Celestia snapped the book closed with a thump and added it to the top of her growing tower of failed attempts to find an answer to her worry, a lick of information which may ground her issue in the known, the explored. Her head fell into her hooves, propped up against the desk she sat before. Broadly speaking, Celestia could divide every situation which fell before her into two categories: New and Old. Over the hundreds of years she’d lived and reigned, even with the changing tides of civilization, there hardly ever came up any problem that was truly a new one. Interest groups grew and waned, but the tools to put them in their proper place shifted slowly. Even after all these years the existential villainous threats that her country faced remained stagnant, their existence often as old as herself.

Her head lifted and her gaze traveled up the pile of frustration she’d worked through so far. She hadn’t had to do research on things like Discord, not like this, it was very new to her. Not that she held disdain for academia, but it was a fun hobby, not a well strengthened muscle.

This situation is much more suited to Twilight.

She cringed at the thought.

She looked out to the lifeless castle archive. The room would be deafeningly quiet if not for the window near her letting in the calm midday surrounds of the castle. One of her ears flicked. She took a deep breath. She read over Twilight’s letters again for what felt like the hundredth time.

When she’d received them, she’d excused herself from the boring meeting she was in to read them, promising she’d soon return. Once she had however, she’d told an aide to let the cabinet know she would not be returning, and that the meeting was adjourned until further notice. She had then immediately asked for a brief on the situation in Ponyville, and was still awaiting the results. Checking on Tartarus could wait for her direct oversight. She had thought to go to the castle archives and see if a phenomenon like this had happened before. Celestia had been alive for a long while, but not every single happenstance passed by her notice, so perhaps somepony else had written on the strange phenomenon.

So far her efforts were in vain. Nothing like what Twilight described could be found.

The sound of hooves against carpet was easily noticed by Celestia amidst the relative quiet. Soft Eyes, one of her intelligence officers, rounded the corner. Her gray coat, black mane, and professional demeanor betrayed the soft personality Celestia knew she had.

Soft Eyes saluted Celestia upon entering.

Celestia’s expression softened. “Hello lieutenant, do you have that brief ready?”

Soft stood at ease, and curtly nodded in response. “Yes ma’am. In short, situation is normal.”

Her lips curled into a grin. “Really not much to report, unless you want to know how ex-agent Sweetie Drop’s date is going.”

Celestia sighed in relief. At least, with this change in one of the princesses of Equestria, no immediate danger had shown itself. If Twilight’s letter was correct, there was still the threat of Tirek making a play for power.

“Thank you Soft Eyes,” she said in a soft and motherly tone.

Soft simply saluted again, and promptly left.

Celestia chuckled to herself. Finding humor in the difference in Soft’s behavior during these meetings versus otherwise gave Celestia a brief respite from her worries. She turned her attention to the nearby window as the moment’s happiness faded away. It felt like that peaceful scene outside was untouchable, being boxed in here in this dusty old archive.

It was times like this when she had to handle things alone. She was waiting to awaken Luna for if things became dire, and there was no reason to involve Cadence just yet. So much was at stake and so little was known, it was best to keep the information to as few ponies as possible. No good would come from letting the general population freak out over this. She didn’t even tell Soft Eyes exactly what had happened, only that Twilight should be a focus of her team’s reconnaissance efforts on Ponyville. So, for now she was alone in this struggle.

She meanderingly mused on the situation. One thought gave her a chuckle.

“Perhaps this is Discord’s doing. I know he’s meddled in Twilight’s affairs before to try and prove a point.”

Celestia heard the squeak of a dry-erase marker against whiteboard behind her.

Her head snapped to look at what made the noise, only to see, “Discord,” she grumbled.

“Well done Celestia, you just brought me one square closer to Bingo!” Discord merrily turned his bingo card around to face her.

She didn’t have long to study it, but clearly circled was a square reading ‘Celestia blames me’. Discord was dressed in the garbs of the stereotypical assisted living old pony, complete with wheelchair.

“The implication being that you had no part in this, I assume,” Celestia spoke with calm authority.

Discord’s getup vanished in a flash. He clasped his mismatched hands together and his face grew stoic, as a ring of gold materialized to float just above his horns.

“I swear it on my eternal life.”

Discord’s persona crumbled away as Celestia simply stared him down. His lips curled into a frown.

“Celestia, I’m serious,” He said with a sigh.

Celestia only raised a brow, still unsure of his trustworthiness.

Discord rolled his eyes and continued, “I wouldn’t do this sort of thing, because there’s an actual reason behind it, one that I don’t know of.”

His brow furrowed as he returned Celestia’s gaze.

His tone quietened, “There’s something about this whole thing that smells fishy to me, a secret fish code that I can’t figure out.”

An iota of interest showed on Celestia.

“Something that Discord, the God of chaos, finds suspicious? Do you know something about this?”

Discord turned his head away, looking off into the distance, his pose shifting to sit in mid air.

Discord sighed, “What I don’t like is how little I know.”

He grinned. “I won’t lie, I did snoop on Twilight just a little bit.”

His face instantly grew cold. “But not without good reason. I could feel something was off from miles away, and it scared me.”

A gnarled smirk cracked through his stony expression.

“I had to look, surely you understand. Don’t even bother saying you wouldn’t spy on your friends too if you thought something was wrong.”

Celestia stood from her chair, raising to meet Discord at eye level. She caught herself when she noticed the low rage that had grown in her chest. Leave it to Discord to always manage to push her buttons.

Discord’s claw tugged at his chin hair for a moment, as he pondered. His gaze returned to Celestia.

“There’s something new in Twilight.”

Celestia frowned, her heart beat grew heavy, as her attention fully locked onto Discord.

Discord’s tone grew low and deep as he continued, “Not only does she have the essence of two beings inexorably linked into a deformed mess, but they both have something new in them.”

His eyes closed as he shook his head. “I don’t know how to fully describe it.”

He perked up, his tone playful. “ However, I’ve dealt with Deities before—I mean come on, I am one—and this screams that it's some sort of pact or covenant.”

Discord once again clawed at his chin.

“The closest I can get to describing it is to say…it’s an invitation placed in her mailbox.”

Celestia’s eyes traveled down to the floor, a pit of worry dug its way into her. Her thoughts turned to what little else she knew that had come from Twilight’s letters. Mary had wanted to be Twilight. She looked back to Discord.

“Are you saying this is all the granted wish of some god we don’t know of?” she asked.

Discord rolled his eyes.

“Oh, Celestia,” he said as he brought a paw to his face.

He continued, “If that were the case, then Twilight’s essence wouldn’t have the same tie with this god. No, this is something else.”

Celestia’s eyes fell low as her attention grew inward. Many of the gods of Equus were long gone, few remained and fewer still bothered with this plane of existence. Discord was one of the last left, and the only one Celestia had ever interacted with. Really, she had no clue if there truly were any still here other than Discord. She had always viewed the last couple thousand years as being a moving away from the old gods to a world of queens and kings. Though she'd tried her best to make Equestria a shining beacon of what to have as a ruler, it’s why there were no positions higher than prince and princess. The idea that a god came along and decided to interfere with Twilight, her protege, her plan for continued prosperity…

“And after she’d been made an alicorn,” Celestia said, droplets of contempt falling from the cracks in her composure.

Discord came closer and whispered, “So you can see why I brought this to your attention.”

He moved away, and in a flash he now wore an ‘I heart Equestria’ t-shirt and various other related paraphernalia.

“Now, I’m not saying I’m the biggest fan of what you’ve done with the place since we first interacted, but since my reformation I’ve grown more fond of it. Thought it’d only be the friendly thing to do to let you know what I knew.”

Celestia looked deeply into Discord’s face. Though she didn’t trust his outward emotions to accurately convey what he truly thought, still the practice helped her focus on postulating his motivations. His ties to her reign were frail, held only by his love of Fluttershy. Often that connection was still enough, it’d brought him as far as helping her this day at least.

“I appreciate what you’ve done, Discord,” She said with a small smile.

Discord dramatically bowed, his face contorting into a wide smile, “Oh think nothing of it, dear Princess.”

Celestia couldn’t help but grin.

“Well then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind helping me in another matter,” She spoke in a playful tone.

Discord nervously chuckled, “Uh, well, for you anything.”

Me and my big mouth.

Celestia desperately held in her want to gleefully giggle at having Discord acting so knightly. Her face was wiped clean of any emotion.

“Discord, I task you with finding and capturing Tirek.”

Discord stopped himself from choking on his breath, as he stood up. His ridiculous outfit disappeared in a flash.

“Tirek? Isn’t he still trapped in that awful cage in Tartarus?”

“If Twilight’s letter is to be believed, then he’s somehow managed to escape,” she replied.

Her gaze grew heavy on Discord.

“I want this to be handled discreetly, which I know you can easily accomplish,” her words carried a weight of burden onto Discord’s shoulders.

Discord crossed his arms and pouted.

“Fine, I’ll run this little errand for you. But know that I’m only doing it for Fluttershy’s sake. Tirek doesn’t exactly make the best companion for Fluttershy and I’s regular picnics now does he?”

Celestia’s expression was calm, barely a considerable smile.

“I appreciate it all the same,” she said with a bow of her head.

Discord rolled his eyes as a suitcase appeared beside him. He picked it up, and turned to leave.

“Well, yes, if that’ll be all, I’ll be going then…have some important work to do, I suppose,” his tone conveyed his disdain.

“Good luck,” Celestia finished.

And just like that, Discord vanished, and Celestia was left alone again. She closed her eyes and took in a deep long calming breath. She only hoped she could trust Discord to end this problem quickly.

The sound of the day’s wind slowly blowing into the archives overtook her senses again, as she looked upon her pitiful showing of failed research that sat beside her desk. She realized that research from secondary and tertiary sources was not the answer, instead she’d need to go straight to the primary source. She sat again in the beautifully crafted chair, grabbing an ink quill, pen, and paper.

***

Dear Twilight Mary Sparkle,

It fills me with great relief to hear how much you hold me in high regards. It’s been my greatest pleasure to see you grow in wisdom and strength over the years, and it makes me proud to know that you’re as thankful for our time together as I have been.

I must admit that your previous letters did worry me, but only for fear of your well-being. I hope that this new change in you has not caused any issue between you and your friends, as I know how much they all mean to you.

I ask that you join me in Canterlot so that we may—as it were, I assume—meet for the first time once again. I’m very excited to see you again and learn all about the new you.

Lastly, as for matters of state, I will take no action to arrest your authority as Princess despite this development, unless new information arises which forces me to do otherwise. I believe in your reporting that you still have the memories of Twilight, and even in your new state I still feel it pragmatic to trust you in affairs fit for your position. In addition, I’ve taken heed of your warning and so have put forward the necessary precautions towards the issue of Tirek.

I hope you can write to me again soon,
-Princess Celestia

P.S. Oh, but writing out the full name is so much more fun now!

***

Twilight had undone the ponytail she’d put her hair into, Pinkie wondered why, as Twilight had brushed her hair back with a hoof twenty one times since then. she used to almost never do that. Twilight sometimes looked at the game board with a blank expression, sure Twilight did used to do stuff like that from time to time, but never as often was her neutral look so frowny. Pinkie was afraid multiple times that Twilight had suddenly lost interest in the game, but whenever Twilight spoke she still seemed to be having a genuinely fun time. Each new observation filled a new file which slotted into a filing cabinet, and as the party went on she could feel the weight of her head more and more as her mind was relentlessly given new information. She couldn’t stop it, like the sink was broken and she couldn’t stop the water from flowing. It felt like she’d learned more about Twilight in a few hours than she had in the past few years they’d known each other. It didn’t make sense.

Pinkie realized she was glad about another thing this party afforded her, an opportunity to focus her attention on Twilight and not be seen as out of place. She couldn’t stop staring at her. It was annoying, she kept losing track of what was happening in the game, and every time she had to fumble her way through a turn and remember what had already happened she could feel the disappointment of Twilight weighing on her. She loved being here, she wanted Twilight to know that so badly. She’d already run dry on giving Twilight a new cupcake whenever she finished her old one, after so many times of doing that Twilight couldn’t take any more.

A raucous green flame burst from Spike’s maw, and swirled in the air to materialize into a letter which promptly fell right in the middle of the game board. Spike carefully removed the offending paper from the board state it had so rudely disturbed, and inspected it.

“It’s from Princess Celestia,” he announced with a look towards Twilight.

The air was sucked from Twilight, her frown deepening as she brought her mail over in her magic, opened it, and began reading without a word. Her friends keenly watched her pour over the message. They perked up when Twilight finally looked back up at them.

Pinkie tilted her head. “What’s it say?”

Twilight blinked a few times.

“Nothing bad, thankfully. Celestia wants to meet me in Canterlot.”

Rainbow interjected from across the board, “You make that sound like that’s not a big deal.”

Twilight nervously smiled, a gasp escaping her lungs, as she looked to the floor.

“Yeah, I guess I just don’t know what to do about it right now.”

With a deep breath she brought her eyes back up to her friends.

“I am glad that Celestia seems to be taking the news well, but I guess I’m just trying to focus on the party right now.”

Twilight took another deep breath. “I don’t want to think about it right now, but…yeah, alright.”

She got up from her seat, and began her way upstairs. A grin slowly overtook her.

“I’ll be back in just a sec,” she said with aplomb, before rounding the corner up to her room.

“You know, I’m finding it harder to tell whether that filly’s upset or not,” Applejack broke the tension which had suddenly blanketed the remaining group.

Rarity looked over to Applejack. “Considering your knack for determining those sorts of things, I’ve half the mind to say maybe Twilight doesn’t know either.”

Rainbow took the opportunity of a pause from the game to stretch her wings and get up from her seat.

“Yeah, but that’s kind of just Twilight all the time, right? No offense to her, but she’s always been a bit weird,” Rainbow’s speech was strained as she actively stretched while speaking.

“To be fair, we’re all a bit weird,” Fluttershy said with a smile.

“Yeah! Like me, I’m super weird, I mean, have you seen me!?” Pinkie excitedly said, bouncing up from her seat.

***

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am preparing at this moment to abide by your summons. I trust that lodging, food, and accommodations will be provided despite the short notice due to the occasion, and I apologize for the inconvenience that places on you and your staff.

I feel a deep need to meet you, and will be taking the first available train to Canterlot.

Don’t worry about my friends and I. Pinkie seems to have picked up the news that I’d changed from Spike, and gathered everypony to welcome me with a party. Despite some awkward bumps, it seems everypony has graciously accepted me. Truly I can think of few others who exemplify the best qualities of friendship than they, and I’m so thankful to know them.

I’m grateful for your vote of confidence as well, though I’m not still sure yet myself how much it is deserved.

I hope Tirek is well and truly taken care of. I have no plans of losing my tree home anytime soon. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself but to allude to events you don’t know of as a joke to myself. I’ll be very happy to acquaint you with what I know when we meet, and in doing so explain the reference.

Your faithful princess,
-Twilight Mary Sparkle

***

Rainbow Dash rounded the stairs to the second floor, her view momentarily blocked from both the first and second floor as she passed through what was essentially a hallway for just the stairs—and the small bathroom off to the side. While Twilight said she’d return soon, the window of time to ‘return soon’ had long since passed in Rainbow’s eyes, and so she had resolved to check up on her.

As she came up to the second floor, she stopped herself from announcing her entrance as she saw Twilight standing and walking around on her hind legs. Twilight sorted through a collection of books before her in her magic.

“Well, I’m not sure if this one really focuses on the area of geology I’m interested in…” she said to herself.

She floated a few back into their spots in the bookshelves as she shuffled over to another section…still walking while rearing on her hind legs.

“Hmm…Well, maybe we should take the general chemical reactions book anyway, might as well cover the basics.”

Rainbow Dash watched the interaction Twilight was having with herself with a raised brow.

“Uh, Twilight, what’re you doing?” Rainbow said, as she came further into the room.

Twilight jumped, her head swishing between Rainbow and her books. Rainbow had to crane her head upwards to look her in the eyes.

“Oh, uh, hey Rainbow. Sorry I was…” Twilight’s voice petered off.

She quickly laid out the books she had been perusing on the floor, her hoof pointing to each as she sorted them into piles.

“Sorry I’m taking so long,” she continued, her gaze never falling towards Rainbow as she eyed the piles she’d made.

Rainbow’s head twisted away from Twilight, side-eyeing the peculiar display.

“No, I mean why are you standing like that?” Rainbow said, pointing a hoof to Twilight.

Twilight looked down, her stomach churned as a sudden feeling of imbalance, like a sea-sickness, came over her. She fell forward onto all four hooves, as her breathing grew heavier. She shook her head looking up to Rainbow with wide eyes.

“I don’t know.” Twilight said as her head twisted from side to side.

Her posture straightened up as she turned to face the bookshelf.

“Oh! I guess because I was trying to reach for something high up, I must have just…stood up. Like a human. Weird.”

As quickly as she had become interested in the discovery, she suddenly returned to her work. Rainbow Dash sighed.

“Okay so what have you been doing this whole time?” Her question caused Twilight to jolt.

Rainbow’s tone deteriorated. “You said you’d be back soon, and it’s a lot later than soon.”

Twilight put a hoof to her temple as she stopped her movements, her attention finally turning to Rainbow Dash.

“To uh, I gotta go to Canterlot, and it’s important so I might as well go as soon as I can,” Twilight said.

Her vision turned away from Rainbow again to dart from place to place in the room, her thoughts preoccupied with thinking of what to pack.

Rainbow hated when Twilight was like this. She hated having to figure out the impossible riddle of a mind that mare had. And now, what, two minds, double riddle? If Twilight couldn’t communicate, then Rainbow couldn’t help, probably because there was nothing she could do. Really, what could she do to make up for today? How could she make up for Twilight waking up with new memories and friends that didn’t understand her? How could she make up for denying Twilight’s own identity? It pissed her off, not because she hated Twilight, but because she hated this situation.

I’m too dumb to fix this, but I’m going to be there to fix it.

Nothing good ever came from giving up on her friends, that much she knew. Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“Alright, I’m coming too then,” she said with a look of determination.

Twilight froze in place. “What?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Don’t act surprised. Not letting you go alone on this, so don’t leave without me.”

Dash turned away. “I’m gonna go grab some stuff, be back in a jiffy.”

Twilight could only stare at Rainbow as she watched her round her way down the stairs. The feelings of trepidation and relief bounced her from side to side, though she stood completely still.

“Thank you?” Twilight hesitantly called out as Rainbow left.

***

Everypony’s eyes were on Rainbow Dash as she rounded the steps back down to the first floor.

“Sooooo, how’s Twilight?” Pinkie asked with a big grin.

Spike watched Rainbow closely, his frown growing as he studied her mood. Rainbow’s strides were quick as she came up to the group.

Spike raised a claw, as he hesitated to ask, “She’s not upset is she?”

Rainbow kept her vision focused ahead of her as she answered, “She’s heading to Canterlot, and the least I can do for her is stay with her.”

Rainbow’s expression was flat, her tone calm, as she passed by the group heading to the front door.

“I’m gonna go grab some stuff, I’ll be back,” she said, making her way out and closing the door before anypony could stop her.

Applejack stomped a hoof at the ground, raising up off the floor.

“Consarn that filly! Can’t she ever slow down for just one second to explain herself?”

Fluttershy looked wistfully at the front door.

“She’s probably upset at how we’ve been treating Twilight, including herself, and she feels like she has to make it up to her.”

Fluttershy’s sudden open pouring of her interpretation caught the attention of everypony as they carefully watched her. Her body was tucked into itself on the floor, her head craned over towards the front door, the only part of her not squeezed in tightly. Fluttershy didn’t notice the sudden attention as her mind pulled her into her own space, alone. Her body was near motionless. The moving of her throat, her lungs, her mouth to form the words felt automatic, uncontrollable.

“Knowing her, just staying by Twilight’s side is the only way she knows how to show she’s her friend.”

It was as if Fluttershy’s heart was trying to crawl out of her eyes, out through her words, and out that door to go see Rainbow again. A small smile crept up through the pain that was shown.

“It’s why her spending time with me is so special, even if it’s doing something I don’t really care about, because I know it’s her way of saying she cares.”

The room was dead silent for a moment. Pinkie jumped up, her smile having not faded one iota.

“Well then I’m gonna go get ready too!” Pinkie announced, as she bounced her way out the front door.

Nopony contested her. Fluttershy slowly unfurled herself, as a smile took over her features. She turned her head over, finally looking at her friends.

“Let’s go ask Twilight if she wants us to come with her,” she said with a still growing smile.

She added, “I can’t leave Ponyville on short notice that easily, but I’ll do it if she really needs me to.”

To Applejack, Rarity, and Spike it was as if the chains that bound them to a path of confusion and bad intentions just a moment ago were suddenly broken by Fluttershy. The look of soft hearted determination spread to her audience, as they all rose as one to join her, nodding along to her request. The group made their way upstairs without another word. Once upstairs, they were greeted by the sight of Twilight ramming items into a saddle-bag. Hearing the group enter the room, Twilight looked up from her work, her head shrinking back, her eyes nervously flicking from her friends and the floor.

“Sorry I’m taking so long,” she said as her movements then quickened to pack a bag of toiletries.

Applejack gave a light chuckle, as the group came closer.

“Don’t you worry about that, Twi. We’re just here to see if you wanted us to come with you.”

Twilight stopped in place, her head lifting to view her friends. Her gaze traveled over all of them, reading their faces, they were serious. Her lungs felt freer to breathe than just a moment ago, but just as quickly a new weight came over her.

“I don’t want to impose,” she said in a soft, unsure tone.

“Impose? Darling, we want to be there for you if it’s important,” Rarity said with a smile.

Twilight sighed, her thoughts felt like they lagged behind this conversation.

“Well, I just don’t know if it is important. I think I’ll be fine,” she said with a shrug.

A smile touched her lips as she realized, “I’m fine. I’ve already got Dash to make sure nothing crazy happens, and that’s really all I need. Though I do appreciate the offer.”

Her smile only brightened, her posture straightening as she looked towards her friends.

“You’re more than welcome to come, but you don’t have to,” she finished with.

Spike came forward with a smirk. “Not just Dash, Pinkie just left to get ready to go, and I’m coming too.”

Twilight’s face felt brighter, she couldn’t help but smile wider at the thought of Pinkie joining along, seeing the ever jubilant pony clash with the overly pompous demeanor of Canterlot was always a sight. Twilight’s expression flushed somewhat as she quickly rose, grabbing a letter and writing equipment.

“Speaking of, I need to let Celestia know about the extra guests.”

Before she touched the quill to paper she turned to her friends.

“So, uh, last chance to let me know if you’re coming or not. I’ll be fine without,” she said.

Fluttershy returned Twilight’s nervous look with a smile.

“If you say you’ll be fine, then I’ll be staying here,” she finished with a chuckle.

Applejack took a step forward as a sheepish grin came upon her.

“Yeah, I’d love to come if’n you really needed me, but gotta look after the farm you know?”

Rarity relaxed her shoulders as she too couldn’t help but smile at this resolution.

“Yes, darling, as always we’re here if you need us. Feel free to telegram if something urgent comes up.”

Twilight put down her utensils and turned to face her friends with a renewed energy.

“Thank you all for coming today. I know it wasn’t the best, but I appreciate it all the same,” she said.

Fluttershy came up to Twilight and brought her into a hug, which Twilight readily accepted.

Gosh, I forgot how much my friends and I hug! It’s so nice. Mary only ever got this much love from her parents before…

Twilight’s body warmed with the love from her friends, as she was released from Fluttershy’s grasp but then immediately traded hugs with Rarity and then Applejack.

Applejack turned to leave. “Thanks for having us, Twi.”

Rarity soon followed. “Yes thank you. I’m glad to know your ‘new half’ a bit better now.”

Fluttershy, came up and gave Twilight another quick hug, before leaving without a word.

Twilight felt her chest grow lighter, like helium wanted to drag it up into the air. She joyfully snorted as she turned to finish her letter before having Spike send it off.

***

P.S. It seems Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike will be joining me. I apologize for the inconvenience.

***

It was hot outside. She’d planned for this, having changed out of her yellow dress and into a short blue skirt—which felt scarily revealing—but still it was hot. Her only saving grace was that the train station she was going to was covered, probably for exactly these sorts of Ponyville summer days. Her hair matted uncomfortably against her coat, and her heavy bags weighed her down into the scorching gravel road. This was once a dirt road, now replaced with the ‘easier on tires’ but ‘hotter when sun is applied’ gravel. Here too, she thought, automobiles have begun their tiresome journey to degrade the walkability of population centers. She pulled out a hair tie and brought her mane into a quick and dirty ponytail, and sighed as the morsel of relief hit her.

Rainbow Dash watched Twilight come up to the gate of the station with a smirk.

“There you are. Was beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind,” she said, looking eager to go.

“Nope, I’m here,” Twilight responded with a weak grin, pushing away her exhaustion.

“Good, I already bought three tickets on the next train, wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”

Twilight perked up at the mention of three tickets.

“Yeah, Pinkie told me she was coming,” Rainbow Dash said with a dismissive wave of her hoof.

She chuckled, shaking her head, “I don’t know how that mare manages to run so fast.”

Twilight could only smile along at the thought of Pinkie speeding around Ponyville.

She gave Rainbow a smirk. “Thanks for getting tickets for us, but we’re gonna need another one for Spike as well.”

Rainbow looked to Twilight’s sides with a raised brow. “But he’s not here.”

Twilight shook her head. “He’s cleaning up the party that was, well, kind of just left behind, but he’ll be here.”

The sound of hoof sliding against gravel suddenly accosted Twilights ears as Pinkie came to a quick stop right beside her.

“Sorry about that, Twilight! I’ll go help him!” she happily said.

And before anypony could fully process that Pinkie had arrived, she was gone, heading to the Golden Oaks. Twilight looked to Rainbow with confusion, who responded with a blithe look of ‘whatever let’s get going’. And so the two came up to the ticket booth.

“Need one more ticket for a minor,” Rainbow announced to the stallion behind the glass.

He put down his book, looking up to Rainbow, his face bore zero mention of enjoyment of his situation in the cramped hot room. His torture relieved only by a small and noisy electric fan blowing directly at him.

“Three bits,” the words flew from his muzzle as if they were as much burning on his tongue as he was in that room.

He caught the vision of Twilight in his periphery, and straightened up suddenly, a smile erupting unexpectedly from what was once barren ground.

“Hey Twilight. Thanks again for recommending this book to me. Cherry Blossom’s imagery has been like a glass of cold water to me.”

He brought the book up as he spoke, his tone conveying his unending flow of uncontaminated adoration for Twilight’s deed. Twilight couldn’t remember the pony’s name, but he did seem familiar.

I think I remember him, but…why is this so difficult? I’m usually not this bad at recognizing ponies.

“Uh, yeah, you’re welcome,” she politely responded with only a massive heaping of awkwardness.

“Hope you enjoy your trip!” He said, having not picked up on her foible.

Once again Pinkie’s, regrettably loud, ability to stop on a dime filled Twilight’s ears as the mare in question appeared before them.

“Hi Twilight, hi Rainbow Dash. Spike said he’ll be here in a minute, but I’m here first which means I win.”

Twilight felt she could just barely excuse Pinkie’s ability to travel to her house and back so quickly since, to be fair, it was right next to the train station, but still it was a little unnerving. She’d gotten used to thinking of Pinkie as different, but now that carried connotations of being a cartoon character and the fourth wall breaking implications about the world she lived in.

“Hey, party’s basically all here, let’s get out of this heat,” Rainbow said, turning to enter the station.

Pinkie and Twilight followed behind, as they came to the covered platform. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at finally getting out of the blazing sun. Pinkie kept beside and slightly behind Twilight, glancing at her as they walked. Her eyes were drawn to Twilight’s skirt, its blue hue fit well on Twilight’s lavender body, and it even had a white stripe all the way around the edge. It made her giddy just looking at it.

“Oooh, cute skirt Twilight,” Pinkie had to compliment.

Twilight was already so heated that her face couldn't blush as much as merely add to the already intense flush on her cheeks, but her heart still felt a little lighter when she heard Pinkie’s praise.

“Oh, thanks. I, uh, mostly chose it because of how hot it is right now, but honestly it’s still weird wearing such a short skirt with nothing underneath,” she replied.

“Why’s that weird?” Pinkie said, looking right into Twilight’s eyes with her ever unchanging grin.

Twilight turned to look at Pinkie with a raised brow.

“Didn’t I already tell you all about how Mary was used to always wearing clothes?”

Pinkie excitedly nodded. “Uh huh, but you’re wearing clothes, so what’s the deal?”

Twilight lifted her head up, her eyes searching the corner of her vision for an explanation that would satisfy.

“Well, the thing is when I searched my closet I realized I don’t have any…underwear,” she hesitated on the last word as she realized the significance of it in pony society.

Pinkie tilted her head. “Lots of ponies don’t own any underwear.”

Twilight’s eyes darted from Pinkie to the floor. “Yes, but where Mary was from things were different.”

She took a deep breath, her resolve pooling in from the new air in her lungs.

“On Earth underwear is always worn to cover the genitalia in order to keep modesty, but on Equus that’s not the case, instead being lumped in with lingerie as being a risqué article of clothing,” she kept her eyes on Pinkie as she spoke, Pinkie simply happily staring back at Twilight.

Rainbow Dash snorted at that. “What, so are we not dressing modest to you right now?”

Twilight looked to Rainbow, who wore nothing but a saddle bag.

“I mean, yes, but also no,” she said, herself unsure.

Twilight shrugged as she continued, “Half of my memories are of me being completely used to nudity, while the other half aren’t. I could easily adjust again, and as long as I’m not actively seeing your genitals it’s not like I’m going to feel particularly weird looking at you.”

“Arousal being the main emotion that could occur,” she added with a whisper.

Pinkie perked up as a revelation took her.

“Oh, so does that mean that just this gets you excited?” she said, twirling around in place to have her rear facing Twilight, her head craning over to look back and watch her reaction.

Pinkie’s pussy was right in front of Twilight, in public. Twilight’s eyes flickered all around Pinkie’s rear, occasionally turning away to look at something innocuous like Pinkie’s tail, but still the main prize kept pulling her vision in. In reality she’d seen Pinkie’s vagina countless times, never for very long nor really did she ever particularly pay it much attention, but now it was like a honey pot that beckoned her in. Twilight’s hooves sporadically tapped against the wood floor, as her breathing grew heavy, her mouth twisted into a crazed nervous smile.

Rainbow Dash tried to hold her snorting chuckling in with a hoof, but she simply couldn’t contain it.

“Stop it, Pinkie, you’re gonna throw her into heat or something,” she managed to say through her growing laughter.

Pinkie lowered her tail to cover herself, her cheery smile turned weary.

“Oops, sorry,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“It’s okay,” Twilight said after a second to recompose herself.

Rainbow Dash came over to Twilight and put an arm around her, still whittling down her laughter.

“I think I like new Twi acting like a teen colt whenever she sees flank,” she only threw herself into another round of laughs when she said that line.

Pinkie giggled along with Rainbow until she looked over to Twilight, only to see her looking flushed, if not also a little frustrated. Pinkie’s smile turned into a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, it is a little funny, but it’s not like it’s Twilight’s fault,” Pinkie offered.

“Oh it’s not a little funny, it’s hilarious,” Rainbow wiped a tear that was forming as she tried to calm down again.

“What’s hilarious?” Spike innocently asked.

“Nothing!” Rainbow said as she jumped into flight.

Silence fell over the group. Spike looked around at each of the three mares with slight confusion and he was offered no response. He came up to Twilight, who simply gave him a small smile and a brief hug before turning her attention away to stare out at the scenery.

Twilight listened to the summer cicadas sing their song, so longingly pulling her to memories of summers past, both as Twilight and as Mary. She thought about how their call was different then what Mary had grown up with, which was sad, but it was what Twilight grew up with, which was nice. Spike looked around at the zoned out Twilight, nervously grinning Pinkie, and strangely standoffish Rainbow with confused worry, but nothing came to mind as to what to do or say about any of it.

The whistle of the approaching train knocked everypony out of their strange moods.

***

Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Spike lounged in the spacious private room they’d been given. Given, because, although Rainbow Dash had paid for normal seating, the conductor had bumped them up to the highest class room when he learned Princess Twilight was a passenger. Twilight appreciated the gesture, but she still couldn’t help but feel unease from being treated as the royalty she now was. While the extra privacy of a private room was nice, she certainly wouldn’t be needing many of the amenities here. The trip wasn’t long enough to warrant use of the two beds for instance. Pinkie had certainly enjoyed bouncing gleefully on both them when they all first entered, but now Rainbow and Spike were lazing about on them. Twilight was seated at one of the two chairs around a small table near the window, the window she was currently staring out of with a quiet fervor.

Twilight couldn’t believe how picturesque her country was. It was unnerving how every branch felt manicured and polished. She stared at the far off trees, the ones not moving by so quick as to become blurs, and relief came whenever she could point out details of unevenness or a slight kilter to each figure. But that initial at a glance feeling that everything was finely combed still made her feel heavy in the plush chair she sat in. The rhythmic hum and buckle of the train reminded her of the white noise she’d so often played on her phone to bring herself to sleep. It was a strange feeling, that she couldn’t just reach into a pocket and have access to games, videos, music, books, and more at her fingertips. At least she brought reading material in the form of good old fashioned hard backs, though all of it was non-fiction. She hadn’t planned for fun on this trip, this was a trip for business and she packed for it.

Ever since this morning she’d set her sights on a goal, and darn it she was going to at least work towards something to sooth her general unease, that goal was creating smokeless powder. And so, she packed books on chemistry, geology, and one very dubiously useful book on Griffon warfare. She couldn’t fault most ponies for having little interest in the affairs of war, it was still something that made her feel wrong. She knew where it came from, but that didn’t help much.

Pinkie felt on the end of a chain, the way she stared at Twilight across the room as Twilight stared out the window. Rainbow Dash was now rereading another of Daring Do’s books after Pinkie and her had finished a game of eye-spy, and Spike was pouring over a newspaper, and so Pinkie was devoid of her previous outlets for her energy. But somehow, as soon as she’d turned her gaze over to Twilight it was as if all that energy kept pouring out, yet she moved so little. She could just sit and stare at Twilight and feel satisfied. Maybe it was because of how quickly her thoughts seemed to move, when she looked at her, like their movement sucked away all the energy her body would otherwise be expelling. She invariably found herself literally drawn towards her, Pinkie’s hoofsteps quietly falling on the carpeted floor as she came near to Twilight.

Twilight felt like somepony was behind her and her eyes flickered back to see that Pinkie was, in fact, behind her, her attention focused straight towards her. Twilight turned to face her, and immediately Pinkie’s bright smile radiated outward, coating her in a blanket of warmth. She couldn’t help but smile too.

“Thanks for coming, Pinkie. Thanks for the party too,” Twilight said.

She continued with a chuckle, “I’m feeling a bit better about all of this. But I guess you are the one to go to help ponies feel welcomed, so that makes sense.”

“Of course, nothing less for my bestest friend.”

Twilight tilted her head at that. “Bestest friend?”

She wanted to hit herself for saying that, and immediately interrupted Pinkie’s response with a hoof to her mouth.

“Wait, nevermind, you’re Pinkie, of course almost everypony is your bestest friend.”

Pinkie’s eyes lidded and her smile faltered, as Twilight’s hoof left her muzzle.

Pinkie tilted her head. “But I really mean it. I know I can’t be bestest friends with everypony, and you are one of my few bestest friends, along with our group.”

Pinkie stealthily darted her eyes right and left, before leaning close to Twilight, her hoof attempting to block her voice from leaving Twilight’s ear.

“You’re actually one of my bestest-estest friends, but don’t tell anypony,” she whispered before casually backing away, satisfied that the misunderstanding was cleared up.

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat, her mouth feeling suddenly stripped of power to speak for a moment. She watched as Pinkie simply stood and looked at her with her ever happy grin. Twilight thought she saw something in that expression, that maybe it was more than just her baseline merriment.

Twilight spoke softly, “Even amongst the other bearers?”

Pinkie hummed a yes, as she nodded.

Twilight thought back on all her experiences with Pinkie. From beginning to end, there was little she could see that went much further than how Pinkie treated just about any other pony. And Twilight hadn’t exactly been a great friend to Pinkie. Sure she enjoyed her parties and her antics were sometimes enjoyable, but she’d been—out of everypony—one of the ones most negative to Pinkie whenever she acted, well, like Pinkie. The thought of it made her die a little inside. As Twilight before it never seemed too bad, and Pinkie always recovered from her bereavement. As Mary, well, it was a television show, of course friends would get in big disagreements so they could make up in the end. But Twilight was living it now, with Mary’s perspective, with her new mind, her new way of dealing with things mixed in with hers.

“Pinkie…” Twilight said softly, her expression having fallen in her time thinking.

“I know this will sound weird, but I want to apologize for how I’ve treated you in the past,” she finished with a chuckle as the ridiculousness of the situation caught up to her.

It managed to bring a curl of a smile to the edges of her lips.

“I’m literally a different person now—er pony, I mean,” she said with a shake of her head.

“Anyway, point is I don’t agree with how mean I’ve been to you in the past, and I hope to not repeat those mistakes.”

Pinkie’s smile softened.

“It’s okay, Twilight. Like you said, that’s all in the past. And I know you are always able to push past those kinds of things, it’s why I trust you so much.”

Twilight shook her head. “It still wasn’t right of me. You’re the element of laughter for goodness sake…so, thinking back on all the times I made you sad…I hate it.”

Pinkie leaned forward, her smile doubling.

“Well, then cheer up, because you know my favorite thing in the world is to see my friends smile.”

Twilight’s heart doubled in size as the most cheerful pony in the world poured her spirit out onto her. With a sigh she laid back into her chair, closing her eyes as she let the warm feeling trickle down through her body. The tenseness of her muscles slowly faded to the beat of the buckling of the train, and surely enough a wide smile overtook her face. Pinkie giggled as she brought a hoof up and playfully ruffled Twilight’s hair.

“Oh, Twilight, you’re so silly,” Pinkie said, her smile impeccable.

Pinkie sat down on the chair opposite Twilight, bouncy as ever as she stared at Twilight with her big grin. Twilight couldn’t decide whether to feel complimented or upset.

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

Pinkie took in a breath, ready to answer, but paused as no words came to her. For a moment she was overtaken by that confusion, but she quickly drove it away.

“I don’t know, you just are,” she said, her smile seeping with satisfaction at her answer to Twilight’s question.

Pinkie gasped in excitement. “Hey, want to play a game?”

Twilight’s grin faltered.

If only I did…

“Not really? Do you mind if I just relax here for the ride?” Twilight responded after a moment of pause.

“Of course, Twilight! You gotta get your rest. It’s all good,” Pinkie said with a smile, stretching out her words for emphasis.

Twilight turned her attention back to the window as she allowed herself to slouch once again into the cushy chair. Pinkie stayed seated as Twilight relaxed, her eyes unable to choose between looking out the window or at Twilight. Twilight never seemed to mind her staring, only ever occasionally glancing over at her to share a brief smile. Pinkie did her best to stay cool and calm, which to her surprise was very easy. For once, she decided not to worry about it, and just like that, it was as if the ambience around her slowly overtook her mind. The empty space, now left clear of thoughts, was filled by the noise. It was a sensation she knew well, and it comforted her through much of the journey.

***

The mountain sides of Canterlot rushed by the window. Pinkie looked again to Twilight, and her thoughts crept back to the forefront as she noticed a spark in Twilight’s eyes. Pinkie’s mind slowly picked up speed, brushing apart the cobwebs that had started to form from her relaxation. Twilight was deep in thought. Pinkie observed her, looking for clues as to Twilight’s disposition. Indeed it was as obvious as the daylight outside that Twilight, her shoulders slumped and her posture calm, was still churning out something in her head. Pinkie was stunned, though only for a moment. She realized, this was Twilight Sparkle, of course a smarty pants like her would always be thinking! Pinkie recalled her time relaxing during this trip, she even slept for a short portion of it, yet whenever she thought back on Twilight—Pinkie only realized now—she had always been deep in thought!

***

The journey to the castle filled Twilight with wonder. Canterlot was a great sight to behold, and yet now as she stood before the gates, it felt like it was just another Tuesday. She wondered where the time had gone, and if there had been anything interesting. It had all just happened, and yes Pinkie was her jubilant self, and yes Dash was ever tomboyish, it just…was normal, not noteworthy. She couldn’t help but feel cheated out of memorable experiences.

One of the guards by the gate came to a salute as soon as she spotted Twilight.

“Come on through, princess,” she quickly said, and the other guard unlocked the gate.

Twilight’s movement slowed, a weight of guilt dragging her hooves. She felt unworthy of the title, the privilege to go where she pleased with such ease. There was nothing to ease her, nor fanfare to cause her to release all of her tension in a burst of frayed nerves, instead it was a quiet evening. The sun was low in the sky, casting the pristine white marble halls of the castle in a glow which only made it all feel more empty. Like looking into a freshly packed up room before you move out, yet here it was a home to many, including her mentor.

The doors to the throne room opened with ease and an awe inspiring grace that yet failed to impart that inspiration in Twilight. Celestia stood in the middle of the room, turning her attention away from her aide—with whom Twilight was only somewhat familiar—and towards Twilight and her friends. A smile graced her face.

“Hello Twilight, it is so good to see you. Hello as well, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Spike,” she said with a tone that filled the room as much as it was soft and careful.

Celestia canted her head to the side, raising a brow, “Or are re-introductions in order?”

Twilight and her friends continued their way into the room, and Celestia’s aide quietly excused herself. Twilight observed Celestia closely, as she did her. She felt Celestia’s eyes travel over her, it was a gentle, yet not wholly welcome, weight. Something about Twilight’s appearance was intriguing to Celestia, but what was unknown to Twilight.

“I-I mean not really? Not in that sort of way anyway, just uh…hi,” Twilight responded with a croaky voice.

Celestia smiled. “Twilight, I’m surprised at how shy you are acting.”

Twilight took in Celestia’s appearance, she felt like a home-away-from-home, though not in the same way, it never was like that, she was her mentor after all. It was very much how she remembered her. Not home in the way a lover, or even truly a mother was, but as a careful teacher.

A smile broke Twilight’s lips. “Well, I wouldn’t say I feel too shy around you right now, more…uh, worried.”

Celestia kept an even expression. “Don’t be. I’ll be happy to hear everything you have to tell me. How about we talk over dinner?”

“Okay!” Pinkie chimed in.

Celestia turned towards the hallways, and Twilight and company joined her in the short journey to the dining room. There was fullness and liveliness to the hallways now. The warmth of the setting sun seeped into Twilight’s coat. Twilight watched Celestia as she guided them through the long passage ways of the castle. In her wandering of thought, her pace slowed slightly and suddenly her eyes were drawn to a visage which had revealed itself through the changing of her angle to Celestia.

Celestia’s genitalia on display without pomp or circumstance. Really the whole affair drew little out of Twilight, like walking past a nice painting in the residence of a distant friend. Sure, it was something to be revered on a good day, something at least to spend your time craning your head to look at as you went by, but nothing to heave and ho about.

At least that’s how it felt until Twilight’s tail flicked. Quickly she averted her gaze, hoping this whole situation could be ignored and buried. Her eyes darted about her friends to find among them not a single hint that anything untoward had happened.

“So, Twilight, how are you feeling?” Celestia pierced the silence.

Twilight shot her head forward, as she allowed the sudden question to rip her away from what had previously been a situation of developing horror back to the banality of small talk.

“Fine? Like a lot has happened today, but fine. I still can’t believe it’s just been one day, it feels like it’s been so long,” she finally responded.

Rainbow snorted, “Well you did cover that entire room in weird rambling stuff you wrote, and then had a party, and now we’re here.”

“That doesn’t seem like a lot to me,” Pinkie said with a blithe smile.

“It may seem that way to you, but you all haven’t experienced it the same way Twilight has,” Celestia said.

“And she hasn’t experienced what we’ve been through today either,” Spike added in a low tone.

Nopony had a response for that, certainly not Twilight who felt a pang of guilt from having to drag all her friends through seeing her change so suddenly.

The doors to the dining room opened, and the group quickly became acquainted with their seats. The table was a fine dark wood, as were the chairs. Each seat the group took were ones which had been prepped with the appropriate cutlery ahead of time, while the rest of the table laid bare. All were centered around one end of the table, and Celestia was quick to guide Twilight to the head position of the table. From this vantage point she could easily see everypony else, and everypony else her. It felt strange, being in this seat while Celestia was here, she felt her and Celestia should be swapped around, yet she understood why it was this way. Celestia sat to her left, while her friends were seated to her right. Despite everything, this minutia of well coordinated seating arrangements imparted a joyous feeling of completion.

Twilight looked down at the table to see a menu before her. Opening it, her eyes moved from item to item with intent.

“I decided it would be best to not assume anything when it came to this dinner, so please feel free to order anything,” Celestia said.

Spike opened his menu with a raised brow. “Normally when we come here we’re just served stuff you know we like, where’d this menu come from?”

“Canterlot castle will often entertain guests from all over the world, so we keep prepared for any appetite,” Celestia responded.

Twilight’s eyes fell on the ham sandwich she’d found in a later part of the menu, really the whole page was filled with different meals befitting a more carnivorous diet. ‘Eastern Delicacies’ the page was titled. Maybe some of the very hogs that Applejack kept were here somewhere chopped up and locked in a freezer. But even that odious image in her mind couldn’t help her from feeling a need for meat after an entire day of nothing but sweets. Pancakes and cupcakes was all that had gone through her today, and her body ached for something to offset it. She flipped back to the salads, hoping to find respite in the idea of washing away her overly sweetened system with some greens. She searched and searched the list, but she just couldn’t find what she was looking for. There was something on the tip of her tongue she just couldn’t remember, but the taste floated along in her mind, tempting her to find and order it.

“You gonna order something, Twilight?” Rainbow’s remark blasted Twilight out of her focus.

A waiter, whom she had no idea had appeared, was beside her watching and listening for an order. She looked to the rest of the table to see everypony else already had their menus taken away, they’d made their orders. She was tardy.

“Oh, um,” Twilight hesitated, hoping she could find that blasted meal that was just inches away from her voice.

It suddenly came to her. “Chicken salad,” she blurted out.

“Chicken salad it is,” the waiter responded, before taking her menu away and leaving for the kitchen.

Twilight sighed as relief came over her. She turned back to the table to see everypony looking at her slack-jawed. Even Celestia’s usual calm demeanor was tainted by wide eyes. Everypony felt much further from Twilight than they did before, a pit crushed into her core.

“W-what—” Twilight was cut off.

“Did you just say chicken salad?” Rainbow asked Twilight like she’d just committed a crime.

By all rights, Twilight did indeed now suddenly feel like she’d committed a crime.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I just blurted it out!” Twilight desperately pantomimed along with her words, her tone pleading for forgiveness.

“Blurted out chicken salad?” Rainbow pressed, as she leaned forward, her hooves holding her up onto the table.

Twilight let out snippets of words, her face and body rapidly moving as she desperately tried to pull together a defence.

“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia's voice boomed, as she stood up straight in her chair, staring Rainbow down with a glare.

She continued, her attention shifting to Twilight, “I’m sure she has a good reason, as long as we let her explain it.”

Twilight’s vision bore deep into Celestia’s eyes, as she lathered up the look of reassurance she was receiving from her. Twilight concentrated on her breathing, bringing a hoof up to mime the motion of taking in a deep breath and then slowly releasing it.

“Ever since this morning I haven’t been able to fully accept the truth that I…have a taste for meat,” she spoke with wavering confidence.

“Mary was omnivorous, eating plants and meat, but to be fair, her world was much different from this one. I’m not sure to what degree I’m comfortable with the idea of it now. Although I remember species on Earth that are, uh, similar to ponies being able to eat a small amount of meat and not becoming sick,” Twilight said, finishing with a sigh as she braced herself again to continue.

“All I’ve eaten today was sweets and so I wished to cleanse my palate with something more hearty. The carnivorous meals felt so familiar to me. But-but I didn’t want to deal with those desires yet! I tried to look for a nice salad instead…and I guess even in doing so my mind still went to meat,” Twilight finished, putting her head in her hooves.

“Be careful, Twilight. While your mind’s desires may have changed, I doubt your body has,” Celestia responded with a calm yet stern spin to her voice.

She continued, “You are correct in that, while eating a small amount of meat won’t hurt you, you won’t gain nutrition from it. When the waiter returns, I’ll ask him to bring out a normal salad for you. If you wish to satisfy your curiosity with the chicken however, I won’t stop you.”

Twilight lifted herself up again, a small iota of dignity returning.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, “I’m sorry.”

Celestia smiled, “Twilight, don’t worry. While this change isn’t something I’d choose for you, I’ve met plenty of wonderful creatures—full of kindness and good hearts—who eat meat regularly. I am no stranger to it.”

A sliver of a smirk managed to find home on Twilight’s muzzle at Celestia’s words.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, “Good thing Fluttershy isn’t here. Could you imagine?”

Pinkie looked to Dash with a confused lilt of her head, “Why? Doesn’t she help creatures that eat meat all the time?”

Rainbow Dash put her hooves behind her head, and leaned back into the cushion of the chair.

“Yeah, but that’s different,” Rainbow said with an air of uncaring authority in her position of understanding Fluttershy.

She continued, “Even just the times I told her about Guilda eating meat creeped her out.”

“But doesn’t Guilda have to eat meat? Twilight doesn’t,” Spike said with a glare towards Twilight.

Twilight shuffled in her chair.

“That’s true. I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to be a big issue. I didn’t even want to deal with it right now. Maybe I’ll try it and hate it and never touch meat again. Even if I do enjoy it, I know it will be something I would feel terrible to indulge in,” Twilight said.

The room grew quiet, though Twilight could hardly tell with the conversation still playing on loop in her mind. The noise and reiterating and recompiling of it threatened to choke her.

“Twilight…what happened today?” Celestia broke through the silent noise.

Twilight took a deep breath.

“Right, that would be important to tell you. I’ll start from the beginning…” Twilight began recounting the events, slipping into the memories, no longer paying attention to the world around her.

***

“I remember I stopped myself before I ate to pray. It’s still strange that happened, anyway—” Twilight’s story was interrupted by Celestia.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but why?” she said calmly.

Twilight swore she heard her brain crack open for a moment, before turning to see that it was the sound of the waiter returning with their food on rolling carts. Twilight was transfixed on the ordeal. She shook her head, and forced her attention back to the group.

“Oh, um, that has to do with Mary. She, um, was a follower of God—well, more specifically Christ and... I’m not sure it’s all that important now that I’m not on that world anymore,” Twilight sheepishly smiled.

“It was important to Mary, who is now a part of you. I’d like to learn,” Celestia said before whispering something to the waiter.

Twilight had her focus ripped away from the conversation again as her plate was set before her. The first thing that hit her was the smell. It wasn’t like the typical Equestrian fear of carnivorous creatures devouring stinking rotting raw flesh, it was like a chicken salad, the same well presented and cooked meal she’d eaten plenty of times before. The aroma was pleasant, mostly smelling of the dressing poured onto it, and the helping of vegetables mixed in gave the food a more palatable look. She leaned in to take a deeper sniff, and sure enough it was still fine, no rotting flesh. Carefully she took a fork in her magic, and plunged it into the dish, and brought the catch up and right into her maw.

From whence she quickly pulled it back out again, closing her eyes and annoyedly going through the same song and dance to quickly pray for the food. She couldn’t help but to finish with that overly audible ‘Amen’. In a flash it was over and the food went straight into her mouth.

It…tasted fine, maybe bland, but otherwise fine. She carefully studied it in her mouth, looking for its textures and tastes. The chicken, she realized, was what made the food taste bland, because she could barely taste it. The sauce was really helping this dish out. It was almost disappointing. Sure a wave of relief came over her that it wasn’t terrible, and certainly wasn’t going to harm her but…that relief was miniscule compared to the nothing that was the chicken.

“What’s it like, Twilight?” Pinkie’s question pulled Twilight’s attention back up.

Everyone was watching her with rapt attention. Twilight nervously gulped down the food in her mouth, and put on a terribly unconvincing smile.

“Kind of bland actually. It’s not the same taste I remember, but that only makes sense considering I’m eating with this set of taste buds, and not Mary’s,” she said.

“But you’re not saying it’s bad?” Rainbow’s question was drawn out, slow.

“Listen, I won’t eat anymore of it. I don’t want to hurt anypony. This is nowhere near as important as my friendship with all of you,” Twilight said.

“We're not going to stop being your friend just for that, silly!” Pinkie said, before stuffing a hay sandwich into her mouth.

The table fell silent, divided between Twilight, who awaited further comment, and the others, who had none.

Ignore it. Don’t think about it.

Twilight looked towards Celestia.

“So, you want to know about Christianity, right? Okay,” Twilight refocused herself fully on Celestia.

Celestia focused herself fully on Twilight.

“Christianity is the name of a religion on Earth, the planet Mary is from, that believes in one true God who is the creator of the universe and everything. Specifically Christianity is a branch of what is known as the Abrahamic religions which believes that a little after the year 0 AD that God impregnated a virgin with his only son who is also God so that he may bring us into a new covenant with God and fulfill the old covenant with his sacrifice. This son was named Jesus Christ, and he was deemed guilty of being a false prophet by the religious leaders of the time and nailed to a wooden cross and killed. His body was entombed in a cave, and three days later he rose from the dead, where after a short while he returned to heaven with the Father. His sacrifice and revival fulfilled the covenant and made it so that any who know and follow him and call him their Lord and saviour will be saved as he was and will enter God’s kingdom and be granted eternal life after death.”

The room was silent for a beat.

“I mean, I could keep going, but that’s the basics covered,” Twilight finished.

“It’s interesting that you said it’s a belief. Does this god not make themself known often?” Celestia was engaged in the topic, not even bothering with her food.

Twilight was happy to continue, “Not to the same degree the old gods of this world used to, and certainly not in the same way we all see Discord.”

Twilight’s excitement faltered, so much of what Mary’s memories had to say were so unacademic.

“Mary has…seen Him before, but honestly that event was always something that could be chalked up to simply being sick at the time and in a strained mental state. A figment of my imagination perhaps,” she said, her words becoming more wistful.

She continued, “Most of what is taught are from the stories, prayers, and songs, passed down through books which were collated into what is known as the Bible. Remember when I said that the main events of Christianity happened around 0 AD? Mary was born around two-thousand years after that.”

Twilight finally came out of her singular focus on the conversation to look over at her friends. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie both looked like they’d finally let themselves dig in—Pinkie especially so—but Spike returned Twilight’s gaze. He hadn’t touched his plate, as he calmly paid absolute attention to her. At first, Spike’s determined eyes were frightening, but there wasn’t a drop of contempt, just pure focused intake of information.

“It’s interesting to see one of my ponies so engaged in religion as it once was so long ago. Even when I was young it was becoming rare. I only knew of a few who, like you do now, prayed to a deity before each meal,” Celestia’s words were soft as her ancient memories were revived.

Celestia felt a strange and disturbing nostalgia in seeing this forgotten lifestyle being shown in her pupil. She recalled how in the moment she saw Twilight, before her own eyes, bow her head and pray, it was like a long dead ghost had taken Twilight’s place. And just as quickly it had been over. Moreover the more she learned of this god and his history, the more Celestia worried over what Discord had relayed to her. Something about Twilight’s talk of a covenant rang a bell that needed to be investigated further. Celestia realized she’d been caught in her thoughts. Twilight’s friends were here and there were too many topics to cover to continue down this path for now. Clearing her mind, she reoriented herself.

“We can discuss more about this another time,” Celestia changed the conversation’s course.

A worried smile took her face. “What I want to know is simple. Do you think, even after today, you’re still able to commit to your duty as the Princess of Friendship?”

Author's Note

I'm back! This chapter was already at around 8k words when I had gone on hiatus, so all I had to do was finish it up. The next chapter is already somewhat planned out, but I have no idea if I'll ever finish it! :D

I give no guarantees as to upload schedule or if this will ever be finished. My whims are ever changing and unknowable. :)

By the way! (Spoilers lol) the idea is that all of the main six eventually have something similar happen to them like Twilight did. However assuming this keeps going at the same pace, it won't be for another 2-3 chapters until the next mind-merge occurs.