It was a fairly normal day. Twilight sat within her library, reading as she normally did. Researching whatever came to her mind, or whatever next book she happened to have, or could access. She was up late, a little engrossed in the book she was reading right then.
Biology. Nothing too new, but it included a fascinating take on theorized biology of some of Equestria’s more rare and dangerous creatures. Creatures not so easily studied, especially not their organs. So thin observation was buffeted with theory and informed ideas.
It made, for Twilight, a fascinating debate. For most of anypony else, it was a sleep aid.
But then she was interrupted as she heard a gentle sound near her, like somepony coughed to get her attention without really trying to interrupt her. She looked up and spotted a cloud. A small white cloud about as large as a pony.
“Excuse me.” it said, the water vapor that made it up billowing as it spoke, its voice soft and gentle, “But I would dearly love a moment of your time.”
Twilight blinked, and rationalized that she must have fallen asleep at some point in time. And since she was sleeping anyway, why not be curious?
“Do you need something?” she asked it.
“Well, I’d like to know about life.” it said. “I’ve been given a chance to live, but I’m not really sure if I want to. It seems like it might be hard, and a bit strange.”
Yep. Definitely a dream.
“But I’ve heard great things about you, and I was sincerely hoping you could enlighten me as to what ‘life’ is all about.”
“Well… can you describe your question any better, Cloud?” she asked, naming it.
“Hmm… Perhaps if I were to break it apart into layers, you could answer questions about each one in turn? That way, we aren’t dealing with a thunderhead, and instead, we have lots of little clouds to handle.”
“That seems logical.” Twilight said.
“Then allow me to start with this: I know life needs things, but what things? As a cloud, I am, but life wants something more than just being. What are they?”
“The requirements of life? How to keep living, is that what you’re asking me?”
“Yes. Exactly that, what does life needs to keep being life?”
“Well, all life needs air, water, and some kind of food.” Twilight told it.
“I know air, and I know water. So life needs clouds? Clouds are air and water.”
“Well, no Cloud. A cloud is too little water for anything to live off of. Lives need liquid water, not water vapor.”
“I see. Is that hard to find?”
“Not in most places. Water is everywhere, if you know where to find it. You’re a cloud; you rain. You can gather rain in containers, and rain goes into lakes and rivers. Water comes from those sources.”
“I see, I see… fascinating. So, clouds are very important, are they not?”
“Very. You should be proud to be a cloud, Cloud.”
“Thank you. Let’s move on, shall we? What is ‘food’?”
“That depends on what life you are.”
“Pardon?”
“Some lives eat plants, like ponies. Herbivores. Others are carnivores, eating meat, and some, like the griffons, are omnivores, and they eat meat and plants.”
“Really? But, whatever for?”
“…I don’t understand. Can you ask again Cloud?”
“Herbivore, carnivore, omnivore. I don’t really understand them at all, but why? Why eat at all? Is there something to plants and animals that make life work? What is ‘meat’? And what of plants themselves? What do they eat?”
“…I should start again.”
“Please do.”
“Plants use photosynthesis to live.”
“And what is that?”
“They absorb water through their roots. That, combined with sunlight, allows them to grow and live in a fairly complex process. Most plants exist from rain alone, in bright places.”
“I see…”
“Herbivores are lives that eat plants, like ponies. But herbivore is a fairly broad term, including insects and some fish. Most life is herbivorous.”
“And the plants, they give them the ability to live on sunlight?”
“No. The plant is broken down into base material that fuels the body. Sugars, proteins, and the like. To live, all life needs outside material to make everything work. Like a cloud needs water to be a cloud.”
“Ah! Yes, I understand! You need to take plants to keep moving, to keep being life.”
“Precisely!”
“And water, to, perhaps, ease the transition?”
“Water is also vital on its own.”
“I see, but what of omnivores? Carnivores?”
“Well, other animals, like fish, eat plants too. But fish also eat other fish.”
“A fish is?”
“A life that only lives in water.”
“I see. But why does a fish eat another fish? It seems cruel.”
“Well, some fish get big. And plants aren’t able to supply everything a big fish needs, so little fish eat the plants and insects, and big fish eat little fish. It’s a whole part of nature, and many animals eat other animals. That’s what a carnivore is: an animal that eats animals.”
“Disgusting.”
“Meat is the term for… well, the bits and pieces that make up an animal.”
“Vile.”
“I can’t say I’m fond of it either, but it’s a part of life Cloud.”
“Not a big part I hope?”
“About half in all honesty. But only ten percent are strictly carnivorous, or have to eat meat. The rest is omnivorous, able to eat meat and plants. And, of course, we also have geovores.”
“Geovores?” Cloud asked, its voice heavy with curiosity and the pleasure of discovery.
“A few creatures eat gemstones, or rocks. Minerals found in the ground. Diamond dogs and dragons are the best known geovorous creatures, but both species also eat plants and meat, earning them the title 'omnivorous'.”
Cloud nodded, the front half bobbing up and down, thoughtfully to Twilight’s eye.
“Alright. So, tell me if I’m wrong.” it said.
“Plants live with water and sunlight. Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat meat. Geovores eat gems and rocks, minerals. And omnivores can eat anything.”
“Almost everything. Some things are inedible to everything.”
“But water is vital in every case?”
“Absolutely. Life wouldn’t exist without water.”
“And that is how a life functions. Water, food, and air.”
“Yes.”
“So now, my question is, how? Why does this work? What makes a life, such as yourself, able to have food and water? Plants have roots you said, to absorb water. Do you have roots?”
“No. Only plants have roots. Other lives have another way to get what they need.”
“I’m waiting with all eagerness.”
“I’m talking through the use of my mouth. Almost all creatures have a mouth, and water and food is taken in through the mouth, delivered to the stomach by the throat, and then absorbed through the body’s inner tissues. See,”
Twilight opened wide for a moment.
“I have teeth and a tongue.” she said, shutting her mouth again. “Flat teeth, because I’m an herbivore, and a tongue so I can taste what I’m taking into my mouth. In the back, you can see my throat, which leads to my stomach.”
“May I have another look? I looked in ignorance and am lacking in the proper knowledge I suspect.”
Twilight opened again and the cloud floated forward. She giggled a little as Cloud touched her, part of it entering her mouth. It was a strange sensation to say the least. Cold and wet.
“Flat teeth, tongue, and throat.” Cloud said, its voice echoing a little from her mouth, “It’s rather dark in there.” It commented as it retreated again. “Fascinating. So, test me on this. Ask me something, to make sure I know it.”
Twilight smiled and thought for a second.
“What eats plants?” she asked.
“Herbivores.” Cloud replied quickly.
“Gems and stone are a common food of?”
“Oh… I know this… Geovores! Like diamond dogs, and dragons!”
“Yes! And those two species are?”
“Omnivores!” Cloud proclaimed, shining with happiness, billowing with gusto. “I have it now! What life needs, water, food, air, and the reasons why!”
“You do!” Twilight chirped.
It calmed again, and scrunched up a little, like it was thinking.
“Alright. Next question:”
“Why do ponies live in these magnificent structures?”
“You mean homes?”
“And so much more! I, myself, was once part of a wall for a pegasus! Clouds too, have structure, but why are ponies the only species who build such things from… well, I suppose that’s part of it. From what, exactly?”
“Other species build.”
“I’ve seen many that do not.”
“That’s because most life isn’t intelligent.”
“Pardon?”
“Most life isn’t intelligent.”
“That word… ‘Intelligent’… what does that mean?”
Twilight paused. “It… Give me a moment, that’s a hard question.”
“Take your time.”
The cloud waited patiently, billowing in its spot while Twilight pondered.
Then she nodded.
“Alright. Intelligence is thinking.”
“Thinking.”
“But more than that, it means: the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. It means more than that too, but that’s the basis.”
“Fascinating… so, ponies are intelligent?”
“Yes. As are some others, but not all life is. For that matter, most clouds aren’t, not to insult you.”
“None taken! I’m only here because of this chance. Otherwise, I would be raining someplace, a thoughtless mass of air and water vapor. Still, why build? Most life doesn’t, so why be different?”
“Ponies build to help themselves live.”
“How so?”
“We have homes that keep the rain and snow out. Buildings mark places, and keep things inside them safer than if they were outside. And as herbivores, ponies built to protect themselves from carnivores and omnivores. Of course, that was ages past. These days, we build for other reasons.”
“I see… and build from what?”
“Wood, and stone mostly. But a few structures are made specially, like my castle. My castle is made from what I think is crystal. But I’m not really sure.”
“Stone, I know, but wood I do not.”
“Wood comes from trees.”
“Tree are plants. Do you eat the trees?”
“Not every plant is the same. Trees have bark and are tough. Their leaves are hard to reach and simply aren’t particularly good food sources. But they make great buildings and other things.”
The cloud nodded again. “I understand now.”
“Anything else?”
“Two more questions, and then I feel I can make a choice.”
“Ask away.”
“Alright. This might be harder. What is ‘magic’?”
Twilight paused again. Magic might be harder to define than intelligence.
“I have heard,” the cloud said thoughtfully, “that magic is everything.”
“Well, magic is in everything."Twilight said, thinking. "All of Equestria has at least some trace of magic somewhere.”
“But what, exactly, is it?”
Twilight thought. What was magic? The definition of magic. Not something anypony really gave thought to. Magic was magic. It was magic. It might have rules and boundaries, but what magic was, was left blank.
“…Magic is… is the… Think of a cloud.”
“Alright.”
“A cloud needs water and air to exist.”
“Yes.”
“But where does the water come from?”
“I believe, but I’m not sure, so don’t quote me on this,” Cloud said, unsure, “that water comes from the ground.”
“It does. The sun heats it up and it evaporates into water vapor, which clouds are made of.”
“We are made of water vapor, and nothing much else. Sometimes ice crystals if it is cold enough.”
“Yes, but my point is this: the sun heats the water to make the vapor.”
“…I don’t see it.”
“Magic is when the vapor just happens.”
“Pardon?”
“Magic is the stuff that makes things true without reason. Magic makes things float, it makes water boil by itself, it makes a pegasus able to shape clouds, makes an earth pony able to grow plants. For a unicorn to cast any spell at all, they need magic.”
“Magic is in everything on Equestria, though very few species are capable of conscious use of it. Geovores rely on magic to enable them to eat gems for example, and magic is what makes the gems a viable food source. It makes things true without reason.”
“…It sounds dreadfully complex.”
“Magic is actually fairly simple. So long as you don’t go looking for a reason. Magic doesn’t have reasons. It has facts. I can levitate this book. Fact. How can I levitate this book? Magic. Magic is magic. Magic is its own reason. Does that make sense?”
“As much as I can hope for I expect. Magic is magic’s reason, because magic is fact, and not reason.”
“Yes.”
“So, my last question.”
“I’m waiting.”
“Meat is what makes up animals.”
“Yes.”
“But you mentioned a stomach, a mouth and a throat. I am sure that there must be more than that.”
“Biology might take some time Cloud. There’s a lot of stuff to get to if you want to know that.”
“If I am to become life, I feel I should know what it’s made of. All the bits and pieces and meat, leaving nothing out.”
“That will take all night…”
“...I’m imposing. I’m sorry.” Cloud said, growing a little grey. It floated a bit away before Twilight held a hoof toward it.
“Hang on!” she said, and Cloud paused. “I have the time. I don’t mind.”
“Truly? You would?” Cloud asked, growing a little whiter.
“If I have to, I can stay up all night teaching you biology.” Twilight said.
“Can is different from will. I would be taking hours of precious time from you.”
“I want to.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Get back here and I can start.”
“Oh, thank you a million times over!” Cloud said, shining white once more as it returned. “I shall never forget this kindness!”
Twilight blushed a little and smiled at Cloud. It was such a nice cloud. This was a nice dream.
Probably caused by her biology book, but she was enjoying it.
It did take all night as Twilight taught Cloud about biology. Taking some time to get it a good grasp on the basics and some understanding on more advanced, or different, systems. Cloud himself was polite, eager, and an excellent student, able to somehow memorize the information after hearing it only once, and missing very little of it.
Of every system, Twilight only skimmed one: reproductive. Cloud didn’t understand, and she preferred not to talk about it anyway, so neither really cared when she only gave Cloud the barest of basics.
And after each system, she asked Cloud questions to test his knowledge and understanding, and found him a capable… cloud. It passed with flying colors.
A little literally since it was capable of creating a rainbow in its billowing vapor. A kind of huge smile Twilight guessed.
“I would call that an A Cloud.”
“Is that good?”
“It is really good. You only missed a few questions. You have an excellent grasp on biology now.”
“Only because of my teacher.”
Twilight blushed again and yawned, feeling tired.
“I feel I have all the information I need to make an informed choice now.” Cloud said. “But, if I could borrow just one last moment of your time?”
Twilight nodded, smiling sleepily.
“I have a chance to live, and I’m going to say yes. But I’d like to hear your opinion on this. In fact, I’ll take it as a strong recommendation.”
“What life should I be?” Cloud asked, and Twilight blinked.
“What life?”
“I get a choice of anything, but I’m not sure. What life is the best life? I am sure that you would know best, and thus, find me the best life you can.”
“Cloud… this might be the most important choice in your whole… existence. You shouldn’t rely on me to choose your… your life.”
“Please? I have too much to choose from. And I trust you. I’ve heard that total trust is ‘I trust you with my life’. And in this case, that is exactly what I am trusting you with.”
“But… I can’t know what makes you happy.”
“…Ask me!” Cloud cried after a moment of thought. “Ask me what I like, and find the best match for me that way!”
“…You are absolutely certain?”
“Yes!”
“Alright. But try to treat this as opinion, not fact.”
Cloud nodded again and Twilight sighed, thinking.
“…What do you like to do?”
“Rain and fly. Sometimes, I give shade. Once I snowed. I liked that.”
“…Let me try something else. If you did live, what would you want to eat?”
“Oh. Interesting… let me see… geovorous sounds interesting, and meat is… not a carnivore. Definitely not a carnivore. But geovorous has some trouble so… herbivorous. I’d like to be an herbivore.”
“An intelligent herbivore?”
“Of course.”
Twilight nodded. “You fly, or hover, or float, I’m not sure, but you like doing so, correct?”
“Yes. I imagine walking might be interesting, but I love flying.”
“Pegasus.”
“Pegasus?”
“A flying, intelligent herbivore that manipulates the clouds and weather. Makes it rain for example, or gives shade. A pegasus. You should enjoy being a pegasus.”
“Pegasus… yes, I like the sound of that!”
“It does include wings, which we didn’t go over…” Twilight yawned.
“Wings can’t be so hard.” Cloud said. “I know what I’m going to choose. Pegasus. I’ll be a Pegasus.”
Twilight yawned again.
“I know you’re tired, but I do need to know, you named me, but what is your name?”
“Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight told it.
“Thank you Twilight Sparkle. It was the greatest of pleasures learning under you this night. I will never forget this.”
“And the moment I live, I’m coming by to show off! Get ready for a real windstorm! Cloud is going to live!”
He swept off and Twilight chuckled and yawned again, settling down. It was odd to feel tired in a dream, but she was feeling tired. She settled down, made herself comfortable on the floor, and was soon sleeping.
Twilight woke later on, in her library. As she blinked the bleariness away, she reasoned that she had fallen asleep while reading. It had happened before after all.
It had never come with such vivid and strange dreams, but it had been nice. A really good test of Twilight’s ability to teach, since Cloud had been totally ignorant, and Cloud had been a true joy to speak with. His voice was calming, his curiosity tempered by his politeness, even the big fluffy nature of a cloud. He seemed made to calm ponies down.
A very nice dream.
She got up, and headed off, only to pause, noticing that she slept in. It was almost noon already. She normally woke far earlier than that.
She was thinking as she went off, wondering about it.
“Hey Twilight!” she heard called, and hesitated, hearing Rainbow’s voice.
“Twilight!”
“Hang on!” she called back, wondering why Rainbow had dropped by. Didn’t she have work that day? Maybe she got the day off or something.
Twilight debated grabbing something to eat before she went, and then decided to split the difference. She passed the kitchen, grabbed what was immediately apparent, and ate some flowers as she went.
She found Rainbow waiting for her in the entry hall. Along with another pegasus.
A white pegasus stallion, about as large as Big Mac. But where Big Mac was strong and steady, the pegasus was… large, yes, but he almost seemed fluffy. He was handsome, with a good stance and strong wings, but he was... soft somehow. His mane and tail resembled clouds, and his cutie mark was a little hard to see; a cloud. White on white.
Something seemed familiar about him.
“Twi, this guy says he knows you.”
“Do I?” she asked, eyeing him. He was familiar…
“Twilight, it’s me!” he said in a calming, gentle voice. “Cloud!”
“…Cloud?” she weakly said. Staring and feeling lost.
“Yes! You remember! I told you I would come back.”
“But… but…”
“How do you know Twilight?” Rainbow asked, curious.
“Oh, I visited Twilight last night.” Cloud said. “We stayed up all night, her teaching me about life.”
Twilight froze and Rainbow paused.
“…What about life?” Rainbow asked, watching Twilight.
“Well, most of it was biology.” Cloud said. “Hour and hours of biology. I learned quite a lot from Twilight. She is an excellent teacher, and I’ll never forget that night. It was the most important night in my life.”
Rainbow blinked at Cloud. She glanced at Twilight, who had yet to move or react and then back at Cloud, stunned.
“…What?” Rainbow asked, her voice a little weak.
“I came in ignorance to Twilight, and she taught me about life. How it functions and the like, what things are called. Like teeth and tongue and mouth.”
Rainbow stared. In all her life, she had never expected anything like what she was thinking.
“…How was she?” Rainbow asked a little automatically. Normally that question was inverted.
“Well, she was my first, but I am sure that there isn’t one finer.” Cloud boasted and Rainbow didn’t really know what to say to that.
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“…Anything specific?” she asked, again, working on normal questions she sometimes asked, but never to a stallion. The whole thing felt a little surreal to her.
“Specific?”
“You know… stuff.”
“Stuff?”
Rainbow decided to stop trying. Cloud was obviously a gentlestallion who wasn't going to boast and she wasn’t particularly ready to say things explicitly. At least, not to him. Maybe later on though; he did cut a striking figure.
He looked really cuddle-able and has this, innocent naivete about him that made him more attractive than most.
“Have a good night Twilight?” she asked instead.
Twilight didn’t respond at all.
“…Is she alright?” Cloud asked Rainbow, and Rainbow smirked a little.
“Probably too much ‘teaching’ last night. It can get to a mare.”
“Oh dear. Is there anything I can do?”
“Just stand next to her. She’ll get over it soon. I’ve gotta get the rest of the girls. They are never going to believe me without seeing this.”
Cloud went to Twilight, noticing her rigidity. He seemed concerned, and glance at Rainbow again.
“Is there anything more I can do?” he asked.
Rainbow paused. “…Put your wing on her back and a fore leg around her neck.”
“Like this?”
“Little closer.”
“This?”
“Perfect! Just hold perfectly still!”
Rainbow shot off with a huge grin and Cloud nodded.
She was going for help, obviously. And Twilight felt rock solid for some reason. So she might need help.
Maybe she needed to feel warm? It would explain his closeness. Life was very warm as compared to clouds. The circulatory system he supposed. Pegasi were warm blooded beings after all.
He shifted a little closer, to help more. He felt he owed Twilight quite a lot. She taught him everything he needed to know, and he didn’t know what might have happened should he have just leapt into the chance. He also didn’t know why the chance giver had referred him to Twilight, but it was the best meeting he could have had.
He was filled with a fire to live. Given a chance, he had taken that chance, and now, he lived.
The cloud had found life.
And he was going to give his best storm front, rain like he never rained before, and really blow life away like the best of hurricanes.