Chapters Echo
Rainbow Dash, with her best efforts to keep her team together, was feeling her own body begin to burn. It was from a mix of an emergency storm call that she received midway through the night and the subjacent rush of having to wake up nearly half of all the Pegasi in Ponyville by herself; her ability to feel good about the work dwindled with every second. However what really kept her from feeling her best was how bad the timing was. This storm call was cutting into her plans for the morning.
“Cloud Kicker, Thunderlane! Quit making eyes at each other and get those clouds in place!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she slammed her cloud into the dark stallions. She pushed them both into the main body of the storm before allowing her body to stretch out some of its weariness. She launched herself over the dark gray puff to get a fast look at the rest of the storm. It was still nowhere near the size they needed it to be. “Hurry up everypony, we have to get this thing put together and going before sun up.” The shout only seemed to drain more of Rainbow Dash's energy and when a dawn hue started raising into the sky she groaned inwardly then looked down toward Ponyville.
Quickly scanning the town and all the houses she spotted the tree-house she was looking for, a dim light bobbed around the top floor. The sight of it brought her the first smile of the day, but even that didn't last long before a pony that had carted a large thunder cloud moved between the tree and Rainbow Dash.
Down on the ground the light in the window descended from the top floor. Twilight Sparkle levitated a candle in front of her while a saddle bag floated a long at her side, She moved quickly trying to get ready. The three books she needed to pack had been ready to go since the day before, the testing equipment, though a bit heavy in the bags, was secured inside with a blanket to insulate and hold them apart. Now she only needed to pack provisions for the up coming experiment and wait until sun up to leave.
“One dozen hay and oat pucks - check, half a bushel of apples - check, four canteens of water with the last one for an emergency – check...”
The list went on for some time and all the food quickly did its best to cause the saddle bag to sag. Even with her spell holding it up Twilight could feel the strain of the weight effecting her body. As she finished packing the food she flipped the strap and let her eyes glance towards her window. Waiting for the rising sun she noticed there wasn't any light in the sky at all. “That's not right,” she said once she realized that even the stars were gone and that the sky was full of Pegasi.
The saddle bag dropped as Twilight spun on her hooves and dashed back up the stairs to her bedroom. “Spike! Spike?! Wake up, we have a problem!” Twilight screamed as she forces herself up the flight of stairs.
Hearing his name rush into the world of his dream caused Spike to flip forward to attention, but he had woken up so fast he toppled forward over the lip of his bed. “Wha- what is it, I couldn't have over slept – the alarm hasn't gone off yet.” The baby dragon said while picking himself up off the floor.
“I don't know Spike, I was getting everything ready for this morning and I saw all the Pegasi in town putting a storm together.” Twilight threw the packing list on one of her bookshelves before heading up to the loft. Once up there she grabbed Spike by his top head spine and heaved him onto her back. “Rainbow Dash didn't say anything about a storm so she's probably going to be late, Spike, what I need is for you to stay awake until she gets here.”
“What are you going to be doing?” Spike asked, trying to right himself on Twilight's back, “And how late could she be?”
“I'm sticking to the plan we all came up with and heading over to Rarity's boutique, I don't know when Rainbow will get here though, so I'll be leaving you and the saddle bag here for her to bring to Rarity's when she's done.”
Twilight quickly turned and started at a gallop to the stairwell. Back on the ground floor she spun hard enough on the floor that Spike nearly slid off as she headed to the kitchen. Grabbing up the bag in her mouth then spinning again she finally came to a halt before her front door. “Okay, we already had everything set for today, right? Owlowiscious will look after Pee-Wee, Fluttershy will be here at Ten to help too, and everything else is – Books!”
Spike looked where the set aside books were and jumped from Twilight's back. “I got them.”
“Good, then all you have to do now is wait for Rainbow and have her bring the bags and yourself over to Rarity's.” Spike gave a salute to Twilight with a stoic smile, and Twilight pushed her front door open.
Winds began blowing through the whole of Ponyville bringing with them a cold chill and light flakes of snow. Rainbow Dash fought against the growing strength of the storm and did her best to feel anything other then disappointment and exhaustion at how long the storm took to get going, but it had finally started and that meant that she was now free to get to Twilight's tree-house.
'Please be ready.' Dash said to herself as she touched down and quickly lifted a hoof to knock. A yawn came through the door as a tired eyed Spike opened it. “You guys are ready right?” Dash pushed herself pass Spike and looked at an otherwise unoccupied room. “Twilight, lets go before we...”
Spike interrupted with “She's already left.” It caused a look of dread to cross Rainbow Dash's face. She started turning back to the door but Spike stopped her from doing anything brash by tugging on her tail and pointing out the saddle bag. “She went on ahead to Rarity's, the faster you can get me and this bag over there the better.”
Rainbow Dash dropped to her knees and haunches and confidently quipped “You got ten seconds before I'm out of here, so lets go.” Spike nods and heaved the bag off the floor, he let out several puffs of air while taking ladened steps just to move the bag the short distance from beside the door over to Dash's back. He set it just behind her wings but before he could even check that it was on right his tail was yanked up in Rainbow Dash's mouth as she flung him onto her back.
The two lurched into the stormy sky and made a bee line for the boutique with as much speed as Rainbow Dash could muster. The hurry she was in made the trip across Ponyville feel like nothing at all and when she caught sight of lights in her friends shop she didn't even bother with knocking; she simply aimed right for the center of the door.
The resounding blast of Dash's entrance made the two ponies inside jump. The shock and noise of the crash faded quickly before Rarity confronted her friend with ire building behind her forced smile. “Rainbow, sweetie, must you do that. I knew you would be late and even left the door unlocked so you wouldn't have had a reason to brake my it down. Shaving time off of being late does not mean you can destroy my house.”
“Twilight – is she ready to go!?” was all Rainbow Dash could manage to say through gasps for air.
“Of course Twilight is ready,” Rarity smiled, letting her ire turn to a more natural jaunty grin. “The saddle came in yesterday, just as I said it would, and Twilight and I have been working on cinching it up for the last twenty minutes so we should be able to get it on you in the 'ten seconds flat' that you like to boast about.”
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but put on her own grin before asking, “Then where is she? The sooner I get it on the sooner we can leave.”
“She's behind the changing shawl. I was giving her a moment to figure how to take it off by herself.” was Rarity's response.
A warm flush pumped its way up into Rainbow Dash's cheeks, as a quick image of Twilight wearing her saddle settled in. The thought made Rainbow Dash feel giddy until the real Twilight Sparkle walked into view with the saddle folded up neatly and unstrapped on her back.
“You couldn't have gotten here at a better time Rainbow Dash, I've cinched the saddle and harness up and down twice on my own so I have absolute confidence in myself that I won't be messing it up for the trip.” She levitated the saddle off her back and unfolded the straps, “Spike, if you could get the saddle bag for a moment.”
Rarity, for her part of helping with the saddle, only held up the instructions. She watched Twilight work, pointing out the areas that were done backwards, incorrectly,or simply in the wrong order, and since there was no more then two of each, Twilight's confidence in herself grew stronger.
Once all the straps were cinched tight Rainbow Dash twisted and flexed her back in every direction she could think of, the fit felt strong and comfortable on her. “Hows it look?” she asked with enthusiasm. Rarity brought over a large floor mirror and set it next to Dash. The bridle and bit hang loose around her neck like white puffy cotton ropes while the saddle itself covered every contort of her back with white and sky-blue. The border stitching, a simple cloud design, was embossed with the words 'Saddle-Bolt Companion Flying Harness'
“Now we just need to lock Twilight and Spike into the top half and you three will be ready to go.” At Rarity's words Twilight lined herself up next to Rainbow Dash. “Alright then Dash, if you would please lay down.”
Back on her knees and haunches Dash felt a knot form in her throat and a bolt of elation run down her spine, both sensations began mixing together as she shudders in anticipation. Her body stiffened at Twilight's touch. “You'll let me know if I snag you coat or mane?” Twilight asked as she straddled herself onto the saddle. Rainbow Dash only nodded before forcing her whole body to remain still. “I'm cinching up the first straps now. Rainbow.”
The grip and angle of the harness straps matched the saddle perfectly once it was fully set. A firm and mostly pleasant tightness surrounded Twilight's hips and flank while her fetlocks and hooves were held almost impossibly stiff in the stirrups; only allowing her legs to move half an inch in any direction.
“This feels a lot more awkward then I thought it would,” Rainbow Dash said at almost a whisper, a glow of pink spread over the length of her muzzle and under her eyes.
Twilight shifted as best she could, “This isn't too tight is it?”
“NO!” Rainbow Dash's eyes widen at the volume of her own voice and she quickly lowered back to the half whisper “No, it just feels wired - having you tied onto my back.”
Rarity stepped around to the front of her friends, and, examining the two, she asked Dash “Are you alright dear? You said earlier that the weight wouldn't be too much but maybe we should...”
“I'm fine." Rainbow Dash said letting, her voice regain its natural energy. "Lets just hurry up and get this done and over with so me and Twilight can get going, okay?”
“Very well.” Rarity smiled lightly at the blush on her friends face. “Spike, I'll take the bags.” she lift it from his hands with her magic. Almost instantly a sign of strain in her posture was noticeable as she brought it around to Twilight's back.
After the bag is secured Spike jumped onto Dash just in front of her wings. He too was secured with a tight strap that reached around Twilight's neck like a yoke. He took hold of the bridle then reached around for the bit. “I don't need that yet.” Rainbow Dash said. looking at to the two on her back in the mirror, she added. “Try wiggling around a little Twi, to see if you're in right.”
“Rainbow, you aren't going to be taking off at full speed so I'm sure they are perfectly secure as they are.” Rarity stated.
“No, she's right Rarity. I should try to see if it'll hold Spike and myself in properly.”
Rainbow Dash stood up with only little difficulty and opened her wings completely. With a few tentative flaps she made sure they weren't obstructed by anything. Her muscles gave out small burning cries that warn her of the earlier strain but she ignored them and fought the weight, lifting the three and the bags several feet into the air. Without warning Twilight flung herself to her right, then with even more force she wrenched to the left. Both actions caused Rainbow Dash to drift hard to the respective sides but she stayed aloft while Twilight and Spike staid tied on top.
Rarity's glee at seeing the saddle succeeding at its purpose rose higher then she thought it could. However, when Rainbow Dash landed and headed straight for the door without any thanks she couldn't help but feel the ire towards Dash return. “Rainbow, please be sure to bring our friends and yourself back in one piece.”
The first leg of the trios journey sent them straight north. Frustration at the unexpected storm caused Rainbow Dash to punch herself straight through the layers of cloud that she had worked on while Twilight Sparkle and Spike fought just to keep their eyes open in the wind. In trying to keep aware of their flight, Twilight lowered her head as far as she could, the strain on Rainbow Dash's wings was immediately noticeable from the new perspective. Twilight reached her neck forward and shouted. "Rainbow! Slow down, we're going too fast!" but from the speed and the acceleration her protest was drowned out by the rush of wind.
In less then an hour after take off the towering white pillars of Cloudsdale began to loom on the horizon. And as the city rolled over their heads, Twilight and Spike couldn't stop themselves from taking in the sight. Soon enough though the white city had passed over them and was already fading behind the three with Dash beginning to work herself into a fevered pace.
The light packing of trees and hills gave way to a cluster of mountain ranges that Twilight had mapped out for them to stop near and with quick eyes Dash spotted a long stream of water. Several heavy wing flaps brought Rainbow Dash into a landing with her front hooves dipping into the water, allowing her to drop her head in up to her ears.
As Dash took a long draft of the cool river water Twilight's magic began its work on the harness straps around Spike and herself. The purple swirls methodically loosened straps and belts and once her back legs were released Twilight jumped free from Dash and immediately she slips on the rocky ground. Twilight grinned looking back at her legs, a numbing sensation was so strong she hadn't noticed it, “Rainbow, how do you get your legs use to not walking after so long?” she asked while studding the tremors that came from her hooves.
Pulling her head from the stream, Dash forced herself not to laugh. “We only just started and you already lost your land legs? What are you going to do if you aren't able to stand when we get back to Ponyville tomorrow?” from that she plunged her head back into the water for another draft.
Twilight slid her legs beneath herself and pulled open the saddle bag saying, “I'll just make sure that I'm use to this before we get home.” Inside the bag sat the three books. She lift the whole stack out and shuffled them together. “Alright Rainbow, we have one hour for rest before we pack up and head to our next stop.”
Dash's ears flip back and she pulled her head out of the water, turning to Twilight with a frown. “An hour! You want us to wait for an hour?”
“Of course, we did plan everything out already, one hour here, then a second two hour flight and when we reach our next stop we will wait for an hour again, finally we'll make the last stretch of our track – and once we land at our destination we can start with all the calibrations of my equipment, after that the experiment can begin.”
“But the storm, I was late because of it and I know it completely threw my speed off.”
“And I have already made adjustments for that. I set aside a three hour rest period once we finish the flight, which means if I cut a few minutes from it then everything will be fine”
“The storm only made you thirty minutes late,” Spike added “and if you think of how dry my eyes got from you flying us here we might have actually passed up our planed time. I mean did any of you two see how fast we went under Cloudsdale?”
“Of course we did!” Rainbow Dash shouted while pumping her hoof at the chance to boast. She flung herself into the air and made a powerful turn before feeling her tail pulled back towards the ground.
“This is a one hour rest stop Rainbow. That means no flying.” Twilight's magic pulled Dash's tail harder, forcing her to land. “You'll need all your energy to get us to our destination and preform the experiment, not show off while you wait.” holding her friend down, Twilight pulled the bottom book from the stack and sent it over to Dash. “You can read this while letting your wings rest.”
With a skeptical glance in Twilight's direction Dash took the book and read the title, “Daring Do' – The Parasite's Lament and the Grown Fanatics.” The illustration on the book cover was split between an angry swarm of rainbow colored Parasprites and an overgrown forest with glowing eyes coming out of the plants.
Twilight smiled brightly with an inward joy at the gift as she levitated the book closer to Rainbow Dash. “It's not officially been released yet, but living in a library has so many perks to it that...”
An interrogative glare from Spike stopped Twilight, "The only perk she used was asking Princes Celestia for an advanced copy."
Rainbow Dash took the book from the air flipping to the first chapter. “So, just one hour right?” she asked with a sedated tone before falling into the book. Twilight watched Dash's eyes dart across the pages before turning back to the the top of the two books.
She opened to the table of continence of a book with the title of Aerial Physics and turned to the page for high altitude flight. “Spike, will you make sure we only stay for an hour?” she said before diving into the pages herself.
The sun rolled across the sky swiftly while both ponies remained deep in their books. Twilight blinked heavily as she came too from the joy of information in the pages, knowing that the rest period was coming close to an end. When she looked over the group a warm glow crossed her face and she smiled broadly.
“Rainbow – Rainbow Dash, it's time to get ready,” Twilight spoke softly and her voice slipped into Dash's imagination in the form of a very quiet but very large stone Pegasus. The granite stone face she imagined caused Dash to jump back from the book and turn to Twilight expecting the same gray visage.
“You're not – what?” Dash stammered and shook her head to get the image to fade away.
“We've stayed here long enough. It's time to get off the ground and on to our next stop.” Twilight said. Using her magic to lift the book from between Rainbow Dash's hooves she took a quick glance at the page number before sending it over to the saddle bag. “Spike, are you ready to go.” For his part in resting, Spike was fast asleep and curled up under the shade of a rock. Twilight's excitement to get going was all that kept her from feeling any announce at him.
“Wasn't he supposed to be keeping track of the time!” Rainbow Dash shrieks as the idea of them losing more time sunk into her mind. She scurried up to her feet then launched into the air, stretching her wings out for the next leg of the trip.
Twilight watched her friend without a hint of concern and blushed lightly. “I kind of knew he might do this,” she used her magic to lift Spike out from under the rock and lowered him in front of herself. “but not to worry...”
“Not to worry!?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "With Spike falling asleep like that we have no idea how long we've been here.”
“Yes we do.” was Twilight's rebuttal in Spikes defense. “I've been reading almost my whole life, and of course I memorized how many pages I can read in an hour and made sure to stop myself not one page late.”
Rainbow Dash touched back down directly in front of Twilight and stared at her in disbelieve. “But you read all kinds of books. You could have counted wrong or – or.”
“Dash, I will stake our friendship on the fact that we have not over shot our stay.” Twilight stated while proudly holding a hoof to her chest. “But we do need to get ourselves together and go right away.”
The harness was set back up on Dash's back and Twilight took all of five minuets to strap herself in and once they woke Spike up she cinched him in too. Last was the saddle bag to her own back, everything was done faster then the first time and Twilight gave a light tapping to Rainbow Dash's side to signal for take off.
Spike had dug his claws deep into Rainbow Dash's mane for warmth, the second leg of the trios flight was taking them farther north then any of them have ever been. The winds they flew into were even colder then what came from the emergency storm. All the shielding the three had from the cold was the closeness of their own bodies.
For Dash, the feeling of Twilight lowered down on top of her back sent a blistering heat into her cheeks and wings. In one instance she felt her mind sway away from what she was doing and towards the idea of how close they were, it caused her wings miss a beat and all of them feel several feet. The tracking of her thoughts jumped back before they fall out of the sky completely and when a hard hoof pressed into her side and she slowed to find out why she was being kicked.
“Dash!” Twilight Sparkle yelled out over the still speeding wind, “What happened, do you need to land?!”
Rainbow Dash only shook her head as hard as she could without messing up her flight path. “Just – just a head rush. I'm fine!” she quickly picked up her pace, going even faster then she did when leaving Ponyville causing the two on her back to wheel in protest from the wind.
The northern edge of Equestria passed below them unseen as the three looked on at a new storm looming ahead. With only a glance at it Twilight went through everything she remembered from her maps and books about the outer lands. 'We're over the wilds now,' she thought to herself. A cold buffet of wind rose and knocked into them, forcing Twilight to consider how far they've gone. 'That means we should be at our next stop just inside those clouds.' Twilight leaned forward, pressing into Spike and moving her muzzle as close to Rainbow Dash's ear. “Rainbow Dash, land before the storm!”
Rainbow Dash pulled up, slowing almost to a stop. “I though the next stop was farther then that?”
“It is, but the side of the storm is close enough that it won't ruin our time.” was Twilight's replay. With an unsatisfied nod, Dash angled downward and aimed for the ground just outside the storm clouds.
Circling the nearby expanses revealed little more the a pond of half frozen snow melt. All three agreed it was the best they could find and they landed swiftly. The pond, though too cold to drink comfortably, was quickly brought up in temperature by an all to proud Spike. His green flames burned a puddle into the ice and a small patch into the dirt for them to sit on. “Is there anything else I can do?” Spike asked with all the pride he could muster into his voice. The two mares laughed in unison at his boasting.
By the state of the sun above them it wasn't quite noon yet, but staying here for an hour would push them too far if the didn't eat now so Twilight lifted the books from the saddle pack and reached her magic in farther for the food, pulling some pieces out and setting up for a small simple lunch. Rainbow Dash gave no hesitation at the sight of the apples and hay pucks, she dived into them with glee.
“Rainbow, I need to ask you something.” Twilight started as her friend forced an apple into her mouth. Dash stoped to lift her head up, eyes looking onto Twilight's. “That storm is close enough that I can almost tell it is likely going to turn into a blizzard deeper in, and I'm wandering what is the difference between flying thought it versus going over it. Would it be safer to go up?”
“Well, it'll be cold either way but going up will make it harder to breath and we won't know where it's safe to land-” Rainbow Dash paused to look underneath the dark clouds. “and those clouds are outside of Equestria so I might not be able to do much to them other then fall through and hit one of those mountains.”
Twilight gave a quick nod, understanding that going high would do nothing but make them lost and blind to everything on the ground. “Then we'll have to go slower then we have been.”
Rainbow Dash groaned at the thought of going slower but at the same time she nodded, the feeling that they were still on time and thinking that since they were they wouldn't be late if they get through the storm alright.
“If we're going slower, can I take out the packing blanket and cover myself with it?” Spike asked with a hint of desperation. “If I get any colder I'm going to pass out before we get half way there.”
“If Rainbow is alright with the drag it will cause then I don't see why not.”
“Of course I'm fine with it, a little drag won't stop me!” Rainbow Dash shouts before she stuffed another apple into her mouth. “The real problem will be if I get my wings caught in it,” she looked over to Twilight and smiles “but you'll keep an eye on my wings right Twi?” a flush of heat slammed into Dash's chest the instant she realized what she said.
The second bag that hung off of the saddle was pulled open and Twilight carefully unwraps a green blanket from a small number of metal and nylon contraptions. She also pulled up a small first-aid kit, popping it open for a roll of gauze that she then spun around the equipment until the roll ran out.
When their hour of rest finally came to an end the three packed up and strap themselves back together, the green blanket now covering all but Spikes head and half of Twilight's body. Rainbow Dash stood resolute before the storm, looking for a path along the ground that she could use if the sky was just to hard to move through.
“Just focus on flying stable and I'll do my best to keep the snow and wind from knocking you out of the sky.” Twilight said with her horn glowing. A conjured sphere of purple magic wrapped around them with hope that it would block all but the most persistent strength of the storm they were about to fly into.
Bowing back and forth from trying to land for the fifth time, Rainbow Dash kicked at a rock in front of her in frustration. “Going slow is one thing Twilight, but your kicking me to land every ten minuets isn't going to get us there!” she had to shout over the wind and snow blowing into the purple magic bubble surrounding her and Twilight.
“I'm sorry Dash, this spell was always so easy to maintain but, just like you can't touch the clouds as well as at home, my magic is getting harder to use!” Twilight said, breathing heavily. Leaning down onto a half unconscious Spike, she relaxed most of the purple bubble until it was only blocking the most direct aim of the wind and snow. “I just need a moment to catch my breath again then we can take off.”
Dash tucked her wings up tight to try warming the muscles as she starts walking along the path in front of her. The mountain peaks howled above them with such volume that Dash's ears swivel in discomfort, trying to figure out which way they were heading. After about five minutes of walking the deep breaths on her back stopped for only a moment before Twilight sat up-right in the harness and spread the shield back out around them. “Okay Rainbow, you can take off.” her tone was low and was still clearly short on breath.
'Maybe we should have waited until summer for this.' was all Dash could think about after she sprung back into the air; the wind that was allowed to pass through the magic lifting her wings.
The snow won out eventually as the barer of magic finally broke just as Dash feel into a packed hill of soft snow. Cold winds blew slowly across both ponies but the air was finally clear of ice and snow. Forcing her head up from the white mound and spiting out the snow that had gotten pushed through her teeth. Dash moaned “Okay, okay. Everypony off, the ride's over.” She blew snow out from her nose.
There was no replay from her back. Rainbow Dash twisted her head back to see an unconscious Twilight laying forward and to the right on her back. “Um, Twi – are you alright?” The replay that came from her words was little more then Twilight scrunching up her face and turning away from Dash's voice. A sigh of relief came over Dash at figuring that her friend was just too tired to talk. 'If she doesn't wake up though – I can't get them off of me on my own.'
Spike's mumbled voice from between the two ponies brought a quick shock to Dash “Twilight, your crushing me.” With the blanket cocooning him tightly and the open space for him to breath growing to a minimum he couldn't help but wake up to try freeing himself. His movement from trying to wiggle himself out causes another sigh from Dash.
“Spike, do you think you can get the straps? I think Twilight's passed out from holding that shield up for so long.” Rainbow asked. She lowered her head down to give Spike as much room as she could.
“I might be able to – if I can get my tail out from under Twilight's stomach.” he worked himself forward by taking hold of the Rainbow mane in front of him and with a final twist his tail popped out. All the movement caused Twilight to moan which in turn made Rainbow Dash look back at the sudden sound, they met each other half way in the turn.
Light stars danced in front of Dash's eyes for several seconds before she realized the blow had stunned her enough to drop her back down into the snow. She cocked her jaw, feeling a pinch but nothing that would need any real attention, and asked. “Spike? Are you still up there?”
“Only for a bit longer-” he said, strain in his voice at the last word. A click of metal and a deep breath was signal of his freedom. He jumped clear of Dash's wings and went to his knees for more air. “Oh sweet Celestia!”
“Hey, if your done over there. Could you get Twi off my back now?”
Not knowing how the harness was suppose to be done up Spike looked at it with a mix of confusion and determination. The small metal latches behind Twilight's legs and under the saddle bag were all the same so they were the first thing he went for. The latch over Twilight's back came off first, than the ones around the left side. Stepping back from the two, Spike quickly warmed his hands with a gout of fire before going to Rainbow Dash's right side.
With a soft 'whoomp' Twilight finally dropped to the snow, her eyes jolting open at the sudden cold snow on her cheek. “Did – Did we just crash!” Twilight yelled then scrambled to get her hooves beneath her. “I'm not strapped in! What happened, Dash where...” when her eyes passed over Dash she stopped, the panic inside her draining as quickly as it came in.
“We made it through the storm.” Dash said while balling up some of the snow and dabbing it on her cheek; both to calm the bruise and to cool them of the glow she felt after seeing Twilight moving.
“That's great, we can take a moment to rest then finish our last...” Twilight stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening with surprise. “Dash-”
Already looking at Twilight, Dash turned away and immediately saw the same thing Twilight had. Mountain peaks that stood side by side, they towered over them and were so packed together that the way they had come in was the only point low enough for any clouds to come near the center. The sky was clear inside the cold valley and they could both easily see to the far side and the bottom that rested so many yards bellow them. A glass like varnish coated the floor reflecting the red afternoon sky with its own icy blue contrasts.
“So Twi, how long do we get to rest before getting to our last stop?” Dash asked with a sarcastic tone. “Oh, also, can you get this thing off me now?”
“Spike would you help her out?” Twilight ordered while trying to keep her jaw from going slack.
The saddle-bolt, once off Dash's back, was folded up and laid neatly on top of Twilight's saddle bag. Spike did his part to make the area they landed into a more comfortable spot to rest by again melting a patch in the snow. He also began a letter at Twilight's command.
Dear Princes Celestia:
PS. We did get side tracked on our way here so if you could include in your replay the time of day we would be grateful.
Spike rolled the scroll up the lit it on fire. The three of them watched it turn to nothing then settled in to wait for Spike to 'upchuck' the replay. It took less then a minute for a scroll to come and force Spike to belch it out.
To My Ever Adventurous Subjects:
“Pass five?” Twilight asked to no one in particular as she lifted a hoof to her chin and set herself to plotting the time scale for the test. “Well, we're only an hour late so that's not a problem, I can easily work around that.” She grunt lightly to get back onto her hooves and walked over to the saddle bag, opening the heavier of the two bags. The gauze wrapped instruments were slid out one at a time for her inspection. “It looks like everything here made it too.”
“Then lets get to work.” Dash called, smiling with confidence.
“For us to get everything ready, you will need a rest. I set it up for you to have a three hour break, you can still take that much time, or we can cut it to two for the time we were late. It's fine with me either way Dash.”
Twilight spent the first half an hour of their break stetting up the three small mechanical devices in a row, a fourth object was also pulled out but she had left it on top of the saddle-bolt. With a practiced care she connected the three implements of her experiment together with small red and blue wires.
Once they were hooked up and turned on, Twilight lifted a small one ear headphone device and turned to Spike. With a wave of her hoof Spike filled his lungs and belched a string of fire straight up. The sound of his belch made the earpiece hum out 'urrp...rp' the recording picked up an echo so small that Twilight told herself that it might have just been from the storm in the distance.
“That was good, but can you try for a bit more volume?” Twilight asked, keeping her voice low so it wouldn't come through the earpiece.
“Right.” Spike took another deep breath and looking up again he let out an entire ball of fire. The 'urrp' that came back this time was followed by three shorter echoed outbursts behind it.
Twilight clops her hooves together softly before depressing several buttons on the devices front. It whirled loudly then clicks, at that Twilight pressed one final button and listened intently. In her ear the sound of two belches followed by their echos was clear and crisp. Flipping off a switch at the side of the device that was connected to the headphone Twilight jumped to her hooves. “That was perfect!”
An annoyed groan came from Rainbow Dash before she turned away from the two, trying to stay asleep. A pink blush crossed Twilight's face from waking up her test partner, she lowered her voice “Alight Spike, lets get to the next test.” She pointed her hoof to a spot in front of her tools and, “If you could stand over there by the edge of the rocks.”
Spike jogged forward to the spot Twilight had pointed out as she turned the front of one device towards him. He smiles promptly when a round glass disk is pointed at him. “Okay, Twilight. I'm ready. What's this one do?”
“It's another recorder, it picks up light instead of sound so all I'll need you to do is make another gout of flame, but a bit gentler this time.” Twilight used her magic to work a dial surrounding the lens, turning it and aiming the lens until Spike showed up on the view finder that sat on her side of the device. “Ready. Now if you could just aim up I'll get a few pictures.”
The recorder came to life and whirled lightly. Spike did as he was told and released a small plum of fire into the air. The machine clicked off then back on with a louder grinding sound. It stopped and Twilight fliped another set of switches making the image of Spike letting out the same stream of fire replay itself on the view finder.
“Another excellent start up test.” Twilight said, keeping her tone as low as she could despite her excitement at her equipment working. Standing up, she looked over at the last of machines. A smile crossed her lips and she continued the direction of her turn until Rainbow Dash was all she saw. “The preliminary tests are all we can do without Rainbow. Spike, we're done for now so let's give her and ourselves some sleep.”
For all that Rainbow Dash could care, she was napping in a cold breeze, and slowly warming back up. At one moment she had heard Twilight cheering but after a few minutes all she could feel was that warmth. It made her coat feel like a pulling static charge was running across it, the sensation softened the chill in her wings and bones.
A dull thump landed in front of Dash and knocked her from the nap. Seeing a green and purple tail sliding under the blanket she smiled. 'Just trying to stay warm.' she stretched her wings out gingerly and felt Twilight at her back. Snapping her wings back 'Go back to sleep, go back to sleep.' Dash forced her eyes closed until she drifted back to sleep.
An electric jolt of static made Dash's eyes snap open, it was uncomfortable and her body gave out a clear sign that she hadn't slept well, she also couldn't feel Twilight at her side. Remembering where Spike had hidden himself under the blanket Dash rolled her hooves out from underneath herself in the opposite direction. An incredible heat greeted her in the form of a small wood fire that was burning some feet away.
Twilight sat calmly in front of the fire, the two books she brought spread out before her. The first of the two, Aerial Physics, was opened again to the pages about high altitude flight. While the second book, titled Dynamic Studies For Recording Wildlife, was open and displaying the inner workings of machines similar to the ones Twilight had brought with her.
Despite the concentration she knew she had put into the books the moment when Rainbow Dash moved up closer to her she turned from the pages. “Two hours – and about fifteen minutes. Two books at once do make it harder to keep track,” a titer of laughter came from Twilight and she quickly covered her mouth and become more serious. “I'm certain the time hasn't gotten away from me.”
“That's fine, we're already here and late, you giving me a few extra 'Zs' couldn't make me feel any different about being here with you.” Dash said while trying to fight back a yawn.
“Thank you for saying that Dash. I'm happy to be here with you too.” Twilight smiles softly then points a hoof next to her and the fire, offering the space to Dash. “I have everything set up that I can, all that's left is for you to do a few test flights before the real thing.”
Dash let out a full body yawn as she stepped next to Twilight. Her eyes faltering under half close lids locked onto Twilight. She had smiled at hearing Twilight's voice but her ears stop picking up what her friend was saying somewhere around 'happy to be here with you.' she had dropped down after hearing those words and let herself pass out on the spot.
A thoughtful sigh escaped Twilight's lips as she shifted closer to her friend to help keep the two warm.
What felt like a lifetime of serenity passed inside of Dash's dreams before her eyes came open again. When she reached full awareness the words 'test flight' screamed into her mind and blocked out the blissful nap. She jumps to her hooves quickly, knocking Twilight onto the books she was still reading.
Realizing Twilight had been sitting so close made her stop for a moment in elation but the reason for them being where they were came back into perspective. “We're late and I fell asleep again!” She yelled as she berated herself. “Lets get going Twi, I need to get out there and stretch before I do the...”
“Dash, calm down. Just let me get Spike up and we can start everything.” Twilight said calmly. Closing the two books she turned and lifted the green blanket, pulling Spike out from under it. “I'll guess at it being nearly eight by now which means the three hour nap was exactly what you needed to get ready.”
Spike's eyes opened shortly after being lifted up and he groans at the idea that he won't be going back to sleep for some time. He's set down in front of the three machines that were silently waiting to be turned on.
The next object to be lifted up was item left on top of the saddle-bolt “If you could wear this,” Twilight starts once she brings it around in front of Dash, “It's made of metal but it's also completely hollow so it shouldn't weigh you down.”
A confused glance at what was being levitated towards her was all Dash could do. “Looks like a giant – whistle?”
“It more or less is.” Twilight said with excitement. “I figured that a normal size whistle wouldn't make a deep enough sound so using a larger one and slightly modifying it to fit on a ponies back made perfect sense.” The whistle rose higher and over Dash's head as a red cord was stretched out under her. The concave shape of the bottom allowed it to fit on her back but the cold metal made her jump.
"Couldn't you have warmed this thing up first?" she shook under the feeling of the metal and felt it warming quickly enough. “So I'll just need to fly and whistle?”
“Precisely, but try not to go too fast.” Twilight said. The comment elicited a confused glare from Dash that Twilight knew was coming “I need to have everything tuned into you when your flying, if you go too fast I won't be able to keep up.”
Dash nodded in understanding and lifted herself into the air. “So do I go all the way to the other end or just half way?”
“All the way would be best, once you're there if you could fly straight up to show me you reached the end I'll then give you a signal for when you can start back.”
Rainbow Dash flew quickly to get to the far side. The speed of her voyage proved undesirable her ears though. Only a few yards after she started moving the whistle began to blow and though it wasn't bad at first, every small increase made it exponentially louder. Lifting her head up in front of the hole stopped most of the noise but not enough to let her race to the far end of the valley.
Spikes job in the experiment was to turn all three pieces of equipment on then stand back to give the signal for Dash, which he readied for the second part with a yawn, while Twilight adjusted the dial over the view finder so Dash would remain in focus as she went farther into the distance. The earphone lifted off its receiver and was secured to Twilight's head. The recorder showed Dash as little more then a blurred dot of color against a backdrop of darkness, then after another moment of waiting, her dot of color stopped shrinking and moved up.
“Spike, get ready?” Twilight called, raising a hoof to give the signal.
The darkness of night had made the valley walls look like dull crystals that pulled at Rainbow Dash's eyes. It wasn't quite a beautiful sight but still serene - the green fire ball caught her attention and a jolt of energy sprung into her wings, powering her forward as hard as she could while she tried to ignore the blaring sound from behind her.
The fire burning behind Twilight passed under Rainbow Dash several minuets after her take off and when she turned back for it to land she immediately lowered her ears, trying to get them to stop ringing. “That was a great run,” Twilight said, “but I think you might be going too fast. I did say not to go fast but maybe you could do one or two more goes while flying a bit slower.”
Rainbow Dash groaned at the request while lifting herself back up into the air.
The next two passes were done with only enough speed to fill the valley with a low droning hum of the whistle. And when Rainbow Dash landed after the third trip she sat down and tugged the piece of metal off her back in one quick jerk. “Are you sure that me flying back and fourth is all I can do to get this to work. Shouldn't I be going faster so that you can find something out from that or anything other then going slow with this thing on my back.”
Twilight flipped the switch on the recorder that rewinds the reel inside of it. “One moment Dash, I just need to look over the photography then the audio.” The image of Twilight appeared for a short moment on the view find, she was swiftly cut away from to she Dash flying into the distance. When the blurred dot began the grow closer on the small screen and turn into a copy of Rainbow Dash, Twilight's face slightly corded in concentration. “I'll get the audio next and see how they match up. Playing the two together took a moment to set up but when they started Twilight's eyes focused on the screen even more.
The sound of the whistle seemed as out of focus as the image at first and before Dash came into focus the hum that was flowing out from the earphone began to sound like a normal small warbling whistle. Twilight stopped both playbacks and rewound them both before doing her best to sink them up and play them again.
“I think I have what we need, but now comes the hard part.” Twilight said. She paused the recordings together at the point when the audio was at its clearest. “Rainbow, I'll need you to fly until you're about this far out.” she points to the screen. “Spike and I will help you get back there so get ready to fly again.”
“No more whistle though, right?”
“No more whistle.” Twilight grinned at not having to hear the sound anymore either. “When Spike aims his fire towards this fire,” she pointed to the flames behind her “you need to come closer, and when he aims it away the you need to back up. Oh, and you might need this.” a burning log lifts up from the stack and is suspended in the air; the unmarred end out. “ It'll help us see you and you'll need it as a marker for the trick.”
“Hey Twi, I meant to ask you, where did you find this wood at?” Rainbow Dash asked before taking the log in her mouth.
“I teleported down the side of the outer valley wall. There's only a few trees up this high but there were more then enough for a fire and it wasn't to hard even with my magic not working as well as it does back home. But that's not important now, what is important is that we get my devices in focus.”
Accepting the answer, Dash took to the air and flew out into what felt like the center of the valley, hopping it was close to where she needed to be. The first gout of fire rose telling her to come closer, Concentrating on the icy floor below herself Dash moved forwards about as far as the distance between her house and the ground below it before waving the torch. The second signal said to come closer again. Dash beat her wings and what seemed the distance from her house to the edge of Apple Jack's apple farm. A 'back up' flame shot up then and her wings pushed her back several yards. When a torch lifted up above the fire it came from and waved back and forth Rainbow Dash looked straight down before lowering herself to the ice.
Hooves chipped into the hard ice to no avail as Dash looked around for something to hold up the torch. There was nothing but ice down where she stood. Turning her head up to where Twilight was Dash caught the glimmer of her magic and a pop of air went off in front of her; it nearly made her drop the torch.
The flame hung in the air while an extra four logs came from behind Twilight. Without a word all five logs lined up and stacked into a small standing arrangement with the lit piece in the middle. Twilight smiled looking up to Dash – then she slips on the ice with a resounding “humph”
“You okay down there?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to stifle a laugh. she flapped her wings and hovers just above the ice so she could move closer to Twilight without slipping herself.
“Yeah I'm fine. Just need to...” Twilight pulled herself up but began sliding back from the small pyre.
The held in laugh was let out quickly. Dash chuckles heartily as she drifts herself over Twilight. She swooped her hooves under Twilight's shoulders and lifts her friend up. “Come on Twi, lets get back and finish all your testing nonsense.”
“The testings all done.” was all Twilight needed to say to get Dash's wings flapping faster. Twilight pointed a hoof forward and took a deep breath “Once the fires out,” another deeper breath. “you just need to fly to the far side one more time and do your thing.”
Looking down below herself Rainbow Dash saw the sweat on Twilight's coat. The sight sent a shiver of worry down Dash's back. “You doing okay Twi?”
Spike finishes patting out their bonfire just as Twilight and Dash land and with Twilight's breath she turned to Rainbow Dash and orders her “We'll give you the same signal we did before, once you see it come at us with all you have and use that fire we just set for your mark to go even faster.”
Rainbow Dash wanted to protest at leaving but the pulse and excitement of getting the okay to fly faster and the idea of what might happen was just as compelling. The small fire passed under Dash as she flew out and the thoughts of Twilight's exhaustion started to fade. "This is why we're here, I have to make sure this is the best show she ever sees!" Dash shouts to herself as the end of the valley began to come closer. She lifted up out of the valley walls and landed on the rim. With a confidence building breath she watched for the green signal fire.
Adrenalin sent aching bolts of energy through Dash's entire body making everything that had happened today disappear before this moment. At the same time, Twilight had a thought that she should send a letter of thanks to Luna for letting them have the dark night to themselves.
“Twilight, she's ready.” Spike said and a rumble in his stomach came to ready the signal.
“Not yet!” Twilight quickly used her hoof to turn on the third device. A small needle jumped to life on top of a small roll of paper. Aiming the back of the machine at the tiny red spark on the icy floor she gave Spike the signal.
In a second both ponies eyes saw the green flame crawl into the sky, for Dash it meant go and it caused her entire body to burn hotter the she's felt all day. 'Twilight's watching.' was the only thing that came into her mind as she jumped high into the sky. She climbed until the air was almost to thin for her to breath then she clutched her wings to her sides and dived.
Hurdling herself down to the middle of the walls sent the thrill of flight over her. She loved this sensation so much, the feeling of a race. It made the valley look like the final stretch from the courses she flew as a child. She opened her wings and leveled out and allowed herself a glance for the small red glow in the distance. A powerful grin crossed her face as the words 'Twilight is watching me!' screamed inside Dash's mind one more time before the air became too loud for any other thoughts to be heard.
Twilight and Spike watched in anticipation, both taking a quick glance at the view finder before becoming lost in the sight of Rainbow Dash as she grew closer through the clear night air. An intense calm filled the fjord so completely that even the small pop of the fire on the icy floor went unnoticed by the recorder in front of Twilight.
A cone of cold and frost began to pillow out behind Dash; it bent and warped behind as her speed picked up. Feelings of elation built in her heart as the demand to go faster continued growing. The burning torch came closer as Dash closed her eyes to slits, reading herself for the real power of her speed.
A soft pressure nudged into Rainbow Dash's back, pressing right between her wings. “Rainbow – Rainbow Dash?” Hearing her name, Dash turned her head over looking for the source. The movement sent a twinge of pain shooting down her exhausted body.
As Purple eyes stared into hers, Dash shifted where she lied “Twilight, you need to get your bits back for this bed, it's a piece of cud.”
Twilight looked over the disheveled sheets of her spare bed, and smiling said “I'm sorry Rainbow, but after your landing last night it was this or the hospital.” she set a hoof on the mattress and took the cover in her mouth. When Twilight pulled the sheet it stopped half way off the bed its other end snagged in Dash's teeth.
“Hey! I'm not done with this.” Dash said through her gritted teeth while flipping her end of the cover backwards. The movement made Twilight let her end go which caused Dash to cart wheel onto her back and be bared under the blanket.
“Are you planing to sleep forever, Pinkie's going to be bringing us breakfast and I thought we would all eat together down stairs." Twilight reached for the sheet again but only pulled enough to uncover Dash's head. "She's most likely been up for quite a while now and she may be half way done with getting everything together for today.”
“Yeah your right.” Rainbow Dash said. She craned her neck towards the wall clock to see what time it was. “but if she's only half done - that still leaves twenty to thirty minutes, right?” her hooves shoot out from under the covers and took hold of Twilight. “Come-here you egg head.”
“Wait Rainbow what are you doing?!”
All Dash could think of was the last two days she spent hauling Twilight around on her back and that this was as good a time as any for some payback. Their experiment the night before had a perfect outcome and both ponies plus Spike agreed that all three of the recordings they got gave it justice. And they even gave a cheer as they woke up the next morning and saw the blizzard had moved on. With a slightly smaller load then the day before they strapped themselves together at record speed and readied to take off.
The reason for Twilight saying Dash nearly needing to visit the hospital was from her swollen pride. Everything was going so well that she had pushed herself even harder on the return flight until she had passed out on Twilight's doorstep. If not for the returned strength of Twilight's magic they both might have spent the night on the door step.
She used her magic both to unstrap herself and to carry Dash up to her bedroom loft. Twilight had known that she was just as travel worn and she wanted to drop into her own bed but there was one pony she had to talk to first and of course it was Pinkie Pie. The reason was that she was the only one of her friends that could get all her other friends together at a moments notice and have an entire party planed out at the same time. She figured she could also order some breakfast so neither Dash or herself would have to do much first thing in the morning.
Twilight had trotted over to Sugar Cube Corner and managed to get pass the door just before Miss Cake closed it and with Pinkie helping clean up at the time it took only a second for Twilight to be tackled. The laughter of her friend however did little to the exhaustion that Twilight felt and as the jubilation of their meeting wore out, Twilight brought the purpose of her visit to bear.
The morning long party that Twilight planned out was far from her mind as the sensitive spots on her hooves were prodded by the tips of Dash's feathers. The excited voices of the ponies made the top of the library tree ring with sounds of laughter.
When the group of their four friends approached Twilight's house, they stop just outside. Pinkie Pie, with a small cart of food strapped to her back, looked up to the top window, smiled, and told the others “It sounds like we might be too late for the start of the party.”
To Pinkie's right, Apple Jack mirrored the grin “Non-sense Pinkie. This here party started the moment you said they got back. All that's going on up there is them two celebrating getting back safe and sound.”
Fluttershy and Rarity were the first to enter, followed by Apple Jack then Pinkie pie and finally the cart. The first two went about spreading the food out with Pinkie while Apple Jack headed up stairs, half way up though she stopped. Spike had dragged himself part of the way down and with his blanket in hand he had passed back out in the stair way.
She stepped over the dozed dragon and as she reached the top of the stairs she was greeted immediately with screaming laughter and a plead. “Apple Jack, Help me!” Twilight shirked out between giggles while her head hung out from under her covers and off the side of the bed. “Rainbow won't let me go!” The center of the blanket on top of Twilight rose up with the shape of a ponies head.
“Well hey AJ, when did you get here?” Dash said with a sheepish tone, she pawed a hoof at the edge of the cover and reveled her head; A pink tint and tear tracks coated her cheeks.
“Only a moment ago Dash. Me and the girls showed up just when Twi there told us to.”
Twilight breathed a deep sigh at the relieve coming from her hooves. She rolled herself out of the bed “That was fun and all but,” she stumbled once while trying to get to the loft stairs then looking back to Rainbow Dash. “Come on Rainbow, we have an adventure to show our friends.”
The three quickly came down stairs to the party that had been set up on the main floor. It looked like it was another Pinkie Pie original party with the only exception from the bright happy style being that the entire main floor was dark as night. The only light in the room came from the projector that had been set up in the center of the room with snacks and drinks surrounding it. The projector’s screen was also ready to go, it was stretched up next to the stairs and covered in streamers.
Twilight and Dash were expecting the decorations but Twilight did not expect the room to have been darkened and the projector to have already been set up. Confused and distant expressions held to Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie's faces.
Fluttershy was the first to pull away from what had caught all of their attention to speak; with a concerned tone. “Pinkie thought we could set everything up. Since – since you and Rainbow Dash sounded like you were having fun...” her voice lowered even more as she added a quick “Sorry.”
“There's nothing to be sorry about,” Dash boasted with her prideful spirit. “You all just couldn't wait to see how awesome I really am.” she leaped into the air and flew around to face the screen from above her friends.
Twilight's image was frozen in the picture, again adjusting the lens. When the real Twilight walked over to the proper side of the screen a similar distant look crossed her face. With a soft clearing of her throat she backed up to the projector, stood next to Pinkie and looked at it with forced concentration. “Pinkie, are you sure you have it all set up right?”
Pinkie swallowed deeply, her eyes darting between Twilight and Rainbow Dash twice before she nods her head. “Of course, When I saw it laying by the door where you left it I thought.” she pauses to take a dramatic deep breath and a glimmer crossed her eyes. “'I'll just pull that all out so that Twilight can get it going quicker' but then I found a book on top of everything and it said how to put it together and I did that so you wouldn't have to worry about anything...”
“Yeah yeah, you got it working, great job Pinkie. Now lets watch and see how awesome I am.” Dash blurted out, waving a hoof towards Pinkie while not taking her eyes off the screen.
A tentative purple hoof pressed the play button on the projector. Twilight's face held on the screen for a moment before it blinked off to be replaced with Rainbow Dash flying away. She bulged in and out of focus several times and when they all saw the silver whistle on her back Apple Jack began to snicker. A indignant glare from Dash stopped it before spike let off his bletch of fire.
When the pitch of the whistle started to grow throughout the room Rainbow Dash shouted “Twi!? Can't you skip this part?”
All six ponies flinched from the sound as Twilight fumbled to pause it, when she finally managed to hit it Rarity curtly complained “That was certainly an unpleasant sound.”
“Sorry girls, that was from when I was trying to tune everything in. I'll just move it forward some.”
A loud whirling sound came from the projector and when the picture comes back Rainbow Dash was again shown flying away from the screen. The group stayed silent as Dash's image faded into nothing but a blue pin prick that lifted out of the white valley walls and toward the top of the screen. She then dropped down, merging with the distant walls that took up most of the screen.
“Aw yeah, this is my big moment.” Dash cheered while grabbing hold of Apple Jack and shaking her with excitement. “Just you all wait and see how great I am!”
“Twilight, she's ready.” Spike's voice came from the recorder accompanied by the rumble of his stomach. Next from the machine came Twilight shouting “Not yet!” a short moment later the bright green flare came from behind where the recorder was set. All six watched the screen with intent glee as a blue speck once again lifted high into the air then began to dive. Dash grinned broadly at the memory of what she had done and at finally getting to see what others saw when she did her thing.
The white cloud formed behind Dash as she came more and more into view, her flapping wings growing just as intense. The same anticipation Twilight felt then was now visible in all her friends as the air around Dash contracted into a funnel shape.
The explosion of color lit up the valley with intense hues. All six faces started to glow with excitement as they watched the ring of burning color spread out. The sound and color of the shock wave quickly reached the edge of the valley and as they began hitting the walls and floor they spread like ripples in water.
The room was radiated in the colorful light as a fiery rainbow miasma began to form in the valley. The first cheer went out “Spike, that's it...” Twilight's voices yelled. It came from the projector in stammering bursts. “Rainbow Dash really did it... RAINBOW DASH!” She yelled just as Dash streaked by, above and to the left of the screen; her speed made the machine behind all the ponies howl and the image shudder. “She's passed, get ready Spike.” the recording said as the arcs of racing color closed the distance.
“Everypony, you might want to cover your ears!” The real Twilight said before folding her's back. The image of rainbow clouds blotted out the night sky and as a wave of the color broke over the edge of the mountain and into the lens the library tree-house thrummed with a sound that resonated again and again. Its strength even from just a recoding was enough to knock several leaves from the branches outside and cause half its listeners to cover their entire heads from the volume.
The final crescendo from the recorder sent the cheers and congratulations through out the base of the library and they lasted long enough to turn Rainbow Dash red and bashful; they didn't however last forever. Pinkie had brought food enough to feed several horses which helped since Rainbow Dash was already trying to eat like one. Twilight Sparkle for her part watched her friend eat with a fritter in her own mouth.
Rarity approached Twilight with thoughts of what she had seen. “Twilight, you absolutely must give me a copy of the negatives for that amazing display." she said. A sparkle had set itself in Rarity's eyes the moment the show ended, "I'm already imagining the designs I can make just out of those colors. Oh, and then there are the patters too.” Rarity crooned as rolls of fabric twisted with a needle and thread inside of her mind.
Pinkie Pie, who started attacking her own muffins, overheard Rarity's idea and started thinking of how to work those colors into something she could share with others. She stopped mid-bite to exclaim “A stacked cake with rings of rainbow frosting on top, a mash up of colors inside, and - and a winter mint crusty bottom for the Icy floor... Oh, and pop rocks that explode when you cut into it." She paused for breath and another bite. She then put a hoof to her chin before continuing "I'll have to find a way to get the rocks in without popping them in the oven first, but then that's the fun of having a new recipe.” She offered a warm smiles to her friends before finishing the pastry.
The two ponies envisioned their ideas, periodically when they came up with new ones they would ask Twilight for her input. Rainbow Dash kept an eye on the three as Apple Jack silently ribbed her. "Your face is getting a bit long there, Dash."
Dash slammed her teeth down on a pastry, then she murmured through the bite "I'm fine."
A soft smirk crossed Twilight's lips as she disconnected the machines with a loud pop. “I'm honored that you think so highly of what I did, Rarity. But this is really just as much Rainbow's accomplishment as mine, more then mine really." Twilight steeped away from her things and towards Rainbow Dash. "She came to me wanting to let everypony know just what her Sonic Rain-boom was like, all I added to this was the idea of it echoing and the recorder."
Rainbow Dash turned red again and she raised her voice, "Enough of the praise, this is suppose to be a party and I can't eat with all of you saying how awesome I am!" she turned away from the group to take a new fritter from the table.
After that point the party rolled on to it's inevitable end. It was when the food ran out that Fluttershy finally spoke for the first time. “I know this party wasn't very long and that you two are probably still tired, but I want you both to know that I... that I am really happy that you two came back home safe and that everything turned out so surprisingly beautiful.” she said, smiling sweetly the entire time she spoke.
Rarity, Pinkie Pie and the cart were the next to leave. Both ponies still talking about their ideas of how to use what they say for new designs and recipes. Last out the door was Apple Jack, she tipped her hat and said. “Well I guess since I'm being the last one to leave I'll say I was worried about you two fillies too but that I'm proud you're both alright. And that all that color and noise was like being in the middle of Zap Apple season all over again.”
as soon as the door closed Rainbow Dash let out an exaggerated yawn. “I don't know about you, Twilight, but I going to follow what Fluttershy said and go back to sleep.” A warming sensation crossed just under her eyes as she turned her head towards the stairs. “Clouds are a lot softer then that spare bed but a warm bed feels so much better after being in that blizzard. You don't mind if I stay here for a bit longer, do you Twilight?”
A soft smirk crossed Twilight's lips. “I would be honored to have you stay as long as you like. I'll also set out the Daring Do' book for you to read later.” Twilight slowly took the lead as they made their way back up stares together; with a short stop half way up to lift Spike off the step he fell asleep on.
Pinkie Pie had done it again. Everything looked perfect, simple, but perfect. She knew that the library didn't need much since Fluttershy and Rarity were doing their part to darken the room and spread out the decorations but an extra Pinkie smile still came out once the three finished before the fracas up stairs was stopped.
Looking over the room once it was done, Pinkie spotted the saddle bag and hurried to its side. 'I'll just pull this all out so that Twilight can get it going quicker' she told herself as she picks it up in her teeth; the weight of the bag hardly phasing her.
Everything in the bag looked important so Pinkie carefully removed all the contraptions. A book laying on top of all the equipment had a picture similar to one of the items and Pinkie make a note to herself to use it to figure out what everything was.
“Pinkie Pie, should you be messing with all of that?” Rarity said when she saw what Pinkie was doing. “I dread to imagine how disappointed Twilight will be if something happens.”
“Nothing to it, Rarity, this book says all I need. I'll have it up in no time so Dashie and Twilight won't need to do anything but party.”
Her grin held an almost infectious quality to it as she plugged cords in and poked at buttons. To Rarity and Fluttershy it looked like she was playing with it, but the book really did mention how to do everything she needed to know.
A purple blur appeared on the wall a foot from the screen and was followed by Twilight's voice. “Rainbow Dash, you're asleep right now and Spike is right next to you snoring so I know I can say this without...” the wall went black for a moment and Pinkie took the opportunity to try and align the projector. “Sorry, you just rolled over and my heart jumped so much I had to stop and rewind the recording.”
Twilight lift her head and smiled warmly. “I've been thinking so much about this and I – I don't think I'll be able to show this to you for a while but I want it to be recorded so that If you...” the screen blinks off again and at that moment the three ponies each share a thought in silents. 'Did she really record this?'
“I can't help myself. I feel so scared when I see you move, but that just means I can't stop watching you.” she moved back, growing smaller on the screen, and a blush welled up on her face. “When we... if we share the way we feel I'll happily show this recording to you but because I don't know when I can let you see this I'll say it now. Rainbow Dash, this trip was all I needed to know how I felt it - it has given me so much joy just knowing I would be out here with you, and that we are going to be making something happen that will be so magical as well as the fact that we will be the only two to ever truly see it...” she stops again and she closes her eyes.
“My words don't want to work right now so I'll try being direct like you always are and say; you are the most special pony I have ever met and some day soon I would like to ask you to be my special somepony.” Pinkie fumbles with the buttons until the image stops with Twilight's face on the screen and the three ponies pass looks of confusion between each other.