After Brenda had eaten some cheese and crackers, she made a fried bologna sandwich. Eventually, she went upstairs to get some rest. It was still a little after mid-day, but we had both been through quite a lot. I was rather tired myself, so I went upstairs to join Brenda in getting a little rest. My mind was still racing from all the activity I had enjoyed,and a little fear to get the adrenaline pumping. I guess at this point my stamina had finally given out after having been awake for about 18 hours.
I must admit finally laying down to sleep felt good, even if I did occupy about half the space I did before and climbing into bed came easily, unlike earlier when I had trouble walking on all fours. After what seemed like another hour or so I finally drifted off to sleep. My dreams were extremely vivid and mostly centered around Ponyville and Canterlot. I woke about five hours later, the sun just starting to set. I was wanting to go outside but didn't want to be seen in this body. I went downstairs to turn on the computer and checked a few things, played a few games, and used my magic to improve the computer's performance and internet speed. I chuckled at how easy this was to do. Presently, I grew bored.
"Hey, Mike, can I braid your hair?" Xaviera asked. Her kids were watching the downstairs TV, and playing around while doing so. I kept a mindful eye on them, to make sure they didn't try to grab my horn again. They stayed away, looking somewhat apprehensive, but sometimes smiling at me, or waving a hand at me, or even coming over to try to touch my tail.
"Sure, I'm curious to see what it might look like," I said. "Just make sure your kids don't try to touch my horn again." I tried to sound stern with this comment, but again, a stern Twilight doesn't come through all that well. I got down from the computer chair, and walked over to the chair Xaviera was sitting in. I turned around and sat down, allowing her to take my mane and braid it. She split the hair down the center, placing the equal halves on each side of my head. She then separated the pink, purple, and navy hair on the right, taking everything from the bangs on back. She started with that side first, as the hair was an equal amount in those three colors, and was easiest to braid. She then braided the other side, taking about ten minutes to complete the task. Then she braided my tail, which surprised me. After she was done, I went into the laundry room, which has a large mirror on the wall behind the door. I smiled at her handiwork, and complimented her on a job well done.
"I only wish Twilight herself could see this," I said. "I think she'd like it quite a bit."
"Yeah, that does look really cute," she said. "How much longer are you going to be Twilight?"
"I should be back to normal by morning," I said, almost disappointed that I was going to have to go back to being a human. "Anyway, thanks for braiding my mane and tail. I'm headed back upstairs to get some more sleep."
---------------------
I drifted off to sleep and thought of the day's events again, my mind wandering to what Princess Celestia had said earlier. I don't know if I remember her calling me name while I was asleep, or if my dream was more vivid than I thought.
I could have sworn I was dreaming but I was still not quite sure. It sure seemed real enough when the Princess teleported into our house and woke me up, nudging my head lightly with her right fore-hoof.
Her facial expression was one of worry. "Mike, I have urgent need of your services -- Discord has escaped, and abducted Twilight. Since you are still in her body, we need YOU to be a replacement for our missing Element of Magic."
"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" I asked, trying to sound facetious. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"This is no joking matter, Michael. I would not have come here if I didn't feel the need was as urgent as it is. I have gone to a great deal of trouble trying to locate you in this world, and frivolity is unwelcome right now. Please accompany me to the castle at once!"
"My apologies, Princess." I stood next to her as we teleported back to Canterlot.
"I hope you got some rest, Michael, you've got some work to do now."
"How do you know I will be a suitable replacement for the Element of Magic?" I asked, rather incredulously.
"I remember how close you are to Twilight, how much you both have in common, and how you can use magic just as efficiently as her. Couple that with your intelligence, and unconventional (by our standards) thought processes, and that makes you just as important as her. Oh, and nice hairstyle, too." she stated, just a hint of admiration for me in her voice.
"I guess I'm going to find out just what it really means to be Twilight Sparkle," I said, somewhat glumly. "I just hope I'm up to the task. I've mostly been doing my magic as a sort of 'flying by the seat of your pants' undertaking, not actual arcane incantation type magic. Thanks for the compliment, by the way."
"Don't worry too much, Michael -- you've actually been doing quite well. If you need any assistance, I can help guide you. Right now, you need to start getting the other Elements together, and bring them here."
"I know where Pinkie Pie and Rarity stay, but Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash will be harder for me to locate, especially since it's still dark outside," I said. "They might still be asleep at this hour. And on top of that, Applejack and Fluttershy haven't met ME yet, they just know Twilight. I don't want another altercation like the one I had with Shining Armor -- he frightened me."
"The two you know can guide you to the others -- you can teleport and make quick work of it. Be swift with this task, we have much to discuss."
"I'm on it, Princess!" I said, and saluted her. She smiled in return, chuckling softly.
"I know you can do it, Michael," she said softly to herself after I left.
I teleported directly to Sugar Cube Corner. It was still dark out, and no lights were on in the house. It looked as though daybreak was starting to come, so Celestia should be on her way to raise the sun, I thought. I tapped on the door, trying not to wake the twins, or the Cakes. No answer. Considering the urgency of this matter, I pounded hard on the door. I heard the sound of crying (the twins, sorry) and then a light came on.
"What is it? Who's there?" came a male voice. Mr. Cake poked his head out from behind the front door.
"I need to speak to Pinkie Pie, this is an urgent matter. Please wake her for me."
"Okay, Twilight," he said. A moment later, a very tired looking Pinkie Pie was rubbing sleep from her eyes as she came out the front door. She stumbled a little, and leaned against me.
"Twilight, what's the matter? Why'd you wake me so early? Is something wrong? Wait, you're not Twilight! You're Mike! What brings you back? Who did your hair? Can you do mine that way?" she asked in very quick succession. Even half-awake, she still has way too much energy.
"We have a problem," I said. "Discord has escaped." I let the gravity of that statement hang very heavy in the air. Pinkie looked deflated.
"Are you sure? Have you talked to Princess Celestia about this?"
"She sent me to gather you and the others up to meet at the castle for a battle plan," I said. "I don't know where Fluttershy or Applejack stay, and I have no idea about Rainbow," I added.
"Rarity is the next closest," Pinkie said. "Then Applejack, the farm is a little south of town."
We trot quickly to Rarity's house, and I knock on her door, perhaps a little louder than needed, but I couldn't wait too long.
"Come on, Rarity, wake up!" I shouted.
"Twilight, Darling, you know I need my beauty sleep! What is so urgent? Oh, look at your hair! Simply ravishing, darling!"
"I hate to break this to you, but Discord has escaped. We need to get the Elements together and head back to the castle."
Rarity gasped in horror when I said it, and hurriedly came downstairs and out the front door of her house. "Darling, I hope you're not joking about this, because I will never forgive you if this is another prank."
"Princess Celestia traveled across the dimensional barrier to fetch me," I said. "Twilight's been abducted."
The two of them blanched with the shock of that announcement, and seriously wondered if I would be up to the task ahead. I was beginning to wonder about the wisdom of my actions as well. "Where is Sweet Apple Acres exactly?"
"I thought you knew, darling!" Rarity chuckled. "It's a little south of town!"
"I don't know the layout of this town very well, and my sense of direction is off. We have to teleport, and I need an exact location in order to save time."
"Ugh, I hate teleporting! It makes my stomach all icky inside! Can't we run there? I know a short-cut!"
"Pinkie, darling, it's too early to run right now."
"Ladies, please, we have no time for quibbling, we really have to get moving! Pinkie, lead the way to Sweet Apple Acres!"
"Twilight, darling, please reconsider," she said, before having to run faster to catch up.
We ran through the back yards of some ponies' houses, jumping fences, down an alleyway, and then reached the south end of Ponyville. I could see a barn a little ways away, and the farmhouse next to it. I teleported to the front door of the farmhouse, and knocked pretty loudly. A red stallion with a blonde mane answered. It looked as though he'd been awake for a little while.
"Hey, Twilight, what brings you out here this early?" he asked.
"I need to talk to your sister," I said. "It's really important." He eyed me suspiciously, seeing my hair in braids like that.
"Ah'll go get her for ya," he said, his voice sounding a little gruff. "Hey, sis, somepony claiming to be Twilight is here for ya," he said. Did he even have an inside voice?
She comes to the front door of the farmhouse, a little nonplussed about being called on this early. She looked at me and grinned. "Nice hairstyle, Twi, I want to get that done to my hair!"
"Applejack, we have some serious business to attend to. The Princess needs all of us to come to the castle, as Discord has escaped and taken Twilight with him. I trust the Princess will explain everything later. Right now, I need you to trust me as you would trust the REAL Twilight -- I might not be her, exactly, but I am in her body, and we still need to get Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I know now is not a real good time to be telling you this, but the matter is so urgent, we really need to get going!" I think I might have said this too quickly as she stood in shocked silence for a minute. Her mouth fully opened, her eyes wide open from the shock of what I had said. Maybe I should be a little more tactful with Fluttershy. "C'mon, AJ, I need you! Let's get going, Pinkie and Rarity are a little ways behind me."
"Uhh, Twilight, I don't really know what you just said, but if Discord's on the loose again, and he's taken -- wait -- you said he took Twilight? Who are you, you look like her..."
"No time to explain, AJ, we need to get Fluttershy and Rainbow!"
"Well, Fluttershy is a little ways east of here, towards the Everfree," Applejack said. I turned to face North, then to my right, and saw the edge of the forest. I left a lavender POP as I teleported over there. Fluttershy's place was not far, so I bounced again, and knocked on her front door.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"It's me, Twilight," I said. I could explain later, I figured. She came to the door, smiling softly, then saw my braided mane and tail.
She let out a squee of delight, and hugged me. "Oh, Twilight, I LOVE your new hairstyle!"
"Okay, Fluttershy, nice to meet you too! I need your assistance in locating Rainbow Dash," I said.
"Wait, you should know Rainbow stays in Cloudsdale. Are you trying to fool me?"
"Fluttershy, I have something of dire importance to tell you. Princess Celestia has sent me to gather all of you together and bring you back to the castle. Something very serious has happened, and the Elements are needed."
"What is it?"
"Discord has escaped. And he has abducted the real Twilight," I said. I waited for her reaction.
"Oh no! Please don't say that's true!"
"The Princess wouldn't have sent me if it weren't, Fluttershy, and I need your help finding Rainbow. I know you might be a little confused by my appearance and the fact I told you Discord abducted the real Twilight, but the Princess will explain everything shortly once we get every pony together. Princess Celestia has placed her trust in me, and I hope I can prove myself worthy of that trust."
"What should I call you if you're not the real Twilight?" she asked, still confused by the situation. I wasn't sure if she was trying to hide behind her mane, or if her little bunny friend was trying to tell her something was wrong about me. He glared at me disapprovingly. I gave him a weak smile in return. It looked like he harrumphed.
"You may call me Mike, if that's not too confusing, or you may call me Twilight for the sake of convenience. Either way is fine by me, and I hope we can rescue her quickly. I am still not sure where HE has taken her."
"Okay, Mike, I'll try to carry you as far as I can. There's no guarantee we'll be able to find Rainbow in Cloudsdale, as she tends to stay wherever she wants, and likes to stay up all night long, and sleep during the day."
Fluttershy tried to carry me, but her strength was so slight that she could only carry me about a mile or so before she tired. "I need some more practice doing this, so I can build up some more strength," she said, trying hard not to sound disappointed.
"Tell you what -- you fly on ahead, and I will follow you, teleporting if I fall too far behind. Time to stretch out my legs a bit," I said, smiling. "Now I get to see how much endurance I have."
"Okay then, follow me, and try to keep up!" she grinned.
I should have gone back to check on the others, who I had left back at Sweet Apple Acres, but I was in too much of a hurry to track down Rainbow. Little did I know that Discord was taking each of them one by one to his lair. Eventually, we reached Cloudsdale, but it took quite a lot longer than I had wanted it to.
"Fluttershy, I have NEVER been here before -- where should we start?" Celestia had raised the sun, and the early morning light gave a soft glow to everything. Looked prettier than any early morning of anything I had ever seen on Earth.
"She might still be at one of the clubs," she said. "Rainbow loves partying 'til dawn."
"Yeah, that seems pretty typical," I said nonchalantly. I had no idea where anything was in this town. I think I might have gotten lost, because I know I lost track of Fluttershy. I heard what sounded like a muffled voice, and then nothing. I turned around to see where that muffled voice had come from, but saw nothing.
"Well, hello, Twilight!" came a gruff male voice. Sounded like gravel on a washboard.
I turned around to stare Discord in the face. He towered over me, and for once in my life, I was scared witless.