Three Days Grace

Ash was a child again. He was wearing a new tunic, pressed and made of real wool. It wasn't too expensive but the nation was going through a long and hard depression that affected even the Church. No one realized how much Sethiop's economy relied on the trade with the outer islands until their governments began their embargoes.

But Sister Madilene paid for the new clothes without hesitation. When Mother Grena refused to let her borrow funds from the Church's treasury, Madilene began to sell crafts and produce from her private garden. She even risked accusations of favoritism. But it wasn't everyday one of your ward was accepted into the Academy; had it been Reuben, Lynah, or anyone else, Madilene would have done the same thing.

The kind sister tried to hold back tears as she gave some heartfelt advice integrated in religious teachings. Ash nodded his head obediently, his youthful impatience blocking much of Madilene's words.

Lynah was sobbing. The little girl didn't want to see him go, though he promised to visit often. She didn't understand why Ash had to leave.

Reuben and Franklyn did however. The need to leave the Church and live as their own person burned like fiery torches. To become a merchant's assistant or a blacksmith's apprentice, anyway to leave behind the title of orphan.

The clock tower rung. It was time to leave. Ash headed down the hill, almost running. Soon he would be known as Ash the Student. Thoughts of the future gave him an extra spring in his step.

He turned back to wave goodbye.

The hill was in flames. The building, his old home, burned before his eyes. And all he could was wave, wave as his first true family burned. Their flesh waxed away, leaving skeletal figures that waved back, saying goodbye. The tallest figure, Madilene reached out with a bony hand; was she calling to him, beckoning him back?

He wanted to turn away, to run. He took a step toward the inferno. Another step. Another.

The flames died away, leaving the boy nothing but ashes.

Ash opened his eyes. His hand wiped away the sweat from his brow.

Hand? Ash made a fist and opened it, stretching out the fingers. Yes, it was most definitely a hand.

"Yep, and exactly at five-twenty five in the morning." Ash heard the sound of a quill pen scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. "Subject became Human at five-twenty five after awaking from a cold sweat."

The Human rubbed his eyes. "Twilight, what are you doing?"

"Monitoring of course." Twilight took out an unfinished graph and plotted a point. "See, the last two days when you transformed, I didn't get the exact time so I had to estimate. So last night I decided, well..."

"You didn't. You did." Ash shook his head. "You mean you stayed up all night just so you could get the exact time?"

"Uh huh. And to see what patterns occur before the actual transformation. And what the actual transformation looked like."

"You mean you've been sitting there all night watching me sleep?" Ash sat up as the purple Unicorn began to blush. "I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"It's not like that! It was for science!" asserted a flustered Twilight. "I watched Spike for weeks while he was sleeping so I could document the growth of a baby dragon." She failed to mention how most of her notes were amateur sketches in an attempt to replicate Spike's adorable sleeping face on paper but Ash didn't need to know that.

The Human leaned against a bookshelf. The guest bed had been repaired but it hadn't come cheap and nopony or Human wanted to risk another incident like the first morning. Instead, he slept on the cold floor of the library, where he had plenty of room and an abundance in discomfort.

"What have we discovered?" he asked.

Twilight went over her notes. "During the past three days, including this one, I've observed that you've become a Human sometime between five and five-thirty in the morning. Today, we've established that the exact time is five-twenty five. At eight in the morning you become a pony again. Transformations are quick and simple, with a quick flash. Yesterday I blinked and missed it so the process must be really fast. This morning, I discovered that before becoming a Human, you begin to toss and turn in you sleep as well as mumble to yourself. On an unrelated note, you've stopped snoring after becoming a pony but you begin to snore again after becoming Human. Might be another aftereffect."

Ash blinked as he tried to gather and piece together all the information the bookish Unicorn threw at him. He considered waking Spike for a more comprehensible explanation. "So basically, when I wake up, I'm a Human and after a few hours I'm a pony?"

"That's really simplified but yes, that pretty much sums it up." Twilight stack her notes into a neat pile. "Want to go out later? I don't think you've left the library since the day of Pinkie's party."

Ash shook his head. "We need to make sure we've got all the information we need on the spell. Until then, it's not safe for me to be out in the open."

"This is coming from the guy that managed to reduce my detailed discovers into a single sentence."

"Hey, you like to deal with the details, I prefer the gist of things." Despite his exhaustion, Ash managed a grin. "We make a great team."

"The gist doesn't provide much info." Twilight argued.

"But it provides the necessary info."

Twilight sighed. "If you're just looking for the gist of things, then I think you have enough information. Even if you wanted more details, I think after we've gotten enough after three days."

"Twilight, are you feeling aright?"

"What do you mean?"

Ash shrugged. "I dunno. It just doesn't seem right for you to be telling someone else to take a break from studying."

The purple Unicorn groaned. "Spike's rubbing off on you. Look, I just think you shouldn't just spend all day in the library. Don't give me that look!"

Ash lowered his eyebrow and apologized. "Can't blame me though," he added quietly. In a louder voice, he said, "Three days isn't enough. Without an understanding of the spell's effects, we end up facing risks--"

"Look, I know there are risks but I think after three days we can safely say you probably won't transform back into a Human in public."

"Probably?"

"Will you at least think about it? Just an hour?"

"Well..."

Twilight leaped into Ash's lap. Brown eyes met pleading purple ones.

"Please?"

The Human sighed. "I'll sleep on it, alright?"

"Good enough, I guess." The little Unicorn jumped off Ash as he turned over on the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to relax and find sleep's embrace.

Twenty minutes passed and Ash was no closer to sleeping. He had slept on more uncomfortable surfaces so the hard library floor wasn't the issue. Was it the dream? It was so vivid, much more that the last ones.

Or was it that nagging, unshakable feeling that someone or something was spying on him?

"Twilight, are you still watching me?"

"Shh, it's research."

After two days, Spike had already gotten used to finding a Human lounging around the library or attempting to help Twilight with breakfast. The dragon was also accustomed to seeing Ash transform into a grey Unicorn and drop whatever he had been carrying. Twilight made sure to document the exact time of Human-to-Pony transfiguration after Ash nearly set the kitchen on fire on the first day after losing control of the stove. Spike questioned the rationality of having such a hazard in a wooden tree filled with flammable items. One could argue that having a stove in the library was like, well, like having a ...dragon...in a library. Spike decided to stop questioning the library's design.

Ash the Human sat cross-legged while going over a picture book. Occasionally, he would rub his eyes groggily. It was evident that the Mage had gotten little sleep, just like the other mornings before. He had a severe case of bed-mane despite not having slept in a bed and his eyes were red. Slowly, Ash would flip a page, glancing over the images with a tired look.

"Good morning," Spike greeted. Ash answered with a nod and a grunt.

The baby dragon checked the time. Nearly eight. Normally, Spike preferred to sleep in but this morning, Rarity need some extra emeralds for her newest project and Spike was the dragon she could count on. An hour less of slumber was definitely worth an entire day with the regal and beautiful Unicorn and a few promised gems for himself.

A sudden flash of light was followed by thump and a yell of surprise. Most ponies didn't exactly sit the way the Human had been sitting and the certain mint-green Unicorn who did certainly did not sit with her legs crossed. The result was a grey stallion who lost balance and fell right onto his back. His horn buried itself into the wooden floor.

Spike bit back a giggle. He may have gotten use to the sudden flashes and seeing a Unicorn where a Human had been but the positions and problems Ash ended up in or causing after the transformation never went old, at least in the dragon's eyes.

The former Human glared at Twilight's scaly assistant as he tried in vain to contain his amusement. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Just help me up after you've got it out of your system."

"Heh, sorry pal, but I've gotta get going. Me and Rarity've got something planned and I'd hate to keep her waiting."

"Come on, at least get Twilight."

"Sorry, you're on your own."

Ash tried to get up but only managed to drive his horn deeper. "Whatever. Have fun on your date."

"A date? Who say it's a date? It's not a date!" Nervousness struck Spike like an arrow thrown from an Elvish bow. "Is it?"

"Sounds like one to me. Good luck."

"Oh no, I can't go on a date looking like this! But I can't keep Rarity waiting! What am I going to do?"

"Spike," Twilight called. "I thought you were going to go gem-hunting with Rarity? You'd better hurry."

With a scream, the little dragon ran through the door, knocking it off its frame. Pedestrians and neighbors would attest to seeing a bright purple and green screaming blur zoom toward Carousel Boutique.

Twilight stuck her head out of the kitchen to discover the cause of the ruckus (a muffled noise came from within the chimney) and found the entrance of her library missing and her guest upside down with his horn drilled into the floor. After mentally adding "get a new door" and "free Ash from another humiliating situation" to her list of things to do, Twilight freed Ash from the hole in the floor and helped him back up.

"Thanks."

"No problem," responded the purple Unicorn. "Have you seen Spike?"

The grey stallion jerked his head toward the broken door frame. "No idea why he was like that," he added innocently.

"Darn, I was going to ask Spike if he could pick up a few items at the market. We need some more groceries."

"Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Twilight asked, puzzled.

"Having a guest means having one extra mouth to feed." Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"There's no reason to apologize," assured Twilight. "Spike eats more than you. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go out later today..."

An idea began to form in the purple pony's head. Now for some ponies and even for Humans and Dwarves, ideas just pop suddenly into their heads as if someone switched on a lightbulb within their brains and illuminated the solution. Twilight, however, discovered her ideas through a slower and more gradual process of analyzing the situation, similar to a waterfall passing through a water mill to grind grains into flower. The occasions in which the normally well-planned Unicorn found ideas through a burst of inspiration tended to end disastrously.

"Hey, Ash."

"Mm?"

"I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

A favor... During his quest, Ash had developed a distrust and fear of favors. But, he ultimately owed Twilight for boarding and food, as well as for the transformation spell plus all the damages he had done to the library.

"What kind of favor?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh nothing much..."

Oh nothing much, just dealing with a small army of man-eating goblins that have kidnapped all the village's women and refuse to negotiate...oh nothing much, just fight off an undead dragon brought back from a necromancer that worships the Dark One...oh nothing much, just collect six mythological items that are said to hold unlimited power and defeat a powerful Demon that could probably level an entire city by sneezing.

"...just need you to pick up a few things in the market."

"You want me to go grocery shopping?" Despite how weary he seemed to feel about side-quests and the large number of mental complaints, Ash couldn't help but feel just a little disappointed by the simplicity of Twilight's request. Ashley, mighty apprentice of the Archmage reduced to a grocer of a magical miniature horse.

"I don't know. Going out has its risks..."

"I thought we already discussed this." Twilight began to pout, a technique Rarity had taught her. "You said you'd go out later today."

"I said I'd sleep on the idea." Ash tried to avoid those purple eyes but it was much harder to do when he was now only a head taller. "Ugh, fine."

"Yay!" Twilight threw a saddlebag over Ash's back, loosening the straps so that the grey stallion could breath. Ash tried to ignore the bright purple color and attempted to convince himself that it matched perfectly with his coat. While this was true, it did nothing to cheer him up.

"Here's a list of things we need." Twilight placed the roll of parchment into the bag. "And here's money." A sack of chinking gold coins went in on the other side. "The market is near the center of town. You can't miss it."

Ash exited the the library. "Do you want me to find a door too?"

"It's already on the list. Now hurry, before all the mahogany ones are taken!"

The purple Unicorn waved as Ash head to the marketplace.

Pinkie Pie popped out of the chimney. "Is he gone?"

"Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?"

"Hide n' seek! Duh. It's still Ash's turn. He may have found everypony else but not me." Pinkie shook some soot out of her mane. "Next to pin the tail on the pony, I think hide and seek is the best party game."

"The party ended three days ago. Have you been up there all this time?"

"Yup. Don't worry, I keep a stash of snacks in here just in case."

"You keep a stash of snacks in everypony's chimney just in case you end up one playing hide and seek?"

Pinkie laughed. "No, silly. Just yours."

Twilight opened her mouth to speak before remembering who she was dealing with. With a sigh that could have possibly been a cry of pain from the Unicorn's logical side of her brain, Twilight pulled out a set of binoculars and a tacky green-brown hat.

"Come on Pinkie, we've got a report to prepare for."