//------------------------------// // Part 2: Even Worse // Story: Twilight Teaches Rainbow About Overpenetration // by totallynotabrony //------------------------------// As it turned out, Rainbow was more than capable of penetrating Twilight’s inner sanctum. This was made perfectly clear when she rammed into the study through the wall, knocking down bookcases and trashing the whole room in moments. “Rainbow!” Twilight shouted. “Did you have to throw away all that I taught you?” “I didn’t throw it away,” moaned Rainbow from under a pile of books. “I used it. Pretty cool, huh?” “Well, now everything is torn open and gaping.” Twilight gestured to the massive hole in the wall. “The least you could do is help me fix it.” Rainbow pulled herself out from under the books. “Are you going to give me another lengthy lecture or the quick tips version?” “Just the tip.” That cheered Rainbow considerably, although when she saw Twilight pulling out the heavy equipment, her face fell. “What’s that?” “This is an air compressor unit that we can use to run various power tools.” “It looks like a big unit.” “It has to be, to blow so well.” Twilight took out a nail gun and a pneumatic screwdriver, attaching them to hoses. “All right, let’s get something temporary up to cover the hole. Start putting up this plastic.” Rainbow stretched it across the hole, but it didn’t seem to want to stay stuck. “This bag won’t fit.” “Have you even tried nailing it yet?” While Rainbow was busy with that, Twilight made a quick sketch of her plan for fixing the wall. If Rainbow was going to make things so hard, then she was going to improve the resistance. She called Rainbow over to look at a diagram of two sturdy steel plates with a space in between. “Here’s what we’re going to do. This is called a Whipple Shield. It’s used in some spacecraft. The outer surface causes objects to begin to deform, and the inner void allows them to spread before slamming hard into the inside.” “We’re going to put this on the wall? How are we going to attach it?” “We’re going to screw it.” “It would take some strong screwing to keep it attached to stone,” Rainbow noted. “Long, hard, screws,” Twilight confirmed. “The metallurgy won’t allow for softer, more malleable metal.” Applejack arrived as they were assembling the materials. She looked around at the mess and decided that she didn’t really want to hang out. She had a lot to do at the farm. “Twilight, I came to drop off the bushel of apples you ordered,” she said. “Thanks, AJ.” “It’s against my better judgement to ask, but what happened here?” “Rainbow took it as a challenge to penetrate my castle walls. She didn’t quite get the double penetration, though.” “Twilight taught me how to get hard,” Rainbow said. “Shoot,” said Applejack. “You didn’t know how?” “She said I was squishy. Do you think I’m squishy, AJ?” Applejack backed up as Rainbow flexed and tried to get her to come closer. “Now sugarcube, I’m all for feelin’ you up, but should you have known what the hardest part of your body was.” She grinned. “Your head.” “I actually used my hoof to break into Twilight’s private space,” said Rainbow, gesturing to the books strewn around. “Stuck your hoof right up in there, huh?” said Applejack. “So what took so long to figure this out?” “Rainbow was splatting too much,” said Twilight. “What was it I said? ‘A meatbag hitting a stone wall.’” “Instead, I just moved my body faster,” said Rainbow. “Well of course,” Applejack remarked. “It ain’t the meat, it’s the motion.” Applejack turned to go. “All right, I’ll let y’all get to work before this becomes a threesome. Stay cool in this weather, now. Big Mac was workin’ in the orchard and was all hot and bothered.” Rainbow and Twilight went back to work. The screwing wasn’t going well. “Your walls are just too hard!” Rainbow complained. “I guess we’ll have to start drilling,” said Twilight. She connected an air drill to the compressor. “Here, try this. Make sure you use the proper lubrication. That drill bit could overheat if it’s not oiled up.” Rainbow rubbed the lube all over and started drilling. She easily reamed the holes they needed and the two of them went back to screwing. “‘It’s not the meat, it’s the motion,’” Rainbow muttered as they worked. “Did I hear Applejack right?” “That’s what she said,” Twilight confirmed. Rainbow shook her head. In another few minutes, they finished drilling. With the holes in place, they could hang the first metal plate. “That looks good,” Twilight commented. “It’s a tight fit, but it works.” “You know, I think this section of the wall might end up being stronger than it ever was before,” said Rainbow. Twilight nodded. “I think you’re right. Harder, better, faster, stronger.” “Faster?” “It sure is going up quicker than resetting new stone blocks.” That was true. They were already installing the outside metal plate. “Once we fill this gap in between, this place will be impregnable,” Twilight commented. “This could function as the breastworks for a more formidable defensive line. Earthworks, ironworks, parapets, towers, the whole shebang. Just one thing left to do. We have to fill that crack.” “With what? Some kind of liquid? Would something sticky help hold it together?” “In a way. We’re using foam.” “Expanding foam?” “Not your average foam. We’re building a hard, solid wall, remember? This stuff does triple duty of buffing up the armor value, as well as insulating from noise and temperature. I’ve got the canister right here.” Twilight showed Rainbow an industrial-sized container of liquid foam mixture. “Here’s the hose. Stick it in there.” “Just stick it in?” “Push it deep. You want it to spray everywhere, fully impregnating and integrating the slit between the two metal plates. Fill it up completely. There shouldn’t even be room for air.” “I don’t know, it’s pretty tight. I’m pushing.” “Harder!” Rainbow finally got it in and started shooting her stuff, making sure it went everywhere and giving everything a good coating. Twilight watched her work, giving her a reach around to help hold the hose. “Yeah, that’s it, impregnate the breastworks.” “Should we throw some solid screws in there to help tighten it up?” Rainbow asked. “Couldn’t hurt.” The two of them continued working hard, sweating. But when everything was done, they stepped back to admire their work. “It looks great,” said Rainbow. She tapped a hoof on the metal. “It’s so hard.” “Yeah,” Twilight agreed. “It fits perfectly.”