Chapter 15: Castle in the Sky
The rest of Charlie's night with Dust Storm went about the way she should've expected. The kitchen had an honest-to-goodness icebox, one without any ice to keep it cold. The fruit Dust Storm had brought inside was still good, most of it, but not preserved in any way. He did nothing to prepare it for her either, leaving her to eat a few apples right out of the fridge.
Dust Storm didn't eat with her, or linger too long around her in general. Once she'd eaten, he seemed eager to get her into her bedroom and off to sleep.
That was fine with Charlie, all things considered. It wasn't late, and she knew she shouldn't be tired. Yet even just a few hours after dark, exhaustion was already creeping up on her.
It's just the stress. I'm not a kid, I won't get tired this early. There was less stress waiting in the bedroom. Somehow, impossibly, Dust Storm had managed to move all the furniture around. There was only one bed, everything was where she told him, and all the extra stuff was gone.
Maybe when she was more awake she might ask how he'd managed to do so much on his own—wasn't he a bird too, with bones and muscles built for the air? Maybe the furniture was lighter than it looked.
Newly rearranged, it wasn't a bad place to sleep. Charlie would probably make a few more adjustments over the next few weeks, if she was still stuck in this world. A little paint, maybe arrange the portraits and mirrors a little differently, and she could make somewhere that was actually comfortable.
Good thing she was so tired that she could sleep no matter what, or else she probably would've just tossed and turned there all night. She was still naked, with a body that didn't feel like it was hers, surrounded by strange smells in a strange bed.
She didn't cry herself to sleep, at least. Whatever cruel god or twist of fate had landed her here, she wouldn't give it the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Charlie was bigger than that.
She woke with the sun, as orange filled her room from the many windows. There was no clock, nothing to tell her how absurdly early it must be, so there was nothing to make her feel self-conscious. She was allowed to get up early and not feel like a kid.
Willowbrook might be too primitive to have regular electric lights everywhere, but at least they had running water. The shower was cold, so it didn't invite her to stay too long.
But considering the body reflected back at her from the bathroom mirror, Charlie didn't want to stay too long. Having her age and sex stolen from her would've been hard enough on its own—but this alien species made it so much worse.
She kept her tail tucked between her legs as much as she could, and that helped. Even without clothing, she could do an okay job covering herself, so long as she didn't move it too much.
Unfortunately it didn't seem like the world outside was going to care about her taboos. Out her window, Charlie watched the flow of traffic on the streets below. No cars, but there were plenty of horse drawn carts, and even more pedestrians.
Most ponies wore nothing at all, or at most a pair of saddlebags. Very few had anything like clothes that she knew. Of those, none actually would've covered the important bits.
They have clothes like us, they have some of the same bugs, they seem to speak the same language. But it's just one step wrong. Is this like... a parallel universe?
Charlie was the wrong person to investigate those questions. By the time she even started contemplating those things, Derek would have already figured them out. She would probably have plenty to say about the way Charlie refused to look at her own anatomy, too.
Dust Storm knocked on the door an hour or two after sunrise, then let himself in before she could reply. But why wait, if they were all just naked all the time anyway? "How are you feeling? Do you like the room this way?"
"Yeah," she said, turning away from the window and lowering herself stubbornly into a sitting position. There was no chance of accidentally showing anything back there if she kept herself glued to the ground as often as possible. "It's nice! I would like some clothes, though. Do you have any?"
"It's summer," he said, confused. "Is there... oh, I know!" He turned away from her, hurrying over to a large shelf located in the center of the living room. He fished around with some old boxes, then emerged with something clutched in his mouth. A wide-brimmed straw hat, about the right size for her, and with openings in the top. For her ears, maybe?
He tossed it on the ground in front of her. "Summer clothes? I have a few bags too, but you won't need to carry anything. I thought we should wait a few days before we get you into school."
"There's no summer break?" she asked, pawing at the hat. There was a band of flower-patterned fabric around the top, exactly the kind of thing she wouldn't want to wear.
She put it on anyway. It settled comfortably around her head. It would obstruct much of her vision, but also probably keep her cool in the sun. It didn't slip down to blind her.
"That looks perfect! We can get you a coat when winter comes, how does that sound? I can't think of anything a filly like you would want during the summer."
"How about some board shorts? Jeans? Maybe a tee-shirt?" She was probably too young for a bra, assuming ponies even had breasts. Another question for her to bury away as deep as she could.
He shook his head. "Maybe in the big cities. But this is Willowbrook. You wear all that, and it will just slow you down. You won't be able to explore without getting it muddy, or caught in the branches of a tree, or..."
He patted her once on the top of her hat. "Tell you what. If you can glide for me today, I'll find you a dress. You can even pick it."
The offer was baffling to her. Yet there was some part of Charlie desperate enough to answer. "Sure! If I get to pick it... then it won't be too girly. I don't think I know how to glide, though. I've been base jumping before, but I don't think it's the same thing. Wings seem harder than a parachute."
Somehow she managed to get that entire sentence out without her head splitting open. She hesitated near the end, expecting the pain to come rearing back for her in a wave of fury—but nothing happened. She didn't hurt!
"Don't worry about it, Firefly. Plenty of little creatures don't learn how to fly until they're older. We're not griffons—we aren't going to shove you out of the nest and let you die if you hit the ground. Trust me, it's worth the practice—you're going to love flying."
Charlie followed him through the apartment, back to the kitchen. Apparently he had paid attention to her complaints the night before, because there was an actual bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, and the boxes of old screws and bolts of cloth were gone.
Still just fruit, albeit there were a few fresh peaches among the apples. She selected one, and found it just as delicious as it had been the night before. Wherever Dust Storm bought this stuff, it was as fresh as a local farmer's market. Maybe even picked that morning.
"Do you ever, uh..." She didn't want to sound ungrateful, not after he'd already done so much to fix her room in a single day. But she couldn't help herself. "I like fruit, but do you ever cook too? Like... warm meals? You have a stove, and an oven..."
"Oh." Dust Storm winced. "I'll be honest with you, Firefly. I don't know how to cook. I know, I should've learned. It's such an important skill for anypony. But I never got around to it. I own most of the things ponies use to cook, hidden away somewhere or other. If you tell me the ingredients you need, I can have them here for you. I just don't know that I will ever be much use to cooking them."
She nodded, taking in the explanation. It wasn't the strangest thing she'd ever heard from a bachelor. Though how he'd managed to survive this long eating only fruit out of a bowl, she couldn't imagine. At least it wasn't hay. She could see no sign of that anywhere in the kitchen.
"I'm not very good at cooking things..." she began. "But if it's gonna be me or nobody, it can be me. I'll let you know."
He let her finish in silence, leaving her to her meal. Didn't he want to have breakfast at the same time? But complaining about that would require admitting that she wanted to eat at the same time as her adoptive parent. Obviously she didn't need that. Charlie was a grown-ass man. She could make her own damn food and eat it on her own.
Even if she'd never have another of Silvia's crepes made just the way she liked them, ever again.
"Can I see my friend again? D—" Apparently there were still words she couldn't say. "We were best friends. It would be nice to spend time with her."
"In time, I'm sure you will," Dust Storm said. He waved one hoof at the open window. "House Vale is... very important in Willowbrook. We can't just visit unannounced. But you will be attending the same school. Because of your unique circumstances, the..."
He looked away. Whatever it was, he obviously didn't want to tell her the truth. "Interested parties have graciously donated to your cause, and will cover the cost of private schooling."
Private horse school. Apparently that was a thing that existed. "That's great, I guess. I don't think I'll need to learn very much. Where I came from, I was already trained in... things." She gestured vaguely. No easy way to explain real estate to a pony. For all she knew, the act of trying would cause her another horrifying headache.
"Whispering Willow Academy will see to all of that. The smart thing to do is let expert ponies use their skills. They'll teach you what you need to know. And I'll teach you what I can. Once you can fly, your life will get much easier. All of Willowbrook will be just a few minutes away. You can visit your friend whenever you're invited. You could even explore the Cumulus Maze. Ever heard of it?"
She shook her head once, pushing aside the empty bowl. The fruit was good, but she was already getting bored of it. Maybe she'd find some way to cook herself dinner. "I'm kinda new. I don't know stuff from... here."
Dust Storm made his way over to the window, gesturing animatedly. "Have you seen drawings or photos of Cloudsdale?"
He didn't even wait for her confirmation. "Cloud-structures look elegant, but they require ponies to live in them to survive. When they aren't used, they drift away. Willowbrook happens to be built under a natural gyre in Equestrian airflow—basically, clouds eventually converge here. Old, abandoned buildings, sometimes centuries old, with all kinds of secrets hidden inside."
Even considering her whole day of insane things, that strained credulity with Charlie a little. Houses made of clouds, floating along the wind?
But considering her position, she knew better than to argue. If she was going to be stuck here, then learning how to use her body was about the smartest thing she could do.
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He’s going to take a filly into a cloud bank of abandoned households isn’t he? I’m sure nothing bad can come out of looking through houses that for one reason or another were suddenly bereft of occupants.
I wonder if the Maze could provide details into the two's situation? Though it's quite concerning to hear Dust Storm suggest a little filly explore a whole block of abandoned houses, even if he is accompanying her.
That doesn't sound practical in the long term.
Just have to find out what things Earth and Equestria have in common.
Right now, Charlie's a little filly.
Unless, that is literally the only place anyone can have fun in Willowbrook, that is very oddly specific.
10990256
I'd be willing to bet that's where he gets most of the "clutter" in his house, it's not so much hoarding as it is salvaging quality items from abandoned cloud homes.
10990892
I’m airing towards more if some of those cloud houses still have their occupants within them. Only in a state of being where Pegasi magic isn’t being produced.
10991323
WooooOOOOOOooooOoooOOOOoooOOooo...!
Ah, so this one remembers more than the unicorn. I wonder why that is. Probably the cult.
Dust storm is definitely not a normal pony, but with a not so normal child to take care of, it looks like he can rapidly approach it to accommodate. The maze of cloud houses could explain where he got all his stuff too.
Interdimensional beings, in point of fact.
(See what I did there? You may all clap now.
...*crickets chirping*)
I've been thinking about it and hoping the story would answer it for me but it hasn't.
I'm wondering if their bodies come with any... interesting characteristics. Things like, say, the ability to cast magic despite not having a horn.
I'm still operating under the theory that they both actually are old gods by these cultists' definition, just not what they thought they were or expected
Interesting how the base jumping was permitted by the geas, though we have seen it in canon. Still, fascinating to see what is and isn't permitted. In the meantime, yeah, Dust Storm is almost definitely a changeling.
Both abductees have an interesting time ahead of them. The first day of school tends to be, but there's the question of how much their classmates and teachers have been told.
10991323
That's a problem that takes care of itself (for given definitions of the term.) Any occupants who aren't producing magic won't be supported by the clouds.
So she's going to become the prettiest changeling queen. Got it.
10993912
We're not gods, but compared to our past we sure live like one. That probably counts.
Omg, we have the MLP version of SPACE HULKS!
10990484
Pshhh have you never explored old woods it's the coolest when you find abandoned houses or random ghost stairs
Hehe, as soon as you let go of the frivolous sensibilities and stop paying attention to the lewd, things get less disturbing and the mind becomes at peace.