//------------------------------// // It's Twilight Time // Story: Orange and Blue, I Do (Book 3) // by LotusTeaDragon //------------------------------// CHAPTER SEVEN “It’s Twilight Time” “A little higher, Violet!” “How’s this, Twilight?!” “Perfect! Hold it there!” Violet flapped her wings to stay in position, as the winds buffeted against her. She was holding the metallic sphere Twilight had built in the lab, as she hovered a hundred meters above the ground. They were out in a large, open field just southwest of the Everfree forest, it was early morning, and Twilight was taking measurements. The wind was pushing her mane in her face as she was scribbling her observations onto a clipboard, would have to, on occasion, use a quick burst of magic to brush the errand strands of hair away to keep her vision unobstructed. “That may not be high enough...” she mumbled to herself as she checked the figures she had just jotted onto the paper. She looked up into the air, in the direction of Violet, who was holding her magnetic sensor array, one designed to test the ionic dispersion rate in a localized atmosphere. “Violet! I’m going to need you to take it about 50 meters higher, if you can!” She watched as Violet nodded, and soared higher, becoming a blob of purple at 150 meters up. At that point she would likely be out of voice range, thanks in particular to not only distance, but also the howl of the wind. She checked her figures once again, and gave herself a mental nod of approval. The figures were sound, the math was correct. Gazing up and focusing on the shiny glint that was the sensor array, she fired off a strong burst of magic from her horn to activate it. Violet almost dropped the array when it suddenly started beeping and whirring. She quickly realized it was doing what it was supposed to do, and kept as still as possible, knowing that too much movement would mess with the sensor’s ability to detect the magnetic background emanations given off by the Everfree’s powerful systems of nature, whatever they were. Squinting her eyes, she could see Twilight way down below her. Probably going over her figures once again, she thought to herself as she watched the meticulous pony going about her business. 150 meters farther down, back on the ground, Twilight was watching the readouts from her portable station. Reams of paper were being printed at a fast rate, but not so fast that Twilight couldn’t read the statistics and jot down her calculations. Her eyes were glued to the printouts as they sped by her. Meanwhile, back up in the air, Violet had taken a few moments to daydream. She was holding her position, her forelegs keeping the sensor array stable, and her wings steady against the gusting winds, but her mind was elsewhere. She was quickly brought out of that reverie by an odd beeping coming from the array. Granted, there were already a number of beeps and whistles emanating from the odd device, but this one was different. This was one that made your subconscious mind alert you that something was wrong. Most scientists had this inherent ability, and while Violet wasn’t a scientist per se, her instincts were no different, and she started looking around to see what options she had should something go wrong. On the ground, Twilight cross-checked her clipboard with her other instruments, watching the feedback from the array dumping raw data into her machines, the readouts showing a marked disturbance in the scattered electricity surging through the atmosphere near the Everfree. She exclaimed in delight. This was it! She had found the source of the odd disturbances in the forest’s weather patterns. With this information she would be able to return balance to the forest’s freakishly autonomous weather system. She was scribbling the newly formed equation onto her clipboard when she heard a warning beep coming from the receiving station that was printing the sensor array’s data. Glancing over to the console, she watched in surprise as the printouts began indicating large spikes of electrical feedback. A power surge! she realized, and turned up toward the spot in the sky that was Violet Tempest. “Violet!” she called out, but received no indication of a response. Quickly, she charged her horn and fired off a magic burst, in order to shut down the sensor array. Violet watched as the array began smoking, a roiling black smoke accompanying the high pitched whine that had begun replacing the odd beeping. She was torn between dropping the array to save herself, or holding on to it in order to keep from disappointing Twilight, who would surely be upset that her lab partner had dropped such an important piece of scientific equipment. Fortunately for her, a dazzling splash of magic burst all around the device, and the array went silent. She breathed a sigh of relief, and began heading downward, towards Twilight’s position on the ground. She was curious about the results Twilight had managed to gather, and hoped that they had found enough data to correlate with the odd disturbances happening in the Everfree. As she approached the ground, however, at about 50 meters, she felt a massive burst of wind slam into her back, pinning her wings against her body. The ground began to rush up toward her at an alarming rate. As much as she struggled, Violet couldn’t get her wings to open back up, and she began spiraling completely out of control. Twilight watched in horror as Violet came hurtling downward. Seeing that her wings were neither flapping nor spread, Twilight could only assume Violet had been hit by a microburst or heavy downdraft, one too powerful for which she could compensate. Using her magic, Twilight tried to encircle Violet with a bubble of lighter than air magic, in order to soften her fall. It was all she could do at that distance. She broke into a gallop, heading toward Violet’s direction, all the while hoping that what she had managed with her magic would be enough. As she crested a hill, she saw Violet disappear below the horizon. She pushed her body with every fiber of her being, hoping against hope that she would not find what her analytical mind was telling her would happen to a pegasus slammed into the hard ground from a more than 50 meter altitude. A minute later, Twilight skidded to a stop as she approached the crash site. She saw the sensor array in a smouldering heap to her immediate left. Hurriedly, she began searching around the higher grasses, looking for the outline of a violet pegasus and her multicolored mane. She tried desperately not to panic, and kept her valid, yet unhelpful, fears at bay as she pushed the weeds aside, scouring the ground for the young pegasus. After five minutes of searching, Twilight had reached a steady panic. There was neither hide nor hair of the young mare, and Twilight had long since dissolved into a state of dizzying fear. “Violet!” she called out for what felt like the thousandth time, and again, for the thousandth time, she received no response. As she cantered forward again, she glanced over her shoulder and saw the still smoking heap of the sensor array, and realized she had traveled more than a hundred yards, and still no sign of Violet. “Maybe I’m too far aw-oof!” she said, interrupted as she tripped over an object in the grass. She tumbled to the ground and lay there for a moment, getting her bearings. She opened her eyes and sitting up, looked behind her to see what she had tripped over. The object was violet, and very much a pony. Twilight gasped as she launched to her hooves, running the short distance to where Violet lay in the grass. She began examining the pegasus, trying to assess what damage she had incurred from her fall. The first, and most terrifying, thing she noticed was that Violet didn’t appear to be breathing. Tears began to well at the edge of her vision as Twilight carefully turned the pegasus’ body over. She saw Violet’s eyes closed, and that her chest was not moving up and down. She leaned her ear against the pony’s chest. She could hear the very faintest heartbeat. There’s still time she thought as she rapidly accessed the emergency procedures she had learned long ago when she was studying the medical subcourse at Celestia’s School for Gifted Students. Quickly, using the tip of her hoof, Twilight checked inside Violet’s mouth to make sure her tongue wasn’t blocking her airway. Noting that there was nothing blocking the passage, she tilted Violet’s head back slightly, and using one hoof to close Violet’s nose, she leaned down, and bringing her muzzle into contact with Violet’s, she gave two slow, deep breaths, watching to make sure Violet’s chest was rising and falling with each breath. Seeing this, she continued, giving Violet another breath every five seconds. Over the course of two minutes, Twilight continued her rescue breathing. She wanted to break down into tears, to cry until the panic would subside, but she knew that Violet’s life was in her hooves, and that if she expected to save this young pegasus, she had to continue being her lifeline. She resolved to keep her fear at bay, and with calm collectiveness, Twilight continued breathing into Violet’s body, hoping to Celestia that she would get a response. Then it happened. At first, Twilight wasn’t certain, but she stopped for a moment to watch Violet’s chest. Several terrible seconds she waited, hoping she wasn’t doing this in vai- there! There it was! Twilight let out a yelp as she saw Violet’s chest rising up and down on its own. A second later, she heard the pegasus draw in a deep breath, and Twilight reached down and kissed the young mare on the cheek as she wept, tears of joy falling down her muzzle. *** Aside from having a screaming headache, she felt oddly fine, considering she must have slammed into the ground so hard as to create a permanent pegasus shaped crater in the dirt. In the blackness, she could hear soft whirs and beeps. A quick bolt of panic shot through her, that maybe she had landed underneath the sensor array, but after a moment, she recognized the sounds as those of a hospital room. That confirmed, to her anyway, that she had survived, assuming she wasn’t floating above her own body lying in some hospital bed. She very gently cracked open one eye. Light poured in, and was painful for a moment, but she had to know. She saw directly above her, and realized she was seeing soft bluish green tiles. A hospital room ceiling. So she was laying in a hospital bed. Accepting this as a good sign, she slowly opened the other eye and let it adjust to the light in the room. That she could see out of both eyes made her breathe a sigh of relief. That was working in her favor as well, so far. Blinking a few times to ease the soreness of having opened her eyes, she slowly turned her head. Aside from some stiffness and a twinge of pain at the base of her neck, she could move it well enough. She immediately noticed that she had a companion. Sitting next to her, in what must have been a very uncomfortable chair, Twilight Sparkle sat dozing. Violet’s heart warmed as she heard the mare’s soft breathing, punctuated by an occasional light snore. She smiled as she watched the unicorn, her heart filled with pride at knowing Twilight Sparkle. It was filled with something else, too, but she was unsure of what it was. She knew it was something important, something major, but the feeling was sitting at the edge of her awareness, and she just wasn’t sure what it was. The pride, though, she recognized that right away. Pride was certainly something not unfamiliar in the Dash family. Hearing her mind touch on that name, she glanced around the room, and sure enough, sitting on the couch against the wall, lay Rainbow Dash, with Applejack asleep next to her. Her eyes welled, and a single tear escaped down her cheek. A small sniffle escaped her, and it was enough to wake Twilight, who sat up from her slouching position, and turned her attention toward the bed. Seeing Violet awake and glancing in her direction, Twilight let out a small cry of surprise, and jumped up, hugging the young mare. Violet choked a bit as she began laughing at the unicorn’s sudden exuberance. She returned Twilight’s embrace, squeezing the adorable mare. Behind her, she heard the other ponies stirring. She heard Applejack call out, “Oh dear Celestia, is somethin’ wrong, Twilight?!” As they ran up to the bed, they cried out in joy as they saw their young charge awake, and for all accounts, doing well. Gathering together, they all hugged Violet tightly. Tears of joy pouring down their faces. Violet let her own tears pour down her face. *** “The doctor says you can return home today, but you’ll need lots of rest, kiddo.” Rainbow Dash was saying to her sister, as she lay in her bed, nibbling on a sprig of parsley from the dinner tray that was sitting on her lap. “What about my wings? I’d imagine hitting the ground would have caused some damage.” Violet said over her parsley. She heard somepony clearing their throat, and glanced over toward the door, where an older male pony stood, holding a clipboard in his magic. “Hello, Miss Tempest, my name is Doctor Stable. I oversaw your admission, and have been monitoring your progress. While your wings will be stiff, and nearly unusable for the next day or so, they will return to normal in no time. You merely sprained the muscles at the base of each wing, due to the sudden force that was pressed downward upon them. If you’re feeling okay, otherwise, I will be discharging you today. Is that okay with you?” Violet simply nodded her assent. He then turned to Rainbow Dash, “will she be staying with you, Ms. Dash?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yes, Doctor, she will be staying with me and my fiance, Applejack. She left a little while ago to get a few things ready for Violet once she gets out of here.” Doctor Stable wrote something on his clipboard. “Very well, then,” he continued, “once I get the paperwork completed, I will send the nurse to help you be on your way.” With a smile in Violet’s direction, and a quick pat on one of her back hooves, he left the room. Rainbow Dash glanced down at her sister, who had finished her parsley, and was staring at her empty dinner tray. She felt a twinge of something bothering her, and she realized the source of that twinge was her sister. “Hey, kiddo,” she began softly, “are you gonna be okay?” Violet didn’t meet Rainbow Dash’s gaze for a moment, but then she looked up and met her older sister’s gaze. “Yeah, I guess...no, not really.” She let out a sigh. “I don’t know.” She fidgeted for a moment, looking around the room, and seeing nopony else, looked back to her sister. “Where did Twilight go?” she asked. Dash blew a stray hair out of her face. “Oh, she went to get some coffee. She should be back in a few minutes.” Violet nodded silently. “Do you think,” she began after a few moments, breaking the silence that had begun to linger, “that I could ask you a question?” Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows went up in surprise, but she just nodded. “Sure, kid, you can ask me anything. I’m your big sis. I’m going to be here for you no matter what.” Glancing around the room quickly, and listening for hoofsteps, of which she heard none, she felt confident enough to go on speaking. “Well,” she began, “what would you think of me, if I told you that,” and at this she took a deep breath and exhaled, “I don’t want to be in the Wonderbolts?” She shut her eyes and waited for a shocked pegasus pony to gasp in surprise. After hearing nothing for a good five seconds, she opened her eyes, and saw that Dash was still there, her face bereft of any surprise, shock, dismay, or even disappointment. “Are you mad at me?” Violet asked, her voice just barely above a whisper. “Mad at you? For what?” Dash asked, confusion in her voice. “For not wanting to be in the Wonderbolts.” Violet squeaked. “What? Mad for... mad for what? No!” Dash exclaimed, then realizing she had accidentally raised her voice and caused her little sister to cringe, she lowered her voice to a conversational level. “No, don’t be silly, Violet. Why would I be mad at you for not following my dream? I mean, yeah, I thought you wanted to be in the ‘bolts, but hey, I was wrong. Everypony is entitled to follow their dreams, ya know.” Violet’s heart felt better already, but doubt tinged her words. “I thought I was supposed to know what I was doing. I’m just a silly filly who can’t make up her own mind.” Dash rolled her eyes. “Sweet Celestia, are you kidding?” She put her foreleg around her sister’s shoulders. “When I was your age, I wanted to be everything. Did you know I wanted to be a firepony?” Violet shook her head. “Yep! I wanted to be a firepony, working for the Cloudsdale Fire Service.” “What happened?” Violet asked. “Well, I found out something about being a firepony. That is, I don’t like fire.” Violet giggled. “It’s true!” Dash insisted, her eyes growing wider as she began to warm to the story. “During the practice drill, I singed my tail. When I panicked, I flew right into a tree next to the practice building, and caught the tree on fire. I was so bad at fighting fires, the volunteer service had to let me go before I had even been to my first fire!” Violet broke out into a laugh. Rainbow Dash chuckled at the memory, running a hoof through her tail without realizing it. “So do you feel better, kiddo?” she asked, hugging her sister. “I sure do, Dash.” Violet said, squeezing tighter into the hug. “Oh, my, did I miss anything?” Violet’s eyes shot open, and her heart began racing. “Oh, no, Twilight, um, Rainbow Dash was just telling me a story about when she first came to Cloudsdale.” Twilight entered the room, and handed a mug of coffee to Rainbow Dash, who began sipping quietly, looking back and forth between her sister and her dear friend. “Oh, that sounds like fun. I hope I didn’t interrupt." Twilight said, with a warm smile on her face. Violet rubbed her foreleg. “Oh, no, no. It was just a story.” She laughed nervously. “Ah, good. I thought maybe I was intruding.” “Of course not, Twilight! You could never intrude on anypony.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that.” Twilight blushed. Violet looked from her sister to Twilight and back. Apparently it was something unspoken between them, so she shrugged it off. Sometimes older adults could say confusing things. She turned back to her tray, and wished she hadn’t already finished all of her apple juice. She looked forward to going home, and more importantly, she looked forward to a future where she didn’t have to feel trapped in one career path. Now if only she could work on the other problem she had. One that wouldn’t be so easy to solve. (/)*(\)