Bruised Apples, Lightning Storms

Departure

She landed on the fluffy ground soundlessly, breathing slowly. Frozen momentarily in place, she savored the feeling of finally taking action. It was really go time, no turning back. Any regrets she'd warned herself of before now seemed to not exist in the early morning sunrise.

Trotting away from her childhood home, she said goodbye to some fantasy, predestined life. That was her one and only chance for glory, family, or friends.

'Stop thinking like that. You can still have those things...'

Though she told herself it was for the better, she was still hesitant.

No one will ever want to be with you. Saving your family was cowardly and unnecessary.

Shaking her head, she redirected her attention to the nearest information sign. They were designed primarily for visiting unicorns and earth ponies, since any pegasus could just fly high enough to find their way around.

Why would a normal pegasus need to leave the city? Your broken ass might as well be an earth pony.

Rainbow's face fell as she kept walking. That one had really got to her, but she kept her main goal in mind. Using the sign to figure out her current location, she estimated the journey would take about ten minutes, if she kept a steady pace.

"Thank Celestia." Rainbow breathed. Her normally brisk, raspy voice was smooth with the early hour.

She was appreciative of her own timing; she'd be out of the city long before anypony started leaving their houses, since they would all still be asleep. It was only just getting light enough for her to see the map clearly. Recollecting herself, she began the correct route to the edge of Cloudsdale.

The path she took was ill-traveled. Most of the houses were gone, so she assumed she was going the right way. As the surroundings thinned, her mind became cramped with ideas of the unknown.

'What if I'm the only pegasus in all of-uh...down there?'

She groaned inwardly at herself, a slight hysteria rising in her.

'I don't even know the name of where I'm going, this is stupid!'

She could feel the butterflies in her stomach and wished they would calm. Never in her life had she been in complete control of her situation, and it was actually sort of thrilling.

Rainbow stopped dead. She was there; the edge. It was abandoned, no traces of life. The only movement was in the wind.

She didn't look over the side, but sat, gazing at the old beauty of the empty sky. The morning had passed, leaving a clear horizon, dotted here and there with thin, wispy clouds. This is what all of Cloudsdale called beauty, a definition she herself had used her whole life.

Standing, she grinned as she backed up away from the border, tripping over her own trembling legs like a filly. This was the one last string tying her to a planned life. Nothing else would ever hold her back the way she was being held now.

No more steps were needed.

Closing her eyes, Rainbow spread her wings behind her, letting blood flow through them for the first time in hours. It stung slightly as the breeze brushed at them, and they couldn't extend all the way, but it didn't matter. Now was the time to act.

She took one step with her back leg and pawed the ground, folding and unfolding her wings. Narrowing her gaze, she began a countdown.

" Three, two..."

Rainbow almost looked back. At her city. At her childhood. At her life.

But found that she didn't want to anymore.

"One."

It was as if a gunshot had sounded. She began to gallop, beating her wings against her sides painfully, making her accelerate. Faster still she ran, adrenaline coursing with each breath. The soft cloud layer gave her hooves no support, and she stumbled dangerously, but she was almost there. The edge was seconds away. Taking one last breath, she leaped.

Rainbow almost forgot how to fly.

The new place had an uneven, green terrain, and it was layered so sporadically! There were trees, bunches and bunches of them. Color flooded into her eyes, and she felt the need for a connection. Being here was simply natural. Everything seemed to be...alive.

Rainbow plummeted fifty feet before aligning herself and diving, laughing like a mad mare. This is what she had been missing for 17 years? She wanted more than anything to land: to feel the difference of the layers, to run and gallop over this whole, beautiful world. Just looking at the strange mixtures of colors could last hours in her mind, but she knew she couldn't land yet.

So, with an extra spurt of speed, Rainbow flew away, marveling at the beauty of the passing landscape, searching for her home.