Heads in the Clouds (ATTN: Hawkeye)

[Lux]

It was a cloudy dreary day that threatened to rain at the slightest moment as Sky Flare laid on a cloud. The stunt pony felt like the sky around him, dull and grey. Why even his coat lacked its usual luster as he watched a passing Pegasus fly by. It wasn't that he was in a bad mood but it was like the day was just... boring.

"What's wrong with me? Usually I'm the pony that makes action happen, not one who lies like a lump. Could it be that I did all the tricks in the book? No, there are still more that I can try and pull off I'm sure! Did I lose my awesomeness? Nah, I still feel that way. Maybe I'm just missing something in my life, but what?"

The stallion pondered as he hoped something or somepony would take him out of the dull feeling.

[Hawkeye12]

"Okay, let's see here..." Dusty Skies said to herself as she hovered in the air. It was a dreary day, but she didn't care. She had it all to herself, just her and the sky.

Then, like a bullet, the pegasus took off. "Two loop de loops, three barrel rolls..." she continued to talk as she performed the various tricks in the air, but then stopped. "What else?" she sighed, sitting on a cloud. "Whatever. I'll work on that later.

Dusty laid on her back, staring at the sky above her. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye though. Another pegasus, sitting on a cloud just a few feet away, with a fiery orange mane. He looked rather dull, to say the least.

"Hey there," she said in her usual casual voice. "Something wrong?"

[Lux]

Sky watched as a Pegasus in the distance performed several amazing stunts. It wasn't that she had ponies watching her, at least not to his or her knowledge, just that she was having fun like he would do. She looked as if she would continue, but then decided to lay down on a cloud nearby. Maybe she ran out of energy. Whatever the case the mare reminded him of what he did. But in a surprise move she floated over to him and asked if he was ok. Was his dullness really that noticeable?

"I look that bad, huh?" he said standing up to greet the mare, "Guess I'm not good at hiding what I'm feeling. I'm Sky Flare by the way. What's you name?"

[Hawkeye12]

"Dusty," replied the mare. "Dusty Skies." She noticed the stallion, Sky Flare he said his name was, stand up, so she did too, taking her flight goggles off her face so they dangled around her neck. She chuckled. "You blend in right with the day- dull. Make the most of it!" she joked.

Dusty's forest green eyes studied Sky for a moment, noticing his cutie mark and slender build. "You do flight stunts too?" she asked.

[Lux]

Sky Flare chuckled at the mare's candidness at how he appeared and how he blended into the drab sky. He wondered if a pony's coat could reflect his emotions, becoming more drab as a pony gets sadder. As he pondered this he couldn't help but notice that Dusty Skies studied him especially his cutie mark.

"Yeah, I did stunts, I mean I do stunts," he said realizing that he probably confused the mare even more, "I guess I should start again. Yes, stunts are something I'm good at, enough to get a cutie mark for it. But lately though I've been in a stunt slump. It's like nothing that I've done is working right and everything I'm trying that's new seems... well... dull. So I guess that's why I'm dull because the thing that gave me my mark is dull too. Have you ever had a creative slump like that?"

[Hawkeye12]

Dusty smiled at the stallion. Creative slump, huh? That was one way to put it. The mare thought back a little, and realized she knew exactly what Sky was talking about. When she couldn't think of new moves to start learning, and couldn't impress anypony with her usual stunts.

"Come to think of it... yeah, I have had days like that. Your mind just feels dead, you know?" she paused for a moment, gazing out at the sky. There was a pretty clear area just by them, probably where she had been practicing just moments before. Smiling again, she turned back to Sky Flare. "Well, can I see what you got?" she asked, curious to see this pony's moves.

[Lux]

Sky flare had a feeling that the mare in front of him had the same creative slump experience at some point in her life. There must have been times that everypony had this effect. It made him feel at least better when she admitted this to him, that he wasn't just some strange pony. But now came the biggest test as Dusty asked him to do a few stunts.

"Alright then, here I go," he said taking off into the air. He accelerated, creating what looked like flames behind him which was just an illusion of his mane and tail. Sky then pulled up and started doing a few somersaults in the air followed by a corkscrew for good measure. Then came his signature as he pulled up and did a wide loop that took up a section of the sky resembling his cutie mark in a fiery looking contrail.

"So, how about that?" He said landing next to her.

[Hawkeye12]

Dusty watched curiously as the stallion took off, performing some tricks in the air. The pegasus had to admit, she was pretty impressed. The fiery mane and tail illusion was was really cool, especially with the wide loop do loop he did at the end. She leaned back on her cloud, watching with a slight smile. As Sky landed next to her, she turned to him.

"Wow, impressive. You got some pretty good moves there," she said.

[Lux]

"Thanks," Sky Flare said as he sat down on the cloud next to her, "Those were some skills I've done for a while. I guess that my reason for doing stunts was not only to have fun but to one day join the Wonderbolts. What about you, what's your reason for trying out your stunts?"

[Hawkeye12]

Dusty shrugged at Sky's question, looking up at the clouds above them. "I dunno what gave me the idea to take on stunts, really. I think it was because my parents never really let me fly around a lot outside when I was younger," she paused and smiled. "I was a little rebel of a filly, I guess. But hey, it got me a cutiemark!" she said, chuckling.

The mare thought for a moment. Joining the Wonderbolts has always crossed her mind, but she never thought she would actually end up being one in the future. "I do my stunts for fun too, since being a weather pony gets me enough to get by. But being a Wonderbolt.... now that would be cool."

[Lux]

"Not allowed to fly outside?" Sky flare said with his mouth agape, "Were your parents afraid of you falling or something?"

The stallion was amazed to hear that Dusty could only fly inside. Knowing from experience there sure wasn't much space to fly around a home unless it was a big house. He was happy though that she got a cutie mark and was able to show her parents she could get out and fly.

"Yeah being a weather pony is fun. I work there a little and as a courier too. I guess wanting to be a Wonderbolt relates to getting my cutie mark. Not sure if you want to hear my tale about it."

[Hawkeye12]

"I think they didn't want me to get messy... or hurt... or both," she chuckled. "Which kinda stank, because getting being messy is what I do best!"

Dusty looked over at Sky as he mentioned his cutie mark. Since they had similar talents, she was kind of interested to know. "I'll hear the story, I'm curious actually," she said, looking at him with interest. Besides, she liked hearing cutie mark stories. They were all unique and different.

[Lux]

Sky Flare shrugged at Dusty's attempts to explain why her parents insisted on her staying inside. There really wasn't any good reason why any Pegasus should be cooped up when they were born to fly. But this wasn't something to dwell on as Dusty wanted to hear about how he got his cutie mark.

"Well this is kind of an embarrassing way to start it, but as a colt I couldn't fly. Well, it wasn't that my wings were bad or anything but I was...well...scared. Of course I wanted to fly, but when I looked down at the world below I didn't want to fall. So I barely wanted to fly over small spaces let alone big flights. Kind of crazy huh?"

[Hawkeye12]

Dusty couldn't help but smile at the irony. Too scared to fly? It's what pegasi were born to do, how could one be scared? She remembered when she was first learning to fly and looked down for the first time. It was weird at first, almost scary, but hey... it was another angle at the world! She loved flying even more after that. Dusty smiled to herself at the memory.

"Yeah, pretty crazy. So what did you do?" she said after a moment.

[Lux]

The white Pegasus wondered what Dusty thought of him being once afraid to fly. It was a silly idea and frankly he never met another pony who was at one time afraid to fly. It was just illogical! He hoped that in telling the rest of the story that he could show himself in a better light.

"Well for a while I did nothing. It was such a bad fear that I didn't think that there was anything I could do! I even contemplated when I was older just living on the ground. Then one day the Wonderbolts were in town performing. I guess I can say I was a fan, and even now I still am. Well I got to go see their show and what it was! The group performed all these stunts that made me want to fly like that. But even though it was a great show I felt sad that I would never be able to do that if I couldn't even get over being afraid. I remember leaving the stadium and sitting on a bench crying at my own problems when I heard a voice asking why I was sad. I looked up and there was a Wonderbolt standing there. Even though she wasn't in her uniform I knew it was one from a poster in my room. I told her that i was afraid to fall and get hurt which made me afraid to fly over gaps or high in the sky. She told me that there was nothing wrong with me and that all I needed was to take a leap of faith and have the courage to fly. She then watched as I gathered the strength and flew over a gap between the clouds and then back to her while I didn't think about falling. I just let go and flew! I thanked her and she signed her autograph before taking off. After that day I kept flying and one day I just pulled that wide loop that I showed you in front of my other classmates who used to tease me for not wanting to fly. That move made them cheer for me and got me this cutie mark, a symbol of what happens when I just let go and trusted myself. Oh I crashed before but I never was afraid after meeting that Wonderbolt."

[Hawkeye12]

Dusty listened with interest as Sky told his cutie mark story. It was pretty cool, she had to say. She remembered back when she was a filly and a fan of the Wonderbolts, although her parents didn't approve. The other pegasus then continued about how he pulled off that loop, the one he showed her at the end just a moment ago.

"Cool story," said Dusty with a smile. "So that loop move of yours is your signature move, huh? I like it, the fiery effects make it fun to look at." she thought to her own move- her tornado. It was the one that got her her cutie mark too. Interesting.

[Lux]

"Thanks," Sky Flare replied after finishing his story about getting his cutie mark,"Yeah that seems to be my signature move. That was my first trick I tried and it's one I keep doing. The fire effect is really what makes it, otherwise a pony would never see the outline of the trick, just me flying around. So far I've keep practicing while helping out as a courier and weather pony hoping one day to get to try out for the Wonderbolts. How about you Dusty, have you seen the Wonderbolts?"

[Hawkeye12]

"Of course I've seen the Wonderbolts! They're amazing!" Dusty grinned. "I'd go to their shows all the time as a filly, it was one of the things that got me into flying." she paused, then smiled again as she remembered something. "Oh, I've even met one before! Really recently actually, at the Crystal Faire!"

As she talked though, Dusty kept thinking about what it would be like to be a Wonderbolt. Was she good enough?

[Lux]

Sky Flare knew how silly he sounded when he asked if Dusty knew about the Wonderbolts. He couldn't think of anypony who never even heard of them, so why would she not know of them? Her interaction with the Wonderbolts in fact exceeded even his as she told about times when she saw their shows. What really excited him was hearing she met a Wonderbolt recently.

 

"Wow, that must have been a great time meeting a Wonderbolt! Which one did you meet? Wait a minute, you said Crystal Faire, right? I heard that something bad happened there but I only got bits and pieces. Did something go wrong at the Faire when you were there?" 

 

I know the battle events were optional for the Crystal Faire canon wise, so you can of course decide what Dusty saw or did there.

 

[Hawkeye12]

((I actually never participated in any of the Attack threads (though I should have ) so I'm just going to go with that there was a bad thunderstorm that day, since that's what happened in the thread I was in.))

 

"The one and only Soarin," Dusty replied, chuckling at the memory. "Actually, it was kinda awkward at first, since I totally ran into him by accident. But hey, we struck up a good conversation about my flight goggles!" she smiled to herself.

 

When Sky asked about something bad happening at the Crystal Faire, she looked at him slightly puzzled. "Something bad happening? I don't think so. There was a pretty bad thunderstorm though. Me and Soarin and a bunch of other ponies decided to hang out in an ice cream shop though, it was fun!" she paused. "Although.... there have been rumours of bad things happening there. If they did, I never saw for myself."

[Lux]

Sky wasn't in the Attack threads either, so I'll go with it being a rumor.

 

 

"Wow! You met Soarin! You know some of the best meetings are by accident. It was cool that you shared something in common. Who knows, maybe you'll see him again while around." 

 

The stallion listened as the mare explained how she never witnessed any bad things happening during the Crystal Faire save for a thunderstorm that dampened the mood.

 

"Maybe it was just a rumor then. I wasn't there so I am just going by what a few other ponies were telling me." 

 

A thought crossed his mind, something that he always wanted to try but never had the opportunity. 

 

​"Speaking of the Wonderbolts, that gave me an idea. Do you want to try any synchronized flying like they do? I admit this would be my first time trying it so it's up to you." 

[Hawkeye12]

"Yeah, he was pretty cool," As she talked, Dusty couldn't get her mind off the Wonderbolts. Maybe, just maybe... she could meet them again if she became one? She didn't know.

 

Dusty looked over at Sky again as he mentioned an idea: synchronized flying. It made her think back to the flight shows she had seen when she was a filly, and how exact the Wonderbolts' synchronization was. She's never tried it herself though. Dusty was always one to perform solo tricks, but it was always good to try something new.

 

"Well, I've never done it before either..." she replied, "But it's worth a shot, right? Let's do it."

[Lux]

It was a challenge for Sky to attempt a synchronized flight. He was mostly a solo flyer, never wanting to be held back by anypony or anything. But he also knew by seeing the various Wonderbolt shows that he needed to learn how to fly with others too. He remembered what happened when he attempted to assist other ponies in delivering a huge cloud to a town needing much rain and how although he did well he needed to learn more of cooperation. 

 

"That makes two of us," Sky said with chuckle, "Alright, so if we both want to get closer to how the Wonderbolts are we need to be in line with each other. So How about we fly first in a line, me flying above you? Then I'll either fly forward or trail behind and you can follow suit. Then after a while you can accelerate or slow down. Sound good?" 

[Hawkeye12]

Dusty nodded as Sky explained how they would do this. "Alright, sounds good," she said with as smile as she stood up on her cloud, flipping part of her brown and blue mane out of her face. She then reached a hoof up and put her goggles on. Getting stuff in her eyes while flying has always been a huge pet peeve of hers, after all. She unfolded her wings and flew into the air, hovering and waiting for Sky to get in his position. "Well, we'll see how this goes I guess?" she joked.

[Lux]

Sky Flare smile in agreement as the took to the clouds and met up with Dusty. He found it cute that she wore her goggles for this, kind of like how the Wonderbolts wore them. Maybe she did so to emulate what they did. 

 

 "Well, we'll see how this goes I guess?" 

 

"Oh I think that we'll do fine together. We're both awesome stunt ponies, so all it'll take it working together. Not that different, right?"

 

The took off through the air, flying for a few moments through the sky. It was good there were few Pegesai flying around as the last thing that he wanted was to cause a mid air collision. No sooner that he got a good speed did Sky Flare suddenly come to a full stop in the air, waiting to see how Dusty Skies would respond in this test of flying together.