//------------------------------// // You Only Risk What You Love // Story: Ynanhluutr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// A pair of violet eyes fluttered open. Twilight Sparkle smiled. She stretched her limbs, craning her neck back as she closed her eyes with a contented sigh. Only halfway through the gesture did she become aware of the utter futility of having to flex muscles that weren't even there to get stiff in the first place. It was a sensation she had grown all too familiar with. Nevertheless, it didn't make her giggle any less. “Hmmm... heeheehee... that was a nice... sleep. Hmmmm...” She scratched her ear, then smoothed her bangs back. “Sometime soon, I'm going to have to come up with another name for it... at least before Pinkie drums up something silly like 'Vanilla Vapors.' What do you think, Rainbow?” Silence. “Mmmm... Rainbow?” Twilight smiled into air. All of the sudden, she became aware of the violent speed of the winds whipping past her. Twilight glanced left, right, then behind her. A frantic shriek escaped her muzzle. Rainbow Dash was plunging through the air. The whole sky lingered behind her like a big blue bowl. Panicking, Twilight looked over her shoulder. The ocean sailed upwards at a violent speed. Already, the unicorn could make out the foam white froth of the rippling waves. “Omigosh! Omigosh... Rainbow!” Twilight flung her hooves towards Rainbow's neck. She gnashed her teeth in frustration when her limbs went through her. “Rainbow! Wake up, Rainbow! You've... you've fallen asleep in mid-flight! No...” She squinted hard. Rainbow's eyelids hung partially open, and Twilight could immediately spot a yellow glow piercing straight through—interrupted by the occasional flash of crimson red pupils. “Chaos...” Twilight gulped. “No... fight it, Rainbow! Fight it!” She shrieked in the falling pegasus' ear. “You're an Element Bearer! You've got loyalty! You are Loyalty!” “Nneeeughhh...” A dainty yawn. Twilight's heart skipped a beat, but it was only Rarity. “Goodness, darling, what's with all the clamor?” asked the fashionista, rubbing her eyes as she materialized by her friend. “It's Rainbow! We've got to get her to wake up!” “Oh? What for?” Rarity smiled and turned around. “She's worked so hard. Surely the mare deserves some—Waa-haa-haa-haaaa!” She recoiled, grasping Twilight hard. “For Celestia's sake! She's plunging to her death!” “Look!” Twilight pointed straight up. She and Rarity squinted past the glimmering sunlight. They saw two figures streaking down, attempting to make up the distance between them and Rainbow's plummeting body. “Oh no...” Rarity stammered, looking behind her at the waves, then back up at the Desperadoes. “Th-they'll never make it in time!” “They've got to!” Twilight's voice cracked. “Rainbow! Please! You must wake up!” “Snap out of it, darling!” “Shhhh! Don't ruin our chances!” Pinkie squealed, suddenly leaping seaward beneath Rainbow's body. “She's given us a head-start! Wooohoooo! Cannonball contesttttt!” “Pinkie!” Twilight snarled. “Not the time—” “Look!” Rarity exclaimed, pointing. “It's Wildcard!” All three mares looked up to see a pair of goggles glinting in the sunlight. The griffon outflew his stallion counterpart, homing in on Rainbow's limp figure. “Uhhhhh...” Pinkie Pie suddenly gulped, eyeing Rainbow's reflection in the churning waves below... getting larger... larger... closer... “Okay, this isn't very fun anymore—” “Come on, Wildcard!” Twilight squeaked. The Desperado dove and dove. “C-come on, Wildcard!” Twilight whimpered. The roar of crashing waves echoed all around them. Moisture wafted through the air. “Twilight...” Rarity gulped hard. “If... if Rainbow dies... what'll... what'll happen to...?” She didn't finish that murmuring sentence. And Twilight didn't need to hear it for the heavy bulbs of sweat to form along her lavender brow. “Plug your noses!” Pinkie yelped, her voice echoing off the watery concrete below— Swooooosh! Wildcard caught up, snatching Rainbow Dash up in his agile hooves. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie flew like pendulums—shrieking. Their bodies struck a translucent wall of lavender, and they were plastered there by the sheer force of Wildcard sailing back skyward with the spectral mare in his grasp. The g-forces must have awoken something deep inside Rainbow's twitching figure, for suddenly she gasped, wheezed, and sputtered back to life. “Guhhh... snkkt... grkkt...” The pegasus curled up, clinging to Wildcard's feathery chest as heavy shivers wracked her body. “Mmmmfnngh... Roarke...” “Huh?” Pinkie sat up, ears twitching. “Who?” “Rainbow!” Twilight used Pinkie like a springboard and flung her ghostly body up. She coasted skyward alongside Wildcard, staring—gawking in Rainbow's face. “Rainbow, are you okay?! Speak to us!” “Mrmmff...Twi... Tw-Twilight...?” Rainbow writhed, eyes still clenched shut. “Oh please! Please!” Rarity hovered alongside the other unicorn, sad-faced. “Tell us you're in one piece! Tell us you're not... d-damaged in some way!” “It's... it's okay...” Rainbow shuddered. She bore a brief, vomitous grin before stammering: “Been... th-through worse dives.” She gulped. “Just... just dizzy, is all...” “Dizzy?! You call that dizzy?!” Rarity exclaimed, tossing a hoof with a momentary frown. “That's the textbook equivalent of a seizure, darling!” Pinkie popped up, frowning. “Textbooking while flying, Dashie?” She shook her head. “Tsk Tsk. Don't you know it can wait?” “Pinkie, please...” Twilight sighed, floating closer to the mare in Wildcard's arms. “Rainbow... is it the chaos spell?” “Mmmmfnngh... girls...” “Is the pendant not protecting you well enough?!” “It's... it's alright...” Rainbow panted and panted, her eyes opening thinly beneath a layer of sweat. “I... I think I'm good.” “Like Starswirl's left nostril hairs, you are!” Twilight barked. “That's the worst one I've seen you suffer yet!” “Worst what?” Pinkie blinked. “I don't get it!” “It's... quite a delicate thing to explain, Pinkie,” Rarity said. “Mmmf... this is why you should never go full-throttle into a cannonball contest!” Before either of the two could retort, Bard swooped down, filling the air with a winged thunderclap. “Land's sakes!” The Desperado panted and panted. “Dubya-Cee, talk about the catch of the century!” The griffon merely fidgeted in mid-air. He looked at Rainbow in his grasp, then cast his buddy a worried look. “Rainbow... Rainbow, darlin', can ya hear me?” “Yeah...” Rainbow smiled tiredly, dumbly. “A drawl by any other name...” “How can you possibly be in one piece after a nosedive like that?” “Mmmm... gimme a minute on that one...” Rainbow draped back in Wildcard's grasp. “...once the world lets me off at Fifth and Barfing.” “Dayum, that was close.” Bard fanned himself with his hat. “Ermm... uhhh...” He looked at the ocean below, then straight up. A few wispy clouds lingered high above. “There! Quick, Dubya. Let's get her a place to rest!” The griffon nodded. Flapping their wings, the two Desperadoes carried Rainbow slowly back to cloud level. There, they found a bed of moisture thick enough to lay her down. “Eeuuuugh...” Rainbow stretched her legs out. Her limbs hung limply on either side of her like jelly. “...anypony get the license plate of that aneurysm that just whizzed by?” “Argh... this dayum cloud is too small to last long,” Bard grumbled. Wildcard gestured rapidly. “Good thinkin'.” Bard nodded. “You head north and I'll head south. Let's grab as much moisture as we can and make this thang bigger.” “Say...” Pinkie frowned. “How come Dashie gets to make near-death jokes and I can't?” “Consider it a penny earned, darling,” Rarity said. She then leaned in over Rainbow. “Did you hear that, Rainbow? Your handsome companions are flying off to give this cloud some better support.” “Right...” Rainbow nodded weakly, her breaths slowly growing more even. “Good... idea...” “What was that, Rainbow?” Bard remarked. “Go... go ahead and... fluff the cloud into something fluffier,” Rainbow murmured. “Ya sure about that? Either Dubya-Cee or I could stay with you while—” “It's sturdy. It'll hold me.” Rainbow gulped. “For now. Plus...” She bore a weak smile. “Got the girls with me...” “You scared the ghosts out of yerself, huh?” “Something like that.” “Right. Well, just hold on tight. We won't be gone for long.” Bard whistled at his fellow Desperado. “Go, mofo! Like lightning!” The two sprung off in opposite directions, collecting the low altitude mists all around before bringing them back. “Rainbow...” Rarity gulped, wringing her hooves nervously together. “I... I'm not sure if I can ever 'sleep' again, as t'were. I mean... so long as something like this stands to happen again...” “Yeah!” Pinkie pouted. “The Vanilla Zone isn't so fun once it goes sour!” “Just chillax, everypony. It... it got scary for a second there, sure, but... but it's all good now,” Rainbow muttered. “Just... j-just been a while since I suffered a dizzy attack while in mid-flight.” She shut her eyes, calmly facing the sky as she rested. “I'm not on my A-Game. I'm sorry.” “But how can you possibly be held responsible for something you cannot control?!” Rarity exclaimed. “I said it's all good—” “Well, clearly it's not!” Rarity frowned. “It was my understanding that—by visiting and making contact with the Machine World's flame—you staved off these inexplicable fevers!” “And I do—” “But for it to happen to soon after you had just freed Pinkie from the abyss?! I mean... I-I thought I had all of this 'Austraeoh' nonsense figured out! But how can you explain this?!” “I... I can't...” Rainbow gulped. “It's... it's totally thrown me for a loop.” She bit her lip. “Wouldn't be the f-first time... heh...” “How could you possibly live with that?!” “It's not like I have a choice, Rares.” Rarity opened her muzzle to say something, but she fell mute. As she leaned back, Pinkie leaned forward with a sympathetic gaze. “I'm sorry, Dashie. Is it me? Am I... not being ghosty enough or something?” “No, Pinkie...” “Because...” Pinkie's ears folded. “...if sleeping so long in the Vanilla Zone made you go dizzy-wizzy, then I won't do it ever again! Promise!” “Pinkie... it's okay...” Rainbow reached out to touch her fetlock, but only phased through. After a few awkward seconds of silence, she chose to raise her hoof up to Pinkie's muzzle, reaching through it. “Got your nose, silly pony.” “Hmmm...” Pinkie smiled, eyes glossy. “Heeheehee... that you doooo...” “Well, in any case...” Catching her breath, Rarity fluffed her mane and floated upright. “It's a good thing you've got travel companions to come to your rescue.” “Yeah...” Rainbow nodded. “I guess we can now consider our tits for tat'd.” “Oh please, darling, surely it's not that simple.” Rarity smiled with a calm exhale. “I'm certain your dashing copilots still find themselves indebted to you.” “Yeah... it's cute... in a stupid kind of way, I guess.” Rainbow glanced over, blinking. “Twilight?” The unicorn floated in place, staring down at the ominous ocean waves far below. Rainbow gained the strength to lift her head. “Twilight... you okay, girl?” Twilight jolted, then glanced over. “Huh?” “We all know that I'm in one piece.” Rainbow gulped. “But how about you? Everything cool?” “I... I don't know.” Twilight glanced down. “Just a moment ago, we were so close to... I-I mean you were...” She shifted in the place where she floated. “Sorry, uh... a bit too much excitement for me, I guess.” Rainbow stared at the ghostly mare. Her eyes squinted curiously. “Well!” Rarity cleared her throat, smiling at the other three. “I can think of one thing that can relieve the tension of this most calamitous afternoon!” “Huh? What one thing?” Pinkie asked. Rarity pointed at the setting sun, then at the darkening horizon to the east. “Oh!” Pinkie hopped in mid-air. “That one thing! That's my favorite of all one things!”