Everything was going to plan.
In high spirits after the impromptu party, Twilight applied herself to the plan. Each day, she boarded the carriage provided by Shade to his research facility and delivered incremental yet inconsequential status updates on the replication of the MechaMagiWing technology. Confident that Rainbow and Soarin’ were safely tailing her, she knew they were protected from outside threat.
In the meantime, Pinkie prepared a massive party to celebrate P3’s anniversary and invited nearly every single pony who was anypony—including ponies she happened to bump into on the street. Rarity drafted together a set of much more elegant invitations and personally delivered them to Shade. Shade, delighted with the particular grace and attentiveness shown by Rarity, reaffirmed his commitment to support P3 financially.
During the day, while Twilight conducted research and looked for evidence, Rainbow took the time to catch up with Scootaloo. The young pilot did things with flying machines Rainbow didn’t even think were possible. Perhaps some of the credit belonged to Highwind for his continual modifications and updates to the machines themselves, but Scootaloo flew them with such dexterity and poise that Rainbow was certain the ability resided in the pilot, not the machine around the pilot.
Unaware of all this, Princess Luna sat on a cold throne, thousands of miles away. Her dark colors clashed on the worn velvet of Celestia’s seat of power. Her silver regalia contrasted poorly with the gold trim. Sighing heavily, she looked out the window to the golden sun. She shouldn’t have been there, alone, on the throne. This was the seat of her beloved sister. A sister she missed dearly. Her only comfort was the slow, steady setting of the sun each day—a reminder that Celestia was out there somewhere.
She reached out with her magic and woke the moon. Teasing it awake, she guided it to the horizon. Another day without Celestia, another day alone. Even though it had been less than a week since she found the brief letter in Celestia’s room, she found the words no less comforting: “Dearest Luna, please trust me, as I trust Equestria to you. I shall return soon.”
Nothing more.
Luna sighed once more, stretched her stiff legs, and rose from her sister’s throne. Taking measured steps, she made her way out of the throne room back to her room. The guards dipped their heads to her as always, the maids made way, and the ponies around her whispered painful rumors of the fate of her sister. But no matter how soft their words were, Luna could not bear to hear them. She sought the solace of her room just as her sister had sought solace from the throne. Alone with the night, Luna collapsed upon her bed and found respite from it all. As dearly as she loved her sister, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could maintain both day and night.
* * *
As the day drew to a close, Vice wandered casually into the lobby of one of the many high-rises Shade kept a penthouse apartment. The former Wonderbolts manager wasn’t particularly fond of Shade, but he was quite fond of the financial resources available to him by working with the banker-colt. In show business, and in the grander scheme of things, bits mattered in the end.
He allowed the security guard to escort him into the waiting elevator. The door closed with a muted ding and rapidly whisked him to the top floor. Exiting the elevator, he found himself in a well-lit lobby. At the far end, full-panel windows stretched from floor to ceiling. Just in front of the windows stood Shade, a drink levitated in his magic. Vice swallowed dryly.
As if on cue, a glass floated to him and he grasped it with the bend of his wing. Sipping from it, he felt his nerves easing ever so slightly. He smiled as best he could as Shade trotted up to him, though he was fairly certain his smile was less than convincing.
“So,” Shade began slowly, “I assume you’ve made contact with your former performer, Rainbow Dash?”
“I have,” Vice responded. Feeling vulnerable, he downed the rest of his drink to calm his nerves.
“Good, good.” Shade nodded and gestured to a side room from the lobby.
Vice did as he was directed and followed Shade into what appeared to be a waiting room of some kind. He settled down on a couch and set his empty glass upon the table, the cup clanking harshly upon the polished metallic surface.
“Another?” Shade asked casually as he refilled his own.
“Oh, yes, thank you,” Vice responded sharply.
“And how is Ms. Dash taking it? Was she willing to work with us?”
“Well—” Vice paused and thought back to his disastrous last encounter with Rainbow Dash over a week prior. “I think she may need some more convincing.”
Chuckling, Shade sat down across the table from Vice before levitating another drink to him. “Is that so? I suppose it’s not really surprising. The idealistic ones are always the most stubborn. Her friend, Ms. Sparkle, has been less than helpful as well. Another idealist, I think.”
Vice nodded. “If you say so. They do seem rather attached to one another. I kept an eye on Rainbow as you asked, and she’s definitely following Ms. Sparkle around.”
Nodding knowingly, Shade leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Of course she is. Really, that would explain this.” Shade levitated an invitation from the back of the room onto the table. “I’ve agreed to invest in a huge celebration at P3. I’m sure you’ve received an invitation as well.”
“I don’t really see how they are connected,” Vice commented. “Though I have received an invitation as well.”
“It’s really quite obvious. Ms. Sparkle and her merry little band of friends are trying to play heroes again.”
“Again?” Vice queried.
“Nevermind, I’m not here to lecture you on recent history. Now listen, I have an important task for you. You’re going to Appleloosa.”
“But I have plans tomorrow—”
Shade’s easy smile snapped away. He leapt up from his seat and leveled his gaze on Vice. “You listen to me very carefully. You’ve spent the past week dallying about on my dime. I’ve overlooked this because I consider you a valuable asset. Now, if you want me to continuing funding your little dalliances, you’ll listen to what I say.”
Nodding dumbly, Vice backed up uncomfortably on the couch.
Shade grunted. “Good. Take these tickets and catch the high-speed overnight commuter train to Canterlot. I’ve arranged for a brief stop in Appleloosa just past midnight. You are to get off and find Ms. Sparkle’s invention.”
“What if I get caught? I’m not exactly cut out for work that doesn’t involve sitting.”
“You’re not going to get caught,” Shade hissed. “You’re going to a town full of dirt-digging farm ponies. It shouldn’t be hard for you to slip on a pair of magical wings and fly yourself to the edge of town.”
“Why the edge of town?”
Shade sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Vice, just how stupid—and how did you manage to become manager for the Wonderbolts?”
“Well, I slept—”
“Nevermind!” Shade shouted. “Listen very carefully. The commuter train isn’t going to stop, it’s just going to slow down. You’re going to jump off the train and use those pretty little wings of yours to make your way into Appleloosa. Are you following?”
Vice nodded, already shocked by the sheer insanity that he was hearing.
“Good. From there, find Ms. Sparkle’s invention and take it to the edge of town. I’ll have an airship waiting for you. You’ll drop off the invention to them and they’ll take you the rest of the way to Canterlot. You should arrive around the same time as the train. And since the Aerodrome and the station are connected, when you depart the station, no pony will suspect you took a little detour. Understand?”
“I understand how perfectly crazy you think I am. You can fire me, I’m not your errand-pony,” Vice growled.
“And suddenly you grow a backbone.” Shade smirked. “Let me guess, you want a cut of the profits?”
“Well, I didn’t say that exactly.” Vice shifted his weight on the couch. “I suppose with a good enough offer, I can consider being just a little crazy.”
“Ha, a business pony to the core. Very well, I’ll grant you one percent of the profits Reagent Enterprises makes off the sale of Ms. Sparkle’s invention.”
“One percent? Are you serious? Ten.”
“Ten percent? Who do you think you are, you pile of flesh and feathers? I’ll give you two percent and not a bit more. If I weren’t uncomfortable pulling random pegasi off the street, I wouldn’t have even called you here in the first place.”
Sighing, Vice nodded. “Fine, though I want it in writing.”
“Done.” Shade fetched some stationary and quickly outlined the terms.
With a contract safely tucked in the breast pocket of his suit, Vice trotted out of Shade’s penthouse to the train station. With this job complete, he would never have to work a day in his life again.
* * *
Applejack yawned as she peered into a steaming pot of apples. She could tell with a single whiff that her specialty cider needed just a pinch more allspice. She dropped the lid on the counter and grabbed the spice-shaker in her mouth. Tilting her head toward the pot, she gave the shaker a little waggle, enough to get just the perfect amount of spice into the boiling jumble of apples, water, and sugar. She inhaled deeply and smiled. Nothing like making the perfect batch of cider for her friends.
On the counter behind Applejack rested a pink, glitter-covered invitation from Pinkie Pie. The beautifully written script was likely Rarity’s elegant horn-writing. Although the invitation didn’t mention Applejack needing to bring anything, she felt it wouldn’t be right if she didn’t share some of the bountiful harvest her friends had helped her gather a few weeks prior. She replaced the lid back on the pot of bubbling cider and breathed deeply. It was late, but it would all be worth it when she saw the bright smiles of her friends enjoying the famous Apple family cider.
Owing to the lateness of the hour, Applejack settled down on a chair in the kitchen and rested her eyes. She would need to cook the cider for at least another hour before straining the cider a few times to collect the leftover apple bits. Until then, she had little to do but wait and think about the future. With the autumn harvest completed and Celestia personally guaranteeing the protection of the Appaloosa farms, she felt in rather high spirits. Perhaps she could invite all her friends back to Appleloosa for Hearth’s Warming Eve. It had been years since she had a proper celebration.
Perhaps it was her own dedication to tradition and family that kept Hearth’s Warming alive in the Apple family. From what she could gather, Equestria wasn’t particularly keen on the holiday in the past few years. Most ponies focused on the time to acquire presents, bits, or whatever else they might want for the coming year. It was all about the gifts, and as much Applejack disliked the material obsession of the ponies around her, she drew solace in the fact that the small town of Appleloosa still maintained some semblance of the celebration.
A dull thumping sound from outside of the farmhouse caught her attention and snapped her eyes open. She looked around the kitchen and didn’t see what might have caused the source of the noise. She closed her eyes again and shrugged, guessing it was likely just a stray animal prowling about in the night hunting for varmints or whatever else animals did in the night.
However, a second, louder thump emanated from outside the farm house. Shuffling to her hooves, she trotted over to the window and peered outside into the darkness. The farmland around here stared back, dark as ever. Just as she was about to turn away, she spotted the faintest of light in the corner of her eye. She squinted toward the source, but the light was gone. Shrugging, she turned back to her pot of cider and adjusted the fire. She didn’t want the cider to boil over.
Another thump from outside distracted her once more. Peeved at all the noises, she turned around and stared out into the darkness. A flash of light just a ways from the house caught her attention. Concerned, she made her way outside and trotted carefully toward the source. Standing at a different angle, she could see the light much better. Specks of light glistened from inside Apple Bloom’s workshop. Clearing her throat, she stomped her hoof down. “Darn it sis, can you go one night without working late? I thought you said you went to bed!”
The light from inside the shed suddenly shifted, and she got no response from Apple Bloom. Frowning, Applejack trotted up to the shed and pushed open the door. “Apple Bloom, just what—” The words died in her mouth. In front of her was not Apple Bloom at all. Instead it was a pegasus. A strange pegasus with her sister’s prized invention strapped to his wings. She crouched into a defensive stance. “Who are you and what are you doing here?” she bellowed.
The pegasus tensed up and stared at her dumbly. He backed up, the lantern held in the bend of his wing quivering.
“I asked you a question. Why are you trespassing on my farm?”
“Sorry!” The pegasus yelped and flung the lantern at her.
Applejack cried out as the glass and oil splattered on her. She dropped to the ground and rolled in the dirt to stop the flames from spreading on her body. She could only watch helplessly as the pegasus dashed away from her and launched into the air. Just behind her, the dry wood of the shed took to the flames and the fire grew in earnest all around her. Crying for help, she dusted herself off and made for the well. The thief would have to wait, she had to save her sister’s inventions. Soon, the whole Apple family was roused and each pony desperately fetched buckets of water from the well to quench the flames.
* * *
Vice panted heavily as he flapped his way slowly to the rendezvous point. Collapsing in front of the parked airship, he knocked heavily on the door with his hoof. Seconds later, the door slid open and he looked up to find Shade standing there, his head shaking slowly. “A fine mess you’ve made of things, haven’t you?” Shade growled out.
Pulling himself up onto his hooves, he stumbled inside and collapsed down once more. “We gotta get out of here.”
Shade rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut. “I thought you were going to be discrete, not light their house on fire.”
“It was an accident! The orange pony cornered me. I was frightened!” Vice swallowed as he felt the familiar sensation of takeoff. After a few moments, he felt safer, and shed the MechaMagiWings off of his wings. “I don’t know how Rainbow Dash flew so quickly with those things. They weigh a ton and I could hardly fly in them.”
“Let me worry about that, Vice. As far as I’m concerned, your contribution to our little endeavor is over. When we get to Canterlot, you can make your way back to Las Pegasus, or wherever you want to go.”
“What about my—”
“You’ll get your money,” Shade responded coldly. He knelt down next to the MechaMagiWings and rubbed his hoof over the gems inlaid into the frame. “Tell me your secrets,” he whispered and channeled his magic.
* * *
Apple Bloom’s work shed burned long into the night. Despite the Apple family’s best efforts with buckets and brawn, nothing could be salvaged. By the rising of the sun, nothing remained beyond a smoldering husk and the ashes of Apple Bloom’s dreams. She sat quietly in the middle of the derelict building, her eyes glazed over, her mind barely registering the effect of the fire. Occasionally, she sniffed audibly and rubbed at her eyes with a soot-covered hoof.
Completely exhausted, Applejack slumped down next to her sister and threw a comforting foreleg around Apple Bloom’s shoulders. Gently, she grasped Apple Bloom’s bow and pulled it apart, letting the mane fall free. Carefully, she stroked the fabric over Apple Bloom’s face, clearing it of the leftover residue of a desperate but fruitless attempt to rescue the shed. As the cloth passed over Apple Bloom’s muzzle, she sneezed, blinked a few times, and the inevitable droplets of tears formed in the corner of her eyes.
Applejack said nothing. She wrapped her forehooves tighter around Apple Bloom and pulled her sister close. Her sister’s tears trickled down her shoulder and matted her fur, but her expression never changed. Her jaw set, her eyes stoney, as she stared out into the distance. She knew with one hundred percent certainty the MechaMagiWings was at the center of all this. If she found those wings, she would find the culprits and they would answer for their crimes.
By the time Apple Bloom cried herself out, Applejack had gone over the events dozens of times in her head. Gently, she heaved Apple Bloom’s unconscious, exhausted, body onto her back and slowly made her way back to the farmhouse. She tucked her sister into bed before wandering downstairs to the kitchen for a drink of water. There, she found Big Mac and Braeburn sitting around the kitchen table, their bodies covered in soot and their eyes laden with fatigue.
“Hey,” she croaked out, her throat long devoid of moisture. She made her way to the sink and drank deeply from the faucet until her thirst was quenched. Turning, she saw her pot of cider, the fire had obviously gone out at some point. She pulled off the lid and peered inside. Nothing but ashes greeted her. Sighing, she turned around and looked at her brother and cousin wearily. “We should get some rest.”
“Eyup,” Big Mac agreed and pulled himself up from the seat.
“I know we want to talk about what happened, but I think it’s best that it waits until we get some shuteye,” Applejack repeated.
Braeburn sighed and nodded. “Alright, cous. Though I’m not too happy with all the fire lately.”
Applejack cracked a wry smile and shook her head. “Neither am I. I’m hoping Twilight or Rainbow might have some clues as to why this happened.”
“So, you’re still going to the party?”
Smiling, Applejack hefted the pot from the stove into the sink. “I wouldn’t miss a chance to spend some time with my friends like this. When Apple Bloom wakes up, I’ll see if she wants to go too.”
“That might be for the best.” Braeburn nodded and followed Big Mac upstairs.
Applejack filled the charred pot with water and sighed. She didn’t have a gift for her friends any more. Apple Bloom’s work was ruined because she was a little careless. She didn’t exactly blame herself, but in a way, she always felt responsible for everything on the farm. Pushing the negative thoughts from her head, she sought the quiet confines of her bed. A little rest would help clear her mind and maybe offer some answers to the thousands of questions in her mind.
* * *
The sun was right where it was supposed to be.
Celestia stepped back from the window of her hotel room overlooking P3 and adjusted the glamor around her body. She didn’t want to be seen in her natural form out in Las Pegasus, especially since she was officially on vacation. Judging by the papers, Luna had done an excellent job explaining her absence in court. And even though the tabloids had a few disparaging things to say about the possible reasons for her absence, the general media kept things civil.
How the press perceived her was the least of her concerns at this point. Her focus remained on the pony sleeping somewhere in the building across from her. As far as she could tell, each day Twilight left in a carriage to one of the high-rise buildings in the city. Invariably, Rainbow Dash always trailed behind, albeit a little too obviously. And, although her knowledge of her kingdom was extensive, she couldn’t quite place her hoof on just why the carriage which Twilight rode in bothered her so much.
She considered asking Luna for help, but she knew her sister was already burdened by the weight of the country upon her lone shoulders. She could not bear levying further weight upon an already strained mind and body. Determined, she set out to placate her fears on her own. Luckily, watching Twilight the past week did wonders for her complexion. Each day, Twilight seemed perfectly content, perfectly safe—no. She checked herself there and returned to her bed.
The tenseness, the rigid way Twilight walked—there was something she wasn’t aware of. Flopping down atop the mattress, Celestria trawled her mind for clues. Anything that might give her a hint as to what might be coming. She called on a thousand of years of experience and felt useless. The sensation of always needing to have the answers and to be ready with a solution was a mounting pressure, and Celestia wanted nothing but to get away from it all.
Instead, she found herself thousands of miles away from her throne, the seat of governance for her beloved little ponies. Here in Las Pegasus, the sun seemed to shine more dimly, the rays filtered by countless layers of smog, glass, and concrete, leaving her feeling incredibly vulnerable. She needed to get away from the city just for a little bit. There, she could reveal her wings, spread them, and feel the warmth of her power wash over her and renew her spirit.
With a final longing glance at P3, Celestia trotted out of her room to the lobby below. From there, she made her way to the outskirts of the city at a brisk pace. She would only be gone for a few hours, more than enough to grant herself a little freedom.
* * *
The steady hiss of steam always greeted Shade when he arrived at his personal air-dock at the top of one of his many properties dotting the Las Pegasus skyline. From the moment his airship landed, a dozen work ponies would swarm over the vehicle to run maintenance checks, hook up the steam vents which kept the engine warm, and restock material contents of the interior of the airship.
However, this time, no ponies were allowed near the airship. When the airship door hissed open, Shade nodded sagely to his two personal security ponies. He directed them to a box covered with a white sheet. Without a word, the two ponies joined the other two ponies waiting inside the airship. Together, they carried the box to a service elevator. Shade joined them in the elevator. Safely out of view of his work-ponies, the main hangar door finally closed, and the access doors opened for the maintenance crew.
Secrecy was of utmost important here. Shade carefully directed his security ponies to his personal lab and shooed them away before opening the box once more. Inside the gleaming polished metal of the MechaMagiWings shone back at him. Delicately, he traced his horn over each of the gems inlaid in the metallic casings and searched for a clue in the latent magic locked within them.
Hours passed, and Shade’s head was matted with sweat. He was still no closer to unlocking the secret of the wings. He had anticipated a powerful magical power source within the wings, much like his SonicCrafts, but he could not find any magic beyond a simple shield spell and a stabilization spell. Instead, the gems seemed be tuned to pull power out of the wearer—which made even less sense. Any level of consistent drain would leave the user of the wings completely exhausted even after a short flight. Shade noted the results on Vice and added it to his mental notes.
Exhausted himself, he angrily kicked at the box containing the wings, and made his way out of his examination room. It was obvious now that reverse engineering was out of the question. Even if there was a hidden secret within the wings, the complete lack of a significant source of power baffled him completely. Furthemore, he was tired of waiting for results from Twilight Sparkle. He was convinced at this point, any work done by Twilight was likely a ruse for some ulterior motive. As much as he respected her for her intelligence, her skittishness around him indicated she was suspicious of his motives.
He turned away from the MechaMagiWings and exited his lab. Closing the door, he locked it and made his way back to his personal service elevator. Leaning back against the wood paneling, he rested his forehooves and pressed the button for his penthouse. As the elevator whirred to life, Shade considered his options. He could try to bring in more scientists to study the invention, but that would only further endanger the secrecy of the project. At this point, the only ponies who were aware of his actions last night was Vice. Vice wouldn’t talk with so much money on the line. But scientists were an ideal bunch, and money couldn’t always be used to buy their silence.
Even if he did assemble a suitable team, there weren’t any guarantees he would be able to decipher the secret of the wings. He needed Twilight’s help. And Twilight seemed less than willing to really dispense with any information. The only thing she had asked of him was any research he might have had related to the SonicCrafts. Which made sense at the time given the similar capabilities of both inventions. Unfortunately for him, Twilight’s invention seemed less liable to explode catastrophically.
Faced with no other choice, he sighed as he stepped into his penthouse. He picked up the magical transceiver and informed his secretary he wished to have a meeting with Doctor Fermi. Twilight was likely gone for the day, so he would have to ask her about her invention in great detail tomorrow, and he wasn’t about to broach the delicate subject of theft without being prepared. Perhaps with enough persuading, Twilight could help fill in the gaps in what he knew.
If not...there were always other options.
* * *
The steady thump of hoofsteps emanated from the back of the carriage which carried Twilight Sparkle from Shade’s research facility back to P3. She paced from one end of the short carriage to the other endlessly, only stopping occasionally to open her saddlebags to confirm the slim black notebook she found crammed behind several heavy-set books long unread in the lab. When the carriage stopped suddenly, Twilight, caught off balance, stumbled forward on her hooves right into the wall.
In an instant, the carriage door was pulled open and Rainbow Dash was at her side. She looked up, blinking away the confusion and smiled at the welcome presence of her constant companion. She pulled herself to her hooves, helped by the gentle wing pressed against her back. “I lost my balance when the carriage stopped.” She grinned awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head with a forehoof. “I have a lot on my mind.”
She smiled when Rainbow nodded wordlessly and they exited the carriage together. She waved thanks to the carriage driver before heading inside P3 with Rainbow. As they passed through the threshold, she couldn’t help but sneak one last glance at the black notebook tucked away in her saddlebags. When she turned back to Rainbow, she was greeted by a curious look from her companion. Understanding the curiosity, Twilight brought her hoof to her mouth and whispered softly. “We’ll talk upstairs.”
They rode the elevator in a companionable silence, the only interruption to their solace together was the ding of each floor as they passed through the lower levels of the hotel up to Rarity’s office. When they were safely sequestered away from curious ears and eyes, Twilight wiggled the saddlebags off her back and levitated the small back journal out from within.
“This,” Twilight punctuated with a little shake of the journal, “I think, is the personal research journal of one of the assistants in the lab during the development of the SonicCraft airships.”
“No way,” Rainbow responded.
“Yes, way.” Twilight laid the notebook out on the table. “I think it was missed because it was crammed between the pages of a large encyclopedia. Judging by the dates of the entries, I think it was lost accidentally by the staff when it was misfiled, and then jammed into another book.”
“Is it accurate?” Rainbow squinted at the ink-lined pages, but nothing really caught her interest.
“Well, given it’s location, I think it’s reasonable to consider it viable evidence. It does make a number of mentions to a unicorn by the name of Eclipse throughout the text.”
“Eclipse?” Rainbow scanned the two open pages rapidly until she found the name scrawled onto the margins. “The Eclipse? The one Highwind suspects Shade killed for her research?”
Twilight nodded grimly. “The one and the same. I’m fairly certain Shade did a clean sweep of the labs after the incident. If this journal hadn’t been sandwiched between the pages of a larger book, it’s likely they would have disposed of it as well.”
“So, what does it say? Can we arrest Shade now? I’m just itching to get that guy for what he’s done to Highwind.”
“Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to read it over yet. But I’ll go over it tonight. At this point all the evidence is circumstantial. Even with this journal, I think the extent of the proof we’ll have is just enough evidence to connect Shade to Eclipse. There’s certainly no way that will be sufficient to prove the crime of murder. If the source is credible, and I can find evidence of a motive in this journal, then maybe we’ll have enough.”
“Darn.” Rainbow huffed and scuffed the carpet with her hoof. “I was hoping you didn’t have to go anymore. I have a bad feeling about all of this.”
“You and me both.” Twilight smiled and closed the journal. “But you know what I don’t have a bad feeling about?”
Rainbow smiled back.
“This.” Twilight wrapped her forehooves around Rainbow’s neck tightly in a hug. “As long as I have this. I’ll be okay. I know you’re watching out for me. We’re working together to bring a bad pony to justice. It’s like we’ve always done, from the moment we met one another.”
“Heh, that’s true.” Rainbow extended a wing and wrapped it around Twilight’s back. “We do tend to get mixed up in a lot of stuff. I wonder if that’s your fault or mine.”
Twilight nuzzled into Rainbow’s neck, her voice no higher than a whisper so that only Rainbow to hear. “It’s our fault, because you and I can never let things just be. We always have to give it our all.”
“With a little luck, I think tomorrow will be the last time we’ll have to deal with Shade every again. It seems like Pinkie always knows exactly when to plan a party.” Rainbow swung her head and looked up at the ceiling. “I wonder how she does that.”
“You and I both know there’s no figuring out Pinkie.” Twilight giggled. “I think she’s just happy to throw a real party again, no matter the occasion.”
“I think that’s pretty lucky by itself. I hope more comes our way.” Rainbow grinned. “Any ideas on how we might do that?”
“Well...” Twilight blushed and pressed her lips to Rainbow’s cheek. “For luck,” she whispered.
Rainbow shivered from her wingtips to her back. “If that doesn’t work, I don’t know what will. But maybe you’re the one that needs luck?” Without another word, Rainbow pressed her lips to Twilight’s cheek. “I’ll come get you tomorrow, Twi. No more carriages.”
“I’d like that, Rainbow.”