//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: When Stars Bleed Over // Story: The Wackiness of Unofficial Life // by edward18 //------------------------------// Chapter 15: When Stars Bleed Over "So let's see here..." Apple Bloom muttered. She stuck her tongue over her upper lip in concentration and wiped the sweat forming on her brow. Though books weren't necessarily her forte, they did provide a surprising amount of information. And for what the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been doing that day they certainly needed what help they could get. Their numerous adventures they'd gone on had resulted in a lot more...bruises than normal. That's where Apple Bloom came in. Unlike the others she'd had quite the experience when Zecora had patched her chipped tooth up during the "Heart's Desire" incident. If she could just get a batch together they'd be all set. Luckily she still had some material she'd snatched from the foreigner! "I still say we could have made off with the flaming tire," Sweetie Belle gave her thought before sucking in a hiss of air from the twinge the knee she was slowly stretching gave her. It had quite a bit of a scab forming on it. "It'd have been fine if the other drivers didn't decide to crash into us," Scootaloo complained. Her hoof was firmly grasped around her wing. From the rims of the constricted area quite a red splotch was forming in the injured body part. It was painful for sure, but if they could have the miracle given to them that Zecora had supposedly used on their yellow member then it would be just fine. Apple Bloom sure seemed to be taking her sweet time though. Not that anypony could really blame her. Working with foreign materials as well as trying to keep up with Twilight's book's instructions at the same time was pretty tedious. But eventually the substance was complete and lay in a thick liquid in the pot that Apple Bloom had been operating above. At first glance it was a bit unappealing to Sweetie Belle but Scootaloo practically ate the spoon in her eagerness for recovery. And recover she did. In an instant her wings expanded and deflated before returning to their normal status. Happy with the results, Scootaloo flapped them a few times and began prancing around provoking the remaining filly to do the same. The liquid sure didn't taste all that great, but the effects couldn't be argued with. It was worth bearing the odd sensation to get her leg all patched back up. Sweetie Belle grinned as well now and chased the pegasus around. Apple Bloom just breathed a sigh of relief now that she'd done everything. "You really are quite the potion-master," Scootaloo complimented hopping down in front of the earth pony, "Why I bet you could outdo all the other ponies that do this stuff without even trying!" Apple Bloom blushed and waved the notion away bashfully. "Aw shucks, now you know I ain't nearly that qualified," she laughed a bit. "Who else would do that Heart's Desire thingy on their first try?" Sweetie Belle reminded. The crimson of Apple Bloom's cheeks only intensified with the piling comments. "Well...truth be told I have been working on my own little experimental potion thingy..." Apple Bloom kicked the ground nervously. Her friends' eyes expanded a bit and a grin spread across Scootaloo's face. "Well what are we waiting for?" she grabbed the potion-maker and shook her, "Let's whip that thing up and try it out!" Apple Bloom's eyes nearly shot out of her head at the suggestion and she broke out of the grip. "What!" she yelped, "Oh no no no! You don't know what yous is sayin'! I mean what if it's screwed up and all-" "You just fixed us up," Sweetie Belle joined in the persuasion, "why not give it a go? What's it supposed to do?" Apple Bloom bit her lip and cringed a bit. She really didn't know whether she should be divulging such a project to them...but they were her two best friends. "Alright..." she said slowly, "It um...uses that Poison Joke I told ya all about and the Heart's Desire to sorta...affect the physical nature of a pony rather than just give them the abilities to do what they want. So think of it like this. Say you wants to be a dog. Well just have some of the potion and bingo! You'll give Winona a new playmate in your new self!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle squealed at the thoughts that drifted through their minds. All their dreams coming true! "Well let's try it out," Scootaloo rubbed her hooves together. "But-" "Please!..." the pegasus and unicorn stuck their lips out at Apple Bloom. Reluctantly she sighed. "Fine..." --- "Hm...oh that sounds interesting..." Twilight turned another page in her book. Her usual small smile hung in default on her face. She always got so much enjoyment out of reading. Even if the book she'd picked out was rather...sub-par she still became enraptured in the simple act of scanning through something. Her little "girlfriend" book though was quite an interesting look into the male psyche. Twilight just didn't know how much longer she should keep reading. It was in spurts that she did so with that book so that she wouldn't blaze through it like all the others. That, and she already had a book picked out for when she'd go to bed. "Twilight!" Spike's voice called causing the pony's ears to jolt upward. Twilight's smile grew a bit at the dragon who entered the bedroom. An apple was in his hand. He smiled back and hopped onto the bed. "Got the apples. We should be set for at least a week or so. They were practically giving them away with how many they'd rounded up this time." Casually he rolled the shiny red fruit to Twilight who picked it up and took a bite. Her eyes popped wide open from the taste. She'd never had one so yummy before. "This is the best one I've ever had," she said through her munching. Spike just smiled and crawled over to Twilight's side where he snuggled up against her. After gulping down the contents in her mouth she smiled back and nuzzled her snout against his forehead. "You know you don't have to read that book. I think you're a fine girlfriend," Spike complimented wrapping his arms around her neck before pressing his lips against hers. Somehow her eyes grew larger than they had when she'd tasted the apple. Spike had certainly caught her offguard with the sudden affectionate gesture. That wasn't to say it went without consequence of course. Firmly she pressed back against the dragon causing his cheeks to redden as well. For a good minute or two they continued their loving actions towards each other. Had Scootaloo been there she would have been ridiculing the "gross" actions all the while. "You know Rarity may be beautiful and all but you're something else Twi," Spike sighed and leaned against her. His eyelids were halfway closed partly from the intoxicating feelings that had overwhelmed them and partly from sleepiness. It was getting pretty late. The sun was almost down and it'd been quite a day from all of his usual chores. The dragon was just always so glad when he finally got into bed. And now with his companion he had a more comfortable "pillow" to relax against. Twilight on the other hand was having a bit of a mixed reaction to the final statement that he had made. "Oh I'll be more beautiful than Rarity could ever hope to be once I'm done with the book," Twilight assured the snoozing figure beside her. --- "That was some day of selling apples sis!" Apple Bloom congratulated. "Aw shucks, it was nothing," Applejack laughed, "And your girls little batch of em that you gave sold faster than any I done ever did see!" "Yeah, but not a single pony reacted to the potion stuff," Scootaloo muttered under her breath, "And we poured it on all of em..." Sweetie Belle gave her a whack while retaining her smile for the older pony's presence. Though she was rather inclined to repeat the action back to the unicorn, Scootaloo quickly realized why she'd done it and decided to keep her lips shut. Thankfully Applejack was too entranced in talking to her sister to notice the comment that Scootaloo had given. "Well I best be getting back inside. Reckon you should be doing the same pretty soon. Say goodbye to your buddies and skeedadle on up to bed okay?" Applejack said to her sister. Apple Bloom nodded back allowing the older pony to do as she said she would. Once she was out of earshot the Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled together. "Alright, that sucked," Scootaloo ridiculed the country pony. "Well give her some credit. She does make a good healing potion," Sweetie Belle attempted a defense, "And aside from that it's her first time trying this new thing out. And she made it up herself. There's bound to be a hitch here or there..." Apple Bloom gave an innocent smile but it did nothing to deter the pegasus' frown. "Well whatever," Scootaloo muttered, "I'm gonna head back home. See you guys tomorr-" "Wait a sec, you have a home?" Apple Bloom cut the most rebellious member in disbelief. At this the orange pony lifted a brow, "I mean I know you've said that before...but...you actually have a home?" "Uh...where would I be if I didn't?..." she asked. "Well in one fic you were just hanging out in our clubhouse as a home until Spike came an-" Sweetie Belle's talking was stopped by Apple Bloom's hoof to her mouth. "Copyright infringement," she muttered, "Even if it's a fic it's still pushing it. But yeah, tons of fics I done come across have you as an orphan or such due to some tragedy in your past leading to a more relateable sympathetic side to you that's never even hinted at in the show nor that you would display in that degree otherwise. What gives?" Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Do you girls honestly think that, after all that's been done in this story, that crap would be pulled here? At most the author'll just lampshade that it's a common occurrence in tons of other stories and will avoid it entirely upon doing so like I'm doing right now. If nothing else I'll at least have foster parents here until my real ones show up in canon. So as of right now I'm headed home, to bed...where my PARENTS are in this fic are. Bye!" With that the pegasus was off until she disappeared over the horizon of Sweet Apple Acres leaving Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to grin at the stress they'd caused her. --- Images passed slower through the dragon's mind as he began to awaken from his slumber. It certainly had been a nice dream he'd had. But now Spike was being brought back to reality as he was any morning. He was just glad it wasn't Winter Wrapup again or Twilight might have him out of bed before he was even supposed to go to sleep. The name brought a sort of comfort to him. Twilight. A smile swam across his mouth at the thought of the creature next to him causing him to snuggle deeper against her. But something was different. It wasn't unpleasant feeling, but it certainly wasn't the pony touch he'd come to know over the course of his life. After another rub against the more...textured surface, one of Spike's eyes cracked open. At first he couldn't tell what it was that he was looking at. It was purple like Twilight's body was...but it wasn't fur. No...rather it looked more like...scales... In disbelief Spike lifted a hand into view and stared at it for a bit. Then he looked back at the purple surface of the creature he'd pressed up against. The patterns were the same! The baby dragon gulped and pulled back a bit before leaping off the bed entirely as the sight of the whole being came into view. What he had been sleeping against was a dragon! Granted it wasn't nearly a fully grown one. In fact it looked only a little bit taller than he. But a dragon none-the-less! Spike's lip quivered as he tried to holler or yelp or do anything of surprise and alarm until he got a closer look. The other dragon's scales were the same color as Twilight's body had been...the exact same. Curiosity overruling his fright, Spike approached the supposed intruder. He couldn't lie, after his experience with another of his kind he wasn't so willing to undergo another hostile encounter. But this dragon was almost his size. If there was a problem he could handle it. And despite that...he felt...calmer around it. As though there was no reason to be afraid it. Throwing caution to the wind, Spike crawled back onto the bed and attempted to poke it. Before he could though, the dragon shifted from the disturbance on the sheets and yawned. Spike's eyes grew as it hoisted itself up and stretched, the morning light glistening off its shiny sleek scales. His jaw nearly dropped. The dragon was beautiful. Her form was so slender and her spines were so thin. Out from between the normal spines coming down over the top of her head like hair however was one longer one that had the same shade of purple as her scales did. As with Spike's fins, the ones on this dragon's cheeks were of a lighter shade of her spines and her tummy even paler than that. As for the eyes, they glistened purple like her body. After the stretching had ended, the creature collapsed its tendons back into place and looked at Spike. With a smile she crawled over to the smaller dragon and pressed her snout up against his. Spike's entire body burnt to a crisp with the overwhelming passion he felt transfer between them. His mind had blown a fuse. "Good morning Spikey," Twilight's voice cooed from the lizardy lips. Alright, NOW his mind had blown a fuse. "Twi-twi-twi-twi-" the male dragon stuttered like a broken record. The female just lowered her eyes and smiled at the younger one. It was always so cute to see him stunned by her. Taking advantage of the bemused assistant, Twilight slid her neck around his as her claws grabbed his arms and pinned him to the bed. He couldn't have fought back if he tried. There was too much to process. But the pleasant presence of her body at least kept him grounded somewhat in the world of what was real. "...that's one good girlfriend book," Spike finally managed to say. --- Gruffly a lump shifted beneath they covers it dwelled in. The entity inside was still trying to rest and rolled about to avoid the light that spat into the room from the morning sun. It was a wasted effort though. That was how Applejack found herself waking up that morning. With a grunt from the unwanted intrustion of illumination, the creature's hand reached up over the top of the covers and pulled them down. She took in a deep breath of air as if to activate her body for the day and creeked open her eyes. As she did any morning, Applejack stared at her room and bent upward to stretch. But something was different...her limbs seemed...lighter...her smell was...different...and by Celestia was she colder than normal! A shiver rippled across Applejack's body from the sudden chilliness. With the shaking she felt something else. Her chest seemed...heavier...everything about her very being seemed different. But Applejack was still tired. Drowsiness overwhelming her, the being threw back the sheets and flung her legs over the side of her bed. She almost fell over upon hopping to the ground below. Chalking it up to how tired she was, Applejack made her way to the bathroom. After taking care of her natural functions, the female grabbed her toothbrush, covered it in some toothpaste, and began cleaning her mouth for the day. As she brushed Applejack took the time to look herself over in the mirror to see what all might have caused such a change in how she felt. What stared back at her was radically different than how she normally viewed herself. Instead of a four legged pony, the creature she was looking at had little in the way of hair save for her mane. She also hadn't noticed that she'd just been walking on two legs until she got a glance at the new form. What had been her forelimbs now just hung at the sides of her vertical body when they weren't being used. And most oddly of all two fleshy mounds hung on her chest. Finally done brushing, Applejack rinsed her mouth with some water and spat. Calmly she put her toothbrush back in its holder and screamed. --- Scootaloo hesitantly stuck her head out of the clubhouse and glanced around. The last thing she needed was the other two noticing that she'd spent the night sleeping in it. Sure she had a home she could go to but she wasn't exactly on the best terms with her folks for the time being, and the wind had really picked up that last night for some reason. But neither of the other Cutie Mark Crusaders seemed to be around. After making sure that neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie Belle had a way to tell that she'd been camping out in their get-together area, the pegasus trotted up to the telescope and took a peek in it. It was more out of curiosity than anything. But it'd been a while since she'd done any stargazing. Actually...it'd probably been that day of the meteor shower that she'd last really viewed any of the celestial bodies closely. They may have been distant and untouchable, but perhaps that's how it should be sometimes. No matter the length between them though, those cosmic entities always brought a sense of awe and wonder. Scootaloo eagerly pressed her eye into the telescope's eyepiece and cranked up the equipment to see past the clouds and atmosphere into the vacuum beyond. There in that vast eternity lay all manners of forms and shapes that sent her mind into swirls of incredulous thought. Might a pegasus get up there someday on their own? Just a space suit and they'd traverse through the universe? What if it was her? Would she lead Equestria to a new intergalactic society? The thought made her grin. Rainbow Dash might even give her an authograph for it! But the daydream would have to wait. Something was pricking at the edge of the filly's mentality. A red glow was burning clear through her retina from the telescope. Something out in that blackness was glistening a bright red as though to make space itself bleed. "What do ya think she's looking at?" Sweetie Belle asked. Instantly Scootaloo yanked her face away from the hypnotizing find. She hadn't heard either of them come in due to her concentration. Come to think of it...she hadn't heard anything. Anything except a sound she'd never heard before. It had felt distant...like the red dot itself had been talking to her. The mere glimpse of it was enough to imprint on a pony. But now her focus was on something else. Looks of concern hung on her friends' faces. "What's up?" Scootaloo asked making sure that her blanket was safely tucked under the floorboards. Their expressions turned into a grimace from the question. Scootaloo's brows just heightened in curiosity. "I think our "experiment" worked..." Apple Bloom said quietly as she kicked the floorboards. With the fillies reunited, they headed off towards Sweet Apple Acres leaving the telescope on the wound of outer space growing ever closer. --- "What in Celestia's name is happening!" Twilight cried. Spike rushed over to her to keep her from falling over again. She sure may have looked pretty hot now but the former pony was having quite the trouble adjusting to the balancing of dragons' tails and standing on two legs normally. With his help though she did seem to be managing at least a bit. What concerned Spike however was the state of the Ponyville they now traversed. There was no reason for the quaint town to be called such anymore. What littered it now were panicking creatures and chimeras of all sorts. Some of them didn't even look like they should exist. If Spike wasn't so unafraid around the scenery he might have guessed that Discord had been freed again. It was complete chaos! But priorities came first. And Twilight was his. With all of her problems she was having adjusting after the revelation of her new self, the former unicorn had no problem ignoring all the other warped ponies. Not that Spike minded helping her out of course. Holding her dragon body in his arms was...pleasant feeling to say the least. Half of him wished they'd never left they bed. "If you didn't do that then it would weigh on your conscience and drown you in guilt for not helping to return her to normal," his voice told him from his shoulder. Sitting on it was an angel with his features. "Oh please," a devil said from his other shoulder, "Cut the kid a break, he's finally got a babe his own species that he can...you know..." Both Spike and the angel blushed from the wiggling eyebrows that the more mischievous persona displayed. "So now you dudes show up...like when was the last time I saw you guys? The metal pipe incident?" Spike addressed the sudden intrusion. "Yeah, Sleeping Pony," the devil reminisced happily, "The day our boy here decided to finally man up and take a pipe to his slave-driver's head..." Spike's eyes drifted downward at the memory while the angel rubbed his fingers between his eyes in annoyance. "Chapter 5 wasn't it?..." "Look...not that I don't care about you two...you know that I love myself and all...but why are you here exactly? I've already made up my mind of what I'm doing," Spike stated. "Cameos dude," the angel replied giving the devil a high-five. "Spike, who are you talking to?" Twilight asked trying to steady herself in her walking. With an embarrassed blush engulfing him, the young dragon rushed over to the female one and gripped her around the waist to keep her from falling over. The heat only intensified in his cheeks from the soft delicate pressure her hips gave back to him. "That's our Spikey," the devil chuckled as he disappeared yanking the angel away with him. "Thank you Spike," Twilight hugged her assistant close against her body. Had he not had a frame he would have melted right then and there. "D-do we h-h-have a pl-an?..." Spike managed to shudder. He couldn't look up to see that Twilight had given a nod. "We need to see how far this craziness has spread," she deducted, "See if the outskirts of Ponyville are like this too. And who lives out there?" "Fluttershy?" Spike guessed. "Oh Spike Spike Spike," Twilight patted his head pushing his face against her each time, "she got an entire chapter last time. Who's a main character in this one?" "...Applejack?..." --- "So it did work!" Scootaloo cheered, "This is awesome!" "What's awesome about it?!" Sweetie Belle cried, "My sister is now some bizarre paint project!" "And Celestia forbid we find out what my sis turned into!" Apple Bloom gulped, "Oh dear, I can just hear the yelling now..." "But we're already back at Apple Acres," Scootaloo pointed out. "Just cause I need to get my ingredients and stuff," Apple Bloom sighed, "Once we get them we just sneak back out and head to Zecora's for-" "For what?" Applejack's voice asked causing all three fillies to freeze in utter fear. None of them wanted to turn around but knew that they would have to eventually. "Ahem?" the voice said more sternly. Shakily the Cutie Mark Crusaders turned around and braced themselves for the worst. They weren't ready. All three of them had nearly jumped out of their skins at the sight of the new creature. It was hardly that Applejack now towered over them rather than it was the fact that she looked like something that simply didn't belong in Equestria. Her fur was all gone revealing tender peachish creamy skin beneath that had two legs standing the body up vertically. Her hands were irritably on her hips to accompany the frown she gave. Next to her was a new figure. What at first Sweetie Belle thought to be Spike was actually a new dragon entirely. This one was more slender and a bit taller than Spike, and her spines were dark blue instead of green. A small frown hung on her muzzle as well, but her eyebrows were bent to display a look of worry rather than disappointment and annoyance. But Spike wasn't entirely absent. He was just keeping the new dragon held upright from behind...and constantly seeming to squirm about to get more comfortable against the newcomer. "H-heya sis!..." Apple Bloom feigned innocence acting as though nothing were wrong or out of the ordinary, "W-who's your n-new friend there?..." "This here was Twilight Sparkle," the taller being bent over to press her nose against her pony sister, "And I used to be Applejack. Now, what say you done fix this here predicament?..." Apple Bloom gave a desperate grin and stepped back a few feet. It was one of her friends that gave the next reply. "What're you talking about? How would she know how to fix this?" Scootaloo stepped forward bravely. Applejack just huffed. "Cause you lot poured her potion all over them apples we sold yesterday. Obviously didn't work out too darn well for the rest of Ponyville," she told them. Apple Bloom clenched her teeth. She knew! "And where do you get that idea from?" Scootaloo challenged. Her question was answered by a soft thud that occurred to the left. The three fillies huddled in fear at the giant spider legs that approached. Their terror changed to confusion and relief upon seeing what they were connected to. Out from behind the barn slunked the body of Big Macintosh atop the arachnid appendages. "Big brother here saw you alls dousing your little ingredients on them apples yesterday," Applejack told them. "Eeyup," the nightmarish spider-pony confirmed. "So I done figured that "Hey, they're fillies. What all harm can they do? Probably just some spice they found from the cupboards.". Had no idea that you still had some Zecora mojo stashed around..." Apple Bloom bit her lower lip. The amount of guilt was almost worse than when she realized that they were the reason that Discord came back. "Funny that ya mention that," she nervously laughed, "We were just on our way to go get some help from her..." More scarily than the frown she'd been giving, Applejack's face was now graced with a grin. "Then let's go," she said. Apple Bloom gulped. --- As per usual the royal halls of Canterlot glistened with the light that reflected through the stained glass windows that decorated their walls. But something was amiss in the usually calm setting. Echoing through the hollow chamber were clopping sounds that started up then stopped then started up again. Should any of her advisors or assistants have been there they would have instantly sought to find any solution to cheer the normally content princess up. But as things were right now Celestia had taken to a rather rare state of mind for her. Brooding. Back and forth she paced the hall. Her thoughts traveled to any corner of her mind that they could reach. But she couldn't find a solution. And eventually they came to a halt. "Sister, what ails thou?" Princess Luna inquired. Taking note of the company, Princess Celestia spun around and watched as the smaller sibling approached. She didn't make any attempt to put a calming smile up at all for her twin. "Sister, thy royal cabinet members and chefs grow concerned. Thee hardly ever see thou for thou's usual unions with thee! Thy's return has taught thy that thou should not skipeth meals so often!" Now a smile formed due to Luna's ancient way of speaking. "Sister, you really need to get better accustomed to talking in the modern times," Princess Celestia chuckled. Luna closed her eyes to fight back the heat growing in her cheeks from the comment. "Thy...I apologize," she muttered. Celestia just continued smiling and walked over to her sister. "But sister," she continued, "what is troubling you? You've been rather reserved ever since shortly after Discord's statue was taken. He was turned back to stone. Is it because you're not getting enough screen time? We have the show for that." Celestia's face turned downcast from the further questioning. "No...it's nothing like that," she sighed, "We've been around longer than any pony. Granny Smith telling the Founding of Ponyville's has shown that. I have had all the opportunities to get any screentime I need." Princess Luna now too turned a bit sour-faced. Ever since she'd returned she'd marveled at all that the new world had to offer. But now...this was the first time seeing the controller of the sun in such a manner. Something was truly wrong. "I've felt it too..." Luna confessed earning a glance from the concerned sibling, "That great evil...I thought one such as you might ignore it though. It has not caused a disturbance and its presence has remained low to nonexistent." "For now," Celestia added. Luna cringed. She knew that the white alicorn took into account the whole nature of the situation. "I fear I will require Twilight Sparkle and her group to go on a little errand soon..." she sighed. Luna's eyes lit up. "Say, why have you refraimed from doing such so often now?" Luna asked, "In the show you constantly barrage the poor unicorn with letters." Princess Celestia giggled. "Oh that's cause it's the show," she reminded, "there I have to pester her. It's like my job. Not that I wouldn't enjoy it here, but when things get serious I simply don't have time to fool around. I mean did you see how I reacted when Discord came back that first time? I was like "this is war" and rallied the group together to stop him. Damn was I badass. But either way I just can't do that kind of crap right now. Not with...that thing out there..." The chuckling of the two princesses died down as their thoughts drifted back to the feeling that'd been seeping throughout the land. Something would be happening...soon. And if Twilight and her friends couldn't stop it...neither of them even wanted to think about that. "...in the meantime though how's about you help me think up another prank?" Celestia suggested a quality time project to Luna. "Should we aim for higher than when you sent her two tickets to the Galla when you knew she had five friends?" Luna asked. Celestia grinned. "Much higher." --- "So how much more do you have stashed around the farm?" Applejack almost growled from her seat atop her brother. "I done told you this is all I gots!" Apple Bloom grumbled as her head tipped back to the bags she was carrying, "Sides, this weren't my fault to begin with!" "And just how not?" the cowboy-hat-wearing primate wondered how her sister would try to worm her way out of the obvious lie. "Well these two kept pestering me to try the potion out," the filly gave dirty looks to the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle looked down shamefully while Scootaloo just gave Apple Bloom's face back to her. "So you done go and splatter it all over our apples," Applejack muttered, "Nice." "I'm not gonna have to make you two stop am I?" the spider-legged male sibling asked. The sisters shot each other with glares and turned their heads upward in disapproval of the company. An awkward silence passed through the group for a bit. "Thanks Spike," Twilight eventually said upon him catching her again, "I think I'm getting used to the whole balancing thing...but it's still a bit...weird..." "I don't mind..." his muffled voice said pressed into her tummy. Smiling, the older dragon rubbed the male's head and gave it a kiss before attempting to walk again on her own. They needed to keep up with the others. The group was almost to Zecora's after all. Not that she didn't mind Spike's help, in fact she liked the attention he was giving her. It was just that they'd sorta been slowing down the group with how much she'd been stumbling through the Everfree Forest. "Spike, I said I'm al...alll...ah!...ACHOO!" The entire group rocketed away from the hot blue stream of fire that shot forward from the sneeze that the female dragon let off. Twilight's eyes whizzed to each other the startled members that stared back at her. "Still mad about me toasting that stars and planet book you got mad at me about?" Spike cocked a brow knowing that Twilight now realized just how hard it was to stop a dragon sneeze. She gave him a weak grin while the group began to get back in order. Fortunately for them there wasn't much more they had to endure, for just through the next arch of trees lay the opening that the Zebra's hut sat in. With it now in sight everyone, and Twilight with Spike's help of course, charged at the doors and burst into the dwelling. What Sweetie Belle saw she couldn't believe. "I must thank you again," Rarity said, "Even if it is just a temporary cure...oh hello Sweetie Belle." "You're alright!" the younger unicorn exclaimed rushing over to her sister and tackling her into a hug. "Oh my, it is quite the predicament," Zecora said upon seeing the various creatures enter her house after which her eyes drifted to Apple Bloom, "Perhaps not should this have been an experiment." The filly hung her head at the comment. "Please help!" Apple Bloom pleaded, "If you don't then Ponyville's gonna be Messedupville! And my sister's gonna have to get used to carrying these weird bags around on her chest and my brother's gonna be climbing all over things and scaring visitors to death!...actually that part's pretty cool. But you gots to help!" "Yeah, sorta owe us since you haven't made an appearance since the whole Discord thing," Scootaloo added. Zecora gave a sigh to the typical attitude of the rude pegasus. "You must pardon me," she retorted, "for a warden of the forest am I. A while back some mechanical monstrosity started wrecking terror. Its cynical animosity has been keeping me to correct its error. But Apple Bloom I believe is the cause, should not she be the cure for her clause?" Again Apple Bloom grumbled from the blame being put solely on her. "Zecora, she doesn't know a cure," Twilight informed, "What we do know is she used Poison Joke to cause physical effects from Heart's Desire in it." With the revelation of the ingredients, Zecora's eyes widened quite a bit. "My...this is much more serious than I thought," the zebra admitted before walking over to a table and scrolling through some maps, "your countermeasures should lie at this spot." The group of warped beings huddled around to see what her hoof was pointing. Some gasped while others gave each other worried looks. "In the Pun-Based Meadow grows the Cleverly Named Mushroom that cures all that troubles," Zecora explained, "Return it here and I shall prepare an elixir for ailes that bubbles!" Scootaloo muttered something under her breath. "What?" Sweetie Belle asked. Scootaloo glanced at Zecora and contemplated whether or not she should repeat it. The zebra's accompanying expression was all the sign she needed. "Just said she's really running out of material..." --- "So Applejack...I've been wondering...what are those things?" Twilight asked almost immediately toppling over from pointing at the objects on her friend's chest. Luckily Spike was right there to catch her. Applejack looked down at the two mounds and shook her head. "You know, I been wonderin' that myself," she replied poking one, "But they feel good to touch." Curiously she poked the other causing it to bounce a bit. Once Applejack had made sure that Twilight was looking elsewhere, the country female began fiddling around with the mounds a lot more, the pleasure never seeming to stop. In fact the more she played with them the more addictive it seemed to get. It took a while for her to actually stop and when she did a dark crimson flooded across her face hoping that no other pony had stolen a look back at her in their trek through the forest. It took her only seconds to make sure no one was watching still allowing her to go back to her little game. To keep the plot from becoming to "mature" however, thankfully the author decided to switch over to what Spike was in the process of doing. Like the previous character he too was in a conflict. And like Applejack it had to do with his emotions. The baby dragon's dilemma however was over the dragon that he now assisted and the white pony that trotted next to Sweetie Belle. Spike gulped. Her swaying hips and tail definitely provoked a feeling within the reptile, but just as his mind began to become intoxicated with visions of his crush, another figure wormed its way into his mentality as Twilight wobbled about causing his face to be planted firmly in her soft chest. It was a maddening situation to say the least. But at the same time it was a godsend. Spending his day watching his crush and being crushed against the tender body of the female he was supposed to be with. It was like a dream come true...minus the spider-legged colt that walked in a silent nightmare next to them of course. In a sense Spike wished everyday could be so enjoyable. He was loving every second of the tantalizing sensations that flowed through him. This was probably the reason that he didn't notice the scenery slowly giving way to the meadow that the group had been approaching ever since leaving Zecora's hut. It wasn't until Scootaloo spoke up that the warped party members and those helping them out took notice. "Pun-Based Meadows..." Scootaloo read causing them all to come to a halt, "...that has to be the most generic writing I've ever seen on a sign." And the group had to admit, it truly was a rather vibrant display of normality. It was just a meadow it seemed. No springs or oddities about it...just a meadow...that the wind lightly brushed past. "I know it'd be more dangerous," Rarity scoffed, "But the author could have at least been more imaginative with it." "Eh, probably doesn't wanna go against the show's canon in case a map or something is done of the forest ever," Applejack figured. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Coward..." "Well either way I'm happy," Apple Bloom cheered, "Let's find us that mushroom and resolve the chapter! Cutie Mark Crusaders Seekers of the Ass Pull! YAY!" With the other two fillies joining in the declaration, the Cutie Mark Crusaders lead the union of misshapen beings deeper into the peaceful setting. And deeper they went...and deeper...and deeper. It seemed to take a good five minutes before the cast finally joined Twilight in collapsing to the ground. "I just don't get it!" Applejack grumbled, "Zecora said it'd be here!" "Knew we shouldn't have ever trusted that witch," Scootaloo muttered, "burn her at the cross I say. We could be out here until dark now..." "Oh of all the worst things that could happen, this is the wors-" Rarity's complaining was silenced by a claw to her mouth. "NO!" Twilight hissed, "No! Not in this fic! That crap may pass in every single other thing out there in the fandom but not here! I have had it with that stupid statement that the authors always feel the need to shove on us! You are not finishing it in this one!" Rarity's struggling eventually won over the small creature though and viciously she tossed the dragon aside. Instinct of the new body taking over, Twilight leapt back to her feet and braced herself for the charging unicorn. She was surprised at her newfound strength once she'd gripped Rarity's head under her arms and flipped her over. It was like tossing a book or two away! But Rarity was far from done. She was fed up with all the venturing through the dirty woods that day and knew that the cure she'd gone to Zecora to prepare for her would be wearing off soon. She might as well make some use of her normal self before she was forced back into the elegantly designed pony she'd always dreamed of that would no doubt be ruined in the brawl. She gritted her teeth as she once more thrust her horn against Twilight. This time however she'd actually managed to knock the dragon down and pinned her to the ground. They may have been friends, but all of the cast got on each other's nerves in one way or another. Spike meanwhile could only just stare at the fight that'd broken. It wasn't out of shock and wonder like how it'd been for Applejack and her brother. Rather a new state was washing over him. It wasn't one of worry or fright. No...this felt more like...enjoyment...lust. There his two love interests were wrestling each other across the ground. The gorgeous white fashion expert Rarity and Twilight in her sleek new dragon body, all of her animalistic desirable feral qualities being brought forth in the actions she was now performing. Spike didn't even realize that his jaw had dropped quite a bit during the conflict. Eventually the fight died down at the baby dragon's feet leaving both participants gasping for breath. Both looked up at Spike for help. His reaction caused both of them to glare at him. "...do you think you two could start making out?..." he asked. Instantly he recieved a slap from both the creatures causing the members of the Apple Family that'd been watching to break out in laughter. It was only when everypony and every other misfit had regained their composure that they'd realized what was missing. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were gone! "I found it!" Scootaloo's voice exclaimed dashing the older figures over to a nearby ledge. Below the Cutie Mark Crusaders had most certainly discovered the fungus they needed. But there was one major problem. They were stuck! There was no way back up! "Hey guys! We...found...how do we get back out?..." The other fillies now felt their lips quiver with fear. "H-hold on yall!" Applejack called. "Y-yeah, we'll g-get you out somehow!" Rarity assured. Uneasily the older members of the group looked between each other. Before they could even think up the most basic plan a shriek caused them all to look back down the ledge. Something was now in the lower plain with the Cutie Mark Crusaders! It looked...like...a monster. It wasn't that it was scary or anything, it's just that...that's all it could be described as. There was nothing unique about it. It had to be the most bland thing any of them had ever seen. But the Cutie Mark Crusaders needed help. And so the rest of the cast slid down into the pit with them. "Stay where ya are!" Appeljack ordered. Slowly the being turned to the intruders and tilted its head. "What are you?" Twilight couldn't help but ask. It blinked. "I am Generic Monster. The guardian of the Deus ex Machina that these fillies have taken! I will destroy all who-" Its voice faded away once a giant metal structure smashed it into the ground. The group looked up trying to register what had to just happened. Their eyes twitching, Spike, Twilight, and Rarity backed away from the mechanical being a bit. PARM inspected everyone below and lowered to the ground. "Need a lift?" Pinkie Pie asked from on top of it. With one last look between the deranged and exhausted group, they filed onto the robot one by one and rode off into the sunset towards Zecora's hut.