Art Appreciation

Art Appreciation

The center square of Canterlot was busy, bustling with ponies from every corner of Equestria. There were pegasi from Cloudsdale, earth ponies from Manehatten, and Unicorns from Canterlot itself. Everypony was excited to attend the Wonderbolts’ show at Canterlot Arena,

The crowd was colorful, ponies wearing an eclectic array of attire from t-shirts with images of current and past members of the renowned group, to replica spandex suits that barely fit those fans that had slight cider-bellies. The air was filled with the sound of cheering. The blaring of cheap plastic vuvuzela horns made the entire stadium sound as if it was housing some colossal beehive. .

Rainbow Dash watched the spectacle through a large flowery window on the second floor of the Canterlot Art Gallery, envious of those beneath her. Instead of being out there with the other crazy fans to see the Wonderbolts, she trapped inside a place she personally had no interest in being. She bit her lower lip and looked down at the tiled floor, wishing it would turn into the concrete of the city square, and that she would be outside waiting in line to see her heros perform dazzling maneuvers in the sky.

Don’t think about what you’re missing, Rainbow. I know this is hard for a pony aware of how awesome they are to understand, but isn’t about you. Today is about Twilight, and Twilight alone.

“I can’t believe you chose to come here over the the Wonderbolts show.”

Twilight smiled as a humbled blush spread across her face, making her look like a violet Hearth’s Warming Eve decoration. “Well I do really appreciate it, Rainbow. But if you want we can see the Wonderbolts instead. I wouldn’t mind.”

Though she did prefer to see the Wonderbolts to sauntering through the museum, Rainbow Dash shook her head, “No, no, Twilight. You’ve been talking about how much you’ve wanted to come back to this place for the longest time. And it’s your birthday. So while I appreciate the offer, today is about you, not me.”

“Are you sure?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Absolutely. Besides, I’ve been looking forward to this trip since I thought of it.”

“Really? So the big, bad Rainbow Dash has been looking forward to seeing all the pretty paintings?” Twilight said with an air of smugness.

“Hehe, yeah, I’ve been trying to get in touch with my inner egghead for a while now.” Rainbow laughed, allowing some self-deprecating humor. Normally she would have been defensive, but like she said before, it was Twilight’s birthday, and Twilight could do as she pleased so long as it didn’t involve physical harm to either herself or to Rainbow Dash.

“Well, as long as you’re okay with it.” Twilight smiled as they trotted to the entrance.

Even though the transformation was relatively recent, Rainbow had already gotten used to her friend’s ‘royal’ appearance. She often had to remind herself that Twilight was once a unicorn. A unicorn with extraordinary magical abilities that was Princess Celestia’s star pupil, but a unicorn nonetheless. The pair of wings didn’t stand out like they once had, and Twilight didn’t carry herself any differently than she had when she was a unicorn. To Rainbow, Twilight was still the same dorky bookworm friend that she always had been, something she wouldn’t have any other way.

The only difference was that she could fly now, something the speedy pegasus chalked up as a plus to the change. If for no other reason, it gave her someone else to hang out with in the skies. She even had the chance to help Twilight experience cloudwalking, which was another perk of becoming an alicorn. The mare spent the entire afternoon skipping on the fluffy white puffs while Rainbow Dash watched, laughing her flank off at her friend’s foal-like giddiness.

As they approached the desk to enter the main gallery, the staff pony, a middle-aged stallion with a white coat spotted with black dots, looked up to see Twilight. He wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and had been sipping from a cup of coffee while reading the daily edition of the Canterlot Times.

Instantly, he released the paper and coffee onto the table and dropped down into a bow. Twilight face-hoofed.

At first, other ponies in Ponyville would bow in her presence, but soon word spread how she disliked it so that they now treated her no differently as they had before. Apparently, however, the ponies in Canterlot still hadn’t heard this as upon arriving at the train station she was immediately met with ponies bowing to her.  This continued until they passed through the massive set of museum doors. Thankfully there weren’t many ponies inside as most were attending the Wonderbolts’ show.That didn’t make what the stallion was doing any less irritating to Twilight. Rainbow sighed as her friend let loose her disdain for the royal treatment.

“Oh my not this again,” Twilight sighed and looked down at the still-grovelling stallion. “Sir, please get up. You don’t have to bow to me.”

“But can I if it makes me feel more comfortable to do so, Your Highness? Because it does.”

“Well...I suppose, but then you make me feel uncomfortable. Also please don’t call me ‘Your Highness’, that’s way too formal.”

“I apologize Your...” the stallion bit his lower lip, “...er...I mean...Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Just call me Twilight. Look, I do appreciate the gesture, but I hate being treated differently from everypony else just because I earned a pair of wings and a crown. Sure, the bowing was fine during my coronation. But now it’s overkill. So if you wouldn’t mind...” Twilight stuck her hoof up and made a ‘get up’ motion. The stallion jumped back up into a standing position, breathing heavily from what appeared to be a sudden rush of anxiety brought on from being in the presence of royalty.

 “Yes, I am so sorry Twilight. I only meant to show you my respect. The last thing I would want is to make you feel-”

“It’s okay! It’s okay!” Twilight cut the stallion off before he could continue grovelling. “Don’t worry about it. No harm done, Mister....” Twilight squinted to read his name-tag, “...Pepper Grey.”

“Wow, a Princess called me by my first name. What an honor,” the stallion whispered to himself, his eyes glistening with admiration and joy like a foal being directly addressed by a celebrity. There was a brief pause and Rainbow had to try her hardest not to laugh at the interaction between her friend and the stallion that was worshiping her.

“So can we pass by? Rainbow here bought tickets the other day for an afternoon in the gallery.”

“Of course! You’re the Princess. You didn’t even need to buy tickets, you’re always welcome here.” Pepper was now grinning from ear to ear.

Could have told me that before I paid fifteen bits for this visit. Rainbow Dash ground her teeth together until it felt like they’d chip. The stallion sat back in his chair and gestured the two to enter. Twilight sighed, thanked the stallion for letting them through and trotted into the gallery. Rainbow Dash followed close behind, flying at a low altitude. Annoyance for paying a, apparently unnecessary, fee became amusement when Rainbow saw the annoyed expression on Twilight’s face.

“Getting a little testy there, aren’t ya Princess Sparkle?” Rainbow Dash laughed.

“You would too if everypony started bowing to you all the time.” Twilight muttered.

“Are you kidding, I would love that. Heck, ponies should already be doing that.” Twilight glared up at Rainbow Dash with a smirk. The pegasus shrugged. “What? I am the fastest flyer in Equestria.” Joking aside, Rainbow truly did think she deserved a crowd of worshipers, imagining them being like a swarm of Scootaloo clones. It was a vision that seemed both delightful and terrifying at the same time.

Twilight giggled and shook her head. “Let’s get going before your gigantic ego starts to weigh us down.”

Rainbow Dash nodded and they both continued into the museum. A few seconds later the pegasus stopped and turned. She took one, last, longing at the giant window, outside of which were ponies that would get to enjoy the day the way Rainbow Dash wanted to, by sitting in the gigantic Canterlot Racetrack, watching the Wonderbolts put on a spectacular show. But Twilight had wanted to visit the art museum. Being the great friend that she is, Rainbow Dash decided to put aside her own wishes in favor of her friend’s.

They made their way through the Impressionist Wing of the museum, showing various paintings done by ponies over a hundred years before. Twilight let out a small gasp and trotted over to one of the paintings- the image of a train coming into Canterlot Station. But the subject matter wasn’t what stood out, it was the style– light, fleeting brushtrokes dominated the scene. In the eyes of Rainbow Dash, the piece seemed unfinished and simplistic.

“So...this thing managed to get into Equestria’s premier art gallery?” The pegasus asked with a mix of disbelief and disgust.

“Yep, isn’t it amazing?” Twilight asked, taking a few steps closer to the painting.

“Well...define ‘amazing’.”

“It’s a beautiful, magnificent, and unique work of art...”

“It is unique, I’ll give you that.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, but Twilight continued as if she hadn’t said anything.

“A moment of time captured in a single image, composed of quick and wispy brushstrokes.” Twilight chuckled. “Almost like a blurry photograph.”

“Cool beans.” Rainbow Dash let out a yawn, failing to stifle it. If the rest of the museum were filled with paintings like this, where they not only showed an incomplete image but were just flat-out uninteresting, Rainbow knew she was going to be in for a long afternoon.

To her, nothing could make art interesting unless the tiny figures of ponies present in some paintings came alive and started making faces at spectators. Better yet if they could actually converse. That would be quite the sight to behold.

But instead, she found herself on a tedious journey from impressionist painting to impressionist painting, each seemingly more unfinished and uninteresting than the one preceding it. Looking down at her collectable Wonderbolts watch, Rainbow noticed that they had been walking through the same hall of the museum for almost half an hour. Her wings were growing fatigued, or perhaps it was just her mind being tired from boredom that caused her wings to feel tired as well.

“Um, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash put her hoof onto her friend’s shoulder. Twilight turned from the painting she was looking at, which showed a lone rowboat out in the middle the Bay of  Manehatten. Like all the other paintings so far, it looked wispy and incomplete. “Look I’m happy that you’re having fun with all of these impersonal paintings...

“Impressionist.” Twilight corrected.

Rainbow stared for a moment, giving her friend a bemused ‘are you kidding me’ expression before shaking her head. “Whatever, but I was wondering if we were going to check out any other wings while we’re here?”

Twilight smiled and nodded, “Right, sorry I got a bit carried away. I just get really excited about impressionist art, especially when it comes to Marenet. Did you know her work only gained popularity after she died? During her life she lived in almost total poverty, only able to sell four of her paintings.” Twilight squealed in delight. “Isn’t that fascinating?”

“Yep. Totally,” Rainbow Dash said with a forced smile, rubbing the back of her head and looking off, unable to look into her friends’ eyes. Both friends exited the impressionist wing and Rainbow Dash let out a sigh of relief.

That is, until, they entered the next wing. Twilight trotted over to the nearest painting, passing a family that bowed down to her. The alicorn was so focused on getting to the first painting that she didn’t appear to notice.

Either that or she chose to ignore it.

Her odd interest in the piece confused Rainbow Dash to no end.It was a painting where much of the canvas was still in its original white state, covered in squares and lines of red, yellow, black and blue that seemed to be positioned at random.

“Ah yes, abstract art. This style has always been extremely interesting to read about,” Twilight said, pointing to the painting. “This piece right here was done by a famous Eastern Equestria artist by the name of Munchvich. It’s entitled ‘A Pegasus in Flight’.”

“A pegasus?” Rainbow Dash squinted and flew a few centimeters closer to the painting. “Um...that isn’t a pegasus. It’s just random shapes.”

“Look closer.”

Rainbow Dash intensified her squinting, hoping to see the supposed pegasus. Unfortunately all she managed to accomplish was straining her eyes, forcing her to shut them before they started to hurt worse. Rainbow shook her head and rubbed her throbbing eyes.

“Nope, still nothing. Are you sure this is showing a pegasus? ‘Cause personally, I think the artist was just too lazy to paint an actual image, so he just threw together some random shapes and called it a pegasus so it would sell.” An image of Thunderlane popped into her head, as it did whenever she thought of a pony trying to get out of doing hard work.

Twilight shrugged, “Well, it doesn’t show a literal pegasus. But that’s the point. If you look at the shapes a certain way you can make out what is supposed to be a geometrical representation of a pegasus.”

“Well all I see are squares and lines. I’m a pegasus. Do I look like a bunch of squares and lines?”

Twilight sighed and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, we don’t have to stay here. We could leave now and still make the Wonderbolts show if you don’t want to see the rest of the gal–”

Before Twilight could continue, Rainbow Dash pressed her hoof into her friend’s mouth to silence her. “Uh-uh. No way Twilight.” Rainbow pulled her hoof away from Twilight’s mouth and pointed at her. “This is your day and you wanted to check out the gallery, right?”

“Well...yes, but if-”

“Then that settles it. We’re staying here and we’re going to enjoy it.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk or anything, I just want us to both have fun.”

Rainbow Dash laughed in an attempt to make Twilight’s point seem ridiculous. “Are you kidding? I’m having a blast, and how could I not? I’m spending the afternoon with my favorite Princess, enjoying...” Rainbow swallowed, having a hard time stretching the truth, “...art.”

“Favorite Princess, huh?” Twilight gave a smug smile. “Don’t let Princess Celestia hear that, she might send you to the moon.”

Twilight winked and both friends joined in a hearty laugh together, but inside the more egotistical part of Rainbow Dash’s mind, which made up about seventy percent of her mind overall, was cursing herself for not taking the opportunity to bail.

Once they stopped laughing, Rainbow Dash pointed down the hall. “Come on, we’ve got some more weird shape paintings to check out.”

They made their way down the hall, Rainbow Dash found herself with new life and was determined to make the day enjoyable both for herself and, more importantly, for Twilight.

Unfortunately, her determination lasted all of two paintings before boredom and selfish desire to see the Wonderbolts became impossible to suppress.

Twilight seemed to be enjoying herself just fine. But to Rainbow Dash, rest of the day went along much as it started: tedious and akin to a sleeping pill. She found herself dozing off in the realist section of the gallery, befuddled by the supposed artistic integrity of the minimalist hall, especially one piece that was simply a toilet with a bicycle wheel sticking out of it, and was near comatose by the time they passed through the Renaissance hall.

Conversation between her and Twilight dwindled as her mind shifted between missing the Wonderbolts, to wishing that she could rest her eyes for a brief moment. Another half hour had passed, and the pegasus exchanged no more than three sentences with her friend, and even those were broken up by uncontrollable yawning. At one point she actually did fall asleep, only to wake up when her wings retracted and she fell to the floor. Twilight rushed to help her up but she pushed her hoof away, insisting that she was fine and they should keep going.

When they entered the neoclassical hall, Rainbow Dash caved into her boredom.

“Hey Twilight,” Rainbow yawned. “Why don’t you go on ahead and I’ll catch up with you.”

Twilight stopped and turned to her friend, not noticing that a couple up ahead had dropped down into a bow at her presence. “What?”

“I’m gonna take a quick break.”

“Are you feeling okay?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, totally. My wings are just a teensy bit sore.” Rainbow Dash stretched out one of her wings and grunted to further sell the point. “But they should be fine after a quick break.”

Twilight didn’t act like she believed the claim. A mixture of disappointment and uncertainty flashed across her face. Rainbow Dash didn’t blame her. How could such an athletic pegasus’ wings be sore from flying around at tedious speeds? Nevertheless, Twilight dubiously granted Rainbow reprieve and trotted off. Rainbow Dash sat down on the bench and once Twilight turned a corner, let out a massive yawn.

“Oh boy,” she finished her yawn and smacked her lips. “I am beat. This place could be used to treat insomnia. He-he, that’s not a bad idea. I should write a book. Doctor Dash’s tips to a good night’s rest.”

She lay down stomach first on the bench, letting her chin fall onto the cool marble surface that was meant for sitting. Normally the rock-hard surface would be uncomfortable to the pegasus who would often sleep in the plush clouds. But not this time. Now she was so sleepy she could fall asleep on hot coals that had needles sticking out of them while getting a hooficure, which was the most terrifying of all three to her.

“Maybe a quick nap will do me some good. Taking a break from looking at these stupid paintings won’t hurt anypony.”Slowly her eyelids began to close, her vision growing more cloudy and blurred when she thought one last thing. “Besides, it’s not like Twilight needs me to be there with her to enjoy the paintings. She can look at the art by herself.”

By herself...

Just then her eyes popped open as a sudden rush of guilt flowed through her. She sat back up and looked down at her hooves, letting her words sink in.

“Oh my gosh. I sound so selfish.” She raked her mane back with her hooves and pressed her hooves into her face. “How could I break off from Twilight like this? Just because I’m bored? She’s my friend and I let my own feelings come before her’s.” She looked over in the direction that Twilight trotted off in. “I need to catch up with her.”

In a quick bolt of rainbow and light blue, Rainbow flew down the hall. She turned the corner and found herself in a new wing with a different kind of art that seemed to focus on Celestia and Luna, especially Luna’s banishment to the moon. The works displayed a heavy emphasis on blues and gold, and a giant sign to her left read, “Equestrian Gothic Art”. But she didn’t pay any of the works much heed, for Twilight was her primary focus, and at the moment she wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Rainbow looked all around, even looking behind her, but she had no luck. Her heart began to race.

Great, now I’m stuck alone in the middle of the most boring place in Equestria, AND I abandoned one of my best friends because I was a little sleepy. Nice going, Rainbow. Way to represent the Element of Loyalty!

Rainbow Dash continued down the hallway. “Twilight!” She called. No answer. She called a little louder. “Twilight!”

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash stopped and turned to her left to find the source of the voice. A white stallion unicorn wearing a museum staff uniform– a blue collared shirt with a nametag– pointed at her with a set of cold, demanding eyes. “No yelling.”

“Sorry!” Rainbow Dash called back before realizing she called back too loudly. As if by reflex, she quickly put her hooves over her mouth and brought her volume down to a hoarse whisper. “I’m just looking for somepony. Maybe you’ve seen her pass by?”

“What does he or she look like?” the guard asked at an equally hushed tone.

“She’s a purple alicorn.” Rainbow continued, still whispering.

“Nope, sorry. I haven’t seen her.”

“Are you sure?”

The stallion continued staring deadpan at Rainbow Dash. “Ma’am, there are only four known alicorns in existence, only one of which is purple. Twilight Sparkle I presume? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that I haven’t seen her.”

“Right, sorry. Thanks anyway.” Rainbow Dash trotted off. Once she turned a corner and the stallion was out of sight, Rainbow Dash took to the air and flew down the hall. As with most other halls, it was mostly devoid of all life save for her.

Mostly.

“Hey, slow down there hot-shot!” Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt, a plume of dust trailing behind her only to quickly vanish, and turned to her right. There was a stallion that looked nearly identical to the stallion she had just talked to, uniform and all. He was pointing up at her. “We might be inside, but that doesn’t mean all speeds are tolerated.”

“Oh, for the love of...” Rainbow face-hoofed, dragging her hoof down to her chin before she started to defend herself. “Listen, I’m looking for a friend of mine...”

“And you need to fly like a mare out of Tartarus to do that?” The stallion asked, his eyebrow raised so that he had the appearance of a stern father lecturing his daughter. “This is a museum ma’am, not a race-track. If you want to go fast you could always go to the Wonderbolts show across the street.”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. Part of her started to wish she had gone to the Wonderbolts show, while the other part was scolding her for letting that desire overshadow any form of enjoyment she could have had with Twilight. Still, she didn’t show any falter and glared at the staff. He stared at her with the same, stern, unyielding gaze that Rainbow Dash knew she couldn’t persuade to calm down. He was just too into his job.

“Ugh, fine.” Rainbow Dash muttered, caving in.

“And keep your voice down.”

“Whatever you say, ‘Dad’.” With a fleeting roll of her eyes, Rainbow Dash turned and continued on her way. But this time she flew at an unbearingly slow speed while cupping her hooves to her mouth and calling out to her friend in a quiet, but urgent, voice, “Twilight. Hey, Twilight! Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

No answer. Rainbow Dash’s worry increased further. Surely Twilight could not have gotten this far in such a short amount of time. After all Rainbow had barely rested her eyes for half of a minute before she came to her senses and started looking for her. No, either Rainbow Dash had missed her, or something else had happened. Perhaps it was something that wasn’t a big deal, or perhaps it was something devastating that she didn’t even want to consider. But until Rainbow found her friend, it was impossible to tell which.

That didn’t stop her from thinking up possible explanations. It was no secret that teleportation was one of Twilight’s ‘bread and butter’ spells. Could she have flashed off to some other part of the museum to save herself the trouble of walking? Certainly she knew the layout of this place, having come here in the past, even if it had been a years before. After all, she had a near photographic memory. Could she have been playing some sick prank with an invisibility spell that kept Rainbow Dash from seeing her? And if so, did that mean she was planning on popping out of some random corner and scaring Rainbow half to death? This possibility made the pegasus extra vigilant.

But then her mind drifted to darker possibilities. Twilight did have quite the number of enemies. Sure Discord had been reformed, Sombra was supposedly vaporized, and Nightmare Moon vanished after the elements stripped her essence from Princess Luna’s body. But there was still Chrysalis, and to some extent Trixie, though she did seem to become more humble after Twilight had beaten her the last time she came to Ponyville, when the psychotic unicorn had cast all sorts of spells on ponies, including Rainbow Dash herself. The pegasus rubbed her right wing at the memory.But would any of them go out of their way to kidnap her during a leisurely stroll in an art gallery? Surely even villains believed in down-time.

Rainbow Dash tried to convince herself that these scenarios were unlikely, but it did little to help. She decided the best thing to do was focus on finding Twilight quickly so she could find relief and give the apology she knew that she had to make.

“Excuse me.”

Rainbow Dash turned to see yet another stallion gallery staff worker, identical in appearance to the other two, almost as if they were mass produced on an assembly line. Growling, Rainbow Dash raised her hooves into the air, before exploding into a tantrum created by unleashing the building mix of worry and frustration that she had felt since losing track of Twilight.

“Okay! Okay! What? What? I’m silent as a field mouse. I’m flying slower than my pet tortoise walks. What could I possibly be doing now to evoke your wrath?”

The stallion flinched back a bit, clearly more timid than the two stallions Rainbow had the “pleasure” of getting lectured by before. Composing himself, the stallion cleared his throat to speak.

“Nothing. I didn’t stop you to scold you about anything.”

“Then what do you want, creampuff?” Rainbow flew right at the stallion so their muzzles touched.

The stallion nervously swallowed, before gently pushing the confrontational pegasus back. “I...um...heard you calling for a Twilight. Is that correct?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, but kept a skeptical glare. “Yeah.”

“As in the Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Duh, who else? Why are you asking me this?”

“Well, I just so happen know which way she went.”

“Really?” Rainbow let her skepticism fade and felt her spirits raise.

The stallion nodded. “Yep. Down to the Sphinx Kingdom exhibit. Said she wanted to check out our mummy.”

“A mummy?” Rainbow Dash tilted her head. The Sphinx Kingdom was always something she was somewhat intrigued by ever since reading ‘Daring Do and the Temple of Rahm’, the setting of which was the Sphinx Kingdom. The attention to detail put into each Daring Do book often made her interested in learning about ancient history. ‘Temple of Rahm’ just happened to be the latest installment that she read and, therefore, had been talking about the Sphinx Kingdom a good deal with Twilight. The alicorn suggested some books on the subject for Rainbow to read. So even with everything happening as it was ,the idea that there were artifacts from the Sphinx Kingdom in the gallery intrigued her. Still, she wondered, a mummy in an art gallery? “What is a mummy doing here? Shouldn’t it fit into a history museum or something?”

“Actually, according to the Canterlot Art Society, mummies, especially those dating back to the ancient Sphinx Kingdom, are relevant to both history and art. Think about it, putting so much time and energy into preparing an individual for the afterlife, preserving it so it survives a long time. To them, a mummy was just as beautiful as any of the other works in this place. And the sarcophagus...oh, wait until you see that,” the stallion said with a smirk. “So it is art. A different kind of art, sure, but art nonetheless.”

For a moment, Rainbow Dash felt like she knew the stallion from somewhere. And it wasn’t just because of the other two clone-like ponies that came before him. It was his smile and his eyes. Not their color or size or shape, but the personality they conveyed. She felt a familiar draw to the stallion, like they were long-lost friends finally reunited. It felt unsettling and she brushed it off as her mind playing strange tricks on her.

“Right. Thanks. Um,” Rainbow Dash looked around, her hoof placed on her chin, “which way is the Sphinx exhibit?”

The stallion chuckled before pointing down the hallway that she was facing. “Just go down that hall and turn right. Then you’ll find it at the end of that hall.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Awesome, thank you so much!”

Rainbow Dash flew off and once she reached the end of the hall she turned to see if the stallion was still behind her, but he was gone; vanished. As absent as her alicorn friend.

Shrugging, Rainbow Dash continued down the hall as she thought back to the odd feeling of familiarity she had with the stallion. Was he an old colleague? Was he just somepony she passed by and, for some reason her subconscious engraved his face into her memory? Was he simply recognizable because of the two other ponies that came before him?

But it was his smile, and the look he had. Rainbow Dash continued to think. It’s like I knew the inner him from somewhere, but w‒

BAM

“Ow! What the...?” Rainbow Dash rubbed her head and looked up to see that she had flown head-first into a large, faux papyrus column.

“Grrr, stupid column.” She quickly slapped the column with her hoof, not hard enough to leave a mark on the structure itself but hard enough to send a shot of pain through her arm. “Ouch! Ugh, I gotta control my anger.”

Shaking off the pain, she backed away to find herself floating in front of a massive entrance to the Sphinx Kingdom exhibit.

She peered through the opening that led into the room. With a shrug, she flew inside, only to stop and have her jaw drop in complete awe.

“Woah nelly, look at this place.”

Inside was dimly lit, creating a shadowed, chiaroscuro-like atmosphere. The wallpaper was a blood red with little gold figures, making the room much more appealing than the bland white walls found in other halls. The figures looked very Sphynxian and looked as if they had been torn right off of the artifacts themselves.

But then she saw the artifacts themselves, which were behind protective glass. They looked exactly as she remembered them from the grainy photographs in the texts Twilight had lent her, as well as the colorful cover of her Daring Do novel‒ an image showing the heroine trotting through a dark and narrow hallway, holding a flaming torch. There were slabs of rock covered in odd symbols, old clay jars, small-scaled models of pyramid structures and temples, and the one thing that grabbed Rainbow Dash’s attention the most, a giant, gold-covered sarcophagus in the shape of a sphinx. She flew over and looked down at a small plaque in front of the glass that provided context for what she was looking at.

“Sarcophagus and mummy of Pharaoh Shamal...Holy cow that’s whose temple Daring Do went into,” Rainbow muttered to herself in disbelief. The idea that artifacts in the exhibit not only resembled those found in the novel series she so adored, but actually came from the very temple that provided a major portion of the story’s setting? That was almost enough to get her to squeal in fan-girlish delight. She looked down and read the rest the informational text.

“Pharoah Shamal, often referred to as ‘The Benevolent One’, ruled over the Sphinx Empire for fifty-seven years, from her palace in the Golden Valley. During her reign as Pharaoh, prosperity and happiness flowed like a mighty river. Tales passed down to future generations suggested that whatever ground her paws touched would become instantly fertile. She was known for her beauty, and yet never married. To this day historians have debated her sexuality and whether or not she entered a state of virginity willingly in accordance to the Sphinxian faith.

She was mummified and placed within this solid gold sarcophagus, which was modeled after her. After being removed during the mummification process, her stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines were stored into four clay jars as a part of Sphinx tradition. These four jars, which can be found on the small table beside the sarcophagus, as well as most of her material possessions, were left in the tomb with her. According to Sphinxian faith, the pharaoh's spirit would need these in the afterlife. Most of these artifacts were excavated at the Temple of Rahm, the three-thousand year old burial chamber of Pharaoh Shamal.’

Rainbow Dash gawked at the entire spectacle. Everything from the massive sarcophagus to the jars containing the innards of the deceased queen. She was completely fascinated with it all. In a second she went from looking at paintings that she felt had the dullness of an unsharpened pencil, to looking at something that not only held her attention for longer than ten seconds, but also captivated her. In the beautiful, if not a tad gaudy, coffin lay a queen she had read about in books, separated from her by only a pane of glass.

She curiously continued to trot along the room, looking at the various items and artifacts placed all around. There were gold-plated shields and armor, and slabs of rock with painted images that showed great bloody battles and other stories. Rainbow even read the plaques explaining what she was looking at, something she didn’t do with any other works in the museum.

Then again, Twilight had been like a walking, talking plaque the entire way, so it wasn’t necessary.

But in this case she could not resist reading everything provided; the historical context behind everything in the room was too cool to pass up. It wasn’t mundane information like that provided beneath the paintings, it was in-depth and discussed various aspects of Sphynx culture and mythology.

“I can’t believe I never knew this place had such cool stuff,” Rainbow Dash muttered, looking at a large vase the size of her head. It was decorated in tiny figures of Sphinxes that fought other creatures, including armored pegasi. Rainbow let her flank fall to the floor and she leaned closer to the vase. Her mouth curled into a smile. “Oh man, I’m totally loving this! If only Twilight was here to...”

She stopped as she felt even more guilty. Looking down, she swallowed and cursed herself for allowing her attention to be so taken by the Sphynx art that she had forgotten the primary reason she had for entering the exhibit in the first place. To find her missing friend. Not to further indulge in her selfish interests. Before she could scold her actions further a familiar came from behind her.

“Well, somepony seems to enjoy Sphinxian art.”

Rainbow turned to see the stallion she had just spoken to minutes before, the one that guided her into the room. Though he looked exactly like the other two she ran into, his familiar smile and set of kind eyes set him apart. Even still, the pegasus could not trace the smile to a specific pony in her memory.

“Yeah...yeah I am.” Rainbow Dash said, letting her head drop like a heavy ball on the end of a pliable stick. The stallion’s kind smile vanished, replaced with a genuine concern that further befuddled the saddened pegasus.

He tilted his head. “Is there something wrong?”

Why does he care how I feel? I don’t even know him. Rainbow Dash thought, though in reality she let out a sigh and gave a weak nod.

“Yeah,” Rainbow answered. “This room is by far the coolest thing I’ve seen all day which, no offence, isn’t much of an accomplishment. But still, it doesn’t make up for losing my friend. This visit today was supposed to be for her. But instead of just having fun, I let my boredom get the best of me and was a completely inconsiderate jerk. So now when I finally find something I like, it doesn’t seem fair to enjoy it. I just wish she was here to enjoy this with me.”

The stallion placed a hoof onto Rainbow’s shoulder and smiled at her warmly. “You still can, you know.”

Rainbow Dash gave the stallion a confused look when, suddenly, he closed his eyes in intense concentration and his horn started to glow. But unlike what his white coat suggested, the stallion’s aura was magenta. It was an aura that Rainbow Dash immediately recognized. Suddenly, there was a flash and where the stallion had once stood now there was the familiar sight of Twilight Sparkle.

“Twi...Twilight? What the...?” Rainbow Dash trailed off as her jaw dropped. Twilight chuckled.

“Yep, it’s me. I was the stallion that guided you to this room.” Twilight looked around the exhibit while Rainbow’s jaw still hung. “I remembered how crazy you were about the Sphinx Kingdom after reading the Daring Do book, and when I heard that the gallery had recently received artifacts and the pharaoh's mummy from that very temple from the Fillydelphia Natural History Museum, I knew that somehow I had to get you in here. How I did so was, admittedly, a bit unconventional,” Twilight said, laughing the way a child does after doing something they are proud of. “But it was still fun to lure you here without actually telling you it was me.” Rainbow was still confused about her friend’s altering identities. Finally her voice returned to her.

“ But...how did you–”

“Turn myself into a copy of one of the guards?” Twilight interrupted. “Simple. I cast a spell the Princess taught me last week that allows me to take on the form of anypony I imagine.” She trotted over to a nearby glass encasing to look at her reflection while Rainbow Dash followed with her eyes.

“Y-you mean like a shape-shifting spell?”

“Yep. Watch this.” Twilight looked at her reflection in the glass protecting the artifacts behind it. She closed her eyes, focused her magic and there was another flash. Rainbow Dash nearly jumped out of her skin when she was met with an exact copy of herself staring back at her. It was like a mirror image, but there was no pane of reflective glass. This reflection was living, breathing, and had just moments before been her close friend.

“So what do you think?” The copy Rainbow Dash asked in Rainbow’s own raspy, tomboyish voice. “Do I look like the fastest flyer in Equestria?”

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Twilight, that is so cool!”

Twilight looked away with a blush in her cyan cheeks. She closed her eyes and went through a series of transformations, she still had her magic even as a pegasus, each time becoming an exact copy of one of her friends, from Applejack to Rarity to Fluttershy to Pinkie Pie. She even managed to turn herself into a copy of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and, amazingly enough, Spike. Rainbow’s jaw dropped when she saw the baby dragon standing before her, rocking back and forth on his heels with a cocky smile on her– now his– face.

“Hello! My name’s Spike. I’m Twilight’s number one assistant and I sure do love gems” Twilight said, rubbing his scaly stomach and letting out an ‘mmm’. His changed voice sounded as if it had come straight out of Spike’s mouth.

Rainbow clapped her hooves together as Twilight took a small bow. “Excellent. Hey, can you use your fire to send letters to the Princess like Spike?”

“Of course, but I don’t have any paper on me at the moment. Maybe I’ll show you some other time.”

“Another time? Well then, I guess somepony enjoys turning themselves into a little boy dragon.”

Twilight smiled and stuck out his dragon tongue at Rainbow Dash, who let out a laugh and in that moment realized that she was having more fun at that point in time than she had in a long while. In another magenta flash, Twilight was back to her normal self.

Rainbow’s laughter eventually settled down. “Oh man, haha. Thank you for making this the five coolest minutes of my life.”

“Thank you for making this a great birthday,” Twilight giggled. Both friends joined in a laugh and turned their attention to the sarcophagus.

Once Rainbow Dash’s laughter died down, she let out a sigh and let her head hang down slightly. “Still, I know that I’ve been a lousy friend.”

Twilight turned to the depressed pegasus, concerned. “Rainbow, that’s not true.”

Rainbow shook her head. “No, Twilight it is true. This was for your birthday and I acted like a total jerk. Meanwhile you went through so much trouble to show me this awesome place, and even showed me that cool trick. It was supposed to be a day for you, but like I do with everything else, I made it all about me. I’m a lousy friend.”

“Rainbow Dash, how could you say that? You took me here instead of going to the Wonderbolts. That gesture alone proves to me you weren’t only thinking about yourself. Heck, as I’ve been saying all day, I would have been happy going to see the Wonderbolts instead of coming here.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “You’re only saying that to make me feel better. If I took you there it would have been more of a gift to myself and I felt too guilty to do that, especially since I know that you’ve wanted to come here for a while.”

“I’m being completely honest. We could have gone to the filthiest swamp with nothing to do, but as long as we were together, that would be enough. Little gifts are nice, but they can never beat the friendship we share.” Twilight placed a wing around Rainbow Dash, who slouched down, whimpering slightly. “And you are a great friend. Please don’t ever doubt that.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath to calm her fluctuating emotions. She drew out her exhalation long and hard, the glass in front of her separating her from the sarcophagus and vases fogged under her breath. “Still, I’m sorry I was such a close-minded jerk.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Rainbow Dash could feel Twilight’s wing pat her on the back. “Besides, I’m sure there are places that you love that would bore me to tears.”

“Like a Wonderbolts show?” Rainbow Dash asked, finally allowing a weak smile to cross her face.

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “No. I might not be a crazy Wonderbolts fan like you, but they never bore me. Now, if we went to a museum filled with nothing but Wonderbolts stuff, chances are my eyelids would start getting heavy.”

Rainbow laughed softly, wiping a stray tear that had just started to run down her face. “Yeah, but who knows. Maybe they would have a painting of the Wonderbolts made up of nothing but squares and lines for you to enjoy.”

Both ponies stared laughing at this. Rainbow Dash leaned against her friend as she enjoyed her company. After a great deal of boredom, and frantic searching for her friend only to unknowingly run into her friend in the form of a stallion unicorn that worked for the museum, Rainbow Dash concluded that it had actually turned out to be an interesting day.

“Hey Twilight.”

“Yeah?”

“Happy Birthday.”

Rainbow felt her friend’s wing pull her closer, followed by a pair of lavender hooves wrapping around her body.

“Thanks, Rainbow.” There was a brief silence before Twilight stood up. “Now come on, follow me.”

“What?” Rainbow tilted her head. “Where are we going now?”

“I think we started in a bad section of the museum. At least for you. I think you might like the next two halls. They show surrealist and cubist art. It’s not quite as static as what we were looking at before.”

Rainbow stood up and gave Twilight an earnest smile. “I’m sure I will like it very much.”

Both friends left the Sphinx exhibit and made their way towards the close-by surrealist wing, the land of melting clocks and amorphous shapes. Rainbow Dash, for the first time that day, was genuinely looking forward to it. Not because the art seemed to be more interesting, but because she would be looking at it with her friend by her side.