//------------------------------//
// Act 3: Love Is Fury 
// Story: And He Had A Great Fall 
// by TCC56 
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Applejack had thought declaring the innocence of Dr. Placebo and his staff would have placated Rainbow Dash and calmed her down. 

It did not. It only took away the focus of her red-hot temper. 

As Cloudsdale silently floated overhead and the outskirts of Baltimare sat a few hills away, the pegasus lashed out at a nearby tree. While her hooves didn't have quite the same potency as a farmer's buck, they still rattled the oak hard enough to knock the chestnuts off it. 

"When I find out who did this, they're really gonna get it! I don't care how deep they hide or who they are, nopony gets away with hurting the mare I love!" Dash's rantings staggered as she got that out. Embarrassed, she amended her angry shout. "Or anypony else!" 

Applejack sat back, letting Rainbow Dash get it out of her system. Sometimes you just needed to yell and rage to clear your head - and sometimes, as with Applejack now, you needed to stop and remember how to breathe. She needed her heart to remember what a normal beat felt like before she could handle anything else.

Minutes later, Rainbow tired out her fury and Applejack brought her heart rate down to something manageable. The two ended up beside one another as Dash flopped out on the grass. 

"So," Applejack finally began with, "Ah figure once we get back up to Cloudsdale--" 

"Absolutely NOT!" Rainbow Dash's fury returned in an instant - as did her fear. "There is no way I'm letting you get back up there! I don't care what you try to use against me this time, AJ, I'm not doing it! You nearly died!" Then the fear overrode the anger, and she dove to hug her partner. "I can't let you get that close again. Just can't. C'mon, don't do this, you know it's crazy just.... please?" 

With a soft touch, Applejack stroked Rainbow's rainbow mane. "Shh. Calm down there, sugarcube. It's gonna be just fine. Ah've still got Twilight's amulet and a second cloudwalkin' potion. Ah ain't so stupid as to do it without a plan. But we gotta figure this out, right?" 

Dash shook her head angrily. "No, I gotta figure this out. You've already risked too much, Applejack. Way too much."

"An' if Ah run now we lose what we've gained," came the counter.

"We didn't gain anything!" Dash pushed away from Applejack so she could glare at her, fury building again. "All we got out of you nearly dying was that there's nothing wrong with the potions! Which still leaves us nothing solid!"

A tiny chuckle slipped out of Applejack. "Nah, 'cuz the potion's liquid." She pulled out the second one she'd mixed that morning and shook it. 

Then Applejack paused. And she shook it again. "...Huh." 

The look of confusion on the farmer's face was enough to make Rainbow Dash halt her shouting. "AJ? What is it?"

"Potion feels wrong," Applejack noted. "Stuff's supposed t'be thick like cooking oil in winter, but this is movin' like normal water." She uncorked the bottle and took a deep sniff. "Yeah, that ain't right." She knew the scent of cloudwalking potion - crude oil and peat moss. The bottle smelled like spring water. "Very not right."

Moving closer, Rainbow Dash took a sniff of the bottle as well. "That's rainwater. Like, straight from the cloud." Her eyes darted to Applejack. "Maybe somepony switched bottles?"

Applejack shook her head. "Not a chance. Bottle's a gift from Zecora. Special lined an' the like to avoid corrosion. And it seals tight, so nopony coulda swapped the contents without me noticin'."

"But that's impossible!" Dash stomped her hooves. "This is like one of Trixie's stupid magic tricks or Twilight's logic puzzles! How could somepony swap your potion out of... the... bottle." 

The pegasus paused, face tight with thought.

"Dash?"

"It's like one of Twilight's logic puzzles," Rainbow Dash stated. "Twilight loves making me play them with her, because she says I like games so I should like them. They're not and I don't, but she keeps trying." She started to pace on the grass. "They all have the same trick, though. The answer's always something obvious that you dismiss, because the question's using your assumptions against you. Like we're assuming right now that somepony swapped the cloudwalking potion out for rainwater." Dash swung around, pointing at the bottle. "But what if the rainwater is the cloudwalking potion? It never left the bottle."

Applejack sighed heavily. "Dash, that don't make a lick of--" And she stopped abruptly, too. "...The Philosopher's Stone."

Rainbow started to bounce on her hooves as a nervous energy welled up inside her. "Could that work through the special bottle?"

The water-filled bottle swished around again. "Ah reckon it could." Another thought hit Applejack. "And Ah reckon it could change the potion inside a pony, too!" It all snapped into place. "That's how they're doin' it! Usin' a Philosopher's Stone to change the potion in a pony's body to somethin' else!"

"Which is why it stops working! AJ, you're a genius!" Rainbow Dash flapped excitedly. 

"Couldn't have done it without ya, darlin'." The two exchanged a quick kiss. "Now that we got the how, we gotta figure out the who an' the why."

And there, Rainbow Dash stopped. "But we know who. That dumb doctor had a huge one!"

Applejack shook her head. "And when were we in there? Two hours before Ah fell? Three? If they used that on me, Ah would've dropped quicker than an apple durin' harvest season. And before ya ask, no, they don't have that kinda range. They couldn't have zapped me from across town."

"Well who else could it be?! It's not like they hand out magic rocks to just anypony!" Dash paused and looked to Applejack. "Right?"

And in turn, Applejack scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Actually, you're on to somethin'. From what Apple Bloom told me, those stones ain't too common. Basically any alchemist has one, but they ain't cheap and don't do much else so nopony's gonna have one just because."

That gave Rainbow pause. "Hold on. So any alchemist would have one?" She paused for Applejack's confirming nod. "Like, say, one that's in training?" Another pause for a nod. "Like one that was in training and suddenly was out of a job?"

It finally clicked. "Doc Elixir's third apprentice!" Applejack turned to look up at Cloudsdale. "They didn't get picked up by Placebo, which means they would've been unemployed." 

"Years of training and apprenticeship wasted," Rainbow Dash added. "Now that sounds like a motivation to be angry and dumb."

"It's a sight better than any other lead we got." A broad grin crossed Applejack's face. "Right, so Ah figure we just gotta hit up some records to find--" 

Rainbow held up a hoof. "What's this 'we'?" 

The farmer rolled her eyes. "Aw fer cryin' out loud, Dash, are you kiddin' me?"

"Nope. Kissin' you." She darted in to plant one on Applejack's extremely unamused lips. "But seriously, there's no way I'm taking you back up to Cloudsdale."

"But we gotta investigate--" 

Rainbow Dash shook her head again, hooves crossed over her chest. "Absolutely not." 

There was a long pause as Applejack considered her options. "...My hat's still up there. You're not gonna refuse to help me get my hat, are you?"

Uneasily, Dash shifted from one hoof to the other and looked up at Cloudsdale. "I... I could just go get your hat."

Sighing, Applejack gently grabbed her marefriend and pulled her into a hug. "Darlin', Ah know you're scared. Ah am too. Ain't nopony who'd want to have a fall like that a second time. But we've got a job to do, sure as Celestia's sun became Twilight's. Through everythin' we've done over the years, Rainbow, you know there's always been one constant." She smiled softly, the memory of many good times quickly coming to mind. "Everything's easier with a friend."

Reluctantly - slowly - Rainbow Dash let out a deep sigh. "You're gonna be Apple stubborn about this, aren't you." A lot less reluctantly, she hugged Applejack back. "Alright. But just once. If you start falling again, I want you to Pinkie Promise me you'll use that amulet and get to safety."

Without hesitation, Applejack mimed the required motions of the Promise.





There were two stops before the Public Records office - one at the restaurant to get Applejack's hat back, and one to the hotel so she could mix up a fresh cloudwalking draught.

With those out of the way, it was time to look through records. The good part of the trip was easily finding the third apprentice's name in the licensing department - Fulminating Vapors. The bad part was that City Hall had nothing aside from a name and an out-of-date address. 

This was why the pair were now at Cloudsdale's flight school, looking through those records. 

"You're certain he's gonna be in here?" Applejack flipped open yet another yearbook. 

"Gotta be. Basically every foal in Cloudsdale comes through here to learn how to fly. And maybe this won't give us an address, but at least we'll know what he looks like." Dash pulled another book off the rack. "I saw it in a movie once - the guards were trying to hunt this guy down, and were getting ready to check his apartment. They asked one of the neighbors if he was home - but they didn't know what the guy looked like, so they accidentally asked the criminal! He got away while they were busting into his empty place!"

Deeply, Applejack sighed. There was no point in arguing, and she did have a point. Knowing what the stallion looked like was useful. Of course, getting to that point meant leafing through every yearbook the school had to try and find one name. Even with a relatively narrow window of years, it wasn't quick.

Dull minutes ticked past with nothing but the sound of turning pages. 

Then - a break. Rainbow Dash's pages stopped turning and she squinted. "I've.... seen that guy."

Applejack craned her neck over to look. Dash's hoof was lightly tapping on the picture of a white pegasus colt with an ice-blue mane. The name under the picture read Winter Gust - which cued an eyebrow-raise. But she trusted Dash's identification. After all, Rainbow Dash did have that weird way of filing away things she saw around her without realizing it. She was hell playing I Spy like that.

Rainbow Dash tapped the photo again. "Yeah... yeah, I remember! That's the weirdo street preacher! The one who was ranting outside the restaurant!" Her head spun to Applejack. "You said that even the big stone didn't have a lot of range, so whoever did it to you had to be close, right? Well this guy was basically on the other side of the room from you when it happened!"

The idea took root like an apple tree. "An' what better way to not get noticed when you're committin' a crime than to be somepony that everypony's gonna do their best to ignore!"

"Exactly!" 

Applejack looked at the name again in the book. "And it wouldn't be the first time a pony changed their name once they got their cutie mark." They exchanged looks. "It's a long-shot, Ah reckon, but if Winter Gust is Fulminating Vapors? We got ourselves means, motive an' opportunity. Ah figure that sounds worth checkin' up on."





Finding the preacher wasn't difficult - it took time, but he did stand out in a crowd. 

They spied him in a shopping plaza a few blocks away from the weather factory. The chill white coat and ice blue mane blended a little with the cloud architecture, but his fiery words made up for the difference. Standing atop a literal soap box, he shouted at the sky while everypony around did their best to do just as Applejack theorized - ignore the crazy pony and go about their business.

"And in our terrible pride, look where we've come! Pegasi were once warriors! The strongest and most powerful of all ponies, and now we are reduced to being menial laborers! Toiling for others! Content with silly races for entertainment while we shape weather for those below us! We dare to take the gifts of the clouds and give them away!"

Slowly, the pair of Bearers wound their way through the milling crowd of mid-day shoppers. Rainbow Dash could blend, but Applejack didn't - the lack of wings made that impossible. She tried to take a path from the side, getting a look at his cutie mark: a smoking flask. The angle kept her outside the ranting pony's field of view, but he'd spot her sooner or later. 

Sooner turned out to be the answer. He caught something out of the corner of his eye and turned. For a moment he looked confused - then there was recognition. 

Applejack set her jaw. 

The ranting pony's mouth curled to a sneer. "Nice hat."

Applejack stopped and took a moment to stretch out her legs threateningly. "Fulminating Vapors?"

The sneer turned to surprise as the chill white pony went paler. And he took to the air to run.

Before Applejack could react, Rainbow Dash shot out of the crowd in pursuit. 

The chase didn't last very long. Applejack's run caught up only a minute later, but it was quite a sight. Fulminating Vapors was in the alleyway between a Hayburger and an accountant's office, hooves planted defiant and wide. One wing was stretched out while the other was limp - possibly broken. A few feet away was a snarling Rainbow Dash, who was almost certainly the cause of the busted wing. There was room to run behind Vapors, but with only one wing there was no chance of being fast enough. 

It was a no-win situation for the rogue alchemist even before the farmer came around the corner. Seeing her, he growled back. "I thought I got rid of you."

"Ah ain't so simple to be rid of." Applejack eased in beside Rainbow Dash, glaring down the killer.

"I noticed." His eyes flickered between the two of them. "I should have known an Element Bearer would be tougher than that." 

Dash took a threatening step forward. "Yeah, well, you should've known better than to mess with us in the first place! Or anypony else! 'Cuz now you're going down!"

Fulminating Vapors cracked a thin smirk. "Down? Yes. But not me." 

There was a flash of red from his hoof - then the soft poomf of something falling through the clouds. Dash turned, and Applejack was gone. 

Red eyes that screamed for blood turned back to the rogue alchemist and the small Philosopher's Stone in his frog. "Time to choose, Bearer. Her or me. You've only got the time to chase one. Catch me and let your love die, or save her and I go free. Tick tock, Rainbow Dash." 

Dash's body tensed, ready to leap. Which direction would never be clear, however, as a beatific smile came to her face and she relaxed. Behind Fulminating Vapors the clouds broke again. This time it was for a rising earth pony, borne on bright orange and black Monarch wings made of gossamer and morning dew. 

Two ponies looked at the pegasus between them with smug assurance. 





"And then what happened?"

Applejack chuckled. One thing had never changed in their lives - Twilight was Princess of all Equestria, but she still loved a tall tale. She was almost vibrating with excitement. "He surrendered immediately. Couldn't outrun a Wonderbolt an' he certainly wasn't gonna outfight an angry earth pony. He knew he was licked."

Adorably, Twilight pouted. "Well that's not a very good climax, now is it?"

There was a certain amount of condescension in Applejack's pat to Twilight's shoulder. "There there, sugarcube. This ain't an adventure novel. The important thing's that we got 'im, right? No more ponies fallin' from the clouds." 

With a heavy sigh, Twilight nodded. "Yeah. That is the most important part." Recovering her good spirits, she winked. "Though be careful telling the story later. My sense of drama's a little disappointed about the ending, but Rarity's will never forgive you." 

They both laughed, breaking apart to continue their walk through the castle gardens. "Anyhoo, turns out Rainbow's instincts were about on the money. Vapors was all about the revenge. He figured Doc Elixir should've put him in charge after retirin' instead of sellin' to Placebo. He got mighty angry about it, an' that anger's why Placebo refused to take him on and finish the apprenticeship." 

Twilight nodded. "So he used his Philosopher's Stone to get revenge."

"Eyup. Figured that if he created enough suspicion and ill will 'round Placebo's business, he'd close up shop. Maybe even get tossed in jail for what happened." Applejack sighed heavily. "Me fallin' was supposed to be his capstone, he said. Nobody could ignore a Councilmember dyin'."

Halting their walk again, Twilight nuzzled her friend. "I'm glad you didn't. Thank you for being so brave."

"T'werent' nothin', Twi." The earth pony brushed away the praise. "If nothin' else, Ah had to go to Dash. Speakin' of," she segued as she perked up, "Ah agreed we'd get that fancy dinner out tonight. Ah'd invite you along, but she said she had somethin' in mind." 

It took a lot for Twilight to keep her smile tuned to merely friendly instead of ecstatic. 





It was between entrée and dessert at Le Grande - Rainbow Dash had suggested Griffonese to ensure that there was no chance of a green pepper and cheese pizza. In spite of that, things were going well. The candles were low, the music was soft, and Applejack was smiling. 

Her smile wavered a little as Rainbow got up out of her chair. "Applejack? Look, we both know I'm lousy at... mushy stuff. I'm not like any of our other friends when it comes to being emotional or dramatic or any of that. And I know you understand that! You get me, which is why we're so awesome together." 

"But what happened in Cloudsdale got me thinking." Dash started to pace a little, shifting from hoof to hoof. The fact that she was on the ground to begin with was unusual. "I can't forget how happy I was to see you when you got out of that balloon. I mean, I was worried but at the same time it felt great to see you again. And you were there when I needed you that night - e--even if I couldn't admit that I did need you. And I can't forget how terrified I was when I saw you fall, or how relieved I was when you were okay after. You Pinkie Promised me that you would get yourself somewhere safe, and you did. You were at my side. But I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that moment when I caught you in the hills outside Baltimare and how it felt to see you safe." 

She stopped, taking a deep breath. "Maybe we were on the ground, but I don't think my heart's ever soared higher than it did then. And I guess that's when I knew. Like really knew." 

Rainbow Dash dropped to a knee. 

"Applejack...."