//------------------------------// // Lunch Break // Story: Princess Spike // by Daelyx Len Auphydas //------------------------------// "You're doing really well, Spike!" Twilight was encouraging Spike, who was currently trying out his new legs jogging up and down the hallways. Twilight has a clipboard out, studying his movements to give him tips on improving his bio-mechanical efficiency. On some level, Twilight feels that Spike has a particular advantage over most ponies; He was learning how to run and walk when he was already well learned enough to understand her instructions, and so she could help make sure he learned good habits rather than getting into habitual muscle-memory of inefficient walking and running patterns! Of course, that only applied because Twilight had read several dozen books on the subject of biomechanics. It was amazing how many habits the average pony developed that were detrimental to their idealized walking efficiency. "Try increasing your stride length by about two centimeters, that should improve the resonance of your jogging cycle to improve energy efficiency by about 3%, and reduce the odds of shin splints by approximately 11.4%!" Twilight calls out after making some quick mental calculations regarding Spike's new body weight (which she had of course measured), leg length, hip width, and more. "You got it!" Spike calls out, eager to impress, grinning widely as he speeds up, racing down the hall. "Watch this!" Spike shouts out, as he runs up the stairs towards the dining hall. Twilights eyes widen in concern. "Wait! Your legs are out of sync, you're going to-" Before Twilight could finish their warning, there was a loud crash sound as Spike trips over one of the stairs and comes tumbling down to the ground, earning a wince of empathy from Twilight as he lands on his back at the base of the stairs. Twilight hurries over and, standing over him- Such that to Spike, she appeared upside down- Twilight offers a helping hoof. "Are you ok!?" She asks. "Do I need to get any of our medical supplies? Tripping over stairs can cause-" Before she can start prattling on about contusions and sprained ankles, Spike rolls over, shakes himself off, and wobbles up to his feet. "I'm fine, Twi. Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away." He laughs a little, earning him a surprising hug from Twilight. "That's a relief... I don't like seeing you get hurt..." Twilight announces, and Spike breathes out slowly. It feels surprisingly nice- Hugs felt very different now, there is a much more tactile feel to them against his much more sensitive pony skin, compared to his scales from before. "Maybe that's enough practice and exercise for today. We're in dire need of some food, I think." Twilight affirms, and Spike's belly rumbles in agreement. "You think you can go up the stairs alright?" Twilight asks. Spike grumbles- One trip, and he was back to feeling like a helpless burden again. "I'm sure I can manage it." Spike states, maybe a little harsher than he had meant to, and pulls himself out of Twilight's embrace to bound up the stairs again. Twilight looks after him concerned, ready to pick him up in her magic if he trips again, but when nothing of the sort happens, Twilight just shrugs and trudges along after him. "Go ahead and sit down, I'll go whip something up for us." Not that it was that easily said and done. She really wasn't sure what she should make; Pony food? Dragon food? Spike's digestive system had seemed utterly foreign to her, she didn't have any real idea how this transformation would affect his taste preferences, or even what he would be able to digest. In the end, she decides that she needs to just make both to evaluate how they both affect him. In that interest, she doesn't make anything overly complex- just a pair of hayburgers and a gemstone salad. "Alright now, so, don't eat too quickly! We don't know how either of these will be digested by your biology, so I'll have to keep careful tabs on it..." Twilight elaborates, as she delivers the two plates to her hungry companion. "Try and just take a bite, if it doesn't feel like you're supposed to be eating it, just spit it out." She cautions. "Uh-huh, yeah, sure." Spike utters, clearly not listening to a word she was saying, licking his chops. Twilight winces as he chomps down into the gemstone salad without a care in the world, fearing the worst- Chomping down like that on gemstones might be fine for a dragon, but any pony who did so could expect sore gums at best and a cracked jawline at worst. But just as Twilight was mentally going over the list of damage control spells which might help alleviate the pain and damage of dentin fractures, she finds with relief that Spike seemed fine, crunching the gems with typical casual ease. Twilight breathes a sigh of relief, but then stands up straight and marches over to Spike, sternly. "Spike! Be careful! We don't know if you can even digest those, and we didn't know for sure if that would crack your teeth or not! We have to be cautious!" Twilight scolds. Spike rolls his eyes. "I still know how to eat, Twi, you don't gotta baby me." Spike says sarcastically. Twilight's concerned look fades to a forlorn one, hurt by Spike's words. "I-I know that!" She hastily snaps. "I'm just trying to make sure that you're ok, we don't know exactly how this transformation has affected you! It'd tear me up inside if you got hurt!" "Twi, relax. It's fine, don't even worry about it. See?" Spike tosses a gem in the air and snatches it with his teeth, crunching it before swallowing. "I still have my dragon teeth, so I'm sure I can handle it." Twilight frowns. "But how can you be so sure? You're not the same anymore, and ponies usually can't digest inorganic material." Spike gives her a pointed look. "And what would happen if a pony did swallow a gemstone?" Twilight pauses, frowning. "I guess it'd probably just pass through their digestive tract unaffected." Not that it would be pleasant... She didn't want to think about trying to pass something like that. "Exactly! So if it comes out the other side unaffected then we'll know I can't digest it, and if it doesn't, then it'll be fine. See?" Spike proclaims. Twilight looks highly uncertain- Sure, that might work for a gemstone or two, but if he ate the whole salad that would be... Probably a bit much. "Why don't you at least try the hayburger?" Twilight asks weakly. If nothing else, she was confident that wouldn't do any damage; Dragon's might not favor that kind of food, but at the least it wouldn't do any harm to them. So no matter where in between dragons and ponies Spike's digestive tract might be at the moment, it should be safe... Provided there wasn't anything much more seriously wrong. No! Stop, there's no reason to think anything of that kind. Spike seems fine, what would be the odds the digestive tract specifically would have some crippling problem with it? Twilight bangs her own head with her hoof and hisses as she struggles to stop speculating wildly about the million possible problems that could potentially arise. When she opens her eyes again, she sees Spike peering over at her, brow furrowed in concern. "Um, Twi? Are you ok?" Spike asks, hesitantly. "If its that important to you, I'll be more careful... I don't want to worry you. I'm sorry." Spike is seemingly slowly getting a feel for pony mannerisms, as he had scooted his forelegs together and was peering over them cautiously at Twilight. "S-sorry, its fine." Twilight shakes her head, trying to dispel her concern. Now she'd gone and made Spike worried about her! Still, it was sweet of him. "I just want to make sure you're ok, that's all." Twilight replies. "Just try the hayburger and tell me how it finds you. We just need to get this figured out, it'll be less for everypony to worry about once we know what we're working with." Twilight hopes that was true, and she wasn't just saying it to justify her own concerns. Spike nods, though he eyes the hayburger uncertainly. There were some pony foods that were more or less palatable to the dragon, but hayburgers were not one of them; That was, actually, one of the main reasons that Twilight had made it, since it would be rather telling if his tastes had changed at all compared to when he was a dragon. Hooves crossed, Twilight watches with perhaps uncomfortable intensity as Spike takes a bite, munching on it thoroughly and thoughtfully before swallowing. There is a long pause as he contemplates the flavor, until Twilight finally breaks the silence. "Well?" "It's not bad." Spike admits. "I mean, it's no diamond or ruby... But I dont mind it." He offers. Twilight sighs in relief and backs up. "Why don't you just eat that for now, then? At least we can be fairly certain it won't hurt you, and it'll give some time to see if the gems you ate will cause any problems." Twilight offers. Spike shrugs. "If it means that much to you, Twi. Just make sure you save that gemstone salad for me... It looks positively delectable." Spike licks his chops- Twilight can't help but notice his tongue is still as forked as ever- and digs in, leaving Twilight to finally relax and enjoy her own meal as well.