//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirteen: High Up // Story: My Littlest Pet Shop: Escape from Equestria // by Drizzle Quill //------------------------------// My Littlest Pet Shop: Escape from Equestria By Drizzle Quill With much help from nyc2dragon Chapter Thirteen High Up “Aah-ah-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!” “Aw, Sunil, you big baby! Isn’t this amazing? Go faster, Dash!” The sight of two pegasi soaring up to the cloud-city Cloudsdale was never an unusual sight for members of Ponyville, but what made them stop in their hoofsteps and stare was the fact that an animal was clinging to each of the pony’s manes. On the light blue pegasus all knew as Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Ponyville (as well as Equestria, or so she claimed), was a pale grey and white skunk, who was currently yelling excitedly and clearly insisting her steed to go faster. On the butter-yellow pegasus known as Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash’s best friend and nervous, skittish Element of Kindness, was a blue mongoose, who was currently clutching to his steed’s ears and insisting he had to close his eyes or else he would plummet to his death. Ponies stood still in their tracks, watching in amazement as Rainbow and her skunk soared higher and higher at faster and faster speeds, until finally the skunk was clinging on just barely to the pegasus’ mane, lips blown back by the wind. The Element of Loyalty playfully cocked one eyebrow at her rider. “Faster?” “I-I-I-I think that’s g-g-g-good,” Pepper stuttered as her body was bounced up and down by Rainbow’s flashing wings. Laughing, the pegasus quickly slowed the beating and waited until her companion caught up. “A-are we on the ground yet?” Sunil whimpered from Fluttershy’s neck, where he had currently buried his head in her pale pink mane and was trembling violently. Pepper, seemingly recovered from her initial shock, laughed and leapt aboard Fluttershy, poking her mongoose friend in the back. “Nah, we’ve got some way to go. Shouldn’t take too long, though.” She was met with a bunch of repeated stuttering, including, “N-N-Not until I can f-f-feel my paws on s-s-solid ground!” Rolling her rose colored eyes, the skunk leapt back about Rainbow Dash, muttering teasingly, “Sure, okay. You’ll miss all the fun.” Fluttershy smiled as she began to flap her wings, soaring higher. “Don’t worry, Sunil…we’ll be there in no time.” Rainbow also began to fly, darting up to the city of the clouds, Pepper excitedly watching from her back. ________________________________________ “Well, this is our old home,” the pink-maned pegasus murmured to an eager skunk, who climbed all over the backs of the two pegasi to get a better view. “Cloudsdale Flight Camp.” “It’s up…high,” Sunil pointed out, shooting a quick glance down at the ground and then shuddering, proceeding to hug Fluttershy’s neck again. “Everything is oh-so-high!” “Well, it is a cloud city,” Rainbow remarked, rolling her magenta eyes as she casually rested against a completely cloud-crafted fence. “It’s not that bad when you get used to it, like I have.” Rolling a piece of cloud off of the fence she began to toss it back and forth between her hooves. “…I guess I’m not used to it, then,” Fluttershy squeaked, glancing down at the far-down earth and letting out a tiny scream. “It’s still so high!” Sunil’s amber eyes opened, and he pulled himself up until he was sitting atop his steed’s head. “S-so…is this where they make the clouds?” “And the rain, and the thunder, and the lightning,” Rainbow listed, not looking up once. “Also the rainbows, and the—” “Can we see where they’re made?” Pepper burst in, eyes lighting up. She jumped up and down on the pegasus’ head. “Oh, can we, can we, can we?” Glancing over at Fluttershy, Rainbow blinked. “I guess it wouldn’t be too much trouble…” “YES! Oh, this is gonna be great! And I have just the joke for the occasion!” Looking around at her eager audience, the skunk mimed a microphone between her paws. “Okay…what kind of cloud is so lazy, it won’t get up?” When there were blank stares and confused looks, she burst out laughing, and in-between giggles choked out, “Fog!” Rainbow rolled her eyes, while Fluttershy let out a small giggle and Sunil snorted with laughter, used to hearing Pepper’s jokes. “Where’d you get that one from?” he asked curiously, fear seemingly forgotten. “Heard it from Blythe’s friend Sue,” the skunk snickered, before tugging on the rainbow mane of her pegasus. “Now come on, Rainbow Dash! Let’s get going! I want to see where the weather is made!” ________________________________________ “Rainbow Dash, what’re you doing? Letting a mongoose and a skunk run wild over the snowflakes…that’s ridiculous!” A large stallion rolled his eyes as he examined the two pegasi standing at the door, staring at him with wide eyes. “And you dragged poor Flutters into it too. Don’t know why she still hangs around you…well, anyways, as long as you have those animals, you can’t come into the snowflake room.” Without further ado, the stallion slammed the door, causing a gust of wind to blow back the manes of the ponies and the fur of the pets. Pepper glared at Rainbow. “You told us we could look around!” The pegasus narrowed her magenta eyes. “I said you could look around, not take out that stupid rubber chicken and start whacking things.” Rainbow looked the skunk up and down and a look of confusion flashed over her face. “Where do you keep that thing, anyways?” Pepper shrugged, smirking. “One of my many mysteries,” she teased in a joking voice. Fluttershy sighed, slowly stroking Sunil with one hoof. “There, there, sweetie. Pepper didn’t mean to hit you with the chicken, did you, Pepper?” “Of course not!” the skunk burst out, a horrified look plastered on her face. “What do you take me for, some sort of monster who goes around hitting others for fun?” Once again pulling the earlier mentioned chicken out of seemingly nowhere, she playfully tapped Sunil on the back. Not expecting this, the mongoose shrieked and took off running across the clouds – Twilight had cast a spell on Pepper and Sunil earlier so they had the pegasus ability of cloud walking – and disappeared from view. The skunk’s face fell. “Sunil? …dang it, Russell’s going to be maaaaad…” As fast as her paws could take her, Pepper sprinted after her friend. Rainbow looked at Fluttershy, who looked back. “You know where they’re headed, don’t you?” the pink maned pegasus sighed. “Yeah.” The light blue pony sighed and opened her wings. “Get ready to chase ‘em – they’re going to the pool where all rainbows are made.” It didn’t take Dash very long to catch up with Pepper, who was now panting as she ran. Sunil was just ahead, still darting forward. Extending one hoof, Rainbow helped her skunk companion up onto her back before heading off at top speed and catching up with the mongoose in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, Rainbow’s landing was horribly timed, and she landed with a thud right in a pool of rainbow liquid. Her nose wrinkling, she started to clamber out when Pepper announced, “Whoa, is that what you guys make rainbows from?” She curiously dipped one paw in and licked it, eyes lighting up as the spiciness registered. “Heh…not so bad…um…does anyone happen to have any water?” “Wow, Pepper,” Fluttershy remarked, casually flying up. “That’s amazing – not even Pinkie was able to try that without screaming! The only other one I’ve ever known who could do that was Dashie!” She blinked shyly at her rainbow-maned friend. “Yeah, well, I’m not the best pony in the weather business for nothing,” Rainbow bragged mercilessly. Sunil looked at her, one paw still on his chest in a soothing matter. “Then why did the snowflake-maker say ‘not again, Rainbow Dash?’” Ears lowering, Rainbow smiled nervously at the ground. “Well, I’ve gotten into a few spats here and there, but nothing terrible, I can say that much for sure!” “But what about the time the cloud machine was broken and—” “Enough, Fluttershy!” As Sunil watched the conversation, fascinated, Pepper was engrossed in the rainbow-colored liquid. She watched ripples go throughout the multi-colored surface when she poked it, rose-colored eyes widening. “Hey Rainbow,” she burst out, eyes not moving from the ironically-colored fluid. The pegasus stopped denying her acts and looked up, blinking. “Yeah, Peps?” “I was wondering if you’d be up for a challenge – who can lick rainbows and not scream for the longest amount of time?” the skunk asked, finally looking up with a bright, challenging look flashing in her gaze. Rainbow Dash blinked for a few seconds, taking it in, and then grinned. “You’re on!” Plunging her hoof into the substance, she looked at the skunk teasingly. “Ready?” Pepper did the same, glaring back. “Set?” Both of them yelled at the same time, “GO!” ________________________________________ It had been five minutes, and Sunil and Fluttershy could clearly tell that both of their friends were fighting back terrible screams. Pepper’s face had turned a bright scarlet, while Rainbow had her hoof in her mouth, tears in the corner of her eyes. “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy cheered feebly. “Woo-hoo!” “Pepper, you’ll succeed!” Sunil countered, cheering loudly for the skunk comedian and then looking at Fluttershy curiously. “Would you like to bet…” He looked around wildly, and then held up a small piece of cloud. “…this piece of cloud that Pepper wins?” “Okay,” the pegasus murmured softly. “But I have to warn you, Rainbow is amazing at this sort of stuff.” “Pepper’s the most daring of us all,” Sunil replied, watching as tears began to stream down the skunk’s face. “…well, maybe besides Vinnie, but most of what he does is brash, and he never really thinks about it.” Fluttershy nodded. “That reminds me of Dashie. She’s that way most of the time also.” “It’s really quite shocking how much our friends have in common,” the mongoose commented, causing the pegasus’ head to bob up and down yet again. “Yes, I agree—oh!” She was cut off by a loud screech. “I CAN’T HANDLE IT! WATER, WATER, WATER!!!” The scream was given by none other than Pepper, who was circling, panting madly. “I-can’t-handle-this! WATER!” Rainbow burst out panting also. “Oh, Celestia, that was tough! Come on, Peps, I’ll take you down to the pool in the Everfree – it’s closest!” Lowering so that the panicked skunk could clamber onto her back, the rainbow maned pegasus sped off at her top speed, making Fluttershy’s mane blow backwards, along with Sunil’s fur. There was a short pause, in which both the pegasus and the mongoose looked at each other awkwardly. Sunil slowly opened his mouth to say something. “…I believe this is yours?” Slowly he passed to the pegasus the small piece of cloud, making her smile. “Thank you, Sunil. This has been lovely.” “Yes, I think so too,” Sunil agreed. “It’s good to forget about…home…for a while…” All of a sudden there was a cry from somewhere under them; Fluttershy’s ears pricked. “Did you hear that?” Not waiting for an answer, she flapped her way over to the edge of Cloudsdale, just in time to see a mountain goat disappear into the Everfree Forest. Confusion in her gaze, she flew back to Sunil. “Well, that was strange. I haven’t seen a mountain goat outside of Iron Will’s before.” “Was it a danger? Something to worry about?” the mongoose asked nervously, always one to jump to conclusions. After thinking it over for a few moments, Fluttershy shook her head no. “It’s just a silly mountain goat…they’re harmless. What kind of danger could a mountain goat cause?”