Cann buried his head in his hooves. "Celestia when you asked me to investigate the possibility of spontaneous Alicornication, I realized a problem very quickly, how does a unicorn research flight and pegasi magic? I needed an expert, that's why I asked Thissdens to collaborate with me. You were the only Alicorn in existence at the time, and while you were expert at spell craft, you weren't exactly forthcoming about the pegasi aspect of your magic."
Celestia blushed. "Luna was always better at weather and wind manipulation, I enjoyed flying but my talents tended more towards spell craft."
"Interesting, I'll likely want to pick Luna's brain at some point. However, getting back to the problem at hoof, I felt the problem of a pony reaching alicornhood was two-fold. First, identifying if it were even possible. Second, distributing information for ponies thus afflicted to help them cope with it."
"Miss Sparkle here is the perfect example of what I wished to prepare for, a powerful unicorn having to deal with the issues of more magical strength than she has ever conceived, coupled the problems of how to learn how to fly when you've never had a set of wings in your life."
"Miss Applejack represents a new problem, but not an insurmountable one. Teaching an earth pony to use the gifts of flight and magic. She has nothing to unlearn, no preconceptions, she is a blank slate. Furthermore, enhanced earth pony magic, being passive, is unlikely to be destructive."
"Rainbow here... is the problem. She is a powerful practitioner of pegasi magic. I could no more help her with what she needs to know than a fish could teach a bird to breath water."
"Why is that professor?" Twilight looked puzzled.
"Magic is as magic does Miss Sparkle. Miss Dash here can be taught to use magic in the way a unicorn does, but she will be inclined to use pegasi magic first and foremost. Uncontrolled and enhanced pegasi magic would be every bit as devastating as unicorn magic. Perhaps more so in its way."
"Professor don't we all have that capacity now? To control weather and winds I mean?"
"Yes Twilight, but like any foal you don't have the knowledge necessary. You'll need training to do much with it, and like Celestia you may find it's not truly your forte."
Dash, in the meantime, was attempting to remain awake in the wake of all the "egghead" discussions. She decided she would speak up and at least direct some of this nonsense into an answer or two for her interests. "Yo prof, this friend of yours, he a good flyer?"
Cann turned to Dash. He chuckled a bit. "He flies well enough I suppose, considering his doctors insisted he never would in his life."
Dash turned her head in confusion. "What?"
"My friend's talent came about because of a fierce determination to prove everypony else wrong. It's a habit that never left him in academia."
Dash turned to Twilight, eyes crossed. "Psst, can you translate?"
"He says his friend is stubborn and doesn't like to lose."
"Oh! Why didn't he say so?"
"He did."
Dash turned back to the professor. "So he trains a lot?"
"He... does in a manner of speaking. His wings have never served him well, so he was forced to find ways to compensate for his shortcomings. He found ways to directly control the inherent magic of the pegasi whereas others had previously only made use of it innately."
Dash looked helplessly at Twilight again.
Twilight sighed. "Dash, I keep telling you, there is more out there to read than Daring Do! He said his friend had a disability, probably stunted wings or something, so he had to learn how pegasi magic works and use that to help out."
"Okay, so he can teach me how to fly... even faster?"
"Among other things yes. Thissdens doesn't have the sheer magic reserves of an alicorn, but that stallion knows more about weather manipulation than any pegasi currently alive."
"So he can help me do what exactly? Learn how to kick clouds better?"
"When Thisdenns is through with you, you'll be able to orchestrate the skies like a conductor in a pit. With a wave of your hoof you'll form and dispel storm systems. The skies will be your canvas."
Dash turned to Twilight. Twilight groaned. "Yes Dash, his friend apparently knows how to kick clouds."
-------------------------------------------------
"NO AMBASSADOR YOU LISTEN! YOU WILL NOT THREATEN MY SUBJECTS. THIS WAS THE SOLE ACT OF A PRANKSTER. YOU WILL CONVEY THIS TO THE GRIFFON COUNCIL. HAVE WE MADE OURSELVES CLEAR?"
"... One moment your majesty, I think I may be deaf. Oh, there we are, I can hear ringing now."
"We are most sorry for our outburst. We have had a complication regarding a few of our subjects. They will be tended to. Please accept my assurances the accords with your people remain in place. The messages were not a declaration of hostilities."
"Very well Princess, I will assure my people the matter is tended to."
"We thank thee. Now we must take our leave of thee. We apologize for any indignity this may have caused thee."
Luna stood up, As she did so the telltale flash of scroll-fire sending appeared.
"Lu,
I need you to travel to Cloudsdale and locate Professor Hugh Thisdenns. It seems Cann will need his help with the six.
Love,
Celly"
-------------------------------------------------
Professor Hugh B. Thisdenns sat in his office at the center for Pegasi magic studies at Cloudsdale University. He was looking over the plans for a machine design which seemed to serve no practical purpose.
"Why in the Nine Sorrel Hells would we need a machine to make rainbows?"
He sighed, and rested his eyes for a moment. Why, dear Celestia, why did his department seem to attract so many slackers? The study of pegasi magic had allowed him the power of flight. If he, a pegasus with only one functional wing (He had been born with a malformed stump on his left side) could learn to fly just by manipulating how the air moved what would a fully functional pegasus do with it? Every idiot in his class seemed to think it was going to be an easy A.
He had seen enough, the pegasus that had given him the plans had wanted feedback, he decided that would be an excellent way to get out a little frustration.
"Ms Dawn.
While I appreciate your creativity, your plans are incredibly flawed. Rainbows do not need to be manufactured, there is a plentiful supply. I sincerely hope you were joking, because the idea of extracting pigment from live ponies is clearly insane. Your assurances that the process would not be lethal notwithstanding, why on earth would you want to rob somepony of their colors to make something that occurs naturally? Please direct your talents elsewhere.
Hugh B. Thissdens"
Satisfied, he pulled the next note from his IN box.
He snorted, enraged. "Cann we haven't spoken civilly in five years and you have the gall to claim you want to collect a bet we never even shook on?"
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts of petty vengeance on his colleague.
"Yes? Come in!"
A guard in dark metal armor stepped in. "Announcing her royal highness Princess Luna!"
"Oh good, my day was looking a bit boring."
Rainbow Factory... *Shudders*
I saw what you did there. Rainbow Factory......... Dammit more memories!
Great update though, making them a little bit longer wouldn't hurt
272998 Yes judging the chapter length has been a process. They still feel a bit rushed even to me, but like an excited 6 year old with a new drawing I am compelled to stick it on the fridge for all to see. 4-5 of my chapters equate to roughly one of the fics I normally read. In my defense however those fics come out with a new chapter once a week, I try to churn out my little chapters at least once a day. They do seem to be increasing in content as I go.
Is it wrong that I can't decide wether I like Luna's section or Thisdenns' (or is it Thisdenss or Thissdens?) sections better?
Also [ ] OMG Thisdens is Sephiroth!!!1!one!1! [/ ]
273034 Note to self, the next time I name an OC, pick a name I can consistantly spell correctly.
Furthermore, picking author names as puns was ill advised. Ah well I named the pony no point in bemoaning it now.
"Oh good, my day was looking a bit boring."
Exact same damn words that I spoke when I was at a friends tree house and the whole block of college students decided to wage an airsoft war against us. I don't think they were expecting the potato cannon filled with bbs.
Well that was an interesting chapter. I hope we can get into more antics with the Mane 6 as alicorns and soon. Maybe Pinkie expanding her prank targets to two alicorns who are in need of some pranking. One needs to lighten up and the other has pranked many, but has been pranked very little in turn.
Sorrel Hells? for want of a dawn ref?
273213 I am a consumer of much fanfiction, does it show?
Very nice, can't wait to see what happens next!
Howe cann hugh B this denns.
ARRRRRGH
273375 I am so, so sorry...
that I am so unrepentant.
Awwww, man. Now I see why you kept the name. Until now, it never made any sense. I had to read it twice to get it, but by Celestia's Beard are you a master.
nice chapter, sleepy rainbowdash is funny XD
I love all the lore about alicorns that's being build up in this story!
273198 Soon enough, for the moment, Luna has the stage.
Ms. Dawn has the right idea here...
274168
th05.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2012/047/3/9/not_enough_rainbow_by_soapie_solar-d4px6fx.jpg
273160
AAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
BRILLIANT!
273160
That would seem even more likely to put someone's eye out than the air-soft rounds... unless you MEANT you loaded it with air-soft rounds NOT steel or lead BBs. Elsewise pinky would like to have a word with you about appropriate conduct in a prank-war.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
-Based on the title, let me guess... Rainbow Dash broke a wing either in mid-air right before he blacked out, or Celestia didn't manage to be soft enough with the catch... suspecting that due to Alicornness, this wouldn't actually ground Dash, but will slow her down to approximately her to pre-alicorn speed, and klutzy maneuverability.
Luna was always better at weather and wind manipulation, I enjoyed flying but my talents tended more towards spell craft.
-Interesting point... I have always thought that if Luna ever takes a student like Celestia took Twilight, she would want to individuate by taking a pegasus (while probably taking said student mostly to "keep up" with her big sister). My inner muse likes to avoid doing the expected thing, and every time I have seen Luna take a protegee in stories it has been a unicorn.
Dash, in the meantime, was attempting to remain awake in the wake of all the "egghead" discussions.
-Ah, so not injured... maybe she will bind one of her own wings with magic until she gets the hang of her new power level, or get Celestia to do it, and then things will proceed as I described initially.
"He flies well enough I suppose, considering his doctors insisted he never would in his life."
-Ah, so nothing to do with Dash at all... unless this is what inspires the above idea.
With a wave of your hoof you'll form and dispel storm systems.
-Ah... like Luna does in Luna Eclipsed... right.
I think I may be deaf. Oh, there we are, I can hear ringing now.
-LOL
"Why in the Nine Sorrel Hells would we need a machine to make rainbows?"
-Nice reference, and "sorrel" is a nice bit of lexicon building.
(He had been born with a malformed stump on his left side)
-Right, was ALMOST sure it was literal, but not entirely.
A machine machng rainbows?
Ms. Dawn? As in Aurora Dawn?! Autor of Rainbow Factory.
Taking pigment from living ponies?!
Thats the last pice. It was a good fiction.
unphased by the night guard.......professor gets an arbitrary point
I don't like it when authors make Dash dense... weathermaking must take some education--as well as knowing how to pull off complex aerial maneuvers obviously takes education and a very sharp mind. Don't sell her short! Just because she's not as "eggheaded" or in love with books as Twilight and others (including me) are, it doesn't mean she's an idiot....
1774770
I'm not entirely certain that she's not screwing with Twilight with that last one. There is no way that somepony is stupid enough to not link together the terms "wave of your hoof" and "form storm systems" without having some sort of major, obvious disability. The previous statements used some uncommon terms that she might not know, but that last one wasn't very complicated.
Rainbow factory
Is this a nod to the rainbow factory?
6648915 Yes, as was the student he was writing to. I should probably mention referential humor was something I just had to get out of my system. I do it more sparingly now...
"HOW CAN YOU BE THIS DENSE". I just now got that.
8343414
I would like to apologize for my past self. He will be pun-ished.
6648915
Probability approaches one.
Really? A Rainbow Factory reference
I died here
In the rainbow factory, where not a single soul gets through...
Hehe... hahahahaha, GWAHAHAHAHAH!