Chapter 3
There was a certain mystique about the palace in Canterlot. No matter how many times she'd visited the palace, whether it be for celebratory events, world-saving measures, or even uncertain situations like the one she found herself in on this occasion, Twilight Sparkle somehow always felt like she was walking through its halls for the very first time. Its regal appearance was unfamiliar in a very familiar way, a logical fallacy that even the brilliant mind of Princess Celestia's prized student could not wrap itself around. She gazed upon its many splendors, looking as awestruck as the first time she'd been here. She stared with a reverent grin at one of the stained glass windows; the one put up to commemorate the defeat of Nightmare Moon. In her moment of revelry, she completely forgot that she was meant to be providing a tour for the one who accompanied her, one to whom this place held no familiarity at all.
"I see in your eyes that you admire this prize," the zebra said, giving Twilight's shoulder a tap and meeting her with an amused smile when she turned to face her. "But I would appreciate it more if we continued this tour."
Twilight had been pleasantly surprised to run into Zecora on the train ride. She hadn't seen her zebra friend in a good while, and when Zecora informed her that she, too, had been summoned by the Princesses with no explanation, a delighted Twilight couldn't wait for the opportunity to provide her friend with an all-inclusive tour of her hometown. Fortunately for her, the time between the train's arrival and their meeting with the Princesses had left ample opportunity to show her around. She was also fortunate to be in the presence of one with such calm patience. Many ponies would have groaned at the thoroughness of Twilight's tour, as she insisted on giving as much history behind each building as she could come up with. Zecora had the patience of a saint as she allowed the unicorn to prattle on about the multitude of ownership changes that Donut Joe's shop had gone through, the social significance of the house in which the famed author Jade Singer grew up, and the like. Now, even though her relaxed, friendly demeanor tried to hide it, Twilight could sense the slightest bit of impatience behind her words.
"Oh! Of course!" the embarrassed unicorn said, rubbing the back of her mane sheepishly. She raised a hoof to point towards the window in question, but was stopped by the gold-adorned hoof of her mentor.
"I believe the rest of the tour can wait, Twilight," Princess Celestia said, giving her the gentle smile that she knew so well. She then turned her attention to Zecora, who had lowered herself for a bow. "You may rise, Miss Zecora. I thank you for answering my call." The zebra rose obediently.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Princess," Zecora said. "I hope I can help with this mysterious test."
"Oh, this is not a test, my loyal subject," Celestia said. "I've simply called the two of you here to represent Equestria in delegations with the ambassadors from Zebrica. With you, Zecora, as our local expert, and you, Twilight, as a close confidant, I figure the two of you can be very helpful in our delegations." Twilight could barely contain her excitement.
"It will be an honor to do this for you and Equestria, Princess," Twilight said, bowing her head. Zecora gave a nod of agreement.
"I knew I could count on you two," Celestia said, her smile carrying the warmth of the very celestial body whose ascent and descent she was in charge of. "Now, the two of you may retire to the chamber that I have arranged for you just upstairs."
"But what about the rest of the tour?" Twilight asked. The Princess answered with a light chuckle.
"It can wait, Twilight," the princess of the sun said to her charge. "The two of you should be fully rested for tomorrow's meeting." Twilight nodded obediently, as Zecora bowed once more. She wanted badly to continue the tour, but her mentor was right; rest was important.
The unicorn and the zebra entered their designated quarters. They thanked the guard who had led them there and had been nice enough (and thankfully strong enough) to carry their luggage. Twilight wasted no time in unpacking a book and laying down on one of the beds. It took a polite clearing of the throat from Zecora for her to realize that perhaps moving straight into studies was not the most polite of options.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Zecora," the unicorn said. "I didn't mean to be rude..." The zebra waved it off.
"Do not worry, my studious friend," Zecora said, sitting down herself. "There is no need for your readings to end." She then produced a book of her own, grinned, and opened it. "We both have our share of studies, you see. I can stand to bone up on my alchemy." Twilight smiled, relieved that she had not insulted her friend. She turned back to her book, but stopped reading again, thinking about what Zecora had said.
"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed, causing the zebra to cease her studies as well. "Speaking of alchemy, I found the most interesting side-effect for one of the powders in my lab last week." Zecora's ears perked as she turned to face Twilight.
"A new discovery?" Zecora asked. "Now this intrigues me." Twilight beamed with pride; Zecora was a master at this kind of thing, and to be able to give her what she believed to be new information was very exciting.
"Well," Twilight said, puffing her chest out proudly. "I had a certain powder in my collection which, as far as I knew, had only the effect of causing a rash on ponies. Spike spilled it on himself at one point while helping me reorganize my lab, and by the next day, he had transformed into a pony!" Zecora, who had previously been listening while reading, now turned her full attention to the unicorn. Twilight took a mental note of this and continued.
"I was able to engineer a counter-powder," Twilight said, "Which would erase any effects of the previous powder, and upon application, it changed Spike back right away! Isn't that great?" The unicorn blushed slightly, realizing that she was now gushing, but Zecora seemed unfazed by this, her face still wearing a look of interest.
"I must say that despite all my looks, I have never found a powder like that in my books," Zecora mused. It took all of Twilight's restraint not to giggle like a schoolfilly; impressing Zecora with a feat of alchemy was no easy task.
"Oh, you should have seen Spike," Twilight went on. "He hated it at first, but by the end of the day, he almost didn't want to change back!" She then grinned. "And I came up with the greatest plan!"
"A plan, my friend?" Zecora inquired. "To serve what end?"
"Well," Twilight responded, rubbing her forehooves together. "I know Spike, and even though I told him not to go into my lab, there's a good chance that he will, especially since he knows that I have more of that powder, as well as the antidote, in there. Buuuuut...I replaced the antidote with a dummy, so that I'd know when I got home if he disobeyed me! Isn't that smart?" The unicorn beamed at the zebra, but Zecora's face did not share the elation of her peer's.
"For what it is worth, I do not share your mirth," Zecora said sternly, eliciting a surprised reaction from the unicorn.
"B-but..." Twilight started, but a look from Zecora silenced her.
"A true alchemist is aware," the zebra went on. "That they must always take care. And frivolous use will lead to abuse." She set her book aside, sliding to her hooves. "In your plans to teach Spike to go by the book, did you consider the risks that you took?" Twilight's look of nervousness suddenly changed to one of pride.
"Actually," the unicorn responded. "I made sure before I did anything that there would be no negative effects from the subject going too long without the antidote being administered. I would never want to hurt my number one assistant. I just want to teach him a lesson about being responsible when left to his own devices." She was once again beaming, and looked to Zecora for her reaction. The zebra's face softened a bit, but still held a certain degree of grimness.
"The powder's original effects, you did not expect," she said. "But I trust that you kept all possibilities in check." Twilight nodded eagerly.
"I believe I did," Twilight concurred. Zecora still looked slightly unsure, but a glance at the time convinced her to drop the issue.
"The hour grows late," the zebra said. "And tomorrow is an important date."
"We should get some rest," Twilight said.
"A fine request," Zecora answered. The two set their books aside, slipped into the covers of their own beds, and shut the light. Tomorrow was a big day.
~~~~~~~~~~
Even though he loved Twilight like a sister, Spike had to admit to himself that he was quite thankful for her vacation. Even though it had started off with a patch of extreme boredom, the knowledge that he would be able to spend the rest of this break having fun as Sparkstar made up for it in spades. He hadn't even been Sparkstar for an entire day yet, and he was already having the time of his life. He and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had spent a good portion of their morning in the CMC Clubhouse. It was decided by the three that before Sparkstar could continue his crusading, he should be officially inducted into the club. After all, if he earned his cutie mark without official paperwork declaring him as a member of the club, the others couldn't possibly count it as a victory for the club as a whole. After enduring Scootaloo's drum solo and Sweetie Belle's seemingly-endless list of synonyms for "name," the group held a celebration for their newest member. Spike couldn't help but question their method of celebration; as far as he knew, most typical exclusive groups didn't welcome their newest members with an impromptu tag-team wrestling match. He had to concede, however, that there wasn't much typical about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
After a hard-fought battle, which ended with Scootaloo pinning Sweetie to earn the victory for herself and Apple Bloom, it was on to a very different activity, as the first Cutie Mark Crusaders Beauty Pageant was set to begin. Spike couldn't help but be happily impressed at the variation in the Crusaders' planned activities. The dragon-turned-pony had been worried that without him there to stand up for Sweetie, the three would go right back into their usual routine of tending towards more competitive activities. The wrestling match certainly didn't do much to convince him that this was not the case. As it turned out, there didn't seem to be much to worry about. The pageant was actually Bloom's idea, and despite objections from Scootaloo at first, all four had a good time with it. Spike even allowed the fillies to doll him up with badly-applied makeup and a tablecloth meant to represent a dress. Nopony earned their cutie marks from this, but a good time was had regardless.
After the pageant came lunchtime. Spike found himself getting a bit nervous as the group approached Sweet Apple Acres. It was probably silly; after all, the only bit of his pony appearance that was shared with his dragon body was the color scheme. Even that shouldn't have been a problem, as he knew plenty of purple ponies, and even a couple with green manes. Still, he couldn't help the little niggling scrap of worry in the back of his mind. Could he really lie about his nature to honest Applejack? If he did, what if she somehow saw right through his charade? She would be unhappy with him, the girls would be upset with him for lying to them, and his foolproof plan of administering the antidote before Twilight got home would be useless, since there would be no chance of Applejack not informing her of his misdeed. The risk was almost enough to make him turn around and suggest going somewhere else to eat, but it would seem way too suspicious. Luckily for him, Applejack didn't seem to suspect a thing when the three fillies introduced her to Twilight's purple-and-green, never-mentioned-before pegasus cousin from out of town. Plus, she called him a very well-mannered colt while serving them their lunch, a compliment that gave him a warm, tingly feeling in his belly. The compliment was followed by a strange look from the far pony as she glanced at his eyes, but he thought little of it, as the delicious food she had served now had his undivided attention.
Lunchtime was followed by even more crusading. Spike couldn't wrap his mind around how the three fillies had so much energy. They seemed to never tire, no matter what rigorous physical activity they engaged in. As far as he could remember (though his memory was a bit cloudy), there was never a time where he was this active for so long without needing at least a short nap. Somewhere between the jousting tournament and the attempt at trying to wake their latent psychic abilities or something, Spike was forced to sit aside and request a nap. The idea was met with hesitation at first by Bloom and Scoots, as napping would take him away from any chance of earning a cutie mark for a while unless his special talent was sleeping. Unsurprisingly, it was Sweetie who came to his defense, insisting that they could afford to wait just a little bit while he slept. As Spike drifted off for a much-needed nap in the grass, he could have sworn he heard the other two make some little comments towards Sweetie and her defense of her coltfriend. As embarrassing as it was to be called that, he couldn't help but feel happy, as another warm, tingly feeling invaded his belly before he fell asleep.
Evening soon came, and even the most energetic of young ponies had to rest at some point. Even fatigue, however, proved incapable of keeping the four close friends separated. Somepony (nopony could remember who amidst the excitement) had suggested the idea of a slumber party, and the idea was met mostly with positivity. It was decided that the library would be the easiest location to hold it, since not only did it put Spike where he needed to be to feed Owloysius, but it was also the one location at which they would not be bothered by an older sibling. The fillies still had one remaining issue, though, and that was the uncertainty that they would be allowed not only to spend the night without supervision, but also to have a slumber party with a colt on the guest list. Luckily, things seemed to be looking in their favor. Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo's surrogate sister of sorts, had been the easiest to convince, giving her permission quickly and basing it on the idea that Scootaloo was almost as awesome as she was and therefore could handle herself and the others and didn't need supervision. Applejack, on the other hoof, was the complete opposite. Bloom reasoned with her for what seemed like an hour before the farmer's resolve cracked, and she was forced to admit that as long as they didn't go outside till morning, there wasn't much for them to get themselves into trouble with at the library. Spike was very relieved that Twilight had apparently not told Applejack about her lab, and chose to also withhold that information. He seriously doubted they'd use the lab anyway.
The group now had the approval of two of the three ponies whose approval they had needed. Unfortunately for Spike, the last one was the one who made him the most nervous. He had intended to come to Rarity a week ago and inform her of the things that had gone on the last time he was Sparkstar, but his nerves would not allow him to do so. If he had only told her back then, this upcoming meeting might not be quite as awkward. Yet here he was, approaching Carousel Boutique as Sparkstar, lacking any semblance of a gameplan. There was no way he could tell her now. Not in this situation. No, he's have to just wait until after Twilight was back and he could change back.
Spike felt an odd feeling as he thought this. His mind had felt a bit clouded earlier, but now it was feeling much clearer. Spike wasn't quite sure why this was. He could be a little scatterbrained sometimes, but the previous level of absent-mindedness wasn't something he was used to. He had practically forgotten all about the fact that Rarity didn't know that he was Sparkstar before that moment. Such a thing would have likely been on his mind more, and for the life of him, he couldn't explain why such an important detail had been forgotten until that point. As Sweetie opened Carousel Boutique's front door, Spike started going over what he'd say to Rarity in his head. He wasn't telling her right now either way, but it would probably be best to plan in advance for when he did.
"Oh, is this your little coltfriend?" Rarity's voice sang as she smiled down at Spike. He looked up at her and forgot all about what he had just been thinking about. The warm tingly feeling returned as he processed those words; something about them felt right.
"Rarityyyyy!" Sweetie whined, cheeks turning bright red as Bloom and Scoots giggled. "We're just friends, okay?"
"Oh, nonsense," the fashion-minded unicorn said with a little smile. "It's not every day that you come home gushing about the colt you spent the day with." Spike felt tingly all over, happy that Sweetie had apparently been speaking so highly of him to her sister.
"He's not my coltfriend!" Sweetie said, stomping a hoof as Bloom and Scoots continued to giggle at their friend's embarrassment. "He's just a colt who's a friend!" Spike found himself blushing and smiling as he listened to the back-and-forth. The tingly feeling was growing stronger, and he had no clue why, but he wasn't complaining. It felt nice, and oddly right.
"So you are Twilight's little cousin, Sparkstar?" Rarity asked, despite already knowing the answer. Spike nodded, overcoming his blush and smiling. Rarity cooed and ruffled his mane with a hoof.
"Well aren't you a handsome young colt?" the unicorn said, giggling. Spike, still blushing, beamed, the tingling feeling growing stronger than ever.
"C'mon, Rarity, that's enough!" Sweetie spoke up. "We came here to ask you something!" Spike blinked. He'd almost forgotten why they were even there.
"Oh?" Rarity asked, removing her hoof from Spike's head. "What is it, darlings?"
"We were all hangin' out..." Bloom started, before Scootaloo nudged her way in front of her.
"And it's getting late, but we didn't wanna stop hanging out..." the pegasus continued, before being interrupted by Sweetie.
"So we wanted to have a slumber party..." Sweetie said.
"So I offered up the library for it!" Sparkstar added.
"An' Applejack an' Rainbow Dash already said it was alright!" Bloom made sure to add.
"We figured a slumber party with a colt at a house with no adults might SOUND bad..." Scootaloo said, scuffing a hoof in the dirt.
"But THEIR sisters said it was okay!" Sweetie exclaimed. Rarity blinked a few times, reeling from the verbal storm from the four young ponies. Once she'd finished processing anything, she looked at the four, a bit sternly.
"I must say, I am really not sure about this," Rarity said. "After all, you may see yourselves as mature young ladies...a-and one mature young man...but I am not quite sure I could give my consent if there is no supervision." Spike's heart sank, and Bloom and Scoots looked disappointed as well. However, Sweetie had not exhausted her bag of tricks.
"Oh..." Sweetie sighed, her eyes becoming large and sad. "Well...I guess if you don't want to make me happy..."
"Oh nonono, Sweetie, this isn't going to work," Rarity said, looking away.
"I mean, Applejack said Apple Bloom could do it, like a good big sister would..." Sweetie continued.
"Sweetie Belle, you cut that out right now..." Rarity said. She was trying to raise her voice, but it was beginning to falter.
"And even Rainbow Dash said Scootaloo could go," Sweetie went on. "But I guess if you don't even want to be as good a sister as somepony who isn't technically related to her little sister..." That was the final straw.
"Very well!" Rarity shouted. "Yes, you may go, Sweetie Belle...because I am a wonderful big sister, correct?" Sweetie beamed and hugged Rarity's leg tightly.
"Correct!" the unicorn filly said happily. The two sisters shared a slightly-fabricated sisterly moment as an astonished Spike looked on. Bloom and Scoots were used to this kind of thing by now. Rarity then looked to Spike.
"I trust that you are responsible enough to keep an eye on my sister and her friends, Sparkstar?" Rarity asked. Spike blinked, snapping out of his distraction, and nodded.
"You have my word, Rarity," Spike said confidently. "I will treat your sister and her friends with the utmost care." The fashion-minded unicorn gave him a smile and a pat on the head.
"Excellent," Rarity said. "You seem like a very good pony to me, Sparkstar."
Spike smiled, feeling tingly all over, as his eyes, unnoticed by the others, changed from green to purple. He was a good pony.
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Nice chapter :D
Keep it up I love it!
It would seem that the effects of the powder might wear off. Sounds like a whole barrel of fun when and if that happens.
He must earn a cutie mark!
I was like yay a story
click on it in hopes of sparity
no romance tag
A thought occurs. How, precisely, can Twilight know there are no side effects of prolonged tranforsmation wihtout actually having tested for and witnessed them?
F'r instance, knowing whether or not there's a danger of permanence involved...
I have a suspicion as to the side effects however i shall keep it to myself
Something tells me the antidote won't work....
2308594 maybe a bit will pop up between spike and sweetie.. I kinda hope.
Good chapter! I think the powder is turning him from a dragon-turned-pony to a full blown pony that can't change back into a dragon.
Is he going to get stuck as a ponie?!?!
Zecora: "You kept all possibilities in check?"
Twilight: "Yep!"
Zecora: "Including Spike taking a double dose of the stuff?"
Twilight: "...ummm....sure....?"
(Yes, I know it doesn't rhyme)
I wonder if the dummy antidote will have side effects?
PLEASE, make this permanant! XD HA! the reactions and more promise for a funny story
yes!, chapter 3!
2308877
Do you know what's this mean "Spike smiled, feeling tingly all over, as his eyes, unnoticed by the others, changed from green to purple. He was a good pony." ?
2310194 unexpected side-effects? Changeling magic? THE APOCALYPSE? A sale on nintendo products? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!?
2309377 warning! Dummy antidote possible side-effects include: nausea, light headed-ness, poor balance, personality change, craving for affection, the ability to summon chocolate milk rain, evil laughter, sudden dancing, suddenly breaking out in song, screaming internet memes, and the sudden belief in "YOLO".
in other words: LOTS-O-BAD STUFF
Yay update!!!
2310194The only thing I can think of is that he is really becoming a pony.
I wonder if the change may become permanent?
good chapter, cmc antics are always fun to read :)
2311495 Like permanently ?
Eeyup. That's foreshadowing if I ever did see it.
2310680
A sale on Nintendo products? WHERE?!
2312689 exactly. (it NEVER happens
)
2311932Eeyup
Ohhhh this is going to be fun. Spike is realy turning into a pony.
Ok I am thinking Dragon-Pony Hybrid?
That last line sent shivers down my spine... MOAR!
BTW why did Twilight and Spike wanted to keep Spike being a pony a secret again ?
2315518
Actually, it was just Spike that did! He felt embarrassed about messing up badly enough to have that happen to him. Once Twilight found him and almost called him Spike, he partially didn't want to admit the truth after lying, and was partially being a silly
ponydragonum something and thinking that Sweetie wouldn't want to be holdinghooveshandsum something with him anymore if she knew.2315705
So in a way, if Sweetie and the CMC know the truth, they might hate him ?
2315726
That's what Spike thought, at least! No comment on if it would actually be the case or not though.
2312790
Unless you get them second-hand.
I like the eye changing parts. Makes you wonder what is going to happen next
Aw shit.
AW SHIT.
2325343
I was originally going to go with Apple Bloom, but I figured there'd been enough stories of her and Spike together. Spike/Sweetie, on the other hand, was a less-common thing, and had the added benefit of having the already-existing Spike>Rarity crush to have fun with
Spike is becoming more of a pony! I like it
More...MORE! I NEED THIS! MORE!
I read these back on Gdocs and was really happy to see them up here. Twilight still feels OOC and a massive witch beside but the fic is still very enjoyable.
Dang Sweeite, pulling out the big guns first ar'nt ya?
2308743 Gee, what tipped you off? Twilight saying that it was a fake antidote? No, no that's too obvious...
2497606
Nothing beats
24.media.tumblr.com/8265455f3d52811c4cbc96e03d117736/tumblr_meqh2rUJat1r0z1wao1_400.gif
...Yeah, something is going to go terribly, horribly wrong. Oh boy I can't wait...
2500987
I swear, that look is a WMA (Weapon of Mass Adorableness).
NO ONE should have that kind of power.
...Except Fluttershy
I think I like Spike as a pony better. They should make an episode in season 4 that is like this!
I imagined this scene-
Dash: So you want to have an unsupervised slumber slumber party with a colt
Scoot: Uuuuhhh.... Yes
Dash: K just make sure you use protection kid. *shuts door*
Sweetie: What dose she mean by that?
Everyone: *shrugs*
Am I a bad pony?
This, doesn't sound good. I think that he's going to become a poni for good.
2827532
but I truly wanna see this animated! 
but Hasbro is thinking about the little kids and dont wanna make any romance
2827532
Yeah.. I doubt that will happen in S4...
Somehow I both did and didn't buy that Rarity would have been swayed by Sweetie's pleading. I get that there's probably plot reasons though yes?