“So, let me get this straight. You got into a fight, made a wish for you both to experience what each other’s lives are like and that crystal made you switch bodies?” Starlight asked, slightly incredulously. Half an hour ago she had just bid Applejack farewell when Twilight and Rainbow burst into the kitchen looking like a pair of mad mares. After a long, garbled explanation they managed to relay to her, in detail, the events of earlier.
“Exactly,” the cyan pegasus who was apparently Twilight confirmed,”We were hoping you’d be able to help us as you’ve dealt with similar things in the past.”
“I guess, but this is far beyond anything I’ve ever done,” the unicorn protested,”I mean, I’m sure you’re aware that even Starswirl hasn’t come across this, um, magical gem body switching thing.”
After living with Twilight for several years she had come except that lots of unexplained things happened quite frequently as far as the Princess of Friendship and her friends were concerned. Body switching though was definitely one the more far fetched phenomenons to occur. Even so, the usually relaxed and cocky pegasus had Twilight’s regal poise whilst the alicorn hovered in the air like only the rainbow maned Wonderbolt would. If that wasn’t enough proof their speech and mannerisms were completely swapped.
“Well, how about the title of this book?” Twilight as Rainbow asked, thrusting the ancient volume towards Starlight,”Do you know what language this is?”
The unicorn levitated the book with her magic and read the gold lettering carefully, but after a few seconds looked up cluelessly.
“Nope, sorry. I wish I could be more help but it sounds like you girls are stuck in each other’s bodies, for today at least. That crystal is probably a wishing stone or something,” Starlight shrugged, starting towards the door,”If you need me I’ll be outside.” And with that the Guidance Counsellor trotted out of the small kitchen, shutting the door behind her.
“Well, at least she only seemed to think it would last for a day,” Rainbow offered hopefully.
“I guess you’re right. But I still have all those preparations to attend to,” the former alicorn sighed. Suddenly her eyes widened with panic as she glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Oh, ponyfeathers!” Twilight gasped,”I’m supposed to be at the station now! The Crystal Empire train is due any second! But I can’t go as you, nopony will believe us or they’ll all freak out! This is bad, this is really, really bad.”
“Relax, Twi. I know what to do,” Rainbow reassured the panicking pegasus,”I’ll go to the station and pretend to be you for the day. Knowing you, you’ve probably made a checklist for everything you need to do today. It can’t be that tricky, and I’ll have Starlight and Spike helping me. Then you can go up to the Wonderbolts Academy and fake being me. I know you’re not the strongest of flyers but you just explain you’re having an off day or something. I mean even incredible flyers like me get those occasionally. We don’t have any shows today so you’ll be fine.”
“But, but,” Twilight stammered. She was totally at war with herself. A part of her hated lying to everypony, but on the other hoof it would make things easier. Besides, it was only one day, right? She had made a checklist and there wasn’t that much more to be done. But flying with the Wonderbolts was a entirely different matter. They were the most elite flying squad in the whole of Equestria. She couldn’t risk tarnishing Dash’s reputation. However, logic won out eventually and the princess turned to Rainbow with a sigh.
“Alright. But, are you sure it’s going to work? Do you really trust me to potentially ruin your greatest dream?” the former alicorn asked earnestly.
“Of course I trust you, you’re probably the most capable pony I know. Besides, I think I may have a lot more trouble convincing your finance that I’m you,” Dash replied.
“Well, if you’re certain you think we can handle it you’ve gotta go now!” Twilight urged her. The alicorn nodded and began to head for the door when the princess suddenly stopped her.
“Wait! You can’t go out looking like that!” the pegasus cried, gesturing at Dash’s garish appearance, the rainbow maned mare quickly raced over to the coat stand in the corner and shoved a deep purple cloak around her friend,”There, much better.”
“And here I thought Rarity was the fashion fanatic,” Rainbow murmured before flying out the door at top speed.
She raced along the corridors and out the nearest exit, a small side door near the back of the castle. The alicorn mentally mapped the fastest route to the station and picked up the pace, darting past houses, stalls and villagers. All of the ponies she met gave her a warm smile or a wave, some even bowed.
“I could get used to this,” Dash grinned to herself,”Princess Rainbow does have quite a nice ring to it.”
She arrived just as the train pulled in. The former pegasus had always admired the sleek exterior and breakneck speed of the Crystal Empire Express, it was quite a contrast to the Ponyville train’s quaint, sugary appearance and sedate pace. The shiny doors of the carriages slid open smoothly and a lot of pink smoke came out. Rainbow didn’t even have time to blink before a orange and blue blur came hurtling towards her and tackled her in a bone-crushing hug.
“Twilight!” Flash Sentry beamed, squeezing the life out of the alicorn,”It’s so great to see you! I’ve missed you so much!”
“Er, yeah. It’s, um, wonderful to see you too, Flash. Hehe,” Dash chuckled nervously, gently disentangling herself from his vice like grip. Wait a second, was she actually blushing?! And why in Equestria was heart suddenly pounding like she’d just run a marathon or something.
“Sweet Celestia, please don’t say I’ve got Twilight’s emotions too,” the former pegasus mumbled to herself. She hadn’t noticed it before now, probably because she and the princess had felt the same way about the creatures they’d talked to before. But this feeling was entirely different and Dash didn’t like it one bit.
“Um, so how are you?” she enquired, realising that she needed to play the part convincingly.
“I’ve never been better. I can’t believe we’re actually getting married tomorrow. I feel like the luckiest stallion alive,” he grinned.
“Well that’s not the corniest thing I’ve ever heard,” the former pegasus said sarcastically then immediately regretted it. That was the worst thing that she could’ve possibly said! Twilight would never of been so rude. To her surprise the stallion burst out laughing, causing the former pegasus to exhale in relief.
“You’re right. I suppose it wasn’t the most original thing ever, but it’s the truth!” the orange pegasus declared,”What’s up with the cloak anyway? Are you cold or something?”
“Oh, um, well, actually I got pranked and ended up covered in custard,” Rainbow explained.
“Let me guess, Rainbow Dash?” the stallion chuckled,”You’re always telling me about the pranks she and Pinkie pull on you.”
“Uh, yeah. Who else but the most awesome pony in Equestria?!” the alicorn grinned, unable to resist the chance to brag,”It was pretty funny actually.”
“I’m sure it was, but don’t we still have some preparations to do? We wouldn’t wanna get behind schedule,” Flash said with a wink.
“Hey!” Rainbow cried, giving him a friendly nudge,”But, of course you’re right. We should get going.”
The pair set off back to the castle on hoof. Initially Dash thought of suggested they fly but then she remembered that the real Twilight preferred to walk. As they continued on through Ponyville, Rainbow found herself becoming more and more at ease. Flash seemed to be a genuinely lovely guy albeit with a pretty poor collection of pickup lines. If only she didn’t have all these crazy emotions rolling around inside her that made it impossible for her to completely relax. On numerous occasions the former pegasus found herself treacherously close to touching him and had to jerk away quickly. It also didn’t help that all the townsponies were gushing and staring at them, commenting on what a gorgeous couple they were and how much they were looking forward to the wedding etc, etc. Thankfully Flash seemed not to notice her internal struggle and just continued to joke and compliment her endlessly. Rainbow simply had to interject a small “Mhmm” or “That’s wonderful” or laugh.
After what seemed like an eternity to Dash but was really only a few minutes they reached ‘her’ castle. The former pegasus scanned the teams of ponies until she spotted the unicorn she was looking for.
“Hey, Starlight!” Rainbow called.
The unicorn looked up and grinned before teleporting beside the pair.
“Hi, Twilight, Flash,” Starlight smiled, going along with the act after a pointed glance from Rainbow,”What can I do for you?”
“Do you know where my checklist is? I seem to have forgotten where I left it,” the alicorn asked, hoping the orange pegasus would buy it.
“Yes, I do actually. I’ll get it for you right away,” the unicorn replied. With a flash of magic she was gone. Moments later she reappeared, checklist and pencil in hoof. Starlight handed it to a Rainbow who desperately tried to think of an excuse for not using magic.
“Thanks, Starlight,” she said, a fixed smile adorning her lips,”I’ve been so stressed lately I think it’s taken a toll on my magic, so I’ll just do things the earth pony way for now.”
“Oh shoot. I’m so sorry I haven’t been here to help you,” Flash apologised guiltily,”I promise I’ll make it up to you by doing as many of the things on the list as possible.” He took the paper from her and scanned it quickly.
“Aha! I’ll go and check all the silverware and furniture are probably cleaned,” he suggested,” Being a member of the Royal Guard I know how to make sure presentation is immaculate. Then, I’ll go and see how the reception party is coming on and make sure the banquet is in order and-“
“Thanks Flash,” Dash interrupted him,”That’s really kind of you to offer your help, I really appreciate it. But that’ll do for now, I want to spend some time with you too, you know.”
“Oh, alright. I’ll just do those things I meantioned first,. I’ll you later,sweetie,” the pegasus said, leaning forward and gently kissed Rainbow as Twilight on the cheek.
“Oh, um, ah, yes. See you,” the alicorn babbled, her face turning the colour of a tomato.
As soon as Flash had flown away the former pegasus collapsed on the ground, sweat pouring off her.
“And what, pray tell, was that?” Starlight asked her accusingly.
“It wasn’t my fault, it’s like I’ve got Twi’s emotions as well as her voice and body!” Dash wailed in protest,”I don’t know what’s come over me but when I’m with him I start acting all sappy and weird, I can’t take much more of this!”
“For Celestia’s sake pull yourself together Rainbow! You just need to avoid him as much as possible and keep your emotions in check, so nothing like THAT happens again!” the unicorn belittled the ‘alicorn’,”Do it for Twilight!”
“Right,” Dash agreed, getting to her hooves and sterling her resolve,”For Twilight!”
Inside the Friendship Castle Fluttershy was giving Spike a similar lecture.
“Mice are NOT vermin. They are adorable creatures who are much smaller than you,” the pegasus scolded the dragon. She had heard Spike’s shouts from outside and come running in only to find him trying to chase a couple of tiny white rodents from the library with a mop. Horrified Fluttershy had intervened and scooped up the little critters only to have the scaly reptile to accuse the poor dears of being unwanted vermin.
“Yeah, but they don’t belong in this castle,” the purple dragon argued,”Do you have any idea how unhygienic it would be if we let tons of critters roam around the place? Ugh, one owl is more than enough.”
“Oh, I simply cannot imagine what it must be like to have a house full of animals,” the butter cream mare remarked sarcastically, normally she was extremely meek and gentle but when it came to critters she could be intensely feisty and protective of them,”I guess if animals aren’t really clean I should have all kinds of diseases by now.”
“Fine,” the purple dragon conceded defeat,”In future I’ll just ask them nicely to leave.”
“That would be lovely,” Fluttershy smiled,”You know I think these little ones should come home with me. They must be traumatised after that awful experience.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the scaly reptile muttered,”Rub it in why don’t you?”
“Now, Spike,” the pegasus chided him,”You know that all creatures deserve to be treated with empathy and respect.”
“Of course. I’m sorry,” the purple dragon said,”By the way, have you seen Twilight recently? She was acting really strangely earlier.”
“No, not since a few hours ago. I hope she’s alright though,” Fluttershy replied.
Oh my dear, sweet Fluttershy, you don't even know the half of it.