Multi-mental in Manehatten

by CTVulpin

The Element

“Ok, now this is going to be an interesting pair to watch…”

“Hmm.”

“What, bored already? We’ve barely begun.”

---

“Um, good luck to you two as well.”

‘Let’s get this show on the road Twilight,’ Rainbow Dash said eagerly as Twilight turned away from Fluttershy and began walking down the street. Her wings twitched uncomfortably as she walked, opening and closing slightly and shifting about in just about every way Twilight could imagine and more. She suspected the movement was due to the wing muscles picking up some of the signals traveling between her brain and her legs muscles as she walked. It was likely a backwards version of the phantom limb phenomenon she’d read about in her studies on pony psychology; instead of the brain reporting sensation in an amputated limb, it was sending confused orders to a pair of newly- ‘BORING!’

Come on Rainbow Dash, Twilight thought, This is fascinating. Think about it, of all the pony types, only Pegasi and the Princesses have six limbs instead of four. So long as we’re stuck like this, I can’t pass up the opportunity to study how pegasi work through personal experience.

‘Ok…’ Dash said, still bored, ‘So, why don’t we get to the experience part and save all the egghead stuff for later? I’m going to go stir-crazy if I don’t get in the air soon. Besides, the sooner I can get you flying, the sooner we can get that Sonic Rainboom.’

What Sonic Rainboom? Twilight thought, dreading the answer.

‘Duh, the Sonic Rainboom we need to pull off to complete our part of the scavenger hunt,’ Dash said.

Of all the possible meanings of that part of the riddle, how did you arrive at Sonic Rainboom as an answer? Twilight asked, Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be-

‘Whoa whoa whoa, stop,’ Dash said, cutting Twilight off, ‘I have to be the ideas pony this time, remember?’

Twilight finally came to a stop, finding a window that gave back a good enough reflection for her to cast a confused and annoyed look at herself and Dash. Remember what? We never talked about who the ‘ideas pony’ is supposed to be. We never even established that there is an ‘ideas pony!’

‘Discord did,’ Rainbow answered confidently, ‘He said in each pair there was one pony who had to figure out what to look for and the other would have a way to get it. It’s obvious that since you’re the one who actually gets to control our body, you’re the one who has to get the thingy and that makes me the one who has to figure it out.’

“Rainbow, I don’t think-”

‘Pinkie and Rarity were doing the figuring out for their teams,’ the brash pony continued, ‘It only makes sense I have to do it four ours.’

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, “I’m pretty sure he called it a hint, and he never did specify which was which.”

‘Twilight, this is Discord we’re talking about,’ Rainbow said, ‘He uses riddles and vague words so he can pull whatever he wants. And you’re not exactly the best at figuring him out you know.’

Twilight’s ears flattened as she glared at her reflection. That’s cold Rainbow Dash. Do you honestly think you’re going to do any better than me? I may have screwed up by leading us into the hedge maze, but that was simply because I focused on the wrong part of the riddle. You’re trying to decipher an even vaguer clue by yourself.

‘Sour apples,’ Rainbow scoffed, ‘Think about it Twilight; Discord knows you and how smart you are. He’d try to trip you up by making you over-think all the things “excitement distilled” and “make the rain go boom” could possibly mean when the real answer is plain as day: Sonic. Rain. BOOM!’ Twilight flinched at the strength of Dash’s final word echoing in her head. ‘Now come on,’ Rainbow urged, ‘Let’s get in the air already!’

Twilight heaved a sigh and turned away from the window. She looked up at the buildings reaching into the sky above her and the noticeable lack of pegasi flying about. Tell you what, she thought as she walked in what she thought was the direction of Manehatten Central Park, After I let you teach me enough to fly around safely, you let me list every reason I have why I think a Sonic Rainboom is a red herring.

‘A what?’

“A false lead,” Twilight replied in a mutter, pausing to rub her forehead in frustration, “a mistake, dead end, incorrect course of action.”

‘Fine, fine,’ Rainbow said, ‘Just stop being a dictionary. Where are you going anyway?’

The park, Twilight answered, Manehatten has a law restricting flying in the streets to weather patrol and emergency crews.

‘Oh yeah, that stupid rule,’ Rainbow grumbled, ‘Well, the wind currents between the buildings probably aren’t the best for a rookie like you anyway.’

---

“Were they just fighting? Maybe this will be the fun pair after all.”

---

‘We’re lost, aren’t we?’ Twilight had been wandering around the city for close to two hours without any signs that she was getting closer to finding Central Park, or any other park for that matter. The lavender pegasus was growing weary, both of her seeming inability to recall the numerous directions she’d asked for from passers-by and of Rainbow Dash’s barely-constrained impatience.

Yeah, Twilight admitted, ears drooping sadly, Completely lost.

‘Then let’s stop wasting time and start the flying lessons now,’ Dash said.

But Rainbow, Twilight protested, The airspace laws-

‘Just go into a secluded alley or something,’ Rainbow insisted, ‘We’ll be staying low to the ground at first anyway, so you don’t have to worry about the wind too much.’

“If we get caught and fined, you owe me,” Twilight muttered. Doing her best not to look suspicious, she walked to the nearest gap between buildings and stepped into it. She went down to the end, turned a corner to move behind a building, and then sat down and looked around to make she and Rainbow were alone. “Ok,” she said with resignation, “Let’s get this over with.” With some effort she managed to extend her wings out and upward. Rainbow Dash sighed. What? Twilight asked, I’ve never had wings before. I’m not used to working the related muscles.

‘You and Trixie used that wing-making spell when the two of you were stuck together,’ Rainbow pointed out.

“Yes,” Twilight said slowly, “I don’t remember if I actually used them though. Besides, those wings were magic constructs and operate in a completely different manner from real pegasus wings. It was more dependent on thought than physical effort.”

‘So…’ Dash said, ‘You just had to think to fly?’ Twilight nodded. ‘Welcome to pegasus flight Twilight Sparkle,’ the speedster declared, ‘it works the same way.’

“You must be joking,” Twilight said, looking askance at her wings, “Unicorn magic requires effort and concentration. I can’t believe that flying is easier than that for Pegasi. After all, didn’t you have to attend schools and camp to learn how to fly?”

‘Ok, yes,’ Rainbow admitted, ‘That’s not the point though. You’re thinking way too much about how my wings are supposed to move. You need to stop thinking like a science pony and start thinking like a flyer.’

“And just how do you propose I do that?”

‘Uh…’ Rainbow fell silent for a long time, causing Twilight to sigh, roll her eyes, and start to lay down until she thought about what might be on the ground in a back alley. ‘Ah-ha!’ Dash exclaimed suddenly, startling Twilight, ‘I remember some of the old exercises they had us do. Twilight, find something to climb up on.’ Twilight looked around and spotted a closed dumpster nearby. As she jumped and tried to climb onto it, her wings started to flap and gave her an unexpected boost. ‘That’s what I’m talking about,’ Rainbow said with pleasure as Twilight stood up on the dumpster, ‘don’t think too much about the basics and it’ll be just like walking. Now, let’s start with some stretching…’

As Rainbow ran her through a crash-course in basic flying techniques, Twilight proved to be as good a student as she was with magic and other subjects. In other words, she kept getting hung up on the technical details until Rainbow lost her patience and made her start the current exercise over “with forty percent less thinking!” Eventually, though, the lavender pony got the idea and began to master hovering, altitude changing, and forward travel. The dimensions of the alleyway were not appropriate for learning how to turn, so Rainbow reluctantly called a halt to the lessons so Twilight could take another shot at finding a city park. “Ok Rainbow,” Twilight said before stepping back out into the streets, “I’m a halfway decent flyer now, so it’s your turn to listen to my ideas.”

‘I’m still not sure this is a good idea,’ Rainbow muttered.

Just hear me out, Twilight thought, trotting out and joining the flow of hoof traffic, You can make the final decision, but a good researcher makes use of every source available to them.

‘Just get on with it,’ the pegasus moaned.

Item one, Twilight thought, The Sonic Rainboom has only been performed successfully twice in modern history.

‘Yep, by yours truly.’

I’m not you Rainbow, the lavender pony pointed out, I don’t have the years of training and conditioning you do. Asking me to pull off a Sonic Rainboom would be like asking, say, Sweetie Bell to replicate my Ursa Minor taming method.

‘Twilight,’ Dash said, ‘I did my first Rainboom when I was filly in Summer Flight Camp. It doesn’t take years of training to do one. You just have to go fast enough.’

That brings me to my second point, Twilight thought, What do you think would happen if we pulled off a Rainboom in the middle of a city like this?

‘Uh, everypony would stare in awe at us?’ Dash asked uncertainly.

All except the city guard, who would likely arrest us for disturbing the peace, breaking who knows how many windows with the shock wave, and possibly other crimes I can’t think of right now, Twilight answered, Point three: how would we even deliver a Sonic Rainboom to the… oh, hello there Central Park. She came to a stop in front of the arching decorative gateway that framed the entrance to the park she’d stumbled upon. She looked back the way she’d come and noted, We were just three blocks away… Rainbow Dash groaned and Twilight gave an embarrassed laugh.

‘Whatever,’ Rainbow said with a sigh, ‘Take off and start working on your gliding turns. Just tilt slightly in the direction you want to turn.’ Twilight nodded slightly as she walked into the park. The path took her through a stand of trees before opening up into a wide field with a large pond near the center. She spread her wings and flew up until she was at the level of the tree-tops before going into a forward glide and leaning to her left. She panicked for a second as she tumbled into a barrel-roll, but managed to right herself and regain control before she crashed into the water. ‘Good recovery,’ Rainbow said happily, ‘Try again.’

“Right,” Twilight said as she regained her altitude and tried again. This time she succeeded in putting herself into a counter-clockwise spiral toward the ground. As she touched down on the ground, Twilight asked, So, have you thought about what I’ve pointed out?

‘Try turning to the right, and tighten the turns,’ Dash instructed. Twilight sighed and took flight again. 'I guess you’re right Twilight,’ she admitted once Twilight was airborne, ‘Trying for a Rainboom right now probably isn’t the best idea. Still, I wouldn’t put it past Discord to try and make us do something that would get us in trouble.’

Not to mention the problem of delivering a Rainboom to the theater, Twilight pointed out, Were you expecting me to loop around and catch some of the shockwave in a bucket or something?

Rainbow gave an amused mental snort. ‘That sounds like something Pinkie Pie would think up,’ she said ‘And knowing her, she might find a way to…’ She trailed off for a second, and then began cackling. ‘Oh my gosh, if I could actually grab a piece of a Sonic Rainboom blast and do something with it… that would be soooo-’

Awesome? Twilight finished flatly, smirking.

‘No,’ Dash said, ‘Beyond awesome. It would be like if I found the dial marked “Awesome,” turned it up to eleven, then tore it off and ran away laughing! The Wonderbolts would be begging me to try out for the team!’

Focus Rainbow, Twilight thought, leveling out and coming to a stop in the air, If we’re not going with a Sonic Rainboom, we need to get back to figuring out Discord’s riddle.

‘You got any suggestions?’ Rainbow asked sardonically.

“Well,” Twilight said as she came in for a landing, “it’s getting close to lunch time and I’m famished. I’m going to go find some food, and we can discuss things on the way.”

‘Food is good,’ Rainbow agreed, ‘Just don’t get lost again.’ Twilight rolled her eyes and trotted out of the park. ‘So…' the speedster prompted.

Let’s look at the riddle as a whole and then break it down, Twilight thought as she walked, excitement distilled, the element that can make rain go ‘BOOM.’ You seemed to focus mostly on the last few words with your idea. What we need to do is come up with something that can be described by that entire line.

‘He said rain,’ Rainbow mused, ‘So he was either talking about weather or water.'

There are some kinds of elemental metal that react explosively in water, Twilight added, Although, because of that there’s no chance of finding any outside of a research lab. You could say they’re distilled excitement though…

‘Yeah… I don’t think so,’ Rainbow said, ‘That’s not something I’d think of on my own anyway.’

Technically, Twilight thought, flapping her wings a couple times, these are yours, so we could say you provide the means to get what we need and I can figure out the solution.

‘Um…’ Rainbow thought, ‘sorry Twi, but to me that sounds like a complicated way of saying “sit back and let me do all the work Rainbow Dash.” Anyway, no fancy exploding metal. What about the weather… Oh. Ugh, imagine me doing a face-hoof.’ Twilight quirked an eyebrow up but waited for Rainbow to continue. ‘I should have thought of this first,' Rainbow said grumpily, ‘Lightning and thunder. It adds a definite “BOOM!” to rainstorms, and kicking a thundercloud gets ponies excited.’

If you call ‘scared out of their wits’ excited, Twilight thought sarcastically, but that’s a good point. Electricity energizes and excites whatever it goes into, whether it be by lightning setting something on fire or a hoof buzzer giving you a spasm.

‘So then,’ Rainbow said excitedly, ‘all we need is a small thunder cloud. That sound good to you Twilight?’

Twilight nodded and then looked up at the sky. She frowned when she failed to locate any clouds in the parts of the sky she could see. How long would it take you to teach me to make clouds? she asked.

‘Hmm…’ Rainbow said thoughtfully, ‘Find some food first.’

---

After filling up on more spaghetti marinara than she imagined her stomach could hold, at Dash’s insistence, Twilight made her way back to the Central Park clearing with the pond. She glanced around to see if there were any other ponies around. She knew some of Manehatten’s rules regarding pegasi, but she wasn’t sure if they included anything about making clouds or other small weather effects. She didn’t see anypony around, so she let out a relieved breath and filed away the worrying for later.

‘Ok, here’s the basic idea,’ Rainbow Dash said, ‘Clouds are made of water vapor and air. If you want a simple fluffy white one you just need to gather enough water into one spot and mix it with the air using your wings. Clouds that can produce thunder when kicked need to be a little more dense, and that takes more time and tighter maneuvers. For starters, just skim the pond there with a hoof and try to catch some of the spray in your draft. If you start making a misty contrail, you’re doing it right.’

“Ok,” Twilight said, blinking in mild surprise.

‘What?’ Dash asked indignantly, picking up on Twilight’s amazement, ‘I’m a weather pony. I have to know how this stuff works.’ Twilight flushed in embarrassment and took flight, kicking off the ground occasionally as she glided in low toward the water. She tucked all but one foreleg up as she reached the shore and trailed her hoof through the water as she began to flap to maintain her momentum and altitude. ‘That’s enough,’ Rainbow said when she reached the middle of the pond, ‘head up and let’s see if you got it.’ Twilight pulled in her leg and angled her flight upward as she accelerated. She leveled out again near tree-top level and banked to the right to check behind her. She laughed in triumph when she saw a thin wispy line of mist curving up from the surface of the pond along the path she’d flown. Rainbow gave a short laugh as well and said, ‘Not bad Twilight. Now, go get some more water and we’ll see if you can form a real cloud.’ Twilight dove toward the pond, intending to zoom across the surface and drag as much water as possible into her wake. She miscalculated her speed however and ended up crashing into the water and sending up a short fountain of the liquid. Dash guffawed as the lavender Pegasus swam to the edge of the pond and pulled herself out, soaked to the skin. ‘Wow, I wish I could have seen that from the outside,’ the pegasus said, ‘That has to be one of the best- wait wait, don’t dry off too much!’

“Why?” Twilight asked, pausing in the middle of shaking the water out of her coat, “I can’t fly with wet wings, can I?”

‘Well no…’ Twilight resumed shaking. ‘But you can probably use the water in your coat as cloud material once you go fast enough for the wind to blow it loose.’

“Oh,” Twilight said, brushing her sodden forelock out of her eyes, “That makes sense, I guess. There’s still these though,” she added as she extended and flapped her wings as rapidly as she could to try and shake the water out.

‘Careful,’ Rainbow hissed with a mental wince, ‘Don’t mess up the feathers!’ Twilight slowed her flapping with a slight blush. ‘I am going to be so happy when this is all over,’ Dash muttered.

After a few minutes, Twilight’s wings were dry enough for her fly. She took flight, buzzed the pond a few times to collect a thick trail of mist, and then flew up to begin crafting the cloud. Under Rainbow’s direction, she flew in tightening circles until she’d created a spiral disk of cloud material. Then, hesitantly, she flew around the disk in vertical loops to add thickness to the proto-cloud. Finally, once her contrail had faded away, she began to fly around the mist, pressing in on it with her hooves as she went to force the vapor to condense into a smaller and smaller package. After five tiring minutes, the cloud had finished forming and hung in the air with inviting softness. Twilight came to a stop and settled onto it with a sigh, barely resisting the urge to burrow into it and fall asleep. “Is this why you’re always napping Rainbow?” she asked.

‘Yeeah, let’s go with that,’ Rainbow said, ‘anyway, this feels pretty good for a first hoof-made cloud. Mind giving it a kick? I’m not expecting much, but I’d like to see how it responds.’ Twilight nodded and stood up. She stomped down on the cloud, and it responded with a dull rumble and a few drops of water. ‘Huh,’ Rainbow said, ‘It shouldn’t be making noise yet. You must have packed it in tighter than I thought. Nice job.'

“Thank you,” Twilight said proudly.

‘Don’t mention it,’ Rainbow said, ‘Rest up a little, and then let’s get to work turning this into a proper thunderhead.’

---

“You just can’t break ponies who’ve been through what these girls have.”

“You were counting on this the whole time, weren’t you?”

“I never meant that to be a secret.”