//------------------------------// // 22 The Flow of Energy // Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Three // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// December 30th, 995 Rainbow Dash loves flying more than anything else; well, with two possible exceptions. One of which is snuggling up next to her. The foal, well, almost a filly now, alternates between watching the stars partially obscured in the sky above and the city that is slowly growing larger and brighter in front of them. Rainbow slowly glides down towards Canterlot, the city gleaming like a beacon during the night. Scootaloo yawns as a few clouds move in between them and their destination, obscuring some of the details, but Rainbow can still make out the area where she is supposed to meet with Sunset Shimmer. Why the mare wants to keep things so clandestine, she still isn't sure. Maybe something to do with dark magic, like she mentioned a long time ago. Rainbow waves as one of the pegasus patrols flies up to her, the ever vigilant watchponies keeping an eye on the skies and ground for anything out of the ordinary. As the pegasus glides next to her Rainbow says in a sleepy voice, "Evening! Great night to fly, isn't it?" The guard pony replies neutrally, "Yes, it is. What brings you to Canterlot at this time of night, miss?" Rainbow Dash rolls her eyes a little as she says, "Technically it's missus, if this little one didn't give it away." Scootaloo pokes her head out of the saddlebag Rainbow is carrying her in, the guard doing a quick roll to Rainbow's other side to get a better look. The guard looks at Rainbow suspiciously as Rainbow continues, "Rainbow Dash, from Ponyville. Mare in Herd Apple, just here for a little business, wanted to get here after I finished my shift." Rainbow sighs to herself, not sure why Sunset had insisted on making sure her story held together. The guard looks down at Rainbow's cutie mark, jotting down a few notes before looking again at Scootaloo. "Long way to fly in the dark, even if Ponyville is one of the closer areas. She get tired along the way, and you just happen to bring your special saddlebags?" Rainbow shakes her head, "No, Scootaloo here has difficulty flying. Part of the reason we're here, really." The guard looks over at the foal, who gives a sleepy yawn, returning to her bag. The guard looks back at Rainbow, "So, do you and your foal need a place to stay? Or do have something already?" Rainbow pulls out a slip of paper, trying to make out her chicken scratch hoofwriting, "Was planning a room at Starlit for the night. Thanks though." The guard slowly nods her head, "Well, you might want to adjust your course a little south then, get there a little faster. Brown roofs, might be hard to see the orange banners, maybe as you get closer." Rainbow gives a sad smile, "That obvious, huh?" The guard shrugs her shoulders, "Well, you never know, even ponies who have grown up here have trouble sometimes. Stay safe!" Rainbow Dash waves as the pegasus breaks away, returning to her patrol high in the skies. She berates herself; she shouldn't have been going straight to the meet up spot. She makes her way to the apartment complex; one quick conversation later and Rainbow has a room for the night, one she won't be using. She walks towards the castle, keeping to the side of the road but not quite in the shadows. As she gets close, the lack of guards surprises her. In fact, very few ponies are out celebrating the new year, at least on the route she is taking. Back at the apartment complex it had been a bit more chaotic, Scootaloo waking from her brief nap to glare at the interruption. Sunset had given her fairly specific instructions, and Rainbow does a quick double check of the note she has. She walks up to a section of wall underneath Princess Celestia's tower, knocking her hoof three times against the hard stone. She waits a few moments before the space between two large shrubs along the wall glows, the letters 'Stand Here' softly illuminating the surrounding area. Rainbow shrugs, moving forward to the sign and standing in front of it. The light on the wall goes out and Rainbow looks around, no longer able to see the sky. Or her hooves, for that matter. She nervously asks, "Hello?" and looks around her, trying to figure out what happened. A few globes of light turn on, bathing the area in a soft red glow. Rainbow walks forwards along the hallway, "Can you change the color to white? It's kinda hard to see." Sunset Shimmer's voice rings out as she steps from a doorway, holding several pieces of parchment with her magic. "Sorry, Rainbow, red is easier on my eyes, especially for what we'll be doing." Rainbow looks around as she steps through the doorway, "And, what exactly are we doing?" The storeroom is fairly bare, two tables in the center with a few pieces of cloth. There are scattered desks, boxes, and bookshelves, all pushed to the sides of the room to make room for the tables. There are a few machines Rainbow doesn't recognize, though one looks a little familiar. Sunset Shimmer pauses, withdrawing a few lengths of silk and placing them one of the nearby tables. She motions with a hoof, "Place Scootaloo on that table, then lay down on this one." Rainbow hovers over to the table; Scootaloo hops out of the saddlebag, her wings flapping as she lands on the table. The straps lift in Sunset Shimmer's magic as she continues, "You see, Rainbow, you have a lot of excess thaumic capacity." Rainbow raises an eye as she settles onto the other table, "And that means?" as straps of silk wrap around Scootaloo's hooves and tie her to the table. The foal looks to Rainbow with nervous eyes, who tries to give the foal a reassuring smile. Sunset Shimmer sighs, "It means you have a lot of magic that you aren't making use of. You could do everything you currently do, including the Sonic Rainboom, with twenty percent less thaums. So, what I'm going to do is siphon some of that excess thaumic capacity and transfer it to Scootaloo." A scared look comes over Rainbow's muzzle as straps wind their way around her hooves, tying her to the table. Rainbow tests the restraints, noticing just a little give. She asks, "Are you sure about this? Because I really, really like being able to fly." Sunset Shimmer laughs, "Oh, getting cold hooves now, Rainbow? I thought you would do anything for Scootaloo." Anger flashes across Rainbow's muzzle as she tries to pull her hooves up, Sunset's magic pulling the straps tighter and fully restraining Rainbow. The unicorn moves over to Scootaloo, saying, "Alright, Scoots, try to lift your hooves for me." When the foal tries but is unsuccessful Sunset nods her head, looking back to Rainbow. "I'm certain this will work, Rainbow. Are you not as committed as I am? For your own foal?" Rainbow glares at Sunset, "Just get on with it." Sunset nods, double checking the straps on Rainbow and Scootaloo before casting a spell that makes the cloth feel like steel. She sets up what Rainbow recognizes from the hospital as a thaumic resonator; Sunset flips it on, the air around the two pegasi illuminating. Rainbow is surrounded by a brilliant blue glow, waves of color emanating from her, a sharp contrast to the dark area surrounding Scootaloo. Faint lines can barely be seen coursing through the foals body, almost completely outshined by her dam sitting a few body lengths away. Sunset smirks as she inspects the equipment, saying, "This spell was originally used to siphon the magic inherent in a pony and transfer it to the caster. However, that would be a little counterproductive; sure, I could use it to steal all of your pegasus magic, but what would I do with it? I don't have wings, or the neural pathways to make use of it. The only purpose would be to enhance my own body and frankly, I'm not that conceited." Rainbow says under her breath, "Could have fooled me." Sunset turns, shooting Rainbow a quick glare before continuing, "In fact, the only reason this procedure works at all is because your magic and Scootaloo's are near duplicates of each other. Any other pony, indeed, any other creature's body would start rejecting the magic as soon as you finished splicing it into them. It would be a slow process at first, barely noticeable, as the magic slips away. It might return to its previous owner, it might return to the aether, who knows? I'm certainly not going to start those experiments, not yet." Sunset moves to the final piece of equipment, turning it on. "This is a mana battery; it will give me the sustained power I need to channel and anchor the spell into Scootaloo. You see, it is incredibly draining to use this spell if you are not using part of the power siphoned to keep the spell going. So, I have this battery that I spent the last few weeks pouring excess magic into. It will let me channel one hundred percent of the magic I drain from you into Scootaloo. I estimate I'll be taking about eight percent of your excess magic, give or take about half a percent." A hopeful look finally comes over Rainbow's muzzle, "And then she'll be able to fly with me?" Sunset pauses, considering, "Well, about as well as your herdmate Fluttershy. Never fast, but her endurance will be passable, and she'll have no trouble sleeping on clouds. Her control will be significantly worse than Fluttershy's, but enough that she shouldn't worry about crashing into things." Rainbow nods, "Alright, let's do this." Sunset breaths deep, preparing herself as Rainbow asks, "Can I talk during this? And will it hurt?" Sunset shakes her head, "Rainbow, you should barely feel anything. Maybe a slight pressure from all around, because I will need to hold all your magic in place. Scootaloo, you should feel stronger, less tired, but very gradual. You might not even feel anything at all, really. And yes, you can talk; but please, no shouting or anything too disruptive." Sunset takes another deep breath, a little perturbed at the interruption but thankful it came at a time when she could spare the concentration. Rainbow and Scootaloo nod, both relaxing against their restraints. Sunset Shimmer moves to the mana battery, resting her hooves on the two leads running off the top. She slowly breaths out, then inhales sharply as her eyes light a brilliant opal. Her horn lights, flicking a switch on the battery, and starts glowing brighter and brighter as she concentrates on Rainbow. Flecks of white spill away from her hooves, a shower of sparks briefly blinding the pegasi in the otherwise dark interior. The aura of magic surrounding Rainbow Dash slowly shrinks, drawn together as if pushed from all sides. The sparks shooting from Sunset Shimmer fade as she concentrates on the area between the two pegasi. The light around Rainbow Dash dims slightly as a bright thread of color starts pulling away from the outer halo, stretching towards Scootaloo. Rainbow lies still, a contented smile on her muzzle as she watches the color around her. The foal watches with wide eyes as the thin thread draws closer and closer, finally slipping into her chest without so much as a ripple. The foal smiles, looking down at her hooves as color continues to swirl around and into her. Sunset Shimmer keeps a neutral look as she focuses on continuing the siphon, the strain on her own magic beginning to get to her. It is starting to get a little more difficult, but nothing she can't manage. She focuses on the incision she made, keeping it open and letting the magic flow through. Seconds later, and Sunset Shimmer frowns as her hooves remain in contact with the battery; the rate of magic flowing out of Rainbow is increasing - the rate of increasing is accelerating - she needs to taper it down, keep the cut open but she is losing control; there must be a tear, maybe if she- The wall shatters inward, pieces of stone littering the ground. Princess Celestia strides through the cloud of dust, fully armored and eyes blazing her brilliant blue. Her blazing combat aura illuminates the room in a harsh white as she surveys the remains of the ritual - a haggard unicorn shaking in the corner and two pegasi strapped to the tables, surrounded by a spreading haze of magic. Princess Celestia's aura fades as she says, "Sunset Shimmer? What have you done!" Her reply is drowned out as Rainbow lets loose an excruciating wail.