“This is definitely it!” Twilight Sparkle declared, nerdish giddiness notching up the volume of her words as she levitated the jewel-bound tome toward her companion. A complex arrangement of crystal petals forming a flower roughly the size of a filly’s head was illustrated on the current page, visually identical in every respect to the curious artifact sitting on the table between them. It was even coloured accurately. “The Crystal Sun-Blossom.”

Rainbow Dash’s hooves tossed away another book into the “unhelpful” pile which Ms. Maresbury was slowly, but diligently, moving back to the Crystal Library’s shelves. The pegasus’ eyes grew wide. “Yeah, that’s it! Come on, Twiley, [i]please[/i] tell me there’s a way to reverse this spell!”

“We don’t need to. It says here that the magic released by the Sun-Blossom will expire on its own at sunset on the same day it’s activated. You and Rainbow should be back to your own bodies in...” Twilight looked over to a nearby grandfather clock “...an hour-and-a-half.”

The other mare breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, sis. This will make it... what? The fourth time you’ve saved my rump?”

The unicorn laughed gently. “I didn’t really [i]do[/i] anything. I just found the information. You’re giving me credit I don’t really deserve, just like that time Spike saved the Crystal Heart.”

“You saved me from stressing out for the next hour-and-a-half,” the cyan-blue pony said, leaning over the table and tousling the other’s mane. “Well – mostly. You know, I’m still wondering if it was a good idea to let Rainbow Dash go off alone. You, know, in my body?”

Twilight shrugged. “She wouldn’t have been much help here, and she’s not a pony to stay cooped up, especially when she’s feeling a bit... freaked out. She just went to the race track for some exercise. Running helps her relax.”

“What if somepony tries to strike up a conversation with her?” The pegasus’ eyes suddenly widened. “Wait. Isn’t Rainbow fond of pulling [i]pranks[/i]?”

“Hmm. That’s true...” Twilight pondered. She closed the book and stood. “Well, we’re done [i]here[/i]; we can go find her. But come on, B.B.B.F.F., it’s Rainbow Dash. She’s not [i]evil[/i]. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“I don’t know,” the other pony sighed, following. “I just hope she hasn’t gotten in over her head.”

“Heh. You mean over [i]yours[/i].”

[hr]

The stallion opened his eyes. A confused gasp and some incoherent blubbering followed as he shook off the bucket’s-worth of ice water he’d just received, and, gaining some measure of awareness, noted with alarm that he was tied to a chair.

And that four crystal guards surrounded him, spears pointed menacingly.

Four more stood a ways away, nearly invisible outside the column of harsh light that bore down.

Directly in front of the prisoner was the Crystal Princess, her brows knitted and lips in a frown so deep she was practically snarling with her mouth closed.

“Hu-hu-h-h-hghhbbbb-ghaah,” the unicorn spat out, along with some water. Cold snot dripped from his nose. Still, he made an effort to look casual. “H-hi, there, Princess. Uh, I mean– Cadance, I mean, my wife Cadance, I, mean– uh... [i]honey[/i]?” His eyes blinked innocently. “Uh, where am I?”

“Shut up,” Cadance said, instantly wiping the quivering smile from his muzzle. “And don’t ever call me that again if you value your life. Now, where is Shining Armor?!”

His eyes searched vainly for escape, while the ropes held firm against his struggling limbs. “What–what do you mean? Heheheh? I’m... Shining Armor.”

The sound of a slap echoed off the unseen walls. Even the guards flinched. “No. You’re not. He may be a geek, but my Shining Armor never calls me a...” Her features twisted in a confused disgust. “...‘bodacious babe’...”

“Umm, yeah, about that...”

“Silence!”

There was silence.

“Furthermore, my husband knows that the red wine on the top right shelf contains a sleeping potion – just in case some [i]creature[/i] pretending to be one of us needs to be questioned. If you really [i]were[/i] Shining Armor, you would have never drank it.”

“Okay, okay! I’m [i]not[/i] your husband, but I can totally explain this!”

Cadance’s muzzle moved to a mere inch from Shining Armor’s, forcing his head back as far as it would go. “You’d better, [i]changeling[/i]. Whatever your queen has planned, it’s [i]not[/i] going to work. And you’d better tell me a story I can believe, or... this is going to get [i]very[/i] unpleasant, [i]very[/i] quickly.”

The stallion gulped. “Ah, ponyfeathers.”