My (Brave) Little Toaster

“For a pony who claims to be all about flying around, ya sure are lazy…”

Dash looked up from the newest Daring Do book that she was reading. As usual, Twilight had been sure to purchase a copy the day that it came out, and also as usual Dash had been there as soon as Twilight had gotten back. That was the day before, and Dash was absorbed in Daring’s latest adventure.

Applejack’s comment barely registered with her, as AJ was all the way on the ground, and Rainbow was on her regular cloud, her face buried in the book. As soon as she recognized who the voice was from, though, she forced herself to look away from the printed words and down at the Earth pony who had just addressed her.

“Oh, hi Applejack,” Dash responded, looking at Applejack now. “What’d you say?”

“Ah said, ya sure are lazy for a pony who claims that she loves ta fly everywhere…”

Dash stuck her tongue out at her country-accented friend. “I’ve gotta rest sometime. Besides, this is a very special occasion.” She showed her the new book.

“That’s not all that special,” Applejack commented. “Ya get the new Daring Do book every time it comes out… What’s so special about this one?”

Dash grinned. “This just happens to be… the twentieth book that this author has written in the Daring Do series. Twilight got it from the author herself; she even signed it for me.”

Applejack looked at her oddly. “Fer you? As in, you specifically? Aren’t those usually books that go into the general-reading section in Twilight’s library?”

“She got two copies,” Dash explained. “One went into the library, and the other one she gave to me. The second copy was the one that the author autographed.”

Applejack nodded. “Say, Ah’ve been wantin’ to know something. Who exactly does write those Daring Do books? Whoever they are, they must be a heck of a writer, to keep someone as anti-egghead as you interested in them.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Silly Applejack, they’re written by-“

“DASHIE!” A familiar high-pitched voice sounded from further on down the way, interrupting Dash’s thoughts. Both Dash and Applejack immediately recognized that voice. “Pinkie Pie…” Applejack mouthed up to Dash, and Dash nodded.

Sure enough, in a moment, that tell-tale puffy pink mane came into view as Pinkie Pie bounded towards them. She seemed to be anxious about something, and both of them picked up on that at the same time. Dash laid the book down on the cloud after replacing the bookmark on her current spot so as not to lose her progress.

“Dashie!” she yelled again. “You need to come with me! And quick!”

Dash flew down from her personal cloud throne and landed on the grass beside Applejack. “Now what’s the hurry, Pinkie Pie? Is something on fire?”

“It ain’t the Sweet Apple Acres, is it?” Applejack asked, suddenly worried.

“No, silly! If it were on fire, you’d be able to see it from here…” Pinkie Pie had a point, they admitted to themselves silently; they were only less than a mile away from Sweet Apple Acres, and if the Apple family’s farm had been in some kind of fire-related danger, they probably could have seen it from there.

“So what is it?” Applejack asked. “What’s got ya all hyper and stuff?”

“I’m like this all the time! Remember?” Pinkie grinned. “But this time, it’s different from all the other times!” She turned to Dash. “I was sent here by Soarin’ and Spitfire to remind you about the-“

“The demonstration today!” Dash exclaimed in disbelief. “I’d forgotten totally about it! Thanks, Pinkie; you’re a lifesaver.” Dash flew off; the two of them could hear her say as she left, “I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date…!”

Pinkie looked at Applejack. “So… Do you wanna go see her do her thing?”

Applejack smiled. “Ah sure do… though only if yer gonna be there as well.”

Pinkie grinned again. “Of course, silly! Do you really think I’d miss something as important as this? Besides, we’ve spent so little time together as of late… And I really miss our dates.”

Applejack rested her head against the side of Pinkie’s neck. “Ah do, too. Well, Ah don’t have anything to do today, so… Let’s go watch Dash.” Pinkie smiled wider than ever before, even wider than that first Sonic Rainboom that she’d ever seen, and she and Applejack walked off in the direction of the Wonderbolts’ makeshift air field.

When Dash made it to the field, she was greeted by Spitfire, who was flying around above the pitch looking out for her. “I’m so sorry I’m late!” Dash called out. “I got… caught up in something.”

Spitfire laughed. “That book of yours again? What’s it called, Daring Do?”

Dash nodded. “They’re such good books, I can’t bear to put them down most of the time… I’d have forgotten completely about this, if Pinkie Pie hadn’t come and reminded me.”

“Oh good,” Spitfire replied, more than a bit relieved, “so Ditzy did make it over there to find her. I asked her to do it because she was the only flyer here at the time, but she said she didn’t know where you were, so I told her to go find Pinkie or Rarity and ask them to get you.”

“Rarity is off in Canterlot for the weekend,” Dash explained as they flew down to the field, “so it’s good that Derpy went and found Pinkie Pie.”

Spitfire looked at Dash oddly as they landed. “You know, that reminds me of something, Dash. Why is it that you call her Derpy when all of us other ponies call her Ditzy?”

Dash thought for a second. “I don’t know, really. I think it was because she asked me to call her that after we’d first met. I don’t think she knew what Derpy meant, exactly, but then again back then, I didn’t know either… After I’d found out, I wanted her to stop calling herself that, but she just wouldn’t do it, even after I told her. ‘It’s appropriate,’ she’d say.”

Her companion laughed. “That sounds like her. So are you ready for the demonstration? Your eager audience awaits.” She pointed over to a bench that had been erected near the edge of the field; sitting on that bench were a trio of fillies that Dash recognized immediately.

“Hey, Scoots!” she called out, waving. “Hey, Sweetie! Hey, Applebloom!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders all started cheering wildly, and Dash flew up into the air immediately, not wanting to keep her biggest fans waiting.

She launched into one of her more complicated routines, one that involved a few near-misses towards the ground and a few rebounds off some trees. She glanced down every once in awhile, and saw that the Crusaders were eating it all up. She grinned and banked up sharply into the air, climbing up higher and higher.

“Ooh!” Scootaloo said when realization dawned on her. “She’s gonna end it with a Sonic Rainboom! How cool is that?” The other two agreed enthusiastically.

Dash reached her optimum height, then veered sharply downward. She accelerated to her top speed, and she could feel the boom getting ready to happen.  When she was still a good three hundred feet or so above the ground, the air cracked with a mighty boom, and a rainbow cloud exploded outward from the point where Dash had broken the sound barrier.

The Crusaders cheered as Dash leveled off and flew down to where Spitfire was standing next to them. She had a look of admiration on her face, and Dash couldn’t help but blush a bit. Ever since she and Spitfire had become an item, stuff like Dash’s Sonic Rainbooms had begun to impress her more than ever before.

Dash looked at her fans, only to notice that Sweetie was looking at her a bit oddly. “Did you not like that, Sweetie?” Dash asked.

“Oh, I did,” Sweetie said quickly. “I was just wondering… what’s with the toaster?”

“The what?” Dash asked confusedly. It was only at that point that she looked down and realized that she was holding a toaster in her forehooves. “What the hay? Where did this come from?!” Applebloom smiled a bit at Dash’s unintentional usage of one of her sister’s catchphrases.

“Ooh, a toaster!” Pinkie said as she came up to them, Applejack following soon behind. “Mine broke a few weeks ago; can I have that one?”

“Um, sure…” Dash said a bit unsurely, handing the toaster over to Pinkie, who smiled at Applejack.

Spitfire looked at Dash. “Did that… appear from out of your Sonic Rainboom?”

Dash shrugged. “I don’t know… and I really don’t care, either. It’s Pinkie Pie’s problem now.” She looked at Spitfire. “I’m guessing this is over now?” When Spitfire nodded, Dash continued: “Okay, so I’m gonna get back to my book. You wanna join me? My cloud is more than big enough for two.”

Spitfire nodded and smiled quietly, and flew off with Dash flying close behind her. They left the Cutie Mark Crusaders behind with Pinkie and Applejack, with the Crusaders staring in wonder at that newfangled contraption.

Deep within the wiring and mechanics of the toaster, unbeknownst to any of the ponies standing there around it… a consciousness began to awaken.