//------------------------------//
// Land of the Blank Flanks 
// Story: Friendship is Forever 
// by fabrosi 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 12: Land of the Blank Flanks

After spending two nights flying low and walking through the wilderness, Rainbow Dash decided to throw both caution and herself to the wind. She soared high above the foreign, mist-soaked lands, scanning the wild mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes and forests for any familiar places, civilized regions, natural landmarks, anything that might provide some clue as to where she was.

Just as she was about to retrace her steps, fearing she'd been flying the wrong direction for hours, she noticed something strange in the distance: a gathering darkness, some ill mood of the sky itself. Her jaw dropped as she realized it was a massive storm front, greater by an order of magnitude or two than anything she had seen in her life.

At first, the sight filled her with dread, for it seemed to her that only the Wonderbolts could have created such a thing. However, she suspected that such a monstrous storm was beyond even their capabilities.

Intrigued, she flew towards the storm, getting as close to it as she dared before turning to fly around it. Sure enough, it seemed as though whoever had created this thing was no longer supervising it—which was odd, considering how dangerous it was.

As Rainbow Dash looked at the ground below the storm, she was shocked to see a small village built against the coastline of what might have been a lake or a bay, its waters already starting to stir from the winds above. All of the buildings looked fairly small and crude, and had been constructed partly on the sandy banks and partly on wooden platforms reaching out across the water.

As soon as she confirmed that the village was directly in the storm's path, Rainbow Dash swooped around to the front of the clouds and struggled furiously to disperse them, flitting from side to side, cutting swaths through the clouds. It was completely futile, of course, for even if she'd had twenty other pegasus ponies helping her, it might have taken as long as a day to neutralize something like this.

In fact, it may have just been her imagination, but her efforts seemed to be making the storm stronger, for she was soon buffeted by heavy winds and rains which knocked her wings back, forcing her to make awkward, clumsy flaps towards the ground. It occurred to her that it might be feasible to clear away just the section of clouds that would pass over the village, so she flew all the way to the top of the storm and began trying to burrow through it.

She was better prepared for the strong winds this time, and managed to make about thirty decent-sized holes through the clouds before having to stop and rest. To her great dismay, however, these holes began to close up again seconds after she had finished the last one, all while the storm was moving inexorably closer to the village. Soaking wet and stymied as she was, Rainbow Dash wasn't ready to surrender just yet. Perhaps by pushing it slightly to the side, she might able to send it off course so that it would merely graze past the village.

Unfortunately, as she heaved against the meteorological leviathan, she realized that this was a terrible idea and that it would never work—the thing's forward momentum was just too great. Before long, the storm was hurling torrential rains and screaming winds against the village, with Rainbow still holding on tight to the clouds—no longer trying to redirect them, but instead clinging on for dear life, since the winds had reached such a pitch that they had the potential to dash her against the hard ground below. She refused to let go, clenching her eyes shut as the wind roared in her ears for what felt like hours (though it was probably much less), until the winds began to slow ever so slightly and her energy was almost spent. Disoriented and wobbly, the world spinning around her, she flew back to solid ground and collapsed on the drenched grass, not a second before everything went black.

…

She awoke to find herself wrapped in towels and lying on a bed, surrounded by about forty earth ponies squeezed into a building that was far too small for them. There were faint murmurs, muffled by her exhaustion, and she kept hearing the world "angel"—but what could that mean? Fluttershy's rabbit? she wondered. The crowd was fairly colorless, with most of the ponies beings shades of brown, grey, and cream, though there were a few sprinkles of green, blue and red here and there. The walls and floor were composed of large, irregular pieces of driftwood, the gaps between them sealed with some sort of black tar.

As soon as Rainbow Dash remembered what had happened, she bolted upright and shouted "It wasn't me!'

The two ponies nearest to her looked at one another, and then one of them asked "What wasn't you?"

"The storm! I didn't make it, I swear!"

They smiled gently at her, and probably would have laughed had the situation not been so serious. "Of course you didn't," said an older-looking pony. "No one can 'send' storms… they just happen. Are you feeling all right?"

She jumped out of the bed and started experimentally stretching her legs and wings. She was sore and exhausted from her ordeal, but nothing seemed to broken. Gasps issued from the villagers, followed by softer murmurs spreading outwards from the crowd's center. It's like they've never seen a pegasus before, she thought.

"Can you… fly with those wings?" asked a little yellow and orange filly.

She smiled. "I'll let you be the judge of that. She jumped into the air and zipped around the room, grazing the thatched ceiling and barely avoiding contact with some of the taller ponies before landing next to her bed.

Everypony let out gasps at her performance. "That was nothing," she said with a grin. "Wait'll you see what I can do outside." She flew out of the building and began wowing them with loop-de-loops, sharps dives, and moves too complex to name.

Once she'd had her fun showing off, she landed in the middle of the crowd, bowing in each direction as they cheered.

"We call this place Hoofshore," explained a grizzled pony who appeared to be the eldest. Looking around, Rainbow Dash first noticed the damage the storm had done to the village—buildings had been smashed open, some areas had been flooded, and the roads were filled with debris. The houses on the water had fared even worse: broken walkways pointed impotently from the shore into the sea, with the buildings they'd been attached to floating in pieces hundreds of yards away. She wondered if anypony had drowned.

As Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the villagers, however, she noticed something much more startling: not one of them had a cutie mark. She considered asking them why this was the case, but wondered if it might be rude and decided against it. She shuffled her wings, covering her own mark.

"Sorry I couldn't stop the storm," she said. "If it would help, maybe I could join you guys in rebuilding."

"We would be most grateful," an elderly brown mare said with a smile.

The villagers fanned out, silently dividing up the work. Rainbow Dash started by watching them erect planks, plant them securely in the sand, and binding them together with twine. She imitated them, moving from one building to another. The reconstruction took longer than she'd expected, and she soon found that her sore muscles were slowing her down. When she collapsed, panting on the grass, a middle-aged couple invited her to dinner.

Their home, sheltered by a wooded area near the shore, had survived the storm. As Rainbow Dash followed them to their door, the scent of sap met her nostrils and she sneezed. The house seemed bigger than others—though it was hard to be sure, since she hadn't gotten much of a chance to see most of them standing.

After escorting their guest through the doorway, the two of them rushed into their kitchen, loudly whispering instructions to what sounded like at least eight different cooks. Just as Rainbow Dash was wondering how she could eat that much food, a sizable crowd of other guests entered the door behind her.

It soon became clear that she was attending a feast held in her honor. As she eyed the stringy, dark green plants on her plate suspiciously, all the earth ponies around her leaned in eagerly, waiting for her opinion of the dish. Here goes nothing, she thought to herself, and she took a bite. To her astonishment, she was instantly smitten with the stuff: there was just a hint of salt, and the consistency was impeccable. As she dug into her meal, the rest of the villagers followed suit.

"So, tell us," said the mare of the house. "Where exactly do you come from? We have never met a pony from outside these coasts." The sounds of eating faded to silence as everypony at the table looked to Rainbow Dash.

"My homeland is called Equestria," she said. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. I mean, it's a really big country, somewhere to the"—she stopped. "I mean, I'm not that good at geography, but I'm sure if you went far enough from this village, you'd find it."

"And do all the ponies in Equestria have wings, like you?" asked the mare's husband.

"Nah," she said, "and most of the ones who do can't pull off my moves."

"What does Equestria look like?" asked a grayish filly sitting next to her.

As she was about to answer, the colt on her right asked "Which direction did you say it was?"

The room erupted with questions: why she had wings, what had brought her to Hoofshore, whether there were more ponies on their way, what that mark on her flank was for, and so on. Despite feeling somewhat overwhelmed, she answered everypony as best as she could, and tried to resist enjoying the attention too much. (At this, she failed spectacularly.)

The more she spoke with them all, the more she realized how different Equestria was from this place. Here was a village of primitive fisherponies (that is to say, they survived largely by gathering aquatic plants), who had never even seen most of the inventions she'd taken for granted back home. She wondered if cutie marks only came to ponies in developed countries.

"How far is Equestria from here?"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip. "As far as I know, it's really, really far… I mean, I wasn't paying attention when I was on my way here, and…" She shrugged weakly.

"We have maps," offered a beige pony slightly smaller than her. "Maybe they can show you where you are?"

Rainbow Dash nodded sheepishly, and a colt near the back of the room disappeared behind a doorway, returning a few seconds later with the maps rolled up in his mouth. As he laid them out on the table, Rainbow Dash soon realized that she was unable to make heads or tails of the maps.

"Thanks," she said, "but there's nothing on there that I recognize." The colt's ears dropped.

"In any case," said the stallion of the house, "you are welcome to stay in our village for as long as you like. Please, continue telling us about Equestria."

"Well," said Rainbow Dash, "our ruler is Princess Celestia. She's an alicorn—that means she has a horn and wings."

She noticed two fillies whispering excitedly to one another, though they stopped when they saw her looking at them. "An angel," said one of them. "You are led by an angel?"

"What do you mean? What's an angel?"

A grey, elderly pony coughed. "Our people tell stories of ponies who have horns and wings, who spend their eternal lives watching over us and keeping us safe." He frowned. "As you have seen from the storm, however, they are only stories. Besides, none of us has actually seen an angel."

"I have!" said one of the fillies who had been whispering. He turned to Rainbow Dash. "She was in the sky at night, above the deep part of the forest. There was a flash of light, and I saw her great wings, and her horn."

The elder waved dismissively. "She tells tales, this one."

"Where exactly did you see her?" Rainbow Dash asked the filly.

"Come, I can show you."

She was led outside, to a small clearing. "The angel was rising out of the forest when I saw her there, in the sky," said the filly, pointing." Rainbow Dash squinted at the towering trees in the distance. "She was glowing and all the trees around her lit up. Then, she flew away to Heaven and everything went dark."

"Heaven?"

"It's where the angels are said to live," explained a dark-coated mare. "A great city floating in the sky, where angels dance on the clouds."

Cloudsdale, thought Rainbow Dash. Did their ancestors know mine?

"If you're thinking of going into the woods," said the elder, "I'd advise you against it. There are fearsome beasts dwelling within, and most who venture deep into the trees do not return."

"I know how to deal with danger," she said with a swish of her mane. "You've seen me fly, and I can fight, too. Besides, I need to know what that… angel was doing in there."

"If you will not be dissuaded," said the elder with a frown, "at least let us send our strongest ponies with you."

She shook her head. "Sorry, but I need to be able to move quickly if I'm attacked. No offense, but any companions would just slow me down." She took a few steps towards the tree-line before turning around. "I'd like to thank all of you for your hospitality. I promise that someday, after I've found my way home, I'll come back to visit your village again."

They all wished her luck as she disappeared into the trees. Before long, the cool darkness of the forest had enveloped her, and the sound and warmth of the village dissipated from the air around her.

She tried to keep her hoofsteps soft and her ears alert. After all, if Princess Celestia was in the woods for some reason, it would almost certainly mean trouble. On the other hoof, there was a chance she might meet a new alicorn from outside Equestria. She trembled at the thought. Immortal. All-powerful. Another word crept into her mind, a silent breath of air: angel. Was it really so strange to doubt the existence of one like Celestia, to dismiss her as an impossible myth, a goddess who lived only in figures of speech and wild imaginations?

She stopped walking. She was sure she'd heard a brief scraping sound from somewhere in the brush. She leapt into the air as a huge pair of jaws snapped over the space she'd just occupied. After a frantic flight into the canopy, she turned to see a three-headed snake, about eight yards in length, hissing at her from the ground below, its six yellow eyes narrowed with malice.

"Nice try, buddy," she said before flying off. Once she was reasonably sure she had left the snake far behind her, she descended—it wouldn't do to be seen in the air. She trudged from one tree to the next, tense and ready to spring into action at the first sign of danger.

As the minutes drifted by, fading into hours, her adrenaline wore away, and she realized just how helpless she would be in the rapidly approaching darkness. She spent several minutes looking for a dry place to lie down before she noticed a flash of light in the distance, almost completely obscured by the trees' thick branches.

As she crept towards it on hoof, she quickly realized that she was looking at a town that someone had built in the middle of the woods. As near as she could tell there were no roads leading into or out of the massive clear area that housed the log buildings before her.

Once she cleared the tree-line, she had a clear view of all the buildings that still had their lights on, though a few were nested in shadow. She slunk down the hillside, alongside a creek as she mentally mapped the route she would take. She slipped between the shadows, prepared for any attack from the earth or the sky.

What she didn't count on, however, was a door swinging open right as she was about to walk past it.

Out stepped a blue mare, who, upon seeing Rainbow Dash crouched low to the ground, immediately screamed "Intruder!"

Her first instinct was to take to the skies, but she hardly got thirty feet into the air before she felt the sharp pain of something grabbing on her tail, yanking her back. She found herself tackled by five different pegasus ponies at once, a flurry of furious wings and hooves grabbing at her, turning her about, dragging her down. She struggled as hard as she could against her captors, but it was no use—she was hopelessly outnumbered. As soon as she gave up and went limp, an icy silence fell over the crowd that was gathering around her.

"What should we do with her?" asked a voice from somewhere she couldn't see.

"Take her to the princess. She'll know what to do."

Rainbow Dash shuddered. If Princess Celestia was really as cruel and merciless as Cheerilee seemed to think, then there was no possible way this could end well.

It was impossible to get a good look at anything while she was being dragged about, so she closed her eyes as they carried her into one of the buildings. From somewhere in front of her, there came a gasp.

"What is it, your highness?"

"That pegasus… I know her."

Rainbow opened her eyes wide, her jaw dropping at the sight of the alicorn before her.