//------------------------------// // CH. Ten - You Piece Together a Jigsaw... // Story: Beneath the Canon You Settle For // by The Amateur //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash took point. Her mane and tail served as approach lights for our entourage. Just as we reached Ponyville’s outskirts, she swerved left over a field of apple trees. Jetstream and I changed course accordingly. As much as I blamed Loyalty for dragging me here, I had to at least commend her for discretion. She was purposely skirting around the areas where the populace was most concentrated; she was keeping me off the radar. We continued flying past the apple farm into the plains. Coarse grass covered the knolls surrounding town; each blade was a finely polished mirror, millions of which were bundled together in an overlapping pattern like dragon scales. When sunlight swept over the knolls, the hills sparkled. It was fitting for Arcadia to have a picturesque welcoming mat. At last, Rainbow began declining in altitude. Her landing site was a patch of trees on one of the lesser travelled trails into town. While Jetstream and I grounded, Rainbow had gone ahead to scout the area, swinging her gaze from the soil to the canopies. There was something obviously missing here. I asked, “Were you expecting the one–pony band to play us some fanfare upon our entrance?” “That’s just it. Pinkie Pie’s not here.” Rainbow Dash flew up and searched in all four cardinal directions. The element of Laughter had a reputation as Ponyville’s border patrol officer. Its only one. From the rumors I heard, she knew where each and every citizen was at any given time of the day. The fact she was not popping out to greet us was enough to send a chill in my spine–– she could be watching us from another dimension for all we knew. Jetstream seemed not at all bothered. She offered, “Perhaps she’s still working at Sugarcube Corner?” Rainbow turned with her mouth open and eyes narrowed. “She’s the friend I’m supposed to be meeting. That’s how I know.” It was a convincing enough answer. Rainbow fell back down to us. “Alright, but this’ll make getting to the library all the more difficult.” Rainbow shrugged and motioned to me with a hoof. “C’mon. We’ll use the rooftops. The pegasi here keep their eyes on the clouds. Fleetfoot, you won’t get noticed so long as you keep up with me. And Jetstream…? Uh, why don’t you just go see Pinkie Pie.” The mail mare shrugged and said goodbye with an odd salute. She marched off into town before I could fully appreciate the absurd gesture. Knowing Jetstream, it made sense why she and Pinkie Pie were long distance correspondents. “Let’s roll.” I tailed Rainbow Dash through the foliage. We trotted out of the trees into a wheat field, where all her stealth skills began kicking in. She crouched low, hugging the ground and advancing with deliberate, silent steps. Disregarding the fact that rainbow colors blended in with gold wheat about as well as a hopped–up DJ in Canterlot Concert Hall, I would say she was sneaking quite well. I stayed behind Loyalty, not quite dropping to the ground but still crouching low. Recognition in a small town like this would have meant the end of me: both in my Wonderbolt career and in my sanity. I could only imagine the sensation my story would make, considering why I was here. These ponies would never leave me alone once they knew. Somehow, not a soul had noticed us as we stopped at the end of the wheat field. Rainbow surveyed the expanse before us. A dirt path, a red fence, and some bales of hay stood in that order between us and the nearest households. The only witness around was a listless mule by the fence, who looked as though even the end of the world could not stir a reaction. Naturally, Rainbow held us back for the amount of time it would have taken us to just walk the distance. After about another minute, she turned to me with a sly grin. “Okay, so here’s the plan–– I’ll take the lead and make a sprint to the fence. Once I’m over, you should do the same. As soon as that cloud over there passes over the sun, I’ll make my way between the bales there, there, and there. Meanwhile, you crawl under the fence and crawl to the bale there. Don’t worry about the mule; I’ll create a distraction once I’m at the houses. Once the wind is favorable, cover the rest of the distance with your wings and wait for me on that roof there!” “Okay,” I answered. “Great! I’ll see you at the rendezvous point. Wow, I can’t believe this is actually happening!” Rainbow stretched and poised herself for the first sprint. “Let’s move.” In an instant, she was out of the wheat stocks and out on the dirt path. Three seconds later, I trotted after her. I looked both ways on the path before I crossed. I reached the fence and climbed over without even an ear twitch from the mule. Rainbow was up pulling together clouds for what I presumed to be the distraction. Reaching the roof after passing the bales of hay was only a matter of a swift kick and flutter. My hooves found easy footing on the straw framework. From then on, it was only a matter of waiting at the ‘rendezvous point.’ Only a few seconds later, Rainbow was in front of me. Her frown looked more hurt than annoyed. “You didn’t wait for your cue,” she muttered. “No one saw me. That’s all that matters.” I was in a hurry to meet this therapist and get this session done and over with. But for all the nonsense I had gone through, I still hated hurting ponies with good intentions. Luckily, I knew exactly how to cheer up my ‘biggest fan’: “Hey Rainbow, I’ll race you to the library.” At the mention of a race, her eyes lit up as though they secretly harbored the light of the Crystal Empire itself. Everything from her smile to her mane testified to her fiery character. It was like looking into a photograph taken a decade earlier–– the feeling of youth lost and passions dimmed. Where I had a weakening hearth, Rainbow had a towering inferno. The potential for impossible feats still raged in her veins, and there was nothing an old relic like me could do to smother it. “I accept! Treehouse in the center of town!” She pointed toward a looming tree about 400 meters away. The layout of Ponyville provided a perfect cross–country track of short jumps and roofs. Rainbow tensed for a galloping start the moment I stepped up to the starting line. “Ready? Okay. One, two, three! Go!” We leapt at the same time, crossing over an alleyway with a unicorn mare underneath. Our shadows passed over her, causing her to stop in place. By the time she thought to look up, we would already be three houses away. After the first jump, the adrenaline began kicking in. The retired racer in me took over my senses and mind, pushing the limits of aged muscles purely for the purpose of beating Rainbow Dash. The other racer had a lead of three paces. Her hooves landed on the roof with precision, taking only the minimum amount of time to gain a footing before taking to the air again. My hooves were hardly as graceful, struggling a millisecond too long to find purchase. The odd angles on the roofs killed my momentum and ended any chance I had of catching her. The other racer maintained balance as though gravity was never a factor to consider. She jumped to the next roof a second before I did. This gap was at least twice the size of the last one, and I lacked the momentum to sail the whole length. The drop came before I could bring all four legs on the roof. I collided chest–first with the edge of the house, barely clinging to the edge with my hooves. Now it was over. A kick off the wooden exterior with my hind legs helped me pull myself from the edge. A good five seconds had gone by with zero distance covered. I would be struggling another three to return back to the velocity I started with. The other racer cleared four houses in my delay. The injury was possibly serious, but I was refused reprieve. My inner Wonderbolt was as good as any painkiller, numbing the pain so it was barely more noticeable than a broken rib. My legs kicked into high gear, making up for the terrain with pure willpower. The next four roofs went by like hurdles; they were cleared with little strain on my muscles. Ignoring the shortage of breath and dripping sweat, I was at my prime once more! The rest of the race was a blur, a series of jumps with nothing noteworthy passing through my mind. I could have mentioned the fact that Rainbow Dash had reached the library’s balcony a good ten seconds before me, but that was just a foregone conclusion. Where was the satisfaction in knowing that? When my hooves finally touched wood, I was released from my past self. The strength she had given me faded, and my head cleared enough for a status report. I was gasping for breath, possibly from some sort of internal damage to my lungs, but otherwise I was perfectly fine. Rainbow cleared her forehead of sweat and grinned her winner’s grin. It was a victory she would never live down. “Wow… now, that’s a race! Old–fashioned roof hopping… like ninjas!” Rainbow was short on breath, but her energy was certainly still plentiful. She stretched some taut muscles as she approached the balcony entrance. Strangely enough, someone had the idea of carving a library into the hollowed interior of a tree. The balcony was certainly a cultured addition, but I doubt the owner of this place was someone from Canterlot. “Who exactly is this therapist you found, Rainbow?” I asked. Catching my breath had taken a little longer than normal; I would need to have that examined later. Rainbow opened the door leading inside. With a gleeful smile, she waved me over. “See for yourself!” I took my time trotting over. From the looks of it, the library was designed to make maximum use of the space inside the tree. It was made with circular infrastructure, shelves carved into the walls and windows inserted haphazardly above them. Either because construction time had run out or because the tree was a nightmare to decorate, the original reddish brown color had been left untouched. At the center of it all, I spotted a purple unicorn mare sitting at a round table with a Neo–Discordian stallion head statue. She was thoroughly absorbed by a tome. Rainbow coughed conspicuously and brought her attention to us. That was when I noticed the wings. “You got the Princess of Friendship to be my therapist?” I kept my eyes on the alicorn, who apparently gave not a single thought to the fact we snuck in through the balcony. Twilight Sparkle. I never thought the day would come when I had to confront her. The stories about her… well, they did not give a very nice impression. Rainbow nudged me with her head. “Go greet yourself! Don’t be shy!” With more physical coercion on her part than cooperation on my part, I eventually got down the stairs and stood face to face with the Princess. “Your Highness.” I bowed for all I was worth. That ended up drawing a sigh from the Princess. So much for making a proper introduction. “My name is Fleetfoot.” “Yes, I’ve been told about you from Rainbow Dash. Numerous times in fact… You can stop bowing now.” I raised my head and dared to look the Princess in the eyes. Twilight Sparkle was doing her best to put up a smile, but it was clear as day that I had done something wrong. She read me surprisingly quick. “I just don’t want anyone bowing for me. That’s it. You haven’t done anything wrong.” A ruler who equated herself to her subjects. I was possibly the worst mare to ask for an analysis of the Princesses, but I could say at least that Twilight Sparkle was still adjusting to her position. Not that the fact gave me any excuse to talk to her the wrong way. “Well, since we both know each other. Let’s focus on the elephant in the room!” Twilight Sparkle activated her magic and pulled a Freudian couch out from somewhere unseen. “As you might have guessed, I will be your therapist for this week!” My mind went blank. She continued, “Rainbow told me only a day ago about your… condition… but by coincidence, I read the necessary books on psychology weeks earlier! Now, I’ll need you to lie down on this couch and tell me a bit about yourself.” Lie down on the couch. Rest. Yeah, that was what I needed right now.