A City in the Clouds
April 6th, 2013
"So, uhh, are you sure this isn't dangerous or somewhat harmful? Because the last time my body experienced high amounts of magic, the reaction wasn't very pleasant." I said to Twilight.
"This is a documented spell, so it's perfectly safe for anypony. Remember when Zecora warned you that the effects of the potion you took were unknown and could have possible risks?" Twilight reminded as she flipped through the pages in her spellbook.
"Oh yeah, I guess she did," I said. "And just to be sure, the book says nothing about a time limit on how long the spell lasts?" I asked.
"No time limit. The caster, being me, is the only one who can undo the cloud-walk spell." Twilight assured.
"Okay, good, just checking." I said, me being a teensy bit nerve wracked.
"Now, you said that Rainbow Dash was going to be here in awhile?" Twilight asked.
"She said we would leave at noon and it's eleven-forty right now. So, she should be here pretty soon." I replied.
Shortly after I made that statement, there were two knocks at the front door.
"That must be her." I assumed.
When I opened the door, I was expecting Rainbow Dash, but it none other than Spike, carrying a couple of brown grocery bags from his errand.
"Oh, it's you." I said.
"Were you were expecting Rainbow Dash?" Spike asked.
"Yep. Did you see her at all on the way back?" I asked.
"Not at all. But I saw Pinkie Pie coming out of the store with a bunch of confetti for her party cannon." Spike replied as he walked into the library.
"That sounds like Pinkie Pie, alright." I chuckled, closing the door.
As I turned my back to the door, it didn't take long for two more knocks from the other side to grab my attention.
"Okay then." I murmured.
Turns out that it was Rainbow Dash this time.
"Oh, it's actually you this time." I said, somewhat surprised.
"Why do you say that?" Rainbow asked.
"Well for starters, you arrived about ten seconds after Spike got back from the store." I replied.
"Huh. How coincidental," Rainbow said. "But anyways, did Twi cast the cloud-walk spell on you yet?"
"Not yet. She was just about to, actually." I said.
"Good timing." Spike said from the kitchen.
"Here, come on in." I said, holding the door open for Rainbow.
"Thanks, bud." Rainbow said.
Once inside, me and Rainbow walked over to Twilight to see if she found the page yet.
"Find it yet?" Rainbow asked Twilight.
"Hold on, give me a sec." Twilight said as she continued to flip the pages.
I then sat on the couch across the room while Rainbow Dash continued to fly besides me to wait for Twilight.
"You grew up in Cloudsdale, right?" I asked Rainbow Dash.
"You bet. Almost every pegasus lives there. Not a single Earth or Unicorn pony." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Yeah, well there's gonna be a human up there today." I said.
"I know, right? You watch, everypony's gonna freak out when they see you up there." Rainbow Dash said, her raspy voice slightly choked by laughs.
"Freak out in a good manner or bad manner?" I asked.
"Good manner. It would be pretty cool to see you walking around up there because nopony would expect it." Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." I said, getting up to head back over towards Twilight.
"Here it is." Twilight said, showing me the page.
"Cumulus-Pedalism: Allows non-pegasi to walk on cumulus clouds. Best used for Cloudsdale travel," I recited the text. "So where do you want me to stand?"
"Stand right there in the center." Twilight instructed.
"Okay." I said, taking a short deep breath as I stood in the center of the room.
Twilight set the book on the floor and quickly skimmed through the instructions on how to conjure the spell.
"Great. Let's get started," Twilight said with her usual enthusiasm for magic in her tone. "Uncross your arms and put them to your sides so that the magic can encase you properly."
I audibly gulped and reluctantly uncrossed my arms.
"Do it." I said.
Twilight did as told and she slightly grunted as her horn began to emit that distinctive magical aura sound from the magic within her. Once she gave a bit more effort, a misty, transparent form of lavender colored magic slowly exited the tip of her horn and floated towards my feet. The magic worked its way up my entire body while quickly wrapping around my body at the same time before my reaching my head. The magical mist sat still for a moment before my body seemed to absorb it inside of me. I didn't feel anything, but it was odd.
"Phew," Twilight quietly sighed once the spell was complete. "How do you feel?"
"Pretty normal, as always." I replied.
"Good." Twilight said.
"Was it hard for you to cast that spell? It looked like it took some effort." I said.
"Believe it or not, that was easy for me. There are some in here that I can barely finish." Twilight said.
"Like that wing spell you casted on Rarity?" Spike asked.
"Uh-huh. Just like that one." Twilight replied.
"So, now we're all good to head up to Cloudsdale?" Rainbow asked.
"Yes. Caleb now has the capability to walk freely through Cloudsdale" Twilight replied as she slid the book back on the bookshelf
"Or pretty much any big, puffy cloud in the sky." Spike added.
Twilight nodded in agreement.
"Aww yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Ready to go?" I asked.
"I'm ready if you're ready." Rainbow replied.
"Alright then, let's go," I said, opening the front door. "See you later, Twilight and Spike. And thanks again for the spell, Twilight." I called out before closing the door.
"Anytime." Twilight called back.
Once we were outside, I looked over towards Cloudsdale, which was about two miles away from Ponyville and eight hundred meters in the sky.
"So, how are we gonna get up there? I mean, it's not a problem for you, but for me." I said.
"Easy. We'll take the hot-air balloon up there." Rainbow replied.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that balloon." I said.
"Follow me. I'll show you the way." Rainbow said as she quickly flew away from me.
"Wait!" I called out as I ran after her.
Rainbow stopped and looked back at me before landing next to me.
"Could you atleast fly alongside me?" I asked.
"Sure. Sorry about that. I'm just so used to going fast all the time." Rainbow apologized.
"Don't sweat it. Let's just get to that hot-air balloon and get up to Cloudsdale." I said.
After walking for a short distance, we made to the same hot-air balloon station me, Twilight and the gang used to catch Rainbow Dash the day Discord wreaked chaos throughout Ponyville.
"Ah, yes. This hot-air balloon," I said, looking up at the tall, purple balloon. "Do you know how to steer this thing?" I asked Rainbow.
"Yeah, it's a magic balloon." Rainbow replied.
"A magical hot-air balloon?" I asked Rainbow.
"Yep."
"How does it work? Last time I was on here, Twilight manipulated it to move with her magic."
"It may sound strange for you, but all you have to do is think of where you want to go while in the basket, and the balloon will travel there all by itself." Rainbow answered.
"Really? Wow." I said.
"Hop in, and you'll see." Rainbow said, jumping into the basket.
"Okay. Just let me untie this rope from the post first."
After untying the rope, I jumped in and sat down in the cramped basket.
"Now, just think deep down about Cloudsdale." Rainbow instructed.
I closed my eyes and thought up of mental image of Cloudsdale; a huge cloud city with multiple rainbow-like waterfalls that pour off the mass and dissipate into the air. A few seconds had past before I felt the balloon lift off the ground. When I opened my eyes, we were high in the sky.
"H-hey, it worked!" I exclaimed.
"Told ya'." Rainbow said, slouching on her back while putting her forelegs behind her head, crossing her hind legs and closing her eyes. "Now, we just chillax until we get there."
"Chillax. Right." I said.
I then positioned myself the same way Rainbow did, but had to have a small portion of my legs hanging off the side because of how tall I am.
As we chillaxed for a little bit, a thought came to mind.
"Hey Rainbow Dash." I said.
"What's up?" she replied.
"I'm supposing your parents still live in Cloudsdale?"
Rainbow Dash raised both of her eyebrows for a split second.
"Yeaaaah," she droned. "Why?"
"I was thinking that we could drop by for a while. I mean, it would be cool to meet the parents of the fastest flier in Equestria."
"Well.... I don't know." Rainbow hesitated
"Don't know? They're your parents, Rainbow Dash."
"I know that. But I'm just gonna warn you that they can be a little bit overactive and embarrassing, especially around me. So, I just don't want you to be weirded out or anything like that." Rainbow replied.
"Oh, they can't be that bad. It'll be fun." I optimistically said.
Rainbow only responded by slightly biting her lower lip.
About fifteen minutes later or so, Rainbow Dash gave me a nudge on the shoulder, causing me to open my eyes.
"Hey, we're almost there." Rainbow alerted.
When I rose up, Cloudsdale was instantly in my view. And man, is it way more bigger than it looks from afar.
"Geez, this place is huge!" I exclaimed.
"I know, right?" Rainbow said.
As I inspected the cloud-city, I could slightly see buildings in the distance, but couldn't get a good look at them.
"Where are we landing?" I asked.
Rainbow looked ahead and pointed at a part of Cloudsdale that was open cloud. Perfect for landing on.
"That looks good." Rainbow said.
After she said that, the hot-air balloon began to move to the left a little while slowly descending at the same time towards the open space of Cloudsdale. Finally, the balloon made contact with the Cloudsdale with a quiet *poof* sound.
"Alright, let's get moving." Rainbow said, jumping out of the basket.
I slowly moved my right leg over the edge of the basket while the other stayed inside, but didn't make contact with the cloud.
"Umm." I hummed with skepticism.
"Go ahead, Caleb. Twilight said you'll be okay." Rainbow reminded.
"Alright then."
I then extended my right leg down even more with my toes pointing straight-down. My insecurity vanished when my foot made contact with the cloud. I then put my left foot on the cloud and hopped off, my weight causing the cloud to slightly depress.
"Oh, wow." I said, amazed that I was standing on an actual cloud.
"Pretty sweet, huh?" Rainbow asked.
"You have no idea." I said, crouching down to feel the cloud with my hand.
The cloud was one of the softest feeling I've ever felt before. I pressed down and the cloud seemed to mold for a split second before returning to its original shape.
"Man, this is so soft and cushiony." I admitted, fluffing the cloud and sending small vapors into the air.
"I've had my share with clouds. They're perfect for napping on." Rainbow said as she felt the cloud as well.
After fondling with the cloud for a minute, I looked onwards towards the city.
"How the heck do we even get around in this place?" I asked.
"Don't worry, man. I'll show you the way around." Rainbow said.
"Well, in that case, let's have a look around Cloudsdale." I said.
I followed Rainbow Dash through a small cloud tunnel with pillars at the entrance, which looked familiar to an architectural design that I couldn't remember, but have seen before. As we exited out the other end, we seemed to have entered the city section of Cloudsdale. There were numerous buildings, shops, and a few pegasi flying throughout the cloud streets and sky. As I studied the architectures even more, I finally realized that it looked just like the architecture from ancient Greece or Roman architecture. Pretty sure it was one of the two.
"So, what section of Cloudsdale is this? Not many pegasi around." I asked.
"This is the town section. The town is where everypony goes to do stuff, like, shopping, eating out, working at small town businesses, that kind of stuff." Rainbow replied. "Might not be as busy because it's the weekend, or visiting other parts of Equestria such as Las Pegasus.
"Las Pegasus, huh," I asked. "What other sections of Cloudsdale are there?"
"A whole lot more! There's the suburb section, The Cloudseum, Cloudsdale Weather Center, which we sent water to yesterday," Rainbow listed. "You want to check those places out?"
"Yeah, I want to check out the suburb section. Pretty sure your parents live there." I said.
Rainbow Dash jerked her head towards me.
"You were serious when you said you wanted to visit them?" she asked.
I gave Rainbow Dash a blank stare.
"Yes, I was serious," I replied. "And I'm pretty sure you know that way."
"Okay, we'll go." Rainbow gave in. "But don't blame me if they embarrass you."
"Oh my god, Rainbow Dash." I muttered.
With that, me and Rainbow Dash headed to the suburb section, just a bit southwest of the town.
Along the way, we came across more pegasi ponies, and they were just as astonished as I and Rainbow Dash predicted. They were asking questions on how I got up here and if they were liking Cloudsdale so far. After the crowd of pegasi cleared up and we continued towards the residential section, I heard something odd. It sounded like a jet engine in the distance.
"Do you pegasi have jets up here?" I asked.
"What's a jet?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, I swore I just heard a jet engine in the distan-" I said before I cut myself off from hearing it again. "There it is again!"
"That sound?" Rainbow asked.
"Yeah!"
"That's just the sound of pegasus flying at high speeds somewhere out in the distance. I would know because I fly fast." Rainbow replied.
I looked in the sky in all directions and saw two blue dots coming up from behind me, the flyby sound getting fainter as they got closer. Rainbow Dash let out a surprised gasp as she seemed to know who was coming.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" she quickly said like some sort of fangirl.
"What?" I asked.
"It's the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow declared out loud.
I looked a bit closer
"Oh, it is! Two of them!" I exclaimed.
"Quick! Do l look awesome?!" she asked.
"Uh, you look fine, Rainbow Dash." I replied.
"Good. Gotta look awesome for the Wonderbolts." Rainbow explained.
I chuckled to her slight overreaction.
The two dots turned into figures of pegasi and slowed down as they approached us before landing right in front.
"See, Soarin? Told ya' Caleb Barlow was gonna be in Cloudsdale today." Spitfire said.
"Nice to meet you, Caleb. As you know, the name's Soarin; Spitfire's Second In Command." Soarin said as he extended his foreleg towards me.
"And nice to meet another member of the Wonderbolts," I replied, shaking his hoof. "What'd you want to meet me for?"
"Well, mostly because it's break time back at HQ, but I also thought you seemed pretty cool." he replied.
"Is that so?" I asked, glancing at Rainbow, who looked a little impatient since I was getting all the Wonderbolt attention.
I thought and remembered that Rainbow was a real big fan of the Wonderbolts, so I decided make her day a whole lot better.
"Well, believe me, this mare right here is cooler than me." I said.
Spitfire and Soarin looked over at Rainbow Dash.
"Oh yeah," Soarin said as he trotted towards Rainbow Dash. "You're Rainbow Dash, right? The pegasi mare who saved us at the Young Fliers Competition, created a Sonic Rainboom, and lead the annual tornado duty?"
"Yes, sir! That would be me, sir!" Rainbow replied like a soldier would respond to a drill sergeant.
Soarin laughed to Rainbow's tone.
"Calm down, Cadet. This isn't the Wonderbolts Academy." Soarin joked.
Rainbow Dash let out a loud gasp.
"Caleb, did you hear that?! He called me a cadet!" Rainbow exclaimed in joy before doing flying somersaults in the air.
Me, Soarin, and Spitfire all smiled at her actions.
"She's a big fan." I informed.
"She sure seems it." Soarin said.
We continued to watch her for a little while and it seemed she wasn't stopping anytime soon.
"Say, i'm going to be heading over towards the residential area," I said, pointing towards the houses in the distance. "Be sure to tell her that I'm over there once you're done talking to her."
"You got it," Soarin said. "Hope you enjoy your stay in Cloudsdale."
I then began to walk over towards the residential area while Rainbow continued to dance in the air and repeating how she was called a cadet. It didn't take long for me to make to the residential area, and the houses were pretty small, to be honest. Some were so short that I could probably tower over them, but most were at least ten feet tall. I'm probably think this because of how tall the houses are in Ponyville.
As I walked through the streets of the subdivision, I really appreciated how interesting the houses looked. Instead of clouds, these structures were actually made of raw material, including bricks. Another cool feature was the fences. Instead of the average wooden fence that us humans have, the pegasi use these bendable rainbow fences that come in bands that you can wrap around to form a perimeter around their yards. Plus, they also use clouds with darker shades that act as bushes or plant decor. You see, it's just the tiny things that make Cloudsdale the way it is.
While continuing through the streets, I did come across this fairly tall stallion with a swirly pink mane, but he booked it when he saw me. I guess not everypony in Equestria is fond of me just yet. At the time, I was pretty much wandering aimlessly through the residential area, waiting for Rainbow to fly over and find me. However, my attention was brought to this stocky stallion with a grayish blue coat along with a rainbow mane and tail that slightly resembled Rainbow Dash's mane style; slightly messy. It was pretty much a dead giveaway to who I just found.
"I think I just found Rainbow Dash's father." I said to myself.
As I approached him from the left, he slightly cocked his head to the right, confused on how I was in Cloudsdale.
"Hey, you!" he called out with a slightly deep voice.
"Hi," I replied back, "how's it going?" I asked once I walked up to him.
"Either I'm dreaming, or am I seeing the first human in Equestria up here in Cloudsdale?"
"Ah, I've been getting the same question today," I said. "The name's Caleb Barlow, but you probably already knew that."
"Bow Hothoof, at your service." he introduced, extending his foreleg.
"Oh, I thought your name would have Rainbow in it, or a synonym to Dash." I said as I shook his hoof.
"Wait. Do you know my daughter?" Bow Hothoof asked.
"Oh, heck yeah. She's one of my best friends here in Equestria, and she brought me up here today to show me what Cloudsdale is like."
Bow Hothoof immediately checked the sky after I made that statement.
"Where? Where is she?" he asked, his tone becoming more excited.
"She's somewhere way back there talking to a couple of the Wonderbolts. She shouldn't be long." I replied.
"Oh, well, I was just about to head back inside. You can come inside if you'd like." Bow offered.
"Sure. Lead the way." I said.
I followed Bow Hothoof to the front door and ducked through the doorway just to get inside the house.
"Honey! Caleb Barlow, the first human in Equestria, is here!" Bow announced.
"Oh, dear, you know only pegasus can walk on Cloudsdale without falling through." Bow's wife said from another room.
Oh yeah? Well, see for yourself." Bow replied as we approached the kitchen area
I walked into the kitchen and saw a pegasus mare who had a coat color similar to Rainbow Dash's, and she had a mane that was not rainbow, but a light shade or dark orange with orange streaks.
"Oh my goodness, he really is here."
"Hi there, Mrs.... Hothoof?" I guessed.
"Oh, no. My name is Windy Whistles." she corrected, kindly.
"Sorry, my bad. As you probably know, I'm Caleb Barlow."
"Of course. Everypony around here knows you even though you live on the ground," Windy said. "Since you're our guest, would you like anything to drink or something? We've got all kinds of foods here." she offered.
"Uh, a glass of water would be fine. Thanks." I replied.
"Alright."
I then took a seat at the table that had a nice round seat that could probably fit six ponies on it. Shortly after, Windy Whistles gave me my glass of water and sat across from me along with Bow.
"So Caleb, tell us what brings you here?" Windy asked.
"Well, mostly because I wanted to meet the parents of the fastest flier in Equestria, and I'm frankly not disappointed." I replied.
"You know our little Dashie too?" Windy asked.
"He sure does! Him and her are best friends!" Bow confirmed.
"Well, anypony who's a friend of our Dash is a friend of ours too!" Windy beamed, happily.
"That's great! Y'know, you guys are so nice. I was expecting you both to be serious and intimidating for some reason." I admitted.
"Nope. Me and Windy are kind pegasi who just adore their daughter greatly." Bow said as he pulled Windy closer to him.
"That's sweet." I said.
As I sipped on my water, I could see Rainbow Dash out of the corner of my eye.
"Check it out. Look who's coming." I alerted.
Both parents hastefully looked out the window and absolutely went cheerful when they saw their daughter.
"Aww, she got rid of the ponytail. I thought she said was going to keep it." Windy said.
"When did she have a ponytail?" I asked, creating a mental image of Rainbow Dash with a ponytail.
"The day she moved out; saddest day ever." Windy replied.
"But still looks as cute as always." Bow said.
"She sure does, Bow." Windy agreed.
"Oh, shoot! We gotta get our shirts!" Bow exclaimed.
"You're right!" Windy gasped.
"Caleb, would you mind getting the door and lead our little filly into the kitchen once she's here?" Bow asked.
"No prob." I replied.
Bow and Windy wasted no time and dashed out of the kitchen to get their clothing. While they got their stuff, I headed over towards the door and opened it up to Rainbow Dash standing there.
"Hey, Caleb," Rainbow said, sounding a bit nervous. "How were they?"
"Aw, your parents are cool, Rainbow Dash." I said.
"No, you don't understand. They are very attached to me, and can be a little over the top at times." Rainbow said.
"Look, just drop by for a little while and we'll leave. Okay?" I said, starting to get a little bit frustrated at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash walked in the house and looked around the living room.
"Wow, it has been quite sometime since I've been in here. I remember napping on this one chair all the time when I was a little filly." Rainbow said as she touched the chair
"All the memories coming back?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Follow me to the kitchen." I instructed.
As me and Rainbow Dash entered the kitchen, there was Bow and Windy, wearing short-sleeved shirts with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark printed on and caps.
"Welcome back home, Rainbow Dash!" Bow and Windy welcomed in unison.
Bow and Windy ran over towards Rainbow and locked her in a hugging embrace.
"Mom, Dad. You dressed up for me." Rainbow wheezed as both of them squeezed her tightly.
"Oh, it's been so long since we've seen you, Dash." Windy said with happiness.
"It's only been two and a half years, Mom." Rainbow said.
"Still. Feels like it has been forever." Windy said.
Bow Hothoof ruffled his daughter's hair once they finished their hug, making it more messy.
"I see you somewhat kept your mane style the same. Just like your father." Bow said.
"Yeah, but I like to keep it more aerodynamic, if you know what I mean." Rainbow Dash said, fixing her mane and putting it back to its original style.
"Oh, of course! The fastest flier in Equestria has standards." Bow replied.
"Caleb, would you mind taking a picture of us and our little Dashie?" Windy asked, handing me a camera.
"Why, I most certainly can." I said.
"Moooom! Did you have to say my nickname in front of Caleb?" Rainbow asked like a stereotypically embarrassed girl.
"Oh, come on. It's a cute nickname." Bow said.
Rainbow glanced over towards me, causing me to shrug.
"Alright everypony, say Dashie." I instructed.
"Dashie!" Bow and Windy said, but I'm pretty sure Rainbow didn't say anything.
After clicking the shutter switch, a small photo exited through the front on the camera. I inspected Rainbow's expression, which looked like a mix between happy and uncomfortable.
"Beautiful memorabilia." I said, handing Windy the photo.
"Ooh! We should put this with the rest of the Rainbow Dash memorabilia." Windy suggested.
"Great idea, dear!" Bow agreed.
Rainbow smiled, but her eyes were the widest I've ever seen before.
"To Rainbow Dash's room!" Bow shouted.
"This outta be good." I thought to myself. "You 'comin?" I asked Rainbow.
"Sure, I don't see why not." Rainbow said, sarcastically.
"It's just your room."
"I have a hunch that they did something cringeworthy to it from the day I moved out."
"We'll just have to see for ourselves."
With that, we headed down the hallway to Rainbow Dash's room where Bow and Windy waited for us. Just like the shirts Bow and Windy wore, Rainbow's bedroom door had her cutie mark plastered on it.
"Here it is. The bedroom of the most perfect pegasus in the world!" Bow said.
He then opened the door to reveal Rainbow Dash's childhood bedroom. The ceiling was grey clouds with this cool looking rainbow light hanging from the clouds, a basketball hoop attached to the wall, shelves lined with books and a few trophies, posters on the walls, a small bed for a filly, and more. Reminded me of my room when I was five.
"Wow." Rainbow said in awe.
"Is it just as you remembered it?" I asked.
"It looks untouched." Rainbow said as she picked up a basketball and shot it into the hoop.
"Just like what she used to do when she was a filly." Windy whispered to me.
"They just grow up so fast." Bow croaked, shedding a small tear.
I gave a slight pat on Bow's back in support.
"But that's not the best part." Bow said, composing himself and heading towards a curtain on the right side of the room.
Rainbow looked over towards her dad.
"What's that?" Rainbow asked.
"Me and your mom worked on this for two weeks. All dedicated to you." Bow replied.
"To me?"
"Mm-hm. You are our shining rainbow, and we wanted to do something special for you because you mean so much to us." Windy said.
"So special that we wouldn't trade you for all the gold in the universe." Bow added.
Bow then opened the door and I swear it sounded like angels singing when the door opened. The inside of the room sure showed the dedication put into it. There were photos of Rainbow Dash of all ages all over the place, pretty much every single trophy she won in her childhood, and all of these memorabilias that involved Rainbow Dash and her family. Very organized that it looked like a Rainbow Dash museum.
Rainbow Dash was blown away by seeing a whole room dedicated towards her only. She actually had a legitimate smile on her face.
"You did all of this just for me?!" Rainbow flabbergastedly asked.
"Yep. Even added the voice FX for whenever you walk in." Bow said, opening the door over and over again to prove his claim.
"Wow... I mean, I didn't realize how much you cared for me that much." Rainbow said, closely examining all of this stuff from her past.
"What would make you say that?" Windy asked.
"Well, to be honest, I used to think the way you cared for me was sort of embarrassing. I know that sounds dumb, but it was just the way I thought." Rainbow replied as she walked towards them both.
I could tell that she felt bad for the way she thought before in her eyes
"Oh, Rainbow Dash," Windy began, lifting Rainbow's head up a little so that she would look at her in the eyes, "I know that we can be a little OTP sometimes, but it's just our way of showing that we care for you." Windy explained.
"And as long as we live, we plan to keep it like that, Rainbow Dash." Bow said.
Rainbow smiled at both of her parents before she hugged her parents, which they gladly hugged back.
"I love you, Mom and Dad."
"We love you too, Dashie."
I on the other hand stood at the doorway and a smile involuntarily grew on my face. It was such a heartwarming moment for me. As I watched them, I thought about my parents as well and how they would treat me when I was little boy. There were just so many family fun memories coming back to me all at once that the bottom of my eyelids became hot from the small amount of tears building up behind them.
I then left the room for a little fresh air outside to recollect myself. When I exited the house, I sat on the small steps and rubbed the tears out with my fingers and letting out a quick and quiet sigh.
"I miss you so much." I said, looking up into the sky.
As I went to step off of the solid step and onto the cloud, the unthinkable happened; gravity took its place again. My left leg fell straight through the cloud while the right landed sideways on the step, sending me straight down towards the hard ground while doing slow cartwheels before my central mass positioned me to fall backwards while my limbs flailed in the wind. It took me a second before I screamed my lungs out as I plummeted to the ground. That was just four seconds of the trip down. From how high Cloudsdale was up, it would take me only me fifteen seconds to make contact with the ground. I stopped screaming when my psyche told me that there was no hope for me now and to accept what was to come. I then grit my teeth together and closed my eyes tightly as I braced for the impact, hoping I wouldn't feel anything. However, in a stunning turn of events, I felt myself slow down.
"Wha-?" I uttered.
"We've got you!" three voices shouted below.
I knew instantly that it was Rainbow Dash and her family who had just come to my rescue.
"Ple-- please don't drop me." I stuttered in fear.
"We won't!" Bow assured.
As I closed my eyes again and took deep breaths, I felt them make contact with the ground and set me on the grass.
"Are you okay?!" Rainbow asked, frantically.
"I-- I'm fine. I just gotta catch my-- my breath." I said, softly.
After coughing a few times, I rose up and shook my body.
"What happened? How could the spell fail on you?! Twilight said that the spell would last until she undid it!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"I know." I said.
"Well, how could it fail?" Bow asked
"I know it's not Twilight's fault at all, that I can say. But I think it might be something involving me." I replied.
"Like what?" Windy asked.
"Look, you guys should head back up to Cloudsdale for now while I get this all cleared up." I said.
"Are you sure? You don't want us to come with?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. The two mile walk back will give me time to think," I said. "And thanks again for showing me your home, Rainbow Dash. Aside from falling, I really enjoyed spending time with you today and your family." I said.
"Thanks, Caleb. I did too. We should hang again sometime. Somewhere not in Cloudsdale next time." Rainbow said.
"Sure. See you later." I said.
"Stay safe now, okay." Bow said.
"Yep." I said before heading off back to Ponyville.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! Ugh, what did I do wrong?" Twilight ridiculed herself as she flipped through the spellbook.
"No, no, it's alright." I said.
"Alright?! Alright?! You nearly died, and you're saying it's alright?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I think it's something about the magic from the potion inside of me." I said.
Twilight only looked at me with her hyperventilation expression.
"I can't be sure, but I think that the magic in the potion I took from Zecora is fighting off the spell." I theorized.
"How?" Twilight asked.
"Well, when I was out for those past weeks, I think the magic was infusing with my DNA and cells, what makes me up. This would explain the accelerated growth to seven foot-nine." I said.
"Hmmm. I think you might be onto something," Twilight agreed. "Are you trying to say that the potion fights off other invasive spells that are casted upon you? Basically a type of immune system?" Twilight guessed.
"Yes, precisely." I said.
"It's a longshot theory, but it's the best we got." Twilight said.
"Then we better inform this to Zecora. Hopefully, she'll be able to fix this in her potion." I said.
"I agree. Let's go."