//------------------------------// // Of Castles and Paradoxes // Story: The one where Rainbow Dash is weird // by Brosif1357 //------------------------------// "Alright this is gettin' weird. This is weird, right?" Applejack asked. Big Mac paused a while before replying. "Eeyup." In the distance, Twilight paced in a circle around the apple grove, her face buried in a book hovering up to her eyes. She flicked through the pages rapidly before switching it with another book from a stack built up under the shade of an apple tree. Before she got even five pages in, a large notebook zipped to her face and the alicorn quickly jotted something down then sent it back to the others. Applejack had found Twilight like this earlier that morning while doing chores. How long she'd been there, the mare didn't know. But Twilight had already worn a trail into the earth. Throughout the day, the farmpony considered talking to her but refrained. Whatever it was Twilight was doing, it was probably important. But this was getting out of hand. "Should ah just talk to her?" Applejack asked. The red stallion beside her just shrugged. With a sigh, Applejack paced up to her alicorn friend. "Howdy Twilight, what are you up to?" Twilight looked up from her book. The farmpony winced at the state her friend was in. There were bags under her eyes and her mane was frazzled and covered in mud for some reason. "Oh, Applejack! I'm just doing a bit of research into the theories on time magic!" Twilight gave her a strained smile. "If the stutters are getting longer, the fate of the world could rest on this!" "That's great sugarcube. But why are ya doing it here? Don't you have a castle for that now?" Twilight's eyes widened and the book fell from her telekinetic grasp. "Oh! That! Well, this is the place Rainbow Dash did a Sonic Rainboom a few weeks ago and it's very important that I do my research on the site it happened!" Applejack raised an eyebrow as Twilight picked up the book and resumed her pacing. This part of the field didn't seem any different from the rest of it. And she might not be good at all this fancy science whatchamacallits, but it looked to her that all Twilight was doing was reading. Couldn't you do that anywhere? "Well maybe ya should head home and take a break?" She suggested. "A shower, perhaps? Ya got a little mud on your... well everywhere." "Oh the mud? I was helping Fluttershy clean her animals yesterday. And I can't go back to the castle! This research is too important!" Twilight flashed her a strained grin. There was a desperate look in her eye. Forcing a smile on her face, Applejack backed away slowly. "Well... I'll leave you to it!" "Is it just me or has Twilight been actin' a bit strange recently?" Applejack asked the next morning. The six mares had come together for a morning breakfast of delicious pancakes in Twilight's new castle. It would have been perfectly normal, had Twilight not been sleeping on a stack of pancakes. "I'll say!" Rainbow shouted. "She made me fly laps around the town for hours yesterday. No Rainbooms, just normal flying. Apparently it was 'important' or something but I'm so exhausted I can barely move my wings. Then she started giving me a physical examination. Pretty sure the health of my feathers isn't related to time anomalies." Rarity nodded. "She spent an entire afternoon rearranging a single gem drawer at the boutique. An entire afternoon!" "I thought she was busy with the time research?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie, you were with Twilight last night. Did you notice anything weird?" "Nopsies! Twilight was too busy spending the night picking out the right flavour for these pancakes to be weird! I kept thinking I got it right but she just kept saying we needed to make more," Pinkie stacked another pancake on her place. "And more and more and more! It was like she didn't want to-" "Leave?" Fluttershy supplied. "Exactly!" Pinkie took a deep bite out of her pancake stack. "Eventually we ran out of time so we just went with every-berry-any-chip-surprise!" The mare leaned over to Rarity and whispered in her ear. "The surprise is I lost a measuring spoon in the batter. Somepony's gonna get a very special pancake!" How do you hide an entire measuring spoon inside a panca- nope! Don't try to explain Pinkie Pie! Applejack tapped her hooves on the table. "I saw her at Sweet Apple Acres. She was just reading and pacing in a circle, but you could do that anywhere." "Well it's obvious then," Rarity told them. "The poor dear must be avoiding something. We should inquire about it when she wakes up." Pinkie Pie shovelled the last of her pancakes into that unfillable void she calls a stomach. She coughed loudly and spat out a measuring spoon. It spiralled off and landed in Fluttershy's pancakes. The pink mare took one look at it and leap up into the air. "I win!" Twilight woke up with a start, lurching up with a pancake impaled on her horn. "Huh?! I'm pancake! I mean, awake..." "Uh, Twilight? Is there somethin' you wanna tell us?" Applejack asked. Rarity trotted over to the alicorn, levitating the pancake off her horn. "You know how much we appreciate all you do for us, and we simply adore having you around but you have been acting rather abnormally the past few days. We're worried you may be avoiding something?" Twilight sighed. "Has it been that obvious?" Is she for real? "No offense or anything," Rainbow began. "But yeah. It's been super obvious." "I ain't ever known you to prefer researchin' outdoors," Applejack added. "Look I know it's silly, but I've kinda-sorta been avoiding this place," She waved a hoof around, gesturing to the castle walls. Applejack had to admit, this place did seem a bit... empty. The cold crystal and grandiose hallways were rather lonely. Certainly wasn't the farmpony's shindig. She was quite happy with the Apple family homestead, thank you very much. But that tree had put the castle here to be Twilight's new home. And as she listened to Twilight explaining her feelings about this place, Applejack became increasingly incensed. A home was supposed to feel like a home! Anything else was dang-near unthinkable! So if Twilight didn't feel at home in this place, it was up to her to do something about it! Rarity seemed just as affronted by this fact as Applejack. She immediately suggested that all that Twilight needed to do was decorate the castle. "But it's just so daunting! Look how big it is! I-I don't even know where to start!" Twilight lamented. The unicorn mare put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "You can start by letting us do it for you. We will make this the castle of your dreams while you go to the Ponyville spa for some much needed rest and relaxation." "But all my research! The time-altered clocks say that the stutters are getting longer and if I don't find out soon it could mean-" Twilight began, but Rarity stopped her. "I'm saying this with love, but... have you looked in a mirror lately? I've never seen you look this... mmmm..." Applejack cringed. Rarity was right. That was certainly a... unique look. "Frazzled?" Fluttershy offered. "That was exactly the word I was going to use!" Rainbow swooped down and landed on the table. "Besides, you can always finish your research later. You don't need to stress, these stutters can be pretty awesome once you get used to them. Just yesterday, I snuck around town placing whoopy cushions underneath all the-" "That's great Rainbow," Applejack interrupted her. "But let's focus on redecoratin' Twilight's castle." Rarity nodded. "So, as you can see, we're willing to redecorate this place for you. Take a day off and relax. You can come back to your research later more rested." "Well... alright then," Twilight relented. "I guess I do need a little help. And so does my castle. And I just know you'll do a great job, because nopony knows me better than you five." Darn tootin'! This decorating was going to be a piece of cake! Applejack really needed to start lowering her expectations. After a disastrous first attempt at decorating, the five mares had decided to remove everything. It was almost sunset and they had nothing to show for it. Applejack drove the shovel back into the soil with a grunt. Luckily they had a plan. All they needed to do was dig up a massive tree, weave some enchanted gemstones into the roots and mount it onto the roof. And they had to do it before sunset. Which was why Applejack was with Rainbow Dash digging around the ruins of Golden Oak Library. As the most athletic mares in group, they volunteered for this while Fluttershy helped Rarity with enchanting the gemstones to display memories. Luckily for them, Pinkie Pie had a photographic memory. It was hard work, but Applejack pushed herself to finish. Suddenly, Rainbow dropped her shovel and raised her foreleg into the air. "I've got an idea!" "No, I ain't lettin' ya freeze Twilight to give us more time," Applejack deadpanned. The pegasus let her foreleg go limp. "Never mind." A few minutes passed in silence, each of the mares focused on slowly unearthing the tree. Then Rainbow Dash spoke up again. "I've got another idea!" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Does it involve you breakin' the laws of physics?" She scoffed. "You want to chew somebody out for breaking physics, talk to Pinkie Pie." Touche "Then what's your idea?" The pegasus leapt into the air. "Okay so you don't like the idea of me freezing other ponies in time right? So what if instead of slowing time for Twilight, I speed it up for us! Like I did when I was looking for the Cutie Mark Crusaders." "Do ya actually know how to do that?" Applejack replied sceptically. Rainbow's skillset seemed to operate on pure instinct. "Well... no," Rainbow admitted. "But I can figure it out!" Her instinct was to reject Rainbow's plan. But they were running out of time and there was no guarantee Spike could delay Twilight long enough. At this rate, she was going to come home to an empty castle and feel all awful again. So right now, Applejack was seriously considering her friend's idea. "Fine. I don't like it, but we're running out of time." "Alright then, prepare to be amazed!" Rainbow Dash brought iridescent light to her wings, flashing a cocky grin down at the orange earth pony who was already regretting her decision. The energy grew brighter until it was almost painful to look at then exploded outwards. Applejack blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear the dark spots out of her vision. She looked around to see the entire library was trapped in a faintly glowing bubble. Curiously, she looked out at the town beyond the bubble. It was an odd sight. Ponies moved like they were walking through molasses. If she wasn't looking closely, it would be hard to tell they were moving at all. She glanced over and saw Rainbow with small drips of sweat clinging to her fur. Faint particles of light still swirled around her wings as she steadied herself. "Piece-," Rainbow took a few deep breaths. "of cake!" "Why don't you take a sit-down for a few minutes?" Applejack offered. The pegasus looked like she needed a rest. "I'll do some work without you." "If... you say so," Rainbow said between laboured breaths. She collapsed down, rolling over on the soft grass. "But only for a few minutes!" Taking a quick glance at the town, it suddenly occurred to the farmpony just how relative a term like 'a few minutes' could be. Rarity considered herself very lucky they had finished in time. At the time, the unicorn fashionista was doubtful even athletic ponies like Applejack and Rainbow Dash could've dug up those tree roots in time. But somehow they had finished long before Rarity had even completed connecting Pinkie's memories to the gemstones. Based on the stories the townsponies had told her about Applejack and Rainbow shovelling dirt so quickly they looked like a blur, Rarity suspected a certain pegasus may have found another application for those odd abilities of hers. Regardless of how they did it, the results spoke for themselves. Twilight had been simply delighted by the tree root chandelier. Not to mention the stunning kitchen décor. Some of the other rooms may need some work, but Rarity was proud of what she achieved today. And if this place felt just a bit like a home to Twilight, it was all worth it. That being said, it had been rather worrying that the second Twilight finished admiring the new decorations she retreated to the library to read more of those dull books of hers. Days passed with not much change, the alicorn only emerged for essentials. Perhaps Twilight's unwillingness to stay in the castle had been a blessing in disguise. At least then they got the chance to see her on a semi-frequent basis. The five mares had decided that they should at least check up on their alicorn friend. Perhaps the reminder that she had friends would help shake this latest obsession? Applejack stepped up to the library door to knock, but as she pressed her hoof to the door it slowly creaked open. Shrugging, the five mares stepped into the room to find Twilight rapidly jotting things down on three different blackboards. Strewn around her were small piles of books, paper and quills. Thankfully, there were a few plates with crumbs still on them. At least she was eating. Surrounding her were empty bookshelves, things the alicorn hadn’t quite managed to fill yet. Rarity found the library rather elegant. Twilight didn't seem to notice them. Rarity politely coughed, causing the alicorn to jump up in shock. "Oh, it you girls! You startled me." "Terribly sorry about that, darling," Rarity apologised, refraining from rolling her eyes. They didn't exactly 'sneak up' on the alicorn, she was just distracted. With the way Applejack walked you'd be lucky to sneak up on a deaf pony. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you five," Twilight levitated a few large rolls of paper from a side desk. "I've been researching everything I could find on theories of time and I think I have some explanations." "Yeah that's great but can you- OW!" Rainbow Dash winced as a feather was plucked from her wing by a light blue aura. She threw an accusing glare at Rarity who simply mouthed 'play along'. Letting Twilight obsess over things wasn't healthy, but they had to at least show an interest. Honestly, Rarity found it quite annoying that Rainbow couldn't appreciate the work Twilight was doing to understand her strange powers. "We would be delighted for you to enlighten us," Rarity smiled at the alicorn. "Would you like to discuss it over lunch? I hear the hayburgers are delicious today." Excellent work, Rarity. Encourage Twilight to engage with her research topics in a healthier manor. "I can't! All my blackboards are here!" Damn. "That's quite all right. We can listen here. Right girls?" The other four mares voiced their agreement. Rainbow still rubbed her wing absentmindedly but ultimately agreed. Twilight beamed and unfurled the wrapped paper on an empty stand. It depicted a hastily drawn series of jagged lines. One displayed in red showed an upwards trend while one in blue showed a downwards trend ending suddenly with a flatline. "I'm glad to hear it! But what I've discovered isn't good," Twilight levitated a pointer to the red line. "This shows the stutter length as measured by the second time-altered clock. Earlier, Rainbow Dash told me the stutters are getting longer. And this confirms it." Rarity thought it best to avoid telling the alicorn that she'd completely forgotten these stutters were occurring. If she recalled, weren't they random pauses? Twilight had described it like pausing a show on one of those new television devices. Fluttershy and Applejack were similarly confused. Pinkie Pie... was still Pinkie Pie. Only Rainbow had any reaction to the news. "See, I told you!" Rainbow exclaimed triumphantly. "You didn't need to make me do another Rainboom!" "I needed to make sure. And I'm glad I did. Because what I discovered is of equal if not greater importance," Twilight then pointed to the blue line. "This shows the stutters as measured by the first time-altered clock. It measured progressively shorter stutters over a period of a few days then suddenly flatlined and hasn't measured a single one since," She tapped the spot near the end of the graph. "However, they clearly occurred. As Rainbow Dash can confirm." The pegasus nodded. "Yeah. I used one to get rid of that tacky painting while Rarity was frozen." Rarity gasped. "TACKY!?" "Settle down," Applejack commanded. "Let Twilight finish her explanation." "Thank you, Applejack," Twilight nodded at the farmpony. She turned back to the diagram. "Evidentially, my first time-altered clock has lost the ability to continue operating during stutters. This implies that this stutter-proof property can only last for a set amount of time. Like a battery." "I could've told you that," Rainbow commented. "When I touch things during a stutter, they can move. And when I let go, they stop moving soon after." Twilight smiled. "I expected as much. What I wouldn't give to remain conscious during a stutter. Sadly, stutter-proofing a pony is beyond my capabilities." "I'm sure if you keep trying, you'll get there," Fluttershy encouraged. "Thanks. Anyway, this gets into my research on the various theories ponies have created for time. The most research into it was done by Starswirl the Bearded. He hypothesised that time was the byproduct of the magical field that permeates the world. However he lacked any direct proof. More modern research done by a pony who writes under the pseudonym 'Dr. Whooves' proposes a mathematical model in which time is a field tied with Neighton's theory of a gravity. Admittedly the maths is a bit beyond me, but what I do know is that this theory can't explain the ability of unicorns to harness time to travel short distances. Both theories have applications in the study of gravitational field and practical applications of chrono-thaumetic enchantments." Rarity blinked. Twilight really had to learn that other ponies were not as well-read as she was. Particularly in the topic of historical theories of time. "So... what does this mean?" Applejack asked. "Well with what limited data I have, I've been trying to create a new theory combining the previous two. It's only a theory so far, but it both has a mathematical justification and works with existing theories of magic. More importantly, it can explain at least some of the odd abilities Rainbow Dash demonstrates. Essentially, think of time as a unit of energy. The time-altered clocks can continue operating because they have somehow stored this energy." Applejack tapped her chin. "I think ah get it. So it's like a pony with a basket of apples. If you can’t visit the market, ya can still eat the apples an' not go hungry?" "Exactly," Twilight nodded. Rustic comparisons were never Rarity's cup of tea. But Applejack did explain it well. Pinkie Pie began jumping up an down. "Oh and if you get a lot of really sugary apples like a really really lot and feed them to a pony they can get super active and start bouncing everywhere!" "Hang on a second," Rainbow paused her lazy gliding around the room. "When I tried accelerating me and Applejack yesterday-" "Applejack and I," Twilight corrected. "Whatever. Anyway, when I tried doing that I felt like I was pushing something out into the air. Is that this... time particle thingy?" Rainbow asked, feeling unsure of herself. "Yes and no. I don't have the mathematics to prove if there are actual particles of time," Twilight admitted, her cheeks flushing red slightly. The other mares exchanged annoyed looks. Twilight really had no right to complain about a lack of mathematical talent, Rarity couldn't even begin to decipher the equations on that blackboard. "But it is the time particle thingy, right?" "Pinkie's explanation was pretty spot on. I hypothesise that when you manipulate time, you're saturating the local environment with time energy. Somehow transferring your own surely well above average energy reserves to local space. Of course I have no way of measuring this as of yet. But I'm working on it." Applejack put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Well, it seems ya made good progress. Ah think that deserves a break, wouldn't y'all agree?" The other four of them nodded. "I would like if you took a break," Fluttershy admitted in her soft voice. "I haven't seen you in a while." "But I can't!" Twilight turned back to a stack of books and flipped through them. "There is still so much my theory doesn't explain! The most important part is figuring out why the stutters are getting longer and I can't even explain what they are in the first place! They are up to a minute long now! A whole minute! Nothing allows for them to exist. And none of my theories allow for Rainbow Dash to exist either!" Twilight pulled the rainbow-maned pegasus to the ground with her magic. She trotted around Rainbow, who looked at the alicorn with a nervous expression. "You okay, Twilight?" But the alicorn ignored her. "The only hypothesis I have for why the clocks could continue operating was their magical batteries. But no pony has that kind of inherent ability to store magic. Yet to pull off her various feats, Rainbow Dash must have the capability to store the time energy of a magical battery at least her size and quickly replenish it. And her abilities seem to grow with the length of stutters for no discernible reason." Twilight paused her pacing to look deep into Rainbow's eyes. Rarity could see how unsettled the pegasus was. She trotted over to Twilight's side. "Darling, perhaps you should just come with us and get some lunch. You've spent too long with books." "Do you know how to read a pony's pulse, Rarity?" Twilight asked, never looking away from the pegasus. The unicorn blinked. "I'm sorry, what?" "Do you know how to read a pony's pulse?" Twilight repeated. She grabbed one of Rarity's forelegs and laid the hoof against Rainbow's neck. The pegasus gave her a look that said 'get me out of here'! But Rarity decided to humour Twilight. She focused on feeling the pulse on her friend's neck. Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump. "Seems perfectly normal to me. A bit on the slow side, perhaps. But Rainbow Dash is a fit mare." "Now check the pulse at back legs," Twilight ordered. Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all observed Rarity as she trotted over and laid a hoof on the pegasus' flank. BABABABABABABABABABABA She gasped in surprise. Was that a heartbeat or did Rainbow have a hummingbird in her leg? Looking up, Rarity saw Twilight with a knowing look on her face. "Now check both at the same time." Rarity nodded and, ignoring the increasingly disturbed look on Rainbow's face, put both her forelegs on the mare. Her heartrates were different. "Can somebody please tell me what's going on?" Rainbow asked. "You have different heartrates depending on which part of your body I measure," Twilight told her like it was the simplest thing in the world and not a biological impossibility. "Each fluctuates rapidly. I did a few magical scans and I swear sometimes your blood flows backwards. Don't ask me how this works, I have no idea." "Oh my..." Fluttershy gasped. Applejack stepped forward. "No hold on there. That ain't possible." "You're telling me," Twilight replied. "But here we are." "She's right, Applejack. I'm feeling two different heartrates," Rarity confessed, her coat looking paler than usual. Medicine wasn't her speciality. Fluttershy was the only one aside from Twilight who knew much about that topic. But Rarity didn’t need to be an expert to recognise an impossibility when she saw it. Rainbow's eyes widened. "Am I going to die!?" "By all known understandings of medicine, you should already be dead," Twilight replied. "Any other pony would immediately die from severe internal bleeding as their brain literally liquified. But you are somehow still alive. That has no explanation. So no, you won't die. You will go on living your ordinary life utterly oblivious to the fact that the different flows of time in your body should literally rip you apart." Silence reigned. Rainbow examined her forelegs in stunned silence, trying to wrap her head around the impossibility of her own existence. “Well, that ain’t too weird,” Applejack began. “Compared to Pinkie’s biology, it’s downright ordinary.” As if too prove her point, Pinkie stretched her arms to wrap Rainbow in a tight hug. “I’m glad you haven’t exploded!” “See darling? I respect your efforts, but Rainbow Dash is perfectly fine,” Rarity reasoned. She nudged the pegasus. “Right?” Rainbow nodded. “That discovery is kind of... unsettling. But I’m fine. Really.” “Look Twi, ya need to take a break once in a while,” Applejack insisted. “Remember how ah got when ah tried to harvest an entire field alone?” “Come on, have lunch with us. You can tell us more there,” Rarity attempted to convince her. Twilight seemed uncertain. She glanced between the unfinished equations and hopeful looks on the faces of her friends. Finally she sighed and nodded. “Alright then. I’ll finish this later.” As the six friend left the library, none of them noticed a pony emerge from a flash of rainbow light behind the bookshelves.