I sipped on a cup of piping hot coffee as the birds slowly awoke to sing their first songs of the day. Steam rose from the bitter brew to meet my nose and flood my senses with a rich roasted scent that was both invigorating and intoxicating, chasing away the last motes of sleep from my mind. The morning sun had just begun to send its faint glow across the northeastern peaks in the distance, causing the castle clinging to the summit to shimmer as though it were a palace of glass sending radiant beams of gentle light across the landscape below. The air was moist with a slight chill, and dew drops littered the ground like countless liquid diamonds that glistened in the warm rays being cast across Equestria. I could feel a faint heat radiating through my body as both my morning joe and my innate magic worked in tandem to keep my body warm during this cool late-summer morning.
It was an oddly nostalgic feeling, casting my mind back to my last few days on Earth as I awoke to a hauntingly similar morning in those mountains so familiar and now so far away. Impossibly far; Forever out of reach. But as I sat upon the park bench near Whitetail Woods that morning, my thoughts of home weren’t the sad ones I’d had just over two months ago.
I took another sip and hummed blissfully as I watched a pair of blue jays dance gracefully in the air while the very last stars dimmed out of the brightening morning sky with the coming dawn. “Wow, just look at that view…” I muttered wistfully as I wondered what it was like to soar across that vibrant canvas.
I quickly drained my cup of the last drops of coffee before screwing it back onto my thermos and packing it away in my saddlebags. My morning had officially started, and it was time to get to work. Besides, I didn’t have to wonder what it was like anymore. I smiled to myself as I went over the pre-workout routine my absent flight coach had taught me, gave my wings a test flap for good measure, then took to the skies.
After I had been cleared to fly again by the hospital, Rainbow Dash wasted no time in restarting my flight lessons. It was apparent that she wanted to teach me how to fly on my own as quickly as possible as she rushed through most of our late-morning exercises eager to get our hooves off the ground. While it was stressful being pulled along by her zeal, it had done wonders to speed up the process as she had me able to take off and land accurately and under my own power again in just over a week. It amazed me just how much magic accounted for flight if you let it, lightening our already lithe pegasus frames to be easily lifted without much effort at all. It was no wonder gifted fliers like Dash were able to move so quickly.
I, however, was still leagues behind her in that department much to her occasional frustration as I struggled to keep up with even her “slowest” of speeds. I had asked her several times during training why she was pushing so hard for me to learn to fly as quickly as I could, but the best answer I could pry from her was, “It’s a surprise! You’ll see soon enough!” An answer that left me with a bit of concern for my own safety after she told me how the last big idea she had was having AJ launch her into the air using a glorified see-saw as a catapult.
I flew from over Whitetail Woods and began making my way towards town just as the sun reached the peak of the mountain it had been hiding behind, casting a cozy glow over the sleepy village I had come to call home. The ponies I had slowly become familiar with groggily opened their windows to the crisp outside air with yawns and varying degrees of eye rubbing. It was early for everypony, especially my flight partner. Anything before midday was too early for her on a good day, but that day was a little different as I didn’t expect to see any of my friends for the majority of it.
Apparently some big upcoming spring event was happening in that castle on the mountain, which I learned was Canterlot, and my friends had all been invited to attend. It must have been something really special, because Twilight had insisted that she and her friends start preparing for it immediately upon receiving the tickets even though the event itself was still six months away.
I spotted Applejack making her way towards Twilight’s house as the town’s streets came into view. She’d told me the day before that she was going to help Twilight with some projects, and that I could take the day off since we were in between crops and had caught up on chores around the farm. Something about visiting Rarity to have a dress mended and visiting the teacher at the local schoolhouse. I’d offered to join, but AJ insisted that I take a personal day mentioning that Twilight’s projects were just a two pony job.
While I appreciated the chance to sleep in, new habits had already been set and my body refused to let me sleep much later than the wee hours of the morning. With farm work being called off and Rainbow being nowhere in sight I was stuck to my own devices.
I practiced through the early morning hours above the town, watching as the sleepy village began to stir. A few of the early risers were there to greet Twilight and AJ as they made their way towards the edge of town, apparently on their way to visit Fluttershy before stopping in with Rarity. I could barely make out their voices in the distance as they cheerfully greeted Pinkie Pie while she and the Cakes set up their shop for the morning rush. The distant sound of foals making their way into the streets and shouting as they played on their way to school tickled my ears and I spied three familiar little friends of mine meeting up near the town center before making their way as well. They seemed to take note of a pair of fillies further down the street and made it a point to steer clear of them.
“I wonder if they’re friends?” It didn’t seem likely, but stranger things had happened. By the time the school bell had begun ringing, the last few foals tumbled their way into the little red schoolhouse to start their day in earnest, and the streets had started to fill up with a veritable rainbow of pastel colored ponies eager to begin theirs.
Watching it all unfold from a perspective I had once only dreamed of, another pang of nostalgia rang out setting a calm, warm weight in my heart. I remembered having days like this too, back on Earth. My parents waking me up early to collect my things for school. My neighborhood friends meeting me at the bus stop before we begrudgingly boarded, dreading math class and my forgotten homework. My father heading off to manage the little shop he ran in town for the day while my mother set about entertaining her own friends over tea on the backyard patio overlooking her garden.
The memories were bittersweet and tears welled in my eyes as I fondly cherished those halcyon days, but the tears were no longer those of the distraught individual I once was. I missed my family dearly, and I regularly thought of them and hoped against hope that they would be ok without me, but those days were gone. I wiped a stray tear from my cheek and steeled myself, looking forward to the new life set before me.
Or at least I would have, had I known where to start or what to do. ”Was this why birds sometimes fly in circles for hours on end? Because they’re bored?” Several ponies below had taken notice of me, and I couldn’t blame them since I’d been flying circles around city hall since what must have been nine a.m. My days had been so full of things to do between farm work, practicing with Rainbow, and Twilight’s constant thirst for information about Earth. Now that I had a free day, I didn’t know what to actually do for fun. Not that I could afford to do anything in the first place. I had no money to my name, as AJ had been paying me in room and board.
I stared off towards the spa and sighed. Even if I had been paid, I doubt I could afford another spa day by myself. “Maybe I should visit Spike and check out another book from the library.” I pondered as I noticed several ponies gathering in the area below. Those citizens seemed to be having about as much fun as me as they watched me lazily circle around the municipal building for what must have been the fiftieth time. “Actually, they’re looking a little worried. I should probably stop before I scare somepony on accident.”
“Hey!”
“Aww, horseapples.”
A pegasus mare with a persian blue coat and light blue, unkempt mane called out again as she came up to meet me above the now gathering crowd below. I quickly glanced down at the concerned faces of at least half-a-dozen ponies and felt the heat rise in my face as I quickly stopped and awkwardly hovered in place.
“H-hey! Is everything ok? You’ve been in a holding pattern here for like, an hour.” She said, approaching me warily. Her cutie mark resembled a cloud covering the sun. Rainbow had said something about her being a pretty good flyer before, so being caught absentmindedly flying in loops wasn’t exactly how I’d liked to have made a first impression.
“Oh! Hey. Cloud Chaser, right? Yeah, everything’s just great!” I said, trying to hide my embarrassment from her.
“So why are you up here trying to get everypony’s attention?” Chaser asked, pointing back towards the crowd who still hadn’t dispersed.
“...Practicing?”
“Uh huh. You know, if you’re going to practice flight maneuvers you should probably do that in the park. I’ve seen Dash training with you out there before and she’s a great flyer, but you probably shouldn’t pick up on her bad habits. Like practicing tricks over crowded spaces. Or crashing through windows.” Chaser said, crossing her forelegs and giving me a disapproving look.
Before I could answer, and as if on cue, a familiar rainbow streak flashed across the sky doing only what I could describe as high speed aerial cartwheels. Everypony watched the spectacle before it ended with Rainbow tripping on a wayward cloud and rocketing into the roof of Rarity’s boutique. The crowd watching the spectacular crash inhaled through clenched teeth simultaneously as several familiar voices yelped from inside the building.
“Point proven.” Cloud Chaser muttered as she face-hoofed.
“Shouldn’t we go see if she’s ok?”
“Who, Dash? I doubt that fall hurt her at all. It wouldn’t be her first, and definitely won't be her last. Rarity however…” Chaser shivered in place for a moment before looking back at the damaged roof, “Celestia help her if she crashed into one of Rarity’s dresses. A-anyway, why don’t we land and chat for a bit?”
I reluctantly agreed, giving one last glance towards the boutique before heading towards the town center. Cloud Chaser smiled and waved to the now over dozen ponies who’d collected to see what was going on before she followed me down and landed near the cafe Rarity and Pinkie had taken me to my first time in town.
Once grounded, I turned to face Chaser who already had extended a wing towards me for some reason. “So, you must be that Zinnia girl I’ve heard about. Nice to meet you.” She said with a smile and an expectant look.
I cocked my head, a bit confused by her gesture. “Is that like a fist bump?” I took a stab at returning her gesture and missed once before making soft contact with her wingtip, “Eh, good enough?” Cloud Chaser looked from me to her wing awkwardly for a moment before shrugging and retracting her wing, “Nope. She probably thinks I’m just like that mail mare…”
Quickly, I returned my wing to my side and cleared my throat, “Likewise! Sorry about causing a scene earlier. I guess I got a little lost.”
“Lost how? It’s not like Ponyville’s a big place.”
“Yeah, she totally thinks I'm an airhead… Great,” I thought to myself as I sighed heavily, “Not like that. I have the day off, but I don’t really know what to do. It’s been a while since I had a free day to myself and I don’t really have many bits to spend.”
“Wow. Applejack must keep you pretty busy, huh?” She asked with a chuckle.
“How did you know I work at the farm?”
“Small town, duh!” She said with a laugh. I’d almost forgotten how quickly word travels in a place like this. She must have known that much about me since the town threw me a party at city hall. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the crusaders and First Base did their part too.
“Oh, right.” I said, rolling my eyes.
“It’s ok. You’re probably not used to how things work in Ponyville yet. You know, coming from Manehatten and all.” She said, giving me a pat on the shoulder.
“Dear Celestia, does everypony in this town know that too?!” A familiar feeling of anxiety started to well up in my chest, and I swallowed hard trying to choke it down. I had told my friends the truth, but how would the townsfolk react if they found out? I hoped it wouldn’t come to that in the fear that it would make my life here harder, but knowing how much Chaser already knows without having ever met me I suspected they'd know my shoe size and wing measurements by next Tuesday.
“So, what’s a pegasus like you doing working at a farm anyway?” Chaser asked, thankfully changing the subject, “Your cutie mark is a flint and steel, right? I would have pinned you as a firefighter, or maybe a scout.”
“W-well, I had heard AJ needed help when I came to town, so I figured I’d lend her a hoof. I didn’t have a place to stay yet either, so she let me stay in her guest room.”
“So you moved to Ponyville before you had a place to stay?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“What about all of your stuff? Surely a city girl like you would have brought at least a few of her things with her. Is Applejack letting you use her barn for storage or something?” She asked, growing a bit more concerned.
“Well, about that…” I started, but I wasn’t sure how to answer that question. I couldn’t just tell her I didn’t even have any clothes to wear. “Actually, that’s probably more normal than I’d like to admit.”
Cloud Chaser looked me up and down for a moment, seemingly not sure what to make of what I had just said. Something in the pitying look she started to give me told me that another misunderstanding was brewing.
“I’m sorry. You must have had a pretty hard life. I wouldn’t have guessed that from looking at you. Manehatten can be a pretty rough place I hear. A lot of ponies go there to make it big and a lot of them trot with nothing to show for it,” She said, putting on a thoughtful appearance, “You know, if you need a job I’m sure somepony in town would be happy to help you out! I’m pretty sure the weather team is always looking for new members too. In fact, I could show you around and introduce you to some of the shop owners if you like.”
“Oh no. She thinks I’m homeless, doesn’t she? Wait… Aren’t I though?” I hadn’t really thought about it much, but maybe in a way I was. Well, couch surfing and homelessnes are different but still, if I was going to move forward with my new life here in Equestria shouldn’t I also try to get a place of my own? I couldn’t just rely on AJ’s kindness forever, and she herself had said that she used that guest room when her cousins came by to visit. I didn’t want her family to be put out because of me.
“How do I even go about getting a house? Do I need to have it built? Are there ones even available right now and how much do they cost? Do they have mobile homes? Come to think of it, Fluttershy is the only pegasus I’ve seen living in an actual house. Where do other pegasi live?”
“-ey, earth to Zinnia! Are you sure you’re ok?” Chaser asked, waving a hoof in front of my face.
“Earth!? Err, I mean, y-yeah! I just… Actually, no. I hadn’t really thought about it, but I think you’re right. I think it’s probably time for me to try to get back on my hooves again.” I said, much to Chaser’s excitement.
“Great! I know just the pony we can go to first. They have this awesome little corner store near the library that sells all sorts of lawn ornaments like cloud statues! The owner and I are pretty good friends, so if I put in a good word for you I’m sure they’ll-”
I flattened my ears and shook my head, “I need to talk with AJ first. I promised a friend that I’d be better about telling others about stuff like this.” I said, remembering the promise I had made to Rainbow. They knew more about me than anypony else, I hoped, and the least I could do would be to keep my promise to my friends and ask for their opinion. Especially with something as important as this.
She seemed a little disappointed, but relented, “I get that. Yeah, it probably wouldn’t feel right just leaving AJ hanging like that, would it?” She said, tempering her excitement, “But hey, remember to come find me after you and Applejack figure your situation out. Seriously, that gig I was talking about is pretty sweet.”
“I’ll be sure to. Thanks, Cloud Chaser!” I said, trying to show more excitement than I felt. On one hoof, getting a job and a house of my own would feel like a major first step towards my future and independence. On the other hoof, how will the Apples feel if I tell them I want to start doing my own thing? “Applebloom would be devastated.
“But there’s no point in worrying about it this time. I promised I’d be honest with my friends, so we’ll just have to cross that bridge when I get home later toni-...”
“Well, hey. It was nice getting to meet you Zinnia. I gotta get going. We’ve got that Best Young Flyers Competition coming up soon and I wanna give Rainbow Dash a real run for her bits! Later!” Chaser said, waving with a hoof before taking off towards the park.
“Good luck with practice!” I called after her, trying to remain cheerful, but inside my mind replayed a single word that continued to bother me.
Home.