//------------------------------// // Part 2: What? No, I'm fine. Really. Really, I'M FINE! // Story: Twilight Sparkle Sprouts Wings // by Sollace //------------------------------// The Mane Six, minus one, were all gathered around the map table waiting for Princess Twilight Sparkle to show up. Spike was in his usual place, next to Twilight’s throne, doing his best to look inconspicuous whilst Applejack fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat and Rainbow Dash hovered silently above her own. Fluttershy was in her place, busying herself with her mane, and Pinkie Pie was engrossed in the map, blowing raspberries at a holographic version of her as she did holographic cartwheels outside a holographic, slightly crushed, Pie Rock Farm. “So, uh,” Rainbow Dash finally broke the silence, “where is Twilight? I thought she was going to be here.” She lowered herself into her throne as she looked between the other ponies at the table. “Mhm,” Applejack nodded. She crossed her hooves and leaned back in her seat, “I’m all for these ‘emergency meetings’ but Ah have work to do. Ah can’t afford waiting around for ponies to show up.” “D- Don’t worry,” Spike coughed, nervously glancing from side to side, “She’ll be here! She’s just... running a little late!” “I certainly hope so, Spike.” Rarity crossed the room and sat down next to Rainbow Dash, “It’s already been an hour and a half, and I certainly cannot wait here the entire day. I have orders to complete.” “Um— yeah,” Fluttershy cowered behind her mane making herself as small in her seat as possible. She was perfectly content on having the narrator make her appearance known for her, and decided not to mention the herd of wild timbercubs she had been taking care of when Spike’s letter had arrived. She also did not add in that they would probably be causing a tiny bit of trouble, left all alone in her cottage, with only Angel Bunny in charge. After another brief, awkward silence, Spike pushed his seat back and pointed over his shoulder, “I think I’ll...” he hastily jumped to the ground and crept backwards towards the exit – “...go see what’s taking Twi so long.” All the Mane Five nodded and watched as Spike waddled out of the room, turned left, and disappeared up the passage. After a couple minutes of silence, Spike’s pleading voice was heard echoing down the passage, “Twilight, come oooon!” making everypony perk up. “Spike, I’m busy.” “Come ooooooooon!” Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a glance. There were some more muffled sounds, and whispers that they couldn’t make out. Then a book slammed down making Rarity jump, and Twilight’s voice echoed again, “... okay, fine!” This time a little more flustered. There was a door slam, and the clopping of hooves as somepony came trotting their way. Spike waddled back into the room first and leapt into his seat with a wide grin. He glanced around the room, then averted his eyes and resumed trying not to look suspicious. Moments later the door handle clicked and flew open, and Twilight Sparkle cantered into the room, “Okay, Spike,” She had her head held high, not paying much attention as she strolled past the entranceway, “What. Did. You...” She froze mid canter, her face suddenly going pale, and was overtaken by a deep blush as she recognised the ponies in the room. “Woah nelly!” Applejack exclaimed and almost fell out of her seat. “Pfff-” Rainbow Dash sprayed spittle across the table and did fall out of her seat, “Ahahaha!” She laid clutching her side and kicking on the floor, and the occasional throaty snort was heard between her roars of laughter. Rarity stared with her mouth agape, and Fluttershy simply cowered below the table hiding her own blush. Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to care either way. She gave Twilight a friendly wave, and resumed marshalling her troops across the map. Twilight remained frozen in the doorway, unable to move or say anything. The pair of wings on her nose still flapped freely in the breeze, on show for anypony to see. More notably was that they seemed to be even bigger. Not as big as her Alicorn wings but still comparable to those of a young Pegasus. She had also developed a few new additions. Several still tiny wings hung from either side of her face, just below the cheeks, and each ear was capped off with their own fuzzy little additions. In short, she looked ridiculous. “... spike...” Twilight spoke in little more than a whisper. Her eyes darted across the room, searching for the young drake. She could feel herself slowly hyperventilating as her fear turned to panic. Twilight steadied herself against the doorway, “Spike?” She repeated slightly louder. Spike, for the most part, slumped lower in his seat trying to make himself as small as possible, “Spike!” Twilight’s voice came again, this time shouting and sounding particularly upset, and the mare came stomping around the back of his chair. “Now hold on, Twilight,” Spike made a move to get out of his seat, “I can ex—” but was caught off guard when a magenta glow came over his entire body, and he was levitated clear of the chair and held up to face Twilight’s enraged scowl. “Why are they here,” she seethed and turned Spike round to face the table full of wide-eyed ponies. Rainbow Dash who had just pulled herself off the floor and was still wiping the tears from her eyes as she returned to her seat, caught another glimpse of Twilight and collapsed once again to the ground belting out another string of laughter. Twilight continued regardless, “Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is!?” She shouted furiously, “I told you I didn’t want anypony to see me like this, especially not anypony I know”— “But Twilight—” “No buts Spike!” She leered at Spike, their faces almost touching, “You’re grounded, I’m going back to my reading, you’re going to your room,” Twilight waved to the rest of the Mane Six, “and they are—” “Now hold on here, Twilight,” Applejack pushed her seat away to stand as she interrupted the Princess’ tirade, “Now ah’m sure the little guy must have had some reason to call all of us together like this, ah think it’s only fair ya hear him out.” “Quite true,” Rarity shook off her daze and ran a hoof through her mane to get it back into its normal fabulous order. She got up and trotted around Twilight, “And by the looks of... whatever this is,” she motioned to the largest of the wings, “You are in desperate need of assistance.” “Y- Yes” Spike nodded quickly, “Exactly.” And puffed out his chest, having gained an extra vote of confidence, “Twilight, I was worried. You’ve been locked up in the library for a week now, you’ve hardly eaten or seen anypony other than me, and every time I do see you it seems like it’s only gotten worse.” “Come on, Twilight, we’re worried about you,” Rarity continued and Twilight felt a hoof resting on her shoulder. She turned to find Fluttershy at her side, looking to her with pleading eyes and a pout that could melt any stallion’s heart, “We’re your friends and we’re here to help.” A loud snort resounded from below the table, reminding them that Rainbow Dash was still present. Rarity gave an icy glare to where she presumed the Pegasus would still be rolling around clutching at her sides, and added, “Well, most of us at least.” Applejack tipped her hat and motioned to Twilight’s empty seat across the table, “Come on now, least you could do is tell us what ya did t’ get like this.” “...okay,” Twilight relented and allowed Rarity and Fluttershy to lead her over to her seat. She waited for Rarity to sit down next to her then took a deep breath and lit her horn. Several of the wings twitched, and a small notepad appeared on the table in front of her. Then, with another twirl of her magic, and another twitch of her wings, Twilight flipped through it until she found her notes from earlier. She cleared her throat and began listing off each of the items in order, “I’ve tried a magical salve from the bark of the magical rutabaga plant, magical ointment, magical pore cleansing soap, a magical mystery cure, magic tonic,” Twilight paused to take a deep breath and turned the page. Rainbow Dash, who had for the most part gotten over her initial reaction, now sat next to Pinkie Pie sharing a glance with raised eyebrows. Twilight continued, “I tried a skin relief spell, a banishment spell, a transmutation spell, Oakden’s Hammer of Healing, Starswitl’s Cloak of Immense Relief,” Twilight stopped herself, looking up from the list to offer a quick explanation, “Not to be confused with Starswirl’s Cloak of Immense Pain – believe me, you don’t want to mix those up.” She cast a serious looked around the table, giving Spike and Pinkie extra attention, then returned to her list, “and a modified transportation spell.” She snapped the book shut, “Of course none of it worked, and the transportation spell only sent them to other parts of my body.” “... Ookay,” Applejack huffed and removed her hat to fan herself. She leaned forward, setting the Stetson down on the table in front of her and glared at Twilight with a raised eyebrow, “Here’s an idea, have ya tried, ya know,” She twirled a hoof in the air, “Not doin’ magic?” Twilight blinked, “Why would I do that?” “Darling, it seems like everything you’ve tried somehow involves magic of some kind, and has any of it actually helped?” “Well,” Twilight bit a hoof, “not really, no. Most of them just made it worse.” “Then it’s settled.” Applejack thumped her hoof against the map table, upsetting Pinkie’s troops, “Meet me in an hour at t’ barn an’ ah can fix ya up with an old-fashioned family remedy, deal?” “Deal” ~ ~ ~ A loud banging sounded throughout the barn calling Applejack away from her work. She left Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh to finish with the vat in the back and trotted to the front to open the door. Wrapping her hooves around the massive wooden crossbeam, she tossed that aside, unlatched the door, and cracked it open, “Okay, Twi,” she began as she pushed the door out of the way, “ya can come on...”— Applejack trailed off as she looked around outside. “... In,” Applejack frowned. There was nopony there. All she could see were the apple trees in the distance, Big Mac’s dirty plough still sitting, rusting, in the driveway—Dangnabit, Mac, ya got to put that thing away, and the filly scout stand out front, where Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were still selling apple-ade. Well, technically it was Apple Cider with about ten pounds of sugar added, but she didn’t have the heart to ruin their ‘entire pol-neurial’ vision. And, looking to her right, she could see the farm house still quiet as ever. The only sound she heard from there were the occasional squeaking of Granny Smith’s sleeping joints as she rode her rocking chair out front. “Hm,” Applejack’s ear flicked, “Strange,” and she began to close the door. There was loud a bump, “Ow!” and a pained howl as the door shuddered against something solid. A tiny clawed foot poked through the base of the gap, stopping it from closing all the way. “Oh!” Applejack facehoofed and opened the door back up. Looked outside again, she turned her attention to the ground directly in front of here where a lone drake stood, his arms crossed and his chest puffed out. Spike glared up at her with an icy cold expression, “Sorry, Spike. Ah didn’t see you there,” She blushed, and stepped aside to let him inside. Spike trudged past her and into the barn, wordlessly, and Applejack glanced one more time outside before closing the door and turning to ask spike, “So... Where’s Twi?” “Give her a second,” Spike rolled his eyes and began counting on his fingers, “In Five, Four, Three, Two...” “What are ya--?” Applejack was cut off by a bright flash. She was knocked back a step and wobbled on her feet as she blinked the spots away from her vision. When she looked back there was a purple bearded mare standing next to her, wrapped from head to hoof in a thick black trench coat, Edwardo—Spike’s moustache— an over the top curly wig, and, to top it all off, a pair of black shades eclipsing most of her face. It took a while for Applejack to recognise her under the disguise, but once she did, it was unmistakeable, “... Twilight?” “Let’s get this over with,” Twilight said, and began removing the disguise. The wig and ridiculous glasses were the first to go, pulled off by a magenta aura and tossed to the side for Spike to catch, revealing Twilight’s now slightly more be-winged face. Somehow wings on her ears had multiplied, making them look puffier, and more fuzzy. Once Edwardo was removed, Applejack also realised the beard wasn’t a beard at all, but rather five wings all tied up together giving the appearance of a beard, “Uh... Twilight?” Applejack deadpanned, “Have ya been using yer magic?” “Only a little.” Twilight said, still preoccupied with removing her trenchcoat. She undid the buttons with her magic and she had levitated it up and over her head, but still had several wings snagged on the collar, including her Alicorn wings, “Spike, can you help me with this?” “Sure thing!” Spike dropped the other items and rushed to help Twilight pull the coat the rest of the way off. Applejack simple watched in silent disbelief, “... and did ya just teleport all the way in here from yer castle?” “I did,” Twilight’s muffled voice. The trench coat suddenly pulled loose leaving Spike to stumble away from her, trip over the bundle of items from before, and fall backwards with the trench coat laid on top of him. She turned around with a slight smile and nodded to Applejack, “I didn’t want to take any chances of anypony seeing me on the way over here.” “So ya teleported and wore a disguise?” “Of course! Always need to have a backup plan.” Applejack facehoofed, “All right, I give,” she turned and trotted around the Dragon-shaped mound of cotton and waved for Twilight to follow her to the back. She led them to a dimly lit corner of the barn, where the dirt and hay cleared slightly to give a cleaner working space. There was a workbench to the right, which Twilight leaned against whilst she watched Applejack work, and a multiple shelves lining the walls to the left. Applejack pulled out an old stool from under the bench and set it down closer to the wall, then jumped atop and user her forelegs as support as she nuzzled through the row of items. “What are we looking for?” Spike joined the group, stopping beside Twilight and mirroring her in staring at Applejack with a confused expression. “Hold yer horses,” Applejack said, “Ya’ll see in a—Aha!” Applejack exclaimed and pulled glass jar from the shelf. She jumped down from her perch and brought it over for Twilight to see, holding it high with a grin on her face. “Now this here”— she pointed to the jar, showing off the brown liquid that sloshed around inside—“Is a special family recipe. It mainly consists of vinegar, smidgen of barly, some zap apples, a pinch of garlic, and a while lotta Granny Smith’s secret ingredient.” She added a wink on top of that last one. “Love?” Spike offered. “Eenope, though it does have plenty ah that, I’m sure.” “Well...” Twilight eyed the bottle, “What is the secret ingredient?” She reached out a hoof to touch the jar, but Applejack quickly jerked it out of her reach. Tossing it to her other hoof, Applejack balanced it on her frog as she held it away from Twilight, “Nah ah,” Applejack shook a hoof, “Ain’t much of a secret if ah told ya, right?” “I... suppose,” Twilight rolled her eyes, “So how does it work then? Do I have to eat it?” “Ew,” Applejack grimaced, seeming to gag as she stuck out her tongue, “Now don’t ya be gross, Twilight. This here’s not an eatin’ type ah medicine.” “I hope I’m not going to have to rub this into Twilight’s fur,” Spike commented, only to be met with odd looks from Twilight. “Eh,” Applejack said, drawing attention back to her. Twilight and Spike watched in silence as Applejack seemed to be fighting with herself on what to say next. She did a so-so gesture with her hoof, “Sort ‘a.” ~ ~ ~ There was a light knock at the door. So light, in fact, that everypony was taken by surprise when it cracked open and Fluttershy’s head poked inside, “Hello?” She whispered, and pushed slightly further into the barn, “Twilight, are you in here?” “Fluttershy! No, don’t co— Omf,” Twilight’s voice was heard in the back, however it was quickly cut off by a bout of sloshing and Applejack’s reprimanding voice. “Now stop yer squirming, Twilight.” This was followed up by the distinct noise of Spike snickering. Fluttershy could not see either of the ponies, so she decided to head inside anyway. She pushed the barn door open and strutted fully into the barn. A zebra trotted after, carrying with her a set of saddlebags and a satchel slung around her neck, “Um,” Fluttershy spoke up. She stalked through the barn, following the loud sloshing, “Zecora’s here. I thought maybe she could—” Fluttershy rounded a large stack of hay bales and stopped stone cold. “Eep,” was all she could say, her eyes wide as dinner plates. “Fluttershy? Where have you gone? Where is your friend so that I mi—Holy—” Zecora appeared next to Fluttershy, slapping a hoof over her mouth as she eyed the scene. Between the bales of hay stood a large vat, the one they used for crushing berries in the Sisterhooves Social, though this time it was being used for something very different. Twilight was sat in the middle of it, neck deep in some kind of green sludge whilst Apple Bloom and Big Mac stood around the sides, wearing gloves and eye-protectors, as they stirred the vat with two oversized wooden spoons. Applejack was there too, stood on the left atop a wooden step ladder. She was using her own spoon to scoop the sludge and drench it over Twilight’s head. “Oh, hey Fluttershy,” noticing the wide-eyed Pegasus standing before them, Applejack looked up and gave a friendly wave. Apple Bloom waved as well, which Fluttershy returned with a smile. Applejack wobbled atop her perch for a moment, before steadying herself and joining stirring, “Heh, don’t you mind us. We’re just finishing up in here.” Twilight’s voice came muffled from under the pile of sludge, though nopony could tell what she meant. “Um, that didn’t rhyme,” Applejack pointed out, “Is everything okay?” “O- Oh yes,” Zecora shook off her shock, stuttering slightly as she regained her pacing, “I was merely given quite the fright.” She stepped up to the vat and arched her neck to look over the side, “Now tell me, Twilight: what is your plight?” The brown mass of sludge sighed, reserved to this as her life, “It’s these darn wings.” Twilight shook off the caking of sludge revealing the mass of feathers hanging from her face. Zecora nodded. She dipped a hoof in the sludge and gave it a quick sniff, immediately recoiling at the strong stench of garlic, “No, no, no, this goo will never do.” She flicked the dollop off back into the vat and stepped down to begin removing her saddlebags. “Ah beg yer pardon?” Applejack raised an eyebrow, “I’ll have ya know that this is a tried an’ tested, never failed solution. It’s been in the family for generations and has been used to cure all kind of illnesses.” “Eeyup,” Big Mac added. “Oh no, I would not dare, my dear mare, to put your family’s reputation to such despair.” Pulling the satchel off from her neck, Zecora hoofed it over for Fluttershy to hold and began digging into her saddlebags proper, “I simply mean to say, though good for aches and sprains, a topical cure such is this will never cure this mare’s pain. For that we need”— she whipped out a small bottle, about the size of a hoof, and held it up for all to see – “a Zebrecan Remedy.”