Once upon a time, Twilight asked all her friends to join her for a meteor shower. Even alone, the tapestry of seemingly moving stars would have enthralled her. Of course, Twilight never doubted It was better having the girls there with her.
The picnic lunch was delicious, and Pinkie made that joke about the punch being Spiked. You see, she said that because little Spike was asleep in the punch bowl.
Maybe you had to be there.
Twilight thought back to something that happened a few nights after the accident… Hold on, that’s not right. It couldn’t have been nights 'after', as in 'after' the night. Night is when the stars come out. Maybe it was days after the accident. Days, days, that’s a funny word. I was wondering around in a daze. That’s it, that’s why the clock has no day hand, Twilight realized.
Anyway, sometime, just sometime, Twilight sat outside and waited for a meteor shower.
It was late, and very cold. She had to take off her thumbless mittens to make some fine adjustments to the telescope, and in that short time her hoofs grew stiff and ice cold. The snow seemed cold enough to be dry, yet when she picked up her mittens they were all wet.
No matter, she thought. She could warm up once the meteors pass. She waited and waited.
Finally Spike saw her. Spike was little that day, so it must have been before he was big.
“What are you doing Twilight? It’s freezing out here.”
“Don’t worry Spike. I’ll come back in after the meteor shower.”
“Meteor shower?” The dragon looked unsure.
Twilight held back the feeling that her eyes were beginning to water. “Did I make a mistake again?” She asked.
Spike told her she hadn’t. He said that he just had one thing to do, then he would join her for the meteor shower. The dragon went back inside the castle. Twilight watched Spike through the window for a minute or two. He wrote a fast letter, then sent it off via dragon fire mail. He put on a scarf, and came back out.
About fifteen minutes later the sky exploded with lights. It was astonishing.
Twilight wasn’t dumb, even if she couldn’t understand time. She knew what that letter was. Luna was out in the night sky, kicking space debris around or possibly moving the actual stars just to give her a show.
Maybe that’s why Twilight started dreaming about her special amusement park. When her friends disappeared, all she could do was wait. She waited for an answer, or a cause for their disappearance. When Luna caused the meteor shower, she realized she could cause the predestination paradox.
Better her be the cause then some villain, right? Or was she the villain now?
She never forgot that moment or the hope she felt, even if it meant remembering they were gone. The feeling of hope made it a good memory.
Her vantage point overlooked the place where everyone was gathered in the park. She checked with binoculars. Sure enough, she recognized everyone. These ponies were Twilights closest friends in the past millenia. She always had a few close friends. Maybe it was necessary, being the Princess of Friendship and all. It didn’t feel quite right to say it was in her nature, part of her would always be an introvert; she just needed them anyway. Twilight had some beautiful memories with every pony there, and not one name did she forget.
Well, that’s enough of being nostalgic, she thought. Time to put on a show.
“So how ya holding up Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. They were all gathered together in this one-of-a-kind place. If Applejack was overwhelmed, then who knew how the mare who had the word shy right in her name must feel.
“Oh, I’m okay, Applejack,” she said in her whisper of a voice. Fluttershy introduced Applejack to Minty. “Minty and I were just talking to our new friend, Silver Streak.”
“Silver Streak. Who’s that and where is he?” Applejack looked left then right.
Silver Streak turned to Applejack, or rather he rotated his head and flashed some lights on his face panel to indicate that he was Silver Streak.
Applejack leapt backward. A moment ago she’d thought the third member of their group was just some futuristic trash can. He was cylinder shaped, and honestly not quite as advanced looking as ponies might have expected when they heard that robots built this amusement park. Silver Streak was a robot.
Inside Silver Streak’s body was a simple magical levitation crystal, and mechanical shutters built at various ports allowed the machine to control how much light from the crystal was released, allowing him to fly about. His face was actually a 16 x 16 array of small lightbulbs in a square, and he could light them up in any order he wished, usually to make a simple smiley face. The robot's arms were pistons and gears, and his wrists looked like the heads of a multi-bit screw driver. There was a port that opened on his body to reveal different detachable connections. Inside the port was a hoof, several tools, a water gun, one with feathers for tickling, and some really odd looking thing with five different sized digits.
The robot spoke by using the lights on his face to spell words. He told them about his amazing electronic brain and how with only a control structure of operational amplifiers, Twilight had beaten digital technology in producing a thinking machine. He was quite proud of the mother unit, even if he and his brethren did try to overthrow her that one time.
The robot kept going on about how great his mighty electronic brain was, and how vastly superior it was to all other sapient life. Applejack was trying to hold back a yawn when suddenly all lights went out in the gathering area.
It was dark for a moment, then the robot's face lights lit up to form a number.
10.
9.
8.
“Oh I hope she’s about to do a sonic lavender-boom”, came the voice of somepony from the crowd.
3.
2.
1.
Suddenly the dome of the space amusement park was transparent once again. The stars were visible, in a brilliance impossible with even the smallest amount of light pollution. Lights danced across. Some asteroids hit the dome and exploded into a spray of ice. Light was produced in the impacts which reflected and refracted into a multitude of brilliant colours.
Everypony watched transfixed at the spectacle.
All were staring at the light-show, when Rainbow Dash heard a voice and felt a tap on the shoulder.
“Psst… Rainbow Dash, you go that way,” Twilight pointed in one direction, “I’ll go that way,” Twilight pointed in another direction, now crossing her arms. “On the count of five we rush towards one another, then at the last instant you do a rainboom, and I’ll do a lavender boom.”
Rainbow Dash turned. “Twilight is that really you?” It looked like her. She was decked out in princess garb, which wasn’t very Twilight like, yet fit the occasion. Her hair seemed fuller and more lustrous, her eyelashes teased and made big in a manner Rarity spent far too much time doing to herself.
“Sure it’s me; now let’s do this. You go that way and I’ll go that way.”
“Wait, what’ll happen if we do that?”
“It’ll be twice as awesome of course.”
Rainbow Dash flew in the direction she was told. She believed she was flying high and east, though who is to know if east has any meaning in this place? She turned her shoulder only once and was surprised to see that Twilight was already in place and waiting for her. "Probably teleported there," she told herself. "There is no way Twilight’s gotten that fast."
How do I know when to start counting? She wondered. Suddenly tiles on the ground lit up, to form a giant number.
5.
Rainbow Dash spread her wings and leaped out into flight. She rushed towards the center of the gathering area.
4.
She had to time this just right. This was unplanned, unrehearsed, and so unlike Twilight.
3.
Okay, if her speed was right, she’d rainboom around the center of the gathering area. It looked like Twilight was trying to do the same.
2.
She felt the G forces. It pulled back her lips and eyelids, twisting her face into an excited smile. Of course that’s the face she would have been making anyway. Don’t think; just do it, Rainbow Dash told herself.
1.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle flew past one another, only a few meters apart. There was a booming noise. The sky turned violet and glittery. Rainbow coloured stars formed and exploded outwards contrasting with the backdrop.
As the pegasi and the alicorn slowed from their mach speeds, they each turned to view the spectacle which they had both outrun and so was still going on behind them. “Nailed it!” Each of the two declared with glee.
The ponies watched in amazement.
They flew towards one another, fast though not fast enough to make it happen again. When they reached one another, it wasn’t clear if it was a hug or a tackle. The two spun together in mid air.
“That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash declared. “Best sonic rainboom ever.”
“You mean best sonic lavender rainboom ever.”
“Totally.”
Holding hooves, the two descended to the ground in a twirling motion. Before they reached the ground, ponies rushed in, throwing them back into the air and cheering for the greatest Wonderbolt's show stunt they would ever see.