The next week passed in intense anxiousness for Jade.

And who could blame him? He was on the verge of being able to live his life as he wanted to, do anything he wanted without help and most importantly, get out there with his artwork and become famous!

He began drawing himself doing various things with his soon-to-be hooves; walking, running, eating, jumping, writing; all things that would be normal to any other pony, but to him they would be a new experience.

"Jade?" Nurse Thread walked in from her office one day. "You've been offered a trip down to a place called...'Our Town', I assume you'd like to take it?"

"Nope!"

"...what? You've never been there, and I've never seen you turn down one of them before."

"I can go there myself once I get my new legs," Jade hummed happily to himself, going back to his sketch.

"You know, they're only going to be temporary. You aren't going to have them forever, and you'll have to ask Princess Twilight to cast it over and over again."

"Yeah, but she said she could modify the spell right? I don't know much about magic, but I think she can make the spell so it lasts for weeks at a time, and then I'll barely have to worry about it."

"Just...don't get your hopes up alright? In case something does go wrong."

And then finally, the fateful day arrived.

"P-p-princess Twilight is here to see you...again."

Jade was practically bouncing off his bed when the member of royalty walked in.

"Hi Princess!"

"Hello Jade," Twilight giggled at his expression. "You'll be glad to hear that I was able to change the spell so it can last for three days, and I've performed rigorous testing so that we know it will work as it should."

At this, Jade hesitated.

"...Testing? Haven't you done this spell before?"

"Not this variation of the spell, no. But that was why I had Spike test it for me!"

Meanwhile, in Ponyville

"Hey Spike? Why have you got six legs?"

"Twilight was testing a spell," he replied nonchalantly. "Are you taking this book or what?"

Applejack continued to stare.

"Who's Spike?"

"My assistant; he's looking after the library whilst I'm gone."

"So it works? No side effects or anything?"

"Yep! Would you like me to cast it now?"

"Yes!" Jade almost shouted, shuffling back from his painting slightly and readying himself.

He was slowly lifted into the air as the Princess' magical aura surrounded him in tingling light, a bright blue ribbon of energy extending from her horn and wrapping loosely around his body. He instinctively closed his eyes to block out the brilliant glow but could feel the spell beginning to work around his belly, a warmth spreading downwards and creating phantom shapes below him. Slowly, he felt the growth taking place, the abnormal sensation of nerves and muscle simply appearing in his mind's eye. After a few more seconds of this, the tingling withdrew, and for the first time in his life, Jade felt the floor under his hooves.

He didn't react for several moments, even after Twilight's magic dissipated and he opened his eyes.

Just stood there.

In complete shock.

Gradually, inch by inch, he looked down at his new legs. A semi-transparent green, they looked like they were made of crystal, and yet moved like any other limb.

Jade lifted a hoof up to his face to examine it, finding he had to consciously think about every movement. So focused was he on his new appendages, he leaned forward slightly too far and lost his balance, tumbling to the floor in a heap.

"Oh goodness!" Nurse Thread made to rush over and help him up, but Twilight held her back with a hoof.

"Watch," the Princess whispered.

Jade wasn't paying attention to either of them, too busy trying to get back on his feet. He unsteadily rose back to his hooves, and seeing Twilight holding back his nurse, gave her a nod of thanks. He would never get used to these limbs without a few trips and falls.

He carefully placed one hoof in front of the other, finding that even a slow walk wasn't easy. Left foreleg forward, then the back right, back left, right foreleg and repeat. More than once he found himself almost falling to the side again, misjudging the distance between each pair of legs.

"Come on, you can do it..." Nurse Gentle Thread muttered, urging him on.

Slowly but steadily he began to pick up a rhythm, making his way around to the foot of his bed where Twilight and his nurse stood. He stopped in front of them, proud of his progress...and promptly glomp-tackled the Princess.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou-" he squealed, wrapping his new legs tightly around her, very much intent on squeezing Twilight to death.

"Jade!" Nurse Thread admonished, trying to pry him off.

And then he remembered who he was hugging.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Princess!" he scrambled to get up again but only succeeded in falling down again.

"No, it's alright," Twilight lifted Jade back onto his hooves in her magic aura and stood back up. "You're very welcome," she gave the colt a gentle nuzzle in return.

"Oooh, I don't know what to do first!" he pranced in place, glancing around the room.

"Well you asked me about eating not too long ago," Nurse Thread suggested.

"Brilliant plan: to the cafeteria!" Jade threw a heroic pose before making a leap towards the corridor...only to fall flat on his face.

"I'd better go look after him," she told Twilight bemusedly. "Before you go though, when do you think you'll be able to come by and cast the spell again? I think Jade might be expecting to have his legs quite regularly but obviously I don't wish to impose that kind of-"

"Oh nonsense, I'll quite happily come and visit as often as I can. Besides, I've never actually been to Fillydelphia before, and I think my friend Rarity might be thinking about setting up a boutique here soon enough. Even better, I could work on the spell some more to make it last longer, or even enchant it onto an object! Now that I've realized the potential behind these kinds of spells, the possibilities are endless!"

"Well I'm very glad to hear it. Thank you so much Princess; this really has brought new life into him," she watched Jade skittering down the hallway. "Now if you'll excuse me..."

"Of course."

"Um...I just realized...how do I use cutlery?"

Jade and Nurse Gentle Thread were sitting at a table, having made their way down the stairs - startlingly quickly in Jade's case - and ordered some food.

"Just try to copy the way I do it," his nurse replied.

"No I mean...how do you even pick them up?" he asked, confused, tapping a fork with the tip of his hoof.

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize this might be a problem. Erm...do you know about your innate hoof magic?"

"No..."

"Alright, well just try pressing the frog of your hoof to the handle of the fork, and imagine picking it up. Just as all tribes of ponies have different kinds of magic, we all have the ability to manipulate objects with our hooves. I think if we didn't we'd all be rather stuck," she giggled.

He did as instructed, and found to his surprise that it worked. Jade held the fork up to his face and imagined letting it go.

The fork fell back to the table with a clatter.

"That's really weird."

"It's how we've always done things. You'll soon get used to it."

The next challenge was actually getting food on his fork. He tried stabbing the pieces of shredded lettuce to no avail, before trying to scoop them up and only succeeding in flinging veg across the table. After several attempts - and some frustrated growling - he finally got a good mouthful in. A massive smile grew across his muzzle as the taste of crispy and fresh lettuce filled his mouth.

"So, what's it like to eat under your own power?" she echoed his question from over a week ago.

"Delicious," he replied, and his nurse laughed.

Over the next day Jade spent as much time as possible doing anything he could with his newfound abilities. He attempted painting with the brush held against his hoof, he ate every meal with gusto - and a lot of mess - and even started cantering up and down the hallway outside his room, much to the hospital staff's chagrin. It was so frustrating being stuck in one building when he could do so much more!

Eventually nurse Gentle Thread was able to give him a little button that he could press with his muzzle if he was in distress, and would be allowed to go outside so long as he returned before sundown. Jade could barely contain his excitement as he approached the double doors.

This was it. Freedom to do what he wanted, out in the real world.

Almost.

He pushed through the doors.

Immediately, noise hit his ears like a steam locomotive; the rattling of carriage wheels, the talking ponies around him. And the smell! Not the sterile environment of a hospital, but the clean and brisk air of a city. He had been here before dozens of times in a wheelchair, but nothing compared to this.

Ponies gave him strange looks as they passed, noticing his almost-glowing green legs, but he didn't care. Jade began to walk along the street, craning his neck to look at everything he could.

Then a brilliant idea struck.

He could remember the way couldn't he? All he had to do was find the city square and...there! He began to trot in excitement, then canter, and finally gallop. He was leaping around pedestrians, over puddles and even a small construction site where ponies were repairing the pavement. Everything began to blur around him as tears of joy sprang up, distorting his vision, but he didn't stop - not even for a second. He let out a whoop as he crossed a road in seconds, unknowingly almost being hit by a drawn carriage.

After a few minutes he began to slow down, knowing he was nearing his destination. His heart was racing, sweat poured down his face, and he absolutely loved it. Finally, he came to rest in front of an inconspicuous door, just another building in a line of buildings. But knocking on this door would mean the beginning of a new life for Jade, and it would make his family so happy.

There was a moment of hesitation as he wondered if maybe they were all out, there might be nopony home to greet him.

But he cast it aside as he worked up his courage. Now he could get his drawings out there, make some money for himself, and live a proper life. Now he could visit his family whenever he wanted, and do things he never thought possible.

Now he was a new pony.

He knocked.

Author's Note

So this is FINALLY done...it took so long because I had an awful bout of writer's block and was barely able to write a sentence each day...but here we are! I hope you enjoyed my very first story on this site, and I also hope it wasn't crap. Thanks for reading!

~Wolf