Unwelcome Changes

by Blinky

Chapter 2

“Thank you. I feel a lot better already.” Twilight said as she leaned onto
Pinkie. She had told Pinkie everything that happened. Pinkie smiled at
her in an attempt to cheer her up.

“Glad to hear that. I'm not good with this complicated stuff, but I believe
you. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you.” Pinkie
assured her.

“I'll keep that in mind. I should tell Princess Celestia about all this. I'm
sure she can come up with something.” Twilight decided.

“I hope you find a solution soon! Bye!” Pinkie said as Twilight left.

She thought about the situation as she walked on the streets. Pinkie had
genuinely acted like she didn't remember the same past as Twilight did.
She had no memory of the Elements of Harmony. According to her, Twilight
had moved into Ponyville at the same day. She and four of her friends
had ventured into Luna's castle as before, but they had been unable to
do anything after confronting Nightmare Moon. She had simply frozen them
in place with a spell. Princess Celestia came with her army soon
afterwards. Her soldiers held back Nightmare Moon as Celestia banished
her back to the moon. She saved Twilight and her friends by undoing the
spell. Pinkie had no memory of Fluttershy coming along with them.
According to her, Lyra had been in charge of music during the
celebration. She hadn't come along with them, so Twilight only had four
close friends now. She hoped Celestia could come up with a solution, as
she had no idea what to do. She opened the door to the library to find
Spike looking at her with a curious expression.

“What was that all about? You didn't even finish your breakfast. Did I say something wrong?” He asked.

“Never mind that. I have to send an important letter to the Princess. Write it
down for me, please.” Twilight said. Spike wanted to question her
further, but reluctantly got a parchment and quill.

“Dear Princess Celestia. While on a break from my continuing studies, I have
noticed strange changes in Ponyville. Nopony else seems to have taken
notice of them, but I am certain something is wrong. They claim that
Princess Luna is still trapped in the moon and that the elements of
harmony were never formed. I'd like to request your advice on how to
deal with the situation before it gets worse. Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike wrote down the last few lines, but didn't send it. “The elements of
harmony was just an old mare's tale. I get the feeling you're being
delusional again. Are you sure you want to send this?” Spike said.

“Not you too! I'm sure, now send it!” Twilight said impatiently.

Spike shrugged and blew on the letter. It went into the royal castle, soon to
be read by Celestia. While waiting for a reply, Twilight dug through
the books to find ones about magic. She looked for a spell that could
cause reality to distort like this. It had to be a high level one, as
changes this complicated couldn't usually be done.

“Didn't you say you were going to cut back on studying? You start acting all weird when you overdo it.” Spike worried about her.

“This isn't studying, it's research! Terrible things could happen if I don't
do this. My health isn't important when Ponyville is doomed!” Twilight
snapped at him.

“Calm down, I'm just trying to help you! I don't want you to go nuts. I know
reading is important to you, but you shouldn't do it all the time.
You'll lose your grip on reality!” Spike said.

“I appreciate your concern, but this is for the best. I'll have time to
rest once I learn why you and everypony else are doing this. I couldn't
relax in this mess even if I wanted to.” Twilight said. She buried her
head back in the book. She didn't find anything that could turn a pony
into a tree and make everypony else believe it had always been like
that. Mind control on a large scale simply wasn't reasonable. Even if it
was, why wouldn't it affect Twilight? She decided to discard that
theory for the time being.

Spike burped out a letter. He unfolded it and read it out loud. “My faithful
student Twilight. I appreciate your faith in me. However, it appears
that you've begun studying too much again. Knowledge is important, but
it means nothing if you're unable to keep yourself sane. Unless you can
present definitive proof that this isn't all in your head, my advice is
to relax and enjoy the magic of friendship.”

Twilight groaned in disappointment. She had expected something like this, but
she hoped Celestia would trust her more after she correctly predicted
Nightmare Moon's return.

“What'd I tell you? The Princess agrees with me, will you now listen to us?” Spike said.

“Ugh, I'm not giving up. I'll prove Celestia I was right all along. I just
need to find some convincing evidence.” Twilight said, stubborn as
usual.

“I tried to warn you. Do whatever you want, but I'm coming along. I want
to make sure you don't embarrass yourself.” Spike said and sat down
along with Twilight. She did her best to think of a way to convince the
princess. She wasn't going to believe Twilight herself, so she needed
somepony else as a witness to tell her how things were. Twilight headed
outside with Spike to look for a suitable pony.

The two walked around in the sunny weather. She looked around the market,
but none of her friends were around. She saw three girls gossiping next
to a store. They were Rose, Daisy and Lily. Twilight had met them a few
times, but she didn't know them well. They were known for running a
local tabloid simply called The Flower. It was known to exaggerate
things quite a bit, but it was fairly popular in Ponyville. They'd be
good witnesses to prove Twilight's story. She greeted them and walked
next to them.

“Do you girls know a pony called Luna? She's an important pony. I'd like to
know for, uh, reference purposes.” Twilight asked them.

“You sure she's popular? Cause I've never heard of her.” Said Daisy, the pink pony with a green mane.

“Wasn't that the name of a princess we learned about in history lessons? She
isn't around anymore, so no way we'd know her.” Said Roseluck, a cream
colored pony with a red mane.

“She's a big, purple pony with a moon as a cutie mark. You don't remember anypony like that?” Twilight asked.

“I dunno, doesn't sound familiar. Is she, like, famous?” Lily said.

“She really is. How about I bring her over here? I want to know if any of you girls can recognize her.” Twilight asked.

“Sure, we'll be here for the rest of the day. Looking forward to meeting her!”
Daisy said. Twilight went to rest at a nearby tree with Spike following
her. He looked at Twilight curiously.

“Did you come up with a plan?” He asked.

“I did. I'm going to send a letter about it to Celestia, so write it down
for me.” Twilight said. Spike took out his writing materials and waited
for Twilight to begin.

“Dear Princess Celestia. I have found a way to prove that the events are
real. I'd like to request that you send Princess Luna to Ponyville. The
village claims she is still on the moon, so nopony here will recognize
her. Luna can witness this herself and tell you the truth. Your faithful
student, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight finished her letter. Spike sent it
away right afterwards. “She'll definitely believe her sister. I hope
Luna has time to come visit us.”

“I don't think it's too busy on the moon. Getting here might be a problem, though.” Spike said.

“You don't need to be such a wisecracker all the time. I don't need a witty
sidekick, being my friend is enough. Besides, I know Luna is in
Canterlot. You'll see in a moment.” Twilight said. The reply from
Celestia soon arrived. Spike began reading it.

“My faithful student Twilight Sparkle. Hearing you come up with such a
clever way to prove your case pleases me. I'm willing to give you a
chance. I'll send Luna to the library before nightfall. She'll let me
know if you're speaking the truth.”

“I knew she'd be reasonable. We'll get undeniable proof once she arrives.” Twilight said.

“I didn't expect her to take you seriously. I'll only believe Luna's here once I see her.” Spike said.

“You won't doubt it for long. Let's wait in the library, we wouldn't want to miss her.” Twilight said.

The two returned to the library. Spike insisted that Twilight rested while
she was waiting. Twilight decided to do as he said, as there wasn't much
she could do before Luna arrived. She crawled into the bed and closed
her eyes. However, she couldn't relax. She tossed and turned in the bed.
Her mind was racing with thoughts about the recent events. What could
have happened while she had holed herself up in the library? She came up
with theories, ranging from simple to completely ridiculous. Those
thoughts gradually turned surreal, as she began to dream. She slept for a
while, before she was woken up by a knock on the front door.

Twilight expected Spike to open it, but the snoring told her he had no intention
of doing so. It was dark, as the sun had already gone down. Twilight
got up and opened the door. Behind it was an alicorn that was hard to
see against the starry sky. She looked at Twilight timidly.

“Good evening, Luna. Glad you could make it.” Twilight said to her.

“G-good evening.” She answered. She didn't look Twilight in the eyes. There was
a bag next to her, presumably luggage she brought along.

“Shall we go take care of the business right away? You can leave your bag inside.” Twilight said.

“What business?” Luna asked, sounding clueless.

“Didn’t Princess Celestia tell you what you're here for?” Twilight asked.

“No, not really. She told me to pack up things for a few days and teleported
me outside of the library. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I thought I'd
ask you for assistance.” Luna answered.

“Okay. Well, I just need you to do one simple thing. I'll explain on the way.” Twilight said.

Luna levitated the bag inside the library and landed it near the entrance.
Twilight closed the door and the two walked towards the city square. She
gave a quick explanation about the recent events. Luna nodded along
with her. Twilight was confused as to why she was told to pack luggage
along. Celestia hadn't said anything about her staying over. Maybe she
had business elsewhere afterwards? It's not like she couldn't stay at
the library , but it would be a bit odd to have a sleepover with a
goddess. Either way, Twilight decided to save the questions for later.
Luna didn't look like she wanted to talk. She was acting rather shy. She
looked at the ground as they arrived at the city square. Thankfully,
the three girls were still there.

“Here's the pony I was talking about. Does she look familiar?” Twilight asked them.

“Can't say she does. Do you girls know her?” Daisy asked. The two shook their heads in unison.

“We've been waiting for you. We heard you were famous. Could you give us an
interview? You'd get on the front page of our newspaper.” Rose asked
her. Luna didn’t answer. She nervously looked at Twilight. Twilight met
her eye and stepped in to help her.

“I'm afraid we're a little busy right now. Thanks for the help. Bye!”
Twilight said as they left. Luna breathed a sigh of relief. “Not a fan
of interviews, huh?” Twilight asked her.

“No, I'm not used to being around others. I spent so long alone that it feels weird to be spoken to.” Luna told her.

“I can relate, I'm kinda antisocial myself. Books used to be my closest
friends until recently. So, are you going to spend the night here?”
Twilight said.

“My sister told me I shouldn't fly alone. I'd appreciate it if you let me stay at the library.” Luna answered.

“Sure, it's not a problem. I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. You
know a lot about stars, don't you? We could stargaze together.” Twilight
suggested.

“It would be my pleasure.” Luna answered.

Spike was still sleeping when they arrived at the library. Twilight decided
to leave contacting Celestia for tomorrow. The two went to the balcony,
where they looked at the stars all night. Luna was happy to find
somepony who enjoyed the night like she did. She taught Twilight
everything she knew about the stars. Twilight listened with her full
attention. Luna opened up to Twilight after she got to know her. It was
the first time in a while that the strange incidents weren't in
Twilight's thoughts. She was convinced that Celestia would come up with a
solution tomorrow. She would surely believe her own sister. Twilight's
faith in Celestia's ability to solve even the hardest problems allowed
her to relax and enjoy her time with Luna. The two bonded under the
beautiful night sky.