As she finished her current read, Twilight Sparkle let out a contented sigh. Today had been a good day all around. A new shipment of books had arrived for the Castle of Friendship, she had been able to spend time with her friends, and of course, no Equestria wide disaster to worry about.
Something that seemed to have become annoyingly commen since she had moved to Ponyville and since Princess Luna had returned. Not that she blamed the Lunar Diarch for any of it of course.
"We really should stop calling her princess though, Twilight. I mean, we're one too," came a voice from both her mouth and in her mind. But it wasn't Twilight's own voice.
"We can't exactly call them by their regular names though. We barely know her, or Celestia. Though I like her better than her elder sister," came another voice, once again, not Twilight's own.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she felt her two companions reassert themselves within her, and then mentally kicked herself for thinking that of the two of them. They were far more than that to her.
She wouldn't even exist at all without them. In most ways, they were her mothers. Far more than Twilight Velvet, though Twilight loved the mare dearly. The Sparkle Family was the closest all three of them had in a long time.
"Please don't start calling us that Twilight. I'm way too young to be a mom."
"Oh come on Cobalt. It's not that bad. We are in most ways."
Twilight felt Cobalt roll her eyes. "Of course you're fine with it, Star. This is your kind of thing. It always has been."
Twilight giggled as she felt Star stick her tongue out at Cobalt. "Now now you two. Calm down now. This does none of us any good."
Both Cobalt and Star rolled their eyes. "Yes, mom," they said together before all three of them broke down into helpless giggles.
Twilight though was more than happy to relinquish her hold on their combined form, as all three of their magics came together, and a bright light filled the Main Library. When the light faded, Twilight Sparkle had vanished, and in her place, two new ponies now stood.
One was a peach pink unicorn mare with a two-tone mane and tail, the colors the same as Twilight's own mane and tail highlights in fact. The other was a light blue Pegasus mare. Her mane and tail were the same color as Twilight's own.
Star Twinkle blinked several times as she readjusted to being herself once more. Even after so long, it still felt weird. "You'd think after centuries of doing that, I'd be used to it by now."
Cobalt Strike stretched her wings for all they were worth. "I'm more than happy to do it instead of being up all night reading. I don't see how Twilight does it."
Star shrugged. "Must be an alicorn thing. I like my sleep, thank you very much."
Cobalt smiled as she wrapped a wing around Star. "And that's one reason why I love doing this with you, Star."
Star smiled as she leaned into the wing hug. "Oh? And I thought it was because I was cute?"
Cobalt blushed. "Well. That too."
And it was true. The two of them had been together now for so long, their initial shock and shyness at being so closely tied together had long since worn off. Not to say that they hadn't fought and split up for long periods of time. But they always came back together in the end.
Star bopped her on the nose, as they made their way up to the Main Bedroom. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
Cobalt grinned. "It better be, or I'll tell everyone your little secret. Or maybe I and Twilight will."
Star feigned shock and horror, but this had been a thing between them for so long now, it no longer bothered her. She knew that Cobalt would make good on her threat too. Either by herself or when she took the driver seat alongside Twilight when all three of them were together.
And if that did happen, there was only so much Star could do about it. Then again, the same applied for her and Twilight as well. It was part of what made all three of them work so well together. Kind of like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in a way.
Princess Celestia may have known them the longest at this point, but there were things even she didn't know about them. And Cobalt, Star, and Twilight planned to keep it that way. Princess Luna knew just about as much as her sister did.
The only other alicorn who did know the three of them to any real extent was Princess Cadance. Why that was, none of them knew. But it wasn't something that bothered any of them to any great extent.
Coming to their bedroom, Cobalt gave Star a seductive look before she hopped into bed. Star blushed brightly before she too joined her in bed.
"So. Anything going on tomorrow?" Cobalt asked as she ran a hoof through Star's mane lovingly.
Star shook her head. "Not really. Rarity wants me to model some dresses for her. She's hoping I can drag you along with me."
Cobalt pretended to heave. "No thanks. Rainbow has it right. Dresses aren't for me."
Star chuckled as she rolled over to face her. "One of these days, I will get you in there, along with Rainbow." She batted her eyelashes. "Besides, you look beautiful in a dress."
Cobalt rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You two have fun." She looked out the nearby window. "Starlight's still out with Trixie?"
Star nodded. "She said she wouldn't be back for a few days at least. And Spike is out with the CMC for the night. Hopefully, Fluttershy can handle all four of them."
Cobalt snorted. Knowing the animal-loving pony, she could handle just about anything. "If she can handle Discord, I think she can handle those four. I don't know how, but she can."
Giggling, Star kissed the end of Cobalt's snout, getting a blush out of the Pegasus. Pulling the cover-up over the two of them, Cobalt let her wing hold Star close, the unicorn snuggling closer as she did before the two drifted off to sleep.
It was times like this, Star thought with a wince, that she wished she could change into Twilight and not have Cobalt there with her. Not that she didn't like Rarity of course. Far from it. They got along great. It was nice to be able to talk magic with somepony and have it be understood to any degree.
Even if the fashionista didn't understand all of it, she still understood the basics. She was curious the most about the magic that allowed Star and Cobalt to unite into Twilight. There were several problems though.
Neither Cobalt nor Star really understood how or why they could do what they did. And what little they had been able to figure out had never once been shared with anypony else but each other. Not even Princess Celestia. Far too much could go wrong if it did get out. Or somepony could try and use it for evil in some way.
But back to the point. Every time Star came to Carousel Boutique, it felt like her organs were squashed more than was probably safe, and she always left out of breath. Earth pony stamina only did so much.
"Rarity, why do you have to make this so tight?" She wheezed, as she was squeezed into a dress she had asked for, for an upcoming dance in Canterlot. Though technically the invitation had been for Twilight, Princess Celestia had made it a point to invite both her and Cobalt as well.
Rarity smiled as she made several adjustments. "Maybe, darling, if you got out more like yourself and not Twilight, then it wouldn't be so tight, hmm? Whatever happened to that earth pony stamina you three share?"
Star rolled her eyes. "It only does so much. I'm not Applejack. I'm a bookworm. What can I say? Cobalt usually finds a way to get me out and about though."
Rarity hummed as she returned to her workstation. It wasn't exactly a secret around Ponyville that Cobalt and Star were a couple. Very few though knew the truth about why the two of them and Twilight were so close.
All of their friends did of course, as did Starlight and Trixie. But that was as far as it went into the small town. Others across Equestria and the Crystal Empire did as well, but never spoke of it.
The relationship the three appeared to share was a surprise to most that didn't know the full truth about them. But Ponyville was one of the most open spots in Equestria for same-sex couples. Just ask Lyra and Bon Bon.
It was far more open than Canterlot was that was for certain. The capitol was as backward in its thinking, as Ponyville was forwards thinking. Nopony seemed in no hurry to change that as well.
Rarity's smile grew as she returned to her work. "Well, I do hope you get out of the castle more often darling. You can't spend all day cooped up inside like that, or even as Twilight. You'll never be in shape if you do."
Star grumbled as she tried once more to breathe.
Cobalt sighed as she settled down onto a convenient cloud. It was days like this that she was glad that she and Star had decided long ago that spending all of their time as Twilight was boring.
She loved the time they spent together as her of course and wouldn't change it for the world. But some days, she just enjoyed being herself again.
It was easier than their other method of being apart for any length of time. Cobalt remembered the century and a half that she and Star had gone their separate ways. One benefit of the immortality they now had, courtesy of Twilight. Twilight had all but retreated into the deeper parts of her mind at that time.
The two of them had come back together of course. But it had given them the perspective they had needed, and Twilight. No all three of them had come out of it for the better.
Cobalt wondered if they would ever share that story with the girls. While they may have been closer to Twilight, they were as much her and Star's friends as Twilight's. Except for Trixie. But they only put up with her for Starlight's sake.
Somedays, she wondered what it would be like to move to the Human World, and their friends at Canterlot High. None of them knew the full story as of yet, though Sunset was beginning to suspect something.
Cobalt had a feeling they would freak. As much as their pony counterparts had when they had learned the truth. It might just be worth it to show it to them, just for their reaction to it. Especially Sci Twi, who Cobalt knew wasn't like her and Star. At least, she didn't think so.
Unless there was something else going on that none of them knew about. The thought made her grin.
Author's Note
First I need to thank JanethePegsaus for letting me use part of her artwork. This isn't the full pic that's being used as the cover art. But I was able to get just this part of it to use for the story.
And that's not the only change. All of the Mane 6, not just Twilight, were fusions in the original idea behind the pic. As were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Celestia, in fact, being three ponies fused together into one.
Starlight groaned as she closed yet another book with a thump. "Are you sure you can't tell me how any of this happened? Think of what this could mean for Equestria if the magic you three use could be used by everyone."
Twilight shook her head, as she too closed her book. "For the hundredth time, Starlight. No. Aside from the fact that we don't understand it completely ourselves, think of how it could go wrong if this became available to all," Twilight replied, three voices speaking as one and in perfect harmony with each other.
Starlight's eyes twitched. Dealing with Twilight, Star, or Cobalt, by themselves was a task at times. But dealing with all three of them at literally the same time could drive even Discord up a wall. Literally. He was actually rather proud of them for that, it must be said.
Twilight and her mates rather enjoyed the effect all three of them together had on someponies. Cobalt in particular. Alone, they were formidable enough. United, very few could out anything them. It was an effect of how their fusion worked. One of them at least.
Starlight saw the look in her mentor's eyes and sighed. She was getting nowhere like this. "Look. I'm trying to understand you. All of you. But you're not making it easy. Help me to understand this. Understand you. Friends shouldn't do this to each other."
Twilight, Cobalt, and Star sighed. "Fine, Starlight. Where do you want us to start?"
The unicorn fought back a smirk. Bingo. "Let's start with the basics. How do you three make this work?" She held up a hoof as Twilight started to reply. "One pony at a time, please. It might help me."
Twilight's eyes shimmered for a second before she responded. "You mean how we work as three ponies in one body, three ponies across two bodies, or like we were a second ago?" Cobalt said, her voice now dominant in Twilight's body, though Twilight's voice echoed alongside hers.
Starlight nodded, grabbing a parchment and quill. It was as good a start as any. "All of them if you can, Cobalt. This has been driving me crazy for months now. And I know our friends feel the same way."
Cobalt rolled her eyes. "Fine. So you know how it sounds like I'm running everything at the moment?" Starlight nodded. "That's because I am. Oh sure, Star and Twilight are still here. But I have complete and total control of our body. They can only listen in. This is my body basically, Twily has a bit more than Star does. But only a little."
Starlight rubbed her chin. "How does that feel?"
Cobalt rolled her eyes. "Not as weird as it sounds. I don't feel any different than if we were all separate." Looking up at her horn, she smiled. "Magic is another story though."
Starlight blinked. "You can do magic? But you're a Pegasus. Even being in an alicorn body as you are."
Twilight's horn ignited, now a deep shade of blue, picking up the book Starlight had put down earlier. "Does that answer your question, Starlight? Yeah, I'm a Pegasus. But I'm also a unicorn and an earth pony at the same time. I'm no expert. But I can still use it," Cobalt replied with a grumble.
Starlight smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I know how much you hate getting this. There is just so little to go on. But every little bit helps."
Cobalt ruffled her feathers. That was an understatement. She had been getting the same thing for close to nine hundred years now. It never got easier. "Moving on. There's a bit more to this. But I think we all need to get in on this. Not just me."
Her eyes shimmered for a moment before a new voice came from the alicorn. "At least that isn't as weird as it used to be," Star grumbled, while Twilight's voice echoed alongside hers.
Starlight picked up on the change. It was a good segue to her next question actually. "How do you three even do that? I'm still getting used to it myself, and I know the girls are still freaked out about it sometimes when you do it."
Star rolled her eyes. "But it's so much fun. As for how we do it? Me and Cobalt need to agree to do it. She can't force me into being in charge of our body. The same applies to me and Twilight. I can't force Cobalt to move over and let me in, and Twilight can't force herself in and push either of us out."
Starlight noted this down. Strange, but it made sense, and it was a good way to make sure none of them butted in when the others didn't want her to. "And all three of you at the same time?"
Star's eyes shimmered again, but this time in a rainbow of colors. When next she spoke, it was her, Twilight, and Cobalt, all speaking as one, no one voice overpowering the other two. Harmony at its finest it seemed. "That's a bit harder to explain, Starlight. I guess the best to describe it is all three of us working as one. One mind, one personality. I feel... Stronger like this. More powerful," Twilight replied in her threefold voice.
Starlight blinked. That was not what she had been expecting. But she could feel their power now. Almost like Princess Celestia, but different in some ways. More humble, more approachable in a way. Was this what it meant to be the Princess of Friendship? Friendship was magic. Did that make Twilight, Star, and Cobalt the Goddess of Magic?
Starlight shook her head, putting the thought aside for later. "So how did you girls come to be like this? Our friends already know the story, as does your adopted family. I'm feeling left out here. I know I'm still new to all of this. But I still want to know."
Twilight smiled, gaining a faraway look in her eyes as she did. "Well, Starlight. It went something like this."
Author's Note
I know this was exposition-heavy. But it was a good way to lead into the main meat of the story. Cobalt and Star's life as Twilight, and how the three of them came to be as they are now. And to answer something TheUltimateBalanceChaos and Cyrus Colter brought up, Sci Twi is something I do plan to address at some point in the story. Just not anytime soon.
