Twilight
Twilight closed the book she was holding with a soft thud and set it down on her reading table. Her reading table was her favorite place to be whenever she had some extra studying to do or just wanted to get lost in her stories again. Next the book was a calendar with markings across it's face and today, Saturday, was circled. Today was the Wonderbolts show that Rainbow Dash had invited everypony to come and watch.
Everypony had been preparing in their own ways for the trip to Cloudsdale. Applejack had set up chores to be done by the family while she was gone and Fluttershy made sure that her animal friends had plenty of food while she was gone. Rarity, of course, had made a new outfit for the occasion and Pinkie was being Pinkie. Twilight wasn't sure about Rainbow Dash or Connor but Dash said she had already made plans to get to the show. As for Twilight, she had been brushing up on cloudwalking spells for the group before they left. After a few refresher courses, she could prolong the spell to last all day which would be plenty of time for everypony to have fun and explore Cloudsdale a little if they chose to.
Twilight looked at the clock hanging on the wall to read the time. 8:00 am; it was time to collect her friends for the hot air balloon ride to Cloudsdale which left at 9:00. Twilight had planned the trip with extra time to spare so she was absolutely sure they wouldn't miss the showing at 1:00 in the afternoon. They would leave Ponyville in the balloon at 9:00 and arrive in Cloudsdale some time before noon. This gave them an hour to find seats and buy some food before the show started. She levitated her saddle bags that she packed the night before with reading material, bits, and a map onto her back and fastened them down.
The first pony Twilight was picking up would be Fluttershy at her cottage followed by Applejack on the farm. After that, the three of them would circle back to pick up Rarity at Carousel Boutique and Pinkie Pie at Sugar Cube Corner. Spike wouldn't be coming with them for the show because he was still asleep; but he said he wasn't interested because he was heading for the comic book store in town for the new release of his new favorite series: Flash Fire the Dragon Hero. So Twilight left a note for him before she left to let him know where she was heading and that she might not get back until later that day.
Twilight closed the front door gently behind her before setting off for Fluttershy's home. The walk to the outskirts of Ponyville was a pleasantly calm one. Birds chirped to one another as they began their morning routines and a nice breeze blew through the land, bringing good tidings for the new day. A couple of ponies were already out and about running their own morning errands. Shop owners were setting up by brushing off their welcome mats and cleaning windows before the early shoppers arrived and shop stalls were preparing in their own way as well. All in all, it was good morning to go for a trip.
As Twilight approached the cottage, she could spot Fluttershy already up and taking care of her animal friends. A soft and delicate tune came from Fluttershy as she sang to herself and to her animals.
Twilight announced her presence by calling out, “Morning Fluttershy!”
“Oh! Good morning Twilight,” she returned with a happy smile, “How are you this morning?”
“I'm fine, thanks. So are you ready for the Wonderbolts show, today?”
“Almost. Angel and I are just about finished with preparing lunches for everyone before I leave,” a small white bunny bounced around a bush to give a friendly salute, “All that's left to do is put everything away and then we can leave.”
“Here, let me help you,” Twilight levitated a bag of feed up into the air as the two walked inside the cottage to put the food away. Once all the food was in storage, Fluttershy and Twilight closed the door to the cottage and headed down the road.
“So who are we picking up next, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked cheerfully.
“Next is Applejack's place. After that we're going to pick up Rarity and then Pinkie Pie. Rainbow dash and Connor will be meeting us at the hot air balloon before we leave.”
The two made there way down a dirt road towards the apple farm and the residence of the apple family. Applejack and the family were already up doing chores trying to get in some last minute work done before Applejack had to leave. Applejack looked up and turned towards the sound of the approaching hoof steps of her friends to greet them, “Howdy, all! Are we getting ready to leave soon?”
“Yep,” Twilight confirmed, “Are you almost ready too, Applejack?”
“Sure am. I already packed my bags with a few essentials for the trip. We can leave right now if you would like.”
“That would be great, Applejack. I would like to have some extra time to cast the cloudwalking spells on everypony before we leave.”
“Alright then, give me one second and we can leave.” Applejack trotted over to the home attached to the barn and was out again carrying a pair of leather saddle bags while shouting over her shoulder, “I'll be back by the end of the day, granny! Take care!”
With Applejack now along side Fluttershy, Twilight mentally made a check mark on her invisible list of things to do before turning to lead everypony to the next place on the list: Carousel Boutique. The shop was already open for business, but nopony was perusing the clothes on display yet. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack entered the shop and were greeted with the door chime ringing overhead and Rarity's sister bounding up to them to greet the new arrivals.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Would like to browse our am~azing selection of dresses to choose from?”
“Hello Sweetie Belle, is Rarity available right now?” Twilight looked around the high class clothing store looking for the older of the siblings while Applejack and Fluttershy walked between the aisles of clothes.
“Oh hey, Twilight! Yeah, Rarity is in the back right now working. She's working on her new line called 'Modern Leader Chic'. It's really cool! Come on, I’ll show you!” Sweetie Belle bounced to a pair of saloon doors near the back of the shop where the sounds of creation drifted out. Scissors snipped at cloth and string and a sewing machine whirred quietly in the corner as Rarity circled around her latest creation.
“Rarity,” Sweetie Belle called out but was shushed with a hoof.
“One second, aaannnd there!” Rarity put one last pin in the outfit before taking off her red spectacles, “Yes, dear? Oh, Twilight! Good morning! What can I do for you today? Did you need a new outfit for your princess wardrobe? I noticed that you didn't have one and I would be more than happy to make a new line up for you-”
“Uh, no, that's fine. I don’t need one right now, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted quickly before Rarity got lost in another one of her projects, “Actually, I was coming by to invite you to come with us to Cloudsdale for the Wonderbolts show.”
“Really? Is the show today?” Rarity glanced over to a calendar hanging on the wall with her own notes and deadlines written on it.
“Yes, and everypony is about ready to leave too. Are you almost ready to go, too?”
“Hmm,” Rarity answered, “I suppose I can go. I don’t have any urgent business that needs to be finished at this moment. Just give me a few moments and I’ll be out in a jiffy.”
“What?! You get to go to a Wonderbolts show?! How come I don’t get to come?” Sweetie Belle complained loudly.
“Sorry Sweetie Belle,” Twilight answered her outcries, “But Rainbow Dash only has enough tickets for seven ponies. How about Rarity brings back a souvenir while we're there?”
“Okay...” Sweetie Belle pouted, “But it better be something good! I want to be able to show it to my friends!”
“Don't worry, dear. I’ll be sure to keep my eye out for something you can share.” Rarity walked out of the back room and disappeared up a flight of stairs to pack a few things. They group waited patiently in the main lobby for their fashion sensitive friend to finish getting ready. When she finally came back down, Rarity had a pale white sun dress hat with yellow highlights and some purple shades on with a single saddle bag strapped to her side.
“About time, Rarity. We were about to leave with out you,” Applejack quipped.
“Oh, ha ha, Applejack. Some of us like to look our best when out in public,” Rarity raised her nose and adjusted her shades while Applejack rolled her eyes, “Come on, everypony. We still have Pinkie Pie to get before we can leave on the balloon.”
Applejack opened the door to the outside and left followed by Fluttershy, then Rarity, and finally Twilight. The group strolled down the major streets of Ponyville of their last destination before leaving for Cloudsdale. Sugar Cube Corner was already puffing out steam and baking delicious breads and other morning pastries. As the the quartet approached the shop, their local mail mare was just exiting the shop with smile on her face and a banana nut muffin in her hooves before flying off to deliver today's mail.
The four entered the bakery and was greeted with the warm scent of muffins, scones, bread, and an array of fruits being baked into the treats. Everypony breathed in deeply to enjoy the smells to the fullest while they waited for Pinkie Pie to come to the front desk.
“Ooh, the smell of freshly baked goods can always make a morning better,” Rarity commented.
“Absolutely; what's your favorite one, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked.
“Mine is cake and cookies!” Pinkie Pie burst between the two mares with her usual hyper active energy making Fluttershy squeak in surprise.
“Morning everypony! Wow, do all of you want some muffins this morning too? Well don't you worry! We've got blueberry, banana nut, poppy seed, chocolate chip, cheese snickerdoodle, raspberry-”
“Pinkie, dear, that's quite alright but we're here to ask if you would like to go to the Wonderbolts show with us in Cloudsdale.”
“Well, of course. We've only been talking about it for the past three weeks now,” Pinkie rolled her eyes and smiled knowingly.
“Oh, well then; Pinkie, would you like to come with us to the show?” Rarity recovered from the abrupt turn by Pinkie.
“Sure! I would love to! It's always great seeing how devilish, daringly, dazzling the Wonderbolts are when they zoom around the sky!” Pinkie bounced from the front counter top to table to table flapping her hooves like wings and spinning in mid air in excitement before coming to sudden stop in mid bounce, “Wait a minute! I need to check with the Cakes first to see if they need me today to run the store. Wait right here, I’ll be back in ten seconds flat!” with that, Pinkie Pie zipped out of the shop and up a flight of stairs where the shop owners were presumably presiding. Nine seconds ticked by; then before the clock hand could strike the tenth second, Pinkie Pie zoomed into the shop floor and announced, “Okay! Lets go!” she looked at the clock as it struck the final second, “Yes! Ten seconds flat!”
“Uh, do you want to bring anything with you, sugar cube? Maybe some food or something?” Applejack asked with uncertainty.
“Silly Applejack, my bags are always packed for anything that may happen. Look! They're over there by the door!” Everypony glanced at the set of bags next to the front door with Pinkie's cutie mark emblazoned on the side.
“Well, I guess that's everyone. Alright, lets head for the balloon.” Twilight marched out of Sugar Cube Corner with all her friends following behind and with everyone excited to go.
~~~
The hot air balloon sat near the outer edges of town where it was furthest away from any of the tall buildings or trees. The sun was still low in the sky, but the weather was perfect with only a few clouds dotting the blue sea above. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were standing in front of the launch pad waiting to leave.
Twilight stood before her friends in preparation for departure, “Alright everypony, I need you to stand still while I cast the cloudwalking spell again.”
“Too bad, Rarity. I bet you wish you could have those wings again, don’t you?” Applejack chastised with a smug face.
“A lady does not reminisce about her past,” Rarity answered in her best motherly tone getting a skeptical raised eyebrow from Applejack, “But, I wouldn't mind having those gorgeous wings again,” Rarity drifted off into memory lane fantasizing about her wings while Applejack just smirked.
Meanwhile, Twilight had closed her eyes in concentration and focused on her magic. The energy swirled around in an invisible realm as she summoned it to do her biding. She weaved and laced the strands in a web of spell making until it formed the cloudwalking spell she desired. She then directed the spell to the four individuals near her and cast the cloudwalking spells on her friends. The magic enveloped and surrounded the four pony figures like a net, giving their bodies the same properties as a Pegasus with the ability to walk on clouds. When the spell finished, Twilight opened her eyes to inspect her work and look for any abnormalities. With nothing out of place, the five waited patiently for the last two members of their party to arrive before leaving for the show.
They stood there awkwardly, glancing elsewhere looking for the last ponies to show up. If they wanted to follow Twilight's plan, they needed to leave in less than seven minutes and thirty eight seconds to avoid being late. Applejack was the first to break the silence, “Where is Rainbow Dash? Isn't she supposed to be here?”
“Indeed, this was her idea to go and see the Wonderbolts,” Rarity added.
“Well, maybe she got held up by something like she's still packing or she needed to take care of tank before we left.”
“Maybe Fluttershy,” Twilight looked to the sky for her friend, “She could be just trying to get Connor to come along.”
“Oh! Is Connor coming with us, too? Yay!” Pinkie Pie bounced with joy and enthusiasm.
“Well if they don't show up soon, then we are leaving with out them,” Rarity snapped to no pony in particular.
“Here we are!” Everypony looked up to see Rainbow Dash and Connor flying in out of the blue sky. Both had single saddle bags strapped to them, although rainbow's bag was a little bit bigger than Connor's. As they landed Twilight approached them, “There you are! Where were you? It's almost time to leave. If we hurry and board the balloon now we might be able to make it to the stadium in time to find some good seats,” Twilight was already half heading to the launch pad while talking over her shoulder.
“Actually Twilight, we won't be riding with you.”
Twilight turned with confusion, “What do you mean 'You won't be riding with us'?”
“Weelllll, Connor and I will be flying to Cloudsdale for the show. We'll be taking the major airways there.” Twilight stood there for a second trying to think of a counter argument to stay together, but they were late as it is; so she simply recalculated her plan to include waiting for rainbow and Connor arriving at the stadium.
“Alright then, fine. Lets hurry and leave before we're too late.”
“Yes! Alright then, we'll see you at the show!” Rainbow took off leaving everypony behind, including Connor. He watched rainbow fly for split second before wordlessly turning to give a silent 'signing off' motion to everyone before flying after rainbow himself. Twilight watched the two disappear into the blue sea above before returning her attention to the balloon. The group had already boarded the balloon and were waiting for Twilight to join them. Once everypony paid the fare, they took off for Cloudsdale.
During entire trip, everyone was talking about the show or Cloudsdale. The general murmur was about the show, but everypony had their own personal goals to do while they were in Cloudsdale. Rarity was wondering what kind of souvenir to get for her sister while Applejack was curious about what kind of food was being sold there. Fluttershy wanted to make a quick stop by some family while there and Pinkie; well, Pinkie Pie wanted to taste test the rainbow again in the rainbow factory. Apparently she had been training her tongue and taste buds to see if she could handle the spiciness again. Twilight wouldn't mind having another tour around Cloudsdale just to see how everything was going.
The balloon climbed higher and higher until it was level with the floating cloud city. Pegasi flew this way and that around them, all of them with purpose in their flight trying to finish one duty or another. Some pegasi were forced to correct their flight paths with the appearance of the balloon which warranted a few angry yells of surprise. The balloon slowly drifted through city presenting homes and buildings of all sizes and all with the same white fluffy exterior. The show was happening in the middle of the city so the stadium had been moved closer to the heart of Cloudsdale. The balloon flew over to the stadium where it made a gentle touchdown in front of the main doors leading in. the group disembarked and thanked their pilot. The hot pink mare waved goodbye silently before lifting off again to land at the Cloudsdale landing pad.
The group moved closer to the front gates hoping they could spot Connor or Rainbow Dash there. A line of ponies had already formed in anticipation for the air display happening in about an hour. A large face clock hung over the main gates leading into the stadium that read 11:58 am. Twilight glanced at the clock then looked around the gates and the surrounding area but couldn't see a rainbow mane or a stern face with a short, blonde mane.
Applejack confirmed her fears when she asked, “I don’t see rainbow or Connor, do you?”
“No, I don't. Maybe they are already inside?” Fluttershy said in a worried tone.
“Oh, relax, dear. I’m sure those two will be along shortly,” Rarity soothed in a reassuring tone, “Besides, can you feel how soft these clouds streets are? They feel marvelous on my hooves,” Rarity lifted a hoof to inspect.
“Hang on, everypony!” Pinkie Pie cried out, “Let me try looking.” She pulled out a pair of binoculars from her bags and put them to her eyes to peer through. She scanned the crowds while everypony else waited with tense patience. Soon, Pinkie Pie put down the binoculars, “Hmm, I can't see them either. Oops! I forgot to take off the lens caps! Teehee!”
Everypony let out a loud groan of exasperation along with a few face hoof's.
“Lets just go and wait by the front doors and see if Rainbow Dash shows up,”Applejack left with everypony following behind all sharing similar expressions of disgruntlement; except Pinkie, who was snorting and giggling as she bounced behind the group.
The minutes ticked by as everypony waited for the arrival of Rainbow Dash and Connor. The overall anxiety steadily grew amongst the group as they glanced this way and that in search for their friends. Twilight kept glancing at the large clock overhead; they were already eight minutes behind schedule. She was about to take off to look for them but Applejack calmed her down enough to wait a few more minutes.
“What is taking them so long?” Twilight fidgeted, “It's almost 12:11 and they should be here by now.”
“Calm down darling,” Applejack reassured, “Rainbow will be here. She would never miss a Wonderbolts show for the world.”
“Look!” Fluttershy yelled, “There's Rainbow Dash!”
Everypony looked up to see a sky blue Pegasus with a signature rainbow mane glide down and land in front of them panting.
“Finally!” Twilight shouted, “What took you so long?”
She waited for Rainbow Dash to catch her breath before speaking again.
“Dear, are you alright? What could have happened to put you in such a state?” Rarity looked over her exhausted friend with concern.
“Twilight, huff, Connor needs your help, huff,” Rainbow panted out.
“What? Why?! What happened?” Twilight had her full attention on Rainbow Dash, no longer worried about her schedule or the show if Connor was in trouble.
“Take airway I-668 and follow it for a few minutes. Connor's there and he needs you,” Rainbow was finally regaining some of her composure as she pointed in a direction.
“Is something wrong? Is he hurt? Did he crash? What happened?!” Twilight asked frantically.
“There's no time to explain! You have to hurry, Twilight!” Rainbow ushered Twilight in the direction she pointed out.
Twilight gave up on trying to get more information and took off with out Rainbow Dash. She climbed in altitude before rushing off down the major airway dash described. She flapped as hard as her wings could, trying to fly as fast as possible. She cut other Pegasi off and flew more recklessly than she would normally would; which isn't saying much as all she did was fly a little faster than normal and not shout 'sorry' to somepony whenever she passed them. Eventually, she was outside the floating city and in the open sky but she wasted no time joining in the traffic of airway I-668.
Her mind flooded with endless possibilities of what could have happened to Connor. Was he hurt? Was he just not ready to undertake such an extreme task as flying all the way from Ponyville to Cloudsdale? What if he crashed? What if he crashed into another pony and needed serious medical attention?! Twilight shook her head clear of her fears and focused on flying as fast as possible. The wind whistled past her ears as both clouds and ponies blurred past her. Her eyes were scanning every passing cloud looking for any signs of an accident; police ponies and lights or maybe an ambulance parked on a cloud. But she found nothing as she flew down I-668.
She continued farther down the airway until she finally found what she was looking for. A familiar faded blue Pegasus with a short, scruffy, blonde mane was standing on a cloud with two other ponies. Both ponies were dressed similar blue uniforms with hats; one of the hats had slowly rotating red light on it. As Twilight approached the scene, she spotted the two blue uniform ponies put something around Connor's hooves. To her dismay, she realized they were hoof cuffs.
Twilight's blood ran cold as she fully understood what dash meant by, 'He needed her help'. The 'trouble' was much worse than she had imagined. It was the Law.