Ponywatching

by ThunderTempest

Prompt #512: Up Above The Clouds

“I wanna show you something,” Rainbow Dash had said when she’d shaken Rarity awake in the early hours of the morning. Rarity had grumbled about missing out on her beauty sleep, but had complied. Rainbow Dash was rarely up before ten in the morning, so for her to be waking Rarity up before the sun was even in the sky had to be important to her. With long practiced motions, it was the work of a moment for Rarity to apply her usual layer of makeup and quickly recurl her mane and tail.

She exited the Boutique a few moments later to be met by Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle.

“Okay Twi. Do it.”

Twilight nodded, and turned to face Rarity.

“This will tingle a little bit, Rarity. Just hold still.” With that, Twilight’s horn lit up, and a wave of magic washed over Rarity. Pins and needles flooded her body for a moment, and then faded away as Twilight’s spell completed itself. Rainbow Dash nodded her thanks to Twilight, and then landed in a crouch beside Rarity as Twilight trotted away, and probably back to bed.

“Well, aren’t you going to hop on?” asked Rainbow. Rarity stepped over Rainbow’s crouched form, wrapping her forelegs around Rainbow’s neck, and keeping her hind legs below Rainbow’s wings. Once she was sure that Rarity had a good grip, Rainbow’s wings flared out to the side, and she launched herself straight up.

Rarity found herself pressed against Rainbow’s back with the sudden acceleration. Underneath her chest, she could feel the powerful muscles pumping Rainbow’s wings as the two ponies soared skywards. Below her, Ponyville was rapidly becoming little more than a small dot. Rarity watched as Rainbow powered straight past Cloudsdale’s level, still going straight up. There were a few more pegasi-only cities higher than Cloudsdale, but Rainbow never levelled off her ascent, continuing straight up.

It was only once Rainbow blew through the thin layer of wild cloud up above all the normal weather that Rarity began to worry. The last time that Rainbow had attempted to take her this high, she’d had to stop before Rarity ran out of oxygen, and well before they hit said clouds. That was probably what Twilight’s spell had been-something that would allow Rarity to keep breathing at higher altitudes, along with something to help Rarity resist the cold.

And speaking of the cold, Rarity could feel little bits of ice forming on her, and see some forming on Rainbow as well. She tapped Rainbow’s chest.

“Just shake a little, Rarity. That’ll get rid of the ice. Not long now,” said Rainbow, her sentences short and clipped. Clearly she had to concentrate on her own breathing this high as well. Rarity gave a full-body shiver, and felt the ice fall off her.

Eventually, Rainbow’s flight path levelled off and into a horizontal path, and Rarity chanced a look down. Below her, she could see most of Equestria laid out.

“Rainbow,” began Rarity, struggling for breath even with Twilight’s spell, “While I do appreciate this I...”

Rarity trailed off as Rainbow Dash pointed one hoof out, and looked in that direction. And there, she saw the Sun rising. Rarity could see the land below her gradually begin to get lighter, the light from Celestia’s sun spreading across the land. It was a whole new way of looking at the world, and it took Rarity’s breath away.

And then Rainbow Dash tapped both of Rarity’s forelegs twice at the same time. It was one of a few common signals that Rarity and Rainbow had worked out for when they went flying together. Two taps like that meant descent. More specifically, ‘hold on tight we’re going to go really fast straight down’, so Rarity tightened her hold on Rainbow Dash as Rainbow banked over and angled her nose straight down.

******

Minutes later, Rainbow Dash swooped into a gentle landing just outside Carousel Boutique, and allowed Rarity to climb off her back. For a moment, Rarity simply stood there, trying to engrave every single thing that she had seen permanently into her memory.

Then she grabbed Rainbow Dash and pulled her into an almost savagely passionate kiss.

Author's Note:

Written for Prompt #512: "Shining, Shimmering, Splendid"

The prompt: