The Sky is Always Green in Cloudsdale

by Basmati

Chapter 5

"Cotton Candy Clouds?"

"Yeah, it's a bit like Sugarcube Corner, but without Pinkie Pie, and the cakes aren't as good. But it's still a great place."

Skylar and Rainbow stood outside the cake store, looking at it.

"I remember that they always had great parties in here, and I always said that when I was old enough, I would go to all of them."

Skylar looked at her rainbow-maned friend, staring into the distance, thinking about her childhood. Suddenly, Rainbow shook her head, snapping herself out of the trance, and started walking over to the door of the shop.

"Actually, I say it's without Pinkie Pie, but there is-" Rainbow started as she pushed open the door.

"DASHIE!!!!"

A white blur came out of nowhere, towards Rainbow, pinning her to the clouds. Skylar jumped back in surprise, then looked around for her friend. She turned around to find a white coated, yellow maned pegasus mare standing above Rainbow, with a large grin on her face. Skylar, with a puzzling look on her face, trotted up to them.

"Oh my Celestia, Rainbow! Is that you? Oh, it's been ages since I last saw you! Have you been having fun? Of course you've been having fun - I mean, you're Rainbow Dash! That is you, right? Do you remember me? A lot of ponies remember me, but there are a few who don't, so you may be one of those ponies who doesn't remember me. Oh, I hope you do remember me - it'd be sad if you didn't. Not too sad though, because I would just make you remember me by talking about all the good times that we spent together! Like when you beat Dumb-Bell in Flight School! And when you did that Sonic Rainboom! Well, I wasn't there there, but I was still there - remember? I was in the audience, cheering you on... Do you remember me?"

Rainbow tilted her head back, and sighed. "Yes, I do remember you, Surprise. I'm not that forgetful."

Surprise started grinning again. "That's great, because it would've been sad if you hadn't, because you wouldn't remember all the great things we did together, like...like the cake eating contest when we were fillies. If you hadn't remembered that...well, that would've been sad, because that was fun, and-"

"Well," Rainbow interrupted, before the pegasus mare could go off on another one of her Pinkie Pie-like, one-sided conversations. "I do remember, so it's ok. Can I get up now?"

Surprise nodded enthusicastically, and stepped off her. Rainbow got up, brushed herself off, and walked up to Skylar.
"Skylar, this is Surprise - my friend from when I was a filly. Surprise, this is Skylar - a pony I met in Ponyville."

Skylar waved at Surprise, who in returned jumped in front of her, and quickly said, "Hi! I'm Surprise! I love making new friends, and it's even better when those new friends are friends of other friends, because then my friends are friends and my friends' friends are friends, and we're all just one big group of friends! I love making friends!"

"Err...yeah," Skylar said quickly in reply. She looked at Rainbow, who just stood there, holding back her laughter.

"Anyway," Surprise said, turning around and walking towards the front door of Cotton Candy Clouds. "It's starting to get dark, and you guys better not stand out here all night."

Skylar and Rainbow walked towards the door, and entered the bakery with Surprise.

Skylar gasped; she had seen the inside of Sugar Cube Corner, and figured that it would look about the same. But instead, she found that most of the tables and chairs floated off the ground, as if they were filled with helium. This was obviously due to the fact that the population of cloudsdale were all pegasi, so there were no need to have chairs and tables on the ground like in Ponyville.

"Oh my," she just managed to utter.

Rainbow laughed at the green mare's reaction. "Yeah, that's pretty much what I said when I was a filly."

She led Skylar to a table, where Surprise immediately appeared with 3 cupcakes, and sat down with them.

"So what are you doing in Cloudsdale?" Surprise asked, shoving the cupcake whole into her mouth.

"I thought Skylar might enjoy a visit here, considering that she had never been before," Rainbow answered.

"Never been to Cloudsdale?!" Surprise exclaimed. A few pegasi in the neighbouring tables looked over for a bit, then saw Surprise and turned back, shaking their heads, muttering "Just Surprise."

"But all pegasi have been to Cloudsdale! Where did you learn to fly then?"

"Err...my mother..." Skylar said. She glanced over at Rainbow who was nodding her head. "Err. yeah, my mum, she taught me."

"Skylar comes from outside Equestria, that's why she's never been to Cloudsdale," Rainbow quickly added.

"Really? That's awesome! Where are you from?" Surprise asked.

"Umm...a place called...England. You probably haven't heard of it. It's not very well known," Skylar said, hoping that it would be true.

"I haven't heard of it. Where is it again?"

"Oh, it's a small...island, in the...sea. I think east of Equestria. Very east."

"Wow. Sounds cool!" Surprise said. Skylar smiled at her.

"If you would excuse me, I think I'm going to get another one of those cupcakes," Skylar said. She floated down, and then made her way up to the shop front.

"She seems nice," Surprise said, turning to Rainbow.

"Yeah, she is." Rainbow looked over at the green pegasus, standing at the till, smiling at the owners. "A few of her friends came over from...England with her, and they're all really nice. But I think Skylar's the best."

"But it is weird..."

"What's weird?" Rainbow turned to the white pegasus.

"She doesn't have a cutie mark." Rainbow turned towards Skylar, standing at the till. Rainbow was used to the idea that Skylar didn't have a cutie mark, but she still knew that others weren't. It was only now that she realised what that would mean. If Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were teased for not having a cutie mark, imagine what would happen to Skylar, a fully grown pony without a cutie mark.

She, of course, knew the reason why Skylar didn't have a cutie mark - where she was from, nopony did - but other ponies might think it weird for a fully grown pony to be walking around without a cutie mark.

Rainbow looked around - there were a few ponies who had noticed Skylar, and there was a bit of muttering around them.

"Yeah. She's not really worried about it- it'll come in time."

Surprise nodded. Rainbow looked down at the cupcake in front of her.

"Hopefully."