Unexpected Confessions
Chapter Twenty Eight
Making a Change
Rarity woke slowly, groggily. She pressed a hoof to her head, which throbbed in a dull ache. That last glass of wine may have been a mistake. She tried to roll over to go back to sleep, but found herself blocked in on either side. Smiling, she settled back down and simply enjoyed the closeness of the two mares, even if the two pairs of wings pressed against her sides did tickle a bit. However, her stomach had other ideas, and chose to announce its presence rather loudly. Rarity winced as Fluttershy shifted in her sleep, mewling and wiggling toward the edge of the bed.
Rarity used her newfound space to carefully extricate herself from the bed, making sure to cover her marefriends up once she was out. She silently made her way to the door, pausing to take one last look at the sleeping pegasi. Rainbow shivered a bit and rolled over, snuggling up behind Fluttershy and wrapping a foreleg around her. Rarity smiled and closed the door quietly.
Down in her kitchen, Rarity did a quick inventory of what she had in the cupboard, but came up surprisingly light in food. I suppose I have been… a bit of an introvert recently. She glanced at the clock. Sugarcube corner isn’t open yet… This should be enough, regardless. She floated the meager ingredients she could gather out of her refrigerator and pantry, then set to work.
*
Dash woke slowly, keeping her eyes shut in the hope that she would just drift back to sleep. She hugged her pillow a little tighter, shifting as something tickled her stomach. She rubbed her face against the bed and groaned. It was getting hard and lumpy again, even though she’d just re-fluffed it a few days ago. She squeezed her pillow again, but this time it let out a small eep.
Rainbow cracked an eye open, getting an eyeful of pink hair. She lifted her head a bit and looked down to find that her pillow was, in fact, Fluttershy. “Morn—” She yawned and rolled onto her back. “Morning, ‘Shy.”
“Oh, um, good morning, Dashie.” Fluttershy turned onto her stomach, gathering her legs under her. She flicked the corner of a pillowcase with a hoof. “Did you, um, sleep well?”
“Well enough.” Dash shrugged, her eyes finally roaming around the room. Oh, right. Spent the night at Rare’s place. She patted the mattress with a hoof. Not bad. Not as good as a cloud, but not bad. She rolled back onto her side and leaned up to give her marefriend a kiss on the cheek. Afterward, she noticed that Fluttershy seemed much more awake than she was. “What about you? You been up long?”
“Oh, no. Not too long.” Fluttershy glanced over at the other mare, then went back to studying the pillowcase. “Only half an hour or so.”
“Half an hour?” Dash propped herself up on an elbow. “Why are you still in bed? Why didn’t you get up?”
“Oh, well, you were still sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you up by getting out of bed.” Fluttershy finally tore her eyes away from the pillowcase and met Rainbow’s gaze. “Besides, I didn’t mind. We were cuddling, and it was… nice.” Her cheeks tinged pink at the admission.
“You shoulda woken me up, ‘Shy.” Dash scooted over and laid a foreleg across her marefriend’s back, tickling the leading edge of a wing with her hoof. “We could still cuddle, and it’d be more fun if we’re both awake.” She leaned in for another kiss, this time planting a trail of them from Fluttershy’s cheek up along her jawline to her ear, ending the trail with a slow lick along the outer edge.
Fluttershy shivered under Rainbow’s attention, biting her lip to keep from making too much noise. “W-we…” She muttered breathily. “We should probably go see what Rarity is doing.” She bit her lip extra hard to cut off a moan that threatened to tear out of her throat. “Sh-she was already g-gone when I woke up.”
Dash paused, annoyed that her marefriend was thinking about Rarity when things were about to get good. Then again, I guess Rare is my marefriend too now. She debated telling Fluttershy that they were fine as they were, and that Rarity could come and find them if she wanted, but she ultimately decided that the other mare was right. “Alright, let’s go.”
She rolled onto her back again and stretched her legs, sucking in a deep breath. For the first time, she caught a whiff of a delicious aroma wafting up from the lower floor. Rolling to the edge of the bed, she hopped down to the floor, trotted over to the door, and took a big sniff of the smell coming from downstairs. “Mmm. Smells like Rare’s workin’ on breakfast.” The pegasi made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen to find Rarity laying out a set of plates on the table.
“Ah, good morning, dears. I hope I didn’t wake you.” The unicorn smiled and trotted back over to the stove, grabbing a spatula and swirling it around a pan.
“Nah.” Dash plopped down in a chair, draping a foreleg over the back so that she could turn and watch breakfast being made. “Well, not me, anyway. I don’t know about Flutters. She was already up when I woke up.” She shot a glance at Fluttershy, who shook her head a tiny bit. “Anyway, what’s for breakfast?”
“Unfortunately, my stores have gotten a bit… low recently.” Rarity lifted the pan over a bowl and dumped the contents in, then picked up the bowl and brought it over to the table. At the same time, she opened up the oven and floated out a plate stacked with pancakes. “I wanted to make a more… elaborate breakfast for you girls, but I simply lacked the ingredients. However, I was able to scrounge up enough to make some pancakes and hash browns.” She gently placed the food on the table, her magic barely releasing the plate before a fork flew in and speared two pancakes.
“It looks great, Rares.” Dash said before immediately shoving an entire pancake in her mouth. She got in two quick chews before he eyes bulged open. She leaned forward and spit the partially eaten pancake back onto her plate. “Haaht.” Her tongue hung out of her mouth while she looked around for something to drink. She spotted a glass of water and grabbed it, quickly draining the blissfully cool liquid in a few swift gulps.
Fluttershy brought a hoof to her mouth to stifle a giggle. “It really does look delicious.” She took her own pancake from the stack and cut off a small piece, nibbling at it daintily. “Thank you for making breakfast.”
“Yeh. Fanks.” Dash echoed, her burned tongue still lolling out of her mouth.
“You’re quite welcome, dears.” Rarity sat down and spooned some hash browns onto her plate. “And Rainbow, darling, please don’t talk with your mouth full.” She chuckled when the pegasus stuck out her tongue. “It was the least I could do. Though, it also used up the last of my food, so I suppose I’ll have to head to the market today. Would you girls like to come along?”
“Shory.” After an admonishing glance from Rarity, Dash paused long enough to finish chewing and swallow her food, then tried again. “Sorry, no can do. There’s a big presentation from corporate up in Cloudsdale, and they’re gonna have the weather team stuck in it all day.” She leaned over the table and grabbed the bowl of hash browns, scooping a generous pile onto her plate. “It’s about… I can’t remember, but something lame. But, they said we gotta go, so there’s no getting out of it.”
“That’s… unfortunate.” Rarity watched Dash shovel a giant bite of food into her mouth, then turned to her other marefriend. “What about you, love?”
“Oh, um, I’d love to, but I can’t.” Fluttershy ducked down a bit, as if expecting the unicorn to be angry with her. “Winter’s just around the corner, and I need to help all the little critters make sure their homes are ready.” She took another tiny bite of pancake. “Though, um, I’m sure that they could handle it by themselves for a day if you wanted me to go with you.”
“No no. If they need you, I completely understand, love.” Rarity smiled warmly and waved off her marefriend’s offer of company. “I think I can handle a simple trip to the market by myself. Now, Rainbow, darling, what time will you be done with work?”
“Hmm…” Dash tapped her chin while she finished chewing a bite of food. “Probably around four or five. Why?”
“Well…” Rarity took a sip from a teacup she’d laid out earlier. “I was just thinking that it’s past time you and I went on a proper date.” She smiled into her cup as the chromatic pegasus nearly choked on her next bite of food. “After all, we have both been on dates with Fluttershy. It only seems fitting that we go out with each other now, doesn’t it?”
“Ye—” Dash coughed again, dislodging a final bit of hash brown from her throat. “Yeah, it’s just that… you surprised me.” She grabbed a glass of water that the unicorn floated over from the sink and took a few grateful gulps. “A date sounds… great.” She smiled, surprised at how good the idea actually sounded to her. “So, whadda ya wanna do?”
“Ah ah ah.” Rarity waggled a hoof in mock admonition, a playful smile on her lips. “I’ve got everything planned and I want it to be a surprise.” Her smile twitched up into a smirk at Rainbow’s look of concern. “Don’t worry, though. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”
“Well… okay.” Dash tossed the last bit of hash browns she had left into her mouth and stood up. “Well, I gotta run, but I’ll see you girls when I get off work, okay?” She trotted over to Fluttershy and leaned down for a quick kiss on the cheek, then moved around to Rarity and did the same. “See ya!”
“Goodbye, darling.”
“Um, have a good day at work!”
A few seconds of silence passed after Dash left and the front door slammed shut, then Rarity let out a fillyish squeal. “Did you see that, Fluttershy?” She clapped her hooves together giddily. “She kissed me, and she didn’t hesitate! I know it’s not much, but still…” She leaned back in her chair and sighed dreamily.
“I know, it was… nice.” Fluttershy smiled for a moment, then idly poked her breakfast with her fork. She bit her lip for a moment before continuing. “But, um, what are your plans for your date? I-if you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
“Oh, I would like to tell you, love, but I’m afraid I can’t.” Rarity stood up from her own chair and walked around the table, draping a foreleg across her marefriend’s withers. “I’m sorry, but knowing Rainbow, she’ll rush home from work and try to wheedle the information out of you. I don’t want to put you in that position, love.” She leaned down for a quick kiss on the cheek and trotted toward the main room. “Now, I should probably be going. I have to swing by the market before… anything else. Would you like to walk together for a bit before you have to go and take care of your animals?”
“Um, well…” Fluttershy tapped her hooves together and kept her eyes down, causing the unicorn to stop in the doorway of the kitchen. “I… I don’t have to be out there to help them for a while. Most of them are still asleep, so, we could, um, spend some time together… if you wanted to, that is.”
Rarity glanced at the clock on the wall and crunched some numbers in her head. After assuring herself that she had some time to spare, she walked back over to the table and lifted her marefriend’s chin with a hoof and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. “That sounds lovely, dear.” She smiled as the pegasus visibly relaxed. “Shall we adjourn to the living room?” She offered Fluttershy a hoof and helped the other mare to her hooves. They made their way out to the main room and over to the couch, Fluttershy laying on her side and Rarity settling down behind her. The unicorn wrapped a foreleg around her marefriend’s barrel and laid her chin on the pegasus’ shoulder. “So, was there something you wanted to talk about?”
“Oh, um, not really.” Fluttershy nuzzled her marefriend and let out a soft sigh. “We just haven’t had a lot of time to ourselves since… all of this happened.” Her smile faded and she slumped down. “And I never got to thank you for… everything that you did. I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that for us.”
“Yes, well…” Rarity paused, unsure of what to say. After a moment’s consideration, she smiled. “I didn’t do it for your thanks. I did it because I love you, and want you to be happy. Now, let’s see a smile, everything is fine.”
“But… what if it hadn’t been?” asked Fluttershy.
“Enough of that.” Rarity chided her gently, “What ifs will only drive you mad with worry. We have now, and that’s all we’ll ever have.” She lifted Fluttershy’s chin, giving her a sad look. “I thought I lost you, once. In another lifetime, I found Rainbow. Then I lost you both—” Fluttershy winced at that, turning away, only to have Rarity gently turn her head back towards her. “But when I needed you, when I couldn’t go on anymore, you saved me. Both of you. That’s all that matters.”
Fluttershy’s lips finally twitched up into a tiny smile. “Thank you, Rarity.” She leaned back and rested against her marefriend. Her eyes drifted closed and she felt the gentle, steady beat of Rarity’s heart against her back.
“Think nothing of it, darling,” Rarity said, giving her a featherlight kiss on the neck. “Though, you’ve been… so tense and worried… perhaps I could… help you relax a bit.” Her lips brushed along the fur of her marefriend’s neck as she whispered. Each pause was punctuated with another kiss, leaving a meandering trail along Fluttershy’s neck.
“B-but…” Murmured Fluttershy. She had to bite her lip to keep back a moan. “D-don’t you have to—ah!—g-go get ready for your date with Dashie?” A small whine escaped her when Rarity finally relented in the assault on her neck.
“Hmm… I suppose.” Rarity responded. She laid her chin on her marefriend’s shoulder and started running through the things she still needed to get ready. However, her train of thought derailed when the pegasus shifted. The movement caused Fluttershy’s coat to brush against hers, and the silken texture pulled her mind back to the present. “I do, but I have a few more minutes before I need to get going.” She leaned up and nibbled at her marefriend’s ear. “And I’d much rather spend them here with you.”
“W-well, um, i-if you’re sure…” Fluttershy replied. Her wings fidgeted and strained on her back. A giggle broke free from Rarity’s throat between kisses as the feathers tickled her stomach. “Oh, um, sorry.” Fluttershy rolled onto her back, and her free wing dangled down off the edge of the couch.
“Don’t be, love.” Rarity said, a few last giggles sneaking out of her. She leaned forward and captured her marefriend’s lips in a gentle kiss. She kept to a simple, chaste kiss for a while, not wanting to move things forward too quickly with her shy friend.
Fluttershy, however, had other plans. She leaned up into the kiss and wove a hoof into Rarity’s mane. Fluttershy dared to probe her tongue out and brushed it along her marefriend’s lips. Rarity smiled into the kiss for a moment, then parted her lips. Her tongue darted out to dance with her marefriend’s. Neither of them fought for dominance in the kiss. They simply enjoyed each other. Hooves traced down sides, then danced up to drag along jawlines. Eventually, Rarity dared to send a hoof further down. It moved past her marefriend’s ribs and worked its way ever further down along her stomach. Unfortunately, it was stopped just before it could reach her marefriend’s thighs.
Fluttershy pressed up into one more closed mouth kiss, then pulled back. Her breath came in quick pants, and she waited a moment before speaking. “Y-you should probably get going… um, shouldn’t you?” Rarity’s hoof traced a small circle on her stomach, and Fluttershy had to bite her lip to keep a small moan from escaping.
“I suppose…” Rarity said again. She laid her head on her marefriend’s chest. Her eyes drifted closed, and she listened to the gentle sounds of the pegasus breathing for a few moments. She drew in a deep breath and sat up. “Well. Let’s go then.” She hopped down from the couch. After taking a moment to make sure her mane was in a presentable condition, she offered Fluttershy a hoof.
“Um, actually, I’m going to stay here for a few more minutes. Um, if that’s okay with you.” Fluttershy used a hoof to brush a stray lock of her mane back behind her ear. “Most of my animal friends won’t be up for a while still, and I don’t want to wake them up too early.”
“That’s fine, darling.” Rarity said. She leaned down and gave her marefriend one last quick kiss on the cheek. She trotted over to the door. “Just be sure to lock up when you do head out. There’s a key here on the table. Just stick it in the mailbox.” She pulled open the door with a bit of magic. She paused before heading outside, turning back to her marefriend. “Actually, why don’t you keep it? I’d wager that both you and Rainbow will be spending a good deal of time here, so it seems fitting that you have your own key.”
“Really?” Fluttershy stepped down from the couch and made her way over to the door. She looked at the key sitting on the entryway table. Her key. The thought sent the butterflies on her flank up to her stomach. “Oh, Rarity. I… I don’t know what to say. I just… Thank you!” She threw her forelegs around Rarity’s withers and pulled the unicorn into a tight hug.
“That will do nicely, love.” Rarity replied. She returned the hug, giving her marefriend one last squeeze before they separated again. “Now, I really must be going, darling, I have to make a run to the market before anything else. But you’re free to stay as long as you desire.” She leaned back in and snuck one last kiss before trotting over to the door. She grabbed a pair of saddlebags and draped them across her back, taking a moment to make sure that she had enough bits for her trip.
Fluttershy watched Rarity leave. She stood in the doorway until the unicorn turned onto a side street, then stepped back inside and closed the door. Her gaze drifted down and fell on her key to the store. The same item that had filled her with elation moments ago now twisted her stomach into a knot. What about Dashie? She doesn’t have a key. Does… does Rarity still like me more? Her eyes shifted over to the couch. She thought she could still feel Rarity’s hoof moving slowly down her stomach toward…
She shook her head to remove the thought, but another quickly took its place. Was it… okay for us to be doing that by ourselves? What if things had gone farther? Would Dashie have been angry with us? The questions swirled around in her mind, but no answers presented themselves. Thankfully, the clock struck a new hour, pulling the pegasus from her thoughts. Fluttershy grabbed the key and headed back outside. She made sure the sign in the window was flipped to ‘Closed,’ then locked the door behind her. She flapped her wings and took to the air, angling toward the fields just outside the Everfree Forest.
*
After making her run to the market and dropping her purchases back at the Boutique, Rarity made her way over to the library. “Hello? Anypony home?” She pushed open the door and stuck her head in, but didn’t see anyone in the main room. “Twilight, dear, are you in?”
“Hi, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie poked her head out from the doorway into the kitchen, waving enthusiastically. “Wow. Your nose must be super duper good if you could smell the pancakes all the way from your house.” She smiled extra big, then zipped back into the kitchen.
Rarity could only stare at the place the earth pony had suddenly appeared, and just as suddenly disappeared. “Pinkie? What are you… Oh.” She trotted over to the kitchen, a sly smile on her face. “So, I take it the date went well last—” She stopped when she crossed the threshold and saw Applejack sitting at the table. “—night?”
“Eeyup. Mornin’ Rares.” Applejack said. The earth pony lifted a mug of coffee she was nursing. “We were just ‘bout to sit down to breakfast. Ya want some?” She waved a hoof toward the stove. Pinkie was perched over the appliance, a spatula clutched in her mouth and her hips waggling to a beat that only she could hear.
“No, thank you.” Rarity replied. She looked back and forth between the two earth ponies for a few moments. “Though, I must say that it seems a little early for both of you to be here, especially you, Applejack.”
“Well, we kind didn’t… go home last night.” Applejack mumbled, staring down into her cup.
“Oh, really?” Rarity couldn’t help but grin. “Well, I expected my idea to work, though I had no idea it would work quite this well.”
“It ain’t like that!” Applejack shot back. A hint of color rose in her cheeks. She went back to contemplating her coffee. She took a moment to compose herself before she spoke again. “Nothin’ happened.”
“Nuffn hppn?” Pinkie whirled around, the spatula still clamped in her teeth. She started to ramble, but the words were blocked by the utensil. It wasn’t until after a few moments of muffled talking that she noticed Rarity and Applejack staring at her in confusion. She cocked her head to the side, mirroring their confusion. Her eyes crossed as she looked down at the spatula still sticking out of her mouth. “Uppf.” She tossed it into the air and somehow managed to catch it with her tail.
“What do you mean nothing happened? We did lots of fun things last night!” She leaned forward, and her eyes narrowed as she stared at Applejack. “Are you trying to say that you didn’t have fun last night?”
“Ah did.” Applejack responded. She held up a hoof to try and placate the pink pony. “Ah had plenty of fun, sugarcube, just… not the kind Rarity was talkin’ ‘bout.”
“Well, duh!” Pinkie was immediately all smiles again. She somehow maneuvered the spatula with her tail and managed to flip a pancake. “I mean, we didn’t even go on a real date. It would have been silly for us have that kind of fun. But we had lots of other kinds of fun!” She lifted a pancake off of the stove and dropped it onto a plate. “We had fun drinking and dancing at the bar, then we had fun singing on the way home. Ooh! Then had a super funnerific pillow fight!”
“My my. It certainly sounds like you three did have fun last night.” Rarity smiled. She turned to Applejack and raised an eyebrow. “You managed to get Twilight to dance?”
“That was her doin’.” Applejack said. She jerked her head in Pinkie’s direction and the pink mare grinned broadly. “Ah was still hangin’ out in the back when Pinkie dragged Twi out to the dance floor.”
“I see.” Rarity looked back and forth between the two earth ponies for a bit. “But you did apologize to her, I presume?” The farmer simply nodded. “Well, how did it go?”
“Oh, it went fine.” All three mares turned to see Twilight standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The unicorn had a wry smile on her face. “Except that she and Pinkie were too busy competing to see who could give me up more to let me tell them that I didn’t want either of them to give up.”
“Oh really?” Rarity purred. She turned her gaze on Applejack, who was studying the bottom of her coffee cup. Pinkie had turned back to making pancakes and was once again in her own little world. She turned her attention back to Twilight. “But I assume you were able to convince them otherwise?”
“Eventually.” Twilight replied. She trotted over to the table and sat down. Her horn lit up and a mug floated out of the cabinet. It slowly made its way over to the coffee pot, which lifted up and poured a generous helping of the life-giving brown liquid. “After that, it’s like Pinkie said; we came back here and I offered to let them sleep here.” Twilight reached up and grabbed her coffee up as it floated close by. She took a deep whiff of the delightful aroma and sighed. “So, what brings you by this morning, Rarity?”
“Hmm?” Rarity blinked for a moment. The opportunity to pick up some gossip about her friends had distracted her from her initial goal in coming to the library. After a moment’s thought, it returned to her. “Oh, yes. I was just—” Her eyes flicked over to Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Neither mare seemed interested in their conversation, but she desperately wanted to keep everything a surprise. “Actually, dear, would you mind if we spoke… in private?”
Twilight paused mid-sip and looked at Rarity over the rim of her mug. She lowered it back to the table and stood up. “Okay. Why don’t we head up to my room?” She suggested. She trotted back out of the kitchen, Rarity hot on her heels, and climbed the steps back up to her room. She held the door open for Rarity, closing it once they were both through the doorway.
“I apologize for the secrecy, dear. It’s just that this is for my first date with Rainbow this evening, and I want it to be a surprise.” Rarity tapped a hoof on the floor. She knew that Twilight wouldn’t judge her for making her request, but she still felt hesitant about asking now that she was actually here. She took a breath and just blurted it out. “I need you to give me wings.” She held up a hoof to forestall her friend’s response. “But not the butterfly wings you gave me last time. I need real, feather and bone, pegasus wings.”
Twilight’s mouth had been open to assure the fashionista that she could easily grant her request, but now she closed it for a moment. “I… actually don’t know if I can do that.” She furrowed her brow and her horn lit up. Several books floated off of a nearby shelf, bathed in the glow of her magic. Pages flipped rapidly as they approached Twilight, settling on the appropriate chapters. “Give me a minute. Uh, please.”
“Of course, dear. Take your time.” Rarity replied. She scanned one of the shelves for a title she might enjoy perusing for a few minutes, just in case it took Twilight a while to finish her research. However, looking through several shelves yielded only academic texts and dry treatises on historical events. She briefly considered asking the other mare where the books she read for fun were, but she realized that these likely were the books that Twilight read for fun. Rarity settled for looking out the window while she waited. She watched the streets of Ponyville slowly come to life as its denizens awoke. Only the occasional flipping of a page broke the silence.
Minutes passed unheeded while Twilight poured over the tomes before her. She devoured their contents as if she were a pony who had been starving, but had stumbled onto a buffet of the finest delicacies. Page after page fell before her, revealing their secrets and filling small holes in her vast reservoir of knowledge. Eventually, she reached the end of the respective chapters in each book, and all of them closed at once. Her eyes darted around while she put the finishing touches on her plan.
“Okay. I have good news and… news.” Twilight finally looked up to see Rarity staring back at her expectantly. “I can give you regular pegasus wings. It’s… actually much easier than I thought it would be.”
“Oh, Twilight, that’s simply wonderful!” Rarity reared up a bit and clapped her forehooves together giddily. “I cannot even begin to thank you for—”
“But…” Twilight cut across her friend’s excited chatter. “There’s a catch.” She grabbed one of the books again. It flipped back open as it floated up to her, turning back to the appropriate chapter in a flurry of pages. “The combined magical stress of both pegasus wings and your natural horn would be too much for your body to bear.” She scanned a couple paragraphs, then closed the book again. “I’ll have to remove your horn while the spell is in effect. You’ll be a true pegasus.”
“Remove my…” Rarity repeated. She faltered on the last word, unable to force it out of her throat. She took a step back. Her eyes flicked up toward her horn, but she only saw her mane cascading down. “A true pegasus, hmm?” Rarity swallowed nervously. On the one hoof, the prospect of truly being a pegasus and being able to share that part of Rainbow and Fluttershy’s world was exhilarating. On the other hoof, the thought of losing her magic, even temporarily, was absolutely terrifying. “It is temporary though, yes? You’ll be able to change me back, won’t you?” She watched the other mare’s face closely, searching for any signs of nervousness or doubt.
“Of course, Rarity.” Twilight smiled reassuringly. “I wouldn’t even have brought it up if I couldn’t. Now, I’ve never done any sort of spell like this before, so I can’t say with one hundred percent certainty that it will work, but I’m extremely confident that it will.” Her eyes darted around for a bit while she did some mental calculations. “Now, how long it lasts depends on how much power I put into the spell. In theory, it could last for weeks, even months, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable with anything longer than a couple of days.”
“A couple of days…” Rarity mumbled. She began pacing around the room, a number of thoughts flying through her head. “If I were… done with it before the allotted amount of time, would you be able to undo it early?”
“Yes.” Twilight nodded. “Honestly, changing back is foal’s play compared to making the change in the first place. You just have to—” She stopped, realizing that she was about to slip into what Spike had dubbed ‘Lecture Mode.’ “Never mind. Yes, I’ll be able to change you back early.”
Rarity chewed on her lip for a few moments, still fraught with indecision. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Alright. Yes, let’s do it. Is there, uh, anything you need me to do?”
“No. Just… hold still.” Twilight replied. She took her own deep breath and closed her eyes. Her horn lit up and filled the room with a brilliant glow. She wove the spell in her mind, and the magic tugged and pressed along her forehead as it flowed through her horn. She carefully released the pent up energy in Rarity’s direction. The magic enveloped the alabaster mare, and suddenly Twilight could feel the magic pulsing through Rarity’s body. It was a surreal experience. The novel sensation was almost enough to shake Twilight’s concentration, but she refocused herself and pushed ahead.
For her part, Rarity did her best to remain still. She’d felt magic against her skin before, but this was different. This magic penetrated her down to her very core. She tried to keep still as she felt her horn start to recede back into her skull. The alien sensation caused her to cringe and close her eyes, but it faded after a few moments. Unfortunately, it was replaced an instant later by a pair of new sensations on her back. They started out as a pair of itchy points on either side of her spine, but soon they started to push out from her body.
She had no words to describe the feeling of the wings—her wings—growing out of her back. It wasn’t painful, per se, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. It was almost like she was growing an extra pair of legs out of her back, only they were much more flexible than her existing legs. A shiver ran down her spine as a thousand tiny pinpricks all stuck her wings at the same time. She grimaced as her feathers pushed their way out of the margins. A single word came to her to describe the feathers growing out of her wings. Itchy. All other thought were pushed from her mind by the sheer itchiness of her new wings. She wanted nothing more than to reach back and and itch them, but she dared not move while the spell was still working.
After what felt like hours, the magic started to fade. It receded from her legs first, leaving behind a slight tingling in its wake. It shrank into a smaller and smaller area, concentrating into her new wing joints until it faded completely. Rarity was acutely aware of her new wings. They rested against her sides, and the feathers tickled a bit against her coat.
“Well, what do you think?”
Twilight’s question startled Rarity a bit. She’d been lost in the whirlwind of sensations that had accompanied the spell, and she’d forgotten that the other mare was only a few feet away from her. She slowly opened her eyes and craned her neck around to try and look at her new wings. It was odd to see the feathery lumps sticking out from her sides. Her initial thought when she saw them was fear that she’d put on a little extra weight. Despite the sudden—and rather jarring—appearance of two new appendages, they looked as natural as any other set of pegasus wings.
“They’re simply divine, darling.” Rarity finally answered. She tried to extend her wings, but ended up with one pointing straight up while the other headed back toward her tail. She quickly and carefully pulled them back in, though it took her a few tries to get the unruly things settled comfortably at her sides. “But it may take some time to get them under control. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some other matters to take care of before meeting up with Rainbow. Again, thank you ever so much for—Oof!” Her apology was cut short as she ran face first into the bedroom door.
“Oh my gosh. Are you okay, Rarity?” Twilight rushed over to the stunned mare.
“Yes, darling. A slight bump, nothing more.” Rarity responded. She brought a hoof to her nose and rubbed it gingerly. Her eyes moved back to the door, which remained obstinately closed. “I just… forgot that I don’t have magic anymo… for a while.” She studied the door for a moment, refusing to do the sensible thing and ask Twilight to open it. She could hardly have her friend follow her everywhere, after all.
Eventually, she reached up and laid a hoof on the knob, trying her best to grab it. She tried to twist it, but the slippery brass merely slid along the frog of her hoof. There was a slight squeak as her hoof moved along the knob, as if it were laughing at her failure. Not one to give up easily, Rarity reared up and placed both hooves on either side of the knob. She squeezed it between them and twisted her upper body. The doorknob started to slip again, but caught and turned. Smiling triumphantly, she gave a good push and the obstinate door finally moved for her. “As I was saying, thank you again for your help. I really must be going.” Rarity stood aside to let Twilight through first.
“Oh, thank you, Rarity.” Twilight smiled appreciatively. She trotted through the door and headed back downstairs. When she reached the main floor, she saw Applejack and Pinkie standing near the door. “Girls? Where are you going?”
“We gotta get goin’ fer work.” Applejack responded. “Ah’m already a bit late to be gettin’ started on mah chores, and Pinkie’s gotta go help out at Sugarcube Corner.” She noticed Twilight’s expression fall a little and she chuckled. “Don’t worry, sugarcube, Pinkie and Ah talked about it, and we were plannin’ on headin’ back over here after work. If’n that’s okay with you, of course.”
“Sure.” Twilight smiled nervously, and a hint of pink flushed her cheeks. “Well, have good days at work, girls. I’ll see you when you get back, I guess.” The color in her cheeks spread down toward the tip of her nose. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Pinkie and Applejack.
“Oki doki loki! See ya later, Twilight!” Pinkie hopped out the front door, followed shortly by Applejack. Twilight leaned against the door and watched them go. The pair of earth ponies headed down the road together a ways before they both stopped and glanced back at the library. Twilight waved goodbye to them, the blush in her cheeks being replaced by a smile of genuine enthusiasm. Pinkie and Applejack waved back, then the latter turned down a side street and headed off to the farm.
“I really must be going as well, darling. I have to make sure I have something suitable to wear so I can… ahem… 'surprise' Rainbow Dash." Rarity trotted out the door and paused, looking out into the street to see many ponies look in her direction. "Could I perhaps borrow a cloak, darling?" Her eyes flicked up toward her missing horn. “One with a hood would be lovely.”
“Sure. I think I’ve got one in the closet somewhere.” Twilight replied. She headed off toward the hallway closet and rummaged around in it for a bit. A few odds and ends that had been haphazardly tossed inside by a certain assistant during the last bout of spring cleaning fell out. She let out an irritated huff as she watched a ball of yarn bounce down and roll away. She found the dark blue cloak and pulled it out, then headed back over to the door. “Here you go.”
“Thank you darling. I’ll bring it back as soon as I can.” Rarity smiled and held out a hoof. The cloak dropped over her foreleg, and she was presented with yet another problem. She had no idea how to put in on without magic. After studying it for a moment, she grabbed the neckline in her teeth and let the rest fall. She threw her head to the side, trying to drape the cloak over her back, but the garment merely flapped against her side and slid off again. She tried again, whipping her head around as quickly as she could. The cloak landed on her back at an angle, but slid off again as soon as she let go of the bit between her teeth.
Twilight watched her friend struggle for a few moments, then grabbed the cloak in her magic. She went to drape it over her friend, but Rarity sidestepped out from under it.
“I appreciate the thought, darling, but I must figure out how to do these things on my own.” Rarity tried to work a hoof under the crumpled garment to pick it up. She wiggled her hoof under the cloak a bit and lifted it up, only to watch the cloak fall back to the floor in a heap. “Just give me a—” This time, she managed to lift the cloak halfway up before losing her grasp. “Perhaps if I—” She let out a frustrated grunt as the cloak fell to the ground yet again. She glared at the pile of fabric on the ground, silently seething that she could be bested by such a plain garment. “Actually, darling, if it’s not too much trouble…”
Before the other mare could finish speaking, Twilight lifted the cloak in her magic and draped it across Rarity’s back. “None at all, Rarity.” She fastened the clasp around her friend’s neck. “I’m sure that Rainbow and Fluttershy would be more than happy to help you learn how to get around without magic.”
“I sincerely hope so.” Rarity replied. She lifted the hood over her head to conceal her lack of a horn. “Unfortunately, I fear that I will have to fumble through the rest of my preparations without them. Rainbow is at work, and I don’t have time to head out to Fluttershy’s house and recruit her aid. Thank you, darling. Now, I really must be off.” With a parting wave, Rarity headed out of the library and made her way back to her home.