Fifteenth Starfall (Post-dated to after the Arcade event)

[stormbroken]

[A. Visual]

[Well here's a face that hasn't been on the scrolls much recently; you'd be forgiven for assuming she disappeared, given that the only sign she was still around was the tangible lack of Harvey Finevoice losing his damn mind. She seems to be mostly unchanged, though, aside from a bit of tiredness around her eyes and her hair being more than a little nappy.]

Hey. Someone mind telling me what I missed over the last month or so? I got the latest tabloid trash, but past that and the wedding, something is bound to have gone wrong in that time frame.

[There's a long pause as the pegasus tries to remember what she was originally going to add, but after a minute she seems to get it, looking aside awkwardly.]

And... hey. Anyone know how to take care of birds? There's... uh... one around here that got in real bad shape because of the bad winter we had, and then the whole thing with Tirek, and... [Cough.] ...look, what I'm saying is that it doesn't have the feathers left to fly any more, and I was trying to find out if there was any way to help it heal faster. Not magic or something silly like taping the feathers back on, but... I dunno.

Anything.

[And just as awkwardly, Flare shuts off the scroll.]

[B. Action - Ponyville streets/Night Market, daytime]

[Some time after her post, the pegasus is skulking through town with a singular destination in mind - a cart that she's seen set up in the Night Market. That wouldn't be too out of place, except it's the very end of spring - temperatures are getting higher, the sun is getting brighter... and Flare is huddled up in a thick, full-body cloak. She had to give credit where it was due - Nephenee's Hearth's Warming giff was indispensable. She might be drawing a bit of attention, though, in her desire to avoid it.]

Comments

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

If you like, they taste quite good.
Eat if you wish, not as a matter of 'should'.

[Why let perfectly good fruit go to waste, after all? The pit may be what she needed, but the rest of it can still serve a good purpose.]

Once you drink, it will take an hour
For your wings to regain their luster and power.

[stormbroken]

Well, s'hardly fair that I eat all of them unless I need to - you need to eat, too, and if they're as good as you say, then you won't mind sharing with me.

[For as much as she put up a brave face, she was hungry - it was just a problem keeping things down before.]

Is it gonna be all at once?

[Flare's gonna take a fruit half, chewing on it and swallowing a bite.]

Should I be braced for my wings feelin' like they're gonna explode as my back farts out two feather dusters, I mean.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

I know these trees from stem to root,
So I can always get more fruit.

[Also, she's working. Zecora leaves the fruit halves there for the time being as she strips a branch of its leaves with a practiced swiped of the hoof.]

Ordinarily, I would say no.
But this version will be slow.
We cannot strain your body's strength
So rather than in a flash, they grow at length.

[stormbroken]

[Flare nods, just... chewing, thoughtfully. She won't ask if it's gonna be painful because honestly, she could handle it if it was. Better than being a wingless pegasus, she felt.]

What exactly am I gonna owe you for this? I know you aren't the opportunistic type, but I can't let this go without payment of some kind.

[zebrarhyme_everytime]

[Actually, when it comes to feathers -- especially feathers that are growing out slowly -- she might actually have the opposite problem. Which is something Zecora could fix... but Flare's got a somepony, so why should she?]

You can repay me in kind
With things that I cannot find.
For several brews I need to start
With a cumulonimbus heart.
A zebra cannot gather such things
So I will ask a pony with wings.