Laments of the Dimension-Stranded

A muted thump was produced from the three-dimensional, crescent-moon-shaped slit of obscuration as the rock Vincent had thrown collided with it.

"How do ya like that?" Vincent extended his left arm and flexed the muscles. "Used to play baseball. Even with my left arm, I can still hurl balls quick as a whip."

Rainbow Dash smirked, sensing an arisen opportunity to crack a joke.

"That's what she said!

"Step off the plate, pitcher. Lemmie try." Rainbow clutched a rock in her hoof and reared onto her rear legs, leaping into the air and executing an energetic midair flip that contributed additional momentum to her throw.

The rock whizzed through the air and collided with the colorless, shimmering obscuration ringing the northern boundary of Grape Soda ocean, ricocheting and careering over Rainbow and Vincent's heads towards a nearby field.

Vincent ducked preemptively, dodging the fastball. "Holy shit! How'd you do that?"

"Practice." Rainbow grinned proudly. "But, hey, you can toss pretty good for someone without magic, Vince. You're fit as a fiddle, too. We both are."

"Speak for yourself. I'm more of a bass." Vincent bent at the waist and plucked more rocks from the ground, tossing one to Rainbow. She caught it in her teeth and transferred it to a hoof.

"How does magic... work?"

Before responding, Rainbow propelled another fastball at the tremulous anomaly, bucking the rock with one of her rear legs.

"That's a long story. It's different for everypony. Basically, magic exists in Equestria and different creatures can interact with it in unique ways. I was born a pegasus, so I can manipulate weather passively.

"Twilight's a unicorn. Unicorns can manipulate magic actively. Active magic manipulation is so complicated most professionals call it 'spell-casting' and call magical effects 'spells'."

Vincent frowned, confounded. "You've already lost me. What's the difference between passive and active magic manipulation?"

Rainbow rotated to face Vincent, focused entirely on her explanation of magic and how it functioned. "Some creatures can use magic actively and others use it passively. 'Passive' means they have no control over which magical effects they can create. I can manipulate weather, and that's my passive ability. But, on the other hoof, Twilight can shoot magic blasts, summon fire or send stuff back in time. Earth ponies have passive magic where they can manipulate plants and help them grow."

"So you could just..." Vincent paused, blinking confusedly, "...summon lightning right now?"

"No way! But that'd be awesome." Rainbow grinned. "No, when I say 'weather manipulation' I mean if I touch clouds I can influence them. Make them rain or shoot lightning. Form them into shapes. Make rainbows with water drops."

"Would love to see you do that, Dash. Not sure I'll fully believe you until you do.

"Sorry I clipped your wings."

"You don't gotta keep apologizing. They'll grow back soon." Rainbow fluttered her wings, unfurling one and extending it before herself. Some of the clipped feathers had yet to molt, but new feathers were beginning to grow where others had already fallen.

Vincent shrugged both shoulders, stretching. "So, step four of the scientific method: complete. Steps five and six: we've identified the weird glassy haze is solid and immune to all abuse we're willing to inflict upon it. 'Side from rammin' it with the truck."

"Have you tried verbal abuse?" Rainbow grinned.

"Can't say I have! Just don't say anything mean to the truck—you'll hurt her feelings." Vincent smirked and motioned to the nearby Inexorable he had circumnavigated around to the northern side of Grape Soda ocean.

Rainbow was interrupted from her fabrication of a humorous reply by a peal of thunder. She gazed up into the sky, noticing clouds forming. They weren't the standard cheerful, puffy white clouds or grey thunder clouds; they were black with malice and magic.

"Get in the truck, Dash," Vincent cautioned.

Rainbow didn't need to be ordered twice. She trotted to the passenger's side of the Inexorable and hopped up into the passenger's seat, closing the car door on her side.

Vincent climbed into the driver's seat and slammed the car door on his side of the vehicle tightly. He rested both hands on the truck's steering wheel, gripping his fingers around the wheel. "Migrations usually don't happen this frequentl—"

Vincent's statement was interrupted by another loud peal of thunder that echoed across the desolate plains and hills of Nowhere. Rainbow heard the raindrops thrumming rhythmically against the Inexorable's lemon metal roof. She released a sigh, resting her head against the back of the car seat in an attempt to relax. She heard Vincent speaking, but he wasn't uttering comprehensible words. An indistinct noise prickled her mind, something that almost resembled speech. She blinked.

She blinked again. Rainwater was seeping into her eyes.

Rainbow gasped, retreating from the precipice. A few feet below were the depths of Grape Soda ocean. She had unconsciously exited the Inexorable and navigated outside towards the ocean. She hadn't even felt the grass beneath her hooves or the rain pattering against her fur.

Vincent grasped one of her legs tightly and physically halted her. "What the hell are you doing‽"

Rainbow lowered her ears shamefully. "I - I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!"

Fear struck her briefly as a small bipedal drake scampered close, but the sensation faded as she acknowledged it was Migrating. It circumnavigated Grape Soda ocean in its pursuit to travel south.

Rainbow observed an abnormally-large snake slither across the grass. She was experiencing dizziness and weightlessness. Muffling and drowning out Vincent's concerns was an indistinct whisper that penetrated Rainbow's head and dwelled within her mind.

Her eyes focused and she heeded Vincent addressing her. "What? S - sorry, it's just... I thought I heard someone speaking. It's coming in and out."

"Is it saying anything?" Vincent knelt on one knee and clutched one of Rainbow's hooves tightly to assure she wouldn't successfully wander away again.

"Nothing I can make heads or tails of." Rainbow's ears drooped from embarrassment. "I... don't know what's happening to me..."

"This isn't gonna get worse, is it?" Vincent's facial expression was firm and flooded with concern. "Is the desire to move that strong?"

"Didn't even notice I left the car," Rainbow admitted.

"Might have to restrain you next time," Vincent mused. "We can talk about it when I start drivin'."

"That's not... ideal, but I trust you to keep me safe." Rainbow's worries were alleviated slightly by the comforting thought of a friend guarding her in her crisis.

The rainfall concluded as the Migration ceased. The magical clouds dispersed at an artificially-enhanced pace that rivaled Rainbow's own maximum velocity while flying.

"I didn't like that look in your eye when you were just starin' off into spac—" Vincent interrupted himself and froze.

Concern struck Rainbow as she immediately detected something was wrong. She gazed at Vincent's face and attempted to follow where his eyes were directed.

Lurking nearby was a large, carnivorous creature. It vaguely resembled a pegasus pony, with hooved legs and wings with tattered feathers. Its disheveled black fur was mottled with patches of grey and ridged where thick muscle lied concealed beneath. Its jaws were long and thin like the jaws of a canine or crocodile. Two piercing black eyes gazed directly at Rainbow. They were sharp and intelligent. They were the eyes of a hunter. It was a bird of prey.

The creature released a low-pitched, inquisitive hiss, poised in a precise, deliberate fashion.

Vincent moved slowly so as to not provoke the beast to attack, adjusting his body weight and hooking his arm around Rainbow's leg.

The bird of prey released a louder, cautionary hiss and rotated, plodding away. It spread its massive, blemished wings and took flight, departing.

"Why are you holdin' me like this, Vince?"

"Was gonna jump into the ocean and drag you with me at the first sign of that thing attacking us." Vincent released his grip on Rainbow's leg and stood. "Guess it wasn't hungry."

Rainbow stretched and released a yawn, shaking her body in an attempt to cleanse herself of the rain water clinging stubbornly to her blue fur. "I'm soaking wet."

Vincent copied her, shaking his arms and flicking his wrists in an effort to cleanse himself of rainwater clinging to the fabric of his Slavic military dress. "Dry off first, then we get movin'?"

"Humans didn't build that," Vincent determined.

"It's from Equestria! It has to be!" Rainbow opened the Inexorable's passenger-side door and hopped down to the ground below, bouncing excitedly.

Vincent had parked the Inexorable adjacent to the decrepit ruins of what had once been a building. The materials used to construct the building were brightly-colored and contrasted sharply with the surrounding terrain. They were undoubtedly materials originating from somewhere that wasn't Nowhere or Earth—likely Equestria.

It had perhaps been a stone tower originally constructed to serve as a temporary or permanent home, though it was impossible to determine from a distance. The ruins were overgrown by interloping vines and other plants. Years of exposure to harsh weather had marred the stone exterior walls and interior wood. The tower had long-since collapsed and felled a tree on the way down. It laid neglected atop the dirt, hugged by tall grass.

Rainbow cantered towards the ruins and leapt over the exterior stone wall, flapping her wings in midair to give herself a boost. Curiously, she explored the ruins, her hooves padding on torn, expensive red carpet. She searched for recent signs of occupancy by ponies or, alternatively, valuables to loot.

"Don't think anyone's lived here in a long time, Dash. What makes you so confident this place is from your home world, anyway?"

"This could be stone from the granite quarry in Rockville..." Rainbow mused, brushing her hoof against one of the weathered stone walls. Several loose chunks of rock detached and clattered against the wood floor.

"Excellent work, detective. You've deduced the stone walls are made of stone." Vincent snickered. "So how can you prove this is stone from your world, again? Was it the iconic grey color that gave it away?"

Rainbow disregarded her companion's teasing and continued exploring. She picked over the corpses of destroyed furniture and used her nose to gently flip the top cover of what appeared to be a spell tome. The dusty and weathered tome contained illegible text and unrecognizable symbols and diagrams.

She kicked aside the remains of a broken porcelain mug, moving on.

"Why do you even know what granite from 'Rockville' looks like? Thought you were an athlete, not a miner."

"Well... I don't," Rainbow conceded, raising a hoof to gesticulate, "but Rockville supplies stone for construction to towns all across Equestria. It'd be bound to come from there.

"I haven't been there personally, but Pinkie Pie has family from Rockville."

"Fascinating," Vincent mocked. "Place called 'Rockville' sure sounds excitin'."

Rainbow chuckled, reminded of Pinkie Pie's parents and sisters. "You don't know the half of it."

Rainbow circled a statue at the rear of the ruins, examining it from every angle. The statue depicted the form of a gorgeous, thin unicorn mare with a curved horn. No Cutiemark. Her delicate features had been forever preserved in marble. The chiseled white stone was blemished from exposure to the unrelenting dual suns of Nowhere, tinting the ornate stone with a tinge of beige. Vines had long since overgrown the statue and obfuscated the original words that had been painstakingly chiseled into the base. The language was foreign and the characters were completely illegible.

Adjacent to the statue led a flight of winding stone stairs down into dark depths incapable of being penetrated by the evening sunlight.

"Tacky. Who commissions statues of themselves?" Rainbow scoffed.

"Rich people," Vincent suggested. "Or this isn't who used to live here."

"So, guess we're goin' down there, huh?" Rainbow gazed into the black abyss. She gulped. "Something about that hole gives me the heebie-jeebies. You don't feel it too?"

"Naw." Vincent tossed Rainbow a flashlight, which she snapped from midair with her teeth. "Are you afraid of the dark or something?"

She transferred the flashlight to one of her hooves. "What if this is a grave, and this is somepony's memorial? It's not right to invade burial grounds."

"It's not a grave, Dash. Who has graves inside their house? And what graves have stairs leading below ground? We're not in Giza. This isn't The Great Pyramid." Vincent activated the flashlight attachment mounted to the side of his Kalashnikov rifle to assure it was functional, then immediately deactivated it. "Why are you scared? You afraid of ghosts?"

"I'm not scared." Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively. "What if it's a mausoleum or something?"

"Inside a house? That someone lived in?" Vincent repeated. He withdrew his rifle's charging handle with a finger and slipped the finger off of the handle, allowing it to fly forward with an audible clacking of metal against metal. "Get behind me, I'm going in first."

"Vince, if we see a ghost I don't think they'll respect your courage."

"It'll respect a 7.62." Vincent delved into the jet-black crevice that led beneath the surface, pointing his flashlight directly where he was descending. Rainbow had no choice but to follow him.

The flight of stairs spiraled gradually as they descended. Rainbow activated her flashlight and clutched it between her teeth securely as she walked, prepared to illuminate Vincent's path if his light malfunctioned.

"For how much you complained before we went in, there's nothin' down here so far. Except cobwebs—euck." Vincent made an audible noise of disgust as he released the underbarrel grip of his rifle and chopped his left hand through the strands of cobwebs impeding their descent.

"But—"

"Dash." Vincent paused. Rainbow could sense he was rolling his eyes. "Stand still and listen."

She obeyed his order, stopping. Her ears swiveled as she listened carefully. She detected nothing but the sound of Vincent's breaths. "It's eerily quiet.

"If the ghosts come for us, I'm lettin' them take you and bookin' it outta here first chance I get."

Vincent continued descending without replying.

The flight of stairs led to a wide stone chamber. Rainbow detached from Vincent and spread out, sweeping her flashlight's beam across the dusty, intricate stone walls of the decrepit underground chamber. Pillars and artwork were engraved into the walls, obscured by cobwebs, clusters of unlit candles and antique pottery.

"Apart from the spiders, I think this place is completely empty." Rainbow weakly attempted to crack a joke to disguise her fear.

"There's another room straight ahead."

"Really? Huh. Didn't see it." Rainbow glanced in the direction of the doorframe illuminated by Vincent's flashlight.

"Let's go claim our treasure."

"Treasure?" Rainbow repeated. "I don't think the spiders are stashing treasure down here."

"Could be treasure," Vincent reinstated. "Wealth, valuables. Bounty. Loot. Plunder. Booty!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Booty?" She repeated flatly.

Vincent's smirk rapidly vanished, substituted by a look of shock and pain as Rainbow shined her flashlight beam directly into his eyes. "Agh! Sorry."

Vincent approached the doorway and stepped beyond the threshold, sweeping his flashlight beam across the second chamber.

Rainbow trailed close behind, shining her flashlight beam to aid the vision of Vincent and herself.

They probably spotted the creature simultaneously. Rainbow released a soft gasp.

Atop an flat-topped altar at the rear of the chamber lied a creature inert in a confining position with its form curled in an unnatural way. Its body was composed of shimmering, scintillating golden light. When Rainbow blinked and tilted her head, its ethereal form swirled and wavered. Its body was regularly pulsating, emitting a soft glow that illuminated the altar it lied imprisoned atop.

The creature's anatomy resembled that of a pony. It looked like a unicorn with a thin, lithe form and long legs. Its spiraling horn curved subtly. It was bound by thin lengths of opaque blackness enveloping its limbs and horn.

Rainbow was instinctively scared, but something internally assured her the creature was harmless.

"Be not afraid." The creature raised its head and gazed directly at Rainbow. It bore two small, white orbs where eyes would have been positioned normally.

"W - wha—" Rainbow's eyes widened. "Did you say that, Vince?"

"Say what?" Vincent raised an eyebrow, confused.

"I think they... said something to me. They told me to not be afraid."

Vincent pursed his lips. "It say anything about Mary or Zechariah?"

"What? No."

"Okay, good."

When Rainbow began to slowly walk forward, Vincent reached with a hand to physically halt her. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"They..." Rainbow hesitated. She glanced at the creature. Pity welled within her. "They need help."

Before Vincent could interject, Rainbow returned her flashlight to him and trotted forwards. She ascended a flight of stairs and stepped onto the stone altar. She stood before the creature. "Can I help you? How do I help?"

The creature stared directly into her eyes. Its small white orbs were intelligent and piercing, yet emotionless. Despite earnestly attempting to determine what emotions the creature was feeling, Rainbow proposed no conclusions.

Cautiously, Rainbow reached a hoof forward and brushed one of the black tendrils binding the creature. Immediately, in a fashion so rapid it startled Rainbow, the tendrils evaporated into smoke.

The creature uncurled its form and slowly rose. It stood taller than Rainbow and gazed down at her in a position that almost resembled a bow.

"Courageous one," the voice within Rainbow's head purred contentedly. "Charitable one. Thou art impaired," it acknowledged.

A mystical golden glow emitted from the creature's horn and enveloped Rainbow's entire body. The glow glittered briefly before fading.

"Wha—?" She uttered a noise of confusion. Rainbow examined her legs, then unfurled her wings and extended them to their maximum length, gazing over her shoulders as she examined them.

Her wounds had been healed, and her clipped feathers had been mended. Her wings had been restored to their original state. "My wings!" Rainbow cheered, fluttering her wings with joy.

"T - thank you! Thank you!" Rainbow beamed, bowing her head respectfully for a moment.

The creature stood motionless, observing her reaction.

"Can you heal Vincent, please?"

It hesitated. Perhaps it was considering Rainbow's request.

"Was shot," Vincent clarified, stepping onto the altar. "Shoulder ain't doin' too good, weird... ghost thing."

The creature silently cast a restoration spell, briefly enveloping Vincent's right arm in a golden glow. He flexed his muscles when the spell concluded, stretching his shoulder freely. "Wow! Thanks."

"Are you a god?" Rainbow assumed a somber facial expression as she referenced the serious topic. "I know one. His name is Discord, he's native to my home world. Do you know him?"

Silence.

"Can you take me and Vincent home? Please?" Rainbow sighed, frowning. "We're not... from here. This isn't right."

"Our debt hath been abolished."

Rainbow was disappointed to witness the creature vanish. The ethereal glow emanating from its body faded, but its disappearance coincided with all of the candles scattered across the chamber igniting simultaneously.

"That... looked like a ghost." Vincent deactivated the flashlight attachment on his rifle and suspended it over one shoulder by its sling. "How'd you free it?"

"The black stuff just seemed to melt right off them when I touched it," Rainbow admitted. "They were so polite! They healed us!"

Vincent shrugged. "Could have at least said 'no' to the 'returning us home' thing."

"They healed my wings!" Rainbow repeated, still ecstatic. "I think I did a good thing helping them, Vince. I feel... happy."

"Well, la-di-do-da-dah." Vincent yawned casually, stretching his healed right shoulder.

Rainbow ripped the now-obsolete plasters off of her fur, discarding them.

Upon further inspection, Rainbow discovered there now lied a brilliant sapphire pendant suspended from a gold chain where the angelic creature had vanished.

She handled the object with care, rotating the pendant with a hoof as she examined the gemstone. Observing the immaculate sapphire reflect candlelight and shine, she detected the familiar sensation of magic within her outstretching and interweaving with the magic contained inside of the artifact. By second-nature, she wielded the artifact in a hoof and...

The enchanted pendant glowed. One of the lit candles positioned on a corner of the stone altar levitated into the air.

Vincent's eyes bulged. "Wha—? How are you doing that?"

"This is an enchanted gem, Vince!" Rainbow ceased levitating the candle and placed it onto the altar where it had originally stood. "It's enchanted with unicorn magic! Now anypony can use this gem to cast whatever spells were enchanted into it."

"What are 'spells', again? This whole 'magic' shit is really confusing." Confounded, Vincent frowned.

"Spells are how unicorn magic interact with the world. Unicorn magic is inside this gem, so me levitating that candle—that was one of the spells it's capable of casting."

"Can... I try?" Vincent extended a hand.

"Be my guest." Rainbow offered the necklace to her companion with a hoof.

Vincent cautiously grasped the necklace by its chain as if the metal were searing hot and might scald him. He clutched the pendant like it were a magician's wand and waved it in the direction of a candle resting atop the altar. He waited patiently for something to occur. Nothing happened. "I, er... don't think I'm doing this right."

"Magic takes time," Rainbow assured him. "Most foals can't use magic. It takes a lot of practice. Years, usually."

"Thought you said I had no magic."

Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe you're just a late bloomer! Fluttershy was. She could barely fly when we were in flight school, and she's a couple years older than me."

Vincent seemed unconvinced and dissatisfied. He offered the necklace to Rainbow, which she accepted with a hoof.

She raised the pendant over her head and slipped it over her ears using her wings, suspending the necklace from her neck.

"That sapphire looks nice on you." Vincent nodded approvingly. "Chain isn't too loose, either. Fits perfectly."

"Right where it belongs." Rainbow smiled. "I'll keep it safe and use it in emergencies. I think she'd want that."

"I don't think it cares anymore about its lost property, Dash. Ghosts can't wear jewelry. Ghost, angel or whatever that was."

Rainbow opened her mouth to voice a lengthy theory she had been conceiving since witnessing the creature, but Vincent raised his finger and interjected. "I know what you're gonna say, and no, it ain't worth guessin' what that thing was or what this place was built for."

"C'mon, this is a real mystery! How did they get trapped like that? Ritual gone wrong? Spell gone wrong? Betrayed by somepony else?"

Vincent shook his head, firmly expressing his disinterest. "We have a job to do. If this feeling you keep getting during the Migrations turns out to be nothing, we can drive back here and play detective, okay?"

Rainbow sighed, reluctantly nodding. "You got a point. Guess I should just be grateful they were nice."

Vincent nodded. "That isn't standard 'round here."

It was twilight when the pair emerged from the secret basement. During the return trip to the Inexorable, Rainbow harvested as many damaged books from the ruins as Vincent allowed her to store in the truck—which weren't many. When Vincent wondered aloud why she was fascinated with damaged, "useless" books, Rainbow shared her thought that Twilight would believe spell tomes from another world were highly valuable, regardless of how little material was actually salvageable.

Rainbow flew as frequently as possible when outside, stretching and exercising her newly-healed wings.

"Ain't tiring?" Vincent wondered, eying Rainbow as she hovered above the Inexorable.

"Nope! I'm a Wonderbolt, and I've trained for stamina!" Rainbow announced proudly, landing on the Inexorable's lemon roof. Her hooves made subtle clanking noises against the thin steel roof as she adjusted her weight and laid down, observing Vincent as he stored the spell tomes he had agreed to help transport in the truck's back seat. The gold setting of Rainbow's sapphire pendant swung on its chain and clattered against the roof.

"You're gonna scratch the paint job."

"We're adventurers, Vinny, not catwalk models. Don't think a few scratches on the paint matter."

"'Catwalk models'?" Vincent repeated, chuckling. "Don'tcha mean game show models?"

"'Game show'?" Rainbow repeated, raising an eyebrow confusedly.

"Y'know, like The Price is Right? Became popular on television 'bout 30 years ago?" Vincent rotated 90 degrees and spread his arms, waving them as if motioning to a nearby object. "'Congratulations, you've just won a brand new car! It's a 2004 Toyota Corolla worth $20000!'"

"I don't think you understand what I meant.

"There's a cinema in Ponyville, are you talkin' about a movie?" Rainbow cocked her head to a side.

"Television," Vincent repeated. "It's a device. Has a screen. Accepts signals delivered from antenna, cable or satellite that tell it what to display, basically."

"Satellite...? Like, a moon?" Rainbow's face scrunched in confusion and annoyance. She hated others knowing when she was ignorant on a topic.

"Artificial satellite orbiting Earth," Vincent clarified. "Small. Made of metal." He extended one finger vertically into the air and spun it in a small circle to imitate the action of orbiting.

"Without magic? H - how? How do the signals know where to go?"

"Uh..." Vincent shrugged. "No idea. It's got something to do with electromagnetic waves and receivers. I'm a mechanic, not a physicist."

Rainbow's ears perked up with curiosity. "'Waves'? I've heard Twilight talk about magical waves before, but I wasn't really listening."

"'I wasn't really listening'," Vincent repeated, grinning. "Wow. I'm sure she loved that."

"There's a reason Twilight has never tried talkin' to me about magic after I did that." Rainbow grinned. She stood and leapt into the air, taking flight. She hovered a few feet above the ground, skillfully orbiting Vincent while maintaining her hover by flapping her wings with a specific rhythm. She circumnavigated him and began to hover in front of him at eye level. "There's also a reason why I returned all the books she gave me on magic without finishin' any of 'em. Unless it's Daring Do, reading just ain't my thing."

"If all I had to do to learn how to use magic was read a book..." Vincent trailed off, smiling distantly. "I'd love to learn how to float stuff or whatever."

"You can commission unicorns to enchant stuff for you that can do just about anything! But you need to pay them if they ask for Bits, and then you need to learn how to actually cast the spell yourself, blah-blah-blah..." Rainbow made an exaggerated facial expression of annoyance by rolling her eyes and poking her tongue out of her mouth. "It's a whole process. Most ponies just don't wanna take the time to do all that! Myself included."

"So how do you know how to make stuff float with your necklace there?"

Rainbow grinned proudly. "Figured it out on the spot! Cool, huh? Twilight says it's easy for some ponies to do spells if they visualize 'em. I guess that method works for me.

"A lot of passive and active magic is just... feeling it. It's probably different for everypony."

"Still jealous of ya," Vincent admitted. "Now a little proud."

"Thanks." Rainbow smiled. She hesitated, pondering a potential proposal before voicing it. "Hey, y'know, if humans do have magic in them and can use it, it might be unique. Every creature in Equestria interacts with magic in different ways, but that's Equestrian magic. Maybe you have Earth magic in you...? Twilight'd probably be blown away if you let her study you!"

Vincent immediately shook his head. "Trust me, Dash, humans have tried summoning magical powers since... the beginning of human history, probably. Real long time. If magic actually existed, someone would have discovered it by now."

Rainbow hung her head, disappointed. "It's cool teaching somepony about something, but... I don't wanna make you feel left out."

Vincent didn't reply. He silently observed Rainbow hover in midair before him. He smiled slightly. "Y'know, I miss when you weren't at my eye level."

"I can go higher! Don't try me!" Rainbow grinned. She landed onto the ground and folded her wings, tilting her head back to gaze up at her companion.

"Anyway, I'm gonna show you my moves tomorrow. Just you wait!"

"Am excited for that," Vincent conceded. "Also excited 'bout gettin' some shuteye. We were down there longer than I thought we'd be."

Rainbow hovered above the ground and effortlessly opened the Inexorable's passenger-side door using a hoof. She marveled at how easy accomplishing tasks were using her wings.

Within the shelter provided by the vehicle, Rainbow closed the car door on her side of the truck and leaned back in her seat.

Vincent stepped into the vehicle and assumed his position before the steering wheel, slamming the driver's side door shut. He released a sigh as he reclined in his seat and relaxed his body, closing his eyes.

Rainbow curled into a little ball, nuzzling her nose against the sapphire pendant as it was shifted near her face when she laid down.

"Hey, Vince, I, uh... I really wish you could come home with me." Rainbow gazed into the depths of the polished blue crystal lying directly in front of her nose. "Everypony'd be fascinated by you, especially Twilight and other scholarly unicorns. You probably wouldn't want the attention, but... at least it would be an easy way for you to make new friends, so there's that."

"You're my friend, Dash, but I wouldn't choose some alien magical pony land over Earth if I could choose."

"We're friends? You really mean that?" Rainbow's ears perked to attention. She raised her head and looked over at her companion.

"'Course."

Rainbow smiled, reassured. "Thanks. It's been great gettin' to know ya, Vince."

"We're not at the end. Yet. Still got stories left to tell ya."

"Lookin' forward to hearin' 'em."