//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Head in the Clouds // by Timaeus //------------------------------// “No!” Dr. Negative cried, scrambling backwards on the ground as his own groaning servants began to swarm him. He managed to get a short distance across the courtyard before he backed into a wall. “What have you done? Wha-what have you done?” He fumbled through his satchel and seized a small vial with his hoof. His triumphant cheer was cut short though, as the vial was knocked out of his grasp and crushed beneath the hoard of drugged ponies. Frantically, he reached for his bag again, only to find it trampled beneath the hooves of a large red stallion; multi-colored fluids coating the ground around him. “No!” “It's no use, Doctor,” Daring Do called out as she watched the physician's struggle from her perch on the balcony above. “You did this to yourself.” She hopped off the railing and started for the door, walking past a fedora-wearing earth pony. “You're just going to leave him?” he asked, following her back into the manor. “Seems a little cold, even for you, Do...” Daring paused as the door shut, canceling out the screams of agony now echoing about the place. Her gaze fell to the floor. “It's not like he doesn't deserve whatever happens to him down there,” she shuddered. “Brainwashing ponies like that... It's... It's just wrong.” When no response came, Daring's eyes shot up. She could handle danger; give her a crazed doctor with way too many drugs or an ancient temple filled with traps and she couldn't care any less—but him? She needed him. If she upset him—scared him off or ignited his righteous fury—she'd never forgive herself. A quivering desperation seeping into her tone, Daring asked, “You... You don't think I'm a horrible pony for this, do you?” A brown hoof settled on her shoulder as Manehatten Silver looked her straight in her watery eyes. “No,” he said softly, pulling her into an embrace. “Negative's the monster here, not you.” Daring choked back a sob as she nuzzled deeper into Silver's chest, “Wh-when he had you—back at the lab... You... a-and the syringe... When you... When you...” Her words failed her and turned into incomprehensible sobs. Gently, a hoof patted her back. Soft words were whispered into her ears, causing her to only hold on tighter to the stallion she'd come so close to losing. “I was so scared,” she whimpered. Her whole body trembled in his forelegs, but he only held her tighter. “I wanted to kill him—I wanted to rip his throat out and stomp it into the dirt! I-I—” “Shh,” Silver whispered, running a hoof down the pegasus's gray-scaled mane. “It's over now,” he said. “It's all over.” “All I could think about was that night in Fillydelphia,” Daring continued, “And how stupid I was for walking out and... I'm so sorry...” Biting his lip, Silver shifted his weight and looked away from his long-time friend and rival adventurer. “Look, Dare, you don't have to—“ A tan hoof interrupted him and jarred his face down towards Daring Do's. Her eyes shone like rubies in the dim light of the hall. “Just shut up and kiss me,” she whispered, pulling him closer. Her wings flared as their lips furiously collided in a passionate— “What?” Rainbow Dash cried indignantly, raising her hooves in the air. She glared at the book before her with furious distaste. “That's... that's...” “So sweet,” Twilight sighed dreamily. She closed her eyes and smiled, her tail lightly sweeping across the wooden floor of the library. “Don't you think so, Rainbow?” “So stupid!” the pegasus finished, batting the novel aside. It flew across the room and smacked the wall with a ruffled thud. Paying no mind to Twilight's irritated stare, Rainbow began pacing around the room. “What about Rosetta?” she growled, flapping her wings furiously. She glared out the window at the sunset. “What about her?” Twilight asked as she picked up her new copy of Daring Do and the Devious Doctor Negative and carefully placed it back on her personal bookshelf. “She's still back at the college, right?” Dash huffed and blew a stray bit of her mane out of her face, “So?” “So...” Twilight rolled her hoof in the air, gesturing for her friend to explain further. When Rainbow didn't turn around, she sighed and continued, “what's the problem?” “Everything!” Rainbow roared, spinning around. Twilight stumbled back in surprise as Dash's hooves slammed into the floor and shook the picture frames on the walls. Nostrils flared, she began prowling around the room, circling Twilight like a hungry lioness. “How can Daring just... Why would she...” Twilight's brow furrowed. “Rainbow?” she asked slowly, watching Rainbow curse and kick another book into a wall. “Are you okay?” “No!” the pegasus exclaimed, bringing her hoof to her forehead. “Yes!” She growled at the floor as Twilight stood up and stepped closer. “Ugh! I don't know! I don't get it!” “What don't you understand?” “She kissed him!” Dash spat; just saying the words left a bad taste in her mouth. “I can't believe it!” Frowning, Twilight gave her friend a curious look, “What's wrong with that? I think it's a very sweet conclusion to the story.” “But what about Rosetta?” Twilight brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple. “I don't think I understand where you're going with this, Rainbow,” she groaned. “What do you mean?” Dash rolled her eyes. “I mean that Daring totally belongs with Rosetta—not stinkin' Silver!” Jerking her head back, Twilight's curious expression quickly switched from bemused to amused. An eyebrow raised as Twilight shook her head. “What?” she snorted. “You're joking, right?” Rainbow's face hardened. Her wings ruffled. “No,” she said. “I'm not.” “But there's been no evidence that Rosetta and Daring feel anything more than platonic friendship at all, Rainbow,” Twilight giggled despite Rainbow's steadily growing scowl. “Not a single scrap in the whole series.” Dash's eyes drifted down to the floor and cursed silently. Without thinking, her gaze shot back to her friend and she protested, “They got milkshakes in the beginning of the book!” “Oh,” she said, smirking, “then it must be true love!” “It was a date!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “And that's way better than some stupid kiss!” “It was not a date!” Twilight countered, “Daring Do has never gone to her for more than advice or to hang out!” “That's not dating?” Dash huffed, glaring at Twilight. “Daring's totally crazy for her!” “Just because somepony gets a milkshake with somepony else doesn't mean that they're romantically involved, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. “How many times have we gotten milkshakes on reading days?” Dash's wings flared and her ears slicked back behind her head as she turned to the side. The setting sun peered through the window and lit her face, coloring it red. Her cheeks felt warm. “I-it wasn't about the milkshakes, Twi...” she mumbled to the floor. “I mean, I could totally see that... that they were happy together...” Twilight shook her head. “Rainbow, I'm sorry. I don't know how you got the idea that Rosetta and Daring love each other—let alone the fact that they are both homosexual—but it just isn't there.” Rainbow's eyes never rose from the floor. There was a crack traversing the length of one of the boards on the far side of the room, she followed it across the floor to Twilight's hooves. “But... but it has to be...” she whispered so low that Twilight didn't manage to catch it. “Daring... Daring totally loves her...” “Besides,” the unicorn added, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Daring and Rosetta would make for a very strange couple—don't you think so, Rainbow Dash? I mean, Rosetta's a professor at Canterlot University—it'd be awfully hard for somepony as adventurous and free-spirited as Daring Do to stick around and be in a real relationship with her.” Dash jumped to her hooves, her hackles raised. “She could do it if she wanted to!” Twilight raised her hooves. “I'm not saying that she couldn't,” she reasoned calmly. A scroll on a shelf on the far side of the room lit up in a purple light. It floated over to the duo and presented itself to Twilight, who opened it. An illustration of a unicorn wearing glasses and a lab coat draped over her back. “And I guess I don't see any major flaws in their dynamic...” Rainbow's face lit up for a ghost of a second and she looked at the floor once more. “See?” “But, there's still the complete lack of anything beyond friendship exhibited in their actions, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, setting the scroll down on her desk. “Just because they get along doesn't mean that they'd make a good romantic couple. Daring Do has been known to have a soft spot for Manehatten Silver—she is obviously in love with him if she asked him to kiss her.” Dash’s smile faltered. Her eyes narrowed as she opened her mouth to say something, but before she’d even started to speak, the door to Twilight’s bedroom burst open and a little purple dragon crashed through. He fell to his knees, huffing and puffing as he tried to catch his breath. “Spike?” Twilight cried out in surprise. The dragon continued to wheeze, but looked up at her when he heard his name called. “Twilight!” he gasped, clutching his chest. His eyes were wide with panic. “She... they... help! It’s horrible!” “What is? Spike, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, rushing over to help the baby dragon to his feet. “I thought you were supposed to be at Sugarcube Corner all day to help Pinkie with a cupcake order!” “Cupcakes!” Spike wheezed, body going rigid and gripping Twilight’s leg in terror. “The batter... everywhere! Cakes home soon! Not enough time... big trouble... me and Pinkie baking... Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle... the twins... the horror! Need help! Cupcake emergency!” Rainbow trotted over to the pair, giving the panicking dragon a confused look. “Umm, you gettin’ any of this Twi’? All I got is something about cupcakes and an emergency.” Twilight shrugged at the pegasus, turning back to the dragon, “Spike, you’re not making any sense. Take a couple of deep breaths and calm down.” He nodded quietly, taking several deep breaths as Twilight led him over to one of the cushions she and Rainbow had been using just moments ago. After a few moments, he raised his head to meet the bewildered gazes of both ponies. “Alright... I think I’m okay now, sorry about bursting in here like that,” he smiled apologetically at the unicorn. “I guess I got carried away.” “It’s fine, Spike.” Twilight said reassuringly, moving over to sit next to him. “Now try again, this time remember to breathe. What’s wrong?” “Oh, right!” Spike jumped to his feet and began pacing back and forth as he began to explain. “There’s an emergency down at Sugarcube Corner and we need some help!” “What happened?” Rainbow interrupted. “I thought you were just helping Pinkie make some cupcakes? Did she get her confetti and cake cannons mixed up again or something?” “No, not this time...” Spike looked down and nervously scuffed at the hardwood floor. “Umm, you see... everything was going just fine. Pinkie and I were a bit behind, but we were making as many cupcakes as we could between the two of us. Then... Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo showed up asking if they could help.” Rainbow facehoofed and groaned, knowing exactly where this was going. “And, well... they really wanted to help out and try to get their cutie marks in baking cupcakes... so Pinkie and I didn’t see any harm in letting them try and help, but then...” he shivered and bit his lip, eyes glazing over as the memory replayed itself, “I don’t even know what happened, but it was horrible. There’s batter everywhere and most of the cupcakes we had made were ruined! What’s worse is that the Cakes are going to be home from their trip to Manehatten later tonight and if they see this mess they’re gonna lose it and won’t trust Pinkie with the shop ever again!” Spike exclaimed, throwing his arms up into the air. Rainbow snorted through her hoof, barely containing her laughter as she pictured the mess. Twilight shot her a glare before turning back to Spike. “I’m sure it can’t be all that bad, Spike. The Cakes trust Pinkie, and that won’t change because of a little mess and a few ruined cupcakes!” “Oh yeah, says the pony who was sure Princess Celestia would send her back to Magic Kindergarten for not sending her a friendship report on time?” Rainbow snickered but fell silent once she caught sight of the glare Twilight was sending her way. Twilight sighed heavily. “One, that was an honest misunderstanding and I’ve learned my lesson since then, thank you very much. Two, Mr. and Mrs. Cake aren’t rulers of Equestria and they’ve practically raised Pinkie, so I doubt they can do anything as bad as sending her back to Magic Kindergarten. Besides, how much damage could those three have caused making cupcakes?” “Oh really?” Spike challenged, crossing his arms over his chest. “When I left to get help a couple of minutes ago Scootaloo was stuck to the ceiling with cupcake batter and Pinkie was trying to get her down with a giant spatula while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were wrestling with the cake mixer, and it was winning! Trust me, it’s worse than it sounds and I promised I’d bring some help!” “Oh, this I have to see!” Rainbow laughed. “Rainbow! This isn’t a joke!” Twilight scolded, levitating her saddlebag onto her back. “Come on, let’s go see what we can do to help before the Cakes get home.” A few minutes later, the group arrived at Sugarcube Corner. On the outside, all appeared to be normal with the exception of a ‘CLOSED’ sign hanging over the front door. Ponies milled about in the mid-afternoon sun, paying no mind to the sweets shop. Rainbow alighted in front of Sugarcube Corner. “You sure there’s an emergency goin’ on down here Spike?” She asked as she eyed the shop, looking for any sign that something was wrong. “Everything seems normal out here.” From his position on Twilight’s back, Spike gulped audibly and pointed with a shaky claw at the front door. “I-in there.” Rainbow and Twilight exchanged a confused look before Rainbow slowly opened the door to the bakery. Inside was a display of chaos that would make Discord proud. Batter covered the walls, floor, and ceiling, sticking to any surface it was thrown onto. Flour, sugar, salt, and many other ingredients were spilled over the countertops and tables while dirty bowls and utensils of all kinds were scattered about. In the middle of the room, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were hopelessly trying to contain an egg beater gone wild. The screaming fillies held on for dear life as the beater spun around out of control, spraying bits of batter and raw egg everywhere. The Cake Twins were bawling loudly in the corner of the room from their playpen, only adding to the chaos of the situation. Pinkie, meanwhile, was poised on top of a ladder and, sure enough, was using a large spatula to try and pry Scootaloo from her battery prison on the ceiling. Twilight and Rainbow stood aghast as they looked at the display before them, jaws dropping in disbelief at the chaos caused by three fillies making cupcakes. Neither of them moved, slowly taking everything in and trying to process what was happening. “See! I told you it was a disaster!” Spike cried from Twilight’s back. Neither Rainbow or Twilight registered what he said as they watched in fascinated horror at the scene before them. Apple Bloom somehow managed to get herself hooked onto the beater by her bow and was spinning around frantically as Sweetie desperately tried to reach the power switch. Twilight could only manage to think, Is it even possible for a mixer to spin that fast? “Rainbow Dash! Help!” Scootaloo pleaded from up above at the gobstopped pegasus. “Twilight! Dashie!” Pinkie cried from the ladder. “I’m so, so, so, so, so glad you’re here! We were trying to make cupcakes when I don’t know what happened! I was mixing up another batch when suddenly pow! Whirl! Woosh! Blammo!” Pinkie jumped and twisted at each word, the ladder swaying precariously underneath her. “And then the batter was everywhere and then Scoots got stuck up here and everything kinda went kablooey! I would really appreciate your hel-whoah!” The ladder finally toppled over, crashing onto the ground. Pinkie quickly wrapped her hooves on the spatula, now stuck in the batter holding fast to the ceiling and suspended in midair. Pinkie and Scootaloo exchanged a sigh of relief before an ominous crack was heard overhead. Both heads slowly looked upwards at the ceiling. Eyes widened in terror, Pinkie held onto the spatula with both forehooves in desperation. Scootaloo, trapped in her battery prison, helplessly watched as the batter began to creak and stretch beyond its limit until it finally snapped and the two were sent plummeting to the ground. Twilight and Rainbow, still frozen in shock, only continued to watch as Pinkie and Scootaloo fell onto a large sack of flour. The combined weight of the two caused the contents of the bag to be forced outwards in a pressurized burst that promptly covered everything in the near vicinity in a pale white powder. Fortunately, the fall managed to unplug the out-of-control mixer, sending Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sprawling against the wall, eyes rolling in their heads. Twilight, covered in a fine coat of flour, slowly blinked as she took in the scene, finally beginning to get over her initial shock. A few gooey pieces of batter dripped from the fixtures above and the room fell silent. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were recovering in the corner, covered in a combination of batter and flour. Pinkie and Scootaloo somehow ended up underneath the empty bag of flour, white powdered limbs sticking out. Twilight’s eye twitched. She turned her head to look over at her formerly chromatic-maned friend. Rainbow, much like herself and everything else in the room, was covered in a coat of fine white flour, changing her normally sky blue coat to a ghostly white. Her eyes were wide in surprise, much like Twilight’s own. Already Twilight was calculating the time and energy required to clean this mess up and make a few dozen batches of cupcakes all before the Cakes returned home in a few hours. Twilight’s eye twitched again. The silence was broken by the soft sniffles from Pound and Pumpkin in their playpen. Pinkie and Scootaloo clambered out from underneath the ruined flour bag as all heads turned to the sniffling babies. Rainbow reared her head and let out a powerful sneeze, sending the flour clinging to her coat in all directions. The sniffles quickly turned to giggles, and then into full-blown laughter as the Cake Twins rolled around their pen gleefully. Twilight turned back to Rainbow to see the pegasus’ eyes watering, a smile growing on her face as she tried to contain her own laughter. Rainbow shared a look with Pinkie before the two ponies collapsed in a mirthful fit of laughter. Their happiness proved to be infectious, as Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Apple Bloom joined them, clutching their sides in breathless laughter. Twilight soon found herself holding back her own giggles before collapsing in her own fit of merriment, leaning on Rainbow in a vain effort to remain standing. After a couple minutes, the laughter began to subside. Twilight wiped a tear from her eye as Pinkie and Rainbow gave their final bouts of laughter. Twilight dusted some of the flour off her coat, revealing the lavender underneath. Still giggling, she addressed everypony in the best ‘lecture-voice’ she could muster, “Okay everypony, we have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it in. Let’s get to work!”