Unexpected Changes

"Sunset, I'm still tracking down all the information, but I seem to have found a possible answer. There's a story in one book I found about a Unicorn named Silver Hoof. He apparently was experimenting with an advanced method of transformation magic that wouldn't just change the subject, but change reality itself so that no one thought they had ever been anything different. Its not clear if he was ever successful in his experiments or what his ultimate goal was. He vanished over a thousand years ago, its possible that somehow it wound up in the Human World, but I can't prove anything. I'm sorry, I know its not a lot to go on, but its a start. I'll see if I can get any more information on it, maybe Celestia or Starswirl the Bearded might know something."

Sunset sighed as she read the words Twilight had written and laid back in the bed. She vaguely recalled Silver Hoof being the name of a Unicorn Stallion who had specialized in transformation magic, but she didn't know a lot about him beyond that.

She sighed a little and adjusted the covers a little as she reached over and picked up a pen before she started writing her response.

"Yeah, I vaguely remember hearing about him while I was at Celestia's School. Thanks for looking into it, I know its not easy to find information on this kind of thing so I'm just glad you found something. We'll keep an eye on things here, maybe we can find whoever is using this magic and put a stop to it before its too late."

She set the pen down and closed her eyes for a long moment. She didn't know what might be causing this, but she still got the feeling that there was someone, or somepony, out there that was purposely causing this to happen. It was the only thing that made sense to her.

The fact that it had tied to a town that her human counterpart had vanished from still bugged her as well. Something about that felt weird, was it possible she had been the first victim of the magic? Or was there something more sinister going on and it was just a coincidence?

She sighed and opened her eyes to see the book glowing as a response came from Princess Twilight.

"Be careful, from what I've learned it seems like Silver Hoof's notes said that cutie marks are the key to making sure the transformation is permanent for fully grown ponies. They seem to emerge during moments of extreme emotion following the full physical transformation. If you or any of your friends are infected by the magic, then you have to be careful or you might not be able to be transformed back."

"Great, no pressure right?" Sunset said with a groan as she looked back at the door to the bathroom where Twilight was getting a shower.

She sighed and picked the pen back up for a moment as she tried to think of what to say next. There was a lot of problems going on right now, and if they didn't stop the magic soon it might be too late.

She finally started writing again:

"Okay, thanks Twilight. We'll do everything we can to make sure that its stopped, I just hope that we're not already too late. Let me know if you find anything else."

She closed the book up and put it off to the side, looking at herself in the mirror she flinched when she saw a pair of pony ears poking out from her hair. It wasn't like when she ponied up, this was something weird, and almost unnatural, it was as if she was losing part of who she was.

She sighed a little as she laid back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, she had been born a pony and it had been strange being human. She had actually thought about going back to Equestria more times than she wanted to admit to her friends.

But her friends? They didn't deserve this, no one did, they were having their humanity taken away from them and they didn't even know what was going on. She sighed and just hoped that it wasn't going to be too late, they were going to meet up with their friends the next day anyway.

"Hey Sunny, any word from Princess Twilight?" Twilight asked as she came in with a towel wrapped around her body.

"Yeah, she thinks she found some information on it, but she doesn't..." Sunset said and stopped when she saw a tail poking out from behind the towel that Twilight swished unconsciously. "Twilight, you have a tail."

"Huh?" Twilight asked and looked behind her at the tail. "So? That's always been there."

Sunset blinked and groaned, yeah, it was too late Twilight was infected and so was she. That just upped the time table too, they had to figure out a cure before they got their cutie marks, and before Rarity and Applejack did too. She sighed a little and patted the bed next to her.

"Okay Twi, lets just relax for tonight," Sunset said with a smile as she looked at her girlfriend. "With everything that's going on, I just want to get a good night's sleep."

"Alright," Twilight said as she dropped the towel and laid down next to Sunset and wrapped her arms gently around the fire haired woman. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is fine..." Sunset said with a shake of her head. "I'm just worried about everything that's going on is all. If there really is someone out there transforming humans into ponies...:"

"Then we'll stop them like we stopped all the other threats," Twilight said with a smile as she kissed her neck gently. "Don't worry about it Sunset. You've got friends who are willing to help you no matter what, you just have to figure out how to tell them what you think is going on without them thinking you're crazy."

"Yeah, I know," Sunset said with a chuckle as she snuggled up with Twilight. "I just feel like there's something big we're missing here. Why would someone want to turn people into ponies?"

"I don't know," Twilight admitted. "There's always been humans and ponies on Earth, maybe they didn't want there to be any more humans?"

Sunset sighed a little, this was getting harder and harder to explain. She sighed and nodded a little. "Yeah, maybe... I just wish I knew who was behind it."

She yawned a little and drifted off to sleep. Twilight smiled a little as she pulled the covers up over the two of them and fell asleep soon after, still holding Sunset close to her.

<--->

Sunset sighed as she looked at the book as she and Twilight took a seat in the living room. Their friends would be here soon and she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to try and break any of this to them, something about this was weird and she still didn't like it.

"Still no word from Princess Twilight huh?" Twilight asked as she looked over at her girlfriend who shook her head. "Well, there's no use moping about it right now. Lets just try and enjoy our time with our friends, okay?"

"Okay," Sunset said and shook her head a little. "Yeah, that's gonna be a fun time. 'Hi Rarity and Applejack, your lives as you know them are a lie because Equestrian magic is turning you into ponies.' Yeah, they're not gonna think I'm crazy at all."

"We've seen magic with a transformative effect before," Twilight pointed out. "You, Gloriosa, me..."

"Yeah, but, that's different, its more like a side effect of the magic," Sunset said with a shake of her head. "This is transformation magic, its a completely different thing. I know its kind of hard to explain, magic is, weird and this kind of magic its beyond anything I've ever seen before."

Twilight just sighed a little as she pulled Sunset in close and let her rest her head on her chest as Sunset smiled softly and looked up at Twilight. "You're going to be just fine Sunset, we all are. If you're right and someone or somepony is messing with humans like this, then we're going to stop them somehow."

"Yeah... I know," Sunset said with a sigh. "I just hope that we'll be able to stop them in time. If this thing is as powerful as it seems, it may be able to transform all humans..."

"That is a scary thought," Twilight said with a chuckle as she swished her tail a little. "Then again it has its bonuses."

"Oh, like what?" Sunset asked.

"Like I get to see your sexy bare butt all the time," Twilight said with a giggle as she swatted at Sunset's butt a little which just made Sunset laugh. "And it gives us more time to focus on other things, and who knows maybe some good will come out of it."

"Yeah, maybe..." Sunset said with a shake of her head. "Its still weird though, I feel like I'm just getting used to being human after everything that's happened and now its being taken away. I don't know, maybe its not a bad completely bad thing, I wouldn't mind being a pony again, but..."

"You wish you had a choice?" Twilight asked and Sunset nodded a little. "Don't worry Sunset, you're going to be just fine, we're still going to be friends no matter what. That I can promise you, we just have to make sure that we make it through this together."

"Thanks Twi," Sunset said and leaned up and gave her a light kiss on the lips. "I just hope that we'll figure out what's going on before any of our friends get transformed fully."

"Don't worry about it Sunset, I'm sure it won't come to that," Twilight said with a roll of her eyes as she nuzzled Sunset lightly. "Come on, we'll just talk to them about everything that's going on and hope that maybe we can figure something out if we put our heads together."

"Yeah, hopefully," Sunset said as she swished her tail unconsciously and looked down at it for a moment. "Its weird having a tail in this body, I don't even know what to expect right now. I guess I've just gotten so used to being human that I'm worried about what's going on."

"Don't worry about it, you'll be just fine," Twilight said as the doorbell rang. "Ah, that should be our friends, I'll get the door."

Sunset sighed a little as she leaned back on the couch and let Twilight get up and head for the front door. She stared at the journal for a long moment as if hoping that just watching it would will it to respond and say that Princess Twilight had an answer.

But it remained as it was with no sign of changing. She sighed a little and set it off to the side as she waited for Twilight to return with their friends.

"Sunset darling, are you doing okay?" Rarity's voice was heard from behind her and she turned and her face fell at the sight of a Unicorn and an Earth Pony mare that looked like Rarity and Applejack standing there.

"Yeah... never better," she said with a weak smile that she didn't really feel. This was going to make things even more complicated.

<--->

Scootaloo sighed a little as she opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. She checked her body, though thankfully other than fur starting to grow she still looked human. She swung her leg around and slid her stump into the prosthetic leg that had been made for her.

She had spent the night on the couch while Sweetie Belle took the bed. She looked back at her wings and tried to figure out what she was going to do about all of this, there weren't a lot of great options and she still needed to try and get in touch with Sunset right now.

She smiled lightly when she heard the shower running and the soft, sweet singing voice coming from it. Sweetie Belle had a lovely voice that Scootaloo had to admit she envied a little sometimes. But for now, she just had to try and relax and maybe figure out what she was going to do next.

She headed over to the kitchen and poured a bowl of cereal as she started to eat it. She yawned a little as she played with the spoon a little, thinking about what had happened the night before.

She had finally worked up the courage to ask Sweetie Belle out, that was what she had expected to happen. But why had they suddenly started to transform like this? There didn't seem to be a logical explanation for that, but then again a lot of what she had seen while she was in High School defied explanation too.

Magic, it always seemed to come back to magic and this time it was affecting her and her friends. She just hoped that whatever was going on, she could get some sort of answers from Sunset Shimmer.

"Hey Scoots, what's on your mind?" Sweetie Belle asked as she walked out of the bathroom and gave Scootaloo a smile. She had barely changed overnight as well as she slid up to Scootaloo and wrapped her arms around the orange girl gently.

"Just thinking about some things is all," Scootaloo said with a shrug as she felt Sweetie's embrace. She felt soft, not like her skin, but the fur growing on her arms was softer than Scootaloo had expected. "I was thinking maybe we could swing by Sunset and Twilight's place after awhile."

"Really, why's that?" Sweetie asked as she planted soft kisses along the back of Scootaloo's neck. "Is something wrong Scoots? You were acting kind of weird last night."

"No, no, everything's fine," Scootaloo said, she was lying through her teeth but she didn't want to worry Sweetie Belle. She shivered a little at the feeling of the girl's kisses. "Also still kind of reeling from the fact that I have a girlfriend now. I've never really been in a relationship before, you know?"

"Yeah, I always figured you were just waiting for the right pony," Sweetie said with a light chuckle. "I know I was, I guess I didn't really think that you might be waiting for me until last night."

"I love you Sweetie Belle, that's never going to change," Scootaloo said softly as she closed her eyes.

"Why would it?"

"Oh, no reason," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "I'm just thinking out loud is all."

"Well, I have work in a bit," Sweetie said, she worked as a singing waitress at a local restaurant that took up most of her time as she saved up for college. "Maybe you could swing by for lunch? I'd love to have you there."

"Yeah, I might just do that," Scootaloo said with a soft smile. "I just have to get some things done first, and I'd like to swing by Sunset's house like I said. Its probably nothing, but I'd like to check on some things just in case."

"Oh, okay," Sweetie said though she looked confused at that. "Is this about what you were talking about last night? I mean, I don't think I've ever heard of anypony thinking they were human before."

"Yeah, kind of," Scootaloo admitted, but she just shook her head, she didn't want to sound crazy to Sweetie Belle. "Its probably nothing you know? Maybe I'm just remembering wrong or something."

"How about, we take a little time to relax and maybe enjoy ourselves a little before I have to go to work," Sweetie said as she rested her hands on Scootaloo's chest a little.

Scootaloo blushed and moaned softly. If it was any other time she certainly wouldn't hesitate to take Sweetie up on that offer, but something about this whole thing still felt weird to her. She sighed a little and shook her head. "Not right now, I'd like to get some stuff done first."

"Aww," sweetie said with a pout. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, I promise I'll make it up to you later," Scootaloo said with a soft smile. "I promise."

Sweetie Belle smiled a little as she leaned in and kissed Scootaloo gently. She smiled and flicked her tail a little, wrapping around Scootaloo's waist as she giggled a little. She pressed up against Scootaloo and smiled at her, grinning evily as she used her magic to pinch the transforming Pegasus' butt.

"Hey!" Scootaloo said with a laugh as Sweetie just giggled. "No fair doing that just because I said not right now."

"You know you like it," Sweetie said with a laugh as she kissed Scootaloo again. "Come on, you still need to get a shower anyway."

Scootaloo smiled and nodded a little as she headed off to get her clothes and then to the bathroom. She looked back at Sweetie for a long moment and smiled a little as she swished her tail, trying to resist the urge to invite the white furred Unicorn in with her.

She sighed and closed the door to the bathroom as she slid off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed a little as she saw the fur and wings were still there, whatever was causing her body to be transformed wasn't stopping, she just wished that she could understand exactly why it was happening to them.

She wondered what might be happening to Apple Bloom, whatever was transforming them had started while they weren't together so she was probably still human. Well, unless something else happened with her, but Scootaloo shook her head a little at that thought, she didn't want to think about that.

She turned on the water and let it get to just the right temperature before slipping inside and enjoying the feeling of the water running over her naked body. She closed her eyes and shivered lightly at the feeling as the water ran over her sensitive body, it was as if the fur that was growing over her made her feel even more sensitive.

She sighed a little as she opened her eyes, trying not to think about the growing desire to have sex with Sweetie Belle. She didn't like the feeling, it was like her body was trying to get her to give into her most basic desires, and she was more and more tempted to do it.

She let out a soft moan as she rubbed her vagina lightly, it felt more sensitive as she shivered lightly. Her body shuddered as she rubbed her breasts. She had to deal with this and keep from telling Sweetie Belle what was going on, she knew that if Sweetie walked through that door she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

She moaned as she plunged her finger into her slit, trying to suppress a louder moan as she moved her fingers in and out of herself. She shivered, just happy that she had a chance to relieve the growing sensations in her body even if it was begging for something more than just her fingers.

She gave her breast a squeeze as she moved her finger in and out and pushed in a second to join it. She moaned louder as she kept going, her body reacting to the sensations as shivers ran up and down her spine. Images played through her mind of Sweetie Belle and she tried to shake them away as she thrust her fingers in and out of her slit.

The images of Sweetie Belle didn't stop, her imagination was getting wilder and wilder as she imagined her girlfriend sliding over to where she was and licking her waiting slit. Her tongue working its magic over Scootaloo's vagina as she imagined what it would be like.

She gasped as her vaginal muscles clamped down on her fingers as she reached orgasm, now breathing heavily as she leaned back, slowly sliding her fingers out of her slit.

But as she slid them out something felt weird, and she looked down at herself and let out a small scream of surprise to see a winking horse vagina looking back at her.

"Are you okay in there?" Sweetie Belle asked as she knocked on the door.

"Uh, yeah, everything is fine," Scootaloo said as she started to wash herself clean again. "I'll be out in a few minutes, don't worry about me."

She just hoped that she really was going to be okay. She felt like she was going insane, maybe there was something more going on than she knew, but she felt like her sanity was slipping away. Was it possible that she had imagined ever being human and this was the truth?

No, she remembered everything, something about all of this was weird and she knew that she had to make sure that it really wasn't just her imagination. Hopefully Sunset would be able to give her some sort of answers.

She sighed as she washed her hair and then turned off the water and got out of the shower. She dried herself off and ran a brush through her hair before she dropped the towel and looked at herself in the mirror.

She could still see her human self hidden behind the strange transforming body. Her wings were limp on her back and her already fairly modest breasts were starting to shrink a little into her body.

Whatever was happening to her, it seemed to be turning her into some sort of horse, maybe a Pegasus. She had heard stories of Equestria from Sunset, but she hadn't imagined that she'd ever be anything more than human.

She sighed and pulled her clothes on. She had to get to Sunset and Twilight's place and hope that she'd be able to get some answers there.

"Scootaloo, are you sure you're okay?" Sweetie asked, her voice sounding worried.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Scootaloo said with a small smile as she unlocked the bathroom door and headed out, nearly running into Sweetie Belle who was standing outside the door. "I'm sorry, I just have been, distracted lately."

"Its okay Scootaloo," Sweetie said and leaned in and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I love you Scootaloo."

"I love you too Sweetie," Scootaloo said with a smile, this one was genuine. The only thing she was sure of was that she loved Sweetie Belle, right now that was enough. "So, about making things up to me..."

"Don't worry, meet me here tonight," Scootaloo said with a smile as she reached around and gave Sweetie's butt a light pinch.

"Hey!" Sweetie said with a laugh.

"All's fair in love and war, besides, its payback for using your magic on me," Scootaloo said with a laugh as she picked up her wallet and put it in her pocket. "I'll see you later, I promise."

"I'll hold you to that," Sweetie said with a smile as the two headed out, sharing one last kiss before they parted ways.

Scootaloo took one last look towards Sweetie Belle as she climbed onto her motorized scooter. She had no idea how far Sweetie's changes had progressed and she was honestly worried, but at the moment there wasn't a whole lot she could do.

She sighed and motored off, she had to get a few things done before she went to see Sunset. She just hoped that everything was going to work out okay.

<--->

"Yah have ta be kiddin' me, mah family's always been ponies goin' back as far as anypony can remember," Applejack said as she laughed a little.

"Yes darling, even with the occasional magic coming from Equestria, this sounds pretty unlikely," Rarity said, she and Applejack were seated together. "I think I'd know if Applejack was ever human."

Sunset sighed a little, she had hoped that they would at least be willing to hear her out. She had to admit that it did sound pretty unlikely, but there wasn't a lot she could do right now. She had to figure out how to convince her friends that it was the truth.

"I don't think she's kidding," Rarity said as she looked at her marefriend before she looked back at Sunset. "Look Sunset, its not that we don't believe you but..."

"We don't believe you," Applejack finished with a shake of her head. "Sunset, Ah know we've seen a lot of crazy stuff around here related ta magic, but this ain't like any magic we've ever seen before. Ah really don't know, Ah mean mah head's tellin' me somethin' different than ya'll."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Sunset said with a shake of her head.

"Sunset darling, its not that we don't trust you, but this is a lot to take in," Rarity said. "I mean, we've both been ponies for as long as we can remember so why should we believe anything different?"

Sunset sighed a little as she looked over at Twilight. This probably hadn't been a good idea and they should've just waited until they had more evidence than just a theory and some weird magical surges. She brushed her hair back and sighed a little as she looked at Twilight and then at her friends.

"You're right, there's nothing I can do to prove it," she admitted with a sigh. "But I'm not so sure that something isn't going on here. I just want a chance to prove it before its too late."

Rarity and Applejack whispered between themselves as they discussed what was going on. Sunset tensed up for a moment but she felt Twilight put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Alright Sunset, while we don't entirely believe you, but we're willing to at least consider the possibility," Rarity said with a shake of her head. "You're our friend and you wouldn't have any reason to lie to us."

"Yeah..." Sunset said and sighed a little as she heard the doorbell ring. "That should be Pinkie or Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, I'll get the door."

She got to her feet and headed to the front door and opened it expecting to see one of her friends, she was surprised to see Scootaloo standing there. Sunset flinched a little when she saw that Scootaloo's body was in the middle of a transformation into a Pegasus, and she looked at Sunset with a worried look on her face.

"Hey Scootaloo, can I help you with something?" Sunset asked as she put on a smile, she didn't want to scare anyone else right now.

"Can I come inside?" Scootaloo asked as she looked around for a moment. "I'd like to talk to you and Twilight in private if possible."

Sunset blinked a little and nodded as she held the door open for the younger woman to come inside. She headed into the living room and whispered to Twilight that Scootaloo wanted to talk to them about something.

"Is everythin' okay?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine, we'll be back in a few minutes," Sunset said as she and Twilight headed upstairs with Scootaloo and looked at the girl. "Is everything okay?"

"This might sound crazy, but before last night I was a normal human," Scootaloo said and Sunset blinked in surprise at that. "Then something happened and I've been turning into, I guess a pony or something ever since."

"Wait, you remember being human?" She asked as she looked at the purple haired young woman.

"Yeah, why?" Scootaloo asked as she looked between them. "I mean, Sweetie Belle was affected too but she doesn't remember being human."

"That means the magic is spreading," Twilight whispered to Sunset who nodded a little. "Scootaloo, we've been following some magical surges leading to Canterlot and we think they may be tied into some form of transformation magic from Equestria."

"Yeah, I thought it was something like that, its why I came to you," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "Do you know of any way to reverse it for me and Sweetie Belle yet?"

"No, we're still trying to figure out who's even causing it," Sunset said and brushed her hair back a little. "But, if its spreading around the city then it could be anyone. And anyone could be a target, and without a cure there won't be any humans left."

There was a long pause as they let that sink in for a long moment. Scootaloo finally sighed and nodded a moment. "How can I help?"

<--->

Rainbow Dash yawned as she woke up and felt a weight on her chest. She smiled as she looked down at the sleeping Fluttershy who was snuggled up with her at the moment. The pink haired girl had a smile on her face as she snuggled up against Rainbow's body in her sleep.

Rainbow stroked her hair gently as she let Fluttershy sleep. She picked up her phone and looked at the time, they had slept latter than they meant to but there was no harm in it, it wasn't like they couldn't wait a little longer to go to Sunset's house.

She closed her eyes and leaned back in the bed. She and Fluttershy had been dating since high school, and the shy girl was everything Rainbow could ask for in a girlfriend. Rainbow had even helped her come out of her shell a little while Fluttershy helped the usually brash woman be more grounded.

Now she was just glad that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. She swished her tail a little as she felt a light stirring on her chest as Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked up at her.

"Hey sleepyhead," Rainbow said with a smile as she leaned down and kissed Fluttershy lightly on the forehead. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine I guess," Fluttershy said as she smiled softly. "Did, you really propose to me last night or was that just a wonderful dream?"

"Oh, it wasn't a dream, I can promise you that," Rainbow said with a smile as she held Fluttershy close. "I'm lucky to have you Fluttershy, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Fluttershy smiled and snuggled up against the blue skinned woman's chest, feeling the soft fur tickle her cheek a little. She smiled and closed her eyes, the two of them just holding that position for a few moments as they enjoyed the feeling of closeness between them.

"I love you too Rainbow Dash," she said softly.

Rainbow sighed happily as she pushed Fluttershy's hair back out of her eyes. She didn't want the moment to ever end but she knew that they had to get going soon.

"So, I was thinking we both need to shower, why don't we..." Rainbow said with a teasing smirk as Fluttershy slugged her lightly.

"Not funny Rainbow Dash, you know I'm not ready for that yet," she said with a smile that didn't seem to match her words.

"Yeah, yeah, you can't blame a mare for trying," Rainbow said with a laugh as she hugged Fluttershy tightly. "Don't worry, lets just get ready and then head for Sunset's place, sound good?"

"Sounds perfect," Fluttershy said softly and smiled up at her again. "But, lets just stay like this for a little while longer, okay?"

"Sure Fluttershy," Rainbow said as she smiled and held her fiance close to her. "Anything you want, its yours."

Fluttershy smiled and closed her eyes as she snuggled up with Rainbow Dash for a moment. She sighed happily as she let her thoughts drift, briefly thinking about what had happened over the past day when she suddenly opened her eyes as she realized something.

"What's wrong Flutters?" Rainbow asked as she looked at Fluttershy worriedly for a moment.

"I just remembered where I saw that cloaked pony before, well not me specifically but I remember a bird telling me about it," Fluttershy said as she looked at Rainbow Dash. "He said that he saw a cloaked pony like that at Applejack's family farm yesterday, and that it had a sort of weird glowing necklace."

"Are you sure its the same pony?" Rainbow Dash asked, suddenly a bit confused by that. "Why would they be hanging out around the Apple farm?"

"I don't know, but he said the necklace did something to Applejack's brother and his marefriend," Fluttershy said and shook her head a little. "I'm sorry, it might be nothing, but unless there are two strange ponies walking around Canterlot like that..."

"I see," Rainbow Dash said and sighed a little as she held Fluttershy close. "What do you think we should do then?"

"I, don't know, it was just a thought," Fluttershy admitted. "The bird got a pretty good look at the cloaked pony and it did look a little like the one we saw, same coloring and everything from what we could see at least."

"Alright, lets talk to Sunset Shimmer, maybe she knows something," Rainbow said with a sigh. "There goes enjoying our morning together..."

"Don't worry Rainbow Dash, everything will be just fine," Fluttershy said with a soft smile as she leaned up and kissed Rainbow softly on the lips. "Besides, it doesn't seem to have done anything to us, right?"

"Right," Rainbow said with a shrug. "Or Applejack's brother, maybe its nothing. I think we should at least look into it though, I don't like this at all."

"Okay Rainbow, lets go talk to Sunset," Fluttershy said as the two women got out of bed and went to get dressed.

Rainbow smiled a little as she snuck a quick look at Fluttershy as she got changed into her clothes for the day. She knew that even if something weird was going on, then she was going to be able to face it together with her friends.

<--->

"Silver Hoof, Silver Hoof..." Twilight said as she ran her hoof along the books in her library in the Castle of Friendship. "I know I had something in here about him..."

"What are you looking for Twilight?" Starlight Glimmer asked as she came into the library and looked up at the Princess who was looking through books on one of the top shelves.

"I'm looking for any information on either transformation magic or a stallion named Silver Hoof," Twilight said without looking back down at Starlight. "he was apparently some great user of transformation magic some 1000 years ago, but I don't know a whole lot about him."

"Silver Hoof huh?" Starlight asked as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I seem to remember that name coming up once, where was that book..."

She trotted over to a bookshelf and went through the books one by one.

"I already looked through those books," Twilight said with a sigh as she put another book away. "There isn't a chapter or anything about him in any of them."

"No, no, it was more like a brief mention, something easily missed," Starlight said and then took a book out and flipped to a page. "Here we go, its from a mare named Light Side's journal. She apparently was a traveling Unicorn that sort of, solved problems wherever she went. She mentioned him right here."

Twilight flew down and landed on the floor next to Starlight as she took the book and read it carefully.

"I passed through another village that had been targeted by Bandits. The Bandits' reign of terror seems to have come to an unexpected end here however as they crossed paths with a stallion of some minor renown in this area of Equestria. The reports go that he approached the bandits unarmed, and with a single spell transformed all of them into mice. He only gave his name as Silver Hoof before continuing on his way towards the Castle of the Two Sisters. I've tried to track down more information on this strange stallion but with no luck."

"Curious," Twilight said as she read it again, she flipped through a few more pages in hopes that she'd find something but the journal didn't mention the strange stallion again. "Do you think Princess Celestia may have encountered him then?"

"Maybe," Starlight said. "Didn't you send a letter to her to see if she knew anything?"

"Yeah, but I'm still waiting to hear back from her," Twilight said with a shake of her head. "Something about all of this is weird, I don't know what to make of it honestly."

"Why are you even looking for information on Silver Hoof?" Starlight asked curiously.

"It seems that there have been reports in the Human world of transformation magic and I'm seeing if it may somehow be connected to him," Twilight said with a shake of her head. "I don't think it was him personally, but I don't really know what to make of it."

"Well, with what you've told me about the Human World, weirder things have happened than a 1000 year old Stallion still being around," Starlight pointed out. "I think we have to consider all the possibilities."

"Yeah, I know, I just have to hope that Celestia can give me some sort of information," Twilight said with a sigh. "Sunset seems really worried about this so I honestly don't know what to do."

"Well, I honestly don't know what to say," Starlight said with a sigh as she put the book back. in its place. "Magic seems to be showing up in that world a lot. Maybe its just a side effect of the large amount of Equestrian magic that's been reaching there or something?"

"No, if that was the case it would've started in Canterlot and expanded outward since that's the highest concentration of Equestrian magic," Twilight said with a shake of her head. "But Sunset said that it started away from Canterlot and started moving towards Canterlot instead."

"Weird," Starlight said. "So what are you going to do? If there is something going on in the Human World, they're going to need help."

"Yeah... I know," Twilight said with a sigh as she shook her head a little. "I'm worried though, I honestly don't know what might happen if this goes too far. This kind of magic is, well honestly its kind of unprecedented, I just hope that Sunset and her friends are going to be okay."

"Me too," Starlight said as the door to the library opened and Spike came in carrying a scroll.

"This just came from Celestia," Spike said as he gave the scroll to Twilight and she unrolled it and read what it said, her heart sank when she saw what it said.

"Dear Twilight,

If there is truth to your theory that this is somehow tied to Silver Hoof, then you and Sunset need to approach with extreme caution. Silver Hoof himself entered the portal to the Human World some 1000 years ago before we could stop him. The biggest concern we have is that he's able to tap into the natural magic that all species in this world have and change it into something else. If there is some remnant of this power in the Human world, then there is a real chance that it might be too late.

What we do know about his power is that he could use it to re-write reality and change a species of anyone he wanted. There is a real risk that someone could use this power to get rid of an entire species. I do not know why they would want to do this, but whatever force is behind this in the Human World, you have to approach with extreme caution.

I would suggest going through the mirror and seeing if you can help Sunset figure out what's going on over there. I wish you luck Twilight, but approach with caution. It is hard to tell exactly what is behind the threat to that world, and it may be dangerous to Equestria as well.

It may be nothing, but he seemed to channel his power through a medallion that he carried with him at all times. This could possibly be the source of whoever is doing this' power, I just hope that it can be stopped before it is too late.

Sincerely,
Celestia."

"Well, that answers that question," Twilight said with a sigh as she looked at the scroll and rolled it back up. "I'm going to the Human World then. Starlight, can I trust you to keep an eye on things around here while I'm gone?"

"Uh, but shouldn't you have some sort of back-up in case something goes wrong?" Starlight asked as Twilight took her journal out and started writing in it to tell Sunset she was going. "I mean, I've only been on the human side of things once, but if there is some threat over there maybe you shouldn't go it alone."

"Yeah, I agree with Starlight," Spike said with a nod as she looked between them. "Maybe it would be a good idea to bring at least somepony with you."

"Maybe," Twilight said thoughtfully as she started writing in the journal. "I think I might have an idea, Spike can you get ready to send another letter for me?"

"Sure, who are you sending it to this time?" Spike asked as he took out a piece of parchment and pen.

"Just a new friend, lets hope she can help us out," Twilight said with a sigh as she started dictating to Spike what she wanted the letter to say.

She just hoped that everything was going to be okay.

<--->

"There's one thing I still don't get," Scootaloo said as they finished discussing what was going on. "Why aren't I affected like Sweetie Belle and the others are? I mean, I'm not really anything special."

"Well, if we compare it to a disease outbreak, its entirely possible that you have some sort of natural immunity, at least to the mental effects for some reason," Twilight said as she adjusted her glasses a little. "I mean, I can't really prove it, and even I don't know how all of this works. But the fact is that so far only you two remember being human, I don't know why that might be, but its something that's worth investigating at least."

Sunset looked at the purple haired young woman for a moment as she thought about it. She was likely immune because she had been born in Equestria, but that didn't explain Scootaloo at all. Unless there was something that they were missing, there was no obvious reason that she shouldn't be affected by the mental changes. It was like there was something that wasn't obvious, and she hated not knowing what was going on.

"I honestly don't know either," Sunset said with a sigh. "There's something about it that's weird... maybe we're missing something or there's a variable we missed or something. Regardless, we have to approach with caution and hopefully we'll be able to reverse it for most of us."

"Most of us?" Scootaloo asked, she suddenly looked afraid.

"Cutie marks seem to be what makes it permanent," Sunset said with a shake of her head. "And Rarity and Applejack already have their cutie marks so they're probably locked in pony form permanently. I don't know what that means for their family like Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle though, its possible that they are still human and can be reversed."

"Yeah, Sweetie Belle still looked pretty much human this morning, other than some pony parts," Scootaloo said with a shake of her head. "Apple Bloom, I haven't really seen her since yesterday afternoon and she said she had to get back to Sweet Apple Acres."

"Great..." Sunset said. "Since that was where it began in Canterlot, that means she's probably infected. So, what are we going to do?"

"We'll have to approach it scientifically," Twilight said as she adjusted her glasses again. "We need to figure out who is doing this and why for one thing. You don't just go around turning people into ponies for no reason, and we should also see if we can figure out if there's anyone else who remembers being human."

"Right," Sunset said as she looked back at Scootaloo. "Are you going to be okay Scootaloo?"

"Yeah... its funny, yesterday I was more worried about how I was going to ask Sweetie out than any of this..." Scootaloo said with a sigh as she played with a lock of her hair. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"Well, if all else fails we could go to Sunrise Lake," Sunset suggested. "If there's any clues there then we should..."

"Wait, did you say Sunrise Lake?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, its where it all started, my counterpart in this world is apparently from there but she went missing years ago," Sunset said as she looked at Scootaloo confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I was born in Sunrise Lake," Scootaloo said and blinked a little. "I was raised in the orphanage there until I was adopted by a couple that moved to Canterlot."

"Okay, that's interesting," Sunset said and looked at Twilight. "What do you think?"

"It could be nothing, but there's always a chance that its connected to why she can remember being human," Twilight said as she shook her head a little. "I wish I had more information, do you know anything about your birth family Scootaloo?"

"Not really, they died when I was a baby, I think I might've had an older sister, but we were separated when I was adopted, I don't really remember her..." Scootaloo said as she shook her head a little. "That was when I was about 3, I only know it was Sunrise Lake because Rainbow Dash's family tracked down some information on it and told me when I was older."

"I see," Sunset said and looked at Twilight again. "So, we've got another connection, that's not a lot to go on but it still might be something. Do you have any suggestions?"

"We could talk to her adopted parents, see if they have any information," Twilight said with a shrug.

"No, probably not, those records are sealed..." Sunset said with a shake of her head and was about to say something else when the journal started glowing.

She opened it up and read the message from Princess Twilight and let out a sigh of relief. Twilight said that she had found evidence that Silver Hoof had come to the Human World and possibly what to look for so she was coming through the portal.

"Please tell me that means you have some good news," Scootaloo said as she looked at Sunset with apprehension. "Any chance Princess Twilight figured out how to undo it?"

"Sadly, not yet," Sunset said with a shake of her head. "Sorry Scootaloo, but we'll do everything we can to reverse what's going on here. She is however coming here with their world's Spike, that's something at least."

The three sat there for a long moment, there was one thing that was worrying all of them but they weren't sure exactly how to put it into words. It was the worst case scenario right now, and saying it out loud would make it feel all too real, and that terrified them.

"What do we do if we can't stop whoever's causing this?" Scootaloo asked, finally putting a voice to the question that had been worrying them. "I mean... we don't know anything about what's going on here, what if by the time we stop whoever is behind this, its too late?"

"Then we might not have a choice but to adapt and learn, we don't seem to lose friendships so that's a good sign at least," Sunset said with a sigh as she shook her head and looked back at Scootaloo's wings. "Until then, we should probably act as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Maybe if we can get some answers from Twilight and track down whoever is doing this it can be stopped, but we do have to consider the possibility that it won't be."

Scootaloo and Twilight nodded in agreement. Scootaloo sighed and got to her feet. "I should get going... Sweetie's going to be worried about me if I don't make it to lunch and I still have a few things to do."

"See if you can check in with Apple Bloom," Sunset suggested. "We have to see if she's been affected, let me know if you see anything suspicious okay?"

"Okay," Scootaloo said as they got up and started down the stairs just as the doorbell rang and they opened the door to show Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy standing there.

"Oh, hey Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said with a smile as she looked at her adopted sister.

"Hey Scoots, I didn't expect to see you here," Rainbow said with a soft smile as she gave her sister a hug. "Is everything okay? You were acting kind of weird last night."

"Oh, everything is fine, just needed some time to talk with Sunset is all," Scootaloo said with a smile as she looked back at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "I should get going, it was nice seeing you again."

"Okay Scootaloo, but how about we meet at your place later? I've got a surprise for you," Rainbow said with a smile as Scootaloo put her helmet on and climbed on her motorized scooter.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," Scootaloo said with a smile, she was still a bit distracted by everything that was going on but she was curious.

"Say hi to Sweetie Belle for us," Fluttershy said as she waved a little before Scootaloo took off.

Rainbow looked at Sunset and Twilight worriedly for a moment. "Is she going to be okay? She's acting kind of, strange."

"Yeah, she'll be okay," Sunset said with a nod as she held the door open for her two friends. "Come in, come in, Rarity and Applejack are already inside, we're just waiting on Pinkie Pie."

"Oh, she said she had to work today," Fluttershy said with a shake of her head. "But we wanted to talk to you about something."

Rainbow nodded as they came in and took their seats in the living room, holding hands as they did. Sunset smiled a little and took a seat with Twilight as they looked at their friends.

"So... what's up?" Sunset asked as she crossed her legs a little, looking between her friends for a long moment. "Is there anything new going on?"

"Well, umm..." Fluttershy said as she looked at Rainbow Dash for a long moment. "Me and Rainbow, umm..."

"What is it darling?" Rarity asked as she looked at the shy girl curiously for a moment. "Is everything alright?"

"Better than alright, Rainbow, do you want to tell them or should I?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at the rainbow haired girl who was staring off into space for a moment.

"Huh?" Rainbow asked and then shook her head. "Sorry, just worried about Scoots is all. Well, you know me I'm not really one for mushy stuff like this but... I proposed to Fluttershy last night."

"Awww, that's so sweet!" Rarity said with a broad smile. "Maybe I could make your wedding dresses, I've been working really hard on learning them lately and..."

"Dress," Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed the back of her head a little. "I'd rather wear a tuxedo honestly."

"Fine," Rarity said and pouted a little which just made her friends laugh. "But I'll still make yours even if you're not letting me have any fun Rainbow darling."

"Don't worry about it Rares, Ah'm sure yah will figure out some way ta make up fer it," Applejack said with a chuckle before she looked back at their friends. "Congrats ya'll, Ah have ta say Ah didn't think yah would be tha first of us ta get married."

"Well, I love Fluttershy a lot and I want to spend the rest of my life with her," Rainbow said with a soft smile as she leaned in and gave Fluttershy a kiss on the lips. "I'm just glad she didn't say no."

Sunset smiled a little as she looked at her two friends. She sighed a little, she could see the telltale signs of them transforming that she had gotten used to seeing by now, but it was interesting to her that the reality change didn't seem to actually change much other than their memories of what species they were.

Maybe that meant they weren't targeting her or her friends to break them up or something. That was kind of a relief, but still she couldn't help but be a bit worried about this. Her friends were potentially in danger and only Twilight really believed her.

She sighed and rested her head on Twilight's shoulder, maybe it wouldn't be all bad if there wasn't any humans left, at least that way she'd be among her own kind and not have to lose her friends. Still, she just wished that there was some way she could know who was behind this and why they were doing it.

"Oh!" Fluttershy said startling Sunset for a moment. "I meant to tell you Sunset, we saw a strange pony last night."

Sunset blinked a little as she looked at Fluttershy and Rainbow, that was the last thing she had expected them to say. "A strange pony? What do you mean?" She asked as she looked over at Twilight.

"Well, see last night we saw this pony dressed in a cloak," Fluttershy said. "Nothing that unusual really except then a bird I saw earlier had said that they had seen a weird pony like that in Sweet Apple Acres that used some sort of medallion on the Apple Family."

Sunset blinked, they had actually seen the pony who was doing this? That was not what she had expected to learn, and it was certainly something that needed investigation, there was only a few ponies in Canterlot that she knew of and maybe it would be a clue.

"Did you notice anything else?" Twilight asked.

"No, just that they had kind of a green-ish aura," Rainbow said.

"Why do you ask, Sunset?" Fluttershy asked she suddenly felt very nervous and unsure of exactly what was going on.
"Its a long story, but if my hunch is correct, that might've been a dangerous pony," Sunset said with a shake of her head.

One thing bugged her for a moment though, they had said pony specifically, and probably a Unicorn based on the use of magic. What was a pony doing In the Human World at all? Was it possible that it was a result of the magic, were they themselves a victim and they were just spreading the curse?

She knew she had to get to the bottom of this before it was too late.