It was an unusually hot day as Cloudy Fish pushed through the screaming crowds. She made her way up to the shiny silver fence and watched with a feeling of awe and admiration. She looked at the purple princess trotting down the aisle.
“Wow… it’s Princess Twilight!” Cloudy said to herself.
As the alicorn walked down the cerise colored carpet, she looked and grinned at the enormous crowd of ponies. The small white filly emerged a fat, cheery smile. She was elated! The princess made eye contact with Cloudy! Although it was only a second, the filly would always remember it.
“Ahem.”
Twilight said as she trotted up the steps to the podium. The crowd came to an abrupt silence.
“Good morning, ponies! As you may know, I am Twilight Sparkle.” Cheers dispersed from the throng.
“Today I have come here in spite of my contest. If you don’t recall, I hosted a contest where fillies send drawings to me of how we can make Equestria a better place. There were many fantastic entries, but only one caught my eye…”
Twilight said as a grey colt in a suit handed her an envelope.
“And the winner is…!”
It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. It fascinated Cloudy Fish how everypony held on to the Princess’s words like they could save their life. Twilight opened the envelope and read the winning pony’s name in a loud, enunciated tone.
“Cloudy Fish!”
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Cloudy Fish almost fainted on the spot (from jubilation, obviously!).
“Come on up here, Cloudy!” Twilight yelled.
Cloudy felt as if her legs were jello. She could barely walk, or even breathe! She had not expected Twilight to read her entry, and she certainly had not expected to win!
“Hello, Cloudy. Would you mind if I read your letter to Equestria?”
Cloudy stood there, dumbfounded, and said in a rather shaky tone,
“Ok…”
Twilight cleared her throat and began to read. But Cloudy did not listen. Instead, she thought about her prizes. A whole day with Twilight! A princess! And 1,000 bits! Wow… Wow!
Cloudy was snapped back into reality by the loud applause and stomping of hooves. She couldn’t help but smile and wave at the crowd. All her (short) life, Cloudy had dreamed of this day. The day she would get to meet her idol.
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“So, Cloudy. Do you want to go visit the museum of Starswirl the Bearded? Or grab some lunch?”
“Whatever you want, Princess!”
“Oh, please. Call me Twilight!”
Cloudy grinned. The fact that Twilight was not a stereotypical princess, the stuck-up and snobby kind, made her much cooler in Cloudy’s eyes.
“Well, first I think we should- Oh! I just remembered! Today is Gummy’s half-birthday party!”
Cloudy looked at Twilight confusedly, and cocked her head.
“My friend Pinkie Pie- she loves to throw parties- has a toothless pet alligator named Gummy… do you want to come?”
Cloudy nodded energetically, for she could do anything with the princess.
“Hop on my back! I’ll fly us over to Pinkie’s place.”
With no hesitation, Cloudy hopped onto the Alicorn’s back.
Within minutes, Twilight was knocking on Pinkie’s door.
“TWILIGHT! Come on in!” Pinkie yelled. “Aw, who’s this little filly? Is this the contest winner?”
“Yes, this is Cloudy Fish. Cloudy, this is Pinkie!”
“HI CLOUDY!” Pinkie said, giving the small, cloud-colored filly a vigorous handshake. “Come on in! You have to meet Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy!”
Cloudy met all the ponies, and thought they were all awesome in their own individual ways. But Twilight was still her favorite.
Although Cloudy barely knew the ponies, and she was still a filly, they included her as if she were part of the Mane 6. They let her bob for apples, sing karaoke, and dance her little heart out on the dance floor.
After Gummy opened his presents (which mostly consisted of toys), it was sunset.
“Wow, Pinkie Pie! You sure know how to throw a rockin’ party!” Cloudy said.
Pinkie giggled and replied, “And you sure know how to be a rockin’ party guest! I hope I’ll see you again, Cloudy!”
“Bye Pinkie!” Twilight said as she and Cloudy walked out the door.
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“It sure is a beautiful sunset.” Twilight awed.
The purple alicorn and the white pegasus sat on the grassy hill, admiring the sunset. Everypony said that very hill was one of the best spots to watch a sunset.
“So, Cloudy,” Twilight said as she shifted position. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Well… my name is Cloudy Skies… Uh… I have a daddy, but Mommy left us when I was just a baby… uh, I have 2 best friends- their names are TF and Lavender Fields… uh…” Cloudy trailed off.
“Well, you’re interesting!” Twilight didn’t know what else to say.
They sat in a peaceful silence, watching the sunset slowly descend.
“Cloudy. Cloudy…! Cloudy! CLOUDY!”
“Huh?” Cloudy said, groggily rubbing her head with her hoof.
“Get out of bed, sleepyhead! You have school in 10 minutes! And you’re breakfast is getting cold! And come look what’s on TV!” Cloudy’s father called from the doorway.
“Alright!” She said.
So it was all a dream… just a dream! Cloudy thought disappointedly as she hopped out of bed and sighed. Just a dream…
Cloudy trotted sluggishly to the living room where her father awaited her. She looked at the television and sighed once more. But her mood shifted from dreary to deja vu. There, standing at the same wooden podium in Cloudy’s dream, was Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“...And the winner is…” Twilight said as she tore open the envelope.
Cloudy stood with anticipation.
“Blazing Heart!”
Cloudy felt as if somepony had punched her in the gut. She truly believed there was just a slight chance her dream was some sort of sign… but apparently not. She trudged to her room in a melancholy manner.
Not all stories have happy endings...