//------------------------------// // Cloudsdale // Story: The Last One // by computerneek //------------------------------// Flutter lands swiftly on the cloud in the gathering darkness, letting out a sigh of relief and allowing her wings to sag downwards while she crouches. Flitter scrambles off her sister’s back at the same time, letting out a matching sigh of relief.  “I pray I never have to do that again!” Flutter raises an eyebrow, panting heavily.  “What? You don’t like me?” “Wha- No!” Flitter yelps.  “Of course I like you! It’s just…  flying is a lot scarier when you can’t do it yourself.”  Shudder. “I can’t wait until I can fly again!  Independently!” Flutter sighs, wrapping a wing around her sister.  “You do know that may never happen, right? Thaumic prosthetics are way expensive.” “It’ll come back,” she states. Flitter glances at her, before looking back at her sister.  “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be needing a prosthetic.” “Really?” Flutter asks.  “Wings don’t regrow, you know.” “It’ll come back.” Flitter smiles.  “She did a triple-Rainboom, right?  So if she says a missing wing will ‘come back’, and that gives me hope, I’m gonna stick with it.  It’s going to come back with time- and it’s up to me to find out how.”  She looks back at her.  “Come to think of it, Last One, why are you still flying…?” She blinks.  “Nothing solid to land on,” she states simply. “The cloud.”  Flitter levels her eyelids at her. “That’s not solid.” Flitter sighs.  “Humor me and land on it, please?” “Okay.”  She adjusts her glide to lower her steadily into the fluffy cloud beneath her.  Then, her hooves make contact with it, and take up the task of supporting her weight.  She blinks. Flutter smirks at her sister.  “You’d think she’d never been to Cloudsdale before.” “That’s…  wrong,” Last One states, hopping briefly up into the air and landing again, with more force. Flitter chuckles, turning back to Flutter.  “Yeah, you’d think. Anyways, um… This is cloudsdale, and we’re not exactly on our home island, so…” “I’m so not looking forward to this,” Flutter states. “This cloud is nothing more than a collection of water droplets suspended in the air, yet I stand upon it as if solid ground- and it doesn’t sink whatsoever.” “Oh?  She’s taking a scientific approach to it?  This could be interesting,” Flitter answers. “Remove the air, it becomes a puddle, and swimming is the name of the game.  Remove the water, it’s just air- flight. Mix the two, it’s a cloud capable of transferring my downwards inertia to the surface below with perfect efficiency.” “Yeah, definitely,” Flutter nods. “Yet the lake in which I swam has air dissolved in it, and the air which I breathe also has water dissolved in it.  Why, then, does this cloud resist my passage while the air and water do not?” “You know,” Flitter mutters, “that’s a very good question.” She hops into the air.  “Clouds are not like two-part epoxies; the parts can be separated with ease.  If I can pass through one mixture of atmospheric gasses, is there any particular reason I cannot pass through another mixture of the same gasses?”  She drops down. Flitter lets out a gasp as the cloud parts, as if for an earth pony. She rises back up through the fresh hole.  “Apparently not. Then, if I can land on one mixture of atmospheric gasses, is there any particular reason I cannot alight on another?”  She drops down again. Flutter gasps as she lands on the air above the hole in the cloud. “Also apparently not.”  She looks up at the sisters.  “This is weird.” “You’re telling me?” Flitter asks.  “How’re you doing that, anyways?” “Yeah, um, let’s go home,” Flutter states.  “Discussions on cloudwalking later. I’m tired.” “No,” Flitter states.  “Discussions now. I’d hate to have you sprain a wing carrying me over.” “It’s simple,” she states, stepping off of the air and down to the cloud. “Later!” Flutter pleads.  “I’m tired!” “Simple?” Flitter asks, ignoring her sister.  “How so?” “The cloud and the air are one and the same,” she states.  “The difference is only in how we think of them.” “Huh?” “If I think of the air as solid, it is.” “So…”  Flitter mumbles, lifting a hoof.  “Think of the air as solid…? Uh…”  She brings the hoof down, and it stops halfway.  “Yes!” she screams. “I did it!” “Shhh!”  Flutter hisses, clapping a hoof over her sister’s mouth.  “You’ll… Uh… Wait. So, it’s as simple as thinking of it differently?” “Yes,” she says, in tandem with Flitter. “Though it’s a bit deep down- you know, think of it differently with your weather magic, that kind of thing.” Flutter’s excited scream, upon managing it, is even louder. “Shush right back at you,” Flitter chuckles.  “Any more of that, and the Guards will be coming to find out what’s going on.”  She sighs. “And yeah, I’m getting tired too. It is getting late.” “But- but-!” “Yeah, me too.  So we’ll walk there- who needs wings, anyways?” Flutter lets out a snort of laughter.  “Right. Um, Last One, do you want to walk or ride?” She shrugs her wings. Flitter chuckles.  “Yeah, that works. Anyways, our house is…  this way.” She picks a direction and starts walking. She follows, trotting up next to her.  Flutter takes her other side. “Did you think of anything on the way up?” Flutter asks. “Huh?  Oh, you mean names for her?  No- I was too busy worrying about what’d happen if I fell off.  You?” Shake.  “Too busy making sure you wouldn’t fall off, and planning on what to do if you did.” “Maybe…  Blue Lightning?  Nah…” “Golden Rings?  No…” “Golden Blue?  Not a chance, um…” “Bluegold?  Yeah, no…” Flitter lets out a sudden snort. “What?” Flutter asks. “I just had the craziest idea ever,” she states.  “It’s definitely a no-go, but I’ve no clue where it came from.” An eyebrow raised.  “Oh? What is it?” “Cat ad in lapides sacculi.” Flutter joins her in laughing. She stops moving.  That was something she dreads outright- something that always precedes the terrible.  Well, except that time in the hospital.  Only now, she has no choice. “Unit Three-Niner-Hotel-Zero-Seven-Three-Two-Lima-Sierra-Tango-Oscar of the Line, ready and awaiting orders.” Both mares stop, looking at her.  “What?” She repeats the strange words that found their way to her tongue. “...  but what does it mean?” Flitter asks. She shakes her head.  “I don’t know.” “Uh, yeah,” Flitter mumbles.  “No orders.” She looks at her sister.  “Let’s never say that again, shall we?” Flutter nods emphatically.  “Definitely. Just hearing her say it like that is going to give me nightmares for weeks.” “Me too,” Flitter states.  “Especially since…” She looks back at her.  “It was something I said, wasn’t it?” She nods.  “The… crazy idea.” “Yeah.  We’ll never say that again.” “Never,” Flutter declares.  “Um, we were heading for the house?” “Yeah,” Flitter states.  “Are you okay, Last One?” She nods.  “Yes.” Flutter steps back next to her, draping a wing over her, and opens her mouth to speak. “Wait,” Flitter interrupts.  “We should probably get inside before talking about it.” Flutter blinks at her sister, then looking back down next to her.  “Is that…?” She nods. “Okay.  Um…” She glances up at Flitter.  “We’re not far from the house- I’ll fly with Last One, you run?” Flitter nods. Flutter looks back down at her.  “That okay?” She nods as well. Then flitter takes off running, while Flutter gathers her up in her hooves and takes off flying. She watches the air start to curve around Flutter as she flies, before the flight comes to an abrupt end.  Flutter bleeds all her speed in only a second or so, before unlocking and opening the door to let herself in.  Once inside, she flicks the door closed behind her, and proceeds to put her on the couch, landing next to her. “What’s wrong?” Flutter asks. As soon as she voices the question, the door flies open again and Flitter gallops in, letting it close behind her. “That was fast,” Flitter informs Flutter, before turning to her.  “Um, whats wrong?” She jumps onto the couch on her other side, glances at her own side, and eyes her sister.  “Switch?” She lets a small smile grace her muzzle while the two mares switch places, before each placing a wing across her back. “I…  I don’t know,” she mutters.  “I don’t remember anything, until something comes up.”  She looks up at flitter. “There’s… something. Something terrible, that happened many times in my past.  I don’t know what it was, just that hurting a pony is related to it.” She shudders visibly, wings pressed tight against her sides.  “There’s a lot of things I’ve been able to identify as happening before it, leading to it, reducing it, increasing it, happening after it, and so on.” “What…  What was the first one?” Flutter mumbles. “Voices.”  She looks up.  “I heard voices.  That in itself isn’t related to the terrible, but the terrible never happens without voices.” “The…  the second?” Flitter asks, tears welling up in her eyes. “Understanding.  I understood what ponies were saying.  Just like the voices- not related to the terrible itself, but something the terrible doesn’t happen without.” The two mares introduce their forelegs, hugging from either side. She closes her eyes, going on without being prompted.  “Those words… are the next step. They make it unavoidable.”  She sighs. “And are the last step before the terrible itself.” “S-sorry!” Flitter cries into her mane. She smiles, leaning into the mare, and extending her own wing- underneath the mare’s- to hug her carefully.  “Don’t worry. Sometimes it takes a very long time for the terrible to happen.” She smiles. “Maybe that can be stretched to infinity.” She lifts her head straight up, ears pointed, and looks at the door.  About an hour has passed; Flutter is making dinner. Flitter, leaning tiredly against the table next to her, opens her eyes, looking over.  “What is it?” “Somepony’s sliding something under the door.” “What?” Flutter asks. “I got it,” Flitter answers, climbing out of her seat to head for the front door.  “You keep the food coming.” She hops out of her seat to follow- part out of curiosity, and part out of…  Well, the pony that pushed it under the door sounded distinctly worried. “Oh, it’s a letter,” Flitter states, trotting over to pick it up.  “I wonder what’s so important it couldn’t wait for the Post tomorrow?”  She then unfolds the squashed scroll. “Uh, yep, it’s to us… Oh. Oh no.  Um- Flutter?” “Mm?” Flutter asks, sticking her head out of the kitchen. “We may be in a little more trouble than we thought.” “Trouble?” she asks, in tandem with Flutter. “Yeah,” Flitter begins.  “It’s a letter. “Dear Flitter and Flutter, “I must apologize for the time and method of delivery, but I feel this is important for you to know now, not tomorrow.  And in case you’re wondering, yeah, you know me- I’m Cloudspear. “The issue is, though…  I was on duty today. As a matter of fact, I was right about ready to go off duty for the night in the shopping district, when I heard what sounded like a dejected foal behind me somewhere.  As I am sure you are aware, I- and the rest of the Royal Guard- take a very dim view of foal abuse of any kind. So, I looked. I immediately knew it was not a case of current foal abuse- as it turns out, the foal in question was surrounded not by just anypony but by you two. “Yeah.  I know you- and last I checked, you neither had a foal to abuse nor were anywhere close to the abusive type.  If you know anything about any possible past foal abuse cases in regards to this filly, then please, bring it to light.  I didn’t catch her words, but judging by her tone, it was something nasty; I’d like to make sure the perpetrator either has been or is being punished for it. “Preferably the latter, but there is an upper limit set by law. “Yeah, yeah.  That kind of thing could wait for tomorrow’s Post.  In fact, it would have- had I not noticed that both of you seem to be Alicorns- and Flitter appeared to be missing a wing. “Again, I know you.  Neither of you are the kind of ponies to lose fights- and I’ll say it again, you would have gone far in the Guard.  Both of you. Then of course, Alicorns are particularly difficult to injure- especially bad enough to lose limbs. “So, as both a friend and as a protector of our nation, what happened, and where?  Whatever it is, it’s clearly a threat we need to deal with carefully. “Then, the final matter, and the main reason I’m delivering this message early.  I don’t know if Princess Celestia has had a chance to talk to you just yet, so in case you haven’t, I’m going to risk repeating her. “By Equestrian law, all Alicorns are automatically Princesses. “Yeah.  From the very moment of ascension, not just formal recognition. “So congratulations, Princess Flutter, Princess Flitter, if my eyes weren’t deceiving me.  And in the same case, you’ll be happy to know Alicorns, unlike the other breeds, actually can regenerate lost limbs.  I understand it takes a lot of years, but it can- and does- happen. “Signed, “Sergeant Cloudspear, “Royal Equestrian Guard.”