Sparkyll & Hyde

I wake up to the smell of cake batter and hear Spike whistling happily as I roll out of bed.

"Spike?" I call.

I hear no answer, so I take a guess that he was at Rarity's. I brush my hair as I think about my nightmare. I remember everything up to running out of that stairwell actually happened. After I escaped, I ran out of the garden, ignoring the concerned calls from the guards, and went straight to my room, trying to forget that the day ever happened.

A few hours later, Princess Celestia found curled up on my bed, crying, and tried to comfort me. I suppose the guards alerted her. After I told her of what I saw, she took me to my study and explained to me that the tunnel I found was an asylum she'd built several decades ago to hold ponies who had extreme mental disorders. As cruel as it sounded, Princess Celestia did not wish to lock the ponies away, but she saw no other choice.

A few days later, an idea came to mind. What if I could concoct a potion that could cure the ponies? I confronted Celestia with this thought. At first, she wasn't sure, seeing the idea as risky. But I eventually convinced her that I could do it. She sent me off with her wishes of good luck, and hope for success. Now, five years later, I am at the verge of completing my potion.

I climb down the set of stairs and open my bedroom door to see Spike dusting off the book shelves. On the table is a vase of pink roses, a steaming cup of tea, and two white muffins with multi-colored specks, one of which is half-eaten.

Spike finishes dusting and slides down the ladder. "Morning, sleepyhead!"

I rub my eyes and walk over to the table. "What's this?"

"Those," Spike replies. "Are cake batter muffins." I realize how hungry I am, and eat the whole muffin with one bite, and immediately, a creamy flavor floods my mouth. Spike shrugs and eats the rest of his muffin.

"Where did you get these?" I ask.

"On my way back from Zecora's, Mrs. Cake was offering free samples of these muffins, so I took a couple for us. She calls them 'Birthday Muffins.' Although, Pinkie Pie wanted to call them 'Unbirthday Surprise Muffins."'

I couldn't help but giggle at the name, even though I had no idea what an "Unbirthday" was.

We spend the next hour sipping tea, (Well, I do, Spike hates tea) enjoying the pleasure of each other's company, and talking about life in Ponyville, news of dragon migrations happening in Trottingham, and some rumor that Princess Luna is trying dress making as a hobby.

"I think Rarity's got some competition," Spike remarks.

"Don't tell her I said that, though."

"Your secret's safe with me, Lover Boy."

Another fifteen minutes later, our dishes are washed and put away, and the table's cleared off. Spike stands in front of me, rocking back and forth on his heels, almost like he's expecting me to say something.

"So?" He asks.

"So.....what?"

"What's in the box??"

"You didn't see?"

"Nope. When I came to Zecora's, she went behind some curtain, pulled out that box and gave it to me."

I walk over to the table where the box is and open it, revealing a poison joke flower. Spike immediately dives under the table.

"Spike," I say. "It's not going to hurt you."

"How do you know? I know poison joke does some wacky things!"

"Okay, yeah, I know poison joke made my horn all floppy, and shrunk Applejack, and all that other stuff."

"That's my point!!"

"Let me finish," I say with a twinge of annoyance.

"Fine," Spike says as he slowly crawls out from his hiding place.

"Zecora told me in her letter that she created a powder that can temporarily neutralize poison joke. Rest assured, this won't affect any pony."

Spike paused for a moment, then crossed his arms and said, "I'm still keeping my distance."

I roll my eyes and carry the box to my laboratory. On a large desk lays a structure of glass tubes with a solid blue liquid in one end. Across from the desk is a table with books and vials scattered all over. I place the box on the table, and pull out my journal. Spike enters the room when I begin writing.

"October 29th. 12:00 AM. Having obtained the poison joke flower from Zecora, I am ready to concoct my potion. Should I succeed, I will use a pony from the asylum as a test subject."

I put down the quill, pour the blue liquid into a triangular bottle, and tilt it left and right quickly, then place it on a pedestal with a flame underneath. I pull out the poison joke and crush it in a ceramic bowl with a pestle. Spike watches intently as I gently pour the poison joke powder into the bottle. Finally, I slowly stir the mixture with a Pegasus feather.  The potion bubbles, and a puff of smoke erups from it. Its color transforms from blue to a transparent, ruby red.

Spike and I stare at the newly fused potion curiously.

After a few minutes of checking my notes, I say, "Well, I think it worked."

Spike laughs triumphantly. "Nice! Princess Celestia will love this!"

"Yes, she will," I say quietly. I return to my journal and write.

"12:05 AM. I have done it. I have successfully created my TS8 Formula. I will search for a test subject ASAP."

"TS...8??" Spike say, confused.

"Twilight Sparkle, formula attempt 8," I reply. "Now Spike, I'll need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia. I have to speak to the Princess about a volunteer later."

"A volunteer? Spike asks. Why not use it on yourself?"

"It doesn't work like that. This potion is meant to cure mentally challenged ponies, not everyday ponies."

"Oh....wait, what??"

I sigh deeply and realize that I need to explain this to him.

"Remember that one time you became a full-grown dragon because your greed got out of control?"

"Yeah....I'd like to forget it, though."

"Well, I believe that all sentient species have two sides. One good, one evil. Let's say your greed represents your evil side. Once your greed overcame your good side, you lost control of your actions. And I also believe that the ponies in the asylum are insane because their evil overcame their good, thus they lost control of their own actions. My potion's purpose is to remove the majority of the ponies' evil."

"Wait, why not remove all of the evil?" Spike asks.

"Well, if got rid of all evil in their hearts, they wouldn't have much personality to themselves. If I used such a potion on Rarity, she wouldn't be so dramatic about her designs, and all her dresses would be pretty dull. If I used it on Fluttershy, she wouldn't have her shyness which makes her gentle with animals."

"Huh," Spike says. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Anyway," I say. "Can you go get some paper and a quill?" Spike swiftly runs out of the room and comes back with a scroll and a quill.

"Ready when you are, boss."

"Ahem. Dear Princess Celestia," I begin. "I am happy to inform you that my potion is a success. All I require now is a test subject for my experiment. I request to speak to you on this matter soon. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle."

Spike rolled up the scroll, and unleashed a green flame, evaporating the letter.

"There. The letter's on its way," Spike says with a sparkly grin.

"Thank you, my Number One Assistant," I say. Suddenly, Spike belches and a letter appears in a puff of smoke.

"Oh, that was fast," I say as Spike unrolls the letter and begins to read.

"My dearest Twilight, I am happy to know of your success. Please come to Canterlot this afternoon so we can speak of finding a volunteer. Be sure to bring your potion and notes. Sincerely, Princess Celestia."

"Okay, better get going, then," I say with confidence. "C'mon, Spike.

"Wait, we're going right now??"

"Of course. By the time we get there, it'll be late afternoon." I take my potion, journal, and any other items relating to my research, and stuff them in my saddlebag.

As we head outside, several birds soar past us. The whole town is full of activity, with Fluttershy guiding a pack of ducks across the street, and the CMC sitting in a circle, not doubt plotting some scheme to get their cutie marks. As we come across Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie Pie hops out of the building toward us.

"Hey, Twilight! Hey, Spike! Wanna make cupcakes with me?"

"Oh, Pinkie," I say. "I'm so sorry. We can't. It's just that we..." But I can't finish my sentence.

"That's okay. Some other time. Besides, Rainbow Dash said 'Yes', so we'll be making cupcakes together! In the meantime, here." She inflates and gives me and Spike two, star-shaped balloons.

"Well, see you later!" Pinkie hops away as she hums a catchy tune. Spike and I exchange glances and shrug.

"That was nice of her," Spike says.

"Yeah...," I say with a grin.

"Though, I didn't think Rainbow was so interested in cupcakes."

The walk to the train station is uneventful, except for Applejack waving at us, and commenting on Applebloom trying to use a flamethrower this morning. We get on the train and settle down in the fourth-to-the-back car. I sit down and stare out the window, imagining how my meeting with Princess Celestia will turn out....

"Welcome back, Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Celestia says cheerfully as I walk into the throne room. Princess Luna sits on her throne as Celestia stands on the small staircase before me. Spike decided to wait outside, to avoid getting bored by all the "Wibbley wobblely timey wimey stuff", as he put it.

"Hello, Princess Celestia. Hello Princess Luna," I say cheerfully.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle!!" Luna booms happily. The whole room shakes at her voice. She blushes with embarrassment, and says in a whisper, "Uh, I mean, hello, Twilight Sparkle."

I give a reassuring smile that tells her that she's okay. She smiles back, relieved that she didn't do any damage. Celestia smiles at me, and waves her hoof towards Luna, probably telling her that she is dismissed, because she quickly gets up and exits the room.

"Now," Celestia begins. "In your letter, you say you completed your potion."

"Yes, Princess," I say. "I did."

"May I see this potion and your journal?"

I take the items Celestia asks for, and bring them before her. She examines the potion for a moment, and then looks through my journal. After a few minutes of this, she puts both items down, and says, "I am very impressed by your work. Your journal's duly noted and well written, and your potion seems to be in order."

I bow my head humbly.

"Thank you Princess. But I couldn't have done it without your support." Princess Celestia nods intently and continues.

"However, I must ask, who do you plan to test the potion on? I'm afraid I cannot have a public testing without raising some kind of alarm amongst my subjects."

"Well, I was thinking," I begin.  "Back when I first started, you promised to provide an asylum pony to work with. I think I should use the potion on one of them." I expect a response, but I am only met with silence and a look of surprise.

"Princess?" Celestia only looks at me like I've got a spider on my face.

Finally, she clears her throat and gathers her bearings.

"Twilight....," she says with a pained look. "I appreciate your enthusiasm and hard work. I really do. But....." Celestia pauses like she's trying to find the right words.

"I can't....allow you to...use a pony from the asylum." I'm not sure how to respond to this. Why was Princess Celestia going back on her promise??

"Twilight, please understand. I would be more than happy to give you an asylum pony to work with, but I can't risk you, or anypony else going back down there."

"Okay....why not?" I try to say without sounding angry.

"Remember when you told me of what happened the first time? How that Pegasus got you in a headlock?"

"Yes...I do," I say slowly.

"I hope you realize that your escaping was a miracle. That Pegasus, no doubt, was aiming to snap your neck."

I nod my head slowly.  I already know where this is going.

"The asylum ponies have become more and more aggressive since the last time you were down there. There have been reports of the inmates attacking each other. Should you go down there again...." We both know what would happen in this circumstance.

"I'm afraid I must forbid you from using an asylum pony. For your own safety."

In that moment, a hundred different insults, remarks and curses rise in my chest. But I take a couple deep breaths and relax.

"All...all right, Princess Celestia. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

The Princess walks over to my side and gently hugs me.

"I'm sorry I had to do this. But this is for the best."

We part from and smile at each other.

"Hey," she says as she wipes a tear from my cheek.

"You'll find your volunteer soon enough."

I sniff quietly and thank the Princess again for her support. Suddenly, the doors burst open to reveal a panting Shining Armor.

"Twilight!" He calls. "Come with me now!"

"Shining?" I say with confusion. "What wrong??"

"It's Mom. There's been an accident." Terror crosses my face as I dart towards him and out the door.