When Tortoises Help

by NixWorld

Rating: everyone
Tags: Random, Slice of Life, Tank, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Comedy
Length: 1948

Tank isn't amused with Rainbow Dash's plan to stop winter. Not one bit.

Rainbow Dash decides to stop winter. However... there's a slight surprise she experiences before putting her plan into motion.

Cover art by: Eruvon

Published 2015-05-28 16:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-05-28 16:50:01 UTC

When Tortoises Help

Rainbow Dash’s thoughts ran across her brain, desperately thinking for a solution to stop Tank’s hibernation. She started regretting what she said to Pinkie and the rest earlier. Pinkie was a bit annoying but that was not a reason for Rainbow Dash to get angry at her and she knew that. But, as much as Rainbow hated to admit it, she simply did not have time for that as her worries were directed at Tank.

She wondered a bit right before trotting next to a large circle mirror. She saw her angry expression which she got rid of immediately and replaced with a thoughtful one.

“Think, Rainbow Dash, think!” She said out loud as she looked at herself in the mirror. “Tank’s only hibernating because it’s cold, right?” Her gaze led to Tank.

She was starting to come up with something. An idea maybe? Anything would have been good for Rainbow. Even if it was diabolical.

“Well… I’d rather have him awake in the heat than asleep in the cold.”

In the few moments in which Rainbow thought of solutions, she was starting to get worried. Tank was the best pet she ever had and she didn’t want to blow their first winter together. And hay, she was determined that ruining her winter was not an option.

As horrible as the things that Fluttershy and Spike said, it didn’t mean that they were wrong with the fact of Tank hibernating, right? Of course they were right. As much as Rainbow Dash didn’t want to accept it, there was no doubt Tank needed to hibernate. But Rainbow’s conscious mind was somewhere else which led her to completely ignore Fluttershy’s and Spike’s words. While her subconscious lay deep in the depth of her mind, Rainbow Dash struggled to acknowledge the truth.

But then… out of nowhere… she got an idea.

An awful idea.

Rainbow Dash got a wonderful, awful idea.

She gasped at her unrivalled intelligence as she thought about it. “I’ll just have to stop winter!” She rubbed her hooves as her plan started to form in her brain, a long thin smile spread across her face. It may not have seemed like it but Rainbow Dash was maniacally laughing inside her head.

“No.”

Rainbow Dash suddenly heard a voice. She turned to where it came from but there was nothing. Only the presence of Tank and her bedroom furniture. She shrugged and looked back at the mirror.

She schemed, desperately wanting to start her master plan. “I’ll just have to get rid of the clouds, pile up the snow under some leaves… and¬ maybe-“

“I said no.”

She quickly glanced back. “Who said that?!” She started waving her hooves in punching motions as she was prepared for anything.”

“I did.”

She looked around. She didn’t see anypony. It was a very deep and manly voice. Maybe even manlier than Bulk Biceps. Although, she doesn’t recall knowing anypony who could sound like him. Gosh, that pony was must have spent countless hours in the gym.

“Umm… where exactly are you?”

“Right here.”

She knew where the voice was coming from, opposite her mirror but it was fairly hard for her to pinpoint where exactly it was. However, she eventually looked down. She saw Tank, where he had always been since she set hoof in her bedroom.

Rainbow wasn’t sure if she should be worried or scared as the only living being apart from her was Tank from the looks of it.

So, common sense eventually led her to slowly walk to Tank. When she was pretty close, she ducked to get a better look.

“…”

“…”

Rainbow Dash poked his nose.

*BOOP*

“What are you doing?”

“Ah!” She jumped back.

Tank raised an eyebrow. That one action was more expression she had ever seen in this tortoise in a whole month.

Rainbow shivered. Not scared, not confused but a mixture of both. “Y-you… you… you can talk?!”

Tank nodded. “That’s right, baby.”

Rainbow didn’t really pay attention to what Tank just said, rather, her focus was more on the sole fact of her pet speaking. For how long?!

She wanted to ask but her mouth was still hanging after what just happened.

“As I was saying,” Tank spoke. “That ‘master plan’ you have for stopping winter… yeah, I doubt that would work.”

Rainbow’s mouth was still open and her eye started twitching slightly. Not out of anger but out of a slight malfunction that happened in her brain while trying to process some information. Tank’s smart way of talking wasn’t helping. “B-but-“

“And of course,” Tank interrupted. “You’ll have to break into the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation to even come close to stopping winter which would probably lead to mass murder if some malfunction happen.

Rainbow Dash seriously didn’t know that Tank knew this much. He is a tortoise after all. Tank has been expressing a lot of emotion. He seems to have more energy than before. However, despite Rainbow wanting to know a bit more about Tank’s odd ability, the questions she wanted to ask him were put on hold due to her mind being filled with worries. Her thoughts were close to being hazardous as she paid little attention to smaller problems and directed said attention to the task at hoof. Stopping winter.

It looked like she already overcame her slight shock so it was time to speak back.

“Well… umm… I think it would be super aw-“

“It’s already been done before,” Tank interrupted once again.

That definitely caught Rainbow off guard. “Really? Somepony tried to break into the Weather Facility?”

Tank wondered. “Well… not necessarily somepony… but something similar happened.”

“Where?”

“It’s a story.”

Rainbow was slightly confused. “Wait… you read books?”

Tank nodded. “Sometimes I like to sit in front of the fireplace and read me a good ole book.” He blew on his bubble pipe.

“Wait, where did you-?”

“On to the topic, Rainbow-“ Tank very slowly walked closer towards Rainbow. It might have been a minute for him to get there, but he made it. “You’re going to have to think of a different way to stop winter or make your winter fun while I’m photosynthesising.”

“You mean hibernating.”

“That’s what I said.” Tank, once again, started to walk very slowly further away from Rainbow. Rainbow rolled her eyes and pushed him a couple of feet. He then did a one-eighty turn to face Dash.

“So, what do you think I should do?” Rainbow asked.

“Well… unicorns seem to wrap up winter fairly quickly.”

Rainbow set a hoof on her chin. “Yeah, you’re right. But how do you expect me to get a Unicorn to wrap up winter for me?”

Tank seemed surprised. “Oh? You’re not a Unicorn?”

“What?! No! How do you expect me to be a Unicorn? I’ve got wings!”

Tank put his front leg on his forehead. “Oooh... yeah sorry about that. You’re an Earth Pony then.”

“No! I am a Pegasus!”

Tank raised an eyebrow once again. “Oh… yeah, my bad. It’s just all of you ponies look the same.”

Rainbow wasn’t amused. She felt like saying what she was thinking out loud but she decided to stay quiet.

Tank slowly blinked. “What I had in mind was for you to get a Unicorn to help.”

“Yes… I know. But I don’t think any Unicorn would care about problems like this. Plus, I doubt that they would stop a whole season for me.”

“Well,” Tank stopped for a moment. “there might be a way to fix that.”

“And what is it?”

Tank schemed. “You can always hold Unicorns captive and-“

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!” Rainbow shouted, seconds after she heard what Tank said.

Tank shook his head. “No. Hear me out,” Tank replied with a calm tone. “You see…” He paused for a moment. “Yeah you’re right, I am crazy.”

Rainbow facehooved. “Then can you please not say another word until we’ve found a solution to this problem?!”

Tank nodded.

“Good.”

Rainbow and Tank thought silently. They both tried to muster up their own plans to fix winter for both of them. However, every minute that passed was Tartarus for Rainbow. She wanted this fixed quickly. Very quickly.

But her worry was short-lived as Tank spoke.

“I got it!”

“Really?”

“Yes… now come here.”

Rainbow approached not long before Tank started whispering to her.

“Why are you whispering? There’s nopony here.”

“Oh, yeah. You’re right.”

The weather was cold and the sight was pleasant. The white snow covered the parks, which its presence led to the occasional snowball fights. Winter seemed to have been set up perfectly with no disturbances.

“Come on, Tank!” Rainbow shouted as she crashed inside a pile of snow on purpose. “Let’s have some fun!”

Scootaloo wore a green tortoise outfit as she followed Rainbow Dash, skipping and knocking some snow piles to the ground. “Coming, Rainbow Dash!” She said with a wide smile on her face.

Applejack was looking at them playing around in the snow. She had an unsure expression. Not long later, Twilight approached her.

“Where were ya?” Applejack asked, curious.

Twilight shyly smiled. “I needed to find something.”

“Find what?”

“A pet.”

Applejack was slightly confused. “Was it Tank? You do know he’s hibernating, right?”

“I know, I know. But I can’t seem to find him anywhere. Are you sure Rainbow Dash helped him with his hibernation setup?”

Applejack shrugged. “I guess, well that’s what Rainbow told me anyway.” Applejack turned back to Twilight. “Why do you want to find Tank?”

“I kind of casted a spell on him before… by accident.” She nervously chuckled. “I kinda gave him superior stamina, endurance, and other weird abilities. I just realized that the spell took effect about an hour ago so I wanted to-“

“You know what?” Applejack interrupted. “I don’t really want to know what ya did to him.”

“Oh, it’s nothing bad. It’s just I-“

“Nope! Don’t want to hear it!

Twilight sighed. Of course AJ didn’t want to hear it. Plus, it was nothing important so Twilight was pretty sure she could easily shift the conversation.

“So… are you sure it’s okay to have a filly act like a pet?”

Applejack shrugged. “Don’t see any problem with it. The kid’s just having fun after all.”

Meanwhile…

Princess Luna delightfully sat on her throne along with her sister as they both took in the fresh air and calm winds that made it through the long hallway. Celestia was reading a few notes that Twilight had sent to her.

For Luna, it was nice to sit beside her sister once in a while.

There were a few guards in front of the two princesses facing frontwards. They barely moved a muscle for the whole day which really impressed the two sisters.

Suddenly, a burst of green flame came flying through the window, eventually transforming itself into a scroll.

Another letter from Twilight? Celestia thought.

As Celestia prepared to read it, Luna felt a tingling feeling. She shouted.

“WAIT!”

Celestia stopped and looked at her sister with an agitated look. “What’s wrong, sister?”

Luna shook her head. “I sense a disturbance in the horse.”

Celestia chuckled. “I’m sure it’s nothing, Lulu.” She opened the scroll. “Mother of-“

Tank appeared out of the scroll and fell onto the ground. “Okay, I want a queen sized bed, five meals a day and some Twilight Sparkle Coloured Bubble Gum to go with them.”

Celestia stared at the tortoise. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Author's Note

I just had to write this when it popped in my head. Plus, it was fun writing it!

Hope you enjoyed the read!