings, they were still far slower than she was. However, they were still highly efficient at clearing away the clouds and the other Pegasus ponies were grateful that somepony could do it.

It had been decided by all that Twilight and Pinkie would live on the ground instead of Rainbow Dash's home in the sky, for fear that Willem's guesses about how long they would be this way were wildly inaccurate and they would wake up without wings and begin falling from the sky. As such, the two of them remained in their normal homes, which is what both of them preferred anyway.

During the past few weeks, the friendship of Rarity and Applejack had grown far stronger than what it was before. They now spent most of their time together helping each other with their jobs. It turned out that Applejack was quite adept at Rarity's gem finding spell and they two of them could often be seen happily hanging out in the outskirts of Ponyville collecting gems while talking happily amongst themselves.

In fact, when they weren't seen collecting gems, the happy pair could often be spotted at Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack would be trying to teach Rarity how to buck apples. It wasn't uncommon for anyone who passed Sweet Apple Acres to stop and watch for a brief moment as Applejack demonstrated to Rarity the proper pose and the best spots to hit the tree so that the most apples came down. It turned out that Rarity wasn't very good at bucking apples as Applejack was at finding gems. Her first attempt at bucking apples had her completely miss the tree and fall flat on her stomach. Applejack had snickered at this but she encouraged her to keep trying. It took Rarity a few more tries, but eventually she hit the tree truck with all of her might causing a single apple to fall into the barrel below. Needless to say, she still had some work to go on it. However, two weeks later, Rarity's legs had strengthened enough that she could usually get a dozen apples down from the tree with a single kick and the two ponies would spend much of their days apple bucking through Sweet Apple Acres' trees.

Of the six ponies, the six ponies, none had adjusted to the change as well as Fluttershy had. She had hardly used her wings very often and she was still very able to care for her animal friends on the ground as she always had. The only brief problem was tending to her animal friends in the sky. However, she was so attuned with animals that they sensed that she could no longer come to them and they came to her instead for whatever they needed. Life was actually pretty normal for Fluttershy.

If Fluttershy had the easiest time adjusting to it all, then without a doubt Rainbow Dash had the hardest time. Her wings were her life. They were who she was and thanks to an explosion of Poison Joke, she didn't have them anymore. Instead, she had Twilight's horn. No one was quite sure what should be done with Rainbow Dash. When Pinkie and Twilight tested their ability to walk on clouds (successfully), Rainbow Dash had gingerly stepped out of the balloon in the vain hopes that she too still had the ability to walk on clouds. The second her hooves left the basket, however, she began plummeting towards the ground and had to be caught by Twilight and Pinkie. The fact that she had magic now instead provided only a temporary comfort for her.

It had been decided that Rainbow Dash would stay with Twilight for the time being unless something better came up. Rainbow Dash spent her days aimlessly walking around Ponyville, maybe doing an odd job or two for the citizens whenever they needed her help, but it was like the life had gone out of her. She had no drive, no passion for anything if she didn't have her wings. It was not uncommon for Twilight to walk into Rainbow's makeshift room and see her sadly staring out a window while levitating a book. Twilight walked in on her one day, determined to talk to her about it. She saw Rainbow, sitting where she always was, staring sadly out of the window while levitating the nearest object around the room. "Hey Rainbow, how's it going?" asked Twilight in a sympathetic tone. Rainbow shrugged.

"Oh you know, it's just kind of going," she said nonchalantly, not making eye contact with Twilight.

"Can I talk to you for a minute Rainbow?" said Twilight.

"I don't see why not," she said, spinning the book around.

"Look, Rainbow, we've all been worried about you. You haven't been yourself lately and we want to know if there is anything that we can do to help," said Twilight.

"Unless you can get me my wings back, no," said Rainbow blankly.

"Look, you need to get out there and do something! You can't just sit here and do nothing all day, you have to get out there! You need to find some purpose to fill your time!" Rainbow spun around to look at Twilight for the first time, anger and sadness flashing in her eyes.

"Oh yeah, like what!? What in Equestria do you think that I can do right now!? My wings were everything to me Twilight, I NEED them, and I don't know what to do without them! Name one thing I was good at that was useful to everypony that didn't involve my wings!" said Rainbow, tears starting to well up in her eyes. Twilight shrank back, unsure of what to say.

"Look Rainbow, it happened to all of us. My magic was who I was, it was my cutie mark, and it was why I was Princess Celestia's protégé in the first place! I don't resent you for having my horn and I don't want you to resent me for having your wings!"

"Well that's just too bad isn't it Twilight!?" yelled Rainbow Dash. "You at least have your brains to fall back on but I am NOTHING without my wings!"

"That's not true and you know it," said Twilight sternly. "You are a good and loyal friend, that's your element!"

"Screw the Elements of Harmony, just get me my wings back!" yelled Rainbow Dash, who was seconds away from breaking out into sobs.

"We can't right now. We all just have to make the best of things. This will end Rainbow, we won't be like this forever," said Twilight. Rainbow began crying now.

"How do you know?" said Rainbow quietly. "How do you know that this will go away? What if I'm stuck as a unicorn forever?"

"You won't be Rainbow, we'll get through this," said Twilight.

"I just want my wings back," said Rainbow weakly. "I just want them back." With that, she got up and hugged Twilight, crying into her shoulder. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, it's just..."

"Don't worry about it Rainbow, we're all stressed out about this," said Twilight, trying to comfort Rainbow Dash.

"But the others seem to be adjusting so much better than I have!" said Rainbow.

"On the outside maybe, inside, they feel like a key part of them was taken away from them, just like you do. You're not alone in this Rainbow, we are all going through what you are going through."

"But what about Pinkie and Applejack? If anything, they can do what they do better than ever! How do they feel bad about all of this?" asked Rainbow, looking up at Twilight.

"Well, that is true that their lives are a bit easier now, but neither one of them want that at the expense of their friends! Even though they now have powers that they never imagined, they would give them up in a second to make us all happy again," said Twilight.

"Are you sure about that?" said Rainbow.

"100% positive," said Twilight, managing a small smile that Rainbow copied. She sighed and wiped her eyes.

"Thanks Twilight, I do feel a bit better now. You're right, I do have to start finding a purpose, I have to make the best of all of this like you five are," said Rainbow. Twilight smiled.

"I know you'll do great at whatever you do," she said.

"Thanks Twilight, thanks," said Rainbow. The two hugged again and Rainbow went out to figure out what to do with her new unicorn powers. As Twilight watched her go, she wondered if she herself believed what she told Rainbow. Not the stuff about Pinkie and Applejack, she knew without a doubt that that was completely true, but she wondered if they really would go back to the way things were.

The Switch: Chapter 4

A few days had gone by since Twilight's talk with Rainbow Dash and Rainbow had started to adjust to life as a unicorn. She had secured a job at a furniture store, using her magic to load and unload heavy furniture. It kept her busy and she didn't think as often about how much she missed her wings. Slowly, she went back to being the Rainbow Dash that they all knew and loved.

Twilight was in her library looking for an old book that she was going to study to learn about older magic. After Rainbow had left her house, she had poured herself into studying old secrets of ancient magic in the hopes that something, anything would help them out of their situation. She glanced over at a tower of old books and gave a frustrated sigh. Nothing she had found in any of the books gave her even a hint on how to change her and her friends back to normal.

She glanced up to one of the highest shelves in the library and spotted the book she was looking for. She smiled and flew up to the shelf to retrieve the book. She grabbed it and lovingly dusted it off. The dust went straight into her nose and Twilight fought the urge to sneeze, but it was no use. She turned her head and sneezed. "Well, it's a good thing that I don't breathe fire" she said to herself. She landed and walked over to her desk where she placed the book down and began scanning the pages to find anything she could use to change them back.

She had only gotten a few pages in when her assistant, Spike, ran up behind her holding a scroll in his outstretched claws. "Twilight!" said Spike, "The princess just sent you a letter."

"Ooh, this must be important!" said Twilight happily as she closed the book she had been reading. Taking the scroll from Spike, she unfurled it and began reading.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student, as I am sure that you are all aware, the Grand Galloping Gala is coming up in one month’s time. Considering that you and your friends have all gone and it was not quite what you expected, I would like all of you to organize it this year! I am putting all of you in charge of the food, decor, events, and any other little details that might pop up. I would like you and your friends to come to Canterlot as soon as you can to begin preparations. Yours truly, Princess Celestia."

Twilight looked up at Spike with excitement in her eyes. "Spike, the Princess wants us to organize the Grand Galloping Gala this year! Can you believe it?" said Twilight happily as she bounced around the room Pinkie Pie style. Spike just gave her an amused grin.

Over the course of the next few hours, Twilight gathered up her five friends and told them the exciting news that the Princess had given her. As each was given the news, the pony in question would jump up and down in pure excitement, ready to do their part to make the biggest part of the year better for the ponies attending than it had been for them. Rainbow Dash in particular was excited by the news as it meant that she would really have the opportunity to practice her magic.

Soon, the six friends were on their way, chatting excitedly about what they would do. "I imagine that the Princess will want me to do the food this year like I did for the Summer Sun Celebration!" said Applejack happily. "I can't wait for those fancy shmancy ponies to taste what real home cookin' tastes like instead of those pathetic little snacks. I want them to go home happy and full!"

"I can't wait to begin work on the decorations!" said Rarity. "Even though I don't have my magic, I am sure that I will still have plenty of helpers and I don't need my magic to know what is stylish and what is not!"

"Pinkie and I can help with the music!" said Fluttershy happily. "She can deal with stuff involving a band and I can arrange for birds to sing as well!" she said, excited at the prospect of getting another shot at being around Princess Celestia's garden with the animals.

"We're all excited about this," said Twilight. "I'm sure all of us will do a great job and make this a much better night than what we had to endure!" said Twilight. The six friends laughed, remembering the disastrous affair that had been the Gala the year before.

Before long, the train pulled into The Grand Canterlot Train Station and the six ponies disembarked to go to the castle. On the way they chattered excitedly some more about what the next few days held for them as they prepared for the Gala.

When they reached the castle, they were let in by a trio of very confused guards. They explained briefly what had happened to them which seemed to mollify them a tad but they still went to go collect the Princess, exchanging uneasy looks. The six friends waited around in a lavish ballroom. Rarity had immediately begun talking about her plans for how she would decorate the room once they had entered. "Oh yes I think this will do very nicely, I think that some gold streamers should go there...or maybe purple streamers? Oh I think gold would be much nicer actually and as for the table cloths we can do purple for them instead and we can have a lovely vase full of beautiful flowers in the middle of each table and..." she continued on this tirade for quite some time. The other five ponies grinned at this; she was lost in her own little world at the moment. She was still going when Princess Celestia entered the room.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, my star student. How are you this..." she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the six ponies. Her jaw almost hit the floor when she saw that all six of them had changed races. Her left eye twitched as she looked at each pony, hardly able to believe what she was seeing. "I...I...I..." she stuttered. Rarity looked towards Twilight with a frown.

"Wait, didn't you tell the Princess about this?"

"I guess it completely slipped my mind. In hindsight, I can't believe that I didn't tell her!" Hearing this, Pinkie began counting the walls in the room. When she counted the fourth one, she trotted over to it and knocked on it with her hoof, causing a small crack to appear. When she saw this, she leaned in and said,

"Isn't that a bit unlikely? That makes absolutely no sense to me." She hit the crack with her hoof again and it widened. "I mean, Twilight tells the Princess everything, you think she would have told her this too! It seems like a hole to me." She shrugged and bounced back over to where the rest were. Princess Celestia was still standing in shock at what she was seeing.

"Uh, Princess, are you okay?" said Twilight nervously.

"I...I...HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?" said Princess Celestia, shock still etched across her face.

"Well Princess, we should sit down, it's quite a story," said Twilight. The seven of them sat down at the larges table in the room and Twilight began recounting the tale to Princess Celestia. She began with their trip into the forest to meet Zecora's cousin and how they had helped him with his experiment. Occasionally, one of the other five would chime in with a detail that was forgotten and maybe Celestia would ask a question, but on the whole, Twilight did most of the talking. When she had gotten up to the present time, the group sat in silence, waiting for the Princess to react. After a few moments, the Princess looked at Twilight.

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" she asked.

"I don't know, I guess it just slipped my mind," said Twilight.

"Isn't that a bit unlikely?" asked Celestia "You tell me everything that goes on in Ponyville!" Pinkie glanced at the crack in the wall again and giggled.

"Well, I don't suppose it matters now really," said Twilight. Pinkie looked at the crack again and rolled her eyes.

"I suppose not, but the big question is what to do now? I imagine that all of you would like to be changed back to the way you used to be," said Celestia.

"Of course we do!" said Rainbow Dash. "More than anything right now!" The Princess frowned as she thought to herself if she knew any way to turn the six back to normal. She finally nodded to herself and addressed the six.

"Well, I have a spell that I think could help. It is an ancient spell, older than Princess Luna actually."

"Wow, that is super-duper old!" said Pinkie.

"Indeed, I think it could help us now," said Celestia. "Okay, I would like all of you to stand next to the pony who received your attribute. I think I can get it so that you will switch back to your original selves!"

"What happens if it goes wrong?" said Applejack nervously as she walked over to Rarity.

"I think I can handle it...if I can't then I have no idea what will happen."

"Oh um, well, maybe we shouldn't do this then if you don't know what you are doing," said Fluttershy, hiding behind Pinkie.

"I do know what I am doing my child. I know I can cast the spell and change you back," said Celestia confidently.

"Okay," said Fluttershy in a barely audible voice and she hid behind Pinkie even more.

"Now, stand still, I think this will do the trick," said Celestia. Celestia concentrated as hard as she could and gold sparks started appearing around her horn. Within seconds, the sparks fused together to create a golden beam which was shot straight towards the six friends. The six of them braced for impact but when the golden beam hit them, they felt no pain. In fact, they felt as if all of the stress from their transformation had been washed away by the Princess's spell. As the spell went on longer, the golden beam became larger and brighter until the whole room was filled with a bright gold light.

As soon as the light was too bright and the six had to close their eyes lest they be blinded, the light stopped. The six opened their eyes and saw Princess Celestia lying on the floor in a state of total exhaustion. She was breathing heavily and she looked far too weak to stand up. "Well, Twilight Sparkle, did it work?" she said between labored breaths. She looked up to see what her spell had accomplished with a small, expectant smile. When she saw them, the smile slid from her face and the Princess looked uncomfortable. The six friends saw the look and each looked straight at the floor, too scared to look around to see what damage Celestia's spell had caused. Fluttershy curled up in a ball on the floor, shivering madly while mumbling to herself,

"I don't want to know, I don't want to know, I don't want to know."

One by one, the other five ponies examined themselves and gave horrified yells at what they discovered Celestia's spell had done. Finally, Twilight herself had the courage to look up. What she saw made her give a startled yell. Rainbow was alternating horrified glances between her purple and pink streaked mane and tail. Applejack ran her hoof through her perfectly styled curly dark purple mane, while Rarity was weeping in the corner, trying to get her blonde mane and tail styled as it once had been.

However, the biggest surprise was the new manes of Pinkie and Fluttershy. They too had switched manes and tails as the rest had, but that wasn't the surprise. Pinkie was looking at her light pink mane and tail, done up like Fluttershy's normally was when suddenly, they both bounced back to Pinkie Pie's normal style. Fluttershy had Pinkie Pie's mane, or at least, the colors were the same...sort of. They were darker in color than what Pinkie's mane and tail normally were, and instead of being fluffed up like Pinkie's mane and tail still were, they hung like curtains instead, almost as if they had been deflated. Twilight remembered it as the mane that Pinkie had when she had thought her friends had abandoned her when really they were just throwing her a surprise party. Of all of the switches, it was Fluttershy's new mane and tail that unnerved Twilight the most. Twilight turned around to Princess Celestia who was staring embarrassed at what she had just done.

Without looking at her friends, or making further attempts to make eye contact with Princess Celestia, Twilight looked around and saw a mirror in the room. She trotted over to it, already knowing what she was going to see but hoping she was wrong anyway. When she reached it, she stared straight into it. On each of her sides, she saw a cyan blue wing folded like it always was when she wasn't flying. Fearing the worst, she shifted her attention to her tail and mane. Sure enough, instead of her normal style and color she saw an unkempt, rainbow colored mane and tail. She closed her eyes in frustration and facehooved. With a frustrated grunt she yelled. "OH COME ON!!!!"

The Switch: Chapter 5

How could things have possibly gone so wrong? That was what Twilight Sparkle was asking herself right now as she ran her hoof over her rainbow colored mane, with her cyan wings folded at her sides. She sighed as she tried to figure out what they could possibly do from here. Not even Princess Celestia's magic could help them out of the situation that the poison joke had put them in. All her attempts to fix it really did was make it worse.

She turned around to assess the situation some more. Rarity was still sobbing in the corner of the room, trying to get Applejack's mane back to the style that Rarity preferred but it was no real use. Twilight imagined what that would look like and shuddered a bit, it would have looked absolutely terrible. Twilight decided that she needed the most help right now, as the rest were merely shocked by what had just happened, and she trotted over to her to calm her down. She placed a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "Rarity? I know that you are upset because you switched manes with Applejack, it's shocking to all of us but you need to calm down right now. Crying isn't going to help you get your mane back," said Twilight. Rarity continued to sob.

"But I NEED my mane back! It was all I had left after she stole my horn from me!" said Rarity in a malevolent tone.

"Rarity, Applejack did not steal your horn or your mane from you and you know it!" said Twilight sternly.

"She STOLE them from me!" said Rarity who stood up with fire in her eyes and directed her angry gaze towards Applejack. "You stole them from me! Give them back to me right now!" she said. Before Applejack could formulate a response to this, Rarity charged towards Applejack with a snarl and tackled her to the ground, tearing at her mane. "Do you hear me? Give them back to me now!" Applejack was so caught off guard by this vicious assault that the only thing she could do was place her hooves in front of her face in an attempt to protect herself from Rarity's rage. She tried to use her magic to throw her off but she hadn't advanced to that point yet. The other three ponies snapped out of their shock and each tried to pull a furious Rarity off of Applejack. Twilight tried to grab on to her from behind, but Rarity used her hind legs to kick Twilight across the room. Her new strength, gained from weeks of apple bucking had made her more difficult to restrain. Rainbow Dash tried to use her horn to stop Rarity but like Applejack, only sparks came out, no matter how hard she concentrated. Pinkie and Fluttershy both tackled Rarity but once again, she used her new strength, combined with her rage to buck them off and she continued to attack Applejack. Finally, Princess Celestia herself used her magic to pick up Rarity and move her far away from Applejack.

As Rarity struggled to get out of Celestia's spell, Applejack got up feebly and dusted herself off. She walked over to her cowpony hat and after doing her best to straighten her hair; she placed the hat on top of her head and sat down, trying to register what had just happened. Her friends rushed over to her.

"Applejack, are you okay?" said Fluttershy worriedly.

"I...I think so, I don't think she did any real damage."

"Oh my gosh, you're bleeding!" said Twilight. Applejack wiped her nose with her hoof and sure enough, blood was coming out. Applejack looked at the blood on her hoof and just shrugged.

"Oh, it's nothing Twilight, I'll be okay," she said, still obviously quite shaken from the attack.

"You have a black eye too, she really did a number on you," said Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, like I said, I'll be okay. I've had far worse, believe me," said Applejack. She attempted a small smile, but not successfully. The five looked over at Rarity who was still struggling to get out of Celestia's spell and back to attacking Applejack. To the surprise at all, it seemed that Celestia was having genuine difficulty restraining her.

"Unhand me this instant you fools! I will get my mane and horn back! I'll get them back if I have to cut them off of..." it was at that moment that she really looked at Applejack, really looked at the damage she had caused. In the instant that she made eye contact with Applejack, she stopped struggling and a look of horror spread over her face. "Oh my goodness, what have I done?" she said in quiet horror. She stopped struggling and sat down and began crying again. Celestia released her from the spell and the five friends gingerly walked over to her.

When they were close enough, Rarity looked up from her weeping and looked at Applejack. She grabbed her close in a tight hug and sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry; I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean to hurt you please forgive me!" she said. Applejack managed the small smile she had attempted before.

"Well shoot, I forgive you. This thing is gettin' to all of us. I suppose that it was going to come out anyways eventually. I don't hold it against you at all," she said placing a comforting hoof on Rarity's shoulder.

"B-but R-R-Rainbow Dash hasn't attacked Twilight!" said Rarity between sobs. "Nopony else has attacked their friends!"

"Look, I know you feel absolutely terrible about it and I know that you would take it back in an instant if you could. That's all that really matters right now. You didn't do any damage to me. Like I said to the others; I've had much, much worse. Don't feel too bad about it sugar cube," said Applejack.

The room was silent for a few moments aside from Rarity's sobbing. After a few moments, Applejack wrapped a hoof around Rarity's shoulder and began humming a song that she used to sing to Apple Bloom when she was younger. A few minutes later, Rarity calmed down enough that she stopped crying. She took a few deep breaths and looked up at Applejack. "You...you can style my mane however you want to while you have it. I don't mind. I suppose it is kind of your mane right now. Make the best of it," said Rarity.

"Thanks, you can style my mane how you want to as well. You love the way your mane works, you go ahead and make sure you look your best," said Applejack.

"Thank you...thank you," Rarity stood up and addressed the others. "Well...I think I need to be alone for a little while if that's okay with you all."

"Of course Rarity!" said Twilight. "Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you Twilight," said Rarity. The six ponies watched as Rarity walked slowly out of the room, off to wherever she felt that she needed to go. When she had left, the five ponies looked at Applejack.

"So, how are you feeling Applejack?" asked Twilight. The small smile that Applejack had put on for Rarity had faded away. She put her hoof to her nose to see if it was still bleeding and saw that it was, but only slightly. She put her hoof back down and sighed.

"Well Twi, I think I need to be alone for a bit too," she said and without another word, she left the room as well.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It had been a few hours since the events in the ballroom. Princess Celestia had sent a detachment of her guards to fetch Willem from the Everfree Forest to see if he could at all help with this new situation.

Rarity and Applejack had not shown up in the past few hours but nopony felt like they needed to go look for them, they all knew that they needed their time to themselves. So, the four sat at a table, wondering what to do next. "Do you think Applejack and Rarity are okay?" asked Fluttershy.

"I think they'll be fine. Applejack is made of tough stuff and is a very loyal friend. She'll recover," said Twilight. "But how are the rest of you doing? I know this has come as quite a shock to us all." The other three ponies grimaced when they remembered that they had changed manes and tails the same as Applejack and Rarity had. Not long after the two of them had left, the Princess had decided to give the remaining four friends some space while she attended to other matters. She had left rather hurriedly but none of the ponies resented her for her mistake, but they were all still very unwilling to ever let her try anything like that ever again.

"Well, obviously Pinkie really kind of has the same mane and tail, just a lighter shade of pink," said Fluttershy.

"Yeah, I don't know why my mane just popped back to what it normally was," said Pinkie, brushing it with her hoof.

"Well, I've always thought that your hair was reflective of your personality, your personality remains the same and thus, your hair does as well," said Twilight.

"Y...yeah, okay," said Rainbow rolling her eyes before directing her gaze to Fluttershy. "But what has me curious is why Fluttershy's mane is all straight like that. The only time I ever saw Pinkie's mane like that was when we threw that surprise birthday party for her and she though we all avoided her. So, it brings up the question, how are you feeling Fluttershy?"

"Oh, um, well, I'm surprised by all of this the same as you are, but I'm not really depressed about it, I mean, I'm certainly not so depressed about it that it would affect my hair!"

"Well, it still is interesting that this was the hairstyle you got from Pinkie, not her normal one," said Twilight. Pinkie looked thoughtful for a moment before her face lit up.

"Maybe you didn't get my hairstyle, maybe you got Pinkamena's hairstyle!" said Pinkie happily. Fluttershy and Twilight looked at her confusedly.

"Who?" asked Twilight. Rainbow Dash flattened her ears and looked at Pinkie uncomfortably.

"Uh-oh," she said to herself. Before Fluttershy or Twilight could Question Pinkie more on just who Pinkamena was, Princess Celestia walked into the room. Behind her was the familiar, crazy scientist zebra whom the ponies were really beginning to fear being around. He was looking around the elegant room, his eyes widened with wonder as if he was a child seeing the world for the first time. He spotted the four friends and grinned his normal goofy grin at them.

"Well hello there you four! How lovely it is to see you again! How are things aside from...well...that?" he said happily.

"Things could be better Willem; they could be a lot better. As you can see, we are now the subjects of a spell that went wrong," said Rainbow Dash.

"Ah, yes I can see that, that was your doing I assume?" he said looking up at Celestia who gave him a slight glare.

"Yes, I attempted to turn Twilight and her friends back to normal but it obviously didn't work as well as I had intended," said Celestia.

"Well it would seem that way. Now, I have spent every waking minute searching around for a way to turn you six back to your normal selves. I have also kept very much in contact with my associates back in the scientific community and as it just so happens, we are working on a book about Poison Joke. It could revolutionize the whole world! I mean, we haven't even begun trying to discover how to clone it, but we are testing growth and life cycle and such we..."

"Uh Willem, you're getting a tad off topic here." said Rainbow. Willem thought for a second and then facehooved.

"Oh dear me, you are quite right my dears! I'm ever so sorry, so let's see, where was I? Ah yes, now, we are very close to discovering the cure for Poison Joke. You see, the brew that Cousin Z used to turn you back to normal last time was only effective for a weak exposure. The mixture that you put the liquefied Poison Joke in served only to strengthen it. You could take a bath every day for a year in the brew Cousin Z used and it wouldn't make any difference. You see, Poison Joke, as it just so happens, is not a plant in the traditional sense of the word. I have yet to see a normal plant that so thoroughly alters the genetic makeup of a pony like Poison Joke has for you six. It clearly has magical capabilities that are far stronger than what you originally thought."

"So, when you say that the mixture you put it in made it stronger, how much stronger would you say that the mixture made it?" asked Fluttershy.

"Well, based on everything, I'd say it made it at least five or six times stronger. In a way, this plant is actually terrifying. It seems to have attained sentience if it can decide what to do when you come under its effects. In fact, I'd say that it is the most magical plan in existence if not even Celestia here could undo its effects with magic."

"So where does that put us?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, like I said, my colleagues and I are very close to a cure for you I would say. Another week or so and I think that we can have it ready to go for you," said Willem.

"Are you sure that it will work?" said Twilight.

"Well...no. One never can be sure with Poison Joke we've discovered, but we are 89% sure. That's the best we can do I'm afraid," said Willem.

"Well, it's a risk we're going to have to take!" said Twilight. "I for one am sick of this whole business!"

"Same here!" said Rainbow Dash. She began getting pumped up at the very idea of being a Pegasus again and she began singing to herself, "I'm gonna get my wings back! I'm gonna get my wings back!" and jumping up and down in the air, as if she was trying to take off. Her behavior puzzled the other ponies and zebra but they took it with good humor. They were all reacting to this in different ways. However, the more excited Rainbow Dash became at the prospect of getting her wings back, the more her horn glowed. With a final yell of "I'm gonna get my wings back!" she jumped up as high as she could and was immediately engulfed in a bright, white light to the surprise of everyone. When the light faded, they saw Rainbow Dash lying on the ground on the opposite side of the room, trying to clear her head. They rushed over to her.

"Rainbow, are you okay?" asked Twilight.

"I...I think so, what happened?" she asked woozily.

"I think you just teleported!" said Pinkie excitedly bouncing up and down.

"Well, that would explain the wooziness," said Rainbow, getting up with a smile.

"That was amazing!" said Willem. "I have never seen a pony pull off a teleportation before! That was truly a sight to behold Rainbow Dash."

"Uh, you're welcome," said Rainbow Dash, grinning at her successful teleportation. At that moment, the group heard Rarity's voice from behind them.

"Oh dear, it seems we just missed Rainbow Dash teleporting!" she said.

"Now don't fret girl, I'm sure she can do it again," said Applejack.

The ponies turned around to see Applejack and Rarity standing next to each other as happy as can be. The two had taken some time and adjusted their hairstyles and as such, the two had completely different hair. Applejack had cut her hair shorter, to about the length that Rainbow usually kept it, and was letting it hang loose as opposed to tying it back like she always did. Rarity on the other hand had foregone her normal perfect curls and had cut it shorter as well and had styled it something like Twilight usually did. When the friends saw this, they rushed over to them and hugged them.

"It seems like you two are doing a lot better, and I love the way you've styled your manes!" said Twilight.

"Oh yes, we are doing much better, Applejack and I ran into each other a few hours after...that...and we decided to help each other pick new styles! Do you like them?" said Rarity happily.

"Oh why Rarity, they're lovely," said Fluttershy.

"I think they turned out mighty nice actually," said Applejack.

"I do as well!" said Willem.

"Same here," said Celestia. "It seems you two have really forgiven each other for this morning."

"Oh yes Princess, I think we really have gotten over it. I still feel terrible about it but Applejack has forgiven me...which is more than I deserve really," said Rarity.

"Aw shoot," said Applejack "Don't worry your little head about it, it's in the past now." she turned her attention towards Willem. "So uh, what's he doin' here?"

"Well, I have come at the behest of the Princess here to see if there was anything that I can do to help in this situation. I was just telling your friends here that I think my colleagues and I have discovered a cure for your predicament." Rarity and Applejack looked at each other happily.

"Do you really mean it?" said Rarity.

"Oh yes, I do. We'll have it ready in just a week’s time!" said Willem.

"And you're sure it will work, you're sure that it will turn us back to normal?" said Applejack.

"Nope." said Willem. "But probably."

The Switch: Chapter 6

The six were sitting in their communal room when they got the message.

The six were discussing how they had organized their aspects of the Grand Galloping Gala when they heard three short knocks on the door. Pinkie bounced over to the door to see a royal messenger who wordlessly gave her a singular scroll and left. Pinkie bounced back and towards the six. "Who was that Pinkie?" asked Applejack.

"Just some messenger who gave me this!" said Pinkie happily, putting the scroll on the floor.

Rainbow Dash used her magic to bring the scroll over to her and she opened it up. The other five ponies watched her eyes scan the parchment for a brief second before she took a deep breath and looked grimly at the other five. "Well, what did it say?" asked Fluttershy nervously.

"There were only two words on the scroll...it just said "it's ready," said Rainbow. The six sat in silence. They each knew what this meant. If Willem was right, then there was a good chance that this brew would change them back to the way that they used to be.

Twilight had butterflies in her stomach, it was nerve wracking to just sit there while the other five processed the news that there was a high possibility that they would be back to their normal races. As the nervous feeling bubbled up in Twilight, she decided that she had to break the silence or she would go crazy. "So...what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"I don't know darling, that crazy zebra said there was no guarantee it would work. What will happen if it doesn't?" asked Rarity nervously.

"I say it's just a risk we have to take to be honest," said Applejack.

"I agree with AJ," said Rainbow "We can't know unless we try." Rarity sighed and nodded.

"Okay, she said weakly "I suppose we should just do it." The six friends got up and silently filed out the door to the ballroom. The not hadn't told them where to go, but they all figured it would be the best place for the experiment anyway.

The trip down to the ballroom was completely silent. Even Pinkie Pie didn't make a noise, as she walked instead of her usual happy bouncing. As they neared the ballroom, they were greeted with the sight of three grim looking zebra scientists, quietly talking about whatever it is that solemn zebra scientists talk about under these circumstances. The stopped talking as the six approached and simply stared silently at them as they entered the ballroom. The zebras followed once the last pony was in.

The six friends were greeted with the sight of Rarity's decoration efforts. The room was covered in golden streamers with purple tablecloths the shade of Applejack's mane. In the center of each table was an ornate vase with a bouquet of flowers from Celestia's private garden. However, nopony felt much like noticing the decorations. They were more interested in a bubbling cauldron in the middle of the room. Around the cauldron were six more zebras including Willem himself, and to the surprise of the six, Zecora was among the group as well. She chatted quietly with Celestia, but the entire crowd looked up when they noticed. Zecora smiled at the six and trotted over to them happily.

"How lovely to see you, but I wish it was during better times. Sometimes, I really do have trouble coming up with rhymes." Pinkie shot her gaze towards the crack in the wall, a look of utter disbelief on her face.

"Are you serious!?" she whispered. Willem came up to them as well. He looked much more formal than normal, his mane was combed, his clothing was completely clean and his goofy demeanor was completely absent.

"Ah, so good to see you, I was wondering when you would get my note," he said flatly. The six looked at each other nervously.

"Uh...would you mind explaining why we seem to have just show up to our own funerals?" said Applejack.

"Well...simply put there are no more tests we can safely run on Poison Joke at the time. The antidote to your problem is the best that can possibly be created with modern technology."

"That still doesn't answer Applejack's question," said Twilight. Willem looked around nervously.

"I dearly wish that I was not the one to tell you all this, but remember when I said that there was an 89% chance that it will work? Well, that remains the truth, but..."

"But what?" asked Rarity.

"The other 11% is that the brew will be fatal. If you drink it, it could very well kill you all, or even worse, change some of you back but kill some of the others. Also, I am sorry to say that my original tests on the half-life of Funnyium were way off, the chemical strengthens over time, not weakens, so if we put this off for too long, the change will be permanent. I actually hope that we aren't already too late." The six went silent for a few moments before Twilight spoke up.

"Well girls, is it worth risking death to go back to normal or should we just accept the hand that fate has dealt us?" Rarity spoke up immediately.

"I'd rather risk it. I NEED my horn back!"

"Oh um...I'm fine with whichever really...it's okay," said Fluttershy.

"Same here!" said Pinkie "But I'll do whatever you want."

"I think I speak for both me and Dash here when I say I agree with Rarity," said Applejack which prompted a nod from Rainbow Dash. Twilight took a deep breath before turning her attention towards Willem.

"Okay, I think we'll go for it." Willem merely nodded. Princess Celestia conjured up six goblets and one of the scientists filled them about halfway with a dark green, bubbling liquid. The six sat at a round table, each facing each other, and the goblets were placed in front of them. The six friends saw that each of the zebra scientists, except Willem, had a clipboard in front of them and were clearly eager to see the results of the brew. Twilight addressed her friends. "Well girls, no need to drag it out any longer, we should do it together." The six nodded before Willem chimed in.

"Before you do, I just want all of you to know that I could take back every wretched experience that you have endured because of me back. I'm so sorry for all of this." Twilight managed a smile.

"We know, Willem, we know." said Twilight. She reached forward and lifted up her goblet, the other five did the same. "Alright, on the count of three: One," the goblets were brought towards the mouths of the friends. "Two," the friends placed their lips on the edges. "Three." they drank the contents in one gulp.

To Twilight's surprise and relief, she wasn't dead...she seemed to be completely fine. She looked around the table expectantly and saw that her friends were alive and well too. Her heart sank when she saw that nothing had changed, each pony still had the attributes of another. The zebras began furiously scribbling down notes. "I...I guess it didn't work," said Twilight. She suddenly had to fight the urge to begin weeping. This was it, no more magic, no more studying under Celestia, no more...at that moment, Twilight screamed in pain. She suddenly felt like her throat was on fire. She heard the screams of her friends too; they were undoubtedly feeling the same sensation. Twilight collapsed on the floor as the pain engulfed her entire body. It felt like she had been lit on fire and at the same time, she was being repeatedly stabbed by a white hot knife. She heard panicked yells around her, but she was only vaguely aware of them. The pain was too much. The pain was her entire world right now. She just wished it would stop, she wished that she would die right now, just so she wouldn't have to endure the pain anymore.

Death...the thought suddenly crossed her mind, she was dying, the potion had gone wrong and she was dying. This was the end for her and her friends. However, the pain she was experiencing drove any thoughts of sorrow away. She welcomed death at this point. She began to black out, the screams of her friends and the panicked yells of the others faded away. To her relief, the pain was fading away too. It would all be over soon...everything would be over soon. Twilight closed her eyes as everything went black.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Princess Celestia watched helplessly as the wielders of the Elements of Harmony slowly perished in front of her, Twilight had already stopped moving as had Rainbow and Pinkie. There was nothing she could do for them anymore. There was nothing anypony could do for them anymore. She to think of a spell to save the other three, but nothing was coming to her mind, nothing would save them, and she was completely helpless. Fluttershy had stopped moving now and only Applejack and Rarity remained. The zebra scientists were running around in panic, trying to figure out what had gone wrong and if the last two could be saved. Celestia didn't pay any attention to them. They would be dealt with soon, oh yes, they would be dealt with. Celestia continued to stare at Rarity and Applejack, their screams of agony rang throughout the room.

All of a sudden, time seemed to stop. Applejack and Rarity stopped writing in agony and their eyes met for a brief moment. Rarity used this opportunity to mouth to Applejack 'I'm so sorry.' before both slipped away. Celestia's eyes filled with tears. The screams echoed in her head, she would never get the screams out of her head. However, to the surprise of everyone, the room was suddenly engulfed in a bright, white light which proceeded to temporarily blind everyone in the room.

Celestia shielded her eyes for a brief moment until the light faded. When it had, she looked back over to the bodies of the six friends. What she saw made her begin weeping in joy and sorrow. Her eyes focused on Twilight Sparkle first, her horn resting on her forehead where it had been before this whole mess while her purple and pink mane flowed from her head.

As Celestia looked around to the rest of them, she saw that they had been changed back as well. Rainbow Dash's wings were folded by her sides where they always were when she wasn't flying and her rainbow colored mane was back where it belonged. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were without horns or wings, as they too had changed back. Rarity and Fluttershy were back to their normal forms as well. Celestia saw that the changes of the manes of Applejack and Rarity had stayed the same through the switch. Both had their normal manes, but the adjustments that the other had made remained the same. However, the one thing that wasn't expected were the mane and tail of Pinkie Pie, they still hung like curtains as opposed to their normal bouncy shape. Her pink coloration was darker as well. However, Celestia hardly cared about that right now.

Celestia smiled in joy that at the very least, her subjects could rest in peace as what they always were. They would have liked that.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Twilight Sparkle awoke to darkness. No, not total darkness, there was a small light, not far from where she sat. She instinctively reached out and touched it with her horn. The bright light expanded and filled the entire space. Twilight saw that she was in a large, white room with two doors on either end. Nothing else was in the room though, just her and the doors.

At that moment though, she realized what she had just done. Her horn was back! She reached up to her forehead and sure enough, her trusty magical horn was placed firmly on her forehead. she expectantly touched her mane and to her joy, her normal purple and pink mane was back on her head where it belonged. She expected tears of joy but none came. Oh well, the feeling of joy was good enough for her.

At that moment, the door on her left opened and in bounced a wingless, cotton-candy maned Pinkie Pie, followed closely by the familiar, flying, rainbow maned Pegasus pony. As they saw each other, they beamed in joy. They rushed over to each other and each was pulled into a large hug. "I think it worked guys!" said Twilight.

"I think so too!" said Pinkie, pulling away from the hug and bouncing around the room happily. Rainbow threw her front leg over Twilight's shoulder and grinned at the bouncing pink Earth Pony. After a few seconds though, the smile faded away.

"Twilight, are we dead?" she asked. Pinkie stopped in midair for a few seconds before landing and trotting over to the others. Twilight's grin vanished at the question and it was a few seconds before she answered.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes we are." Rainbow began formulating an answer, but before she could, they heard the door behind them open slightly and a meek voice come from behind them that could have only come from one shy yellow Pegasus.

"Oh, um...I hope I'm not interrupting anything I just saw this door," said Fluttershy. The three Twilight and Rainbow wheeled around just in time to see Pinkie tackle Fluttershy and pull her into a big hug. Twilight grinned at the sight.

"No, no you're not" she said to the shy Pegasus.

"Oh, well, that's good," said Fluttershy. She looked around the room. "So, what now?" she asked.

"Well, we're just waiting for Rarity and Applejack and then I guess we find that out," said Rainbow Dash.

"Did somepony just say our names?" said a familiar eloquent voice. The four looked at the door to see Applejack and Rarity trotting through. surprisingly, they had switched manes but the styles of the changes they had made remained. Nopony cared about that right now though as the group immediately began a large group hug.

They hugged and laughed with each other, hardly caring at the moment that the brew they had been given had killed them. They were together right now, at that was all that mattered. The group heard the door to their right open.

"Would you look at that dear? I'd say that our daughter found some good ponies to be friends with," said a warm, baritone male voice.

"I'd say so," said a happy female voice. "They really do care for each other." the group puled away from their hug to see who was talking and they saw a pair of two earth ponies, who were a little older than the group. One had a cowboy hat on, the same make as Applejack's. He had a cranberry red body with an apple tree as a cutie mark. His mane was cut about the same length as Big Mac's mane and was the color of Apple Bloom's mane. The other was a slightly smaller Earth Pony who had a coat of a lighter shade of orange than Applejack and had a long, blonde mane which she let fall loose around her. Her cutie mark was a gardening trowel next to a blooming daisy.

At the sight of these two ponies, Applejack's eyes widened and she slowly walked towards her grinning parents, too much in shock to say anything coherent. When she reached them, she finally managed to stutter a response. "M...Ma? Pa? Is that you?" she asked in joyful shock. The male pony laughed.

"Yeah, AJ, it's us," he said. "It's nice to see you again." Applejack didn't respond but instead she threw her front legs around her parents and drew them into a hug which they returned. The three ponies were wrapped in that embrace for what seemed like an eternity, but nopony cared at all. Not a single tear was shed and the five friends smiled at the reunion of daughter and parents. Eventually, Applejack broke away and began grinning wider than she ever had before. Applejack's mother put her hoof on her shoulder.

"We just want you to know that we have been watching you. We are very proud of you AJ," she said and her husband nodded.

"Thank you Ma. Big Mac and Apple Bloom are doin' very well."

"We know. we are glad to hear that, very glad," said Applejack's father. "Now, introduce us to your friends! We've always wanted to meet them in person."

"Oh, of course!" said Applejack happily. As the introductions went around, Twilight was beginning to wonder what would happen now. Applejack was obviously overjoyed to see her parents again. In fact, she was happier than Twilight had ever seen her before and that made the rest of them happy too. However, after a few minutes of introductions, Twilight felt the need to chime in.

"So, what now?" she asked Applejack's parents.

"Well, that depends on you six," said Applejack's mother. Twilight cocked her head quizzically.

"What do you mean? We're dead, isn't there only one way from here?"

"Dead? Oh good gracious no, you're not dead. Your bodies are very much alive down in Canterlot they're just...dormant, I think is the best word," said Applejack's mother.

"So we're still alive!?" asked Rarity incredulously.

"Of course!" said Applejack's father. "You don't think He's that cruel do you?"

"Uh, who is 'He'?" asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack's father made eye contact with Pinkie Pie and when he knew that he had her attention, he pointed towards a small crack in the wall. At this, Pinkie burst out into rambunctious laughter to the amusement of Applejack's parents but to the confusion of the other five.

"Uh, Pinkie, what are they talking about?" asked Twilight. Pinkie took a few seconds to control her laughter before she answered.

"I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay, but the question remains, what now?" said Fluttershy.

"Well, like I said, that depends on you six. In all honesty, you can end it here. My wife and I are going back to the door where we came from and anyone who wants to follow us back is technically free to do so. If you want to return to life, then you just need to tap your back hooves together and just keep saying "there's no place like home"." Applejack's mother rolled her eyes and lightly punched her husband's shoulder with her hoof. He just laughed and his wife had to hold back a grin herself. "All kidding aside, you simply have to go back through the door that you came through. It's as simple as that. I personally would suggest the latter option. You six aren't quite done yet. No, I see many more adventures for you six."

"Well, then I say we head on back then," said Twilight. The other five nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now then," said Applejack's mother.

"Take care you six," said Applejack's father. As the six went towards their door, Applejack rushed back over to her parents for one final hug.

"I miss you so much," she said quietly.

"Don't AJ, trust us, we're doing alright here," said her father. A quiet voice chimed in behind them.

"Does it hurt...actually dying I mean?" said Fluttershy. Applejack's parents broke off the hug and addressed Fluttershy with small grins.

"Not at all. the means to the death may be painful, but the actual act of death, not at all. Still, don't you go worrying about that for a long time Fluttershy. You have many decades ahead of you," said Applejack's mother. Fluttershy nodded and turned back towards the door. Twilight was the closest and so she was going to go through first. She took one final glance at Applejack's parents who waved her forward before stepping through.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Princess Celestia had used her magic to evaporate the cauldron and the brew inside. The zebras were all huddled around the tables, awaiting her wrath which was sure to come at any moment. For now, she just stared at the scorch mark on the floor that her spell had left. Nothing else mattered for right now. Now that the wielders were dead, she was unsure of what to do. Who would gain control of the elements now? Would their power go back to her and Luna or would they merely move on to other ponies? She pushed those thoughts aside for now, it was a matter to be dealt with later.

She became vaguely aware of chatter behind her and the realization that her student's killers were behind her caused her to snap out of her shock. she turned to face them, anger flaring in her eyes. She had not felt rage like this in centuries.

"You...you MONSTERS! You killed them, you killed them all!" she said in pure fury. She was unsure of just how to punish them for this monstrous crime. she was beginning to regret destroying the brew as the agony that the six friends had felt in their final moments would be punishment enough for them...for now. The zebras just tried avoiding eye contact with her. They figured that nothing else could make her angrier. They were all doomed anyway. "I should rip you apart piece by piece, maybe then you would experience the agony that you bestowed upon them in their final moments of life! I should..." but before Princess Celestia could continue her threats, she heard a small groan from behind her. She wheeled around to face what she was sure were the lifeless bodies of the six friends to see Twilight Sparkle beginning to stir. Celestia's eyes widened and the zebra's looked on in a vague hope that maybe they weren't about to be destroyed.

Celestia moved over to Twilight and picked her up in her hooves. Twilight's eyes began to flutter open and within a few moments, she had regained consciousness. "Well, I guess it worked." said Twilight with surprising clarity. To the surprise of everyone, she shook her head a few times and leaped out of Celestia's grasp and onto the floor, looking no worse for wear. She wasn't even groggy. As if on cue, the other five began waking up as well and within moments, the six friends were awake and fully alert. Celestia and the zebras looked on in awe at the six very alive friends.

Silence ruled the ballroom. No one said anything. No one was sure of what to even say.

At that moment, Pinkie's hair bounced back.