Chapter 25 - Full Effect

Chapter 25 - Full Effect*Nyx’s P.O.V.*

It was a quiet night’s sleep for us all last night, and we woke up feeling refreshed.  Joshua was already out of bed when I woke up.  I looked over and saw that Twilight and Spike were still asleep.  I heard some noises from downstairs and decided to go see what it was.  When I came down, I saw Joshua all dressed, putting a book on the shelf.

“Morning Joshua,” I said to him.  He turned his head over and smiled at me.

“Good morning Nyx,” he replied walking up to me.

“You’re up early,” I said to him as we hugged each other.

“Yeah,” he said, “I sometimes wake up early on Sundays.  I have trouble falling back asleep when that happens.”

“How are you feeling?” I asked him.

“Nothing changed or added in my pony transformation,” he said.  I nodded at him in understanding.  “So what are we doing today?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, “I haven’t seen Twilight’s schedule for today.”

“Hey Nyx?” he said, “Why do you always call Mom by her real name?”

“Well, ever since she found me in that bush, I’ve always called her Twilight,” I said to her, “She has been asking me to call her Mom since my adoption forms were filled out, but to me it feels weird to call her something else.  Grandma Velvet said she felt the same way around Grandpa Night Light’s mom after she married him.”

“Oh,” he said.  Soon Twilight came downstairs yawning.

“Good morning you two,” she said.

“Morning,” I said.

“Ready for some breakfast?” she asked.  Joshua and I nodded our heads and the three of us went into the kitchen.  Twilight got busy making some haycakes and freshly squeezed orange juice.  After breakfast, and after Joshua put on his jacket with the hood on his head, and Twilight made his horn invisible, he and I went out to the clubhouse.  We were planning on figuring out new ways for the others to get cutie marks.  Unfortunately, Twist hadn’t been with us recently, because she had caught a cold and had to stay in bed for a few days.

“Hey there you two,” came a voice from behind us.  We turned and saw Sweetie Belle trotting up to us.

“Hi Sweetie Belle,” Joshua said as they hugged each other.

“Hi Joshua,” Sweetie Belle said, “You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, “Nyx and I were going to the clubhouse.  Are you going there too?”

“Yep.  Apple Bloom and Scootaloo should be there waiting for us.  Come on!”  Sweetie Belle then ran ahead.  Joshua quickly climbed onto my back, wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I galloped off after Sweetie Belle.  A few minutes later, we arrived.  Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were definitely inside.

“Hey there y’all,” Apple Bloom said when we entered.

“Hey girls,” Joshua said climbing off my back.

“Hey buddy,” Scootaloo said, “How’s the...thing?”

We told them what had happened to Joshua's teeth at our recent dentist appointment.

"My teeth don't feel too different," Joshua said, "So it doesn't feel that weird."

"Well, let's hope the princesses are nearly done," Apple Bloom said, “So, what should we go crusadin’ for today y’all?”

We all started thinking of ways for the others to get their cutie marks, but there was hardly anything coming to mind.  About five minutes later, there was a short flash of light.  I turned to where the source was, and saw that Joshua’s horn had somehow reappeared.

“Um, Joshua?” I said to him.

“Yes Nyx?” he asked.

“Your horn reappeared,” I said pointing at it.

“Huh?” he said confused, “But Mom said it should stay invisible until tonight.”

“I don’t think it’s the spell that’s the problem,” I said worried, “Look!”  I exclaimed pointing at him.  His whole body started glowing.  He had a scared look on his face.

“What’s happening to me?!” He yelled.  His horn was glowing with a bright white aura, brighter than the rest of his body.  The light then grew even brighter, that we all had to shield our eyes with our hooves.

“HIT THE DECK!!!” Scootaloo yelled.  We all laid ourselves flat on the floor, but Joshua didn’t.  He was floating uncontrollably in the middle of the room as we looked on through squinted eyes.  Joshua’s eyes were glowing white now as his body began changing.  We couldn’t see it clearly, because the next minute, the light became even brighter that we had to close our eyes tightly.  After a few more seconds, the light disappeared, and there was a thump on the floor in front of us.  We opened our eyes, and there was no human in the room.  Only a small blue unicorn colt, with a brown mane and tail, but no cutie mark, laying on the ground unconscious.  I stood up slowly and cautiously moved closer to the small colt.  I reached out and touched his shoulder.

“Joshua?” I said, “Is that you?”

The small colt started moving slowly and groaned quietly.  He then opened his eyes, showing them to be greenish-blue, the same color as Joshua’s eyes.

“Nyx?” came Joshua’s voice from the colt, “What happened?” he asked looking up at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said, “I can’t feel my hands or my feet.”  He then lifted up his head and looked down to see two blue hooves laid out in front of him.  He gasped sharply at the sight.  He then looked behind him in panic and saw his new brown tail.  He then lifted up a forehoof to his face to feel himself over.  “Am...,” he said sniffling a little, “Am I a...a...”  He couldn’t bring himself to finish it.  I placed a forehoof on his shoulder and gave him a sad frown.

“I’m afraid so,” I nodded sadly.  His mouth hung open as his lower lip began quivering.  He then reached his forehooves up, wrapped them around me, and sobbed into my shoulder.  I placed my forehooves around him and started rubbing his back.

“Girls, I need you all to go and get Twilight right now,” I said to the other three crusaders.  They all nodded and hurried out.  There was a buzzing of wings and we saw Scootaloo riding off into the distance on her scooter with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle riding in the wagon.

“What now?” Joshua asked still sobbing.

“I don’t know,” I said still hugging him.