Author's Note
A little belated Happy Valentine's Day/Hearts and Hooves Day fic, I hope you enjoy!
Not a sequel to The Simplicity, I'll be working on that soon enough.
Have a lovely day! Constructive criticism is appreciated.
Changes
Books.
Books everywhere.
Balanced haphazardly on a table was a pile of books, pieces of parchment, and various diagrams on anatomy and species reference, likely another product of some panic-driven pursuit of knowledge.
Huddled in the corner of a mountain of books was the alicorn poring over her final drafts. The tip of her quill was the only thing visible over the pile, swishing side-to-side and swerving erratically over crossed-out formulas, the final product a complete mystery.
Sighing, she placed her quill down on the the side, and lifted of the parchment to her tired, bleary eyes.
It was time.
Standing up on all fours, she hovered the parchment before her, and, squinting at the writing, her brow furrowed in concentration as her horn lit up, emitting a low humming noise as the glow grew brighter, the swirling energies reaching it's peak as the glow spread to the rest of her body.
VYOOOOOM!!
And with a final burst of energy, the aura surrounding the alicorn dissipated, a loud pop as the alicorn dropped to the floor. However, upon examining herself, realized that she was alicorn no longer.
It worked.
Picking herself up was admittedly a strainous task, but once the awkward effort of getting on her feet was done, she walked over a little lopsidedly to a full-body mirror in a corner of the room.
Smiling broadly at the sight before her, she nearly jumped in the air in excitement, only to stop herself to prevent any further accidents in her already wobbly state.
Now all she needed to do was to find Anon.
Smoothening out the creases in her skirt, Twilight Sparkle walked carefully towards the door, and, groping for the doorknob, forcefully yanked the door open and stepped outside.
"Ah, you came, Mr. Anonymous..."
The human walked into the hut, stooping a little low to fit through the doorway, clearly not meant to accommodate one of his stature.
The zebra standing by the cauldron smirked.
"... And if I do recall, whatever happens here will be just between us."
The human nodded solemnly, issuing another low chuckle from the zebra.
"The ingredients to this potion are true and tested, all parts of a life-changing stew, just as requested!"
Peering over the edge of the cauldron, the human drew back quickly, taken aback by the powerful scent.
Glancing at an amused Zecora, the human raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "Are you sure this will work?"
"Ah... I'm sure that you'll find that within this brew, is something that will completely change you."
Trotting over to a nearby shelf, she picked up a ladle and walked back to the steaming pot, scooping up a substantial amount and pouring it into an empty bottle nearby.
She looked back to an interested human, capturing his attention with her serious tone.
"... You drink this to a heart you've already won, and while it seeps down your throat, you know it is done."
Nodding in agreement, he reached for the bottle with a shaky hand, thinking over the very reason why he had wanted to do this.
For her.
He gritted his teeth, firm and resolute in his will to do something as bold, aware of what this could entail for the both of them.
Without giving himself time for second-thoughts, he overturned the bottle, taking in the entire potion in one swift swig, downing the contents in one gulp. He winced. The potion was bland, and had an almost watery- consistency to it, but was a bubbling magenta that smelled of overcooked brussels sprouts. Dropping the bottle on the tabletop with a thud, he stumbled back into a shelf, twitching and convulsing madly as Zecora looked on eagerly. The tingling sensation spread across his legs, causing him to drop on all-fours.
And then, the change happened.
It felt like he was shrinking, the attire that he wore was now hanging loosely over his shoulders, pants slipping off loosely by his waist and resting somewhere near his hindquarters. Oddly enough, there was something else in his pants, flicking around in agony as it was pressed against his thigh.
And as abruptly as it had begun, it stopped. Wriggling out of the now loose attire, he struggled to stand up, only to fall down on his hooves, in the absence of his fingers. Walking lopsidedly towards a mirror that stood in a corner, he stumbled, urging Zecora to help untangle him from the skin-tight pants that trailed behind him like some kind of tail.
"Now take note, human, and be wary, for the effects of this potion are only temporary."
Standing up straight (or, as straight as he could in his state), he looked over the new changes in his body. It wasn't all that bad, in his opinion. He had a fine, sleek coat of creamy chestnut, groomed and pressed flat against his form. His hair, though as untidy as it was when he first arrived, was now a flowing mane, elegantly combed and gleaming in the window-light. Gazing back at his flank, he took stock of his unusual mark, a lone question-mark plastered squarely on his hindquarters.
"This will...take a while to get used to." he laughed nervously.
Zecora nodded in agreement, somehow folding his abandoned clothes and slinging it over his back.
"As...unconventional as this could be, you will have one pleased mare, take it from me."
She smirked, gesturing towards the door.
"Now go, make haste, if you don't want the rest of the evening to go to waste!"
Nodding solemnly, he took a deep breath before stepping outside the doorway, accidentally tripping over his own hooves and planting his face directly on the pavement.
Brushing himself off as inconspicuously as possible, he stood up and resumed his trot towards the castle, enjoying the new speed at which he could travel with minimal effort.
Twilight Sparkle stumbled along the porch leading to the doorstep of Anon's house, a lone cabin on the outskirts of town, away from any unwanted attention. Leaning against the doorframe for support, she turned the knob, only to jump back in surprise realizing that it was unlocked.
"Hello? Anon?"
Peeking inside, she took in the interior of the dimly-lit living-room. Various custom-made furniture and clothing aside, the only thing that was particularly off was the fact that the stove was left open, flickering blue in the sparse lighting.
Chuckling to herself, she walked over to the stove, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Oh, Anon, you silly human, you..."
She reached out a hand and twisted the knob with ease, extinguishing the flame.
"You're going to burn your house down one of these days, you know that, right?"
She turned around, taking in the other aspects of the room that she was in. She soon caught sight of a picture-frame hanging on a wall by the kitchen, her heart melting with the realization that it was a photo of the both of them at the Gala, entwined lovingly with each other on the dance floor.
The time on the clock's face by the counter caught her attention. Glancing worriedly in the direction of the doorway, she bit her lip, thinking over her options.
The spell would only last until roughly by midnight.
She scrawled a hasty note on a piece of paper before bolting towards the door, flying over the porch and landing on her feet near the sidewalk. She broke into a little run, headed back towards the castle.
She couldn't miss this. Not ever.
"Excuse me, coming through!"
This way and that way Anon went, jostled by the crowd of ponies filling the busy streets of Ponyville. Getting along on hooves was a fairly easy task, but navigating through a sea of ponies that he once had the luxury of towering over was another matter entirely. Peering over a pastel ocean of colors, he could faintly make out his cabin at the end of the road.
"Pardon me, sir—oof! S-sorry, ma'am!"
Ignoring the stares from the ponies who apparently have never seen a new face before, he pushed through the remainder of them: happy, giggling couples swooning left and right, nary a care in the world as they sauntered up and down the street shooting amorous, half-lidded glances at each other, treading cloud nine.
As Anon's gaze would wander over to the lovers that would pass by him, he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy, but was quickly replaced by excitement and elation.
That will be me and Twilight by tonight.
The mere thought spurred him on into a brisk trot towards his cabin, which to his surprise he found the door standing ajar, wide open and bumping on the wall opposite to it.
Wariness and caution took over his expression. This wasn't a good time for intruders.
Walking up the porch and trembling from head to hoof, he peered in slowly, snout-first, into the doorway to survey the surroundings.
There was nothing particularly out of place, and all the furniture was still intact, thankfully. The only unusual thing that he noticed upon entering the room was a piece of paper on the counter, a salt-shaker placed on top of it as a paper-weight.
Reaching out with a hoof, he gently slid the paper towards himself, a smile forming on his face as he read the words etched in purple ink.
Anon,
I'm back at the castle, I looked everywhere for you but I couldn't find you anywhere...perhaps it would be best if you went looking for me instead? Hee hee!
I'll be waiting for you!
Love, Twilight
Unable to stop the smile that was creeping up his cheeks, he walked purposefully towards the bedroom, where he flung open the closet doors with renewed vigor and pulled out an elegant tuxedo, primed and pressed to the finest quality. With some effort, he was able to slip it on, and after admiring himself in the mirror for a while, realized that it was nearly nightfall.
I'll be waiting for you!
The words rang in his head like an insistent chime, spurring him on to quickly dash out of the bedroom and jump out of the doorway of the cabin, trotting with brisk, determined strides.
Just a bit more...
"Oh, Spike, I'm not sure if I can handle this kind of pressure..."
She was pacing back and forth within the confines of her bedroom, her mind racing through every possibility of disasters that could befall the evening.
The dragon looked on with a bored expression, barely paying attention to what was probably the tenth mental breakdown of the evening.
"I'm sure everything will be fine, Twilight, he's probably on his way here right now..."
"But what if he's not?" she began hyperventilating. "What if something terrible happened to him on the way, and it would be my fault if he—"
*yawn*
A loud yawn interrupted her panic-driven yammering, causing her to glare at the dragon leaning lazily against the foot of the bed.
"You mind?"
The dragon smirked.
"Are you finished yet?"
"*sigh* I-I'm sorry, it's just..." she had her head in her hands, taking deep, steadying breaths as she tried to calm herself. "I just want tonight to be perfect, you do know how long I wanted to do this, and I want to make sure everything goes as planned."
Spike stood up and walked towards her, gently patting her hand as he tried to reassure her.
"Hey, listen, you know Anon, right?"
She looked up at him in question.
"Yeah?"
"Right. And you know that he's not the kind of person to let you down, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Good. Then what are you so afraid of? You know that he'll show up, and you know that he's going to be there for you, then why are you so..."
Twilight looked up, raising an eyebrow.
"Insecure?"
Spike nodded, leaning back against the foot of the bed.
She paused, her gaze growing distant.
"Spike... I think that the problem isn't with me being afraid that he won't show up, it's in me being afraid that..."
"That what?"
Spike raised an eyebrow in question.
"Afraid that...he won't like what he sees."
Looking away from Spike, she sheepishly buried her face in her hands.
"... Is that all?" Laughing, the dragon doubled over, gasping for breath. "Of all the things your worried about, you're worried that he won't like what he sees?"
A pillow to the face was the answer he received.
"I... I wouldn't expect you to understand! This is just...something I want for the both of us..." her face was tinged pink, a furious blush creeping up her cheeks. "... Besides, if you worked harder with Rarity, I'm sure you'd at least understand what it feels like—"
"Alright, alright, point taken." he sighed in defeat, standing up to stretch his limbs. "Just...relax, okay? He'll be around, don't you worry."
"I-I'll try." she sunk further into the cushions, willing her racing mind to slow it's pace.
The castle was coming into view, the brilliant, crystalline surface reflecting the last rays of sunlight in all directions. The sunset, painting the sky with colors of orange and merigold and shining brightly in the west was oddly comforting, in a way. And as though for a change of scenery, a hint of the moon could also be seen rising steadily opposite to it, adding a mix of mauve-purple to the colors dancing in the evening sky.
Trotting at this pace was a breeze, so to speak. The air, constantly shifting and flitting about, was either a crisp afternoon breeze, or a warm and tender evening embrace. But however fickle the atmosphere was, one could attest to how lovely the evening was turning out to be.
Soon, however, he found himself standing directly in front of the front doors of the castle, and all traces of tranquility and calmness that he had mustered minutes prior vanished into thin air.
The thoughts and fears that now entered his mind were insistent and relentless. What if she didn't like what she sees? What if she was expecting something more? What if everything wouldn't turn out all that well that evening?
The thoughts and fears were almost too much for him to handle. But, mustering up every last bit of courage that he could muster, he lifted up a hoof to knock.
Everything would be alright that evening. And he wasn't just going to stand around waiting for it to happen.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Twilight was just pacing around for what was possibly the tenth time around her room when she heard the distant knocking on her front door. With a yelp, she dashed out of her room and into the hallway. Finding herself standing directly in front of the front door, she took one last reassuring breath, mustering all the courage and resolve as she could possibly muster.
Everything will be alright.
Without giving herself time for second-thoughts, she reached a shaky hand towards the door handle and pulled it open.
"Oh, Anon, thank goodness you've arrived, I don't think that I would've been able to handle any more of that...pressure..."
Her voice trailed off as the two of them gaped at each other wordlessly.
Anon, on one hand, simply looked up at Twilight. Or at least, it was her, with the exception that she now stood on two legs, had hands, and had her hair tied up in an elegant bun that simply complimented the rest of her attire. With a sudden realization, he realized that they had both gotten the same idea.
Twilight, on the other hand, simply stared down at Anon, or at least, it was him, with the exception that he was now a stallion with a fine coat of chestnut, and was wearing a handsome tuxedo of Rarity's design. Now entitled to the luxury of a quadruped, he stood on four hooves, and was clearly human no longer.
The two of them stood around in awkward silence before breaking into hysterical laughter.
"This is...unexpected."
"I simply can't believe that we had the same idea! I mean, what are the odds that we both planned the same thing for each other, today of all days..."
The two of them were in Twilight's room, fresh from an awkward dinner date a few hours prior. Stepping out from behind the changing screen wearing a pair of matching pajamas, she walked towards the bed, patting the area next to her as a signal for Anon to join her.
Anon hopped onto the bed, leaning up to nuzzle her cheeks as he curled up next to her. Twilight, clearly a stranger to the feeling of fur against skin, let out an "Mmmmm" of delight as she embraced him in turn. Slipping a leg in between his hind legs, she reached out with one free hand and began to trail her fingers up his back, sending shivers up his spine. Noticing his flustered expression, she giggled to herself, before reaching out with another hand to give Anon a few affectionate ear scritches.
Clearly taken by surprise, Anon felt all immediate sensation melt into pure bliss.
"Oh, Twilight... This feels... so good..."
"*giggle* That's what it feels whenever you give me ear scritches, Anon." she pulled away for a moment, before lifting up Anon's chin to meet her in the eye. Sensing what was about to come next, he immediately leapt forward, only to end up accidentally planting a big, wet smackeroo on Twilight's nose.
Giggling at an embarrassed Anon, she placed another hand on his cheek, gently guiding his lips onto hers. A slow, passionate kiss filled with all the longing and love that they had for each other. Pulling away ever so slowly, Twilight and Anon gazed into each other's eyes before the former chuckled to herself.
"Your kissing needs a little work..."
"Well it was just this morning when I had this...snout." he rubbed the end of his face in mild annoyance. "I'm still getting used to it."
With ease, Twilight used both arms to pin down Anon's forehooves, towering over him in full dominance. Giggling at a flustered Anon, she leaned in, voice barely above a whisper.
"Well, we have all night to get used to it, don't we~?"
And with that, and without waiting for a reply, she closed the distance between their lips in what would be the second passionate kiss of the evening, and the second of many more passionate kisses to come.
The morning light was barely filtering through the thick, velvet-purple drapes that hung across the windows, but a lone band of sunlight was enough to wake the human from his slumber. Propping himself up on one arm, he struggled to get up, only to be yanked down by a pair of forehooves wrapped firmly around his midsection.
Twilight the alicorn was still deep in her slumber, her mind dancing with Luna's dreams. She let out a feeble sigh as she felt around the bed for Anon, allowing herself to fall back into the affectionate embrace, muttering to herself about pancake breakfasts.
Chuckling to himself, he reached out with a thumb to push away a portion of her mane that had swept across her face. She stirred ever so slightly, still fast asleep within the shroud of night.
Anon took a deep breath, letting the scent of the morning air fill his lungs as the rest of the night faded into morning light. It was a new day.
Settling back into the embrace, Anon leaned in subtly to whisper in her ear.
"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Twilight."
