//------------------------------//
// Day 1: Chaos in Ponyville 
// Story: Ponyville the Town of Youth 
// by Ironskull 
//------------------------------//

"Applejack?"  There was the sound of a door creaking open.  "Applejack, are ya in here?"

"Mmmm..." muttered Apple Jack as she struggled to pull herself away from slumber.  "What time is it?"

"Oh, phew," continued the voice.  "Ah can't find Granny or Big Mac anywhere!  I was scared that you were gone too!"

Applejack frowned to herself under her bed sheets.  She didn't recognize the voice speaking to her.  But the owner of the voice clearly was at least acquainted with her.  She turned in her sheets and let her eyes fall on the owner of the voice, but recognition did not come.  Applejack began to feel embarrassed, feeling certain that she ought to know this filly.

Must be one of mah visitin' cousins, Applejack thought to herself.  Did she sleep over last night?  I suppose she must have.  Why can't ah remember?

"Did ya find a note or sumthin' in the dining room?" asked Applejack, trying to conceal the confusion in her voice.

"No!  I was hopin' you knew where they went?"

"Not a clue.  Don't worry though, I'm sure they'll be back in a jif."

"Um, Applejack, are you okay?  You sound kinda funny."

"Ah do?  I don't notice nuthin."

Applejack yawned and pulled herself out from under her bed sheets.

"Huh?  Applejack, what happened to you!?"

Applejack froze.  "Um...  What?"

She felt fine.  She looked down at herself to make sure.  Sure enough, she looked fine too.  Or, at least, nothing out of the ordinary.  She looked back at the unknown filly in confusion.

"Oh!" said the filly in realization.  "I know.  Applejack, ah think ya must have gotten into another patch of poison joke."

"Poison joke?" repeated Applejack, worried.  "What's poison joke?"

"You don't remember what poison joke is?" asked the filly in disbelief.

"Uhh...  Ah'm sorry, ah think ah've woke up with mah head in the clouds today," said Applejack apologetically.  "...  What was your name again?"

"What?"

"I know, this is really embarrassing!" cried Applejack.  "But... ah honestly can't remember!  Ah'm feelin' a little groggy today!"

"Applejack, it's me!  Apple Bloom!  Your sister!"

Applejack's eyes bugged out for a moment.  "Whoa, hang on, no.  No, you're not Apple Bloom.  Apple Bloom is so young she can barely speak.  So cut it out!"

"Applejack, why are you a filly?"

Applejack gave a bemused frown.  " 'Cause I wasn't born a colt?  What kind of question is that, 'why am ah a filly?' "

"No Applejack!  Ah mean yer only as high as I am!"

"What are ya talkin' about?" cried Applejack in annoyance.  "And, who are you, honestly?"

"Ah'm tellin' you the truth, Applejack!  It's me, Apple Bloom!"

Applejack started to express her annoyance once again, but the other filly's tone of voice told her that she might not be acting.  Now that she considered, the filly did have Apple Bloom's colors, and even the red bow.

Applejack couldn't find words.

Apple Bloom, sensing Applejack's hesitation, cried out, "I know!  Wait here for a sec, Ah'll prove it!"

With the filly that was possibly Apple Bloom removed from her vicinity, Applejack found that her brain had started working again.  She looked around the room that she had woken up in.  It was definitely the same room, but almost nothing within the room was the way that she remembered it.  In fact, the only familiar objects in the whole room were her mirror and wardrobe, but they were definitely not sitting where they had been the night before.

Actually, the bed that she was currently sitting on was also utterly unfamiliar to her.

And it was a little bigger than her usual, filly sized bed.

Suddenly, Apple Bloom rushed back into the room.  She pushed something in front of Applejack's face.

It was the Apple family photo.  Applejack wordlessly took the photo into her hooves and stared.

"You see?" insisted Apple Bloom.  "There's Big Mac and Granny, and there's me, and that right there... is you!"

Applejack continued staring.  Eventually, she set the photo down and turned to Apple Bloom.

"We need to find Granny an' Big Mac!"





The moment Fluttershy had woken up, she immediately became aware of one thing: This was not her parent's house in Cloudsdale.  The house that she was currently in was obviously sitting securely on the ground.

Fluttershy sat in her bed shivering in fear.  Where am I? she thought to herself.  Who's house is this?  Will they be mad if they find me here?  How did I get here?  Why don't I remember?

She continued quivering for what felt like hours.  Eventually, however, she reached a conclusion that helped partially put her mind at ease.  Obviously, she said to herself, I must have hurt myself in the head and a nice pony found me and took me to their home to recover.

This story was enough for Fluttershy to work up the courage to get out of her bed and try to find the owner of the house and thank them for their kindness.

Unfortunately, after searching every room in the small dwelling, Fluttershy had not managed to find a single living creature, much less a pony.  The main room was filled with a tremendous amount of food and water bowls as well as bird perches, small toys, and other accommodations for pets, but there were no actual creatures to be found anywhere, even in the mouse hole.  Which was a shame, because she could have asked the critters about where she was and how she had gotten there.

Fluttershy tried looking through the windows to the outside, but there was nopony to be seen.  She briefly considered going outside, but she quickly squashed this idea.  After all, she had no idea where she was, and she didn't want to risk becoming even more lost.

I didn't know that it was winter on the ground... Fluttershy remarked in the back of her mind.

The only thing to do would be to wait until the owner of the house came back.

It surely wouldn't be that long of a wait.

Suddenly, a paper with writing on it caught her eye.  Fluttershy picked it up off of the table it sat on.  She would feel guilty for reading it if the letter wasn't addressed to her, but even if it wasn't, she was hoping that the name of the owner of the home would be on the letter somewhere.

Dear Flutteryshy,

Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat.  Somepony knew her name.  She continued reading nervously.

If it does not interfere with your schedule, I would like to invite you to my boutique at 11:00 A.M. on the second day of next month.  I would like to treat us both to lunch.

-Rarity

Fluttershy stared at the letter in confusion.  Could 'Rarity' be the owner of this house?  Something told her that she was not.  This letter appeared to be written by somepony that knew her, but didn't know about what had happened to her.

Except Fluttershy didn't know anypony named Rarity.

Eventually, Fluttershy decided that she would solve the mystery of the letter later.  The first thing that she needed to worry about was waiting for the owner of the home to show up.





"Oh, what do I do, what do I do?"

Spike groaned into his pillow as he realized that Twilight's mumbling had taken him past the point of no return when it came to being conscious.

"What is it now, Twilight?" he said into his pillow without opening his eyes.

There was no answer.  "Twilight?" Spike repeated.

"Spike?" said Twilight hesitantly.

"Twilight?" repeated Spike.  "Are you okay?  You sound different."

He turned onto his back and looked at Twilight.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.  "What happened to you?"

"What happened to me?" cried Twilight.  "What happened to you!  You're...  You're..."

Spike looked down at himself, and then looked back up in confusion.

"Literate!" Twilight finished.  "And you're bigger!"

"What?" cried Spike.  "I'm not bigger!  You're a filly!"

"Huh?" asked Twilight.  "What does that have to do with anything?  And where are we?"

"You don't know where we are?"

"I don't think so!"

"Twilight, you've turned yourself into a little filly!  And, worse, you've lost your memories!"

"Lost my memories?" cried Twilight.  "But I remember yesterday!  Princess Celestia began teaching me about the four 'G's of the thaumatic-"

"Twilight, listen to me!" shouted Spike.

A stunned Twilight found that she could only comply.

"That happened years ago!  You're a full grown mare!"

"What!?" cried Twilight.  "That is ludicrous!"

"But it's true!" insisted Spike.  "Or, you are supposed to be a full grown mare.  And this is your home!  Golden Oaks Library?"

Twilight gave Spike a stunned look.

"In the town of Ponyville?" Spike continued desperately.

"I live in a library?" Twilight whispered disbelievingly.

"Yes!" said Spike.  "Come see if you don't believe me!"

Spike led Twilight through the door.  Twilight stopped at the top of the staircase leading down into the main part of the library and looked down.

After Twilight finished gaping at the books, she turned to Spike.  "I live here?"

"Yes!"

"All by myself?"

"Well, I live here too.  And Owlowiscious, sort of.  He is an owl, so he comes and goes as he pleases."

"Owl?"

"Maybe Owlowiscious knows what happened!" exclaimed Spike.  "Owlowiscious!" he cried out.  "Are you there?"

There was no response.

Spike let out a sigh.  "He must be out right now."

"But..."  Twilight began.  Spike looked at her expectantly.  He could see tears threatening to form.

"But, if I've lost my memory," Twilight cried, "and I've been turned into a filly when I am supposed to be a grown up, then what is Cel-  Spike!"  Twilight shouted.  "I'm still Princess Celestia's student, right?"

Spike didn't get an opportunity to respond.  "You said that I'm living in a place called Ponyville?  As in, not Canterlot?  I've failed the princess as a student, haven't I!  And now she's banished me from Canterlot, and as punishment, she took away my memory!"

"Twilight, NO! cried Spike.  "Princess Celestia sent you to Ponyville to...  It's complicated, okay?  Basically, she wanted you to get some real world experience!"

"Real world experience?" asked Twilight in confusion.  "But why?  Doesn't living in Canterlot count as 'real world experience'?  Everywhere is the real world!  Except possibly right now!  Maybe I've gone insane!"

"No Twilight," said Spike in exasperation.  "In Canterlot, everyone treated you differently because you were Celestia's personal student!  And the only way to get away from that was to move to another town!"

"Spike, I..."  Twilight threw her hooves over her face.  "I don't understand anything that is happening to me today!"

"I don't either!"

"What do I do?" asked Twilight in despair.

"Well, you could write a letter to the Princess and ask her to change you back?" suggested Spike.

"Write a letter to the princess?" repeated Twilight in surprise.  "I've never done that before!  But if I send her a letter, we'll have to wait for days before she reads it!"

"Oh, right," said Spike.  "You don't remember.  I can send a letter straight to the princess in an instant, thanks to my dragon fire!"

"You can?"

"Sure!  Here, I'll go and grab a paper and quill right now!"

Spike zipped off and returned moments later with both objects in hand.

"Thank you Spike..." said Twilight as magic enveloped the paper and quill.

"Um, Twilight?  Don't you want me to write it?"

"Huh?" asked Twilight.  "Oh!  Of course, I forgot!  You know how to spell!  But, why do you want to write my letter?"

"Well..." began Spike, not quite certain how he should answer.  "You always have me write so that you can speak your mind clearly without worrying about writing the letter.  It... helps you to think.  Not to mention, I need the practice."

"Oh.  Well, I guess if you really want me to."  Twilight hesitated, and then released the paper and quill.

"Sooooo... said spike.  "What exactly do you want to say to the Princess?"

"Um...  Well.  I don't know!  What should I say?

"This is your letter!"

"But, Spike!  I'm not in my right mind!  I can't write a letter to the princess like this!  Would you be willing to write to the princess on my behalf, Spike?  Please!"

"Well, I guess so," said Spike uncertainly.

Dear Princess Celestia,

This is Spike.  I am writing to you on Twilight's behalf.  I'm very sorry to have to bother you, but Twilight has somehow been transformed into a filly and cannot remember how it happened.  She has also lost her wings.  Please help as soon as you possibly can.

-Spike

"Alright," said Spike out loud.  "Now I'll just send this off to the princess."

Green fire enveloped the letter.  When it cleared, the letter was gone.

"Now we just have to wait for the princess to send her response," Spike said.

A minute later, Spike burped up the another letter.

"Let's see what the princess has to say," said Spike as he held the letter up.

"Ahem.  Dear Spike.  This letter is for you only, so don't read this aloud to Twilight like I know you-  Um..."

Spike grinned at Twilight nervously.

"It would make sense that Celestia wants to talk to you and not me," said Twilight nervously.  "After all, the letter was from you, not me."

"Right," said Spike nervously.  "Um, just a second.  Let me read this."

Dear Spike,

This letter is for you only, so don't read this aloud to Twilight like I know you were just doing.

I know that you intended for Princess Celly to get your letter, but I'm afraid she isn't available to respond to you at the moment.  This is Discord responding to you instead.  I am already aware of Twilight's situation.  Actually, all of Twilight's closest friends are in a similar situation at this very moment.  Twilight won't remember this, but she more or less volunteered for this.

If you two want to figure out what's going on, be at the mayor's office at sundown.  I promise I'll tell you everything.

Your favorite Draconequus, Discord

"Twilight, we have a problem," informed Spike, his tone replete with worry.

"What's wrong?" asked Twilight fearfully.  "Is whatever is wrong with me irreversible?"

"I don't think so," said Spike, "But...  Well, first things first.  We need to go find the other girls as soon as possible!  It sounds like they all need help!"

"The other girls?" asked Twilight, confused.

"Your friends!"





Rarity was investigating the strange place she had woken up in.  The initial wave of terror that she had felt when she realized that she wasn't in her own bedroom subsided when she had snuck away from the strange room and found herself in a fashion boutique.

I guess there's no harm in sticking around for a little while.  These dresses are... intriguing..."

A moment later, there was a crash and Rarity found herself underneath a pony mannequin with fabric over her face.

"Hello?" said a voice.

Oh no! thought Rarity in panic.  This place isn't open right now!  I'm not supposed to be here!  She struggled to get to her hooves, but the fabric of the dress had wrapped around one of her legs.

"Rarity?  Is that you?"

Rarity paused her struggle in confusion.

"Oh no!" cried the voice, now closer.  "If Rarity sees you like that, she's going to throw a fit!"

Rarity said nothing.  Is... she talking to me? she wondered.

"Here, let me help you up!"

Rarity felt somepony pull the dress out from under her leg and then over her head.

"Hey!  Who are you?  I've never seen you around here before!"

Rarity stared back at the filly adressing her.

"You know, you look remarkably similar to my sister...  What's your name?"

"I'm...  Rarity."

"Huh?" asked the filly.  "Really?  That's my sister's name too!"

"It is?"

"Yeah!  And, you actually look... just like her, really.  Huh.  You're like her younger twin!"

"Does your sister... live here?  In the boutique?"

"Sure!  Hey, do you want to meet her?"

"I suspect I already have met your sister," said Rarity uneasily.  "When I woke up a few minutes ago, I was... here, in this boutique."

"You were?"

"I take it that you don't know what happened to me then?" asked Rarity gloomily.

"Well, let's just go ask my sister!"

"But won't she be angry with me for knocking over the merchandise?" asked Rarity, worried.

"Hey, if you don't say anything, I won't either," said the filly with a wink.  She began to walk away.  Rarity followed her.

The filly stopped in front of a door and knocked on it.  "Rarity!" she cried out.

"Why are you knocking on that door?" asked Rarity.

"Because this is my sister's room?"

"But that's the room I woke up in!"

"It is?  That's weird.  She never lets me stay in her room."

The filly pushed the door open.

"This is definitely the room?" she asked.

"Yes, most definitely."

"Hmm.  Well, I guess Rarity isn't here.  If she isn't asleep, and if she hasn't heard me shouting for her by now, I guess she must be in town or something.  You would think that she would have left me a note or something, at the very least."

She narrowed her eyes.  "Especially if we have a guest," she continued.  "Somepony stayed the night and she didn't even bother to tell me?  Why would she do that to me?  How hard would it be to at least write a note that says 'Dear Sweetie Belle, just so you know, there's somepony-"

"Dear who?" cried Rarity in surprise.

"Sweetie Belle is my name," said Sweetie Belle as explanation.

"Wait wait wait," said Rarity.  "Your name is Sweetie Belle?"

"Um, yeah?"

"And your sister's name just happens to be Rarity?"

"Yes?  What does that have to do with-"

"My little sister is named Sweetie Belle!"

"...  Rarity?"

"...  Yes?"

"No, I mean, you're...  Rarity, what happened to you?"

"What are you talking about?  You're talking to me as though I'm your sister!"

"You are my sister!  Your special talent is finding gems!  You discovered it when your horn started acting funny and pulled you through the countryside and took you to a rock full of gems!"

"How did you know about that?"

"Because I am your sister, Rarity!"

"But!  But my Sweetie Belle is barely more than an infant!"

"I know!" cried Sweetie Belle.  "You can't remember anything that happened recently because you've turned back into a filly!  Come on, Rarity!  We're going to go and get you help!"





Pinkie Pie was as surprised as anypony to wake up in a room that she didn't recognize, but since her pinkie sense was failing to sound alarms, she didn't worry about it too much.  The real surprise came when she opened the door.  Pinkie had been in Ponyville enough times to recognize Sugar Cube Corner.  And that was where she was now.

Strange that the Cakes are nowhere to be seen.  I wonder where they are?  Maybe they're in the kitchen?

Pinkie wandered behind the counter and took a sneak peek into the kitchen.  Again, there was nopony to be seen.

Suddenly her eyes fell upon a sack of flour.

It was too irresistible.





"Hello?" cried a voice into Sugar Cube Corner.  "Anypony here?"

"Helllllooooooooo!" cried Pinkie as she emerged from behind the cash register, a chef hat that was threatening to fall over her eyes upon her head.  "Hey!  Who are you two?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Holy hot sauce!" cried the colt.  The voice that had answered him was more shrill than any that he had heard before in his life.

"Pinkie?" cried the colt in disbelief.

"Have we met before?" asked Pinkie in confusion.  "I'm so sorry!  I've never forgotten a pony's name before, ever!  Please, please please please please forgive me!"

"But...  Pinkie, its us!  I'm Snips!  And that's Snails!  You are Pinkie Pie, right?"

"Yepperoni!  But I don't remember you two!"

"Pinkie, what happened to you?" asked Snips.  "Yeah," said Snails.  "How come you're not an adult any more?"

"Haha, you two are silly!  I've always been a filly!"

"You have?" asked Snails.

"But, Pinkie!" cried Snails.  "Look!  There's your picture on the wall over there!"

Pinkie looked in interest and then gasped, accompanied by her mane apparently inflating and sproinging out before returning to it's previous state.

"How did I miss that?" she cried.  She rushed over to the wall to get a closer look.

"Employee of the month?" she cried.  "And I'm in every single picture on the wall?"

"Of course you are!" exclaimed Snips.

"I work at Sugar Cube Corner?"

"Of course you do!"

"Oh!  Good!"

"It is?"

"Yep!" said Pinkie.  "That means that I won't get in trouble for using all the ingredients I've been using to bake all morning!"

"Speaking of the Cakes, have you seen them today?" asked Snips hopefully.

"Nope!"

"Oh no!  Snips, they got the Cakes too!"

"Who got the Cakes?" asked Pinkie in horror.

"The sludge monster!"

"The sludge monster?" asked Pinkie nervously.

"No they didn't!" said Snips.  "There is no sludge monster!  Why would a sludge monster only go after adults and not us kids?"

"You mean some of the adults in town are missing?" asked Pinkie.

"Yeah!  We've been searching all over Ponyville!  We saw lots of kids from class, but no grown ups!  Except for you, Pinkie.  Only... you're not an adult anymore!"

"So what did happen to all the adults?" asked Snails.

"They all went to celebrate 'No Foals' day!"

"No Foals day?" repeated Snails and Pinkie in confusion.

"Yeah!  The one day of the year when all of the adults in Equestria go and have fun by themselves and leave us behind!"

"I KNEW IT!" blurted Pinkie.

"But if they do that every year, then what about last year?" asked Snails.

"Oh.  Oh yeah.  Well, gosh," continued Snips.  "Wherever they are, I hope they're okay."

"Yeah..." said Snails gloomily.

"Hey, cheer up you two!" said Pinkie.  "They'll be okay!  Would you two like a snack to help take your mind off of things?"

"A snack?" the two colts asked in unison.

"Sure!  I've been baking all morning!  I've got cake and pie and cupcakes and bagels and muffins and brownies and cookies and pretzels and sweet bread and pastries and donuts!"

Pinkie leaned in closer from the register to the duo in order to whisper conspiratorially, "Just don't go into the kitchen!  I may have made a really big mess!"





"Dad!" cried Rainbow Dash.

No answer.

"Mom?"

No answer.

"What happened to my room?"

No answer.

"Where's my book bag?  It's not where I left it!  This is a school day, right?"

No answer.

Rainbow Dash finally decided that the only thing to do was to go and find her parents instead of calling for them.  She opened the door and stepped through.

"AAARGGHHHHHHH!"

Despite the unexpected plummet, Rainbow instinctively went into flight-mode and she pulled herself right-side up and forced herself to a stop.  She looked back up at the spot she had fallen from in shock.

A lone cloud house.

Cloudsdale was nowhere to be seen.

"What the hay?"





Silver Spoon threw the door to the Ponyville schoolhouse open desperately.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Diamond Tiara within.

And then she frowned as she realized that, other than Diamond Tiara, the schoolhouse had only one other occupant.

Scootaloo.

"Silver Spoon!" cried Diamond Tiara.  "Thank goodness!  I've been here for a whole hour and nopony has shown up at all except for her!"  She indicated Scootaloo, who ignored her.

"Did class get canceled today and we missed the memo?" Diamond continued.

"Not that I'm aware of," said Silver Spoon hastily, "But that doesn't matter right now!  My parents have disappeared!"

"Disappeared?" exclaimed Diamond Tiara in concern.  Scootaloo also wore an expression of concern, but said nothing.

"I've checked everywhere!" cried Silver Spoon.  "I even checked with the neighbors to see if they know anything, and they are all gone too!"

"What!?" cried Scootaloo in shock.

Silver Spoon ignored this outcry.  "But that's not all!" she continued, her voice growing even more upset.  I saw Pipsqueak and Featherweight out looking for their parents too!  And they aren't the only ones!  Nearly every colt or filly in town is out trying to find their parents!  We've searched all over Ponyville and we can't find a single grown up anywhere!  And...  And then I decided to come and find you!"

"But," began Diamond Tiara uneasily, "if every grown up in Ponyville is missing, then what about my daddy?"

"You didn't see him before coming to school today?" asked Silver Spoon.

"No!  I take care of myself in the mornings, even breakfast!  Daddy is already at work by the time school begins!  I need to find him!"

Diamond Tiara scrambled to her feet.

"Hey, Diamond!"

"What is it Scootaloo!" shouted Diamond Tiara.  "If you didn't notice, I have a problem here!"

"I just wanted to know if you want some help finding your dad?"

Diamond Tiara was taken aback, but after a moment of consideration, she said, "Very well then.  Three pairs of eyes are better than two."





"Apple Bloom!"

"Sweetie Belle!"

The two fillies ran to one another and embraced.

After they had released one another, Apple Bloom began to speak, "Sweetie Belle, there's something ah have to tell you.  This is going to sound crazy, but-"

"When you woke up this morning, you discovered that your sister has been transformed into a filly that can't remember being grown up?" suggested Sweetie, who was eyeing Applejack, who was standing a short distance behind Apple Bloom and silently observing.

"Actually..." said Apple Bloom.  "Yes.  That's exactly right.  Um, is that...?"  She pointed toward Rarity.

"Yep."

"So, we're having the same problem..."

"Hang on now," said Applejack, stepping forward.  "Am ah to understand that... that pony over there."

"Her name is Rarity!" said Apple Bloom.

"So, Rarity is also supposed to be a grown up?"

"Yeah!"

"... Am I supposed to know her?"

"Yer best friends!" cried Apple Bloom.

Applejack studied the purple maned filly, who was currently seemed to be trying very hard to not point her head in their direction.  She wasn't sure what to think.

"Apple Bloom!" cried a new voice.  "Sweetie Belle!"

They turned to see Spike.

"Spike!  Thank goodness we've found you!" cried Apple Bloom happily.  "We really need Twilight's hel-"

Apple Bloom trailed off as she realized that that Spike had two ponies awkwardly following behind him.

Twilight and Fluttershy.

"Oh no!" cried Apple Bloom.  "Not Twilight too!  How are we going to fix this now!"

"Why is it that you expect me to be able to fix this?" asked Twilight incredulously.  "Age magic is one of the most difficult magics to control!  You can't expect me to be able to reverse this!"

Twilight turned to Spike.  "Can they?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

Spike let out a nervous laugh.  "Well, no," he said.  "You had to fake it one time, but you couldn't have actually pulled off an age spell.  At the time..."

Spike let out a sigh.  "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle?"

"Yeah?"

"Come here for a second."

Once the three of them were away from the others, Spike whispered to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.  "Don't tell Twilight about the whole 'alicorn' thing.  She doesn't remember about that.  She actually doesn't remember anything about Ponyville at all, and if she finds out, I'm afraid she'll have a heart attack, or something."

"Yeah," agreed Sweetie Belle.  "Rarity can't remember anything that's happened in the last decade or so either.  Fluttershy too?"

"Yep," answered Spike.  "She had no idea who we were.  At first, she thought that she had a head injury or something, and that Twilight was the owner of her house.  Her own house!  We tried telling her that she's not supposed to be like this, but I don't think she understands yet."

"But what are we going to do?" asked Apple Bloom.  "If we can't change them back, they'll be stuck like this forever!"

"Don't worry," said Spike.  "All we have to do is be at the mayor's office by sundown.  And then we will get some answers."





By the time evening came, Spike had managed to locate Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie as well as all of the other colts and fillies that lived in Ponyville, a task that was possible because most of the foals had already gathered together in their mutual quest to find their parents.

Everypony was watching the Mayor's office with great interest.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, there was a gust of wind and the front door of the office was blown open.

Out stepped Discord, dressed in a tuxedo and monocle and holding a cane.

"Good evening fillies and colts!"  He cried out to his audience.

"I'm sure that everypony has had ample opportunity to notice that Ponyville has become an adults-free town," he continued.  "So let me begin by assuring everypony that your parents are all safe and sound.  The Ponyville that we are currently standing in is not the real Ponyville.  It is merely an exact replica of the real Ponyville!  You see, I need to settle a bet, and, for those of you all who are willing, you can help me do it!"

"Excuse me," said a voice from the crowd.

Discord turned toward the voice in interest and singled out the owner.  "Ah, dear Applejack.  What can I do for you?"

"Pardon me fer askin', but...  Who the hay are you?"

Discord's smile seemed to grow wider.  "Ah, of course.  Everypony here knows who I am... except for precisely six of you.  I am Discord, the spirit of chaos!  And I have power beyond your wildest dreams, which I have used to create this alternate reality!"

"Alternate reality?" asked Twilight, drawing Discord's attention.  "If this is an alternate reality, then what is happening in the real Ponyville right now?  Is it suddenly missing a few dozen children?" she finished with an accusing tone.

"Not at all, Twilight!" declared Discord happily.  For, you see, when your time in this alternate reality has come to an end, no time will have passed in the real Equestria at all!  You will all find yourself back where you were when this all began, doing whatever you were doing at the time, yet you will remember everything that happened here as though it were yesterday, and you wont be even one day older!"

"And just how long to you intend to keep us all here?" asked Twilight.

"A fair question.  The bet is as follows:  Ponyville would fall to pieces within thirty days if it was populated by only  fillies and colts.  I intend to prove that notion to be incorrect!  Therefore, all willing colts and fillies will stay in this Ponyville for thirty days, and you will all be free to do anything you wish whatsoever!  There is only one rule, and that rule is that nopony may leave Ponyville.  You will know that you have gone to far if your body is suddenly stopped by an invisible force field around the edges of town.

"There are also a few other things that you all should know.  First of all, if at any time you wish to return to the real Ponyville and end your time here, you have but to ask and I will send you home immediately.  Second of all, Ponyville General Hospital is obviously completely unstaffed here, and I myself am no doctor.  If anypony winds up getting hurt, they will likely have to be returned to the real Ponyville, where, I must add, they will be completely uninjured.

"Now, I'm sure that everypony is curious about one more thing.  You may have noticed how every adult in Ponyville is currently absent... save for Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack, all of whom are younger than you are used to.  Each of them are actually from several years in the past.  Once the thirty days are complete, or, if any of them choose to leave early, their memory of this place will not be recalled by their filly selves, but rather by their adult selves.

"Now, does anypony have any other questions?"

A hoof shot into the air.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle?"

"If we are going to be here for thirty days," said Twilight, "and if time isn't passing in the real world while we are here, then does that mean that I can spend all thirty days refining my studies?"

"Technically, yes, Twilight, you could do that."

Something about Discord's tone suggested that Twilight shouldn't get too excited just yet.

"But," he continued, "remember.  When the thirty days are up, it will be your adult self who remembers all that happens here.  And I assure you, the adult Twilight Sparkle has already mastered everything that you are currently studying.  So, basically what I am saying is that it would be a giant waste of time.

"Applejack!" cried Discord suddenly as he spun to face her.

"Yeah?" asked Applejack carefully.

"I'm sure the fact that Ponyville is currently in the midst of winter has not escaped you.  Which means that work at your farm is rather slow at the moment, and everypony will be outta here before there is any need to wrap up winter.  There's plenty of food all over Ponyville.  It should easily last you all for a whole month.  So, there's no need to do any actual work.  Feel free to loosen up a bit.

"Rainbow Dash!"

"What's up?" asked Rainbow as casually as she could.

"Just because this is not the real Equestria doesn't mean that the weather is going to take care of itself.  I'll take care of the moon and the sun, but I can't be bothered to deal with the stray clouds.  In the future that these colts and fillies are from, that's your job.  So, somepony has to do it here too, and it might as well be you."

"Aw, common!" cried Rainbow in annoyance.

"And Pinkie Pie!"

"YEEEEESIR!" cried Pinkie.

"There's nopony here to stop you from being as loud as you want.  Knock yourself out."

"Aye aye, sir!" said Pinkie in salute.

"Alright then," said Discord.  "Now, anypony else have a question?  Concerns?"

"I do!"

Discord sighed.  "Yes, Spike?"

"You brought us all here without anypony here at all to watch us," cried Spike.

"Yes, this is true," said Discord.

"Except," continued Spike, "for three of us!  Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and myself!  Because you decided to bring Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity along, nothing for us has actually changed!  I still have Twilight breathing down my neck!"

Twilight stared at Spike in astonishment.

"No offense," added Spike, addressing Twilight.

"Are you kidding?" cried Sweetie Belle.  "This is my chance to get to hang out with my sister for a whole month straight!  Right, Rarity?"

"Well, yes!" declared Rarity happily.  "This sounds fun!"

"Ah'm with Sweetie on this one," said Apple Bloom.  "Right sis?" she asked, offering her hoof to Applejack.

"Sure thing," answered Applejack, clapping her hoof to Apple Bloom's.

"So..." began Spike.  "Everypony here is okay with this?  It's just me?"

Everyone around him remained silent.

Spike sighed.  "Okay then.  Objection withdrawn."

"Alright then," said Discord.  "If there are no more questions, then if anypony needs me, I'll be in my office.  Until we meet again, my little ponies!"

Suddenly, Discord rapidly shrunk down to the size of a grain of sand and then disappeared entirely with a puff of smoke, much to the astonishment of six fillies.

"Now that I know that my daddy is safe," began Diamond Tiara, "I just now realized that I haven't had anything to eat all day except breakfast.  I'm starving!"

"I didn't even get breakfast!" declared Rumble.

"Wait a minute, do you even live here?" asked Scootaloo in confusion.

"I was just visiting, but I guess I'm stuck here now."

"Okay!" cried Diamond Tiara in a voice loud enough to draw everypony's attention.  "Show of hooves here!  Who here knows how to cook?"

Diamond Tiara lifted her own hoof and looked around at the others.  The only other ponies who had lifted a limb were Apple Bloom, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike.

"Really?" asked Diamond Tiara as she face hooved.  "Okay, I guess we can work with this."

"Can we have muffins?" asked Dinky.

"Oh, oh!" squealed Pinkie excitedly.  "I have muffins back at Sugar Cube Corner!  We can all eat there!"

"But... Pinkie Pie..." began Diamond Tiara.  She hesitated, her 'I'm speaking to an adult' instincts cautioning her despite Pinkie's present state.  "Most of the goods sold at Sugar Cube Corner are... desert foods.  I was hoping for something... reasonably healthy?"

"Why wouldn't you want to have mountains of sugar for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day?" asked Pinkie.  "And, besides, you heard Discord, everypony!" shouted Pinkie at the top of her lungs.  "There's nopony here to stop us from doing whatever we want!  It's party time!"

There was a loud cheer of approval from the majority.

"You can't be serious!" cried Twilight.

"Why not?" asked Pinkie.  "Isn't this a dream come true?"

"You foals are going to rot your teeth out of your heads!" cried Diamond Tiara.

"Nuh-uh!" countered Pinkie Pie.  "Discord said that after we go back to the real Equestria, we'll all be physically back to the way that we used to be!"

"Actually..." began Twilight, but then hesitated.  "You're absolutely right," Twilight admitted.

"She is?" asked Diamond Tiara in surprise.

"But!" cried Twilight in triumph, "That doesn't mean you won't need a trip to the dentist before thirty days!  And we don't have a dentist!"

"Well, true..." said Diamond Tiara.  "But one month isn't that long.  I don't see why we can't have some fun.  We just have to not eat sugar loaded baked goods every day for a whole month."

"How late are you planning on staying up?" asked Twilight.

"I dunno!" declared Pinkie.  "Until we get tired, I guess?"

Twilight grumbled in frustration.  "Well, I am going to get a good night's sleep," she declared.  She turned around and began walking away.  "Try not to over-indulge yourselves too much."





Dear Princess Celestia,

This is Twilight Sparkle, writing to you from Discord's alternate version of Ponyville that is populated exclusively by fillies my own age.  Spike informed me that these letters are something that my older self does, and I thought that I would give it a try.  My life has been turned completely upside-down in just one day.  Yesterday I was with you, learning about magic, and today, I am here.  Discord said that even though these letters cannot be delivered to you immediately, he did promise me that he would hold onto them for me and bring them back to the real Equestria. Which means that you won't receive these letters until I am much older.  I do wish to record these events for you all the same.

I'm not sure how I will cope with living in this place for thirty days, especially since it has been made clear that furthering my studies is a waste of time, since I won't be able to remember them until long after they would matter.  If it wasn't for the fact that this 'Discord' character will let us out of his crazy experiment at any time, I would question his motives.  As it is, I seriously considered his offer to return to reality, but I am too scared to actually do it.  Not because I will wake up as a full grown mare with all of my memories, but because I am afraid that, if I were to leave, my adult self would be upset with me for doing so.  So I have decided that I am going to try to stay for as long as I can.

I have decided to treat this entire affair as a test of my responsibility.  However, to be honest, I don't have much confidence in these colts and fillies.  They have already arranged to party until they collapse from exhaustion.  At least some of them have the common sense to not over-do it.  Never the less, even with the flaws in Discord's experiment that create a less than realistic experience, I estimate that we will last about a week, maybe two at most, before things fall apart.  Discord expects us to last for a whole thirty days?  We're doomed.

Against my better judgment, I am letting Spike stay up all night with the other fillies and colts in this mad town.  I know that he is going to stay up way too late, and I know that he is going to eat way too much, but at least when it happens, he will have only himself to blame, instead of me.  And also, to be honest, I'm scared to say 'no' to him.  I'm used to taking care of Spike the dragon that is still learning how to speak, not Spike the dragon that is capable of refuting my logic!

I myself did not spend very long at Pinkie's party.  Thankfully, there was more available than just sugar bombs disguised as food.  Unfortunately, the healthier food options were not very popular among the others.

As I was preparing to leave, Fluttershy asked me if she could spend the night with me, as she was not interested in staying at the party, and did not want to spend the night all by herself.  She seems to be one of the most sensible ponies in this crazy town, so naturally I accepted her offer.  I can't help but feel like I am somehow taking advantage of the filly, however.  I believe that the only reason that she chose to open up to me is because she initially thought that I had rescued her from a head injury, and even after I informed her that this was not true, she did not change her attitude toward me.  She openly speaks to Spike and myself, but appears to be terrified of everypony else.  I honestly don't know why she isn't choosing to take Discord's offer and leave, but I for one am glad that she is choosing to stay.  Maybe she will help balance the overload of crazy in this town from the dozens of unsupervised children.

I should get some sleep now.  I expect that many ponies tomorrow will be tired and have tummy-aches, but I won't be one of them.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

P.S.  If I messed up and accidently failed to follow some sort of mandatory format for the writing of these letters, I beg your forgiveness!  It can't be helped that I am ignorant of such things in my present state!  I know that my future self surely must be far more proficient at letter writing than I am, but I hope that my letter has some sort of value all the same.