//------------------------------//
// Stupid Pony Tricks 
// Story: Earth Ponies Are Overpowered 
// by Maran 
//------------------------------//

After Applejack and I parted ways, I was left with nothing but my own thoughts. What I'd learned that day had given me hope, but also new worries.

When came home, I found Spike in his room, reading a comic book.

“Hi, Spike. Are you feeling up to taking a note?” I asked.

He peeked over the top of his comic, lifting his eyebrows. “It's been a long time since you asked me to write out a note to Princess Celestia. But since you asked nicely . . .”

“Oh, it's not for Princess Celestia.” I trotted into his room with a grin. “It's for Cadance.”

Shrugging, Spike flipped over his book and set it down on its open pages to mark his place. Then he walked over to his desk, grabbing a scroll and a quill.

I cleared my throat.

“Dear Cadance,

“I talked with Pinkie Pie today, and she told me that when we were in the Crystal Empire, Flurry Heart used life drain on her. I've only begun learning about this power, and I've been told that it's not supposed to be possible to drain the life out of another pony. Regardless, I trust Pinkie Pie, and we both saw Flurry's precocious use of other types of magic, so it makes sense that her earth thauma would be at least as advanced. I think it would be best to keep an eye on Flurry and look for a crystal pony tutor when she is ready. That is assuming crystal ponies have the same abilities as other earth ponies.

“Your loving sister-in-law, Twilight.”

Spike had stopped writing after my first sentence. His pupils had shrunk to narrow slits.

“Could you run that by me again?”





I managed to catch a few hours of sleep after conversing with Spike late into the night. When morning dragged me awake, I prepared tea and breakfast – in that order – and wrote out my to-do list for the day. Spike strolled into the kitchen around eight o'clock, which was earlier than usual.

“Good morning, Twilight. Can you tell me Pinkie's secret now?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, instead taking a sip of my Griffish breakfast tea. “Spike, I told you I don't know.”

“But you said you had a guess based on what she told you,” said Spike, climbing onto a step stool and grabbing a plate out of the cabinet.

“Yes, but it's just a guess. I could be wrong. Besides, Pinkie Pie didn't want to tell me, so I should respect her privacy,” I said, manipulating my fork with my aura to cut a bite-sized chunk of pancake.

“Aw, come on, can't you just tell me your guess and I'll promise not to tell anypony?”

“No. She'll tell us when she's ready.” I shoveled the bite in my mouth, savoring the sweet maple flavor.

“Do you think she's a secret draconequus?”

I almost choked on my bite of pancake.

“Whoa, are you okay?”

After coughing up the pancake, I swallowed and took a sip of tea, which was not the best liquid for attempting to prevent aspiration.

I drew a raspy breath. “Just swallowed wrong.”

Spike waddled over to me and patted my back. “Sorry, but would it be that shocking if Pinkie was a draconequus? It would explain her strange, random powers.”

“I suppose it would, but there's only one draconequus that we know of.” I shook my head. “Besides, how could a creature so chaotic bear one of the Elements of Harmony?”

Spike peered at me with half-lidded eyes. “You do realize you could say the same thing about plain old earth pony Pinkie Pie, right?”

“Huh. I see your point.” Still, Pinkie's story of using her thauma to tap into the earth's possible core indicated that she was, at least at one point in her life, fully an earth pony, albeit a powerful one. “I'm still not sure if you're right, though. Anyway, you can help yourself to some pancakes.” I glanced down where I had written, Talk to RD, FS and Rare. “I don't know if Applejack has made up her mind about the experiment yet, but before I talk to her, I figured I should go see the other girls and explain what I'm planning. After all, we'll need to decide who is going to be the first volunteer for the life infusion. Do you want to come, too?”

“Sure, I want to help with this experiment any way I can. I also want to see their faces when you tell them about it.” He rubbed his hands together.

“Okay, but don't mention Pinkie's secret.”

“Why not?” he asked. “You told me.”

“Yes, and I'm starting to regret it.” I took a final drink of tea, noticing the specks of leaves at the bottom.

Holding up his hands as if surrendering, Spike said, “Okay, okay, I won't say anything about it.”





With Spike on my back, I soared toward Carousel Boutique. Out of my friends' homes, it was the closest to the Friendship Castle, and Spike was eager to latch onto this excuse to visit his crush.

When I'd flown halfway to my destination, I heard Rainbow Dash calling.

“Hey, Twilight! Hey, Spike!”

I turned my head to the left and spotted Rainbow zipping toward us. She sidled up to me and slowed to match my pace.

“Hey, Rainbow. Nice work on the weather these last couple of days.”

“Oh, thanks, but I can't take all the credit. Thunderlane and Cloudchaser have taken over a lot of the weather control while I've been training for the Wonderbolts.” 

I blinked. “That's very modest of you.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don't have to sound so surprised.” Then she shook her head. “But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Have you seen AJ lately?”

“Not since last night. Why do you ask?”

“She came to talk to me while I was doing my warm-ups this morning, and she was acting weird,” she answered.

Spike and I shared a meaningful gaze. “In what way?” I asked her.

“She asked me if I wanted to live as long as you,” she answered, rubbing the back of her neck. “I guess she thinks you're going to live as long as Princess Celestia or something. I don't know, I never really thought about it until now. I told her that it would be awesome as long I could still take care myself and Tank and everything. I mean, I wouldn't want to leave anypony hanging. And then she said . . .” Dash flipped her head, and suddenly her forelock was identical to Applejack's in shape, capturing its slight wave and unruly nature. “‘Shee-yucks, that helps a whole heap.’”

Spike laughed. “That's a great impression of Applejack!”

I was staring at her mane, however. “You can do capillurgy?”

“Do what now?”

“Your mane.” I pointed.

“You mean the sticky hair? Pfft, it's just a stupid pony trick,” she said, waving her foreleg.

“No, it really isn't. I thought only earth ponies could do it.”

“Really?” She wrinkled her forehead. “Who told you that?”

“Every book I've read that mentions capillurgy.” I gazed upward. “Which is only about four books, but still . . .”

“About four books. Like you don't remember the exact number, Twilight,” teased Spike.

“Okay, fine, it was exactly four books,” I said.

“Well then the books must be wrong,” said Dash, folding her forelegs.

“Maybe the books are partly true.” Spike held up his hand. “Maybe anypony can do this cappa-thingy, but it's easier for earth ponies because they don't have any wings or horns to distract them.”

“That's a strange way of putting it,” I said, tapping my chin. “But you may be onto something.”

“It's not that hard to figure out.” Rainbow shrugged. “Everypony can stick stuff to their hooves. Just do the same thing with your hair. I like to make it stick to itself.” She tossed her head, and her forelock was even and smooth like mine.

“So, did Applejack say anything else?” asked Spike.

“That's the weirdest part,” answered Dash. “She galloped off without another word. Do you have any idea what that was about?”

I put my hoof on her shoulder, my flight wobbling a bit. “As it so happens, I do. You will be a perfect volunteer for our experiment.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Experiment? Um, don't I have to volunteer to be a volunteer?”

I chuckled. “I think you'll want to volunteer after I explain what we're trying to do.”

“So explain already.”

“I will, but I want you to come with me to Carousel Boutique. That way I'll have to explain it one less time. This is already starting to get repetitive for me,” I said.

“Me too.” Spike nodded.

Rainbow released an impatient sigh. “Fine, but this had better not end with one of us turning into a vampire bat-pony.”





The bell tingled as I entered Rarity's shop along with Spike and Rainbow. Displayed front and center were a new line of clothes accented with tiny diamonds.

At that moment, Rarity was adjusting an unusual wide-brimmed hat on Fluttershy's head.

I grinned. “Hi, Rarity, Fluttershy! Just the ponies I wanted to see.”

“Hello, Twilight!” Rarity practically sang. “Oh, and you've brought Rainbow Dash and Spiky-Wiky!”

“Rares, I told you, you don't have to call me by my full name all the time. Just Dash or Dashie is fine.”

“Oh, um, of course. If you insist, Dashie.” She shuffled her hooves as if the mere utterance of a nickname caused her discomfort.

Rainbow flew over to Fluttershy. “Why does your hat have a hole in the front?”

I focused on the hat. It had a high, rounded crown with a small cut-out circle. A tiny brown bird with a pale throat and eye stripe stuck out its head.

“It's to keep these baby wrens safe with me until they're ready to strike out on their own. They're cavity nesters,” explained Fluttershy. “Rarity's helping me figure out where to put the container for the worms.”

Meanwhile, Opalescence stared up at the bird with enormous eyes, sitting still except for her lashing tail.

“Applejack said she liked it,” added Fluttershy.

“Yes, and frankly that makes me reconsider how stylish this chapeau actually is,” said Rarity. “I just don't know if I can integrate live animals into a pleasing design.” Using her telekinesis, she set two cups onto Fluttershy's hat. “Perhaps you should keep them in panniers. You can do a lot more with them without making them look completely ridiculous.”

Spike slid off my back and ambled toward them. “Applejack was here?”

Fluttershy and Rarity nodded, Fluttershy holding her hat steady with her hoof.

“I'm guessing she didn't just stop by to talk about Fluttershy's hat,” I said.

“Yes, actually, it was very odd. She asked us if we would like to live as long as you, Twilight,” answered Rarity.

Dash touched down next to Rarity. “She asked me the same thing.”

“What did you say, Rarity?” asked Spike, leaning forward eagerly.

“I said that it would be wonderful to spend so many centuries with Twilight, and you too, Spike.” She favored him with a smile. “Think of all the adventures we could have together! And I'd love to influence the fashion industry as long as possible, and do what I can to make the world a more beautiful place. On the other hoof, I couldn't bear to outlive Sweetie Belle. But then Applejack asked how I would feel if Sweetie Belle could live just as long. Well, of course that would change everything. It would be nice if we could both live even as old as Granny Smith. But that isn't very likely, is it? My magical talents lie in finding the beauty in things, not adding years to my life. Besides, my father always says that it's not the number of years you have, but what you do with them that matters.”

While Rarity was speaking, I was struck by an uncomfortable realization. I hadn't even thought about using life pulse on our families. Of course, the living embodiment of Generosity would be the one to bring it to my attention. And it had taken the bearer of Honesty to get to the heart of the matter. But once we opened it up to immediate family, extended family and friends would wish for near-immortality, too. And who could blame them? But where would it stop? Should it stop? This could be the key to true equality between all ponies of every tribe – and not only ponies, but every sapient being. But what would be the consequences of doubling, tripling, or quadrupling everyone's lifespan? Could the earth ponies grow enough food to support the population explosion?

Granted, this was all assuming the experiment would even work the way I intended.

“But if you have a long life and you do a lot with it, isn't that even better?” Spike asked Rarity.

“Yes, well,” said Rarity, turning her gaze toward one of her dress forms, “I suppose it's just something we mortal ponies say to comfort each other.”

“Oh.” Spike tapped his claws together. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Actually, there's something important that we need to tell you.”

“Not yet, Spike! I want to hear Fluttershy's answer first.” I met her eyes in expectation.

“Um, I sort of want to hear what Spike has to say,” replied Fluttershy. Her baby birds peeped as if in agreement.

“Yeah, come on, Spike. What the hay is going on?” Rainbow fluffed up her wings.

“Twilight had this idea that Applejack can use life pulse on the three of you to make you live longer!” announced Spike.

The girls stared at him. Fluttershy's eyes were wide, and Rarity brought her hoof to her mouth.

Dash tilted her head. “Life pulse? What's that?”

Lowering her hoof, Rarity replied, “It's what an earth pony does to grow plants and live longer.”

“I knew they can grow plants really fast, but this is the first I've heard about them living longer.” Rainbow scratched her head. “Are we talkin' a few years, or . . .”

“Do you know how old Granny Smith is?” I asked.

Shrugging her wings, she said, “I don't know, in her eighties?”

“Two hundred nineteen.”

“What?” Her mouth fell open. “Is that even possible? Is she like a tortoise?”

“Earth ponies can slow their aging by draining energy from plants.” Fluttershy lowered her head. “At least, that's what I heard.”

“That's partly true,” I confirmed. “They can also draw life force from the earth itself.”

“Did everypony know about this except me?” Rainbow waved her foreleg in frustration.

“I'm in the same boat.” Spike shrugged one shoulder. “I only found out about this power last night.”

“And I first learned about it yesterday,” I said. “Why didn't either of you tell us?” I asked Rarity and Fluttershy.

Rarity arched her eyebrows. “I assumed you already knew, Twilight. You know so much about magic already.”

“Unfortunately, my education only covered unicorn thaumaturgy. That's why I'm researching this now,” I said, trying not to sound as disgruntled as I felt.

“Yeah, can you tell us more about this experiment?” asked Dash, flicking her tail. “What exactly do we have to do?”

“My hypothesis is that an artificial barrier will concentrate earth magic so it can be infused into another pony, thus giving that pony the same life-extending benefits. All you have to do is stand inside that barrier with AJ. I'd do it myself, but I've only begun training in earth thaumaturgy, and I'm impatient. I want to start this right away.” I shifted my wings.

“Um, why can't it wait?” asked Fluttershy, twitching her ears.

“Well, I've known for a while that alicorns don't grow old. And I . . . I've had a lot of anxiety about watching all of you die.”

Spike gasped quietly.

I sucked in a deep breath. “There, I said it. That's why this experiment is so important to me. And that's why Applejack asked you that question. Maybe you won't live a thousand years, but you might live to be five hundred. I just have to do what I can to try to make it happen.”

Fluttershy brushed her mane away from her face and gave me a knowing gaze. “You sound like Discord. You see, I already sort of talked about this with him. He hates death because it's so final, and there are no more surprises after that. But even his magic has limits. He told me that he thinks he could grant immortality if he really tried, but he'd have to give up some of his chaos powers. And he doesn't think he would be able to get them back. But, well, I don't want to brag, but I am technically Discord's oldest friend. If he lost me, he doesn't know what he'd do.” Her cheeks turned pink. “At least, that's what he told me.”

“That settles it, then,” said Rarity. “Fluttershy, you must be the first to volunteer for this life pulse experiment. I shudder to think what would happen if Discord ever went mad with grief.” A tremor passed through her entire body.

“On the other hoof, I wouldn't mind too much if he lost at least some of his chaotic powers,” said Rainbow.

“But Discord would mind,” said Fluttershy, idly dragging her hoof over the floor. “If I could live a lot longer without him having to give up some of his powers, that would be best for both of us.”

I beamed. “I'm so happy to hear you say that, Fluttershy. I'll go start the preparations.”

“Do you need any help?” she asked.

“No, thanks. I think Spike and I can take care of the next step. I'll let you know as soon as we're ready for you.”





Windorama did excellent business in Ponyville. Since the town was struck with all manner of accidents of both natural and magical origin, there was always somepony in need of a new window. The company had expanded into doors and aluminum siding, although the latter hadn't yet caught on in Ponyville, where wood and stucco were preferred.

Stepping through the front entrance, Spike and I gazed at the glass panes, metal shutters, and various other building materials. I started to estimate how many windows it would take to build an enclosure large enough for two ponies. Metal would be ideal for the floor, since hooves would probably crack the glass. It was fortunate that the store had an entire row of metal doors that appeared big enough to form the base.

The unicorn clerk inside was already assisting another customer – none other than Applejack.

“Wow, she's always a step ahead of us this morning,” said Spike, scratching the side of his head. “Are you sure she didn't want to do this last night?”

Applejack turned at the sound of his voice. “Howdy, y'all. Surprised to see me here?”

“A little. You were reluctant to help with the, um, project last night.” I glanced at the clerk, who furrowed his brow. “But then we talked with Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy this morning.”

“Oh.” She frowned in contemplation. “Well, I reckoned if I could help 'em live longer, then it wouldn't be right for me not to try just 'cause I was afraid o' change. But I had to make sure that it was somethin' they really wanted. Not everypony wants to live forever, or even a few hundred years.”

The stallion cleared his throat. “Excuse me, I couldn't help overhearing.”

“That's because we were talking right in front of you,” Spike pointed out.

“Right. Applejack here told me that she needs an airtight glass house. Is this for the project you're working on together?” he asked.

And so AJ, Spike, and I gave him as much information as he required to assemble the structure. Although the unicorn didn't fully comprehend what we were planning, he went along with the policy that the customer is always right. He advised us that the order would be delivered to the castle the following day. Applejack said that this would work out for the best since she needed to be rested in order send out a strong life pulse. She planned on spending the next morning absorbing a few years' worth of life force from the earth.

“Could you give me a more specific number?” I asked. “It'll be helpful to know exactly what you're doing and how much magic you're using.”

“Maybe eight to ten?” She adjusted her hat. “I can probably give you a closer figure tomorrow, but I don't know how to measure it.”

“Then maybe I should add measuring earth thauma to my list of experiments.”





The next morning, my friends gathered inside the Friendship Castle throne room. Spike offered Rarity a bag of popcorn, which she accepted with a gracious smile. He asked me if I wanted a bag, too, but I had my quill and paper ready to record observations, and I didn't want to be distracted by something as messy and crunchy as popcorn, especially the way Spike makes it. He always coats it with cheese-flavored powder that sticks to everything, and sometimes a stray gem finds its way into the mix.

Meanwhile, Applejack stood motionless with a distant gaze, as if she were either trying to talk herself into the experiment again, or running through a mental checklist of what she needed to do – or possibly both.

As for Fluttershy, the birds in her hat had her undivided attention. “Oh, Caroline, why do you keep begging for food and then closing your beak when I hold it in front of you? It's getting . . .” She gritted her teeth. “. . . Frustrating!”

One of the wrens – Caroline, I suppose – hopped out of the crown of her hat and landed on the brim, letting out a defiant peep.

“Well, that's too bad, because mealworms are all I have. If you want moths, go find someone else to feed you.”

Applejack snapped out of her reverie and stared at her. “Why, our little Fluttershy's all grown up!”

The baby bird threw herself at Rainbow Dash, crashed into her, and fluttered to the ground.

Dash let out a noise that was halfway between a groan and a sigh. “Do I look like I have moths on me?”

Tilting her head, Caroline gave her a raspy peep.

“Caroline! Where did you hear that word?” scolded Fluttershy. She paused, listening to the bird's answer. “Oh. I'll have to have a talk with Angel Bunny about age-appropriate language.”

“Hellooooo, everypony! And dragon!” sang Pinkie Pie. She bounded into the throne room. “I know you were all waiting for me to get here before you got started! And I guess you need the window thingy, too. Don't worry, it's in the entrance hall.”

“Great! Let's go see,” I said to the others.

To Spike's credit, he didn't say a word to Pinkie as we trekked down the stairs into the front hall.

Rarity sidled up to me and whispered, “You are going to let me pay for part of this, aren't you, darling?”

“We'll talk about it later,” I murmured.

She frowned and opened her mouth.

“And no, I'm not just saying that and hoping you'll forget later,” I said, anticipating her concern. “Bits later, experiment now!” I picked up my pace to a canter as I reached the bottom of the stairs. In the middle of the hall sat the glass enclosure. I circled it; then flew over it to view it from all angles. It was a rectangular prism twice as long as it was tall, and wide enough for a mare to turn around inside. The windows were joined with pale metal framework. One end had a thicker frame with outward facing hinges and a clasp on the inside.

“Well, it looks functional,” Rarity said tactfully.

“You were expectin' stained glass?” AJ asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but perhaps some beveling or etching would have been a nice touch,” she answered, narrowing her eyes.

“We want to see what's going on inside, Rarity,” Spike pointed out.

Pinkie opened the glass door. “You should name it.”

I hovered in place and stared at her.

“Yeah, we can't keep calling it the little glass house,” agreed Spike, licking powdered cheese off his fingers.

“I never called it that, but I see your point.” I landed on the floor in front of it and rubbed my chin. “How about the Thauma Containment Device?”

Spike stuck out his thumb and turned it downward.

“Ooooo, that's dragon for 'no good,'” translated Pinkie.

I couldn't resist the impulse to roll my eyes. “I've picked up on that, thanks.”

“I wanna call it the Greenhouse,” said Applejack, pushing up her hat, “but that'd be a mite confusin'.”

“How about you combine the two names and call it the Thauma House?” Pinkie grinned.

“I guess that's the least bad name so far. Let's keep working on it.” I stuck my head in the house to inspect it. The seams where glass met metal had a transparent sealant over them.

“Rainbow, could I borrow one of the clouds? I want to put it in here to see if it's airtight.”

Dash shrugged. “I don't own the clouds, except for the ones that make my house. Knock yourself out.”

“Okay. I'll be right back.” I flapped out of the castle and spotted a cumulus that appeared to be an appropriate size. Using my hooves and wing power, I pushed the cloud down through the front doorway. I could have used telekinesis, but I wanted to practice my pegasus skills. As I flew back inside, I saw Rarity lifting Fluttershy's hat in her blue aura. Two baby birds peeked out of the hole in the crown.

“I'll just hold this for you while you take part in the experiment, Fluttershy. I'm sure your birds will be fine without you for a few minutes.” Her mouth curved down in thought. “It shouldn't take longer than that, should it? I don't think there's enough air in the Thauma House for two ponies to last very long.”

“Should take less than a minute, if it's gonna happen at all,” said Applejack.

“That's good, because I wouldn't want to have to worry about supplying you and Fluttershy with more oxygen.” I eased the cloud into the Thauma House and shut the door. I observed that the cloud was a little smaller than the house, so I shifted the enclosure with my telekinesis to touch all of it to the cloud. 

“Nothing's getting through that,” commented Rainbow.

Rarity held up a curry comb and mane and tail brush in her magic and ran some quick passes over Fluttershy. Out of her silky mane came a squirmy mealworm. I was a bit surprised Rarity didn't find anything more unsanitary than that.

“You know what? You can keep the brush,” said Rarity, who I imagine did a deep cleaning of her shop after Fluttershy left the day before.

“Um, thanks.” Fluttershy shifted her weight.

“Now, Applejack–”

“I showered this mornin'.” AJ lowered her eyebrows.

“I wasn't implying that you didn't, darling. But you didn't see that this got stuck to your tail on the way here.” Rarity plucked a cottonwood seed out of Applejack's tail and lifted in her aura.

“No, I didn't. Thanks, sugar cube. Wouldn't want to accidentally sprout the seed and ruin the experiment.” She let out a soft chuckle.

“Okay, everything is finally ready.” I opened the glass door and tugged out the cumulus. The glass was left fogged. I sighed.

“Almost ready.” I teleported to the kitchen, too impatient to spend any more time doing things the pegasus and earth pony way, and teleported back with a cloth. In a few seconds, I wiped off the condensation.

“Now everything is ready,” I said, willing it to be so.

Rarity tilted her head. “There are streaks from this angle.” Her blue aura enveloped the cloth. “Perhaps I could help clean it.”

“Rarity, I sympathize with your perfectionism, but it can wait. As long as we can see inside, that's good enough for me.”

“Twi's right,” said Applejack. “No sense draggin' this out any longer.” She entered the Thauma House and turned around to face the door. “C'mon, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy walked inside and pulled the door shut behind her, closing the latch. Glimpsing the clock on the wall, I jotted down a note.

9:35 am – Life infusion experiment begins with AJ and FS

Applejack placed her front hoof on her friend's barrel. She glanced out at us for a moment before closing her eyes, perhaps so she could concentrate with greater ease. Nothing seemed to happen for about twenty seconds. Then Fluttershy's jaw dropped, and her eyes grew enormous. Her mane and tail waved as if in a gentle breeze, and her colors became brighter and more saturated.

AJ was straining, though. Stray hairs came loose from her mane and tail, and bags formed under her eyes. Her legs began trembling. I'd never seen her like that, even when she overworked herself during that first apple bucking season after I moved to Ponyville – or even after Tirek had stolen her thauma.

Rainbow Dash flew up to the glass house. “Stop!” She tapped on the window. Flinching, Fluttershy gazed up at her, as if she didn't expect her to be there. Applejack's eyes creaked open, peering at Rainbow. Then she pulled her hoof away from Fluttershy.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash, and Fluttershy was alone in the Thauma House. All that was left of Applejack was a scorch mark in the shape of three apples. Fluttershy let loose a muffled scream and fumbled for the clasp. After a few seconds, she undid the latch and shoved open the door.

“Oh, Dashie, Twilight, everypony, I'm so sorry!” She jumped out of the house. “I should have stopped her when she started wearing herself out. I should have just opened the door. It was right there! But it happened so fast, I didn't think of it in time!” She sounded louder and more frantic than I'd ever heard her.

I drew a shaky breath, still frightened by what could have gone wrong, but comforted by the knowledge that Applejack was most likely all right. “It's okay, Fluttershy. I think I know what happened to her.”

“Those scorch marks,” said Rarity, walking up to us, “look awfully familiar. Twilight, when you became an alicorn, you left behind marks shaped like your stars. Do you suppose it's possible . . .”

Fluttershy and Rainbow gaped at the sooty apples. “What, are you saying AJ got zapped to wherever Twilight went? And she's gonna come back an alicorn?” asked Dash with a furrowed brow.

“I don't know, but the signs do fit,” answered Rarity.

“Yeah, Twilight and I kinda figured this would happen.” Spike shoved a piece of popcorn into his mouth, unfazed by the whole ordeal.

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Dash stared at him.

“You did? Since when?” Rainbow flew toward Spike and brought her muzzle up to his face, causing my assistant/brother to lean away from her.

Before he could respond, Pinkie spoke up, breaking the silence she'd kept for the duration of the experiment. “You should go to her, Twilight. She's alone and she might be scared and confused.” Her face broke into a manic grin as her eyes darted around. “Not that I would know!”

Silence reigned as everyone scrutinized her.

“Pinkie Pie, is there something you'd like to tell us?” prompted Spike.

Her mouth twitched. “I sort of don't want to but I feel like I have to now. But I want to wait until all my friends are here, first.”

I nodded to her. “I'll look forward to it, Pinkie. Spike, please send a letter to Princess Celestia explaining what happened. I'm going to go to the Thaumic Plane.” I had traveled there once before, although I was not conscious of how I had accomplished it at the time, and I had the Elements of Harmony to give me a boost. But if Applejack could transport herself there without the Elements, so could I.

Picking up my quill in my aura, I scribbled: 9:37 – AJ disappeared. Attempting to search for her on Thaumic Plane

I resolved to record more details as soon as I had time. Then I closed my eyes, remembering how I had felt on that fateful day, how the power had coursed through me – too much power for any single pony in Equestria. I did a mental calculation of the amount of thauma per gram I would need to force my mass out of this world and into the Thaumic Plane, and figured that I could channel just enough.





My horn flashed, and I found myself in the starry, milky expanse. The strength and scope was overwhelming – infinite, without end. And there was Applejack, her orange and gold colors standing out in the cool, ethereal plane like a buoy in an ocean. The lines were gone from her face, but her hair was still messier than normal, and her legs quivered like they were standing in ice water.

I walked toward her, the thauma forming glowing motes to support my hooves even though there was nothing physical holding me up, or even any gravity as we know it on Equestria.

“You gave us a scare, AJ.” I offered a reassuring smile.

She glanced down, swallowed hard, and tilted her head up. “Sorry I scared ya.”

To steady her, I put my hoof on her shoulder. “What happened, exactly?”

“Well, I tried to use life pulse on her, but her magic was pushin' back, so then I gave it my all and it was like a dam burst. The life force poured outta me so fast, and the only way to stop it was to pull my hoof offa her. Then I ended up here.”

“If you hadn't stopped, you might have ended up like Granny Smith. If I had known that was a risk, I never would have asked you to do it.” I shook my head.

“Don't be too hard on yerself. I knew there were risks, and I was willin' to take 'em to help Fluttershy and the other gals. I . . .” She blinked a few times. “They made me realize I don't wanna live without 'em any longer than I have to.”

“But I could have found another way,” I countered. “I could have waited until I learned how to use life pulse and tried it myself. But I was too impatient to think it through.”

“Maybe. But the same thing might've happened to you no matter how much you prepared.” Then she swiveled her head. “So, what do we do now, Twi? I don't like this place. It's nothin' but sky! Ain't even no proper clouds. And there's too much power and it's not doin' nothin' except makin' these little lights.” She glanced down again, her pupils shrinking.

“AJ, look at me.” I put my hoof on her chin and gently lifted it. She met my gaze and seemed to calm, her trembling hardly noticeable except for a twitch here and there. “On our first adventure together, just one day after we met, you didn't hesitate to go with me into the Everfree Forest to protect me from danger. You saw me hanging from the cliff and slid down to catch me, and then you told me to let go of your hooves and asked me to trust you that I would be safe. I heard your voice and looked you in the eye and I knew that I could trust you, even though I didn't understand why. And you've proven time and time again that my trust was well placed. So now I'm asking you to trust me the way I trust you.”

Her green eyes softened. “'Course I trust you, Twi. I don't think I would be here if I didn't.” She waved her foreleg at the starscape.

I grinned. “You're one of the few ponies to come here, you know. Princess Celestia named it the Thaumic Plane. Not much is known about it, but my hypothesis is that none of this is real in a material sense. The magic responds to our minds and bodies to create physical sensations. You teleported here on reflex because it's the ideal environment for magical transformations.”

“I did?” Her eyebrows knitted together. “Earth ponies can't teleport. Does this mean it's too late to stop this whole transformation?”

I frowned. “I think Pinkie Pie can answer that question better than I can. But let me ask you this: could you go back and act like nothing happened?”

Her ears twitched. “No, I couldn't.”

No sooner had these words left her lips than an undulating green light emerged from her chest. It was fascinating, seeing the earth pony's aura for the first time. It turned out to match her eyes.

“Whoa, Nelly!” She raised her foreleg as if trying to pull her thauma back into her chest.

“It's all right. Your magic knows what to do. You just have to let it do its work.”

Her ears flattened against her head as her aura spread out and swirled around her, whipping her hair and lifting her above the path of lights.

“I'll meet you back at the castle!” I called, before she vanished in a blaze of light.

Rearing back on my hind legs in excitement, I teleported back to Equestria.





In a flash and a tingle of thauma, I was back inside the castle lobby.

“Twilight!” exclaimed Dash, zipping over to me. “Spike caught us up to speed on the alicorn thing. Did you find AJ?”

I glanced around, seeing only four ponies and a dragon. “She's not here yet? What is she doing?”

“Well it is only her second time teleporting,” said Pinkie with a shrug.

Spike gave her an expectant look. “Pinkie . . .”

“Nopers! Not telling yet!”

As she spoke, the lighting changed, warming like a hearth. I glanced around for the source until Rarity tapped my shoulder and pointed toward the ceiling. Above our heads floated a pony-sized apple.

“That's the second biggest apple I've ever seen,” commented Spike.

Pinkie brought her hoof to her lips. “Sshhh, you're ruining the moment.”

“Sorry.”

The apple descended to the floor, where it materialized into Applejack . . . plus a few extra body parts. She stood there blinking, hesitantly stretching her wings. She brushed her hoof over one of them, and then she reached up and felt her horn. And there were more changes besides those. Each hair on her head was tucked neatly into her hair ties. And perhaps the most remarkable transformation of all was her cutie mark. The three identical apples had morphed into one large apple with five tiny apples gathered around it. I almost said something, but I decided to wait and see how long it took everypony else to notice.

My own mark had a more subtle modification after I ascended – in fact, it was Spike who pointed it out to me two days after I'd cast Starswirl's spell. A sixth white star had been added, showing a more complete fulfillment of my destiny. At least, that's how I interpreted it.

“Awesome!” Rainbow hovered over Applejack and lifted one of her orange wings with her hoof. “Now I can put you to work on the weather team.”

A smile warmed Applejack's face. “You offerin' me a job? I can only work part time. I already got a full time job.”

Dash waved her foreleg. “No problem. We have flexible hours.”

“All right, when do I start?” AJ held her front hoof out to her, which Rainbow bumped with her own hoof.

“Tomorrow morning at eight. Oh, and newbies have to get coffee for everypony else.”

“Um, Applejack?” Fluttershy stepped forward, ducking her head. “I'm glad you're safe. It looked like you were hurting, and I'm sorry if it's because of anything I did.”

“It wasn't yer fault, sugar cube. Don't you worry 'bout it,” said AJ. “Now, how do ya feel?” she added with a curious expression.

“I feel – I feel rejuvenated! Like I could migrate to the Mysterious South without getting tired.” She raised her wings.

“You could revolutionize the spa industry, Applejack,” said Rarity, putting her foreleg over Applejack's withers. “Just think of all the ponies who would want to receive this treatment and add years to their lives. You could change society as we know it!”

“Yeah! Just think of all the birthday parties we'll have!” Pinkie bounced up and spun her mane like a propeller, defying gravity for several long seconds. “What?” She dropped to the floor, her hooves echoing through the hallway. “Why are you all staring at me like that?”

Applejack lowered her eyelids. “Pinkie Pie, are you gonna tell us the truth now?”

Pinkie opened her mouth.

Then the doorbell rang.

“Saved by the bell. I mean, I'll get it!” Pinkie dashed toward the double doors.

Spike slapped his forehead.

“I agree, Spike,” I told him.

Pinkie opened the front doors and stepped back, bowing. There stood Princess Celestia with Luna at her side. The rest of my friends lowered their heads toward the royal sisters, but I merely nodded in greeting. The princesses had told me enough times not to bow to them that I had finally become used treating them as I would my bosses instead of the Supreme Diarchy of Equestria.

Princess Celestia had her typical serene smile as she strolled inside, and Princess Luna seemed ecstatic, trotting ahead of her sister.

“Rise, fair ponies!” Luna grinned from ear to ear. “Long have I desired to witness another alicorn's ascension.” Her smile faltered a bit. “I appear to have just missed the actual transformation, but I hope that I am the first to congratulate you, fair Applejack. I regret not being there to guide you through your metamorphosis, but it seems that you were in capable hooves.” She turned her beaming face toward me.

“I don't know if I coulda got through it without Twilight,” said AJ. “Probably woulda gotten stuck up there for who knows how long. I don't even think I coulda teleported there in the first place without her. It was her idea.” She glanced at me before studying the floor.

“Twilight Sparkle may have accelerated the process, but she did not make you thus. You chose to use life infusion on your friend Fluttershy, did you not?”

Applejack nodded.

“Using magic to help your friend is what unlocked your full potential. And this was the culmination of a series of positive choices you have made. Indeed, I would not be free of my own darkness if not for your help. You have proven yourself to be ready to serve as a princess of Equestria,” said Princess Luna.

Blushing, Applejack tugged off her hat and held it in front of her. “With all due respect, Princess Luna, I ain't ready to be a princess. I don't know if I'll ever be ready, to be honest. Ever since I got my cutie mark, I knew I was meant to work at Sweet Apple Acres, to provide for my family and Ponyville. I don't think that should change. When I tried to live a different life, I was as miserable as a yak in Ponyville. And I felt even worse when I was forced to try a different career. So, I'm sorry if I'm breakin' a rule or tradition, but I ain't gonna be a princess.”

Rarity held her hoof over her mouth, her eyes wide. Pinkie rubbed her foreleg and stared at the polished floor. The rest of my friends leaned forward, anxious to hear Luna's response.

“I don't think that anypony is ever fully prepared to become a national leader. There is no other life experience that can compare. Yet I think that you are more ready than I was when I became a princess. You are a mare of integrity who has taught other ponies to be true to themselves. And you have helped save Equestria several times over, when my sister and I failed. However, I will defer to my sister on this matter.” Princess Luna gazed over her shoulder at Celestia. “What say you, sister? Would you have Applejack crowned a princess?”

Princess Celestia stepped toward the two of them. “I concur with my sister's assessment of you, Applejack. But I would not force you to take on a leadership role if you truly believe that you are not ready. There is no rule that all alicorns must be royalty, but most ponies expect it because that is all they have ever known. I propose a compromise. Applejack, you will spend a year learning how to be a princess with Twilight, and learning meteorolurgy with Rainbow Dash, I would imagine,” she added, glancing at Dash. “In the mean time, you would help Twilight learn life drain and life pulse. This would be very helpful to all of Equestria. And with all ponies and other species living much longer, we will need to figure out a way to accommodate the growing population. They may choose to slow their birthrate, but if not . . .” Pausing, she spread her majestic wings, gazing upward. “There are other worlds that we can explore, to see if we can move there. Our society will have need of other princesses. And I believe it is only a matter of time before each of you achieves ascension.” She smiled, her gaze sweeping over each one of us.

Fluttershy let out a squeak, while Rarity grinned wide. Pinkie Pie seemed to be doing her best to act nonchalant, which for some reason involved putting on a pair of sunglasses and a fedora.

“Wait, hold the mail. You think we're all gonna become alicorns?” asked Rainbow.

“Is it that surprising?” Celestia folded her wings. “You bear the Elements of Harmony, something only alicorns have done before. Each of you understands true friendship and has special magical skills. If anything, it's a little surprising you aren't already alicorns.”

“But what does it mean for us as ponies?” Pinkie spoke up, sliding off her sunglasses. “They tell you your whole life that your cutie mark shows what you're meant to do for as long as you live, and if you don't live up to it then you're a loser.” Her hair lost some of its volume as she removed her fedora and set it aside. “If I can't be silly and make ponies laugh and feel good about themselves, then – then who am I?”

“I know how ya feel, Pinkie,” said AJ. “If I become a princess, whether it's today or a year from now, would I still be a farmer? And would that mean that when I came back home from Manehattan and got my mark, none o' that mattered?”

Luna gave her a gentle smile. “Sometimes I wonder if we put too much emphasis on cutie marks, or at least the wrong kind of emphasis. Applejack, have you looked at your mark since you transformed?”

Applejack furrowed her brow. “No.” She peeked over her shoulder and lifted her wing to get a better view of her flank. “What in tarnation?” She was so surprised that she dropped her hat. “What's it mean?”

“Your cutie mark does not control your destiny.” Princess Luna rested her hoof on Applejack's shoulder. “It is merely an outward expression of your talents and magic. It does not define you. You define it.”

“You said it, sister,” said Princess Celestia. “Twilight, you expressed similar concerns when I made you a princess. You worried about not being my student any longer.”

I flicked my ears. “Yes, I had no idea what I would do if I wasn't your student. I earned my mark by getting into the School of, uh, Magic. So, for a long time, I assumed I'd be a career student.”

“And what have you learned since then?”

“Well, my mark changed, too.” I peered over my shoulder at my magenta and white stars. “It was more than it used to be. And I realized that I was still a scholar, but more than that. My passion is education: teaching and studying all kinds of subjects, not just unicorn magic. And being a princess hasn't hindered that in any way. If anything, it's helped.”

Celestia nodded. “Well done, my faithful student.”

My cheeks burned at the nostalgic praise.

“You see, your cutie marks have broader and deeper meanings than you ever realized. You are the same ponies you were as fillies, but you are capable of so much more. So, Applejack, you still haven't told me whether you accept my compromise. What do you think?”

AJ took a deep breath. “I reckon this trainin' is worth a try, as long as I still got time to take care o' my orchard. But what if I decide I'm still not ready when the year is up?”

“Take all the time you need. Time is one thing we all have plenty of, now.”

“Thanks, Princess.” Applejack smiled and shifted her wings. “When you put it that way, I'm willin' to give it a try.”

“But won't other ponies still treat us differently? I mean, treat Applejack differently?” Pinkie sat back and rubbed her front hooves together. “I want to mingle with everypony. I don't want anypony bowing to me. I'm not better than anypony else just because . . .”

“Because what?” I prompted.

She inhaled deeply. “I guess there's no reason not to tell you the whole story, now.” Gazing around at the other ponies (and dragon) in the room, she continued, “I already told Twilight and AJ part of this, but when I was still living on the rock farm, my granny tried to teach me to use life drain on the earth. My magic went deep underground until it reached a place with more explosive force than I'd ever felt before. The force zapped into me and it was too much for one pony, so I tried to jump away from it, and I ended up in that place with the magic lights, the place you called the Thaumic Plane, Twilight. I didn't understand what was happening. I couldn't feel anything except the lights. I thought maybe I was in Elysium, but that didn't seem right because there were no other ponies there. And then my magic went out of me – I could see it coming out of my chest. That really scared me, and I don't scare easily unless I want to. So I grabbed my magic in my hooves and popped it back in.”

Princess Luna's mouth fell open. “I did not think that was possible.”

Pinkie shrugged. “Story of my life.”

“I wanted to do the same thing, Pinkie,” said Applejack. “But Twilight said that the magic knew what to do, so I let it.” She touched the base of her horn.

“What happened next?” Dash asked Pinkie.

“Well, I didn't want to stick around where my magic could escape, so I teleported back home. Granny Pie said I disappeared. Nopony could explain what happened, but I wasn't hurt, so we didn't worry about it. But ever since then my powers were stronger and harder to control. I didn't have any idea what happened until Twilight became an alicorn.”

Princess Celestia regarded at her with sympathy. Then she walked over and put her wing over Pinkie. “You poor little pony. Do you understand now what happened? You have had the magic of the three founding tribes within you, and could only express it with earth magic. It's no wonder it was so difficult to control. I'm sorry that you had to go through that with no support. But we are here for you now. Whenever you are ready, I would imagine that you could teleport to the Thaumic Plane again.”

Pinkie smiled, seeming more like her old self. “Oh, you don't have to feel sorry for me, Princess. I love finding different ways to use earth magic, especially if it makes other ponies laugh! But now that my friends know what really happened, I feel like I spoiled the joke.” Her mouth curved down again, but she looked thoughtful instead of sad. “And thanks for offering to go back to the Thaumic Plane, but I'm not ready for that yet. I only just worked up the courage to tell you guys the truth – I don't know if I want the whole world to know yet. I still don't want ponies to be too intimidated to ask me to plan their showers and wedding receptions.”

“If any princess can become approachable to the little ponies, I am certain it is you,” said Luna, taking a step toward Pinkie. “You can show them that you are the same as you have always been, no matter how you look on the outside.”

“I guess.” Pinkie sounded unconvinced. “But it's fun being a souped-up earth pony. The only thing ascending would do for me is make it easier to fly.”

“Easier?” Princess Celestia arched her eyebrows.

“Yeah, she can hover with her mane,” said Rainbow. “Show her, Pinks.”

Pinkie folded her forelegs. “Well now you're putting me on the spot. My powers work best when others aren't expecting it.”

“Is that why you kept all this a secret for so long?” asked Applejack.

“That's part of the reason,” said Pinkie, dropping back down on all fours. “It also wouldn't have meant anything to anypony before Twilight turned into an alicorn, and afterward, I didn't want anypony to know. But I am glad I finally told somepony besides my granny and mom and dad.”

“Pinkie Pie,” said Princess Luna, “when you are ready to ascend, I would ask a favor of you. Would you please tell me first? I am tired of always being the last to know such important developments.” She lowered her head and turned up her eyes, looking almost pouty.

“Aw, don't worry, Princess Luna.” Pinkie's cheeks rounded as she beamed. “I don't know when it would happen, but I wouldn't leave you out of the loop.”

AJ put her hat back on at last and moved closer to me. “So, looks like we got a lotta work to do, changin' the population of Equestria and all.”

I put my forelegs over her withers. “Yes, and I can't wait to get started. We have so much to teach each other.” My eyes widened as I remembered something. “Oh good night, I still have to finish my notes! I have so much to write down.” I reached out with my thauma, lifting my notepad and quill.

Then there was the sound of tiny wing beats as a rebellious baby wren flew into Princess Celestia's tail. Celestia peeked over her shoulder and lifted her tail.

“Is this one of your birds, Fluttershy?” she asked.

“Yes, and she hasn't eaten in thirty minutes. She's probably desperate enough to eat mealworms by now.” Fluttershy beckoned the wren with her foreleg. “Come on, Caroline.”

Caroline launched herself toward Fluttershy, landing on her muzzle with a peep.





Dear Shining,

I have big news! You and Cadance are invited to an alicorn party in Ponyville next Friday! You see, Flurry Heart is no longer the newest alicorn. Yesterday, Applejack used an enhanced form of earth thaumaturgy and achieved alicornhood. She already has a list of ponies wanting to receive her life infusion. If you don't know what that is, ask Cadance. The work I am doing with Applejack could quadruple the lifespans of all sapient races. I want you especially to come for a demonstration, but of course I would love to spend more time with Cadance and little Flurry Heart. Is Flurry's magic suppressed everywhere she goes, or only in proximity to the Crystal Heart? It is imperative for public safety that her powers be kept under control.

I can't wait to tell you all the details in pony.

Love,

Twily