“What in tarnation is goin' on out here?” Apple Bloom asks in confused irritation as she steps outside of the clubhouse. But, the moment her eyes lock on me, she immediately zips over to the balcony rail around the clubhouse and asks me in astonished excitement, “Sweetie Belle? Is that you?”

“What?!” Scootaloo exclaims inside the clubhouse with sudden and intense interest. “Oh, this I gotta see!”

After proclaiming that, Scootaloo quickly dashes out the exit of the clubhouse and joins beside her yellow earth pony friend.

“Check it out, Scootaloo! It's our good friend Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom exclaims excitedly. “An' she's back to normal! Yay!”

Scootaloo literally can't seem to believe her eyes. I see her put her hooves into both of her eyes and twist from side to side as if to rub something out of the way that is distorting her vision. When she looks back at me, I see her eye pupils double in size due to the surprise of continuing to see the same thing she thought she saw earlier.

The third foal to slowly trot out of our clubhouse is a relatively new client we have visiting us from Cloudsdale called Whipersnapper. He's a dark haired and gray coat pegasus that seems to have a lot of confidence issues.

“Yes, fellow Crusaders,” I say with a joyful beam from my face. “It's me!”

“Oh my gosh! Oh my GOSH!” Apple Bloom cries out ecstatically just before both Scootaloo and her race down the platform leading up and down into the clubhouse. They race so close to each other that they almost knock each other over. That is why, for a brief moment, my smile greatly diminishes as I eye them in concern. Despite that, they make it over to me safely in one piece.

Once the two of them arrive at me, Scootaloo just gawks at me, slack-jawed, and Apple Bloom examine me from my hooves to the tips of my ears before attempting to ask, “Sweetie Belle, you . . .?” But she trails off, unable to finish her question due to her excitement that is rising so fast that it's like a cannon ball shot from a canon.

“Yeppers!” I beam happily.

Then, all at once, the three of us suddenly scream in shrill excitement as we claps our hooves onto each of our shoulders and hop up and down in pure joy and excitement.

I honestly don't know how long we continue to do this. My mind kind of spaced out during this moment.

“What in tarnation is goin' on out here?” Applejack asks us as she trots onto this scene with a very pained wince on her face. She ears are strongly pressed flat against her head as she approaches. When she catches sight of me, her painful wince vanishes in an instant. In it's place is intense surprise.

“APPLEjack! Look! Look, look, look!” Apple Bloom cries out ecstatically as she continuously jabs a pointing hoof towards me.

I beam at her happily but my expression quickly twists into confusion when I behold Applejack suddenly regarding me in a tight wince of embarrassment. She actually shows her teeth for a second as she hisses through them before saying to me, “Well hello there . . . Button Mash. How are . . . how are you this fine an' dandy mornin'?”

“Button Mash?” Apple Bloom asks her older sister while looking taken aback. She glances at me for a moment before recalling that Button Mash did switch into my true body earlier. For that, she looks back at her older sister and shakes her head as she denies, “No, no, no.” She stops shaking her head and looks at her older orange earth pony sister steadily as she goes on to say, “This is Sweetie Belle. It's her! It's really, really her!”

“What?!” Applejack exclaims in shock before removing her cowboy hat and pressing it to her chest. “Well Ah'll be a sweet, juicy apple! Is that really you there, Sugar Cube?”

“It's me!” I cry out excitedly. “Its me! It's me! It's meeeeee!”

For about four seconds this time, my excitement evokes another round of shrill, screaming excitement from my club sisters as we each hop up and down. The only difference is, this time, we're not hopping in sync.

“WHOA NELLY!” Applejack cries out to attempt to silence us, and it does work but we're still brimming and quaking with excitement. As she spoke, she returns her hat to her head with one hoof. “Now hold yer horses there, girls. Y'all have some s'plaining tah do here.” The orange farm pony narrows one eye at me a bit as she asks, “Are ya telling me ya are back to normal? Ya got yer body back and Button has his?”

My enthusiasm fades as I open my mouth but I quickly shift my eyes at Scootaloo when she beats me to the punch.

“Well of course, Applejack. Can't you see?” Scootaloo gives a grand gesture towards me. “This is our dear friend Sweetie Belle. She's back to her old self again! Yay!”

“Whoa, there. Easy, Scootaloo,” I express with a note of caution and considerably deflated enthusiasm. “That's not exactly true.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo asks me with one eye tightly winced at me in confusion. “It's not?”

“Ah s'ppose ya should start from thah beginning,” Apple Bloom encourages.

“And, while you're at it, you can explain to us where Slow Poke is going,” Scootaloo adds as she looks at the donkey trotting off and pointing his direction with two jabbing points in a row.

“I'll get to that,” I promise as I look off at the slowly retreating donkey fondly then return my gaze to my club sisters as I tell them, “When it comes to Slow Poke's case with us, the good news is that I think I cracked this one, girls. You see, he and I had a heart to heart talk not much earlier and we helped each other out. He helped me to accept and understand who I am on the inside and I helped him out by suggesting that the one thing that might be missing in his life is raising his own family, but otherwise maintain the job he's so comfortable and good at.”

“Really?” Scootaloo asks me, taken aback. “That's all that was missing in his life?”

I look at Scootaloo in surprise as I tell her, “Family is a big deal, Scootaloo. It can be the greatest adventure of all.”

“Oh, I know,” Scootaloo instantly agrees. “That's not why I'm so surprised. I'm surprised because I had already assumed that element was already in his life. He seemed like the type. A family guy sort of donkey.” She shrugged. “I just assumed he already had a family so I didn't bring that up.”

“I know, right?” I ask Scootaloo with equally intense surprise. “That's what I assumed too! But no. We were wrong. It turns out he doesn't have any wife and kids and it didn't even occur to him to get some.”

“Then ya can add me to the list of surprised fillies as well,” Apple Bloom puts in. “Ah, too, just assumed he had that base covered.”

“What's all this haff'tah do with ya getting your old body back?” Applejack asks in continued confusion.

“I was getting to that,” I exasperate. “Anyway, as I said earlier, this is not my true body still. I'm still trapped in that same changeling body. The only difference is it has finally assumed my old form for some reason.”

“Huh.” Applejack scratches the side of her head while giving me what at first looks like a weird look but it quickly shifts to neutral acceptance. “Well, ya are in a changeling body. They sorta specialize in changing their shape so Ah guess this makes sense.”

My gaze transfers from Applejack to the ground as I go on to admit, “Well, about that, the thing is . . . I don't know how I did it.” Now I look between my club sisters. “And that's not all. Before I attained this new form, which is ironically my old form, I underwent a transformation process that I have encountered only one other time . . . and that is the time I got my cutie mark.”

“Really?!” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom ask me simultaneously before Scootaloo went on to encourage, “Do tell! Spill the beans, Sweetie Belle! Give us all the juicy details!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agrees with a very enthusiastic nod. After that, she continuously hops up and down as she encourages me excitedly, “Tell us! Tell us!”

“Um,” I pause as I gather my thoughts. I wince as I look up while tapping my bottom lip with a hoof before returning my gaze to my club sisters as I ask them, “Do you remember how we got our cutie marks and how it felt when we got them? Do you two remember the sparkles and the glow-y magic as we floated off the ground?”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom answers with continued enthusiasm. “How can we forget that?”

“Well it happened again!” I tell them as the size of my eye pupils suddenly doubles when I mention the word “again”. After that, my eyes shrink about halfway back to normal as I continue to report in an awed tone, “Except it was more intense this time! My cutie mark shined like a column of light. I floated off the ground and felt myself in the center of explosive light, but it didn't hurt. Then, after that, the light closed in on me and wrapped around me like a cocoon. I don't know how long that lasted but I eventually floated back down to the ground. When I finally looked at myself, I looked like this!” I cry out excitedly. “I can't WAIT to see myself in a mirror again!” When I spoke that last sentence, my voice squeaked excitedly when I cried out the word, “wait”. Then I go on to say, “I missed this version of me so very much!”

Apple Bloom's expression sinks into a deeply fond look at me as she tells me, “We missed ya like this too, Sweetie Belle.”

“Yeah! Totally!” Scootaloo agrees then points at Apple Bloom while continuing to regard me. “What she said.”

“Ah'm still a little lost, though,” Applejack put forward. “Ya already got yer cutie mark. Why would ya go through that transformation magic a second time?” She examines me carefully as she asks, “Ya do have the same cutie mark . . . right?”

“Yeah. Totally,” I confirm as I twist to the side and show off the left side of my flank. Then I explain, “I, ah . . . I guess that the transformation sequence happened again because this is a new body. New body but same soul.” I look at my club sisters again as I elaborate, “And same internal magic within me I guess.”

“Wait. Time out.” Scootaloo sits down and crosses her forehooves into a lower case T before asking, “Can changelings even get a cutie mark?”

“Changelings can assume any form they want,” Whipersnapper called out in the background. The moment we look at him, I suddenly recall, with a small thread of embarrassment, the fact he was here. When he draws our united attention, including the legendary Element of Honesty, the gray pegasus cringes shyly as he subconsciously covers his body with a gray wing and mumbled almost too quietly to hear, “But, like, you know . . . whatever.”

“Ah, well . . .” Scootaloo looks back at me. “He does have a point. Changelings can pretend to have any cutie mark they darn well please.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I concede with a more neutral expression before I go on with a more insistent tone, “But I'm telling you, girls, this is different. I had that exact same feeling like the day I first got my cutie mark except it was somehow more intense. Also, do you know of many changelings who float off the ground slowly while they transform?”

“Ah suppose ya got a point there, Sugar Cube,” Applejack agrees. “The plum tucker of the matter is that we ponies don't know one heck of a lot when it comes to changelings, though Ah do get the impression that they feel the same way. Yes 'em.” She nods emphatically. “The true potential of changelings may have been kept from them deliberately.” She looks to her side. “Though, from what Ah 'eard from Starlight, they did float off the ground as they transformed into some kind of magic cocoon when they first got reformed.” Applejack looks back at us as she goes on to add, “'Re-formed' in thah literal sense, Ah s'pose 'n this case.”

Following that statement, we look at each other with a mystified expression before Scootaloo shrugs and says, “Well, Sweetie Belle may have a changeling body right now but she has a pony soul. Maybe the two just sorta mixed during that moment.” Her confidence in her own words fades as she mumbles quietly, “Kinda. Sorta. I guess.”

“Now hang on there. Ya might be right,” Apple Bloom accepts with greater confidence. “Sweetie Belle here is a pony in mind, soul, and heart. Ah wouldn't find it far fetched tah believe that her magic is as well. What 'appened 'ere may simply be the culmination of the two magical forces in her body clashing and mixing.” She looks at me squarely as she says, “When ya finally accepted this body and who ya are as a pony inwardly, then that body simply had no choice but to deliver what ya expected to see and felt like inside,” she says with a gesture to her chest, then shrugs. “Ma guess is that's exactly how changeling magic works anyhow.”

“Yeah!” I agree. “That makes a lot of sense.”

“Well burn ma biscuits!” Applejack cries out excitedly as she pulls off her hat and uses it to slap her knees. “Just color me pink and tickle me raw! Ah guess y'all solved this here problem. Ah . . . sorta,” she finishes with deflated enthusiasm as she returns her hat to her head. “Anyhow, hey Sweetie Belle!” She draws my attention. “Ya should give your sister 'n parents the excit'n news! Ah know yer parents are just mighty anxious to see ya again. They've been asking for ya at school practically all day now.”

“They . . . have?” I say with a little surprise but mostly spooked look.

“Why Ah'm sure as gravy,” Applejack assures me. “Ya should gallop on over to their place and . . .” She trails off when she notices my expression. Concern sinks into her face as she prompts, “What's wrong, Sugar Cube? Be honest now. Ya hear?”

I close my eyes in a painful wince as I think back.

“GET OUT OF OUR HOUSE NOW, YOU FILTHY MONSTER!” I recall my father roared at me.

“Please, good sir, please take pity on us! Please tell us where Sweetie Belle is and what you've done with her,” my mother sadly pleaded with me. “She's our precious little girl. I'll do anything you say. Anything! Do you want my love for her? Then take it!”

After that, I recalled the horrifying moment when I hissed at them in reflexive changeling hunger. That, more than anything, drove me to panic because it seemed to prove that I was indeed the monster they feared me to be.

I open my eyes slowly as they shimmer with tears. I shake my head slowly as I finally say, “No. I'm not ready to face them yet.”

The fillies and the mare in the immediate vicinity all gasp at me simultaneously. After that, Apple Bloom goes on to say, “But y'all are family! An' there ain't nothin' more important than family! Family stick tah'gether like . . . like . . .” She looks up as she thinks for a second before looking back at me with an enthusiastic nod as she concludes, “. . . like sticky syrup mixed with strawberry jam!”

“NO!” I cry out as I close my eyes tightly and shake my head fiercely. “I'm not ready to face them yet. As in . . . I'm not emotionally ready.”

I open my eyes slowly as I look down with a vision that is definitely blurred with tears now as I say, “Trust me . . . I'll be ready someday. Probably even very soon. They are my parents and I love them to death. I just . . . I just need a little more time before I'm ready to face them.”

The silence around us is deafening for a moment before I break it by looking up at Applejack and request her, “Applejack . . . is it alright if I stay the night here with Apple Bloom? I mean . . . I'm standing on the farm anyway right now so I'm practically there already.”

In response, Applejack just stares at me with a look of sympathy crossed with reluctance. She stares at me quietly as she mulls this over carefully.

“Please, Applejack?” I beg as I bat my eyes at her. “Pretty please?”

“If she says no, you can stay at my place if you like,” Scootaloo offers. “There's not much there, though. As you know, I don't have extra furniture but you can sleep with me on my bed if you like.”

“Or you can sleep at your sisters,” Apple Bloom counter proposes. “Ya know she can set you up. Ya already been with her for a few days.”

Looking back at Applejack, I notice her regard the other Crusaders as if taking their offer into account. This probably causes her to realize that, even if she says no to my request, I'd only fall back on the other offers.

This realization causes Applejack to look down sadly and sigh. After a few seconds she looks back up at me sympathetically as she tells me, “Alright, Sugar Cube. Just for tonight.”

I suddenly beam at Applejack as I cry out to her, “Really? Oh thank you! Thank you!”

I was about to rush forward to embrace her for a hug until I see Applejack lift a hoof as a halting gesture to stop me as if she has more to say.

“Well hold on there, Nelly. Hold yer horses,” Applejack tells me. “Ah do have a favor to ask in exchange for this favor.” Her eyes shift to her right sharply as something else occurs to her. She says, “Actually two favors.”

“Okay,” I tell her numbly while still staring at her. I want to hear her out before I agree to anything. “Go on,” I bid her.

Applejack says, “First of all, Ah'd lahk yer permission to tell yer parents that ya're here and that ya're okay.” Her look shifts to a pleading one as she goes on to ask, “Is that okay with ya, Sweetie Belle?”

“That is fair,” Apple Bloom agrees. “A parent would be sick with worry if they thought something was wrong with their foal. Ya don't want ya parents to be sick with worry for ya anymore, right? Ah know you, Sweetie Belle. Ya don't want anypony to suffer.”

“Yes, yes,” I agree a little irritably but, deep down, I kind of feel relieved that Applejack is offering to do this for me. This will probably also smooth things out for me later.

And I think I know what she'll request next, too.

“You have my permission to tell my parents that I am now okay,” I tell Applejack. “But be honest with them. Also tell them how and why things aren't completely back to normal.”

“Ah make it a policy to always be honest, Sugar Cube,” Applejack tells me with a bit of a fond look in her eyes towards me. “That's why Ah want to share this news with yer parents. That, an' the fact that Ah don't want them to worry.” She looks at her little sister as she adds, “Ah know how Ah'd feel if Apple Bloom was missing. There ain't no stone Ah'd un-turn until Ah'd find my precious little sister again is she went all up an' missing.”

“You made your point!” I snap irritably. “I said yes. Now go on and make your second request. Ask me to confront my parents tomorrow and make up with them already.”

Applejack's eyes snap back at me from looking at Apple Bloom as she agrees, “That's exactly right. 'n exchange fer granting ya this favor, Ah want ya to be open and honest with yer parents face to face.” She applies a hoof to her chest as she says, “Ah don't mind talking to 'em tonight and buttering 'em up for ya, but in exchange, ya have to face them tomorr'ah-like. Ya hear?”

“Are you sure it's okay to pressure her into this this soon?” Scootaloo asks with concern.

I sigh and shake my head as I say, “It's okay, girls. It's fine. Applejack is right. I have to do this sometime and part of me does want to. I'm only hesitating because of the pain and fear I feel deep inside.” I look at Apple Bloom. “But you're right, too. I'm not the kind of pony who likes it when others suffer. If they are truly suffering right now then I want to put an end to it as soon as possible.” My eyes blur with love as I add, “Besides, I love them dearly. That's never going to change no matter how much pain I'm in.”

Apple Bloom nods in acceptance as she says, “That's family for ya. We stick tah'gether through thick and thin. Through the best of times and the worst of times. Family is the final safety net that will always have yer back.”

Out of the corner of my eyes, I notice Scootaloo looking down with a brief frown for that comment.

“So ya agree?” Applejack double checks with me.

I look at the orange farm pony as I promise to her, “Yes, Applejack. As you request, I'll see my parents tomorrow. I pinkie promise.”

“In that case, I'd like to request to stay here tonight as well,” Scootaloo put in towards Applejack. “I want to be here to support my friend during her time of need.” Scootaloo brightens. “Besides, having a slumber party here tonight sounds fun! I think we could all use the good cheer and to celebrate Sweetie Belle taking one step closer to being normal again.”

“Well,” Applejack applies a hoof to her hat and presses it down further on her head a bit as she gives Scootaloo a bit of a reluctant look before agreeing, “Alright, Sugar. Ah'll allow ya to stay here as well but keep one thing in mind; y'all still have school'n tomorr'ah. Don't stay up too late.”

“Ooo! That reminds me!” Apple Bloom looks at me brightly which draws my attention to her. “Are ya going to join us at school tomorrow? Ah mean . . ya might as well since yer mostly back to normal.”

“And you don't have to hide in that stupid cloak anymore either!” Scootaloo adds cheerfully.

I frown as I say, “Well . . . I don't know. I still haven't mastered my new body yet. I don't want to run the risk of transforming back in the middle of class.” I look down and to the right as I add with a guilty expression, “Besides, my special somepony can't attend class either with how he is.” I look back up at my friends. “That's why I agreed to join him as he gets homeschooled by his mother.”

“Really?” Scootaloo asks with a doubtful squint. “Cream Heart is going to be the teacher?”

I grin as I tell her, “Recently I've gotten to know the two of them better in their home. I learned how much of a pain Button can be and how much his mother has to put up with. Because of that, I've also learned it isn't wise to underestimate his mother's talent. Cream Heart is a very surprisingly capable pony. Probably because she has to be.”

Because of what I said and the way I say it, we three Crusaders have a merry giggle together. As we do that, happiness and peace settle into my heart. It feels so nice to return to a semblance of normal.

And I thought I had it rough with everything I do on a daily basis such as getting up, going to school, attending school then spend about another four to seven hours Crusading with my best friends in an attempt to help ponies either re-connect or discover their destiny in the first place.

But Apple Bloom! Poor Apple Bloom! On top of everything else I just thought to myself, she has to do daily chores as well. She does most of those in the morning and she gets up earlier to do exactly that. I don't envy her for that. Today, for example, she has a few more chores to do around the house. I can't believe the workload Apple Bloom has, but she is beyond just accepting it. Apple Bloom even seems to enjoy it. I feel forced to chalk that up to her innate earth pony stamina. I envy that sometimes.

But since the rest of us are here, both Scootaloo and I volunteer to aid Apple Bloom with her chores so it can be done faster. Her older sister has no qualms about this if we accept it as long as the chores are done and done right.

Like everything else we do together, we made a game out of it. Sometimes we even sing as we do it. This, in turn, greatly reduces the tedium of the activity. We actually do have a lot of fun and we appreciate the accomplishment. That's good sweat off our brow but it has to be done and we did it! We are the champions! Hooray!

After we're done with the chores, we wash off our bodies with a spray of a garden hose. Like everything else, we have fun with this. Applejack actually sprays the water upwards and tightens the nose of the hose so it sprays mist above us which rains down. My club sisters and I splash and play in the muddy ground. We giggle and laugh as we wrestle with each other. We also play a modified game of tag where we have to stay within the radius of the falling water. We can't hide in an area that small so the challenge is to avoid being “it” for as long as possible through galloping away and outmaneuvering.

I love this! Moments like this are unforgettable to me. Playing and splashing around with my best friends . . . they surely do complete me. We are in such great sync and harmony with each other despite also being very distinct individuals. I wouldn't trade moments like this for any other in the world.

But, today, my joy is tainted by my fears and my guilt. I know that evil changeling is out there and hatching an evil scheme. I've known plenty of bad guys who made the claim that they would attempt to take over Equestria or perhaps even the whole world, but this changeling is the first I've ever encountered to claim he already secretly accomplished that and it scares the daylights out of me because it makes me feel that innocent days like this are going to end. No more joy for my friends and I. Just endless toil and sorrow.

It's crazy to realize there is a possibility that my best friends that I am playing with today may secretly be changeling spies themselves and even they don't know it. What if their real bodies are floating in some kind of slime cocoon while their minds have been implanted into changeling clones?

This thought unnerves me and makes me feel a little guarded deep down even though I also realize there are very low odds of this being true. The nameless changeling within me claimed I was targeted simply because I was a convenient target at one time and my young mind made it easier to perform certain experiments. But, on the other hoof, the changeling is ultimately more interested in greater strategic targets. The Elements of Harmony themselves are far more likely targets rather than their little filly sisters.

Another thing that bothers me is prospect of facing my parents again. My pain makes me scared to face them, but I know I have to do this. I can't let them suffer much longer. That's just not the kind of pony I am.

Still another thing that bothers me is knowing Button Mash still isn't in his own body, and I'm the one that originally dragged him into this. As elated as I am to kind of have my body back, it doesn't feel right to be totally thrilled with that fact while Button is suffering, and like Apple Bloom said, I am the kind of pony who can't accept things like that easily. One way or another I have to make this up to him, but how?

Hmm. Maybe my club sisters and I can come up with some bright ideas if we brainstorm this together.

Together . . . ah! It feels so good to be doing this out in the open again. Whatever else may still be a pill lately, I know that single fact makes me one step closer to being whole again.

Author's Note

I think the only thing that might be surprising to readers of this chapter is Sweetie's feelings and decisions about her parents.