It had been 2 days since they first stepped into the everfree forest. It had been a long and taxing journey. Bella Blu’s hooves were sore and she regretted being so insistent that they walk ALL the way across Equesrtia. Tempest was tired after carrying her several miles to the everfree forest and decided to walk with her. He only occasionally flew up above the tree line to track their progress.
“One second,” he managed to say as he took off weakly.
He flew up past the tree branches and disappeared. Bella kept up her slow pace and thought about how nice a glass of water would be right then. She heard Tempest crash back through the tree branches and turned her head. He took up a quick trot to catch up to her and gave her the news.
“This forest just keeps going. I’m not sure if we can make it at this rate.”
“We have to. We are at least more than halfway. Just a day or two more.” Bella replied quietly. She didn’t want to disturb whatever creatures were lurking in the forest with them.
“Another few days?” Tempest reacted, “another few days like this and some giant predator is going to be gnawing on our bones. I have a better idea. You know a cloud walking spell?”
“Why yes but I don’t know how that is going to…”
“Just cast it real quick.”
Bella closed her eyes and did so. Before she could open them again, she felt herself being picked up. Tempest flew up with her and broke through the tree branches again. She shielded her eyes as the leaves and small branches whipped at her face. As they broke above the tree line, she looked out onto the vast ocean of green. Tempest was right it DID seem to go on forever. The thought daunted her. What had she gotten them into?
She looked up and saw a large collection of clouds. She assumed that was what Tempest was going for. She grew concerned as his flapping became slower and his breathing became heavier. By the time they reached the cloud he was barely maintaining his altitude. As they started to descend again, Tempest swung her into the air and tossed her over the edge of the cloud. She landed with a plop and relaxed a little. Bella didn’t appreciate being tossed like a sack of flour, but she was relieved to be on the cloud. She crawled over to the edge just in time for Tempest to grab onto it with a hoof. She wrapped a leg around his free hoof and pulled him up. He collapsed on the cloud when he got up, not even caring that his back legs were still hanging off of the edge. Bella lay on her back next to him. The cloud felt really nice, if a bit lumpy. She realized then why pegasi liked lounging on them so much.
“ugh… whew, well that was fun” Tempest said after a brief rest.
“No kidding. You mind telling me why we’re up here now?” Bella replied between breaths.
“Look back there, there’s a low pressure front pushing these clouds west. Isn’t that neat? Clouds actually move on their own around here. We are going to let barometric pressure do all of the work for us. Now all we have to do is relax and float on by.”
Bella looked and saw that all of the clouds were all moving in the same direction away from the rising sun. She got up and glanced over the edge.
“That’s great and all but we are moving at a snail’s pace,” Bella said apathetically, “It will take forever to get to Canterlot at this rate.”
“It may look that from here, but we are actually traveling at a running pace right now,” Tempest explained.
Bella smiled as he said this and said, “This is great!” She paused and giggled with joy. “I wish this front had come through sooner.”
“You and me both,” Tempest replied. He yawned and pulled himself all the way onto the cloud. Bella laid down a few feet from him and closed her eyes. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest a bit. Both of them fell asleep as they bathed in the sun upon their autonomous cloud.
___
Bella awoke with a start as her left fore hoof fell off the edge of the cloud. She pulled it back up just in time to see that the cloud was rapidly shrinking. She took a few steps back from the enclosing edge. She looked and noticed the cloud dissipating around all of its edges.
“Tempest wake up!” she exclaimed.
“Wah?” Tempest awoke with a start, “jeez Bella you’ve got to stop doing that.”
“Less talking and more flying, this cloud is dissolving.” Bella gestured to the ever-shrinking surface.
“Oh, that must mean we’re here,” Tempest remarked with nonchalance. “The clouds not only move on their own, but they also break up on their own,” he explained, “Neat huh?”
“Tempest!”
“Ok fine fine, just chill would you?”
Tempest picked her up and flew off of the shrinking cloud. Bella looked down and saw the end of the Everfree forest. The sight made her sigh and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She saw a rustic looking cottage on the edge of the forest. There were animals all around it in every direction. She wondered what kind of pony lived there. A small town came into view as they flew over the crest of a hill. There was a train station at the edge of town. Tempest was heading right for it.
Bella opened her mouth to protest but then stopped herself. After their ordeal in the Everfree forest, the last thing she wanted to do was walk the rest of the way to Canterlot. She decided not to say anything on the subject. It would only set Tempst up for an “I told you so”. It took them only a few minutes to reach the train station. Bella envied her friend’s ability to get from place to place so quickly. Sure unicorns had teleportation, but it only got them so far.
“All aboard to Canterlot,” a voice called.
“Oh no, we’ve missed the train,” Bella said to Tempest.
“No we haven’t,” Tempest replied.
He caught up to the train as it pulled out of the station. He dropped Bella on top of the caboose and alighted next to her.
“Not exactly what I had in mind, but this works,” Bella said.
Some of the ponies at the station gave a puzzled look as they saw them land on the train. Tempest turned back and waved to them. Bella laughed as a filly in the station crowd waved back. They rode on top of the train as it began its trek to Canterlot. She was slightly bothered by the fact they were freeloading. Sure, they had jumped many trains together in Manehattan, but they were poor back then. Now they actually had plenty of bits to spend on a ticket.
The train went over hills and across valleys before spiraling its way up the mountain that Canterlot protruded from. Bella had always been curious as to what the designers were going for when they built the city in such a fashion. They routinely had to duck as the train chugged in and out of tunnels. ‘It’s was exactly like Manehattan’s river district’ Bella thought. The train slowed down as it approached the Canterlot gates. Tempest nudged her. She took the cue and jumped off of the roof of the train. She alighted behind it out of sight of the guards at the gate. Tempest flew over to her side and they walked together. They approached the guards at the gate.
To their surprise they said nothing except for, “Welcome to Canterlot.”
“Thank you,” Bella responded and made her way into the city.