"Alright. Buffering complete!" Twilight Sparkle adjusted a set of goggles and looked across the chamber. "Ready?!"
"Ready!" Trixie saluted, levitating a clipboard as she and several other scientists backtrotted from the center of the room.
"Initiating!" Twilight gripped a lever attached to an array of manacrystals. "T-Minus five... four... three... two... one!" She yanked it.
FL-FLASH! Electrical sparks danced between the crystalline diodes. A lavender aura rose like a dome, covering several inert slabs of metal situated within the heart of the castle chamber. The dome increased in size and volume until it reached a maximum output. By then, the crystals were fluctuating wildly. Local wildlife in the Everfree Forest surrounding the old castle started chirping and bellowing in dismay.
"The intensity is too high!" Trixie hollered. "It'll overload again!"
"Right! You're right!" With a sigh of dismay, Twilight signaled the other scientists. "Turn it off!"
Several unicorns zapped the dome with magic, causing the energy field to dissipate.
All too soon, the experiment ended, with the lavender light receding like an ocean's surf. The metal strips in the center of the chamber rattled, rattled some more, but were then still.
Twilight slid her goggles up and seethed. "Shoot!"
Fwooosh! Rainbow Dash landed from the cloud above. "Another bummer, eh?"
"That's the third time in a row that the transportation spell has failed," Trixie said, shuffling forward. "Trixie was certain that we had accounted for all variables."
"Hmmmm..." Twilight rubbed her chin. "I was certain that the buffering would handle the mana discharge. But it almost seems as though we have too much magic resistance now."
"Perhaps we should lower the amount of manacrystals restricting the leyline expansion," said one of the Trottingham scientists.
"I've considered that," Twilight said with a nod. "But I don't want to risk a sudden outburst of mana." She pointed out one of the many shattered windows. "Wild or not, the Everfree is still a fragile ecosystem. I couldn't live with myself if we did something to damage that."
"Then perhaps this experiment shouldn't be performed so close to nature," Zecora said, trotting forward. "But instead in some form of self-contained isolated chamber?"
"That would be ideal, but no such laboratory in Equestria exists," Twilight said. "At least not on the sort of scale that we would need for this experiment. Hmmmm..." She paced in a circle, thinking aloud. "Maybe the Castle of the Two Sisters wasn't the best idea. But... a desert! A wasteland, perhaps, devoid of flora and fauna!"
"That would be most difficult," a scientist said. "The closest desert is hundreds of miles away, and it's populated by buffalo and pony settlers."
"Plus..." Noir flew in, hovering close to the conversation. "You would still need plenty of liquid water for your buffering system. Only a pegasus city such as Cloudsdale is equipped to transport moisture that far."
"Trixie thinks we're all giving into despair too swiftly." The unicorn tossed her ivory mane. "What this situation needs is more time and attention to the variables at hoof. We may yet be able to transport these materials."
"Our clever unicorn friend is right, and besides." Zecora looked at the others. "Sometimes to think out of the box, you must work from inside."
Rainbow smirked. "You know, Zecchy, you seem to be the wisest when your rhyming sucks."
"Hmmm..." Zecora smiled. "It's an off day."
Everypony chuckled.
"Hehehe... well, both Trixie and Zecora have a point," Twilight said. "It wouldn't be proper to give up on the experiment this early. It's just... a little disheartening when all of our attempts so far have proven to be fruitless."
"Just say 'I'm bored,' egghead," Rainbow droned. "It's okay."
"I'm not bored," Twilight said with a pout. "However, I am drained." She looked at the others. "I'm guessing the feeling is mutual."
"Indeed." One of the Trottingham scientists smiled. "It's getting late," she said. "Let us pack up our things in a safe, secure place and resume the experiments tomorrow."
"Zecora?" Twilight turned towards the zebra. "Will you be willing to assist us once more? I-I hate to take too much time out of your schedule."
"Please, dear Twilight." Zecora curtsied with a calm grin. "To turn my back now wouldn't be right. I want to see this project succeed as much as you. After all, there's so very much that proper teleportation can feasibly do."
"Then that settles it!" Trixie winked. "Come, Sparkle. The Great and Resourceful Trixie will show you the proper way to pack up laboratory equipment."
"Uh... okay!" Twilight nodded. She trotted after the mare, but not without looking back at the rest with an adorkable titter. "Uhm... excelsior! I suppose..."
Rainbow waved. Then, as the group split up to go to their separate stations, she turned towards Zecora and said, "Uh... Zecchy?"
"Mmmm? Yes, Rainbow?"
"I just want to say... uhm... thanks." Rainbow gulped. "For the potion and all. And for just continuing to be awesome. I... uh..." She winced, glancing aside with ears folded. "I know I-I don't deserve it."
"It's not about deserving, but more about preserving," Zecora said. "You've always been considerate of my heart, and that is the most important part."
"But... but if I cared about your feelings so much, then perhaps I would have told you sooner about—"
"We are birds of a feather, Rainbow, in that we're both afflicted." Zecora shook her head. "It'd be easier to break free if, to the sensation, we weren't so terribly addicted."
"Huh?" Rainbow blinked.
The zebra trotted over and rested a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Love can be terribly blinding... and binding But it can also liberate the heart, as I am finding." She smiled. "Sometimes knowing that you can love is more precious than receiving, so long as one's self-respect you are not deceiving. For the longest time, I doted on the soul of one. But it's so much more joyful to share that love with every soul under the sun. My friends, my companions, all ponies true. Noir, and Twilight, and especially you."
Rainbow bit her lip as her cheeks turned a rosier shade of blue.
"All is good, my friend," Zecora said with a wink. "On bygones, let us not depend. Life is never too short so long as you serve in friendship's court." She trotted off to assist Noir in collecting her belongings.
Rainbow stood still for a while, drinking in the warm sunset over Everfree with a tranquil breath.