And He Had A Great Fall

by TCC56

Act 2: Love Is Fear

Applejack was up late the next morning - which meant the sun beat her by a few minutes. Dash was still dead asleep, and that was a good thing. Her strength had given out not long after they'd gotten back to the hotel and the pegasus had spent almost an hour shivering in Applejack's caring, firm grip before falling asleep.

Everything the farmer feared was true and the embrace of a lover was enough for the guard to go down. Rainbow Dash's hesitation at the marketplace was only the capstone of it all - two weeks spilled out of her. Two weeks of last second saves, and of seconds too late. Each one was the fault of Rainbow 'Danger' Dash - at least in her own opinion.

So Applejack had held her, listened to her vent, and softly stroked her mane while speaking gentle words of reassurance. It hadn't been enough, but it let the poor pegasus sleep with a measure of peace.

She would be hungry when she woke up since they had skipped the room service, but hopefully she wouldn't be up for a while. Rainbow needed it.

In the bathroom, Applejack prepared for her day - wash her face, brush her teeth, mane, and tail, and pull out the alchemy kit. It wasn't much, but it wasn't intended to be. The ingredients were there to mix up the only concoction that Applejack knew: cloud walking.

Being taught it had been a bit of a surprise. Only a few days after she had officially started dating Rainbow Dash, Applejack had been pulled aside by her little sister. Apple Bloom had handed the kit over as well as a sheet of instructions. When asked why, her statement was simple: "Yer gonna need this a lot goin' forward, big sis. An' Ah don't wanna know each and every time you go sneakin' off your marefriend's home." She had stuck out her tongue in disgust, but Applejack knew it was all fond sibling teasing. (She had still blushed brightly at the implications, wisely choosing not to respond about the accuracy of them.)

True to what Apple Bloom had said, the kit and knowledge had come in handy. Being able to walk around Dash's home freely with only a few minutes of preparation removed a lot of obstacles.

So in the bathroom, she mixed. Two parts aqua vitae to three parts oil of tartar to one part lapis infernalis for the base. Crush and mix in a pinch of sphaghum moss and a dandelion flower. Then the powdered shaving of a griffon's talon and three pegasus tears. As she stirred it with a copper rod, Applejack darkly considered how many of that last ingredient she could have collected the night before.

Once the mixture was done, she downed it in a single gulp. It smelled like oil and peat, burned a little when it hit her throat and was sour as cranberries in lime. Then she mixed up a second - the one dose should last the entire day, but having a back-up seemed wise.

After that was a quick shower. Applejack emerged from the steamy water right on time to hear hooves touch the wooden floor and Rainbow Dash's big mouth widen for a yawn.

Stepping out into the bedroom, Applejack looked to the bed... and facehoofed. On it, Rainbow was doing what she probably thought was a sexy pose. It was not. She was obviously still half asleep, her mane was going in three different directions and dried tears stained her cheeks. But she smiled that devil's smile at Applejack and winked in her clumsy, seductive way. "Hey there, Cider."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at the attempted pet name.

"'Cuz you sparkle like gold and I'd love to drink you up," Dash explained with the grace of a falling piano.

There was a pause exactly too long to be comfortable before Applejack crossed the few steps between them. Rainbow Dash leaned in for a romantic kiss, and Applejack shoved her away with a firm hoof. "That was absolutely terrible, kinda gross-soundin' and you've got morning breath like Tartarus after taco night." The push sprawled a pouting Rainbow out on the bed. "Get in there an' clean up. Ah'll call up some breakfast so we can get to talkin'."

Half an hour later, it was waffles in bed with a wet pegasus.

"Okay, so. I've been doing a lotta work to track this down. Like, maps and stuff! Twilight would be impressed." Dash puffed out her chest proudly. "But they're kinda not useful, 'cuz there's no pattern to things. All the falls we've got recorded happened in high traffic areas scattered around Cloudsdale."

"Dash." Applejack sighed heavily. "All of 'em happenin' in high traffic areas is a pattern."

Rainbow crammed a piece of haybacon in her mouth. "Is not," she countered between chews. "You can't disprove a negative - Twilight's lectured me on that before. There could be falls in other places too, just without ponies to report them."

A blonde eyebrow raised. "Outta all the hundreds of lectures Twilight's given ya, that's the one that sticks?"

And as ever, Rainbow was quick to have a justification. "Well, it's kinda because I told her nothing's impossible if you try hard enough. Turns out she's way better at logic puzzles than I am, so I had to admit the egghead was right. For now! But I'll prove I was right because proving it's impossible is also disproving a negative so I gotta win eventually." She pursed her lips, somehow still sour at not winning that sucker's bet. "Anyway, there's also no connection between the victims aside from that they're non-pegasi ponies."

"No griffons or hippogriffs or anything?," Applejack questioned as she used a bit of waffle to mop up some praline syrup.

Dash shook her head. "One hundred percent ponies that can't fly on their own. But I checked that one too - when this all started there were only four known creatures in Cloudsdale who couldn't fly and weren't ponies, and all four evacuated really early."

Tapping her chin with the fork, Applejack considered the situation. "So best as we can tell, there ain't no pattern for place or race. Not much ta go on."

"Yeah. The only thing in common's that they all got their potions from the same source."

Applejack stared at Rainbow Dash. "That's a mighty big thing in common."

But Dash shook her head. "Not as much as you'd think. See, pegasus cities are basically the only place you need cloudwalking in bulk so most have local facilities. It's a steady need but not a big one, so even in Cloudsdale there were only two alchemy manufacturers that did it. But," she mentioned as she grabbed another waffle and drowned it in whipped cream and banana syrup, "One of them closed shop three months ago. The alchemist retired and none of her apprentices were awesome enough to take over. So it's a thing all the victims have in common, but it's something everypony in Cloudsdale that needs the stuff has in common."

"So just one source for all the cloudwalkin' in Cloudsdale." It was something to consider for Applejack. "Ah'm presumin' you already had a chat?"

Rainbow nodded. "I totally did. And he just shut me down! He swears he's got nothing to do with the falling and threatened to throw me out if I didn't leave. Said that he's in business and it'd be stupid to kill his own customers."

Applejack shrugged. "He ain't wrong 'bout that."

"IF that's what he's really doing," came Dash's quick counterpoint. "Seriously, how often does it come up that some pony's trying to undermine their own business to collect insurance money or because they're buying out their competitors or something?"

Eyes as green as the sea (as Rainbow Dash had once called them) narrowed. "We talkin' in real life or in movies?"

Rainbow Dash immediately started pouting.

Applejack countered by giving her a quick kiss on the muzzle.

Momentarily placated, Rainbow continued. "That's kinda where I hit a wall. I mean, there's gotta be a common thread but heck if I know what it is."

"Ya tried seein' who all else was nearby?" Applejack frowned immediately after she said it. "Wait, lemme guess. High traffic areas, so that'd be cross-referencin' dozens if not hundreds of ponies." Rainbow Dash's nod confirmed it. "Shoot. Maybe it's some sorta geographic thing? Like them there ley-lines Twilight chatters on about sometimes?"

Again, Dash shook her head. "Nah, been checked. Cloudsdale moves, so if there was something it'd have to be pretty wide-spread. Like all over Equestria wide. And that got verified early when Twilight was afraid that Tirek's magic draining trick was back again. The magic's fine."

The two were quiet, finishing off another round of waffles as they pondered the situation ahead. Applejack finally reached a decision at about the same time that Rainbow Dash stole the last piece of haybacon. "Way Ah figure it, only common thread's that there alchemist. Now, maybe he ain't behind it but that don't mean the problem ain't in that shop of his. Maybe a tainted ingredient or maybe one've the workers is proper crazy. But right now Ah can't see a better place to start."

"Plus if he is hiding something, I bet we can find it!," Dash added. "Two sets of eyes are better than one, and I know you can be really persuasive when you want to be." She fluttered her eyelashes at Applejack.

The farmer looked at her marefriend's sweet smile. "...Aw, to heck with it. It'll still be there in an hour. Ah've missed you too, Dash." She leaned closer, and they kissed over the empty breakfast tray.

---

The pair of Bearers sat patiently two hours later. They had gotten a later than expected start - Dash needed another shower after somehow getting three different kinds of syrup in her coat - but at the moment there was nothing to do but wait.

Getting inside the Potionary was a bit difficult, considering the bridges Rainbow Dash had nearly burned in her first confrontation. Fortunately Applejack was a bit more persuasive and willing to throw the Princess' name around. One loud-mouthed Wonderbolt was easy to turn away - two members of the Council on a Royal mission was not.

That got them in the door, but waiting for an appointment was another issue entirely. Half an hour under the disapproving gaze of the secretary felt like an eternity. The wait was made worse by the fact that Rainbow Dash was restless, because the situation involved Rainbow Dash sitting still and being silent with nothing to do for half an hour. Applejack had spent a significant portion of the wait giving her marefriend glares to behave, damn it. But in time there was a quiet buzz from the intercom, a few low-toned words and the secretary escorted the pair inside.

The office they entered could be called an office in the same way that Twilight called a bag of hayburgers a meal - technically correct, recognizable as such but still giving the feeling that the one describing it was missing the point of the word. Three out of the four flat surfaces in the room were taken up by laboratory equipment - none were currently in use, but one still carried the slight stink of sulfur. The last surface was the desk itself and it was difficult to quite tell where it began and ended. While the desk itself was stout wood, it was surrounded on all sides by stacks of paper and books that inadvertently extended it to nearly twice its proper size. In the back of her head, Applejack could hear Twilight shriek in agony (and Discord chuckle playfully) at the lack of organization.

A pale purple pony sat behind the desk, taking a momentary sip from his coffee mug. The cool, even stare he was giving Rainbow spoke clearly of the impression she gave him at the last meeting - that she had her chin bucked up in defiance wasn't helping either. Instead, Applejack held out her hoof. "Thanks fer meetin' with us. My name's Applejack, an' Ah'm told you already met Rainbow Dash."

Thankfully, he shook hooves like a reasonable pony. "We're acquainted. I'm Potent Placebo, owner and chief alchemist. It's a pleasure to meet you, Applejack."

She sat, Dash hovered. "So, Potent--"

"Doctor Placebo," came the swift and harsh rebuke.

"...Doctor Placebo," Applejack corrected through gritted, smiling teeth. "Ah'm sure you've heard plenty about the accidents 'round Cloudsdale. We've been dispatched by Princess Twilight to have a look into what's goin' on." She made a slight motion with her head to the side. "And while Rainbow here's concerned 'bout your role in alla this--"

"YEAH." Rainbow Dash hovered forward, preparing to launch into an unhelpful tirade.

Applejack cut her off with a raised hoof before enthusiasm made things worse. "Ah'm of the mind that you ain't got much motive. But your product's still the only common thread, so it's where we gotta start."

Dr. Placebo squinted at the pair, trying to surmise their game. "Just what are you implying." It was obviously not a question.

"Ah'm sayin' that Ah think you ain't doin' it. But that don't mean there isn't bad product comin' from one of your suppliers, or an angry employee who figures the best way to stick it to their boss is sabotage an' get 'em into a heap of trouble." Applejack twisted the knife in the last words - as a businessmare, she knew that was both something that happened and a common fear of bosses.

Her words struck home, and the alchemist took a few moments to mull them over. Then he broke out his best fake smile. "I would be more than happy to show the Princess' representatives around our little operation. You can see for yourselves everything that goes on here. And afterwards perhaps make a public statement that my business isn't at fault?"

Applejack smiled just as falsely. She understood the deal being offered. "Ah think that'd be sensible enough once we're sure you're in the clear. Rumors can be mighty troublesome, after all."

---

"What the hay was that." Rainbow Dash did her best to keep her voice low as they trailed behind Dr. Placebo. He was leading them through a tour of the facility - but the two lovers had another issue to hash out between them.

Applejack just sighed and pulled her hat a little lower. "Had t'be done, Dash. You were about to piss him right off an' Ah had to stop you before it all blew up."

"But he's the bad guy," Dash hissed.

"Maybe." Applejack's eyes darted to the doctor's back, making sure he hadn't noticed the two of them arguing. "But if he is we ain't got a lick of proof. You tried dealin' with him like it was a fight and it flopped. I dealt with him like it was a business deal and we're gettin' somewhere."

Sourly, Dash pouted. "Well, you didn't have to be a jerk about it."

The farmer softly sighed. "And Ah'm sorry Ah was. Problem is your heart's bigger than your brain sometimes, Rainbow, and while that's part've why Ah love you? This guy's our only lead right now. Without him, we're back at square one an' there's lives at stake."

For a few moments, the two were quiet. Then, Applejack reached out an olive branch. "Ah'll make it up to you later? We'll eat where ever you're wantin' to, and Ah won't order a thing even slightly resemblin' a pizza."

It took a good ten seconds flat for Dash to consider it. "Deal." And she sealed it with a kiss.

A kiss that was promptly interrupted by the doctor clearing his throat.

Two blushing ponies separated their lips.

In spite of that, Dr. Placebo chuckled. "There's no need to be embarrassed. Your relationship's been in quite a few gossip columns, after all. And the timing is appropriate." He motioned with a hoof to a subsection of the warehouse floor closed off by glass. "As I was saying, those four are working on our staple products - fertility and contraceptive draughts. While not as mandatory as the cloudwalking you care about, there's never a lack of demand for those two."

Once more, the pair of Bearers blushed.

The tour continued across the floor, moving past another section - this one subdivided by heavy metal walls. "In here, we work on more magically sensitive concoctions. The walls are double-layered lead and cold iron, which stops nearly all environmental thaumatic radiation. It isn't currently in use, but most commonly the mixes in there are of a medical nature."

"And over here," he continued, "is our storage area for raw materials. As you can see, it's not only locked from the outside but the individual storage units are also secured by--"

He was cut off by a loud whistle from Appejack. "That thing's huge!"

Both other sets of eyes turned to where hers were - the hexagonal prism that hung in the middle of the room, suspended carefully within a sealed glass sphere and glowing a soft red.

"Ah yes, my pride and joy. One of the most crucial and valuable items in our laboratory." Dr. Placebo puffed his chest out a little. "The crystal is one of the largest in Equestria."

Rainbow Dash quirked an eyebrow. "It's, like, maaaaybe the size of a loaf of bread."

At her side, Applejack sighed. "That, Rainbow, is a philosopher's stone. Zecora's got one 'bout the size of Boulder."

Instantly, Dr. Placebo cut in. "The size of a BOULDER?"

"Rock's name is Boulder. He's only 'bout the size of a coin." Applejack paused before adding, "He just dreams big."

That shut the doctor up for a good thirty seconds before he managed to dismiss it as Applejack being a crazy dirt pony. "A-as she was getting at, that is a Philosopher's Stone. In this case, a calculus albus infused with lapis and red sulfur. It's absolutely indispensable for a proper chemist - the transmutative capabilities to--" Dr. Placebo squinted at Rainbow Dash. "You're not getting any of this, are you."

"Lost me after telling me it's a rock," came the honest answer.

Fortunately, Applejack was there. "It changes stuff into other stuff. Lotta alchemists use it to turn stuff into rare ingredients they can't get their hooves on. Doin' that without unicorn magic's tricky stuff, which is why that rock's valuable."

"Priceless," corrected the doctor. "It's the fourth largest Stone not owned by the Princesses themselves. I was fortunate enough to gain control of it when Doctor Elixir retired - though for quite a sum. I do correct you on one point, however, miss. We don't use it just for rare ingredients. The dandelion flower you need just to be here is hardly rare, but gathering it can be quite a pain depending in Cloudsdale's location and the season."

Applejack nodded - but Rainbow Dash had her eyes still on the stone. "That's one heck of an impressive rock. Wonder what Spike would think it tastes like." She was immediately elbowed in the gut by her partner.

Dr. Placebo was not amused by the idea. It seemed to make him rather angry, in fact. "Now, I believe you were curious about the trustworthiness of my employees and apprentices. I could continue the tour or let you look at our records. Either way, I would appreciate both of you being off of my property before the end of the hour."

Doing a little mental math with the position of the sun in the sky, Applejack took the grumbling loss. "We'll see those records, if y'don't mind."

---

The records were collected, gone over and by the end of the hour a few names had been pulled. While the exit from Placebo's Potionary was far from graceful, it was at least done on more neutral terms than Rainbow Dash's first visit.

That led them to both the local Guard station and to the Cloudsdale Courier to pull up more information on the handful of suspects.

And, in turn, that led them to Cloud Ten. While not the most exclusive of restaurants, it was quite popular for the relaxed atmosphere, a good jazz band on Friday nights and - because Rainbow Dash didn't believe for a second that Applejack would change her habits when ordering - the best flatbread pizza in Cloudsdale.

Unfortunately the atmosphere was being ruined by the street preacher standing outside the restaurant and shouting about the sins of pride and ego, there was no band playing because it was Wednesday and miraculously Applejack had deviated from her standard order and gotten the pot pie. And while the rest of the pub fare on the menu was enticing? Dash ordered the flatbread with just cheese and green peppers. Just in case Applejack wanted to swap.

Over dinner, the two went through the possibilities.

"So," Applejack noted towards one of the folders they'd accumulated. "This one's been gettin' in trouble for tribalism. Police report's sayin' she ain't let go of that seed that Cozy an' her like planted."

Rainbow tapped it with her hoof. "Yeah, but she doesn't have access to any of the stuff to change things. She's the book-keeper, she doesn't go anywhere near the equipment. Motive, but no opportunity."

The second folder became the focus of their attention next. "Now this one, he's got way more to go on." Rainbow Dash thumped it excitedly. "His brother's a Las Pegasus bookie, which totally means mob connections! And he handles the stock room so he's got plenty of chances to mess with the incoming ingredients or the finished product!"

This time, Applejack shook her head. "Yer assumin' a lot of motive there, Dash. Even if his brother's connected, that don't mean he's dirty. Or that his brother's up to somethin'. Or that somehow organized crime wants to do this." She paused to fork another chunk of pot pie. "You might not be wrong, but we're gonna have to take a closer look-see. Don't wanna make assumptions."

Grumbling, Dash accepted that part. At least for the moment. She took solace in the flatbread (though her eyes were on that delicious, steaming pot pie.) "What about the last two? They've got motive and opportunity, but it's weak."

"Yeah. Pair of sisters, used t'work for Doc Elixir at the old shop. They were two of the three apprentices he decided weren't good enough for runnin' things, but Placebo hired 'em on anyway." Applejack scratched her chin thoughtfully. "So they got access to everythin'."

"And maybe they're holding a grudge," Dash continued. "But it's kinda unlikely. They're both at the start of their apprenticeships - I mean, Soothing's only fourteen. No way either of them was gonna take over at their ages."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, don't think either of the Salve sisters had much expectation from Doc Elixir aside from continuin' their education. An' maybe it's my soft heart but Ah reckon Ah can't picture two kids not far off Apple Bloom's age doin' something as horrible as this."

Both went silent at that, delving into darker thoughts of the Crusaders gone bad.

Almost as one, they pulled out of it. "So, uh. Enjoying the pot pie?" Rainbow almost violently changed the subject.

And there was no objection. "Ain't half bad." Applejack broke another chunk off before lifting the fork and offering a taste.

Rainbow Dash leaned in, stretching over the table to get to the morsel.

Then she stretched further as it moved slightly back out of reach.

Then further.

Rainbow Dash's confused eyes met Applejack's just as panic clicked into the farmer's. She wasn't pulling away. She was sinking.

In that heartbeat of a moment as confusion became realization, absolute terror flashed across Dash's face. She dove across the table, hooves grabbing for Applejack's. They caught her hat as the rest of the orange earth pony fell through the cloud in a gentle poomf.

---

The intellectual part of Applejack's brain was the first to register what was happening. It noted that all of this was fascinating in terms of statistics. If you took the sum total of all earth ponies in Equestria, nearly all would have entered freefall zero times or at most once at the very end of their lives. That Applejack could name an easy dozen times it had happened to her showed just how much of an outlier she was and how absolutely crazy her life had become.

It was around this point that the emotional part of her mind caught up and started hammering the 'scream in terror' button.

Equestria stretched out below, with the clouds of Cloudsdale above. It was beautiful to look out at, though it was ruined by the wind whistling as Applejack approached terminal velocity. Her forehoof reached up to the emergency amulet that Twilight had forced her to wear, grasping to trigger it and halt her fall.

Then she stopped.

I won't let you fall, except for me.

Applejack had faith.

And it was rewarded. The sky above her exploded in a rainbow shockwave that was absolutely too close to Cloudsdale to be safe. Then a second explosion of color as a sky-blue bullet of a pony shattered any remaining laws of physics foolish enough to get in her way.

An odd sense of relaxation set in as Applejack sprawled herself in the air to expand her surface area and increase her drag, just like Dash had taught her to in case of emergency.

Two seconds later, Rainbow Dash impacted with her in the most aggressive hug in their lives.

It wasn't until they landed on the ground below that the sound caught up - an ear-shattering double BOOM that made Applejack's teeth rattle. Those were the only parts of her that could move in Rainbow's deathly tight embrace.

"You'reokayyou'reokayyou'reokay" Tears of relief streamed down the pegasus' cheeks as she held her marefriend with every ounce of strength she could muster.

"Ah'm okay," Applejack softly confirmed.

It was enough to quiet Dash down for a minute. As her relief subsided, her rage rose. "I'm going to kill them," was what she settled on. It started out icy cool and melted to open flame right after. "I'm gonna fly up there, round up every single one of them, bind their wings and start throwing them off until one of them confesses and they--"

"They didn't do it."

Applejack's disagreement derailed Dash's ravings. "..What?"

"They didn't do it," the farmer repeated. "Ah mixed my own potion this mornin', Dash. With my own ingredients from home, just like Apple Bloom taught me. Whatever's causin' this had nothin' to do with Doc Placebo and his crew, because Ah didn't take their stuff." Applejack frowned deeply. "So Ah dunno who's doin' this. But our one lead's dead."

Author's Note:

Right! Now that I'm done with my latest ongoing, I can get this done finally.

Comments

[JFalk]

Intriguing... Very intriguing...
At last at the moment, the possibility of adulteration at the source is out with the failure of Applejack's potion...
It opens to possibility of foul play targeting specifically the non-flying citizens of Cloudsdale...
Looking forward to see hoe they will solve the mystery!

[Wiimeiser]

10068638
Seems like alterations to the laws of magic to me...

[bahatumay]

Well, name like ‘Placebo’, guess I should have seen that coming.

[alexandria2k]

annnnnd I have another story to follow. This is a lovely little tale so far!

[alexandria2k]

Following this one, it's really good!
Half of me wanted to bet it was the cloud creation themselves, but it'd affect *everyone* and not just non-pegasi.
Waiting to see where this goes!

[SnowOriole]

Oooh. I love a good mystery!