— Chapter Seven —
Walking on Clouds made of Gold
Mommy shakes the little photo of us—the camera was one of those fancy ones that prints the picture off straightaway. It’s the most magical thing ever.
“Look, Camera,” she says as she sits on the sand dune, the huge, red sunset blazing behind us. I snuggle up closer to her. “You see this? You know what this is?”
“... A photo?”
She beams at me, and I giggle. “It’s not just a photo,” she says. “It’s a hug which will last until the end of time.”
Picture the scene. I’m standing there gaping as though Celestia herself has greeted me by name or something, and me and Fluttershy are gaping at one another, the both of us not quite able to understand what it is we’re seeing, or how this is happening. Is it any wonder that she can see me? You might call me crazy, but I don’t think so. In fact, I didn’t even question how she even saw my hoofprints in the first place, ‘cos now that cast my mind back, nopony in Fairflanks had reacted to ‘em; that meant that, like me, they’d been completely invisible to everypony. Not to Fluttershy, though. Not tonight. Not after trying so hard to be noticed.
I turned and bolted. “Wait,” I heard her cry, her voice as delicate as the wolf’s was rough. But I didn’t turn back.
I rushed over the snow.
Jumped over the brook.
Ran through the trees.
If I hurried, I could make it, I could still see Mom, and she’d be able to see me. I ran like the wind, and the night was a blur. I was a bullet, shooting across the landscape. I was a cheetah, sprinting for my life.
Gradually, things changed...
It was the trees which I noticed first. One minute they were there, the next, they weren’t, and though I was sure they’d been in the corner of my vision the whole time, I honestly couldn’t tell you where they went. The blizzard was the next thing to go. The wind vanished. The snowflakes stopped falling, and the sky turned the darkest black that you could imagine, a night sky with no moon or stars in it. Then the snow, that transformed as well. It got fluffier, less like snow and more like clouds, and soon the whole landscape was clouds. They were the most magical ones that you ever saw, ‘cos they all seemed to be lit up from underneath by this soft, golden glow. It was as if they were giving off light. I was walking on clouds made of gold.
Then, from nowhere, Death was standing in front of me and blocking the way. “Ten o’clock,” he said. “You didn’t see your mother.”
It wasn’t a question. It took a good minute or so for the words to sink in, but once they had... well, what can I say? The fires erupted inside me, coursing through my body. I glared at Death. I wanted to shout at him. I wanted to kick and bite him, make him feel a little of the pain I was experiencing then, ‘cos I’m telling ya, just a tiny sliver of it would’ve been enough for ten whole lifetimes. You didn’t see your mother. Was that it? After all I’d done and given up, that was all he had to say? Not even a ‘well done’ or something?
You can only imagine my surprise, then, when I opened my mouth to tell him exactly what I was thinking, only for something else to come out instead. “Is she alright?” I caught myself saying in a strangled whisper. “Is she safe?”
“As we speak, Fluttershy has Apple Bloom laid out on the living room sofa, and she is dressing the wound obtained when the branch fell on her. It seems like the filly was looking for adventure, only to encounter an unfortunate ending! However, I promise you, Camera: she’s going to be fine.”
“And if I hadn’t been there?”
“She would’ve frozen to death. Her body would’ve been torn apart by wolves.”
Those words were all I needed to hear. The anger drained away, never to return...
“You are one of the bravest stallions I’ve met in years,” said Death, and where moments before I’d felt rage, now I smiled as I picked up on the undeniable pride in his voice. “Equestria is a poorer place for having lost you.”
“What happens now?”
“Now, you wait, and I’ll show you the doorway.”
Then, he was gone. It was just me alone on the golden clouds, and in his place had appeared a rectangular archway with an old wooden door. A strangely familiar door. Like Ponyville, it was like looking at something from a half remembered dream. I recognized those scratches at the bottom of it, as well as the crayon marks. I knew that worn out, brass handle. I knew this door.
Could it be? Was it possible?
Was this what I thought it was?
Death had left a thick, yellow envelope stuck next to the handle, held in place with a bit of sticky tape. With trembling hooves I opened it, pulled out the parchment. The hoofwriting was thick and rough, and splotchy, and it was all in capitals. ‘FIVE MINUTES’, was all it said. That was all it needed to say...
I let the letter fall from my hooves, and it never seemed to stop falling—time was going by so slowly. My chest heaved as I stared at the door, my head was light. I was giddy. Every worry I had ever had, every fear, every nightmare... they all left me, leaving behind just Mom’s beaming face in my mind.
I placed a hoof on the door, and pushed.
There she was.
The room beyond the doorway was tiny, and again, oddly familiar. Like Fluttershy’s bedroom, the floorboards were bare, but unlike that lovely cottage, the boards also looked rough; the wood was dark, and there were specks of paint here and there from where somepony hadn’t bothered to put down sheets before repainting the room. The rafters were exposed. Thick red curtains covered were drawn over the window, and the wallpaper was old and peeling, and the lamp on the bedside desk was ancient; Mom had forgotten to turn it off before bed. A lot of ponies might’ve said that the room was in dire need of decorating, but not me, not me at all. I loved it. It was cosy.
Mom was sleeping on the bed, on top of the covers, her pale blue coat and dark mane clashing with the navy blanket. It was Mom. She was really there, and I wasn’t dreaming this. I crawled up on the bed, put my hoof around her, and closed my eyes, relishing the moment, and wanting it to last forever. “I came back,” I whispered. “I came back...
“I’m home.”