"I need to be in here?" Bon Bon was looking left and right in the small room with the clear wall. "This looks kind of sketchy, if you don't mind my saying, and especially if you do."

I was there, hovering over Twilight. "We don't have any hazmat suits that'll fit properly on a pony, or that won't get in the way as you stop being a pony, or that might not interfere with the magic..." I wriggled fingers as I counted the various things wrong with the idea. "So, bottom line, no suit. If you want even a chance of staying human, we need you somewhere clean."

Bon Bon poked her little pony nose into the room. "How did you clean the room? I mean... I'm not a doctor, but isn't me being in there already getting Ponid all over it? Ugh, the thought sickens me."

I had been ready to wipe the room clean... but Bon Bon wasn't entirely wrong. She was shedding Ponid wherever she was, and the only fix for that would be to rip Ponid out of her, which wasn't a long term solution... Dang it...

Bon Bon twisted around to face Twilight. "Our great and illustrious leader looks stumped. Here." She coiled on herself, drawing out a photo in her teeth that she held out towards Twilight. "If your magic works better with an image, this could help."

Twilight's glowing horn took hold of the photo, lifting it into view. "Who is she?" She could see a human female, middle aged, Caucasian, likely American.

"Me," hissed Bon Bon. "The old me. I want back to that." She waved a hoof in the direction of the floating photo. "So keep that picture in your head."

Twilight passed the photo right along to Autumn. "I admit, I am impressed. You really seem to understand a lot of this, which confuses me a little."

Bon Bon let out a little sigh. "Lyra will not shut up about it. I listen when po--people tell me things, alright?"

"Sorry," called out Lyra from the crowd, not that she looked especially regretful.

"No you are not." And Bon Bon didn't look that upset by it. Friends? "Since the room isn't going to help, let's just get this over with. I will be paid each time you try, mind you."

Twilight looked to me. My hands went up. "This project has a budget already. Using it to pay a volunteer is not against any rule."

Twilight brought her hooves together. "Fantastic, then I have no particular objections. Lemon?"

"Here." Lemon poked free of the crowd of other spellcasters. "Are we about to start?"

Twilight nodded, but was already looking away, to Autumn. "If you're ready?"

"As ready as I can be." She looked left to right over the human spell, the photo laid flat just in front of it. "Let's see if we can't make a woman out of you."

Bon Bon hissed in a long breath, just to let it out just as slowly. "Lemon, you were hit with this spell. Does it... hurt?"

Lemon looks suddenly sheepish. "Well, um, not sure... I was kind of a mouse at the time. They said I looked... confused, but not hurt?"

"Confused." Bon Bon sat on her haunches. "I'll take confused. Now, one little thing." She waved a hoof at the sizable crowd. "Do I need to be leered at by this many people? Is that strictly required?"

"They will have to drag me away," came Lyra's firm voice. "I got your back!"

Bon Bon half-laughed, an aborted noise. "You are impossible. Whatever. Let's do this."

Autumn sat up tall, her horn glowing as her eyes went across the musical notes she'd be playing. "Alright. I suggest relaxing. I can't imagine it won't feel kinda odd and so, you know, expect that but don't freak out. Just relax and let it happen."

Susan nudged Autumn gently. "Phrasing."

"Huh?" Autumn did not get it, instead focusing on the spell that she began to cast. "Wow, Sunburst cast this? This is so... so..." Her words failed her as she labored to keep up with the strange flexes and undulations she had to do to play the complex song on her horn, the glow growing brighter around it.

Bon Bon began to glow sympathetically. Her teeth clenched, but she kept her words to herself. I was still there, mind, in case things went absolutely wrong. It would be cheating, but if I can cheat to stop someone from being killed or horribly mauled, that was a line I was willing to draw. Especially while I was literally in charge of them.

I had reviewed the tape (It wasn't actually a tape) of Sunburst's use of the spell. Autumn was, simply, a better caster. Things were going a lot faster than when he had done it. On the other hand, he had taken it very carefully. I wasn't trying to throw shade at him, he did do it.

"Now it's started." Bon Bon raised her hooves to her cheeks, which were a bit of... oddness. It was like she had shaven, perfectly. Her snout was bare of any visible fur, which is not what pony snouts were generally supposed to be. "Keep going."

Not that Autumn seemed to need the reminding as she powered onwards into the spell.

Bon Bon squeaked as her pony breasts became human ones as if they had been grabbed and wrenched upwards along her bottom to her chest. "This... is a lot... faster." Ponid was merciful in some ways, coming on slowly, in your sleep. This was fast forward, and you got to watch it.

Well, we all got to watch it. Conversation had died away, eyes fixed on Bon Bon's transformation. I'll give it to her, she did not look like she was having a grand time of it, but she wasn't complaining. She was leaning into it, or standing up I should say. "Pervs," she grunted as she lost the fur pelt that had provided any amount of decency.

Autumn inclined her head. "You amazing bastard." A tricky part of the spell? She was pressing right on past it, her horn glowing furiously with magic. Which made me think. Were we setting up for a new cascade?!

A glance around dispelled those fears. Basically nopony there was watching Autumn. They were stuck on Bon Bon's change, which meant they weren't at risk of following the spell being cast. That was lucky, but that was all it was. I'd have to chastise Twilight later, and chastise myself right then. Bad me. I was right there, and I let almost catastrophe smack into us.

Bon Bon covered her naughty bits with a hand in a feeble attempt at decency. As if a human set was somehow more tawdry than the pony one she had been showing off a moment beforehand. "Just the tail..." She still had a tail, all long and fluffy. I had a feeling if everything just... stopped, Bon Bon probably would have tolerated it. 90% human!

But the tail began to recede as Autumn pressed on. From the way her eyes were looking, I could see she was finishing up the spell. Bon Bon was about human. Autumn stuck out her tongue as her eyes went towards the end of the page. "And... Ta da!" She gestured forward as a bright sparkly flash erupted from Bon Bon.

Lemon clopped her hooves appreciatively. "That was a very complicated spell, but not too far off from other transformation spells I've seen. Twilight, um, other Twilight, showed me her breezie spell before."

Our Twilight was moving to make sure Bon Bon was alright, which she was. "I'm fine," she insisted, brushing Twilight back. "That felt very odd, but I'm... me. I need a mirror, like yesterday. This may not last."

Lyra rubbed at the side of her head. "What if you end up becoming a different pony?"

Bon Bon's eyes widened. Well, she wasn't technically Bon Bon? Maybe she was. We'd have to ask her. "I'm not sure I could handle that. I am going to hope really hard that if I slide back, it'll be the same pony."

Autumn began folding up the spell nice and neatly in her magic. "When I see Sunburst, gonna thump him one! Really, kinda surprised he didn't turn you inside out or something."

Lemon swallowed audibly at the idea. "That didn't happen... thankfully."

"Bon Bon." That was me. "Are you Bon Bon? Who are you, if you don't mind my asking?"

Celestia had floated over a mirror, which Bon Bon was using to examine her human self. "I'm... me..." She tilted the mirror one way and the other. "But I'm... not me... This... I don't... I need a moment, a day, a week? I need to... wrestle with a few things."

I could imagine what was happening. "Bon Bon, you are allowed to rest and recover. Not a single person here will hold that against you, right?" All the others were quickly shaking their head. "Thank you, for volunteering in the first place. As much as a volunteer normally gets paid."

Bon Bon smirked at that. "I still want that money, but I also want to... lay down right now." She went to flee and bumped right into a floating hospital gown.

Lyra was winking dramatically. "I said I got your back."

"Impossible!" Bon Bon slipped into the gown, achieving minimal decency. "Lyra... thank you, but gonna need some me time."

"I'll be here. You have my number," called out Lyra as Bon Bon staggered away. "I'm heading back to my room, in case she calls." And off Lyra went at a spirited trot.

Lemon was pointing at the magic spell, folded up as it was. "I got the general gist, but I think I'm going to need to see the magic of each... note." She tapped at the folded set of papers. "If somepony can take the time to walk me through?"

That got Twilight to perk up. "With pleasure. In return, you can show me what each note is in your arcane... language? Even if I can't get everypony to switch over right now, I'd very much like to learn."

Lemon suddenly grabbed Twilight, a hoof on either of her cheeks. "You aren't that different."

"Pardon?" Twilight tried to slip away, but Lemon had a good grasp.

"From the other Twilight." Lemon released her then. "You're just as curious, and just as hot to trot when it comes to learning something new, especially about magic. Oh! Oh..." Lemon leaned in. "You're younger Twilight, so you haven't learned about friendship."

Twilight began to blush at that. "I have numerous friends." She waved a hoof wildly at the crowd that remained. "We're all working together."

Lemon gently lowered Twilight's flailing limb with her magic. "Those are partners and associates and I'm sure you and they respect and adore each other very much, but that isn't friendship. I'm not attacking you, promise. The other Twilight was exactly the same way, and I loved her dearly even then."

Twilight looked to Celestia as if she had the answers. That was new, I'll admit. Usually people looked at me for the easy answers. For once, someone else got that look.

Celestia cleared her throat softly. "I think, Twilight, is she means you generally speak to us on matters of magic, but rare is the time that you relate the dream you had last night, or that song you can't get out of your head, or much of anything outside the realm of magic." She set a hoof on her large chest. "Not that we are angry about it. You're just very focused."

Twilight sagged. "But I thought we were friends."

And she lifted, floating up off the ground in a golden color as Celestia pulled Twilight over to wrap her arms around. "Twilight, I did not mean to imply that I have anything but the warmest regard for you. I feel certain the others feel the same."

And so the room became a chorus of agreement. Twilight was liked, even as a focused nerd. "Perhaps we can become better friends, now that you're thinking of it."

Author's Note

Sci-Twi learns friendship! Bon Bon is huuuuuman! But for how long? Lyra is there for her!

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