//------------------------------// // 19. Revelations // Story: Cheated Dreams // by Kodeake //------------------------------// Cheated Dreams Chapter 19 Revelations Rainbow groaned quietly as bright sunlight pierced her eyelids, alerting her to the presence of the morning sun. She begrudgingly opened one eye, just a crack, to see the bright sliver of light slipping through the curtains covering the windows and landing right on her face. With a pained moan she once again shut her eyes, and was about to roll over and away from the sun when she felt something tug on her wing. Glancing over, she remember how she fell asleep the previous night – and why. Her wing was completely numb after having been extended nearly all night, but Twilight's muzzle was twisted into a relaxed smile, so she deemed it worthwhile. “Only for you,” Rainbow groaned quietly, flexing her wing to try and get the feeling back in it without removing it from the unicorn. The flexing of her muscles must have been felt by Twilight however, as the lavender mare began to stir, turning over and trying to bury herself further into the pillows. When that didn't stop her from waking up, she rolled back over, grabbed Rainbow's wing, and pulled it tighter over herself. Rainbow let out a surprised yelp as Twilight tugged on her wing, the position amplifying the motion and tugging painfully on her appendage. Twilight's eyes snapped open when she heard the noise, and she looked around curiously. “Rainbow?” She asked tiredly. Suddenly, she realized the extra layer of blanketing wrapped around herself and blushed deeply, rolling out from under the cyan wing. “S-sorry.” Rainbow shook her head, stretching out her aching limb before folding it back against her side. “It's fine. Sleep well?” Twilight nodded happily. “A lot better, actually. Thanks to you,” she added with a blush. “It's the least I could do after nearly killing you,” Rainbow assured, pulling herself out of the bed. She stood and stretched, giving her wings a couple flaps. “So what's the plan for today? Need to go get that Shadow guy?” “Shadow Charm won't be necessary until we track down this Neon Lightning, which I honestly don't know how to do yet. We should head to Cloud-” Twilight explained, before being abruptly cut off by her grumbling stomach. She glanced to a clock, realizing it was just after ten in the morning. She laughed. “First, some breakfast is in order. The buffet should still be open.” -_-_-_- As Twilight had predicted, the buffet was still open – barely - and after a wholesome (if slightly stale) breakfast had been loaded onto each of their plates, they found an empty table – a rather easy feat – and sat down, eating silently. Both of them were lost in thought, but on very different subjects. “I don't know how we're going to find this pegasus,” Twilight muttered, more to herself than Rainbow as she chewed the freshest scone she could find. If Rainbow had heard her, she made no mention of it. “Shadow Charm doesn't even know who she is...” Shaking her head and snapping herself from her thoughts, Rainbow turned a questioning eye to the lavender unicorn across the table from her. “You really believed that?” She asked incredulously. Twilight gave her an odd look. “Why would he lie about that?” “You know, I think you're a little too trusting sometimes,” Rainbow laughed, drawing an angry glare from her companion. “Think about it this way; if some random pony came up to you asking for a flight enhancing enchantment, without even telling you their name, and was willing to pay a large sum of money, would you do it without asking questions?” Twilight swallowed slowly, rubbing a hoof against her chin as she thought. “Probably not,” she agreed. “Not knowing who she is? I'd be willing to believe that. But not even knowing her name? That's a bit far, making me think he does know who she is, and just didn't want to tell us. Probably was honest about her description because he didn't have time to make up a lie, that or he was betting on neither of us recognizing her.” “That... makes a lot of sense,” Twilight noted, her surprise clear in her tone. “What? You’re not the only one who can do a little detective work,” Rainbow boasted proudly. Twilight just rolled her eyes. “Then I guess we're going back to Shadow Charm to see what he really knows.” “First though, this cantaloupe is awesome,” Rainbow exclaimed, throwing a large slice of said melon into her mouth. Twilight laughed at the display as Rainbow spit the rind back onto her near-empty plate, completely devoid of the tasty meat. Breakfast passed quickly now that they had a goal in a ind, and before either of them noticed they had paid for their room and breakfast and left the hotel. With a comfortable silence between them and a destination in front of them, they made their way swiftly through the streets of Canterlot. The roads were packed with ponies going this way and that, either out doing their shopping or going to work. The early morning crowd did little to dissuaded the two ponies pushing their way through it, though it was considerably effective at slowing them down. However, before too long, they found themselves walking up the path towards a familiar house. Twilight was getting sick of the very sight of the house, and Rainbow's anger was still boiling just beneath her skin at the unicorn who lived there. Twilight knocked firmly on the door once more, and they waited. After a few moments of silence, Twilight lifted her hoof to knock again, but stopped herself when she heard voices coming from inside. They were faint, too faint to hear, but there were two ponies inside the house, and one of them sounded angry. “You hear that?” Rainbow asked, swivelling her ears around to try and hear better. Twilight nodded, pressing the side of her head against the door. The voices within became clear enough to understand. “How much did you tell them?” Somepony asked, from the sounds of it it was a mare. “N-nothing! All I did was describe how you looked!” Twilight recognized Shadow Charm's nervous voice. “Then how did they know who I was?” The mare countered angrily. “The pegasus recognized you! I don't know how!” “Idiot! She's seen me before. Great... this is great... what else did you tell them?” “Just that I didn't know who you were and that you paid me to do the enchantment,” Shadow explained, sounding somewhat smug. The mare was silent for a moment, seemingly to contemplate his answer. “And they believed that?” “As far as I can tell.” “Huh, maybe you're not so useless after all. It'll throw them off for a while; they don't know how or where to find me...” Twilight pulled her head away from the door, turning to face Rainbow. “Sounds like Neon Lightning is in there. You were right; they know each other,” she explained. Rainbow nodded. “So should we go in there?” Rainbow asked curiously, rustling her wings with anxious energy. “Not yet; I have an idea. I just need a focus...” Twilight glanced around her area, looking for something she could use. Eventually, her eyes fell on Rainbow Dash, and the necklace around her neck. She smiled. “Can I borrow that?” Rainbow titled her head quizzically, glancing down to her necklace. “Uh, sure... why?” She asked, removing the pendant from her neck and passing it over to Twilight, who lifted it in her magical glow. “I just need a physical focus, but I can record and amplify what they say. Crystals work better than metal, but this will do for now,” Twilight muttered, before closing her eyes and casting a spell on the necklace. A bright flash of light signified it'd been cast, and she pushed it up against the door. “If I can just get the frequency right...” Twilight trialed off, her tongue sticking out in concentration. Suddenly the air around them was filled with crisp, clear voices, coming from inside the house. “What should we do now though? They know who you are; it'll only take them so long to find you,” Shadow Charm asked nervously. “Yes, your bumbling has caused a few problems for me...” Neon said thoughtfully. “But what's done is done. You said they would come back and bring you to Canterlot in a few days, right?” “Yes; to explain to Spitfire what happened.” “Alright... I want you to go to Cloudsdale with them when they come back. I need you to tell Spitfire that they tried paying you to confess to enchanting the necklace.” “But what about you?” Shadow asked. “They won't came back for me until they've talked to you and gotten at least some information.” “Let them find me. I'll make sure the evidence they get will only incriminate them more when you claim to have been paid off,” Neon explained. “Think you can do that without screwing it up?” “Of course, sister. I'll wait here for them. Though if I may, what will you tell them?” 'Sister'? Twilight mouthed to Rainbow in surprise. The pegasus shrugged, still listening intently. “Nothing you would know if your story is true, and it needs to be as believable as possible. Don't worry; neither of us are going to be found out,” Neon assured. There was a pause of silence, before hoofsteps could be heard over the enchanted necklace. “I'll be back after you've delivered your statement to Spitfire.” “Well, now that that's sorted, I'll see you soon,” Shadow Charm said. He was audible both through the necklace and through the door, un-amplified. Twilight realized what was happening and pulled the silver bolt away from the door, tossing it around her own neck before motioning for Rainbow to follow and running around to the side of the house. Just as Rainbow’s tail vanished around the corner of the building the door opened. “Yes. Don't screw it up,” Neon warned, before turning and walking away from the house without looking back. Twilight leaned around the corner cautiously, watching the red coated pegasus walk to the end of the street before taking off. As soon as she was sure the pegasus was gone, she walked around to the front of the house with Rainbow and knocked on the door. A frustrated grunt came from inside. “What do you want Ne-” Shadow Charm stopped dead in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at the ponies on his doorstep. “So,” Rainbow started, stepping forward slightly. “You never told us you had a sister.” Shadow Charm stared numbly for a second, unsure of what to do. Eventually, he said, “I don't.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “We heard everything,” she deadpanned. The stallion was visibly sweating, shuffling on his hooves nervously. Glancing around the street, Shadow Charm straightened his posture and set his face in a determined glare. “You can't prove any of it,” he said defiantly. “Oh, but we can,” Twilight said smoothly, lighting her horn and touching her magic to the bolt around her neck. A soft, fuzzy noise filled the air, before two familiar voices started talking. “What should we do now though? They know who you are; it'll only take them so long to find you.” “Yes, your bumbling has caused a few problems for me...But what's done is done. You said they would come back and bring you to Canterlot in a few days, right?” “You recorded it!?” Shadow shouted, staring wide eyed at the small piece of metal. Rainbow gave him a confident smirk. “Yep. And unless I'm wrong, it's all we need to prove you two are conspiring against us... right?” Rainbow asked quietly, looking to Twilight for confirmation. Twilight nodded. “We show this to the Wonderbolts and they'll have no reason not to believe us.” Shadow Charm sighed heavily, sinking back to his haunches and rubbing the bridge of his nose with his hoof. “Neon's not gonna be happy about this,” he moaned quietly. “Happy about what?” All ponies present turned their heads in surprise to a deep red pegasus with a dull blue mane and red highlights. “N-neon!” Shadow stammered in surprise before shaking his head and pointing a hoof at Twilight. “She heard our conversation! She recorded it!” Neon shrugged calmly. “So I heard. I had a hunch you two were outside. You really shouldn't knock before trying to spy on somepony,” she lectured, sauntering up to Twilight, who just watched with a cautious expression. “Whether you know or not doesn't matter,” Rainbow boasted proudly. “We have proof now.” “Yes, you do,” Neon said disinterestedly. “But not for long. Shadow,” she barked. The stallion in question nodded his head and lit his horn. Twilight, thinking quickly, prepared a defensive spell, ready for whatever Shadow Charm was going to throw at her as she spun on her hooves to face him. However, instead of a blast of magic, he simply snatched the necklace from around her neck and broke it off, before passing it to Neon who took it in her mouth and took off running down the street. Momentarily stunned by the unexpected action, Twilight stared numbly at the spot previously inhabited by a red pegasus. She only snapped her mind free when she saw Rainbow jump off the ground and give chase, flying after Neon. “Get back here!” Rainbow cried, pumping her wings. She was gaining ground easily on the pegasus, until she took to the air herself, giving a couple powerful flaps and taking off straight into the sky. “Not doing so good without cheated eh Dash?” Neon taunted around the necklace in her mouth. Rainbow growled fiercely, adding another burst of strength and energy into each of her thrusts as she chased the pegasus. Twilight started running after them, trying not to lose sight of the two pegasi, but paused. Turning back to Shadow Charm she leveled a deathly glare at him. “If we don't get the necklace back, you will both pay,” she threatened. Without even waiting for a response she took off running towards the pegasi rapidly distancing themselves from the house. Keeping her eyes trained on the sky, Twilight paid no mind to the ponies around her, some of whom only barely getting out of her way before being bowled over by the charging unicorn. Taking a turn down an ally, Twilight struggled to keep a line of sight around the tall buildings closing her in on either side. Unfortunately, with her head up, she couldn't see the ground, nor the pothole rapidly approaching. In a magnificent display of why you should always look where you're going, Twilight was flung from her hooves, her momentum carrying her forward even as her hooves lost contact with the ground. Her legs flailed wildly as she crashed painfully into the side of a building back-first and upside down. Twilight let out a pained gasp, trying to take back the wind that had been knocked from her. She shook her head, clearing her vision of the black spots, and looked back to the sky, seeing that the two pegasi she'd been following were flying close to her location. Ignoring the lingering ache, Twilight stood up from her crash and once again took off running, wincing every time her front left hoof hit the ground. Her injured hoof hit a rock, twisting her ankle and worsening her pain. She let out a yelp and fell the the ground, gingerly nursing her limb. Just as she was about to force herself back up and to get back into the chase, a bright flash caught her attention. Standing next to her was a freshly-teleported Shadow Charm, breathing heavily from the exertion of teleportation. “You know,” he panted, slowly regaining his breath. “It's surprising, how hard it is to cast even the simplest of spells when you're in pain.” He discretely slipped his hoof on top of Twilight's injured ankle, pressing down lightly and making Twilight cry out in pain. “Let's go back to my place,” he said calmly, lighting his horn. “We have a few things to talk about.” With those words he cast his spell, removing both himself and Twilight from the ally. -_-_-_- “Not doing so good without cheated eh Dash?” Neon called over her shoulder as she doubled her flapping speed. She knew even without the enhancer Rainbow was faster than her, but that was okay; she was fast enough to stretch the chase out long enough. She had to divide her attention between the pegasus chasing her and the unicorn running along the ground. Seeing Rainbow lean forward, Neon dodged out of the way just in time to avoid and angry swipe. “Whoa; easy there,” she laughed. “You might hurt somepony doing that.” “Yeah,” Rainbow growled. “You, hopefully.” Neon rolled her eyes. “You're no fun, Dash,” she mocked, adding yet another burst of speed. This wasn't good; she could already feel the burn starting to spread through her wings. She wasn't used to flying so fast for extended periods of time. But Twilight was still out in the open. “We'll see about that once I get my hooves on you,” Rainbow shouted, matching Neon wing beat for wing beat, struggling to put more force behind each and every thrust. “C'mon,” Neon muttered, dodging another swipe. “Almost there...” “Get... Back... Here!” With every word Rainbow delivered an extra powerful push the the air behind her, instantly catching up to the much slower pegasus. With a final mighty thrust Rainbow launched herself, forelegs extended, aiming right for the red wings in front of her. However, what Neon lacked in speed on Rainbow, she made up for in agility. With a twist of her body and a flap of her wings, she danced elegantly around the very tips of Rainbow's hooves, once again evading. Glancing down briefly, Neon smiled, and stopped flying away. “Missed me!” She taunted proudly, turning around to see Rainbow rapidly closing the distance created by her failed tackle. “You're not faster than me,” Rainbow growled, “so just give up now and we can both go home.” “I would,” Neon said thoughtfully, once again dodging a cyan blur as Rainbow tried yet again to grab her out of the air. “But that wouldn't be very much fun.” Rainbow let out a aggravated shout as she missed the apparently agile pegasus, once again finding herself with empty hooves. Turning and charging, Neon simply dodged, using her agility to her advantage to avoid being caught. “You're getting on my nerves,” Rainbow muttered, missing her air tackle. Neon laughed. “Don't you see? That's the point!” Instead of responding, Rainbow tried again to grab the pegasus out of the sky, and tried again and again. Each and every time Neon simply kept just out of her reach, her body and wings twisting and turning gracefully through the air, like dancing rather than dodging. After a couple more seconds of this, Neon stopped, looked down, and smiled. “And we're done,” she said triumphantly, smirking maliciously as Rainbow stopped and gave her a confused look. “You giving up?” She asked. Neon simply shook her head. “No, but your marefriend is being pony-napped,” Neon explained, pointing down towards the streets of Canterlot. “Twilight?” Rainbow asked confusedly, following where the red hoof was pointed. Rainbow found herself looking into an ally, just in time to see a purple unicorn fall to the ground. “Twi!” “Better go save her,” Neon laughed as a bright flash of white signified the teleportation of her brother. Rainbow looked on in shock as the grey stallion flashed out of existence, taking Twilight with him. “You won't get away with this,” Rainbow cried over her shoulder, already flying as fast as she could back towards Shadow's Charms house. Neon shook her head disapprovingly, turning and flying away and a leisurely pace. “Oh Rainbow Dash,” she chuckled. “You just made sure I will.”