Head in the Clouds

Rainbow Dash sat on the old park bench. The same park bench she sat on everyday. There was no park. Just a bench, dead center of no where. Nothing but a grassy field was around the bench aside from Ponyville a few miles away behind the bench. She came to the bench everyday so she could see the city in which she had grown up. Cloudsdale. She enjoyed looking at the mass of cloud in the pinky red light of evening.

The only friends she had in Cloudsdale were Gilda and Fluttershy. Gilda was a boastful griffon that had a thing or two to learn about friendship. Fluttershy was a pegasus mare just like Rainbow Dash. Except Fluttershy wasn't strong, or brave, or a weather mare, despite being a pegasus. She was shy and timid. Instead of working in the sky with weather, she worked on the ground. She took care of animals.

Rainbow Dash wasn't quite sure how Cloudsdale was founded, or when. She just knew it was a city, made of clouds. It was a decent sized city. It was larger than Las Pegasus and Baltimare, but still smaller than Manehatten. The citizens of Cloudsdale usually didn't attend normal school. In fact, the last regular class was when Snowdrop was a filly. She passed away a very long time ago. Most pegasi attend flight school. Those were some of Rainbow Dash's fondest memories. Her time as a Schoolfilly.

Rainbow Dash got up from the bench. She had sat there for hours, which made her flanks sore. She began to take the long walk back to Ponyville. Before she did, she did something she hadn't done in a very long time. She gave Cloudsdale a second look. She then bowed her head, saddened about having to tear her eyes from it. But she had to. Her adopted sister Scootaloo was home and probably needed to eat like everypony else.

Rainbow Dash finally got back to her house of cloud. The only one like it in Ponyville. She walked through the cloud door, too upset to bother opening it first. She walked to the sofa and plopped herself onto it. She planned on watching television, but instead fell asleep nearly as soon as her head hit the cushion.

"Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo yelled. Rainbow Dash got up slowly, her mouth still had the foul taste of morning. "I think you slept in." Scootaloo said when Rainbow Dash sat up. "Scoots, today is Sunday. I don't work today." Rainbow Dash said in her raspy voice. "I'm not sure what calendar you're running off of, Rainbow. Today is Tuesday." the little orange filly replied. Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open as she said "What?! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Rainbow Dash flew throughout the house, turning on the coffee maker, turning on the shower, going back and making coffee, then straight into the shower, all at top speed. As Rainbow Dash got into the shower and closed the glass door behind her, she broke down into a fit of sobbing. "Damn it!" she screamed through her sobs as she used her hoof to punch the wall, leaving a hole. She stopped trying to hide her sobs. She started to sob out loud, which attracted the attention of her purple maned housemate. "Rainbow? Are you alright?" Scootaloo asked, sincerely concerned. "Uh, yea Scoots. I'm alright!" Rainbow Dash responded, hiding her sobs once more. "Oh, uh, alright. You should probably hurry up. Your coffee might get cold."  Scootaloo said as she trotted away from the bathroom door.

Rainbow Dash shut off the shower. She was miserable. The streaks left on her face by the tears were practically invisible due to the shower. The only evidence that she had been crying at all was the puffy, redness of her eyes.

"Scoots, I'm off!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew out the door, opening it first this time.