"Hey, Sugarcube," I felt a gentle hoof on my shoulder, lightly shaking me awake, "somepony's here to see ya."
My eyes drifted lazily open, to see the figures of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy just outside the door to the barn. The bright light of the afternoon sun left them as only silhouettes, but I recognized them Immediately. They were talking to each other, but turned to wave at me. I squinted at them, then looked frantically about me to see if Spike was still there.
"'S all right, Sugarcube. We moved him. He's in the loft."
"Oh, thank Celestia. You scared me to death," I rolled onto my legs, making a slow and stiff way towards the large double doors.
Rainbow, eager as always, pushed the door open a bit, "Hey, um, Twilight said it was urgent?" she phrased it like a question, trying to peak over my shoulder.
"Yes, well, I just think that--"
"Come on! Show us!" She leapt into the air, preparing to hop over me.
"NO!" I grabbed her tail with my magic and pulled it to the ground, the pony smashing into the wood floor.
"Um... I don't want to cause trouble... if this is a bad time, I could always--"
"It's fine Fluttershy. You go ahead, dear," i muttered through clenched teeth.
From inside, I heard the recognizable moan of Spike, who was just waking up, "Rarity?"
"Oh, just go in," I released Rainbow, giving up on all attempts to prepare her. I followed her inside, turning momentarily to grab Fluttershy's hoof and pull her inside. I closed the door behind me, ensuring that Fluttershy didn't just run away.
"Spike, sweetie!" I called
"Spike?" Rainbow looked at me like I had parasprites crawling out of my ears.
Fluttershy squeaked, running behind me as Spike lifted his head.
"Oh... my... Celestia..." I whispered.
Spike's head had grown to almost twice it's normal size, and his neck seemed to spiral up near the ceiling. All we could do was stare as he slid off the balcony, his now correctly proportioned wings slipping gently open to carry him down.
"What?" he asked, looking at us, who couldn't make a sound. he looked behind him, a short scream escaping him.
"Ah! What the BUCK?!" He spun around, desperately trying to get a look at himself. He actually hadn't grown much, but it was such a shocking difference that none of us could take it.
"Spike is ALIVE?!" Rainbow shrieked, her eyes going wide.
"Oh. Right. Well, yes," I said nonchalantly.
"But he was-- and I thought--" Rainbow made several panicked sounds, before getting herself under control and asking, "How?"
"Um-- well..." Twilight trailed off.
"Did you use your magic?" rainbow asked, "I thought it was impossible."
"I thought so, too! But-- well, Rarity-- and..." she trailed off again. Nopony seemed to be able to form complete sentences today.
"I brought him back. I brought him home and stitched him up, because nopony else seemed to care enough to try," I stated, glaring into the eyes of each of my friends in turn.
"Um, Rarity?" Fluttershy looked up at me from her place of submission on the barn floor, "Does that mean he's a... zombie?"
Spike jumped at the sound of the word, looking around nervously.
"Fluttershy, dear? Can we refrain from using the 'z' word around Spike, please?" I growled through clenched teeth.
"Oh. Yes, of course."
I sighed, "The truth is... " I leaned in close to my friends as Spike continued to inspect his wings, "I don't really know what he is."
"Well, there's one way to find out," Rainbow flew across the barn, hovering in front of Spike, "Hey, dragon: You hungry?"
~~~~~
"Okay: here's what we've got to do:" Rainbow had Spike sitting in Rarity's kitchen with a blindfold on.
"How come Rainbow's in charge?" Pinkie wondered.
"'Cause she's got a plan, Sugarcube," Applejack explained.
Rainbow grimaced, but continued, quieter, "We're gonna put two plates on the table: one full of gems, the other piled high with some cow meat. If he eats the gems first, we know we're safe. If he eats the meat first..."
"If he eats the meat first, we've got a zombie on our hooves," Applejack finished.
"Exactly. After that, I don't know what we do. Research is not my territory, so somepony else needs to handle that."
"So... where do we get cow meat?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know! What, do I have to think of everything? Go kill a cow, or something!" Rainbow threw her hooves up in exasperation.
Pinkie chuckled, "That was funny, Rainbow. What are we really going to do?"
Rainbow slapped her face with her hoof, "I was being serious."
"Well I think that it's absolutely disgusting. There must be a way around it," I said.
"I mean, we could just wait until he bites somepony else, and the zombie apocalypse begins. If that's what you want," Rainbow suggested. We were all silent, until she said, "Fine. I'll go catch a bucking fish or something."
This comment brought Fluttershy back from the verge of tears. I gave her one last stroke on her forelock before following Rainbow to the door, "Remember," I said, "Nopony can know about this. Ever."
~~~~~
"Here's your freaking fish," Rainbow complained, tossing several carcasses onto the small table near the door. They smelled of stale salt, and I made a small sound of disgust.
"Oh... could you at least take these somewhere besides the front room?" I asked.
Rainbow groaned, "Yeah. Fine. Just-- put Spike's blindfold on so I can dump these on the kitchen table," she picked up the fish again, standing impatiently near the door as I ran into the kitchen to fix the small bandanna around Spike's face.
"Bring them in, please," I called. Spike's nose wrinkled at first, then a small grin appeared on his face. I donated a few of my baby blue sapphires to the cause, setting them on the table as well.
"Okay, Spike," I murmured, "keep the blindfold on, but you can eat anything here you want, and as much of it as you want."
"Okay... Rarity?" Spike shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Is this a test?"
Before he had a chance to answer again, I galloped out of the room.
We watched from the door as Spike's fumbling claws felt around on the table. First, his nail tapped on the side of a gem, making the kind of sound two drinking glasses make when they hit eachother. His claw wrapped around the small gem, lifting it to his mouth. He crunched down on it, spitting it immediately back out onto the floor. He tossed the remaining piece down, reaching back across the table for another treat.
One sharp claw found the side of a fish, slicing it open and spilling some rather unappetizing things onto the table. His claw pulled away, but his nostrils twitched, and soon his snout was in the center of the mess, lapping at the organs on the table like a dog.
Fluttershy and Twilight looked nauseous, while Rainbow and Applejack seemed ready to pounce on him. Pinkie was off in her own world, while I just stared, wondering what this new horror would bring to our relationship.
What would happen to him now?