Growing Pains
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The Virtue of Patience

Growing Pains

Author's Note

Chapter two has been extended.

Growing Pains

Attempt #1

Twilight and Spike approached their old home as Twilight carried on her torso a bag of the three books that she had picked out as Spike carried a small plant that was in a basic pot.

They stopped in front of the home and gazed upon what was left of it.

"It's only been a week since I've gazed upon it but it seems that every time I do, it brings back those wretched memories. To think...everything just...gone."

"I'm surprised they haven't burnt it down or something by now."

"Maybe they don't know what to do with it...yet. Good thing they didn't though. We can try out these spells!"

Spike rolled his eyes. Oh boy.

Spike followed the bouncing Twilight to the middle of the tree and faced in front of her as she removed a book from her pouch.

"Now, if we do this correctly, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Spike, go ahead and plant the sprout."

"Okie dokie." Spike obeyed and moved some dirt out of the way to carve a hole. He took the plant out of the pot and placed it in it and after covered it back up with dirt. Patting it down just enough to set the baby tree firmly in.

"So what now?"

"I'm going to try this growth spell on it and see if it would do the job. It should make it grow rather quickly and mature fast. Its a light spell so the odds of something going wrong should be slim."

"Don't you think you should use a repair spell or something first? Aren't you trying to get your home back? Not simply just the tree?"

"I would use a repair spell Spike, trust me I would, but the problem is that the tree itself is too far damage to even do so. The least I would do is use it on my books but..." she sighed. "Most of those are completely destroyed if not obliterated. The tree sprout that you have is a piece of the tree that I managed to salvage and keep at Canterlot. Perhaps I can make it grow and then after, change it to how it should have been before Tirek came."

"I guess that will be okay then."

Twilight's eyes glossed over the book one last time as she prepared her magic.

"Now, according to this spell by famous unicorn botanists Hoffington, if i just focus my magic to the sprout..." Twilight's horn lit up. "....given it enough nutrients from the soil, helping it absorb that and sunlight....check. Next and final with water...I should be able to make it..." Twilight aimed her magic straight to the sprout. Causing it to be encased in a greenish orb. "Grow!"

A sudden spark was emitted and with that quick blinding light, the orb surrounded the sprout disappeared. A silence filled the area as Twilight and Spike both settled their arm and leg down that they used to shield their eyes. Spike gazed at the sprout and scratched his head as he saw no difference in the plant.

Twilight however, stared with a smile on her face. A rather...disturbed one.

"Um, Twilight?"

"Yes Spike?"

"Nothing happened."

"You've just gotta be patient Spike. Soon you'll see it work. Just...give it a few minutes."

Spike looked at her and then back at the plant. Then back at Twilight who kept staring with a smile at the plant and then back at the sprout. He drew an annoyed look.

Dear Celestia we're gonna be here all day aren't we?

Not long after such words being spoken, did the ground begin to tremor until it turned into an aggressive shaking of the earth beneath them.

Ponyville's residents stopped what they were doing and looked to the ground and too each other as their vision begun to shake with the power of the earth.

"Twilight! Whats going on?"

"Back up Spike! Its coming!" The mare clopped her hooves together.

The ground beneath the small sprout begun to crack and split apart as the land erupted with wrath. Spike looked upon the small tree sprout with worry and horror as the tremors of the land begun to get even more violent. He gave a quick look to his partner who happily clopped her hooves with a maddened smile. Seemingly ignoring the violence of the going on beneath the ground before her.

Ponyville's citizens were thrown into a panic as ponies begun to gallop pass each other and to their homes which surprisingly remained intact...for now with the exception of a few crumbling debris.

Light busted forth from the cracks beneath the small tree sprout when suddenly, the sky foun itself slowly being darkened by the eruption of a giant oak.

Twilight quickly snatched up Spike as they both were thrown onto the ground. The smile upon the purple mare's face quickly faded as she and her dragon looked upon the giant tree that rummaged through the land. The pony residents stopped and gazed upon what they assumed had been causing the natural disaster to transpire.

Spike lifted an arm, pointing to the tree that was beginning to reach out of of view. "Uh...was that suppose to happen?"

Twilight swallowed.

Eventually, the ground in the near entirety of Ponyville begun to break open revealing large roots engulfing roots. Thankfully, they dodged the onslaught of the houses but cracked the pavement apart as the giant, bulging roots tore through the ground like scissors to paper.

Twilight lit up her horn and with a ceasing spell, was intent to stop it's in its place before homes got destroyed.

"STOP!"

A sudden strike of her magic to the tree and all was paused.

Ponyville's residents begun to gaze upon the sudden appearance of a gigantic tree in front of them and its large roots. Frowns came upon their faces as they surveyed the damage.

"What in Celestia's world dare happened?" Mayor Mare asked.

"We don't know! There was a sudden earthquake and now there's a giant tree where Twilight's home once stood!" Carrot Top's hoof guided Mayor Mare's eyes towards the assumed suspect where she saw a familiar purple mare and equally purple dragon.

"Twilight," she approached. "Care to tell me what in the world happened?"

Twilight faced the mare and begun to stammer as the residents of her hometown begun to encircle her both with faces of worry, curiosity and accusation. Sweating at her temples and cornered, Twilight tried to think quickly of an reasonable explanation but could not find any that will save her flank out of this mess.

I could tell them that I was practicing a spell! Yeah a spell on the tree! That should work!

"I was...doing some magic practicing! On the tree! To see what would happen! I didn't mean for it to turn this way!" She nervously smiled.

The mayor, wasn't buying it.

"So of all trees, your telling me you just had to use this one? Especially one that was destroyed to begin with?"

Twilight stared panically into the old mare's eyes and darted her orbs across the crowd who now seem to accentuate her anger. She had no other choice.

"Perii Opus!"

Her horn gave a blinding flash that completely stunned the ponies in the vicinity into dizziness, blindness and grey eyes. Twilight grabbed hold of Spike and made a beeline through teleportation. Taking with her a part of their memory and reversing what had happened.

Spike shook his head as he used his hand to stop his eyes from circulating throughout his known vision. After setting his eyesight back the way it was suppose to be, the dragon gazed upon a pacing unicorn who went back and forth through her room. Digging through books and flailing them against the floor.

"Uh..Twilight?"

"I can't believe this Spike! The spell wasn't suppose to go that way!" She grabbed the book she used before and flipped through its pages. "Just what did I do wrong!"

"Didn't you use a growth spell? It worked..." he scratched his head. "...kind of."

"It made the tree grow but it wasn't suppose to grow that much! Was it too much nutrients? Too much water? Or perhaps sunlight? No....it couldn't be."

"Well, your book's smart. What does the book say?"

Twilight read:

While the growth spell may be used to accelerate the growth of a certain plant or fungi species by accelerating its metabolic structure in its cells and its use of energy and personal time, it unfortunately must be used with extreme caution when it comes to any gardener or expert planter. The reason for this warning is clear that in many of the trials when too much of this magic is used at once, the plant or fungus the spell was used upon would cause the plant to sprout so quickly that it would end up reaching maturation and dying by the next day.

Indicating that its life cycle would also be quickly speedant as well. When used on small sprouts and seeds that develops into giant trees such as oaks and redwoods, the plant and its roots would grow to much bigger sizes then it should causing enormous roots and a tree that would either collapse upon its own weight or could not obtain enough nutrition from the soil so that it could keep itself alive.

The growth spell should be used in very small moderation over the course of the plant's life so while its metabolic structure is sped up, its only accelerated so much that its allowed to mature and go through its life cycle how nature propose it should.

In short, the growth spell should only be used as an encouragement to at least reach asexual or sexual maturity not to reach maximum height or food production in a very short amount of time.

"Well that explains it."

Twilight slammed her head against the book that lied on the table.

Spike commented. "Next time, read the fine print."

"Forget you Spike."

"What exactly did you do back there? All I remember is Mayor Mare and in a flash we were gone. What did you do to them?"

Twilight lifted her head to the ceiling. "I might of...well you know...altered their...memory?" she smiled nervously.

"You erased their memory Twilight? What about the damage to Ponyville! Is the tree still there? The cracked pavement? The near crumbling homes?"

"Well thankfully, I had a backup just in case something like that happened!"

"And by backup you mean a spell you pulled out of your-"

"I used an undo spell!"

"An undo spell?"

"Perii Opus! Meaning simply to 'undo work'. Its a very simple spell that undo's your previous spell and its consequences and effects."

Spike crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case then how in the world did a spell like that erase ponies memories?"

"I may have...used another one!"

"Mmhm."

Twilight continued going through her books.

"So you erased the residents of ponyville's memories and undid the growth spell effects on the tree sprout. So what are you going to do now?"

"Try again! Duh!"

Spike could not believe what he heard....well, atleast he didn't want to. "Twilight, I undertsand you wanna get y-our home back but don't you think you should just leave it be? Or at the least, simply use the growth spell again but this time like how the book recommends for you to use it?"

"If I followed what the book wanted me to do, the problem is it would take forever! Oak trees like the one we lived in, can take a total of fifty to a hundred years to grow! Even if I use the spell, it will only take a few years off. I may be dead before I even see it half way!"

"Well you are an alicorn. Maybe you'll live longer than most ponies. Like Celestia and Luna."

"I don't know if I will Spike and as of right now, Celestia isn't exactly sure either even if she says I may end up doing so." Twilight gave herself a sigh and took a deep breath. "I won't try another spell today as that would be pushing it considering what just blew over but I'll try a lighter spell tomorrow."

"A lighter spell? Your meaning to tell me that was light?"

"Listen Spike, I didn't mean for it to turn out that way."

You don't mean for a lot of things to turn out the way they usually do. As princess Celestia says, 'think about your magic before you cast something tragic'.

"Not to beat up on you Twilight but you have a habit of immediately jumping to the use of a specialized spell without thinking the consequences through at times."

"I am aware." Twilight frowned and grumbled. "I don't need a lecture on that right now especially after what just happened. Like I said, I'll try something less violent tomorrow."

"Let's hope that Princess Celestia doesn't have our necks." Spike mumbled.