Author's Note

Hey look, everyone. Part 2! We get a glimpse of what the weather factory holds, and what was in those darn crat-that's old news.

Warning! Detailed description of an injury ahead that may or may not cause the individual to pass out, suffer hallucinations or experience feelings of dizzyness. Proceed at your own risk. Thank you!

-Harpy

Edit: I revised this chapter on June 28th, 2023. To me, the story feels much better. Last year, my writing style hadn't been as developed. I was still new to this. Now, with a lot of time on my hands, I've gotten more practice and can safely say we are doing great. These revisions help with contextual clarifications and fixing the tone it gave off. Hope you all can understand and will like the changes.

In The Clouds - Part 2 (NSFW) {revised}

Chapter 9: In The Clouds - Part 2 (NSFW)

groan “Another dead-end. Damn! Why do these exist?”

As I grew increasingly frustrated with the number of dead-ends I was encountering, the vent systems of the weather factory remained an endless maze. With every wrong turn, the grate at the end would show either the large factory floors, the breakrooms, or worse…the locker rooms.

“Eck,” I muttered in disgust. “I don’t want to see what you do to yourself behind closed doors.”

“That makes two of us.”

I tried to stay as silent as possible while maneuvering through the narrow space, the amount of movement making it near impossible. The metal encasement was annoyingly loud, but those were the consequences of where I chose to escape to.

The Cloudsdale ‘Weather Factory,’ as it was referred to, was buzzing with life around me. It also covered the noise I was making inside the vents, allowing me to continue on without a second thought.

Don’t think we didn’t hear that, mister! the left side of my mind called out. You thought we were out of the picture?

We’re still here! the right side proclaimed in fashion. And still kicking!

I tuned out the mindless puppets within my brain as I crawled across the metallic interior. There were times when I encountered a passageway, either to the left or right. Some allowed me to listen in on certain conversations, while others had bells and whistles going off.

Surprising enough that they rarely use or check these vents, I thought to myself. You’d think they wo…no, scratch that.

“No, you had a plausible questio-”

Man, I forgot we were in the sky. Cloudsdale doesn’t need to worry about cleaning vents or checking for lint because it practically cleans itself. Not to mention, all the residents of this mobile city were of the same species: pegasus ponies.

I shook my head and proceeded onward. Finally, I came across the dreaded upward shaft. I craned my neck and poked my head to see the elevator of doom. It appeared long and narrow, roughly the same width and height I had been working through this entire crawl.

“Fucking hell,” I bitterly commented aloud. After readjusting myself at the bottom, I used my upper body strength to climb the ventilation shaft. It was brutal since I was working with little to no room for error, but it was my only option. I couldn’t be out in the open…I was a wanted man!

As I pulled myself over the side of the upper half, I took a minute or two to collect my breath. I strained and rested on my right side, clutching my ribs in agony. My breathing had taken a toll on itself because of the confined space I was in…but, alas, this was the price for freedom.

huff! “Shit,” I grumbled in pain. “I’m definitely not in shape.” sigh “My stamina has never felt this bad before.” I gasped for air and slowly calmed the nerves along my arms. My spine straightened out as I stretched it, a satisfying crack! coming from the region.

I took a few more seconds to regain my breath before rolling back onto my stomach. As I peered down the venty corridor, I continued my steady crawl through the factory’s inner walls. About another minute later, I came to a stop as three paths emerged before me.

One leading to the left, one that went straight forward, and one leading to the right.

I took a moment to turn myself over and think over my options. As I lay down on my back again, I breathed as calmly as possible while thinking out the possible outcomes.

“Okay. Here’s what we know,” I huffed softly. “There are three different directions we can choose from. One of them most likely leads to the outside world, which would be a terrible choice. One of them has to lead to the factory floor, which wouldn’t work for obvious reasons. And the last has to lead to some walled-off condemned section of the facility.

“So, which one did you end up choosing?”

After much deliberation between me, myself, and I...the middle path became the clear number one pick for me to proceed down. And that’s what I did.

========================================<>========================================

I began crawling through the center duct from the three-way fork. That part was behind me now, the vents angling on an upward slant. It was easier because it allowed me to catch my breath whenever I needed to without worrying about hurting myself.

It evened out again after a couple of minutes before I realized something. Up ahead, the vent’s ceiling tipped downward. No problem, my brain neuronically relayed. Just keep going. There’s no danger yet….

I shook my head as I got a bad feeling about this trip. Edging my way to the slope, I began a slight descent through the ventilation system. The path continued before my arms and legs realized I was slipping.

“What the hell?” I said in confusion. The vent’s metallic interior felt slick and oily, as if coated in the stuff. My hands were too late to react, my feet unable to fight back against gravity. My sliding picked up in speed, my eyes darting between the tube’s bottom and what lay ahead.

“Holy shi-”

bam!

My body crashed into the side of the vent and was suspended momentarily. For once, I had a chance to take a deep breath as my head faced down. Suddenly, my vision caught a horrifying sight below, immediately alerting my mind.

“A-Are those…fan blades?!”

boom!

My shrieks of fear inside the vent bounced through my ears as I was tossed from side to side. My body slid head-first down the metal tube, heading straight for a propeller fan at the bottom. The fan’s blades were blurred as they spun, marking how fast they were going.

My eyes widened in terror as I got closer to it. I gave every bit of my strength into saving myself, slamming my forearms into the sides of the shaft. The metallic rug burn from the save made both sides of my mind scream, my teeth biting down on my tongue to resend the painful experience elsewhere.

As my descent continued, I then forcefully forced both of my knees into the walls, trying to gain more control of my rapid decline. It worked like a charm, the slick squeal! of my clothing pressing against the metal interior slowing me down drastically.

But it still wasn’t enough. The fan blades got even closer, now about 20 feet from my position. I continued applying pressure to all four limbs before utilizing my last resort option. I forced myself back inside the vent chamber, my back slamming against the shaft’s interior casing.

Finally, I came to a skidding halt about two feet from the propeller blades. They continued to roar with power, the systematic churning of wind circumventing around me. It escaped past my body and made it shiver in terror, my body doing everything it could to stay in place.

But, a silent slip! caused my brain to jump the hyperventilation button into full-on panic mode. Now, with my widened eyes staring down the center of a massive propeller, they didn’t stop as I felt my body getting too close for comfort. I drew a deep breath and expanded my body’s volume, attempting to hold my breath for as long as possible while preventing further movement.

My prayers were not being answered, as my mind realized this may be the end of the planned journey. How could it end like this? my brain hissed. After everything we’ve been through? All the meticulous planning and systematic executions? There’s no way…not like this.

The seconds I had left of holding my breath ticked away, my head a foot away from the rotating blades. My senses began to feel like…l-like they were…bluh-blacking ouu-

brrring!!

“Attention! All Cloudsdale Weather Factory workers and maintenance members!” a pony’s gruff voice loudly proclaimed through the PA system. “This is not a drill! We have a ‘Code Triple Amber!’ I repeat! ‘Code Triple Amber’ is in full effect right now! This is not a drill!”

========================================<>========================================

So many things were happening at the same time. The sounds of ponies shouting and dropping their tools, the blaring alarms going off, the sounds of metal doors shutting….

slam!

“Gah!” I screamed in fright as a metal door slammed right before me. It covered the fan blade entirely, the light of the outside world silencing in the process. It was pitch-black inside the ventilation shaft, my breathing slowing down as I dropped upside-down on my head. The biggest worry had been dealt with, but a new one had been growing silently in the midst.

Like a persistent weed, it sprouted and began to run down a timer within my head. The position I was in…it was a dangerous position to be in. I was in a confined space, surrounded by a slick metallic interior, and as the blood rushed to my head, my nerves sensed an impending nightmare.

Have to do this the hard way then, Alex, my brain concluded, provoking me to attempt the impossible. We have to climb back up the way we came….

As the burns from my arms bore through my sides, I threw caution to the wind and pressed my forearms against the sides of the shaft. Then, retracting my legs and straightening them up, I began to make the treacherous climb backward. But, by repeating the same motions, my body rapidly emptied its stamina reservoirs.

The amount of pain swirling through my bloodstream and nervous system was unbearably mind-numbing, blood dripping from my mouth. My tongue hung from my wide-open mouth, giving me more chances to breathe in the refreshing air. The climb hurt me psychologically because those thoughts of getting caught kept flashing in and out, as did my levels of consciousness.

There’s no way they are this deaf, I commented internally. Surely somepony must’ve figured out where all this banging and slamming were coming from. They should be swarming this vent and getting ready to dismantle it…what the hell?

My foot lost its grip, causing me to look upward at it. The awkward motion was answered because I had reached the top rather quickly. All that time spent thinking about the worries and painful burns had my brain kick my muscles into overdrive.

So, as I gave myself one final push over the top, I finally reached the slanted part of the metallic shaft’s interior. The edge protruded slightly, explaining why I slammed so violently before and took a moment to careen over it.

As my legs straightened out, my shoes felt the sliding tube’s slick walling, deciding where to place themselves. I used my burned and disfigured arms to hoist my out-of-shape physique over the curved side, allowing me to breathe a huge sigh of relief at my potentially fatal error.

It got easier as I crawled back through the ventilation system, angling my body to where I could lie on my back. As the descending slide brought me back to where it all started, my head dropped with the reality of the situation commandeering my mind’s control center.

========================================<>========================================

Fuck me, the right side of my mind gasped out. That shit hurt so much….

Yeh, the left side exasperated. No kidding…let’s agree to never let that happen again.

…

Deal?

Yeah, my brain confirmed. Let’s never do that…ever again. huff!

“...”

“...Sooo…what happened next?”

“You can’t wait like five minutes,” I exhaled deeply. sigh “Golly…worse than my sister….”

“My bad, man. Just…it’s getting interesting, and I want to know what comes next.”

“Now this story is interesting to you? Hmpf!” I grumbled in frustration. My body remained the way it was, flat on its back with my arms crossed over my chest. I raised my head slightly to peer at my arms, the nasty red-purple coloring making me close my eyes and wince.

Fuck…that ain’t good, my mind concluded. The damage evened itself across my forearms and elbows. I shook my head, realizing I had no choice but to get myself out. After five more arduous minutes, I looked at the other two paths and flipped over.

I leaned toward the left side and dialed in, my ear picking up something. I mentally noted the voices of ponies shouting and many hoofsteps echoing across the space. However, when I leaned to the right side, my ears picked up…nothing.

Well, almost nothing. It sounded like something was…humming. A droning sound reverberated inside my eardrums, and the last bit of evidence was it dying down, returning to an eerie ringing.

sigh “Please,” I prayed. “Please…let this path be the ‘right’ path.”

“You were saving that one up, weren’t you?”

chuckle “Yes, sir. I surely was saving that joke for now.” I smiled as I angled my body to snake to the right. The path ahead was much shorter than I expected, with a few right turns and a left turn leading me to a vent grate. The grate’s bars were barely separated, but as I propelled my arms forward, I grabbed them with my hands and pulled them slowly apart. Finding what was on the other side made my mind curse itself.

groan! Damn, I thought to myself. It’s a security office.

“Wait, I’ve seen this movie before.”

I’ll bet you have, Mr. Afton, my left side mockingly said.

Well, the right side chimed. At least there’s only one security…mare?

========================================<>========================================

My eyes squinted as they took in the sight of the entire office. First, many displays were placed across the walls, all angled towards the epicenter of the room. Next, a ton of buttons, gadgets, stand-up machine levers, and tubes upon tubes of wiring were all over the room’s floor.

And there, sitting in a swivel chair before the video feeds, was a security guard. Or rather, a security mare. I looked on in curiosity as her physical features stood out to me.

She was a relatively mid-sized pony, her hair tucked under her navy blue hat. The mare’s wings were folded against the chair, as was her tail, with her ghostly white-colored coat glistening in the room space she occupied. I managed to get a glimpse of her cutie mark, which resembled a shield with an…eye in the middle of it?

I shook my head as I returned my attention to what the mare was doing. She was viciously scanning the security camera feeds in front of her, twisting in her chair to the left and right.

I can easily knock her out and buy myself some time. She doesn’t even have a weapon on he-

strain!

gasp!

The mare in the chair immediately turned around and brought out a taser gun.

“Who goes there?” the mare called out. The gun in the pegasus’s hooves pointed forward at the door she began walking to, her movements small and careful. I didn’t dare move a muscle as I retracted my hands, closing my eyes as I inched backward.

brawr!

Fuhhuuck, I thought to myself, biting my tongue in annoyed frustration. I opened my eyes and noticed the security mare raise her taser toward the grate. The pegasus began to approach the grate, flying through the air and leveling her eyes at the grate.

Well, now you left me with no other choice, I internally commented. The mare’s eyes peeked into the vent, my eyes staring right back at the guard’s bright yellow pupils. Finally, they widened as I shoved my entire body forward, my mouth eliciting a hardy oomf! as I barreled out of the grate.

“What in the-”

Crash!

========================================<>========================================

“Oof!” the mare grumbled, as did I from the fall. Dazed and afraid, the bewildered pegasus tried to get ahold of her taser gun. I quickly wrestled it from her holster before I received a meaty kick to my stomach, sending me sprawling to the floor.

clunk!

“Get off of m-” gasp! “You!” she exclaimed, pointing her hoof at me. “Y-Y-Yo-Your the-”

groan! “Urgh…Y-Yeah, I know….” I exhaled, clutching my stomach as I attempted to stand. I stepped back as the mare moved, positioning her frame between my spot and the doorway.

“Thinking you’ll escape so easily?” the pegasus security guard seethed. “It’s too bad for you, meeting little old me.” I stared at her, nearly faltering from the shot I took.

ompf! “I don’t even know you or your name,” I replied with confusion. As I mirrored her glare, the mare stepped forward, causing me to take a step backward.

“Well, does the name Ivy Stern ring any bells fo-”

snort! The mare stopped her sentence. My face began to burn from the word-play name, trying to calm itself before I made a mockery of her.

ahem! “Does the name…Ivy Stern rin-”

pfft! “WHAT?!” I loudly croaked, my laughter unable to contain itself. I doubled back as the mare took a few more steps forward, my stomach combusting with unexpected chortles. laugh! “Oh my God, you can’t make this shit up! Your name is ‘Ivy’ Swirl? Hahahaa!”

“B-Be quiet, hyu-hyuman!” the security guard shouted. “You think you’re safe yet? Well, that’s too bad because I’ve gotcha no-wha?” The mare’s confident and deterministic grin turned to absolute bewilderment as her hoof felt for her taser gun. “Wh-Where the buck is my taser gun?”

“Looking for this?” I said, grabbing the security mare’s attention. I twirled the gun between my fingers as she looked on from her spot in the room, her mouth dropping. To my surprise, the mare then flared her wings, growing another grin across her face.

“Heh, doesn’t matter,” the mare replied. I threw the gun behind me and cracked my knuckles loudly for the security guard to hear. “Because I got you right where I want you.”

crack! “If you think you can go toe-to-toe with me, you’re dead wr-”

fwoosh!

I felt as if something was wrong. The floor didn’t feel like it was there anymore, and suddenly, I began to fall. As the emergency tube chute underneath me swallowed me whole, I looked down and screamed into the darkness.

“-roOOONNG!!”

========================================<>========================================

“Heh…heh heh…yeah, I do….” huff!

It was an extremely nerve-wracking moment. I mean, come on. When that code for ‘Triple Amber’ went off, I understood it well. It was the signal for if the human may have somehow escaped.

And after appearing in MY office, the human creature still thought he had the upper hoof. From there, I had to do everything I could to keep his attention on me, not the trapdoor.

Once the human had stumbled onto the pressure plates, it was only a matter of time before his weight would fully activate the locking mechanisms, causing them to fail. Then, and only then, would it send him down and to the factory floor.

After the trapdoor had been reset by the lever next to it, I meandered forward and grabbed my walkie-talkie. Stretching the antenna up, I pressed the button down and spoke.

hiss! “R-Radio check? Hawk’s Eyes requesting a radio check,” I called out. I grunted for a moment, the brunt of the force I had taken from the human’s unexpected arrival through the grate hurting me. The metal casing smacked into my face while his entire body slammed onto the ground and crushed both of my legs. Once I wrestled them free, I fully kicked them outward and made contact with his frame.

“Radio check acknowledged. This is Blue Leader Dooby Chuck, Factory Floor Level 1 Manager,” a stallion’s voice replied over the system. I exhaled in relief and repressed the button.

“Blue Leader, you got him heading your way!” I shouted back. I could’ve sworn that, for a moment, there was an audible gasp! picked up by the radio.

“‘Code Triple Amber’ is headed our way?” the leader of the first floor asked in astonishment.

“Through Exit 07, Side 2 of the Warehouse, yes,” I confirmed. “The human fugitive is coming down the chute! Make your way over there, now!”

“Well, stuff my house full of clouds and call it ‘billow time!’” the older stallion sang out in excitement. “Whoo! Leave him to us, Hawk’s Eyes. Thank you for your diligent service!”

A warm feeling blossomed through my heart as the radio fell silent. Those last six words stuck with me as I turned around and headed for the doorway. My cap was beside the walking path, allowing me to pick it up and place it atop my head.

“‘Diligent service,’” I repeated while chuckling. “I started my career out of service…now that I’m back and in my prime?” I looked back at the security feeds and held my head high.

“Security Guard Specialist Ivy Swirl is here to stay!”

When I turned around, I sprinted for the stairs and galloped downward. I had a new goal, and nothing would deter me from accomplishing it.

Assist and detain the fugitive before ‘The Crown of Canterlot’ makes it to Cloudsdale.

========================================<>========================================

“WOOAAHH!!”

I screamed as the trap door underneath me gave out and sent me spiraling down a large tube. I had the unfortunate recognition come to me late, as the unruly security guard lured me into a trap and made good of the moment.

The wind continued to rush past me as I hugged one side of the metal tube. I picked up my arms as they still burned from the pain suffered earlier, crossing them across my stomach region. Suddenly, it angled downward and slanted, my pace picking up as I slid loudly. My senses tingled, realizing where it was leading me to.

An oversized grate opened, and it was only then that I began to panic. I braced myself for the impact as it spat me out and into the giant factory room. I fell a few stories, heading straight toward a pile of wooden crates.

“Ooh, ffuuuc-”

CRASH!!

The impact broke my fall harshly, with the pile of wooden crates immediately exploding once I hit them. My body flailed downward, the wooden splinters shooting out in all directions. I landed on the floor with a loud slam! and my legs crumpled.

I kept my arms across my face as I cradled my head. Lying on the floor in a heap was all I could do as the carnage loudly continued. The noise echoed into the factory room’s air, and my ears had not yet sensed the faint reverberation.

groan “Oooh…hoooh….” I stayed curled in a ball on the floor, the wooden planks from the damaged boxes covering me slightly. I was still exposed since the light poured onto and along my line of vision. After blinking a couple times to ensure I was still alive, I let go of my head and tried to get up from the ground.

“Fuuck…” I groaned, pushing a few crates off my legs. I rolled over and spread out my arms, separating the damaged wooden boxes from each other and creating space for me to work with. As I did this, the rugburns from my earlier nightmarish experience showed themselves, with me nearly shrieking in terror from the sight.

I couldn’t move. The skin looked a devastating black and dark red, blood trailing down the sides of my arms. My face contorted as the pain hadn’t fully registered inside my brain, most likely due to the damaged nerves within my arms.

How? I thought in horrific disbelief. We went through hell and back up, still crawled through the metal ducts, and even slid down a large ass tube! How did we not comprehend the damage yet?!

I dared not to move my arms as I tried to look at my left wrist. The watch that was attached to it was still on, indicating that it had been active the entire time. Wasting no time to think of what I needed to do next, I bent my elbo-

hiss! “GAAHH!!” I screamed through my teeth, biting down upon my tongue. That didn’t help my cause either, as I had already lacerated it earlier. The pain escalated in ferocity, with the blackened forearms pulsing violently and my mouth beginning to soak itself in blood.

“Mikey!” I cried out. I closed my eyes as the watch’s screen buzzed loudly.

“What can I d-”

“Health Regen…as much as we can!” I interjected, the pain hitting like a 70-mile-per-hour truck.

“Alex, we have exerted most of our remaining power,” the watch sadly admitted. I looked back at it in agonizing terror as it showed the amount of power left in the tank. “Capacity is 500. Remaining power energy equals 13.”

“Just do it!” I screamed back. “Whatever it can heal, damn it! Clot the cuts up, for Christ’s sake!” I laid my head on the factory ground, my body shivering as it felt like it had gotten colder. My eyes closed as the world…b-began to faaade….

“H…he-hel…help…” I whispered out to the world. “Plea…easse hel….”

========================================<>========================================

[...]

“...”

“...”

“So,” I began to say. “Can we just skip over that part?”

“Why?”

“Because…I literally forgot what happened after that moment in time,” I counterclaimed. “And…I don’t like retelling those minutes. Reminds me of…‘the injury.’” I rubbed my elbow gently as the figure beside me shook his head.

sigh “But, it’s a pivotal moment. This was when fate smiled down upon you….”

“It was a cop-out, too,” I pouted, crossing my arms and kicking at the ground. “Stupid….”

“Do not refer to the man’s actions as ‘stupid,’ okay? What do you expect from the big man? For Him to tell you when things will happen?”

I raised my eyebrows and tilted my head downward at an angle. “I meeeaan,” my words trailed, a smirk rapidly running across my face. “Would be nice of the guy to do so….”

groan! “Maybe that’s why I’m still here…to say to people like you that you should still be grateful for having a life and cherish every waking moment….”

“I do!” I countered while standing up. A white dove briefly passed by my face, initially scaring me to death. After regaining my balance, I watched the bird fly toward the horizon, perching on a distant tree. Sitting back down, I looked at the man and mouthed, “Where did that bird come from?”

“Beats me. I just sit here and think….”

“Thanks,” I sarcastically commented. Looking at the distant tree the dove chose, I couldn’t help but wonder why a lone tree was sitting out in the middle of nowhere. The blank canvas was pure…except for the one healthy green tree.

“Here. Take this kid.”

========================================<>========================================

“Who are you calling a kiiid?” I looked down with a puzzled look, a small pouch sitting on my lap. I picked it up and opened it to reveal a small lump of grain. When I turned to the guy sitting next to me, he shrugged and looked straight ahead as if this wasn’t the weirdest thing he had done.

“I…what do I…?” I stammered, overtaken by sheer confusion. “Wh-Where did you get this?”

“I don’t know. It sometimes appears out of thin air, and then...I hand it off to the person beside me. It’s like, you have a decision to make. ‘Feed the bird, or feed yourself.’ And, if I were you, I would not eat the grain. Even if your stomach says otherwise because....”

“Why not?” I asked in confusion, shrugging my shoulders. “Seems good to me….”

“Because...ugh. I can’t spoil what would happen. But every single person that has tried before you...safe to say they ain’t coming back.”

My blood froze as I looked back into the bag. The glistening golden grain seemed so inviting, but for what it was worth, my life would have to be the price. I looked at the tree in the distance and saw the dove turn its head toward me. Its face peered directly at me, staring into my soul as I gulped.

gulp!I reached into the pouch and cupped some grain into it. Bringing my hand back out, I opened my palm up and reached out, offering it in the direction of the dove. “H-Here…little birdie,” I thought aloud.

The dove proceeded to fly from the tree and sprinted through the air. It approached rapidly before flapping its wings to slow its momentum. Finally, its two claws clasped onto the bulky part of my fingers, the initial shock making me look away in fright.

It was a tense few seconds, wondering what the bird would do. No sound came from the world around us except for my heart beating out of its stomach. I opened my eyes briefly and looked at the bird, whose head had twisted to try and look at mine.

coo! The dove replied sweetly, looking at the grain and beginning to eat. I peeked from behind the glass mask to see the moment, a warm feeling blossoming inside my heart. The dove paid me no mind as it continued to gobble up the grain, a smile forming across my face.

“See? It likes you!”

I looked at the figure and chuckled. “I remember this,” I reminisced. sigh “I remember this moment like it was yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” I nodded. “Back when life was normal, we would go to the city square in Mama’s home country and spend some time on vacation there. One day, we observed the historical landmarks in the city’s main plaza. Hundreds, maybe over a thousand pigeons were gathered within the square’s area, but the massive statue on the plaza’s south side was the beacon for them.”

“Oh? So this exact scenario happened?”

“Well, kind of,” I sheepishly replied. “I remember feeding the pigeons little bread buns I had bought from the store. The little birdies were flocking around my feet, some flying up to land on my arms too. It was…fun. Being a kid with a loaf of crisp white bread, and maybe thirty to fifty pigeons swarming him.” chuckle “All for some bread….”

“Haha…well, looks like the bird may want more from you, dude.”

I looked at the dove and cupped the bag for a second. I brought the dove toward my shoulder and offered it a new perch to sit on. It jumped up and latched onto me, turning around and getting a feel for my shoulder. It brought itself down momentarily as I refocused my attention on the bag.

I dipped my hand in the bag again, trying to get as much grain as possible to feed the dove. As I did this, the dove’s eyes locked in on the task I was doing, its head remaining as still as ever.

What would I give to relive those moments again, my mind contemplated internally. The dove did not hesitate to wait for me to offer the food, diving forward and nearly slapping me in the face with its white wings. It landed near my thumb and clutched onto it tightly, readying itself to eat the grain within my left palm.

“Might want to be careful doing it a second time. This maayyy hurt….”

“What do you mean by tha-”

bam!

========================================<>========================================

[...]

“...”

“...”

The world was silent, my mind floating upon an endless sea of…clouds. Soft, fluffy clouds blanketed and cushioned me within them. It was almost like…heaven, to me….

I took a deep breath and exhaled through my nose. The bad vibes washed away from my mind’s shores, clearing my head of all the doubt and despair it had felt before.

This is what that feeling felt like when I had first arrived. Resting for a brief moment in a different world.

For once, compared to the life I lived on Earth and in Equestria, life felt…peaceful.

Quiet….

“Shh.”

sigh “I’m…iiinn the cloudsss…not a caaarre in the woorrld….”

“It had to have reactivated at some point. I just know it.”

ding! “Emergency reservoir of energy received! Standby for immediate depletion.”

jolt!

My eyes opened in shock. The factory’s colors came back at full force, instantly blinding me into submission. After hissing from the pain it had caused, I dialed into my environment and realized where I was again.

The weather factory, I thought before shuddering. Oh no…it wasn’t a dream then. It wasn’t a dream! It’s really happening…this is all really happening!

“Alex!” the watch’s voice interrupted. “Health has been fully restored. Remaining energy power at 53 points. The expended emergency reservoir of energy tapped out, equaling 250 points!”

I turned my head and lifted my arm to look at the watch. As I did, my eyes slowly wandered to notice my…cleaned up forearms. There was no blood or disfigured coloring, neither was there any…pain coming from it. This unnerving feeling was bubbling inside me, begging me to get the answers for why this was the case.

“Mikey?” I asked in bewilderment and disbelief. “Wh-Who?...Ho-How did this happen?”

“We got bigger fish to fry, Alex!” the watch forcefully replied, stunning me in the process. “Or should I say, bigger pegasi to squash now!”

“Huh?”

Bam!

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gasp! “Look!” a pony shouted from across the room. I noticed a dozen or so ponies barreling through a doorway across the factory floor. Once I stood to my full height, I slowly approached the middle of the factory floor’s main walkway, stopping and pivoting to face them down.

“There he is!” another pony shouted. “The human fugitive is here, sir!”

I looked down at the floor and began to chuckle. The ponies across the room began to gather in a line, their numbers equaling thirty-two pegasi factory workers. A green and orange pegasus suddenly landed in front of them, his hooves digging into the ground hard. The older and veteran-like pegasus had his eyes trained on me, a low growl! coming from his mouth.

I replied with my own version, giving them a loud snarl! before taking a huge step forward. Most of the pegasi behind him were ready to jump the gun, but he decided to raise his left wing and hold off his party, looking back at me after the fact.

I let my head drop as my fingers fidgeted beside my legs, my eyes closing briefly. Finally, after taking a huge breath in, I raised my head slightly, my eyes being the only things staring back at the mean mug he wore. The presumed pony’s position changed as he flicked his wingtip forward, sending the crowd into a collective frenzy.

“CHARGE!!” the pegasus leader yelled. A chorus of shouts erupted as they gathered up into the air, rocketing toward me. I stood in place and waited for one of them to get as close as he liked. Time slowly began to dwindle, the space between us getting shorter by the second….

The first pegasus to make it to me couldn’t have known what was to come next. His momentum started to slow down while his body got closer…albeit at a snail’s pace. The worker’s medium wings began to stall, reaching a stilled state, as did he.

I looked into his eyes and smirked. The ‘time-manip’ ability had successfully worked for once. And now, it was time to take advantage of it.

Time…heh heh, my mind laughed internally. Time….

“That was bad. This isn-”

“‘The Game,’” I whispered, walking up to the pegasus worker. Once I had gotten a good look at and of his face, I smiled deterministically and proceeded to angle his frame downward. After manipulating his hoof to bend inward, I moved it toward himself, letting it connect with his jaw.

Looking at the other factory workers only made me hungrier for more. I licked my lips and began to walk with a newfound purpose, a single line leaving my mouth with raw power.

“Time to play ‘The Gaaame!’”