//------------------------------// // The Potion Mishap. // Story: A Miscalculation Gone Cute. // by Night--Mist //------------------------------// Spitfire was showing Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust around the home of the Wonderbolts. Both of the stubborn pegasi had graduated with highest honors at the academy after Lightning had learned her lesson and corrected herself. They had just gotten through the middle of the tour, and were now entering the potions and equipment area. This is where the creation of the latest drinks and gadgets are held, such as the suits, to help the team stay on top. "This is where a lot of our performance is born. We make sure to stay within the rulebooks set by the first wonderbolts and the princesses not to make anything that is drug-related. Exercise can only do so much, you know. So, we use the potions and suits constructed here to meet, then exceed, our maximum potential. Safely, of course.", Spitfire informed them. "Wow, it's no wonder you guys are claimed to be the best flyers. I hope we get to try some of these things. Scootaloo would be in awe if she saw all of this," Rainbow Dash said. ."Who's Scootaloo?", Lightning Dust asked. "Oh, she's a little pegasus filly that's like a little sister to me, back in Ponyville," Rainbow answered. "Oh, cool," Lightning Dust replies. "Ahem," Spitfire retorts. "Oh, sorry ma'am. Kind of got lost in amazement," Rainbow Dash admitted with a blush. "Apology accepted. Now, to continue, some of these potions are still being balanced out, so side effects can't occur. Worst case scenario usually gets you bed rest if we misjudge how much of what we put in, of course, this was way after the fact that one of our flyers had his mane change to a color of green. He wouldn't come out of his house for nearly a week. Thankfully for him, a new potion gave back his old color a week and two days later," Spitfire said. There aren't any extremely dangerous ones here, are there?" Rainbow Dash asked. "No, none of these are ever mixed with anything that could end a pony's life," Spitfire answered. "Phew, that's a relief. Just making sure, just in case my friend Pinkie Pie decides to sneak in somehow. She's crafty like that sometimes," Rainbow Dash stated. "Is she the pink one we met at the academy?" Lightning Dust asked, to which Dash's response was a nod. "Oh yeah, I remember that pony, she's pretty funny...a little strange, though. Now, back to where we were. Just like some of our potions, some of our suits are still in testing mode. Like this one, which is supposed to make us fire proof," Spitfire pointed out. The suit then starts to randomly ignite without any help from outside forces, making the girls go wide eyed, glad it isn't sold on the market yet, before Spitfire threw in, "Of course, at this point, results may vary." "Heh heh, planning on flying through fires anytime soon, Dust?" Rainbow Dash asked. Eeyeah...nnoooo," Lightning Dust answered. They laugh nervously before Spitfire brings them to the next suit that was being tested. "Now, this next suit is to keep us from being struck by lightning if we have to fly through a thundercloud," Spitfire said pointing to the next suit. The test lightning curves around the suit without hitting it. "And, it seems it may be on the assembly line pretty soon," Spitfire happily reports. "My weather team and I could use that when I'm working with them. We've gotten shocked a few too many times. We've been really mean lately, though. Maybe it's what we deserve. You see, we've been teasing Derpy and her behavior behind her back since that time she got shocked so bad by a cloud," Rainbow said, full of guilt. "Well, the suit could be a chance to make it up to her," Lightning Dust suggested. "Yeah, your right! Hey, since when did you get so clever?", Rainbow was curious. "Um...since now, I guess? You opened up my eyes to think more about other ponies.", Lightning told in appreciation. "Well, you're welcome, then! Oh, better listen to the Captain, let's go," Rainbow reminded Lightning. "Oh, right. Thanks.", Lightning Dust said, to which Rainbow nodded once more, then they rushed from the spot to Spitfire. "Alright, now, this one is waterproof, so we can keep our fur dry if it rains or we fall into a lake, river, or pond, which is unlikely, but possible. It already is going into mass production with a few exceptions of what you see here," Spitfire spoke to the returning ponies. Rainbow and Lightning were shocked she hadn't noticed them not following her for that length of time, but more so, that the viewing of the special equipment was still on-going. "Now, I have one more thing to show you two," Spitfire said. Grabbing their attention with that, she hurriedly led them to her own private equipment table. She brought out an orange liquid in a cone-like vial from one of the table's many drawers. "Now, this is a very special brew I have been working on. It is suppose to be capable of two magical effects!", Spitfire said in excitement. "What does it do?", Lightning asked while pondering the possibilities. "Stop asking questions, and we'll know," Rainbow pointed out. "One part of it is to help you stay appearing young, and the other is supposed to give you the energy of a child, by that, I mean a lot of such. This is so we can be at our best without looking like we have aged so much. I already balanced it out, so there is small to no chance any side effect will occur. As you two know, we can never be 100% sure," Spitfire told them. "I think the only one who can do that is my egghead friend, Twilight.", Rainbow Dash commented with joy. The three of them laughed at the joke. "Well, I have been working on it for half a year, and just finished balancing it out, but I haven't found time to ask anypony to test it or been able to test it myself, for that matter. I have been having the thought in the back of my head of what might happen if I calculated wrong, but it's a remote possibility," Spitfire admitted. "Well, what are these risks that are unlikely to happen?" Lightning asked. "Well, the two most likely risks, that I assume are the greatest, is the feeling of being young may go too far and you will be all over the place, like a filly would react to coffee. The other possibility is that appearing young may affect how your muscles work and your body will be almost completely immobilized, meaning you'll have to be pushed in a wheelchair. Now, that's most likely to happen, but even there's little to no chance that will occur. Other more unlikely scenarios could range from your body never ages, to going blind, even deaf," Spitfire says. "Well, Lightning, what do ya say we give it a shot?!" Rainbow Dash inquired, not caring of the consequences. "Well, I would probably watch out on being reckless, but if you're gonna do it, I'll do it, too. Only if that's okay with you, Spitfire, I mean ma'am," Lightning Dust said with a pleading smile to Spitfire. "Well, I don't see why not, just remember that you two can't do anything reckless if there are side effects. I don't want two of my newest flyers getting hurt, got it?" Spitfire warned them. "Yes Ma'am," the two cyan pegasi say as they salute Spitfire in respect. "Okay, here you go," Spitfire said and handed them each a glass of the potion. "What's life without risk, right Lightning?" Rainbow asked her fellow graduate. "No guts, no glory," Lightning replied. They banged their glasses together, and drank. "Mmm, taste just like orange soda," Rainbow licked her lips. "How do you two feel now?", Spitfire worriedly wished to know. "I don't... feel any different," Rainbow Dash calmly spoke. "Do I look any different?" Lightning checked herself for bodily predicaments. "You still look like a wing pony to me," Rainbow Dash joked making them all laugh. "Well, maybe I balanced it out too much, causing no effects except a soda-like taste," Spitfire said, thinking her potion was a failure after all the hard work. "Oh well, it's not like it's the end of the-" Rainbow Dash was cut short as she grabbed her belly, and collasped to the floor. Lightning soon followed, and Spitfire felt panic grip her mind. "Are you girls alright?! Say something!", Spitfire spat out, believing the potion was causing them harm. ."The potion! It's....it's doing something to us," Rainbow Dash said, struggling to speak. "I...I feel...really weird now," Lightning Dust rocked in the fetal position. Just as Spitfire was about to run out for help, a bright light engulfed the room, blinding her for a short while. When her vision returned, she glanced around, Rainbow and Lightning now out of sight. That is, until she heard a whimper come from below her feet, and viewed the foal versions of her two newest wonderbolts. "R-Rainbow Dash, L-Lightning Dust, is that really you?" Spitfire said in utter shock, bending down to the two of them. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust were surprised when they opened their eyes to think Spitfire was currently gigantic. "Oh no, we shwunk," Rainbow Dash said, covering her mouth as soon as she heard herself speak. Lightning gasped at Dash, "No, Wainbow, we babies now." "Oh boy, this is not what I expected. I mean, that potion was to make you two look young, but this is...something else completely.", Spitfire said trying her best not to faint at the sight before her. Rainbow asked, confusion in her voice obvious, "What we do now, mama?" Rainbow covered her mouth once more, shocked even more than before at what she just said. "Rainbow, did you just call me, mama?" Spitfire asked. Rainbow nodded, creating mixed feelings for Spitfire. She and Soarin had been thinking about having a foal together for a while. Every time Spitfire was around foals or little fillies and colt, she couldn't help but coo at the sight. She really envied parents who had foals. When she met Soarin and after they had married, they talked many times about having a foal and wondered if they were ready. Recently they felt they were ready as Spitfire and Soarin were watching many Pegasi mothers and fathers playing with their children. Spitfire remembered the first time she met Rainbow Dash as a kid, and how set Dash's heart was to join the wonderbolts. This brought up another pressing issue. Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust had worked so hard to get where they were, and now they were starting at square one again it seemed, having turned into foals. She knew they would be crushed if she told them she would have to have them go through the whole process they had proven themselves for again. It wasn't in her to do something like that to them, but she needed a plan, and making another potion to reverse this was out of her skill level. But, she had one theory that could help. On another hoof, the wonderbolts will want to know what happened, and Spitfire will have to show the evidence if she was to stay captain. In all honesty, she wanted to now take the two foals in as her own, for she felt she was ready to take the role of a mother. But if they had parents, she couldn't just take them. They needed their mothers, and that could be considered...foalnapping. She felt as if she was in quicksand, and couldn't get out as she panicked a bit. "Oh, I can't believe I miscalculated! I'm the captain...I made such a foolish move. How could I have allowed this to happen?! Why did I agree to let you drink those potions?! What will your friends and family think?! What will the team think?!", Spitfire questioned herself, pacing around the room nervously. Spitfire finally calms down as she stops and takes a breather to get her mind straight. "One thing, I need to do. I need to contact your parents.", Spitfire told the two foals. Spitfire was about to write a note when Rainbow Dash interrupted her train of thought, "Um, ma-rrrr...ma...howsefeathews. Mama, I no have pawents no mowe." "Wha-what, Rainbow Dash, you're telling me you're...an orphan?!", Spitfire dropped the pen she was using out of total surprise. "Wainbow's not de onwy one.", Lightning proclaimed. Spitfire was shocked at this new bit of information. "H-how long has it been?!", Spitfire asked. "Thwee yeaws fow me," Rainbow Dash said. "T"Two fow me, ma...snap me too. I caww you mama too," Lightning said in annoyance with her own words. Spitfire felt a huge surge of sympathy for both of them. Right now, her mind was more set on taking care of them. She could never forgive herself if she had sent them to that sorry excuse for an orphanage in Cloudsdale or the one in Ponyville. She heard many stories about how the orphanages treated the fillies and colts who resided there. Sadly, with no concrete evidence and foals not saying anything to back it up, the pony society had no way to shut them down. Most of the rumors were from passers-by claiming to see something and the orphanages claiming other wise. It made Spitfire wonder if other orphanages were just as bad. After contemplating a long while on what she should do and the two girls waiting for her to do something, her mind was made up. She would take them home with her after she let the other Wonderbolts know of the situation, and she got proper equipment to do so. Rainbow and Lightning pleaded with her not to show them to the others, for they thought they would be embarrassed beyond repair of reputation. Their protests were silenced when she explained the situation to them, and also pointed out that the Wonderbolts weren't like high school ponies finding an excuse to batter other ponies with insults, like two certain teen colts Rainbow knew. Spitfire told them that kind of behavior was frowned upon, and why the Wonderbolts were so selective of their members. For it wasn't just skill that they looked for. It was also competitive and, at the same time, thoughtful natures in certain pegasi, which was why Lightning was given a warning last time around, and was able to stay in after she realized her mistakes. They soon understood her reasoning, and when shown to the other members of the team, instead of getting a lot of ponies laughing at them, everypony cooed at how cute they were. They didn't know why, but they certainly were liking all the attention they were getting as the wonderbolts watched them, so Spitfire could grab what she needed to take the regressed ponies home. Once Spitfire came back, she had a foal carrier ready to carry both of them. She soon placed them in the carrier, and took off, letting them enjoy the view after getting many protest from the members to have her stay a little longer with them. They laughed like the little foals they now were as she flew, and Spitfire couldn't help but give a motherly smile as she watched them have fun. Spitfire knew a lot of stuff would change, and vowed to get them back to normal by any means if she could...hopefully maternal instincts wouldn't completely take over in the future if she did find a way. It was going to be an unknown future after this.