> A Change of Face
>  by Lannakitty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Crystal matrix? Check! Magically imbued paint? Check! Electrum dream catcher with precious stones from the buffalo tribes of the northern Neighvada desert? Check!" Twilight Sparkle looked over her list of spell components. "That's nearly everything," she said to herself. "Just a few more items and I'll be able to conduct my research!" Twilight trotted in place, excited by the prospect of furthering her studies. She rolled up the check list and set it and the quill aside. "Time to get to work!"

First the floor was carefully cleared and scrubbed. A wayward clod of dirt could disrupt the magical matrix she needed to build. Next, Twilight took the paint she'd specially ordered from Canterlot and began to carefully paint an unbroken circle in the center of the room. Once she was certain that the circle was both perfect and complete, she consulted her diagrams and began to painstakingly paint the rest of the matrix.

"Careful, Twilight," she said to herself as she manipulated the brush with her magic. This was the final line. She drew the shimmering blue paint across the floor then up the wall where it joined an intricate circular glyph. She pulled the brush away and sighed in relief. Setting the paints down, Twilight examined her work, comparing it to the intricate drawing that she'd made.

The painted lines radiated outwards from the central circle which was large enough for a pony to stand inside. They snaked over the floor, up the walls, and even across the ceiling. Large, precisely drawn glyphs were oriented exactly to the cardinal directions. The magically imbued paint made the whole basement glow a cheerful yellow color. Not seeing any deviations, she double checked her work. Finally satisfied, Twilight returned the schematics to her work table.

"Well, that's done! Time to move on to the wiring." She took a step towards the stack of assorted magical foci when her stomach growled. "Or not," she giggled to herself. "I must have missed lunch." Leaving her work, Twilight trotted up the stairs, intent on a daisy and rye sandwich.

"Spike?" She called out, looking for the baby dragon as she came up the stairs. "Spike? I'm going to make a sandwich, do you want- Oh! Hi girls!"

Twilight found her friends and Spike seated in a semi-circle around the basement door. Frowning, Twilight wondered if she'd forgotten something. Her friends all looked universally serious - except for Rainbow Dash, who looked mildly bored. Twilight gave them all a smile.

"Spike, you didn't tell me anyone had come to visit. What's the occasion?" she asked.

"Darling, would you please take a seat?" Rarity asked.

Her curiosity overriding her hunger for the moment, Twilight trotted over and took a free spot on the floor. "What's going on?" she asked.

"I hate to do this to you, sugarcube," Applejack said, doffing her hat. "But it has to be done." She pulled out a piece of paper. "Twilight Sparkle, your excessive study'n has affected me negatively in the follow'n ways."

Twilight got to her hooves. "You're staging an intervention?" She looked at each of them in turn. "Because I've been studying?"

Rarity patted her shoulder. "Please have a seat and let Applejack have her say, darling. We're doing this because we care."

Sighing, Twilight sat down. "May I at least have a sandwich? I'm starving."

"That's because you missed lunch and dinner," Spike said as he got up, heading for the kitchen.

Twilight frowned. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I did!" he called over his shoulder. "Twice!"

"And the poor dear was so worried, he called all of us over," Rarity said. She made a 'tut-tutting' sound. "We realized that steps had to be taken!" Rarity struck a dramatic pose to match her tone. She shook her head at Twilight. "Really darling you must take better care of yourself. Now, Applejack?"

"Thank ya, Rarity. Twilight Sparkle, your excessive study'n has affected me negatively in the following ways. First, we were supposed to have lunch two days ago. I rearranged my schedule with Big Mac but you didn't show up until lunch was almost over!"

Twilight's ears drooped as first Applejack, then Fluttershy, read their intervention letters. Spike returned with a sandwich, but she found she'd lost her appetite. She really hadn't realized just how much time was being taken up by her newest project. Feeling she owed them an explanation she got to her hooves.

"Listen everypony," she said, looking at each of her friends. "I'm sorry I've become so wrapped up in my work that I was late for appointments or made it seem like I was ignoring you." She shook her head. "I'd like to think I'm better than I was when I moved here, but I guess I can still get wrapped up in my work."

"That's an understatement," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "We done here? I have some tricks I want to try."

Twilight offered her friends an apologetic smile. "Listen, why don't you come downstairs and see what I've been working on? I'm almost done and once I've finished my experiment, I promise I'll make it up to you all. How does that sound?"

The girls exchanged looks of dismay. Rarity and Applejack heaved sighs and Rainbow Dash groaned. Pinkie pie bounced in place.

"Oh! Me! Pick me! I want to go next!" Pinkie pulled out a piece of paper that had been covered in sparkly sequins and smelled faintly of icing. "Dear Twilight! This is so cool! It's kind of like writing a letter to Princess Celestia, except you're not a princess and I'm writing to tell you that you forgot you were going to help me make a brand new flavor of cupcake, so I guess it's not really like writing to the princess at all-" Pinkie gasped for air.

"Thank you Pinkie," Rarity interrupted. "I think she understands."

"Okie dokie lokie!"

Rarity adjusted her red glasses and cleared her throat. She lifted her letter with her magic and heaved a dramatic sigh. "Twilight Sparkle, your overzealous studying habits have negatively affected me in the following ways."

"Seriously, girls," Twilight said as she stood. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting." She turned towards the basement and motioned for her friends to follow. "Come on! I'll show you what I've been working on!" She trotted towards her lab with a spring in her step. Her friends would understand once they saw what she was doing! They followed her into the basement.

"Well," Twilight said, "This is my project!" She tossed her mane and grinned. "What do you think?"

"Uh. It's a nice... whatever this is?" Dash said.

"You were redecorating?" Fluttershy asked. "It's very... nice."

"Yes, yes. Quite, ah, modern," Rarity said. She examined one of the walls. "What was your inspiration? VanGoat?"

Twilight chuckled. "Oh girls. No, this is a magical matrix. I've turned the basement into a spell focus." She picked up various pages of her research diagrams and floated them over for her friends to see. "I'm working on a spell which will allow any pony standing in the center of the matrix to experience what is happening to another creature someplace else. Can you imagine? You can connect to a deep sea fish or a magma-otter and see what their life-cycles are like. Or you could follow a herd of golden hinds and remotely observe their social structure without interfering with them! Imagine being able to witness and experience another culture first hoof! All from the safety of Equestria! My passive observation spell will allow naturalists to study their subjects in depth without their presence confounding any of their results!" Twilight giggled. "Isn't that amazing?"

"Yeah, you lost me at magical matr-whatever," Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Sugarcube. What if some of those critters don't like being watched?"

"Oh, I don't know," Fluttershy spoke up. "It'd be nice to see what animals in different places do without disturbing the poor dears."

"Oh! Oh! You could even see dragons Fluttershy!" Pinkie said.

"Oh. Yes. I suppose I could."

"Exactly! This spell will revolutionize science in Equestria!" Twilight struck a pose.

"So what you're saying is that eggheads like you can sit in a nice, safe lab and watch what the rest of the world is doing?" Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow at Twilight. "Yeah that sounds boring." She and Applejack shared an unconvinced look.

"And safe," Fluttershy spoke up.

"Same thing." Rainbow turned and headed for the stairs. "Look, Twi, can you promise to get out more?"

"As soon as I am done with my experiment, I will be free and clear."

"Awesome. Later guys!" Rainbow Dash left before anyone could say anything else.

The girls exchanged a look before sighing. Applejack spoke for the group this time. "Listen Twi, we're just worried about you." She walked over and bumped Twilight's shoulder with her own. "This seems real important to you, an' I respect that. But don't get so lost we have to come down and find ya again, okay? We're just try'n to look out for ya, sugarcube."

"Thank you Applejack. I means a lot to me that you care. I promise I'll wrap this up and will try to be better in the future. I'm just so close right now and-"

"Say no more," Rarity spoke up. "We'll leave you to your work. But I can promise you this," She made a dramatic pose, one hoof raises. "if you're not done in a week, we're going to drag you to treatment."

Twilight backed up a step. "Treatment?"

"A party!" Pinkie said, jumping into the air.

Laughing, Twilight began to herd her friends towards the basement door. "I think I can agree to that."

Twilight said goodbye to her friends. She leaned down and nuzzled Spike. "I'm sorry if I've been ignoring you, Spike."

Spike sighed. "At first it was kinda fun," he admitted. "But then I ran out of comic books." He tapped his claws together. "You're not mad, right? I kinda wandered over to see if Rarity needed help since I didn't know what else to do."

"Let me guess, she got all dramatic and you didn't want to say no?"

Spike's blush told her all she needed to know.

"You were pretty wrapped up in your research. You even missed my special hay fries!"

Twilight blinked in surprise. "Wait, what day is it?"

"Wednesday, why?"

"Ohmygosh! I thought it was Monday! I said I'd send a paper to the Royal Canterlot Academy of Sciences! I have so much to do!" She turned and raced for the basement. Remembering the sandwich, she ran upstairs again and grabbed the plate with her magic. "Thank you for the sandwich Spike!" Then she raced back downstairs again.





Hours later Twilight heaved a sigh of relief as she finished hanging the last delicate crystal on the web of gold thread. "There we go," she said aloud. Realizing what she'd done, Twilight smiled and shook her head. "And just in time too. All this work is making me talk to myself." She chuckled as she picked up a sheaf of papers.

"Aw, I thought you were talking to me this whole time."

Twilight jumped into the air. "Pinkie Pie!" The papers scattered to the ground around her.

"That's my name!" Pinkie said with a grin. She hopped down from the stack of boxes she'd evidently been sitting on and bounced over to Twilight. "So is your magical matrix thingie done?"

Twilight caught her breath from the minor scare and picked up the pages she'd dropped. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you." Twilight paused, then said, "Why are you here, Pinkie?"

"To keep you company, silly!" Pinkie bounced over and began to help Twilight clean up the documents. She set them on the lab bench Twilight was using. "That and I want to be the very first person to know if you discover any new parties."

Twilight began to order the sheets. "New parties? Pinkie, I'm going to be exploring the extreme ends of the world."

"Right! With your mind-meld-observation thingie. And if you should just happen to come across a society never encountered by ponies before, I want to be the first to know how they party." She stomped a hoof in certainty. "For science!"

Laughing, Twilight went over the steps she'd created while researching the spell, the components of which she'd gathered from the Starswirl the Bearded section of the Canterlot Royal Library. "Well, I suppose scientific discovery can certainly include relevant social rituals."

"Right. Parties."

"Hmm," Twilight mused. "I wonder if I can send multiple ponies at once. She looked over the careful webbing of golden thread and hanging crystals. The dream catchers were placed precisely in the centers of the glyphs, but there was enough room in the central circle, and if she added a few more lines... "Pinkie. How'd you like to see how the Zebras party?"

"How would I like it? What kind of a question is that? I'd like that a lot!" Pinkie began hopping in place. "Zecora's told me all kinds of things, but I've never been there!" She followed Twilight as purple unicorn began to make the appropriate adjustments to her matrix.

"I figured I'd try it on something I'm somewhat familiar with first. Now, if my calculations are correct, I should be able to move this thread here, and put that crystal... there!" Twilight finished her adjustments. "Okay, that looks correct."

"Ohh!" Pinkie cantered in place. "This is so exciting? Are you excited Twilight? Because I am excited!"

Twilight laughed and stood in the central circle. "Okay Pinkie, stand here with me." She waited until Pinkie bounced over and stood beside Twilight. It was a tight fit in the circle but they both made it. Twilight closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

The concept of seeing things far away was not new. Scrying, a difficult and finicky spell,  brought images to a mage. What Twilight was trying to do was almost the reverse; her spell would project her mind across vast distances. The mage inside the matrix would be a passenger only, a silent witness to what happened to the life form they "followed". She built up her power and began to channel it through her horn and into the circle. The magical construction snapped to life, creating a glowing barrier around them. Pinkie "ohhed" but remained at Twilight's side. Twilight continued to will the magical energy into the circle. It swirled around them then dispersed evenly into the matrix, following the painted lines then down along the lacy network of golden threads, catching in the crystals.

"Almost... have it..." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as she fed power to the spell, directing it with her will.

Suddenly she felt something shift. She gasped, her eyes snapping open as the power jumped connections and changed the direction of the spell. She focused her will but it was too late.

"Uhm, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie said, concerned.

The magical webwork around them was humming with energy, but citrine colored sparks were arcing between the strands of gold and dancing between the painted lines. Twilight stopped feeding magic into the network in the hope that it would shut the spell down, but it was too late.

"Uh oh."

Pinkie and Twilight exchange looked and as one, they attempted to run from the center of the circle. They hit the glowing barrier and the world exploded into a cacophony of sound and a cloud of sparkles.





Twilight woke up to the faint smell of burned paper and fur. Bits of text fluttered down to the floor. Somewhere in the back of her lab, she heard a "twang" as one of the golden threads snapped. She winced. Her entire body ached and she'd somehow landed upside-down on something mostly squishy. The squishy thing moaned and Twilight rolled to one side, pink legs flopping out on her peripheral vision. Wait a moment... pink legs? Pink... "Pinkie Pie!" Twilight clapped a hoof over her mouth. That didn't sound like her voice.

"Oof," the other pony said - with Twilight's voice.

Twilight turned her head, dreading what she knew she'd find. She stared at herself, sprawled on the floor of her ruined lab. Her hair was a mess and her fur was singed but she seemed otherwise unharmed - except Twilight wasn't the one currently occupying her own body. Twilight looked down, and yep, there was the bright pink fur of her friend. Wincing, she put a tentative hoof to her forehead. Yep. No horn. Twilight shuddered a little.

"Pinkie?"

"Huh?" Pinkie shook her head rapidly then put a hoof to her current forehead, finding a horn. "Hey what gives!" She looked at her purple hoof, then focused on Twilight in her body. "Twilight?"

Twilight sighed. "I'm afraid so, Pinkie."

"Oh, wow. That's what I sound like? Hey, I sound weird too!" Pinkie sprang to her hooves and staggered a few steps before falling on her rump. "You're much less springy, Twilight." She began to examine her hooves and Twilight's body's purple mane.

"Pinkie," Twilight said, solemnly, "I think we've switched bodies."

"Well, duh. Or at least that's what I'd hoped. It'd be kinda weird if somepony else was in my body."

"This is awful," Twilight said, bouncing to her hooves, and staggering a step. Pinkie was right, their bodies weren't the same. She sat on Pinkie's, now hers she guessed, rump as well. "This is awful and terrible. I could have sworn I had made the correct adjustments! The spell was only supposed to project my mind, not swap it!" 

Twilight got to her hooves and began to trot in a worrisome circle around her lab, tripping a little as she adjusted to her new body. She stopped in place. "I have to figure this out! But I can't tell anyone! I'd be the laughing stock of the Canterlot Science Academy!"  She rounded on her friend. "Pinkie! You can't tell anyone what happened!"

"Well, won't we need help to switch back?"

"I can figure this out! You have to promise me!"

Pinkie sighed. "On one condition."

"Okay?"

"I want to do some magic!" Pinkie jumped straight up into the air, legs quivering in excitement. it was surreal for Twilight to see herself do that, but it was quintessential Pinkie. If they were going to hide this until Twilight fixed things, actions like that might be a problem.

"Okay. I'll show you how to do a couple simple spells."

"Yay!"

"Do you promise?"

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my-ow!" Pinkie rubbed her eye. "Does that always happen to you?" She looked around. "So what do we do first and will it take long, because I had a really full schedule planned for today."

"I need to do some research," Twilight said, running over to her books. She tried to open the top book with her magic, only to be reminded that, for right now at least, she was an earth pony. "This is going to slow things down a bit," she said, frowning.

Pinkie gave her a look as she trotted over and sat beside Twilight.

"I guess you go about your day while I try and figure a way out of this?" Twilight suggested.

Pinkie rubbed her chin as she thought. "If you're me and I'm you, then shouldn't I be the one, since I am you, to try and figure it out? Because I'm Twilight and you're Pinkie, even though I'm really Pinkie even though I look like Twilight." Pinkie suddenly gasped. "I'm a unicorn! I've never been a unicorn before. Well, except for that one Nightmare Night, but that was because I was originally going to be cotton candy using real cotton candy, but I got so hungry I ate the whole thing, so I decided I was going to be a unicorn!  So I used an ice cream cone for my horn and-"

"Uhm, Pinkie? Breathe?"

Pinkie gasped for air, then giggled when she'd caught her breath. "And this is what you wanted anyway, right?"

Twilight blinked. Well it was. Sort of. She smiled. She'd discovered a new spell, just not the one she'd intended to create. "Hey! You're right! I can't conduct the experiment I wanted to do, but I can certainly do this one."

"Ohhh, so I get to be Twilight Sparkle for a day?" Pinkie bounced in place. "That's so neat!"

"And I'll be Pinkie Pie for a day!" Twilight stomped a hoof on the ground. "For Science!"

"Yay! Science!" Pinkie cheered.

Twilight giggled at her friend's exuberance. "Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Okay, Pinkie!" Twilight Sparkle said. She walked around her friend and thought back to when she'd been the TA for the younger students at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. "If you're going to pretend to be a unicorn, you'll have to be able to do some of the simpler spells. Let's try something that every unicorn foal learns; levitation!"

Pinkie braced all four hooves on the floor, her horn lowered, her eyes staring intently at the cup and saucer on the table. "I'm ready!"

"Er, you don't have to be quite that aggressive," Twilight said, with a small chuckle. She gently nudged her friend into a more casual stance. "Levitation of such a small object doesn't require that you brace yourself against the ground. Neighton's third law is adjusted by Starswirl the Bearded's second law of magical alteration."

Pinkie relaxed. "Oh! You know I always wondered how you get around the fact that mutual forces of action and reaction between two bodies are equal, opposite and collinear."

"What?" Twilight's head whipped around.

Pinkie's eyes were crossed, trying to stare at her horn. She noticed Twilight staring at her and asked, "What?"

Twilight put a pink hoof to her face. "Never mind. Okay, Pinkie. Envision you're holding the cup with your hooves and relax. Let the magic flow out through your horn."

Pinkie screwed up her face, a little bit of tongue sticking out. The cup on the saucer glowed with Twilight's purple aura.

"Excellent! Now think of your magic as an extension of your body, like another hoof, and lift."

The cup gently lifted off the tray.

"Very good, Pi-"

The cup shot off into the air and smacked against the ceiling. It was followed by the saucer and then the little stool Twilight had used as a table.

"-inkie." Twilight sighed as everything clattered to the ground

"Wow, Twilight, you're really powerful!"

Twilight had to laugh a little as she surveyed the mess. She'd forgotten Pinkie was dealing with her magic and not a typical unicorn filly's.  "That was a good first try Pinkie, but you're right. I'm sorry I forgot I had the same thing happen to me when my parents were teaching me the basics. You just need to use a softer touch. Why don't you try to pick everything up, and put it back on the stool," she said. She righted said stool with a hoof. "But this time, be gentle. Pretend you're holding a very delicate party decoration or, an egg, or maybe one of the Cake's twins."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said, bouncing in place once. She pointed Twilight's horn at the saucer on the floor and very delicately lifted the saucer into the air and just as gently placed it on the stool. She let out the breath she'd been holding. "I did it!"

"That was great!" Twilight stomped her hooves on the ground in applause. "Now, let's move on."





After an hour or so, Twilight was impressed with Pinkie's ability to do simple tasks with magic. She wondered if it was because her body was already used to channeling magic, or not. In any case, she'd be able to pass for a regular unicorn - provided that no one asked her to do anything more difficult than eat or drink with magic. Spike's mustache spell, she thought with a little smile, was probably still too complicated for Pinkie's novice skills.

Pinkie set down the cup she'd been practicing with. "Okay I think I have the hang of it, but now it's your turn!"

Twilight tilted her head curiously. "My turn?"

"Right! You taught me how to be Twilight. Now I need to teach you how to be Pinkie!"

Twilight considered that for a moment. She'd never really thought that she'd need lessons on how to be Pinkie. Fair was fair though and wasn't that what scientific exploration was about?

"Okay," Twilight said.

Being Pinkie Pie, Twilight learned, was a lot harder than it looked. Pinkie rarely walked anywhere. She bounced, she cantered, she trotted, but she hardly ever just walked. She also always had a cheerful smile. Fortunately for Twilight, Pinkie's body was conditioned for such marathon outward expressions of joy; unfortunately Twilight's mind wasn't.

"Keep smiling!" Pinkie reminded her. She used Twilight's purple hooves to pull her own face into position.

"I'm trying!" Twilight told her through the rictus grin.

Pinkie eyed her critically. "Hmm that smile's not quite right. Maybe you should try a little less."

Twilight flopped onto the ground. "Being you is a lot harder than I imagined!"

Pinkie giggled. "Well, I've had a lot more practice than you have, Twilight. Okay, now," she got down to eye level with Twilight, who barely dodged out of the way of her own horn. "I'm going to show you something my Granny Pie taught me. Now, first-"

"Twilight? Twilight?"

Both ponies looked up as Spike called down the stairs.

"Twilight are you still down there?" he asked.

Twilight started to answer, but Pinkie put a hoof on her mouth. "Is it morning already, Spike?" she asked in her best 'Twilight' voice.

"Yeah!" He walked down a few of the steps and crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you guys were up all night."

What would Pinkie say? Think Twilight... "We had a sleepover!" Twilight said in her best "Pinkie" voice. Belatedly she realized she should probably be a bit more exuberant and she hopped to her feet. She hopped higher than she'd expected to, and landed in a tangle of legs.

Spike chuckled. "Pinkie, you're so random." He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm gonna make some breakfast. Do either of you want anything?"

"Breakfast would be lovely, Spike. We'll be up in a bit," Pinkie answered as Twilight.

"If you're not up in ten, I'm calling in Rarity again!" Spike warned, winking to make it a joke rather than a real threat.

'Twilight' giggled. "Understood."

Spike left, closing the basement door behind him.

Both Pinkie and Twilight let out huge sighs of relief.

"I give you a seven for the landing," Pinkie said as she helped Twilight back to her feet.

Twilight smiled at her friend. "You really are more bouncy than I am." She nodded towards the basement door. "Think he suspected anything?"

"No way!" Pinkie said.

Twilight nodded. "Then I guess we're facing our first test."

Both mares struck determined poses and spoke at once:
"Spike."
"Breakfast."

The girls looked at one another then dissolved into giggles.

"Come on," Twilight said. "Maybe Spike's made pancakes."





It had been years since Twilight had needed to use her hooves to eat breakfast. She'd started out the meal with slow, deliberate movements so she wouldn't spill anything. Pinkie was likewise doing the same thing with her own food. She carefully lifted each utensil with focused concentration, taking the time to carefully direct it where she wanted it to go.

Spike finished his breakfast long before either of the girls. He watched the two eat meticulously for a few minutes. "Uh, is it okay?" he asked.

"It's delicious!" Pinkie said. She winced when Twilight cleared her throat.

In her best Pinkie voice, Twilight said, "Yeah! This is Deee-Licious, Spikey... wikey! Twilight and I are just, ah- enjoying every moment!"

Pinkie nodded quickly then more slowly when she caught Twilight's small head-shake. "Yes. It's very good Spike. You don't have to wait for us if you're finished."

"We'll get the dishes."

Spike gave them each a dubious look. Twilight held her breath and put on her best Pinkie smile. He looked at one pony then the other. Would he see through their ruse, Twilight wondered.

"Okay." Spike shrugged and hopped down from his chair. "I'll see you later, Twi," he called over his shoulder as he left the kitchen.

Pinkie and Twilight heaved sighs of relief.

"That was close," Twilight said.

"Uh-huh, but we did it!"

"Hey, yeah! We did!"

The girls exchanged a high-hoof and spoke in unison:
"We fooled Spike!"
"I ate breakfast with magic!"

The two fell into a relieved fit of giggles.

Twilight smiled at her friend. With Spike gone she was able to eat a little faster if more messily. Pinkie gave up on the magic and used her hooves.

"So, what does Pinkie Pie have planned today?" Twilight asked as they were washing the dishes after breakfast.

"Well," Pinkie said drawing out the word. "I have to baby-sit for the Cakes, make some cookies, throw a party for Pip, greet a new pony, lead a musical number, and then you know what a new pony means!"

"A party?"

"A party!" Pinkie jumped into the air and threw confetti.

"How did you-" Twilight gaped then shook her head. She was Pinkie Pie. "Okay, so babysitting, cookies, party for Pip, greet the new pony, lead a musical number, throw a par- wait! Lead a musical number?"

"Uh huh!" Pinkie nodded rapidly, Twilight's mane bouncing around her eyes.

"O-kay," Twilight said, drawing the word out. "And how do you know there's a new pony coming into town today?"

"My Pinkie sense," Pinkie said, smiling.

One of her ears flopped and she arched an eyebrow. "Of course." Twilight sighed and put on her Pinkie smile. "I can do this!"

"Yay! You'll have lots of fun! Ohh!" Pinkie cantered in a small circle. "What do I get to do today?"

Twilight brightened. "I had a great day planned!" She went over to a nearby desk and retrieved a rolled up checklist. "First, I was going to write up my research findings from my spell." She giggled, "But I think that can wait until the experiment is over." Twilight unrolled the checklist. "Hmm, after I was done writing my report, I was going to catalog my desk, then file the books the Cherilee brought back from the school book reports, then Spike and I were going to do some cleaning." She looked over the list. "Other than that, I didn't have anything planned for today. Usually when I have free time I either study or see what one of my friends is doing."

"Hmm," Pinkie mused as she examined the list. "It's not really my usual thing, but it should be easy enough to do," Pinkie said. "Are you sure there isn't any mega-brainy-magical stuff you need to do today?"

Twilight laughed. "I already did that and look where we ended up," she said with a wink. "But," she added when Pinkie's face fell, "If you'd like to read my notes and my research on the spell I was doing you could do that. You were the one who said that since you were Twilight Sparkle, you should be the one to research a solution."

Pinkie considered that for a second, her lips twisted to one side in thought. She suddenly stomped the ground with a hoof. "Challenge accepted!"

"Just don't actually try anything without supervision, okay? Higher-level magic can be dangerous even for unicorns who have studied it for years."

They both heard the clock chime then, and realized that Pinkie was expected at the Cake's soon. They'd have to live as one another for the experiment to work and Twilight was beginning to feel a little nervous. Pinkie shuffled her hooves and Twilight looked down at her own borrowed pink ones.

"Uhm, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, her voice unusually quiet. "You don't think we're going to be stuck like this, do you?"

Twilight was quick to shake her head. Pinkie's frizzy mane floated around her head like a hyperactive cloud. "No. The spell had a timeout function built into it. Whatever else might have been altered, that part of the matrix I double and triple checked. At the most we're looking at a week." I hope, she added silently to herself. Any longer and, well, she wasn't sure what they'd do. She supposed they could go ask the Princesses, but Twilight was certain she could unravel the spell herself. Mostly.

"Oh. Okay then!" Pinkie said, perking up. She began to hustle Twilight out the door. Twilight yelped as Pinkie accidentally poked her in the flank with her own horn. Twilight scrambled to stay ahead of Pinkie.

"Remember," Pinkie said, "Taking care of foals is big responsibility but you can do it! I bet you'll have no problem with Pumpkin Cake since you were a baby unicorn, but watch out for Pound Cake. He's faster than you expect."

"Okay," Twilight said. "And remember to send Spike for me if you need any help." Twilight dodged away from Pinkie's borrowed horn again. "How about we meet up to see how things are going? Say, after lunch?"

"Great idea! You better go! Do you remember what to do?"

"If there's one thing I can do, it's schedules! Babies, cookies, party for Pip, new pony, musical number, party."

"Right! Have fun!" Pinkie called out, waving a hoof.

"You too!" Twilight called back. A half a block down the road, Twilight felt a little bit less confident. How did one lead a musical number anyway?
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight entered Sugar Cube Corner to find it in a state of controlled chaos. The Cakes were racing between the front and back rooms, hurriedly assembling an order from the looks of the trays and boxes. Through the back door she could see their cart half-loaded. The foals watched their parents from high chairs, tracking the adult ponies with wide-eyed interest. They caught sight of Pinkie and burst into delighted squeals. Smiling, Twilight trotted over to the twins and gave each one a nuzzle in greeting.

"Good morning, Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake said as she dashed by, a tray of cookies balanced on her back.

"Sleep well?" Mr. Cake asked as he ran by, headed for the oven.

"Yes! I ended up sleeping over at Twilight's."

Mrs. Cake stopped boxing the pastries for the order and gave Twilight a look of motherly concern. "Are you sure you're feeling well dear? You seem a bit tired."

Twilight mentally face-hoofed. She'd already forgotten to be more like Pinkie. She smiled and perked up. "I'm just fine Mrs. Cake!" Since Mrs. Cake didn't look convinced, Twilight decided to deflect her attention. "You guys sure look busy. How can I help?" She bounced in place. That seemed to do the trick as Mrs. Cake's attention returned to the order.

"The foals are going to want breakfast any moment," Mrs. Cake said as she wrapped string around the pastry box with dexterity Twilight hoped she wouldn't have to match without more practice.

As if on cue, the twins began to fuss, Pound Cake banging his hooves on the tray of his high chair, his sister's lower lip trembled, eyes brimming with imminent tears.

"I'm on it, Mrs. Cake! Don't you worry," Twilight said as she cantered over to the pantry.

She'd seen Pinkie prepare the Twin's breakfast before and had even helped a few times. The Cakes had already started mixing the twins breakfast formula. All Twilight had to do was make sure it wasn't too hot or too cold, then feed them. It would have been an easy task if she were still a unicorn, but manipulating everything without her magic slowed the process down a little. The foals fussing grew louder as Twilight fumbled with the bottles. Okay, so it slowed the process down a lot.

"Everything okay in there Pinkie?" Mrs. Cake called back from the front of the shop.

"-ees!" Twilight mumbled around the pot handle between her teeth. She finished pouring. "I mean, Yes!" Twilight said after setting the pot back on the stove. She screwed the lids on the bottles and hurried over to the twins. She held her breath as the foals began to eat.

Pumpkin made a face, her bottle ignored for the moment. Twilight took a step forward in concern. Was the bottle too hot? Too cold? Incorrect? Pumpkin's cute little nose twisted, her eyes scrunching closed. Twilight took another step closer and the little filly promptly let out a roof-shaking burp.

Twilight fell back in surprise, tripping over her own hooves and landing on her rump. Pumpkin sighed, picked up her bottle, and resumed her breakfast. Twilight shook herself all over as she stood up, laughing.

"I think I have to give that one a solid eight," she joked, giving the foal a nuzzle. The little filly smiled at Twilight around the bottle, but otherwise was focused on breakfast.

"Everything all right, Pinkie?" Mr. Cake asked as he trotted by with a stack of bakery boxes. He began to expertly fold them into shape.

"Just fine." Twilight said. "Could I help you with those boxes, Mr. Cake?"

"I'd appreciate it!"

Twilight picked the first box off the stack and began to fold it with her hooves. She'd tried her hoof at paper-folding once after a visiting teacher from Neighpon had given her class a lesson. The precise creases and folds had challenged her budding skills at telekinesis. This much simpler shape was somehow harder. Eventually she wrestled the box into the proper shape.

"Ha!"

"Er- Is everything alright, Pinkie?" Mr. Cake asked.

"Oh, Uh. Yes! I guess I'm just a bit of a fumble-hooves this morning," Twilight chuckled. She assembled a second box much more quickly and stacked it on top of the first, turning to grin at Mr. Cake who'd managed to assemble half a dozen in the same time span it had taken her to do one. Mr. Cake eyed her for a heart stopping moment then shrugged.

"I'll go check on the twins," Twilight said. As she trotted back over to the foals she had the strangest sensation in the base of her tail. It was a sort of... Twitchy sensation. Twilight looked back and saw that Pinkie's fluffy tail was indeed twitching. Huh, so this was Pinkie sense. Twilight looked around, wondering what this particular gesture meant.

"Oh!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed. She pointed a hoof at the fluffy pink tail then raced into the other room. "It's going to fall!"

"What's going  to- Woah!" Mr. Cake's reply was cut off as there was a clatter of boxes and hooves in the other room.

Twilight raced back into the room and saw Mr. Cake on his back legs, stretched up to an impressive, gangly height as he held a stack of boxes upright. Mrs. Cake was carefully unstacking the topmost boxes while trying to keep her own balance on the counter. Twilight reached with magic she didn't have for a moment then raced over to help take boxes from Mrs. Cake and set them to the side. After a few frantic moments the stack of cupcakes was no longer threatening to topple over. Twilight set the last box down and sighed in relief.

"You know, Pinkie dear, maybe you should take it easy. You don't seem yourself."

"I don't?" Twilight asked, ears dropping.

"Well... You don't seem to have the same... pep," Mr. Cake said. He and Mrs. Cake exchanged a look.

"Well," Twilight hedged, "It was kind of a late night, but don't you worry about me!"

The Cakes exchanged another look and Mr. Cake shrugged and began to move the remaining boxes outside to the delivery cart. Mrs. Cake came over to Twilight and gave her a fond nuzzle.

"We worry about you sometimes, dear. You're like the little sister I never had. I don't want you to run yourself ragged and make yourself sick."

"Aww," Twilight gushed, returning the gesture. "Thanks Mrs. Cake, but-" Twilight paused a second to think what Pinkie would say, "I'm fine, really. And it means so much you and Mr. Cake care."

"Okay, Pinkie."

Twilight sighed as Mrs. Cake let the topic drop. Twilight did her best to feed the twins and stay out of the way of the two earth ponies. Soon the Cake's cart was loaded and the two hauling it down the road as Twilight waved to them.

"Okay!" Twilight said addressing the twins as she turned back into the shop. "What should we do... first." She blinked. Both high chairs were now empty. "So we've reached the escape artist stage of foalhood development." She checked to see that the twins hadn't scurried outside then kicked the door closed with a decisive movement. "Time for some hide and seek."

Twilight looked the room, recalling what Cadence had done when a much younger Twilight Sparkle had escaped her foalsitter's watchful eyes.

"Hmm," she mused in a loud stage whisper. "I wonder where the twins could be?" She waited, listening for foalish giggles and was not disappointed when they came from underneath one of the large shelf units.

"Could they be.... under the sink?" she dramatically looked for them under the kitchen's sink. "Nope! Not there," she said as the giggles grew louder. "Could they be.... In the cabinet? Not there either." Twilight slowly stalked around the kitchen in an exaggerated stalking stance. No wonder Cadence had done this with her, the foal's giggles were infectious and it felt good to amuse them.

"In the oven? In the drawer? In the pantry?" She dramatically opened each in turn, very quickly, ignoring the foals. The pantry turned out to be harder to open without magic than Twilight had expected and she needed to tug on it harder. "In the pantry?" she repeated, voice showing some of the strain of opening the door. The door popped open and her grip slipped, sending her sprawling onto the floor and sliding across the room. She hit the rack on the opposite side and a few pots and pans clattered to the ground around her.

There was silence after the last pot finally rattled to a halt on the floor and the echoes stopped ringing off the walls. Twilight had covered her head with her forelegs to avoid injury. She lifted one leg and saw both twins had come out from under the shelves across the room and were staring at her with huge eyes. Were they afraid? Had the loud noises been too much? Did they think she was hurt and that was upsetting to them? Twilight began to tell them she was fine, and that everything was okay, but was cut off. Huge belly laughs, surprising for their intensity as much as their volume, came from both little foals.

"Huh. Guess you're not traumatized," Twilight said aloud as she got to her feet. "Come here you two!" she pounced on them both for a hug and nuzzle. The foals, happy with this newest game from their favorite sitter, seemed to have no problem with this and were happy to return the affection.

"Okay you two," she said, "We're going to get you settled in your playpen while Auntie Twi- Pinkie Pie cleans up, okay?"

The foals giggled and gurgled at her.

"I will take that as a yes," she said, scooping them up with her head and letting them slide down her neck and mane onto her back for the short trip to the playpen. She hadn't done that since Spike was a very little dragon but still too large for a much-younger Twilight to pick up with magical levitation. It was much easier as an earth pony without a horn to poke at tender bellies.

With the twins settled, at least for now, Twilight began to clean up the mess she'd made in the kitchen. It took longer than it would have if she'd had magic, but she was able to finish fairly quickly, recalling her early years helping to stack clean plates after dinner when she'd been too little to use magic. She looked over her shoulder at the twins in their playpen and smiled. They were playing with some brightly colored blocks and didn't look like they'd be attempting their newly acquired escaping talents. Twilight eyed the kitchen. Pinkie did have some cookies to bake and Twilight hadn't yet experienced baking as an earth pony.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Baking as an earth pony was more difficult than Pinkie made it look. Twilight chalked it up to a lifetime of practice as she carefully broke open an egg into its own bowl. Getting the eggs out of the fridge had proven to be somewhat more difficult than expected and the cookies had been put on the metaphorical back burner as she cleaned up the floor. 

Satisfied she hadn't broken any shell into the bowl, Twilight checked in on the twins sleeping in the other room. Both foals were still asleep but Twilight knew that wasn't going to last. She hurried back into the kitchen and began to slowly alternate adding in the dry ingredients with the milk and eggs. She'd had some practice doing this with just her hooves when she was a foal. Grandmother Moondancer had baked cookies with a young Twilight and Shining Armor whenever they'd come to visit. It had been Twilight's first introduction to basic chemistry.

When the last of the ingredients had been added to the mixer and the dry folded in, Twilight flipped the speed switch up to the next level and stood back with a small huff of satisfaction at a job well done. Time to check on the twins, she decided.

The cake twins seemed to be playing a simple game where Pumpkin would haphazardly stack everything she could reach with her nascent telekinesis, and then her brother would knock the pile over. The twins would laugh as the toys rattled or squeaked and flew about the pen, then they would repeat. Twilight watched them for a moment then chuckled as an idea occurred to her.

"Come on, you two!" she said, bouncing in place because it seemed to be what Pinkie's body wanted to do. "Auntie T-Pinkie has a great game for the two of you!"

The twins blinked at her then broke into adorable smiles.

"Okay, in this game, Pumpkin, you're going to pick up these candies with your magic." Twilight picked up a peppermint candy and wiggled it in the air in front of Pumpkin before setting it down in front of her brother. "And then do you know what you get to do?" Twilight asked in her best Pinkie voice. 

The little foal blinked at her, eyes wide, all of his attention on her. Twilight grinned at him and brought her hoof down on the candy. The colt's eyes grew huge and he made a gurgle of happiness before he brought his hoof down on the cracked candy.

"Pumpkin?" Twilight asked and lifted another candy. 

Pumpkin squealed and tried to pick up a candy like Twilight had done. It took a few tries for her to grasp something so small - fine telekinetic manipulation was actually harder to learn and this was both fun and good practice for the young unicorn. 

"That's it!" Twilight said, stomping in applause. "Go on!" she gestured towards her brother's tray. The candy was dropped in front of him and promptly smashed.

"Fun, huh?" she asked the foals. She scraped the smashed candy off the tray and into a small mixing bowl.  The twins turned the procedure into an assembly line. While it wasn't the most efficient model, they were having fun. Fun, Twilight knew, was an integral part of the Pinkie Pie experience.

Once the candies were crushed, Twilight presented the twins with small plastic cups and bowls of sugar. She showed them how to dip the bottom of the cup into the sugar then press it down on the balls of dough she'd prepared.

Pumpkin had picked up the glass with her magic and was carefully mimicking what Twilight had shown her. At least at first. Her brother proved to be too much of an influence and soon the two were slamming their cups down on the cookies at random, sugar spilling everywhere. Twilight blinked at the sudden mess then started to laugh and wrestle back some control.

Once she introduced the same sort of procedure as before, this time with Pound pressing the cookies and his sister picking up clumps of candy and sprinkling it on top, things went a bit better.

When the cookies were done, Twilight set them aside and cleaned up the now sleepy foals and put them to bed. The cookies went into the oven and Twilight went to work cleaning up the mess they'd made. She made a quick salad for lunch and practiced using one of the earth-pony style forks with a holding strap on the end. It was easier if she didn't think about it too much and she was pleased with her ability to eat without making too much of a mess. She was cleaning up the remains of lunch when the back door opened.

"Something smells great!" Mr. Cake said as he and Mrs. Cake entered.

"Oh!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed. "That does! New recipe dear?"

"Uhh," Twilight blinked then decided that some truth would work better. "Kinda sorta!" she said, brightly. "This is a recipe that Twilight gave me. She used to make it with her grandma Moondancer when she and and her brother were foals! You have to crush candy to put on top and I thought the Twins would have the bestestest, bestly, uh, best time with it!" She grinned until her lips hurt.

"Oh, I bet Pound liked that!" Mr. Cake said, going over to peer into the oven window then glance at the timer Twilight had set. "They're just about done. Don't worry about them we'll handle it while you're setting up."

"Setting- Right! Yes! Pip's birthday party!" Twilight froze. Throwing a Pinkie Pie Party had seemed so easy when Pinkie had mentioned it that morning. Now it seemed a little daunting.

"Did you want me to bring the cake by or did you want to take it yourself?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"It would be super-duper awesome if you could bring the cake by!" Twilight said.

"Not a problem Pinkie!" Mrs. Cake said as she trotted by.

"Thanks, gotta go!" Twilight said, ducking out of the apron she'd been wearing and racing up to Pinkie's room. She'd been here before and had a general idea about where Pinkie kept things, but with the impending party looming large in her mind, she was panicking just a little.

Twilight realized this then took a deep breath before letting it out with a small gesture of her foreleg. She envisioned the anxiety flowing away.

"I've been to more than three dozen Pinkie Pie birthday parties since I came to town," Twilight thought to herself. "And a bunch of those were for foals. That was research. And if I get into a huge bind, I can always ask Pinkie to come over and help. I've done it as myself after all, so no one would think it odd that Twilight was helping a good friend." 

Twilight looked around the room, eyes passing over the snoozing Gummy, the crates of decorations marked with different occasions, the racks of banners, emergency confetti,Pinkie's dual degrees in Engineering and Event Planning, the- What? Twilight trotted over and peered at the diploma on the wall. It was legitimately from Canterlot University and it did in fact confer upon the recipient, Pinkamina Diane Pie, the dual degree of Bachelors of Science in Engineering and Bachelors of the Arts in Event Planning.

That... explained a lot really. Twilight chuckled and finally found what she was looking for. Her body slipped into a huge grin and she felt a strange, warm tingle when her eyes locked on Pinkie's party cannon.





The party cannon was heavy. Twilight was feeling winded when she finally got to the middle of town on her way to the library. Fortunately it was on the way to the house where Pip and his father lived. Twilight was wondering if she was missing something fundamental about earth pony strength, or if the cannon was just that heavy, when she felt a rather peculiar sensation in her right ear. Her ear twitched once then twice. The sensation moved to her front left hoof which felt inexplicably tingly.

Twilight was suddenly darting between the market stalls and under the skirting of Roseluck's flower stall. Twilight stuck her head out from between two baskets of flowers.

"FOREVER!" she shouted, startling Rose, Lyra and Bon Bon.

They blinked at her. Twilight blinked at them, then slowly withdrew, retreating back the way she'd come. Behind her, she could hear the mares laughing about "Pinkie", but Twilight was frowning.

Had that been Pinkie sense? She'd been in control of her body up until now, but the sensation had come and she'd just... moved.. 

Twilight paused and looked at her foreleg. On the outside it was pink, and built a little bit sturdier than her own leg. There were a couple little scars near the hoof, old and faded with age. Twilight knew the story involved falling down a hill filled with sharp rocks on the farm as a filly. It was a simple hoof and yet, the leg had tingled oddly, and the tingle, the magic, Twilight was sure, had moved her. Twilight set her hoof down on the ground... nothing.

"Huh."

Maybe Pinkie would know more. Twilight returned to the cannon and began pulling it the rest of the way, her mind turning the new puzzle over.

A surprisingly short time later, Twilight arrived at the library. Frowning at the cannon she turned and knocked on the door.

"Just a second!" Twilight heard her own voice say.

"Hello?" Twilight saw her body open the door with a hoof. Before she could tell Pinkie she should be using her magic, Pinkie's face split into a grin.

"Oh! Wow! You know I lost track of time? I was studying! I've never really had so much fun studying before, well except for the time my class had to make old Eqquian Trebuchets for Professor Ballistic Arc. That was a fun class. We had a competition to chuck pumpkins across the hoofball field. Hey! do you think we could maybe make that something for the colts and fillies to do at the next harvest festival? I bet Applebloom would win. She's really good and building things. Do you think maybe her cutie mark-"

Pinkie was cut off as Twilight pressed a hoof to her mouth.

"Where's Spike?" Twilight asked before removing her hoof.

"He said Peewee and Tank have a playdate, so he's hanging out with Rainbow Dash at the lake."

Twilight let out a quiet sigh of relief that no one had seen Pinkie's outburst. She walked into the library and closed the door behind her.

"So! How's it going being me?" Pinkie asked, bouncing around in a circle once.

"I took care of the twins and I made cookies!" Twilight said proudly. She gave Pinkie a softer smile. "It was like when I was a little filly and couldn't use my magic yet. I made one of the recipes Grandma Moondancer taught to Shining and me."

"Awwww!" Pinkie grabbed her friend in a hug. "I bet they taste extra special."

Twilight giggled and recounted her day so far to Pinkie. The other pony listened with a huge grin and laughed with her when Twilight told her about the hide and seek mishap and how she got the twins to help her.

"You're gonna have to teach me that recipe," Pinkie said, nodding with authority. "Sounds like the perfect thing for those two to help with."

"Sure! There was one thing that confused me though," Twilight said. "I got this weird sensation-"

Pinkie gasped, her eyes going wide. Twilight stopped speaking, her ears flicking back in worry.

"Tell me about it!" Pinkie ordered in a strangely tight and excited voice.

"My right ear twitched twice, then it went to my left hoof, here," she said, holding up her front left hoof.

Pinkie seemed to almost vibrate in place with excitement.

"So... Is that-"

"PINKIE SENSE!" Pinkie jumped into the air, her limbs spread wide. A burst of glitter and confetti appeared from her hooves and the tip of her horn erupted, emitting sparklers like the toys given to foals during the summer sun celebration. She landed back on all four hooves, grinning from ear to ear, horn still spitting little sparkles that crackled and popped.

Twilight reached over and put a gentle hoof on the sparking horn, putting it out. "So..." Twilight paused, gathering her thoughts. She looked at Pinkie seriously. "Pinkie, it was magic," she pronounced.

Pinkie blinked once then twice. Then she giggled. "Well of course, silly. I mean come on, I'm a talking pink pony. Of course it's magic."

"Wait- what?"

"Well, I guess you're the talking pink pony right now. I'm a talking purple pony at the moment, but ohhhhh let me tell you about-" Pinkie made a dramatic pose, one foreleg around Twilight's neck, the other tracing an imaginary marquee in the air. "Telekinesis!" she said dramatically. Twilight wasn't certain how, but Pinkie's voice managed to convey italics.

Twilight listened with half an ear as her friend gleefully described her attempts to pick up, put down, move and manipulate things in the Library. She distantly noticed how many of those things were now in haphazard piles strewn about the room. Twilight was thinking hard on what Pinkie had said, however.

It was always said that earth ponies had magic, Twilight had been told this time and again by her parents and even her teachers, though some of the other students had rolled their eyes. It was just... different than the unicorns or the pegasi. Twilight was confronted with the uncomfortable fact that she'd assumed it was also lesser. Intellectually she knew it wasn't right, but somehow she'd internalized what wasn't said anyway.

"Twilight?"

Twilight blinked. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"You okay?" Pinkie asked. "Your mane is all... flat." She lifted a limp strand of pink mane with one hoof. "Your hair is usually pretty straight, it's been weird to deal with, 'cause I haven't felt like I've had any really heavy, really big, really serious, really unfun feelings."

"Pinkie? Have I ever.... treated you badly because you can't do magic. I mean like a unicorn," she added hastily then facehoofed.

"Badly? No," she said, shaking her head. "I mean... You didn't exactly believe me about the whole Pinkie Sense thing to begin with, but you came around!" She smiled and hopped in place. "I thought it would be aaaaaaaages before that happened. We were both surprised!" 

"I'm sorry-"

"Twilight it's no biggie, really. Wanna know what I've learned about being a unicorn?" At Twilight's nod she continued, wearing a serious look on her face. "At first I thought that unicorns think too much about magic. All my life as an earth pony, magic has just happened. You don't need to force it or cast it, you just... help it along sometimes to let it do what comes naturally. You go with it rather than against it. Unicorns spend a heck of a lot of time focusing on how to make magic do what you want it to do, rather than what it's just... gonna do."

She scuffed her hoof. "I tried letting the magic do what it wanted. Nothing happened. So I tried putting some magic through your horn and then let it do what it wanted. Half the books on the shelves just flew out in all directions!" Pinkie gesticulated wildly around her. "The other half of the books got up and started trying to eat one another! Your lamp turned into a turnip! Once I thought about it, they stopped and went back to normal. Eventually I could pick one book up, but I had to think about what I was doing and not let the magic just run wild. So I think maybe unicorns need to think about magic and that's just the way it is, and that's okay."

"You know, I was so focused on how heavy the cannon was and getting it here, when the Pinkie sense kicked in, it just happened. Then when I got back to the cannon, I was so wrapped up in thinking about your Pinkie Sense, the cannon was easier to pull down the street." Twilight gave Pinkie a wry look. "There is a whole magical PhD's worth of study here."

"Really?"

"Yes and as soon as this study is concluded I am going to write up a proposal. I haven't even spent a day as an earth pony and already I've learned so much!" Twilight said. She smiled at her friend. "Thank you."

"I think we're going to have one heck of a doozie of a friendship report for the princess when we're done," Pinkie said with authority. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! do you think we should send her some cookies with the report? Can Spike's magical green flame-of-mailing send cookies? Oh, oh! What would happen if he accidentally sneezed at a waterfall? I don't think Spike would intentionally try to send the Princess a whole waterfall because she's the princess, but actually? I think she'd probably think it was pretty funny, as long as nopony got hurt and it didn't turn the court into a pool." Pinkie gasped. "A Royal Pool Party! We should do that! I bet Princess Luna hasn't ever been to one of those yet!"

Twilight put a gentle hoof on her friend's mouth, stopping the torrent of excitement. "I think it won't hurt to ask."

The clock on the wall chimed the hour and twilight looked up. "I also think," she said, "That Pinkie Pie has a party to throw for Pip." 

"Make it a good one! And then when we're back to normal we can have a combined "Yay! We're back to normal and Twilight threw an awesome Pinkie Pie Party!" Party!" Pinkie bounced in place.

Twilight hooked a hoof around Pinkie's neck in a hug. "I will try to do you proud."

"And I will study like I have never studied before! Look! I made a list!" Pinkie whirled around, her horn flared and a piece of parchment launched off the table, sailed through the air, then impaled itself on her horn.

Twilight chuckled and helped Pinkie dislodge the paper. "Don't worry, that happened to me too when I was a filly. Remember, be gentle."

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "I will! You better get going!"

"I'll see you later tonight!"

Twilight waved then trotted outside again, leaving Pinkie to her practice. The cannon remained where she'd left it, brightly colored and ingeniously packed with all manner of decorations.

"Right," she said to herself as she grabbed the cannon's tether. "It's time to party."


> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight tried not to think about how heavy the cannon was as she tugged it behind her. Instead, she thought on what she knew about the colt having the birthday party and his family. Pinkie Pie usually knew everything about everypony. Twilight... did not. She had to admit that she was far more outgoing now than she had been before she'd moved to Ponyville, but her knowledge of each and every resident wasn't as... encyclopedic as Pinkie's was. Still, she was far from being the shut-in pony she'd been before.

Pipsqueak and his father Iron Smith lived in a small neighborhood of cottages past the library. They had moved from Trottingham almost a year earlier. Iron was a farrier by trade, and Ponyville had been happy to see him move in after the retirement of the previous pony to hold the job. 

While not all ponies in Equestria needed shoes, they were a vital component for many occupations. In Canterlot, the guard wore shoes to help prevent the paved streets from wearing down their hooves. In Ponyville, hardworking earth ponies, especially those who hauled heavy equipment, often wore shoes to prevent wear and for greater traction. Twilight knew that the weather teams seasonally wore shoes of ceramic or thick plastics to help buck the lightning prone thunderhead clouds. Applejack and her family changed their shoes during applebucking season to plastic that wouldn't damage the trees when kicked, but would still transmit the force of the buck. 

Mr. Smith also fitted hoofboots for those who didn't need to wear shoes frequently or didn't wish to have them nailed or glued onto their feet. Twilight had decided her winter boots were a little long in the tooth and had been very pleased with the replacements made by the capable and friendly pony. Twilight knew the stallion was a widower, but beyond that, she really didn't know much about him personally. 

Pip she'd come to know a bit more personally since he'd come to the library looking for books on sailing, piracy, sea ships, airships, famous explorers and coastal pirates. Twilight knew he had even attempted to help the Cutie Mark Crusaders earn their map making badges. The little colt had also been the first foal to truly welcome Princess Luna to Equestria. He was a good kid with a great deal of imagination. He reminded Twilight a little of her older brother and Twilight wondered if his sense of adventure would draw him into the Royal Guard.

Twilight glanced at the sun and realized she was going to be late soon if she didn't get her flank to Pip's to prepare for the party. Thinking about something other than the cannon had seemed to help her move it thus far. Perhaps Pinkie's inherent earth pony magic would help her navigate the party, too. She would just have to roll with it and let it happen.

Trotting up to the Smith's home with Pinkie's cannon in tow, Twilight could see that a number of things were already in place. Food was being set on the table by Pip's father, Iron Smith. 

"Hello Pinkie!" he called, waving a hoof as she entered the backyard. Iron was a piebald pinto with patches of black on white. He was only a few hands[1] shorter than Big Mac but built on leaner lines. His black and silver mane was a bit messy and it looked like he'd been rushing about the yard helping to get things settled before Pinkie and the guests arrived.

"Hi there!" Twilight said in a cheerful tone, surveying what had been done and evaluating it against the mental checklist she'd been making. She dragged the cannon to a spot that looked like it would get good coverage of the yard. A small white and brown missile launched itself at her and collided with her legs.

"Pinkie!" 

"Oof! Hi there Pip! Are you ready to have a party?"

"I sure am!" he said. "Did you bring the decorations? And the hats? You said it could be pirate themed!"

"Come on, Pip," Iron said, pulling his wayward son off Twilight with a gentle hoof. "Let Pinkie have some space." He ruffled Pip's short mane. "Sorry about that, Pinkie. He's just really excited to have his first birthday party here in Ponyville."

"A party is totally, absoposolutely the bestest reason to be excited," Twilight said giving the colt a wink.

"Do you need help? Did you leave a supply cart out front or-?" Iron let the question trail off. He looked around behind Pinkie, clearly expecting some large trailer.

"Nope!" Twilight answered cheerfully. "You two just stand back. I've got this!" 

"If you say so," Iron said, taking a step back.

Twilight bounced behind the cannon because bouncing seemed to be what her body wanted to do. She checked the sights, then motioned for Iron and Pip to take a few more steps back. Then another. She lined the cannon up, grasped the trigger and pulled.

Nothing happened.

"Huh," she mused. She tugged on the pull string again. It seemed to be stuck.

"Er, is everything okay?"

"Just fine!" Twilight said, tugging the string again. She'd seen Pinkie do this fifty three times before! Why wasn't it working?

"Are you sure?" Iron asked.

"Just a, ah, minor technical difficulty!" Twilight said. 

"Okay Twilight... don't panic. Don't. Panic. They haven't seen nearly as many Pinkie Pie parties as you have. Think this through... What does Pinkie do that you haven't done?"

"It's- it's gonna be okay, right?" Pip asked. The colt's ears flicked back and he trotted nervously in place, packing up on the emotions of the two adults.

"Just fine!" Twilight said. If she didn't figure this out, she'd be so busted.

 "Horseapples! I don't want to call Pinkie to come help! I don't want to ruin Pip's day!" Twilight thought. Okay, Twilight, let's look at this objectively." It was a cannon. A very modified one. It was already loaded. The pull for the release seemed to snag and wouldn't budge. Why was that?

"Pinkie?"

Twilight frantically looked at the cannon release. The release wouldn't budge at all, which meant logically it had to be a feature not a mistake, so why- A safety! Of course! Twilight found the safety release and triumphantly tugged on the cord. It pulled with only minor resistance and the party cannon exploded with a Bang!

"Yes!" Twilight shouted, punching the air as she jumped. 

All around her, confetti in black, silver, blue and white rained down. The trees were now covered in streamers in the same colors. A cluster of weighted blue balloons hovered in the center of the yard and an artfully constructed balloon tall ship rode on the gently bobbing waves of the balloon sea. A bundle of appropriately themed party favors had landed on one of the tables along with a pile of foal sized paper pirate hats, eye-patches, foam hooks and cutlasses. A board with a pin the parrot on the pirate game had been set up, as well as a pirate themed bean bag tossing game. The yard was dressed to party and while there wasn't yet any music playing,Twilight already felt like dancing.

"There," she said, turning to Iron and Pip. "That should do-... it?"

Pip was rolling on the ground, laughing with wild abandon. His father had apparently been caught in the blast from the Party cannon. He was now covered head to hoof in confetti. A spray-painted Jolly Roger design now adorned his flanks, the black blending in with the dark splotches on his coat, and the skull and crossbones design overlaying his usual cutie mark of crossed files and a horseshoe in the space above them. A pirate hat hung off one ear and a stuffed parrot was in his mouth. The stallion's expression was one of wide-eyed surprise.

"Blegh!" Iron spat the stuffed bird out of his mouth and made a face. Some confetti remained stuck to his muzzle and he began scraping it off.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Twilight asked, trying not to giggle too hard.

"Ego's bruised but I'll recover," he said, as he took off the hat and regarded it for a moment. He gave Twilight a grin as he set it back on his head. "That'll teach me to stand in front of a cannon!" He struck a pose for his son. "How do I look?"

"Awesome!" Pip said, hopping to his feet. "I want a hat!"

"There are plenty to go around!" Twilight said, relieved she hadn't ruined the party - and that Pinkie had already packed the cannon with the appropriate party supplies.

"Yay!" Pip said. He raced for the pile of goodies as fast as his legs could carry.

"And just in time," Iron said, looking over his shoulder. "Looks like the first guests are here. Mind bringing out the last of the snacks while I go greet them? I left them on the kitchen counter."

"Aye, Aye, Cap'n!" Twilight said, giving the stallion a jaunty salute.

Iron strolled off, laughing, while Twilight went to get the rest of the snacks.

The guests were the foals from Pip's class at school, and the junior league hoofball team he played with. Some of the parents stayed to mingle to one side and keep an eye on the youngsters running around having mock sword fights and pretending the small swing set was a vast tall ship to be boarded.

Twilight did what she'd seen Pinkie do at parties. Have a friendly wave for every new arrival, direct the presents to the proper table (now labeled thematically with a giant red X), give the foal a prop and direct them to the others, and bring food from the house out to the party proper. And always, she had to smile, smile, smile. It was a surprising amount of work. Twilight thought she was doing a fair job and maybe everything was going to be fine, when it suddenly grew dark.

Twilight looked around in surprise as the backyard transformed from a bright afternoon day to the fuzzy twilight of early night. The foals and a few adults nickered in fear and paced in place at the sudden darkness. Twilight looked up. The sun was there, but obscured by a strange dark field of energy. She could feel the tingle of cool magic but without her horn, she couldn't tell what was going on around her. Twilight's ears flicked back and forth uncertainly.

"Pinkie?" 

Twilight jumped, startled. Iron had appeared beside her and she hadn't noticed.

"What's going on?" Iron asked.

"I-"

There was a sudden gasp and a cry of "Look!"

Twilight and Iron spun to see what had happened. Ditzy Doo was pointing at a dark, spinning vortex in the center of the yard. The ponies closest to the anomaly were backing away.

The vortex grew in size sucking in all the light around it until it appeared to be a large hole in the air easily able to swallow a pony whole. The hole turned horizontal to the ground then sank to settle just above the grass. A shape made out of fathomless darkness rose from the center. Two points of light appeared in the void. They blinked. Vast wings unfurled as the figure rose into the air and solidified from vague shadow into the form of a pony. As the vortex collapsed in on itself, stars began to appear in the blackness, twinkling in a way Twilight found reassuring. The starfield unwrapped from around the alicorn as her coat shifted from pure black to a dark purple-blue. Silver-shod hooves touched down, soft as moonbeams. One hoof shot into the air and she tossed her head back in a dramatic pose.

"THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT... HATH ARRIVED!"

As the echoes of the Royal Canterlot Voice faded away, there was a moment of stunned silence. Twilight caught the unsure blink from the princess as her hoof came to rest on the ground and she looked at the ponies around her.

Then the foals erupted into cheers and mobbed the Princess of the Night, Pip leading the charge.

"Hello, children," Luna said in a more moderated tone of voice. The smile she had for the foals was a mixture of joy and relief. The Princess' wings hovered over the mob in a protective way. Twilight thought she almost looked like a dark swan floating on an excited, multicolored pond. "We- I- I had hoped you would find a grand entrance fun?"

The foals approved loudly, each speaking over one another to tell her how "awesome" or "cool" it had been - or to insist they hadn't been afraid at all. They were speaking so quickly, Twilight couldn't catch more than the gist of it. The light was returning as the magic Luna had used to block the sun faded. The adults were beginning to shake off their own fears, chuckling to break the tension as they bowed to the Princess. Twilight wondered if she should go save Luna from the children, or if the beaming Princess was just fine where she was.

"Wow." Iron stared, mouth agape. "When Pip asked if he could invite Princess Luna to his birthday, I- I didn't imagine she would actually show up." He gave Twilight a shrewd look. "Did you know about this?"

"Surprise?" Twilight knew she was busted.

Iron laughed and nudged her shoulder in a friendly way. "Oh, Pinkie." He trotted off to greet the latest guest.

Okay, maybe not so busted.

The party was swiftly returning to the usual volume as adults began to laugh openly about  princess Luna's grand entrance. Twilight looked around and noticed the punch bowl needed to be refilled. She quickly trotted into the kitchen to fix that potential party issue and decided to bring out another tray of cut fruit. Once the food was settled, Twilight looked around for Princess Luna. Pinkie would not leave the lunar diarch waiting.

She turned and was startled by the sudden appearance of Luna from behind her.

"Oh!" Twilight said. She put on her best Pinkie Pie smile and prepared to launch into a bubbly greeting.

"Twilight Sparkle," Luna said as she tilted her head slightly to the side in question, "why art thou in the body of thy friend?"
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pinkamina Diane Pie, bearer of the Element of Laughter, resident Premier Party Planner of Ponyville (hehe that was fun to say three times fast!) and Novice Unicorn stared intently at the muffin on the plate before her.

The muffin was chocolate-chocolate chip-raspberry nestled in a silvery wrapper. It was the latest victim of Pinkie's self assigned task. It was also delicious. Pinkie had taken a nibble, just a little one, from one of the perfectly crispy sides. Her goal? Eat like a unicorn.

"Okay, muffin. You're gonna be mine," she threatened, hoisting her weapons high into the air with a bit of unicorn magic. But not too high. There was a fork stuck in the ceiling she hadn't been able to yank down. Twilight had a lot of power at her hooves. Or was it her horn? Earth ponies had power in their hooves, she supposed. Pinkie tapped a lavender hoof against her chin, pondering for a moment. "Disposal," she decided aloud. "Twilight has a looooooot of magic at her disposal," she concluded to the muffin, smartly sidestepping the particulars of grammar. She'd have to ask Twilight about it later.

But now... the muffin had avoided its delicious fate long enough, and Pinkie had magic to do!

"Rise!" Pinkie commanded.

The fork rose obediently, ready to skewer delicious muffin-y goodness, but the knife sort of flopped over onto its other side apathetically. Maybe she could get away with a little more power. She eyed the fork in the ceiling. Or not.

Pinkie let out a huff. Controlling two objects at once was more difficult than it looked, but Pinkie would prevail! She was perfecting her Twilight-y Twilightness and that included eating like a unicorn. Muffins usually didn't need knives and forks, but Pinkie needed a helpless culinary victim. Plus muffins were delicious and Pinkie had some on hoof.

Pinkie focused on the knife and a soft aura of purple surrounded the delicate utensil. As it rose into the air, her hold on the fork slipped a little. With a tiny "eep!" she refocused on that again, which, of course, make the knife bob and sway. She caught that and, predictably, the fork started to sag once more. After a few rounds of this, Pinkie was struck by how much this resembled juggling. She set both items of cutlery down and considered this for a moment.

Juggling, she could do. It had been hard to learn at first, but it was fun, and therefore worth trying until she got it right. Perhaps if she treated the knife and fork in a similar way, she might do it. She wasn't certain if this was how Twilight managed things, but Twilight was too busy being Pinkie Pie to teach her at the moment. 

With renewed cheer, she focused on the fork, lifting it up, then the knife and- the fork went spinning off into the air. It sailed across the kitchen then clattered to the ground with a series of metallic chimes. Pinkie winced a bit then giggled.

"Oops," she said to herself. She put the fork into dishwasher to be cleaned with the rest of the dirty dishes (running the dishwasher was not until 2pm on Twilight's schedule), and retrieved another fork.

"Less power this time," she said aloud, then giggled again because she sounded like Twilight while her mind, or spirit or however this worked, was in Twilight's body. 

It was magic. So long as she got back to being a pink earth pony, the details didn't matter to Pinkie that much. Sure, she was supposed to attempt to live like Twilight, but it was pretty obvious that she couldn't jump right in to such advanced magic. You couldn't bake a super-duper tasty party cake with space enough for a pony to fit inside as a surprise, without knowing some basic engineering. Even Twilight had started in Magic Kindergarten.

Pinkie focused her attention and Twilight's magic on the two utensils. If she could juggle her attention just right, she could hold both of them up at the same time.

The utensils bobbed in the air as she switched her attention between the two, trying to find a rhythm like she had found with juggling. It started off well enough. She put a little too much into the fork and the knife dipped, she caught it but the same problem happened and she had to switch back to the fork. The dips and bobs increased in amplitude and frequency until Pinkie lost control and the fork went spinning across the kitchen floor. The knife joined the fork up on the ceiling.

Pinkie watched the knife wobble for a second and blew a huff of air, puffing her bangs out of her face. She glared at the muffin.

"You've won this round muffin, but your time will come!" She vowed. Pinkie then sniffed, flirted her tail with disdain at the silent pastry, and went to go pick up the fork so it might join its brethren in the dishwasher. She hoped she'd master this soon. She was running out of utensils.





"Twilight Sparkle," Luna said as she tilted her head slightly to the side in question, "why art thou in the body of thy friend?"

Twilight gaped for a moment, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"It'sanexperimentpleasedon'ttellanyonetherewasanaccidentbuteverythingisundercontrolandthespellshouldwearoffsoonit'sjustforadayPinkieandIarelivingasoneanother-" She stopped when a silvershod hoof gently touched the end of her muzzle.

"Please, breathe," Luna instructed. Twilight gasped for air. Luna nodded approvingly. "Now, please explain thy circumstances more slowly?" She looked somewhat amused and Twilight relaxed marginally.

"It's an experiment," Twilight said, scuffing a hoof on the ground sheepishly. "My original plan didn't work... quite as I expected it to, but there was something interesting in this experience as well. Pinkie and I decided to live as one another for a day. There's a magical limit and everything should reset properly when it runs out. Part of the design was no one knowing though," she said with a small sigh. She frowned and looked at the princess. "How did you know?"

"After the changeling invasion, Celestia and I cast spells on ourselves and our guards to detect guises of varying kinds. Since the Changeling queen was never found, we thought it a prudent precaution for the time being."

"That makes sense, but- Princess, changelings only take the forms of other ponies. Are there-" Twilight broke off with a little gasp. She'd been about to ask if there were creatures that could control the mind of another pony, but she'd been a breath away from enacting a spell that passively viewed the world from another's eyes. She was in Pinkie's body. Her mind filled in the details and she shivered again.

"Yes," Luna said, draping one large wing over Twilight's back and standing close so their bodies touched. Where Celestia was always warm and comforting, Luna was cool, soothing. "There art such creatures in the world, and such spells."

"I- I hadn't really thought about the implications of... of control!" Twilight admitted. She pressed against the larger pony, finding comfort against the sudden realization. 

"I know," Luna said with a soft smile. "Thou art a kind and most goodly pony, Twilight Sparkle. Thy intentions are honorable and thy friends have taught thee well how to live in Harmony. I imagine thy least favorite magical subject was offensive spells?"

Twilight nodded, giving Luna an oblique glance. "My least favorite homework," she admitted.

Luna gave a feigned gasp, covering her muzzle with a hoof. She leaned in close to Twilight. "Worry not, I will not tell my sister," Luna said conspiratorially, drawing a real laugh from the other pony.

"Now," Luna said, folding her wing neatly against her back, "I believe thou art in the middle of throwing a party."

"You won't say anything?" Twilight asked.

"Neigh," Luna said, with a dismissive gesture. "Thou art not a changeling, nor victim of a joke most cruel. I expect to read thy most informative report on the subject once it has been completed."

"Of course, Princess," Twilight said, bowing.

Luna nodded with a small noise of approval. She looked around the yard with a faint smile. "Attend me," she said. "I have a present for the birthday colt and a small matter of formality to conduct before I must, regretfully, return to less celebratory duties."

"Of course," Twilight said. She followed behind Luna in as perky a canter as she could muster, trying to push the more terrible thoughts firmly to the back of her mind.

"Pip?" Luna called out to the makeshift pirateship the swing set had become. "I have thy birthday present."

The piebald colt stuck his head out of the little alcove at the top of the play structure, then hopped onto the twisting yellow side, riding it down to the bottom. He jumped off at the end and bounded forward, practically running into Luna's legs. The other children stopped what they were doing and followed after, curious.

"Pip I thank thee for thy kind invitation," she said, nudging the little colt with her head. "I have a gift I think most fitting, if thou would be willing and able to care for it."

"Of course!" Pip said, trotting in place.

Iron made a little unsure noise, his expression surprised. He and the other adults had drifted over as well. Had Luna brought Pip something like a puppy? What else would need care? Twilight wondered if Luna had consuled with Celestia on proper gifts for foals in this era... And worried that she had as much as she worried that she hadn't. Twilight had come to realize that her mentor had a somewhat impish streak.

Luna lifted her head, her horn shimmering with magic. There were a pair of soft pops and two objects appeared in the air. Luna caught them with her magic and held the first out to the colt. It was a complex looking device. A telescope was attached to a frame that closely resembled a slice of pie. There were bolted on mirrors and dials. Twilight recognized the device, though she did not have practical training with one.

"Dost thou know what this is?" Luna asked.

"That's a sextant!" Pip shouted. "You use it to tell where you are at sea!"

"Correct!" Luna said. The Lunar diarch sat on her haunches and slipped her front hooves out of her silver shoes. She hit a switch and a telescoping pole extended to the ground, helping to hold the device in place while she manipulated the other controls much as an earth pony or pegasus would. Pip, and indeed all the ponies now surrounding her, watched in fascination.

"This particular model was crafted for me personally by the same artisan that provided tools for some of Equestria's most famous explorers. Maregellan was an earth pony as well, and used a device just like this a long time ago," Luna explained as she manipulated the dials, slides and knobs one at the time for Pip's benefit.

There was a lot of "oohing" and "ahhing" from the crowd, Twilight included.

Luna hit the same switch and the telescoping stabilization rod slid back into place with a little metallic "twang". She held the sextant with her magic, slipped her shoes back on then offered the gift to the colt. Pip took the tool reverently then hugged it close to his chest with a huge smile.

"Thank you, Princess!"

"You are most welcome, Pip." Luna said as she stood once more. She regarded the foal and her expression grew a bit... sad?

"While this is a most happy occasion, I have a second task this day." She gestured with a slight motion of her head and Pip's father came to stand by his son.

"I was curious about the ponies I had met during nightmare night. While the beginning was... rough shall we say," she admitted to a smattering of chuckles from the ponies around her, "It was with great joy that I was able to make so many new friends, especially among the young ones."

"I had interest in learning more about the ponies that welcomed me," she said looking around. She did not use the Canterlot voice, for she didn't have to. Every pony there listened with silent respect, sensing the Princess was building to something. "It was in this way I became aware of your family's story." Luna looked from Pip to his father. The expressions on father and son grew solemn.

"Neigh, My little ponies. Do not look so sad. I come to you on this joyous day not to bring you more pain, but to celebrate Bright Shield's life, her honor, courage, and sacrifice. There is little I can do to give as fit and goodly a memorial than you two have already done in living on as her legacy."

She floated the small box to Iron Smith. It was rich ebony with silver scrollwork inlaid in celestial patterns. It was simple and elegant. Iron opened the box after and encouraging smile from the Lunar Princess. He blinked as a soft, silvery light was cast on his face.

Luna approached and spoke to the two in low tones that didn't carry further than the three of them. Iron blinked a few more times, his eyes suspiciously moist. He nodded with a watery smile. Pip gave the Princess a brief hug then attached himself to his father's legs, still holding the sextant close. Iron closed the box and bowed deeply to the Princess. She inclined her head deeply, conveying respect to the stallion.

Then Luna stepped back, looking satisfied and feeling lighter. The mood around the three of them softened as well.

"And now," Luna said with genuine regret, "I am afraid I must depart. Celestia was kind enough to handle some of my late afternoon duties before Night Court begins. She says "Happy Birthday" by the way, and I have been instructed to bring her a slice of cake."

Twilight took that for the order it was and scrambled to get a piece of cake for Luna to take with her. Celestia loved frosting almost as much as Pinkie Pie did, and there was no question that Pinkie would have that information. She added a few slices strawberries to the side of the plate, a unicorn style fork then promptly trotted back over to Luna the plate balanced on her back.

Luna chuckled and took the cake to go after saying her final farewells. She smiled at Pip again. "I hope you enjoy your gift. Learn its secrets, and the sun, moon and stars will always guide you home." With that, Luna stepped into the shadow cast by the house, and was simply gone.

The kids all crowded around Pip, who began to explain his gift to his friends. The adults all looked at one another and promptly began to gossip. Twilight snickered to herself. Some ponies might claim that "small towns" had all the bad gossips, but she knew from personal experience that the nobles of Canterlot could be just as silly. She looked around for Iron and caught the end of his tail as he disappeared into the house.

Twilight trotted inside, following him. Her right hoof was tingling and she felt drawn to follow the stallion.

"Iron?" she asked.

"Oh. Hey, Pinkie," the stallion said. He was chopping more fruit with the single-mindedness of someone who needed to be doing something. The box sat innocently on the end of the counter. He looked sad. Sad was not something that happened at a Pinkie Pie party. It was also something Twilight didn't want to see happen to her friends and neighbors.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

The stallion paused in the middle of slicing his cantaloupe. Something told Twilight to "Wait" so she did. Instead she stood beside him and began to wash some apples. Sweet Apple Acres Galas. They were really good this year. Eventually Iron began to turn the fruit into small orange chunks again.

"I will be," he said, quietly. "Needed a moment away from the kid."

Twilight pushed one of the apples onto the cutting board in front of him then swept the cantaloupe into another bowl.

"Pip's mum was in the Guard in Trottingham," he said. "Her family didn't really approve of her joining the guard, but she felt it was her duty." He chuckled. "So she said, "buck you"," if you'll forgive my Prench, and joined up anyway." He continued to methodically turn the apple into slices. When he was finished, Twilight passed another apple over and added the slices to the impromptu fruit salad.

"She was back on the night shift, covering for a thestral friend who was on maternity leave. Jasmine had covered for Bright when she was foaling Pip, so she was more than happy to return the favor for her friend," he explained. "And... There was a fire."

He went silent for a few more moments. The only sounds in the kitchen were the muted laughter of the foals outside and the steady chopping of the knife.

"Bright saved a lot of ponies, but she didn't make it." He set the knife down and stared at the cutting board and half-sliced apple. "I didn't think it was possible to be so proud and so angry at the same pony."

"She sounds like she was very brave."

"Incredibly," Iron said, nodding. "I loved that mare." He paused again, eyes distant. "The city had a little ceremony. All the other guards were very nice. Pip and I were miserable though. She'd always wanted to get out of Trottingham and serve the Guard someplace with a little less rain," he said, showing the first bit of mirth in the last few minutes. "Ponyville seemed like a nice place; lots of foals for Pip to make friends with, and I could get work here."

Twilight wrapped her legs around the stallion and gave him a bone-crushing Pinkie Pie hug, because it seemed like the right thing to do.

"Thanks, Pinkie," he said returning the hug after a moment. "You seem to know everything else, I'd half thought you'd know this already." He chuckled, turning back to slicing the apple.

"Uh-" Twilight paused for a heart-stopping moment. "It's... it's your story," she said finally. "Not mine to tell," she concluded firmly. "And I don't always know all the details," she said, guessing and hoping she wouldn't be caught. "I'd figured it was something unhappy and if you wanted other ponies to know, you'd tell them." That was true enough and Pinkie could act with a surprising amount of tact when it was something very important.

"Thanks though," he said. "Still it's kinda surprising that Princess Luna would have looked us up."

"Uhmmmm," Twilight mused aloud. "I dunno. She's been trying to fit in and I think Pip made an impression."

"Yeah but... What she gave us was, well," he shook his head. "Very generous if you can forgive me from being vague."

Twilight nodded and gave him a cheerful smile as she systematically helped him reduce a small watermelon into little chunks of deliciousness. "You said she was on the night shift?"

Iron nodded. "Think that's why?"

Twilight nodded, remembering to be enthusiastically Pinkie. She got dizzy for a moment then refocused on the fruit. "Absoposilutely!" she assured the stallion. "I think she'd have been nice even if she wasn't, but it was the night shift."

"Makes sense," he agreed. "Think we have enough?"

"It looks okay," she appraised, but something was... off. It wasn't quite up to Pinkie Pie Standards. "Needs... A-HA!" she plucked a carton of blueberries off the counter, gave them a quick wash and dumped the whole thing into the bowl. "Now, it's perfect!"

Iron chuckled and picked up the salad and led the way back into the party. Twilight bounced behind.





"This. Ends. NOW!"

The harsh words reverberated through the now messy kitchen. The chairs lay on their backs. The vase holding the daisies Spike had picked from the front yard yesterday was on its side, the flowers having been already eaten in a fit of pique. A battered box of muffins lay open, the delicious contents in a scattered massacre. The kitchen table had been flipped and was now resting upside down. 

Pinkie glared at the muffin, her right eye twitching.

The muffin remained apathetic to the temporary unicorn's ire.

"Hey, Twilight?" Spike poked his head around the corner of the kitchen, Peewee perched on his green head scales.

"What?" Pinkie snapped. Her left eye twitched asynchronously with her right eye.

Spike took in the kitchen, the frazzled mane, the twitching eyes, and the menacingly floating utensils in the air.

"Uhm... Is everything okay, Twi?"

"I'm running an experiment," Pinkie replied. 

"Riiiight," Spike said, looking up at the phoenix chick, who looked down at him and shrugged his wings. "Do you need any, uh, help?" he asked, looking back at the mare.

"No. I got this. One way or another, Spike, I will. Eat. That. Muffin." Pinkie lowered her head, unicorn horn leveled at the muffin in a threatening way.

"Right. I'll just be over here," Spike said, jerking a clawed thumb over one shoulder.

"Uh, huh," Pinkie said, distracted by her rapidly evolving plan of attack on the Muffin.

Spike sighed and went into the main library room. There were a number of books out of place. Whatever experiment Twi was working on, she'd once again forgotten to re-shelve her books. Spike chuckled and began to put them back in order. 

"Twi will get to this eventually," he told the phoenix chick, who seemed content to ride atop Spike's head, "but I might as well get a head-start. I was supposed to help with some cleaning today anyway. Once I'm done here,  I was thinking we could take a walk through town and get something from Sugarcube Corner. How's that sound?"

Peewee chirped and fluffed his wings in an encouraging way. Spike grinned and picked up the copy of "A History Of Magical Education".

There was a loud bang from the kitchen. Spike winced. 

"Think I should go in there?" he asked the firebird.

"SUCCESS!" Twilight crowed. 

Spike could hear the prancing hooves as she danced. He winced. The fledgeling winced. Both had been subjected to Twilight's particular form of "dancing" though Spike had tried to spare the little bird from such harsh realities of life as long as possible.

"She sounds like she's fine," Spike said. The phoenix nodded in agreement. "Maybe we should leave her be." The sound of jubilantly dancing hooves grew louder. "Maybe we should get going." Peewee nodded and the two made a hasty retreat from the library.