The Twilight Child

by Detectivefish

Happy Birthday, Twilight Twinkle

Twilight Sparkle frowned. She paced, carefully taking in the scene around and in front of her. Nearby, Spike held a note-pad and a quill. She tilted her head, noting a patch of burnt moss near her hoof.

"Looks like there was a struggle" she said. Spike instantly began to write down what she'd said.

"Which means she saw it coming... and fought back... That accounts for the grooves." She nodded back to the obvious tracks in the dirt.

"But it apparently wasn't enough."

"Is she going to be okay?" Spike asked. Twilight tried to gather her thoughts, and looked back to the dragon, who was glancing past her leg. Behind that, there was a small crowd of ponies gawking at the scene.

Twilight turned to look at the sight before her, of a royal blue mare just... standing completely still, her breathing slow and calm, like she was merely sleeping, despite the odd plant currently stuck to the mare. It almost resembled a blueberry, were it not for the numerous tendrils wrapped around the mare, including around her neck and fore-legs. Twilight, and Pinkie Pie had both tried removing the vines, only for them to twine themselves tighter around the mare. Pinkie had gone to fetch help, which was apparently why so many ponies had shown up to the outskirts of the Everfree Forest to see what had happened to Midday Eclipse.

Twilight stared at the mare, and then back to the evidence around her, as her mind ran through the alternatives, trying to determine what had happened to her.

*****

Earlier that day
It was night-time, which meant she was supposed to be asleep. Supposed. Meant. Asleep, she thought to herself. Midday sighed. She could hear soft mutterings from Trixie's bed, the showmare worn out after a hard day's being sarcasting, finding new ways to cast illusions and eating odd lunchs. She could hear the tiny rumble of Spike, and the total abscence of noise from Peewee, the newborn phoenix chick. Twilight had been uncertain about keeping the little phoenix, but when Spike pointed out the danger of setting a baby bird loose in the world, Twilight had capitulated, though she had seemed uncertain, mentioning she wasn't certain Spike was 'old enough for the responsibility'.

She rolled over in her bed, looking at the clock next to her. Then she looked up at the ceiling again, and frowned. It was long after midnight, and therefore technically the twentieth of March, her birthday. In the darkness, she grinned.

"Happy birthday, Twinkie" she whispered.

She lay there for a while, hoping to get to sleep. Waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
And waiting.

*****

As she went outside she was aware of a small amount of sunlight beginning to appear. It was quiet, and peaceful, with only the distant sound of birdsong. As she walked she found herself remembering her father was still in Canterlot. She wondered if he'd start mailing her on whether she'd found a way home.

It occured to her that in several months she hadn't been looking for a time-travel spell, or even thought about getting one. Ever since the... incident with the Heart's Desire, in fact.

She saw the sun begin to rise, and stopped to watch. Then she saw she was by the Everfree Forest. She'd managed to walk all the way from the library to by the forest without realising it.

'Must be more tired than I thought' she mused, before turning around. Then she heard the rustling noise.
She turned again, to see an odd plant nearby, which seemed almost to be moving. It looked like a blueberry, though it was a dark purple colour. Something about it seemed familiar, but she'd read that book by Professor Snails when she was younger, the one her mother had given her for her birthday, the one about dangerous fauna and how to avoid them, and she couldn't recall anything like what she was looking at.

However, it was from the Everfree, and the Everfree... well, the Everfree, her mother had once said, wasn't really a forest, not really, it w-

A root shot out of the ground and lunged at her. She jumped, and the root almost seemed confused, before lunging for her again. Her horn glowed, and a small ball of fire spat at the root. For a second it flailed, and then she heard a noise behind her, turning to see another root. She quickly summoned a shield spell, and the root smashed against it just as it suddenly dropped down to the ground.

Then she whipped around to see the odd blueberry plant right next to her, and th-
Darkness took her, and there were voices...

*****

The first sign that something wasn't right was that there was no sign of Midday. Her bed had been left empty, and there was no note, no nothing. Pinkie Pie showed up soon after, annoyed that Midday hadn't shown up to her surprise birthday party, before speculating as to whether the mare would show up at all, and the two decided to search for her. After asking at Rarity's, and unintentionally soliciting the help of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they found her standing by the edge of the Everfree, with the strange plant stuck to her.

Twilight heard noise, as several ponies pushed through the throng, including Applejack and one of the hospital nurses, who took one look at Midday and shook her head.

"I don't know why you bothered asking for me," she said, as she looked at the unmoving form of Midday, "I'm not really qualified to deal with plants."

"Is it okay to move her?" Twilight asked, looking toward the crowd of ponies, still whispering and muttering to each other, "It's just that I think it would be best to get her indoors."

The nurse frowned. "Well, she appears stable, so it's probably an idea to get her indoors, yes."

Twilight lifted the mare, and stared at Midday, who looked at peace, despite the vines around her legs, preventing her knees from bending, and wondered what could possibly have been going through the mare's mind at that moment.

*****

There was darkness. And voices

"Twilight...?" one voice chimed.
"Twilight?"

She was aware of a nudging feeling against her cheek.

"Twinkle?!" that voice was incredibly familiar, and it took her mind a second to realise what was wrong. Ponies were calling her Twilight Twinkle.

But of course they were. That was her name, wasn't it?

She opened her eyes to see three faces staring at her. One was Mayor Fluttershy, the other was her mother, and the other was Whisper Wind.

"What-?" she said, before there was a sigh.

"You're lucky we found you in time" Fluttershy smiled, "A few more minutes and who knows what that nasty plant could've done to you."

"Plant?" she asked. Fluttershy nodded, and indicated a small pile of cinders by Twilight Sparkle's hooves.

"How... long was I out for?" she asked. Memories came rushing back to her, like she'd just woken up.

She'd ran into the Everfree Forest, just because she could, despite Whisper Wind telling her not to, despite her mother explaining that she was only going to be talking with Fluttershy for a few minutes. And she'd managed to get herself lost incredibly quickly, at which point the plant had attacked her.

"Only a few minutes" her mother said, smiling a worried smile. Midday... Twilight Twinkle rubbed her head. It sure hadn't felt like she'd been asleep for a few minutes, it had felt like years. Even as it was all slipping away, she could remember fragments of it, and looked at Whisper Wind.

"Thanks" she smiled, before looking at her mother.

"I won't run off again, mom." the mare laughed, and shook her head. This felt familiar. She'd done that in the dream, hadn't she? But it all felt so different.

"What a way to start a holiday" Twilight Sparkle said, turning to leave the forest, Twilight Twinkle, Whisper Wind and his mother following after. Then Twinkle remembered, and looked at Wisp... Whisper Wind, who seemed oddly nervous about something.

The Twilights parted ways with the pegasi, and began walking toward the train station in the distance. Occasionaly Twilight Sparkle looked toward the filly struggling to keep up with her. Every now and then Twilight Twinkle tripped, since for some reason her legs didn't seem to be working in the way she expected them to.

"You're being really quiet" Twilight Sparkle observed. Two little burnt orange eyes turned to her.

"Yeah, just... thinking. I had a really weird dream while I was out" the mare tilted her head, before stopping.

"Are you alright, dear?" the filly nodded, smiling slightly.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Twilight Sparkle asked. Twilight Twinkle thought about this. It did seem fun.

"Yeah" she smiled, before being lifted by her mother's magic. As the mare continued walking, Twilight Twinkle nestled down between her wings, and all the strange alternate memories were slowly filed away to be remembered later, but several truly nightmarish ones were standing out.

"Mom?" the little filly said.

"Yes?"

"I love you"

She couldn't see it, but she knew her mother was smiling. "I love you too, Twilight Twinkle. You're the best daughter I could've asked for. Even if you do run off a lot."

"Won't do it again" the filly said, "Promise."

*****

Twilight Sparkle sighed, as she scanned through her books. She had been looking for a plant that matched the one she was staring at, and so far had found nothing, while Midday Eclipse remained immobile, the plant seeming to do nothing. Pinkie Pie and Spike, meanwhile were rattling off suggestions for what the plant was doing, each one getting more and more alarming.

"Maybe it'll turn her into some sort of hideous giant plant monster, and Princess Celestia will have to burn her to a crisp!" Spike said. Pinkie shook her head.

"No, it'll use her as a mobile seed dispenser. When everypony goes near, she'll shoot spores into them, spreading the infection!"

"Or it'll turn her into a half-pony, half-plant being, who wants to destroy all ponies and let plants take over the world, constantly battling Luna every few months for highly arbitrary reasons!"

And with each one Twilight grew more and more irritated, until finally Pinkie said the most disturbing one.
"Maybe it's secretly laying its eggs in her stomach, and then when it's done, it'll drop off, and everything will seem fine until at breakfast she starts shaking and convulsing, and a hideous phallic-plant monster will shoot out of her, and slowly kill everypony in town!"

"ENOUGH!" Twilight roared, glaring at the two of them for a moment, before restraining herself. She looked at Pinkie. "How about, Pinkie, instead of pointless speculation, you ask around town for anypony who might now anything about... that?"

The pink mare's smile seemed to flicker for a moment, before she nodded, and sauntered out of the door. Spike just stood there, looking at Twilight.

The mare frowned. She honestly wasn't sure why she was so concerned about Midday. From all appearances the royal blue unicorn was alright, physically, but for some reason she couldn't help but feel worried for her. She realised Spike was saying something.

"Sorry" she said.
The little dragon looked embarrassed about something. "I was just thinking, maybe we should try and contact her dad, or something, maybe he'd be able to help, but I-I guess not..."

Twilight shook her head. "It's an idea, but we don't know where he is or how to contact him" she looked over at the mare, as if afraid that looking away would cause the mare to stop breathing.

"She's so secretive. She's been here for months, and she's barely said anything about herself. I mean, we know that's she's from Canterlot, she was an accountant, although I don't think I've ever seen her doing any accounting, she knows the Princesses, or at least she knows Luna well enough to talk to her. Oh, and her parents had at least a passing interest in astronomy, though from the sound of it they're broken up."

She put a hoof against her chin. "She doesn't act like a pony from a broken home, thought. And she mentioned her mother was successful. She's willing to help others without much in the way of complaint, has a tendency toward self-deprication. So who is she? What could possibly be so dangerous she won't tell us?"

Spike looked nervously about. "Maybe we should ask Princess Celestia about this plant. I mean, if anypony knows about it, she would?"

"On the day of the March equinox?" Twilight shook her head, "She'll be far too busy!"

Spike shrugged, "It was an idea."

"I doubt Princess Celestia will drop everything she's doing just because one of my friends has been attacked by a plant" Twilight said, though Spike was certain Princess Celestia was exactly the sort of pony who would abandon a March equinox party just to get a plant off of somepony, even before getting to who Midday was.
The two sat there for a moment.

"So, what do we do?" asked Spike, "What can we do?"

An idea occured to Twilight. "We can find her father! Perhaps he can help us!" she smiled.

Spike looked confused. "How?"

"Simple, we find her emergency contact details."

Spike considered this, and frowned. He was incredibly certain he could guess who those ponies were. He looked at Midday again, and remembered the mare had promised to tell Twilight the truth about herself. A thought occured to the dragon, and he rushed upstairs, Twilight too engrossed in her books to notice. He rushed over to the small desk where Peewee was sleeping, and taking great care not to disrupt the tiny phoenix, began looking for something useful, something that would've helped with their current situation.

And then it occured to Spike that something was seriously wrong with the current situation, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

*****

The years passed for Twilight Twinkle, along a much different path. She did not instantly run off on arrival at the Crystal Palace, meaning she did not meet Shining Sapphire in the same fashion, and they did not get into discussions of pranks and subsequently did not proceed to throw a pie at Princess Luna. Nor the disastrous incident with the camping trip occur. In fact, for the most part Twilight Twinkle was quiet and studious, save for when some obnoxious ponies began to taunt her about not having wings, at which point the young unicorn reacted violently. However, after being scolded for lashing out, Twilight Twinkle tried to talk to her mother about why she didn't have wings, but the mare had simply smiled.

"You don't need wings, Twinkle. You are just fine the way you are" she smiled.

"Okay..." the filly said, uncertainly, "But I was kinda wondering why I don't have wings."

Twilight Sparkle looked hesitant. "Well, in order to have wings, you'd need to earn them."

Twilight Twinkle blinked. "Oh" she said quietly. Twilight Sparkle smiled gently at the filly.

"But I am sure that if anypony is capable of getting herself wings, it's you."

The filly smiled back. "Thanks mom."

The two embraced, before Twilight Sparkle just added, "Now go get some sleep, dear"

"'kay"

*****

Spike frowned. He had found something, a small notebook which turned out to be almost empty, and contained nothing. He sighed, and returned downstairs, to find Twilight still going through her books. The mare looked up at Spike.

"Anything?" she asked. Spike shook his head. Twilight frowned.

"Me neither. I can't understand it, this town is right next to the Everfree Forest. You'd think somepony would know about this plant," the mare scowled at her book, "But I can't find anything. These books are just... useless!"

She threw the book she was reading across the room and collapsed. Spike walked over to her and patted her, gently.

"You'll figure it out" he said quietly, "Just like you always do."

Twilight smiled. "Thank you, Spike" she looked over to the unmoving form of Midday. "But I'm not sure how exactly I'm supposed to solve this one. And where is Pinkie Pie?"

*****

Ponyville's premier (and in fact, only) party planner made her way toward Sweet Apple Acres, having quickly determined that if anypony knew anything about weird, freaky, odd, pony-attacking plants, it was probably somepony in the Apple family. As she made her way toward the farm-house she noticed Applejack going about her daily routine, though the mare seemed to be occasionaly glancing at something.

"Good morning, Applejack!" Pinkie Pie beamed. The farmer looked up at her.

"Hiya, Pinkie Pie. What brings you over here?"

"Well Midday's been attacked by a weird plant in the Everfree which made her miss her surprise birthday party and Twilight can't figure out what it is and was wondering if you could tell her what sort of plant it could be?"

Applejack pondered for a moment. "Ah don't think ah'm gonna be much help there, Pinkie. 'sides, ah gotta keep an eye on McIntosh. He keeps... zoning out fer some reason lately."

Both mares turned to look at Big McIntosh, who was calmly moving several large bushels of apples about, occasionaly pausing and making wistful sighing noises, while staring in the direction of Ponyville.

"Ah suggest askin' Flutters-" Pinkie raced off toward Fluttershy's cottage. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of asking Fluttershy first, then Applejack second, since Fluttershy practically lived next to the Everfree Forest. In fact, Fluttershy did live next to the Everfree Forest, so Pinkie Pie still wasn't sure why she hadn't ask Fluttershy in the first place, followed by asking Applejack.

"Wait... did I need to ask Applejack at all?" Pinkie produced an abacus, and after a few moments calculation, decided she hadn't needed to ask Applejack about the strange plant, but that it was nice to keep her in the loop.

*****

Twilight and Spike continued pouring through the books, with Twilight occasionaly double- and triple-checking some books, neither finding any evidence of the missing book. Then, after some time there was a knocking on the door, and Twilight opened it, expecting Pinkie Pie, and whoever she'd fetched. All she saw was a tall, gangly mailstallion, holding a letter.

"Letter for Midday Eclipse" he said, handing the letter over to Twilight. The mare took it, and examined it. Spike looked over to her, and noticed she was smiling.

"What?" he asked.

"It's from her father. He's just asking if she's doing well, enquiring about her life in Ponyville, and informing her about his new residence in Canterlot" she set the letter down. "Now we can ask him to come to Ponyville and try and help us"

Spike felt a sudden pang of alarm, although he wasn't sure exactly whether it was because of meeting Midday's father, or because of any awkwardness there would be upon the stallion meeting Twilight.

Then there was another knock at the door, and Twilight opened it to find Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy standing there.

"Hi Twilight! I fetched Fluttershy, like you asked me to" Pinkie Pie smiled. The pegasus walked over to Midday and began to examine the odd plant, nudging it slightly, at which point it began to constrict tighter.

"Don't do that!" Twilight said. Fluttershy shuffled backward, and the plant's grip loosened.

"I probably should've told you not to do that sooner" Twilight sighed. "Sorry"
Fluttershy nodded, and resumed her examining, taking effort not to touch the plant any further.

"Do you think the plant does anything else when it does that, aside from just getting tighter?" Spike asked. Twilight shook her heard.

"Who knows?"

*****

It had happened quite suddenly, while Twilight Twinkle was in Ponyville, not doing anything more than talking with Whisper Wind. She wasn't sure, but she thought she rather liked the young stallion somewhat, with his golden-brown fur and deep, soulful blue eyes. And then, all of a sudden her horn had started generating magic, a massive storm of energy had began to swirl around her, and the next thing she knew, there was a bright flash and she'd blanked out.
When she woke up, she was in a hospital room, with her mother was nearby, looking at her, and beside her was Whisper, whose face was one of unbelievable worry.

She was suddenly embraced by her mother. "You're alright!" the mare said.

The fifteen year-old gently pushed her back. "Of course I am, but what's going on?" she asked.
Then she felt it, the odd sensation on her back, and she turned her head to see it.

Jutting out of her back was a pair of royal blue wings. She stared at them, and they fluttered. She tried to get a feel of them, no easy task since her legs weren't designed to bend in such a fashion, but then she heard her mother laughing.

"Yes, Twinkle, they are quite real. You do in fact have wings."

She smiled, and gave them an experimental flap. Then another. "I can fly" she said, in a hushed voice. Then something occured to her, and she turned to look at Twilight Sparkle.

"Doesn't this kinda mean that I'm... well..."
Her mother smiled, and Twilight Twinkle couldn't help but notice there was a very visible amount of pride in it.

"But... how? This doesn't really make any sense!" the young mare exclaimed, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I really like these wings, but... why am I a Princess?!"

Twilight Sparkle just smiled. "You didn't think with a Cutie Mark like yours, you'd just be a regular unicorn all your life, did you? You were meant for great things. And this is just another step along the way."

Twilight Twinkle stared at her. "Have you been into Miss Applejack's home brews, mom?"

The mare just laughed, and looked at Whisper Wind, then back to her daughter, and then suddenly walked out of the room. She looked out of the window.

"Me... a Princess..." she murmured, staring at her wings in her reflection. "This doesn't seem right..."

"Doesn't it?" Whisper Wind asked.

"Well, my mom does have a point. Ponies who get their Cutie Mark when they're five don't just fade into the background, or something, but still... A Princess. An actual, factual Princess. Me."

She looked at Whisper Wind, who smiled gently, but he seemed nervous about something. A few months ago, the pony had informed her he was in fact a Changeling, and she had instantly accepted this, yet now he seemed to be handling the sudden change in status quo with more difficulty than she was.

"I'm happy for you" he said, in the quiet. "You've gotten what you always wanted, then?"

She thought about this, staring at Wisp. She frowned, and then looked at her friend.
"Well... not everything" she shrugged, "After all, I don't exactly have the love of a good stallion right now..." she looked at Wisp, who seemed oddly nervous.

"Though I suppose I can wait for that one for a while..." she smirked.

*****

The coronation transpired without incident, as Twilight Twinkle tried not to think about how she looked in the strange gown that she apparently really did have to wear, just like Princess Celestia, or Princess Luna, or her mother, or Shining Sapphire (who looked amazingly uncomfortable in hers).

The air was filled with trumpeting, cheering and confetti, the ponies of Canterlot apparently not minding whether or not she'd actually done anything to deserve wings, and some seemed to be viewing it as something that should've happened anyway.

The crown that was rested on her head featured an exact replica of her own Cutie Mark, and felt... actually, it felt like a small lightweight piece of metal, that is to say, not heavy at all.
The only problem was that she then had to give a speech.

*****

Spike paced as Fluttershy continued analysing the mysterious plant, until eventually Fluttershy finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can tell what this plant actually is. But, then, I'm not really an expert in this sort of thing"
Pinkie Pie just bounced over to her. "That's okay, Fluttershy. Right, Twilight?"

There was no response from Twilight.

The two mares and one dragon looked around.

"W-where'd she go?" Spike asked. Pinkie waved a hoof.

"I know, I know! She said she was going to go get Rainbow Dash to fetch Midday's father to see if he could help us with this nasty plant, or in case something goes wrong. Spike, why are you going pale?"

"No reason" the dragon said, before rushing toward the door.

*****

Rainbow Dash was at that moment resting on a cloud, enjoying a nice day's relaxing. She had secretly been meaning to attend Midday Eclipse's party, if only for the free cake and dancing. She'd been trying to get comfortable, shuffling about on her cloud when she heard something. Somepony was calling for her, and she recognised the voice. It was Twilight.

"Hey," she called out, "What's up Twilight?"

"I'd like to ask you something" the mare yelled to her.

"Ask away" Twilight lifted a small note toward Rainbow Dash.

"Could you travel to Canterlot, to this place and find the pony who lives there and ask him to travel to Ponyville?"

"What's this about?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Has Pinkie Pie gotten into Applejack's basement again? Did Rarity accidentaly sew her mane into one of her dresses?"

Twilight just stared at her, before slowly saying, "No, Midday's been attacked by an odd plant, and I thought it might be an idea to contact her father."

Rainbow Dash stared back. "Why?"

"In case something happens. Rainbow Dash, please. I don't know how to get the plant off of her and... I just think he should know."

Rainbow Dash considered this, and looked at Twilight Sparkle. She seemed to be unusually wound up by these goings on, which meant only one thing: she hadn't been able to find a solution in her books, and was now worried.

"Yeah, okay," Rainbow Dash said, not entirely sure she got Twilight's logic, "I'll go fetch him, Twilight."

"Thanks, Rainbow Dash" Twilight said, as the pegasus shot off into the air, wondering whether she should've suggested the mare use some manner of restrain or caution when talking to the pony. She dismissed these thoughts, and turned back to the library.

*****

She honestly wasn't sure how it had happened, but Twilight Twinkle had found herself fighting alongside Whisper Wind against the Changeling Queen, who for whatever reason had tried to invade Equestria, starting with Ponyville, which was quite the mistake seeing as several national heroes lived there, and it was only a few moments away from Canterlot by flight. So, Twilight Twinkle and Whisper Wind had faced the Changeling Queen directly, as she screamed all the while about how she was going to destroy Whisper Wind. After several hours of dramatic fighting, the two ponies utilised their magic, blasting the Changeling Queen with a strange beam of magic of bright pink that sealed the mare inside a giant garishly pink crystal. The instant they had done this, the entire Changeling army stopped fighting, and swarmed toward Whisper Wind, each buzzing in some strange language. Twinkle stood next to Whisper Wind, who sighed.

"What's going on?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"It is quite simple," the golden brown pegasus sighed, "Since I just... deposed my mother, that technically makes me the ruler of the Changelings."

Cadance said nothing, merely looking hesitantly at him, while Shining Sapphire just looked confused, before raising an eyebrow.

"So... that makes you... king of the Changelings?" she asked. Twilight Twinkle turned to look at him, and he turned to look at her, his large blue eyes filled with... did she see regret in them?

"Yes. I suppose it does. But..." he looked around at the Changelings, each bowing before him reverently.

"I don't know if I can do this."
Twilight Twinkle looked down at her hooves, and then nuzzled him, not caring about the several ponies staring at her.

"I think you can. I know you can, Wisp."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back.
"But you don't have to do it alone" she pointed out. For a moment then he looked confused, then a light dawned on his face.

*****

Twilight Twinkle lay calmly in her bed, and smiled. Whisper Wind had asked her to... he'd asker her to...
No, she couldn't wrap her head around the idea, of what he had asked, and that she'd actually managed to say yes.

She sat up in her bed, looking at what lay just a few feet away from her bed, made by the finest dress-maker in all of Canterlot, nay, all Equestria, and her sister in-law had outdone herself with this work.

She was technically supposed to be asleep, but even five hours before the most important moment of her life, she couldn't sleep. Who would, in her situation?

She also couldn't help but remember what her aunt had told her of her wedding day, and a tune began to sound in her head, as she approached the dress, raising a hoof to examine it. A smile went across her lips, and then her mouth began to move.

"This day is going to be perfect...

The kind of day I've dreamed of since I was small..."

Princess Celestia had somehow managed to jockey her way into ministering the wedding, though Twinkle had to spent some time in the rehearsal trying to correct her constant proclamation that she was pronouncing them 'filly and gentlecolt', eventually getting Luna and her mother drawn into the argument, though Celestia finally aquised.

The wedding itself was in fact perfect. No detail was left untouched, no disasters occured, no bridesmaids were brainwashed, only cajoled via Shining Sapphire asking very nicely.

Celestia smiled one of her usual gentle smiles as she lowered the strange obsidian crown of the Changelings (which had been delivered by a group of Changelings).

"I know pronounce you both King and Queen of the Changelings, and husband and wife. You ma-" she was cut off by the two kissing, and after a few seconds the crowd decided to applause anyway.

*****

Twilight Sparkle opened the door to the library to find Spike staring at her. And Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, and Applejack, and next to her, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Rarity, and Trixie, who had been glowering at Rarity for whatever reason.

"Spike?" Twilight asked, "Why are all these ponies here?"

"Well, Trixie stays in the spare bed, Applejack came her because she heard Midday's in trouble, Rarity came hear because she heard gossip about town, and Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo just... showed up."

"We were at Rarity's, and she doesn't trust us to stay in the store after we tried to look after Opalescence" Sweetie Belle said quietly.

Scootaloo nodded. "And we were worried about her as well."
Twilight shook her head, not sure whether to ask everypony to go elsewhere, and decided against it.

"Did you find anything out about the plant?" she asked. Fluttershy just meekly shook her head, before adding a tiny 'sorry'.

Twilight looked to everypony else. The only pony who didn't say anything was Trixie, who was eating what appeared to be that odd honey-flavoured cereal Spike enjoyed... only covered in chilli sauce. And sitting in what almost looked like water. Then she noticed that Spike seemed incredibly nervous.

"What is it, Spike?" in the sudden quiet, all eyes turned to the dragon, who tried smiling, only to look like somepony had dropped a lead-lined safe on his foot.

"Well, it's nothing, but... don't get mad, but..." he coughed.

"While you were gone, Snips and Snails came to the library, looking for Trixie, and Snails managed to figure out what the plant was."

For a moment, Twilight didn't say anything. "Snails..." she said.
"Which one's he?"

"The thin yellow one that puberty seems to be taking its issues out on" Trixie said, inbetween her strange-smelling breakfast cereal. Rarity shot a glare at her, thought the showpony didn't seem to notice or care.

"So... you're saying Snails managed to identify this plant, when all my books couldn't?"

Spike briefly considered pointing out that Twilight hadn't looked through all her books, and that her attention to detail declined dramatically when she was concerned, and then thought better of it, thought Twilight was staring at him.

"So what did he say, then?"

"Well, he identified the plant, after which Trixie gave them some money to get rid of them," Spike grinned, "And... well, try not to get annoyed, but-"

"Spike, now that you've said that I'm quite certain I will be annoyed by whatever you say."

"I sent Princess Celestia a letter if she knew what it was" he said hurriedly.
"And?" Twilight asked, her voice incredibly calm. She wasn't annoyed that Spike had informed Princess Celestia, but she was annoyed that she'd therefore just sent Rainbow Dash on a wild goose chase.

"Haven't got a reply yet."
Then, Spike suddenly began to convulse, at which Twilight took a step back, remembering the last time she'd been hit by one of Spike's flames. A small scroll appeared in the middle of the flames, and Spike grabbed it, breaking the seal and opening it.

"Well?" Twilight asked, "What does it say?"

Spike's eyes went wide, then focused, then wide again, and he slowly turned the note to Twilight.

"What does it say, Twilight?" Appplejack asked.
Twilight lowered the paper, her face slightly pale, and showed everypony.

Spike,

We know of the Black Mercy.

You must hurry!

Find a way to get that plant off of her quickly,

Now, before it's too late!

Every second you waste will lead to further disaster!

Princesses Celestia and Luna

P.S. provided all goes well, tell Midday Eclipse I said hello.

"But..." Rarity said slowly, "She hasn't actually said how to remove the cursed thing."

"Or why it's so important we get the thing off of her."

"Maybe it's sucking out her bodily fluids!" Scootaloo declared.

"That's just silly" Pinkie Pie said calmly.

"Black Mercy..." Twilight frowned. "I think I've read about that on-"
She went silent and her face went pale, as she remembered an old lesson she'd recieved.

"Oh no" she whispered.
Everypony stared at her.

"What?" Rarity asked.

"How long has it been, do you think, since this plant attached itself to her?" Twilight asked.

"Well... since you and Pinkie Pie were the first to find her, and that was first thing in the morning... she'd probably been there for hours."

"So... what does this plant do?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Grants you your greatest desires or wishes."

"What's so bad about that?" asked Sweetie Belle.
The grown-ups exchanged nervous and uncertain glances, not sure of who exactly to explain the differences between the dreams of anypony over eighteen with anypony under the age of fourteen.

"Hey, you three! There's some free cake over at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie Pie cheered, "And I need some help with cleaning it up!"

As Pinkie Pie more-or-less shoved the three fillies out of the room, everypony else (and Spike) grew steadily nervous.
"So... what's she dreamin' of?"

*****

Twilight Twinkle was fighting the near-overwhelming urge to fall asleep. It had been a long, tiring journey that had just ended in a lot of pain and screaming, but she was still smiling, especiall as she looked at the tiny bundle held between her legs.

"Your Highness..." the nurse said, "Highnesses" she added on seeing Whisper Wind.

"May I introduce your daughter."

Author's Note:

Writer's block kinda bad on this one.
Sorry about that.

Comments

[oneyou]

*****[/center[

might wanna fix that

[Detectivefish]

2533295
Fixed.
Thanks for pointing that out.

[Alex Prior]

*eyes widen*
Oh no.

[Enderstorm]

Happy birthday! Your present is some kinky vines.