Rainbow Unicorns: Bridle Gossip

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Not a Dream

After the two of them got back to Golden Oaks, Rainbow Bursts gave Spike quite an earful. Not only did he put himself in danger if Zecora had actually used some sort of magic that Rainbow was not familiar with, but he and Apple Bloom had gone into The Everfree Forest! While he may not have gone with Rainbow and the others when they went for the Elements, he had seen how dangerous the place could be when the ursas had come to Ponyville. Being a dragon may have given him some advantages, but he was not invulnerable.

Fortunately for Spike, that was the extent of his troubles. He was not grounded, and he still got dessert after dinner.

That night, as she slept, Rainbow Burst had strange dreams. She was walking through a large, strange looking forest, with trees that were far from normal. Shadowy figures moved among them, hidden from sight and all but impossible to see. Strange music filled the air, a distant voice singing about trances and stews. A large blue flower rose up before her, turning into a snake. It opened it to reveal its massive mouth and razor-sharp fangs before lunging forward.

It was right as she was about to be eaten that Rainbow Burst woke up. The morning sun was coming through the windows of her room, letting her know that she had slept through the night. A glance at her alarm let her know that it was not too much earlier than normal anyways.

More importantly, there was the smell of food cooking. Which meant that not only was Spike up, but breakfast was going to be ready soon. With a lick of her lips, Rainbow hopped out of bed and made her way for the kitchen. As she approached, the aroma got stronger, and more tempting, until she was practically drooling with hunger.

It was also a very familiar scent.

Rainbow poked her head into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow.

"Do I smell what I think I smell?" she asked.

"If you smell fresh made cinnamon pancakes," Spike called back, "then yes."

Grinning, Rainbow came into the kitchen the rest of the way. It was not so much the pancakes in and of themselves that had her excited (although they were pretty tasty on their own), as what they went with: jam. Specifically, Sweet Apple Acres Zap Apple Jam. That was one of the most delicious things about Ponyville.

"Figured I owed to you," Spike said. "You were pretty mad about what happened, but went easy on me for it. So I thought I make them as a way of saying sorry and thanks."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, giving a shake of her head.

"Do you really think making me a plate of pancakes would be enough to stop me from being mad?" she asked.

Spike turned to look at her and smirked.

"Well if you don't... want..."

He stopped, brow furrowing. His gaze narrowed as he studied her for a long moment.

"Where's your horn?"

Rainbow turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. She studied Spike back a moment before smiling and letting out a chuckle.

"Wow," she said. "Good one, Spike. You had me really going. When did your acting get so good?"

"It's not a joke," Spike replied. He pointed at her face. "Your horn is missing."

Letting out a snort, Rainbow rolled her eyes and gave a shake of her head.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll play along."

Grabbing a spoon, she held it up and looked at her reflection.

"Oh, no," she said in a flat tone. "My horn is missing. Where could it..."

She stopped when she looked at her reflection in the spoon, and did not see her horn. Maybe it was a malfunction? No. That was stupid. Spoons could not really malfunction unless they broke, and that would not affect their reflective ability. Maybe it was the angle. Rainbow tried lifting and lower it, looking to see if she could find it. Maybe her mane was in the way? Yeah. Yeah, that had to be it. She lifted up a hoof to push the mane out of the way, running it over her completely smooth forehead in the process.

"My horn's missing!" Rainbow cried out, dropping the spoon. "Where's my horn?!" She rubbed at her forehead, eyes wide with panic. "WHERE'S MY HORN!"

There was a sudden snort from Spike, followed by a cough.

"Okay, Rainbow," he said in a soothing voice. "I need you to calm down, and take a deep breath."

Rainbow turned to scowl at him, but closed her eyes and did as he asked.

"Good," Spike continued. "Now, good news: I found your horn."

Which was now the weirdest thing that Rainbow Burst had ever heard in her life. Still, there was a thrill of excitement and hope at the sound of that. Opening her eyes, she turned to him.

"Where? Where is it?"

Spike let out another chuckle, although there was definitely a hint of nervousness to it.

"Well, that's the weird part," he said. "It's um... behind you." He then pointed a claw at her.

"Behind me?" Rainbow repeated brow furrowing and ears pulling back. Shifting as best she could, she turned around to look behind her as best she could.

There, on her back, just above her tail, was her horn.

Rainbow screamed, her raspy voice so high, every dog in Ponyville started barking.

"Okay," Spike said. "I have an idea. Be right back."

He ran from the room, leaving a stunned Rainbow Burst staring at the horn sticking out from the wrong end of her.

"How... how... how... HOW?" was all she was able to ask. She turned, and turned, spinning like a dog chasing its tail as she tried to get a better look. "How did this happen? How is this possible?"

With a sigh, she stopped spinning and dropped into a sitting position. Her entire body sagged.

"What am I going to do?" she asked herself.

Spike came back in, camera in hand.

"Hey, Rainbow," he called out, holding up the camera. "Smile!"

There was a loud click and a flash of light as he snapped a photo of Rainbow Burst and her backwards horn. Rainbow scowled at him, getting up and turning to face him fully.

"What the hay, Spike?" she snapped. "Why are you taking my picture like this?"

"I know it seems weird," Spike admitted, "but hear me out. This is a big deal, right? Well, I bet when you solve the problem, you're going to want to write a letter to Princess Celestia, telling her what happened." He held up the camera. "This way, she can see what happened. On the other claw, if you can't fix it, you'll want to write to Princess Celestia and ask her to help. If that happens, seeing what the problem is will help her figure out what to do." He grinned. "Besides, when this is all over, you'll want to look back on this and laugh."

Rainbow let out a growl but did not argue. She sincerely doubted that she would ever, at any point, but he had a point about messaging Princess Celestia. Rainbow would either want to fill her in what happened and what she learned, or ask for help if things got worse.

Her gaze drifted back to her misplaced horn, and a question came to mind.

"Think I can still use magic?"

"Only one way to know for sure," Spike answered.

With a nod, Rainbow Burst turned her attention to the spoon she had been using earlier. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, trying to feel the magic inside and around her, and draw on it. Jaw clenching and brow furrowing she put all of her concentration and energy into using her power, to levitate the spoon. She could feel something building up inside her. If she pushed just a little more

Ppbbbbbbth!

A look of horror dawned on Rainbow's face at the sound. Eyes open and wide, she turned around, looking back.

There behind her was a glowing cloud of magic.

Spike fell over as he laughed.

Comments

[ShadowLDrago]

"It's not a joke," Spike replied. He pointed at her face. "Your horn is missing."

So similar curse to Twilight.

There, on her back, just above her tail, was her horn.

What.

Rainbow screamed, her raspy voice so high, every dog in Ponyville started barking.

Sounds about right.

There behind her was a glowing cloud of magic.

Spike fell over as he laughed.

I'd be laughing too, not gonna lie.

[Comickook]

Excellent job on the exchange, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places concerning Rainbow and Spike. Indeed, Spike DID have a good point about contacting Celestia and that was actually a creative twist on Rainbow's "Poison Joke" effect.

Rainbow: "Supernaturals"? Well, as much as I hate reading, this book MIGHT have something on curses that can give us a good clue as to what happened. (looks over the book) Really?! Nothing on ghosts, goblins or curses? Just a whole bunch of stuff on strange animals and plants. Twilight and Flowershy might like it though. (mockingly) Like this "Poison Joke" stuff. It is said to have unpredictable effects on ponies. (thinks for a second) Wait a minute?! Unpredictable effects?

Okay. Sorry about getting off on a tangent again.

[New Rebellion]

BWAHAHAHAH!! That's GENIUS!!!