Battle For Equestria

by Cutiemarkcrusader

Chapter Eighteen

Twilight floated ominously in space. She had no memory prior of ever have arriving here in this desolate-yet-beautiful place, but she wasn't keen on leaving. She drifted past a few planets and focused on the twinkling array of stars scattered out in the sky around her. Starswirl the Bearded had a dream like this one that Twilight had read about before, but she couldn't care less right now. She was in space without so much as a helmet full of air. This was a marvelous feeling. Her forelegs felt as though they were made entirely of jello and her face would get the most pleasurable chills every minute or so. Thoughts zoomed around aimlessly in Twilight's mind, getting dropped here and there without so much as a care. Warmth cascaded around Twilight as she passed by a red dwarf star a hundred miles away, wrapping her in a cocoon of some sort.

Just as Twilight was drifting off into a joyful stupor, chills began to run up and down her spine. But these chills were different from the ones she had been experiencing lately. For starters, she could see her breath in the suddenly cold atmosphere and a light breeze trickled down her back, tossling up her fur. How could there be wind in outer space? Twilight was slowly becoming more aware of her surroundings. Her eyes opened a crack more and she looked around. Not a single star shone in this vast wasteland, except for the faintest outline of a swirling star in the distance. But the lights kept disappearing and reappearing almost at random. It couldn't be a star, could it? Twilight was slowly being rushed back into reality and she did not like the feeling at all. As she grew closer toward it she could see that it resembled a moon of some sort. But what moon had blinking lights like that? Was it an alien aircraft?

As she zoomed even closer to it, Twilight knew exactly what it was in a manner of seconds. The way it swirled, the way it blinked on and off, the way it seemed to be sucking things in. It was no moon. Nor was it a space station. It was...a-a black hole. Panic swelled up inside Twilight's chest as she found herself having a heart attack. Her heart was racing a million miles a minute as she was pulled in the black hole's deadly grip. Everything was becoming colder and colder. Twilight closed her eyes shut with all of her might as she felt herself going steadily faster. She would be squeezed into nothingness. She would be dead in less than a second. All of the thoughts that Twilight had dropped completely were now swirling around all at once with other panicked thoughts. Pretty soon the light began to dim and Twilight felt the rishing sensation of being sucked completely into the black hole.

"Is she...o-okay?"

"Don't you worry, Fluttershy...hey, there's no need to cry."

"But s-she looks so different," a high-pitched drawl came from the left of Twilight.

Twilight's eyes fluttered open as she let out a heartened moan. Her head felt as though it had split into two pieces and was being sewed back together. She looked around the bright room of Zecora's shack. She was lying on the rug on her back, looking up at the disgruntled faces of Fluttershy and Apple Bloom. Fluttershy let out a light meep as she ducked her head away from Twilight's line of vision. Apple Bloom just continued to stare.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight's voice was hoarser than she remembered it being.

"Yes?" Fluttershy still did not appear from her hiding spot, "Is that y-you, Twilight?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Twilight rose unsteadily to her hooves with the help of Zecora.

"Well, let's just say that you look a little bit different," came the voice of Rainbow Dash from the corner of the room, "Try looking in the mirror."

She pointed a hoof over by the stand-up mirror propped up against the wall. Twilight gave a skeptical look over at Dash before slowly making her way toward it. Fluttershy let a whimper as she backed away slowly. What was wrong with them? Did Twilight really look that different? Did her horn go a floppy again? Did she-

Any other inquiring thoughts stopped dead in Twilight's mind as she came face to face with a pegasus. She stared at Twilight in a mix of awe and suspicion with beady, grey eyes. Her body was a bit leaner than Twilight's would ever have been and her mane was curled up slightly at the ends. Her wings were folded and closed in her light grey fur. You wouldn't notice them ever being there unless she opened them up. Twilight moved over to the right at the same time she did. Twilight was just about to turn around to ask Rainbow Dash why this pegasus was here when she realized...she was the pegasus. Twilight let out a small shriek as she fell over her own-or the pegasus's hooves. Her heart skipped a beat as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, wow you look sooo different," chimed another voice from behind Twilight.

Twilight didn't recognize the dull voice at all. She looked behind her to see a dark mauve colored pegasus staring down at her intently. The wings were wide open as if on full display to everypony. She was short and sported freckles here and there along her face. Her mane was black and cut short. If it weren't for the familiar, oblivious smile that Twilight had seen so many times, Twilight would never have guessed who was standing in front of her.

"P-Pinkie?" Twilight croaked in her hoarse voice.

"The one and only," Pinkie managed to make her new, dull voice pipe up with enthusiasm.

"W-What happened? You're different..."

Pinkie rolled her eyes at this remark, "Well, you're one to talk. You do know that you were the one who changed first, right?"

Twilight squinted her eyes at Pinkie, taking in her new form, "When did you take it?"

"Oh silly, we took it right after you did."

"When I passed out?" Twilight raised an eyebrow as she glanced in the direction of Zecora, who was escorting Apple Bloom to the door.

Pinkie helped Twilight get off of the floor, "Zecora said it was fine and that it was just a side effect. We practically had to shove the potion down Rarity's throat though..."

"Where's Rarity now?" Twilight looked around the hut.

"Uh," Rainbow Dash scratched her head from her place next to Zecora, "She wasn't feeling so great. I mean, she didn't really take the whole new body thing very well. She's somewhere in the back right now."

Zecora nodded her head solemnly as she held out a cup of the brew for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash took it from her cautiously, licking her lips before taking a quick swig of it. Her eyes became unfocused as she hiccuped. Pinkie tried to steer Twilight away with a grim smile.

"Heh," Pinkie's laugh was nervous and fake, "Why don't we just go and help out with the armor and stuff?"

But before Pinkie could grab Twilight by the shoulder, Rainbow Dash had fallen to the floor. Something interesting was taking place in her body, that was to be certain. Her body was twisting in shape. Her legs were elongated as she convulsed on the floor like a fish out of water. Her wings puffed out a bit more and her eyes rattled shut. Rainbow's entire body was quickly turning a shade of dark blue starting from her hooves and up. Twilight was revolted at the sight in a way and hoped that this wasn't what she had looked like when she had changed. Pinkie grabbed her again from the shoulder and led her toward the tunnel.

Twilight had stepped foot in the tunnel before, but it was always a bit breathtaking seeing it more than once. The walls were perfectly and sculpted and were a light coral color. There was the faintest of lights hanging from the walls, but tossed meagerly on the side nearest them were tons and tons of armor. Leather-like material sat on one side while shiny straps of metal were located next to it. Twilight took a step forward just as Pinkie Pie went bounding into the piles. There came a loud "OOF" followed by a long whimper. Twilight trotted swiftly over to Pinkie.

"Pinkie?" Twilight's voice trembled, "Pinkie Pie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Pinkie ducked her head out from the piles of clothing, "I just found Rarity, that's all."

"Rarity?" Twilight peered down at where Pinkie Pie was sitting.

A regular, misty orange pegasus was softly wailing with her hooves covering her face. Twilight slowly touched a hoof to her back, giving a reassuring smile.

"Rarity, what's the matter? Are you okay?"

"N-Nooo," Rarity's voice came out in a hushed whisper, "I-I-I'm...hideous!"

Rarity had taken her hooves away from her face for a single second before covering it up again. And Twilight couldn't help but laugh a little at her friend's melodramatic behavior. If anything, she looked plain. Her eyes were a little bit too far apart, but that was about it as flaws went. Her nose was dotted with freckles here and there, which gave the impression that she was a teenaged filly. Rarity's wails came to a stop as Twilight bit her lip to keep from laughing anymore as the pegasus flared her nostrils angrily.

"Oh, I see..." Rarity spat, "You find my pain funny. I try to ask for sympathy and a little excess pity and you give me cruel laughter...because you find my pain funny!"

"No," Twilight rolled her eyes, "You look great, Rarity-

"Now, you're just patronizing me. Leave me be...right now. I'm in no mood to talk anymore," Rarity let out a huff of air that blew part of her light blue mane up a bit, "Good day!"

"Oh, come on, Rarity" Twilight tsked.

"I said good day!"

Before Twilight could say anything else, Rarity shuffled around to face away from them. Twilight suddenly found herself getting angry. She wasn't sure if it was one of the side effects of the potion, but she didn't care. She stomped a hoof onto the ground, kicking up dust.

"Rarity, I am sorry that things aren't going your way," Twilight's voice echoed loudly throughout the tunnel, "But we need you. So, don't go wallowing in your self-pity. It could've been worse, okay? You could've died, or exploded, or worse. Be lucky that this is just one of the side effects of a changing potion."

Rarity's head snapped up straight. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a loud squeal coming from the shack. Everypony looked at each other wordlessly before rushing back to the hut. The scene was not as terrifying as they had been anticipating, in fact just about the opposite of that. The pegasus that was now Rainbow Dash stood at the mirror with her hooves clasped over her head. She was kneeling down, staring at her reflection in horror. It was surprising that Dash was taking this just as bad as Rarity. Her new body was not at all that bad, Twilight thought. She was a lavender color with shimmering blue hair that glistened in the light. Her eyes were a light shade of blue. She was actually the best looking pony in the room.

"What's wrong?" came the higher-pitched voice of Rarity from behind Twilight.

Rainbow Dash just stared at her reflection, shaking her head slowly, "T-This cannot be me. It can't! Zecora, I thought you said that the brew just randomly assigned us bodies."

Zecora walked into the reflection of the mirror, looking just as confused as everypony else, "It was supposed to. As of how it did this, it is something new."

"What's wrong with how you look?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously, "I think you look just fine."

"Just fine?" Rainbow Dash's shiny blue eyes locked on Pinkie as though she were a target, "Fine? I would be if this didn't happen to be the body of my old scouting boss. Icy Rain!"

She pounded at the ground in fury. Her temper was still steadily rising as she breathed in and out rigidly through her nostrils. It was becoming apparent to to Twilight that this special brew was bringing out the worst in everyone very fast. Rarity was becoming more headstrong, Pinkie was beginning to get on many a nerve, and both Dash and Twilight were becoming irrational at a miraculous rate. As for Fluttershy...wait, where was Fluttershy?

As Twilight glanced around the room, she could see the slightest indication of pink hair fanning out from under the table. Fluttershy's eyes met Twilight's for a second. Twilight felt sorry for Fluttershy. If she was only scared at the potion before, she must've been terrified for her life now. This was just the beginning of the many after-effects of the drink and it was Fluttershy's incoming fate. She knew that and there was nothing she could do about it. Even if she could, she would be too nice to.

Rainbow Dash stopped pounding the floor after a minute and just stared at her reflection again. She gave herself a cruel snort, "This is just great isn't it? For all I know, Icy Rain could very well be alive and well in Canterlot."

"We still have to do this, Rainbow Dash," Twilight stood taller.

Rainbow Dash's eyes landed on Twilight's and Twilight had the fleeting feeling that she was about to be killed. Rainbow Dash just glanced away and mumbled, "We'll see."

Another shriek caused everyone to look back over at the cauldron. Fluttershy had just drunk the potion when no one was looking. The cup fell to the floor with a clatter with Fluttershy's limp body. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her mouth shut. Zecora raced over to her to check for any signs of breathing. After a few seconds, Fluttershy began to spaze and shake as in a seizure. Tears were coming out of her closed eyes. Zecora wiped them away with a motherly gesture.

"Stay back," she warned the others, "Fluttershy may be having an asthma attack."

Just as she said that, Fluttershy's eyes opened and she began to cough. Her body was starting to quiver as her limbs shrunk a little. Her eyes shut again and a grimace replaced her silent face. The others watched in horror as their friend's body began contorting just as theirs had before. It was frightening to see her face change so abruptly. It appeared as though someone had just snatched away her snout and replaced it with a slightly longer one haphazardly. There was a certain darkness in the atmosphere that followed after Fluttershy's long, pink mane was magically straightened and turned a brilliant shade of red. Her yellow coat changed into a lilac color and her wings grew a size bigger.

Zecora backed away to give Fluttershy some air. She woke up a minute or two afterward with a mighty gasp.

"Oh dear," she examined a hoof, "I just had the strangest dream...what's wrong with my hoof?"

She stared at it and simply shrugged, "So, uh, h-how do I look?"

Rarity sniffed absently at the sight of Fluttershy's body, "Well, you don't look very bad if that's what you're wondering. At least you got a nice coat color..."

Rarity shut up instantly as she caught the look Twilight had thrown her way. Fluttershy got herself up and examined every inch and detail of her body as she could. After four minutes had passed, Rainbow Dash and Rarity left to go make some armor. Pinkie Pie soon followed after she got bored of seeing Fluttershy mess with the same area of her hair over and over again. Twilight stifled a yawn after the thirty second turnaround Fluttershy had done that whole time.

"Fluttershy, I don't mean to be rude or anything...but we do have a mission to do in order to restore the balance and harmony of Equestria and bring back Spike and the Princesses," Twilight paused, "...So, could you help out with the armor?"

"Hm?" Fluttershy looked up at Twilight with the same wide eyed expression, "Oh, sorry, Twilight. I didn't know I was here for so long."

"It's fine," Twilight was starting to get anxious, "Could we just hurry up a little bit?"

"Sure, sure."

Fluttershy led the way into the tunnels. Twilight felt a stab of guilt with the tone she had just taken for no reason with Fluttershy. And judging by the rest of the way everypony was acting around each other, Twilight had the feeling that the rest of the day wasn't going to be easy at all. But she threw away that thought and went back to the tunnel to finish working with the others.