A Circus At Cliffside

by Ardent Wing

Meet the Parents!

Oh, what a night for a sleepover! Even thunderstruck would have to admit, the scene was nothing short of picturesque. The sun had dipped below the mountainous horizon, leaving its light burning on the edge of the sky, turning it pink. What clouds remained in the sky were also silhouetted pink, or yellow, depending on how far away they were. There was a light summer breeze in the air; one of the last, for soon it would be fall in northern Equestria. This breeze pushed the leaves of the trees around, once again bringing the quiet thunder that nature so often loved to reveal to the listening pony. If only the world could be made of these few moments of beauty that live in the corners of the everyday! If only Cloudy Night actually cared to stop and see this beauty, but alas, she did not, for she was captivated by something of great beauty to herself.

Cloud Charmer’s tree house sat on a small hill, elevating it slightly above the rest of the surrounding trees that lay in the woods outside of Cliffside- or Canterlot, depending on one’s preference. Not that the tree needed elevation, it was simply gigantic. At least a dozen meters tall, the tree exceeded every other tree in the area by far in terms of height. Cloudy could not tell the exact width, but she would bet it was very spacious inside. The tree was also made from some wood which Cloudy did not recognize; it was very red, and it appeared smooth. Cloudy had only ever seen her friend’s house from a distance, and being up close was, well, a daunting sight to be the least.

It was such an odd tree; it could not possibly have grown naturally. That meant it was made through magic, which meant that it was expensive. Why did Cloud Charmer never explain that her family was wealthy? Why would she hide that from Cloudy? Was she hiding anything else?

Cloudy Night took another moment to observe the tree, despite having uncountable branches, none stirred in the evening breeze, which felt cool on the ponies coats. There was something else, something she was missing. Cloudy strained her ears, meaning her mental weird power ears, until she heard, or, felt it. The tree had its own beat, like a heartbeat. Despite the fact that this tree was a house, it was alive, and it had the pulse to prove it.

Cloud Charmer led Cloudy up the short pathway that lead to her house, tonight was beautiful, but she had bigger things to do. She had to convince her parents to let Cloudy stay over tonight, simple enough, but it may get tough. She hadn’t been on the best of terms with them as far as freedoms since her totally justified, yet unpopular, debut in this town. She was pretty sure she knew what to do; just act super overconfident and she was bound to succeed!

As Cloud reached up her hoof to push open the door, she was interrupted by Cloudy, who seemed to only ask questions since they left for Cloud’s house. Did she not know that they were having the important conversation later? Could she not save the unimportant stuff for the important moment?

“So, you actually live in a tree?” Cloudy asked.

Cloud Charmer turned to face her friend, “yeah, isn’t it cool.”

“Very, and why aren’t the branches blowing in the wind?”

“I think my dad said something about this place being magically protected. It keeps the weather from getting in through the branches, as well as keeping the heat and light and stuff inside. If you climb to the top, you can actually sit in the branches of the tree, and you won’t be bothered by rain or anything. I think that’s a bit boring, but magic is magic, and it does serve its purpose well.” Cloud Charmer answered, looking up at the tree while she did so. Living in this place was cool, maybe she and Cloudy should hang out here more often.

“And it’s magic, is that why it has a beat.”

“So you noticed. I didn’t quite bother with it at first, mostly because I was excited to be outside and playing with you. I actually couldn’t sleep at first, I kept hearing beats coming from everywhere at once, but now I’m used to it, if not quite comfortable with it. I hear these things everywhere… it can be hard to sleep sometimes.”

Cloudy Night could sympathize with her friend. At first it had been hard for her to do anything while hearing the beats. The last month had seen her become able to bear hearing noise at all times, yet sometimes they still got to her. Today with the circus was one instance of that. “I still don’t trust that circus; there was something off about that beat I heard.” She thought out loud.

“Are you still stuck on that? I’m telling you there was nothing strange about that beat, apart from it being something new. It was not scary, it was not dangerous, just trust me.”

“I don’t-“

“Cloudy Night?”

“What?”

“Trust me.”

Her friend was looking at her now, Cloudy stared into her eyes. She could actually see with both eyes, which her parents doubted with her mane and all. Nevertheless, the look that Cloud Charmer gave her was deep, and genuine. She truly wanted her to trust her about this circus. Perhaps she was right, perhaps Cloudy need not worry. That would never stop her from doing so, but she supposed that part of being friends was trusting each other’s opinions, even when you did not trust the thing itself. Cloud Charmer believed that the circus was safe, and maybe that was enough… for now.

“Alright, I trust you Cloud.” Cloudy answered after her long pause.

“Good. With that out of the way, we can focus on you coming to my house for the night.” Cloud responded.

“Your parents don’t even know that you want me to stay for the night. They are not in the slightest way prepared for my intrusion. I wonder how you’ll get them to let me stay.”

“Don’t you worry about that one bit. I will have all that taken care of when we actually go inside.” Cloud Charmer said as she turned back to her door, opening and pushing it forward with her hoof. The two ponies walked inside the tree house, which allowed Cloudy to see just what it looked like on the inside.

The first room was modest, It was a relatively large room; large enough to hold a full dining area and still hold room for some cabinets in front of the stairs. The entire room was circular, with a stairway to the upstairs wrapping around the circumference, though not for the entire circle, as the room was surprisingly short in terms of the ceiling; which only stood about a meter higher than the table top in the dining area. The whole room was coloured a paler red than the outside bark, almost pink in its color. Yet it still looked like they were standing inside a tree; with the occasional impressions on the walls made to look like leaves. What kind of magic had forged this place? The more Cloudy observed the room, the more she saw, and the greater this question became.

For instance, there was not one room inside the bottom floor, but three, and that was just based on the doorways that Cloudy saw connecting to this main room. This also meant that the tree would have a massive diameter. It was as though the more she learned about the tree, the bigger it became. Based on the height of this room compared to the height of the tree from what she saw outside, Cloudy also deduced that the tree likely had three to four floors, and that was disregarding a basement! The rooms might be of modest size, but this place was not a house, it was a mansion. It was at this point that Cloudy Night noticed the flames on the wall, which were held by small lanterns on the walls. There was no guard on any of the lanterns, which left an exposed flame, and yet the wood of this great oak did not burn; in fact, it wasn’t affected in the slightest. Because of these lanterns, the whole room was very well lit, allowing clear sight of just about anything in the room.

Cloudy both noticed and noted all of these details in the few seconds between her and Cloud Charmer entering the tree house, and Cloud announcing their presence.

“Mom! Dad! I’m home!” Cloud Charmer called out, intending to alert her parents of her arrival home. Ever since she had started hanging out with Cloudy her parents had given her much more freedom in terms of curfew. Sometimes they even let her stay out all night! Though, that did not happen often, as Stormflight, Cloud Charmer’s father, had reinstated their morning wakeup call since coming to Cliffside, and he did not usually allow her to skip that aspect of the day. Still, she got some nights to play with Cloudy, and she had tonight… hopefully.

Cloudy was still looking around the room when she heard hoofsteps coming from the connecting room to the left of the table, away from the stairs. Cloudy Night heard a, slightly deep, feminine voice coming from the other room as the pony walked into the main living area.

“Cloud Charmer, you’ve finally come home. What kept you out so- Oh! I see you’ve brought company.” Oak Leaf, who was Cloud Charmers mother, said this as she walked into the main room of the tree house. She had paused the moment that she noticed Cloudy, which gave the little blue unicorn the perfect chance to analyze her.

Oak Leaf was one of the most beautiful looking ponies Cloudy Night had ever seen. She was tall, and only slightly thicker, though this only seemed to accent the graceful pose she stood in. She was an earth pony; her coat was a soft brown, like the bark of a well-worn piece of wood; very soft and unimposing in shade. Her mane and tail were also brown, though darker and deeper in shade, but it did not contrast with her coat in a noticeable way. Despite the fact that she had a very long mane, the back of it was tied together into a bun, with the occasional strand hanging down in front of her ears and continued until they were at least halfway down her body. The front of Oak Leaf’s mane did hang loose, falling beside her face, and halfway down her body height. Her tail was long enough that it dragged on the floor behind her. Cloudy Night met her eyes for a moment. They were a deep green, like the leaves on the trees were in the middle of summer. Overall, Oak Leaf looked delicate. She was large in stature, but appeared very feminine and, well… motherly. Even the look on her face as she stared at Cloudy for that stretched moment of analysis was motherly; like somepony who could only ever care.

The pause between her noticing Cloudy and moving deeper into the room towards the two children was miniscule. Less than a second. However, Cloudy was able to absorb all this information and more in that time; she was good at getting the details.

Oak Leaf walked up to Cloud Charmer and stopped for a moment. She lowered her head to greet her child before turning to address Cloudy. “I am glad to see you home safe, Cloud. You know your father and I don’t like it when you stay out late and don’t tell us. But here you are! And you have yet to introduce me to your friend here.”

Cloud Charmer looked up at her mother, who towered over her. This was the moment; she needed to convince her to let Cloudy stay. She needed to remember, confidence! “Hi mom! This is my friend Cloudy Night.”

Oak Leaf looked at Cloudy, “I see. So you are the one that Cloud Charmer talks about every moment that she can!” she said, warmly. The deepness of her voice was strange; it carried somewhat of an accent that Cloudy Night had never heard before.

Cloudy blushed a little, obviously surprised by hearing about Cloud Charmer’s praise of her. She looked up at Oak Leaf, “yes, I’m Cloud’s friend… uh, Cloudy Night. It is very nice to meet you Oak Leaf.”

“Cloud Charmer told you our names. Well, there’s no need to call me by my full name; you can call me Oak, or Leaf, or Mrs. Leaf, It matters not.” She continued to speak strangely, commenting on Cloudy knowing her name was a bit odd.

Regardless of how Cloud’s mother spoke, Cloudy Night responded as properly as she could. “Thank you for letting me over, Mrs. Leaf. Your house is lovely.”

“You mean strange. I have never lived in a tree before, but I must admit, over the last month, it has grown on me.” Oak Leaf said this in a very laughing manner.

Before her mother spoke more, Cloud Charmer nudged her to gain her attention. She looked up and said, very matter-of-factly, “I invited Cloudy Night to sleepover tonight. I thought that that would let us get out earlier in the morning.”

“I see, well that’s fine by me, but we’ll have to ask your father what he thinks.” Saying this, she turned to face the stairs. Giving Cloudy a view of her cutie mark. It was strange; some sort of pot with a small puff of smoke coming out. Not much to go on in terms of hints. Regardless, Cloud’s mother called up the stairs, “Stormflight! Cloud Charmer has returned, and she has brought her friend with her!”

A muffled male’s voice came back from up the stairs. “Which friend? That dark coloured one? What was his name… Storm Struck?”

“No. Come down and see for yourself.” Oak Leaf called back.

There were a few loud hoof-steps as somepony moved to the stairs from above the three ponies. Cloudy almost jumped when a head suddenly poked out from above the stairs. “Well, this is a bit of a surprise! By the look of you I’d have to say that you were Cloudy Night!”

“Y-you know who I am?”

“Of course! Cloud does love to talk about you, young one.” Stormflight said as he trotted down the rest of the stairs to stand beside his wife. Once again Cloudy took in the details of the pony before her.

Stormflight was a Pegasus, like Cloud Charmer. He was also very small; taller than Cloud, of course, but still smaller than the average stallion. His coat was a grey, but lighter, and with a tinge of blue in it. His Mane and tail were short, and slicked back, giving him a very professional look. His hair was blue, like Cloud Charmer’s, but rather than darker streaks in his hair he had small lines of silver running down the sides of his mane. His eyes were a very light shade of purple, odd, for a pony of this general colour palette. Despite the fact that his wife towered over him much like she did his daughter, he still seemed to dominate the room. He appeared tall, despite being short. Could it have been in the professional look he gave off? Some trick of the light, maybe? Or perhaps it was the look on his face; very wise, knowledgeable. He seemed like the pony who always knew what was going on, and who could always give you the answer to your problems. He was very… fatherly.

“Very Nice to meet you… uh?”

“Stormflight is fine, Cloudy. It’s my name, and I doubt anyone is going to wear it out anytime soon. I must say, it’s lovely to finally meet this legendary pony, at least by how Cloud described you.” Stormflight said laughingly in a very deep voice, which Cloudy had thought impossible for someone of his stature.

Once again Cloudy blushed. Did Cloud Charmer really speak so highly of her? It was embarrassing to hear… and kind of nice too.

Oak Leaf took the moment to speak to Stormflight, “Cloud Charmer has invited Cloudy Night to stay her the night. Will this be acceptable?”

Stormflight looked at Cloud Charmer, who was only sweating on the inside, honest! “Do you intend to use this as an excuse to avoid the schedule?” He asked.

Immediately after hearing this, Cloud Charmer stood straight and stiff like a statue. “Of course not, sir. I would never do that.” Cloud answered. It was strange, when she spoke to him about some sort of, schedule, she spoke in a way Cloudy had never heard before. Very straight, neutral. She did not sound loud or quiet. She sounded like… well… a guard, or a military pony. The change was instant, one moment she was acting like her normal self, and the next minute… this. What was this regiment they were discussing? And why did it change how Cloudy’s friend was acting? This was all weird, and it was making her nervous.

Stormflight stared a moment longer, but, after looking into his daughters eyes he obviously decided she was telling the truth. “Well then, I don’t see why not.”

“Really!?” both Cloud and Cloudy exclaimed at once. Just like that? Why were Cloud’s parents so easy going with this whole situation? Even with her own parents it would have taken Cloudy some convincing to get them to let her friend stay over. Why in the world were Cloud’s parents seemingly unfazed by what was happening? It was unhinging. Still, they agreed.

“Yes!” Cloud Charmer exclaimed. She knew that everything would work out, it always did! This was gonna be awesome! Cloudy was smiling beside her, happy to be allowed to stay, even if she was confused about it.

“I’m glad to see you two are happy. Now! Will you please close the door!” Stormflight said, pointing his hoof at the still open front door, which was letting a breeze into the tree house.

Cloudy Closed the door, just hearing Oak Leaf speak to everyone as she did. “Alright, with that settled, everyone sit down by the table. Dinner will be ready momentarily.”

Everypony took seats in front of the short table, with Cloud Charmer and her father sitting on large stools that allowed them to sit with all hooves on the top of them. Cloudy could smell the food that was presumably dinner. It would appear that dinner was going to be very tasty.

***

Dinner was tasty! So tasty that Cloudy Night did little else then chomp on the various types of plants that filled her bowl. By appearance dinner seemed to be nothing more than a collection of leaves; a salad, if you will. However, there must have been something in the spice that Oak Leaf added to the food, of perhaps it was one of the plants. Cloudy honestly couldn’t tell what made it so good; she just contented herself with eating. Never in her life had she had basic ingredients taste so good together in her food, Oak Leaf was a master cook!

Cloud Charmer was enjoying dinner as well. In fact, to Cloudy it looked as if she had buried her muzzle into the bowl and kept it there since the food was placed in front of her. Her father apparently agreed, as his mouth was overflowing with leaves, which fell back into the bowl below. Oak Leaf herself took sparing bites, and chewed slowly; either she didn’t enjoy her cooking, which was absolutely impossible, or she wanted to savour the food. Cloudy tried to follow her lead and chew slower, and it did improve the taste further, if that could be believed.

Needless to say, the dinner was a relatively quiet one for the majority of its duration. It wasn’t until everypony was just about done that Stormflight broke the silence.

“So, what did you do today?” Stormflight asked.

Cloud had been patting her satisfied belly when her father spoke, and she immediately jumped up to answer. “Today me and Cloudy hung out with Thunderstruck and his friends. We raced against him to town!”

“Certainly sounds exciting for what started as so boring for you. I seem to remember that you were almost irate at the lack of anything to do this morning.” Stormflight recalled.

“Well, that’s exactly why I FOUND something to do.” Cloud Charmer answered.

“Good, you must make the thing when you cannot find the thing. Is this race the reason you were late coming home today?” Oak Leaf asked, her pleasantly deep voice surprising Cloudy Night again. She never expected the voice, and it felt like it came out of nowhere.

Cloud would have blushed at her mother’s question, but the excitement of telling her parents about the circus superseded that judgement. “We were late because we stopped to see a presentation by some circus owner named Master Mirage. He said that his circus is parked outside town, and is gonna open tomorrow!”

“Oh! A visit from the Traveling ponies, that is a rare occurrence indeed!” Oak Leaf said, sounded excited herself.

“The Travelling ponies?” Cloudy Night asked. She had never heard a specific name tied to any one group before, yet Oak Leaf spoke of them as though she knew them by name.

“Yes, Little Night, the Travelling ponies. There are many places in this land which can be considered exotic, but few groups of travellers stay within the kingdom. There are far more interesting and mysterious places outside of Equestria, and it is outside that many groups collect the interesting ponies that you would see at a circus. It is usually rare to see a group from this land, touring the land.” Oak Leaf answered.

“But how do you know who they are? How do you know that they come from Equestria?” Cloudy Night asked, still failing to understand how Oak Leaf understood the group.

Stormflight broke in to answer that question, “My wife travelled with a few groups herself in her time.”

“Really?” Cloudy asked.

“Uh-huh. My mom was a circus-pony once!” Cloud Charmer said proudly.

“Not exactly, Cloud. I did travel with a circus for a time, but I started with others. Less, how would it be said, outwardly open travellers? In answer to your question, Cloudy, I know the Travelling ponies because they are one of the only groups who formed wholly in Equestria, and then travelled outward to show off their talent. It is odd for them to try out their shows here, where they were born, but I’m sure it will succeed. I’ve only met the group once before, when I was travelling myself. I wonder… you said Mirage was still running the show?” Oak leaf finished her statement with a question.

“Well, that’s what he called himself, yes.” Cloudy answered.

“Interesting, he must be ancient by now. Last I remember of him was his levitating pony trick. He looked so odd in that cloak and hat of his… so theatrical…” Oak Leaf trailed off, lost in a momentary memory.

Her statement had only confused Cloudy Night however. Ancient? He had almost looked like a youth when she saw him earlier today. How old was the pony? If he was old, then why did he look so young? These questions filled Cloudy with dread. Her memory of the beat returned, the foreboding sound of it speaking of terrible things to come. She was afraid, a little, of just what the meaning of that beat was.

Obviously, her concern was painted on her face, because Cloud Charmer sighed from the other side of the table. “Cloouudy! I told you not to worry!”

“Worry about what?” Stormflight asked.

“Cloudy is worried that the circus isn’t nice. She thinks that the be- I mean, the BEST circus ever could be super mean and scary underneath.” Cloud Charmer said to her parents, just narrowly avoiding mentioning the beats. The two fillies had agreed that it was probably not a good idea to tell their parents, as it could lead to many parental related disasters in the future. At least, disaster apart from their parents thinking they were both absolutely insane.

“That isn’t likely, ponies like that may be strange, but they aren’t crazy killers or anything.” Stormflight said.

“Exactly! That’s why me, Cloudy, and Thunderstruck are gonna go to the circus together in the morning. It’ll not only be fun, but prove that the circus is safe.”

“So you are, are you? And I suppose that you intend to get into the circus without spending any bits?” Stormflight teased.

“Um… about that… can I borrow some money?” Cloud Charmer asked, this time actually blushing.

“I don’t know… you were LATE home today…” Stormflight was teasing his daughter, as he seemed to love doing every chance he got.

“Please? I promise I’ll pay you back!” Cloud begged.

“How, you want for a job, my child.” Oak Leaf asked, also lightly teasing.

“I’ll find a way. PLEEAAASE? It’s so my friends and I can have fun at the circus! Don’t I deserve to have fun?!” Cloud pleaded, dramatically falling against the table as if she were about to collapse to the floor in her begging. Her blue mane spilled out all over the table when she leaned her head on it, turning to look at her father in her feigned desperation.

“Alas! I cannot argue with such woeful cries! I will relieve your agonies, and grant you your request, my child.” Stormflight answered, feigning the dramatics along with his daughter. Their act ended with everypony at the table, including themselves, bursting into a fit of childish giggling. All but one.

Of course, Cloudy did think it was quite an amusing interaction between father and daughter, she just… felt a little jealous. Why didn’t HER family talk to her like that? Then again, she wasn’t very playful at home to begin with. Perhaps she should attempt something of this sort when she returned to her own home…

Eventually the laughter died out, and Oak Leaf rose to collect the bowls to take back to the kitchen. Cloud Charmer actually became somewhat anxious, teetering on her seat like she was nervous about something. Cloudy could not help but wonder what could cause this sudden change in pace from her friend. What was she nervous about?

“Dad, can Cloudy Night and I go upstairs now?” she asked.

“Of course, I expect you will be giving her the tour of the place. Just don’t stay up too late, you’re getting up bright and early tomorrow.”

“Cool! C’mon Cloudy! Let’s me show you what I was talking about earlier!” Cloud Charmer said, nervously, yet excitedly, as she ran to and up the stairs that wound around the circular room. Cloudy still wondered what was bothering her, but she supposed that she was about to find out. She followed her friend up the stairs, pausing to thank Oak Leaf for dinner on the way.

Oak Leaf gathered the bowls and took them out of the room; Stormflight paused to think for a moment, and then followed his wife into the kitchen. He found her cleaning the bowls in a wash basin next to the counter. He trotted to the basin, and began washing one of the bowls himself.

“So, what do you think of Cloudy, my dear?” He asked.

“Just like Cloud described, that filly is very thoughtful. Did you see how she was observing the room? It was like she was trying to see the whole world at once. I do not think that Cloudy ever stops looking, or thinking about what she is looking at, for that matter.” Oak Leaf answered her husband, finishing cleaning one bowl and moving on to the next.

“That’s true; she was not want for questions, that one.” Stormflight said as he finished his own bowl. He was only slightly smaller than an average pony, so Oak Leaf did not tower over him, but she was taller; enough that he had to look up at her face. He took a moment of pause to look up at his wife, and then nudged against her side affectionately. “And now we hear about a circus in town, eh? Do you want to go? I’m sure that you’d love to see some old friends there.”

“My husband… so thoughtful. Cloud gets that from you. I don’t need to go to the circus; I barely met anyone other than Mirage the first time. Besides, weren’t we going out to that tavern tomorrow?” Oak Leaf said. She really didn’t know anypony at the circus, and she knew that she would have a much better time with Stormflight than she would anypony else. Let her daughter enjoy the circus, she would enjoy her husband.

“Oh! Of course, I just thought you might want to catch up. Either way, tomorrow will be special anywhere, as long as we spend the time together.” Stormflight said this rather romantically, and as he finished the dishes he and his wife left the kitchen into the living room. There was never a place he couldn’t enjoy himself, as long as that place was with Oak Leaf.