Marceline

Have you ever seen something that just completely blew your mind? Something so confusing and unexpected that you just sat there and asked yourself "What the heck?". Well, that's what happened when I heard Dad speak out of Mom's voice.

"This is bizarre!" said Mom (er… Dad.). "How is this happening?"

"I don't know." said Sarah (Mom. This is going to get confusing.) "I hope this doesn't last long. I don't know how you live your life looking like this, Red."

"Real charmer, this one." said Dad (Sarah). "Hey! I sound like Chris!"

"You look like me, too." said Mom (Dad).

"Really?" she said. She ran upstairs towards the bathroom. "Dear God, I'm sexy!"

"Spencer." I said quietly. "Please tell me that I am severely misunderstanding something. Just tell me I'm horribly wrong in thinking that they all switched bodies."

"As much as I love to tell you that you're wrong, I don't think you are." he said, rubbing his head.

"We've completely changed bodies!" said Mom (Dad). "Ugh. What's wrong with my stomach?"

"Oooh." said Sarah (Mom). "Yeah, you're gonna be uncomfortable for… a while."

"Why is that?" asked Mom (Dad) uncomfortably. "What's happening?"

"It's sort of… that time again."

"No!" he (she) groaned. "Are you serious? Did this really have to happen while you're on your period?"

"Sucks to be you." said Sarah (Mom). You know what? I can see how confusing this is going to be, so from this point forward, I will be addressing them by who they are, not who they look like.

"Do you guys really have to talk about this in front of us?" asked Spencer.

"How is this happening?" I asked. "Dad is Mom, Mom is Sarah, Sarah is Dad, and I'm confused."

"How long does this typically last?" asked Dad.

"Hm… Too long for you to deal with. You will break." said Mom. "Wait a second. What happened to Red?"

"I'm right here." said Sarah, sliding down the banister. "Wait! What happens when we go into pony form?"

"Let's find out." said Dad. They all closed their eyes and their features began to melt and form, becoming more horse-like. Dad shaped and formed into Fluttershy, body growing and mane flowing down even more. Mom shot up in height and orange fur burst from her skin. A sharp piece of bone jutted from her forehead. Her eyes faded into an amber color. Sarah's hair stayed mostly the same, her eyes became steel grey and she grew black fur all over her body.

"We stole each other's pony forms as well." said Dad, rubbing his chest. "These are going to hurt my back."

"I didn't think it was possible, but I just got even hotter!" said Sarah, running her hands through her mane.

"Don't get too comfy, Red." said Mom. "Still don't like you touching my stuff."

"Really?!" exclaimed Dad. "Can you stop calling me that? It's degrading."

"I'm sorry, I just want her to know that you're taken." said Mom.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Focus, will ya? We have a problem, and we have to fix it. What if you guys are stuck like this forever?"

"No complaints here." said Sarah. "I've always wondered what it'd be like to be so gorgeous!"

"Is now really the time for flirting?" asked Dad. "Marcy's right. This is an issue. As beautiful as you are, I can't stay looking like you, Fluttershy. Wouldn't that be strange?"

"Yeah, just imagine if we wanted to have another kid." chuckled Mom.

"I've given 'The Talk' twice now. I don't want to have to do it again, then explain why Daddy's a mare."

"You know, now that I see me from the outside, I guess Red and Discord were right. I am a little on the chubby side."

"So I'm fat now? Is that what this is? Well, excuse me if I like an extra cupcake every now and again! It's not my fault I put on weight! We had two kids and no reason to train, so maybe I'm a little out of shape, but there's no reason to grill me about how fat I am!" cried Dad. We all sat there with astonishment.

"Dude, are you PMSing?" asked Mom.

"What if I am? Why is everything my fault? I can't control this!"

"You totally are! That's rich! Now you know how I feel every month!"

"Focus!" said Spencer. "I've read a lot about Discord and ancient artifacts, but I've never seen anything like this before. Let's take a trip to the library, maybe we'll find something out."

"Okay. Let's hope Zecora's home." said Mom.

"Zecora?" asked Sarah. "The zebra? She lives at the library?"

"Ever since Twilight moved back to Canterlot." said Dad. "Twilight figured that someone had to run the library, so why not Zecora?"

"Seems fair enough." said Sarah, grabbing the door. She pushed it open and led the way into town, away from the cottage on the edge of the woods. The adults were in front, while me and Spencer held back a bit.

"Can you believe this, Spence?" I whispered. "How is this happening?"

"I don't know. This is ridiculous." he said as we reached the door of the giant tree that was Golden Oak Library.

"How do we explain this?" asked Dad.

"Um… I don't know." said Mom, pushing the door open.. "Let's just come out and say it." We walked into the library, where every wall was a bookshelf with tons of books, old and new. Near one of the shelves was a zebra, sorting the books at her eye level.

"Welcome to my book-filled tree, filled with knowledge, as you can see." she said, not turning around.

"Hey, Zecora." said Dad. "We have a teeny-tiny problem."

"Well, speak up, my dear Fluttershy. If I can help, well, I will try." she rhymed.

"Actually, it's me. Silver." said Dad.

"Fluttershy is over here." said Mom, raising her hand slightly.

"Not that anypony cares, but I'm Sarah." said Sarah.

"What is this, this problem tragic? This appears to be Discord's magic."

"Yes it is." said Mom. "Discord put masks on us that switched our bodies."

"Masks? That sounds like magic of quite old. Perhaps it is the Veils of Switching Souls."

"You've heard of it?" asked Sarah.

"No, but I did just peer into this book. Perhaps you would like to give it a look."

---

Spencer

Zecora showed us a thick, leather-bound book with old, dusty pages. She opened it up and pointed to a passage. I looked on in fascination. I loved weird magic like this. I pretty much owe my entire existence to strange and confusing magic.

"The Veils of Switching Souls are ancient masks whose origins are shrouded in mystery. Some reports say that the Veils go way back, all the way to before the birth of the Regal Sisters. They were first used by Discord during his reign over is a Veil for every living pony ever. Every time a pony is born, a mask is created. These masks, for unknown reasons, manipulate the soul of the pony it looks like." I read aloud.

"That didn't exactly help us. At all." said Marceline. "Way to go, Spence."

"Discord used the Veils to cause mayhem across Equestria. When you wear a mask that does not belong to you, your consciousness is put into their body and vice-versa. The only way to revert it is to destroy the Veil." I read, ignoring my sister. "What was that about not helping, Marcy? I think I just found the solution. What did you find, dweeb?"

"What did I find? I found a huge problem, dork." said Marcy.

"And what might that be?"

"The Veils are indestructible to most means. Only a combination of weapons or tools made from certain rare, magical metals can pierce them." she read. "Your move, Spence."

"What metal might that be?" I asked. "I know a lot of them, and maybe I know the ones we need."

"Um… Celestial Silver and Lunar Steel. Apparently, they're both really, very rare."

"I know where to get those." I said.

"What?! Where?" she asked.

"Dad's sword is made from Celestial Silver and his gun is made out Lunar Steel."

"They sure are. Perfect! Now we just have to get the masks. Then we can destroy them and return to normal."

"I can tell, with my eyes, the problem that will arise." said Zecora.

"What is the problem?" asked Sarah.

"Ah. I see." I said, scanning the book one more time. "It says here that if your soul is switched, physical activity can burn out your Shine. You shouldn't do anything straining, or it might kill you."

"Well, that's going to be an issue. We can't overexert ourselves, so we have to ask somepony for help. Let's see, who can we call?" asked Dad. "Where are the girls?"

"Canterlot, I think. No way can we contact them. How about the Crusaders?" asked Mom.

"No, they're guarding Twilight. She has a UNE meeting, and they can't be pulled." said Dad. "We're running out of options."

"I know!" said Sarah. "We need someone to help us, right? Someone who knows how to fight?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't you take Marceline and Spencer to the firing range? And give them sword-fighting lessons?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah. What about… No!" shouted Mom. "I'm not sending the kids after Discord!"

"Why not?" asked Marceline. "We can do it!"

"As much as I don't want to admit it, Marcy's right. We can find him and break the masks!" I said.

"No. It's too dangerous." said Dad. "We'll find somepony else."

I do not wish to make you cry, but in a week, you will die. Unless, of course, the masks are broken. Then lies will be what I've spoken." chimed Zecora.

"We have a week?" said Mom with worry. "And nopony here to help us? Silver…"

"Fluttershy…" he replied, with equal sing-songyness.

"Don't worry, Dad! I'll make sure Spence doesn't get hurt!" said Marceline.

"I'm getting really sick of you, Marcy!" I said. "Mom, Dad, just let us go. We'll be fine."

"I don't know." he said, running his head through his pink mane. "Sounds risky…"

"Silver, we've been talking about this, and I think that, maybe, this is for the best. What happens if Sombra comes back? Don't you want them to be ready?"

"Yes…"

"So what better opportunity than to save us?" she said.

"Are you sure about this?" said Dad. "I'm trusting you completely."

"They'll be fine." said Mom, leaning in to kiss Dad. She got about halfway through when she remembered that she was in Sarah's body. "Whoops! Don't want Red's tongue in my mouth, do I?"

"Don't you technically have her tongue in your mouth right now?" I said.

"Don't patronize me, boy." said Mom. "You know what I meant. Oh, and I didn't mean too much offense, Red."

"Oh no, I understand completely. I don't want you to kiss yourself with me." said Sarah. "I don't think that made sense."

"Don't mean to rush you, but aren't we in a hurry?" said Marceline. "Can we go get the sword and gun?"

"Well, Sarah has Lunar on her hip and Celestial is… Oh no." said Dad. "Fluttershy…"

"What is it?"

"I left my sword at my mom's." he groaned, dropping to his butt. "We have to go get it, don't we?"

"Are you sure that's where it is?" asked Sarah.

"Uh-huh. I last had it on Hearth's Warming, remember? She invited us for Christmas dinner, and I brought it with me, just in case. I forgot it there."

"Do you think you'll be okay?" asked Mom, rubbing Dad's shoulder. "Are you sure you'll be able to deal with her?"

"Why wouldn't I be able to? I've been doing it for the past twenty years."

"Yes, but you never had these hormones bouncing around like this before. I don't think it'll be good if you break into tears in front of your mom."

"I'll be fine, Fluttershy." he said, getting to his hooves. "Everyone in human form." We all did the transformation, shrinking and compacting, returning us to human beings. I licked my teeth and stretched out my midsection. No one else did things like that, but I felt weird after changing shape like that.

"Kids, can you open the Rift?" asked Mom. "I don't think your Dad should be straining himself."

"Okay." I said. I reached my palm forward, touching hands with Marceline. She looked extremely serious and a little ticked off, but I knew she wasn't. I could feel her excitement, her glee. Don't know why, but I could always tell if she was hiding something. We call it our Twin Sense. Her hand met mine and great heat began to build up between them. We pulled them apart, slowly opening the Rift. We opened the biggest Rift we've ever done, this one wide enough for all of us to fit through comfortably.

"You guys are improving." said Dad. "Let's go get that sword." He stepped through the Rift, followed by Sarah, Mom and Marceline.

"Thank you for your help, Zecora." I said, tripping through to the other side of the Rift.

"Just when I thought today couldn't get worse." said an old, familiar voice. "You show up with your goddamn kids. I'm not babysitting so you two psychos can go on a hot date!"

"Hi, Grandma." said Marceline and I in perfect harmony, evilly sarcastic. "We've missed you!"

"Christian, you better get these hellions out of my house before I knock someone out." she said, shooting Sarah a look of absolute ferocity.

"Hey, Mrs. Brookes." said Sarah sheepishly.

"I'm over here, Mom." said Dad.

"I'm Fluttershy." said Mom. "A pleasure, as always."

"Someone best start explaining, or there's going to be some serious issues!"

"You're never gonna believe it." I said. "But let's tell you anyway, just to see how you cope with your son becoming a girl."

"Chris is a chick?" she asked. We nodded. "What's new?"

"I missed you too, Mom." said Dad, rolling his eyes.