I've always loved the idea of a hive-mind as a story concept, but I'm often irked by the way it's implemented. Why, when you average a large number of fairly nice people, is the result a sociopathic and emotionless all-consuming terror? Surely, if you took a group of people and put them all together, the result would at least generally bear the traits of its component parts?
Particularly if those parts were colorful cartoon ponies.
Rarity nibbled on Rainbow Dash’s ear. Rainbow touched Rarity’s face. Rarity sniffed Rainbow’s mane, and Rainbow did the same to her. They faced each other, and pretended they were a mirror, mimicking each other's motions perfectly. And all the while, they giggled like school fillies, in on some fantastic joke the rest of the world didn’t share.
Ponies stared, of course. They were making quite a scene, and while they weren’t exactly in the center of the market, but they weren’t alone either. The road connecting Carousel Boutique and Twilight’s castle was busy enough that they typically had a crowd of a half-dozen or so onlookers, first children, then their concerned parents, then Twilight herself.
“Are they in love?” asked one little filly of her Princess, pointing at Rarity and Rainbow Dash shared a passionate kiss. Her mother pulled her away.
“Being in love doesn’t make you act like that,” opined a passing pegasus. “You ask me, they’re stoned out of their minds.”
Twilight frowned, for neither theory seemed particularly likely to her. But they were her friends, and so she approached them, and called out: “Rarity! Rainbow Dash. What are you two doing?”
They ignored her, continuing to act out by the roadside. Their kiss broken, they stared into eachothers eyes, and then took turns examining each other's hooves in great detail. “Rarity,” Twilight repeated. “Rainbow Dash!” she called. Still, no answer, until she stomped forward, raised her voice and bellowed right into Rarity’s ear: “Hey!”
Both of them leapt backwards in shock, each scrambling half a step away from Twilight. It took them a moment to recover, but their expressions of shock soon faded into looks of recognition: “Oh, hello, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m sorry, were you trying to get my attention? I got a bit distracted.”
They both smiled. “Darling,” Rainbow Dash added, producing another fit of giggles.
“What is up with you two?” Twilight demanded, irritation and confusion running through her tone in equal measure. “You didn’t eat some of Tree Hugger’s special brownies, did you?”
“Nah,” Rarity said, shaking her hoof as though to brush away the matter. “Sorry, I was just… well. It’s actually all rather hard to explain. But you recall that time Spike brought me that magical book from the old ruins?”
“It would be hard for me to forget,” Twilight grumbled. “I spent three whole days undoing what you did.”
“And I said I was sorry!” Rainbow spread a hoof and her wings to emphasize the gesture. “But well, you see, I was doing some exploration out there, looking for some inspiration in the tapestries, when I found this.”
Rarity floated an ancient, heavily bound tome out of her bag, and floated it over to Twilight. Twilight hesitated and took it, flipping open it’s heavy cover. “The end of walls, the end of names, the end of life, the death of claims. Let my chains be devoured and…” Her muzzle scrunched up, and it was with considerably more caution in her voice that she kept reading. “...and by your power set me free. Let my borders be as the sky and let me dwell in every welcoming home.”
Twilight swallowed, and shut the book quickly. “Rarity, this is dark magic. This is serious dark magic. Tell me you did not cast this.”
“I…” Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her head. “Fully admit, it wasn’t my brightest move. But I egged me on and, well. Here we are! I’m not actually sure exactly what it did. But there’s just this sense of newness about everything. Like you never really look at your own face, you know?”
Twilight paused. “Rainbow Dash?”
Both of them looked puzzled. “Sorry,” Rarity said. “I don’t quite follow.”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight looked firmly at her pegasus friend.
“Yeah… sorry. No. I still don’t get it.” Rainbow Dash scrunched up her muzzle. “What do rainbows have to do with this?”
“That’s your name!” Twilight’s voice rose, and her eyes flicked between her friends. “Your name is Rainbow Dash.”
“Uh… no? Not ringing a bell.” Rarity shook her head.
Twilight whirled on her. “Not you! Did you two…” Her eyes grew wide, and she glanced back at the spellbook. She went quiet, and it was with a pleading voice that she asked: “Did you two switch bodies or something?”
“Twilight… are you alright?” Rainbow Dash spoke, but both of them looked concerned for her. “I don’t know who else you think is involved with his, or who these “Rarity” and “Rainbow Dash” characters are, but…” Each of them gestured at the other. “There’s only one of me here.”
“No! Is there a reason it should seem odd!?” Rarity snorted and spread her hooves wide, while Rainbow Dash just put her hoof over her face and let out a long sigh. “I’ve been telling all of you for years that my life’s dream was to open a boutique in Canterlot while being a member of the Wonderbolts. Why should that change now?”
“So you don’t feel any…” Twilight made a vague gesture their way with a hoof. “Any different. You actually have no idea what the rest of us are upset about.”
“I mean, okay, sure,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m a little confused about some stuff that’s happened today? Like, I talked to myself a lot this morning and I swear it made sense at the time. So that’s a little weird, yeah, but don’t blow it out of proportion!”