//------------------------------// // The Cloud // Story: Before Flight // by wkblack //------------------------------//         A grey colt stood his ground atop a dark hill surrounded by shadowy figures. The unicorn shot bolts of light from his horn, dispersing the monsters one by one. Though the encroaching armies were silent, NightLight could feel the endless masses surrounding him. He panted, exhausted by the sustained effort.         Just one more!         ZAP‼         One more.                 zap!         One more~         But he only managed a few sparks. As the hoard approached, he lowered his head in despair, readying himself for death.         I can't do this, he told himself. In the same voice, a response came: You don't have to.         The cloud cover opened up, and darkness gave way to light. A beam of light burst through, surrounding him in a pillar of light. He felt tingly, as if the light were giving him new energy. The unicorn raised his head and fired another shot.         zap.         The bolt of energy barely left the hill. NightLight shook his head. It's just too much work! Even with this light, I can't keep it up! He shut his eyes in frustration.         You don't have to; just let it flow.         An image came clearly to his mind: the pillar of light concentrated itself on his horn, and the beam reflected out into the hoard. NightLight forced the image to the centre of his mind and began to feel his horn tingle. A jolt of energy passed through him, causing his eyes to shoot open. Just as he had envisioned, a ray of pure white shot from his horn, decimating the crowd of enemies.         But physical exhaustion still took its toll—it took all his effort to hold the image in his mind. As he swept the ray of light over each of the denizens they dissolved into mist, and the beam of light vaporised row after row of the creatures. Though he was still tired, the beam continued on its own, without draining his own energy. NightLight's eyes widened with the realization. A smile spread over his face as he rejected death's embrace.         Aether peeked around the back corner of her house. Two guards were passing around the corner, patrolling the city. The guard made it so hard to leave unnoticed, Aether would have slept at the cliffs if it weren't for the sore wakeup. Still, she was surprised she hadn't been called in for inquisition. Perhaps they already knew she was the leader. The idea didn't scare her: their threats just made her treasure flight all the more, since any flight could be her last.         She tapped her hooves impatiently. The dream played vividly in her mind for the tenth time this morning—it had been months since she'd had such a powerful dream. She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. The same pillar of light . . . That unicorn shooting out light . . . The shadowy figures . . . Why do I keep seeing them? Is it some symbol for trusting Avondale?         The guards passed and a burst of adrenaline cleared Aether's mind. She darted across the street and hopped the three fences to Canary's place.         Tap tap tap tap. Aether placed her ear against Canary's back door and waited for a response.         The only sound was her own heartbeat. Thump thump. Thump thump.         Her brow furrowed. Nothing. Aether tapped again. No response. She trotted in a small circle. Was Canary out? Could she have forgotten? Did she already head up? Canary had seemed sick last time—maybe she was too weak to go today.         Aether glanced down the street. The guards' patrolling had a very small blind window, just as the second and third guards crossed paths. Aether's pacing quickened. Worse come to worst, I'll just see her tomorrow. Aether cantered from the house, heading straight towards the forest. She arrived at the city's edge just before the second guard passed the corner. Aether took a deep breath and broke into a gallop. One. Two. Three... Aether dashed across the clearing towards the forest line. It was nearly a perfect Twenty-three seconds before the next guard would round the city corner. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen... She had about three more seconds before the next guard would round the corner. Twenty-one! She pumped her wings and dove into the brambles. Twenty-three.         Aether's heart was still pounding as she ran through the forest, but now in excitement. She took two preparatory steps and bounded into the air, landing on a branch for a half second. Using its spring, Aether launched herself through the treetops. Her eyes slid shut and her wings spread wide in ecstasy.         The sun was setting behind her as Aether overlooked their valley. They had finished the daily exercises and were finishing with a game of aerial tag. It was Canary's idea to add the dimension of flight to the game, allowing them to use the trees and nooks in the cliff that they'd never reached before. Where is she? Aether bit her lip. It's probably nothing. She's just sick . . . Aether frowned. She wished she had tried her house again before sunset.         Aether's ears to perked up at a distant hum. She lifted her gaze and saw a dark mass looming on the horizon. It was growing quickly, approaching from the northern mountains. That's no cloud. Eyes widening, she dove down to her students and yelled, “The Cloud is coming! Everyone take cover!”         Panic infected the students as they fled under bushes, up trees, and into the cracks blemishing the cliffs. Aether went up to her favourite nook, which gave her an omniscient view of the valley below. She sighed in relief as the last tail disappeared. Everyone accounted for.         Just as the flock of batponies were about to pass overhead, the Cloud slowed down rapidly. No. No-no-no! They couldn't possibly know! Aether blinked hard. They can't know . . .         Her hopes shattered as the Cloud plummeted from the sky, falling heavily on the ground below. But the first hoof to fall was not the dark shades of batponies—it was a bright yellow, belonging to a pegasus with a chocolate-brown mane. Canary‽         NightWing was second to touch down, his glossy black coat stark in contrast to Canary and the verdant grass around them. With practised precision, the cloud of bats fell into an immaculate triangle behind them. Aether counted eleven rows. So six squads and their commanders. Aether clenched her jaw as NightWing approach Canary. If he so much as lays a hoof on her— The yellow mare glanced around the clearing then up at the cliffs. In a snap, her hoof pointed up, directly towards Aether.         Time slowed down as a hundred thoughts flew through Aether's mind: What's going on?! Why would she do this? How can we escape? Will any of us survive? One word loomed above the chaos in her mind. Nightmare.         A commander and his decade of bats raced up to her crack while the remaining five squads divided to scour the valley. Aether flew in reverse, making her way up the crack above her. She spread her hooves, wedging herself into the crack just as the commander set hoof in her hiding place. She held her breath, praying they wouldn't look up.         On the ground below, a shout broke the silence. Aether snapped her attention groundwards to see a group of bats pursuing a lithe grey pegasus. Cirrus! She was running from a tattered bush—inches away from being slashed herself. The guards bent to pounce, but a coral streak flashed from above. Before their leaf-stained claws could reach her, a hoof planted itself firmly in the back of the guard's head, as Coral Blue landed her dive.         Lilac and Skye joined from their hideaway and entered the fray. Chaos broke out as the remaining seven members of the Storm took flight, joining the fray. Claws met wings, littering the sky with feathers and flyers fell like hail. Blood spattered the bat's battleclaws as they tore the pegasi from the sky.         From her avian perch, Aether had dove in a beeline for Canary. “How could you!?” Aether roared, landing before the bright yellow pegasus. Canary calmly dodged the punch Aether threw and backpedaled from the enraged mare. Aether moved in, eyes on fire with rage, and cornered her former friend against the cliff face behind her. “How could you betray us‽”         Canary showed no reaction. A blur of midnight red streaked across her vision as NightWing landed between them. “I can't have you damaging our little asset,” he snarled, throwing a kick towards Aether.         Aether took the blow to her chest and staggered back to catch her breath. Asset? What is that supposed to mean!? Aether glared at her foe.         “You were warned,” NightWing stated.          Aether dug in her hooves. “You may take us out of the sky, but you can't take the sky out of a pegasus!”         NightWing sneered. “We'll see.”         Snap. A twig, a few feet back. Aether bucked behind her and hoof met flesh. Crack! The batpony behind her fell to the grass. In front of her, Nightwing had dove claws-first at Aether. She gave a strong flap with her left wing and dove rightwards. Now flanking NightWing, Aether aimed a powerful kick up at his ribs. Crack!         By the time the general fell, five more bats had taken his place. Enraged, Aether swung at her assailants. She pumped down her wings to somersault over her assailants. ZZKT! The jolt of pain froze time mid-arc. Aether landed and looked backwards in wide-eyed horror. Steely-blue feathers lay beside her, spattered with blood. My wing~ The appendage lay at her side, cut off from the carpal joint. It could never repair.         Aether spun to face the murderer, the foremost bat before her. His eyes were still wide with surprise at the blow. Aether made an uppercut, sending the bat tumbling backwards. Another one lifted his hoof to strike, but Aether punched his hoof to the side. Snap. The bat crumpled in pain to the ground. ZZKT! A twin jolt of pain. Aether spun around and prepared to strike when a thump faded her world into blackness.         Aether stood alone in her cell, mind blazing. She had mostly given up on inspecting the cell long ago. The only light came from a faintly luminescent moss which clung to the walls. Her eyes throbbed from exertion—its light was too dim for her to see anything clearly. Still, it was enough light to see her wings. No healer in all of Avondale could fix them now.         But her tears had dried up long ago to the fire of her fury. Canary's betrayal seared into her mind like an iron brand. Aether swore she would make justice, but first she needed to escape. An iron ring chafed her sides, binding down her mangled wings. Her hooves were nailed into iron boots which were fastened to the floor. Her neck was sore from the weight of an iron bridle, chaining her to the ground.         Click.         The door swung open, and a female bat with bright pink eyes stepped in with a pot of soup. “Ready to eat,” she asked, without a shimmer of hope in her voice. The smell of potato and leek made her stomach want to climb out of her mouth to drink it, but Aether set her jaw tight, as she had for the past two days. She stood as tall as her restraints would allow and narrowed her eyes in defiance. She would not give them this victory. They'd have to feed her dead body before she gave in to this humiliation.         The bat leaned casually against the open door and shrugged. “It's all the same to me. You'll cave in one day,” she said offhandedly. “They always do.”         Aether hissed through her closed teeth, “Why don't you just kill us?”         The bat snorted in a half-laugh. “What good would your death do us? We can't have you becoming a martyr.” She shook her head. “No, we can't have that. We need you, to stop others from revolting like your little . . . followers.”         A question itched on Aether's tongue. “Where are they?”         The batpony waved her hoof. “Oh, in cells like yours.” Smirking, she added, “What? Planning an escape?”         Aether narrowed her eyes.         “Ha ha ha ha. You haven't a shimmer of a chance.” She opened the door again, kicking the pot the door in front of her. “Corporis is the most secure prison in all of Avondale. Even if you did escape your cell, you'd have a labyrinth to navigate and a host of guards to defeat on the other side. Even then, how would you find your way back to Woodburn? You country-dwellers never even leave your own towns—how would you get back? I doubt you've even been to Feathermore—probably never will at this point.” The bat grinned. “Even if you were to escape, the forest would destroy you before you could ever orient yourself.” She laughed. “You wouldn't make it a day's flight. Not,” she added, with a chuckle, “like you could fly anyway.”         Slam!         The door closed behind the guard. Aether bit her lip as she found tears again. They no longer mourned her loss of flight—they mourned her loss of hope.         Depression smothered the mighty flyer.