As soon as the sound of that name, 'Pinkie Pie', reached Swift Swap's ears, from simple fear, his mood became complete terror. Taking advantage of the fact that the two mares were both facing towards the door, he ducked under the table, trying to calm down and rearrange his ideas.
"If she finds me, I can forget about being able to sleep!" he muttered to himself, "And if I can't rest, sooner or later it will happen... NO! I have to get out of here, now! As soon as she enters, I get out!"
He had just finished thinking about his plan of escape when the door swung open, and with the impetuosity of an avalanche, the filly that Swift Swap had met that morning swooped into the room with her eyes closed, and with a complex somersault in mid-air she landed on the table, balancing on her hind hooves, still with her eyes closed.
For some absurd reason her landing didn't shook at all the table. Not even the tea into the cups jiggled!
"Ta-daa!" she cried, raising her front legs to heaven.
Fluttershy and Applejack began to applaud, impressed, while Pinkie made a deep bow, without opening her eyes. As to the other two, they were completely caught by the acrobatics of her friend.
So no one noticed that Swift Swap, in the meanwhile, was cautiously crawling away from the table, trying to reach the door without attracting attention.
"Wow, Pinkie!" said Applejack, stopping to clap, "One day you absolutely must explain me where you learn such tricks. I've never seen anypony move like that!"
"Eh, it just comes natural to me!" she replied, finally opening her eyes, "Hi, Applejack, I didn't know I'd find you here! However, since you're there, I would like to ask you something! Oh, and of course to you too, Fluttershy! Wait! To tell the truth, I came to you because I wanted to ask you, but since I greeted Applejack before, I have to ask her before! Oh, my gosh! I would have to greet you before, if I came here to ask you, but I didn't, and now I have to ask her before! Oh, my gosh! This reminds me that I haven't greeted you yet! Hi Fluttershy! Yes, that's better! But anyway, now I have to ask her before, and you'll get mad not only because I asked her before, but also because I greeted her before! Oh, my gosh! And now ho-Umph!"
Tired of that paranoid and seemingly endless speech, Applejack had plugged her mouth with a hoof. After which, she said "Ehm, have you ever thought that you can ask the question to both of us?"
With her mouth still plugged, she still managed to say "Oh, yeah! What a great idea! So everypony will be first! Actually I wonder how I didn't think about it!"
"Never mind! So, what did you want to ask?" Applejack said, after having freed her mouth.
"Yeah, right. Well, I have an unfulfilled 'CNM' on my hooves!"
"A what?" Applejack asked.
"An unfulfilled 'CODE NEW MUZZLE', of course! Today I met somepony new, I introduced myself, I gave him my welcome and I made him smile, but we haven't completed my 'Make Your New Friend Meet All Of Your Old Friends' checklist, or 'MYNFMAOYOF' yet, and he is going to leave tomorrow morning!" At that point, she took off from her ear a huge parchment roll, and showed it to her friends, "There's no way I let him leave without having first completed my checklist! NO WAY!"
"Okay, okay, but now calm down, please!" Applejack told her, trying to appease her friend, "I know you don't like lettin' somepony without friends here in Ponyville, but after all, if he leaves tomorrow, doesn't make sense that he makes friends with everypony here! In the end, it may be that after today, he doesn't come back here anymore!"
"EXACTLY!" Pinkie yelled in her face, "If he never comes back, he will never have the chance to meet all the wonderful ponies that lives here! He will never met you, or you," and pointed Applejack first, and then Fluttershy, "or Dashie, or Rare, or Twi! NOPONY!"
She concluded her lament with a dramatic pose, which almost certainly she had copied from Rarity. The other two looked at her, undecided whether comfort her or tell her that she was definitely exaggerating. But before they could do one of these two things, she resumed, "Now you understand why I'm so anxious to find him! Unfortunately, even if we already have a short time, he started to play hide and seek, and he's good! Very good! In fact, it's from this morning that I'm looking for him, and nopony has ever beaten me at hide and seek, until now! Actually, while I was searching for him, it seemed to me to have met two other new ponies, but immediately after they are gone, so I guess I saw badly. However, that's why I'm here! I wanted to ask you if by chance you have seen him!"
"Well," Fluttershy interjected, "we will be happy to help you! And maybe our new friend could help you as well! What do- Hey! where is he?"
In fact, until that moment, none of them had noticed that Swift Swap had disappeared. They were too busy to hear the lamentation of their friend, and had momentarily forgotten about him.
For his part, Swift Swap realized that his diversion was over, but he hadn't reached the door yet, because the necessity of not make any noise, had forced him to go very slowly. But now he was in the middle of the room, and only Pinkie Pie's body was protecting him from the visual range of the other two, preventing them from detecting him.
But now all the three of them were looking around, and he realized that it was a matter of seconds, before they found him. He also began to look around in search of a solution, before ending up at the mercy of the sparked pony and her endless checklist. In the end, from a window, he saw a little bird perched on a branch, singing blithely. And realized that it was his chance.
They were still looking around, when a small flash of light drew their attention. It was a bright and golden light. A light that Fluttershy instantly recognized.
"Hey!" she exclaimed ,"That's Swift Swap's magic! I recognize it! So he has to be there!"
"Swift Swap?!" Pinkie asked ,"Swift Swap?! But he's the pony I'm looking for since this morning! Are you telling me that he has been here with you all the time and you didn't tell me?"
Then she turned around, but saw only a little birdie who was on the floor, and was quietly singing. But immediately after they all began to hear strange noises coming from outside. Then there was a loud crash, as something that broke, and finally a heavy thud, followed by groans of pain.
Fluttershy and Applejack stood up and rushed out, leaving behind a disoriented Pinkie Pie, and as soon as they were outside, they spotted the source of the wailing. In fact, at the foot of a tree, which had a broken branch, there was Swift Swap, aching from the fall.
"Shucks!" he moaned, "I was hoping that the branch would hold my weight, at least until I come down!"
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?" asked Fluttershy, helping him to get up.
"Now how in the hay did you get here? And why you went away secretly?" Applejack asked, looking at him confused.
He looked at the two mares with an embarrassed expression, and admitted, "Well, sorry if I slipped away, but the fact was that-"
"Swift Swap! I found you!" Pinkie said, making her way between the other two "I won! I found you! I knew it, I knew that nopony could beat me at hide and seek. Anyway, congratulations! You just beat the record previously established by Helia, in 'hide and don't let Pinkie Pie find you as long as you can'! And you beat her for three hours, thirty-six minutes and ten seconds! Congratu-pony-lations!"
In front of her, he felt that he could not escape anymore. So, in a tone that wanted to hide his deep desire to escape he said, “Ehm.....well.......good for me! I suppose I should feel lucky!”
“But of course you are, silly! You've met me, no?” she replied, crushing him into a hug, “However, you shouldn't play hide and seek now, you know? We're late on the schedule! Fortunately while you were playing you also brought yourself ahead with the 'MYNFMAOYOF' checklist, by meeting two of my closest friends, Applejack and Fluttershy!”
At that point, she freed him from the embrace, and took up his list, then using a leaf taken from the fallen branch as if it were a pen she began to write on it , while saying “Perfect! 'Meet Applejack', check! 'Meet Fluttershy', check too! Three down, now for the rest! Next one, 'Meet' Ra'-Wait! I almost forgot about it! Rainbow today is at the Wonderbolts Academy for her monthly training and she won't be back until this evening. And now that I think about it, also Rarity is busy. She has received an order for accessories that will keep her busy for most of the afternoon, and she told me outright that she doesn't want to be disturbed for any reason! She almost sent me off rudely when I went to her to search for you, and I don't think it's appropriate to disturb her again until she had finished! But don't worry, Swift Swap! You'll see that with my help you'll be able to meet everypony in town, even if we had to stay awake until dawn!”
At those words, he turned pale as a sheet, and his eyelids, heavy due the dark circles, had a thrill. In that moment both Fluttershy and Applejack realized why he sneaked away as soon as Pinkie Pie had arrived. Indeed, to think of it, they knew from the beginning that the last pony to ask for a bit of peace and quiet was her, and judging by the evident weariness of him, he really needed some.
So, in an attempt to distract Pinkie from her purpose and make her reasonable, Fluttershy approached her and said, “Ehm, I honestly believe that what he wants the most is a bit of rest and tranquility. So, why don't you let him go to Applejack's barn to take a nap, so after this he can help you complete the checklist?”
"She is right!" Applejack interjected, “Look at him, don't you see how tired he is?”
But she stayed engrossed by her thoughts, as if no one had spoken. They were going to insist when she leap at least six feet above the ground and shouted, “That's it! I know how we can recover the lost time and complete the checklist in a snap! Trust me and leave it to me, and you'll see that we'll end up in no time! Therefore, for the moment we'll skip these two points and we'll pass the next two: 'Meet Spike' and 'Meet Twilight Sparkle'!”
Said that, she stood behind Swift Swap and began to push him with her head, to make him advance. He jabbed his hooves on the ground and protested “Listen, I'm practically in pieces, and I don't think I have the strength to run all over Ponyville to complete your check-Wait a minute! Did you say 'Twilight Sparkle'? Did she lives here?”
“Why yes! I did!” she replied “And yes! She do live in Ponyville! Why, you've heard of her?”
“Oh, come on, Pinkie!” Applejack intervened, “Our friend is a princess now! It's normal for ponies to know her! Although, to be honest, it seems that there are also a lot of ponies that don't know her! But nevertheless, he's an ambassador, so I assume that he's always informed about the rulers of other nations!”
“Yes!” Swift Swap interrupted, “I'd heard of her, in fact! But I honestly thought that she was now in Canterlot, with the other princesses! But since she's here, maybe she can help me complete my mission!”
“Yes, it's true!” said Fluttershy, “She could put you in contact with Princess Celestia, so you can go back home!”
“That would be wonderful!” he said, relieved “and still, since now I know that she's here in Ponyville, I think it's my duty to bring my regards to her, as an ambassador!”
“Did this means that now you'll come with me?” asked Pinkie, hardly containing her excitement.
Finally more relaxed, he stretched his tired expression into a smile and said, “Only if you promise me that I'll have some time to rest, and there won't be too much hassle! Ok?”
“Don't worry! You'll see that you'll manage to relax!” she assured him.
“I come too!” Applejack said, “I'm curious to know how it will end!”
“I'm coming too, if you don't mind...” Fluttershy whispered.
“Of course we don't!” he retorted, then, turning to Pinkie he said, “Now that we all agree, lead the way, Pinkie!”
The princess Twilight Sparkle, right at that moment, was lying on the floor of her library, eagerly reading the densely written pages of a thick volume, turning the pages slowly and gently with magic.
Her expression was one of peace and serenity, the typical expression which has someone then he does what he loves and gratifies him. In her deep, purple eyes, you could read a universe made of words, made of all the wisdom and culture that hundreds and hundreds of ponies before her had discovered, tested and written, from generation to generation, fueling the mighty and wonderful machine of knowledge.
That was her way, her vocation, her mission. Her destiny.
To be a model, a landmark, a guidance. A princess.
She wasn't fully accustomed to be a princess yet. Despite all the adventures she had already lived with her new title, still seemed impossible to her all that really happened. It was too strange, too alien to her eyes. She, who was born into a family like any other, and that until recently was a unicorn like many others, now was one of the four princesses of Equestria!
And her body was changed as well! Every morning she looked in the mirror, and saw herself somewhat higher. Also her horn had thinned and stretched. But of course the thing that bothered her more were those protuberances still extraneous to her that unraveled from her back. Her wings.
It was true that now, at last, she could control them, mainly thanks to Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's advices. Now she could even fly without too much trouble.
But the wings and the flight weren't the problem. It was rather the fact that, when she looked at her old photos of when she was a filly, or even to those newer when she had began her studies at Ponyville, she could no longer recognize herself.
It was rather the fact that she abruptly had such a drastic change, without that it was given to her the time to understand, or choose. If anyone, until a few months ago had asked her what she saw in her future, she almost certainly wouldn't have said "I want to be an alicorn!" or "I want to be a princess!".
She knew that no one can choose his destiny, but it weighed to her. She felt an immense pressure on herself. The fate of thousands of ponies were in her hooves, and she still didn't feel ready.
“Ehm...Twilight?” a voice said, sounding eager but still respectful, “Sorry to bother you, but I'm losing balance here. Have you finished or not?”
She looked up from her book and saw her impetuous, ironic, yet hard-working and loyal assistant Spike, that was balancing on the last rung of a ladder trying to reach the top shelf of the library, and that was already balancing on his head a stack of books taller than him.
She chuckled, amused by the scene, then said, “Okay, now I think I'm ready! Bring it here, please!”
Without let it repeat, the little dragon leaned forward, tipping the ladder towards the shelf, while all the books on his head fell tumbling to the ground. Then he stretched out his claw, and by doing so he managed to get a red apple that was on the highest point of the shelf, then he dropped himself, and landed exactly on top of the stack of books on the floor.
“Here I am, with your favorite apple for magic experiments!” he said loudly, handing to her the apple, as if he was an announcer delivering a prize to the winner. Then he looked around and saw all the books scattered on the floor, and then with a bit of embarrassment added, “Yeah, I think it would have been better if first I had tidied up those books and then I took the apple! I'm sorry about those books, Twilight. I hope nothing is broken or torn!”
“I'm sure everything is fine, Spike!” she said soothingly , “And even if it were, the books can be repaired! And anyway, it was me who ask you to take down all those books too, right? I should known you wouldn't be able to do it. Not even I would succeed, without horn or wings!”
At those words, for a moment a dark shadow, a shadow of fears, doubts, and uncertainties, passed over the eyes of the dragon, but soon after, before she had time to notice it, he roused himself and said, “Well, thank goodness. And moreover , I never liked the cover of some of these books! If I break them, at least we'll have a good excuse to renew their cover, don't you think?”
Said this he began to giggle. And so did Twilight.
Spike always had that extraordinary power. The power to lift her spirits when she felt sad or unsure, but never to the point of making her feel too superior. He always kept her in the right balance between insecurity and vanity.
For this she felt that, without him, her identity, what she was before her transformation, would be lost. For this, she had thank him, and all of her other friends, who had been beside her in that so hard moment, as no one else had ever done in her life, except her brother. Without their friendship, her life would become unbearable.
So she gave a small caress on the crest of her best friend, and then said, “Okay, enough fooling around! I'm still not sure about this spell, so I'll need the highest concentration! The spell to show the spiritual essence is among the most difficult that has ever been created of the thirteenth level of sorcery! If I succeed to execute it, I can move on to the fourteenth, the level at which is Cadance! Think about it! I will be at her same level, and she told me that she has spent years for reach it!”
“It would be great!” Spike said, “but still, I have some doubts! This thing of 'spiritual essence', it seems much a thing of living beings! Are you sure it will work on an apple? I mean, it seems to me so........ lifeless!”
“It's true,” she said, pleased by the pertinent question of her assistant, “but still, the book says that the spell also works on parts of living beings, and this apple was part of an apple tree, which is a living being! And in any case, I would never dare to test a spell as complex on a cavy!”
He listened with concerned expression, as he always did when she was explaining something interesting. Then he nodded to show that he understood, put the apple on the ground and moved away a few paces, making silent signs of encouragement.
At that point she prepared herself, focusing all her energy into her horn as she whispered the words, “Composure and Concentration, Composure and Concentration, Composure and Concentration......”
Then, she began to mentally repeat the words of the real magic, as she felt her power increasing.
The magic. Since she was only able to turn a page until now, the magic instilled in her a sense of mastery and confidence that nothing else could give to her. When she used magic, all her fear disappear, all her doubts dissolve. There was only her, the words engraved on her memory like a poem, and the energy that flowed like a river through her. And around her, the world changed, modeled himself, to reflect the design that she had in mind.
And it happened again this time. After that the formula was completed, she immediately felt the energy flowing through her, and entering in the object in front of her. And a slight, soft, white aura appeared around the apple.
Impressed, Spike couldn't restrain himself from saying, “Twilight! You made it! It's working!”
Those few words were enough to disrupt the absolute concentration of the alicorn, which quickly lost control of her power, immediately dissipating the spell, and the aura that had formed vanished after a few moments.
Realizing what he had done, the dragon covered his mouth, and walked away as much as possible, anticipating an outburst. But contrary to what he expected, she looked happy at him, and asked “I really made it? You managed to see that aura too?”
Surprised, he answered “Uhm......Yeah, of course I see it! Listen, I'm sorry I distracted you! I know that when you do a complex magic, I must be dumb as a fish, but I was so worried that you weren't able to make it, and when I saw that you were successful, I couldn't contain my excitement!”
In response, she looked at him tenderly. He was always worried to be inadequate, to be useless. If only he knew what those small gestures of affection and encouragement meant for her.
“Don't worry!” she said, “Believe me, the concentration was already about to leave me. I wouldn't be able to maintain the spell a second longer anyway!”
Relieved, he approached her and said, “Eh, better so then! I gave you an excuse to let go without it being your fault, right?”
The two went back to chuckling when they heard a knock at the door. Before she could even ask him to, he had already rushed to the door, and had already opened it. She stood up and joined him, and what she saw made her smile even more.
In fact, on the threshold of her library, there were three of her best friends: Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. All three of them cheerful and smiling.
“Oh, hi girls,” she greeted them, “I'm so happy to see you. Brace yourselves, because I have to tell you a fantastic thing! I just managed to...uhm?”
Her interruption was due to the fact that she had noticed someone that she hadn't seen early, and actually, he had never seen before. A unicorn stallion, with golden eyes, tangerine coat and black mane and tail.
Before she had a chance to speak to the stranger, Pinkie told her “Hey, Twi! We came here to introduce you to our new friend! His name is Swift Swap, and he's new in town! He wants to stop just today, but not before he had met every single pony in Ponyville! Uh, and get this! He's not even from Equestria! He comes from a foreign land, beyond the ocean, and came here as an ambassador to report a message to Princess Celestia!”
“Your Majesty!” said him, performing in a deep bow, which made her blush deeply.
“Oh, come on, there's no need to do all these formalities” she said, inviting him to stand up.
“As you want, princess!” he said, getting up, “but nonetheless, you are a ruler, and as an ambassador is therefore my duty to offer you the respect that you deserve, your Highness!”
“Well, I understand,” she said, still a little embarrassed, “however, I would appreciate a lot if you'd stop treating me in a so formal manner. You can simply call me Twilight Sparkle, or just Twilight, if you prefer. It's not that I don't appreciate your manners! It's just that I'm not yet accustomed to all this etiquette. After all, I became a princess only recently, you know?”
“Well, yes.“ Swift Swap replied, “In fact, I know that you newly became a princess. I don't know the details, but I perfectly know that until recently you were a perfectly normal unicorn, right?”
“Yes, it's true.” she said. Then, suddenly, she slapped her forehead and added, “ Oh, I'm here to talk about your manners, and in the meantime I have retained all of you here on the threshold, without inviting you to enter! Where are my manners? Come on in, everypony! Come on in and take a seat!”
Everyone thanked her and went into the library, except Pinkie, who politely refused the invitation by saying, “I would love to be your guest for the afternoon, Twilight, but now I have to go! I have a clear plan to get moving to make sure that Swift encounters everypony in Ponyville, and I can't afford to waste even a half second! Then, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go! Seeya later!”
Said that, she darted away.
In the following minutes, both Applejack and Fluttershy told to Twilight and Spike how they had met Swift Swap, and then he told to them where he came from and about his mission.
“Wow, what a story!” she said at the end, “So, you're from the county of Chipados, right? It's weird, because I've read many treatises on world geography, and I don't remember ever having seeing any mention of this county. Now, not that I would boast to know by heart the whole geography of Euhock, but usually I remember each name I read, even the most complicated!”
"Yes, I understand that.” he replied, “The fact is that the county was founded less than a hundred years ago. Is fairly recent as a province. Maybe that's why your books don't talk about it!”
“Yes, it may be so!” she admitted, scratching her chin as he pondered, “Maybe later I'll try to see if the atlases that I own are updated! In any case, I'm glad you talked about this county to me. You know, these books have their years, and sometimes I forget to check if there are perfectly up to date. And however, it's always a pleasure to meet new ponies, especially when they come from exotic places, and especially if they are unicorns!”
Said this, she began to walk around him, watching closely his cutie mark.
His cutie mark was a double-headed arrow, which pointed in opposite directions and that, at the center, folded in on itself in a circle. At the tip of the left, the arrow was orange, then, on the rim, became striped orange and black, and finally, on the tip of the right, became completely black.
A little taken aback by that interest he asked, “Ehm, why are you so interested especially on unicorns?”
“Because of their peculiar magic!” Twilight answered, “The magic that reflects their special talent and makes every unicorn unique! Is fascinating, especially because very often allows me to learn spells that there aren't in the books. Spells very particular and often useful! For example, from Rarity I learned the spell to find and reveal gems, from Comet Tail I learned the one in order to accelerate the run, and Sea Swirl knows that fantastic spell that allows you to communicate with sea creatures! And many, many others! That's why I'm so interested! Please, could you show me your peculiar spell?”
He seemed very reluctant to do so. It was enough to look at his expression of deep distress to figure it out. But before anyone had the time to notice it, he said, “If the one who asks me is a princess, I can't refuse! Well....... my specialty....... is my swapping spell!”
“Your swapping spell?” asked all the three mares and the dragon, in unison.
“Basically, my peculiar spell allows me to swap things, or even just the characteristics of things. If I have a heavy object and a light one, I can make the first light and the second heavy! Here, I'll show you!”
Said this, he began to focus, while his horn was covered in a delicate golden aura, and right away, two books that were on the floor brightened of the same aura. After a few seconds, he suspended the spell, rubs his eyes more and more tired and said, “Here, I've finished!”
Applejack rolled over one of the two books, looked at it unconvinced, and then said, “I don't understand. It seems to me the same as before. Both of them seems to me the same as before!”
“If you open them, you'll see that everything will be clear!” Swift Swap said, with just a hint of pride.
Twilight took the book from Applejack's hooves and began to leaf through it. Spike did the same with the other book. And both, after a few pages, gaped.
“Let me see the other!” Twilight cried, while she had already taken it out of the claws of her assistant with the magic. She put the two open books alongside one another, and her astonishment increased.
“It's impossible,” she murmured “I remember to had read these two books just three hours ago! The words are always the same, but............the hoofwriting is changed! He traded the writing of the two books!”
The first was in fact a very complex treatise on trigonometry, while the second was a book of fiction, and she was sure to remember that the first was written in very small and dense characters, while the second was in a very large and finely adorned hoofwriting, worthy of a miniaturist. But now, all the mathematical formulas of the treatise were written in large and elegant characters, while the novel seems to have been printed in a printing press, so the writing was tight and linear.
Fluttershy and Applejack looked at the books as well, and even if they didn't understand all the way down the amazement of her, they still realized that he was able to impress her.
“Ok,” he interrupted them, “now, if you are done, I put everything in place now!”
Having said that, he concentrated for a moment, lit up his horn again, and in a moment both books returned as they were originally. At that point everyone looked up at him with curiosity. Then Twilight, with a touch of admiration in her voice said, “That spell looks just fantastic! I bet it's very versatile and has a lot of potential applications. Tell me, what else you can do with that spell?”
“Well,” he said, who looked like he regretted that he had given proof of its ability, “I can also swap the position of two objects, or two beings!”
And as he spoke, his horn lit up again, and a moment later he disappeared in a small golden flash, leaving Spike in his place. The other looked around confused, but then they saw him in the exact spot where Spike stood before the exchange.
“When it's used to swap the position of things, my spell is permanent,” he resumed to explain, “but when it is used to swap the characteristics of two things, once completed the spell, even if my horn has no longer to power up the magic, the spell sucks, however, the energies of my body! Therefore any swap of properties I do, I can do it only for a limited time! In fact, earlier, when I swapped the writing styles of the books, even though my horn didn't shine anymore, I was still fueling the magic with my energy!”
Both Fluttershy and Applejack seemed to not understand a word, and Spike was only vaguely confounded. Only Twilight seemed to have understood everything.
“Uhm, I see...” she said, “These are all very interesting details. However, just to know, what kind of attribute can be exchanged with that spell?”
“All those that may come to your mind!” Swift Swap answered, “It all depends on your imagination and your knowledge of things properties! There are only two limits: you can't confer to an object the properties of a living being, and vice versa, and besides, you can't do a swap that is beyond your strength. If you try to swap the weight of a feather and a mountain, it's very likely that you'll fail! Of course, I speak like that referring to my limits, since you don't know yours!” he added in the end, fearing that he had disrespected her.
Twilight smiled, to let him know that the insinuation about her supposed limitations didn't offended her.
To that point, Fluttershy asked “So, this is how you managed to get out of my cottage, with that flash of light, leaving the bird in your place. You've used your spell, isn't it?”
He blushed a little. He was still sorry that he had tried to escape secretly.
“Yes, you've caught me!” he admitted, making a hint of a smile.
She smiled in turn, to give to understand that she didn't mind. Then she asked “So, if I understand it, you can't exchange the characteristics of a book and a pony, but for example, with two pony you would be able to do it, right?”
“Exactly!” he said, and then, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, began to focus on and then added, “Now watch this!”
Once again his horn glowed, but this time Fluttershy and Applejack were the ones that lit up with that golden light.
“Hey! What are you doin'!” Applejack wailed, but before she had time to say more, the light vanished.
Initially everything seemed quite normal, but then she heard a strange noise behind her. And slowly, but without her having the chance to resist, she began to rise in the air.
More and more disorientated, she looked around to see what was going on. While she was doing so, her eyes fell on Fluttershy, which was looking at her in turn, speechless by the amazement.
And then, Applejack saw something that made her realize everything.
Immediately she looked behind her and saw them.
A pair of soft, feathery orange wings flapping wildly.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” she yelled, while waving her legs, trying to control her flight and hit the ground.
For her part, Fluttershy gazed with dismay at her smooth back, without wings, just like when Discord had stolen them from her.
And as for her, Twilight was simply shocked. Spike instead was enjoying the show, chuckling at Applejack's vain attempts to land.
Also Swift Swap was grinning, but then suddenly he grimaced in pain, as if he was having a terrible migraine attack. As a result, Applejack's wings instantly disappeared in a flash of golden light, causing her to fall ruinously on the floor, while Flutteshy's wings went back to their place.
“What kind of stupid joke was that!” Applejack said furiously, as she stood up and walked toward him with a combative attitude, but then she stopped herself and her anger seemed to fade away, when she saw him on the ground, without a shred of energy.
All the others came to him, and Fluttershy held out her hoof, saying, “Are you okay? You aren't hurt, right?”
“Give me a second and I'll recover!” he replied, leaning on her and getting up painstakingly, “I'm sorry, I thought it would be a funny joke, but now I know it was a terrible idea!”
"I can't believe it!" Twilight said, still surprised by his previous performance, “How did you do it?”
“Simple, I swapped their races!” Swift Swap answered, “I swapped Applejack's race, of Earth pony, with Fluttershy's, of Pegasus! I thought it was a fun idea, but I hadn't taken into account of how tired I was! If before I was tired, in fact, now I am practically exhausted!”
“Don't worry!” Twilight told to him, “If you feel so tired, maybe you can rest a little on my bed! After all, I was the one who ask you to show your powers to me, even if I saw how tired you were!”
“Oh, thank you! That would be great!” he thanked her, “You know, is since this morning that I'm trying to get some sleep, so tomorrow I'll be able to leave for Canterlot, and complete my mission!”
“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you!” she said, slapping her forehead, “Unfortunately you won't meet the princess at Canterlot!”
“What!”
“She left a few days ago!” she explained, “She went to the conference about the origins of pony kind that takes place in Hoofidium, and she won't return earlier than one week from today! But anyway, if you have to deliver this message, you may report it to Princess Luna, which is in Canterlot, or Princess Cadance, which is in the Cristal Empire, or, if you prefer, to me! After all, I'm a princess too!”
“I'm sorry,” he replied, “but I've received clear instructions from the Count: report the message only and only to Princess Celestia. Nobody else! Oh, shoot, what a waste of time! I crossed the ocean and half of a nation as large as Equestria, and now that I believed to be so close to the goal, instead I find out that I have to go back to the United Keldom, in Euhock! Aw, nuts! What do I do now?”
And at that point, he sat down on the floor and put his head in his hooves, trying to think. Fluttershy approached him and said, encouragingly, “Come on, cheer up! After all, from what I've seen, you're a smart pony. I'm sure you'll find a solution!”
At that moment, someone knocked at the door.
“I got it!” Spike said, as he ran towards the door. But as soon as he opened it, a huge, noisy and hectic crowds of ponies came into the library, like a herd of buffaloes.
“WELCOME PARTY!” they all shouted as one pony. And before he had time to understand something, Swift Swap found himself surrounded by a rowdy crowd of ponies who greeted him, presented themselves to him and made question after question to him, in a noisy and chaotic cacophony of words mixed together, which would have equaled the volume of a rock song a few steps from the stage.
“Swift Swap! Swift Swap! Am I a genius or what!” Pinkie Pie shouted, hardly making her way through the crowd, “I knew that by now I hadn't much time to be able to introduce you to everypony in Ponyville, but then I had the most obvious but at the same time the most clever, cool, brilliant idea EVER! To throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everypony in Ponyville! So, am I a genius or what! Oops, I've already used this joke! However, you'd better tie your seat belts, because this will be the most amazing, awesome, incredible, wonderful, astounding, marvelous, unbelievable, dazzling, cosmic, dreadful, smelly, tasty, random, shining, bigger, tiresome, fabulous, hilarious, astonishing welcome party EVEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR!”
He looked at her, and then at the immense multitude of ponies around him. And he realized a thing. He would never be able to sleep that day!