[Cloudsdale] The City in the Sky [Closed for now]

[TehBbqdPizza]

Skewer sighed. He didn't feel like coming out now, let alone to "exercise". Yet his mother drove him out of the house to force him to do something more productive rather than idle around the house all day with his chessboard and books for hours. He didn't understand why chess was any less productive than exercising outside.

Now, he was sitting down on the playground benches, engrossed in his Chess Opening Variations ​book, completely unaware of his surroundings. He had smuggled a chess-relevant book out of the house without his mum noticing. He had also planned on flying through a storm cloud to get himself wet before he returned home, to pretend like he was working out. He smiled and praised himself for his sneakiness and "perfect" plan.

Unfortunately for him, he had did a serious mistake on not timing himself or even looking up to see if the storm cloud was still there. Only until he finished up a chapter on the Four Knights Game did he look up to find the cloud gone, cleared away by the weather team. Even the other clouds were cleared, which put Skewer in disbelief. He smacked his own head for punishing himself with his blunder. [colour=#3eb489]"I'm too late!"[/colour] Skewer scolded to himself. [colour=#3eb489]"I should've stopped reading earlier!"[/colour]

[Dabom444]

Flash smiled and nodded to the female Gryphon who coincidentally tackled her brother to the ground. [colour=#0000FF]"Nice to meet you Glimmer, Im Flashbomb." [/colour]He replied to her. He was still just a little uneasy shaking her claws, it felt like at anymoment they would cut him. He retracted quickly and chuckled uneasily, [colour=#0000FF]"s....sorry its just the claws, im not used to them." [/colour]He said to the gryphon. He felt his wings needed preening, He picked acouple feathers from them and let them blow off in the breeze. He stood up and flapped his wings to remove any other feathers that were loose. He sat back down and looked at The gryphons yet again[colour=#0000FF] "Im kind of glad that there is somepony else who is not a........ well pony here. Mixes things up you know? "[/colour]

[Jane]

"Oh, I absolutely adore Cloudsdale." Whirligig exclaimed when Flashbomb asked for opinions of the city. "I've lived here my entire life, and though I've seen other parts of Equestria I will always consider this city my home. I don't think it needs too many renovations - the architecture is certainly unique and the city planners didn't really do a good job of organizing the various levels and streets, but it's all part of what makes this city so unique. Besides, clouds are pliable; you can move them around easily and it's hard to hurt yourself on a cloud."

At that instant, as if to illustrate Whirligig's point, a young pegasus filly on the playground tumbled from the top of the jungle gym. Though she flapped her tiny wings, they did nothing to break her fall and she landed with a soft thud on the cloud below. Neither the filly nor her mother even blinked at the fall - she just got up and kept on playing.

"See? Anywhere else in Equestria she would have at the very least a bruise or a skinned knee. But here, there's not a scratch on her. And that's just the city itself; the ponies who live here are all rather lovely. Of course, there's a lot of competition, what with the Wonderbolts academy nearby and several other flight camps and weather camps. The Cloudsdale weather team is often considered one of the best teams in Equestria. But it's all in good fun most of the time."

Whirligig was about to go off on another tangent about her friends and the various things they liked to do together in and around the beautiful clouded city, when Razor suddenly shouted [colour=#FF0000]"Glimmer, where are you?"[/colour]

[colour=#EE82EE]"Here I am!"[/colour] came the reply when the young Griffon Whirligig had seen earlier on the playground tackled her brother playfully.

"N'aww, Razor, your sister is adorable!" Whirligig exclaims when the young griffon approaches the group. She bends down to the little one. "Hello there, little bird! My name is Whirligig. You just made quite the entrance! That's a very pretty bow you're wearing; where did you get that from?"

​

[TehBbqdPizza]

[colour=#3eb489]"Ok, you can still get away with this,"[/colour] Skewer muttered. [colour=#3eb489]"Even a blunder in a chess game can be saved if you do the next moves carefully and with thought."[/colour] This was indeed true in the game of chess; if you couldn't win the game, at most you have the defend bad endgames from becoming worse. The same would have applied to the circumstances Skewer is in.

Skewer turned his head to the left, seeing a group of pegasi- and gryphons- nearby the playground. They were seemingly too young to be of parental age, yet obviously older than Skewer himself. The age of the whole group looked to be of suitable age to be a weather pony. (or griffon?) Then again, Skewer was making imprudent assumptions. I can't give up this chance, he thought. It's a hit or miss.

Skewer flew slowly toward the group, who were in a merry discussion themselves. He didn't attempt to approach at a fast pace, in order not to alarm the ponies and gryphons. Hopefully he could join into the conversation and then try to inquire them from there. That was what Skewer always did; he formulated plans and liked to think forward, but sadly, he could not deal with unpredictable measures. Such an example was the planning of flying through a storm cloud, which had been cleared by the weather team.

He was now in close range of the group, the conversation getting more audible at the second. He heard another pegasus explaining the reason why she loved Cloudsdale. He decided to jump in as soon as she finished up her complement to the younger gryphon. [colour=#3eb489]"Cloudsdale? Despite myself living in Cloudsdale, I tend to go down to the surface more often, at Ponyville. I'm just not...interested in competition. Ponyville's more of a model community, they don't trouble each other, but rather fix their problems together, with of course, the exception of some ponies."[/colour]

Edited April 29, 2013 by TehBbqdPizza

[Derpyy]

Care Package was having a great day. Well any day was a great day when you lived in Cloudsdale! Care was doing his normal rounds for mail delivery. He was almost done with his job for the day. But he would probably check back when he ran out of letters to see if any other workers left some behind. His boss thought he was crazy for doing that and often got annoyed at him. But Care didn't mind him. He liked his boss after all.

As Care was flying he took in the scenery of Cloudsdale. The large buildings. Ponies playing on the clouds. Ponies trotting on the clouds. Care decided that he was done with flying for a bit. He started to go in for a land but the light blue pegasus misjudged his landing. Curse his imaginative brain. He got caught staring at one of the rainbows and the young pegasus managed to land with a soft "thump" on a nearby playground.

A few fillies and colts were at play. A few of them snickered at Care. One came up and asked him if he was alright.

[colour=#008080]"Oh yeah. I'm alright." [/colour]He smiled and then picked up the little filly and carried her to the top of the slide and pushed her down the slide. He made sure not to push her to fast or to slow. He didn't want to hurt someone else's kid. He smiled a warm smile when he heard her giggling. He always loved that sound.

Normally crashing into a playgroud would be frowned upon. Care thought. But he figured it was because he was so young that nopony cared. Care was in fact a young stallion.

But to Care's surprise there was a small group of ponies and (griffons?) chatting with each other. He decided to make himself known since he knew none of these ponies.

[colour=#008080]"Hello there! I'm Care Package! How are all of you?[/colour]" He gave all of the ponies/griffons in the group hopeful smiles. He had no idea if they were in the middle of a conversation or not. But he made himself known.

His deep blue eyes happily bouncing back and forth between everypony. His brown and cyan mane fell in his face at one point. He laughed and then shook his head to get the mane out of his face.

[ShadowWalking18]

Glimmer giggled at Whirligig's compliment,[colour=#EE82EE] "Thanks. I made it with my mama." [/colour]She adjusted her bow and gave a smile to everyone around. She jumped off of Razor's back to stand beside him.

She looked a Flashbomb with a smile,[colour=#EE82EE] "Oh don't worry about our claws. Well...maybe not mine. But between you and me, Razor is the one you got to watch out for."[/colour] She giggled as she dodged a swipe from Razor's tail.

[colour=#FF0000]"Hey, hey, hey. I haven't made any threats in years. It was just the one time at that camp." [/colour]Razor said.

Glimmer rolled her eyes, [colour=#EE82EE]"Yeah yeah. And you said that the last time back in Aquilla when you left those three griffon boys tied up and hanging from a cliff."[/colour]

[colour=#FF0000]"I didn't leave them there. I was just keeping them there long enough to learn a lesson. Don't mess with my sister. it was minor childhood trauma at best." [/colour]Razor said with a wave of his claw.

Glimmer sighed and shook her head. Razor just grumbled. Glimmer noticed this and hugged him, [colour=#EE82EE]"Oh come on. You know I'm just pulling your feathers."[/colour]

Razor smiled and hugged hsi sister back, [colour=#FF0000]"Yeah sure. Now go play some more, we will be leaving soon."[/colour]

[colour=#000000]Glimmer nodded and ran back to play, Razor smiled as he watched her go. He looked over when a new arrival showed up.[/colour]

[colour=#FF0000]"At times I wished more griffons lived in cities like these. Then I probably wouldn't feel ganged up on." [/colour][colour=#000000]Razor chuckled a bit as he sat down and pulled a bottle of water from his bag and took a drink.[/colour]

[Kitirina]

[colour=#008000]"I thought that was where I saw you, Flash. At SugarCube Corner."[/colour] She said, the arrangement of picture-like visions playing in sequence within her mind. It was like a silent movie that played back the encounter to her, and her recollection made her smile.

Whirligig's quick chatter made Musica feel a little bit lost in the conversation. The mare seemed to speak too fast for her to retain her portion of the conversation enough to accumulate a relative response. So, the musical pegasus just kept quiet and continued to listen. Her wings stayed flexed and she found her hooves lightly replaced upon the cloudy surface that they all walked upon. She was no longer frightened by the lightning boom, but she was weary of the fluffy ground beneath her. Not having her cloud legs like the other pegasi, she did feel like she would fall through.

[colour=#FF0000]"Glimmer! Where are you!?!"[/colour]

The sudden exclamation caused the pony to whip her head in direction of where the griffon's eyes fell, searching for the one by the name of Glimmer as if to provide aid. It wasn't long til a little girly griffon flew from the cloud above and wrapped her lion-like claws around her older brothers neck. It was a darling site, she found, though it was quite unusual to see griffons, especially relatives, in such a commonplace area. Let alone, Musica hardly ever seen them to begin with. This gathering was turning out to be most enjoyable for the traveling, and visiting pegasus.

[colour=#008000]"Hello Little Deary."[/colour] Musica greeted Glimmer. [colour=#008000]"I'm Musica-Lee Noted. But you're certainly welcome to call me Musica, or Musi'."[/colour]

The mare smiled at the young griffon, the warmth of her presence seemingly causing the conversation to almost shift now that a new character had entered the group. She shifted her weight on her weightless hooves idly.

Finally Musica had caught on to what some of the portion of the conversation was about. It was around the time a pony whome assumed the name of Skewer made himself known. The subject of interest was Cloudsdale and Ponyville, and the pros and cons of them. Being exposed to a variety of lands and towns as of late, Musica felt no need to chime in just yet. She did however move closer to the park bench to allow the new pegasus to move into the circle of chatter more easily.

[colour=#008080]"Hello there! I'm Care Package! How are all of you?" [/colour]

The interjection Care Package made as he flew in to join the group now directed Musica's attention to him. Raising a hoof she waved to Care Package. [colour=#008000]"Hello." [/colour]She greeted the young stallion.

They were now talking of Razor's threats with his claws, and she couldn't help but manage a giggle. Their brother-sister relationship was quite admirable. Glimmer was quite lucky to have a protective brother. It was the small break in conversation of the ponies that the quiet pegasus finally spoke.

[colour=#008000]"Hello again to those of you who had just came into this wonderful group of chatter. I'm Musica if I haven't properly introduced myself. I like Cloudsdale and Ponyville, they both evenly weigh in their perks and mishaps. Glimmer, I must say you're the cutest little thing I have ever seen and to answer my part of your question Care Package, I am doing quite well. I do want to say i'm only in Cloudsdale for a short time as I am a traveling mare and private music teacher. And in a city like this, there is quite a lot of things that must be going on. It was exciting enough to see Flashbomb clear away those clouds and Whirligig's ingenious tactics to complete the rest of the tasks they had. But I assume there is more to it here. Are there any special events happening tonight that is worth attending?"[/colour]

[TehBbqdPizza]

Skewer was prepared for a reply from either one of the ponies or gryphons in the group. He was not prepared, however, for another pegasus to join in the conversation. This pony who named himself Care Package was a young stallion, presumably older than Skewer. Skewer was able to recognize him as a mailpony due to his lively and cheerful attitude; even without their mailbags, they were easy to detect from their personality. At least Skewer believed it was the case; most of them seemed to virtually have the same personality anyway.

He now turned to the two gryphons, who looked dissimilar in appearance. Skewer was quite shocked, however, as the elder griffon named Razor claimed that the younger, female griffon to be his sister. The longer he knew this statement, the more he noticed that their bonds were strong. In a way, he wished he had his own sister or brother. He would play with his siblings all day, feeling not a bit lonely nor a sliver of boredom. The thought of having a sibling was intriguing, and he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.

The other mare named Musica then introduced herself to the group. Skewer smiled at her self-introduction; for a music teacher, Musica sounded literate and formal. He followed up after her. [colour=#3eb489]"And my name's Skewer, talented at the game of chess. Mainly I focus on strategic gaming, not only on chess, but several other games as well."[/colour] So Flashbomb here is the weather pony... Skewer thought as he spoke.

[Jane]

Whirligig was beyond pleased when two more ponies came in to join the small circle that was forming in the corner of the playground. The first was a young colt with a sandy-cloured coat and a green mane - he eventually introduced himself as Skewer. He was absolutely adorable, the way he spoke with big long words that seemed, to Whirligig, to be far beyond his young years as he spoke of conflict resolution and problem-solving. It was all she could do to refrain herself from trying to pinch his cute little cheeks, knowing that the colt was probably a proud lad who wouldn't appreciate the girly attention.

Instead, Whirligig directed her attention back to the playground, just in time to see a pony she recognized as the pony who typically delivered her mail. He was smiling to himself as he gently gave a young filly a push down the slide. He seemed very friendly, maybe he would come over and introduce himself.

Meanwhile, Razor and Glimmer were exchanging a quick banter not unlike the playful back-and-forth she commonly exchanged with her own older brother. She smiled as she thought of Stormwing and briefly allowed herself to wonder what he was up to on this gorgeous autumn afternoon. Probably in Trottingham trying to get some poor mare to go on a date with him, or having a drink with his friends down there now that he would be finished his weather duties. It had been a few days since she'd last seen him.

[colour=#498995]"Well your bow is lovely, and I think you're very lucky to have a big brother who is willing to stand up for you. My big brother would have done the same for me,"[/colour] she said to the young griffon before watching her run back to the playground.

She turned back to the group. The mailpony had indeed joined them, and introduced himself as Care Package.

[colour=#498995]"Hey, I know you! You're the pony who delivers my mail! We've never met before, Care Package, but my name's Whirligig and it is an absolute pleasure to finally get to meet you. You seem like a very kind-hearted pony - I saw what you did for that little filly over there on the playground - how very thoughtful of you."[/colour]

[colour=#FF0000]"At times I wished more griffons lived in cities like these. Then I probably wouldn't feel ganged up on." [/colour]

[colour=#498995]"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, we don't mean to gang up on you like this. Truly, we do get griffons around here occasionally. I mean, they sometimes come for Junior Speedsters flight camps, and of course we have one of the best flying schools in Equestria - my Mum's parents sent her here to learn how to fly when she was just a filly, though it wasn't much worth the effort 'cause Granddad ended up being the one to teach her anyways. She liked Cloudsdale so much that she stayed, so it wasn't completely futile. Anyways, my point is that I have seen griffons before, we just don't see your kind very often and we don't mean to stare but it's just so unusual for us. You will forgive us, won't you? I mean, we're only curious and aren't at all trying to make you feel uncomfortable."[/colour] she stopped, suddenly realizing that her tangent probably wasn't helping to put the bird at ease.

Much to her relief, Musi asked the group about any events that would be on that evening that she might be able to see. Whirligig wracked her brain trying to think of something. [colour=#498995]"Well, we do have a community theatre, but they don't usually have anything playing on weeknights. Well, they did last week but that was only because some famous pony was in town. They may have a film reel running, though, and sometimes those moving-picture movies can be fun as long as the film doesn't break. I've been to one or two showings where that happened and funny as it was it sort of ruined the fun. I think the Wonderbolts are out touring right now, so no luck on that front. Though there may be an amateur flight group performing in the Cloudesseum - I think the Quicksilvers or something like that may be in town. As far as music goes, since that seems like it might be more your style, we don't have much of a musical culture up here - it's mostly just weather and aerobatics - but sometimes, later in the evenings Toothy's bar gets one or two ponies to play a gig or two, so that could be something fun to do."[/colour]

She turned to the yellow-maned one who seemed to have grown pensive. [colour=#498995]"Flashbomb, you live in Cloudsdale, don't you? Do you have any suggestions?"[/colour]

​