//------------------------------// // 6: Aerial // Story: Curls // by aquilerafroot //------------------------------// Twilight looked in despair at the desolate landscape stretched all around her. She knew she would never be able to cover so much ground with her limited physical abilities. Urgh, how, how? Think, Twilight, think! The unicorn scrunched her face in frustration, raising her head to the skies. It was late afternoon by now, and if she failed to find Pinkie and Rarity… Twilight facehooved. She could not fail. Is there a spell for walking faster? Walking tirelessly? Seeing great distances? The personal protégé of the Sun Goddess shook her head; she was getting nowhere. She cast her gaze to the heavens again. Help me, Princess... Silence answered her plea. A strong gust of wind rippled the dust around her, and she noticed the clouds shifting - another effect of the gale. Clouds… clouds! That’s it! And this will only require simple spells that I already know! Thinking back to when she had first set foot on Cloudsdale, Twilight cast the spell that enabled her to walk on clouds. Then she levitated a small fluffy cloud in front of her and took a deep breath. Okay, here goes. She clambered to a belly-down position on the cloud. Now, the hard part is controlling its movement while I’m actually on it. “Whoa!” Twilight almost fell off the floating cloud when she ordered it to move. It’s because I didn’t keep my balance… I should practice a few times before I go higher. Still a bit wobbly, the unicorn made the cloud drift slowly forwards again. This time the movement was more controlled, but nonetheless far from safe if she were to elevate it; only high up in the air could she get a wide view of the land, and she could not risk falling off. Trying a few more times before she got the hang of it, Twilight started raising the cloud. It was a bit disconcerting at first, shifting an object that was supporting her own weight, but as she rose higher and higher into the sky, she felt with exultation the freedom that only pegasi could feel. The bleak wilderness was spread before her like a giant canvas – it reminded her of looking from her hot-air balloon – only now, she was much more agile. This is so convenient! If I become proficient at this, I could probably use it for lots of things! From her current vantage point, Twilight scanned the ground using the grid search technique. Finding no sign of the two missing mares she drifted to another spot, using the railway as a guide so that she wouldn’t get lost. The brainy mare shivered a bit; it was cold at this height, although it was quite worth it because of the broad view. After a few more minutes of searching, Twilight finally spotted a dot of pink moving along the train tracks. She zoomed towards it, her hopes rising. Floating closer, she strained to see… and discerned the indigo tinge she adored so much alongside it. In her excitement, she actually considered leaping off the cloud straight away, but the fact that the color of Rarity’s mane was no more than a pea-sized speck reminded her that her position was a precarious one indeed. The purple pony started to lower herself bit by bit, keeping her eyes on the ground cautiously. “Rarity! Pinkie!” she called, when she was about four meters above the two ponies. Pinkie looked up, and saw a familiar purple pony… on a floating tuft of cotton candy. The pony was shouting their names as she descended. “Hey, Rarity, I think somepony’s calling us!” “Wha - Twilight!” Twilight heard Rarity’s voice and almost dropped the cloud, she was so eager and yet worried at the same time. Finally at ground level, she slid herself off. “I’m so glad I found you! Are you all right?” Much to the other two’s surprise and shock, Rarity immediately leapt off the handcar and flattened herself in the dust, covering her hooves over her face. “Don’t! Don’t come over here! Go away!” she exclaimed, her voice almost a sob. “Rarity, why are you rolling in the dirt? I thought you hated dirt!” Even Pinkie Pie was nonplussed by Rarity’s behavior; it was even more random than some of the things she herself did. “Rarity?” Twilight rushed to the distressed pony’s side. “Are you hurt? Is everything okay?” when the pale unicorn didn’t answer, she touched her muzzle to Rarity’s ear. “No! Don’t touch me! Go away! Shoo!” The outburst almost broke Twilight’s heart. Rarity was disappointed in her, for not coming back for her sooner. She had left the two ponies all alone in this dreary place, lost and insecure. The purple unicorn knew she had failed the mare that had most trusted and appreciated her. She dipped her head, ears flattened, tears welling in her eyes from the shame she felt. “I’m… so sorry Rarity. I shouldn’t have left you out here…” Her voice trembled. “It, it was thoughtless of me… I understand if you’re mad at me.” “I’m not mad at you at all, Twilight, but please, I beg you. Just leave.” The distraught mare still pressed her hooves tightly against her face, hiding it entirely. “I know you don’t want to forgive me… but I can’t leave you here. I’ll never leave you.” A single tear, the first one to break free from the barriers of Twilight’s eyelashes, fell to the ground with an audible drop. Pinkie Pie had never stayed so silent in a long time. What was going on? Why was Rarity covering herself in grime? Why was Twilight crying? Her eyes found the moist spot where Twilight’s tear had hit the dirt - and then she was so puzzled, she couldn’t even bounce. “Hey! Twilight! Why is your teardrop the shape of a broken heart?” Rarity started sobbing too, she couldn’t bear it. Twilight’s crying because of me. But… I just can’t let her see! Pft, I was too selfish. Twilight is not petty like that… I am the petty one. Slowly straightening to a standing position, Rarity trudged to Twilight’s side. “Please, please don’t cry.” “You must hate me! I left you out here!” The other unicorn couldn’t even bring herself to look at Rarity. “I do not hate you, darling… I asked you to go because I… I look hideous.” “Wha-? But… you don’t look hideous, Rarity!” “I doooo!” wailed the fashionista. “My makeup is ruined, my mane dishevelled, my coat dirty. I am ugly!” Twilight wanted to laugh, it was so absurd. “You don’t look ugly at all, Rarity,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Why would you even care? And I’ve seen you muddy before, I’ve even seen your hair green. I still think you’re beautiful.” “But that wasn’t the same.” “It is the same! Remember what I told you last night? You’re beautiful. And I didn’t mean you were stunning only then and there. I said, you’re beautiful. And that means anytime, anywhere.” Twilight put a hoof over Rarity’s shoulder and embraced her. Pinkie was getting bored, and was amusing herself by drawing sweets in the sand when Twilight called her over. “Pinkie, we need to tell you something, but can you please, please promise not to tell anypony?” The party pony bobbed her head up and down, and, plopping herself on the ground, started to make some seemingly random gestures. “What is she doing?” asked Rarity quietly. “Oh, she’s just building a house and burying a key under it,” answered Twilight with a chuckle. Noticing Pinkie had finished and was now waiting for her attentively, Twilight cleared her throat and said, “So, Pinkie… Rarity and I… are kind of, um, dating now.” “Whaaaaa- ? Wooow! So you’re a couple! Congratu-ratu-lations!” the hyper-pony did a whizzing spin in mid-air. “We’ll tell the others when we’re ready,” said Rarity, “but as we have just started, it shall need time.” “Your secret is safe with me! Ooh, and the next time we have a party, you can make out in my room! Isn't that just sooooo exciting?"