//------------------------------// // Lesson 5: The One and Only! // Story: The New Moon Rises // by Kit Wolfkat //------------------------------// Lesson 5: The One and Only! Twilight and Spike reached the west bridge of Ponyville, but she felt full, extremely full. “I shouldn’t have agreed,”Twilight muttered to herself, feeling the weight of the entire plate of food she had just consumed. “And now I feel too damn full to take another step.” she grumbled under her breath. Spike meanwhile felt satisfied, “Only Twilight Sparkle will complain of filling her stomach with delicious food.” he grinned as he looked at Twilight, who is now leaning against the railing of the bridge. Twilight started heaving and she took a couple of deep breaths, Spike walked next to her and placed a claw on her back and patted her comfortably. “Hey, you’re feeling good Twi?” he began, hoping his caretaker wasn’t sick or anything. “I’m fine Spike,” Twilight said, as she took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “I just need a moment to myself.” She closed her eyes and took another deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Spike stood next to her, silent and concerned, but not wanting to interrupt her moment of peace. After a few minutes, Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Spike with a small smile. “Thanks Spike, I feel a little better now.” she said, patting his head. “Let’s go and check up on the next one on the list.” she said her mouth slowly opened up into a soft smile as she began to walk away from the bridge. Spike nodded as he unrolled the scroll in his left claw. “This one’s Rainbow Dash, supposed to be one of the weather crew captains to make sure the moon isn’t covered by the clouds above.” Twilight gazed up at the sky, her eyes scanning the expanse of blue and white. The clouds, however, were not as she had expected. They were clumped together in untidy masses, some of them shaped like absurd animals or enormous cotton balls. Her frustration began to boil inside of her. “I’m starting to think that this Rainbow Dash isn’t taking her job seriously,” she muttered, her anger quietly risening. Spike noticed Twilight’s growing frustration and quickly took action, placing a comforting claw on her back, “Hey Twi, calm down,” he soothed. “Maybe she’s just had a lot on her plate today?”” As soon as he said that, a loud snore erupted above them. Twilight and Spike looked up to see a rainbow-maned pegasus, fast asleep on a cloud, snoring loudly. Twilight’s eyes twitched. “You!” she shouted towards the sleeping pegasus. Her voice echoed throughout the sky, waking up the mare. The pegasus rubbed her eyes and looked down to see Twilight and Spike, glaring up at her. “Hey! What’s the big idea!” she shouted out towards the unicorn, who seemed angry for some reason at her. Rainbow Dash’s defiance only added fuel to Twilight’s anger. She marched towards the cloud where Rainbow Dash was, with Spike following close behind. “You are supposed to be clearing the skies and making sure the weather is perfect for the festivities tonight,” Twilight scolded, her voice filled with frustration and disbelief. “But instead, you’re napping on the job!” “So you think it’s my job?” “Of course!” Twilight barked out, her frustration reaching a boiling point. “Your name is Rainbow Dash, right?” Rainbow Dash chuckled wholeheartedly, “The one and only! Fastest pegasi in the state and soon-to-be Wonderbolt!” she said with a cocky smirk as she puffed her chest out. “So what’s your excuse for not doing your job?” Rainbow Dash glared at Twilight, “What’s that supposed to mean?” she said, her raspy voice filled with annoyance. Twilight pointed towards the pegasus mare with a scowl, “It means it requires a team to perform, which means WHERE IS YOUR TEAM!” she shouted, her voice echoing throughout the sky. Spike, who had been watching the exchange with growing alarm, realised that he needed to step in and calm Twilight down before things escalated any further. He patted his claw on her back and spoke in a soothing tone. “Hey Twi, calm down. Maybe she has a perfectly reasonable explanation for it?” “Yeah, I gave them a week off!” Rainbow Dash suddenly said, overhearing Spike’s reassurances. Twilight’s anger reached its peak as she heard Rainbow Dash’s explanation. “A FUCKING week off?!” she shouted. “Don’t you FUCKING realise that there is a big celebration tonight and the sky needs to be crystal clear?” A nearby crowd formed and some began whispering as they recognised her from the morning earlier, now yelling at a different mare. Spike winced at Twilight’s sudden outburst, while Rainbow Dash looked taken aback at the unicorn’s use of language. The normally calm and collected Twilight was completely lashing out, her anger boiling over. “Twi, I think that’s enough,” Spike warned, trying to get Twilight to calm down. "Everyone's noticing.." “Pffft, I can clear the skies in 10 seconds flat, just you see!” she said, her ego unchanged as she looked down at Twilight with a confident smirk. Does she honestly think that she can clear all of this in 10 seconds? What an egotistical braggart. “Fine.” she said in a calm tone suddenly despite the anger still simmering just beneath the surface. “Prove it.” Rainbow Dash’s smirk only grew wider at the challenge, and without a moment wasted she took to the air with a burst of speed. With each buck, she cleared the clumps of clouds, the makeshift animals, and the weird cloud shapes. Within seconds, the Ponyville sky was cleared of any clouds. The sun clearly illuminated a bright yellow light on the town, much to the cheer and excitement of the crowd as they clapped their hooves and praised Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash landed gracefully back on the ground, her chest puffed out with pride. “See? Told you I could do it,” she said with a smirk, looking back at Twilight.”What do you think of that?” she asked, relishing in Twilight’s stunned expression. “Wha.. What,” Twilight stuttered, still in disbelief at what she had just seen. Her eyes darted around, and her mind raced, trying to comprehend what had just happened. “So, how was it?” Rainbow Dash asked, her cocky demeanour still present as she hovered in front of Twilight with a self-assured grin. Her wings flapped steadily, creating a soft rustling sound as she gently touched the ground. Twilight nodded, still feeling a mix of emotions as she bit her lip. “I have to admit, it was impressive,” she finally said, reluctantly. “But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that you were napping on the job, and that your team was on a week off on the most important day of the month!” Rainbow Dash frowned as she heard Twilight’s words, her ego slightly deflating but she’s not gonna let this fly by. She’s Rainbow Dash after all! “Hey, at least the skies cleared right? Nothing wrong with that!” she said with a shrug, trying to downplay the situation. Twilight raised an eyebrow, her anger slowly starting to boil over again. “You, this is not just about the skies being cleared. It’s about being responsible and taking your job seriously! You can’t just take a week off whenever you please.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, her temper rising as well. “Whatever, at least the skies are cleared , that’s all that matters.” Twilight’s anger reached its peak, “ARE YOU SERIOUS!” she shouted. The crowd was starting to crowd around them again as they watched in amazement at them both. Is this mare the most incompetent pegasus entirety of the kingdom! She is REALLY testing my nerves now! Rainbow Dash stood her ground, a stubborn look on her face. “Yes, I’m serious. What’s the big deal? The skies are cleared, aren’t they?” she said, trying to defend herself. “I swear you’re just acting like a little school filly who lost her pursie bag of froo froo.” she teased at Twilight. Oh you son of a- Twilight finally reached her furious peak but before she could argue further, Rainbow Dash suddenly took flight and flew off towards the marketplace, leaving Twilight and Spike, along with the small crowd, watching in surprise. She watched as Rainbow Dash went towards a nearby stall and bought something, her mind racing with what it could be. When she returned, Rainbow Dash carried two steaming cups of coffee in her hooves, and approached Twilight with a smirk. “Here, my treat,” Rainbow Dash said, offering one of the cups to Twilight. Twilight could only accept, staring at Rainbow in confusion as the pegasus drank the aromantic coffee in loud slurps. “Ahh, now that’s good coffee.” she said in satisfaction. Twilight held the coffee in her magic, her confused stare unwavering towards Rainbow Dash unsettled the rainbow maned pegasus. “Wha.. Why did you,” she began but Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off with a flick of her wing. “You look like you could use something to calm yourself down, so why not a coffee.” Rainbow Dash replied, trying to lighten the mood by taking another sip. Twilight reluctantly took a sip of the coffee, it smelled of robusta coffee beans and extremely delicious both in taste and in caffeine. As the coffee hit her taste buds, Twilight couldn’t help but close her eyes and savour the moment. The rich and robust flavour was like a soothing balm to her frazzled nerves. She took another sip and let out a contented sigh. Rainbow Dash laughed with a genuine smile spreading across her face. “I told you it would calm you down,” she said with a hint of smugness, taking another sip of her coffee. Twilight turned towards Rainbow Dash with an angry and stern expression, “But this coffee doesn’t excuse your irresponsible and neglectful behaviour! You need to take your duties seriously.” she said with a firm and extremely harsh tone. Twilight quickly drank the rest of the cup in a few gulps as she savoured the last of its rich flavour. The crowd of ponies surrounding them shifted nervously, waiting for the next exchange. “So there’s no fight today?” one of them asked, trying to break the tension. Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight replied in unison, “NO!” their voices resounding through the marketplace, quickly putting an end to the rumours of a fight. The crowd let out a collective sigh of disappointment and they dispersed quietly. Twilight then looked at her now empty cup before turning towards Rainbow Dash, “So-” she began with an annoyed tone. But before she could finish her sentence, Rainbow Dash quickly cut her off, “So we’re cool?” she asked, a hint of a smile on her face as she sipped her coffee. The least you could do is not cut me off… Twilight rolled her eyes and replied, “Yeah, whatever,” before dropping her cup on the ground. “At least the sky is cleared,” she said to herself. Rainbow Dash was finishing her coffee, a contented smile spreading across her face. “That’s some good coffee,” she said, savouring the last sip. “When the Wonderbolts see me doing my tricks, they’ll have to get me in!” With a determined gleam in her eye, Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, her rainbow mane streaming behind her. She began racing and started doing loops overhead. Twilight decided this will be the time to leave. But before she could take another step, Rainbow Dash swooped down beside and started to fly around Twilight extremely quickly , causing the unicorn to spin around like a ballerina on a musical box. “He- hey!” Twilight tried to stop herself from spinning but she couldn’t. She tried to catch her balance but it was impossible, she was too dizzy. Rainbow Dash just laughed and continued to fly around her, she was having too much fun. Finally, Rainbow Dash stopped and hovered in front of Twilight. As Twilight stopped spinning, she shook her head to get rid of the dizziness and looked at Rainbow Dash, who had a weird expression on her face, as if she almost wanted to- “Bwahahahahaha!” Rainbow Dash erupted into laughter, the sound ringing through the air. Twilight’s mane was a mess, wild strands sticking out in every direction. Even Spike joined in too with laughing. Screw this.. This mare is worse than that hick family. Twilight however was in no laughing mood, silently she took the laughing Spike in her magic and placed him on her back and started to walk away. “Let’s just get out of here,” she said to Spike, who was still laughing his heart out. But just as she was about to walk away, a stern voice called out. “Hey you three, stop right where you are!” Twilight, including Rainbow and Spike who stopped laughing turned to the source of the voice. A policemare was approaching them, a stern look on her face. Her badge had the name Copper Top on it. “I just got a report of a crowd gathering for a fight down here, and I’m not surprised to see you here Rainbow Dash,” Copper Top said, her eyes narrowing at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash nervously shrinked back. Twilight took the opportunity to make her case, speaking in a calm but otherwise irritated tone.“We were just having an argument and it ended with my mane jumbled mess due to that pegasus.” she said, directing her gaze towards Rainbow Dash. Spike who saw this quickly spoke up in support of Twilight, “Yeah, it was hilarious! Twilight was spinning around like a windmill and mane and- Bwaahahhaah!” he laughed seeing Twilight’s mane in a frizz. Copper Top was not amused. She looked on the ground and saw the coffee cups on the ground. “And what about these?” she questioned, gesturing towards the cups. Twilight wasted no time pointing the blame towards Rainbow Dash. “Oh, she did it,” she said matter-of-factly. Copper Top turned her gaze towards Rainbow Dash and seemed unsurprised. “I ain’t surprised, considering.” she trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid. “Wha- wha, WHAT!” Rainbow Dash stuttered, taken aback by Twilight’s sudden accusation. “Bu.. But I-” she tried to protest but Twilight was quicker to add another accusation. “I’m supposed to be the royal supervisor for the celebrations but she has been neglecting her duties, littering and above all she made my mane like, Like THIS!” she pointed to her mane. Rainbow Dash was quick to defend herself, “Hold on, that’s technically true. But I didn’t mean to make your mane like that. It was just for fun!” she said, trying to explain herself. However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately wished she could take them back. “Crown's Flight Regulation Section 5.” Copper Top said to Rainbow Dash, her glare became increasingly focused. Rainbow Dash sighed, knowing what was coming next, “No pegasi shall engage in any aerial activity that may cause harm to any being or disrupt the peace, anywhere near the safety radius of an individual by approximately 2 metres.” she recited. “And does anywhere on that, say fun and furiously spinning someone out?” Copper Top asked with a raised eyebrow. “No,” Rainbow Dash admitted sheepishly, her earlier confidence now replaced by embarrassment. Copper Top’s glare now softened but her tone remained stern, “I ain’t surprised with what your kind is capable of Rainbow, but I’m still shocked that you can’t learn anything! ” “Now, Rainbow Dash, follow me to the station. We can discuss this further there,” Copper Top continued. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened in fear, and she immediately pointed at Twilight. “What about her? She littered too!” she protested, trying to deflect the blame. Copper Top raised an eyebrow, a look of disappointment on her face. “Rainbow Dash, are you really trying to deflect the issue here?” she asked, her tone stern. “The issue is that over the past three years since you’ve moved here, you have received 60 warnings, 5 citations, and 20 fines for various infractions!” Spike, during the later part of the commotion managed to get himself an ice cream from the nearby stall and saw all of this, “Whoa, that’s a lot of numbers.” he remarked, licking his ice cream. Copper Top then turned to Twilight and immediately brought out her citation book and gave Twilight a fine, “20 Tacks, considering this is your first time in this fine town.” she said politely to Twilight. “And as for you Rainbow Dash, you’re coming with me!” Copper Top declared, as she firmly grabbed the pegasus’ wings and began dragging her away. Rainbow Dash shot a look of disdain towards Twilight before reluctantly following the police mare. “Sooo, what did I miss?” Spike said, continuing to lick his ice cream. Twilight let out a contented sigh and finally smiled for the first time in hours. “My first victory,” she said, with a sense of satisfaction. “Wow, seems like that Rainbow Dash mare didn’t like you after this?” Spike commented, noticing the look Rainbow Dash had given Twilight. “I don’t care,” Twilight replied, her smile growing wider. “That mare got what she deserves, and even though I have a fine I can just wire some money to the station.” she said, although she can’t help but feel a bit nervous. Maybe it’s just my adrenaline kicking in,maybe… “You know, Twilight? You’ve been making a lot of ponies unhappy here lately. First off is Winters, your old friend which is bad enough, then that farm mare and now this pegasus who’s prolly gonna get herself arrested.” he said worryingly. Twilight simply shrugged off Spike’s worries. “It’s fine Spike, I’m not gonna be for too long, after this celebration we’ll get that book and head back to Canterlot.” she replied. “All I’m saying is that you’re definitely not making any friends here anymore.” Spike added, his concern still evident in his voice. “Who needs friends when you have a good book and a nice library to go back to?” Twilight retorted. Oh Spike, friendship is not in it for me right now. You’ll know what I mean later when you’re old as me. Wait. Spike sighed, he knew that Twilight wasn’t one to change her mind easily. “Well, whatever makes you happy, I guess.” he said, giving up on trying to change her mind. “But I’m not completely convinced by your answer. However, I am completely convinced by this ice cream!” he added, holding up his treat and giving a big smile. Spike took a big lick of his ice cream and let out a satisfied sigh. Twilight couldn’t help but smile at her dragon friend’s innocence. Despite her recent actions, she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty for making so many ponies unhappy. But on the profitable and easier side, that book that could help her so much, the knowledge she will have will be extensive and the princess will be so proud of her! She would do anything to get her hooves on that book, even if it meant making a few well, unhappy along the way. She looked at Spike and put on a smile, “Come on Spike, let’s go finish this, we still have a few more to check on our list.” she said, with determination.