Late Summer Interlude: Catch The Wind
Outside Carousel Boutique the weather was warm and dry, and Sweetie Belle could smell the approaching autumn on the breeze that was softly whispering through the trees. The wind had come straight in from the sea, and had brought with it various aromas from all corners of Equestria:
Sweetie Belle could smell the Apple family’s farm, Sweet Apple Acres, where pomace from the cider presses sent a fragrance of seasoned spice wafting into the wind. Behind that, she could smell the perfume of goldenrods from the pastures and fields outside Ponyville. She could smell the paint from the shaky pasture fences, the sun-warmed hides of the grazing animals, the coolness from the stone roads that lead into Canterlot, and - if she focused hard enough- she could even smell some of the fouler odors coming from the more industrialized cities like Manehattan and Baltimare; the urine, the sweat, the coal smoke, and tar; And, just for the briefest of fleeting moments, she could even pick up the faintest hints of Appleloosan sand.
Every touch of wind against Sweetie Belle’s face was a caress; like a quick, sweet kiss that reminded her ever so gently that autumn was coming.
As the filly continued to trot down the road, she heard a commotion, and found herself looking up into the branches of a grand old oak tree. The breeze tussled the yellow leaves and sent them spinning down like gold coins, and the branches bent and swayed and appeared to be waving at Sweetie Belle like she were an old friend it hadn’t seen in a long time. And there near the top of the tree was the cause of the commotion; a pair of songbirds hopping from branch to branch, chirping loudly at one another.
Sweetie Belle wondered if the songbirds were singing to each other, or discussing when would be the appropriate time to leave their nests for the winter, or if they were simply just surprised and curious about the presence of the tiny pony at the base of their tree; but before too long another gust sighed through the branches and the two birds caught the wind and flew off into the great sky, far out of sight of the small filly below.