A Decade Lost

by Neonz

13. Cloud Walking

Dinner wasn’t as tense as Twilight worried it would be. Rarity had pulled out all of the stops – golden-trimmed dishes, sparkling silverware, and wine that Rarity insisted was bottled before Twilight’s disappearance. Rarity and Sweetie Belle both had plenty of lighter stories to share. Twilight particularly enjoyed hearing the rather dramatic recounting of Blue Jasper’s birth. Jasper pitched in on the story a few times, clearly having heard this several times before. Rarity dropped Rainbow Dash’s name easily during her recount. Sweetie Belle seemed to be correct in saying things only became tense between them after Rainbow had spent time in jail…

Rarity had prepared a daisy salad for a starter and a cauliflower gratin for their main course, and all of them were stuffed by the end of it. Even little Moonstone had eaten a fair share from her highchair. Twilight had wondered in the back of her mind where Fancy Pants was, and fortunately, Jasper eventually asked the question for her. “Mummy? When’s Daddy coming home?”

Rarity glanced over as she began clearing the plates away with her magic. “Five more sleeps, love.” She turned toward Twilight. “Fancy has been attending a business conference in Manehatten. He left just a day before you arrived, Twilight.”

Jasper’s ears drooped, and he sulked out of the dining room. Sweetie Belle followed him with a smile. “Where are you going, mister? Don’t we have some math homework to get started on?”

“Aww, Auntie Belle…” Jasper sighed.

“Thank you, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said gratefully. Plates cleared, she began leading Twilight out of the kitchen. “Well, I’d best show you where you can sleep for the night and get cleaned up, no? Come, we have a guest room just down this hall.”

It was still pretty early for bed, but it wasn’t Twilight’s place to argue. “Thank you.”

The guest bedroom was very white. White walls, carpet, bedsheets, and even white lampshades. A brown wooden bureau and a painting of the Canterlot air harbour provided the only colour variation in the entire room. Twilight was irrationally afraid of somehow staining it when she entered. “The washroom is just across the hall, you won’t have to share it with anypony else unless Sweetie Belle stays over. Which, now that I think about it…” Rarity sighed and rolled her eyes. “She may. I still cannot believe she wanted to go to Cloudsdale with you!”

Twilight smiled gently. “I think she was just curious because she’s never been. I don’t think she meant to offend you.”

Rarity huffed. “Yes, well, she's made her motives quite clear to me in the past. She is always checking if I'm keeping in touch with Applejack, and won't stop trying to convince me that I should be on speaking terms with Rainbow Dash again.” Twilight hesitated as Rarity's expression furrowed as if that were the most ridiculous suggestion in the world. “I suppose I must warn you, though I'm sure you've gathered as much already, but Rainbow has changed a lot in ten years.” Rarity frowned. “I know we never seemed it, but we were quite similar, me and her. We both passionately chased our dreams after you departed, and found fame and success alongside them. But, well... no, I suppose I shouldn't tell her story. I can tell it won't change your decision to visit her anyhow.”

“It won't,” Twilight said firmly. Rainbow Dash was the element of loyalty, and Twilight owed her a dose of it. “And if I still don't have any leads on Pinkie Pie, I'll circle back to Applejack and Fluttershy. They could both really use a friend right now.” Her expression was pointed, and Rarity shifted uncomfortably.

“Y-yes, well, if you do, certainly let me know. Perhaps if Fancy is back by then...”

Rarity departed down the hall, but the insincerity in her voice continued to ring through Twilight's ears.

...

Twilight awoke the next morning having slept better than she had the last few nights. Sweetie Belle was bright and alert for how early it was, and already had a purple saddlebag emblazoned with the Carousel Boutique's logo draped over her back when Twilight emerged from the guest room.

The royal pegasus carriage arrived a little behind schedule, which was a first. The two guards looked a bit flustered as they touched down. “So sorry, Ms. Sparkle,” they hastily greeted. “Bit of a disturbance at the castle last night. Apologies for being late.”

“Everything alright?” Twilight prompted with a frown.

“Yes, yes, everything is fine now,” one of them answered. “Just a security breach. Happens every once in a while – that's why the Royal Guard exists, after all. Let me get the door for you and your friend.”

Rarity, Jasper, and Moonstone waved from the ground as Twilight and Sweetie Belle climbed higher and higher into the sky. Twilight quickly forgot about the event at the castle. Sweetie Belle's mood continued to lift along with the carriage, the unbridled glee reminding Twilight of the young foal trying so desperately to find her cutie mark.

The pegasi touched down in Cloudsdale. At a glance, Twilight couldn't tell any major differences from ten years ago, but Twilight had also only been here a small number of times. It bustled with busy pegasi, who weaved expertly around each other in mid-air and darted in and out of buildings made of clouds. Sweetie Belle gleefully crouched as if to jump off, and Twilight abruptly turned. “Sweetie, wait!” Fortunately Sweetie hesitated, allowing Twilight a chance to actually perform the cloud-walking spell on both of them.

“Oh, right,” Sweetie Belle said sheepishly. She stepped out of the carriage more cautiously the second time, poking the cloud ground as if to test it first. She quickly gained confidence and was soon bouncing up and down like Pinkie Pie after a dozen cupcakes. “Whee! This is so fun!” Twilight jumped out after her, and waved at the pegasus guards as they departed. “How come we didn't go to Cloudsdale more often back when you owned that hot air balloon?!”

Twilight laughed. “I guess we just didn't have any reason to. There was always so much going on in Ponyville.”

Sweetie Belle grinned. “We'll make up for lost time. Literally.” She looked back and forth across the city. “Scootaloo works in the weather factory. I um... don't actually know where that is.” She smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.

“I think I remember,” Twilight replied, gesturing upward to a large rainbow that enveloped the city. “We went there once before. This rainbow leads to it. It's at the very edge of Cloudsdale.” She gestured to where the rainbow ended and turned into a rainbow-coloured waterfall. Above the building were several newly-made dark clouds.

“Great!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, already trotting in the direction Twilight had pointed, before turning abruptly and widening her eyes. “Oh, wait, before we go – there's something I should probably tell you about Scootaloo.”

Twilight frowned. “What is it?”

“Oh, it's, well, it's really not that big of a deal, but...” Sweetie Belle hesitated. “Well, it would have been after you died – er, left – she was diagnosed with a bit of a problem with her wings. They never grew much as she got older. She figured out how to sort of fly, but not to the level of any normal pegasus. That's why she works a desk job.”

“Oh...” It was disheartening to imagine that little filly, who looked up so much to Rainbow Dash's incredible flying abilities, never being able to properly fly herself. “I'm sorry to hear that.”

Sweetie smiled and continued walking. “Nah, don't be. She never let it stop her. Her life's way more together than mine is. She's got a marefriend, a house, and a good job, and she's really happy.”

Eventually the pair reached the weather factory. Several pegasus ponies looked curiously over at them as they entered, clearly intrigued on how two unicorns managed to get up here in the first place. Sweetie Belle trotted confidently over to the receptionist, who lowered her glasses at the sight of them. “Hi! We're here to see Scootaloo? We're friends of hers!”

The receptionist paused, not finished looking them up and down. “Um... well, alright, then. I'll buzz her.”

In the meantime, Twilight and Sweetie Belle looked curiously around the factory. Pegasus ponies were flitting every which way, all adorned with cutie marks in the shape of clouds, or suns, or snowflakes. Many of them carried buckets filled with snow, water, or sometimes even liquid rainbow.

“Sweetie Belle?!” Sweetie Belle turned and squealed in excitement as a blur of orange ran to her and wrapped her in a hug. As Sweetie had mentioned, Scootaloo's wings were the size of foal wings, which looked odd on an adult frame. Her purple mane was slicked upward and forward slightly, and her cutie mark appeared to be a dark cloud with the sun poking out behind it, though there was an odd white outline over top of it that looked sort of like a shield. “What are you doing here?! How did you even get here?”

“Twilight brought me!” Sweetie Belle smiled over at Twilight.

Scootaloo turned quizzically to where Sweetie was looking. She smiled politely. “Oh, friend of yours? My name's Scootaloo - ”

“Scoots, she knows who you are!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, and Scootaloo frowned. “It's Twilight! Twilight Sparkle!”

Realization slowly dawned on Scootaloo's face, and her jaw slowly dropped. “What? No way. Aren't you dead?”

Twilight sighed. “No. I teleported myself ten years into the future and wasn't able to return back. I just arrived three days ago.”

“Whoa.” Scootaloo's amazed look dissolved into pity. “I'm so sorry. That mega sucks. So you're like, the same Twilight from ten years ago? Like... jeez, you haven't aged or anything.”

Twilight nodded. “Yes.” She smiled kindly, hoping to alleviate the dip in mood. “Last I saw you, you stood about this high,” Twilight raised a hoof to shoulder level, “and you didn't have a cutie mark.”

Without missing a beat, Scootaloo grinned. “My wings are about the same size though, huh?” Twilight's smile faltered, and Scootaloo laughed. “Don't worry about it. They just didn't grow. Didn't stop my cutie mark from being weather-related like half of the other pegasi in this place.”

Sweetie Belle squinted at Scootaloo's flank. “What's up with your cutie mark, anyways?”

“Oh, you mean the white thing?” Scootaloo shrugged. “Dunno, doesn't hurt or anything. Been meaning to get it checked out. Just woke up like that a few days ago.” The receptionist gave them an annoyed look, and Scootaloo laughed awkwardly. “Uh, okay, maybe we should move to my office, or we'll have an audience before long.” Twilight looked up and noted there were a few curious pegasi hesitating in their work to whisper or point down at her, but they quickly flitted off when spotted.

The floor of the weather factory looked like it was made with clouds, though it felt too solid for that to truly be the case. Still, cloudlike patterns swirled through the halls that Scootaloo led them down, until she eventually turned into an office that had her name inscribed. It was modestly sized, with a window that looked out into where the weather factory was pumping out clouds, and a desk with several stray papers and a large panel board on it. Also on it were several photos: an orange pegasus and brown earth pony smiling and leaning gently on one another; Scootaloo laughing with a mint green pegasus with a short, light blue mane; and what appeared to be a staff photo in the weather factory which included Scootaloo and a few dozen other pegasus ponies.

“This is where the magic happens,” Scootaloo joked, hopping into her desk chair and leaning back in it. “Sorry I only have one chair.”

Twilight looked around the room curiously. There was a diploma hanging on the wall. “What is it you do here, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo grinned at the question. “Basically I manage the weather teams and help organize the weather for certain areas. Obviously I'm not the best pony for actual weather team work,” she flapped her small wings to emphasize the point, “but I'm the brains behind the operation.”

“She's really important!” Sweetie Belle added excitedly. “She had to do, like, years of study.”

Scootaloo laughed softly at the praise. “But you two didn't come all this way to ask me about my job, did you?”

“I did!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with a giggle. “I've always wanted to see the weather factory! But Twilight came for Rainbow Dash. And, well, I guess we both kind of came for Rarity's sake.”

Scootaloo nodded absently. “Yeah, I figured... “ Scootaloo looked at Twilight. “Rarity probably gave you the details, right?”

“Rarity wouldn't tell me anything,” Twilight said bitterly, though given how biased Rarity was, that was probably for the best. “Nobody would tell me anything about Rainbow Dash, other than she went to jail and is like a different pony now.”

Scootaloo's brow furrowed. “Yeah? Did anyone mention that those charges were bullshit?”

Twilight glanced at Sweetie Belle, who looked equally quizzical. “The flying under the influence charges?” Twilight pressed.

Scootaloo nodded fervently. “Me and Mist are building a case around it – Misty Way, my marefriend.” Scootaloo nodded at the photo on the desk. “She's a lawyer.”

“I thought you dropped that because you couldn't get any evidence,” Sweetie Belle said, quirking a brow. “Literally nopony except you thinks this, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “There's a huge history of drugs in the Wonderbolts – Dash isn't into that. We just have to prove that the police didn't do thorough testing, and I know they didn't. It wasn't alcohol – at least, not the first time. Somebody drugged her.” All these years later, and Scootaloo's steadfast loyalty to Rainbow Dash hadn't wavered. Maybe there were some bonds in this new world that were too strong to be broken. Sweetie Belle scoffed but didn't say anything. Scootaloo grinned at her. “We've got some new evidence to back it up – gotta run it by Dash before I tell you, though.”

“I hope you're right, Scootaloo,” Twilight said, offering a small smile. “How... how is she, nowadays?”

Scootaloo sighed and looked at Sweetie Belle, who frowned but nodded to urge her to continue. “Not good...” She hesitated, gauging Twilight's reaction. “Really, she's not been good ever since you vanished. It took her a really long time to accept it, but work was like her rock. No matter how she felt outside the stadium, she always put on an amazing performance when it was time to fly. But then after the first “FUI” got her kicked off the Wonderbolts, she went into a spiral. I could pull strings and get her old job at the weather factory back, but she won't go for it.” Scootaloo sighed. “From your perspective, Twilight, she'd be unrecognizable. A completely different pony. It's hard to have a conversation with her without it ending in a yelling match. I hate it, but I try my best to stay in her life, no matter how much she doesn't want me to.”

Twilight nodded slowly. None of this was really new information. It was the details that would be hard to hear. “Can you tell me what you mean, Scootaloo?” Twilight asked. Scootaloo flattered her ears and looked away. “Please. Everything in my life has changed. Nothing will shock me anymore.”

“She's a drunkard,” Sweetie Belle filled in. Scootaloo glared over at her but didn't say anything. Sweetie Belle's face softened. “Sorry Scoots, but Twilight deserves to know, and better she find out from us than seeing for herself.”

It wasn't exactly a surprising revelation given the multiple FUI charges, but it still stung to hear it said out loud. Scootaloo was still looking away – it looked like it hurt her even more. “Scootaloo,” Twilight prompted, “please, I want to help her. I want to be there for her, even if nopony else will.”

Scootaloo cracked a small smile. “Yeah. That's what everyone said at first. All your other friends gave up on her one by one.” The bitterness in tone caused Twilight to frown. “Applejack cut off ties first, before any of the Wonderbolts stuff went down. I know she had her reasons, but that hurt Dash the worst. Fluttershy should have tried harder, being a pegasus herself, but I think she was too afraid to do anything. Rarity...”

“I know it's not an excuse,” Sweetie Belle said nervously, “but her life just got too hectic and public to be able to do anything to help. She sends letters to everyone still, as far as I know, but Rainbow never writes back.”

“And Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked.

Scootaloo shrugged. “Still visits sometimes, but Dash hates it. I think it reminds her of the old days. She comes on this crazy flying bicycle contraption thing - I dunno how else to explain it. But, it's Pinkie Pie, is anything really that weird with her?”

The old days... Twilight's heart panged. Rarity's warnings were replaying in her head. “Do you think she'd even want to see me?”

Sweetie Belle frowned, but Scootaloo smiled sadly. “No, probably not – but that doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do.” Scootaloo stood up and trotted to her office door. “I should go and warn her you're coming. Got today's work done early and have some personal time I need to use up. She's in the same house, but it's been moved to Cloudsdale. It's not far from here, just take a left out of the factory and go straight.”

“Thanks, Scootaloo.” Scootaloo nodded at her and departed.

Sweetie Belle turned to Twilight. “Guess we should just hang out for a bit. I'll stay back and give you and Rainbow Dash some privacy.” Sweetie Belle's ears flattened. “Given everything that's happened between Dash and Rarity, she might not appreciate me being there.”

Oh, right. “Sweetie Belle, you said you thought you knew what was going on between Rainbow and Rarity...”

“Yeah...” Sweetie Belle sighed. “Well, it was a while ago, but Rarity agreed to have Carousel Boutique sponsor the Wonderbolts – specifically Rainbow Dash, back when she was still on the team. She did it as a goodwill gesture, wasn't actually expecting anything in return. But then all the FUI stuff happened, and Rainbow's picture was plastered all over the papers, so Rarity withdrew the sponsorship.” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I figure that's gotta be a big part of why Rainbow's mad. I don't think the money mattered, just the lack of support.”

Lack of support seemed to be a recurring theme. Was Twilight really the glue in their friend group? Maybe she was the reason they were friends in the first place, but they had all seemed so close. Twilight thought for a moment, nearly dropped the subject, then decided to continue with “Rarity told me not to mention Moonstone to Rainbow Dash.”

Sweetie Belle blinked at her. “Moonstone?” Her voice dropped to whisper. “...Because of the Wonderbolt affair thing?”

The confusion on Sweetie's face was enough for Twilight to change topics. “Yeah, I guess so.” She shrugged at the exit. “We could go tour Cloudsdale for a bit, if you want.” Sweetie brightened and nodded, and the two headed out.

...

Aside from being in the wrong location, the cloudominium looked very similar to how Twilight remembered it, though the rainbow rivers that used to flow through the multiple stories and cascade off clouds around the edge were no longer present. Twilight had rarely been inside of it due to the impracticality, but she knew Rainbow used to take great pride in maintaining the exterior.

Sweetie Belle had stayed back; she'd quickly made friends with some locals and was insistent on not seeing Rainbow Dash. So Twilight approached the door alone, her heart picking up pace. She hadn't had as much to think about before meeting her other friends. “Ignorance is bliss” - a proverb Twilight had heard before, but profoundly rejected until the last few days. The pony on the other side of this door had been arrested multiple times, spent time in jail, lost her career, and wasn't on speaking terms with Applejack nor Rarity.

...Was this pony really Rainbow Dash anymore?

Twilight took a deep breath, then knocked twice.

Author's Note:

I sincerely appreciate the support left on the last chapter regarding my decision to revisit this story after ten full years. I was a little worried it wouldn't be well received after all this time, but I'm glad I was wrong. I've dove into writing this fic full force again and it feels like the old days. That said, this is the first chapter that was partly written in today's era, so I could sprinkle some of the post-season 3 canon into it with Scootaloo.

For the time being I'm only going to be updating on this site, as fanfiction.net is broken right now and I don't think anybody even realized I updated there, lol. I've edited a notice into the last chapter to come here instead.

Comments

[Animak]

Hmm, wonderbolt history of drugs, and scootaloo confident Rainbow got drugged, I smell a conspiracy heh heh

[quadnary]

I'm excited to see the chemistry between Twilight and Rainbow Dash after all that's happened. I was half expecting this chapter to end with her opening the front door and socking twilight in the muzzle or something

[TheUndeadEmpire]

Calling it now. The same wonderbolt that Rarity slept with drugged her and tried to drug rainbow.
This is a very good story btw, thank you for writing it. It makes me think of MLP as JoJo part 4 where things had to happen in a very specific way with lots of things lining up just right for a good ending to happen and if a little thing was out of place everything would fall apart.

[Hyper Star]

GUESS WHOS BACK?! You truly have lost a decade by this, bro, or should I say, have a decade lost.