Six ponies and a little dragon stood in the library of Twilight Sparkle's new castle. The Princess was busily attaching wires and leads between an odd-looking stone arch engraved with magic runes and a large cylindrical device resembling an earthquake seismometer.

"Twilight, it's almost time for the ceremony. We have to be outside in less than an hour!" Rainbow Dash grumbled. "This is not the time for another egghead science experiment."

Applejack cleared her throat. "Rainbow's got a point, sugarcube. We oughta be gettin' gussied up right about now..."

"Thank you, darling," said Rarity, standing by a freestanding rack of formal dresses. "These should only take a few minutes to get into, but it's always better when a lady doesn't need to rush things. Oh, and Spike? Do be a dear and watch the entry for us?" Rarity said, making a 'shoo' motion with her hoof.

The little dragon sighed. "You guys do know you don't normally wear clothes, right? It's not like I'm going to see anything."

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Clothing isn't meant to hide, darling. It is meant to accentuate. And when one is in the process of putting it on, well... Let's just say it can accentuate the wrong things," she said, then gently reached down to pet Spike on the head. "And let's face it, darling, you like some of the mystery, don't you?" Rarity asked, batting her eyes.

Spike's purple cheeks blushed a deep shade of red. "I'll... just stand out there," he said. He quickly ran outside the library entrance and shut the door behind him. Pinkie Pie giggled.

"We can start dressing while Twilight works," Fluttershy said. "Um, if that's okay with you, Twilight..."

"Look, everypony, this will only take another minute," Twilight Sparkle said. "I know I haven't told you what this is yet, but I'm so excited about it I would just pop if I didn't have a chance to try it out first! I've been looking over Star Swirl's notes on interdimensional travel..."

"Um, Twilight? Didn't Princess Celestia warn you about the enter-dimming-channel thingies after our last trip to Torrid Equestria almost destroyed both of our universes?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Because that might be a bad thing."

"Yeah, what she said," added Applejack. "Are you sure this is safe, Twi?"

"Ugh. Yes, it's completely safe," Twilight insisted. "We're not going to cross the threshold, we're only going to look inside. Besides, it took Celestia more than a millenium to mess things up that badly." Twilight Sparkle tapped a button on the seismometer device and it hummed to life. The runes on the arch began to glow.

"Ohhhh, I'm not sure about this," Fluttershy said, cowering back against the hanging dresses.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said. "Twilight's got a good track record. This should be awesome, whatever the hay it is."

Pinkie Pie ran up and playfully tapped at the runes. "Don't leave us in suspense, Twi! What does it do!?"

Twilight Sparkle grinned. "I believe I have found a way to open a portal to literally any world we can imagine! All I need are the proper coordinates. Of course, I don't know which coordinates go where, yet," she admitted. "I'll just have to try random guesses until something works."

Pinkie gasped. "Try 00002-R-63-M6!" she shouted.

Twilight chuckled. "Oh Pinkie, that's not even the right format for..." she said, then played a little with the dials on the device. "Well, I'll be feathered. Somehow, that actually goes somewhere. That shouldn't even be possible! How...?"

"Just a hunch," Pinkie said, grinning.

"Okay, now even I'm concerned. Not scared, of course, just concerned," Dash said. Rarity and Applejack exchanged smirks.

"Here we go!" said Twilight, as Applejack pulled Pinkie Pie away from the archway. Princess Twilight Sparkle placed her pair of goggles on tightly, grinned like a mad scientist, and yanked a large metal lever on the device. A humming noise emanated from the machine and grew ever louder. A deep green light began to illuminate first the archway, then the device itself, and then the entire room began to glow. Everypony in the room shut their eyes.

"It's too bright! Shut it off, Twilight!" shouted Applejack over the loud din of the humming device. And just like that, the noise and light ceased in an instant. Everypony in the room blinked and looked around.

"Great, now everything looks like Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash moaned. The room looked like a few pony-shaped pink blobs against a background of pink.

"That's due to the color of the light. Green and magenta are opposites, so for a minute or two things might look a little pink, that's all," said Twilight Sparkle. "I'm really sorry everypony! I don't know what could have gone wrong. It started pulling an incredible amount of mana, and the mana should have been restricted to the gate..."

Twilight felt her way over to the gate and inspected it. It was still very hard to see clearly, but it was obvious that no doorway had opened.

"Um, Twilight?" said a soft but very unfamiliar voice. "Your voice sounds a little strange. Wait... oh, my! So does mine..."

"Is that you Fluttershy?" said Rainbow Dash, whose voice was almost normal, but not quite right. "My wings don't feel right either. I feel like I weigh too much."

"Ah can't really tell over here, feels pretty much the same," said an unfamiliar voice whose prosody and pronunciation matched Applejack's to a tee. "Ah feel a little different in the, er, underbelly location, but that could just be nerves. At least my hat's alright," she added, tapping the brim with a hoof.

"Oh no. It's happened to me too," said a voice much like Rarity's, rich and sonorous, except perhaps an octave deeper. "There's something resting on the top of my muzzle, I think, like a mask?" she gasped.

"Woo! This is so cool!" said a bubbly voice that could only have been Pinkie Pie's, from a bouncing shape that could only be Pinkie Pie. Except it wasn't anything like Pinkie's voice: it was much deeper.

"EVERYPONY! Calm down and have a seat until we can actually see what the hey is going on," Twilight's shape said. "I'm sure I can fix whatever this is. Just a simple magical backfire or... well, something. Just try to relax." Twilight walked over to the herd and sat on the carpeting with four of her friends. Pinkie Pie simply continued pronking about the library.

"This feels so weird!" Pinkie bubbled, in that strange voice that definitely wasn't hers. "Everything's a little heavier, too. Oh, wow! Maybe Twilight turned up gravity all over Equestria?" she asked.

"No, because then we'd all notice it," said Twilight Sparkle. "Besides, not even I can do something that catastrophic, thank Sun. I mean, the death toll would be in the millions. No, wait, it'd be a lot worse than that. It would probably kill off everypony and everything else, except for certain species of plants and insects..."

"Twilight! Please stop saying things like that," ordered Rarity, "or you're going to scare our dear Fluttershy." A soft squeak arose from the cowering pony.

"AJ was right, this was a bad idea," griped Rainbow Dash in her slightly-off voice. "Hey, can't you see us, Dusk? You had goggles on!"

"Hush, you," said the Applejack-shaped pony.

"They aren't that kind of goggles," said Twilight Sparkle. "Wait, what did you just call me...?" Her vision began to clear as the pink shapes grew more distinct.

"Did I say something weird? Look, I'm sorry, but I'm kind of having a hard time concentrating right now," said Dash.

"Um... W-why is everypony, well, bigger?" asked Fluttershy, squinting. Everypony did, in fact, look a little larger. Their manecuts were markedly different, as well: most were quite short, except Rarity's which was the same length, and Rainbow Dash's which was longer than normal. And their muzzles were much larger... The implication was unmistakable, even if nopony wanted to believe it.

"What's going on?" asked Rarity, the nervousness apparent in her now-deeper voice. "Why do you all look different?"

"This... this isn't possible," said Twilight Sparkle. "Magic can't cause this kind of change! I should know, I've done an extensive body of research on it! Granted, the theory on why it can't work is still open, but the failure to find a magical solution is what's driven all the research in the medical field instead..."

"Pfft! Applebrandy, you look just like a dude!" Rainbow Dash said, then started laughing.

"Y'know, funny you should mention that, sugarcube: despite havin' a big fat muzzle, that long mane of yours makes you look a little more like a girl," grinned Applebrandy.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Somepony hoof me some scissors, now."

"Rainbow Blitz, no! Anything we do to our new bodies might make it harder to change back!" Twilight warned.

"This is so super-duper cool!!!" raved Pinkie Pie, finally returning to the herd. She thrust her head between her forelegs, looking back across her underbelly.

Rarity looked around her. "Our new bodies? You're all... stallions. Why are you all stallions?" she asked, eyeing everypony as colors began returning to normal in her vision. Her eyes suddenly widened in horror. "Oh no. No no no no no," she gasped, looking around at her body, then reaching under her barrel with a hoof.

Rarity shrieked and fainted. Pinkie Pie looked up momentarily, then tucked her head back between her legs.

The door to the library opened, and Spike ran inside.

"Oh no. Spike, this isn't what it looks like," Twilight said.

"What are you talking about Dusk Shine? It's exactly what it looks like!" countered Pinkie Pie, without even bothering to lift her head.

"Elusive!" cried Spike, as he reached down and cradled the unicorn's head in his arms. Spike didn't look quite the same, though. He was a little thinner, his frills were larger, his spines were softer and smaller...

"Oh no. It happened to Spike too," Applebrandy said.

Spike looked up to Dusk Shine with a pout on his face. "Dusk, from now on I'm staying if you do an experiment with Elusive around. I don't care if you guys are getting dressed."

"Okay, now this is completely impossible! The device couldn't have affected Spike, there's just no way. The aura only extended as far as the library, and all the doors were shut," Dusk Shine said. "Unless..." He picked up his journal and read the cover to himself: "The Journal of the Two Brothers".

"Spike, do you feel... different?" whispered Fluttershy to the little dragon.

"What... Butterscotch, are you talking to me?" the dragon asked. "My name is Barb, remember? Is this some kind of a weird game? You stallions need to be at the front of the castle in less than an hour. And what on Equestria did you do to poor Elusive?"

"Elusive..." said Applebrandy. "How do we know these names? Twilight, what in the hay is happening to us?"

"You know," Rainbow Blitz said, "that whole crush thing is suddenly a whole lot creepier when Spike's a filly and Rarity's a stallion. Just sayin'."

Dusk Shine glared at Blitz, then turned to Applebrandy. "We did open a door into another dimension," he explained. "But instead of it being a gateway, it transported us into the bodies of these other ponies..."

Elusive blinked a few times, then looked up at Barb. "Spike, why are you a filly?" she asked. Barb appeared very confused, but helped her—or him, rather—to his hooves.

"Now wait just a minute," said Rainbow Blitz. "Are you saying there's a universe where Equestria is run by stallions? You have to be joking! That's not even possible! They'd like, wreck everything in a matter of days!"

"Excuse me, Rainbow Blitz," Applebrandy said. "Ah'll have you know my brother is a stallion and he's very responsible. Ah'm sure a nation of stallions could do just fine."

"Oh no," said Butterscotch, rising to his hooves. "Does this mean that this Butterscotch pony is in my body? Because then the six of us in our Equestria are having the same problem..."

"You have to solve this now, Dusk Shine," said Elusive, standing up straight and almost hiding the fear in his voice. "We have no business being in these bodies, and more importantly, if a stallion is in my body, I shudder to think what may occur."

Barb shook her head. "Ooooookay. Sorry guys, but this is where I get off the Friendship Express. Let me know when you figure out what gender you are, and I'll come back then," she said, and headed out through the library door, shutting it behind her.

"Okay, okay, look. I'll see what I can do, but we may need to do the ceremony in this universe instead," said Dusk Shine. "As for the names, I guess we have a small piece of their immediate memory to work with, but it's not like we're turning into them or anything. We know each other, but I can't remember Spike being called 'Barb', or anypony else for that matter."

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh I can do something amazing! Guys, look!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

"Bubble Berry, shut it," said Rainbow Blitz. "Dusk, how will doing a ceremony here help anything? We need to be there, for our ceremony," he asked. "You do remember our ceremony, right? The one happening in like half an hour? The one where we're not a bunch of dudes?"

"Wait, Ah think Ah get it," said Applebrandy. "It's all, like, symmetrical. If we do it here, that means they'll have to do it there. So if Dusk Shine can't fix things in time, we just gotta bite the ol' apple and go out there and pretend the best we can."

"Well... Doesn't anypony else think the name Barb is just a little familiar?" asked Butterscotch, so softly nopony appeared to pay attention.

Rainbow Blitz buried his face in a hoof. "Stallions in our bodies? Come on! Don't you realize what would happen if a stallion ended up in the body of a mare? Haven't you mares ever met a stallion?!"

"Oh, Blitzie, it can't be that bad!" insisted Bubble Berry, a huge grin on his face. "But check this out, guys! Helicopter!!! Woo woo woo woo woo!" he said, bending his knees over and over again as...

Applebrandy's face went pale. "Okay, we might have a problem," he said.

---

"I simply cannot believe we have to do this," said Elusive as the six ponies headed up to the staging area where the male counterparts of the Equestrian rulers stood. "These outfits took forever to put on. I would never live this down if I didn't look completely fabulous."

"Glad to see your modesty ain't changed a bit," quipped Applebrandy, receiving an icy stare from Elusive in return. "Er, but you're right about the outfits, at least. We do look very sharp in 'em."

Elusive smiled. "Thank you, Applebrandy."

"It's not like you're the pony who sewed them," complained Rainbow Blitz. "And I'm sorry for being a jerk, but I'm going to pissed until I can fly again. My center of mass is totally off."

"Guys, cut it out," Dusk Shine whispered as he headed the procession up the stairs to where the other princes awaited them.

"Rainbow, what's done is done," chided Butterscotch. "We know Dusk Shine didn't mean to do any of this to us, and we've been in rougher spots before."

"Mmm-hmm," concurred Bubble Berry, nodding vigorously. He had reluctantly Bubble Promised to a nervous group of friends to keep his mouth shut, not to mention several other things.

The six stallions reached the top of the stage, where two princes and a very concerned-looking Barb stood. Five of them trotted off to the side to speak with Barb. Dusk Shine tapped Celestia's counterpart with a hoof and whispered to him. "Um, Prince? Before we begin the ceremonies, you need to know we may have a small problem."

"How small, exactly?" came an unfamiliar voice from the familiar-looking pony. Princess Celestia's double had a shorter mane, but he was every bit as regal: he was even larger than she was, and his presence every bit as commanding. Luna's male counterpart walked over to listen in.

"I'm... not actually Dusk Shine. I'm another Twi—er, another Dusk Shine from a similar universe. I think the six of us switched bodies with the six of them," he said.

The male Celestia snorted. "Damn it, Dusk. I warned you about doing things with other universes! And that means whoever I am over there must have warned you, too," he said.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you were right. I had no idea this sort of thing could happen, but there's nothing in the literature..." Dusk Shine said, flustered.

Luna's double cleared her throat to speak. "The reason for that, of course, is Star Swoop the Braided," he said. "She kept ponies away from doing that sort of research in the first place, since it was so inherently dangerous. An instruction my brother and I, being pony, have also made the mistake of ignoring. Once each, I believe, although of... varying durations."

"Thank you, Artemis," said an mildly annoyed white alicorn. "Alright, let's work with it. Prince Dusk Shine, just exactly how different is your universe?"

"Well, it's not that different. It's just that, um, there, all the guys are girls, and vice-versa," Dusk explained. "The only problems are that we don't remember anypony's names, except the six of us for some reason remember their names as well as our own names. Also, we're not used to these bodies yet, so Dash can't fly very well. Er, I mean Rainbow Blitz."

"Hmm. How novel. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Prince Solaris, and this is Prince Artemis," said Celestia's counterpart, with a slight smile. "Out of curiosity, you are...?"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle. The others are Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Oh, and Barb is Spike, but that's your Barb there. They're probably explaining it to her now."

"Who are we? We—I mean, I, am very interested!" said Prince Artemis, his eyes lighting up.

"Princesses Celestia and Luna," said Dusk Shine.

"I think we can ask these questions later, dear brother," chastised Prince Solaris.

Prince Artemis scoffed. "Oh, you sourpuss. At least tell us which brother is prettier," he said, winking at Dusk, who blushed.

"Wait just a moment. This universe...? Twilight Sparkle, did you intentionally..." said Solaris, his eyes narrowing as his muzzle contorted in anger. Prince Artemis looked puzzled.

"What? Oh!" Dusk Shine gasped, as the realization dawned. "No! I swear to you, Prince! Pinkie Pie picked a random set of coordinates to open a portal to, and this is, it's just what happened," the smaller alicorn said, dropping his head in shame. "I had no idea, and I would never willingly do anything like this to my friends. You have to believe me..."

"Excuse me, but what is this issue of which you both speak?" asked Prince Artemis. "I am, if you would forgive the pun, completely in the dark."

Prince Solaris bristled. "My former student and I need to have a private conversation about this, right now. I will discuss it with you in detail when we receive Dusk Shine's friendship report on the same matter," said Solaris. Prince Artemis huffed and walked over to the other herd.

"Twilight, describe to me exactly how you managed to do this," Prince Solaris asked.

"I used a thaumaturgometric rectified amplifier and focused it on the larger M-brane field. From there it was a simple matter of normalizing various frequencies..." Dusk Shine said, but his voice trailed off as he saw Prince Solaris close his eyes with a sad expression.

"Twilight, do you realize the full gravity of what you've done here?" Solaris asked. "You tapped into the larger M-brane field?! You harnessed mana across all possible universes at the same time! My Sun, this type of transference, and the sheer amount of mana you must have siphoned to pull your minds here... I mean, how are we supposed to send you all back without killing you in the process? Do you have any idea what trying to reverse this would do to your flesh, just to begin with?"

Dusk Shine grimaced. "Oh please, please don't say it. My friends have suffered so much. There has to be another way. I can't stand to see them in pain, especially not for my mistakes," he pleaded.

Prince Solaris sighed deeply. "There is no good answer. Even if Prince Artemis and I provide additional energy..." he said, then paused in thought. After a minute of silence, his face hardened like stone, and he spoke, "Princess Twilight Sparkle, you know the truth as well as I, even if you choose not to admit it. The hard way is the only way. I believe you know exactly what I mean. We'll handle this as soon as I perform my announcement duties and have a chance to inform Artemis."

Dusk Shine covered his face with a hoof, near tears. "I never meant to make my friends suffer. I deserve it; they don't. This isn't fair," he whimpered, his legs shaking.

"We'll delay most of the ceremony until the close of the evening's festivities, and I can pull a few pegasi strings to get a tornado or something to cancel everything at the last minute. That will get you all out of the spotlight and give everypony time to recover from the ordeal," Prince Solaris said, then gently touched Dusk Shine's cheek with a hoof. "Listen, Twilight. We'll get through this, alright? It won't hurt them very much, and with the two of us assisting with the spellcasting, your friends will be just fine. As will you."

"I feel, just, unbelievably guilty," said Dusk Shine. "I never wanted this."

"I know," said Prince Solaris. "Welcome to royalty, son."

"Is this... Is this my destiny, Prince Solaris? Somehow all of this is my fault, for wanting, this, isn't it?" Dusk Shine asked, turning himself around in a circle, first facing the castle behind him, then the cheering crowd before him. "Desire to make myself into something more, to be admired by others, to have control over everything. I mean, this need is what motivates me to excel, but it keeps pushing me over the edge. I keep flying too close to your Sun," he admitted. "I just can't believe I did it this time. My poor friends."

Prince Solaris gave a wan smile. "It is desire, and to an extent, even insanity, that makes outliers like us into the ponies we are. I suppose in a way, yes, this is your fault. But it is not in the way you are thinking," he said. "You know, I once told a young pony named Dusk Shine that being a prince requires incredible sacrifice. Including sacrifices from one's friends: even if they never signed up for it, and even when they don't deserve it. I'm sure Princess Celestia has told you the same. Be happy for your fortune, and for the fortunes of your friends. Remember why you studied magic in the first place, Twilight. Your friends would sacrifice everything for you to be happy. They aren't suffering because of you, but because they love you. And that love, I believe you have earned."

Dusk shine nodded, and Prince Solaris wiped a tear from his cheek.

---

Back in the castle library, Bubble Berry pouted. "Do we have to go back so soon? There are so many things we haven't done! Like, well, you know: fun stuff!" he protested. Behind him, Butterscotch vigorously shook his head in disagreement.

"Honestly, it ain't all that different from my other body," said Applebrandy, experimentally air-bucking with Kicks McGee.

"Oh you. You would say something like that," teased Elusive, jabbing Applebrandy in the side with his hoof.

"Well, I just want to be able to fly again without going through a whole week of retraining," Rainbow Blitz said. "If I'd stay here any longer, I'll end up needing to retrain when I get back, too. And that would pretty much suck. I was planning on doing a sonic rainboom at the end of the ceremony. If I'm still off-balance after we return, I might have to scrap it altogether," he said.

"Well..." said Dusk Shine. "The whole castle-opening ceremony thing is probably going to need to be scrapped," he said. "After people have had a fun time and before the actual ceremony, Princess Celestia will find a way to shut things down. Severe weather event, or maybe just a major disaster. You know, something simple."

"What? But why???" asked Rainbow Blitz. "We're going home! Is it going to take a whole day to make the trip this time? I mean, we made it from there to here in like, ten seconds flat!"

Dusk Shine sighed. "Look, girls, here's the thing. After Prince Solaris and I talked this over, we realized that sending us all back is going to be more than a little hard on us, both physically and mentally. You aren't going to be steady on your hooves anytime soon, but we should all be right as rain within a few days after we've had time to recover. I'm really sorry about all this."

"Not a problem, Twilight. Ah'm sure we can take it," Applebrandy said, adjusting his hat.

"Um, Dusk?" asked Butterscotch. "Aren't Celestia and Luna... Oh, I'm sorry. I mean, aren't Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis in danger if they're here in the library when you start the machine?"

"We'll be protected," said Prince Solaris. "Barb, however, should leave the library until the rest of you have returned to your universe."

Barb ran up to Elusive and hugged him. "Be nice to Spike, okay?" she asked. "I think you're every bit as amazing as my Elusive. I want to ride him the moment he gets back," she sighed, then raced out of the library. Prince Artemis shut the door with his telekinesis.

"Huh. You were right, Blitz. Er, Dash, I mean. Pretty creepy," said Applebrandy.

"Oh please. Our relationship is completely innocent," Elusive said. "Besides, such a thing might be perhaps a bit... untoward, in our Equestria; but I'm sure there's nothing unusual here about a little filly doting on a mature stallion." Prince Artemis raised a brow, then exchanged a curious glance with his brother.

"Okay. Is this it, then?" Dusk Shine asked Solaris, his voice filled with reluctance.

"It is time," said Prince Solaris.

Dusk Shine slowly exhaled. "I don't mean to repeat myself, but this time around it may be uncomfortable. Painful, even. Each of us will probably black out entirely from the forces involved. Also, our brains might be temporarily muddled from the experience, since we don't belong in these bodies and we've been stuck in them for more than an hour. The five of you should lie down on the floor, and try to relax. I'll join you once the machine is running, and then the princes will take over from there," he explained.

Butterscotch smiled. "Normally I'd be worried about the pain, and I guess I kind of am, but I'm just so happy we're going back. This is a nice body to visit, but I really wouldn't want to stay here," he said. The rest of Dusk Shine's friends nodded and smiled. Dusk Shine himself, however, still looked very sad.

"Aww. Cheer up Twilie! It's okay if it hurts us," said Bubble, frowning. "We know you didn't mean it, and it's been a super-fun adventure!"

"Yeah, sugarcube. This is what friendship's all about ain't it?" said Applebrandy.

"You are definitely going to black out before I do," said Rainbow Blitz, grinning at Applebrandy.

"Ha! You're on, boy," winked AB, flexing his muscles as he lay flat against the floor.

Elusive sighed. "This is going to ruin my mane, I just know it. Well, just like Bubble—of course, I mean Pinkie—said, adventure and so forth. We wouldn't trade these moments with you for the world, Twilight," he declared, putting on a brave face.

"Thank you guys... that, that really means everything to me," Dusk Shine said, teary-eyed. After some button-pushing and a yank of the lever, the machine hummed to life, and Dusk walked over to rest of the herd and lay out flat. As the library began to glow green, Solaris and Artemis started weaving a spell together. "Close your eyes and hold on tight," Dusk Shine warned his friends.

"Woo hoo!!!" yelled Bubble Berry, and then yelped as a painful wrenching sensation gripped his back. Several ponies grunted in exertion, but the pain was short-lived. The sweet kiss of darkness came swiftly.

---

"Did it work?" coughed Applejack, looking around. It was very dim, and it appeared that all of the crystal lights in the library had exploded. The stone archway had clearly been smashed to bits and most of the device had melted. Crystal fragments and stone rubble dotted the carpet.

Princess Celestia stepped forward and her horn began to illuminate most of the library in a warm glow. "Yes, Applejack. You're all back," she said, smiling gently. She reached down to help Twilight Sparkle to her feet as the other ponies came to.

"Ugh, I feel like somepony stuck a javelin through my brain," gasped Rainbow Dash.

"I'm... rather foggy-headed myself," said Rarity, coughing. "We should have, excuse me—our stallion counterparts should have taken these outfits off before taking the return trip. Although I suppose that's our fault as well. Oh wonderful, I think I've positively ruined the ruching on this outfit..."

"Um, does anypony else have more than one set of memories from today?" gasped Fluttershy, shivering on the ground. Applejack helped her unsteady friend to her hooves.

"There was no way to keep your memories from getting tangled up with theirs," Princess Luna said. "As Princess Twilight Sparkle informed you, the return trip was both physically, and mentally challenging."

Pinkie Pie opened her eyes and instantly jumped to her feet. "Owie-zowie! That really was painful," she said. "Oh no, Twilight you look awful!" Pinkie gasped.

Twilight Sparkle's legs were shaking, her mane was a mess, and her were eyes puffy and sore. "I'm... okay," she said in a whispery voice, as Celestia gently hugged her.

"Oh no. What happened to our dear Twilight?" asked Rarity, limping over to Twilight Sparkle.

"Twilight had to assist us in casting the spell, in order to ensure the everything went smoothly," said Princess Celestia. "She will need several days to recover, even though her strain was more mental than physical. I will help her to her bed, and my sister will lead the rest of you to your guest quarters. I presume you know the way, but we would prefer to leave nothing to chance at the moment."

"Ah think Ah can make it home..." said Applejack.

"No way. You're staying here with the rest of us colts, or fillies, or whatever the hay we are at the moment," said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, if you go home and I don't, it'll make me look bad! Not that I couldn't go home, I mean. I'm just, really tired."

"Alright," relented Applejack, with a smile on her face. "You done talked me into it."

"Twilight, please don't ever put this much burden on your saddle again," said Fluttershy, her legs still very shaky. "We worry about you..."

"I'll be fine," wheezed Princess Twilight Sparkle, her neck limp and her eyes downcast as Princess Celestia raised the smaller alicorn up onto her back.

---

Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,

This past week has been the worst ordeal of my life. My friends are all concerned about me, and none of them can understand why I'm so depressed. I tell them I feel guilty about what they've had to endure, but of course they don't comprehend the true meaning of my words. My friends don't even know the scope of their own sacrifice. Worst of all, I suspect they would willingly make that sacrifice, just to help me, if only they knew how important it was.

It's ironic that I've finally managed to achieve what I set out to do purely by serendipity (a.k.a. Bubble/Pinkie), yet at the same time what has happened to my friends is still my fault. I never should have disobeyed you, Princess Celestia. Somehow, my friends seem to have come through this thing unscathed. Things are pretty much back the way they used to be in this universe, except of course for me, and for the secret that the three of us now share.

Princess Celestia, when we were standing on that stage, and you told me to remember why I first studied magic, it felt like a slap to the muzzle. At the time, I thought you had merely said something careless by accident. Now I realize you wanted it to sting. You wanted it to leave a mark on my heart, and it did, and for that I'm grateful. The sooner I can let the pain in, the sooner I'll be able to achieve some kind of closure. I'm still hoping that's possible.

Ever since I was five years old, I've been pushing myself to learn everything about magic for one single, focused reason. Princess Celestia, until Princess Luna learned about it earlier this week, you were the only pony I ever entrusted that secret to. (Your counterparts, I mean.) I never told my family, not even my BSBFF! I guess I felt like it was so shameful that I had to hide it forever. I had hoped that the most talented mage in the world would be the pony who could help me reach my dream. I'm ashamed to say it, but your young Twilight Sparkle didn't bare her soul to you because she trusted you, Princess; she did it only because she was desperate. I suspect you knew that all along, though.

Why, oh why, did it have to be one of those rare things magic can't do? I knew magic didn't have the solution I needed even before I moved to Ponyville, but I kept trying anyway. I spent years researching transformation magic, and I even became proficient in changing species! To this day, I still don't understand why it won't work. Magic is the most amazing of all the sciences, but it's also the most frustrating.

I don't know if I'll ever tell my friends about me, or about what really happened on that day. Of course I want to tell them, but what would they think of me? Even worse, would they remember? Would they begin to suffer the same way that I did, the way that little five year-old unicorn suffered, friendless and alone, pushing herself like mad to lift things with magic when most unicorns still can't tie their shoes? I can't let that happen to anypony else, especially not my friends. Perhaps with time, and with your assistance in dreams, Princess Luna, I'll be able to tell them. But it won't be anytime soon, and until then I will wear this delicate tiara on top of my petite little head, and I will do my damnedest to bear its crushing weight.

Thank you both for forcing me to do what needed to be done: all the memory alterations, the lies, and every filthy, terrible thing we needed to breach in order to put things back the way they were. And please forgive me for all of this, if either of you can. I know it probably sounds silly, but it would mean a lot to me. Someday I'll be able to enjoy the fact that I'm finally a real mare, without all of this terrible guilt.

Your dear friend,

Prince Dusk Shine
Princess Twilight Sparkle