Not another Pony in Equestria

by Admiral Biscuit

I Wasn't Prepared for This!

I Wasn't Prepared for This!
Admiral Biscuit

It was fall in Ponyville.

It was also fall in the rest of Equestria.

Many ponies considered autumn to be the best season. It really had a lot going for it. The days were still long enough for fillies and colts to tire themselves out playing before the sun set. For adolescent ponies, the cooler evening temperatures improved the quality of snuggling. The final fruits of farmponies' labor were harvested, feasted upon, and stored for the winter. Festivals abounded, from the Harvest Festival to the Running of the Leaves, and culminated in Nightmare Night festivities. The air was crisp and cool, and the prospect of snow was greeted with enthusiasm rather than apprehension.

For a young mare of Twilight's age, the fall brought another blessing: the end of her estrus cycle for a few blessed months. The cycle itself wasn't particularly annoying; rather, throughout the spring and summer, Twilight Velvet would hint in every single letter that perhaps it was time for Twilight to produce a grandfoal. (She had gotten a brief respite when she ascended, but two months later, the pointed hints were back.)

That minor blessing was only slightly offset by yet another biological change which struck all ponies during the fall: the Winter Coat.

When she had lived in Canterlot, the Winter Coat was promptly trimmed to a normal length. Spas and salons kept longer hours, and clothiers stocked their display windows with the latest in hat and scarf fashions. One's appearance, after all, was one of the first things a pony noticed, and being fluffy was a sign of poor hygiene.

Her first winter in Ponyville had posed her with a quandary.

The spa, of course, offered grooming services, and she and Rarity had spent hours there. None of her other friends had; by the time the pegasi had begun the Winter Snow Festival, Twilight came to the realization that A: most ponies in Ponyville didn't trim their winter coats, and B: she was bundled up in a hat, scarf, and padded saddle, while most of her friends wore nothing . . . and she was the one who was cold.

The next winter, despite Rarity's protests, she had let her coat grow naturally.

And now she was on the cusp of making a new discovery, she was sure. It was her understanding that as an alicorn, she embodied the strengths of all three tribes, and thus she could experience for herself how a pegasi felt the cold. True, her data points would be skewed, but any change would be significant.

She'd asked her pegasus friends, but she knew as well as anypony that personal opinions and feelings weren't particularly scientific. There was no way to quantify if the cold felt the same to Rainbow as it did to Applejack. Here, at least, she could observe if there was any difference.

Her left wing twitched, and she tilted her head back. She nibbled gently at the itchy spot, then her eyes widened in shock as a dozen lavender feathers dropped to the ground.

Twilight galloped down the stairs to her washroom and spread her wings in front of her mirror—there was a bald patch on the back of her left wing, and the corresponding feathers were loose on her right.

• • •

"Moulting?"

"Um. . . ." Fluttershy nodded. "It's perfectly natural. Your feathers need to be renewed." She took a sip of her tea. "Lots of birds do it, right after mating season. When food is still plentiful, since it takes a lot of energy to grow new feathers. You must have just come off your last cycle."

Twilight smiled weakly. "I thought I had caught feather flu."

"That's more of a summer disease."

“How long does it last?”

“Well, until all of your feathers have fallen out and you’ve grown new ones.”

“What!?!” Twilight looked back at her wings, where—she swore—another feather had come askew just to mock her. “You mean I’m going to have bald wings?”

“No, no.” Fluttershy reached forward and pet Twilight’s head with her hoof. “If you lost all your feathers at once, you couldn’t fly. You’ll lose them in patches. Some will fall out, and then they’ll grow back, then the next group will fall out, and so on.” She sipped her tea. “It’s not like when a snake sheds its skin.”

“Rragh!” Twilight reached back and grabbed the offending feather in her teeth and yanked it out of her wing. It hurt for a second, and then the pain was replaced with blessed, non-itchy relief. “Ptah.” She spit the feather on the floor. “How long does that take?”

“Oh, it’s usually over by Hearth’s Warming.”

“That’s almost four moons from now.”

Author's Note:

Story notes here.

Comments

[Talon and Thorn]

I wonder if she's gained any odd quirks from her new earth pony side, she feels compelled to try gardening? She has trouble keeping her new strength under control?

[AppleTank]

6702739
Spike has yet to come back from orbit.

[Admiral Biscuit]

6702739
Yes, i think she has. Come the spring, she'll have a mad desire to stick her muzzle in the dirt and make something grow.

6702789
He'll be on the moon for a thousand years.

[AppleTank]

6702807
Legends speak of a Dragon banished from Equestria, and chained to the moon. In one thousand moons, he will return to wreak vengence... and eat gems.

[Celefin]

Love the idea of Rarity in winter coat despair.

Now I want to see her react to Princess Twilight with askew feathers and bare patches on the wings. Does the Canterlot elite use feather toupees? On that thought, do Luna and Celestia have a constant glamour spell going? Do Spas offer that? Are Celestia's primaries given out as a sign of the crown's special appreciation? Does an alicorn quill have special properties?

And Twilight trying her hoof at gardening (and likely pegasus-style irrigation as well) carries absolutely no risk whatsoever. Especially since she enchanted the seeds to do exactly what she's meticulously calculated she needs them to do.

[tsaukpaetra]

Gotta wonder how the tri-tribe affects her preferences actually. Does she pay more attention to fast fliers? Heavy lifters? Stronger magic users? Hmmm...
Keep going! ;)

[FanOfMostEverything]

6702807

Come the spring, she'll have a mad desire to stick her muzzle in the dirt and make something grow.

I want to read this story. I may need to write this story.

In any case, I do love stories that make good use of pony biology, and this definitely did so. Thank you for it.

[Admiral Biscuit]

6702819

In one thousand moons, he will return to wreak vengeance... and eat gems.

"I've come to wreak vengeance and eat gems, and I'm all out of gems."

6703361

Love the idea of Rarity in winter coat despair.

She'd hate a winter coat.

Does the Canterlot elite use feather toupees?

Based on what we've seen in canon, the Canterlot elite are all unicorns, so they wouldn't have any use for feather toupees.

On that thought, do Luna and Celestia have a constant glamour spell going?

Given that their manes and tails are always moving in the cosmic winds,I'd say yes.

Are Celestia's primaries given out as a sign of the crown's special appreciation? Does an alicorn quill have special properties?

Yes to both, in my opinion.

And Twilight trying her hoof at gardening (and likely pegasus-style irrigation as well) carries absolutely no risk whatsoever. Especially since she enchanted the seeds to do exactly what she's meticulously calculated she needs them to do.

This is how plant-monsters come into being.

6703699
Ooh, that's another good question. I don't know if it would significantly change her choice of partners, but it might.

6705636

I want to read this story.

Harvest Festival <--shameless self-promotion (full disclosure: pre-ascension Twilight)

In any case, I do love stories that make good use of pony biology, and this definitely did so. Thank you for it.

You're quite welcome!

[Celefin]

6709961 On Alicorn feathers, because I couldn't stop thinking about the damn things.

Celestia's feathers will only allow you to write the truth. Such a letter is highly valued in all legal matters. Additionally, it cannot be destroyed by anyone apart from the author.
Luna's feathers allow you to write letters with script that is only visible to the author and the recipient. As a safety measure, there is a little room adjacent to Luna's quarters where an exact copy will appear.
...
Twilight's feathers have autocorrect.

[Admiral Biscuit]

6710957

And Cadence's feathers, when used to pen a love letter, or in other ways. . . .

[Celefin]

6717094 ...I wasn't prepared for this!!!

[an1979]

Winter coat.
This picture from reddit - you can have both, Rarity!
http://i.imgur.com/3lMIMHP.jpg
i.imgur.com/3lMIMHP.jpg

[FOXTrot2]

“That’s almost four moons from now.”

Sorry Twi, thems the breaks!
Although I must admit, the idea that Twilight's new immortal form would still conform to biological needs pertaining to and including elements of mating seasons and sustenance and such doesn't make very much sense to me. Sure, I suppose she is still capable of it, and still needs food, but... Well, shouldn't she be beyond this as an alicorn?

[Admiral Biscuit]

10132176

Although I must admit, the idea that Twilight's new immortal form would still conform to biological needs pertaining to and including elements of mating seasons and sustenance and such doesn't make very much sense to me.

You think the moulting is bad, she’s also got irresistible urges to stick her muzzle in the ground and grow things. She’s kept them suppressed so far, but come the spring, she’ll plant something.

Sure, I suppose she is still capable of it, and still needs food, but... Well, shouldn't she be beyond this as an alicorn?

Like, you can go both ways. I also wrote a story where Pinkie beheads Twilight as a joke, since she’s immortal as an alicorn:

"Dammit, Pinkie." Twilight fumbled around with her hooves until she found her head, and then stuck it back on her neck. "I never should have told you I became immortal when I ascended."