Ch1. Morning Princess

thump-splat-crash

Spines awoke slowly from her make-shift bed, the loud noises interrupting her deep sleep, she groaned in annoyance, rubbing her tired eyes lazily, “Damnit Dusk, Why you had to be so loud!?” she muttered, raising from her basket-bed as she yawned loudly.

She then looked to the bigger bed beside her, where she expected to find her pony companion, although, she knew from the noise below her, that today was going to be one of THOSE days.

“Hmmm, Dusk must have awoken early,” The purple dragoness said now risen from her bed completely, “Well, he did said he had an important experiment to do, and Solaris knows that colt had less patience than Rainbow Blitz in a Post Office."

crash-thump-smack

Spines sighed, Dusk wasn’t this loud when he was doing his last experiments, he just keep it low in the basement, the real question now, was what in Luna’s name was Dusk doing right now?.

Prince Dusk, she rephrased, the weeks after Dusk’s coronation were the most hectic days for she and the gang, not only because they had to deal with the aftermath of the Cutie Marks’ swap screwup, but because of the Alicorn going haywire with his magic, Prince Solaris said it was normal for a new Alicorn to experiment several bursts of magical energy during the first few weeks after his ascension (Prince Eros confirmed this last), but Hay!, he didn’t said anything about him going completely bonkers!!.

Really, the level of hyperactivity that the newest Prince had was compared to Pinkie Pie’s, and that was shortening it a little, new crazy experiments everyday, shocking magical explosions from the library, and from time to time, some weird side-effects, that went from a different mane color, to changing one’s species, But Applejack had to admit that he had enjoyed being a griffon for a little while.

Spines drew an exasperated sigh while going downstairs, what kind of madness would be doing his mentor/big brother/father today?, she prepared to make breakfast, when she suddenly saw the revolting mess that now constituted the kitchen of the library.

Drawers pulled out from its shelves, tableware dumped hazardly across the floor, the door of the fridge wide open with various suspicious liquids spilled all over its once shining surface.

“What in the world!?” Spines yelled, her mouth agape walking towards the big mess in the kitchen, that she without a doubt was going to clean, she picked up an empty carton of milk from the floor, “What were you doing last night Dusky?” she wondered out loud looking at the slightly open door driving to the basement.

The purple dragoness creaked the door open, surprised when the usually well illuminated room, was shrouded in the dark, she was barely able to see the stairs with the light that emanated from the open door.

“Dusk?” Spines called her mentor, “Are you there?” she heard rustling downstairs, followed by a soft thump.

“Spines, i-is that you?” The voice that Spines recognized as Dusk Shine asked, his voice slightly laced with fear, but it also didn’t sound quite right, he sounded kind of sick.

“Yes, it’s me, What’s going on here?, You want me to light a flame? I can’t see anything here,” she wondered inhaling to blow a flame of her magical fire.

“NO!, Don’t do that!!” the stallion yelled his voice now completely out of tone, it sounded several octaves higher than his average voice.

“What happened Dusk? You sound kind of… girly,” The dragoness asked walking cautiously towards the source of the voice to avoid crashing with something.

Spines heard the stallion sigh “Promise you’re not going to laugh,” He said, his purple eyes barely visible within the dim lights.

“I promise,”

“Pinkie promise,” Dusk Shine replied raising his eyebrow.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye,” She answered getting exasperated, “Would you tell me already!?”

“Fine just *sigh* please don’t laugh,” The stallion said lighting a candle with his horn.

As the golden light illuminated the basement, Spines could finally see the figure of the purple Alicorn, but he looked rather strange, although his colors were fine, the mare in front of her didn’t look anything like Dusk, she was smaller, carefully tuckered wings laid on her back, her mane longer and her frame curvier than a stallion’s, also her face was different, the mare’s  eyes were bigger, with longer eyelashes and a smaller muzzle.

“W-who are you!?, Where is Dusk!?, Are you a changeling!?, I swear if you’re one of those bug-ponies I’ll-” The mare covered her mouth with a hoof, looking uneasily at the yelling dragoness.

“Spines, I-It’s me Dusk, I-I messed up a potion, and I ended up like this,” The mare that claimed to be Dusk Shine responded, her voice quivering as Spine’s eyes slowly widened in realization.

“Du-Dusk, Is that really you?”

The purple alicorn nodded

Spines had to contain the urge to burst in tears, her mentor, the most powerful unicorn, now alicorn in all Equestria had messed up a spell, and had been turned into a MARE of all things!!, as she fighted back her laugh she could see her mentor’s face slowly morphing from a scared expression to an unamused one.

“Spines, you promised you weren’t going to laugh,” Dusk said frowning to the choking dragoness.

“Oh, oh sorry Dusk, is just… You’re a mare and...It’s so funny!!” Spines retorted, wiping her tears with a claw, “Well, now that this is sorted out, could you please explain me what happened exactly, and why the kitchen looked like the aftermath of one of those Pinkie’s trash metal parties*?”

Dusk drawn a sigh, “Well, I told you last night that I had to do an experiment about hormonal development in ponies, Right?” The purple mare asked Spines who was again containing the urge to laugh of Dusk’s new extremely girly voice.

“That you did,” The purple dragoness affirmed between muffled giggles.

“Argh Spines, This is serious, we don’t know what consequences would have this silly mess up in my body biology, I could get sick, comatose, and worst!!” Dusk said, her muzzle now inches away from Spines’ face, and some hairs of her mane going askew like when she was going into crazy mode.

“Fine, Fine, please continue”

The mare grunted, “I was mixing up some potions, when my magic suddenly went crazy firing at random directions, one of those beams hit the potion, and well, long story short, It turned me into a mare,” Dusk explained, her voice returning to a more calm non-menacing tone.

“Okay, and what about the Kitchen?” Spines asked pointing the door upstairs.

“I was using my last ingredients for the potion, and I thought that maybe we had some of the things that I needed to create a counterspell, Now I see that it was a silly Idea, where in our kitchen I was going to find fire-tongs of the Everfree?” The alicorn said motioning Spines to go upstairs, she following close behind.

“And what are you going to do?” The small dragoness asked now out of the basement and into the massive wreck of what used to be a kitchen.

“I-I really don’t know, it was a level 10 potion I was doing, and Zircon is out of town for a while, so I can’t gather the ingredients for the potion without him,” The mare replied with a thoughtful expression.

“And what about Solaris? He could really help you right now,” Spines countered as the mare’s eyes widened in abject horror.

“The Prince, are you crazy Spines!?, I just became a Prince...err Princess barely a week ago and I had already made my first royal screw up, I’m not going to tell Solaris, not anytime soon at least, also because I’m sure we can handle this on our own,” The purple alicorn replied dismissing Spines with a hoof.

“Fine, But it’s your call Dusk,” Spines said looking up at Dusk’s still worried face, “And now what are you going to do?”

“I’m going upstairs to read some books that can explain why THIS” She said pointing herself over, “Happened, until I figure out something, I think I’ll be in my room,” The mare said walking to the stairs that went to her room.

“Oh, no you don’t!!” Spines yelled grabbing Dusk’s tail and pulling it towards the kitchen, “You’re going to help me clean this mess you created,” the dragoness said handing a broom to the confused mare.

“Now, Let’s get to it,”

Dusk groaned, as she picked the broom in her magic, it was going to be a LONG day.

*Pinkie Pie's signature Trash Metal Parties, for when Maretallica and Neighvana are in the mood for some badass Pinkie style mash up.