//------------------------------// // Arrangements // Story: A Song of Transformation // by Honey Lavender //------------------------------// The first of many stops on my list is the Carousel Boutique; I’m gonna need the help of a fashion designer to pull off my plan. I’m just hoping that Rarity is into the idea of making a flight suit instead of a dress for a change, although I’m willing to give her a little artistic liberty in the process. As long as it’s functional, I could care less what it looks like. I open the door, and in all of ten seconds I’ve been mobbed by the alabaster unicorn. “Oh, so glad to see you Steve! I’ve got JUST the surprise for you!” Rarity is dragging me by the mane to her back room, where undoubtedly she’s designed some kind of outfit for me. I doubt I could break free if I tried, so I just play along. However, when we reach the back room, what’s waiting for me is not a tuxedo; I’m met by Spitfire, who is standing next to a pair of leather jackets that match Rainbow Dash’s Wonderbolts jacket. One is sized for my human body, while the other is sized for me as a pony. I can’t do more than gawk. “Is… is that…” I can’t even finish my question, and then I notice the patch on the breast pocket of one of the jackets; a mockup of my airliner, with flame trails emanating from the engines, and climbing at an angle of about 25 degrees. “I thought only full members of the Wonderbolts get those…” Spitfire chuckles. “Normally, yes. But if you’re gonna fly with us, you might as well look the part.” Apparently, the blank look on my face is amusing, though, because Spitfire and Rarity nearly fall to the floor laughing. “We got orders a few hours ago; report to the Crystal Empire and help Princess Cadance out with some unspecified problem. Princess Celestia asked us to bring you along… we’re flying in these jackets, and we decided that you’ve been through enough with us that you deserve a leather of your own; besides, the outskirts of the Crystal Empire are really cold- you’re gonna want one. So, that being said, try it on!” Honored by the gift, I oblige. The jacket fits, naturally. Must be Rarity’s handiwork. But how…? Rarity must sense the question on my mind, because she pipes up sheepishly. “I… um, well, I measured you when you were unconscious. Both times… that’s how I got the sizing for the one that fits your human body.” She smiles weakly, but as much as I want to be pissed, the emotion escapes me. This is a truly generous gift, on both ponies’ parts. “Thank you- both of you. This… this means a lot to me.” Spitfire nods and leaves, dropping a scroll with pertinent information at my hooves. I turn to Rarity; I’ve been delayed long enough. “I was hoping I could get your help with something, but first I was wondering if you still had everypony’s measurements from the Grand Galloping Gala…” Rarity seems confused why I would be asking such a thing. “Why, of course I would still have those measurements. They’re stored with the designs of the dresses that I made at the time; why do you ask?” I quickly and quietly explain my plans, and show her the photos that have been tucked away in the back pages of my chart book; the 2029 Blue Angels pilots, in their flight gear, posing in front of their aircraft. Clippings from a long-lost program, although I had kept the only real important parts. Her eyes grow wider by the minute, as she begins to comprehend the full implications of what I’m asking. “You want me,” she begins, an expression of pure joy spreading across her face. “To design flight gear… for the princesses?” She looks like she’s about to explode with joy. “If they wish to board the flight as well, yes.” I confirm. "At minimum, though, I need one for Rainbow Dash, and one for you and each of your friends if you all so wish to board the test flight." Rarity can’t contain it any longer. “-squee!-” “Good. I’ll have Spike send a letter to Celestia asking her if she and Princess Luna wish to board the flight. If they accept, they'll be expecting you for measurements and such,” I continue, smiling. “I’ll also ask Princess Cadence the same, and if she accepts I'll have her arrange a train to the Crystal Empire, so you can take her measurements as well.” As I relay this information, Rarity seems to be struggling with something, almost as if some part of the math isn’t adding up. “What about your suit? Who will assemble it?” Rarity seems pained that she has to ask this. Smiling gently, I unfurl one wing and bring it around so the wingtip is in front of my chest, bowing slightly in the process. Rarity’s eyes widen. “You?! Oh, but I MUST insist-” “It’s a matter of pride, Rarity.” I’m smiling as soft as I can, having tucked my wing away once more. “You may have measured for a jacket, and I’m sure you did a good job with it, but this suit will be a little different than the others. It’ll have a different range of motion, and I’ve never had a costume I didn’t stitch myself… you understand, right?” Rarity just gawks at me. “Never had a… absolutely not! I will not stand for this- your suit will be the first costume you ever accept from somepony else, and that’s final!” Rarity seems indignant as she proclaims this timeline to be factual, and I realize there’s no swaying her. A phrase about biting off more than you can chew comes to mind, but then again… this is Rarity we’re talking about. She can handle herself, although I could’ve sworn Applejack was the stubborn one. All I can do is shrug it off, and dip my head. “Thank you, Rarity.” I turn to leave, then remember the most important detail. “Oh, and one more thing…” Rarity gives me a suspicious look, but signals me to continue with one of her forelegs. “Don’t tell Rainbow Dash what you’re working on. If she asks, feel free to tell her that she’ll know soon enough, and that someone else will key her in, but this is all part of a bigger gift for her. Something that requires massive modifications to the airplane, especially the cockpit…” Rarity’s sapphire eyes widen as she realizes what my plan is. With a look of determination, she nods and sets back to work, undoubtedly sketching what will be the patterns for her friends’ flight gear. No, OUR friends I realize with a twinge of guilt. These ponies have been so kind and welcoming, I’d be an idiot not to consider them my friends. The revelation shakes me; it’s been so long since I knew anyone I remotely considered to be my friend that I’ve forgotten what it feels like… and when the time comes, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to give that up. Leaving Rarity to her work, I trot out the door of the Carousel Boutique. Sweet Apple Acres comes into sight soon enough, and I bank softly to my left. I may be able to land vertically, but it’s still a good idea to keep practicing the approach patterns I have to use when flying my airliner; I’m not going to be here forever. Or, I don’t think I will, anyway. Regardless, there’s a small clearing between two sets of trees; it makes a great runway, so I’m aiming to touch down about a quarter of the way down that path. When I get about a quarter mile away from the end of the long, straight clearing, I start a wide bank to my right, turning a whole 180 degrees to line up with my makeshift “runway.” Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of cyan fur; turning my head, I’m able to spot the rainbow-colored mane to confirm that it’s Rainbow Dash. She’s hovering a few hundred feet away, observing my abnormal landing pattern with an unreadable expression on her face. Saying nothing, I lock my wings to glide the remainder of my flight, relying on pitch and roll adjustments to control my speed and altitude. Rainbow Dash must’ve figured out what I’m doing, because she moves for the end of my “runway” to meet me once I’ve finished landing. When I’m about 20 feet off the ground, I flare my chest to simulate the flourish I’d perform when putting my rear landing gear on the runway, and flap my wings rapidly to kill the vertical speed that I’ve picked up during my improper landing before setting my hooves on the ground and coming to a running stop. I feel slightly embarrassed about it, since I hadn’t planned on Rainbow Dash catching up with me. Hell, this is going to put a real hitch in my plans to ask Applejack if I could borrow her carpentry skills. Regardless, I trot the rest of the way to Rainbow Dash. “Hey Rainbow Dash. Sorry you had to see that…” I trail off, shuffling my wings in embarrassment. “I just figured it’s probably a good idea to keep my other flying skills fresh in my mind.” I look back to Rainbow Dash, who is wearing an uncharacteristically soft expression on her face. “Why are you sorry for that? If you’re not going to be here forever, then it’s smart to stay ready for your return,” she consoles me. “Not doing so would be like if I’d have stopped practicing, despite all my failed attempts to join the Wonderbolts.” Then, she looks down at my chest, which is still adorned by the jacket which Spitfire and Rarity had bestowed upon me, and her expression turns to one of shock. “Wha-... wha-... what are you doing in that?” Now it’s my turn to be consoling, as she looks at me accusingly, and I shift my weight further out of discomfort. Fortunately, I can hear the thundering approach of Spitfire’s cloud trail, so I won’t have to explain this alone. “Spitfire went to your house to relay some orders, but seeing your surprise I’m guessing she didn’t find you there…” I look at her nervously, hoping that she has the patience for this situation. The thunder peaks, and then stops overhead; not a second later, Rainbow Dash’s commanding officer is standing to my left. “Um… Spitfire? Care to help me relay the news?” I ask nervously. Spitfire seems amused by the situation; too bad she doesn’t get to enjoy it, though. She passes a scroll to Rainbow Dash. “We got orders, and we’ve been asked to bring him along. Figured he should look the part; that’s part of what we discussed at that meeting you had to miss.” Rainbow Dash turns a deep shade of red out of embarrassment. “Burnout, here, is going to be your wingpony, since this will be his first time flying with us. I trust that you are familiar enough with his abilities to make sure that we can keep flying as a group.” With that, Rainbow Dash salutes Spitfire, and the golden pegasus takes off after giving me a bump on the shoulder. I just shake my head. “Burnout, eh? The Wonderbolts really don’t do accident forgiveness, do they?” I cringe at my own joke, realizing that Rainbow Dash won’t recognize anything pertaining to car insurance. Sure enough, she’s giving me a pricelessly confused look, prompting a hearty chuckle. “I’ll explain another time. For now, I think you have some packing and preparations to make, yes? I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point; at the moment I have a couple more errands to run.” Rainbow Dash nods, then prods me on the shoulder. “Just try to be ready to be pushed to your limits, okay? This is one group that does not like to stop.” I understand what she’s getting at, and I nod to convey my understanding. “Good. See you later, then!” With that, Rainbow Dash takes off into the sky, rolling for a few rotations while she adjusts her course for her home in the clouds. I start trotting the near quarter mile that I’d landed away from the barn, contemplating the exchange that I’d just witnessed. Why would Spitfire decide to give me something like this jacket, if she was aware of how badly tilted Rainbow Dash would likely become if she didn’t have the explanation? She could’ve easily just made the presentation of the jacket when we were about to leave for the Crystal Empire, after just giving my my copy of the orders at Rarity’s; gambling that I wouldn’t run into Rainbow Dash before she could give the cyan mare the news was a huge risk, which clearly hadn’t paid off. Instead, Rainbow Dash had gone through a moment, albeit a rather brief one at that, where she had seen somepony else practically have that which she had to fight nearly her entire life for handed to them. And I know what that feels like; I’ve been on her end of it repeatedly for most of my life. It’s not something I’d wish on the worst of my enemies, let alone the best of my friends. And yet, despite this tilt-inducing action that Spitfire had taken, once the golden pegasus had presented a reason and a set of orders, that had been the end of it. Rainbow Dash clearly looks up to her commanding officer, but it’s concerning how far Spitfire seems to be willing to go to exploit that. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and I’m left questioning how I could’ve better handled the situation as I trot along absentmindedly. POP! Oh, for the love of God… “Interesting. Very interesting; it seems you FINALLY took my advice. Took you long enough to get around to reading that book of yours, but in the end nothing else matters!” Discord ends his statement in a singsongy tone, attempting to emulate the melody to the Metallica song by the same title in rather tone-deaf fashion. “Tell me, though. How do you plan to implement those neat little gems? I imagine that it’d be difficult to create enough liquid out of them to power that monstrosity you arrived in, wouldn’t it?” I come to full stop, turning to face him. Discord might have been trying to nudge me in the right direction, but sweet Luna is he annoying. Hovering up to his eye level, it’s my turn to ask him a pointed question. “I’m sure that Twilight and I can figure something out. But you, on the other hoof, have some explaining to do. What do you stand to gain from helping me like this? Quite frankly, it’s headache inducing with all your spontaneous teleportations and whatnot.” Pausing to take a breath, I notice that Discord’s expression has gone from that of glee to what appears to be a lack of amusement. Without thinking, I capitalize on the opportunity. “What’s the matter? Not so much fun you have to explain your jokes, is it?” I’m playing with fire by tempting the Lord of Chaos so, but it feels so satisfying after the last few weeks of his pushing my buttons in all the wrong ways. Either I'm ridiculously lucky or Discord has an ulterior motive, though, because he opts for talk instead of retaliation. “It really doesn’t matter what I stand to gain from you returning to your world; I am Discord. I do as I please. I won’t be forced to explain my methods to anypony, let alone YOU.” With a deafening report, he teleports behind me and wraps himself around my neck a couple of times, before continuing on. “And on the contrary, it’s actually more fun when it needs explaining. Why, you might ask? Because it should be painfully obvious what the purpose of my entertainment is; I am Chaos incarnate. Making sense isn’t in my nature, human. You’d do well to watch your tone in the future; I would just HATE for an accident to occur before you could find your way home.” On that note, I’m gifted yet another deafening report as Discord teleports away from Sweet Apple Acres, and to wherever he’s decided is better to spend his time. Dazed, I take a moment to process Discord’s threat. I’ve made a grievous error of judgement, and I’ll have to watch my step now; Discord is a powerful being, and I don’t want to think of what kind of fate could befall me that he would consider an “accident.” Continuing my dazed journey, I’m soon hailed by a southern drawl as I draw closer to the farm. “Steve! Good to see you! What brings you all the way out to the farm, sugarcube?” Applejack’s voice snaps me out of my stupor, and back to reality. “Well, I was hoping you could help me out with something…” “Sincerely, your humble guest, Steve.” I pause a moment to let Spike catch up with me as he transcribes my letter; one of these days, I’ll have to learn how to write with my mouth. “That ought to do it, Spike. Go ahead and seal it up, then send it.” The scroll disappears into a fiery emerald inferno. “Thanks again, Spike. I literally could not have written that letter without you.” Spike beams with pride, before coming to a confused realization. “There’s just one thing I don’t understand; how do you plan on keeping this a secret from Rainbow Dash? She’s bound to find out eventually.” I can’t help but chuckle. I was painstakingly aware of Rainbow Dash’s keen sense of observation, and had only planned for the contingencies that were possible to prevent. I silently do a very unique set of motions that anyone who’s interacted with Pinkie Pie for more than 5 minutes or so would be familiar with, and Spike’s expression turns from confusion to wicked understanding. “You’ve had everypony involved pinkie promise… smart. But what if-” Spike doesn’t get to finish his question, Twilight enters the room. She hasn’t been privy to any part of the master plan yet. “Then I tell her myself. In the meantime, we’re aiming for as much of a surprise as possible. But trust me; Rainbow Dash will like this.” Turning to Twilight, I shift the direction of the conversation. “Hello, Twilight. How are things going for you?” The suspicious glare I’m receiving from her amethyst eyes burrows into my soul, passing along the sentiment that I’m not leaving without explaining what she’d just walked in on. But that’s fine, because I’m going to need her help anyway. “Well, I’ve isolated a way to turn the gems into a battery of sorts, but not how to tap into the energy within. We’re going to have to work this one from scrap, Steve.” She pauses a moment, and I shift my wings uncomfortably. “What was that about Rainbow Dash? What is it she’s going to like?” I quickly explain my plans, glossing over the pinkie promise part for the moment. “Well… from one to another, another to one. If you think this is necessary, then I’m sure we can figure it out.” I shift my weight from one side to the other, before making my request. “Can you pinkie promise not to tell any of this to Rainbow Dash? It’s supposed to be a surprise…” Twilight rolls her eyes, shifting her own wings out of annoyance. One unbreakable promise later, and things are set. Well, almost set. But I’m sure that Twilight can pass on Pinkie Pie’s instructions in this matter while I’m in the Crystal Empire, and Pinkie Pie would do anything to see her friends smile. “Thank you, Twilight and Spike. I need to go, now; Princess Celestia asked the Wonderbolts to bring me along on some kind of mission.” With a quick farewell, I take flight from the balcony to meet up with my newfound travel group. Grinning as I feel the wind in my mane, I take a moment to bask in the feeling of being content that I’ve come to experience. Things are going according to plan for the first time in a while, and it feels good. It’s sunny day in Equestria, and all is well. I could really get used to this. Approaching the town hall, where we’re planning on departing from, I enter a steep dive. Reaching a questionably safe speed, I flare my wings at that last possible moment, testing the barrier between a lack of safety and a generous amount of effect like the best of drumlines at an international championship. I come to a hard stop, flapping my wings as I set all four hooves on the ground at once to avoid breaking any of my legs. The leather-clad pegasi of the Wonderbolts just sit there, watching my flashy entrance, and when the dust settles I’m met with a comment. “Flashy. Just like some individuals on the team. A little sloppy, but not bad for a beginner.” I look up, and notice that it’s Blaze who’s critiquing my performance. Slightly embarrassed, I just tuck my wings away. It seems that we’re just waiting on Rainbow Dash. But why? I don’t think I’m going to have to wait long to find out, though, because there’s a concussive explosion a few thousand feet away, and a rainbow-colored shockwave that’s emanating from that location. A few seconds later, a solid rainbow trailing behind her, Rainbow Dash zips into view, coming in for a hot landing right next to the group. I have to hand it to her; the rainboom was a nice touch. Done up in her own leather jacket, and a set of saddlebags over her back, she has an extra set of goggles hanging from her mouth. At my questioning glance, she drops them at my hooves. “You’re going to want these.” She says plainly, and only then do I notice that all the other Wonderbolts also have goggles of their own. “It’s not fun getting massive doses of snow and extremely cold air in your eyes; these will help.” Nodding, I put them on. A less than perfect fit, but good enough for the purpose of today’s activities. The other ponies shuffle anxiously; we’re clearly running behind schedule. “Is everypony ready?” Spitfire asks, and then continues without waiting for a response. “Okay, then. Let’s fly.” With that, everyone takes off in near unison, leaving a thundering cloudtrail in their paths as they assume formation shortly after leaving the ground. Rainbow Dash nudges me, snapping me out of my impressed daze. I immediately try to emulate them, with a less than stellar degree of success. My beef with Spitfire will just have to wait; right now, it’s time to fly.