//------------------------------// // Swift Swap meets Rainbow Dash // Story: Swift Swap comes to Ponyville // by Swift Swap //------------------------------// For several, interminable seconds, into the crowd there was absolute silence. The only things you could hear were cries of terror immediately muffled and gasping breaths. And one of those who breathed with difficulty was Swift Swap, the one who everyone, in that moment, was looking at. And while he was panting he looked around anxiously, the pupils strangely subtle darting from corner to corner of the eye. He felt trapped, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of faces staring at him blankly. Some looked at him with interest, others with curiosity, others with doubt. But above all with fear. He wanted to try to explain. But he barely had time to open his mouth, to try, somehow, to justify that bizarre situation. And it happened. His mouth brightened, always in the same golden light, and when the light faded from his mouth protruded two huge, sharp canines. “HE'S GONNA EAT US!” Daisy screamed before passing out. That was the signal that gave way to the panic. In a moment, everyone present shouted as one with terror, and began to run in all directions, bumping into each other doing so, without any order nor any target, driven only by the need to save themselves by the winged monster with sharp fangs. Everywhere you could hear cries of foals who called his mother in tears, screams of protest from those who shouted to the pony nearby to hurry to escape, and the shouts of those who, in the midst of confusion, couldn't escape and asked for help. If there was confusion on the ground, the sky was even worse. In fact, all of pegasi had taken off at the same time, but between the fact that the sun was setting, and the fact that they were flying without looking where they were going, they clashed constantly into each other, and who was falling after a little recovered in midair and regained altitude, falling and raising again, in a cycle that seemed endless. With all this, in the sky it seemed there was a swarm of crazy hornets, while on the ground it seemed there was a bison stampede. It was over! His cover has been blown! Now the only thing he could do was run away, before everything was completely lost. And in any case, now that he had his wings back, there was no sense not to use them. So, he stretched them to the maximum, bent his knees and prepared to take off. But before he could do that, he felt enveloped in a rose light, and soon after found himself tied up like a turkey, with his legs and wings completely immobilized. “You're not going anywhere!” said a voice by the resolute tone, which came from above him, “Not before you have given to us the appropriate explanations!” He looked upwards, as far as the ropes allowed him, and saw the princess Twilight Sparkle, just above him, flapping her wings in order to maintain the position in midair, with a stern expression. Soon also Applejack arrived, and, subsequently, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike came as well and watched the curious being that now, no longer seemed a unicorn. “What happened to him!” Rarity asked, barely concealing an expression of disgust, “I mean, those wings, and those fangs. They seems pretty familiar, doesn't it?” “Indeed! Applejack agreed, studying more closely his ears, “All of these bizarre features, besides the manner in which he has turned in ......this, they remind me a........vampire pony!” “Oh my!” Fluttershy said, covering her mouth with a hoof , “A vampire pony! Like........like I was!” “No, I don't think that he's the same kind of vampire pony you were.” Twilight reassured her, “You've been turned in a vampire pony by me for mistake, and you were changing only at night when you were hungry. He, instead, was this the whole time. He only has concealed his identity thanks to his spell, assuming the race of somepony else that he has met, and that he must have locked up somewhere.” “But if that's the case, where he comes from?” Rarity asked, still looking his wings, “I've never seen other vampire ponies until now!” “Princess Luna have some of them at her service, working in her private guard.” Twilight answered, “She told me that they are nocturnal creatures, usually evil, living in the Badlands. Those at her service are loyal and righteous, but the wild ones are treacherous, deceitful and ruthless, willing to use whatever dirty means to achieve their ends!” At that description, they all shuddered, and looked at the creature at their feet, that was wriggling in an attempt to break free from those ropes. “And....” Applejack began to say, hesitant, “What do you think is the end of this one here?” “I don't know,” Twilight answered, “but that's why we have to keep him imprisoned and interrogate him. We must find out who he really is and what he wants!” But it was in that moment that he, evidently driven by the adrenaline rush that the fear had given him, straightened up with all the remaining forces, raised his head and lit his horn. A moment later he disappeared, leaving in his place someone else, wrapped in the ropes. A pony with a pale mane and tail and a gray coat. “Hey!” protested the imprisoned pony, “Why am I bound? Did I did something wrong?” Confused, they all began to look around, trying to figure out where he had gone. But then Twilight was struck by a sudden flash of awareness, and looked up. And she saw him, in the midst of the crazy flock of pegasi, as he flew away. “Quickly, Fluttershy! We have to chase him!” shouted her, spreading her wings and taking off. Her, although frightened, followed her immediately. But it was clear that it was a lost cause. None of them was a skilled flier, while he seemed quite at ease in the air. And so, while they had to do a thousand of maneuvers to avoid colliding with others pegasi, he was rapidly distancing them. Meanwhile, on the ground, Applejack quickly undid the knots that were blocking the tied pony, apologizing, “I'm sorry, Derpy! I would stay here to explain everything to you, but it's a long story, and our friends need us. So if you'll excuse us, we have to go!” Having said that, she, along with Pinkie, Rarity and Spike, ran away, following the trajectory of her friends in the sky. Derpy remained there, but, before they disappeared from her sight, she had time to shout at them “Thanks for having freed me! Those ropes have given me an insane itch!” Quickly the confusion around her began to decline, bit by bit that, finally, ponies were able to overcome the panic and found the way to leave. Soon only Daisy remained near her, still unconscious. Concerned, Derpy helped the mare to stand up, and that seemed to help her to regain consciousness, even though all she managed to say were only incomprehensible verses. “Uhm, you don't look so good!” Derpy said, “Well, maybe I have the solution. There's nothing that cheer you up like a muffin covered with chocolate. Or at least, nothing cheer me up more than that!” A light breeze was blowing in the air, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. The sun, which was setting, gave to the celestial vault that typical red-orange color, which makes it seem like the sky was enveloped in flames. It was a magical moment. Those magical, long minutes which marked the boundary between the day and the night. It seemed that the sun, before giving way to the moon, wanted, in a last desperate moment of pride, demonstrate all its glory, painting all the sky of his radiant and intense color, leaving an indelible mark in the hearts of the beholder. It was desperate, and it was an act of pride, but it was glorious in every way possible. It was in that air as red as fire, that five figures stood out, throwing their dark shadows on the landscape otherwise perfectly linear. They were five pegasi in V formation, who were heading, perfectly coordinated, toward Ponyville. At the edge of the group, forming the two extremities of the V, there were Raindrops to the left, and Bulk Biceps on the right, both visibly fatigued. Then, between them and the tip middle, there were Thunderlane and Cloudchaser respectively, they also rather weary. And finally, in the lead, to guide the group and dictate the pace of the flap, there was Rainbow Dash. Unlike the others, she was bursting of energy. Although she had struggled as the others, and even more, she looked ready to overfly the Pacitic Ocean. But in the end it was always so. For her, to go to the Wonderbolts Academy wasn't an effort, indeed. It was her fuel. It was what gave to her energy for a whole month. Being able to stay alongside her idols. Being able to showcase her skills. Being able to improve her flying style. Being able to live her dream. She didn't want anything else. And anyway. in all likelihood the next morning she would wake up at noon. “Alright, team!” she said, turning and flying backwards to be able to watch her teammates without stopping, “We're almost home. I know you're tired, but be assured that soon you can relax!” “Thankfully!” Raindrops said, emitting a loud snort, “I don't know how I would be able to still fly. My wings are killing me!” “I bet that they hurt.” Rainbow replied, “You've worked hard today. All of you! You're all making great strides! In my opinion, still a few training sessions, and finally we will all be admitted to the final exam!” “To be honest, I think you should have done that exam months ago, regardless of your age.” Thunderlane said, “By now you have pulverized every existing record at the academy! Not even Fleetfoot has made her career so quickly among the Wonderbolts.” “Yeah, I'm awesome!” she admitted, making a death loop backwards, “But I already knew that, as everypony else knows that too! Now let's talk about you guys, instead. For example, you Thunderlane have beaten Spitfire's minimal time on the Dizzitron! Only six point two seconds! And Bulk, today you have carried even three hundred pounds in flight!” “YEAH!” shouted loudly the muscular pegasus. “And Raindrops, great job in the trial of rainwater flying harvesting. I'll have to be careful that you didn't steal my work, one of these days!” Rather embarrassed, she replied “Well, to tell the truth I'm already working as weather pony, but if you're referring to your position of forepony, nopony could steal it from you! I don't know anypony able to clean up the sky in nine seconds flat!” “To be honest, the last time I did it in eight and half seconds.” Rainbow corrected her, “But as I said before, enough about me! You instead, Cloudchaser, for Celestia's sake, you've almost reached my cloud-busting record! I must say, you are simply amazing! If there is somepony who will be promoted immediately after me, that will be you! I bet you can't wait to tell your deed to Flitter, don't you?” “You betcha, Rainbow!” was the reply, “I won't miss the chance to tell somepony that I almost beat you into something!” “Well, boast while you can, because I bet I'll arrive to Ponyville before you. Even better, let's race, everypony! The last to arrive is a turkey!” Having said that, always looking at them, she darted off, flying in reverse. All the others, as soon as they had recovered from the surprise, accelerated to reach their team leader. Cloudchaser and Thunderlane were in the lead group, passing each other all the time. Then there was Raindrops, and finally, at the bottom of the group and losing more and more air, there was Bulk Biceps. Enraged, he tried to flap his tiny wings at an incredible speed, shouting to give himself the charge, but it was pointless. He wasn't fast enough, and he soon lost sight of the group. It was then that he felt a light pat on his shoulder. He turned, and saw with astonishment that it was Rainbow Dash who had touched him. In fact, as soon as she was able to escape the visual radius of the group, she had stopped, flown very high and turned back, passing in the rear of the group. “Ehm, BB?” she said, apparently embarrassed, “Can I have a word with you? I would like to ask you some sort of......favor.” He gave a little grunt and nodded. He had understood that the story of the race was an excuse to chat with him, and now he was curious to hear what she had to tell him. “Good. You see, the fact is that I would need some sort of advice. I'm asking you because, well, you fly! Although you have the smallest wings I've ever seen, you fly! Sometimes you have some difficulty in doing so, but you still manage to do it anyway! And then, you see, there's a dear friend of mine, indeed, more like a sister, who has some trouble to fly. She has tried everything, and I gave her all the advice that came to my mind, but the truth is that fly has always come natural to me. I haven't the slightest idea of how it feels to have difficulties in doing so. But I still want to help her with all my soul.” “You're talking about Scootaloo, isn't it?” Rainbow stared at Bulk Biceps in shock, completely taken aback by that question. “Yeah, but how did you know?” she asked, “Do you know her?” “Some time ago, she and her friends asked me if I could help them train for the flag carrying team selection for the Equestria Games. During breaks, she did nothing else that talk about you! About how much she admires you, how she likes to spend time with you, and how she dreams to being able one day to fly at your side!” From what he said, and the intensity of his gaze as he spoke, she realized that it was all true. And didn't know whether to be touched by the fact that Scootaloo thought that about her, or embarrassed by the fact that she had told everything to Bulk Biceps. Aside from the fact that she talked about her all the time with the Crusaders, and that didn't bothered her. But this, she felt it was a whole different thing. And so she blushed violently and remained silent, uncertain about what to say, until, suddenly, Bulk Biceps exploded in a powerful laugh, and shouted “What are my eyes seeing? Miss ' I'm hard as marble and strong as a bull ' is blushing?” She, at those words, roused himself immediately and replied “Bu-but of course not. Why should I? The future captain of the Wonderbolts can't show any sign of weakness. I'm not allowed to be sentimental!” But immediately after she regretted having said that. She knew that her emotions were anything but a weakness. They were what gave her the strength to get to where she was now. Her passion for flying, the affection she felt for her friends, even her stubbornness, had helped her to improve, to become a better flyer. A better pony. And so, she put aside her pride and admitted, “Okay, I'm guilty! I've blushed! The fact is that I never had a sister, and in general, I've never had somepony to take care for! And now, that I decided to help somepony outside myself, I'm afraid of making the wrong choices. Let's face it, I'm probably the last pony who should be entrusted to a filly. I'm not responsible enough. And the idea that she can grow in the wrong way because of me scares me so much. But I never told that to anypony. You know, ' I'm the awesome Rainbow Dash, I'm not afraid of anything and I can do everything '. These are just stupidities. I have more fear of how much I would admit, and one of the biggest is not to be the amazing sister that Scootaloo deserves.” “SHUT UP!” Caught off guard by that cry, she flinched and looked at Bulk Biceps, the one who had shouted. He was staring at her with his big, bloodshot eyes. A reproachful look, but hiding a enormous and unconditional trust. A look that made her understand why he had yelled at her. He had just saved her from self-pity. He believed in her, because she always gave her best, and even more, to help her teammates. And he knew that she would do the same for Scootaloo. “Yeah, you're right,” she said, “instead of wasting time on self-pity, I should tell you that I wanted to ask you! I was wondering if by chance you know some useful exercise for strengthen the wings, so maybe you can teach them to me, and then I could teach them to her. What do you say?” “YEAH!” he replied, “EVERYTHING FOR YOU!” She, relieved by the fact that he had accepted, suddenly regained all her boldness and shouted, “Great! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a race to win. You'd better hurry, BB!” And she drove off at full speed. He was ready to accelerate again, shouting “BRING IT ON, RAINBOW DASH!” But however hard he tried, he just could not follow her. As for Rainbow, it took her only a few minutes to return to the top of the group. And she had just passed alongside two stunned Cloudchaser and Thunderlane, when, from afar, she saw three dark shadows quickly approaching to them. “Hey, guys!” she said, addressed to her companions, “Look! Somepony is coming towards us. And at great speed. Apparently they are coming to welcome back us!” “Great!” Thunderlane exclaimed, “It's nice that, for once, they come to meet us halfway. Can you see who they are?” She squinted and said, “I dare say that the two most backward are Fluttershy and Twilight, but I've no idea who is the one on the lead. Besides, it seems to me that his wings are a little strange!” “It's true!” Cloudchaser agreed, straining the view in turn, “I've never seen such big wings. And in any case, why his wings are black if his coat is orange?” But they had no time to give an answer because, abruptly, he veered to their left and then upwards, disappearing in the clouds. Twilight immediately corrected the route to follow him, while Fluttershy seemed to hesitate. And it was at that point that, looking in their direction, she saw them. “Rainbow!” she called, barely audible, between the fact that she was distant, and between the fact that, even when shouting, her voice was always gentle, “You guys! Help us! You must stop him!” And suddenly, out of the clouds over them, popped out the stranger that her friends were following, heading, in swoop, just towards them. Now that they saw him better, saw that, in fact, he had very little of the pegasus. Despite the high speed at which he was moving, Rainbow saw a horn, a tail moving in a oddly unusual manner, and a sharp set of teeth out of his mouth. He didn't look like anything she had seen before, but the closest thing to that was her friend Fluttershy that time she had become a vampire pony! Also Twilight emerged from the clouds, and cried, “Rainbow! Hurry, take him!” Without let it repeat one more time, Rainbow Dash flew towards the mysterious pony at full speed, widening her front legs to grab him. He noticed the move, and tried, with a feint, to avoid her. But she wasn't fooled by that trick. Indeed, to confuse him, made herself a feint, pretending to go in the direction he wanted, but then corrected the direction and gave an accelerated such that, in a moment, swooped upon the stranger. "Hey! What's the rush, buddy?” she said, while holding the weird pony with her front legs, so that he couldn't ran away. He, in response, lit up his horn, grunting for the effort, and a moment later he disappeared, and in his place she found herself holding Thunderlane in her hooves. “What the-!” they exclaimed, more confused than ever. But a moment later, Cloudchaser called their attention, shouting, “He's running away!” In a instant, they turned, and saw that he was getting away. He looked exhausted, but nevertheless he continued to fly as if it were a matter of life or death. “Okay, It's on!” Rainbow said with a resolute expression. And immediately let Thunderlane go and threw herself in pursuit. Also Cloudchaser and Thunderlane followed her. The three of them were a lot faster than him, and although he initially had a good advantage, they soon came in range of his tail, and, in order to stop him, tried to bite it. Rainbow managed to do so, and immediately began to pull to stop him. But he managed to give a powerful tug on the tail and broke free, leaving her with a few hairs in her mouth. And as soon as he was free, he dived down into the forest below, that, actually, was the Everfree Forest. “Puh! Gross!” Rainbow said, spitting out the hairs that were left in the mouth. And immediately looked down, in an attempt to locate that elusive pony. But by now he had hidden in the forest, and it was impossible to see it from above. The vegetation was too thick. In the meantime, both the stragglers of her team, Raindrops and Bulk Biceps, and both her two friends, Twilight and Fluttershy, had managed to reach them. Ad as soon as Twilight arrived, she said, “Did you miss him? Too bad! I was hoping that your flying ability would be enough, but it seems though his swapping powers have allowed him to escape! Now I don't think we'll find him easily in the Everfree!” “So do I!” Rainbow replied, “Anyway, who was that weirdo, and why he was running away from you?” “I don't have time to explain. Just know that there is the possibility that he had imprisoned somepony to take his appearance! We must find him to ask why he did it, what was his purpose, and where is the poor guy!” “Possible prisoner. Find him for questioning. There's no time to lose. Got it!” she repeated, “Since we are all here, I propose to divide us and try to seek him from above. If he wants to leave in a hurry, sooner or later he will have to take off again. And when he does, we'll be ready! We just have to divide into four groups, and-” “Three will suffice!” Twilight interjected, “At this time our friends are coming to the ground level. If he tries to go back, they will take him. And anyway, when he had taken off he was very tired, and I don't think, after the flight and the magic he has done, that he still has a lot of energy. So he won't go very far!” All of them, after a moment of reflection, agreed that that was a good plan. And then they split up into three groups: Fluttershy, Raindrops and Bulk Biceps headed westward, Thunderlane and Cloudchaser headed northward, and ultimately Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle headed to the east. But before they parted, Rainbow wanted to say a few words: “Listen up, guys, because this mission is important. Perhaps there is even involved the life of a pony! As soon as you find him, you immediately do the signal that we agreed on: three spins and a loop the loop. Don't try to deal with him yourself. Rather follow him and try to tire him. It will be easier to take him once he has stopped! Stay together, work together, and you'll see that we'll succeed together! You got it all?” “Yes, ma'am!” they all said. Not only her teammates, but also Twilight and Fluttershy. Everyone was looking at her with respect, trust and devotion. They were looking at her such as a leader. And suddenly, Rainbow understood better what she had understood before by talking to Bulk Biceps. Although often acted irresponsibly and carelessly, she had all the skills of a leader. She could understand the situation and know what to do consequently. She knew how to handle pressure and how to coordinate other ponies. And most importantly, she knew how to motivate others. She knew how to pull out the grit from anyone, including herself when she was feeling down. She had the qualities of the leader. She had the qualities of the sister. “Alright! Then let's go, everypony!” she cried, raising her hooves to heaven. As did the other, cheering and yelling. Then they parted, according to the plan, each group flying in a different direction. “It was a pretty good speech.” Twilight said to Rainbow, while they were flying, “I didn't know what among your gifts there was also the oratory!” “Let's just say that I manage, when I feel inspired!” the other replied, “If you insist, the next time you need to make a speech, you can use some of mine!” Twilight giggled, but then she began to look carefully at her friend mane. In fact, in the midst of the wild multicolored mane, she saw a dark hair, with a tone that appeared familiar to her. “What's that?” she asked, while with the magic lifted the hair and made it levitate in front of her eyes. “Aw, shucks!” Rainbow said, disgusted, “It's one of the hairs that I had in my mouth before, when I grabbed the tail of that dude. Probably the wind blew it on me, after I had spit it out, and it has attached to my mane! Gross! I hope that nopony else has noticed it!” But Twilight wasn't listening to the protest of her friend. She was thinking about Swift Swap. It was true that he had hidden his true identity all the time, but she found difficult to believe that also his attitude was a sham. To her he seemed sincere, honest, and above all harmless. He definitely didn't seem the kind of creature that encloses someone in a basement to assume his identity. Especially considering that she had known someone who had done so. But, she had to consider the facts. He wasn't what he wanted to make others believe. He had hidden his race and had infiltrated among them. And surely, these were not actions that suggested someone well-intentioned. But, fortunately, as soon as she had heard of who was that hair, an idea came to her. That wouldn't allow her to understand his intentions, but at least she would know who they were dealing with. And so, trying to ignore the whistle of the wind in her ears, she began to concentrate, as he repeated in a low voice the words, “Composure and Concentration, Composure and Concentration, Composure and Concentration......” Exhausted, Swift Swap collapsed on the roots of a leafy oak tree, out of sight of the ponies that were hunting him. He was out of breath. The flight, and that last swapping spell that he had been forced to do had completely depleted his strength. He felt that even the charge given to him by the adrenaline was running out. After he had vowed not to get into it ever again, circumstances had brought him there, in the Everfree Forest, the place where he was almost eaten by a dragon, almost devoured by a huge herd of Timberwolfes and almost torn to pieces by a group of Treants. And now, busted, and chased like a monster, he was there, and he didn't know what to do. He knew that his mission was failed. Soon the rumor would spread that a pony with the tangerine-colored coat and a black tail and mane was, in fact, an aberration. And at that point, not only he wouldn't be able to meet Princess Celestia, once she returned from her trip. He wouldn't also be able to return home, to his familiars. He would never again see his parents, or his homeland! A tear, a single tear slipped out of his eyes, then fall into the ground at the foot of that tree. After which, he had one last dizziness and passed out. And at that point, his entire body was enveloped by an intense golden light, which made him shine like a star. But not strong enough to cross the dense foliage of the oak. All around them reigned absolute darkness. Only the white light of Rarity's horn kept the shadows in check and sent them back, as her, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Spike went down the path. From the foliage not even a thin ray of light filtered. And this not only complicated the search, but also made impossible to tell if they were going in the right direction, given that they had lost sight of Twilight and Fluttershy by several minutes. And so the four of them proceeded trying to keep the direction, which was quite complicated, due to the large amount of trees and the absence of paths. Spike, for his part, stood silently beside Rarity. He was trying in every way to contain his nervousness. He wanted to be strong and resolute. As in his fantasies, where every time he saved her from scary pony-eating creatures. But it was a long time that his fantasies were nothing more than fantasies. He knew that he had very slim chances. It was true, he continued to hang on the mere hope that, one day, she would stop ignoring him, and that she would accept his love. But in the end, what he had to offer? There was nothing he could give her, that she hadn't already. And he hadn't any talent that made him indispensable to her eyes. He helped her often, he knew this, but those were all things that potentially she could have done alone, and certainly better. Or so he thought. And anyway, even if he was her perfect mate, he was too young for her, and belonged to another race. However, with time, he had learned. To not ask anything. And to give, give without expecting anything in return. He didn't want to be reciprocated. He didn't want attention. He didn't want affection. He asked only to be able to stay close to her. And to be able to still hope. And so, he was standing next to her, touching her shoulder to find a little bit of confidence, as he looked around in that scary place. Speaking of Rarity, not even she seemed too comfortable in that darkness. Beside them stood Applejack, with her usual confident and resolute expression. She seemed extremely self-confident, though a strange light in her eyes indicated that she was still worried, but she was fighting for not show it to the others. Pinkie, however, didn't seem nervous at all. She just trotted along behind them, and occasionally began to hum a song, only to be immediately silenced by all the others, too nervous to accept unexpected noises. Eventually, Spike dared to ask, “Uhm, at which point of forest you believe we are?” “I have no idea!” Applejack answered, “We have passed by a lot the last point of reference that I know, and now I don't know what to do anymore. The only thing we can do is carry on, hopin' that the foliage ahead is less dense, and than the others manage to find us!” “If you ask me,” Rarity intervened, “maybe we should have leave some marks, to understand where we came from.” “Yes, but it would take too long,” Applejack replied, “and we would have lost sight of them immediately!” “What's the difference? We lost them now! At least in that case we could go back. I'm sick of staying in this dark and sinister place!” “Come on, girls, calm down!” Pinkie said, stepping between the two litigants, “There's no point arguing. Why, instead, we don't sing something?” “No!” said the other three, in unison. It was in that moment that, from far away, they saw a light. A golden light that, for a moment, glowed, illuminating the forest floor, and then slowly fade. Applejack recognized that light. The same that had enveloped her in Twilight's library, when Swift Swap was using his spell on her. “It's him!” she shouted, “He's near! This way!” And she ran toward the point where, previously, came that light. The others followed her, the best they could, considering the dark and the density of the insidious vegetation. The light was now gone, but she remembered very well where it came from. All he had to do was go straight and she would find him. But abruptly she stopped, astonished. Because, in the light of Rarity horn, a massive shape had appeared in the darkness. It was definitely a creature, given that she could hear his powerful breath. And it was quite big, almost twice her size. She couldn't see well its appearance, given that there were few light, but she saw the outline of two huge wings and a long, spiny tail. The creature, when she arrived, didn't move. It seemed unconscious. Despite this, she approached with caution, however, to prevent that the creature woke up, and continue the search. The others came up as well and saw the creature, and, following the example of Applejack, began to circumvent it in silence. But while Spike was trying to get around the creature, his eyes fell on it for a second. And he saw. He saw something that struck him like a thunderbolt. “Girls!” he called in a low voice, “Girls!” “It's not the right time!” Applejack shushed him, still in a low voice, “We have to move, or we risk los-” “Hey, look! This monster have a cutie mark!” Pinkie yelled, pointing to the very same point that also Spike was pointing. Both Rarity and Applejack immediately motioned her to be quiet. However, the creature didn't move at all. And so, at that point, they also tried to look, and saw that it was true! On the rear leg of the monster loomed an image, depicting a black and orange double-headed arrow, which enveloped on itself. “It's him!” Applejack said, looking shocked at the size of that being, “I can't believe it! I swear that I would never have recognized him, if I hadn't seen that! I had no idea that a vampire ponies could become so huge!” “There's something that doesn't convince me!” Rarity interjected, “I have the strange feeling that things are a little different! Well, maybe with a little more light things will be clearer.” So, with a little effort, the amount of light produced by her horn increased, illuminating the whole area. And they saw him. Passed several, interminable seconds, before Applejack took the initiative and said, “We must warn Twilight, now!” “I agree, but it won't be easy!” replied Rarity, “ The foliage of this area is so dense that my light can't pass through! However, we must find a way to signal our location!” “I've got this!” All the three mares turned to the little dragon, the one who had spoken, while, with difficulty, was climbing on the trunk of the oak. “What are you doing, Spikey-poo?” asked Rarity, “Come down, it's dangerous!” Even though he couldn't deny that he liked her concern for him, and he liked even more to be called by that nickname, he didn't obey. It wasn't the time to be nice to her eyes, and it wasn't the time to be obedient. Now the situation called for his help, and he couldn't hold back. “Don't worry, guys!” Spike replied, with confident attitude, “I've got a plan!” And having said this, he continued to climb, until he disappeared entirely in the vegetation. Twilight and Rainbow continued to fly over the forest, a few yards above the tops of the trees. Fortunately, they didn't need to look below the vegetation, because Twilight was able to perceive at distance the energy waves emitted by Swift Swap's spell. For this they were gone in that direction, where the forest was more dense, leaving the rest to the others. However, their hopes faded when, right before their eyes, Swift Swap's hair lit up with a golden light, and vanished, leaving one other thing in its place. Rainbow looked confused at the small, black object, saying, “What's that? This thing is getting weirder every minute!” “This isn't important!” Twilight replied, “Now we have to find him! But I fear it will now be much more difficult, because, if his hair has turned, it means that his spell is fading. Indeed, perhaps it's already finished! And if the spell ends, I won't be able to locate him anymore!” “Then, what do you suggest?” asked Rainbow. “We must continue to look for him, and hope that the spell has not ended!” And so, they continued to fly over that part of the forest for several minutes, with no results. And they were about to give up, when, as they were returning back, Rainbow saw, from far away, a small, bright spot. “Hey, Twilight!” she called, “Look! Look over there! Do you think it's him?” “No, I don't think so.” answered the other, “His magic is golden, while that light over there is green. And anyway, it don't even look like magic. It seems rather ....... a fire! But of course! It have to be Spike. He's sending us a signal, perhaps because he and the others have found him!” “Perfect!” Rainbow replied, “Then we'll go to them. Hold on to me, so we'll arrive more quickly!” Twilight obeyed, and clung to the back of her friend. Immediately, Rainbow set off at high speed, and her friend nearly lost his grip, due to the high speed, but she held firm. And so, in a few seconds, they arrived to Spike, who was perched on the top of an oak, spitting flames at the limit of his capacity. As soon as he saw them, he stopped immediately, and began to wheeze, exhausted by the extended effort. "Phew. Luckily you saw the signal!" he said, out of breath, "I don't think I'd be able to spit flames for much longer!" “You've done an excellent job, Spike!” Twilight complimented him, while stroking his head, “It was a very strong signal. We managed to see it from a long distance! However, why did you call us? Did you find him?” “Yes!” he answered, “Exactly! But, you see, things are a bit different from what we thought. I think that perhap-” “Yes, I know that things are not as we thought,” she interrupted him, “and this is why we need to act quickly!” Then, she turned towards her companion and said, “Rainbow, find your teammates and dismiss them. It's better than less ponies as possible know about this. Of course, we also need to find a justification for all those who have seen him at the party, but I think we can come up with something! However, send them home and bring Fluttershy here!” “You got it!” she replied, and immediately set off, disappearing from the view in a few seconds. As soon as she was gone, Spike, with a little hesitant approach, said, “Okay. Now, if you don't mind, maybe you should came down with me to see him, because I don't know what you meant before, with ' I know that things are not as we thought', but I don't think you meant what we have seen!” And having said this, he began to descend, moving the branches in his path, creating a passage through which she could crawl. Although Twilight didn't understand what he meant with that statement, she followed him, being careful that her wings didn't remain caught in the branches. And finally, when she managed to get out of the foliage, she saw a small area illuminated by a soft, white light, coming from Rarity's horn. And she also saw the object that was at the center of the light, that all the others were still staring at. And after a few, interminable moments of stunned confusion, she dared to say, “Alright, I didn't expect this!”