Feeling Small
Six hours was all Twilight got. Six hours before Rarity pranced down the stairs—all bright eyed and bushy tailed—and caught her smack dab in the middle of working out ever more problems with her plan; apparently Rarity needed less sleep than she would have thought. So deep had she been in concentration, that the first indication she got of somepony else being in the room was Rarity clucking her tongue, followed by a set of giggles that made her blush despite herself. After that, all trying to dissolve her research into thin air accomplished was to make Rarity step forward to stop her.
“Darling....Darling, stop.” A white hoof came to rest on her back and she needn’t turn around to see Rarity’s sympathetic smile, which caused an even redder blush. “I apologise for laughing. It was just... I was caught unaware by the disappointments you must have faced, having gone through this many plans.”
Rather than removing every one of her schematics and notes, Twilight ended up discreetly removing the ‘#1763’ from the blackboard, whilst Rarity looked over the rest of it with a bemused smile. “What’re you doing up, Rarity? It’s not even...” Twilight trailed off when she looked over to the window and saw that dawn had, in fact, broken some time ago. “I guess you’ll need me to model for you again?” she asked with resignation.
“No need, darling, I think it is rathe—”
“I might as well,” Twilight cut her off, getting up and lifting up the eraser with her magic. “It’s not like I was getting anywhere with it anyway.”
Two hooves placed themselves on her chest and a potent, though significantly weaker magical force pushed back against the eraser. Rarity reared up to try and look her in the eyes and frowned at her. “Don’t you dare give up now, Twilight Sparkle. You could only have gotten this far through determination, and you owe it to yourself, and me, to see it through to the end.”
Twilight’s confusion must have been enough to inform even the most superficial pony of her state of mind, but she asked anyway. “Why would I owe it to you?”
Rarity smirked victoriously. “Because I am going to help you, darling.” She lowered herself to all fours and refocused her attentions on the three dozen papers and the blackboard. “And because, this is a romance straight out of one of my romance novels. I won’t have your sadness taint my view of something that is supposed to end happily. It would be the worst. Possible. Thing.”
Even without any of Rarity’s normal dramatization, Twilight could hear the gravity in her voice and nodded her assent, albeit hesitantly. “Okay, I guess. The plan I came up with only had a twenty-three percent chance of succeeding anyway. What should I do?”
“Well—” Rarity rubbed her hooves together and looked around with a sense of glee that was unnerving. Twilight wasn’t sure if she was entirely comfortable with the fact that her love life was being giggled over. “—First, I’ll need you to get back up on the designing podium...”
A groan escaped her before she could hold it back, but Twilight nevertheless dutifully walked over to the platform she had spent so much time on in the last couple of days. With a sigh, she planted herself on the stage and tried not to let the heavy feeling that had settled on her heart affect her mood. At least Rarity will have a good time playing matchmaker, she thought with a wan smile. She was all but convinced that Rarity’s eagerness would amount to little more than she could come up with herself; but then, her own ideas had gotten her nowhere. She comforted herself with the thought. She had given it all she had, and if that wasn’t good enough for Celestia, then at least she could make Rarity happy by letting her play at being a matchmaker..
“Alright then! I already have an idea for something that will positively sweep Celestia off her hooves when she sees you in it,” Rarity told her, already busily making dozens of dress parts swirl around the room.
Twilight found that her smile came easily, even if it wasn’t as happy as she might have wanted. “I’m sure it will be great, Rarity. You’re the best.”
“Just hold still, darling. This is going to pinch a little.”
Celestia was having a hard time staying calm. Spending an entire night debating with her younger sister, and subsequently flying to Ponyville under her own power was taxing enough. Worse was the fact that she still hadn't found a satisfying answer. While the stamina of a full grown alicorn was more than ten times that of even the hardiest earth pony, even they had their limits, and Celestia was swiftly closing in on hers.
"Sister. You cannot. You must not."
Celestia sighed and looked at her younger sister, who had landed just a few paces behind her. If only Luna had supported her a little more. "So neither of us should ever allow ourselves to be truly happy ever again, Luna?"
"No!... Yes." Luna snorted in agitation. "I do not know. What am I supposed to do if she is the one to break your heart? I feel weak enough as is, and even if I felt fine, I could never beat you."
Celestia folded her ears back and sighed again. "Twilight isn't like that, Lulu. You know that she—"
"—That's what I thought about... him as well," Luna cut her off with a piercing look. "Right up until the point he stuck a dagger in my chest." Her anger disappeared as suddenly as it had formed, and her voice quavered when she asked, "please, sister. Forget about this fool’s errand. Let us go back to the castle and—"
Celestia shook her head. “Enough, Luna. Even without all of this, Twilight still needs my—” she glanced over at Luna meaningfully. “—our help.” She draped a wing over her sister’s withers and smiled encouragingly. “It’s not as though I plan to pounce her the moment we set hoof inside the library... but I want a chance to determine of how I feel.”
“How you feel?” Luna looked at her incredulously. “From the passion with which you argued, I could have sworn that you were all but certain.”
For the first time since she had stumbled into Luna’s room and blurted out what was on her mind, Celestia found a real smile. “I know. I think I am, but...” she trailed off and looked around, noticing that a small crowd was gathering around them. The sisters had landed close to the fountain and without guards to keep the crowd in check, ponies would quickly come up to them if they did not move quickly. “You’ll see once we’re there,” she said eventually. “Now let’s get inside before we draw even more attention to ourselves.”
With a good natured smile and a wave at the gathering ponies, both princesses stepped forward and Celestia lifted a hoof to knock.
The door opened before she could, and once more, her breath was taken away by the sight in front of her. Sure enough, even without embellishments, Twilight’s long shapely legs, and curves would draw the eyes of any mare or stallion that possessed them, but today, they were accentuated by an off-white satin dress that looked to be two sizes too small.
The dress fit snugly around Twilight’s barrel and—while it must have been at least somewhat uncomfortable to wear—accentuated the soft curves of her flank and neck, making them even more pronounced. Somepony had apparently attempted to do something with her hair as well if the fluttering ribbon that uselessly followed the ebb and flow of Twilight’s mane was any indication.
Despite having promised herself not to stare, it took Celestia a moment to tear her eyes away from all the candy and look into Twilight’s own. Her former student was smiling softly, and looked a lot more at ease than she had the previous day, which lasted for all of three seconds.
“Oh no. No! This isn’t fair!” Luna, apparently having had a similar reaction to Twilight’s appearance as Celestia had, stepped past her sister and circled Twilight with an irritated look. “Who are you, and what have you done with the adorkable—”
“That isn’t a real word, Luna.”
“Fie on your logic! We hereby declare it to be!” Luna yelled irritably, poking and prodding Twilight from every which direction. “Do you have any idea how many moonrises I have been witness to, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight mutely shook her head, her smile replaced by an anxious look of concern.
“Millions, many millions!” Luna waved a foreleg around for emphasis. “And here you are, less than a fraction of my lifetime old, and already... beautiful.” The final word came out as a stage whisper and the brief look she spared for her sister told Celestia that she understood her reasons for arguing much better. “Just look at you, you’re all legs, and flank, and those wings... isn’t it uncomfortable having them underneath the dress like that?”
Twilight smiled weakly. “Only a little, Rarity made sure there was a little extra room for them.”
Luna snorted softly but Celestia cut her off before the upcoming and undoubtedly scathing reply. “It looks lovely, Twilight,” she commented with a smile. “But I do believe we have work to do if we want to find a counterspell.”
With more than a hint of trepidation, Twilight watched not just Celestia but both princesses enter her humble home. It wasn’t what she had prepared for; Rarity’s plan of seducing Celestia felt awkward enough without her sister being there in the room. After a glance at her unicorn friend, however, she steeled herself and smiled in what she hoped was a seductive manner. She’d already accepted that it wouldn’t work out, hadn’t she? There was nothing left to lose — and everything to gain.
“Well, first could you help me out of this dress?” She fluttered her eyelashes like Rarity had shown her and felt a small surge of excitement—or maybe panic—when both princesses looked at her. She gulped and stumbled of the rest of the sentence. “It... it’ll get in the way when we... uhm...” Oh stars I sound like Fluttershy... “When we research.... the spell... together...” She didn’t need to turn around to imagine Rarity’s sub-vocal groan and facehoof but nevertheless tried to keep a smile on her face as best she could. Luna opened and closed her mouth several times, looking increasingly agitated while Celestia merely looked perplexed. Twilight finally let her smile fade, despite herself she had been hoping for at least some form of reaction from Celestia. “Or I could just... I could go and... do it myself,” she said quickly, lighting up her horn and vanishing in a flash of light.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Twilight wanted to be angry, at Celestia, at Luna, at Rarity... but most of all at herself. You knew this was going to happen. Why did you expect anything else? Especially that delivery... it violated at least seven different rules in ‘The Beginner’s Guide to Romantics’ She let out a choked sob. Telling herself that she would have no more expectations and actually having no more expectations were apparently two completely different things.
Her eyes drifted to the mirror where she found the same fully grown alicorn that had been staring back at her for the last couple of weeks; the only difference being the satin dress that tightened against her neck every time she moved. With a frustrated grunt, she grabbed the closest part of the dress between her teeth and pulled. Tearing the dress to pieces was almost effortless, and would no doubt earn her Rarity’s ire somewhere down the line. Right now, however, she simply wanted to get rid of anything that could be associated with her enduring infatuation; especially if she had to spent the rest of the day with the princesses to find a way to reverse the spell.
She doubted that Rarity would give up so easily, she had made clear that there were a thousand and one ways to seduce somepony, after all. However, Twilight doubted that even she had foreseen the spectacular way in which she would bungle the first, and more than likely, any subsequent attempt at being seductive. No more. She wasn’t going to delude herself into thinking she was something she wasn’t any longer; or that she could get things other ponies couldn’t. From this point forward she would simply be Twilight Sparkle; the bookish, awkward, not-so-sociable, alicorn.
The pieces of the dress were picked up by her magic and incinerated before the ashes flew out the window. Twilight was going to go downstairs, figure out a way to reverse the spell that had made her into this... thing she kept seeing in the mirror, and work the princesses out of her home as quickly as she could. Her mourning romantic side could stay right here, in her room, where nopony but her would see it.
She sat down in front of the mirror and inexpertly removed the make-up Rarity had so carefully applied, reasoning that it no longer served a purpose. Without a doubt it made her look less pretty and would further destroy any chance she could have had, but she no longer cared. Once she was done, she made her way back down the stairs to find Celestia sitting at the table, alone.
“So...” Twilight said when she reached the bottom of the stairs, trying to inject some cheer into her voice. “I guess we should start as soon as possible. Equestria can’t go without its princess for long, after all.” With a flick of her horn, all of the books relevant to her ‘affliction’ floated from the shelves and onto the table in front of the pony she admired above all. She swallowed something that stubbornly stuck in her throat. Only a few more hours...
Celestia gave her a strange look. “Twilight? What happened to your—”
“Nothing, I just took it off. I don’t know what I was thinking, wearing something like that. It’s not like me.” Twilight shrugged halfheartedly before opening the book closest to her and leafing through it. “I think that the best way to reverse the spell is to apply Starswirl’s inversion matrix and then redress any inconsistencies with a point by point redistribution.”
Twilight picked up steam, quickly levitating several books and reading through relevant sections while letting an unending stream of information pass over her lips, completely unaware—or at least, seemingly unaware—of the fact that Celestia hadn’t opened the book that landed in front of her yet. Instead, she regarded her student thoughtfully.
Physical attraction was undeniably a part of what she felt, a big part, which was exactly what worried her. Even if Rarity was right—and Celestia was more and more convinced that she was—it wouldn’t be fair to desire Twilight only for her looks. On the other hoof, Twilight’s clumsily delivered seduction line and subsequent stammering, made her heart go out to her former student in ways that went far beyond simple attraction.
She put the thoughts aside and tried to absorb every bit of information Twilight was spouting at her. Perhaps she could gain some perspective on her own thoughts once the spell had been reversed and Twilight went back to being the young mare she was used to.
As time went on, Twilight’s fountain of words slowly dried up, and they worked in a relative silence just long enough for it to become uncomfortable. Right up until the moment the kitchen door slammed open and Rarity marched out, followed closely by Luna. “Even if that is true, you do not have the right to decide for them!”
Luna raised herself up to every inch of her regal height, looking down at Rarity and declaring: “I am trying to prevent a catastrophe!”
“Oh yes, two ponies might be happier with their lives than you are with yours. What an absolute disaster!” Rarity huffed and turned to Twilight, stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed something missing. “Darling, what did you—”
Twilight simply shook her head which was apparently all Rarity needed to continue her tirade against Luna.
“It seems like very little of your ‘intervention’ was even needed. I hope you’re happy.”
Rarity huffed at Luna, shot a frustrated and disappointed glace to Celestia and then told Twilight: “My parents have come back from Neighagra falls and I was going to bring Sweetie Belle there so she can stay with them over the coming week, do you want me to take Spike along so you can work in peace and quiet?”
Another dirty glance went flying in Luna’s direction but when Rarity turned back to her Twilight smiled wanly and nodded. Rarity’s eyes softened into a look of understanding and compassion, and she embraced Twilight tightly around the neck. “I’m terribly sorry, darling,” she whispered before letting go and marching off towards the room that held the two youngsters, without another word to either princess.
After a brief interruption during which they said goodbye to Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Spike, all three alicorns focused on the singular task of undoing the aging spell. At least, that was what should have happened, but every single one of them was distracted by their own thoughts, as well as the proximity of the other two. Luna kept watching her sister and Twilight intermittently, trying to stay ahead of a decision she was sure her sister would regret. Celestia was making the most progress out of the three of them, but even she was distracted; trying to untangle the web of conflicting emotions and thoughts that all centered around her student, while also having to deal with her sister's interference.
For Twilight, it was pure misery. Every minute that passed made her wish she had discovered a solution before the princesses became involved, as being this close to Celestia and knowing she had given up, hurt. Despite her best attempts at dilligence, she found herself having to read most every section in the books twice or even three times. Whether it was due to the spell, some form of exhaustion that only affected her mind, or simply her emotions regarding Celestia remained unclear. Every time she looked up to see Luna staring at her—or worse, Celestia not staring at her—however, another emotional dagger planted itself in her chest and the words she would otherwise have remembered clearly before that came tumbling out of her head.
Nevertheless, there was only so much reference material on wild magic available, which they, despite their shared absentmindedness, worked through in a matter of hours. By the time the sun was due to set, Luna’d had enough. “This is pointless!” she growled, snapping the book held in her magic shut before tossing it over her shoulder.
“I agree that it can be a little tedious, Luna, but it’s hardly pointless,” Celestia replied, placing a bookmark in the tome she had been perusing before closing it and putting it down in front of her. “Though I’ll admit that I could use a break.” She got up and stretched each of her legs in turn, followed by her wings, before looking at Twilight for the first time in hours. “Did you find anything, Twilight?”
Twilight did not respond immediately, having buried her attention deep within the two books floating in front of her. The books were almost identical in most cases, each having been written by one half of a twin. Even the somewhat remarkable insight into spell consequences were mired in difficulties due to their shorthand which often required the other book to translate. Somewhere along the way she had decided that simply looking at them side by side was the most efficient way of going about it, with the added benefit of requiring enough of her attention that she hadn’t any left for thoughts on the princess.
“Twilight?”
Only after a soft prod from a gold-shod hoof did she move, blinking languidly while her mind returned from the depths of magical theory. “Hmmm?” Looking straight into Celestia’s eyes— especially from this close— set her cheeks alight, but fortunately for her, also temporarily put her vocal cords out of use.
“Did you find anything useful?”
Twilight shook her head slowly. “N-no. I mean... it’s interesting to see how many spells twins can botch while working together, but I wouldn’t exactly call it useful.” She looked around for something else to focus on, but her eyes kept going back to the mare in front of her.
“Like I said. Pointless."
Celestia smiled at Twilight and exaggerated rolling her eyes before turning to her sister. “And what do you suggest we do, Luna?”
Luna let out a short laugh and pointed at Twilight with a hoof. “What we should have done all along, sister: examine her, and find out what the problem is at the source instead of wasting time with reference guides.”
A thrill that uniquely blended anxiety and excitement together, ran along Twilight's spine, making her shiver. The idea of having Celestia examine her up close made all manner of naughty images play out in her mind. Unfortunately, they only lasted for the few split seconds it took for her to see how Celestia would respond.
The princess did not look happy. In fact, she looked like she had just swallowed a particularly sour lemon but was too polite to spit it out anywhere. Like the idea of being that close was repulsive somehow. It turned all the images in Twillight's mind into twisted mockeries of themselves; where the princess either did not want to get near her, or judged her to be less than nothing when she did.
“Of course," Luna continued idly. "If that makes you uncomfortable, I could always do it alone.”
“No.” Celestia took a deep breath. “We can't risk missing anything when it comes to Twilight's well being, and you were never patient enough when it comes to thorough examinations."
Luna bristled walking up to Celestia until they were nose to nose. "Art thou suggesting that we are incapable of handling this?"
"What if I am?" Celestia returned her sister's fiery gaze and Twilight could swear she saw sparks flying between them. Her library had never been the biggest of places, but it felt even smaller now that it contained two angry alicorns.
"Thou art the one ignoring our warnings!"
"And thou art more concerned with thyself than others, as ever!"
Twilight was perplexed. Never in her entire life had she heard Celestia use the same old equestrian that Luna slipped into whenever a situation became stressful. It felt surreal. Almost as much so as seeing the two princesses bicker in the first place.She became aware that things had fallen silent and looked up to see Luna stare blankly at her sister.
Celestia bit her lip and shook her head softly. "That was uncalled for. You are trying to think of everypony and it's me who's being selfish." She let out a deep sigh and bowed lightly in apology. "Please forgive me, Lulu."
"Nay." Luna leaned forward and ran her horn along Celestia's, culminating in a comforting nuzzle between the both of them. "Thou— you... were right. A little, at the least. There is nothing to forgive."
With a grateful smile, Celestia leaned into the nuzzle a little further before pulling back and asking: "Alright then, shall we get started?"
Twilight's fascination in seeing the two most powerful ponies in the world argue, cost her dearly. With only a vague idea of what had transpired, she was woefully unprepared for the pair of downright lecherous smiles aimed at her while Luna simply replied with: "Let's."
She involuntarily took a step back "P-princess? What is—"
"If we are to find out how to return you to your adorkable self, we need to know what exactly happened in the first place, Twilight Sparkle," Luna replied whilst stepping closer with a salacious sway in her hips that made Twilight back up a little more. At least, until her rump hit a bookcase.
"Don't worry, Twilight." Celestia's voice was much more controlled and her gentle smile was enough to make Twilight believe that she had imagined the lecherous one from before. "It's merely a close inspection that will tell us what kind of magic caused your growth." The explanation helped. It calmed Twilight down enough that only her wings twitched nervously when Celestia, too, stepped forward.
Having not one but two princesses press themselves against her sides was an experience that had only happened once before, and only in her naughtiest dreams. Of course, in her dreams the were on a big bed made of clouds, and doing a whole lot more than just some gentle nuzzling. Her fantasies certainly didn't include a shot of pain traveling up through her wing for which Celestia apologised, but even though she felt a stab of pain and longing every time her princess closed the distance, she also reveled in the attention.
Celestia's troubles were of a different kind. Perusing the different reference guides had been a safe way to help Twilight, while maintaining a modicum of distance. And then Luna had gone and ruined everything by suggesting they inspect Twilight up close; made only more aggravating by the fact that she was right. They needed to know the magical makeup of the spell in order to create an effective counter-spell, even if it meant getting up close and very personal.
There was nothing inherently untoward about it, of course, but while Luna’s fears were not her own, and Rarity had taken away her fear of losing Twilight to the passage of time; her rational mind had lost control of her emotions. She prayed that neither of them heard the shuddering breath she took while running her muzzle through Twilight’s coat, committing to memory the smell and texture of the first pony she had allowed herself to love in over a millenium. The tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her that she had a task to do did not go unheeded, however, and ever the paragon of restraint, she reigned in the desire to simply do away with any sense of propriety and claim Twilight as her own. Not giving in was a gargantuan effort, but she managed it all the same. Still, when presented with such a golden opportunity, it would almost be criminal not indulge a little, wouldn't it?
So indulge she did, running her muzzle along Twilight's under the pretense of inspecting her horn; catching herself nipping at one or two primary feathers, which she explained as simply helping her student preen a little while she had the chance; giving her flank an appreciative twice over...
She was rudely—and magically—pulled away from her 'inspection' by Luna who appeared at her side, horn alight with the energies that pulled Celestia away from Twilight. "I think we have seen all we need to see, haven't we, sister?" She exclaimed loudly.
Celestia's first impulse was to break her sister's magical hold and continue with her inspection, but she quelled it and called herself to task once more. She had seen all she needed to and the way Twilight was fidgeting made it clear that she wasn't having as great a time as Celestia was. Right now, getting her back to her 'adorkable self' as Luna had put it, was a priority. "Yes," she replied belatedly, kicking herself mentally for not sparing a thought to Twilight's apparent discomfort.
“Y-you have?” “You have?”
Hearing the same disbelieving question come from both mares made Celestia smile, even if it did mean that Luna took every opportunity to undermine the possibility of a relationship. “Yes.” She softly pushed Luna aside and turned to Twilight. “Aging spells generally aren’t attempted by anypony but the most experienced of sages, and with good reason.” She indicated Twilight with a foreleg. “Had the spell hit anypony but you, they would have been... well...”
“Dead.” Twilight nodded. “I know.”
Celestia smiled. “Exactly. But while it means that it’s hard to find a precedent, it is essentially no different from any other incomplete magic. Reversing what was cast should return you to normal, although—”
Twilight was no longer listening. She lit up her horn, drawing the patterns and runes she had been over so many times in the last couple of weeks from memory, weaving together the aging spell. From what she had managed to deduce from Sweetie Belle’s, admittedly sketchy, retelling of the way she had gone about casting the spell, it should be easy to reverse engineer it.
Part of her eagerness was due to her annoyance at bumping into cupboards, and crushing things she didn’t mean to with her magic. More than that, however, it was the lingering feeling of Celestia’s lips on her plumage, and so tantalizingly close to her lips. It felt like her heart was tearing itself asunder, splitting under the pain of being forced to watch the love of her life get as close to her as she had, without being able to do anything about it.
That’s manure and you know it. All you’d had to do was kiss her. Heck, you could kiss her right now.
She smothered the thought. Locking it up in a safe before throwing away the key, and burying it in the deepest parts of her mind where only half-forgotten childhood heroes dared venture. It hurt too much. The princesses needed to leave as soon as possible, and the finishing the counterspell was the quickest way to achieve that. All she had to do was take out one of two components that the spell usually required for successful casting and...
A powerful magic slammed into her own, violently shaking the spell construction apart and leaving her with a massive headache. She recoiled, falling off of her chair and clutching a hoof to her head. With eyes squeezed into tiny slits, she looked around in bewilderment, searching for her would be attacker. The only ponies she found were an equally bewildered Luna and a disapproving—no, angry Princess Celestia.
Even while angry, the princess somehow managed to remain graceful. Her mane billowed a tinge more erratically, but her tone was still smooth, albeit with an undertone of repressed frustration. "How many times have I told you to double check spells before you cast them, Twilight?" she asked coolly, stalking around the table and getting right in Twilight's face.
"Four hundred and..." She petered out under the princess' withering stare and folded her ears back against her skull. "A lot, princess."
Celestia sighed and softened her expression. "Then why is it that, despite everything, you still haven't learned that particular lesson?"
"Because I'm stubborn as a mule, princess," Twilight replied dutifully, a small smile playing on her lips. Using the same responses she had when she was a filly felt a little silly given her new size, but at the same time, it provided a measure of comfort; as it had over a decade ago. It made her aware that her problems were only temporary, and everything would go back to the way it was soon enough. Including how much attention you get from the princess, a small voice sneered right before it was locked up and joined the other unwanted thoughts in the recesses of her mind. She got up and dusted herself off saying, "I have some leftover materials from the boutique downstairs... We can practice on those," before quickly disappearing down the stairs.
She needed a little time alone. The rollercoaster of emotions she experienced while around Princess Celestia was draining, and she was, only now, coming to realise that she in fact did have an upper limit as far as going without sleep went. Having Luna present and acting rather strangely only made it worse.
She looked around for the materials. Originally she had taken several parts of the boutique that hadn’t turned to dust, in order to experiment with the effects of ancient wood and magical debris. When Sweetie Belle, and especially Rarity, moved into the library, however, she hadn’t been able to find the time. And now, she didn’t remember where she’d put them.
Locating the materials took a few minutes only because she’d forgotten she had never had the chance to file the materials away either, and found them right next to the bottom of the stairs. Mentally kicking herself for being blind, she picked them up and cantered back upstairs. At least the search had given her some time to collect herself and she felt ready to finish... this. Whatever ‘this’ would turn out to be.
“Sorry it took so long, I—” A blast of energy hit her square in the chest and would have knocked her back down the stairs if it hadn’t been for two differing forces speeding to keep her upright. Twilight coughed and for the second time that day looked for anypony that would do something like that. And for the second time, the only possible assailants were the two princesses. Both of them looked at her as though they had been caught with her hooves in the cookie jar, horns locked and each with a mouthful of the other’s mane they quickly spat out.
“Are you alright, Twilight?” Celestia asked, being the first to step back to make herself look presentable, erratic mane notwithstanding. Luna merely glowered.
“Yes, I’m...” Twilight looked herself over, part of her curious what kind of spell it had been, and the other, bigger, part of of her trying to equate what she’d seen with what she knew of either princess. “Were you... fighting?”
Luna and Celestia looked at one another, a silent conversation expressed wholly through expressions and looks passed between them making Twilight wish that she was better at reading body language.
“We were just having a...” Luna began after their ‘conversation’ was over.
“Disagreement,” Celestia finished, nodding to herself. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Twilight.”
Twilight looked between but neither Luna nor Celestia gave any indication of wanting to continue the conversation. Just as well. You wanted them out of here, right? “Oh... Okay.” Belatedly she remembered the debris she was still holding in her magic and put the half dozen pieces on the table. “I found the pieces from the boutique. Will these do?” Celestia and Luna looked at one another, nodded, and took their respective seats at the table, each picking up a piece and starting their experimentation without another word.
Twilight wanted to say something to try and help them resolve their differences, maybe even mediate or serve as an unbiased third party. Even with the way you feel about princess Celestia? Face it, you can hardly call yourself unbiased.
In the end, she said nothing. Contenting herself with a piece of the debris and trying to figure out which combination of mistakes had lead to her current predicament.
The next several hours were spent with a lot of trial and error and very little conversation. In one of the sparse exchanges, they had agreed that the most expedient thing would be to each take one of the major components of spellcasting; trying to see if any one area could lead to a solution. Twilight experimented with different levels of power for the spell, and Luna worked on different or wrongly drawn runes. Celestia meanwhile, was trying to figure out if the problem could have occurred while the spell was actually being cast; a focus intensive task as it was difficult to build a spell matrix in one’s mind without actually putting any magic behind it.
When singular areas didn’t work they combined their efforts, which made for slow going. It took them several more pieces of debris to figure out the level of power to put behind the spell, so that it wouldn’t simply erase anything it touched from existence, and several hours after that to figure out which parts of the spell matrix Sweetie Belle had failed to construct.
“I have to say,” Luna said when they finally closed in on the solution. “I find it hard to believe that your student got all of the runes right on her first try.”
Twilight, who up till that point had been the one repeatedly casting the spell, took a few seconds to catch her breath. Making her cast the spell for the practice attempts had been a decision they’d made after realising that it could prove catastrophic to try and put the power she was currently wielding back into a smaller body, but it nevertheless left her feeling like she had been participating in the running of the leaves for weeks. “She’s... been... having a lot of trouble with the practical side of magic... but—” Twilight took a deep breath and let it out all at once. “—But she picks up the theoretic side rather quickly.”
“Reminds me of a filly I used to know,” Celestia said with a small smile. Where Twilight’s exhaustion came from physical and magical strain on her body, Celestia was having trouble focusing. Her mind kept drifting off to the past. Back to Twilight’s formative years and all the trouble she had gotten into, and out of, because of the now grown up mare sitting across from her. “I’m proud of you, you know that?”
“Yes, Princess,” Twilight replied, only half listening while she tried the latest iteration. The princess had been talking about the good old days, each time stopping herself to tell Twilight how proud she was, which only twisted the knife. Finally, after three hundred and twenty two attempts a piece of debris returned to its former state. From the looks of it, it had once been a corner section part of Rarity’s boudoir, but that barely registered. “Luna?” She held up the piece for the younger princess to see. “I think we found it.”
“Wonderful.” Luna sighed and rubbed her her temples with her hooves. “It certainly took us long enough.”
Twilight nodded, picking up a quill and writing out the specific variations she had cast. “Yes it did...” She pushed the paper over to Luna and sat back. “Would you like some tea, or dinner?” she asked, smiling sheepishly. “I sometimes get so wrapped up in research that I forget to eat, myself.”
“Nay.” Luna stifled a yawn behind her hoof. “T’is long past due for me to begin my duties at the castle, and ‘Tia needs her rest for the coming weeks.”
Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Coming weeks? Did something important come up?”
Luna shook her head. “Not as such. She mediated for the Minotaurs and the Saddle Arabians in their trade dispute and word has gotten out. Just before we left a delegation of Zebras showed up asking for her help with the Bisons, and she, like the fool that she is, agreed to help them as soon as we were done here.”
“We all do foolish things sometimes, Luna,” Celestia replied with an almost dopey smile. “I remember the first time you tried to raise the moon. You were so upset that it didn’t move that you.. mprph...” She got no further, her mouth being held shut by Luna’s magic.
“That is enough, sister,” she said testily before turning back to Twilight. “In any case, I think it best if we got this over with. Are you ready?”
Am I? Twilight looked over at Celestia whom had all but dozed off. She’s beautiful. But you won’t be. Not after Luna casts the spell, at least... Maybe I should say something? At least let her know? She let out a sad sigh and nodded. “I’m ready.”
A moment later, a flash of light engulfed her. Her second to last thought was that shrinking back to normal size hurt more than growing in the first place; her last thought was of the princess she loved more than life itself.
Twilight Sparkle, an Alicorn counting twenty years, sighed once again; three weeks had passed since the spell was reversed, and things had quickly settled down in the library. Rarity had returned with an enthusiastic Sweetie Belle telling her that levitation was becoming easier; and an ecstatic Spike who had apparently gone fishing with Rarity’s father.
She’d smiled when he boasted about catching the biggest of fishes, and encouraged Sweetie Belle to keep up her training; she had even offered to model for Rarity some more, apologising for the fact that she was no longer the ‘stunning beauty’ that had given Rarity such inspiration.
But no matter how she tried to go about her normal life — in as far as it was normal, the world seemed a little greyer. Like the sun was muted, or the light itself just wasn’t feeling at its best. And despite her best efforts, Rarity quickly figured out what was bothering her.
“I know how you feel, darling,” the unicorn said, wrapping Twilight up in silk that would serve as basis for the next dress. “But trust me when I say that: Time heals all wounds.” She bit through one of the threads and tied it off, keeping the entire thing in place without needing her magic to support it. “Although... a tub of ice cream never hurt anypony... we could even share it if you’re worried about your waistline.”
Twilight smiled weakly. “Thanks for the offer, Rarity, but I’d really rather just...” she sighed and hung her head. “Could we continue this tomorrow, I’d like to go to bed?”
A spark of magic and a flurry of movement later, she had been freed from the dressform and had been embraced by a sympathetic unicorn. “Of course, darling. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do, promise?”
“Promise.”
She hadn’t even good and well stepped off the platform before Sweetie Belle came running out of her room holding a scroll in her magic, followed an enraged Spike. “Sweetie Belle! Give that back. She doesn’t want to—” they skidded to a halt in front of Twilight and Sweetie floated the scroll over with a big smile.
For once, Twilight didn’t feel like reading about another problem in Equestria no matter how imperative it was for her to be involved. For once, she didn’t want to go out and save the world, or even read Celestia’s polite questions about her life or her research. Yet, a sense of loyalty and duty made her accept the scroll anyway, absently praising Sweetie for her continuing improvements.
She removed the wax sun seal and unfurled the document to see what awaited her this time. Her eyes widened when she read the first sentence, and continued to grow with every line she deciphered. Her lips silently repeating the words, trying to make them tangible; trying to make them real.
“Twilight? What is it, darling?” “What’s it say, Twilight?” “Is it from the princess?”
Twilight Sparkle, looked at her student and her number one assistant over the top of the scroll, wetting her lips with her tongue and quickly rereading the thing to make sure that the words hadn’t sneakily rearranged themselves the moment she had taken her eyes off them. She found that her voice was stuck somewhere in her throat, so she cleared it and with a hoarse voice began to read out loud: “To my dearest love, Twilight Sparkle...”
~Fin~
I hope you all enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now, it's back for a chapter of Under Her Wings before continuing with the secret project. (That, too, ships Twilight with a white pony 
)
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This, but, it, it can't end there! It just can't!
Perhaps you're planning a sequel?
There is a consistent error. Nevertheless is ONE word. Never the less is three words that sound the same but are gibberish in that order.
Sweet... But...
Argh! I can't describe the feeling, is like you've been in the desert for 10 years without Drinking your faorite beverage, when suddenly you arrive at a store to drink something just to realize, it's a clothes shop!!! I know, is a weird feeling that something is missing.
Very sweet nonetheless.
5296692
Fixed. Thanks.
5296681
Not right now. I have other stories that need tending to, but maybe later if I get some ideas.
5296733
If you want something to drink, there's a vending machine in the back. Just don't question the weird liquids that thing serves.
5296744 It's your fault if I don't wake up tomorrow!!
Commence read.
Not sure if this is just a bit off.
5296809
Can't believe I didn't catch that one... Thanks.
5296814
Might have found one more.
Just found that while looking for another.
Which would be this one.
Not sure if it is one, or just my head thinking it looks weird.
I really like it hope to read more soon
5296844
*goes off to die in shame*
Fixed. Thanks.
Needs a conclusion, even if it is a one-shot sequel.
Other than that, it's good. Very good.
Nope. I'm not accepting this. There must be more.
...I am disappoint with that ending... Also, Luna was a raging bitch and thus I am disapprove...
Still, good story. Was a damn fine read.
It really feels like there is a scene missing at the end. The ending is unexplained.
The ending kinda had an 'eh, fuck it, I'll get it over and done with' vibe. It wasn't very satisfying at all. Good story otherwise.
Personally, I love the ending. It seemed like just enough to tie it together without extensive further writing.
I guess it's as they say: There are two types of people in the world. Those that can extrapolate from incomplete data sets.
The good stories die young! Or rather go old, then young again, and then die. I'm glad I'm following you.
Awww so soon?
That was a nice ending, bit abrupt and I wonder what'll happen between these two, but if this story was just about them getting together it did it's job perfectly.
5297104 To be fair, it's implied her last lover ruined her so thoroughly she Maleficent'd the world. I don't imagine she'd be so keen to try again, nor have her sister do so either.
5296909
No need for that. Mistakes happen.
Otherwise the premise to this and a lot of stories would not exist.
Great read! i am too a bit disappointed by the rather abrupt ending, but it's clear as day that their romance will play out as it should, just with Twilight growing up with time rather than magic. I wonder what Luna said in the end...i can imagine her being all i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/287/778/d42.png 37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me9rvnxxWM1r3k1m8o1_500.png fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/008/9/a/twilight_sparkle___i__m_watching_you_sleep_by_genericponyname120-d4lrkhy.jpg
Tastes unfinished. It's a cute read, and an enjoyable story, but it feels like I sat down for a full course meal and the cook accidentally forgot a side of rolls, and the dessert was a small cookie.
The ending was also fairly abrupt, and while it makes sense, there were still plot points that were brought up that were then just sort of... placed to the side.
Wait, what!? No, no, no, no! This can't end here! You can't be so cruel to end this here!
Anyway, amazing story. I have to admit that this was my first Twilestia story. I never liked the idea of that ship. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't of my taste. I started reading this just because I really liked Growing Pains, and though the ship almost discouraged me to give it a chance, now I'm really glad I did it.
The ending was kind of abrupt, and I would love to know exactly what triggered Luna and Celestia's bout of mane-pulling sibling fighting.
Other than that, I've got no complaints. Sure wouldn't mind seeing an epilogue or something along those lines, though.
Edit: More Under Her Wings? Yes please. Also that secret project sounds interesting...
I'm watching you now.
How could you end it now when the letter wasn't even read?!
What?! That... that... that is just cruel!
... Bulk Biceps? Blueblood? Albino Pinkie Pie? Fleur de Lis? Vinyl Scratch? Herself on fire?
5297188 And those who think extrapolation replaces elaboration!
Those who mangle the other half of a famous phrase so they don't have to do something original!Wait, it's over? At a time like this? I'd only be mildly disappointed if it was back to status quo at the end, but this is just torture. Why bother writing all that dramatic buildup and then cut when it gets to the good part? And what happened to Luna's objection? And will Celestia still look at Twilight like she's the most desirable thing in the world, or just like she has hope for the future?
I was really enjoying this story, but now it feels like I've hit a cliffhanger with no hope of rescue
Also, a couple sentences with missing words:
Oh, come on!
I will not mask my gratitude for your continuation of "under her wings" BUT! that being said i must say I would oddly like to see this story..continue. it was greatly written and yet...it feels like your ending wasn't rushed...but was ended abruptly...i think i agree with a few people when we say that ending HURT. it was good but ouch....XD i think i got punched in the feels
I think I understand what you were going for with that ending: a stylistic way of conveying that events continue on from that point as you would expect. But that doesn't mean I like it.
I liked the rest of the story fine, I just wish the ending had actually been an ending, and not merely an unsatisfying implication of an ending. Even just finishing the letter before cutting to credits, letting Celestia admit her feelings to Twilight 'on screen' and not cutting it off at the beginning of her admission, would've been plenty enough.
Still, like I said, I largely enjoyed seeing where this short continuation to Growing Pains went. Even if Luna was being... um, irritating, let's say. I can only hope Celestia would've mentioned her sister changing her attitude in her admission slash explanation(?) letter.
[Edit] I also just realized that Twilight never actually asked about the whole necessity-of-sleep thing. Normally I would assume that it was just an alicorn thing and leave it be, but Luna said she and Celestia both needed to sleep soon in this chapter, and while that's not really solid evidence against them only needing to sleep once every couple weeks or so, it's certainly enough to make me wonder.
5298358 I agree, at the very least you could have shown us the entire letter.
I understand what you're trying to do with ending the story here. Still really wish you would continue.
5296056
Then how did the Boutique and Twilight get hit? Surely she could shield herself as well and maybe other things with little extra effort. It all seems a bit inconsistent to me.
5296383
It doesn't make any sense for a spell to 'bounce', particularly not when impacting non-magical objects as opposed to a magical shield. I don't see why an aging spell would be permanent, although I could imagine the possibility that the caster would have to be the one to reverse it or some such. If you recall, Trixie used an aging spell and reversed it, something that Twilight said it should take an advanced unicorn mage/wizard/spellcaster to do..
-----
Well that was something a of a cruel ending. You just couldn't resist the lure of writing a full blown cliffhanger, huh? So, Celestia's at least into nominally into Twilight. Any chance there will be some other revelations about Celestia? I somehow doubt that she takes sneak peeks at her sister's flank...
Twilight really shouldn't read that letter out loud in any case, although I suppose that might be the safest way to defuse any scheming on her part.
I feel like Luna's actions/reactions have an ulterior motive and her reasoning felt a little bit like a cheap excuse. It would be interesting to see more of this story, even just to explore Celestia and Luna's respective issues.
Also, Rarity is a bit of an idiot. I don't think it's eve occurred to her that Twilight's feelings are anything but new, and that this latest transformation has only made it difficult not to think about them and removed a few physical, psychological (read: self justification) barriers that would otherwise impede things.
5298986 Also, Rarity is a bit of an
idiotromantic.Small typo there. Fixed it.
Rarity is pretty damned familiar with the concept of secret crushes that dare never speak their name. She's not being stupid in wanting to see a happy end, just not terribly realistic. She sees two of her dear friends clearly attracted to each other and like any shipper pushes their heads forward and demands they kiss.
5297306 Truthfully the ending, if not the entire chapter, felt meaningless. Why spend so much time with Luna's ranting and Celestia eventually caving only to completely ignore what that portion dealt with a few paragraphs later? It honestly feels like the author simply lost interest and decided to end it rather than continue.
It really needs one of two things. Either strip Luna out completely and leave Celestia debating with herself, or find a way to explain why Luna's suggestions were eventually thrown out.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable story with some fun character moments and bittersweet heartache. It was easy to feel for poor Twilight in this final chapter as she gave up on her hopes. I'm actually fine with where it ended, myself (I don't really need to see their relationship progress,) however I admit I would have liked to have seen the story return to Celestia's point of view towards the end to set up her ultimate decision.
Regardless, I quite enjoyed this one and look forward to more from you!
5299615
Eh. I got the impression that it was a bit more just a crush (as in, not just infatuation) and so I was a little sad to see it all end, at least for now, in that way. I kind of disagree with the whole "Time heals all wounds." thing. It just seems so cliche, I'm pretty sure some things never heal, they're just forgotten until something reminds us. I'm not really sure there's any evidence that Twilight gave up on 'her hopes', unless you mean the very specific ones that a certain fantasy might become more truth than fantasy.
Sequal!!!! one much needed here! this is to good to be so short!
.... there needs to be bat pony emotes..
This was so great love this hope there is a sequel
Ohhh I was disappointed at the ending :(
Sequel please, We need more Twilestia and Plus-Size Twilight shenanigans :D
5296909
Very nicely done, K! It's rare enough that we get a flustered-to-distraction Celestia and a sheepish self-deprecating Twilight in the same story, and you've done a swell job with both here.
I don't so much mind the abrupt ending, given that the prequel also ended somewhat unfinished. I think this might have worked better stitched together with Growing Pains as a single story, though. Feels like GP is missing an ending while SD is missing context.
Bizon? Is that a zebra/bison hybrid? Google and Wikipedia have never heard of it, at least not in the context of hoofed ungulate mammals.
OH GOD! That whole last chapter was so heart - wrenchingly sad...until that little glimmer of hope at the very end. Well done. Well done, indeed.
Wow wonderful work on all this story, love the way the characters are all portrayed and how they think, I really hope I hear from a sequel sometime soon.
5308455
Language error. We call them bizons in The Netherlands.
5311321
Gotcha! "Buffalo" will do too, if you're talking about Chief Thunderhooves.
Eeeeeee! (I... may have actually said that out loud when I read that last line.
) Really really enjoyed this. At first I wanted more, of course, because who wouldn't? But I really like the way you chose to end this. Leaves the rest up to our own headcanons.
I loved the interactions between everypony, and I think you did an excellent job with characterization, though I do think the conversation between Celestia and Rarity about the former's hesitance was too fast, and Rarity understood too well. It could have done with a little more fleshing out for Celly to really drive home just how bitterly painful those losses are.
Other than that I loved it, and that's a minor gripe. Thank you for writing this.
Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!
I have... an odd feeling that the letter is NOT from Celestia... but from Luna... 0_o