//------------------------------//
// From On High 
// Story: Dueling Keyboards 
// by FanOfMostEverything 
//------------------------------//

There were a lot of little things Dash that liked about flying really high: the wispy wild clouds, the feeling of accomplishment in simply making it up there, the sense of just how screwed she'd be were it not for her pegasus magic. She was aware of the cold and such, but there was something like a constant chant of "This is how awesome you are" in the back of her head, telling her she was safe.

The best part by far was the view. Maybe it was the thin air, but being up here made her feel... well, she wanted to call it "sappy," but it was more poetic than anything. Beneath her was Equestria, a patchwork of dull, boring, and green. But the sky opened up all around her, a bowl of blue echoed on her coat, promising infinity to those who sought it.

Yeah, it was definitely the thin air. And maybe too many Daring Do books, ridiculous as that seemed. Still, the panorama called to her. There was so much to see out there. So much to explore, so much to do, so many who didn't yet know just how awesome she was. The winds blew at her, tugging her towards an unknown destiny.

And she could let them. She could glide for miles from up here, go across the country with hardly a flap. She could just about make out some pegasus cities. The smudge almost directly beneath her was Cloudsdale. To the west were Las Pegasus and, much closer to her level, Denvertigo, the Five-Mile High City. To the east, where the winds pushed her, she couldn't see anything, but she knew that way led to the Griffish empire.

Maybe she'd find Gilda. Maybe she'd find a special somepony. Maybe she'd find something she couldn't even imagine. She couldn't see what would come any more than she could see over the lip of the sky. But she could go and find out.

Applejack bucked a tree and looked to the pegasus resting in another. "You know, RD, sometimes I wonder. What's it like up there?"

Dash waved a hoof at her. "C'mon, AJ. You've been up in Cloudsdale."

"Yeah, but I bet you've gone a lot higher." Applejack started putting baskets in place for the next tree. "What's it like when there ain't nopony but you and the big blue?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged and laid back. "Eh, it's nothing special. I'd rather hang out with you guys."