//------------------------------//
// The donkey scientist and the secret meeting. 
// Story: Regarding the Bull of Bashan Affair 
// by Lisboa 
//------------------------------//

Cloudsdale HQ. Noon.

11:45.

Mayor Blue Halo was staring at his glass of water, while sweating a bit. The central A/C stopped working long ago. He was focused on the glass. So clear. So precious. The thought of having water running in his throat was both a blessing and a torture at the same time.

11:50

Cloudsdale as a city was a mayhem. It's been three years since Featherhawk died. Then Misty Cloud. Then Icy Raindrop. All of them covered up, of course, when the Company was still powerful.

Then Air Errand died. Poor old pegasus was driven mad of thirst due to the rules he designed himself. He flied and searched frantically for water. The blazing sun did the rest. His body was never recovered from Everfree Forest.

11:55

The rules were simple. Fountains ceased to work, any ill use of water was punishable, and water was rationed, with no more than two liters a day per citizen. Foals and elders were forbidden to expose themselves to the sun. Work shifts indoors where normal, but for the physical, most important work outdoors there was a single, night-only shift.

11:56

Since the loss of Air Errand, Vice-president Cumulus took over the headquarters, but he had to lead all of the Company and the city affairs. It was a very exhausting work. The first thing he did was to expose his priorities to the board of executives. Secrecy, control of information, the safety of workers and inhabitants were all priorities over profit from then on. Many refused, but they weren´t safe on the ground to actually leave the company with their wealth.

11:57

And they kept working, gradually making changes on their daily routines as days got warmer. Profits turned into tragic financial losses. First year was for keeping the status quo. Second year was to avoid mass panic.

“This year is for surviving“, the mayor told himself. “Damn it, Air Errand. You should have stayed home and rest when I told you. Now I need you more than ever. Cumulus is too short-tempered for this work, and now…we may hear even more bad news.”

11:58

Blue Halo was fond of Air Errand’s junior Cumulus, but he may have doomed the entire pegasi race when he kicked out of Cloudsdale Co. headquarters somepony that tried to warn them of a possible “global warming” effect that would render Pegasi Weather Control ineffective against it. That happened three years ago. And according to several witnesses among the board members that were present at the moment, everything happened as it was foretold by this doomsday scientist. 

11:59

The mayor just found that out the day before. He was furious. If that scientist knew what would happen, the he could hold the key to the solution. And Cumulus kicked him away. Blue Halo gave him the task to find him right away. Surprisingly, he did. The only few things that the mayor knew about him were that he was a loner, living in Everfree and educated in Trottingham and Canterlot.

Thankfully, he agreed to return. He would be there anytime.

I was 12:00 o'clock and the speaker network of the facility turned on. A dry cough was heard in every office in Cloudsdale HQ and it was also broadcasted in the whole city:

Good afternoon, everypony, it´s 12:00 o`clock now… The voice gurgled a little bit, and then coughed again. Then it spoke more clearly:

We may now proceed to drink another cup of our individual share of water. Make it last, folks; remember we can’t drink again until six o’clock. Until then let me remind you that foals and elders most remain indoors at all times. Don´t venture outside unless necessary. Don´t expose for too long to broad daylight. Remain in the shade as long as possible. 

This is Cloudsdale Co. Stay tuned and keep yourselves safe.

Even if he tried to give little sips to the water to make it last, the mayor drank all of his water by the time the voice coughed the first time. He let two drops fell to the floor. He cursed himself for that.

Blue Halo considered the suggestions of some of the board members. He could easily just take a little more water for himself. After all he was the mayor and the acting CEO. He knew some of the members did that, very few of them showed up at their meetings looking as thirsty as everypony else. He shook his head. No way in hell he would do something so damnable. Cumulus, even the short-tempered fool he was wouldn´t do it either. He would take care of that matter later.

The speaker in his desk startled him.

“Sir, the scientist is here.” A feminine voice was heard from the speaker.

“Let him in as quickly as you can. There is no time for protocol now.”

“Um…yes sir. About that…” The voice paused. “Security tells me that this fellow can’t walk on clouds.” Blue Halo blinked.

“If he is no pegasus, then our guest must be an unicorn.  If he is a unicorn then he should be able to cast a spell on himself. If he can´t do that, then his scientist status is very questionable. ” Blue Halo hoof-combed his gray mane. It was logical, really. An earth pony scientist was not very common, after all.

“Actually, sir, the scientist is a donkey. He came here on a floating device. Like a small dirigible.”

The mayor was caught off-guard.  “Make them prepare the earth pony platform. That’ll have to do.”

“Yes, right away, sir.” 

Outside the facility a small dirigible was hovering over the main entrance. Inside there was a donkey with a white coat and sunglasses holding his parasol, waiting. Damn it was hot outside. He hoped that those security officers would let him in quickly or else he would cook under the blazing sun. The parasol he was holding offered little relief.

He just knew that Ponyville locals saw his small dirigible heading to Cloudsdale. Thankfully, his Everfree residence was unlikely to be found. They would never venture inside that dense forest. 

He saw one guard acting like he was receiving a call, and then glanced at him. He talked to his partner and then received him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. We just had to be sure it wasn’t another unwelcome journalist or an earth pony snitch. We haven’t seen them in a while tough.” The bulkiest one said. “My partner here will prepare a safe spot for you to stand on until you reach the main building entrance.”

“Thank you.” The donkey answered.

The other pegasus returned with a small cloud with a solid metal platform on its top. It had several little sparks moving in between the platform and the cloud. The donkey stepped on it.

“Say, you don´t happen to have any water, do you?” One of the guards asked in a not so friendly manner.

“Pardon me?”

“Water. You must have some.”

“Well, I usually carry two small bottles when I do a conference…” The bulkier one didn´t let him finish.

“Give them. Now.”

“Excuse me?”

“It´s against the law to carry more water than what it was assigned to you; if you have extra water it has to be confiscated to ration it with everypony else.” The donkey looked baffled. 

“I am not a Cloudsdale citizen. Besides, you haven’t even assigned me any ration. I am not even staying here for long, so I really doubt this would apply to me.”

“Oh my, aren´t you a little far away from your balloon there?” The one that prepared the platform pointed mockingly. “It would be terrible if your platform started to malfunction.”

The donkey raised an eyebrow. Pegasi were really so thirsty that guards, soldiers and the gendarmerie had to push their authority to drink more water than the other skyfolk. That confirmed his suspicions. Since his life was on the line, he played along. He reached his saddlebag and took two bottles. Of course they wouldn't "ration it with everypony else."

“Move it. We don´t want to bring any attention.” The bulky prompted nervously.

“Don´t you miss bribery for bits instead of water? We still do that in the ground, you know” The donkey spitefully said. Desperate situation or not, he despised corruption among the authority. 

He expected a frown, an insult or even a slap. What he received was a look of thankfulness from the guard. “Damn, we do.” He said. “It’s just that…well, you’ll see once you get in there and talk with the bosses.”

The donkey continued hovering in the platform toward the main building. He heard behind him those two guards quarreling over the last bottle of water. Way to go not bringing any attention.

"Oh, but I DO know." He whispered.

He safely stepped down the platform to walk in the building halls and was guided to the meeting room where the executive board of Cloudsdale Co. was gathered. He recognized a few.

“Greetings. It’s had been a while since I’ve come here the last time. I have to say that last time wasn`t very pleasant.” He began. Some awkward coughs and angry sighs were heard. “For those who don’t know me, my name is Dr. Wisely Cooper Donkey.”

“Thank you for coming willingly in such a short notice, Dr. Wisely.” Mayor Blue Halo welcomed. “Please, our time is very short, and as you can see, we are in a very desperate situation.”

“Thank you, Mayor. Now, you might not be entirely aware of the details I addressed to this board because I was literally kicked out of Cloudsdale before having an audience with you…” Wisely stared at the gray, middle-aged pegasus named Cumulus. He just grinded his teeth. “…and I assume you only heard a very small fraction of what I actually pointed out then. So, basically, let me start telling you in general terms what I said then:” Wisely took a breath and continued:

“I said then that Cloudsdale and all of the sky over five hundred meters above the sea level was going to face a gradual, but steady increase of temperature that will make Pegasi Weather Control facilities to be insufficient to handle and in a matter of years, to collapse.” The mayor nodded in agreement. He knew that part.

“The most sensible part was that not only Cloudsdale, but Las Pegasus, Windsoar and other sky settlements were going to suffer several heat waves, and in the short term, massive droughts in Equestria as a whole. And that pegasi race, with their reputation of controlling weather would be held responsible and blamed for that.”

Cumulus rolled his eyes. Blue Halo stared at him demanding an answer.

“Yes. It’s true.” Cumulus said.

“And it’s happening just as he said, right before our eyes.” Blue Halo answered.

Cumulus stood up angrily. “That´s because somehow he is involved! Don´t you think it´s too coincidental that he came here threatening us and suddenly everything is happening as he said?” Wisely smirked.

“I propose to detain him and sent him to Canterlot for questioning. For an act of nature he knows too much of it so it´s obvious he has something to do with it.”

“Canterlot?” Wisely laughed openly. “Canterlot is as impotent as you are. Or tell me, has your precious Princess has even received anypony of you in her castle?” The board whispered among themselves and Cumulus just looked away. Even Blue Halo looked nervous.

“Please let me finish with the last part of my message before you threat me: it will get worse.”

“What do you mean?” A random member asked.

“In two months, the sky will be simply too hot to live. Nothing will survive in this environment. If you want to survive a little longer, you will all have to move to the ground.”

“Stop being unreasonable! You know what groundfolk think of us!” Cumulus said. "They would never recieve us!"

Blue Halo picked up, however, in another, more important detail: “What do you mean with surviving a little longer?”

Wisely speaked more casually: “Well, the effects of this global warming will be felt in the ground as well. And in about…two more years all of Equestrian life forms will be pretty much dead.”

The board remained silent. One female member started to cry.

“How the hell can you say this so calmly? It’s the end of the world as we know it!” Cumulus exclaimed.  Blue Halo raised a hoof to calm him down. Then he asked a very good question:

“Can it be stopped?”. 

Wisely C. Donkey just teasingly stared and gave a faint nod.

“Have in mind that we all spend our fortunes trying to keep Weather Control as functional as possible. We have nothing left now.” The weeping pegasus remarked, using her handkerchief to wipe her tears off. 

“I really don’t think dying is in your plans, Dr.” The mayor added. "You must know something."

“I’m not here for money, I assure you.” Wisely confirmed. After a moment of silence, Cumulus took the initiative, less infuriated:

“Why is this happening, Dr.?” 

Wisely smiled so hard he grinded his teeth. “That, Vice-president, is the best question I’ve ever been asked.”

-	 

Fluttershy's house, around midnight.

A mass of winged ponyfolk gathered inside the small house. It took up to two hours and half for all of them to enter, since the secrecy of the gathering required them to come in pairs or groups of three pegasi at a time. 

Thankfully the authorities were more relaxed than before: Despite their efforts, not a single pegasus got to talk and those who could were far away from anyone to question them. They got so used to it that they simply gave up. It was those vicious earth supremacist volunteers that they had to be careful of now.

Inside the house, there was tension.

"What do you want us to hide for you all now, Rainbow Dash? " A young female pegasus asked.

"Look at the thermometer today! It just hit forty-two degrees, again! This has been for three weeks straight and WE HAVEN'T REACHED THE DOG DAYS YET." Said a male, older pegasus. Then other joined him in his complaints, while Rainbow Dash was hearing, with her hooves crossed.

"I almost got beaten up at Market Row this morning!"

"My little brother Rumble is being bullied constantly at school!"

Rainbow Dash raised her hooves to calm the crowd. "OK, that's enough. Calm down! Remember that pegasi meetings are being outlawed as we speak. We don't want to bring any attention on oursleves." The crowed lowered their tone; some were shaky at this revelation. 

The older male then speaked. "Dash, we must tell them about the situation. If we can't do it due to our sky oaths, then we should pack our stuff and leave ground for good. At least until this drought is over." Most of them agreed. Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding.

"That's why I told everypony to come tonight. This will get worse. Way worse."

"What  did you say?" Asked the first young female. Others whispered their surprise.

"I received a letter from Cloudsdale today and got instructed to share it with you all tonight." Rainbow Dash unfolded the letter and was about to read it aloud. Ugh, many letters. She opted against it. They will be able to read it after the meeting and her time was short. Reading aloud was boring, too.

"It's a bit long, so to make it snappy I'll tell you what it says: Cloudsdale won't survive if this keeps up for two more months. Even if we are hopeful that something will magically fix this in that time, the Mayor and the Boss won't risk those who are working there. So...they are coming to the ground in a week."

"They are coming? Here to the ground?"  Another female asked.

"Most of them, yes. Only the higher-ups and few workers will remain there until there’s no doubt that Cloudsdale is done for good."

"Then what about us? We can't stay in Ponyville!" Thunderlane objected.

"No!" Rainbow Dash replied with some worry in her voice. Her tone made some to shut up and pay more attention. She continued more calmly.

"No we can't. And we won't. Big shelters are being prepared for all of us in the outskirts of every major city. These shelters must keep secret from everypony else besides authorities. The Company will provide money for us to buy food, and we'll have to think of something to disguise it; a relief effort, charity, commercial stunt, whatever. Our shelter will definitely be the biggest and it will be located two miles outside Ponyville, south of Sweet Apple Acres. A perimeter has been already stablished and mist will cover perpetually this sector to prevent unwanted exploration and to conceal our position."

Many just couldn't believe their ears. Somewhere else to go was great news. Others tough expected more details. Rainbow Dash catched her breath and opened some cardboard boxes. She took a pile of papers from one of them and placed them on a table nearby.

"So, listen up! We'll go and distribute these flyers dropping them from above. It is an official bulletin which says that everything is under control, but the remaining pegasi in the ground will have to part to the sky city to help in the work. Then we'll disappear to join the others coming from the sky. 

Those with little colts and fillies must stop sending them to school and keep them close in the meantime; we don't want them to be targets for questioning or something worse to be used to take out more information than must be officially told. Talk to no Earth Pony. Talk with no Unicorn about this. Don't worry, once in the shelter, they'll provide education. Those with wife, husband, girlfriend or whatever that isn't a pegasus don't worry either. They can come with us, too." 

More sighs of relief and some cheering was heard in the crowd. Some of the crowd hushed among themselves. Dash then proceeded to read the last paragraph of the letter. It explained things better than she would. "OK, now the words of the Mayor that I think are the most important. Here we go:

Remember, all of this is a temporary transition. Canterlot and Cloudsdale have been in touch with every municipality authority, and they will have to comply sheltering us without the non-pegasi general public knowledge. Legally they can't take any action either since this is a direct order from the Princess. Keep calm, the Princess is wise, and tough we have incidents with our groundfolk brothers and sisters, it's her wish for us to remain together in harmony. Be assured, she knows what to do, and what is best for us.

Blue Halo, Mayor of Cloudsdale and Acting CEO of Cloudsdale Co.
Cumulus, Director of Cloudsdale Co. Factory No. 1."

-

Cloudsdale HQ. A few hours earlier

"...a direct order from the Princess, Blue Halo? Seriously?" Cumulus asked the mayor when he finished reading the letter he just ordered to be printed by thousands.

"What did you expect? We are running out of options now. We just took advice from...well, a separatist, for goodnes sake!"

"Canterlot will not take this lightly if they find out."

"Well, at least we'll have their attention. Not only our race is in the line now. What would Air Errand do?"

Cumulus just stayd silent, thinking about that. Then he answered "I don't know. He would do the right thing, I believe. If you think this is the right thing, then you can count on me, old friend." Cumulus placed his hoof on Blue Halo's shoulder. "I'll follow you to the end."

Blue Halo nodded and headed to his desk. Cumulus was not satisfied. "At least promise me you'll tell the messengers that we are doing this in our own initiative."

Blue Halo picked up the phone. "Get me in touch with each ground city authority. Start with the mayor of Ponyville."

-

Fluttershy's house, beyond midnight.

After reading, Rainbow Dash gave instructions to the crowd on how to leave the house silently as they came. Three hours later, Thunderlane and Rumble where the last to quickly leave Fluttershy's house. 

"See you in the shelter then. Thank you for everything, Rainbow Dash." Said Thunderlane while he was waking up Rumble.

"Don't sweat it. We'll catch up there and see a way out of this. Without those earth kissers breathing in our necks we can have a clearer mind to think."  Answered Rainbow Dash. She then whispered in his ear.

"Scootaloo stayed, right?"

"She is with Cloudchaser. We'll give her the letter and tell her of this." Answered Rumble, now fully awake.

"OK, but only in the right time. I don't want her to know too soon or else she could spill the beans with her friends." Of course, she meant Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Those three were something to worry about if they knew even a small bit of information. 

After they left, Rainbow Dash sighed and finally turned to face Fluttershy. 

"Hi, by the way." 

Fluttershy flied and squeezed her with almost all of her might. Rainbow returned the embrace happily.

"Rainbow, Rainbow I was so worried!" She finally said, not letting go. "I thought we would never hear from you again...and then I got that message from you and couldn't believe it!"

"Yeah, um… Sorry for making you risk yourself letting this meeting to be at your house. I didn't want you to do it, but I had no other choice."

"It's OK, Dashie. After all I've been trough at first, nothing can be worse." She chuckled. Rainbow Dash gave her a worried look.

"Hey, you are coming with us, right? You can't stay here after all of ground pegasi leave. You'll be an easy target."

"I'll be fine, Rainbow"

"What the heck are you talking about? You won't!"

"The animals in my shelter need somepony to look after them. Who will if I'm not here?"

"Fluttershy...please." Fluttershy turned. She wasn't used to hear Rainbow Dash pleading in a soft, vulnerable manner. This wasn't like her at all. She reconsidered.

"The girls might help; the shelter will be temporary, right?"

"No Flutters. We can't tell them. We had this same discussion when I left. You haven't said anything, right?" Fluttershy shook her head.

"I kept my promise. But they asked me about you again today...". Rainbow Dash stood up and sulked in the living room, then she took a quick glance over the window. She was making sure nopony was looking their way. Fluttershy noticed, but she kept talking.

"They are really worried about you. You need to talk to them."

"Fluttershy, listen to me. There are good reasons why I'm keeping this from them. Specially from Twilight."

"What? Why?"

"She is our friend and all, but she is a Princess now. If she knows what I'm about to tell you she'll go straight to Canterlot to spill the beans to the Princess."

"But...you said that Canterlot is involved..."

"They aren't, Fluttershy. The Company is moving this on its own. Canterlot...is as if they didn't care."

Fluttershy didn't know what to think. Was the situation far more dangerous than implied by Rainbow at the meeting? "I think you must explain some of this to me, but whatever it is I don't think Twilight would just tell on us."

"Hey, I know Twilight, OK? She is our best friend, but even with the best of intentions she could go and ask for her advice like she always does. In the last three years she had nothing as response. No reason why this could be different, besides that any Canterlot spy will tell some earth kissers and blow our cover."

Fluttershy just flied to the kitchen. A long explanation was in order. "I'll prepare some coffee and you tell me what you know, OK?"

Rainbow Dash stretched. This was going to be a long night, but it felt great to have a friend to chat and share the burden of secrets she had for a piece of mind. Plus, she would probably add some of her home-made cookies. She smiled and rubbed an eye.

"Flutters, it's great to have a friend. You have no idea,"