Cubbage

Cloudy listened intently as Windy described her routines. They sounded amazing! Nothing like she could ever do... She thought back to her multiple broken bones and wing injuries from being a sub-par flyer. Nope, she definitely could not do the kind of work Windy did! Not in a million years! But she could certainly go watch! And that was exactly what she intended to do! "Wow!! I can't wait to see it!!" Everything about Windy just seemed inviting and friendly. Cloudy was glad that of all the ponies she had bumped into, Wind Dancer had been the one. 

Cloudy followed Wind Dancer up until they reached the cloud district, which, in all honesty, was slightly disappointing. She didn't know what she had expected, but it certainly wasn't a carbon copy of home. Sure, there were some aspects that were a little more historical than others, but in all honesty, it just felt like she was back in Cloudsdale. Her spirits scarcely had time to drop, however, before Windy started listing off the attractions that could be found in this neighborhood. Jousting?? Gladiatorial combat?? Those all sounded amazing!! She had, of course, read all about the Com. Hurricane Era in school, but never thought she'd get to witness re-enactments of the entertainment and culture! The speedway now seemed much less exciting. "Did you say jousting?? My friends and I used to play jousting when we were foals! We never got our hands on anything heavier than a cumulonimbus, of course, but wow! I've always wanted to see a real jousting competition!"

"Hm... I don't know where that is..." Cloudfeather looked over his shoulder at the map and soon located the hotel. "Aha!" she said, "This way!" She pointed with her hoof and then started off on a brisk trot down the street. "I'm Cloudfeather, by the way! I don't think I caught your name!"

"Wow!! That's amazing!! Then I hope that wing of yours isn't hurt too bad! I tried out for the Wonderbolts reserves once upon a time hahaha..." She laughed, remembering the humiliation when she had crashed face first into the stands, breaking her nose. "But that was a long time ago! Turns out I'm built for filling the skies, not clearing them!" She watched him look back at his wing and felt some pity for him. She hoped it wouldn't hurt his performance. She started picking up his luggage and tossing it onto her back as he asked his question. "Yep! I don't usually get asked to help with cloud duty since I mainly work the machines, but since this is a Wonderbolts event - I mean, come on! It isn't some routine festival shower or scheduled rain! - they had a drawing, and my name happened to be one of those picked! I can't wait! Since we're helping set up, we get free admission to the show and backstage access (you know, because we're working backstage)! I'm going to get my goggles signed!" She gave the eye protection on her forehead a little *snap* to accentuate the phrase. She then realised she had no idea where this pony's luggage was going and that the two of them were blocking the road (as a rather impolite couple was so kind to inform them). "So, uh, where are you staying? I'll take your luggage so that you can rest your wing! And in return, you can tell me all about life as a Wonderbolts reserve!"

"Haha Changeling? Here? What? I mean, not that I have anything against changelings! I'm sure they're great creatures and all, not that I've ever met one, but no, I didn't see a changeling hahaha! That's cra-- wait, did you say race??" All her nerves vanished as she realised what he said, forgetting that this may well be a conpony, and that his "race" may just be a way of getting her to entice her so that he could get all her bits. "Hold on, do you mean the Wonderbolts derby coming up?? Like, as in the Wonderbolts derby I'm here to help set up for?? Like, as in, you're a Wonderbolt!? Are you a Wonderbolt!??" It was a wonder she was holding in her excitement! She was practically jumping up and down by this as it was! Had she really bumped into a Wonderbolt on the street here in Canterlot?? She'd only met any of the Wonderbolts once when she got her limited-edition photobook signed after a show! But to meet one here by chance in person!? This was more than she could take!

Cloudy helped the pony up. She He seemed nice, even attractive. She adjusted her goggles, trying to appear cool, as she said, "No problem!" Then he stretched and winced, complaining about his wing. Cloudy looked at it. Had he really hurt it just by falling? That was an interesting way to hurt a wing... Could he be faking? Come, now, why would he fake something like that, though? Wait! Was this one of those conponies her parents had warned her about before she went to Los Pegasus? Oh no! She hadn't thought to bring her protective saddlebags this time! She backed away from him slightly, trying not to let her expression portray her nervousness and mistrust. "Oh dear... That doesn't sound good..." she said, continuing her slow steps backward. "You, uh, might want to get that checked out..."

Stepping off behind him, just another face in the crowd, was Cloudfeather, here to visit her aunt and uncle as well as to assist with the unpacking of a fresh shipment of clouds for the upcoming Wonderbolts performance. She had applied for the job as soon as she heard there was going to be a performance at all, eager to be involved in any way with the show, and had been lucky enough to be picked! She trotted excitedly at first, trying to keep herself cool in the midst of the high-class Canterlot ponies, but quickly lost her composure and took off into the sky as she normally did when she arrived in a new place (no matter how many times she had been) to survey the city. She hadn't stretched her wings the entire ride here, preferring to keep herself grounded for the experience of traveling on an airship, so the vantage point was refreshing. 

Down below, something caught her eye. A pony beneath her had just tripped and sent his luggage flying. Cloudy winced to herself. That looked painful... She zipped down to his location and offered her hoof as he looked up. "Need a hoof?" she asked, chuckling lightly.

"Oh." Cloudfeather said. She tried to stay positive, though the words had truly hurt her. "Well, um, the good news is that the harvester has almost finished sucking up the water we need, so your friends and you can go home soon." She walked back to the controls and checked the readings. "You know, it really is a good thing we use the harvester nowadays. Back before we had it up and running, we used to use wingpower, and fish had to be sorted out manually and corralled. Now, they're automatically sorted and stored so we can put them back faster after the harvest. Oh, what am I saying. Not like knowing that makes it any better. We just have a couple more minutes and then the loading pegasi will be here to transport the tank back down to the water." She continued to move about the control panel, mostly pretending to press buttons and check gauges. She wanted to look like she knew what she was doing. She did know, naturally, but the machine ran automatically, and so there wasn't much for her to do at this point but wait for the shutoff order.

Archchancellor who changes genders on a whim, students who practice necromancy, fillies who couldn't think of anything but popcorn... This was all too much for her. What had her teacher (and her parents for that matter) gotten her into?? She sat down for a moment to try and take everything in. If the staff were as crazy as the student body - and from the sounds of it they were - then there would be no point in reporting Chipper even if they were unaware of his abilities. On top of that, he seemed like he may be able to talk himself out of any stick situations, though maybe that only applied with the children of the corn and Spearmint. Ah yes, and then there was Spearmint. To be honest, it sounded like he was mostly trying to keep himself out of trouble. She could sympathise with that. Trouble had never been something she was prone to getting into, and couldn't imagine getting expelled for something on her first day of school. Where Chipper was his roommate, it seemed only natural that Spearmint would defend him, if for no other reason than to protect his own flank. Spearmint seemed loyal. And wait, wasn't that one of the main qualities of friendship? Loyalty?

Hold on! Stop! Don't go there! Get a grip! You can't let this place get to you! Morning Glow thought. She resolved that if the staff wasn't going to act against Chipper, she would have to. Not right away, of course. She didn't know the extent of his abilities. She knew some necromancy spells, but had never cast any. The extent of what she knew about dark magic was the mechanics of dark spells and how to invert them for defence purposes. Call it defence against the dark arts, if you will. She had to know about dark magic to protect herself against it. But never had she dreamed she would come face to face with it so soon. She began to formulate a plan to keep an eye on Chipper whenever she could, whatever that meant. If that meant following him to the library, then she would. If that meant sitting next to him in class... then so be it. She was not going to let him out of her sight. And whenever she did, well, she would need Spearmint's help. She decided to write him a note when she got the chance. Until then... She had to earn Chipper's trust. 

She tried several times to start a conversation in the chaos, but got no further than opening her mouth and closing it again. What could she talk about? She could think of nothing but magic. She hadn't read any books for entertainment since she was a little filly, and hadn't seen any stage shows... Most of her life had been reading about magic, stars, and other informative subjects. Ok, then, she would keep things where she was comfortable then. Finally, after a minute, she decided to take advantage of a break in the conversation and spoke, keeping her eyes still somewhat down. "So, uh... Chipper Demise, um... Where did you learn to do necro- er, advanced healing magic like that?"

Cloudfeather was taken aback by this. Was that possible? "You... can talk to them?" Slowly, she decided that if horses could fly and hippogriffs could turn into sea creatures, it must be possible for at least one pony to be able to talk to fish. "That... Is... Awesome!! What's that one saying?? Oooh do they like me?? Or do they think I'm weird? Can they understand me? Ooh! Tell them that I'm sorry for sucking them up but I promise they'll be back home in no time as soon as we've collected enough moisture for the thunderhead!" She meant that much sincerely. If this pegasus could really talk to them, then the poor creatures must be scared out of their minds! 

"You're doing another show?? Even more spectacular than that one?? Of course I'll be there!" She pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled in "Marerage, 3:00" between two other checklist items. "Just please be careful... I've never been expecting, but I can't imagine its easy to pull off stunts like that with a foal around...." Cloudy was certainly no doctor, and admittedly had little knowledge of what it meant to carry a foal, but she still felt concern for the other pegasus. The last thing she wanted was to be a member of the audience for which Windy performed when she inadvertently killed her unborn child! She would feel personally responsible for even buying a ticket!

"How romantic!" Cloudy said aloud as Windy explained the couple's plans for the foal. "I'm sure she or he can't wait to be born to a mama as loving and tender-hearted as you!" She giggled and playfully inspected Windy's sides, then perked up at the mention of the Cloud District. "Oh yes! I'd love to see them! I wonder what kinds of clouds they used to build it! What formulas did they use? What if it's one I've never seen before? That would be so cool! Coming to Los Pegasus and learning about a new architectural cloud formula!" She turned back to Windy (for in her excitement she had lost visual contact with the other mare) excitedly. "Where is this Cloud District??"

Cloudfeather blinked. "Her kids? How do you know she has kids?" This pony was truly like no other she had met.

Cloudy was still listening even though she was constantly looking around the room, distracted by each sound and light. She grew excited at the idea of seeing the cloud district, and thought it might be fun to watch a race or two. Maybe it'd be like watching a Wonderbolts derby! 

She was prepared to give an, "Aww, that's so sweet!" to Windy's remark about making ponies happy, but then her jaw dropped when she finished with the implied news. "You're... You're... Oh my goodness!!! Congratulations!!! That's so exciting for you both! Do you know if it'll be a filly or a colt? Do you have any names in mind? *gasp* Wait, you did that entire dance routine with a foal??? Oh my goodness! You must be exhausted!! I'm so sorry! Here, let's sit down!" And with that, she immediately began searching for a bench or chair for the apparently-pregnant pony to be seated on.

Cloudfeather checked a few more readings on the harvester before calling the physician. Then she crossed the room to sit down next to the other pegasus. "I promise they're safe. In fact, they look happy to me! See, look at that octopus! Doesn't he look overjoyed?" Cloudfeather had no clue what emotions were going through the octopus's head, but she hoped it might reassure the other pony.

Cloudy was slightly disappointed that her fiancé wouldn't be able to join them, but was still excited nonetheless! As the dancer introduced herself, Cloudy began mentally repeating the name over and over in her head so she wouldn't forget it as easily as she had forgotten her camera (which she was still kicking herself for). They bid her fiancé goodbye and headed into the lobby, where the architecture she had somehow missed became apparent. It was like nothing she'd ever seen before! Blending fire and ice in exquisite structures, making clear the difference between the two environments. It was a marvel to behold, and she had to remind herself to close her mouth as they proceeded through (nopony needed to smell the snacks she'd eaten on the way here). 

Entranced, Cloudy barely heard Windy's question. "Oh! Who, me? I like clouds! And foals! And adventure, flying, music, dancing (she gestured towards Windy as she said this), all sorts of things! But mostly clouds." She blushed a little at the last statement, knowing it was probably a little unusual for a pony to be obsessed with such trivial things as clouds. Then, she started, remembering her manners. "What about you? What are some of the things you like??"

(no worries! get feeling better soon! i totally understand. i'm pretty busy these days and so might not be able to respond super quickly :|||)

pleased to meet you!! you're welcome to DM me with questions, although Blueblood is a mod, so that's more his job hahaha

I totally understand the being bashful about liking mlp! i'm also had trouble telling people. i felt like i was coming out xD but i'm slowly becoming more comfortable with people knowing (not my family though hahaha). i'mg glad you're confident enough to be proud! hopefully i'll get there one day too! 

also, i'm always open for rp, so if you ever need a partner (who is also a beginner, i might add ;P), feel free to hit me up!

great to have you here!

Morning Glow didn't speak. What could she say? It was clear these ponies were crazy. 100%, certifiably crazy. The two fillies seemed more concerned with popcorn than the fact that they were witnessing one of the most evil acts a pony could commit! And the necromancer himself seemed absolutely unhinged. Clearly what she had read about necromancy was correct: it did terrible things to the minds of those who practiced it. She recalled the story of Spirit Sentinel, the pony who had raised a horde of zombies to attack a village in the South. He would have killed everypony there if it hadn't been for Starswirl's interference. It was hard for her to believe that any kind of magic that could do that was wholesome in any way. 

And then there was the green colt. She couldn't quite figure him out. He seemed to be ok with all of this, though she couldn't figure out how. He walked toward her, and she glared reproachfully at him, flinching slightly as he put her hoof on her back. But as he talked, she actually began to feel at ease. Something about him just seemed... normal. Obviously he wasn't normal, because any normal pony would already be running for a staff member. But then again, she wasn't running either. Oh no! Was she becoming one of them?? No! No!

Somehow, she still managed to hear everything Spearmint said. At least he understood why she felt how she did, even if he didn't share those feelings. Sure, he didn't condemn necromancy, but at least he didn't treat her like she was weird for doing so. This time, when she spoke, she lowered her voice so that only he would hear. "I'm Morning Glow. And I guess it's... no. It's not ok. How can you be ok with this? Can't you see what's going on here? He's practicing necromancy! That's one of the darkest forms of magic there is! Not even Starswirl the bearded dare experiment with necromancy! If he's practicing that discipline of magic, there is something wrong with him! We have to stop him! Don't you understand?" She shot intermittent glances toward the group to make sure they weren't listening, but they appeared to be too distracted trivial things like by popcorn and friendship to focus on her and Spearmint. "Look, so far, you're the only pony here who seems to have a head on his shoulders, so so far, you're the only one I trust. We need to tell someone about this. I'm sure the headmare would want to know. Heck, I'm sure Princess Twilight would want to know! We need to stop this before he does something crazy!"

"Great! Then let's go!" Cloudy said, helping the pegasus to her hooves and then leading the way back to the harvester.

"Well... I guess that would be alright. Would you object to having a physician check you out while you're there, though?"

"I... wow, thank you! You must be one of the kindest ponies here! My name's Cloudfeather, but you can call me Cloudy. I know I read your names in the program, but I've already forgotten them (Celestia, I'd lose my head if it wasn't attached to my shoulders!)!" Cloudy was doing little to contain her excitement over the prospect that she would be spending time with a bonafide celebrity (albeit one she didn't know existed until an hour ago, but a celebrity nonetheless)! She looked over the auditorium at the asthetic to which the dancer pointed, realising the decor for the first time since she arrived. She had been in such a rush that she had forgotten to look around!

"Oh, haha, you, uh, saw that, huh? Yeah, I'm not used to really having anything over my head that isn't made of clouds haha..." Her eyes lit up as the pony mentioned the tour. "You - you're really offering to show me, a lowly factory pony, a tour of the city?? Oh no, I couldn't! I'm sure you have much more important ponies to see than me! I mean, I'm just your standard tourist! Hahaha" Cloudfeather was dying internally throughout this exchange. She hadn't been this nervous since she had gotten her Wonderbolts hat signed! 

Terror prevented Morning Glow from even noticing there was a filly on her head until she jumped to someone else's. After hearing the nonchalant response, she stared at the newcoming filly in disbelief. How could she be calm in a situation like this??? Perhaps what surprised her more, though, was what she could only assume to be her sister's reaction. A skeletal mouse was wandering about and all she could think about was her popcorn?? Then, an almost palpable change in the air as an intimidating colt strode out of the room. If his appearance and manner hadn't been enough to creep her out, his laugh certainly did it. 

His roommate seemed to be the more sane one of the two, though she couldn't validly say that either of them were playing with a whole hand. "Are you... both okay?" It took Morning Glow a moment to gather her wits enough to even move, let alone speak. 

"OK??? AM I OK???" she said, not bothering to lower her voice and not caring whether or not someone else had started speaking already. "I JUST SAW A MOUSE REANIMATED AND THEN DEANIMATED AND YOU WANT TO KNOW IF I'M OK???" Her voice squeaked several times, but she continued regardless, lowering her voice only slightly. "I should be asking you two if you're ok!!! What kind of pony in their right mind would practice necromancy?? And at a school, no less! Don't you know how dark magic like that is?? Have you ever read any comprehensive studies on what it does?? Not just to its victims, but to its practitioners?? I can't believe it's still in practice! I thought the discipline had died out ages ago! And now I'm face to face with a colt who is actually practicing it without even considering the repercussions! Are you out of your mind?? What in Celestia's name do you think you're doing!?" Had she been able to take in more oxygen, she would have yelled some more, but by now, what with the adrenaline rush she was still coming down from, combined with the large amounts of air she had just used, she was completely out of breath and was beginning to see everything through a tunnel. She stopped to pant for a few moments.

From her position above the crowd, Cloudfeather was able to spot the dancers' position in the audience as they left the stage. She made a mental not of where they were seated and then returned to her own (at request of the ushers). Soon followed the headliner of the night, a talented singer. Cloudy listened to her just as enthusiastically as she had watched the dancers, but the vocalist retreated backstage after the show, so there was no way she'd be able to meet her. Oh well, the dancers were still fantastic, and she actually knew where they were. As the lights of the auditorium slowly came back on, Cloudy bolted to where she had seen them sitting, but was still at the back of the crowd of ponies looking for autographs and photos.

Her camera! Of course she had forgotten something, and it happened to be one of the most important things on her list! She kicked herself for several moments for forgetting such a valuable item until without realising it, she had come face to face with the dancing duo. They caught her off guard. "I uh... Um..." she started nervously. "Hi! You, uh, were really amazing, and um, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your performance, and um... yeah" And with that, she turned to walk away, feeling extremely embarassed.

Cloudfeather was practically jumping out of her seat as the lights dimmed until it was nearly pitch dark. Then a booming voice echoed throughout the auditorium, announcing the great Wind Dancer and her husband (the pony next to her had a coughing fit just then which caused her to miss his name)! She waited with baited breath, and then was awed as the stage lights came up on a beautiful lavender pegasus in a blue leotard. Not far into her first routine, her husband joined her onstage, just as regal and handsome as she was beautiful!

The pair were mesmerising! Up and down, around and over, in ways she thought impossible, even for a pegasus! Each move and song was more impressive than the last. Then, the grand finale! Not only was it impressive as far as feats of hoofwork and flexibility, there were several parts where the audience gasped, nervous that the dancers might be injured! But somehow, they both pulled through in the end, and spectacularly well! When the show at last ended, Cloudfeather burst into the air cheering and applauding, actually managing to hit her head on the ceiling in her excitement! She hoped she would be able to shake those ponies' hoofs at some point to congratulate the on such a job well done!

Cloudy had noticed the painted pegasus on her way to her parents' house the night before, but hadn't had time to see what she was doing other than running frantically through the streets, drawing the attention of various pegasi. So it must have been fate that this morning, when she walked into the ice cream parlour with a group of foals in tow, she saw that same pegasus sitting alone at a table, in the centre of the room. There was an enthusiastic air about her, and Cloudfeather was naturally intrigued. After paying for the foals' ice cream and sending them all off, she trotted over to the table. "Hey there, stranger. Is everything alright? I noticed you running like the sky was falling last night, but didn't have the time to ask what you were doing."

Morning Glow walked back from the library, still cloaked, and moving shiftily despite the fact that her spell was still in effect. Who would have known that a library, a place renown for its silence, could be so loud? Students crowded the room almost as badly as they had the entrance hall, and were just as disorderly. As she backed into the hall down which was her dorm, she breathed a sigh of relief that nopon- er, nocreature had seen her and removed her hood. Then, just as she turned to proceed down the hall WHAM! A filly a little smaller than her ran horn-first directly into her side! She yelped and recoiled, and was about to scold the other unicorn for not watching where she was going, but then remembered that she probably had been watching where she was going, but Morning Glow's spell had prevented her from noticing. She removed it straight away.

"Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her side. "Where's the fire? Isn't there some kind of rule about running in the halls?" She didn't mean to be rude, of course, but the fact was that she had basically just been stabbed, and so she found it difficult to remove the edge from her voice. "Please watch where you're going in the future." Though she knew that last sentence really wasn't necessary in this situation as it was almost certainly her own fault for not being seen, she felt it was appropriate given how fast this pony had been cruising. Who knew if it had really been the spell's fault she hadn't seen Morning Glow?

As she rose and began to trot away, a small movement near the filly's bucket of popcorn caught her eye. She turned her head to behold... a mouse? No, a skeleton! No, a skeletal mouse! She screamed, the sight becoming more frightening the longer she looked at it. But her bones didn't seem to want to move. Was there truly a necromancer here at the School of Friendship??? No, that was impossible! This had to be an elaborate prank of some kind! Someone using levitation magic or something! But them mouse continued to move as if it were alive, and she stayed there, speechless as she watched it.