Trading Places, Part 2

Trading Places, Part 2

Everything was so busy at the Rainbow Falls swap meet, with every pony trying to grab the best deals for themselves. It was a bargain hunters paradise, with every mare scrambling for all the best bargain items.

"Oh wow, this is so incredible!" Ribbon exclaimed, looking the German-style pony dress on the vendor's table. "I can't believe you have an original costume from the first production of Hinny of the hills!"

"Yep, and that's from the original Manehatten run, magically preserved and of museum quality." Hollywood, the pink flutter pony with the white mane and silver stars cutie mark, declared. "And it's a very rare find, too. These days, most Bright Valley stage production companies prefer to put on a ponyfied version of the human play the sound of music instead, so you'll won't find this costume anywhere new!"

"Oh, I simply must have this outfit for my collection! Buttons and I can make a whole line of 'Broadway'- themed dresses based on the design!"  Ribbon levitated a shining dress out of her own bag. "How's about trading it for a genuine magic motion fabric dress, from  Surrey Polomare's original enchanted fabric line?"

"A Surrey Piece? Baah, who would want that cheap piece of garbage?" Hollywood scoffed, scorning the dress Buttons had given Ribbon to trade. "Do you have anything of quality in that bag, like an original Coco Pommel, maybe? "

With a sigh, the Dream Valley Dressmaker reached back into her saddlebag again, and said a silent apology to her partner Buttonbelle Polomare for being descended from such a poorly regarded fashionesta. "Let's see what I have..."

Farther down the line of Stalls, Surprise was talking with a customer who was looking at her collection of party hats. The orange twinkle-eyed mare seemed very interested in some of Surprise's inventory!"

"Wow, I could really use these super-duper party hats and streamers for the super-duper foal shower I'm planning for a super-duper couple in Fort Dash next week." Party Time exclaimed. "Whatcha willing to trade for 'em?"

"Gee, that's an awful lot of party hats you got there." The white Pegasus exclaimed, looking at the extremely large stack of items from her table the green-maned earth pony had amassed from her table. "Whatcha got?"

"Well.... I do have this old... Party Cannon..." The other mare groaned, pulling the crazy-colored party canon over to the table by a rope.  "Think this would be enough!"

"A party canon?!? WOW!" Surprise exclaimed in shock, having never actually seen one of the crazy contraptions before. "They don't even make those anymore, and I have sooo always wanted one!" She grinned down at the other pony, flapping around her trading booth excitedly. "You got yourself a deal!"

Surprise slapped the other pony an the back affectionately, sending Party Time's gemstone twinkle eyes flying out of her sockets, and into the party cannon. Suddenly loaded, the party cannon fired off with a loud BOOM, sending the gemstone eyes flying over the horizon.

"Hey, I can't see anything!" The earth mare protested, stumbling around with her hooves outstretched. "What's going on?"

"YIKES! Uh oh! Ummmm..." Looking around frantically, Surprise quickly picked up a pair of billiard 8-balls of the table, and stuck them into Party Time's eye sockets. "There you go, good as new!" She said with a worried laugh. "I think..."

"Wow, thanks, Miss Surprise!" Party Time shook her hoof, before her body began to wobble around in a strange way. "Whooaaah, I gotta be going! My party sense is telling me there's a bunch of ponies in need of a party somewhere near here!"

"Okay, see you later!" Surprise exclaimed, as the now-blinded pony stumbled away with her with her newly traded stuff, with every other pony staring at her 8-ball eyes in bewilderment.

Surprise sighed, and looked at the ground. "Gee, I sure wish I had something like great great grandma Pinkie's party sense..."

Across the way, Locket was looking over the- ahem, *exotic* wares at the table owned by Stockings, a rather shady looking white earth mare with a pink mane. Looking through the hoofcuffs and manacled chains, the twinkle eyed pony glanced up at the vendor.

"Nice collection you've put together here, I really love the barbed wire cat of nine tails, and the black leather zip-up one piece." The Pegasus told the other pony with a smirk. "But I was wondering if you had an old-style metal riding crop? I'd be willing to trade a spiked collar with a leash for it."

"Hmmm, you and your stallion go for that kinda stuff, huh?" Stockings flashed her a complementary smile. "Yeah, I might have one, but  it's gonna cost you a little more than that cheap-looking collar there!"

"Oh drat, I was hoping we could do some business here!" Locket replied with a sigh, putting her exotic collection back into her saddlebag. " You came so highly recommended from Firefly, and-"

"Wait, Firefly Dash of Dream Valley?!" The other mare's eyes suddenly lit up. "Why didn't you say so! Firefly's my 1# best customer in Ponyland! I'll take your trade!"

While the two slightly warped mares closed their deal at Stocking's table, a disgusted Baroness Twilight Shine was sitting in the royal booth, listening to two mares bicker over how unfair there trade was. This year, it had been Majesty's turn to attend the Rainbow Falls bazaar, and she had asked Twilight, as the descendant of Princess Twilight Sparkle to fill in for her. And right now the stand-in princess could see exactly why her queen had wanted out of her royal duty this year.

" Your highness, I'm telling you this trade wasn't fair!" Scrumptious, a white mare with a green mane and watermelon cutie mark, protested. "I tried out that old baking pan that Gingerbread traded to me, and every set of muffins I've made in that pan has burned to a crisp!"

"Your end of the trade wasn't fair?! HA!" Gingerbread, the white earth pony with twinkle eyes and a gingerbread man cutie mark, retorted. "That set of cookie cutters you traded me aren't sharp enough to cut the dough when I press them in!"

"Those cutters cut just fine, you wannabe cook!"

"Wannabe cook?! Why, you fast food chef-!"

"Amateur baker!"

"Yeah? Well, you're a half-baked pizza!"

"Glass-eyed freak!"

The two mares leapt on each other, and started to swril around and around in a dizzying catfight. Thoroughly disgusted, Twilight adjusted the crown on her head, and finally stamped her hoof in anger.

'"Ladies, ladies, enough!" The Baroness declared angrily. "If you can't behave like proper mares, I'll have you sent over to the swap meet's play area and ball bit with the foals and stallions!" The two ponies immediately stopped fighting, and composed themselves. "Now, if the two of you are so unhappy with your trade, why don't you both just trade back the item you don't want, for your original item you each had in the first place?"

The two ponies started to say something, then both looked at each other in surprise. Before looking back and the princess and nodding.

"Oh yeah, I never thought of that!" Scrumptious exclaimed, trotting over and picking up her box of cookie cutters. "Thanks so much for solving our problem for us, your highness!"

"That's such a great idea! I can't believe we didn't think of it ourselves!" Trotting over and picking up her pan, Gingerbread smiled back at the unicorn. "So long, Twilight! See you back at Dream Castle!"

As the two other mares trotted away happily, the pink unicorn slumped down in her throne with a sigh.

"That does it, I'm going home!" Twilight growled to herself, as she quietly got off her throne and slipped away. "I'm sure nothing will happen here at the bazaar without me around to tell people their trades were bad!"

...

As all of the ponies at the swap meet milled about their trades, one pink earth mare trotted about with her newfound saddle. No other ponies could see the tendrils of energy uncoiling from the saddle, and no one could see hose tendrils draining energy from nearly every pony at the bazaar. And from a crystal ball in one of the fair's covered booths, three witches watched the whole event unfold with interest.

"Ha, my trap is working like a charm! Soon, every pony at this fair will be my helpless prisioner!"

"Wow, mom! Your plan is going great!"

"Yeah ma, those little ponies will never no what hit em'!"

"How many times have I told you two NOT TO CALL ME MOTHER!"

"Sorry Hydia...."