Rainbow's Horn

by Cerulean Swirl

Chapter Eleven

"Okay," said Twilight, and levitated the book out of Rainbow's hooves.

"But Twilight, how are we going to find somepony who is innocent and pure of heart to cry into the remedy? And how do I know that my true self is really me?" asked Rainbow, and Soarin' nodded.

"Well, I've thought about that, actually. When I found this I went to check in my Unnatural Ingridients book and I actually read up on those tears. And I'm pretty sure that if you're truly meant to be a pegasus, then it should turn you back into one." said Twilight, inspecting the book once more.

"Well, what are we waiting fer? We're ready when you are, Twilight." said Applejack, standing.
"What ingridients do you want me to get, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, softly.

"I'll bet I can snag the fresh squeezed strawberry juice for you. It might be hard to do in the rain, but anything to get Rainbow Dash's wings back." said Rarity, reassuringly.

"I can get those flowers you wanted!" said Pinkie, jumping into the air.
"I can help you, if you like." said Soarin'.

"Me too!" said Scootaloo.
"Thanks, everypony." said Twilight.

"The only thing we're missing is the tears, and my book on Unnatural Ingridients said exactly where we got get them. We don't need them now, though, so it's okay." said Twilight, and went into the other room with the open book still levitating with her magic. Everypony followed behind her, leaving Scootaloo and Soarin' to be with Rainbow, who was still in her bed.

"I'm going to help Twilight. Do you want to help too or are you fine resting?" inquired Soarin'.
"I can help, if she needs me." said Rainbow, not really wanting to sit out this time around.

"I'm sure there's something Twilight could use help with. Can you get out of bed?"
"I'm sure I can." said Rainbow, though not really believing herself.

"Come on." said Soarin', invitingly, and urged Rainbow to get out of bed as he walked through the empty doorframe.
Rainbow sat up, with ease this time, feeling more sore and fatigued than pained. She got up out of her bed, feeling pretty good about herself, and slowly walked to the doorframe and out into the other room.

Twilight had already gotten out her giant mixing bowl she had used when she was making Rainbow's healing potion, and the rest of her friends had gathered by the door, awaiting instructions from her.

Rainbow noticed that her studious purple friend had also gotten out several other smaller mixing bowls, and that several mixing spoons stood at attention just nearby that. There were measuring cups as well, and all were neatly set up in an impressive careful array all around the already lit Bunsen burner. This organization didn't surprise the former pegasus in the least, as her purple friend was known for doing this frequently.

Peering at the book once more, Twilight finally gave her orders, casting a friendly glance over at Rainbow.

"Alright, everypony! Let's get Rainbow's wings back!" she said, her voice going just above the soft rain. There was an upbeat chorus of 'yeah's, 'yes'es, and even a 'let's do this!' provided by Soarin'. He went over to join the others in front of the doorway, and in preparation of leaving, Pinkie Pie took this opportunity to open the door wide, letting the metallic smell of rain seep into the library even more.

"Okay! Applejack, I need pure water, enough for four cups, and stat! Fluttershy, I need a bag of sugar, enough for two cups. Pinkie Pie, you can go get me a bag of flour. Rarity, I need a teaspoon of salt, so if you have a saltshaker somewhere close by, that'll be great. Soarin', I'll let you take care of the stick of butter. Be careful, everypony!" said Twilight, finishing the first round of the orders. Everypony nodded, and were just about to go out into the rain, when there was an interruption.

"WAIT!" A small voice piped up from behind Rainbow. Rainbow turned to see none other than Scootaloo, who was looking pretty anxious.

"What is it, Scootaloo?" asked Twilight, over the rain but still kindly.
"I want to help!" was the reply.

"I can watch her." said Soarin', and Scootaloo gave Twilight a hopeful smile. Twilight's eyes raced to her friends poised at the doorway, to Scootaloo, then to Rainbow, before finally giving a short sigh.

"Alright then. Scootaloo, could you get me a teaspoon of vanilla?" asked Twilight, trying to hide the urgency in her voice.
"Yes ma'am!" said Scootaloo, giving a little salute. She galloped over to where Soarin' and the rest were waiting to go. Before Twilight could dismiss them again, another interruption occured.

"Wait!" This time it came from Rarity, who was smoothing down one of her royal purple curls feverishly.

"What is it this time?" asked Twilight, sighing.
"Rainbow, where is that old cloak of yours? I simply cannot get my mane all wet or muddy, I just had it done a few days ago, and I-" She was muffled by something. Before Rarity could even finish her sentence Twilight had it levitating in front of her and was pushing it into Rarity's muzzle.

"Let's go, ya'll!" said Applejack, pulling her hat down slightly over her eyes and throwing her forehooves up and beginning to gallop out into the rain. She was followed by Pinkie Pie, who was followed by Fluttershy, who was followed by Soarin' and Scootaloo. Rarity was the last to leave, unsurprisingly, but she tied Rainbow's cloak around her self hastily, pulled the hood up over her head, struck a pose, and then galloped out into the rain.

A few careful minutes passed, and the door remained empty and the rain kept pitter pattering away. Twilight busied herself with organizing her supplies and double checking the recipe. Rainbow, who hadn't moved from her position just beside the doorframe, went over to where Twilight was.

"Twilight? Can I help get the stuff too?" she asked.

"I would love your help, but I'm not sure there's much you can do now. Unless you can find tears or a specific rose, that is. I wish you had spoken up earlier." replied Twilight, not looking up from her organizing. Though Rainbow hated to admit it, Twilight was correct. She mentally kicked herself for not speaking up when Twilight was giving orders for the normal things.

"Hey ya'll!" said a voice by the door, and both heads nearby snapped up to intercept the visitor. It was none other than Applejack, who was sopping wet yet carried a small also wet paper sack.

"Good job, Applejack!" said Twlight, and levitated the bag out of her soaked friend's hoof. Twilight levitated the sack over to her work station and opened it while Applejack shook herself dry in the entryway. The rain was steadily harder now, and a fresh wave of worry crashed over Rainbow. She didn't want her friends to get hurt, but Applejack seemed unfazed despite being wet. Rainbow turned her attention over to

Twilight, who was lifting a curious and very pretty vial out of the sack. It was medium sized, at least the size of Rainbow's hoof, leaf shaped, and seemed to be made of glass. Even Twilight didn't seem to know exactly what it was, so she didn't pop the cork at the end of the vial. She, along with a stunned Rainbow, carefully looked over to Applejack. What wasn't the farm pony telling them? Seeing their expressions, Applejack shrugged them off.

"That there is fresh rainwater. It's purest when ya get it straight from the clouds." she said, as if everypony knew this fact.
"Um....Applejack? I know I'm the unicorn now here, but....last I checked you don't have any wings." said Rainbow, speaking through her shock.

"Oh, uh...we get it from pegasi....Granny says it helps make the apples bigger..." said Applejack, sheepishly. There was silence while the two unicorns studied the farmer. A slow blush crept onto the farmer's face before she seized her wet ponytail and began wringing water out of it.

"It's the purest water Ah could find!" she protested. There was more silence, and then Twilight broke the ice.

"Okay, then. I guess this will have to do. Are you sure your farm doesn't need this? " she asked, and popped the cork on the vial but held it poised over the large mixing bowl, a measuring cup floating nearby.

"It's fine. Hey, we can always get more, seein' as it's rainin, and all." said Applejack. Twilight shrugged then, and poured some of the water into the awaiting measuring cup. Once it was full she poured the cupful of water into the bowl, making sure not to spill anything, and tipped the vial back over the now empty cup. This cup, when filled, was poured into the bowl, and Twilight levitated the cork up from its resting place and secured it back on the vial. The vial was then placed on the worktable for later use. Rainbow knocked herself out of her shock, finally, and sighed, watching Twilight.

Applejack opened her mouth to say something, but somepony else from the thickening rain came in and almost bumped into the farmer. Then another pony came out, and suddenly the dry entryway wasn't so dry anymore. Two more dripping ponies stood sopping, but both carrying some sort of bag or container.

It was none other than Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, whose manes had flattened on their faces from the water. Pinkie Pie carried a wet brown sack like Applejack's in her mouth, and Fluttershy carried a white bag in hers. Pinkie Pie was still as happy as she ever was, and she bounced further into the library(sending droplets of water everywhere) to where Twilight was, and set the wet bag right down on Twilight's worktable, earning herself a look from Twilight for disrupting all the organization.

Fluttershy, however, lingered in the doorway, before carefully walking over and pushing the white bag onto the edge of the worktable. Both then took places beside Applejack near the wall and away from the entryway, and stood dripping, awaiting further instructions.

"All right, thank you, everypony." said Twilight, and levitated the ingridients brought out of their wet carriers.

"Applejack, could you find me some fresh squeezed strawberry juice at this hour? Enough for one cup. And Pinkie Pie, you said you could get that rose for me. Remember, it's a rose that has seen a harsh winter. Fluttershy, you can stay here for now."

With the fresh round of orders given, Applejack and Pinkie Pie both nodded yes before galloping out into the rain once more. Fluttershy stood by the entryway, not sure of what to do, dripping and panting. Rainbow, seeing Fluttershy's hesitation, caught Fluttershy's eye and motioned for the wet and shy pegasus to come and take a seat by the former pegasus.

Fluttershy looked relieved, and skirted over to where Rainbow was, before finally sitting herself down next to her rainbow friend and sighing quietly. Both of them turned their attention to their purple friend.

Meanwhile, Twilight had a large mixing spoon in her magic possession and had the bag of flour in the air as well, along with the measuring cup she had used earlier. The measuring cup dived into the damp bag of flour and brought out a small mountain in the cup. Twilight levitated the excess flour off the top of the cup and levitated this excess amount back into the bag.

Then, she began stirring the water gently with her magic, while at the same time levitating tiny amounts of flour from the cup into the water, all the while taking multiple peeks at the recipe book. While she stirred, Rainbow heard noise outside, and within seconds three more soaked ponies were standing in the entryway, making little ponds around their hooves.

Rarity was there, levitating a package that was tied up with a red colored ribbon with her magic, though she didn't look very pleased. Rainbow smirked and saw that the cape hadn't really kept the unicorn very dry, even though Rarity had tied it tightly around herself. Scootaloo and Soarin' were there as well, both carrying packages.

Scootaloo held a tiny white sack in her mouth, and Soarin' carried a brown sack like Applejack's and Pinkie's in his mouth. Rarity untied the cloak with her magic, and levitated her package over and on Twilight's worktable, without receiving a glance from her still busy friend.

Scootaloo trotted over to Twilight's worktable as well and set the package down, and Soarin' did the same. Rarity came over to where Fluttershy and Rainbow were and stood to drip dry while Soarin' and Scootaloo found places oppostite and drip dried.

Silence filled the air, and the only noise was the tiny tinkling of Twilight's spoon hitting the bowl's edges. Rainbow watched as Twilight moved onto the second cup of flour, carefully mixing and adding in tiny amounts. She hadn't looked up from her work, but when she heard silence in the room and looked up, she realized that every eye in the room was on her. She kept her stirring going, adding flour, but spoke as well.

"You know, you could all help me, if you want." she said, and felt the tension in the room melt.

"Okay, Twilight. What can we do?" asked Soarin'.
"I'll help." offered Scootaloo.

"I could do something." said Rainbow, and Fluttershy nodded.
"Can anypony get me a towel?" Rarity asked, wringing water out of her not so perfectly quaffed mane. Twilight, still stirring, rolled her eyes and levitated a towel out of the other room. Accepting it with her magic, Rarity then began to towel herself.

"Okay, everypony. Soarin', could you mop up all the water from outside so nopony slips when they come in? Thank you. Scootaloo, I guess you could help Soarin' with cleaning up the water. Rainbow, you and Fluttershy can open these packages and any more that come in and dispose of them. Thank you, everypony!" said Twilight, appreciatively, still adding the remaining bits of flour.

Everypony nodded and sprang into action. Twilight told Soarin' where the mop resided and he went to go get it, returning with two dry rags that Scootaloo could use. Rainbow and Fluttershy trotted over to the packages, the ones unopened and opened, and Rainbow began opening them while Fluttershy picked up the opened ones in her mouth and Twilight pointed to where the wastebasket was.

With the stick of butter, the saltshaker, and bottle of vanilla uncovered, Twilight finally felt that she was getting some work done. She added the final amounts of flour, and levitated the bag of sugar and the neat little vial into the air, opening bothwith her magic. She placed her spoon on the worktable for the time being. She popped the cork of the vial and poured the rest in the bowl, emptying the vial. She set the vial down on her worktable and concentrated once more. Using the same measuring cup she let it dive into the bag of sugar, surfacing with the right amount.

She poured this cup into the bowl, got more, shaved off the excess, and poured that cup in as well. She levitated the bag of sugar down, as well as the measuring cup, and levitated her kitchen timer and spoon into the air, and set the timer to seven minutes exactly with her magic. She began to stir clockwise, setting the timer onto the worktable, it ticking slightly.

Soarin' and Scootaloo were still cleaning up water, and Rainbow and Fluttershy had opened the packages and disposed of the carriers. There was more noise outside, and the final two dripping figures appeared, carrying packages, just as before. Pinkie Pie came first, followed by Applejack, who shut the door, not allowing any more water to come into the library. As they drip dried in the entryway, Soarin' and Scootaloo worked around them, and Fluttershy retrieved the two packages from her dripping friends.

Fluttershy brought the packages over to the worktable, where she and Rainbow opened them, and Rainbow threw the damp containers in the wastebasket. Applejack had brought a plastic bottle filled with a red liquid, which was the strawberry juice, and Pinkie's package contained the delicate rose, whose petals were slightly blackened on the ends.

Twilight continued to stir, carefully watching the timer ticking beside her, and movement in the library gradually stopped. The floor was mopped, and Rarity, whose mane was now suitable enough, offered her towel to Applejack and Pinkie.

Rainbow and Fluttershy sat on the opposite ends of the worktable, watching Twilight, and Soarin' and Scootaloo took places in Rainbow's previous place of rest, just beside the spare bedroom. All awaited instruction, but all were weary from the gallop in the rain.

While she stirred, and making sure she didn't mess up her careful rhythm, Twilight used her hoof to push a smaller mixing bowl toward Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"Okay. Rainbow, Fluttershy, the Bunsen burner is on, and it's pretty hot, so Fluttershy, if you want to step out and have Soarin' try this part, then that's fine. Anyway, I need that stick of butter melted and combined with the teaspoon of salt in this bowl." she said, not looking up from her stirring. Rainbow nodded triumphantly, and even Fluttershy decided to help, even though it was clear she was a bit afraid of getting burned. Twilight continued to stir, watching the timer, and casting glances over everypony in the room.

Rainbow used her hooves to take the wrapping off the stick of butter, and Fluttershy used Twilight's measuring spoons to shake some salt into the teaspoon. Rainbow placed the stick of butter in the bowl, and squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated. She imagined the bowl getting off of the worktable, and carefully over the Bunsen burner.

"Rainbow, are you sure you should be doing that?" asked a nearby voice. Rainbow recognized it instantly as Soarin', but she sighed heavily, chose to ignore her coltfriend, and concentrated more. Somehow, this time when she concentrated, it didn't seem so hard to levitate the bowl. It seemed easier. She opened her eyes, felt the magic pulse through her, and sure enough, light ignited on her horn, just as it had before, and around the bowl. Like an expert, Rainbow levitated the bowl up and over the Bunsen burner, where the butter began to slowly melt.

"That was....pretty easy." said Rainbow, still levitating the bowl.
"It should be! After Scootaloo, a bowl is a snap." said Twilight encouragingly, not looking up from her mixing.

"Good job, Rainbow Dash." said Scootaloo, but Rainbow could still detect worry in her voice.
"You could have just used your hooves." said Soarin', giving Rainbow a concerned look.

"It's fine, Soarin'. That burner is, as I said, pretty hot, so somepony could have burned themselves." said Twilight, casting a glance over at the kitchen timer.

"Okay, if you're sure. Hey, it probably will be the last time you use that magic, anyway. Right, Rainbow?" said Soarin', and Rainbow heard hope pulse through his tone of voice. Rainbow nodded, and let that sink in. Though she was overjoyed at the thought of getting her wings back, she couldn't help but feel a touch sad. It wasn't all that bad, being a unicorn, and Rainbow felt...changed somehow. Like she had more respect for her friends that didn't have wings.

She shoved these thoughts out of her head, however, at the fear of becoming a sap, and concentrated on the now almost completely melted butter. She held the bowl over the burner for a few seconds more, and soon the butter became nothing more than a pool at the bottom.

She levitated the bowl out from over the burner and onto the worktable, where the magic left her horn. Fluttershy added the teaspoon of salt, and Rainbow grabbed another mixing spoon with her mouth and came around the worktable to inspect the recipe and the kitchen timer.

The timer hovered just by five minutes, so Rainbow went around the table again to where the butter bowl, with the spoon still in her mouth, where she stuck the spoon into the bowl, and began to move the spoon round and around, mixing counterclockwise as the recipe instructed.

Twilight glanced up from her stirring to see what Rainbow was doing, and held back a laugh. Her friend did look pretty ridiculous stirring with her mouth, but Twilight didn't object to this at all.

Rainbow was helping, and Twilight figured that if she said anything, it might hurt the former pegasus's feelings. But she did notice that Soarin' and Fluttershy were on the edge of giggles too. Meanwhile, the room around the five ponies was pretty dead.

Pinkie was conked out on the floor again, soft snores coming from her mouth, and Applejack was sitting on the floor again as well, and she looked like she was about to go to sleep again as well. Rarity was no where to be found, but when Twilight looked around more her vision latched onto the white unicorn sitting on the spare bed in the room Rainbow was staying, her eyes sleepy as well. Even Scootaloo looked like she was going to go to sleep.

The only ones truly awake were Fluttershy, Rainbow, Soarin', and herself. Twilight was fatigued, very much so, but she knew she had to get this done. She knew the others were too, but they all seemed pretty keen on helping, Rainbow especially. Before Twilight could think more, the kitchen timer gave a small ping! on the worktable, which signaled Twilight and Rainbow to stop stirring.

They did, and Twilight levitated her spoon down(which was covered in a smooth, sand colored substance), and Rainbow spit the spoon out of her mouth, which landed with a clatter in another corner of the table.

Twilight levitated the other mixing bowl with the butter in it over to where the flour batter was, and poured all of the butter into the larger mixing bowl. She levitated the small bottle of vanilla that Scootaloo brought and her measuring spoons and opened the bottle. She poured a bit of vanilla in the teaspoon, filling it and being careful not to spill, and emptied the teaspoon into the bowl.

She placed the measuring spoons and vanilla on the worktable. Levitating her timer and spoon back into the air, she set the timer for nine and a half minutes, and placed the spoon back in the bowl and the timer back in its place, soft ticks filling the air.

Twilight again began to stir clockwise once more, letting out a pretty big sigh before speaking again. This whole ordeal was tiring her out.

"Rainbow, will you take this cutting board and this crusher and take two of the petals from off of that rose and crush them for me? Soarin', take this bowl and this measuring cup and that strawberry juice and measure two cups into it? Rainbow, when you are done crushing those petals, put them in the bowl with the juice.

"Fluttershy, you can stir counterclockwise for one and a half minutes with this spoon. Everypony got it?" said Twilight, managing a tired smile and levitating all the necessary objects to the right ponies through her stirring.

Everypony, seeing Twilight's fatigue, nodded and smiled, trying to be helpful, and accepted their designated objects. Rainbow took the rose, picked two slightly blackened petals, and put the cutting board on the table. Placing the petals on the board, she put the crusher in the middle of both hooves, and began moving the tool over the petals extra carefully.

Fluttershy took the spoon, and held it in her mouth, ready to stir. Soarin' took the cup, bowl, and strawberry juice and set to work, opening, measuring, and pouring.

For a few long minutes, there was nothing but the sound of the ever thickening rain as the four ponies worked. Scootaloo had passed out on the floor beside Soarin's hooves, and Twilight yawned, still stirring and taking glances at the kitchen timer.

Rainbow finished crushing the petals, and put the tool back on the worktable. She picked up the cutting board and tried not to get the crushed petals everywhere and turned the board upside down over Soarin's juice bowl. He moved out of the way so that Fluttershy could move to where the timer was ticking inspect the time. It had been six minutes so far, so she returned to her place and they all sat to watch Twilight.

There was more stirring, more sounds of rain, and Fluttershy gave a soft and delicate yawn. Twilight continued to stir. Rainbow sat on the floor and resisted the urge to put her head on the table. She didn't know how she had gotten this tired, but it had hit her like a boulder.

When a little more time passed, Fluttershy went over to the timer once more and inspected the time. It had now been eight and a half minutes, and Fluttershy went over to her bowl, got the spoon from its resting place, stuck the spoon in it's place, and began to stir counterclockwise.

A soft ping! sounded through the room once again, and Twilight and Fluttershy stopped stirring, almost at the same time. Twilight checked the recipe, and levitated the strawberry/rose petal up and over Fluttershy's head and lifted her timer and spoon once more. She tipped the bowl and let the juice and petals fall into the original mixture, the smell of sugar, butter, and strawberries filling the surrounding area.

Twilight set the timer for three minutes, and set the spoon back into the bowl and once again began to stir clockwise. She gave a cough, and yawned, and then turned to Rainbow.

"Rainbow, could I have one of your hairs, please?" she said, casting a glance at the timer.

"Sure thing, Twilight." said Rainbow, and reached a cyan colored hoof to her forehead, dodging the unicorn horn. With one swift movement, she grabbed a single orange-red hair from her head and yanked. It came off, as expected, and a little prickle of pain played on Rainbow's head.

She put the hair on the worktable, and used her hoof to push it near Twilight. She went around the table and to the book to see how much longer they had until she got her wings back. Anxiety was beginning to bloom more fiercely in her chest now, and her eyes raced along the words until she caught a blemish.

"Uh....Twilight? I have a question." she asked, just as a soft ping! filled the air.
Meanwhile, the purple unicorn was setting her timer again, and levitating Rainbow's hair into the mixture and continuing to stir clockwise.

"What is it?" asked Twilight, not looking from her mixing.
"Where do we get tears from one who is innocent and is pure of heart?" demanded Rainbow.

"Way ahead of you, Rainbow. Now is the time to show you that passage I was talking about." said Twilight, not looking up from her stirring but using her magic to levitate a rather small and emerald colored book from her desk. Flipping it open, she levitated it over to Rainbow, who caught it in her hooves. Fluttershy and Soarin' looked on casually as well, intrigued.

---

TEARS IN POTIONS AND REMEDIES:
Tears of:
-One who is innocent and pure of heart: It is said that the tears of one who is innocent and pure of heart will cure any illnesses and will blot out all mistake or evil. One who is innocent and pure of heart can usually be one of the following: a very young filly, a stallion who has seen true beauty, a mare who is kind to ALL around her, a mare who has never seen death, or one who has never lost hope. Be warned, if one is not innocent and pure of heart, the tears will reverse their effects. Be careful of which remedy/potion you use these tears in. The tears' magic is so intricate that one must be extra cautious.

---

"So who is this?" asked Rainbow. Checking the time, Twilight nodded toward none other than Fluttershy, and continued stirring.

"Fluttershy?" asked Soarin' and Rainbow together, and their eyes trained on the butter yellow pegasus.
"Me?" asked the pegasus softly, her face filling with shock and replacing the fatigue that had been resting there.

"Oh yeah. That makes sense, considering Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness and all." nodded Rainbow. Fluttershy gave Rainbow an unsure look, but Twilight nodded at Rainbow, indicating she was correct.

"Yes. And Fluttershy, we don't have much time left, so I need you to cry." said Twilight, looking up from her stirring for a bit.
"Cry?" asked the pegasus softly still.

"But....Twilight, I'm not very sad now. And I'm not sure I fit what you're talking about..."
"Fluttershy, we-"

"I have an idea, Twilight." said Soarin', interrupting, and Twilight nodded in his direction, checking the time frantically.
"What are you-" Rainbow began to say, but Soarin' shushed her.

"I hate to do this to you, Fluttershy. I just want to say I'm really sorry in advance." he said, apologetically to a confused Fluttershy. In one swift move, he grabbed the saltshaker, shook a miniscule amount of it on his hoof, and carefully placed a grain in Fluttershy's eye.

"Ow!" she yelped, and Rainbow and Twilight got strange looks on their faces. Twilight's was more horrified with shock, and Rainbow's centered around shock and confusion. Fluttershy's hooves flew to her eyes, and she squeezed her eyes tightly, still yelping softly. Rainbow and Twilight tossed angry looks at Soarin', but he nodded at Fluttershy's shut eyes, and sure enough, tears had began to pool under each. A soft ping sounded, and Twilight sighed heavily, and through her anger and shock, she levitated the bowl close to where Fluttershy was holding her eye in pain.

Tears escaped from both closed eyes and from under both hooves, and tears splattered out and into the mixture. Though two ponies were angry and one felt guilty, they both saw what the one couldn't. The tears were scattered, but when they hit the mixture, the mixture's color began to change from a sandy pink from a rich and delicate indigo.

It was fully indigo now, yet Fluttershy was still crying softly, Twilight and Rainbow had come around the table and had began comforting her. Soarin' went over to the icebox, opened it, got a hoofful of ice cubes, and brought them over to Fluttershy.

"Here you go, Fluttershy. A little bit of that should wash your eye out. I'm really sorry, Fluttershy, but...at least the mixture is done now. Rainbow should be ready to eat it pretty soon." he said, and Fluttershy accepted the ice cubes.

"Are you okay, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight and Rainbow, almost in sync. The pegasus sniffed, wiped her face, and brought a cube up to her eye.

"I'm fine. As long as Rainbow gets her wings back, I'll be perfectly okay." she said, and gave a watery smile before turning to Soarin'.

"It's okay, Soarin'."
After a few moments of rain filled silence passed before Twilight broke the ice.

"Well, that was....interesting. But now that the remedy is finished, we have to chill it for eight minutes." said Twilight, fatigue once again resting in her voice. Rainbow and Soarin' now comforted Fluttershy, and Twilight levitated the now indigo mixture off the table, and went over to the icebox. She opened the door with her magic and set the bowl inside. She shut the door to the icebox and sat on the floor, levitating her timer off its resting place and setting it to eight minutes exactly.

A few minutes passed, and Fluttershy removed the ice from her eye and blinked normally. There was a collective sigh that reasonated through the room as all the remaining awake ponies listened to the thickening storm. Twilight looked close to collapsing, and Rainbow looked longingly at all her sleeping friends.

She still didn't know how long she had been out after the Celebration, and even though it was still in the morning, she felt pretty tired. Soarin' apologized once more to Fluttershy, and sat on the floor. Fluttershy, who was already sitting, sighed heavily and yawned. Rainbow sat beside Soarin', and peace resumed. Rainbow lay her horn-clad head on Soarin's shoulder, and felt her eyes slowly closing.

A soft ping woke everypony up again, and Twilight was up and ready, opening the icebox and taking the bowl out and setting it on the worktable. She unplugged the Bunsen burner, and set the bowl to cool, once again lifting her timer into the air and setting it to two minutes. She double checked the book again, before closing it triumphantly. She got out a clean eating spoon from the cabinet and set it beside the cooling mixture.

Anxiety bloomed in Rainbow's chest again, more fiery and more persistent than ever before. She jumped up from her place beside Soarin' and went over to the timer, watching the time tick by, obsessively. Never before had she wanted something this badly before. She felt like she eaten a cinder block, and she was given a chance to get that block taken out of her. A waterfall of hope and excitement crashed over her, and she began tapping her hoof as the minutes ticked down.

Her excitement alone was enough to feed off of, and Fluttershy stood up, along with Soarin' and Twilight. They were all excited as well, and when the soft ping sounded through the air, Rainbow ignited her horn, and felt the anxiety and hope funnel into creating more magic. She lifted the spoon up, and let it fall into the bowl. She took out one spoonful, ready to eat, but then hesitated.

"Go on." said Twilight, encouragingly. Soarin' and Fluttershy nodded and smiled. So Rainbow did. She put the spoon in her mouth and let the sweet, buttery, and battery taste glide over her tongue.

Like the healing potion, the remedy had a few stages of taste. The first stage was sweet like the sugar and thick like the flour. She put more in her mouth, tasting the butter and salt, and looked down and realized that she was already halfway done. She persisted, seeing the image of her wings fly through her brain.

The halfway stage was bitter and sour, and tasted like she was eating somepony's hate. She ate more quickly here, to avoid tasting the bitterness for too long.

The last stage, and with the final bites, was the most unique and interesting taste Rainbow had ever tasted. It was light and sweet, like she was eating air. It was buttery but not too heavy, and it was a touch sour, but nothing too severe. It was the best thing she had ever tasted, and she wanted to eat it now and forever, but that was not to be.

The second that she put the last spoonful in her mouth, and took the empty spoon out again, her figure and her figure alone exploded in light, illuminating everything in the room.

Everypony who was still awake shielded their eyes, the light being brighter than any sunlight they had ever been under. Everypony who wasn't awake awoke instantly with the sudden increase of light, and all eyes opened. From the outside, all the library's windows were illuminated with this brilliant white light, but only for a second.

Rainbow couldn't see anything either. Everything was blocked out by the light, and all around her was quiet. A mysterious wind came from nowhere, and everywhere she looked she saw white sparkles. The white sparkles appeared all around Rainbow's hooves, and shock and fear shot through her. The sparkles lifted her up into the air, slowly, and adrenaline that hadn't been there for weeks surged through her. She recognized this feeling, and it felt better than anything. The sparkles that had lifted her kept her there, and began to slowly swirl around her hooves, slowly progressing up her body.

"What's going-" Rainbow began to say, but the sparkles were moving more quickly now. Beyond them, she could barely make out her hooves, but they too were glowing in brilliant white light. Soon, they were up to her chest, and once they passed over her body, she felt a strange sensation where her wings used to be. Like a million miniature needles were pricking her skin. It didn't really hurt, but it didn't really tickle, either. Before Rainbow could do anything, the magic was up to her neck, and she closed her eyes tightly and felt the warm sensation of it passing over her. It kept moving, and when it reached her horn, she felt a huge and painful sensation, like somepony was actually taking the horn and pulling it off her head.

She opened her eyes in shock and pain, and when she did, she couldn't see her body anymore. All she saw was glowing white light. She felt something slowly trickle off her forehead, and when she looked up to see what it was, she realized it was her deep magenta colored magic, and it flowed off of her forehead and it was made some sort of image in front of her. She squinted, and realized it was a lightning bolt, the same one on her Element of Harmony necklace.

But before she could squint at it more, the place she was hovering in was filled with a bright and immense magenta colored light, probably from the lightning bolt in front of her, and it was so bright that she closed her eyes, the adrenaline still pulsing through her.

Comments

[Cynderfall]

But Fluttershy cares for animals for a living. Of course she will have seen death during her lifetime. It's part of nature.

[Bronydragon]

Another cliffhanger. Oh you.
Well. Chapter was good again and I can't await the outcome of it.

Dragon

[Cerulean Voice]

4636156
True, but I believe Swirlie is using Harry Potter/Thestrals logic here. It would have to be the death of another pony.

Interesting that you used Fluttershy's tears. I was completely expecting Scootaloo to be the supplier.
Your descriptions of the taste stages of the mixture were really cool

[nukestar]

Alicorn Dash?