What's It Like?

Magic

"Can you make an earth pony fly?"

Twilight Sparkle lowered the book before her eyes, spying Rainbow Dash who was staring straight at her, the look on her face quite determined as though she was here to get a hold of the latest Daring Do novel. It was this look, combined with the rather peculiar question, that told Twilight to close the book and focus on her friend.

"Not to sound conceited, but you know I can. I gave Rarity those butterfly wings before figuring out the cloud standing spell when we all went to Cloudsdale, remember?" Twilight replied, setting her hands before herself, fingers weaved together in a manner that made her look rather authoritative, which she technically was as a princess.

Punching the air in success, Rainbow Dash hissed out a triumphant "Sweet!" Focusing back on the alicorn, Rainbow Dash added "Then lets head to Sweet Apple Acres right away!"

Rainbow Dash had already spun around to head out the door when Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorta busy right now Rainbow Dash. I'm sure whatever odd plan the Cutie Mark Crusaders have to earn their cutie marks can wait until after I'm done filling out some forms Princess Celestia sent me. I swear, ever since I became a princess as well, she's been using this as an opportunity to push some of the royal workload onto me." Twilight sighed, her eyes glancing over to a pile of scrolls she had received from the sun raiser.

Pouting, Rainbow Dash looked back to her friend and quickly approached her desk, putting her hands on it. "This isn't as simple as helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders, this is about helping somepony who really needs it! They need to be able to fly!" she quickly declared, her wings splaying out in an aggressive manner to indicate the seriousness of the situation.

"Sompony who needs it..." Twilight muttered, bringing a hand to her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. Her eyes suddenly widened as she stood up, shouting "Of course! Why didn't I realize it? We can slowly help Scootaloo fly on her own by using magic to make it easier for her to fly, then have her study what made it work for her with the assistance of magic and do what she can on her own. That'll help her out! You're a genius Rainbow Dash!"

Blinking, an uneasy look overcame Rainbow Dash as she looked away, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Well, um... thanks, but uh... that's not who I was talking about... keep that in mind though, sounds like it'd really work out."

Once more, a confused expression overtook Twilight as she tilted her head to one side. "So, if it's not Scootaloo that you wanted to help, initially at least, then who is it?"

"Big Mac."

Twilight just stared at Rainbow Dash, who in turn stared back as though there wasn't anything odd about the request, finally resulting in Twilight giving an exasperated sigh. "And why would Big Mac need to fly?"

"Because he wants to. Isn't it, like, our jobs as his friends to go ahead and try to make him happy with something like that?" Rainbow Dash asked, the tone of her voice implying it should have been rather obvious.

Burying her face in her hands, Twilight groaned, earning a cocked brow of confusion from Rainbow Dash. Peaking at her through her fingers, Twilight inhaled deeply, then sat up once more. "Look, Rainbow Dash, I appreciate what you're trying to do for Big Mac, and in all honesty I'd love to help. The problem here is... it's not possible."

"What? But you just said it WAS possible!" Rainbow Dash shouted, pointing a finger at Twilight in an accusatory manner, nearly poking her nose with it.

Pushing the offending digit aside, Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash to make sure she was truly paying attention and not just going to hear what she wanted to. "I said it was possible for me to make a pony fly. I did not say that I can make anypony fly however."

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash pressed on, crossing her arms defiantly to the answer.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Twilight inhaled deeply once more. "When I cast that flight granting spell the first time, I used it on Rarity. We all saw the results of that fairly well, it did work out. However, it worked so well because Rarity is a unicorn, she has an abundance of magic that worked in tandem with my own, making the spell a bit more effective. With Big Mac being an earth pony, it won't be quite as effective."

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash just waved it off and said "So he won't have as big, and girly, of wings as Rarity did or he won't have them for as long, who cares? Besides, aren't you an alicorn princess now? Isn't your magic, like, way more effective now?"

Shaking her head, Twilight looked down, tracing a finger along the fabric of her purple sweater, trying to formulate the words so that Rainbow Dash would understand them most easily. "Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Yes, I did get a boost in power when I became an alicorn, but I honestly still don't know how to truly use it. And it doesn't change the rules of magic."

"The rules of magic? I thought the whole point of magic was to break the rules of physics and stuff." Rainbow Dash interrupted, finding it hard to believe something so wild could be contained.

"Magic is like a science, just a much harder one to grasp, one that not everypony can manipulate." Twilight answered, looking back to her friend. "And that's part of the reason why I can't do it. Sure, I can give Big Mac wings, but it won't work the same way. Big Mac is a positively huge pony by all standards, and most of that is muscle he's built up from the farm, which weighs more than fat and all. Add in his denser bones compared to a pegasus' and he'd be lucky if he could get a hoof off the ground."

"What? But Bulk Biceps can fly and he's got puny little wings." the pegasus retorted, trying to poke holes in the argument.

Twilight simply gave her a 'Really?' look before saying "Bulk Biceps can barely fly, you know that better than I do. And he still has the lighter bones and pegasus magic that your kind have. If you want him to just hover, I can do that, but it wouldn't really be flying now, would it?"

"But... well... can't you, like, use your magic to fix that up as well? Give him wings, make him lighter, all the stuff you need to in order for him to be able to fly properly." Rainbow Dash practically pleaded, getting desperate for some sort of answer. She told Big Mac she was going to make it happen and she was damn well going to do it, she was Rainbow Dash, the epitome of awesome after all.

Yet once more, Twilight shook her head, grinding one of her feet on the ground as she had to deliver further disappointing news to her friend. "With the number of spells I'd have to place Big Mac under, it'd be absolutely unsafe. All those different magical factors changing his body might leave lasting effects that could really harm him. Like... when Pinkie Pie adds all the toppings she wants on waffles."

The metaphor truly helped Rainbow Dash understand the meaning of Twilight's concerns. Pinkie Pie could make a number of delicious things, but when you mix chocolate syrup, ghost peppers, and pickles on anything, you just can't stomach it anymore. The idea of that, but in physical form for Big Mac, left Rainbow Dash cringing at how terrible the results could be.

"Then... there's no way for us to make Big Mac fly?" Rainbow Dash asked, not wanting to throw in the towel, but unable to make the impossible happen if even an alicorn princess couldn't do it.

Shaking her head, Twilight said "I'm afraid not. I'd consider science, like with that contraption you use to make Tank fly, but I think that's pushing it as it is and once more, with Big Mac's bulk, the technology we have at this time would be insufficient, if potentially dangerous."

Groaning, Rainbow Dash quickly moved forward and practically flung herself over Twilight's desk, nearly pushing the princess to the side in the process as she griped. "This suuuucks! How am I going to tell Big Mac that I can't make him fly?"

Reaching out, Twilight rubbed Rainbow Dash's back right between her wings, making her give a slight sigh of relief, some of the tension that had been mounting. "Just tell him the truth. Big Mac's not some little colt, he's a full grown stallion. He can understand and take a bit of disappointment."

Rainbow Dash immediately sprung up, getting in Twilight's face without meaning to. "I can't! It's the fact that he's a full grown stallion that I can't disappoint him!"

Blinking a bit in surprise at the outburst, Twilight gently pushed Rainbow Dash away from herself, getting some room to breathe. "Why is it that it's so important for him to be able to fly? You still haven't told me the importance behind this all."

"It's... a secret. He doesn't want anypony to know and I'm not going to betray his trust on that, okay?" Rainbow Dash replied, defensively turning away from her friend and crossing her arms over her chest.

Twilight couldn't help but give a small smile, despite how aggressive Rainbow Dash had been. "Element of Loyalty, that's for sure." she muttered. Reaching forward, she set a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, offering her a reassuring smile. "Whatever it is you're doing this for, either just as a friend to help him out or... maybe more... I just want you to know that you can do something for Big Mac that will make up for not being able to make him fly."

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight, giving her a long, drawn out stare that went over a minute long, making the alicorn feel a bit on edge. "Why is it that you and Applejack think I'm doing this because I like him or something? I mean, I like him as a friend and as my friend's brother, but not like that." she asked, her voice stern as she tried to make her point clear.

"Well when you make it a point of trying to help somepony so desperately, but don't want to tell us why, we're left with only so many conclusions." Twilight replied, not at all intimidated once she heard Rainbow Dash's reasoning.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash grumbled out a "Whatever." Trying to push the concerns of what her friends thought of her trying to help Big Mac out, she started to scratch her head in thought. Fingers maneuvered through the wild mane of color, massaging her scalp as she tried to think of something, anything really, that could cheer Big Mac up when she revealed she had failed her task. As her face started to contort with frustration, Twilight couldn't help but watch the unusual display, ever so tempted to take notes of the mannerisms.

Finally, with an exasperated cry, Rainbow Dash forced her hands down at her sides, balled up tight into fists as she screamed "Why does this have to be so difficult!?"

"It wouldn't be if you just talked about it." Twilight stated, ignoring the look she got from Rainbow Dash for repeating herself.

"I'm just... I'm going to have to give u-" Rainbow Dash started to concede, only to freeze up, an action that did not go unnoticed by Twilight. Her eyes going wide, a grin suddenly became plastered to the pegasus' face. "I know what to do! I know how to make him fly!"

Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a bewildered look, unsure of how to take the fact that she had apparently solved the flight issue for such a large earth pony on her own. "What are you going to do?"

"No time to talk! Gotta act fast!" Rainbow Dash declared, not taking the slightest bit of time to give Twilight a proper answer. Before the alicorn could tell her friend to slow down, Rainbow Dash gave her powerful wings a couple of flaps, then shot out the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.

Frowning not only at how she had essentially been shrugged off and had her home nearly damaged, Twilight was also concerned about the unknown plan that Rainbow Dash had. "I really hope she's not going to do something reckless..."