//------------------------------// // Burning Skies // Story: Rainbow Unicorns: Boast Blasters // by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof //------------------------------// In an open field far from the edges of Ponyville, the unicorn Rainbow Burst and dragon Spike stood staring up at the sky. Their eyes were narrowed as they scanned across the blue skies between them and town, with Spike holding up a claw to block out the sunlight. Rainbow's ears pulled back and tail flicked with frustration as she let out a huff. "How hard can it be to find one stinking cloud?" "Pretty hard, I'd guess," Spike answered. "I mean, I haven't sniffed a lot of clouds, but I doubt they normally stink. If they did, wouldn't everything smell horrible after it rained? Or when it was foggy?" "Oh, har har," Rainbow Burst said as she rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Spike." Turning to face her, Spike grinned. "Yeah, but it's not as much fun." He returned his attention toward town. "But, seriously, it's supposed to be clear skies all week, and you know how Twilight is about her job. There probably isn't a cloud in five miles of Ponyville." Rainbow let out a snort as she resumed looking at the sky, trying to catch sight of their friend. She could, technically, wait, but did not want to. This was going to be something awesome. Something truly spectacular. She just had to try it out. Besides, aside from the lack of clouds, it was perfect. The ground was slightly damp, the sky was clear, and they were a safe distance from Ponyville, and no other ponies were around to get caught up in any problems. "I think I see her!" Spike called out, pointing. Off in the distance was a streak of purple across the otherwise blue sky. It approached toward the waiting duo quickly, growing larger and larger. As it got closer, a large, fluffy white cloud could be seen, as was the pony that was pushing it and leaving the contrail in her path. The pony -- Twilight Comet -- came to a stop above the waiting pair, leaving the cloud above them as she came to land beside them. "Okay," Twilight said as she ran a hoof through her mane. "I got you a cloud. Now, why did you want me to bring it all the way out here? What do you need it for, anyways?" A wide grin spread across Rainbow's face as she turned to look at her friend. "I'm so glad you asked." She then turned to the cloud. "I'm going to blow it up." "....what?" "I'm going to blow it up," Rainbow Burst repeated. "I'm going to use my magic, and make it explode in a massive fireball. KA-BOOM!" Her grin became a smile, although still very wide. "It's going to be... so... awesome..." A groan escaped Twilight Comet as she gave a shake of her wings, shaking her head. "We've been over this. You can't set a cloud on fire." "Not yet," Rainbow replied, "but I can blow it up." "No," Twilight stated firmly. "You can't!" "Wanna bet?" The question made Twilight pause, considering the possibility. She may not have been a unicorn, but she was a pegasus. A pegasus that worked in weather, no less. She knew about rain, clouds and water. Water, which was something used to put fires out, not create them. She may not have known much about unicorn magic, but she did know it had limits. There was no way a cloud could be made to explode any more than it could be made out of cotton candy. The problem was there was not really anything that she wanted from Rainbow. "What did you have in mind?" she asked, trying to buy time to think. Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she smirked. "When I blow up the cloud, you have to spend a week helping clean and organize the library." A thought suddenly came to Twilight. "Okay," she agreed. "But when you fail, you have to attend the next Canterlot Comic Book Convention with Shiny and me. And -- " she held up a hoof " -- you have to go dressed up as Mane-iac." "What?" Rainbow yelped out, eyes going wide. "We didn't say anything about costumes." She straightened back up, ears pulling back. "In that case, you... you need to wear a prench maid uniform while you help at the library." "Deal," Twilight said, holding out a hoof. Rainbow shook it. "Deal!" She then turned to the cloud. "Now, be prepared to see something awesome!" "Mm-hm," Twilight hummed as she walked ten steps away before turning around. "I think here --" she plopped down "-- will be just fine." "Are you sure?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know how big this explosion is going to be. You don't want to be too close if it's big." "You're not worried about getting hurt," Twilight pointed out. "I have a shield spell." "You're not worried about Spike." "I'm fire proof," Spike replied. "The fire won't hurt me." "But the concussive force could still damage your eardrums." Spike opened his mouth to reply, then stopped. He let out a hum as he rubbed his chin, considering this. "Yeah," he finally agreed. "It could. I don't want to go deaf from this." He then started sprinting away from Rainbow Burst and the cloud, stopping when he was finally twenty-five feet away. "Okay," he called out. "Should be good from here." "You gonna join him?" Rainbow asked, turning to Twilight and raising an eyebrow. Twilight Comet shifted, licking her lips as her ears and wings gave a flicker. She shifted to look from Rainbow to Spike and back. "Uhm... well... I guess I should." She turned. "I mean... it's not going to work... but, I don't want to be too close in case of... lightning... or something." With a quick flick of her wings, she flew over to where Spike stood and landed beside him. "It will work!" Rainbow shouted. "Just watch and see!" Turning around, Rainbow Burst looked at the cloud and started to draw on her magic. She had to block out all distractions and concentrate. Especially since she was casting multiples spells, as well as trying something new and complicated. The energy collected around her horn, flickering and shifting as it was held in place by Rainbow's will. Putting as much concentration into it as she could muster, the rainbow maned unicorn shaped and prepared the magic, aiming for the cloud. Rainbow unleashed most of her power to blast her target. As soon as she did, she pulled up a shield dome around herself. A deafening boom filled the air as the cloud was suddenly engulfed in flames. As quickly as it happened, it came to an end, the sky once more clear and blue. Dropping her shield, Rainbow blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to get the afterimage clear of her vision. "See?" she called out as she turned to where she thought her friends were. "Didn't I tell you it would be awesome?" Twilight Comet sat where she had been, eyes wide and blinking quickly. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, little squeaks escaping her throat. "H...hu...ha...how...how... How?" she finally settled on. "HOW? HOW?!" She pointed at the spot the cloud had been. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!" "I know!" Rainbow said, bouncing in place as she looked at the clear sky again. "Isn't it great? I can now make clouds explode in a massive fireball. KA-BOOM BABY!" Twilight Comet was suddenly right in front of Rainbow Burst. Grabbing her muzzle, she pulled her face to face, nearly touching. "Hhhhhhoooooowwwww?" "Oh," Rainbow said. "You want to know how? Why didn't you just say so?" One of Twilight's eyes twitched. "Okay," Rainbow started. "So, we found this book written by a unicorn that called himself Tin Hoof. He was big into something called alchemy, which mostly seemed to be about making gold and finding a way to be immortal. He never managed to do either, although he did discover some really cool stuff. For example, it turns out that water is made from this gas. He didn't give it a name bu--" "Hydrogen." "...what?" "It's hydrogen," Twilight explained. "I studied a little bit of chemistry when I was first applying for weather patrol. Water is made of oxygen, which is what we breathe to live, and hydrogen, which... is..." With a groan, Twilight smacked herself in the face. Rainbow Burst smirked as her eyes narrowed. "Which is what?" she asked, leaning in close and raising an eyebrow. She did already know the answer, but was enjoying watching the other mare realize it. "Hydrogen, in it's natural state, is highly combustible provided it has oxygen to burn," Twilight stated. "So all you would need to do, is figure out how to separate the two gases, then ignite the hydrogen gas, which would explode, mainly leaving behind water vapor as a result." "Exactly," Rainbow said with a grin. Rubbing at her head, Twilight groaned more. "How could I have forgotten that?" "Something for you to think about while you help clean the library," Rainbow stated. "I'm sure Rarity could help you with the uniform." Twilight grumbled, cheeks turning pink.