MLP: The Portal

Chapter 29: Cloudsdale

Alex wandered around a long hallway, a strange combination of a school hallway and a factory setting. Lockers lined the walls, but the fixtures and pipe lines were exposed on the ceiling. He stepped into a room, and found himself in a changing room.

There were the girls he called friends: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight, Starlight, and Applejack. They were strangely wandering around in human form, not really paying him much mind. He sat down on a bench, silent as they wandered around him.

He heard a strange noise to his right. He looked, and saw a strange set of double doors glowing a deep blue. Alex eyed it strangely, standing up. The doors stood in the middle of the room, not connected to any wall. They were clearly out of place in the room.

Alex slowly began to approach the doors, unsure what to do. He slowly reached out for it, but then hesitated. He wasn't sure that he should. After some deliberation in his head, he made a fist, and held up his hand to knock on the doors…

Alex woke up to a sudden knocking on his door. He flinched in bed, his head immediately rising a little bit. He felt a numbness in the back of his neck as he sat up the rest of the way, and called out to let whoever was on the other side know that he was awake.

"Yeah?"

"Alex? Are you still sleeping?" Twilight called through the door.

"I was. Is it time to go?" He asked.

"Rainbow Dash is waiting on us." Twilight informed him.

"Ohh," Alex sighed, brushing his mane out of his eyes. "Tell her I'll be ready in a bit. Hey, can you grab me a brush?"

"About time you show up, dude. You're worse than me." Rainbow Dash teased him as Twilight and Alex came down to meet her on the ground floor.

"Heheh, sorry, I was out of it, I guess." Alex apologized.

"Nah, you're fine."

"Here's an orange. You should eat something before we start flying." Twilight said, handing Alex an orange to eat. He took it.

"Ooh, yummy." He said. Twilight went ahead and peeled it for him, and Alex began to dig in.

"Did you sleep okay?" Twilight asked.

"Mhmm." Alex nodded.

"Oh man, I'm so excited. This is gonna be great! Wait until you see the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash said, immediately bringing up what she saw as being the highlight of the tour.

"Who are the Wonderbolts exactly?" Alex asked curiously.

"Oh, we're a group of elite flyers, the best of the best of the best!"

"I assume you're one of them?" Alex observed with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah! You bet!" Rainbow Dash answered proudly.

"Rainbow Dash's goal in life was always to be a Wonderbolt. It took a long time to get there, but she's really great for the team." Twilight went into more detail.

"Wow. That's pretty awesome, Rainbow Dash."

"Haha, thank you! It is pretty great. Normally, we just have family over for practices, but I mean, you just gotta see us fly! I can even introduce you to some of them." Rainbow Dash said. Her tone made it apparent to Alex that this was a big deal.

"Cool. Can't wait." Alex said with a grin, finishing his orange.

"C'mon, Twilight, let's go now! We're burning daylight here!" Rainbow Dash urged her, her anxiety and excitement beginning to build.

"Hahah, alright. Let me just give Alex his wings." Twilight said. She turned to Alex, paused for a moment, then hit him with a spell. He suddenly began to float for a moment, and then landed back on all four hooves with a new set of wings protruding from his back.

"Oooh, that feels weird." Alex said with a shiver. He opened up his wings all at once, and his back popped loudly. All three of them cringed.

"That's definitely not normal." Twilight said.

"I'm alright. That's starting to feel good actually, I just need to stretch out more." Alex said, beginning to get a feel for his wings and how to move them.

"You ever watch a bird fly?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to get a feel for. Just give me a second." Alex said, clearing his throat before opening his wings up all the way.

Alex began to beat his wings sloppily. He stopped, and started again. Then again. As he felt the way his wings created an air pocket, he began to find his form, and he began to rise up, steadily flying above the ground.

"Alright. I'm gettin' the hang of it." Alex said with a laugh.

"Nice! That wasn't the slowest I've ever seen somepony learn to fly." Rainbow Dash complimented him, nudging Twilight teasingly.

"Haha, that was a long time ago." Twilight rolled her eyes.

"C'mon. Now let's go." Rainbow Dash exclaimed, flying up and grabbing Alex by the hoof, pulling him outside. She quickly pulled him up higher into the air.

"Woah!" Alex awkwardly wobbled a bit against the force of the wind, but started to find his bearings.

"Just wait, this is gonna be great!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, smiling to herself. It was somewhat embarrassing to think about, but the fact that she'd found an excuse to hold his hoof was satisfying to her…

True to her word, Rainbow Dash showed Alex a good time in Cloudsdale. The three of them went around to some hangout spots in the city, ate at one of her favorite little food stands, and now, they were at the training academy for Wonderbolts practice. It was just Alex and Twilight now waiting for Rainbow Dash to suit up and get to flying.

"This kinda looks like an airstrip." Alex observed.

"It kind of serves the same purpose." Twilight said with a shrug.

"Ever been in an airplane?" Alex asked.

"Oh no, it looks terrifying. I don't know how you humans fly in those things." Twilight quickly shook her head, terrified at the thought of it.

"I've been flying in airplanes all my life. It's nothing, really. You'd be fine. It's kind of like a long ride really." Alex said.

"Ehhh I think I'll pass." Twilight chuckled.

Finally Rainbow Dash came out with the Wonderbolts crew. They took off, flying in formation in all sorts of complex turns and circles. Watching it, Alex was reminded of airplane shows that he'd seen before. As he watched, impressed, he found himself putting different songs to what he was witnessing, as if it were an actual show. Afterwards, Rainbow Dash swooped down to where they were sitting, still in uniform.

"So, what did you think?!" She asked Alex immediately. Alex chuckled.

"That was impressive. That did not look easy, and yet you made it look really easy." Alex said, his eyes drifting downwards. He was observing her figure in the uniform; she was clearly very fit.

"Haha, thanks!"

"That must take a lot of working out and refinement." Alex said thoughtfully.

"Like you wouldn't believe. But that's what we're all about! C'mon, I told them I'd introduce you to them." Rainbow Dash said, pulling him up again. They walked towards the other Wonderbolts.

"You fly pretty fast, Rainbow Dash. I forgot to say earlier when you were pulling me." Alex said with a laugh.

"Haha, sorry. I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria! Sometimes it's hard for other ponies to keep up." Rainbow Dash said.

They reached the other Wonderbolts, who were all scattered and talking. Rainbow Dash isolated one and brought him over.

"Alex, this is Soarin'."

"Heyyy. Nice to meet you." Alex said, offering a hoof out. Soarin' shook it.

"Nice to meet you too. Rainbow Dash said we'd have a new face in the stands today. Said this is your first time seeing the Wonderbolts fly?"

"First time ever." Alex answered with a nod.

"Nice. Well, you should come see one of our shows sometime. If you thought this was impressive, you should see us then." Soarin' said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure Rainbow Dash will hook me up." Alex said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I'm sure. Well, I'mma go. Nice meeting you," Soarin' said to him, then spoke to Rainbow Dash aside as he left them. "Your boyfriend seems cool." He complimented before continuing on his way.

"Um, hey, he's not my… Ugh, nevermind. Oh, look, there's Spitfire! She's head of the Wonderbolts! You definitely gotta meet her." Rainbow Dash said, pulling him her way now.

"Heheh, sure." Alex chuckled. They stopped at Spitfire, who turned towards them.

"Well, hello there. You must be Rainbow Dash's guest." Spitfire said with a chuckle.

"Yep, that's me. The name's Alex. Nice to meet you, Spitfire." Alex said, shaking hooves with her. She smiled.

"Nice to meet you too. Did you enjoy the practice?" She asked.

"I did, thank you. I was colored impressed." Alex said with a chuckle.

"Heheh, great. We'll be seeing you at our official showcase then, right?" Spitfire asked.

"I can try and make it." Alex agreed with a nod.

"Alright then. I'll see you later." Spitfire said, nodding to them before heading back.

"Your flight friends seem cool." Alex said with a chuckle.

"They are cool. I'mma go back and get changed out of my uniform. I'll be back." Rainbow Dash said.

"Okay, sure thing." Alex said.