Product of Friendship (My Little Pony)

9 Swiss Cheese (4/5)

Within the mountainous region of the Everfree Forest, the Roc had finally settled upon a large nest upon a burrowed peak where a trio of pony-sized eggs was clustered together. The Roc released Lil' Cheese before the eggs and nested its hide over them.

From afar, Wist and Luster observed the Roc. They had settled upon a separate mountain that gave them a wide vision of their surroundings.

"You remember the plan, right?" Luster asked Wisteria.

"It's pretty straightforward," Wist scoffed. "I don't know how any creature could forget something so practical."

"Then you're up." Luster pumped a hoof. An act Wist knew that had the intention of motivation, but was honestly an annoyance.

"You're only pumped because you're not the one that has to be the bait," Wist remarked. "And rather ridiculous one at that."

Wist fluttered her wings out from their post and descended under the Roc's nest. She then transformed into a goat and scaled up the mountain swift and quietly.

She reverted back upon reaching the edge of the nest. To her delight, the Roc had fallen asleep. Climbing atop the edge of the nest, Wist was able to peak underneath the Roc where the triplets of eggs lied.

And then he saw Lil' Cheese, splayed upon the nest with his rubbed chicken cushioning his chin.

"Alright brat," Wist whispered. "It's time we put an end to this game." Eldritch flames consumed Wist's body and expanded. The flames caught the colt's attention and then his mouth hung open to the figure above him.

Featherless, saggy, and ultimately ridiculous to the highest sense of the word, Wist dawned herself as a jumbo-sized replica of his rubber duck. How humiliating this was for the self-proclaimed witch, but at least it stirred excitement for the colt to crawl from the Roc's hide and rushed over to pounce upon her.

Wist let out a sigh as she extended her flabby arms to hold the colt. "Honesty, what appeal do you see in this?"

Wist stiffed her body when she sensed a stir of the Roc's body. Its yellow sclera eyes opened upon Wist's position. However, it saw nothing but the numerous mountains and trees within the distance.

Before Wist braved atop the nest, Luster had tagged her magic upon Wist, making it easy for the mare to modify Wist's body regardless of the distance. When Luster noted the Roc's opening eyes, she immediately casted an invisibility spell upon Wist. Sadly, Luster lacked the knowledge to spread it to Lil' Cheese, leaving Wist to turn her body to mask Lil' Cheese's presence.

Wist focused her sight upon Luster, waiting for the signal to move. That moment came when the Roc resigned back to its slumber, prompting Luster to wave her hoof to Wist.

Wist hopped off the nest and descended fast down the mountain. The eldritch flames consumed her again and reverted her back to her natural beauty. She hurried her wings to regroup with Luster at the other mountain.

"That went better than I thought," Luster said when Wist landed by her side.

Wist cradled the colt in her hooves, who strapped his body over his rubber duck. His cheeks expanded like balloons with an obvious disappointment in his eyes.

"Quit your complaining," Wist said. "Stay a good colt and maybe you can play with the superior Boneless again."

"Are you having a competition with a toy?" Luster chuckled.

"Of course not!" Wist refuted. "A flabby thing like that could never hope to compare with me!"

A sudden screech rang in their ears. They looked back at the nest from the distance and saw the Roc glaring back at them with its predatory eyes.

"You gave us away!" Luster voiced. "We need to run!"

"I'm done with this nonsense," Wist said. "Here—" Wist placed Lil' Cheese into Luster's hooves. "—Hold this for me."

Both the Roc and Wist ascended from their spot and came upon each other. When Wist flew within a safe distance from Luster and the colt, the eldritch flames consumed her again and expanded. It extended beyond its previous feat to point it shadowed the lands beneath it. And what emerged out of it came a lustrous dragon.

Its skin was dark as obsidian and green glow shimmered from the ridges of its scales. The sheer size of the creature eclipsed the mountain that the Roc nested upon, quivering the proud beast to a stop.

Wist's massive slit eyes shook with a ravenous anger that sent coldness to the depth of the Roc's soul. As natural selection goes, the Roc knew it became a prey at that very moment. To see to its survival, it flapped its wings away, harder than it's ever done in its whole life. Wist watched it flee, not bothering to look back at the eggs that it left behind.

Once the creature faded within the distance, Wist reverted back to their original form and joined her group again at the other mountain. Wist was greeted to the dumbstruck of the two ponies. "Just how much magic do you have in you?" Luster asked.

"Who cares?" Wist shrugged. "Can we just get out of here already before some other stupidity happens?"

Their journey out of the Everfree Forest was uneventful, but after the chaos that had to deal with, they were more than pleased. Lil' Cheese walked between the two, never to leave their sight for a single moment.

"You know," Luster started. "What you did back there was really impressive. I don't think I've ever seen a changeling transformed into something that humongous."

"Probably would've saved us more time if I had done that from the beginning," Wist grumbled.

"Are you still upset about transforming into that rubber duck?" Luster questioned. "I swear, you can't make up your mind on how to feel about things."

"Sorry for being such an enigma," Wist saracastically said.

"No, I think it's fine. That just means I have more to learn about my friend."

"...Huh?" Wist stopped her hooves, followed by the other two. "When did I ever become your friend?"

"After what we went through together, it's inevitable now that we're friends."

"No it doesn't it," Wist protested.

"I would say the opposite." Luster grinned. "Whether you like or not, we're friends now."

"Just because we worked together this one time doesn't mean anything. You're reading way too much into things."

"Come now Wist," Luster said. "I thought you knew how friendship works. Surely you know the premise that we've set for each other."

"If you keep teasing me like that I'm gonna give you another rude awakening tomorrow!"

"I think you would've done it either way. Unfortunately, it's going to have to be one those things we have to work on together."

"You're putting a sour end to my day," Wist growled. "You better stop with this right now."

"Oh but Wist," Luster chuckled. "Where would be the fun in that?"