Big Mac strode with purpose behind his, or her, their, each of their steps. They flicked their head, causing their lightly tussled hair to flow dramatically around their horn. Before them, they could see their target. A large-uddered Tree Hugger approached the town, born aloft by four other ponies. Flanking out from there, four cows marched in step. Behind them, a dozen other ponies and cows. It was no parade. It was an invasion force.

They would not accept it. Big Mac took a soft breath before summoning the great volume, speaking in a fashion proper for pony royalty. "Stop right there," they boomed in their female voice. "Ya ain't going no further."

Tree Hugger's eyes opened slightly wider from their usual half-lid state. "Oh, wow. Chill out with the harsh vibes, sister. Some of us are just waking up and you're setting our chakra all out of alignment."

Big Mac pointed a hoof up at Tree Hugger as they took up the most solid footing they could on the other three hooves. "Ain't time for nothing but you stopping! In the name of harmony, ah will stop you here."

Celestia pointed at the fountain. "Here?" They had arrived at one of the squares of Ponyville, the precious wagon of curative behind Celestia, held in her golden magic.

Twilight bobbed her head. "Put it on top and we'll get this started." She watched Celestia place the curious thing atop the fountain and reached with her own magic, affixing it securely and drawing down a tube from the side of the cauldron down into the water of the fountain. "Zecora, I believe we're ready."

Zecora looked over the entire thing before slowly nodding. "As ever we will be... Twilight. Should the fog chase such thoughts away, I hope I will not regret our play. At least in this--"

Twilight was suddenly there, appearing in a fit of sparkles from her short-range teleport. Her nose was against Zecora's. "Let's just turn it on and... we'll face the consequences, together. I promise to deal with it, as a friend, which we were before this, and will be, after this... and maybe more?"

Celestia smiled gently at the two. "Twilight, that is surprisingly level-headed of you."

Twilight suddenly burst into a short fit of hysterical laughter. "There'll be plenty of time for freaking out afterwards. Right now, I want to fix everyone. I can... fix myself after that." She turned to the device. "Activating."

She grabbed a large knob on the side of the cauldron and wrenched it with her magic. The entire thing began to hum and shake. They could hear water rushing up inside the tube that connected it to the fountain. The little dribble of smoke it had been releasing redoubled again and again rapidly, starting to cover the area in a thick and expanding cloud of fog.

Celestia backed away from it, her eyes on the smoke as she kept herself just shy of it. "Is this safe for unaffected ponies?"

Zecora nodded with confidence. "It will have no harmful effect. It will simply allow their motives to be checked."

Twilight pressed against Zecora's side. "Any urges or behavioral patterns that originate from outside the pony will be recognized as exactly that. This should be enough to shake loose the effects of most ponies. Few want to be controlled, and knowing they are can make all the difference."

The fog came, spreading faster with every passing moment. Twilight and Zecora were engulfed, forced to breathe the stuff. It burned a little, mint filling their nostrils.

Twilight could feel her affection for Zecora pulling free of herself. She could feel her need to make Celestia happy separating out. It was like she was facing two other copies of herself, though the other two didn't really exist.

"Are you happy?" demanded the frizzy-maned Twilight. "Once this is fixed, the princess is going to put us in the moon next, and we deserve it!" She collapsed onto her belly. "How could we have messed up this badly?!"

The other Twilight shook her head. "You're worked up over nothing. She's not even angry, besides, we have a zebra to love." She half-lidded her eyes at the original. "I'm looking forward to getting her to myself, back home, in private." She licked over her lips. "She is one fine slice of equine, inside and out."

The original noticed that her lustful side was sporting the weighty shaft she had given herself. It was growing rapidly, ready to use on Zecora. Twilight took a breath, trying to clear her thoughts, but that got more mint burning softly at her inside. She coughed, hoping that effect would fade. "Neither of you are real."

The panicked Twilight bounced to her hooves. "You don't think Celestia's upset?!"

The other batted her lashes. "You didn't enjoy your time with Zecora? She enjoyed you."

Twilight shook her head. "You're not real!" she shouted at them. "Celestia came to help, not to hurt me."

The second came close, her breath somehow noticeable beyond the mint. "I'm no lie. You know you enjoyed it. You know you want it. She's right next to you. Just pull her over and show her..."

The first curled into a ball. "I'm going to set sent to magic kindergarten..."

Twilight focused and could feel it dimly. Zecora was right next to her, possibly suffering her own encounter with her thoughts. Twilight smiled softly. "There is one thing you're not saying."

"What's that?" The sultry Twilight tilted her head curiously. "Her taste? I see why lions hunt zebras..."

Twilight blinked even as she shuddered at the curious turn of phrase. "Dear Celestia, no! You're not mentioning my sincere affection for her. You haven't spoken of love, or respect, or admiration."

The sultry Twilight blinked. "Those are... nice, I suppose... But she has a flank that just will not quit, and you shouldn't either. Go on, she'll thank you for it."

Twilight raised a hoof and set it on her sultry twin's shoulder. "If it helps, you'll live when we are having private moments, but for now, you need to go away."

The other Twilight's face fell even as she faded away. The scared Twilight scrambled to her hooves. "Does that mean you trust me then? You have to! We're in so much trouble right now!"

The original peered at her scared clone, wondering what had spurred it. Her mind had more to it than whatever had befallen the ponies of Ponyville.

Celestia closed her eyes as the green fog washed over her. It burned when she breathed it. Not terribly, but she could feel it pass into her, and irritate her insides a little. It smelled of mint. All she could see, even when she dared to open her eyes, was endless green. "Twilight? Zecora?" She called to them gently, but no answer came to her.

Warmth stirred the swirling fog before her. A familiar figure emerged from it, burning it away with her demanding stride. "They will not help you, Celestia. They are weak, just like you."

"Daybreaker." Celestia scowled at her darker reflection. "What are you doing here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Daybreaker leveled a hoof at Celestia. "I've come to take my turn. I'll have this little kingdom of yours whipped into shape in no time at all."

Celestia's wings spread wide. "I will never allow it!" She had to breath of the fog and the irritation turned into a coughing fit.

"So weak... In mind, and body it seems. We'll have to... fix that."

Tree Hugger raised a hoof just to gesture downwards. Her loyal groupies lowered here to the ground, allowing her to stand awkwardly on her own hooves. "Hey, sister, I think we're getting on the wrong hoof. I'm here to help Ponyville, ya dig? My milk'll cure all your problems, and make you healthy too!"

Big Mac shook their head. "Ain't right. Yer controlling them." They rose into the air on their new wings. "Ah'll free 'em. It's my job!"

Tree Hugger looked past Big Mac and tilted her head. "Uh, hey, dudette?"

"Don't try ta distract me!" boomed Big Mac.

"I'm not trying to harsh your vibe, righteous sister, but, really, look." She pointed at an incoming bubble of rolling green gas. It was like a fog bank consuming the entire city one building at a time and coming towards them rapidly. "Gnarly..."

Big Mac came down and spread their wings wide. "Stop!" Suddenly, it was their duty to keep the fog from proceeding. Tree Hugger and her crew were forgotten. "Stop!" The fog did not care for their shouts and engulfed them without thought or hesitation.

"Trippy," mused Tree Hugger before she was lost to the fog, her crew washed away in almost the same instant.

Big Mac was facing himself. It was his old self. A red stallion with downturned ears. "Ah ain't good enough."

Beside him was himself, the gender-confused princess. "Ah'm more than good enough!" They reached and biffed the depressed Big Mac lightly. "Why are you so down? I'm here to help."

"Yeah, the mares in my life tend to do that." The male Big Mac quirked a soft smile. "Good for 'em."

The original Big Mac tilted their head. "That ain't... exactly true?"

"Nope." The sad Big Mac sat up. "Ya know it's true. Remember that night. Sis came back from the Everfree, where we ain't never supposed to go. She did. She came back, all smiles. She done rescued a princess."

The other, the princess, shook her head. "None of that matters, because now we're a princess." She waved a hoof between herself and the other princess-formed Big Mac. "We done it. We made it. We kin save the world!"

The original princess Mac sank to her haunches. "But... we ain't."

The sad one quirked a little smile. "Ya see."

"Yup..."

The new princess quirked an ear. "Ah don't get it. Ya have it. We can be--"

"But we ain't." The older princess rose to her hooves. "Ah'm not helping. Ah'm makin' it worse. Ah... want everyone to see what I got... but..."

"Yer forcing it," finished the sad Mac. "Yer bein' just as bad as the brothers."

The older princess wrinkled her nose at the idea of being compared to Flim and Flam. "No thanks!" He snorted at the sad Mac. "Ya ain't much better. Mopin' around ain't gonna fix a thing."

The sad Mac raised his shoulders. "Should I be happy being more mare than stallion?" His brows went up. "What would Sugar Belle say?"

The older princess blinked softly. He had forgotten. How had he forgotten? "Uh, I..."

"Ya done messed up."

"I did..."

The new princess clopped a hoof on the ground. "She's safer than ever before, because we're here."

"No." The older princess Mac dismissed the new princess with a wave of a hoof. "Ah got a lot to fix."

The sad Mac smiled a little as he rose to his hooves. "Yer gonna tell me to go too?"

The original frowned a moment. "Nope. Sorry for forgettin' ya." They offered a hoof and they hugged gently. Their sorrow would have to be worked through with a bit more time.

Rarity sipped softly from the cup of tea she held in her magic. "I'm ever-so-glad we've put this awkward situation behind us." Despite her calm words, the room was anything but calm. Filthy was atop his wife, the two having switched to belly-to-belly as they rutted with all the energy of ponies half their age. "It's really so nice to share quality time with friends."

Rose drew back from her lingering kiss with Daisy to nod. "It really is. I'm so glad we got together today. We have to do it more often." She nuzzled gently at Daisy. "How are you holding up?"

Daisy didn't return the nuzzle. With the kiss interrupted, her eyes had moved to the sun-giving window and what was beyond it. "What's that?"

Without a further word, the fog rushed over the house, submerging all the ponies present into their own minds to face what had been unleashed.

Author's Note

This is coming to a head. You will note that this is not undoing what has been done, at least physically, just giving them a fresh chance to face their choices and desires.

Votes, mmm, tough one.

1: Let's go into Rarity's mind
2: Filthy and Spoiled have issues to work out.
3: What lurks in the mind of Lyra?
4: Derpy(Muffins Hooves) and the Doctor are overcome by the fog.
5: The cube reacts to this disruption of joy giving.

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