//------------------------------// // 17. Falling // Story: Cheated Dreams // by Kodeake //------------------------------// Cheated Dreams Chapter 17 Falling “Rainbow! Where are we going!?” Twilight shouted above the wind roaring in her ears. Shortly after Rainbow realized who had paid Shadow Charm to place the enchantment, the pegasus and taken off running out the door, leaving Twilight to desperately try and keep pace. When Twilight had finally gotten Rainbow to stop and allow her to catch up, there had been no time for debate; Rainbow had lifted Twilight onto her back and taken off into the sky and breakneck speeds. “Cloudsdale!” Rainbow shouted over her shoulder, not even slowing as she bowled through multiple clouds in her way, the white fluff exploding around her and disappearing into the air. “Cloudsdale!?” Twilight yelled back, “That's three hours away from here without a passenger! We won't be there until after dark!” Rainbow looked over her shoulder. “I know who did it, Twi! Can can stop this today!” She protested, her billowing mane creating a screen between her and the unicorn on her back. “I know, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, fighting the wind to make her voice heard. “But we have to deal with Shadow Charm first, and just because you know who this pony is doesn't mean you know where they are; we don't even know they're in Cloudsdale! We need to take a step back and think before charging in!” “You think, I charge!” Rainbow argued, giving an extra burst of speed. Canterlot was barely visible behind them now. “I'll be able to find her. It'll only take an hour or two extra with you to get to Cloudsdale; we'll be there just after sunset. I've seen her around the Weather Factory before.” Twilight groaned internally, a sudden patch of turbulence making her cling a little closer to the pegasus beneath her. Rainbow was charging in without a plan again. She wanted to let the pegasus have her way with this; the sooner the better for both of them. But there were some things that needed to be done. “I said no, Rainbow,” Twilight stressed. “We need to go back to Canterlot and sort out a plan. I'm sorry, but this will have to wait until tomorrow.” “What!?” Rainbow shouted back, anger tinting her voice. “You can’t be serious! We're not going back when we're so close to fixing everything!” “I am serious! Rainbow, even if we find who did this, that won't help anything. All they need to do is deny it, and without any serious evidence we have nothing! All we have is a bit of aura that could easily be from some point during the manufacturing of the necklace,” Twilight argued sternly, levelling a determined glare at the back of Rainbow's head. “We have Shadow Charm!” Rainbow countered. Twilight just shook her head. “But we don't. If he doesn't come forward on his own all we have is baseless accusations against him. We might be able to prove the aura is his, but he can just as easily say you took it to him to get it enchanted!” “But... I...” Rainbow trailed off, unsure of a proper comeback. “Face it, Rainbow; we need to go back to Canterlot. This was never going to be solved in a single day, even if both parties were in Ponyville with us,” Twilight explained, much to Rainbow's displeasure. She knew the unicorn was right. She knew that her plan was stupid, that she had little to no chance of actually finding the culprit, but... she couldn't just let it go for the whole day. “We have to go back to Canterlot,” Twilight insisted. “Ugh fine!” Rainbow shouted, fanning her wings out and stopping herself nearly instantly. “We'll go back to- TWILIGHT!” Rainbow screamed as she watched the unicorn flip over, her momentum carrying her right over Rainbow's head as she was launched off her back. “AHHHH! RAINBOW!” Twilight screech, hooves flailing wildly in the air as she fell rapidly, spinning and flipping on her way down. Her mind was slow to process the fact that she was falling; one moment she was sitting safely atop Rainbow, the next she was falling rapidly towards certain doom. Once it did hit her, however, she instinctively charged her horn, ready to teleport herself to safety. But where was safe? The nearest patch of solid ground was hundreds of feat below her, and teleportation did not cancel momentum. She could teleport herself back up to Rainbow, but then she'd just smash into the pegasus and bring her down too. If Rainbow was already chasing her, teleporting herself up would only make Rainbow lose track of her, and the extra fall distance would just increase her velocity. With no other options, Twilight snuffed her horn, closed her eyes, and stilled her body as she struggled to stop her spinning as best she could. Her only hope was Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, meanwhile, had already realized what had happened and was in a dive, trying desperately to catch up to the falling mare. Panic flashed through her mind as she saw the ground beyond the unicorn, now shockingly – and worryingly – still as she continued to fall. “Just a little closer,” Rainbow whispered, forcing her wings to pump harder, streamlining her body as she reached down towards Twilight, still tumbling through the air. Images flashed through Rainbow's mind. Images of the 'what if' scenario. Images of Twilight, laying motionless, broken and bloody on the rapidly approaching ground. Images of the unicorn laying comatose in a hospital bed, tubes and wires connecting her to the artificial machines keeping her alive. She didn't know which was worse. She didn't want to find out which one she would get if she failed. A life without Twilight Sparkle was not one she wanted to suffer through. Another burst of speed pushed her through the sound barrier, a Rainboom forming behind her. But it didn't matter to her. All that mattered was Twilight, now just a couple feet away, a distance that was now closing rapidly. As Rainbow finally came close enough to grab her, she noticed Twilight's eyes were closed, almost peacefully. Without giving it more than a second thought Rainbow gave her final flap, reaching out and grabbing the mare with her hooves, immediately pulling up as she saw the ground that was much too close for comfort. Carrying Twilight in her hooves, Rainbow finally allowed herself a breath of relief as she slowly bled off the extra speed by doing large loops, slowly descending to the ground. When Twilight felt a pair of strong, familiar hooves wrap around her, she knew she was safe. Slowly she opened her eyes, smiling gently up at the pegasus who caught her. After a couple seconds they landed on the ground safely in the middle of a field. “Twilight! Are you okay!?” Rainbow asked frantically, letting the unicorn out of her hooves and looking her over for any injuries. “Rainbow, I'm fine,” Twilight assured gently, standing up calmly and spinning around to prove her point. “Not a scratch on me.” “Oh Twilight I’m so sorry,” Rainbow cried, leaning forward and grabbing the unicorn in a firm embrace. Twilight smiled in understanding, returning the hug. “It's okay,” she soothed, but Rainbow was anything but convinced. “I should have just listened to you instead of running off and I should have thought before stopping like that. I should have made sure you were hanging on!” Rainbow ranted, never once releasing her grasp on the lavender unicorn in her hooves, squeezing tightly as if to assure herself that Twilight was okay. Twilight sighed quietly. “It's not your fault, Dashie,” she insisted. “But it is!” Rainbow countered, a few more tears leaking down her cheeks. “What I did was stupid, and look what it almost caused!” “But that didn't happen!” Twilight stressed. “Look, I'm fine, you're fine; nothing happened. As long as we're both okay it doesn't matter, right?” Rainbow shook her head adamantly. “You didn't want to fly to Canterlot from the beginning! I should have listened to you back in Ponyville.” “Rainbow, listen to me. It's not your fault; I agreed to go flying, and I trust you completely. I trusted you, and you caught me, just like you promised you would,” Twilight explained, holding the pegasus just as tightly as she was holding her. “B-but I-” “No buts!” Twilight cut in sternly. “I agreed to go flying, and when I fell you caught me. Now what do you say you fly us back to Canterlot so we can deal with Shadow Charm? We'll get a hotel room and form a plan, then we can go find who did this in the morning.” To Twilight's surprise, Rainbow once again shook her head. “We're not flying. I almost killed you, Twi. I can't be trusted to fly you back to Canterlot.” “Well I can't teleport two ponies that far, and we're too far to walk,” Twilight argued, releasing Rainbow from her hold and pulling away from the pegasus' grip. “We'll have to find another way,” Rainbow said, reluctantly letting Twilight out of her hooves. Twilight sighed, partly in annoyance, partly in sympathy. “I trust you to fly us back. It was just one mistake, that doesn't change anything. I still trust you. Canterlot is only 20 minutes away if you fly us. It'd be well over an hour on hoof, not including climbing the mountain path.” “After what just happened, you still want to fly with me?” Rainbow asked in shock. How could she possibly deserve Twilight's trust again what had just happened? No, she didn't deserve the unicorn's trust, but she was getting it anyway. Twilight was counting on her to get them back to Canterlot. Twilight trusted her to get them back to Canterlot. She would not fail her again. “Of course,” Twilight assured, smilingly brightly at the pegasus. Rain fidget nervously, still not entirely comfortable with he idea. But there was no other way, and Twilight needed her to do this. With a heavy sigh, Rainbow crouched down to the ground. “Hop on.” “I trust you, Rainbow,” Twilight repeated, climbing on and wrapping her hooves around Rainbow's neck. “If I fall, you'll catch me.” “Every time,” Rainbow agreed confidently, some of her usual confidence returning now that the adrenalin and fear was draining from her system. She kicked off the ground, carrying them slowly into the sky and turning towards Canterlot. She flew slowly this time, making sure there was absolutely no chance for Twilight to fall of. The twenty minute high-speed flight out to the middle of nowhere took just over half an hour at Rainbow's much more subdued pace, but Twilight didn't mind; the view was breathtaking. Her balloon may be technically safer but the basket blocked so much of the landscape below and around her that she'd only been able to admire the sky around the big bulky balloon above her. On Rainbow's back, she could still see the sky – all of it – but she could also see down to the ground passing below them. The shadows of the clouds floating all around them, the smooth green of the fields, everything. It was a sight she'd like to see more of. “So are you going to tell me who did it?” Twilight asked, leaning down close to Rainbow's ear. Canterlot could be seen growing on the horizon. “Her name's Neon Lightning. I never really knew her myself, but I've met her. I just don't understand why she'd do this,” Rainbow explained, her wings taking careful, steady flaps as she kept a slow and steady speed. Twilight pondered this for a second, before asking, “Do you know who she was related to at the competition?” Rainbow shook her head. “I don't know. Like I said; I didn't know her, I just met her. She was in Flight Camp with me, but we weren't in any of the same classes. The only reason I remember her at all is because I ran into her recently.” Twilight tilted her head. “When did you run into her again?” “Wonderbolt Academy. When the new batch of recruits come in, the old ones great them as they leave. She was their with whoever she's related to to see them off. She recognized me and we talked for a bit before I came back home,” Rainbow explained, readying herself for landing as she started climbing a little higher towards the city on the mountain before them. “Hmm,” Twilight hummed, deep in thought. She didn't say anything until after they'd landed on the streets of Canterlot. “We're here,” Rainbow announced proudly, crouching down to let Twilight off her back. The unicorn clambered down awkwardly, still lost in thought as she started trotting seemingly aimlessly down the street. “Uh, Twi?” Rainbow called. “Shadow Charm's place is the other way...” “I know,” Twilight said distractedly. “But the hotel's down here, and if we're going to get a room for the night we need to get there within an hour, before registration closes.” “Right... Hey, wait for me!” Rainbow yelled, running down the street to catch up with the surprisingly quick librarian. A few minutes of trotting in silence and they reached the hotel Twilight had mentioned. It was neither large nor classy, but it was affordable and would suit them for the night they needed to stay in Canterlot. They walked through the front door together, entering into a nice, eloquent lobby. While small and obviously not the most glamourous hotel around, it did what it could to give the appearance of one, with regal red rugs and comfy-looking chairs. There was even a small chandelier. “Can we get a room, please?” Twilight asked kindly, coming up to the receptionist. “Reservation?” She asked in a nasally tone, her glasses never once turning away from the paper work before her. Her horn hummed with energy as she did that day's filing and sorting. “Um, no,” Twilight answered slowly. The receptionist sighed, looking up. “We're all booked up then.” “What?” Twilight asked in surprise, “why would you be full?” The receptionist shook her head and returned to her papers. “The first performance of the new Wonderbolt recruit is tomorrow. A bunch of ponies came out to see them. Nopony knows who it is yet.” Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Rainbow wilt a little. “Look, we only need a room for tonight, is there anything you can do?” The receptionist sighed again, bringing out a small stack of papers and flipping through them. After a couple seconds, she stopped and looked back up. “We do have one room free, but-” “We'll take it,” Twilight exclaimed, cutting her off. The mare nodded, making a mark on the paper before stashing them away in a drawer. “One night in that room will cost you 70 bits.” Twilight nodded, reaching back into her saddlebags. The saddlebags that weren't on her back. “Huh? I thought... oh no...” “Twi?” Rainbow asked, “What's wrong?” “My saddlebags. I must have left them at Shadow Charm's house when I went to chase after you,” Twilight explained. “Can I book the room and pay you later?” She asked hopefully. The receptionist just rolled her eyes. “Payment's not due until checkout tomorrow.” She paused, fishing around her desk for a moment before finding what she was looking for. “Here's the key. Second floor, turn left, near the end of the hall. Room 213.” “Thanks!” Twilight called, grabbing the key in her magic before turning to the door. “I hope he hasn't been going through my stuff...” She muttered, before running out the door and down the street. Rainbow shook herself out of her daze, galloping to keep up with the unicorn.