//------------------------------// // 4.Fall (Whether You Want To Or Not) // Story: Whether You Want It Or Not // by Roserado //------------------------------// Starlight is convinced the universe is playing a practical joke on her. Someone, or something, is pulling an elaborate prank on a massive scale, and she just so happens to be it's unlucky recipient.  First, it was getting pushed into the lead role of coronation preparation agent (or whatever that job is called). Second, she had to deal with an undercover alicorn. Third, all the effort of her first task went up in smoke because of the side effects of her second, and fourth, she got roped into a quest to defeat an enemy that's already been beaten half a dozen times before.  Finally, before she can even get her current assignment off the ground, she's hit in the face with a pony she never expected to see again. Of course, all while her ally has no idea who this pony is.  Someone out there is getting a real big laugh out of all this.  Cozy Glow's initial fear at bumping into Starlight has subsided, and now she sports a cheeky grin, almost certainly at Starlight's expense. She can tell that Sunset doesn't recognize her.  I have to make sure Sunset knows what's going on so we can deal with this before she tries to get away. I can't let this opportunity go to waste.  Just as Starlight opens her mouth to warn her companion of the enemy directly in front of them, Sunset speaks directly to them.  "Excuse me, are you lost? This is no place for fillies." Almost immediately, Cozy Glow's expression turns from one of thinly veiled smugness to utter helplessness and fear. It's fakeness is obvious to Starlight, but Sunset's face makes it clear that she believes it.  How are you buying this? Twilight said you were smart!  With a dramatic sniffle, Cozy Glow speaks of her woes to Sunset, keeping her distance all the while.  "Oh, I am lost! I got seperated from my mommy, and saw this big, scary bug monster!"  Starlight's eyes go wide.  She knows that Chrysalis came through here. Maybe that's why she came here? I definitely can't let her go now!  Sunset exclaims, "That's terrible! Look, come over here to us, and we'll make sure you get back to your mother. Starlight, can you-"  I can't take any chances.  Sunset's words are cut off by a sudden beam of magic from Starlight's horn. It zooms right towards Cozy Glow, who narrowly flies out of the way. The smug look returns.  Horsefeathers.  "Starlight, what in Equestria are you-"  "Trying to catch Cozy Glow!" snaps Starlight, cutting her off again.  She shoots another beam at Cozy Glow, who dodges it much easier than she did last time. Starlight internally groans at how fast the little pegasus is in the air. Sunset scoffs, and looks back at Cozy Glow, who flies out of the way of yet another magic beam.  "There's no way that's Cozy Glow! This little filly is, well, a filly! She's way too young to be Cozy Glow!" shouts Sunset, her face scrunching from the confusion. "And stop shooting at her!"  "No!" yells Starlight, shooting another beam at Cozy Glow in defiance.  She flies around it with ease. Sunset turns back to her, a mixture of worry and rising anger turning her face a slight shade of red.  This isn't working! I need a new strategy, and I need to convince Sunset before Cozy Glow says anything to sway her more.  "Did Twilight ever tell you how old Cozy Glow is?"  Starlight's sudden question throws her off guard, and she takes a moment to think about it. She turns to Cozy Glow, who is still flying in the air beyond the wall.  Slowly, Sunset responds. "...She didn't, but still! What kind of filly studies under a princess and goes on to try to take over the world?"  Starlight stares at her. She raises an eyebrow and leans her head forward, the obliviousness of Sunset's question momentarily making her forget to keep an eye on Cozy Glow.  "I don't know, Sunset. What kind of filly would do that?"  Sunset opens her mouth to respond before pausing and clamping it shut. Realization seems to have hit her, and Starlight exhales in relief. Sunset looks down in embarrassment, her face quickly becoming flushed. "Okay, I pretty much walked into that one. I'll believe you now." she says, idly tapping her hoof on the ground.  "Thank Celestia! Now, can we please deal with Cozy Glow?"  The two look back out towards the open air, and see Cozy Glow slowly drifting away from them. She notices their attention is back on her, and her eyes go wide as she sees another beam from Starlight shoot towards her. She quickly ducks out of the way, narrowly avoiding the spell. I can't hit her like this. I need her to stop moving to even give my freezing spell a chance to connect. How can I get her to stay in one place?  Her mind instantly considers the newly formed flier standing right next to her, and a plan begins to form. It only takes her a moment to decide what she should do next, and another moment to convince herself that it'll actually work.  Before she has a chance to speak, Starlight asks her, "Do you trust me, Sunset? I need you to do something." Apprehension immediately shows on her face, but after a moment of hesitation, she replies.  "I trust you, sure. What is it?"  "What I need you to do is simple." says Starlight, "You just need to get Cozy Glow to stop moving, in any way you can. If she's in one place, I'll be able to land my freezing spell on her.  "Okay, I guess? How am I going to do that when even you can't land a spell on her, though? It's not like I can just tackle her to the ground."  Starlight stops a frown from appearing on her face. "Remember when I said you needed to figure out how to fly?"  Sunset stares at her, puzzled. "Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?"  "Well, you're about to learn real fast." "What the hay does that-"  Starlight's magic wraps around her before she can continue. Without saying anything, she takes off Sunset's saddlebags from her back and places them behind her, causing the mare to turn in confusion. Immediately after, the magic flings her forward into the open air, like she weighs nothing at all.  Her body flies towards Cozy Glow, who zips out of the way without much effort. The magic leaves Sunset, and her forward momentum gives way to the overwhelming power of gravity. Her scream of surprise fades away remarkably fast. Starlight can still see her falling, though. It's quite a long way down.  I'll have to apologize for that later.  The pink pegasus still hovering in mid-air turns her gaze to Starlight. Surprise becomes acceptance, and acceptance quickly becomes smugness. Daring to fly just a bit closer, Cozy Glow speaks to her former guidance counselor.  "So, was that your plan to catch me? Throw your friend at me and hope she knocks me out of the sky?" she questions, her voice dripping with amusement.  "Oh, pretty much," Starlight lied, "I missed with all my spells, so I figured a bigger projectile might do the trick. Guess I was wrong."  Cozy Glow laughs. "Of course you were wrong! Something like that wouldn't work on me." A twinge of irritation causes Starlight's eye to twitch.  "Well, now that you don't have any more tricks, nothings stopping me from just flying away. How are you gonna explain this to Twilight?" gloats Cozy Glow, eyes closed in contentment.  "Who said I was out of tricks?"  Starlight's horn shines, and a sparkling blue aura envelops her body. A sense of weightlessness sets in, and her stomach drops as it adjusts to the sudden lack of gravity.  Always hated that part of this spell.  Her hooves leave the ground, and her body moves directly forward. Now in midair, Starlight's grasp on the flight spell comes back to her all at once. A grin slips onto her face as Cozy Glow's smug air of confidence evaporates in front of her. With only a second of buildup, Starlight thrusts herself towards Cozy Glow, the surprise in her expression as clear as day.  "Let's see how long you can keep dodging." Her scream is drowned out by the wind. It buffets Sunset's body as she falls, like a constant wave of air crashing into her from below. She manages to open an eye long enough to see just how far she has left to fall. It's a small comfort.  Okay Sunset, think! What is the easiest and most reliable way to land down there without crash-landing into the dirt and breaking every bone in my body?  Magic? Maybe, but it's risky. I'm way too out of practice to try anything with teleportation again, and even an ordinary slow-fall spell would take so long to cast that I'd barely start to slow down before hitting the ground.  More spell ideas pop up, and each of them is discarded just as soon as they arrive. She reaches a conclusion to her short train of thought.  I really do have to learn how to fly, and as fast as possible.  This sucks.  Realizing this is why Starlight took off her saddlebags, she flexes her wings. Like a spring put under pressure, they reflexively shoot out. Instantly, the force of the wind feels more spread out than it did before. Her descent is slower now, but not nearly slow enough to stick a safe landing.  I can do this one of two ways. Either I slow myself somehow and touch straight down, or I turn my downward momentum into something horizontal. Which of these two is easier?  Sunset makes an attempt to flap her wings. The movements are strenuous and slow, with little changing about her speed. It takes more effort than she thinks it should, and after a few more failures to decrease her speed with her wings, she stops, and lets them fold back against her body.  So, that probably won't work. I have no idea how pegasi slow down enough to land safely!  Deciding on her next and most likely final option that doesn't involve magic, she looks straight down. Instantly, the moisture is ripped off her eyeballs from the force of the wind, but she keeps them open. The ground is much closer to her now, and she guesses that she's fallen about halfway down from where she dropped.  A burst of panic flares up, and she begins to wonder if she can actually manage to do what's needed to touch down safely. Unable to break through it, she decides to simply do everything she can to make sure it works. In this case, though, it just means trying not to mess up.  All I have to do is glide to ground level and dig my hooves into the dirt to slow down, right? How hard can it be?  Probably really hard.  Forcing her eyes to stay open, she brings out her wings again, feeling the wind buffet them just as it did before. Tilting their direction downwards and tucking her hooves in feels no different than it did before, but she keeps it up regardless.  After a few moments, something changes, though she can't tell what. Instead of looking directly down, she looks up a bit, to the space directly in front of her. Nothing has appeared before her, no magic portal opening to take her to safety. It's invisible, but Sunset can tell there's something different in the direction she's facing.  Somehow, there seems to be a line leading her to where she wants to go. She can't see it with her eyes, but she can almost feel it, like a tug in the air that's still blowing past her. She flaps her wings, not to gain height, but to push herself forward. Her body moves along the line.  Her wings flap again, continuing to move her forward while she continues to drop. The wind doesn't seem to be such a brutal force this time, like it's flowing past her rather than against her. Another flap of the wings, and another, and yet another.  The words in her mind fail to describe the sensation, but she can feel herself thrusting forward, extending along the line, faster and faster the more she beats her wings against the air. She doesn't let up, beginning a steady rhythm that gradually gets faster. Her wings push her forward, move her along the line, in a way that feels right. Feels like this is exactly how it should be done.  The ground below her is close now, but she's moving forward faster than she's moving down now. A surge of excitement washes over her, momentarily dominating her fear. Energy rushes through her, and her wings pick up speed again, moving her ahead even more than before. The plains below are dangerously close now, but she knows that she can pull this off.  A few more strong flaps upwards angle her to be parallel to the ground not so far below. Just high enough to scale a small house, and Sunset soars through the air, flying along at an incredible speed. The plains below whiz by, the various shades of green all mixing together and extending past the bottom of her vision. The rolling ups and downs of the landscape pass her by, trees coming and going from her sight.  She angles her head upwards, and the bright blue of the sky extends in every direction but one. The vast gray of the mountain Canterlot rests on stretches into the atmosphere, stopping just at the ends of her sight. Higher she flies now, away from the ground. Her wings beat heavier, pushing her towards the city above.  Up and up she goes, the air now brushing down on her from above. Directing her aerial direction is almost natural now, flapping her wings and zipping through the air feeling just as exciting as exerting herself in the sports she takes part in at CHS. Despite the excitement, though, something makes her slow down.  Her wings beat against the air, but no longer hard enough to propel her upwards. Her speed slows to nothing, and she stops in midair, the regular fluttering of her wings enough to keep her from falling back down.  Sunset looks over the space she just flew above, and nearly gasps from it. In between the walls of the city above and the land below, she's able to take it all in. The rolling green hills, the flat grassy plains, and the loose forests all continue into the distance, but she can still see so much. The breadth of the land is laid bare, and she wonders if she could have ever seen it this way if she discovered flight later.  It goes far beyond what she ever bothered to see when she lived here. What if she had never noticed this? All of this feels so impactful. The roaring majesty of nature and the exhilaration of flight seems so clear to her at this moment that she wonders how she never saw it before.  Her mind automatically answers that she logically couldn't have noticed how flying felt before, as she's never flown. The thought brings down her elation just enough for her to remember why she had to fly in the first place. She looks up at the edge of the city she has to return to. A few small lines of blue light catch her eye, and she recognizes it as Starlight's magic.  Looks like she's still having trouble with Cozy Glow. I guess I should probably go up there and help her out.  …  I'm still gonna get her back for pushing me off, though.  A brief but powerful flap of her wings shoots her upwards as she follows that invisible line that leads to her destination. She reaches the height that Starlight and Cozy Glow are at in short order, barely taking less than half a minute of flight.  Starlight Glimmer is enshrouded in her own magic and is flying around at a speed that's almost unbelievable for a unicorn. Cozy Glow is being chased through the air by said unicorn, dodging a constant barrage of spells. Her speed, too, is impressive, but Sunset has a feeling that they wouldn't be able to compare to a well experienced adult pegasus.  Unfortunately, she is not a well experienced adult pegasus, nor a well experienced alicorn. She feels lucky she got the hang of flight as soon as she did, even if she was forced to. It's obvious that she wouldn't be able to keep up with either of them for long.  Despite her arrival, neither seems to have noticed her as both are too preoccupied with the chase. A tiny voice in the back of her head says that what they're doing looks really fun, but she ignores it. Instead, she picks up on the direction the two of them are headed, which is towards her. A chance to end this early has arrived.  Not bothering to attempt to hide herself, Sunset beats her wings forward, launching herself directly at Cozy Glow. The incoming mass of orange and red is immediately noticed by her, but it's too late to change course. Instead, she shifts the angle of her wings, and flies right past Sunset, the tips of their wings nearly brushing against each other.  (Get away from me! I'm not going back there ever again!)  The foreign thoughts linger in Sunset's mind a moment before completely dissipating. Mouth hanging open, a question springs up that nearly distracts her from keeping herself aloft.  There's no way that's what I think it was. Do my geode powers work here too?  Before she has any time to ponder the possibility, Starlight floats over to her, stopping just a few feet away.  "Good, you're here! Help me catch her, like I told you before you fell!"  You mean, before you threw me off?  Her look of agitation is seen by no one as Starlight zips off towards Cozy Glow as soon as she finishes talking. Her frown only deepens as she realizes the irony of a unicorn being better at flying than her, an alicorn. Determined to right that wrong as soon as possible, she flies after her.  Despite her wings feeling sore from all the flying she's already done, she pushes them into overdrive, catching up to Starlight in a few seconds. Once Sunset reaches her side, she slows to the pace of her companion. It annoys her that she doesn't have to slow down much to do so.  "Starlight, I have an idea! You should-"  She's cut off by the unicorn shooting the same spell she hasn't hit a single time at Cozy Glow, who zips to the side. Sunset notes that her magic reserves must be incredibly deep for her to be constantly firing off intermediate level spells without visibly tiring from it, not to mention a flight spell on top of it all.  Only when Starlight turns to look at her does she speak again. "You should try and lead Cozy Glow back towards the wall. I'll hide against it, and jump out at her when she passes by so you can freeze her!"  "Sounds like a plan!" says Starlight, who rushes off to enact it.  She wastes no time in firing off a few more freezing spells at the pegasus ahead of her. One of the beams connects with a chunk of rock on the mountain below them, and the surrounding area is almost instantly covered up. A small sheet of purple transparent crystal extends over and around the chunk it hit, magically sparkling under the sun.  Well, at least it's not gonna hurt her when she finally gets hit by it. Me too, I guess. I'll just be… completely unable to move. I can handle that.  Shaking her head, Sunset clears her thoughts and remembers their simple plan. She looks to the wall that covers the edge of Canterlot and scans it for areas that could work. It doesn't take her long to spot a section that curves inwards, giving her ample space to fly in and out when needed.  Giving Starlight and Gozy Glow a glance, the two seem as occupied in their chase as they were before she got here. Turning back, she ducks into the hiding spot, wings still flapping. She laments there being no outcropping of rock to rest on, but quickly chastises herself for her laziness.  Come on Sunset, focus! You have to be ready for when Starlight brings Cozy Glow over here, and you can't do that when you're sitting down!  Despite this, she acknowledges her wings are even more tired than they were before. Just keeping herself hovering in one position takes effort, even if it is harder for her than others. She wonders how long it took for Princess Twilight to adjust to her new wings. Surely Twilight got the hang of it as quick as she did, right? Hopefully I don't have to keep this up for long.  As if it was a response to her own thoughts, the sound of a spell hitting the wall somewhere to the left of her drags her out of her head and into reality. Now fully alert, the second spell hitting the wall doesn't phase her. What did, however, was just how much closer that one was. Cozy Glow would be here any second.  And so she waited, ready to pounce.  It only takes a second for the pegasus's pink and blue shape to arrive in Sunset's peripheral vision. Without thinking any further, she rushes forward as fast as she can. The whites of Cozy Glow's eyes become visible, and Sunset braces for impact.  The pegasus hits her square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Taking a deep breath in, Sunset wraps her legs around her target, pressing the filly's wings to her back. She turns her head up as they begin to fall. Their eyes meet, and as Sunset's eyes glow white and her mind is flooded with emotions and memories, a cold wall of crystal engulfs them.  Starlight is ecstatic. Finally, something has gone right today! Thanks to Sunset, Cozy Glow was still just long enough for Starlight's spell to connect, encasing both of them in a singular crystal. Leaving no room whatsoever to move inside, it was a perfect trap for an evasive little trickster like Cozy Glow.  Her satisfaction crumbles as Starlight sees the chunk of crystal drop down just a moment after it forms. With nothing to keep it up, it descends like an anchor into the empty space below it. Panic sprouts in Starlight's mind as she rushes to catch up, flying downwards as fast as she can.  Going from stationary to top speed in seconds makes Starlight's stomach turn upside down, but she pushes down the urge to slow herself. Despite going as fast as her flight spell will allow, the crystal only seems to be getting further away. The ground is rapidly approaching, and options are running out.  I need to slow them down, but I can't move the crystal around while my flight spell is active! Levitating something of even that size would take too much out of me. I've already used so much magic; I'm barely able to keep this one spell working by itself! How can I prevent the crystal from crashing into the ground while keeping myself from falling?  Wind cuts through her fur as her brain works through possible solutions, and something clicks. Not having any time to think of other options, she lines herself up with the crystal to act out the very first thing she thought of. Now directly above the crystal, she cuts off the spell that keeps her propelled through the air. Immediately after, she casts her magic out to envelop the crystal, forcing it to levitate.  It comes rushing toward her, and just before it impales her on one of its edges, she forces it to quickly levitate downwards. It still hits her, knocking the wind out of her and leaving her pressed flat against its surface. Looking through the transparent crystalline structure shows the canopy of a forest rapidly closing in.  Her heart beats heavily in her chest, seeing only a moment or two before their collision with the surface. Her stomach lurching, she nudges the crystal she's clinging to forward and up. The downward momentum converts into horizontal movement, and Starlight sees the trunk of a tree come closer and closer.  The crystal containing Sunset and Cozy Glow slams against the tree. The shock of the impact rolls through Starlight's body, which is instantly launched off the top of the crystal. She instinctively closes her eyes, and after a second her head is thrown side to side as her fall is broken by the leaves and branches of another tree. They poke and scrape against her as she tumbles, getting closer to the ground every second.  With her own movement completely out of control, she attempts to make her body limp. She can't tell if it works or not. After a few long moments of descent, the tree runs out of branches, and Starlight is unceremoniously dumped on the ground. A dull thump accentuates her crash landing. The feeling of soft, grassy earth doesn't quite reach her brain. It seems too busy spinning around in her head to process new information.  Starlight lets out a low, extended groan as all the pain catches up with her at once. Groggily opening her eyes, the world tumbles and sways, tree trunks dancing side to side in her vision. Shaking her head from side to side doesn't seem to help.  I change my mind about the universe. It's not playing a prank on me, or some kind of joke. No, I’m definitely being punished. I don't know what the punishment is for specifically, but I'm certain that's what this is.  Hastily planting her two front hooves on the ground, the world in front of her sways again. She looks down, trying to blink away the stars at the edges of her vision.  "I am never…"    She sits there a moment, waiting for the world to stop spinning.  "...doing that…"  She squeezes her eyes shut and fully stands up. Her two back legs are shaking.  "...ever again."  Her eyes open, and her sight seems to have mostly come back to normal. Her legs quickly gain stability, and her eyes properly focus on the space in front of her. She doesn't risk shaking her head again. The stinging from a dozen different shallow cuts and bruises distract her from fully thinking about her relative success.  A tree just ahead of her has nearly been uprooted, with the crystal she almost touched down on landed at its base. The dizziness she still feels almost clears up, and she tries to walk to it. Slow, careful steps gradually bring her closer to the vessel containing both her ally and her enemy.  Fallen leaves crunch and fold under her hoofsteps. Starlight peers through the crystal and sees its two captives upside down. They are still in the same position they were when she cast the spell, with Sunset wrapped around Cozy Glow. Starlight sits on the forest floor as she observes the strange sight in front of her.  Two bright white lights shine from the eyes of the orange alicorn inside. Her mouth is agape, as if she's shocked by something that Starlight cannot see. The eyes of the pegasus snap to Starlight as she comes into view. They seem bloodshot, and tears bead at the edges. The rest of the face is hidden by Sunset's body pressing against her. For some reason, Starlight gets the impression that Cozy Glow is staring right through her.  Starlight can't tell which of the two of them is making her more uncomfortable. She can't make sense of either of their gazes. The anxiety they inexplicably make her feel is almost strong enough to distract her from the fall she just suffered. The solution to this anxiety comes to her instantly, and she lowers her head in turn.  Her horn glows a sparkling blue. A spell is shot forth, and the crystal is unmade.