Adventures Are No Fun.

Screech put on a long black scarf and a light blue knit hat. She chose them out of all the hats and scarves because they smelled the most like her papa.

Success looked at Screech and cocked his head. "You have to wear something with the wonderbolts logo on it."

Screech cocked her head at the exact same angle as her half brother. "Do you think the lack of a gold and blue scarf are going to make me stand out more than me being a bat pony?"

"Yes," replied Success. "I don't want my friends at the park thinking you don't like The Wonderbolts."

"I don't like The Wonderbolts," said Screech as she tied her scarf. "They helped the royal guard kill hundreds of bat ponies including most of our family."

Success scoffed. He thought Screech was lying. "The Wonderbolts are cool. Every pony loves them."

Screech opened her mouth to clarify. She didn't say a word. She changed her hat to a blue and gold knit cap. "You said something about a park. I thought we were going to the post office."

"We are," said Success excitedly. "After we go to the park. Wonderbolt park is the coolest place ever. It has aerial obstacle courses just like the ones real Wonderbolts train on. You will love it."

"I can't fly," said Screech.

"Why not?" asked Success.

Screech extended her prosthetic wing. "I am disabled."

"Leaf Cutter has a prosthetic wing and he is a Wonderbolt," said Success.

Screech swallowed a hiss. "So?"

"If he can fly with one wing so can you," assured Success.

"He is an air force flyer with access to military technology!" exploded Screech. "My prosthetic is what ever Guilded Lilly could afford after she committed insurance fraud! Even if I did have top of the line medical care you don't get to decide what I can and can't do! I am telling you I can't fly! Don't argue with me!"

Success shrank back. Tears immediately started flowing down his face as he wailed at the top of his lungs.

Screech froze. She had only forgotten how young her half brother was for one second. Her stomach burned and tried to jump out of her mouth. She winced at the pain but otherwise ignored it. She stepped forward and hugged Success. He wailed into her ear, but she held on. She was turning into her mother.

Platinum Park was cooler than Wonderbolt Park. Wonderbolt Park was mostly hoops on metal poles. There was nothing to do for ponies who could not fly.

Screech sat under the statue of Snowdrop. She watched Success fly through hoops with his friends. Her splitting head ache went away and was replaced by a dull head ache. Not even trying to imagine what the park was like before it was bought, remodeled and renamed was fun anymore.

Screech stared at a cheer squad. Their gold and blue cheer uniform could have been from any school in Cloudsdale. The one and only earth pony on the squad had her undivided attention. Her coach and squad mates were flying high above her head and performing aerial acrobatics. She was either the daughter of some-pony or there was a law that said she had to be allowed on the squad.

Screech trotted over the the earth pony. "Hello."

Razzle smiled with perfect teeth. She did not look happy but she did look pretty. The perfect fake smile. "You are eye-catching."

Screech blushed. "I already have a some-pony special."

Razzle laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. Are you on a team?"

"No," said Screech with a grin. "I am a rodeo pony." She puffed out her chest a little.

Razzle put a hoof to her chin. "That does not have cheer squads."

"Your's can be the first."

Razzle laughed.

Screech frowned. "I was being serious."

"Oh. No. I am a Secondary Junior Wonderbolt Trainee Understudy Considerate. I can't cheer at just any event." Razzle spoke as if Screech should have already known.

Screech managed to keep her eyes from rolling. "How many Ponies have to die before you are on the wonderbolt cheer squad?"

"Two hundred eight," said Razzle curtly.

Screech stared at Razzle.

"You were joking," said Razzle. She blushed. "You don't understand what an honor it is to be on the wonderbolt's cheer squad."

Screech nodded. "I can't fly. Cloudsdale's altitude is too high. Every time I try it triggers my OCD in new and horrible ways. Do you know what it is like to wake up and have a piece of your self missing? To have so little control over your own life one minute you can fly and the next minute you can't?"

Razzle thought for a moment. "No."

Screech was taken aback. "Is your dad the mayor?"

Razzle raised an eyebrow. "No. He is a judge."

"Do you want to be friends?"

Razzle nodded excitedly. Her smile was a little crooked and genuine.

"Want a roasted carrot?" Screech nodded her head toward a roasted carrot vendor. "You are buying."

Razzle looked up. Her team didn't notice she stopped performing the routine. "I can't. I will never be the first earthpony on the wonderbolt's cheer squad if I don't practice."

Screech sighed.

Success walked ahead of Screech. As he walked he played catch with two other colts. They walked through the residential zone and he pointed out a few houses as belonging to his friends and the places for ponies to rest their wings, learn to fly and play with their pet birds.

Screech wondered if Prey would like living in Cloudsdale. She had no intention of making him leave Dodge Junction. She was too aware of the irony.

Every step deeper into the new city made Screeche's heart beat faster. She crossed a cart bridge into the industrial district. The factories made the mansions of the residential zone look like doll houses.

"Is this where the weather is made?" asked Screech in awe of the size of the factories.

Success gave Screech an odd look. "No. That is a power plant. That is a smelting plant. That is an oil refinery."

Screech ran. She liked running. Seeing a new city, a city that was not her home, made her run fater and faster. The edge of town was no where in sight.

Screech dug her hooves into the hard clouds that were Cloudsdale's 'ground'. She closed her eyes and forced her breathing to slow down. "Change is good. Change is good." She repeated the platitude hoping she would start to believe it if she said it enough.

Success flew up to Screech. "You ran right past the post office."

Screech took a deep breath. She though of her friends. She thought of how great it would be to get letters from them. When she was back in Ponyville in a week, to laugh together at the sappy things they wrote to her. She opened her eyes. "I am feeling better."

Success cocked his head. "You were not feeling good?"

"No," said Screech. "I was panicking."

"Oh." Success looked down the road to see if his friends were following. "Do you panic a lot?"

Screech rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it. We don't have to bond. I am going home and our lives will continue as if I never came here."

"Mom said..." Success looked at the ground.

"What did Glitter say?" asked Screech.

"Mom said you are my sister."

Screech waited for her half brother to continue.

Success waited for Screech to say something.

Sucesse's freinds threw the ball to him and caught it. He threw it back.

"I am your sister," said Screech. She was not sure what else to say.

Success smiled a little. "Isn't that cool. Our family got smaller when dad... but now you are here and..."

Screech placed her hoof on Success's shoulder. "We are not family. My family is in ponyville. My family is my mare friend, a diamond dog, a unicorn and her cat, my mama and my foal hood friend and her parents. You are my papa's son. We can be friends. We are not family."

Successes' eyes filled with tears. "Cool. The post office is this way." He flew away as quickly as he could.

Screech hissed at herself. She resolved to not apologize.

An excerpt from a letter to Melodie.

"Cloudsdale is bigger than Ponyville with less diversity than Canterlot. Most buildings are orange. Every creature is a pony. Every pony wears a Wonderbotls hat and at least one other Wonderbolts accessory. I am told any pony who does not display their love for The Wonderbolts may as well be an invasive species. Its death necessary for the ecosystem to function. Needless to say I hate it here and will be returning soon.

"Love Screech. XOXO"

Glitter was with her friends listening to the radio for the third day in a row. Dual and Success were gone. Razzle was in school.

Screech wondered around the Cloudsdale. She found her way out of the maze of mansions and into a suburb. The streets were smaller and the buildings were pack so closely together that if one caught fire they would all burn. She was not sure if it was possible to start a fire at this altitude, so maybe that was not a problem.

Screech walked up to a table of old stallions outside a small café. She watched them play an old racing game made out of a block of wood. The dice they used were made of stone. The game was not quite old enough to have dice made of dragon bones.

"Do any of you know a colt named Stitch Runner?" asked Screech.

Hard Luck twisted his old wrinkled face until it looked like a rotting tree. "Do I look like I know any colts?"

Screech cocked her head. "Yes."

Hard spit on the ground in frot of Screeche's hooves. "I don't know any colts."

Screech let out a sigh of frustration.

"You should go back to what ever Celestia forsaken hole you crawled out of," threatened Hard. "We don't like outsiders."

Screech pretended she didn't notice the hostility in the old stallion's voice or the daggers in his friend's glares. "Are you from Cloudsdale?" She asked with an innocent smile.

"I am!" declared Hard. "And proud of it too."

Screech nodded. Pretended being from Cloudsdale should be a source of pride. "You are lucky. You don't know what it is like to miss your home."

"What!" bellowed Hard. "Don't know what it is like to miss home! I was on the front lines in the war of Baltimare war."

Screech cocked he head. "Baltimare war? Did you make that up?"

All four stallions slammed their hooves on the table and started shouting over each other. After one minute they all ran out of breath.

"Pull up a chair!" commanded Hard. "I am giving you a long overdue history lesson."

Screech listened to the stallion's tales of war and interjected as often as she could. Her father was dead like Hard's. She was missing a limb like Chitter. She was poor like Brickey. She knew a lot about music like Varnish. She didn't trust Celestia like all four of them. She found it was a lot easier to get them to empathize with her than she expected.

Hard shook his head. "That Glitter sounds like one selfish-" He remembered screech is a lady. "You know." He reset the race game and despite being two to six players did not invite Screech to play.

"I don't think she is selfish," said Brickey. "I for one don't want a bat pony owning a house in Cloudsdale."

The three stallions nodded in agreement.

"How does Glitter adopting me prevent me from owning a house in Cloudsdale?" asked Screech.

Varnish mumbled, "Foreigners," under his breath.

"Your papa owned that house," explained Hard. "When he died it went to his next of kin. Your mama. Felons can not own property while in jail under Cloudsdale law. The house went to her next of kin. You own Glitter's house. As your guardian she has power over your estate. If she has any sense she will sell the house to keep it out of the hooves of foreigners."

Screech fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was like fighting her instinct to breath. She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I am going back home the first chance I get. Cloudsdale is not exactly a luxury resort."

"Foreigners are always ungrateful," scoffed Chitter. "Nothing is ever good enough for you."

Screech sighed. "Do any of you know a rodeo pony named Stitch Runner?"
All four stallions shook their heads.

Razzle's house was so big both the good wing and the bad wing of Luna's could fit inside its walls twice and still have room for an indoor swimming pool.

Screech stared up at a giant white house. She didn't let her jaw drop at the sight of the decorative columns, stain glass bay windows or the sheer size of the trapezoidal structure. "How big is your family," she asked in as steady a voice she could manage. The house it self was more intimidating than the (nearly) useless walls and gates that surrounded expansive property.

"Just the three of us," said Razzle. "Mother needs a lot of space. She collects hot-air balloons." Her prying gaze all but begged Screech to be impressed.

Screech rolled her eyes. "Yes that is very impressive." She patted Razzle on the head. "You did a good job being born rich."

Razzle shoved Screech. The bat pony did not move.

Screech took a step back. "Sorry." She looked at her hooves.

"You said you wanted to be my friend!" spat Razzle. "I thought that meant you would not treat me the way the other fillies do!"

Screech took off her sunglasses and looked Razzle in the eyes. "I am sorry. I do want to be your friend. I didn't like the way you were flaunting your family's wealth and should have said so in a more direct less hurtful way."

Razzle smiled. She ran her hoof over her mane. "You don't need to be such a Ponyville pony about it. You could try to act like a Cloudsdale pony."

Screech fought the urge to hiss. She didn't like being insulted (even if the insult was something as vague and silly as foreigner) but voicing her feeling would likely mean getting into a fight with Razzle. She forced a smile. "I am excited to meet your dad. I have a lot of questions about the law."

Screech and Glitter were the only ponies present for dinner. A three course home cooked meal sat on the sheet of plywood that was placed over the shattered kitchen table.

Screech almost suggested they eat in the dining hall. "Thank you for cooking Glitter." She bit a baked carrot.

Glitter sighed. "That is the duty of a mother. Even a mother whose children are ingrates."

Screech nodded. She was not sure what to say. Surely agreeing with her was just as bad as disagreeing. "I spoke to a judge today. He told me a lot of interesting things. Do you remember the radio play we listened to three days ago? The one where the stallion got his brother to confess to two murders by writing a second name into his suicide note. Because both names were above the signature he was found guilty of both murders. That was based off a real trial. That is an actual law. Anything above a signature is considered to have been written by the pony who signed the document unless the text explicitly reads otherwise."

Glitter shook her head. "I don't listen to those shows."

"Oh." Screech poked her salad with her fork. "My point is Cloudsdale's laws are horrible. For example. I own this house and you and your family are not allowed to live in it unless I live here too. Squatters rights only last one year. If you sell this house I get all of the money for it."

Glitter was not fazed by the statements. "Yes. I did know that. I got a lawyer after your father died."

"You can sell the house," said Screech. "Take all the money and move some where else. I don't care where you go. Just send me back to Ponyville."

Glitter shook her head. "I don't want to move. This is where all of my memories are. This is where my friends live. Not to mention It is impossible to start a house fire in Cloudsdale. No. I am staying and so are you."

Screech was not surprised by Glitter's response. "You don't have any friends. You hate it here. In three days you have eaten a pound of pudding in your bed and only left the house to drink and not listen to the radio. You have your groceries delivered to your front door. When was the last time you left this street? Before you picked me up."

Glitter shrugged. "Three or four months. Even when he was alive I didn't go out much. Probably why he liked me."

"Glitter, fate gave you the chance to start fresh," said Screech in a overly excited voice. "Sell the house and live the life that will make you happy."

Glitter shook her head. "I can't be happy anywhere else. This is as happy as I am ever going to get."

Something dawned on Screech. Glitter was not stubborn or greedy. She was not trying to keep Screech from inheriting the house out of malicious intent or jealousy. She was just as trapped as Screech. She was trapped by her own neuroticism. She was trapped by a belief this was what her life had to be.

"Glitter?" asked Screech. "Can I convince to to try therapy? Your life can be better than this."

Glitter smiled warmly at Screech. "Thank you. But no. Therapy was made up foreigners who hate Equestria and want to make us weak so they can invade."

Screech groaned. She had this conversation with Melodie more than once. "I go to therapy. It keeps my OCD and violent outbursts at bay. It is not a cult."

Glitter shook her head. "No you don't. I would rather you kill half of Cloudsdale than become a foreigner."

"I am a foreigner," said Screech. "I was born in Canterlot."

Glitter sighed. "You know what I mean."

"I do." Screech poked her salad with her fork. "Glitter, I want to go home."

Glitter nodded. "You will in a few years. Second and Success have already abandoned me. I don't expect you to stay any longer than you need to."

Screech huffed. She was going home as soon as possible even if it meant helping Glitter get her life back on track.