Chasing Cloudsby AzusaChapters1 - Meeting Clouds2 - Finding Clouds3 - Bonus Chapter: Dancing Clouds1 - Meeting CloudsFlitter hummed to herself a happy tune as she trotted to class. She stopped at the doorway and straightened the bow she was wearing in her mane before stepping through. The sounds of her classmates chatting with each other graced her ears. On her way to her desk, she greeted each and every one of her friends by name. A moment later, the teacher walked in. The class fell silent as she spoke. "Class, today we have a new student.” She motioned a hoof at the door. “Why don't you tell us about yourself?" A filly with a dark lilac coat strolled up to the front of the class, waving a hoof at her new classmates and smirking. She rested an elbow on the teacher’s desk as she talked. "My name’s Cloudchaser. I just moved here from Canterlot." "Well, Cloudchaser, why don't you take that empty seat next to Flitter?" The teacher began their lesson on weather control once Cloudchaser had taken her seat. Flitter saw that she didn’t have a cutie mark. Huh? That’s weird, she thought. Her gaze traveled up to Cloudchaser’s mane; her sky-blue locks stuck out in the back, and her bangs swept across her forehead. Cloudchaser glanced at her. “Why are you staring at me?” Flitter’s tail twitched. “Oh! Uh...” Flitter put a hoof to her mouth and whispered into Cloudchaser’s ear, "I think your mane is awesome.” “You do?" Cloudchaser ran a hoof through her hair and grinned. The spikes in the back of her hair shot up when she brought her hoof down over the ones lying against her neck. "Your bow’s adorable." Flitter beamed. "Really?" "Flitter," the teacher suddenly said, "if you're so eager to speak, then can you tell us what kind of cloud this is?” She pointed to a picture of a cloud lying against the blackboard. Flitter looked down at her desk, pursing her lips. A moment later, she stood up. "What was the question again?" A few of her classmates snickered. The teacher rubbed her temple with a hoof and grumbled. "What kind of cloud is this?" "A Nimbus Two Thousand?" Cloudchaser burst out laughing. Flitter made a sheepish grin and scratched the back of her long pale-green mane. The three dragonflies painted on her flank pressed against the hard wood of the chair as she sat down. The teacher’s eye twitched. “Well, Cloudchaser, if you think meteorology is funny, then why don’t you tell us how to make a cloud rain?” Cloudchaser stood up and cleared her throat. ”I assume that you mean the standard way, by kicking them, but I have a theory that I think might be more efficient. “We send out a team of about six pegasi over the clouds, each carrying a bag of dry ice.” Cloudchaser zipped her hoof in a horizontal motion. “They dust clouds with the ice, which condenses the liquid in them, thus making it rain. You see, it takes about thirty seconds for the average pony to get into position, extend their legs, and connect with the cloud. But, with my method, it should take them less than five seconds per cloud.” All the other pegasi, including the teacher, stared at her with their mouths agape. “Well, that was... very interesting, Cloudchaser.” The teacher went back to their lesson. Cloudchaser sat down in her seat and leaned back a little, raising the two front legs of the chair in the air. A grey pegasus with a silver mane named Silverspeed leaned over to Flitter and whispered: “What’s her problem? Doesn’t she know that’s common knowledge?” “Who knows...” Flitter said, not taking her eyes off their new classmate. She’s so smart~ ~~~~~~~~~~ After class had ended for the day, most of the other students stayed behind to help each other with their homework or shoot the breeze. Cloudchaser stood and trotted out the door. Flitter saw her and ran after. “Hey, Cloudchaser, where are you going?” “Huh?” Her eyebrow raised, Cloudchaser stopped and looked back at Flitter. “Home, I guess.” She tilted her head a bit. "Why? You wanna hang out or something?" “Ohmygosh, yes!” she said, catching up with Cloudchaser. “So what’s there to do in this little puff of gas you call a town?” Cloudchaser asked as they trotted down the hall. Flitter told her all about the town, about all the sights, the shops, and where to have fun, though none of the places she mentioned piqued Cloudchaser’s interest. Then Flitter mentioned the rainbow factory, and Cloudchaser insisted that they sneak in. Flitter tried to convince her not to go at first, but went along anyway when Cloudchaser told her that she would go by herself if she had to. They left the school and took off for the rainbow factory. The entire trip there, Flitter was sweating bullets. She had heard stories of what happened to fillies and colts who were caught sneaking into the factory, but Flitter glanced at Cloudchaser and decided to swallow her fears. Cloudchaser landed by the back entrance and then motioned for Flitter to follow as she ducked inside. When Flitter landed, she darted her eyes around before chasing after her friend, shaking the whole time. Inside, Flitter gazed around the factory. The light glistened off the rainbow falls as it fell into the collection pools with a splash. The sight made her stop, and she let her mouth hang open. Around her, the factory workers went about their jobs. Some stirred the pools of rainbow, while a few others swept the floor. She quickly realized that Cloudchaser was trotting away and charged after her. “Okay, you saw the inside of the rainbow factory. Now let’s go,” Flitter whispered. “Hold on,” Cloudchaser replied. “I just want a little of the rainbow to take home.” “What?” Flitter almost shouted. Before she could stop her, Cloudchaser had already dashed off to one of the pools of rainbow. Taking out a bit, she placed it between the feathers of her wing and dipped it into the colorful solution. She wore a sly grin on her face as she held up the prismatic coin. “Hey! What are you doing here?” Flitter turned to see a large stallion wearing white hard hat and coat. “Look out!” she shouted. Cloudchaser recoiled when she saw the stallion stomping towards her. Without thinking, Flitter galloped forward. She dove at Cloudchaser and the two of them fell into the rainbow pool. A moment later, Flitter felt a strong bite around her shoulder, and she soon found herself rising out of the liquid and thrown onto the floor; Cloudchaser quickly joined her. The stallion took them to the back entrance and threw them out into the street. “The rainbow factory is no place for foals. If you’d gotten hurt, the factory would get shut down, and then we wouldn’t have any more rainbows. Now get lost before I call your parents!” He went back inside the factory, shaking the droplets of rainbow from his mouth and grimacing. Flitter and Cloudchaser looked at each other. The sight of them covered head to tail with rainbow fluid made Cloudchaser snicker; Flitter quickly joined her. “Whew, that was a close one.” Flitter wiped her forehead off. “Yeah,” Cloudchaser said, gazing at the sky. “Last time I got caught sneaking into a rainbow factory, I got lectured for an hour afterwards.” Flitter looked at her wide-eyed. “You’ve done this before?” Her heart skipped a beat. Cloudchaser grinned at her. “Maybe we should just get ice cream next time.” Flitter sighed. Cloudchaser chuckled. “Sure, why not?” ~~~~~~~~~~ A month had passed since Flitter first met Cloudchaser. In that time, they played together almost every day. This day after school, Flitter trotted out the door, adjusting her flight goggles. Outside she saw Cloudchaser kicking a hacky sack by herself. “Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three...” Flitter trotted towards her. “Hey, Cloudchaser, why are you playing by yourself? Why don’t you join the school flight team?” “Aw, I already tried. They won’t let me join. Twenty-six, twenty-seven...” Cloudchaser grumbled. “What? Why?” Cloudchaser caught the sack with her wing, and then she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. They wouldn’t even let me try out. If they don’t want me on the team, then I don’t care anymore.” She pursed her lips. “Oh... Well, see ya later then.” Flitter started to trot away, her eyebrows upturned. “Yeah, see you.” Cloudchaser went back to playing with the hackey sack. “One, two, three, four...” Flitter stopped. She glanced in the direction of the flight track, then back at her new friend. Eh, there’ll be other flight practices. She went back to Cloudchaser. “Can I play, too?” “Sure!” Cloudchaser kicked the sack to Flitter and they both started kicking it back and forth. It soon turned into a heated match, with neither one of them wanting to be the one to let the hacky sack fall through the cloud. They kept it flying between them for a long time before Cloudchaser missed and let it drop below the cloud. She gave a short chuckle. As the loser of that round, she had to retrieve the toy. They played many rounds with the hacky sack with Flitter gaining only a slight lead. She was just about to claim another victory when Cloudchaser’s mother showed up to take her home. So Cloudchaser said goodbye to Flitter and took off with her mother. Flitter was about to leave as well when her eyebrows shot up. The hacky sack! she thought, diving down under the clouds. When she found it, she brought it back inside and placed it on Cloudchaser’s desk before going home. ~~~~~~~~~~ Flitter wore a beaming smile on her face as she met Cloudchaser in the hall on the way to class the next day. In the classroom, she saw her classmates chatting away while they waited for their teacher to arrive. “G’morning, Silverspeed!” Flitter said, waving at her. “Flitter, you skipped flight training again yesterday. Where were you?” Silverspeed asked. “Oh, I was playing with Cloudchaser.” “What?” Silverspeed slammed a hoof on her desk. “You’re still friends with that egghead?!” Flitter recoiled a hoof. “Hey, she is not an egghead! Cloudchaser is really smart and cool and... and... awesome!” Flitter stomped a hoof on the cloud floor. “No!” Silverspeed stood up. “Cloudchaser is a know-it-all blank-flank egghead!” “You just don’t like her ’cause she’s smarter than you!” Flitter gritted her teeth. Why am I getting so worked up over this? Silverspeed pressed her forehead against Flitter’s. “You take that back!” Flitter pressed harder. “Apologise to Cloudchaser!” “No!” Silverspeed turned up her nose at Flitter. “If you’re going to play with that egghead, then this ends our friendship.” “W-what?” Flitter’s mouth hung wide open. “But... why?” “Because,” Silverspeed snapped, “I don’t want to have anything to do with that blank-flank, or her friends.” “I...” Flitter hung her head low, and she slowly trotted out of the classroom, pouting. The rest of the class only watched in silence. “Flitter, where are you going?” Cloudchaser asked, speaking up only now. Flitter shut the door behind her, tears welling up in her eyes. Inside the bathroom, Flitter trotted up to the sink and turned on the faucet. She splashed some water on her face and looked up at the mirror. The light pink veins in her eyes matched the color of her cheeks. She pressed a hoof under her eye and gently pulled it down to get a better look. Upon hearing a knock at the door, she let go and turned off the faucet. She heard the door open and then Cloudchaser’s voice: "Flitter? Are you okay?" Flitter’s gaze lowered to the basin. “She’s been my friend for so long.” She turned around. “We’ve been friends since kindergarten. And now...” She snuffled. Cloudchaser wrapped her hooves around Flitter and held her tightly. “I’m sure it will be okay." Flitter buried her face in Cloudchaser's chest, her uncontrollable tears staining the fur beneath them. Cloudchaser paid it no mind as she stroked her friend's mane. If only there was more I could do for her, she thought. If only I was stronger... braver... After a few moments, Flitter’s tears stopped flowing. “Let’s get back to class.” Cloudchaser put a hoof around her shoulder and they left the bathroom. When they got back to class, they found the rest of the students in their seats, chatting away with each other. On the way back to her chair, Flitter turned to one of her classmates and said, “Hey, Drizzle.” Drizzle stared down at her desk. Flitter raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Lightning Dust, what’s with Drizzle?” Lightning Dust looked back at Silverspeed—who shook her head—and then she sunk down into her seat. “Medley? Blossomforth? Skyra?” Flitter said, darting her gaze around the room. “Speak to me!” She spotted Silverspeed in the back row, grinning and holding her front hooves together in front of her chin. “They’re not your friends anymore, Flitter. Either you end your friendship with that egghead, or we’re never speaking to you again!” Flitter’s face drooped. She trotted back to her desk and sat down. The rest of her classmates ignored her as they talked amongst themselves. Cloudchaser kept her mouth shut the entire time. Moments later, the teacher came in and started taking attendance. She didn’t seem to notice that Silverspeed was glaring at Flitter. 2 - Finding CloudsAfter class let out, Flitter invited Cloudchaser over to her house again. Flitter’s eyes were red and the fur on her cheeks tearstained. After a moment’s hesitation, Cloudchaser accepted the invitation. They kept silent for the whole trip to Flitter’s house. When they reached the house, they went into Flitter’s bedroom and sat next to each other on her bed. The moment Flitter sat down, tears started pouring down her face. “Cloudchaser, what am I gonna do? I don’t think I can live without my friends, but what about you? I don’t want you to be alone.” She pressed her face deep in Cloudchaser’s chest. Cloudchaser wrapped a hoof around Flitter and slowly brushed her mane with a wing. Flitter looked up at her, and their eyes met; for a moment, her tears stopped flowing. Her gaze drifted down to Cloudchaser’s lips, which were slowly drawing closer to hers. For a moment, she thought Cloudchaser was going to kiss her. It was just like in the movies. But wait, isn’t Cloudchaser a girl? The thought made her turn away, blushing. “I...” Cloudchaser said, pressing a hoof to her cheek. “I better go.” She stood up and galloped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Flitter slumped onto her bed. A moment later, she moved one of her hooves to her lips. She had never shared a kiss with another pony before, but would a kiss from Cloudchaser count? They were both fillies, after all. Flitter didn’t know. Maybe I wouldn't mind finding out what it's like... She stood and slowly trotted to her bedroom window. She laid her hooves on the windowsill and rested her head on them. Outside, she saw that the sky had turned a bright orange as the sun lowered beneath the horizon. I’ve never felt this way about a girl before. What’s wrong with me? The thought made Flitter’s tear ducts well up again. Maybe I’ll feel better after a short flight. That usually works. Flitter stepped out of her bedroom window and took to the air. The ponies she saw from the aerial view of the field below looked like ants. Far behind Cloudsdale was a large mountain range that looked almost purple in the fading sunset. Flitter had always wanted to fly there, but her mother wouldn’t take her. She had decided to travel there one day, when she grew up some more. Maybe I’ll ask Cloudchaser to come. And with that thought, her mind returned to the problems at hoof. Flitter was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice when the sun traveled behind the hills. She was about to turn back toward her cloud house when she heard the sounds of splashing water and breathless screams from the ground below. In the light of the moon, she looked down to see a small filly being swept away in a river. Uh-oh! She scanned the area, looking for an adult. What do I do? When she couldn’t find one, she started to sweat. She gulped and dove towards the child, the piercing wind blowing through her mane as she flew faster than she had ever flown before. On the way down, she tossed clouds left and right to get them out of the way. As she reached the stream, Flitter extended her front hooves and swept them under the foal. But before she could take to the air again, the current below caught her and carried them both away. Not good. Not good! Still holding the filly, Flitter darted her eyes around. Up ahead, she noticed a fallen tree hanging over the river. If I can just grab it... She raised a hoof out of the rushing water to grab one of the branches. As she passed under the tree, the branches slipped out of her grasp. Stupid hooves, she thought, eyes widened. With the fallen tree out of the way, Flitter’s eyebrows shot up when she saw water rushing off the edge of the waterfall up ahead. Coming closer to the edge by the second, she grit her teeth and dug a hoof into the wall of the river. But it merely slowed the inevitable as they were both swept over the falls. Flitter quickly joined the foal in her screams. What do I do? What do I do?! Turning her head in every direction, she soon caught a glance at one of her wings and face-hooved. Duh, I’m a pegasus! She extended her wings and soared through the air with the filly, lifting up above the water. Swooping down, she landed on the ground far from the steam and let the filly go. “I guess *huff* those years *huff* of flight training *huff* really paid off,” Flitter said, breathing heavy with her tongue hanging out. After a moment, the foal finally let go and looked around. “Where’s my mommy?” she asked, looking up at Flitter with large, quivering eyes. “Uh, where did you see her last?” Flitter asked as she scanned the area. “At the park, by that huge oak tree.” “Okay, let’s start there,” Flitter said before trotting off with the filly. When they found the oak tree the child had mentioned, her mother was nowhere to be found. They called her name by the apple stand, by the drinking fountain, and by the merry-go-round, but they couldn’t find the filly’s mother. When Flitter was about to just take the kid home with her and sort it out in the morning, the child finally heard her mother calling for her. “Mommy!” she said, cantering toward her with tears in her eyes. “Cherry!” the filly’s mother said once she spotted her child. “Cherry Berry, I couldn’t find you anywhere!” She hugged the filly. “Oh, you’re soaking wet. Where did you go?” “To look at the fishies. This pegasus brought me back.” Cherry pointed to Flitter. “Thank you for your trouble,” Cherry’s mother said. “Aww, it was nothing.” Grinning, Flitter scratched the back of her mane with a hoof. She remembered back to when she was younger and decided that she didn’t want to get Cherry in trouble. They said their good-byes and the mother and daughter trotted away. When they was out of view, Flitter stopped trying to look brave and collapsed onto her back. The foal she saved had almost died; she had almost died. She moved her hooves to her face. They were shaking. I need to talk to Cloudchaser. After a long time of just lying on the grass and looking up at the stars, Flitter sat up and flew home. When she got there, she saw her mother sitting outside, her grayish mane lit up by the lamp above the door. Tears were welled up in her eyes. Flitter had barely landed on the front porch when her mother saw her and wrapped her hooves around her in a warm embrace, sobbing. "Flitter! I was so worried! If something had happened to you, I... I don’t know what I’d do. I couldn’t decide whether to go looking for you or to stay here in case you came back.” She squeezed Flitter tighter. Finding herself speechless, Flitter wrapped her hooves around her mother and they stood there for a while. Eventually her mother’s tears stopped flowing and they let go. When Flitter looked up at her mother, she saw a faint smile on her face. Flitter sighed, and they went back inside. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cloudchaser didn’t show up for school the next day. All day, Flitter kept glancing back at Cloudchaser’s empty desk instead of paying attention to the teacher. The last bell rang, ending Flitter's math class. She stood and closed the books on her desk, staring down at them with a frown. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. Silverspeed chuckled to herself. “I see your loser friend didn’t even show up for school today. Have you reconsidered my offer?” “Ah, buzz off!”, Flitter said, staring daggers at her. Silverspeed turned up her nose with a “Hmph” and went out the door. “Flitter?” Flitter turned to see her teacher trotting towards her. “Yes?” “Since you’re such good friends, you wouldn’t mind taking Cloudchaser her homework?” Flitter’s heart skipped a beat. Before she could object, her teacher placed the papers on Flitter’s desk and trotted back to her desk. Flitter put them in her saddlebags and stood, her heart racing. She trotted to the door and was about to step through when her teacher stopped her. “Oh, and Flitter, try not to catch Cloudchaser’s cold. We wouldn’t want you missing class, too.” Oh, she’s just sick. Flitter’s heart calmed. “Okay.” Butterflies filled Flitter’s stomach on the way to Cloudchaser’s house. Twice, Flitter questioned whether her friend was really sick before she landed at Cloudchaser’s doorstep. Flitter’s heart raced. As she raised a hoof to knock, a dark lilac blur shot out and tackled her, making her drop her saddlebags on the doorstep. They both tumbled off the cloud and started falling to the ground below, their hair flowing freely in the wind. “Flitter!” Flitter opened her eyes to see the side of Cloudchaser’s unkempt mane. Her hooves were wrapped around Flitter, holding her tight. “I did it, Flitter!” Cloudchaser shouted at the top of her lungs. Flitter leaned back to look at Cloudchaser; a large grin was plastered over Cloudchaser’s face. “Did what?” Flitter asked. “I got my cutie mark!” Cloudchaser eased her grip on Flitter. Eyes watering and mane flickering wildly around her, Flitter spotted a mark on Cloudchaser’s flank in the shape of a shooting star. They unfurled their wings in unison, slowing their descent to a glide. “When? How?!” Flitter asked, her eyes widening. “Last night, I was staring out my window when I thought I saw a comet shoot across the sky. The air pressure made a ripple which shoved the clouds surrounding it away. Then I started thinking about how the weather is organized and I realized I wanted to do that. I wanted to be a meteorologist. “That’s why I wasn’t at school today. I stayed up too late reading weather books. My mom let me sleep in because she saw how hard I was working. The funny thing is I didn’t realize I had gotten my cutie mark until I woke up about an hour ago.” I didn’t see a comet last ni—Wait a minute! Flitter’s eyebrows shot up. “Cloudchaser, when did you see this comet?” “Just after the sun set. Why?” Pressing a hoof to her chin, Flitter did the math in her head. It was difficult, but she managed, and when she did, she could not help but blurt out: “That wasn’t a comet, Cloudchaser, that was me!” Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow. “Huh?” “I took a short flight last night and saw a filly drowning.” Flitter gestured towards her chest with a hoof, her eyes wide. “You must’ve seen me save her.” “Wait, so you helped me get my cutie mark?!” Cloudchaser placed a hoof on Flitter’s shoulder. Flitter giggled sheepishly. “I guess so.” “Oh, Flitter, that’s awesome!” Before Flitter knew what was happening, Cloudchaser quickly spun around and kissed her, their manes fluttering in the breeze. Flitter’s face turned a bright red as she felt Cloudchaser’s lips press against her own, but she soon relaxed her eyelids as they barrel-rolled through the air, and then she relaxed her wings. Flitter was so lost in Cloudchaser that she didn’t notice that they had started diving until they crash-landed onto a nearby cloud. When Flitter sat up, she saw Cloudchaser lying on top of her, her head resting on Flitter’s chest. She touched her lip with a hoof and gasped. “Cloudchaser, you kissed me!” “Huh?” Cloudchaser looked up at her friend. “Oh, uh... yeah.” Neither of them said anything for a moment. Cloudchaser gulped. “H-how was it?” she asked, her eyes traveling over the cloud. The nape of her neck started to sweat. Flitter grinned. “It was awesome!” She helped Cloudchaser to her hooves and gave her a quick hug. “C’mon, there’s something we gotta do!” Flitter took off, Cloudchaser following closely behind. “Where are we going?!” Cloudchaser shouted when she caught up with Flitter. “You’ll see!” They flew over to the mountains behind Cloudsdale. Compared to what Flitter had gone through the night before, flying to the mountains was a cake walk. For the entire trip, they both said nothing; they just smiled. As they sat there and looked out at the clouds, Flitter’s mind traveled elsewhere. I wonder what my mom is going to say when she finds out I’m in love with Cloudchaser. Will she accept it? Flitter’s eyes widened. What if she kicks me out onto the street?! Cloudchaser wrapped a hoof around Flitter’s shoulder and gave her a light squeeze. She looked at Flitter with a smile and a blush. Aww, who cares? It’ll work out somehow. Flitter thought as her head fell against Cloudchaser’s. 3 - Bonus Chapter: Dancing CloudsFlitter stared at her reflection in her bedroom mirror. She sighed as she thought back to earlier in the day. It had been five years since she and Cloudchaser had started dating. In that time, as far as they knew, their parents hadn’t figured anything out. Tonight was the night of the senior prom. Cloudchaser had insisted that they go separately and meet each other there. Flitter’s bedroom door hit the opposing wall, causing her to jump slightly. “C’mon, Flitter, I just finished making your prom dress.” Her mother had light bags under her eyes and her hair was ruffled, but she was smiling. “Okay, mom.” Flitter turned and followed her mother to the living room, shaking slightly along the way. When they arrived, Flitter cooed at the sight of her new dress. “Wow, mom, this is some of your best work yet.” She ran a hoof across the raspberry-colored silk. Her mother helped slip the dress over her shoulders. “Hmm...” Flitter scratched her head while her mother smoothed out the dress. “Something wrong, Flitter?” “Hey, mom, why did you start making dresses?” “Oh, haven’t I told you that story already?” Flitter shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.” “Well, I remember starting just before you went to kindergarten.” Flitter’s mother brought out a brush and started to fix up Flitter’s mane. “I took you out to go shopping for school supplies. As we went by the stores, you saw a dress in the window that you really wanted for your first day of school. “Now this was a couple of years after your father had passed, and—with my job as a weather pony—I couldn’t afford to buy you the nice clothes you wanted. So I started making dresses for you myself.” She chuckled a little. “The first few designs didn’t turn out so well, but you liked them anyway.” Flitter glanced up at her. “But these new ones are really good. Why didn’t you ever quit your job and just design clothes full time?” “Because if I did, then I wouldn’t have any to give to you.” She put the brush down. “Maybe someday, after you move out.” “I guess so...” Flitter’s mother held up a hoof mirror. “What do you think?” “It’s wonderful!” Flitter said, turning and spinning as she gazed at her smiling reflection. “So, who’s the lucky pony that’s taking you to the prom?” her mother asked, hopefully. “Nopony—I’m going by myself.” Her expression deflated a little. “Oh... Well, I guess that way you can dance with all of them?” “Huh? Yeah, sure.” Flitter glanced away. “I’ll be back later tonight,” Flitter said, trotting toward the door. “All right.” Her mother waved goodbye. Flitter took off for the dance. ~~~~~~~~~~ Flitter sat alone at the table in the gym. Around her, loud and furious rock and roll music was playing. Her classmates were dancing wildly, flailing their hooves about every which way. Flitter rested her head on the table. While she had arrived a little early, she wasn’t the first one there. She had been waiting for Cloudchaser for over two hours by then. Despite the fact that she hadn't seen Silverspeed much at school anymore, she still hadn’t made any new friends besides Cloudchaser. So nopony had asked her to dance. As she sat there, Flitter thought back to when Cloudchaser had taken her on their first real date. They had gone to see Ralph Buckshi’s animated film adaptation of Ponies of the Five Rings. Cloudchaser had bought a large bag of popcorn. When the movie had started, they both reached for it at the same time. They had just sat there with their hooves touching in the bag. When the movie ended, they noticed that their hooves were still in the full bag of popcorn. After a bit of nervous laughter, they decided to see the movie again the next week and actually pay attention this time. Cloudchaser had taken Flitter on many other dates after that. They went to the amusement park a few times, to Wonderbolts shows, and even to a concert or two. But Cloudchaser only had so much money. So they usually just hung out at the park. Flitter could almost feel her hooves around her. She could almost hear her voice. “Flitter?” Flitter looked up from the empty cup on the table to see Cloudchaser extending a hoof to her. She was wearing a white suit with a black bow tie that highlighted her curves nicely. The sight made Flitter’s heart skip a beat. The band started their next song; a much slower tune, this time. Cloudchaser bowed. “You look lovely in that dress, milady. Would you care to dance?” “H-here? Where everypony can see us?” Flitter’s heart was racing. “The only one I see here is you.” The blood in Flitter’s face rushed to her cheeks. “O-okay...” Flitter lifted a hoof and Cloudchaser took it. Cloudchaser brought Flitter out onto the dance floor and they danced. Flitter let out a soft yelp when she felt the grip of Cloudchaser’s hoof on her upper-back. She rested her head against Cloudchaser’s chest. They stepped back and forth across the gymnasium floor, each step in time with the other. The moment seemed to last a blissful eternity as they moved with the music. And when the song ended, they stopped and just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. Before either of them could speak, they heard the sound of hooves clapping the floor. They turned to see that it was Silverspeed who was making the noise. She was quickly joined by the rest of their classmates and soon the whole gym was cheering. The sight made Flitter put on a bright, beaming smile. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cloudchaser and Flitter danced for hours. When they came out of the prom, they were exhausted. “Do you want a ride home?” Silverspeed asked, once she saw them. Huffing, Flitter and Cloudchaser nodded. They staggered over to Silverspeed’s chariot and sat down. Silverspeed sat across from them with her date, Thunderlane, shutting the door behind them. The chariot drivers took off. The four of them sat in silence, with Flitter glancing at anything but Silverspeed. Finally Silverspeed spoke: “I... Uh...” She scratched the back of her silver mane. “I’m sorry about how I treated you and Cloudchaser all these years.” Flitter looked up at her. “I acted very foalish. All this time, we could’ve been friends. Can you ever forgive me, Flitter? Cloudchaser?” A broad grin appeared on Flitter’s face. “Of course I can, Silverspeed!” She leaned over and wrapped her hooves around her old friend, who in turn hugged her back. Thunderlane snickered. Silverspeed heard this and glared at him. When the two of them let go, Flitter noticed her cloud-house up ahead and pointed to it. “Oh, stop there!” The drivers flew up to the porch and stopped. Flitter stepped out of the carriage. “Bye, Silverspeed, Thunderlane, see you in class next week!” Thunderlane nudged Cloudchaser. “Aren’t ya gonna show her to the door?” “Oh!” Cloudchaser’s eyes widened. “Right!” She joined Flitter on the porch of her house and they trotted to the door. They stood at the doorstep for a moment. Cloudchaser’s gaze ran along the railing. “Uh, Cloudchaser...” Flitter said. Cloudchaser shook her head. “Yes?!” she said, stiffening up, eyes widened. “Your ride home just left.” “Huh?” Cloudchaser turned to see the chariot flying away. They could hear the faint sounds of Silverspeed shouting at Thunderlane, calling him a pig. Flitter giggled. “Hey, Cloudchaser, I guess we’re alone...” She shifted from side to side on her hooves. “Yeah, I guess we are.” Cloudchaser smirked. “So... Do you wanna sit down?” “Absolutely! I’m beat.” After a moment of sitting on the bench and looking up at the stars, Flitter leaned against Cloudchaser, smiling. Cloudchaser grinned, then wrapped her hooves around Flitter and kissed her on the cheek. With a yelp, Flitter fell on her back. Cloudchaser lay on top of her, hugging her and peppering her face with kisses. Flitter giggled. “Oh, Cloudchaser, stop... What if somepony sees us?” “Let ’em.” Cloudchaser moved to Flitter’s neck and started nibbling. “Really, Cloudchaser.” Flitter laughed. “What if my mom wakes up and sees us?” Cloudchaser stopped. “You have a point...” She sat up, frowning. Oops... Flitter thought. Another moment of silence passed as Flitter stared down at her hooves. “Cloudchaser, I...” She turned to see Cloudchaser with her head hung low and her eyes closed, breathing softly. Flitter sighed. She’s asleep... Moving in front of her, Flitter pulled Cloudchaser onto her back and took her to her bedroom where she laid her down on her bed. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Goodness, Cloudchaser is heavy. It’s times like this that make me glad I started flight training. Too bad Cloudchaser never did. She crawled onto the bed and yanked the covers out from under Cloudchaser, who still snoozed. As she rested the covers on top of them, Flitter thought: Guess I’ll go sleep on the couch... She was about to get up when Cloudchaser rolled over and hugged her. “Gah—” Flitter clamped a hoof over her mouth. “Cloudchaser?” she whispered, turning to face her. Cloudchaser still slept soundly. Or I could stay here. Flitter chuckled, and she soon fell asleep in Cloudchaser’s warm hooves. ~~~~~~~~~~ “Flitter? Your breakfast is almost ready!” called Flitter’s mother. “Huh, what...” Flitter opened her eyes; her vision was still blurry. Cloudchaser sat up. Her eyes were wide. She spotted an open window. From the kitchen, they could hear breakfast cooking. Cloudchaser leapt from the bed. She unfurled her wings. Just as Flitter’s mother trotted into the room, Cloudchaser flew through the window and out of sight. Flitter’s mother carried two plates of veggie eggs and veggie bacon, beaming. “Rise and shine, Flitter!” Flitter blinked, her vision clearing. “G’morning, mom. W-why do you have two plates?” “Oh... Uh...” She glanced away for a moment. “I wanted to join you. It feels like forever since we’ve had a meal together.” Flitter’s heart raced. “G-gee, mom, I skip out on one meal to go to the prom, and you think the world is ending.” She stood and took her plate. “L-let’s sit at the table...” “Oh... okay.” Flitter half-pushed her mother as they went out of the room. She felt like her chest was going to burst. They sat down at the kitchen table and started eating. A few seconds passed without either of them saying a word. Her mother was the first to break the silence. “So, Flitter—” Flitter dropped her fork on her lap. “Y-yes?” “How did it go last night?” “Huh?!” Flitter’s eyes widened. “Did you have fun at the prom?” “Oh, right... The prom...” Flitter stared down at her breakfast. “Y-yeah, it was a blast.” Flitter’s stomach hurt. She wasn’t sure if her mother had seen Cloudchaser or not. Not wanting to look suspicious in case she hadn’t seen her, Flitter kept eating. “Is something wrong, Flitter?” Her mother tilted her head, eyebrows upturned. Flitter gulped. She felt like her heart was going to leap out of her breast. “N-no, of course not, Mom. Why do you ask?” “Well, you hardly ever bring friends over to visit anymore. You used to bring one home almost every day before.” “O-oh...” Flitter looked down at her fork. “C’mon, Mom, I’m eighteen. I’d rather go out with friends than play here at home.” “Oh, I guess so...” Her mother gazed down at her plate, sighing. Flitter shoveled the last of her eggs into her mouth and gulped down her milk. “Whelp, see you after school, Mom.” She stood and headed for the door. She was almost free. “Flitter?” Flitter’s heart skipped a beat. Her vision blurred for a moment. She turned around. “Y-yes?” “Is there anything you want to tell me?” “No,” Flitter said, and she wasn’t lying. “Nothing at all.” “All right, then.” She took the breakfast dishes from the table. “Have a good day at school.” “I will!” Flitter took off, out the door and to the air.
1 - Meeting CloudsFlitter hummed to herself a happy tune as she trotted to class. She stopped at the doorway and straightened the bow she was wearing in her mane before stepping through. The sounds of her classmates chatting with each other graced her ears. On her way to her desk, she greeted each and every one of her friends by name. A moment later, the teacher walked in. The class fell silent as she spoke. "Class, today we have a new student.” She motioned a hoof at the door. “Why don't you tell us about yourself?" A filly with a dark lilac coat strolled up to the front of the class, waving a hoof at her new classmates and smirking. She rested an elbow on the teacher’s desk as she talked. "My name’s Cloudchaser. I just moved here from Canterlot." "Well, Cloudchaser, why don't you take that empty seat next to Flitter?" The teacher began their lesson on weather control once Cloudchaser had taken her seat. Flitter saw that she didn’t have a cutie mark. Huh? That’s weird, she thought. Her gaze traveled up to Cloudchaser’s mane; her sky-blue locks stuck out in the back, and her bangs swept across her forehead. Cloudchaser glanced at her. “Why are you staring at me?” Flitter’s tail twitched. “Oh! Uh...” Flitter put a hoof to her mouth and whispered into Cloudchaser’s ear, "I think your mane is awesome.” “You do?" Cloudchaser ran a hoof through her hair and grinned. The spikes in the back of her hair shot up when she brought her hoof down over the ones lying against her neck. "Your bow’s adorable." Flitter beamed. "Really?" "Flitter," the teacher suddenly said, "if you're so eager to speak, then can you tell us what kind of cloud this is?” She pointed to a picture of a cloud lying against the blackboard. Flitter looked down at her desk, pursing her lips. A moment later, she stood up. "What was the question again?" A few of her classmates snickered. The teacher rubbed her temple with a hoof and grumbled. "What kind of cloud is this?" "A Nimbus Two Thousand?" Cloudchaser burst out laughing. Flitter made a sheepish grin and scratched the back of her long pale-green mane. The three dragonflies painted on her flank pressed against the hard wood of the chair as she sat down. The teacher’s eye twitched. “Well, Cloudchaser, if you think meteorology is funny, then why don’t you tell us how to make a cloud rain?” Cloudchaser stood up and cleared her throat. ”I assume that you mean the standard way, by kicking them, but I have a theory that I think might be more efficient. “We send out a team of about six pegasi over the clouds, each carrying a bag of dry ice.” Cloudchaser zipped her hoof in a horizontal motion. “They dust clouds with the ice, which condenses the liquid in them, thus making it rain. You see, it takes about thirty seconds for the average pony to get into position, extend their legs, and connect with the cloud. But, with my method, it should take them less than five seconds per cloud.” All the other pegasi, including the teacher, stared at her with their mouths agape. “Well, that was... very interesting, Cloudchaser.” The teacher went back to their lesson. Cloudchaser sat down in her seat and leaned back a little, raising the two front legs of the chair in the air. A grey pegasus with a silver mane named Silverspeed leaned over to Flitter and whispered: “What’s her problem? Doesn’t she know that’s common knowledge?” “Who knows...” Flitter said, not taking her eyes off their new classmate. She’s so smart~ ~~~~~~~~~~ After class had ended for the day, most of the other students stayed behind to help each other with their homework or shoot the breeze. Cloudchaser stood and trotted out the door. Flitter saw her and ran after. “Hey, Cloudchaser, where are you going?” “Huh?” Her eyebrow raised, Cloudchaser stopped and looked back at Flitter. “Home, I guess.” She tilted her head a bit. "Why? You wanna hang out or something?" “Ohmygosh, yes!” she said, catching up with Cloudchaser. “So what’s there to do in this little puff of gas you call a town?” Cloudchaser asked as they trotted down the hall. Flitter told her all about the town, about all the sights, the shops, and where to have fun, though none of the places she mentioned piqued Cloudchaser’s interest. Then Flitter mentioned the rainbow factory, and Cloudchaser insisted that they sneak in. Flitter tried to convince her not to go at first, but went along anyway when Cloudchaser told her that she would go by herself if she had to. They left the school and took off for the rainbow factory. The entire trip there, Flitter was sweating bullets. She had heard stories of what happened to fillies and colts who were caught sneaking into the factory, but Flitter glanced at Cloudchaser and decided to swallow her fears. Cloudchaser landed by the back entrance and then motioned for Flitter to follow as she ducked inside. When Flitter landed, she darted her eyes around before chasing after her friend, shaking the whole time. Inside, Flitter gazed around the factory. The light glistened off the rainbow falls as it fell into the collection pools with a splash. The sight made her stop, and she let her mouth hang open. Around her, the factory workers went about their jobs. Some stirred the pools of rainbow, while a few others swept the floor. She quickly realized that Cloudchaser was trotting away and charged after her. “Okay, you saw the inside of the rainbow factory. Now let’s go,” Flitter whispered. “Hold on,” Cloudchaser replied. “I just want a little of the rainbow to take home.” “What?” Flitter almost shouted. Before she could stop her, Cloudchaser had already dashed off to one of the pools of rainbow. Taking out a bit, she placed it between the feathers of her wing and dipped it into the colorful solution. She wore a sly grin on her face as she held up the prismatic coin. “Hey! What are you doing here?” Flitter turned to see a large stallion wearing white hard hat and coat. “Look out!” she shouted. Cloudchaser recoiled when she saw the stallion stomping towards her. Without thinking, Flitter galloped forward. She dove at Cloudchaser and the two of them fell into the rainbow pool. A moment later, Flitter felt a strong bite around her shoulder, and she soon found herself rising out of the liquid and thrown onto the floor; Cloudchaser quickly joined her. The stallion took them to the back entrance and threw them out into the street. “The rainbow factory is no place for foals. If you’d gotten hurt, the factory would get shut down, and then we wouldn’t have any more rainbows. Now get lost before I call your parents!” He went back inside the factory, shaking the droplets of rainbow from his mouth and grimacing. Flitter and Cloudchaser looked at each other. The sight of them covered head to tail with rainbow fluid made Cloudchaser snicker; Flitter quickly joined her. “Whew, that was a close one.” Flitter wiped her forehead off. “Yeah,” Cloudchaser said, gazing at the sky. “Last time I got caught sneaking into a rainbow factory, I got lectured for an hour afterwards.” Flitter looked at her wide-eyed. “You’ve done this before?” Her heart skipped a beat. Cloudchaser grinned at her. “Maybe we should just get ice cream next time.” Flitter sighed. Cloudchaser chuckled. “Sure, why not?” ~~~~~~~~~~ A month had passed since Flitter first met Cloudchaser. In that time, they played together almost every day. This day after school, Flitter trotted out the door, adjusting her flight goggles. Outside she saw Cloudchaser kicking a hacky sack by herself. “Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three...” Flitter trotted towards her. “Hey, Cloudchaser, why are you playing by yourself? Why don’t you join the school flight team?” “Aw, I already tried. They won’t let me join. Twenty-six, twenty-seven...” Cloudchaser grumbled. “What? Why?” Cloudchaser caught the sack with her wing, and then she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. They wouldn’t even let me try out. If they don’t want me on the team, then I don’t care anymore.” She pursed her lips. “Oh... Well, see ya later then.” Flitter started to trot away, her eyebrows upturned. “Yeah, see you.” Cloudchaser went back to playing with the hackey sack. “One, two, three, four...” Flitter stopped. She glanced in the direction of the flight track, then back at her new friend. Eh, there’ll be other flight practices. She went back to Cloudchaser. “Can I play, too?” “Sure!” Cloudchaser kicked the sack to Flitter and they both started kicking it back and forth. It soon turned into a heated match, with neither one of them wanting to be the one to let the hacky sack fall through the cloud. They kept it flying between them for a long time before Cloudchaser missed and let it drop below the cloud. She gave a short chuckle. As the loser of that round, she had to retrieve the toy. They played many rounds with the hacky sack with Flitter gaining only a slight lead. She was just about to claim another victory when Cloudchaser’s mother showed up to take her home. So Cloudchaser said goodbye to Flitter and took off with her mother. Flitter was about to leave as well when her eyebrows shot up. The hacky sack! she thought, diving down under the clouds. When she found it, she brought it back inside and placed it on Cloudchaser’s desk before going home. ~~~~~~~~~~ Flitter wore a beaming smile on her face as she met Cloudchaser in the hall on the way to class the next day. In the classroom, she saw her classmates chatting away while they waited for their teacher to arrive. “G’morning, Silverspeed!” Flitter said, waving at her. “Flitter, you skipped flight training again yesterday. Where were you?” Silverspeed asked. “Oh, I was playing with Cloudchaser.” “What?” Silverspeed slammed a hoof on her desk. “You’re still friends with that egghead?!” Flitter recoiled a hoof. “Hey, she is not an egghead! Cloudchaser is really smart and cool and... and... awesome!” Flitter stomped a hoof on the cloud floor. “No!” Silverspeed stood up. “Cloudchaser is a know-it-all blank-flank egghead!” “You just don’t like her ’cause she’s smarter than you!” Flitter gritted her teeth. Why am I getting so worked up over this? Silverspeed pressed her forehead against Flitter’s. “You take that back!” Flitter pressed harder. “Apologise to Cloudchaser!” “No!” Silverspeed turned up her nose at Flitter. “If you’re going to play with that egghead, then this ends our friendship.” “W-what?” Flitter’s mouth hung wide open. “But... why?” “Because,” Silverspeed snapped, “I don’t want to have anything to do with that blank-flank, or her friends.” “I...” Flitter hung her head low, and she slowly trotted out of the classroom, pouting. The rest of the class only watched in silence. “Flitter, where are you going?” Cloudchaser asked, speaking up only now. Flitter shut the door behind her, tears welling up in her eyes. Inside the bathroom, Flitter trotted up to the sink and turned on the faucet. She splashed some water on her face and looked up at the mirror. The light pink veins in her eyes matched the color of her cheeks. She pressed a hoof under her eye and gently pulled it down to get a better look. Upon hearing a knock at the door, she let go and turned off the faucet. She heard the door open and then Cloudchaser’s voice: "Flitter? Are you okay?" Flitter’s gaze lowered to the basin. “She’s been my friend for so long.” She turned around. “We’ve been friends since kindergarten. And now...” She snuffled. Cloudchaser wrapped her hooves around Flitter and held her tightly. “I’m sure it will be okay." Flitter buried her face in Cloudchaser's chest, her uncontrollable tears staining the fur beneath them. Cloudchaser paid it no mind as she stroked her friend's mane. If only there was more I could do for her, she thought. If only I was stronger... braver... After a few moments, Flitter’s tears stopped flowing. “Let’s get back to class.” Cloudchaser put a hoof around her shoulder and they left the bathroom. When they got back to class, they found the rest of the students in their seats, chatting away with each other. On the way back to her chair, Flitter turned to one of her classmates and said, “Hey, Drizzle.” Drizzle stared down at her desk. Flitter raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Lightning Dust, what’s with Drizzle?” Lightning Dust looked back at Silverspeed—who shook her head—and then she sunk down into her seat. “Medley? Blossomforth? Skyra?” Flitter said, darting her gaze around the room. “Speak to me!” She spotted Silverspeed in the back row, grinning and holding her front hooves together in front of her chin. “They’re not your friends anymore, Flitter. Either you end your friendship with that egghead, or we’re never speaking to you again!” Flitter’s face drooped. She trotted back to her desk and sat down. The rest of her classmates ignored her as they talked amongst themselves. Cloudchaser kept her mouth shut the entire time. Moments later, the teacher came in and started taking attendance. She didn’t seem to notice that Silverspeed was glaring at Flitter.
2 - Finding CloudsAfter class let out, Flitter invited Cloudchaser over to her house again. Flitter’s eyes were red and the fur on her cheeks tearstained. After a moment’s hesitation, Cloudchaser accepted the invitation. They kept silent for the whole trip to Flitter’s house. When they reached the house, they went into Flitter’s bedroom and sat next to each other on her bed. The moment Flitter sat down, tears started pouring down her face. “Cloudchaser, what am I gonna do? I don’t think I can live without my friends, but what about you? I don’t want you to be alone.” She pressed her face deep in Cloudchaser’s chest. Cloudchaser wrapped a hoof around Flitter and slowly brushed her mane with a wing. Flitter looked up at her, and their eyes met; for a moment, her tears stopped flowing. Her gaze drifted down to Cloudchaser’s lips, which were slowly drawing closer to hers. For a moment, she thought Cloudchaser was going to kiss her. It was just like in the movies. But wait, isn’t Cloudchaser a girl? The thought made her turn away, blushing. “I...” Cloudchaser said, pressing a hoof to her cheek. “I better go.” She stood up and galloped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her. Flitter slumped onto her bed. A moment later, she moved one of her hooves to her lips. She had never shared a kiss with another pony before, but would a kiss from Cloudchaser count? They were both fillies, after all. Flitter didn’t know. Maybe I wouldn't mind finding out what it's like... She stood and slowly trotted to her bedroom window. She laid her hooves on the windowsill and rested her head on them. Outside, she saw that the sky had turned a bright orange as the sun lowered beneath the horizon. I’ve never felt this way about a girl before. What’s wrong with me? The thought made Flitter’s tear ducts well up again. Maybe I’ll feel better after a short flight. That usually works. Flitter stepped out of her bedroom window and took to the air. The ponies she saw from the aerial view of the field below looked like ants. Far behind Cloudsdale was a large mountain range that looked almost purple in the fading sunset. Flitter had always wanted to fly there, but her mother wouldn’t take her. She had decided to travel there one day, when she grew up some more. Maybe I’ll ask Cloudchaser to come. And with that thought, her mind returned to the problems at hoof. Flitter was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice when the sun traveled behind the hills. She was about to turn back toward her cloud house when she heard the sounds of splashing water and breathless screams from the ground below. In the light of the moon, she looked down to see a small filly being swept away in a river. Uh-oh! She scanned the area, looking for an adult. What do I do? When she couldn’t find one, she started to sweat. She gulped and dove towards the child, the piercing wind blowing through her mane as she flew faster than she had ever flown before. On the way down, she tossed clouds left and right to get them out of the way. As she reached the stream, Flitter extended her front hooves and swept them under the foal. But before she could take to the air again, the current below caught her and carried them both away. Not good. Not good! Still holding the filly, Flitter darted her eyes around. Up ahead, she noticed a fallen tree hanging over the river. If I can just grab it... She raised a hoof out of the rushing water to grab one of the branches. As she passed under the tree, the branches slipped out of her grasp. Stupid hooves, she thought, eyes widened. With the fallen tree out of the way, Flitter’s eyebrows shot up when she saw water rushing off the edge of the waterfall up ahead. Coming closer to the edge by the second, she grit her teeth and dug a hoof into the wall of the river. But it merely slowed the inevitable as they were both swept over the falls. Flitter quickly joined the foal in her screams. What do I do? What do I do?! Turning her head in every direction, she soon caught a glance at one of her wings and face-hooved. Duh, I’m a pegasus! She extended her wings and soared through the air with the filly, lifting up above the water. Swooping down, she landed on the ground far from the steam and let the filly go. “I guess *huff* those years *huff* of flight training *huff* really paid off,” Flitter said, breathing heavy with her tongue hanging out. After a moment, the foal finally let go and looked around. “Where’s my mommy?” she asked, looking up at Flitter with large, quivering eyes. “Uh, where did you see her last?” Flitter asked as she scanned the area. “At the park, by that huge oak tree.” “Okay, let’s start there,” Flitter said before trotting off with the filly. When they found the oak tree the child had mentioned, her mother was nowhere to be found. They called her name by the apple stand, by the drinking fountain, and by the merry-go-round, but they couldn’t find the filly’s mother. When Flitter was about to just take the kid home with her and sort it out in the morning, the child finally heard her mother calling for her. “Mommy!” she said, cantering toward her with tears in her eyes. “Cherry!” the filly’s mother said once she spotted her child. “Cherry Berry, I couldn’t find you anywhere!” She hugged the filly. “Oh, you’re soaking wet. Where did you go?” “To look at the fishies. This pegasus brought me back.” Cherry pointed to Flitter. “Thank you for your trouble,” Cherry’s mother said. “Aww, it was nothing.” Grinning, Flitter scratched the back of her mane with a hoof. She remembered back to when she was younger and decided that she didn’t want to get Cherry in trouble. They said their good-byes and the mother and daughter trotted away. When they was out of view, Flitter stopped trying to look brave and collapsed onto her back. The foal she saved had almost died; she had almost died. She moved her hooves to her face. They were shaking. I need to talk to Cloudchaser. After a long time of just lying on the grass and looking up at the stars, Flitter sat up and flew home. When she got there, she saw her mother sitting outside, her grayish mane lit up by the lamp above the door. Tears were welled up in her eyes. Flitter had barely landed on the front porch when her mother saw her and wrapped her hooves around her in a warm embrace, sobbing. "Flitter! I was so worried! If something had happened to you, I... I don’t know what I’d do. I couldn’t decide whether to go looking for you or to stay here in case you came back.” She squeezed Flitter tighter. Finding herself speechless, Flitter wrapped her hooves around her mother and they stood there for a while. Eventually her mother’s tears stopped flowing and they let go. When Flitter looked up at her mother, she saw a faint smile on her face. Flitter sighed, and they went back inside. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cloudchaser didn’t show up for school the next day. All day, Flitter kept glancing back at Cloudchaser’s empty desk instead of paying attention to the teacher. The last bell rang, ending Flitter's math class. She stood and closed the books on her desk, staring down at them with a frown. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. Silverspeed chuckled to herself. “I see your loser friend didn’t even show up for school today. Have you reconsidered my offer?” “Ah, buzz off!”, Flitter said, staring daggers at her. Silverspeed turned up her nose with a “Hmph” and went out the door. “Flitter?” Flitter turned to see her teacher trotting towards her. “Yes?” “Since you’re such good friends, you wouldn’t mind taking Cloudchaser her homework?” Flitter’s heart skipped a beat. Before she could object, her teacher placed the papers on Flitter’s desk and trotted back to her desk. Flitter put them in her saddlebags and stood, her heart racing. She trotted to the door and was about to step through when her teacher stopped her. “Oh, and Flitter, try not to catch Cloudchaser’s cold. We wouldn’t want you missing class, too.” Oh, she’s just sick. Flitter’s heart calmed. “Okay.” Butterflies filled Flitter’s stomach on the way to Cloudchaser’s house. Twice, Flitter questioned whether her friend was really sick before she landed at Cloudchaser’s doorstep. Flitter’s heart raced. As she raised a hoof to knock, a dark lilac blur shot out and tackled her, making her drop her saddlebags on the doorstep. They both tumbled off the cloud and started falling to the ground below, their hair flowing freely in the wind. “Flitter!” Flitter opened her eyes to see the side of Cloudchaser’s unkempt mane. Her hooves were wrapped around Flitter, holding her tight. “I did it, Flitter!” Cloudchaser shouted at the top of her lungs. Flitter leaned back to look at Cloudchaser; a large grin was plastered over Cloudchaser’s face. “Did what?” Flitter asked. “I got my cutie mark!” Cloudchaser eased her grip on Flitter. Eyes watering and mane flickering wildly around her, Flitter spotted a mark on Cloudchaser’s flank in the shape of a shooting star. They unfurled their wings in unison, slowing their descent to a glide. “When? How?!” Flitter asked, her eyes widening. “Last night, I was staring out my window when I thought I saw a comet shoot across the sky. The air pressure made a ripple which shoved the clouds surrounding it away. Then I started thinking about how the weather is organized and I realized I wanted to do that. I wanted to be a meteorologist. “That’s why I wasn’t at school today. I stayed up too late reading weather books. My mom let me sleep in because she saw how hard I was working. The funny thing is I didn’t realize I had gotten my cutie mark until I woke up about an hour ago.” I didn’t see a comet last ni—Wait a minute! Flitter’s eyebrows shot up. “Cloudchaser, when did you see this comet?” “Just after the sun set. Why?” Pressing a hoof to her chin, Flitter did the math in her head. It was difficult, but she managed, and when she did, she could not help but blurt out: “That wasn’t a comet, Cloudchaser, that was me!” Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow. “Huh?” “I took a short flight last night and saw a filly drowning.” Flitter gestured towards her chest with a hoof, her eyes wide. “You must’ve seen me save her.” “Wait, so you helped me get my cutie mark?!” Cloudchaser placed a hoof on Flitter’s shoulder. Flitter giggled sheepishly. “I guess so.” “Oh, Flitter, that’s awesome!” Before Flitter knew what was happening, Cloudchaser quickly spun around and kissed her, their manes fluttering in the breeze. Flitter’s face turned a bright red as she felt Cloudchaser’s lips press against her own, but she soon relaxed her eyelids as they barrel-rolled through the air, and then she relaxed her wings. Flitter was so lost in Cloudchaser that she didn’t notice that they had started diving until they crash-landed onto a nearby cloud. When Flitter sat up, she saw Cloudchaser lying on top of her, her head resting on Flitter’s chest. She touched her lip with a hoof and gasped. “Cloudchaser, you kissed me!” “Huh?” Cloudchaser looked up at her friend. “Oh, uh... yeah.” Neither of them said anything for a moment. Cloudchaser gulped. “H-how was it?” she asked, her eyes traveling over the cloud. The nape of her neck started to sweat. Flitter grinned. “It was awesome!” She helped Cloudchaser to her hooves and gave her a quick hug. “C’mon, there’s something we gotta do!” Flitter took off, Cloudchaser following closely behind. “Where are we going?!” Cloudchaser shouted when she caught up with Flitter. “You’ll see!” They flew over to the mountains behind Cloudsdale. Compared to what Flitter had gone through the night before, flying to the mountains was a cake walk. For the entire trip, they both said nothing; they just smiled. As they sat there and looked out at the clouds, Flitter’s mind traveled elsewhere. I wonder what my mom is going to say when she finds out I’m in love with Cloudchaser. Will she accept it? Flitter’s eyes widened. What if she kicks me out onto the street?! Cloudchaser wrapped a hoof around Flitter’s shoulder and gave her a light squeeze. She looked at Flitter with a smile and a blush. Aww, who cares? It’ll work out somehow. Flitter thought as her head fell against Cloudchaser’s.
3 - Bonus Chapter: Dancing CloudsFlitter stared at her reflection in her bedroom mirror. She sighed as she thought back to earlier in the day. It had been five years since she and Cloudchaser had started dating. In that time, as far as they knew, their parents hadn’t figured anything out. Tonight was the night of the senior prom. Cloudchaser had insisted that they go separately and meet each other there. Flitter’s bedroom door hit the opposing wall, causing her to jump slightly. “C’mon, Flitter, I just finished making your prom dress.” Her mother had light bags under her eyes and her hair was ruffled, but she was smiling. “Okay, mom.” Flitter turned and followed her mother to the living room, shaking slightly along the way. When they arrived, Flitter cooed at the sight of her new dress. “Wow, mom, this is some of your best work yet.” She ran a hoof across the raspberry-colored silk. Her mother helped slip the dress over her shoulders. “Hmm...” Flitter scratched her head while her mother smoothed out the dress. “Something wrong, Flitter?” “Hey, mom, why did you start making dresses?” “Oh, haven’t I told you that story already?” Flitter shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.” “Well, I remember starting just before you went to kindergarten.” Flitter’s mother brought out a brush and started to fix up Flitter’s mane. “I took you out to go shopping for school supplies. As we went by the stores, you saw a dress in the window that you really wanted for your first day of school. “Now this was a couple of years after your father had passed, and—with my job as a weather pony—I couldn’t afford to buy you the nice clothes you wanted. So I started making dresses for you myself.” She chuckled a little. “The first few designs didn’t turn out so well, but you liked them anyway.” Flitter glanced up at her. “But these new ones are really good. Why didn’t you ever quit your job and just design clothes full time?” “Because if I did, then I wouldn’t have any to give to you.” She put the brush down. “Maybe someday, after you move out.” “I guess so...” Flitter’s mother held up a hoof mirror. “What do you think?” “It’s wonderful!” Flitter said, turning and spinning as she gazed at her smiling reflection. “So, who’s the lucky pony that’s taking you to the prom?” her mother asked, hopefully. “Nopony—I’m going by myself.” Her expression deflated a little. “Oh... Well, I guess that way you can dance with all of them?” “Huh? Yeah, sure.” Flitter glanced away. “I’ll be back later tonight,” Flitter said, trotting toward the door. “All right.” Her mother waved goodbye. Flitter took off for the dance. ~~~~~~~~~~ Flitter sat alone at the table in the gym. Around her, loud and furious rock and roll music was playing. Her classmates were dancing wildly, flailing their hooves about every which way. Flitter rested her head on the table. While she had arrived a little early, she wasn’t the first one there. She had been waiting for Cloudchaser for over two hours by then. Despite the fact that she hadn't seen Silverspeed much at school anymore, she still hadn’t made any new friends besides Cloudchaser. So nopony had asked her to dance. As she sat there, Flitter thought back to when Cloudchaser had taken her on their first real date. They had gone to see Ralph Buckshi’s animated film adaptation of Ponies of the Five Rings. Cloudchaser had bought a large bag of popcorn. When the movie had started, they both reached for it at the same time. They had just sat there with their hooves touching in the bag. When the movie ended, they noticed that their hooves were still in the full bag of popcorn. After a bit of nervous laughter, they decided to see the movie again the next week and actually pay attention this time. Cloudchaser had taken Flitter on many other dates after that. They went to the amusement park a few times, to Wonderbolts shows, and even to a concert or two. But Cloudchaser only had so much money. So they usually just hung out at the park. Flitter could almost feel her hooves around her. She could almost hear her voice. “Flitter?” Flitter looked up from the empty cup on the table to see Cloudchaser extending a hoof to her. She was wearing a white suit with a black bow tie that highlighted her curves nicely. The sight made Flitter’s heart skip a beat. The band started their next song; a much slower tune, this time. Cloudchaser bowed. “You look lovely in that dress, milady. Would you care to dance?” “H-here? Where everypony can see us?” Flitter’s heart was racing. “The only one I see here is you.” The blood in Flitter’s face rushed to her cheeks. “O-okay...” Flitter lifted a hoof and Cloudchaser took it. Cloudchaser brought Flitter out onto the dance floor and they danced. Flitter let out a soft yelp when she felt the grip of Cloudchaser’s hoof on her upper-back. She rested her head against Cloudchaser’s chest. They stepped back and forth across the gymnasium floor, each step in time with the other. The moment seemed to last a blissful eternity as they moved with the music. And when the song ended, they stopped and just stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. Before either of them could speak, they heard the sound of hooves clapping the floor. They turned to see that it was Silverspeed who was making the noise. She was quickly joined by the rest of their classmates and soon the whole gym was cheering. The sight made Flitter put on a bright, beaming smile. ~~~~~~~~~~ Cloudchaser and Flitter danced for hours. When they came out of the prom, they were exhausted. “Do you want a ride home?” Silverspeed asked, once she saw them. Huffing, Flitter and Cloudchaser nodded. They staggered over to Silverspeed’s chariot and sat down. Silverspeed sat across from them with her date, Thunderlane, shutting the door behind them. The chariot drivers took off. The four of them sat in silence, with Flitter glancing at anything but Silverspeed. Finally Silverspeed spoke: “I... Uh...” She scratched the back of her silver mane. “I’m sorry about how I treated you and Cloudchaser all these years.” Flitter looked up at her. “I acted very foalish. All this time, we could’ve been friends. Can you ever forgive me, Flitter? Cloudchaser?” A broad grin appeared on Flitter’s face. “Of course I can, Silverspeed!” She leaned over and wrapped her hooves around her old friend, who in turn hugged her back. Thunderlane snickered. Silverspeed heard this and glared at him. When the two of them let go, Flitter noticed her cloud-house up ahead and pointed to it. “Oh, stop there!” The drivers flew up to the porch and stopped. Flitter stepped out of the carriage. “Bye, Silverspeed, Thunderlane, see you in class next week!” Thunderlane nudged Cloudchaser. “Aren’t ya gonna show her to the door?” “Oh!” Cloudchaser’s eyes widened. “Right!” She joined Flitter on the porch of her house and they trotted to the door. They stood at the doorstep for a moment. Cloudchaser’s gaze ran along the railing. “Uh, Cloudchaser...” Flitter said. Cloudchaser shook her head. “Yes?!” she said, stiffening up, eyes widened. “Your ride home just left.” “Huh?” Cloudchaser turned to see the chariot flying away. They could hear the faint sounds of Silverspeed shouting at Thunderlane, calling him a pig. Flitter giggled. “Hey, Cloudchaser, I guess we’re alone...” She shifted from side to side on her hooves. “Yeah, I guess we are.” Cloudchaser smirked. “So... Do you wanna sit down?” “Absolutely! I’m beat.” After a moment of sitting on the bench and looking up at the stars, Flitter leaned against Cloudchaser, smiling. Cloudchaser grinned, then wrapped her hooves around Flitter and kissed her on the cheek. With a yelp, Flitter fell on her back. Cloudchaser lay on top of her, hugging her and peppering her face with kisses. Flitter giggled. “Oh, Cloudchaser, stop... What if somepony sees us?” “Let ’em.” Cloudchaser moved to Flitter’s neck and started nibbling. “Really, Cloudchaser.” Flitter laughed. “What if my mom wakes up and sees us?” Cloudchaser stopped. “You have a point...” She sat up, frowning. Oops... Flitter thought. Another moment of silence passed as Flitter stared down at her hooves. “Cloudchaser, I...” She turned to see Cloudchaser with her head hung low and her eyes closed, breathing softly. Flitter sighed. She’s asleep... Moving in front of her, Flitter pulled Cloudchaser onto her back and took her to her bedroom where she laid her down on her bed. She wiped the sweat off her forehead. Goodness, Cloudchaser is heavy. It’s times like this that make me glad I started flight training. Too bad Cloudchaser never did. She crawled onto the bed and yanked the covers out from under Cloudchaser, who still snoozed. As she rested the covers on top of them, Flitter thought: Guess I’ll go sleep on the couch... She was about to get up when Cloudchaser rolled over and hugged her. “Gah—” Flitter clamped a hoof over her mouth. “Cloudchaser?” she whispered, turning to face her. Cloudchaser still slept soundly. Or I could stay here. Flitter chuckled, and she soon fell asleep in Cloudchaser’s warm hooves. ~~~~~~~~~~ “Flitter? Your breakfast is almost ready!” called Flitter’s mother. “Huh, what...” Flitter opened her eyes; her vision was still blurry. Cloudchaser sat up. Her eyes were wide. She spotted an open window. From the kitchen, they could hear breakfast cooking. Cloudchaser leapt from the bed. She unfurled her wings. Just as Flitter’s mother trotted into the room, Cloudchaser flew through the window and out of sight. Flitter’s mother carried two plates of veggie eggs and veggie bacon, beaming. “Rise and shine, Flitter!” Flitter blinked, her vision clearing. “G’morning, mom. W-why do you have two plates?” “Oh... Uh...” She glanced away for a moment. “I wanted to join you. It feels like forever since we’ve had a meal together.” Flitter’s heart raced. “G-gee, mom, I skip out on one meal to go to the prom, and you think the world is ending.” She stood and took her plate. “L-let’s sit at the table...” “Oh... okay.” Flitter half-pushed her mother as they went out of the room. She felt like her chest was going to burst. They sat down at the kitchen table and started eating. A few seconds passed without either of them saying a word. Her mother was the first to break the silence. “So, Flitter—” Flitter dropped her fork on her lap. “Y-yes?” “How did it go last night?” “Huh?!” Flitter’s eyes widened. “Did you have fun at the prom?” “Oh, right... The prom...” Flitter stared down at her breakfast. “Y-yeah, it was a blast.” Flitter’s stomach hurt. She wasn’t sure if her mother had seen Cloudchaser or not. Not wanting to look suspicious in case she hadn’t seen her, Flitter kept eating. “Is something wrong, Flitter?” Her mother tilted her head, eyebrows upturned. Flitter gulped. She felt like her heart was going to leap out of her breast. “N-no, of course not, Mom. Why do you ask?” “Well, you hardly ever bring friends over to visit anymore. You used to bring one home almost every day before.” “O-oh...” Flitter looked down at her fork. “C’mon, Mom, I’m eighteen. I’d rather go out with friends than play here at home.” “Oh, I guess so...” Her mother gazed down at her plate, sighing. Flitter shoveled the last of her eggs into her mouth and gulped down her milk. “Whelp, see you after school, Mom.” She stood and headed for the door. She was almost free. “Flitter?” Flitter’s heart skipped a beat. Her vision blurred for a moment. She turned around. “Y-yes?” “Is there anything you want to tell me?” “No,” Flitter said, and she wasn’t lying. “Nothing at all.” “All right, then.” She took the breakfast dishes from the table. “Have a good day at school.” “I will!” Flitter took off, out the door and to the air.
