Chapter 2
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I stare up, open mouthed at the mare holding me, who is looking back with curiosity.
“Do Ah… know you, little one?” she asks, looking very puzzled. “Ah don’ reckon Ah’ve met ya afore.”
“I… ugh… um… I know of you, but… I…” I just fumble, my mouth and brain failing to properly process what is going on. “I… Aren’t you supposed to be dead?!”
She blinks, looking taken aback. “Dead? Now, why in tarnation would ya think a thing like that?”
“I… uh…” I open my mouth to answer, before realzing I can’t answer. How exactly do you tell someone they’ve been believed to be dead for years and you only knows this because you’ve observed their family?
“We should get moving,” a second voice says, this one also making my eyes widen, before a stallion with Apple Bloom’s colours and an apple with a star in the middle for a Cutie Mark steps through some bushes. “We can’t be sure that Chimera ain’t gonna come back.”
I just stare at the stallion, my brain trying and failing to understand.
That’s Bright Mac, Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac’s father! Both their parents are alive?! How?
“Ah got camp packed up. If’n we hurry, we should be able t’ put enough distance between us and that beastie,” Bright Mac’s voice pulls me from my mental lock and I realize I’m splayed across Pear Butter’s back, bouncing up and down as she runs alongside her husband.
I… I need some serious explaining.
After several minutes of running, the two ponies stop in a small clearing.
Thankful for being let off the bumpy ride, I clamber off Pear Butter’s back and stretch.
“What in tarnation are you doin’ out in this swamp all alone, little…?” Bright Mac’s voice trails off and I halt in trying to flick the drying muck off my wings to look at him, only to realize he’s staring at my wings.
“What?” I ask, genuinely confused by his open mouth reaction. Hasn’t he ever seen a pony wings before?
“Oh, mah stars,” I look to Pear Butter, who has a hoof over her mouth, looking just as shocked. “We saved a princess?”
I blink, confused further, before glancing up at my horn and deadpanning.
Oh, right. Cozy’s body is that of an Alicorn now. I’d forgotten that part.
I sigh, shaking my head. “I may be an Alicorn, but I am far from a princess.”
The two cock their heads in confusion.
I sigh again, sitting down on the leafy ground and indicate for them to do the same. “This is a long story… and also not long either, to be honest.”
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“So, this Cozy Glow really did all that, then swapped bodies with you jus’ so she didn’t have to get punished?” Pear Butter asks, looking at me with pity.
I nod, sighing.
It’s been about three hours since I ran into the supposed to be dead parents. We’ve been trudging through the swamp, trying to find our way to some kind of path.
During that time, I’ve been telling the two my story, as well as clueing them in on just why Cozy would’ve wanted to avoid her rightful punishment.
“She seriously took all the magic from Equestria, just because she wanted power?” Bright Mac shakes his head, causing the packs on his side to shake. “Is that filly out of her mind?”
I roll my eyes. “In a word? I’d say, yes.”
“Well, don’ you worry none,” Pear Butter looks back at me, smiling. “We’re gonna make sure you can find a way t’ reverse all this an’ get yer own body back and that horrid filly pays for her crimes.”
I sigh. “Good luck with that. Unless times moves slower in my world than it does here in Equestria, she’ll have plenty of time to ruin my life before we even figure out the basics of the spell. Not to mention, there’s no way of finding the place she kept all the notes again. I’ve literally no clue where it is in this swamp.”
“Not t’ mention, you said the spell was random,” Bright Mac says, thinking. “Ya’d need t’ make the spell better, t’ lock onto yer body specifically. There’s no tellin’ how long that could take and… Ah’m not helping, am Ah?” he asks, realizing the depressed look on my face and the stern look his wife is shooting him.
“Don’t you worry,” she leans back and nuzzles my face, the only part of me not still completely covered in I don’t even wanna know what. “We’ll find a way.”
“Speaking of finding a way…” I look up and glance between the two of them. I’m riding atop Pear Butter’s back because my legs are too small to keep up with them and, despite doing it earlier when fleeing for my life, I haven’t gotten the hang of flying. “How did you two find your way to me? Where have you been all this time that you could’ve been near enough to hear me?”
The two look to each other and I notice an uncomfortable look pass between them.
“It… it ain’t somethin’ we can easily explain,” Bright Mac says, shaking his head. “We were makin’ a pie delivery fer a group o’ swamp dwellin’ folk. Well, Pear had finished her delivery and come and joined me… but something was wrong.”
“Ah was feelin’ sick,” Pear Butter says, her ears splaying back against her head. “Ah don’t know what made me sick, but Ah was.”
“Ah didn’t know what was wrong with her, so, Ah did what I could t’ help. Wrapped her in a blanket, feed her soup,” Bright Mac gulps. “But then, I got sick too. We didn’t know what t’ do, so we hunkered down in an area o’ this here swamp, hoping to wait out the fever. But… well…”
“We don’t rightly know too much o’ what happened,” Pear Butter looks back at me. “We started sproutin’ leafs and branches. We didn’t know what was happening. We held each other close, as… as this terrible pain took over, we couldn’t think o’ anything else but t’ hold each other through the pain…”
“Next thing we know, we’re back in the cave, perfectly fine,” Bright Mac shakes his head in confusion. “Not a trace o’ scars, or nothin’. It was like we’d never been sick.”
“But when we stepped out of the cave, we noticed it seemed the swamp had changed,” Pear Butter cocks her head to the side. “It was as if the swamp had had several years’ worth o’ change, like we’d somehow jumped several years int’ the future.”
I blink, before feeling a little uneasy. “Um… while you were sick, did either of you get lots of orange spots? Did you sneeze lightning at any point?”
The two stop, looking to me in shock.
“How did you know?” Bright Mac asks.
I cringe, rubbing the back of my neck. “Sheesh. Well, if what I’m hearing is right, you two had something called Swamp Fever. It’s a dangerous disease that turns those infected with it into the very trees that spread the virus. Several ponies I know of actually caught it about a year or two ago. They were lucky to find the cure, but it only works for those who haven’t turned into the trees yet.”
Bright Mac frowns in confusion. “Then how in the hay were we cured? If’n yer right, we ended up turnin’ int’ the trees, but we were cured after the fact. How’d that happen?”
“I… I wish I knew,” I shake my head, frowning. Something in the back of my brain is nagging me that I do know how they were cured, but I can’t remember it properly. Maybe the mind swap damages some of my memories?
“Well, whatever the case, we should be thankful we were cured,” Bright Mac says, shuddering. “Ah hate the think Ah coulda turned int’ one o’ those trees an’ infected other ponies.”
“That’s right,” Pear Butter nodded, her face firm. “An’ when we get back, we’ll make sure everypony knows about those trees.”
“We’ll also wanna explain our little friend’s situation afore anypny gets the wrong idea,” Bright Mac winks at me.
I blush a little, rubbing my foreleg. “Yeah. I mean, right now no pony could tell I’m in Cozy Glow’s body at a glance. Not with all this muck and my mane the way it is.”
“Speakin’ o’ which,” Pear Butter glances back at me, “what should we call ya? Ah doubt ya wanna go by Cozy Glow while yer stuck in that body.”
I frown, rubbing my chin. “Well, my real name will draw a bit too much attention. No creature really has a name like it, so I’d stand out too much, which is hard enough not to do with these,” I indicate to my wings and horn. “So… while I’m here, let’s go with Autum.”
“Autum,” the tan coloured mare says, looking up, rolling it over her tongue, before nodding and smiling. “Autum it is. So, how should we… Autum? Autum!”
Her words sound distant, like she’s going down a tunnel as I feel myself growing weak and flop down, slumping off her back and hitting the squelchy ground.
I try to keep my eyes open, but it’s so difficult. Sleep sounds really good right about now for some reason.
“Sweet Celestia, she’s burnin’ up! Autum? Autum, you hang in there! Buttercup. There should be somethin’ in my pack t’ help.”
Their voices fade as the world goes dark.
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“Come on, sweetie. Hang in there, okay?” Pear Butter said, gently moving her hoof over the unconscious filly’s forehead.
After the little human trapped in an Alicorn filly’s body had collapsed, the two of them had rushed through the swamp, desperately trying to find any signs of civilisation.
Thankfully, they’d found this small village in Hayseed Swamp. There hadn’t been many ponies out at the time, it having been early, but they’d found a kind stallion named Cattail.
He apparently lived with a relative, but she was currently off in Canterlot after being called by the princesses to help in a task.
He’d let them clean Autum, the stallion becoming quite surprised when the removal of the muck had revealed her pink coat and he’d realized she was an Alicorn.
He was currently trying to prepare find some medicine. The relative he lived with was a healer, so should have something to help.
“Cattail’s still lookin’,” Bright Mac came into the room and stood by his wife, looking down at the poor filly.
She was breathing heavily and had her forehead was burning something fierce.
“She’s must’ve gotten sick from something she accidentally swallowed when she was drowning in that muck afore we saved her,” the mare said, looking at the sick filly with worry. “It’s not fair for her. She’s already been torn from her world, forced to look like a criminal and now she’s sick all because said criminal didn’t care about what happens to this poor soul. And now she’s sick. It ain’t right.”
“Ah know, Buttercup,” the stallion said, putting a hoof around her. “Ah know.”
“I’m sorry to be a bother so late,” a young voice neither recongized caught their attention, causing them to turn to see Cattail walking back into the room, a small vial of potion held in one hoof.
Walking next to help was a small Pegasus filly. Her coat was brown, with a two-toned turquoise mane and tail in a curly style. On her flank was a blue shoe with a spur on the back and she was wearing a green neckerchief around her neck. “Bloofy’s tummy’s been actin’ up a bit, so ma sent me t’ get him somethin’ t’ help is all.”
Walking next to her was a small creature neither pony had seen before. It was small and purple, with a cute little face. It must have been this Bloofy.
“No problem at all, Spur,” Cattail said, giving the vial to Pear Butter, who took and opened it, turning back to the bed. “Though, I do hope your willing to wait a minute. These two ponies brought a sick filly with them and we need ta get her fever down, fast.”
“I totally understand,” the brown filly nodded, before hovering up to get a look at the bedridden filly, curious.
“Ah just hope this works,” Pear Butter said, lifting Autum’s head. “Autum, open yer mouth an’ drink this. It’ll help.”
The filly technically couldn’t answer, but opened her mouth anyway and she poured the medicine in, the filly swallowing on reflex.
“Tempo?!” the cry caused the adults to look up.
Spur was staring down at the bedridden filly, how mouth wide open.
“Who?” Pear Butter asked, confused.
The brown filly pointed to the pink one. “That’s my cousin, Tempo. She ran away and we haven’t seen her since.” She flew up to the ponies, her eyes wide. “Where’d you find her? Why’s she sick? What happened?!”
The two farm ponies just looked to each other, no idea what to say.