//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Happy Anniversary, Rainbow Dash // by Axolotl222 //------------------------------// “OOOOOOH, WHY!? WHYYYYYYYYYY?” A horrible wailing could be heard outside of Friendship Castle, nearly drawing out the weak pleas from a certain yellow pegasus. “Rarity… Ack! I know you're upset right now,” Fluttershy wheezed. “Ack! But could p-please not try and… squish me. Hick!” Rarity was sitting on the front steps of Friendship Castle, clutching Fluttershy to her chest as she sobbed.   “If y-you, AH!, don’t mind, that is.” “Th-they were so… so perfect together! I was going to make them matching OUTFIIIIIIIIIITS!” Rarity then began to squeeze Fluttershy even tighter.  “Rarity… Ack! Please! M-my spine! Ack!” Fortunately, the doors opened to reveal Fluttershy’s savior in the form of a baby dragon carrying a tub and a spoon.  “Rairty,” Spike said, panting for breath. “W-we still have some mint chocolate chip left.” The unicorn released Fluttershy from her grasp, grabbing the ice cream in her hooves and the spoon with her magic. She wiped her eyes on her cannon. “Th-thank you, Spike. You really are a true friend,” Rarity said as she gave Spike an affectionate pat on the cheek. The drake smiled like he was a foal opening his presents on Hearth's Warming. Neither paid much attention to Fluttershy, who had promptly fallen onto the floor like a sack of potatoes, gasping for air.  Applejack shook her head at the scene. Between the fact that she was never a fan of down time in the best of days and that she was worried about her friends she had begun to back and forth in front of the steps, letting out the occasional sigh. The quietest of the group was, ironically, Pinkie Pie. She was laying on her back with her hooves in the air, her mane having long since deflated. A board and worried frown was etched into her muzzle as she lazily batted her balloon.  Suddenly a bright light shined across the sky, snapping the friends out of their musings. Rarity quickly swallowed the lump of ice cream she was eating, gasping in awe and the multi-colored ring of light expanding across the heavens.  Pinkie Pie leapt back onto her hooves, her hair quickly regaining its normal bounce. “Dashie! Dashie!,” Pinkie Pie, pointing with one hoof while excitedly trotting in place. Then she stood up on two legs, cupping her hooves around her mouth to shout “DASHIE! WE CAN SEE YOU!” Applejack winced from her yelling, then frowned. “It seems like its coming from the Everfree.” “But what would she be doing over the Everfree at this hour?,” Rarity asked. She gave the tub of ice cream back to Spike as she stood up. “Ah don’t know, but ah don’t have a good feel’n ‘bout this.” Applejack then began to march forwards. “Applejack darling, where are you going? “Ah think our friends might be in trouble. We gotta check it out.” “A-and go into the forest? A-at night?,” Fluttershy whispered, covering her mouth with her hooves. Then she suddenly shook her head. “N-no, our friends may be in trouble,” she said, mostly to herself. “They would do the same for me.” With that she began to follow Applejack.  Rarity was about to join them when she turned and noticed Spike beside her with a look of pure terror on his face. She gave him a soft smile. “Dear, why don’t you stay behind and make sure the castle is okay?,” she said, giving him a pat on the head. Spike quickly sprouted a look of relief before shaking his head. He then raised his claw in a solute, trying his best to look determined. Rarity turned and left. Suddenly Pinkie appeared in front of Spike. The look on her face was so unusually serious that it caused Spike to take a step back. “Spike.” “Y-yes?” Pinkie then handed him her balloon. “Take care of Howie for me.” Spike blinked. “Um, okay?” Pinkie nodded and then turned around. She then began humming a tune to herself, happily bouncing after her friends. “Almost...almost, gah!” Rainbow Dash let out another hiss of pain. She was standing on her hind legs with a tree branch in her mouth. As she briefly lost her balance, she had instinctively spread her wings and aggravated her injuries. She dropped back onto her hooves, the branch tumbling uselessly out of her mouth.  “Dang it,” she whispered. While her wing wasn’t broken (thank Celestia, she’d never hear the end of it if she had to go to the hospital again) she had definitely sprained it. And while Twilight was a much better flyer than when she first got her wings, no small part due to Rainbow’s flying lessons, she still was nowhere near strong enough to carry her. Which meant that they would have to stay put. At least until morning.  With a sigh Rainbow picked up the branch again. Above her was her saddle bag, suspended in the air by a tree branch. She stood on her hind legs again, angling the stick upward. “Come on, come on,” she thought to herself. After an eternity Rainbow managed to hook one of the straps. With an amount of focus she normally reserved for stunt work or Daring Doo, she freed her bag from the tree’s wooden grasp, causing it to land with a quite yet satisfying thud.  Rainbow Dash spat out the stick and quickly checked inside. By some miracle, her precious cargo had survived the fall. “Yes!,” she said, pumping a hoof into the air. It had seemed as if their luck was turning around. She turned to face Twilight and frowned. After tending Rainbow’s injuries the best she could, Twilight had prepared a small fire. She then sat down in front of it, neither moving nor speaking since then.  Rainbow put her saddlebags back on and walked over to Twilight. The alicorn continued to stare at the flames, giving zero response to Rainbow’s presence.  She then noticed that Twilight’s horn was glowing. She was making some sort of spell. Curious, Rainbow followed her gaze. She peered into the flames, not seeing anything for a moment. Then she saw the tiny specks of lavender rising up above the flames. Rainbow tilted her head up. Above the kindling was a sphere of purple light, about the size of a pony. Every few seconds it flicked like a heartbeat. the purple embers would float up from below to join the sphere as if feeding it. “It’s a beacon spell,” Twilight said all of a sudden. “Huh?” “A beacon spell It’s a spell that takes a small amount of heat and light from a preexisting flame and uses them to create a signal that can be seen from miles away. The ‘Equestrian Wildness Survival Guide’ highly recommends all unicorns learn the spell before venturing out into the woods.” “Huh.” “It’s actually quite interesting how they form. The magic and fire causes cool air to be drawn upwards, producing strong air currents known as after winds. This creates a region where the magically charged air rotates around, producing a vortex ring with a torodial shape.”  “Honestly, it looks like a jellyfish to me,” Rainbow said as she sat next to Twilight. “Ya know, like from that time we went to the aquarium?” “I remember,” Twilight said. Then she smiled. “You were screaming like a filly when we saw the turtle exhibit.” “Hey! Turtles. Are. Awesome. Tank’s a tortoise, and he’s awesome, and turtles are just water tortoises, so they're awesome too!”  Rainbow Dash had raised both her fore hooves in the air to emphasize the last point.  “Can’t argue with that logic,” Twilight snicked.  The two mares fell silent for a moment, and then Twilight sighed. “Rainbow, I’m sorry about tonight.” “Twi, you know I won't get mad at you over something like this, right?” “I know,” Twilight said, barely a whisper. “Then why are you so worked up?” Twilight exhaled through her nose. “Rainbow, I know what I'm like,” she said. When Rainbow didn’t reply, she signed and continued: “Look at you and the girls, for example. You knew Fluttershy much of your life, and she was friends with Rarity before I came here. Rarity and Applejack knew each other, although they weren’t really close until later, and Pinkie… well, she knew everypony. She is Pinkie, after all.” For a moment, the two shared a smile at her last remark. Then Twilight frowned. “And me? Who did I have?” “Ya had Spike,” Rainbow pointed out. “I meant in terms of friends. Spike’s important to me, yes, but he’s more like a younger sibling to me. But ponies around my age, not related to me that I spent time with of my own volition? Not that many. And even then, we were never close. Most of the time it felt like they had to force me to go out. Heck, I wouldn’t have even meant you if the Princess didn’t literally tell me to.” “And then, we defeated Nightmare Moon, and for the first time in my life I had actual friends. But even then, I had no idea what I was doing. I actually had to read a book in order to figure out what to do for my first sleepover. Even Fluttershy didn’t need to do that! All seemed to just know how to go out and interact with other ponies, and I didn’t. No pony else ever did something like … like brainwashing half the town to fight over a doll! Or wasting a whole week trying to prevent some apocalypse that was never going to happen! Or dragging their marefriend into a deadly thunderstorm!” “And yet, you all wanted to be friends with me. Instead of somepony who you could be with without having to worry she is going to say the wrong thing because of some outdated book on friendship, or that will turn the town into a disaster area over some minor problem.” Twilight was quiet for a moment before she spoke again.  “T-that’s why I wanted tonight to be perfect, so I could show you how much you matter to me. Because I know how much you are giving up by being with somepony like me.” For a moment, there was nothing but the crackling of the flames. Then Rainbow slammed into Twilight, nearly knocking her over before bringing her into a kiss. Once she had finished, she pulled back and grabbed Twilight’s head in her hooves, turning it so she was forced to look her in the eyes. “Twilight, do you know what my relationship with Fluttershy was like before I meant you?” “Rainbow, wh-” “Twilight, I barely saw her! The only time we would really speak was when my weather team needed to know if some animals were having a problem with the weather. And do you know why?” Twilight shook her head. “Because I was thinking that my fillyhood friend wasn’t cool enough to hang out with. Because I used to be a real jerk back then. Because I didn’t know anything about friendship. And you know what, I probably never would of changed if I hadn’t meant you!” “And you’re holding me back? How? By leading me to the best friends I could of ever had? By cheering me on during the best young flyer competition, by helping me pass an exam to get into the Wonderbolt reserve, which, by the way, is kinda, ya know, my dream.” “And what about all of the adventures that we had, all places I’ve seen and all the ponies I never would of meant if not for you? Hay, do you know how many times we have saved Equestria? Not once, not twice, but uh... whatever ya call it when something happens three times!?” “Thrice?,” Twilight suggested. “You see! You think I would of learned that word without you!?” Twilight giggled. Rainbow leaned in until their muzzles were almost touching.  “So don’t go thinking you’re holding me back, Twilight. You are the best thing to ever happen to me.” Rainbow Dash leaned forward and kissed her again. “I love you.” “I know,” Twilight replied with a smirk. She then placed her head on Rainbow’s shoulder as she drew her in for a hug, careful not to hurt her injured wing. The two sat like that for sometime, enjoying the quiet and stillness of the night. Eventually, Rainbow Dash realized something. Maybe this was the moment she had been hoping for. She still had her gift, after all. And it looked like their night was ending on a high note. Maybe she finally had a chance to finally ask Twilight… “Rainbow,” Twilight said, suddenly ending the hug. Her ears were straight up, a look of fear upon her face. “Rainbow, did you hear that?” Rainbow Dash froze, trying to listen. At first she heard nothing but a heavy silence that hung in the air. Her pulse hammered in her ears when she remembered something Fluttershy had told her a while ago.  That critters usually went quiet when they heard a predator nearby. A low growl then cut through the air. “Oh, Buck.” The squirrel was chatting animatedly, waving his paws in the air.  “Uh huh. I see,” Fluttershy said, nodding in attention. Her friends had gathered around her, eagerly waiting for some news.  “Oh,” she said. “Come on, what’s he saying?,” Applejack asked. Futtlershy raised a hoof to tell her to be quiet. Fluttershy sighed. “Okay. Thanks anyways.” She gave the squirrel an affectionate pat on the head before he ran off into the night. Fluttershy turned to face her friends. “He said that his scurry had seen the Rainboom, but they hadn't seen any ponies besides us.” The mares let out a collective groan of frustration. “Dang it!,” Applejack said, throwing her stetson on the ground. “We’ll never find ‘em at this rate!” “Maybe we could head over to Zecora’s?,” Rarity suggested. “If anypony knows what's going on in the woods, it would be her.” “By the time we make it ta her place we coulda cover half the forest!” “Well, do we really know if time is of the essence here. After all, we don’t really know if they are in any trouble.” “Well, then explain ta me why she would make a Sonic Rainbow then?” “Maybe it was meant for Twilight?,” Fluttershy added. “I mean, um, she did it so that Twilight could know where to find her?” “Which means she doesn’t know where Twilight is. Just like the rest of us,” Applejack muttered. “Hey, what’s that?,” Pinkie said. She pointed at something in the distance, the others turning to look. Barely visible above the treeline was a ring of purple light, gently pulsing every few seconds. “Hum,” Applejack said as she placed her stetson back on her head. Something about the light seemed familiar… “ALIENS!,” Pinkie shouted, causing everypony to jump. “THEY’RE GONNA PROBE US!” With a blur of pink she hid herself inside a hollow log, somehow contorting her body to fit. Only a single blue eye and lock of her mane was visible through a hole she entered through. Fluttershy approached the log, kneeling so that she could peer inside the hole. “Pinkie Pie,” she said with a tone often used for her animal friends. “We’ve been over this. There are no such things as aliens.” “Nu-uh!” The lock of hair reached through the hole like a tendril, booping Fluttershy’s nose. “Aliens totally exist! How else do you explain those weird lights Tree Hugger saw? And Berry Punch was totally abducted by them. You could ask her about it yourself!” “Pinkie dear,” Rarity deadpanned. “I don't think those two are the most reliable sources of information.” “Why?  What’d you mean?” “It’s a message,” Applejack said suddenly, causing Pinkie’s head to pop out of the log.  “Um, pardon?,” Fluttershy said. “It’s a message,” Applejack repeated. “When ah was a filly, ya know, back at camp with Rara, we learned all these little codes. Usta send each other secret messages an’ such.” Applejack’s eyebrows knitted together. “Ah think ah can decipher it…” Applejack sat on her haunches, her friends gathered around her as she stared intensely at the glow. After a moment she began to draw letters in the dirt with her hoof.  “S…,” she read. “O… D?” Applejack frowned in confusion.  “Soda?,” Pinkie suggested. Suddenly she gasped. “Oh. My. Celestia. The aliens are here for our planet's soda supply!” Rarity did a facehoof. “SOS!,” Applejack shouted. Rarity gasped. “Twilight! She’s in trouble!” With that the mares took off running.