Chapter 1 — Catalyst
— Chapter 1 : Catalyst —
“Girls, this is serious! Those changelings had clearly defeated us, and if it weren’t for my brother and Princess Cadence, Canterlot would look very different today. We could have lost everything back there!”
“Yeah, but we didn’t! It’s still there, Canterlot was still saved, and everything's just fine! We're still awesome!”
“Even though we got our rumps right handed to us, huh?”
“Hey! I was only taken down because there were too many of them. I was still awesome!”
“But that’s what I’m saying. We should make sure that ‘too many of them’ can never stop us from saving Equestria! As the Elements of Harmony, there's a real chance we may be called upon to save it again, and we owe it to Equestria to be be better prepared next time. I suggest we start on this training schedule—“
“Hey uh, Sugarcube? Ah think it’s terrific you’re takin’ your role in all this so seriously, but it’s about to be harvestin' time at Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe after that’s taken care of, we could do this trainin’ thing.”
“And I have to get started on my fall line up. Our dresses for the wedding earned me a few orders, and left me itching to translate my designs into more casual wear.”
“And… uh… I need to help some of the weaker animals gather food for winter. I mean… If I don’t, they might not have enough, and get hungry, and—“
“And I gotta train for the Wonderbolts!”
“Aren’t ya always trainin’?”
“Yeah, but I’m going to try out soon. They’re busiest during the summer, but in the winter they do fewer shows and hold tryouts. I figure it’s about time they add the Dash to their lineup.”
“And I just had a brilliant idea! I need to get ready for back-to-school parties!”
“Ew. Pinkie, seriously, who would like one of those parties?”
“Ugh, girls! This is serious!”
“Dear, we understand," Rarity said as she set her cup down on the table. "Normally we would, but we’re just so busy." She glanced around the table at her friends, and everypony's face but Twilight was filled with understanding. "Your concern has considerable merit, but we simply don’t have the time right now. You must understand, we have to be secure in our own endeavors before we can ‘train’ for some disaster that may never happen. I must take care of Sweetie Belle, especially now that our parents are so far away on vacation.” She threw a pointed gaze at Applejack. She caught the message.
“And Ah always have Applebloom.”
“Besides, Twilight," added Rainbow Dash, almost knocking over her cup, "my training for the ‘Bolts will keep me in tip top shape to fight any evil-doer that so happens to think they can mess with the Elements of Harmony— no, with the... the Mighty Mares of Ponyville!.”
Pinkie Pie burst out laughing, flailing her forelegs. She would've spilled several of their drinks completely, if Rarity hadn't had the reflexes to grab them all with her magic. Mrs. Cake shot a disapproving glance from behind the counter across from the bakery at the loud ruckus. “Who are these Mighty Mares, Dashie? Some superhero group?”
Rainbow Dash sat down, her cheeks hot. “No, it’s us, y’know. Because we’re unbeatable and pretty amazing. We kick flank!”
“Hehe, so I’m a superhero? How super cool! When did this happen? I think this calls for a Super Party!”
Fluttershy nudged her dessert with a hoof. “I don’t think I’d make a good superhero… I only talk to animals.”
“Girls!" Twilight gave the table a quick rap with her hoof, grabbing everyone's attention. "We need to be in top form! We are the guardians of Equestria, the Elements of Harmony. Now that the princesses aren't connected to the Elements anymore, we are Equestria's greatest defense. We can’t let another creature try to take over. We can't let another monster confuse us. We were useless the last two times we were needed. We can’t lose again! We can’t have another Discord!”
There was silence around the table. If they had been paying attention, the girls would've noticed everyone else at Sugarcube Corner had grown quiet as well.
Applejack was first to speak. “Shucks Twi’, Ah have to say Ah’d prefer it if we let that Discord nonsense rest. Ah know we were out of sorts and it wasn't our faults, but that’s still a pretty fresh barrel of sour apples.”
“We certainly weren't at our best," Rarity agreed. "We’ve learned, since then.”
“Yeah, I’ll never be grumpy again," Pinkie somberly added. Immediately, she perked up. "I may have to set up an anti-grump picnic!”
“And I’ll never say those things again. That was just too awful.” Fluttershy's face was barely visible behind her hair. She had completely lost her appetite for her cupcake.
Rainbow Dash simply crossed her forelegs and looked away. “I said I was sorry for the whole abandoning you guys for Cloudsdale thing! Discord confused me, you know that! I never would have left if he wasn't being all t-twisty with his words! That wasn't really me.”
Twilight had slowly slouched back into her seat, looking at her hooves. “I’m sorry, it’s just— our track record hasn’t been as perfect as I'd hoped, and..." she gulped, knowing she was losing ground to her friends. It hurt, due to how important she knew this was. "...And it would be insane for us to think we’d change our success rate if we keep all the variables the same.”
Sensing the Twilight's somber attitude, Pinkie tried a joke. “Variables? Do they have anything to do with Mareeios?”
“Sweetie, that’s just a breakfast cereal, variables are-“
Twilight looked up. “No, they don’t. I’m saying we have to get better to expect to be better. We have to put effort into it, and as great as our bestowed powers are, as great as the Elements of Harmony are, relying only on our endgame gambit is not conducive to our responsibility as protectors of this kingdom.”
“Ah’m sorry, but like Ah said, now’s not a good time. Applebucking and Applebloom-”
“And Sweetie Belle-”
“My animals…”
“Super back-to-school parties!”
“Wonderbolts baby!" Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight, and reached over and patted her on the back. "I promise, Twilight, we can do your training later. I'll make sure of it.”
“Come on girls! If disaster strikes, there won’t be any more Wonderbolts, or any of that! There won’t be any more parties if we don’t-”
“Look, Twi’, we have our reasons. You're right, especially when you've gone and put it like that. Ah care about you, and all of you girls, in addition to my family and my farm, and Ah know we could be much better. We never said we won’t, only that we can’t right now.”
Everypony nodded. Twilight stared in disbelief, her eyes jerking from pony to pony. Eventually, she slumped down. Do they not understand? There were no smiles, except for Pinkie Pie, but even Twilight could tell it was only so she didn't feel bad. It wasn't working.
Suddenly, Twilight stood up. "Fine!" She stormed out of Sugarcube Corner leaving her cupcake uneaten, prompting Mrs. Cake to look up from the counter, concerned. There was silence around the table. Fluttershy meeped and finally took a bite of her cupcake to break the tension, and Rainbow Dash simply re-crossed her forelegs and huffed.
Rarity was the first to speak. “Well, we told her we have responsibilities. Even so, I feel we should stop by sometime— soon, to check on her. You know how Twilight gets when she's worked up over something, but she does have a good point”, she suggested.
“Ah start applebuckin' tomorrow, so how about this weekend? Ah reckon this isn’t as pressing as when she was tardy, so givin’ her till the end of the week won’t be so bad. We'll go on down to the library this weekend and see what she'll have us do. Ah think we should at least give her that,” said Applejack.
Again everypony nodded, but remained quiet. They remembered the changeling Queen and how surely they thought Twilight was wrong. They remembered Discord and how all of their friendships, and even the state of reality itself, had hung in the balance that day. They remembered what happened the last time Twilight was ensnared in one of her own crises, and the resulting chaos the young mare had managed to cause in one afternoon. Of course all was forgiven and the past was the past, but making the same mistake twice would be reckless, even though they would like to think Twilight would learn from the past.
The group ate the rest of the sweets in silence, with Pinkie Pie eating Twilight’s untouched cupcake without challenge. It was getting late in the evening, and by that time they were the last group of patrons in the bakery. Realizing there was nothing left to say, they mutually agreed to head home. After the usual goodbyes, each mare took off, with Pinkie staying to help the Cakes close up shop. Applejack and Rarity split off on their own path to their homes, to retire for the evening. As Fluttershy was walking toward the edge of town, Rainbow Dash hovered in place in front of Sugarcube Corner watching her go.
“H-hey Fluttershy, let me walk you home,” Rainbow Dash called.
“Sure Rainbow Dash, thank you.” Fluttershy smiled. To anypony else, Rainbow would’ve came off as bossy, but she knew when her friend was asking to talk. She set out along the dirt path to her cottage, Rainbow silently floating behind her.
“Do ya think Twilight had a point? I mean, we’re the Elements of Harmony. If the fight gets too tough, we can just blast the bad guy with our friendship cannon, right? She says we shouldn't rely on our trump card, but it's such a good one.” Rainbow made a charade of putting her hooves together to charge some energy, then shooting it at an imaginary foe.
Fluttershy dipped her head. “But… We were helpless to stop the changelings.”
Rainbow paused. She wanted to say just how many changelings she had put out of commission, but even she knew it didn’t change anything. In the end, it was Shining Armor’s shield charged with Cadence's love that anat day. “Okay, but what about Discord? We totally kicked his flank, Elements and everything! Saved the day— no, saved all of Equestria,” Rainbow concluded, looking proud of herself.
Fluttershy stopped walking. “But we almost lost against Discord, too.” The yellow pegasus turned to face her friend, and shivered despite the warm night. “Rainbow… We almost came out completely different ponies." She closed her eyes and her thoughts floated back to the animals at the gala.
She had seen something in herself that night, and Discord’s return, however brief, had shown her it still was still slithering about inside her. Even later, she almost lost herself again when some bad advice almost cost her her dearest friends, further cementing her fears. Fluttershy was a shy pony, and despite the strides she had made being social with her friends, this was a side of her she never wanted to talk about, or even let enter her mind. This was something she’d have to carry to her grave, with the sole possible exception being Rarity. However, she wasn't even close to being ready to tell the fashionista.
Rainbow landed and blinked a few times, surprised and even a little intimidated by how solemn her old friend had suddenly become. After a few breaths, she waved her hoof. “Whatever, we won though. Why can’t she just accept it?”
Fluttershy almost spoke, but instead sat quietly for a moment before turning around and continuing down the road to her cottage. Rainbow Dash stared for a second before catching up, mulling over the “what if’s” spawned by Fluttershy’s comments. They finished their walk in silence. When they arrived, Fluttershy opened the door and Angel Bunny greeted her with an impatient look and a tapping paw. They said their goodbyes, and Fluttershy closed her door.
As Rainbow flew away to her cloudhouse in the sky, her thoughts tumbled to her frustrated friends and their close shaves. Maybe the egghead was on to something?
***
“Come on…. Come on…” grunted Twilight, as sweat ran down her face. She had her eyes shut tight as she concentrated on her assistant. The glow from her horn intensified. Papers with her scribbled notes were flying everywhere and the many books that lay open were galloping madly through their pages.
Spike gulped. “Are you sure you can’t just try this on somepony else?" He quickly glanced around, and caught sight of the other resident of the tree house. "Hey, look! Owlowiscious isn’t doing anything! He can take my place while I get some gems to eat.” Owlowiscious simply hooted in response, and started to fly out an open window. Spike shot him a look and growled.
“Don’t act like that again," Spike called out. "You know I’m talking to you!” Another hoot, followed by more growling from Spike.
“Spike! Please. Stay still. Quiet. Concentrating”, Twilight forced out. An overglow came over her horn as she tapped deeper and deeper into her magical reserves, bringing a brighter light filled with more complex shades of turquoise with it. Spike cringed a tiny bit as the wind inside the library almost doubled causing a handful of flapping books go airborne. Just as the air around Spike was shimmering, the door slammed open.
Suddenly, Twilight smelled cupcakes and rainbows, and opened her eyes. “Hiya Twilight!” shouted a huge grin with a bundle of curly pink hair.
“Ah!” Twilight shrieked as she jerked back, releasing her magic into the top of her tree trunk. The bolt flew through the roof of her library as if there was nothing there, leaving a gaping, sizzling hole. She lay on her back, panting.
“What are you doing?” Pinkie sang as she bounced around the room. Behind her, Applejack walked in, followed by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, who was carrying a basket. Applejack nudged over a seat cushion, and Rarity grabbed two with her magic, setting one down next to Fluttershy. Pinkie continued to bounce about as Fluttershy set the basket down beside her. Rainbow Dash was content as always to hover in orbit above everyone's heads.
“Whoa Twilight, just what were you trying to do to me?” Spiked asked. He trusted Twilight, but that hole looked like it would have quite uncomfortable to say the least, even with his tough hide and dragon scales.
“I’m sorry Spike,” Twilight said, as she hastily repaired the hole. She made a mental note to patch it properly later, which added yet another task to the mountain of magical skills she was working on. She started to grab books and papers with her magic to hastily straighten up. “I was only trying my hoof at transfiguration, atom rearranging. I want to be able to do more than mustaches, and when I made those wings for Rarity, it left me exhausted." She picked up a few ink bottles that had tumbled. Thankfully, they had their stoppers plugged up tight, and their contents remained undisturbed. "I guess I lost the spell when I was,” Twilight eyed Pinkie, “surprised. Sorry for the mess, I’ve been at this all week. I just have to get all these spells under my hooves before the next unplanned crisis shakes Equestria to it's very core!”
Her friends looked around the room. Books were scattered everywhere but the she parchment covered most writing surfaces. Cringing, they exchanged nervous glances. Maybe they waited too long to stop by, as that kind of talk was definitely reminiscent of the day Twilight was tardy.
Applejack looked Twilight over, and cringed all over again. It definitely was like that crazy day. Twilight was still determined as ever, even almost a whole week later, and it showed. Despite her physical state, she was still sharp. Applejack didn’t fare nearly as well after her week straight of applebucking her orchid alone last year. It left her seeing all sorts things.
Twilight's mane was disheveled, her eyes had bags deep enough to fit a barrel of apples. The hair around her horn was slightly singed, probably due to her horn’s overuse. They were both headstrong mares, even if one was physical and the other mental. She turned her gaze upward and whistled, eyeing Twilight’s handiwork in the roof. “Remind me to never let you give me wings unless we know where Pinkie is. Are you feelin’ alright, Twi’?”
Twilight was also becoming aware of how tired she was, and could feel the week of work beginning to set in as she finally let herself relax. She glanced up too, and chuckled nervously, “Eh, I’ll fix it later.”
Spike gave Pinkie a disparaging look. She took no notice of him, too busy investigating if Twilight had acquired any more useful books under ‘E’.
He shook his head. “We’ve been working on this spell for most of the week. I’ve missed most of my naps, and today I’ve be since dawn! Dragons are never supposed to be awake before noon unless it’s voluntary! I could totally use a bite to eat, and maybe even a nap afterwards,” Spike complained.
Spike had protested waking up so early on a Saturday, but when Twilight was on to something she was stubborn and tenacious, and couldn't let it go. He was especially conflicted, since it turned out the weather ponies had done a great job of giving Ponyville one of its last clear and sunny summer days of the year. He sighed. He understood Twilight’s reasoning, but he only felt obliged to help because she was his oldest friend, and he was her number one assistant; otherwise, he’d rather be outside munching on a topaz and relaxing in the shade enjoying the warmth of Celestia’s sun.
Twilight, however, rolled her eyes at him. She turned to her new guests. “Anyways, hello girls. What brings you to the library? Especially you Rainbow." She glanced at a calendar near the door to her kitchen. "Especially on a Saturday”, Twilight added flatly, her surprise barely hidden.
Rarity stood up. “Well Twilight, we haven’t seen you all week, and we decided to give you a nice picnic-”
“Girls, I told you we have to-“
“-OR a nice lunch indoors, your choice. Maybe after we eat and you catch your breath, we can take part in this... training you speak of, and maybe after we help you this afternoon we could enjoy the nice weather together. And relax,” Rarity added. As somepony used to working well into the night on hard deadlines, she could see Twilight was near the edge.
Twilight perked up at the offered assistance, but quickly huffed. “I don’t know girls, I just— I don’t want to ever be too helpless to help again.”
“Geez Twilight, you’re the Element of Magic. You don’t need to train. You’re probably already the strongest unicorn in all of—oomph!” Rainbow Dash felt Applejack give a not-so-gentle ribbing from below, and shot her a look. Rainbow Dash countered with an annoyed gaze and continued, “But anyways, yeah. We’re here to help you out, and to get you to unwind a bit. It's such a great day outside.”
“Thank you girls. Just, let me clear my table. Spike, go grab some plates and things,” instructed Twilight. She reached out and grabbed the last of the books she had been studying and started to set them aside as Spike made his way to the kitchen, still grumbling under his breath. As she lifted them, Rarity eyed a couple of the covers.
“Oh my, Twilight. I’m no mage, but some of these books look like heavy subjects. Some of these I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I know I’ve at least skimmed through that red one you have. If I recall correctly, it was purely offensive magic, the stuff of ruffians. There were some awful spells in there,” she said, a hint of concern in her voice.
Twilight paused. “Where would you come across these?” she asked, hesitantly.
“I saw them here, in your library. I figured I should work on my magic too. I do so from time to time, to expand the number of items I can control at once." To emphasize her point, she snagged the plates from Spike as he entered the room, spun them around everyone's heads and gently placed them around the table. The girls ooed and awed. "Besides, it caught my eye as I passed it on the shelf,” Rarity said simply. Spike gently floated unnoticed back into the kitchen for more dishes, in awe of the lovely lady Rarity.
Twilight resumed shelving and put the red book with the rest. As she noticed Spike reenter, she magicked the dishes from Spike as he emerged from the kitchen. Rarity grabbed some as well. While Rarity could never match Twilight in strength, she possessed quite a bit more finesse and dexterity to her magic thanks to sewing most of her life.
“You're right, Rarity,” Twilight began as she set the table. “It’s a rare, old book, back from before Nightmare Moon and her Lunar Knights were trying to take over Equestria."
They set a place for all seven of them around her equestrian bust. Fluttershy moved next to Twilight carrying the basket in her mouth, and Twilight enveloped it with her magic to set the spread. They had brought daisy sandwiches (Twilight's favorite), a nice ruby from Rarity’s collection for Spike, and sassafras tea. Twilight’s stomach chose that opportunity to remind her of the hasty meal she dared call breakfast she and Spike had gulped down that morning, and felt a tiny bit bad for the baby dragon.
"It was originally transcribed only for her followers as a book full of secret weapons," Twilight continued, "but one of Celestia’s Solar Guard found a copy and brought it to her, putting her forces on an even playing field. However, since danger is no longer a daily thing in Equestria anymore, it has become more of a collector’s item. Almost no one would be want to be caught reading it, due to it's history concerning Nightmare Moon, especially after the banishment, and even more so now that Princess Luna has returned. That aspect of Equestria is far behind us and long forgotten." Twilight noticed Spike had entered the room carrying all the cups and silverware at once, and decided to help him out before he broke something. Spike was more than relieved to see a purple aura form around the dishes and feel them lift from his arms, and was appreciative of the girls being so helpful today.
"This one book in particular is on loan from the Princess Luna's personal collection. I borrowed it a while ago, and I’ve neglected it all week until recently. It turns out the tome still has some tricks we could use. However, I've already breezed through it. It’s mostly simple stuff, and even the powerful spells I learned were just... just concentrated magical energy thrown like a… Like a ball or a frisbee.” Twilight finished setting all the cups and plates. She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
Rarity lowered her last plate and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press the subject anymore. Twilight was the Element of Magic, Celestia’s student, and at the very least the most gifted unicorn she’d ever encountered or heard about. If anything, Rarity figured there was nopony else better suited for responsibly studying an ancient book on magic.
They all took their places as she passed out the sandwiches, Rarity filled the cups, and everypony started eating. Rarity looked down at her sandwich, a tad disappointed. She was used to finer snacks and hoof-foods. If she were to have a sandwich, she’d prefer the small ones with the crust cut off. However, they were there for Twilight, so she kept her complaints to herself. She picked up her sandwich between her hooves and took a bite, being mindful to be polite to the non-unicorns in the room. She doubted they would notice, but from time to time she liked to be respectful. Besides, she thought, it is a pretty delicious sandwich. Delightfully simple.
“So Twilight, what awesome spells have you been working on?” asked Dash, crumbs spilling out her mouth. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Rarity cringe and her mumble something that sounded like ‘uncouth’. Dash ignored her.
Twilight washed down a bite with some tea. She float over her checklist, and got started. “Well, as I said earlier, I had already pretty much grasped the concept of most offensive spells, so I’ll refine those later. Again, the most powerful ones seem to be mostly throwing your magical weight around and that all comes from sheer magical reserves, which isn’t a problem for me. I don't expect to use them too much, actually. They're a little bit reckless in modern Equestria.'
“I’m currently working on defensive transfiguration. I long ago learned how to do small things like top hats and moustaches.” Spike looked up from his ruby and grinned. “However, I want to expand that. Remember when I gave Rarity wings? I could only do that once, and it tired me out immediately after. My goal is to increase how often I can do spells like that, and increase the variety. If I can figure it out, I could do other things like give horseshoes extra resistance or create exoskeletons.”
Pinkie looked up from her plate with crumbs all over her face. “Oooo, neat?”
Rarity practically fainted, and a whimper escaped her lips. Exoskeletons?
"What exactly are exoskele-whatnows?" Applejack had to ask.
“They’re what bugs have. Basically, they’re the outer shell of an insect. It’s like their armor,” Fluttershy responded, smiling at her own answer. She took a bite of her sandwich.
“And I bet that’s what makes them go crunch,” laughed Rainbow Dash. Immediately Fluttershy’s smiled flipped and she grimaced. She forced down the bit of sandwich she was eating, and then left the last few bits of her sandwich on her plate untouched.
“Exactly, Fluttershy. Armor. And yes, Rainbow, that’s what makes them 'go crunch'. To us, their exoskeletons is fragile and worthless. However, if I could scale it up give one to one of us, we’d be able to shrug off whatever a foe could throw at us. We’d be able to fight without getting tired, or even getting hurt, if I can get a good understanding of the spell.”
Applejack tapped her chin for a second. “That’s some pretty fancy stuff right there. Ah figure Ah could use a little of that on some of my horseshoes so they'd last a bit longer. Those orchards aren’t too kind on ‘em.”
“Yeah, or give my kicks some extra oomph to make the next changeling I meet see stars!” shouted Rainbow as she floated up from her seat and tossed some punches into the air. Pinkie Pie lit up and moved to pretend to take one of those punches. She fell over, producing a white flag and waving it in mock surrender.
“Not just horseshoes, girls, full suits of armor. And thanks to it being biological and organic, it would weigh less and be more intricate than armor that the Canterlot guards wear. However, I’m not so good with transfiguration,” Twilight added, finishing her sandwich. She sipped on some tea. “Ask Spike, and he’ll tell you just how little I know about it. But Pinkie's interruption gave me an idea.”
Pinkies head poked up from beneath the table and raised an eyebrow. “I did?”
“Yes, you did. If you remember how I got my cutie mark, Rainbow Dash’s rainboom gave me an incredible boost in my magical abilities. I was thinking, if you’re willing and able,” Twilight gave Dash a big smile, “Could you do another one while I try to get this spell under my hoof— er, horn?”
Rainbow Dash immediately lit up. “Alright Twilight!” she said as she did some loops around the room. “Now that’s some training I could do, no problem. Why didn’t you say so from the get go? Of course I’ll help!”
Rarity leaned forward to open her mouth to protest, but was interrupted. “Aw man Dashie, another rainboom! They’re sooo pretty,” Pinkie swooned.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” commented Applejack.
“Now Twilight, you remember that small, little thing you mentioned where you turned your parents into potted plants and Spike into a full grown dragon. Are you sure it’s safe?” Rarity asked. Being a unicorn, even one without great magical strength, she could still sense the potential pitfalls this plan had. She had never experienced a power surge while designing or finding gems, but Rarity could still imagine how dangerous a powerful unicorn such as Twilight with runaway magic could be.
“That was a long time ago, Rarity. Twilight’s come a long way since then,” Spike defended.
Who knows, though? Rarity considered. Twilight maybe had since learned to handle herself. Spike was right. that was over a decade ago, and before she was taken under Celestia’s wing.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Spike. You’re right Rarity, but Spike is too. I was young, just a filly. I was inexperienced, and I admit had no control. Since then, I’ve read many books, received much instruction, and attended numerous lectures on magic. I’ve even had a few lessons from Celestia herself about this very subject. Even when under huge strain, like when I had to cradle that Ursa Minor all the way back to the Everfree forest from town, my magic didn't waver once. I feel one hundred percent confident everything will be alright. I may have trouble with transfiguration on an application level, but mechanically I understand the workings of the spell, through and through. I just need an extra boost, that’s all.”
As Twilight spoke, Rarity could see her determination. She knew that when Twilight had a solid idea, she wouldn’t let go until she truly tested it and mastered it. Besides, she felt Spike was right. None of their other friends protested either.
By that time, everyone had finished snack and tea, and Spike collected the dishware and stepped out to return them to the kitchen. Yawning deeply, he deposited them into the sink.
"Twilight, since your friends are here, is it alright if I take a nap, pleeease?" Spike closed his eyes and crossed in fingers.
From the common room, he heard Twilight's approval. He gleefully took his cue and plopped down in the first empty seat he could find in the kitchen at the table. Going up the steps to his basket was just too far after a weeks worth of Twilight on full blast.
“Thanks Spike, sleep well." Twilight turned to her friends. "Alright then; I need a new volunteer,” she declared.
After a beat, Fluttershy was the first to step up. “I’ll… I’ll go,” she offered meekly, but with determination.
More than one pony gasped
“Wow Fluttershy, that’s really brave of you, but you don’t really have to,” Twilight said, thoroughly impressed. While she wasn’t a pushover anymore, Fluttershy was once probably scared of her own shadow, may very well still be. In all fairness, she was probably frightened still by a number of things. Of those, Twilight was positive the idea of rearranging the makeup of the atoms in her skin would be most frightening to her out of all her friends.
“No, I’ll do it. I was helpless when we fought the changelings. I don’t think I’ll ever be as strong as anyone else, but I think if I’m protected, I’ll be less scared. Besides, I trust you Twilight,” Fluttershy added. And I still need to become a better pony.
She her eyes were stern, but her mouth quivered. Everypony eyes widened. Fluttershy had made leaps in personal progress since they all met her, but this was surprising. Even though her words were brave, she still shook a little from the anticipation.
Rarity, however, stepped forward.
“Fluttershy, that’s simply big of you to offer yourself up like that,” Rarity cut in. “You sure have come a long way from when we first met you, and I’m so proud of you. However, I must offer my hoof in your place. Twilight’s dealing with some potent spells, and even though my specialty is fashion and not magic itself, I think I’ll be better suited for transfiguration. Another benefit in being a unicorn is that I’ll be more 'in tune' with what Twilight is trying to do. With that I can at least provide a small bit of assistance, if not less resistance.”
Fluttershy looked down and let her hair fall over her face, clearly ambivalent to being overruled. She really wanted to help Twilight, but Rarity had a good point. She disliked being so ineffective against both Discord and the changelings, and a part of her was simmering at Rarity. It went away before she took notice. Finally, she replied. “Alright Rarity, whatever is most useful,” she said wistfully.
There was an audible sigh from the other four mares. Applejack walked over and placed a leg around Fluttershy. “Shucks Fluttershy, that was mighty upstanding of you. Ah’m proud of ya too, too. But if what Rare says is true, don’t feel bad. This is all about making us more efficient-like, so if Rarity’s better suited then it’s alright if she’s the one instead.”
“Okay,” whispered Fluttershy. She tilted her head up and let out a half-hearted smile. She had been more outgoing than ever since a certain minotaur's self-help seminar, but being denied by her friends still stung a little, even if the reason was legitimate. For Fluttershy, every personal victory counted, internal and external.
“I promise Fluttershy, after this day is over, we can hit the spa,“ Rarity offered. “I’ll upgrade our spa treatment today to the premium level, all on me. Besides, I may need a massage after whatever it is Twilight does to me. You wouldn’t want to be me, it would ruin your beautiful coat.” She knew both of them cherished their private alone time at the spa, and after this Fluttershy would need something to unwind from this social confrontation, no matter how small. Fluttershy looked up, smiled more broadly, and nodded.
Rainbow Dash perked up. “Finally, that’s settled! Let’s get this show on the road! I’m ready for a sonic rainboom, anypony else?” She puffed her chest out and did a few flips to prep her wings.
Pinkie Pie jumped up. “Wooo! Me-me-meee!” she sang.
With her plans back on schedule, Twilight took charge. She was determined to get this spell right. Her week since the conversation at Sugarcube corner was less than ideal, but with all of her friends back at her side she felt she had a proper bearing again. “Alright, everypony stand back. I’m going to start casting. Rarity, stand in the center of the room. Rainbow Dash, you can head out now and begin. I figure by the time you work up enough speed, I’ll be at my magical limit. When you pass over, it should be enough to get this exoskeleton buff to work. If not…” She looked at her friends’ pleading faces. “…I guess I can take a break.” Everyone cheered.
“A party break?” Pinkie asked, her eyes wide like the plates they just ate off of. "Everypony's been so busy; we haven't partied in for-EV-err! It’s been like a whole week, and all I've done is bake and sell cakes and write birthday cards!”
"But Pinkie, isn't that what you always do?" asked Fluttershy flatly.
Twilight sighed, but smiled. She was quite exhausted. “Yes, even a party break. Now I still believe we should be getting prepared for another incident, but… I guess it has been a long week.” It was true. She had been having study sessions from dawn until way past midnight. The week was taking its toll on her physical state, but thankfully not her magic. She should be on her last legs, but as long as she felt she could do it Twilight was determined to try. She took her position across from Rarity and looked at everyone. “Thanks for checking on me,” she added.
Applejack smiled. “Aw, no problem Sugarcube. Now take care of this so we can enjoy the rest of the day. I bet Winona is back home just itching to play outside.”
“Yes! Enough chit chat, let’s go!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Like a bolt of magic, she took off for one of the many windows she used as her own personal entrances to the library. Twilight was thankful she elected keep it open just in case of times like these. The ponies could hear Dash roaring through the sky and fading away.
“Now Twilight, please be careful. I’d rather not get my beautiful mane destroyed. I know I'm going to the spa later, but I recently had it styled,” Rarity said.
Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alright Rarity, if I singe it I promise I’ll model whenever you want me to for the whole winter.”
Rarity smirked. “Including trips to the spa with Fluttershy and me?” she asked pointedly.
“Yes,” Twilight chuckled, “I'll do those too.”
Rarity nodded, and closed her eyes with a smile. “Deal.”
Twilight leaned forward, and began to cast. It didn’t take long for her to build back up an overglow over her horn. Scrap paper flew everywhere and books left off the shelf flapped wildly from the gusts. Rarity tried to stand as calmly as she could, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Her wings turned out alright, but she had the inclination that this was something else. All of her skin would turn into some sort of hard carbon shell. She tried not to imagine how much more painful a spell would be if it messed up what she already had instead of messing up adding a couple new appendages.
“Now Twilight, if you sense anything wrong feel free to let go it go.”
“No. Will. Not. Fail.” It took every ounce of spare strength for Twilight to utter those few words. The power surging from her horn was giving off incredible amounts of energy, and Twilight was turning that onto itself to drive the spell harder. She was sure she was going to do it this time, she was so sure of it, she could even feel it. She was so close with Spike; she knew this spell was going to work. Once she had gotten it down, casting wouldn't be a huge affair like this was. She just had to do it once. She could feel the energies in the air bending to her will, the spell forming exactly as she had read.
Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie watched in anticipation. Applejack stood on the edge of the room next to a still-yawning Spike (who had been awoken from his short nap), and had to hold onto her hat from the gust picking up from the buildup of energy. Fluttershy stood as close to Applejack as possible, her hair flailing in the wind, and Pinkie Pie kept inching closer and closer to Rarity, munching on some popcorn. She was convinced this was going to be the coolest thing Twilight had ever done. Well, second to when I used her as a magical turret. Or maybe third to bursting into flames out of anger.
***
High above them, Rainbow Dash was almost finished achieving the altitude she would need. Vertical sprints were the most tiring of all pegasi, so as she got close she began to round off her trajectory. She deduced she would also need to put some distance between herself and the library as she worked out her angle of attack. As she traveled farther and father away, she decided to reward herself after the boom with a quick flyover of Ponyville and the forest before returning. It really was a beautiful day, and the park was filled with ponies enjoying it. She even spotted Zecora emerging from the forest. Driven by her little treat to herself, and the ever-present prospect of being awesome, she kept on flying.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash felt she had enough room. She could see Ponyville way down below in front her. Before she began her descent, she took a look around. Rainbow Dash didn’t usually fly this up, since the only friend she had who could fly was basically afraid of heights.
Ha, a pegasus afraid of heights. She laughed; no matter how long she's known that shy pony, that joke never got old to her. I’ll get her up here one day, she’ll thank me for it.
She noticed that over Everfree some dark clouds forming. She knew that whichever pony that was stuck with cloud kicking duty was going to have a terrible time breaking up that storm tomorrow. I guess I could swing by later and see what I can do, she thought. Right after I’m done with Twilight. Those rookies would be lost without me.
Rainbow Dash did a few flips and rolls to stretch her wings. After she felt nice and loose, she locked on the library.
“Ok everypony, here we go.”
She threw herself into her vertical dive. Gravity dragged her down to the ground, while her wings kept pushing her along, faster and faster. She was dropping straight down over the outskirts of Ponyville. She would have to pull up eventually to achieve her proper angle.
Immediately she could feel exhilaration of flight take a hold of her. As she accelerated, her worries peeled away from her mind and flew behind her from the wind. Twilight’s drive, Fluttershy’s bravery and Rarity’s dramatic intervention all felt like a vivid dream. The argument at Sugarcube corner felt less and less real, and the only thing that mattered was this moment. She couldn't have asked for a better Saturday; helping her friends and performing a sonic rainboom.
The cone of the rainboom was forming around her. While it was an easy, peaceful day in Ponyville, Dash’s world was filled with roaring and whistling wind. She saw a perfect cloud in her descent, and did a few rolls to line herself up with it, sacrificing her speed. She may have hurt her flight path, but the refreshing mist and satisfyingly soft yet firm *thump* caused by slamming through the cloud was completely worth it.
As she refocused and realigned herself with her original descent, the cone started to build again. This was the hard part. As the molecules of air passed over her wings, she had to flow through them just right. It was almost an otherworldly experience feeling every little bit of air flow past her tight muscles and outstretched wings. This is what she lived for. Applejack was a strong mare built for brute force, but Rainbow Dash was a mare of speed.
The ground seemed to be desperate to catch her, but she was determined to not let that happen. She grew closer to her mark.
Eight…
Three…
One mile…
Just a few more seconds…
Finally, her mark. She pulled up with all her might, and saw the library ahead. She had less than a fraction of a heartbeat to think during this last half mile of her flight. She could feel the cone pushing onto her from all around, and the wall of sound in front of her with her hoof, and she could feel it splintering. Rainbow just had to keep pushing, keep trying. At the last second, thought crossed her mind.
Hehe, this is gonna be so loud. I bet Pinkie is gonna flip out.
...ssshhBOOOM!
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...
Fucking brutal.
More.
1017339
I hope I can live up to your blood lust, however you may have to wait.
1018953
I noticed an uncomfortable amount of grammar errors. Would you like a proofreader?
1019665
I may have accidentally uploaded the wrong version, but that would be nice. Message me?
1019792
I`ll send you a version tommorow. Can`t send via phone.
Aaand formatting issues are gone! How glorious!
More?
Sorry I couldn't help out, this slipped my mind...
~G
1146884
I'm gonna level with you. There is more, but everyone I'm asking to review it is busy. Chapter 2 is written, 3 has been started, and a fair number have been planned.
1146895
I can review it, if you want. But, with summer school and all that...
Meh, school can go screw itself there are ponies to be had. PM me or email me.
~G
Ok, first chapter done, so lets get on with the the review shall we?
Name of story: Modulation by probrony
Grammar score 9 out of 10
Pros: The story premise is interesting as it seems like Twilight wants to do more to protect the world she lives in
Twily, Dash, and AJ feel in great character
Love the decription of the Rainboom.
Cons: I felt like Fluttershy felt a little too bitter about being rejected for the test.
Twilight felt a little too eager to go for, "Magic overload, make armor"
I find it odd, that they have a book of weapons that no pony decided to look into until now.
Notes:
On the subject of your story, see I like to give a fic at least one to two chapters before reeling me in and you succeeded. I like that Twilight is trying an active role in trying to defend Equestria by training herself.
That being said, sometimes I feel like she jumped to "using Rainboom" A bit too suddently, maybe you could have added, "I have tried every other way to increase my own strength on it, but I failed."
Well, you've got me hooked with the first paragraph. I was recently raging at another author about "Show, don't tell", but your telling shows showing can be better told through showing with telling, and it's shown me telling can be a sign of great showing.
This was very odd! I hadn't noticed ANY mistakes till this point. Maybe drop "nervous" as well. It's pretty clear what they look like with cringing glances.
double spaced, missing "of"
I think, at this point, you may have uploaded a non-final edition by accident. None of these are big deals, and I'm too excited by the story to care. This is PERFECTLY balanced on the edge of dark, and it's highlighting show problems without mocking them, and the tension's wracking me to the core.
I'm enjoying the lunchbreak. It's great exposition, and well-described (Or it may be I'm drinking tea right now). But just to nitpick: Applejack probably knows the word "skeleton", and if I had lived my life without being a nerd, I be more confused about "exo". The closest sound, imho, is "Wax-Skeleton"
OH...oh this is not going to end well is it...
popcorn.gif