Unconventional Magic - 6: Complications

Author's note:
I would really appreciate feedback and criticism on this chapter, even the series as a whole at this point. I have some personal issues with this chapter, and though at least one Anon did say I was doing fine, I need more than that. It would really help me out; even if you think I am doing good and should just keep going, it helps to hear it. Looking back, I'm feeling more like I've been rushing the series; there's more things I originally wanted to happen before Chapter 5, but it just didn't work out, and now I feel kinda bad about it. I'm coming up with ideas on how to alter those scenario's so I can use them in the upcoming chapters, but I still feel like I should have done a lot more before this point.

tl;dr - I want feedback and criticism on this particular chapter as well as the series as a whole. I'm lurking the threads almost constantly so just make a post, or bring it up in the forum.
Thanks.

>Last night was the best night you've had in Equestria, maybe even your entire life
>This morning, however, was a completely different story
>You wake up to an intense throbbing pain in your upper back
>The sudden pain woke you up and shot you out of bed, startling Rainbow Dash out of it as well
>"Huh, wha- Anon, what's wrong!?"
"I don't kno- AAAAAHH, feels like my back is about to fucking explode!"
>"Turn around, let me look at it!"
>You oblige, trying to remain still and calm
>"Ohmygosh it's.. it's.."
>You could hear the fear in her voice
"Just tell me!"
>"It's all bruised up, really bad! Like if every single blood vessel in your upper back burst!"
"What the shit!?"
>You approach your mirror and face your back to it, trying to look behind you and see for yourself
>You can only see so much, but she was right
>It wasn't just one large area though, it had a peculiar shape to it
>Almost as if...
>"Anon we need to get you to the hospital righ-"
"NO! I need to go see Twilight!"
>You race around your room for some clothes
>"Twilight!? Bu-"
"Dashie, this is going to be really hard to explain, but you gotta trust me. Twilight knows what's happening with me, I-"
>You stop for a moment, cringing at another spike of pain
"I.. just need to go to her, hopefully she'll know what to do."
>"Well don't think I'm not coming with you! I have no idea what's going on with you and I'm not just gonna sit back while you're in pain like this!"

>This isn't good
>There's no stopping her and you know it
>Hopefully you can get through this without her getting all the details
>As soon as you're dressed, you tell Rainbow to grab on to you
>When she does, you manage to focus enough to teleport you both into Twilight's house
"Twilight!"
>You hear a muffled gasp come from the loft above the library and soon spot Twilight poke her head out down at you
>"Anon, wha-"
"Sorry for the intrusion but I have a serious problem and I need you right now! Can you get your machines ready?"
>"Uhh.. sure, but what's wrong?"
"I.. I'll show ya when we get downstairs, but it turns out pegasi have a rather negative effect on me, to say the least.
>Her previous look of confusion is replaced with one of worry
>She nods and races downstairs and into the basement, you following right behind her with Rainbow latching into your back and head resting on your shoulder
>Twi:"Just give me a few minutes to get things ready."
>RD:"Hey, Anon.. what did you mean by that? You don't mean this was.. my fault, do you?"
>Her voice shakes, again filled with worry and fear
>You grab Rainbow off your back and hold her up right in front of you
"No! Don't you think for a SECOND that this is your fault! I knew something like this might happen, but I had no idea it would be this dramatic."
>RD:"You.. you knew?" she says, expanding her wings and floating out of your arms "How did you know Anon? What aren't you telling me!?"

>Twi:"All ready Anon, strap yourself in."
>Thankfully this distracts you from Rainbow
"Before I do, you should probably see this, though I know you don't want to."
>You take off your shirt and present your bruised back to Twilight
>She gasps and places two hooves across her mouth
>Now hopefully she understands the severity of this
>You strap yourself into her machine
>Twi:"Anon, that's.."
"I know Twilight. We need to find a way to reverse it or something."
>Twi:"It's.. physical this time, not like the unicorns at all.. Why!?"
"The why doesn't matter right now Twilight, we need to stop this from getting any worse!"
>She nods her head and goes on pressing buttons and turning dials
>The machine begins to scan you, mostly along your chest and upper-back, as well as the pelvic area of course, which you're not too thrilled about
>RD:"Anon don't ignore me! Twilight, why is this happening!?"
>Twi:"Rainbow, it's a side-effect, from.."
>She stops and looks at you
"From the rutting last night.."
>RD:"Wh- what!?" she gasps, face turning red in the process
"I'm sorry Dashie, you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but you deserve to know.."
>You voice begins to shake from nervousness
"This ability I have to use magic, it.. came from Lyra, like I said before, but.. it wasn't a spell, or experiment.."
>You're finding it increasingly difficult to look at Rainbow Dash, ending up staring at the ground instead

"We.. I.. She initiated it, and I just couldn't help myself, so.. I rutted her that night. Somehow, in the process, I acquired her ability to use magic, as well as some of her magical knowledge and power. I came to Twilight to see what happened, but she couldn't figure out why. It didn't seem like anything to worry about so we just left it alone."
>RD:"You.. h-how could you do that!?" she shouts, more anger in her voice now than anything else
"It- it was before we were together! And.. we both kinda needed it, and just.. took it as a learning experience, to go along with the studies we were requested to do.."
>By now you can barely feel the pain your back
>Your mind has its focus more on the pain in your heart
>RD:"Anon, I- .. Anon? Are you- why are you crying?" she stutters, anger slowly turning back to worry, as she spots a tear escaping your eye
>You immediately look up and staright into her eyes
"Because I love you Dashie!"
>She flinches back at your tearful outburst
"I didn't think you'd ever forgive me if you found out, and I just couldn't bear the thought of losing you, especially now... It's all been in the past and behind me, I'd even take it all back for you if that's what it took.."
>Before you can say anymore, Twilight interrupts
>Twi:"A-Anon.. Th- ..oh, Celestia.."
>There is a look of utter horror upon her face
"It's worse than we feared isn't it? Just.. tell me."
>Twi:"Your.. *gulp* DNA, it's.. changing.."

>Twilight's horrified expression is now mirrored onto you, and amplified about ten times
>Twi:"Your body is trying to.. to.." she stutters, afraid to say the next part
"Well!?" you shout
>Twi:"Grow wings!" she spouts out, as you all go silent for a moment
"Oh, well, that's actually just what I was expecting... Is it just that though?"
>Twi:"Looks like it, but.. they look like they're going to be pegasus-like wings, probably not much bigger than normal either so they probably wouldn't do you any good."
"Good, so we can stop this before anything major happens right?"
>Twi:"I.. don't know, Anon.."
"Wh- what do you mean you don't know!?"
>Twi:"Let me run some more tests! If we can at least stop it from growing, we may be able to remove what's already there with magic, or surgery, or something."
>Well, at least there's some hope
>Twilight gets back to her testing, and Rainbow hovers in close to you, within whisper range
>RD:"Anon.. I'm sorry.. I'm mad but I can forgive you.."
>You turn to look at her as a couple of rogue tears escape your eyes
"You.. really?"
>RD:"Yeah. Let's just get through this together okay, we can talk about it later."
>You magic open the restraints on your arms and snatch your Dashie out of the air and into a hug
"Thank you.." you manage to whisper to her
>RD:"I love you too Anon, I don't think I could bear losing you either."
>You two enjoy each-others embrace for a while before Twilight interrupts once again

>Twi:"Anonymous."
>Shit, that's not good
>You break your hug with Rainbow and see Twilight giving you a deadpan stare
>Whatever she was about to say, you probably didn't want Rainbow to hear
>Twi:"What am I going to discover when I check these DNA samples, hmm?"
>Shit, why was she doing this, now of all times!
"You already know Twilight, so why bring it up?"
>Twi:"There's an extra one..."
"Dammit Twilight! That's not important!" you shout in anger
>Twi:"Actually, Anon, it could be CRUCIAL to reversing this process!" she shouts back, causing you and Rainbow to flinch
>RD:"What the buck you guys!?"
>You just return your gaze to the ground, trying to hold in your anger, as Twilight continues the tests
>This is not going to end well, you almost want to just leave right now
>How's that going to look to Rainbow Dash though?
>For that matter, what is she going to think when she finds out Lyra wasn't the only one?
>You'll know very soon it seems...
>Twi:"Lyra, Rainbow......"
>Twi:"Her..." she says, cringing, no doubt finding a trace of Trixie
>Here it comes...
>Who knows, she didn't say Trixie's name, maybe she'll be quiet about her too?
>Twi:"FLUTTERSHY!?" she yells
"TWILIGHT! WHA-"
>RD:"YOU RUTTED FLUTTERSHY TOO!? Anon, ho- Wait, who did you mean when you said 'her,' Twilight?" she asks sternly
>Rainbow looks to you, noticing a faint glow still coming from your pants
>She studies the new color and puts two and two together

>RD:"It was Trixie wasn't it!? I knew it!" she yells at you, angrier than you've ever seen her
"They both came on to me, they were really hard to resist! I just.. let it happen, okay, I'm fucking sorry! It's all in the past!"
>RD:"N-no, Anon, that's.. too much."
>The anger in Rainbow's expression is quickly turning into great sorrow, tears escaping her eyes at an unsettling pace
"Rainbow, I-"
>RD:"Just stop, Anon, I.. I can't do this.."
>She's really breaking down now
>Seeing her like this is crushing your heart
>However, it's the anger that sends you over the edge
"FFUUUUUUUCK!!" you yell at the top of your lungs, startling Twilight and Rainbow
>Somehow you managed to amplify your voice, which shook the entire house
>They were both staring at you in shock
"Dashie, I'm sooo sorry for this but I can't lose you... not like this..."
>She gives you a confused and tearful look, before you conjure a magical aura around her head
>In a quick moment, she faints and collapses on the ground
>Twi:"Anon, what did you do!?"
>You turn to face Twilight, angry as you've ever been, now with tears streaming down your face
"WHY TWILIGHT!?"
>She jumps back and can't seem to find any words right away

"Do you not realize what you're doing by bringing this up in front of Rainbow Dash? You said it yourself just yesterday that it was important I never break her heart, yet telling her about Trixie and Fluttershy is doing exactly that! Not only would we be over with, but the friendship between you and I, which I thought was going great, could be destroyed as well! I don't want this to happen Twilight, and I know you just have to share that desire!"
>She remains silent for a few moments, before letting out a sigh
>Twi:"You're.. right, Anon. I'm so sorry!" she says, mashing her head onto the console in front of her
"It's okay Twilight, I can forgive you. But we have to deal with the situation at hand! We can talk about whatever you want when it's all over."
>Twi:"Okay- wait, what about Rainbow!?"
"She's fine, it's just a sleep spell. I'm going to have to blank her memory though.."
>Twi:"What, are you serious!?"
"Yeah.. not of everything though, she deserves to know the origin of this, but she can't know about Trixie or Fluttershy!"
>Twi:"Alright, that sounds fair enough... hmm.."
>Twilight remains silent in deep thought for a moment
>Twi:"Anon... did you erase any of Fluttershy's memory? She-"

"Yes, I did... *sigh* Even after what happened to her that day, then being unable to fly and all.. she was still so happy that night when I was with her, in fact happier than I've ever seen her.. It was something she needed and I let her have it, but.. I couldn't help but think of Rainbow Dash the whole time. I knew I was in love with her and I just couldn't chance her ever finding out about what happened between Fluttershy and I.."
>Twi:"You really do love her then.."
"Of course I do.. Erasing Fluttershy's memory though, that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was such a wonderful experience for her, and I took it away from her in an instant.."
>As you recall that night, tears begin forming once again, and Twilight is starting to have a hard time holding back some of her own
>Twi:"Anon, I think I can give that memory back to her."
"What? But what if she'll want to do it again, or start telling p0nies about it, or-"
>Twi:"I'll have a talk with her about it. She seemed very happy for you and Rainbow yesterday, I don't think she'd want to do anything to jeopardise that."
"Well, if you're sure about that.."
>She simply nods her head
>Twi:"Anyway, it's time to get back to work."
>A number of minutes pass by, and you're trying to focus on anything but the pain in your back
>"Anon, I have a bit of a confession, but I think you're going to like it."
"Really now? Well, what is it?"

>"I too had a feeling that something like this might happen, so I've been reading up on DNA changes, transformations and such. Most of that knowledge actually comes from what we know about Changelings."
"Changelings? ..wait, just what are you getting at?"
>"I had Princess Celestia send me a book on Changeling magic a couple days ago. Typically this research is restricted to just her and the royal guard's Unicorn division, but she allowed me to take it once she knew the circumstances."
"So wait, Celestia knows about all this now?"
>"I only told her about what came from your encounter with Lyra, but of course that was all that happened by then."
"Wonderful... So, have you come up with anything yet?"
>"It's.. difficult... Changelings always change their entire form, and they can do it in less than a second. Not only do we need to only change a tiny part of you, but we may need to remove Rainbow's and Fluttershy's DNA from you, and prevent them from ever returning."
"That, sounds.. well beyond impossible. Especially the DNA removal part."
>"Sure it won't be easy, but it's not impossible. Not with magic!"
"Of course, magic, why did I ever doubt it?"
>Twilight giggles
>"I think I've studied enough to be able to do this, but I can't be certain it'll work, or that I won't mess something up."
"It's okay Twilight, I trust you. You're incredibly talented with magic, if anyp0ny could pull this off, it's you."
>She smiles at your comment

>"Thanks Anon. Now I'm going to need you to lie on this table on your stomach so I can focus my magic close on your back."
"Alright."
>You magic off the restraints on the machine and step out, heading over to Rainbow first
>Kneeling down next to her body, you place a hand on her head, caressing it gently
>With a couple seconds of focus, you cast the spell that would erase the last few minutes of her memory, from the point right after she said she'd forgive you and you grabbed her into a hug
>You're confident enough in your ability now, you don't worry about about messing up the time frame
>Without second thought, you stand up and crawl onto the table, lying on your stomach like Twilight asked
>"Okay Anon, are you ready? This could take a while, and it may hurt, so I'm going to put restraints on again. I need you to stay as still as you can, I'll need absolute focus or I could really mess something up."
"I'll do my best Twilight, and you do yours."
>The restraints go on, and you close your eyes, trying as hard as you can to remain calm and think about something else
>Twilight pulls a chair next to the table and leans over you, her horn hovering just an inch above your upper back
>You can feel a warm tingling feeling along your back as she begins
>It's nothing at first, but you soon feel it moving, eventually taking shape around the affected area

>Suddenly you hear a buzzing sound; something you've come to remember as the sound of a type of x-ray machine
>She had just positioned it above your back and moved a monitor next to her so she can see your bone structure as she worked on it
>This put you a little more at ease, but the constant running of that machine didn't
>You continue trying your best to remain calm, but your concentration is broken when you feel bones shifting in your back
>You flinch a little at first, but Twilight quickly places her front hooves on you to help keep you in place, one just below your neck and the other just above your waist
>It doesn't hurt quite as bad as you thought, but it's still intense
>New miniature bones that had formed overnight were shrinking and vanishing
>Blood vessels were moving and reconnecting with each other
>The worst part was a couple primary nerves that had started branching outward, that would have ended up growing with the wings
>As soon as Twilight began moving them back in, you couldn't help but let out a scream
>Twilight kept her focus though, and eventually the new nerves were gone
>You had no idea how much time had passed by, but you think she was finally done when you hear the machine power down
"Twilight?" you say quietly
>"Y-yeah.. I'm, done.." she says, seemingly out of breath
>"How do you feel?"
"Incredibly sore, but it doesn't hurt much."
>"Oh, good.."
>You slowly get up to a sitting position on the table, facing Twilight

>She's clearly exhausted herself; out of breath and working up quite a sweat
"That really took a lot out of you huh?"
>Twilight responds with a nod
>You snatch up Twilight, much to her surprise, and give her a tight bear hug
"Thank you so much Twilight, what you've done is nothing short of incredible."
>"H-hey, don't mention it Anon, it's what friends are for right?" she whispers with a quiet giggle, breaking the hug "Besides, don't thank me yet, we'll need to watch that and make sure you recover and don't have any other complications. Once I know for sure, I can use some more Changeling magic to prevent something like this from happening again."
"Yeah, you're right. Well you look like you could use some rest, why not go take a break?"
>"Yeah I think I will."
>Twilight hops off her chair and begins lazily walking up the stairs
>You hop off the table and scoop up Rainbow Dash
>Twilight had sprawled out on one of her couches in the library
>You claim the other one, laying Rainbow next to you, stroking her mane softly
>Before you knew it, Twilight had passed out
>"Dude, what the heck happened down there?"
"Oh, hey Spike. You uhh.. don't wanna know the details, trust me. Long story short, Twilight essentially performed surgery on me, and now she's completely exhausted."
>"Surgery? Man that's crazy."
"Yeah, but it's over with now, so we're just gonna chill here for now."
>"Suit yourself. I'm gonna go out for a while, see ya later Anon."
"Yep."

>As Spike leaves, you rest your head on the back of the couch and relax
>Your back was indeed very sore, and walking up the stairs wasn't easy, but sitting back on this couch sure was nice
>About fifteen minutes of peace and quiet pass by before you feel Rainbow begin to stir next to you
>"A-Anon?"
"Hey, you're awake." you give her a weak smile
>"What happened?"
"Well, you see.. things were getting a little crazy down there, and I may have lost control of my magic, and you may have been knocked out from it.."
>"Wait, what? Lost control, what do you mean?"
"I don't really know myself, Dashie. The pain just spiked more and more and I couldn't handle it.. but it's all over now. Twilight even managed to completely revert the changes and fix my back. She used up so much magic that she passed out when it was done."
>"No way, that's great!"
"Yeah, I had no idea she could pull off something like that, but she did. It was incredible."
>Rainbow lazily crawls up from her laying position and gives you a hug
"I'm really sorry Rainbow, for everything." you whisper to her
>"It's okay Anon, I'm just glad you're back to normal."

End of Act 1