A Party to Remember
In Equestria, a slow sunset was always a sign that things were doing well in the nation's capital. After all, it meant Celestia had the freedom to provide the nation with a much slower, more deliberate, more visually stunning sunset. And this evening was no exception.
Stellar Flare smiled wistfully as the changing colors of the setting sun bathed Sweet Apple Acres in a soft orange-red light. Ponies in front of her stood in a line slowly snaking its way into the Apple family barn, each one of them excited for a celebration that came to Ponyville only one night a year.
She didn't actually know the Apples or Ponyville all that well. She'd come here because Sunburst, despite always complaining about being treated like a foal, was still a momma's colt at heart. He had confided in her about how anxious he was to attend some big party that Starlight had invited him to. After he'd explained the party to her, she understood his anxiety fully, but had still suggested that he attend.
It wasn't her intent to come to the party herself. At least, not originally. Even though it sounded fun, she couldn't attend alone. Plus-ones were, apparently, mandatory for the event, to keep the attendees balanced - which was ostensibly why Starlight had asked Sunburst in the first place. It didn't have to be someone they were dating, but it was required that it be a pony matching their sexual preference, so that it would minimize the number of ponies who were left out of the fun.
Firelight stood silently next to her. Stellar glanced over at him, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. This was sadly a common occurrence. Ever since their feud had been resolved by their respective children, she couldn't help but find him rather handsome. He, on the other hoof, had barely acknowledged her beyond the bare minimum. It was a miracle she'd managed to get him to agree to come with her.
After dwelling on Sunburst's concerns for a few days, a crazy idea struck her and she asked Firelight to come along. He initially refused until she had explained the party to him. It still wasn't entirely clear why Firelight had agreed to go along with it, but Stellar could hazard multiple guesses, with most of them being 'opportunities for him to score a young, pretty mare.' And given that he seemed to be ogling two young mares in line not far in front of them, she was fairly confident in those guesses.
Speaking of opportunity, she siezed her own chance to run her eyes along his flanks. He might be older than many of the young stallions on offer, but he still looked good. Damn good, even. If she was lucky, she'd get her field plowed by those gorgeous muscular legs before the night was out. That chance, slim as it was, was the real reason she had ever agreed to trek all the way out to Ponyville for some old mare's birthday party.
The line moved forward, and Stellar let Firelight walk in front of her, admiring everything about the way he moved, but also the robust package dangling between his legs. Oh Goddess, how she wanted to see him drop from his sheathe to see if the bat could compete with the balls.
But it was not yet time for such things. She had to restrain herself for now. She reluctantly stepped up and took her place next to him in the line again. There was only a few ponies between herself and the barn now. The closer they got to the barn, the more excited Stellar became - in every sense of the word. She was actually quite glad there were so few ponies in the line behind them - one advantage to arriving late from out-of-town - to see her aroused state.
The line shuffled forward again. Stellar and Firelight stepped into the dimly lit barn. Just inside the barn was a wooden palisade that had been erected to block access to the inner portion of the barn, funneling ponies into one of three separate halls. From what Sunburst had explained to her, there was a ritual that would have to be performed before the party really started, and then...
"Welcome to Granny Smith's Birthday Mixer!" an orange mare said, smiling wide. "I'm Applejack! I don't think we've ever seen your face here before, so if you don't know how this party works, talk to the mare in the corner and she'll happily explain the process to you." Stellar glanced where Applejack was pointing. A white unicorn with a carefully coiffed purple mane sat at a table there, explaining things to a green unicorn stallion in hushed tones. "But, if you already know how the party works, and you don't care about your gender assignment, head straight on in through the middle," Applejack continued. "Otherwise, it's mares to the left and stallions to the right!"
Sunburst had already explained the whole process to her well enough, so Stellar Flare nodded and got in line on the left while Firelight veered right. Stellar wasn't fully certain how she felt that Firelight wouldn't gamble on the mixed group, as it might make her night even more exciting, but there wasn't any guarantee that she'd be able to catch his magnificent dad-bod on the other side of the ritual anyway.
A few moments later she was ushered into a room perhaps only three times the size of an outhouse with a chest-high counter bisecting the tiny space. The counter was capable of being raised to allow ponies to pass, and a door on the other side had a sign that commanded 'WAIT HERE'. After a few moments, a bouncy pink earth pony opened the door. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and you've come to the greatest party in all of Ponyville! No time to chat, though, I just need a quick sample of your mane!"
With a quick snap of a hoof, Pinkie Pie had snatched a strand of Stellar Flare's mane and tugged it out at the root, causing Stellar to flinch at the sudden assault. It didn't hurt, really, as Pinkie Pie had been quite precise and really did only grab a single strand, but she couldn't help but wonder how often Pinkie had grabbed a hoofful of mane and just torn a pony's scalp off on accident.
"And now for the blindfold!" Before Stellar could even object, or even really process what had just been said, a piece of dark cloth was wrapped securely around her head, covering her eyes. "And follow me!"
"But I can't see!" Stellar objected.
"Right! That's why I'm going to guide you!"
Stellar felt the countertop move, and Pinkie's hoof wrapped gently around her neck, pulling her softly forward. Stellar took a step, and then another, and then another, half-walking-half-being-dragged by her guide.
"Here you go," Pinkie said after a few moments. "Please just sit down and wait quietly, we're almost ready to start. No talking!"
Stellar felt around for the expected chair in question and gingerly took a seat. She could tell from the creaking of chairs as ponies adjusted themselves that other ponies were in the same room, but, as instructed, nopony else seemed to be talking.
'Almost' was certainly an understatement. The wait was only a few moments.
"Welcome!" a familiar voice boomed out from somewhere else in the room. "I'm sure you all know why you're here, but for the sake of anypony who has forgotten the rules in the pamphlets or needs a quick reminder, I'm going to review as we pass out potions to everypony."
Stellar knew that voice: Starlight Glimmer. The very mare who was the reason Sunburst had invited Stellar here in the first place, and by extension, why Stellar was here, too.
"First, let's review the procedure. You will each be given a potion, and everypony will drink. Once everypony has drank their flask, I will cast a spell that activates the latent magic in the potion. When that happens, we will all randomly swap our physical bodies, allowing each of us six hours to be somepony else entirely.
"There are some rules that come with this swap. First, the sharing of real identities is forbidden. Second, prying into anypony else's real identity is also forbidden. We're all here for some anonymous fun, so let's keep it that way. Anypony found in violation of these rules will be forcefully removed and banned from ever coming back."
A glass vial was pressed into Stellar's hoof, which startled her for a moment before she grasped it firmly.
"Third, sexual activity is both allowed and encouraged. A limited number of private rooms are available for those ponies who want it, but don't let being in public stop you from doing your thing if that's the kind of wild fun you want. However, enthusiastic consent is absolutely mandatory. Violators will be punished to the full extent of law.
"On the topic of sex, impregnation kinks are all well and good - feel free to roleplay to your heart's content. But there's no risks here. The effect of these potions render semen infertile, so there's no concerns about mares getting pregnant. We don't want anypony getting their body back with an unwanted baby in it, after all."
Stellar smiled wryly. Her body wouldn't be getting pregnant by anypony at her age either way. But if Firelight was the one to knock her up, she wouldn't argue.
"Now, everypony has received their potion, so let's all go ahead and drink up!"
Steller sniffed at the strange liquid that audibly bubbled in the vial she was given. It smelled like apple cider, and if cider wasn't a part of the concoction, she would be shocked. She closed her eyes and steeled her nerves for what would certainly be some kind of unpleasant jarring sensation, tossed her head back and chugged the contents. It tasted sweet and left a strange sizzle on the tongue as it went down.
And nothing happened.
Wasn't something supposed to happen?
"Alright, Granny. Has everyone finished their drink?"
"All's good," croaked an elderly mare.
Stellar's senses suddenly went completely numb as a very unpleasant shifting sensation washed over her - like her soul had just been taken on a rollercoaster that her body wasn't invited to. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed her and she felt herself tumbling off of her seat. Several feminine voices cried out, and Stellar could hear what sounded like several other ponies falling to the ground.
What had she drank?! Were they being poisoned?
"You can remove your blindfolds now."
After finding firm footing, Stellar pulled away her blindfold and gasped in shock. Bodies littered the floor in front of her, including her own. She watched in fascination as her own body, several feet in front of her, picked itself off of the ground and glanced around in confusion.
It had worked just like Sunburst said it would! She'd been body-swapped! She even felt young again. And if what Sunburst said was true, no pony would know who she really was. And the stallions should have been similarly 'shuffled'.
This was her chance! Firelight might not ever give her the time of day, but some random other stallion in his body might.
Sunburst stopped himself in front of one of the full-body mirrors propped up in the barn.
Firelight? he wondered. Why on earth would Starlight's dad be here?
It was confusing, but it was just as well. It was an 'older model', so to speak. Certainly not one that would be in high demand. The idea of having to fight off multiple mares vying for attention terrified him.
Sunburst gingerly stepped out from the shelter of the barn and into the dying light of the sunset. The blindfold and the relatively dim light of the barn had left his eyes dilated, forcing him to shield his eyes against the glare. As his eyes adjusted, it was clear that something had changed. And not just his body.
In just the few minutes they had been in the barn, the open space between the barn and the farmhouse had transformed. Around the perimeter, long, low tables overflowed with food of all kinds, buffet-style. Fancy, round tables, just large enough for two, with elegant white tablecloths also sat around the area just inside the buffet tables, each with lit candles and a pair of chairs. Inside of that circle of tables was a large, freshly-polished wooden platform to serve as an impromptu dance floor. A dry bar rounded out the corner closest to the farmhouse, though no pony seemed to be attending to it at present.
Sunburst had never attended this particular event before, and he was beginning to question why he was here now. He'd never been interested in dating random ponies. He wanted nothing more than to be with Starlight Glimmer, but the prospect of actually dating was terrifying and he'd never had the courage to ask her out.
Yet Starlight had asked him to attend this party, and he'd foolishly agreed. Who wouldn't agree to attend a party when the mare they were infatuated with asked? Then again, what was she expecting that he would get out of an anonymous dating and sex party? And why did she care? Sunburst had far more questions than answers.
A stallion behind him coughed into a hoof, impatient to get to the buffet. Sunburst realized he was blocking the path and stepped aside. He wasn't particularly hungry, and he didn't really want to be here anymore, but he wouldn't be allowed to leave the premises without a partner.
He looked around again. Granny Smith was now attending the dry bar. That was exactly what he needed: something to take the edge off his nerves. A somewhat relieved sigh erupted from his lips as he headed toward the bar. The realization that Granny Smith wasn't hiding amongst the other mares in secret was somewhat relieving, too. He hadn't actually considered it before, but that would have been extremely awkward for some unlucky stallion the next morning.
As he approached the bar, Granny was slamming mug after mug of something onto the bar, and ponies were simply taking one mug after another as opposed to ordering anything in particular.
"All we gots is cider," Granny said to him as he approached. "But this special batch packs a wallop. If you're looking for a room, you need a partner first."
"Uh, alright, thanks." Sunburst smiled awkwardly and took one of the mugs before turning away from the bar. He wasn't sure exactly what he'd expected, but hospitality was usually one of the Apple family's strong points, so the almost dismissive way Granny had spoken was a bit off putting.
He shuffled over to the nearest empty table and slumped into a chair, red candles dancing as he jostled the table. Hard cider wasn't Sunburst's first choice of drink, but it smelled good.
Music started up from somewhere, and the sound of ponies hooves on the dancefloor began to sound out. Sunburst took a sip of the cider as he watched ponies dance. It was good, with a pleasant burn, but it wasn't something he wanted to savor, so he started drinking it in earnest.
Several ponies had entered the dancefloor alone, and many of them quickly paired off and began dancing together. Some eventually left the dancefloor toward the buffet tables or the farmhouse, most of them with a partner in tow. Others continued to dance in increasingly lewd fashion.
And here he was, at the most anonymous party in Equestria, and what was he doing? Drinking alone and still unable to get the courage to talk to mares. His mug was empty.
"Hey, there, handsome," a sultry but very familiar voice said. "Is this seat taken?"
Sunburst did a double-take as Starlight Glimmer stood in front of him, levitating a plate of food and smiling wide. Panic set in. Did she know who he was?!
No, he had to remind himself. This wasn't actually Starlight Glimmer. The odds were stacked strongly against a random pony in Starlight's body simply taking a shine to him, but it wasn't impossible.
Starlight - or the pony who looked like her - tilted her head. "Is everything alright?"
"Uh, yes!" Sunburst blurted. "I mean, the seat is not taken, but everything is alright."
With a smile, the mare set her tray on the table and took a seat. "So, why are you here?" she asked. "Looking for a bit of fun?"
No, actually. Parties were a place where socially anxious ponies like Sunburst went to hate themselves even more. "Aren't most parties about having fun?" he forced himself to reply.
A wide smile crossed her face. "Oh, I don't know. I think that depends on the kind of fun you're looking for." She leaned across the table, getting uncomfortably close. "Let me tell you, I've been interested in you for a long time. And this is the perfect opportunity to have a quick lay, so do you mind if we just skip the pleasantries? Nopony will know."
He was being propositioned for sex. Alarm bells went off in his head. He'd never had sex before, and though a small part of him understood that was what this party was about, the reality was that he'd expected to just sit at a table alone hoping that everypony else would ignore him! Now he was being propositioned by a total stranger, in a body that he'd been lusting after his entire life.
... Wait, interested for a long time? His mental processes ground to a sudden halt.
He was in Firelight's body. As far as he knew, Firelight had never been to Ponyville, and didn't know anypony here. Nopony should have had interest in him at all!
Yet Starlight had practically begged him to attend this party. She was the one of the ones who was in charge of the spells, and she might know who he really was even though it wasn't his body. And she was one of the only ponies that might be able to slip into the party with her real body still intact.
The conclusion was surefire: this was the real Starlight. Was Starlight really into him in that way, and trying to use anonymity as a way to get him out of his shell? Was that why she was so adamant about bringing him as her plus one?
And she was currently trying to get him into bed with her! Did she also have control over who got what body? If it was, why would she have given him her dad's body? And if this wasn't controlled, then the fact that she still wanted to continue with this in spite of it being her dad's body...
Would he ever get to see Starlight in the same way ever again?
What happens at Sweet Apple Acres, stays at Sweet Apple Acres.
Those words echoed through his mind. Even if everything went to Tartarus in a saddlebag tonight - if he completely blew his first chance to have sex with Starlight Glimmer - no one would know, because Starlight couldn't reveal her deception. Or her weird willingness to have sex with a stallion that looked like her dad.
He swallowed hard. "Uh, s-s-sure."
Starlight stood up from the table and looped her foreleg around his neck, practically dragging him from his seat.
"Let's go, then!"
It was a deliberate plan on Starlight's part: get Sunburst to attend the party, have him get used to chatting with and hopefully even fucking another mare, and then maybe he'd finally stop pining for her. Simply put, she wasn't interested in him in that way, but they were still super-close friends and she didn't want to completely break his heart.
She had deliberately chosen a seat that could watch three of the four exits to the barn. The stream of ponies filtering out of the barn had dried up by now and Sunburst hadn't been among the stallions shuffling out. Did she miss him in the throng? Had he taken the exit she couldn't see? Or did he simply not show up to the party?
"...and I really enjoy a mare who knows what she wants and yet..."
Starlight continued ignoring the rather self-absorbed stallion chatting her up across the table. His appearance said 'Thunderlane', but his mannerisms said anything but. Feigning interest, she shuffled in her chair a little bit, trying to look around his fat head and see if she'd just missed Sunburst somewhere else. If that poor stallion had somehow eluded her before, he still had to be somewhere around here.
But instead, something else caught her eye. An entirely different and yet even more familiar stallion: Her father! What was he even doing here? And how did he find out about this party in the first place?
And whoever was inhabiting his body was already hitting it off with another mare... herself?!
And now the two of them seemed to be leaving the premises. Together.
"...Are you alright?" the stallion across the table asked her. "I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"
"I'm fine," Starlight replied mechanically, though it came out in Fluttershy's voice.
Internally, her thoughts were scrambling. There was no time - she needed to follow them. To stop them. She forced herself to look at her 'partner' again. "Sorry. To be honest, I'm really not interested in chit-chat," Starlight lied.
"Oh, should we just get a private room then?" 'Thunderlane' said, grinning from ear to ear. He glanced around for a few moments before returning his gaze to Starlight. "This party makes me feel like I'm too old for modern dating anyway," he whispered.
A private room. That was it! She could use that as an excuse to track them down.
"Sounds great!" Starlight deadpanned. "Catch me if you can."
And with a beating of her yellow wings, Starlight took off in her pegasus body. She wasn't the greatest flier, but she'd practiced a simple flight technique in previous years. Hopefully her partner wouldn't be able to keep up.
"Wait!" he shouted, taking off behind her. "I'm not used to this!"
Oh, good. He wasn't used to a pegasus body. That was perfect, because she'd done this a few times before.
She ascended in a wide circle, gaining altitude in one of the simplest ways possible: pull your neck back just a little bit, flap your wings, and lean just a little bit to the side. The broad circle gained a dozen or so feet of altitude with each loop.
After a minute or so, Starlight began hovering. With her eagle-eyed pegasus vision, now that she was above the apple trees, Starlight could see the wandering pair of unicorns heading out of Sweet Apple Acres and toward Ponyville proper. There were only three possible hotels they could be going to, and she just needed to see which one.
"Whoa, watch out!" Her date blew past her, ascending uncontrollably before fighting to a clumsy hover several feet above her. "We're flying there?" he gasped. "I've never done this before!"
The two ponies Starlight was tracking turned left at Stable Street, which meant, unless they were lost, they must be headed for Dusty's Den. She pointed her body toward the massive building that had a roof vaguely resembling a dust pan, and then leaned forward just a bit. With a couple flaps of her wings, she picked up her pace, and then held her wings out to glide on the air currents.
"Oh, we're playing hard to get, now? I love a chase!" he shouted behind her.
Starlight ignored him. Air rushed past her as she picked up speed, but Fluttershy's rather weak flight muscles really hindered her compared to the pegasi she'd found herself possessing in previous years.
Thunderlane, on the other hand, was a fine flying specimen - literally Wonderbolt caliber. There was no way she'd be able to lose him just by flying, even with a little bit more experience.
"WHOO! This is actually pretty fun!" the stallion behind her whooped. "Better hurry up or I'm gonna catch ya!"
The Dusty Den came up on her quickly. As she approached, she watched herself and her father trot right in front of her and into the hotel. Bingo! Now she just needed to follow them in and stop them before something terrible happened.
...But first, she needed to slow herself down immediately or she would crash. And without any experience in emergency crash procedures, she didn't want to have to explain to Fluttershy why she got her body back with a broken wing, or leg, or worse. Flaring her wings out, the wind resistance quickly brought her speed down and she began to descend gently to earth.
Thunderlane wouldn't be so lucky. "Wait, how do I stop?!" he screamed, moments before slamming into the side of the building. A deep pang of guilt and regret welled up inside of Starlight as he dropped to the ground in a heap. She might have just mangled a professional athlete's career!
"Are you okay?" she shouted, rushing up beside him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that!" Starlight grit her teeth. She really needed to stop what was about to happen inside, but the seemingly unconscious stallion in front of her was arguably entirely her own fault. She had a responsibility to make sure he was, at the very least, uninjured.