//------------------------------// // Time's Up? // Story: Graphs // by Mozzarella //------------------------------// "They dash astride of a rainbow, the light gleams an instant, then it's awesome once more... On!" Graphs *** Rainbow Blitz didn't remember falling asleep, nor did he remember waking up. Though, he paid special attention to what happened before and afterward. Whatever rest the two pegasi had gotten must have been enough to abate their violent, tossing affections into a much more calm and relaxed embrace. The passion remained unaffected, however. Blitz's head remained covered by Dash's, enforcing the mare's comments regarding "submissiveness" the previous night. Although, the tables may very well have turned several times over earlier if either party had been interested in the slightest about relative height. Priorities, you know. Dash retreated from Blitz's mouth back into the crook of his neck, giving them both what seemed to be their only break in quite a while. They donned self-satisfied smirks as they panted, never once releasing their hold on each other. When their breaths evened off with a sigh, the stallion was the first to speak up. "Damn," he breathed, adjusting his grip ever so slightly. "Same," said Dash. She twisted onto her side, pressing her nose up against his chin. His quickened breath fed into her smug smile. "I always knew I'd be a stud," she said casually. Blitz frowned, puzzled. "Huh?" "As a stallion, I mean." "Did you really?" he asked skeptically. Though, he may have only been fishing for unneeded praise. His ego, among other parts, did not need any more stroking. Dash shrugged. "Probably. I mean, everypony thinks about it at some point. Maybe." The answer was sufficient for the stallion. He laid his head back on the cloud. "Well what did you expect? I mean, all your sexy had to go somewhere when I was made, right?" "Heh. I never thought about it like that." "That's why they pay me the big bits." Dash snorted. "I know your salary. They hardly pay you anything." "Darn," he said with feigned disappointment. He leaned in to her ear, giving it a nuzzle. "Any chance I could get somepony to change that? I would be very thankful." His teeth closed gently around the tip of her ear. "Mmm." She brought a hoof to her chin in a pondering gesture, seemingly unperturbed at the stallion's advances. "I would, but I just don't see anything extra in the budget. Sorry." She didn't seem sorry at all. "Fine," he sighed. He proceeded to place her head back under his chin and rest his back on the cloud. There was an unexpected problem with sky naps. A pony on the ground would be given the soothing image of lazy clouds drifting by, partially obscuring the shining sun, against the backdrop of empty blue. A high-altitude pegasus had no such luck. Sure, the sky wasn't going anywhere and neither was the sun, but it just wasn't quite the same without the kinetic element. Your eyes get all screwed up if you try to look directly into the cerulean void, lacking a point of focus and whatnot. There was also the lack of anything to block unfiltered light from drilling into your eyes. Ground-bound ponies in balloons think the sight is beautiful. To jaded pegasi, it loses its charm awfully quick. Of course, not all jaded pegasi sleep with companions. To Blitz, there was no need to open his eyes. What use is there in scanning the surroundings when the dominant focus in one's life is wrapped in your hooves? Why worry oneself with the distant and complicated when bliss was so obviously and conveniently within one's reach? Close. Warm. Peaceful. Gurgle. "What?" Guuuuuuurrrrrgle. "Dude, is that you?" Blitz sighed angrily. "Yeah." He brought a hoof to his face and shook his head. "I thought we were having a moment or something, but apparently my stomach says I'm hungry." Dash chuckled. "Real smooth, dude." She rolled off of him and pushed herself to her hooves, releasing a few reluctant groans. "Alright. Let's eat. But we should probably check on the weather at home first. You won't be making any 'big bits' if you're fired." "Fine..." He lethargically stood up, creating several loud cracks when he stretched. While his back arched toward the ground, a familiar weight descended upon him, nearly sending him back onto his stomach. He gasped and looked at the only possible culprit with indignation. She made no apologetic gesture. "What? You're carrying the bag." She walked up to his side and prodded the load. "It should be lighter now anyway." "Oh gee. That makes it so much better." He took a look at the imposing mountain between him and civilization and sighed. "Let's just get going." "That's the spirit." Dash burst into a gallop and leaped off the cloud. "Try to keep up, dude!" she called back, already beginning her ascent. "Hey! Wait sec- ugh!" Blitz winced at his wing caught on the taught straps. "Friggin' bag. Wait up!" He clumsily followed the sound of unrestrained snickering toward the mountain. ... The clerk at the office had been overjoyed to see anypony show up, let alone ask for her services. She worked tirelessly to ensure that her product was spotless for the public to see when it was finally in use. Free advertising was always a good thing. Not that many ponies want to rent a hot air balloon nowadays. Twilight caused a bit of a spectacle, trotting casually through town holding a rather cumbersome dirigible in a bright purple glow with little apparent effort on her part. The magical heavy hitter could handle herself against the vehicle meant to be lighter than air. It was out of her league. Next to the library sat four wooden pikes, driven into the ground in an even square formation. The balloons's ropes reached them perfectly when the basket was placed in the square's center. The order brought a smile to the unicorn's face as she secured the ties. She enjoyed the order. With the balloon secure, she lifted a hoof to the air to check the wind. The air currents at a higher altitude could be better measured by visual examination of the clouds, but there were none to be seen within a proper line of sight. She could recall seeing one small tuft on her way to pick up the balloon. "That is not partly cloudy," Twilight muttered. She went over the criteria for Ponyville's weather statuses on her way back inside. "Partly cloudy" consisted of at least fifteen percent of the sky being obscured by clouds. It would have been generous to call this one percent. That sunshine being left unabated through to the afternoon could wreak havoc on Ponyville's agriculture. All it would take was one day of her leadership in the Weather Patrol and the whole outfit would straighten right ou- "Whaa!?" the unicorn bleated out right before her face became accustomed to the dirt outside her front door. The familiar sound of rustling paper could be heard beyond the ringing in her ears. She blew her bangs out of her face, along with some grass, and accepted the help of the scaly claw hovering before her. "Sorry Twilight. Didn't see you there." Spike smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. In his other hand, he held a stack of what the librarian could immediately identify as official documents. There were so many signatures! "Oh, no harm done," she said, though the taste of sod lingered in her mouth. "Where are you headed off to with those?" She eyed the papers in his hands. Spike puffed out his chest proudly. "I'm headed off to the clinic. These are my volunteer forms." He held them out to her and flicked through the various pages. "Shot records. Personality profile. Qualifications. Criminal record. You know. All that stuff." Twilight's head tilted sideways as a feeling of confusion caused her upper lip to shift upward and her left eye to squint. "What in Equestria got that idea into your head?" "Should I list the books you shoved down my throat?" "Oh would you stop with that? Some of those were important!" "The Egghead's Guide to Brain Surgery is not important! Who wants to receive an amateur lobotomy?" "Well you obviously liked them or you wouldn't be going out volunteering. Without asking me, no less." The unicorn's motherly side was showing. "I happen to be a very altruistic dragon," he said. Then he added with his rebellious side, "Do I really need to ask you for permission to help ponies?" Their gazes locked in a battle of will and control. Twilight clenched her teeth. A bead of sweat ran down the dragon's neck. The tension in the air was greater than that of the ropes securing the hot air balloon. Without warning, Twilight's frown softened into a smile. She approached him and brought him into a not-so-gentle hug. "I'm so proud of you! Such a noble young dragon! Offering his hand in the field of medicine!" "Twilight," he groaned, blushing. "My little anesthetist!" "C'mon..." he squirmed uncomfortably. "Save it. I'm hugging you and that's that." He endured the embrace for a few more moments before breaking free and scurrying off into the town. He felt eyes all around him despite the fact that there didn't seem to be anyone watching. Seem is the keyword. "That kid is gonna run away and never come back," said a voice from one of the library's branches. "Oh, what do you know Dash? He's growing up so fast and I've been with him for almost as long as I can remember." The voice mimicked a buzzer on some rigged game show. "EEHH! Wrong answer. Don't sweat it though, Twi. You're a good kid, so I'll give you another shot." Twilight turned from the direction in which Spike ran off. "And just what is that supposed to mean, Rainbow Da-" She looked at the source of the voice and stopped. "Woops. I didn't recognize the voice. Sorry Blitz." The stallion folded his forelegs. "Really though, do I sound that much like her?" "Well, now that I'm paying attention, not so much. But you could probably pass as her if you tried. Speaking of, where is she now?" He jumped down from his perch to the ground with a stomp, for no other reason than to look cool. "She went off to get some clouds for today's weather." He took a look at the sky. "Dunno why. It seems like a great day to me." The unicorn glared at him. "She's getting them because today was supposed to be partly cloudy. What we have now is not cloudy." "You sure? There's one right over there." "Do you pay attention to anything?" He considered the question for a moment. "Sure," he answered honestly. "Heck, I like to pay attention to plenty of things." "I don't suppose your job is one of them?" Blitz shook his head in near-disgust. "They call it a job for a reason, you know." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Because you have to do it?" "Because it's boring!" "My point still stands. You have to do it at some point. Now are you going to fill the sky or not?" "Oh sure. Just as soon as..." He trailed off, staring past the unicorn into the sky, presumably at the only cloud in the whole town. "As soon as what?" Blitz turned his head back toward Twilight, though his eyes quickly resumed wandering past her. "As soon as Dash gets back with the..." His face contorted in an effort to keep from grinning. "Yes, they're very funny," she said, running a hoof across her forehead. "Some ponies even see little bunnies in them. Most ponies also don't forget what they're called. Now go on. 'As soon as Dash gets back with the what?" "The..." "I'll give you a hint." "The..." "It starts with a C." "The..." "Rhymes with 'louds'." "The..." The word was said several times not even a minute ago and this frustrated Twilight to no end. How was it that a pegasus could possibly forget that name? Ridiculous. She could stand it when a neighborhood foal couldn't name the four fundamental forces, but this was absurd. She was just about ready to let loose with some scathing wit involving his palpable lack of intellect when a shriek from above her shattered that particular course of action while sending her stumbling forward. "Clouds!" shouted the voice as Twilight felt herself being engulfed by about three cubic meters of condensed water vapor. It thankfully kept her face from yet another harsh meeting with the dirt, so it deserved some credit. However, this did not stop her from aggressively dispersing the cloud with hooves and magic alike. It had gone away quickly enough, but her panic hardly cared that the threat had gone. She was left, in the clear cool air, flailing about like she was dancing. Waving her hooves in the air like she just didn't care, as it were. And she didn't. She truly did not care. What she did come to care about was the chorus of laughter clearly directed at her coming from the two pegasi she had just noticed before her. There they were, actually falling over each other in amusement at the presentation of Twilight vs. The Cloud. "You looked so ridiculous!" said Blitz, who was clutching his stomach from the pain of laughing too hard. Rainbow Dash had appeared beside him, assuming a similar position while leaning against his shoulder. "That was better than your show at your birthday that one time!" While they regained their breath, Twilight cast her scowl in their direction. She would have been much angrier with them had she not noticed that the sky had traded out its absolute clarity for some modest cloud cover. The order was restored and nopony was acting too stupid. With things like OCD out of the way, she shook her head and felt a grin coming along. I guess I did look silly, huh? she told herself. "Alright. Alright," she conceded. "You got me. No need to laugh yourselves to death over it. Pinkie might get upset with you." "Why would I be upset?" asked Pinkie from right next to her. A signal was sent to Twilight's brain instructing her to panic at the unexpected visitor. That particular department was under heavy load since the beginning of her life, so it had learned not to trust every signal. A brain cell sat in a cluttered desk with a red stamp marked "VOID". It slipped a few worthy causes to the higher-ups every once in a while, but everything that remotely resembled that pink pony received a swift and aggressive stamping. "Never mind. I wasn't thinking." "You're always thinking, silly!" Pinkie said with a pat to the unicorn's head. She then turned her attention to the pile of pegasus that was just beginning to stop laughing. Indeed, the situation deserved her attention. "Hiya Dashie! Hiya Blitzy! Have fun in the mountains?" Blitz shared a look with Dash, who was practically on top of him in his forelegs. Consideration passed wordlessly between them and a verdict was quickly reached. "Oh yeah," Dash said with a grin. "Tons," finished Blitz. Pinkie pressed her face well within the pegasi's personal spaces with wide eyes. "Really?! Tons?!" They nodded, about to burst into laughter again at both her obliviousness toward the innuendo and the aura about her that simply made any little act amusing. "Tons," they said again. "Tons?" "Tons." "Tons?" "Tons." Before Pinkie could ask again, she was yanked backward by a purple bubble on her tail. Meanwhile, Dash and Blitz were raised to a standing position and cleaned of any dust they may have picked up in their frenzy by the same purple force that lifted them. Twilight cleared her throat to get their attention if she hadn't already by magically moving them. "They said tons, Pinkie. Several times. Now I think we best drop the subject before ponies start to stare." "But nopony's around," the earth pony replied, confused. "That's what I thought right before you appeared, literally, out of nowhere." "But I do that all the time." "Irrelevant!" She gave everypony one final magical pat to emphasize her point. "And meanwhile, shouldn't you two be heading over to the cloudiseum right about now?" Dash shrugged. "Nah. It's kinda' early." She nudged the stallion next to her. "Besides, this guy won't stop whining about how hungry he is." "Hey, I said it like once," he interjected. Dash ignored him. "He was just about ready to start eating the grass on the way over here." "Shut up." "I think he even went in for a dive when I wasn't looking." "Dash!" "Had to spit out a worm a mile in the air." "You're impossible," he concluded, annoyed. But that didn't stop him from reaching a wing out over her back. Pinkie raised her hoof like she was in a class. Twilight, the natural born teacher, gestured to allow her to speak. "If you're hungry, I could make you something. I still have to make snacks for tonight anyway." Blitz's mouth watered at the suggestion, but sense took over for once. "I don't really think sweets would be good performance fuel. Sorry." "Oh, but they are! They really are! Just look at me. I eat them all the time and I'm not tired!" "But we're not Pinkies," Dash said. The earth pony frowned with determination. "Okay fine. I'll let you all in on a little secret. It's my secret, though, so it's okay to tell you." She drew them into a huddle and checked both of her sides for eavesdroppers. She inhaled to begin speaking before turning her head 180 degrees toward Twilight to see if she was listening. The unicorn just stood there with a tired expression and a raised eyebrow. "Okay. So. If you eat too many sweets you get sick, right?" The pegasi nodded, with matching looks of confusion and doubt. "That's true if you only eat too many. But, if you eat too too many sweets, you feel even better! Better than any healthy diet could make you feel. It's like having a whole bunch of little hamsters in your brain running on wheels to make you feel super awake! It really works! I Pinkie Promise!" Dash was conflicted. This was one of the silliest and most illogical things Pinkie had ever said. However, Dash could not remember a time when anything upheld by the Pinkie Promise failed. Blitz wore a similar expression. "So you're saying-" Blitz began before a pink hoof was shoved into his mouth followed by a stern shushing. He drew back his head with his tongue still out and cringed at the two pink hairs that remained on it. He wiped them off with his hoof, gave another look of disgust to his hoof, and wiped said hoof on the ground. Resisting the urge to laugh, Dash picked up where she was sure her clone had left off. "So you're saying that we could have as much stamina as you if we just go to Sugarcube Corner and eat a bunch of desserts before we head over to Cloudsdale?" "Of course not!" the earth pony replied cheerfully. "You would probably get unimaginably sick and throw up over and over." Blitz wiped his mouth with his cleaner hoof. "But you just said that too too many sweets would-" "Do you know how much too too many sweets is?" "A- a lot?" Dash asked with uncertainty. "A lot!" Pinkie agreed. "You would have had to have started ages ago. It's not just some thing you can get up and do. It's a lifestyle!" Blitz was struggling to keep his composure. "So what was the point of telling us all of that?" "To distract you while I picked up this pizza." "What?" said both pegasi in confusion. Lo and behold, on Pinkie's back sat a generic Pizza box, complete with a stereotypical mustachioed Istallion in front of a dilapidated stone coliseum. He was winking and everything. All parties involved were certain that it had not been there a moment ago. Dash gave a tired sigh and trotted over to the box, where the smell of brick oven deliciousness engulfed her. Blitz cautiously followed. "Do I ever get to know how she does this?" asked the stallion. Dash shook her head. "No. You just get tired of asking after a while. So Pinkie, what have we got on this thing?" Her pink tail slithered under the box like it was just another appendage and lifted it up to her side. "I didn't have much time, so I could only get a plain one. Whole grain crust, tomato sauce, cheese, garlic-" "What kind of cheese?" The earth pony brought a hoof to her chin and gave it a scratch, mentally cursing herself for forgetting her emergency beard. "You know, I never really asked what kind of cheese they use on these." She giggled. "He he. Cheese on these. Maybe Twilight knows. Hey Twilight! Do you know what kind of cheese they usually put on a pizza?" The unicorn had turned her attention to the rather hazardous mass of cloud Dash had left floating over her balloon, taking off small bits and seeing how the wind affected them at different altitudes. "A chef could use any number of cheeses in a pizza, Pinkie." She turned toward the group and drew breath to continue, but had to process Pinkie's pizza beforehand. "I turn away for one second and you manage to run off to the other side of town and get a pizza? Okay. I'll worry about that later. The most common cheese used in a pizza is-" "Is it provolone?" Pinkie interjected. "No. It's m-" "Brie?" "No. Moz-" "Cheddar?" "No!" The pegasi started to grin at the spectacle. They sensed an opportunity for some serious shenanigans. "Swiss?" asked Blitz. "Nah," said Dash. "It's gotta be marscepone." "If you don't want to hear it, that's fine by me," grumbled Twilight. Her pout betrayed that she was a little upset about being shut up. Pinkie just went on with the bit, ignoring her. "You don't use marscepone cheese in pizza, Dashie! That would be weird!" Dash shrugged her wings. "Well then I'm all out of ideas." Blitz nodded in agreement and lifted the lid of the box, which remained suspended on a pink poofy tail. "I guess we'll never know." He licked his lips at the sight of the oozing cheese. He reached in with his mouth and tried to rip off a slice. Whoever is in charge of cutting those things should be put on trial. They're never cut enough. "Shun of a-" Blitz spat out a muffled curse through his clenched teeth and his lunch. A second slice clung to the one in his mouth, despite appearing to be perforated. "Effry damn time." "How would you know, dude? This is your first pizza." Dash walked over and set about tearing the other piece away. "I can't efen tell anymore." She pulled her head back and sloppily ripped off the lingering slice. However, the cheese remained attached at the tip, creating a long strand between them. They shared a glance and wordlessly considered how to proceed. Their smiles became devious as they nonchalantly set about eating their slices from the opposite end. Twilight knew a cliche when she saw one. In addition, this specific event had been worrying her for days. She frantically conjured a pair of scissors and snipped the cheese between them just as they began to lean toward each other. Both recoiled in surprise. Pinkie pouted. "Aw. So close, too." "Why don't you two finish your lunches and head over to Cloudsdale before it gets late. I'm sure there's all sorts of things to get set up before everything starts." Twilight set about cutting definitive gaps between the remaining slices before she dispersed her scissors. Dash swallowed and almost answered, but all that escaped from her mouth was a deep burp. "Whew. 'Scuse me. It's not for a while, you know. We would look lame if we showed up too early." "There's nopony you need to talk with before the show starts?" "I mean, I guess we could talk with the other contestants. I actually have no idea who else is in this thing other than..." Dash trailed off with her eyes widening. Blitz put a concerned hoof on her shoulder. "Who else? Are you alright?" She immediately pounced onto him, pinning him to the ground by his shoulders. "Dude! I totally forgot!" "Forgot what?" Blitz asked. He found himself unable to complain about her tackling him. Only good things had happened in this position. "The flyer! It said there'd be Wonderbolts! Spitfire and Soarin!" His eyes grew wide as well. "Holy crap!" "I know!" "We should go." "Like, right now." Dash flew off of him into the sky. Blitz followed for a second, but doubled back to pick up the pizza box. "Thanks Pinkie! See ya Twi!" "Good luck tonight!" Pinkie shouted back. He may have been well out of range, though. Twilight just waved. When they become colorful dots in the distance, the unicorn sighed and sagged forward. Pinkie approached her. "What's wrong, Twilight? Did you want some of the pizza too?" "No. I'm just afraid I won't be able to keep them from each other. The Attraction seems to keep influencing them. You saw. They almost kissed or something. I just don't want it to back them into a corner and force them into anything." Pinkie just giggled. "Don't you worry about it, Twilight! It'll all be okay." "You really think so?" "Sure! I mean, they probably kissed a whole bunch of times already." "...What." "Well, they definitely went further than that. But I think it's safe to assume there was some kissing beforehand. Maybe even during. I guess it depends on how they were doing it. She's pretty flexible though, right?" She went on with the colorful description. For some reason, Twilight was having trouble dismissing this as more Pinkie Pie silliness. She didn't sound like this when she was joking. And there were few times when she wasn't joking. These were genuine questions based off of the assumption that they... Twilight shook her head violently at the thought, fighting off her blush. There was no way they went that far already. It'd only been four days. Nopony worked that quickly. Well, none of her friends, anyway. No. She must have been wrong. However unlikely that was, it had to be the case. "I-I'll see you later, Pinkie. I've got to, uh, look at the cloud walking spell one more time. Yeah." The unicorn walked stiffly toward her door. Pinkie tilted her head. Somepony was upset. Or maybe she was tired. Hungry? Oh well. If Twilight had work, she probably didn't want to be disturbed by an aggressive cheering up. It could wait until later. "Okay. I'll go make us some snacks for the ride!" "Alright. Bye." She didn't hear her. In fact, the earth pony was nowhere to be seen, in the distance or otherwise. But Twilight couldn't spare the energy to think about that. They couldn't have done that already, She thought. If they did, it's already too late.