"Princess Luna, why did you do this to me?" I asked. "To poke fun at me?"
"I'm sorry, Michael, I couldn't resist. The look on your face was --"
"You know, Twilight would have acted the same way," I said.
"Well, I think she would have been much angrier with me," Luna said and added, "and she probably wouldn't talk to me for quite awhile before she got over her anger."
"She doesn't strike me as the type to have a short fuse," I said. "Anyway, I'm somewhat relieved that this was just a prank -- I would hate to have to track him down and face him. Even looking at his statue gives me the creeps."
"Well, there may yet be an opportunity of that sort for you in your future," she said softly.
"I can only hope I can rise to the challenge," I said. "And meeting him in my human body -- well, without magic, I'd be pretty much useless against him."
"Who says you have to return to your human body?"
"I do, Princess Luna, and frankly, my personal future depends on it."
"Such as?"
"In the human world, I have a job -- without that, I have no house, no transportation, and my life would become difficult indeed. That is why I said I need to return to my human self before Monday morning. I don't know if you've met Nick, but he's trapped in Rarity's body, and unfortunately for him, he's sharing that body with Rarity herself. So technically speaking, there are two Rarities in this universe, along with Nick. I have been trying to formulate a plan to separate them into their respective bodies, but I believe your sister would have a better idea, considering her experience with unusual situations."
"Well, Michael, that's quite interesting. I actually have two minds in my body, but they represent both good and evil."
"Nightmare Moon?"
"Ah, so you know of her. Yes, she resides within me, but I try to keep her under control. Most of the time."
"That must take a great deal of effort -- I suspect she's very strong."
"Indeed she is, Michael, and I sometimes struggle to keep her from asserting herself through me."
"So what about Discord, then?"
"I suspect he may have something to do with your transformation in your world, and if Nick comes from your world, then he too may have been a victim of Discord's desire to create chaos."
"Princess Luna, I would like to thank you for this discussion. I must contact Nick and your sister immediately!"
"Be careful, Michael. I look forward to meeting you again."
"Thank you, Princess. I will see if I can return again," I said, smiling, and popped back into the ball room.
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A smaller party had been hastily arranged, as Pinkie Pie had brought out her party cannon and redecorated the ball room. There were still some ponies from earlier, but a much smaller contingent of them. I sought out Nick, but met Rarity instead, not knowing this at the time.
"Nick, I think Discord might be on the loose in OUR world," I said with some concern.
"What? In your world? That's terrible! Michael, darling, I am Rarity. Nick is over there, talking to Rainbow. By the way, what did Princess Luna have to say? Was she sorry for pulling such a terrible prank?"
"Yes, Rarity, she did. She told me the reason Nick and I have been transformed into ponies might be Discord's work, but in my home world, not this one."
"Oh, my. Darling, I hope you do take care -- I would hate to see anything bad happen to you."
"I might need your assistance in my home world, along with the other Elements -- I can't stay in Twilight's body for much longer, as I have some responsibilities --" I began. Nick trotted over.
"Hey, Mike, Princess Celestia says I might have to be put into a created body -- which is something you had said earlier -- must this be done?"
"I was talking to Princess Luna just a few minutes ago -- we might be facing Discord anyway," I said, frowning.
"WHAT??!"
"Did you and Jacquelynn discuss the possible reasons for your transformation into Rarity?"
"Yes, Discord's name was mentioned, but we dismissed it immediately."
"Princess Luna seems to think that he's the one responsible for our present state."
"Well, what about this party?"
"That would be Pinkie Pie pulling a prank on me, and Princess Celestia playing along with it. That, or maybe we're in the wrong alternate universe."
"How do we get to the right one?" A brief silence followed while I mulled a thought or two. "Mike?" he asked, trying to get my attention as I had seemingly zoned out on him.
"You remember Princess Celestia using her teleportation magic on us," I said, "Well, when I traveled to her realm, I used my teleport spell. Twilight's magic is very strong, so I believe if Princess Celestia takes us back to your house, I can teleport us to the correct universe," I said.
"Are you sure that's gonna work? I would hate to think we'd end up in yet another universe, one that's even worse off than this one!"
"It's my hunch that that's the case. But with Discord on the loose in OUR world, we need to stop him. With the Elements here, perhaps we can travel back to our world with them, and track down Discord and banish him from our world."
"Hey, killjoy, Ah thought you were talkin' to Princess Luna?" Applejack said, sarcasm still dripping from her words.
"AJ, the name is Michael. And for your information, I might actually need your help in banishing Discord from MY home world. I shall have a talk with Princess Celestia and see what can be done. And when we're finished, I need to help Nick get his body back -- though you probably already know this."
"What? Discord's in YOUR world? Is that why yer in Twilight's body?"
"And also why Nick's in Rarity's body."
"Oh, okay, Mike. Ah'm sorry fer bein' mean to ya. Ya must'a been worried about yer home, mebbe that's why ya snapped at me."
"You know I hate parties, I'm sure -- and I apologize for my earlier actions, Applejack." I trotted over to the Princess. "Princess Celestia, if I may have a few words with you, please?"
"Certainly, Michael -- what is it?"
"I believe the reason why Nick and I are ponies is that Discord may be on the loose in our home world," I offered.
"If that's the case, then you are most likely going to need our help. There's no telling what damage he can do if left unchecked."
"I would like to help if I could," I offered.
"If he is at large in your world, what do you think he plans on doing?"
"That's a very good question. My world is chaotic enough as it is without his help. I imagine far worse, say for example, a world wide war involving several very powerful countries."