Journey to the Center of the Rainbow

by The DJ Rainbow Dash


Chapter 1: Red

Journey to the Center of the Rainbow
Chapter 1: Red

To say the least, Rainbow was taken aback by the idea of a weeklong vacation. She had never been away from Ponyville for such a long amount of time, and immediately worried about who would feed Tank while she was away. Luckily, Fluttershy offered her a place for her tortoise to stay, which Rainbow happily accepted, only with a promise that she would play with him at least once a day.

Rainbow had packed a simple bag with some necessities, but otherwise decided to travel light, as was her style. She was surprised she even had luggage to bring, considering she had never really taken an extended trip apart from visiting the Crystal Empire, and even that wasn’t really long enough to be considered as such.

She rested her head on the soft cushion of the seat and gazed out the window to the landscape before her. The sun had risen out from over the hills around an hour ago, bathing the sky in a warm orange hue for the last hour. She always enjoyed watching the sunrise, although it wasn’t something she was accustomed to seeing often, given her rather late waking times. It had been the first time in months she was awake before sunrise, thanks to Twilight. The mare in question sat in the seat beside her as the train journeyed its way through the vast plains outside of Ponyville.

Rainbow’s mind drifted off to the festivities of last night, smiling as she remembered the craziness of the whole party. Pinkie definitely outdid herself on the cake, which happened to be a near replica of her own cutie mark, complete with fireworks. Where Pinkie had gotten fireworks to put on a cake she would never know or understand, but it would be best if left unquestioned.

The real unexpectedness of last night came in the form of a present. Rainbow didn’t open her gifts until everypony had left so that nopony would feel embarrassed or such when comparing what they got versus what others got.

When counting the number of gifts that she had, she realized that Twilight’s wasn’t among them. Rainbow was surprised to see that Twilight was the last to stick around in her home, an unsteady look on her face as she presented a small letter wrapped in a ribbon. She unrolled it to reveal a letter, a letter written in her unmistakable near perfect hoofwriting.

Rainbow Dash,

You wouldn’t believe how much effort I made into putting together a gift to give you for your birthday. Wait, what am I saying? Of course it would be me to go completely overboard on something of this nature.

Anyway, I didn’t want to gift something that would be expected of me, like a book or really any material item. I wanted to give you something you’ll remember, better yet, a memory which you can look back on for years to come. Yes, it sounds like a rather grand idea for something like a birthday gift, but I’ve never been a pony who always did things simple.

So I thought, and eventually with the help of Spike came up with the idea to take a vacation. But I wasn’t satisfied with your standard run of the mill go to a beach or resort type of vacation. Instead, we’ll be taking a trip to see seven different sights, each of which will correspond to a different color. I like to call it “Journey to the Center of the Rainbow.” It sounds fitting doesn’t it?

Really though, this entire trip is centered around you, as we learn about each color of the Rainbow and their potential significance and symbolism. Sounds very egghead-like, I know, but trust me when I say it’ll be in your own words, “so awesome!”

You don’t need to bring any bits, or anything to compensate me with. The only request I ask is that you bring yourself along for the ride.

Happy Birthday Rainbow Dash, and hopefully you enjoy the vacation I’ve created for you.

Your dear friend, Twilight Sparkle.

On very few occasions did a gift touch her as deeply as Twilight’s. She imagined just how much effort Twilight had put into creating a special vacation for the two of them, and was more than delighted to accompany her friend on a weeklong adventure. Other than reading together on various days, the pair didn’t spend much time one on one. Rainbow assumed for the time being that this vacation would be a really rewarding experience for the both of them.

“Next stop is Ignis lacum! Arrival time around 10 minutes from now,” the conductor said loudly over the intercom of the train. Rainbow herself had never heard of the small town Twilight had in mind as the first stop, but she was quite curious on what was so special about it. The only bit of info she was able to conclude on her own was that it was a different language.

She looked over to find her friend sleeping peacefully, her head resting against a small carry on pillow tucked between her and the window. Rainbow watched for a minute or so as she breathed softly into the window, causing a small patch of fog to form and block out the outside. Rainbow felt bad for disturbing her, as she seemed so peaceful.

“Twi, come on, our stop is up next,” Rainbow nudged.

Twilight mumbled something incoherent and turned back towards the window, breathing softly still. It only took another sturdier nudge before she looked over at Rainbow with sleepy eyes. She yawned rather loudly and stretched her hooves out, one of them brushing up and feeling a back leg of Rainbow’s.

“Are we there yet?” Twilight’s voice still retained some drowsiness.

Rainbow’s face was turning a light shade of red as she felt Twilight’s hoof linger on the upper part of her back leg. She tried to think nothing of it, as it was a genuine mistake since Twilight wasn’t fully awake yet.

“Almost, but we should wake up first before getting off… right?” Rainbow smirked as she joked with unicorn who was trying to shake sleep from her eyes.

Twilight chuckled lightly. “Well that makes logical sense I guess.”

The pair sat in silence as the train slowly came to a halt, its brakes screeching on the track before it, showing the age of the train itself. Twilight ventured a guess and thought the train would be around 30 or so moons old, judging by the rust it had on the outer edges at parts. She was the first to get off, followed by Rainbow who looked skeptical at the rather haphazard town they had come upon. In fact, they were the only two ponies to exit the train, which was fairly crowded.

“Uh Twi? This is the right town right?”

“This is Ignis Iacum correct?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow looked over to the tiny train station to see Ingis Iacum printed in bold script letters on a sign. She nodded to Twilight in response.

“Then this is the right place,” she added, starting to trot into town, Rainbow in tow behind her.

Rainbow suddenly noticed how tiny the town really was. It made Ponyville look like Manehattan in comparison. She recognized from the sign that the road they were on was main street, and that it was the only street in the entire town. She spotted a small little building which Twilight seemed to be walking towards, and noticed it was a diner. She had to admit she was kind of hungry, as neither of them had eaten breakfast yet.

Being the loyal friend she was, Rainbow usually would always offer to split the bill fairly. She knew it was the right thing to do, but also wasn’t keen on letting others treat her. It was a quality that surprised herself at times, given her brash and sometimes boastful nature. But Rainbow was set on letting Twilight cover everything, as she had previously mentioned in the letter that she wanted it this way.

“Oh Rainbow! Look at how cozy this diner looks!”

It was a classic diner, but given a western makeover. This was about 100% accurate to the small eatery they were currently standing in. The booths and tables were all made from a natural wood, finished so that you could even see the lines of once was a tree. The walls were cedar planked and full of antiques and knick-knacks like old cider bottles and saddles. Rainbow made a mental note that Applejack might like the place.

Because of the hour, the diner wasn’t very busy save for a couple of ponies who looked to be residents. A rather chipper mare stood at the waitress station when they had arrived.

“Well good mornin’ to y’all! How are you two doin today?”

Twilight beamed at how nice the waitress was, who seemed to somehow become even happier with the gesture. Rainbow on the other hand just felt uncomfortable.

“We’re doing okay, right Rainbow?”

Rainbow smiled lightly when she felt Twilight nudge her in the side gently.

The young waitress smiled and led the pair over to one of the empty booths, placing down menus and a rollup of silverware before going on her merry way. Rainbow opened the menu and noticed just how many different types of food the diner made. It easily dwarfed out any of the diners in Ponyville, even just the breakfast menu.

Rainbow looked up at Twilight who was busy focusing on finding something to satisfy her own appetite. Her own mind drifted as she tried to fathom why Twilight would put so much time and energy into something for her. It wasn’t as if Rainbow had done anything of this magnitude for Twilight.

“Hey Twi?”

The unicorn glanced up from studying her menu to meet Rainbow’s eyes. “Yes?”

She wasn’t sure how to properly ask the question without offending Twilight. “I was just curious about this whole trip. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do anything like this for Rarity, or anypony else really. So, why me?”

“Well… I just thought a change of pace would be nice for a change. Really I think it started when I first was thinking of what to get you.”

“Lemme guess, you had planned this out months in advance right?” Rainbow joked.

“Actually, everything was planned out less than a week before your birthday.”

That caught Rainbow off guard. She knew that Twilight was somepony who would obsess over the littlest detail, and that to plan something like a weeklong vacation would take her a month at the very least. She could only imagine just how time she had spent in the last week dedicated to her gift, and even wondered if the mare lost sleep from the ordeal.

The waitress had made her way back over at this point and taken orders. Twilight had gotten a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee, while also getting a simple cheese omelet. Rainbow opted for just the orange juice and a bowl of oats, as she wasn’t as hungry. She took the orders and briskly went on her way.

“How did you manage to do all that?”

“I wish I knew,” Twilight responded, chuckling as she fiddled around with her utensils. “I mean at least Spike was around to assist me.”

“Poor little guy. Child labor is frowned upon in these parts you know.”

Twilight merely gave Rainbow a glare at her little tease. “But the concept was easy to figure out. It just came out of nowhere as I was looking at one of my pictures.”

“So you didn’t use any books to come up with the idea?”

“Oh nonsense! Of course books would come into play eventually.”

Twilight glared again as Rainbow’s smile turned into a smirk as she began to laugh at her reaction. She shook her head as Rainbow wiped a couple of tears out of her eyes from laughing so hard.

“Well to continue, coming up with the places I wanted to take you was the hardest part to accomplish. When all of Equestria is open to consideration, it takes a while to whittle that down to a couple places.”

“So how did you pick the places you have?”

“Well I just started to pick out books based on different colors. I was surprised myself to see so many books on colors. Turns out I had a book on every single color of the rainbow, so I used those as reference.”

“So, where are we going today? Since you haven’t told me yet,” Rainbow replied, curiosity at a rather high level as she tried to figure out why they were in this rather tiny town.

“Patience Rainbow, all your questions will be answered soon.”

To say she was surprised at how hot it had gotten would be a severe understatement. Rainbow still didn’t have the slightest idea of what Ignis Iacum actually meant, but she was sure something along the lines of “hottest place in Equestria” would be pretty darn close.

Then again, Ignis Lacum was located in a landscape that was very similar to that of Dodge Junction. The ground was compacted and walking on it was comparable to walking on concrete. Rainbow was sure that the area got little to no rain, and wondered if the ground could even soak up any precipitation if it did rain. A brisk wind blew on occasion, causing sand and dust to be thrown into the air.

She looked over at Twilight, who wore a content smile as she walked beside her in silence. Rainbow had already attempted to get all of the information she could out of the mare, but Twilight was insistent in keeping everything secret. Her reasoning was the element of surprise.

Rainbow could hardly stand to wait any longer, and what they were walking to seemed to be a giant hole in the ground.

Wait.

Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks and her expression changed to that of annoyance.

“You took me all the way out here to see a giant hole in the ground?”

Twilight seemed to expect that the pegasus would show some impatience. “Well, see for yourself,” she replied, gesturing her hoof towards the pit in question.

By this point Rainbow had risen up into the air and was slowly using the wind to gently glide towards the pit in question. “I don’t understand what the big deal is… woah.”

She landed on the ground before her to see not just any pit, but one that was incredibly hot. It was hot for a reason, as the majority of this pit was covered in orange flames, dancing along the edges creating smoldering edges which looked rather interesting, almost like art. The hole itself was deep, at least a good hundred feet or more before seemingly turning into a black abyss into where she couldn’t see anymore.

Rainbow marveled at the sight before her, and realized what Twilight was talking about. She stood motionless in awe as Twilight came beside her, patting her on the back with one of hooves, almost as if to say “never doubt me.”

“The name of the town, Ignis Iacum, is actually a latin name. It stands for Fire Pit.”

“Ohhhh! That makes a lot more sense now.”

They continued watching the land before them continue to burn, the flames almost acting in a hypnotizing manner as they danced with one another. Even though they were both hot and sweaty from the weather conditions, the heat from the flames almost had a cooling effect on them. Rainbow and even Twilight herself wondered at how that could even be possible.

“So would you like to learn about the first color of the rainbow?

“You bet, after I get an aerial view of the flames! I wanna do a fly by over the pit!” Rainbow had unfurled her wings and was already in the air and quickly approaching the edge of the hole.

“Rainbow don’t!!”

The flames proved too aggressive and loud for Twilight’s voice to be heard. She watched in blank fear as Rainbow floated over and into the area of flames.

Rainbow wasn’t there more than a couple of seconds before she howled in agony, losing her composure and sinking dangerously close to the incredibly hot fire. Twilight near panicked, but was able to wrap Rainbow in a magical aura before bringing her back beside her. Rainbow to her own credit was still flying the entire time, and more than likely was able to make it back under her own accord.

Twilight stared at Rainbow in near disbelief and annoyance, her eyes tearing up slightly. The realization had just struck her that if she hadn’t been to catch her friend, Rainbow might have fallen and fell victim to the vicious flames. The imagery proved to be too much for the unicorn, as she had to turn away from Rainbow as she laid there and collected herself.

“Thanks Twi, I owe you one. Those flames are a heck of a lot hotter than they seems huh?” She didn’t seem to notice that Twilight didn’t find the situation humorous in the slightest. “Twi?”

“In what way or manner did you think that was a good idea!?” She had whipped her head around so that her eyes were staring directly into Rainbow’s.

Rainbow’s look softened immediately with the slight of Twilight’s reaction. “Twilight, I’m okay. I mean sure, a couple of my feathers might have gotten a bit torched by the flames, but I’m perfectly fine.”

“Rainbow you could have killed yourself if you fell in there! Do you know how hot those flames really are?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m sorry okay? I’ll be more careful, for the time being that is,” she replied, wearing her usual grin.

Twilight rolled her eyes at the statement.

“Now could you tell me what you were trying to tell me earlier? Rainbow asked.

“Are you going to fly into thousand degree flames again?”

Rainbow shook her head with a resounding no.

“Good.”

“So according to the research that I’ve done before coming here, the pit is filled with natural gas that some scientists found about 40 years ago. When they realized how much natural gas was leaking, they decided to set it aflame, thus causing the natural gas to eventually burn away completely.”

“I think they were wrong Twi.”

“Well,” she began, “It’s not that they were wrong, their idea was sound enough. But they couldn’t detect just how much natural gas was actually there. So instead they let it burn since it wasn’t threatening anypony out here.”

“That’s actually pretty interesting. I appreciate you not going into total egghead mode while explaining it.”

Twilight had to laugh at the half sentimental compliment, half insult. “No problem. So I’m guessing you’re curious as to why I brought you here?”

Rainbow nodded, still not exactly sure why Twilight had wanted to begin their so called “vacation” in the middle of scenic nowhere. But she had a notion that the flames had something to do with why they had come here.

“So as you can see, the flames are rather red in color. Red is the first color in sequence of the rainbow. It is a color of fire and blood, and has a variety of meanings behind it. Anger, power, strength, love, willpower, and desire are some of the various meanings given to the color. Passion is also one of these, and is probably the most outstanding quality you have.”

Rainbow agreed wholeheartedly with the statement.

“Red is also seen as a color which is very emotionally intense, also something I see in you a lot, even if you might not notice it. When you show your emotion, whether it be anger or happiness, out of all of use you seem to be the most forceful in terms of expression. Like when you get annoyed with one of us, you’ll make it known that this is the case.”

“I can agree with that I guess, although I tend to overdo it at times,” Rainbow added sheepishly.

“But however, on the flip side your overall intense emotional nature mixed with your passion for things makes you a pegasus nopony should ever underestimate. When you set your mind on a goal, you’ll go to unfathomable lengths to achieve it, going over leaps and bounds many ponies wouldn’t even attempt.”

“You bet I am!” Rainbow stuck her chest out and went into a more dramatic pose of victory, getting chuckles out of the unicorn beside her.

“And with that, now onto the next color. Come on Rainbow, no time to waste on this vacation, I’ll even race you back to the town. No flying!” Twilight shouted back to her as she started to dart off into the distance, leaving a trail of dust flying high into the hot desert air.

Rainbow smiled and let Twilight get a head start, knowing the librarian wasn’t exactly the most physical pony in Equestria.

There was one thing she had noticed as she watched Twilight explain the color red to her.

Twilight seemed to be more enthusiastic than ever when talking about it, even sounding positively excited at times. Rainbow noticed that there to be a twinkle in her eyes as she talked about Rainbow herself.