Change Your Mind

by Scottish Brony

Chapter 11

At a window in the library sat Fluttershy, lost in thought. The setting sun's light accentuated the sombre expression on her face. A face that wasn't her own. She stared glumly at her ghostly reflection in the window, or more specifically, at a unicorn who stared right back.

A tap on her shoulder made her jump. She let out a small yelp and turned to face the baby dragon.

"Hey, calm down, Fluttershy. It's just me," he said, raising his hands.

"Oh... Spike. Sorry."

"What's up?"

"Um... nothing... just thinking about my animals back home."

"I know Twilight's not exactly given you the best first impression, but she'll get better," he replied, and then hopped up to sit on the windowsill next to her, "Hey, how about we go over there now to check up on her?"

"No, no. I–It's fine."

"You sure?"

She gave an almost imperceptible nod, "Mm-hm."

There was something she wasn't telling him, Spike knew. She didn't brighten in the slightest at his suggestion.

"Fluttershy, what's the problem?" he asked, "Come on, you can tell me."

The unicorn was silent for long moments. She shifted uncomfortably, then said, "I... I know Twilight will do fine. It's not that I was thinking about."

Spike nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"It's me. It's who I am now," she said, turning from the dragon to regard her reflection again, wondering if she would ever get used to her new appearance, "I'm not Fluttershy, anymore. I'm Twilight. But I don't want to be somepony else – I want to be me..."

She crossed her hooves on the windowsill and rested her head on them, gazing out at the darkening streets. She enviously watched the other residents pass by, walking in their own bodies, going back to their own homes to live their own lives, completely unaware of the sad little unicorn in the library.

Her day had been taken up mostly by learning how to use magic, which had occupied her thoughts. When she had stopped for the day, she got to thinking about how her life had changed in one morning.

"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?" asked Spike.

Fluttershy bit her lip. She wasn't feeling particularly hungry, but she thought it would be rude to turn down his offer, since he was just trying to be decent to her. She hesitated and forced a small smile.

"Um... a–a daffodil sandwich, please..." she said, deciding to have something light.

"You got it," said Spike. He leapt down from the windowsill and waddled towards the kitchen. Fluttershy resumed looking out the window, idly watching the interiors of houses brighten as the owners turned on the lights.

---

With a yawn loud enough to turn the heads of all the animals in the cottage, Twilight stretched her weary body. However, there was still somewhere that felt tense. Then she remembered her extra appendages — her wings.

Making sure there was nothing nearby, she unfurled her yellow wings and stretched them to their full length. She let out a relaxed sigh as she closed them to her sides again.

That's better...

"Hello, friends," said Twilight to the animals scampering around her hooves, "You would not believe the day I've had! Uh... except the parts you were there for."

The day's events had left the pegasus feeling exhausted. First, she had woken up as somepony else, then she needed to teach Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy the basics of how to use magic, and then there was having to take care of the animals at the cottage. And the duck family. Oh yes, the ducks. They had run off into the market, and after getting them all together again, she accidentally knocked over a fruit stand, making the ducks run away again and got into trouble with the vendor. Thankfully, he had accepted the payment Twilight gave him without any further bother.

With the day over, the pegasus carried her weary body up the stairs of the cottage and into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

She was about to brush her teeth when she stopped and looked at the toothbrush. The thought of putting it in her mouth made her feel a little ill. True, it had been in Fluttershy's mouth, which Twilight now 'owned', but it still wasn't her own toothbrush.

That doesn't excuse basic hygiene, thought Twilight, Besides, this isn't my body. I should take extra care with it, and I'd expect the others to do the same. So... I've got to... ugh...

Grimacing, the pegasus began brushing her teeth, and to her surprise, she found it felt natural. It made sense, but felt weird at the same time. Twilight was thankful, however, that the bedtime ritual wouldn't end up being a test of how strong her stomach was.

After cleaning up and putting everything back exactly where she found it, Twilight led herself to Fluttershy's room and climbed into bed, eyes shut before she was even under the light, airy covers. Her head had just hit the pillow when a small weight landed on the sheets next to her. Twilight opened her eyes and in the dim light filtering in from the window, she saw Angel curled up, eyes closed. Smiling, she reached out and stroked his soft fur with her hoof.

Who knows... she thought hazily, Maybe when I wake up, everything will be back to normal...

With her foreleg lightly draped over the bunny's small frame, she drifted off to sleep.

---

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes to see sunlight streaming in through the windows. She frowned at the room in front of her. Groggily, she sat up in bed, and looked around in confusion. Her disorientation diminished as she remembered where she was.

"Oh..." she said quietly.

Then she remembered why she was in Twilight's room.

"Ohhh..." she moaned quietly, falling back onto the pillow.

Stretching and heaving a large sigh, the unicorn clambered out of bed.

Alright, straight after breakfast, I'm going right back into studying... thought Fluttershy as she made Twilight's... her bed. Strangely, she found she was almost looking forward to opening up the Manual of Magic again.

She stepped quietly, not wanting to wake Spike. Still unsure of the weight of her new body, her hooves moved unsteadily. Despite that, she managed to silently make it to the other side of Twilight's room.

She pushed on the door and gritted her teeth as it creaked. Deciding to get it over with quickly, Fluttershy gave the door a shove, swinging it open and causing the door hinges to to squeak loudly. Biting her lip, she checked over her shoulder to make sure Spike was still asleep — he was — and went to the kitchen to prepare herself a large breakfast; she would need the energy to study for as long as she was planning to.

Half an hour later, Spike walked into the library's main room, rubbing his eyes. He saw the unicorn standing in front of a lectern and didn't think much of it at first, then remembered who was inside her head.

"Morning, Fluttershy."

"Oh, good morning, Spike. Did you have a nice sleep?"

"Yup. One of my best, actually," he replied, stretching, "You?"

"Um... yes, I... I had a nice sleep, too," said Fluttershy, hoping he wouldn't see through her lie; she had actually spent most of the night lying awake on top of the bed covers.

"Hey, wait a minute, did you make yourself breakfast?" asked Spike, noticing the plate Fluttershy had on a small table next to her.

"I did, yes. I'm going to need a lot of energy to keep studying. Why?"

"Uh... it's just that... I usually make it for me and Twilight."

"I see. Well, this means you can concentrate on your own breakfast, right?"

"Yeah... but still, you should've just woken me up and asked me to make you something," said Spike with a small shrug.

"Oh no, I don't want to bother you..."

"Nah, it's no bother. And besides, Twilight usually wakes me up each morning, anyway. You not doing that probably explains why I had such a good sleep," he mused.

"Sorry, you just looked so peaceful."

"Listen, I'm supposed to be Twilight's 'Number One Assistant'. I can't call myself that if I don't assist her."

The unicorn smiled, "Okay. I'll let you do it from now on."

"Need anything now? How about I top up your orange juice there?"

"...Okay," said Fluttershy and with some concentration levitated her half-full glass over to the dragon.

"Be right back!"

She watched him dash off into the kitchen, and then turned back to thick blue book, "Now, let's see... where was I?"

---

Twilight felt someone touching her left cheek.

Huh? That you, Spike? What do you want?

Her face scrunched up in annoyance when they started tapping her cheek. Without opening her eyes, she batted them away. Moments later, the tapping on her cheek returned.

"Mmmph!" she murmured in protest, irritably batting them away again.

When whoever it was did it a third time, she opened her eyes and rolled over, "Stop it, Spike!"

She was momentarily confused at the white rabbit sitting before her. He tilted his head, clearly confused himself.

"Angel Bunny?" she said, "Wh– oh! Right!"

She sat up and put a hoof on the back of her neck, "Heh. Sorry. I was, uh, dreaming that I was at Twilight's library. I thought you were Spike."

Angel looked slightly insulted at this, giving Twilight the feeling the two didn't get along very well.

"What's wrong? Why were you hitting my face?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "I guess you're all hungry, huh? Okay, I'm getting up."

She stumbled out of bed and pulled the covers back up, smoothing them over until they were perfectly flat, with Angel watching her the whole time wearing an annoyed expression.

She stepped out into the living room and was met with the eyes of animals of all kinds, each looking at her expectantly.

Oh, boy. I better get started on their breakfasts. Then I'll go check on Fluttershy...

By the time Twilight had fed all of the animals in the house, she was extremely hungry. But now she finally had a chance to fill her stomach and get her energy back. She was positively ravenous, to the point where as soon as something was ready, she was eating it even while she prepared another item. When she got back into the living room, her belly was half-full already. As she sat down and ate, Twilight could see how Fluttershy could enjoy taking care of the animals. While the former unicorn wasn't as good as her quiet friend, she was beginning to warm to it. True, it was hard work, but it was worth it to see their happy, grateful faces.

---

There was a knock at the door.

"Spike, could you get that, please?" asked Fluttershy, poring over the large Manual of Magic, tracing the words with her hoof.

The baby dragon opened the door to see a yellow pegasus standing there.

"Morning, Spike!" she said, smiling. She grabbed the dragon in a hug, then spotted Fluttershy at a lectern, "Good morning to you, too, Fluttershy."

"Oh, hi, Twilight," said the unicorn, glancing up at her friend, then went back to her book. Suddenly, her head snapped up, eyes wide, "Oh! Twilight! I'm sorry. I just... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," replied Twilight with a shake of her head, "I get like that, too, sometimes. I'm glad you're taking this so seriously, though."

"Oh yes. I want to make sure I get this right. And I think I'm starting to get a feel for how to levitate things, now."

"Good to hear. I trust you didn't push yourself last night?"

"No, I stopped just before the sun went down. By the way, Spike's been a big help. He's been doing stuff like encouraging me and getting things I need. And he even let me practice levitation on him once."

"Oh. Careful..." said Twilight, her voice tinged with concern.

"Don't worry, she didn't levitate me too far off the ground," the dragon assured her, "And she did great," he said, turning to the unicorn with a smile. Fluttershy blushed and smiled back.

"Still, be careful. Don't get ahead of yourself," said Twilight.

"I won't," said Fluttershy, then had a thought, "Um, I'm just wondering, Twilight... how long did it take you to learn levitation?"

The pegasus shook her head, "No, no, no. If I tell you, you'll probably start comparing yourself to me. And remember, I was born with magic. But like I told you yesterday, levitation is one of the easiest spells to learn."

She thought of adding, "You should have it down by the end of today," but stopped herself just in case her friend didn't have it learned it by then.

Fluttershy nodded in response.

"Oh, did you feed the animals?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes, don't worry," replied Twilight, raising a calming hoof, "Although I don't know how you manage to keep up with it all. I was exhausted yesterday!"

"I don't know how, either. I guess my way with animals is like you and magic."

"Hm. That's a good analogy," said Twilight, nodding.

"So, how's Angel been acting towards you?" asked Spike, a slight grimace on his face.

"Angel? Oh, he's been fine."

"Oh. Good. Just let me know if he causes you any trouble."

"Something tells me you two don't get along very well."

The dragon leaned against the lectern and crossed his arms, "Eh, we tolerate each other, I guess," he said with a shrug.

Talk of 'causing trouble' reminded Fluttershy of something, "...Twilight?" she said quietly.

"Yes?"

"What happened yesterday?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know... with the ducks... and the fruit stand... and everypony else there..."

"Oh, it's okay. It's all been taken care of."

"Are you sure?"

Twilight knew why the timid pony was asking this, "It'll be forgotten soon, Fluttershy. Trust me."

"That's what Spike was saying, too. I guess I just care too much what others think of me..."

The pegasus walked over to Fluttershy and hugged her, "For what it's worth, Fluttershy... I'm sorry that happened. And I'm sorry this whole situation happened."

"...It's okay, Twilight. I'm not mad at you. I mean, if I have to pretend to be you, it might help me become more assertive. You know, come out of my sh—"

She was interrupted by the door opening. A yellow earth pony with red hair walked in. Instantly, Fluttershy stiffened, eyes staring.

A customer! Oh no, oh no, oh no!

"Hello?" called the earth pony. She turned her head and saw the two ponies nearby; one looking back nonchalantly, the other acting as if she had seen a dragon land in front of her.

"Uh... which one of you is the librarian?" she asked, hoping it was the pegasus.

"I... uh... I am," squeaked out Fluttershy, hating how her voice failed her under pressure.

"Oh. Okay. I'm looking for a gardening book. You know, this summer weather is the perfect time for it. Where would I find that?"

"It's, uh... well..."

Turning her back to the earth pony, Twilight whispered just loud enough for Fluttershy to hear, "Second floor, back wall."

"O–Oh! That's right, I remember!" said Fluttershy, making a conscious effort to speak loudly and clearly, "It's... it's on the second wall, back floor."

The earth pony gave her a strange look.

Fluttershy averted her eyes, "I–I mean, second floor, back wall!" she corrected hastily, a heavy blush creeping over her face, "Sorry..."

"...Thanks," replied the pony and trotted up the wooden stairs.

"You did great, Fluttershy," complimented Twilight in a low voice.

"No, I messed up and sounded stupid," retorted Fluttershy quietly.

"Nerves get the better of us all, at times. But it'll get easier the more you do it. You wouldn't believe how nervous I was in my first few lessons with Princess Celestia!"

"That's because she's a princess. That one was just another pony..." murmured the unicorn, looking up at the second floor.

"But I got used to talking to her. The nerves went away after a while. Now, like you said, she is a princess, so I'm still just a little nervous around her... but nowhere near like I was before. It'll get easier. Trust me."

Fluttershy looked at her friend. She couldn't recall a time where Twilight had given her a reason to mistrust her. The unicorn nodded, "Okay. I trust you, Twilight," she said sincerely.

"Alright. Spike?"

The dragon stepped forward, "Hm?"

"Once that customer leaves, maybe we should get Fluttershy familiarised with where everything is in the library? Personally, I know the place like the back of my hoof," she said, picking up one of Fluttershy's purple hooves and looking at it, "So, I think we should get our new 'librarian' here up to speed, too."

Comments

[Phoenix Swift]

You know what? This chapter is nice and sweet, and a perfect way to start my day. (What with Twi-Shy feeding animals and cuddling with Angel Bunny)

[Ulquiorra2ndS]

This is developing into a bigger problem. They are subtly taking on traits of the swapped pony they are. I hope you all are noticing this.

If left unchecked, they could end up fully becoming one another! This reminds me of another story with a situation that had a "If this doesn't stop" like this one. Except one conscience would disappear forever. And it be a form of murder.

[Ulquiorra2ndS]

3237506 Alternate ending. Let's make sure we don't forget! Fluttershy, can you stop working on that spell?

[Yinglung]

But I don't want to be somepony else – I want to be me

Woah there –
*beat*
Pardon me, for a moment I think she's going to burst into a musical number. (sigh of relief)

[Unknownlight]

Hi Skul! Cute story you have here so far.

I would recommend sucking up your pride and spoiling the fact that this is a "the Mane 6 switch bodies" fic right in the description, rather than being mysterious about it. I admit that the only reason I clicked on this fic was because you wrote it. The actual premise of this story is far more interesting than the description implies, so you should rectify that.

[Scottish Brony]

3268548 I had no idea you were here, too. That's it, I'm abandoning this site!

I would suck up my pride if I had any. In lieu of that, I'll suck up some more lovely life-giving oxygen.

I've always sucked at summaries. It's the one thing I hate doing when submitting a new story, but I do it anyway, because it looks better than having nothing. I'll see what I can do, though. I also really want to change the cover image. It was just meant to more or less be a placeholder, but I can't seem to find anything suitable enough to replace it.

[Skeeter The Lurker]

And they slowly adapt to each of their 'new' lives...

~Skeeter The Lurker