Cheated Dreams
Chapter 23
Redemption
“Spitfire!?” Rainbow gasped, quickly brushing the crumbs from her muzzle in an effort to make herself look presentable.
“I got your message and I wanted to make sure you two were alright. The guard told me what happened,” Spitfire explained. “You mind?” She asked, motioning to a spare seat at the table. Rainbow shook her head eagerly, encouraging her idol to sit down.
“How did you get here so fast though? We only sent the letter an hour or two ago,” Twilight asked as Spitfire pulled out and sat in the empty chair, letting her bags drop tot he ground next to her.
She shrugged. “I was was just in the Canterlot Arena getting ready for tomorrow's show. What, did you think I would still be in Cloudsdale for the first performance with the new recruit?” She asked with a laugh, before frowning upon seeing the embarrassed looks on both their faces. “Just because I'm not in the squad flying doesn't mean I'm not there. If I don't have my own show to be attending, I'll be in the crowd supporting our fliers.”
“Heh... I guess I should have known that,” Twilight admitted sheepishly. “You did at least hear the recording right?”
Spitfire nodded. “Yes, and because of that... I'm postponing the show. It's clear we need to re-evaluate our position on the matter, and as much as I'd like to do so as soon as possible, I need to be in Cloudsdale with my board to make any decisions official, and you two can't leave the city until this mess is sorted out.”
“What do you need us for?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head. “Isn't the recording enough to prove I didn't cheat?”
“I'm afraid it isn't,” Spitfire said with a heavy sigh. “While it does prove you had no knowledge of the enchantment, it doesn't give a date of enchantment, meaning your performance could still have been a result of the enchantment. However, we will be allowing you to try and recreate your routine from the competition. If you can at least get close, you'll be back on the team. If you can't...” Spitfire trailed off solemnly, letting the silence say what she did not.
“Well... we might not be leaving the city any time soon, but... what if she does her routine again in the Canterlot Arena? You know what her original routine was; you'll be able to tell if she can do it again or not, then you can go to Cloudsdale and sort it out with your board,” Twilight suggested happily.
Spitfire took a moment to ponder the offer, but eventually nodded. “I don't see a problem with that. If you can get anywhere near your original performance, you're in. Come to the arena at exactly 3PM for the retest. I'll go make the arrangements.” She stood from her seat, getting ready to leave as she threw her bags back over her back. “Oh, and here,” she added quickly, reaching back into her saddlebags and extracting a lightning bolt hanging on a silver chain. “You can have this back.”
Rainbow smiled in thanks, quickly taking the necklace and securing it back around her neck.
“I'll see you in a couple hours,” Spitfire said, walking to the door. “Impress me,” she added with a smirk tossed over her shoulder before disappearing out into the streets of Canterlot.
Twilight and Rainbow shared a grin. “Sorry Twi,” Rainbow said, “But I think we'll have to cut breakfast short. I need to practice.”
“Well then, I think I know the perfect place,” Twilight announced eagerly, finishing her pastry and calling Joe over to their table. In a flash she'd payed for their breakfast, and she stood from the table.
“Oh? Where's that?” Rainbow asked curiously, following Twilight as the unicorn lead them out the door. The streets were once again lively, filled with a veritable ocean of ponies on their daily commute. The sound of idle chatter was nearly deafening in the mid-morning air.
“You'll see,” Twilight called over her shoulder as she disappeared into the crowd.
Rainbow quickly gave chase, but it soon became apparent that the unicorn had disappeared from her view in the crowd of ponies. Standing on the tops of her hooves Rainbow just barely saw a trace of purple over another pony's head and followed it as best she could. She found the place she thought Twilight was and once again stood as tall as she could, gazing out across the sea of moving heads, only to catch another glimpse of lavender near the end of the street. Twilight was moving surprisingly fast through the crowd, especially for a pony who had a sprained ankle.
With a strangled grunt Rainbow's wings rustled in frustration. Just as she was about to begin pushing her way through the crowd, she glanced back and saw her wings. She rolled her eyes at her own obliviousness and jumped up into the air, her wings snapping open and carrying her above the packed street. Keeping low to the ground but not so low as to knock into anything, Rainbow traced her unicorn friend through brief glimpses of her purple coat and mane.
After a couple minutes of flying, she managed to trace Twilight coming out of the ground onto a side street and landed next to her. “Geez, Twi,” she said as they started walking side by side down the street. “Were you trying to lose me or something?”
Twilight giggled. “Sorry, guess I'm just used to moving through crowds like that. I did live here.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. Having grown up in a pegasus city crowds were never something she had to deal with on a regular basis, most of the populace preferring to fly wherever they needed to go. The only exceptions were indoors, which were rarely crowded in the buildings Rainbow Dash frequented, and Wonderbolt shows. “Never mind. So where did you have in mind? I can't exactly practice here,” she said, motioning to the buildings boxing them in on either side.
“No, you can't,” Twilight agreed. “We're going somewhere with plenty of open space, I just hope it's the same as I remember it...”
Rainbow sighed, accepting her fate to not know where they were going as she followed Twilight down the sparely populated street in an unknown direction.
-_-_-_-
“Ah-hah! They didn't change it!” Twilight cried victoriously as she rounded a corned, just a couple steps ahead of Rainbow. They were in a rather uninteresting part of town, a small community behind Canterlot Castle. The houses and businesses here were run-down, some even abandoned. The palace cast a long shadow over the entire district, bathing it in cool darkness. It was right next to the mountain, the face of which could be seen over the roofs of the houses.
Rainbow turned the corner Twilight had disappeared around, and smiled at what she saw. Behind a house there was a large, open space, filling with bright green grass. Sun shone on the space from between two of the castle's towers, covering it in a rich golden light, a stark contrast to the rest of the area. The green space was almost as large as the Canterlot Arena, lined with small buildings on all four sides, short enough so that Rainbow wouldn't have a problem with them while flying.
“It's perfect!” Rainbow exclaimed, jumping up into the air and flying into the open space. “Exactly what I need to practice!”
“Glad you like it,” Twilight called after her rainbow maned friend, following her into the space. “I used to come here for reading when I was studying at the castle. It was supposed to be used to build a big stadium or something, but the funding was cut at the last minute.”
Rainbow did a loop in the air, revelling in the feeling of the sun's warmth on her coat, a feeling she had missed ever since falling into the shadow cast by the castle. “Let's see if I can still remember my routine...” She murmured to herself, flying up into the air, preparing to start the routine that would undoubtedly earn her her place back in the Wonderbolts.
Twilight smiled as Rainbow started doing her slow-speed stunts, knowing full well it was just a warmup for the athlete. She walked a little further into the sunlight, before setting herself down in the grass and rolling over onto her back to watch her friend preform.
The pegasus fell into her routine as naturally as one would fall asleep, looping spinning and rolling through the sky. All the while a rainbow trail followed her, marking her path for a brief time before fading in the wind. Rainbow looped one final time before beginning her ascent, preparing for the first Rainboom of the performance. She soared high into the sky, higher than the castle, nearly to the peak of the mountain behind her, before she stopped, and began plummeting back to the ground. Altering her trajectory just slightly, she grinned and extended her hooves, a shell of air forming around her.
An explosion ripped through the air as Rainbow tore her way through the sound barrier, filling the sky with a ring of colour. Twilight watched in aw as she saw the ring expand outwards directly above her, though the sound had not yet reached her ears. What was reaching her, however, was a cyan blur bolting straight down towards her. A frown crossed her muzzle as Rainbow continued descending, neither slowing nor turning, seemingly content to crash into the dirt.
Her eyes widened in fear; the pegasus was getting closer still, and not even angling herself to pull out of the dive. Fear gripped her heart as her friend fell. What if something had gone wrong? What if she couldn't pull up? What if-
Twilight's thoughts were silence as the pegasus pulled out of her dive, becoming level mere feat from the ground. She saw the distinct, cocky grin of her friend directly above her for a split second before Rainbow had pulled up. A massive wave of air followed in her wake, blowing Twilight's mane wildly around her face. Her fearful features turned to a look of mild annoyance mixed with joy as she tried to hold in her laugh. How silly she was, thinking Rainbow had messed up something as easy as a Sonic Rainboom.
The explosion hit Twilight not long after Rainbow had, the sound loud and low as Rainbow slipped into the super-sonic portion of her routine.
There was no way Rainbow would fail to get back into the Wonderbolts.
-_-_-_-
“You ready?” Twilight asked, glancing briefly up at the arena looming over her before turning back to the pegasus beside her.
Rainbow took a deep breath, looked down at her necklace, and smiled at her friend. “I did it before, I'll do it again,” she said confidently.
Twilight nodded, and together they walked through the entrance of the empty stadium. Two stallions stood guard at the entrance to the locker rooms, but stepped aside when they say who was coming. From the locker room the pair headed out and into the field of the arena, where Spitfire waited with a small group of Wonderbolts, probably the squad that was supposed to be flying the next day. Among them stood the new recruit whose position was in jeopardy, a lime green stallion with a a light red mane. He looked, understandably, nervous.
“Welcome, Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire called, her voice projecting authority all around the arena. “Since our usual judging committee is in Cloudsdale, you will be judged by the rookie flight squad who was supposed to be preforming tomorrow.”
Twilight stopped at the edge of the stadium as Rainbow continued forward. Spitfire continued. “You are to recreate the routine originally preformed at the Next Wonderbolt competition, your accuracy will be judged by me personally, while the other aspects of the routine will be scored by the flight squad. Any questions?”
“No, ma'am,” Rainbow barked as she snapped to attention, giving a quick salute to the pegasus before her.
“Then you may begin when ready,” Spitfire said, taking a step back as Rainbow nodded and crouched down to the ground, unfurling her wings. Just as she was about to take the to air, Spitfire called, “Wait a second!”
Rainbow uncoiled herself, keeping her wings spread even as Spitfire once again approached her. “Is there a problem?”
Instead of responding, Spitfire lifted a hoof, tapping the necklace around Rainbow's neck. “Lose the jewellery. It got you kicked out once, I am not going to risk it happening again and making me look like a fool,” she said apologetically.
“But it's not enchanted, ma'am,” Rainbow argued respectfully, never once falling from her posture.
“That may be true, but I'm not risking it. Either take it off, or don't compete,” Spitfire explained.
Rainbow nodded hesitantly, turning and walking back over to Twilight, who was watching from the edge of the stadium. The unicorn tilted her head in confusion, having been unable to hear the conversation. “What is it?” She asked upon seeing the downtrodden look on Rainbow's face.
“I... I can't wear the necklace,” she explained.
Twilight nodded, reaching out with her magic to take the necklace from her friend. “I'll hold onto it for you,” she said, but stopped when Rainbow held the necklace firmly to her chest.
“I... I don't know if I can do it without it though. It's what got me through the competition the first time, knowing you supported me... all of you...” She looked down the the ground beneath her, frowning as she remembered her friends, back in Ponyville, probably wondering where they were right now.
Frowning in understanding, Twilight said, “They still support you, Rainbow. If they knew what happened, they'd be here by your side.”
“I know but...” Rainbow trailed off, lifting the silver bolt with her hoof and examining it closely.
Twilight sighed. “I understand, but you have to take this opportunity.”
“I... I know...” Rainbow admitted hesitantly, finally letting go and lifting the silver chain over her head, holding it out. Twilight took it in her magic, debating for a second before dropping it over her own head.
“It'll be alright,” Twilight assured quietly. “Go do your routine; I'll be right here the whole time.”
“Alright...” Rainbow sighed heavily, turning away and starting her walk back to Spitfire. A hoof on her shoulder, however, stopped her. She turned back curiously. “Twi?”
Twilight said nothing, instead, she leaned forward, and kissed Rainbow tenderly on the lips. Rainbow's eyes flew wide open in shock, before closing slowly as she returned the gentle kiss. In that one tender embrace she gained all the confidence she needed. Much too soon it ended as Twilight pulled back, cheeks flushed a deep red.
“Go redeem your rightful place as a Wonderbolt.”