Chapter 3
The friends danced, ate and talked until late into the night. Twilight let the last few notes of the music play, and then stopped the record.
“Okay, everypony! It’s time!”
“The surprise?” asked Rainbow Dash excitedly.
“Yep. Everyone grab a seat.”
“Finally!” exhaled the blue pegasus, smiling.
They all gathered around the purple unicorn in a semi-circle, waiting for her announcement.
“Alright. I’m quite excited to tell you about this. You see, I... have learned a new spell!”
Rainbow’s expression went from a wide smile, to a questioning smile, “Is... is that it?” she asked.
“Well, Rainbow Dash, it’s not exactly easy to learn a new spell,” said Rarity, sitting on a soft red cushion, “Although... I sort of have to agree. Was this announcement necessary?”
“Um, okay, not really,” admitted Twilight, “But I wanted you all here to see it in action. You see, it took me about four days of constant study to learn it.”
The white unicorn sat up in amazement, “Four days? What sort of spell is it?”
“It... let’s say it changes your mind about something.”
“Oh, I see,” said Rarity, knowingly, and put a hoof to her chin, “A mind-altering spell. Those are rather difficult to learn. But Twilight, I’m surprised you would learn something like that.”
The purple unicorn shook her head, “Don’t worry. There are layers of protection so it can’t be misused. First of all—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down,” said Spike, waving both hands, “It changes your mind?”
“Exactly,” agreed Rainbow Dash, “What’s that mean? I think I’ve got an idea, but...”
“There's one way to find out. Would you like to give it a try, Rainbow?” asked Twilight.
“Uh... yeah, sure. I’m always up for something new.”
“Alright. Hmmm... what could... ah! Rainbow Dash, you’d like to join the Wonderbolts, right?”
The pegasus’ eyes lit up, “Like? You mean love!”
“We’ll see,” said Twilight, smiling mischievously, “Now, just hold that thought in your head.”
Rainbow nodded, “No problem there,” she said with a grin.
“Right. I need everyone to be quiet. Not a sound,” said Twilight and looked around. Once she was sure those gathered would be silent, she turned her attention back to the blue pegasus, “Okay, you ready?”
“I guess,” said Rainbow.
Twilight’s horn glowed and she pointed it at the pegasus, who was feeling a mixture of excitement and apprehension. A beam of magic shot from the unicorn’s horn and a purple aura surrounded Rainbow Dash’s head. The pegasus’ eyes lost focus, then the aura and beam disappeared. Rainbow blinked rapidly and looked at the unicorn expectantly.
“You okay?” asked Twilight.
“Yeah. But I don’t feel any different. Nothing happened,” she said, a note of disappointment in her voice.
“Oh, didn’t it?” asked Twilight, “How do you feel about joining the Wonderbolts?”
“You already asked me that. But, uh, I dunno. Not really my scene, anymore.”
All the pony’s jaws dropped. Even Twilight was shocked at hearing those words come from Rainbow Dash, despite fully expecting it.
“You mean... you don’t wanna join the Wonderbolts no more?” asked Applejack, finding it hard to believe she was actually saying those words to the rainbow pony.
“Um... nah. Used to. Dunno why,” replied Rainbow with a shrug.
“But... but... that’s been like your life’s ambition!” said Pinkie Pie.
“You work towards it every day,” added Fluttershy.
“Not anymore. I mean, the Wonderbolts are cool and all, but join them? No way.”
“Oh my goodness,” said Rarity, “Twilight, it worked!”
“No it didn’t,” said Rainbow, “I just decided that’s not what I want anymore.”
Twilight let out a small laugh, “I think we should get your opinion on joining the Wonderbolts back to normal. This is kind of weirding us out,” she said, “Now, could everypony be quiet again? Rainbow, I’m going to use the spell, okay?”
“Okay, but I’m tellin’ ya, it didn’t work.”
“Now, like before, think about joining the Wonderbolts. Or rather, your lack of interest.”
Twilight’s horn glowed again and she cast the spell. The aura surrounded Rainbow Dash’s head and her eyes unfocused. When the casting was over, she shook her head and blinked her eyes.
“So...” said Applejack, “You remember what you just said?”
“...Yeah, I...” a look of shock came over Rainbow’s face, “I said I... didn’t want to join the Wonderbolts?”
The others nodded.
“Oh no! No, no, no, no! Don’t tell them I said that!” she cried. The panicking pegasus turned to Applejack and grabbed her shoulders, “Promise me you guys won’t ever tell them!”
“Calm down, sugarcube,” said Applejack, gently prying Rainbow’s hooves off and giving her a gentle smile, “You know we’d never do that. Besides, it’s not like we get to talk to the Wonderbolts all the time. You didn’t mean it, anyway.”
“Actually, at the time, she meant every word,” said Twilight.
“Wow! The spell’s that effective? Cool!” said Spike.
“Not cool!” retorted the pegasus, “Wh–What if they were listening in?”
“Rainbow, somehow, ah sincerely doubt celebrities are spyin’ on our party,” said Applejack.
“Right. Yeah. Okay,” said Rainbow, nodding, “I guess it did work.”
“Twilight, I’m a little worried about this spell,” said Rarity, “Couldn’t it be used for personal gain? I’m not suggesting you would, of course, but do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I do. However, before I started studying it, I checked through all the components, and thankfully, there are some safeguards. First of all, I told Rainbow Dash I would be using the spell on her. That’s one of the safeguards; the pony being affected must know they’ll be the target. Secondly, the caster and the target must know what opinion or idea will be changed.”
“And ah’m guessing silence is the third safeguard?” asked Applejack.
“Actually, I wanted quiet because I needed to concentrate. It’s pretty tricky to pull off. No, the third safeguard is that the pony must be in agreement with the spell.”
“Oh, okay. Now, excuse me fer askin’, but what practical use does this have?”
“That’s something I thought of before I started learning the spell,” the unicorn turned to the yellow pegasus, “Fluttershy, is it alright if I used you in an example?”
“A–Are you going to use the spell on me?” asked the yellow pegasus nervously, blushing at the sight of everyone’s eyes on her.
“No, no, just in a hypothetical situation.”
“Um... okay...”
“Thanks. Alright, say I found a confidence building class for Fluttershy, and she was too nervous to attend, but I know it would be guaranteed to improve her confidence. With your permission, Fluttershy, I would cast the spell and you would be fine with going.”
“I know it’s just an example,” said Fluttershy, “But... if something like that existed, you wouldn’t need to use the spell on me.”
Twilight smiled, “I’m glad to hear that.”
“So, if I were to learn this,” said Rarity, “And Sweetie Belle had to go to the dentist, which she hates doing, I could essentially have her go along with it, no questions asked?”
“Exactly. As long as she agreed to the spell, that is.”
“Ooh, the dentist,” said Pinkie Pie, shuddering, “I hate going there, too.”
“Your teeth must be a nightmare,” commented the white unicorn, watching the pink pony biting into another slice of chocolate cake.
Pinkie swallowed her morsel, “Why?” she asked.
“Oh, just a feeling I get.”
“Really? Is that like Pinkie Sense? Only I guess it would be called ‘Rarity Sense’. What happens? Do you get a twitchy tail like me when something’s going to fall? Or is there a combo? What kind of combo do you get? You know, if you get them.”
“The only ‘sense’ I have, Pinkie, is ‘Fashion Sense’. And there are no ‘combos’ or twitchy tails to tell me. My eyes are all I need.”
“What do they do?”
Rarity just rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Ooh! What does that mean?” asked the pink pony, leaning closer.
The unicorn glared at Pinkie and opened her mouth to say something, found she had nothing to respond with, then closed it again.
Twilight clapped her hooves together, “Alright, everypony, I want to try one more thing out. Let’s see if I can affect all of you at once.”
“All of us at the same time?” asked Fluttershy, “Can you really do that?”
“Let’s find out,” replied the purple unicorn, smiling.
“Count me in!” said Pinkie.
“Sounds interesting. I’ll take part,” said Rarity.
“Again? Ah, what the hay, let’s do it!” said Rainbow Dash.
“Ah’m up for it!” said Applejack.
“...I don’t know... um... okay...” mumbled Fluttershy.
“Great! Okay, everyone take a moment to think. When you’re ready, tell me,” said Twilight, “Remember, it’s only going to be temporary. Oh, and Spike, do you want to join?”
“Nah, I’ll just watch,” replied the dragon, and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, “I’m gonna sit by the table and, uh... make sure the food doesn’t get, y’know... stolen.”
“Good idea, Spike,” said Pinkie, “‘cause I was thinking of having two more slices of chocolate cake when we were finished here,” then she gasped as she got an idea, “Hey! That’s what you should change my mind about! Cake!”
“Save some for us!” said Rainbow, “Twilight, don’t change hers back.”
All the ponies took a few minutes to think, then told the purple unicorn their ideas.
“If there’s one thing I don’t ever want to do, it’s dye my beautiful hair green... so I suppose that’ll do for mine,” said Rarity, then narrowed her eyes, “And this had better only be temporary!”
“Me? Ah always like wearin’ mah good ol’ hat. Just try and make me take it off fer good!” said Applejack, smiling, and pulled the brim of her hat down.
“Daring Do’s awesome! I dare ya to make me think she’s not!” said Rainbow Dash, then added in a low voice to Applejack, “At least there’s no chance of her overhearing me,” to which Applejack gave her a strange frown.
All eyes were on Fluttershy.
“Well, Fluttershy?” asked Twilight, “What about you?”
“Um... I don’t know. I–I can’t think of anything...” said the pegasus, not making eye contact with any of the other ponies.
“It can be pretty much anything. No matter how small or silly it is.”
“Exactly,” said Applejack, “Like me an’ mah hat.”
“I... I know, but... there’s lots of things I’ve thought of, and... it’ll only be for a short time, so...” Fluttershy’s voice trailed off and she pushed a hoof back and forth.
“Say,” piped up Rainbow, “How about something permanent for Fluttershy?” she asked Twilight.
“If it works out, then yes,” agreed the unicorn.
“What about dragons? We could cure your fear of them by making you not think they’re scary anymore.”
“...Wouldn’t that be dangerous?” asked Fluttershy, looking at Rainbow Dash with worried eyes, “What if... what if I decide to just walk up to a dragon because I didn’t think they were scary?”
“No, no, you’d still know they were dangerous. You just wouldn’t be scared of them. It wouldn’t make you stupid. Right, Twilight?”
The purple unicorn thought about it for a moment, “Theoretically, it could help you. I don’t know if the fear would resurface if you were actually faced with a dragon, since it’s a deep-rooted phobia... but it’s worth a shot.”
“...If it might help, then... I’ll do it,” said Fluttershy, nodding.
“Great! Now, does everypony remember the rules for the spell? You all know I’m going to attempt to cast it on all of you at the same time, right? And you know your respective opinions, correct? And I trust you’re all in agreement? Okay!”
“And we need quiet,” added Rarity.
Twilight chuckled, “Yes, and that.”
The unicorn took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, recalling what each of her friends had told her. Channelling her magic, she began the first phase of the spell and her horn glowed. The five ponies gathered around her watched, keeping their thoughts focused. She opened her eyes and took a quick glance at her friends.
Spike, sitting at the table with a soft drink, watched the spectacle. He was so mesmerised by the beautiful glowing light of the spell that he didn’t notice the hand holding the glass cup loosening its grip until it fell from his grasp.
Gritting his teeth, he made a desperate, futile grab for it. Just as the beams of magical energy from Twilight’s horn made contact with the other ponies, the glass smashed. Twilight and the others yelled out in shock. The magic emanating from Twilight’s horn made an unhealthy wavering sound and a purple glow surrounded the heads of all the ponies. Then suddenly, it stopped. All the ponies slumped over, groaning and put their hooves to their heads.
“Is everypony okay?” asked Twilight.
“I think so,” said Rainbow Dash with a moan.
“Ohhh, my head feels light as a balloon...” groaned Pinkie. Then she gasped, “Oh no! What happened? Did my head turn into a balloon?” she cried, feeling the shape of her head.
“Your head ain’t a balloon,” Applejack told her, “But mine feels the same.”
Twilight looked over at the broken glass and spilled liquid, then at the purple dragon sitting at the table, his face a mask of worry and fear.
“Spiiike!”
Nothing made Spike’s blood turn cold quicker than Twilight drawing out his name in a steadily rising tone.
“Come. Here.”
Slowly, he got off his seat and walked towards the purple unicorn, teeth clenched. He looked around at the ponies as he stepped between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. They all had dazed expressions and unfocused eyes.
This is my fault, he thought, I should’ve been more careful...
He stood before Twilight, shoulders hunched.
“Twilight, I... I’m really sorry.”
The unicorn shook her head vigorously, trying to clear it. She blinked rapidly then set her stern gaze on the dragon.
“Spike...” she said and sighed heavily, “You’re lucky nopony got hurt. At least as far as we know.”
“Twilight—” began Spike.
“Quiet!” said Twilight. The dragon instantly stopped speaking. She took another look around at her friends, “Alright, does, uh... does everyone remember what they wanted me to... uh...” she put a hoof to her head, “...To change their minds about?”
“Uh... yes,” said Rarity, “I don’t feel like dyeing my hair green. Thankfully.”
“And I still find dragons scary,” said Fluttershy.
“And, um... I don’t want any more cake,” said Pinkie and put a hoof over her stomach, “But then, that’s my tummy talking...”
“Okay,” said Twilight, “Apparently, the spell didn’t work. I don’t know what’s happened. Hopefully, everyone will be fine by tomorrow. And Spike?”
The dragon raised his eyes from the floor to meet Twilight’s unsteady, wavering gaze.
“You really need to be more careful. We don’t know what could have happened.”
“I know. I’m sorry...”
Twilight turned her head away.
“Does everypony feel well enough to get home?” she asked.
“Ah don’t think ah could make it all the way back,” said Applejack, then groaned, “Ah really hope this goes away soon.”
“There’s no way I can fly with my head all funny,” said Rainbow.
“Everyone else?” asked Twilight.
They shook their heads.
“Listen, I’ve got the space, so you can all stay overnight, if you want.”
“I think that would be a good idea,” said Rarity with a nod.
“Oh... I could go to sleep right now.”
“Sounds like a plan,” said Rainbow.
“Okay. Come on, everypony. I should have a spare blanket or two. A couple of you might have to sleep on the floor. Sorry about that.”
“Ah’ve had to sleep on some hard ground before. No problem,” said Applejack.
“I prefer clouds, but I think I can handle a floor,” added Rainbow Dash, “I mean, tree branches aren’t the softest things in the world, but you’ve seen me sleep on them sometimes.”
“Oh yeah. Sometimes.”
“In the meantime,” said Twilight, “Spike? You can clean up.”
Spike looked around at the food and confetti pieces, “What? By myself?” he asked, but then saw the unicorn’s expression, “Right! I–I’ll get on it!”
“Come on, girls,” said Twilight, walking into the bedroom.
Rarity leaned closer to the dragon, “It’s okay, Spike. We know you didn’t mean it,” she said in a low voice.
“Rarity, leave him to it.”
The white unicorn turned at the sound of Twilight’s voice. She faced Spike again and gave him a sympathetic smile, then turned and left.
Once Rarity was in the room, Twilight looked out at the dragon and watched as he got a brush to clear away the confetti. She let out a small sigh and closed the door.
“Twilight, I really don’t think it’s necessary to make him do that,” said Rarity, “You can tell he feels bad about it.”
“Believe me, I don’t like punishing him, but he has to learn. What happened tonight was... it... I don’t know what. My head’s too cloudy to think,” she said, then took a deep breath, “Listen, Rainbow, Applejack, the, uh, the blankets are in that closet there.”
Twilight used her magic on the closet door, intending to open it gently, but instead, the door swung open forcefully. Applejack, who was walking towards the door, took a quick step back as it slammed open.
“Whoa, Nelly!”
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! Shoot! My head’s buzzing so much, I can’t even concentrate to open a door properly.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Applejack, “Me an’ Rainbow’ll get those quilts.”
The ponies grabbed two duvets and two pillows and then laid one of the duvets on the floor in lieu of a mattress. They lay on it and pulled the second blanket over themselves.
“This ain’t too bad,” said Applejack.
Rainbow nodded in agreement.
“There’s only two beds, so I guess the rest of us will have to double up,” said Twilight.
Rarity climbed into the guest bed and closed her eyes momentarily to give herself a respite from her increasingly blurry vision. She opened her eyes and jumped when she saw Pinkie Pie lying next to her.
“Hi!” said the earth pony.
“When did you...?” started Rarity, then rolled onto her other side, “Just as long as you don’t plan on talking the whole night.”
Fluttershy clambered in next to the purple unicorn.
“Twilight, do you think everything will be alright tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. With any luck, it should be.”
The unicorn closed her eyes and tried to sleep. From the other side of the door, she could faintly hear Spike moving around, cleaning up.
Sorry, Spike, but it’s necessary... she thought.
While she still felt angry at him, she also felt remorseful. The few times she had to set a punishment, she always felt horrible, but Spike learned quickly, and whatever he was punished for, he never did again. She knew that tomorrow morning, they would make up. He would apologise, she would tell him he was forgiven, and after a hug, everything would be fine again. This brought a smile to her lips.
Thoughts flew through Twilight’s mind uncontrollably, but she did her best to ignore them. Despite the noise in her head, the unicorn was eventually able to sleep. As she slept, an odd dream formed in her mind. It was indistinct, but a yellow pegasus seemed to be the most prevalent thing in it. She and the pegasus had an incoherent conversation – something about flying and dragons – then the thoughts in her head took over, growing in volume, throwing images at her, then all at once, became silent. All was quiet and peaceful.
That is, until she was awoken by somepony screaming.
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Cliffhangars....gosh darn'it!
So bodyswap or hivemind? Place your bets.
1083400 Don't worry, I'll try not to take too long on the following chapters.
1086442 i really hope is the first, just to see rarity inside of pinkie pie xD
wait, what did spike do?
Never consent to mind magic. NEVER!
1690461 he dropped the glass and ruined twilights concentration, im assuming the lesson is to be more careful, a small misdemeanor in most cases, but given the current circumstances, he couldve REALLY screwed everyponys minds, which amplified it, that punishment and scolding kinda seems out of character, though, in my opinion
1086442 i gotta ask, whats a hivemind?
2321804 Think of it like a one mind that they all share. The degree of this is changeable, so you can go from simple drones that are independent enough to react, but have no real mind of their own to individuals that are simply connected over their minds. In the latter case, they should be able to share information with the hivemind(which would consist of every individual in it), while still retaining their own personalities. I think it could be described as being kinda like a tulpa in the latter case, if that helps.
God Twilight, he dropped a glass by accident. Calm your bitchiness.
That glass shattering is about the equivalent of the reader's rage. And the minds of the Mane 6 being "broken."
1086442
I'll place a few bits on body swaps, anypony else want some action?
A more useful change for Fluttershy would have been ridding her of the trepidation she feels when talking to ponies she doesn't know. She could make friends and develop her social life much more easily if she were able to chat with ponies outside her circle.
I also really loved Rarity in this. Right after they left Spike in the main room, she said exactly what I was thinking.