Rainbow Dash let out a gasp as she saw her friend get dropped. Letting go of Lightning Dust, she took off toward the edge. With a quick glance around, she caught sight of the falling unicorn. Catching sight of Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash dove, wings flapping as she chased after her falling friend.

"Hang on, I'm coming!"

"Oh no you don't!" Lightning Dust shouted, chasing after her enemy.

For her part, Twilight Sparkle was experiencing something very interesting. Normally her mind was working on a thousand different scenarios, often speculating on the possibilities. Often there was a part of her that became neurotic from the experience, imagining the worst case scenario and how horrible things it could possibly be.

Now here she was, in an actual worst case scenario. Her hooves were tied together, her magic was being suppressed by a black ring placed around it, and she was currently falling toward the ground at terminal velocity. More than likely the impact would kill her. There were stories where ponies somehow survived, but the odds were so slim, they were negligible. She should have been terrified, screaming in fear as she plummeted.

Instead, she was feeling... detached. It was like what was happening to her was so overwhelming that her emotions had just sort of shut down. For whatever reason, Twilight Sparkle was not feeling afraid. Instead, she was just kind of observing and mentally cataloging everything. She contemplated the experience of falling and how it caused her to feel almost weightless. Her ears shifted as she listened to the sound of the air whistling as it blew past her. She looked up at the underside of Cloudsdale, calculating how long it would have taken her to reach terminal velocity to begin with. Twilight also watched as Rainbow Dash chased after her, who in turn was being chased by Lightning Dust. By Twilight's calculation, Rainbow Dash was not going to make it.

Come on, come on, Rainbow Dash thought to herself. I can make it. I've got to make it. She pushed herself, trying to go faster. Already she was flying faster than she remembered having ever gone before. She had to squint, eyes watering from the wind blowing against them. Ears pinned back and jaw clenched tight, she kept pushing.

It felt strange to Rainbow Dash at her current speed, like the very air was fighting against her. The more she pressed against it, the more it pushed back. The whole thing kind of reminded her of a trampoline. Except that this time she wanted to get through it instead of have it push her the opposite direction. She had to get to her friend. She just needed to push a little harder.

To Rainbow Dash, everything suddenly seemed to stop, even time. The world around her was still, no longer seem to fall towards her. Everything was silent, not even broken by the sound of her breathing or heartbeat.

During that moment, everything seemed to turn grey. The ground, the sky, even Twilight Sparkle. Slowly, the colors began to return. The came back one by one, spreading out and mixing. Then they grew brighter, more intense. Everything shifted from gray, to color, to a glowing pure white.

As everything turned into light, Rainbow Dash heard a faint pop.

Lightning Dust had no idea what happened. One moment, she was chasing after Rainbow Dash, confidant that she would catch up and certain that -- even if she was unable to -- there was no way for Dash to save the falling unicorn. The next thing she knew, she felt like she had been hit by an explosion.

There was an ear-splitting boom and a blinding light. Lightning Dust was sent backwards from something slamming into her, the air knocked out of her lungs. Colors shifted and swirled around her as she was pushed further and further away by some sort of shock-wave.

Something felt warm around her neck. She reached a hoof to the spot as she looked down. The red-jeweled choker was giving off heat. Before Lightning Dust's very eyes, she watched as glowing orange cracks appeared, growing larger and spreading across the surface. Lightning Dust let out a scream as the necklace exploded.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes went wide as her jaw dropped open. The sound of an explosion reached her ears as she watched a rainbow colored ring burst outward from where she had seen Rainbow Dash.

That... that... that... Her mind could not process it. She could not believe what she was seeing right before her eyes.

Rainbow Dash shot out from the center of the rainbow colored explosion, grinning despite herself. She felt incredible. She was moving faster than she had ever gone before, and she was loving it. There was a sense of freedom that Rainbow Dash had never felt before. Best of all, she was rapidly catching up with Twilight Sparkle. It looked like they were going to make it after all.

Mere feet from the ground, the two ponies caught up to each other. Rainbow Dash gripped Twilight and turned, changing the momentum of the fall into a rapid glide above the trees.

"Hang on!" Rainbow Dash called out, getting a nod from Twilight. The pegasus mare turned over onto her back, spreading her wings out wide. A grunt escaped her as she caught the glowing orange stone, spinning the two of them as she slowed down the momentum of the sphere as well. Using her wing for guidance, she slid The Element toward her hooves and grabbed it.

As soon as Rainbow Dash's hoof touched it, the Element of Harmony burst apart. The shards and a golden dust flowed along Rainbow Dash's arm and up to her neck. The remains shifted and spun around her before settling against her. Now she wore a golden necklace with an orange gemstone that looked like a comet complete with contrail.

Rainbow Dash's now grinned completely. She had done something new, saved her friend, and now they had one more Element of Harmony. Things could have gone better, but it seemed to have ended well.

"Come on," she said as she got a better grip on Twilight. "Let's get back to Cloudsdale. The others are waiting for us."