Chapter 1 - Not Enough Water
Two sips of water every five minutes, no more. His cracked and dusty hoof wormed its way to his right saddle bag, and after rustling through some odds and ends, he felt the cool touch of metal running up and through his entire body. Even the cold sensation of the thermos was refreshing. Starring and thinking about the water only made him more desperate and he knew that one of these stops for a drink might break him completely. The fear of madness gave him a newfound reverence for water like never before.
The thermos reached his mouth, which soaked up the water like a sponge. He controlled himself. A little over a third full. Gaging the water level, he knew his opportunity to turn north towards Equestria had already passed a while ago, now he was committed to finding this place. Whether or not this place actually existed was a question that he couldn’t let take control over his mind. Ponies told legends of wanderers and vagabonds losing their minds in The Shun, an especially inhospitable wasteland in the Badlands. The only legend more popular and more incredulous than insane ponies was the legend that a city existed out here. At least all the right ponies seemed to think so.
If I could just find an oasis or a stream, I’d be set. He had the proper build to survive out here for a while; he was strong… for a pony of his kind. The last time he was forced into The Shun, he quickly learned how to survive on little water. Even though they gave him food and water the last time, he made the terrible mistake of eating and drinking too much too soon. Now, they gave him nothing except for an empty thermos and a lousy sack of flat bread. They didn’t want to spend anything on their criminals and especially not for reoccurring ones.
Was I a criminal? He sighed as he tried not to remember, but as he became thirstier, the stream of memories became stronger. The desert sun scalded and dried his memories onto his mind so he couldn’t forget. I should’ve seen the true fear in his eyes. I should’ve known that he wasn’t him. The killer I was looking for would’ve laughed when I cried in anger, I’m sure of it.
Everypony who knew him knew he’d done it out of spite, and in that canyon, they considered revenge first degree murder… even though he got the wrong pony. I can still see the icy faces of The Brothers when they declared me a criminal. I killed one of my own, there’s not much to say. He returned only to have the pissed pegasi blackmail him into exile again with one in particular springing the trap and entangling him in his own web of lies.
He could never go back now and so he travelled west to restart in a city that he didn’t know existed or not. Every step forward, he distanced himself from Storm Canyon and his crime. He was confident they would never find him, they wouldn’t want to seek out a criminal out here, even the most livid Brother.
Glaring rays blew him back like the winds on the peak of Mt. Greymane outside the city and the heat tore at his fur like ice. The fine gravel and sand kicked up forcing his eyes shut as the evening winds rolled in from the north; it was cooler but it was drier. From afar, the stallion was just a dark blot trudging his way between the massive mesa towers that resisted the silty wind and casted shadows that stretched for miles. All the streams that used to flow here were blown away.
I can’t see anything with this light, even if the city was right in front of me, I’d pass it up. At least, in a few minutes, the sun would set and he wouldn’t have to walk any further for a while. The stallion wasn’t sleep deprived, he was just thirsty and it was a ravening thirst for more than just water… he just didn’t know it, but he could feel it. In the end, though, this wandering stallion had one last resort and he knew it might cripple him, it could even kill him should he dare try it.
An aching pain in his shoulder blades never seemed to go away; the bases of his wings, the crook where they connected to his back, were sore from a recent little incident. The pegasus knew he couldn’t fly with his injury but if he ran out of water, he couldn’t wither and die on the ground- he would have to die flying at the very least.
More water down the hatch. It’s late enough. He scanned the area for a decent outcropping of rusty rocks until he found a little depression that looked at least minimally comfortable. Of course he didn’t have a tent and he didn’t have any firewood. A river or a creek would give him everything he needed to sleep comfortably- he knew that –but for now he slept in the cold.
He laughed aloud, “This is the best bed yet.” And it was, in the Badlands at least.
Turning to a mesa tower, he noticed its shadow had blended with the dimming light of twilight. Only a sparkle of daylight was left.
Hearing an acidic hissing sound, he whipped around to see where the noise had come from. Oh no, no. It’s one of those venomous geckos. Having heard stories about these Spinejaw Geckos, he knew never to approach one unless armed. He remembered from his last escapade out in The Shun that these things would attack even if he stood completely still. No matter what he did, he was bucked either way.
Overcome with panic, the stallion kept spinning in an attempt to find the source of the sound until he glanced for a split second at the red slit eyes of the pale monster. All he needed was a moment to behold the lizard before recoiling in fear.
Seconds passed before the gecko charged. He barely managed to dodge its fangs but the spines on its sides cut at his legs. Without thinking, he tried to stamp the creature out with his front right hoof but it dodged to the left. He stamped and kicked as the lizard scurried through his dancing hooves until his back right hoof landed on its tail. It writhed in fury, letting out a toxic angered scream.
Simultaneously relieved that he had it pinned and anxious that it might escape, he looked down at the heaping pile of scales. Those red eyes stared back at him and he went blind. A sharp, fiery pain coursed through his muzzle and into his head. Luckily he managed to keep the creature under his hooves.
Stomping in anger, the stallion showed no mercy; bluish blood trickled onto the dusty stones from its smashed head. It better not be lethal… hopefully it doesn’t have any friends.
Venomous geckos aren’t the most relaxing things to fall asleep to, but the venom coursing through his veins lulled him to sleep. He didn’t try to fight it because the thought of having passed by the worst in life comforted him to sleep like it did for all the nights in the desert before. His adrenaline disappeared much faster than it ever did before his string of incidents and this time, it was a good thing.
A vague sense of laziness flooded his mind after he thought about how he would never have to return and deal with those ponies ever again. At that point, he didn’t care what the venom would do to him. If this is the end… let it come quickly.
He entertained the thought, thinking back to his parents and the time before he was branded a criminal. He could feel his father’s pride shining down from above the mesa towers as he remembered the day he learned to fly, back when he didn’t have to worry about anything. His mother might be up there as well, having watched him run away from his home city.
If he would die from the venom, right here and now, he knew he wouldn’t make it all the way up there; he would just be stuck lying in the dust forever. That was the last feeling he felt before he fell asleep.
“-Bet you can’t beat me to the top of that cliff over there” she pointed at a regal grey cliff on the other side of the valley.
“You must be dreaming to think that you could actually outfly me, I was first in my class.”
“I was too.”
“Liar.” He chuckled.
The mare cracked up. “Only because that one teal coated colt cheated-”
“-yeah right, I’ve heard the same thi-”
“-No, I’m serious. The shortcut was obvious… but he tricked everypony else, he even got the officials fooled. After I kept trying to tell them, they gave up entertaining the whole thing and didn’t disqualify him.” She barely managed to keep a straight face even though she knew exactly what had happened.
“I’ve heard that conspiracy before.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust me?” The mare whined.
“Yeah.”
The mare’s vibrant pink eyes stared straight into him, and it wasn’t an endearing stare either, her eyes and her smile didn’t match. Her complexion cracked its talons; its one claw ruffled the fur on his back while the other squeezed his heart dry.
She flipped her mane back and paced. “If you really like me like you say you do, you’d trust me a lot more. I trust you, I’ll prove it and after I do, you’ll have to believe me.” She paused, staring vertically up at him. “I dare you to catch me in a trust freefall, it’ll be the ultimate test.”
“N… no, you know how dangerous that is-”
“-I knew you would say that.” Her smile grew wider.
He stammered, “No seriously, couples think it’s this romantic fashion and it kills them. I won’t, I can’t.”
“That’s only urban legend, nopony’s actually died from a trust freefall. All the mares I know’ve done it before all the time.” He turned away knowing what she would say next. “That’s because they’ve all gone out with stallions they knew and partied with… but I chose not to do that, I chose to be with you.” She held her expression but her pink eyes narrowed
“Don’t lecture me with that.”
“I’m helping you get to know this place, its ponies, and everything we do around here. When I met you, you were such a shy stallion; don’t go back to hanging out with the colts that have no lives, do this for yourself. Trust me, it’ll be fun.” The mare looked vaguely concerned but behind her glossy eyes, the stallion sensed excitement.
“Fine.”
“Come on, let’s go then.” They both flew across the valley with flowering trees down below rushing past in a blur. Their reflections in the river stared back at them as they flew across to the west side.
They both thought the same thing: it was nice to get away from the constant hustle and bustle of Storm Canyon. The stallion looked north where the dark dam dominated the landscape; beyond it was his hometown.
“You’re so slow,” she laughed as he broke his gaze and lurched forward to meet her. They saw that the cliffs from the urban legends were true as they witnessed needle teeth rising up from the mist as captivating as it was horrifying. He had to take in the lush greenery and the jubilant cyan waterfalls that poured from those towers. It was always summer here.
The mare was busy looking for the tallest cliff of them all. Not seeing the rumored peak, they landed under the canopy of shady trees to rest their wings for a bit. They definitely found the place where the more sociable stallions and mares hung out. It was a nice and private place… away from the city.
Knotted trees lined the sides and the top of the cliff protecting them from other curious pegasi who used the place to escape from prying eyes.
“Where is the cliff?” She boomed.
“Not so loud, you don’t want to anger the couples here.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.”
“What do you mean don’t be ridiculous? You know as well as I that breaking a good kiss is a jerk move.” He held back his smile well enough.
“You know they’re doing more than that up here.” She gave him another smoldering stare.
“Of course I know that. It’s all the more reason not to scream like a sand wolf; how would you like it if somepony did that to u- you?” He caught himself. “And you think I’m the socially clueless one.”
She laughed a snorting kind of laughter. “Okay, fair enough,” her jovial expression faded, “but we still can’t find the tallest cliff.”
“You only looked for, like, five seconds,” he chided as he took off into the mist again. “What does this cliff even look like, I’m sure your other colt friends have told you."
“Jealous?”
“Just a little.” But the stallion took it a tad more seriously than necessary and the mare sensed a crack in his words.
“Well, it’s the one that everypony is supposed to be flying around. Usually there are dozens of ponies up here, maybe even hundreds.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, I go here all the time.”
“Then why haven’t you done the freefall yet? You’ve had a special some-“
“-It’s not like that. You don’t do a trust freefall with just anypony.” Her tone darkened before she looked up at the one tower towering above the rest. “There it is. That’s strange.”
“What?”
“Nopony’s here, it’s just us.”
“How d’you know there aren’t ponies hiding in the trees?”
“They wouldn’t do anything where dozens of ponies usually gather. They only use this cliff for the real deal.” She quieted with a strange sort of respect as they both looked up at the tallest cliff in the area, The Jaded Jump.
Cool wind blew from all around the top of the cliff refreshing them as she led him to the exact point where pegasi jumped in the past. The stallion looked over the ridge and saw that there was nothing but a little creek gurgling towards the main river. There was no nice, deep water to save them if the wind snuck its way into their heads.
“Are you nervous?” He choked on his words.
She looked up at him, sensing that he had a little more strength than he was admitting. Before now, she hung out with him because he was all alone in his new world, but after a few seconds of staring, she knew, without a doubt, that she truly loved him. He had grown on her and even though she was one of the cleverest, most sociable, and most popular mares in her class, she didn’t see her own feelings coming.
She leaned in close and whispered, “mh, you’re a strong stallion.” She rubbed her hoof on his chest. “Where were you a year ago when all I could dream about was living and sleeping with a decent stallion?” He tried to escape but she slung her hooves around his neck, muzzle almost bushing against muzzle. “I need your love.”
“I…” but before he could finish, she tilted her head and sucked the thought right out of him leaving him struggling for air. The mare’s hold on to the back of his head tightened as she dug deeper. The stallion couldn’t help but to open his eyes and to take in the full force of the mare’s body: her sky-blue coat, her lightly colored peach mane, and that hot pink streak in her mane that matched her closed eyes.
He didn’t know how long they went on for but he decided he didn’t want to resist. Feeling like a dunce for not reacting, he placed a hoof behind her head as well only to feel her jump a little when he did. The mare trembled under his hoof like she was cold. Trying to tug away a bit, she moved in closer and hugged him tighter than before. Afraid of what would happen if he ignored her body, he pulled away using his hooves and forcing her to let him go.
“What’s the matter? You’re shivering,” He quivered.
“I’m scared.”
“You? You’re not scared of anything. I’ve been scared ever since I moved here; I’m scared just being around you.”
“It’s different.” Usually the statement would be met with eye rolling, but not this time.
“But you acted so confident when you got up here, you acted like you didn’t have a care in the world, like you were the top of your class.” The stallion couldn’t help the suspicion seeping into his veins. Why is it that she’s so upset? Sure it’s a free fall, but something’s not right.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do this, I knew I couldn’t bring myself to jump.”
“If you knew you didn’t want to jump, why did you bring me up here? You don’t have to do anything for me.” He was mostly worried and disappointed for her, but he couldn’t help fight a redder feeling from rising up in his stomach.
“No, it’s just that I want to… I just can’t.”
“But you’re the one who took me under her wing, aren’t you? You’re the one who brought me here to get rid of my own shyness and awkwardness, aren’t you? I want to do this for you… I didn’t earlier, but I’m ready.” His frustration grew.
“That’s all true.”
“But if you knew, then why did you ask me to do the same?”
“I-”
“-You pressured me into doing this.” His eyes narrowed, he lost his pity for her. “You used me. You used me. You tried to use my insecurity as some kind of sick leverage… you…” he huffed as he began to realize the full implications of her deceit, “you don’t honestly love me, do you?”
The mare strutted right up to the edge of the cliff where bare rock showed and as she looked back at him, the stallion felt anger jamming his insides up.
“Well, you dragged me out here. Do you love me or not?”
“I didn’t before. I was just trying to be a friend. But now, now I can’t ignore my heart. Come on, let’s leave and forget this whole fiasco ever happened.”
He scowled as he lumbered to the cliff's edge behind her. “Why don’t you show me that you’re honest? Because I have no idea if what you’re saying is a complete and utter lie to my face or not.” He shouted.
The mare turned around to face the cliff and the valley below and her excitement quickly vanished. Her hot pink eyes and her mane seemed to glow with fear. “I’ve never actually done this before. I don’t know if-”
“Oh no, you guilt tripped me, now it’s your turn,” he spat.
“Look, I don’t-”
“-That whole thing about you being some sort of benevolent mare because you liked me instead of all the other, better, stronger, faster stallions… can I believe that?” He dug deeper into the lie.
“You have to trust me.” She searched for ways to mend the growing hole of deceit.
“No! Remember you said, ‘oh, you have to trust me before I trust you,’” he whined sarcastically; she was running out of options to defend herself.
“N… no-”
“-That’s what you said.”
“Fine.” She turned around to stare angrily at the valley below and with the romantic mood completely blown away. She shut her frustrated eyes and reopened them in anger… more directed towards herself than him.
She shut her wings and jumped, this time to prove a point.
Having no other choice, he jumped after her and flew straight down. Once the stallion matched her speed, he accelerated, but only to find that she sped up too. It didn’t make any physical sense. No matter how much he sped up, she fell just as fast, keeping the same distance.
Suddenly, the valley below melted into a black chasm and the mare silently boomed, “I don’t trust you.”
“No, I’ll prove it.” The chasm seemed to suck the anger and the power out of his voice. My wings ached badly now and after a moment or so, he could hear his own wings bending in ways it shouldn’t.
Her face seemed to change as if it was made out of Badland clay. “You killed him.”
He looked away from her warped and furious face to look at the completely black world above me. Everything was engulfed by the void.
“You’re such an idiot, you killed him. I want you gone. I want you dead.” The mare’s body warped into the figure of a bloodied stallion before shifting and sliding into the gruesome and terrifying image of a sinuous Spinejaw Gecko which finally enlarged to take the shape of a massive red dragon with metallic black eyes.
“Good work, you did well,” it snarled.
The dragon stopped freefalling, opened its heavy jaws, and spit black fire singeing the stallion into oblivion. A pinching sensation like a thousand needles dancing through his body made his very spirit writhe until it reached some cruel breaking point.
The stallion sat up with a chilled sweat and tried to heave the nightmare out of his mind and heart like all the nights before. And once again, he couldn’t muster the strength to forget even the tiniest of details on the leaves of the trees. He escaped that place, that city… but that place still lingered, still traveled with him across the desert.
It made the desert a foal’s sandbox and it made this mysterious phantom city a pretend asylum for the dejected.
…But the dragon was new.
Chapter 2 - Too Much Water
A flash of lightning shuddered across Ponyville; shaking some of the less sturdy building, quaking the waterlogged ground, and waking Fluttershy in a scream. She pulled her pink and red blanket over her muzzle as here peaking eyes scanned her room. It's just lightning again. She looked over at a clock on a dresser. It read Six Thirty, too late to go back to sleep.
The powerful yet relaxing rain soaked its way into Fluttershy's conscious, causing her to remember what she planned to tell Rainbow Dash.
All this rain has been flooding the homes of all the poor animals. It's not her fault, I bet Rainbow just doesn't know what she's doing, she thought to herself. Ponyville had been soaked for three days straight of non-stop rain.
She jumped out of bed surprised by her amount of energy this early, put on her rain jacket, trotted down the stairs, and stepped in an inch of water. The whole lower floor of her house was completely flooded. Noticing all the animals hunkered down in all the bird houses and holes hanging from her ceiling, she couldn't help but to stare at their faces for a moment.
"Don't worry little ones, auntie Fluttershy will fix all of this."
Before she reached her door to the outside, she realized that the water must be many meters deep in some places outside because her house was built on a hill. Sure enough, when she opened the door, a grey-blue watery expanse stretched all the way to the Everfree Forest. She could only see the roofs of the buildings in Ponyville.
Even the bridge over the creek is completely flooded... and it's still raining. Oh, Celestia, I hope the others are okay.
As she flew towards the gazebo, she saw tons of makeshift boats drifting haplessly on the new lake as ponies helped each other get out of the water. Some pegasi lent a helping hoof, but everypony else resented their very presence since the flood; their help didn't mean anything because it was still raining.
Fluttershy flew down to talk to the Apple family floating in a wagon car. "Have you seen Rainbow Dash?"
"No, I 'aven't seen her since it started rainin' three days ago," Applejack shouted over the rain. "Why should she want to show herself now after all the flooding?"
"It's not her fault, why do you think she would do this?"
"I dunno, but she's not down here fixing this." Applejack turned around and crossed her front hooves.
An ever so brief flash of anger swept across Fluttershy's body before she spoke in her usual calm voice, "But, I thought you were glad she wasn't down here. That's what you sounded like, right?"
Applejack opened her mouth but realized that there was nothing she could say that would support her case.
"Rainbow Dash is our friend. She wouldn't cause this storm to be so destructive and she wouldn't just leave us here. There's got to be some explanation, maybe it's a magical storm. We have to have faith in Rainbow, we just have to." After a reluctant moment, Applejack nodded and Fluttershy smiled a little before flying up towards the clouds.
The rain beat back at her but she managed to reach the bottom of the clouds. She turned around to buck the grey clouds, but only a few wisps of water vapor broke off from the rest. Deciding to turn to face the clouds instead, she kicked at the clouds with her front hooves, getting much farther this time. Eventually, she broke through the clouds and noticed that they were at least three stories thick.
She shook the water out of her fur and feathers as she stared up at the sun; it only takes a few days of dreary weather to miss its light. A pegasus flew right past her, almost knocking her out of the air.
"Move over, I've got a new hole I have to patch up because of you," the stallion boomed angrily but not maliciously.
"Don't add any more clouds, you're flooding Ponyville," Fluttershy said a little louder than she intended.
This time, the stallion and the other ponies around him froze in their places and turned to face Fluttershy. A mare started to fly towards Fluttershy, but the stallion held out his hoof to stop her before flying over to her himself. The stallion got uncomfortable close to her face, but as he stared her down, she realized that none of these ponies were from Ponyville.
"Who are you?"
"Fluttersh-"
"-You're from Ponyville, right?"
"Ye-"
"-Then I have to tell you something." He moved in even closer. These ponies are responsible for the clouds, they're evil, she thought. After a moment or so, he whispered gravely, "they're watching us." Their eyes quickly darted from side to side, searching for any dangers that might hover in the refreshingly blue sky.
Fluttershy looked back at the stallion, now sensing his fear. Somepony else is behind this. "Where's Rainbow Dash?"
"You ask a lot of questions. We just can't be brave like you." She never thought she would hear the words brave and you be used together.
"B... but you do know where she is, right?"
"I don't, but I think she might be in Cloudsdale. I wouldn't know, I'm not from anywhere close to here." He glanced up and spotted his boss. Luckily he didn't notice the conversation, but he did notice two lollygagging pegasi.
"Hey, you two, get back to work. We still have twelve thousand liters of water to pour by the end of this shift." He must not have noticed that Fluttershy wasn't one of his employees and she decided to use his cluelessness to escape. As she flew up to the city in the clouds, she looked down noticing the blank expression of the workers as they piled on even more clouds.
When she passed through the cloud ground of Cloudsdale, she didn't know exactly what to expect, but she at least expected everything to be thrown chaos from the storm. After looking around the city, she saw everything was completely normal as if none of the ponies realized anything was wrong with the village below them. Where would Rainbow be? She flew around some more and noticed a bunch of strong pegasi carrying barrels on their backs to the Weather Factory. The Weather Factory, she has to be in there.
The barrel carrying ponies bunched up against each other forming a giant mass as they rammed to get inside the factory despite every singular door and dock that was propped open. The funnel at the top of the factory churned out black thunderclouds like a smoldering campfire running on dozens of cups of coffee. The factory was definitely different than usual.
Figuring that the barrels were too heavy to carry while flying, she flew above the other pegasi and landed near an entrance where everyday residents toured the factory. She noticed four guards blocking the entrance and they didn't look too friendly. Come on Fluttershy, you can do this.
She trotted up to the guards and tried to talk; luckily for her, one of them spoke faster. "Nopony is allowed into the factory at this time."
"I... I need to see Rainbow Dash," she squeaked.
"Nopony is allowed into the factory for any reason." But the guard looked nervous as if he was forgetting something. Fluttershy noticed his reaction but she was too nervous to do anything.
"Wh... what are the ponies d... doing to Ponyville down there?"
One guard cocked his head and smirked. "They're makin' it rain down there."
"Why?"
Their faces darkened. "Because we've been sent with a lot of rain."
"Why do you ask?" Another hissed.
"Are you the inspector or something?" A third said quite a bit slower than the others.
Fluttershy thought of something. "I... I'm not the inspector, but I am the boss of the pegasi down there and my workers have asked me to check on the cloud production. We're running low down there." They heard an audible pause. "Now, if you could let me check on the cloud production. Y'know, the job I was told to... um... to do, If that's okay."
Three of the guards looked at each other confused but the fourth guard caught on quickly. "Were you now?" He smiled viciously before trotting casually up to her. "I was told that the task force responsible for handling Ponyville's weather was actually running behind on their quota."
"Yeah, you better whip them into shape," another guard interjected.
"Shut up," the first guard said. "I don't believe you. Why didn't you take this issue to the general?" He raised an eyebrow.
A general? A task force? This doesn't sound anything like the workers in the Rainbow Factory. Are they doing things differently? Fluttershy couldn't ask the guards these questions because it would smash right through her facade. Be assertive. She gulped, "I... I'm not going to take this issue to the general, I can take care of myself. I don't want you guards telling a boss how to do her job." She took a breath to calm her nerves. "It would be a shame for you if I were to name you four for botching the weather job down in Ponyville wouldn't it?"
The three guards looked more than happy to let Fluttershy on her way, but the fourth still wasn't convinced.
"You just might be a boss, I don't know; but I don't think you fully understand what's going on here. You are free to go, but any... funny business, and we'll be the ones taking you to the general, not the other way around." He stepped outside of Fluttershy's personal space but he kept the same harsh stare.
Making sure to hold her head up high to keep her appearance intact until she was out of sight, she trotted into the factory trying not to look back to see what the guards were doing. Once she was clearly out of sight of the guards, she took a few big breaths and looked around the factor. It was completely empty of almost all pegasi and all other machines and furniture. It looked like a bright, shiny, and empty warehouse. Not being able to see the back end of the factory, she quickly trotted in that direction as she tried to think about where Rainbow Dash might be.
A larger mare with a pale yellow coat, much like her own, trotted up to her. "What are you doing?" she said.
"I... well... you see, I-"
"-No need to get all flustered, I was just asking what you were doing. It's just that everypony's really busy." She looked anxiously at Fluttershy as if Fluttershy might explode.
"I wasn't doing anything... in particular, but would you know a pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash?"
"No. But I keep hearing about this mare with a rainbow mane and tail. Last I heard, she was up on the observatory deck. Of course you," Fluttershy ran off, "hey, wait. Where are you going? You're acting more nervous than a mare with stage fright. Is there something else you're not telling me?" The larger mare was genuinely concerned but her voice didn't match her mind.
"No, nothing." Wait, how does she not know who Rainbow Dash is? Aren't they all from Cloudsdale? "Well, yes. Why don't you know who Rainbow Dash is?"
Her tongue twisted as she tried to respond. "I don't know anypony outside of... well did you think I had met... did you expect me to... look, I don't even know you."
"But she's the greatest flyer in all of Equestria."
A half-understanding look spread across her face. "Oh."
"S... So you do know who she is?"
"No, I don't."
"Then why did you say Oh?"
The mare got confused again. "Because it makes sense why I wouldn't know her... I think. You're hurting my brain."
"But I don't get why that makes sense. She's the-"
"-Well, because we're not from Equestria. I don't know anypony living in Equestria."
Now it was Fluttershy's tongue that got all twisted. "Wait... you're not... but then... if... what do you mean we're not from Equestria?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean we're not from Equestria?' We're all part of the Waterworks program, right? How do you know somepony living in Cloudsdale personally?"
"I'm from Equestria. I..." but she realized her mistake.
The larger mare narrowed her eyes. "Are you not an employee? You don't work here, do you."
She whimpered, "No."
She stared some more but after a moment or two, she shrugged and chirped, "Okay then. I don't really care if you work here or not, I was just confused. Like I said, she might be on the observatory deck." She skipped away to Fluttershy's right whistling a jovial yet foreign song. Fluttershy trotted to the opposite end of the factory now noticing that those barrels ponies were carrying were stacked up along the wall. As she moved farther in, more and more barrels piled on top of each other until she could barely squeeze through the path left for what she guessed was the inventory manager.
Looking back, she noticed large doors splitting off to smaller halls where she could see worker ponies making snowflakes for winter, experts managing electricity for lightning, and engineers testing wind power. She just couldn't remember what the main hall was used for. Eventually she found the staircase up to an upper floor, but tons of barrels blocked the way up.
I'm not that strong, but I've got to try. Water can't be that heavy. She tried to haul a singular barrel out of the way but after a good thirty seconds, she only managed to move the barrel a few centimeters. Ha, I moved it. I can do this. She looked up at all the barrels stacked on top of each other, one row after another. Oh, what am I thinking, I'm never going to make it in time.
The air conditioning shut on from somewhere and a harsh breeze flew through the main hall, rippling through Fluttershy's fur and feathers. Her wings shivered. She suddenly thought of another solution.
I can fly.
Laughing to herself about how stupid she was for forgetting she could fly, she launched into the air, flew over countless barrels of water, and landed on the second floor. In the cramped halls on top of the factory, there were a lot more ponies rushing from place to place. Nopony had the time to stop and question her as she shoved her way through the crowd. After endless twists and turns, she finally spotted a staircase leading up. She managed to worm her way through the crowd which thankfully thinned the further up she traveled until there was nopony at all.
At the top floor, two more guards ambled around the door to the observatory deck.
"Halt."
Not this again. "Y... Yeah?"
"We need to see your papers. I'm sorry; it's inconvenient, I know, but I have to ask everypony." He seemed much kinder than the guards at the bottom of the factory.
"Oh... well... you see, I'm not going to stay long. I just need to talk with somepony right inside those doors. It won't be long." Fluttershy smiled a toothy smile.
The guard shrugged his shoulders and said, "Eh, I don't care. But if you get caught, we're not responsible." He opened the door up for her and she walked outside onto the deck. Fluttershy wondered what they were guarding, all that was up here were a few telescopes and a few dozen barrels, but other than that, there were no machines, no nothing, except for Rainbow Dash sitting near the edge of the deck.
She was visibly crying but she didn't make any sound.
What happened? "Rainbow?"
Rainbow Dash wiped her eyes clean and sniveled before looking up at a familiar face. "Fluttershy, is that you? What are you doing here?"
"I went looking for you. Rainbow, we're drowning in Ponyville-"
"-And I bet you think it's my fault."
"I don't think that."
"You're just being nice."
She searched for another way through to her. "But even if I did think it was your fault, you've still got to help us get out of this mess. That's what the Rainbow Dash I know would do."
"But the rest of Ponyville, they'll think-"
"-I don't care what they think." Did I really just say that?
"I do. And it was my fault... sure I didn't build all those clouds, but I let them." She turned away to look at the layer of black thunderclouds a ways down.
"No, you wouldn't just let them. There's something more, isn't there."
"There's nothing more. Just go away."
Fluttershy sat down next to Rainbow Dash and placed a consoling hoof around her neck. "Rainbow, you were the one who got rid of those bullies back in flight camp, remember? You can tell me anything. I know I tell you about that a lot, but... I'm just afraid... afraid that you've forgotten. Come on, Rainbow."
"No, I won't tell you anything." Rainbow threw off her hoof and jerked her to the side. Fluttershy tripped but recovered herself before she fell.
"How long have you been up here by yourself?"
"Fluttershy," she shouted.
"Three days?"
"Fluttershy."
"No food, I'm guessing."
"Fluttershy!"
"We can solve this. We can fly away and tell Celestia. We can investigate. Come on Rainbow, you can do something."
"No, Fluttershy."
"Well I'm going to pay a visit to Celestia." Fluttershy prepped herself for take off before she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash.
"Wait, Fluttershy." Rainbow turned around to look at the double doors. "What did you say after you mentioned Celestia?"
"Uh... investigate."
A smile slowly spread across her face. "You know what, Fluttershy? You're right. Let's have an investigation and see what these crooks are up to. I'm sorry I was such a jerk."
Fluttershy's nerves protested. "Now Rainbow, I didn't really mean to investigate, I just said that to-"
"-Oh come on, we can do it no problem."
Rainbow Dash took off and flew off of the deck. "But Rainbow... maybe we should... if we could just... eep." Fluttershy took off after Rainbow Dash but she couldn't catch up. Instead, Rainbow slowed down to her speed and settled for a slow cruise through the sky.
"You know more about what's going on around here than I do at this point."
"I met a mare in the main hall who could help us out. But I don't know Cloudsdale as well as you do. I don't even know who these ponies are, they're not from Equestria."
"Wait. They're not from Equestria."
"That's what the mare said."
"How do you know she's not lying."
Fluttershy stared at her with a raise eyebrow.
"Okay fine. I'll decide what I want to believe when we get down there."
"Hey!"
"What was that." Fluttershy's voice shriveled up. The two of them looked down at a formation of guards overseeing the barrel-heaving ponies en route to the cloud funnel.
"It's that Rainbow mare again, seize her and her accomplice." A formation of six pegasus guards flew straight towards the two of them.
"Come on, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash grabbed onto Fluttershy's mane and pulled her along towards the main hall. They flew in through some open windows toward the top of the hall only to find that the place was absolutely packed with all kinds of workers hauling barrels, wielding clipboards, and pushing carts through the chaos. Both of them knew instinctively to blend in with the crowd.
Nopony paid any attention to them. "We're safe," sighed Fluttershy."
"Everypony, two rogue ponies are on the loose. One has a rainbow mane, the other has an obnoxiously long mane.
"I do not."
"Quiet." Rainbow looked up to see that the number of guards had grown to about twenty or so. "Ugh, I wish Rarity were here with a disguise."
"We could hide in between the barrels."
Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement and the two rushed to a little gap underneath a towering mountain of rainwater. There were so many barrels that the lights from the ceiling didn't even make a dent in their little tunnel.
"We're safe." Fluttershy exhaled all the tension in her body.
"They'll search the place eventually. We have to think of a plan to get out of here."
"...Sure..." Fluttershy was distracted by something else.
"What is it?"
"Look, on the barrel."
Rainbow Dash read the label aloud, "Export of Storm Canyon. Operation Waterworks. Brother General Cumulus, Western Division... what is this? What does it mean? It's all gibberish nonsense."
"They're not from Equestria."
Rainbow growled, "They're outsiders dumping water on us. If only Celestia knew about this, she would buck them all back to Storm Canyon."
"I thought you said you wanted to investigate. You're not seriously planning to fly all the way past the bounds of Equestria, are you? You don't even know where it is." I should not have said that.
"Of course I am. Let's go."
"But Rainbow, you still-"
"Everypony stop what you are doing and search for the rainbow maned mare and her accomplice."
"-Oh, yeah, right."
"Oh, Celestia, what do we do?"
"Run for it."
"But Rainbow-"
"-Sprint as fast as you can to the front doors. Don't fly, just sprint."
"Okay." Fluttershy gulped before springing out from under the barrels. The two of them bumped through the crowd of ponies so quickly that none of them had time to register what was going on; even Fluttershy managed to knock ponies out of the way. Nearing the end of the main hall, they thought they could make it outside, but suddenly, a singular guard blocked their path. Fluttershy recognized him immediately.
"It's you," he spat.
"...I... I-"
"Where are your papers?" He yelled so viciously that his head inflated like one of Pinkie's red balloons. "I should have known you lied to me and you two are under arrest by the order of General Cumulus for undermining the Waterworks program."
"You can't do that."
"Guards," he shouted. A formation of thirty or so guards surrounded the two of them from all around and from the air.
"Listen, Mr. Guard. I know I said some things that I shouldn't have, but can we just put our differences-"
"-No, you bitch." The two of them recoiled, eyes wide. "You took advantage of me and my cluelessness about this operation. You got into this facility on the basis that you could destroy my career if you had the chance. You lied to your superiors. Both of you have sabotaged this intricate operation and the Brothers and Sisters will not stand for any kind of perjury no matter how tiny the matter. Therefore, you two shall be scheduled for immediate termination under the revered law of the Brothers."
"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down, dude."
"You shut up. Just shut up. Nothing you say is true. What I said was in accordance to the law." He shook so violently that he might very well explode. "Don't you criminals understand that..." he chocked on his own words and stopped to take a few breathers. His eyes were bloodshot and the two realized that he had serious anger issues. He finally settled for a lackluster "bring them to the General."
Four guards seized them, two for each. They couldn't escape from this.
"Think, Rainbow, think." It was too late; in no time at all, the guards opened up the narrow door to General Cumulus' office. The two of them walked inside before the guards closed the door behind them leaving only them and the General, whoever he was.
"Wait. This is Spitfire's office... captain of the Wonderbolts."
"Ah, yes. We have, shall you say, rented the space for the time being. After all, they're away training in Manehattan for a big race there. Why don't you both take a seat? I do apologize for Captain Gentle Breeze's anger issues, I could hear him yelling down there from all the way over here."
Gentle? Rainbow Dash said exasperated, "He called me a..."
"...I heard it. Why I make you nice mares a cup of coffee and forget that this whole rigmarole ever happened."
"So, you're just going to let us go?"
"Yup. You seem like a black coffee kind of mare."
"Yes, black please. But the stallion down there said we were guilty of perjury, what?"
"Well, yes you are, but-
"-And that it was punishable by death."
"Well, that's also true, but-"
"-But what?" The general gave her the mug of coffee.
"But I'm willing to let all of that slide."
This time, Fluttershy stepped in softly. "But, not to be rude or anything, you and your workers are flooding a poor, poor village down there. That's where we come from."
"Yeah, you better pack up and leave."
"Rainbow," Fluttershy scolded.
"No, it's fine. When the next batch of workers arrives, we will send them to evacuate the citizens of Ponyville and to rebuild all of the buildings somewhere else."
"Can't you just make it rain somewhere else?"
"I tried to make an agreement with other pegasus cities, but Cloudsdale was the only one to go along with the plan. We can't just make it rain anywhere, we have to be close by a cloud machine or else all these barrels of water would be for nothing. I even tried to search for a place to make it rain away from Ponyville, but the land just carries all the water to your town."
Rainbow Dash sighed. What he said was all true.
"We don't have enough workers to send the clouds many kilometers away where it won't cause any issues."
"Why do you have to make it rain at all? Why can't you just pour the excess rain somewhere closer to where you come from."
"Ah, so you do know that we are not from Equestria?"
"Yes."
"I would like to know, what gave it away?"
"The barrels were labeled."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me. My boss promised me that nopony from Equestria would really care that much to look at a random label." He shrugged it off but Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash could tell that he was worried.
"What does that have to do with what I said."
He turned around to face the window to the city. "Unfortunately, the reason why we're doing this is classified, but I do feel the need to tell you that if you did know the reason, you would find yourselves completely agreeing with our decision. The other option other than making it rain over here would be disastrous for where I come from and for the rest of Equestria. I'm afraid you just have to accept the fact that what we've decided to do is just the lesser of the two evils."
"No. There's got to be a better way."
"I assure you there isn't. Don't go looking for trouble, you two, or you will find yourselves arrested."
Rainbow Dash calmed her nerves and said to him in an eerily calm voice, "We'll find out the truth."
"Don't kill yourselves over it."
"We won't-"
"-No. I mean... when you do find out what the truth is."
"So you know th-"
"-Of course I know. You could be spies, insiders, renegades, it doesn't matter. Just know that we keep the truth a secret for a good reason. You have to trust the Brothers and Sisters or else chaos will break out."
"I don't believe-"
"-Then leave."
"I wan't to know."
"Leave."
"But."
Fluttershy spoke up again. "Rainbow, let's just go, we can't convince him to stop what he's doing." Fluttershy stared long and hard at Rainbow until she sighed and rose up from her chair carrying her coffee mug in her mouth. The two of them walked through the jam-packed hallways, flew over the mountains of barrels, and out of the factory in silence.
As they descended to the thundercloud layer below, Rainbow dash spoke up, "I still failed Ponyville. What am I going to say to the others?"
"I'll explain everything for you." Fluttershy smiled and laughed, "besides, you still have your investigation."
"But this time they promised they would arrest me... and probably execute me."
"Oh, come on, that was just that one angry guard. And besides, when has death ever stopped you from doing anything?"
"You're right." Rainbow Dash nodded before rocketing a hole through the layer of thunderclouds. The size of the clouds had more than doubled in the time they were in Cloudsdale. Now they were almost the size of the tallest buildings in Manehattan. Thankfully, Ponyville looked only marginally worse and there weren't nearly as many ponies swimming and floating about as before.
"A lot of ponies must've packed up and left," said Rainbow Dash.
"Look." The two of them noticed Twilight's castle surrounded by a protective magical barrier. "Twilight must be in there." The two of them flew through the top of the shield before landing on the nice and dry ground outside the castle. Rainbow Dash knocked on the crystal doors and sat down with downcast eyes.
"What are they gonna say?"
The door opened after a few moments revealing Applejack and the rest of her friends behind her. "Howdy, Fluttershy," she spotted Rainbow Dash sitting on the ground, "Oh, it's you," she spat.
"Applejack, it's not her fault," Fluttershy defended as she walked inside the castle. "I'll explain everything."
"There's no need." Rainbow Dash still hung her head as she walked in.
"So... what's going on, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked trying to mask her frustration of Rainbow Dash.
"It's not Rainbow Dash who's making it rain... it's not even the ponies from Cloudsdale."
"What?" The other four all said in unison.
"Yeah. The pegasi responsible aren't even from Equestria. They're from a place called Storm Canyon and their general said they are dumping rain water on us because the other option would mean chaos. He wouldn't tell us the exact reason but it sounds like operation Waterworks isn't going away."
"If they didn't tell y'all about their reason, then they're all lyin'."
"It's okay, Rainbow Dash is going to investigate." Fluttershy looked confident, but her face fell when she saw the confused looks on her friend's faces.
Twilight stammered trying to think of a good reason why Rainbow Dash should be smarter. She settled on saying, "But you don't even know where Storm Canyon is."
"Twilight," Rarity gasped.
"What?"
"You live in a library."
"Right. Everypony help me search for this Storm Canyon place." Immediately, everypony went searching through all the books, scrolls, and maps they could find. Minutes past and no results materialized.
"Maybe this place doesn't exist," Twilight said.
"Yeah, this Storm Canyon place is just another part of their lie," Applejack declared as she stared back at Rainbow Dash.
"Wait, I found it," announced Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie, that says Places of Myth. Storm Canyon has to be a real place, they're real ponies." Applejack wasn't convinced and Pinkie Pied didn't look happy either.
"Remember the one book that had the cure to the Poison Joke? You skipped over that one because you didn't think it was real. Besides, look at what the inside front cover says."
Twilight read it aloud, "In my research of foreign lands beyond Equestria, I have come to the conclusion that Equestrians know so little about the outside world because of fear. I blew off this fear as superstition, but I know now that they have good reason to fear the outside."
"Well that's ominous," remarked Rarity.
Twilight flipped to the entry about Storm Canyon. "Storm Canyon is home to a powerful city in the middle of the Badlands. It gains power from the largest dam I have ever seen. They call it the Glutton's Dam which captures the power of the Equine River, a river they call The Horde. I've noticed that almost all of Equestria's water flows through this singular city..." Twilight's voice trailed off as she skimmed through the rest. "Nothing seems unusual about it, it's just your usual city. Rainbow, all you have to do to find it is follow the Equine River south until you reach it."
"Does it mention the Brothers and Sisters?" Fluttershy questioned.
Twilight did another quick skim. "No."
"It doesn't matter, I'll get to the bottom of this." Rainbow Dash flew up in the air with her usual attitude before staring at her friends as she descended. "You don't believe I was responsible. I couldn't stop them, I promise you."
"We believe you," Twilight assured.
"But if ya couldn't convince the general to stop makin' it rain, what makes ya think you could convince the mayor of Storm Canyon?" Applejack saw the obvious holes in the plan.
Rainbow Dash gave her question some thought before realizing something she didn't notice. "These ponies follow orders like sheep... they don't question anything, not like ponies from Equestria. The general didn't stop the operation simply because his boss told him not to, I'm guessing. If we want it to stop raining, I have to convince the mayor himself to cut it out and that way all the pegasi working under him will obey." Rainbow Dash didn't tell them about this 'other option' that the general had in mind.
"That might just work," Twilight mumbled.
"I have to leave, there's no time to lose."
"Good luck," Fluttershy said as Rainbow Dash flew out of the castle and towards this mythological city. If it kept raining for another day straight, Twilight's castle would be completely submerged in water.
Oh, Celestia, this has got to work, Rainbow thought as she looked back.
"Captain Gentle Breeze?"
"Yes, my brother?"
"Bring message to The Comrade that a mare with a rainbow mane and tail is headed his way and that she plans to disrupt operation Waterworks. I don't want to hear that I'm responsible for more desert raids simply because I couldn't reach my quota."
"But, my brother, this mare you refer to is named Rainbow Dash."
"What is your point, captain?"
"Rainbow Dash is one of most famous flyers in all of Equestria. If The Comrade were to dispose of her, then the entirety of Equestria will surely declare war on us and we've already got our hooves tied up in trying to thwart terrorist plans to destroy the city."
"You sound like those alarmists, y'know, the kind that always preach about the dragons destroying everything. I don't care about how Equestria reacts, we can always cover deaths up, we've been doing it for ages now. Besides, Equestria, to my knowledge, has never fought in a full-scale war before. Sure their royal guards might deal with isolated incidents like Changelings and such, but they are in no position to fight a real war."
"Neither are we, my brother."
"It is none of your concern, deliver my message to The Comrade. Our magnificent leader will have the wisdom to figure all of this out." General Cumulus sat back in Spitfire's rolling chair. Just as Captain Gentle Breeze left, another guard ran into the room.
"The second deployment of laborers has arrived."
General Cumulus remembered what Fluttershy said to him about helping the ponies out in Ponyville. "The entire deployment must be used to finish building the cloud layer."
"Very well then."
The general turned back to face the city as the guard left the room. With his new workers, the cloud layer would be finished ahead of schedule. Everything will work out fine.
As long as that Rainbow Dash character keeps her muzzle out of our operation.
