Upon My Wings

"What?" I asked. They were both still gaping in shock. I rolled my eyes. "Come on, don't be racist." I conceded, putting my helmet back on.

Twilight recovered first. "Interesting." She muttered to herself. I glanced out the window again, noticing the rain growing heavier. I sighed quietly. "Look, there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to get back to Yishral at this rate. So, I'm going to have to stay down here until this storm clears up." I told them.

Twilight shot a quick glance over her shoulder. "Up there? Do you mean you have a cloud home? And what's Yishral?" She asked, starting to get exited.

Dear God, I've met an OCD anthromorph with magic, who knows nothing about cloud physics. Well, explaning how clouds are just suspended water and ice particles is going to be a pain, so I'll just explain what Yishral is.

"Yishral is a floating island, me and my two brothers live there. And, if you're wondering what my species is, I'm an Oscen." I told her matter-of-factly. She scratched her chin, apparently thinking for a second. "I would appreciate it if you could show me to your floating island at your earliest convenience, but I suppouse that we'll have to wait for the storm to pass. I guess you could stay here, on the couch. And-" She cut off, pulling a quill and some ink out of a desk nearby. "Could I maybe ask you some questions while you're here?" She finished, flashing me a smile. I snorted. "You sound just like Phobos right now." I chuckled, making my way over to the couch.

"Hey, what about me?" Rainbow asked angrily, lashing her tail. "There's no way I'll be able to make it back to my house in this weather. I left it above the cloud layer, remember?"

Twilight nodded, then frowned. "I don't think I have the room, though..." She said, casting a glance at me.

I shrugged, then stood up. "Rainbow can take the couch, I'll take the floor." I stated, crossing my arms again. It's a habit, alright?

Rainbow shook her head. "No way! I'm sure I can handle it. I'll take the floor." She stated, shooting a glare at me. I rolled my eyes. "Well, excuse me, princess. I'm too tall for the couch so, take it or leave it." I stated, heading for the door.

"Wait, Aether, where are you going?" Twilight asked, quickly intercepting me. I glanced at her.

"Well, you see, it's awfully boring in here, and I do believe it will be much more fun to just go and piss around town. I need to meet some of the locals in the process, so, I'd also appreciate it if one of you joined me, as I'm completely lost here." I stated, shrugging. Rainbow sighed and stepped forward. "I guess I'll go with you." she quietly stated, putting her rain jacket back on. I nodded. "Alright, let's go." I stated, jogging outside.

I had gotten no more than ten feet from the house when I heard a loud crash and collapsed to the ground. I stood up instantly, glancing around. "What the hell was that?" I shouted, frustrated. Twilight was staring in shock from the doorway. Rainbow looked at me wearily. "You just got struck by lightning." She quietly said. I kicked at the ground. "Well, shit. Magic ward time." I stated holding my hand above my head for a second, letting the clear purple barrier form. It blocked the rain and all forms of magic, making it extremely useful.

It was like a sexy umbrella that floated above me.

I gestured to Rainbow to come closer, under the barrier. She gratefully came into step beside me, though she cast more than a few glances up at the translucent barrier above us. I felt strange, walking under the basic cover with an attractive mare beside me. We looked to be about the same age, Around seventeen. My parents had died when I was twelve, so my memory of them was fuzzy, at best. And when interdemensional travel became our only was to escape our world, I knew that we were screwed. We had been adventuring for at least five years, travelling between the many dimensions that life had thrown at us. Of course many worlds, though they contained sentient life, they usually were extremely prejudiced. I could name a few. Chohe, Kneijoffa, Oessama, Aesemnerg, Tiss, Oengona, Aissejo-Seithax, Earth, Ellesesh, and Ohaetet. All these planets were places that the life had either driven us out or tried to experiment on us. Both usually ended in many casualties. But, this place seemed peaceful. No war, no strife, no plagues, no famine... Almost like the perfect utopia our planet Osefie was. Or at least before the disease Shadow Miasma came into effect. Everyone everwhere had died. There was no cure for it, nor was there any way to stop it's advance. Me and my brothers were the only ones immune to it, luckily enough, and we managed to escape. Our immune systems, after that, I imagine, are resistant to everything. But Rainbow shivering beside me brought me out of my trance. I gently wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close to me. She glanced up at me, but she didn't protest.

Is she starting to grow on me? No, I'm assuming it has something to do with the warmth enchantment on my armour.

"So... Dash. You kind of started bragging back at Twilight's, but, I'd still like to know a little more about you." I told her quietly. As we passed the many buildings, I could see a few ponies glancing out of their homes, quietly watching me and Dash as we made our way down the empty streets. The strange armour, extra height, and magical ward must have stood out like a fire in a dark field. Dash took a deep breath.

"There's not much to tell. I lived in Cloudsdale until I was thirteen, then I moved here. I already knew another pony called Fluttershy, and she introduced me to two other ponies called Applejack and Rarity. A girl named Pinkie pie moved here soon after I did, and Twilight came about a year ago. I was an orphan since I was young, my parents had died from a short war with the griffin kingdom. I would move back to Cloudsdale, but there's nothing for me there." She murmured to me. I sighed.

"I know the feeling. Incedentally more than you do. My entire race is dead, It's just me and my two brothers left." I whispered. She glanced up at me in shock. "How?" She asked, shocked. I breathed gently.

"When I was twelve, a disease broke out. It was a deadly pandemic, killing at least a thousand the first day. It just escalated from there. There was no slowing the spread, just... death. You never knew your parents, and that's a luxury you have. Imagine your entire race dying around you, while you hold your dying mother in your arms, watching as her body's own cells go insane and start tearing her inside out. Now imagine you and your only two siblings, you being oldest, at the age of twelve, having to scrounge for years because you're immune. Now imagine fleeing for your entire life, looking for something or someone that will finally accept you for who you are, not for what you should be. For all we know, this may be the last time you ever see me. How will your government react? Will they drive us out? Try to kill us? I've been running for five years, and I'm done. I can't take it anymore." I revealed, tears freely flowing from my eyes as I remembered. I could see tears in her eyes too, as if she could almost experience the torture I had gone through.

I gently hugged her, trying to banish my sorrows from my mind. She hugged me back, and I could feel something blossoming. Oscen could sense feelings, and I knew that something was on Rainbow's mind. Were we developing... Freindship? Yes, that's it. We had both been scarred as children, and when we both had finally found someone who had experienced our pain, we embraced each other's presence. I could hear the rain getting even thicker, and slowly let go of her. "We should probably head back to Twilight's." I told her, smiling. She silently wiped a tear from her eye, and flashed me a breif smile before we turned and started walking back to the tree.

Suddenly my ward faded, and the loud clap of thunder caused us to both break out into a run, rain pouring down around us. It was then that I knew, running beside a mare that finally decided that I wasn't something that should be poked at or made fun of for being different, scorned for not belonging, or discarded for having experienced something they'd rather not imagine, I felt a feeling that I had last felt a very long time ago.

A feeling that I truly belong.