I wonder if I'll ever get used to the sensation of teleporting. It vaguely reminds me of a magician's trick, kind of like the show Trixie performs, because there is an act of concealment during the process. In this case, it is a flash of purple followed by a shower of sparkles. After that, I gain this feeling akin to needing my eyes to adjust to the daylight after emerging from a darker interior. In addition to that, there is this sense of dizziness as if gravity is somehow different between point A and point B.

I know, in my head, that there shouldn't be that much of a difference. After all, we only teleported within Ponyville. I could have trotted to this destination in less than half an hour even if the streets were busy. But, today, I know that's not the point. I wasn't teleported here because I'm an invalid. I was teleported here so that there would be fewer social complications.

When my sense of dizziness later adjusts, I notice I am now in the throne room of Starlight's Castle. I also notice Starlight and Sunburst are already here.

Also, to my immediate right, I notice Ocellus blink several times then shake her head. Apparently I'm not the only one to gain a sense of disorientation due to the sudden shift in the environment.

“Welcome. Glad you're all here,” Starlight cheers to us.

When Starlight said that, I notice her horn is still wrapped in magic gauze. My caring concern for her compels me to ask her, “How's your horn, Starlight? Are you feeling any better?” I ask with hope mixed with worry in my voice.

In response, Starlight smiles at me in appreciation as she answers, “Yes, Sweetie Belle. I am feeling better today. Prior to this, last night, I sometimes suffered from splitting migraines, especially if I move my head too much. It agitated the small fracture in my horn which caused my magic to rise in flux for a few seconds. But I'm better now, fortunately,” she says with a breath of relief.

“Sunburst? You're here too?” Ocellus asks him with a blink of surprise. “If the Headmare and vice Headstallion are both here, who is running the school?”

“Hopefully this won't take long,” Sunburst replies as he floats his glasses further up from ever sliding down his muzzle. “If it does, I may reconvene at a later time, but for now, this situation is considerably more urgent. I'm here to double-check things and make sure there are no more mishaps this time. Or, if there are anyway, my presence here might serve to at least identify it. We do need more information.”

Sunburst shifts his eyes to look at me. He stares at me for a moment, then says, “My, my . . . is that really you, Sweetie Belle?”

I cringe shyly as I reply, “Yes. It's me. I know I don't look like myself lately.”

“Well, hopefully, we're here to fix that and get some answers,” Sunburst says back to me before looking at Twilight then nodding. “We're all here, Your Majesty. Let's get started.”

I sigh, then I ask Starlight, “I take it you want me to repeat what I've done before? You want me to concentrate on Button Mash at a certain time? If so, please tip me off when I should do it.”

Starlight shakes her head slightly as she says back, “I won't be casting the spell this time due to my condition. Twilight is, so she'll be the one to tell you when to concentrate on Button Mash.

“However,” Starlight flashes the other darker purple mare a knowing look, “we're going to focus on another target the first time.” She looks back at me. “We want to reveal that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the spell or the table first. If this works and there are no mishaps, then we'll move on with your involvement.”

“Who is the first target?” I ask as I shift my look from Starlight to Twilight.

“Instead of telling you, I'll show you,” Twilight replies. “Now, everypony, hold still. Let me concentrate.”

What transpires next is mostly familiar to me. I see Twilight's horn glow. Next, the table glows and ignites an illusionary image of Equestria. After that, I see a bright ball of energy materialize about fifteen feet in the air then lower down towards the map. The further it descends, the more distinct the image gets. Eventually I notice, with a gasp of surprise, that they are searching for my cutie mark. More importantly, that image spirals around the transparent, miniaturized image of this Castle. Upon closer inspection, it even seems to revolve around this room in particular.

“Whoa, Sweetie Belle! Look at your flank!” Ocellus exclaims in surprise.

Upon that request, I do so, then gasp again when I sort of see my cutie mark there. It flashes and pulses in a way I have only experienced twice before. Once when I was called on a friendship mission along with my club Crusaders, and the second time on that same mission when we completed our task.

Only after seeing it do I also notice a ticklish, magical pulse on each side of my flank.

The one thing that's odd about this, however, is I can only see my cutie mark in mid flash. Whenever that pulsing flash fades, so does my cutie mark. It fades back to pure black only to come back again in another flashing glow. It's more like a phantom cutie mark now.

“Really?” Sunburst asks in surprise before trotting around the table in order to get a closer look at my flank. He uses his magic to lift his glasses towards my pulsing cutie mark. He zooms his glasses in and out towards the mark as if to view it from different perspectives, then he says, “How fascinating! This never happened before when we cast this spell.”

“It's as if the Cutie Map is trying to make it clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this changeling is indeed Sweetie Belle in disguise,” Starlight figures aloud. “Either that, or it's trying to indicate there is a friendship problem and that this filly is the one to solve it. That and the fact that her target is also standing in this room.

“Well, I know one friendship problem we had that is now solved.” Starlight looks straight at me and says to me, “I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, for doubting you at all. I did mostly believe you but I hope you understand why I had to be absolutely sure.”

I smile sheepishly at her as I tell her, “No. You're fine. I understand why you did it. I probably would have done the same thing in your place. I'm just glad you fully believe me now. I’m also relieved to learn this answer myself. After the way my parents yelled at me yesterday, part of me even started to doubt myself.”

“Well, if you are indeed a fake, then you're so good at your job that even the Friendship Map can't tell you apart from the real Sweetie Belle,” Sunburst points out. “And it also doesn't show your position as anywhere else as if to further emphasize that you are the one and only Sweetie Belle. Lacking evidence to the contrary, I think we can safely conclude that you are indeed her.”

I see Starlight's ears droop when she says, “Speaking of your parents, I heard about the fiasco you suffered from yesterday. Both Rarity and her parents stopped by and both complained to me about what happened. In the process, they also ran into each other. It took me a while to calm them down and assure them I'm doing everything I can to solve this problem. I even told them that I notified Twilight about this and expected to see her the following day, and she did indeed show up,” she says with a nod to indicate Twilight. “As an experienced school counselor, I really should have anticipated this problem instead of leaving it to you.” Starlight sighs sadly. “I have to apologize to you again for that really dumb oversight on my part. At the time I was more focused on solving this problem and I suppose I also assumed that, if you really were Sweetie Belle, that their parental instincts would kick in and they'd simply know the truth. However, by leaving that to chance, I left an adult changeling with a mind of a foal to deal with a very serious and complex adult issue. I'm really kicking myself for not hoofling this with far greater care. That was careless of me.” She looks cornerwise up. “I suppose I should chalk my careless mistake up to stress.”

“No pony is perfect,” Twilight says. “Even I made plenty of mistakes in my time. You know that well, Starlight.”

“Yeah,” Starlight agrees as she looks back at her old mentor with a fond grin. “I do.” Then she looks at me seriously. “Armed with this new insight from the Cutie Map, we should present this evidence to your parents soon except, this time, I won't make the same mistake. I'm going with you when you see your parents next. Either that, or I'll call them to my office and we'll sort out this whole mess there. When I convince them that you are, indeed, their true daughter, I'm virtually certain they'll be crushed with regret for disbelieving and even yelling at you. I'll definitely need to set aside some time to help them work out their grief. More than likely they'll need more than one session.”

“Shouldn't Trixie hoofle that?” Ocellus wonders aloud. “That is her job here at this school.”

Starlight looks down with regret as she explains, “Yes, but this whole mess is my fault. I have to take responsibility for it before I can gather any peace of mind for this myself.” She looks at Ocellus. “I need this almost as much as they do.” She waves a hoof. “I might pass on to Trixie some of their future counseling sessions, if any, but I want to be the one to get the ball rolling at least. I owe them that much.”

“Thank you, Starlight,” I express to her gratefully. “I definitely could use your help. Considering the way I look and the way they acted, I struggled, and often failed, to give them eye contact.”

Starlight nods in agreement as she says, “I know, and don't you worry. I won't abandon you to that harsh duty next time. I'll help you through this. I promise.”

“Armed with this new evidence, we have enough to make a more convincing case next time,” Sunburst adds. “That will likely help.”

“My parents are not mages like you two are,” I point out. “They'll be able to understand this whole magic map business only to a point. That said, I'm confident that they trust you two. If you approach them with firm conviction about your case, I'm sure they'll believe you next time.”

Starlight tilts her head at me as she asks me, “I'm sure your parents were aware of the last time you were called on a friendship mission, right?”

“Yes,” I answer simply at first then elaborate second. “They were fine with it after they learned that Twilight would supervise us during the trip.” I grin shyly. “I'm sure they were hoping I'd use that opportunity to get closer to an equestrian princess, but they still act more casually about it than most would. Familiarity tends to breed that reaction even among otherwise very famous celebrities.

“When I got back home after I finished that mission last time, I told them all about the adventure I had on that trip. I was especially detailed about Harmony Heights at Mount Aris because I was hoping that that info would inspire them to take a vacation to that place. Hopefully with me in tow because I was really anxious to get back there at the time.”

Starlight's expression towards me turns to a look of deep fondness and there is a kind of squint in her eyes as if she is thinking what I said is really adorable.

“Well,” Sunburst begins as he floats his glasses back up his muzzle, “I think it's time we move on to other business. Now that we have the mystery about Sweetie's identity mostly solved, let's find out what happened to Button Mash.”

That comment seems to snap all the other mares in the room back into serious focus.

“Right. I'll cast the spell again,” Twilight decides aloud. “And, while I do deeply care for Button Mash, my affection probably isn't as deep as his special somepony so I'll leave the task of focusing on him to you,” Twilight tells me.

“Right,” I agree with a serious nod.

“This is where things went awry last time,” Starlight warns the group. “Everypony, keep an especially sharp eye out for mishaps this time. If it happens, maybe we can work to prevent it or at least identify why it is happening. Hopefully those answers will lead to solving the problem later.”

“At this point, I'm almost hoping a mishap will occur,” Sunburst says as I see his horn ignite a sunny yellow color, but I can't identify what he cast. “Because I need that information to solve this problem later on. It might reveal something else important as well, like a potentially evil changeling lurking about.”

“Let's do this,” Twilight announces as she casts the spell. Her horn glows, then the map glows, then she announces, “Okay, Sweetie Belle. I'm ready. Concentrate on Button Mash as hard as you can.”

I close my eyes and do so. I think about his goofy expressions and offbeat personality. I think about his spinning propeller hat and his love for video games. I even think about his whining personality which I usually find a turn-off about him but, today, I consider it all part of the package that is him so it feels like part of his charm now. I pour everything I know and feel about him just to make it absolutely clear to the map that I am referring to one very specific colt and it can't be any other.

“It's worked. Good job, Sweetie Belle,” Starlight congratulates. “You can open your eyes . . . now?”

Upon hearing that pause and questioning inflection to her last sentence, I immediately grow concerned. I pop my eyes open and attempt to locate his cutie mark on the map. Indeed I see it. I also see it exactly where I expected it to be, the Everfree Forest. When I notice that, I look to the other side of the map and privately wonder what Starlight finds so confusing.

“Is something the matter, Starlight?” Starlight's old teacher asks the lighter purple mare in concern.

“Uh, yes,” Starlight answers. “Button's cutie mark has moved on this map since last we checked.”

I am taken aback as I look at the map as I ask, “Really? I can't tell. He's still in the Everfree Forest.”

Starlight squints one eye at the map as she says, “Yes, he is, but his location within the forest has moved.”

“Are you sure, Starlight?” Twilight checks with her old student.

“Yes, Twilight. I'm sure. His original location was somewhere south of this new position and . . . east, I think?” Starlight shakes her head. “I didn't get a really good look at his former position because of everything else I was going through at the time. The shock of the change, the unexpected results, the damage within my horn. But, despite it all, I am sure that his new location is different than before.”

“Poor little guy,” Sunburst says sadly. “I think he's lost in that forest and he's desperately trying to find his way back. Fortunately for him, he is heading generally in the right direction. In two days to a week, he'll make it to the outer border of Ponyville at this rate.”

“I'm not waiting that long!” Twilight decides firmly as she narrows her eyes at the map and Button Mash's cutie mark in particular which is hovering over the southern end of the Everfree Forest. “I'm going to teleport to him in order to retrieve him now that I have a general idea where he's at.” She looks across us above the map. “Who's with me?”

“I'll go,” Starlight volunteers immediately. “As I said before, this is my mess and I need to do something to help clean it up or else I won't sleep peacefully tonight . . . again.”

“Maybe I should go too?” Sunburst checks.

Starlight looks at him and shakes her head as she says, “No. Not this time. You were here to supervise the casting of this spell because you had the best chance to spot any mishaps. None seems obvious anymore so we should consider the next step in your priority list. Stay here and watch after the school for me while I help Twilight locate Button Mash. This is now a rescue operation.”

“I assume everypony here is aware that the Cutie Map did not indicate the hospital with Button Mash's cutie mark, right?” Ocellus checks with the group around her. “His body is there but this map still doesn't care. Instead, it's insisting he's in the Everfree Forest.” She looks at Twilight. “And, since there’s still is a chance of changeling mischief involved, I'd like to volunteer to accompany you, too.”

“Me too,” I quickly chime in. “Please let me come! I want to help to find him.”

“I would advise that as well,” Starlight agrees, albeit a little reluctantly. “Normally I would not advise a foal to accompony us somewhere that might be dangerous but I also can't help but believe Sweetie Belle's fate is intrinsically tied to Button Mash's right now. She's here but changed into a changeling. He's in the Everfree Forest instead of his body in the hospital. Does this mean he's been changed into a changeling too? And what if there's another connection between these two? Is there a third-party changeling working in the shadows between all of this?

“In order to prepare for the answer, I think we need both Sweetie Belle and Ocellus just in case.”

“I . . . guess I agree,” Twilight agrees somewhat uncomfortably. “Alright, but you two stay close to either me or Starlight. I don't want either of you galloping off, especially not in an environment like the Everfree Forest. Whether or not another changeling is involved, other dangerous things do indeed lurk in that forest. I can attest to this from my own personal experience.”

“You got it,” I agree.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ocellus also agrees but with a formal bow.

“Then gather around me. I'll take us as close as I can to Button Mash in the Everfree Forest.”

I keep forgetting how scary the Everfree Forest can be, even in the daylight. I definitely underestimated it once when my friends and I ventured into the forest at night in search of Fluttershy's chicken, Elizabeak. In a way, we were also searching for our cutie marks at the time in the hopes that locating Fluttershy's lost chicken would also help us to find our destiny somehow. Indeed we did locate the wayward chicken, but we also found a dangerous cockatrice.

I never forgot that experience ever since that day. It's why I've been reluctant to return to this forest ever since then. It's also why I'm surprised that Apple Bloom has done so several times before and since that incident. Her primary destination keeps ending up at Zecora's place, but still . . . after what I suffered in this forest back then, I'm genuinely impressed with Apple Bloom's courage.

Ironically, it's thoughts like that that drove me towards this forest this time largely due to my grave concern for Button Mash. It was just one night that traumatized me for life about this forest. And, while I like to pretend Button is a courageous knight in shining armor, which is a fantasy I know he likes to share in, I also know he's anything but. In fact, he's quite the crybaby instead. Spending an entire night and day all alone in this forest crushes my poor little heart with worry for him. There is simply no way I'm going to be able to sleep again tonight while knowing a foal like Button has to spend any more time in this awful place.

Where we are now feels even scarier than the area we Crusaders tread years ago. My old memories say that we Crusaders ventured into a trail of some kind within the forest, but here . . . there is no sign of any civilization at all and it seems there never was. As such, this area of the forest feels especially primal. Magic is prevalent all over Equestria but it feels especially intense here. The trees are so clustered here that light barely has any room to reach the forest floor. At the forest floor, I have to carefully step around many kinds of plants and roots which are twisted and gnarled even above the earth. Scary-looking insects also crawl in the area.

If the sight of this forest during the daylight makes me this nervous, it must be ten times worse for Button Mash.

We split up only a short distance as we call for Button Mash. Because of that call, I have a clear idea of where the others are in this forest. Button should hear it and respond too if he's alive and conscious, but this also means any threats in this area will hear us too.

As we continue, I feel like an unwelcome intruder in this forest. Like the forest is silently glaring at us for disturbing the peace and the thick, eerie silence aside from normal forest noises like the whistle of the wind and creepy creaks of the forest branches.

“EVERYPONY, I FOUND SOMEONE!” Ocellus calls out to us. “I THINK I FOUND HIM.”

“Hold on, Ocellus. We'll be right there,” Starlight calls out.

Sure enough, we gather towards Ocellus's position. When Twilight gets close, the light she is casting from her horn illuminates the area around Ocellus. Because of that, we encounter the next milestone of our great mystery.

“Careful, everyone,” Ocellus cautions. “That's changeling slime.”

“It is?” I ask before I get a good look at this situation. When I fully arrive, I am taken aback by tiny chunks of hard but otherwise glistening green slime in the area. Following the clues, we are eventually led to another pony resting unconscious among the thickest part of the green muck as if barely emerging from it. What we see within takes us further back, for the pony within the slime is none other than . . . me?

Yeah. It is a white filly unicorn resting inside. A pony whose mane and tail is a mixture of deep purple and lighter lilac, but it is matted and glistening with changeling green slime.

“Sweetie Belle?!” Ocellus gasps in surprise. “Well this is unexpected.”

“Perhaps for you,” announces Starlight. “As for me, I'm beginning to suspect some of what's going on here.”

I hear a flap of the bird nearby. Tracing the sound to its source, I grow startled to realize that a raven has landed nearby. A raven that is now staring straight down at us and me in particular. I'm not sure why, but I sense a look of hungry evil in his eyes.

I cringe fearfully since this is bringing back vivid memories of some awful nightmares.

“Sweetie Belle, what's wrong?” Starlight asks me sharply as if I might have a vital clue to this mystery.

“Let's just go!” I strongly urge. “I don't like it here. This forest has eyes. Evil, prying eyes.”

“Why do you say that?” Starlight asks me but she is looking at the raven with a suspicious eye. Despite that expression, she says, “It's just a bird.”

“Or it's a changeling,” Ocellus cautions. “It's difficult to tell when we are not in our true forms. Even Queen Chrysalis couldn't easily tell but she did have some magic to force us back into our true forms.”

“Even if you're wrong about that particular bird, I can't dismiss the possibility that a changeling is lurking in the area, potentially disguised as anything,” Twilight remarks nervously. “I think Sweetie is right. We need to go. After all, we got what we came for. Time to escape with our prize before something else happens.” She narrows her eyes in determination. “But hear this, changeling, if indeed you are watching. You've ponynapped at least one of my citizens and you will answer for it. I'll hear your plea and promise you a fair trial. If you give yourself up, along with any other of my captured citizens, then I promise leniency.”

The only response we get is a “caw” from the creepy black raven. As it does so, I feel his evil intention crawling on my hide like a swarm of bugs.

Then, a moment later, he flies away. He caws several more times as he retreats in the distance.

I shudder as I feel faint. While this is happening, the sound of the awful whistle rings in my head. The haunting whistle that always rings in the fog, the dark, or someplace unseen.

“Please, Twilight! Let's just go!” I whine in terror.

Twilight looks at me in sympathy due to my attitude. A similar look is on Starlight's face except she is looking more contemplative.

Ocellus is the only one not looking at me. Instead, she is carefully examining our environment. She, too, appears very nervous.

“I agree with Sweetie Belle,” Ocellus nervously concurs. “We are being watched, and it isn't from someone good.” She whips her head to look at us in deep alarm. “We have to get out of here now!”

“Then gather around me,” Twilight instructs. “I'm taking us out of here.”

We cooperate. What's more, she floats my unconscious doppelganger close to her. Right after that, she teleports us out of there.

Author's Note

More answers. More questions. The mystery continues.

Any theories on what's going to happen next?