Twilight Sparkle Sprouts Wings

by Sollace

Part 3: Zebrecan remedy my flank

Silence fell across the barn, the only sound that of the bubbling mixture and Twilight’s pained meek meep as she held back the urge to shiver. Drips of the sludge were seeping out from her mane and dripping in front of her face. One particular rivulet had her rapt attention; her eyes crossing as it slowly crept out from behind her horn, and right down the middle of her forehead.

Big Mac and Apple Bloom stood around the back of the vat, holding their paddles in their hooves, watching eagerly for Applejack’s response.

The farm mare leaned over the edge of the vat, resting her hooves on the edge as she eyed the tiny bottle held between Zecora’s hooves, “That tiny little thang?” She sounded unconvinced, “Ah don’t see how it makes any difference that Twilight bathes in your remedy more than mine.”

Zecora laughed, “Now don’t be silly. A bottle this small would not be enough for even a filly.” Twisting the cork of the bottle, she pulled it open with a loud pop, and grabbed a cup from inside her saddlebags. “Now, I recommend that you bring Twilight out from the brink, so that she might come to take my solution to drink.”

~ ~ ~

After a good ten minutes of fishing Twilight out of the ‘Apple Family Remedy’, and then another ten minutes of getting the remedy out of Twilight, they finally had her cleaned up and sat upright in front of the workbench from earlier. Twilight sniffled and pulled the towel closer around her. Somehow, she hadn’t realised how cold the barn could be.

Though, that may just be her than anything else. She cast a glare to the side, where Applejack stood leaned against the pole with her Stetson pulled low in front of her eyes and her foreleg crossed over each other as the mare dozed. “... I could have done it myself, you know.” Twilight deadpanned.

There was a faint snort from under the Stetson and Applejack tipped it up to look over to Twilight, “Ah know. Just the hose was a might faster.”

“And I have to admit,” Spike gave a faint chuckle from behind her, “it was a lot of fun getting to spray you, Twilight,” he sat with his legs dangling off the edge, near the very top of the stack of hay bales where he could get a clear view of everything—and was far enough out of Twilight’s reach. He kicked his legs playfully.

“Ah, here we go,” Zecora exclaimed. She came trotting around the desk, depositing a wooden cup in front of Twilight. Then, taking the small bottle in her mouth, she uncorked it and poured the milky liquid into the cup.

Twilight watched as the cup filled up to half way, noting how the solution seemed to dribble slightly and form darker swirls in its depths. Zecora then brought out another bottle and filled the rest of the cup with water.

“Now, hurry my dear mare,” Zecora set the second bottle down on the table, “Drink it up and keep down what you can bare, and I assure you this affliction will be no more than a mere nightmare.”

She pushed the cup closer and Twilight looked down into the drink, not quite sure of herself. It swirled slightly, and as she watched she could see a small bubble rise to the surface and break her—rather feathery—reflection.

Twilight gulped, “D—Do I have to?—” She shook her head, “Actually, suddenly I remember there was book in my library that I think...” She made a move to get up, but was quickly pressed back down into her seat.

Zecora’s face turned down into a scowl, “If you wish to cure this curse, then I recommend that you stay your course.”

Twilight gulped again, harder and looked between Applejack, Spike, and Fluttershy—who was sat quietly in the back cradling Zecora’s satchel in her hooves. Only the latter seemed to show any signs of encouragement. Where Spike and Applejack simply stared back, one eating popcorn and the other hiding behind her hat, Fluttershy, upon noticing Twilight’s gaze, gave her a smile and mini ‘you can do it’ air hoof bump.

With a sigh, Twilight turned back to the cup in front of her, resigned to her duty. She pursed her lips, lit her horn, and was about to begin levitating her cup when Zecora spoke sharply, “Beware, Princess Sparkle. Do not use your magic lest the potion will surely turn tragic.”

Twilight huffed and switched to using her hooves, grabbing the cup and holding it up in front of her. She squeezed her eyes closed and took a long sip. It was thick and sour, and left a tingling sensation all the way down.

Everypony watched in silence as Twilight gulped down the liquid little bit at a time, only pausing to take a breath. Finally, with a gasp, Twilight slammed the empty cup down in front of her, “Eugh,” a shiver ran up her spine.

“...So?” she heard spike ask somewhere behind her through a mouth full of popcorn, “How wash it?”

Twilight looked to her side. Most of the ponies in the room had come closer, crowding around the table watching her keenly for any changes. Her eyes dragged from Zecora on her left with Applejack giving her a dirty a look, to Fluttershy on her right, hugging Zecora’s satchel.

“It’s—” Twilight’s words caught in her throat, a faint belch escaping her lips. She pressed a hoof to her mouth feeling the potion coming back up. There was another moment of Twilight’s gurgling before she forced it back down and continued to answer Spike’s question, “...gooey.”

“Treesap from the palms that sway,” Zecora offered, her eyes not leaving Twilight as she kept her distance, “They have been known to keep most any illness at bay.”

“Hm...” Twilight frowned, “so how long before it—” a hiccup interrupted Twilight, almost knocking her from her seat. She braced herself against the table as a strange tickling sensation began to spread from the base of her horn.

She felt a slight warming behind her cheeks and saw Zecora take a step backwards out of the corner of her eye. She was about to say something more when her entire face convulsed. A shiver ran up her spine, energizing her entire body and making her fur stand on end.

From Spike’s perspective, at the back of the barn, Twilight seemed to be trembling like a bowl of jelly, her face contorting in all manner of ways, and her wings rising to full mast as she struggled to keep her footing against the table.

Applejack looked on with a face of silent concern, yet a raised eyebrow of keen interest. Glancing to her side, Zecora stood beside her, watching with a confident smile.

Twilight contorted one last time, now with all of her wings standing on end. Then, with a loud sucking noise, the wings on her face retracted back and vanished beneath her skin, giving Twilight that one final kick she needed to send her flying backwards off her seat.

She lay there for a long while, breathing and staring up at the darkened rafters of the barn. Applejack stepped up from her left with a look of disbelief. She removed her hat and held it to her chest, glancing up and down Twilight, “... well I’ll be...”

Zecora joined her, “Ah, very good,” and nodded her approval, “and what did I say? Never doubt the Zebra way.”

“Twilight!” Fluttershy shouted. Her head peeked in from the right with Spike beside her, both staring down at her with wide eyes, “Are you okay?”

“Uh... huh,” Twilight nodded weakly and allowed herself to be helped back up. She was still thoroughly dazed and seemed to sway rapidly around her. Her hooves buckled and she dropped back to her haunches.

“Um...” Spike stepped around to her front, leaning down and looking Twilight in the eye, “Are you sure?”

She shook herself, cast a wall-eyed glance past Spike, “Yeah,” and began to nod, “I’m— Ablech Another sneeze shook the princess, showering Spike, the wall, and anypony else unfortunate enough to be in the princess’s range at the time, with a thin spray of spittle. There was a loud pomf and a burst of feathers as the wings returned in full force.

“Ew gross!” Spike recoiled, clutching at his face and wiping the layers of snot away, “I think some got in my mouth!” The tiny drake began hacking as he was lead away under Fluttershy’s wing.

“Sorry—” Twilight sniffed, “—Spike.” she wiped her nosed on the back of her hoof.

Zecora kneeled in front of Twilight, cupping a hoof under the mares chin and turning it up to get a better view of the wings, “Hm... perhaps some adjustments are in order.”

“Well,” Applejack spoke up, regaining her previous demeanour, “Ah hat ta say ah told ya so but—“

“Now is not the time,” Zecora snapped and, turning away From Twilight, “Fluttershy, dear,” She waved to where the Pegasus was still busy tending to Spike, “Bring my satchel near, perhaps a sprig of sage will—”

“Ahm just sayin’,” Applejack butted in, stepping up behind Zecora as she dug into her back between Fluttershy’s hooves, “Maybe if ya hadn’t come barging in like ya did we could’ve had this whole thing fixed by now.”

“Silence, your rude mare,” Zecora was brief, pulling herself out from her satchel. She spun around to face Applejack with the plant clenched between her teeth and glowered at the farm mare as she prodded her with a hoof, “Perhaps, if it were not for your crude concoction, my potion would surely have been a better option.”

“Them’s fightin’ words if ah ever did see it,” she slapped Zecora’s hoof aside and grabbed Twilight’s hoof, pulling her back up to stand beside her, “Now come on, Twilight, Ah’ll get a fresh batch fixed up for ya in a might jiff.”

“With me, Twilight,” Zecora grabbed Twilight’s other hoof, “My hut will surely have the ingredients we so require.”

“Ow!” A searing pain ran through Twilight’s shoulders as she was jerked over to Zecora’s side. She was now strung out like a living clothes line as the two mares stared each other down over her, “Girl!”

Her protests went unnoticed as Zecora and Applejack’s make-shift tug of war escalated, “Do ah have t’ get out mah batterin’ ram?”

“You dare, and you shall be dealing with Fluttershy’s bear.”

Fluttershy’s head poked in from behind Twilight, “Um,” She set a hoof over top of Twilight’s as she flapped her wings to get a bit of hight, “Can you please not bring Harry into this?”

“Enough!” Twilight finally had enough. She screamed and lit her horn and, with a bright flash and a pop she disappeared from between Applejack and Zecora, only to reappear moments later blocking the exit from the barn.

She stood there, heaving, her teeth clenched as she shot glares between all the ponies in the room. Several of the largest wings on her face puffed up, gave a short flutter, and grew a good two inches longer, “I’ve had it just about up to here with you two,” She held a hoof at eye level to illustrate.

“Now, Twi,” Applejack took a step forward, “Ah can—“

“No!” Twilight screamed, stopping Applejack in her tracks, “I’m leaving,” She then turned an eye across the barn, searching for Spike. The dragon was promptly levitated, curled up in a little ball, from where he’d taken cover under the workbench and deposited on Twilight’s back, “and I’m not coming back until you two can get along!”

The whole barn went silent. Zecora, Applejack, and Fluttershy sat motionless, staring eyes as wide as dinner plates and mouths hanging agape. The only sound aside that of Zecora’s satchel jingling below Fluttershy as she hovered in the air was that of the barn door slamming shut, and then Twilight’s angry stomping away outside.

The three remained like that for a full minute, in the semi darkness of the barn only lit by a lantern somewhere overhead. Finally, Zecora was the first to break the silence, “Well...”

Applejack kicked at the ground, “Shoot.”

~ ~ ~

Twilight trotted in silence, her eyes trained on the dirt path and her wings all twitching with rage. The sun was still high in the sky, just passing midday and birds were heard chirping in the apple trees around. However none of this made any difference to the princess as she kept focused on getting as far from the Apples as her hooves would take them.

Spike fidgeted on her back, the shift in weight causing Twilight to swerve and change course as she started out the farm gate and into the country road, “So, uh,” Spike leaned forward, grabbing onto a few wings as leverage, and peeked down into Twilight’s field of vision from the top, “Twilight?” He frowned, concerned, “We’re not going back to the castle now, are we?”

“Well,” Twilight shook her head, pulling it free from Spike’s grasp and gestured behind her with her eyes, “we certainly can’t go back there,” She continued to speak whilst keeping her eyes on the road, “and I’m afraid of what might happen if I visited ‘Doctor Pinkie’ again.”

“But you just can’t do nothing!” Spike screamed. Throwing himself back, he shot his armed into the air, “ Wha—” and immediately startled, waving his arms frantically as he lost his balance. The drake slid sideways around Twilight’s barrel, brushing against the wing on her left before grabbing hold again and righting himself back up, “I mean—” He shifted his stance, casting a worried glance to the passing ground and then dug his claws into Twilight’s back—much to the princess’ displeasure, “You can’t go around like this the rest of your life.”

“I know that,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “We’re not doing ‘nothing’, Spike. Once we regroup back at home, I can review the situation, weight the options, draw some pie charts, and maybe come up with a better—scientifically supported— solution. One that doesn’t involve ‘family remedies’ or Zebracan tree sap, or—”

“Quesadillas?” Spike offered.

Twilight tensed up and a shiver ran all the way up, from her tail, through her neck, and terminating at the tips of her feathers, “Y—” She shook herself off and resumed walking, “We promised never to talk about that.”

“You’re going to read more books, aren’t you?”

“Ye—” Twilight opened her mouth, and was half way through a nod, when she suddenly stopped in the middle of the path and facehoofed. They had just reached a mound on the outskirts of Ponyville with the—thankfully empty – park laid out in front of them and a bridge leading into the town proper just a few trots ahead, “Celestia damn it,” she grumbled from behind her hoof.

“What is it?”

“...I forgot my trench coat.”

“Oh.” Spike looked around nervously, “so...” He pointed back over his shoulder with a claw, “... you want me to...” and began shimmying his way off of Twilight’s back.

Spike would have dropped all the way to the ground if Twilight hadn’t stopped him, “No, no,” Twilight waved him down, “It’s too late now, I’m just going to have to take the scenic route past Rarity’s. It’s no big deal.”

~ ~ ~

There was a silent rustling from among the trees and one of the bushes parted to reveal a purple muzzle poking neatly out of the front, with two wide eyes set above them and the green spines of a dragon cresting the top. The tips of several purple wings were also seen peeking out around the bush, though anypony passing by would easily mistake it for a bushel of blueberries.

“I think the coast is clear,” Twilight whispered. She pulled her head back from the bush, and turned to her side to attend to Spike. The tiny dragon lay huddled next to her, crammed against her side squirming as Twilight pressed her hoof over his mouth.

“Hmmf,” He protested pushed the hoof away, “Gah!” Gasping for breath, Spike shot Twilight a glare, “Did you really—”

“Shhh!”
Twilight shushed Spike and her, rolling his eyes, continued in a whisper, “Did you really have to throw yourself at me like that?”

“Sorry, Spike, but I just can’t take any chances.” A twig snapping suddenly caught Twilight’s attention making her ears perk. She spun back around and shoved her face back into the bush, casting one more look across the deserted street. “Right,” Twilight nodded, “I think the coast is clear.”

The rustling resumed, this time louder and more agitatedly and the bush burst open as Spike and Twilight came trotting out—both covered in an assortment of sticks and leaves—into the open. Twilight did one last check, looking both ways before crossing the road.

So far so good, the road was still deserted. To the left, Rarity’s boutique was still closed for the afternoon so there weren’t very many ponies to crowd around the outside, and nothing on the right, just empty dirt all the way back to the Everfree. They were home free.

“Now, Spike,” Twilight returned to her normal tone as they continued past the boutique, “When we get back I want you to—“

“Then I said: ‘Oatmeal, are you crazy?” The sounds of ponies giggling the crunching of stones under hoof reached Twilight’s ear.

“Oh no!” She stopped mid canter, looking around frantically for a hiding spot, “Spike, quick!” Grabbing the dragon in her magic, Twilight bolted for the entrance to the boutique, battering the door in and leaping through the threshold.

Moments later Pinkie Pie, Lyra, and Bon-Bon came strolling past. Pinkie Pie had a wide grin on as she bounced along with Lyra and Bon-Bon giggling like school-fillies, “Oh Pinkie,” Lyra muffled a laugh, “You’ve told us that five times already.”

Inside the boutique, on the other side of the door, Twilight sat pressed against the hard wood with Spike squeezed tightly at her side. She kept an ear cocked to the doorframe, only allowing herself brief a glance through the circular window to verify that they were still there whilst Spike wriggled against her grip, “Shhh!” She shushed the dragon, and turned her attention back to the voices outside.

She held her breath and listened as they slowly drew further away, and then, when she was sure they were gone, breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. She released Spike from her death grip and let him stumble—coughing to the side, “Okay,” Twilight whispered, and poked her head up to look outside, “I think they’re g—”

“Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin, “Ya—” she began to scream. All of the feathers on her head bristled as her wings flapped out of fright—one of them catching against her nose and setting of a sneeze, “Hachoo” and making Twilight bang her head against the door.

“Oh dear,” Twilight’s vision cleared to find two Raritys and two Spikes standing in front of her, looks of concern very evident on their faces, “Twilight, are you all right?”

“Oh,” Twilight shook her head and looked around the otherwise empty boutique, “It’s just you, Rarity.”

“I take it...” Rarity looked up and down the princess, taking in the dishevelled mane, the sticks and leaves hanging at odd angles all over the mare, and the very obvious increase in feather to fuzz ratio. She could feel the urge to brush and manicure just by looking at Twilight. Rarity pulled off one of the most notable sticks, a veritable tree branch, that had lodged itself behind Twilight’s ear and discarded it with a frown, “... that your appointment with Applejack did not go quite as expected.” She grimaced.

Twilight groaned and slumped forwards, surprising Rarity as she pulled her into a hug, “You won’t believe.”

Rarity tensed up at the contact. Her eyes going wide, she seemed to hesitate before returning the embrace, “There there,” she patted Twilight on the back and removed a caterpillar, then began to lead Twilight over to the kitchen, “Perhaps you would like to talk about it over a cup of tea?”

As they passed into the kitchen, Rarity sparked her horn and pulled out some seats. She also set the kettle running, and the cabinet in the back spat out cups and saucers that set about preparing themselves for tea.

“I don’t know if there’s all that much to tell,” Twilight admitted. She set herself down in her seat, and gladly accepted the cup of tea as it levitated down to the placemat in front of her. She reached out with a hoof, attempting to wrap its tip around the tiny handle and failing miserably. How the hay do Earth Ponies do this? She frowned and cast a glance to Spike, who had already buried himself face deep in a plate of scones with jam and cheese, then to Rarity who daintily levitated her cup to her muzzle and took a quiet sip. “Applejack’s ‘solution’,” Twilight continued, “was to soak me in a pot of Zap Apple Jam.”

“Itsh wash pretty shweet,” Spike commented past a mouth full of jam and cheese. Both mares answered him with a silent glare. Spike shrugged and simply continued shovelling food into his mouth.

“Did you at least learn something from it?” Rarity offered, “What was that thing about it being linked to your magic?”

“Yeah...” Twilight’s attention drifted as she stared down into her cup, at the feathery reflection frowning back up at her from the dark liquid. As Rarity’s words soaked in, a light went on in Twilight’s head. She looked back up, nodding quickly with more confidence, “Yeah. Applejack was right.”

“I did see them grow when you teleported.”

Twilight sat up straight, nodding to Spike, as she continued with new-found vigour, “It has to be some kind of spell, then. But who in their right mind would want to do this to me?”

“Twilight,” Rarity set her cup down and gave the princess a stern look, “You are in no shortage enemies.”

“Yes, I know,” her ears dropping again, and realising she’d been standing, Twilight lowered herself back into her seat and wrapped her hooves around her cup—if not just for something to keep herself preoccupied—“But who could have the mischievous intent, live close enough, and possess the magical prowess needed to do so?”

A beat of silence as Twilight looked to Rarity expectantly. The silent ticking of the boutique’s clock in the background and distance yelp from a filly playing outside filled the room until, finally, a switch seemed to go off in the mare’s head. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth transitioned from a frown, to a silent ‘oh’, and finally to a wide, knowing grin to match the one Twilight now wore.

Spike sat beside them with a frown, looking between the grinning mares, “... What? What?”

~ ~ ~

“Starlight Glimmer!”

Starlight stood balanced atop the step ladder and facing the bookshelves of Twilight’s library, running a hoof along the shelf counting off the spaces to find her target. Several books levitated around her and were slotting themselves back into place when Twilight and Rarity had come running into the room screaming her name.

She sighed, rolling her eyes as the final, and largest, of the three tomes—Your Mortal Nemesis and You: a three step guide to making friends when you’d rather not. For dummies— slid back in between its brethren, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Starlight turned around, looking down to the two mares gathered behind her, one looking up at her, eyes squinted and with a look that she just brainwashed somepony—again—and the other so obscured by her massive fruit hat and mountains of feathers she almost couldn’t recognise her as Twilight Sparkle.

“Don’t play dumb with us,” the fruit hat spoke, the sound of grinding teeth evident, “It may have taken a little while, but we’ve figured out your whole ‘revenge scheme’.”

“Revenge?” Starlight was taken aback, hiding a mock gasp, and making a big show of pretending to be surprised. Even going so far as to put on an ‘I’m hurt pout’, “Me?”

“Darling,” Rarity chimed in, none too plused by Starlight’s reaction, “Don’t be coy.”

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” She apologised, dropping down from the ladder and trotting past the mares. They turned to watch as Starlight went about picking up the odd papers, scrolls, and quills scattered across the ground, “But really,” Starlight laughed, “Revenge? For what? Adopting me as your student, taking me into your very own castle, and teaching me about the magic of friendship?”

With all the papers gathered, she pulled them into a stack, tapped them against the table, and set them down neatly beside the reading lamp, “I’m reformed Twilight,” she continued, looking up from her work to glance over to the pile of fruit standing beside her, “And beside, wings aren’t really my thing. I may be a manipulative, lying, cheating, mind-controlling, time-line altering, psychopath, but I’m not a larsonist.”

“Y—” Twilight sighed, her bananas suddenly seeming to hang extra low, “You’re right, Starlight. I’m sorry.”

“That’s, unfortunate.” Rarity turned to leave, laying a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder as she passed, “I’m so, so sorry. I really thought we had something there.”

“Yeah,” Twilight pulled off the hat, and flashed a smile to her friend, “But it was worth a try. Thanks for the hat.”

Twilight held the garment out to return it to Rarity, “No, no” She pushed it back to Twilight, “Keep it.”

“... okay.”

With Rarity out of the room, Twilight trudged over to the desk and took a seat. Slumping forwards, she seemed to deflate entirely, and her head met with the tabletop with a resounding thud, “Ugh,” and a heavy sigh from the princess.

“You know...” Starlight commented offhoofedly, as she continued around cleaning up the library, “May I suggest Discord?”

“Who?” Twilight’s didn’t even bother to look up, instead speaking muffled into the desk.

“You know,” Starlight twirled a hoof in the air. She paused and took a moment, waiting for Twilight to fill in the gap. Instead the princess simply sat silently wallowing in self pity. She continued, “Omnipotent, lord of chaos, Fluttershy’s latest pet?” Twilight’s ears perked at that last hint, and she saw the alicorn lift her head to look at her with a blank stare, “It’s... pretty obvious.” Starlight deadpanned.

Another groan, and a loud thud as Twilight upgraded her strategy—rather than facehoofing—she decided it was more fitting to start facedesking instead. The wood promptly split down the middle.

Comments

[vorxil]

I’m not a larsonist.

Well played.

[Rhulain]

Never thought Starlight would be the first to suggest Discord. It fits his type of prank to a Q! Twilight sprouting more and more wings that increase in number and size as she uses magic totally fits his sense of humor.

[WanderingPony]

Worth three amusing chapters just top it all off with a Larson joke followed by the greatest enemy of all convoluted planning- common sense.

Heck, one poison joke flower in the wrong place and that's all it takes...

[zimmerwald1915]

Revenge? For what? Adopting me as your student, taking me into your very own castle, and teaching me about the magic of friendship?

"Presuming to teach me things you clearly have no idea about and I already know? Continuing to exist when you serve no purpose?"

[Sollace]

7783307
"Living in the biggest eye-sore this town has ever witnessed and rubbing it in their faces that you're somehow rich enough to live in a literal castle carved from solid diamond?"

7782884
Heh. Can't have a wings story without a larson joke.

Really, an earlier draft didn't have one (nor did it have Starlight) and it was sorely lacking.

[mwclaud]

I really enjoyed part 3. So funny and entertainng. Thank you for writing it.