//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: The Tale of Two Pegasi 
// by PvtFlutters 
//------------------------------//

        Rainbow Dash looked at her surroundings. She was on top of a hill, with woodland below her on all sides. She turned around to the portal, which, since Rarity had finished, was still open. The only problem was, Rainbow wasn't sure how long it'd stay like that. 
Due to being so far away from home, many ponies would have considered leaving this place right away. But Rainbow was different... she smiled. She knew from the moment that she jumped through the portal that she would have to commit everything to finding her lost friend.
Although Rainbow was staying calm in this situation, she was still scared. The thought of what could be happening to Fluttershy was unthinkable. That pony was afraid of her own shadow. She was a pegasus who was afraid of heights! Rainbow knew she was Fluttershy's only hope... and that she had to hurry.
Rainbow spread her wings and shot towards the clouds to get a better view of the landscape. Wherever she was... it was thick with trees. They spread out for miles. Finding Fluttershy would take more then luck.
"Where to start?" Rainbow said to herself. She looked around some more and saw a mountain off in the distance. She raced toward it and the closer she got, the more she saw. When she got close enough, she found that the 'mountain' was actually a waterfall, and she landed on a rock at the base of it. She considered if Fluttershy had been here. If she was in Fluttershy's position she would have come here... but she wasn't Fluttershy. Rainbow investigated the area, but didn't find much. Still... she knew something was off about this place, so she persisted.
Suddenly, strange voices could be heard off in the distance... but they were getting closer. Ranbow realized she had to hide, so she jumped behind a thick tree. The humans walked up to the waterfall, just a few feet from her.
"Rainbows... what great camouflage," she thought to herself. The humans talked to one another and looked at the waterfall for nearly five minutes. Rainbow took a deep breath and (against better judgement) looked at them. Both of them were too preoccupied with other things to notice a rainbow pegasus staring at them. One was sitting on a nearby rock lighting a cigar. The other was standing farther away, but still looking off in a different direction. Suddenly, he walked to the waterfall and quickly jumped through.
Rainbow was shocked! How did he see that? Did he know about it before coming here? One thing was for sure Rainbow had to get in. She considered sneaking... but remembered the time when she broke into the Ponyville hospital. The man sitting on the rock took a few puffs of his cigar. Rainbow snuck up behind him and delivered an Applejack-style buck to the back of his head. The man fell violently forward and hit the ground with a thud.
The other man was still inside the waterfall. With the sound of tons of water hitting rock, it was impossible for him to hear that his comrade had been knocked out. Rainbow silently crossed through the waterfall to the inside. The man was looking at a piece of paper. Rainbow slowly crept up behind him, but before she was close enough to knock him out, he quickly turned around with his pistol in hand. The man was stunned at the sight of her. How often did a human see a pony like her? His initial shock soon faded and he shot at her. Rainbow rolled out of the way and ended up behind a large rock. The man fired his pistol again hoping for the bullets to bounce off the walls and hit his target. Rainbow looked around for something to defend herself with, but found nothing besides rocks.
"Well, I guess they'll have to do," she thought to herself. She picked one up and waited. The man fired more shots but ran out of ammo. As he reached to switch clips, Rainbow made her move. She threw the rock, and although she missed his head, the rock hit his hand with enough force to knock the pistol out of it. The man clutched his hand in pain. Rainbow quickly took advantage of the chance and jumped from cover to deliver the knockout kick. Her back hooves hit the man directly in the face. He fell straight to the ground, unconscious.
Rainbow picked the note up off the ground and read it to herself. It read:
"Fluttershy, not sure if you'll find this but I needed to go. I found an opening in the complex. Please don't follow me, It's too dangerous."
Rainbow looked at the note, confused. What did this mean? Had Fluttershy actually befriended a human? If she had, this waterfall must have been their hiding spot.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow called out into the small cave hoping for a response. Nothing came. Where was she? The note said to stay put. Fluttershy wouldn't have actually gone out in search of this human... would she? She considered the possibility and hoped it wasn't true... but in her gut she knew it was.
Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof on the ground. This was the only clue she had but it didn't tell her anything! All she knew was that Fluttershy had made a human friend... and that she was at some complex in search of them. She had no idea how long ago this note was left here, or if Fluttershy even made it to this complex. She didn't know if Fluttershy was even alive! She kicked a nearby rock and jumped out from the waterfall cave. She opened her wings and took to the clouds in search of her only lead: the complex.