//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: T.I.M. of EQUESTRIA // by Winter Eclipse //------------------------------// It wasn't just one prank Luna wanted to do. Nooo, she started a prank war with Celestia and I was a target for Celestia, plus that damn bird of hers. I don't know who's worse, the bird or the pony. Anyway, I had made it back from the Stallions Warehouse where I was measured for my suit, when I had a bouquet of blue flowers fall on me from a bucket sitting on a doors edge. I didn't think nothing of it and went on my way. Being that it was still too early for Luna to wake up, I had decided to take a nap with her when I had returned. It was around four in the evening and Luna would be up in a couple of hours. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD!" "Wha? Luna why are you shouting at me? What did I do?" As my faculties returned, I could tell something was...off, but I didn't get to examine the feeling before I was picked up and slammed into the floor. "WHERE IS TIM? WHERE IS MY BETROTHED?" "Luna what are you doing? I'm right here in front of you" I grunted out as the pressure from her spell increased. It was then that I knew what was wrong. My body didn't feel right and the muzzle I could see gave me a clue too. I had been turned into something else and I guess I said the wrong thing because the pressure increased and I started gasping for air. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY TIM, DRAGON? WHERE HAVE YOU SPIRITED HIM AWAY TO?" "Luna" I managed to gasp out. My vision had begun to fade when I tried one other way to reach her. "My Angel." Luna gasped right before her magic cut out. The next second I could hear her frantic mutterings as she approached me. "NONONO! WHAT HAVE I DONE?" When she got to me, I felt her pick up my head? "I'm so sorry my love." A instant later our bedroom door shattered and Celestia came galloping in with a contingent of guards. "SISTER?! WHAT HAS HAPPENED?" By that point I was semi-conscious and in a lot of pain. I finally faded away before I heard Luna's reply. I woke up feeling like I had been run over and I did what was natural. When my hand made contact with my head it felt off, everything felt off. I was expecting to see five fingers and tanned skin when i looked at my hand, but thats not what I got. Instead, I got three claws and blueish silver scales? It was then that I remembered what Luna had called me, a dragon. "What the fuck" I mumbled out loud. I must have been heard because the door opened and all four alicorns trotted in. It was also at that point that I noticed that I was in a hospital room. I couldn't say anything so I held my 'arm' out to Luna and asked with a hopeful pleading expression. "We don't know what has caused this my love" she replied while she nuzzled my head. "The flowers was found and confirmed to be poison joke, but they are a rare variety of the normal flower." "How so and how rare?" I knew of the plant and avoided the damn things. "This particular breed can be manipulated by magic into having whatever effect the user wants, as long as the plant isn't used on yourself. Whoever did this knew what they was doing." Twilight answered. I immediately looked at Tia and she started to shake her head. "I would not do such a thing to you Tim, neither would Philomena. This kind of prank is cruel, especially because of the other effect of that particular flower." I was getting nervous from the way they was talking. "The effects are permanent" Cadence answered. "The pony responsible will be found and punished, brother." I smiled a little when Tia said that. Since our announced engagement, she had taken to calling me brother and I will admit, it's kinda nice to be called brother once again. "How rare is it?" "That particular plant hasn't been seen in almost two thousand years and even then it was very rare to find them then." I looked at Twilight to explain a little more, but Luna was the one to explain. "They only grew in a very specific environment, but where they was native to was destroyed." "Destroyed?" "They only grew where the badlands now are" Tia supplied. I simply nodded before growing quiet. Luna was still trying to comfort me, but my mind was racing from all of the information I had been given. One thought finally came to the forefront. "How does this affect us" I quietly asked Luna. She never stopped her nuzzling, if anything it she got more affectionate. "Not at all. I am marrying you still. Your form matters not to me besides" she gave me that beautiful smile only I can get. "this is a blessing in disguise for you." "How so?" "Your curse of invisibility is broken." I didn't realize that had happened. I thought they had cast the spell on me since I obviously couldn't wear my ring anymore. "Anything else I should know?" "You somehow have taken the characteristics of a race of dragons that was wiped out long ago by their larger cousins" Tia stated. "There was different races?" "Oh yes. Just as ponies have different races or tribes if you will, dragons had the same. If I remember correctly, there was five different races of dragon, but the largest race wiped out the others just because they wasn't as numerous." "That's kinda dumb. Anyways, what race am I now?" "They was called the Lunae Lumen or more simply, Moonlight dragons.