Anamnesis

by Background Bystander

Cloud Chasers

“C’mon, Mellow! Just a few more clouds over here and we’ll be done with this part of town!”

“I’m...trying...Rainbow...” He sputtered as he pushed the cloud in front of him. Though they didn’t call for them, passers below were being hit by impromptu waves of showers from the sweat draining off of him.

It turns out he’d greatly underestimated just how heavy a floating ball of condensed condensation was actually capable of being. Seriously, someone should’ve warned him he needed to stretch before doing something like this! These things were like boulders when they were at a massive buildup, absorbing other smaller clouds in a ravenous fit of gluttony, gurgling and growing with his groaning.

Seriously, what’s the deal here? Can’t planes just cut through these no problem? Since when are we able to actually move them ourselves? He huffed as he gave one final shove to the cloud in front of him. Must be that good ol' American education hard at work. Hardly working as usual.

So too was his pint sized ‘partner’ as she’d like to be called. It appeared to him that she might’ve had a hoof in the reason he was having so much difficulty moving these clouds around, as she was sucking in so much hot air, they weren’t able to catch any currents to glide on.

“There. Done.” He grunted, attempting to wipe the sweat caught with his chest fluff. He didn’t know pegasi had all this extra fur on them, nor that it had this weird semi-feathery texture to them. But he found it out very quick. He concluded it must do with the higher altitudes, a defense mechanism of organic insulation.

“Aww yeah! Way to go, Mellow!” She pumped a hoof. “It wasn’t the fastest work I’ve seen, but you’ve showed those fluffy baddies the what for!”

“Yeah, thanks. But it could’ve been done quicker if we handled it together. Y’know, like the partners we’re supposed to be?” He stated flatly, crossing his arms. If I was working with Lou, I’d at least know how much of a helping hand he would be...which is very little.

She gave him a relaxed shrug, leaning back and crossing her legs. “I figured I’d let you handle distribution over the park to get a sense of what it’s like actually moving a cloud. Since you’ve never done it...somehow.” She pulled her sunglasses up to her brow with an analytical squint. “And not too shabby your first time around. Just light enough to shield from the sun, but not so much to the point it’s an overcast. Perfect for a picnic in the park.” She peered over the skyscape, locating a few sections of heavy black. “But you do have areas of extreme buildup, while others are in need an fully formed cloud to even out the sky for a nice and pleasant environment.” She finished with a jokingly cutesy tone, rubbing her cheeks. Ending it with a snicker.

“Really?” Learning about another job made him feel sluggish. Details people like him could never really understand. Ironic that deaf and dumb seemed to work just fine for the average work day. Certainly helped when the response was usually that’s fucking interesting, man, that’s fucking interesting...

“Absolutely! You need to keep the distributions equal and at similar altitudes when wanting to creating a specific type of weather pattern. Otherwise the wind speeds go all over the place, and clashing altitudes might cause uncontrolled spouts of rain. And we definitely don’t want that! Ponies with soggy sandwiches and muddy fields is never the recipe of a good afternoon.”

“No ma’am, it most definitely isn’t.” He looked at the lopsided clouds. “Guess we gotta fix that, but how’re we gonna get all of this before our next spot in town?”

“Heh, that’s where I come in.” She removed her sunglasses, flicking out her mane in its slightly unkempt state. “Hold, please...” She tossed her glasses to him, then pulling over a cloud. “...And take five, while I work my own kinda magic.” She gave it fluff and a pat, motioning him to sit.

He would’ve been more hesitant to accept the offer, but he’d already been handling them for the past how hours at this point, and his wings felt like they were going to fall off from the nonstop flapping. He positioned himself over the cloud. Letting his wings go limp as he fell onto it. He was immediately hit by an extreme set of spikes and tingles, his body overloading in a hypnic jerk. But when he dropped on the cloud’s surface, he bounced on what was possibly the most comfortable surface he’d ever come across! It was like those metaphors he’d always heard back home...but it was literally the real thing!

He scooted his haunches in, letting his wings fold at his sides. “Take five? What’d you mean, Rainbow?”

“I meant what I said, take five.” She repeated with a played up snootiness. “You said this was a partnership deal we had worked out, so it’s time I do my part.” She hopped on the cloud. Stretching her limbs out into a readied stance. A confident smile painted across her face.

He chuckled. “Five what exactly? Minutes? Hours?”

“Seconds.”

Soon, what felt like a bomb exploding mere inches from his face shot forward at light speed. Causing his mane and wings to be whipped forward, nearly tearing straight off his body. He grabbed onto the cloud with all his might, his eyes watering instantly as they tried to remained focused on what just occurred.

Just in time to see a rainbow tracer ricocheting all across the sky, kicking around clouds, flattering out formations and bringing the darker sections to a much tamer hue. He rubbed his eyes to try and get a better view. Only once he reopened them, the whole event had already wrapped up. Leaving in its wake an immaculate blue sky with perfectly placed clouds.

He sat there in awestruck, while a blue figure floated down in front of him. Arms crossed with a very pleased smirk.

“Ta-da! Told you, five seconds. Well, technically that was 4.95 seconds, but I’ll round up because of what you did earlier.”

“Rainbow...that was insane!” He cheered. “I can’t believe you did all of that!”

“Of course I did!” She responded triumphantly. “I told you I was gonna help you today. I’m loyal to my word, Mellow.”

“That’s incredible! How’d you get it done so fast?”

“Heh, many of those tricks were just some of my Wonderbolt practices tweaked for the job. It’s no big deal.”

“Wonderbolt practices?”

This acted as some kind of trigger word, as her face seemed to glow even brighter than the technicolor hair encasing her being. “Oh yeah! I never got to tell you that!” She appeared at his side, fidgeting up and down with giddy energy. “I finally did it, after all this time, I was finally able to get on the Wonderbolt's team! Oh, it still gets me all excited just saying it!”

He had no idea what any of that meant, but he could tell it made ecstatic with pride and joy. The kind of pride that comes from a lifetime of hard work and dedication, committing great portions of your life to that dream you have of yourself since childhood. Being able to step up to those nagging naysayers in your head, and being able to kick their teeth right down their throats. Fuck you, I did it. It was a feeling he was very familiar with. Especially when he managed to complete that 650 squat. And he yelled just as loud.

He may not have known her, but he knew her.

“You actually made it in? Nice, Rainbow! I knew you had it in you!” Giving her a genuine smile.

“Thanks, Mellow! And it’s a real blast, too! Just how we pictured it all those years ago, zipping around at dangerous speeds, attempting death defying stunts that leave the spectators right on the edge of their seats, chomping down on their hooves in a fear of how you’re ever gonna pull it off. Thinking nopony could do that and stay in one piece! And then...just as they fear the worst...bam! You stick it at the very last second! The crowd goes wild, the adrenaline flows through every fiber of your being, maximum awesomeness!” She finished her statement, but her face grew a frown. “It might also possibly be the reason I missed your welcoming party, considering how long practices can be. Sorry I couldn’t make it.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. If it’s something you couldn’t avoid, then you couldn’t avoid it. Life happens...besides, you’re here now, aren’t you?” He found himself saying.

“Well, I mean, yeah. But I gotta make up for it somehow. I can’t leave you twisting in the wind here.”

“You’re helping me with the weather patrol...I’d say that covers it pretty nicely.”

“Alright, if you say so.” She said, but her eyes still disagreed.

“I am.” He punctuated with a firm tone. It seemed to do the trick, as she looked back to the clouds with a light nod. There, how’s that, Luna?

“...Say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you attend any of the tryouts before, what gives? I know it’s been a while, but I thought you said you were gonna go at some point? I’ve been looking for you...”

"Huh? Oh...guess I just moved on to other ventures in life, y'know? Different things grabbed my interest. Weights and other exercises being a few, thanks for noticing by the way." He gave her a quick pose and a flex, unfurling his wings fully to complete the act. "I found it all to be very fulfilling."

"...But that just raises the question even more." She looked him up and down taking in all his features, most prominently his wings. He could've sworn he saw the smallest of blushes beneath her blue fur.

"Ah it's nothing serious, really. Besides, I don't think I'm cut out for that sort of...sport anyway." He guessed this whole Wonderbolt thing was part of this world's version of baseball or basketball.

"Have you seen some of the ponies that try to get in?" She continued to pester him. Annoyingly so. Throwing a little temper tantrum because someone isn't doing what you want.

...That's not true. He knew what those emotions were. Hurt. The hurt you feel when someone you used to know is no longer how you remember them. Almost a stranger. I’ve only met her for one day, and I’m already crushing her! If he was smart, he would've dropped the whole act outright and told her who he really was. But they were pretty high up. Above solid ground.

"C'mon, don't sell yourself short. I certainly think you could give it shot." An eyebrow raised. "In fact, I know just how we can prove it, follow me!" She jumped from the cloud and started making her way upward and slipped through a crack in the clouds.

He went back in the air and followed suit as she continued to go higher. Higher. Much higher than he'd gone before, to the point he felt slight compressions in his chest as the air stretched thinner. But he handled it rather well, considering he was in a place no human had any reason to be in.

As he broke through the barrier, he was rushed by all kinds of emotions. He stopped and looked across the sky. The clouds, ever so carefully placed, covered the ground in a soft white blanket. Tumbling and turning amongst themselves like a fluffy ocean, reflecting off the crystal blue sky above. Everything around him was quiet and still, say for the gentle gusts of winds around his body, which was just the right temperature. Whispering into his ears with the most calming notes.

The view above town was already amazing, but this...this was gorgeous. Everything was in balance, just the right amount of elements to create this calming nature well above. As if...everything made sense up here, flying high above the world. Hearing the mellow pace of his wings left him in a state of great peace. Up here, it was just him and his thoughts slowly turning to bliss. Manipulating his muscles into twirls and circles. It's like...I'm with the wind...the wind is with me, as we're intertwined together. No, we are one, existing together on the same plane as we've melted into the Earth's atmosphere. One being. One soul...it's all really...far out, dude.

You know, if he was gonna be able to do this everyday, maybe he wouldn't mind being a pony. Not forever of course! But if possible...maybe they could stick around a little while after that debt is paid off. Just a little longer. Moderately longer.

"Mellow, over here!" He looked up even higher as Rainbow waved down to him from a cloud with...was that a runway? He flew up to her and landed, shifting from hoof to hoof on the surprisingly solid surface. "Woah, so you do this daily?" She gave him an all knowing mmm-hmm as he looked down onto Ponyville. "I think I understand your confusion earlier about my line of work."

"Right? Like, if you're gonna build anything, I'd take clouds over wood any day of the week. A lot easier on the feathers, too."

"Yeah...the view is worth it alone." ...Reminds me of the mountains back home. Except I'm the mountains...looking down on myself.

"Keep looking, do you see anything? Anything...interesting?"

He squinted as he focused his vision amidst their work earlier that morning. At first their placement seemed random, only needed for where they were requested. But as he stared, patterns started to form. Those ones over there were shaped like turns. And that bump over there a type of hill. And that bunch over here is a looping shape. Winding paths, hairpins, obstacles... "I think I see...some kinda race course?"

"Ha ha, thaaaaaat's right! Sometimes I gotta entertain myself at work and find those small bits of fun. This is the best way I know how..." She made him focus in on her hoof, slowly tracing around the course like a fish on a line. "...And I think it's time I got up to speed on just how good a flyer you are."

Wait, now? "Aren't we in the middle of our shift?"

"We're almost done, Mellow."

"But it's only around half past noon."

"It sure is!" She responded gleefully. "You’d be surprised just how quick the weather patrol is here. Most of the time, ponies like the same kinda skies when there's no storm scheduled. They say it helps make their day go by easier. Heh, I gotta agree on that!"

"Are you serious?" He coughed in surprise. "Wow...that sounds like a pretty good deal to me." Most shifts went well into the night, I can actually enjoy my evenings for once. Though I worry about the pay...hopefully it's not hourly.

Rainbow jumped in front of him. "Cool! Here's what I got in mind, a simple aerial aerobics exercise. You follow me, fly through it, and then we'll determine if you're really not cut out. You game?"

She's a real go-getter. With a nice seasoning of competitiveness for good measure. Man, she really does remind me of mom. What would she think of all this? Her son having randomly been turned into a female flying pony in a dimension far beyond his comprehension, now being challenged by the living embodiment of a decade old viral video?

...Hmph, between the many dirt track trophies lining the walls, and that weird interaction back at the orchard, he knew exactly how she'd handle this. He could almost hear the engine purring.

"You're on Rainbow!"

"Awesome!" Her wings were now buzzing with incredible excitement, accompanied by the look on her face. "We'll go all the way to the outskirts of town, see ya there!" She speed off, leaving a bright rainbow trail behind her.

"Not if I see you there first!" Most likely false, but it’s the spirit that counts. He extended his wings and sprinted down the track. Ears folded back, tail pointed straight, eyes fastened forward. He angled them upward slightly, slamming the winds to push his body upward. Just like the acres. As he reached the end of the runway, he positioned his whole body forward and gave his wings one powerful flap. Shifting into gear. They crashing down like a mighty hammer, exploding his body forward like a bullet, beating his record time to 60 in split seconds.

HolyshitholyshitHOLYSHIT! His mind was screaming as loud as the winds with everything around him becoming a shapeless blob of blurs. He half expected his eyes to shrivel in a second, but miraculously he was able to keep them functioning, focusing on the streaks of color before him. They had turned left abruptly right before a large set of clouds.

Ok, that must be more of her trail, just follow that! Turn! He angled his wings and positioned his body to turn. Right as he got to the cloud, he gave his wings another hard flap. His whole body immediately shot sideways, jerking his head to the left. He tugged against his body as all his weight compressed to one side. He quickly evened it out with a gasp, continuing to follow her trail, albeit with far less grace.

Much like before, he cleared his head of any needless thoughts, only leaving his wings, body, and the path ahead. When the trail went upwards, he moved accordingly. Quick lefts and rights shook him senseless as he attempted to follow point by point. What was this Wonderbolt thing? Shit, she's running him around like some kinda stunt plane! He felt his guts twisting into knots, ready to spew up his neck in intense nausea. And the called this simple? This was crazy!

Fortunately for her, he was beginning to like crazy.

Every flap of his wings began to boil the stew within his neck, bubbling it from a pit of sickness to a set of giggles. Sometimes one would escape when they would go around these extravagant, swirling paths around the waves of clouds. He was able to catch himself within her slipstream, closing the gap inch by inch. The sounds of a jet pounded into his ears. Which was also joined by another guttural note, the sound of an engine he knew all to well. Flat out. All gas, no brakes!

But it was once they went through a set of loops, he burst into a fit of ecstatic laughter, raising his voice to a higher pitch than before. Rainbow looked back at the commotion going on behind her, taking on a confused expression at seeing just how close he'd caught up with her. It didn't last long, as her mouth began to curl from its own chuckles. Wasn't long before the sky was filled with laughter, blue and gold blurs bouncing off the clouds at incredible speeds.

Just like when they were fillies.

He pushed himself even harder, eventually able to fly up to her side. "Enjoying yourself?" He nodded his head stupidly fast. "Good...now follow this."

She dropped quickly, taking a near vertical dive towards the ground. He copied the move without missing a beat, plummeting multiple feet by the second. The adrenaline! The wind in his mane! The speed...she needed more! How cruel it was that humans could never experience something like this, without the help of some gigantic metal monstrosity that took years and a huge sum of money to learn. Yet all she needed to do was flap her wings, Vanilla would absolutely love this!

Rainbow had almost become a splatter, yet angled her wings to send her shooting back to the sky at the last second, leaving an upside down arc of her namesake. She went to follow, prepared to hit it at the very same altitude. But as she went to change angles, she was struck by a horrible sting of pain flashing throughout every tip of the wings. Completely breaking his concentration as he began flailing in the air, trying to pull up as best he could. Each flap felt like a knife in his back, but he managed himself into a far less deadly descent. But he was gonna need to land hard...in the clouds. Hilarious. Ha. Ha...ha.

And of course, almost as if he willed it into existence, a medium sized cloud appeared. Like a conveniently fluffy safety net. With no other way out, he wrapped his hooves around him and braced for impact. Plunging in with a painful thud, like falling in the packed snow ski slope. After he was able to get his bearing, he poked his head out of the cloud like a gopher. Shaking out his mane in time to see Rainbow in front of him, laughing her flank off.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, wipeout!" She floated down and helped pull him out of the clouds. Dusting him off with a smile. "Alright, maybe you're not ready for the Wonderbolt tryouts yet. But don't sweat it! With some focused dieting, exercise and a crash course on the complete Wonderbolt history, you may have a shot." He looked at her and began to laugh again, this time wincing from the pain. "What?" She asked with a giggle.

"Heh...I almost had you."

"Oh yeah? You think so?"

"Yeah!" He continued to laugh. Quite infectious, as he managed to get Rainbow to join in on it. Like a couple of old friends.

"Ah, it's good to have you back, Mellow."

Comments

[Mix-up]

Looks like Mellow is slipping into into that mare persona more and more, interesting an d that she is getting really used to his/her new circumstances. I wonder how it will develop into.

[DreamCloud]

The first couple chapters were a little tough to get through, but I'm glad I stuck with it. This easily goes on my favorites list. Can't wait to read what's next!