The Other End Of the Rainbow

by ShowShine

Flight

Rainbow Blitz flew through the sky, the air flowing under his wings. He felt weightless, loop-de-looping through the open sky. In his teeth, he held a package of plastic cups.

He looked down, seeing his friends sitting on a picnic blanket. Well, all except for Rarity, who lay on a fainting couch. Rainbow began to descend, now hovering above his friends.

“Hey, guys. I brought the cups.” Rainbow greeted, tossing the pack of cups onto the picnic blanket. The conversation screeched to a halt.

“Woah! Your voice is so deep!” Pinkie Pie marveled in awe.

“Really?” Rainbow asked, rubbing his throat. Was it really getting deeper? He hadn’t noticed. Fluttershy nodded her head.

“Your voice is soothing. It reminds me of my bear friends.” She complimented. Rainbow’s face turned red, and he bashfully rubbed his neck. He didn’t know why, but his voice getting deeper excited him. It really showed off his manliness. It showed that he was tough.

Rainbow sat next to Applejack, stretching his legs. Man, did his body ache. He wasn’t sure why; he hadn’t been doing much lately. Rarity observed the plastic cups, twisting and turning them with her magic.

“When I asked you to bring cups, I meant something fancy. Fancy as in fine china or porcelain; Not…this.” Rarity spat out. Rainbow shrugged

“Well, I wasn’t going to spend all my money on cups.” Rainbow snorted. Rarity rolled her eyes, turning her chin up.

“It’s no matter. I brought my own.” She dragged the basket over, flipping it open. She pulled out a tea set that was way too fancy for a picnic. Rainbow Blitz stuck his tongue out, scrunching his face in disgust. If she had packed, that meant it was all gross fancy food. Those foods didn’t taste like anything.

Applejack nudged Rainbow, catching his attention. She slid over a delicious-looking sandwich.

“I got ya, sugarcube.” She whispered with a sly wink. Rainbow shoved the sandwich into his mouth, happily munching on it. Rainbow wistfully sighed, leaning onto Applejack's shoulder.

He relaxed, looking at the scenery. Rainbow Blitz had to admit, today was beautiful. The sky was clear, and the sun beamed on him.

A tug came from his wing, snapping Rainbow out of his daze. He turned around to see Twilight. She held a magnifying glass up to his wing, inspecting it closely.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, tugging his wing back. Twilight jerked away, and she chuckled bashfully.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.” She quickly apologized. Twilight leaned in again, staring at Rainbow’s wings. “I just noticed that your wings have gotten bigger!” She pointed out. Rainbow flexed his wing, staring at it. Has it gotten bigger? He hadn’t noticed. Twilight scooted a little closer.

“Can I run some tests on you?” Twilight asked excitedly. Rainbow shot her a perplexed look.

“Ugh, a test? That sounds boring.” Rainbow rolled his eyes. Twilight playfully blew a raspberry.

“It’s not that type of test. It’s just some physical check-ups. You’re the only pony I know who’s grown so much in a short span. Well, other than myself, of course.” Twilight explained.

Rainbow thought for a moment. Nothing was stopping him. He shrugged.

“Yeah, sure.”

---

“I’m glad you agreed to this. I’ve been meaning to update your book for months.” Twilight happily clapped her hooves. Rainbow arched an eyebrow.

“You have a book on me?” He asked. Twilight happily nodded her head.

“Mhm! I have books for all my friends! been documenting all my friends for years!” Twilight gleefully explained. Rainbow Blitz cocked his head and squinted.

“Why?”

Twilight whipped around, staring at Rainbow with wide eyes.

“Why? What if there’s a medical emergency? The doctors need to know everything!” Twilight exclaimed. Rainbow waved his hoof, rolling his eyes.

“Alright, alright, I get it.” He rolled his eyes. He forgot how erratic Twilight could be.

“Now, let’s start with physical differences.” Twilight started. She lifted Rainbow’s head, inspecting his chin.

“I see that you’re growing a beard.” She pointed out, jotting that down. Rainbow rubbed his underdeveloped beard. Even though it wasn’t much, he was happy with it. “Your voice got deeper too.” She added on.

Twilight circled Rainbow Blitz, inspecting him closely. He looked bulkier than the last time she saw him. His stature reminded her of Big Mac.

“You’ve grown a lot since I last saw you. Does that cause any pain?”

“Yeah, I’ve been real sore lately. It’s been making it harder to fly.” He admitted. Twilight hummed, writing that down.

“I went through the same thing. It’ll fade out soon.” She reassured. Twilight looked up at Rainbow, flicking his hair from his eyes.

“Are you taller than me?” Twilight asked in disbelief. Rainbow shrugged.

“Stand over there; I want to check your height,” Twilight instructed, pointing across the room. She pulled out a tape measurer, pulling it above Rainbow’s head. She hummed, marking Rainbow’s height. She quickly looked back at the journal.

“It looks like you grew five inches!” Twilight proclaimed in surprise.

“If I keep growing at this rate, I’ll be taller than Celestia.” Rainbow joked. Twilight playfully rolled her eyes, unfurling Rainbow’s wings. She ruffled his feathers, running her hooves through them.

Twilight ran her hooves across his body, poking and prodding at his legs. She squeezed his forelegs before quickly writing something down. This was starting to feel like a doctor's appointment.

Rainbow took a peek into the journal. He noticed the words ‘muscle mass’ and ‘bigger’ thrown around a lot. He flexed, staring at his new-found muscles. He had always had muscles, but growing must have made them bigger.

As Twilight continued her work, Rainbow shuffled uncomfortably. He was sick of standing around; he wanted to fly. Rainbow always hated being in one place for so long. It made him feel like he was trapped.

Twilight eyed Rainbow’s sudden twitchy and irritable movements. She sighed, taking a step back.

“I did want to ask you some questions next…” Twilight starting, magicking up a stopwatch. “But I think you’ll appreciate a little race.”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up, and he shot up from the ground. That was more like it.

“I want to test your speed. It says here that your record around the castle is 20.14 seconds. Do you think you could beat that?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Blitz scoffed, crossing his arms.

“Of course, I can. I’m the fastest pegasus in Equestria!” He boasted. Twilight opened both sets of doors, a draft blowing in. She pointed to the door in front of her.

“I want you to fly around the castle. Go through that door,” Twilight jutted her hoof to the door behind her. “And the finish line is that door.”

Rainbow eagerly nodded, nearly excitedly jumping out of his skin. Twilight held up her hoof, holding the stopwatch up to her face.

“Go!”

With that, Rainbow Blitz took off. He pumped his wings, zipping down the crystal hallways. The wind blew through his short mane. Rainbow took a sharp turn, barely grazing a wall. He could see the throne room doors several feet away.

Rainbow Blitz opened his wings wider, letting the wind catch under them. He skidded to a halt, his hooves hitting the crystalized ground. He slid across the floor, panting heavily.

“How was that?!” He asked excitedly. Twilight squinted at the stopwatch.

“9.40 seconds; That’s a new record!” Twilight gasped in disbelief. Rainbow Blitz happily pumped his hoof. He did it in nine seconds flat!

“Man, that was easy. I didn’t even try.” Rainbow boasted. Twilight pointed at his wings.

“It’s because of your increased wing span.” She pointed out. “If you want, we can test your speed a bit more.”

Rainbow hopped up, desperately nodding his head. He couldn’t stand sitting around in a stuffy castle for dumb tests.

“Let’s do it!”