//------------------------------// // It's going to be that kind of day, isn't it? // Story: Magical Mystery Swap // by Spirit Shift //------------------------------// “Good morning Ponyville, and all who inhabit it!” Twilight sang as she jumped out of bed. Landing next to Spike, she fiercely yanked his cover off. “What the horsefeathers, Twi,” he groaned, sitting up, only barely awake. “Wash assistants mouth out with soap,” she muttered, adding said event to her morning to-do list. “Don’t sleep Spike, today’s a beautiful day and we need to take advantage of it!” “You actually got to sleep on time yesterday, didn't you?” “Yup, it was the best sleep I have had in ages!” “Well, maybe it would happen more often if you didn't be stay up all night in the first place,” he replied as he snatched his cover back to him, preparing to drift off again. “Don’t be like that Spike,” she said brightly. Snatching the drowsy drake in her magic, she burst through the window and gestured to the entire town. “Today’s a bright new day, and an even brighter morning!” "Morning in Ponyville Shimme~rs Morning in Ponyvile Shi~i~ines! And I know for absolute certain, Everything’s going to be~ Fi~ne There’s the mayor, on route to her office-" Twilight motions to Ivory Scroll, the mayor of Ponyville; who’s currently sitting next to the fountain that they were on, right next to an empty mail bag, peacefully blowing bubbles. Spike noticed that her eyes are slightly crossed as well. Looking curiously at the strange sight, Spike yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Man, I must still be sleepy.” "There’s the sofa clerk, selling some quills," sang Twilight, happily trotting past the light brown stallion standing next to a crate of apples, and even holding some out for display for those passing by. “Eeyup. Howdy there, Twilight, Spike.” Spike, now fully awake, wondered if he was still dreaming, as he could’ve sworn that he heard Big Mac’s accent and familiar catchphrase. “Twilight....” "My Po-ni-ville, is so gentle and still-" "Can things ever go wrong! I don’t think that they will!” “Agghghhhhh, my ears!” cried Spike, falling off of Twilight’s back. “Solrac, I thought you were in…… wait, your not Solrac, you're Silver Platter. Why are you screaming like him?” The pale creme pony in question only stared at him, dumbfounded. “You want... this?” he yelled with a crazed smile. He began to raise a silver platter over his head, almost as if he were about to- “No, not that, it's your name, you're Silver-OW!” Spike grunts as the platter slams into his head, bouncing off his scales. “Dude, why the-” Looking back toward the shop, Spike notices that the ‘butler’ has disappeared. Deciding not to stick around, Spike ran to meet back up with Twilight. On the way, he noticed Minuette swerving and stumbling her way down the street. Eventually, she just up and fell on her side, causing Spike to run over to help her. “Colgate, are you okay?” “Yesh, I’m fine, jusht a little tipsy is all. Oh my Cadence, are you a dragon? Thatsssooo coool.” “Um, yea, it’s me Sp-ughhh,” he groaned, pinching his nose, ”Colgate, have you been drinking?” “Only a few!” she yelled drunkenly. “At least I think so… I really don’t really remember anything after the 15th lit-oh my Luna, are you a dragon!?” she said, once more pointing a hoof at Spike. Now, Spike was really getting confused. Minuette, also known as Colgate, was one of the most sober ponies that he knew. Being a professional dentist, she would rather kill herself before endangering her own teeth, and by extension, her body. “I need to get to Twilight,” he muttered. Leaving the unusually drunken drunk alone, he ran to go find Twilight, in hopes that she might know what’s going on. On the way, he noticed that just about everypony was acting weird. Berry Punch was on a bench messing around with a game system, Raindrops was hitting on and ogling just about everypony that walked past, and Time Turner was trying to play a cello. Eventually, he came upon Twilight, still singing the same.song. "-there’s the DJ playing her mu~u~sic." Spike looked over to the white mare in question, only to see her fiddling with some clocks. “Twilight,” he yelled, only to be ignored. "Morning in Ponyville shime~rs, morning in Ponyville shi~i~ines.” “Twilight!!” Still ignored, Spike decided to use ‘Splash’. “And I know for absolute certain, Everything is certainly~ agh, Spike!” For once, it was very effective. Spike threw the bucket away, and prepared to brave his friend’s wrath. “Twilight, stop for a second and listen. Something’s seriously wrong here! Silver Platter’s screaming his head off, the sofa pony’s selling apples, Colgate’s drinking, Time Turner’s playing the cello, and Lyra’s sitting normally! Normally, Twilight!!” he yelled, grabbing onto Twilight's damp form. “Don’t you think I can see that!” she yelled pushing him off. “Wh-wha?” “Yes, I know, I have eyes and ears, Spike.” “Then why aren't you doing anything.” “Two reasons; one, this is like the first, and probably only, song that I get to sing completely solo. Seriously, I’m the main. Freaking. Character! Why haven't I gotten one yet?” “Didn’t you sing in Canterlot?” “No, because some greedy ass dragon decided to jack my song with his lame-ass tone deaf voice! No offense.” “None taken,” answered a mule as he strolled on by. “Ouch, but fine, I’m sorry.” “The second reason, is that I was actually in a good mood today, I had a great sleep, and I thought I was going to finally have a nice uneventful day where something isn't wrong with this stupid town,” she whined. “And, you thought that singing would be considered uneventful?” he snarked. “W-well,” she hesitated, “I-it’s just that Pinkie Pie does it so often… I just thought that….” “So, by using this logic, we can assume that by you making the day eventful by singing, you invited some kind of trouble to happen. Especially a song about everything being fine. If you just stayed inside and milked your perfect sleep like I was going to, this might not have happened. Am I correct?” “...Shut up and go call the Princess. I’ll go find the others,” she grumbled. “Will do, sir ma’am sir!” ~~~ “Rarity….. what the hay are you doing?” Twilight asked. After a few minutes of searching around, Twilight finally located Rarity in Minuette’s dentist office, all she had to do was follow the screams. “What? Who? Oh, hi, Twilight, are you here for your appointment? “Rarity, why are you working on pony’s teeth, you love personal space!” “Rarity… what? Twilight, no it’s me, Minuette.” Twilight looked at her flabberghasted. “Who?” She sighed and grumbled in annoyance. “Colgate…” “Ohhh,” she nodded in understanding before popping her eyes wide open. Deciding that something might be wrong with her vision, she simply sat down, rubbed her eyes, and opened them again, this time taking in just about every detail of the pony in front of her. ’Same purple mane, same white coat, same diamond cutie mark, same gorgeous flank, same blue eyes that resemble great blue oceans of serenity. Nope, this is Rarity alright. So why is she saying that she’s Colgate, this is weird. I better see if the others are the same.’ “Wait here,” she commanded before running off. “Where else would I go, this is my office after all.” she muttered. “Now, where were we, Mr. Shift.” “AMAGAAADDD SOMONIIII HEEELLLL EEEEEEE” he said, spitting words through a forced open mouth. “Calm down, you do this every time you come here! Now, let's see what we can do about that pesky fang of yours." "AGGHGHHHHHHHHHGHGH NUUUUUUUUUU-" ~~~ Ok, either Rarity thinks that she's Colgate, or I’m still asleep. Twilight tested the second idea by fiercely slapping herself once on the cheek. WHAP! Groaning in pain, she rubbed her sore flank. “Ok, not dreaming, but the questions still remain: Why is all this happening, and who’s causing this?” “Sofas! Quills! Get your premium sofas and quills here!” Twilight looked over and saw what seemed to be Applejack pulling a cart consisting of a single couch, and at least a hundred quills on top of it. “Sofa clerk?” Twilight asked hesitantly, not even going to pretend that it’s actually her orange friend that she’s seeing. “Kid, I told you, my name’s Davenport, not sofa clerk!” he yells before continuing on his route. “Quills and sofas! Get your quills and sofas here!” Twilight sighed. “Better go find the others.” Not even attempting to find her, Twilight simply decided to flag down some random pony. “Hey you!” “Who, me?” said the random pony that Twilight pulled over who just happened to be somepony that looked exactly like Fluttershy. ’Oh, hey, lucky!’ she thought, mentally celebrating her hollow victory. “Who are you right now?” “Me, I guess it has been a while, but surely you remember. It’s me, Moondancer.” Twilight took a moment to go through her mental list of pony names, she didn't have as many listed as Pinkie Pie, but her list was more varied since it included ponies from Canterlot as well. “I have no idea who you are….” “Don’t you remember? We were classmates in Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns.. Twilight honestly couldn't remember any of her classmates, she just remembered sitting in a class, reading a book, surrounded by ponies that she never identified with. She never really felt the need to memorize any of their names. “Ehh, you’re going to have to be more specific there were a lot of ponies in my class.” “We were partners in science for just about everything?” Twilight remembered being forced to choose a partner because she couldn't work alone. She usually picked out the closest pony near her and quickly did all of the work. “N-no, still nothing.” “What about the one time you got curious, and we ended up losing our virginities to each other!” she yelled not even caring that she has just revealed one of her own shameful secrets. “Or, how about the time when we-” Twilight wasn't even listening anymore. She was currently still trying to remember this pony in Flutter clothing. Let nopony say that she didn't try, at least. Man, she seems really desperate. Wait, now I remember, there was one pony in school that I talked to. I can’t really remember her name though she had 3 stars for a cutie mark. Is this her? She has Fluttershy’s body right now, so I can’t see her real mark. I could ask her, but she would probably say just about anything at this point. “Sorry, I have to go, the town’s screwed up, my day is ruined, and I have to fix it. But come check with me later and we’ll catch up. Ok, star-flank?” she said quickly, turning and leaving as she said it. “Wait, hold on, my name is-annnnnnddd she’s gone.” ~~~ “Ok, who’s left,” she muttered, trotting through the town square,“Pinkie Pie I think. It’s Sunday so she would be off work. Oh, Celestia, she could be anywhere, how would I even-oh, wait a minute.” ~~~ “Hey, you!” Moondancer squee’d in excitement. “Oh, do you recognize me yet?” “No, I just need you for something.” “Oh,” she said, clearly disappointed, “alright. What do you want me to do?” “Nothing, just stand there.” “...Alright.” “Oh, look there’s a new pony in town!” Instantly a cotton candy maned pony came tumbling out of the bushes. Running up to Flutterdancer, she cheered loudly: “Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen you before, well I’ve never seen anypony here before but that doesn't mean that I can’t welcome you here!” Twilight heaved a huge sigh of relief at the sight of Pinkie Pie acting like Pinkie Pie. At least one of her friends were normal. "Thank, Celesia. Pinkie do you know what’s going on?” ‘Pinkie’ turned around to look at Twilight, before almost immediately letting out an enormous gasp. She turned to dash away, only to be halted by Twilight’s magic hold. “Let go, I need to throw a surprise party for all the new ponies!” “Not this time! Pinkie, it’s me, Twilight, remember?” The pink pony in question carefully studied the strange pony before her, looking her up and down with her bright blue eyes. “Nope, I know the names of just about everypony in Cloudsdale, and I’ve never seen you before. Actually, this isn't Cloudsdale, and I’ve never met anypony in this town before, but that's no reason that I can't throw a party!” Twilight’s eyes began to water as her hopes were devoured like so much wet sausage. “Oh wait, I do remember something!” Twilight’s eyes sparkled in renewed hope. “I know that name you called me. My name’s Surprise, but I do know a pony named Pinkie Pie! She’s my cousin who lives in Ponyville. Is this Ponyville? If it is then I have to throw a Welcome, Surprise to Ponyville Surprise party!” With that, she quickly broke free of Twilight’s magic, and dashed away to Luna knows where. Twilight honestly couldn't tell what was worse; the fact that her hopes were crushed once more, or the fact that there was a pony that acted almost exactly like Pinkie Pie but was a pegasus. “Sucks, doesn't it?” asked Moondancer as she came up and sat next to Twilight. Twilight looked over at the pony currently wearing flutterface. "Who the hay are you?" ~~~ “Ok, I should probably find Fluttershy near the ever-Ahhh!” Twilight’s thoughts were then quickly brought to a halt by a rainbow colored blur speeding past her on hoof. After finally getting her head to stop spinning, she watched as the rainbow colored tail faded into the distance. Twilight quickly recognized the mare, and immediately gave chase. Eventually, she caught up to her, not at Shy’s cottage however, but in the forest behind it. She seemed to be looking for something. “Fi-huff-finally, Rainbow, I caught up-gasp- geez you could’ve at least slowed down when I called you.” “What? Are you talking to me?” asked Rainbow as she turned around. “Hey, Twilight, what’s up? Where’s Spike? Is he with you? Did he bring his handsssssss.” she asked, almost drooling on the final word.” ’Oh sweet Celestia, not this one. Please don’t let this be who I think this is.’ she thought briefly. Gulping , she hesitantly pressed forward. “I-is that you, Rainbow Dash?” “Rainbow Dash? No, it’s me, Lyra Heartstrings. Don’t you remember? I came to you last month when I-” Lyra trailed off when she noticed that Twilight had bolted the second she heard her name. “Oh well, her loss,” she said, turning back to her search, “Shifty, you got the net?” “Yes, ma’am, got it here, Rainbow,” he answered, flying over to her with a bag of supplies. “Why are you calling me Rainbow, I’m Lyra, you know that. By the way, how was your dentist appointment?” “Ehh, same as always, I took it like a man.” “I’ve seen you at the office, you took it like a bitch and you know it. Now lets go catch us some humans!” “Aye aye, mon capitan!” ~~~ “Spike, have you contacted the Princesses yet?” she called out as she entered the library. “SPIKE!” Without delay, she ran up to her room, only to see the young drake sleeping peacefully in her bed. Not his basket, the actual bed. Already frustrated, she wasted no time in grabbing a bucket of water and dumping it all over him. Wet bed be damned. Spike choked a bit before sending a fierce glare at Twilight, clearly ready to choke a bitch. “Twilight Sparkle, what is the meaning of this rude awakening! We admit that we should’ve asked thy permission, but to drench us with freezing water, that’s just uncalled for!” It didn't take long for Twilight to recognize the tone of speech emanating from her assistant. “P-princess Luna?” “Indeed, It is I. Now, will thee please explain why thou thought it necessary to drown thy Princess of the Night? “W-well for one thing, why are you in my bed?” “It was mid-morn when we found ourselves in thy humble home. We were still drowsy, and sought out the nearest source of comfort. Not to mention, this bed is really cozy. We must know where thy hath purchased it from!” “Ignoring that, do you know what’s going on?” she begged, clearly at her wits end. “Elaborate.” “Well I don’t know if you’ve noticed but you’re not really you right now.” “What dost thou mean?” “Currently you’re in the body of my assistant.” “The dragon?” “His name is Spike, and yes.” “Surely thou jest. There can be no-” “Princess, just think about it; if you were an alicorn right now, could you really fit in my bed!?" she exclaimed desperately. Luna actually seemed to give this some thought. “We suppose so, our size would make it difficult to get comfortable. But we wouldn't say that we couldn't fit, thy bed is quite roomy.” “Ok, then try flying, try doing some magic!” “Thou wishest to test our skills? Very well, Twilight Sparkle we have faith in thy motives.” Luna humored Twilight by first sitting up, and jumping from the bed. To his credit, he managed to stay in the air for the few seconds needed to hit the ground from the bed. “What is the meaning of this?!” “You see? Now, try some magic, see what happens.” True to Twilight's words, nothing occurred when Luna tried to activate his magic. “What in Tartarus…” Looking at his claws, Luna’s draconic eyes widened in realization. “Thou speaketh the truth, Twilight Sparkle. We are indeed in the body of thy dragon assistant! How is this possible?” Twilight jumped from the bed and landed next to the princess turned dragon. “I don’t know! The entire town is this way but for some reason nopony even realizes it so now I have to fix it! Seriously, when can I just have a normal day, for once?” “Twilight, thou must keep calm. We must figure this out carefully. First, have you tried to locate the other elements bearers?” “I have, they've all been swapped like the rest, and there doesn't seem to be a pattern with the swaps. They could be halfway across Equestria for all I know, because it’s all so random that it's confusing the hay outta me. ” “And, like us, they don’t seem to realize that the body they bear is not their own. This is most confusing. It may boil down to simply locating the pony responsible for this.” “It’s Discord, isn't it! I knew he was behind this. Let’s go kick his…” Twilight realized that she didn’t know what draconeques’ have. She would have to read up on this when this was over. “Not just yet, Twilight Sparkle, first, check for signs of chaos magic,” she said gently, right before adopting a dangerously sinister smile. “Then, we may go fill his plot hole with jelly!” she said, evilly rubbing his claws together. Twilight could only stare at him, dumbfounded at the phrase. “What? Is that not an acceptable punishment these days? Fine then, be that way. Let us go outdoors and search,” he said, huffing his way out the door. Twilight used her magic to pull over her list of things to do. Even though it was already screwed up in every way possible, there was no reason that she couldn't use it tomorrow. “Wash assistants mouth out with soap,” she muttered. “Try to sense if there is strong magic nearby. It might be the source of this massive mind swap,” ordered Luna when Twilight finally made it outside. Twilight activated her magic, and scanned for nearby magic residue. Quickly blocking out anypony casting levitation spells, she noticed the outlier in the crowd. “Aside from the normal unicorn stuff, I can sense the presence of strong magic in the air. It’s not chaotic though.” “Buck…” “Princess! Language, please, there are foals around… at least, I think that there is.” “Sorry, he turned our mane into cotton candy awhile back and we have yet to repay him for that. Twas a worthy prank indeed.” Not really paying attention she replied absentmindedly. “Yeah... sure. Ah, the magic is coming from this direction. Follow me,” she exclaimed, running off toward the edge of town with Luna following suit. ~~~ “Ok, the signal is strong now, so the caster must be around here somewhere.” “-Huff-…-huff-...t-huff-thy assistant might want to work out more, -wheeze- and perhaps lay off the gems,” he said, gasping for air. “You try telling him that, I’m still looking for his secret stash. Anyway, let’s start looking.” “A-huff-agreed, just let us catch our breath. We are not used to not having alicorn endurance.” “Found it! It’s coming from Whitetail Woods!” she exclaimed, pointing toward the forest in front of them. “Looks like it’s just behind the treeline.” “Wait!” “What’s wrong, we’re so-” Twilight stopped the second she looked into the young drake’s wide and pleading eyes. Luna didn't have that body long, but she apparently knew how to use it. “I'm tired, can Woona ride on your back?” he asked in the sweetest most childish voice ever. Twilight didn't even know that Spike's face or voice could be that cute. It kinda reminded of her of when she first hatched him. ~~~ “Ha-HA! Faster! This is exhilarating!” cheered Luna as he stood on Twilight’s back, carrying a set of reins made out of vines. “I haven't gotten a horsey ride like this since I was a child!” “Why did I let you give me reins?” she sighed, running through the forest at his whim. “Because, Woona asked you politely. Now Mush!” “First of all, that’s for dogs, secondly we’re here.” “What… is that,” he asked dumbfoundedly. “I really don’t know,” she admitted. Both of them stood in silence, trying to comprehend the massive machine in front of them. They eventually walked closer to get a better look. Up close, it stood at least 2 stories tall, sounded annoying, had at least a hundred electrical wires hooked into it, causing it to shake and vibrate while smoke and magic gushed out in all directions. “Come on, brother, do something!” “I’m trying, brother, it’s not working!” Twilight and Luna circled to the side of the machine to locate the sources of the voices. “Flim, Flam? What are you two doing here?” she called, causing the cream colored twins to shift their attention to them. “Well, hello there,” began Flim with a smile on his face. “Good afternoon, you.” “I say, have we met before? You look familiar.” “I believe that you do ring a bell.” “But sadly, in this situation there’s just no way of telling.” “Why that dragon could be the Princess of the Night herself and we just wouldn't know.” “So, please move along while my brother and I attend to our little problem.” “Thank you, and goodnight,” ended Flam, stroking his mustache as he turned back to the machine. “Do you know these fast talkers, Twilight Sparkle,” asked Luna, casually jumping down to ground level. Twilight took the reins off before answering. “They’re the FlimFlam Brothers. Traveling salesponies who tried to run my friend Applejack out of town with their cider business. “Twilight Sparkle?” asked Flim as he turned back to the group. “By the stars, it is! You haven't been switched yet! “So, this infernal contraption is the source of our misfortune! I command for you to shut it down this instant!” Flam calmly trotted over to the small drake to pat him on the head, much to Luna’s displeasure. “Well, if only that were possible my young friends.” “Indeed, for it has overloaded and can now, not be not not, shut off.” “But fear not, young filly!” exclaimed Flam, “For we are hard at work, fixing the problem. We should be done shortly.” “Oh really, how long has it been like this.” “2 days, but we’re very close, I can feel it.” “Right, but seriously, what in Equestria is this thing, and why did you make it.” “Well my dear filly let us explain to you-” “Our newest and completely legal venture!” Both twins gave large smiles as music began to play out from nowhere. "Well you see now, Sparkle, there’s a common little trope,” Flim sang in a fast paced beat. "There’s a time in every life when-" “NO!” Twilight yelled. “No songs, please. I’m already extremely pissed that my own song was interrupted, so there’s no way in Tartarus that I’m letting you two idiots have one, especially if it’s better than mine!” “Well, have it your way then, princess,” groaned Flam. “Far be it from us to deprive your little dragon friend of our brand of musical genius.” Twilight looked over to see Luna giving her puppy dragon eyes, obviously upset about the lack of music. "Woona likes music," she pleaded. “Don’t care, just tell us, so that I can fix it and go home!” she responded, ignoring Luna's glare. “Jeez, who put jelly between her legs this morning,” whispered Flam to his brother. They both gave a giggled at the joke before being shut up by a glare from Twilight. “Ahem,” Flam opened, “basically, it’s like this. We created this machine to give ponies a chance to see what it’s like in another ponies horse shoes.” “You know the old stories. ‘You don’t know what it’s like to be me', and all that shizz.” “We figured that we would make a killing in this field. But, unfortunately, there were some complications.” “What sort of of complications?” asked Luna. The twins looked at one another slightly nervously before continuing. “Well, originally there were three of us building this here machine. We had an argument, and she left. When we tried to continue, our lack of knowledge on some of the layout caused us to attach the wrong cables-” “Flip the wrong switches-” “Press the wrong buttons.” “Basically, when she left, you guys didn't have any idea what she did on her part, and screwed it up,” Luna finished. “Precisely!” both brothers stated proudly. While Luna was busy facehoofing, Twilight decided to add a few more questions. “Ok, first of all, who was this pony, and where can we find her?” “Aside from the fact that she’s probably swapped with another pony. You probably wouldn't find her anyway.” “She tends to wander around.” "Kind of an odd bird, if you ask me." "Though she's very good with machinery." “But, she does like you, Twilight, so if you know her then we might be able to convince her to fix this properly.” “Who is she?” Twilight urged. “Moondancer,” they answered simultaneously. “Do you know such a pony, Twilight Sparkle?” Twilight put a hoof to her muzzle in thought, “I think that Spike may have mentioned her name once or twice, but otherwise, no. I honestly don't recognize that name.” “Then we have no choice but to stop the machine ourselves!” declared Luna. “Wait, I have another question,” said Twilight, raising her hoof in attention. “Shoot.” “Why aren't you two affected? Is this like, the eye of the storm or something? she asked, honestly curious. Both Flim and Flam began to laugh loudly. Flam was the first of the bacon haired twins to recover. “Of course not, we are as affected as that dragon friend of yours.” “We must have just gotten lucky and switched with each other." “Everything stays more or less the same since we’re twins and all.” "And because of the spell, we wouldn't notice it anyway. “The better question is-” “Why aren't you affected, Twilight Sparkle. Do you sleep with a lucky dragons foot next to your bed?” teased Flim. Twilight was honestly stunned at this revelation. It was true, why hadn't she been swapped like the others? If Spike wasn't immune then how was she? “I-I don’t know. You said that Moondancer liked me right? So, maybe she made it so that I was immune?” “Impossiburu!” declared one twin. “There are no restrictions on this device, it hits anything and everything. For example, if those two trees had mouths, they would be flipping their branches in confusion right now!” declared the other, motioning toward the trees behind them. “We feel sorry whoever’s poor soul got trapped as a tree or a rock right now,” Luna muttered. “Maybe it’s because I’m the element of magic?” “Are the other’s affected?” “Yes….” “Then no.” “Wait,” interrupted Luna, “she might be onto something. Being an element alone wouldn't do it, but maybe….. Twilight Sparkle!” “Y-yes?” “Did my sister give you the elements of harmony for safekeeping?” “Um, yes, she did.” “Where do you keep them?” “In the-” Twilight paused as she turned to the smiling faces of the bacon twins. “I don’t want you two hearing this, cover your ears,” she demanded “Oh come now-” “COVER THINE EAR HOLES BEFORE WE DIP THY SHAFT IN HOT GREASE! THOU GIT-LIVERED MAGGOT-PIE!!” At the sound of the royal canterlot voice, and threat by fire, both twins instantly turned around, covered their ears, and began blathering to themselves in order to block out any noise. Twilight, meanwhile, attempted to pick herself off the ground and fix her own hearing. “We are sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but we did not feel like listening to anymore of their fast talking.” “It’s ok, Princess. Anyway, I was keeping them in the drawer by my bed until I got the chance to put them in the glass case that Princess Celestia sent me. I was actually going to do it today," she grumbled, still very frustrated that her perfect do do list was in shambles. “Then that is it, the elements formed a barrier for you and you alone, as you were the only element near them that they could protect.” “So the elements….. protected me?” “It is the only explanation.” “That’s… kinda cool actually.” “Do not lose focus, we must still free the rest of Equestria from this hex.” “Alright, but how do we do that.” “We could simply destroy it.” “Done!” Twilight began to charge up magic in her horn before releasing it, as a beam, directly toward the machine. “Hay!” “Woah there!” Luckily, the beam harmlessly bounced off. Flim and Flam gave sighs of relief, an extreme contrast to the fiery maned filly behind them. “Looks like the extra bits for magic proofing really came in hand there, brother.” said Flim as Twilight suddenly teleported off. “I wholeheartedly agree bro-” Flam was cut off by the sound of a giant crash. Turning around, they saw nothing but rock. Moving backwards, they were granted the vision of a large rock at least twice the size of the machine itself, and on top of it, stood one extremely frustrated, and panting, Twilight Sparkle..... or at least, what looked like her. They couldn't tell with the burnt mane and all. Flim and Flam both stood dumbstruck at the sight. “Two hundred thousand bits… wasted…” Flam muttered. “Where did you even get such a big rock!” yelled Flim up to Twilight. “Courtesy of the Pie family Rock Farm, enjoy!” she answered as she jumped down to her dazed companion. “Princess Luna, are you alright, did the spell wear off?” “Princess Luna? What? It’s me Spike.” Spike answered as he shook his head and looked around. “First, I was at home, then I was in Canterlot, now I’m here. I’m confused, but did you find out what’s been going on?” Twilight sighed in relief as she quickly hugged her adoptive brother and loyal assistant. “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s get home.” she said tiredly. “Alright then.” “By the way, you’re getting your mouth washed out. Twice!” Before Spike could respond, they turned to see the bacon brothers angrily stomping up to them. “You just crushed a 200,000 bit piece of machinery, you jerk!” accused the real Flim. “You owe us!” added Flam. “You threw Equestria into chaos by swapping everypony’s minds!” Twilight countered. “No we didn't, everypony went about their business as usual. They weren't even aware that the swap took place!” “Sure now, but eventually, ponies would realize that their friends weren't acting the same. What about when a husband would come home to some stranger saying that she’s his wife. What about when the sun has to be lowered, and Celestia can’t do it! What then!” she yelled, fire flicking through her mane. Flim and Flam backed down noticeably, clearly not seeing the full implications of their mishap. “Oh,” they said shamefully. “Also, you two ruined my day, so get out of here before I pull off Luna’s threat!” screamed Twilight, her mane now fully alight once more, causing the FlimFlams to run off with their tails almost literally between their legs. “Damn, Twily you scary,” muttered Spike. “That’s three washings for you!” she growled, turning towards Spike. “Awww man!” ~The Next Day~ Morning in Ponyville Shimme~rs Morning in Ponyvile Shi~i~ines! sang Twilight, jumping on tables and dancing through the streets. Somehow, she actually managed to have another perfect night’s sleep despite the previous day. She left Spike was asleep this time, and since nopony noticed anything about yesterday, there was no trouble because of it. Everything really seemed to be fine today though, and that made her song all the more special. And I know for absolute certain, Everything’s certainl~y-agh Spike, not again! Can’t I finish one song!” she yelled to the dragon that wasn't there. “Terribly sorry, darling. I-I’m afraid I’m not good with the thundery ones.” Twilight turned around to see what was definitely Rarity moving clouds around. Twilight, however, was soon focused on her flank. More specifically, at the rainbow lightning cutie mark that was supposed to belong to a different pony. “Buck this, I’m going back to sleep!”