//------------------------------//
// Head in the Clouds 
// Story: A War 
// by Comma Typer 
//------------------------------//

Like many other towns, Leftlead had a mailbox. This one was situated right at the train station.
Globe Trotter brought out a letter from his pocket and placed it inside.
Then, he stood on the boarding platform, waiting as Horse Falls continued pouring down water in such a splendid and magnificent way under the morning sky.



An off-white pegasus flew, his mane flapping in the speedy wind—the sweat on his face, the clouds nearing.
Higher he flew, his hat and mailpony uniform still there. His saddle bag of mail still around his torso.
Then, several big clouds ahead with rainbow falls cascading down from it.
He slowed his wings down.
As he approached he could see Cloudsdale clearer: the cloudly columns scattered all over the floating city, the enormous coliseums and amphiteaters that could house hundreds if not thousands of ponies, the soft streets where homes and stores made up of clouds (among other building materials) resided, the famed weather factory where new clouds were produced and shown to the world, and several pegasi stood there, watching each unique cloud pass by their eyes. All of this and more were populated by pegasi and pegasi only as they walked and flew around, talking to each other.
The mailpony flew on, entering the residential area.
The houses of Cloudsdale had lots of space for their front yards, back yards, and side yards of cloud lawns. Some houses had neatly-trimmed clouds, others were dirty with unkempt clouds. All of these were fenced off by rainbow fences.
The mailpony paid no attention to any other house but one—the house in front of him.
It was a three- or four-story house; it was hard to tell since the floors themselves were not so even, owing to how the cloud floors were structured at a slant and not necessarily on a flat enough level. The walls were made up of bricks; the windows were irregular in their shape, as if wobbling, and their "plant boxes" held clouds instead; a tiny balcony from the third floor protruded outward from a glass door; the entrance itself was a small door with a stylized cloud on it, sided by two columns arched by a rainbow, and above the "ground" by two steps of stairs.
The pegasus pulled the letter out of his saddle bag and inserted it into the house's purple mailbox.
The door swung open. "Wait!"
The mailpony looked at the sudden newcomer.
"You don't have to do that, Special Delivery," Bow Hothoof, a rainbow-maned stallion with a stubble, said, walking to him. He opened the mailbox and retrieved the letter.
"You know you're not supposed to watch the mailbox," Special Delivery said nonchalantly.
"Oh, don't worry! What happens if you miss our mailbox? I'll be there to tell you."
The mailpony groaned as he wiped the sweat off of his face with a wing. "Whatever you say, mister."
Then, Special Delivery flew away.



Bow Hothoof entered the house with the letter still in his mouth.
The hallway showed several rooms at once to anyone who would come inside. There was the stairway room with a spiralling staircase, a few shelves and cabinets of books and little trinkets, and pictures of Bow Hothoof with his wife and their filly—all of them pegasi. There was the kitchen/dining room where a wooden table with cloud cushioned chairs was just some hoofsteps away from the oven and griller, while the walls had even more shelves, cabinets, and pictures of that family. The living room at the end of the hallway was perhaps the least cluttered of the rooms on the lowest floor, having sofas and cloud cushioned chairs once more around a short yet wide coffee table as a few potted plants added more green to the interior.
"Honey?" Bow Hothoof called out, bringing a hoof up to his mouth. "Honey?"
"I'm over here in the kitchen!" she called back.
Bow Hothoof turned to the left and gasped. "I-Is that...?"
"Yes," Windy Whistles said slowly, nodding her head with her scarlet-orange mane bobbing about. "Her favorite."
On the table was a sizable sandwich of multiple layers. Between all the loaves of bread was cream, potatoes, and pasta all smacked and compressed to fit into a sandwich that was still tall.
"That makes sense," Bow said. "She hasn't been here since last week. Seeing her in person during the training sessions was amazing, but it's understandable why she's putting off visiting here." Then, a smile. "She will have even more awesome stories about herself to tell us!"
Windy nodded—smiling, too, as she sat down on a chair. "I wonder what important thing she has to tell us!"
"Yeah, there's that 'something important' she wrote down on her letter," Bow said. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "When was she coming here again?"
"About nine."
The two looked at the clock on the wall.
It was only a few minutes until nine in the morning.
A creak.
Their ears perked up.
"Dashie?" Windy uttered, floating.
Bow took a step forward, closer to the hallway.
An open door and a blue hoof.
Down and out of sight.
Hoofsteps, revealing the mare—blue in coat, rainbow in her mane and in her tail, cutie mark a cloud zapping out a red-blue-yellow lightning bolt.
Rainbow Dash, saddle bag slung over and goggles on her vibrant mane.
Silence. A croak from Bow and Windy.
Then, a hug.
"Rainbow Dash!" Bow yelled in the embrace. "I know you didn't want us to attend, but I'm sure that it turned out well; we might've broken your concentration and you only wanted the best out of yourself!"
"You've beaten the rest of your flying buddies out of the water, didn't you, Dash?!" Windy shouted.
Then, they let go—Rainbow Dash having that almost stoic face, only muddled by a hint of worry.
"So," Bow said, "what's that 'important thing' you're gonna tell us? Did you go up the ranks? Did you become the co-captain of the Wonderbolts?"
"Or the captain of the Wonderbolts?"
"Or, maybe it's not Wonderbolts-related!" Bow looked up as he pondered over what that might be. "Perhaps you...uh, had the Wonderbolts visit your home for the first time!"
"Did you teach some of the colts and fillies at flight school?"
Rainbow Dash held up an open wing. "Mom...Dad...."
A tired voice, an airy voice.
The smiles on her parents disappeared, turning into faces of dread. They held on to each other.
"I'll cut the long story short."
She drew up breath with closed eyes.
Then, she exhaled.
"The Wonderbolts have been activated for service. We're going on duty, and that includes me."
Seconds of silence.
Then, the dreadful faces became more than just frowns—gloomy downward lips of desperation, eyes that stirred up tears welling up and about to trickle down. All of this was encapsulated with a gasp.
Windy rested her head on his face, teeth closed and a solitary tear on her cheek.
"You're...g-going there?" Bow asked.
Rainbow nodded. "I got all my stuff inside—" gesturing to her bag. "Don't worry. I'll write to you. As long as you get my letters, I'm coming home."
Windy sobbed.
Bow patted her on the head, still holding back his own tears by wiping them off with his free wing.
Rainbow stood resolute, not shedding a single drop.
Then, she hugged them.
Windy cried, Bow whimpered, Rainbow hugged, keeping her parents together with both wing and hoof.
"I...I know you'll be the most awesome flier out there...Rainbow," Bow managed, beginning to choke. "Actually, I don't just kn-know you'll be that. I know y-you are the most awesome flier." A sniff. "A-And you're going to perform those flying skills not just for show. You'll do it for E-Equestria. Th-That makes the b-both of us proud... even prouder of you."
Windy said no words. Only quiet sobs.
"There, there," Bow said, patting her once again. Then, turning to Rainbow: "Anything else? W-We could treat you out to lunch—i-if there's still time, that is."
Rainbow looked down, pawing the floor. "We'll be heading out at sunset. There'll be a ceremony at Wonderbolt Academy and all. I-I'm sure you'll see me off, right?"
Windy wiped most of the tears, then: "O-Of course, Dashie!"
Then, a return to grief.
Rainbow watched her cry, watched him comfort as he himself was about to cry.
And, another hug.
The three pegasi, that family, together on those long minutes.



Rainbow Dash could hear the gentle close of the door.
She looked back. It certainly was closed.
A sigh escaped her.
Then, she continued her way, floating above the cloud street and away from her house.
A few foals and their parents stood on another house's cloud lawn. Standing behind their rainbow fence, they waved at the passing Wonderbolt before them—the dad was even swinging about the Cloudsdale flag which consisted of two clouds and a circular rainbow behind them all in front of a sky blue background.
She waved back at them with an uneasy smile.
They smiled even wider.
Rainbow then turned to what lay before her.
After a few paces on, she looked back at that cloud lawn.
Those ponies were still there, still waving at her, still smiling at her.



That lone pegasus flew above the clouds. There was not much to see down there—for there were clouds.
The clouds zipped by at a blur as she flew, her mane wavering under the wind's pressure. A look of irritation on her face. Then, she took on her goggles.
She dived down, past the cloud canopy.
Underneath was a grassy plateau, quite extensive; small was the number of trees. There was a flat runway on it where several pegasi were launching from and landing on.
Around the plateau were uniform buildings all covered in clouds—and standing on clouds. Flags of different colors flapped by under the sheer force of the breeze. More pegasi, wearing the same reservist uniform of blue and yellow on the torso and a pair of goggles for each, were milling about on the cloud pathways, talking with each other.
Rainbow landed in front of one such building. This one was bigger than the rest, resembling a stone fortress. Models of gray clouds storming out lightning, arched by a rainbow, was what decorated the two-door entrance to the barracks.
Some of the trainees looked and pointed at her. "Hey, it's her!" one of them blathered.
And a small crowd gathered around her.
Rainbow turned around and smiled at them, wearing a smug face. "Well, well! If it isn't my usual group of admirers!"
One trainee even held up a flag that contained an image of her cutie mark.
Then, the doors opened.
A fully-fledged Wonderbolt in full uniform covering all but her ears, wings, and tail. She wore shades that obscured the color of her eyes. Her fire-colored mane looked swept.
She took off her glasses, revealing her brown irises.
"Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire yelled. "You're early for the training session!"
"As always, ma'am!" Rainbow replied, saluting her.
Spitfire nodded then flew down the flight of stairs on to the path.
The group of admirers stepped back, giving the two of them space.
"You're too early this time!" Spitfire said. "The final one won't begin for another five hours!"
"More time to train solo, then," Rainbow answered, smiling smugly.
Spitfire smiled. "Your attitude still amazes me, Rainbow Dash." Then, turning to the reservists about them, she declared, "And, you should be just like her! Every single one of you ponies!" She pointed a hoof, sweeping the entire throng of them with an energetic stroke. "Every second spent idling about and just chatting with one another is a second wasted for the defense of Equestria! You could've gotten better at dodging arrows or striking down enemies from the sky! Got it?!"
They all shuddered, saluted her, and yelled, "Yes, ma'am!"
Spitfire snorted and lowered her head.
A few flew away in fear.
The rest scattered.
She smiled. "I love my job."
Then, a tap on her shoulder.
She turned to see Rainbow Dash.
"May I let my parents see me off during the ceremony later?"
Spitfire narrowed her eyes. Then, nodded. "Of course. Your request is an understandable one and I respect it."
"Thank you, Spitfire," Rainbow said before taking off to the runway on the plateau.
Spitfire looked on at her.
Then, she walked.