Wiggle
Jiggle
Spike couldn't help but poke, prod, and shake the container that held the itty bitty green slime that he and Twilight recovered from the Everfree. It was just too interesting to him. The way the little jelly pulsated and wobbled with each prod was like a little dance; a little dance Spike watched with a wide grin. It looked and smelled a lot like apple taffy to Spike, and if not for the container the slime was held in, he would have tried tasting it.
The little nucleus inside the slime sloshed around inside its tiny green body, seeming to enjoy the attention it was receiving, but the attention was short lived as a violet aura surrounded the container and lifted it away from Spike's grasp.
"Spike, that slime isn't a toy, it's the subject for our experiment, okay? Now quit goofing around and give me a hand here, this is important." A rather exasperated Twilight Sparkle mused.
Spike groaned and got up, "Aww, but Twilight, Taffy and I were already becoming friends... what is this experiment for anyways?"
"Taffy? You named the slime, Spike?" Twilight said with a frown.
The little dragon made a pouty face and folded his arms, "Well yeah, it looks like taffy you could get at Bon Bon's sweet shop..."
With a sigh Twilight continued, "I guess that's alright, but don't get too attached, okay? This little guy is gonna make a lot of breakthroughs in magical science and history!"
"Okay, so, like what?" Spike retorted.
That's rather simple, Spike," Twilight chimed, "This experiment is to test whether or not these little slimes can have a higher grade of intelligence and take other forms."
Spike's face slowly contorted into a look of confusion, "I don't understand, what do you mean? Like, turn them into something that isn't a slime?"
Twilight wiggled one of her wings in a back and forth motion, as if she was shaking a finger at Spike. "Something like another pony. Think about it, if we can create a sentient being that can do basic functions then we can safely document a new species... and considering the fact that slimes can reproduce through mitosis, we essentially have a never ending supply of subjects. Think of all the good we can do with them!"
"Uh, so, you want to turn it into a pony... made out of slime?" Spike frowned at the idea. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Of course it isn't! It'll be kept right here in the lab under lock and key. Safe for you, safe for me, and safe for it~" Twilight said with just a little too much sunniness.
The little dragon shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever you say Twilight..."
"Great! Now do me a favor and open up that big container right there so I can put the slime in it. Once he's safely locked in there we can start the experiment!" Twilight said as a rather thick spellbook hovered in front of her, she was obviously making sure the conditions for the experiment were nominal. Spike had no choice, with a rather exaggerated sigh he opened the large glass box and waited for Twilight's next order. Twilight said nothing and simply opened the smaller container which she turned upside down, emptying the small slime into the large container.
Spike watched in awe as Twilight's horn lit up and her purple magic assaulted the tiny slime in the box. Her face scrunched up into a state of concentration as the slime began to twist and stretch. The nucleus grew to the size of a pony heart, and the goopy puddle enlarged into a thick bubble of slime. Twilight opened her eyes and in a bright flash of magic the bubble of slime began to settle into a form. Spike couldn't believe it, the tiny slime he was prodding before looked like a fully grown stallion, or mare? He couldn't tell, all he knew was that it looked like a pony, and that blew his mind.
The magic faded from the slime pony and Twilight yawned, "Oh my... that took a lot more than I thought it would. Spike, keep an eye on the subject for me, would you? I'm just going to go take a quick power nap to recharge and I'll be back."
The little dragon smiled a toothy smile and waved at Twilight, "Of course! I'll make sure nothing happens to it!"
"Holding you to that Spike~ I'll be back." The alicorn said as she left her lab, leaving Spike alone with the newly created being.
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Spike sat in a chair in front of the container as he watched the slime pony. It was the same color as the itty bitty slime was before, it was just a pony now. Did it have eyes? Spike waved his hand in front of the glass, "Helloooo?" he called out to the slime... No response. Did Twilight use the wrong spell? Did she just turn the poor slime into a sculpture? The little dragon was rather upset at the turn of events, he looked to the door leading out of the lab and around the rest of the room to make sure he wasn't being watched before he opened the door to the box and walked in.
"Hello? Slime buddy?" Spike asked in a sheepish manner. The slime simply wiggled in response.
A grin slowly spread across Spike's face as he realized the slime pony could hear him. "Hey, so you can hear me!"
The slime pony's head turned to face Spike and its eyes, or at least what Spike thought were its eyes, opened. Two ruby red orbs stared him in the eyes, it was slightly unnerving, but this was the same slime right?
"Can you talk?" Spike inquired. The chances that the slime could talk were low, it was a slime for Celestia's sake, it can't talk, can it?
"... ... ...Ta...ffy... ...Taffy." The slime pony uttered quietly. Its voice was sweet and calm, Spike couldn't tell if it was a mare or a stallion at all. The little dragon grinned, however, it remembered that he had named it "Taffy," and if Twilight was right, then Taffy should be as intelligent as a normal pony.
"Yeah, Taffy, that's your name! My name's Spike! Can you say Spike?"
Taffy's face contorted slightly as its lips tried mouthing the word Spike. "Sp...ike... Spike. Spike!"
Spike clapped and gave Taffy a thumbs-up, "All right! Man, I guess Twilight was right, you're pretty smart."
Taffy listened with its head cocked lightly. It slowly raised one of its hooves as it slowly morphed into a hand, mimicking Spike's thumbs-up. "All... right!" The slime pony kept its "hand" up for a second or two before it morphed back to a hoof and was set on the floor. Spike immediately gasped and hurried outside of the box. He closed the door behind him and put his hands up, "Wait right here, I need to get Twilight, she'll love this!" Spike excitedly claimed as he hurried up and out of the lab.
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Taffy watched Spike close the door and hurry out. It watched with a small frown as its friend left. It just wanted to play some more, maybe it could follow Spike? It was getting pretty hungry too, so following Spike would be a good choice. Taffy tried moving its hooves all at once to step forward, but that just ended up bringing it face-first to the floor. The slime pony let out an agitated gurgle before it slowly rose to its hooves again. Gooey hooves slowly moved one at a time, bringing Taffy closer to the door of the box. It pressed its hooves to the door, and pushed its weight on it. Much to Taffy's surprise, the door opened, its friend Spike must've been a nice guy and left it unlocked for them.
Taffy smiled to itself, content with the current turn of events. Ruby red eyes scanned the lab before they locked on the door leading out of the lab. With a slow, steady determination like a foal just learning how to walk, Taffy made its way up to the door. Gooey hooves found their way onto the door yet again, but unlike the door on the cage, this one didn't so much as budge. How do these doors even open? Taffy thought to itself. It frowned and carefully examined the door. Luckily, there was a crack at the bottom of the door where a soft breeze flowed under. Taffy inhaled deeply then exhaled as its gooey body seemingly melted and slid underneath the door.
On the other side of the door was a quaint little library, books lined the shelves and air was at a pleasant temperature. Taffy's body slowly rose back up into its pony form and began to wander the floor of the library.
Boring.
There was no Spike here, and most importantly, there was no food. Taffy bubbled lightly with discontent as it continued to wander around, but the discontent look dissipated as a peculiar odor caught its nose. Taffy followed the scent to yet another door. The smell was coming from the other side of the door, and this smell was a specific smell... food. Being the hungry slime pony that it is, Taffy puffed up its cheeks before it melted like before and slid underneath the door.
Upon reassembling, Taffy's was instantly assaulted by bright colors, moving objects, other smaller things like that "Twilight Sparkle," but that was good, these smaller "Twilight Sparkles" were exactly what it was looking for. A cream colored mare with a pink mane caught Taffy's vision as she walked by. It blinked as the smell of food ingrained itself within its nucleus. Taffy's face spread into a wide grin as it started to follow after its unsuspecting victim.
"All right!"