//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: To Be A Pony // by ph0enix //------------------------------// "What do we do!?" Spike exaggerated as he continued to pace in a circle around the couch, occasionally tripping over his hooves due to inexperience with walking on all fours. There was an awkward silence in the room. Apple Bloom had fallen asleep on the couch while Sweetie Belle was still fighting to stay awake. It was early in the day, and probably the earliest any of them had ever been up. Spike, however, was too anxious to even attempt to sleep. Scootaloo, who was in the kitchen, decided it was best to brew warm tea to wake everyone up. How she was able keep calm, and stay alert was beyond Spike. "I don't see why this is such a big deal," Sweetie Belle yawned, “It is something to be celebrated.” "Not a big deal… not a big deal!" Spike shouted into the air, " How exactly is this not a big deal?!" In his momentary rage, a small spark of green magic flew out of his horn. It flew across the room, hit the door frame, and surprised an unsuspecting Scootaloo, causing her to drop the tray of tea. "I got it…" She deadpanned. With a solemn sigh, she left the room Spike tried to apologize, but Scootaloo had already left the room. He mentally kicked himself for being so reckless. As he turned to face Sweetie Belle, he noticed that she was avoiding eye contact with him. "I'm sorry." she mumbled. This caught the ex-dragon by surprise. Not only was she not mad at him for the spark, but she also apologized when it should have been him apologizing. "I'm the one that should be sorry; you didn't deserve that Sweetie Belle." He looked down in shame. Instinctively, he started tapping his hoof to the ground. "It's okay,” she said, “I know this must be hard for you." "Yeah, it's defiantly different than being a dragon." Spike sighed. He managed to form a small smile. A few moments passed, and the two ponies exchanged small talk while being careful not to wake the sleeping filly sitting on the far end of the couch. Scootaloo, with fresh cups of tea on her back, walked back into the room, she kept an indifferent look on her face, yet her eyes said anxiety. After distributing the tea, the pegusus took a seat next to Spike. "So, what do we do now?" Sweetie Belle asked, taking a sip of her tea. She winched from the heat. "I'm not sure; I don't have my flame anymore, so that's out of the picture." Spike replied attempting to take a gulp of his own tea. He instantly spit it back in the cup. Without his dragon form, the heat fully affected him. "How about we look for a recipe to a potion that will change him back into a dragon?" Scootaloo offered, joining in the conversation. "I don’t think that's a good idea scoots. Last time we made a potion, it poisoned our teacher and Apple Bloom’s brother. And even if we were good at making potions, we would have to know what potion splashed him in the first place." Sweetie Belle said earning a nod from Spike. "Well, what if we…" Scootaloo was cut off by a rapid knocking being omitted by the front door. "Who could that be?" Spike asked aloud as he got out of his seat and trotted to the door. As he pushed the door open with his hoof, the light of the sun proved to be too strong of an opponent for his eyes, causing him to shade them with his hoof. Once his eyes adjusted, he could make out Zecora standing in front of him holding a book in her mouth. "Oh, it's just you Zecora, how can I help you?" Spike asked. "I'm sorry, but have we met?" Zecora said raising an eyebrow, “I don’t believe I know you little one, but I came to see Twilight Sparkle.” "What do you mean, it's me Spik..." He then remembered that he wasn't a dragon anymore. He looked to see Zecora giving him a confused expression, and decided it was best to explain the situation. "It's me Spike." He said trying to convince her of his true identity. "That can't be. You see, the Spike I know is a Dragon and you’re a pony." "But you have to believe me! A potion splashed on me when it fell off the top of a book case. Nothing happened that night, but when I woke up, I was a pony." Spike explained. "Spike…?" Zecora said, examining him in order to confirm her beliefs. This pony’s color scheme was close enough to match the scales on the normal Spike, but what really convinced her was the scroll surrounded by flames on his flank, "It is you!" She exclaimed in disbelief. "Finally, you believe me…wait…why aren't your rhyming?” "You’re not the only one with potion mishaps, “Zecora laughed, “After my accident, I found that my native zebra language has been temporarily disabled. Not to worry though, it will return in a day or two. Just goes to show, never use poison joke." She explained, while stifling another laugh. "So…does that mean I only have to be a pony for one or two more days?!" He asked excitedly. "I'm not to sure, depends on how strong the potion was." She shrugged. "Well, if you can do anything, I will appreciate it. I don't want to be a pony any longer than I have to." "Let’s see, do you know what potion splashed you?" She asked putting her hoof under her nozzle. Thinking back, all Spike could remember was that it was a fizzy green liquid, and that it had no distinct traits. Come to think of it, there weren't any traits that it had that were normal. Most potions were either purple or blue. The only way it could have turned that color was with the use of magic. Specifically, Alicorn Magic. "Zecora, is it possible that I was splashed with a magical potion, and maybe my body had an undocumented reaction of some kind?" He asked. "It is possible, but without Princess Twilight, there's no magic to compare it to." "What about Sweetie Belle’s magic? It’s not Alicorn magic, but it's still magic. Could that work?" Zecora looked up in thought for a moment before shaking her head disapprovingly. Spike hoped that her look would change, but deep inside he knew what she would say. Yet, he could always hope, right? "Unfortunately no, Alicorn magic is much stronger then unicorn magic. Meaning, the sample wouldn't be strong enough to get any real results. It also doesn't help that she's younger; her magic isn't fully developed yet." "So what is there I can do?" Spike asked. "You and the girls can wait here while I go back to my hut. There, I can use my own equipment to figure out how to change you back. Until then, I suggest you keep your identity a secret." "Bu..." Spike tried to say but was quickly cut off. "No buts." She said sternly, “Keep quiet, and stay lay low.” "Fine." He muttered "Good. Now, I'm going home to begin researching for any information that I can find. I will return tomorrow morning to collect some DNA samples from you. Hopefully, I can tell you what I have found. Good day." With that Spike watched as Zecora turned around and slowly trotted off into the Everfree Forest. ``````````` (Back in the Living Room) "I don’t think that's a good idea scoots, last time we made a potion it poisoned our teacher and Apple Blooms brother. And even if we were good at making potions, we would have to know what potion splashed him in the first place." Sweetie Belle said earning a nod from Spike. "Well, what if we...” Scootaloo was cut off by a rapid knocking being omitted from the front door. "Who could that be?" Spike asked before getting up and trotting off to the front door, soon disappearing outside to address the pony that had come. The only ponies left were Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and a sleeping Apple Bloom. Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle who was staring at the floor, obviously deep in thought. This was an unusual act for the small unicorn who was usually the chatter-box of the three. Her lack of speech did not go unnoticed by her friend. "Is everything alright, Sweetie Belle?" "Yeah, why do you ask" she said with a forced smile. Scootaloo gave her friend a stern look. She knew full well Sweetie Belle was lying to her. "Sweetie Belle, I've known you for a couple of years, now and you've never stayed quiet for more than five minutes at a time." "It's nothing to worry about Scootaloo" She said tying to dismiss the subject, but the Pegasus wasn't buying it. "Sweetie Belle, if there's something that's bothering you then you can tell me." "I know." She said. "So, that being said, are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about? I mean, I can wake up Apple Bloom, and we can tal..." She was quickly cut off. "I said I'm fine!!" shrieked Sweetie Belle, causing Scootaloo to back away a little bit. The realization of her own words got to her. Just for a moment, she saw herself in a different perspective. One she didn’t like. And in that moment, she realized her own mistake of turning her back on a friend. "I-I am so sorry, Scootaloo" Sweetie Belle recoiled with shame. She slowly walked up to her friend, hugged her, and dropped any kind of anger she once had. "Ugghhh, get off me Sweetie Belle! I glad you're apologizing, but you don't have to get all mushy on me. If you don't want to tell me what's on your mind, then I won't press you for answers, for the time being, anyway." She responded giving Sweetie Belle a gentle squeeze, then shoved her off. "Oh, sorry about that" Sweetie Belle said, giving a small chuckle. Her chuckle was cut short by the closing of the front door. Spike, who was looking a bit livelier than before, came back into the room. The vibration from door shook the whole house, making a large slamming noise echo throughout the house. The slam woke Apple Bloom from her slumber, and immediately jerked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's attention away from their conversation. "W-what did I miss?" asked Apple Bloom sitting up and giving a big yawn. "Nothing to exciting." responded Scootaloo. "Say, Spike who was at the door anyway?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Oh, it was just Zecora. She was pretty shocked when she learned that I'm Spike." He chuckled lightly. "So why don't we just ask her to make a potion that will turn ya back into a dragon?" insisted Apple Bloom. Spike just shook his head, “She said that she has to know what the original potion was to make an antidote, and since we don't know what splashed me, we can't make it." "So what do we do now?" Asked Sweetie Belle "Zecora said that I should keep my identity a secret for the time being. But other than that, there's nothing else we have to do." "Ok then, so what do you gu.." Scootaloo was again cut off by Sweetie Belle. "Why is it so cold in here?" "I have noticed that, but I just assumed it was because I'm not a dragon anymore." agreed Spike. Their attention was drawn to a window that swung with the help of a slight gust of wind. The curtains flowed along with the breeze. Spike’s jaw dropped slightly getting the attention of Apple Bloom. He ran to the window, and frantically searched around it. He reached an unwanted conclusion, and facehoofed. "Spike, what's wrong? It's just an open window." Apple Bloom said with curiosity. "No no no!" He shouted into the air, “It’s not just an open window!” "What's wrong then, Spike?" asked Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who had also noticed Spike’s distress. "Peewee! Peewee!" Spike called, once again searching ignoring their questions. "Tell us, what's wrong." The CMC said in unison. "The window is open!" He responded. "Yeah so, haven't you seen an open window before?" Scootalo asked sarcastically. "That's not the problem! The problem is that we haven't fully trained Peewee yet. So, if the window is open, he can freely fly out, and we have to go find him. Usually, Twilight can use a tracking spell to find him, but she's not here, and that window has probably been open the whole night. He could be as far as Manehatten by now!" cried Spike. "Oh…" They responded "Alright, I’m going to go and gather some things, and then we have to go find Peewee." This caused the trios face to light up with excitement. Spike was confused by the sudden change in attitude, yet continued to pack. Their smiles grew wider and wider; their movements more erratic. Sweetie left only to return with three folded pieces of cloth. She handed them out to her friends. "What’s happening?" He asked, becoming a tad worried. "Spike do you know what this means?" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "Uhh, no…" "CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS: PHOENIX HUTERS, YAY!!!" The CMC dramatically posed as their capes flowed in wind that wasn’t their. "Oh Celestia help me…"