//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: The Morning After 
// Story: Heart of Fire 
// by Night Spinner 
//------------------------------//

        The first and only thought he had was that the darkness around him wasn't dark enough. For a creature born with night vision, even the faintest light was enough to see by and for Spike, who felt like his head had been used as a hoofball, a candle burning a mile away would have been too much right now. 

In the darkened chamber, the thin ray of sunlight that slipped beneath the door seemed to boil with churning colors. The shimmering aurora brought pain that ran through every one of the little dragon’s scales and joints. Tenderly, he tried to rise to his feet but found himself oddly balanced, as if his front legs were too short. Why was his center so off?

Then, as if he had been struck by lightning, it all came flooding back to him. The potion, the sight of a pony’s face in the mirror, the train ride, the party… the KISS!

Spike leapt to his feet, wincing in pain as he staggered over to one of the candles, lighting it with a quick breath before turning to face himself in the mirror. In it, he saw his usual draconic self, unchanged and unaltered, save for the oversized collar of the jacket Fire Heart had worn. The rest of the clothing lay rumpled on the floor, but Spike paid it little mind.

“Did… did all that really happen?” he asked his reflection, half expecting it to answer back. “Did I really pull it off? Did Rarity really kiss me!?”

His claw pressed against the glass and he stared at himself, fighting through the clouds in his head. Little by little it came back to him, every detail, every moment, and he couldn’t help but let his smile grow wider and wider with each memory.

“Rarity,” he mumbled, sliding down against the mirror and letting his head rest against the cool glass. “It was perfect,” he concluded, before striking a fist into his palm. “NO! It was better than perfect! It was amazing!”

As the memories returned to him, the energy and thrill of the evening returned to him as well. It had been so much different than he had expected. His mind had been clear and more alert than ever, his words came to him more easily. As the night had wore on, he had found himself able to keep pace with Rarity on a level he had always struggled with in the past. “Did the potion make me smarter?” he wondered before leaping to his feet with a shout. “The potion!”

He raced over to the little pot, now long since cold from sitting overnight. As he held up the candle to peer inside, he could see that it was still half full of the shimmering crimson liquid, looking for all the world like liquefied rubies.

Spike set down the candle, grabbing a bottle and, with agonizing care, drained the contents of the pot into it. Before he stoppered it, he held it up, watching the liquid shimmer in the dancing candlelight as he considered what it had really done.

It wasn’t just some illusion or simple disguise. For one evening, a scant few hours, Spike had lived as a pony, a stallion. It had not made him smarter, he was fairly certain of that, but it had given him maturity, comprehension and something more. He took a glance down at his blank hip and an odd mix of understanding and uncertainty filled him.

“Fire Heart,” he whispered. The name had come to him in the journey from the castle of friendship to the train station. It had felt right, purposeful, like the name was his and had always been his. Spike glanced to the bottle again, a strange swirl of emotions in his chest.

“Was that really my cutie mark?” he asked the potion, half expecting it to answer. Even if it had been just part of the disguise, the ruby on his flank had seemed to almost guide him as truly as his own mind and heart did at other times. Even when he had spoken so passionately to Rarity about his talent and purpose, he felt as if his cutie mark was telling him what to say.

Still euphoric from the evening before and slightly disturbed at how changed he had been, Spike slipped the potion into a hidden corner of the room and carefully peeked out into the hall. Though everything seemed to be alright, his memory of how he got home was more than a little fuzzy. The presence of a return train ticket timestamped around midnight in his jacket at least told him part of the story, but there was still a chance he might have been caught and just didn’t know it.

Spike, if he was being honest, couldn't even be sure of what day it was, let alone if it was still morning, as he made sure his secret room was still concealed. However, as he carefully made his way down the hall, the young drake began to relax. The sunbeams shining across the tops of the western bookshelves told him it was still morning and a glance at the date of the paper left on the castle step was enough to convince him everything had truly gone to plan. He had been gone but a single night.

“Let’s see,” he muttered to himself after grabbing some breakfast. “Twilight and Rarity should be back on the afternoon train and that leaves me with, let’s say… five hours to do my chores and errands,” he concluded smugly as he started going over his checklist of tasks.

However, as he began to read through the list, the paper began to unfold... and unfold... and unfold, until nearly a three foot long, itemized list lay at Spike’s feet.

Sweat began to bead on the little dragon’s forehead as he stared at everything Twilight had intended him to do over the last day and a half. “Well, heh, maybe the train will be delayed?” he asked himself hopefully with a nervous chuckle.

The hope only lasted for a moment before dying the death that all procrastinator’s dreams must and with a sigh of resignation, Spike pushed aside his breakfast and rushed to try and make up for lost time.


***

        A few hours later and with several miles left to cover, the Canterlot express rumbled its way across the countryside, putting Equestria’s capital far behind it. Within one of the many passenger cars, Rarity watched the flowered hills and forests roll past, her vision broken only by the occasional puff of steam from the engine.

Yet, despite having provided her much inspiration in the past, the unicorn’s mind was far from focused on the the picturesque landscape. Instead, she was still back in the hall, the low roar of a hundred little conversations in her ears and a pair of blazing green eyes staring into hers. Letting out a sigh of frustration, she glanced over at her companion, struggling to ask the question that burned in her mind.

For perhaps the hundredth time, Rarity considered putting it off until they were home. After all, she put off pressing Twilight with her suspicions during the ball, as well as after, and then of course in the morning and again at the train station. Each time, delaying the inevitably awkward conversation  was perfectly justifiable. 

It couldn’t be helped that Twilight had, as a princess must, entertain dignitary after dignitary and suffer the inevitable bout of exhaustion and headache that followed. It also would have been a poor topic of discussion when both of them were less than astute in the morning hours, or likewise in a rush making sure everything was ready for the journey home on time.

It wasn’t as if they had been in private then either, oh no. They hadn’t been well rested either, sitting in the comfort and seclusion of a private room, with nothing but time between them to discuss such an important and delicate topic. Not like now. Not like they had been for the last hour or so once the train was well underway. Then again, Twilight did seem very focused on her crossword puzzle, so perhaps this wasn’t an ideal time after all.

Hanging her head dejectedly, Rarity was forced to admit that she had put things off long enough and steeled herself for the task. “Twilight, darling?” she began, looking at her friend nervously. “I was wondering if I could ask you a question, or rather discuss something about last evening.”

Twilight looked up at her friend and smiled. “Of course Rarity, what’s on your mind?” she asked, , laying down the paper.

“Well, do you remember the young stallion I brought up to you? The one named Fire Heart?” the unicorn began, trying to find the best way to prompt Twilight without sounding accusatory.

The alicorn tapped her chin and thought for a moment before replying. “Umm, yes. Tall, green mane, purple coat, very nervous?”

“Yes, dear. Him,” Rarity confirmed in a polite deadpan. “What did you think of him?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh! Um,” Twilight replied with a surprised expression on her face. “Well,” she continued, gathering her thoughts. “He seemed nicer than most of the other ponies I met last night. Though I really didn’t get to talk to him much before tha…”

“Yes, I remember the meeting,” Rarity interrupted, before giving her friend an inquisitive look. “Did he remind you of anypony, or should I say anyone, at all?” she asked, carefully studying Twilight’s reaction. However, the alicorn only looked confused and more than a little annoyed at Rarity’s interruption.

“My apologies dear,” Rarity quickly continued, trying to sooth her friend. “I suppose I shouldn’t dance around the subject, but when I first laid eyes upon him I was almost certain that he was…” she said, trailing off until finally sighing in frustration. “That he was actually Spike disguised as a pony.”

Twilight’s initial reaction was one of surprise, closely followed by reasoned understanding as Rarity’s odd behavior had been made clear. “Now that you mention it, there were some distinct similarities between them,” she said, trying to recall the details of her brief interaction with Fire Heart.

“...I take it that means you didn’t transform Spike into a pony?” Rarity asked with nervous directness. A mix of fear and hope filled her and she was no longer certain whether yes or no would be a better answer.

Twilight shook her head. “No, I didn’t turn Spike into a pony, Rarity and even if I did, transfiguration magic like that shouldn’t have lasted the night.” she explained as Rarity found herself glancing back out the window at the distant city they had left behind.

Her brow furrowed, the unicorn turned back towards her friend. “Discord perhaps? He certainly has shown to have the power to pull off a stunt like this,” she offered, though the alicorn seemed unconvinced. “Likewise,” she continued, clinging to her train of thought like a lifeline. “He has been far friendlier with Spike of late since joining their game,” she reasoned, though Twilight only shook her head in reply.

“I doubt that,” Twilight replied, gesturing with her hoof as she explained her thoughts. “If he was behind it, then there would have been some joke, some punchline or some sort of embarrassing disaster. I don’t think he would just turn Spike into a pony freely to have a nice night out, at least not without being there himself to cause at least a little mischief.”

Rarity found she agreed with Twilight’s assessment. While it was certainly possible for the lord of chaos to work such magic, to have let the night go so perfectly would have been wildly out of character for even the reformed Draconequues.

The more Rarity thought about it, the more she realized that the night had not gone perfectly. It had been pleasant if awkward at times and overall, was fairly mundane if she was being honest of her view of the evening. That alone was enough to exonerate Discord, at least for the moment. “If not him, then who or what?” Rarity asked, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

The princess could only shrug in response. “Almost anything’s possible Rarity,” she began, levitating the paper into the air and, with a flash of magic, the black and white pages swelled into a book, bindings and all. “Traditional transfiguration magic is complex, draining and above all else... “ she halted in her speech for a moment and let the magic release from the book. “...temporary.” she concluded as the tome became a mere newsprint once more.

“While this effect can be made longer lasting or even semi-permanent, the magic is at best a physical illusion. It would have been closer to Spike wearing a pony costume than what I remember encountering,” she concluded before giving her friend a searching look. “Did Fire Heart say or do anything that gave away his identity?”

Rarity stared at her hooves, unable to look her friend in the eye. “No, I must admit, he did not,” she said with an air of finality. “Aside from his appearance and, well, a whole host of little details that were, in hindsight inconclusive, I can’t recall a single moment that ‘gave him away’. Truthfully speaking, dear,” Rarity went on, a wavering unease in her voice. “By the end of the evening I began to have my doubts.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled sympathetically at her friend. “Rarity, with all of that,” she said, picking her words carefully. “Is it at all possible that this pony just happened to, coincidentally, share some physical qualities with Spike?”

The unicorn let out a sigh as she again stared out of the window, seeing the first glimpses of distant Ponyville peeking out from above the trees. “I can’t deny the possibility,” she admitted after an uncomfortable moment of silence. “After all, Fire Heart seemed about as honest as anypony that was there and, I must admit, was far more eloquent in his speech than Spike usually is.”

“Then I think we have to consider that as being just as plausible as the possibility of complex transformation magic,” Twilight said as Rarity shrunk back, knowing where this was going. “While we can’t conclusively rule out some obscure magic, it simply being a coincidence would be a far simpler explanation.” 

The alicorn watched her friend nod slowly in agreement and again stare out the window with a sour expression. “Why does the simpler solution bother you so much?” Twilight asked after the silence between them began to grow uncomfortable.

Rarity didn’t respond at first, but closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts. Eventually, she turned to face her friend with a worried expression. “Because, darling, I no longer know what to think. Last night I was so certain that it was him when we bumped into each other and I spent the rest of our time together trying to get the truth out of him,” she admitted with a huff. “If that wasn’t Spike, it means I was in the company of a stranger. A stranger, I might add, who I spent the night alternating between interrogating and leading on!”

Twilight could see the anger in Rarity’s face, the fear and the hurt. Anger that was neither directed at this Fire Heart, nor Spike, but at herself. “Rarity, if this bothers you so much, why not ask Spike when we get back to Ponyville?”

“That is, quite possibly, the most disastrous thing I can possibly do,” Rarity said in a hard voice, her blue eyes shimmering with emotion. Seeing the look of confusion in her friend’s eyes, the unicorn’s expression softened slightly. “Twilight, dear, we both know how Spike feels about me. If I were to accuse him of being Fire Heart and it turns out he wasn’t, it would destroy the poor dear.”

Twilight glanced away from Rarity’s piercing stare as the unicorn went on. “You know I’m right,” Rarity insisted. “I doubt there are many ponies who could survive a blow to the ego like that, to know that somepony they care about spent an enchanting evening with their double.”

Twilight nodded her head slowly in agreement. If they wanted to confirm their suspicions, then they would have to do it without tipping off Spike. However, the more the princess of friendship thought, the more she realized that verifying the identity of Fire Heart was a secondary issue. She looked over at her friend and gathered her thoughts.

“Rarity, we do know Spike’s feelings, but what about yours?” she asked hesitantly. “What about your feelings towards him? If it turned out that it was Spike in disguise, what would you do?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Rarity admitted, feeling suddenly exhausted from the whole event. “I adore Spike, I really do, but he’s not... well, he's far too immature to be… What I mean is…” Rarity found herself struggling with her words, unable to say how she felt or how she felt she should feel. Despite her struggle and to her surprise, Twilight was wearing an expression of understanding.

“Everything feels right and wrong at the same time, doesn’t it?” the alicorn asked with a faint smile. Rarity nodded, listening intently as her friend went on. “While it’s not quite the same, I often have mixed feelings about someone I met in the other world. He exists here too, but the knowledge that he is and isn't what he should be... what either of them are, it holds me back.”

The train gave a shuddering lurch as it began to pull into Ponyville Station and both Rarity and Twilight gave a start at the sudden jolt. As they pulled to a stop, Rarity looked over at her friend. “I suppose I shall just have to wait and see how things progress, one way or the other,” she said resignedly, levitating her luggage from the storage racks above their heads. Twilight nodded, collecting her own bags as the train finally came to a stop and the pair made their exit.

Squinting against the bright sunlight, Twilight looked around her. The platform was all but empty, with few ponies waiting to board or to receive travelers. Still, as her vision cleared, the alicorn seemed unable to locate her number one assistant. "Odd, I told Spike what time we'd be arriving and I don't..."

Her question died abruptly as she heard her name called out. Her ears twitching, Twilight turned in the direction of the sound. There, sitting on a shaded bench at the end of the platform, was Spike, a friendly grin on his face as he waved at the two mares. "There he is," Twilight sighed, a faint smile on her face as she trotted towards the little dragon. "Right on time."

"What, you doubted me?" Spike asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I told you you everything would be fine," he added, finally sliding off of the bench. Cheerful as his demeanor was, it was all spike could do to keep his breathing steady. A full morning of sprinting from place to place to get everything done made his legs feel like they were on fire.

"I'm sorry Spike, but I still worry at times," Twilight replied sheepishly as stepped into the shade of the station's awning. Accustomed as she was to Spike's behavior, the alicorn couldn't help but notice that the little dragon seemed to be over-exerted. "Everything alright, Spike?"

"Yes darling, you do seem a touch winded," Rarity chimed in, a gentle, if slightly melancholy smile on her face. She had been silent during the exchange between Spike and Twilight, mulling over her thoughts and feelings. She could certainly think of one reason the little dragon might be tired and decided to test it once and for all. "Did you not get enough sleep last night?" she asked pointedly, her eyes flashing to meet spike's own.

Spike quickly closed his eyes and waved his claw dismissively. "No...no, just taking care of these chores and it's hot today," he said quickly, waving the scroll. If he looked Rarity in the eyes now it would be all over. He already felt the pressure and it was clear that she suspected, but he if he looked at her, she would know, and he would know that she would know and she would know that he knew that she knew and it would ruin just about everything.

Spike was saved from blowing his cover by a sudden gasp and look of shock from Twilight and both he and Rarity turned towards her as her lavender magic snatched the scroll from his hand. "Spike... where did you get this?" she asked, unrolling the large scroll and scanning through the lines.

"Um, the end table by the stairs? Where you always leave the to-do lists?" he answered nervously, scratching his head. "Did I do something wrong? I know I didn't get most of the things done that were on the list and I'm sorry but it was just so much to do and..."

Twilight looked up from the scroll as Spike's voice took on an almost pleading tone. "Spike, I meant for you to take the other scroll... the one that was a third the length of this one," she explained, waving the long document around in the air. "This scroll was the master to-do list for the entire weekend!"

"Oh... uh, oops?" the little dragon apologized with a blush as the princess continued to stare dumbfounded at him.

Rarity turned her attention from the exchange and began reading over the tasks that had been checked off. Half, or close to half of them had been marked and the fashionista could only shake her head. "Twilight, weekend chores or no... is it really necessary to go to Sofa and Quills twice in as many days?"

"Actually yeah," Spike deadpanned as both mares looked at him. "She goes through a lot of quills and ink, even more if Starlight and Trixie are over."

"My writing habits aside," Twilight huffed, as a look of annoyance crept into her face. "Spike," she began, her expression softening. "...you've done nothing wrong. In fact, I'm impressed... though it does look like you may have overdid it a bit."

"Heh, maybe," Spike admitted before suddenly feeling the familiar hugging sensation and warmth of Twilight's magic envelop him as he was lifted to his usual station upon the alicorn's back. 

"Well Rarity, we'd better get going," she said sadly. "Despite Spike's overachieving, there's still a few things I need to personally see to before nightfall."

The fashionista smiled in reply. "Yes darling, of course," she said, giving both of her friends a wide smile before turning to make her own way home.

As she reached the edge of the platform and took her first few steps into town, the unicorn sighed as if a great weight had been lifted from her back. The familiar sights, smells and sounds of her home seemed to dull the feelings that had been swirling inside her for hours. The questions and suspicions were still there, but so far removed from the glamour of Canterlot, they didn't seem so pressing. Her mood lightened and her worries dulled, Rarity made her way home.