Friendship Day

by Crescent Pulsar

Chapter 8: Refraction

Rainbow Dash hadn't believed her, to the extent that she even began to doubt if anything about their quest was true. Fortunately, she quickly made the excuse that she couldn't deal with the quandary on an empty stomach and left to get their food, so her reaction could have been far worse — unless it was just being postponed.

Either way, that left her alone with the journal, so she brought it with her to the settee and began to read it, where she lost all sense of time while she learned about her mentor and her sister. It was so interesting that she could almost forget about her situation, but the more that she learned the bigger the questions loomed in her mind, casting a shadow over her conscious thoughts.

She had just gotten past the part that explained some of the castle's features and functionality when she heard Rainbow Dash yell that she was back. She came flying in with a small basket, containing a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of juice. When her eyes caught sight of it, she was suddenly aware of her hunger and thirst and hastily set the journal aside and accepted the meal, her mouth salivating.

"Sorry it took me so long," Rainbow Dash apologized, although she didn't look or sound all that sorry. "I was asking around about the princess' student, and a couple of ponies were able to describe what you looked like after they were able to give your name, so I guess that much about your story is true."

Twilight Sparkle distractedly hummed her acknowledgement while stuffing the sandwich into her mouth.

"I also saw that book you mentioned," Rainbow Dash went on, "which was really weird." She regarded Twilight Sparkle with a suspicious look. "But who's to say that you didn't do that yourself?"

Since she couldn't prove that she didn't make the book herself, Twilight Sparkle thought about her response before swallowing the last bite of her sandwich, despite knowing that the time loop would make it pointless to convince Rainbow Dash of anything at this juncture. For some reason, she didn't want their time together ruined. She reasoned that wanting to salvage it had something to do with the fact that she had only advanced her investigation so much, and made the discoveries she had, because of Rainbow Dash's involvement. In particular, she couldn't imagine herself finding the secret room on her own any time soon, if at all.

So, in an effort to dispel at least some of her mistrust, she said, "When you went to the library, was Pinkie Pie preparing to surprise me with a party yet? Or was it ready by the time you got there?"

Rainbow Dash paused and blinked her eyes, not having expected questions — or those particular questions — in response to her own. "Uh... Actually, yeah. She came in while I was there." Her brow furrowed. "But how did you know she was going to set up a surprise party for you? And at the library? If Pinkie Pie wants to surprise somepony with a party, she's going to surprise them; she even got me when I moved here."

"Because I've experienced this day several times," Twilight Sparkle evenly explained. "Unless I act fast enough, Pinkie Pie's the first pony I meet at the start of each loop, and she normally hurries off as soon as I try to speak to her. And because I'm overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration, I've even learned where you are at a certain time, what you're doing, and when you crash land into a mud puddle."

"I didn't, though," A confused Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"That's because I caught you before you could," Twilight Sparkle reminded her.

"Okay," Rainbow Dash began in a challenging tone, her forelegs crossed, "then tell me what I was doing before that, if that's what you were talking about. You should be able to tell me exactly what it was, right?"

Twilight Sparkle confidently said, "You were practicing for the Wonderbolts, because you wanted to show them what you could do tomorrow."

With her mouth agape, Rainbow Dash landed clumsily and said, "I didn't tell anypony that. I mean, yeah, a lot of ponies know that I'm training to become a Wonderbolt, but..."

"...That doesn't mean they would know that today's practice was in preparation for a plan that you had for tomorrow," Twilight Sparkle finished.

Rainbow Dash stared at her with apprehension before she gathered the nerve to speak what was on her mind, slowly saying, "Let's say you're telling the truth. I was thinking about this while I was gone, and..." She paused to gather more courage. "If you remember, but I don't... What does that mean for me? Will I," she gulped audibly, "die?"

"Of course not!" Twilight Sparkle was quick to reassure her, but — out of habit — couldn't help adding, "Well, technically." Seeing that she had just undermined her effort, she elaborated, "I mean, we're talking about identity and not life. You can think of it as amnesia, except you regain a few hours of your time and can only remember events by experiencing them again precisely."

Looking at her doubtfully, Rainbow Dash replied, "So you'll do this with me again? 'Cause if the whole Nightmare Moon thing is true, and she's really the princess' sister, I don't want to be left out of the loop." Realizing what she had said, she perked up and said, "Hey, yeah! Why not just add me to the time loop?"

"Because I don't know how," Twilight Sparkle replied, which took the wind out of Rainbow Dash's sails. "I did it on accident, remember?"

After standing there for a few seconds, looking a bit lost, Rainbow Dash appeared to come to a decision and resolutely said, "Then I want to make the most out of the time I have left. Was there anything about the sixth element in that journal?"

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "I've read about half of it, and — while the Elements of Harmony have been mentioned a few times — there's no information on how to make the sixth element appear."

Undeterred, Rainbow Dash suggested, "Then how about you ask the princess? You're her personal student, right?"

Worrying her bottom lip, Twilight Sparkle said, "I am, but..."

"But what?" Rainbow Dash pressed, eyebrow cocked in response to her reluctance. "If that journal is real, then who better to ask than the pony who used those things to banish Nightmare Moon?"

Twilight Sparkle knew that she had a point, but she was afraid of the implications if the princess had banished Nightmare Moon yet brushed the threat of her return aside. Something wasn't adding up, and that likely meant that there was an important piece of the puzzle still missing... A potentially-damning piece... Which might involve, if not stem from, the princess herself.

Eventually, though, she convinced herself that seeking the answer, rather than being willfully ignorant, was the right path to take, regardless of what she might learn. So, after releasing a sigh of resignation, she steeled her resolve and told Rainbow Dash, "You're right. Let's retrieve the Elements of Harmony and return to Ponyville. Once we find Spike, I can have him send a letter to the princess."

"Wouldn't it be faster to go to Canterlot?" Rainbow Dash responded, confused.

"Spike uses his dragon breath to send the letter directly to princess Celestia," Twilight Sparkle explained. "It shouldn't take more than a minute to get to her from Ponyville."

"Okay," Rainbow Dash acknowledged. A few seconds later, she frowned. "But what if she doesn't respond?"

Twilight Sparkle cast a worried gaze toward the windows and quietly replied, "I don't know..."

Comments

[FurryBrony]

Nice realistic response to a time loop.

[Yoshifan30]

Okay so apparently Twilight told Rainbow about this whole situation and telling her about she stuck in a Time Loop and she knows what's going to happen next before anything happens I mean rainbow kinda took it pretty well now the only question is why is this happening