It was quiet in a field just outside of Ponyville. Quiet enough for six friends to picnic and enjoy the solitude from the daily boisterousness they were used to.
They all sat or lay on the checkered blanket sprawled out on the thick, green grass, chatting idly about the sandwiches they had just eaten, about the wonderful weather lately, or about some funny event they shared in the past.
"Hey, does anypony know where I put my sunglasses?" Rainbow Dash asked, digging in the hoofbasket.
Pinkie Pie giggled. "On your head, silly!" The others gave a snicker as well.
Rainbow stopped suddenly, reaching up and feeling the glasses buried in her mane. "Oh, right... "
"Almost like that time Rarity lost her ribbon," Twilight poked fun at the purple and white unicorn, who lay on her sofa nearby sipping from a coconut.
"Mmhmm, yes dear. I did misplace that thing once before. One would think such a beautiful piece would be easy to keep track of, but my, my... I've had better luck searching for a fallen button." She sucked the rest of the juice from the coconut and pouted.
"Let's not forget Twilight's escapade during one of our more memorable picnics together," Applejack said with a tip of her hat in the princesses direction.
Twilight blushed lightly."You said we wouldn't speak of that... "
"Relax, Twilight," Rainbow grinned, wrapping a foreleg around her shoulders and pulling her close. "We all make mistakes and go completely nuts and enchant a doll to make some fillies fight over it and allow us to break it up and learn a friendship lesson."
Twilight deadpanned. "Thanks for the kind words, Rainbow."
Rainbow shoved her away and dug in the basket for another cucumber and honey sandwich. "No problem. Anytime."
"You must really be enjoying those, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy pointed out, sitting just beside the basket. "That's your fourth one."
Rainbow shoved half the sandwich in her mouth. "Thefe are awfome!"
"Rainbow, dear, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full, it's rude." Rarity sat up on her couch and raised an eyebrow at the rainbow-themed pegasus.
She shrugged and swallowed. "Why? There ain't anypony out here but us."
"Which is surprising, given the fact that it's such a nice day," Twilight noted, glancing around them and scanning the area.
"Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed. "And there's like, five clouds in the sky, too! A bright and sunny day!"
"I cleared them earlier today. There shouldn't be any," Rainbow groused, folding her forelegs across her chest.
"They probably just wandered over here from elsewhere, Rainbow Dash," Twilight suggested.
"Yeah, but still... "
Rarity hopped up from the couch and went to the bowl of punch beside the basket and filled her coconut back up. "I don't think it matters all that much. They aren't hurting anypony."
No pony said anything for a moment, until Fluttershy spoke up softly, "Has anypony else wondered what's past the clouds?"
Twilight sought the opportunity to explain about space. "That's easy, Fluttershy. First we have the stratosphere, then the troposphere, then the mesosphere, then the thermosphere, then - "
"I'm not certain that's what Fluttershy meant, Twilight," Rarity interrupted her politely.
Rainbow moved over from the basket and lay back, putting on her sunglasses. "Like she was talking about anything else? I doubt it."
Fluttershy looked down at the blanket. "Um, I was talking about something else... "
"Well, what did you mean then?" Twilight asked her.
Fluttershy looked back up, into the sky. She appeared to be looking at something far away, unseen by anypony but herself. "I meant... Like... After... After you... Die... "
Nopony had an immediate response to that.
Seconds later, Rarity cleared her throat. "Um, Fluttershy, why ever would you be thinking of something so ghastly on a day such as this?"
"Or at all, for that matter," Rainbow added, herself surprised by the shy mare's question.
Fluttershy peered at them through her mane. "I was just curious... "
"Well, I mean... I've considered it, but, I don't really know anything about the afterlife," Twilight admitted, scratching the back of her head and smiling slightly in embarrassment.
"You ain't got any books in your library about it?" Applejack inquired.
Twilight shook her head. "Sadly - no. But, I mean... The afterlife can't be that hard to figure out. When a pony dies, they should go to a place where knowledge is abundant. Every pony should have a library practically built into their head. No questions, no lack of answers. Everypony's a genius!" Twilight rubbed her hooves together in excitement.
They all just stared blankly at her.
"What?" She asked.
"Yeah, uh, Twilight? I think that's what you want to be on the other side," Rainbow said with a snort.
"Okay, than what do you think is up there, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight probed, trying to catch her off guard.
Rainbow grinned widely. "Everypony is equally awesome! Nopony is lame or boring," she glanced at Twilight from the corner of her eyes, "or an egghead."
Twilight deadpanned her again. "Obviously."
"Really, ladies, I doubt either of those things is the case," Rarity said, again, sipping from the coconut.
"Is that so? Than what's up there?"
Rarity finished the punch in the coconut and looked up to address her questioner. "It's likely very neat, elegant, and peaceful. Nopony will have a sense of bad fashion. Everypony will be dressed in something marvelous and eye-catching. The smells of perfume and cologne will grace the air, and - "
Rainbow burst out laughing, collapsing to the ground. "Yeah, right! In your dreams!" She continued her obnoxious laughter.
Pinkie leaned over Rainbow as she slowly came down from her euphoric guffawing. "I dunno. Sounds pretty good."
"Really? You agree, dear?" Rarity asked, shocked.
"Yeah! Of course! There's probably plenty of sweets, too! Chocolates, peppermints, cake, cupcakes, pie, cookies, and a whole bunch of other neat goodies. And best of all, no cavities!" She used her hooves to open her mouth wider for a big grin, exposing all her teeth.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "That sounds a little far-fetched... "
"Alright, than do you have some knowledge of the life of ponies in pony-heaven?" Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrows.
Applejack nodded. "As a matter of fact, I don't. But it doesn't hurt to guess... Realistically," she eyed Rainbow.
"Oooh, let's hear it!" Pinkie pressed her, hopping up and down.
Applejack cleared her throat. "We'll never be tired, but we'd be workin' all day for a profit. We'd be together, with all our family and friends, livin' together, working together."
"I hope that's not what it's like," Rainbow muttered aloud, reaching for the basket to dig out another sandwich.
"We shouldn't be shooting down each other's ideas, girls... " Fluttershy murmured almost inaudibly.
Everypony stared at her.
"Um... What did I say?"
Rainbow came over and planted a hoof firmly on each of Fluttershy's shoulders, eliciting a sharp "Meep!" from her. "What do you have in mind?" she asked the quiet pegasus.
Fluttershy swallowed hard. "Um... I'd rather not share my opinion... "
"Come on!"
"Let's hear it!"
"Don't be afraid, dear! Share it with us!"
Fluttershy smiled weakly. "Okay... Um, well... It should be... I hope it's... Animal friendly... "
They all chuckled.
"I'm sure it is, Fluttershy. I'm sure it is," Twilight assured her, sipping from her cup of punch.
Fluttershy smiled again. "I would really like that... "
"I think the bottom line about all this is - I don't want any of us there anytime soon," Twilight said, her voice several octaves lower suddenly, her brows furrowed in a serious frown.
"Awwww... Even if it's as good as we think?" Pinkie whined.
Twilight looked around at all of them. "No matter how nice it is, it could never better than right here, right now."
"Awwww, come here, darling," Rarity cooed and hopped off the couch, throwing her forelegs around her friend in a tight embrace.
The others joined seconds later.
And they hugged for a while under the warm, comforting sun, knowing that their heaven wasn't beyond the clouds, it was right here, together.
They stayed for the sunset, then watched the moon rise. One by one, as they conversed about everything, they fell asleep, curled up together on the blanket, a group of inseparable friends, bound by destiny.
And they would always be friends, even after they found out what really was beyond the clouds.
