Chapter Text
Penny stepped closer to the window of the ferris wheel car.
It was night, fairly late at night—outside of the festival, this would be past curfew—but it was not dark at all.
The festival grounds, on the edge of Beacon Academy's campus, awash in light. Beacon itself, illuminated. Where it wasn't a window, it was a spotlight shining on the length of the tower itself.
She turned her head to the side, and looked down. Beneath the cliff was the city of Vale. City lights, streetlights, highways—skyscrapers and their lights.
Above that, airships and planes and bullheads. Amity. All a buzz of activity, flashing warning lights in the night.
"Something wrong?" friend Ruby asked.
Penny tilted her head. She looked up above even the airships.
The starlight was dimmed by light pollution, but adjusting her eyes allowed her to capture it still.
"No," Penny answered.
Friend Ruby walked to her side and pressed her face against the window. "It is pretty…" she said. "It's what we're fighting for."
"This is Vale," Penny said. "I fight for Atlas and Mantle."
Friend Ruby giggled. "Right. Dummy. I meant… cities in general, not just this one."
Ah. Penny smiled. "Mankind."
"Civilization," friend Ruby shrugged.
There was a clunk, another clunk, and then a deep crunch. The ferris wheel had ceased its rotation.
"What was that," friend Ruby said, although it was not phrased as a question.
"I believe that this ride has experienced a malfunction," Penny said.
Ruby's eyes jolted wide-open. In a brief flutter of petals, she traveled from one end of the car to the other, again pressing her face on the window. Looking down, at the crew of people on the ground working the wheel. "Uh oh…"
Penny joined her, looking down at the crew.
The worker who had taken their tickets and let them on was now talking hastily with what seemed to be a supervisor.
In the center of the car, on the ceiling, the green status light had gone off. It was replaced by a slowly flickering red light, helpfully labelled 'malfunction.'
"We are not in any danger," Penny said. She pointed at the emergency exit lever on the roof of the car. "We can climb or jump down."
"Well—" friend Ruby said. She sighed. "Yeah…"
"You sound disappointed," Penny said. "This means that we can stay up here and watch the city—"
"For as long as we want," friend Ruby cut her off. She leaned away from that window, and turned again to face the cityscape of Vale. Every now and then, though, her eyes flicked to the exit lever every now and again.
"Or until the ride resumes normal functions," Penny said.
Friend Ruby looked back at her with a giant frown.