Tuesday morning started like many others did in the Golden Oaks Library with Twilight Sparkle surrounded by small stacks of books with her head deep into a new study. Her always loyal dragon Spike walked up to her table, refilling her cup of coffee. “So is this another assignment from the princess? I don’t remember getting a letter.”
Twilight flipped to the next page of her book, taking a sip of her drink. “Not from the princess, but you remember when I was trying to turn an apple into an orange?”
“Yeah, I hear Fluttershy was quite shocked when she found the orange frog.”
“I turned it back!” Twilight said, her cheeks turning red. “Anyway, it turns out there is a whole slew of other such transformation spells.”
“That would explain how you turned your parents into plants,” Spike jokes, nudging Twilight’s side.
“That Spike was a magic surge brought on by stress and a sonic rainboom. Any number of things could have happened. “ Pointing to the book, she continued her mini-lecture. “The reason it was so hard was that, in most cases, objects want to stay in their natural state. So when you try to change its form, it resists, and you have to do a sort of magical tug of war with it.” Lifting a large cube of wood into the table, she added. “I understand the process better now. I’m going to turn this block into a rubber ball.”
“Cool.“ Spike said, taking a few steps back just in case.
As it would turn out, his caution would soon be justified as Twilight’s horn began to glow. As cliche as it might have seemed, dust just happened to make its way into her nose, causing her to sneeze before she had concentrated her magic upon the block. The resulting beam of energy shot out from her horn, ricocheting off the mirror sitting by one of the bookshelves and impacting her squarely in the chest. The impact sent her flying into her back with stars in her eyes. As her vision began to clear, she felt the constant feeling of being light-headed, and something just didn’t feel right. “Ugh, that could have gone better,” she grumbled before she turned to look back at the mirror. Upon seeing herself, she let out a yelp jumping back rather softly.
As it turned out, the spell had backfired, with her body now made of cloth and full of stuffing. Essentially she was a full-sized plushie of herself. The fact she could still move and talk was a blessing. Spike hurried over, his eyes wide. “Twilight, are you okay?” Reaching a claw up to Twilight’s muzzle, the drake felt the seam that formed her smile. “You’re talking, but your mouth is all stitching. Weird.”
Twilight sat down with barely a sound and pressed her forehooves together, feeling them compress. Despite not breathing, the sounds of her panting heavily were heard. “I-i’m fine. I can fix this,” she said, panicking as she tried to channel her magic by jutting her head forward in the attempt. To her shock, nothing happened, not even a spark from her horn. “N-no no, not good.” Her hooves moved up to her horn as she squashed it around.
Being the responsible assistant Spike was, the drake rushed quickly to grab a quill and parchment. “Should I contact Celestia? If your magic can’t fix this, then I'm sure she can.”
Twilight shook her head, rushing over half stumbling as she pushed against Spike. “No! We don’t need to bother her about this. It’s fixable! All I need is for somepony else to cast the counterspell.” Tapping her chin a few times, she thought about it, reviewing what she knew. She was concentrating so much that she didn’t notice Spike hugging her till he sank his claws lightly into her. She looked down, confused. “Um, I'm fine, Spike. No need to worry,” she replied, feeling Spike rub his cheek into her stuffed chest. It felt nice giving her a sense of happiness at the action.
Spike, after a minute, shook his head, pulling away with a blush. “Uh, I don't know why, but I just felt like I had to hug you. You’re just really soft.” He fiddled with his claws sheepishly. “So who’s going to help you? I’m sure there are plenty of unicorns around we can ask.”
Spike could almost hear the smile in Twilight’s voice as she replied. “Rarity, she’s perfect!” Moving to the front door, she fumbled about as she tried to get her saddle bag on, only to feel it sag her middle even with such little weight.
“Rarity? Why is that?” Spike asked. Although, of course, he would never turn down a chance to visit Rarity.
Twilight, finding she couldn’t wear her saddle bag, slipped it off and turned back to look at Spike. “She’s already familiar with fabrics and needles. So she should be able to cast the spell with ease.” Pushing the book into Spike’s claws, she continued. “You got to carry this. We’ll find her and get this sorted out. Celestia will never have to find out about this.” She would have given Spike a slight glare if not for her eyes being unable to move. “Right, Spike?”
Spike took a step back despite the unmoving eyes, her tone serious enough. “Okay, okay, fine.” He said, opening the door for Twilight. “It could have been worse, I suppose.” Twilight’s form rustled as they headed out into the streets. Twilight would occasionally continue to trip and stumble from just how light her form was. After passing a few homes, Spike spoke up to lighten the mood. “Well, at least you’re good quality. You’d sell for a lot,” he teased, feeling the harmless smack of the plush hoof on the back of his head. It only caused him to laugh a bit in response.
“Oh ha-ha,” Twilight deadpanned and would have been blushing from all the passing ponies staring at her if she could. It wasn’t long before a few colts and fillies spotted her moving closer to stare at the odd sight. Of all the days for her to have a magical mishap, it just had to be during a school break. Spike tried to help her, but it was no use as the plush unicorn was quickly hugged around her legs by a dozen little hooves. Along with one pegasus on her back who was snuggling into her neck.
The one on Twilight’s back hugged the neck tighter and squealed. “She’s so fluffy!”
Another one hugging her hind leg tugged on a little tag sticking out that Twilight hadn’t noticed before. “Did you know you’re washing machine safe?”
Spike snickered, watching as one of the fillies played with the plush tail batting it around like a cat. “Aww, the children love you, Twilight.”
Despite how delightful it felt, Twilight shook her head. “We don’t have time for this,” she said, wiggling softly but was too weak to get them off herself.
Spike found the minor inconvenience of his sister amusing snicking behind his claw before he coughed. “Alright, you can hug her later.” The drake waved with his claw as the group of youngsters all let out a groan of disappointment as they got off the plush. The two resumed their trek as they passed by other onlookers, some looking like they felt the urge to hug. They managed to avoid most of it, reaching Rarity’s boutique before heading inside.
Upon entering, however, the two noticed the absence of the fashionista. The only pony in the main room was Sweetie Belle, who had paused in her drawing to look up at them. “Hi Spike, hey Twilight,” she said, taking a second to notice Twilight’s state. “Wow, what happened?” she asked, hurried over and poking at the plush material.
“Magical miss cast,” Twilight replied, looking around the room again in hopes of spotting Rarity. “Where’s Rarity? Is she in her workroom?”
“She left about five minutes ago to the farm, something about Applejack.” The filly poked the plush chest again with a smile. “Can you teach me? This looks fun.”
Twilight shook her head, managing a step back. “What? No, this was a mistake. Why would anypony want to be like this,” she gestured her hoof against her chest. “It’s embarrassing.”
“I don’t know. You look so soft and huggable. Maybe I’d get my cutie mark somehow,” Sweetie Belle said with a squeak.
Twilight turned around, shaking her head. “Come on, Spike. I'm sure that if we hurry, we can catch up to Rarity.”
Spike, thinking for a moment, grabbed Twilight’s tail causing the unicorn to fall onto her stomach with barely a sound. “Wait, shouldn't we just wait here? I’m sure she’ll be back.”
“I’m sure it will be faster to just catch up to her instead of waiting around for who knows how long,” Twilight said, disgruntled. Truthfully, she just didn’t want to be stuck as a plushie for longer than she had to be.
Spike held on to her tail as he spoke. “Are you sure?” Although he knew that once Twilight had a plan in her head, it would be hard to make her do something else.
“Yes, now let’s get going before she gets too far ahead,” Twilight said, grunting a few times before Spike finally let go. Stepping outside, she looked back at the young filly. “Come by the library tomorrow, and we’ll see about teaching you some magic.” Hearing Sweetie cheer, Twilight resumed her trek, moving as fast as she could towards the farm.
Thankfully, the trip to Sweet Apple Acres became much easier once the crowds lessened the farther they got from the main square. A light breeze fluttered the leaves as they made their way up the dirt path, the plush unicorn scanning the trees for her friend, but just as she was about to call out, Twilight tripped on a rock which, on any normal day, would have been kicked aside without pause. However, the exact opposite happened as she was sent into a small rustling tumble.
“Wow, Twi yah okay,” Applejack called out, hurrying up once she spotted the two. Once she got up close, she noticed the state Twilight was in. “Huh, what?” she said, baffled as she shook her head and glanced at Spike for answers. “What’s going on?”
“A miss-casted spell and a mirror turned me into a living plush.,” Twilight responded dryly. “WE just hoped to catch up to Rarity to help me.”
“Oh yeah, Rarity was here fixing up one of mah hats with her fancy skitch work. It was a mighty kind of her too.” Staring closer at Twilight’s form, she lifted one of the hooves to look at the souls. “Huh, not a speck of dirt on yah for somepony who’s been walking.”
Confused, Twilight looked down as well, seeing that despite all her walking on dirt paths, her hooves were all nice and clean. “Must be some sort of ambient spell. Though, I wouldn’t want to test getting wet.” Shaking her head, she glanced around. “So, where is Rarity?”
“Yah just missed her Twilight. She said she was headin’ to Fluttershy's.” Applejack stared at the soft plush before rubbing her neck. “May I hug yah?”
Spike snickered a bit as Twilight groaned. “Fine.” As Applejack wrapped her hooves around the plush neck, Twilight found herself leaning into it for a few seconds before Applejack let go. “Alright, come on, Spike. Maybe we can catch up to her if we hurry.” Groaning, Spike gave a wave to Applejack before following after Twilight.
The only sounds to be heard along the quiet path towards Fluttershy’s cottage were Twilight’s rustling hooves with each step. Spike had to pause a moment or two to catch his breath. Spike leaned against a log setting the book down carefully as he glanced down the path. “You’d think we would have spotted Rarity if she was on her way back this way.”
Twilight glanced as well. “Good, that just means she’ll be more likely to still be at Fluttershy’s.”
Spike rubbed the bottom of his foot groaning. “Can we sit down once there? All this walking is making my feet hurt.”
The plush unicorn sighed. “Alright, Spike. I would carry you if I could, but you know.” She poked her soft sides.
“Yeah, I get it,” Spike said before hugging Twilight’s leg before they resumed their trek. After a few minutes, they came into view of Fluttershy’s cottage. Crossing the little bridge, they could hear the soothing sound of bird songs from the backyard. Deciding it was best to check there first, they headed around back, soon spotting Fluttershy directing a group of birds.
Not seeing Rarity, Twilight let the birdsong go on for a bit longer before she spoke. “Fluttershy.”
Startled, Fluttershy jumped in the air for a moment before turning. Before Twilight could speak, the pegasus flew over in a flash, squeezing the plush in a hug and letting out a short squeal of joy. “Oh Spike, this plush is so cute!”
Twilight, while being unharmed, still wormed the best she could. “Fluttershy, I'm not a toy!” she squeaked, feeling the pegasus nuzzle the soft fabric a little more.
“W-what, Twilight?” Fluttershy let go, dropping the plush onto the grass, surprised. Watching Twilight get to her hooves, she tilted her head. “So, why are you a plush?”
Twilight peered towards the cottage and groaned. “Magic! Let me guess we just missed Rarity?”
Fluttershy rubbed the back of her foreleg. “Oh, I’m sorry, she just came by to make sure I’d make it to our spa time. I think she said that she’d be stopping by the library after her jog.” The shy mare explained idly as she draw circles in the dirt.
“Jog? I guess that explains how she got ahead of us so fast,” Spike said, rubbing his left foot while sitting on the grass.
Twilight’s body slumped some before throwing her hooves up in the air. “Oh come on!” She looked towards Spike as the drake opened his mouth to say something. “I swear if you're going to say I told you so!”
The drake, in response, promptly closed his mouth but smiled anyway.
After a minute or two to let Spike rest his feet, the two hurried along back through town toward Golden Oaks. Twilight seemed no worse for wear other than being annoyed. “Well, it would appear that the trade-off of being plush is that I seem to have endless energy. “Twilight remarked, hardly paying ponies attention, not even reacting to short hugs random ponies gave her.
Spike rolled his eyes, adjusting the book in his grip. “Yeah, the only issue is you can’t hold anything.”
The sight of the library encouraged Twilight to speed up, flopping about as she ran. Just as she was about to the door, she tripped, rolling once before soundlessly smacking into the door. Spike laughed as she got up and pulled the door open, sighing in relief once she saw the thankful sight of Rarity looking around. “Rarity, finally!”
Rarity turned and gasped upon seeing Twilight. “Twilight?” she declared, lifting her hoof and gently pressing it into the plush material. “This a new spell you've been working on, Twilight?” she pushed a little harder into the chest.”I must say! You’re made of the best material I've ever seen.”
Twilight sighed, sitting down and taking a moment to stare at the sweatband around Rarity's forehead. “Miscast a spell and I need your help to do the reversal since you know more about fabrics than me,” she explained, poking at her useless horn. In a way, it reminded her somewhat of the poison joke incident, only less floppy.
“Oh, I see,” Rarity remarked as she took the spellbook from Spike to look at the bookmarked page. “I’ve never done transformation spells before, but I could try.”
Spike shrugged. “Sorry, Twilight is a bit grumpy. We've been trying to find you all day. She’s convinced that you’re the best unicorn for the job.”
“Ah, that explains it. I didn’t mean to give you the runaround,” Rarity said, her horn beginning to glow. Her muzzle scrunched as she focused her mana on the spell.
Spike crossed his arms as the magic surrounded Twilight’s form. “If this doesn’t work, I'm contacting Celestia.”
Twilight simply nodded, watching Rarity’s horn glowing brighter with sweat on the mare’s brow. Just as it seemed Rarity might fail, Twilight’s form shined brightly for a few moments, followed by the sound of two mares thumping to the floor. “Rarity!” Spike cried out as he hurried over to the unicorn to check on her.
Twilight was relieved as she rolled her eyes at Spike’s reaction groaning as she moved her legs, slowly getting up. “Never thought I’d miss breathing.” Moving over to Rarity, she helped the unicorn to her hooves. “You alright, Rarity?”
Rarity rubbed her head as she nodded. “Just took more out of me than I thought. I’m glad it worked correctly.”
Spike gives Twilight a hug smirking. “I guess you learned a lesson after all.”
“And what is that?”
“Never leave a mirror around you while doing magic,” Spike remarked as Twilight just laughed in response and hugged him back. “Although, now I really want a plushie of you. Do you think Rarity would make it?”
Twilight blushed as Rarity snickered at the thought. A strange way to spend a day indeed.
