“Seek…
…Learn…
…Know…”
…
“When all three have been connected—”
Twilight’s eyes snapped open. Her vision cleared as she blinked hard, forcing off her fatigue. A sense of relief bubbled up inside her as she felt her sheets’ comforting embrace, casting aside the fog in her mind. However, a lingering sense of unease still nipped at the back of her thoughts.
The message persisted as with each night’s rest, though now including the Star Glider entity’s portion. At least that much was consistent—her lack of progress with her pegasus research gnawed at her, and explaining to Starlight and Spike why her mane and tail were buzzing with electricity had taken longer than she would have liked.
Twilight threw off her covers and rolled out of bed, trotting slowly to her desk. Twilight dug through her saddlebags, pulling out her journal, and began to write.
Day 10: Dream message continues to persist, but with new additions. As seen during my time in Amethyst Hollow, the fragment from the Golden Oak Aether has been added to the message (see Day 9). Since my abilities have not yet extended to pegasus magic, I must be particularly observant for any signs of pegasus activity throughout the day and update accordingly.
She quickly proofed her notes and sighed. She was glad that a consistent pattern had formed, but it seemed her abilities were reaching a plateau. I should be able to see pegasus magic by now. Perhaps hearing more of the message is the key? She tapped her chin and allowed her thoughts to drift as she made her way out of her room. Alicorn and unicorn magic became visible after hearing the first message, and then earth pony magic after hearing the second part after returning from Amethyst Hollow. I’ve heard more of the message since my time in the Silverglade, but… Her thoughts trailed off, and she found herself stepping off the bottom of a staircase in a mindless wander.
I should cross-reference my notes with my collection in the library, Twilight thought, navigating her way through the labyrinthine hallways. I only checked the books in my room last night, so maybe I’ll find— Her train of thought was interrupted abruptly as she reached the library door, a pair of voices drifting through from the other side.
Twilight swung the doors open smoothly open, taking a startled step back as the energy of a passionate debate struck her.
“I’m telling you, The Splash would make short work of Mineral Mare using his faster-than-water typhoon skills!”
“And I’m telling you that the Mare has a special mineral suit designed to deal with things like that! It wouldn’t magically malfunction like that!”
“Ahem.”
Starlight and Spike snapped up from the pile of comics on their table toward Twilight, standing in the doorway. “Oh, good morning Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, nearly leaping across the room to give her the biggest hug his little arms could muster. “Did you sleep good?”
“I did Spike, thank you,” Twilight said with a giggle.
“What do you think, Twilight? Mineral Mare or The Splash?” Spike asked, tugging her toward the comic-strewn table.
“I… What…”
Starlight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Come on, Spike. You know she doesn’t care about comic books.”
Twilight held a hoof up. “Well, actually, I—”
“Oh, Celestia, why.” Starlight buried her face in a hoof.
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, an analysis of the two heroes already beginning to form in her mind, but closed it again without comment and smiled. She put her hoof to her chin. “As tempting as this is, a conversation about the merits of a fight between a mineral-based suit of magic armor and a hero who can control the flow of water will have to wait. I wanted to apologize again for… flying off last night instead of resting.”
“Hey, we said it’s okay,” Starlight said with a wink. “It’s Applejack who doesn’t need to find out, right?”
Twilight sighed with relief. “I guess it’s a good thing she left after I—” she cleared her throat, “retired to my room.”
“I’m glad you’re back, Twi. Things have been kind of dull around here lately,” said Starlight. Her expression subtly darkened, a slight blush running over her cheeks. “Especially now with Trixie out on tour.”
“Hey!” Spike protested. “You had fun playing Ogres & Oubliettes with me, right?”
Starlight scoffed and waved him off indignantly. “Oh sure, because rolling three natural ones in a row, tripping on my weapon, and slicing my leg off is totally my idea of fun.”
As the spat escalated, Twilight found herself giggling uncontrollably. The embattled pair scowled at her, but Twilight only fell onto her back and howled louder. A moment later, after a few deep breaths, she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Oh goodness,” Twilight said as she rolled to her hooves. “I’ve missed you two. It’s a relief to see something normal for once.”
Spike’s expression softened as Starlight rolled her eyes and levitated a bundled scroll from a desk. “Do you know what this is?” She asked, a sly smirk creeping across her face.
Twilight shook her head. Starlight unrolled the scroll and brandished a hooffull of tickets. “I talked to Rainbow Dash this morning, and she’s got a show up Canterlot this evening. With a little effort, she got us tickets!”
“Wait, what?” Twilight stammered. She snatched one of the tickets and examined it closely. Sure enough, it was indeed a ticket for a Wonderbolts show dated for that very night. Words tumbled from Twilight’s mouth as she began to speak. “I mean—but, I can’t—with my research…”
“Twilight! Deep breaths,” Starlight said, placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Just… relax, okay?”
“Sorry,” Twilight said, sheepishly clearing her throat. “I’m not trying to sound ungrateful, it just caught me off-guard. I feel like I’m right on the edge of a breakthrough, so I don’t know if—”
Starlight pressed her hoof against Twilight’s muzzle, cutting her off. “And that’s why I got us these tickets!” She said with a satisfied grin. “I don’t fully understand how it all works, but you can ‘see’ magic, right? And for whatever reason, you can’t ‘see’ pegasus magic?”
Twilight nodded. Where is she going with this?
“Maybe seeing a Wonderbolts airshow might help jump-start your magical vision!” Starlight said with a smile. “Besides, if nothing else, it’ll be a nice evening with your friends.”
Twilight perked up, squeezing Starlight in a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.” She released the hug. “You’re right. I’ve spent the last week and a half zapping from one end of Equestria to the other, so I think this is exactly the kind of time off what I need.” A flush ran across Twilight’s face and she chuckled nervously. “I’m sorry I’ve kept myself cooped up in my studies. I haven’t really been a good friend to you lately, huh?”
Starlight shook her head with a smile. “Don’t sweat it. Now, come on. We should get going.”
“Huh?” Twilight asked, taken aback. “Why so soon? The tickets said that the show isn’t until sunset.”
“Oh, I forgot to mention we’re meeting everypony else for lunch,” Starlight said with a sly grin. “It is noon after all. Come on, we can talk on the way.”
Twilight, Starlight, and Spike walked together through the winding roads of Ponyville. Whenever they passed by, ponies stopped to say hello before going about their business. However, Twilight’s focus was absent and she found herself staring at the sky more often than not.
“Twilight?” Spike said. “Hey, Equestria to Twilight!” He jumped in front of her, waving his claws in the air.
Twilight blinked and shook her head, her eyes focusing on the dragon. “Huh? What’s…” Twilight peered over his shoulder to find she had nearly collided with her favorite flower shop’s sign. “O-oh, sorry… I guess I wasn’t paying attention.” Spike grunted.
“You’ve been out of it since we left the castle,” Starlight said. “Is something wrong?”
“Well, it’s just—” Twilight said, looking up again. She pointed up at the sky. “See those three clouds across the way?”
“Yeah,” Starlight said, her voice trailing. “What about them?”
“According to weather control, it’s supposed to be clear today. It’s supposed to be clear all week, but it stormed last night. There shouldn’t even be any clouds in the sky today,” Twilight said, a sense of frustration building in her tone.
“Oh come on,” Starlight scoffed, “a few clouds isn’t a big deal. I’m sure some pegasus is on their lunch break or something. Which is where we should be going as well.” She gave Twilight a sidelong look.
Twilight’s ears lowered as the trio continued walking. “It just worries me,” Twilight said, staring into the middle distance in front of her. “It could be a coincidence or a mistake, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s connected somehow.”
“Well, you said it yourself, right?” Starlight said, glancing back to Twilight. “You didn’t see any pegasus magic last night, and aside from some broken branches and the rain, nothing bad happened either. Weather mistakes happen all the time.”
“I—” Twilight said, struggling to find fault in her logic. “I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Look, just push all that aside for right now, focus on lunch, and enjoy tonight’s show. If you see magic tonight, then great! If not, then you can go straight back to studying, okay? Besides, we’re here.” Starlight said with a flourish.
Twilight’s gaze followed Starlight’s enthusiastic gesture. “Burger Princess?” Twilight said, tilting her head. She reflexively licked her lips. The garish, cartoony sign of a non-descript alicorn hoisting a hayburger atop a silver platter loomed over the entrance. A small group of ponies were visible through the windows, happily eating away. “I haven’t been here in months!”
“Rainbow Dash said you two used to come here all the time after moving to Ponyville, so she thought lunch here with everypony would be a great idea,” Starlight said. She opened the door with her magic, the above bell ringing to signal their entrance.
“TWILIGHT!” a shrill cry pierced the atmosphere of the restaurant, everypony freezing in their tracks to stare as an impossible blur of pink and fuzz careened through the air at logic-defying speeds and latched itself onto Twilight. The two tumbled backwards, landing back in the dirt outside the restaurant.
Twilight groaned loudly, coughing as the air was forced out of her. “Oof! P-Pinkie Pie!” Twilight panted between haggard breaths. She squirmed in vain within Pinkie’s vice. “I-It’s great to see you too.”
“You were gone for practically forever! At least ten forevers! But now you’re back and it’s time for your ‘welcoming-home-your-friend-who-went-on-a-reality-bending-magic-adventure’ welcome home party!” Pinkie said rapidly, her words blurring together as quickly as her movements.
“I—”
“Come on!” Pinkie chirped as she rocketed from the ground—Twilight trapped helplessly in her grasp—and back into the restaurant. Time seemed to resume as the other patrons shook their heads with disbelief and returned to their food.
“Hey Twi,” Rainbow Dash said, waving nonchalantly. “What’s up?”
“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight squirmed her way out of Pinkie’s embrace and smiled. She looked around, seeing all of her friends waiting in line to order. “You’re all here!”
“I told you I invited everypony!” Starlight said with a wink.
“Oh my stars, Twilight,” Rarity suddenly trilled. “You simply must tell me about this Amethyst Hollow place you went to! Just imagining those gems, my goodness!” Her eyes sparkled as if reflecting the cavern itself.
Twilight came to her hooves, dusting herself off. “Wait, how do you—”
“I filled ‘em in on all the basics,” Applejack said, raising her hat. “As much as I could anyway.”
“I want to learn more about the Silverglade Forest,” Fluttershy said, one eye peeking from behind her mane. “There’s probably all sorts of wonderful critters there just waiting to be loved.”
“Okay, okay, let’s give her some space,” Starlight said. “She can tell us all about it once we sit down to eat, but remember, she’s here to relax with us, not do more research.”
Twilight and her friends took their seats at a large corner booth. She found it difficult to pay much attention at first, but the presence of her friends and the ever-shifting flow of topics did much to warm her heart. Still, she couldn’t help but spy on a pegasus out of the corner of her eye as he fluttered to his seat, sighing at the absence of magical traces.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight piped up during a lull in the conversation. “Do you know anything about the weather schedule for the past few days?” Starlight gave her a snide look.
Rainbow Dash finished a swig of her cider, her mug clattering loudly against the table as she belched. Rarity shot the pegasus a scathing look that went ignored. “I dunno,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve been practicing my routine for tonight’s show, so somepony else is covering Ponyville’s weather.”
“I see,” Twilight said softly, ears lowering.
“And they’re doing a pretty terrible job of it, too!” Rainbow said, slamming her mug down so hard what few drops remained splashed out onto the table. “You can’t just schedule a windstorm like that without at least a day’s notice! Somepony could get hurt!” She sat back in a huff, staring into the bottom of her drink.
“Now, now, darling, please,” Rarity said, idly brushing her mane with a hoof. “It wasn’t all that bad. I rather liked the rain. It’s quite soothing when getting one’s beauty sleep, wouldn’t you agree?” Rainbow feigned a gag and rolled her eyes.
“It was unusual, but I do agree with Rarity,” Twilight said. “I even flew up last night to check the clouds myself, and I didn’t really see anything out of the ordinary. Just some moderate wind, light rain, and the occasional lightning strike.”
Applejack choked on her drink, coughing as she finished her gulp. “Consarnit Twilight, you flew off in that storm last night? Don’t tell me y’all almost drowned in a rain cloud!” she said, a frustrated grimace spreading over her muzzle. Rainbow Dash snorted into her new drink, some cider spraying out her nose.
“I feel like there’s a story behind this. Would you like to share?” Rarity said, daintily taking a small (most ladylike!) sip of tea.
Twilight’s face flushed with embarrassment as she struggled to stammer out an explanation. Before she was forced into a peer review of the drowning essay, her saving grace trotted up to the table with a cheery smile. Adorned with a somewhat tacky yellow apron, the waitress levitated trays of food to their places. She flashed a broad smile at the group and made her exit, humming a small tune under her breath.
“Aw yeah! I’m starving!” Rainbow said, diving mouth-first into her sandwich. Flecks of food and ketchup spread across the table as Rarity and Fluttershy recoiled.
“Rainbow Dash, were you born in a barn? Honestly!” Rarity turned her nose up in disgust as she levitated a fork and knife to her hay-wrap, gingerly cutting it into bite-sized pieces. She glanced across the table to see Applejack mirroring Rainbow’s behavior. Applejack froze in place with her mouth full of food, blinked, and grinned. “Ugh. I’m surrounded by the most uncouth of manners. Twilight, dear, surely as a Princess you could—”
“Mfph?” Twilight mumbled through her second hayburger, dropping the remainder onto the wrapper of the first. Barely breaking the stride of her consumption, she gulped several mouthfuls of her drink and settled back into her chair with a loud sigh. “Oh sweet Celestia, I needed that. I’m sorry, Rarity, did you say something?”
Rarity’s eye twitched. “W-Well, at least some of us have manners… right, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy looked up from nibbling her salad and nodded meekly, smiling through puffed-out cheeks. She swallowed and took a sip of water. “I’m just happy to see everypony having a good time. We were starting to get worried about you, Twilight.”
Pinkie Pie suddenly leapt from her seat with a sproing and landed on the floor.
“Pinkie, what are you—” Twilight started, biting her words off as Pinkie’s tail vibrated with an intensity she hadn’t seen for some time. She gasped as the fluffy mass of pink curls shook, streams of magic flicking off as if thrown by the force. The colors swirled, bent, cascaded, and looped into one another, creating spiraling fractals of an ever-brightening pink that wormed their way through the air. Twilight couldn’t tear herself away, a line of drool escaping her gaped mouth. This magic… It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before! Is this what I think it is? The spell structure pulsed in a strange, hypnotic rhythm.
Twilight blinked, and a series of images flashed through her mind: The restaurant, her friends, something flying through the air and landing on—
“Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail! TAKE COVER!” Pinkie shrieked and dove beneath a table. Seven of her friends covered their heads as well as they could, but Twilight… Twilight blinked and her horn flared, suddenly catching hold of a nearby stallion—along with his food tray and milkshake as they flew from his mouth. He stood frozen in place, hanging in the air in the middle of tripping over an errant chair.
“Th-thank you!” He mumbled as Twilight levitated his tray to a nearby table. She released him, and he stumbled from her telekinetic grasp but remained upright. He shivered, nodding to Twilight again before hurrying to his table.
Twilight sighed with relief, slouching back against her seat. Before she could grab the last of her food, Pinkie suddenly popped up in front of her, nearly muzzle-to-muzzle. “Twilight!” She trilled excitedly. “Did you just see my Pinkie Sense?”
“Well, I… I uh…”
Pinkie yelped and suddenly found herself enveloped by Starlight’s magic aura. Starlight floated her off the table and back to her seat. “Come on, Pinkie. Nopony can make sense of Pinkie Sense.” Starlight said, dismissively waving her hoof.
“Actually, I—” Twilight muttered, shaking her head. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out someday.” That “someday” might be very soon, she thought to herself. “I’ve already observed earth ponies sensing danger in their environment. Pinkie Sense might be related.”
Pinkie bounced in place, grinning from ear to ear.
“That’s my hypothesis, anyway,” Twilight finished as a slight blush ran across her cheeks.
“Y’see?” Applejack laughed. “Y’all figured out Pinkie Sense. This pegasus stuff oughta be a breeze compared to that!”
Twilight sighed, hovering her half-burger in the air and staring at it. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She smirked as a thought struck her. “I wonder if I could figure out Holly while I’m at it.”
Twilight and her friends—sans Rainbow Dash—meandered through the crowd at Canterlot Stadium and shuffled their way to their seats. Twilight received a fair number of curious looks from random ponies—most of them part of the conceited class of Canterlot’s elite, turning their snoots up at the thought of a princess joining the rabble in the “cheap seats.” She didn’t care. Twilight was more happy with her friends, and she even managed to spot a few familiar faces from Ponyville. For a time, the stress of her research faded.
“Oh yeah,” Spike drawled, his voice trembling as drool dribbled from his lips. “I’ve been saving you.” He brandished a glittering, gem-encrusted cupcake.
“Spike! Where did you—” Twilight stammered.
“Snuck it in,” said Spike nonchalantly, taking a big crunch out of it. “Pinkie Pie helped!” He pointed at Pinkie, who whipped a similar cupcake out of her mane and swallowed it in one bite.
“Spike, you know that’s against the rules, right? No outside food or beverages!” Twilight protested, but Starlight playfully poked her.
“It’s just the one cupcake,” Starlight chuckled. “He’ll be fine! And look at the balcony, the princesses are here too!”
Twilight’s gaze followed Starlight’s pointing foreleg upwards, spotting Princesses Celestia and Luna seated in the open air balcony suite. A lump grew in Twilight’s throat as she gazed at the two sisters. Perhaps she could seek insight after the airshow. The drone of the ponies surrounding her faded into the background as her gaze drifted across the arena.
“Clouds?” Twilight muttered. A number of nimbus clouds wafted lazily above the stadium against the evening sky. “That’s strange. Those are too far away to be part of a routine. Normally the Wonderbolts clear the sky for a performance…”
“Oh, oh, oh!” Pinkie Pie cried out, bouncing on her tail. “They’re starting!”
A single cloud floated into the the stadium, coming to a stop in the middle. A dark purple pegasus stallion with a slicked back black mane—and equally dark sunglasses—spoke into a megaphone. “Fillies and gentlecolts!” The crowd erupted in a cheer. The stallion spoke with exaggerated purpose and poignant enthusiasm, making ostentatious poses with each emphasized word. “Get ready to stomp your hooves for Equestria’s one and only—the greatest—the bravest—the fastest—the death-defying team of the world’s greatest fliers…!”
There was a pregnant pause as the announcer stopped. The crowd hushed with anticipation. The announcer struck one final pose on his hind legs, foreleg on his cocked hip. “The Wonderbolts!” he cried out as a half dozen streaks of black smoke—and one rainbow—soared overhead with a thunderous roar. The crowd flew into a frenzy so powerful even Twilight felt herself giving into the energy of the moment.
“Check it out, y’all!” Applejack exclaimed. “There’s Rainbow! Yee-haw!” She cheered and waved her hat.
Fluttershy squeaked quietly in excitement. “I wonder what they’ll do first.”
“Rainboom! Rainboom!” Spike started to chant, gesturing in time with his words.
“Aaaaaaaand they’re coming down in the descent, folks!” The announcer bellowed, his words nearly drowning in the cacophony. “Out of the dive leading the pack is Spitfire, with Soarin and Surprise coming in line astern! Spitfire breaks away into an ascent and curves backwards, as Soarin and Surprise—Are they going to do it fillies and gentlecolts!? I can’t believe my eyes! A double reverse-corkscrew aileron roll!”
Twilight didn’t take her eyes off of the Wonderbolts for even a second. Even blinking felt like it would waste precious seconds as her eyes traced every single loop, turn, bank, angle… Many of the techniques kept wing usage to a minimum outside of gliding into turns, but the sheer speed and angle of attack on some of their maneuvers could only have been completed using pegasus magic. Twilight swallowed hard, a bead of sweat trickling down her face. She glanced upward. The sky was clear again. Did I imagine the clouds? She tore her attention away from the sky to catch the tail end of Rainbow Dash’s trick.
“And that was the Buccaneer Blaze, fillies and gentlecolts!” The announcer’s voice boomed from all directions, the wild cheering surging in response. “I hope none of you blinked and missed it!”
Twilight watched as the Wonderbolts flew in formation along the bleachers, suddenly breaking off and banking to a tight helix in the center of the arena. All of them—except Rainbow Dash. With a whoop, she rocketed higher and higher, her rainbow streak trailing behind as she faded out of sight into the orange-stained sky.
Pinkie Pie suddenly shrieked. “Ahhhh! THIS IS IT!” Twilight could feel her practically vibrating in her excitement.
The speck that was Rainbow Dash took position high above the stadium. From one end of the arena to the other, a hush fell over the crowd. Suddenly, with a crack of thunder, Rainbow shot toward the ground harder than Twilight had ever seen. Another shockwave rumbled across the sky, this one accompanied by a red burst of light. It faded quickly, but another one—this one orange—immediately burst forth. Then a yellow flash. The shockwaves propagated outward, forming concentric rings of light in the sky. Next came green, then blue. The air in front of Rainbow compressed, squeezing her body and propelling her groundward ever faster. Her coma brightened with each pulse of color—now an iridescent purple—the crowd of ponies exploding into screams of wonder.
Twilight’s focus was fixed on Rainbow, so utterly spellbound it felt as though time itself had started to slow down. There was something… different about this. Flashes of colored lightning sparked from Rainbow’s body, arcing toward the compressed air around her. Wait. Colored lightning? The air around Rainbow flared a brilliant white, and it too started to take on the same colors as the lightning. Twilight gasped when she finally realized the unseen connection.
“Her cutie mar—” Twilight cried out, but was cut off by a deafening thunderclap. Rainbow surged through the light, simultaneously shattering the sound barrier and generating a massive rainbow shockwave. Twilight found it difficult to watch—the air around Rainbow seemed to visually crack like a splintering mirror. The lightning changed color as it leapt outward from Rainbow’s body to dance within the growing concentric rainbow rings, taking on not the colors of the Sonic Rainboom, but something else entirely.
The magic dancing within the Sonic Rainboom shifted itself, filling Twilight’s eyes with vibrant colors she had never seen before. The mass pulsed a familiar blue, before shifting back to the multi-colored wave. Orange followed suit, and once equilibrium was reestablished, pink came shortly after. Then yellow, followed by white. Out of the corner of Twilight’s eyes, she saw an aura flicker around her friends, each one glowing as their respective wave of color washed over the stadium. Just as the Sonic Rainboom crested out of sight, a flare of brilliant purple peeked back over the horizon.
All at once, she felt the tension drain from her body. She slumped against the bleacher seat, and a smile crossed her face. The relaxation gave way to a feeling of determination. Confidence welled up in her chest as she leapt from her seat to join her friends in exuberation.
Rainbow Dash arced herself skyward, a trail of rainbow colors streaking behind her as the remnants of the Sonic Rainboom broke apart and drifted away. Twilight could feel the bonds of loyalty comprising the magic of the Sonic Rainboom filling her very being.
Awash in the intensity of her victory, she cried.