• Published 25th Aug 2013
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Journey to the Center of the Rainbow - The DJ Rainbow Dash



One week. 7 Colours. A vacation given as a birthday present by Twilight to Rainbow will instead become a lifechanging experience for both ponies. What will become of their relationship?

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Chapter 3: Blue

Journey to the Center of the Rainbow
Chapter 3: Blue

Rainbow Dash loved the thrill anything extreme gave her, from diving to the ground at unbelievable speeds, to whipping through razor sharp canyons. The exhilarating feel of adrenaline coursing throughout her body was something she lived for.

Which was why she was currently excited for what Twilight seemed to have in store for their next vacation stop. Even though the mare wouldn’t tell her where they were headed to next, she had caved a tiny bit and hinted at the next stop.

All she said was that it involved water.

Rainbow looked out over the edge of the wooden cart they were riding in, taking in the fresh misty air from said water which happened to be a mere couple of feet to their side. It was a whole other story when referring to the depth at which the water sat.

The water was at the very least, a few hundred feet lower the cliff-like land they were currently traveling on On most occasions, there would be some evidence of a beach or some sort of rocky alcove. Instead, the water eroded the rock directly and thus carved away the land to make nearly perfect 90 degree angles in spots. Although not a pony to be interested in this sort of thing, Rainbow found this to be quite incredible, and wondered why they didn’t start in a place like this.

Twilight meanwhile just marveled at the breathtaking landscape they were currently riding through. While trees and plants were at a minimum around these parts, the overall rock and land itself made up for it. She observed the coloration of the cliffs, greens and reds blending into one another to make a scene unlike any she had ever seen before.

A picture of the area they were in seemed like a no-brainer but Twilight had refused to bring a camera. She meant for the trip to be purely non-materialistic, and she was determined to stick by this notion. Every sight, every experience that she and Rainbow had would be saved within their memories. Rainbow didn’t even object to not having a camera, she was perfectly happy with Twilight’s idea.

Although excited, there was a bit of uneasiness to Twilight’s demeanor which would unnoticeable to most. This time it didn’t involve her whole situation with Rainbow Dash. Instead, it involved what she was about to do with the mare, which scared her to an extent.

“So Twi, where exactly are we? I might have found a new vacation spot.”

Twilight smiled in response. “The name of this place is actually pretty literal. It’s called the Cliffs of Teal, named for the teal color you can see in the worn away rock.” She gestured towards the cliffs themselves as she mentioned the teal color.

Rainbow looked over and admired the coloration, which she didn’t notice before for some reason. “So… since we’re almost here I suppose you could tell me what we’re going to do?”

“Tsk-tsk Rainbow, just a little while longer and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

The pegasus groaned loudly and fell back into her seat with an audible thump. “You are such a tease Twilight.”

Twilight giggled yet again at how annoyed Dash was getting at this. She knew that she would have to deal with this three more times and couldn’t help but wonder how Rainbow would cope without going mad. “No, you’re just really impatient. Learn to savor what’s around you, and don’t be in such a rush. It’s a nice life lesson.”

“…Says the one who nearly had a mental breakdown because she was going to forget to write a letter,” Rainbow replied, smirking at the unicorn.

“Hey! That was just a really bad day and… I can’t argue that one well at all can I?”

“Nope.”

For a second, both of them stared at one another, before breaking out into fits of laughter.
Twilight was the first to stop, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye as a result. “Darn it. Anyway, I’m going to guarantee you’ll love what we’re going to do though. It’s somewhat more exciting than the other two places.”

The stallion slowly came to a halt next to a rather tiny brick building which seemed to be precariously positioned on the edge of the cliff. Unlike the rest of the land, there was a rather strong fence which separated any of the public from being able to walk off the edge.

“We have arrived at the destination you specified Miss Sparkle,” the stallion spoke with a clear voice, sounding like he was reading from a script for some bizarre reason Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on. She gave him the bits that the ride cost, which wasn’t very much.

“Hey Twi, what does this say?” Rainbow’s hoof was gesturing to the arch-like sign which was erected over a pathway which lead down the steep cliff.

“Aqua Caerula! It’s also Latin, and when you convert it to English, it means water of deep blue,” she explained. “Basically, this is the location of arguably the bluest waters in all of Equestria.”

“Awesome! So where does the whole exciting part come in?”

Twilight had turned to face the narrow pathway leading down the wall of the cliff. It couldn’t be more than two feet wide, and snaked its way steeply down the side of the cliff. Thankfully a very secure iron and stone wall had been built to keep ponies from slipping off. Twilight could see the rocks which sat at the edge of the water, and noticed just how jagged and sharp some of them looked. She swallowed silently in fear, trying not to get the attention of Rainbow Dash.

“It begins down this path here.”

The two set down the small rocky pathway, cautiously watching every step as they descended. Rainbow wasn’t as worried about stepping wrong or slipping on the rock, but was watching Twilight’s own hooves more than her own. Just in case, she wanted to be in position to catch Twilight in the air if she slipped.

Rainbow noticed a slight unsteadiness in Twilight’s walk, but decided to leave it alone. She knew the unicorn would definitely appreciate the sentiment, but Twilight's independence was something she was proud of, even if she didn't show it. It was a quality Rainbow shared with her.

The path continued, winding further and further down the cliff, and within 15 minutes the pair were 100 feet above the mesmerizing blue ocean waters.

“Look up ahead!” Twilight pointed at the small hut which seemed to be built on a more stable piece of the cliff, which jutted out of the side of the landscape at 15 feet.

In it was an older pony, although not old enough to be considered a member of the elderly. He sported a bluish coat in similar color to the water, and wore a hat on top of his yellow greenish hair. He was kicked back in a stool-like chair, sipping on a glass of lemonade while reading a magazine.

Twilight approached the hut, unbenounced to the stallion, and quietly tapped the counter. He looked over, and a smile appeared on his face as he set down his magazine.

“Hello there! And I’m going to guess you were Miss Twilight Sparkle from the letter I had received a few days ago?”

“Indeed I am! I’m going to guess you know why me and my friend Rainbow Dash are here?” Twilight gestured back to Rainbow, who stood there looking a bit befuddled.

“But of course. Why else do ponies come down here for?”

He hopped off his stool and went back to retrieved a small clipboard with a quill attached by a string. “Now I need you to sign for you and your friend here before I let you two go along.”

Twilight nodded and signed along the dotted line, to the delight of the stallion before her.

Rainbow stood next to her, still quite confused and trying to get a look at what the paper said.

“I should probably tell you what we’re doing now.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes mockingly, but was still sporting her smile. “About time. I was wondering when you would, considering you led me down a sketchy path along a 400 foot cliff. Sounds like an ordinary day huh?”

“Oh stop it, you knew I was going to tell you,” she replied. “Anyway, we are going to take a swim in some of the bluest waters in Equestria. However, in order to get in, everypony needs to jump into the water.”

“Well I expected no less. I mean we are on a cliff and all… wait do you mean off this ledge?” Rainbow’s eyes opened wider in realization.

Twilight didn’t need to tell Rainbow the answer to that question, and merely shook her head up and down in response.

“It’s a cool 100 foot drop from here to the waters below. The waiver that Twilight signed here just states that you’re alright putting responsibility on yourselves if something wrong happens,” the stallion explained, coming out of his hut now with a couple items in his hoof.

“It’s just a jump into water, how could that be so dangerous?”

The stallion seemed to sigh with annoyance at the memories of certain ponies who completely disregarded the safety rules. “Let’s just say that some daredevil type ponies tried to do fancy stunts that resulted in some nasty injuries, and as a result blamed me and my buddies for it, even though we had no part in it. So I introduced this waiver here to make sure that nopony can do that.”

Twilight expected Rainbow to start an argument with the stallion over how he portrayed daredevil types. She hoped Rainbow wouldn’t cause them to be uninvited, while a small part of her would be okay to turn around and head to the next place.
“I can understand that,” Rainbow replied, much to Twilight’s surprise. “I mean if I want to do stunts when I’m flying, I take full responsibility for anything that might happen. Like if I crashed into somepony by accident? Well it would be a total uncool move for me to blame that pony for being in the way.”

The stallion looked impressed by Rainbow’s response and glad that he wasn’t dealing with another brainless daredevil adrenaline junkie. “Well I’m glad you think that way. And with that, I just need you two to slip on these life vests here.” He handed one of the orange nylon safety items to each of them.“Alright now when you jump off, be sure to go in hooves first. If you land on any other part of your body, you might be hurt and we don’t want that right?”

Twilight and Rainbow nodded in response. Rainbow watched Twilight’s face as he continued explaining in detail all the precautionary measures, and once again noticed her getting very anxious and uneasy.

The stallion went over how they should enter the water, and also explained how he and other ponies had checked the water to make sure there were no sharp edges within a good radius of the diving point. He also mentioned how they made sure the cliff was perfectly free of any jutting out obstacles or rocks.

“Oh and if you need to use the life vest, just pull this little string here, and this baby will inflate in seconds. I’ve used it when I get lazy and want to nap in the water here. It comes in handy sometimes.”

The stallion led Rainbow and Twilight to the platform which jutted out of the cliff itself, telling them that they could jump at any moment.

“You ready?” Rainbow looked over at Twilight.

Twilight peered over the edge to see just how far down the water was, and paled in response. She backed away from the edge before looking at Rainbow with fear on her face.

Both Rainbow and the stallion looked at her with concern, not sure whether she would be able to tackle the challenge.

“I… I don’t think I can do it,” she stammered.

“Now don’t force yourself into something you don’t want to do,” the stallion remarked, sympathy in his voice.

“Twilight, you don’t have to do this for me,” Rainbow added, trying to reassure her. An idea popped into her head as she thought about the situation.“Are we allowed to jump off with other ponies or do we have to do it alone?” Rainbow asked the stallion.

He pondered the notion for some time. The stallion couldn’t remember the last occasion in which somepony had asked him that.

“Well, I suppose as long as one was careful about it. Yes, you are allowed to if you’d like.”

Rainbow put out her hoof, and looked at Twilight. “Grab my hoof and hold it tight. Don’t let go alright?”

Twilight did as she was told, and nodded in response to Rainbow’s request. She could feel a chill go up her spine as Rainbow held her own hoof tightly.

“Good. Now on the count of three, jump off the ledge. Ready?”

Twilight nodded.

“1…”

“2…”

“3!”

The pair jumped off in perfect sequence, their hooves still tightly in grasp with one another.

Twilight screamed instantly as she felt the air in her face and mane. Her eyes scanned down to see the water rapidly approaching.

Rainbow was also screaming, but to the complete opposite of Twilight’s. Hers were filled with pure joy and excitement as they fell to the water below.

Both closed their eyes as they made a massive splash which from afar would impress most.

Twilight felt the air leave her lungs as they sank into the water. She started to panic and fumbled for the small string to activate the life vest. Suddenly she noticed that she was floating up to the surface, only she wasn’t swimming at all. Instead, her eyes looked over to see that her hoof was being tightly held by Rainbow as she used her wings to help both of them up to the surface. She became mesmerized by how the sun shone through the water and onto Rainbow, giving the appearance of a silhouette, and making Rainbow seem almost angelic-like.

Both of them popped out of the water, looking at one another with confused expressions as they floated. They looked over and heard the sound of rowing, and they saw the stallion now in a small wooden boat coming towards their direction.

Twilight had no idea what to feel right now. So she started to giggle, and before long was full out laughing at absolutely nothing.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Rainbow was very confused, but started to giggle herself at how much Twilight was laughing.

Twilight didn’t respond, and continue going into hysterics in the water, nearly dunking back into the water accidently. She was staying above water thanks to Rainbow, who continued to slowly tread water using her wings.

Rainbow joined in the laughter herself, unsure onto why she was doing so, but thinking nothing of it.

“Oh Rainbow, that was incredible,” Twilight said, wiping what she assumed was a tear off her face from laughing so hard. “I think I wanna do that again.”

“Let’s not get carried away now. You turned ghostly white when you looked over the edge for the first time,” Rainbow replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes but giggled at the comment.

They waited as the stallion came by and came to a stop on the calm waters, his smiling face greeting them.

“Well judging from those mugs, you seemed to enjoy yourself huh?”

Twilight and Rainbow both nodded enthusiastically.

“Good to hear. Hop on in and I’ll row you to the lower deck over there.”

Rainbow got in first, preferring to just fly out of the water and land easily on the boat itself. She looked over to see Twilight having a bit of trouble, as the mare seemed to lack the energy to even climb in the boat. Rainbow put her hoof out to Twilight and pulled her in gently, and chuckling as Twilight came in face first onto the inside of the boat.

The stallion docked the boat and tied it up in case of any larger waves that could whisk it away as Rainbow and Twilight hopped off . The dock wasn’t much bigger than the boat itself, so they were careful not to fall back into the water.

“You two are welcome to go swimming and do whatever you’d like. When you wanna make your way out, just take that spiral staircase here up to the hut. Then again, I didn’t have to tell ya that, how else could you get up?” He chuckled a bit before heading up himself, looking eager to see if there were any other ponies who would stop by today.
“Do you wanna go back in for another dip?” Twilight questioned.

To her surprise, Rainbow refused.

“Nah, I’d like to just sit with my feet in the water and chill a bit. Besides, you haven’t explained blue to me yet.”

It just dawned on Twilight that she had nearly forgotten the main reason she had come here in the first place.

“Well where to begin? Blue is considered to be a color of the sky and the sea, and its usually associated with depth and stability.”

Rainbow recoiled and made a face of discontent, catching Twilight off guard.

“What happened?”

“Did you make that rhyme of sea and stability on purpose?” Rainbow teased.

"Sigh… "Can I continue now?” Twilight watched as Rainbow nodded her head in response. “Good.”

“Anyway, blue is a color which is strongly associated with calmness and tranquility like I was explaining before. It is also color which can represent a bunch of things, some like confidence, wisdom, truth, and heaven. However, the two qualities which I see most in you are trust and more well known to yourself, loyalty.”

“Well,” Rainbow began, “Loyalty is my element and all.”

“Indeed it is,” Twilight agreed. “And ever since I met you, you’ve always been there for any of us when we needed it. Even if it can be out of your way sometimes, loyalty is something you live by, almost like an unwritten code which you sleep to every night. Take my magic for example, as it’s my own element, and is a part of my life more than anything else in Equestria. You may not realize it yourself, but your loyalty is a much deeper a part of you than even flying is.”

Rainbow listened intently, watching how the sun’s rays skipped and scattered across the calm waters of the ocean.

“The quality I wanted to mention in more detail was the quality of trust. Just now, when we were up on that platform and about to jump into the water, I placed my trust in somepony for my safety. No, it wasn’t the stallion.”

“Why me though?” Rainbow questioned. “After all, the stallion is here to watch over any pony who comes here, and obviously can swim much better than either of us.”

“I didn’t ask him to jump off with me did I?”

Rainbow was silent and really didn’t know if Twilight was expecting an answer or not.

“Exactly. You offered me your hoof, and convinced me that everything would be alright if I just held tight. Sure enough you were true to your word, and helped me conquer a fear of heights than frankly I didn’t even know I had till today. When we were in the water, I continued holding on as you pulled me up to the surface. If you didn’t do that, I think I was seconds away from pulling the string on that life-vest.”

“You know, about this whole lesson on colors you’re giving me… I think I’m actually learning more about myself than I really ever thought I would.”

Twilight’s face was a mixture of genuine astonishment and glee as she finally got concrete evidence that her idea was finally having effect.

“Well that’s good, because we have four colors left, and plenty left to learn!”

“When do we start?”

Author's Note:

Nobody said I had to go in order with this? As long as I cover all of the colors of the Rainbow, that's a-okay in my book.

Oh and on a more important note, for anybody who favorited the story, but didn't like it, could you do me a favor and like it too? People browsing the site won't see all the favorites, and it makes me feel all warm and happy inside when I get likes on my stories. I'll give you a cookie too. :)

See you next chapter!