//------------------------------//
// What now? 
// Story: Teenage Angst in Cloudsdale 
// by Dott 
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Fluttershy stared straight down, focusing on the ground miles below her. She felt frozen, her entire body still shaking violently from the shock of what had happened moments ago. The only sound she heard was Rainbow Dash's heavy, uneven breathing.

Neither of them had said anything since they left Rainbow's house. Both of the pegasi were trying to calm themselves down; Fluttershy from her near-panic attack, and Rainbow from her rage and frustration.

They had just had dinner at Rainbow's house, in order for Fluttershy to be introduced to her parents. She hadn't really wanted to in the first place. Rainbow was her best friend, but it was no secret that they both came from screwed-up families. The visit was more of a chore than anything; their parents had insisted that they do it, and saying "no" wasn't an option for either of them.

The visit had started off alright. Everyone kept their polite faces on, and did small talk. Then Rainbow Dash's mother made some offhand rude comment (Fluttershy didn't even remember what it was about now), and Rainbow had gotten annoyed and said something snarky under her breath.

One thing had led to another, and Rainbow Dash and her folks had gotten into a heated argument, leaving Fluttershy whimpering and huddled against the wall. She was soon dragged out by her friend -- that is, after the blue pegasis had wriggled free from her mother's grip on her.

At least now Fluttershy knew where Rainbow Dash got her temper from.

After the explosion, they had flown around aimlessly for a while, and had stopped to rest on the edge of Cloudsdale. Their hind legs dangled off the side of the cloud, Rainbow's swinging restlessly and Fluttershy's rigid.

"I'm sorry about all that. I know it scared the hay out of you."

Fluttershy jumped slightly and turned her head towards the source of the hoarse voice. "I-it's alright. I understand." Her own voice didn't do a very good job at hiding how upset she still was.

"No, it's not alright! Celestia, I knew this was a bad idea!" Rainbow Dash covered her face with her hooves and screamed in frustration. "I really freaking hate them sometimes! I can't deal with them!"

Fluttershy thought about trying to comfort her friend by placing a hoof on her shoulder, but figured it was better to wait until she calmed down. "Do, uh... do you want to stay at my house tonight? I'm sure my mother, uh, won't mind..."

Rainbow threw Fluttershy a exasperated look. "That's just it, though! She WILL mind! Look, Shy, you're really cool, but your mom hates me! She'll probably agree to it, but I can see on her face! She thinks I'm a juvenile delinquent!

"Oh, Rainbow Dash, she doesn't hate you."

"She does, though! And I know that afterwards, I'll just have to go right back home anyway, and my parents will get on my flank for running off, and your mom will get onto you again for hanging out with me!"

Fluttershy gave her companion a pitiful look and her lip quivered. Rainbow groaned. "Oh, come on, don't cry! Now's the exact time that you shouldn't be crying."

This only seemed to make the crying come faster.

Rainbow sighed in exasperation, and awkwardly put her front leg around her friend's shoulders, prompting Fluttershy to embrace her and cling to her for dear life as she sobbed. 

Used to this situation by now, Rainbow patted Fluttershy's back. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or whatever. I really am sorry."

"It's-it's not what you said--" She violently shuddered. "It's just.. just everything... oh, Rainbow Dash..."

Fluttershy continued weeping. After a few minutes, her tears reduced themselves from uncontrollable sobbing to moderate sniffling. She didn't feel like letting go of Rainbow yet, though.

"We should run."

The remark had come out of nowhere. Fluttershy wasn't even that sure she hadn't imagined it. She sniffed. "What?"

"Run, Fluttershy!" Rainbow pulled away to look her friend in the eye. She had a wild expression on her face. "We should run away!"

"R-run away? From our parents?"

She was grinning now. "Yeah! From Cloudsdale all together! There's gotta be a town somewhere down there we could go to!"

Fluttershy whimpered. "We don't know that for sure, though... we could, uh, get down there and get stuck, or--"

"But you said that you made friends with the animals down there! If nothing else, we could probably chill with them." She made a face. "Granted, living in the woods with mangy animals doesn't sound too hot, but it'd better than this place, at least."

Fluttershy stopped and thought about this. Not having to listen to the jeers of her classmates anymore, not having to wake up every morning and hear her mother's criticisms... ("Fluttershy, darling, you gotta stop that hideous crying. It makes your pretty face turn so ugly. If you're going to keep at it, do it in your room.")

The idea was so insane, and so out of this world, for a second, Fluttershy felt hopeful.

But it would never work. They would be found, or, worse, they would get in trouble and not be able to defend themselves. 

It was a horrible idea. 

Which is why she was shocked at herself when she slowly nodded her head, her eyes widening.


~~~


While discussing plans for leaving, Fluttershy remembered something her old babysitter Spinning Wheel had told her about. The old mare had practically raised her, and she brought Fluttershy up on stories, both true and fictional. 

One of the stories she had told was about a cottage she used to live in; it was secluded and serene, and the birds were always chirping. It sounded like a heavenly place to grow up. She had promised to take Fluttershy to visit it someday, but she was bedridden with sickness when Fluttershy was 14, and dead after she turned 16. She never got the chance.

But the cottage came to Fluttershy's mind nonetheless, and it seemed like a better option than living as hermits. Since Spinning Wheel said it was near a town called Ponyville, their first order of business was to head there.

Once they had gotten to the ground (It had taken a while, since Rainbow Dash had to help her friend fly down safely, which was a daunting task taking her weak flight skills into account), they wandered until they found a dirt road. They followed it until they saw a signpost, different town names pointing in all directions. They spotted Ponyville's name on it, and set off in the direction its arrow pointed, thanking Celestia all the way.

When they arrived, Rainbow Dash began building her own place out of spare clouds, and joined the Ponyville weather team. She made friends with a few of the other pegasi on the squad, but didn't really make more connections. 

Fluttershy, not particularly wanting to live in a place she could fall off of, found Spinning Wheel's old cottage after a good deal of wandering the outskirts of town, and took it as her new home. Although she formed quick friendships with the nearby animals, she never ended up making close bonds with any of the Ponyville residents, though many of them were nice people. Only polite, almost-silent "hello"'s came from her when she saw them on the street, if anything at all.

It wasn't as if she was trying to shut them out, she was just scared; she also had her hooves full taking care of the animals that came to her cottage. Her home had become sort of an animal clinic after they all learned that she could communicate with them better than any of the other ponies in town.

She was just strangely relieved to be away from Cloudsdale. She shocked herself by not missing her mother one bit. Most of the time, she kept to herself, Rainbow Dash being the only person she really talked to. While they would always have a deep connection with each other, they drifted apart slightly as time went on, due to differing interests and lack of everyday contact.

That is, until Twlight Sparkle came to Ponyville for the first time.