Chapter eleven: As Luck Would Have It
Dripping the quill in the ink pot resting on her desk one last time, Twilight nodded to herself approvingly.
She had spent the last few hours making the rough draft of the letter that was asking permission for Spike to go to the dragon lands on the mission to find the dragon who had blinded Rainbow Dash. It had to be perfect if she wanted Princess Celestia to approve her idea. Dragons were dangerous, and sending a baby to find a probably dangerous adult was an incredibly risky idea, even for her. However, she had faith in Spike. Her assistant could take care of himself.
Sometimes…
She looked over her work carefully. It was fine for now, but she would still have to work on it. But, that was just one part of it. On the other hoof, this letter was a large form of escapism for her. She had tried to tell herself many times that it wasn’t, but, ultimately, she knew that it was. After her fateful encounter with that book, she wanted something, anything to get her mind off Rainbow Dash’s dead body. Luckily for her, this was just the ticket for her to do so. However, the small idea had turned out to be a full-fledged project for her, as most things usually did. It was a good thing that she enjoyed projects.
But, it was challenging and time consuming. She hadn’t exactly written something like this before, but that was because she had never needed to. Now it was different. And, after all, there was a first time for everything. But, for a first time, she thought she did rather well. Now, she just needed to finish it, and find a time when she could send it to the princess.
Also, there were a few distractions she had faced while writing the letter. Such as the hospital sending her a letter asking her where Rainbow Dash would be staying after she was released from the hospital. Without hesitation she had responded by telling them that she would house her blind friend. She was sure that she was just doing what all good friends would do. And, if she chose to look at it the easy way, it would almost be like a permanent slumber party, except she was sure that Rainbow wouldn’t want to do anything her book on slumber parties suggested, like makeovers. She rolled her eyes. It didn’t take a genius to know that some pony like Rainbow Dash wouldn’t enjoy that kind of thing.
But, with Rainbow Dash moving in, it wouldn’t be all fun and games. While still being a friend, she would also become a caretaker, in a sense. Being blind limited the things the pegasus would be able to do on her own, so Twilight would have to help her with those things. It wasn’t going to be easy, for either of them, but Twilight was up to the challenge, she just hoped that Rainbow Dash was as well. Besides, she was actually looking forward to Rainbow Dash coming to stay with her. It would certainly make things more interesting around the library, that was for sure.
Putting the letter neatly into an empty drawer, her interest was suddenly piqued by an unexpected sound coming from outside of the library.
“You first.”
“No, you first.”
“NO…I INSIST that you go in first.”
Puzzled by the conversation coming from outside, Twilight walked up to the front door quickly. She lit up her horn, and the door soon responded to that by swinging open. Not surprisingly, Applejack and Rarity were bickering just outside the door. Just behind them were the cutie mark crusaders, who each had various looks on their faces. Applebloom was trying to get her sister’s attention, Sweetie Belle looked hesitant, and Scootaloo looked like she was about to slap the two arguing mares. Twilight rolled her eyes and waited for the two to stop.
“NOOO, you can – oh, hey, Twilight,” Applejack said, realizing that Twilight was holding the door open for them. She invited herself into the library, hardly noticing Twilight’s disapproving look.
Rarity followed Applejack into the tree house with the cutie mark crusaders just behind her. Once they were all in, Twilight shut the door with her magic.
“Hello, Twilight. How are you doing on this fine day?” Rarity asked the unicorn.
“Oh, I’m doing fine. I was just…” She was stopped as Rarity nudged her in the elbow and pointed her eyes meaningfully towards the three fillies.
Twilight’s eyes widened in realization. She made a small nodding gesture and quickly changed the subject.
“So, what are you here for?” she asked quickly, hoping the change of subject was not too abrupt for the young fillies to become suspicious. Luckily, they seemed to be talking amongst themselves and were not paying any attention to her.
“Oh, I’m just looking for a book. Could I possibly look around the library for it?” Rarity asked pleadingly. “I’m afraid that I’m not able to find it at the moment and I was hoping that you would have it.” Rarity began to help herself out by pulling random books off random shelves in the hopes that the book would magically appear to her. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to be the one that she was looking for.
“Of course you can,” Twilight nodded, walking over to where Rarity was standing. “What book are you looking for?” she asked.
Rarity was quickly to look cautiously at the Cutie Mark Crusaders to make sure that they weren’t listening. Once she was sure that it was safe to continue, she turned back to Twilight.
“I’m looking for a book that will most likely help Rainbow Dash,” she told her quietly, barely keeping her voice above a whisper just in case unwanted ears were listening in on the conversation.
Twilight’s eyes widened. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Without hesitation, she nodded quickly. “Oh, okay, well, I think I can…”
“What was that you said about Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo interrupted, suddenly materializing in between the two unicorns.
What Rarity and Twilight hadn’t noticed was that they were speaking just a bit too loud, and the cutie mark crusaders were apparently finished with their earlier conversation. And, as they all knew, when Scootaloo caught wind of her idol’s name, she was bound to investigate any news regarding Rainbow Dash. Unfortunately for them, that was exactly what she did on this occasion, even though they were hoping that she wouldn’t.
Twilight and Rarity both looked at each other nervously. What should they say? What should they do? Just as Twilight was opening her mouth to say some half-thought out excuse, Applejack miraculously came to their rescue.
The farm pony had made the quick decision to pull on the filly’s purple tail to her get away from her two unicorn friends. She let her go in the middle of her two friends, and then proceeded to chastise the orange pegasus.
“Has any pony ever told ya that it’s rude ta eavesdrop on other ponies when they’re tryin’ ta talk about something that ain’t none of your business?” Applejack scolded, looking the filly in the eye.
Scootaloo seemed to wilt under Applejack’s gaze as she taught her a lesson on courtesy and manners. Her ears were flattened against her head and her eyes were staring intently at the floor.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized sheepishly. “I just heard Rainbow Dash’s name and I wanted to see what they were talking about…”
“It’s okay, Scootaloo,” Twilight assured. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but Applejack is right. It’s rude to snoop in on other ponies business, especially if you’re not supposed to listen to them.” She picked her words carefully on the last sentence. There was no need to cause unwanted suspicion on Scootaloo’s part.
“Okay…but…how IS Rainbow Dash, anyway?” she asked once again.
Twilight, surprisingly, saw Sweetie Belle’s expression grow sad. Rarity must have told her, she thought. There was no other explanation that made sense other than that. Twilight grew skeptical. She wouldn’t have told the little filly so soon, but Sweetie Belle wasn’t her sister. Still, it would save a lot of heartbreak for her later.
Applebloom’s expression matched that of Scootaloo’s. Applejack must not have told her younger sister yet. Speaking of Applejack, the earth pony was shaking her head dangerously and mouthing the word ‘no’ over and over again. Taking the hint, she turned back to the cutie mark crusaders.
“She’s doing just fine,” Twilight told them convincingly. Hopefully the two uninformed fillies would buy her lie. Unfortunately, the two still looked unconvinced. Twilight began to get nervous. What else could she say to convince them? Luckily, Applejack came to her rescue. Again.
“Why don’t you three run along and let the big ponies talk?” Applejack said, already scooting the three closer towards the door of the library. She was mostly pushing Applebloom and Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle was just tagging along for the free ride.
“But what about Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo argued, fighting against the older pony.
“Yeah!’ Applebloom agreed.
"You’ll find out soon enough,” Applejack told them, finally pushing them to the door. She opened it quickly and pushed them outside. “Now, move along and go…do…whatever it is that ya like ta do. Bye now.” With that, she slammed the door shut. She heard the beginning of protests, but they were quickly replaced with the sound of hooves walking away. Pleased with herself, she turned back to her friends.
“Thank you for that, Applejack,” Twilight said.
“No problem, Twilight,” Applejack smiled.
After that little piece of conversation was finished, the atmosphere in the room gradually turned into a comfortable silence. Twilight looked at both Applejack and Rarity, who had taken a break from her search to join her friends in the middle of the floor, and saw thoughtful expressions on both of their faces. She figured that they were both thinking the same thing she was, and were just figuring out a way to start a conversation. However, just as Applejack opened her mouth, Rarity had finished her sentence.
“I told Sweetie Belle about Rainbow Dash,” the unicorn said simply.
“We could tell,” Applejack snorted. After Rarity had shot her a look that had “I’m going to stab you with my horn,” written all over her face, she became serious. “But, why in the same hay would you go an’ do that?” she asked, looking unimpressed at Rarity’s decision.
“Because, Applejack, it’s much better for some pony of Sweetie Belle’s age to hear about this sooner, in my opinion,” Rarity explained, pointing her nose upwards.
Applejack snorted. The farmer still had a confused expression on her face. It was clear to the two unicorns that she didn’t quite agree with what Rarity was trying to tell her.
Twilight decided to step into the conversation. “Think of it this way, Applejack,” she began, “if some pony you cared about was injured, would you rather be told sooner or later?”
For a few moments, Applejack held her skeptical expression as she was thinking what Twilight had said over. But, after careful consideration, the expression slowly fell from her face and she nodded reluctantly.
“Ah guess Ah know what ya mean…but they’re still fillies; they won’t be able to understand,” Applejack argued.
“I beg to differ. When I told Sweetie Belle, she seemed to understand after I explained the concept to her,” Rarity said, putting in her two cents. She still stood by her position in the argument, and it seemed that none of Applejack’s statements would hinder that.
“I have to agree with Rarity, Applejack,” Twilight said. She grew a bit sympathetic when she saw Applejack’s expression darken. “I’m sorry, Applejack. But, those fillies are smart. They’re going to find out sooner or later. And, wouldn’t it be better for them if they knew how to deal with something like this?”
The farm pony sighed reluctantly. She knew that the two unicorns were right, her pride just didn’t quite want to admit it. She hated how things were changing so quickly. There was nothing she wanted more than for everything to go back to normal. She figured that not telling her sister was the last thing that really held together the illusion that everything was as it should be, and that Rainbow Dash wasn’t blind, and that everything was normal. But, that just couldn’t be anymore, and she knew it. She swallowed the lump in her throat and faced her two friends.
“Ah guess Ah can’t argue with that…” she gave in begrudgingly. “Tell ya what, Ah’ll tell Applebloom tonight.”
Twilight let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Applejack,” she said gratefully.
“Don’t mention it,” the farmer muttered darkly.
There was something in Applejack’s tone that she wasn’t quite sure of, but Twilight still felt a large weight being lifted from her shoulders. They had finally made Applejack listen to their reasoning, even if she wasn’t too happy about it. Then, suddenly, another, much larger chunk of responsibility weighed down upon her.
“Girls…” she began, getting her friends attention. “Some pony needs to tell Scootaloo.”
Applejack and Rarity’s eyes widened. That seemed to be the detail they had both forgotten in the brief moment that she had been in the library.
“Do you two know her parents?” Twilight asked.
Applejack was the first to respond. “Ah don’t even know if she HAS parents,” she said pessimistically.
Twilight looked stricken for a few moments. Not having parents? That would certainly be hard to deal with. Although, it made sense when she looked at it. If she didn’t have role models around for her every day, then why not look for a new one in another pony?
The little pegasus would surely be heartbroken when she heard about Rainbow Dash. Who could be the one to deliver the dark deed of delivering the news? Just as she was about to ask if her friends had any ideas, the thought came to her.
“I should tell her,” Twilight said after the pregnant pause.
“But…what about her…”
“I’ll look into her parents. If I can’t find them, then I’ll tell her myself,” Twilight promised. “Some pony has to do it, right?”
Rarity nodded in agreement, along with Applejack, the latter looking a bit hesitant.
“Well, Ah could tell ‘er, if ya want…” Applejack offered slowly. Judging from the look on her face, Twilight could clearly tell that farm pony wanted to do anything but. Not wanting to put that burden on her friend, she shook her head.
“No, I can do this,” Twilight assured. “But, thank you for offering.”
Applejack let out a breath of relief and let her tense muscles relax. “Thanks, Twilight,” she said evenly.
Twilight responded by giving the earth pony a small nod. She then looked at both of her friends the way a drill sergeant would when he was giving an order.
“So it’s settled. I’ll tell Scootaloo tomorrow. Is that okay with you two?” she asked. Her two friends both gave her a small nod in their agreement.
Feeling better now that she had dealt with the matter, she began to think of new topic for conversations.
“So, you said you were looking for a book?” Twilight asked Rarity.
“Yes, I am,” Rarity answered, beginning to look through the numerous shelves of the library once again. “Personally, I believe that it will help Rainbow Dash considerably.”
Twilight raised an eye brow and joined Rarity at the shelves. From the corner of her eye, she saw Applejack come over to where the two unicorns were standing. On Applejack’s face was a look that was somewhere in between confusion and amusement. It was almost comical to Twilight, especially the way the earth pony’s lips scrunched together.
“So…what kind of book are you looking for, Rarity?” Twilight asked. She watched as Rarity set the books that she had already looked at into a neat pile on the ground.
“No…no…no…” Rarity mumbled as she went through the books one by one, carefully looking at the titles. “Oh, I’m just looking for a book on aerodynamics,” she said dismissively, barely turning her head in her friend’s direction.
Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances of curiosity. However, it was Applejack who voiced what they were both thinking.
“Why are ya looking for a book like that?” Applejack wondered out loud. “Didn’t you hear the doctor? She ain’t never gonna fly again…” Applejack looked down sadly, her bangs hanging over her eyes just enough to cover them.
Rarity rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. “Actually, she CAN fly, just not as well as she used to now that she can’t see where she’s going. What I’m trying to do is help her find a way where she can navigate reliably in the air by herself. The book should explain a way to do just that…” she trailed off, getting caught up in looking at book after book after book.
Twilight’s eyes lit in in delight. “Rarity! That’s brilliant!” she exclaimed joyfully. She ran to the nearest bookshelf and turned back to her Unicorn friend.
“What’s the book called?” she asked impatiently. Now that she had discovered a way to help her friend, she wanted to find that book as soon as possible.
“Pegasus wings and other things,” Rarity recalled automatically. “A guide to the very basics of pegasi and aerodynamics.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes carefully as she began to look for the book, scrolling down the rows of shelves and looking at the titles of each book she pulled out.
“Ha! Why would ya have a book like that?” Applejack teased, trotting closer to Rarity.
“For your information, it was for dress making,” Rarity answered coolly, not once looking at her earth pony friend.
Applejack scoffed and trotted around the unicorn with a thoughtful look on her face. “Well, if it’ll help Rainbow, then Ah’m in,” she said, beginning to look through the shelves herself.
“I think I have it somewhere here in the Library. I mean, I’ve read almost every book in here at some point or another, I just don’t know where it is at the moment. But, the title does seem familiar,” she said, mostly to herself.
A small sigh was released from behind her. “Thank you again, Twilight. It really means a lot to me,” Rarity smiled.
“You’re quite welcome; I’m more than happy to help…” Twilight answered. While it was true that she was happy to help Rarity out with finding this book, she was also helping Rainbow Dash gain some of her independence back. She missed seeing the cerulean pegasus soar through the skies above Ponyville. But, more importantly, she was sure that finding this book would help Rainbow Dash in a way that none of them could ever imagine. It would help her fly again. That thought alone brought a smile to Twilight’s face.
But, there was always the factor of whether Rainbow would cooperate with the idea or not. It would take an enormous amount of effort and patience for some pony to learn how to fly using nothing but drafts of air and thermals. And for some pony like Rainbow Dash, who didn’t have a lot of patience to start with, it would prove to be a most difficult challenge. But, she had faith in her friend, and Rainbow Dash was most definitely up for a challenge. Especially if the challenge would be able to help her fly again. Yes…seeing Rainbow fly again…
As she got caught up in her day dream about Rainbow Dash, she was unaware that a small blush was rising up to her cheeks. She wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for Applejack pointing it out.
“Twi…are you alright?” Applejack snickered, a knowing look plastered on her face.
Twilight raised her eyebrow. “I’m fine. What made you think I wasn’t?” she asked in confusion.
“Yer blushing.”
She frowned and shook her head. The thoughts about Rainbow Dash were forcibly shaken away.
“Yeah…I’m fine. Just thinking about something…’ she said.
“’Bout what?” Applejack pressed on.
“About stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Stuff!’
“Like your brother’s hindquarters kind o’ stuff?”
“Shut up!”
Twilight gave Applejack a glance laced with venom and returned to her search. After a few more books, she came across something interesting. The spine of the book was a light sky blue, almost like that of Rainbow Dash’s fur. Interested, she picked it up with her magic. She looked at the cloud-decorated cover and the gold words that made up the title.
“Pegasus Wings and Other Things: A Guide To The Very Basics Of Pegasi and Aerodynamics.”