1 - The Experiment
In front of the chalkboard, her lab coat clean and white and perfectly pressed, Twilight picked up a pointer with her magic. "Thank you again for coming, Fluttershy. Shall we begin?"
Fluttershy swallowed and nodded. No matter how often she visited Twilight's laboratory, she could never quite get used to the antiseptic smell or the way the light here seemed harsher than anywhere else in the castle. The buzzing of the equipment, too, made the hair at the base of her mane stand up; she kept trying to tell herself that it sounded like the gentle humming of busy little bees, but it really didn't.
Still, she would never turn down the chance to spend time with Twilight. And earlier this evening on Fluttershy's doorstep, Twilight had been quite insistent that Fluttershy was the only pony in all of Equestria who could help her with this project.
Rustling her wings behind the student-sized desk Twilight had gestured to when they'd come in, Fluttershy nodded again. Then she nodded a third time to show that she really meant to nod and wasn't just twitching even though she kind of wanted to twitch and cringe some and maybe—
"So!" Twilight smacked the board with her pointer, and Fluttershy couldn't stop a wince. "I take it that you recognize this plant?"
The shape of the chalk-drawn petals registered instantly in Fluttershy's mind. "Poison joke!" she gasped.
"Very good!" The second smack of Twilight's pointer would've made Fluttershy wince some more, but she discovered that she was frozen in her seat at the mere image of that noxious blossom. "But did you know that nopony understands how poison joke works?"
"Ummm..." For once, Fluttershy's fear surged so strongly inside her that it forced her to speech rather than silence. "But we do know, don't we? How it mixes everything up and makes us into things we're not?"
Twilight's mouth went sideways. "All right, yes, we know what its general effects are, but, well, think about Swamp Fever." Her hornglow grabbed a piece of chalk and sketched one of those horrible lily pads next to the poison joke flower. "Its pollen affects everypony the same way: spots, bubbles, lightning sneezes, and eventual dendronification." She grinned, and Fluttershy recalled how happy Twilight had been coming up with that word to use in the article the two of them had written about Mage Meadowbrook's Swamp Fever cure for the Journal of the Canterlot Medical Association.
But Twilight quickly grew serious again. "Poison joke, on the other hoof, does something different to every pony it touches. I have several theories as to why, but I can't confirm or discount anything until I've performed some experiments."
Fluttershy's gaze dropped to the floor, her neck suddenly too weak to keep her head up. "And because poison joke only deepens my voice," she whispered, "you need to experiment on me."
"What? No!" A flapping of wings, and firm hooves settled onto Fluttershy's shoulders. She looked back up to see Twilight blinking down at her. "I would never do that to you, Fluttershy! It would be totally unethical! And more to the point, it wouldn't help me answer the questions I'm trying to investigate." She smiled. "No, I just need your help moving the poison joke out of the isolation pod where I'm refining it into the isolation chamber where I've set up the actual experiments."
Unable for a moment to focus on anything but Twilight's touch, Fluttershy barely managed to collect herself enough to ask, "What?"
"Yeah, it's, uhhh, it's a little embarrassing." Twilight rubbed the back of her head. "See, I built the partition here to create an isolation chamber so I wouldn't have to interact physically with the poison joke concentrate." She waved a hoof at the clear crystal wall that ran the whole length of the laboratory to Fluttershy's right. "I set up my equipment on the other side, rolled the sealed case of flowers in through the airlock there, unsealed it with my magic from the control console on this side of the wall, and started to refine the poison joke into the discrete doses I need for the tests."
Sighing, she moved the warmth of her presence back to the chalkboard and tapped her pointer over a picture of poison joke growing among jagged shards. "Unfortunately, the refined poison joke powder reacted with the cast-off plant casings like super fertilizer poured over ready-to-sprout seeds, and the isolation chamber ended up nearly bursting with blue flowers." Twilight shrugged. "Which was kind of pretty and very convenient since it meant I didn't have to go out into the Everfree to gather more blossoms, but, well, they grew so fast and so thick, they smashed most of my equipment."
Even though Fluttershy felt guilty about it immediately, she still found herself wishing that she'd pretended to be asleep when Twilight had knocked on her door an hour ago.
"So!" Twilight pointed to the next picture, this one of a box with a smaller box inside it. "For my second try, I built an isolation pod inside the isolation chamber. I sealed my refining equipment in the pod and set it to automatically pop out little vials of concentrated poison joke in order to keep the powder and the leftover plant pieces separate. That way, I figured, I could stay out here at the control console and levitate the vials to the parts of the chamber where I had my experiments waiting."
Another shrug, and she pointed to a picture of a box with a whole pile of tiny cylinders next to it. "Well, it turns out that refined poison joke creates a field around itself that is extremely resistant to magical manipulation. I tried and tried and tried, but I just couldn't lift any of the vials, and since it's an area effect, I couldn't turn off the refinery with my magic, either. The vials kept popping out of the pod, and the way they went rolling all over the floor, when I ran in there to deal with the problem physically, well, I slipped, cracked a couple vials, and got concentrated poison joke powder all over me."
"Oh, my!" Fluttershy clasped her hooves to her chest.
Twilight shrugged again. "I'll admit that I'd been wondering if poison joke would affect me differently now that I'm an alicorn, or if concentrating it the way I was would increase its potency." She tapped a drawing of herself sprawled on her belly, her horn drooping, her tongue lolling, and her wings dragging. "It turns out that it weakens my magic the same as before, but now it also weakens my wings and the rest of me; I could barely stagger out of the chamber and into the shower of Zecora's remedy that I've set up in the airlock."
"Twilight!" Every hair in Fluttershy's mane felt like it was standing up. "All alone in a room full of extra-strength poison joke? You could've...could've..." She covered her snout, not wanting any more words to get out.
But Twilight shook her head. "Oh, it wouldn't've done anything serious. It's right there in the name, remember?" Her eyes brightened. "One on my theories, actually, is that poison joke knows what the funniest effect for each pony will be because it resonates with the same cosmic force that gives us our cutie marks! That's why—" She took a breath, held up a hoof, and blew the breath out. "But there's no point getting ahead of things. If I can't manage to conduct the experiments, then all this theorizing is nothing but talk."
"So..." Fluttershy wasn't quite sure she understood yet. "You just need me to move some little bottles?"
"Pretty much." Twilight grinned. "Because I've tried seventeen times now to move the vials myself." Her right eyelid twitched. "I've tried carrying them carefully one by one. I've tried setting the vials into this padded rack on wheels I built. I've tried a conveyor belt, a little wind-up crane, and a miniature train set. And every time—every time!—something goes wrong: I end up coated in powder and staggering weak-kneed in whatever direction'll make me crash into more of the vials so I break them, too!"
What looked like steam was puffing from her nostrils, and Fluttershy wondered whether it would make things better or worse if she slipped under the desk to hide. But when Twilight made a choking noise and slumped forward onto the floor, Fluttershy cried, "Twilight!" She leaped into the air, swooped over, and slid to a landing beside her. "Are you all right?"
"Yes." Twilight groaned, pushed herself back into a sitting position, and gave a rickety sort of smile. "It's just...if we can learn how poison joke works, maybe we can find useful things to do with it! I mean, a pony who shrinks like Applejack could get a little diving suit and go into business as a plumber! Excessive hair growth like Rarity's would be a boon to wig manufacturers! And who knows what other marvels we could unlock if only we understood—!"
"I'll do it." Fluttershy forced her panic down and tried to look resolute. "If you think it's important, then...then it must be important."
"Oh, Fluttershy!" Twilight wrapped Fluttershy in a hug so wonderful, Fluttershy didn't mind at all that it squeezed the breath out of her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Let me demonstrate the safety procedures!"
She showed her the airlock that led in and out of the isolation chamber—"The doors are connected with gears so only one can be open at a time, and they're completely mechanical, too, so the anti-magic field won't stop them from working!"—the shower inside the airlock—"Once the inner door closes, just pull the rope, and it'll rain Zecora's elixir all over you!"—and the layout of the isolation chamber—"It's only about six steps from the place where the vials come out of the pod to the farthest of the experiments, so take your time, walk carefully, and set a vial into each of the twenty tubes."
The vials themselves turned out to be little cylindrical bottles about as tall as the width of Fluttershy's hoof and narrow enough so she could easily grasp them in her teeth. "They're a good, thick glass," Twilight said, "so don't worry that you'll break them if you bite too hard. When they come out of the pod, they'll have blue powder inside and this stopper screwed over the end." She levitated a little black lid and spun it into place closing off the mouth of the bottle. "Put the vials into the tubes with the stopper down, and they'll be all set."
It didn't really sound that dangerous, and even if a vial broke, since she wouldn't be tongue-tied like Pinkie, she'd still be able to talk to Twilight through the intercom, and she'd be able to get back to the airlock without tripping like Rarity or crashing like Rainbow. And—Fluttershy couldn't help giggling at the thought—maybe she could even sit in with the Ponytones for a song or two before her shower...
"One more thing," Twilight said then, her voice so serious, it shocked Fluttershy out of her reverie. Blinking, she looked up to see Twilight beside the control panel, its lights glowing and flashing, the needles on its dials hovering and wavering. "We're dealing with a highly concentrated form of a very peculiar substance, so if anything weird starts happening in there— Well, you'll notice that all the experiments are set up in this long recessed alcove along the back wall?"
Fluttershy hadn't noticed that, in fact, but looking through the crystal partition now, she could see that the boxes were indeed sitting on a sort of shelf that ran from one side of the chamber to the other.
"As a precaution," Twilight was going on, "there's a metal door that slides down to seal the experiments off from the rest of the chamber." She set a hoof beside a big red button on the console. "When I trigger it—again, it's mechanical so the concentrated poison joke won't bother it—it closes off the alcove and floods the experiments with neutralization elixir." She shrugged. "I thought about installing a spray system over the whole isolation chamber, but it would have to work by gravity flow, and that much liquid is way too heavy for the ceiling to support. But I did put in several fans to circulate the air through a set of treated filters."
Ice wanted to shiver down Fluttershy's spine, but she forced it away. "Oh, Twilight! The way you're so organized and thorough, I'm not worried at all!" And it would've sounded even better, she was sure, if her voice hadn't cracked on that last word.
Twilight smiled, but the curve of her lips barely pointed up at the ends. "You don't have to do this, Fluttershy. I know I can get a little carried away when I'm on a roll, but—"
"It's okay." Feeling daring, Fluttershy reached up and rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Your projects are always fascinating, and I can't wait to see what you'll come up with because of this one."
"Thank you." Twilight's smile strengthened. "Now, we'll both be wearing eye protection, of course, and I can get you one of these or a hazmat suit if you want." She poked at the sleeve of her lab coat. "But since nothing flimsier than crystal seems to keep the pollen out, it'd just be for the fashion value."
"Hmmm." Touching her chin, Fluttershy pretended to think about it. "Well, I know which way Rarity would vote, but I think I'll go without." Besides, she didn't say out loud, if she had to run away from some sort of poison-joke-spawned monster, she really didn't want anything tangling her hooves and wings...
"Okay!" Everything about Twilight was brightening again, and two pairs of goggles rose up from below the console, Twilight grabbing one while the other drifted toward Fluttershy. "Put these on, please, then go on in and stand next to the pod. When you tell me you're ready, I'll activate the refinery, and it'll start putting out vials at a rate of one every forty-five seconds. That should easily be enough time for you to get over to the experiments and back." Snapping on her goggles, Twilight did a little dance. "Oh, I just know this is going to work out great!"
Not trusting herself to speak, Fluttershy nodded, slipped her own goggles on, turned, and started along the wall to the airlock, her hooves clickety-clacking over the crystal floor. She pulled the door open with her teeth, stepped through before she could change her mind, and purposefully kept her eyes forward so she wouldn't see the door swinging shut. Instead, she focused on the rope hanging down from the wall ahead and to her left, the rope she would pull to trigger the shower she really hoped she wouldn't need.
The door behind her clicked, and half a heartbeat later—which at this point was a very short time because Fluttershy's heart was pounding quite quickly—the door in front of her gave a click of its own. Nosing this door out of the way, she slipped into the large crystal chamber, her eyes wide and her ears perked in case anything might be trying to sneak up on her from—
"Okay!" Twilight's voice boomed, nearly knocking Fluttershy sideways onto the floor. "Checking the intercom! Fluttershy, can you hear me?"
Swallowing against what felt like most of her internal organs trying to leap up her throat, Fluttershy nodded before she could manage to say, "It's maybe a little loud?"
"Loud? Okay!" Then at much less destructive a volume, "How's this? Better?"
Again, Fluttershy nodded and made her way along the wall to the large half sphere of the isolation pod. Twilight had said that it was made of the same clear crystal as the rest of the protective barriers, but the stacks and stacks of poison joke flowers piled inside next to the tangled tubes and boxes and wires and corkscrews and who knew what else gave the whole thing a bluish tint.
She wanted to do some more swallowing, but instead, she called, "Twilight? I'm ready."
"Okay! I'm starting the refinery in three...two...one."
The pod beside her gave a gentle sort of pop, and Fluttershy forced herself to peer through the goggles and the blue glass as parts of the machine began spinning and sliding up and down. Three or four flowers got sucked into some sort of nozzle at the bottom; two parts on either side that looked like umbrellas started pumping in and out; and lights popped on and off all over.
It was kind of fun to watch, actually, like when her parents would take her and Zephyr to the F.A.O. Lippizan toy store in downtown Cloudsdale at Hearth's Warming to look at the train sets and model cityscapes laid out with airships and carts and—
Something went "Ping!" and Fluttershy started back. Inside the pod, a door had opened at the top of the machine, and a bottle rolled out. It rattled down a little ramp toward something she hadn't noticed before: a bowling-ball-sized gear attached to the side of the pod and slowly rotating down by the floor. The gear had very big teeth—only six of them as far as Fluttershy could tell—but the gaps between the teeth were quite narrow, and as it revolved, half its teeth were inside the pod at any one time and the other half were outside.
When the bottle reached the gear, Fluttershy couldn't help holding her breath. But it slipped right into one of the spaces between the teeth and stayed there, riding all the way over and around till it was outside the pod and sliding into a padded bowl right in front of Fluttershy.
"Okay!" Twilight's voice rang from the crystal wall. "You've got forty-five seconds till the next one's ready. No hurry, though!"
With a nervous nod, Fluttershy bent down, picked up the bottle, and trotted the six steps across the room to the row of experiments. Setting the stoppered end of the bottle into one of the holes on the farthest box, she let it go, made sure it slid in, turned around, and got back to the pod while the little umbrella things were still flapping. She had time to take several deep breaths, too, before the bell rang, and she carried the next bottle over to the second slot in the first experiment.
The third bottle came and went just as smoothly, and so did the fourth and fifth. After that, Fluttershy fell into a nice, steady rhythm, and she even smiled when, as she was carrying the third-to-last bottle over to the first slot of the final experiment, a happy little squeak came from the intercom speaker. "Oh, Fluttershy! This is so great! We'll actually finish at this rate! Which reminds me: I haven't visited Zecora in a while..."
Fluttershy giggled around the bottle, slipped it into the slot—
And the bell rang behind her.
She froze for an instant, then snapped her head around to see a bottle riding the big gear out of the pod. Hurrying over, she called, "Twilight?"
"Okay." All the happiness had vanished from Twilight's voice. "The refinery's still moving at the same pace as far as I can tell. I don't know how that current vial came out so much sooner than it should've."
Bending toward the little padded bowl, Fluttershy kept her eye on the machine, the parts spinning and sliding the way they had been, the umbrella things opening and closing, the lights going on and off. Only when her snout was practically touching the bottle did she look down and notice that the black stopper was missing, the blue powder spilling out, a spicy scent tickling her nose.
Gasping before she could stop herself, she froze again, her tongue suddenly tingling. "Twilight!" she called, leaping back, but her voice was already deepening, her throat scratchy like she was catching a cold. She exhaled, thought about trying to spit the powder back out, but when a wave of heat washed through her from head to tail, something that hadn't happened to her the other times she'd been exposed to poison joke, she couldn't help gasping again.
But instead of the breath rushing in sharp and quick as it had an instant ago, the air poured into her and kept pouring as if her lungs were inflating like balloons. She felt the same sort of head rush she always got when she was taking off for a flight, but her hooves were still on the ground. Weren't they? Dizziness swirling around her, she glanced down—
And could only stare at her hooves expanding like sponges in water to cover more of the floor. The muscles of her forearms, her shanks, even her fetlocks were bulging and thickening, her legs lengthening, her chest and barrel growing larger and fuller. A glance to either side revealed that her shoulders and withers were widening as well, and craning her neck around, she saw her back and haunches doing the same, her wings bristling with row after row of new feathers, her whole body bulking up. Something tightened around her temples, and with a ripping sound, her goggles popped off, the elastic band torn jaggedly down the back.
She swallowed, remembering their adventure inside Spike's comic book, but she wasn't feeling angry the way she had then. And indeed, the growth already seemed to be slowing, the flood of warm dizziness gone, the stretching sensation vanishing and leaving her well shy of the massive monster she'd become back then.
The next gasp came over the intercom, and Fluttershy looked at the crystal wall to see Twilight looking back, her eyes and mouth wide. "Fluttershy?" she more squeaked than said. "Are...are you okay?"
"I think so." Fluttershy touched her throat with one big hoof, her voice different from the one poison joke had given her before. It was deep, yes, resonant, yes, but it was undeniably female: a contralto, the musical part of her brain offered, rather than a bass.
"We're shutting down!" Twilight was shouting. "You need to get out of there, and I'm coming in!"
"No!" The word burst from her like a slung stone, but in her alarm, Fluttershy didn't even try to moderate her tones. "I'm all right, and if you come in, the poison joke'll just weaken you!" She cocked a pastern, the muscles bunching and swelling beneath her hide. "That doesn't seem to be a problem for me right at the moment..."
"Yes, ma'am! I mean, no, ma'am! I mean—!" Twilight sounded as breathless as if she'd just run all the way from Sweet Apple Acres. "Just get out of there! Please!"
"I'm all right," Fluttershy said again, a little surprised to find that she meant it. Straightening to her new height, she looked down at the top of the pod, something she hadn't been able to do just a moment ago, and watched another bottle roll out, the refinery's bell going off. "That's why you asked me to help, isn't it? Because poison joke doesn't do anything really bad to me? There should only be two more bottles, so I'll put them in, shower off, and you can get on with your experiments." Bending her neck—and she had to bend her knees now as well to reach all the way down to the padded bowl—Fluttershy picked up the bottle, turned around—
And stared at the blue vines coiling from every experiment box along the row. The vines spread out as she watched, met and wrapped around each other, twitching and writhing and smacking hard enough into the crystal along the back and side of the alcove to send little sparkling shards whizzing through the air.
Fluttershy spat the bottle from her teeth. "The emergency door, Twilight! Hurry!"
"What? Door? What—?" Twilight gave a little squeak. "Oh, my gosh! Get back, ma'am! I'll—!" Fluttershy heard a thunk, and all along the top of the recess where the experiments sat, a long piece of dark metal appeared, slid down about the width of a hoof, then stopped with a crunch. "It's not dropping!" Twilight yelled. "Is...is something blocking it? What—?"
"There!" Fluttershy leaped toward the far end of the row. One gnarled curl of the vine, she could see, had hit the metal track that was supposed to guide the door downward, cracked the crystal behind it, and knocked it out of alignment. Not knowing if she could do anything helpful, she reared back, planted her right forehoof to the bent track, tensed her new muscles, and pushed.
The track didn't move, but as Fluttershy increased the pressure, it started feeling less like solid metal and more like stiff clay. Leaning into it, she clenched her teeth, and the track sort of mooshed back into its proper position and shape, the door creaking and sliding down so quickly, Fluttershy had to leap away to avoid getting her hooves caught. Sailing backward across the isolation chamber, she watched the door slam all the way closed, and the sound of spraying water told her that Twilight's emergency shower system was working just fine.
Fluttershy spread her wings—they seemed as big as bed sheets behind her—and thumped to the floor in front of the airlock, the crystal beneath her clanging like a gong. Silence followed...or not quite silence: rapid and heavy breathing reached her ears through the intercom. "Twilight?" She looked toward the control console, but from this angle, the reflections in the wall made it hard for her to see it clearly. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, ma'am! I mean, yes! I...I don't know why I'm— I mean, just let me...just—" A big whoosh of breath, and then Twilight went on in a slightly less wobbly tone. "The neutralization elixir seems to have stopped whatever the poison joke was doing with the experiment boxes, and I'll start the fans to clear the air." A cooling downdraft stroked over Fluttershy, the shivering sensations coming from places that seemed farther away than her brain thought they should.
Swallowing a little panic, she turned to the airlock door and breathed a quick sigh of relief. Even with her new size, she still had to look up slightly at the lintel, and she was almost entirely certain that she would be able to squeeze the span of her shoulders through. "All right," she said. "I'll use the shower and see you outside."
"Yes, you, uhh... Yes." Twilight still seemed distracted, but that made sense, Fluttershy supposed. After all, the poison joke had taken her completely by surprise again. And not just her. Fluttershy had to grin, reaching out one massive hoof to carefully push the handle down and pull the door open: before, the handle had been about the level of her snout. Now, it was down below the center of her chest.
Getting through the door actually made her wince a little—she'd forgotten she had to jam the giant bundles of feathers now attached to her between the crystal doorposts as well. But she jimmied herself through, thankful that the room inside was larger than the doorways. Still, the ceiling brushed the tips of her ears, and settling her wings, she smacked the walls on either side.
Another sliver of panic jabbed her, but she breathed it away as well as she could, took the shower rope in her teeth, and gently pulled.
Something clicked above the ceiling, but nothing else seemed to happen. No magic elixir came pouring from the little holes, at any rate.
Not sure if the intercom would work in here, Fluttershy leaned forward, set a hoof to the handle of the outside door, pushed it open just a crack, and called, "Twilight?"
"Yes, ma'am! I mean— Guh!" Fluttershy could hear Twilight gnashing her teeth. "What is it, Fluttershy?"
Fluttershy tried to pitch her voice up and narrow its timbre so she'd sound more like herself, but it didn't really work. "I don't want to be a bother, but, well, I pulled the rope for the shower, and it didn't. Shower, I mean."
"What? But it—" A gasp. "Oh, no! I'm sorry, ma'am! I...I mean, the emergency wall, when it drops... I've never had to use it before, but, it...it drains all the neutralization elixir in the storage tanks! So there's...none left for the...the shower..."
Silence settled in and stretched out on the other side of the door. Fluttershy cleared her throat. "But you can mix up some more, can't you?"
"Yes, ma'am! Of course, ma'am! I'm sorry, ma'am! I—!" Twilight made that teeth-grinding noise again. "You might as well come out, Fluttershy. You're not infectious or anything, so we don't have to worry about—"
Pushing the door open, Fluttershy squeezed out, Twilight's words in her ears turning to a gurgle. She looked over to make sure Twilight was okay, then had to to drop her gaze to meet Twilight's.
Those purple eyes stared wide behind her goggles. "You're so...big!" Twilight squeaked.
Not sure how to respond, Fluttershy decided to make light of it. "Do you think so?" She stretched so she could look back at the bulging mounds of herself. "Bigger than Big Mac, I suppose, but not as big as Bulk Biceps." But now that she wasn't panicking, and having Twilight right there to give her a better idea of scale... "I don't know, though." Bending the other way, she did some more looking. "My wings are certainly larger than his, and my hooves and pasterns, so—"
"I could measure you," Twilight said, her gaze unfocusing, a strange half smile on her lips. "Run my calipers all around your—" Gasping, she jumped back, her wings flaring her into a hover that brought her up to Fluttershy's eye level. "No! Sorry, ma'am! I—" Her snout wrinkled into a grimace, and she dropped to the floor. "It's just I...and you...and—" She shook her head. "It'll take me about fifteen minutes to mix up more elixir." Her right eyelid twitched. "Maybe twenty minutes: I'd better do a double batch to make sure we cover...all of you." She swallowed and looked away. "I...I'm so sorry, Fluttershy."
Fluttershy wanted to step forward and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, but considering how guilty Twilight obviously felt, she decided it would be best if she didn't. "I'm okay, Twilight. Really. It doesn't hurt at all, and once you get Zecora's potion mixed up, I'll be right back to normal."
"Yes," Twilight muttered, her gaze still focused to the side. But then she took a breath and raised her head with a shaky smile. "Don't worry about a thing, Fluttershy. Just go on into the library next door and relax. I...I'll come get you when the reservoir's refilled."
With a nod and a shaky smile of her own, Fluttershy started carefully toward the laboratory door, uncomfortably conscious of her big hooves and what they could maybe do to the crystal floor. Again, she had to bend down to reach the door handle, but at least it was a double door so she fit through easily enough. The hallway outside seemed smaller than usual, but Fluttershy chose not to think about that. Instead, she set her sights on the next set of doors, pushed them open, and stepped into the library.
Well, one of the libraries. How many there were in the castle, she didn't know, but this wasn't the place where she'd spent that long, sweat-drenched night researching the Mystical Mask while Zecora was sick with Swamp Fever. No, judging from the titles of the books—things like Thaumaturgical Manipulation at the Sub-Atomic Level and Advanced Mathemagics—she guessed this was more of a science library.
Which made sense, being right next to the lab and all. It just didn't bode well for finding anything she might be able to settle down and read for the next fifteen or twenty minutes.
Though in all honesty, she didn't feel much like settling down. No doubt the adrenaline was still rushing through her system from the excitement of a few moments ago. And considering how much larger her system was all of a sudden...
Swallowing, Fluttershy stopped in the middle of the room and tried not to imagine that the walls were closing in. This was a fairly familiar sensation for her, of course, but at home when hyperventilation started digging its nasty little teeth into her, she could practice her tai chi and—
Her ears perked. There wasn't any reason she couldn't run through the postures here, was there? She couldn't think of one, and very deliberately pulling in a deep breath and holding it, she slid into the opening stance.
Exercise had never appealed to her growing up in Cloudsdale: it had all been so focused on flying, after all. Moving to Ponyville, though, she'd discovered that her chosen work meant climbing trees and pulling herself through burrows and performing the occasional ursine spinal adjustment. Trying to build strength in her legs and body, she'd gotten some books on calisthenics from the library even before Twilight had come to town, and she'd muddled along that way until Treehugger had introduced her to the ancient earth pony art of tai chi p'yon.
It had been a revelation. Not only had Fluttershy found it useful for keeping herself supple and stronger than she looked, but concentrating on the forms also helped her relax in the morning before she had to head out into the wild tumult of Ponyville to do her shopping and all.
Sliding from pose to pose now, though, she found that she had to slow the motions even more than usual since nothing felt the same. She closed her eyes so she could concentrate on the simple, flowing movements, and gradually, she found herself able to think about the differences without panicking, every "Parting the Mane" and "Stroking the Sparrow's Tail" spreading her awareness further out into her expanded frame and limbs.
Not that that awareness helped her understand the sensations. She was heavier, yes, but also lighter somehow, each flex and stretch bringing her the impression of being both more solid and more liquid. Still, her big new muscles responded with a precision she'd never before experienced, and she went through the twenty-four basic positions with a firmness and crispness that exhilarated her. Reaching the end, she stepped right back to the beginning and started again.
How many times she went through the sequence, she had no idea, but she started wondering if maybe she could try some other things, maybe some of the gymnastic routines she always loved to watch at the Equestria Games. So she added a few flares here and there, twirls that definitely weren't a proper part of the tai chi program, even balancing on one leg in ways that she didn't think she would've been physically able to do before. She found herself laughing, humming, singing wordlessly in her thick-as-honey voice, dancing with her altered self, and—
A little choking noise came from behind her; Fluttershy opened her eyes and saw Twilight standing in the library door with her mouth and eyes wide. "I'm sorry!" Twilight blurted. "I didn't—! I wasn't—! I shouldn't've—!" Her wings flapping to hold her upright, she clapped both front hooves over her mouth, the sour smell of fear touching her usual clean, lavender scent.
Which was just about enough of that. Fluttershy planted all four hooves firmly on the floor. "Twilight Sparkle! I'll not have you feeling so guilty about this!" The words came out much more sternly than she'd intended, so she swallowed and tried to lighten her tone. "You explained the risks before we began, and I accepted those risks. What happened wasn't even bad, and a little shower makes it all go away. So please stop blaming yourself."
"Yes, ma'am!" Twilight squeaked between her hooves, a shiver shaking her from nose to tail. "Sorry, ma'am!" Her eyes closed, and she dropped back down to stand regularly, her head drooping. "It's just— What kind of pony does things like this to her friends?"
And Fluttershy couldn't've stopped herself if she'd wanted to: she swooped forward, set one foreleg lightly over Twilight's withers, and pulled her into a gentle hug. "A pony whose life is a constant adventure," she said, her attempt at a whisper making her voice as rumbly as a tiger's purr. "And a pony who loves sharing those adventures."
Twilight made a little mewing noise, her cheek rubbing against Fluttershy's chest all warm and tingly. A gasp puffed goosebumps over Fluttershy's hide almost immediately, though, and Twilight literally vanished, popping back into existence out in the hallway, a blush making her face more of a burgundy color. "Sorry!" Another grimace, and she sighed. "Thanks, I mean. It...it means a lot to hear you say that." Raising a hoof, she gestured to the lab doors. "But the elixir's ready if...if you are."
Still a little tingly, Fluttershy nodded, not quite sure she could speak through her suddenly tight throat. The silence went on as prickly as a hedgehog down the hall and into the lab, the air thick and strange. Twilight walked beside her to the airlock door, then cleared her throat. "Just...just go on in, pull the rope, and you'll be...back to normal."
For some reason, Fluttershy thought of the times she'd gone away on train trips: she wanted to hug Twilight again and tell her good-bye. Shaking it off, she instead said, "Thank you, Twilight" before pulling open the airlock door, and squeezing carefully inside. She took the rope in her teeth, gave it a tug, and with a gurgle and a splash, warm water rained down over her.
Earlier, the sensations had been of stretching, flexing, thickening, so Fluttershy wasn't surprised when this was more of a relaxing, a settling, the sort of melting she sometimes imagined just as she was falling asleep. Her breaths got shorter and shorter, but it wasn't the shortness of breath she knew from her panic attacks. Again, it felt more like drifting off to sleep.
The rope began sliding against her lips. She blinked, let it go, saw the walls moving upward as if she were coming in for a landing, the lines and angles around her shifting back to their proper alignments. With a breath, she turned, something she could do quite easily again, reached up for the door handle, and pushed outside.
Twilight stood waiting with a towel and the most wonderful little warmth spell, both of which helped dry Fluttershy in no time. "Now you're sure you're all right?" Twilight asked.
Fluttershy nodded, and just to prove it, she sang a quick arpeggio in her regular mezzo. "See? No harm done."
"Yes," Twilight said, but the word seemed somehow hollow in Fluttershy's ear. "I...I can walk you home, though, if you'd like. If you're, umm..." She gave a little shrug.
"I'm fine, thank you." Fluttershy stepped forward to nuzzle Twilight, a part of her glad that she had to stretch once more to do it. "I don't want to be a bother, and I know you have a lot to do here."
"Yes." Twilight swallowed so hard, Fluttershy could feel it pulse against her cheek. "I...I'll definitely need to redefine a few parameters after all this..."
Stepping away, Fluttershy nodded. "Well, if you need my help again—"
"Oh, I, ummm..." A twitchy sort of smile tugged Twilight's muzzle. "Thank you. I...I'll let you know if I do."
"All right." Fluttershy turned for the door, so glad to see that it was also the right size again. "I'll probably see you tomorrow."
"Yes," Twilight said for a third time in that distracted tone, and Fluttershy picked up her pace so as not to take up any more of Twilight's time.
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This was really good. I think that a good plot twist is that twilight likes bigger ponies and falls in love with fluttershy when she's like that.
Oh-ho! Methinks "Muscleshy" is poking's Twilight's suppressed attraction to
the TallestCelestia!Looks interesting. And quite an interesting experiment methodology, if a bit ambitious!
Twilight likes 'em big, it would seem. It makes a certain amount of sense, multiple ponies in her life that have had a significant impact have all been taller than her.
First you make me think of futanari as a serious story focus, and now you do the same with growth? I wish more "fetish" stories were like this one, where the fetish enhances rather than detracts from the story.
I find speculation like this to be absurdly pleasing. Cutie Mark resonance is a neat hypothesis.
Of COURSE it generates a slapstick field along with the anti magic...Discord really outdid himself when he made this one.
Again, Twilight checking like this? More nice things I appreciate.
Darn laughter magic...she should have had Pinkie help investigate...
"Coincidence? I THINK NOT!"
"Um...Bernie..."
Guilty. RIIIIGHT...
Very fun and cute. Appreciating the Poison Joke science and awkward flustered Twilight more than the giantness, but I'm certainly not complaining.
I loved this part! Twilight may be a bit too into Mad Science, but she's got ethics!
Also, very nice job showing Flutters' (unrealized?) attraction to Twilight. And of course it makes sense that Twi would be into very big mares!
This was splendid. Twilight's test procedures (and ethical concerns) were a delight, as was Fluttershy's attraction to her.
I can foresee a new boost in the research on Poison Joke and it's shippi-- its potentially curative applications.
Did it never occur to anyone to wear a hazmat suit?
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I thought:
I had a line about that, but it looks like I don't. Lemme pop in and add one now. Thanks!
Mike
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So...this pollen can somehow get through hazmat suits, and Twilight STILL thinks it's a good idea to study it in such flimsy conditions?
Why doesn't she make a crystal armor suit?
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My thinking was:
That the magic-blocking properties of the concentrate would mean that a crystal armor suit would be very heavy and very difficult for Twilight to move around in. And even if she could move around, how would she move the vials?
Easier just to ask Fluttershy. Because science must be done!
Mike Again
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Thanks, folks!
Odd how it's always Fluttershy I focus on when I'm doing my versions of these fetishy topics...
Mike
Interesting start I'm looking forward to more from this story!!
Alright, I'll keep an eye on this.
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THANK LUNA!!! I would hate to think you are not keeping a eye on this.....
Very nice, and I look forward to more. I loved the descriptions, the reactions, and even the characterization.
One thing did jar me a little, and it was the following.
You swapped actors in this. The first part is Fluttershy, but the dialogue is clearly Twilight's. I'd suggest keeping actors (and their dialogue) to their own paragraphs.
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That's an:
Easy fix. Thanks for pointing it out!
Mike
8946069 No probs. Thanks for the great story!
Twilight's face throughout the fiasco portion: 78.media.tumblr.com/532a46c4d814026f498a267f93fc40ef/tumblr_p97qs0tyZW1w75dofo4_1280.jpg
Buffershy is a blessing. Had to research what a contralto sounds like though.
I have SEVERAL questions...
But I'm too entertained right now to care. Good job. Tracking.
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I did not expect to see you here kind sir! Fancy meeting you again i must say though. I am close to finished with the storyboard but not quite almost
Heh. Twilight getting all hot and bothered over giant Fluttershy nearly made me fall out of my chair laughing.
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What can I say? I'm an infestation. You'll find me everywhere.
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Your not an infestation... your omnipresent.
I have a theory that fluttershy gets more manly when effected with poisen joke. not get a deeper voice.
Good point. But her getting more and more manly is a good theory in my opinion. I am a little byast though. But I bet it super op poisen joke she would be the pony version o dwane the rock jhonsen
So...is it wrong that I imagined Fluttershy sounding like Commander Shepherd?
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More like:
Sgt. Calhoun from Wreck It Ralph...
Mike