The Twilight Child

by Detectivefish

The Great Rainbow Brain Swap

Midday could feel sunlight moving across her face. That meant it was daytime, and she had to get up. She slowly yawned.
Her mouth felt unusually dry. How odd. And her bed, it felt strangely feathery. And really bouncy.

And utterly unlike her usual bed. Her eyes opened. She found herself staring at somepony else's ceiling. And somepony else's floor, and somepony else's everything! She quickly leapt out of the bed. She looked around for any clue as to where she was. The room was blank. And dark. Really, really dark. She tried to cast something to illuminate the room. Nothing happened. She reached up with her hoof.

All she felt was her hair. Which felt somewhat greasy and unwashed. Or to be completely accurate, it felt really greasy and unwashed.

She walked over to the light and found the switch. Brilliant light flooded the room. There were odd swirl-like patterns in the walls and pseudo-classical pillars every few feet.

"I think I prefered the lights off" she said. Then she froze. That didn't sound like her voice. That sounded like... like...

"Oh, Celestia no..." She closed her eyes and turned her head to face flankward.

"To whatever force governs my life, if you really love me don't let me be right."

She slowly opened one eye. And another. There was no mistaking the sight before her eyes.
A pair of cerise eyes stared at her, beyond which was a sky-blue coated body, and one sky-blue wing, and beyond that, resting on the flank, the Cutie Mark of a cloud with a multi-coloured lightning bolt jutting out of the bottom.

She screamed. It seemed the best course of action.

After about two minutes she stopped, if only because 'her' throat was starting to hurt, and tried to recall the events of last night.

She remembered waking up yesterday morning, or rather being woken up by Twilight, informing her that everypony would be returning to Ponyville after breakfast. Then there was breakfast, and they had returned to Ponyville, and her first action beyond that was to find Big McIntosh and give him the annoyingly expensive Smarty Pants doll.

She smiled a bit at the thought of seeing his quite adorable grin, and the muttered 'thanks' before he'd rushed off with it. Then had been general lazing about all day beyond that, save Twilight's attempts to interrogate her on where she'd learnt how to sing in the Traditional Canterlot Voice, and in fact what she'd been singing. And then...
She'd gone to sleep. That was all.

She stood there. Obviously Rainbow Dash would be in her body, and leaving what was essentially a pony-shaped weapon of mass destruction in Rainbow Dash's possession was incredibly foolish. She gave 'her' wings an experimental flap. And tried again.

"Yeah. I have wings" she muttered.

She stood there, in Rainbow Dash's bedroom, and suddenly felt a malicious desire to look under the mare's bed.
She found a small box. Inside were several pictures, most of them including the girls, one had her standing under a banner proclaiming 'Welcome to Ponyville' and a slightly younger looking Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie smiling at the camera, Rainbow Dash making a show of looking irritated. In the background was a distinctive yellow pegasus wearing sunglasses and a shawl. Another showed all six of them wearing the Elements of Harmony. One had an incredibly young Rainbow Dash standing next to several ponies wearing body-covering blue flight suits, an amazingly cheerful grin on her face. And the last photo had Rainbow Dash smiling at the camera, standing next to a griffon who looked completely uninterested in whatever the two were doing. Said griffin's face had been scribbled over, which did make determining her actual mood difficult

She gently put the photos back. She felt rotten for doing that. Then she saw what appeared to be a poster. She almost expected it to be a Wonderbolts poster, but instead it was... Shining Armor. There were small love hearts scribbled around his head.

Her screaming conscience attack was suddenly replaced by outright embarrasment, and she quickly returned the poster to the box and the box to back underneath the bed.

Perhaps it was time to find Rainbow Dash before she did some irreperable damage to the mare's reputation.
Immediately. Right away. The minute she finished what she was thinking.

But... wings.

*****

She stood on the front doorstep of Rainbow Dash's house, breathing in. She was in Rainbow Dash's body, a pegasus body. It could break the speed of sound, so just flying about would be like jumping off a log. She couldn't just sit there and wait for her body with Rainbow Dash's mind to show up, knowing the differences between that mare's sleep cycle and her own.

She jumped. The wind rushed past her head and the ground started to get closer. She opened 'her' wings and started to glide. She flapped the wings once more, and felt herself move slightly upward. She could see so far, all over Ponyville, all over Sweet Apple Acres, although the Everfree forest seemed to just stretched on forever.

She smiled, and started trying to accelerate, flapping the wings faster, and the world began to blur. She decided to try turning.

After a few minutes soaring through the air she tried landing, hitting part of the dirt road leading between Ponyville and Canterlot a bit harder than she'd meant, but still landing intact.

Her head was spinning.

The rush! She felt so full of energy. She wanted to kick down the doors and walls and ascend to the sky in steps of fire. She wanted to pull all the switches and throw all the levers and stick her hoof in the electric socket of the universe.
Was this what Rainbow Dash felt like all the time?! No wonder she never seemed to be all there!

"Hey, Dash!" Somepony yelled. She looked up. A yellow and cyan pegasus was glowering at her. Raindrops, wasn't it?

"Uh, hey?" she said.

"You actually gonna show up to work today?" she said. From the sound of it, this wasn't something Rainbow Dash did often.

"Yeah, sorry, just felt like doing a little early morning flying" she said, trying on a sheepish grin. The pegasus gave her a suspicious glare.

She slowly took to the air. Raindrops turned and started flying away. Rainbow Dash followed after her.

The two mares flew to a group of pegasus clustered over what appeared to be the Ponyville Weather Center. At least, she presumed it was the PWC. She'd never actually checked.

"Oh, you actually found her" one mare said. She vaguely recognised the mare as being the same one who'd made that lewd remark during her 'duel' with Trixie.

"You alright?" Some other pony said.

"I'm just not feeling myself today." She said. For some reason that didn't hurt like cliches usually did. Maybe Rainbow Dash's body had a higher shame tolerance.

"Well, boss, what's on the docket?" She looked about. Several sets of eyes were on her. She turned to Raindrops and shrugged. The pegasus simply rolled her eyes.

"Well, fortunately I know what the plan for today is." She quickly began rattling off a series of orders. Midday tried to keep up, but since she'd never really studied weather most of what Raindrops was saying quickly became gibberish. Everypony quickly set off in varied directions, and then Raindrops turned to look at her. She looked concerned.

"Problem?"

"Yeah. What I am supposed to do?"
Raindrops stared at her.

"I just told you" she said. She sighed and buried her face in her hoof.

"Just once... could you pay attention? All I ask is that you pay attention for once." She muttered. From the sound of it, Rainbow Dash acted like this a lot.

"Well just tell me what to do."
She did.

"Could you simplify that a bit?"
Raindrops sighed again.

"Kick that cloud, that could, that cloud, and move that one a bit higher up."

"That's it?"
"Yeah. That's it" Raindrops said.
She quickly set about doing as told, before flying back to Raindrops.

"Better. Though you were a bit slower than usual." Midday felt unusually aggravated at that.

"And?"

"Nothing, it's just not like you to be so slow. Or to not brag a little once you're done."
She shrugged.

"Told you I wasn't feeling myself today."

"Well, don't worry, that's you done. You can go take a nap or... whatever it is you do with your afternoon."

"Thanks. See you around." She quickly turned and left, leaving an utterly confused Raindrops. Had Rainbow Dash just said 'thanks'?

*****

She soared through the air, enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair. This was brilliant. She could fly.

Although she was also wondering exactly how this situation had presented itself. She couldn't remember it, so either somepony had erased her memory,, or it had happened in her sleep, or it had been an accident. An accident. Somepony messing about with dangerous magic without so much as a clue as to what they were doing and all of a sudden a unicorn knew what it was like to fly.

"Of course." She muttered. She stopped, remembering only too late that flying wasn't anywhere like running.
On the plus side, she wasn't flying too high, so hitting the ground only hurt a lot, rather than breaking anything.

"Ow." She deadpanned. She slowly got to her feet. She was on the edge of town. Maybe walking was an idea, unless she wanted to return Rainbow Dash's body to its original owner with a lot more dents.

She quickly found a flaw in this plan. Evidently Rainbow Dash wasn't used to walking much, as she soon began to feel her legs hurting.

"I thought she was an athlete. Why the heck..." She muttered. Then she realised it was just the legs.

"Right. Probably doesn't use them so much. Not when she can fly." Still, she ignored the legs and kept walking. She slowly walked into town, ignoring the growing problem of her legs screaming out for rest and her increasingly itchy scalp. Well, she ignored the legs, at any rate.

"Doesn't she ever wash you?" She muttered, stopping to scratch her head for the fifteenth time. She sighed. She was barely anywhere and the itchy scalp was probably going to make her more and more irritable. There was only one solution. She braced herself, and leapt into the air, trying not to make a big deal about defying gravity.

She could fly! Like her mother, or Aunt Cadance or Sapphy. Okay, so it was nowhere near how she'd expected to attain it, but still. She was flying.

In what was technically a stolen body.

She looked about the town for the varied purples of Carousel Boutique. She spotted it, and soared towards it, trying to land with a modicum of grace.

She almost managed it. Still, Rarity probably wouldn't be that upset over the four gouges in what she probably considered her front garden. Not for very long at any rate.

She walked into the boutique, and found... chaos. Bits of clothing were scattered everywhere, dresses lying around like some truly bizarre warzone, bits of fabric trailing everywhere. Of Rarity, there was no sign.

"No, no, no, no-no-no-no!" There was a pained wail from upstairs. Midday quickly launched herself up the stairs. She tried to determine where the noise was coming from, igoring the possibility that Rarity was probably just having problems with her designs. She smashed the door to Rarity's Inspiration Room down. There was a yelp.

"Rainbow Dash! Knock next time!" The unicorn said, not at all surprised at Rainbow Dash('s body) breaking parts of her property.

"Sorry. I just heard yelling and thought you were in trouble, or something." She muttered.

"Oh, I'm quite alright, Rainbow Dash. Your concern is touching, but I was merely having a problem with my work." She pouted.

"Which looks better to you, green or purple?" Midday blinked.

"I can honestly say I have never given that any thought."

"Well, I'm trying to choose one for pocket lining."

"Pocket... lining? Does anypony care about the colour of somepony's pocket lining?"

"YES! It is essential! The wrong colour of pocket lining could ruin hours of tireless work!" She sighed.

"And my work was going so well. Aside from the occasional act of Opal, who keeps meowing and hissing at me for some reason." She buried her head in her legs.

"Artist's block. My enemy, my bane! It learns Rainbow Dash! It learns, it grows! It becomes that which you cannot escape! Failure is the thing that gives and gives forever!" There was a few moments of Rarity just breathing heavily. Then she looked up, and seemed more composed.

"But enough about myself. Is everything alright with you, dear Rainbow?"

"Yes. Why?" Midday said, shuffling nervously.

"You sound... out of sorts. You seem to be enunciating more than usual."
Her mind strained to think of a plausible excuse. Most of it was still going over being able to fly.

"Well, probably just some of Canterlot rubbing off on me. It'll probably wear off in a few days. I hope it's before I start drinking tea and eating biscuits. I think if I start making dresses I'll have to start a fight with a pack of Diamond Dogs or something."
She expected Rarity to make some retort to the 'making dresses' remark. She just nodded.

"Indeed. I think we all remember your attempt at dressmaking."

That one, Midday had not been expecting. Rainbow Dash had tried dressmaking? When? How many had died?

"Yeah" She muttered.

"But, of course, we all agreed not to speak of it again." She muttered something under her breath about diamonds that Midday couldn't catch.

"Is there a reason you visisted me? Was it something to do with Midday Eclipse?"

"Pardon?"

"Oh, you've gotten over your foalish grudge against her have you? Excellent. We can all return to sanity. Except that Trixie, still wearing that awful hat and cape." The fashionista shuddered, and Midday decided not to mention that they were family heirlooms (Or so Trixie had said, and Trixie said an awful lot once she got going).

"Actually, Rarity... I was kinda wondering if you had any... hair conditioner." Rarity looked so startled it was a miracle her curls didn't straighten.

"Hair conditioner? Why?" She looked crestfallen. "You aren't engaging in another childish prank war again, are you?"

"No, no" She scratched her head again, "It's just that my hair is super-itchy right now."

"Well, I do have some I could lend." Rarity mused. She walked past Rainbow Dash, and sniffed. Her nostrils flared.

"Egad, Rainbow Dash. When did you last wash?" She chocked. Her horn glowed and a handkerchief floated in front of her mouth.

"You smell like Spike's breath after he's eaten a curry." She turned pale at that.

"Why Twilight thought that was a good idea, I shall never know. She's from Canterlot, why oh why does she not act the part?" She led Rainbow Dash to a small bathroom, opened a truly large cupboard that seemed to take up most of the room and floated a bottle of conditioner.

"You do know how to use shampoo, of course?" she said, though she appeared to be joking.

*****

Some ten minutes of careful hair-cleaning later, and she was sitting calmly as Rarity waved a hairdryer about her.

"I must ask, Rainbow Dash, why come to me for hair-styling? There isn't some hidden purpose is there?"

"Like what? Spreading crazed conspiracy theories about accountants from Canterlot?"
Rarity shrugged, and smirked.

"Well, I thought perhaps if you were here asking for shampoo you had a... ulterior motive."

"No."
Rarity made a noise of disappointment.

"Well, no matter. I'm always willing to help a friend. Though I am not a salon, I must point out."

"True, but you know me and spas" Midday said, hoping that Rainbow Dash of the past was not the sort of pony who frequented spas. All previous evidence of her behaviour indicated it was a safe bet.

"Yes, yes. You could be a bit cultured, Rainbow Dash. I am quite certain you won't drop dead just from having a hooficure or straightening your mane once in a while."

"Why take the chance?" She smiled.
Rarity just made a dramatic noise of exasperation.

"Very well." She walked up to 'Rainbow Dash'.

"Is it because you have a secret coltfriend?" She said. Good grief, but she had a mind like a steel trap. No idea in there escaped unscathed.

"What? Rarity, I'm not here for any secret reason. I just need to wash my hair."

"If you say so." This was going to be irritating. And it called for desperate measures.

"You keep on like this, and Pinkie Pie might learn about certain things you keep hidden." Rarity scoffed.

"Rainbow Dash, please. I have no secrets to hide."

"No? No crushes you had on anypony when you were younger?" Rarity's outer facade remained cooly detached, but she could see something in the eyes. Just the faintest hint of alarm.

"Certain... strapping stallions, perhaps? Ones in uniform, no less?" There was a pained squeak, and she could swear Rarity was gritting her teeth. She grinned.

"Oh, Rarity. You did, didn't you?" She guffawed, and started rubbing her hooves together. This was incredibly unlike her.

"Let me guess, you wrote sappy poetry."

"I didn't!"
Midday took a deep breath.

"It's not Shining Armor himself, is it?"

"Not at all!" Rarity squealed instantly at that, covering her mouth in shock.

"Don't you tell anypony! Or... or... or I'll turn you into a quilt!" She hissed.

"My lips are sealed. And... Oh, look at the time. Gotta go!" Midday smirked, before rushing out of the room and down the stairs. She rushed out into the cool winter air. She looked around for something to tell her the time. Was her own body even awake yet? How would she know?

Actually, if it was Rainbow Dash in her body, she probably would know. She decided to head to the library, intent of confronting Twilight, still feeling quite assured in the unicorn's guilt in this matter. Just so long as there were no distractions, such as...

"Rainbow Dash!" Somepony yelled. It took her a few seconds to remember that for all intents and purposes at that moment, she was Rainbow Dash. She turned to see Scootaloo rushing towards her.

"Hey, Scootaloo" She said, as the filly stopped just a few hooves from her. As she said that, she could swear she saw a glimmer of unrestrained joy in Scootaloo's eyes.

"You ready to hang out?" She said. Midday said nothing.

"You... do remember what you said, right? Unless-" She suddenly went quiet and unemotional, "- you know, something's come up and you're busy. I understand."

"No, no, let's go hang out." The small pegasus cheered, though fortunately without her friends this effect was greatly lessened.

"Though I should warn you, I'm not quite my usual radical, awesome self."

"That's okay" Scootaloo said.

"Do you know what time it is?" Midday asked.

"I dunno. About ten-ish, I guess. Why?"

"Because it's ten-ish on a Monday, so something weird's probably gonna happen."

"I hate Mondays." Scootaloo said, in the way only a schoolkid can.

"Everypony hates Mondays." Midday said.

*****

Twenty minutes later
There was a harsh, unfamiliar beeping noise just outside her head. Blindly, she bashed her hoof against the side-table, hoping to destroy the unwanted noisemaker. A harsh click confirmed that it was gone or at least deactivated, and she returned to snoozing.

"Come on, up and at them" a cheerful voice said. A voice that sounded entirely like Twilight Sparkle.
Rainbow Dash quickly leapt to her hooves, and then panicked. She couldn't feel her wings. She couldn't feel her wings! What was going on?

She looked around. She was in the library. What the hay was going on? She looked around. Twilight was staring at her.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, slowly. Her voice sounded weird. And her hair felt weird, all soft and pleasant.

"The same thing you do every morning?" Twilight laughed. Why was she laughing?

"No, seriously Twilight. What's going on?" She looked confused.

"Well, I was just going over the shelves. I thought at the weekend I'd reorganise them. I think maybe we need a bit of a shake-up to stop us getting complacent." The unicorn mused.

"No, Twilight, what's going on with me being in the library and why can't I feel my wings?" She said. She was scared. Rainbow Dash felt utterly, utterly scared. And she couldn't show it, nopony could know.

"Wings? Are you feeling alright, Midday?" She frowned. Rainbow Dash looked around for a mirror. She saw one, and pretty much lunged at it. She looked into it.

Staring back at her was a horrified royal blue furred face staring back at her with its burnt orange eyes. She looked up to see a horn, emerging from a head of deep blue hair that had two orange stripes going through it.

Clearly there was only one reaction.

Rainbow Dash screamed.

Author's Note:

This would've been out earlier, but then the upgrade hit and, well...
Anyway, a nice zany chapter to counterbalance the last one. Well, until I realise that being in someone else's body is a form of identity theft...

Comments

[Alex Prior]

Freaky Friday, eh?