It Was Just Supposed To Be Lunch

by FanOfMostEverything

Chapter 7 — AltruistArtist

The atmosphere within Zecora’s hut was a salve to the roiling chaos of the day. Layered, earthy scents were in the air, eucalyptus and shea. A burbling cauldron occupied the center of the room and Luna stood beside it, ears turned to its gentle sound, attempting to draw peace into her prickling nerves.

It was a difficult feat when the murmuring from six human–turned–ponies crowded behind her. They may have shared the faces of the Element Bearers, but their youthfulness was evident in their distractibility. Zecora’s shelves were lined with all manner of entrancing artifacts and colorful glass jars to gawk at — and rifle through. An abrupt ceramic clatter rang out, followed by a distinct yelp from Rainbow Dash. For the third time since arriving, Luna held out a foreleg to deflect Pinkie Pie’s questing hoof from reaching the green bubbles rising from the cauldron.

Zecora remained focused on the developing emergency, a credit to her grace under pressure. “Lift your borrowed wing, friend of my friend. To your plight, I will attempt to tend.”

Glancing over her withers, Sunset extended one of the night-dark alicorn wings holding residence on her body. Zecora brought a hoof to its underside, her pendulous gold earring swinging with the lowering of her muzzle. With narrowed eyes, she traced the feathers down to the joining place where they disappeared under the golden hairs of Sunset’s coat.

The hide over Luna’s withers jerked. A phantom itch. It had twinged each time Sunset unfurled those unowned wings, but the sensation dulled with each passing minute, the connection waning. Luna’s silver-shod hoof scraped at the packed earth of the hut floor.

Twilight – the Twilight she knew – was pacing beside Zecora. At her brow, the golden horn formerly belonging to Sunset was restless, flickering with a lurid red field. “Princess Celestia believes your skills in medicinal magic might be able to help us. She’s searching the royal archives for answers, but who knows if they’ll provide anything substantial. According to her, this sort of morphological switching of tribe characteristics is unprecedented!”

Sunset raised her chin and stressed, “More than anything, we need time, Zecora.” She smiled, tight-lipped. “It is Zecora, right?”

The zebra gave a pleasant nod, moving to assess the wing at Sunset’s left. Again, Luna’s shoulder flinched.

“If not for the dire fate of which you spoke, I might have guessed you’d been beset by the tricks of poison joke.” Zecora stepped back, addressing her visitors as a whole. “So through a portal you all did tread, only for wings to switch bodies and horns to appear on another’s head. And if this magical swap is not something you can undo, your new parts will soon be forced out of you?”

Fluttershy whimpered, and Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “You don’t have to say it like that!” Errant pink sparks sprayed from her horn, the same shade of lavender as the one above Luna’s own brow. It was impossible to identify which of the two Twilights they belonged to, or whether that distinction would matter if a solution went undiscovered.

“Was it any better when Twilight called it ‘violent internal magical rejection?’” Applejack asked. Her eyes tilted upward as she prodded Rarity’s porcelain white horn sprouting from under her mane. “No matter how it’s said, it’s bad news for us if we don’t get this sorted out in a hurry.”

Twilight nodded, her teeth chattering with a distraught laugh. “There’s also the possibility our parts might fuse. Permanently. I can’t begin to imagine what it would mean for us, much less them.” She raised a hoof to gesture at the group of six huddled behind Luna. “What might happen if they get stuck this way and return to bodies that don’t possess wings or horns?”

“If, that is, we can return,” Sunset said. Luna’s wings were slack at her sides.

Twilight’s new golden horn resumed its flashing. “The portal between our worlds is what caused this swap. Our working theory is that chaos magic is involved somehow, if that gives you anything to go by.” Drawing a shuddery breath, she beseeched, “What do you think, Zecora? Is there something, anything…?”

Zecora nodded, a dogged squint in her eye. “I may be able to prepare a palliative brew. Rest assured, Twilight Sparkle, I will not allow harm to come to you.”

As though seized by sudden bravery, the bespectacled Twilight trotted forward. Chin jerking upward, she unfurled her twitchy yellow wings, formerly owned by Fluttershy. She rubbed her foreleg and said, “If you need help, I can lend a hand — er, you know what I mean. I’m well-versed in chemistry!”

Zecora smiled. “Your offer of help is appreciated, Twilight’s double. Let us make haste and get your friends out of trouble.”

As a mortar and pestle were retrieved and herbs gathered for grinding, Luna crossed the floor to Sunset and Twilight. “While the remedy is prepared, we ought to revisit the possibility of the other world’s Discord bearing responsibility for our predicament.” Her gaze swept them. “You both would be most adept at recognizing the counterpart of an Equestrian native. In either of your time there, had you seen somepony – someone – who reflected his peculiar anatomy? Or if failing that, a being who embodied his roguish demeanor?”

Both of them shook their heads.

“Without Equestrian magic, his draconequus-ness wouldn’t exactly be present,” Sunset said. “He’d look like a normal man. Well, I guess as normal as a man sharing Discord’s likeness could look.” She forced a chuckle, though her eyes were downcast. Her broad alicorn wings extended, the primaries curling, as if it brought her discomfort to feel their touch skimming her sides.

Twilight brought a hoof to her shoulder. “Sunset, what are you thinking? You’ve been restless since we got here.”

Sunset gave her a wry smile, rocking back to sit in the dirt of the hut floor. “Aren’t we all, given the circumstances?”

Another knocking of glass jars came from the shelf nearest to the door. Rainbow and Pinkie were on their hind legs, inspecting a row of bottles filled with shimmery liquid, whispering to one another. Twilight’s wings fluttered on Pinkie's back.

Luna’s ear flicked. “Not that it would seem.”

Twilight sighed. “I’m just glad they can find something to distract themselves with for now. I can’t imagine I’d be able to keep them calm while I’m already trying to figure this all out.” She breathed deep and let out a measured exhale, touching her chest and extending her foreleg.

Luna’s stiff posture softened. “Have faith in your brilliant mind, Twilight Sparkle. Just as you have faith in Zecora.” Her manner grew gentler, crouching to meet the eyes of both mares before her — mares who, in spite of their great accomplishments, were young, and afraid.

“Sunset,” she said in the tones she used as a dream visitor, the one place her subjects could look to her not as a figure of royalty, but as a bastion of comfort, “what troubles you, truly?”

Luna’s wings flexed through another anxious curl above Sunset’s shoulders. Albeit still tense, Twilight moved to sit beside her. Unable to wrap a wing around her, her tail swept over the dusty floor to rest upon Sunset’s own.

“It’s Wallflower,” Sunset admitted. Her eyes closed; a crease rose above her snout. “If something… irreversible happens. And I can’t go back. She’ll think I abandoned her.”

Twilight was shaking her head. “From all you’ve told me about her, Wallflower’s grown so much. She wouldn’t believe that, not of you. If you were just… gone, she would know something was wrong.”

Sunset shifted, brows furrowed. The short curl of her forelock appeared wilted over the absent space where her horn should have been. “You’re right, she has grown. A lot.” She smiled, staring at the floor. “She knows I wouldn’t leave her to just spend the rest of my life in Equestria, or “out of town” as we’ve taken to calling it. But I’m sure she’s been worried, waiting for me to message her for the past few hours.” Blinking, she jerked upright. “Wait, Twilight — the journal!”

Twilight’s borrowed horn glowed red, as though spurred by the turbulence of her thoughts. “Does she know about it?”

Sunset smiled again, more earnest this time. “Yeah, she does. She actually caught me writing in it a while back and I had to explain myself. The funny thing was, I was writing about her.”

Twilight’s expression was awash with sentiment. “I remember those letters.”

Appearing renewed, she stood, addressing Luna. “As soon as Zecora is finished with her cure, we need to head to my castle. Sunset’s girlfriend is still in the other world. We can send her a message, describe the situation, and we can ask if she’s ever seen someone who matches Discord’s description.”

“I can’t predict how long it might be until she checks it,” Sunset admitted. “But if we’re stuck here for much longer, she’ll start trying to piece things together.” A pause. “I hope.”

Luna was nodding, equally inspired. “For now,” she said, “it’s what we have. And that is preferable to nothing.”

---

A ‘stabilizing salve’ is what Zecora called the bitter-smelling poultice she smeared across each of their borrowed parts. It was chilly on Luna’s forehead, and drew vexing insects as she and her companions made their short trek through the Everfree, but it had eased the unnerving sensations. Beside her, Sunset walked with an even stride, her dark wings tucked in a natural position of rest. Luna no longer felt an ache in her withers, but this absence comforted rather than terrified her. Zecora’s remedy was at work and for now their bodies would accept their new appendages, neither absorbing nor rejecting them.

“Twilight, dear?” Rarity said. “Once we reach your castle, would you happen to have any outfits you’d be willing to lend us? The girls and I are still a little uneasy at the idea of walking around… au naturel.” The feathers of her cyan wings were ruffled, swept modestly over her flanks.

“Of course,” Twilight replied. “Though, I apologize in advance if my wardrobe is a little plain for your tastes.”

They shared a giggle, their conversation fading into the background hum of the Everfree. Luna’s ears swiveled, alert at the head of their group. Her magical perception may have been blunted, but her corporeal senses were not.

Something was rustling the bushes. It was coming near.

“Halt!” Luna commanded, extending a foreleg to the rest of the group.

Ahead, on the distant shadowed path, a body lurched into view. Moving with an ungainly coil over the grass, the beast rose into a hunch, its posture like a curved talon. It was difficult to make out its colors under the foggy air of the Everfree. But it was horned and serpentine and possessing what appeared to be a disparate assortment of limbs.

Luna was grateful it hadn’t turned to look at them. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was staring at the plants.

Comments

[Speckle]

Don't think you're gonna need that journal, Sunset

[Dashie04]

Sunset’s girlfriend

I feel like this caused a cascade.