//------------------------------//
// That Strange Guest (Things Have Changed) 
// Story: The Journals of Magical Rocket 
// by aricaitlyn 
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I ran out of the building screaming. The street merchants and villagers I passed looked at me, probably thinking, "This chick belongs in the nuthouse."

I finally began to slow myself to a steady trot. I took a few deep breaths, trying to get a good grasp on the situation. My throat was completely dry and my lungs felt like popped balloons.

Okay. The powers that me and my friends once had were gone. I have no idea what could have caused this. I remembered learning about DNA mutations in science, how certain environmental changes can lead to trouble in the human body. But then I remembered: We're not humans. Crap. I guess my fact-based logic was useless now.

I headed back to Sugar Cube Corner. If I still had my powers, I could have teleported there, but no, I just had to be an earth pony now.

I opened the door, revealing all of my friends still freaking out. "Guys?" I asked, using my inside voice.

"Guys? GUYS!"

The kitchen got quiet.

"Thank you." I raised myself up onto the kitchen counter. "Now, as we all know, our powers are gone. As long as we can get it under contr-"

Suddenly, the kitchen began to quake. "What was that?" Snoodle Guy squeaked.

"I don't know." I leaped down from the counter, which had become my temporary pedestal, and peered out the window. A tall, humanoid figure was moving closer and closer to us. "Guys, come look at this!"

Everypony got up and looked out the window along with me. The creature saw us staring, and it gave us the evil eye. We all ducked down so that it couldn't see us.
Not even one second later, there was a knock at the door. Gamer Strike opened it, revealing the creature. After a closer look, I saw that it had a robotic hand; two completely shredded and stitched-up hooves; a thin human leg; a tattered "I'm With Stupid" shirt; a spiked collar, like a dog's; and two sets of ears, the pony ears pretty much torn to shreds. It had the wings and horn similar in style to a changeling, and it was bipedal, just like I was when I was a human. One of her eyes was covered completely by her blond mane, and she had the same kind of nose I used to have.

"Hello," she said, her voice loud and shrill. "My name is Tara Blee."

We welcomed her inside like the nice ponies we are and offered her some grass pancakes. "No thank you. I already ate," she replied cheerfully. She took a seat at one of the barstools in the house. I sat down close to her and began making small talk with her. "I'm Magical Rocket, and these are my friends. Tara, meet Snoodle Guy, Gamer Strike, Ivy Art, and Selena." The ponies standing behind me waved nervously.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you all." She smiled and adjusted her mane with her robotic claw. "I just moved here and I need some place to crash." Tara casually looked around the bakery for some free space, then added, "I-I mean, if that's fine with you, of course."

I nodded in response. "I'm sure we could fit all of Ponyville in this bakery with plenty of space to spare-"

"-because Ponyville's almost a ghost town," Tara interrupted. 

"Yep. Snoodle, I hope you don't mind giving up your bed for the night."

He gasped. "What?! No way I'm giving my bed up to that freak!"

"Hey! Be nice to our guest!" I turned to Tara and blushed, embarrassed. "I am so sorry about him."

She nodded, bit her lip, and held her head down. I swear she was crying. "It's fine. I'll just find a broken, splintering park bench. It'll be thundering tonight, y'know, and the bench has metal bars on it. But electroshock is more fun than…a barrel of monkeys." Tara began walking out the door of the bakery, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yeah, that'd be good," Snoodle Guy grinned.

I glared at him. "Tara, please stay."

She pulled her head up and grinned, the tears completely dry. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm sure we've got a spare mattress somewhere..."