//------------------------------//
// Chapter twenty-six 
// Story: Twilight the hybrid 
// by WolfGoddess1990 
//------------------------------//

	Twi's dream started off simple enough, she was happily going towards Ponyville, she spotted her friends from far away who were waiting for her in Ponyville, she happily started to run towards them but the closer she got the older they seemed to get, she stopped halfway looking at them, maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her? She slowly continued to walk towards them again, then she knew they really were getting older, and when she finally reached them they were old mares, each having silver manes and tails.

Rarity looked the youngest having no wrinkles or sagging limbs, her mane was styled into a fancy and elegant bun, and Shy was next with few wrinkles and no sagging limbs, AJ seemed to be in the middle with a few more wrinkles and few sagging limbs, with her mane and tail in a simple braid. Dash was next with lots of wrinkles and a few more sagging limbs, she was flying very low, and Pinkie was the oldest looking with tons of wrinkles and sagging limbs and her mane and tail looked deflated.

They all spotted her, one by one they looked at her with anger, Twi cried and looked into the puddle to see why she looked more serpentine which she knew was going to happen when she got older. Her mouth, neck, legs, body, and tail was longer, which made her look more like a dragon then a pony, her mane, and ponytail was longer as well, she was taller then princess Celestia, her horn longer than any unicorn and her dragon wings were bigger than any pegasus, but on top of all that she was still young.

Twi looked at her youthful appearance, despite the many years that must have passed by she was still a young adult, "It isn't fair..." Twi looked up at her friends when she heard this. 
"Why are you still young when we are old and dying?" 
"Look at her, she isn't even pony shaped anymore." 
"Go back to your kin where you belong." 
"Yeah dragon hybrid freak." Twi closed her eyes and backed off, this wasn't real, this wasn't real... Twi's eyes snapped open as she woke up.

"It was just a nightmare... a very true horrible nightmare..." Twi slowly went to her bathroom as she thought about the nightmare, yes in a couple of years she would look just like that, but what about the wings? She might grow dragon wings one day and she might not, it was just a nightmare... she splashed some water on her face with magic before rubbing her face with a towel, once she looked at her own reflection, however, she let out a loud scream waking Spike up.

Spike knocked on the door, "Sis you alright?" He opened it and gasped, "Who are you and what did you do to my sister?!" 
"Spike... I am your sister." 
"Prove it." She turned to show her cutie mark and he gasped, "Sis! But... your... you're a pony!" 
Twi looked at her new pony body and started to panic, "Same colors, same cutie mark... but my scales, my claws, and my teeth all gone!" 
Spike gently grabbed her face, "Sis deep breaths, slow and steady." 

She took a deep breath and let it out, then did it again as she looked at her reflection again, "At least I got to keep my horn, mane, and tail..." She wobbled a bit as she kept staring, "But this... how did this happen?!" She ran downstairs and started to go through her books, "I got to find an answer to this, there has to be a reason for what happened to me." Her magic grabbed book after book as she tried to use her hooves to open some books, "Ugh how do my friends use these things?!"

"Sis calm down." 
"Calm down? How can I possibly be calm at a time like this?! Just look at me!" She opened the books with her magic not even bothering to use her useless hooves, "This can't be a curse, curses don't exist... a real reason for this is what I need." 
"What about this book?" 
Twi read the cover, "Supernaturals? Spike, the word supernatural refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses, this book is just a bunch of hooey!" She opened another book.

"Besides what if my friends see me? How am I going to explain this?" 
"Well you can say it's..." 
"Ah pfurse!" Pinkie tried to say as she stared at Twi, "Twi?" 
"A purse? How could it be a purse?" 
"Pinkie, yes it's me, what happened to you?" 
"Pee pah Zthecora! Sthe put a cursthe on me!" 
Pinkie tried again but her tongue was too big and had blue spots on it, Spike wiped her spit off, "Hey, say it, don't spray it, Pinkie!" 
They all heard a thud, "Ow! Wait Twi?" Dash asked as she tried to fly.

"Yes, it's me..." 
"Oh! She's trying to say..." Dash flew into the window with another thud, "Ow! Zecora she slapped us all..." Dash crashed into the library, "Ow! With a curse!" Twi looked at her and noticed her wings got flipped upside down. 
"I'm afraid I have to agree." 
Rarity said blowing hair out of her face, she looked like a shaggy dog, then a high pitched voice asked, "Twilight?" Twi looked at mini AJ on Bloom, then at Shy, who also looked at Twi with confusion.

"What's wrong with Twi...LIGHT!" Rarity screamed a bit when she lifted her hair and saw Twi, "Darling is that you?!" 
"Yes it is me... it seems we all got affected... except Shy, she seems just fine." 
"Yes, there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with her." 
"Shy, are you okay? Is there something wrong with you?" Shy nodded. "Would you care to tell us?" Shy looked down. "So... you're not going to tell us?" Shy nodded again. "Yes you're not, or yes you will?" Shy shook her head.

AJ had enough, hopped on the table and ran to her, "Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!" 
"I don't want to talk about it." Shy answered in a deep male voice. 
Spike snorts, then bursts out laughing, "This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got: Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple Teeny, Flutterguy, and... uh... I got nothin'... Twilight Amethyst Sparkle. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that... well not Amethyst anymore, since she's a pony but..."

Twi cut him off with sarcastic laughter, "This is no joke, Spike. Now start looking for more books so I can find a cure!" 
Spike groaned as Dash managed to get out of the ladder she crushed in, "I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!" 
"This is not a curse!" 
"I agree with Dash! We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!" 
"It's not a hex either!" 
Everypony started to talk over themselves as Bloom watched, "This is all my fault. "

"If I hadn't followed Zecora in the first place, none of this would have happened. I just gotta fix this." 
Bloom started to leave and AJ noticed, "Now where does she think she's goin' this time?" AJ asked then hopped into Bloom's tail. 
"I don't care what it is, Twilight. It's time to pony up and confront Zecora. Come on, girls. Are you with me?" 
"Ah, am-pft!" 
"And I as well." 
"Uh, I don't know. Seems awfully dangerous." Spike giggled at Shy's new voice.

"How about you, AJ? Applejack?" 
They all looked at the table, "Pf-she's gone-pft!" 
"Aah! Or somepony stepped on her!" 
They all looked at their hooves, "... or sat on her?" Twi said and they all looked there as well. 
"Rarity's hair!" Dash said and Pinkie started to look. 
"Oh! OH! Pinkie, what are you doing? Ah, really. Aah! You ever hear of personal space?" 
"Nopthe." 
"Bloom is gone too!" 
"I bet they went after Zecora." 
"Well, we better go find them. Come on girls, let's go."

Twi wobbled a bit before she got the hang of walking with hooves, Rarity tried to follow but Pinkie was standing on some of her hair, "Oh dear. Oh, this is so unseemly." Pinkie got off. "Auuuaah!" 
"Hey, a little help here?" Dash asked sliding across the floor. 
"Oopsie! Sorry." Both Pinkie and Shy helped her up and Dash crashed into the wall before flying out the door. "Uh... Spike? Are you coming?" 
"Nope! Uh... gotta stay here and look for a cure." Once they left Spike got an idea, "Twilight ponkle!"

Meanwhile, Bloom was running towards the forest when a voice spoke up, "Stop right there!" Bloom stopped and looked up to see mini AJ, "Turn around right now, missy!" 
Bloom smirked a bit, "No." 
"No?! You can't ignore a direct order from your big sister!" 
Bloom tossed her off her head before grabbing her and putting her on a branch, "Hehehe. Sorry, Applejack, but I'm the big sister now." Bloom said leaving. 
"Bloom, you come back here right this instant! I'm gonna tell Big McIntosh on you!"

AJ looked around seeing no way off the branch, "Aw, pony feathers." 
Back with Twi and her friends they finally entered the forest, "C'mon girls. We've got to get to Zecora's. Hurry!" 
Rarity tripped, "Ooh... Ahaha. Easier said than done." 
She got back up and ran again while Dash tried to fly with them. "Hey, wait for me!" 
She crashed into a bush and then a tree, then AJ popped out of her mouth, "Dash! Thank Celestia! There's no time to lose!" AJ made a wooden bridle and put it in Dash's mouth.

"I need to get to Zecora's pronto! Giddy-up pony!" AJ said on her belly. 
"Ex-CUSE me?" 
"YEEE-HAW!" 
AJ said kicking Dash in the side making her fly up, "What the..." 
AJ started to pull on the bridle making her fly the wrong way. "No, Dash. Other way!" Dash flew the other way not liking this, meanwhile back with the others they finally made it to Zecora's hut. 
"Oh. I look horrible!" 
Pinkie lifted her shaggy mane saying, "Plis place plooks horrible!"

"Oh, my. That place really does look horrible." They all looked inside her window, " Nice decorations if you like creepy!" 
Zecora entered and they all hid, they saw her pour something in a bubbling pot before speaking in some kind of language, Pinkie backed off, "Sthe sthtole my sthong! Shthe shtole mm mm!" 
"She stole your song?" 
"Oh Pinkie. Doesn't sound anything like your song." 
Pinkie wagged her tongue at them, "Ah. Hmm..." Then she slid over to Shy and looked at her with big eyes.

Shy sighed before singing, "She's an evil enchantress and she does evil dances, and if you look deep in her eyes, she will put you in trances, then what would she do? She'll mix up an evil brew, then she'll gobble you up, in a big tasty stew, soooo... watch out." 
"You saw those terrible things. Now, do you believe us Twilight?" 
Twi thought for a moment, "Scary looking masks, confusing incantations, and a great big bubbling cauldron?" She sighed deeply, "Everything is pointing to Zecora being... bad."

But then she smiled, "Or... what if Zecora is just making soup?" 
They all looked at her in disbelief and they watched as Zecora took a sip of her brew, "Mmm! The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?" 
"Or... what if she's making Apple Bloom soup?!" 
They all screamed as Dash flew upside down with AJ screaming, "I'm comin' for ya, Apple Bloom!" Dash crashed into her house and started to fly around making Zecora shout something in her language again.

Twi came in trying to look scary, "What have you done with Bloom?" 
Zecora ignored them as she watched Dash fly around, AJ lassoed her ear and tried to take her down, "Ponies! What is this you..." Dash knocked over her cauldron, "No! You know not what you do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!" 
"We're onto you Zecora. I didn't want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming!" 
"You made me look ridiculous." 
"You made me sound ridiculous!"

"You made me speak ridiculous!" 
"And look at what you did to me!" 
"How dare you! You destroy my home, destroy my work. Then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?" 
"You put this curse on us, now you're gonna uncurse us." Dash said finally standing still. 
"It is unwise to venture down this road. Your actions will make my anger explode!" 
"Where is Apple Bloom!?" Twi asked butting heads with Zecora. 
"Zecora! I think I found all the things ya asked for."

Bloom said then she looked at all of them, "What in Ponyville is goin' on here?" 
AJ still on Zecora's ear gasped, "Bloom! You're okay!" 
"Why wouldn't I be?" 
Twi stood in front of her, "Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you up into soup!" 
Both Zecora and Bloom laughed, "Oh Twilight. Did those silly fillies finally get in yer head? You know there's no such thing as a curse." 
"Bloom, sweetie. You can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse."

"This isn't a curse." Bloom said walking past them. 
"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact." Twi thought back, "Beware, beware you pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke." 
"It was a warnin'. About that blue plant. It's called Poison Joke." 
"That plant is much like poison oak. But its results are like a joke." 
"What in the hay does that mean?" 
"It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead, this plant just wants a laugh." 
"Will somepony please talk normal?"

"I think what she's saying is that when we ran in to save Bloom, we ran into the poison joke. All our problems are just little jokes it played on us." 
"Little jokes?! Very funny." 
"Okay, fine. But what about the cauldron?" 
"And the chanting?" 
"And the creepy décor?" 
"Treasures of the native land where I am from. This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'." 
"Not welcoming at all, if you ask me." 
"The words I chanted were from olden times. Something you call a nursery rhyme." 
"But the cauldron... The Apple Bloom soup?"

"Lookie here Twilight. That pot of water wasn't for me, it was for all these herbal ingredients. The cure for poison joke is a simple old natural remedy. You just gotta take a bubble bath!" 
Twi looked at the opened book, "But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything. What book has this natural remedy?" 
Zecora closed the book to show the cover, "Here is the book, you see? Sad that you lack it in your library." Twi looked at it sadly. 

"Actually, I do have this book, but I didn't look inside because the title was so... Weird." Zecora opened the front page for her. "Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super. I...I... I'm so sorry, Zecora. I had the answer the whole time if only I had bothered to look inside." 
Zecora chuckled, "Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book." Bloom just laughed. 
"Zecora? Would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?"

"Mix it up I certainly will. Yet I am missing a herb from Ponyville." 
"But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are mysteriously closed." 
"Oh, well... I think we can help you with that." They all walked back into Ponyville and all the ponies hid inside, Twi knocked on one door which opened slightly, "Daisy, we need to talk... and yes I am really Twilight." After the talk her friends all enjoyed the bath as Twi watched, she was writing a letter and didn't want it to get wet.

"Dear Princess Celestia, my friends and I all learned an important lesson this week: Never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary. But you have to look past that and learn who they are inside. Real friends don't care what your "cover" is; it's the "contents" of anybody that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever. Your faithful student, Twilight Amethyst Sparkle." 
"Hey Twilight, why haven't you got in yet?"