//------------------------------//
// Suspicion 
// Story: The Magic of Old Earth 
// by Dress72 
//------------------------------//

	It didn’t take long before The Caster felt it safe to take flight from the surrounding forest, the feel of the air rushing through his feathers made him feel ecstatic after being trapped for eons. He closed his eyes as he let an updraft take him well above the cloud-line. He cleared his mind as he flew in total serenity and became aware of the skyscape around him through the varying wind pressures caused by the solid clouds around.
He reopened his eyes when he felt a massive shift in the air currents, and witnessed a large palace-like cloud. He decided to make a stop here and explore enormous open structure. As he approached it, its actual size magnified to that of a city and he marveled at the expanse that the pegasi lived in. 
He turned to his followers and singled out the former gryphon, now in a tan and brown pegasus form. He gave instructions for him to lead the other four through the city. Mortem separated from the group at this point, curious as to the extent for which this structure extended. Upon landing in the city, he came across a posy of blue and yellow clothed pegasi and, upon inquiring, received an incredulous reply that they were called the Wonderbolts.
“And who are the Wonderbolts?” he inquired further.
“They’re the best flyers, the best known pegasi, and symbol of flight in Equestria. It’s rare for them to make an appearance like this in Cloudsdale, or any other town or city for that matter. Some of them have homes here and shop, but never in uniform; that’s usually reserved for their shows or training at their academy. They must be looking for recruits,” the pony he asked replied confidently before he flew to catch up to them.
Curious, Mortem flew further down the road to catch a better glimpse of them. As they approached the spot in which he had chosen to wait, he caught a piece of their hushed conversation, “Have you spotted anyone yet? Remember, if you spot anyone who is acting strangely, don’t hesitate to pull them out. You know what to do from there, don’t you?” the captain (indicated by the lack of a full-body suit) reminded her group.
“Yes, Spitfire; if they run, have back-up pursue; if they don’t, ask their name and aspirations, then send them off for back-up to pick up,” the two with Spitfire replied consecutively.
It was this moment that Spitfire caught Mortem’s eyes – just before he was swept from her vision as the crowd overtook him. She froze as she realized who the pony she spotted was. With her composure faltering for a mere fractional second, she spun to her companions. “We’re done here; I saw him,” she proclaimed in a rushed whisper.
Her companions were shocked by her surety, but knew better than argue with her instincts, so they took flight away from the growing crowd to leave The Caster to the pick-up. A single thought continued to haunt Spitfire as they flew away, ‘I found you; I finally found you!’
***
Mortem submerged into the swarm of pegasi just as he made eye contact with Spitfire. It wasn’t long before he spotted the trio take flight and leave him behind. He knew that they couldn’t go for him directly - despite her obviously figuring him out so quickly – so as the crowd dissipated, he ducked into an ally. Upon examination, he discerned the existence of irregularities in the cloud among the scattered debris. As he inspected the irregularities, he found that they were all part of a door hidden by years of pileup. He double checked that he wasn’t being watched, before he pried the door open with a single word.
A gale of stale air scrambled its way out through the new exit, accompanied by a cloud of dust and the stench of decay. Peering in revealed nothing through the dust and contrast of light, so he ventured down the cloud, the door closing behind him. Despite the encroaching darkness, the area stayed lit from the defusing of light caused by the clouds. Wandering further, brought him upon the entrance to a long forgotten maze as well as an ever growing potency of decay.
He continued through the maze seemingly aimlessly, constantly following the ever permeating rancid air. At some point, the maze turned dark and the stench that The Caster was following faded with the light. In its place a semi-sweet metallic smell seeped into his mind. A thought pierced him and it shook him, ‘This is bad; I’m in danger; I need to escape.’  It was irrational, this thought, and he knew it. He knew that the shifting scent was most likely interlocked with a spell to deteriorate his resolve and mental health, yet this thought, this irrational fear, still captured him. The fear compelled him to run blindly until he regained his control before a large, black lake that stretched into the darkness. Here, he regained his composure.
Now lost, he felt the necessity to use his depleting energy to leave the maze. “Duc me ad urbem est. *Lead me to the city.*” As the spell took hold of his surroundings, he blacked out.
***
Startled as if woken by a bad dream, an ash grey pegasus found himself laying belly up in the tall grass of a meadow. A calm befell him, allowing his mind wander as he watched the drifting clouds saunter through the seemingly playful skies as other pegasi played high among them. As the insects and animals grew accustomed to his sudden presence, they grew bolder and approached the motionless pony. He was finally able to relinquish his repeating thoughts of the event when he rolled over. Reaching out, he put a hoof on the nearest critter’s head. “To what design called you here, and to what purpose draws you to me?” As if in response, the bunny he was petting nuzzled under him and reappeared seconds later with a crushed bundle of flowers. The gray pegasus rolled onto his back once more before closing his eyes, “Oh… sorry about that.”
Upon becoming motionless once more, the other animals approached him in a weary fashion. Surrounded, he felt a shadow that scattered the animals cross over him, accompanied by a strong, criticizing voice, “Get up Caster, walk with me.” The shadow passed after the sentence.
The pegasus stood, slightly confused, “Okay, but I’m Ashen Cloud, not Caster. Even if I’m an outcast, doesn’t mean that I don’t want my name.”
The pony that called to him turned back and stared intensely at his eyes. The stare was broken first by Ashen Cloud. “Fine, Ashen Cloud, just follow me.” Ashen Cloud followed the pony obediently, observing the familiar light gold and orange pony as they walked in silence. “You know, I never thought I would meet you,” Spitfire broke in, “Not with this personality at least.”
“What do you mean?” Ashen Cloud asked, “I was only asleep for a few hours. Granted I did have a weird dream that didn’t want to end, but it was just a dream.”
“I see then... Just remember this when the spell wears off: fight with all your strength and you will undoubtedly change this world,” Spitfire’s confident words rang through as Ashen Cloud blanked out.
***
The Caster awoke in the ally he had descended into the maze from, a small group of pegasi surrounding him. “Are you okay sir?”
He sat up, a dull head ache reminding him of the maze; a quick inspection of the ground forced him to reconsider if it was real as there was no indication of a trapdoor within the clouds. “I’m fine, thank you,” he declared as he got up.
One of the pegasi caught him when he stumbled near immediately on his first step. “Careful now, you blacked out and just collapsed not too long ago. We should get you to a place where you can rest.”
The caster was lulled by the words thanks to his head ache and found himself being guided through the city, his mind starting to haze. In his hazed state he had the chance to observe the cloud and picked out several runes spread out on each street and house and each one he read drew him in further into this hazed reality.
“Master!” one of the returning four followers called out, shaking him from his daze, causing him to stop dead and disturb the ones he was following, “Master, we have gathered what it is you requested.”
“Alright then, let’s see what you found.” The quadruplet shared the information that they were able to uncover to which Mortem turned to his helpers and expressed his gratitude for their assistance. They accepted the thanks warmly before they split away. “I’m going to need to fix this place, but I can’t do it here,” he spoke to himself grimly as they left Cloudsdale at a south-east angle, a large castle buried within a mountain within his scope.