Wake up. Fly downstairs. Get bowl. Add lettuce. Add carrots. Get cup. Pour milk. Eat breakfast. Fly to bathroom. Brush teeth. Floss. Use toilet. Take shower. Dry myself. Hang up towel. Comb mane. Style mane. Look in mirror. Restyle mane. Look in mirror. Continue to look in mirror. Fly downstairs. Check time. Two minutes. Sit on couch. Check time. One minute. Fly to bedroom. Make bed. Fly downstairs. Check time. Three minutes late. Open front door. Fly outside. Close front door. Fly to work.
I get to Ponyville and I can see a line of pegasi in the sky. I can hear Rainbow Dash giving her morning speech. “I don’t have to remind any of you how important today is. Normally we don’t need all the pegasi to help, but today we have create a storm that covers all of Ponyville and some of the surrounding areas. The storm is supposed to last 24 hours, so make sure you’re here early tomorrow.” I line up at the end. Rainbow Dash looks at me. “I’m glad you decided to show up.” Her voice is cracking more than usual. She’s stressed.
I apologize for being late. She continues, “I’ll be done with my section super quick, so if you need any help don’t be afraid to come get me. Now, you all know your assigned sections, so let’s go!”
I asked to be assigned to one of the sections above the Library. From the Library, I can see most of Ponyville. From the Library, I can see Sunshine: the most beautiful pegasus in Equestria. Or, at least, I think her name is Sunshine. I’ve never actually talked to her.
I look over by Sugar Cube Corner. She’s not there. I slowly start to turn my head left, surveilling the area for Sunshine. She isn’t by the school. She isn’t by Sweet Apple Acres. She isn’t by Town Square. She isn’t by Carousel Boutique. And she isn’t by the Everfree Forest because, of course, Rainbow Dash has that section. That’s all of Ponyville. I know someone was assigned to go to Cloudsdale. Maybe she went to Cloudsdale.
Then, I feel a gust of wind hit my back. My hair stands on end. I turn around to see Sunshine. She has the other section above the Library.
My heart drops. My ears quickly fold behind my head and I can barely think. She has the other section above the Library. I start to feel hot. I can feel my sweat begin to dampen my coat. She has the other section above the Library.
I fight my instincts to look at her. To look at her beautiful coat. Her beautiful eyes. Her beautiful. . .
I look.
Blue hair. She has blue hair today. Yesterday she had green hair and the day before that it was pink. Everyday she comes to work with a different color mane and today it’s blue. I like it.
I decide that I’m going to talk to her. All I have to do is ask her her name. Just “What’s your name?” Or “Hey, I’m Cloud I don’t think we’ve met.” Or “I see we both ended up above the Library, what are the odds of that?” Or “See those clouds over there? Those are cumulus clouds. They’re super pretty but they’re not really great for storms.”
Or I could say nothing.
I could always accidentally bump into her. Sometimes you get so focused on moving clouds you forget yourself. It wouldn’t be hard to do. I would just need to be in the right place at the wrong time.
I’m not going to do that either.
Maybe I can pretend to crash. I’m not that great of a flier. I could fall and hit the ground just hard enough that I might be seriously injured. Sunshine would swoop down, very concerned. I’d have to pretend to be hurt, maybe keep my eyes closed. I’d lie there, on my back, just waiting for Sunshine to rush down and rescue me. I’d just lie there and wait. Waiting to hear Sunshine’s delightful voice. I’d fall down and wait on the ground, just to hear Sunshine say. . .
“Are you okay?”
You know how some ponies will say they were so scared that their heart jumped out of their chest? They have no idea.
I spin around to see Rainbow Dash staring at me. I can’t tell if she unhappy or just confused. She looks up. I look up. There are no clouds in my section. Everypony is almost done and there are no clouds in my section.
Just in case I was confused, Rainbow Dash reminds me, “Everypony is almost done and there aren’t any clouds in your section.”
I tell her I know. She doesn’t even bother asking me for an explanation. She just whistles and shouts, “Anypony who’s still here and done with their section, come help Cloud!”
I watch as about twenty pegasi fly towards me. I watch as they all grab clouds, putting them in my section. And I watch as they finish and all fly away. Including Sunshine. I fly to the hospital.
By the time I get to the hospital it’s raining pretty hard. I enter the building and the nurse behind the counter greets me. I smile. I walk past the counter towards the rooms.
“Uhm sir?” The nurse behind the counter is trying to get my attention. “Sir you have to check in.”
I stop. I can see one of the veteran nurses in the corner of my eye. She’s shaking her head, trying to get the attention of the more vocal nurse behind the counter.
“Uhm, nevermind.” The nurse behind the counter looks down at her papers. Then she looks up at me. “Just notify me when you leave.”
I want to laugh. I want to tell the nurse behind the counter that I come here everyday. I want to tell her that she’ll get to know me soon enough. I want to look at her and just smile letting her know everything’s okay. But I don’t do any of that. I just walk to room 1.
Room 1. Not room 3. Not room 8. Not even room 526. Room 1. Nothing’s ever 1. When you get a hotel room, you never get assigned to room 1. When you enter a contest, you’re never contestant 1. When you get randomly assigned to a group in school, you’re never group 1. But here I am, at room 1.
I go over to the bed and there’s my sister. Dead. Being kept alive by magic and machines. I look at her face. She looks so peaceful. I look at the scar on her cheek. I start to cry.
I leave room 1. I walk back towards the entrance of the hospital. I walk past the front counter.
“Sir!”
I turn and face the nurse behind the counter.
“You’re coming from room 1, right?” The nurse pauses as if waiting for an answer. I don’t say anything. She continues, “Her parents called. They said they’d be coming by tomorrow.”
I tell her thanks. I look out the front door. It’s storming really hard. I leave the hospital. I fly home.
I have a cloud house. I built it myself. It’s located right outside of Ponyville. It’s two stories and it has two doors and five windows. The staircase was the hardest part to build. I wasn’t going to build a staircase but someone reminded me that unicorns have this spell that lets non-pegasi walk on clouds. So if I ever had company I would need a staircase. I’ve never had company.
I arrive home. I open the front door. Why. I fly down to the ground. I stare at my mailbox. Why? I open my mailbox, grab the letter inside, and rip it up. Why are my parents visiting?
I fly up to my house, walk inside, and close the front door.
I walk into my library. I have so many books I haven’t read: Clouds, Alchemy, and You; Clouds and Weather Patterns; The Glory of Clouds; The Complete Encyclopedia: Cloud Edition; The Meaning of Clouds; Cloudy Fortune Telling; Mr. Cloud. That last one probably isn’t about clouds.
I pick a book at random. I immediately put it back on the shelf. I can’t believe my parents are coming to Ponyville tomorrow.
I check the time. Twelve hours until work tomorrow.
I walk upstairs. Twelve hours, then work, then parents. I lie in my bed. Work, then parents. I can hear the rain outside. It’s coming down really hard.
Wake up. Something’s wrong. Fly downstairs. Get bowl. Something’s definitely wrong. Add lettuce. Add carrots. What’s wrong? Get cup. Pour milk. Is the house on fire? Eat breakfast. No. Fly to bathroom. Is some monster attacking Ponyville? Brush teeth. No. Floss. Did Celestia forget to raise the sun? Use toilet. No. Take shower. Is it raining? Dry myself. No. Hang up towel. Is it supposed to be raining? Yes. Fly Downstairs. Check time. Three hours and forty-two minutes late. Fly out window. Fly to work.
I get to Ponyville. I haven’t seen a single cloud. I’m not sure if I should just head home or actually try to find Rainbow Dash. I opt for the latter.
I head to Sugar Cube Corner. I enter the shop. Uncanny. Rainbow Dash is here talking to Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie looks up. “Hey! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner. You must be exhausted from clearing all those mean, old clouds this morning. I’ll get you a cupcake.” Pinkie Pie smiles and dashes into the kitchen. “On the house!”
Rainbow Dash starts to turn around. Slowly. So slowly. So slowly that I could’ve completed a number of unmentionable acts right here in Sugar Cube Corner and she wouldn’t have noticed.
Her eyes see mine. Her smile quickly vanishes. She stares at me. I stare back. I smile. I’m not sure if she’s trying to intimidate me, scare me, or win a staring contest. Or all three.
Pinkie Pie comes back from the kitchen. Rainbow Dash doesn’t take her eyes off me. She says to Pinkie Pie, “Don’t give this guy a cupcake. He decided not to show up for work today.”
My smile quickly vanishes.
Pinkie Pie gives Rainbow Dash a confusing look. “Why would I give it to him?”
I win the staring contest.
“Because you just said you’d give him a cupcake.” Rainbow Dash is looking at Pinkie Pie, bewildered. Rainbow Dash is unaware of the inevitable joke.
“No silly. I said I’d get him one.” Pinkie Pie’s face really starts to light up. She knows the punch line is coming.
I know Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie have been friends for a long time. How Rainbow Dash still doesn’t get it, is mind-boggling. “Well then, where is it?”
Pinkie Pie can barely contain herself. “It’s.” She looks around as if Rainbow Dash and I aren’t the only ponies in here. “It’s on the house!” Pinkie Pie breaks down into hysterical laughter. I wonder how long she can hold her breath.
“Ha! Good one Pinkie Pie!” If I didn’t know any better I’d probably assume Rainbow Dash was faking her amusement.
Rainbow Dash calms down and refocuses her attention on me. “You’ve been consistently showing up to work late. Just a minute or two. Everyday. And today, you don’t even bother showing up at all.”
I actually just showed up four hours late. I don’t correct her.
Rainbow Dash continues, “And the thing is. You know the most about clouds. More than anypony I’ve ever met. And you rarely ever make a mistake.” I’m not sure if she’s still talking to me or just thinking out loud.
She looks down at the floor. I do the same. She kicks an imaginary soccer ball with her hoof. I don’t. Then she looks up at me. She looks at me with a face I’ve seldom seen before. A face I didn’t know Rainbow Dash was capable of making.
“What’s wrong?”
This strikes a nerve. I want to cry. I want to break down crying and tell her about my sister. And about my parents coming to town. And about Sunshine. But I don’t. I can’t. I can’t burden Rainbow Dash with my problems. So I tell her that I don’t know.
“You don’t know what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash gives me an elongated look. I can’t tell if she knows I’m lying. “Or you don’t want to tell me?”
I tell her I mean the first.
She seems to accept this answer. Compassionate Rainbow Dash disappears. Now she’s back to tough-girl Rainbow Dash. I prefer tough-girl Rainbow Dash. “Look, I was going to invite a bunch of the pegasi for drinks. Why don’t you come?”
I tell her I don’t drink.
She responds, “Ah, you can still have a good time.”
I tell her I won’t.
“Suite yourself. But know that you’re invited.”
I tell her thanks.
I throw some bits on the counter. I leave before Pinkie Pie can try to give them back.
I fly up to the roof to retrieve the cupcake ‘on the house.’ Vanilla. My favorite.
I fly back down to the ground. There’s a filly. There’s a filly right in front of me. I almost hit her. She’s crying.
I tell her I can’t talk. I tell her I’ve got boring adult stuff. I hand her the cupcake. I tell her I hope her day gets better. I fly to the hospital.
I get to the hospital. I don’t want to go in. My parents are in there. In room 1. I just stand there hoping some magical force will prevent me from entering. I step towards the entrance. Nothing.
I take another step towards the entrance. Still nothing.
I sigh. Why can’t some unspeakable evil attack Ponyville? That would be a great excuse to not enter the hospital. Preferably something flying. Something that would take all the pegasi to deafeat. I wouldn’t have a choice. I would have to go help defeat the flying monster. Maybe I would accidently bump into Sunshine while fighting the monster. Maybe we would deliver the finishing blow together. We would be honored with medals and during my speech I would tell her I love her and give her a kiss and she would say that she loves me too and kiss me back and. . .
I enter the hospital.
I look towards the counter. The same nurse from yesterday is there. She looks up and smiles at me. I smile back. Then I put my head down and walk to room 1.
As I approach the room, I can here my parents arguing. I enter the room. They don’t notice me. I sit down. I wonder how long it will take for them to notice me.
My father points his hoof at me, but just continues to yell at my mother. So they did notice me.
Then I see my parents’ expressions change. It’s a subtle change. It’s this ‘we can’t argue forever, eventually we’re going to have to eat’ change. Silence.
I tell them I’m glad to see them and I thank them for visiting. They turn to me and smile. They’re not mad at me, they’re just mad at each other.
Then the questions: “How’s work?” “Meet any cute mares?” “Read anything interesting, lately?” They ask me the same questions every time they see me. It’s like they have a list.
Then they look at their daughter. My mother cries. My father doesn’t.
Then they tell me that it was nice visiting me and leave.
Three hours have passed since I entered the hospital. It never feels that long. But our visits always last that long. Three hours.
I walk over to my sister. I look at her. I can’t help but cry. One of these days my parents’ arguing is going to kill her.
I leave the hospital and fly home. I don’t have work tomorrow so I can spend the whole night reading. I walk into my library. I grab Mr. Cloud. I might as well find out what this book is actually about.
