Lighthoof opened up her locker so she could put her cheerleading uniform in it. She and her cheerleading squad were quite tired from their recent training. From shape formation to chanting cheers loudly, it's all hard work. Prof. Rainbow Dash, the coach of the squad, came to them to give an announcement.
“Okay, girls,” Rainbow Dash said, getting their attention, “you’ve all been doing great. Right now, I think it’s about time we can pick one of you to be cheer captain.”
“Wow, really?” Ocellus asked.
“Yep. Starlight says I shouldn’t be the only one helping to take charge. One of you being the captain would help you girls learn about responsibility.”
“Question. What cheer captain do?” Yona asked.
“Well, the duties of captain can vary from squad to squad. From what Starlight told me, your team means more than leading the warm-up or telling everyone to quiet down. In many teams, the captains help the coach organize fundraisers, choreograph routines, settle team squabbles, and many other things.”
“Wow, that sounds pretty challenging,” Peridot commented.
“It is challenging. I’m sure one of you will be able to handle it. You and the teachers like me will be able to vote who you think is worthy of being the captain. So, you just take care and we’ll figure it out.”
With that, the squad left the gym as they talked about the new position. Rainbow Dash then left the gym as well after they left. “Do you girls think I’m capable of that position?” Ocellus asked.
“I say you’re perfect for it,” Silverstream commented.
“Yeah,” Grace agreed. “You’re really clever on that.”
“Well, Shimmy’s said she’s more athletic than me,” Ocellus said.
“It’s true,” Shimmy confirmed.
“That sounds a bit egotistical,” Smolder commented.
“Well, if I’m honest, I think I could be a cheer captain.”
“You have been more athletic than us,” Ocellus commented. “Not to mention, she has had an easier time getting higher than us without wings.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Silverstream agreed.
“Plus, I’ve been thinking about a couple of new tricks we could do,” Shimmy said.
“Hey, I have a few too,” Lighthoof said. Though her friends didn’t hear her.
“What else do you think we could make?” Silverstream asked. “A reverse pyramid?”
“Ooh! Could we do that?” Tarsi asked.
“I think that might be a little advanced for us,” Shimmy commented.
“I think if we used the yaks,” Lighthoof said.
“You’re probably right,” Ocellus commented.
“I think we could do more than just shapes for our acts,” Shimmy said. “Hmm. I think we could make a couple of new moves. You girls let me know if you have any ideas.”
“Got it,” the girls replied. Before Lighthoof could say anything, the girls all split up to do their own things.
“Um, Shimmy,” Lighthoof said. The cheerleader finally heard her friend.
“Oh, sorry, Lighthoof,” Shimmy apologized, “Did you have something to say.”
“It was about the new moves we could do at cheer practice, but the squad’s gone.”
“We can probably talk about it when we meet up again. How about we get some cocoa, shall we?”
“At Sugarcube Corner,” she asked. Shimmy nodded. “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
The girls went back to their dorm room, and both got their winter clothing. They both wear a beanie, a coat, a scarf, and some boots. After they’re done, they leave the room and head towards town to have a cup of cocoa. They were about to head out into town until they saw Pate walking towards them.
“Hi, girls,” the cyan changeling said, who’s wearing his new set of winter clothes. “Where are you going?”
“We were just about to get cocoa,” Shimmy explained. “You wanna join us.”
Pate then thought for a second. “Sure. Why not.”
“You sure about that?” Lighthoof asked.
“I’ve got some new clothes recently. Hopefully, I won’t change my form this time.”
“Good to hear,” Shimmy said. She gave the changeling a bit of nuzzling, making Pate blush. He and the girls then walked out into the snow, which was coming down again.
“Man, I hate the snow,” Lighthoof groaned.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be over in a few months,” Shimmy said.
They fought through the weather, as Pate fought the urge to change himself into something like a polar bear. They kept going until they managed to get to Sugarcube Corner. Inside, it was much warmer. There were quite a few ponies inside wanting to get some shelter and food from the cold. There was a bit of a queue at the counter which meant there was a waiting time for the changeling and mares. They stood right behind the line and waited until they reached the counter.
“So, do you girls think other creatures like me will move to Ponyville?” Pate asked.
“They could,” Lighthoof guessed. “I think the other student’s parents could move here. Not sure about the dragons though.”
“Yeah, they’re huge,” Shimmy reminded.
“How huge?” Pate asked.
“About the size of a castle in Canterlot,” Lighthoof answered. The changeling’s jaw hung open.
“Next,” Mrs. Cake called. Pate and the mares walked forward as it was now their turn as they waited. “What can I get you three?”
“Just some cocoa,” Shimmy said.
“3 cups?”
“Yes, please.”
“Right. Just wait a few minutes and we’ll bring it out.” Mrs. Cake walked away to take care of the orders. While she did that, the trio was having a hard time finding a place to sit.
“Hmm, Pate could you turn into something we can sit on?” Lighthoof asked. Pate’s response was this was to turn himself into a yak. He wasn’t wearing his winter coat because he removed it a while ago, so he didn’t rip it. The two cheerleaders sat down on his back as he lied down on the floor.
“So, is anything new with you girls?” the changeling turned yak asked.
“Professor Dash said that one of us is going to be the new cheer captain,” Shimmy explained.
“Oh, really? I thought you already were the captain.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, I don’t know that much about cheerleading, but I think you would make a good leader.”
“You really think so?”
“Probably. What do the other girls think?” Pate and Shimmy looked at Lighthoof. The mare held her hooves together as she thought about what to say.
“Well... I say you would be a good choice,” Lighthoof said. “Though, I think the others would have something to say.”
“That might be true,” Shimmy confirmed.
“Can we talk about something else other than school? Like, this weather. I can’t be the only one who’s hating the snow.”
“I know,” Pate said. “I can change my form, but changelings more often stay in their base form. We’re practically bugs so we have a hard time staying warm in cold weather like this.”
“So, you can’t stay in the same form when you’re asleep?” Shimmy asked.
“We often change to our base forms when we’re unconscious. Some of us change our forms while we sleep. It’s kind of like sleepwalking.”
“Do you ever turn into anything... Big?”
“Nothing too big. No beds have gotten broken. Not that I know of.”
“It’s really cool that changelings can change their forms whenever they want to. Is there any favorite for you?”
“Well, I do like being a griffon.”
“You’ve been a griffon? Can we see it?”
“Sure.” The girls got off of Pate so he could change his form from a yak to griffon.
“Ooh, you look cooler and cuter.”
“You really think so?” Pate asked. He began to blush a little bit. Shimmy giggled as she nuzzled against the disguised changeling. Lighthoof just looked at them and quietly sighed.
“Girls, your cocoa’s ready,” Mrs. Cake called.
“Thank you,” Shimmy generously replied.
Lighthoof just gave a low brow as she grabbed her cocoa and sipped it. Pate changed himself back and he and his marefriend grabbed their cocoa.
Pate took a sip but he burned his tongue. “OW!” he yelped.
“Easy,” Shimmy said. “Again, try blowing on it to cool it down.” Shimmy demonstrated this so Pate got the idea. Lighthoof just watched as she could feel herself getting a little green. Not physically though.
Later, the three got back to the school, until they found Smolder walking down the hall with Yona. Lighthoof noticed that Smolder had a bow on her head. Feeling clueless, she started asking her what’s going on.
“What’s that for?” Lighthoof asked.
“Oh, this?” Smolder said, pointing at the bow on her head, then started to explain. “Silver and the girls are trying to get me into trying accessories,”
“Smolder said she likes dresses,” Yona stated.
“It’s nice you’re deciding to have a more girly side,” Shimmy said. “Maybe we can all have a girl’s hang out.”
“Where friends hang?”
“I think I know a good place,” Smolder chuckled.
After telling the rest of the cheer squad, the girls all headed to the Treehouse of Harmony. Four of the girls were happy to see their clubhouse again, but the others were just amazed at this.
“Woah! Is that tree made of crystals?” Grace asked in amusement.
“Sure is,” Smolder confirmed.
“It’s much warmer inside,” Silverstream stated. “Come on in.” The girls did so but Dotta could see that Pate and Emerald were with them.
“Wait. Why Pate and Emerald here?” the yak questioned.
“I’m wanting to take a look at the old castle that was just a few blocks from here,” Emerald said.
“And I was coming here because Shimmy was coming here,” Pate admitted.
“Well, I’m just going to be with the girls in the treehouse,” Peridot said. The cheer squad walked inside of the clubhouse while Pate and Emerald walked towards the castle with Ocellus showing them around.
Inside the treehouse, Shimmy placed down a small kit as the girls took off their coats. “What’s that?” Silverstream asked.
“My makeup kit,” the mare replied. Inside the kit, there was some eyeshadow, nail polish, lipstick, a nail filer, hairbrush, almost everything to help with a mare’s look.
“Wow,” Grace gasped. “You really came prepared.”
“Well, I think I should start,” Shimmy responded. “Pate did say I do have good qualities of being a captain.”
“Of course you do,” Lighthoof muttered.
“Smolder, do you want to get started?”
“Sure, I will,” the dragoness replied. Smolder walked over to her friend who started filing her claws.
“So, how long have you had a liking for dresses?” Grace asked.
“Well, it kind of started when Garble showed me his interests in poetry.”
“Oh, we didn’t see your brother in the Dragon Lands before,” Shimmy commented.
“He’s only a little taller than me,” Smolder noted. “Nowhere near as tall as the adults.”
Silverstream was interested in Shimmy’s makeup kit. “Hey, Shimmy, could try this kit out?” the hippogriff asked.
“Be my guest,” the mare replied.
Silverstream smiled as she was given the makeup kit. She took a look at the eyeliner and Grace volunteered to be her test subject. The hippogriff started applying eyeliner to the griffon as Lighthoof could feel herself going green again. Without any of her friends noticing, she got up and walked towards the castle to see if she could catch up with Pate and Emerald.
The dragoness in question was taking a couple of pictures of the old castle. “Wow, Pate, look at this place,” Emerald commented. They walked around until they found two thrones with a banner of both Celestia and Luna.
“How old is this castle?” Pate questioned.
“It’s over a thousand years old,” Ocellus answered.
“Wow.”
“You guys enjoying the place?” Lighthoof asked unamused. Ocellus, Pate, and Emerald looked over to see the cheerleader walking towards them.
“I thought you were hanging out with the squad,” Emerald commented.
“They didn’t even notice I was gone. So, I figured out I’d probably do something where I’d be noticed.”
“……Okay, let’s keep going,” Pate said. The dragoness, changelings, and mare walked around through the old castle. After a bit of looking around, they came across a library. Emerald decided to take a look inside of some of the books. However, not all of them were in the best shape. Some of the pages had smudged text and pictures, some of the pages were also soaked and/or ripped.
“Ocellus, how often have you been coming to this place?” Pate asked.
“We came here after one we had a bit of an accident with the school,” Ocellus explained. “After the treehouse was made, we started coming here more often. Found anything interesting, Emma?”
“Just some old spells,” Emerald replied. “I think they’re only good for a unicorn.” She placed down one of the books she could actually read into a neat pile.
Lighthoof decided to look for a couple of books until she saw something in the back of the shelf. It looked like a journal that was embedded in the wall. She pulled it out and saw there was a lock on it, but it had broken off. Curiously, the cheerleader took a look inside to read it.
Today, Tia and Luna told me to forget about the spells I’ve created. I’ve spent months trying to get these spells to work. I don’t care what they say, I’m writing them down, starting with a little one of my favorites.
For those who didn’t listen before, they’ll regret making you ignored. They shall shiver and shake but all hoping that they don’t break. They should have never put you to a test because you know you’re the best.
Suddenly, a large headache hit Lighthoof like a battering ram. She dropped the journal and held her head as Ocellus, Pate, and Emerald ran over to her. “Lighthoof, are you okay?” Pate asked.
“I feel like...just got pecked by a hundred woodpeckers,” the mare groaned.
“We should take you back to school quickly,” Ocellus suggested. The cheerleader just groaned in response. Pate helped carry Lighthoof back to the school.
In the treehouse, Shimmy was starting to apply eyeliner to Smolder when she noticed Lighthoof being carried away. She quickly stopped Smolder’s makeover and ran up to her friend being carried on a changeling. “What happened?” Shimmy asked.
“She said she’s gotten some sort of headache,” Pate explained. Lighthoof groaned in response.
“Are you going to be okay?” Lighthoof just nodded with another groan. Shimmy looked back to see the girls were still in the treehouse. “We’ll catch up later girls.”
“Can we still use your makeup kit?” Grace asked.
“Just as long you’re careful with it.” The cheerleaders agreed as Shimmy walked back to school with Pate, Lighthoof, Ocellus, and Emerald.
When they got back to Shimmy & Lighthoof’s dorm, Lighthoof was given an ice pack as she laid down on her bed. “You need us to get you anything?” Ocellus asked. Lighthoof just shook her head, telling them it’s a no.
“Okay,” Shimmy said, “We’re going to be hanging around the school just in case.” With that, the four students walked out of their friend’s dorm.
“I think I’m going to show these photos to other students,” Emerald said.
“Oh, what kind of photos did you get?” Shimmy asked. Lighthoof kept listening to her friends’ conversation until she felt quite tired. Even though she wasn’t wanting to, the cheerleader fell fast asleep.
”Wakey Wakey,” said an unfamiliar voice. Lighthoof slowly opened her eyes and could see a mare standing in front of her. She was a tall unicorn who had dark and light blue mane with violet eyes and her cutie mark was five blue stars.
“Who are you?” Lighthoof asked.
“You may call me, Majesty,” the mare said, “A beautiful mare as you can see.”
“Uh-huh. Second question; where are we?” Looking around, the two appeared to be in the castle of the two sisters. Albeit in much better shape. “How is this possible?”
“I’m quite a powerful unicorn. In fact, I’m the best.”
“That’s...…kind of setting you up for something bad.”
“Oh, really? What about that Shimmy Shake? She thinks she’s got what it takes to be a captain?”
“...DON’T talk about my friend that way.”
“Lighthoof, have you noticed something that you’ve hated about your friend.”
“No! Why would I?”
“Listen, I know you’re jealous of her. And it’s not just about her becoming captain.”
“Sh... Shut up.” Lighthoof walked off as she tried to find an exit, but Majesty followed her.
“Just take my advice kid, you’re lying to yourself. I’ve tried to help ponies like you, but they all made the same mistake, and I’m going to make sure that you’ll take my advice.” Lighthoof just started walking faster to get away from the unicorn, who just got madder. “If you’re not going to listen to me, okay, the hard way it shall be.”
Majesty made her horn glow and all of the doors and windows in the castle closed up, blocking Lighthoof from escaping. Majesty’s horn started glowing brighter until it engulfed the entire room.
Lighthoof suddenly woke up and looked around to see she was in her dorm again. She looked around, and then looked up to see her friend, Shimmy, was on the top bunk, still asleep. Lighthoof stood and held her head, but she suddenly felt something being different. She quickly found a mirror and almost gasped when she saw she now had a unicorn’s horn.
Lighthoof covered her mouth so she didn’t wake Shimmy up, instead started breathing heavily rapidly. Worried about what she might think, Lighthoof quickly started restyling her mane to hide her new horn. Then she got back into bed so she could pretend to be asleep just as the bell rang.
The bell woke Shimmy up and she quickly got down from her bunk and looked down to Lighthoof. “Oh, you’re up already,” she said with a sigh of relief.
“Y... Yeah,” Lighthoof replied, “I’m feeling a lot better. Do we have classes today?”
“It is Thursday, so yeah, we do have classes.”
“Alright, let’s get going.” Lighthoof quickly walked out into the hallway with Shimmy following behind. While Shimmy was happy her friend was alright, something just felt wrong with Lighthoof.
At breakfast, Lighthoof got her tray of food and walked over to one of the tables. Silverstream was already there eating as the mare sat down. “Oh, hey Lighthoof,” the hippogriff said, “Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah, much better.” Lighthoof didn’t say much and just focused on eating. She was hoping nobody would see her suddenly grow a unicorn’s horn. However, she did hear some other creatures talking about the new captain.
“So, you really think Ocellus will be the new captain?” Pyther asked Grace.
“It’s either her or Shimmy,” Grace replied. This remark made Lighthoof a little annoyed.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Silverstream asked. Lighthoof didn’t answer. She just picked up her tray and walked off to another table, where Emerald and Pate are sitting. They could see that Lighthoof didn’t particularly look happy. “You think we should talk to her?” Pate asked.
“Not now,” Emerald suggested. “Maybe we should wait until she’s more awake.” They walked to another table as the changeling tasted something rather bitter.
“Auck! Tasted something bitter,” he silently disgusted.
Lighthoof couldn’t find a free table so she just carried her tray into a different room. “Ugh, I just wanna be alone,” she grumbled. Looking at her food she gave a sigh. “Oh, I wish I had a better meal. If I wasn’t allergic to eggs that would be a great deal.”
Suddenly, her new horn started glowing as there was a flash from her food. To the mare’s surprise, her egg-free meal had turned into a cuisine fit for a princess. This meal looked like it would require eggs, which did make Lighthoof a little worried about her allergies, however, she heard a familiar voice. ”Go ahead, it’s safe.”
Lighthoof looked around but could see no one was there. Deciding to brave it, Lighthoof started eating her meal and she enjoyed it. It felt so good to have something she wasn’t able to do due to her allergies.
After she finished, she did her best to hide her horn again before taking her tray back to the cafeteria and running towards the girls washroom. Thus, she began to worry about getting her mane wet. These problems were going to make things very difficult for her. In the washroom, she could see some creatures were already using the showers and she just went straight for her toothbrush instead.
“Just keep it cool,” Lighthoof said to herself. “Your horn is covered up so no creature can see it.” She kept thinking to herself as she brushed her teeth as Shimmy walked up to her.
“Hey, Lighthoof,” Shimmy said. “Silver said you were acting a little cranky. She didn’t see you since you walked away from the table. Where did you go?”
“I just wanted to be alone.”
“Okay. I’m just worried about you. How did you get that headache at the castle?”
Lighthoof thought for a moment before coming to realization. It must’ve been that journal, but she didn’t want Shimmy to know about it. “I don’t know.”
“Well, just check by the nurse’s office in case you start to feel not like yourself.”
“Got it.” Lighthoof quickly spat out her toothpaste and raced out of the washroom, much to her friend’s worry.
Classes were now in session and Lighthoof was doing her best to keep calm. Right now, they’re now at Applejack’s classroom to have their first class there. Shimmy and Pate both sat closer to each other as they whispered about their friend.
“Do you think she’s okay?” Shimmy whispered quietly to Pate.
“Well, her mane looks a little different today,” Pate commented.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed that. What I mean is, she’s been acting a little differently.”
“How so?”
“Well, she doesn’t really seem to be in a good mood.”
“Maybe it was her headache.”
“I guess. Still, she would’ve told if something was wrong.” They both looked towards their Professor Applejack, who had noticed they were talking between each other.
“What did I just say?” the farm pony said.
“Um... Uh... Uh...” Pate was almost in a panic now. “...You can always be too... Honest?”
“See me after class.”
“Yes, Ms. Applejack.” Shimmy stayed quiet as she didn’t want to get into trouble.
”Okay, Light,” Lighthoof thought to herself, ”Just stay calm. There’s gotta be a way to explain this. Oh, who am I kidding? How do I explain that I suddenly grew a horn?”
Lighthoof did her best to concentrate on her lessons, but there was quite a lot on her mind. When the bell rang, Lighthoof made a beeline for the hallways. The rest of the students eventually walked out of class. Except for Pate, he stayed behind so Applejack could talk with him. Shimmy meanwhile looked around for her friend. The fact that Lighthoof had left the class so fast was certainly giving her a reason to worry.
“Lighthoof?” she called walking down the hall. “Where are you?”
The mare in question was doing her best to hide from her friend while she thought. “Okay,” Lighthoof said to herself, “I should tell her, but then what?”
“Lighthoof!” She could see that Shimmy was walking closer to her.
“Oh, this is just what I fear, I need to get out of here.” Suddenly, her horn glowed again, teleporting to the worried mare out of there just before Shimmy could find her hiding spot.
Gale and Flare were just relaxing and talking to each other from their classes as Lighthoof suddenly teleported in between them, much to their shock. “How did you do that?” Gale questioned.
Lighthoof looked towards the boys as her horn was now exposed. “Weren’t you an earth pony?” Flare asked.
The mare jumped as her cover was now blown. “Oh, this, uh...” Lighthoof stuttered, “I can explain.” There was a moment of silence as she really couldn’t think of an explanation.
“Do ponies go through changes like dragons molting?”
“I don’t think so,” Gale commented.
”They’re going to tell others about this,” said a voice, ”Stop them!” Lighthoof looked around to see who said that but then something crossed her mind.
“Hopefully you’ll listen to me, I’ll make you listen quietly,” Lighthoof muttered. Her horn started glowing again as Gale and Flare suddenly felt light-headed. Their pupils shrunk and turned blue as they now both had a blank expression. “Oh no. Guys, are……are you okay?”
“We are perfectly fine, Lighthoof,” Gale said with little to no expression.
“Ugh, okay.”
“What would you like us to do, Lighthoof?” Flare asked.
“Um... Hover in the air?” The griffon and dragon started flying in place. “Scratch your heads for a second.” The boys did that exact command. “Find me a book for History and Mathematics.” Gale and Flare quickly flew off to find what the mare ordered. “Are they under...…mind control?”
”You’re catching on fast.”
“Who’s there?” Lighthoof looked around, but she couldn’t see anyone.
”Walk into the bathroom.” Lighthoof listened to the voice and walked to where she was told to go. When she walked up to a mirror she saw her reflection. It was only there for a moment before someone else appeared in it.
“Wait... Are you... Majesty?”
“Yes I am,” the pony in the reflection replied. “You’re doing a lot better than I thought you would.”
“Y...You’re the pony that was in my dream.”
“Correct. I still think you could do a little more with your spells.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You haven’t tried transfiguration yet. That’s one of my favorite spells.”
“But... Why would I do that?”
“It’s fun. You want to prove you’re best.”
“Since did I say that?”
“Since when have you been jealous of your friend?” Lighthoof paused and just walked towards the exit. “You can’t ignore me forever.” Lighthoof did her best to not listen to the mare in the reflection. What she didn’t know, Coral was using the bathroom and was a little confused to see the mare talking to herself. At least, that’s what it looked like.
“What the……”
At lunchtime, Lighthoof got her meal and walked out of the room making sure no one saw her. Moss and Tanzanite both could see Gale and Flare were just sitting at the table like zombies. “They haven’t even blinked,” Tanz commented.
“Yeah,” Moss said. “This is really creeping me out. Gale, cut it out!” The griffon didn’t reply. Trud then walked up to them with a tray of food.
“Oh, hey Trud,” Tanz said. “How’s your cart treating you?”
“Yak doing fine,” Trud replied. “Wish legs worked. What’s with Gale?”
“He and Flare have been like this since our first classes,” Moss explained. “If it’s a joke, it’s overstayed its welcome.” Tanz waved his claw in front of the griffon and dragon’s faces. They didn’t even blink. “You think we would take them to Headmare Starlight or the nurse?”
“Nurse first, Headmare later,” Tanz commented. He and Moss took the two motionless creatures down the hall. As they did that, the cheer squad met up at one of the tables. Shimmy was the first to see something was missing.
“Have you seen Lighthoof?” she asked.
“Not really,” Peridot admitted.
“Me neither,” Tarsi added. “We could keep a lookout for her.”
“Maybe we could ask Headmare Starlight where she is,” Ocellus suggested.
“Won’t Lighthoof be in class?” Dotta asked.
“We haven't seen her since our first classes,” Smolder stated.
“Oh.”
“I’m getting worried about her,” Shimmy admitted. “It all started when she got that headache at the castle.”
“R... Right,” Ocellus commented. She looked towards, Smolder, Yona, and Silverstream. “Girls, can I talk with the three of you?” The four left the table and Ocellus brought them to a private place.
“Why Ocellus bring friends away?” Yona asked.
“You girls remember when Silverstream read Spirit Spells?”
“Ugh,” Silverstream shivered, “Don’t remind me.”
“Why do you bring that up?” Smolder asked.
“Well, when Lighthoof was with me, Pate and Emerald at the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Ocellus explained, “I saw her reading an old journal.”
“So...” Silverstream said, “You think... She’s possessed?”
“It’s just a theory.”
“Theory holds water,” Yona spoke.
“We need to find Lighthoof more than ever now,” Silverstream spoke.
“Right. Friends split up.”
“You do that,” Ocellus said, “I’m going to ask Headmare Starlight if she has seen her.” The four girls walked off to find the missing mare.
Lighthoof was finishing her lunch as she could hear Majesty again. “Aren’t you going to do anything else?”
“Shut up,” Lighthoof grumbled.
“Look, I’ve seen other ponies do way more than just sit around on their flanks.” Lighthoof ignored the voice and placed her tray back in the cafeteria and walked off to mind her own business. ”Okay, what about those boys you put under your control?”
“Gale and Flare?”
“Yeah, them. They’re still under your control.”
“...You mean...”
“Unless you give them a command, they can’t do anything.” Lighthoof froze for a minute. ”Listen, you were the one who cast the spell, so it’s on you.”
“Ugh... Well... How do I change them back?”
“Oh, you can figure that out. I honestly didn’t find a way to stop it myself.”
Lighthoof was starting to get a bit worried. “You can’t just let me learn everything on my own. You know these more than I do.”
Coral walked up to the mare, confused and a little worried. “Lighthoof, are you okay?” the hippogriff asked.
The mare jumped a little bit. “Coral, what are you doing?”
“I was just finishing lunch. Why are you talking to yourself again?”
“Again?”
“I saw you talking to your reflection in the restroom.”
“...And it was just my reflection?”
“Who else would it be?”
“Um...”
“She’s onto us. Get rid of her!” Lighthoof was in a quick panic being put on the spot. She had to think of something fast.
“You know, you’re filled with hot air, why don’t you go up and stay there?” Suddenly, her mane parted to reveal her glowing horn. Before Coral could react she was zapped by a beam. She started feeling a little airy.
“What did you just do to me?” The hippogriff looked at her wings, which were starting to puff up. Even without them flapping, Coral started lifting into the air. “What’s happening?!” Coral’s body started becoming shiny and many of her feathers were now having a painted on look.
“Oh, geez, what’ve I done?” Lighthoof questioned. Not knowing what to do, she ran away to avoid getting caught as the hippogriff kept changing.
Meanwhile, Shimmy Shake had just finished her lunch and quickly headed to her dorm room to see if Lighthoof was there. And she wasn’t there. Pate was also with her to find Lighthoof as well. “Find her yet?” Pate asked.
“No,” the cheerleader sighed, “not here.” She then looked at her side table and could see a picture frame on top. In that photo, is both her and Lighthoof as fillies, playing at the sandbox, building a sandcastle with their plastic shovels and pails.
“What’s that?” he asked, looking at the photo.
“Oh that? That’s just a photo of when Lighthoof and I had our first play date at the playground. We had so much fun there.” Shimmy picked up the picture to get a better look at it. She then felt a sad feeling inside of her.
“You know Shimmy, when me and Lighthoof were at the castle with Ocellus and Emerald a while ago, she seemed kind of upset.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think she was angry at something.”
“Angry? But...…why would she...” Then Shimmy began to think about the recent events at cheer practice. “Wait. Do you think she’s jealous?”
“Jealous? Of what?”
“Of me becoming captain of the cheer squad?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Well I think that would be a good reason why.”
“Now I really need to find her and talk with her. Follow me, Pate.” Shimmy placed the picture down and ran down towards the hall, with Pate following behind her.
“Shimmy!” squeaked a voice. The cheerleader stopped as her boyfriend caught up with her.
“Did you hear that?”
“I think so,” Pate replied, “Where...”
“Up here!” the voice squeaked again. The two looked up and gasp. Floating up to the ceiling, there was a balloon version of Coral. “Could you get me down?”
“Coral?” the mare and changeling gasped.
“Are you a balloon,” Shimmy asked.
“Yeah, this is really weird,” Coral admitted. Her voice was a bit higher now.
“How the heck did you end up like that?” Pate questioned.
“It was Lighthoof. She zapped me with some sort of spell.”
“But... She’s an earth pony,” Shimmy stated.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I saw that she had a unicorn horn, I swear.”
“Did you know where the last time you saw her?”
“I only saw her go right after she zapped me. Could you take me to my dorm? I don’t want any creature seeing me like this.” Pate flew up and carefully grabbed onto the hippogriff balloon and carried her down the hall.
“Tell me where your dorm is,” Pate asked the balloon. Then Coral told them where to go.
While they took care of her, Lighthoof had left the school and was looking around for a place to hide. However, in her rush to get out of the school, she only grabbed a scarf, meaning she didn’t have much to keep her warm in the snow.
“Ugh, I still hate snow,” Lighthoof grumbled. After stopping for a moment, before saying something. “This is being such a hassle, I just need to get to the castle.”
Her horn started glowing again and teleported back to the Castle of the Two Sisters. “Very nice,” Majesty commented. “How about you try out some spells in my journal?”
Lighthoof looked around and could see the journal lying on the ground. She picked up with her hooves but then thought about lifting it with levitation. “Huh,” she said, “I think I might be getting used to this.”
”Very good. You see, you’ll be much better than Shimmy now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, will you stop lying to yourself. When have you ever had a friend like Pate?” Lighthoof thought about what she said. She then thought of a couple of the boys at the school. She then teleported back.
Meanwhile, at the school, Sunshine was just minding his own business. He was just checking on his winter clothing until he heard someone behind him. “Hey, Sunny.” The hippogriff looked behind him and could see Lighthoof looking at him. Her eyelashes fluttered as she walked closer to him.
“Uh, hi, Lighthoof,” Sunshine replied. “...What’s up?”
“Oh, well, I was thinking we could spend some time together.”
“What do you mean by that?”
”Well, I think there’s something irresistible you can see, of what am I saying, that thing is me.” Lighthoof’s horn came into view and started making blue hearts float around Sunshine’s head. Before the hippogriff reacted, he was quite shocked, but suddenly, he found he couldn’t take his eyes off of Lighthoof. Something about her look... Beautiful.
“L... Li... Lighthoof,” Sunshine stuttered.
“Notice anything different?”
“You... You look so amazing.” The hippogriff quickly started nuzzling up to the mare.
“Oh, you’re amazing too.”
“There you are,” said a voice. Lighthoof looked over to see Smolder standing at the end of the hallway. “Where were you?”
“Um... I needed a moment alone.”
“Really! Then why is Sunshine nuzzling you?”
“Because Lighthoof is so adorable,” Sunshine cooed.
“Since when you two were a couple?”
“We should've been one year ago.”
“But you’ve only been at this school for a few months.” Then Smolder could see Lighthoof now had a horn. “What the... Is that a horn?”
Lighthoof looked up and could see her horn was now exposed. “Oh... Ugh...” Lighthoof didn’t know what to say.
“Lighty, what’s wrong?” Sunshine asked.
“Well, someone’s overstayed their welcome and she shouldn’t really judge,” Lighthoof commented. ”Let’s see if we can improve her image.” She gained a cheeky smirk and quickly zapped Smolder.
The dragoness could feel her body becoming weird. Looking at her claw, Smolder could see her claws starting to melt. Not just her claws, her horns and spines as well. The dragon quickly melted into a pile of goop which started taking form. A wooden frame popped out of nowhere and the goop appeared in the middle of it. The wooden frame appeared to hang itself on the wall with a painting of Smolder, dressed up a princess.
Lighthoof just gasped at what she did to her. “Smolder?!” she cried. The young mare was in a panic. She quickly ran off with Sunshine following her.
Meanwhile, Shimmy and Pate placed Coral in her dorm room just before they heard the bell ring. “Dang it. I can’t go to class like this,” Coral cried.
“Maybe…maybe we can just tell the professors you’re feeling sick,” Pate suggested.
“Well... Right. Just make sure to keep my door locked, please.”
“Got it,” Shimmy said. She closed the door and locked it with a key before she and Pate ran towards the next classroom. When they got there, they could see that Smolder was missing. Sandbar, Gallus, Ocellus, Yona and Silverstream were having a conversation, feeling concerned about them being missing.
“Have you seen Smolder?” Sandbar asked.
“Smolder missing too?” Yona questioned.
“Yeah, so is Coral,” Ocellus added. Pate and Shimmy both looked at each other. “I’m getting a little worried, first Lighthoof now them.”
“Not to mention, Gale and Flare aren’t responding to anything anyone says,” Gallus added. “Something is definitely wrong.”
“Should we tell them?” Pate whispered to his girlfriend.
“I don’t know,” Shimmy responded silently. “How would they react?”
“Don’t ask me,” he shrugged. Then Ocellus faced the couple who’re whispering to each other.
“What are you guys whispering about?” Ocellus interrupted, then they turned to her.
“...Uuuuuuuuuuuh,” Pate said. “Nothing?”
“Class,” Rarity said. “I’m noticing that some of you are missing, but we will take care of that later. Lessons must carry on though, so hopefully, the ones that are late won’t mind.” Rarity started her lesson as the students that were there sat back and listened.
Meanwhile, Lighthoof had wandered around the school to see that Gale and Flare were sitting outside of Headmare Starlight’s office. They both had the same blank expression they had when they were first hit by Lighthoof’s spell. “Are you two still under... Mind control?” Lighthoof asked.
“If that’s what you want,” Gale and Flare said in unison.
“This is... Kind of creepy.”
“Oh, Lighty, don’t worry,” Sunshine cooed. “It’s not too bad.”
“He’s right you know,” Majesty said.
“Shut up, Majesty,” Lighthoof groaned.
“Hey, you could’ve told somepony by now. You’re outside of your Headmare’s office. Why don’t you talk with her?” The young mare looked at the office doors. She could talk with Starlight, but she had already done enough damage to her fellow students.
“Is there anything we can get for you?” Gale asked.
“No. Just... Leave me alone for a minute.” Gale and Flare both stood up and walked away. “This is beginning to be too much.”
“Lighthoof,” Starlight Glimmer said. She had just opened her door as she heard the young mare talking to herself. “Where have you been? Ocellus said she hasn’t seen you since first classes. The same goes for other students like Shimmy Shake.”
Lighthoof was now on the spot. She was panicking until she thought of something. “You sound like you’re a bit old, now back, and listen to what you’re told.” Lighthoof revealed her horn and zapped Starlight without a second thought. Once she did that, she raced off with Sunshine.
Starlight quickly started feeling sore as her mane started turning gray. Scratch that, it was straight up turning white. Her body started aching as she started gaining some wrinkles and her mind got a little foggy.
Rarity’s class soon ended and the students left the room. “Still no sign of Smolder yet,” Ocellus commented.
Sandbar sighed. “Where could she be?” he questioned. Shimmy and Pate left the classroom with the young five as they heard something.
“Hello?” called a voice.
“Wait,” Gallus halted them for a while, “do you hear that?”
“Yeah. That sounds like her,” Ocellus commented.
“Smolder, where are you?” Silverstream called.
“Follow my voice,” the dragoness called. The young five, as well as Pate and Shimmy, followed Smolder’s call. Turning one more corner, they all gasped at what they saw. Smolder was still stuck in the painting and was banging against some invisible wall to try and get out.
“Smolder?” the students gasped.
“Guys, get me out of here,” Smolder cried.
“How...how did this happen?” Gallus questioned.
“It was Lighthoof.”
“Lighthoof?” Sandbar questioned.
“How Lighthoof make Smolder painting?” Yona questioned.
“Maybe the same way she made Coral a balloon,” Shimmy muttered.
“Excuse me?” Ocellus questioned. They then ran where Coral’s dorm room is. They even forgot to get Smolder out.
“Hey!” Smolder called themselves to get their attention. Gallus and Sandbar quickly came back and picked up the living painting.
“Don’t worry, we got ya,” Gallus told her, then ran with Sandbar towards the dorm room. They made it, and they tried to open the door. They keep jerking off the doorknob, and Shimmy tells them that it’s locked. She got out her key and opened it. When they got inside, they saw the orange hippogriff balloon was still floating on the ceiling. “What in the name of Tartarus?” he gasped.
“My goodness,” Silverstream said in shock.
“Shimmy, I thought you were going to keep creatures out of my room,” Coral said.
“Well, I have an excuse,” Smolder stated. Sandbar and Gallus carefully placed the painting of his friend down to make sure she didn’t break.
“Smolder, you too?”
“Yeah, since when did Lighthoof become a unicorn?”
Ocellus pondered for a minute. “It’s gotta be that journal she found,” she muttered.
“Right! I think she got possessed,” Silverstream cried.
“What... Girls, what are you talking about?” Shimmy questioned.
“It’s a bit of a long story,” Sandbar said. “We’ll explain while we search for Lighthoof.” He quickly turned to Smolder and Coral. “Don’t worry girls, we’re going to fix this.” Quickly, they ran off leaving the balloon and painting by themselves.
“Nice dress,” Coral said, pointing at the dress Smolder’s wearing.
“Thanks,” Smolder replied.
Running down the hall, the students when they saw Starlight Glimmer. She was as old as Granny Smith now. “Headmare Starlight?” the students gasped.
“I don’t know what happened,” the old mare groaned.
“Starlight, just don’t move too much,” Ocellus said. She carefully helped Starlight get somewhere to sit as Shimmy started getting worried.
“Oh, Lighthoof,” she sighed, “What have you done?”
Meanwhile, Lighthoof was walking around Ponyville with love-struck Sunshine, and controlled-emotionless Gale and Flare.
“Oh, I can’t believe what I did,” the young mare muttered. She looked at the boys, one was completely love-struck and the other just emotionless. “Majesty, if you’re listening, this is all your fault.”
There wasn’t a reply. Instead, Lighthoof had gotten a breeze blowing and she started shivering. ”Ugh, this annoying weather has to go, I don’t care what time it is, no more snow!” Without thinking, Lighthoof launched a beam into the sky.
The clouds started moving out of the sun’s way as the weather started getting hotter. Lighthoof and the boys weren’t the only ones noticing this. Shimmy and Pate were running towards outside of the school entrance with the young five as they could feel the temperature starting to go up. “Yona getting hotter,” Yona spoke, starting to pant.
“Yeah, me too,” Shimmy agreed. The heat was soon starting to get to them and they had to take their winter clothing off to prevent them from overheating.
“Guys look!” Sandbar cried. He pointed to some of the snow, which was starting to melt.
“Hold on, spring isn’t supposed to come for a few months,” Ocellus commented. “What’s going on?”
“Lighthoof struck again!” Silverstream claimed. “She’s changing the weather!”
“Silver, get a hold of yourself,” Gallus cried, calming her down.
“This still can’t be good,” Ocellus said. “Winter’s being cleared away too fast.”
There were a few cracks and screams which the students quickly went to investigate. They all saw several ponies ice skating on a frozen pond, which was cracking and melting. Thinking fast, Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus, and Pate quickly flew to the rescue.
They quickly lifted the ponies on the pond up and carried them off the ice before it could break away and melt. The weather might’ve been warming up, but the water was still freezing.
“Oh, we need to find Lighthoof, fast,” Shimmy Shake shuttered.
“Yona getting scared,” Yona shivered.
“Stay brave Yona,” Sandbar said, calming his girlfriend down. Shimmy was starting to get a little frantic and quickly ran off. “Shimmy, wait!”
“Guys, you do what you need to do,” Shimmy replied, “I’ve got to find Lighthoof now!” She ran as fast as she could to find her friend. Pate saw her leaving and quickly followed after helping a pony to safety.
“Thank you,” a colt said, thanking him.
“No problem,” he replied back, then quickly followed Shimmy. And he finally catches up with her.
“Okay, where do you think she could be?” Pate asked.
“I’m thinking,” Shimmy replied. She thought as much as she could. “She’s probably jealous.”
“I thought I did taste something bitter.”
Shimmy quickly stopped in her tracks and looked at her boyfriend. “Since when?” she asked.
“Yesterday, at Sugarcube Corner,” Pate explained.
“W...Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t think it was Lighthoof. Even if it was, I didn’t want to hurt your relationship with her.”
“But... Lighthoof would’ve told me if something was wrong. I can’t wrap my head around it. We’re best friends.” She held her head as she tried to think.
“How about I go up and look around for Lighthoof?” Shimmy simply nodded and the changeling did his idea. He flew up into the air and began scanning the area. He could see something glowing close by.
“Shimmy,” he called her, “I think I see her.” Pate quickly led the way as Lighthoof was doing some more magic.
For some reason, the young mare found herself starting to enjoy the magic. She looked around at an old-looking table. “Ugh, that table looks so vile, how about I give it some style?” She quickly zapped the table and turned its wooden body into crystal.
Then she looked over to working vests. ”Why just wear a typical vest, when you can always look your best?” She quickly zapped all the vests and turned them into some fancy looking dresses that would put Rarity to shame.
“Lighty, you’re so amazing,” Sunshine cooed.
“Oh, thank you, Sunny,” Lighthoof replied. “Gale, Flare, please fetch that table and dresses.” The griffon and dragon did as they were told as Lighthoof smiled at her magic.
Shimmy Shake and Pate found her, but something didn’t look right. “Wait. Is she...…Taller than usual?” Pate asked.
Shimmy squinted a bit and could see the changeling wasn’t wrong. “Yeah. How did she get taller?” Shimmy questioned. Pate simply shrugged. “Well, we can’t let this get any worse.” Taking a deep breath, Shimmy ran towards her friend.
Lighthoof quickly saw the blonde pony running towards her. With a simple eye roll, Lighthoof stopped her friend in her place. “Shimmy, it’s about time you showed up,” Lighthoof commented.
“Lighthoof, you have to listen to me. This isn’t who you are.”
“What do you mean? I’m enjoying myself here.”
“Are you? You turn Coral into a balloon, Smolder’s stuck in a painting, Headmare Starlight is an old mare now, and just look at the boys.” Lighthoof looked at Sunshine, who just stared at her with lovey-dovey eyes. Gale was holding the dresses while Flare held the table over his head. “Do you think they would be enjoying this.”
Lighthoof started feeling a little guilty until she saw Pate run up and try to pull Shimmy off her grip. This triggered something to make the unicorn angry and she levitated the changeling into the air. ”I’ve been having enough of you, and I think it’s about...”
“Lighthoof stop!” Shimmy screamed. The unicorn looked at her friend just as the young five started showing up. “Look at yourself. What’s happened to you?”
Lighthoof found herself a mirror to look at her reflection. Her expression quickly turned to shock and horror as she got a good look at herself. She then actually looked at the boys that were under her control. She brought her hoof to her head and sighed. “What have I done?”
“Don’t listen to her. She’s just trying to keep you in her shadow,” Majesty said.
“Shut up,” Lighthoof said to the pony in her head.
"Light, what's going on?"
"I...I Found a journal at the castle and……some mare named Majesty showed up in my dream."
"Why did you listen to her?" Shimmy asked. She was getting anxious.
"Because..." Lighthoof stuttered, "It's because of you!" The young mare was speechless at what she just heard. "Let's take a look at some things you have that I don't. One, you're more likely to get a position that you're not cut out for; and second, Pate!"
"Me?" Pate questioned.
"Yes, you! Shimmy and I've been friends for years. We've always been together and then one day, some bug-horse comes along and asks her out. Next thing you know, both a male and female are hanging out because their relationship is bound to last longer than the single friend."
“You’re... Jealous?” Shimmy questioned. “That’s why you did all of this?!”
“Yes, I’m jealous. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
“Yes! If you told me that, none of this would be happening.”
There was a moment of silence. Lighthoof looked at herself again and sighed. “You’re right. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You know I would never forget about you. You’re my best friend. You should be able to tell me about these kinds of things.”
“But... If I do learn my lesson here, what can we do about this? I’ve pretty much just caused Smolder and Coral to be a painting and balloon forever respectively.”
“If you do all of those spells, can’t there be one that can turn back time?” Pate asked.
“He’s wrong,” Majesty said. By judging her voice, Lighthoof could tell she was getting worried.
“It’s worth a shot,” Lighthoof replied. She took a deep breath, and started thinking about how the spell should go. ”I’ve been foolish and my envy blinded me, thus it caused the truth to be impossible to see. I wish to learn from my mistakes, it’s for my friends so I’ll do what it takes. So, please let’s have time to rewind, so I can make all of my mistakes today.”
With that being said, Lighthoof’s horn started glowing. Brighter. And brighter. It was starting to engulf her, Shimmy, and Pate. It flicked and started absorbing the rest of Ponyville. And then--
๑
Lighthoof shook her head. She looked around. She was now back in the Castle of the Sister. Not only that, but Pate was there with Ocellus and Emerald.
Pate looked around confused and walked over to the cheerleader. “Were you...a unicorn before?” the changeling questioned.
“I…I think so,” Lighthoof replied. She quickly bit herself to check to see if she was awake, which she was. With that confirmation, Lighthoof then looked at the journal she had just found and jumped back in fright. Pate thought fast and turned himself into an alligator before tossing the journal into the air before he caught it in his mouth and ate it.
“Huh, this journal is a lot harder to chew than I thought. Looked like a paper cover to me.” He then managed to swallow it before changeling back to his base form.
“What are you doing?” Emerald questioned.
“Um... I was wanting to show Lighthoof what forms I can turn into, but a book fell into my mouth.”
“...Yeah,” Lighthoof said, confirming the changeling's claim.
“...Okay then,” Emerald said.
“I think I’m going to check to see how the girls are doing?” Lighthoof quickly walked off with Pate deciding to follow her.
Shimmy Shake was staring off into space before Smolder decided to snap her claws. “Hey, Equestria to Shimmy,” the dragoness said. The mare snapped back to reality and looked at her confused friend.
“Sorry, Smolder,” Shimmy apologized. “I just lost my train of thought.” She then looked over to Pate and Lighthoof, who were walking over to them.
“I thought you were exploring the castle,” Tarsi commented.
“We start getting a little bit cold,” Lighthoof said. “Plus, I’m not sure if I do have some homework back at school, but I think I should double-check.”
“I……should probably do the same thing,” Shimmy said.
“Can we still use your makeup kit?” Grace asked.
“Only if you don’t overuse it and return it in one piece.” The girls agreed and Shimmy soon left with Lighthoof and Pate. After walking out of the Treehouse’s earshot, the cheerleader both talked between each other. “So, how long have you been envious of me?”
“It started when you and Pate had your first date,” Lighthoof sighed. “I didn’t think much of it, but you two started spending more time together. I was starting to feel like a third wheel. Not to mention, you had a boyfriend while I didn't. He even wrote a superhero based on you.”
“...That’s true. But you know I wouldn’t just stop hanging out with you. What kind of a friend would I be if I did that?” Lighthoof sighed. “Listen, next time you’re having an issue, let me know so things don’t spin out of control. Okay?”
“...Okay.” They kept walking back to school as a colt and griffon were having a conversation.
“Hey, Gallus,” Sandbar said, “Do you have... Deja vu?”
“...Kind of,” Gallus admitted. “Was... Lighthoof a unicorn?”
“I think so. I could’ve sworn Smolder was a talking painting. What happened?”
“I think some things are better left a mystery.” The two didn’t say anything else. As the changeling and two cheerleaders walked past them.
“Let’s just pretend that what happened, didn’t happen,” Lighthoof said.
“Pretend what didn’t happen?” Shimmy asked with a wink. Lighthoof smiled as she hugged her friend. The two were glad they were able to put their strange event behind them and stay friends.
