— Chapter Twenty-Four —
--- An Unexpected Reunion ---
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"It's fine, Fluttershy. It's just a harmless side effect. Nothing's wrong."
"But I feel like it's my fault..."
This short conversation, or variations of it, repeated no less than six times on the way back to Fluttershy's home from the Everfree Forest. After several hours of carving out those special wooden stakes, Zecora had decided that her work was satisfactory and gave her the okay to stop. And Twilight had managed to make no less than two hundred of those specialized trinkets for the zebra's sake, each one now stewing away in that alchemic vat in preparation for the destined purpose.
The act of creating these items—casting that woodworking spell over and over again—did have a physical effect on Twilight, however. One that was very hard to miss, even if you weren't looking for it. A consistent flow of steam wafted about her horn for about half of the walk back from the woodland cabin, a visual indication of just how much magic had been pumped through it this day. It didn't hurt or burn, it was just the magical equivalent to exhaustion, more numb than anything. If someone runs for several hours on end, they're going to get tired. If someone casts the same spell over and over again, non-stop for several hours, then there's going to be a buildup of excess heat. It wasn't painful, nor was it dangerous. Just a natural side effect of the task Twilight had put upon herself.
That didn't stop Fluttershy from thinking that she'd caused Twilight to injure herself, however. And for almost the entire walk back she had continuously apologized and inquired about the state of her horn, making no end of offers to try and alleviate the "agony" Twilight was in. If nothing else, Twilight was at least happy that Fluttershy had found something else to occupy her thoughts with after that story of hers. The cloaked alicorn still felt guilty for making her relive that experience and wanted to do something to try and make it up to her. But figuring out what could do that was a Rockhoofian task in it of itself, and Twilight already had her plate full with this Knox business.
Well, getting that problem solved and sorted was probably a good start at making amends with the pegasus. At least for now.
"See? Better already." Twilight practically sang as she pointed to her horn, no longer enveloped by that thin layer of mist.
"If you insist..." Fluttershy didn't sound very convinced of Twilight's wellbeing, gently pushing open the back door to her home for her guests to enter through.
"So what now?" Spike asked after remaining silent for the whole of the walk back, a potent reminder that he'd been present for the day's events. "We just kind of... left. Were we supposed to do something?"
"It'll take some time to get the barriers ready, and Zecora should be able to take care of that on her own." Fluttershy made her way to the kitchen sink and began preparing a glass of water for herself. "After that... I guess we just put them in place and hope it works."
Twilight sharpened her gaze. "And if it doesn't?"
"I don't know... and I'd rather not dwell on that."
Absolutely fair enough, Twilight hid a grimace as she sat down at the table. There was a lot of faith going into this plan of Zecora's, at least as far as the cloaked pony could tell, so it didn't seem prudent to sit here and try poking holes in that faith. If it didn't work, then they'd deal with it. But that was a bridge Twilight would cross when she came to it, for now, she just needed to try and formulate a plan for dealing with Knox.
"I think we're going to head on out," Twilight explained and offered her saddlebags to Spike. The hint was quickly taken and the dragon soon hid away in the enchanted pouch for the short walk back home.
Fluttershy's ears perked at the statement, hurridly finishing her glass before turning back to respond. "Are you sure? You don't have to leave if you don't want to."
"Not to be rude, Fluttershy, but it's been a very long day. For both of us, I assume, and it isn't even one in the afternoon yet." Twilight took the time to make sure her bags were securely fastened to her robed back, doing her best to adjust her wings without giving away the fact that she had them in the first place. "Besides. I have work in the morning, so I need to figure out what I'm going to do about Knox."
There was a shortlived moment of defiance on the part of the pegasus, but she dropped it before even making the attempt. She couldn't argue with Twilight's reasoning and gave her guest permission to take her leave. There wasn't much that she could have done to stop Twilight, but the sentiment was appreciated if nothing else. There was much to be done today in order for tomorrow to go smoothly, and Twilight wanted to get out of Fluttershy's hair as quickly as possible to do just that. After a quick session of so longs and farewells, Twilight made her way towards the front door and stepped out into the outside world.
Or at least she would have stepped outside if a sudden and unexpected hoove hadn't struck her face the moment she had opened the door.
"Ack! Twilight?!" Pinkie was just about as shocked as Twilight was at the sudden reunion, albeit in less physical pain then the purple pony was at the moment. "I'm so sorry! I was trying to knock on the door, not your face! Honest!"
That didn't stop it from hurting any less, however, something that Twilight was very well aware of. Twilight had taken a few hits in her time, from a few different sources, but nothing ever compared to getting struck in the face by an earth pony. Intentional or not, they were ponies known and famed for their strength. And Pinkie was no exception if that accidental punch was anything to go off of.
"Ugh... it's fine..." Twilight meekly rubbed the newly acquired sore spot on her snout in some effort to soothe the pain. It wouldn't leave a mark or cause any permanent damage, but boy was it sore right now. "Accidents happen."
"But they shouldn't happen, I should be more—! Wait a second..." Pinkie stopped in the middle of her frenzied apology and gave Twilight a skeptical glare. "This isn't your house. I should have punched Fluttershy in the face just now."
"What?!" Fluttershy had chosen a poor time to enter the conversation, understandably upset by the implications of Pinkie's words. She shook like a leaf, her face becoming partially hidden behind her mane from the gesture. "Why am I being punched?!"
"Hypothetically," Pinkie answered with little acknowledgment to the pegasus, instead she continued to stare sternly at Twilight. And when next she spoke, her voice was just as stern. Almost as if she were interrogating the cloaked pony, she leaned in with heavily squinted eyes. "So what're you doing here, anyway? Is something going on?"
"Nothing of significance... just visiting a friend." Twilight found herself a little intimidated by the pink pony. If only because the concept of personal space was becoming less and less relevant with each passing second. She could practically feel the other equine breathing on her, they were so close. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"I guess not... but you never come visit me."
It was Twilight's turn to furrow her brow. "What are you talking about? I see you all the time! We get coffee together on my way to work!"
"Hmm... fair enough," Pinkie swiftly returned Twilight's personal space with a shrug, "Past couple of days have just been weird though. I feel like I've been sidetracked in favor of more important things, ya know?"
"It... has been a busy weekend, I'll give you that." It really had been, looking back. In just three short days: Twilight's entire perspective of her current employer had been changed, she had learned of things that nobody had any reasonable way of learning, and she had gotten herself involved in a tangled mess that still had yet to be unraveled. It was amazing how all of it had happened in just three days, the Friday afternoon when this all started felt like it had been months ago by this point.
"Oh, you too? Yeah, it's been just kind of a 'blah' few days, huh?" Pinkie asked with a cheery giggle, sticking her tongue out with an overdramatic eye-crossed expression alongside the word "blah," before returning to the giddy smile. But that happy look on her face was murdered shortly after by a wide-eyed look of horror. "But we can talk to worry about that later. Fluttershy! We're going to be late!" Twilight looked back to Fluttershy for some insight on Pinkie's slightly-odder-than-usual behavior, only to see that the pegasus was just as confused on the matter.
This got Pinkie to roll her eyes in frustration.
"What day is today?"
"... Sunday?"
Pinkie slowly spun one of her forehooves in a small circular motion, as if prompting Fluttershy to keep going. "Sunday the what?"
"Uhh... I think it's the second?"
"Yes! Today is Sunday, June second," Pinkie almost laughed out before returning to a more serious demeanor, "Now, who sent a letter saying that she'd be back in town on June second? Around now-ish, should the trains allow?"
By this point, Twilight had figured out that these two had prior engagements to attend to today. What that was, she had no way of knowing without being told. And looking at Fluttershy's face revealed that she might have been in the same boat. Her eyes glanced about the room as she tried to remember, lightly chewing upon her bottom lip in frustration about having forgotten something seemingly so important. The few short seconds where Fluttershy took the time to think seemed to drag on forever for a certain pink pony, her impatience growing more and more apparent with each tick and tock on the clock. And then finally the bell was rung, and Fluttershy donned a look of sudden shocking clarity.
"Oh... OH! I completely forgot!! I need to go pick up the cake!" The pegasus skittered about for a moment, not sure about what to do or where to go for a few seconds. It didn't take her long to make a hasty decision, scooping up her own saddlebags and quickly making a B-line for the door. "Harry, feed the chickens!" That was the last thing she said before she brashly rushed out of the house, taking care not to rudely bump into Twilight or Pinkie on her way out. And with a few flaps of her wings, she was gone just like that.
"Okay, good, we're back on track." Where Pinkie had been keeping the clipboard she was suddenly overlooking was a mystery Twilight would never be able to solve. "Still say I should have been the one to take care of the cake, but whatever, it's fine, I'm not even mad. It's not like baking gives me life or anything, so what if my last cake ruined last year's get together? Everyone makes mistakes! I was having a bad week!" She was muttering to herself at this point, with more bitterness and sarcasm than Twilight had ever heard from this pony before. It was almost unsettling, really.
"Wait a second... last year..." Pinkie suddenly looked towards Twilight as if she had achieved true enlightenment. "That was before you showed up in town!"
An astute observation, Twilight sarcastically chimed back in her head. She didn't want to say it out loud, Pinkie seemed upset enough by this cake business, so she kept the comment to herself. Not that she had the time to make it anyway, as it didn't take long for Pinkie to clasp onto the front of the concealing cloak with her teeth, using it as leverage to pull the disguised alicorn forward.
"That means you two haven't met yet! Oh, this is gonna be GREAT!" Pinkie's excited chimes came loud and clear despite her preoccupied teeth, and her tugging only increased in intensity. "You two are gonna LOVE each other, I can tell!"
"Pinkie?! You don't have to pull!" It took a great deal of effort on Twilight's behalf to conjure up just enough magical force to pry open Pinkie's jaw without actually hurting her. A difficult task, but not an impossible one. And as soon as she was free, Twilight took a few steps back to prevent the earth pony from grabbing her again, though no attempt was made. The unusual taste of magic had distracted the earth pony for just enough time, thankfully enough.
"Sorry, sorry... got a little carried away there. My bad." The apology came sincerely enough alongside a pair of downed ears and saddened eyes. Something that Twilight had learned very quickly in her time in this town was that Pinkie sometimes got a bit impulsive when she got excited like this. And the prospect of introducing Twilight to her friends was one that seemed to trigger this impulse quite a bit. "But if you're not too busy, I'd love for you to meet her. You two would hit it off in an instant, I can tell!"
"I don't even know who 'her' is, Pinkie," Twilight calmly explained as she examined her cloak for any damage. Thankfully, pony teeth weren't as damaging as a wolf's, so there wasn't any real tears or anything to be had. Just a few minor wrinkles that'd be smoothed out naturally within the hour.
"Oh, her name's—Wait, no." A stern expression fell upon Pinkie's face, pushing her brow downward as the pony quickly thought things over in her mind. "First impressions are everything to her... she'd be really bummed out if she didn't get to introduce herself. It's what she lives for."
Whoever Pinkie Pie was talking about didn't seem like the most down to earth person based on that description, quite the opposite to be honest. It sounded like the mare in question had quite the ego weighing down on her shoulders. Or, at the very least, a long list of self-esteem issues in regards to what others thought of them. In Twilight's mind, there was a fifty-fifty chance of either one being true. And in the case of the second option, she actually found herself relating to that facet a bit more than she first expected. And this brief thought got the cloaked pony thinking—not a difficult feat—causing her to look back down to said cloak with a melancholy frown. This sturdy patch of fabric had served her well in concealing her true nature for almost as far back as she could remember. But now, all of a sudden, she began to deeply question the purpose of holding onto it.
Sooner or later, it wouldn't be enough to keep her true form a secret. She was an alicorn, after all, and would sooner or later begin to express those traits more and more dominantly. Queen Celestia was, in essence, the template for what Twilight was going to eventually grow into as the years went by. Even Cadence had begun exceeding the average pony's height just a few short years after her ascension. Twilight had been lucky thus far in life, maintaining the standard body type of the common pony. But how long would it really last?
It's inevitable, The words rang in Twilight's head like the gargantuan bells held within the various clocktowers spread around her hometown of Canterlot. Just like... just like...
"Twilight?" Pinkie's voice shattered the labyrinth of thought that Twilight had trapped herself in, causing her to flinch at the sudden acknowledgment. "Are you okay?" Every other emotion Pinkie had displayed thus far in this conversation was gone, replaced only with this frightened look of worry and concern.
As for why that was, Twilight hadn't the slightest idea. She didn't even know how much time had passed since she had let her thoughts run away with her. And her newly cocked brow reflected this feeling justly. "I'm... fine... why wouldn't I be?"
"You're crying."
Shocked, a purple-hued hoof found it's way to Twilight's cheek and quickly pulled back. Sure enough, the smallest traces of moisture were present now. Evidence that tears had begun to trail down the alicorn's face. She had begun crying just out of the blue, all of it linked back to the mere idea of a pony with self-esteem issues.
"I... guess I was just thinking too much," Twilight wiped the trace remnants of tears from her face, "Guess I touched upon a touchy topic. I'm fine."
"I don't think you are," Pinkie droned back in an upset manner, "It's not healthy to bottle everything up. Trust me, it leads to bad things. If you want to talk, I'll listen."
There was absolute sincerity in the way Pinkie was presenting herself and that offer right now, and that struck a chord deep within Twilight. Those had been words she had been longing to hear for six long years, even if she had long since repressed those memories and desires within herself. There was so much that Twilight just wanted to blare out right then and there, if only because those choice words had been used. But now wasn't the time or place for that, and while Pinkie was a trusted friend at this point, Twilight wasn't quite sure if she was ready to just dump all of that upon the pink earth pony. She wasn't even sure if Pinkie would have been able to handle it.
So instead, for now at least, Twilight decided to divert the topic once again of her own volition. There was already so much going on in her life right now, she didn't need to add drama from her past into the mix as well. So a brave front was put up, alongside the happiest smile she could muster.
"I just need to take my mind off of it for a bit, that's all. How about we go to meet that friend of yours? Aren't we going to be late?"
"Hmm..." Pinkie stood there for some time, the same inquisitive look from earlier once more worn on her face, staring deeply into Twilight's eyes as if to parse some hidden meaning from the purple pony's words. But soon this look began to waver as Pinkie began to twitch and shutter. Just as her words had struck a chord with Twilight, so to did Twilight's for the earth pony. "Bah, fine! Let's go!"
Twilight donned a sly grin as Pinkie spun around and began trotting away. She wasn't one-hundred percent on board with another distraction being thrown her way, but it had been the easiest way to get out of this conversation. She magically pulled Fluttershy's door shut as she went to follow Pinkie Pie, but stopped when an accusing forehoof was suddenly being pointed directly at her.
"But so help me, you are going to talk about your problems eventually," Pinkie warned in a stern and almost wrathful tone, "I'm not the best with body language, but just now I could see that you've been bottling something up inside you for a really long time. And I swear on the Queen's Two Hearts—that she may or may not have—that I will help you through it. Even if it kills both of us in a horrendously violent manner. Do I make myself CLEAR?!"
"Uhh... sure." Twilight meekly shrugged back, doing her best to keep her composure in check underneath that unrelenting scowl being aimed at her right now. Just moments ago the offer to listen seemed like a blessing, but now Twilight couldn't get that hopefully unintentional death threat out of her head. The words "horrendously violent" sticking out to her in particular.
Pinkie sharply nodded with a snort before returning to her trademarked happy-go-lucky smile she was known for, turning around and taking off at a brisk yet moderate pace. That mare's talent for almost instantaneously changing her mood was something both astonishing and a bit frightening, so much so that it gave the cloaked alicorn a moment of pause before she hesitantly followed behind. This newfound distraction wasn't exactly a welcome addition to Twilight's schedule for the day, but it was the easiest way to get out of this scenario she had found herself in.
Unfortunately for her, Twilight's house wasn't anywhere near the train station, so the courtesy of dropping off Spike was a no-go. He was stuck on this ride just as much as Twilight was, albeit in a much less direct way. And she made sure to at least give a quick apology back towards Spike when the opportunity presented itself to do so without drawing any attention toward the act, sneaking into a public restroom to do so under the guise of needing to "go." Thankfully, Spike seemed pretty understanding of the whole ordeal Twilight had managed to wrap herself up in. It shouldn't take that long, he suggested, so it'd be fine in his eyes. Or at least that was what he told her, he could have easily been lying about it.
That thought was one that poked and prodded at Twilight's mind as she kept on trailing Pinkie throughout the town. They walked at a reasonable pace that bordered on being just a bit too slow, likely a result of the pink pony taking the time to overlook that clipboard of hers. Now Twilight didn't necessarily want to be the nosey sort, but she couldn't help but ascertain that the document in question was some kind of schedule or plan. Probably. Most of the paper was covered in above-average quality crayon drawings that seemed to depict some kind of get-together between at least five ponies. There were words scribbled onto the parchment, some circled with arrows leading to other words or images, but there was absolutely no way that anyone could call such a thing an agenda. Though on further thought, this was probably something meant for Pinkie's eyes only, made by her in such a way as to maximize the space of the paper.
Or it was just an attempt to make herself look more prepared than she actually was. Also a valid possibility.
But it wasn't really any of her business as to why Pinkie was carrying that around anyway, so she didn't feel the need to ask. Something she found humor and hypocrisy in, seeing as how the purple pony had been sticking her nose in what was most certainly not her business for several days now. But it was different enough in Twilight's mind to justify her actions, at least at the moment. So she pushed it out of her head for the time being, and instead decided to focus on the external rather than the internal. Just to clear her headspace for a moment.
Ponyville was a bit more active than it usually was, ponies rushing about here and there in preparation for something. Streamers and banners of red and gold were being strewn upon buildings and street lamps, creating glittering archways and giving the city a far more festive look than it usually had. A common image that could be seen upon these various decorations was a depiction of a blazing sunrise. Or a sunset, depending on how you looked at it. The exact meaning behind the image was a subjective one, it could either be seen as the beginning of something or the end of another. It was all dependant on one's perspective.
But that particular depiction of the sun was a special one, as were the decorations it was emblazoned upon. An undeniable sign of the Summer Sun Festival that was to come within the month's time. A holiday observed most prominently in Equestria and the Crystal Empire, taking place on the longest day of the year. An all-day event meant to celebrate and welcome the new year that was to come with fun, games, and various other methods of jubilation.
End of the year already, huh? Twilight took the time to appreciate the festive adornments as she kept on walking, finding it hard not to smile at the familiar warm colors associated with the national holiday. It went by pretty quick.
Yet another thought that had to be thrown by the wayside before it could bear any fruit. Today was just looking to be as upsetting as it could be, based on everything that was going on all at once. A frustrating fact that actually made Twilight look forward to meeting this mystery friend of Pinkie's, for at least that would be something new. Pinkie did keep true to her promise though of not divulging any information before the introduction proper, deflecting any and all questions asked of her. All Twilight was able to ascertain was that it was indeed a "she" in question here, a pony who spent the majority of her time out of town because of work. But every year around this time, she came home for anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months at a time. And that was when the group of childhood friends got together for something of a reunion party.
Of course, Twilight didn't need to wait long to figure out who this group of friends was, as it was about then that they had reached the train station. Situated a bit of a distance outside of town, just far enough to reduce the noise pollution from the heavy machines, the station looked to have a fairly busy day ahead of it. Ponies of all types and colors boarding and departing trains, some coming back from simple short trips and others departing for much longer journeys. Further still in the distance was something of a freight yard, where various crates and barrels were being loaded and unloaded from trains in the ever ongoing act of trade and purchase. But that wasn't why Twilight had followed Pinkie Pie here, so she paid it little mind.
"Oh thank goodness, we didn't miss her!" Pinkie blurted out happily as the two came upon their platform. There were other ponies here waiting for the train as well, but two in particular stuck out to Twilight.
Rarity and Applejack were also waiting for this mystery guest to arrive. It didn't take long for them to take notice of Pinkie Pie, beginning to greet and catch up with one another in the beautifully casual way that only friends can. Twilight didn't pay much mind to the small talk though, finding herself just a little unsettled by Rarity's presence. Not in that she was a bad person, but after everything she had learned, it seemed a bit odd to see her again. The snow-colored unicorn had been the victim of something truly horrendous from what had been learned over this weekend, and she couldn't even remember it happening. It was kind of unsettling, really. But Twilight did her best to try and ignore this for the time being. It didn't seem to bother Applejack any, and even though she wasn't here at the moment Fluttershy would likely be showing up too.
"Hey there."
The sudden whisper from very close by actually managed to make Twilight flinch. Not enough to grab Pinkie's or Rarity's attention, but it was enough to earn her a stern "shh" from whoever had just adressed her. That person turned out to be Applejack, her face dressed with the same worried look from the last time the two had last met.
"Sorry 'bout that... didn't mean to scare you," Applejack apologized in a hushed tone, taking a short glimpse over to Pinkie and Rarity to make sure they weren't listening in on them. "And... sorry for bugging you about this again... but have you—?"
"Yes." The question didn't need to be finished for Twilight to know what was going to be asked. "I'm making progress. I haven't done anything yet, but I have an idea of what I've gotten myself into."
"Should I be worried about it? Because I am..."
"I'm not sure... based on Fluttershy's story, he only seems to act if someone goes to the third—"
"Fluttershy?! She's in on all this?!" The hissed whisper was almost loud enough to attract some unwanted attention, and Applejack noticed that quick enough to settle back down before it did.
"She... saw some things. Didn't get the memory charm..." Twilight explained drearily, remembering all too clearly how Fluttershy reacted to her own story earlier this day. "I got her to talk about it earlier, and I got what I needed... so please do not make her do that again."
"What did she say?"
The answer to that question would never come, as soon the blaring of the whistle and rumbling of the heavy metal construct rolling along the tracks was all that could be heard. It was enough to bring Applejack back to the here and now, redacting her question as politely as she could before trotting off to stand with Pinkie and Rarity. It seems that the mystery guest was soon to arrive, and the three friends were getting ready to greet her. Applejack, in particular, could be seen fidgeting with her mane and hat in an attempt to make herself look a bit more presentable.
The train rolled into the station just as normally as any other would, slowing to a halt with a grinding whirl. It stood there for a few short moments, all in attendance watching with wide eyes and silenced mouths, only just barely able to contain their excitement as the doors slid open with a sharp steamy hiss. And "steamy" was not an exaggeration, as a large cloud of steam was kicked up by the act of the doorway opening. The small crowd, Twilight included, all took a few steps back from this, either to avoid the steam or to allow the passengers to depart. But only one figure stepped forward through the mist.
The first thing Twilight noticed was the outfit they were wearing, still partially obscured by the sudden burst of steam. A sharp blue jumpsuit decorated with a series of yellow lightning bolts, the most prominent being the symmetrical jagged streak worn prominently down the chest. The uniform of Equestria's Wonderbolts, she quickly realized. A faction of Equestria's military that, at some point, had also become something of a sports team of sorts, performing at any number of public events and whatnot in addition to their duties to Queen and Country.
The prestigious uniform was currently being worn underneath a well-worn aviator jacket and a set of weighty-looking saddlebags, evidence enough that the athlete had been released for some vacation time of sorts. But none of that mattered to Twilight as the rest of the steam began to clear away, and the pegasi's face finally came into view. A cyan coated mare, roughly within Twilight's age range, decorated by a cocky smile and a dark set of older-style sunglasses. But that wasn't that out of the ordinary, ponies came in all sorts of shapes and colors. What really caught the cloaked alicorn's attention was the Wonderbolt's mane.
Only looking at the length and cut? It wasn't anything special. A bit ragged and messy, but intentionally so. It was just a haircut, nothing too special about it. But that didn't really didn't matter to Twilight right now. No, she was far more preoccupied with the color of the mane. Or colors, to be more specific. Seeing a pony with one or two colors in their mane wasn't anything special, and seeing three was a bit rarer but still a relatively normal sight. But seeing all seven colors of the rainbow? Evenly distributed throughout the head of hair? That was a very rare trait indeed, and the number of ponies in Equestria who had this trait could only be in the single-digit numbers. And there was only one pony in the world that Twilight knew with this extremely rare genetic trait. And, just her luck, this pony just so happened to be that very same one.
There was no denying that fact, it was her.
Of all the ponies in the whole world, it had to be this one in particular that had to be the one to show up today. The sudden and bittersweet reunion was made more so with the realization that Twilight had only just moments ago decided not to let drama from her past interfere with her present. Yet it seemed destiny was determined to make her time in Ponyville ever more trying than it already had been, a thought that was only reinforced as the other three ponies quickly welcomed the mare Twilight never once thought she'd cross paths with again.
"Welcome home, Rainbow Dash!"
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REALLY good job on the latest chapter. Love the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. I particularly liked Fluttershy feeling bad about how Twilight ONLY SLIGHTLY overworked herself on that woodwork for Zecora as well as Pinkie catching Twilight in thought concerning the events of the past few days and how excited Pinkie and the others got concerning Rainbow Dash's return.
REALLY going to be looking forward to more of this (particularly because this will be the first time in THIS universe where the entire Mane Six will all be in one place at the same time.
So either Rainbow Dash or Trixie. Obviously its gonna be the former, seeing she's the last of the six yet to be introduced...but part of me almost wants it to be Trixie now, if only because Trixie.
Y'know, I'm sure that'd help pay for their various military bills, putting on performances for the public as a sort of fundraiser. Kind of makes economic sense now that I think about it...too bad some of our own real-world militaries can't really do that themselves.
All things considered, I'm not especially surprised that Twilight and Rainbow have already crossed paths before now. Given the set up and their respective backgrounds in this tale, it does sort of seem like an inevitable outcome.
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You know, I didn't even think of them using performances for raising money so they can do things. I like that. I'm
stealingincorparating that idea.Huh. Y'know I thought it'd be Trixie up until Rainbow stepped out of the train. Also thought it might be Sunset for a bit, what with the appropriately colored streamers and such. Rainbow makes sense, though. I actually kinda forgot she hadn't shown up yet. Now, what kind of history do she and Twilight share in this universe....
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Tune in next time. It'll be brought up.
So Rainbow is already a Wonderbolt in this universe and she knows Twilight. The question, where does she know Twi from? In cannon Rainbow taught Twilight to fly, if it's the same here Rainbow knows Twilight is an Alicorn. If she knows can she could start to pressure Twilight to tell the girls a "If your going to be friends with my friends you tell them the truth!" Sort of thing.
Now you're just teasing us
Damn cliff hangers... Loved it and can't wait to see how this goes.
Why didn't RD fly back to Ponyville?
10099148
Since this isn't the biggest of details, I don't mind spoiling it.
Because she's on vacation. And it's legally written in her contract that her vacation doesn't start until she gets to her home, which is in Ponyville. She's gaming the system.
Excellent use of fourth-wall breakage (or at least nudging) in this chapter. Especially since, as Twilight pointed out, they had already walked deep into the Everfree, spent several hours helping Zecora, recalling Fluttershy's trauma, and then walked out of the Everfree all before one in the afternoon. (It's magic, don't question it 😉)
But seriously, I like this chapter. The nuances and thoughts in Twilight's head, even the little ones that don't really go anywhere, show her personality and how she thinks just the same way many other ponies do, even with all the pressures and unique circumstances put upon her.
Heh, I remember back when you first mentioned Twilight's flight instructor and how she just pushed Twilight off a cloud to get her to fly and I thought "my bits are on Rainbow Dash". So now the question is will Rainbow act all secrective when she realizes Twilight's there, or will she nearly give Twilight's status away by bowing or saluting or saying "ma'am" or something? (Hey, she may kick Twilight off clouds to give falling...err...flying lessons, but, being a Wonderbolt, she's a stickler for protocol and the rules.)
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Ah, so glad someone put that little hit from earlier together with this. Twilight knowing Rainbow ahead of time was planned from very early on, and I'm so happy to have finally gotten her here. I wanted to do this much sooner, but it just made sense to do some other things first. With what I have planned, this is the point where things are really going to accelerate.
Ah this is the start of the possible hinting of Applejack's affection for RD, eh?
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Look, man, I have to acknowledge that thing the show made canonical in the very last episode. It's the law.
Also, thanks for continuing to point out my silly mistakes, it's appreciated. :D