Pixyglitter was grateful for the stale oats and metallic tasting water that the soldiers had given them. She had never been as hungry in her entire life as she had been in the past month. Her ravenous appetite quickly devoured the meager portion, but it was just enough to sate her growling belly for the moment. Cloud Blazer was just finishing the account of what had happened to himself and Pixyglitter since they left Cloudsdale the previous day.
"Gosh, that sounds frightening," Fluttershy said.
"It was," he replied. "It’s a wonder we’re still in one piece. I did bang up my ribs pretty bad though."
"I bet you’ve got a knot on your head too," Pixyglitter added.
"Yeah, but he didn’t actually knock me out," Cloud Blazer replied. "He hit me pretty hard at the base of my skull, though. I couldn’t move for a minute; it hurt so bad. What I want to know is what happened to you after we told you not to wait for us."
"Well, there’s not much to tell," Fluttershy began in her sweet voice. She always sounded so demure. "I was really scared, and I kept going like you said, but I must have gotten lost. I ended up going north until I reached the Crystal Mountains. There was a lake there. By then the wind had already turned so I couldn’t go very fast when I turned back to Manehattan. I stayed at Neighagra Falls overnight and then tried again early this morning. By the time I got close enough to realize that everything was under attack, there was nowhere to set down. Then a squad of soldiers found me and ordered me to the ground. They thought I was a changeling."
"So, you didn’t run into any trouble after Cloudsdale?" Cloud Blazer asked. "Aside from getting lost."
"I couldn’t find a room at Neighagra Falls and had to sneak out since I didn’t have the travel pass, but you two had a much worse time than I did, don’t you think?"
"It definitely sounds like it," Pixyglitter agreed as she checked her bowl again for any oats she may have missed. There were none.
Blossom Posy approached and spoke, "Good news. I’ve got you all sorted out. You’re free to go."
"Oh, thank you so much," Fluttershy said.
"The colonel has signed off on your papers, so you shouldn’t have any further trouble, and he also added another day for you. It should hold up without any problem," the mare continued. "When you reach the city, do not enter the airspace above the bay unless you want to be shot down. All incoming traffic must go across the bridge on hoof."
"Thanks for the warning," Cloud Blazer replied as he took the papers. "Are you girls ready to go find Rarity?"
"Yeah, but I’m not looking forward to the flight back," Pixyglitter said.
"If we’re lucky, we can get an escort," Cloud Blazer said cheerfully.
"That sounds nice," Fluttershy said.
"That’s weird," Pixyglitter replied. "Are you being optimistic?"
"Why not? Our luck has been kind of fantastic so far."
"How did you figure that?" she asked, feeling miffed at his glib attitude. "We’ve been shot at, kidnapped, nearly fallen to our deaths, and almost murdered, twice. And all of that was in the last twelve hours!"
She could almost feel him shrug, "We’re still breathing after all of that. Sounds pretty lucky to me."
Pixyglitter opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn’t think of anything adequate to serve as a retort. Cloud Blazer waited for her to locked her harness to his. She finally grunted in defeat.
"I can’t wait to see Rarity," Fluttershy said. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"I know what you mean," Cloud Blazer replied.
As soon as she locked them together, he gave the order to fly.
Pixyglitter did as he said without hesitation. The rest of their flight to the city of Manehattan was uneventful. The sun had warmed the air since the previous night, and it was at least tolerable again. It wasn’t even another half hour of powered flight before Cloud Blazer gave the command to descend. A few moments later, Pixyglitter felt hard ground beneath her hooves. Once the harness was released, they began walking.
"I didn’t want to land too close," Cloud Blazer said. "No need to give anypony the wrong idea."
"Good thinking," Pixyglitter replied.
Fluttershy yawned as they walked at a considerably slower pace than seemed normal. Pixyglitter could only wonder how badly Cloud Blazer had actually been hurt by their eventful journey.
"Halt," a stallion’s voice spoke from directly ahead.
The three ponies stopped and waited. Pixyglitter could hear a single pony, presumably a guard approaching slowly.
"Do you have travel papers?" he asked; he sounded young and nervous.
"We do," Cloud Blazer replied as he removed them from his pocket.
For a minute, all Pixyglitter could hear was the rustling of paper.
"Wait here," the soldier said before walking away.
As soon as he was away, Pixyglitter muttered, "Just what we need, more waiting."
"You’re kidding, right?" Cloud Blazer said. "It still beats the welcome the deserters gave us."
"I think he seemed nice," Fluttershy said.
Something smelled like home even at this distance from the city. Pixyglitter knew exactly where she was standing. She’d been there a hundred times with her friends when she was younger. Perhaps it was the saltiness of the air that brought the memory back.
In her rebellious youth, she had stolen some candied apples from a street vendor. He had chased her for two blocks before she flew away to outrun him. He was rather agile for a fat earth pony. She met her friends near where she now stood and shared the booty with them. Her father, who definitely had believed in corporal punishment, was furious when he got wind of what she had done. Much to her own chagrin, one of his co-workers had been present and recognized her when the deed was committed.
She had returned home not only to receive a stern practicing of her father’s convictions that left her unable to sit for nearly a week, but then she also had to work to earn the money to pay for the candied apples. The big finish of the punishment came when her parents marched her down to the same street vendor so she could repay him for the theft and apologize. That was the worst of it. All in all, it was a valuable lesson that was well learned. She never even thought about pulling a stunt like that again, at least, not without weighing the consequences.
"Looks like this is all in order," the young soldier’s voice broke Pixyglitter’s memory and brought her back to the moment. "Please stand a little apart while we scan you."
Pixyglitter braced herself for what was next. The magic washed over her like pins and needles pricking her skin. She shuddered. Cloud Blazer grunted when it was his turn, and Fluttershy squeaked.
"My apologies for any inconvenience," the young soldier said. "Welcome to Manehattan. Just so you know, the air space above the city is off limits to all civilians until further notice."
"Thank you; we’ll keep our hooves on the ground," Cloud Blazer replied. "Shall we?"
With that, they walked onto the bridge that spanned the bay. Pixyglitter couldn’t remember the last time she had done this. The thought triggered another memory. This one was a date she’d been on. He was an earth pony with dreamy eyes. The pair of them had gone to dinner in a place that wasn’t that great. He had been so nervous the entire time, which was probably the most endearing part of the entire evening.
After dinner, they had walked off of the island and watched the sunset from the green grassland on the western border of the city. His stalwart efforts to be romantic were cute, but he wasn’t naturally gifted at such. That wasn’t the last time she’d seen the stallion, but it was the only date they attempted.
Pixyglitter found herself wondering what had become of him when the sounds of the city began to fill her ears: grumpy ponies walking this way and that, trying to stay out of each other’s way, a cab driver cursing at a patron for a lousy tip, construction echoing off of the buildings and creating a ruckus. These sounds, and the industrial smells of the city filled the mare with delight. It was good to be home.