Fusing at the Shoulders
The shining walls of the palace room showed not their lustrous surfaces in the dark. The mobile; bearing replicas of the six Elements of Harmony, now fueling Equestria with their borrowed magic, hung still from the ceiling. A cobweb hung between Loyalty and Honesty. It hadn't spun in a long time.
The only light came in through the open door, which led out onto the balcony. Jutting out of the third highest level of the Crystal palace, one could see the entire south and west sides of the city. However, the platform was not being used for looking out tonight.
A single pony sat on the right edge of the balcony, watching nothing in particular. Her pale coat seemed dull and dirty, when once upon a time it would catch the eye of every passing pony, but that time was past. The brightness of her pink-and-blue mane were lost in the night, hidden from the northerly-rising moon behind the castle's spire. The curls that once boasted golden regalia hung lank and unkempt around her shoulders.
Yet she cared not. For how could a pony such as she be happy?
Years ago, ponies from all over Equestria had looked at her, making the most joyful of expression as they gazed upon her. Gifts of all kinds came in droves. The Royal Sisters themselves had given her their blessings.
But always, always it would happen. Somewhere within the crowd of cheering ponies, there would be a voice; a voice that stood out, that somehow bellowed above the rest. This voice was like no other, no voice she knew, as it held no love nor kindness nor compassion in its words. It was a voice of hate.
And always, that voice would echo among the crowd, pressuring everypony to join in the ruin until all the love and joy had evaporated, leaving only jeering hate. By the time she was old enough to comprehend it all, it was too late.
Her parents were her only comfort back then. They would take her away, hold her close and tell her to ignore the voices, ignore any and all the hostility she picked up. Never would they collaborate with the voices in their loathing, every time using their power to silence and dampen the cacophony.
Yet no matter what they did, the pain never completely went away.
Why am I like this? Why did it have to be this way?
The pony repeated these words, as she did every night. An answer had to exist, but she hadn't found one yet. It drove her close to breaking down whenever she pushed and thought too hard and her mother would constantly tell her not to dwell so much because, as she said, 'worry and despair can be just as dangerous as anger and cruelty'.
With a sigh, the pony stood up and gazed at the stars. Though she longed not to fly up and touch them, as so many fillies and colts would dream in their young age, she envied their freedom; no one would ever mock a star if it shone brighter or dimmer than another.
Her head hung low as she turned to reenter her room, which at one point was the talk of the empire. Now it had become a realm of composed clutter, clothes and toys strewn about in no order whatsoever. A sparkling gown was draped over the open chest of drawers, the hem a mess of creases. A huge tear dominated the front of the outfit.
A grim reminder what hate drives ponies to do.
She ambled past the writing desk, one of the many gifts that arrived for her 5th birthday. In the middle of it sat an open letter, one covered in greasy marks from a great deal of breathing and touching. That letter was a herald; a bearer of a last hope.
Long had she waited for such words to appear before her. In all her searching, there had been nothing short of extremities to save her from her indirect crime that incited the hate. The letter came from a reliable companion—a relative, actually—one who had taught her much, and she would have flown through Tartarus and poked the infernal centaur with a stick if she were asked to.
Flown.
Just thinking of the word brought on a boiling sea of emotions, each one washing over her like a rolling wave: regret, dissatisfaction, confusion, anguish and despair. Never could she hold back the onslaught of feelings when the word came to mind, but she had recently learned to resist their tear-wrenching power.
No. Enough of that. Things are going to change. They must.
She approached her bed; the huge, four-poster bed lined with donated yak wool. A newer, even greasier letter lay on the phoenix-down pillow, crumpled from the many times it had been handled. This letter spoke of a planned meeting with her friend, where they would bring a third member into the dilemma to solve it at last.
Tonight. It all ends tonight.
Looking at the clock, she realized that it was five minutes before the time indicated on the letter and she was expected to be there before that time. As she turned towards the door, her eyes fell upon the crown nestled on the top of one messy bedroom heap. Somehow, it always made it to the top of the pile.
Not tonight. Tonight, I am just Flurry.
Yes. That was her: Princess Flurry Heart. Alicorn daughter of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.
Flurry hadn't been out of her room all day. Breakfast and lunch had been brought to her and left outside her door to bring in and pick at her leisure. The Crystal berry cereal was good but her ravenous hunger for an answer remained, never satisfied by mere corporeal food. But tonight that would all change.
I'd best get down there.
The door seemed huge and imposing in the darkness of her room, but Flurry reached out with practiced movements and turned the knob. The door swung open without a sound, letting in the blinding light of the hallway. Flurry shied away and retreated back into her room, keeping her eyes trained on the small crack of light still coming in through the door.
That's it. No more fear. No more hiding. Tonight, this will be all over.
Taking a deep breath and squinting her eyes, Flurry crept back into the hallway. The blue crystal corridor was devoid of any ponies, which seemed just a tad strange to the young princess. Stepping carefully to avoid drawing unwanted attention, Flurry tiphoofed down the hallway to the grand staircase.
Clip clop clip clop
Halfway down the stairs, Flurry froze and ducked behind the banister as two guards, one pegasus and one crystal pony, trotted by right below her. She wasn't sure why she didn't want to be seen, but she felt it was important that nopony knew what she was doing. Whatever she was doing.
"Is everything ready?" the crystal pony asked his companion as they walked past the stairs.
"Just like she said," the pegasus replied. "The rest of the guards are all gathered in the barracks. The Prince will be giving his speech soon."
"We'd best get on down there, or risk being court-martialed for lateness."
The pegasus laughed. "That's the dumbest thing I heard since the last Gala! When was the last time somepony was court-martialed, anyway?"
The guards turned the corner and their voices began to fade, but not before the crystal pony gave his reply. "The year 727 of Celestia's reign, I belie..."
Flurry waited until the sound of their armored hoofsteps faded and the slamming of the barracks doors echoed back. She stuck her head out and looked up and down the main hall, making sure there was nopony around. When she saw the coast was clear, Flurry hurried across the hall toward the guest wing of the castle, where her relative was supposed to be waiting for her.
The guest wing hosted a great many rooms, enough for a host of visiting ponies to stay. But only one room interested Flurry that night; it stood out from all the rest quite stunningly. Then again, a 15-foot dragon in an empty hallway really does stand out.
"Good evening, Flurry," the dragon said in its maturing voice. "You came."
"I would have come weeks in advance had I known of such a possibility," Flurry replied.
The dragon was sprawled out across the hallway, but it was somewhat coiled up in front of one specific door. That was the door Flurry was trying to get to. "She's waiting for you," the dragon explained. "Still expecting one more. Then we shall see."
"Yeah. I guess we will."
The dragon lifted his back end away from the door, allowing access to it. Flurry approached the door slowly and raised a hoof to knock. Just before she could rap against the crystal, a voice called out from inside:
"Please, come on in, Flurry."
The soft female voice that beckoned her reminded the young princess of happier times: lessons where she learned so much, recounting of many adventures. All good things that now served as the happy memories of the past.
Flurry pushed the door open and walked into the guest room. Most of the space was taken up by a mountain of books and the mother of all chemistry sets. Half a dozen books lay open and colorful fluids rushed along through the confusing piping. In the center of it all sat a purple alicorn, busy leafing through one of the books.
"Auntie Twilight."
The purple alicorn looked up from her book and smiled. "Hello there, Flurry. Glad you're here."
"I think I am the one who should be glad, auntie," Flurry said, carefully stepping around a steaming beaker. "I've been waiting for the letter you sent for ages."
"I'm sure you were," Twilight said knowingly. She sat up and looked around at the mess of writings and science around her. "Ever since I heard, I've worked tirelessly and searched for a solution, coming up with absolute zilch. Nothing in all my years of learning and adventuring yielded a thing."
"And now?"
Twilight looked at Flurry, her eyes shining. "Now we have a chance."
It was these words that little Flurry Heart had been waiting to hear for so long. For somepony to actually say there was something they could do about it all. And that pony being her princess aunt made it even better. Flurry couldn't contain herself and she leapt into the air—
PWOOF
Carefully piled stacks of tomes toppled to the floor. Two vials of rainbow-colored liquid were blown out of their stand and knocked out the window. Even the crystal lightbulb hanging from the ceiling was pushed back, causing it to swing and flash its vibrant light around the room.
All because of Flurry Heart's wings.
What a sight they were. Each wing was about six feet long, the biggest wingspan of any pony in recorded history. In Flurry's excitement, she had forgotten the whole reason behind her predicament and let her emotions guide her actions. Or her wings, at least.
When the little princess realized what she had done, she shamefully wrapped her huge wings around herself, dropping to the floor like a rock. Twilight caught the filly with her magic and brought her gently down beside her.
"I'm sorry," Flurry croaked, choking back tears. "I know I shouldn't, but it's just.... it's just!...."
"Shhh, hush," Twilight insisted, embracing the pink alicorn. "You mustn't be hard on yourself whenever this happens, Flurry. Your wings are a part of who you are and you should not be sad just because of something like this. All pegasi knock things over when they don't pay attention to their wings."
Flurry sniffled, nuzzling her aunt's chest. "Does that mean.... you won't help me anymore?"
"Oh, of course not, silly. I wouldn't go to all the trouble of locking myself up for a week and calling you here if I wasn't taking this seriously. I know it's important to you that this matter is resolved and I'm willing to do anything to help."
"Uh..... thanks, I guess?"
Twilight smiled. "No need for those, unless you want to later. We really should get started, while Shiny's got the guards' attention."
With a sweeping wave of her horn, Twilight folded all the books and equipment against one wall, leaving the center of the room cleared. "I've sieved through a lot of material, Flurry, and at first I was coming up with nothing. The only sources offering even a hint of a solution lay in the natural powers of changelings, which are unavailable to us as ponies. But after coming across a curious paragraph and doing some tests, I believe we have ourselves the answer to the very problem you brought to me."
Flurry's eyes shone with pleasure. From the start, Twilight had been one of the most supportive ponies when it came to Flurry's wings, whether she was imagining herself without them or that everypony accepted them. "Do you really mean it, auntie? Can we really fix my wing problem?"
Twilight walked into the middle of the room. "Well, I wouldn't really call it a 'wing problem'. More of a hindrance; something preventing you from enjoying your life as you should."
"Oh."
"But yes, I am quite sure. Test results show us that it's in our favor if we try."
"Then let's get to it! I'm so ready for this." Flurry's horn glowed and the entire room was flooded with pinkish light.
"Whoa, whoa there, Flurry." Twilight waved her own horn and the light dimmed. "I didn't even tell you how this works. Don't go shooting off your magic just yet; we may need it later."
Flurry grinned nervously and stemmed her magic. "Sorry, auntie."
"That's quite all right." Twilight sat down and had Flurry sit opposite her. "So what you're looking for is a way to make your wings smaller. But a standard shrinking spell won't do it, not unless we're okay with possible bone and tissue growth problems, which we're not. Transformation spells won't cut it either, as nopony's magic is strong enough to sustain it with our alicorn complexion and structure. Any of these would prove to be a mistake and possibly irreversible."
"Then what do we have left to try? So far, everything you've told me won't work."
"I gave them as examples of what won't work," Twilight clarified. "There's still one thing we can try. There were almost no records of it and details were few, but there exists a spell that allows ponies to..... swap, I guess you can say, body parts with each other."
Flurry's eyes widened as her mind comprehended what the Princess of Friendship was saying. "So...."
"So essentially, if we can find a pony with a wing size you desire, we can preform this spell and the two of you will swap wings. If done properly with the knowledge and correct understanding, the new wings should suit you and grow with you as you age."
"That's amazing!" Flurry cried out. She leapt up and gave Twilight a kiss. "Thank you, auntie!"
"Hold on, I still have what to say." Twilight waited until her niece sat back down, her entire body trembling with joy. "One factor for there being so few records of the spell was the lack of an appropriate, complying partner. The pony whom the first one would be swapping with needs to be in full agreement, as willpower plays a big role in magic and if it feels any negation, it won't work. Fortunately, I know one pony who's been in a condition somewhat like yours, only at the other end of the wing scale."
Flurry tilted her head curiously. "You know a pony with tiny wings? Smaller even than normal size?"
"It's true. She was a student of mine when she was younger. Now she and her friends are the leaders of an organization that helps ponies with problems relating to personal talents, no matter what it is. As a group, their skills are diverse and the variety therein produces excellent results in their line of work."
"Wow."
"Yes, it is very much 'wow'. I asked her to come to the Crystal Empire tonight so that we might have a go at the transferal spell. If all goes well, your problem will be resolved before bedtime."
Again, young Flurry erupted into a bout of elation, though she managed to keep her wings in this time as she pranced and pronked around the room. She rolled onto the floor and stopped in front of Twilight. "When will she get here?" Flurry asked excitedly.
Twilight looked up at the moon outside. "I sent her a letter earlier today. She should be here, right about—"
Knock, knock, knock
The two alicorns turned their heads toward the door. "How much tree sap could a filly sap if a filly could sap tree sap?" Twilight called out.
Flurry gave her aunt a stupefied look—has this past week spent locked up made her crazy?—but her expression grew even more flabbergasted when a reply came floating in.
"Friendship glues ponies together better than any amount of tree sap."
The answering voice was muffled through the door, yet the eagerness in the tone was unmistakable. Twilight activated her magic and opened the door, but the pony on the other side was shrouded in the shadow of the doorway.
"Come on in, Scootaloo."
The pony responded to Twilight's request and walked into the room. Flurry had a hard time keeping herself composed as she beheld the newcomer; she was a pegasus mare, with a coat of orange and a mane of cerise, wearing a combination aviator jacket-hoodie. Her flank bore quite the cutie markception, consisting of a lightning bolt within a wing inside a tricolor shield. She entered the room with both of her front and a back hoof on a blue scooter.
But the one feature of this pony that had Flurry's complete attention were the mare's wings. The matching appendages were barely half a foot in length, far smaller than the wings of any typical adult pegasus Flurry had ever seen. It boggled her mind how a pegasus could have such tiny wings and, more importantly, how she had felt about them.
How did she make it through her filly years?
The mare slowly rolled in on her scooter. "Hello, Princess Twilight," she greeted, her young adult voice toned formally.
"None of that, Scootaloo," Twilight insisted. "Tonight, we will all be equals."
Scootaloo tilted her head back a bit, exhaled, and then dismounted her scooter. "If you say so, Twilight. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Some part of a year, I believe."
"Ponyville's doing okay, I take it?"
"Flourishing."
"Good, good." Scootaloo's gaze fell upon Flurry Heart, but her expression didn't change. "So you're the young princess I've heard about."
Flurry suddenly felt even smaller beside this queer pegasus; she acted so much differently than she was used to being around. "G-good evening, Ms. Scootaloo," she said, her voice quivering.
Scootaloo's face split into a small smile. "Heh, no need to act so worried there, kid."
She ruffled Flurry's bright mane and the little alicorn smiled. The pegasus didn't seem so tough and grim after all. "Okay," Flurry said quietly.
"Mm. Now to the matter at hoof." Scootaloo turned to the purple alicorn. "I got your letter, Twilight."
"Evidently."
"What you've proposed is intriguing, yet simultaneously hard to accept. All my life I've put up with the difficulties involved with my disabilities."
"Are you talking about your wings?" Flurry inquired.
Scootaloo looked at the young filly. "There was no real reason for it; I come from a line of healthy pegasi. Such a thing had never happened before in my family so we were at a loss. So I lived out my life, suffered the insults that came with being who I was, found friends all the same, grew up and found my place in the world. My wings were always strong and while they could never truly release me from the ground's pull, I could accelerate greatly while on my scooter. It's come in handy many times, I can tell you that.
"And now." Scootaloo turned to Twilight. "Now my old friend and teacher tells me that she's made a breakthrough. My princess has devised a way to give me that which I had always desired. At long last, I could fly just like I've dreamed. All it took was family intervention and, surprisingly, the negativity of ponykind."
Flurry was silent as she took in the pegasus' words. "Are you saying this has something to do with me and..... my ordeal?"
Scootaloo looked at the little alicorn from the side. "Princess Flurry Heart, it has everything to do with that."
With that, the gears locked on, the machine began to work and everything fell into place, resulting in Flurry beginning to cry. Her tears came on, sliding down her muzzle and dripping onto the floor. Choked-back sobs of anguish appeared sparsely between sniffles and cries, making things incredibly unpleasant.
Twilight gave Scootaloo a furious look. "Why did you do that? You know that's a sore point for her. You do!"
"She has to let it all out now, right now," Scootaloo replied stoically. "Or she'll resent whatever we do tonight forever more."
Scootaloo shuffled around and turned Flurry so that the filly was facing her. "Flurry, look at me."
Flurry was reluctant to comply, feeling in the back of her mind that it was partly Scootaloo's fault that she was sad now, but the mare's stern words carried weight and compelled Flurry to lift her gaze. The alicorn filly found herself staring up at Scootaloo's face, her hardened expression that covered up the deep sadness betrayed in her eyes. Here was a pony who had been through much hardship, but all that was hidden beneath a great impassiveness that served as a cover-up for her feelings, which would never be known except for the right ponies that came along.
"I understand what you've been going through, Flurry Heart; from my filly years to my adulthood, all my life I was mocked and scorned, called useless and unimportant for something that wasn't even my fault. I pushed myself hard and harder to make a name for myself, even just to elevate my personal feelings. But all the time, the pain from the insults were there, just skin-deep beneath a smiling face.
"I let my faults get the better of me and fell into depression; nothing could bring me out of it. But then my friends came along and pulled me back up, bringing me to my senses with words of friendship and acceptance. Of all those friends, one of them managed to refocus my attention and remind myself that regardless of the circumstance, whether I lacked the ability to fly or was teased because of it, I was special in my own unique way.
"I may be worse off because of the limitations caused by my wings, Flurry Heart, but your status as a princess means any blow caused to your honor will be severe, more so than to me. But keep in mind that no matter what ponies say, no matter what happens, you know what kind of pony you are, and in the end that's all that matters."
Flurry slowly wiped the tears from her eyes and they soon began to ebb. Scootaloo spoke her words firmly but with an underlying tenderness that touched Flurry's heart and brought on feelings of comfort and protection. That was part of her special talent: feeling the honesty in other ponies' emotions, which allowed her to draw more from a pony's tone or action. This also allowed her to feel the most from a personal experience, whether it be a good one... or a bad one.
With Scootaloo 's piece said, Twilight stepped forward "You've become the splitting image of Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo. I know how proud she'd be if I told her."
"Better not; Dash is real busy these days. Barely has time for a nap in the clouds."
"Unless she assigns it to herself," Twilight giggled.
"Heh, yeah I guess so."
"Excuse me," Flurry cut in. "Maybe you could reminisce another time. I can only imagine what my dad's saying to the guards in the barracks, but I imagine he won't be doing it for much longer."
Twilight nodded. "Knowing my dorky brother, I hope Cadance is there to help him."
"Then enough chat," Scootaloo agreed. "Let's do this."
After giving the two ponies a run-though of the spell, Twilight had them stand opposite each other with their wings spread, Scootaloo with her small unlifting set of flappers and Flurry with her dragon-sized feather fans. Twilight took up her position facing them and activated her magic.
"Remember, girls," she said, as the magenta glow expanded overhead, "you have to envision both your current condition and the condition of the other who you're switching with. It's really a good thing you shared your past with Flurry, Scootaloo; now you've both got a better idea of each other. It should all work out fine."
Scootaloo gave a curt nod. She had her eyes focused on Flurry, eyeing her giant wings almost hungrily. Flurry watched the pegasus mare less sharply, but imagined what she wanted just as intently. Between the two of them, they shared a common interest: to be rid of their damning wingspan.
Twilight's magic condensed against the ceiling. "Flurry, I'm going to need your magic now," she called over. "Just let it out and I should be able to use it."
Flurry gritted her teeth and responded with a sharp jet of magic from her horn. The beam flew up and was instantly swallowed up by Twilight's magic, adding a small blue wisp to the mass.
"Not so suddenly, Flurry," Twilight yelped, feeling the force from the burst within her magic. "If you fire it off like that, I'll release my magic too soon and things will get out of control!"
"How out of control are we talking?" Scootaloo hazarded to ask.
"Imagine the Crystal palace with one side sheared off."
"Flurry, please let out your magic gently."
"I-I'll try." Flurry closed her eyes and focused, thinking up images of herself and Scootaloo bathed in the blue light she knew as her magic. Her horn glowed brightly and a soft spray of magic burst forth like a backwards sprinkler, rising up and merging with Twilight's magic.
"Perfect. That's great. Good work, Flurry."
With the magic at the ready, Twilight directed her attention to the two ponies in front of her. Waving her horn around, she shepherded the magic around Scootaloo's and Flurry's wings, surrounding them in a mixed pink and blue aura. Flurry and Scootaloo were lifted into the air on a cushion of magic, their wings extended out as though they were gliding.
Twilight reared up suddenly and brought her hooves down with a CRASH, which was accompanied by a bottled thunderclap from inside the cloud of magic. Scootaloo and Flurry were brought closer and closer together until they were barely a foot from each other. At first Flurry was shocked, her eyes wide and darting all around the room in fear.
Then her gaze fell upon Scootaloo, levitating within a bubble well beyond her control, indifferent as ever. Twilight's magic continued to reel them closer together until their muzzles almost touched. Flurry hesitantly reached out a hoof and touched Scootaloo's leg with it, feeling the warmth from the other pony. Scootaloo, almost in a trance, wrapped a hoof around Flurry's shoulders and pulled her close, holding the alicorn's head to her fuzzy chest.
"Al.... most..... there....!" Twilight grunted over the rush of magic filling the room.
Suspended in the magical aura, Scootaloo and Flurry sat down, keeping close together as they felt the magic increased and shone around them. Soon, the aura grew so bright and powerful, it overtook their vision and neither of them could see outside of it. All sound disappeared. All at once, it had become a serene and tranquil retreat. A haven.
Flurry looked up, down, right, left and all around. "Are we still in Twilight's room?"
"Most likely." Scootaloo's tone hadn't changed, but her eyes betrayed her wonderment. "The magic aura is just so huge and condensed, everything outside of it is cut off completely. Or something of that nature."
"It's really pretty."
"It's more than just that, Flurry," Scootaloo remarked. "It feels like something I've felt before."
The little princess looked at the Crusader. "Like what?"
Scootaloo rested her tongue between her teeth. "A long time ago, before my friends and I got our cutie marks, we were visited by your great aunt in the realm of dreams. Some time after that, all of Ponyville was brought into the dream realm to fight a parasitic magical creature, the Tantabus.
"The first time was pretty awesome; I got to fly for the first time on my own, even if it wasn't real. In the shared dream, a bunch of Ponyvillians helped in the fight against the Tantabus. It was pretty simple and almost fun, really; all we had to do was imagine what we wanted to be and the dreamscape would make it so. I thought about the one thing I'd always wanted for myself and..."
Her voice trailed off. Scootaloo's eyes widened as she slowly spread her small wings out beside her. Rising to her hooves, she closed her eyes and flapped once. Bands of magic tore away from the glowing haven and wrapped around Scootaloo, hiding her from Flurry. The alicorn filly panicked when her new companion vanished inside a cocoon of magic.
"Scootaloo!" she cried, pounding on the magic shell with her hooves and beating at it with her wings. "What happened?"
Flurry stepped back and raised her horn in preparation of using magic, but was interrupted when something burst out of the cocoon: two huge feathery wings, bigger than her own. From their escape points, the magic pod began to break and crack, bright rays of light shining through and obscuring Flurry's vision.
"SCOOT-A-LOO!"
The magic exploded in a blinding flash of light, as conglomerations of magic tended to. Flurry stumbled back several feet, blinking the stars from her eyes. When she turned back around, she was hit by a gust of air, followed by another, and another, each one coming at her in a rhythmic beat. Raising her eyes to the magic aura's 'sky', Flurry beheld one of the most awe-inspiring sights.
Scootaloo hovered in the air above, two enormous wings holding her up. The huge appendages flapped as any other pair would, their immense size causing no hindrance. Scootaloo herself was smiling but, unlike before, this smile was one of real personal joy.
Flurry was shocked. "S-s-scootaloo?" she called up hesitantly.
The smile grew wider. "It's me, Flurry."
Scootaloo tucked in her wings and dove suddenly, pulling up three feet from Flurry and zooming back into the air. She let loose with a laugh, a boisterous free-sounding laugh. "Come on up, Flurry! Join me!"
Flurry ruffled her wings against her body. For the first time in her life, she was ashamed of her wing-size; Scootaloo's new wings were so much bigger than her own larger-than-average flappers. It would be embarrassing, more so for her as she was royalty.
But then a thought struck her. Scootaloo had mentioned the place they were now in to resemble the dreamscape where she'd originally taken flight in a magical environment. Maybe, just maybe, Flurry could do the same for herself; maybe she too could imagine her wings differently.
Closing her eyes, Flurry looked inwardly, recalling the many ponies she had seen and met. She thought about them, the way they acted and went about their daily business and, above all else, the pegasi ponies' wings in flight. She felt another magic touch her, but kept up the continuous stream of mental images, hoping the other magic would fulfill her wish.
The magic increased in quantity around her, lifting Flurry into the air. The alicorn filly spread her six-foot-long wings, as though to glide, and the magic pushed her higher and higher, wrapping her wings in their soft glow. Flurry felt the magic massage her feathers, tickling them with its warm touch and shining through her closed eyelids.
Then the flow of magic ebbed, and Flurry opened her eyes and flapped her wings. At first, she was shocked by how fast she beat her wings, as even though with her alicorn powers, hers required much energy to flap. By the time she had regained control of herself, the change had been discovered:
Flurry's wings had shrunk. Now they closely resembled those of her mother, Princess Cadance.
The sight of her willingly-diminished wingspan brought a surprising joy to Flurry's heart. She flapped her new wings and gained altitude, rising up higher and higher as she watched Scootaloo, who was still blissfully flying around the place, unaware of the second change that was wrought.
Guess I'll surprise her.
Flurry spread her wings and soared over to Scootaloo, throwing up sparks from her horn in a flashy show. The sparks caught Scootaloo's attention and she flapped to a stop, turning around to see the small alicorn approaching. The Crusader's smile grew even wider, spreading across her face like never before.
"You did it, Flurry," she said when the princess stopped and hovered before her. "You've achieved your dream."
"So have you."
Scootaloo tried to hide her amusement at being told so by the alicorn filly. "But," Flurry continued, "even though we have our wings here, what will it matter? We can fly however we want inside this magical aura, but what will it change outside of it? What happened to auntie Twilight's spell"
"Don't you see?" Scootaloo gestured to the huge whitish expanse around them. "This is the spell. This entire space was formed from the magic Twiilight used to fuel the intended spell, so naturally everything here is the spell."
"Ohhhhh." Flurry's eyes went wide. "But wait. How does that work with the whole 'switching body parts with the other pony' thing Twilight told us about?"
Scootaloo opened her mouth to answer, then closed it. "I don't know."
The two ponies hung in the air, their changed wings beating and holding them aloft, neither having the answer to their purpose of being where they were. They just hovered in space, scanning the strange magical world they had been charmed into. It was several minutes of scrutinizing before Flurry noticed something.
"Look, Scootaloo, over there!"
Turning downwards, the two ponies beheld a strange sight: there, standing side-by-side on the ground, was..... themselves. Scootaloo and Flurry Heart were high up in the white above, and yet they were clearly down below as well.
"Who are they, Scootaloo?" Flurry asked. "Changelings maybe?"
"There hasn't been a changeling in Equestria for a long time, except for that one I saw during a wedding in Ponyville several years back," the orange mare replied. "Also, I don't think a changeling would have been able to get into Twilight's spell so easily. No, those two down below.... they're something else."
"But what?"
Scootaloo's brow furrowed. "Let's go see. Carefully, now."
The two ponies descended, holding their wings out and dropping gradually in wide circles like vultures. They approached the doppelgangers and examined them closely. At first, they had seemed identical, but up close the differences were clear: Scootaloo's wings were the size of an average pegasus', not the titanic size she currently bore, and while the mirroring Flurry's wings resembled the ones she had now, its expression was different. More confident.
Flurry looked at the still image of herself, pacing around the copies to see them from all angles. She looked up at the original Scootaloo. "Is that us?"
"Yes, I think so. Or rather, it's what we want 'us' to be."
Scootaloo approached herself, taking up the same pose as her mirror duplicate. "Here I see how I've always envisioned myself: proud, loyal and unbeatable, with wings that could take me to the highest of heights; a mare that has lived with the hardships that come with birth deformities and has gotten over them; a Scootaloo that is ready to achieve true flight at last, who would be capable of carrying out the tasks given to her.
"And you, Flurry. What do you see in yourself?"
Flurry felt uneasy. She followed Scootaloo's example, standing before the other Flurry. "I see.... I see a princess; a happy, confident pony who's loved by her friends and family, and admired by anypony else who knows her; an alicorn princess with no rare physical abnormalities which give other ponies something to jeer about; a pony who has made her peace with herself and her greatest concerns.
"I see princess Flurry Heart."
With the alicorn's last statement, the mirror Scootaloo and Flurry Heart began to glow, their features becoming brighter and whiter until they were indistinguishable from the aura around them. But the pair didn't stop there and kept glowing until they formed a star-bright section in the magicscape.
Scootaloo and Flurry exchanged glances. Both felt calm, having expounded their thoughts and feelings on themselves, and were truly at peace. Together they walked, the Crusader and the Princess, into the white void before them....
*
"Nnnnngh!" Twilight groaned, maintaining the spell around her student and niece. Though her magic power was great, this was one of those spells that took a lot out of a pony. Twilight didn't even know when to stop the spell.
I knew I should have done more research! she chided herself.
Suddenly, the aura holding the two differently-winged ponies brightened, and Twilight had to shield her eyes with a wing. What's going on? she wondered, doing her best to keep the magic stable. It's barely been eighteen seconds. What happened?
The pink-and-blue alicorn magic separated, and a third orange stripe slid in between them. The tri-colored aura began to shift and churn, throwing flashes of light around the room. Twilight had to raise her other wing to stop the light from refracting into her eyes.
Please be okay, she prayed. Please be okay, please be okay. For Flurry, for Scootaloo, for Cadance, Shiny, Rainbow, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle—
SPARK
Neeeeeeeyaaaaaao
⋆tinkle ✶ tinkle ✡ tinkle ✯
poof
With a sound of shimmering, the magic aura vanished. Scootaloo and Flurry Heart dropped to the floor, their hooves giving way as they impacted. Both immediately curled up in an attempt to sooth their flaring aches.
"Flurry!" Twilight rushed over and lifted her niece. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? How do you feel?"
"Uh.... Auntie Twilight?"
"Yes, yes, what is it, Flurry?"
"Scootaloo..."
What? Twilight turned to her pupil. Scootaloo had already regained her balance and now stood. She raised her head up and shook her mane, the clump of cerise hair waving about. Then, she lifted her back and spread her wings, showcasing their full size: two-and-a-half feet. Anypony could tell at a glance that these were grand wings, almost dissimilar in appearance to any other pegasus except for a point where they grew wider and more branched. They were certainly large by average standard.
"My thanks to you, Twilight," Scootaloo said gratefully. "Once again, you have helped me where I thought I had nothing."
Twilight just stared at Scootaloo, or rather at her wings. After a moment's more looking, she turned back to Flurry. "Does this mean...."
"Mmhmm." Flurry took a step back and spread her own wings. As in the magicscape, they were now of acceptable size for an alicorn of Flurry's stature. Gone were the feathered orchid titans of air-traveling. No more would her wings bring the young princess grief.
"It worked," Twilight said in a small voice. "The spell really worked."
Scootaloo walked over to Flurry's side and wrapped a hoof around the filly's shoulders, just like before. "Yes. Yes, it did."
"Oh wow, this is just amazing!" Twilight careful grasped the edge of Scootaloo's right wing and Flury's left, holding them up for a comparison. "This is amazing. Flurry's wings have adult feathers in them; that means they'll be more resistant to weather and will last longer before needing preening.
"And-and your wings, Scootaloo," she went on, "your wings leave me lost for words. They've gained some of the shape only found in alicorn wings. That's unheard of!"
"So are wings larger than the size of a newborn foal on said foal," Scootaloo commented, grinning at Flurry.
Twilight dropped the ponies' wings and quickly pulled out a book and quill. "All these past part-swaps seem slight when compared to this," she said, scribbling down at speeds as only an egghead can reach. "This will certainly offer new insights on transformation magicks, so I'll be thanking you both for giving me this opportunity."
"Come on, auntie!" Flurry giggled, leaping onto Twilight's back. "We know research isn't why you agreed to help us, right?"
"Right?" Scootaloo echoed, her serious tone not matching her eager smile.
"Well.... it may have been a lucky bonus," Twilight admitted. "The research, I mean."
"I guess all is well then. If it is indeed so, then I shall take my leave."
Scootaloo flipped her hood up, mounted her scooter and wheeled to the door. But Flurry zoomed over, using her wings for an extra push, and blocked her way. "Whoa whoa whoa, where do you think you're going?" she demanded. Then Flurry realized what she did. "I used my wings indoors. Without knocking stuff over."
"Yes, you did," Scootaloo agreed. "And, to answer your question, I'm going to return home. I have a friend waiting outside the castle and she's expecting me."
"Oh." Flurry slowly shuffled aside to allow Scootaloo access to the door. But as the pegasus mare turned the knob, Flurry thought of something. "Wait a minute, please."
"Hm?" Scootaloo turned slightly, looking at the princess out of her left eye.
Flurry spread her right wing, closed her teeth around one of the feathers and yanked. As Twilight looked on in silent astonishment, Flurry deposited the feather in Scootaloo's open hoof. "Here. Something to remember this night by."
Scootaloo looked at the feather and slowly closed her hoof around it. "I take this as your favor, princess. Though you need not worry about me forgetting tonight." She spread her own slightly-larger-than-average wings. "I wear tonight on my shoulders."
"And it's from there that we shall forever be connected," Flurry finished.
"Good luck, Scootaloo," Twilight said.
"The same to you and your studies, princess."
Scootaloo opened the door and walked into the hallway, where the dragon still lounged from door to door. The Crusader glanced back into the Crystal palace bedroom once more, at the two alicorns therein, and smiled. With a flick of her tail, she was gone.
Flurry exhaled. "So that's it then."
Twilight nodded. "That's it."
"Okay then." A silly smirk spread across Flurry Heart's face and she leapt into the air, spreading her new wings and soaring around the room without a care in the world. "Yaaay!"
Twilight could only share in her niece's joy, shooting up magical sparks from her horn that sent glowing stars all over the room and out the window. Any late-night wanderers would look up and wonder why there was a constant series of flashing lights coming from the guest wing of the palace.
"This is the best night ever!" Flurry squealed, coming down in front of her aunt and bouncing in place.
"That's what I thought about my first Grand Galloping Gala," Twilight said, reminiscing that individual event. "I'm feeling tonight has trumped it, though."
Clipptyclop clipptyclop clipptyclop clipptyclop clipptyclop
The sound of hooves running echoed from the crystal plaza below the castle. Twilight and Flurry went to the window, looked out and saw Scootaloo galloping from the palace entrance. From the north-eastern street of the Empire, another pony stepped into the plaza and approached Scootaloo. The two communicated for a minute, then together spread their wings and leapt into the sky. Scootaloo and the other pony circled the towering crystal palace several times, meeting up around the side and soaring off out of the Empire with pegasus weather wakes trailing behind them—one made of spinning shield motes and feather-shaped lightning bolts, the other of pure unfiltered rainbows.
"So that's her friend," Flurry sighed as she watched the spectacle.
"Busy, but for Scootaloo...." Twilight shook her head and gathered up her equipment. "Are you surprised, Flurry?"
"I guess not. Maybe I'm just wondering why she came all the way here with her."
"She cares deeply about Scootaloo. Through much of her filly years, she was always there for her, taking the role of big sister that she never really had."
"Huh." Flurry stared out the window, watching the ends of the weather trails fade and the two pegasi disappear into the night. She looked back at her own wings and beamed. "Guess we'll be doing a lot more flying than we were before."
"Undoubtedly," Twilight agreed, "but right now, it's time for you to go to bed."
"Not tired," Flurry retorted before emitting a wide yawn.
"Bed."
Though the little alicorn tried to object further, Twilight was hearing none of it and, using her magic, picked up and draped Flurry over her back. She left her room and the dragon outside immediately raised his head. "Is she all right?" the dragon rumbled, noting the sleeping filly. "Scootaloo just came out, looking happy as she was in her youth. I thought it had gone well."
"She's just asleep, Spike," Twilight explained. "No need to worry. And yes, the spell was a success."
"Ah." Spike scratched his shield-sized spines. "Okay then. So you're taking Flurry to her room."
"Yep. Watch the place for me."
"Always."
Spike rolled himself around until he was once more blocking the door, and Twilight walked out of the guest wing. As she crossed into the main hall, she heard a loud noise coming from the stairs leading to the barracks: a mixture of hundreds of armored hooves and boisterous conversation.
Looks like Shining's lecture is over. Better get Flurry to bed; don't want to spoil the surprise.
Even as she prepared her teleportation spell, Twilight reviewed the conversation she had with her brother and sister-in-law earlier, about her discoveries. At first, they had been apprehensive of what could and would happen, but Twilight's reasoning along with their accounts of Flurry's complaints and feelings brought them around. So, to give Twilight a tranquil environment to increase all quality of the spellwork, Shining and Cadance had agreed to 'lure' everypony out of the castle. Which is what happened.
Appearing at the top of the staircase, Twilight moved quickly to Flurry's room. She carefully cleared her bed of the bits and bobs covering it and tucked her niece under the blankets. As though she felt it, Flurry snuggled under the covers.
"Hmmmm..... hrmmmmmm...." she snuffled.
Twilight smiled at her sleeping niece. She had gained much that night: new wings, new feelings, even a new friend. Twilight knew that this night would forever leave its mark on Flurry in more ways than one, and her outlook on Equestria would change too. The events of tonight will transform Flurry's mind and she will see things in a whole new way now, Twilight envisioned. From here on out, Flurry will be the happiest little princess in Equestria.
Hopes lit and mission completed, Twilight gave Flurry a kiss on the cheek and departed her room, leaving the alicorn filly to dream of flying with her new friend.