/Chapter 11: “Eine Stadtrundfahrt” is how they say in German/
Edited by: Chrome Masquerade
Well, it is proven, even in this world. Women take forever to get ready for something. Well, at least Flitter does. Cloud Chaser, on the other hand, just did her shower, came out all wet, went to her room to dry herself off and came out with both her fur and mane still all messy and simply sat down onto the couch with me.
Now all we needed to do was wait for Flitter to finish up in the bathroom.
I was planning to take the opportunity to retreat into my mind as I would often do, but got beaten to it by my companion next to me.
“So, you only managed to break one plate during your first time doing the dishes?” Cloud asked with a giggle before it turned into an awkward chuckle at the end. “Well, to be honest, the last time I did the dishes I somehow managed to drop 3 of them.” She admitted while rubbing her neck.
I chuckled at that, making her smile and chuckle as well.
Cloud Chaser was the first one to stop as she looked back at me. “You know… it’s actually kind of nice to have another pony living here with us.” She admitted while looking at her front hooves.
I was genuinely surprised to hear that from her, but before I could even ask any questions on it she continued.
“I mean, me and sis have each other all the time, sure, but… it still gets kind of lonely sometimes, living in this house, just the two of us… especially in the same place where we… last saw our parents.” Cloud explained as a sad expression quickly showed itself on her face.
I quickly reached a hoof over to comfort her. She lifted her head and gave me a sad smile.
“Again, this might sound strange for you, but… we have been living all alone here for 4 long years. It really feels good to have another pony here in the house other than just us. It makes this place feel…well… more alive, you could say.” Cloud Chaser explained before she continued. “Me and sis wanted to move out of our parents’ house and buy a new one somewhere else in town with all the money our parents left behind for us, but in the end we couldn’t because of all the fond memories we had in this place.” She finished before sighing and looking back down onto her hoof.
“But also in memory of them.” She added, muttering.
This actually explained a lot to me. I knew that these two offered me their home as a thanks for saving their lives at the beginning, but at the same time I still felt rather confused and troubled with the idea that they would just offer a random stranger -despite the fact that he saved their lives- their very own home to stay in. But now I kind of understood it more. They were just lonely. Wanting for some extra fun and company in their lives, which was all taken away from them when their parents had so abruptly left them alone on this world.
I fully understood it now, and somehow they saw me as the right pony that could fill this void in their hearts.
They hoped that I could make living just that little bit more colorful for them, and in all honestly feel completely honored and touched, knowing that now.
I immediately moved my entire foreleg across her back and embraced her in a semi-hug which she gladly accepted.
She eventually lifted her head and gave me a thankful smile, which I happily returned to lighten the mood again.
“Thanks.“ I finally said, which quickly confused her.
“Thanks for what?” She asked, tilting her head a bit.
“For giving me this chance.” I simply answered with a smile, which she quickly caught on to.
“Well, we’re just as thankful to you as you are to us, to be honest.” Cloud Chaser admitted with a chuckle before pushing herself away from me.
“Well, ok, enough of this mushy stuff. This is really not the time to be all emotional.” she got up and brushed herself off. “And besides my sister is much better in that category then me anyway.” She quickly added which made me roll my eyes.
Cloud Chaser. Always ready to kill the mood. I guess you can call that mood-BLOCK.
Yeah, terrible joke.
But again, this got me thinking. If any of this is true, then I should at least try to get myself sorted out so that I wouldn’t be a constant drag to them, such as I was.
I guess learning magic can now move up to the top of the “To do list” as I obviously can’t do anything with these hooves besides walk with them, and I refuse to use my mouth for that kind of thing because that would just be degrading, especially for a former human. Plus I have no idea if these things are clean or not. I already got my answer to that with Pinkie Pie’s hoof… which was disgusting.
Another reason to learn magic as quickly as I possibly could was obviously to not stick out too much as a unicorn that can’t even levitate things. That would just be a disaster when somebody asked me to do something magic-related. Rainbow Dash comes to mind at that.
Ugh what is Flitter taking so long? is she taking a shit in there as well? Wait… how do toilets in cloud homes even work exactly?
I have an idea which is…unfortunate for anyone who happens to be right under Cloudsdale. Which at least explains why this city never ever floats even close to any cities or settlements.
I began to make an uncomfortable expression as these ideas about Cloudsdale toilets floated around in my head which made Cloud Chaser next to me raise an eyebrow in confusion.
“i suppose i could ask later.” I thought to myself, mentally shaking off that train of thought.
Before she could question me, the door to the private bathroom finally opened revealing a well-groomed -and, to my surprise, good smelling- Flitter.
Yes… I said good smelling, even from that distance. I never thought about it, but I guess pony noses are much more sensitive than human ones. Which I should have expected.
Flitter trotted over to us with a very pleased look on her face and sat down on the couch opposite from us while still brushing her mane a bit with a brush that was hidden under one of her wings earlier.
Cloud was the first one to start. ”Jeez, sis! Took you long enough. What did you do in there, clop in the shower?” She casually said while leaning back against the couch.
That immediately froze any thoughts or activities from both me and Flitter as we both turned our heads to her in shock as Flitter began to blush a bit.
That blush though turned into a fierce glare as she composed herself. “Buck you, I was actually trying to dry my mane, groom it and place my mane bow on it as I usually do, which obviously takes a while, especially when you are forced to do it alone.” Flitter explained while pointing her brush at her.
“Also, how the buck could you casually say that when there is another pony in the room with us?” She quickly added in an obvious angry tone.
Cloud simply smirked. “Because it’s fun watching your reaction.” She said while sticking her tongue out at her playfully which only made Flitter’s glare deepen.
I was just shocked to hear her say that and even more so hearing Flitter say the pony equivalent of “Fuck you” to her sister.
Is this how these two behave all them time?Or is it just now because I am with them? Or is it just typical Cloud here trying to embarrass her sister in front of me, if that is the case then why though?
This is awkward again.
Flitter eventually sighed heavily as she tried to ignore her sister. “Well whatever, let Cloud here act like a little foal if she wants. Can we just get out of the house and take a stroll through the city?“ Flitter suggested semi-annoyed as she got up from her seat.
“Yes! Finally.” Cloud announced in triumph as she also got up to join her sister.
I simply remained seated as a very important thought entered my mind. “WAIT… what about my wings?” I asked while turning around the couch to look at them.
Both Flitter and cloud stopped as realization began to hit both of them.
“Oh buck! Yes, I totally forgot about that.You don’t have those bandages anymore.” Flitter commented while looking thoughtful.
Cloud piped up. “Why don’t you just give him a jacket or something else for him to wear to cover up those silvery wings of his?” She suggested.
Flitter nodded at that. ”Good idea. I even know the perfect jacket for the job.” Flitter announced as she moved past her sister, but not before giving her a hard slap on the face with her tail.
“HEY! WHAT THE BUCK WAS THAT FOR?!” Cloud shouted while rubbing her slowly turning red cheek.
“For that little clopping joke you made.” Flitter casually answered with a sideways glare.
“That sounded rather painful, to be honest. I had no idea that pony tails could be used that way.” I thought as Flitter disappeared around the corner.
“Well… I guess I did go a bit too far back there.” I heard Cloud mutter behind me.
While Flitter was searching, i looked over to Cloud and asked, “Hey, Cloud? This may seem odd, but I’ve been meaning to get this off my chest: how do the toilets here work?”
She lifted her head briefly and said “Ah.” before continuing. “It’s pretty simple, see? The clouds here leach the remaining nutrients from your feces before breaking them into their individual elements. Like hydrogen, oxygen…. Stuff clouds use anyway.”
“Oh. Thanks.” i said, relieved to get that out of the way.
“No prob.” Cloud replied. She smiled.
After a while, Flitter returned with a light black jacket on her back. She stopped right in front of me as she fully presented the jacked by laying it on the table.
Before i got a closer look I thought that it was leather, but after closer inspection it I learned that I was just fabric. Thank god though, since the idea of ponies possessing something made of animal skin is somewhat weird, knowing full well that they are typically herbivores.
Besides that, the jacket looked very generic, having two pockets on either side of the chest area, long sleeves, and a wide open collar similar styled like the once you find on tuxedo’s, or school uniforms which was the only unique design on it. It also was pretty long, which is way Flitter probably thought that it must be perfect for hiding my wing
“This jacket used to be our father’s. It’s a bit oversized for you, simple because our father was a bit taller than the average Pegasus, but beyond that it should still fit you nicely.” Flitter explained while gesturing to the jacket. “Heck even I think that you are just a bit taller than the average stallion as well. Probably because you’re an Alicorn. They tend to be larger than the other races.” Flitter quickly added.
A thought quickly emerged after she said that as i looked back at the jacket. "Wait...if it is your fathers. Than why doesn't it has any openings for his wings on it? I asked after having noticed the lack of wing holes on it.
Flitter giggle before answering the question. "That's actually a good observation there." She responded before continuing. "The reason why is because is when dad requested this jacket from a local tailor/ old friend from Fillydelphia, he somehow managed to forget the wing openings for it after he packaged and send it to our dad. At first our father was completely confused after he open the package and saw the lack of wing openings on his new hoof made jacket. He was about to send it back to his friends with a complained on it but eventually decided against it and decided to use his new jacket as a winter jacket for...well cold winters to also keep his wings warm. He did always did had the most sensitive of wings from all 4 of us." She finished her tale.
I gave her a nod at that info as I scooped up the jacket with both of my hooves to have a feel for its texture. As I predicted the Jacket was made out of some natural fabric, either wool or cotton I can’t really tell. It was pretty thick too, perfect for cold days. I mean that’s what jackets are for anyway to keep the wearer warm.
Another feature that this jacket has was a small stitched in image of a Sword pointing down with two red wings on either side on the left chest pocket and on the right shoulder.
Must be the cutie mark of their father.
I started to try put on the jacket myself, which I found surprisingly easy thanks to the astonishingly nimble legs I have as a pony. Seriously, the first time I found out just how similarly nibble my legs were in comparison to humans was pretty shocking. Especially knowing how the forearms of horses normally move. But then again I am in a different world and these ponies and are nothing, and I mean NOTHING like the equines I know from back home. These equines might as well be humans in pony bodies.
I stood up after I managed to drape over the jacket to present myself properly in front of the girls to judge my look.
“Well?” I asked as I looked between them.
Well, at least this jacket isn’t tight on my wings like how the bandages were. In fact if feels comfortable. Also, yay more clothing. To be honest despite the fact that i have fur now I still very much enjoy the thought of wearing SOMETHING instead of running around all butt naked.
Even though my butt, now as a pony, is likely always going to BE naked, but it's the thought that counts i guess.
Flitter began to move closer before pointing something out.
“You should probably also zip it up, and fix the collar around you. Here let me.” Flitter suggested as she started to zip the jacket shut and fixing the collar.
She stepped back to observer her handiwork… or hoofy-work and smiles as she gave me a nod of approval.
Cloud Chaser whistled. “Hey, there, Nava! Looking good! That jacket really fits your look, I have to say.” She commented while looking me over before continuing. “Now if you weren’t a mare magnet before you are definitely one now. Young mares that you are going to pass by are just going to drool at your look, dude. You lucky stud you.” Cloud added with a smirk.
I chuckled nervously. “Heh heh… thanks?” Not exactly what I need to be honest…but if this is really the only jacket you guys have then what choice do I have?
Cloud simply shook her head at me as she chuckled. “You’re strange sometimes, you know that? Most stallions I know would LOVE to be in your position. But then again, you are shy and awkward.” She commented before Flitter moved towards the front door.
“Well, who isn’t a little weird?” i said
“True that!” Cloud replied, laughing
“Well, anyway you can keep the jacket from now on, if you want. We certainly have no use for it. But i would imagine that dad would have loved to see his favorite being put to good use rather than just collecting dust and fuzz in a closet.” Flitter said. “But now that we have that problem out of the way, let’s just go. There are some few places I would really like to show you, Nava. So let’s hurry up while the day is still young.” Flitter announced as she unlocked the door and opened it.
“Yeah, come on. And don’t you worry about the mares, Nava, I will protect you from them.” Cloud said with chuckle and a wink.
I simply sighed as I followed the two mares out of the house.
I just hope this isn’t going to be any worse than back in Ponyville, especially now that there are…. way more ponies here than there.
Fun.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Well, this trip went much better than I expected. For about two hours me and the two girls have been strolling through the city streets, going from location to location, showing me all the interesting places and tourist attractions the city has to offer.
This city also seems to have a street alley full of… places where you can buy mares for a healthy sum of coin. Who knew that a world like this has strip clubs and hookers as well? The more I learn about this world the more mature it gets. Kids show my ass. My Little Pony belongs to [adult swim], not the freaking Hub or whatever cartoon channel exist out there.
Besides places like those, we also visited long shopping streets, went to the memorial park of Pegasi war heroes from the past (Again didn’t know they had those) and even visited the famous weather factory of Cloudsdale, the largest in Equestria and the place where both Flitter and Cloud actually work when they are not sent off somewhere else instead.
But now we were just chilling in a local café, resting our hooves on a nice table in front of the shop and enjoying a nice glass of cold ice tea under the shadow of a large parasol.
Flitter and Cloud began chatting with Rain Coat after we managed to bump into her again at this Café (Convenient, I know) while I simply took this opportunity to look around.
Ponies, ponies and more ponies was what I saw, some giving me glances because of my horn, i would guess while most of them simply ignored me, except for a few mares in the café who were waving and giggling at me.
I’m I really that attractive looking for a pony?
Besides that, I really didn’t care what was going through the minds of these mares as long as they kept their distance from me. Again I am FAR away from being interested in any romantic relationships whatsoever. Plus I wouldn’t know what to say to them anyway, I have no experience with dating or girls to begin with.
Yeah, I know. What a loser right? A Young adult who has never dated or had a girlfriend in his life. Brilliant don’t you think?
I sighed and I took my glass of iced tea again to finish off whatever was left of it. Or I was going to until a large, thundering crack made me jump out of my chair and dump the rest of my ice tea all over me.
Same for most of the guest here as well, though less dramatic, and less… wet.
“Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, man! you should have seen your reaction there! Haaa ha ha ha ha ha!!! That was AWESOME.” A very scratchy sounding voice laughed above me while I laid on the ground.
I groaned and tried to look upwards to try and pinpoint the source of the laughter. At first I was confused seeing nothing but a small low flying cloud above me until said cloud suddenly spawned the head AND face of a well know rainbow maned blue Pegasus smiling down at me.
“Hey there Nava, how is Cloudsdale working for you?” RD greeted me with a grin.
I again groaned, trying to grab my hat that was lying beside me. “Oh, hey there, Dash… didn’t know I would meet you here in Cloudsdale with such a… loud greeting. What brings you here anyway?” I greeted back with a blank tone as I sat myself upright.
Dash was about to respond when a waiter from the café suddenly came up to her.
“Miss would you kindly STOP scaring our guests with that small thunder cloud of yours? If nothing else I would suggest that you either leave or I will call the guards if you continue causing more trouble around here.” The stallion waiter announced, which was accompanied by a lot of agreements by the guests as well.
RD dropped her head as she jumped off her cloud, sheepishly apologizing to both the waiter and the guests.
Luckily for her the waiter accepted her apology as he turned around and went back into the café to continue his job.
“The youth nowadays.” I heard him mutter as he disappeared back from where he came.
I looked over to Dash who was rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile on her muzzle.
“Not really the best of entrances huh?” She asked.
Voices resounded from the patrons, “Gee! You THINK?!”
I stood up and shook my head at her question.” Nope…nope it wasn’t. It would have been a bit better if I was the only one around…though I would prefer that you don’t scare me like that again.” I commented. “Also I have iced tea stuck in my fur and… jacket.” I added while looking down at my drenched chest.
“Well yeah… sorry about that.” Dash apologized sheepishly.
I simply shook my head and eventually gave her a small smile to lift her spirits while holding out my hoof to her for a hoof bump. She quickly took it as she began to smile as well.
“So, what brings you here to Cloudsdale anyway dash?” I asked after the brohoof.
“Not much really, besides having to bring some papers over to the central weather office of Equestria to confirm that I am too enlisted as the captain of Ponyville’s weather team and what not.” she answered.
I nodded. “So wait, you didn’t start right away to be the new weather captain?” I ask.
Dash simply shook her head. “Nope, there is a lot of paperwork involved first before I can fully take that position. A lot of boooooring paperwork.” She confirmed with bored tone.
I again simply nodded until Cloud Chaser’s voice suddenly came up.
“Flirting with Dash now, are we Nava?” Cloud Chaser teased with a smug smile.
I groaned at that while Rainbow simply raised an eyebrow at Cloud Chaser as she giggled.
“Are you going to EVER stop doing that?” I asked annoyed.
“Nope.” She simply responded with a grin, making me facehoof.
“You seem to have quite the life with these two.” RD commented.
“You could say that.” I answered casually.
Cloud Chaser simply chuckled as she suddenly pulled me close to her “Oh, don’t be like that. Sure I can be annoying sometimes, but it’s all in good fun. We all like you, especially me.” Cloud comment with a playful smirk at the end.
I again blushed from the sudden body contact and suggestive comment, especially now that a whole city full of ponies can see and hear that too.
Bloody Cloud, seems to be her mission to make me feel as awkward or embarrassed as possible. Or both. Seriously one day she is going to be the death of me.
“Pffff…Virgins.” Dashi commented which Cloud Chaser could only agree on with a nod which only made my situation just that much less pleasant as I simply hung my head in shame at this point.
Flitter again came to the rescue. “What are you two doing now?” She asked as she trotted up to us, with Rain Coat in tow.
“Nothing much, just talking with RD here.” Cloud Chaser answered.
Flitter simply looked at my defeated look before looking back at her sister flatly.
“Uh huh. Sure.” She responded with a deadpan look.
“Anyway, I’m just here to say that me and Rain Coat are going to do something important, which means I can’t continue with the tour with you Nava. I am sorry.” Flitter explained while giving me a sorry look.
I raised my head a bit to look at her. “Oh well… that’s fine Flitter, really. If it is something important then go for it.” I answered her sincerely while giving her a sad smile.
She smile as well before turning towards her sister. “Keep an eye on him Cloud and DO NOT do anything stupid while I am gone.” Flitter said with a stern look.
Cloud simply rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Stop branding me as an idiot. I am childish, yes, I will admit that freely, but NOT an idiot Flitter” Cloud retorted.
At this point I realized that she was still holding me, as she accidentally shouted into my ear, which made me cringe.
I wanted to move or say something but I knew for a fact that I shouldn’t get in between two arguing siblings, especially when it’s none of my business.
So I just have to keep myself sandwiched between these two… because why the heck not.
Flitter sighed. “Alright, alright. Fine… I know you’re not an idiot, Cloud. But… but please don’t drag Nava over here into something that he doesn’t want to be dragged into.” She finally said.
“Yes, yes, I know. I won’t, I promise sis.” Cloud replied. “Also sorry for yelling at you too.” She quickly added as she lowered her ears in sadness.
“It’s ok sis, I am sorry too for always branding you as a moron. It’s just… it’s just that you get me irritated so easily sometimes because of your antics… and I just get so mad. Again, I am sorry too. I suppose we’re both at fault sometimes.” Flitter apologized while she lowered her head as well.
The other 3 of us, Me, Dash, and Rain Coat simply stood there in silence as this was taking place. It was sweet, but also awkward as all hell. Especially for me because I was literally in the center of it.
But I could also feel the emotion of these two and also kind of understood it. They might be sisters but they are also two completely different ponies as well, with their own ways of doing things, their own personality their own thoughts and feelings. So a disagreement between these two is pretty obvious and common. Especially with siblings having such a strong contrast like them.
It’s beautiful to know that despite their many, many disagreements and differences they are still sticking it through, thick and thin. That’s sibling love for you right there.
“Uh… Cloud? You are still… holding me.” I finally point out while also trying to break the silence.
“Huh? Oh yeah, right… sorry there.” Cloud responded sheepishly before finally letting me go.
“Well, anyway, me and Rain have to go somewhere now. Stay safe you two. I guess I see you two back home, then?” Flitter suddenly announced as she and Rain quickly turned around and left.
I watched as those two slowly disappeared into the crowd, leaving me, Cloud Chaser, and Dash still standing in front of the Café.
“Do you two do this a lot?” Dash finally asked while rubbing the back of her neck.
“Not really, just occasionally. But overall we are mostly good with one another.” Cloud Chaser answered while still looking at the direction her sister disappeared to.
A question formed in my head after that. “Wait… what exactly are Flitter and Rain doing exactly? What were the three of you talking about earlier?” I ask curiously after I regained my composure.
Cloud simply snorted. “Well, it’s nothing UBERLY important if that is what you are thinking. As good as I know these two they are probably just going to go do some mare stuff, if you catch my drift. Same goes with the conversation we had earlier with a bit of weather factory stuff sprinkled in between.” Cloud answered while shaking her head at that.
I scratched my chin. “Ok, but how come you didn’t join her as well then?” I ask.
Cloud Chaser simply gave me a “Are you serious?” kind of look which pretty much did the job of remedying my curiosity.
“Right…tomcolt.” I muttered to myself which cloud seemed too noticed.
She raised an eyebrow at that.” Tomcolt? Why in Equestria would you think I’m a tomcolt? I might not act like you typical mare but I am also no tomcolt…I…I am just not interesting in all this filly stuff like most others.” She answered before looking away from me.
Odd?
“In fact if you want a tomcolt we got one right here with us.” She quickly added while smirking over at RD.
“Excuse me? I not that much of a tomcolt either, I might act and behave like one but I am not completely clotish and you know it.” RD protested with a flat look.
“Ah yes…I remember now, I remember having seen you once secretly playing around with makeup in the mares bathroom back in our highschool years.” Cloud said with a grin on her face.
Dash’s expression went wide at an instant as a faint blush formed on cheeks. “I… Have no idea what you are talking about.” She casually tried to answer, which only made Cloud giggle and me suspicious.
All information I didn’t really need… but still interesting to know.
“Well, anyway what now?” RD asked trying to switch the subject.
“Continue with the tour?” I suggested, shrugging.
Cloud Chaser looked thoughtful for a moment before an invisible light bulb seemed to go up inside the mare's head.
“Oh! I know where we could go, since Flitter isn’t here anymore.” Cloud announced with a smile, a smile that somehow creeps me out a bit since I already have a somewhat good understanding on what is going on inside this mare’s mind.
“Uh…what is it then?” I carefully asked.
RD nodded, also feeling interested in what Cloud had to offer. “Hey, is it ok if I tag along with you two?” She asked. “I’ve got nothing better to do now anyway, since all of my paperwork crap is done.” she added
Cloud smiled and nodded. “Sure why not? The more the merrier.” She responded. “Just follow me, then. it's actually quite a ways away, we could just FLY but one of the THREE of us doesn’t have any wings so we have to take the long way then.” She added with an emphasis on me as she started to trot off.
I quickly began to follow her, not because I wanted to, but mostly because I didn’t want to be left alone in a city I had no knowledge about traversing.
“Hey wait! Cloud… wait!” I called out galloping towards her, with Rainbow Dash just lazily hovering next to me.
………………………………………………………………………………………
“Hair”
“Hare”
“Book”
“Buch”
“Sunglasses”
“Sonnenbrille”
“Hmm… how about… Tits.”
“Oh… uh… Titten”
“Can you say this in Germane? ‘Hey Applejack? You are the slowest runner in all of Ponyville.’”
“Uh… ok. Hey Applejack? Du bist die langsamste Läuferin in ganz Ponyville” I translated for her as we continued our trek through the busy streets.
Dash began to rub her head after that as she tried to say what I said… and failing horribly in the pronunciation. “Hey, can you just write that down for me? I got to memorize that and get the pronunciation down, right?” She asked while looking at me.
“Uh… sure, why not? But I don’t carry a pen or paper with me, sadly.” I respond.
“You mean pencil and paper?” She question in which I nod my head.
Note to self, Equestrians only use pencils and quills.
“Is that really Germane, what you were speaking there?” Cloud suddenly asked as she’s up on front while looking over her shoulder.
“Yeah, it is.” I confirmed with a nod.
“So many weird sounding languages in the world.” I heard Cloud mutter as she looked back in front.
“Even more true in my world where almost every country speaks its own language.” I thought to myself as the three of ours rounded a corner.
“Oh hey look! Cloudsdale Colosseum is right there in the distance.” RD suddenly announced while pointing her hoof in a general direction.
I followed her gaze, and wouldn’t you know it, she was right. Right behind the roofs of some long warehouse looking structures to our right where the upper structures of what I could only describe as a cloud-made version of the colosseum in Rome, only complete and not a ruin, of course.
I again feel myself fascinated with the idea that all of it was basically made out of clouds and clouds alone. Maybe not so much of the interior if Cloud and Flitter’s home was anything to go by but still very impressive nonetheless.
Heck, I’m still very much impressed that I can walk and stand on these bloody things. These are all just clouds, CLOUDS.
“Hey Nava watch out or you are going to-” RD began before something hard and solid suddenly impacted the side of my face.
I groaned in pain as I was forced to fall down onto my flank after the impact. The laughter of both Cloud and Dash filling my ears as I sat there rubbing the aching part of supposedly handsome looking pony face.
“Hahahahah, see I told you, I told you that spacing out like that is eventually going to get you hurt. Oh Celestia that was hilarious.” RD comment in between laughs.
“What the heck did I hit anyway?” I thought to myself as I began to look back ahead of me. My face shifted to a deadpan expression as I spotted a black colored Victorian style street lamp with a small dent on the middle.
Oh….
“That was… dumb of me.” I commented to no one in particular as the laughter of both RD and Cloud still echoed around me.
“Yes… yes it was.” Cloud commented as her laughter calmed down to just a few chuckles.
I should really stop spacing out while walking, or at least stop first before doing so.
“Anyway… need a hoof?” Cloud ask as she held out her hoof for me.
I nod as I reached out and grabbed her hoof with my own while still rubbing my sour face.
“At least nobody here has notice this, everybody seems to just mind there owns business.” I thought as I was pulled back up on all fours.
“Hey, you're quite hilarious there Navi. Perhaps I should come give you a visit more often for some good laughs.” RD commented with a grin.
I just rolled my eyes at her annoyedly before I realized the nickname she just gave me.
I raised my eyebrows while she simply smirked. I was about to ask her when Cloud suddenly yanked me from the side.
“Come on, we’re just burning daylight standing here.” Cloud announced as she quickly grabbed and dragged me by my leg.
RD simply shook her head as she followed the two of us.
………………………………………………………………………………………
“Alright... here it is.” Cloud Chaser announced after a full 30 minutes of more walking.
I looked to where she was pointing and was immediately greeted with a large Greek temple-like building with large columns surrounding the outside of the structure, one area seeming to be under some renovating as well because of the scaffolding and workers running around on it.
At first I thought that this was indeed some kind of religious building until Cloud flat out told me what this actually is.
“This is Cloudsdale’s largest public library. I do sometimes come here just to see if they are new books or even comics about “Path to the Stars” or “Star conquests” when sis isn’t around.” Cloud Chaser explain.
I looked at her surprised. “Wait… but I thought that you…” I began before Cloud continued.
“Yes, yes I know, highly unusual for a character like myself to actually like sci-fi stuff especially when I call my sister an egghead sometimes.” Cloud quickly explained before she continued. “This is actually why I said earlier that we can finally go to a certain place with my sister gone and busy. If she knew that I am actually a huge sci-fi nerd and somewhat of a history buff too, she would never let me live it down, and we can’t have that now can we?” She finished.
“Now you know a little secret of mine, DON’T tell this my sister though.” She said while getting close to my face at the end with a serious look in her eye.
I nodded, letting her know that I wouldn’t tell Flitter anything. She nodded as well before giving me my personal space back and turning back to RD who was still with us.
“Sorry if it’s nothing exciting for you though, Dash. “ Cloud said sheepishly to the mare behind us.
She simply shrugged.” Ehh… it's fine. The one good thing about libraries is that they are like the perfect place for you to sleep in because they are so nicely quiet. Plus they got these nice comfy couches as well.” Dash responded casually.
I scratched my head at that as a thought entered me. “So wait… Rainbow here already knew about your secret?” I asked while turning to Cloud.
“Yup… in fact she is the only other one who knew.” She admitted before Dash jumped in.
“Yeah… it’s the leverage I have to prevent her from telling everypony about the little thing I did in high school.” Dashi added before giving me a serious look.
“By the way… tell anypony about that and I will break your flank.” She threatened which I only felt happy to oblige by nodding at her.
She nodded back as she relaxes.
I sighed in relief before turning back to Cloud Chaser. “So, we are going to spend some time in a library, then? I kind of like that. Less hectic and more calm.” I announced which made Cloud only chuckle.
“I bet it is.” She said before leading the way.
I rolled my eyes as Dash and I followed her up the stairs and into the main entrance of the library.
My eyes immediately went wide at the scene in front of me.
“Holy crap… These bookshelves reach up all the way to the ceiling full of books, and the ceiling must be like 3 stories high or something.” I commented out loud as I looked around the main hall of the library.
“Shhhhh… not so loud! Ponies are trying to read in here.” A mare behind a counter to our left shushed while looking rather annoyed.
“Oops! Sorry.” I apologized rather loudly which gave me another, louder shush from said mare.
“Ok I’ll just shut up then.” I thought as I simply held my tongue.
“So, this is how the great library of Alexandria might have looked.” I thought as I observed the upper levels of the book cases, being filled with old looking scrolls rather than books.
Me and the two mares made our way over to the green Pegasus mare behind the counter as I noticed a few Pegasi flying about the interior of the library, taking or reorganizing books or scrolls.
“Hello excuse me miss but… is the latest issue of “Path to stars” out?” Cloud asked the mare kindly.
The green mare in front of us looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, let me go check. I’m sure I have some info on that...” She responded as she ducked down under the counter.
I heard some shuffling and the sound or crunched paper before the mare quickly resurfaced with a large list.
The mare smiled before looking back at Cloud. “Well it seems like you’re in luck, the new issues just arrived yesterday. You can find them all in section P-A2.” The mare explained while pointing her hoof in a general direction.
Cloud leapt in the air, pumping a hoof in triumph. “YESSSSSS!!! Thank you miss.” She thanked the mare before heading off into the pointed direction. REALLY fast.
So wait… I am sure that a library of this size probably has some books about basic magic and equestrian history as well. This might actually be the chance I need to get myself up to snuff regarding my magic problem. Plus learning some history might not be a bad idea either, since I have loved history in certain degrees back in my world.
I approached the librarian before me. “Uh… excuse me miss but,,, where are the sections about magic and history?” I asked politely and quietly.
She again looked thoughtful for a few moments before she looked back at me. ”Section M-B1 has everything magic related while section H-D1 has everything regarding history. You can find reading tables and couches in the center or lining the walls of the library.” She answered out while pointing out the directions with her hoof.
“Thank you, miss.” I thanked her before trotting off myself into the directions she pointed at.
RD hovered up next to me as I made my way over to section M-B1. “Hey, Dude I am going to crash onto one of those couches over there if you need me.” She announced while looking down at me.
I looked up at her and nod.” Sure no problem dash, I will be mostly digging my muzzle into some books anyway, so you don’t need to worry about me disturbing you sleep.” I responded with a smile.
She smiled back and nods before flying off into the other end of the library.
I sighed as I looked over the overwhelming selection of books that surrounded me. Ranging from basic unicorn spells to highly advanced combat magic to difficult summoning and conjurations. All categorized in alphabet and age. With some of the older tomes on the very top of the shelves.
“Well, obviously start with the basics. Let’s just hope I can read and understand this stuff.” I thought to myself as I began to pull a book out with my hoof and carried it over to a nearby table and chair to sit and read.
Let the reading montage begin… oh wait, I also need to get a book about history as well.
Well, great. I already forgot what section it is in. Back to the counter than.
………………………………………………………………………………………
“Cloudsdale used to be a large military fortress in ancient days? Never knew that. At least that explains the citadel at the center of the city, then.” I muttered to myself as I read the history section of this city.
Cloudsdale actually has a lot of blood on its name according to these books. Back in the ancient past when Equestria was still very new and vulnerable it acted as a last stand defense point for the young Kingdom, guarding the entrance of a wide and stormy mountain pass and preventing raiders from the north or other invaders from sweeping across the lands. One particular battle even nearly caused the defeat and collapse of the young Kingdome when the more powerful Gryphon Empire at the time was expanding its borders and wanted to also annex the young Equestria into its empire as well.
The smaller and weaker Equestrian armies had suffered defeats after defeats during the war, forcing the reminding forces to retreat farther and father, eventually to the city fortress of old Cloudsdale for a last desperate stand against the Gryphon Empire. A battle that was simply known as “The Siege of Cloudsdale.”
The Battle, according to these records, was fierce. A constant bombardment that lasted for weeks. The city was heavily damaged and beaten and its defenders were exhausted and their supplies were quickly running dry. They were at the brink of finally losing the siege when suddenly a relief army led by Commander Hurricane -one of Equestria's founders- finally arrived at the scene and managed to relieve the siege of the city. A bloody battle took place afterwards as bodies from both sides began to pile themselves onto the grounds of the mountain passage below. Eventually the day was won for the Equestrian side but still, the loses they had suffered were staggering. 35.000 of the previous 50.000 equestrians lay dead. Same for the Gryphons, 79.000 of the 100.000 Imperials lay dead as well, with the added loss of over 40 destroyed catapults, ballistas and the destruction of 10 airships as well.
It was a very costly victory for Equestria for sure, and a crushing defeat for the old empire at the time which eventually lead into its collapse a few centuries later simply because of the populace losing its trust and belief in their leaders and military which lead to tensions and instability within the empire. Not to mention outside pressures, as well as the resources of maintaining its armies were quickly running dry.
Basically this world’s version of the collapse of the Roman Empire.
I shook my head at all this information. Who knew that Equestria's history has so many similarities to earth history as well? A lot of wars, famines and even epidemics.
Suffice it to say, Equestria’s first years were nothing to look back to, it was plagued with problems and outside threats. Only with the later introduction of Starswirl the Bearded and the two royal sisters was Equestria able to stabilize and become the nation that it is today.
I closed the book and put it to the side. I massaged my forehead with my hoof to ease my mind from all this information.
“How long have I been reading here, maybe 3 hours?” I thought to myself as I began to look around for a clock.
None were there, obviously, but my inner clock still somewhat told me that it had to be around 3 hours at least.
“Man this Library is really big. The ones I visited a few times were just these small shop-sized places, so this here is really the largest book warehouse I ever visited.” I muttered to myself as I watched ponies around me, collecting and returning books to their shelves or trotting around the desk, chairs, and sofas.
“Spend a whole hour just trying to understand what these magic books are talking about and in the end I just ended up even more confused with the whole concept of magic than before I started.” I muttered again somewhat annoyed while glaring at the few books I picked associated with magic.
Who knew that learning actual magic can be this confusing? Or maybe it’s because I originated from a magicless world and species.
I will never look at these open world RPG’s or Harry Potter movies the same way again.
I sighed, feeling mentally drained for the day.
“Wonder if I can take some of these books with me.” I wondered out loud as I eyed them all in front of me.
“Hey there, Nava. Done with your reading?” Cloud Chaser’s voice suddenly came up from behind.
I turned my head and greet her with a tired smile. “Well yes… kind of… I feel mentally exhausted now.” I replied while still rubbing my head.
“How about you? What have you been up to?” I asked, looking at her curiously.
Cloud simply smiled before showing me a book she was holding on one of her wings. “I was reading this.” She replied while showing the book to me. “It’s the next chapter of Path to the Stars I have been waiting for over 2 months for. Though, sadly, the next issue of Star conquests is still not out yet.” Cloud explained.
I observed the book she was holding. It was a clear blue book with an image on the front that I can only describe as something similar to a Star Wars movie poster, with characters’ faces and spaceships in front of space back ground with a large Saturn like planet on it.
I read the title out loud. “Path to the Stars: Cryet’s return.”
Cloud nodded before placing the book back under her wing. “Well, still have a lot to read through. But anyway, I think it’s time for us to head back home before sis kills me for being late or something.” She announced.
“Wait… where is Dash, anyway?” She quickly asked after realizing it.
I had a look of realization as well as I completely forgot about Dash since I started reading. “Well… no idea really, she said something about making herself comfortable on one of the couches around here to doze off for a while. No idea where exactly she went after we split.” I answered while scratching my head.
“Oh, I see.” Cloud basically answered while rubbing her chin. “Well then, we better look for her than if she is still in here. Don’t want her waking up in a locked up library, even though it would be hilarious.” She suggested as she began to trot off.
“Hey wait for me!” I called out while clumsily grabbing the books with my hooves and trying to balance them on my back.
“You can borrow those if you want. I can use my membership card for them.” Cloud suggested after I managed to catch up with her.
“Well, to be honest I was about to ask something similar to that, but you already answered that for me. Thanks, by the way.” I said with a smile.
“Don’t mention it.” She replied happily before we managed to spot the rainbow mare. “Really. Don’t.” she added.
“Well, that was easy.” I comment as we made our way to Rainbow’s sleeping form on one of the couches lining the library walls.
Both me and Cloud began to snicker at the mares silly position of laying on her back, completely sprawled out with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. A soft snoring sound coming from her as her wings were twitching from time to time.
I don’t know why, but I just found this position and image of Rainbow Dash extremely funny, probably because of her tough exterior character, and here she is sleeping like a derp.
Cloud began to poke me on the side to get my attention and moved her muzzle close to my ears to whisper something.
“Alright, who is going to wake her up? Me or you?” She asked with an obvious amusement in her tone.
I simply shrugged. ”Don’t know, but I think you do it because she is still much closer to you than me.” I whispered back.
“Well… true, I’ll do it, then.” She replied before looking back at the sleeping mare in front of us.
Cloud Chaser looked thoughtful for a few moments before a wicked grin began to spread across her muzzle.
“Oh, this is going to get her going.” She whispered with an evil grin before she turned herself around and presented her rear towards the sleeping Pegasus.
Before I was even able to question her motives she quickly began to move the tip of her tail above RD’s noise and tickled it.
Cloud began to snicker quietly to herself as RD began to stir and groaned in her sleep, scrunching up her nose in hopes to get rid of whatever was attacking it. With little success, of course.
Again I was extremely questioning about her idea, but decided to just keep myself quiet on the matter. At least she is not going to be furious at me when she wakes up.
Dash’s groining and stirring increased as Cloud continued her assaults with her tail.
“Uh, Cloud? I don’t think that-” I began before RD suddenly began to swat at whatever was assaulting her nose and accidentally hitting Clouds flank instead.
Cloud immediately yelped in surprised –loudly- which was finally enough to wake Dash up from her slumber. The first sight that greeted the blue Pegasus was a front row seat of Clouds… cheeks… as cloud was busy blushing from the sudden spank she got on her ass.
The reaction on Dashi’s face was instant, her eyes went wide as her cheeks quickly took on a bright red hue as she continued to stare up at what I could only imagine as Cloud’s full moon glory.
A thought that made me blush a bit as well.
An awkward silence dominated the area around us before RD was the first one to break it.
“AAAAAAHHHHHHH WHAT THE BUCK CLOUD!!!” She shouted in panic as she tried to scramble away, only for her to fall of the couch with an audible thud echoing through the halls of the library.
Cloud also began to scramble away, only for her legs to get tangled up on one another as she fell down flank first onto the library floor with another echoing thud ringing through large walls of the building.
“SHHHHHHHHHH!! Be QUIET over there, this is a library not a stadium!” The librarian suddenly shush-outed harshly to our left, since her desk was pretty close to where we were.
“Sorry.” Both RD and Cloud muttered in unison making me facehoof at these two.
“Well…at least life won’t be so boring anymore with Cloud around here.” I thought to myself afterwards.
Both mares eventually got back up on all fours while trying to compose themselves.
Personally I still can’t believe that actually happened. That was really, really dumb especially for Cloud, and I guess RD can only agree to that by the glare she was giving her.
“CLOUD!”
“Shhhhh.”
“Cloud… what the actual buck was that?” She whispered harshly.
Cloud smiled sheepishly while trying to get her blush under control. “Well, it… it was supposed to be something very funny… but went far south instead very quickly. But I guess… in the end it was just dumb.” She explained as her ears dropped down.
Both me and RD could only agree to that as we both nod on her self-accusation.
“It was very dumb.” I say
“Super dumb.” RD said.
“And somewhat dirty.” She quickly added which really didn’t help Clouds flustered look.
She simply shook her head. “Look I did something dumb, I will admit that.” She began. “But I think it’s just better we just forget about it and go home, it’s getting late anyway and I do not look forward strolling around the streets at night.” She tried to suggest while getting back up.
I could only agree on that. “What about the books?” I asked remembering them.
“Simply, we just take them over to the front counter and ask if we could borrow them for a while with the membership card I have. Than we are good to go.” Cloud explained before leading the way.
Me and RD followed her and did exactly as she suggested, we borrowed the books we had with us and quickly made our way to the exit. I was actually surprised to see that the sky was already semi-orange in hue, telling me that it was already dusk.
“How long did we really spend in there?” I question myself mentally.
“Well ,I guess this is it, then. Time for me to fly back home before it fully gets dark.” Dashi announced while flexing her wings a bit.
I turned my head to her. ”Well it was nice seeing you again too, Dash. Was still interesting despite the fact that nothing much happened.” I say, purposely avoiding the incident from earlier.
Dashi smiles. “Yeah, it was nice while it lasted, still didn’t manage to show you some of my tricks, though, as I promised. Oh well, I guess there is always a next time.” Dashi replies before taking off into the air.
“Well, goodbye you two.” She shouts before quickly zooming away.
“BYE DASH!” I shouted back while waving at her goodbye leaving me and Cloud Chaser standing alone in front of the large library.
“Well…that’s that I guess. Come on, let’s get back home and see what Flitter has dragged back home this time.” Cloud Chaser suggested before trotting off.
I quickly followed her as the street lamps around us slowly turned on one by one.
Shit… I forgot, now I have to try and keep these books balanced on my back for the entire trip. Ugh, I really need some saddle-bags of my own in the future.
With that finally behind, all of the books I had on my back suddenly decided to fall off just to prove my point about the need of some bags of my own in the future.
I groaned in annoyance as I turned around and bent over to pick them all back up with my mouth without dropping them.
One thought coming to my mind as I struggled to place them all back onto my back without them falling off again.
Damn it!