It was a rather sunny day in Rainbow Falls; there were rows of tents filled with eager customers greeting visitors. Among the crowd was Trouble Shoes, a melancholy Clydesdale who had his head to the ground, being somewhat embarrassed that he had to trade his junk for oats and veggies. As Trouble Shoes then continued to slowly make his way through the bustling crowds, the crowd gawked at him, which he did his best to ignore. He was much bigger than most pony folk since he technically wasn't a pony but a half horse with a Clydesdale for a father and a sweet old earth pony mare for a mother. Regardless, he didn't bother correcting anypony as his size was the least of his concerns.
While lost in thought, the stallion accidentally stumbled into a hole in the ground. The mountain of junk he was carrying then tilted backward, causing him to be lifted into the air with his cargo spilling out. As Trouble Shoes dangled in the air, other ponies nearby who witnessed the incident and began to laugh and point at him.
Trouble Shoes appeared defeated and annoyed with his lot in life. He had grown used to his clumsiness ever since his cutie mark appeared; it had become the bane of his existence, feeling more like a curse than a gift. Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it and was resigned to his fate.
Fortunately, a pegasus flew over and cleared the debris blocking his path. The creature then assisted him in safely dismounting onto the ground. The stallion gazed upward to observe a mare donning a dark brown cloak, concealing her true identity. Although he was somewhat unsettled by her enigmatic presence, he expressed gratitude for her aid, quietly uttering, "Thank you."
"Sure, I'm happy to help," the mare replied with a kind smile. Trouble Shoes squinted, attempting to catch a glimpse of her face, but could only make out her golden brown coat and grayish tail and hair. She gathered his belongings and assisted him to a nearby booth. There, the hooded mare inquired about his junk which included an accordion, cast iron pans, and an old painting. She picked up the painting, revealing a cow colt jumping through the air while holding a lasso in its mouth. The mare was impressed and let out a whistle, "This painting has to be at least two hundred years old."
Trouble Shoes quietly expressed his disinterest in the items he was trading by muttering, "It's all just a bunch of junk to me."
The mysterious pegasus chuckled and uttered the old saying, "One pony's trash is another pony's treasure." She placed the portrait back in the wagon and asked, "What do you plan on trading all of this for?"
"food," Trouble Shoes replied in a gruff tone, feeling a bit embarrassed about revealing how he lives.
The mysterious mare gave a surprised gasp and asked, "It seems you're going through a tough time. How are you holding up?"
"Not really good, as you can tell," Trouble Shoes grumbled irritably.
"Maybe there's a way I can help? Can you tell me what's making it difficult to find a job?"
Trouble Shoes gestured towards his flank where his cutie mark was located and exclaimed, "This cursed thing causes me to be the clumsiest pony south of Sweet Apple Acres!" He angrily threw his hooves up and exclaimed, "Perhaps even throughout Equestria!"
As he raised his voice, the huge stallion stepped back and flailed his hooves as he fell to the ground landing on his flank. The stallion groaned as he rubbed his sore behind and added, "Do you see what I mean?"
Daring Do chuckled, then replied, "That was quite amusing. You remind me of the clowns from an old circus I went to as a filly."
"Maybe I should try out for the circus, probably end up havin' ponies throw tomatoes at me for five bits a shot," Trouble Shoes responded after getting up and brushing the dirt off his mane.
The mare probably didn't intend to be insulting, but Trouble Shoes was having a rough day and was feeling a bit irritable.
The hooded mare led the Clydesdale to her booth, where he was surprised to see a collection of ancient artifacts, including spears, chests filled with golden idols, and even a sarcophagus. Trouble Shoes was amazed and stood there staring at the items. Suddenly, the hooded mare coughed and asked, "Since we're here to trade, would you be interested in making a deal?"
"What do you mean?" Trouble Shoes inquired, raising an eyebrow and expressing suspicion toward the mare.
"I may be able to assist you with a map," the pegasus said as she handed him a scroll from her robe. "It contains the coordinates to a cave in the Everfree Forest where you can find the legendary mirror pool."
"Mirror pool?"
"According to legends, there is a mirror pool that has the power to make you the opposite of yourself if you bathe in it. This means that your cutie mark would be reversed, causing you to be lucky instead of unlucky."
Trouble Shoes thought about the trade tapping his hoof against his chin. Though he was skeptical of magic, he knew that every young foal in Equestria was warned about the dangers of the Everfree Forest and its wild magic. He glanced at the collection of artifacts behind her rather tempting, recognizing her expertise in ancient history. Desperate to improve his situation, he asked, "What's the catch?"
The mare then took out the painting she was looking at before and offered, "What about I trade the map for this? I'll even give you a bag of fried oats for your journey."
"Deal!" Trouble Shoes exclaimed; he shook the mare's hoof, and they agreed upon the exchange. She gave him the map along with a bag of oats.
He looked down at the map with wonder in his eyes, wondering if it would indeed change his destiny; at this point, he was desperate for just about anything. The stallion looked back at the mare and whispered, "Thanks, this means the world to me."
"It's no problem! Hopefully, you won't be so gloomy the next time we meet."
"we shall see about that," Troubleshoes replied with a slight grin on his face; he then trotted off and traded the rest of his goods for enough bits to hire some ponies for a stagecoach ride to Ponyville. On the ride to the town, Troubleshoes imagined his new life, imagining himself as a rodeo star; it was enough to keep his hopes up for the first time in a long while.
After arriving in Ponyville, Trouble Shoes trekked for a few hours through the dense foliage of the Everfree Forest, with the stallion finding himself slowly trotting through the dark and mysterious path covered in fog. He tried to keep quiet and cautious as he had heard stories of ponies disappearing in the area. However, his clumsiness caused him to stumble over roots and loose branches. Despite muttering curses, he continued walking cautiously, constantly checking his surroundings for potential danger.
Sometimes, Trouble Shoes would retrieve the old, worn-out map that guided him to one of the many mysterious caves scattered throughout the enchanted forest. He would cautiously store it under his hat, ensuring it was well-protected. By following this map, he hoped to discover a pond that could alter his life and end his cursed bad luck, although he wasn't entirely sure what that would entail. However, if it resulted in good luck, it could assist him in achieving his aspiration of becoming a rodeo star.
He marched through cautiously, hoping to avoid encountering the timberwolves, keeping his head on a swivel, but luckily for him, he hadn't heard any howling. He heard from gossip that after Twilight and her friends gave their elements to the Tree of Harmony, their activity diminished and made the forest much safer to explore. But still, he should keep his guard up as there were other mythical beasts such as Ursa Miors and Cocaktrice. But his journey yielded no danger, and eventually, the stallion came across a cave and discovered a silvery substance covering the ground that seemed to quiver in the breeze. Mesmerized, he stared into the liquid mirror and caught a glimpse of his reflection before gasping.
The substance slowly wrapped around his body, and he tried to scream, but was unable to as the silvery slime entered his mouth. Trouble Shoes kicked and jerked as he fell, and soon, everything he could see was just the silvery goo.
When he blinked and left the cave, he realized something had changed. He felt lighter and realized that he was much smaller in stature. Trouble Shoes then turned his head slowly and was shocked to see that his cutie mark, which was once an upside-down horseshoe, was now facing the right way up.
He realized his voice sounded lighter and airy and touched his throat with his hoof while whispering, "My voice."
There was no mistaking it was a mare's voice, and he couldn't believe it; it also turned him into a mare!
Trouble Shoes exclaimed, "Well, darn it!" He hit his face with his hoof and hurried to a nearby pond to examine his new body. His coat remained the same, but he noticed that his mane and tail were much shorter. He also observed that his flank was a bit rounder. He then looked over his muzzle, which was no longer a strong jaw and square but round and much prettier.
As he looked at his reflection in the pond, the stallion cried out at the sight of his new mare-like body! He wanted to change his destiny, not turn into a mare! Sitting on the bank of the pond, he contemplated returning to the cave and using the mirror pool to become a stallion again. However, before doing so, he might as well test his new cutie mark.
Trouble Shoes quickly got up and began running through the forest. He realized that his new body was more agile and easier to move. As he ran, he approached a log in his path, but instead of tripping over it, he effortlessly sailed over it. He continued running until he encountered large, spiked stone pillars. He skillfully weaved through them, sliding through the stone as if he were a wet noodle. After catching his breath and feeling proud of his newfound abilities, the Clydesdale then heard howling in the distance. He gasped as he realized that timberwolves were approaching and slowly looked around to see a pack of these creatures surrounding him. Despite his fear, he knew he had to stay calm and escape this dangerous situation as soon as he possibly could.
Trouble Shoes then started sprinting for his life but feared he would trip on every stump, root, or hole in the ground. However, he gained more confidence with his new cutie mark, leading him to quickly hog-tie one of the timberwolves. He then displayed his newfound strength and started bucking stones at the timberwolves that came at him. The stallion even jumped up and elbowed one of them, causing it to shatter into pieces. After defeating the rest of the pack, Trouble Shoes felt like he was on top of the world. The clydesdale was grateful for his newfound abilities and didn't care that his voice sounded light and airy. The stallion galloped through the forest with a smile, feeling like he had been gifted a superpower. Despite being a mare now, he knew there was no going back to his old life as a clumsy oaf and was excited to embrace his newfound life with his awesome new cutie mark.