Growing Wings

by Twilicorn

Asleep

Rainbow Dash was the first to awaken, looking over at Twilight and doubling with shock. The majority of her back was coated in dried blood, her wings still growing through old skin. Luna was draped over the now-red sheets, her head across Twilight's back. Twilight Sparkle's wings were barely bigger than Rainbow Dash's, and Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her eggheaded friend would be a better flier than her someday. She flapped her own cyan wings experimentally, rolling them out slowly to remove the kinks in them. Her feathers were ruffled and she set to preening them, her teeth carefully aligning them as she worked, removing any dirt that may have appeared as she slept. Shaking her mane out quickly, returning it to it's usual carefully-mussed state. Flapping her wings faster, she lifted from the ground, cruising around and creating a nice breeze. Within minutes, Fluttershy had awoken as well, the cool air gently lifting her from slumber. Fluttershy followed the same routine as Rainbow Dash, preening her wings to remove the dust from the bedsheets that had worked its way into her wings. The noise gradually awoke Applejack, blinking her eyes rapidly to clear the sleep from them. Seeing Twilight, she was shocked as well, letting out a small yelp. Shaking her mane, she was glad she had left the rubberbands in from the night before, and she was able to fix it quickly. Her hat was on her head moments later, and she smiled, her country charm returning with her hat. Pinkie awoke second to last, simply bouncing out of bed and beginning to chatter, breaking the near-silence that had filled the room. Rarity, the Princess, and Twilight still slept, until Rainbow Dash got a bright idea. Waving Pinkie over, she whispered something in her ear, and Pinkie giggled, her eyes lighting up like candles. She scurried over to the sink, filling a paper cup with water and darting back to Rarity. Giggling still, she raised it over Rarity, and in a breath, it was all over her and her bed, Rarity screaming loud enough to put Luna's Canterlot Voice to shame. The guards rushed in, but Rarity waved them away, hiding under her covers. The moment they left, she started on Pinkie.

"HOW DARE YOU!!! This mane takes forever to perfect, and I have none of my mane care supplies here! I'm going to look like a ruffian surrounded by you foals!" She continued bantering on as Pinkie hopped around, tuning Rarity out yet nodding at all the right times. They all seemed to ignore Luna and Twilight, until Luna was awoken by all their screaming and chatting.

"SIIIILENNNNCE!" Princess Luna yelled, her voice making windows shake. Everypony in the room turned to Luna in slow motion, their eyes all large with fear. "Thou doth not awaken thee Royalty with thine's pointless banter!" The other ponies nodded slowly, carefully backing away to the walls, and Princess Luna's voice softened. "I had a very long night, and if we awaken Twilight, her pain will increase tenfold. We must be quiet so she can remain relaxed. Now," she declared, changing the subject, "Who wants breakfast?" Pinkie was the first to scream out her assurance for the meal, followed by the others' quieter replies. Luna clapped her hooves, and two guards appeared.

"What can we assist you with, Miss?" Asked a sandy-brown coated stallion, his wings flapping eagerly.

"Ah yes, Celly sent some of her own guards, did she? Oh well. Silver Sword, please get us all some breakfast. The finest you can find."

"Yes ma'am," saluted the guard, flying off eagerly. Luna's guard remained, waiting for dismissal.

"Ah yes, Shadowed Night, please, find the kind doctor who was here yesterday please." The deep grey pegasus saluted also, gliding off down the wide staircase. Luna glanced up at the clock, startled by how late she had slept. "It's already ten o'clock!" She declared, running to the window. Her sister had set the moon, just like she had been doing for a thousand years, and Luna smiled. Even if her sister was jealous, she was kind, and that was as important as anything. The guard was back up in moments, balancing several plates of food in his jaws. Princess Luna giggled, carefully lifting them, and arranged them on the ground, where the others gathered, sitting in a circle. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were next to Princess Luna, and she smiled to herself. They all began eating, sitting lazily on the floor, when Twilight stirred. Within moments, they could hear her muffled screams again, and Princess Luna stopped eating. Standing abruptly, she turned towards Twilight's bed and began walking towards it, her eyes darting around anxiously. Twilight moaned again, and Luna reached out to stroke her.

'Mommy, oh mommy! Please, make it stop! Stop!' Twilight was twitching again, feeling her wings' bones literally split through her skin slowly, the pain unimaginable. Her screams dimmed to whimpered, and she felt comforting licks on her fur, soothing the pain. 'Oh mommy,' she sighed, her tears slowing.

"My little ponies," smiled Luna, quoting her sister. "Please, go and continue your normal civilian duties. I will send my guards to summon you before she is full grown, but do know. Do you all recall after I was freed from my Nightmare Moon state?" The others nodded, Applejack reaching a hoof up to push her hat out of the way. "She will look like that, but slightly larger. She will not be as strong as my sister or me, not until we bestow our Regalia upon her. The Regalia contains a large amount of our power, as well as the official rights to the crown. They will morph to fit her, to match her, and you will be invited also to see her coronation."

"So, what? We're just supposed to leave and wait for your guards?" Rainbow Dash was slightly confused, but Princess Luna nodded.

"Yes. Ponyville needs you. Do not, however, speak of this to anyone. They shall not know until the coronation is broadcast across Equestria." The ponies nodded again, it seeming to be their favorite motion, and walked numbly out. As they left, Applejack asked the one thing on all of their minds.

"Is she going to leave us?"

"Yes, my little ponies." And with that, the others left, though Princess Luna had to smile. She may leave for now, but you'll see her sooner than you think.

The time had flown, Luna laying with her rapidly growing daughter, carefully stroking her and making up for sixteen years of lost time. She murmured to her, singing Twilight the lullaby Princess Luna had composed years ago. Apologizing, crying, and smiling, sniffling and whispering, she had finally made up a portion of Twilight's life back up to her. Luna had skipped lunch, and was debating skipping dinner, when the though hit her. Dinnertime.

"Guards! I need six of you!" Her voice rang through the stairs, and soon the guards were there, standing at full attention. "I need you to go get Twilight's friends and Spike. He deserved to know what is happening, since he has been tending the library since Twilight left." The guards nodded simultaneously, and flew off, leaving Luna glad the window was so large. Tapping her hoof, Luna finally got up from Twilight's bed, pacing back and forth across the extremely large room, then finally flying around it, glad to stretch her wings. To finish the routine, she practiced a few basic spells, finishing as the guards returned with Twilight's friends in tow. They gathered silently around Twilight's bed, standing over her.

"So after twenty-four hours, is she just going to poof wake up?" Inquired Pinkie, a strangely serious tone in her voice.

"Sort of. It'll be an interesting display, but she could wake up anytime between now and next week. More so, she'll... be alicorn." Rarity's eyes became quizzical, but she was shut off as lights began emanating from Twilight.

It started with her wings. They glowed a pale magenta, tainted with sparkles, and they finally ceased growing, tucking themselves against Twilight's sides. Her mane grew in length at inches a minute, until it was barely shorter than Luna's, but lacking the carefully blowing appearance Princesses had. Her horn sparked, then a huge beam of light shot out, a bright gold and white, lighting the room. Everypony shielded their eyes, fearing blindness, and the light faded into Twilight, her body lightening in colour ever so slightly, and the lavender becoming the most lavendery-lavender you can imagine. Her entire body's structure changed, her face thinning and her legs growing the final few inches. She became significantly thinner, and her horn had grown to roughly twice the size of its original shape. The bright light finally faded, and the others looked up, freezing at the sight of Twilight's new form. Princess Luna was the only one not shocked, her mouth spreading into an incredibly large smile.

"That is my daughter." She stated proudly, and no pony could give her shame on the comment. Looking at her, she was similar to Luna now, though exactly how was inexplicable. Perhaps it was her body shape, the way her wings folded against her. Or maybe it was simply subtle facial features. No matter why, they were quite clearly related.

"Yay," whispered Fluttershy, breaking the silence, and Luna removed the "force-field" from around Twilight Sparkle's bed, and all of the ponies gathered by Twilight to give her a large hug. Twilight stirred, and they backed away cautiously, but she simply shifted to a more comfortable position, her forelegs curled around herself and her head facing down.

Spike had been oddly quiet the whole time, sitting away from the others, his eyes filled with an unrecognizable emotion. Princess Luna turned towards him, walking forward slowly as if approaching an injured animal.

"Spike? I know this is a lot to digest. And you're probably really confused. Do you want to talk?"

"Yes, yes I do." His voice was steely, and his face morphed to a mask. "My big sister is royalty, and you only think to tell me after the fact. She's probably going to move out from here, leave me with the library and that stupid owl, and I'll be stuck as 'The Princess' Ex-Assistant'! I hate it!" Pain flickered through his eyes, before returning to the mask of no emotion. Princess Luna blinked, shocked slightly at his outburst.

"We waited for many a reason, but none are truly acceptable. Twilight Sparkle was in immense pain, and we didn't want you to see her like that. Plus, if she was sick, would she want you watching over her? No. She'd want you hovering over the library instead, caring for Owlysious and straightening shelves."

"Like you know her sooo well, don't you! You couldn't even stay with your own daughter!"

"Listen Spike, you really have no excuse-"

"Oh shut it Rarity!" Spike glared at her, leaving Rarity stunned as he stormed out of the room, shoving the guards away as he left.

"Should we follow him?" Inquired one of the guards, flapping his wings readily and hovering a few hooves above ground.

"Leave him be, please." The guard nodded, slightly dejected, and slowed his flapping until he landed, falling back into attention. Princess Luna smiled to herself at how dignified they were, then turned back to Rarity. "You must understand, Rarity. He... He's very confused. As are you, I'm assuming. Have all of you ever had to watch a broadcast by the Princess?" The abrupt change of subject invoked a delayed response, but slowly the shook their heads. "Ah. Well, the Mayor has an incredibly powerful mirror of sorts. It will tap into the live 'feed' we have, and if so needed, we can broadcast to all of Equestria, notifying them of whatever should be so important. Soon, we will have one of those, as we crown Twilight. I will be handing off my own tiara to her, leaving her as ruler with Princess Celestia. Within a few months, Celestia will have taught Twilight what is needed, and she will hand off her own crown, and they will meld together." She finished her long-winded speech grandly, closing her wings as she finished and ending the Royal Canterlot Declaration Pose.

"Is what Spike said true? Is Twi really gonna leave us?" Applejack's voice was tainted with worry, and Fluttershy's eyes widened at the prospect.

"She will, as I have stated, But not for long. Soon, you shall all join her, for I believe the Canterlot Castle could use a cook, designer, party planner, and garden keeper. And who should teach Twilight to fly but her own close friend?" She pointed to each of them in turn, and as she pointed, they each changed from worried to happy, Pinkie bouncing around even faster than before. Princess Luna turned to her daughter, running through a mental checklist.

Taller-Check
Wings-Check
Horn-Check
Longer Hair-Check
Facial Features Change-Check
Cutie Mark Representing Sun/Moon/Leadership-Uncheck

Luna did a double-take at the last one, observing Twilight's cutie mark closer. It hadn't changed at all. Not in colour, shape, size(besides to fit her new body), or any other way.

"Oh my," she whispered, though before she had finished, Twilight's friends were gathered around.

"What's wrong, Princessy-Princessy-Princess Moona-Luna?" Pinkie was still bouncing around the bed, her mane flying through the air as though it had a mind of its own, and Luna briefly wondered if it tasted like cotton candy.

"Usually a Princess' Cutie Mark has something to do with the Sun or Moon, but Twilight's doesn't. Which can only mean one thing," she added, pacing back and forth now in long, regal and even strides. "She will rule with the Elements and Magic. This will most certainly be different from Tia and my way of ruling, but knowing Twilight, things will only change for the better." Rainbow Dash nodded absent-mindedly, still excited about being able to teach the Princess how to fly, and the others were in similar states of mind, excited to be able to live at the castle in the future, alongside their best friend as ruler of Equestria.

"Who says we get some sleep?" Asked Applejack, yawning slowly and stretching her hooves out.

"Mememememe!" Exclaimed Pinkie, hopping into her bed and falling asleep within moments. The rest of them murmured agreements, ignoring the Princess as the crawled into beds. Luna turned towards the window, gliding out as she did last night. Flying up to the roof, she turned to see her sister had began setting the sun, but not raising the moon. Slowly seizing the moon with her magic, Princess Luna sat down, closing her eyes peacefully and spreading her wings. She felt Celestia attempt to grab the moon, but Luna pushed her away, lifting it into the sky gradually and setting it into motion, letting it follow its natural path through the sky. The moon and sun only needed gently nudges past each skyline- they could pull themselves the rest of the way. Princess Luna smiled and flew back down, swooping in the window in a fearsome midnight blue streak. At the last second, she turned from the window, taking off into the sky.

The stars were beginning to glow as Luna flew, her wings beating only when she began to lose altitude, otherwise gliding across the gentle breeze. She giggled to herself as she mimicked stepping on each tree and home, letting out a small growl as she did. Playing Discord. A game anypony played, no matter if they were earth pony or alicorn. Beating her wings faster, Luna glided up past the clouds, her body illuminated by the faint star and moonlight creeping through the sky. She whooped, too far above the ground to be heard, and began looping around, twirling and twisting through the sky. She began doing a Lightening Jolt with a cloud flying above the others, jumping and creating a bold, wide lightening streak blazing through the air. Flying just barely over it, feeling the heat below her hooves, she appeared to be riding it, except to the trained eyes, and as it dissipated, she did also, fading from view with an illusion spell. The illusion spell wasn't necessary, but it was quite impressive to most ponies watching. She was the main flyer in the family, Celly always preferring magic over swooping through the night skies. Luna, of course, disagreed, using magic only when necessary, but they balanced each other out. Her mind floated to Celestia, probably conversing in the Night Counsel with the Elders, or maybe in the Night Court, handling Luna's court. She stifled another laugh as she remembered how petty the complaints were. Light pollution because of a lantern with too many lightening bugs, someone breaking into their home and stealing a photo frame. She only handled what happened at night, henceforth giving her more robberies and less of Celestia's driving issues with carriages. Gliding back towards the ground, she completed several more loops, spelling out "Luna" in the clouds. Smiling at the artful cursive, she turned towards the hospital, not having realized how far she had strayed. Opening the windows magically, she glided in, tucking her wings in to avoid breaking the walls, and landed on the carefully polished white floors. Her hooves clicked against the floor in an even beat as she steadied her landing, and her mane returned to a slower wave as opposed to when she was swooping through the sky. She turned to her bed, only to realize she was lacking one.

"Guard," she called tiredly, testing their hearing by nearly whispering it. A guard was there though, thanks to the advanced hearing spell on their armor.

"Yes ma'am?" He inquired crisply.

"Please bring me a bed, then change guard and go get some sleep." He nodded, a smile briefly crossing his face at the notice to change guard, and you could hear him telling the other guards eagerly. She stood patiently, flapping her wings to create a gentle breeze as he returned, two unicorn guards helping him carry it. She lifted in her own magic, setting it right next to Twilight Sparkle's bed, and smiled at the guards. "CHANGE GUARD," She declared in the Royal Canterlot Voice, and you could hear their carefully timed hoofsteps as they left, the ones nearest the outside hospital doors flying off with carefully timed flaps to alert the currently-sleeping night guards to change. They changed quickly, taking less than five minutes, and Princess Luna laid down in the bed, a smile crossing her face as she faced her daughter. The word daughter ringing through her mind as she fell asleep.

Comments

[Twilicorn]

I know the Mane 6 have been big main characters so far, but they'll be gone within the next chapter or so. I apologize for making them so big in this xD Luna is really going to be huge here, and Rainbow Dash may get a bigger part in this... but why you'll have to wait and see!

[Twilicorn]

Scratch the mane six leaving-as of chapter two, they'll become very important characters. Not as huge as Luna, but pretty important *cackle*

EDIT: This is going to become dark later, and here's a preview of the future chapters' titles:
Awake
Becoming Princess
Learning
Melding the Crowns
Darkness
The Elements
The Sole Ruler
Epilogue

[Slaughterstone]

YAY MORE PRINCESS TWILIGHT!

I have a question, didn't Luna command a royal sized bed be brought in at the same time that she requested the 5 normal beds? Wouldn't she then already have a bed and therefor now have two beds after this chapter?

[Yobikir]

613719
you know how it is sometimes one bed is not enough ^^
maybe the first bed was for Twilight? i mean she is growing.

[azednew]

Second story in 2 days that I favorited about Princess Twilight. It's okay, they're really different!

[kyrahmac]

623063
what was the first one?