Twilight Sparkle watched out her window as the sun slowly creeped up the horizon. She knew today was going to be absolutely fine, but with a possibility of something really bad and unexpected happening. Discord could return again, Chrysalis and the Changelings could invade Equestria, or even King Sombra could return to the Crystal Empire.
Twilight let these feelings go and fixed her eyes on the beautiful horizon. She'd only seen Princess Celestia raise the sun a few times (or eleven), and this was the perfect time to watch as true magic pulled the sun up to the sky. These times were rare, while Twilight could just let her feelings go and relax.
Everything is gonna be just fine! Twilight thought. She trotted out of bed and yanked Spike's blanket off him. Spike moaned, rubbed his eyes, and mumbled, "Twilight! Can't you just leave me alone for just one morning?"
"Oh, come on Spike. You know what day it is," Twilight replied. Spike gave her an unsure look that said, No, I don't know what day it is. Now can I go back to sleep? "It's the day we go to Sugar Cube Corner for brunch to celebrate Princess Celestia's birthday party."
"Oh, yeah. How old is she?" Spike asked. Twilight thought for a moment.
"I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure it's her 2000th birthday." Twilight pulled a drawer open and levitated a giant wrapped box with a bow on top. Spike stared at it, hoping it was for him. "This is the Princess's present, I assembled it for her using a new spell she assigned me to study." Twilight put it down gently onto her library desk.
"What is it?" asked Spike. "Why is it so big? How did you manage to fit it in that small drawer?"
"This," Twilight answered, "is a massage machine. I assembled it using Princess Celestia's 'Assemble an advanced machine' spell. There is a button on it that will massage your hooves and body, and also comes with a tiny metal cube with a button. Pressing this button will expand the cube and make it turn into a huge, pool-sized mud bath."
"Well, it's nice and all, but... Why would the princess want a mud bath?"
"You'd think it's very strange that ponies enjoy climbing into mud for relaxation at the pony spas. But this particular mud bath helps relax yourself, and it rejuvenates your coat. And then when you come out of the mud bath, when you rinse off very quickly your coat will be as good as sparkly. Rarity does it all the time, though it's strange for even her to climb into mud."
"Ohh. I see. That actually sounds relaxing to me, maybe I should join Rarity sometime..." Spike stared into space while thinking about his crush, Rarity. Twilight nudged him and he remembered that they had to leave. "Oh, uh, sorry. Anyways, I wish we had our own massage machine and mud bath."
"Actually, I've been practicing really good. I bet I can make one for us later, if I can. If not, I will need to practice some more. This one was my first successful one, and I'm giving it to the Princess as a birthday gift! And to make sure I really got it right, I tested it myself. It felt sooo good. I even tried the mud bath!"
"How was the mud bath?"
"It felt so good. I rinsed off for about two seconds in the shower, and my coat was totally shined! Rarity came over to the library and happened to see it, and wanted to try it herself. You should have seen our coats shimmer!"
"Mm-hmm. And I had some business in Canterlot, so I missed out on all the fun." Spike crossed his arms. He felt like he always missed out on all the fun.
"Don't worry, Spike. Your duties in Canterlot are more important, and besides, you won't be going back for more business any time soon." Twilight levitated Princess Celestia's gift from her library desk and trotted out the door, dragging Spike along with her. "Now, come on, Spike! We can't be late for the Princess's birthday brunch. Use your feet."
Twilight kept trotting on her four hooves while Spike was let go from the grip of her magic. Spike fell backward but quickly caught up with Twilight. Spike felt his legs hurt and said, "Couldn't you have just called a taxi instead? My legs are sore!"
"Spike, we haven't even been walking for 5 minutes! It should be a 7 minute walk from the library to Sugar Cube corner. Besides, this is the Princess's special day, and we're not gonna let her down, are we?"
"But my legs--"
"Fine, you can climb on my back until we get to Sugar Cube Corner. But on the walk back, you're gonna have to use your own feet!"
Spike seemed satisfied with Twilight's agreement and hopped on her back. Twilight looked at the town clock and told Spike, "Hang on tight! This is gonna be a fast ride!" Spike gripped tight around Twilight's neck while she ran as fast as she could to Sugar Cube Corner. They arrived to Sugar Cube Corner about 2 minutes later, much to Twilight's relief. She didn't think she could live with herself if she arrived late or missed Princess Celestia's birthday brunch.
Spike hopped on down as Twilight trotted calmly over to the royal guards at the doors of Sugar Cube Corner. The guards looked at Twilight and Spike suspiciously, but just then Princess Celestia came over to the doors and said, "Twilight Sparkle and Spike! I knew you could make it!"
The guards smiled and levitated the doors open for Twilight and Spike. They walked in.
"Princess Celestia! I haven't seen you for so long!" Twilight exclaimed. "Where did you get the elegant and fancy dress? It totally matches your royal personality!"
"Your friend, Rarity, made it for me. She also gave me the hairdo," replied Princess Celestia. She cocked her head to the side so Twilight could see. "Do you like it?"
"I most certainly do, Princess." Twilight levitated her box in front of the Princess. "Happy Birthday!"
Princess Celestia levitated the box open and gasped. "Oh my-- Twilight, you really shouldn't have!"
"Oh, but I should have." Princess Celestia smiled. "I used that 'Assemble an advanced machine' spell you assigned me to study, and this is my first successful one. And I'm giving it to you!"
"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, that is so nice of you!" Princess Celestia levitated the items out of the box to get a closer look. "So, what are they, anyway?"
"The big one is a massage machine. You lay down and relax in it while it massages your hooves and body. I tried it myself, and it felt so good I knew you really deserved to have it, being our Princess and all. Helping us through some hard times..."
"I am so delighted, Twilight! This is a wonderful gift. What's this little metal cube with the button?"
"Oh, that. That's a part two to your gift. It's a small cube with a button, and when you press it it opens up into a pool-sized mud bath."
"Mud bath?"
"I know it sounds strange to climb into mud, but this one relaxes yourself and rejuvenates your coat. It feels so good, just like a hot tub, and after you're done relaxing you go rinse off for a couple of seconds. Your coat will shimmer like it never has before!"
"Why, thank you! I do have a spa back at the Canterlot Castle itself, but it has no mud bath to relax in. I am going to add this to the castle spa! Thank you so, so much, Twilight!"
"You're very welcome, Princess Celestia! I'm sure you will enjoy it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna go catch up with my friends for a bit. Happy Birthday!"
"Thank you!"
Twilight Sparkle walked over to the snack table where her pony friends forever were. Twilight smiled at them and said, "This is certainly a great birthday brunch, isn't it girls?"
"Uh huh!" Pinkie Pie said, with her mouth full of cupcake. Rarity made a disapproving face at Pinkie.
"Ughh. Pinkie, where are your manners?" Rarity complained. "We are guests at a royal brunch, and guests may not behave like that. And this is Princess Celestia's birthday brunch."
"So? I'm the host," Pinkie replied after swallowing her cupcake.
"Actually no, you aren't, Pinkie," said Rainbow Dash. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake are the hosts for this brunch."
"Ah, whatever," replied Pinkie Pie. She took another bite of cupcake while Twilight levitated the spoon from the punch bowl and poured some punch into her glass. Twilight took a sip.
"Um, I'm going to talk with the Cutie Mark Crusaders by the next table," Spike said. "I'll just... Leave you guys alone for a bit..." Spike ran over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the next table. Twilight shrugged.
"Well, that was kind of awkward," said Twilight. "Anyway, this brunch is the best ever! Don't you agree?" Twilight took another sip from her punch glass while waiting for an answer.
"Well, Ah don't think it's the best ever," Applejack said. "Ah mean, it's a great party and all, but... Where is the fun?"
"Well, I, um, actually kind of agree," Fluttershy added. "Because, well, there's no games or anything to play."
"Yes, I kind of have to agree," said Rarity. "I really wish we could play my favorite party game, Pin the Tail on the Pony."
"Pin the Tail on the Pony? Seriously?" Rainbow replied. "I'd say racing or throwing horseshoes are the best!"
"Girl, girls!" Twilight broke in. "I hate to be a bother, but let's not get into an agrument right now."
"Oh, were-- were we arguing?" Fluttershy said. "I'm so sorry."
"Well, if it's games you want, it's games you'll get!" Pinkie said. "I'll go ask the Princess if it's okay." Pinkie hopped over toward Princess Celestia. The ponies waited for a minute in silence until Pinkie Pie came hopping back to say, "She said okay! She said okay!"
The six cheered, then they started planning the party games. After a minute of planning, they came up with the games in this order:
-Pin the Tail on the Pony
-Horseshoe tossing
-Racing
-Scavenger Hunt
"Ah'd say this party is gonna go very well, don't ya' think?" said Applejack.
"Mm-hm," said the rest of the six. Pinkie got all the games set up. She hung the "Pin the Tail on the Pony" poster onto the wall, followed by setting up the Horseshoe Tossing, Racing, and then made a list of things to find in the Scavenger Hunt.
"Looks like we're all set," said Twilight. "Is everything set up, Pinkie?"
"Yup," Pinkie answered.
"Good. Now, let's call everypony over to start the games," Twilight said. The ponies separated and called every party guest over.
Once everypony was settled, Twilight Sparkle started, "Hello, everypony! My name is Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Stomp if you are having fun!" Everybody in the audience cheered and stomped. "Now, let's all remember the real reason we're here. We are here to celebrate Princess Celestia's birthday brunch, for without her Equestria would be nothing. We really want to make this brunch extra special."
Everypony turned to Celestia and cheered wildly. Princess Celestia grinned with a modest look on her face.
"Now, we realized a party is not a party without being extra fun!" Twilight continued. "To get this party really going, we have set up some games for you guys to play. We will play different games at the same time, it is your choice to play whichever game you want, it will not matter to us. Over to where Pinkie Pie is over there, that is Pin the Tail on the Pony. The one where Rarity is standing is the Horseshoe Tossing. Where Rainbow Dash is flying is the Racing, and where Fluttershy is standing is the Scavenger Hunt. Go ahead, try whatever you like."
Ponies cheered and ran in different areas. Many went to Pin the Tail on the Pony, which made Rainbow facehoof. Others, of course, went to the other games. Pin the Tail on the Pony and the Scavenger Hunt seemed to be the most popular. The party went on for about one more hour or so, then they had cake and said "good-bye" and "Happy Birthday, Princess!".
Once Spike and Twilight arrived back to the library, Twilight flopped down on the floor. Spike's eyes blurred, he was tired of course, and he closed his eyes for a second while still walking. He accidentally smacked right into a bookcase, followed by a million books hitting the ground loudly. One book clonked directly onto the top of Twilight's head.
"Spike!" Twilight complained. "What did you do?! Now I have to clean all these books up!"
"I'm sorry, Twilight. It was an accident. Really!" replied Spike. Twilight picked the book up that landed right on her head. She looked at it.
"The Unicorn's Book of Spells," said Twilight. "Wow, I wonder why I haven't read this before. I should read it and maybe try one of its spells." She opened the book and looked at the Table of Contents, and one caught her eye:
Table of Contents:
Levitation Spell..................................................1
Teleportation Spell.............................................3
Assemble an Advanced Machine Spell..............5
Unknown Spell...................................................7
Twilight stopped there. Unknown spell? Twilight Sparkle flipped to page 7 and tried to cast the spell to see what it was, because the book said it was an unknown spell and that only a true unicorn with powerful magic could cast it and see what it does.
"Twisting the forces of great magic,
the race of a pony singled out and turned around,
the uprising of a great magic to come
soon it will twist around all
the greatness of life of some will fall."
"What the...?"
The Elements of Harmony, sitting alongside Twilight, were glowing. The Element of Magic had the brightest light, the rest reflected a rainbow light. Twilight looked out the window, and it seemed everypony of Ponyville were reflecting the rainbow light. Twilight looked down at herself and found that she was reflecting the rainbow light too. The light grew brighter until you could have been blinded. The light then stopped in a flash, and faded away. Spike looked at Twilight and screamed his head off.
"What-- What's wrong, Spike?"
"Y--You," Spike answered and pulled a big mirror in front of Twilight. She screamed her head off, too.
"Heya, Tank," Rainbow Dash said to her pet turtle, erm, tortoise. "What kind of flying trick should I try today?" Tank looked at Rainbow Dash and pulled back into his shell. "Hmm, you're right. Maybe I should catch some Z's first." Rainbow tried to fly into the air but found she had no wings to fly with.
"Oh, crud!" Rainbow said. "Help! Discord's on the loose again!" Rainbow ran around in circles frantically before hearing Twilight say, "It's not Discord that's took your wings away."
"Twilight! Thank goodness it's you! Now cast a spell and help me get my wings ba-- Ohh..." Rainbow glanced at Twilight, then was paralyzed with shock. "Um, Twilight, why do you have my wings?!"
"A spell gone wrong. You see, I found an old book in my library about spells, and found an unknown spell. I decided to try it out, and, well, this happened." Twilight stared at her wings. "You could say this was my fault. If I hadn't cast that spell in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess. Now I can't even cast one spell, because I'm a pegasus! Pegasi can't do magic, can they?"
"No." Rainbow looked at Twilight's wings. "But it's better to have wings at all then to have none. Now I have none to fly with."
"It's okay, Rainbow." Twilight hoped she herself was right. "Princess Celestia can fix this mess, and when she does you'll have your wings back."
"Good." Rainbow Dash felt good to hear a positive statement after what had just happened. "So when will she be here?"
"I don't know. I'll have to see. In the meantime, I'm gonna go find our other friends to see if they've been affected by the spell."
"Fine with me. I'm gonna take my daily dose of afternoon nap. I hope we get this fixed!"
"Me too!"
At Sugar Cube Corner...
"Pinkie, you there?"
"IIII AMMM, TWWWWWWIIIIIIIIILLLLIIGGGHTTT!" Pinkie Pie shouted. She was flying and twisting through the air flapping her wings around. Wait, wings?
"Pinkie, you've got wings!" Twilight observed. Pinkie crashed down onto the ground.
"I do Twilight! At first I was so excited, but then I realized I didn't know how to fly and now I keep crashing everywhere and it's no fun at all!" Pinkie said.
"I'm sorry, Pinkie," Twilight replied. "Rainbow Dash and I both have the same problem. I was trying a spell and I guess it switched all three of us. I didn't mean to, it just suddenly happened. Rainbow Dash is an Earth Pony now, and I seem to be a pegasus like you are. I can't cast a spell to switch it back, because I have no horn to do so!"
"Aw, Twilight. It was an accident. I forgive you, but... What are we gonna do now?"
"We'll just wait for Princess Celestia to come and fix this whole mess. I'm not sure if she actually has time to do so, but I'm sure she hasn't changed and that she could fix it when she can."
"Okay."
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna check on the rest of our friends to make sure they're okay."
"Okay! See ya Twilight!"
Twilight walked over to Rarity's Carousel Boutique and knocked on Rarity's door.
"Come on in! Carousel Boutique is open!" Rarity called. Twilight opened the door and saw in horror that Rarity's horn was gone. And she didn't have any wings, so that meant she was an Earth Pony.
"Rarity!" said Twilight.
"Why, hello Twilight! How may I help you on this fabulous day? How is your day anyway?" said Rarity.
"Not so good..." Twilight replied. "And I bet yours isn't gonna be, either."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Rarity said. Her back was actually turned from Twilight this whole time, because she was working on a new dress pattern. Rarity turned around and yelped. "Oh no! Twilight, what has happened to you?! You've become a... Pegasus!"
"Yeah, I know. Today I was trying to figure out an unknown spell that only powerful unicorns could cast. I somehow could cast it, but this weird mix-up happened with everypony."
"Except me!"
"Actually, no." Twilight pointed to Rarity's head.
"AAAAGGGH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HORN?!" Rarity yelped in horror. "HELP! HELP! DISCORD HAS RETURNED, WHATEVER SHALL WE DO?!"
"Don't worry, Rarity. It's not Discord. Like I said, it was actually me who caused this whole mess. Princess Celestia might be able to help us fix this whole mix-up when she has time."
"I-- I hope she does!"
"She will, Rarity. I know she will. Now I have to check up on our other friends. See you later!" Twilight exited Carousel Boutique and headed and headed over to Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight saw Applejack, levitating apples from her apple trees.
"Applejack!" Twilight said and ran over to the orange mare. "You've got my horn!"
"Ah know," replied Applejack. "Aaaand you're a pegasus!"
"Yes, I know. Somehow I cast a spell absentmindedly, an unknown spell that only powerful unicorns could cast. I tried to cast the spell to see what it was. And now everypony's been mixed up!!!"
"Well, Ah've been taking advantage of my new horn and it's been really savin' me from a whole darn lot of back-bustin'. Now Ah don't have to buck apples. Why should Ah if Ah have levitation? Levitation is a whole darn easy spell for me, but it's the only spell Ah even know! Also, this darn horn is blockin' mah vision! How could ya' have put up with this... This vision blocker!"
"Um, well, I have to check up on Fluttershy. I bet she's been affected by my messed-up spell! I need to check first, and then try to help out as much as I can around Ponyville. Bye for now!"
Twilight trotted over to Fluttershy's Cottage. She knocked on the door. A pink aura engulfed the doorknob, followed by the door pulling itself open to a surprised looking Fluttershy.
"Twilight! You-- You're a pegasus!" Fluttershy observed. "Then... You must have my wings, and I must have your horn!"
"Yes, Fluttershy. Everypony has been switched around by a mistake I had done. I tried out a spell that only truely powerful unicorns could cast, but this happened. Everypony's been mixed up, and it's all my fault!"
"It's okay, Twilight..."
"No, it's not okay! Everypony is not who they really are supposed to be anymore! And now I think I'm just losing it. I can't possibly put up with all this heartache coming from all across Ponyville until the Princess arrives here to fix this mess!"
"Twilight, you can do this. I believe you can figure out a way to fix this magic curse without Princess Celestia's help!"
"You really think so?"
"I know so."
Twilight sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. She'd gotten just a little worked up about her spell gone wrong. She decided to get back to the library.
(Author's Note here: If this was a real My Little Pony episode, this whole time Twilight was checking her friends to see if they were okay, there would probably be a song this whole scene. :P)
Back at the Library...
"Oh, Spike, what have I done to all these ponies?!" Twilight said, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She stopped in front of the book she got her spell from. "It's all your fault, stupid book!!!" Twilight kicked the book really hard with her hoof. The book flew right back into her bookcase.
Twilight looked out her window. Everywhere she looked, there were unhappy ponies. Lyra was a pegasus, Bon-Bon was a unicorn, Derpy Hooves was an Earth Pony. Everywhere, there seemed to be unhappy ponies that just wanted to be their own self again. Twilight buried her face into her own front hooves.
"Twilight, it'll be alright," Spike said, trying to comfort Twilight. "You said so yourself-- Princess Celestia will come and fix this whole mess, and then everything will be back to normal!"
Twilight looked up from her hooves and walked down her stairs. "You're right, Spike. But who needs Princess Celestia right now? Though I am a pegasus, I can still write magic spells for unicorns. I just hope this works..."
Twilight took the book the spell was in and she reread the spell:
"Twisting the forces of great magic,
the race of a pony singled out and turned around,
the uprising of a great magic to come
soon it will twist around all
the greatness of life of some will fall."
"Hmm..." Twilight said. "Maybe I can fix this spell after all." She took out a scroll, quill, and ink (with her mouth, of course), and wrote a spell to get rid of the one that had caused lots of depression in Ponyville:
"Untwisting the forces of great magic,
the race of one is turned around, tragic
a cure comes out of the blue,
a spell like this can't be as new
from all of us together,
our lives made one,
there is none that can get past the
wall of magic!"
"Whoa!"
The Elements of Harmony glowed again, a brighter rainbow light, which engulfed everypony in Ponyville. It grew brighter. Spike was watching Twilight. The light grew so bright you couldn't see a thing, then it stopped in a flash of purple sparks.
"Did-- Did it work, Spike?"
Spike had a smile across his face, and Twilight looked in a big mirror. She was back to normal! She looked out the window and saw that everypony else was back to normal, too. She'd did it! She'd fixed this whole mess, which proved she really was a very powerful unicorn, after all.
"You did it, Twilight! You did it!" Spike cheered. "I'm so glad!"
"I am, too, Spike. Now let's celebrate by going out to dinner with our friends!" Spike felt his stomach grumble.
"About time we had something to eat!" Twilight chuckled, and Spike did too. They both were glad they had fixed Ponyville, so glad they had celebrated with their friends. And they knew more adventures were coming for them.
They both knew.
