Role Reversal

by Trials


A Delightful Tea Party

In a flash, the odd couple returned to Ponyville. The park bustled with life — ponies, insects, birds and whatever else found the day to be wonderful populated the place. Smarty gazed around at all of them, curious as to why so many were there.“Well, I'll be on my way,” said Discord, materialising a top hat before tipping it to Smarty. “Be sure to find me if you need anything — being in the land of the living is a rather strange ordeal. Haven't quite got used to it myself yet,” he mused as he clicked his fingers. The draconequus disappeared with a pop.

A smile spread across Smarty's face. She was free. Finally, after waiting for so long: free. For the first time, Smarty felt the warmth of the sun fall on her coat. She simply closed her eyes and let the sun rays warm her body up. She felt the wind breeze through her mane and caress her tail. The songs of birds and joyful cries of foals playing in the sun filled the joyous atmosphere. It all felt glorious. For the first time, Smarty felt alive in more than one sense.

“Are you okay?” a small voice said from behind.

Smarty turned to face a filly, who was as almost as small as her leg. She had to bend down to speak to her, even if it made her look like some towering giant. “Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?” she said, cocking her head.

“You looked... sad,” said the filly, “Do you need anything? Maybe a hug?”

Smarty laughed. Damn, it felt good to laugh. It was like a quick release of happy feelings. The filly laughed with her. Was it contagious? It seemed like it. The small one had laughed almost instantly after hearing her own laughter. This would require further testing, but she had the curious child to deal with first. “Nope, nothing,” came Smarty's reply. She put on a smile. “But, thanks for asking.”

“That's okay.” The filly looked behind Smarty. “You have a nice doll there!”

“Oh, yes. He's very special to me,” Smarty said with a wink. She combed through Big Mac's hair with a soft hoof, making sure to brush it out of his button eyes. It was no fun not being able to see what was going on — she had experienced it many times over. “Actually, you can help me,” Smarty finally admitted. The filly's eyes widened in delight. “Do you know where Twilight Sparkle lives? I need to see her urgently.”

The young mare pointed to a tall building in the middle of town. It was more of a tree house than an actual house — the entire thing was a tree. “It's right there!” she said, smiling. Smarty Pants thanked the filly, and began walking down to the town. A small hoof poked her from behind, and she turned to find the same filly with pleading eyes. “Can I... hold him for just a minute?” she asked hopefully. She even put on the puppy eyes. Smarty rolled her eyes. She couldn't say no to that.

“Sure,” she said, “but be careful; he's a great friend of mine.” And with that, the mare hesitated for a moment before passing Big Mac over to the open-hoofed filly. She held him in a tight grip, smiling contentedly. Smarty remembered exactly the same scene — when she was given to Twilight as a gift, she'd never forgotten the look of pure joy on her face. The memory almost brought a tear to her eye. She once doubted that she would never see such a happy filly again, but the filly in front of her proved differently. “It's so fluffy!” the filly exclaimed, interrupting Smarty's train of thoughts.

“If you squeeze him any harder, I think you'll squish the fluff out of him,” Smarty said with a chuckle. The filly's expression turned from one of joy to complete horror. She quickly released Big Mac from her strong grip, and returned him to Smarty. The filly muttered a thanks before running off into the park. Smarty sighed happily. “I hope you're ready, Big Mac,” she said to him, “that's the kind of stuff I had to put up with.” Though the park was lovely, the mare had more important tasks to do. Besides, she had all the time in the world. She wandered through the streets of Ponyville, looking towards the sky to track the tree house.

Ponies of all colours walked with and against her in a seemingly endless march of trivial pursuits through the town, and that was putting it nicely. There was no reason for them to be hovering around town. The sun was shining, and the temperature was warm — Smarty could see no reason for their presence to be in a boring, dull place such as town. They could've gone to a beach, had a pleasant walk, eaten an ice cream at the very least, but no; they had to continue walking through town. Smarty sighed — the amount of bustling ponies was beginning to frustrate her.

Smarty looked behind, checking if Big Mac was still with her. He rested on her back, which only brought a smile to her face. “C'mon, Maccy,” she whispered, “we're off to see the wizard.” Twilight's home was in sight. Oh, she had so much to talk about. All those embarrassing secrets, all those times Twilight thought no one was listening when Smarty Pants had actually heard all. The memories made her giggle. On reflection, it must've seemed odd to see a mare laughing to herself with a foal's toy on her back. Very odd.

Eventually, after wading through the seemingly endless crowds, Smarty stood before Twilight's door. She raised her hoof to knock, but paused. The idea seemed a good one in foresight, but now it just seemed like a poor one. Though the expression on Twilight's face would be priceless, it wasn't really worth scaring the manure out of her. There was nothing to talk about, anyway. Smarty Pants had been her toy, and now she was a real pony. What exactly does a toy say to its master? 'Oh, hey, I was your toy' wasn't exactly the best of sentence starters.

“And be sure to book the early morning ticket! I don't want to be arriving late at the—” Twilight said as she opened the door. She collided with Smarty's hoof with a loud slap. “What the—”

“Oh, hey, I was your toy,” blurted Smarty Pants. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Twilight stared at the mare. Smarty kicked the ground nervously, waiting for a response. After a minute of complete silence, Twilight extended a hoof and touched Smarty's cheek. She gasped at the contact. Slowly, she began backing into the library, closing the door at the same time. The strange frown remained on her face the entire time. Well, Smarty couldn't exactly leave her like that — she was previously her guardian of the night and its monsters after all. “Wait, lemme explain,” she said, blocking the door with her hoof. “I can explain it perfectly.”

“Buh... b-but, I don't understand!” Twilight cried, trying to slam the door shut.

Smarty rolled her eyes. Oh, boy, she thought. “Listen, it's not that hard to tell you. I've seen the things you've seen — I'm relatively normal compared to all that stuff!”

The unicorn looked as if she was going to kick Smarty's hoof out of the way and shut the door, or as if she was about to break down into fits of gibberish laughter and unintelligible words, but something sparked in her eyes. Maybe it was that habit of always wanting to know everything, just as Smarty remembered. Twilight looked her up and down. “Five seconds to prove it,” she said, presenting a stopwatch. “I'll be counting.”

“Well, Discord turned me into a real pony.”

“That's it?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. Smarty nodded. The alicorn inspected the watch with a beady eye. “Three point five seconds. Not bad,” she said, scratching her chin. “I still don't believe you, though. Discord wouldn't do something like that. He'd have nothing to gain from it.”

“Why not? You've seen much stranger things than me,” said Smarty, smiling.

“That as it may be, you haven't exactly given me any conclusive proof.”

Smarty indicated to herself. “I look exactly like your toy.”

“Could just be Pinkie Pie under all that make-up. She's always been way too talented with her paint. I remember when she disguised herself as my mother on Mother's Day,” she said, shivering and staring into space.

“Just look at my eyes!” said Smarty, groaning. She got inches away from Twilight's face and glared at her. “One's red, and the other's blue! No amount of paint could colour in my eyes. Tell me I'm not Smarty Pants now!”

“Could just be some kind of unicorn magic. I've see it all the time,” Twilight said, waving her hoof dismissively. Smarty was about two snarky replies away from smashing her face in, regardless of previously being her toy. She didn't have to be so... mistrusting.

“Are you really going to make me do this?” Smarty asked with a sigh.

“I'm not asking you to do anything at all, and—”

“Do you remember that time you came home from school, and you couldn't stop crying? I could've sworn you produced your very own river of tears in your room. You told me everything — how you accidentally turned your teacher into a teapot, because you apparently got a question wrong. Then, when everyone laughed at you, you snapped and proceeded to turn them all into teapots.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes.

“When I didn't reply, which apparently was such a sin, you also turned me into one,” Smarty added, a smug smile spreading across her face. “How's that for your conclusive proof?”

Twilight continued staring daggers at Smarty. In a moment, the frown disappeared. She wiped her eyes, as if awakening from a dream. “Smarty Pants?” she asked, “is it really you?”

“The one and only,” she said, grinning.


Twilight had invited Smarty Pants in for a cup of tea, and the chance to 'be a subject of close investigation', which Smarty knew was Twilight's way of inviting her to chat. She had sat down on Twilight's sofa, and was being watched rather closely by Spike from the top of the stairs. Smarty wouldn't look at him directly, on pain of only alerting him further, but she could see him staring in her peripheral vision. He must have a very boring life if he stares at guests all day, she thought.

The library did look rather pleasant. Homely. Smarty had never actually seen the place, seeing as though she'd been kept in a cardboard box somewhere in the basement for so long, so it was interesting to see how Twilight had matured as a mare. Adult books filled the shelves, and Smarty could've sworn she saw some... overly romantic novels, but she couldn't complain — at least Twilight was keeping up with her reading. She remembered the days Twilight would read any kind of comic or book to her as a filly. Smarty knew Twilight wasn't a bad pony, that was for sure, but she still had no idea what to talk about.

“So, here's your tea,” Twilight said with a warm smile. She joined her ex-toy on the sofa. Smarty Pants plucked the hovering, steaming cup from the purple haze, and took a deep sniff. It smelt wonderful. Though the smell of fresh grass outside was pleasant, the tea was far better. Smarty could detect the earthy scent of the tea leaves. “Ladha ya Kinyesi leaves, the finest tea in all Equestria,” said Twilight, sipping from her own mug, “Princess Celestia kindly gave me some.”

“That was nice of her,” Smarty said, taking a sip. Her taste buds exploded. It was the first thing she had ever tasted anything, and, oh, what a wonderful first choice. Smarty was forced to put her cup down, due to the coughing fit that ensued.

“Too hot?” Twilight asked, a hint of genuine concern in her voice.

“Just perfect,” said Smarty, in between choking. “Just went down the wrong way.” She was lying, of course — there was simply too much flavour in one sip for her to handle, especially as it was her first ever taste. She relished the taste of it, and grinned at the satisfying aftertaste it left behind. Smarty wanted more, and right now, but she couldn't rush it. Too much of a good thing. She looked up to see Twilight watching at her, almost as if she was investigating her. Smarty couldn't blame her; it's not every day a master shares tea with its toy. “I, uh, see you've got yourself a nice set of wings now! What are you, a princess or something?” she asked, chuckling.

“Well...” Twilight smiled nervously. Smarty's jaw dropped so fast, she could've sworn it hit the floor.

“You're a princess?!” she screeched, her tone full of disbelief.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Twilight cocked her head. “I was, and still am, the protégé of Princess Celestia after all, though the circumstances are still pretty... hazy. I'm not exactly sure what I'm the princess of, you see. Just a princess at the moment, I guess. Does that still count for something?”

Smarty's eyes glimmered. A princess! Her own Twilight Sparkle had become royalty! Today was just a day of surprises. “Of course it still counts for something! It doesn't matter!” she said, jumping out of her seat to hug her, “I'm so proud of you, Twi!”

Twilight blushed a fierce crimson and returned the hug. “Thanks, Smarty. But, let's talk about you! I'm old news, anyway,” Twilight began. "Did you just come here for a chat, or for something else? I hope you're not hoping to exact revenge on me for turning you into a teapot,” she said sheepishly.

“The thought had crossed my mind... Oh, just to check up,” Smarty admitted without much pretence. "See how you've got on since... you left me.”

Twilight was taken aback. “You remember that?”

“I remember everything,” Smarty said. “Just because I was a doll doesn't mean I can't see what's going on, and I could certainly recall what happened then! You just left me in that heap of ponies!” Oh, she could have so much fun with this. She put on a hurt expression for good measure.

“You make it sound like I abandoned you!” Twilight exclaimed, blushing once more.

“Well, technically, you did,” Smarty said. “You put a spell on me, and then cast me into the masses! I was hurt, you know? Both mentally and physically...” She pointed to her left eye. “I think my button was nearly falling out...” she said, making sure to leave a dramatic end. Smarty took another sip from her mug, and tried desperately not to smile or laugh from happiness; it tasted just heavenly.

“I tried to find you!” Twilight tried, rubbing her neck.

“Liar! You saw Big Mac carry me off into the sunset,” Smarty cried. When the unicorn looked as if she was about to burst into tears, she laughed and immediately felt guilty. Smarty didn't blame Twilight for the incident — if anything, being taken in and loved by Big Mac was better than being stuffed back into a small bag and left for years on end. “I'm joking, Twi. I was perfectly fine in the end.” Still, the mare didn't stifle her sniffles. “Seriously. Twilight. I mean, look at me! Turned out much better than both you or I expected!”

“Well, if you say so,” Twilight said, her lips trembling.

“Hey,” Smarty said, jumping onto another topic, “do you remember those tea parties you used to throw me? ”

Twilight sniffed. “The ones with... Mr Bigglesworth and Big Momma?”

“The very same,” Smarty said, a twinkle in her eye. “You had those little plastic cups... and you would force-feed us all biscuits and tea all day. Mr Bigglesworth never liked it, but I did. Those were the days, you know.”

“They sure were. It's strange how you can remember that, but I can't," Twilight said, smiling.

“Well, life wasn't exactly that exciting as a toy,” Smarty admitted. “I had to cling onto the most exciting parts. Don't you think it's strange how we're having a tea party of our own right now?”

Twilight laughed. “I suppose it is.”

The purple blur Smarty had long forgotten about emerged from her peripheral sight. She finally turned her attention on him, properly looking at the dragon for the first time. It was Spike — of course it was Spike! How could she forget about him? He had simply grown up so much. The last time Smarty had seen him was when he couldn't even walk for himself, and now, he looked as if he glided along the ground. He was a professional at walking! Not exactly something to write home about, granted, but a darn sight better than what she saw last time. She grinned; it was good to see the little guy again.

“So, who's this, Twi?” Spike asked, his voice unsure. Smarty rolled her eyes. Well, so much for that reunion. She wasn't too surprised, to be honest; he was very young when he had met her.

“Oh, just an old... acquaintance,” she said with a chuckle.

Spike narrowed his eyes. “She looks familiar... almost too familiar,” he said, raising a claw to his chin.

“Spike!” Twilight exclaimed. “Have you no manners at all? You can't just say to a pony's face!” Spike grunted in response. He glared at the pair of the ponies whilst he refreshed their cups of tea in a rather clumsy manner. Almost as if it was on purpose. Tea sloshed at the side of her cup, almost overfilling, but it didn't matter. For the first time in ages, someone was serving Smarty tea, and this time she could actually drink it.

“Thank you, Spike!” said Smarty, smiling mockingly.

“Yeah, whatever,” the dragon dismissed as he left the room.

It was getting late. The warmth and light of the day was quickly disappearing. She could see the moon emerging through the grey clouds, which had seemingly arrived from nowhere. Smarty Pants took another sip of the wonderful brew, but coughed and spluttered. There was something she'd forgotten: Big Mac's family. “Smarty? Are you all right?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she said. “Listen, Twilight, I've got some things I need to take care of. It's been nice chatting, but I really need to go. Is that okay?” The mare looked confused, but nodded all the same. “Good. Thanks for the tea and all... It was nice having another tea party after so long,” she said. “I'll be around, though. See you some other time?”

“Absolutely,” Twilight said, returning the grin. “Wait, don't you even have the time to finish your tea?”

“Sorry, but no,” Smarty replied, scratching her neck. She got up way too quickly, and almost fell back down again, but a wave of purple caught her. Twilight planted her back on her hooves effortlessly. Just as Smarty was about to thank her, something rather heavy hit the wooden floor with an audible thunk. She looked down, wondering what it was, to find her Big Mac doll staring back at her.

“Smarty... what's that?” Twilight began, pointing at him.

“Oh, uh, nothing! Just something Discord gave me!” she said with a grin. She quickly squeezed him back into her saddlebag and closed the hatch tightly. She slowly backed away from Twilight, who looked as if she was trying to remember something.

“That looked a lot like... uh,” Twilight said, but was quickly interrupted by the sound of the door slamming shut.

“That was too close,” Smarty said to herself, hiding behind the door. She looked up, seeing the rays of moonlight brighten up the town. Everyone had disappeared from the streets, leaving Smarty feel suddenly alone. She almost felt vulnerable, were it not for the filly's red toy residing in her saddlebag. Smarty opened it up, allowing Big Mac to breathe and see the shining moon. With a gentle hoof, she patted him on the head. “Now, let's go and see your sister. She must be worried sick about you.”

Though she tried to sound calm, Smarty felt quite the opposite. After living with Big Mac for so long, she had become acquainted with his family. Strong minds, the lot of them, even though she wasn't much different. How would she even begin to admit to Applejack that her brother had become a doll in return for her coming to life? It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to explain.

With a gulp, Smarty began walking into the night.