//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: A Matter of Perspective // by Vic Fontaine //------------------------------// Chapter 4 While she had not yet mastered long range teleportation, Twilight had teleported herself over short distances many times, and thus felt right at home as she traversed the blinding ether. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Rainbow Dash a few feet ahead, floating in all different directions, her wings flapping futilely into what was in every sense a vacuum. Judging by her skittish behavior, the pegasus had clearly never been teleported before, and she was only wasting energy that she would likely need to defeat the Changeling queen for what she hoped would be the final time. Taking her eyes off of the still flailing pegasus, Twilight took a quick look all around her. The unnaturally bright light of the ether washed over her in all directions, the dark horizon that signaled the terminus of their teleport not yet visible. Given the physical distance between Ponyville and Canterlot, the unicorn surmised that she had about three minutes wait until exiting into Canterlot, unless the combined powers of the two princesses were even more potent than she thought. Her moment of scientific wonder finished, she closed her eyes and refocused her mind, giving into the now much larger part of her brain that was nearly desperate to unravel the tapestry that Rainbow had been weaving in front of her since their argument in the library. Normally, Rainbow is so easy to read, since she wears her emotions on her hooves. How can she be so cryptic now, and why can't I make any sense of it? Perspective....perspective. Ugh, what is that pegasus trying to get at? What is she trying to tell me, and why won't she just come out and say it, like she does every other time? The rational part of her mind tried to suppress the rambling chain of thoughts, but the growing tide of emotions refused to yield, pushing even harder for a breakthrough. Ok...ok. Forget about her words, focus on her actions. Three times now, I've encountered a stare that I've never seen out of Rainbow. The library, the train station, and just now in front of the Princesses. Oh, in front of the Princesses?! Pony feathers, does Rainbow have no sense of time and place? Can't she save the cryptic stares for when royalty is NOT around? Giving her rational side a tentative foothold, she began unpacking the three events in her mind. Three times, three stares. What do they have in common? Well, each time, it feels like she's looking at me as if I'm somepony else entirely. But, it's not a look that one might give to a stranger. No, there's familiarity there, I can feel it. You don't stare at strangers with that kind of warmth. Well, I suppose you could, but that would be a bit creepy. What else? Oh, each time I caught her stare, she shied away as fast as possible. Rainbow clearly saw me returning her gaze, but why did she try to hide? I was only trying to figure her out, not stare her down. No, wait - when she spoke to me just now, the stare was there, and much stronger than before too. I swear, those eyes were trying to bore right through me as she spoke. Her words were beautiful, but those eyes...they were trying to say something on their own, I'm sure of it. But what? Out of nowhere, Twilight's mind latched onto the fading ember of a thought that hit her at the train station - right before she hit a wall of blue pegasus. Ah, the books! This all ties back to those Daring Do books, doesn't it? Right before I ran into Dash, I had a thought...what was - HA! I remember! Dash is reading the books through a different prism, as if she's superimposing reality over the books. Ok, so what's reality for Rainbow? Well, she loves her Daring Do books, and flying of course. In the romance department, I don't know though. I know she prefers mares, she's said so herself many times before. So, I guess I can see why she'd be in favor of Daring falling for Rosetta, but that's just not how the characters are written. But, if she's looking at the book through reality, it still doesn't add up. She doesn't have a special mare in her life, at least not that she's told me about.... Not that she's told me about--- With all of the grace of two trains crashing into each other, the pieces began to click together in Twilight's mind: A bookish unicorn, a brash pegasus. Adventures of all sorts mixed with long hours reading and researching - over dozens of milkshakes. Dear Celestia.... Suddenly, bright magenta eyes filled her internal vision, now staring directly at her inner self. Twilight's mind raced to them, re-reading the look in those eyes, twin senses of understanding and trepidation crashing through her mind like a hurricane. The last piece clicked into place as her mind finally gave in, allowing the raw truth to invade her consciousness. Rainbow doesn't see Daring and Rosetta in those books - she sees Rainbow and Twilight. No matter what the books say, she clings to the idea, the hope that Daring will someday realize the truth and go to Rosetta. But if this is through the prism of Rainbow's eyes, then what she really means... No, that's not possible. There's no way. There isn't right? I mean, she's THE Rainbow Dash, for pony's sake. She'd never...well, at least I think she'd never.... Lost in a sea of emotion, her rational side lost its last grip on her mind, the voice of denial swept away with it, crashing against a wall of a truth that she'd never even considered possible. Her heart hammered in her chest, her breaths coming short and shallow as she forced the words out of her mind, and into the ether: "Rainbow Dash is in love with me." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...with me". The words came tumbling out of Twilight's mouth as she suddenly found herself standing behind a store in Canterlot. She was so lost in thought - raw, piercing, unbelievable thought - that she did not notice the barrier marking the end of the ether rapidly approaching. "Huh? Did you say something Twi?". Turning to her left, Twilight saw that the Pegasus had safely arrived as well, despite her flailing from one end of the ether to the other. Realizing that the pegasus must have heard at least part of the single sentence that came out of mouth as she reappeared, Twilight made a desperate attempt to stall for time. "What? Did I say something?" "Yes, right as we reappeared. I don't know what you said though. All I heard was 'with me', I think". Quietly thanking Celestia that this was all the pegasus heard, she nearly tripped over her own tongue trying to respond. "Oh, that? Hehe...I was just saying...is that I wish I....I wish I had brought my books with me! Silly me must have left them at the train station...hehe." Plastering her best smile across her face, she silently prayed that her friend, was she still just a friend, though?, would be satisfied with her response. Rainbow took a step forward and gave the unicorn a light tap on the shoulder, a devilish grin on her face. "I don't think you'll be needing your books for this, Twi. Unless you plan on beating Chrysalis over the head with them, of course." The two ponies shared a brief chuckle at the thought of the Changeling Queen being felled by An Analysis of Unicorn Magic and their Effects on Pony Psychology, 3rd Edition - Abridged. 'C'mon egghead, we have a weapon to destroy." Hovering just off of the ground, the blue pegasus took the lead, heading around the front of the store, and into what seemed to be a main thoroughfare. Or, it would be, if anypony was actually doing anything. As the two ponies stepped into the street, they saw plenty of ponies outside. Looking up at the sky, the sun was well on its way to ceding to the night, but Twilight knew from experience that this was just the time where the citizens of Canterlot would be out enjoying yet another beautiful sunset. At the moment though, they were frozen in place. Standing in line at a vendor's cart. sitting at a table outside of a cafe. Reclining on a park bench. whatever it is they were doing last, they were stuck there. Wandering around to a few of the ponies, Twilight and Rainbow took turns talking to, poking, or even shoving some of the ponies, trying to get any sort of response from them. After a few fruitless minutes, Rainbow let out a frustrated snort, banging her hoof against the ground. "It's no good Twi. These ponies are just as bad off as the ones from the train. All of them." Twilight nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, it appears that way. It's unfortunate that there is no time to study any of these ponies, and the effects that this is having on them. The things we could learn could advance the field of Pony Psychology exponentially." Rolling her eyes a bit, Rainbow shook her head at the unicorn. "There'll be plenty of time to write reports after we get home, Twi." "If we get home", she replied. A disapproving glare crossed Rainbow's face as she darted over to Twilight, instinctively spreading a wing over the unicorn's shoulders. Twilight's body stiffened at the contact, her nerves nearly standing on end as she raced to quell the rising tide of emotion that threatened to flood her mind. She'd been hugged by Rainbow Dash countless times before, but this was the first hug she had received with the knowledge that the pegasus was in love with her. Lost in her own efforts to quiet her mind, is that my mind, or my heart?, Twilight didn't pick up on the subtle twitch in Rainbow's wing as it settled onto her back. Glancing over at the unicorn, Rainbow gathered as much calm as she could into her voice, forcing her heart to slow for just a moment as she spoke. "I don't want to hear you say that again, Twi. We're going to get home - both of us. I just know that we will." Twilight shifted a bit to return the glance, causing her mane to shift imperceptibly through a sea of blue feathers. The smooth contact sent more shivers through her back, though she tried her best to hide it with an artificial attempt to clear her throat. "H..how can you be so sure, Rainbow? We have no idea how strong Chrysalis is with that weapon. We could be powerless to stop her." "Because you're the strongest pony in Equestria", replied Dash, pouring every ounce of sincerity into the words. "Remember what you told me right after we defeated Nightmare Moon? That there was a little bit of each Element inside of each of us? That goes for you too, Twi. You represent the best parts of each of us, and you top it off with the most powerful magic anypony has seen outside of Celestia herself." Nopony can stand in the way of that, Twi. Not even Chrysalis. Trust me, Twi - we're going home together." In light of her recent realization, 'together' took on a whole new meaning for the unicorn, as Dash's words sounded in her ears. Hopefully, there will be time to discuss this with Rainbow later. Steeling her mind a bit, she retraced her last thought. No, I WILL discuss this with her, because we ARE going to get home. The sound of hooves moving through the dirt startled both mares from their quiet conversation. Turning around to the source of the noise, they spotted two Earth ponies slowly approaching them. Thank goodness, somepony else around here can actually move, Twilight thought to herself. Walking forward a few steps, she extended a hoof in greeting to the approaching ponies. "Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend Rainb--" Suddenly, both ponies turned and ran in the opposite direction, not bothering to look back at the two mares. "Wait!", she yelled after them, "we just want to talk to you!". Her cries fell on deaf ears as the ponies continued their sprint, rounding a corner into an alleyway. "Get back here, you dumb ponies!", yelled Rainbow as she shot into the air after the fleeing stallions. "Don't worry, Twi, I got this!", she called over her shoulder as she darted away. Sensing something was off with the whole situation, she sprinted off after the gaggle of ponies, doing her best to yell after Dash. "Wait, Dash! They could be luring us into a trap!" The words never reached the pegasus, as she was too far away, and was already rounding the corner. A split second of silence was shattered by a high pitched yelp that could only have come from Rainbow, followed by a flash of electric blue light. Running as fast as she could, Twilight flew around the same corner, horn already bathed in a magenta glow, ready to strike. She nearly fell head over hoof as she skidded to a stop. At the end of the alley were two Changelings, who undoubtedly were two Earth ponies mere moments ago. Squaring her aim, she channeled more magic into her horn, waiting for the right second to unleash a volley against the winged insects. Then, the Changelings stepped away from each other, and Twilight's heart froze mid-beat. In the middle of the alley, between the two Changelings, was an electric blue net, and in the net was Rainbow Dash, lying listlessly on her side.. Before Twilight's brain could even process what she was seeing, the insects grabbed the net in their sickly claws, and took to the sky. "NO! Rainbow!!!" Desperation and anger coursing through her veins, the unicorn charged her horn again, intent on blasting the fleeing Changelings out of the sky. But they were just too fast, and too erratic in their motions to offer Twilight a clean shot. And despite her fear of losing Dash to these creatures, she could not even fathom accidentally hitting the mare instead of the insects. Indecision freezing her in place, she could only watch as the blue net rose into the sky, the insects heading towards the royal castle. Without a second thought, she shot off out of the alley, around the same corner, and began running headlong towards the castle. She still wasn't totally sure how she'd destroy the magic amplifier, but she did know one thing: The Changelings were not taking away a friend. Especially not a friend that loved her.