Written by Quadraginta
***
"Why don't we rest here?" said Fluttershy as she lowered herself down on a lone cloud. Her friend Twilight Sparkle, who had recently become an alicorn and obtained wings, flew in close behind.
"Sure." Twilight said as she lowered herself next to the spot where Fluttershy landed. They sat down on the cloud and relaxed, chatting away.
"Are you tired?" Fluttershy abruptly asked out of nowhere.
"No, not really." Twilight replied.
"Twi....light?" Fluttershy mumbled as she collapsed onto the cloud, unconscious. Twilight was by her side in a heartbeat.
"Fluttershy?" she cried in surprise more than fear. "Fluttershy?!"
Minutes later....
"Has you seen Fluttershy and Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked Applejack.
"Yeah. They flew off around there," she pointed in the general direction, "And they've kind of been there since then."
"Wait. There?" Rainbow Dash asked, worry beginning to creep into her voice.
"Yeah. Why?" Applejack asked, curious.
"Oh, no! That's where the Moribundus Clouds are!"
"The Mori-what clouds?"
"The Moribundus!"
And then Rainbow Dash tore off into the sky, searching frantically for her missing friends. She searched from cloud to cloud, growing more and more desperate. And then she saw them.
Twilight was cradling a limp Fluttershy in her arms. From a distance, Fluttershy appeared to have fallen asleep in Twilight's arms on a seemingly peaceful-looking cloud. But Rainbow Dash knew what that cloud was.
It was a Moribundus Cloud, or Deathly Cloud. They only came into Ponyville once a millenia, and they rained pure water, purer than the water found in Zeponyhills. But they were both a blessing and a curse. But only for Pegasi. They drained the life force from a pegasus, and they drained it quickly. After a pegasus's life force was completely drained, they would crumble to dust. Moribundus Clouds are extremely rare, however, most pegasi had a built-in sensor that allowed them to sense them whenever they came.
Most pegasi, except Fluttershy, it seemed. Twilight seemed fine, though. Maybe Alicorns were immune to these clouds.
Rainbow Dash came as close to the cloud as she could before it started sapping away her life force.
"Twilight!!!!" Rainbow Dash screamed at the top of her lungs.
Twilight looked up, confusion and fear plastered on her face. It was at this instant that Rainbow Dash knew; Twilight had never heard of the Moribundus Clouds. Otherwise, why would she just leave Fluttershy on one?
"Oh, thank Celestia you're here, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled back, some form of relief creeping into her otherwise desperate voice. "Call for help! Fluttershy's unconscious!"
"No, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash replied. "You've got to get her off the cloud before it's too late!"
"What?"
"The cloud, Twilight, the cloud!" Rainbow Dash came slightly closer to the cloud in an attempt to get Twilight to hear her better. Already, at this distance, she could feel her life force slipping away slowly.
"The cloud?!" Twilight yelled, cupping a hoof to her ear to allow better hearing.
"Yes! Get her off the cloud before-"
But it was too late. Fluttershy's body crumbled to dust, and then the dust scattered away into the wind. Twilight looked down at where Fluttershy laid in her arms just seconds ago, her mouth agape with confusion, disbelief. And then realization hit her, like a ton of bricks to the face. The Element of Kindness was no more.
Rainbow Dash wept softly.