//------------------------------// // Day 4 // Story: The Bet // by Blueninetails //------------------------------// The sand sculpting contest had gone rather well, the group had managed to win second place, much to Rainbow's dismay, but they at least they managed to work as a team and have fun. The rest of the day until they all went bed for the night was filled with laughter, talking, and a countless number of confetti as Pinkie decided to celebrate their second place victory. When asked about where Pinkie managed to find the supplies needed to throw the party, her only statement was she had managed to find a party store in town, granted though it seemed to be only be sheer luck that she did. The hotel managers didn't even know there was a party store. The next day, the others bade Princess Celestia a safe trip back to Canterlot as she got onto her chariot. The words of farewell were cut short, though, as the guards seemed adamant about return as soon as possible due to Discord and Shining Armor's orders to. Celestia could only guess what was happening back at the palace that called for her swift return. The day went relatively uneventful, as the group stayed together to eat breakfast and chat before going their separate ways. Pinkie was slightly irked since she was hoping they'd all hang out together, but accepted it, as the reason was a particular yellow pegasus in their group, Fluttershy. Fluttershy was feeling a bit tired that day so she timidly requested that she be exempted from any activities that day which the others allowed. She only stayed with them for an extra moment for tea, before retreating to her room for a day of quiet activities and rest. After Fluttershy's departure, each pony decided to follow suit and pursue their own interests for the day. Twilight, with Rainbow in tow, retreated to a conference room that the hotel usually offered for business purposes to continue her reading, very much to Rainbow's dismay. Spike tagged along and busied himself by helping Twilight out with small but dutiful tasks. Pinkie decided to hang out with Rarity, promising not to be as energetic as she usually was, as they went off to the spa together. It wasn't Pinkie's usual choice of activity, but Rarity had actually looked forward to a spa visit and having somepony to talk to, namingly Fluttershy, so Pinkie took it upon herself to fulfill that position. That's what friends do, right? Applejack watched over the crusaders that day, as they attempted baking as a potential for their cutie marks. Applejack honestly didn't mind the idea of doing something a bit like her usual routine back at home, though it took Luna's assuring for the hotel owners for herself and the crusaders to gain access to the kitchen. Back at the conference room, Twilight sat at the table, her head hanging over her current book of choice. Rainbow was laying on her back on the table, on the opposing side from Twilight. Twilight looked up from her book as she heard Rainbow loudly sigh. "You know, you really don't have to stay here if you don't want to, Rainbow." "I know, I know, but YOU know I have make sure I don't lose my bet with Applejack before you do." Rainbow stated. "Rainbow, I'm not dishonest. If I do break my bet with Applejack, I'm going to tell her, I'm not going to hide it." "It's not that I don't trust you Twilight. From all the crazy adventures we've gone on, I'd be crazy to not trust you. It's just that...I guess I just want to be absolutely sure, especially since we have a bet going on between us." "I suppose that does sound somewhat reasonable." Twilight replied as she sighed, "Well, at least try to be somewhat quiet if you're really going to just lay there until I'm done reading." Rainbow grunted and proceeded to turn her attention back on the ceiling of the room. Not even five minutes passed before Rainbow inadvertently gave Twilight another distraction from her reading, this time from Rainbow's wings. Rainbow Dash laid on the table, gently flapping her wings as though she was imagining herself airborne. Apparently, the lack of flight for two days was really getting to her. "Um, Rainbow...if you're really that bored, I can suggest some reading material if you'd like." "Is it Daring Do?" Rainbow asked with through half-closed eye lids. "Well...no..." "Then I don't care. It's probably some boring science-y book anyway." "It's an adventure book, just like Daring Do." Twilight stated as she closed the book she was reading and pushed it toward Rainbow, who lazily looked at the title, “ 'Adventures in a Frozen Wasteland'. It's a story about three adventurers, who has never met each other, working together to find a treasure so vast that it easily makes the richest pony in world look like a beggar." Rainbow adjusted herself so she wasn't laying on her back anymore. "This is the first in the series as far as I know, and a fairly recent release too. It's the only one out so far." Twilight explained. "Is it as good as Daring Do?" "I don't know yet, I haven't finished reading it myself so far. I'm on chapter 8 right now. But, from what I've read so far, it show's promise, and will more than likely be something you'd like." "I dunno Twi..." "Hm..." Twilight tapped a hoof on her chin before responding, "Well, did you like the last book I recommended to you?" "Uh, the last book you recommended to me was Daring Do, so I'm pretty sure you know the answer already." "And you do trust me don't you?" "I just said I did a moment ago." Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes "Well, then trust me when I say this book is quite good and I think you'll like it." Twilight stated with a wide smile. Rainbow remained silent for a moment before finally giving a nod, "Alright Twilight, let's see if this is worth it." Twilight gave an even wider smile, before saying, "Also, would you mind getting off the table? I don't think hotel management would appreciate the fact you're sitting on it." then went off to find another book to read. Luckily, she had Spike bring down three more books to read earlier. "Hmph." Rainbow then hopped off the table, then opened the book to the first page to start reading. Before Rainbow could start reading the first paragraph of the story, she looked up at Twilight, who seemed to be struggling to carry a very heavy looking book over to the table. Twilight had found the book she was looking for, and proceeding to pick-up and carry it over using her mouth. After succeeding to do so, Twilight rubbed her jaw as she panted. "Wow, that is a big book." Rainbow stated out loud, then looked over at the title. “ 'Astronomical Guide of Luna's Stars and the Stories Behind Each One'. Jeez, Twilight, you really had a book like that? It looks bigger than the book you keep on your center table back at home.” "Because it is." Twilight remarked, "It's at least 120 more pages than that one. How do you pegasi and earth ponies carry a book like this?" "Well..., I can't say anything for earth ponies like Applejack, but I'd just pick it up with my hooves. It's a lot easier to do than picking it up with my mouth." she smirked. "No kidding." she stated as she rubbed her mouth. The book had left some kind of after-taste in her mouth. As the minutes passed, both quietly read their respective books, though Twilight seemed to jot down a few notes once in a while. True to her words, Twilight turned out to be right about the book she recommended to Rainbow, as the pegasus was just as engrossed in the story as Daring Do. Also, like last time, Rainbow likened herself to one of the characters, a pegasus character in the story, granted the character spent more time on the ground than Rainbow probably did in the last six years. Eventually, that eagerness was replaced by annoyance, then frustration as she slammed the book shut. "This is too painful to read." she stated Twilight gave a sigh, so much for hoping that she had found another book for Rainbow, "I'm sorry Rainbow, I really thought this was something you'd love to read." and reached over to take the book away from her. Just then, Rainbow grabbed the book and held it close to her chest, "Hey, I'm not done reading it yet." "What...?! But..., I thought-" "That I don't like it?" Rainbow interrupted, "No, I like it. This is amazing, especially when they had to fight off an entire tribe of violent tribal ponies. That was so cool!" "Then why did you..." "I just said it was painful to read. I didn't say I didn't like it." Rainbow explained as she placed the book back on the table, "The painful parts is whenever the writer describes how the pegasus character, Scarlet I think her name was, is flying around. I mean...seriously! She makes so many mistakes describing it." Rainbow then turned the page to a specific scene, then pushed the book toward Twilight, "See, at that scene, she's describing how Scarlet is flying around, returning to the others after finding out a group of bandits are headed toward their camp. She says something like, Scarlet is flying as fast as she could back to camp, her wings straight out, as she flapped with all her might." "Any pegasus that got out of flight camp can tell you that, that's horribly inefficient. First off, when your trying to gain speed, you have to flap, but you have to make sure that your wing is as close to your body as it can be during the up-stroke, otherwise it'll cause drag and it'll all be for naught. Secondly, it'll be WAY easier to just reach a particular speed then keep your wings straight to start gliding, you don't need to flap so much to keep a sustained speed. It already creates lift as you go through the air." Rainbow explained, though a little bluntly. Twilight's jaw practically hit the table with that explanation. "I bet the writer isn't even a pegasus." "..." "What...? Why are you staring at me like that?" "I-I'm sorry...it's just that, I never expected you to explain it like that. It was more detailed than I expected." "Twilight, I'm always flying. How could I not know that kind of stuff and the mechanics behind it all?" Rainbow stated, "I mean, jeez, I'm a pegasus, I'm pretty much born and raised knowing this." "Right...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. I should've expected it." Twilight apologized as her ears flattened against her head. Rainbow smirked, "It's fine Twilight, seriously. I guess it's alright. I mean, I know I'm not exactly that smart." "Still, I should've given you more credit Rainbow. I'm deeply sorry." "Don't sweat about it. Anyway, the writer is just really bad at writing how pegasi fly." Rainbow stated, reaffirming her earlier statement, as she took the book back from Twilight, "Otherwise, I guess I kinda like it." "I'm glad to hear it." Twilight then smiled, at least before her stomach loudly growl. Rainbow burst out laughing, "You hungry? Wanna go get something to eat?" "Yeah, it is lunch time already." Twilight nervously replied as she closed her book. "Wanna just go to the buffet? I heard they're doing an all-Mariditerranean Lunch right now." "Yeah, that does sound quite good. I'll just carry my books up to my room, and I'll meet you there, Rainbow." Twilight then started seeing if she can stack the books on her back so she could carry them all up in one trip. "Where's Spike anyway? I haven't seen him since I finished the first chapter of that book." "You know, I really don't know. Hm...I know I asked him to fetch some water earlier..." "Maybe he decided to stay in the kitchen." Rainbow suggested, "With Applejack there, there's probably quite a few things for him to eat by now." Twilight nodded, betting that was more than likely the case. "Uh, want some help there Twi?" Rainbow asked as she noted that Twilight was having some trouble carrying all her books at once. "I'd definitely appreciate it." Twilight replied, sounding strained. Rainbow giggled as she took two books off of her friend's back. "Thanks Rainbow, guess I underestimated the amount of weight these all have together." "No biggie." "I guess I'm still getting use to not having my magic to assist me." she admitted embarrassingly as they started toward the elevator. "I think I figured that one out when I noticed you still have a bed-mane." she stated with a smirk as Twilight turned red from embarrassment.