//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Clouds for Miles // Story: Flying South // by Skylight77 //------------------------------// The chests of two pegasi lying on a cloud together rose and shrank simultaneously. One was snoring louder than the other, blowing on the pink mane in her face while the wind blew it back. The sun shined brightly on their coats. Neither pegasi were disturbed, until some of the hairs on the pink main got caught in cyan nostrils. Rainbow Dash moaned in her slumber as she tried to wipe whatever had been caught in her nose. But what she felt was something smooth and soft, something she couldn’t help but snuggle with instead. She let it fill her scent as the mass closed in on her, darkening her visions through her closed eyes. Realizing that the sun was out, she peaked open an eye to greet the morning. But a mass pink that darkened her vision was blocking her view. She later noticed yellow mixed under the pink and also noticed that it was Fluttershy’s mane that she was holding in her hooves. Rainbow Dash’s body flinched and stuttered when she noticed how close she was snuggled up with Fluttershy. She hastily backed away, but quietly so as not to wake her up. She scratched the back of her mane and neck as her entire frame found itself itchy due to that close contact. She and Fluttershy had close contacts before, but never quite that close. Relieving herself, she took a look at her surroundings. Rainbow Dash softly gasped. “W-whoooaaa…” She slowly picked herself up, walking just by the edge of the cloud to grasp in the scenery. Clouds. Nothing but clouds filled under them, hiding the seas for what seemed to be for miles. “...Awweeessooome…” She slowly fluttered her wings, walking off the edge of the cloud to descend to the humongous lower one. From here, it looked as if they had traveled to a wasteland filled with nothing but snow. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration than to call this the snow version of a desert. But one touch upon landing on such a snowy land allowed her to confirm that it wasn’t snow. It really was all clouds. In the skies, there were barely any clouds at all. Yet there was a refreshing breeze coupled with such a bright warm sun. Rainbow Dash wanted to just bath in this sun and tan herself. It was just so perfect for her. “Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash interrupted her thoughts when she remembered what happened yesterday. She flew back up to the cloud Fluttershy was still sleeping on to check on her. Landing softly on the cloud, she nudged her and lightly tapped her cheek. “Fluttershy. Hello? Wake up sleepy head.” Fluttershy stirred a bit in response before a yawn came out of her. She smacked her lips together and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before her visions were greeted by a friendly cyan face looking down at her. She giggled. “Good morning, Rainbow Dash.” “Hey, so how are ya feeling?” Fluttershy shifted and twisted her body around slightly, looking for any signs of pain. There were none. “A lot better than yesterday,” she answered. “Great!” Rainbow Dash grabbed Fluttershy’s hoof to pull her up. “Check this out!” She motioned her other hoof to point towards the large ocean of clouds that were covering the vision of the sea. “Ahh!” Fluttershy’s voice was like a yelp when her vision caught sight of such an endless white landscape. She had never seen so much cloud piled up into one place, not even from Cloudsdale. “Oh my! W-where did this cloud take us?” “I don’t think it took us anywhere. I think these clouds came to us. Take a look.” Rainbow Dash moved her hoof towards another direction, pointing at a familiar small floating island in quite the distance. The single house and single tree could barely be made out. “Isn’t that where... A-anch... lives?” Fluttershy asked, nervously remembering her meat eating nature. “What else could it be? A mirage?” Rainbow Dash glanced around the scenery. “Well, maybe if things were a little more orange, it might be.” The two pegasi couldn’t help but chuckle together at the little joke. But Fluttershy’s laughter was cut short when something hit her mind. “Oh, Rainbow Dash, is our stuff okay?” she asked. “Of course they’re okay,” Rainbow replied as she patted the two bags lying next to her. “You didn’t think I’d forget them, did you?” “Oh… um… I meant the map…” Fluttershy blushed embarrassingly as she corrected herself. The correction made Rainbow’s head stumble, realizing what she implied. She reached into the bag that held her stuff and searched it. It didn’t take long for her to find the map inside, but when she pulled it out, she saw something scribbled on it. “Aw, nooo… She must’ve messed with it!” Rainbow whined as she took it out. She forgot that Anch had an unusual interest in the map when she first saw it. “Didn’t you check it yesterday?” Fluttershy asked. “Huh?” “Um… nevermind.” Rainbow Dash noticed that Fluttershy’s ears folded shyly. “If you’re talking about the map, yeah, but I couldn’t see it that well in the dark,” she answered what she assumed Fluttershy asked. “Huh?” Rainbow Dash shook her head aggressively in frustration. “Rrraah! Focus!” She hit herself in the head. “Uh! Right!” Fluttershy hastily replied, realizing they were getting too distracted with idle and pointless chatting that went no where. Rainbow Dash unfolded the map and they both brought their attention to its backside, reading what was scribbled on it. 'My fillies. If you’re awake because a storm disturbed your sleep, use the brooms in the closet and wave them at the clouds. That should blow them away and leave you alone. I’ll swing by tomorrow with a nice, healthy breakfast ready for you two. Now get some shut eye. Sweet dreams.' Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at the message. She wasn’t even sure what would be a proper response to this. The only thing she was grateful for, was that her writing at least didn’t match her accent, otherwise that would be so annoying to read. In fact, she wasn’t sure why she kept reading after the first two words. “My… she must’ve thought highly of us,” Fluttershy said as she finished reading. “Too highly if ya ask me…” Rainbow Dash responded, nearly swallowing her words. “I can’t believe I just said that.” She shook her head, realizing she was overthinking things. Ignoring the odd message written for them, she turned the map over to look for their next destination. “Hmm?” She noticed something else Anch must’ve left. “What is it?” Fluttershy asked, moving closer. There was a red circle that wasn’t there before, placed on the map. It didn’t seem to mark any place in particular. Rainbow Dash examined the position it was on and thought. “Hey! I think this is where we are,” she said. “Really? Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. “Yeah.” Rainbow pointed to the north part of the map for reference. “See, Equestria would be in this direction if it was labeled.” She pointed a little further south, showing an island’s layout. “We were flying in this direction to find this island. And since this circle was on the way, I’m guessing this was where we stopped.” Fluttershy took a moment to think. “So… Anch knows about where she lives? But… how?” “I don’t know. Wanna ask her yourself?” Fluttershy flinched away. “U-uh… no, um… nevermind…” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but chuckle. “But hey, at least there’s good news.” She used her hoof to reference the distance of their travel. “We’ve only got a few more miles to travel before finding land again.” That bit of trivia brought relief to Fluttershy’s spirits. “Ooh, that’s wonderful to hear. You think we’ll find a forest there for our little birdy friends back home?” Rainbow Dash rolled up the map. “Only one way to find out.” Before she placed it back in her bag, she reached into her bag to take something else out. But she found… a smaller bag of cupcakes crumbled into bits… “DANG IT! She did get into our food!” That outburst caused Fluttershy to flinch away so hard, she stumbled off the edge of the cloud. She screamed as gravity dragged her down. Before she remembered she could fly, her body plummeted to the cloud floor below, safely landing, but popping a cloud fog that reached right next to an oblivious, yet angry Rainbow Dash. ______________________________________________________________________________ After having a little chow down, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy continued their travels through this cloudy landscape. Thankfully not much of their food was taken, but still some none the less. But if something like that happened again, they would have to search for more food, otherwise leave back to Equestria early. They didn’t have any issues with water because, thanks to Rainbow Dash and all these clouds, they could refill the canisters in their bags at any time. In fact, the cloud that they were walking on could probably provide enough water for them for a lifetime, if they could fit it all in their canisters. Of course, they couldn’t, but that wasn’t important. Normally they would be flying under this thing, but while they were walking, they took the time to chat. “Wait… Anch didn’t like the cupcakes?” Fluttershy asked. “I think so,” Rainbow Dash responded. “She said something about changing her fish diet in a long time, and then said it tasted awful.” Rainbow took a glance at her bag, eyes narrowed. “I was afraid she was talking about our food. Turns out, she was.” “But how could she not have liked them? They were prepared by Pinkie Pie.” “I don’t know. Maybe she just doesn’t like treats. You know how Pinkie is with the… actually, nevermind. I don’t even know what she does with that sugar sometimes.” Rainbow and Fluttershy giggled as they talked about their friend. Pinkie Pie was one of the greatest bakers in all of Ponyville, and possibly all of Equestria. Between her and the Cakes, their only competition was Applejack and her Apple Family. Their baking were quite opposites though. The Apple Family’s specialty was anything to do with apples while the Cake Family’s specialty was anything to do with sugar. “Maybe she would’ve liked Applejack’s cooking,” Fluttershy continued the conversation. “She did seem like the farmer type.” “Who hunt’s animals…” Rainbow responded bluntly. Fluttershy squeaked and folded her ears. She hastily looked around the scenery in search of a way to change the topic. “U-um… are we there yet?” Rainbow Dash, knowing Fluttershy was quite patient, realized she must’ve struck a chord with that comment. She stopped her walking, signaling Fluttershy to stop as well. “Let’s check,” she said as casual as possible for Fluttershy’s sake. She dug her hooves in the cloud barrier they were walking on and started digging it up, getting herself deep inside. Fluttershy leaned in close, watching as the many tufts of cloud was being thrown in the air like dirt. One of the tufts hit her in the face, causing her to flinch back. She shook and wiped that cloud puff off of her, deciding to keep her distance as she watched that cloud being dug through as furiously as some of her animals dug holes. Fluttershy never knew a cloud could be so deep. She thought about helping, but she didn’t know nearly as much about clouds as Rainbow Dash did. It was times like these she realized that maybe it wouldn’t have been such a bad idea to get at least a few lessons from Rainbow on the subject. But for now, that would have to wait for later, whenever later came. “Fluttershy! Take a look!” Rainbow’s voice echoed through the hole. Curious, Fluttershy dropped down, using her wings to safely descend. Rainbow Dash hanged from the cloud upside down, waiting for Fluttershy to take in the sight that she was witnessing. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to show up, but when she did, she immediately stopped descending and gasped in awe. Rainbow Dash pressed her upside down head against Fluttershy’s right side up one, smiling with pleasure. “Looks like we’re here, Fluttershy.” Below them was no longer a sea, but an entire continent of land. From behind, they could barely see the ocean that they had been crossing, but every other direction, they saw grassfields, mountains, gardens, and directly below them, a small, yet bustling town. Oddly enough, it almost looked just like a normal town in Equestria. Actually, almost like an Appleloosa kind of town. A dirt path separated the grass, but the buildings were lined side by side. All the buildings looked like cabins, and there weren’t that many trees populating the place. The most distinct feature was that besides ponies, other creatures appeared to be inhabiting it, other than the animal kind. “Now if only we knew where here was,” Rainbow said, looking around the scenery. “I’m not seeing a forest anywhere around here.” Fluttershy checked around the scenery as well. No sign of any birds or other critters heading to what could possibly lead to a habitat. Oddly enough, despite the deep clouds covering the sky, it was still bright as day down below, not even rain dropping. “Well, we’re not gonna find anything hanging here. Let’s check around.” Rainbow Dash detached herself from the cloud and descended towards the town, Fluttershy following closely behind. Rainbow searched for the nearest citizen she could find traveling about. The first one appeared to be a grey mule who was walking with what appeared to be a black armored attack dog on leash. Ignoring their intimidating appearances, she landed right in front of them. “Hold it, buddy! We got some questions for you!” Rainbow said. The mule stopped, but didn’t seem phased by her sudden appearance, not even responding. "We've been traveling across seas and are new in town. We stopped by because we're looking for a forest. Do you know where we are?" The mule just stared at Rainbow Dash for about a second before responding. "Yes," he said. "Good!" Rainbow said. She expected an answer back, but the mule just stood motionless, letting silence fill the air. Rainbow just blinked a confusion, realizing the lack of response. "Sooo... are you gonna tell us where we are?" "No," the mule answered bluntly. "W-what? Why?!" Rainbow replied in a bit of a shock. "Because why should I have to tell you anything?!" The mule suddenly burst into a maniac laughter, walking past Rainbow Dash, and swinging his tail around in an insulting manner. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and growled before she zipped herself right back in front of the mule. "Hey! You answer my question or-" "Or what?" the mule interrupted. "You're gonna cry home to mother? Oh that's right, you're lost! Now get out of town and don't bother me again!" The wave of random insults infuriated Rainbow Dash as she watched that mule just walk off. "That jerk! I outta stuff his muzzle right around his tail and tie it!" She slammed her hoof on the ground, kicking large dirts in the air as her hoof created a small hole beneath. "I never thought I'd see a mule who acts like one!" She growled under her breath while every fiber in her body just wanted to teach that mule a lesson. "Okay, Rainbow Dash, let's go," Fluttershy's voice suddenly came. "Huh? Go where?" Rainbow asked as she looked at her. Fluttershy looked as if that conversation with the mule didn't happen. She just pointed somewhere. "There. That cute little puppy told me if anypony knows about a forest, they would be in there." Rainbow followed her gaze in the direction Fluttershy's hoof pointed to, noticing a building that looked like some sort of club or hangout. There was a small crowd of other citizens gathering around it. "Wait... You mean while I was talking to that jerk, you were...?" Fluttershy just nodded, answering Rainbow's question. Rainbow Dash wasn't sure what she was more impressed by. The fact that she could get information like that out of a dog, or the fact she had befriended a trained vicious beast that only Fluttershy could call a puppy, so quickly. She didn't even noticed because she was too focused on the mule being such a jerk. "Wow, nice job Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash praised before sticking her hoof in the air. The two friends hoof bumped before starting their flight to the club. On their way, they heard some kind of violent chatting going on there. Rainbow Dash didn’t pay it no mind, but Fluttershy became a little worried, putting a hoof over her mouth. It was too garbled to make out what was being said, but it did sound like arguing. *Smack!* Screaming, followed by a pony being tossed out of the crowd came about. Fluttershy eeped when that pony hit the ground and roughly slid along the dirt. She pressed her body close to Rainbow Dash while her ears pressed to the sides of her head. She and Rainbow Dash landed in front of the nervous crowd. “What’s going on here?” Rainbow Dash asked to anypony really as she witnessed the scene unfold. Just by the entrance to the club, there was a single dark brown earth pony with a greyish straight mane style. He was standing on his hind legs with his back to the building and fore legs crossed. His legs were larger than the average pony, indicating his muscular strength, which is probably why his Cutie Mark was an iron bar. He wore a black vest as well while his muzzle held a darker shade compared to the rest of his coat. “Next!” he shouted to the crowd. Seeing that no other pony, or donkey, or any other citizens in general were stepping forwards, Rainbow Dash decided to. Fluttershy followed close behind her. Before they reached this... Bouncer... as they recognized, Rainbow Dash slid her bag to her wing and spread it out towards Fluttershy, not only signaling her to hold onto it, but also signaling her to keep her distance. She complied and took the bag, letting Rainbow Dash speak with this bouncer. "Welcome to the Saddle Plateau. How tough are ya?" the bouncer started. "What's all this about?" Rainbow Dash asked. The bouncer just raised an eyebrow as if dumbfounded. "This is the Saddle Plateau," he responded, waving his hoof to the club. "Only the toughest of the tough may enter while the weak eats dirt outside. No strength, no entry! Now how tough are ya before I key hall you outta here!" Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, insulted by such comments and rules. She decided to play his little game. "How tough am I? You got a brick on ya?" she asked. "No, why?" he brought his hoof out in a questioning manner. But before he knew it, Rainbow Dash lunged at him, throwing a mighty punch at the split second he exposed his stomach. The bouncer's eyes popped out largely as his gut received a mark that would shame his life forever. His form fell face first to meet the dirt that would mark the grave of his humiliation. "Next time, think before you talk ill about the weak!" Rainbow Dash said while placing a hoof on her chest, signifying her defense for those that bouncer insulted. "Nice job, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy praised, knowing all too well how it felt to be called weak. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy high hoofed each other, and then walked into the club, leaving the bouncer to wallow in his embarrassment. ...Or that would've happened if this bouncer wasn't actually presenting a brick on his hoof in front of him. Rainbow Dash was rather surprised and impressed. “You actually carry around a brick with you?” Rainbow asked. “Are you just gonna stand there, or do I have to show you the door out of this land?!” the bouncer yelled, leaning forward with his brick. “Alright, alright! Chill out. Just… give me a few seconds.” Rainbow Dash let out a sigh at this pony’s display of impatience. It was worse than her own. Regardless, Rainbow Dash took a few steps back, keeping her eyes on that brick to examine it. Fluttershy took a few steps to the side, watching Rainbow Dash get herself in position. Even though her plan had an unexpected change, she was still going to show her stuff. After all, they still needed to get into that bar. But when she got enough distance between her and the brick, the bouncer started snarling infuriatingly. “If you wanted to chicken out, you should’ve said so in the beginning, rather than wasting my time with your pathetic-” *Smash!* Rainbow Dash interrupted the bouncer’s insulting speech by charging forth with all her might, smashing the brick in his hooves into pieces with just one powerful kick. The bouncer grunted in shock when that pegasus struck right before his eyes. The kick sent the pieces of that brick thrown to the door, piercing a perfect circle pattern in that wooden frame. “Whoa…” the bouncer said silently, barely moving after that display of power. “So, got another brick? Or do I have to use something else?” Rainbow Dash said while Fluttershy walked up behind her. “Uh, no, I’ve seen enough.” The bouncer motioned his hoof to the door. “You’re free to go in.” “Awesome!” Rainbow Dash said. She and Fluttershy started moving together. Fluttershy made sure to stay behind, yet close to Rainbow Dash as she was opening the door to the club. “Hold it!” Suddenly, a brown hoof came right in between them, forcing them to separate. “Ugh! Hey!” Rainbow Dash yelled while Fluttershy squeaked. “Only the toughest of the tough can enter. She, stays behind.” Fluttershy winced back as the bouncer pointed at her intimidatingly. “Hey bub! She’s with me, so leave her alone!” “She, is a crybaby and a wimp. So she’ll wait out here with the rest of the dirt-” Fluttershy yelped when she felt that brown hoof on her coat. “DON’T TOUCH HER!” As soon as that brown hoof made contact with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash tackled the bouncer, shoving him aside and to the ground. There was a collections of gasps that came from the crowd as a result. “Are you serious!” the bouncer shouted as he quickly jumped back to his hooves. “Know your place you worthless curs!” He charged for the pegasi. Fluttershy squeaked in fear, staying behind Rainbow Dash. The bouncer threw a punch while Rainbow Dash threw her own, colliding with each other and canceling out. They threw another quick punch at the same time, aiming lower, but with the same results. With the aid of her wings, Rainbow Dash spun her body and threw a kick. The bouncer jumped back, causing Rainbow to miss her target. The bouncer tried to use this opportunity to attack by lunging at her, but thanks to Rainbow’s wings, she was able to keep her balance and stop herself quick enough to make it possible for her to duck right under the bouncer’s forward twin punch. Being on the ground and the bouncer in the air, Rainbow Dash used this perfect opportunity to launch herself upward, grabbing the bouncer and taking him into the air as fast as she could. The bouncer roared as he struggled in that grip. Using his strength, he used his hind leg to kick the pegasus’s vulnerable stomach. Rainbow Dash groaned as she felt that powerful blow. The bouncer proceeded to pick Rainbow Dash up by the head, lifting her to his height before punching her square in the face. The bouncer grinned as he saw the look of that pathetic pegasus get what she deserved. She should’ve known better to know her place before picking such a fight. Now she would learn that harsh lesson as she tumbled down to the ground. But then, the bouncer suddenly realized what happens when you strike down your only pilot in a flight travel. The realization hit him like that brick getting crushed as he realized how high he had been sent in the air. He was just a couple meters below the large cloud covering the skies, with nothing around to keep him airborne anymore. “...Oh cruAAAAHHH!!!” Gravity took effect and he helplessly tumbled back down. During his fall and yelling, only humiliation filled his mind. That pegasus let him attack her on purpose so that he could make his own mistake and doom himself. The seconds passed and his body only fell faster. His fate rested in the dirt that would mark his grave. All he could do, was seethe his rage in the middle of his yelling, only thinking of that stupid pegasus that tricked him so easily. Just before the bouncer hit dirt, Rainbow Dash zipped past in a rainbow blur, smacking him in a spin cycle. The bouncer’s yelling jiggled as his body was turned into a brown tornado, spinning out of control. Rainbow Dash watched the amusing show she created, getting herself to land next to Fluttershy who was watching as well. As the tornado was slowing down, Rainbow Dash pressed her hoof against her neck, lightly grunting as she gave it a slight twist to make it pop, easing her pain. The tornado stopped, leaving behind a bouncer lying face only while the rest of his body lay upward in the air, his eyes unable to stop spinning. “W-wow Rainbow Dash. You rock! Woohoo!” Fluttershy cheered, knowing all too well that the bouncer’s life was spared in an impressive feat. “You said it!” Rainbow Dash made a chuckle, admiring Fluttershy’s praise. But then she paused herself, noticing the crowd staring at them in awe. “What are you all looking at!?” she shouted and stomped on the dirt. Every face in the crowd suddenly became terrified as they yelped before quickly splitting in all directions away from the scene, kicking up dirt in the process. Rainbow grinned. “Rainbow Dash, you scared them,” Fluttershy said. “That’s the idea,” Rainbow responded, bringing her attention back to Fluttershy. “But… why?” Rainbow placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Because anypony who messes with you-” she gestured to herself, “-messes with me! And nopony messes with me! And especially nopony messes with you as long as I’m around!” Fluttershy couldn’t help but chuckle as it felt like Rainbow Dash just repeated herself. But she smiled with glee knowing the message Rainbow was getting across. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” she said. “No problem, Fluttershy.” While Rainbow Dash admired the strong that had amazing talents, she despised those who talked down on the weak, especially if they talked them like plagues. So any respects she would otherwise have for this bouncer’s strength was dashed aside due to his attitude. As a result, she was more than happy teach him the harsh lesson that strength isn’t everything if you don’t have the skills and techniques to back them up. Seeing that the club now had no bouncer guarding the entrance, the two pegasi casually invited themselves inside after returning the proper bags to each other. Fluttershy kept herself behind, but close to Rainbow Dash as they opened the door and entered inside. But unknown to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, a little grey filly pegasus with a purple mane and no Cutie Mark, was watching the scene unfold from the distance. Impressed by the shocking event, the filly took advantage of the situation. After the two bigger pegasi had disappeared inside, she walked to the front entrance to the club. With no bouncer or other ponies to stop her, the filly quietly opened the door and slipped inside.