//------------------------------// // Lonely Sky // Story: When Two Clouds Meet // by Ardent Wing //------------------------------// It was a moonlit night that Cloudy Night decided to sit and think upon her cloud. To anypony looking, she would seem a dark shape atop a small puff in a relatively cloudless sky. But such a thing was not likely to happen, as most ponies in the town of Cliffside could not see this edge of the mountain from their vantage point miles below. But Cloudy could. She could see her little town, sitting upon the very edge of a cliff and surrounded by trees, she could see the dense forest stretching all the way to the horizon, and she could see the pale light of the moon reflecting on other clouds that floated with her in the starlit sky. All of this was encompassed in the colossal valley that spanned between the great mounds of rock that made up most of northern Equestria, a beautiful sight for anyone as high up as Cloudy. It was also cold… and she was lonely. That was all Cloudy ever felt. It was as if there was a hole in her chest, unending and unfulfilled, and no matter how she tried to fill it; neither reading, family, nor the stars and the moon weren't enough. The hole in her wanted more, constantly begging to be satisfied, to be filled with the one thing she had never had. She had always felt this way. Since her earliest memory the pain in her chest had never subsided, and it always called her back. Finally, on a night not so long ago, the pain had taken the shape of two words, and they had tormented her ever since. So lonely… It wasn’t all that bad. Cloudy had a family, which is more than some others could claim. Her mother and father loved her, and that always felt good. It was just that she lacked purpose. She had knowledge, but no one to share it with. She had magic, but nopony to show it to. What was life without purpose? All she had were things, but without meaning those things became worthless. So lonely… Cloudy poked a floating puff of cloud with her hoof. Such a small thing, sitting away from large pillow that she was sitting on. It was a lot like herself; floating alone, right next to the crowd but never attached. She wanted to become part of the whole, but she had no connection, no life line to bind her to the rest of the world. This was because she lacked the one thing in this world that everypony else seemed to have: a friend. Not having one was just… horrible. Many a night Cloudy would come out here to dream of friends, and what it would be like to have them. She dreamed of what it would be like to not be alone. Even surrounded by her family she was alone. It was not their fault, it was hers… it had to be. Why else did nopony even talk to her? Even her parents could not seem to spend time with Cloudy Night. Her mother was the local librarian and was either at the library, organizing Cliffside’s large collection of the written word there, or at home, archiving and writing what historical information that she could into her own library. As for Cloudy’s father, he was a merchant, and spent most of the time selling his wares to the locals. They just... didn't have the time. At least, that’s how she felt. In truth it was probably because she was somewhat of an introvert. She didn't put herself out enough for her to love, or for others to love her. Though it is not so hopeless as it seems, she knew that the one thing she needed was a friend, and that would make everything better. A friend would give purpose, meaning. Deep down inside, she knew that this one thing could correct her whole life. So lonely… Cloudy Night swayed a bit on her cloud, which forced it to drift back towards the cliff, which sat nearby. She had to make sure that she didn’t become too distracted, or she’d find herself floating a hundred miles above the forests which sat in the valleys below her town. There were other means by which she could move the cloud, but she felt much more in control by doing it this way. Cloudy Night began to breathe heavily. It felt like she was surrounded by her loneliness, as though it had taken the form of a cramped room. She needed to escape, so she looked up at the sky. Tonight the sky was not black, filled by blazing pinpoints of light, but blue. The stars were being overwhelmed by the brilliant light of the moon, hanging large in the sky. The light from the moon merged with the lights of the stars, creating an aura of brightness for the world. The colours of the sky mixing to create beautiful contrast in shades. Deep night blue casually became light blue and then white, then transitioned back, and so-on. The whole sky seemed to focus on the moon, as if the whole world was anchored to Luna’s blazing light. This was beyond beautiful, it was magnificence brought into raw physicality. However, even this amazing sight had become tainted by Cloudy’s feelings. So lonely… What was the point of a beautiful sky if she had nopony to share the view with… there was none. What did the moon matter if nopony could see its brilliance with her? Cloudy could not see the joy of life when there was no other set of eyes that could be there to see it with her. Her knowledge, her magic, even the world did not matter without a friend. Just one, that was all she needed! Just one friend would give everything vibrancy. A single pony could change her world, she knew it inside. If only she could know that she knew it! So lonely… The thought grew louder, carrying with it all of Cloudy’s weaknesses. She knew why she didn't have a friend: Because she was weak. Because crowds made her nervous! Because ponies made her nervous! Her parents weren’t too busy for her, she just ran out the door of her cottage before they could even speak to her! She didn’t interact with others! What would she even say to a friend? She would spend the whole time cowering when she could be talking! She was so pathetic! The world was spinning around Cloudy Night. She couldn’t even hear the beat, a beat which could never be heard. A pulse that she COULD hear, but didn’t. It was feeding into her, and she was too busy attacking herself to notice. So lonely… The thought had formed a thundering crescendo in her mind. The thought boomed like the crash of thunder, each letter a lightning strike. The one thing in all this world that Cloudy lacked had become her greatest enemy. Still the thought grew stronger. So lonely… so lonely… so lonely… so lonely… So lonely… so lonely… so lonely… so lonely… So lonely… so lonely… so lonely… so lonely… So lonely… so lonely… so lonely… so lonely… So lonely… so lonely… so lonely… so lonely… SO LONELY! SO LONELY! SO-LONELY! Why was she shouting at her? Did it matter? she probably deserved it anyway. SO LON- “I hear your sad song, child. It echoes throughout my nightly domain and fills me with that which could only be familiar to this ashen heart of mine.” The voice reverberated through her mind, leaving the screeching words of her loneliness as nothing more than an echoing cry. All feelings of despair were pushed away by the pulsing that the voice seemed to leave in her head. It wasn't necessarily a soothing pulse, nor an uncomfortable one. It simply... numbed. Her heart stopped, and then started again a moment later. Cloudy Night gasped, and anxiously glanced around for the source of the voice. "W-who's there?" She waited a moment for a response, straining her ears for the slightest sound, but heard nothing. Had she really just heard a voice? Impossible. She was alone up here, of this she was certain. “Fear not, fret not child. I am a kindred spirit, fated to wander this world alone and forgotten. Until I heard your pain, calling to me like a melody on the wind. So here I am, to find a greater prize than I had ever imagined.” With every word the voice spoke Cloudy contemplated less. Her tensed muscles relaxed, Her heart slowed, even a smile came across her face. Cloudy decided to lie down on a pillowy surface that had all of a sudden felt so much softer. Why? Why did she feel so relaxed? What was that voice? She tried to ask herself these questions but every time she tried to focus it was as if her thoughts just ran from her head, leaving her alone with the voice. Surely she could trust the voice... right? The thought fought against its prison, why was the voice speaking to her? “I come for all of those who linger upon the edge. The pain of the heart sings to my ears, and allows me to find those lost ones. Truly I am the queen of the lost, the forgotten… the dead.” The voice sounded bitter; angry at its loss. It had had something once, and, perhaps it could again, given time. Of course, none of this reached exactly reached Cloudy Night. She could hear what the voice was saying, but it was like the words fled from her as soon as they reached her. She was still sitting there, trapped by the inescapable prison of the voice. Enthralled by the alluring voice much like a moth was enticed by a flickering flame, Cloudy found that she could not move. She kept trying to create some coherent thought, her mind skipping and slipping on the icy surface of the voice, as if it were falling into the domain of nothing. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of struggle, the last coherent thought fled from her mind. She merely sat there, her brain empty of everything, her life had become nothing more than a fog; capable of sense and nothing more. She was ready. The mysterious voice spoke again, but Cloudy could not remember what it had said. It was as if every statement slipped into her mind and was subsequently slotted away for later use. Time seemed to stretch on as the voice became a blur, the words themselves lost to her as was the rest of the world. Everything became a dark cloud of unknowable thought that drifted along on the breeze like a leaf in the fall, and she lost all notion of reality. For a time, at least... But just as a boat, set out on open water, one day returns to shore, so did Cloudy begin to resurface from the fog. She blinked and looked around, but the voice still weighed on her mind. The sky was now a tansition between the purple of ending night and the orange or the rising sun in the distance. Had morning truly come? Where had the night gone? Orange light had begun to creep into her vision, and it left the pony feeling... strange. One last time the voice entered her mind. Now it was urgent… and weak, but still held Cloudy as strongly as it had before. "My time runs short. The sun and day now creep into the land to mark my passing. Be steadfast, child. Today will bring a friend, and with it the key to release from this cage of woe, hold fast!" A friend? What did it mean a friend? She had no friends. Before she could ponder this statement the voice returned, only now as the soft sung words of some far greater melody. It entered Cloudy's mind again; its tone guiding her eyes shut as it sang its verse. "The light is rising in dark of night Coming to bring you home And I will wait till morrow’s night To with my sorrow roam" She could feel herself sinking deeper into sleep as she heard these lines. She didn't want to sleep, so why was she? She could see the orange light of morning creeping in through her eyelids, but she could not open her eyes. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe the voice wasn't lying. Wait, where?... well, she supposed that a little sleep would be good for her. Cloudy would rest her eyes for a few hours before coming down. The calm nature of the sleeping world overtook her, and she began to doze on her pillow. Yet, as she fell asleep she felt surprisingly optimistic. Today would bring a friend… or maybe… just a glimpse of a friend… It would be enough…