Grace in The Sky
Summer has returned to Equestria, bathing the world in warmth and life, and marking almost an entire year since Twilight Sparkle awoke with amnesia. While there are still doubts whispering in the back of her mind, and while she still has many questions that remain unanswered, such concerns have done little to quell her anticipation for a season of renewal and vibrancy.
On one particularly sunny day, on a grassy hill outside of Ponyville, her friends gather together at Rainbow Dash’s behest. There is something the alicorn and pegasus wish to show them…
“That everypony?” Rainbow asked from the air, quickly surveying the assembled mass of ponies. Twilight was on the ground below her, eyeing the group as well. As far as she could tell, everypony was present, coming together in one large group.
“Yup, everypony’s right here!” Pinkie Pie confirmed, quickly doing a headcount and pointing each pony out as she went. “We’ve got me, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight, and you!”
Fluttershy came closer before falling to her haunches and sliding off the saddlebags she had been carrying. At the same time, Applejack came up to her side and set down a picnic basket she had hanging in her jaw. “Ah hope y’all don’t mind, but Ah just thought Ah’d bring some lunch in case we’d be here fer a while. Ah brought some for everypony,” the farmer explained once her mouth was free.
“Thank you, Applejack, I was feeling rather peckish,” Rarity said with a grateful nod.
“Sweet,” Rainbow grinned before swooping down and alighting by Twilight’s side. “Good thinking with the picnic stuff, we want you all to be comfortable!”
“Why did ya call us all out here, by the way?” Applejack asked while idly helping Fluttershy lay out a blue blanket from her saddlebags. “Ah’m glad to spend time with y’all, but when Spike came runnin’ by to talk to us, he said y’all wanted to show us somethin’.”
“Is it a cool new flying trick?!” Pinkie asked with a cute little hop. “Or a new pose?! Ooh, ooh! Is it a flying trick and then a cool pose?!”
Twilight giggled at Pinkie’s antics. “You’re not far off, Pinkie Pie,” she said before glancing at Rainbow. “Do you want the honors?”
Rainbow grinned. “You bet!” she declared. She thumped a hoof onto her chest before puffing it out and standing tall. “Alright, girls! And Spike.”
The dragon waved.
Rainbow grinned and went back to her announcement. “Twilight and I called you all here to put on a private, for-your-eyes-only aerial display of awesomeness!”
Pinkie Pie gasped. “So it is a flying trick! Or a lot of them! I knew it!”
Rarity tilted her head. “Twilight’s flying has gotten that good?” she asked in pleased surprise. “That’s wonderful! But just to be safe, are you sure you’re ready for something like that, Twilight?”
Twilight nodded with a confident smile. “Oh, yeah. I’m not anywhere near Dash’s level, but I’ve had almost a year to get the hang of it, and Rainbow is a brutal but effective teacher. I can hold my own.”
Rainbow idly rubbed a hoof on her chest, a smug smile on her face. “Brutal and effective, eh? Gonna hafta remember that.”
“I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully, both of you!” Fluttershy cheered to them, clapping her hooves together over her chest in anticipation. “Ooh, I can hardly wait.”
“You and me both, sister,” Pinkie chirped, bouncing to Fluttershy’s side and sitting down next to her. She reached into her mane and pulled out a bag of freshly popped popcorn. “Go on, Dashie and Twily! WOW US! WOOHOO!”
Twilight puffed up, unable to keep the grin from appearing on her muzzle. The enthusiasm and excitement of her friends was contagious. She turned to face Rainbow with a sharp, confident nod. “Well, you heard her. We need to wow them!” she stated emphatically. She unfurled her wings and gave them a hard flap for emphasis.
Rainbow mirrored Twilight’s cocky look. “That’s only what I do best!” she stated before lifting back into the air, the alicorn following closely behind her.
Once they were a dozen feet or so above the assembled friends, Rainbow waved down at them. “Hold onto your horseshoes! This is gonna be epic!” she called before turning to Twilight and asking in a much lower voice. “You ready?”
Twilight nodded. “I am now. Let’s do it.”
Rainbow’s grin returned, and without another word, the performance began. The pegasus took the lead, sailing high into the sky in a graceful arc. She slowly doubled over backward until she was upside down, where she allowed gravity to pull her to the ground. Twilight watched her from below, concentrating intently.
“Wait for it…”
Rainbow’s wings snapped wide open, catching the air and bringing her arcing straight at her partner.
“Now!”
With a graceful flourish and spin of her own, Twilight flew right by Rainbow Dash, both of them rising back into the air and flying circles around one another in an elegant corkscrew dance. Each spiral brought them closer and closer together until they were practically touching.
Rainbow took the lead, breaking away from Twilight and rising above her, her wings fanned out in a dramatic pose. Twilight, meanwhile, spun around and entered a nose-dive for the ground, folding her wings back to reduce her resistance to the wind. As she fell, she saw the awestruck faces of her friends down below, and her rapidly beating heart warmed up.
At the same time, Rainbow began to fly in circles around her as she fell, leaving a colorful trail in her wake and gaining speed with each revolution. “Now!” Rainbow whispered to her before giving one more, far heavier flap of her wings.
Twilight immediately pivoted in the air and spread out her wings, just in time for a blinding flash of light and deafening boom to sound from behind her. An intense surge of wind blasted against her back and into her wings, allowing her to rocket herself away from the newborn sonic rainboom at speeds she could never attain on her own.
She allowed the momentum to carry her up and away from the expanding ring of light before outstretching her wings and entering into a steady glide. Opposite her, Rainbow was doing the same. The two circled each other as they descended back to earth; once, twice, three times, before finally touching down on their hooves a couple of feet away from each other and their friends.
They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment, panting from exertion. Both of them were smiling happily, a flood of satisfaction washing through their veins. In Twilight’s mind, she gave silent thanks that they had succeeded. If something had gone wrong in all of that, her on-again, off-again relationship with the dirt would have become much, much more intimate than she was prepared to commit to.
“Oh. My. GOSH!” Pinkie Pie squealed from the side. Twilight and Rainbow turned to look, seeing her hopping up and down in abject delight. “THAT WAS AMAZING, YOU GUYS! HOLY COW!”
“Yeah, Ah’ll say,” Applejack added with an impressed nod and tip of her hat. “Y’all weren’t foolin’ around when ya said Twi’s gotten better at flyin’.”
“Such grace,” Rarity proclaimed with an exaggerated swoon. “Such majesty! It almost brings a tear to the eye.”
Twilight blushed and looked away, a sheepish smile replacing her relieved one. “Oh, uh, I-I dunno about that,” she dismissed with a wave of her hoof. “We had to make it short just so I wouldn’t get exhausted and fall out halfway through.”
Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “That’s fine. It may have been a short display, but it was still beautiful to watch.”
Spike gave the duo a thumbs up, his face lit up with a cheeky little grin. However, when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out except for a truly impressive belch, and a swelling surge of green flames.
Fluttershy ducked back with a squeak.
“A letter?” Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow, turning to the swirling flames.
They gathered together in one place above Spike before, with a magical sparkle and a loud pop, a scroll with the royal seal came into existence. It hovered in place for a second before falling into Spike’s waiting claws. “Huh… it’s from Celestia,” he mused before unrolling it and starting to read off the contents.
“My Dearest Rainbow Dash,
As you know, it has been some time since I came to see you and your friends in Ponyville. Alas, tying up the vestigial matters in Canterlot in the wake of the Changeling invasion has left my hooves tied far more than usual. But, thankfully, those matters that demanded my attention are now resolved, and I can come to see you and your friends.
I will not take long, as I sent this letter as I was getting onto the chariot. However, I feel I should warn you, I am bringing along an important guest. One who you may not be thrilled to see. I ask that you brace yourself and hear me out when I arrive. I would not bring him along without a good reason.
Rest assured, this guest will not be intruding on any time we spend together as a family.
I look forward to seeing you soon, my daughter.
Love,
Princess Celestia.”
Twilight blinked, her mind latching onto one specific part of the note. “A… special guest?” she asked, glancing at the others for an explanation.
“And one Rainbow won’t want to see?” Rarity added, glancing at the pegasus. “Darling, have you any idea who your mother is talking about?”
Rainbow shrugged her shoulders. “Dunno. The only pony I can think of off the top of my head is Blueblood, but mom doesn’t like him any more than I do.”
“So not at all, then,” Spike pointed out in a deadpan.
Rainbow pointed at Spike. “Right, so I doubt she’s bringing him along. Besides, he’s about as important as a stray leaf. So… maybe his dad, Highblood?”
“Highblood… didn’t he retire a couple of years ago?” Rarity asked, tapping a hoof to her chin. “He is getting older, as I understand it.”
“I mean, yeah, but he’s still in charge of his house and has some influence he can throw around,” Rainbow countered before shaking her head. “Thing is, I like Highblood, so why would I not be thrilled to see him? The old guy’s cool.”
Twilight hummed in thought before turning to look at Canterlot in the distance. As she did, she caught sight of two small specks, slowly drawing closer. As they grew larger in her vision, she was soon able to discern that they were royal chariots. On one, Celestia was seated. However, resting in the other one was a tall statue. They were too far away for her to make out any clear details yet, though.
“Well, she’s about here, so you can ask her,” she stated, pointing at the approaching royal with a hoof. “Looks like she’s got a statue.”
“A statue?” Spike echoed, glancing up to where she had pointed. “Why is she bringing a statue?”
“Maybe it’s something the mayor ordered?” Rarity ventured thoughtfully.
“Or maybe it’s Discord,” Pinkie Pie suggested with a shrug. “That’d be weird of her to do, though.”
Twilight paused, searching her memory for anything about this ‘Discord’ person. To her disappointment, she soon found that all she had to go off of was a passing mention from Rainbow Dash during their time in Canterlot for Hearth’s Warming six months ago. “Who's Discord?” she asked, looking between all of her friends in curiosity.
“...Him,” Rainbow’s voice cut through any other replies like a red-hot knife through molten butter. A deathly silence fell over the group, all eyes turning to the pegasus. Her eyes were glued onto the approaching chariots. More specifically, onto the statue. There was a hollow look on her face, her ears low and her eyes wide. “...That’s Discord,” she reiterated with a stiff nod.
“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked quietly, her eyes going wide at the sight.
Rainbow didn’t respond to the question. She took a few rigid steps forwards as the chariots began their descent for the ground. As they approached, her eyebrows angled and narrowed into an intense glare, her pupils dilated, and her lips peeled back into a vicious snarl. “Why? Why is she bringing that thing here?” she seethed under her breath.
Twilight shuddered, a chill going through her veins, and she involuntarily took a few steps away from Rainbow. She had never heard Rainbow speak with such hatred before. She glanced up at the chariots just as they touched down, her gaze going past the worried face of Celestia and locking onto the statue of Discord.
His body was long, ending with a white-plumed snake tail. Each of his limbs was different; a pony leg, a lizard leg, a lion’s paw, and an eagle’s talons. His head was vaguely shaped like that of an elderly pony, with a small, wispy beard poking out of the bottom of his chin. He had a deer horn and a goat horn protruding from his forehead while poking out from his back was a bird wing and a batwing.
She was snapped from her examination of the odd creature when Rainbow stomped towards Celestia, her wings slightly unfurled. The alicorn looked back down at her for a moment before looking away, an uncomfortable look on her muzzle. “Rainbow Dash…” she greeted quietly.
“Mom…” Rainbow answered coldly before turning her spiteful look towards the statue. “So… is this your ‘guest?”
“Yes, he is.”
Rainbow was quiet for several seconds, then took a deep breath, slowly relaxing. She then looked up at Celestia again, making eye contact.
“Why?”
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Adapting "Keep Calm and Flutter On"? Or something a little different? Gotta say, I really wasn't expecting Discord to show up in this story. In the show, releasing him was dicey, but Celestia's letter didn't make it sound like that was the plan. But then why else would she bring him...?
9798581
In a sense...
Uh oh....
Ohh my. No memory Twilight and... ohh boy.
9799243
Watch as Discord somehow manages to undo Twilight’s amnesia by accident.
Why do I feel that amnesiac Twilight is doing more aerial learning and acrobatic doing than a non-amnesiac Twilight would have done?
*Equus
...nnnNNNNNNNUUUUUURRRRGGH.
Celestia, you KNOW how Dash is going to react. This is such a stupid move.
Welp, I'm in for the long run, aren't I? Also, out of curiosity, are Twilight and Dash gonna get together?
I mean, I know they will, I just want to hear the author say it.
9802596
They might.
They might not.
9801761
Yes, she does know how Dash is going to react. That's why she didn't just drop him in and say, "Yeah, so, I want you to rehabilitate him or something. You'll figure it out. Peace, witches!" She's going to explain what she wants, explain her reasoning, and then give Dash a chance to say "No" with no consequences or strings attached. That's how this Celestia has always operated.
9803361
Considering what he did to Dash and how that affected her this is a very bad idea. Celestia needs a hit the the back to the head and counseling.
9803496
Considering what he did to Dash and how it affected her, this needs to be considered.
Nobody moves beyond trauma they experience by hiding from it and pretending it didn't happen. Nobody. You move beyond trauma by acknowledging and confronting it. I don't think that is the reason Discord is there, but if Dash doesn't ever look at him again, statue or not, she will never move beyond what happened to her.
9803557
Or makes it worse.
9803810
Growth is impossible without risk.
9803842
Considering the issue with Twi might timing alone is bad
Well, you look at that, Discord is back, originally his reformation was a part of the tests of Celestia for Twilight (I think? Although it involved more Fluttershy in the matter), but in this case it involves Rainbow more than anyone, with all that happen before, besides Twilight doesn't even know him that much. I want to see what happens next
OK why is nobody talking about the fact that Twilight can now do a sonic rainboom???!!!
10293290
I don’t think it was Twilight that did it, I think she caught the momentum from Rainbow
10389008
This guy gets it.