//------------------------------// // This Was a Triumph // Story: Guardian Angel // by The Mysterious N //------------------------------// Guardian Angel Chapter 14: This Was a Triumph It was that time of the week again for Rainbow Dash. The moment she cherished so dearly, a time she could go on adventures, to visit places she could only imagine. To get lost in a sea of words and stories. It was Daring Do night once more. She was exceptionally giddy this time around. After having missed the past two weeks due to Spike's "Dragon Quest", and taking care of coaching Ponyville's pegasi population to help refill Cloudsdale's water supply, she finally had some time. While eager to finish off the current book she was reading, she wasn't as desperate as Twilight. Rainbow chuckled- a few days without reading was like an eternity without books to Twilight. There were also the strange feelings she'd been having around the librarian recently. Rainbow noticed her heart beating a little quicker when in proximity to the unicorn. She stuttered occasionally, and once she'd even been caught staring. Thankfully she'd managed to play it off as being lost in thought and Twilight was none the wiser to her true thoughts. Rainbow now knew she was attracted to Twilight. If it wasn't for all the time they spent together preparing for the concert, she may have not seen this herself. She adored hearing the unicorn's voice, even if the topic was completely boring, Rainbow could listen for hours. The way her mane bounced as she paced, stressing over some trivial issue. While not as courageous as herself, she also admired Twilight's take charge attitude, especially when faced with dangers such as Discord and Nightmare Moon. And her eyes. By Celestia she loved those lavender orbs. They were a sea of lavender, so easy to get lost way they sparkled as Twilight devoured a book's contents-metaphorically of course. Rainbow was pretty sure Twilight would have a heart attack if she saw somepony eating a book. Soon enough she found herself entering the library. It was still mid-afternoon, but she was pretty sure Twilight wouldn't mind an earlier appearance too much. After a few minutes of waiting Rainbow found herself searching for the librarian. The main floor was empty, and so was her study and bedroom. Her ears twitched as she picked up faint singing. It seemed to be coming from a door on the main floor, so she fluttered over. Opening the door revealed a staircase leading downwards, and she gave a small gasp of surprise. 'How big is this tree exactly?'she found herself wondering. Twilight's voice could be heard clearly now. Rainbow crept silently down the stairs as Twilight moved into another song. The source of the music, a radio she recalled, sat on a nearby table, playing a tune for the scientist. Twilight bounced along the room, lab coat fluttering behind her, as she checked up on the various beakers and recording devices. She smiled, everything was going fine so far. Grabbing a nearby clipboard, she began scribbling down some notes, never once stopping her singing. This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction. Equestrian Science We do what we must because we can. For the good of all of us. Except the ones who are dead. Rainbow sat down near the base of the stairs. head bobbing to the tune that the radio was playing. For now she just watched the unicorn in her element. She'd seen Twilight in various moods, from happy to serious, but this was a new one. The unicorn looked so carefree, which was rather ironic considering some of the complex looking stuff in the room. But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake. And the Science gets done. And you make a neat spell. For the ponies who are still alive. I'm not even angry. I'm being so sincere right now. Even though you broke my heart. And killed me. And tore me to pieces. And threw every piece into a fire. As they burned it hurt because I was so happy for you! Now these points of data make a beautiful line. And we're out of beta. We're releasing on time. So I'm GLaD. I got burned. Think of all the things we learned for the ponies who are still alive. Go ahead and leave me. I think I'd prefer to stay inside. Maybe you'll find someone else to help you. Maybe Black Mesa That was a joke. HAHA. FAT CHANCE. Anyway, this cake is great. It's so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there's Science to do. When I look out there, it makes me GLaD I'm not you. I've experiments to run. There is research to be done. On the ponies who are still alive. And believe me I am still alive. I'm doing Science and I'm still alive. I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive. While you're dying I'll be still alive. And when you're dead I will be still alive. Still alive. Still alive... Twilight was surprised by the sound of clapping, letting out a small gasp, before noticing Rainbow Dash sitting on the stairs; a goofy grin present on her face. "Oh, hi there Rainbow, welcome to my lab." She greeted, waving a hoof in the direction of all the scientific equipment nearby. "So that's what this place is for... interesting song by the way," The pegasus retorted, drawing a chuckle out of the unicorn. "Though what's with the lyrics at some points? And the cake." "I'm not exactly sure. The pony who wrote this song wasn't exactly regarded as sane. Kept muttering something about the cake being a lie, amongst other things. How a pastry could cause so much trouble is beyond me." "Oh well then...Daring Do Night is still a go. Right?" Rainbow asked, dismissing the the now weird topic. "Of course, let me clean up in here and I'll join you upstairs. Don't get too comfortable though. I've got something special planned for tonight." Twilight responded, already putting away her equipment. She was done her experimentation for today anyways. The various beakers and other tools floated to their proper places. Satisfied, she slipped the lab coat and goggles off, placing both on a hook near the stairs. She flicked a switch with her hoof; the crystal lamps dimming slowly leaving the lab dark once more. 'Now to see if she'll go along with my idea. Come on Sparkle, you can do this!' Turning she made her way up the stairs, finding Rainbow lounging on one of the nearby cushions. "We've never really celebrated our success at the concert, and well I'd like to treat you to a nice congratulatory dinner. Of course after we do some reading." She summarized, ending up sounding more like Fluttershy than she'd wanted. "Sounds interesting Twi, any idea where we might go?" Rainbow was always excited at the prospect of free food, within limits of course. "I was thinking we'd go to the valley, maybe on top of the cliff? Afterwards there's a new cafe I'd thought we might visit." Twilight mentioned, while stuffing a blanket into her saddlebag. She'd always wanted to see the top of Horseshoe Valley, but every time she was there something always distracted her from going up top. 'Not this time' Rainbow in the meantime picked out a pair of books. She was almost done with one and eager to move onto the next in the series. Trotkien was one heck of an author, she had to admit. Trotting over to Twilight, she gave a nod signifying she was ready to go. "Let me take those for you." Twilight said, motioning to the two books under Rainbow's wing. The pegasus handed over the books and straightened her feathers. As soon as Twilight packed away the novels, they walked out and left the library behind. She'd already left a note for Spike for when he returned from his adventures with the Crusaders. In no time they had arrived at their destination, the base of the massive semi-circular cliff that gave "Horseshoe Valley" it's namesake. Twilight looked around, seeking for any way up the cliff. Teleportation was a no-go, as there were too many unknowns. She could end up teleporting into a rock or a tree. That wouldn't be good at all. So she sat there, contemplating on whether to ask Rainbow for a lift- literally. Meanwhile, similar thoughts fetted through Rainbow's mind. Should she offer a lift, or let the unicorn figure out her own way up. The sun was already past it's highest point and this was the perfect time to be outside, while it was warm the sun wouldn't be completely shining down on them. She prodded the ground with a hoof and decided on a course of action. She was Rainbow Dash, most talented flier in Equestria, future Wonderbolt and a pretty good guitarist to boot. A simple cliff wasn't going to stop her from enjoying Daring Do Nigh- er, day... and more importantly, time with Twilight. She crept closer to Twilight, and before the unicorn could even react, wrapped her hooves around the librarian's midsection. With a powerful flap she took off, screaming passenger clutched tightly in her forelegs. Twilight stopped yelling at the sudden acceleration and opened her eyes. What she saw took her breath away. The cliff rushed by at an alarming pace, soon giving way to almost clear skies. Ponyville stood proudly in the distance, multicolored rooftops gleaming in the rays of the sun. The cliff around her looked insignificant, even the massive waterfall looked tiny from up here. Twilight tilted her head up slightly, getting a good look at the bottom of Rainbow's muzzle. An involuntary shiver coursed through her body as she felt those athletic forelegs keeping her safe. "Feeling cold Twi?" Asked the pegasus flier, feeling the slight tremor her passenger gave off. "N-no. I mean yes! Yes, just a chill." Twilight responded hastily, hiding her blush quickly. "Now can we land? I'd like to get to reading." "Alright, just one more thing." Twilight paled at her companion's quip. 'I hope she isn't doing what I think she is.' She gulped as the pegasus gripped her even tighter, a slight adjustment in their course could be felt as Rainbow leveled out. 'Oh sweet Celestia help me,' was her last thought as the force of acceleration could be felt once more. "Rainbow Dash! You had better not be doing what I think you are! I swear I'll-" She cried out in vain as the daredevil pegasus pulled into a loop, letting out a joyful whoop in response. Twilight felt a wave of nausea and clenched her mouth shut tight. The pegasus leveled herself out, having completed the simple maneuver, and turned downwards for a landing. She managed to slow herself down enough and angled her wings. The two glided down into a clean stop and Rainbow let out a sigh. A job well done. Twilight, on the other hoof, immediately made a beeline for the nearest bush and emptied her stomach's contents. The loop had not helped at all. Rainbow sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Oops, guess I got a little carried away...Sorry Twi." The freedom of the skies and the fact that she'd been holding the mare of her (recent) dreams had allowed her to overdo what should have been a simple lift. While Rainbow didn't know if anything would come of those dreams, she couldn't help but hope. 'Perhaps some day...' Twilight, having finished emptying the contents of her stomach, reassured her companion, "That was amazing Rainbow. I could see everything from up there. Though I could have done without the loop." She finished, a tinge of green still present on her face. "Now lets set up in another area that doesn't smell of regurgitated lunch." Rainbow nodded in agreement, crinkling her nose. A grin from Rainbow was Twilight's only warning before the pegasus blurted out, "Race you there!" Twilight quickly recovered, running after her cyan companion. The two raced their way over, laughing all the way, closer to the waterfall near the center of the large horseshoe shaped cliff. A pond rested there before flowing into the waterfall and the same river that cut through Ponyville. This was the same place where she'd first shown Twilight her guitar, and that portion of her life. With a barely contained excitement Rainbow hopped up onto a rock and laid down, letting out a quiet hum, soaking up the heat the stone had absorbed during the course of the day. Twilight instead busied herself in setting up the blanket, spreading it out with her magic. She levitated their books out of her bag and passed Rainbow's selected reading material over. The pegasus accepted with a nod of thanks, delving right into her book. There were adventures to be had after all. With Rainbow squared away, the lavender unicorn turned to her own books. Twilight didn't get much reading done though. She found herself zoning off, unable to focus on her book. She'd been excited to read the newest book in a series she cherished, but her mind didn't allow her. Instead she found herself thinking only of Rainbow Dash... and how to understand her attraction to the cyan angel that was so important in her life.