//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Body Swappers // by aceotaku //------------------------------// Twilight and her friends, minus Pinkie Pie who was busy throwing a party, were helping Applejack uproot a dead tree from the farthest edge of her farm’s orchard. They had wrapped several ropes around the grey, decayed thing and were desperately pulling at it, Twilight and Rarity using their magic to pull at the roots, the tree’s sheer size proving to make the task incredibly difficult. “One more should just about do it!’ Twilight Sparkle called out. “Heave!” “Pulll!!” The others yelled as they strained and pulled, hooves digging into the earth until, finally, the large tree fell to the ground onto its side. “Geez, that took a lot more work than Ah thought.” Applejack panted, wiping sweat off her brow. “Ah jus’ don’ understand it, that tree was jus’ recently planted, Ah don’t know what could have caused it ta decay like that.” Twilight thought about it, her naturally curiosity trying to figure a solution to the mystery, when she noticed something hidden under the dirt that had been knocked up from the tree’s uprooting. She could see a vague shape rising from the ground. “Girls, there’s something buried here! Let’s get out and have a look!” Rainbow smirked, rubbing her hooves together. “OH I bet its buried treasure!” “Oh please, all the way out here, hidden in the DIRT?” Rarity scoffed. Twilight rolled her eyes as her friends began to argue, using her magic to pull the object out from the ground, dirt falling off as the object was revealed: a massive, brown rectangular chest wrapped in thick, rusted chains. The other girls stared as the alicorn lowered the object. “Now what in the hay is that doin’ there?” Applejack wondered, looking annoyed. “I’m telling ya. Buried. Treasure.” Rainbow Dash asserted. “It looks awfully old...” Fluttershy noted quietly. “Helllp...” A voice called out weakly from inside, causing the mares to leap back in fright. “What in tarnation!?” “Do not be afraid...” The voice said pleadingly. “I was imprisoned in this box many years ago, buried under the earth to rot. The person who did this was cruel and vile, seeking only to cause me and my kind suffering. Please...free us...we have been so alone...” “Us?” Twilight asked with a raised brow. “There are more of you in there?” “oh yes! It is ever so cramped...” another voice responded from within. “OH those poor things...” Fluttershy frowned sympathetically. “that’s simply awful, who could have done such a thing...?” “Ah dunno.” Applejack said sceptically. “Might be a reason they were buried...how do we know they’re on the level?” “Come on Applejack, a friend in need is a friend in deed.” Twilight said. “I feel we should give them the benefit of the doubt, or don’t you remember what happened with Zecora?” The farmer pulled her Stetson over head, looking shameful. “Even so...” “Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in exasperation. “Let’s tear off those chains and get the treasure...uuhhhh I mean help those poor guys!” She immediately flew down, giving a strong kick to the chains on one end as Twilight shot a blast of magic at the chains on the other. “Thank you very much...” The voice from within said as the lid flew open...and a massive burst of darkness and wind struck the five mares square in the chest, knocking them down one by one. Twilight got up, smiling goofily. “Oh boy! I didn’t think anyone’d fall for that so easily!” “Indeed.” Rainbow Dash said, producing a thick pair of glasses from somewhere and putting them over her eyes. “I suppose their kind are much more charitable and trusting in nature.” Rarity looked down at her hooves. “Ya sure they was sapient? I mean, they don’t even have hands for cryin’ out loud!” ‘Applejack’ surveyed the area, looking stern. “I see buildings, which means civilisation. We should be able to find more information if we check those, and perhaps formulate a plan.” “Sure thing boss!” the three mares saluted as ‘Fluttershy’ looked over her own body. “This body looks weak and untrained, it is obvious this one is not a fighter...” “Well you’re stuck with her.” ‘Applejack’ said. “I didn’t expect complaining from you, of everyone.” The Pegasus smirked, flexing her hooves. “Oh no, this is perfect! It’ll be much more challenging with a body like this!” “It appears we are winged horses.” ‘Rainbow Dash’ surmised, looking between herself and the yellow Pegasus. “And with rather unusual coloration, in fact.” ‘Twilight’ pulled at her wings and then poked at her horn. “Hey I got a bump on my head!” “So do I, ya lunkhead.” ‘Rarity’ said irritably. “Figures boss gets the only normal one!” ‘Applejack’ grunted, tipping her hat to her cohorts. “We can learn more about our bodies later, when we visit the town. Let me do the talking and follow my lead, and Numbskull?” “Yeah?” ‘Twilight’ responded with a stupid smile. “NEVER speak to anyone. EVER.” “Okie dokie boss man sir!” the alicorn saluted, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. “Let’s go boys, no point letting these bodies go to waste!” With that, the five ‘mares’ began marching through the orchard and towards Ponyville proper. --------------------------------- Applejack blinked, confused as she looked around herself. One minute she was at the farm then something from inside the chest attacked her friends and now she’s.... She looked around again. She apparently was in the middle of some busy city, possibly Manehatten. She wondered how she managed to get this far and why she was even here in the first place. She trotted around as she surveyed her surroundings, ponies largely paying her no attention. She yelped in discomfort as she stepped inadvertently into a large puddle, dirty water splashing onto her hoof and her underside. She shivered from the cold, confused due to usually being able to stand in snow with only a scarf and her ever present hat, a small puddle like this should not make her feel this cold. She looked down at her hoof, eyes widening as she noticed the colour. Blue. Her hoof was BLUE. She looked over the rest of her body, eyes wide as she noticed her whole body was blue and her cutie mark...she recognised it. She looked down into the puddle, and even as continued to ebb from the earlier disturbance, she could clearly make out her face in the reflection. But it wasn’t HER face. Silverish mane. Blue coat. Purple pointed hat with stars adorning it, hiding a horn she knew was there. She wasn’t herself. Somehow, she was Trixie. ------------------------------------ Fluttershy hid in the cave, trying to hide from the dragons she spotted. She didn’t know how she got here or where her friends were, but she was alone and surrounded by countless dragons and she was afraid and didn’t feel safe and hoped they hadn’t eaten her friends. “Garble!” One of the dragons jeered into the cave, making her freeze. “Ya in here man? We need you!” Fluttershy simply shivered, digging her claws into the ground. Claws? Before she could contemplate this, the dragon grabbed her by the tail and dragged her out of the cave behind him. “I swear man, ya need to see this, it’s gonna be awesome!” Fluttershy was too scared to wonder about anything right now. ----------------------- Rover grumbled in annoyance, glaring at his companion. “Fido! You help dig, we already big trouble enough! If you no let unicorn go and take our gems, we no be in this mess!” “Me thought YOU let pony go, Rover!” The tiny dog named Spot said from beside his leader. “Shut up!” Rover knocked the smaller dog on the head, glaring up at his larger cohort. “Fido, speak up!” “Well I never!” Fido exclaimed in annoyance as he looked around himself. “Simply appalling! I had just got my coat all nice and shampooed too! How did I even get here?” “What shampoo?” Rover muttered as his eyes narrowed. “You hit head, Fido? You talk weird, and me no like weird!” He shoved a large pile of gems into the larger dog’s arms, who instinctively held them up. “Do useful and give gems to boss dog, me no want yelled at again!” Fido frowned huffily. “I don’t see why I should do any work for YOU! You should treat a lady with respect and kindness, especially after how you treated me the LAST time we met!” “Fido go now! Fido weirdness hurt me head!” Rover shook his fists angrily. “Very well, I shall go, but if only to give myself distance from such uncouth behaviour!” Fido turned with huff, carrying the gems in the opposite direction from the dogs. “He no give gems boss is he?” Spot lamented and Rover simply responded with a facepalm. ---------------------- Rainbow Dash blinked. She felt...odd, somehow. “Are you alright my dear?” a stallion asked from beside her. She turned, seeing a vaguely familiar stallion, but there was more important things to worry about. “I am not fine!” She said with conviction. “Something bad happened to my friends and I gotta run! I have no time for talking to some strange stallion!” She ran over the balcony, causing Fancy Pants to gasp in shock and peer over the balcony of the second story hotel room, eyes wide and face pale in panic. “Darling are you alright!?” He blurted out in his panic. “Yeah...” Rainbow Dash groaned from the wreckage she had caused. “The taxi broke my fall...” “You’re gonna have to pay for that!” The cab driver said angrily, causing Rainbow Dash to groan inwardly before falling unconscious as she heard the moustachioed stallion scream. ------------------- Twilight looked down at herself. She looked up at the barn. She looked over at the sleeping Granny Smith. She peered past the fence as she saw herself and her friends walk past, heading into town. She shook and tembled, her panic so strong that she was reduced to a near catatonic state. Applebloom poked her in the side. “Big Mac ya’ll okay...?” “WHAT IS GOING ON!?” Twilight yelled out before collapsing to her side in a fetal position, trembling. Applebloom sighed. “Ah’ll get the hot water....”