//------------------------------//
// Last Minute Changes 
// Story: Destiny Sparkle 
// by Spirit Guide 
//------------------------------//

*Twilight POV*

When Steven came back, I realized just how crazy I was for company. The moment I heard the key in the lock, I jumped out of my chair and dashed for the door, colliding with Steven's legs and throwing him off balance. He stumbled inside and spun around until we crashed onto the couch.

"I'm still not used to that," Steven said, laying himself flat on the couch and lifting me on top of him. "You really need to choose a less energetic greeting."

"Never," I replied cheekily, nuzzling his hand. "So, had a nice day?"

Steven started scratching my ear. "Well, it was interesting."

"More than the last few days?" I closed my eyes and sighed peacefully. 

"Just a bit." He moved from ear-scratching to cuddling. "One of my workmates was being openly negative towards Equestria and the show, coming up with some of the dumbest reasons I've ever heard."

"What, that bronies aren't real men and are ruining the Internet?" I offered.

"Spot on. Have you been reading YouTube comments?"

"They're not always mean and nasty." I shifted under Steven's arm. "But they really have no other reason to hate us other than being different."

"That's always been the case with humans, Twilight. We can never let change into our lives."

"Mmm. It is depressing sometimes." This conversation was getting depressing. I decided to try and brighten it up a bit. "Did anything nice happen today to make up for your workmate's bad-mouthing?"

"Yes, now that you mention it. I discovered that another of my workmates is a brony."

"Really?" I asked excitedly, rolling over. "What's he like? Who's his favorite pony?"

"We didn't get too deep into conversation about that because of the other guy," Steven explained. With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. "He gave me this before we parted ways."

"What is it?"

"I decided not to look until you were with me,"

I nuzzled him and shifted into a position where we could both see the paper. "That was thoughtful of you. So are we gonna read it now?"

"Of course." After making sure I was comfortable, Steven held up the paper and slowly unfolded it. Inside was a message written in hasty but legible writing.

Greetings, herdmate.
Tonight, there's a meetup with the other bronies in town. We're going to talk, eat and share experiences of life and our favorite little ponies There aren't many of us but we hope you can make a change, both for us and yourself. If you accept this invitation, please come to Golden Oak, Flower Ponies when the clock strikes A Dog and Pony Show.
Look forward to seeing you
Iron Buck /)

"Kind of mysterious," I commented. "Some of it makes no sense."

"Which part?" Steven asked curiously.

I activated my magic and highlighted several words with my purple aura. "Golden Oak, Flower Ponies when the clock strikes A Dog and Pony Show. That's about as confusing as Pinkie Sense, and we both know how impossible it is to understand Pinkie Sense."

Steven smiled sweetly and stroked my mane. "The difference is that you're willing to believe in Pinkie Sense, even though you can't explain it. I think Daniel's using code in case somebody got the note from me."

"Then if it is code, what does it mean?" I asked eagerly. "Come on, Steven! I hate not knowing things."

He pointed at the glowing words. "'Golden Oak' is a reference to the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville. So that means the location of the meetup is either in a place with the words golden or oak—"

"Or it's in a library," I finished.

"That's a possibility too." Steven indicated the next codewords. "'Flower Ponies' most likely means something to do with flowers, maybe a shop or a garden."

I nodded in understanding. "Then what about 'A Dog and Pony Show'? I can't make heads or tails out of it."

Steven stared at the indicated words. He frowned as he thought of an answer. It was clear he was just as confused as I was. Then he cried out, "Of course!"

"What?" I asked with a start.

"Look, look! 'When the clock strikes A Dog and Pony Show'. That must mean the time of the meetup." He paused for a minute. I was silent as well. "But what time could it mean? Five or six o'clock , the number of dresses for Sapphire Shores? 

"I know this one!" I cheered, clopping my hooves together. I got up from the couch and sat down in the computer chair. By the time Steven came over, I'd already opened up a browser. With quick reflexes, I typed up the episode name and pointed at one of the search results.

"Seven o'clock, PM," I announced, flourishing a hoof at the screen. "Or, in Daniel's code, episode 19."

Steven nodded, a smirk crossing his face. "Very admirable, Twilight," he complimented, ruffling my mane. Then he mused, "So the meetup is at seven," He carefully lifted me up, sat down in the chair and seated me in his lap. Then he took control and started tapping away on the keyboard. "Here's a map of town. If we translated Daniel's code correctly, the meetup is either in a library—"

"Or a place with golden or oak in its name," I added.

"Exactly." Steven zoomed in on the map. "There are several possibilities. We've got the public library, the jewelers or Oak Street."

"Which one has a flower garden in it?" I asked, peering at the map as though trying to find one.

Steven chuckled. "You're not going to see it from there." He clicked on the library and blew up an image on the screen. "The library has gardens outside, but now that I'm looking at it, I don't think that this is gonna be the place."

"I guess it makes sense," I said, nodding in agreement and leaning back against Steven's chest.

I felt his chin rub against my mane as he bent his head. Am I distracting him? "Scratch that then," Steven said, turning his attention back to the screen. All I could think was, Yep, definitely. "What do you think the chances are that the meetup will be held in the jewelers?"

"One in one thousand years of Nightmare Moon's banishment," I replied smugly. "Nopony holds meetings in jewelery stores, it's far too suspicious. And they probably don't have flowers either."

"Unless they're ruby-crafted roses," Steven put in, double clicking on the last option. "Oak Street. Home of the town's movie theater, a restaurant—"

"And a flower shop."

I looked up in time to meet Steven's downward gaze. It seemed too obvious now that the answer was staring us in the face. "The meetup's in a flower shop?" I said incredulously.

"So it would seem." Steven studied the map of the area. "Tonight, seven o'clock, in the flower shop. Sounds like it's gonna be a blast."

"Yes, I'm sure it will be."

Steven picked me up and turned me around so that I would be facing him. "Twilight, is there something wrong?" he asked. His face was full of concern.

I wiped a half-formed tear from my eye. "Wh-why would you thinks so?"

"Well, you've got your hooves folded and your ears flopped down." He raised his hand and cupped my right ear, which was indeed turned downwards. "What's the matter?"

All at once, my feelings burst out. "It's not fair!" I wailed, throwing my muzzle into Steven's chest, my tears soaking through his shirt. "Ever since the end of the storm, I've been stuck inside, locked away from the sun. Now I'm going to spend another evening on my own, which will be even worse because I'll be alone for longer than usual, and you're going to be out making new friends!" This world was making me feel bad. First it took me from my pony friends, now it's taking my only human companion away from me.

"Twilight," Steven said gently, pulling his arms around me in a tight embrace, "if it really bothers you so much that I'll be gone, then I just won't go. I know how much you've become dependent on companionship."

"No!" I objected. "You can't do that. You need to go out and make friends. I have lots of friends, you need some too." I said this out loud, but inside I felt bad for lying. I wanted Steven home with me. I wanted him for myself. Was I being selfish? A bit. But my loneliness had only one cure and that was Steven.

"I'm not going to leave you alone if it will distress you," Steven promised. "Even for one evening."

"No, you need to go," I repeated stubbornly, pushing my head against his chest. "I'll be fine. I'll just be on my own for a bit longer." I looked up at Steven. His mouth was a sad frown and his smaller human eyes were a bit wet themselves. I could feel him tighten his hold around me, almost as if he was the one refusing to part. "I just wish there was a way you could go and that we would still be together."

"I want that too, Twilight. I really do." Steven lowered his head into my mane. I could feel tears, warm and wet, slipping through and down my neck. He really wanted to be with me, but at the same time, he had to leave. The dilemma must have been assaulting his mind as he strove to make the right decision. I may have felt that being with Steven was the right thing, but in my heart I knew what was to come. And it wasn't in my favor.

We sat there, Steven in the chair and me in his lap, our tears flowing steadily in sync. All I could see through my salty vision was Steven and, quite honestly, I couldn't care about anything else other than him at the moment. Then, as if from the end of a long tunnel, I heard Steven's voice.

"Twilight, look."

I didn't want to look. I didn't want to stop the stream. I didn't even want to make sure it wasn't dangerous, but Steven's voice compelled me to do so. I raised my head and peered through my wet eyes, following Steven's gaze to the coffee table where the Equinomicon sat, looking as old and powerful and shimmery-green as ever.

Yes, shimmery-green as ever. The ancient book was glowing again. We both knew what that meant. The meetup ahead momentarily forgotten, I scrambled out of Steven's lap and we hurried onto the couch, grabbing the book as we went.

"Come on, come on!" I squealed excitedly, pushing the book into Steven's hands. "Let's see what it's going to say."

"Alright alright, hold your horses." He  put the book between us and opened it up on the page that was giving off the light. The indecipherable writing was lining up into sentences to form a new spell.


Hiding, to begin with, was never any fun
That's the way things are when you're on the run
But events have changed and with the change in the weather
You must go meet all your new friends together

To keep your pony friend hidden in clear sight
No ancient words do you need to recite
Now I'll list the items that you will need
So please pay attention and onward read

A base idea was rooted right inside our hearts
The episode 'Bridle Gossip' is a good place to start
Show an image that matches, and when they're combined
The picture will build itself up in your mind

It isn't yet time to sit down on your plot
The final ingredient, believe it or not,
Is a cookie. Just put it alongside the rest
Join them with magic and give it your best

Really, this spell is straightforward enough
Easier still will be finding the stuff
The real trick in the end is not to doubt
For this little pony spell is sure to help you out



This time, I was sure the Equinomicon was being silly. Was it expecting us to use an episode as an element in a spell? I almost closed the book but stopped myself when I read the last lines again. Not to doubt. The Equinomicon had expected disbelief and had given a warning, a suggestion really. Only if we believed would the spell work.

"Weird," I muttered, running a hoof over the words. "Using a cookie in a spell?"

"The cookie's the thing you find weird?" Steven asked me, smirking lopsidedly. "I'm still confused as to what form of the episode it wants us to use and how. Do we need to play it on the TV? Check it on the Internet?"

"I think we should play it," I said after a moment. "But then it says 'show an image that matches'. What does that mean?"

"Most likely, fan art of Bridle Gossip. We should go see what we can find."

"You go search, I'll turn on the TV."

So we separated to work on the spell. Steven sat down at the computer to find somepony's picture of Bridle Gossip and I put the second Season 1 DVD into the machine and skipped to the ninth episode. "Okay, I'm ready!" I called, already watching myself and Spike walk through Ponyville, commenting on the weather. "How about you, Steven?"

"Um. Well I-I think it could... Maybe..." came his stuttering reply.

What's the matter with him? I trotted over and looked at the computer. The screen displayed a picture of Apple Teeny, Applejack's Poison Joke form, astride her sister Apple Bloom. It wasn't an amazing eye-popping piece of art, but it was certainly something the artist should be proud of.

"I don't know," Steven admitted. "This is probably the most symbolic thing that came from Bridle Gossip. Of course, that's just my opinion, but Applejack sure did get the brunt of the Poison Joke."

"She sure did," I agreed, "but she managed to make up for her small size big time."

"Mmm hmm. So the TV's ready for the spell?"

"Yep. All we need now is the cookie."

A long silence followed my words as we both turned mechanically towards the kitchen. We exchanged glances, grinned and shouted.

"I'LL GET IT!"

The race to the cookie jar was intense. Steven literally got the first big step. I tripped up his longer stride and rushed forwards, but he got a hold of my tail. Then Steven made the mistake of pulling me back and I felt my flank connect with his head as we tumbled back into the couch. After some more scuffling, I ended up on Steven's shoulder in the kitchen, the cookie jar sitting before us, almost waiting to have its contents removed.

"We really need to stop getting excited like this," Steven stated.

"Yeah."

He unscrewed the lid and I pulled out a large-ish chocolate chip cookie. We went back to the living room, put the cookie on the table and moved the couch so it wouldn't be in the way. I picked up the Equinomicon and reviewed the spell. "Bridle Gossip switched on, Apple Teeny in clear sight and one chocolate-chip cookie. I think we're ready to start."

Steven looked around at the odd triangle of spell components. "This all seems kind of fishy, but we'll need to trust the Equinomicon on this if we want it to work. Just like it says in the book."

"I love following instructions."

"Uh, Twilight? Are you okay?"

I blinked and shook my head. Steven was looking at me concernedly. Apparently, I'd zoned out while fantasizing over going through detailed information. "I'm alright, just a short daydream." I spread my legs in preparation for the casting. "Let's do this."

Steven nodded and stepped back. The episode playing on the TV had reached the following morning, when my friends and I discovered the afflictions induced by the Poison Joke. We don't know what this spell does, but we're about to find out. Focusing my mind, I allowed my magic to spill out through my horn. It pooled over my head like a flat round purple cloud.

Four glowing tendrils leaked out of my disk of accumulated power. One reached out and touched the TV, making the whole set glow. The second wrapped itself around the computer, both case and monitor. A third snaked away and infused the cookie. But the biggest surprise was the fourth, which casually floated over and encircled Steven. I almost cut off my magic flow when I saw it, but Steven shook his head.

"It's not hurting me," he said. His voice sounded a bit muffled through the magic permeating the air. "Just keep going!"

I nodded. My power continued to blossom from my horn and the air grew warmer. The tendrils grew longer and thicker, the circle overhead glowing brighter. I felt myself rise into the air, my own magic giving me a lift. The lights became so bright, I had to close my eyes and continue on my instinct. Then the sound of Equestrian magic drowned out everything and I blacked out.


*


"Twilight? Twilight?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank Luna."

Steven's voice was the first thing I heard when I came to. The first thing I felt was something like a bucket poking me in the side. A smell hit me, the smell of chocolate-chip cookies. The surface I was lying on felt cold and barely familiar. Then I opened my eyes.

Everything was blurry at first. The ground was a light-pale brown and several large capped cylinders were lying next to me, each one connected to a roundish chunk of the same color. A large sun-like object hung above my head, not shedding light as I thought it should have. The TV was still playing Bridle Gossip, now at the part where me and my friends were running into the Everfree after Apple Teeny and Apple Bloom. The computer monitor was in the same state, displaying the fan-art of the two Apple sisters. When I looked around for Steven and couldn't find him, I started to panic.

"Steven, where are you?" I called out, turning about.

"I'm right here Twilight," came Steven's voice from the sun-thing. One of the cylinders pointed to my right. "But you might want to look more carefully."

I turned my head. A few feet away was a circular dark-brown block dotted with even darker-brown studs. That's where the aroma was coming from. I walked over to the block and inspected it. It had a strong consistency and held itself well together until I hit it, at which point a piece crumbled off.

I poked one of the studs and it caved in, becoming sticky at my touch. I pulled away and noticed the stud had left a smear on my hoof. Cautiously, I smelt it. Smells like chocolate. I gave the smear an attentive lick. It is chocolate. And then it hit me.

I peered up at the sun-like object and slowly it came into focus. But what I saw was hard to believe. "S-s-steven?"

"Shh." The cylinders rose up from the ground and curled around my back, the same way Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash would've wrapped their wings around me. They were warm and comforting. "I know things must look frightening from your perspective, but you need to stay calm."

'Frightening from my perspective' was right. As I gazed about, I realized just how different my view had become. The ground beneath me was in fact the dining table. The sun-like object was Steven's head, and his right hand was draped over my back. All around me, everything was bigger. The kitchen counter was high as an Everfree cliff. The stairs went up and up like Canterlot's mountain. That was quite the spell we cast.

The spell. The little pony spell, playing Bridle Gossip, displaying Apple Teeny. It all made sense now. The Equinomicon had given us a shrink spell, the best way to hide something in clear sight. Using the shrink spell, I'd be able to accompany Steven to his meetup. Better yet, I'll be able to go with him wherever he goes. Suddenly, any previous fear I had was replaced by joy and amazement.

"WOOHOO!" I cheered, prancing around the table and leaping over Steven's fingers. This is great! Now I won't have to stay home whenever Steven goes out to work or shop. We could be together all day! I activated my magic and, with some effort, lifted the Equinomicon off the couch and dropped it on the table beside me. "What a spell!"

"Yep, what a spell," Steven agreed, running his fingers over the words. "It worked alright."

I jumped onto his hand and squeezed his index finger. "Now I can go with you to the meetup and see what your new friends are like."

"I'll enjoy that. But what about afterwards, when you want to return to your normal size?"

I was sort of expecting him to worry, and rightfully so. But I'd actually thought that part through earlier. "I'd think it's obvious that to reverse a Poison Joke-based spell, one would need to use the same remedy we used back in Ponyville: take a bubble bath." I looked over my shoulder at the open Equinomicon. "Isn't that right?"

The book glowed again, almost smugly, and a few more sentences appeared.


True enough, I will assure
To this spell, the remedy's a natural cure
A plain bubble bath, no herbs required
For when short stature leaves you tired


Steven leaned over me and nodded. "That's my worries gone."

"Great. We should get ready to...." The smell of the cookie suddenly grew intoxicating. I could almost see the tasty scent in the air. As if in a trance, I stepped towards the cookie and stopped several inches from it.

"Twilight," Steven asked, lowering his head onto the table beside me, "what are you doing?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I bent down like a feline preparing to pounce. My tail waved in the air, brushing against Steven's nose. Then, without warning, I leapt at the cookie and gripped it with all four of my hooves. But I'd miscalculated my weight and momentum and the whole cookie tipped and fell on top of me.

Steven was up and on me in an instant. "That was not the most calming experienced I've ever had," he declared as he dragged me out from under the cookie. "You should be more careful when your this size."

"I know, but it's just so exciting, exploring the world at a different angle." I looked at the cookie between my hooves. Aside from being bigger than me, it was still a chocolate-chip cookie. I looked up at Steven, who glared down at me suspiciously. Then, with a mighty jaw stretch, I opened my mouth as wide as it would go and—

"Nom."

In the short but beautiful while that I'd known him, I've never seen Steven fall so hard. The moment I bit down on the cookie, the corners of his mouth shot up, he rolled out of his chair and crashed onto the floor.

"Steven!" I dropped the cookie and sped to the table, skittering to a stop at the edge. Steven lay on the floor a foot away, smiling simply. His hand twitched. Looking down, I found that the distance was a bit far in my current form. Doesn't matter. I'll have to take a Leap of Faith again. Steven might be hurt. I backed up a foot, raced to the table edge and jumped. I closed my eyes so whatever happened happened, but then I was falling, falling, screaming, landing.

Landing, bouncing, stopping. Safe.

I opened my eyes. I'd landed on Steven's chest, which was rising and falling beneath me, indicating that he was breathing at the least. Carefully so that I wouldn't fall off, I trotted up Steven's prostrate form and onto his forehead. He was still smiling gently, but his eyes were closed.

"Steven," I said quietly. He didn't respond. "No, duh." Of course he didn't hear. My voice must be quieter and his ear was just below me. I'd have to speak louder if I wanted to be heard. I took a deep breath and shouted as loud as I could.

"STEVEN!"

Click. His eyelashes made an audible noise as he blinked once, then rolled his eyes towards me. "Hey Twi," he said lazily. "What'cha doin' up there?"

"Making sure you're okay," I replied, relived that he was. I went on. "What was that all about? I took a bite of cookie and you drop like a rock."

"Oh, that." Steven sat up and I slipped off his face and into his waiting palm. "Brony artists often depict people and ponies reacting to varying forms of adorableness," he explained as he carried me back to the table. "Munching cookie ponies have taken their toll on the fans."

"I'll bet. Hopefully I'll be able to eat it some more without you getting a heart attack." I walked back to the cookie and held it up. A small piece was missing form the outside where I'd bitten. "This will probably last me the evening," I said, after looking the cookie over. "Could you get me a bag lined with something soft?"

"Wait there," Steven told me, as though I had another choice. "I'll be right back." He got up and ran up the stairs, returning moments later with a sapphire-blue backpack and a small pillow, which he dropped on the table. "These should do nicely."

I knocked the backpack onto its side with my magic and took a look inside. To me, it was like a huge blue cave, definitely spacious enough for me to hang around in. The pillow was incredibly soft, so soft that I almost fell asleep when I tested it. Steven watched me with his big little human eyes, making sure I didn't get myself into trouble with the stuffing or the zipper. He brought me a bottle cap and a jar lid full of water. We put these, the pillow and the cookie into the backpack and I tried it out. It was perfect.

"I could stay in here for hours," I sighed peacefully. "Although having a few books wouldn't hurt."

"Not tonight, Twilight," Steven said, reaching in and pulling me out of the backpack. "Tonight, we befriend." He checked the time. "We've got half an hour before we should leave to get to the flower shop in time. What do you want to do?"

I wasted no time in my answer. "Disproportionate cuddles!" I teleported onto the top of the couch. Steven spun around and took a running leap over my head, landing softly on the sofa. With a happy cry, I jumped down onto his stomach, curling up against his arm. Steven cupped one hand over me, closing in any warmth and leaving me with a safe feeling.

"It's not quite the same as our usual snuggle time," I commented. "I guess being small does have its deprivations."

"Hmm." Steven was listening, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. He nudged me into a sitting position, my back against his left hand, and brought up his right to my chest.

"Uh Steven? What are you doing?"

He didn't reply. He was focused on something else. I felt his fingers tightened around me, restraining my movement. Now I was concerned. I called out his name, but each time I was ignored. Steven raised his right index finger and gently pushed it into my chest. Then, he moved his finger up and down, slowly but firmly.

I fell apart. When Steven would rub my belly with his hand, I'd drift off and act dazed. But when he rubbed my miniature stomach with a single finger, I was out of control. I realized why he'd strengthened his grip around me. The moment he started rubbing my belly, I bucked and squirmed like Rarity's cat Opal on bath day. But I enjoyed every second of it.

"Heh, heh, heh," Steven chuckled impassively, even though his smile betrayed his unbridled glee.

"Uuuuuh," I mumbled in reply, incoherent in my current state. "Mmmmmmmmmm."

Steven stopped for a moment and sat up, still holding me. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, sounding just the slightest bit concerned.

"Are you crazy?" I flopped my head up straight and stared at him blearily. I pointed a hoof at my chest. "More."

Not seeming at all bothered by this, Steven resumed his work. With each rub, he sighed and shivered happily. And with each rub, I grew more and more content. I felt like we could stay this way forever. We held this position for a minute or two, but then Steven pulled me up towards his head. "You really enjoyed that, didn't you?" he whispered.

"You bet." I sat up, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm lucky to have a friend like you, Steven."

"I feel the same way, Twilight."

Steven put me down on the couch, pulled his legs up to his chest and folded his arms around me. I got up and seated myself against his chest. "We've got some time left," he whispered, his warm breath washing over me. "Is there anything else you wanted to do?"

"Mmph?" I mumbled, snuggling closer. "No, I'm good. Let's just... This isn't killing time, is it?"

"I certainly wouldn't call it that. What we're doing is very useful."

"Mmm hmm."

A long silence followed. A long, blissful silence, which Steven had no choice but to end. "You know we have to go in about fifteen minutes."

"Yeah."

"Right."

"No point wasting said fifteen minutes on something that can be done later, right?"

"Right..... See you on Harsh Reality Street in fifteen minutes, Twilight."

"In the Dark Cruel World, fourteen minutes...... See you there, Steven."