//------------------------------// // The Longest Morning // Story: Birds of a Feather // by Apollonius //------------------------------// Chapter 2 - The Longest Morning The storm was still blowing strong the next morning when Twilight woke up. She looked at the rattling window as she slipped out of bed, making a mental note to check for storm damage once the weather improved. "Come on Spike." She nudged the baby dragon, "we've got plans to make." Spike murmured something and pulled his blanket over his head, trying to ignore Twilight. "Up, up Spike. I need my number one assistant on top form this morning. Lots to do, lots to do." He reluctantly let Twilight pull his covers away and rolled out of his basket. "What time is it?" he asked, blinking sleep from the corners of his eyes. "Seven AM." The unicorn chirruped. Could be worse. Spike thought as he yawned. At least it's not five in the morning. Following Twilight down the stairs, Spike proceeded to gather parchment, quills, ink and everything else Twilight usually needed for planning. He sat himself at Twilight's desk while she trotted around the library. She maintained that her best ideas occurred “when her brain was adequately supplied with highly oxygenated blood”. In layman's terms, she thought best on her hooves. "OK. Top priority, modify shopping list. Double the number of eggs and add tofu to the list," Twilight instructed, passing by Spike on her first circuit of the library. Spike pulled the appropriate parchment onto the desk and added said items. "Rainbow is going to be bored so find all the Daring Do books in the library. Find anything similar to Daring Do books in chase she finishes them." Twilight was thankful that Spike was still too sleepy to remember what he was writing down. It would save her explaining Rainbow's problem to more ponies than she had to. Twilight paused, remembering how bored Rainbow was when she was in the hospital with an injured wing. "Change that to 'very bored' and 'anything' to 'everything'.” The scratching sound of Spike's quill stopped as he yawned again. "Urgent but pending: I need to see Fluttershy. Rainbow will probably want to move to Fluttershy's cottage once she's back." Twilight stopped and looked over Spike's shoulder at her plan. It wasn't as detailed or thorough as she would have liked it to be, but it would have to do. She rolled the scroll up with magic and floated it into her saddlebag before putting the bags onto her back. "Thanks Spike, you can go back to bed now." "Don't see why you needed me..." sighed the baby dragon before he slid off the seat and headed back towards his basket. "Take care of Rainbow Dash while I'm out," Twilight called to him as he went. Spike waved a reply as Twilight crossed to the front door. She lifted her rain hat from its peg and secured it tightly to her head before lifting a matching coat from the same peg. I must thank Rarity for these next time I see her. Twilight thought as she buttoned the coat. Confident that she was ready and able to survive the storm outside, Twilight opened the door. ------------- Rainbow Dash was feeling far less awesome than her normal self. She had none of the energy or enthusiasm for life that she usually displayed. Even her mane and tail seemed less vibrant. She couldn’t even bring herself to push the covers away from her face. Curled up under the covers of Twilight's spare bed, she tried to ignore the itching and throbbing that was coming from both of her wings. None of her old feathers were ready to drop yet despite all of her efforts, gentle or vigorous, to convince them otherwise. The only thing that her preening attempts had caused was sore wings. On any regular day, Rainbow Dash would have woken up late, eaten breakfast, preened her feathers before taking off and going on weather patrol. It wasn't a pattern she followed every day. Sometimes she woke early, finished her work before lunchtime then spent the rest of the day dozing on a cloud. The pegasus wanted to be zooming around Ponyville, pulling off awesome stunts and dazzling her numerous admirers. But the way she was feeling now, Rainbow doubted she could find the energy to roll over in bed. Sighing dejectedly, Rainbow closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again. "You alright Rainbow Dash? Need anything?" Spike's voice brought her back to reality and she looked up to see his silhouette though the sheets. She grunted a response, neither positive or negative, before curling into a tighter ball. She ignored the itchiness her wings and tried go back to sleep. She drifted off within a few minutes. Spike watched the lump under the covers that was Rainbow shuffle around, unsure whether she wanted anything or not. The sound of gentle breathing soon filled the library and Spike went back to tidying the library. ------------- Struggling against the fierce wind, Twilight struggled down the main street of Ponyville. Seeing only shops with their shutters drawn and empty stalls, she let out an exasperated sigh. In the process of making plans and lists of how to deal with Rainbow's condition, the thought that the market wouldn't be open hadn't occurred to her. She was about to turn and canter back to her warm and dry library when a sign hammered into the ground caught her eye. Market moved to town hall due to weather. Twilight turned, thankful that the wind was now behind her, and headed off at full speed towards the town hall. It was only a short dash to the hall, but Twilight was eager to get out of the wind and rain. As she approached the town hall, she saw the front doors were propped open but the inner ones were shut. Reaching the steps of the hall, the wind caught Twilight and threw her up the stairs and into the hall. She landed hard on her flank and quickly scrambled back to her hooves, pretending that hadn't happened. Nopony seemed to have noticed her unceremonious entry, so Twilight put it behind her and entered the hall. Makeshift stalls were clustered around the inside of the hall and ponies of all colours and types were milling around them. Twilight shook off the worst of the rain as she spotted Applejack's stall and crossed to her. "Mornin' Twilight." Applejack called to her, "Wind’s blowin' something fierce out there." "You can say that again." Twilight levitated her list from her saddlebags under her raincoat, shedding even more water onto the floor. "Yer usual?" Applejack asked. "And again please." Applejack raised an inquiring eyebrow as she pushed a dozen apples towards Twilight. "Want to fill me in Sugarcube?" "Rainbow Dash is crashing at my place for a while. She's... um... not feeling well." It was a lame excuse, but it was all Twilight was able to improvise. Applejack nodded, "Guess that explains why this rain came out of nowhere." Twilight managed to hide a sigh of relief as Applejack tidied away the money she had dropped on the counter. Twilight swept the apples into her saddlebag "Anyway, you're busy so I'll see you later." Twilight waved her hoof at the other pony who had just approached the stall. "See ya later then, Twi," Applejack said as she turned to the new pony. Crossing apples off her list, Twilight started drifting from stall to stall and picking up the other items on her list. She bumped into a few ponies she knew in passing, all of whom were dressed in their own raingear. Twilight realized that they were all Rarity's. Must be doing a roaring trade in this weather. Twilight thought as a familiar squeak met her ears. She looked around and, as she'd expected, Fluttershy had just appeared next to her. Fluttershy placed a basket on the floor by her hooves. "Hello Fluttershy," Twilight returned the greeting. "This rain took us by surprise," Fluttershy said, "I had to bring my animals into the house. Did Rainbow Dash forget the weather schedule?" "Rainbow Dash wasn't on duty last night." Twilight said absently, looking over her list again, "she was looking for you though." Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, puzzled for a moment before going white. "Oh no... it's her time, isn't it? And I was away last night too. Do you know where she went? She can't be have gotten home last night, not in this storm and with her wings like that.” Twilight raised her hoof, stopping Fluttershy mid panic. "Relax Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash is occupying my spare bed." "But I... She... feathers... pegasus..." Twilight couldn't make out anything more Fluttershy said as her voice devolved into squeaks and mutters. "Calm down Fluttershy. I know about Dash's problem, that's why I left her in the library. Speaking of which, have your chickens laid any spare eggs?" Fluttershy was caught off guard by Twilight's sudden question. "Eggs? Why?" "Protein. Feathers are almost all protein so Rainbow will need extra to replace them." "I have a few spare that I was going to sell," Fluttershy tapped a basket at her hooves, "but you can have a box if you need it. "Thanks." Twilight lifted one of the egg boxes from Fluttershy's basket with magic before tucking it into her saddlebag. Fluttershy waited for Twilight to finish before resuming their conversation. "Did Rainbow tell you that I normally look after Rainbow Dash while she's... not well?" Twilight nodded, "If you want to look after her, we can swing by the library and you can pick her up." "Well...em..." Twilight waited patiently for Fluttershy to untangle her tongue, "Rainbow Dash will probably have made... a nest. She's not going to want to go outside or even leave her bed until she's finished." "I was expecting that." Twilight replied. Fluttershy blinked in surprise. "The book I found in the library said that it's best for moulting pegasi to find somewhere they can relax and just let their body get on with the process, so I assumed Rainbow wouldn't want to go anywhere." "You mean you don't mind looking after Rainbow?" "Let me worry about Dash, you've got enough to deal with having all those animals to look after." "Thank you Twilight. I really don't mind looking after her during her moult but I do have a lot of animals who will have colds after being caught in the rain. I can make time to help you look after Rainbow if you..." "Don't worry about it Fluttershy," Twilight interrupted, "I can look after Rainbow. You just worry about your animals." Fluttershy seemed to take Twilight's statement literally as her expression became a concerned one. "I told Angel I'd only be an hour, but it took me that long to get here. Sorry Twilight, I've got to get back to them. Tell Dash I'll come by and see her later. If...that's alright with you..." "I'll see you later then, Fluttershy," Twilight called as Fluttershy grabbed her basket and dashed off towards the Hall's main doors. ------------- The rain was easing by the time Twilight returned to the library but it was still heavy enough to warrant her raincoat. She hung it up to drip dry next to the door, sending her saddlebags floating across the library into the kitchen. "I'm back Spike," Twilight called, following her bag into the kitchen. Spike appeared in the kitchen doorway, following Twilight inside. "Did Rainbow Dash needed anything while I was out?" "Nope, she's been asleep most of the time." Twilight nodded, unloading her bags onto the counter. Spike watched her unload the carton of eggs she'd bought from Fluttershy, along with apples, seeds and bread across the counter. Twilight shook her saddlebag and with a wet slap, two Tofu slabs dropped onto the counter. Spike looked at the tofu with a mixed expression, clearly unsure about it, and prodded one with a claw. "What in Equestria made you buy these things?" "Good source of protein," Twilight muttered, her nose in a cookbook, "here we go, scrambled eggs." The eggs sprang out of their carton and started to orbit around Twilight's head as she summoned a bowl and milk from the other side of the kitchen. The eggs cracked themselves against the edge of the bowl before their shells were deposited on the counter again. The milk bottle upended itself, dumping most of its contents into the bowl with the eggs. Spike had to duck to avoid a whisk that jumped out it's drawer and zoomed across the room. With eggshells and cooking utensils flying around the kitchen, Spike decided to get out of the firing line. He grabbed Twilight's saddlebag before ducking out through the doorway. "I'll put this away," he called to Twilight "Thanks Spike," Twilight replied, magically animating the whisk. Twilight continued reading the cookbook as she beat the eggs and milk together before pouring the mixture into a pan. She put the pan on the stove, lit the burner and fetched a wooden spatula all while her nose was still buried in her book. She put the book down as Spike came back into the kitchen and she turned to look at him. "Keep an eye on this for me Spike." Twilight told him, levitating the spatula into his claw, "It shouldn't need a more than five minutes but make sure it doesn't burn. I'll go wake up Rainbow." "Got it." Spike replied. Trotting out of the kitchen and up the stairs, Twilight was greeted by the sight of a bundle of covers curled up on the guest bed. Twilight heard the sound of gentle breathing, and the occasional snore, coming from under the covers as walked along the edge of the bed. Twilight gently shook the pile of covers. "Rainbow, breakfast is nearly ready," the Unicorn called, using the same voice she used to wake Spike. Rainbow gave a groan from under the sheets, making it clear she didn't want to get out of bed. "What time is it?" Dash's voice asked. Twilight glanced at the clock. "Half past eight." Another groan and the bundle closed into a tighter ball. "Another three hours. Please." Twilight realized that sterner measures would be needed; she grabbed the exposed corner of the duvet in her mouth and hauled with all her might. Rainbow Dash felt her world spin as her cocoon was wrenched away from her and she was dumped on the floor. Landing on her back with her hooves in the air, Dash tried to find the duvet and cover herself again but it was far out of her reach. Standing over her, Twilight fixed Rainbow with an authoritative stare. "Come on Dash, back on the bed and let me check your wings." Rainbow sputtered as she tried to get back to her hooves, "They... they're fine. I don't know what you're talking about." Twilight tapped the bed with her hoof, "Let me see them." Realizing that Twilight wasn't going to take no for an answer, Rainbow reluctantly got back onto the bed again, lay down and spread her wings. If Rainbow Dash had been her normal self, she would have fought back or bolted, but she had little of her usual energy today. Stupid moulting. She thought, why does it always feel like I've just done three Rainbooms in a row? I need all my strength to be awesome. "Let me know if I'm being too rough," Twilight told her friend. Rainbow grunted, looking far from happy. Twilight lifted Rainbow's left wing and Rainbow flinched at the contact but didn't make a sound as she let her wing relax again. After checking Rainbow's wing all over, Twilight shifted position and repeated the process on Rainbow's other wing, checking for loose feathers but finding none. "All done," Twilight chirruped. "Let's see how Spike is doing with breakfast." As Twilight headed back down the stairs Rainbow grabbed the duvet again, wrapping it around herself like a cloak before following Twilight. The two ponies returned to the kitchen in time to see Spike putting three plates of scrambled eggs onto the table. Dash sat opposite Twilight, still keeping the duvet wrapped around herself, and gave the plateful a cautious poke with the tip of her hoof. "What's this?" she asked. "Scrambled eggs." The cyan pegasus pulled a face but Twilight couldn't tell if it was in disgust or confusion. "It's high in protein," Twilight explained, "It's the perfect food for you right now." There was a loud crunch that made both ponies look up. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but stare as she saw Spike's plateful had egg shells mixed in with his portion. "I like crunchy food." was all Spike said as he took another mouthful. Rainbow looked back at her own food and pulled the same face again, still prodding her breakfast with her hoof. "You can eat it hot or you can eat it cold, but either way you are going to eat it," Twilight said, slightly concerned that she was starting to sound like her own mother. "Can I at least have ketchup?" Rainbow whined. Twilight rolled her eyes but the bottle of ketchup winked onto the table. Rainbow Dash applied a liberal coating of ketchup and Twilight rolled her eyes again. Today is going to be a long day, the unicorn thought as she started eating her own breakfast. -------------