Zero-Three

Chapters

Prologue
Stories and Reunions
Home Again
Hospital Exam
Diagnosis: Unknown

Prologue

Twilight Sparkle, a lavender unicorn filly with a dark blue mane that had a pink strip in it, was about to get through her entrance exam. She had attended Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and she knew she was going to pass. She also had her parents there to see her. The test was simple, hatch a dragon egg. If she could do that, then she could do anything.

The filly channeled all her magic towards the egg in an attempt to hatch it, wanting to see that little baby dragon from within so badly, but can't. Not even a single spark came out.

"We're sorry for wasting you're time." one of the teachers said. She was about to slump in defeat from her failure as the teachers were about to finish their notes, when all of the sudden, a massive shockwave went through Canterlot. She lit her horn in shock, letting out a powerful beam of magenta magic at the egg, releasing a small purple lizard with green spines and a light green underbelly. which let out a yawn. "What!" he said as the filly's eye's glew white, and magenta magic spirialing out of control.

Twilight Velvet and Nightlight got hit by it and were turned into potted plants plants by the filly as the teachers floated in the grasp of the aura. The dragon was hit, growing to a larger size. The light that was directly above Twiliight was dethatched from the ceiling by a magic bolt and fell directly on her head, causing even more pain on the filly as her magic began to turn a blood red color. The teachers began to see black clouds with eyes fly towards them and screamed in horror. The next thing they knew they found themselves in an eerie red and black space, where a white creature went towards them, flapping its strange wings, the feathers of which were separate from its body. A golden halo floated above the band-aid located right above a giant red eye. Each and every one who saw the vision was screaming in pain and terror or just fear at the sight of that thing: Zero, which let out a loud roar at them.

Meanwhile, Celestia was minding her own business when she saw the massive jolts. "Celestia, damnit, oh wait, that was me." the alicorn said under her breath. "BUCK!" She ran into the castle door as fast as she could, not even noticing that the magic was turning red. Hastily, she ran as fast as she could before stopping. "Why didn't I do this earlier?" Celestia muttered as she charged her horn, only to meet the horrific sight of a giant dragon through her roof, red magic flying throughout the area coming from Twilight, who had the broken remains of a lightbulb wedged onto her head and its electricity surging around with her.

The teachers were screaming in horror, and two plants sat there for some strange reason. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Okay Celly, you can do this..." as she slowly walked towards the morphing pony and slowly touched her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, causing her to close her eyes. "No, no, no." Celestia cried as she looked at the filly's head. Blood and shards of glass were on it, her mane was different, and a glowing yellow ring floated above her head. She knew that halos were a common symbol for death and for the afterlife, but this was very strange for a hole to actually appear above one's head. Twilight Velvet and Nightlight, who were no longer plants, joined her in hugging their daughter, desperately hoping for a sign that their little baby was still alive. The newly-hatched dragon just sucked the spade of his tail, he was still a baby, so he was completely unaware of what happened.

"How is she?" Velvet sobbed. "She needs to be alive, she HAS TO BE ALIVE!"

The Princess charged her horn, casting a spell that checked for any signs of life. "She is, but I'm afraid she won't be for long unless we do something. Don't worry, I'll pay for the bill, no good heart deserves to die this young..." Celestia said before feeling two small lumps on Twilight's back. "...and I'm also afraid she might not be the same Twilight Sparkle you came to know. We can only hope for the best..." Celestia turned to the teachers, who were quivering in fear. "I also might need to send these ponies to therapy."

Twilight groaned as she regained conscious. The last thing she remembered was some kind of shockwave, and she let out a jolt of magic in pure surprise and went into a surge, right before a lightbulb slammed into her head and everything went black. "Ugh, how long was I out?" she said as she opened her eyes, only for a blinding light to enter, forcing the filly to close her eyes and cover them with her hooves.

"My baby's moving, she's alive!" a familiar voice said. She recognized the voice, the voice of her mother.

"Mom?" she moaned as she let her eyes adjust to the light. She saw two figures of white and blue. "Dad?" Twilight said to the blue blur.

"Twily, you're alive!" Nightlight said. As soon as Twilight regained her vision, she noted that the background was much more vivid. 'Three-dimensional' and 'textured' would be the words she would use if they were in her vocabulary. She can see the fabriclike texture on her covers, the shine on the metallic bed frame, and the glare of the light. The only things that haven't changed were her parents. Both her parents hugged her, being careful not to crush her to death. "Thank Celestia you're alive." he said. A strange feeling came from Twilight's back as she wriggled two brand new appendages.

Twilight slowly got up, being careful not to go too fast to keep her head from hurting. It was then that she saw a snow white alicorn with a rainbow mane and golden regalia walked in. "Princess Celestia, it's you!" Twilight wrapped her front legs around Celestia's neck as the alicorn nuzzled her. She looked exactly the same as before, all the way up to her golden regalia. Twilight could detect a few chips and scratches here and there, but nothing major.

"It's good to see that you are alive." Celestia said with a smile before it dissapeared. "However, you didn't go out unscathed."

"Unscathed, what do you mean-" Twilight looked back to see two purple limbs sprouting from her back. She recognized them as wings due to the shape, but the main limb was the only thing connected. The feathers on her wings were not connected to her body, and were mainly white with red feathers at the lower edge of her brand new wingspan. "These look like wings, but not the kind I know of, and what happened to the rest of me, am I a monster? I don't want to be sent to the Everfree. I don't want to be a monster!"

"Twilight, you are not a monster." Celestia said in a louder voice. "You don't look like one. If it makes you any better, then here's a mirror." she said as she levitated the glass object towards her. Twilight looked to see not the face of a grotesque horror like she expected herself to be, she still saw the face of a young filly staring right back at her, but there were some differences. Her mane now white, her purple strip was now black and her pink strip was now a bright red. Her eyes were also different, with the sclera being a bright red, her irises were pitch black, and her pupils were white. She still had her lavender fur and unicorn horn, so that was relieving. Strangely, there was also a glowing yellow circle above her head.

At first, she thought she was dead, but she can feel a familiar thumping in her chest. She let out a smile at the fact that she was still alive, but the filly began to think about others. "But what about everybody else?" Twilight said, not noticing the change in grammar she had. "They can't see me as, whatever I am." Twilight said before wondering what kind of pony she was, if she still was one. "Princess, what kind of pony am I, if I am still one?"

"From what me and the doctors have seen, you're an alicorn, like me and Cadence." Celestia said. Twilight looked up to the white alicorn at the name of her old foal sitter. She knew of the common thought that only Celestia was a three-in-one pony, but she saw Cadence's earth pony strength in action, along with flight and a little bit of magic. "But as you see, you are not the same kind of alicorn she and I are. This is something new to me."

"Wait, are you going to dissect me!?" Twilight said before covering herself for some reason, but nothing came.

"No, we never would do that to a living creature, ever! What I'm saying is, I want to study you, and you can also learn a thing or two about me. Twilight, how would you like to become my personal protégé?" Celestia asked.

"Do I? Yes!" She said, but before she could get up, she reminded herself of her hurt head. "But I think I might need to recover, first. Do I?" Twilight said, tilting her head.

"We can always do both." Celestia said before looking at the guard with a sleeping baby dragon. He opened his eyes and the moment he saw Twilight, he attempted to take off with his wings, but fell to the ground trying. "This little guy misses you, too." the alicorn said as she levitated the dragon onto Twilight. "You know, baby dragons imprint on the one who hatched their egg, in this case, you."

"Wow, that's a neat fact." Twilight stated. Twilight Velvet and Nightlight were more than glad to see that their daughter was still alive and well, even if she is a bit different now. The newly-made alicorn was too busy talking with Celestia about what she'll learn to notice her parents let out a few small tears of joy, knowing very well that their daughter will live to see another day.

Stories and Reunions

It's been three days since Twilight Sparkle awoke to find herself to be transformed, and three days since she became the personal protégé of none other than Celestia herself. She didn't know how to raise a baby dragon, especially when you're bound to the bed, but she managed to figure something out. Currently, Spike, as she called him, was lying down, curled right beside her as she wrapped one of her new wings around him as she was singing him a lullaby. For whatever weird reason, it was compelling, but the thoughts were interrupted when a familiar alicorn walked in. "That was some great singing, little one." Celestia said. She knew that Twilight was very shy at singing before the surge, but she didn't know how she was suddenly a good singer. Maybe it was because of her new form, she did not know.

"Yep, for some reason, it feels natural." Twilight said as she pulled Spike closer to her so she could hold him between her hooves. "Spike was crying, and I sung him Mom's lullaby, and, well..." Twilight stated as she blushed. "This little angel dozed off." The strange alicorn looked at the pile of books. "Princess Celestia, what is the lesson today?"

"Actually, I haven't been thinking about lessons today." Celestia said as Twilight pouted, rather adorably, despite her red sclera. She was always the one willing to learn new things. "However, I did find a couple of books lying around in Starswirl's old library that you can read." Twilight began looking at one of the books. While they were a bit worn and torn, they were still very strong and sturdy, she can tell they were. "I used to read them with somepony very special when I was a filly."

Twilight looked at the cover. "The Adventures of Tom Soo-yor?" Twilight said as she looked at the book. It had a picture of a bipedal, hairless primate with a brown mane and only wearing a straw hat and a light blue garment, holding a fishing rod while sitting in a dock over the pond. "What kind of creature is that?" Twilight said as she looked at the illustration of something she never saw before. "I didn't see this in any work of fiction. I mean, the closest thing we have to that are the minotaurs, but it looks more like a monkey instead of a bull. And fishing rods were invented long after Starswirl!"

"Technically, no. Starswirl the Bearded sometimes travelled between different worlds, and he occasionally buys books from those worlds and stores them in his library. Tom Sawyer was one of my old favorites. Your parents told me that they're coming with someone that you'll want to see very dearly. I came in a little earlier to bring you my old childhood stories." Twilight's eyes widened when she heard hoofsteps on the other side of the door. Out of the door came a white unicorn mare with a white and purple mane and a blue unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane. However, a third figure was coming. Twilight's eyes twinkled with joy as the white unicorn teen with a blue mane came in.

"BBBFF!" Twilight said, electing the attention of the unicorn. "You came back!" Twilight said. Shining Armor was an apprentice in the Royal Guard, so he was around the city patrolling and spent most of his time at the barracks. When he looked at her, shock spread across his face.

"Twily," he said as he looked at her. "They told me that you've changed."

"Yeah, I know. Light fell on my head, my magic went berserk, and I was transformed." Twilight explained before she thought about why Shining Armor was curious about the whole thing, studying her sister's recolored mane, the halo on her head, and her new wings. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

"I was expecting just about anything from you." Shining said before a smile spread across his face. "But hey, you're still alive and well!" He ran over and hugged her. Twilight wrapped her wings around him before he looked at them with curiousity. "I thought that you were going to be a monster, but you're still as adorkable as ever. And besides, you're still my LSBFF." Shining nuzzled his little sister with tears of joy as she laughed.

"Wow, you're acting so calm about this. I guess they told you, didn't they?" Twilight said as her older brother nodded in response. She smiled before looking at Celestia who smiled at the scene.

"It's been over five hundred years since I have last seen something such as this. Do you want me to read one of these stories to you, Twilight?" the Sun Princess asked as Twilight nodded, eager to learn of culture from another universe that her idol visited, telekinetically grabbed the Tom Sawyer book, who was written by some Mark Twain character. "This story that I'm reading to you is about a young human boy named Tom Sawyer and his friend, Huckleberry Finn, who went on many adventures together..." the snow white alicorn said before beginning to read not just to Twilight, but to everyone in the room, including Spike, who had just woken up after his nap. He is just so cute to her. And so, Celestia wove a tale of a human boy named Tom Sawyer who lived with Polly, who was his aunt, and Sid, who was his half-brother. According to Celestia, the story was set in the 1840s on the human calendar in the fictional town of St. Petersburg in a land called Missouri, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived as a boy. In the novel Tom Sawyer has several adventures, often with his friend, Huckleberry Finn. And Twilight loved every moment of it, happily snuggling her new little brother, Spike with her while Twilight Velvet, Nightlight, and Shining Armor were busy wrapping their heads in the new vocabulary. Her personal favorite was when Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were hunting for some buried treasure in a haunted house. When Celestia closed the book, she looked at them. "Unfortunately, that's all the time I've got, but don't worry, Twilight. Maybe we can read some other time." Celestia said as she went through the doorway and to what Twilight knew very well of as royal duties.

"Wow, guys. Did you hear all that?" Twilight said to her family members. "This was one of the best stories I've heard so far in my life, and the first one from another dimension, on top of it." While they weren't as excited as her, they all agreed that those books were pretty interesting. "So, Mom, wanna read a book to us?" Twilight said with an adorable smile. While the red eyes may look intimidating, they actually worked on her.

"Well, of course, dear. Let's see here. Huckleberry Finn, Three Musketeers, yada yada ya." Velvet looked at several of the books, looking for the right one. "Hmm, Moby Dick, never heard of it." Velvet said. The book she read is this Ishmael character's narrative of the obsessive quest of a captain known as Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. She was honestly a bit confused about what Celestia had kept in the library, but she didn't question it and just kept on reading. As she read it on and on, it actually started to feel more and more interesting. However, she grew a bit nervous at the ending, where all but the narrator survived. Ishamel floated on a coffin for a whole day until a ship came by and saved him. "Well, that was something I'll never forget." Although the ending was a little dark, Twilight loved the book just as much as the first.

"Wow, mom. That was pretty cool." Twilight said. "The ending was not the happiest, but hey, a good story is good." she said with a shrug. "Come on, dad, your turn." Twilight said as she handed a book over to her father.

"Life of Pi? Huh." Nightlight said before reading the story. It started out with a guy who went to the house of a man by the name of Piscine Patel, who told the man about his childhood in a place called India. He was a Hindu, a Christian, and also a Muslim, whatever those things are. But one day, his family decided to sell their zoo and move to Canada, but a storm hit their ship, and Pi was stranded on a boat with a tiger. That part made him gulp, as that was one of the last places that just about any sane-minded pony would want to be. Pi ventured across the ocean, caught fish, talked with an "echo", and also went on a mysterious carnivorous island before finally going onto land. It reminded him of some comics about great voyages and adventures. He was starting to see why Twilight thought it was interesting.

But of course, by the time the novels were finished and meals were passed, it was about time for bed. Shining hugged his sister before returning to the barracks before Velvet and Nightlight kissed Twilight on the cheeks. Before Twilight began falling asleep, she began to wonder about those characters. "All three of these guys, Tom, Ishamel, Pi, all went on crazy adventures. Maybe I would wind up like them in one way or another..." And with that, she fell fast asleep.

Author's Note

Alright, so, she's still recovering in the hospital. Originally, Celestia was going to teach her new student some lessons, but my mind's wheels turned it another direction, setting them to read human novels.

And yes, for all those who have seen the movie, there is a novel. Although, I could use that gimmick sometime in the future.

Home Again

The last thing she remembered was going to bed that day, but Twilight looked around to see herself in a grassland with a few trees, but everything was... grey, and an ominous wind was howling, yet her hair wasn't blown. "Where am I?" the filly said as she walked around. There was nobody in sight, and she felt kind of scared. But all of the sudden, a voice came to her response.

"You are in the world of the dream and the mind, child..." an ominous, male-sounding voice said. The filly looked to her left, and then she looked to her right, but there was nothing there. "Forgive me for the intrusion, but, there is no looking for me, I am naught but a part of your consciousness. In this world, in your very subconscious, I am nowhere and everywhere, nothing and everything, I am the infinitesimal and the infinite. I have sailed across the cosmos for countless eons, yet now my physical form has been gone for six years straight."

"But, that doesn't even make sense!" Twilight said as she looked around, still looking for the voice's owner. The filly looked around, desperately it was a simple smoke and mirrors prank, despite being nearly impossible to get the stuff.

"This is not a prank, Twilight Sparkle." the voice said as Twilight's blood ran cold. "I really am a part of your mind. But, as I said before, I wasn't always this way. I have existed long before you. And as I said before, I have travelled the vast expanse of the cosmos, which, of course, has given me many different names by many different people. I guess that the name "Zero" would do for now." the newly-entitled "Zero" said. "It is also pretty appropriate for my current state of being. While I am present in your mind, I am just a voice, and I can only talk to you through certain circumstances." What Zero didn't tell young Twilight was that while he can read her thoughts, she can't read his. He also didn't tell her his backstory. Zero noticed that she trying to process what he had just said to her. "I can tell that you are trying to process this. It was my mistake for making you try to wrap your head around this. However, our time is limited. You are a very special person, Twilight. You have extremely potent energy, and you need to master it. Wake up, today is the day you can leave your bedbound prison. Until we meet again."

Twilight Sparkle awoke with a gasp. "That was some freaky dream." she said. She looked around to see that she was still in the hospital, white wallpaper with blue stripes, check. A baby dragon that is snuggling next to her and had just woken up, check. It was tough taking care of a baby dragon while being bound to a bed, but she had managed to feed and water him, among 'other' things. She didn't know how she managed to do it, but she did. "Spike, can't you believe it? You are going to see a wider world today for the very first time, well, besides the school and the hospital." Twilight said as Spike cooed at her. "Yes, I know you're excited, Spike." Twilight said as she used her telekinesis, enveloping a baby bottle in a magenta aura with a red tint and levitating to Spike, who began suckling on it. A few minutes later, she heard the door open and saw her parents smiling at her. "Mom! Dad!" she said as they came and hugged her.

"Twilight, thank goodness you are finally done!" Twilight Velvet said. A part of her thought that the doctors there would refuse due to thinking she was a demon, but scanning her magic saw no signs of demonic intervention. "You have no idea how much we wanted you home."

"Actually, I do." Twilight said with a smile as she got up from her bed, stretching herself like a cat, pulling her front legs as far as she can while stretching her new wings with satisfying pops. "I actually miss my home, too. But I am still worried about how the other ponies would react to me." Velvet and Nightlight looked at Twilight's halo, and her strange-looking eyes, and her even stranger-looking wings.

"Well, Princess Celestia has that already covered." Nightlight said. The princess was the type to promote equal rights to all sentient races in Equestria, the only thing getting in her way were nobles, and those were more of mere nuisances rather than serious threats due to the lack of political power that they had. Twilight never really knew the Princess before the incident, but during the amount of time they had, they really bonded. They haven't gone on complex magic yet, although she has already fully mastered her telekinetic abilities. "Don't worry, we are all here by your side."

"Thanks." Twilight said as she levitated Spike onto her back. "I have a strong feeling I need it." And so, for the first time in what felt like forever, Twilight Sparkle was walking again. Fortunately, there wasn't much change. Although, she was a bit concerned that her wings won't catch the wind, but then again, she didn't know how they operated. She had never woken up at the hospital before, much less been there, so going out of it would be a newer experience than going in. As they went out of the hospital, Twilight began to wonder about the future, and how it will affect her. This "Zero" character was also something new, a voice in her mind, kind of like an internal guide. Zero had many names, but he is still extremely mysterious to her. As she walked with her parents, she thought about him, he was weird. But her thoughts snapped out of it when she saw a lollipop right before her. Twilight happily gobbled it up, forgetting about Zero, but that was when she heard the clopping of hoofshoes. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight said as she came and hugged her.

"And I'm glad to see you too, Twilight. You recover pretty fast." As they released the hug, Celestia looked at Twilight's parents and nodded as she charged her horn, and in a golden flash of light, they all found themselves back in the Sparkle family household. "As to why I teleported here, it's for multiple reasons, one of which was the family picture. Your big brother is still here, so he wants to do it before he leaves again." Twilight was aware of one of the reasons, but to think that her brother was confident enough to take a picture with her in her current form was pretty unexpected. She looked to see Shining Armor, and came up to him and hugged him.

"Twiley, I love you. Stay safe for me." Shining Armor said as he nuzzled Twilight. Although she looked like a cross between an angel and a demon, he knew she was neither one. She was still his little sister in mind and in soul.

"I love you too, Shiny." Twilight said as she nuzzled his foreleg. "You ready for this?" she said as her BBBFF nodded in response. They all gathered for the picture, with Velvet standing beside Nightlight with Shining Armor in his Royal Guard uniform, minus the helmet, beside his father. In between her parents, Twilight Sparkle stood, with a cute smile on her face as she spread her new wings outward.

Celestia smiled as she readied her camera. "Alright, everypony. One, two, three." With the snap of her camera, the family picture was taken. Three copies, to be exact. Celestia levitated her copy, which was now enveloped in a golden frame, and put it on her bedroom wall. "Stay safe, my faithful student. Luna would've loved your sparkling personality." she said with a chuckle at the pun. Speaking of Twilight, before she went, she had given her some more books from the version of the human race that her old mentor visited. This Super Mario "Manga" was weird, since it progresses from right to left, but her mentor was quick to cast a spell on it once they went home, one that changed the page progress to what was usually expected for books and the various characters into English. She had a feeling that Twilight would become a great writer in her future, before her coronation, of course.

Author's Note

And so, it is published.

Hospital Exam

Twilight woke up, stretching her limbs before looking around. She was still, whatever she is, but she was not in that hospital bed anymore. No, she was back at her old room, not a single speck of dust left out of place. She could see all the patterns in the wooden frame. The light coming from the sun went through the window, creating a window-shaped brightness on the floor. The wallpaper was a bit cracked here and there, but other than the more 'realistic' look of everything in the background, save for the ponies, Spike, and perhaps a few other things, it still did not stop her from looking at it the old way. Either way, it was still her room. "Man, it feels great to be right back at home..." the filly said as she got up from her bed and looked at the one thing that was out of place. A new crib was put in the corner of her room, and in it, a certain hatchling was crying. "What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked before looking at the soggy white diaper. "So that's why. Don't worry, I'll fix you right up." The filly levitated a diaper, and skillfully changed the baby dragon, who became satisfied and yawned, falling back asleep. "There, much better." Twilight Sparkle went out of her bedroom and walked down the stairs. She didn't know how to use her new wings, but she hoped that Celestia would figure it out. Speaking of Celestia, she said she was having trouble with some... family issues, as the nobles called it.

In the kitchen, Twilight Velvet was busy making breakfast while Nightlight read the newspaper as he waited for his coffee to finish brewing. "Hi Mom, hi Dad!" Twilight said as Nightlight looked at his daughter. Velvet, who had just finished, levitated the plate full of pancakes to the filly, who smacked her lips. Ever since she awoke in the hospital, she yearned for her mom's pancakes, and, without warning, she pounced on them. Now, she did not scarf it down like any hungry foal, but actually took a little bite at a time, savoring the flavor as she drank her orange juice. She hadn't heard anything from Zero yet, he did say he was a voice in her mind after all. "I am... still a bit scared about everything and all, but I do feel a little bit of confidence since you guys are here. Pretty soon, I will have my cutie mark!" Twilight said. All of them were pretty shocked that Twilight hadn't earned her cutie mark, but according to Celestia, it was because the energy within the lightbulb had disrupted her normal flow, hence her strange appearance, but she admitted it was a hypothesis.

"You seem half-confident about that, dear." Velvet said as she drank her coffee.

"Yeah, I know." Twilight said. "But this is not about that. I don't know what to tell my friends." Twilight said as she looked down. Pretty soon, Velvet came and hugged her.

"You know, even if we don't manage to make friends in Canterlot, Princess Celestia did say that there were other towns and cities around Equestria." Nightlight said as he got up from his chair. "I know you aren't the type to travel away from the princess, but we will do anything to make sure you and Shining are happy."

"Thanks, I needed it." Twilight said as she finished her breakfast. Pretty soon, they heard a knock on the door. The little filly hid as her parents walked to the door, opening it to reveal a snow white alicorn walking into their house. There was no mistaking her for someone else. "Princess Celestia!" Twilight said as she ran up to her and tackled her in a hug.

"I missed you too, Twilight. My 'family' as they called themselves, just drive me up the wall." Celestia said. Despite modern science saying otherwise, the more racist and power-hungry nobles just kept on claiming that they were her nephews and nieces, and, on some cases, her direct descendants. She had no children and neither did her only sister, she even stated that clearly. "A little time with the humble and the simple always calms me down." the princess stated. "But that was not the only reason I came here. Since you are no longer bedbound, we need to see what your new form is capable of."

Twilight unfolded her strange wings and opened them before touching her halo with a hoof. Suddenly, a fear spread across her. "Wait, are you going to dissect me?" Twilight asked in horror.

"Twilight, where did you get that idea, I would never do such a thing!" Celestia said as Twilight's parents looked at one another and then to them. "It would be more accurate to think of it as a fitness test rather than surgery."

"Um, Princess Celestia, I'm really scared." Twilight said as she shuffled her hoof across the floor.

"There is nothing to be scared of, Twilight. I'll be there with you and your family if it makes you feel confident. And you don't have to call me by my title, we're close friends, after all." Celestia said as Twilight hugged her. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Twilight looked at herself, then at Celestia. She was going to the outside world in this form AND exposed. She couldn't have been more scared. But, the princess did say she was going to be with them, so, that made her feel better. Celestia did tell her she was going to take care of everything, and that also built up on her confidence. Zero, if he was going to talk to her again, could be some sort of guide, he wasn't the nicest or the meanest, he was just, neutral. With that personality aside, she still had Shining Armor by her side. "Okay, I'll go." Twilight said. "But on the condition that I take Smarty Pants with me." They were a bit shocked by her response.

"Deal." Celestia said before nodding to Twilight Velvet, who levitated a stuffed pony to Twilight's back. "As I told you a few days ago, you don't have to worry with me by your side." And with that, Twilight took a deep breath, and stepped outside of the house. Man, she felt like a human baby trying to do their first steps right now. Twilight didn't know why she was using human vocabulary, but shrugged it aside. The walk was surprisingly quiet in the background. Some of the ponies immediately hid in their houses, while others stared back in the distance. But none of them threw what they could at her or even yell. Probably because of something Celestia did. She was a mystery to the filly, and Twilight guessed that she made some sort of announcement at first, but that was not likely, but it was still very much possible. But the sun was brighter, not too bright to blind her, but it was still so annoying. Pretty soon, they were at the hospital. "Here we are again, Twilight." Celestia said as they went into the hospital. As Velvet and Nightlight checked Twilight in, the filly sat in the waiting room, holding her doll with her.

"Okay, Smarty Pants. I'm a little scared here. This is pretty new for me, taking all these tests and getting my blood drawn occasionally, but this is just a simple test. You hug me if I feel pain, okay?" Twilight said. Smarty Pants didn't reply, due to being a inanimate object. Despite this, Twilight did feel the need to take to something, anything. As soon as she finished talking with it, the nurse called her name. "Alright, it's time, Smarty Pants." Twilight said as she levitated her favorite doll onto her back and carried it through the hallway and into her assigned room. They were calm around her because they saw her before, she could feel it in her heart. "Whatever is coming in here, you do have my back, right? Good."

Just then, a light grey unicorn with a black mane walked in. "You must be Twilight Sparkle, I assume." the doctor said as his patient nodded in response. "Sorry about the mystery, you were quite known ever since the incident, a lot of those who worked here did, including me. So, since your body has changed, we have to take a few tests to see how your body works. Well, my name wasn't the best choice, so you can call me I.V." Doctor I.V. said as he levitated his stethoscope to Twilight's heart before taking some notes. This was just some easy stuff, as he checked her ears, which were normal, and then her eyes. Her new vision was sensitive to the light, and she covered her eyes.

"Sorry, but my vision hasn't been that sensitive to the light before." Twilight said.

"It's alright. Your new form does have its differences." I.V. replied as he pulling out a syringe, some test tubes, and a few other pieces of equipment. "Now, I'm just gonna draw a little blood, it won't hurt, I hope..." I.V. said as he covered her elbow with a stretchy material. Underneath it, he put the needle into one of her veins. Granted it hurt, but only for a fraction of a second. After then, it wasn't so bad. "So, how have you been since you came out?"

"I was a bit scared at first, but a little nudge from the princess had helped me get out into the world. She always knows how to push me forwards." Twilight replied as she looked at the red liquid entering the test tube. "Princess Celestia had also appointed me to be her own personal student, but that was in the hospital. Granted, I never had a goal with it, but now I do. I am planning to figure out what my special talent, and my cutie mark, are." Twilight said as I.V. swapped the full test tube with an empty one. "Have you seen someone who has been through anything similar to that lately?" she asked in a curious tone.

"A few ponies had went through it, like Sunset Shimmer. She had disappeared a while back, nopony knows where she wound up." I.V. said as he swapped the second test tube for a third one. "I didn't know her, but my uncle said that he went to search for his talent. He got it, that's for sure." The test tubes were finally filled, and I.V. wrapped a bandage around her elbow. "You are a smart pony from what I heard." I.V. said as he put the test tubes in their rack and set it on the table. The word 'vivid' came into her mind, and she used it to describe the things changed by her new vision, such as the background and most inanimate objects. It was actually pretty interesting on how it remained vivid while not changing her when it was hooked up. I.V. opened the door with his magic and levitated the test tubes. "You're a good kid, try not to let anyone change it. I've treated not just ponies, but griffons, minotaurs, even dragons, and none of them were as bizarre and as interesting as you. Your parents will be here shortly." And with that, I.V. closed the door, leaving Twilight with Smarty Pants.

"Did you hear that, Smarty?" Twilight asked. "He actually liked me! Yes!" she said, being careful not to interrupt any work in the other rooms. Whatever comes next, she knows it will all be worth it once it is all done.

Author's Note

So yeah, laugh it up. I made Twilight Zero's vision a bit different from what normal pony vision would be like, just for fun.

For normal ponies, they would see a colorful, cartoony world that looks exactly as it does in the art style of the show.

As for Twilight, the background, buildings, plants, furniture, ets. would be realistic as things like the sun would be brighter. However, animals, sentient beings, magic, and even a few inanimate objects would look exactly like it does at the show.

Pretty neat, don't you think?

Diagnosis: Unknown

I.V. had just put three out of the four tests tubes into the centrifuge and activated the magic within, causing it to spin rapidly and defuse the blood into its contents. He kept the fourth one undisturbed so he can see the blood in full. When the blood finished defusing, he saw the main components of the blood, as well as some odd, black substance. When he noticed the new stuff, he immediately decided to contact Celestia, who was an old friend of his. Of course, Twilight's parents have already arrived at the room Twilight was staying, but as for Celestia, she was with him. "Of all the years the medical industry has existed, and all my years of living, I never saw anything like this." the Princess of the Day said as she looked at the new beings through the microscope. Along with the red and white blood cells, the occasional black sphere with one eye each and orange petals floated in the blood. "Just what is that thing?"

"I do not know. Out of everything I saw, this is the strangest." I.V. said as he looked at the new life-forms swimming around in that sample of Twilight's blood. "You see, there is more of them than usual." Celestia gasped. "Yes, gasp. I've seen some samples of Twilight's blood before, and I saw the exact same thing, only they weren't very active." I.V. said as he got a previous sample of Twilight's blood. Celestia looked in it through the microscope to see that there were still some of those weird black things, but fewer of them were active, most of which were dormant. "Princess Celestia, she has those things in her blood, but both of her parents lacked it, as well as every other race in Equestria. Do you know what that means?"

The bewildered alicorn looked at the creatures one more time. She had to find a solution, she just had to, but there was nothing that came. "I... I do not know." Celestia mumbled, for once, this thing has had her hooves tied.

"I'm unaware of what caused these things, whether it be magic or a newly-evolved germ. Might check to see what will happen if I injected them, but an interruption in her surge must have awakened them." the doctor said. Celestia knew that the surge alone did not have transformation properties, but the combination of magic from the lightbulb and a great amount of pain must have woke those things, or so she guesses. Neither of them know. "From what I saw, these things do not harm her in any way, they aren't destroying any blood cells." That made Celestia smile, knowing that these things did not harm her student. "And watch what happens when I shine a light on them. I.V. put the lamp over the petri dish, and the princess looked at it. The black part of these things absorb the surrounding light. "This is pretty wild, don't you think so?" I.V. asked as Celestia looked at them and nodded. "Boggled me as well."

"This... what, I mean..." Celestia stammered before clearing her throat. "Who knew my faithful student even had those things in her from birth!?" the Princess of the day said in a complete sentence. "Mr. I.V., I have a job for you. Take one sample of Twilight's blood once every year and monitor the behavior of these creatures. And you must be Twilight's doctor for every year starting from this one. I am not sure where they came from or how they got into her, I only pray to whatever god is up there for the best." Celestia explained. She knew that a good amount of ponies worship her as a goddess, some even think she created the world. But she is no goddess, and isn't afraid to admit so. Unfortunately, a large amount of the populace is stuck to old beliefs, correcting them takes a lot of work. She also knows that if there was a god out there, he or she would probably hardly look like a pony, and might not even have a gender. Celestia then shook her head, snapping herself back into reality. "Sorry, my mind was wandering elsewhere." Celestia admitted.

"It happens to the best of us." I.V. replied. "Speaking of wandering, you should help you student." I.V. joked, causing the white alicorn to chuckle a little bit.

"Alright, she's already looking up to me. I'll go fetch her." Celestia said as she went out. The princess went into the room that Twilight's family was in. Twilight woke up with a start, looking at the princess with her red-sclerae eyes. "Are you ready to go now?" Celestia asked as Twilight nodded. They got up from their respective seats, and Twilight's parents checked their daughter out. The walk back home was the same route up until Celestia decided to turn the right, walking them up to a small restaurant.

"Princess Celestia, why are we going another route?" the little alicorn asked.

"Mainly because it is about time for lunch, and there is this restaurant I'd like to show you." Celestia answered. It was not the fancy type of restaurant you'd normally expect a royal to dine in. Celestia wasn't that type. Whenever she has some free time from all the nobles, she secretly comes there to get a hayburger every once and a while. "Do any of you want something to eat?" the Princess of the Day asked. A grumble from everyone's stomachs conformed that it was just about time for lunch. "I'll take that as a yes." Celestia said before knocking on the window, out of which came a light blue unicorn with a dark green mane and brown eyes.

"So, Princess, nobles bothering you again?" Quick Cuisine asked. Celestia moved her head side to side was a surpising grin on her face.

"No, not really. I've got some new friends of mine with me, and they want something to eat." Celestia said. Cuisine was another one of her old friends, every time she could have a break with all the riff-raff, she always went to him for a quick bit to eat. "I'll have my usual, I'll ask my friends what they want." the Sun Princess said as Cuisine nodded and handed her a menu. "Alright, what would you three like?" Celestia asked.

"I'd like a large hayburger with hay fries and a drink." Nightlight said.

"Same here." Velvet said.

"I'm not that hungry, maybe a carrot dog for me?" Twilight asked as she looked at the kid's menu.

Celestia nodded before looking over back to Cuisine. "Alright, they asked for two large hayburgers, three drinks, some hay fries, and a carrot dog." the Princess of the Day said. Now, the occasional ponies gave them strange looks, but that was only rare for Celestia. For Twilight, she was pretty odd, so she got the bigger share. The four waited for Cuisine to finish his meals, and handed them out in some bags as Celestia handed over some bits. The group walked back to the Sparkle household. "Twilight, you are a very extraordinary pony, both in body and in mind. Also, don't think of your new features as an obstacle or a hindrance, I don't think of it that way. You are special, my faithful student. Don't let anyone, whether it be a pony, griffon, dragon, you name it, take those feelings away from you." And with that, Celestia went out with her lunch, leaving the other three with theirs. Twilight looked over to see her parents opening up the bag, levitating their food out of said bag.

"Well, time to join them." Twilight said to herself as she went over to the dining table. Whatever is going to happen in the future, she knew that she had a lot of people by her side.