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Oh, my head….waitaminit.
Rainbow Dash blinked blearily for a moment, rubbing her eyes with a foreleg. “What the heck? I don’t have a headache.”
“What is that?” The cyan hued pony blinked again rapidly before standing up. The clouds fluttered comfortably beneath her feet as she rose up and looked around the interior, such as it were, of her house. Waves of cumulus billowed out across the “floor,” arching up and around in a variety of shapes, suited to her whim at the moment. She could change the texture of the walls, floor, even some of the furniture as it suited her, but there was no rigid exterior wall structure to speak of, as in the houses that Earth Ponies built.
Or a door, for that matter. You don’t walk into a pegasus’s house, you fly in. That was the whole point of living on a cloud in the first place. That, and the awesome fact that no matter where you decided to stand, sit or lie down, it was just as comfortable.
“Who the heck knocks on a cloud?” Dash grumbled. She stretched, shook herself once from nose to tail, then stuck her lip out and blew her multicolored forelock to one side. Bed-head, schmed-head. This was as good as it was going to get, and if whomever woke her up didn’t like it, they could just go stick their head in a raincloud and soak it. “It’s my day off, for cryin’ out loud!”
Trotting forward, she rounded the corner of one of the columns that supported the upper level of her home. “Okay, whoever you are, this better be-GAH!”
“WHEEE!” A pair of smoky grey wings fluttered in her face, and then settled back to the sides of the mare that stood before her. “Wake up, Rainbow Dash, it’s your day off!”
“Yeah, Derpy, I kinda figured that part out already.” Dash snorted, trying to shake the tickly sensation of feathers from around her muzzle. “What are you doing here?”
Derpy Hooves blinked for a moment, her crossed eyes narrowing in thought. She brightened up again suddenly, and laughed. “I brought you a letter!” Lifting her left wing, she flipped up the cover of one of the small saddlebags strapped to her torso. Derpy nosed about for a moment, and then produced a small, neat white envelope with a golden embossed seal on the flap. “It’s for you!”
“Oh, uh, thanks, I guess.” Rainbow Dash took the offered envelope and tucked it under a wing. “You could have just dropped it in the basket I’ve got like you usually do.”
Derpy glanced at the small wire basket affixed to one of the columns on the edge of the cloud. “Nope!” She looked to one side, and then the other, scanning the clear azure sky for a moment before looking back and leaning forward, motioning with a foreleg.
Dash leaned toward her. “What? What about it?”
“It’s SPECIAL!”
Rainbow Dash jerked back, startled, as Derpy burst out laughing again. “Special? Um, ok, thanks again, I guess.”
“Gotta go!” The grey pegasus arched her wings out and flapped them rapidly, the currents fluttering her blonde forelock back as she became airborne. She flipped the mailbag closed with her muzzle and banked around Rainbow Dash in a graceful curve before disappearing around the edge of the cloud house.
Rainbow Dash stood patiently, waiting.
A few seconds later, Derpy came flying back around the corner. “Nice living room!”
“Yeah, I think so, too.” Dash grinned.
“I can’t stay, gotta go!” Derpy smiled and laughed again, the sound pealing out like morning bells. “Catch you later, Dashinator!” With a powerful beat of her wings, the pegasus banked away again, curving out and to the right before disappearing from sight.
“Dashinator?” Rainbow stood for a moment, the brilliant sky before her utterly forgotten. “I gotta write that one down! It’ll be my totally awesome new official nickname!” She turned around and trotted back across the rolling surface of the cloud into the main living area.
Dash grinned to her self as she thought about Derpy again. “Living room” was about the best term that could describe it, for the moment. Depending on what she was doing, or what mood she was in, it was a living room, a bedroom, den, dining area, party patio, or whatever matched the activity she was currently involved in. Pegasi liked their independence, and this included their homes. Why walk into another room just to sit down and eat something, and then go somewhere else to take a nap? She’d gotten into a long discussion with Fluttershy about this once, and it had been one of the few times that she couldn’t get the sunyellow pegasus to agree with her.
“A place for everything, and everything in it’s place,” Fluttershy had said. Losing that argument (such as it was) had led to Rainbow Dash calling Fluttershy “Neatfreak” for a day and a half, and “Neatie” for most of the rest of the week. She’d let it go though; you couldn’t tease Fluttershy too hard, or too long. She’d put that expression on her face, refuse to meet your gaze, and end up making you feel so terrible that you’d agree with her if she said the sun was purple just to make her smile again.
“Geh,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Ol’ softie.” She flumphed herself down on the misshapen patch of cloud she’d been napping on previously and squirmed for a moment until it became a comfortable couch. Nosing under her wing, she retrieved her mysterious letter and laid it down on her forelegs for a closer look.
“Ms. Rainbow Dash (P), Ponyville, Equestria.” The sender had thoughtfully put the (P) after her name, so that the mailpony delivering the letter would realize it was a pegasus and not frantically run back and forth under her house all day searching for a missing address. Since Ponyville wasn’t exactly the largest place in the land, and most of it’s inhabitants were known to each other, not everypony who sent out a letter added the mark unless it was for an out of town address or a formal occasion. “Huh. I wonder who’s writing to me?” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed to violet slits, a grin spreading over her face. “A secret admirer from the Wonderbolts, I bet! This must finally be my invitation to join!”
With a victory whoop, she caught the letter up on one end with her teeth, and slid the edge of a forehoof into the pocket provided at the other end for just this purpose. A flick of her foreleg and the golden seal parted neatly.
An abrupt burst of golden light poured forth from the envelope, rising up and coalescing in the air before her. Startled, Rainbow Dash sat back, her eyes widening, ears folded back as the golden globe rose about a foot over her head. The sound of birdsong poured forth from it, and a low, sweet musical tune arose.
“What the heck-?” She blinked hard, then her ears pricked forward in amazement as a voice came forth from the light and began to…sing?
A cordial invite sent to thee
O’Element of our Harmony
We bid you come and stay and rest
Stay and dance and sing and jest
This invite from Celestia comes
To Canterlot we ask you come
Tomorrow night come join the throng
And show thy prowess in a song!
As the last verse ended, the music rose in crescendo and then ended. The golden globe vanished with a dazzling blast of soundless light. Small golden remnants of coruscating light drifted slowly down to the envelope, only to vanish at the touch. Rainbow Dash stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.
“A singing contest? You’ve gotta be KIDDING ME!”
“No, it’s no joke, Rainbow. I got my invitation in the mail today, too.” The delicately curled horn on Twilight Sparkle’s forehead began to glow softly, and a familiar looking envelope drifted over. “Too bad the letter vanishes when the singing spell’s done, but that’s an inevitable side-effect of the spell when you-“
“Come on, Twilight! Enough with the magic lecture already!”
Twilight blinked at the outburst, setting the envelope down on the worktable beside her. “Rainbow, what’s the matter?”
Rainbow Dash snorted and tossed her head in irritation. “Racing contest, fine. Strength contest, fine. Dancing contest-no no NO, forget that. I don’t wanna put any more ideas in her head.”
“Whose head?”
“Princess Celestia’s, duh!” Rainbow snorted again and stomped a hind-hoof hard enough to make the shelves rattle. “It’s all a plot, isn’t it, to make me look dumb in front of the Wonderbolts. When’s the last time you heard a stunt pony fly through the air crooning a ballad? It’s ridiculous!”
“It’s not ridiculous, Rainbow, and I’m pretty sure it’s not a plot, either.” Twilight gave her friend a worried smile. “You really shouldn’t be so upset about this. The Princess has tried to visit a couple of times before, but it seems like disasters always pop up and end up cutting the occasion short.” She shrugged. “I’m sure this is just her way of inviting us for a visit and getting to know us better. She doesn’t get to, um, hang out a lot, I guess.”
“Twilight, trust me, this IS a disaster that will cut the occasion short.” Rainbow Dash started pacing the floor slowly, then braked to a halt at the sound of another familiar voice.
“Did somebody say disaster? Pinkie Pie’s head popped up at the open window across the room. “There shouldn’t be a disaster, at least right now because I haven’t had a twitcha-twitch or a squinty-wink or OOOH you got a letter too, Twilight!” With a sudden rush, the pink mare’s form bounded entirely through the window and began bouncing on all four hooves in front of Twilight Sparkle, the sight of which made Rainbow’s fetlocks ache. “Did it sing for you and all like mine did, cause mine sang a little song and invited me to a singing contest and then it went BOOF! and turned into a cloud of golden dust that made me sneeze and it was all fizzy in my nose like a soda, except soda makes you burp and it didn’t make me burp, even though I tried-MRF!” Pinkie Pie blinked at the sky blue forehoof that had suddenly been jammed in her mouth.
“We get the idea, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash removed her hoof and began pacing back and forth again. “Wait, I have an idea. Pinkie loves to sing, right?”
“You got that righty-lighty, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie began bouncing in place again. “I LOVE to sing, this is gonna be so much fun!”
“Problem solved.” Rainbow looked over at Twilight Sparkle and grinned. “Pinkie Pie can just sing two songs, one for her, and one for me.”
“I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to work, Rainbow. The point is, it’s a song by you, about you, not somepony else’s idea.” Twilight moved to speak again, but was cut off by a new torrent of pink exuberance.
“Rainbow Dash, you got a letter, too?” Pinkie’s eyes widened until Rainbow began to wonder if they were going to pop out and start singing on their own. “That’s so AWESOME! Did it sing for you like mine and Twilight’s did, cause mine was really cool and it blew up and BOOF and everything-“
“Yeah, boof, golden dust, the whole deal.” Rainbow Dash started pacing again.
Pinkie Pie watched her friend for a moment, her expression puzzled. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go to Canterlot and sing for the Princess?”
Rainbow Dash groaned in exasperation, her wings flicking out to full extension and then clapping shut again. “Pinkie Pie, do you even know me?”
“Sure I do, you’re Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie crouched suddenly, “Or are you? Maybe you’re an evil spy sent here from Canterlot to find out what my song is before I sing it.” She began bouncing back and forth playfully in front of both mares, her voice lilting. “But I’m not gonna tellll youuu, my song is a big seeeecret-“
“Pinkie, I’m not an evil spy from Canterlot. I don’t think they make those there.”
“A-HA!” Pinkie-Pie leaned in close, eyeing Rainbow Dash warily. “That’s just what an evil song-stealing Canterlot spy would say, just to find out my secret song. You won’t find out from me!” She stuck out a foreleg, then mimed zipping her lips closed. “Mheee? Hno heecretz here!”
Twilight Sparkle laughed softly. “The fate of Equestria is saved.”
“Oh, it certainly is, my dear.” The light, contralto voice curled through the air from behind them, a sound graceful on anypony’s ears and immediately identifying its owner.
“Oh, hey Rarity. Come on in.” Twilight glanced around, then offered a sheepish grin. “We were just talking about so-uff!” A pink elbow in the ribs and a glare from Pinkie Pie cut her off.
“Those horrid spies from Canterlot, yes, I couldn’t help but overhear when I was passing by.” The half-door, open to catch the warm afternoon breeze, swung open as Rarity trotted in. The unicorn smiled, tossing her complicated curls over one shoulder. “You do want to be careful about discussing such things of import when any passersby could hear them.”
Rainbow Dash gave her an odd look. “Passersby? Don’t you usually go to the spa at this time?”
“Well, yes, naturally, but one must look to one’s physical aesthetics as well as the spiritual ones, dear.” Rarity smiled brightly.
Rainbow just stared at her. “You were exercising.”
“Well, yes, didn’t I just say so?”
Twilight arched an eyebrow at her friend. “Since when is getting your mane done a spiritual experience?”
“Oh it isn’t, dear. Except when it’s…mine.” Rarity reached up a foreleg and stroked the curls of her mane gently, and then drew them into a quick hug. “All mine. Just like the experience of hearing me sing at Canterlot will be.”
“You got invited, too-oof!” Twilight grimaced. “Pinkie, it’s not a secret!”
The pink pony glared back at her, and then looked suspiciously at Rainbow Dash and Rarity for a moment, then back to Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight sighed. “No, they are not both spies.”
Pinkie Pie sat for a moment. “Mrr hurr?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Now will you stop that? You’re drooling on the floor.”
Pinkie sat still for a moment longer, and then exhaled loudly. “PbbbaAHHH!” The other ponies ducked to avoid the blast. “Whew! That’s great, because keeping secrets from spies is really, really hard. They’re just, you know…so spyeyey.”
Rarity flicked a suspicious damp spot away from her cheek. “Uhhgh! That’s not even a word!”
Rainbow Dash frowned. “Pinkie, do you even have a song to sing yet?”
“Nope!” Pinkie Pie beamed. “And that’s how come the spies won’t find out until I siiiing it!” Laughing gaily, she bounded across the room and went outside, humming a typical Pinkie tune, the one that went up and down an octave and occasionally just threw a random note in just to fry your brain.
Rarity watched the pink pony bouncing away for a moment. “Well, that ought to be an interesting experience, at the very least.” She stepped away from the half-door and walked back over to sit down with her friends. “Rainbow Dash, I suppose you and Twilight are going, too?”
Rainbow glanced at Twilight for a moment. “Umm, we were talking about that before Pinkie showed up.” She took in a long, slow breath and blew it out quickly, flipping her forelock upward. “I wish I could sit this one out. Singing is…” Her wings flickered and she stood up and began to pace again. “I mean, it’s great and all, but it’s just not what I do, you know?” She groaned and sat down again, clapping a foreleg across her eyes. “I don’t even know what I’d sing about. GAH!”
Rarity frowned, eyes searching her friend’s face for a moment. “Well, Rainbow, what IS it that you do?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, dear, that apparently, the songs are supposed to be about us. What we like, what we do, who we are, as it were.” The unicorn flicked her tail absently, the deep indigo coloration standing out against her gleaming white coat. “So, what is it that you do?”
Rainbow sat silent for a moment in thought. “Well, I like to race, you know.” She grinned. “I like to go fast, and win!”
“Well, that’s a start.” Twilight smiled. “What else?”
“I’m thinkin’.” Dash stood up again and began to pace slowly. “Well…you know. I move clouds and all. I’m a pretty good weather pony.”
“And all in ten seconds flat, I remember.”
“Yeah! I’m pretty fast. And AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow and grinned at her friends. “A song about me and how awesome I am would be…um, you know…”
Twilight bit. “Awesome?”
“Well duhhhh!” Rainbow laughed. “I mean, how could it not be?”
Rarity offered a weak smile. “Oh, yes indeed!”
Twilight’s horn began to itch, a feeling she had begun to trust lately without understanding why. “Tell you what, Rainbow. The way the invitations were written, ‘O’Elements of Harmony’ is basically a fancy way of inviting the six of us ponies that saved Equestria.”
Rainbow leaned in, a smirk curled round her muzzle. “Twice.”
“True.” Twilight Sparkle stood up and stretched for a moment. “You might want to go talk to Fluttershy and Applejack and see what they’re thinking about. I mean, you don’t have to talk about your song, but it’s okay to talk about what you want to sing about, I’d think.”
Rainbow Dash brightened at the suggestion. “That’s a pretty good idea, Books McGee.” She patted Twilight Sparkle on the forelock. “I knew I kept you around for a good reason.”
Twilight rolled her eyes, her voice deadpan. “I’m pleased to be of service once again.”
The pegasus pony looked at her for a moment, then drew both unicorns into a sudden, abrupt hug. “Thanks, both of you. I was really thinking about skipping this one out.” She released them both, then drew back, stretching her wings. “I’ll catch you later, okay? I’m gonna go talk to Applejack and Fluttershy.” A quick beat of her wings sent her aloft, and she soared up to the apex of Twilight’s library and out the observatory window. “Seeya!”
Rarity looked after her for a moment, the carefully coifed curls of her mane spilling over the delicate arch of her neck. “Twilight…singing about being awsome? I think we made a mistake. I don’t want everyone to laugh at the poor girl.”
Twilight Sparkle rubbed irritatedly at the base of her own horn. “I don’t know Rarity. I don't think she realizes it's not a contest; that's not what the letter said." She sighed slowly. "You know how Rainbow Dash thinks though. But I think it’ll work out. I...I just have a feeling it will.”
“A feeling?” Rarity’s right eye twiched. “As in Pinkie Pie-twitcha-twitch-the sky is falling feeling?” She hugged her mane to herself again, shivering slightly. “Oh dear.”
A burst of startled pigeons exploded away in a cloud as Rainbow Dash sailed out of the observatory window atop Twilight Sparkle’s home. A tree house in every sense of the term, its multiple balconies stretched out in every direction atop the branches; the unicorn was fond of stargazing and had wanted to ensure she had a clear field of view in every direction. The bewildering maze of architecture, created by both physical and magical means, provided Rainbow with a few moments of amusement as she zoomed over, under, and sometimes even through the self-imposed obstacle course. After several laps of this, she tired of the game and tilted upward, her wings settling into a steady, simple beat designed not for speed, but for gaining altitude.
“Hrm. That was pretty cool, but not amazing. And definitely on the far side of awesome.” Her mouth settled into a quirky little twist as she rose, her eyes taking in things automatically but not really seeing for the moment as her mind worked. “I gotta come up with some awesome words if I’m going to have the most awesome song.” Her muzzle pursed up a bit as her brows drew together in concentration. “What ryhmes with ‘awesome?’ Possum? GAH! No, that’s stupid….”
Her wings quit beating for a moment and she flexed her left side, dipping the wing a bit to bring her into a long, slow circle towards the direction of Fluttershy’s house before resuming her climb. The house lay at the extreme edge of Ponyville, well nigh on the brink of the Everfree Forest, and it would take her some minutes to get there at the gentle cruising speed she was taking. Her course intersected with a rather large cloud above, and after carefully assessing it for a moment to make sure it didn’t belong to someone she knew, she slowly flew into it, still continuing her climb as she went.
“Got to be awesome. Doesn’t have to SAY awesome. That’ll surprise everypony,” Rainbow laughed to herself. “Let’s see…how about a march? YEAH! ‘Who do you call when you need help, Rainbow Daaaaash! She hears the call and is there in half a flaaaash…’YEAH! Now we’re cookin’!” She chuckled out loud to herself as she soared higher, aware of the foolishness of the words and suddenly not caring, because really, it was all foolishness in her opinion. What the hay, as Applejack might say. She’d go to the event, sing her stuff, and not even care if she won or not. Now THAT would be…
“Radical to the EXTREEME!” she shouted into the clear air, and laughed harder. “Pony revolution!” The concept was so silly, and yet sounded so daring, that she went into a total fit of giggling for several minutes, and paying scant attention to her flight. “Oh man, this is gonna be so aweso-“
The haze around her abruptly lightened, then vanished as she broke through the crown of the cloud into a veritable storm of sunlight. Rainbow squinted her eyes shut against the onslaught and slowed to a halt, her wingbeats picking up to cup the air and hold her in place. She waited for a moment, and then carefully opened her eyes, bit by bit, letting them adjust to the view around her.
She hadn’t intended to fly this high. She’d been higher before, and more than once, but buried in her self-absorption into her song and imagining the look on everypony’s face when she twisted their tails for them, she hadn’t been paying attention to the view. She’d been seeing, but she hadn’t been looking.
Rainbow Dash stopped and took in the sky.
The sun arched high overhead, the golden light filling the sky in all directions with a crisp, clear view in every direction that went on to the horizon. She could feel the warmth softly filling up the hair of her forelock, the light streaming down and filling every color of her mane and tail in a heat-drenched bath of light. Hovering above the cloud that she had just emerged from, its top dazzled her gaze with a reflection of liquid silver white that cut off sharply at its edge. The ground beyond lay far below, a random crazy patchwork quilt of brown and green with the occasional blue stitching of a stream or river. The sun caught some of these at the right angle to send a new dazzle of reflected glory up to her gaze, combining with the ambient glare and the clouds to set her eyes watering.
“Wow…”
No. That wasn’t what was making her eyes burn, and she knew better. She kept forgetting about it, as was her wont, and then coming up one day and realizing all over again how amazing it really looked up here. How awesome.
The word stuck in her mind like a fishhook. No, this was not amazing, or awesome. There weren’t words for how this felt to her.
It was better than that.
She drew in a deep breath, lifted her head for a moment, closing her eyes again and enjoying the simple pleasure of the sunlight on her closed lids. She then shook herself abruptly and coasted forward, tilting and curving her wings to begin the long glide back down toward the earth below.
“Well hey-howdy, Rainbow! What brings you out to this neck o’ the woods?”
Rainbow Dash’s wings flapped rapidly for a moment as she hovered low over the ground, before alighting and coming to a stop. “I was wondering the same thing about you. What’re you doing here, Applejack?”
The peach colored Earth Pony grinned, tilting the cowboy hat she wore atop her forelock back to a precarious perch. “Right now Ah’m gettin’ down to a heap o’ restin’ up. Ol’ Fluttershy done run me ragged today.”
A high-pitched squeak emerged from the open top of the half-door of the house behind her. “Oh goodness, Applejack, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to wear you out!” Fluttershy came trotting out, wings fluttering nervously, her expression scrunched up in obvious distress. “Oh dear, do you need a doctor or something? I don’t want you to get all sick like you did last time we tried this-“
“Fluttershy, Ah’m fine. That’s why ah volunteered to come over an’ help, remember?”
Rainbow looked around the yard quizzically. “Just what are you helping with?”
“Rabbit rustlin’!” Applejack laughed heartily. “’Cept Ah’m tryin to get better at it than ah was last time.”
“I thought you only did that in the spring.”
Fluttershy beamed. “Oh yes, it’s important to help count up all the new little bunnies in the springtime, except we couldn’t get a very good count last time because…um.” The sunyellow Pegasus Pony trailed off into embarassed silence.
“Because ah was half-asleep from workin’ by mahself and stubborn as a mule about asking fer help?” Applejack offered helpfully.
Fluttershy pawed a forehoof at the ground for a moment, then nodded quickly.
“Sooo, we’re practicin’!” Applejack nosed at a clump of hay roughly half her own size, then settled down onto it with an undignified flumph, sending up a cloud of dust and chaff.
Rainbow snorted and blinked, clearing her eyes of the dust. “Comfy?”
“Aww yeah. You Pegasus Ponies got yer cushy clouds and all, but ya cain’t eat yer cushions.” Applejack tucked her head down, snatched up a mouthful of hay and began chewing unselfconciously. “Oh yeah, that’s fine eatin’.”
“Smartaleck.” Rainbow Dash sat down on the grass verge next to the walkway up to the house, swishing her tail for a moment before settling down herself. “Hey, did you guys get letters from the Princess about the singing thing tomorrow night?”
“Frm Shelshtia?” Applejack asked around a mouthful of hay.
“No, from Luna, ya hick.”
Fluttershy gasped. “Oh no, Luna sent us a letter, too? I never got that one.”
“Just a joke, Fluttershy,” Rainbow soothed. “You did get the one for Canterlot though, right?”
“Oh yes, it was soooo beautiful.” Fluttershy beamed, her wings curling out and upward for a moment before settling back. “Did you hear all the little birdies singing in the music? I’m going to try to teach mine how to sing that song.”
“Yeah, it was really great, I guess.” Rainbow Dash actually didn’t remember much about the birdsong; the large, glowing singing sphere had occupied most of her attention at the time. “So…you goin’?”
“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy quivered for a moment. “It’ll be really scary with everyone watching and all, but I’d love to go sing about all my animals to everyone. Maybe the animals in Celestia’s garden will hear the song and be friendly and won’t be so…um, shy.”
Rainbow gave her an odd look. “I thought you hung out with them when we went there for the gala.”
Fluttershy looked away for a moment, her pink tail twitching about rapidly. “I um…I don’t want to talk about it.” Her pet rabbit, Angel, hopped over and gave the sunyellow mare a dubious look before hopping away again. “But maybe this time it’ll go over better. At least, I hope it will.”
“So…you’re sure you’re going to be okay singing in front of everyone?”
“Oh, yes. I mean, if it was just me, then no, I just couldn’t!” Fluttershy shivered. “But all my bestest best friends will be there. Right, Applejack?”
Applejack swallowed and emitted a mighty belch. “Yer darned tootin they will. Ah’ve got just the thing in mind, too, fer mah song, and no, it ain’t about apples,” she said, giving Rainbow Dash a dirty look. “Well, not direckly, anyway.”
Fluttershy stretched forward and picked up a small mouthful of hay from Applejack’s ad hoc couch. She chewed demurely and swallowed. “And I’ve got my animals to sing about, and how wonderful it is to take care of them.” She flicked her soft pink forelock away from one eye and scrunched up, smiling. “It’s so sweet!” She smiled at them, reflexively, and uttered a quiet squee.
“Gechhh….” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”
“What about you, Dash?” Applejack rolled on her back, squirming for a moment before settling down again on the hay. “What’re you gonna croon about?”
Rainbow blinked. “What? Oh.” She shook her head, a wry grin curling over her lips. “I’m thinking about…something awesome, of course.”
Applejack turned her head and eyed the cyan pegasus. “Yer gonna sing about yerself, aren’tcha?”
“Well duhhh,” Rainbow retorted. “What else is there that is more awesome than me? Besides, we’re supposed to sing songs about ourselves, from what Twilight told me.”
“Well yeah, but it ain’t the same thing, ah don’t think.” Applejack lazily batted a fly away from the brim of her hat with one hoof. “At least, that’s the idear ah got from that explosive letter thingy.”
“What d’you mean?” asked Rainbow, her voice growing cross. “Twilight told me it was supposed to be a song BY me, ABOUT me. So what’s the problem?”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh, are we arguing? I’m sorry.”
“Naw, sugarcube, not really.” Applejack patted Fluttershy’s hoof with her own. “Just disagreein’ about somethin’, is all.” She turned back to look at Rainbow Dash. “Ah’m not tryin’ to tell ya what to sing about, Dash, don’t get me wrong. Ah’m just sayin’ that maybe the song’s s’posed to be about you, not about you . Aw, heck,” she grumbled, “Ah ain’t good at this kinda hairsplittin’ nonsense. You might be the only one’s got it straight, Dash, an’ the rest of us have got it all tumbled up.”
“You think so?” Fluttershy looked aghast. “Oh no, I don’t think I can come up with another song, I’m only half done with the one I’m working on right now.”
Applejack laughed. “Don’t you worry ‘bout that. You go right out thar and sing about yer critters. Heck, ever’pony likes critters, and with you singin’ to em about em, they’ll like em twice as much.”
“Oh, that would be sooo wonderful!” Fluttershy became radiant. “I have so many animals that could use a good home. Not that I don’t want them, I mean, they make me happy, but they could make other ponies happy too.” She suddenly looked crestfallen. “Not that other ponies aren’t happy, I mean-“
“Ahhh, ah think we get the point, Fluttershy.” Applejack glanced back over at her other friend. “Hey, Rainbow, you want some of this here hay?” She sat upright. “Ah didn’t lay on all of it, if’n you wanted a bite.”
“Nah, that’s okay.” Rainbow Dash’s voice was unusually subdued. “I’m uh, not really hungry right now anyway. Hey, look, I gotta take off.” She offered the other ponies a small grin. “Got lots of awesomeness to practice singing about and all, ya know!”
Applejack stood up, shaking the hay out of her tail. “Hey, look, Dash, forget about what I said, all right?”
The cyan pegasus flicked her wings out and gave a massive sweep, shooting her aloft. “No problem, I got no worries. Seeya later!”
Fluttershy stood up and walked over beside Applejack, the two craning their heads to watch the multicolored swirl overhead zoom off. “Do you think she’s all right? She seemed upset.”
“Yeah, don’t ah know it. Ah wish ah’d kept my mouth shut.” Applejack stamped a hind hoof angrily in the dirt. “Ah think ah done put my hoof in it this time.”
Fluttershy scanned the ground behind Applejack curiously. “No, there’s just dirt back here, and some hay, and-“ She looked back up to see Applejack frowning at her crossly. “Oh! Oh, that.” She peered back in the direction of Ponyville where Rainbow Dash had gone. “Oh, my.”
A ground-bound viewer would have seen little. Looking up at the right time, he might be lucky enough to see a cyan-colored pegasus flit past, barely discernable against the sky above. The breeze that followed was muted, blocked by the branches of the trees overhead, but still fresh enough to make him glance about and wonder if a storm was coming.
The birds knew better. They did their level best to get out of the way as Rainbow Dash hammered by overhead, missing the treetops by scant inches, a roaring tide of wind, leaves and other detritus swirling in her wake. Her thoughts were in a muddle, but she kept the majority of her power pent up; a sonic rainboom was almost impossible in level flight, and downright dangerous at this low altitude, but she was angry and frustrated enough to almost try it.
Break every window in town. Let them sing about that, if they want!
The thought made the blood pound harder in her temples, and she gave in to the fury. With an incoherent cry, the Pegasus Pony pulled herself up into the vertical and shot straight upward, her wings hammering at the yielding air, trying to smash it, own it, crush it down and spit it out to push her higher and faster. She could feel the pressure against her face, pulling her features back into a scowl.
How about this? Is this good enough for you? I’d like to see anypony else try it!
She shot through the cloud deck the other weather ponies had been working on and up into a late afternoon sky. The sunlight, coming from a lower angle this time, was less blinding, and she had a clear view in all directions. The work crews had finished up early, and she had the sky all to herself for the moment.
Good.
Still pushing up in a vertical zoom climb, but at a lower velocity now, she quit pushing for altitude and began altering the angles of her wings in an alternating pattern. Left, left-right, left, right-left, left, left-right again, her straight climb altering into a spiraling pattern that didn’t require a roll of any kind. Her speed bled away until she hung motionless in midair. With a flick of a wing and her tail, she kicked over sideways and began falling earthward. Waiting until she judged the speed was right, Rainbow Dash pulled up hard into another vertical climb, again slower than the first, and began the pattern again, but alternating the number of rights and lefts in the other direction.
Slowly, Rainbow danced with the sky.
She kept it up for over a half hour, the anger bleeding away with each circuit. As she dropped lower and lower, the muscles in her wings began to ache, but she ignored it, powering back up for another round before dropping to the cloud deck and losing her sightlines. “One more pass, girl, and then it’s time for chow.
Oh? I thought you told Applejack you weren’t hungry.
“So what if I did? Flying on a full stomach is asking for trouble.”
That isn’t the problem, and you know it.
“Oh, shut up,” she yelled, feeling a twinge in her right wing. “Fine, quittin’ time, then.” Rainbow ceased her wingbeats and spread her wings out to their full extension for a long, slow glide down. She ducked through a gap in two of the clouds and angled herself over, heading for a landing in a small, grassy field on the edge of town. Tilting her wings for maximum lift, she glided in gently, her hooves alighting lightly on the turf and trotting her to a stop.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash, wait up!”
Rainbow blinked, and glanced around behind her. Oh, horseapples. “Hey, squirt, what’s up?” She peered up at the afternoon sky, a bit startled to realize just how late it had gotten. “What are you doin’ out here all alone?”
Scootaloo coasted to a stop beside her, her tiny wings flapping furiously as she stopped, and then folding in neatly at her sides. “I was watching you fly up there. That was totally awwwesome!” The orange filly removed the helmet from her head and shook out her mane with a grin. “Do you think you could teach me that someday?”
Rainbow sighed. “You’re a little bit small for it right now, Scoots. And besides, it’s kinda secret. You know, a special trick I came up with myself.”
“Oh, okay.” Scootaloo looked crestfallen for a moment, and then brightened again. “I bet you could totally get into the Wonderbolts with that trick! You should show it to ‘em tomorrow night!”
Not likely, Rainbow Dash thought. I might get laughed out of the ‘bolts for doing that ‘trick,’ but- She blinked as the words connected. “Whaddya mean, tomorrow night? How’d you hear about that?”
“Are you kidding? Pinkie-Pie told everypony about it.” The little filly looked down for a moment. “I wish I could come see you. Or hear you, I mean. Sweetie Belle can really sing cool, you know? But I bet you could sing awesome!”
I am beginning, Rainbow thought wearily, to get very tired of that word.
“…and it’s just a bummer, you know?”
Rainbow Dash blinked, focusing on the filly’s words again. “What’s that, Scoots? Sorry, I was, uh, just practicing my song in my head, you know.” She forced a grin. “Gotta make sure it’s extra cool and all.”
Scootaloo fluttered her wings in delight at the thought, and then repeated herself. “I said that Apple Bloom’s gonna be there, and Sweetie Belle, and I wish I could go, too. Cutie Mark Crusader…um…Music Critics!” The filly giggled to herself. “But I don’t really know anyone else there, and Rarity said they’re only allowed to bring one guest, ‘cause it’s standing room only.” She frowned. “Whatever that means. Who sits down at a show?”
“Lyra, maybe.”
Scootaloo giggled at the mental image, and then subsided. “Anyway, I don’t know anypony who’s goin’, so I can’t be there. It’s a bummer, like I said.”
Rainbow Dash looked down at the filly for a moment. “Tell you what, Scoots,” she said without thinking. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“About what?”
Rainbow leaned down and transfixed the filly in her violet gaze. “You promise not to tell anypony about my new trick, and you can come with me to the party. Deal?”
Scootaloo’s eyes opened almost impossibly wide. “No way! You mean it?”
“Yes, way. And yes, I mean it. But I want your promise on this, kiddo.”
Flabbergasted almost beyond speech, the little filly nodded rapidly. “I swear.” Her wings fluttered for a moment, and then lay still again. “How come, though?”
Rainbow frowned. “How come what?”
“How come it’s a secret? I still promise not to tell and all, I just wish you could show it to me.”
“It’s tough to explain.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “Look, sometimes you have something really special, you know, something that’s all yours.”
Scootaloo nodded. “Like my scooter!”
“Exactly.” The cyan pegasus flicked her tail for a moment. “It belongs just to you, and you’re really great with it. It makes you feel special, you know?”
“Yeah. Like your sonic rainboom!”
Rainbow Dash laughed quietly. “Nah. ‘booms are cool, but they’re all for show. They’re really tough, too. Everypony can ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ about it, and next thing you know, they want to see it again. Too much of that, and it takes the shine off of it, doesn’t make it as special as it was, to them or to you.” She shook her head. “That’s why you always see ponies like the Wonderbolts doing new tricks, because people get tired of the same old thing.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “I don’t get it.”
Rainbow Dash crouched down until her eyes were level with the filly’s. “Scoots…that trick I did, it might look cool, but…that was just for me. I only do it when I feel sad, or angry, or upset, because it makes me feel better, and it’s all my own. Nobody else’s.”
The little filly blinked at her for a moment, and then her eyes were suddenly bright with tears. “I didn’t mean to spy on you, Rainbow Dash, honest. I just thought it looked really cool, and I wished, you know, I could do something cool, too…” Her voice began quavering and breaking up.
“Hey, whoa, slow down, kiddo.” Rainbow unselfconsciously rubbed the filly’s tears away with her nose. “No need to cry over it. You promised, and I don’t have to worry anymore, because my secret’s safe with you, right?”
Scootaloo sniffed and hiccuped a couple of times before smiling shakily. “Yeah, duhh!”
Rainbow Dash perked an eyebrow. “Watch it, squirt. That’s my line.”
“Fluttershy, dear, do be still for just a few moments longer, I’m almost done here.” The horn on Rarity’s brow glowed a bright, effervescent blue. “Just a few more alterations and we’ll be done.”
Standing motionless on the low platform in front of Rarity, Fluttershy gave her friend an odd look. “That’s what you said an hour ago.”
“Well, yes, but your gown was frightful at the time, and now it’s almost perfect!” The unicorn beamed. “Why, it was practically in tatters, but it’s all fixed up now.” She sighed. “I do wish I’d had time to make an entirely new ensemble for all of you, but there just wasn’t enough time between preparing my presentation, repairing your gown, making alterations for everyone else, and trying to get Sweetie Belle ready-“ She broke off and looked around abruptly. “Where is that girl, anyway? Do you smell anything burning?”
“Relax, Rarity, she’s fine.” Twilight Sparkle trotted into the room and sat down near Rarity’s workbench. “She’s outside with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and Applejack’s keeping an eye on them.”
“Ah. Well, that’s fine, then.” Rarity turned her attention back to the hem of Fluttershy’s dress. “Just don’t let her…cook anything.”
“You have my word.” Twilight tilted her head for a moment, peering intently at the work in progress. “You really did a great job on our gowns, Rarity, I appreciate it.”
With machine precision, the needle Rarity was levitating began a rapid-fire stitch along the lower hem of Fluttershy’s gown, pulling the thin golden hem close to the green fabric. “I just did what I could. They’re just our gala dresses, with a few new touches here and there, and frightfully out of date.”
“Oh, no, they look wonderful.” Fluttershy glanced down at the activity near her hooves, her eyes widening as she watched the silver flash of the needle humming busily away. “I’m definitely not going to mess mine up again after you worked so hard to fix it.”
“Well of course, dear.” Rarity stopped her work for a moment. “Just stay clear of those horrid gardens. I can’t believe how those gardeners could let the topiaries get in such a sad state; you go out to enjoy the scenery and dis-ASTER! The thorns on those rose bushes must have been simply frightful.”
Fluttershy blinked and slowly ducked her head. “Um…yeah. They were…pretty bad.”
As Rarity resumed her work, Twilight stood up and walked over to the stands where their gowns were laid out neatly on display. “Hey, Rarity,” she said, glancing over the new additions and alterations, “did Rainbow Dash come by to get fitted?”
“Actually she did, early this morning.” Rarity paused, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she worked. “I only had a few touches to make on her dress. It really wasn’t much, I just had to take it in a bit.” She glanced at Twilight Sparkle for a moment, and then back to the hemline that was rapidly finishing up under her guidance. “The poor dear’s lost a bit of weight, those horrible weather ponies must be running her ragged.”
“Wow, you saw Rainbow Dash awake before noon? That’s gotta be one for the record books.”
“There, all done. Now you look smashing!” Rarity stood back and flipped the hemline of Fluttershy’s dress down into place. “Perfection!” The needle and thread levitated across the room to the workbench as she turned and walked over to where Rainbow Dash’s gown lay draped on its stand. “Yes, I was rather surprised at it myself…actually, I got the impression the girl hadn’t slept at all last night.”
Fluttershy stepped carefully down from the platform, glancing over her own dress for a moment. “She was upset yesterday afternoon when we talked about our songs.”
Twilight blinked. “Do you think it’s stage fright again?”
Rarity straightened one fold of the sky blue gown in front of her before replying. “Not this time. When she was practicing for the Young Flyer’s Competition last year, she was nervous…but she knew what she wanted to do, and was completely focused on it. This morning, she seemed…oh, I don’t know, at a loss, almost, with no direction.” She sighed deeply and glanced back at Twilight. “I’m still not sure this is a good idea.”
“I know, but I still have this feeling-“ Twilight stopped for a moment. “All I know is that I feel like she’ll be okay. We just have to trust her.”
“I do, dear, I do.” Rarity began fussing over Rainbow’s dress again. “I just wonder if she does.”
The shadow crept over the paper before her, creeping over the words she had been laboring over all morning. It moved over the last line of the song Rainbow Dash had been writing, flowing up over the words to cover the entire work in gloom.
“Tank!” Rainbow glanced over her shoulder and glared. “No peeking! Besides, you’re blocking my light.”
The tortoise hovering at her side croaked apologetically and tilted himself, the spinning blades strapped to his shell adjusting to the motion and backing him away.
“Thanks, buddy.” Rainbow lay on her back in the low lawn of grass where she had met with Scootaloo last night, her head propped up on a hummock. She’d tried working at home, but trying to concentrate when you’re lying on ultimate cloud fluffiness hadn’t been particularly conducive to concentration, and she’d dozed off twice. Tank had woken her up both times, and she’d brought her pet down with her to keep an eye on her just in case. The tortoise had been vigilant, and she’d felt bad about ignoring him while she fussed over her project.
“Don’t worry, buddy. When we’re all done with this, I’ll give you an encore performance, just for you.” She patted his side absently, the shell emitting a hollow thonk thonk. Tank emitted a satisfied croak and landed beside her, wandering around slowly and looking for something to munch on as she turned back to her work.
She’d tossed and turned all night before, running lyrics through her head until the words became babbling nonsense, random sounds that didn’t convey anything to her brain. Giving up, she’d gone outside and glided around for hours, swooping down and then slowly returning back to her cloud, climbing up to its summit, and launching herself into the void once more. It was unstressful on her sore wing, and uncomplicated, something that cleared her head as she glided through the dark and listened to the sound of the wind in her ears.
As soon as the sun had risen to a decent height, she’d headed to Rarity’s shop, wanting to get her dress refitted and have that task out of the way. The unicorn had been unusually soft spoken and quiet, and seemed concerned about something.
“Eh, maybe she’s nervous too, and didn’t get much sleep either.” Rainbow tilted her head and examined the lyrics of the mostly finished tune before her. “After all, we’re only gonna be singing this at the capital in front of the Princess, and the other Princess, and all of Canterlot and everybody else that got invited, including all of my friends and their guests, and aw, man...” She broke off with a groan. “This is pathetic.” She read over the tune in front of her again, her expression pained. “Why can’t I write something that’s awesome? Better than awesome, even?”
Tank uttered another low croak, eyeing his mistress with concern.
“Yeah, I know. I guess I’m not awesome at everything, yet.” Rainbow folded the paper up so the hateful lyrics would quit staring back at her for a little while. She stretched out, letting her wings flick out to her sides, and lay back, staring upward into the vault of blue overhead. At least she didn’t have to work today; her boss had heard of the goings-on yesterday and had happily given her three more days off. She closed her eyes for a moment, the breeze fluttering her forelock over her face. With her eyes shut, she could almost imagine she was just gliding along somewhere, with her work finished early for a change, the rest of the day before her and nothing planned, just taking things as they came along and having fun.
I love fun things, she thought sleepily. Why can’t this just be fun?
Beside her, Tank uttered a warning croak and spun his heli-rig into motion, levitating himself off the ground and moving to hover beside her head.
“Yeah, I know, buddy, time to get movin’.” Rainbow opened her eyes again and just looked up for a moment. She contemplated going up and heading over to buzz the Ponyville town square just to get a rise out of someone, but quickly decided against it. She wasn’t in the mood for games today; she was tired, her wing was still sore and she just wanted to get it all over with tonight so she could coast home in the moonlit air and enjoy the starlight before crashing and trying for the world sleeping record. Flying at night was always nice, especially when Luna banked the fires of the moon, dimming its light so that only the faint stars shone your way home. The world became a dark vault, a place of only sensations: the damp smell of clouds in your nose, the wind in your mane and the sky holding you up by your own force of will.
Tank started to emit another warning croak when Rainbow sat up suddenly, her violet eyes grown wide. She looked at him soundlessly for a moment, then picked up the sheet of paper with her song written on it. She read it over one more time, then took a deep breath, turned the sheet over to the blank back.
“Here goes nothin’, buddy.”
Tank watched quietly, on guard, as his mistress picked up her pencil in her teeth and began to write again.
“…and so we welcome you all to our celebration.” The Princess Celestia paused at the tumult of cheering and pounding hooves in applause, waiting until it had died down enough to continue. “Our chefs and bakers have outdone themselves today, so please help yourselves as much as you like.” There was another hearty cheer at this; royal cooking was not to be taken lightly. It was to be taken in as large a quantity as decorum would allow, if you were one of those who cared about such things.
Pinkie Pie would never be counted in that number. “Cupcakes and pie and cake and sandwiches and ooh ooh ooh, Derpy, looklooklook!” Bouncing around, she nudged the smoky grey Pegasus Pony and pointed to one side.
“MUFFINS!” they shrieked together, laughing, and took off in a blur for the buffet line.
“Now them two are gonna work that poor baker til he’s all frazzles and dust,” Applejack laughed. “Hey Apple Bloom, what say we mosey on over thar and put a couple'a pies to the test?”
The little yellow filly looked up at her sister and matched her grin for grin. “Betcha ah can eat more than you!”
“Yer on, girl!” They trotted off to join Pinkie and Derpy in the line, the filly’s hairbow bouncing about as she turned her head from side to side, trying to take in all the sights at once. Twilight Sparkle watched them go as she stood with the rest of her friends; at an unspoken agreement, they had stuck together after arriving for mutual support to avoid being overwhelmed by the massive crowd. Each of them had been allowed one guest: Pinkie Pie had gotten Derpy to come along at the last minute. Rarity and Applejack had both brought their sisters, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Rainbow Dash had brought Scootaloo along, and the little filly had hardly uttered a word, her wide eyes taking in all the strangers as she huddled next to her bigger friend. Spike stood beside Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy, stating that she could use the assistance (and protection), had brought Angel, her pet rabbit.
“Now I don’t have to worry about getting…um…lost, in the garden,” Fluttershy stated. “Angel said he’d help me out.”
“Ooohkay,” Spike muttered. “Whatever you say, Fluttershy.” The little dragon looked around the room with an unimpressed expression; having been born here and lived here, for at least a short while, all the bustle, noise and pomp were old hat to him. “C’mon, Twilight, let’s go get somethin’ to eat, huh? I’m starving!”
“Go ahead, Spike, I’ll catch up with you later.” Twilight glanced back at Rainbow Dash and offered a smile. “I have to admit, I don’t have much of an appetite; I’m a bit nervous about later. How about you?”
Rainbow, her gaze on the open ballroom floor where the dances – and songs – would be performed later tonight, started abruptly. “Huh? Oh, nah,” she said. “This thing’s a piece of cake. One two three, easy as pie. Right, squirt?” She glanced down at Scootaloo beside her.
“Rainbow,” the little filly said in a small voice, “this place is really big.”
“Well duh,” Rainbow Dash laughed. “It is a palace, kiddo.”
“And there are a lot of ponies here…”
“Yeah. So? This is what it’s like to perform for a crowd.” Rainbow leaned down and nudged the filly. “Hey, don’t freeze up on me, squirt. I need my number one fan to help cheer me on tonight, right?”
Scootaloo jumped as if poked. “Oh! Oh yeah, sure! No problem, Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow laughed again. “Relax, kiddo, they’re all gonna be staring at me instead of you. You have nothing to worry about.” She stuck a hoof into the filly’s forelock and applied a grade A-1 noogie. “Why don’t you go with Rarity and Sweetie Belle and get some grub, huh?”
“Okay, sure!” Scootaloo began to bound away and stopped short, looking back. “You want me to bring you something?”
“Nah, help yourself. Never perform on a full stomach, kiddo.” Rainbow paused. “Tell you what, you save me an apple for when it’s over, okay?”
“I’m on it!” With a squeal of delight, Scootaloo tackled Sweetie Belle, and they took off, Rarity casting a knowing glance over her shoulder before following them. “Sweetie, you mind your manners, do you hear me?!”
“But she started it…”
Rainbow chuckled quietly, then turned back to see Twilight Sparkle examining her with a critical eye. “What?”
“You are nervous.”
The cyan pegasus snorted. “Yeah, ya think?”
“You brought a cheering section??”
Rainbow Dash grinned and struck a pose. “Sure. Jealous?”
Twilight groaned. “What? No, I’m not jealous, I just don’t think you understand-“ She broke off as a large, dark form imposed itself upon her vision.
“Greetings once again, Twilight Sparkle! Oh, excuse us.” Princess Luna stood before them, the dusky flow of her mane and tail alight with a glittering storm of constellations. “We do not believe we have actually been introduced to your friend before. Properly, that is,” she added with a quirky smile.
Rainbow Dash grinned back uneasily. “Yeah, sorry about the whole lightning bolt thing.”
“Likewise.” Luna’s eyes flashed with repressed mirth. “Nevertheless, perhaps we could…cooperate at the next Nightmare Night celebration?” Luna glanced around, noting that there was nopony else nearby, and lowered her voice. “I had a couple of ideas for…pranks, and I could use some help in setting them off.”
Twilight stared, disbelieving. “You two pranking together?”
“Oh that’ll be EPIC!” Rainbow Dash stuck a forehoof out. “Deal!”
Luna stood irresolute for a moment, then got the idea and tapped her own hoof daintly with the pegasus. “Deal.” Her voice resumed its normal volume, but still softer than the “Royal Canterlot Voice” she’d initially unleashed upon the world. “Twilight, my sister has spoken to me of your magical prowess, and we are aware of your vast historical knowledge. We should like to enlist your aid in a research project, if you would be willing.”
Twilight gaped for a moment. “O-Of course!” She pranced in place, her tail flickering from side to side. “I’d be delighted!”
Luna smiled. “Wonderful! We are aware you are otherwise occupied this evening, but we should like to discuss some of the specifics with you over dinner, if you would like.”
Rainbow Dash nudged her friend’s shoulder. “Go ahead, Books. I’ll catch up with you later.” She ruffled the feathers of her left wing, displaying the small envelope tucked underneath. “I’ll turn in our songs to the conductor and then I’m gonna go hang out with the band for a bit.”
Twilight pursed her mouth worriedly. “You sure?”
“Yeah, no problem.” Rainbow watched the two of them pace slowly away; in ten seconds they were already neck deep in some discussion about Starbeard the Swirled, or somesuch. As soon as they were out of sight, she began walking slowly around the immense hall, her eyes scanning the figures that moved to and fro. A couple of minutes netted her the target she was searching for, and she trotted over to the unicorn who had been busily scribbling names in a large guestbook next to the doorway. “Hey, buddy!”
“Yesss?” The unicorn frowned momentarily, looking up from behind the short desk where he sat. “I’m sorry, miss, I don’t believe we’ve met…?”
“Not a problem.” Best Young Flier award winner, chump. Doesn’t anybody read the news anymore? “Listen, I’ve got a favor to ask, and you’re the only fella I know who can help me out.”
He blinked. “But of course, milady. What would you ask of a simple scribe?”
Rainbow opened the packet under her wing; resisting the sudden urge to peek at the other songs her friends had written, she fished out her dog-eared copy of her lyrics, written front and back. “I need you to recopy something for me; I didn’t have time to do it over again today.” She placed the paper before him and offered a nervous smile. “I want to make sure the band doesn’t get the wrong side up when they play tonight.”
“The band…oh! You mean the Royal Orchestra.” The scribe’s chest puffed with pride. “Don’t worry. Our conductor is a true master. Given a set of lyrics…any lyrics…he will use his magic to perform a unique and most suitable performance to match your own.” The unicorn levitated a set of spectacles out of a waistcoat pocket and perched them on his muzzle. Peering down at the sheet of words, with half of the lines scratched out or overwritten, he frowned. “Well, he’ll do his best, anyway.”
Rainbow sighed. “Not that one.” She gripped a corner in her teeth and flipped the sheet over. “This one.”
“Oh. Oh! Oh, I see your concern, of course.” The quill sitting beside him glowed bright orange, and lifted from its inkwell to begin busily scribbling on a clean sheet of paper. “Not to worry, milady, I’ll have this done posthaste.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
The scribe paused in his writing and blinked at her again. “Buddy?”
Rainbow rapped her forehoof on the desk. “Hey! Posthaste, remember?”
Huddled together with her friends, Rainbow Dash stood to one side of the immense hall and closed her eyes, listening to the royal page finishing the introduction of the final event of the evening. “I wish he’d just shut up and let us get on with it.”
“It’s Royal Canterlot, Rainbow.” Twilight glanced sharply at her friend. “Everypony talks like that at formal occasions.”
“Yah mean usin’ five words when two ‘ud do jest as well?” Applejack snorted. “It’s a wonder ever’pony in this place ain’t run outa air with all the talkin’ they do here.”
“Will you girls hush? He’s done!” Rarity glanced at Twilight. “Well. Who goes first?”
“I…I don’t know. Nobody told me!” Twilight glanced frantically about for a moment. “Who’s got a program?”
“They didn’t give any out,” Rainbow muttered. “This isn’t a school play, Books.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll go first. Come on, Angel.”
Rainbow Dash glanced around in shock as Fluttershy walked away from them toward the center of the room. “I don’t believe I just saw that.”
“Me neither.” Applejack shook her head, then looked over. “Twilight, shut yer yap. Yer drawin’ flies.”
Twilight Sparkle blinked, her jaw still agape. “Huh?”
Applejack leaned over and flicked her foreleg up, shutting her friend’s mouth with a soft pop. “That’s better.”
The lamps in the room began to dim, and from the balcony high above, a series of small spotlights flicked on, bathing the center of the hall with a soft lake of light. Fluttershy walked slowly into it and stopped, waiting for Angel to join her. She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked up at the center of the balcony where the unicorn conducting the orchestra stood waiting.
“Fluttershy, ja?” He flipped through the stack of pages to her song and stopped. “Ach so. You may begin.”
One by one, Rainbow watched her friends walk out into the pool of light in the center of the room, and as each one filled the air with their song…their song, created by them, for them, and about them, she was overwhelmed by the raw depth of their feelings. Fluttershy, whom she was sure would have never dared to set foot in this darkened hall mostly full of strangers, sang not about the animals she loved, but about the simple love of life she had, and how caring for others, even strangers, was the only way she could express herself. Twilight Sparkle followed, and wove a beautiful song of her love of learning, that you could never stop learning, and the wonder of it all was that each day there would always be something new you have never seen before.
Applejack followed, and true to her word, she didn’t sing about apples….exactly. She sang about her family, their love for each other and the land, and how all of them, together, faced every challenge, every failure, and every triumph together. Rarity went next, and her clear voice filled the hall with the wonder of beautiful things, common and rare, and that such things had to be shared amongst us all, or else their beauty was diminished. Her final verse spoke of the rarest of treasures…and revealed it to be her sister, a gem uncut, whose beauty had yet to be revealed.
This last reduced Pinkie Pie, and about half of the audience, to tears, and it was several moments before order was restored. Still sniffling, but smiling, the pink Earth Pony bounded into the center of the spotlight and stopped. “HI EVERYPONY!!”
The sheer exuberance of the shout jerked a startled laugh out of several members of the court, and the reaction began to spread like wildfire as Pinkie’s song began. Not content to simply recite her lines, she began dancing back and forth in a jig as she sank about parties, jokes, and how great it was to eat cake icing off the spoon when nobody’s looking. She sang about the joy of dancing when you feel like it, and that fun was where you find it, if you take the trouble to look.
At last she concluded, missing the last step and sitting down hard with a loud “Eeep!” There were several exclamations of alarm, but Pinkie immediately burst out laughing again, and the crowd joined her, sending her back to her friends with a storm of hoof-stamping applause.
“That was great,” she exclaimed, trotting back to where they all stood. “Did you see the end? I wish I’d thought of that before!”
“Yeah, Pinkie, I think we all saw it.” Twilight smiled at her, and then looked over at Rainbow Dash. “Your turn.”
“Yeah.” Rainbow swallowed heavily and straightened, brushing her forelock out of her eyes. “Here goes nothin’.”
“Don’ worry ‘bout it, sugarcube,” said Applejack, patting her friend on the shoulder. “Just sing what’s in yer heart.”
Rainbow Dash walked slowly out across the flagstones of the court floor, her golden shoes clicking clearly in the still, quiet air. She reached the edge of the light and paused for a moment, ears flickering nervously, before slowly walking in.
The multicolored hue of her forelock and mane caught the light at once, a glittering scrim of color that flowered into full blossom as she centered herself in the spot. The light ticked off of the gleaming golden laurel leaves that Rarity had fashioned for her, as close to a tiara as Rainbow would ever willingly wear. The unadulterated brilliance of the spotlight stole away her vision, reducing her sight range to the two or three pony lengths that it spread around her. The massive crowd was lost in the darkness outside it, and although she could hear their rustle and murmur, she felt unutterably alone.
Glancing up, she could, just barely, make out the form of the white-maned unicorn conducting the orchestra above. He glanced down at her, then over to her score sheet, pausing for a moment. “Hmm. Eine Moment, bitte. " She heard a quiet rustling, and squinted through the glare until she could see that most of the orchestra had set their instruments aside. Only one violinist and the piano player remained poised, awaiting a cue. She could hear a startled murmur from one corner where her friends stood, and fought to repress a sudden, welcome laugh. Surprise!
The conductor nodded back down to her. “Ach, so. Now, Rainbow Dash. We begin, ja?”
She nodded back to him and looked back out into the rustling darkness. Scootaloo’s voice came tearing up out of it, full of hope. “Way to go, Rainbow Dash!” There were several chuckles, and she allowed a small smile to sneak out. Thanks, kiddo.
She heard the piano begin, leading her along. Closing her eyes and lifting her voice, Rainbow Dash began to sing.
Rainbow's Song
There are days
And I’m amazed
When I fly
There are nights
All those sights
When I fly
Things I’ve seen
Like a gleam
When I fly
The final notes lifted into the room, carried along with the last chords of music as they drifted away into the silence that followed. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, seeing the spotlight fade out around her, hearing and counting her own heartbeats as they passed. One, two, three…
Was it that bad? For Pete’s sake, why doesn’t anyone say something?
The dimmed lights began to come up in the room, and with them came the sound of a set of hooves-small ones-stamping in applause. It was followed by another, heavier set, and then another upon another, and as the lights rose to their former brilliance, she saw the entire room begin to cheer for her. In the very back row, even the cooking staff and waiters had come out to watch, and she saw one pony in a ridiculously huge puffy chef’s hat stamping madly. “Bravo, mademoiselle,” he shouted over the din. “Tres magnifique!”
“Uh, thanks!” she yelled back, waving at him, sending the crowd into another bout of cheers. She could feel the dull heat of embarrassment mounting in her cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, she gave a quick bow and turned to trot back over to where her friends were, only to see them rushing her and surrounding her in a group hug of epic proportions. “Whoaa!”
“Oh darling, that was beautiful!” Rarity scrubbed at her eyes with a foreleg. “I didn’t know…I wasn’t expecting that at all!”
Twilight sniffed and nodded, laughing. “Yeah, not what we expected from Ms. Awesomeness.”
“Yeah, well…”
Rainbow Dash felt an odd touch, as if something were tickling her between her ears, and a quiet voice spoke in her mind. That was very brave of you, my little pony. I am very proud of you.
Startled, she glanced around to look at the Princess Celestia. The alicorn met her gaze, the silver horn on her forehead ablaze with light.
Thank you, Rainbow thought back, a bit shaken by the contact. Um…did I win?
Celestia’s laughter rang through the hall, simultaneously sounding clearly in Rainbow’s head. This was no contest, my little pony. No winners or losers. I just wanted to spend some time together with you, and get to know all of you better. You would be surprised what you can learn about someone just by listening to them sing. To what they sing.
“Yeah, I kinda figured that part out on my own.”
Pinkie Pie giggled at her. “What part of what?”
Rainbow grinned sheepishly. “Oh, um, nothin’.”
I shall leave you to your friends now, Rainbow Dash. The Princess smiled gently at her as she rose and left the dais where she had stood during the performance. Thank you for not…skipping out on this…for me. You would have been sorely missed. The royal guards took up station on either side as Celestia and Luna left their guest to their celebration.
Rainbow felt a touch on her foreleg and looked down. “Scoots! I heard you out there, kiddo!”
The little filly’s eyes were wet, but she had a smile on her face as she gazed up. “I brought you something.”
“What’s that, squirt?”
Scootaloo fiddled with a knot on the side of her dress, finally undoing it and producing an apple from the folded fabric. “Is this one okay?”
Rainbow Dash simply stared for a moment, and then burst out laughing. “That’s perfect, Scoots. Thanks for remembering.” She ruffled the little filly’s hair. “Sorry I couldn’t fit the word ‘awesome’ in my song for ya. It just…didn’t fit, ya know?”
Scootaloo frowned and shook her head. “That’s okay, Rainbow. It wasn’t an awesome song, anyway.”
Rainbow Dash blinked, taken aback for a moment. “Really?”
“No.” Scootaloo fluttered her wings for a moment, and then settled them at her sides again before offering the sky-blue pegasus a small smile. “It was better than that.”
The End