Chapter 60: The Cutie Pox
"Welcome to Keyblade Academy." Spyro said, the turrets appearing from the floor, the wall, and the roof. "Hope you survive the experience."
Before the girls had a moment to say anything, the first turret fired a stun bolt, which the Mane Six spread out in different directions to avoid being hit, Rainbow Dash lifting off into the air and dodging the bolts while Twilight created a barrier to block the bolts.
"Spyro, what's going on!?" Twilight shouted. "I thought you said this was training!?"
"It is." Spyro replied, the turrets still firing. "This is an entrance exam, remember? Call your Keyblades and attack."
"Attack!? Are you crazy!?" Twilight asked. "We'll be torn to shreds!"
"Relax Twilight, they aren't dangerous." Spyro replied. "The bolts are only set for stun, so there's no danger."
The ponies looked at each other, trying to see if someone was willing to go out, but heard Rainbow Dash yell out a battle cry as she called her Keyblade, taking it into her mouth and flew to the first turret on the roof, striking it and showing there was no damage to the turret, but it stopped firing, retracting the blaster barrels and returning into the roof. After they saw this, the girls all did the same thing, called their Keyblades and rushed forward, dodging the bolts while they each struck the turrets, Applejack taking the lead while she and Rainbow Dash seemed to be competing to see who could take the most turrets first, slashing and hitting the turrets they could find while Twilight used her magic to get herself to some of the turrets, teleporting and blocking the bolts while she struck them. Rarity was a little more panicky about how she hit them, screaming as she rushed forward and hitting the turrets, trying not to get herself dirtier than she already was after being in the mud today, avoiding the bolts while she quickly hit each turret while running around in random directions to stay clean.
Pinkie Pie just laughed and enjoyed herself as usual, jumping around and seemingly teleporting to random turrets and smacking them on their tops, appearing out from behind each turret and even using suction cups to move across the roof slowly to hit the turrets above them. Fluttershy, however, was the most nervous as she slowly approached a turret that was distracted by one of her friends, raising her Keyblade up, but instead of smacking or slashing it, she just tapped it, causing it to deactivate just like that, continuing to just tap them and cause them to deactivate. After about a few minutes of this, the last turret was struck down by Twilight, everyone but Pinkie and Fluttershy were out of breath while Spyro walked out with a tablet, checking the results of the session.
"Nice work girls, you did great." Spyro said, everyone glaring at him.
"Why didn't ya warn us that was going to happen?" Applejack asked. "Ya'll coulda given us a heads up."
"And ruin the surprise?" Spyro asked.
"Oh, oh, I love surprises!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Is there a surprise party after this!? Is it to celebrate how well we did!? Will there be cake!?"
"Pinkie." Twilight said, stopping her. "Spyro, what was the point of doing that?"
"To give you an idea of what to expect." Spyro replied. "The enemy will appear out of nowhere at any moment, so you must always be ready for them to show up."
"Any moment?" Fluttershy asked. "So, they could appear and attack whenever they wish?"
"Exactly, which is why I started you girls off like this." Spyro replied. "Always be prepared, no matter what." He then looked down at his tablet as results appeared. "Ah, your results are in."
"Results?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You mean, we're being graded on how we did!?"
"Sort of." Spyro replied. "This data is to help me see how good you all did and what areas we can help you improve in."
A moment later, he pushed a button and a holographic screen appeared behind Spyro, revealing the results of the Entrance Exam, revealing that, to everyone's surprise, Twilight took down the most turrets, taking down twelve of them.
"Seems they don't call Twilight Sparkle the star pupil for nothing." Spyro said, turning to his friends. "And the one in second is a tie between Applejack and Rainbow Dash with ten turrets each, Pinkie coming in with nine, while Rarity and Fluttershy finishing behind with eight turrets each."
"S-sorry for hitting so few." Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane.
"Oh, don't worry little butterfly." Spyro said. "This exam was to help me see where each of you stand and how I can help you guys improve yourselves. We'll begin training tomorrow night and will be training every night before bed. What we'll be going through first will be how to properly handle a Keyblade, without magic."
"WHAT!?" Twilight exclaimed. "Without magic! You must be joking!"
"Sorry Twi, I'm not joking." Spyro replied. "You can't always rely on your magic. There's a chance your horn might get damaged or hit, so you need to know how to use a blade without magic to help. For now, get some rest because tomorrow will be a work out."
Everyone dismissed their blades and walked to the center of the room where the platform was at, getting on and riding it back up to the main hangar, walking out of the hangar to head home while Spyro and Applejack went back to the farm house to clean themselves up and have some dinner, talking about the training session and about how everyone's day went before heading off to bed. The next morning, everyone was busy taking care of their daily chores, Applejack and Big Mac working on fixing the lock on the on the sheep pen while Apple Bloom was busy helping Spyro clean up what was left behind after the Sisterhooves Social, cleaning up some of the confetti and removing the obstacles. After a little while Apple Bloom went back into the house and was bringing out a bag, looking over and saw it was used for carrying bowling balls, peaking Spyro's curiosity.
"Hey Apple Bloom, what's with the bowling ball?" Spyro asked.
"Oh, the crusaders and ah are going to try and get our Cutie Marks in Bowling!" Apple Bloom replied. "Scootaloo said she'd be back today and agreed to meet up at the Bowling ally ran by Mr. Kingpin."
"Well, alright, but don't go breaking anything, ok?" Spyro asked.
"No problem Spyro." Apple Bloom said, picking up the bag and leaving for the bowling ally.
After she left, Spyro decided to go and pay Zecora a visit, finishing up his chores and went towards the Everfree forest to go and visit Zecora, see if she would like to have a little company. On his way, he passed by the bowling ally and saw that Scootaloo had come back, so he went over to see her just as they were about to enter the bowling ally.
"Hey Scoots." Spyro said, making the fillies look in his direction.
"Spyro!" Scootaloo shouted, running over and hugged his forelegs. "I missed you so much!"
"And I missed you too little dare devil." Spyro replied, hugging her back. "So, how was your visit with your aunts?"
"It was amazing!" Scootaloo replied. "I got to make some new friends and got to play some games with my aunts, it was amazing!"
"I'm glad to hear you had a great time with them." Spyro said. "And I hear you are going to try your hoof at bowling."
"Yep, gonna see if we can get our Cutie marks in bowling." Scootaloo replied. "But what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm on my way to visit Zecora, haven't spent much time with her recently." Spyro replied. "You play safe ok? And try not to break anything."
"Sure thing Spyro." Scootaloo said.
The three fillies picked up their bowling ball bags and went into the bowling ally to try their luck in getting a cutie mark in bowling, though he couldn't imagine any of them making their lives all about bowling, but just chuckled as he imagine the kind of trouble they might get themselves into. He then continued on his way to the Everfree and walked along the path he knew of to get to Zecora's hut, finding that she was outside collecting herbs and other natural ingredients for a brew she probably has in mind. As she picked up another flower, she noticed Spyro approaching and put the flower in a basket she was carrying.
"Well this is such a pleasant surprise, it is Spyro I see before my eyes." Zecora said.
"Hey Zecora, how you doing?" Spyro asked. "Haven't seen you since Nightmare Night."
"Yes, it has been some time since last we met, some time for me, it seems you have set." Zecora said. "To what do I own the pleasure of your visit today? Not that I'm not happy to see you anyway."
"Well, I thought I'd drop by and spend some time with you, that's all." Spyro replied. "We haven't seen each other much and I thought I'd drop by and make some time for you."
"My, I'm flattered you would make time for me, I think I can do the same of you, come and we shall see." Zecora replied.
He then followed Zecora towards her hut, entering to see that she was brewing up some kind of potion and set the baskets onto a nearby table, sitting down as she brought out some food, putting it on the table as Spyro sat down across from her, watching as she brought over a couple of salads for them.
"It's good to see you again Zecora." Spyro said. "Even if it's only been a few days."
"Though the time after we last saw one another was very short indeed, seeing you again was exactly what I need." Zecora replied, taking a bite form her salad. "Being out in the Everfree alone gets very lonesome, your willingness to spend time with me is very wholesome. So tell me Spyro my friend, what has been going on in the land?"
"Well, Twilight and the rest of my friends, they all got a Keyblade, which I'm sure you've heard about." Spyro said, Zecora nodding her head. "Well, after the Sisterhooves Social, I started their training on how to use their blades. However, the first thing we did was more like throwing them into a battle scenario where all they had to do was smack some turrets to deactivate them. They got a long road ahead of them before they can call themselves Keyblade Masters, but they got potential."
"It is true, I did hear about your friends getting a blade in the shape of a key, though I can't imagine the kind of training there's going to be." Zecora said. "I also heard you took them on vacation to another world with a beach and fun, wish I would have been able to have gone."
"I do apologize about that Zecora." Spyro replied. "I should have come and invited you along for the trip. Though I think you were better off not going as you probably would have been kidnapped by a giant whale to be sent to a hamster for experimentation."
Zecora looked up from her salad, surprised and confused by what he said before she ended up snickering and then started to laugh like he was joking, causing Spyro to start laughing as they had a good time, thinking how ridiculous it was at the time before discussing the amount of fun they had while there. As they were talking, Spyro helped her with cleaning up the dishes and volunteered to help pick some of the needed herbs, picking some flowers she needed and the two ended up finding a place to sit down, leaning into each other as they enjoyed each others company as they looked to the sky. A moment later, they heard what sounded like a filly grunting and yelling as if she was falling down the slope of a hill, looking over to see Apple Bloom on the ground, looking disoriented before putting her hoof on her cheek, groaning as if she was in pain.
"Apple Bloom." Spyro said, rushing over. "Are you ok?"
"My, Apple Bloom little dear, what are you doing here?" Zecora asked. Before Apple Bloom could answer, she got up, but her hoof was still over her mouth, groaning in pain as Spyro helped her up. "Apple Bloom dear, what has happened to you, youth?" The filly then opened her mouth, revealing she had chipped her tooth. "Ah, I see, you've chipped a tooth. Come with me, I know just the trick, that will fix that tooth very quick."
As Zecora and Apple bloom walked back to her hut, Spyro walked over to the two baskets and picked them up, carried them to the hut where Zecora got to work on making a brew.
"Ah tried everything Zecora." Apple Bloom said, her chipped tooth making it should like she has a lisp. "Ah'm gonna end up as old as Granny Smith and still have a blank flank."
"Oh don't be silly Apple Bloom, that will never happen." Spyro responded.
"Your frustration is well understood, but one must be patient for all things good." Zecora said, walking over to the shelf."
"Ugh, I've heard that from everypony Ah know." Apple Bloom said. "And now from every zebra Ah know."
"That's because it's true AB." Spyro replied, helping Zecora. "If you rush things and do them yourself instead of waiting, you'll sometimes end up doing some harm to yourself and to others."
"But Ah don't want to wait for mah cutie mark!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "Ah want mah cutie mark and ah want it NOW!"
As she shouted, Zecora had dropped a container of some kind of purple liquid into the cauldron and leered at Apple Bloom, the little filly backing away from her as the contents exploded.
"I understand, but for your Cutie Mark, you will have to wait, now come, we need to fix that tooth before it's too late!" Zecora said. She took a spoon that was hanging above them and scooped out some of the potion from the cauldron and poured it into a bowl in front of Apple Bloom, who looked at the pink liquid in it. "Be sure to drink every single, little drop, and this mixture will mend that chip on top."
Apple Bloom did as Zecora asked, drinking the liquid in the bowl and picked it up to make sure she drank it all, dropping the bowl as she started to feel it's affects already working as she rushed over to a reflective sheet of metal and opened her mouth to see her teeth. After a second, she watched as the chipped tooth started to shake before it mended itself, surprising them both as they saw it had worked.
"Can I get the recipe for that brew please?" Spyro asked. "It'll save me a lot of money having to fix my teeth."
"Oh mah star apples, this is amazing Zecora!" Apple Bloom said, looking at all the different brews. "Golly, ya'll sure got a lot of different brews for any ailment. One for back bones, bad back... bad breath?"
"Yes, little one, it is very true. I have many different healing brew." Zecora said.
"But one for bad breath?" Spyro asked. "Who'd want that?"
"I will refrain from answering that particular question, it's more like a suggestion." Zecora replied, confusing him. "But do not fear, for it is not for you. For that, I got a different brew."
She then reached over and the two kissed, the filly too distracted to notice them kissing as she was looking at the different brews she had.
"And it's not just stuff that cures the bad, but also brings some good." Apple Bloom said, interrupting them as Spyro had a bad feeling about what she said. "Stuff for good hair, good health, good heavens!" She then thought of something, her thoughts immediately felt by Spyro as he realized what she was thinking. "Ah bet you could fix a brew to fix-"
"Hold it there little lady." Spyro said, holding his hoof up. "I know what it is you're going to ask, forget it, not happening."
"Aw, come on Spyro, Ah was just curious." Apple Bloom said.
"It is true, there are many brews in this room, but non can help your situation Apple Bloom." Zecora replied. "A magic potion will not be the key, for a Cutie Mark, only time and patients is the remedy."
She then walked over to a table that has a mortar, which is an ancient bowl with a pestle nearby as she poured some green dust into the mortar before knocking some berries off from a vine, walking over to some more pots.
"What ya got goin' on here?" Apple Bloom asked, hopping up to see what she was doing.
"I am making a special mix for a rooster and his chicks." Zecora answered, dipping her head into the pot. "It seems the rooster has lost its crow, which has made mornings very slow."
"Sounds like something Applejack asked for." Spyro said. "She did say something about the rooster being unable to crow properly."
Zecora then pulled out a flower that had heart shaped petals, getting both of their attention.
"Hey, Ah've seen that there flower growing in Ponyville." Apple Bloom said. "But Ah never got the name of it. What is it?"
"This particular flower is is known as Hearts desires, for which it will help the rooster regain its fire." Zecora replied. She then shook the flower hard and some of the petals into the mortar before taking the flower on the table. "With Hearts Desire, his talent will come into view, and he'll give out a mighty cockadoodledoo!"
Apple Bloom gave the zebra an unamused look as she did that, going back to the shelves to get something else, but left Apple Bloom to look into a mortar as a thought came to her mind.
"Heart's Desire, huh?" Apple Bloom asked, a smile coming on her face.
"Don't even think about it Apple Bloom." Spyro said, catching her off guard. "Seriously, don't. No good can come from the effects of certain flowers. Remember what happened with the Poison Joke? No way am I letting you mess with magical flowers."
"But Spyro-" Apple Bloom complained.
"No AB, not this time." Spyro replied. "I let you guys have your fun every now and then, but there are some times when I must put my hoof down and this is one of those times."
"Oh shoot, what is this? I have run out of Amethyst." Zecora said. "I must go and find this purple flower if my brew is to be at full power!"
"Would you like some company Zecora?" Spyro asked. "With two sets of eyes, we should be able to find this flower in no time."
The two of them then went out of the hut, leaving the filly alone in the room as she starred at the mortar and then to the Hearts Desire, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. In the forest, Spyro and Zecora were looking everywhere, only finding it further in the forest where a group of Heartless were, so Spyro quickly took care of the three Soldiers with a single swipe and got the flower Zecora needed. After getting it, they returned to her hut, finding that the impatient filly was gone, so they went over to the table and added whatever Zecora needed for her brew.
"Thank you Spyro, your help today was a welcome change, though Apple Blooms absence is rather strange." Zecora said.
"Ah, don't worry about it." Spyro said, walking over and wrapping his wings around her. "Just means we have some alone time, just the two of us."
"Oh my goodness, so forward aren't we today, but until this brew is finished, our alone time I will need to delay." Zecora replied.
"Ah, you're no fun." Spyro said, removing his wings. "Say, you're a good alchemist, you have a lot of different healing brews and potions. I also dabble in it myself."
"You also make your own potions and brew, this is something I didn't know about you." Zecora said, crushing the ingredients.
"Yeah, but I'm not exactly that good." Spyro replied. "I can make regular potions and ethers, sometimes a Fire Resistance potion or two, but most of the time I'm blowing myself up. Feel like Professor Brainard from the movie Flubber."
"A strange word you say, this 'Flubber.' Do you not mean the word rubber?" Zecora asked.
"Oh, no Zecora, Flubber is a movie about a college professor who accidently made a sentient rubbery mass that flies everywhere, calling it Flubber." Spyro replied. "Good movie and got some funny parts to it."
"You are definitely a strange pony my royal friend, a hoof over here could you lend?" Zecora asked.
"Oh sure." Spyro replied, walking over and helping her mix the brew. "Hey, could you help teach me how to improve myself in making these brews? I'm always looking to learn some new skills."
"I'd gladly help you in learning more to make your potions and brews, to hear this, to me, is pleasant news." Zecora replied. "But don't you have to train your friends with their key before you make time for me?"
"Oh don't worry about that, I'm just going to teach them how to use a Keyblade without magic." Spyro replied. "After which, I can make time to learn how to learn to not blow myself up to Kingdom Kong. Then maybe we can have a little dinner afterward."
"Hold on there and wait, are you asking me out of a date!?" Zecora asked in shock.
"Why not, I've been out with some of the other members of the herd, I want to spend a little time with you." Spyro replied. "After we're done, I can take you in my ship and we can spend some time up in the stars, enjoy some alone time."
"Well... I... uh..." Zecora said, trying to find the right words to say as a sudden blush appeared. "Sure, I suppose it will be alright, I guess I'll see you later tonight."
"Great, see you tonight." Spyro said, walking out of the hut.
As he left, Zecora's mind was racing with thoughts, trying to process that he asked her out on a date and was even willing to take her in his ship above the world, worrying about what she was going to do. At the farm, Spyro was helping Applejack to finish collecting some of the apples they needed while also checking in on Apple Bloom to make sure she wasn't up to something, only finding her and Scootaloo were with Sweetie Belle trying to get there Cutie Mark in cleaning pigs, which he wished them luck as he knew that task was literally impossible. As the night approached, Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived first, followed closely by Pinkie and Fluttershy and by Rarity, but right behind her was, to his surprise, Zecora, but her hair was let down like during Nightmare Night, but it was done neatly and was elegant, surprising everyone.
"Zecora... you look..." Twilight said, caught off guard.
"She came to me because she and Spyro have a date after tonight's training session." Rarity replied. "Surprised me when she asked for my help, but who am I to say no."
"It is true, I went to Rarity for some advice and asked her if she could make my mane look nice." Zecora said. "I was meant to help Spyro improve his skill in brewing potions and brews, but then he asked me on a date, it was surprising news."
"Well you are apart of the herd, so I guess he want's you to feel more included." Fluttershy said.
"I believe you may be right, because in the Everfree I sometimes get lonely day and night." Zecora said. "So how long will the training be before our date with you and me?"
"Not very long Zecora." Spyro replied. "It's the first lesson, so it shouldn't take very long." He walked over and waved his hoof, the ground in front of him turned into sand as multiple wooden beams shot from the ground, falling down one at a time to make a perfect square as the sand filled it up, creating a large sandlot. "For tonight's session, we'll be training outside. Tonight, you'll learn how to properly hold a Keyblade without magic."
To demonstrate, he called his blade and instead of grabbing it with his magic like he usually did, he grabbed it with his mouth, using his teeth to hold onto it while three wooden dummies shot out of the sand and charged him, dodging one attack and slashed straight through the wood dummy, kicking another to pieces while leaping over the third and spinning around, flinging the Keyblade with Strike Raid and shattering it. The girls were impressed and clapped their hooves on the ground, impressed by how he easily handled them.
"Each of you will be fighting a wooden dummy to get the hang of using the blade while holding it in your mouth." Spyro said, dismissing his blade. "The dummies will not attack you like the three I faced, so there is not danger. Try and destroy them as quickly as possible, the faster the better. I'll be timing you. And remember, no magic."
Twilight looked the most uncomfortable with the rule, but went up first, calling her blade and doing exactly like what Spyro did, holding it in her mouth just as Spyro did and lunged forward, striking the dummy many times, but as she swung the blade, it threw her balance off, but then managed to regain her balance, swinging again and getting the hang of balancing her swings, finishing off the dummy. Next up was Fluttershy, but she needed some encouragement as she was far too timid to attack, so Spyro told her to imagine the dummy as someone who harmed an animal, which actually managed to work as she lunged forward and struck the dummy in the mid-section, causing it to crumble before swinging the blade downward like she was taking it's head off, finishing the wooden dummy. Rainbow Dash then went up, but before a second later, Rainbow Dash just rushed forward and swung upward, heavily damaging the dummy while handling the blade easily, spinning around and slashing downward, destroying it.
Then Rarity went up, calling her blade, but as she fought the practice dummy, she was being cautious so as to not get herself dirty as she used her blade, making herself slower, but she was still doing damage to the dummy nonetheless, destroying it with several strong strikes. Applejack then went up, calling her blade, but when she swung, she immediately shattered the dummy in one strike, letting Pinkie Pie hop onto the lot as Applejack walked out of it. Pinkie then hopped in and the next training dummy got up, the pink party mare giggling at it as she hopped towards it and swung her blade around, hitting it playfully and not taking it very seriously until she spun around and created a pink tornado, moving towards the dummy and passing through it. At first, nothing happened as the pink mare walked towards them, but then the dummy turned into toothpicks right in front of them, surprising them.
"Well, that was interesting." Spyro said, writing down her time. "Alright, results are in." The girls gathered around to hear how they did. "Twilight Sparkle, you took twelve seconds to destroy the training dummy, not bad." Twilight smiled at her accomplishment. "Fluttershy, took twenty-one seconds, not bad, but not unexpected. We will work on that a bit in the future. As for Rainbow Dash and Applejack, to no one's surprise, Rainbow Dash took down hers in six seconds, Applejack was two seconds behind her."
"Hah, top that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, smiling at Applejack.
"Ya'll got lucky." She replied. "Ah still took mine down in one hit."
"Girls, please, save the competitiveness for later." Spyro said, stopping their fighting. "Moving on, Rarity beat hers in sixteen seconds, not bad, though you really need to overcome your fear of getting dirty."
"Despite having a Keyblade, I am still a lady." Rarity replied. "I didn't want to ruin my mascara."
"Trust me, worrying about makeup and fashion will the least of your worries." Spyro said. "And for Pinkie, fourteen seconds. All of you did well and you will need to practice your techniques for handling the blade. For this week, you girls will practice in this sandlot and practice using the blade without magic. For now, keep practicing until eight. I have to attend to... 'other' matters at the moment."
"Ya mean yer date with Zecora?" Applejack asked slyly. "You two play nice now, ya hear? Don't want anything happening too soon, right?"
"AJ!" Spyro exclaimed, blushing by the comment. The girls then started to laugh at him, making both him and Zecora's blush deepen in embarrassment. "Very funny. Come Zecora, I'll show you the alchemy set. You six, practice."
Leaving them alone in the sandlot to practice as more dummies appeared, the six practicing with their blades while Spyro took her to his room, where his alchemy set was set up so she could see it, amazed by it, but also wondering about how it worked. She pointed out areas where he went wrong and what his equipment could do if upgraded, which he took notes on while she also taught him everything she knew about brewing and about some of the local plant life that he could use. After finishing with the things he could do and with the lessons she provided him, he then took her to the garage's hanger, the Dragon's Crest coming up from the floor as it's boarding ramp lowered for them, which Spyro gave her the grand tour of everything in the ship from sleeping quarters to the training room, showing her the lab he built into the ship incase he needed to do some research on something he never saw before. Once he gave the tour, he walked to the cockpit with Zecora, who was looking at everything in awe as they sat down in the seats, the zebra not believing everything she was seeing as they took off, flying through the clouds until they reached the upper atmosphere of the world, close enough to make sure he remained in pony form, but high enough to let her see the stars and the world below, leaving her speechless.
"In all my life of everyday, I am left without anything to say." Zecora said, looking to her world. "It is beautiful and full of color, this leave me with much to wonder. You are full of surprises that seem to never end, what else you got in store my friend?"
Spyro could see how fascinated she was with everything she was seeing, sensing how much she was enjoying herself before setting autopilot, letting the ship fly around the world's atmosphere to let her see everything.
"I have lots of surprises Zecora." Spyro replied. "Even more about myself."
"Spyro, I am flattered that you like me that much, but I am far from ready something as such." Zecora replied, a slight blush on her face.
"No Zecora, there's more to me than that." Spyro replied. "You see, I'm not of this world. I came here back in June six months ago. And, I'm not a pony... or a hybrid." He then tilted the controls up, bringing the ship higher above the world until he could feel the change to his body, reverting to his human form and shocking Zecora. "My true form is human. I come from another world where there are billions of us. I came here to complete my training as a prince, but in the process, I found something else." He then turned to the surprised zebra, who was speechless as she starred at him. "I found love, and good friends. I try not to hide anything from those I care about, especially those in my herd. It's a lot to process, but-"
"I knew you were strange when we first met, but you being of another world was something I did not bet." Zecora replied, Spyro's heart sinking. "You could have kept quiet and not said a word, but you came out and were honest with your herd." She then got up and walked over to him, sitting down and setting her head on his lap, smiling at him. "It matters not what you are or where you're from, my love to you is forever there, to what you have become."
Spyro smiled at what Zecora said, pushing forward to let the ship return to where he could become a pony again, turning back just as Zecora raised her head so their eyes could meet. After a little while, they left the cockpit to get something to eat, making some dinner and brought it back to the cockpit to enjoy the view of the stars and of space together, sitting together while the vessel remained in the planets orbit for a while.
"You know, the first time I flew in space, I considered it the greatest moment in my life." Spyro said, he and Zecora leaning into one another. "But the truly greatest moment in my life was meeting you and the rest of the members of the herd. That was the greatest moment in my life."
"Life is strange as it has many twists and turn, one never knows the lesson that they will learn." Zecora said, closing her eyes. "But finding love is something one will never expect, for it's is a moment one must respect. Like when we first met, my heart was fluttering and filled with joy, and when you saved me from that mare, who liked to deceive and toy."
"It's true, you never know where life will take you." Spyro said, the two of them looking into one another's eyes. "All you can do is... go with the flow."
The two leaned in and shared a passionate kiss just as the ship was piloting itself, returning to the garage while they continued to enjoy the moment together for a while, even after the ship landed, they remained together, sitting together until the sun started to set. He got up with Zecora and walked with her out of the ship, the two of them having enjoyed themselves as he walked with her back to her hut to make sure she was safe.
"Tonight has been filled with intrigue and surprise, maybe we can meet again when the sun will next rise?" Zecora asked, the couple approaching the hut.
"Anytime you'd like little flower." Spyro replied, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Anytime you'd like."
The two of them shared another kiss before Spyro turned and left to head back to the farm house, returning to find that everyone was already asleep, so he went to his room and removed his jacket and bracers, laying down on his bed and slept happily after such an amazing night. The next morning, Spyro got up a little later than usual, so he got up quickly and got his jacket on and grabbed his bracers, rushing downstairs to find that Applejack was already there and was getting everything cleaned up, looking over to see him struggling to get the bracers on and smiled.
"About time ya woke up lover boy." Applejack said with a smile. "Ya'll slept through the rooster this time."
"Sorry, sorry AJ." Spyro said. "Didn't mean to-"
"Ah, don't ya worry hun, ya'll don't need to fret none." Applejack said, rolling up some bags. "She's a member of the herd, so it's understandable."
"How'd I get lucky to have a mare like you AJ?" Spyro asked, wrapping her in his wings and kissed her on the cheek.
"Aw, shuck sugarcube." Applejack said, kissing him back. "If yer done, can ya take these to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? They left in a hurry to not be late for school and forgot their lunch."
"No problem little lady." Spyro replied, using his magic to take the bags. "I'll get it to them."
He walked out the door and took off in the sky, flying towards the school house, but when he arrived, he saw that there was a crowd in the middle of the playground and in the center of the crowd was Apple Bloom, who was showing, much to his surprise, a Cutie mark, which appeared to be a silver ring. He glided down to get a better look, but when he flew down, the filly started to spin what appeared to be the ring from a barrel, showing she was good at what appeared to be hula hooping. As he landed, the filly was showing off her skill, tossing the hoop over her head and onto the flagpole, letting it spin downwards until it reached her, then tossing it into the air before jumping up and catching it, landing safely on the ground as all the foals, but the class bullies, cheered for her.
"Apple Bloom, you're a super duper loopty hooper!" Scootaloo said.
"That was amazing." Spyro said, walking up. "Seems you found your talent after all."
"Ya bet ah did!" Apple Bloom said. "Discovered it after I started spinning a barrel ring, found that I was good at it. But what are ya'll doing here Spyro?'
"You and Scoots forgot your lunch when you rushed out to not be late for school." Spyro answered. "Didn't want ya to go hungry."
"Thanks Spyro." Scootaloo said, grabbing a bag.
"Alright everypony, time for class." Cheerilee said, walking out, but saw that Apple Bloom was showing off her talent. "Apple Bloom..."
"Yes Miss Cheerilee?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I want you to take your loop-de-hoop into the yard..." Cherrilee said. "And give all a lesson in your loop-de-hooping!"
The foals all cheered when their school teacher said that, getting out more rings for the foals to use while Apple Bloom demonstrated how it was done, doing a few tricks while the rest of the foals tried their best to do what she was doing, but all of them were having trouble, even the school bullies as they fell over trying to keep their balance. Apple Bloom then went over to her friends, encouraging them and even complementing them for their effort while she did some more tricks that amazed everyone, but Diamond Tiara was growling at her for being better at something. She then used her tail to spin the hoop around, taking off into the air, which surprised Spyro as he was enjoying the show, watching as the filly went high into the air and being ready to catch her if something went wrong, but a second later, he saw a flash of light on her flank, confusing him as she came down to the ground, rushing over and catching her before she could hit the ground.
"You ok there AB?" Spyro asked.
"Yeah, Ah'm fine." She replied, hopping off his back.
"That's a relief, because..." Spyro said, but stopped when he saw she now had two cutie marks, the second one being spinning plates. "What the..."
"Two Cutie Marks?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Guess that last one was a lot of hoopla. Those marks are fake!" Everyone gasped when she said that, the filly looking nervous as she used her tail to pick the hoop up. "Miss Cheerilee, have you ever heard of a pony with two Cutie Marks?"
"Can't say I have." She replied. "But, maybe it just means she has two special talents."
"Oh yeah, then let's see her do that!" Silver Spoon said.
A second later, Snips and Snails tossed over some plates and a couple of sticks, the filly catching them on her nose and perfectly balancing them, surprising the whole class that she was actually doing it. They all cheered as she walked by, her friends calling her the greatest and most special pony ever as she took the whole class into town to show off her talents, the entire village watching her do multiple tricks around town as they cheered for her, all dazzled by her performance. Line of which was when she tossed the hoop into the air and through a cloud, cutting a perfect circle around Rainbow Dash while she was napping without disturbing her and another where she spun the hoop around and threw it, spinning around Twilight's horn and giving her the same mane style as Rarity, which she was not pleased with, but Spyro thought looked good on her. She kept up these tricks all throughout the day until night came and the Apple family and the resident royals returned home for dinner after such an amazing day.
"YEEHAW Apple Bloom!" Applejack exclaimed. "Congratulations on not just getting one, but two Cutie Marks!"
"You can say that again AJ." Spyro said. "This is cause for celebration. I'll whip us up a celebration dinner."
"We are just mighty proud for you." Applejack said. "But I've never seen a pony get two Cutie Marks, have you Big Macintosh?"
"Nope." Big Mac replied.
"Probably just means she's extra special." Spyro suggested.
"Ah'll say she's extra special." Granny Smith said, slowly creaking over. "The way you were a hooping and a hopping, reminded me of when Ah was a filly." She then tried to do some athletics of her own, but everyone heard something snap as she fell to the ground. "Ow, Charlie Horse!"
"Why, Ah believe you could hit the rodeo circuit right now with your talents." Applejack said.
"Actually, Ah'm mighty tired right now." Apple Bloom said. "I'm ready to hit the hay. Ah'm plum tuckered out. Ah'll see ya'll in the morning."
"Alright AB, we'll see you in the morning then." Spyro said.
The little filly then went up the stairs while everyone watched her walk up the stairs, Applejack looking extremely proud of her little sister as she walked up the stairs. A while later, they all went upstairs to get some sleep as well, letting the little filly sleep as they walked by quietly, but in the middle of the night, he then heard what sounded like tapping, waking him up from a pleasant dream and looking to his bracers, finding that it was one in the morning, so he got out of bed to see what it was at the same time Applejack got out of her room.
"That tapping woke you up too?" She asked.
"You bet it did." Spyro replied, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looking to the fillies room. "Sounds like it's coming from the fillies room."
"What in tarnation is all that tapping anyway?" Applejack asked. "Did your sister discover a talent in Tap Dancing?"
"If she did, she chose a poor time to do so." Spyro replied.
"Spyro! Applejack, come quick!" Scootaloo shouted, running out of her room. "Something is wrong with Apple Bloom!"
Without thinking, they both ran to the fillies room and rushed in, gasping in total shock as they saw that Apple Bloom wasn't just spinning a hoop and spinning plates, but was also Tap Dancing too, an image of a shoe with taps on her flank with the other Cutie Marks.
"Three Cutie Marks!?" Applejack exclaimed in horror.
"Oh Karabast!" Spyro said in horror.
"Help me." Apple Bloom said, looking very scared.
Applejack immediately went to help her sister, jumping toward her to grab her by the tail, but the hoop smacked her in the nose a couple of times, so she then resorted to grab her forelegs to stop her, but it ended up shaking her up as she was kicked off of the filly, smacking into Spyro as they both collapsed.
"Ah'm sorry Applejack." Apple Bloom said. "Ah don't know how to stop!"
"Well I know somepony who can." Applejack said. "Spyro, think you can help out?"
"On it." Spyro said, getting up and calling his Keyblade, pointing it at the filly. "Stopaga!"
A moment later, a dark light shot out and the image of a clock appeared on Apple Blooms chest, freezing her in time. They immediately picked the frozen filly up and rushed her out of the farm house and towards the Golden oak Library, knocking on Twilight's door, which Spike answered and grumbled about being woken up, but the two of them rushed past the sleepy drake and into the main library where twilight was at.
"Twilight, we got a problem." Applejack said, putting Apple Bloom down. "Apple Bloom has three Cutie marks now."
"What!?" Twilight asked just as the spell wore off, the filly tap dancing again. "Three Cutie Marks? Three different talents? I've never seen anything like this before." She then walked over to the nearest shelf and started looking through the books. "Hang on, I have a book on unusual equine illnesses. Where is it?"
"Here it is." Spike said, holding up a book. "Perplexing Pony Plagues."
"That's it!" Twilight said as Spike landed on her back. "Spike, you're amazing!"
"Well, i do have some talents." Spike said.
She then took the book from Spike and started to flip through the pages, Apple Bloom looking miserable as she kept on tap dancing while balancing the plates and spinning the hop.
"Hay fever, no." Twilight said to herself. "The Trots, no." She then gasped as she found it, instantly getting Applejack's and Spyro's attention. "Cutie Pox."
"Cutie Pox?" Everyone asked in confusion.
"Cutie Pox, this puzzling pony plague afflicted a population of ponies back in the paleopony period." Twilight said, reading what was written on the book.
"Wow, say that time times fast." Spike said, which immediately got him bucked off Twilight.
"Spike, now's not the time for jokes." Spyro said. "Twilight, is there a cure for the Cutie Pox?"
"I hope so." Twilight said, looking back at the book. "Because according to this, when somepony gets the Cutie Pox, random Cutie Marks would appear all over their body, forcing them to do the talent that came with them."
"Just like me." Apple Bloom said.
"We know that much Twilight, what's the cure?" Applejack said.
Twilight read through the book, trying to find something that could tell them the potential cure, but looked back at them with defeat in her eyes.
"There's no known cure." Twilight replied.
"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted.
"How's that possible?" Spyro asked. "No pony has had it for goodness knows how long, surely there's a cure."
"That's the puzzling part Spyro, there isn't one." Twilight replied. "The cause of the break out was never discovered, and they disappeared as mysteriously as they appeared."
A moment later, another flash of light appeared, which appeared to be the Fleur-De-lis, a symbol of the French.
"Sacreblue, Un autre marque de cutie!" Apple Bloom said, shocking everyone as she started to speak French.
"Oh Poodoo!" Spyro exclaimed. "Now she's speaking French."
"She needs help." Twilight said.
"We know that, but how can we help?" Applejack asked. "We can't wait for this to go away. We need somepony who knows how to fix this right away."
"Not somepony, but maybe some Zebra." Spyro suggested.
"Zecora!" Twilight and Applejack said in unison.
"Oui, Zecora a un remède pour toute malade, elle pourrait avoir quelque chose pour cela!" Apple Bloom said, confusing the mares and the dragon.
"I agree AB, she probably knows how to cure this." Spyro replied. "We need to get going before this gets worse."
"Hold up, ya'll understand that fancy talk?" Applejack asked.
"I know many different languages AJ." Spyro replied. "Comes with the territory of being a Keyblade bearer. And trust me, learning different languages will be the toughest part of your training."
"Ya'll serious!?" Applejack asked. "We gotta learn all them fancy talk and speeches?" She then fell to the ground and clutched her head, feeling a migraine coming on. "Ah think mah heads gonna explode."
"Worry about that later, we need to get to Zecora." Spyro said.
The group them rushed out of the library and ran in the direction of the Everfree forest, but Apple Bloom was having difficulty keeping up as her tap dancing was slowing her down, so they had to stop.
"Come on Apple Bloom, ya'll can do it." Applejack said.
Before Apple Bloom could say a thing, another Cutie mark appeared on her leg, which looked to be a hammer and a chisel used in sculpting, which she was then forced away and started to sculpt.
"Shoot, it's getting worse." Spyro said. "I can only use so many Stopaga's before I get exhausted. I'll go and get Zecora, you girls see if you can stop Apple Bloom before she hurts herself."
"Ya'll be quick Spyro." Applejack replied. "Ah can't stand to see mah little sister like this."
Spyro then flew in the direction of the forest, leaving Twilight and Applejack to try and stop the 'talented' filly before she ended up hurting herself or someone else. In the Everfree, Zecora was looking at herself in the mirror, contemplating on if she should keep the style or not when she heard a knock at her door, so she went over and opened it to see Spyro.
"Spyro, such an unexpected surprise, have you to bring me out for another trip to the skies?" Zecora asked in a flirting tone.
"Wish it was like that Zecora, but we have a problem." Spyro replied, getting her attention. "Apple Bloom is infected with a strange illness called Cutie Pox."
"Cutie Pox, oh that is not very good, give me a moment of you could!" Zecora replied, letting Spyro follow her in. "I'm glad you're here, though I wish it were at a better time, because there has been a serious crime."
"What happened?" Spyro asked.
"You remember that flower that I was about to ground, a special flower I needed found?" Zecora asked, which Spyro nodded his head, remembering the Hearts Desire. "Well I thought I had picked enough to fix all the potions I had to mix, but after our visit from Apple Bloom, i found that some had mysteriously vanished from my room."
"What!?" Spyro asked, now realizing what the cause might be. "Are you saying this case of Cutie Pox was due to Apple Bloom stealing some Hearts Desire?"
"I would think that would be the case, because if not, then it would be a wild goose chase." Zecora answered. "Ah here it is, the cure for Apple Bloom, now we must hurry and help her from her gloom."
The two of them then rushed out of her hut and ran towards town, finding that the roads were abandoned except for Applejack, Twilight and Apple Bloom, who had dozens of Cutie Marks all over her body.
"Geez, it's worse now than before." Spyro said.
"Spyro, thank goodness you made it." Twilight said. "Please tell me you guys have something."
"We do." He replied. "Zecora has something that will fix the issue."
"Indeed, a Cutie Pox cure I have for sooth, for the healing power is in the Seeds of Truth." Zecora said, pulling out multiple golden seeds.
"Well then give them to her, quick!" Aplejack said.
"It's not that simple, for they must be planted in the ground, and with the truth, they will grow and the cure will be found." Zecora replied.
"Wait, come again?" Applejack asked.
"She means the seeds can sure Apple Bloom, but SOMEPONY needs to tell the truth." Spyro replied, glaring at Apple Bloom
"Well let's get going then!" Applejack said.
She took the seeds from Zecora and dug a hole in the ground, putting them into the dirt and waited for someone to say something truthfully, which Pinkie looked to be very nervous as she was sweating.
"Yesterday I told Mrs. Cake I ate two corn cakes, but I really ate three!" Pinkie said.
Applejack and Twilight then looked to the ground, hoping that would do the trick, but the ground remained unmoving, making everyone in town worry.
"Seems like it didn't work." Spyro said, looking to Apple Bloom, who started to spin around like a twister. "Apple Bloom, you got anything to say?"
"Ah can't take it anymore!" She shouted. "Ah admit it, Ah didn't earn my Cutie Mark, they're all fake!" She then stopped spinning around, falling to the ground, but then got up and started to tap dance again. They then looked to the ground, where it started to move a bit as she was talking. "Ah figured the Hearts Desires could help me get what Ah wanted most, so when Spyro and Zecora left her hut, Ah mixed up a special potion and put the rest of the Hearts Desire in it!"
The plant then sprout out of the ground, turning into a beautiful flower with pink and white petals, which was most beautiful as it was glowing white, everyone captivated by it's beauty until Apple Bloom lunged forward and ate the plant, chewing it and then she swallowed it, looking relieved as she collapsed to the ground and a moment later, the Cutie Marks all disappeared one by one in a flash of light until they were all gone, getting up and looking happy to be better.
"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle shouted, she and Scootaloo running up.
"Are you ok?" Scootaloo asked. "You had un kind of worried."
"I'm feeling great." Apple Bloom replied. "And Ah never thought Ah'd say this, but Ah'm glad to be a blank flank again." But she then looked sad, lowering her head as she looked away. "But Ah'm awful sorry Ah lied. Especially to you gals. Ah was so desperate to get mah Cutie Mark, Ah got carried away and did something Ah shouldn't have." She then walked up to Zecora, her head still hung low. "And Ah'm sorry to you as well Zecora. Ah shouldn't have taken them flowers from you. Ah don't blame ya if you don't want me to come by again."
"Oh little Apple Bloom, don't be silly, you're always welcome little filly." Zecora replied, surprising her. "With each mistake, you learn something new, this way you grow up to be a better you."
"Life is full of lessons and obstacles AB." Spyro said. "If we didn't make them and always tried to be perfect, how else would we learn? And by the sound of it, you might have a letter to write to a certain princess, right Twilight?"
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Twilight said.
"Ah'm on it guys." Apple Bloom said.
As she was telling Spike what she learned, Spyro walked over to Zecora, who was smiling at the little filly as he approached.
"Sometimes the best lessons are learned the hard way." Spyro said, standing next to her.
"What you say is true as lessons learned must be learned in a difficult manner, but in the end, we all learn them, that's what will matter." Zecora replied, hugging him.
"Indeed, that's what matters." Spyro replied, returning the hug.
They then watched as the fillies started to discuss what they were going to do, turning to look at Spyro.
"Hey Spyro, you got an alchemy set right?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I do indeed." He replied. "Zecora helped me to improve it so I don't blow myself up as often. Why do you ask?"
"Well, Apple Bloom stirred up quite a storm when she made the brew to give herself a Cutie Mark." Scootaloo replied. "So, we're gonna see if she can get a Cutie Mark in making potions."
"Not with my stuff you're not!" Spyro exclaimed, chasing the fillies as they ran and laughed as they ran.
Everyone else laughed at him as he chased after the fillies, who got into a wagon as Scootaloo used her scooter to zoom away while he was chasing them to make sure they didn't use his set to try and brew a potion, possibly blowing the whole farm house up if something goes wrong.