Sky High

'She must be right...' Skye thought to himself as he somberly walked towards the Everfree Forest. Nopony ever wanted him, not his sisters, not his classmates, and definitely not Rainbow Dash. He looked down at his necklace and felt absolutely disgusted. All he would be to the townsponies of Ponyville would be another bad joke to be forgotten in a day. He looked up into the sky and saw the clouds, it was going to rain soon, and it was going to downpour.

He looked back towards the ground. Oh well, he's walked through downpours before, even thunderstorms. He was never really afraid of storms considering he grew up in a giant thundercloud and being wet never really bothered him. The only thing that ever really bothered him were ponies that were feeling bad. He could tell just by looking at them if they were sad, angry, annoyed or any of those other bad feelings. And right now all he could think about was how angry Dash was at him. He's been yelled at before but no pony has ever been so mad at him and he felt terrible. What had he done? Should he have lost the race on purpose? Maybe he didn't pay enough attention to her. He doesn't really know what he did wrong but Dash wanted him gone and he wanted to oblige.

Skye was nearing the entrance to the Everfree Forest when he heard a voice with a strange accent in font of him. She sounded a little annoyed.

“Excuse me!”

He looked up to see a strong, orange pony pulling what looked like a full cart. He couldn't tell exactly what was in the cart due to a large tarp, but whatever it was it loaded the cart full.

Meeting someone who could potentially be his friend cheered him up a little and he clearly saw that she was tired from, what must have been, a long trip. “Sorry. Would you like some help?” He put on his smile hoping that she would be the "first" pony to accept him as a friend. He looked down just enough to notice the necklace that was still around his neck and tried to push it out of his mind as fast as possible.

“Well, I am mighty tired, I reckon ya could pull the wagon a for a few miles, if'en ya don't mind.”

“I wouldn't mind at all. My name's Skye by the way.”

Applejack took off the harness and reached her hoof out toward Skye. “Good ta meecha Skye, name's Applejack. I live and work at Sweet Apple Acres, if ya ever heard of that.”

He remembered how Rainbow flew over the farm as a matter a fact she told him that Applejack was coming back today. “I have, It's nice to meet you Applejack.” He shook Applejack's hoof and quickly donned on the harness. “So, are you going back to your farm?”

“Yes sir, just took a trip to Baltimare to deliver a shipment of our cider, quite a long walk. The fellas there gave me quite the bit of complementary sweets and spices.” Skye gave her a polite little smile to acknowledge that he heard her and tried to walk forward but was stopped by the weight of the cart. He turned around confused as Applejack answered the question he asked to himself. “Alot of spices.” He looked at her and she began to laugh. He must have done something funny, he chuckled with her.

Eventually the duo's laugh attack ended and they both started moving towards Sweet Apple Acres. Luckily the farm was on the opposite side of Ponyville from Dash's house, something that Skye kept in mind when he asked applejack if she wanted help.

After a few minutes of awkward travel Applejack finally started the conversation. “So Skye, you been in Ponyville long?”

“Huh?” He looked at her as if she had just asked a very complicated, confusing question. “Oh, no. I was just leaving actually.” At this point the smile left his face, he had finally remembered all of his bad feelings and Applejack could feel something was wrong.

“Why? Nothin' bad happened right?”

Skye was always pretty bad at lying. “Uhh, no. Of course nothing bad happened. I was just... just... passing through. Yeah, that's what I was doing.” He looked towards her with another bright smile before he turned away and looked towards the ground, ears down.

Applejack walked in silence for a short time, concerned and upset. She knew he was lying to her, but she didn't know why. Could something have happened to her friends? Maybe something just happened to Skye? Or maybe Skye did something to her friends... either way she didn't know but didn't want to ask directly. “So where were you headed off to?” She wanted to narrow down the possibilities of what happened. Skye kept his head and ears low. He didn't really have any place to go back to. The only place he could think of was a dark, dirty alleyway he called home in a city where everyone patronized him and looked down on him. A place where the powerful and healthy were rewarded. A place that Skye never wanted to think about again. He stopped moving forward and just stood still, staring at the ground, he didn't want Applejack to feel sorry for him. Applejack started to open her mouth to talk but was interrupted when Skye quietly spoke.

“Home...”

A tear fell from his eye that Applejack couldn't help but notice. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him but wasn't quite sure what to say to make him feel better. She just looked upon him as tears trickled down his face. He finally looked up to see Applejack's concerned face and began to shake his head with furor, trying to get the tears out of his eyes.

“Sorry, let's get this cart back to your house.” He began to slowly move forward but was stopped by Applejack who was now standing in front of him. Now she really wanted to know what happened.

“Whats wrong Skye? Ya seem awful down.”

“Nothing's wrong! Why would something be wrong?”

“Well, why is a big fella like yourself cryin'?”

“I'm uhmm.... I'm uhmm...  I'm allergic to rabbits, they make me tear up.” Another pretty obvious lie, he even looked around for things to to help him. Applejack didn't particularly enjoy people jerking her around like Skye was.

“Look, I know you're lyin' to me. So what happened Skye?”

Skye didn't want to tell her what Dash said, he couldn't tell her what Dash said. He didn't want to ruin Dash's friendship with Applejack. He just wanted to run away right now and leave everyone in Ponyville alone. He was even getting a little angry and started to raise his voice. “Nothing! Nothing happened!”

Applejack raised her voice right back at him. “Stop lyin' to me Skye!” But Applejack was smarter than that. She could tell he was upset and that he was lying for a good reason, she just wanted to know what that reason was. She calmed down and spoke in a much softer voice very quickly. “Look big guy, I know ya only met me for a short while, but ya can tell me what's upsettin' ya. I'd be happy to listen to yer problems.” She gave him a little reassuring smile.

Skye wasn't sure what to do. Surely he couldn't tell her all of the things Rainbow Dash had said but he didn't want to leave her so concerned. “Well it's just that... Rainbow Dash doesn't like me very much, I think I've overstayed my welcome.” Applejack took a step toward the side, allowing him to walk with the cart, slowly moving towards Sweet Apple Acres again.

“Ya know, I'm sure that Rainbow Dash doesn't hate ya. She's kinda hard to get along with, but she's a nice gal. What'd ya do to get her to 'not like you'? Or was she just being, well, Rainbow Dash?”

“I, umm, beat her in a flying race.”

“What?! You beat Rainbow Dash in a race? Now I might be able to beat her when she's more down to earth, so to speak, but I've never seen a pony that can take her in the air. You must be mighty fast Skye.” For the first time in a long while Skye's ears were inverted into the air, listening to the compliments Applejack was giving to him.

“Well... I guess I got kinda lucky. It was really fun but, well, Dash didn't think so.”

Applejack gave a soft chuckle. “Yeah, that sure sounds like Rainbow Dash whenever she loses. I'm sure she doesn't hate ya Skye, she's just a little upset, that's all.”

“I certainly hope so...”

“Ahhhh, don't worry bout' it too much. I'm sure she'll be back to normal tomorrow.”

Sky didn't respond to what she had said. He knew that he wouldn't be here tomorrow anyway. They walked the rest of the way to Sweet Apple Acres talking about Applejack's adventure to Baltimare. Most of it was pretty boring, just a conversation to pass time. Nevertheless Skye ended the conversation, probably one of the last he'd have with a pony from Ponyville.

The two arrived at the farm and Skye unharnessed, leaving the cart right next to the barn. Applejack thanked him from his help when suddenly they saw and heard a pink figure bound toward the farm from the town. Skye didn't really want to stay and get ridiculed or annoy anyone. Besides there was no doubt that Pinkie was here to tell Applejack about the stupid new pegasus in town. He decided to sneak away from Applejack while she was distracted by Pinkie Pie. He ran towards the forest but made a wide turn towards Ponyville. He had a plan and hoped that Twilight hadn't hated him enough to make him suffer.

Meanwhile back at Sweet Apple Acres Pinkie Pie had just met up with Applejack. Pinkie Pie was on her knees with a pretty obvious fake cry. “APPLEJACK!!! Where have you been?! You've been missing for months! All of us have been worried sick!”

“What? I've only been gone for a few weeks. Besides, I told you where I was going and how long I've been gone.”

“Tee hee. I know, I just like being dramatic. How was your trip? And wasn't Skye just next to you?”

“It was good, but I'm glad to be back home.” She turned to see that Skye was no where to be seen. “Wow, he sure got away fast and quiet. I didn't even notice he was gone.”

“Weird, I haven't seen either him or Rainbow Dash since their big race. You missed it by the way! It was so cool, they were both moving so fast no pony could tell what was going on. We were all pretty sure that Dash was going to win so none of us could believe it when Skye beat her.”

“Yeah he said a little bout' that. Apparently Dash wasn't too happy bout' it.”

“Hmmmmmm...  Well she never showed up after the race finished and then Skye went off to look for her. I think Fluttershy went off to make sure they were all right. Oh! By the way, there's going to be a party tonight at Sugar Cube Corner, you're gonna come right? You're not too tired right?” Pinkie gave Applejack a little baby face, practically forcing her to say yes.

“A course I'd come Pinkie Pie. I haven't missed one of your welcome parties yet.”

“YAYYYYYYYYYY. Imma go set up, see you tonight.”

“See ya.”

Skye was sneaking toward the Library, he didn't want any of the former spectators seeing him. He'd always been pretty good at sneaking around and didn't have much trouble getting to the library. As soon as no pony was in sight he quickly ran to the door and started knocking, hoping she would answer the door quickly. The door was opened pretty quickly and Skye looked down to see the purple dragon. Before Spike could say anything Skye was already talking.

“Hi Spike, is Twilight home? I really, really need to talk to her.”

“Yeah, come on in, I'll go get her.” The words that Skye really wanted to hear right now. He quickly walked into the library and closed the door behind him. He heard Spike as he walked upstairs. “Twilight! Skye is here to see you!” It didn't take long until Twilight ran downstairs to see him.

“Hi Skye, do you need something?”

Skye tried very hard not to look Twilight in the eyes. “Yeah, Umm, is there any way that you can... I don't know... teleport me back home?”

Twilight couldn't help but feel confused and a little bit hurt. “But... but why Skye? Don't you like it here?”

“Yeah, I do... but no one wants me to be here! You don't have to pretend like you like me anymore! Just send me home please.” Every time Skye said the word home he felt more and more like it was the only place he belonged. Yet, Twilight wasn't so convinced.

“What? What gave you the idea that we don't want you here?”

“Ra-Rainbow Dash.” Skye was getting tired of never telling anyone about what happened after the race. Before he even allowed Twilight to speak he started telling her the story of what happened after he left the field. He told her everything that happened to the letter, he didn't try to victimize himself or vilify Rainbow Dash. Still Twilight couldn't help but be angry at Rainbow Dash, but her concern for Skye was more important.

“I can't believe she said that... but don't listen to her Skye, you're an awesome pegasus and a good friend. I think I know exactly what will cheer you up, follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To a party! Let's go Spike.”

Easily defeated, Skye agreed to follow Twilight out of the library and through the town. If what she said was true, than the only pony that didn't like him would be Rainbow Dash and that didn't make him feel any better. He walked with his head hung low, only raising his head to give polite smiles to the ponies cheering and congratulating him in the streets. There were even little pegasus that ran up to him, asking for his autograph but Twilight shooed them away.

When they arrive at the door of Sugar Cube Corner they hear angry voices they didn't quite expect. Rarity's was by far the loudest and most angry. “Why, I cannot 'believe' she said that. That's it! I'm going to go find her and give her a piece of my mind!” The door opened to the pastry shop to a very angry Rarity who stormed past whoever was in front of her towards Rainbow Dash's house. It took a few seconds for Rarity to realize just who she walked past before she sprinted towards Skye, giving him a a great big hug. “Oh sweetie, don't listen to one thing that that rude Rainbow Dash says, we all want you here, not one of us doesn't like you.”

Skye was happy, Rarity was the first pony that actually called Skye a friend and even gave him a present the first day she met him. He wasn't sure what to do so gave Rarity a smile. “Thanks.”

Pinkie Pie finally busted into the conversation. “HEY! The party started 10 minutes ago, get in here!” All of the ponies outside were happy to oblige. The party was pretty standard compared to all of the other Pinkie Parties, but was amazing for Skye. He'd never been to a real party before, other than the small ones he went to at school. There were so many sweets and candies and tons of games that Skye had never seen before. They partied until 9 before Skye wanted to go outside for some fresh air. He didn't really enjoy being cooped up in a building for too long, it wasn't something he was used to. The other ponies went outside with him, trying to keep him company.

All Skye did was look up at the night sky and quite a surprise came out of his mouth, something that none of his friends expected. “Have any of you even wondered how the moon moves or how the sky works?”

“What!?” The ponies responded at practically the same time.

Skye, trying to justify himself. “Well, I mean... what moves the moon? Wouldn't it be cool if it was a dragon or a unicorn?”

Twilight was the first to speak up. “You really don't know?”

“Know what?”

“Well Skye... how do you not know about Princess Luna?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, I-I didn't learn about her in school. That's where I learned mostly everything I know.”

“Princess Luna is one of the ru-”

Suddenly Rarity erupted from where she was sitting, which just happened to be a red sofa. She was clearly trying to be as dramatic as possible. “Rainbow Dash! I have a few choice words for you! How could you say su- excuse me! Don't walk right by me when I'm trying to yell at you!”

Rainbow Dash just walked right past Rarity, she honestly didn't care to hear what she had to say. She just walked right towards Skye who clearly looked scared at what she had to say. But she had finally gotten over her depression and anger and started feeling terrible about what she said. She's actually pretty glad that Fluttershy was there because she really helped Dash snap out of her little fit. Then again, she guessed that Fluttershy told everyone what happened. Still, she knew Skye deserved an apology.

Surprisingly, Skye spoke first. “I'm sorry Rainbow, I'll be leaving now. Please don't be too angry at me.”

“Skye...” Rainbow actually had to really try to hold back her tears. “...I’m really sorry. I'm sorry that I said that you don't deserve wings and I'm sorry that I said no one wants you...” None of her friends have ever seen her apologize like she was doing right then. “... it's just that I hate losing and you were paying so much attention to everyone else. I guess I was a little jealous.”

Skye didn't say anything and just ran into Sugar Cube Corner. Rainbow felt defeated as her friends just looked at her in disapproval before Skye came ran back out. He ran up to Rainbow Dash and placed a party hat on her head. “Don't worry about it Rainbow Dash, we're friends! Right?”