//------------------------------//
// Episode 3-3 :: Rancheros 
// Story: Romancing the Clouds 
// by KitsuneRisu 
//------------------------------//


   


There was a buzz in Egg's chest, one that he had not ever felt since the last time he balanced the eight top financial investor accounts in one go without stopping for a single coffee.
 
Not a single bit was unaccounted for.
 
Now that was professionalism.
 
It was the thrill of excitement, the joy of a challenge, and something that he had forgotten how to feel for the past four years running.
 
Yes, such a rush it was! And here he felt it again; a stirring in his chest, a rumbling in his stomach. He even felt the slight tinge of emotions long buried. Or maybe he was hungry. He couldn't tell.
 
The red-and-white chequered blanket lay unfolded on his back like a tartan cape, and he walked with the utmost of silence toward the small puddle of black clouds.
 
It looked like a bowl billowing out heavy ash, like someone had dropped a bag of dry ice into a bucket, except that the smoke was thick and black. From within, small miniature flashes of light could be seen clambering through the cracks, and tiny little pops like the sound of inflated paper bags bursting could cleanly be heard.
 
A ruffling of wings and feathers could be seen, a white silhouette against a black shroud, and Egg actually smirked with the confidence that he knew exactly what this was.
 
Branta Tonitrus. The thundergoose.
 
He had remembered it from his days in school. One of the rarer species in Cloudsdale, it flew a year-long migratory pattern that took it from the far reaches of Gryphon country to Cloudsdale and back. It even made stops at the Argust Islands and Canterlot.
 
Huge flocks of them would carry negative charges in their electricity-retentive downy feathers, and when they came into contact with regular clouds, it would cause tiny localized storms.
 
In swarms they were a plague on cloud architecture, eroding walls and destroying groundwork.
 
Alone, they were nothing more than a slight annoyance.
 
This one was busying itself, washing itself up in the clouds. Well, technically, it was the pavement, but it was part of their plague to be able to eat away into construction-grade things.
 
Egg crept up.
 
Gently, ever so gently, he pulled the blanket off his back, swinging it around in front of him, a corner clenched firmly between his teeth.
 
The jump was sudden. So sudden that even Egg's mind hadn't caught up with the action. But already he was flying through the air, propelled by a few strong bursts from his wings, and he landed, with a plop, on top of the little black puddle, blanket stretched out over it.
 
He felt the sudden struggle as the kicking of legs and the beating of wings pushed up against his midsection, but he stretched himself out further, attempting to wrap the thing up like a spider does to something that puts up far less resistance than a thundergoose.
 
The thing was sparking furiously now, and through the blanket he could see the little balls of light that it was casting out. The worst thing that could happen was the blanket catching fire. At this point, the best thing to do would be to get it away from any cloud as quickly as possible.
 
Grunting, he pushed himself up on his hind legs, dragging the blanket in a circle around the obscured bird. Flashes of red and white feathers appeared from around the edges of the blanket, but as soon as they came he was mindful to pull the blanket in that direction.
 
High above, in the far distance, Cookie watched, a very concerned look on her face, and very concerned thoughts in her head.
 
She watched as a pony, splayed out like a pancake, was being battered repeatedly around the chest and face by a very upset animal indeed.
 
She watched as a pony pulled back repeatedly as he tried to avoid being shocked by tiny little bolts of lightning.
 
She winced as he fell, scrabbling with a ferocious ball of fluff and grit.
 
Egg pushed his glasses back up his face. He was on his back now, struggling with the goose on top of him. Somehow he had managed to keep the thing somewhat inside the blanket, and it took far more coordination than he expected to grab the four corners of the blanket and secure it shut in a vice-like bite.
 
His eyes narrowed with determination and a trickle of sweat beaded down the side of his face. But he had done it. He was successful.
 
He turned, facing the sun, the glint of the midday fires sparking off his glasses. He swung the bag over his back. It was still struggling wildly, but no longer would he have to fight; no longer would he have to dance with this beast. He had soundly trounced it, and the air was suddenly rejuvenated with a fresh brisk breeze as he stepped forward and held his head up high.
 
He could see Cookie, far up, giving him an inaudible applause. It was nice of her, to humour him like that.
 
And a great swell of pride raced into his head, pushing his chest out from the inside and making him positively giddy from his one single achievement.
 
It's a funny thing, being in the moment.
 
The moment clouds. The moment reconfigures. The moment is a block on sanity, and a speed bump on logic. When one floats amongst the adrenaline and rush, one forgets to check if one is going too fast.
 
It was why Egg never allowed himself to feel the joy of being in something for all these long years. He wasn't quite sure what made him surrender to it now.
 
He was caught up in something new. Something exciting. He was enraptured by doing what it was he set out to do. He was embraced by the wonder of the fresh experience.
 
And he had succumbed to the moment.
 
It was still far too silent, and far too hot. The sun began to feel less like a congratulatory hug and more like the branding of a poker into his flank.
 
His breath stilled.
 
Cookie stopped clapping.
 
Something was very wrong and he knew it. He'd always known it. He'd realised from the start.
 
A thundergoose? really? A bulletin going out on public radio for a thundergoose?
 
A flock of thundergeese, yes, but even so, that was only due to the regular migratory patterns and came as a tack-on to the regularly scheduled news readouts.
 
Egg now found himself quietly fighting himself, and the logic that led him to do this in the first place.
 
He parted dry lips, breathing out silently, as the world faded.
 
The distant sounds of wind and city blanked out, as did the movements in the cloth bag behind him.
 
The clouds shook. There was a stirring now, behind him. Somewhere there, underneath the soft, white pavement upon which he stood.
 
He felt a sharp pain come to his side, a knot, perhaps, or a pulled muscle, or perhaps something even conjured up by his own mind. Perhaps it was everything settling down on the bottom of his stomach, and perhaps it simply could not take the weight.
 
He moved his eyes upward, and in the vacuum of his mind he saw Cookie, each strong, brash stroke of her wings push her forward, a look of pure focus on her face.
 
She was flying towards him, wasn't she?
 
Yes, of course she was. He could see it clearly. Her feathers moved in slow motion, blurry and warped as if behind a pane of glass.
 
It was logical to assume that she was too far away. He wouldn't have felt like this if she wasn't.
 
A shadow fell across him, and he watched, as out of the ground came a form, one full of sharp grins and terrible sails.
 
Egg closed his eyes.
 
"Damn," he said.
 
And then he waited.
 
Waiting, for something to happen. Waiting for a feeling; an emotion, maybe; or a thought. Nothing really much came in terms of that last one – it was amazing how quickly a head can empty when it feels like it has nothing left to think about.
 
And then the feeling came. It came in a rushing, sweeping, crushing blow to the side of his body, which pulled his breath short and made a blanket of white flash behind his eyelids.
 
But it was the wind on his face, and the stream of air that blew across his body that made him instinctively reach up and make sure his glasses weren't falling off.
 
He opened his eyes for a quick peek.
 
 As far as he could tell, he was being rushed by one of his companions. Things in the distance blurred by, but the wind whipping off that familiar red and yellow mane made it clear who was carrying him.
 
Emberkite took the slightest of looks downward before he returned his focus forward again. There was about him a mix of pure concentration and a little bit of fear, and he was avoiding having to look at Egg for some reason.
 
Egg didn't have to think very hard to imagine why.
 
They were uncomfortably close.
 
He turned over a little, looking back at the area where he was just standing, while being straddled in a comfortable hammock of Ember's front legs.
 
There was a large cloud that had been kicked up. A cloud of mist. It shrouded the general area like someone had dropped a smoke bomb, but faded away quickly, leaving only a humongous crack in the sidewalk. It looked as though a small quake had occurred, ripping through the pavement like a giant had taken to it with a letter opener.
 
Egg turned the other way, with an eerie sense of calm about him. He did it casually, almost as if he were just going through the motions of what he had to do. What he saw was what he saw, but nothing was really registering.
 
Above him, and a little to the left, where Ember was now zooming to, were Cookie and Champagne. Champagne was explaining something to Cookie in a frantic manner. Her little hooves flew every which way. It was so darling.
 
Egg rubbed his hooves together as he and Ember swung up to the others in an approach, Ember stopping short just as they reached their destination.
 
"Get off, old stallion!" he yelled, tipping Egg out of his embrace. He was annoyed. He was very, very annoyed.
 
Egg found his balance, and instinct kicked in as he started to fly again, righting himself up from the tumble and bringing himself into the group.
 
And there he hovered, surrounded by the three faces that he had grown accustomed to for the past two weeks. Two had the meanings of concern about them, whereas one just looked like he was ready to punch him in the face.
 
The angry one spoke.
 
"What the Luna-driven hailstorms were you doing, you idiot?" Ember yelled, throwing his legs up for good measure. "You were... damn, old stallion! What were you doing down there?"
 
Egg, the one always ready with a thought or something to say, dug for a proper answer in the snowy recesses of his mind.
 
But he invariably kept going back to the truth. And the truth is what he finally offered.
 
"I... I caught a thundergoose," he muttered, showing the blanket to his team. He himself would have sworn that he had let the stupid thing go many moments since, but there it was, in his grasp, being offered to Ember like some sort of sacrifice.
 
Ember stared down at it, the veins on his forehead getting more and more pronounced by the second.
 
He swung out with a mighty slap, and the bird went flying out of Egg's hooves, coming free from the blanket and making its way across the sky with indignation.
 
"O-oh," Egg said, watching the goose – his goose – fly away, a treasure lost, as the voices danced around his head, fading in and out of the clouds.
 
"Come on, get it together, old stallion! What's wrong with you?"
 
"Ember, please. I think he's in shock."
 
"Shock? Him? Is that even possible?"
 
"Ember, let's give him something to d-"
 
"Oh, great, that's exactly what he needs. Cookie, give it here!"
 
"No, that's fo-"
 
"Give it, Cookie!"
 
"Mister Emberkite, he should dr-"
 
"Pah!" Egg screamed, choking, as the cold water hit him in the face. He squeezed his eyes shut, blowing out some of the water from between his lips. He rubbed at his mane, and flicked off as much moisture as he could, given the circumstances.
 
Drops clung to his glasses. But behind the frame, his eyes came back into focus, as he gave one final shake and rejoined the party.
 
Ember was staring straight at him.
 
"Alright, he's back," Emberkite declared, pulling away, throwing the empty flask into the basket.
 
"I... what happened?" Egg asked, frowning.
 
"You nearly got... speared," Champagne said, weakly. "Emberkite saved you just in time."
 
"Well... thank you, Ember." Egg nodded appreciatively. "But we'll talk about this later. What did you find out at the zoo?"
 
"Yes, it seems as though he is back, yes?" Cookie smiled.
 
Egg winced. There was a horrible pain in his side, as if a truck had smashed into him. He was flying a bit lopsidedly as a result, and he was definitely in some discomfort.
 
"Ow," he said.
 
"Yes, that'll be from when I, you know, rescued you," Ember said with an indignant huff.
 
"Y-yes. Very good, Ember. What are we dealing with?"
 
"Sir," Champagne said, flying up front. "Please allow me to report. We are dealing with... a windeater."
 
"A windeater?" Egg repeated, quirking a tired eyebrow. "When did we..."
 
"It was quite a recent addition, actually. The zoo spent a lot of their budget on creating a suitable enclosure, but... it wasn't enough, and it got loose."
 
"A windeater?" Egg asked again, a bit of the shock coming back. If this was true, he was even closer to death than he had originally realised.
 
"Yes, sir," Champagne reassessed.
 
"What is this... windeater thing?" Cookie asked, calmly, tilting her head, eyes still keeping watch on the ground.
 
"It's... it's a creature native to the Cirrhara Desert," Champagne explained. "Way out east, away from Gryphon country. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of them before. It's not well known even here. But... well, it's like a huge carnivorous... um... thing..."
 
"It's got a huge spike on the tip of its face," Ember cut in, also looking down for activity. "And giant sails on its back."
 
"Yes, and... it's huge and blue, and..."
 
The park split, as a fin, one that was far larger than Cookie herself, cut its way down the pavement. It looked like twenty or so huge, sharp spines, each of which were joined by thick, leathery flaps of elastic, membranous skin. It resembled like the sail of some sort of skiff, and as it rotated it caught the wind, which must have been how it propelled itself.
 
The blue spines led down to a shiny, elongated body the shape of a torpedo, two feathery pairs of wings poking out its side. It all ended up with an odd rudder-like tail at the end that bent like a scythe.
 
But what was perhaps the most noticeable thing about the creature was its long, thin, harpoon-like beak. It stuck out almost half of the length of the entire creature, and ended in a point so thin you could sew with it.
 
It looked like a fish with wings, and Cookie was inclined to think, with what she could see of it. It even gleamed with a silver-like sheen, and tiny, beady little red eyes poked out from its massive head.
 
"Yeah, that's it," Champagne whispered, as the monster dived back down.
 
"How is it... simply swimming through the pavement?" Cookie asked.
 
"Just like most aerial animals," Champagne explained, "it holds a bit of a magical electric charge that disrupts clouds. It just makes it easier for them to swim through. But the thing about this creature is that it can't fly. That's why it lives in the desert – it requires clouds to stay afloat. The same thing that makes it cut through clouds easier also keeps it aloft. The natural world really is a fa-"
 
"Champy!" Ember yelled.
 
"Oh yes. Um... so, it's called the windeater because the way it stores charge is by converting wind energy. The huge sail on its back is used both as a means of propulsion as well as a huge turbine. Wind pushes through small holes in the fin, which then leads to-"
 
"It also has a huge spear that it uses to poke holes in things," Ember took over, interrupting Champagne. "Don't get too close. Thing can leap out of the clouds and kill things real easy. It can swim up to 50 knots depending on the wind. I think we're just lucky today isn't a very windy day."
 
"And it's very hungry," Champagne concluded. "It hasn't been fed yet. I think it decided to go after... um..."
 
"Me," Egg said.
 
"Yes, sir. Which is... um... if you were to look at it..."
 
"What she's trying to say is that you sort of helped, old stallion," Ember said. "It's now looking for you in this area, so it's not about to go wandering off to the city, which is where it was originally headed. But I don't think we have much time before it gets bored or something."
 
"Alright. Thoughts?" Egg asked.
 
"The zoo is sending a containment unit," Champagne said. "They'll be here as soon as they can."
 
"Alright, that helps. But clearly-"
 
"-our priority is to keep the creature here, yes?" Cookie interjected. "We certainly do not want it to be going into the town."
 
"Yes. So, how do we do this? Champagne, you said that it only can swim in clouds, right?"
 
Egg took a look downward. The park was just a rectangle, floating on its own narrow bridge of cloudspace. For all intents and purposes it was a small block by itself, and wasn't very thick, as it didn't have to hold up tons of architecture.
 
"Do you think the government would mind if..."
 
"You want me to kick out the bridges, boss?" Ember asked, a look of worry on his face.
 
"No. Of course not. That would be far too dangerous. Besides, that would only be a temporary solution to a bigger problem. What we need to do is find a way to contain it to a very small piece of ground, and capture it before it simply decides to jump over to the other clusters."
 
"We don't have much time," Champagne reasserted.
 
"Yes, and we can only catch it if it's confined to a small area, too. Just keeping it on this one entire patch of cloud would be too broad to do anything about it."
 
"How're we gonna just cut out a chunk of the park with a monster on it, old stallion?" Ember asked.
 
"We could make it rain," Cookie said.
 
"What?"
 
The three of them stared at the gryphon.
 
"I have brought a bag of salt with me, for the picnic." Cookie tilted her head.
 
"Yes... of course," Egg said, catching up. "Do you think the park uses low enough of a grade?"
 
"Yes, seedproofing is expensive, sir. I believe they only have that for banks and other places like that," Champagne replied.
 
"Alright, get the bag."
 
Champagne nodded in agreement, while the baker rummaged through the basket for the largest bag of salt that Egg had ever seen.
 
"Wait, what's going on?" Ember asked.
 
"That bag is huge, Cookie," Champagne squeaked.
 
"It is cheaper to buy in bulk, yes?" Cookie explained, "and I did not have a container to put it in. So I just brought it all."
 
"Hey, what's the deal with the salt?" Ember yelled.
 
"Alright, so now we have to find the thing," Egg muttered, stroking his chin in thought.
 
"Champagne!" Ember cried.
 
"What?" she yelled back, holding the bag of salt like a small child.
 
"What's with the salt?"
 
"Ugh, it's basic cloud-physics! Haven't you ever spilt salt before?"
 
"No, miss rich I-can-afford-salt pony princess! Some of us can't afford luxury, alright?"
 
"It's... it's not luxury!"
 
"Ember, salt causes precipitation," Egg cut in, as Champagne fluttered off.
 
"What?"
 
"If you throw salt on a cloud, it makes the cloud... rain, Ember. The weather ponies sometimes use things to make clouds burst en masse, like silver iodide or carbon dioxide in solid form, but salt works just as well, as long as you have enough." Egg took another glance at the oversized bag. "And... yes, we have enough."
 
"Oh...oh!" Ember thwacked his hooves together. "That's why..."
 
"Hmm?" Egg asked.
 
"Well, back on the boardwalk, the pretzel stand guy? He always had this sheet laid down under his cart. I always thought it was because he was being special or something, but..."
 
"Yes, probably a regulation."
 
"It is also why most kitchen equipment, even up here, are made of metal or wood," Cookie added. "It's cheaper than seedproofing the entire building!"
 
In the corner of their eyes, in the distance, a small containment unit came, being toted along by two frantic stallions wearing the zoo uniform. The cage was a small clear box filled with mist, something they had to order special to transport the creature.
 
"Here come the rancheros, just in time," Egg said, looking toward their group. "Alright, this is what we're going to do."
 
And suddenly, as fast as everything had been moving, everything stopped.
 
The other three stared at Egg expectantly. About now was the time he suddenly barked out orders, all of which would result in some sort of amazing resolution. They'd gotten used to that. They were ready to follow orders.
 
The orders were taking a long time to get there.
 
There didn't seem to be a way out. Not this time.
 
Each scenario that Egg considered or even thought of wouldn't work. It was not enough that for some reason, he could delve into that strange inner space like he normally could – chalk it up to some frayed nerves – but everything he considered just wouldn't fit.
 
A strong, yet gentle claw wrapped itself around Egg's leg, and Cookie pulled him toward the side. He found himself not resisting. It was probably a bad idea to resist Cookie in any way, and all Cookie wanted to do in this case was to have a word.
 
They flew, silently, away from Champagne and Ember, like a mother leading a child away from the other children in the playground, until they were out of earshot.
 
Cookie fumbled with her basket.
 
"Mister Egg?"
 
"Miss Eternia?" Egg replied, a hint of tiredness in his voice.
 
"I... I think I know what the trouble is. Maybe."
 
"Yes, Miss Eternia?"
 
"It... it's about the game, isn't it?"
 
"What game?"
 
"Battleclouds."
 
The two floated there, wings gently beating in the still skies. Egg defaulted into a recap of the situation, unable to proceed past it.
 
"We have only one shot. We don't have the time to get more salt and what you have here is limited. We need to make a calculated decision. We need to be methodological about it and root the creature out."
 
"It only works if we have the luxury of time, Mister Egg. And we do not."
 
"In a world ungoverned by urgency, I think that is what you said."
 
"Yes, it was."
 
"And where does that leave us?"
 
"It leaves us in a place where the smart decision and the dangerous decision are one and the same, yes? And I think this is what you have realised."
 
Egg just blinked, looking toward the two younger ponies in the distance.
 
"And you need someone to be the one to give the instructions that you can't," Cookie suggested.
 
"What happened to me?" Egg asked, shaking his head slightly.
 
"Now is not the time, Mister Egg. You're just finally realising that the world doesn't play by your rules. As successful as you've been before, it's time to start making mistakes."
 
"Why?"
 
"Because it is the only way forward."
 
Egg shut his eyes. That mental block had started to creep back in again.
 
"Now is not the time, Mister Egg."
 
Egg's eyes flapped open.
 
"Mister Egg? You should direct the keepers from below. Have them position themselves under the creature. Have them be ready to capture them."
 
"And what of above?"
 
"Mister Egg. I..." Cookie stopped, swallowing herself. She took a short moment as she drew in a deep, extended breath. "Mister Egg. I would like to officially join the team."
 
Egg's eyes flicked up to meet Cookie's.
 
"Are you certain?"
 
"No. But... you were right. I must help. I have to. I've grown up in a world in which I made many mistakes. And I hope that you will allow me the privilege of doing it under your leadership."
 
"Even after all you've seen today?"
 
"Especially so, Mister Egg. Nothing has happened here that has made me convinced that you are anything less than a great leader. And besides, everyone has an off day, yes?"
 
"And what will you do?"
 
"I will tell them the things that you cannot, and do the things that you can't ask for."
 
Egg thought for a moment more. This all seemed like a... it wasn't a bad idea. That would be the wrong word to use. But it felt... different. No longer was he someone standing alone. No longer had he the opportunity to stand as an island.
 
"I... trust you, Miss Eternia," he finally said.
 
"And I will tell them that you have instructed me to oversee the operations above while you co-ordinate below. Wish us luck, Mister Egg."
 
He looked toward the other two. Eager; expectant; young. Ready to do anything he said. But now, they were about to do something he wouldn't have a part of. He'd abandoned the one thing he had left – control – and placed it in the hands of a gryphon he barely knew.
 
It was, logically, a terrible idea.
 
"You won't need it," he replied.
 



 
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," Ember chanted to himself, sweat dripping, breath uneven. He stood in the middle of the park, knees wobbling, eyes darting all over the place, ready to jump at the slightest movement.
 
Ember and Champagne had both taken to Cookie without a single hint of resistance. It was almost as if they were just waiting for it to happen, and they listened to her counsel and instructions almost as if it were from Egg himself. It was a curious thing, Cookie thought at the time, but soon realised that it was probably because it was a simple extension to how Egg treated her.
 
If Egg trusted Cookie, the others would immediately fall in line. Of course, it was up to her to make use of it and prove to them she was just as capable. Not that she really wanted the role, to be fair, but life really did work in strange ways sometimes.
 
And now was no time to be reflecting on her journey that brought her to a role which she had fought all her life to avoid.
 
No, that thought would have to come later.
 
Emberkite now acted as bait.
 
It was one of the few commands that Egg could have never made himself. But Cookie, being that odd mix of pacifist and incredible realist, had no qualms in the idea of self-sacrifice as long as they agreed to it.
 
Ember would never turn down the chance to do something so foolhardy and brave, so it all went as smooth as that.
 
Champagne, on the other hand, still grasping the bag of salt, circled overhead like a shark, ready to let loose the torrential storms.
 
Cookie placed herself overhead as well, somewhere directly above Ember, ready for her own role.
 
"Maybe it's... already gone!" Ember yelled upward. "Maybe!"
 
"Don't say that," Champagne yelled back. "That's the worst possible thing you could say!"
 
"Why?"
 
"Because that's always when something bad happens in movies!" Champagne cried out. "It's always when they talk about not being attacked when they do get attacked!"
 
"Well, maybe I should talk about it more, then! I kinda want to get this over with!"
 
"Over there!" the gryphon chirped shrilly, making the two children refocus on the giant sail that had poked out of the floor again.
 
It wafted towards Ember at a slow speed of 10 or maybe 15 knots – it was hard to tell, but the dry day had helped immensely.
 
Ember's heart picked up, racing, as he hopped in spot to face where the creature was coming from.
 
The sail descended and it disappeared out of sight once again.
 
"H-hey!" Ember called. "C'mon, that ain't fair!"
 
"Ember!" Champagne yelled again. "Get ready!"
 
"Get ready for what? It went down again!"
 
"Ember!" she shrieked. "They attack from below!"
 
She barely had the time to finish her sentence when a needle poked out from beneath Emberkite, erupting in a huge spear that headed straight for his midsection.
 
He barely had the time to register what was happening, but instincts took over and he leapt forward, bursting speed, as he soared out of the way of the approaching beak. A moment later and he would have had a lot worse, but he managed to leave with the very tip connecting with the inner part of his leg as he zoomed off.
 
"Argh!" he yelled, wincing, as he dragged across the sharpened implement.
 
"Ember!" Champagne yelled, hoof outstretched towards the fleeting figure, a glint of red streaking up his thigh.
 
"No time!" Cookie hissed, zooming past.
 
The gryphon, a mighty and powerful creature by its own right, had nothing against some of the more impressive creatures that could be found in the wilderness of the skies. But for this one gryphon in particular, she wouldn't be found unwilling to try.
 
She descended, in a manner that all gryphons just knew how to do, talons extended and hindquarters ready to perch. It was a natural attack of the half-eagle, half-lion race; one which used their burliness against the enemy. But this time, her claws were not extended, and her talons did not go for to rend flesh from flesh.
 
Instead, they curled around the beak of the great sky-fish as it left the clouds in its attack run, and her hands wrangled it upward as she landed roughly on its back, struggling to keep it twisted.
 
It was still property of the zoo, after all. She wouldn't be caught dead vandalizing.
 
"Miss Champagne!" she called up, at the stunned youngling.
 
"Oh!" Champagne uttered, suddenly remembering to rip open the bag.
 
And down came the hail of salt.
 
Small white crystals landed on top of the clouds, and almost instantly, began to react.
 
They burned and bubbled, and caused a frothy foam to rise from where they touched the pavement.
 
A small hiss became quite audible as Champagne completed her circle, the salt eating into the clouds and making a small depression as it did its work.
 
Below, a ring of rain fell, and three pegasi got into position within it.
 
When the gap was large enough, Cookie released the creature, and with a great and horrible screech, it returned to the small patch of land that it was caught in, swimming back and forth with a great anger.
 
The gryphon made a hasty retreat.
 
And then they waited.
 
While they were at work cutting the creature off, Ember had been racing around to the very edge, and making a wide loop under the park to help get the cage in place.
 
It would be more than a few moments before...
 
"There!" Champagne yelled, pointing toward a small bag that someone had thrown up through the cracks. The bag exploded in a cloud of red, like a flare. Egg never left home without those bags.
 
Flying in a spiral, to force the windeater to the center of the patch, Champagne emptied the last of the salt over the island.
 
And it drained.
 
Shallower and shallower the cloud thinned, the monster thrashing around more and more as his world disappeared.
 
With one final push, it made to leap for the far edge, across the gap, but it was too late, and there was not enough traction.
 
And so, as the rain, did it fall, down towards a small cube of mist, into which it plopped, disoriented, but soon righted itself and started circling around and around, as most animals were wont to do. The top of the box was quickly slid into place, trapping the animal once and for all.
 
Cookie and Champagne appeared through the hole, to join Egg and Ember, as they all watched the predator swim around in an endless loop.
 
And even though blood dripped from Ember's leg, they all found themselves unable to look away from the thing that caused the damage. It was actually quite a magnificent thing to behold up close, especially in a way that didn't put them in any danger.
 
"Why isn't it attacking, though?" Champagne asked, bravely pushing her face up against the plastic pane.
 
"It detects electrical impulses in the air to determine where prey is," one of the zookeepers explained. "The plastic blocks that. Plastic. It's an amazing earthborne material. It's so expensive, though. If we could have lined its enclosure with it... maybe this wouldn't have happened."
 
Champagne let out a soft murmur, before pulling back.
 
"Well, let's not hang about," Egg muttered. "I don't want to run into... her again."
 
"Wait, who?" Ember shot up, suddenly.
 
"Our friend Gale paid us a visit while you were gone."
 
"Oh, that b-"
 
"Ember, we struck a deal. It's fine. She'll be leaving us alone. Helping us, in fact. I hope. But still, I don't think it's good we stick around lest other reporters try to get at us. Besides," Egg said, noting Ember's leg. "You need to get to a clinic."
 
"Aw, that ain't nothin'." Ember snorted.
 
"Miss Eternia?" Egg looked up at her.
 
The gryphon nodded, placing a taloned hand onto Ember's shoulder.
 
"I- oh, fine," Ember surrendered.
 
"And you two, will you be alright transporting the creature back?"
 
"Sir?" Champagne cut in, flying up between them and laying a hoof on the side of the cage.
 
"Yes, Champagne?"
 
"If you would permit me, I would like to escort the cage back. There are some things I have to... discuss with the zoo."
 
"Very well. Then, we'll all meet back at the base later." Egg nodded.


  


The smell of fried waffles didn't seem so appetizing this night, even though it was always a blessing to the hungry traveller. His mug of coffee cooled, untouched, on the table, as his slice of pie rapidly approached room-temperature.
 
When you have time to think...
 
... you think.
 
And as the phrase would suggest, if you don't have time to think, you don't. It was a rather obvious thing to state, but one that should never be overlooked, especially by a pony who had a lot of time to think.
 
Back there, in the field, there were other things to worry about. There was the safety of his team; there was the logistics of it all which, to his own surprise, went smoother than expected; and there was the delegation of tasks to others besides himself.
 
He didn't know which one bothered him more, but he had a sense of guilt about the whole matter. Wasn't he just condemning Emberkite but through someone else? Was this not selfishness by proxy?
 
If you didn't ask for it yourself, but someone else did, and you needed it to happen anyway...
 
Was this just how those crime bosses acted? In fact, was this how any pony or gryphon of power acted? Getting others to do the dirty work for you, so that you can pretend that your hooves are clean?
 
Egg looked at his hoof.
 
There was plenty of time to think.
 
Egg winced again, the pain in his side acting up. A large, nay, humongous, bruise had started to show. He had declined going to the hospital himself – nothing was broken, and you couldn't do anything about bruises except wait for them to heal, anyway.

And so he wandered. In the space between the park and the diner, and all the hours in between, he walked. He'd just walked around. Thinking. Musing. Letting the fear catch up to him up to the point where he had to stop for a while and breathe in the cool night air in the hopes that they would extinguish the fires in his lungs.

Letting himself realise what had happened.
 
Letting the understanding come to him.
 
All that had been said, and all that had been done.
 
He entered the diner knowing full well what he was walking into. But he'd made a promise, hadn't he? One of many.
 
He had been there every night, just as he agreed.
 
But he kept one promise that night to break another.
 
He felt she knew that there was something wrong the minute he stepped in. It was the way she lay there on the tabletop, head on leg, facing away and staring silently out the window.
 
It was the way she just sat across from him, not bothering to say a word, just hiding her face from the light of the diner, the midnight blues of the night sky reflecting off her eyes.
 
It was the way she waited, waited patiently for Egg to say something. Anything.
 
A normal pony would have felt awkward as the seconds ticked by.
 
He had entered the diner at 11:39. it was now 12:11.
 
During those 32 minutes he was merely... thinking.
 
For 32 minutes, trying to find the best way to state it, the best way to put it. The best way to say something.
 
And after 32 minutes, all he came up with were four little words.
 
"I made a mistake," he told her.
 
Mocha pushed herself up, eyes vapid, breath shallow, a sense of worn durability playing about her.
 
She let herself fall back into the seats, placing her hooves neatly on the tabletop, her eyes shut in quiet contemplation.
 
"Keep going," she demanded, eyes flicking out the window again.
 
"I got too excited."
 
"You?" Mocha asked. Not in spite. Not in anger. She just asked.
 
"Yes. I had an oversight."
 
"How did that happen?"
 
"I wasn't in a place where I could think."
 
A moment passed.
 
"And?"
 
"And I made a mistake."
 
"You promised, didn't you?"
 
"I did."
 
"And?"
 
"And I don't know," Egg sighed.
 
Mocha shuffled in her seat, her head moving back and forth with the gentlest of movements.
 
"No. You don't not know. You move on, Egg."
 
The stallion looked up, but his coffee was so much more interesting and he found himself refocusing on it once again.
 
"Your problem," Mocha continued, "was that you thought you'd never make a mistake in the first place. Is that not the height of arrogance?"
 
"No."
 
"You would say that."
 
"Well, I mean it."
 
"And the sad part is that you don't find that statement the height of arrogance either, do you?"
 
"No."
 
Mocha rubbed at her forehead.
 
"Egg, you're going to make mistakes. A lot of them. You probably already have. Many of them. The only thing that's getting you by is your... stubbornness."
 
"I don't see it th-"
 
"And, you're going to get hurt. You nearly got seriously hurt today, didn't you?"
 
Egg fell into silence. He felt like eating his pie. He felt like taking a drink of coffee.
 
He did neither.
 
"I... did something else today," Egg finally revealed. He had to work up to that point.
 
"Do tell."
 
"I... brought on Miss Eternia."
 
"Oh?"
 
"Yes. She'll be... helping me."
 
"Helping?"
 
"Yes." Egg stopped to consider the implications of the word. "Helping."
 
"Not doing stuff for you?"
 
"No."
 
"Not listening to instructions and just... following."
 
"No."
 
"Actually helping."
 
"Where are you going with this?"
 
"I have to be sure," Mocha declared.
 
"About what?"
 
"About the fact that you're saying the word 'help' funny, and that you never..."
 
"...  trust anyone?" Egg finished.
 
Mocha stopped short, mid-reply, mentally erasing what she had intended to say and simply settling for a 'yes'.
 
"Well, I've decided to... let Miss Eternia... help. I believe she's capable."
 
"Well."
 
"I... found that in order to think... I have to be in a place where I'm allowed to think. Being... there. In the middle of it all. It's different. I'm wondering if... Emberkite..."
 
"If he doesn't have a method to his madness after all?"
 
"I suppose you could say that. Maybe in order for this to work... I have to do what I do and he has to do what he does."
 
Mocha leaned over again, her hair brushing the table, her face nestled in the crook of her leg.
 
"And of Cookie?"
 
"I suppose you could call her the bridge between the two of us. Maybe."
 
"It's curious, though. She's just a chef."
 
"That's what she wants to be. Somehow I feel there's a lot more to her."
 
"Well..." Mocha trailed off.
 
"What are you thinking?"
 
"It's... a step forward, at least. Strange, though."
 
"What is?"
 
"You also said, once, that you'd never change."
 
"I'm not sure I have, Mocha."
 
"I'm not sure either, Egg."
 
And just like that, all the nasty business was out of the way. Suddenly things slid back into business, and Egg had no trouble at all discarding what had passed.
 
"Well, the bruise... was actually from Ember. He rescued me from being impaled by a large, carnivorous beast."
 
"Just in time?"
 
"Yes."
 
"Does it hurt?"
 
"Yes."
 
"I have a salve."
 
"Convenient."
 
"Should I get it?"
 
"No."
 
"You don't have to punish yourself." Mocha folded her legs.
 
"Yeah, he does," came a voice from behind Mocha. "Stupid git. Look at the time, would you? I have work tomorrow, you know!"
 
"Hi, Survey." Mocha smiled, sliding out of the booth. "I'll leave you boys to it."
 
"Thank you, Mocha, I'll talk with you later," Egg said, nodding to his other friend.
 
"Alright, so what's the big news that I have to meet you at this time?" Survey asked, jumping into the seat across Egg, tossing a newspaper on the countertop.
 
"Well. For one, it was a time I knew I would be here."
 
"Ha ha. What do you want, Egg?"
 
"She's a professor."
 
"Excuse me?" Survey reached across the table and slid the mug of coffee to himself, taking a sip. "Oough, ugh. Cold. Disgusting."
 
He pushed the mug back.
 
"She, is a professor," Egg repeated. "Professor Polyc."
 
"Ah, course. Wait, she's a bird?"
 
"No, I don't think she's a gryphon."
 
"That's ri- no. No!" Survey smacked himself in the face with both his hooves. "No, Egg! not a bird. I mean, a bird! You know! She's a mare!"
 
"Yes. And she's a professor in the actual sciences. Narrow your search, Survey. Schools. Education systems. Something... university level, I think. I'm guessing, but you should start there. Look for actual professors. I don't think this is just a title. She's the one actually making these little bombs, so that takes some knowhow. Experience. Intelligence."
 
"Alright. I see what you're getting at. Should be a lot easier, now that I have a sector to look into. Oh, and look at this. Look at this, mister Egg. Look at this."
 
Survey pushed the newspaper toward him. It was the evening edition, already flipped open to page five – certainly no red letter headline, but still worth a mention.






CLOUDSDALE ZOO GIVES UP THE GOOSE!
Escaped Animal Causes Panic, Fear!

by Gale A. Mezzo




 
"Anonymous strangers help with the recapture of a ferocious animal that was loose in the city, eh?" Survey paraphrased. "You wouldn't happened to have anything to do with this, would you?"
 
Egg pointed to his side.
 
"Holy... hailstones, Egg. That looks awful."
 
"Ember had it worse. Got a bit cut up."
 
"Egg, this is getting..."
 
"No, it's alright, honestly."
 
"That's ironic. You fight Unity for two weeks and you get injured going against a wild animal. But then again, I guess a bunch of purist bigots aren't any better than wi-"
 
"Wait." Egg perked up suddenly, looking at Survey oddly. "What did you just say?"
 
"I... said... something about animals, and then we moved on. Say, how're things going wi-"
 
"Survey, who told you about Unity?"
 
"Y-you did. Of course you did," Survey smattered, rolling his hoof around. "Now, listen, this coffee is terri-"
 
"Survey."
 
"Leave me alone, Egg!"
 
"You know who they are, don't you?"
 
"I..." The word lingered in the air. "I might know something?"
 
"Survey, when did you know about them?"
 
Survey groaned, sighed and grumbled all at the same time in a single impressively expressive noise.
 
"Since the start, Egg."
 
"Go on?"
 
"That's... that's why I didn't want you to get involved! Alright? Those guys who mugged me... they were from Unity. Us non-cloudsdalians, we all know about Unity. It's just something we don't talk about."
 
"What is this group, Survey?"
 
"They're... purists. Racists, I guess. I don't know. They don't like anyone born outside of Cloudsdale. They believe in Cloudsdale for Cloudsdale. They probably targeted me because I was walking the wrong way up the street or something."
 
"They attacked you just because you're from Trottingham?"
 
"I suppose so, yeah."
 
"And how'd they know that?"
 
"Well, you're always saying I have a funny accent, aren't you! It's not like it's not obvious I'm from out of town!"
 
"And what of other races?"
 
"They get it worse, I'm sure."
 
"How is this kept so quiet?"
 
"Because we just don't talk about it, Egg! Don't you understand how things work here? What use is it to talk about it? Who's going to do anything about it? Either you fight back yourself or you... go home! It's been happening for a long while, Egg, but it's just gotten worse recently. Do you remember Hummingbird Basil from pony resources?"
 
"Of course. Lovely stallion. He had to go back Earthside because... oh."
 
"Yeah, that's right, Egg. We don't even really tell each other. Us foreign types. And I tell you what, us 'overcast' are a lot more worse off than the ones that come from the other sky cities."
 
"Don't use that term, Survey."
 
"But that's what we are, aren't we!" Survey yelled out suddenly, smacking the table. A moment later and he let out a soft sigh, regaining composure.
 
"Sorry, Mocha," Survey called out.
 
"It's alright!" she chimed back, from behind the counter. "Built to last, those tables are!"
 
"Look, Egg," Survey said, leaning forward and sticking a hoof up under his nose. "This is why I didn't want to say anything, alright? Because now you're angry. You don't look like you're angry, but I know you, and you're angry."
 
"Maybe I am," Egg whispered.
 
"I didn't want you to get into this in the first place!"
 
"But I already am, aren't I?"
 
"Yes. Against my greatest efforts to stop you, you are. So... there's nothing left for me to do, is there?"
 
"You'll join?" Egg asked, eyebrow raising upward.
 
"N-no! No, Egg, I am not join- I told you a mi- Stop it, Egg!"
 
"Then what?"
 
"I'll just... help you. But, that's all I can do. I have to look out for my team. I have to watch out for the punk."
 
"Oh, punk," Egg muttered.
 
"I'll have my team do some digging on this Professor mare tomorrow, alright? Punk and I are being attached to some big project. Stackford got his terrible little mustache on him. I don't know if that's good or bad, but... I'm gonna make sure nothing goes wrong."
 
"Why, sounds like he's growing on you."
 
"He's a lot more polite than you are, honestly."
 
"Well, in any case, it's getting late."
 
"Yes. It is. Listen, I'll pass on any information I can get. Give me a day, at least. Alright, Egg? It's getting harder to make excuses for why I'm sending my boys off to do weird things anymore."
 
"I appreciate it, Survey."
 
"I know you do."


 


They stood on the roof of the office block, gazing down at the diner, the warm glow of the lights within winking as the ponies inside moved back and forth along their paths.
 
At first they watched.
 
They watched as the blue-ish one, nearly invisible against the night, exited and flew off home.
 
They watched as the one called Egg also left a moment later, followed by the owner of the establishment.
 
They watched as she faced him to say goodbye, and though out of earshot, they could easily guess what was being said.
 
They were good for that.
 
They watched as she suddenly threw herself against his body, in a sort of awkward hug. It seemed to be spurred by fear more than anything. They could tell.
 
They were good for that.
 
They watched as he reeled back slightly in shock, but did not reciprocate the physical gesture.
 
They watched as she stumbled back and faded into the doorway.
 
They watched as he stood there, wondering what to do with himself.
 
"That's him?" one of them asked, skeptically.
 
"Yep, that's him," came the reply.
 
"Can't hardly believe it."
 
"Well... that's him, alright. Eggbeater. Been fancying himself something of a hero. Going around and shaking things up."
 
"Should we get him now, you think?"
 
"Nah. Let's just watch for a lil' bit. Can't hurt."
 
"Can't hurt? Are you sure? After all he's done?"
 
"Well, it's not like I'm going to watch him forever. I just want to see what he does next."
 
"With the mare, you mean?"
 
"Yes, once he finds her."
 
"And in the meantime?"
 
"In the meantime, I'd like to check that diner out, I think."
 
"Why?"
 
"Because they serve pie. And I love pie."
 

Romancing the Clouds


EPISODE 3 :: End