On a grassy hill outside Ponyville Gale Twister and Cloud Bank were talking at a cafe. Cloudsdale had stopped over Ponyville to deliver the weather for next week, and the two had some time off. “Okay Gale, ten bits if you can go from here to the weather factory and back in less than a minute.” Cloud Bank dared, pointing to the weather factory.
Gale made a cocky scoff at that idea. “Make it fifteen bits and I’ll do it blindfolded.”
“Ha, you’re on.” And the two friends made a hoof shake at the agreement. Cloud then got a blindfold and wrapped it around Gale’s head. He then took out a stopwatch to prepare to time him. “On your mark. Get set. Go!!!”
On “Go” Gale took off with incredible speed, causing a small burst of wind. A few second later, Cygnus came by and noticed Cloud. “Excuse me Cloud Bank.” She said as she approached Cloud.
“Oh hey, Cygnus. Do you need help with something?” Cloud replied with a smile.
“Yes, I’m looking for Gale, have you seen him.”
Cloud then looked down at his stopwatch. “Well, you might as well stick around. Gale should be back...” Gale then swooped down for a landing. “Two seconds ago.”
“What was my time Cloud?” Gale asked while taking off the blindfold.
Cloud seemed astounded by what he saw. “Wow, forty-two seconds; and that was while blindfolded.”
Gale had a cocky smile upon hearing that. “Well, a bet’s a bet. Pay up.”
Cloud reluctantly gave Gale his winnings. “Oh, Cygnus was looking for you.”
Cygnus stepped forward. “Yes, I wanted to ask you about this incense you made. It smells so different from anything you’ve made before.”
“Well, I actually used water lilies for it.” Gale explained. “I wanted to try to make something different and—” Gale suddenly felt a crossbreeze. “Everypony get down!” Gale then squatted down on the ground with his friends following suit. A moment later it sounded like a meteor was falling from the sky. Seconds later, there was a rather large projectile falling towards the ground. It hit the ground and slid for a bit before stopping. Once they realized it was safe Gale, Cygnus and Cloud got up and went to check out what had fallen. They saw what appeared to be a bat pony mare. She had a white mane and tail with a yellow-orange coat and the inside of her wings were a cool teal. On her head was a helmet that was decorated in a way that looked like it had scales and she had brown saddlebags.
Gale went down to check on the downed pony. “Uh, are you okay?” He asked.
After a moment, her eyes shot open and she jumped back onto her hooves with a huge grin. “I’m fine, I was wearing my helmet.” She said as she tapped the protective gear.
Gale, Cygnus and Cloud were at a loss. First she seemed to be unconscious and now she was super jolly. Cygnus decided to break the silence. “So… what is your name? I am Cygnus” She asked as she held out a hoof for a hoof shake.
“Oh me? I’m Misty Tailwind, pleasure to meet you.” She then grabbed Cygnus’ hoof with both of hers and gave her a wild hoof shake, surprising Cygnus. Though thankfully, she let go after a few seconds.
Gale then stepped forward. “Well, my name’s Gale Twister and this is my friend Cloud Bank.”
“Great to meet you all.” Misty said with a chipper smile
“So uh… why did you fall from the sky like that?”
“Oh, heh heh, I’m not a great flier. I have this disability in my wings that causes me to lose control sometimes. Usually happens when I’m flying faster than average.”
“That sounds problematic.” Cloud Bank said, with a worried expression on his face.
“Nah, it’s fine. I’m used to the crash landings and I never leave home without my helmet.” Misty said, her smile never faltering.
“What are you doing around here anyway Misty?” Gale asked.
“I’m heading off to a cave I frequent. I may not look like it but I’m something of a spelunker. I love exploring caves looking for trinkets and adventure; it’s loads of fun. Wanna join me?”
“No thank you, I have my shop to run.” Cygnus said.
Cloud Bank shook his head. “Nah, caves aren’t really my thing.”
“I’ll join you Misty.” Gale said.
Misty clapped her hooves in joy. “Yay, it’s always great having a traveling buddy.”
Misty led Gale towards the cave system in question. Though they had to travel slower than Gale would have liked because of Misty’s disability.
After a bit the cave entrance came into view. “There it is. I’m so excited I could- Woah!” She then started to lose control. Thankfully Gale was there and with some gusts of wind from his wings he was able to correct her flight path. “Whew, sorry about that, I got a little overexcited.”
“It’s fine, I’m always there to help out my friends.” Gale said as they landed.
“You… think I’m a friend?” Misty asked. “But we only just met.
“You seem like a kind pony and I can tell you’re pretty fun.”
Misty stood there wide eyed for a moment then seized Gale in a massive hug. “Thank you Gale, you’re so nice!”
Gale’s face was almost turning blue from the bear hug. “Hard… to… breathe.”
“Oops.” Misty released Gale so he could breathe. “Sorry about that, I don’t have a lot of friends so this is exciting.”
“Really? You seem like the type who would have a lot of friends.”
“It’s no big deal,” Misty shrugged. “So, ready to get started?”
“Yeah, let’s do this!”
“Oh wait,” Misty took out a spare helmet from her saddlebags. “You’ll need this.” She then fastened the helmet on Gale’s head. “Remember, safety first.”
Gale softly chuckled at the antics of his new friend as they entered the cave.
As they entered the cave Gale shivered a bit. It was quite cool and damp inside to contrast the warmth of the sun he was feeling a minute ago. Misty picked up on Gale’s slight discomfort and gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, you get used to it pretty fast.”
“If you say so.” Gale said
After a bit they reached a rather large open area of the cave and it was a sight to behold. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling and glimmered from the clear water coating them. The walls were lit up with a rainbow of colors from gems of all kinds imbedded into them. And to top it all off there was a large underground lake that was utterly captivating in this setting. Gale’s jaw dropped at this magnificent sight.
Misty had a somewhat cocky smirk on her face. “Yeah, I stumbled upon this sight recently when I was digging in this cave. Had the same reaction you’re having now.” She said as she picked Gale’s jaw up.
“You must find stuff like this all the time.” Gale said in wonder.
“Actually no, this kind of sight is rare. Most of my trips just yield a cool stone or gem or something.”
“Why do you like spelunking anyway?”
“It’s kind of a funny story actually,” Misty began. “You know I’m not a great flier; well one time I screwed up and landed right into a lake. Fortunately I’m a really good swimmer so that wasn’t a problem. While I was down there though, my eye caught the sight of a cave. When I went to go check it out I was met with a sight like this one. Ever since then I’ve always enjoyed exploring caves because well… you never know what you’re going to find.”
“That’s certainly an interesting story,” Gale then noticed a bright green gem embedded in the wall next to him. “Oh, this is really cool. Maybe I should take this one home.” Gale then tapped at the wall around the gemstone in hopes of getting it loose.
Misty looked over in his direction after a moment. Once she saw what Gale was doing her eyes widened and she let out a loud gasp. “Gale don’t—” But it was too late, one of the taps caused a crack to start going up into the ceiling. The entire cave began to shake. Part of the ceiling above Gale collapsed but Misty pushed him to safety. But the collapsed ceiling completely sealed them in.
Gale saw that they were trapped and began to panic. “Oh man, what are we going to do?”
“Gale!” Misty said firmy. “Calm down! We can find our way out of this. Just take a deep breath and we can work through this mess.”
Gale followed Misty’s advice and took a deep breath which seemed to calm his nerves. “Okay, okay I’m feeling better.”
“Good, now all we need to do is find an exit and dig our way out.”
“I have an idea that can help with that. I have this connection to the wind so I should be able to pick up even the faintest breeze, that’ll lead us straight out.” Gale closed his eyes and concentrated only on his breathing, attempting to pick up on the wind. “I got something, it’s this way.” Gale went over to the rubble. Hovering up to a corner of the pile, he put his hoof up to one of the cracks. “It’s faint, but there’s definitely a draft coming through here.”
“Alright then, let’s get digging.” Misty said as she gave Gale a pickaxe and armed herself with one as well.
After a bit of digging Gale decided to strike up a conversation. “Say Misty, you mentioned you don’t have many friends, but you seem like the type that would get along with anypony.”
Misty’s mood seemed to dampen a bit. “Well, that was a small lie. The truth is I don’t really have ANY friends. I try to talk to ponies but they don’t like to hang out with me. They think I’m some kind of weirdo because of my flight disability, or that I spend a lot of my free time in dank caves. It’s kind of hard to find a pony who wants to be my friend when I’m like this.”
“Well, you have me at least.”
Misty looked towards Gale. “You still want to be friends Gale?”
“You kidding? You’re such a joy to have around and spelunking seems like so much fun. Sure it has dangers like this but what’s life without a little risk?”
Misty softly smiled as she heard that. “Thanks Gale, that means a lot.”
Gale smiled back. “And once we’re out of here I’m sure Cygnus, Cloud Bank and my other friends would to get to know you.”
After a bit, they finally saw sunlight and they were able to dig their way back outside. After another slow flight they made it back to Ponyville. Cygnus was outside her shop, pacing back and forth. She jumped a bit upon seeing Gale and Misty return. “Gale, you’re back! What happened? You were gone for so long, I was so worried!”
“It’s alright Cygnus, I just got a taste of what spelunking is like, and what NOT to do.” Gale said and his comment made Misty chuckle. “Why don’t we go inside and enjoy some incense while we get to know Misty here.”
Cygnus smiled at that suggestion. “Yes, that sounds lovely. Based on your appearance it seems she’s quite the interesting pony.” Cygnus said, pointing out the dirt Gale and Misty were covered in.
“Yeah, she certainly seems like a hoof-ful, but she’ll be a fun hoof-ful to have around.” Gale said as he, Cygnus and Misty burst out into laughter.
