Cheated Dreams

by Kodeake

2. The Answer

Cheated Dreams
Chapter Two
The Answer

Rainbow Dash paced nervously around her kitchen, a frown on her muzzle as her eyes flicked out her window. The sun was just starting to rise above the mountains outside Ponyville, its golden rays slowly waking the town far below her cloud home. By all rights it was a perfect day, the kind of day you woke up, threw open your curtains, and greeted the world with a bright smile. The kind of day where you just expected everything to go your way, the day when you would finally get everything you wanted to get done done, or the day you got the good news you'd been waiting for.

Rainbow Dash fell into the latter category, or at least she hoped she did. She had woken up just before dawn, right before the morning mail. Within the usual affairs of junk mail and bills had come the key to her future; a simple tan parchment, sealed with the Wonderbolts' wax logo. That letter had been sitting atop her kitchen counter ever since, waiting patiently to be opened by her hoof. Its contents had been calling to her ever since she had seen the seal, and she had been fighting with herself for just as long.

She wanted to open it; she should open it. But, at the same time, she was terrified of the very thing that held her dream in its papery clutches. Though it could hold her dream, gift wrapped just for her, it could very well contain a message that would crush her. This letter held her future hostage, and had yet to give a ransom demand. Every time she steeled herself to open it, she had walked up to her kitchen table, taken a deep breath, set her hoof against the seal, and then promptly chickened out and scurried away.

No matter what she did or how much she mentally prepared herself, she couldn't open it. If it had given her a ransom demand, she didn't have enough. The amount was just out of reach for her.

With a frustrated huff she collapsed into a chair, staring angrily and the letter that continued to mock her. Success or failure, Wonderbolt or pegasus, winner or loser. The answer was contained, kept safe from the prying eyes of those too weak to see their fate.

Rainbow Dash was not weak.

With a determined glare, she stood from her chair, circled the table to the letter, placed her hoof against the seal, and opened it.

Or she would have had she not chickened out, again. Instead, she picked the letter off the table, through it hastily into her saddlebags, slung them over her back, and shot out her door. She was too weak to see her fate. But only when she was alone.

With a speed unmatched by any pegasus in Equestria, Rainbow rocketed across the sky towards the town she called home. Within its short, small building and cobbled streets it held the ransom she needed. The only pony that truly knew what the contest meant to her. The only pony she had trusted enough to tell the truth to. The only pony who would understand the fact that she was scared.

Forgoing the door, Rainbow promptly landed on the upstairs balcony of Golden Oaks Library, the home of Twilight Sparkle, the only pony Rainbow trusted with the knowledge that she was afraid of something.

Luckily, the glass door was unlocked and she let herself in to the loft that contained Twilight's empty bed. Rainbow looked around frantically, quickly deducing that Twilight was not in her room. But then again, why would she be? It was almost nine in the morning; well past the time Twilight normally got up. With Rainbow's luck the unicorn would already be out running her errands.

Today was not turning out as perfect as the sunrise would have had her believe. Taking her one last bit of hope, she called out. “Twilight?” She waited for a while. There was no answer, nothing aside from the gentle breeze blowing through the branches and leaves of the repurposed tree. She idly wondered how Twilight lived in the tree during a storm; the noise would have been awful.

“Hello?” Rainbow's ears snapped forward as a reply finally came. It sounded like it came from the base of the stairs to the lower floor. From the sound of it, Twilight had no idea who was in her bedroom. Silently thanking Celestia, and apologizing for mistrusting the sunrise, Rainbow raced out of the room and down the stairs, nearly colliding with the unicorn that was standing at the base of the steps.

“Rainbow!” Twilight nearly shrieked, just barely jumping out of the way as her pegasus friend came charging down the stairs straight at her. Rainbow turned her head and watched Twilight go by, before realizing she should probably stop. Unfortunately, when she faced forward again, she came muzzle to wood with a wall. Too fast to stop and too close to turn, Rainbow turned her head away and clenched her eyes shut.

The impact never came. Instead her body was enveloped in a warm, tingling feeling. Opening her eyes, she saw the characteristic light violet glow of Twilight magic wrapped around her body, holding her a hair's length from the wall.

“You need to watch where you're going,” she scolded gently, releasing Rainbow from her magical grasp and allowing her to turn around.

“Heh, sorry about that, Twi,” Rainbow chuckled, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof as Twilight rolled her eyes.

“It's fine, but is there a reason you're here? And, more importantly, why you didn't just use the front door?” Twilight asked, turning to resume doing whatever it was she was doing before being interrupted by her guest. Which appeared to Rainbow to be taking inventory.

“Right, well, I need you to gather the girls for me,” Rainbow started quickly, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof as Twilight looked up quizzically from her list.

“What? Why you need all the girls to be together? Why would I need to gather them?” Twilight asked curiously, temporarily setting her list down on the table. “And that still doesn't answer why you couldn't use the door,” she added with a slight tint of frustration.

Rainbow took a deep breath; she'd have to tell Twilight eventually. Glancing down at the lightning bolt still dangling around her neck to remind herself that Twilight would understand, she reached back into her saddlebags with her wing. After searching a second, she wrapped her feathers carefully around the letter and pulled it out, showing it to Twilight. “Because... I'm scared.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, at both the proffered letter and what her friend had said, before she saw the insignia imprinted on the wax holding the letter closed. “Oh...” Was all she said, eyes lighting up in understanding as she nodded quickly. “Of course; I'll get them all to come here as fast as possible. Do you want them to know why?” She asked gently, taking the letter and placing it delicately on the table next to her forgotten list.

“No... it'd be better if I told them once they got here,” Rainbow said, allowing a small smile to tug at her lips as the letter was taken from her grasp, a weight going with it that she had been baring alone all morning.

Alone she was too weak.

With friends she was more than strong enough.

-_-_-_-

No more than half an hour later, Twilight had managed to gather all their friends at her library. While some had been hesitant to leave their jobs, she had insisted that it was important, and eventually they had caved and agreed to go with her. She wasn't sure how they would react to her dragging them away from their jobs for this, but Rainbow wanted them around when she finally opened the letter; she was merely an understanding messenger.

Though if the conversations she could hear coming from the living room were any indication, they were beginning to grow impatient.

“Alright, Rainbow,” she started, watching as the pegasus continued to eye the letter nervously, still sitting on her kitchen table “they're all here; it's time to open the letter and find out you've been accepted,” Twilight said with a smile, though she wilted when she saw the look on Rainbow's face.

“What if I lost? What would they all think of me? I don't know if it was such a good idea to bring them all here...” Rainbow trialed off nervously as she suddenly started second guessing herself, dreading their reaction to her failure.

“You won that competition; we all know you did. And even if you didn't, they would all understand, and they'll understand why you want them here,” Twilight explained with as much patience as she could, though Rainbow's constant lack of faith in her own abilities was beginning to bug her. It just didn't seem like Rainbow Dash; the pegasus that would normally be the first to show of any skill or achievement she had. But this? This nervous mare sitting at her table now was nothing like the pegasus she knew.

“I'm not so sure, Twi... I just...”

“Rainbow Dash, I have had just about enough of this!” Twilight snapped, forcefully silencing Rainbow before she could berate herself any further, “you are the fastest pegasus in the world, the only one capable of doing a Sonic Rainboom, the only pony capable of of controlling yourself at the speeds you reach, and the Wonderbolts would be stupid if they didn't give you first place. Now go out there, open that letter, and announce to them all that you won!” Twilight finished her tirade with a smile that could only be called inspiring, and as Rainbow heard the confidence practically dripping from her voice, she too smiled a little. In one fluid motion she picked up the letter and strolled proudly out to face their friends, all of them ending their conversations as Rainbow walked out to them with Twilight following behind, still wearing a smile of her own.

“Alright guys, I got my letter telling me if I won or,” she paused, swallowing nervously, “lost. And I... I wanted all of you here for it.”

After a murmur went through the crowed as they all realized why they needed to be there, silence descended over the room. A few uncomfortable moments of awkward tension with Rainbow simply staring at the letter passed and, finally, Twilight spoke up from behind her.

“Go ahead,” she said encouragingly, smiling gently, “remember what I told you.”

Rainbow smiled and, with a final deep, calming breath, slid her hoof under the wax in one quick motion, breaking it across the middle and unsealing the letter. She flicked her hoof and the letter unfolded. Her voice shook as she read, from both excitement and nervousness.

“Dear Rainbow Dash,

We are pleased to inform you that you have scored top place in the competition, and are officially a member of the Wonderbolts. It was a unanimous decision by everypony on our board, and we are all excited to have you amongst our ranks. Report to our office in Cloudsdale on the first of August during business hours for the necessary paperwork and your official flight suit.

Welcome to the team

-The Wonderbolts”

Rainbow's hooves were shaking as she finished reading the letter, a huge grin split her muzzle as she lowered the paper to see the rest of her friends smiling along with her. A cheer of congratulations rippled through the crowed before they gathered around her, wrapping her in a gladly accepted group hug.

Rainbow sighed slowly as she let her fear and tension melt out in the warm embrace of her friends. Why was so so afraid? Twilight knew she could do it and, deep down, she did too. Now, after the letter had been read and the group hug was just starting to break apart, she realized just how silly she was being.

She felt her necklace bounce against her chest as the hug dispersed entirely.

They all said their bit, congratulating her and saying a few words, before saying their goodbyes and leaving; they had been taken from their work, after all. Of course, they apologized for having to leave on such short notice, but Rainbow understood; she was just thankful none of them were mad at her for making them leave in the first place for this. Pinkie had even promised to throw a party that night in celebration, and they all agreed to meet up at it.

Once her friends had dispersed back to the livelihood they had been taken from, she was left alone in the library with Twilight, who had once again returned to her librarian tasks. Rainbow continued to hang around the library quietly, reading over the letter a few more times just to make sure it was real. She felt silly doing it, realizing that she'd been more than capable of doing it all along, but seeing the words on the page, some hard evidence that she'd done it... it was comforting in a way.

Almost as much as the silver lightning bolt around her neck. Almost.

“No weather work today?” Twilight questioned suddenly, snapping Rainbow out of her thoughts. When the pegasus turned to look at her she was still intently focused on the list in her magical grasp, having spoken up more to break the silence than to start an actual conversation as she continue her task.

Taking advantage of the unicorn's distracted state, Rainbow carefully sneaked around, keeping just outside of Twilight's view, and came up behind her. Now she had a real opportunity for a prank, she just needed to know what exactly she was going to do. Lacking her supplies it couldn't be anything too complex, but simpler was almost always better. She could go for the classic 'BOO!' and make the unicorn jump a couple feet in the air, possibly even teleport a few feet away like she sometimes did when Rainbow really got her. That was always funny.

But she looked down, caching a glint of silver against her chest. She knew exactly what she was going to do.

“Hey Twi,” she called gently, attracting the mare's attention without scaring her.

Twilight turned, lowering her list as she did, “yes?”

Rainbow wrapped her in a tight embrace, her wings joining in and closing around the unicorn. Twilight 'eep'd in surprise at the sudden hug, but didn't try to struggle out of it.

“Thank you,” Rainbow breathed quietly, holding Twilight close for a few more seconds before drawing back with and looking at her with a smile.

“For... what, exactly?” Twilight asked as she cocked her head to the side.

“For... well, for everything. The necklace, what you said to me, gathering the girls, and just... being generally awesome the past couple weeks. I was really worried about the Wonderbolts but... you really helped. So thanks,” Rainbow explained with a genuine smile. Not cocky, but still confident. A true smile that reached all the way to her eyes, shining brightly as the unicorn struggled to keep down a blush at the compliment. Being called 'awesome' by Rainbow Dash was a rare event to say the least.

“It was no problem, Rainbow, really,” Twilight said, smiling kindly as she put her list down on the table once again. “You needed help and you trusted me enough to tell me when you needed help, and you're the one that actually did it. I just helped push you in the right direction."

“Just take credit for once, will you?” Rainbow growled playfully, “if you hadn't said anything... I'd probably have never made it. I'd have been too scared to even compete, probably.”

Twilight simply smiled, shaking her head. “I'm sure you'd have done fine without me, Rainbow,” she assured gently, to which Rainbow promptly sighed.

“Maybe, maybe not. I'm just really glad I didn't have to.”

Author's Note:

Chapter two! A little later then I intended, but chapter three should be up by the weekend.

So, this chapter. It was really focused on showing just how much Rainbow trusts Twilight at this point. More than any other pony in her life, really. Of course, I would like to remind everyone that despite how it may seem, they are still just friends, as per the contest rules. If it really seems impossible that they're not a couple yet, please let me know and I'll tone it down a bit. They won't be together until the second half of the story. But I digress. Another thing I really focused on, as you may have been able to tell, is the necklace. It plays a huge part all throughout the story, and is important for almost everything that happens. More so in the next couple chapters, and it's very important in the chapter I'm writing right now. (Chapter 5). It may seem a bit OOC for Rainbow to be scared here, but, well, remember how she was at the Best Young Flier competition. That was with the Wonderbolts just watching her, this is her chance to be one; the anxiety would be crazy high. It would make sense that she wouldn't want to be alone, should she get bad news. As a side note, originally I was going to have her get Twilight to read the letter because she couldn't, but I decided that was going a little too far at this point in the story, and instead chose to have her make Twi gather all their friends. I think I went with the better option in this case.

So, thoughts comments or questions? Let me know what you have to say! If I missed anything in my admittedly rushed editing, let me know so I can fix it.

Comments

[Hexy]

I feel that this was a very well written chapter, and it really helped grab my interests. In the beginning, I could really feel Rainbow's anxiety. I can see the importance of the necklace already growing, and I'm excited to see how Rainbow (I assume it's Rainbow) gets framed and how this all comes together.

[Kodeake]

3791586
You should never assume....

[Timaeus]

How did this slip past me?

Eh, whatever, time for moar TwiDash. Better yet, another contest entry

Can't wait to see where this one will go.

[Hexy]

3793039 Oooh, cryptic... I like.

[Hadbro]

Okay, okay, I know this is gonna sound really perfect writing freak like, but, in the first paragraph you said "... Get everything you need to get done done." But you should have said "...need to get done, (comma) done."
Sorry I, a real grammar/writing freak

[Gentle Spy]

After a murmur went through the crowed as they all realized why they needed to be there, silence descended over the room.

I believe you meant crowd here not crowed.