She fell on to clouds. They were so soft and cozy, Fluttershy could not help but wrap herself in their wispy folds.
Sleep? No dreaming had happened, there had only been self awareness.
Grumbling intruded on her thoughts, or lack of thoughts.
"Find them, she says. Return quickly, she says. And then what? He comes by himself. Not like I was waiting on the doorstep for hours, not at all. No pony comes and get's me. Let's just leave her to her impossible task, and I'll bet that they had a great laugh about it. When I get a hold of that Spittle Whine, ohoho, she'll get it then."
Fluttershy had had enough. "Can no pony get some sleep around here?! Be quiet!" She poked her head out of the clouds to see the mare disrupting her sleep. It had become really dark in the past few minutes.
"Whoa there, what are you doing here? It's really late for a little filly like you." Said the mare in the darkness.
The mare was yellow, unnaturally sunny in the moonlight. As she stepped forward Fluttershy was able to recognize her.
"Spitfire?"
"You know me? I'm flattered really," said Spitfire. "but you know that school ended, must have been five hours ago. Are you alright?"
Fluttershy's stomach rumbled, "That was thunder." She muttered. There was food in her saddlebag. She reached around to open it, but her back was bare. She moaned, thunder rumbled.
"So, you're hungry?" Deduced Spitfire.
Fluttershy nodded. At least she was too numb and empty to cry. "I lost my saddlebag at the playground."
"Well let's go!" Spitfire reached for Fluttershy, who scurried out of her reach.
"I can walk." She responded quickly. Her flank hit a wall behind her.
"And I can fly, get over here."
By the time Fluttershy could think of how to respond she found herself soaring through the night sky. She shut her eyes but still felt the pull of the dive back to cloud level.
"OK, we're here. I think I see your bag too." Announced Spitfire.
Fluttershy was carried to her bag. She shakily unstrapped it and caught the lunchbox in her teeth.
Spitfire lounged in the clouds while Fluttershy gorged herself on ozone lumps and nasty green bits. Mommy said that they were from a world below. They always tasted like wooden crates, but she gulped them down greedily. She could feel the food expand and ease the ache in her stomach and her chest.
"I'm a screw up." Spitfire said. Her tone did not need an answer. "Every pony knows it too."
Spitfire was looking up past the moon. What a beautiful mare, thought Fluttershy, who had raised her head. Chewing and breathing were much easier upright.
"The school sent me on a job today. I had to round up two pairs of parents. Mr. and Mrs. Dash were easy, but they were yelling at me. Like it was my fault that their kid was skipping class."
Fluttershy was back to eating.
"The second set of parents, I don't even know. No pony answered the door, I waited there for hours. Just a few minutes ago the father came home, he had already stopped by the school so he told me to leave. What was the point?" Spitfire raised her voice while she vented.
Fluttershy was not hungry anymore. She joined the mare lounging in the clouds shoulder to shoulder.
"You helped me though." Said Fluttershy, repressing memories from the past week.
“I just flew you around. I’m supposed to be doing teacher stuff.” Spitfire let her chin dig into the clouds.
“I need help from a teacher! And you’re just the right pony I bet.” Fluttershy offered, a plan was forming. “Can you tell me where Rainbow Dash’s house is?”
Spitfire was slack jawed for a moment. Then a smile invaded her face. “Why tell you if I can show you?”
“Because I don’t want you to carry meeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaah!”
`````~~~~lll~~~~`````
"Here we are. Are you asleep again? Fillies shouldn't stay up so late."
"I told you not to." Pouted Fluttershy.
"Why are you here anyway?" Spitfire looked around. They had landed on a wide cloud walk. In front of them was a castle. Rainbow poured out of a cave like faucet, plunging deep into the clouds. Fluttershy could not see where exactly the colors disappeared to. A wall was in the way.
When Rainbow Dash came out, she might be angry. Start with an apology. Say that you are sorry. And then what? Hugging was an option. But Fluttershy knew that situations like these could turn out worse. Rainbow Dash might start yelling at her, or worse if there was a lamp nearby.
"Don't tell me that we came here just to stare at the house, are we going in or what?" Spitfire had an eyebrow cocked and was looking down at her yellow baggage. The humor in her voice had waned.
"Maybe," whispered Fluttershy. It would be. long time before Rainbow Dash left the house, she would have to be brought out. If only it were possible to walk at the moment.
Spitfire stuck her snout to Fluttershy and began pushing her towards the door. It was a large door with a shiny knob and a small circular window. The yellow glow reminded her of the sun.
Clop clop clop Spitfire hammered on the door. Fluttershy's mind was contemplating the sun when the door opened.
"Oh, you again. Care to tell us any other criminal activities Rainbow has been involved in?" The four hooves in the doorway said. It was a colt.
"Not at all, I just brought this one here." Spitfire faced Fluttershy, they made eye contact. "I think she's looking for some pony."
"Yes, is Rainbow Dash in? I need to talk to her please." Mumbled Fluttershy.
She saw the door swing leaving only the gap where Spitfire stuck her hoof in. "Ouch."
"Rainbow Dash has a lot to think about, she cannot come out tonight!" Grunted the colt behind the door. He widened the gap, and slammed the door on Spitfire's hoof. The next time she slipped out of the gap. SLAM
"Hey! The filly just wants to talk. You don't have to be such a grouch about it. Do you have a wendigo problem or something?" Spitfire yelled into the door frame. She gave Fluttershy a wink and pointed a hoof upwards. "How about you come out here and we'll talk about this like cage fighters huh?"
Fluttershy walked off the porch and to the rainbow colored side of the house. There was the wall blocking the way, five fillies tall. Looking left and right revealed a trash can, and a long piece of wood.
Spitfire was occupying herself with abusing the door. Had she not been enjoying it so much, she may have seen Fluttershy adjust the board so that it leaned and hung over the wall. She may have also seen Fluttershy rolling a trash can up the incline.
The incline was still too steep. Fluttershy groaned and jumped to the side. The trash bin tumbled down into the clouds. She adjusted the plank again, increasing the over hang and the incline. Slowly she scaled the plank. At the point where it connected to the wall, she did not become demotivated when it did not tip. She took three steps further and reached the end of the overhang.
Hop. Dip. Back. Hop higher. Dip more. Spring back up. Land to dip lower. Spring up very high. Flap down. Dip very low. Launch.
The long end of the plank fell, thrusting the overhang and the filly high into the air. She spread her wings and her launch leveled out into a glide. She circled around the second story of the castle and found a ledge to land on. Thunk. She made a note to herself to work on the landing. Her bruises from earlier now had bumps on them. And those bumps still had goosebumps from flying with Spitfire who was calling Mr. Dash a chump.
Shaking off the injuries, Fluttershy wobbled to her hooves. She had landed meters away from the rainbowfall. There was a window for her to crawl through. She had done it.
Now what? She was in a hallway. It was dark except for moonlit spots scattered about. Movement caught her attention. She backed away from it into the wall. Whatever it was disappeared. Fluttershy stood still to make sure it had disappeared, then took a few steps down the hall. Movement again, she started to trot. Celestia! It was following her. Galloping now, Fluttershy tried to think of where she was going. Anywhere without creepy moving things, she decided.
She was so busy escaping, she did not notice the other pony until it was too late. They collided and rolled around in a ball.
"Shh! Hush, Fluttershy it's me. It's me! Listen to me, it's Rainbow Dash. I found you."
"Rainbow Dash?!" It was a special day.
"Ya it's me."
"The one and only?" Fluttershy pleaded. She could not see her in the darkness, but she was sure some pony was on top of her.
"I guess so."
"Happy one day friendshipversary!"
"You came to my house in the middle of the night..."
"Yes."
"Had the substitute teacher chew out my parents..."
"Oh, um yes."
"Devised a contraption out of garbage..."
"Was it garbage? I'm sorry I used you garbage."
Rainbow Dash ignored the apology. "And used it to fly to the second story window of my house..."
"It wasn't really flying, it was like what you did this morning..."
"To wish me happy friendshipversary for one day of being friends?”
“I am so sorry Rainbow Dash! I didn’t mean to...” Fluttershy had not meant to get her in trouble, or inconvenience her even.
“You are so awesome!” Squealed Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy felt hooves wrap around her tightly. “I knew you could fly. You did it. I saw the whole thing too, it was so cool! Happy one day friendshipversary, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy hugged her friend back. It was easier than hugging mommy because she was too big to get her hooves around. It was just as warm though.
“Uh oh, I think my parents are coming! Quick, out the window and I’ll see you tomorrow got it?” Said Rainbow Dash to her friend who certainly did not get it. The friend with no clue was shoved out of the window, but her head was still in the hug. Air rushed passed, another hug took hold.
“I got you kid, but seriously stop falling! You’ll get yourself hurt one day.” Spitfire advised. “And while you were sneaking in (good job by the way) I figured out who you are! You’re that filly who got Rainbow Dash in trouble aren’t you? That’s what Mr. Dash said. You’ve got guts kid, but I’m taking you home now.”
Fluttershy did not particularly care. She was feeling sick again. Too sick to even remind her courier that she had a name.
`````~~~~lll~~~~`````
“...a few choice words for your parents too! Where were they through all of this? Oh, we’re here.” Without letting go of Fluttershy Spitfire started hammering on the door. “Open up, I’ve got your daughter!”
The door opened immediately. Daddy was there, and he pulled in Spitfire before slamming the door behind them all. “Fluttershy, go play with mommy, she missed you today.” His voice was slow and trembling. His daughter recognized the looming argument and sped away upstairs.
Mommy was really fun. She told the best stories too.
“Hello mommy.”
… “Hello Fluttershy. How was your day today. My, how time flys. When I have naught to say.”
“School was fun mommy. But why didn’t you answer the door earlier, when Spitfire came?”
“I am to not, to let them see me. This I have fought, your father’s decree.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“How are all of your friends. What are the newest trends?”
“They are all great mommy.” Fluttershy beamed. “Rainbow Dash taught me how to fly today.”
“Oh please go on. we have ‘til dawn!”
Fluttershy did not know how to continue. She had done a lot of dangerous things that day, and did not want to cause a fuss.
“Can’t I have a story? Please.” She stretched out the please.
“Well the best stories are told by these walls. Would you like to hear their calls?”
Fluttershy nodded and sat down. Mommy always started stories like this.
“This one will be rich, it is called ‘The Blind King’s Witch’.”
There was a king
of beautiful things.
The finest red sands
the gold from far off lands.
And while beauty was all he saw,
his generosity left ponies in awe.
One day a Roma
with beautiful aroma
passed through his court.
“What’s a Roma?” asked Fluttershy.
“They are the wrongfully accused, their culture abused. So they travel and perform their ruse, and then you pay them their dues, for the entertainment you could really use.”
She saw all of the beauties
She quite liked the booties
She came to the kingdom
to offer her wisdom
The King who thought it an art,
Tightly bound her words to his heart.
Be fair and kind
One day you may find.
Comeuppance will come
of feasts and rum.
“Rum?” Fluttershy was ignored, but she did not mind.
That which the gypsy had said,
clearly an Aesop
good things come to the ethical
cream of the crop.
The king soon realized,
what had he to gain?
He was free of famine
disaster and pain.
He summoned her back
bound in a sack.
And she gave him his dish.
not a fish
A wish!
A wish for that,
whether longevity
or nice hats,
the king sat.
On his throne he thought and he thought
But everything he long ago got.
He had all the beautiful things.
What he did not, his servants would bring.
The only thing marring,
the only thing scarring,
indeed it was sparring
with his vast splendor
were the ugly among his plunder.
The rotten fruits,
his strippers toots,
his scuffed, discarded boots!
Beauty was all he wished to see
So he cried out, please let it be.
Magic sang out...
“Yes I’m going to tell her! Who did you send her to anyway if it isn’t her mother!” Shouted Spitfire from below, interrupting mommy. “Don’t come any closer. What do you even mean she HAS too! This whole situation is b-” She opened the door and appeared in front of the mommy and her daughter. “Fluttershy, do you know who this is?” She demanded, pointing a hoof at mommy.
Fluttershy did not like to be yelled at, she shrank in on herself. Mommy stepped forward. “I am Orchestra Chord. You must be bored. So come sit down, hear the story of a foolish crown.”
Spitfire looked around, panting heavily. Daddy came up behind her in a similar state. “Yes, Spitfire, please have a seat.” He said.
Fluttershy decided that remaining silent was a good idea. The story would continue soon. No pony was moving anyway.
"Beauty was all he wished to see.
So he cried to let it be."
Magic sang out,
without a doubt.
All blemishes dissolved
The Kings world was resolved
“Are you serious!” Shouted Spitfire. She was looking at the walls with a peculiar expression. Her eyes were dinner plates, but her brow was crossed. He muzzle was wrinkled like she had chanced upon an incredibly bad tomato.
All was right for the King
Except uncertain rumbling
Just where had the Roma gone?
Twas not dark yet, light still shone.
He could look upon the stars
But could not see her scars.
They veiled her,
And hark, the last chapter.
“I don’t believe this, how long does she sit in here?” Spitfire directed her question at daddy, who was paying attention to mommy.
The scarred invaded
In the wish they were shaded
Not one could the King find,
While they robbed him blind.
Mommy finished her story, it was a beautiful story.
“Fluttershy, answer me please.” Spitfire pleaded, she had Fluttershy’s attention. “D- Don’t tell me... do you like it here?”
Fluttershy listened to the question. She looked at her daddy, who looked back at her with a stern expression. She looked at her mommy, who always slept after a song. She looked at the walls, that confused her. She could never tell how large this room was. It was always filled with thousands and thousands of ponies. It confused her because they all looked the same. She looked at Spitfire who was crying. She must have really liked the story. Fluttershy looked down at the cloud carpet.
“I like it here.” She said.
When a pegasus’ heart breaks. It sounds like shattering glass and babbling brooks.
Spitfire ran out of the room, followed by daddy. Fluttershy stayed with her mommy, because she would wake up soon, and have another wonderful story from the walls.
…
“I love you too mommy.”
She heard the door slam downstairs.