"Alright, Vignette, we're here. You can open your eyes now."
The human visitor wasn't quite sure what to think. She suddenly felt a lot lighter, and her body was stuck in a quadrupedal position, but it was obvious she had been turned into a pony so this didn't surprise her.
What did surprise her was the sensation of two more limbs at the side of her... torso? Stomach? If she was a human, it would be on her shoulders, so-
"Vignette? Are you there? Open your eyes, please."
Realizing she was wasting time, Vignette opened her eyes... and immediately came to regret this.
"YOU'RE NAKED!"
"What? Oh, yeah, my pony form," Sunset chuckled. "No, I'm not naked, the clothes I wear in the human world just dematerialized until I return there."
"So, wait, all this time you've been wearing clothes, you were actually naked?!" Vignette gasped. "Wait, is everybody naked here?! AM I NAKED RIGHT NOW?!"
"Vignette, calm down, our clothes still exist, they just vanished until we return to the human world."
Hearing that,
"WHERE ARE MY FINGERS?!"
"Again, still there, our limbs just transmutated in order to fit the pony body shape. Now, if you're done freaking out, how about I show you how to move?"
"Yes, please, before I start going crazy."
Sunset nodded, and began pacing back and forth, Vignette watching her move closely.
"Now, you try."
Vignette eyed Sunset, then her new hooves, and took a deep breath. She soon after began imitating Sunset's demonstration, doing so in a stilted, awkward manner.
"How was that?"
"Eh, it'll work; It's not like we're staying here that long anyway," Sunset walked to Vignette's side and put her hoof on her shoulder. "Once we see the princesses, we'll head right back to Other-Questria."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PRINCESSES RETIRED?!"
The words echoed across the throne room as Vignette and a purple pony with a horn and wings shook from the intensity.
The pony, as Sunset told her, was Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship-whatever that meant-and an alicorn, presumably just a fancy way of saying she had a horn and wings.
"It's like I said, Sunset," Twilight spoke as she stood up, dusting herself with her hooves... somehow. "Princess Celestia and Luna crowned me the new ruling princess and retired to elsewhere."
"AND WHY AM I FINDING THIS OUT JUST NOW!?"
"My coronation was just a week ago. And besides, I did try to call you, but you were busy every time I did it-"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"
"Uh, Sunset?" Vignette asked, still shivering a little. "I know we got important stuff to deal with, but should you really be yelling at a princess?"
Realizing how she was acting, Sunset took a deep breath and shook off her anger before facing Twilight, saying:
"Twilight, I need help; the pony I brought, Vignette Valencia-"
"Hi."
"-Is actually a human from the other world. She's scared of Equestrian magic after being corrupted by it, and I wanted to know if you knew a way to help her overcome said fear."
Twilight hummed, rubbing her chin inquisitively. "Fear of magic is something I've never seen before, but just like most fears, overcoming it could come in the form of controlling it."
"That was my idea too, until Vignette and I jumped through the portal and she turned into a pegasus," Sunset frowned. "So do you know of any magical artifact that could help her?"
"What?!" Vignette exclaimed, one of her wings shielding her chest defensively. "You think I'll get over my fear of magic by fooling around with a magical artifact?! T.A.T.I!"
Twilight tilted her head, followed by Sunset, prompting the human-turned-pegasus to explain:
"That's A Terrible Idea!"
"The only ones who can naturally control magic in this world are unicorns and alicorns, and you're neither, Vignette," Sunset explained. "Learning to control magic could be the key to helping you overcome your fear of it."
"And how do you know that'll work? How do you know I won't grow mad with power when I get a hold of a magical artifact?!"
Sunset and Twilight exchanged looks, and sharing an understanding nod, Sunset said:
"We don't, but we don't have many options as is."
Vignette couldn't help but grimace, but what Twilight said next concerned her further:
"We'll go to the royal library. One of the books there should have information that could help us."
And so, next thing she knew, Vignette was dragged to said library, which took the form of hundreds of bookshelves filled with books of all kind.
Not that Vignette reacted with much excitement, especially since she was left to wait at the entrance while Twilight and Sunset searched the bookshelves.
"Hey."
Just what she needed, someone visiting her... though to her surprise, it wasn't a pony.
The creature had a scaly purple body, a group of green spikes styled like a mohawk, and a pair of draconic wings on his back, not to mention a reptillian tail.
If she didn't know any better, she'd say this was a dragon.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Vignette looked elsewhere. "Nothing. D.M.M: Don't Mind Me."
Instead of leaving her alone, the dragon sat next to her.
"Something's definitely bothering you, and it always helps to share it with someone."
Vignette took a deep breath, and promptly explained:
"Everything was fine back at home: I was working my way into becoming a decent person, made some new friends, and even kinda sorta made peace with the girl I hurt so long ago."
"Okay, what happened then?"
"... I'm scared of magic, and I came to this dimension to find a way to overcome said fear, but the only options I've been given are to try control it, which could end up going badly!"
"Back home, this dimension-wait, are you from the human world?"
Vignette shot a flabbergasted look at the dragon, and he luckily got the hint.
"Fearing magic isn't as crazy as you think; let it fall in the wrong hands, and it can create some pretty scary stuff."
"My hands... hooves... whatever, were once like that." Vignette frowned. "What if I end up back to who I was before I started to get better? I hate that version of myself!"
The dragon patted Vignette's shoulder. "You'll never know if you never try. Besides, would you rather risk facing who you once were for a chance at overcoming your fears, or would you rather never try that?"
Vignette hummed as she thought about it, then smiled before turning to the dragon, quipping:
"You know, for someone who looks so young, you got the vocabulary of a wise man."
The dragon chuckled. "I live with a princess who's quite smart herself, I didn't wanna fall behind."
It was then Vignette stood up, realizing something:
"I never introduced myself. I'm Vignette Valencia."
"Nice to meet you, Vignette, my name's-"
"Spike!"
The duo turned around and saw Sunset and Twilight galloping straight to them, the latter's horn glowing as a book levitated above her head, surrounded by an aura colored the same as her horn's.
"I completely forgot I was expecting you at the throne room!" the princess exclaimed. "Did you wait for long?!"
"Nah, I never went there," Spike shrugged. "I figured that, knowing you, the library would be the place to go if I wanted to find you."
"He kept me company while you two were searching the books," Vignette explained. "Speaking of which, did you find anything?"
"Well, there are good and bad news," Sunset said. "The good news is that there is an artifact that can absorb, store, and allow someone to use magic."
Vignette tilted her head. "And the bad news?"
Sunset eyed Twilight, who promptly answered with a serious tone:
"It's in the Everfree Forest."