In Every Cloud

by Kimarous

Chapter 3

“You go that way, and I’ll go this way,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing left and right respectively. “We’ll meet back in front of the forest in an hour if we don’t see anything. If you need help, just yelp.”

Fluttershy nodded. “G-got it. Green unicorn colt with grey mane, right?”

“Right. See you in a while.” With that, both pegasi took to the air.

Normally, Rainbow Dash would be zipping around at top speed to cover as much ground as fast as possible, but the colt’s colour scheme sounded like it would blend very easy into the foliage below. She couldn’t risk a faster speed if that meant she’d pass right by him.

It wasn’t long until she found him, though. The bright, silvery flash of a teleportation spell was very easy to notice from the air. As she flew closer, she saw the young colt trotting along, heading deeper into the woods. She swooped down next to him.

“There you are. Everyone’s been looking for you.”

“So I noticed!” he snapped back. “Now leave me alone!”

He tried to storm past her, but Rainbow Dash zipped in front of him, barring his way. “Woah! Hold up, kid! What’s going on?”

The green colt scowled. “First, the name is Silver Lining! Second, I’m tired of explaining myself to people! Just look at my Cutie Mark if you want an answer!”

Rainbow Dash landed and did as he said. “A cloud… neat! Seen plenty of those on pegasi, but never seen on a unicorn before.”

“It means I’m evil! I got it by scaring some fillies with a thundercloud!”

“Ah,” Dash squinted quizzically, “So you are the one who messed with that cloud.”

Silver cocked his head. “Was that yours or something?” He groaned in frustration. “Great, now I’m a thief on top of everything else! The evidence just keeps piling up!”

Rainbow Dash relaxed, her tone following suit. “Okay, what are the concrete facts? You moved a cloud and you made it flash. That sound about right?”

“And scared those fillies, yes!”

“Forget the fillies for a moment,” Rainbow said. “You moved a cloud and made it flash.”

Silver Lining nodded. “Yes.”

The pegasus smiled. “Kid, I do that all the time. I’m a weather manager. That’s what I do for a living. I can assure you that that manipulating clouds does not make you evil.” She turned to the side, showing off her flank. “On top of that, I also have a cloud Cutie Mark. With a lightning bolt, too.”

“Yeah. A white cloud and a bolt that matches your mane,” Silver snarked.

“And your cloud matches your own mane. What’s your point?”

Silver paused and averted his eyes. He didn’t have an answer for that one.

“Thing is, my Cutie Mark doesn’t have anything to do with my job.”

He looked back at her, more confused this time. “Huh?”

“My talent is the Sonic Rainboom. If I go fast enough, I create one that speeds me up even more. That’s what it symbolizes. It doesn’t have any bearing on what I do in day-to-day life, and there are long periods where I never end up using it. All a Cutie Mark symbolizes is your foremost skill. You shouldn’t read any more into it beyond that.”

Silver lowered his eyes, processing what she just told him. He didn’t have long, however. A moment later, a bright golden bolt of magic shot into the air further into the forest, disappearing as it impacted with the massive storm cloud in its way.

“Was that… Mom’s magic?” the colt asked worriedly.

From that direction, somewhat muffled by a thunderclap, came a not-so-faint shout of “Help!” Fluttershy then shot up from where the bolt had launched from, seemingly signalling downward.

Rainbow Dash took to the air again, carrying Silver Lining with her. She flew over to the site just as the rest of the group arrived by foot. Amid a deluge of rain was evidence of a large mudslide into a short ravine. Evidently the rains caused one side of the ravine to collapse, taking several trees with it. As Rainbow Dash lowered Silver down, it became clear that under one of the fallen trees was…

“Mom!”

As Rainbow set Silver down, Fluttershy landed and Twilight sparkle stepped forth. “What’s happening here?”

Fluttershy’s eyes darted with worry. “I-I was flying overhead when I saw her run next to the ravine, shouting something. She was looking into it when a lightning bolt struck a nearby tree and cause the mudslide. With the way how everything fell, the tree got wedged and she can’t get loose. She then shot a magic bolt to get our attention.”

Applejack leaned over the edge to investigate things. “And it looks like the ravine is filling up with rain fast! We better hurry!”

Silver’s eyes watered. “It’s all my fault! If she wasn’t looking for me…”

Twilight straightened up, her eyes determined. “Pinkie, Rarity. Go to opposite sides of the ravine; see if you can find some way to drain the current water. Dash, Fluttershy. You two try to mitigate the incoming rainfall and slow the flooding. Applejack and I will try to get Gold Lining free.”

“Right!” said all as they went to their respective tasks.

Rainbow Dash flew up to the massive storm cloud, then suddenly stopped. How the heck was she to deal with this thing? It was too big to push out of the way, even with Fluttershy’s help, and she couldn’t risk blowing it away without causing a hurricane that would aggravate the situation.

“Wait!” called Silver, staring up at the cloud. “That cloud’s mine!”

Rainbow Dash zipped down and pulled him into magic range. “Think you can pull this off?”

“I have to try!”

Silver’s horn glowed in silvery light, which started to encompass the large cloud. Then it stopped encompassing said cloud. The colt grunted and tried to expand it, but all it did was shift the existing magic field around.

“Come on! Come on!”

“How much can you do with what you have?” Dash asked.

Silver let forth another groan as he nudged his head forward. “It’s too heavy to push! Maybe…”

As he jerked his head back, a chunk of cloud ripped free of the larger entity.

“Yes!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “That I can work with! Fluttershy, swap!” She passed Silver over to Fluttershy, then flew over to the smaller cloud and swiftly shoved it away from the ravine. “Keep ripping off smaller pieces, okay?”

Silver nodded. “On it!”

After a minute or two of this, Rainbow Dash called down to Twilight Sparkle. “How are things going down there?”

“We’re making progress on freeing her, but the water is still filling up too fast!” the purple unicorn called up. “Rarity! Pinkie Pie! Any luck on your ends?”

“Not a bit!” Rarity responded the distance.

“Me either!” agreed Pinkie.

“Never mind, then! Fall back and help Applejack and me!” Twilight looked back up and Rainbow Dash. “We’re running out of time! Try to hurry!”

Silver’s eyes started watering again. “I’m going as fast as I…” He cut himself off. “Wait. Rainbow Dash, can clouds absorb water into them?”

The pegasus’ eyes flashed. “Ah! Great idea!” Rainbow Dash grabbed one of the pieces of cloud she had already moved and flew down to the ravine, shoving the cloud into the rising water. It immediately drew water and the water lowered slightly.

“Yes!” Fluttershy said excitedly. “The clouds are acting as sponges!”

As Rainbow Dash kept moving the existing chunks of cloud into the water, Silver kept ripping new pieces off. The ravine steadily lost water, and the rest of the ponies made quick work of dislodging the tree.

“Heave… ho!” the four exclaimed at once, finally rolling the tree off Gold Lining. The group helped her out of the ravine, and the pesagi lowered Silver Lining down.

The young colt immediately nuzzled next to his mother, tears in his eyes. “I’m so sorry! It’s my fault that you got stuck! If I hadn’t…”

“Shh,” Gold hushed comfortingly. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Her son sniffed. “I’m the one who should say that…”

The rest of the group just stood back and smiled.

“A cloud-walking spell?” Silver Lining asked.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Twilight Sparkle used it to help my friends visit Cloudsdale and watch me compete. That’s that spell she was casting a moment ago. My idea.”

“Your idea?” Silver’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you suggesting…?”

Twilight Sparkle looked up at the two with a smile, then looked back down at the quill and letter she had been writing:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I have learned that discovering one’s talents is not the end of the journey. Simply knowing what the talent is and understanding what that talent allows is something else entirely. With a little creativity, one ability can awaken potential we would otherwise never know.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

“Are you ready?” Rainbow asked.

Silver nodded, and she lowered him onto the low-hanging cloud. True to what she said, he stood on top of it as firm as the ground.

The pegasus smiled. “Now let’s see if you can pull it off.”

Silver Lining’s horn glowed, engulfing the cloud in a silvery light. With a slight nudge, he moved himself forward. Then left. Right. Up and down. Diagonally upward, forward, and slightly to the left. The young colt laughed. He was a unicorn, and he was able to fly.

Comments

[Crystal Static]

Kinda stupid, and the pictures ruin the immersion, but at the same time, sweet and could have a lot of potential if you re-wrote it longer and more plot-developed.

~Crystalline Electrostatic~

[Crossover Queen]

I love it!