• Published 14th May 2012
  • 14,252 Views, 889 Comments

The Dragon that Would be Pony - The Dragon Warlock



Spike is desperate to win Rarity's heart, and decides to take a potion that turns him into a pony.

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A Fateful Choice

Spike looked around to see that he was taller and looked at himself. He saw that he had wings now and was probably as tall as the Ponyville Library. He saw that in front of him was a tall gray stoned chamber lit by several lanterns with six beds with ponies on them. Spike moved slowly across and looked to see something that horrified him; it was Twilight and the other ponies all old, wrinkly, and barely breathing.

"Spike..." A very frail mare's voice whispered.

Spike heard it and saw that the voice was Twilight Sparkle. Her coat was grayish purple, she was very wrinkly, and her hair was completely white. "T...Twilight, what happened?"

The unicorn gave him a feeble sad smile. "Don't worry Spike, we're just going to go away for a while. I'm so proud of you Spike. You've grown into a nice big dragon."

Spike felt a bucket of ice drop into his stomach and felt tears build up. "N...no please Twilight don't go! I don't want you all to die!"

Twilight gave him a sad smile once more. "It's okay Spike, you'll make new friends along the way as you grow older. Who knows? Maybe you'll find a dragon of your own to be with."

Spike suddenly realized that he never told Rarity how he felt and looked at her. Her white coat was still there, but it was messy and her purple hair had gone gray and was a complete mess. He saw that she was still breathing. "Rarity, I need to tell you something."

The white unicorn gave him a gentle smile. "Wh...what is it darling?" She asked in a feeble voice.

Spike mustered up his courage and took a deep breath in. "I...I love you Rarity. I love you so much. I'm sorry I never told you this earlier, it just slipped my mind."

Rarity placed a hoof the dragon. "Spike, I...want to tell you something as well."

Spike felt his heart swell in excitement. "Wh...what is it Rarity?"

"I...I...I..........." Rarity let out one last breath before passing on.

Spike was devastated and tears ran down his face. "Rarity!" He cried in sadness. "Please don't go! What did she think of me Twilight?"

Spike looked to see that Twilight and the others were not moving or breathing at all either. The dragon let out a cry of sorrow and anguish. He heard hoofsteps move and looked to see Princess Celestia.

"Spike." She said rather coldly. "I'm afraid you are no longer welcome here in Ponyville. You've grown too big for this town and must move out."

Spike's eyes widen and his heart sank. "Please Princess Celestia! I'll be careful around town and I promise not to hurt anypony. Please let me stay here."

The white alicorn shook her head. "I'm sorry Spike, but it's time to leave." Princess Celestia's horn glowed and aimed it at Spike.

"Princess wait!" Spike yelled in desperation.

It was too late though Celestia teleported Spike to a desolate mountain range and saw two black dragons standing over him with a glare.

"Who are you?" One of the dragons asked in a sinister voice.

Spike gulped and said, "I...I'm Spike."

The black dragons gave a sinister smile at him causing Spike to shake in fear.

"We've heard of you Spike." The other black dragon said in the same sinister voice. "We've heard that you hung out with ponies. We don't take kindly to those dragons who dare to be friends with ponies."

Spike wanted to fly, but felt paralyzed with fear. He watched as the two black dragons took a deep breath in and shot a huge column of black fire at Spike. The dragon gave a bloodcurdling scream as he saw the impending death rapidly approach him.

Spike woke up with a cold sweat on him and looked to see that it was morning. He looked at himself to see he was still a baby dragon. Just to make sure he looked over in Twilight's bed and saw her still young as ever. He laid back letting out a sigh of relief and heard a voice groaning from the nearby bed.

"Spike?" Twilight asked groggily. "Are you okay? I heard some yelling."

The baby dragon looked to see that Twilight had a concerned look on her face. "Y-yeah I'm fine Twilight. I just hurt myself is all."

Twilight looked at Spike suspiciously and gave a weary nod. "Alright Spike, I need you to do something for me real quick. I want you to go down to this new herb place and get these ingredients for a potion I'm making." Twilight pulled a list of herbs needed with a bag of bits and gave it to the little dragon. Spike gave a nod and left the library.

Spike was thinking to himself as he walked down the street. The dream he had still played in his mind and the conversation he had with Twilight last night didn't help much either. He loved Rarity, but Twilight had a point he was a dragon and would outgrow her and outlive her as well.

Spike was so lost in thought, he accidentally ran into something. The baby dragon rubbed his head and looked to see a big sign saying, Barry's Magical Herb Shop: Mystic Herbs and Ingredients for Remedies. Spike looked at the building and saw a building near the sign, it was painted green with white trimming around it as well as white window blinds. Giving a sigh, the baby dragon went into the new herb shop.


Spike looked to see that the shop was empty and was rather dim. Some sunlight was shining through the windows. The shop had dark brown walls and floor with a large counter that had many herbs and spices in front of it. There were some green and red herbs as well as potted plants and spices. Spike looked around and saw no pony running this shop and figured they weren't open yet. He was about to leave he heard a throat being cleared. He looked to see a middle aged, but rather buff gray unicorn with orange eyes and a buzz cut black mane and tail.

"Welcome little dragon." The stallion said in a raspy voice. "My name is Barry, head of this shop and seller of many fine herbs and ingredients for potions and remedies. Do you wish to purchase something from my shop?"

Spike nodded quickly and gave the shopkeeper the list Twilight gave him. Barry took the list and with a look he nodded and went to get the required stuff. Spike was left alone with his thoughts about what to do. He thought that maybe Twilight was right and it was time to move on, but a part of him wanted to stay and be with Rarity. He felt emotionally conflicted over what to do and was lost in thought.

"Excuse me little dragon." Barry said.

Spike snapped out of his thoughts and jerked up to see that Barry had the list and was pointing to something on the scroll.

"What does this say?" Barry asked. "My eyesight is getting old."

"That says powdered sulfur."

Barry gave a concerned look "Are you alright little dragon? You seem lost."

Spike scrambled to say something in his panic. "Y...yeah, I'm just uh...looking around is all."

Barry looked at Spike with a suspicious look at first, but then shrugged to go gather the other items. Spike looked around at the shop and noticed a few crates that were open and decided to take a look in them. He saw that in the crates were some books and more herb plants, but there was one thing that caught his eyes, a glowing blue potion that was in a tiny test tube. The baby dragon picked it up and looked at it. The tube felt as warm as a cup of hot cider.

"What are you doing?"

Spike jumped and looked to see Barry was back with the items. "I...I'm just looking in these crates is all." Spike said.

Barry looked to see that Spike was holding the potion and his eyes grew wide with shock. "Drop that right now little dragon!"

Spike quickly let go of the potion. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go snooping around."

Barry gave a sigh and said, "It's okay little dragon, but I just can't let you see that."

Spike looked at the potion in wonder as well as Barry's disgruntled look. "Why didn't you want me to see this?"

Barry gave another sigh and said, "That potion is a blessing and a gift. I mostly see it as a curse though."

Spike got more curious over the potion and said, "What's it do though?"

"That potion there actually can turn any creature into a pony."

Spike's jaw dropped upon hearing what he heard. He heard of potions that were capable of turning other creatures into another one. He heard of a griffon that took a potion and became a hydra destroying resulting in a town's destruction. The baby dragon's eyes widened as he thought of what he could do as a pony. He would fit in more easily with the other ponies and best of all be with Rarity.

"But why would you have this?" Spike asked. "You say it's a curse and yet you're selling it."

Barry shook his head and said, "No, I'm not selling it. It's mine to keep, so I can be reminded."

"Reminded of what?"

"It's none of your concern little dragon. Please forget about that potion now and put it back."

Barry turned around to get the last of the items while Spike looked back at the potion. He thought that this was his shot to be with Rarity. Twilight and Applejack said it themselves that Rarity wasn't looking for a dragon, but a real getlecolt. The possibilities would be endless if he became a pony and it would mean so many things for him. Spike though that about the consequences as well as to what would happen when his friends found out and if Rarity would still like him or not.

'I'll just borrow it for a while.' Spike thought to himself. 'I'll bring it back after some thinking and besides he won't notice.'

Spike hesitantly took the potion and hid it behind his back. Barry returned with a bag of items and the baby dragon stuck the potion in there before he could see it. He gave Barry the bits and thanked him for his help.


Spike left the shop feeling better than he did not too long ago and made his way to the library. He entered it and looked to see that Twilight was busy with a potion set and was writing notes. The lilac unicorn looked to see her friend holding the bag and gave a smile.

"Good job Spike." Twilight said. "You're just in time with those herbs."

Spike happily nodded and gave the bag to Twilight.

"You certainly seem to be in a better mood now Spike." Twilight said. "You scared me earlier with how you acted. Are you sure it isn't about what I said earlier?"

Spike shook his head and was prepared to show Twilight the potion he got, but something froze in him. He thought that Twilight was going to take the potion away if she saw it and would punish him. Secretly, the baby dragon took the potion and hid it in a bookshelf. He quickly gave Twilight a forced grin.

"Oh no Twilight." The baby dragon stated. "I realized you were right and that it was time to move on. I guess I just needed some time to think it over."

Twilight gave a big smile and hugged Spike. "I'm proud of you Spike, you're growing up fast. It seems like only yesterday that I hatched you. How about I give you this gem?"

Twilight levitated a huge green square gem to Spike and the baby dragon took it eagerly. He munched on it and swallowed it down quickly. He decided to take the potion to the bedroom quickly to hide it under his pillow. He felt in such a good mood he decided to clean the library up. He hummed to himself as he put books, with the exception of the ones Twilight were using, back and dusted the entire place. When the baby dragon finished he looked to see that it was in the late afternoon. He felt a hoof on his shoulder and looked to see Twilight had a smile on her face.

"You've been working very hard Spike. I think you've earned the rest of the day off. How about you go off and hang around town while I stay here to finish my potion?"

Spike happily nodded and took off from the library. He decided to go look around the town with a skip in his step. He looked around some of the shops that sold holiday material and hung out Snips and Snails for a little bit. They all caught up on good times and each laughed at jokes they made with each other. Princess Celestia's sun started going down and gave the sky an orange color. Snips and Snails bid farewell and Spike headed home feeling tired from the day he had, but felt rather happy as well.

When Spike got back to the library he saw that Twilight had bought him a bowl of gems and was giving him a smile. "Here Spike. This is for all your hard work today."

Spike hugged Twilight and she returned the hug as well. Twilight grabbed a daisy sandwich with some apples from Applejack's farm and the pair had dinner together. While they ate, Spike thought more about the potion he got from Barry and gave thought about whether he should take the potion or not. When they finished dinner Spike gave a loud yawn and decided to turn in while Twilight decided to do one of her all night readings.

Spike waved good night to the lilac unicorn and went upstairs. When he got to his room he took the potion from under his pillow and thought over his choice. He could be a pony and win over Rarity's heart and start a new life as well as a pony. He could grow old with his friends and be with them until the very end of his life. He would never have to leave Ponyville when he got older and could stay with his friends.

He thought of the downside as well with how Twilight would react and how the others would take it as well. He wondered if they would blast him for what he did and think different of him. There was also how Princess Celestia would treat this matter. A part of him wondered if she would change him back to a dragon and punish him. Then there was how Rarity would react to all of this; would she still accept him as a pony? Spike felt very lost on what to do.


Spike thought the consequences were too dire to handle. He thought it was for the best that he didn't do this. He decided to place the potion near his bed, but out of Twilight's sight. He tried to think of an excuse for stealing the potion from Barry. All of a sudden the vision of the nightmare Spike had came into view with Rarity married to Blueblood and him losing her. He saw the others die around him while he was still young like in his dream. It was too much for Spike to handle now. He didn't care what the others thought and what Celestia did to him; he wanted to be with Rarity along with his friends and refused to let anything stand in his way. Spike popped the cork and was met with a smell that was like a combination of rotting garbage with the smell of Froggy-Bottom Bog. The baby dragon nearly suffocated from the smell, but with a determined look drank the potion. The potion tasted no better than it smelled at all, it felt like drinking liquefied rotten apples and felt as if he had molten lava in his stomach. Spike nearly puked, but was able to down the entire potion.

Spike waited for him to change, but felt nothing at all happen to him except for his stomach growl. Spike felt his heart sink and cursed himself for getting his hopes up. He decided that for the best he would go to sleep and wonder how he can confess to Rarity. Through most of the night Spike couldn't fall asleep. He felt hot and sweaty like as if he was on the surface of the sun itself and found himself breathing heavily. He could feel his body crying out in protest and the insides of his body thrashing around. The baby dragon kept thinking this was one of those growth spurts that Twilight told him about. He wondered though if a growth spurt ever hurt as much as this. After what seemed to be an eternity, Spike fell asleep and ignored the rest of the pain in his body.

Celestia's sun woke up Spike the next day and he let out a groan. He felt like a stampede ran over him all night long. He heard the door to the bedroom open and looked to see a messy maned looking Twilight come in.

"Good morning Spike how are y-AAAHHH!!!"

Spike jumped out and looked alarmed by Twilight's cry of terror. "What's wrong Twilight? Is there something on me?"

The lilac unicorn's skin had gone pale. She gave Spike a shocked look with her eyes as wide as dinner plates and her mouth dropped. She was speechless and couldn't say anything at all.

Spike just looked at his mentor quizzically and raised an eyebrow. "Twilight, are you alright? What's wrong?"

No words came from Twilight at all. She looked almost like a statue and seemed at a loss for words. Spike grew worried and moved towards Twilight, but she gave a yelp and jumped back. Spike had never seen Twilight looked this freaked out before.

The lilac unicorn finally got some words to come out of her. "Wh...who are you and where's Spike?"

Spike gave Twilight a dumbfounded look and said, "Twilight it's me Spike, your number one assistant remember?"

Twilight shook her head in disbelief and said, "N...no I...I don't believe you."

Spike felt very confused by what was happening and said, "Twilight, it's me Spike. Your number one dragon assistant and friend since your days at Canterlot."

Twilight still looked like she'd seen a ghost. "P...prove it then. Prove that you're Spike."

Spike felt flabbergasted over his mentor's behavior and decided to amuse her. "You hatched me when I was an egg for your entrance exam to be in Princess Celestia's School of Magic. I accidentally burnt your book of astrology and tried to hide it, but you found out about it. You even messed up on a spell that turned one of the Royal Guards into a statue while practicing."

Twilight looked shocked and said nothing for a few minutes. No one except her, Spike, and the guard knew that. It slowly dawned on her and realized the truth. She built up the courage to nod slowly and looked at Spike. "I...it can't be. It just can't be. I...it is you Spike, it really is you."

Spike felt lost at this point and shook his head in frustration. "Alright what's going on here!? You've been looking at me strangely ever since I woke up and now you remember me!? Did I miss something!?"

Twilight levitated a tall mirror towards her friend. "W...well Spike just take a look and you'll see."

Spike went over and felt like he was walking funny. He looked in the mirror and felt his eyes bulge out and his jaw drop. He was on four hoof legs with a purple coat, a flat scruffy green mane and tail, green eyes, and had wings to boot as well. Spike had become a pony.


Neither Spike nor Twilight said anything to each other as the room filled with tension. Spike placed one of his hoofs on the mirror to see if it really was him. He hit one of his legs to make sure this wasn't a dream only to feel pain. Spike felt many doors open in his mind and the possibilities as well. There were so many things going through the new pony's mind that he couldn't find words to describe his excitement. A knocking at the library door brought Spike out of his thoughts and made Twilight yelp in fear.

"S...Spike." Twilight said nervously. "I...I don't know what's going on, but we can't let anypony see you like this. Quick, run to the basement and don't make any noise."

Spike hesitantly nodded and quickly ran off, but tripped in just a few steps. Twilight just looked at him feeling a mix of frustration and annoyance. "Eheh heh um...sorry Twilight." He said giving an embarrassed smile. "I guess I'm not used to this new way of walking yet."

Twilight just shook her head and levitated the new Spike using her magic. "We don't have time for this Spike. We need to find out what happened to you and try to keep this a secret."

Twilight put Spike in the basement and locked it to make sure Spike didn't escape. The lilac unicorn heard a more powerful knock when she finished locking the basement and hurried to open the door. She opened the door to see an annoyed Applejack.

"Howdy Twilight." Applejack said with a tinge of anger in her voice. "Y'all know where Spike's at?"

Twilight scrambled to think of something. "Um...well he went off to uh...Canterlot for...royal business. Why aren't you running your apple stand?"

The lilac unicorn gave a forced grin while Applejack glared at her for a few minutes. "It's mah day off Twi." The orange mare said. "A'hm mighy sorry fer bargin' in like this, but Ah needed t'see Spike. The little dragon owes me some bits fer not payin' fer mah apples."

Twilight felt a tinge of annoyance and anger at Spike for how he acted. She went to go pull another bag of bits out. Twilight gave Applejack the bag of bits and hoped that her friend would leave, but Applejack just gave a concerned look.

"Sugarcube. Ah think we need to talk now."

Twilight cursed herself in her mind and hoped that Spike wouldn't cause any noise while hiding. She went over with Applejack to a table and grabbed one of the apples from the bucket to eat. Applejack looked rather serious and her gaze made Twilight shake a little.

"Twilight." Applejack asked in a serious tone. "Are y'all tellin' me the truth? Is Spike really on business in Canterlot?"

Twilight felt like her stomach did several flips and felt herself sweating a bit. She gave her friend a fake smile. "Wh...what do you mean Applejack? T...that's what he told me last night. He left before I got up."

Applejack shook her head. "Ah ain't so sure about that Twi." She said in a more concerned tone. "Ah think he's feelin' a little down."

Twilight felt relieved the tension had simmered down a bit, but was still wary by her friend's behavior. "What do you mean Applejack?"

"What Ah'm sayin' sugarcube is that Spike may have had his feelings hurt a bit."

"How so?"

The orange mare gave a sad look. "Well the other day, he told me about how he felt 'bout Rarity and Ah felt that Ah may've hurt him."

Twilight felt shocked by what her friend said. She secretly thought about Spike's current situation as well wondering if it connected. "I'm sure he's fine Applejack. He looked fine when he went to bed."

Applejack shook her head. "Ah ain't so sure about that Twi. I think he's really hurt 'bout what Ah said."

"Well what did you tell him?" Twilight asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well he told me about what y'all said about him just givin' up on Rarity and that he was just a dragon who had no chance to win over Rarity's heart." Applejack said with a tinge of remorse in her voice. "Ah kind of told him the same thing as well and he ran off faster than Winona gittin' her supper. He looked like he had tears in his eyes and Ah feel slimier than a bucket of slugs fer actin' so harsh on the little guy. Ah think he may have done somethin' rash."

Twilight gave no response and felt something click in her mind. She remembered that Rarity was only looking for a stallion and a dragon would not be perfect for her. All the pieces seemed to fit together now with Spike's situation and felt a surge of anger build in her. She gave a twitch and managed to keep a calm look. "I understand Applejack. When Spike comes back, I'll talk to him."

Applejack gave a small smile. "Thank ya kindly Twilight. Ah'll be back to say that Ah'm sorry." She took an apple and with a wave left the library.


Twilight marched towards the library's basement feeling furious about what Spike had done. She unlocked the door and saw Spike sitting near the entrance still looking at his new hooves in wonder. He looked at Twilight and felt his heart sink as the lilac unicorn looked besides herself.

"Spike." Twilight said with anger in her voice. "I want to know right now. What happened last night?"

Spike hadn't seen Twilight this mad since her time down at Froggy-Bottom Bog. He scrambled to say something. "W...what do you mean Twilight? I...I just went to the herb store, hung out around Ponyville with Snips and Snails, and then went to bed."

"Don't lie to me Spike!" Twilight barked causing Spike to cower in fear. "I heard about what you said to Applejack the other night. Not only am I disappointed in how you didn't pay Applejack, but for what you did to yourself."

Spike tried to think of an excuse but his mind went totally blank and could only shake harder. Twilight gave a glare that rivaled with Fluttershy's "stare" and went on. "You turned yourself into a pony to win Rarity's heart didn't you Spike?"

"I...I have no idea what you're talking about Twilight." Spike said with a voice that sounded close to Fluttershy's.

Twilight shook her head and levitated Spike, bringing him close to his mentor's livid face. "Spike, tell me the truth right now. What happened last night?"

Spike looked at Twilight's face and saw flames burning in her eyes. He knew there was no way out of this and decided to tell the events of what happened yesterday and the day before. He told of how Applejack told him to give up on Rarity and then about his run in with Barry and the potion. He said he took the potion to turn himself into a pony. He left out the dreams though thinking Twilight would dismiss it as him having eaten too much. When he finished he had some tears in his eyes, but looked to see Twilight. She still looked angry, but not as much now.

Twilight gave a nod with her angered expression. "Alright Spike." She said in an annoyed voice. "I want to go see this Barry pony and in the meantime I want you to stay here." The lilac unicorn turned was ready to lock the basement door.

"Wait a minute Twilight!" Spike shouted causing Twilight to turn around. "I...I think it's best for me to come as well. I...I was the one who stole the potion. I think if I talk to him he may recognize me and I need to say I'm sorry to him."

Twilight looked at her assistant and saw that he looked desperate. She gave a wary nod to her him. "Alright Spike you can come, but you can't bring any attention to yourself around any of the other ponies alright?"

Spike gave a small smile and nodded. He got up slowly and tried to walk but he found himself wobbling and fell over. He looked to see Twilight give an annoyed look. "Sorry Twilight, I'm still trying to get used to walking like a pony."

Twilight breathed in and let out a sigh. "Just pretend like you're crawling Spike, like when you were a very little baby dragon."

Spike gave a nod and slowly with his right hoof moved forward and then used his left rear hoof to move forward. He slowly moved forward at first, but he slowly got the hang of it. He trotted around a little awkwardly, but he walked like a normal pony.

Twilight signaled him to come along with her. Both ponies stepped out and started to make their way to Barry's shop. Twilight looked to see that the streets were mostly deserted and the ponies that were on the streets were busy with work. Twilight gave a sigh of relief and began to walk along Spike.

"Hi there Twilight." A chipper voice said all of a sudden.

Twilight jumped in surprise to see standing next to her was Pinkie Pie giving a huge goofy smile. "Um...hi there Pinkie."

Pinkie looked to see Spike who was trying to hide behind Twilight. "Are you who I think you are?" She said with a bit of suspicion in her tone.

Twilight and Spike looked in fear and stared as Pinkie closed in on Spike with a serious look on her face.