//------------------------------// // Study Four: The Sonic Rainboom // Story: An Earth Pony's Guide to Magic // by Sereg //------------------------------// A/N: I LIVE! Okay, sorry that this took a while even for me considering the fact that it’s of lower length and plot intensity than average. Real life has not been kind to me recently. On the plus side, I now have an account at FIMfiction dot net for those who would rather follow and comment there (like normal, I’m Sereg). I’ve also started a blog there as it comes standard so you can complain to me if I’m being slow among other things. Also, seriously, thanks for the support and please talk to me, I appreciate comments. For those who were wondering, yeah, I was referring to the fact that many consider it a sin to try explain Pinkie when I called last chapter controversial. For a long time, I left the dates of these events vague as I wanted to avoid being jossed where possible. My basic plan was to have them occur as late as possible in season 2 or if possible right after season 2. I now know that the most feasible time is for the events to have begun before the end of season 2, but end afterwards and that the wedding has to occur around here. As such, the wedding happens right after scene 1 (That episode was awesome by the way). Study 4: The Sonic Rainboom “So Star Swirl, how was your week? Did you enjoy your time at the farm?” Dr. Drop asked. “Oh, it was very interesting!” Star Swirl smiled. “And I learned a form of magic that I’m good at!” she squealed. “Not to mention learning more about Pinkamena Diane Pie, Bearer of the Element of Laughter! Unfortunately, I can’t copy her abilities.” Her face fell. “Well!” said Dr. Drop. “That’s still very impressive. And remember that even for us unicorns, knowing more than a few spells is very unusual.” “But I’m the descendant of Star Swirl the Bearded!” Star Swirl complained with a voice that bordered on a whine as she swung a hoof into the air. “He invented over two hundred spells! Why can’t I be as amazing as him!? Why can’t I be an amazing magic user of legend!?” “We all have our own purposes in life,” said Dr. Drop. “Do not be upset that yours is not the same as your ancestor’s.” “But how can I live up to him if I can barely use any magic at all!? How am I supposed to feel if my cutie mark tells me that I’m supposed to be like him if he’s an amazing mage and I can barely use the magic of my own tribe?!” “We are more than our cutie marks, Star Swirl,” Dr. Drop replied. “Two ponies with the same talent can be very different.” “But why do I have to be different from him!?” Star Swirl said. “Because you’re not the same pony,” replied Dr. Drop. “Do you really think that your ancestor would want you to be exactly the same as him? Why should you go and invent all the spells that he did if he’s already done so? Stand on his accomplishments and do something new.” “I... see...” said Star Swirl. “Well, do you have any ideas?” “Well, I was going to try studying Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty’s sonic rainboom next.” “I... see,” said Dr. Drop as the pegasus terminology flew over her head. “Well, I hope you enjoy it because we’re out of time for this session. See you next week.” --- Star Swirl was glad that she had stayed in Canterlot for the wedding between Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor Sparkle. While the invasion was scary, the changelings were fascinating and she wished that she had a better opportunity to study them. Their magic seemed to have similarities to that of an alicorn and that transformation magic was just so wonderful. If only she could do something like that. Then of course, she had actually seen the sonic rainboom of Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty! It had seemed really familiar but she decided that she needed a better look at it for a proper study. Still, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony had been busy at the wedding themselves, so it wasn’t like she had made an avoidable delay in her studies.   “Hey there!” called a voice as she left Ponyville Station once again. “Hi! You’re Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh, aren’t you?” Star Swirl turned around to see a very familiar looking green unicorn with a lyre cutie mark. She was standing next to a cream coloured earth pony and was waving enthusiastically while wearing a large smile. “Yes, I am,” replied Star Swirl. “And you’re Lyra Heartstrings. How do you know me?” “I was at the party! I love parties! Especially Pinkie’s parties! They’re so much fun! And you’ve also come up in conversations a few times. But how do you know me?” Lyra asked while bouncing up and down with a massive grin. “You’re Lyra Heartstrings who was entered into Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns due to her musical abilities,” replied Star Swirl. “I looked up all the unicorns whose stay at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns overlapped that of Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic’s. Plus, you were one of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s bridesmaids.” “Oh right,” said Lyra as she stopped bouncing. Then her mouth drooped and her eyes filled with tears. “When we asked Cadance why she was acting so strange, she put us in that horrible cave! It was so awful!” she bawled. “Lyra. You’re safe now. No point in crying,” said the earth pony accompanying her as she rolled her eyes. “Oh, right, the monster who was pretending to be Cadance was beaten! Yay!” she instantly perked up. “Anyway, Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh, I just wanted to say that Bon Bon and I can totally relate to wanting to be something that you’re not and so we’re supporting you!” She indicated the earth pony standing next to her. “Hey! Don’t pull me into this!” said Bon Bon. “I don’t want any part of your weird hobby!” Did her voice just change? wondered Star Swirl as she raised her eyebrows and lifted her head in astonishment. “Hey! I don’t criticise your hobbies!” complained Lyra as she pointed at Bon Bon. “And they’re what I’m talking about! You’re always speaking in the voice of one of the characters from your plays! That’s how much you want to be them!” “Ah’m jus’ practicin’! It’s called gettin’ inta character!” replied Bon Bon in a third voice. “Exactly!” Lyra nodded as if this proved her point. “Hiya Bon Bon! Hey there, Lyra! Hello Star!” came a familiar voice. “I brought Dashie like you wanted, Star!” Star Swirl turned around and came face to face with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. “Hey Star,” said Rainbow. “Pinkie told me that you wanted to see my Sonic Rainboom.” Star Swirl brightened at the sight of the two mares. “Oh yes, Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty! I really want to see it again! Up close!” Rainbow smirked. “In the same place that you did your first one!” Rainbow lost her smirk. “The same place I did my first one? Why?” “I want to better understand the conditions under which the first one formed,” Star Swirl explained. “Especially as it led to Pinkamena Diane Pie, Bearer of the Element of Laughter earning her cutie mark and discovering her powers.” “But I was in Cloudsdale at the time!” said Rainbow Dash, pointing in the direction of her home town. “How are you going to get there?!” Star Swirl’s face drooped. “You’re right. How could an earth pony like me get into Cloudsdale?” “Why don’t you ask Twilight to use her magic?” asked Pinkie. Star Swirl brightened again. “Having Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic use her spell on me would be so awesome!” “All right! Then let’s go see her,” said Rainbow. --- “You want to go to Cloudsdale?” asked Twilight. “Specifically, to the exact place that Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty first performed a sonic rainboom,” Star Swirl explained. “But Rainbow, didn’t you say that you did it in the middle of a racing course in Flight Camp?” asked Twilight. “Yeah, so?” “So, are there any clouds suitable for watching from that point?” “Um, now that you mention it, I suppose that there aren’t,” Rainbow replied as she placed a hoof behind her head and looked off to the side. “But I could put some there!” “And Cloudsdale will have no problem with you placing a bunch of clouds in the race track for training foals, who are likely to end up flying through the clouds, losing their way and crashing?” asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, right,” said Rainbow Dash. “But it should still be fine if I only bring a few. And we can get somepony else to move Star’s cloud when she needs it!” “I suppose that that could work.” Twilight tapped her chin. “So, does this mean that you’re willing to use the spell?!” asked Star Swirl as she eagerly leaned forward. “I guess that it should be fine.” Twilight shrugged. “Yay! Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic is casting a spell on me! This is so cool!” “All right. Calm down. And you can seriously stop addressing us so formerly. You aren’t in Canterlot anymore,” requested Twilight. She scrunched up her face and closed her eyes as her horn and Star Swirl’s body were enveloped in a red aura. When the aura dissipated, Star Swirl gasped and lifted a hoof to her grinning face. “This is amazing! Your magic has reconfigured itself to align with my own body, whilst providing the natural pegasus buoyancy to atmospheric water!” “That is how it works, yes.” Twilight smiled. “It’s good to discuss this with somepony who understands the intricate details of magic.” “Oh, I’d love to talk about this some more!” “But we’ve got to head off to Cloudsdale, so it’ll have to wait,” said Rainbow Dash. “Didn’t we decide that you needed help with that?” asked Twilight. “And I know the perfect pony!” “Who?” asked Twilight. “Fluttershy, of course!” “Fluttershy Posey, Bearer of the Element of Kindness is going to help us!?” squealed Star Swirl as her grin widened. “I can’t wait to meet her!” “Fluttershy’s last name is Posey?” asked Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Yes. I had to go through the archives to find that out!” “She doesn’t spread it around,” explained Rainbow Dash. “Apparently, some of the fillies in flight camp teased her about having an earth pony last name. As if that ever held me back!” “That’s awful!” said Star Swirl. “A name shouldn’t make you feel ashamed!” “Well, I think that she’s better about her past these days,” said Rainbow Dash. “Let’s go see her.” --- Rainbow dash flew overhead, leading Star Swirl to Fluttershy’s cottage. Star Swirl hurried to keep up. She was excited to meet the last of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and didn’t want to get lost after all. She slowed down as Rainbow Dash landed in front of a door at the edge of town. It appeared to be the entrance of a hollowed out hill. Rainbow rapped her hoof on the door. “Hey! Fluttershy! You in there?” she called out. The door slowly opened and the edge of Fluttershy’s face came into view. “Rainbow Dash? Is that you?” she asked. “Fluttershy Posey, Bearer of the Element of Kindness! It’s such an honour to meet you!” squealed Star Swirl as she charged forward. “Oh, um...Hello,” replied Futtershy as she flattened her ears, lowered her gaze and backed away from the door. “Um, just Fluttershy is fine.” “Hey Fluttershy! This is Star Swirl,” Rainbow Dash introduced her with a wave of her hoof before flying closer and whispering “She’s a bit weird about names, but don’t let it bother you.” “Oh...Um...All right. If you say so Rainbow Dash.” “May we come in?” Rainbow asked. “Um...Sure. Go ahead if that’s what you want.” She opened the door wider and led them inside. “I really am so glad to finally meet you, Fluttershy Posey, Bearer of the Element of Kindness!” cried Star Swirl. “You know about me, Star Swirl?” asked Fluttershy as she cowered. “Call me Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh. It’s more accurate,” said Star Swirl. “And of course I know you! Everypony should! You’re amazing!” “I am? Everypony!? Oh my! Eep!” Fluttershy lowered her head until it was hidden behind her hooves. “Yes, I even have copies of all your photographs from your modelling career!” “Oh dear. I...um...didn’t like modelling.” “But you were so good at it!” cried Star Swirl. “At least I assume that you were. I actually know nothing about the fashion industry, but you seemed to be pretty successful and you’re Fluttershy Posey, Bearer of the Element of Kindness! How could you not be?!” “Um...Please just call me Fluttershy. I...prefer it...if that’s okay with you.” “But...” began Star Swirl before stopping at Rainbow’s glare. “All right. I’ll try. It’s just so difficult to talk about ponies as if nopony has ever had that name before. As if, all the other ponies who had that name should just be forgotten like Star Swirl the Bearded was. I don’t want that to happen to anypony else. Especially a pony as wonderful as you.” “That’s so sad,” said Fluttershy. “But just because we use simpler names, doesn’t mean that we’re forgetting all those other ponies.” “I suppose that you’re right,” Star Swirl sighed. “Anyway, Star and I are here to ask for a favour,” said Rainbow. “A favour?” asked Fluttershy. “Yes. We were hoping that you would assist us,” explained Star Swirl. “Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic cast a spell to give me the ability to walk on clouds-”Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at this. “-but I need the aid of another pegasus to move the cloud on which I’ll be standing while I watch Rainbow Dash, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty perform her sonic rainboom in Cloudsdale.” “You...want me to...position a cloud in Cloudsdale?” asked Fluttershy. “Yes, could you do that for us, Fluttershy Po-“ “Star, Fluttershy’s my oldest friend. Don’t make her uncomfortable,” warned Rainbow. “Right, sorry.” Star Swirl grinned sheepishly and blushed as she lowered her head. “Do you mind doing that for us?” “All right...if...that’s what you want.” --- Fluttershy slowly lowered Star Swirl onto the cloud. “Um...Is that okay, Star?” she asked. “Yes, thank you Fluttershy...Bearer...” Rainbow Dash glared at Star Swirl. “Thank you.”           “Right, so how do you want me to do this?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I’m a lot faster than when I was a filly, so the sonic rainboom will be a lot easier to pull off now.” “I need you to try to recreate the conditions of your first sonic rainboom as much as possible. The same speed, same turn angles, same position of the rainboom, everything.” “Pfft. Easy peasy.” “Well, where will the sonic rainboom happen?” asked Star Swirl. “You see that cloud hoop?” Rainbow asked, pointing at the lowest circle of cloud. “It’ll be right there.” “Fascinating. And what will the angle of the sonic rainboom be? I need to know what plane I’ll be working with.” “Well, it’ll be flat.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “So parallel to the ground. Very well. I’ll need the cloud to be lower then. I want to be in the path of the sonic rainboom.” “Are you sure?” asked Fluttershy. “That doesn’t seem very...safe.” “Sacrifices must be made for magical progress!” announced Star Swirl as she raised a hoof into the air. “Besides, how bad could it be?” “Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be fine, Fluttershy,” added Rainbow as she waved a hoof dismissively. “All right. If you’re sure.” She slowly lowered the cloud until it was level with the hoop. Then Rainbow flew off. But it wasn’t long before she was in sight again. This time as a rainbow streak, rushing through the loops at supersonic speed. She soon rose into the air before diving again as she accelerated. The cone around her narrowed as her speed increased before beginning to shimmer with various colours and electricity sparked around her. The cone gave way as she reached the lowest hoop and it exploded in an array of colours and a thundering sound as Rainbow instantly rose again in an acute angle as a rainbow trail followed her. The rainboom she left behind quickly spread and rammed into Star Swirl at high speed. She was surrounded by colour and her skin stretched from the force as the cloud was swept backwards. She clung to the cloud, yet still slipped back, a rear hoof falling off the edge. She tingled and struggled to breathe as her body was soaked in magic. She felt the sparks of electricity from the loose electrons wash over her with the wave and witnessed the atmospheric distortion which broke up the light.She let out a gasp as the wave passed and the ringing in her ears stopped. Stopped? Why weren’t their bells ringing around her head? Then she noticed that despite her mane standing on end, her head felt rather naked. She leaned over the edge of the cloud and sure enough, her hat had landed on the ground. Her lip quivered, but she stayed strong. While she loved that hat, it was a duplicate of her role model’s and reminded her of her connection to him after all, it would be easy to fetch and she had work to do. She had felt the magic in the rainboom easily this time and not only could she analyse it now, but she recognised why it felt familiar. She had been in Canterlot Library as she often was. While the research of the earlier Star Swirls had ensured that her family was nobility and fairly well off, she didn’t want to merely live off her inheritance. An attitude her parent’s approved of despite the fact that that was what she essentially still did. After all, without knowing the meaning of her cutie mark, not having the physical capabilities of an earth pony and missing the magic of a unicorn, it was difficult to find a place where she could be productive. She enjoyed being a student though and she loved to read. So she spent a lot of time in the library, hoping to find inspiration in addition for her quest for more information about her ancestor. She even worked there part time for a while, hoping to one day gain access to the Star Swirl the Bearded wing. But that didn’t last as she wasn’t actually very good at placing books on the higher shelves. Still, she loved books as they were a means to import knowledge from one to another. She always respected that. It was noble. There was a reason that she revered her teachers. On this particular day, however, she was busy climbing the ladder with her long, spindly adolescent legs with a book she had just finished rereading in her mouth in an attempt to reshelve it on the Star Swirl the Bearded shelf. It was in an out of the way corner of the library, but was right next to a window which had a lovely view of Cloudsdale. She was just slowly and carefully lowering the book onto its shelf, when there was a large boom and her eyes filled with colour. She immediately fell over, scraping the ladder against the shelf and knocking over all the other books which landed on top of her a split second after she hit the floor. “Star Swirl! What have you done!?” Book Mark, the head librarian had whispered angrily. “I’m sorry...I’ll clean it up...but...I’m Star Swirl the Hundred and Forty Seventh...none of the other Star Swirl’s would have done this.” Star Swirl blinked. She wasn’t a helpless filly anymore. Sure, she still hadn’t found the meaning of her cutie mark or a way to fit in society, but she liked Ponyville and had made a lot of progress in her studies. Speaking of which, it was time to put her hat back on and discuss what she had learned. “Do you mind putting me back down on the ground? I seem to have dropped my hat.” “All right,” Fluttershy offered, before plucking Star Swirl up and slowly lowering her to the ground. “Thank you.” Star Swirl picked up her hat with her teeth an awkwardly flung it round until it landed on her head, before pressing a hoof down on it to properly fit it. Rainbow Dash flew over. “So, what did you think? Was I amazing?” “Yes! You were completely amazing!” Star Swirl cried. “Your magic boosted your wings' abilities and propelled you to well over the speed of sound! Then, they ripped away the electrons around you in sparks of electricity, ionizing the atmosphere around you and generating a prismatic effect from the light refraction which spreads in a wave of magic along with the pressure generated with the sonic boom! The concentration of magic in the spreading bubble is enormous and can easily explain the awakening of the abilities of Pinkamena Diane Pie, Bearer of the Element of Laughter as the additional concentration of magic in the atmosphere acted as a catalyst! I’m sure that many other ponies had similar awakenings of their abilities!” “I’m not sure what that means, but I’m guessing that that’s the egghead way of telling me that I’m awesome. Am I right?” asked Rainbow. “That’s a rather good summary, yes!” “Rainbow Dash helped all of our closest friends get their cutie marks. So it looks like you’re right,” explained Fluttershy. “Wow! Fascinating. To think that the magic of a pegasus played such an important role. I clearly have a lot to learn about magic,” said Star Swirl. “Let’s head back to Ponyville. I have to plan a visit to the spa.” A/N: The spa? Some of you may be wondering. Next chapter is mainly tying together a few loose ends before the meatiest chapter. As such, the theme will be a little less...structured than the others, but Fluttershy will be the most important character after Star herself and as such, the title will relate to her. I’ve been planning a Lyra and Bon Bon scene for ages and it happened to fit in perfectly here, so there you go. Any comments, queries etc., I’ll be happy to hear them. I eventually went with Posey for Fluttershy’s last name in reference to the G1 pony she was based on and the fact that there’s also been a pony named “Rosey Posey”, making it a valid last name. It also fits with the fanon that Fluttershy is part earth pony and I see that the Lunaverse recently independently chose the same last name for her.