A resounding crash echoed around the bedroom, prompting Tank to lift his head and stare at his owner.
"This is soo not cool!" Rainbow Dash glared at the book she'd just slammed shut. The last of the Adventures of Daring Do. Twilight said there'd be another one out this summer, but what was Dash supposed to do until then? "That's all of them, Tank. Do you know what that means?" She stared at the tortoise very hard, to make sure he understood her point.
"There. Aren't. Any. More."
She flung herself back onto the sheets with a groan, staring up at the ceiling. Tank floated into view, giving her a concerned look. He landed on the bed and she sat up so she could talk to him better.
"This is the least cool thing since..." Rainbow Dash paused a moment to consider. "Since ever, Tank."
The tortoise nodded in understanding.
Rainbow Dash peered at the spine of the last book, tracing her hoof along the name there. "Why can't this A.K. Yearling – whoever she is – why can't she write faster!?"
The tortoise shrugged. Well, Dash thought he shrugged – sometimes it was hard to tell with a tortoise – but that's what she would have done if she were him. It was the only response that made sense.
"She has to know everypony's waiting for the next book, right. If I can learn to fly faster, she oughtta be able to learn to write faster. Uggh!"
Tank paused for a moment, looking thoughtful, before he replied. "..."
"Wait! Yeah! I'm the fastest pony in Ponyville. I'll bet I can write fast, too! It can't be too hard, right? I mean, I've had all sorts of awesome adventures. If anypony knows how to tell a story, it's Rainbow Dash!"
Tank whirred into the air and licked her on the cheek.
Blushing, Rainbow Dash tried not to look at the tortoise. "Okay. If I'm gonna write, I'm gonna need to find some paper and ink." She bounced off her bed and into the air, already beginning to plan.
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The Amazingly Awesome Adventures of Tank the Tortoise
By R. Dash
Chapter 1 – Attack of the Dragon!
It was a dark and cloudy morning, and Tank the tortoise was about to save the life of Opal the cat.
She had been visiting Tank's stately cloud mansion and watching his awesome stunt flying practice. But a gust of wind had caught her and knocked her off the edge of the clouds, and now she was falling toward the ground at an alarming speed. Only Tank could save her now.
The tortoise snugged his goggles tight and turned his propeller to overdrive, speeding after Opal almost fast enough to make a sonic rainboom. She was dropping fast, but Tank knew that he was the fastest tortoise in Ponyville Equestria, and there was no way he'd let her hit the ground. He picked up speed, zooming in closer and closer. Opal yelped when she saw him, but he stuck out his legs and she grabbed on to him like a scared pony after a ghost story.
"Never fear, my dear Opal." Tank smiled down at the cat, who was beaming at him. "I'll always be there to save you." He slowed his descent and finally set Opal back on the ground. Tank sped into two vertical loops himself before landing next to Opal, just to make sure his fans weren't disappointed to miss out on watching his awesome flying.
"Oh, Tank, thank you!" Opal leaned in to kiss Tank on the cheek. "I was so scared!"
Tank laughed courageously. "There's no need to be afraid with Tank around. You can't think I'd let you get hurt, can you Opal?"
The white cat blushed. "Of course not, Tank. You're right, like always."
The tortoise gave Opal a benevolent smile and threw his arm around her shoulders. But just as he was about to suggest they could go somewhere for a nice, romantic dinner, Gummy the alligator came running up.
"Tank! It's awful! You have to come quick!"
Tank the tortoise sighed with regret. Sometimes being awesome meant you had to put your friends first, even when you wanted to do something else. "What is it, Gummy?"
The alligator's big purple eyes rolled nervously. "Over in the Everfree Forest, Tank! It's heading straight for Ponyville, knocking down trees and everything." He took a big breath. "It's... It's a DRAGON!"
Tank turned toward the forest and narrowed his eyes. His mouth drew tight with determination.
"Well then, it's time to get DANGEROUS!"
And with a fierce gust of wind from his propeller, he bolted into the air and began speeding toward the forest.
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Rainbow Dash raised a hoof to her forehead, wiping away a few drops of sweat. Okay, maybe writing was harder than she thought. But she could still write fast! That had only taken her half an hour, and with practice she KNEW she could do better.
Tank sat beside her on the bed again, watching as she worked. He looked interested, right? Anyway, this story was going to be absolutely cool. Tank would love it.
"You wanna hear what I got so far, buddy?"
The tortoise nodded his head dutifully, and Rainbow Dash settled back against the headboard, reading aloud.