//------------------------------// // Switcheroo // Story: Swip-Swap // by Lycan_01 //------------------------------// Spike yawned. Twilight had given him very specific instructions. She was going to be trying out some new spells today, one very powerful one in particular, and her studies would require the utmost concentration. Under (almost) no circumstance was she to be bothered this afternoon. If anyone dropped in to say hi, he was to politely inform them that she was busy. Unless they were one of the Princesses or herself from the future or somepony important like that, of course. Even her friends had to be turned away. So here he was, sitting in front of the front door, reclining comfortably on a bean bag chair with a stack of comic books and a nice little bag of gemstones. Watching the front door in case guests arrived wasn't his favorite responsibility, but it certainly wasn't the worst. At least it was relaxing. Spiked yawned again. Meanwhile, across town from the library, Fluttershy and Rarity had just concluded their weekly spa visit. "Another delightful afternoon at the spa!" Rarity chimed cheerfully as she left the parlor. "I feel like a new mare! Don't you agree, Fluttershy?" The quiet yellow pegasus idly stretched her wings. "My wings certainly feel a lot more loose and relaxed," Fluttershy observed softly. "It's quite nice..." Rarity looked up at the sky. A few clouds were gently drifting overhead, slightly obstructing the sun. There were still several hours of daylight left, if her guess was accurate. "Do you have any other plans for today?" the unicorn asked. Fluttershy pondered for a moment, before giving a small shrug. "No, I don't think so. Why? Was there something-" Rarity interrupted her with a sing-songy exclamation of "Ideeeeeeeaaaa!" Fluttershy rubbed her ears gingerly. "What's your idea, Rarity?" The fashionista smirked. "Why don't we drop in and say hi to Twilight? She's been quite busy studying lately, and I haven't seen her in days. I'm sure she would appreciate a bit of company." Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, I don't know about that..." she quietly replied. "What if she's busy? What if we interrupt her? I don't think-" Once again, the demure little pegasus was interrupted by her more socially dominant friend. "Nonsense!" Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. Smiling confidently, she began to trot in the direction of the library. "I'm quite certain she'll be absolutely delighted to see us! And if she is busy, we'll take our leave and avoid distracting her from her scholarly affairs. If you'd rather not accompany me, that's perfectly fine. I'm not going to force you to tag long," the unicorn politely said. Fluttershy pondered for a moment, before giving a small smile. "You're right, it'd be nice to see Twilight. I'm sure she'll be happy to see her friends after all that hard work... Let's go!" The white mare smiled cheerfully. "Excellent! I wonder what she's been studying, anyway...?" Fluttershy gave another small shrug as she trotted after her friend. "Some sort of new spells, probably. I wonder if she'll be willing to show us? Maybe if we ask nicely?" "Oh, I don't know..." Rarity sighed. "You know how she feels about 'showing off,' as she calls it. But you're right. Perhaps if we ask nicely, she'll show us something new and interesting..." "Spike? Spiiiiiike?" Rarity called out softly. "Aw, don't wake him up. He looks so peaceful and so adorable..." Fluttershy whispered with a smile. It hadn't taken the two friends long to arrive at the library. They'd found the door unlocked, and Twilight was usually alright with her friends coming on in. If she didn't want to be disturbed, Spike would usually inform the guests the moment they got inside. Upon entering, though, Fluttershy and Rarity had discovered the baby dragon curled up asleep on a beanbag chair near the door. An open comic book and a half-eaten bag of gemstones were grasped in his tiny little claws. Apparently he'd dozed off while reading... "Oh, I don't want to wake him up, but I'd also like to know if Twilight is okay with us being here..." Rarity frowned. "What if he was supposed to tell us-" "Merph..." Spike muttered in his sleep. "Twilight... said..." "Hm?" Fluttershy and Rarity both looked down at the slumbering reptile. "Twilight... wants... interrupted..." Spike grumbled groggily, his eyes fluttering slightly. "Said... need... send... friends... up..." Of course, what Spike was supposed to say was that Twilight said not to be interrupted, and that he needed to send her friends away if they showed up. But being semi-asleep meant that his cognitive and communication abilities were, for the moment, sub-par. "Huh. I guess we should go on upstairs, then," Fluttershy mused. "Apparently she really does want to see us." "She must be more busy and lonely than I thought!" Rarity gasped. "Oh, we simply must cheer her up! Perhaps take her out to dinner?" Fluttershy nodded. "Sounds like a good idea." "Come along, Fluttershy," Rarity stated, quickly trotting up the stairs. "Let's go say hi to our friend!" Twilight Sparkle was focused. As focused as equinely possible. Every possible ounce of her concentration was focused on the ball of violet energy hovering in front of her horn. Her entire bedroom was covered in parchment - books on the desks, scrolls on the floor, even little post-it notes stuck to all the walls and furniture. She'd apparently been doing a lot of reading and writing over the last few days. "Steady... steady..." the purple unicorn whispered. Sweat was beading on her forehead. The spell she was currently focused upon was a transfiguration spell. She'd been practicing it for hours. At it's basest form, it could turn one item or substance into another form or material. A book into a plant. Lead into gold. A goldfish into a velociraptor. Once perfected, the possibilities were endless. But that was the problem. Perfecting a spell like this was no easy task. And a spell like this required total perfection, and nothing less. Even the slightest mistake or miscalculation could yield catastrophic results. A book might burst into flames. Lead might turn into molten metal. A goldfish might...... yeah, that was better just not to think about. And Twilight was determined to learn this spell, and learn it perfectly. As the ball of purple energy roiled and writhed in front of her, a small smile spread across her face. Almost. She was almost there. Just a little bit more focus, a few more hours of study, and- "Hiiiiiiii!" Fluttershy and Rarity both exclaimed, popping up on either side of Twilight. The purple pony let out a horrified yelp of surprise. And then the room exploded. Twilight coughed. Staggering to her hooves, the unicorn tried to open her eyes. All she could see, though, was smoke. Her whole body hurt. It felt like somebody had tried to break her down and tear her apart, all the way to the molecular level. And more than likely, that was exactly what had happened. Thank Celestia, everything seemed to feel right. She couldn't visually confirm it until the smoke cleared, but she wasn't too worried. About herself, at least. Coughing again, Twilight tried to call out to her friends. "Hello? ~cough~ Fluttershy? Rarity? Are you girls okay? ~cough cough~ Anyone?" "Ow. Ow. Ow," Fluttershy's voice whimpered from nearby. "Ponyfeathers, that smarts!" "Fluttershy! Ow. Language!" Rarity chided from somewhere behind Twilight. "Oh buck it, nevermind. My head is killing me..." the aristocratic pony growled in a somewhat uncharacteristic manner. "Oh, thank goodness!" Twilight grinned happily, despite her splitting headache. "I was so scared for a moment! I thought I'd... " her voice trailed off. She didn't want to think of the possibilities. The experiments with those goldfish had been traumatic enough. Imagining that with her friends... "Er, nevermind." "What was that spell? Ow. I feel like I got hit by a truck driven by Applejack when she's had too much cider, or something stupidly extravagant like that..." Rarity grumbled. Her ladylike poise had been replaced by pained frustration. "I can't feel my wings. Why can't I feel my wings?" Fluttershy whimpered. "It's okay, Fluttershy! I can't feel my horn. I think we're both just in shock..." Rarity tried to comfort her friend, though there was audible worry in her voice. Twilight felt her stomach drop. "Uh oh." No. No way. Rarity was right. They were both just in shock. There was no need to worry. "I feel weird..." Fluttershy muttered. "Does shock make you feel heavier?" "I don't know, I feel strangely lighter..." Rarity gave an unsure reply. "Maybe I'm just light-headed. Only worse. Light-bodied? Twilight, is this normal?" "Uhhhhh..." Twilight frowned. The smoke was finally starting to clear. "Yes!" she lied. "I'm sure it's totally, perfectly..." her voice trailed off. The smoke was finally clear enough to see her friends. Fluttershy was sitting on the floor a few yards behind Twilight. Rarity was leaning against a bookshelf on the other side of the room. Both of them looked perfectly fine, despite messy manes and dazed expressions. Twilight let out a huge sighed of relief. "Normal..." "Oh, thank goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed happily. With Rarity's voice. "Oh yes, I was so worried..." Rarity nodded. "I thought one of you might be hurt." She sounded like Fluttershy. "Uhhhhhh..." Twilight's eyes went very wide. Sweat began to form on her forehead. Her heart began to pound. This was bad. This was very bad. Maybe she was just imagining things? Maybe this was all just a really bad dream? "Hey, wait..." Fluttershy said from Rarity's body. "Why... why am I over there? On the floor? With Rarity's voice?" "Twilight..." Rarity called out, her voice shakily coming out of Fluttershy's form. "Why... Why am I leaning against that bookshelf? All the way across the room? Is that me? Why does me sound like Fluttershy?" "Um. Um. Um..." Twilight tried to find the right words. Her brain was about five seconds from total freakout mode. Fluttershy, or at least the pony with the voice of Fluttershy, looked down at her hooves. "Why am I white?" she asked, panic audibly rising in her voice. "I'm yellow, not white. Why... what... why...?" The yellow pegasus with the voice of Rarity looked down at her own form. "Oh dear. I'm yellow. I'm yellow. I'm not supposed to be yellow. Why am I yellow? Why am I all the way over there? Why am I yellow...?" "Twilight...?" Fluttershy whimpered. "Twilight...?" Rarity called out fearfully. "What was that spell?" the two friends asked in unison. Twilight grinned sheepishly, and let out a small, nervous chuckle. "Heh. Heh. Eheheh. Would... Um... Would you believe it was a transmutation spell?" she asked with a shrug. Fluttershy and Rarity stared at Twilight for a few seconds. And then they started at each other for a few seconds. And then, in unison, they both let out a pair of horrified screams that lasted much, much longer than a few seconds.