[Baltimare] The Start of a New Friendship (Closed: CaptainMcDerp and FireFoxx)

[CaptainMcDerp]

Amethyst strolled through the city of Baltimare. She was on her way to get some flour for a dessert she was making later. Being a bit down lately, she needed to keep her brain busy.

It hadn't been long since she was dismissed from the weather team. She just couldn't seem to focus, making mistakes and slowing everypony else down. Ammy wanted to work with clouds, but it seemed like weather work just wasn't gonna to cut it.

"Mom, mom, look!"

Ammy was pulled from her thoughts by a filly's voice. The filly was pointing at the sky and trying to get her mom's attention. Soon everypony around held their eyes upward, uttering words of surprise.

When Amethyst gazed into the sky, her expression melted into a look of awe. Out in the distance, a pegasus was swooping through the clouds, shaping them into letters.

"I aint never seen anything like it." She muttered to herself as she took a few steps towards the spectacle. Amethyst was an avid appreciator of sky art, and the elegance and precision of those letters were without a doubt something to behold.

A mare noticed her and smiled. "That's the Cloud Crossers. They run a sky writing business. I once hired them to write for my son when he gradua-"

"You mean, they make bits and everything?"

"Umm well, yes of course."

That was all she needed to hear. Amethyst bolted, galloping through the city with the sky letters as her guide. The flour can wait, this could finally be her chance at finding the job she was made for!

[RainbowFoxxy]

~Happy Anniversary~

~Needlepoint and Night Sky~

Flourish swooped through the clouds, severing several columns she had formed near their tops to make dots for the 'i's in here message. She was working with bright white clouds that day. They were light and fluffy, easy to maneuver, but a bit tricky to keep in place during the writing process. The sky blue mare was an expert at shaping the clouds so it caused her little trouble to form perfectly sculpted letters. Her magenta streaked tail streaked out behind her as she added cloud designs around the edges of the message. When she was finished, the writing stood out nicely against the blue sky decorated with cloud shapes that resembled lace and flowers.

"Well, that about does it I think!" Flourish commented to herself as she back peddled through the sky and crossed her hooves over her chest. She surveyed her work with an educated eyes, looking for any flaws that might have occurred. "Yep, looks perfect!" She nodded and prepared to dive back down to the ground. She was sure the fillies who had purchased the cloud writing for their parents would certainly be pleased.

Once she was on the ground the older filly looked up, cocking her head to the side as she studied her work. "I think I'm getting better at this. Plus I used a new font today." She used a wing to pat herself on the back and then turned to take flight. She would head back into town to make sure the clients knew the design was up in the sky. It was a pleasant day so the writing should still be clear and visible for at least on hour.

As she prepared to gallop off, she saw a purple pony heading her way. The filly's eyes were cast upwards and she could only guess the filly was looking at her cloud writing. It always did have the ability to catch the interest of lots of ponies. The purple pony got closer and closer and Flourish figured she'd pass by while taking to the air. She galloped onward and right before take off spoke a greeting to the other pony.

"Hey there! Nice day huh?" With that she unfolded her wings.

[CaptainMcDerp]

"Hey there! Nice day huh?"

Ammy gave a small bow of her head. "Yes, ma'am!"

As the pegasus drifted into the sky, Amethyst's eyes widened as she realized who it was. She shoved her hoof into the air with a frantic voice.

"Wait!..."

Her hoof returned to the ground and her head drooped in frustration. "Fiddlesticks." After a short moment, she perked back up and rolled her eyes with a grin. "Heh heh, oh right. I got wings too, don't I?"

She lifted off the ground and drifted beside the pegasus while pointing to the sky letters . "Howdy again. You're the pony who shaped those clouds, right? It's plum amazing if you ask me. I shape clouds too. Well, not letters. I make pictures." She fell silent for a moment and scratched her chin in thought. "Um, what I'm trying to say is, are y'all hiring right now?"

[RainbowFoxxy]

Um, what I'm trying to say is, are y'all hiring right now?

Flourish slowed her flight considerably as the pony asked the last question. She lifted her brows and sized Ammy up for a moment. She seemed willing enough, and spry with her flying skills. She really did want to hire some help as she was the only one in Cloud Crossers at the moment. The way she had advertised, lots of ponies thought there was more than just Flourish. She was able to get all the orders filled just barely and more always seemed to be on the way. Having another pegasus on the team would be really great!

"Hmmmmmm," She cupped her chin with her hoof while flying backwards. She thought again before speaking. "Yep, I'm the one who did the shapin' alright! I'm glad you like it!" She smiled and then continued. "As a matter of fact I am thinking about bringing a couple more ponies onto the team. But, I would have to see if you've got what it takes of course."

She looked back towards Baltimare and nodded her head. "If you'd like a chance to show what you can do, I'd be willing to watch ya! I just need to drop back into Baltimare for a little bit to make sure the clients can see I've finished the job! You say you can make cloud designs huh? That would be a really great addition actually. Do you have time now to give it a shot? I can meet you back here in a few minutes."

Flourish waited for the pony's response and then her eyes widened. "Oh, and my name's Flourish by the way. What's yours?"

[CaptainMcDerp]

Ammy was excited when the pegasus expressed interest in hiring her. She listened with an eager gleam in her eyes, more than willing to do whatever it took to get the job. A grin formed on her face as the pegasus introduced herself.

"Oh, and my name's Flourish by the way. What's yours?"

She dipped her head. "The name's Amethyst. And yes ma'am, I most certainly do have the time to show you what I can do."

She slowed the flapping of her wings and glided back to the ground. After sitting on her haunches, she brought a hoof up to her mouth and shouted. "See ya in a few minutes!"

[RainbowFoxxy]

"The name's Amethyst. And yes ma'am, I most certainly do have the time to show you what I can do."

Flourish nodded and offered her hoof before taking off to head back into Baltimare.

"Great to meet you Amethyst! I'm happy to look at your cloud shaping skills. See you in a few!" She shouted over her shoulder as she flew off.

-----

The trip back into town didn't take her long. The clients were quite thrilled with the cloud writing and over eager to pay her the rest of the bits she was owed. They even tipped her and offered her a cupcake from the anniversary celebration that was under. Flourish gladly accepted what they offered her and took off back towards Ammy while licking rainbow frosting off her muzzle.

The sky blue filly flew back towards her new friend, having saved half the cupcake for her. She landed near Amethyst and trotted up to her with the cupcake.

"Here ya go! I brought you some of the earning from the job as a token of our new friendship!" The filly was always eager to make new friends. She was a little loud and maybe even a little brash sometimes but ponies always seemed to take to her fairly quickly. She held out the chocolate cupcake that was topped with rainbow frosting. "I hope you like it!" She smiled. "Of course you can save it for later if you'd like."

She looked up at her cloud writing and watched as a breezed slanted the letters just a little. "The breeze always does fun things to the writing before it takes it away completely." She eyed Amethyst. "So, you ready to dhow me your skills Amethyst? There's still some left over cloud over there." She nodded to a place where she had moved a bunch of clouds to the side. "I didn't need all of them for the writing."

Flourish took a seat and waited to see what her new friend would come up with. She was happy to have another pony around who liked to shape clouds.

[CaptainMcDerp]

Ammy waved at Flourish as she approached. And when Flourish landed, Amethyst's stomach grumbled a bit at the sight of the cupcake. She skipped breakfast and forgot about lunch so her stomach was begging for food at any chance it got.

Before she could dismiss her hunger pangs, Flourish offered the other half to her.

"Here ya go! I brought you some of the earning from the job as a token of our new friendship! I hope you like it! Of course you can save it for later if you'd like."

"Awww." Amethyst took the cupcake in her hoof and smiled, a bit a blush forming in her freckled cheeks. "Well, shucks. You didn't have to do that for me." She eyed the cupcake with it's rainbow frosting and chocolate body. Her stomach growled again. It looked plum tasty! Not only that, but it gave her an idea. After examining it's form for a moment, Ammy happily took a bite.

Flourish looked at the sky words, in turn making Ammy do the same. "The breeze always does fun things to the writing before it takes it away completely."

Ammy nodded with a mouth full of cupcake. "Mmfhmf!"

"So, you ready to show me your skills Amethyst? There's still some left over cloud over there." Flourish nodded to a place where she had moved a bunch of clouds to the side. "I didn't need all of them for the writing."

Ammy swallowed the last bite of cupcake, wiped the crumbs off her mouth, and stood to her feet with her game face on. Wings stretched out and ready for flight.

"Yes ma'am, I'm ready!"

Ammy ascended towards the clouds. She targeted the largest lump sitting at the center of the cluster, and with an image clear in her mind, she got to work.

The purple pegasus shaped and molded the cloud until it took the basic shape of a cupcake. Afterwards, she moved a smaller cloud to the top and flew rapid circles around it. The cloud spiraled at her force, mimicking the swirly rainbow frosting.

She stopped to examine her work for a moment and decided it was time for the finishing touches.

Amethyst bunched up some lingering clouds and reformed them into a long ribbon which she carefully arranged into a hollow heart around the cupcake. After a few refinements, she nodded her approval at the image. Perfect. She almost started to return to Flourish for a review, but had another idea.

She took the remaining clouds and used them to construct some sky words of her own. It was a bit of a struggle, being the first time Ammy ever made letters from clouds, but when she put a little distance between herself and the image for evaluation, the letters didn't look half bad. They sat under the original image. Kind of rough and crooked, but readable nonetheless.

"Thanks!"

Ammy glided back down to Flourish and landed with a sheepish grin. She scratched the back of her head, finding herself a little embarrassed by imperfections of the letters. "This is my first time shapin' letters, heh. But I can learn how to do it better over time." She immediately perked up, standing straight with wide eyes and a smile. "So how'd I do?"

[RainbowFoxxy]

"So how'd I do?"

Flourish had stood, wide eyed, the entire time Ammy had been shaping. It was interesting and beautiful to watch the filly making the cupcake. Flourish smiled again and again as more and more touches were added to the cupcake in the sky. It was so life like! Flourish was simply amazed. She had never even thought of shaping the clouds beyond little "flourishes" that she used to make her letters stand out.

"That was SO amazing!" The sky blue pegasus reached over and gave Ammy a light pat on the back. "I almost don't have words for how cool that is! You got the frosting right and everything!"

Flourish took off to get a closer look at the work. Yep, it looked like a cupcake, everything about it looked just as it should. Sure the word crafting was a bit sloppy, but Ammy had never worked with lettering before so it was to be expected. With a final nod of approval she descended to stand alongside the purple filly.

"I gotta say Amethyst, with our skills combined we could really be something special! Would you like to work with me?" There was lots more to explain about what she did but for now, she wanted to see if Ammy was interested for sure.

[CaptainMcDerp]

"That was SO amazing!" Ammy got a light pat on the back. "I almost don't have words for how cool that is! You got the frosting right and everything!"

A shade of red formed on the pegasus's face. "A-amazin'? You really like it that much?" Amethyst knew she improved a lot throughout her days as a cloud sculptor, but amazing? With praise like that, she couldn't help but become a bit bashful for a moment.

She watched as Flourish took off to get a closer look at the work. And with a final nod of approval, the pegasus descended to stand alongside her.

"I gotta say Amethyst, with our skills combined we could really be something special! Would you like to work with me?"

Her eyes grew wide as can be. "...I got the job!?" Ammy's mouth stretched from ear to ear in the biggest smile she's had all day. No, all week! She excitedly trotted in place. "Eeee!" Her hooves came to a halt before she spoke. "Why yes, of course ma'am! I'd love to work with you!"

[RainbowFoxxy]

"Sure you got the job!" Flourish found herself smiling almost as big as the filly across from her. Amethyst was so excited it was impossible not to be excited with her. "Now, we should probably talk over the details and stuff but I guess that can wait a little bit."

She looked up to the sky and watched as a light breeze swirled the "frosting" on the cupcake a little. It really was nice work! Flourish couldn't wait to work on a project with Anethyst!

"You want to meet me at the barracks tomorrow morning and I can show you around. Not that you have to live there but I was thinking members of Cloud Crossers could live there if they wanted to."

[CaptainMcDerp]

The next day, Amethyst sat in the lush grassy turf on the edge of The Saddleveil Plains. As she watched the sun rise, she breathed a sleepy sigh.

"Maybe I got up a little too early." She mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

Even if that were true, she wasn't complaining. She loved it here, and watching the sun rise in such a beautiful place was a treat.

After blinking the blur from her vision, she scanned the sky. Ammy had picked a spot where Flourish would easily see her since she wasn't sure exactly where to go.

After a few moments passed, she began to rock side to side in rhythm to a little song she was humming as she waited for her new friend to show up.

[RainbowFoxxy]

Flourish yawned and rubbed her eyes. The day before had made her really tired and the filly was glad to have gotten a full night's rest. She got up and pushed her forelocks out of her eyes before looking herself over in the mirror.

"Wow, you must have flown into a tornado yesterday." She commented to herself. Her mane really was a fright. After a few minutes of coaxing she got her mane and tail in order, brushed her teeth, and headed through her sleeping area in the barracks towards the kitchen. She was about to fix herself some breakfast when she caught sight of a familiar purple pony sitting outside.

"Amethyst!" Flourish exclaimed as she gobbled down some breakfast and then trotted out the door towards her new friend. "You're here so early! Sorry to keep you waiting I wasn't expecting you yet." She smiled. "But I'm glad you're here! I have so much to show you. Do you want to start by touring the barracks? I think you'll like them."

Flourish waited expectantly on the purple pegasus' response.

[CaptainMcDerp]

"Amethyst!"

Ammy's ear twitched at the sound of Flourish's voice. She glanced over and waved as the pegasus trotted out of the door and in her direction. "You're here so early! Sorry to keep you waiting I wasn't expecting you yet. But I'm glad you're here! I have so much to show you. Do you want to start by touring the barracks? I think you'll like them."

Amethyst grinned and nodded before standing to her hooves. "That sounds great! I gotta say, I sure am lovin' the look of the place." She gazed at the barracks for a moment before returning her eyes to Flourish. "My friends call me Ammy, by the way."

[RainbowFoxxy]

Flourish smiled and gave Ammy a playful little shove. "Alright, Ammy it is! Come on, let me show you around the place." Flourish trotted to the door that lead inside part of the barracks. She made her way inside and invited Ammy to follow her.

"Welcome to the headquarters of Cloud Crossers! This is the general room of the barracks. You can see we have lots of places for ponies to hang out and relax after a hard days work. There's a little library for studying different fonts and such for cloud writing. There's my fish tank. There's the table where I keep the event planner so everypony knows who's on what job." Flourish trotted around the room, proudly showing Ammy what the general room had to offer. It was very nice, with lots of places to sit and chat, or work on upcoming assignments.

"Here Ammy, check this out." The next room with the kitchen. It was a simple affair but had everything needed for cooking properly. The kitchen featured some really nice little windows that let in lots of outside air and light. There was cases of yellow daisies in the windows to add a little cheer. "This is the kitchen, it's got everything a Cloud Crosser could need to make their meals!"

She gave Ammy a little time to look over the rooms before continuing. "Ready to go check out the sleeping areas?"

[CaptainMcDerp]

Amethyst smiled as Flourish gave her a playful shove. "Alright, Ammy it is! Come on, let me show you around the place."

She followed Flourish inside the door and glanced around as her friend gave her a tour inside. It was very nice and homey, and that library would certainly prove useful for her.

After awhile of looking around, she found herself staring at the fish tank.

"Here Ammy, check this out."

Ammy coaxed her gaze from the tank and followed Flourish's voice into the next room. She immediately looked out the window and into the field. It would be a great place for a little grape farm, wouldn't it?

"This is the kitchen, it's got everything a Cloud Crosser could need to make their meals!"

After Flourish spoke, Amethyst scanned around the kitchen with a grin, imagining herself making grape deserts and such.

"Ready to go check out the sleeping areas?"

She turned to her friend and smiled. "Yes ma'am! This place is really nice, I like it."

[RainbowFoxxy]

Yes ma'am! This place is really nice, I like it.

Flourish turned as she trotted towards to dormitory area.

"Look Ammy, if we're gonna be friends you shouldn't call me ma'am. You can call me Flourish, you can call me Ish if you want, you can call me friend." She smiled and gave her friend a little wink. "But don't feel like you have to be formal around me."

With that she made her way towards the bunks. It was a cozy room that had individual living spaces but they were all in one big room. Ponies could have their privacy or stay up late at night talking if they wanted to. Each living area had a soft looking bed, a book shelf, a dresser, and a night table next to the bed.

"I was thinking you could take this one." She nodded to a living area that was near enough that they could have talks whenever they wanted. "So, what do you think? Want to move in?"

[CaptainMcDerp]

"Look Ammy, if we're gonna be friends you shouldn't call me ma'am. You can call me Flourish, you can call me Ish if you want, you can call me friend. But don't feel like you have to be formal around me."

Ammy blinked before a tinge of red surfaced on her face. "Oh right, heh heh. It's a little habit of mine. Do you mind I called you Ishy?"

She followed Flourish to the bunks and looked around with a smile. Everything was so nice and cozy looking.

"I was thinking you could take this one." Flourish said as she nodded to a curtain living space.

Ammy examined it with the smile still on her face. "I like it a lot. It looks so comfy."

"So, what do you think? Want to move in?"

Ammy couldn't help but be a bit surprised even though she's been considering it since she got there. Moving in would be a big step for her since she's lived on the farm with her parents all her life. But the offer was very tempting. Plus, it would grant her an easier time doing her new job. She'd miss her family, but they live so close by she could visit them everyday if she wanted to.

After some consideration, Ammy came to a decision. With a wide grin she nodded. "Yes ma- I mean, yes! I'd love to move in, Flourish!"

[RainbowFoxxy]

"Yes ma- I mean, yes! I'd love to move in, Flourish!"

Flourish did a happy hop-skip as she heard her friend's response.

"Oh man, this is gonna be so much FUN!" She trotted around Ammy with much excitement. "Oh man! This is gonna be so much FUN!" Flourish had been waiting a while now for some more ponies to join the Cloud Crossers team and she was so happy to have Ammy be the first new teammate.

"Ok, you can move in whenever you want. Welcome to the Barracks!"

Flourish stopped for a moment to think. "Hey, do you think we should come up with an advertising plan? Now that there's two of us we can take more jobs!"

[CaptainMcDerp]

"Oh man! This is gonna be so much FUN!"

Flourish's excitement was contagious, as Ammy found herself trotting in place with shared enthusiasm. Finally, a job she believed was made for her! She couldn't help but giggle like a school filly as she pranced around with her friend.

Flourish halted for a bit and Ammy followed suit to listen at what she had to say. "Hey, do you think we should come up with an advertising plan? Now that there's two of us we can take more jobs!"

She placed her hoof to her chin in thought. "Hmmm an advertisn' plan... you mean, like how to spread awareness of the business? Fliers should help. Oh, and maybe the occasional cloud written promotion."

[RainbowFoxxy]

Flourish nodded in agreement. Yes fliers and cloud promotions! Ammy was already turning out to be a big help and they had only just begun their business together.

"Yes and yes! That's a great idea! I'm thinking we could do a really nice design right over Baltimare. What do you think of that?"

This was going to be so great! Flourish knew she had made the right choice in asking Ammy to join up with Cloud Crossers!

(OOC: I think we can end here. Let's start scheming about their first adventure soon!)