//------------------------------// // CLOAK... // Story: The Leaving of Cloudsdale // by Owlor //------------------------------// There was a shadow going trough Ponyville, a mysterious pony in a black cloak. The town was just large enough for the stranger to be noticed, if only indirectly trough whispers. The strange pony skulked around the more crowded parts of the town. She seldom spoke, but when she did, she had the voice of a young mare. All kinds of rumors arose about this visitor, ranging from the mundane, where she simply was a drifter wandering from town to town, righting wrongs and bringing justice, to the outrageous, where she was supposed to be some sort of eldritch creature or avatar of a mysterious ancient being recently awoken from its slumber. And like all the rumors of Ponyville, they eventually reached the ears of mr and mrs Cake over at Sugarcube Corner. The two ponies hid behind the oven to discuss the stories while Pinkie Pie minded the store. * * * “A young filly shouldn’t be out like this!” mrs Cake opined. “Yeah, if it IS a young filly,” mr. Cake said. “You know the kind of strange things that happen around these parts. Besides, what can we do about it?” “I know, but why are we whispering like this?” mrs Cake asked. “I don't want Pinkie to hear, you know how she gets when there's a new pony in town...” Mr Cake said, not noticing the pink storm-cloud that descended from up above. “THERES A NEW PONY IN TOWN?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She was siting on the oven like a gargoyle and looked down on the two rumormongers. “Pinkie! Shouldn’t you mind the store?” Mrs. Cake asked. “There's no customers right now. But there will be when I find my new friend, and I invite her here for pastries and pie!” Pinkie skipped around in delight. “Not everypony is... friendly, y'know?”, Mr. Cake said. “Strangers like that can be troublesome.” “Stranger?” Pinkie Pie shouted while raising an eyebrow. “She's not a stranger, just a friend I haven’t me yet!” * * * This was bout the time when most ponies had simply accepted the fact that there was a mysterious cloaked stranger in town, and since the last cloaked stranger, Zecora, turned out to be all-right, they mostly left her alone. Pinkie Pie found the mare sitting on a park bench just looking out into the distance.. Pinkie Pie approached her carefully. She looked at the mare and tried to distinguish any familiar features underneath the heavy cloak. “Rarity?” she asked. The mare shook her head. “ 'kay, I was just wondering.” Pinkie Pie said. “She gets a bit dramatic at times, and the whole mysterious stranger in black cloak is so her thing, but if you're not Rarity, who are you? what's your name? You have a name don’t you?” The mare let her head hang down. “Yes, I have a name,” she said. “I just don't want to mention it. I'm not looking for trouble, I just want a place to stay. “ “Then you should talk to Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie suggested. “She's kind. She's a bit shy but if she sees you're with me, she'll let you in for sure! I have ONE condition, though.” The mare let out a world-weary sigh. What is it?” “That I give you a huge happy welcome cake and I get to sing you a song!” Pinkie Pie shouted. She could almost discern a smile from underneath the heavy black cloak. “Okay,” The mare underneath said. * * * “Guess who I have with me?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she stormed into Sugarcube Corner. Mr and Mrs Cake exchanged looks with each others that spoke volumes, but Pinkie Pie didn't seem to notice it. “Well?” she said. “you're not going to keep our guest waiting, are you?” The two Cakes shrugged and soon they had set up a table for the stranger. The mare sat down, and when she took her cloak off she revealed herself to be a young filly with the look of somepony who has lost all her shine. She looked melancholic, but Pinkie Pie beamed a bright smile towards her. “You look just as cute as I imagined you!” she said. “Uhm, thanks...” the pony said, unsure about where this was going. “Sit down, and I'll make you a nice welcome cake.” Pinkie Pie said, completely ignoring the mares confusion. She disappeared into the bakery and left the strange mare alone with Mr and Mrs. Cake. They shared an awkward moment before any of them dared to speak. “So, uhm, do you like it here?” mrs Cake asked. “Its' a nice town.” she replied shortly. “What are you... doing here?” Mrs Cake said. “I don't mean to be rude, you're welcome here.” “I'm just looking for a place to stay, but I don't want to tell you more, I hope you understand.” * * * Pinkie Pie came back from inside the bakery with an enormous cake that looked like it was a frankensteinian combination of small leftover cakes, mostly because it was. Mr. and mrs. Cake recalled the talk they had with Pinkie Pie a week ago about how they had to stay afloat as a business, and that she couldn't just hand out giant cakes for free. Pinkie had apparently taken this lesson to heart, but at usual, interpreted it in her own unique way. The formerly cloaked mare gave the cake a puzzled look, but the Frankencake failed to make sense. She took a bite out of it. The taste was equally nonsensical, but the cake was delicious. This time, there was no heavy black fabric or shadows that could hide the smile that started to grow across the face of the mare. “This is great!” the mare said. “Thank you! I think I needed that.” “Wait, I'm not done yet!” Pinkie Pie said. “I promised you a song, remember?” “I was hoping you had forgotten that part”, she muttered under her breath, cheeks blushing. “I never forget to sing to my friends!” Pinkie Pie said, and then began: I see the smile you hide inside your cloak, there is no need to hide it from me here. Because even when playing funny games you can count on your friends to play it fair! Butterflies, can there ever be too many? Yes, and can there be too many rainbows? Maybe it will some day, but I still say no! * * * True to her word, Pinkie Pie led the stranger to Fluttershy's house. Fluttershy greeted them kindly, as usual, but when the strange mare saw the Pegasus’s wing, she looked as if something just stabbed trough her heart. “Is anything wrong?” Fluttershy said when she saw the sudden pained expression on the mares face. “You didn't tell me she was a pegasus,” the mare whispered to Pinkie Pie. !Whats wrong with being a pegasus?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Nothing, nothing whatsoever” “Did I do anything wrong?” Fluttershy asked with a note of concern. The stranger remained silent, until Pinkie Pie nudged her. “Talk to her, you silly!” she demanded. “I'm sorry,” the cloaked mare said. “I've been walking for a long time, and I need a place to stay. I don't know for how long, but I'll try to be out as soon as I can.” “Oh, is it only that?” Fluttershy asked. “Phew, I thought something really bad had happened, of course you can stay!” “Really?” “Yes,” Fluttershy said. “I can't just let you sleep out in the cold now can I?” The mare was taken aback by this display of compassion. “I won't be any trouble!” she said. “I could... I don't know, stay in the chicken coop or something.” “You can't stay there,” Fluttershy said. “You might startle the chickens!” she struggled to retain her diplomacy. “uhm... I'm afraid my sofa isn't all that comfortable, but I guess it will have to do.” * * * Fluttershy had lied; the sofa was perfectly comfortable and the mare slept better than she had slept in a long time. She was woken up by the smell of herbal infusion and porridge. Instinctively, she reached after the cloak, but couldn't find it. “Good morning!” Fluttershy said from the kitchen.“I have breakfast in here if you want it.” The mare went into the kitchen, but let the blanket trail behind her like a cape. The breakfast was simple, but delicious. Fluttershy used much better ingredients than most ponies, and it could make even the simplest dish enjoyable. The mare didn't exactly feel like talking, and Fluttershy was polite enough not to force her into a discussion. They ate the breakfast in silence, and once both was finished, the mare got up. “Thanks for the breakfast and the sleep,” she said. “but I think I should go. “ “Wait!” Fluttershy said, having finally gathered courage. “There's something bothering you, is there? You don't have to tell me, but it might make you feel better, and who knows, maybe we can help?” The mare sighed and let the blanket drop. Underneath was a pair of something that once was wings, but had been reduced to a blackened mess of scar tissue, like skin growing over broken twigs. Fluttershy could almost be seen crying as her sense of compassion bubbled up. “Oh my!” she said. “I guess I should explain. My name is Rainbowshine. I used to work at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, until my luck ran out. We were supposed to make a tornado to deliver the rainwater, but... Well, do you know about the theory that the flap of a butterfly's wing can cause huge storms somewhere else?” “yes?” “Well, that's pretty much what happened, they said. We was just about to break the record. Then somepony flapped their wings the wrong way. Maybe they just flew in the wrong direction, or the wrong angle or whatever, but it dissolved the whole hurricane. Ponies were flying everywhere. most of them turned out alright, but most of them wasn't launched straight towards the giant fan set up to measure our wingpower...” “Poor dear!” Fltutershy exclaimed. Hearing the story made her own wings ache. “I guess I should count myself lucky I wasn’t beheaded,” Rainbowshine said. “But the recovery was long and painful, and it cost me my job at the factory.” “oh, you needed to fly to do your job?” Fluttershy asked. “Not really.” Rainbowshine said, and she wa barely able to meet the pegasus's concerned gaze. “It was my fault really, I got afraid. I was afraid that people would look down on me, and to be honest, I kinda developed this irrational fear of heights for a while,” she confessed. “I didn't dare to go out of my apartment. Eventually, my boss just lost his patience with me, I guess. I lived on my friends charity for a while, but eventually that ran out too. So I had to leave Coudsdale, it's not a city you want to be wingless and homeless in, and I started looking for a new place to try my luck.” “Then you came to the right place,” Fluttershy said. “Applejack always need somepony to help out over at the farm ,and I need help with my animals. A melancholy smile appeared on Rainbowshine's face. “I'm a charity case again, huh?” she said. * * * “Charity case?” Applejack replied when Rainbowshine expressed a similar trepidation to her. “Don't you worry, sugar. When I'm done with you, you're gonna feel like you've earned every single bit. Tell me, are your back strong enough to handle this?” She fetched a large wooden cart. “It's still a bit raw,” Rainbowshine said. But she looked at the cart with determination in her eyes. “But I think I can handle it,” she said. “If you say so ,sugar,” Applejack said. She fastened the cart to Rainbowshine's back, for a while she just stood there with the cart fastened to her back, looking confused. “So, what am I supposed to do?” Rainbowsine asked. “You just stand by that tree over there,” Applejack said and pointed at a particularly large, elderly apple-tree. “Then I will kick the trunk and let the apples fall down into the cart. Then you take the apples to Big Mac over there.” She pointed at Big Macintosh, who waved back at them. “And he will put the apples in our silo, easy-peasy!” “Okay,” rainbowshine said and followed the instructions. Applejack kicked the tree-trunk and the apples fell everywhere except down into the cart. “Maybe you shouldn't stand this close to the trunk...” Applejack informed. “I... OUCH... got that...” Rainbowshine said as a stray apple fell down onto her head. * * * Apart from that and a few other missteps, Rainbowshine learned fast. It didn't took long until she went from being nearly a millstone to helping them work twice as fast as they normally did. Her background in the factory served her well and she proved herself to be both a hard and a focused worker. During these hours of manual labour, the ground felt a little less opresive as usual, and once they got their rhythm going, it almost felt like she was back into the air flying again. At the end of the day, she could trace every single bit she earned back to a bruise or an ache in her body. The thought of doing the same thing all over again tomorrow filled her with trepidation. But part of her was looking forward to it. The Apple family had given her a small room to stay in, not as a charity case or a visitor but as a temporary worker, and it felt good. * * * A week passed, and Rainbowshine blossomed from a wayward big-city filly into a regular country mare. She stopped hiding her broken wings under a cloak and instead got into a habit of wearing simple, practical clothes, if any. Applejack had to laugh when one day she found Rainbowshine chilling under a tree chewing on a straw like any member of the Apple-family. “What is it?” Rainbowshine asked when sh heard the mare laughing. “Oh, nothing” Applejack said. “We don’t really have anything going on at the farm right now, why don't you take the day off? Go into town, have some fun. Celestia knows, you've deserved it.” A day off? Sounds nice. Rainbowshine thought about the things she could do and the ponies she could see... and she came to a realization. Crap, I forgot to make any FRIENDS in this town she thought to herself * * * Rainbowshine skulked around Ponyville. Not as a mysterious cloaked stranger this time, but as herself. At the edge of the town, she found a couple of old decrepit buildings. It wasn't too unusual for Ponyville, it had a quirky, accident prone population and very limited funds, so occasionally buildings were left to stand in less than ideal conditions. Today, she was looking at these derelicts with different eyes, however, with no work to occupy her mind, and she was feeling contemplative. How weird to live in something made out of wood and bricks instead of soft, everlasting cloud, she thought. In Cloudsdale, the past was all around you, standing proud and eternal like the sky itself. This was a very different world, a world that aged and changed with you. She made a mental note to discuss this with Granny Smith, she was by far the oldest mare in Ponyville and ought to have some interesting insight on the matter. * * * She used some of her bits to buy a daffodil sandwich at the cafe. She might been acepted as a resident o the town, but the other ponies was still like strangers to her. She sighed as she went to Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie greeted her happily as expected. “Hi!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “How's our newliest Ponyville citizen fitting in?” “I'm doing fine,” Rainbowshine lied. “But to be honest I do kinda miss the big city. I used to love going to nightclubs, there's some really good ones in Cloudsdale. But here, if I wanna dance, the best I can hope for is a hoedown down at the barn at Apple Acres.” “What's wrong with that?” Pinkie Pie said. “You've never been to a club, have you?” Rainbowshine asked condescendingly. “I tried once,” Pinkie Pie said, oblivious to the tone. “But they wouldn't let me in.” Rainbowshine changed the topic. “Say,” she said. “what do you do when you get bored around here?” A dangerous spark ignited in Pinkies eyes. “Well...” she began. * * * When Rainbowshine returned to Apple Acres, she felt as if there was a war going on inside her belly. “What's the matter,sugar?” Applejack asked, noticing the pained expression on the temp-workers face. “I don't feel so good,” Rainbowshine said. “Pinkie Pie challenged me to a cupcake-eating contest...” “I should probably have warned you about that,” Applejack said. “Pinkie's appetite for sweets is out of this world.” “So I noticed,” Rainbowshine said. * * * It was getting late and Applejack was right on the verge of sleep when she heard a scurrying sound. Thinking it was a rat, she groggily went into the kitchen. At the table, she found Rainbowshine writing something. Her penmanship was rather sloppy and she had a heavy look in her eyes. It took her a while before she noticed Applejack. “What are you doing?” applejack asked her. “I'm just writing a letter,” Rainbowshine said. “ to who ,Celestia? “ “What? No! What interest could the ruler of Equestria possible have of the petty daily struggles of some random pony of the street?” “You haven't met Twilight yet, have you?” Applejack said with a sly smile. “No, Rainbowsgine replied, who's Twilight?” “A friend of mine”, Applejack said. “You should talk to her sometimes, she's a nice filly and really smart.” Rainbowshine put her signature on the parchment and rolled it up. “Allright, who do I talk to if I want a letter sent around here?” “Talk to Derpy tomorrow,” Applejack said. “an' go to bed, it's gonna be a long day tomorrow.” * * * The next morning, Derpy got the letter and she diligently flew towards Cloudsdale, but as soon as she rounded the first cloud, she checked the senders name against a list. She found the name of the sender, 'Rainbowshine' right next to a similar name, 'Rainbowheart', that had been struck over by a thick red marker. Noticing this, she quickly changed her flight route.