//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: The Fall // Story: Iota Force Issue #3: The Treachery of Images // by The Iguana Man //------------------------------// Icy trotted out of the schoolhouse at the end of the day, head down, pondering as hard as she could ponder. She'd made absolutely zero progress on the riddle so far that day. Admittedly, that was partially because she'd given it very little thought, since the lessons that day had been really interesting. They'd been talking about the weather, how it worked and what it did. They'd learned about some of the basics of managing the weather and why the Pegasi needed to make seemingly less desirable weathers rather than just leaving it sunny all the time - something Icy was particularly thankful for, given her fraught relationship with the huge, royally controlled ball of burning plasma in question. They'd also discussed some of the more extreme kinds of weather in the world, from the blizzards of the north to the powerful desert winds of Saddle Arabia to simply the rainstorm that was scheduled for that Saturday. All of the class had been interested, though for the most part, more about the extreme weather stuff – no matter how devastating they were told a hurricane was, the idea of a spinning wind so huge it could pick a house off the ground and toss it like a paper aeroplane held a certain appeal to small children. However, though Icy felt that awe as well, she was also interested in the day-to-day aspects of the weather. Particularly since, with her abilities, weather work might be a viable career option when she grew up. Assuming she could improve her flying, of course. She wasn't sure that was what she wanted to do with her life. In fact, she honestly had no idea at all what she wanted to be when she grew up. But she didn't let it get her down – she figured she should at least wait until her cutie mark showed up before she started worrying about that. For the moment, best to focus on the here and now. In the long term, that meant simply enjoying being a kid (something she was exceptionally good at) and in the short term, that meant figuring out the riddle. Unfortunately, the interesting day was only part of the reason she was stumped. The other part was simply the fact that she hadn't the faintest clue how to solve it. Not just that it was hard, but that she didn't know where to begin. The other puzzles had at least had distinct images and specific aspects, even if what they meant was still somewhat obscured, but this? Leaping for the edge of what? And if it leapt from any edge, that would be the start of its fall, and “falling into itself” would definitely be the end, so the middle line made no sense. The idea was probably something that fell forever, but she couldn't think of anything that did that, nor anything that went into itself in anything more than an abstract philosophical sense, which was both too vague for it to be the answer and too advanced for her to really think about it. So, all in all, Icy's mood was somewhat sour as she walked into Pip's house, the open door signalling that a meeting was underway. She trotted down the stairs to the basement, looking down at her hooves. She considered for a moment doing some tests to see if she could descend in a way the riddle described, but quickly dismissed the idea. Even if she could figure it out like that, it'd probably be easier to check in with the others first and see if they'd figured it out. Although, judging from the expressions she saw as she entered Homebase (as she thought of Pip's room), that seemed a little unlikely. Still, so as not to be rude, Icy felt she should at least check before assuming anything. “Any luck figuring it out, yet?” She asked as she trotted up to the gathering of the group. The chorus of “No”s, “Nuh uh”s and shakes of the head was disheartening, but not unexpected. “I don't get it.” Archer declared. She didn't sound particularly despairing, just like she was giving up the pretence and stating an objective fact. “None of us do, I guess.” Icy replied as she sighed, getting ready to start thinking again. “Nah, not that.” Archer replied, earning a curious glance from the others. “I mean, yeah, I've got no idea what the answer is, but I mean I don't get why he's given us this one. I mean, it's so vague, could mean anything – I don't see how we're supposed to get it.” “Yeah, I thought so too.” Icy said, her mind shifting from the “what” of the riddle to the “why” of it. There was silence for a minute before Scootaloo groaned, her hooves grasping her forehead. “Uuurgh, this is stupid. At this rate, we'll be doing nothing but this stuff all week!” Archer rolled her eyes. “Relax, Scoots, we've only got this and one more to go, remember?” Scootaloo glared at Archer, not liking her fury being hindered by a little thing like logic. “Unless the little snot comes up with some more horseapples for us.” “Maybe,” Archer replied, shrugging, “but we don't know he will, so let's just keep thinking about the ones we know.” “Yeah, I know.” Scootaloo growled. “We'll keep looking at the picture we have got before...” “Oh!” Dinky piped up, cutting off Scootaloo's rant before it could begin. “That's a really good idea, Scootaloo!” Scootaloo instinctively smirked at the compliment. “Course it is.” Her smirk flattened as she thought for a moment. “What did I say?” “The Picture! The reason we got the last one wrong was because we didn't look at the picture, right?” What remained of Scootaloo's smile vanished. “Yeah. I know. What's your point?” Dinky's ears fell at Scootaloo's tone. “Sorry, I just meant...” She took a deep breath and straightened herself up. “Well, we've only got two picture left, so maybe we should look at them first and see if they give us any ideas.” “That's a really good idea, Dinky.” Pip replied after a moment's thought. He went down below his desks to rummage around in his saddlebags. After a few seconds, he clambered back up into his chair and laid the picture on the table. “So, we've got this one and this one.” He said, pointing a tiny hoof to the two pictures they hadn't matched up to a previously committed crime. “So, a five-sided shape with pointy bits on the corners and a bunch of lines.” Scootaloo summed up, calmer than before but still a little agitated. “Well, the whole thing's got a pentagon in the middle.” Icy pointed out. “So maybe the one with the pentagon's supposed to be the last one. So with the other one we've got,” she tried counting for a moment, before giving up, “a bunch of lines and they're all bending.” The group all stared at the picture, trying to parse it into something they recognized. After a minute or so, Archer piped up. “Probably not, but it could be… hmm.” “You got something?” Scootaloo asked, her head shooting up. Archer sighed. “Maybe - I was thinking of things shaped like that - a curved line with a lot of sections, but before I tell you, Scoots, you gotta promise me you won’t get too excited or assume it must be right, 'kay?” Scootaloo frowned, confused at Archer’s request. “Erm, okay, but I dunno why you think I would. It’s not like it’s about Rai- Hey, you’re right, the picture’s a rainbow, I…” She paused, her legs already bent in preparation of hopping up and down. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she sat down again. “I mean, it could be a rainbow.” Archer nodded. “That’s what I thought, but I’m not sure - it’s got way more than seven sections.” “Seven?” Dinky asked. “Yeah - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.” Archer replied. Icy nodded, muttering to herself. “Reynard Of Yore Gave Battle In Vain.” Dinky tilted her head to the side. “I guess I have heard that, but it’s not really true. If you look at a rainbow, it’s got six sections - blue and purple, not blue, indigo and violet.” “Actually, you’re both kind of right and both kind of wrong.” Scootaloo started explaining in a tone so unlike her that Icy had to look to check she was the same pony. “See, rainbows are made from seven ingredients, since blue, indigo and violet are all needed to make the blue and purple bits. And, yeah, rainbows look like they got six clear sections from a distance, but that’s actually an optical illusion caused by the way the light mixes as it gets further away from it. If you actually look right up close, a rainbow’s got a whole bunch of different strata created by the mixing process.” Everyone stared as Scootaloo in astonishment. After a second, she shrugged awkwardly. “What? I’m best sisters with Rainbow Dash, even I’m gonna pick something up.” Icy didn’t have time to wonder about that wording as Scootaloo’s face fell “That might mean he's gonna try to rob Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo continued, horrified. “Maybe, but we don't know that.” Icy pointed out. “Besides, that doesn't fit the riddle, does it?” “Maybe it does, it could mean Rainbow Dash.” Scootaloo suggested, sounding a little hesitant. “I mean, falling forever could mean flying, and she could fall into... a rainbow?” Lance shook his head – the only reasonable response to that suggestion. Icy pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she thought. “So, we've got a rainbow and something that falls.” She was brought out of her thoughts almost immediately by the sound of a hoof slapping a forehead. “Oh, geez, of course, rainbow falls, I know where that is!” Scootaloo said through the hoof she was dragging down her face. Icy tilted her head at the orange filly. “Do they? Does it... she...? Wait, you mean Rainbow Falls? That’s practically on the other side of Equestria!” “No, no, no, not Rainbow Falls, but some rainbow falls.” Scootaloo paused, taking a moment to plan out her sentence in her head. “Winsome falls. It's this big, rainbow coloured waterfall on the other side of Whitetail Wood with rainbows all around it!” “Waterfall... Waterfall!” Dinky cried in triumph, putting a hoof down on the letter. “The answer's a waterfall!” Icy thought about it. That would seem to fit, but... “What could be trying to steal from a waterfall? Water?” “I dunno,” said Archer, thinking for a moment, “But it fits with the puzzle, so maybe there's someone camping there he's trying to rob – it's a pretty famous camping spot. “In November?” Pip asked, though as a question rather than an objection. Not that Icy could see why he would object. That sounded like the perfect time for camping for her – nice and cool with lots of night to have campfires in. “Anyway, that's not the problem.” Scootaloo pointed out. “Winsome Falls is way outside of town. Took me and the crusaders and our... sisters,” she grinned goofily at the word for a second before continuing, “'bout two days to hike over there. Course,” she smirked, a dash of her usual confidence returning, “that was hiking, and with them slowing me down. I get started now, I think I could probably get there by, say, eleven – probably the earliest he'll strike.” “You sure?” Icy asked. It was around five o'clock in the afternoon at that point, so cutting two days down to six hours seemed like quite a task. Scootaloo grinned. “Filly, did you forget who you're talking to? Wings are gonna be all kindsa sore tomorrow, but I can get there, just you wait. Course, I'll have to go alone.” Her grin fell a little, a touch of apology seeping into it. “No offense, but carrying anyone in the trailer'd slow me down way too much.” “That's okay.” Dinky assured her. “We understand. If you need us for anything, just call us on the badges and we'll be there.” She thought for a moment. “I'm not sure how, but we'll think of something.” “Right, just need to swing by home to get my team scooter...” Scootaloo said to herself as she trotted towards the door. Stopping abruptly, she turned around. “Icy, think you could do me a favour?” “Excuse me, Miss?” Icy asked the yellow mare as she turned the corner. “Is this the way to Rainbow Dash's house.” As the mare nodded and pointed above the streets, Icy looked up to see, indeed, a large cloud house floating just beyond the rows of houses on the outskirts of Ponyville. Funny place to put it, Icy thought, if it's a cloud house, why not just put it above the centre of town? Maybe ponies just don't like it blocking the light or something. Shrugging internally, Icy thanked the mare and resumed her journey. Now that she'd seen it, it wasn't hard to keep the cloud house in sight as she made her way towards it. It was huge enough, high enough and colourful enough that it could easily act as a beacon if one needed it to, which Icy did. I guess it makes sense that Rainbow Dash would have a huge house. She's done a lot to deserve it. Icy reasoned. And that made Scootaloo's request even more unlikely. Icy was going to ask Rainbow Dash, one of the many-time saviours of Equestria, an up-and-coming Wonderbolt and a mare who could casually create what most considered an impossibility... to pick up Scootaloo from an after-school activity. Once Scootaloo had caught Magic Eye, of course, and Icy genuinely wasn't sure which idea was more unlikely. Not that she didn't believe the Rainbow pegasus could do it – it probably wouldn't take her more that a quarter of an hour there and back, even with a passenger from the latter half. However, she really couldn't imagine someone of Rainbow Dash's standing and status could really have the time for something like that – she almost certainly had better things to do and more important things to worry about than leaving one filly hanging like that. Admittedly, she understood Scootaloo to have a degree of familiarity with Rainbow Dash. Initially, she'd been very skeptical of the idea; not that she thought Scootaloo was lying, just that her views and ideas when it came to her idol were... a little skewed, to say the least. However, the others had assured her that the two were quite close and that, if asked nicely enough (and possibly flattered enough), Rainbow Dash would probably collect her “little sister” and get her back to Ponyville before bedtime. Still, Icy had her doubts, but she had promised to convey the message, and thus, she was going to a celebrity's house. Again. Of course, that hadn't been her first choice – she'd tried to catch Rainbow Dash in town while she was working, beginning preparations for the weekend's storm. Unfortunately, Icy's plan had been for her, a mostly-flightless filly, to keep up with the fastest thing on two wings. “Excuse me, Miss Rainb-” WOOOOOOSH! “-ow Dash?” Yeah, that wasn't happening. Thus, she had to wait until Rainbow Dash was done for the day. And since weather work tended to have very weird hours due to the fact that weather was something of a constant, that had meant waiting until the mid-evening, well after the November sky had gone dark. Well, at least this time, it wasn't my fault that I left it so late. Icy thought. I just hope Rainbow Dash doesn't mind being... Icy was brought out of her musings as she noticed something falling in droplets at the top of her peripheral vision. Instinctively, her wings spread out and over her head - it was hardly a new experience for her to be caught unaware by the rain and she’d found that, while they weren’t much good for flying yet, her wide wings made a pretty good makeshift umbrella. She stood there for a few seconds, waiting for the downpour, only to feel absolutely nothing. Furthermore, thinking about it, she remembered that it wasn’t supposed to rain for another couple of days. Scrunching her face a little in confusion, she peeked out through her wings to see what was going on. Above her, there was some liquid falling, but it wasn’t water. Instead, far above her, liquid rainbow poured over the side of a cloud, falling down a few feet before seeming to fade out of existence. It wasn’t, of course - there was a gutter beneath the main cloud that caught the rainbow and drew it back to the top of the fountain, magically hidden so as to not interfere with the aesthetics. However, a somewhat obscure fact about invisible things was that it was difficult to see them. As such, to Icy’s very untrained eye, she just saw the fountain dissolve into nothing and she attributed it to Rainbow Dash being either rich or weird. Or possibly both. After a moment, Icy’s awareness caught up to her thoughts and she realized that, yes, Rainbow’s house was the one covered in rainbows. Nodding to herself in satisfaction at her deduction, she considered how to get up there. For a moment, she wished that the rainbow she saw stretching over the top of the house reached down to the ground. However, she shook her head - even if it did, the upwards force of the rainbow wouldn’t be enough to lift a single wing, much less her entire body. Besides, she noted with amusement, all that would do is take up onto the roof of the cloud house and possibly down into the piping, pushing her down and through it until she came out and fell back down to earth along with the rainbow waterfalls above… her... Rainbow... Waterfalls... Backing up a couple of steps, Icy whirled around and galloped back into town towards her house, where the badge needed to contact Scootaloo lay. “Bad Bad Bad Bad Bad Bad Bad Bad Bad...” She chanted in sync with her rapid hoofsteps. *** Icy tapped her hooves worriedly as she waited outside her house. She'd managed to reach her house around eight thirty and told Scootaloo about another possible meaning to the puzzle – one that made a lot more sense to rob and would still be within Ponyville. After that, Scootaloo hadn't contacted her for few minutes and Icy had been briefly worried. However, a few snatches of sound had come through, probably from the badge pressing up against the handlebars of the scooter, and made it clear that it was only because the little Speedster was busy saying some... rather bad words. After that, though, she had assured them that she'd be back quickly, then gone quiet again until a few minutes ago, around quarter past eleven, when she'd told Icy to wait outside her house. Not sure why she needs me to, though, even if she can make it back here in timOOPH! Now, while Icy was beginning to get used to travelling at the speed of Scoot, having it come and pick her up out of nowhere was still rather startling and tended to knock the wind out of her. Shaking her head, she blinked to clarify the image of Scootaloo grasping her, her face set in furious determination. Icy breathed out slowly and swung herself around the orange filly, landing to ride on the scooter behind her. “You okay?” She asked, having to raise her voice a little to be heard over the wind. “you wanna take a rest? Your wings must be...” “I'm not stupid!” Scootaloo snapped. “I know to pace myself.” Icy shrunk back a bit from the anger, her grip on Scootaloo's back loosening. She felt Scootaloo sigh. “Sorry, I just... I'll be fine. Gonna be sore in the morning, but I'm okay for now. Can you glide us?” Icy raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic. “Can I... what?” “I know you can glide,” Scootaloo called back, her speech beginning to speed up, “can you glide us both down?” “I... I think so,” Icy replied, her thoughts even more unsure than her voice, “but why would I...” She looked over Scootaloo's shoulder, her eyes widening. “Er, Scootaloo, might want to go left a bit, that ramps coming up awfully faAAAAAAAAAGH!” Sure enough, as soon as Scootaloo had spotted the planks stacked against the large crate, she'd gone straight towards them and over them, flying high into the air. “Glide! Glide!” Scootaloo yelled as she kept her grasp on the handlebars, the scooter arcing along with them. Icy's wings flared out, though whether because of Scootaloo's command, her own preparation or blind panic, she couldn't say, and she wrapped her hooves around Scootaloo's barrel. The descent of the two quickly slowed and became far more horizontal than vertical. However, the weight of herself, her companion and the scooter quickly began straining Icy's weak wings and they began to descend quicker. Icy closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable... Woomph! Woomph? The inevitable Woomph? Now that wasn't right, they weren't going to have... a soft landing? Opening her eyes, Icy saw pure white beneath her hooves. Looking up, she saw more white, broken up by an orange form, thrown away from her by the gentle impact. Icy thrust a hoof towards Scootaloo who, for her part, had a massive smile on her face. “Never...” Icy managed to get out between pants, “do that... again...” Scootaloo shrugged and pointed. “Hey, it got us here, didn't it?” Following Scootaloo's hoof, Icy saw that, indeed, the two were now sprawled on the cloudy yard of Rainbow Dash's house. Icy opened her mouth, but paused. Her eyes darted to the side in thought before going back to Scootaloo. “Carry on.” She said, her expression still serious. Nodding, Scootaloo trotted up to the window by the door, beckoning Icy over. “Give me a boost up, I wanna see inside!” Icy did as she was told, letting Scootaloo climb onto her back and peer into the house. She looked around for a moment before gasping. “Ah, dammit! We're too late!” “What did he take?” Icy asked. “One of Dash's trophies... Aw no, it's the academy speed record trophy. She'd gonna be so mad!” Scootaloo climbed down and kicked the side of the house, a slight thump sounding out. Icy sighed and opened her mouth to say something before she blinked. That kick should have left a hole in the cloud and yet... “How strong are these walls?” Icy asked, poking the cloud construction – it seemed solid enough. “It's construction-grade cloud. Pretty strong.” Scootaloo answered a little absently. “Huh. So he couldn't have just walked through the walls, like I thought.” Icy said, hoping that didn't sound like a stupid idea. It might have, but Scootaloo was a bit busy being angry. “So, how did he get in? Doesn't look like the windows open...” “They don't.” Scootaloo confirmed. “Safety feature. Pretty strong, too. Dash always complains 'bout that.” “But then how did he get in?” She repeated. “The only holes I can see are the ones that carry the... Scootaloo, we need to look over the side!” Scootaloo frowned as Icy darted to he edge of the cloud. “Why?” “Cause if he got in how I think he got in, there'll be a trail of liquid rainbow we can follow. A smile spread across Scootaloo's face as the idea resonated with her. “Through the pipes, you mean? Yeah, of course! e can...” She trotted over the side, her face falling again. “Can't see anything on this side. You?” Icy shook her head. “No.” “Dammit!” Scootaloo growled before closing her eyes for a moment to calm herself down. “Good idea, though.” “I don't get it.” Icy said and she trotted back in front of the house. “The only way I can see for him to get in is through the Rainbow Fountain pipes. And...” She looked again at the holes through which the liquid rainbow poured. At the top of the pipes, the rainbow was in its magical light form, so he might have come up with a way to use that to get in without disturbing anything. The bottom of the system, though, had it all as liquid, so there should be a rainbow trail. But not only was there no rainbow trail, but the liquid was trickling out much slower than she would have thought. Almost as if something was... “Unless...” She smiled, trotting up to the hole and poking her head into it a little. She could see fairly well into the channel, the rainbow providing a dim light. And what it lit up was the form of a colt, covered in the colourful liquid. Hanging from his neck was a waterproof plastic bag with something the shape of a trophy inside. He was holding himself up around the middle of the slope by pressing his hooves against the sides. “Well,” Magic Eye said as he made eye contact with Icy, “this is a trifle awkward.” “Little bit.” Icy agreed, reaching a hoof up towards the colt. “Now, now, no need for that,” Magic Eye said, waving her off with his own hoof, “I'll come quietly. Well, out of this hole, at least. Really should have come up with a backup plan for this eventuality.” He took his hooves away from the sides of the pipe, but he didn't fall. He just floated in place for a moment before he placed his hooves further down the pipe and pulled himself towards the opening. Icy opened her mouth to question this, before realizing she'd need to get out of the way for him to exit. So she did just that, positioning herself just next the aperture of the pipe, in case he tried to make a run for it. He pulled himself out of the pipe, so covered in liquid rainbow that Icy could barely make out his colours – purple for the suit (with some sort of metal belt), red for the hair, mask and tie and black for his coat. As he exited the pipe, he put a hoof onto the cloud beneath him, but kept the others off it, his body floating in the air. He looked up at Icy's puzzled expression. “Weightlessness charm.” He explained, indicating the belt around his weight. “That's how I was able to get up to these clouds and travel along the rainbow – well deduced, by the way. Nice to see you’ve already grasped my preference against using more... pedestrian forms of entry.“ He gave a pointed look towards the front door of Rainbow’s house, particularly the lock, before suddenly looking thoughtful as what he just said seemed to register. “Pun unintended, but appropriate, I suppose. Oh, and just in case you were thinking of trying to get the belt off me, I also have a cloud walking spell and a personal parachute.” He indicated with his head to a small backpack he was wearing. “Can't be too careful, after all. Not that I'd imagine you're feeling that homicidal.” His eyes flicked to the side and caught Scootaloo's expression, which looked fairly close to it. “Then again...” “Stealing a mare's trophy?” The orange filly growled, narrowing her eyes at Magic Eye. “That's low. Even for you.” Strangely enough, Magic Eye actually looked embarrassed at that. “Yes, I have to admit, I was a touch concerned about that. In fact, if you'll allow a brief confession,” he sighed, appearing totally genuine in his contrition, “I rather came up with this target and this puzzle and gave it to you before I actually checked if there was anything here that fit my style of thievery.” He shrugged and his smile returned, though still with a touch of shame. “They say pride goeth before the fall, and as I'm going to have to do so to get down from here, I suppose that's appropriate.” “So, what? You just decided to take the trophy she earned for being ten times as awesome as you could hope to be?” Scootaloo sneered, not amused at all. “And for what? Coupla hundred bits or whatever you could sell it for?” “Actually,” he said, looking at the trophy in the bag, “I know exactly how much I could sell it for – zero point zero zero bits. Give or take precisely nothing.” He raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo. “It's far too distinctive – anyone who sees it will know exactly what it is and, as such, it would be next to impossible to fence. And, as you say, it's a trophy earned by someone else, so I can't really put it in my personal private display. The most I could do with it would be to melt it down for the gold and I could hardly do that to such a wonderful piece of craftsmareship, now could I?” Icy looked between the colt and the trophy bag, her brow creasing. “So what were you gonna do with it?” Magic Eye frowned in thought. “I honestly don't know. Probably... yes, probably use it as the prize in another game... possibly against Ms Dash herself, adult though she is. That way, it gets back to someone who can use it and I get some entertainment out of it. Of course, there are some issues with that idea. Quite a dilemma. Happily, though, one you have relieved me of.” He smirked, swinging the pack around by its strap. “Hey!” Scootaloo called out in a slight panic. “Careful with that thing!” The swinging slowed as Magic Eye raised an eyebrow behind his mask. “Alright, though you have no need to worry. The bag is enchanted similar to myself, hence why I'm not dragged down by it. You should know by now that I never spare any expense in such matters.” He smiled slowly. “Anyway, as I was saying, you have indeed caught me... sort of.” Icy kept quiet for a moment, expecting Scootaloo to respond. However, one look at her face showed she was in no mood for any of his games, so she realized she'd better ask. “What do you mean?” “Well, I did get what I came for, and when I escape, I could easily take it with me, so I did win this round... but then again, you figured out my puzzle and got here just in time, which means so did you. You see my issue, here.” He said, as if he genuinely expected them to sympathise. “That's the problem, I suppose, with a game with asymmetric goals. Tell you what!” He shrugged with a casual smile. “We'll call this round a no-score draw. Keep the scores where they are.” “I don't give a flying feather about your damn scores!” Scootaloo roared back. “You're gonna give that trophy back and you're gonna come with us and you're gonna go to jail!” Nodding in agreement, Icy flapped her wings, sending a wave of chilly air over the colt's body. One side of Magic Eye's smile dropped, leaving him with a lopsided smirk, barely seeming to notice the warning shot. “Well, you're free to take it back from me, of course.” He pulled himself down fully to the cloud's surface, bending his knees so his barrel was almost touching it. Slowly, his eyes flicking between his two opponents, trying not to startle them or give them reason to attack, he plunged his hoof into the cloud's surface, scooping out a large clump of it and pulling it out to hover just above him, at head level with the fillies. Taking off the bag, he placed it on top of the smaller cloud and wrapped the strap around it, securing it firmly. “There.” He said. “That should keep it safe. Now then, I fear I must apologize, Ms Scootaloo.” Scootaloo scoffed. “You? Apologize? Yeah, right, for what?” Magic Eye sighed, looking genuinely sorry. “For taking advantage of your current inability to fly. It's a rather cheap tactic, I know, but it seems the best way out.” A note of apprehension poked its way into Scootaloo's angry expression. “What do you...?” Without warning, Magic Eye whirled around and bucked the floating cloud as hard as he could. While he was clearly no Applejack, the kick was rather strong and the weightlessness of both the cloud and its cargo meant it shot off to the side fast. He turned back around and waved a hoof at Scootaloo's advance. “Ah ah ah! You can try to bring me down if you like, but it'd probably be better to focus on getting it back before that cloud disintegrates. You should have long enough to catch it... if you don't dawdle.” Scootaloo stopped in her tracks for a moment, her face twitching in indecision. Growling, she turned and sprinted to the edge of the cloud island, leaping into a body slam on a small peninsula-like extension. The clump separated and Scootaloo immediately wrapped her hooves around it and started buzzing her wings, propelling herself forward as she would on her scooter. “This ain't over!” She yelled as she raced off. “I'll be back and I'll get you, you piece of...” and that was all Icy heard, and she was very glad of it. “She really doesn't like me, does she?” Magic Eye asked, looking out after her. “No.” At that moment, Icy wasn't too crazy about him either. “Pity, Pity.” The colt continued, appraisingly. “You know, that filly is a good deal more intelligent than she gives herself credit for. Not, admittedly, in the way my challenges look for, but nevertheless.” Icy flinched back a little, confused both by his sudden change in tone and by how she was supposed to respond to it. When a compliment is given, a thank you is usually deserved, but since it wasn't directed at her, she couldn't say it herself, and she doubted Scootaloo would want her to thank him by proxy for her. In the end, she just decided to let it pass without comment. “Well, you've still got me to deal with.” “Indeed I do.” Magic Eye replied, nodding. “And as such, I owe you an apology as well. Three, in fact.” His back hooves grasped onto the cloud as he stood up. His left front hoof went behind his back, while his right went to his lapel. Icy gathered her energy at the tips of her wings, ready for whatever he threw at her. “One for the same reason as your friend,” he continued, “one for my rudeness and one for my repetition.” “Repiti-?” It all happened at once. Magic Eye's back hooves pushed off of the cloud as his left hoof pulled something from behind his back. Meanwhile, his right hoof threw something into the cloud between them. Icy flapped her wings and released her energy a fraction of a second too late, having expected him to throw it directly at her. Instead of freezing it, the ice just formed a small cube inside the smoke that the ball had burst into. “Repitition.” Icy muttered, thinking for a moment. Pulling her wings back, she flapped them as hard as she could, making mighty gusts, blowing the smoke back. It took a good few seconds of this, but the smoke did dissipate. For a moment, Icy thought Magic Eye must have teleported somehow, as he was gone from where he was. Looking up, however, she spotted him floating up and away from her, his parachute billowing both from the strong winds of his altitude and the gusts Icy had created. Thus, his weightless form was pulled quickly away, waving at her cheerfully and send small drops of liquid rainbow down to the ground below. She tried sending another freezing blast after him, but he was too far away. The wind might have accelerated him slightly, but at that distance, it was hard to tell. Looking down again, she saw, buried in the cloud, another piece of paper below where he was standing. She walked over and picked it up. It simply read: The centre. Before she could consider what that meant, Icy heard a slow buzzing behind her and turned to see Scootaloo, her wings clearly running on fumes, ride back on a cloud that was beginning to look somewhat thin. Wrapped around her hoof was the bag, the trophy sitting untouched inside it. Icy scuffed a hoof on the ground, looking away from her. “He, um... he got away again. I'm sorry I shouldn’t have...” “I saw.” Scootaloo stated simply. “It's alright. Well, it's not alright, but it ain't your fault.” She looked down at the bag as she hopped from the small cloud onto the big one. “We got Dash's trophy back, that's the important thing.” “Ooookay.” Icy said, walking over to the door. “So, how do we get it back inside. I mean, do we just knock on the door or...” She pressed her side against the door to lean on it, only to accidentally push it open a little. She looked at Scootaloo questioningly “Yeah, Dash forgets to lock it sometimes.” Seeing Icy's surprise, Scootaloo's mouth turned up a little. “Well, I wasn't gonna tell him. Anyway,” She continued, dropping down to a whisper, “could you do me a favour and put it back yourself.” “Why-” Icy began before taking the hint and whispering herself. “Why don't you do it? You know her house better.” “Yeah, but I got Rainbow on my hooves.” Scootaloo answered as she pulled the bag open, liquid rainbow still covering the outside of it. “I don't wanna track it in her house. Also,” she looked away, as if having a brief internal debate, before saying, “if she wakes up... I don't wanna get caught sneaking into her house. She'd probably think I'm a weirdo or something.” Rolling her eyes but smiling, Icy reached into the bag and pulled out the trophy, its polished surface unmarred by the recent action. “If that stuff didn't wake her up, I don't think...” “You might –Dash says the outer walls are pretty much soundproof.” Scootaloo told her. Icy paused, looking over the trophy in her hoof for any damage. “Why? So she doesn't get woken up?” Scootaloo shook her head. “No, so she doesn't wake the rest of the town up.” Icy was about to question this too when she noticed a sound like a broken steam engine coming from within the house. Specifically, from the upper areas of the the house. Ah! Shaking her head and preparing her ears, Icy slipped through the open door. It was hard, the noise was bone-rattling, but she was prepared to brave to make sure that Scootaloo's idol kept sleeping soundly, never knowing how close she was to losing a prized possession.