> The Impossible Task
>  by Silver Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The One and Only Chapter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight strolled down the castle halls, getting ready for some paperwork" Star Swirl and the other legendary ponies had left to explore the new world. I really miss him though. He is really good at magic. She shook her mane, knowing that if she was trapped in limbo for centuries, she would be exploring the world also. Twilight could barely fit in to her logical and reasonable mind what it was like. She decided that ponies needed to experience it before truly understanding. Of course, being sucked into limbo was probably uncomfortable and very power consuming. Twilight could still remember when her hero could barely hold a shield against the former Pony of Shadows. 

She knew that she could solve everything, even if when she didn't think that it was possible. One example would be when her mission was to save the Crystal Empire. Granted, Twilight wasn't an alicorn then but she still managed to save the Empire by entrusting Spike with retrieving the heart. Twilight wondered if there were any problems that she couldn't solve. She managed to solve every single friendship too. At first, she didn't even think that Starlight and her could be friends at any level. When Twilight took Starlight under her wing, she was a little uneasy although she didn't show it. Starlight did prove to be a really good pony to know.

Just as Twilight sat down, she felt something sound from underneath and used her magic to pull out the whoopee cushion from her chair. Even though Rainbow still pulled pranks, none of them were as bad as scaring poor Fluttershy from the forest that night. If only Rainbow saw her face when she ran to me from help. I could still remember her tear stained face blabbering for me to have a meeting with the rest of them. Twilight looked around for a sky blue Pegasus and wasn't surprised when she heard a few chuckles from the door. 

Rainbow pointed her hoof at Twilight, "Gotcha!" Twilight allowed a tiny smile. It was just for fun after all. Twilight didn't really mind the pranks that much and knew that Rainbow would stop if Twilight showed that it was really bothering her. There hadn't been a lot of company lately, with everypony busy. 

Twilight said, "Hi Rainbow. Is there anything I could do for you?"

Rainbow thought for a moment before nodding, "Yeah, there is. So me and Pinkie-"

Twilight corrected her, "Pinkie and I."

As usual, the other mare rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Anyways, Pinkie and I were playing Truth or Dare. It was her turn and I chose dare since I'm so awesome and she dared me to get you out of this dusty old library for two weeks."

The alicorn shook her mane, "Sorry Rainbow. First, my library is not dirty or old. Also, I need to study and research other spells. I can do everything, travel back in time, gave up my powers for Tirek for you, within good cause. I can leave this library for two weeks and not read a book but I'm not doing it unless I have a reasonable reason." 

Rainbow thought for a moment before asking, "How about a deal? I'll give you a task that you may work on for two weeks. Yes, one task. You must do it. If you don't, then you can't read for two weeks. If you win, I won't prank you for a month. Deal?" Twilight thought about lists and her heart worked up in excitement. I must still think logically though. What if she bucking asks me to kill somepony?

Twilight carefully asked, "It's not going to be dangerous right? Such as, you know, killing somepony?"

Rainbow shook her mane, "Nah, that wouldn't be cool of me to do that."

Thinking that nothing major could stand in the way of doing the task so she could have some peace and quiet, Twilight agreed, "Deal. Can you tell me the task now?"

Rainbow smirked, "You must get Pinkie to become responsible and reasonable. You know, ask maturely and stuff like that. She gave me a month to finish my dare anyways, so, in case you ask, the dare will not be expired. I've got to get to Wonderbolts practice right now. Catch you later Twilight!" Rainbow threw a set of windows open and flew outside. Twilight used her magic to close the window. Teach Pinkie... To act mature? Twilight gulped. This is going to be a long night of planning.



Twilight woke up on her bed and yawned before using her magic to lift up a few notebooks that she filled with lists and ideas. She had to do this or else she was breaking her promise. A princess of friendship could not break promises.

She called out, "Spike, is breakfast ready?" Twilight trotted out of her room and looked for the baby dragon. He was in the kitchen, setting pancakes on the table.

Spike nodded, "Yeah, it's ready. I'm going to see if Rarity needs anything right now." Twilight nodded and hid a smile about the fact that Spike had a major crush on Rarity. He always went to help Rarity with whatever she needed and Rarity remained oblivious. Either that or she just wanted to continue pretending that she had no idea. Twilight ate her delicious breakfast before heading to Sugar Cube Corner, where Pinkie was baking a few cakes. 

Twilight greeted, "Hi Pinkie. How are you today?" Pinkie turned around with a bowl on the top of her head and flour all over her body. She set them down with a bounce and looked at Twilight.

The hyper pony smiled, "I'm good! My Pinkie sense said something about making me more mature or responsible. I know that you will continue to try to talk to me so I'm taking a part time day job, or whatever they call it. Just baking up a storm." 

Twilight nodded, "Okay. So, Pinkie. According to my list, you need to be more responsible in playing pranks, which is number one. What do you usually do when you're playing pranks? Which pranks do you play?" Pinkie gasped as if a Cookie Monster ate her cookies.

Twilight asked with concern, "Pinkie? Is something wrong?"

Pinkie frantically shook her mane, "I'm not breaking the Prankster Bonds!"

Twilight blinked, "What?"

"I can't tell you! That would be breaking one of the rules!" Twilight sighed. No use from this approach. Maybe I should go to problem number 2 about her sweets addiction and how to share candy on Nightmare Night. She gobbles all the candy down so much that I probably need to buy more candy.

Twilight said, "Okay Pinkie. Now, I'm sure that this topic won't break the Prankster Bonds, whatever they are. Pinkie, do you monitor how much sugar you consume every single day?"

Pinkie nodded and bounced around, "Of course Twilight. I only eat and drink more than 5000 calories a day! You know, it's no biggie." 5000? That was certainly more than she ate.

Twilight asked, "How are you not a little... Overweight?"

Pinkie grinned and Twilight immediately knew that she wasn't going to get a straight answer, "Well... The Cookie Monster likes calories so I store some in order to feed him! Doesn't that make perfect sense?"

"Pinkie, the cookie monster does not exist."

"Of course he does, silly! Don't worry, he's completely harmless! Just let your Auntie Pinkie Pie take care of him!" She disappeared and reappeared with a cookie. Pinkie ate it in a few bites and Twilight just stared. Okay, problem number two for a hold on. Let's try number 3 with strategy number 10. She marked a few things on the list that she made and took a deep breat.

Twilight asked, "Pinkie, do you want to play a game?"

Pinkie bounced on the spot, "Ooh! Ooh! I love games!"

"Perfect, now this game is call 'shhh'. I got it from Fluttershy. Whoever stays silent for the longest time wins the game and gets a cupcake. Well, I don't have a cupcake but I'll get you one from your cabinet."

"Yeah! Three, two, one... Start!" She bounced around, making silly faces at the alicorn. Twilight did her best to keep a straight face and not make any noise but found it increasingly difficult. 

She had to laugh, "Pinkie!"

Pinkie smiled, "I win! I win! I win! Where's the cupcake?!" 

Twilight sighed as she took a cupcake out from the cabinet, "Yes, you won. Here is the cupcake." I don't think that this really counts as Pinkie being quieter or being more mature. Let's try the next strategy.

The alicorn sighed once more, "Pinkie, we are going to do some role playing. You are a spy on a secret mission. You must be responsible and not make any wrong move."

Pinkie rolled her eyes, "Weeeell, I can't really see it silly. That would make it useless! Besides, I've got to go and feed the Cookie Monster!" She began to sink below into the ground quickly but Twilight casted a spell to freeze her. She got Pinkie onto the couch.

Twilight sighed, "I really don't want to do this but you did say that you need to imagine it. Do you give me permission to cast a mind spell on you?" 

Pinkie said, doing her best to move her mouth, "Is it fun?! I looove fun!" Twilight took that as a yes and blasted some magic of Pinkie's brain. Her head was sweating before deciding that the spell was good enough.

Twilight said in the monotone while keeping the spell up, "You are asleep in a deep, dark forest. A sound comes from the leaves and you wake up immediately. You are on a secret mission from an alicorn named Twilight who you must obey." Twilight didn't really want to add the last part, but if somepony else comes in and she didn't say that, it would mess up Pinkie's mind.

Pinkie echoed, "Obey..."

The alicorn nodded, "Yes, obey. You are to find a diamond in the middle of the forest. The diamond is small and has properties of magic. You look around to see something growling. What do you see, Pinkie Pie?"

She couldn't move but Twilight felt her freeze spell beginning to really restrain her from doing something, "I see a Timberwolf. I run and decide to throw a party for it."

Twilight sighed before continuing, "Your party fails. What do you try next?"

Pinkie replied, "I try to throw the party again but this time with my party cannon."

Twilight said, "When you made your cannon explode, the Timberwolf seemed to begin to attack."

"I will use my energy to break the fourth wall and fifth wall to throw the Timberwolf the best party around. The Timberwolf accepts and we live happily ever after." Finishing the scene, Pinkie snapped out of Twilight's spell and looked around with confusion. Her head couldn't turn. Twilight took down the freeze spell and sighed.

Pinkie quickly ran to the kitchen and whipped up a cupcake before eating it, "Ooh! That was fun Twilight! Wanna do it again?" 

Twilight looked at the clock, "You know what Pinkie? I think that we both deserve a break. Besides, you do help run Sugarcube Corner."

Pinkie chuckled, "I bake, mostly. They already have all the supplies!"

Just then, Mrs. Cake popped in, "Pinkie, there's an order of a strawberry cake. Can you check if there's an extra? Cakes seem to be rather popular these days. Just keep baking cakes, I suppose."

She finally saw Twilight and hastily bowed, "I'm sorry for not seeing you, Princess." She backed out and Twilight sighed. She was sighing more than usual these days, it seemed. 

Twilight said, "Well, looks like you need to bake a few cakes. I'll be at Sweet Apple Acres to... help Applejack!" Twilight used her magic to teleport out of the room and into her castle instead of the barn. She sighed and decided to take a nap before planning what to do. It seemed like magic, which was last resort, reasoning, questions, and games were already out. What else could she do?

After ten minutes, she woke up and teleported to Applejack's to get some advice. She looked at the red barn to see that the mare wasn't there. Twilight was desperate by then as she wanted to keep on schedule and get a starting point with Pinkie at the very least. She shot her magic and made a bubble around her that would pull her to where Applejack was. Her magical aura pulled her to the Western Fields where she saw Applejack bucking a tree.

Twilight released her magic and waved a hoof, "Hi Applejack! Do you mind helping me with something?"

Applejack picked up a few apples from the ground, "'Course not."

"Good because I need you to help me get Pinkie to be mature. I tried just about everything and she is still not being able to be mature!"

Applejack sighed as she used her head to push buckets in a few places, "Twi, Ah know that ya want Pinkie to be mature but Ah don't think that it's possible. It's just like her Pinkie Sense."

Twilight shook her mane, "Applejack, everypony could be mature if they want to."

"Does Pinkie want to?" Twilight's eyes widened with realization before popping back to her castle and wrote notes for the rest of the day.



Twilight woke up with her head on the papers. She must've fallen asleep. She rubbed her eyes, looking around with heavy bags under her eyes. Twilight groaned as she brushed her mane with her brush. She was still in the library. She took her notes and put them into a saddlebag as she took some breakfast and walked out. Twilight ate her breakfast before going to Pinkie's. She would need all her energy in order to do her plan, which was going to take her whole day. 

Twilight knocked, "Pinkie, it's time for maturity lessons."

A moment passed and the alicorn knocked again, "Pinkie Pie? Pinkie!" 

After a few more minutes, Twight sighed, "You leave me with no choice." She slammed the locked door open with her magic, accidentally breaking it in process. She trotted in to see that Pinkie wasn't there. Well, that explains why she didn't answer the door. Oh no! What if she is captured? She looked around and backed away into somewhere. Immediately, the floor opened up and Twilight slid through a slide, too afraid to think of flying.

Pinkie turned around from a few papers, "Ooh! Twilight! I am planning a party for Rarity's birthday!"

Twilight blinked, "Rarity's birthday isn't until a month or two."

"I know but I reeeally wanted to make it special. You know, maybe I'll make a pre party for her and maybe I should make a day BEFORE your half birthday and also maybe I should do something else superlly special for her. I mean, maybe she wouldn't appreciate confetti in her hair or alligator punch. Hmm... Maybe it should feature a few dresses. Ooh! I'll dress up as a chicken! Do you think that she'll have candy?"

The princess understood about two sentences, "Umm... Okay. Anyways, are you ready for your maturity lessons?"

Pinkie asked, "Maturity lessons? Sound boring. But I need to kind of plan. Wanna help me Twilight?"

"Pinkie, please. How's about if I teach for a few hours, I'll subtly ask Rarity questions that will help your party? That way she won't be suspicious of the party and it will be fun."

Pinkie thought for a moment before nodding, "Fine, but do you Pinkie Promise?"

Twilight sighed, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ow! Eye." Pinkie finally nodded and sat down.

Twilight smiled, "Good. Now, do you know what mature means, Pinkie?" Pinkie stared at Twilight and the blackboard.

The alicorn decided to just answer her question and continue on, "Being mature means acting responsible and more adult. This is a step from acting like a foal. For example, eating all the candy on Nightmare Night is not mature. Making foals terrified is another example of not being mature. One example of being mature is helping your family, friends, and the little ones. Protecting is another thing you need to do to be mature. Are you following, Pinkie?" Pinkie continued to stare at Twilight.

Twilight sighed, "Here's a question. Is eating all the candy on Nightmare Night mature?" Pinkie didn't answer although she blinked.

She answered her own question, "No, it is not mature nor kind. Pinkie, at least try. Is making the foals terrified on Nightmare Night, mature?" Pinkie blinked in reply, looking just like Gummy. 

Twilight waited for a few minutes before saying, "It is not mature. There are many examples of maturity and immaturity, Pinkie. Today, we will have a practical lesson. I will give you a scene and you will act out what to do. Let's start. I am being tortured in the corner and I curse. I curse a lot with language such as buck and you are a pain in the-"

Pinkie interrupted, "I will give them both a party to lift up their moods!"

"Actually, that is not what you will do. You will calm the foal and tell them to stop cursing before looking at the adult."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does. Pinkie, what is the meaning of maturity?"

"It means to be mature." Twilight decided that this was going to be the straightest answer that she would get from Pinkie for the time being.

Twilight continued, "Keeping that in mind, I'll use the mind spell from yesterday, if that is alright with you."

Pinkie nodded, "Yay! I love that spell!"

"Good. Now, I'm going to first hit you with a freeze spell," Twilight made Pinkie freeze, "and now I'm going to use the other spell." Twilight used her magic that was the same as the previous day.

Twilight said in a monotone, "You are in the forest. You hear a scream and follow it, which leads to a house. You peek inside the window and look inside to see a foal being tortured by somepony else. The foal began to curse. You will only obey Twilight Sparkle and you will heed my voice only."

Pinkie echoed, "Heed her voice only." I really want to let Pinkie decide what to do next, but I think she'll say partying. This time, I'll make her do it.

Twilight continued, "Yes, heed my voice. You trot inside and tell the foal to stop cursing. You turn to the adult who thanks you in return. Your heart is light and you are happy about your choice."

"Happy about my choice..."

"You are free from the spell I casted on you." Pinkie blinked and Twilight unfroze the pony. Pinkie wobbled a little before falling onto the ground. Twilight gasped before levitating Pinkie on a stretcher that she conjured up. She ran to the hospital and one of the doctors examined her closely.

The doctor asked, "Princess, may I ask about what she was doing before she became like this?"

Twilight said quickly, "I got her consent for a really complicated mind spell. It's kind of like a hypotonic spell, which lets her be in a scene that I design. Also, I froze her so she wouldn't destroy the house."

The doctor asked, "How frequently is she on the spell and besides today, when did you use it last? Also, how strong did you make the spell?"

Twilight replied, "She was on it for thirty minutes yesterday and today, she was on for twenty or so minutes. I made the spell as strong as I could make it as it is really complicated."

"Then there is little we can do. There is a high chance that she will lose some of her sanity due to the spell. Princess, you are the Element of Magic and adding that to alicorn magic, it is a miracle that she didn't die right after you released her the second time. I must warn you to never use that spell on another pony." Twilight's eyes widened. Pinkie losing her sanity because of her was awful. But again, she never really had sanity.

The doctor continued, "She should wake up by tomorrow morning but we will not release her until tomorrow afternoon."

Twilight nodded, "I understand. I will be leaving now. Thank you doctor." She trotted out the door.

Behind her, she could hear the reception pony calling out, "Thank you for coming and have a good day!"

Twilight sighed and sang in a mournful tune, "When I was a little filly, 
I found it rather silly,
To think that I ever would,
Hurt anypony,
I had my books to read,
Didn't know that I would ever need,
A pony warming to my heart,
But Pinkie was the first one,
The first one to prove me wrong,

My best friend,
Stuck in a hospital,
Thanks to me and the spell I read,
We did everything together,

She taught me how to smile,
She was the first to greet me,
And I hurt her,
Just so I could be,
In a dusty library and read a ton of books,

We shared our secrets,
We shared our friends,
I miss her laughter and weirdness,
For some reason...

My best friend,
Is in a hospital,
Thanks to me and the books that I ever read,

My best friend,
My best friend..."

A soft voice startled Twilight, "Are you alright Twilight?" Twilight glanced up to see Fluttershy looking at her with a few squirrels on her back, clearly enjoying the ride.

Twilight said, "Pinkie is in the hospital... Because of me." The alicorn barely saw Fluttershy's shocked expression before teleporting to her bedroom. For the rest of the day, she refused to eat nor drink. She drifted into a restless sleep in the night.



A familiar voice was at her door, "Twilight? It's me, Starlight. We need to talk. It's an emergency." Twilight sighed as she stood up, brushing her ruffled mane with a brush. She opened the door slowly and Starlight gallops in immediately.

Starlight said, "Twilight, you ask me to stop using magic on other ponies, which I completely agree on. Why on Equestria did you bucking place a spell on Pinkie?"

Twilight said, "Actually, Starlight, I told you to not use magic on other ponies who do not agree on it. Pinkie, as I remember, completely agreed on the spell." 

Starlight sighed, "Look, Twilight. Was it wrong for me to take Double Diamond's cutie mark away as he COMPLETELY AGREED AND COMPLIMENTED ME for taking it?"

"But taking cutie marks is wrong, Starlight."

"I know that, Twilight, but I'm just trying to prove a point here. You are a princess. You must set an example for all of Equestria and stay strong. I know that being a leader could be downright hard but everypony is always counting on you. Teleporting back here whenever something happens is a thing that Equestria would think as cowardly. They wouldn't want to face their own problems as you didn't. Stress comes with being a leader. We are going to eat lunch now."

Twilight blinked, "We are?" Starlight didn't reply as she levitated the princess out of the room. Then, she teleported both of them into Sugarcube Corner to grab a bite. Twilight remained silent as Starlight paid for two cupcakes. Starlight gave one to Twilight before eating her own.

Twilight muttered, "Thanks, but I still need to get Pinkie back."

A chuckle was heard from next to them, "But what if Pinkie is already back?"

Twilight looked at the pink mare that seemed to just pop to their table, "Pinkie? Pinkie!" 

"Now now. You are starting to act so immature Twilight. It's not a good example for the lessons that we are having today, which I assume isn't going to happen."

Twilight asked, "Pinkie?"

"Yes Twilight?"

"I thought that you were going to be let out of the hospital this afternoon, not this morning."

Pinkie chuckled, "Well, seeing that I'm not insane. The nurses to let me out sooner than they expected. I'll see you later Twilight." Twilight waited for Pinkie to pop out of sight but instead, Pinkie trotted up the stairs. What the buck? Since when did Pinkie Pie use the stairs? 

Starlight patted the unfocused Twilight, "Well, it seems like she's alright. I will leave you two alone now. I promised Trixie to help her with one of the shows." With that, Starlight galloped out the room, leaving one confused pony behind. Twilight knew that her spells definitely did something to Pinkie, and she intended to find out what if did. She trotted upstairs and knocked on Pinkie's door, which was locked.

Pinkie's voice called out from the door, "I'm a little busy, Twilight!"  Twilight heard a splash from inside and hoped that Pinkie wasn't doing something even too dangerous for Pinkie. Twilight teleported in, directly onto the bed. Splash! Blue paint flew everywhere from the paint buckets on the bed. It got onto Pinkie, the walls, the floor, the bed, and even Twilight.

Twilight asked, "What are you doing Pinkie?"

In a monotone similar to when she was under the spell, Pinkie replied, "Painting the walls. What do you think? You just ruined it. Now, get out of this room and do not bother me until I allow you in." Twilight looked around once more before nodding and teleporting out. She had teleported onto Rainbow's front steps. She knocked with her right hoof, but there wasn't any answer. Right, Wonderbolt's practice. Deciding to not disturb Rainbow, lest it affected her practice, Twilight flew back to Pinkie's, not thinking of anything better to do. The door finally freaked open after a few hours of reading books that she had only read eighteen times.

Twilight trotted in and stared at the room, "Pinkie, what happened here?" The room was a dead blue color with red lining for the walls. There weren't any of the usual cupcakes on the nightstand which had been painted green. The blanket had turned into a solid white color, but the most surprising thing was Pinkie. Pinkie's hair was tied up into a flat ponytail and there was a small, black ribbon on her tail also.

Pinkie nodded, "Welcome Twilight. What do you think about the place?"

Twilight forced a smile, "It's lovely, Pinkie."

"Oh please Princess. My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie. You could call me Pinkamena." 

Twilight gulped, "Pinkie... Pinkamena, what do you remember?" I think my spell messed up her mind. That seemed like the most logical conclusion she came up with so far in Pinkie's life.

Pinkie-no Pinkamena said in reply, "Well, you are the princess of friendship, one of my best friends, and we went through a lot of adventures together, although you always rolled your eyes at my suggestions. You also want me to become mature, which I have just proven."

Twilight shook her mane, "Pinkamena... I just wanted you to be yourself."

Pinkamena replied, "I am myself now. This is how I was born and how I am supposed to be like. Princess, you must understand that this is good." 

Twilight said, hesitating, "Pinkamena, you turned into Pinkie after you realized who you are meant to be." Having an idea, she casted the memory spell on Pinkamena.

Pinkamena didn't seem to be affected, "Look, Princess. I remember who I am but I want to be like this. I should help with the foals now. I will take my leave now, Princess." Twilight shook her mane vigorously, blocking the door. It wasn't as if Pinkamena could slip through. Only Pinkie could. There had to be a way to get Pinkie back.

Twilight asked, "Pinkamena, could you remind me why you turned back into Pinkamena? You were really content with being Pinkie."

"Pinkie, my old name, and I are the same pony, Princess. It's just our personalities that are different."

"What weren't you happy about? What turned you back into this?"

Pinkamena finally snapped, "Look Princess. I wasn't happy with how you all are treating me. Everytime I try to get all of you to smile, you all shake your manes and roll your eyes as if I'm stupid. I'm sick of it and I am going to go now. Do not try to stop me, Princess Twilight." She sank into the ground in one swift movement and disappeared from sight. Looks like turning back into Pinkamena didn't do a thing. I must admit that Pinkamena is much more mature but I mess Pinkie and her personality. I wish that I never took the stupid dare just for a few weeks in the library. Twilight teleported back into her castle.

Starlight greeted her in the library, "Hi Twilight. Did something happen?" Starlight noticed Twilight's glum expression.

Twilight shook her mane, "I'm afraid that I have killed Pinkie Pie. She thinks that she is Pinkamena."

"That's the thing. She is Pinkamena. They are the same thing."

"No! They aren't. Pinkamena is formal and Pinkie isn't."

"While I changed my mane and I am still Starlight. Look Twilight, maybe you could talk to Rainbow? I think that Rainbow knows Pinkie the most and although her ideas may be slightly rash, she still could have good ideas." Twilight nodded and teleported to Wonderbolt's headquarters before knocking. The doors opened and the doorpony bowed immediately, almost knocking his own head onto the door. Twilight sighed, tired of being a Princess, and trotted to the room where Rainbow would have to go in order to change. She heard voices down the hall.

One voice, Spitfire's, said, "Are you sure you are feeling okay Crash? You seem different today." 

A familiar voice, Rainbow's, replied with ease, "Of course Spitfire, I am okay today. I'll just get changed and head home to relax for tomorrow's show." Twilight heard the two part ways and waited. Eventually, the rainbow maned pony appeared, still wearing her uniform.

Twilight waved a hoof, "Rainbow! We have a lot to discuss."

Rainbow nodded, avoiding Twilight's eyes and opened the door to the changing room, "Hi Twilight. I'll get changed. Do you mind waiting for me in your castle?"

"No, I don't. I'll see you later." Twilight concentrated and teleported back to her castle, nearly knocking into Spike.

Spike asked, "Are you alright Twilight?" 

Twilight nodded and smiled, trying to calm herself down, "Yes. Rainbow is going to come in later. Why don't you wait in the kitchen in case she knocks into the book again?" Spike groaned and walked out, holding his broom.

Twilight waited...

And waited...

And waited... 

After ten minutes, there was a knock on the doors. She wondered who it was, and she was certain that it was not Rainbow as that Pegasus would come flying through a window and would crash into somepony or something. Twilight used her magic to open the doors only to see Rainbow. Rainbow looked... she looked... What happened to Rainbow?

Rainbow was wearing sports clothes as well as shoes that's portrayed her cutie mark. Not only that, but her mane wasn't messy at all. Her magenta eyes weren't filled with the usual energy and her wings were tucked in. 

Twilight asked, pulling Rainbow in and using her magic to close the doors, "What the hay has happened to you?" 

Rainbow said calmly, "Language, Twilight. You called me in and I thought that I would come here immediately after I change. I assume that you didn't call me here because of flying for a performance tomorrow." Not only did she change physically, her speech changed too. What happened?

Twilight regained her posture, "Uhh... Rainbow, why are you wearing that and how come your speech changed?"

The Pegasus replied, "I wouldn't know, would I?"

Twilight said, "Follow me Rainbow. I need to hook you up to a machine."

"Of course Twilight."



The hours passed quickly and soon, it was one in the morning. Twilight's tired eyes scanned the never ending papers, not getting anywhere with her results. Rainbow was still awake, which was surprising but not as surprising as the fact that she hadn't moved at all, insisting that sleeping in front of a princess was immature.

Twilight had one conclusion after the paper ran out, "Rainbow, if this is a prank, it's not funny." She stared into Rainbow's empty eyes, hoping that Rainbow had learned her lesson on pranking ponies. She was a little surprised when she didn't get any results. 

Rainbow finally said, "Pranking is very immature, Twilight."

The alicorn princess had one last conclusion that had a high percentage of happening, "Discord!"

Immediately, Discord appeared on a cloud, "Hello Twilight. Why did you call me here?"

"You didn't do this?" Twilight pointed at Rainbow with her hoof and Discord shook his head. The princess sighed before wondering if Discord was being truthful or just along the prank. No matter how much Twilight tried, she couldn't read Discord as well as Fluttershy. Speaking of Fluttershy, she was certain that her friend wouldn't mind if it meant helping Rainbow,

Twilight said, "Discord, can you get Fluttershy?"

Discord smirked, "What's the magic word?"

"Just do it."

"Close enough." He disappeared and reappeared quickly, with Fluttershy in his claws. Fluttershy shook her mane and yawned a few times before looking at Twilight and Discord.

Twilight quickly explained, "Fluttershy, something is off about Rainbow. I bet that Discord could help but you usually could guess if he's telling the truth or not."

Fluttershy narrowed her soft eyes, "Why should I? I was in the middle of sleeping and I just SUDDENLY woke up for no reason but to help Rainbow, who looks like she's going to drop dead? No, I'm not doing that." With that, she trotted away and few away with so much strength bouncing through her hooves that both Twilight and Discord stared.

Discord recovered quickly, "Ah ha! I see. It's Opposite Day."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Opposite Day?"

Discord flicked his claws and immediately, all of the colors from the items and ponies around turned into their reverse color, "Hi, I'm opposite Discord and I love making new friends. And my best friend is Twilight Sparkle. I just love everypony around me..."

The alicorn, feeling a sudden change in her heart, flew up, "Discord, you're my only friend but I'm just so sick of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow and everypony! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them! Look at me, I'm the best at everything. I'm just so sick of that attitude. You understand right! Good because you better bucking fix this. Go! I'm the princess and I'm the best alicorn and-" The lord of chaos stifled a chuckle at Twilight's antics before snapping his claws once more, turning everything back to how it originally was.

Twilight blushed as she flew to the ground and she called out, "Discord!" Discord couldn't hold in his chuckles and burst out laughing before pulling a disappearing act. The alicorn sighed and looked at Rainbow, who was still obediently standing there, which her hooves in the metal rings, with the machine still running. The difference was that instead of the ink going to the papers, the print read: Discord is the Best! with Discord's face on it.

The princess sighed and muttered under her breath, "He's even worse than Rainbow Dash." When she glanced up and saw the stoic Rainbow though, she glanced down, changing her mind quickly. 

Rainbow asked, politeness and patience lacing her voice, "Twilight, is it alright if I stop putting my hooves through here? They are getting quite-" Crash! 

The rainbow pony finished her sentence, "Uncomfortable." 

Twilight asked, "Do you happen to have a twin?" Maybe this isn't Rainbow. Maybe it's her twin or... A changeling? I mean, it is possible for one changeling to escape Thorax's vision from the whole swarm. He wasn't exactly the most social in his earlier stages, according to Starlight.

Rainbow shook her mane, "I do not believe so." It has to be a changeling then. There isn't any other explanation, other than magic. Maybe this could be something like a better concealment of Starlight's combined spells? No, my machines would've caught on to them,

Twilight eyed the Discord covered sheets. I still can't get Discord completely out of the options either. As much as I believe that he is mostly reformed, he is a really good actor. He did help Tirek in the early stages, although all went well eventually. Even this castle and the very important cutie map sprang out of it. It wasn't intentional though.

A slight cough interrupted Twilight from her thoughts, "Twilight? Are you feeling all right? You have been staring at me for the last few minutes. I don't want to seem rude by interrupting but..."

The lavender alicorn shook her mane, "No, it's fine Rainbow. I was just thinking about..." Should I tell her?

She hesitated before saying, "You and Pinkie. Can you please get the rest of the girls here?"" Rainbow saluted before trotting our the door in a dignified matter to hopefully get the others. Meanwhile, Twilight trotted to the window and looked outside to investigate what the crash was. To her surprise, it was Derpy. 

Twilight said, "Oh, I usually get letters by dragon. It's the fastest way. I'll take that though." She used her magic to surround the letter but Derpy shook her head.

She said, "For Starlight." Starlight was just trotting by, with her lunch on her hoof. She suddenly stopped when she heard her name, nearly toppling her lunch on the floor. Wait, lunch? Twilight looked at the time and was shocked to see that it was midday. Time definitely flew when she was hanging around Discord and doing research on Rainbow Dash. 

Starlight levitated the letter from Derpy's mouth and read it, "Oh no. No... No... No... No, no, no, no, no, no."

Twilight asked, concern in her voice, "What does it say?" Derpy flew out the window, nearly hitting the wall, but made it. The alicorn closed the window after Derpy left.

The unicorn replied, fear etching through her voice, "It's from the ponies in my old village."

"Are they hurt? Sick? Is there a really bad friendship problem?"

"It's even worse! They want me to lead again, saying that I still deserve it and whatnot. But being a leader of that village is the-"

"Last thing to get yourself back together and be who you are. When you first led, you were rather convincing. I'm sure that you could lead them again. But it's your choice Starlight. I would call the rest of the girls here, but seeing the current situation, I'm afraid that you'll have to decide." Starlight looks down at the letter.

Starlight finally said, "I'll stay there for one week and try to form a democracy, I guess."

Twilight blinked, "But in Equestria, it's supposed to be a monarchy."

"I'm going to back the final decisions if necessary and raise the options, but I have no wish to boss others around again. I could represent the town but telling ponies what to do without giving them a chance would seem wrong. I'm going to pack and leave as soon as possible. I'll be back Twilight." 

Twilight finally nodded, "Like I said, it's your choice."

Starlight hugged Twilight, "Thanks!" Then, Starlight released Twilight and teleported out, grabbing her things and going to her 'little village'.

Rainbow coughed, bringing attention back to herself, "So are we going to stay here and stare at one another or are we going to do something else?"

Twilight said, the changelings on her mind, "Prove that you're Rainbow and nopony else."

Her eyebrows narrowed before she asked, "How should I prove it?" Twilight paused, unsure of how to answer that question. It wasn't like the Pegasus had a magical signature or an aura that she could even compare it to. Wait, flying. Twilight remembered that if there was one thing that Rainbow could do differently, it was the Sonic Rainboom, the one that changed their fates for the better. 

Twilight said, "Do the Sonic Rainboom." She didn't leave a question in her voice and she waited for a reply. 

Rainbow replied, "A Sonic Rainboom requires a desire of having it. Being told to won't work. As much as I want to show off and do that, I must remember the fact that it would take a lot of energy and it usually wouldn't be worth it. Also, today is Saturday."

The princess raised an eyebrow, "What does that have to do with anything?"

The Pegasus said, "Just about every single disaster we ever had is on Saturday or Tuesday. Fortune has beamed upon me since Wonderbolts have a rest day on Saturday."

"How do you even remember?"

"You always talk about writing your friendship lessons. For example, on a Tuesday before you turned into an alicorn, you were freaking out because you didn't write a report for a week. Also, Trixie came out and the Ursa Minor came out on a Saturday. Even Sunburst had discovered the Pony of Shadows on a Saturday and you could remember how stressful that was. We were next to dying and were extremely lucky in succeeding and not losing our elements."

Twilight considered this and nodded, "I suppose that is true. I never would believe that I would hear you talking like a nerd though. It's very unlike you. It's like-"

Twilight gasped in realization, "I know a solution that could sort of fix you so we could use the elements! Discord, can you focus the Opposite energy on Rainbow? Right now she isn't herself." 

Discord chuckled, appearing from thin air, "Oh of course Princess Twilight." He said the last two words in a menacing kind of way but still used his magic on Rainbow.

Rainbow, who's colors were dark, blinked, "Twilight? Why the buck is Discord here?" 

Twilight smiled, "Back to normal. Thank you Discord. Now, Rainbow, why was your mind connected to Pinkie's. If something happened to her mind, which it did, then it would affect yours the most."

"Uhh... I just wanted to see the results of you trying. I thought it would be awesome! Why?"

"I broke her, Rainbow. Now everypony is acting solemn because Pinkie, or Pinkamena, isn't cheering them on constantly."

"Just do the same thing you did to me but on Pinkie. Then we will use the elements and fix whatever magic thingy you did with the horn and get back. Shoot! Did I miss Wonderbolt practice? Gotta fly!" She unfurled her wings and lifted off.

Twilight shouted, "Wait! It's Saturday."

Rainbow landed back to the ground, "Saturday? Oh right. I forgot that everything happened on Saturday or Tuesday. Now let's save Pinkie!" 




Discord snapped his fingers to Pinkie and she instantly turned into a murky color but she smiled before laughing her head off. 

Twilight muttered, "Yep, Pinkie's back."




Rainbow lasers turned around and hit the two ponies. They landed onto the ground in their normal colors. They stood up and blinked, looking around before looking at themselves.

Pinkie giggled, "Want to do that again?"




After a week... Rainbow knocked on the door of Twilight's castle, "Twilight? Can you open the door? I feel nice enough to not awesomely break the window and knock Spike to the floor."

The alicorn opened the door, yawning, "Hi Rainbow."

Rainbow smirked, "I won the bet. Get out of the library."