Old vs New

by Fernin

Chapter 02: Sonic Rain-bomb

Chapter Two: Sonic Rain-bomb

"…And what I don't get is… why me?" Spike stared up at the motionless face of Discord, but no answers were forthcoming. The silence stretched out as the chaos-transformed former dragon searched for any sign of a response. Nothing moved save for a slight breeze that ruffled feathers on the draco-pegasus' lavender wings. Finally he sighed and turned away.

Of course the petrified draconequus wasn't going to respond; that kind of thing only happened in Twilight's books. If Spike wanted answers-- admittedly a dicey proposition where the Lord of Chaos had been involved-- he was going to have to find them inside himself. How trite. Well, it made about as much sense as anything else that had happened to the new draco-pegasus recently.

Spike looked down at the bizarre new body Discord had given him. The scales down his belly were familiar… unlike practically everything else about his new form. Taken as a whole Spike looked like he was the result of a dragon's rather drunken fling with a pegasus, or vice versa. It almost made 'the new Rainbow Dash' wonder what the offspring would look like if he got back to normal and Rarity ever--

"Oh! There you are Spike!" Twilight's sudden appearance chucked a spanner into Spike's mental gears, causing that particular awkward chain of thought to grind to a halt. The purple unicorn trotted up to her draco-pegasus friend, slightly out of breath. She looked... a bit frazzled, to say the least.

Spike shifted awkwardly from hoof to hoof-- ugh, it was so weird not having clawed dragon feet-- and tried to smile in greeting. "Uh… Hey Twi."

"There's no time to waste! We need to be back at the throne room for the ceremony, right away!" Twilight jerked her head toward to the imposing bulk of the castle behind her. Sighing, Spike followed.

"What were you doing out there anyway?" Twilight asked as Spike jogged next to her back to the castle.

"N-nothing… what about you? I thought we were just here to speak to the Princess about, uh, me. What's the rush?" Spike started to feel a bit nervous. Spike's friends weren't going to… do something to him, were they?

Maybe Princess Celestia wanted to banish Spike to the moon for being the last remnant of Discord's power in Equestria? Or maybe the girls were going to blast Spike with the Elements of Harmony..? How would that even work? Would the draco-pegasus need to help fire the Friendship Beam or whatever it was and then run over and get hit by it? That didn't seem like a good plan…

"We've got to get to the ceremony, Spike! You know, the ceremony? I know I mentioned it. It's even on my checklist! Twice!"

"Er… sorry. I guess I was still busy being ill from belching up over sixty scrolls, Twilight," Spike replied, putting a little extra emphasis on the ridiculous number of letters. Would it have killed Princess Celestia just to send the highlights instead of every single friendship report? He still couldn't get the taste of burned paper out of his mouth…

In a distant tower, a bell tolled to mark the time. Twilight looked up at the sun and groaned, her slightly disheveled mane moving a few points closer to 'disorganized mess.'

"Oooh, we're going to be late!" At the use of the 'L-word,' Twilight managed the unlikely feat of shuddering noticeably while at nearly a full gallop.

Uh oh. Spike could still remember a few of the unicorn's little 'episodes' from their time together at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The draco-pegasus lengthened his stride despite the awkwardness of running upright with wings on his back. At least Twilight hadn't used the 'T-word' yet. "It's not that bad, Twi! We're not going to be tard- ahem. I mean, don't worry, we'll get there. Look, almost there now… See?"

Thankfully, it was true. Two royal guards hesitated at the sight of Spike's unusual shape, but they dropped their wings when they caught sight of the Sun Princess' faithful student at the weird creature's side. With Spike's muttered thanks and Twilight's sigh of relief, the two were inside the large, marble-tiled receiving area that opened into the main throne room. The two friends' hooves clicked on the cool white floor as they approached the small clump of ponies near the massive, imposing doors.

Spike could hear the clamor of hundreds of ponies talking on the far side of the double doors, but on this side everything was quiet save for Twilight's and his hoofbeats. The sheer scale of the room seemed to force its occupants to whisper. Well… most of its occupants.

"Heeeeyyyy!!! They're finally here! We thought you were going to be Latey McTardypants!" Pinkie Pie grinned, rearing up on her hind legs to wave spastically at the approaching duo.

"Tardy…" Twilight twitched again, only to feel Spike's clawed hand on her mane, smoothing the disheveled hair back down. She looked up to see that her transformed friend flash her a quick, nervous smile, then go back to scanning the upper corners of the room. Was Spike looking for somepony? Weird. Well, no time to worry about that now. The purple unicorn approached one of the waiting guards at the massive doors and was soon in hushed conference about movement orders and timelines.

Spike breathed a sigh of relief. As far as his quick search could discover, the large waiting room was entirely free of irate cyan pegasus mares. So far, anyway. It was… probably for the best. A shudder ran down Spike's spine from his mane-covered neck to the spade tip of his tail as he imagined his inevitable meeting with Rainbow Dash…

* * *

It was a nice, peaceful day. Celestia's sun shone down brightly, warming the ground and even penetrating through Spike's new purple fur to the underlying skin. It felt… pretty good, all things considered. Spike smiled to himself, glad that he'd taken Twilight up on her offer to give the draco-pegasus the rest of the day off. He waved happily to a few fillies playing with a large, colorful ball. They stared wide-eyed at him and quickly darted off, leaving their ball bouncing sad and alone.

With a heavy heart, Spike watched them go. So far it had been a bit of a rocky start for everypony involved. Hopefully soon the citizens of Ponyville would finally start getting used to their chaos-twisted fellow resident. That, or Twilight would finally manage to find the right counter-spell.

Spike smiled again at that happy possibility and stretched his wings, relishing the feeling of the afternoon breeze through his feathers. Maybe he'd drop by Sugarcube Corner to see what--

A rumble of unexpected thunder split the heavens. Shrieking out of the sky like a falling demon, something moving faster than thought slammed into the ground not more than a stone's throw from where Spike was standing. The shockwaves of the sudden impact knocked Spike off his hooves. He landed heavily on his back, wincing as the fall and awkward landing wrenched his wings unpleasantly. What had happened? The draco-pegasus pushed himself up, massaging one feathered limb, and moved forward to see what had made the crater. When he caught sight of what it was, he stopped. Oh, Celestia, no. Spike's heart leaped into his throat and stuck there.

At the center of the blackened crater crouched a cyan pony with a colorful shock of rainbow hair and an equally variegated tail. Spike stammered for a moment before finding his voice. "R-r-r-r-rainbow Dash! Are you all right?!"

Rainbow Dash had landed on all fours, somehow still in one piece despite her meteoric fall. The air above her seemed to waver with heat as her head rose with deliberate slowness. Two red, maddened eyes stared up at the draco-pegasus from the bottom of the shallow crater. The atmosphere sizzled as Rainbow Dash's emotionless face twisted into a snarl of hatred. "YOU."

Spike took a step back, stumbling a little awkwardly on his still-unfamiliar hooves. "M-me..?"

Rainbow Dash climbed slowly out of the smoking crater on shaky legs, gaining strength as she advanced. As the pegasus stepped forward, Spike found himself stepping back-- but the irate pony was gaining on him. He waved nervous arms placatingly. "R-rainbow Dash, you aren't… you aren't mad at me are you?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? You stole my element…" hissed Dash.

Spike looked down. Somehow he was once again wearing the Element of Loyalty. The baleful red of its lightning bolt matched the angry glow of Rainbow Dash's eyes. "I-- I can explain…"

Rainbow Dash blurred. There was a sudden gust of wind, forcing Spike to blink. He winced-- it felt like somepony had tried to take his head off at the neck. When Spike's eyes snapped back open, the cyan pegasus had the Element of Loyalty in her mouth. She spit it out contemptuously, the metal jewelry clinking as it landed on the soft grass. Dash kept coming, her hissing voice still threatening and low. "You stole my house…"

That had seemed like such a good idea at the time. Twilight had even suggested it, Spike was sure of it. Something about getting Spike out from under her hooves while she worked on a cure… Now Spike couldn't imagine why the unicorn had thought it was a good idea. He took another step back, trying to think of something disarming to say to the irate mare. "Uh… I… did your dishes for you while you were gone?"

"You stole my friends…" Rainbow Dash hissed.

"I…" Spike's mind drifted back to Pinkie Pie's 'Congratulations Spikebow Dash' party. Had Rainbow Dash seen that? But how? How could she think that-- The draco-pegasus realized he probably should have said something more convincing. Rainbow Dash was sure to take that as a sign of agreement and…

The rainbow-maned mare continued her rant, heedless of anything Spike might say or do. "…And now I have nothing. Nothing but you, you faker. Why would I be mad?"

Rainbow Dash laughed bitterly. Spike joined her nervously. "Ahahaha… hahaha… Oh Rainbow Dash, you're such a kidder… haha--GAH!"

In an instant, Spike was on the ground again, his wings screaming at him as the combined body weight of pegasus and draco-pegasus bore down on the abused bones and tendons. Rainbow Dash's muzzle was mere inches from his own. "I'm going to give you a head start, 'Spikebow Dash.' You have ten. Seconds. Flat. I'm sure as the 'new Rainbow Dash' you'll know what to do with them."

With that, Rainbow Dash leaped into the sky and was gone. Spike wasted the first four of his seconds trying to catch his breath. Another few seconds were gone as he climbed back onto pain-weakened legs and started running. The final few seconds passed-- and yet somehow Spike was still running. He looked desperately up at the sky as he made tracks towards a clump of trees. Maybe Rainbow wouldn't see him in there… what was that noise?

A mournful roar like the wail of a thousand lost souls was building, rising to fill up the world and blot out all other sounds. Spike kept running, looking over his shoulder, but it was just something to do in the little time he knew he had left. He could see Rainbow Dash screaming down out of the stratosphere, aiming towards her prey with unerring accuracy. The draco-pegasus managed a half dozen more frightened strides before his world vanished in a soundless explosion of prismatic fury. The technicolor mushroom cloud rose into the stratosphere, visible from as far away as Canterlot…

* * *

"Hey, Spike! Consarnit, you crazy critter, wake up!" Applejack's country twang brought Spike back to reality with a shudder. A hoof was prodding Spike's flank, none too gently. Of course, it belonged to the tan-orange earth pony. Green eyes scrutinized Spike's face as the draco-pegasus wiped away a sudden coating of cold sweat.

"I… Oh hey, Applejack. Um… is it nearly time? Your hat looks good. Uh, nice job with the mane." Spike stammered, saying the first thing that sprung into his head. Still, that didn't mean that what the draco-pegasus was saying wasn't true. Probably thanks to Rarity's prodding, the apple farmer had given mane and hat both a thorough cleaning.

Slowing his breathing, Spike tried to remind himself of the facts of life as they currently were. He wasn't a small cloud of radioactive dust spreading out over Equestria. He hadn't unwisely moved into Rainbow Dash's house. The Element of Loyalty was safe in its storage case back in Twilight's room, not here around his neck… Whew. The draco-pegasus resolved never to get that into one of his daydreams again.

Applejack scrutinized her friend. "You okay, Sugarcube? You look more jumpy 'n a flea on a cast iron skillet."

"I'll-- I'm fine. Are my spines strai-- er, does my mane look okay?" Talking with the unquestionably well-grounded pony was doing wonders for bringing Spike down to earth. He almost felt normal-- for a given value of normal, of course. At least, he did until the big hall on the other side of the two big double doors fell silent.

"Right on time. Here we go, girls..!" Twilight whispered, grinning winningly to her friends. The big doors opened with a rising fanfare of trumpets. The crowd was huge; Spike could see them through the doors.

Spike cringed. So many ponies. 'Look,' he could imagine them saying, 'there's that thing Discord made…' 'I hear it even turned on its creator!' 'Ew, what's wrong with its front hooves?' Maybe he should run now. But… No. That wouldn't be fair to Twilight and the others. He could do this. Taking a deep breath, Spike stepped forward and followed his friends.

The draco-pegasus easily towered over everypony in the room besides Princess Celestia. Spike steeled himself and continued to walk past pony after pony, feeling stares upon him as he trotted up the aisle on the rich red carpeting. He tried to keep his breathing smooth and steady.

The five ponies and one draco-pegasus approached the Princess-- radiant as usual with her pastel mane waving in a nonexistent breeze. Princess Celestia smiled proudly down at her faithful student and five friends. Applejack grinned. Spike waved nervously at the staring crowd. Oh by Celestia there were so many eyes looking at him…

The Sun Princess cleared her throat and began to speak, effortlessly making herself heard despite the huge size of the hall. "We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends who stood up to the villain Discord… and saved Equestria from eternal chaos!"

Spike cringed, ready to be buried under cries of 'faker!' and 'weirdo' and 'freak!' He waited for a moment. That was odd. It didn't sound like shouts of derision at all. In fact it sounded more like they were… cheering? The draco-pegasus opened his eyes. They were! Row after row of happy pony faces looked up at the Spike and his friends. Maybe… maybe he could do this. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Arcane energy glimmered from Princess Celestia's horn and a glowing field of magic surrounded a large, purple curtain at one side of the hall. The heavy, luxurious fabric slid aside to reveal a tall stained glass window. The expertly-cut and -leaded glass glimmered in the sunlight, depicting a horrified Discord being defeated by the power of the Elements of Harmony. There was a small depiction of Twilight, hooves pawing at the air as light lanced from her to transfix the frozen draconequus. The other girls were there too. There was Rarity, and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash and -- wait. Rainbow Dash?

Twilight Sparkle cringed inwardly as she saw the mistake the window-maker had made. He'd probably been told to show the Elements of Harmony defeating Discord. It was a perfectly understandable mistake that anypony could have made, but… The unicorn looked up and tried to catch Spike's attention, hoping she could distract the draco-pegasus before he saw… Ah. Too late. Her 'Number One Assistant' had already noticed.

Meeting Twilight's apologetic gaze, Spike grinned awkwardly and shrugged. Well… this seemed about par for the course so far. Just another day as Twilight Sparkle's loyal assistant, right?

Comments

[Sweetie_Belle_Derelle]

lol wat?

This is good.

[mbpony 512]

Okay color me interested in this tale. Becuase I would love to see how Rainbow dash reacts to all of this...

I mean being replace by Spike, who is now a pony, as well as a dragon. This could make things interesting for Twilight's assistant.

Please do keep up the good work upon such a grear tale like this one.

Wait, Draconequs means "dragon" and "horse". So technically Rainbow Spike is a draconiqus like Discord. Does this mean he/she has some extra magical powers similar to Discords own? That could explain at least one factor in how the elements didn't return Spike to normal.

[Sweetie_Belle_Derelle]

30095

A Draconequus is actually Similar to a Chimera, which is composed of several animals, so no.

[Dusty the Royal Janitor]

Update comes when?

[lupin96]

Dis gon b good.
I really want to see where this one goes.
Nice writing too.

[Supersheep64]

The narrator can't seem to decide wheter spike is male or female.

[nemryn]

Yeah, missed a few spots with the Retcon Beam. Two just before Spike's daydream, and again when he makes sure the Element isn't around her neck.

[Fernin]

162548
Thanks, fixed!

I mean... What are you talking about, Nemryn? That's crazy talk. Why are you saying crazy things? You're absolutely cupcakes.