“So... uhm...” Twilight fidgeted in the moonlight. “How exactly does this spell work?”
“Shhhhh...” Rainbow sat on a college rooftop, just beside the window looking in on the Sunset Suite. “Lemme concentrate.”
“Oh, right...” Twilight rolled her eyes. “We spent a whole afternoon arguing in a library and now you want quiet.”
“I'm serious, girl.” Rainbow frowned, placing a hoof to her pendant. “I missed my chance last month on account of wandering aimlessly through an antimagic desert. I'm a bit out of practice.”
“Right.” Twilight bowed, floating backwards. “I'm sorry.”
“Don't be.” Rainbow glanced aside. “Do you remember what we rehearsed?”
“Erm... yes.”
“You got your questions ready?” Rainbow squinted through the dim night air. “No matter how we shake it, this is gonna get awkward.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Let's just be quick about it and hope for the best.”
“Right.” Rainbow glanced up at the pale orb in the center of the night's sky. “Right right right... here goes...” She slowly stroked the ruby lightning bolt in gentle little circles.
Twilight watched with pursed lips as a silver aura emanated from the metallic surfaces of the Loyalty Pendant. Within seconds, a royal voice echoed along the wind, shaking the phantom unicorn to her very core.
“Rainbow Dash? Rainbow Dash, is that truly you?”
Rainbow gulped. “H-hey, Princess Luna.” She smiled crookedly in the glittering moonlight. “What's up?”
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, such boundless elation! There is no way to properly state just how ecstatic I am to once again hear your voice! When you missed the last moon cycle, I had feared... we had all feared the worst! And considering your last dire situation...”
Meanwhile, Rainbow looked at Twilight. She mouthed several mute words, swinging her forelimb for emphasis.
Twilight nodded in response. She floated closer to Rainbow's pendant, yelping: “Luna?! Princess Luna?! It's Twilight! Twilight Sparkle! Can you hear me?!”
Long silence. Followed eventually by: “Rainbow? Rainbow, are you there? I do certainly hope I did not imagine your voice just now.”
“Luna! Luna, can you hear me? It's Twilight!” Twilight repeated. When she got no response, she glanced up at Rainbow, grimacing.
Rainbow hung her head with a sigh.
“Rainbow...?”
Clearing her throat, Rainbow spoke up: “I'm here, Luna. You don't have to worry, Your Highness.”
“Needn't I? Rainbow Dash, it has been the space of two months! Surely some ill-fate had to have befallen you and your companions in order to make you incapable of communicating all this time!”
“My companions... are fine,” Rainbow said. “I'm fine too. As for the communication part, it's a super long story...”
“I would most certainly like to hear it! Consider all tasks set aside! My ears belong to you and you alone—”
“That's just the thing.” Rainbow coughed. “Look, Princess, I'm going to need you to fetch Princess Celestia.”
A brief moment of silence, then: “My sister? But, Rainbow, you know very well that she can't leave the rift in—”
“Right. Then fly to her.” Rainbow gulped. “Please? We... I need to talk to her. It's super... super important.”
“… … … very well. As you desire, Rainbow Dash. I shall bring this conversation into the company of Celestia.”
“And... uhm... since you're going to Ponyville...” Rainbow gazed aside at Twilight. “...wake Spike up too.”
Twilight bit her lip.
“Spike? He will surely be sleeping at this hour.”
“I know, but this is the most important conversation we've ever had... or will ever have.”
“Did you finally reach the edge of the world, my little pony?”
“Erm... no. Not yet. But believe you me... I... I-I just gotta speak to Celestia and Spike. Pronto.”
“Very well. As you wish. Forgive the space in time that this will take. Even with the powers of flight and teleportation, it will take a considerable amount of time to assemble the requested company at the sarcophagus.”
“Right. So long as you can get there by moonfall, Your Highness.”
“Fear not, Rainbow Dash, and await my signal.”
“Will do.”
“It... it is exceedingly great to hear your voice again.”
Rainbow smiled delicately. “You too, Luna. Now go fetch Celestia... erm... please.”
“Commencing with the 'fetch.'” And then the enchanted airwaves fell silent.
The night limped on. Frostily so. For the next hour and a half, Rainbow Dash paced around the rooftop ceaselessly. The distant roar of the crashing tide gave a haunted backdrop to the scene, and when Rainbow finally stopped to catch her breath, she noticed Twilight shivering off to the side.
“You okay, Twi?” Rainbow asked.
“Hmmm?” The unicorn glanced her way. “Oh, yes. Definitely.” Nevertheless, she produced a shuddering breath.
“You know, you don't have a body right now,” Rainbow said.
“You don't have to remind me,” Twilight muttered, quivering all over.
Rainbow arched an eyebrow. “Then how come you're shivering?”
The mare blinked, struggling to keep still.
“Hey...” Rainbow smirked. “It's gonna be alright. Just remember your questions, and we'll knock this out.”
“It's not that I dread what's about to happen, I just... just...” Twilight's voice dwindled into a breathy squeak.
“Don't faint on me now, Twi.”
Twilight squinted in Rainbow's direction. “Luna couldn't even hear me. What does that mean?”
“You're honestly surprised?” Rainbow shrugged. “No offense to the Royal Sisters or your undying respect for them, Twilight, but alicorns aren't exactly all that.”
“Rainbow...”
“Seriously. I mean, Luna and Celestia are totally awesome. Whitemane too. But you gotta remember, they discovered this piece of Urohringr. They didn't build it.” Rainbow tilted her gaze up at the moon. “Maybe the Sun and Moon belong to them, but there's stuff about this land that's way older than any alicorn ever.”
“And if it's something other than Harmony that's allowing you to communicate with me, then what is it?”
“I dunno. But something tells me that our think tank is about to double... maybe even quadruple.”
Just then, the air crackled with a familiar voice.
“I have returned, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said. “What's more, I am not alone.”
Rainbow perked up, grinning. “Alright. Let's get this show on the road. Celestia? Princess Celestia? Are you there, Your Highness?”
“Rainbow Dash...” Celestia's motherly tone enriched the air around them, positively warming Rainbow's coat through sheer inflection. “My sister informs me that you are in one piece. This is truly joyful news.”
Twilight inhaled, her eyes instantly watering. She held a hoof over her muzzle, blinking rapidly in Rainbow's direction.
Rainbow gave her a reassuring smile. Then, after a deep breath, she tilted her head back up. “It's good to hear from you as well, Celestia. Are you alone?”
“Indeed, I am not, as per your request.”
Just then, a deep voice growled: “Rainbow? Rainbow, is it actually you?”
Twilight did a double-take. “I... I don't get it. Who's the stallion in there with them?”
Rainbow held a hoof over the front of her pendant and spoke aside: “I don't think that's a stallion, Twi.”
Twilight stared. Then, after several seconds, she gasped again. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh...”
The voice continued: “After all these months, you're still alive? I-I mean... that's great! Good news and all. I'm just... well... it's a pleasant surprise! I didn't think Celestia and Luna would be asking me to speak to you in a million years... eheheheh... how are things, Rainbow?”
Rainbow took a deep breath. “Doing fine, Spike. Okay, look... we haven't got much time. Every hour of these three nights is super precious n'crud. So let's start out with a few important questions.”
“What kind of questions do you have in mind, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia's voice asked.
Rainbow fidgeted. “Well... I-I guess they're not so much questions as they are... they are...” She winced. “Okay, just wait and hear me out!” She flashed Twilight a look.
“N-now?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow nodded vigorously.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Uhm... When I was seven, and I-I had first entered Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, she lectured the class on 'Thermodynamic Spatial Sub-dimensions Within a Chaotic Sphere.' It was the first lesson I ever learned from her ever. I scored ninety-eight percent on the following quiz... and... and sh-she had to console me for an hour afterwards while I cried like a baby.” She blushed slightly.
Rainbow took a deep breath, tilted her head up, and spoke: “Princess Celestia, about... a dozen years ago, you gave a lecture at your School for Gifted Unicorns on... uhhh...”
“'Thermodynamic Spacial Sub—'”
“Right. Thermodynamic Spacial Sub-dimensions Within a Chaotic Sphere. It was Twilight Sparkle's first lesson after joining the school. Even though she scored ninety-eight percent on the test she had about it, she cried her eyes out, and you were there to sit her through it.”
Silence.
Rainbow bit her lip. “Is... is that true?”
“'Why... yes, Rainbow. That's a very delightful memory that I love to hang onto. What ever made you bring it up?'”
Rainbow shook her head at Twilight. “That's not enough,” she hissed.
Twilight nodded, then boldly said, “Three years later, I was wandering the Palace grounds, when I found Princess Celestia seated in the Royal Gardens, quietly sobbing. Though she never told me directly why, I noticed that... that she had a necklace in her possession with the emblem of a royal compass.”
Rainbow spoke loudly, “Celestia, a few years after that, Twilight found you sobbing on the Palace grounds. Like... in the Royal Gardens. And you had a pendant or a necklace with... a 'royal compass' engraved on it. Do you recall that?”
Dead silence.
“Rainbow Dash, I... I do not understand the meaning of this inquiry. What has inspired you to ask about—”
Rainbow gazed pointedly at Twilight.
Twilight closed her eyes, sighed, and blurted: “Prince Blueblood's great great grandfather was a royal guardspony named Captain North Star. He died saving Celestia from a manticore attack outside Stalliongrad.”
Rainbow said, “Prince Bluelbood's great great grandfather was Captain North Star. He died saving you from a manticore attack.”
An audible gasp filled the air, followed shortly by Luna's breathless voice: “Sister...”
Rainbow and Twilight stood in nervous silence, waiting.
Celestia's voice picked up again, and it was struggling to stay firm. “Rainbow, how... h-how could you possibly know of such a thing...?”
Twilight whimpered. “Oh gosh... she's hurt.” She gulped. “I-I promised never ever to tell anypony about that—”
“Spike!” Rainbow hissed at her. “Spike!”
“Er, yes, Rainbow?” the growling voice came into clarity. “What is it?”
Twilight composed herself and stammered: “'A Colt's Guide to Library Etiquette.'”
Rainbow blurted: “A Colt's Guide to Library Etiquette!”
“It's the first book I ever gifted Spike on his birthday.”
“It's the first book Twilight ever gave you for your birthday!”
“Uhhh... yeah. But what's that got to do with—?”
Rainbow motioned with her hoof.
Twilight fidgeted, leaning forward to whisper in Rainbow's ear.
Rainbow made a face. “Why are you whispering the next part—?” Just then, her eyes widened. Grimacing, she spoke to the air: “Uhhh... Spike? When you were... barely a hatchling, and Twilight took you with her to live inside the Royal Palace, you accidentally caused the fire to the West Wing. Or, more appropriately, she did... because... uh...” Rainbow squinted over her shoulder. “...Twilight thought she could housebreak you with a litter box full of dried-up old newspaper clippings.”
Twilight bit her lip, blushing furiously.
Rainbow looked back up at the moon. “Is that right?”
Eventually, Spike's voice cracked: “I... I don't get it. How do you know all this? Aren't you halfway across the dang world?!”
Celestia interjected: “Rainbow Dash, an explanation, if you please. How is it that you know these things? Did Twilight tell you before she perished?”
“No, Your Highness.” Rainbow gulped. “She told me them just now.”
“Just... now...?”
“Because Twilight Sparkle is alive, Princess Celestia,” Rainbow said. “At least in spirit. She appeared to me just as I crossed the Grand Choke, and her consciousness has been attached to me and my pendant ever since.”
Right that very second, the shadows of trees and buildings shifted. Rainbow was momentarily confused, until her peripheral vision caught the very moon wobbling in its orbit. Then, just as quickly as the lunar tremble had started, it was still again.
“Uhhh...” Rainbow blinked. “...Your Highness?”
“I have taken over the conversation, Rainbow Dash,” Luna boldly spoke. “So that my sister may reorient her meditation and keep Ponyville from succumbing to the rift.”
Rainbow merely clenched her teeth.
“Now... uhm... please...” Luna's voice cleared in a not-so-dainty fashion. “Would you kindly explain to us how this miracle has occurred...?”
Twilight giggled and bounced in place, smiling brightly.
Rainbow smirked. “Well, Your Majesty...” She winked towards the sky. “We were kinda/sorta hoping you might help us.”
It's no surprise that that would shake Celestia up so much she would lose her boundless concentration. This is going to be a long and emotional conversation; I can tell you that right now.
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
Well handled' Dashie. She's grown over the past few years of repeatedly dying.
Twenty five double crunches. Lay on the ground with your hands behind your head, and your legs at a 90 degree angle, then bring your elbows and knees together. That's one. Knock 'em out!
...Whoa. Not earth-shattering news, but definitely moon-moving.
So, looks like it's going the "no one can hear Twilight except Rainbow" route. I was expecting more feels, but let's wait and see. The conversation's only just begun...
Heh. I bet Princess Celestia just did the most epic of spit takes. Rainbow Dash can now boast that she's so awesome she can make the moon quiver.
Ooh. Looking forward to these next few chapters.
Well damn. I guess it would've been too easy for the others to be able to hear her. But that was a pretty clever way to break the news while simultaneously lending credibility to her claim. The next however-many chapters ought to be both interesting and feels-inducing.
Also, I hope Best Princess will rejoin the conversation once she's composed herself.
Hopefully Velvet and Night Light will also get the good news.
I just hope that little thing didn't affect the rift etc all that much. Reorienting mediation sounds like she really dropped the ball as well as the moon.
Twi sounded so happy to hear Spike's voice...and if anything, it sounds like the little guy has grown a bit.
This got me to smile, like big. Thank you IC.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
OH BOY
THINGS ARE ABOUT TO START HAPPENING ALL AT ONCE
AW SHIT
GOD DAMN RAINBOW WUT R U DOIN
This is going to be some insane 3 night conversation. Hopefully they can at least figure some things out
Wonder what all those night ponies out watching the sky think of the moon wobbling?
Honestly, if I saw our moon do that, I'd piss my pants.
What just happened with the moon? . . . Was that the chaos rift affecting the surroundings or just Luna taking over?
Somewhat disappointed that she can't speak directly, but I've been hoping for this moment since Silvadel, which was around when I realized that the friends were pepsi
static3.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/Feels+good+man+_4775ba6a4615a88d5769aa319a91be05.gif
5850537
I think its just Luna being so shocked that her Moon shook with her.
s29.postimg.org/6ab0l0kt3/Yk_An1e_P.gif
I'm loving this. Dash is a whole lot smarter than she used to be. Hope that the rift is okay.
I will now believe that Older!Spike has Barry White's voice.
Luna says Dash missed a month of calls. I cant remmeber if she called before hitting ValRoa at all, but that means it also only took her at most two months to cross the Grand Choke, both desert side, and ocean side, at greatly reduced speed, through antimagic. At absolutely best, that would be a thousand miles each month, keeping up with relative sized of equivalent parts of USA and Atlantic?
Also, Moon might wobble, but the Sarcophagus needs repairing.
If the moon is an actual construct, not just magical, shouldnt the ground ripple slightly depending on speed of light distance if physics accounts for anything etc, or is it just a very large lashlight in the sky?
Huh.
Woo! Lulu returns!
This also means we could even get an update from the D!
5850878
It was mentioned that RD tried calling the moon once, but the antimagic screwed with the connection.
What's the worst that could happen? Besides Celestia being disturbed enough to let the chaos rift get away for a second or two. No biggie.
But seriously, Celestia and Luna actually took that way better than I expected. Waiting to see how Spike responds
5850878
Both sun and moon are mainly a large flashlights in the sky if I recall the explanation correctly from an earlier book. Luna and Celestia can only make the sun and moon appear and float across the sky from east to west on only one side of the world. The other side of the world is supposedly, actually, figuratively always dark.
Suffice to say, Luna who now controls both moon and sun must have almost lost her focus on the spell, or the spell controlling the chaos rift was slipping and affected the spell.
5850980
He knows we want the D...
5850533
5851019
I'm thinking he's just staring at nothing with his mouth hanging open and his mind going BSOD.
Wow all of those little stories about Celestia and Spike were actually kind of touching in and of themselves. I am eagerly awaiting the rest of this conversation, that's for sure.
5850524 I think that Rainbow and Twilight did think this through actually, that was a clever way to get them to beleive her without convincing them all that she was just insane.
5850276 I think that this chapter and the last few were a masterful way to show just how far our prismatic fuzz ball has come in terms of her character, I mean, we are bouncing her off of S2 premier Twilight who hasn't been through Tartarus and back. Saying that she has come a long way feels like an almost comical understatement now...
Rainbow, you better remember to tell Celestia to tell the Durandanans that you're alive, so they can fly and tell the Jurists
5851019
I choose to believe that the moon wobbled because Spike set Luna's mane on fire. Think about it, that kind of shock to a dragon, in an enclosed space like the sarcophagus. You're just asking for trouble.
5851180 Nah, I consider it the immortal equivalent of having to pick ones jaw up from the floor where one has dropped it.
These next chapters are going to be packed with emotion (the positive kind, thankfully).
Incidentally, Rainbow has now been on is trip for at least a year and a half (well, assuming an
EquestrianUrohringrian year is 12 months).5850592
I think that Celestia was so shocked she completely lost her control over the chaos rift. Luna had to jump in and help her, leaving the Moon out of control.
I know I shouldn't, but I'm surprised by how smart Rainbow is being.
Usually she sticks to her "stupid works" idea.
It shows how much she's grown.
I think I might start crying right now.
5850283 i can just imagine Zaid: "i bet she's not the only one if you get what I'm saying" *smack*
She should talk to Scoots.
astronomers be like
wat
5851180 Headcannon updated.
5850342
Thank you for this wonderful diagram.
I knew this was going to be awesome. Dash really did well, and the plan was brilliant. I can't wait for what's to come.
I laughed harder at these than I should have.
Meanwhile all across the world Astronomers of every Class and creed are beginning a mad panic, THE MOON IS FALLING!
5850342 HOW
For some reason I love this line.
Bombs away, no easy way to break something like this, as shown when the Moon was left unattended briefly.
Yeah yeah, just drop a bombshell on the pony keeping the chaos rift from devouring everything. Yeah, that's totally fine.
6581155 At least she didn't faint.
That was awesome! Their reaction to the news was probably the best thing ever. I'm glad they know now though, and now they can all get caught up on everything that's happened since they last talked. Woohoo!
~SolidFire