//------------------------------// // Chapter 67 - The Switcheroo Spell (Part 1) // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// Barrier bolted awake, suddenly roused from his bed by the sudden shouting of expletives from upstairs. With a quick flash of his horn, Barrier vanished from his bed and reappeared on the second floor.  “What’s going on?” Barrier called out. The sound of his voice reminded him that what had happened earlier was sadly not a dream. At least I’m still an adult. “A minor incident, sir!” a feminine voice with a distinctly Gallopfreyan accent said from behind the bathroom door. “I was just going to… relieve myself, but I had forgotten the changes to my plumbing and… well, I missed the plumbing.” Barrier sighed in annoyance before heading downstairs. “Just clean it up, Forge.” “Already on it,” Forge replied just as Barrier spotted Daring leaving the guest room and followed after her. “So, anything on your agenda today?” Daring asked, stretching out her wings as she followed along.  “Not really, besides maybe getting some new books from the library,” Barrier said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “Yours?” “Trying to find an undo for this,” the golden pegasus replied as they approached the kitchen, when they found Verdant preparing breakfast and Trixie watching from the table. Barrier noticed her eyes were too low to be focused on the food being readied. “After that, I’m shoving the damn wand into a soundproof box and sending it to Canterlot.” “Morning,” Verdant said as he looked over his shoulder. “Today’s breakfast will be omelets with some diced red and green peppers.” “If they’re ruby reapers, you’ll regret it,” Barrier said as he and Daring took some seats at the table.  “Relax,” Verdant waved dismissively before cracking a pair of eggs into a bowl. “I’d only do that if it was specifically for my worst enemy… Or Hatty.” “Can Trixie request a specific thing for tonight’s dinner?” Trixie asked, her eyes never moving away from a certain part of the shamrock pony.  “Sorry, I’m not making dinner tonight,” Verdant replied before taking a whisk between his teeth. “I’ve got plans with Erica, so either somepony else will have to cook or you’ll need to order out.” Barrier was somewhat surprised that Verdant was able to speak so clearly with the whisk between his teeth. “Drat.” Trixie grumbled with a childish frown.  At least you’re getting a free meal. Barrier mentally grumbled as some more of the house started to arrive at the table. The instant I’m back to normal, you’ll be out of here faster than greased lightning. “Well, breakfast should be ready shortly,” the green coated pony said before pouring the eggs into the frying pan. “Here’s hoping a good breakfast leads to the start of a good day.” *** In the kitchen of the Four D’s, Drumstick witnessed Fruity Punch finish up washing her hooves when she heard the front door open up. “Welcome to Delicious Dining Delights & Deli,” the plump pegasus said as she trotted away from the kitchen. “how can I help you to…” Her words came to a halt at the sight of a rather handsome unicorn stallion entering the restaurant.  “Good morning, Mrs. Drumstick,” Swiftsword gave a quick bow. “Well, I’m no longer a foal and we should be able to restore your son to normal whenever he comes by the house.” “I… See…” Drumstick was rather stunned by Swift’s new appearance. “I guess there was another mishap?” “Yes, thanks to my housemate,” the cornflower blue unicorn grumbled before coughing into her hoof. “Still, this won’t have any effect on your son and I’m fully ready to work… Well, provided you have a uniform that would fit me.”  “I’m sure we have a spare somewhere. Punch?” Drumstick was met with a moment of silence. Turning about in confusion at the lack of reply, she spotted Fruity Punch was staring at their co-worker’s new form with a bit of drool leaking from her mouth. “Punch!” Drumstick barked, snapping the pink mare from her stupor. “Go try to find a uniform that fits Swift.” “Uh, right!” Punch saluted before guiding Swift towards the supply room. “Do you want a stallion’s uniform or a mare’s?” “It doesn’t matter much to me,” Swift replied as they reached the back. “Though I think a stallion’s uniform would look better on me currently.” *** Erica glanced at the clock up on the wall that hung above the cooking instructor’s table. Class was about to start and Verdant had yet to show up. She was starting to grow somewhat worried. “You think Verdant’s okay?” Erica looked to her side, where she saw Color Splash was standing in front of her station.  “Probably,” the gray unicorn tried to give the hen a calming look. “He’s probably either getting through a busy crowd or having some trouble climbing up the stairs.” She then let out a soft chuckle. “I still can’t believe he got turned into a foal.” “I’ll admit, it was quite the surprise when I saw it,” Erica said before resting her elbows on the station. “Still, if Beanstalk can turn two-hundred feet tall because of a plant, this shouldn’t surprise me.” Just as Erica finished speaking, the room to the class burst open and a pink and red blur rushed over to Splash’s table. When it came to a stop, the pair saw it was the huffing form of Fruity Punch. “Did I… make it?” the pink pony asked between breaths.  “Right on time, Punch,” Splash smiled and gave her a pat on the back. “What happened?” “Eh, major rush right before my shift ended. Then a cart full of molasses tipped over and spilled all over Squirmy Street, so I had to take the long way around to get here,” Punch replied as she managed to catch her breath. “So, what’s up with you?” “Not much,” Splash stated, looking at the clock that was steadily counting down, growing ever closer to class time. “Just waiting for Verdant to get here so I can see what this age spell thingie did to him.” “Oh, you don’t know? They managed to take care of that, only to run into an issue with another spell.”  “Are they okay?” Erica asked in a shocked tone, her voice dripping with concern.  “Yeah, they’re fine.” Punch walked over to her griffin friend and placed a hoof on her shoulders. “Hatty just made it so they magically—” The unicorn paused when she spotted the door opening, as well as the sight of the pony entering the room. “Hi, Verdant!” She waved while Erica whipped around to see what had happened to him. She was rather stunned by Verdant's new appearance. His more angular, stallionish features had been replaced by smooth, feminine curves. Even his hair had a smoother appearance, as if it were carefully brushed and styled. However, the thing that stood out the most to the hen was how Verdant’s hips were much more shapely, accentuating his flank. “Hey girls,” he said as he came to Erica’s side, much to her and Splash’s surprise.  “Wow, that spell really made an impact,” the gray mare said as she examined Verdant’s now feminine form.  “Yeah, it did,” Verdant flatly answered. “And this is all Hatty’s fault.” “Well… you do look pretty nice, Verdant,” Erica said, closely looking him over. “Did the spell style your mane and tail, too?” “No, that was all me,” the emerald pony replied. “I figured if I’m gonna be stuck this way for a bit, I should try to make it look good.” He punctuated his statement by giving his tail and rump a shake. “You… you really pull it off.” A crimson tinge started to sweep over Erica’s features, making her facial feathers match her coat.  “Thanks, dear,” he gave Erica’s face a nuzzle and a quick peck on the cheek. “Other than that and a molasses spill making me take a detour, today’s been pretty uneventful.” “You seem to take this whole, ‘stuck in a mare’s body thing’ in stride,” Splash noted as Erica returned the nuzzle.  “Well, this isn’t the first time I’ve ended up in a mare’s body,” he replied, making the unicorns raise their eyebrows. “Oh, do you mean like you were controlling a mare’s body like this, or like that thing Hatty said about you getting a tour of Princess Luna’s colon?” Punch innocently asked, making her partner suddenly whip around to face her. “Wait, what?!” Splash shouted, her jaw nearly dropping to the floor. Verdant let out a groan and smacked his forehead with a hoof. “Thanks, Punch. I needed another reminder to murder Hatty later.” “You’re welcome!” Punch cheerfully said, missing Verdant’s sarcasm just as Tablier Bleu entered the room. “Afternoon, students,” she merrily said as she trotted up to her station. “Today, we’ll be cooking up some tomato risotto.” “Say, Splash,” Verdant softly spoke. “Can you do me a favor after class?” *** Barrier strolled into the elaborately decorated library, eyes scanning the interior familiar building. There were four floors that were stacked from floor to ceiling with volumes upon volumes of books. If he’d had to guess, he would’ve guessed that only the Canterlot library held more books… or Twilight.  The transformed stallion lit his horn, pulling a collection of books from his saddlebags. “Hey Due Date. I’ve got some returns for you.” “Just a second,” a voice said from behind a desk as Barrier approached. “My bag ripped and I spilled my biii….” A blue unicorn stallion rose up, only to be awestruck by the pony before him. “Yeah, I know. This transformation crap is weird.” Barrier dropped the stack in front of the gray maned stallion, snapping him from his stupor. “Say, did that Knight of Zandar book I wanted come in?” “Oh, um, yeah, Barrier.” Due Date found himself unable to bring his green eyes to meet Barrier’s steely blues. “It’s, uh over on that one shelf over there. Third row, towards the middle of the second section.” Date extended a sea colored foreleg to a nearby bookshelf. “Excellent,” Barrier replied before trotting towards the shelf that the librarian had pointed to. “Be sure to register my stuff as back, ASAP. I really don’t want to deal with any late fees.” Hearing Due Date give only a vague muttering in response, he focused his attention on the aforementioned shelf and started to scan for the title he was after.  “Perfect.” Barrier pulled the book from the shelf, looking over the cover image of a knight in golden armor facing down a red demon with clothes made from tiger skin.  As he pulled a few other books from the shelf to add to this week’s entertainment, he felt as if somepony’s eyes were on him. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted that Due Date’s eyes were locked on him. Or rather, a certain part of him. “That’s not how you salute a soldier, Due Date,” Barrier barked, making the scrawny stallion tumble back in embarrassment. The charcoal pony smirked as he approached and saw the unicorn go from a dark sky blue to tomato red. “How about you check these out for me and check my returns in before I have you brought in for lewd conduct.” Barrier kept a stern tone going, despite enjoying the panic on Due Date’s face before he quickly got to work.  After a moment of work, Barrier had his saddlebags stuffed full of books and had started toward the library’s entrance, passing by Sweet Honey as she balanced a stack of books on her back.  “Thanks for the quick work, Due Date. Hello, Sweet Honey,” Barrier said just before reaching the door and nosing his way through.  “Huh? Was that…” Honey’s jaw dropped at the sight of the onyx unicorn. Her mind seemed to grind to a halt at the appearance of Barrier as a mare. Unfortunately for her, her legs kept working fine and she walked into a bookshelf. This led to the stuffed shelf to fall over, causing a domino effect that would soon consume the entire first floor of the library. “I… Oh… Um… I’m gonna be here a while…” Honey swallowed as more and more thunderous cracks echoed throughout the building, wincing with each one.