//------------------------------// // Far Away // Story: Pony Poetry Vol. 2 // by GjallarFox //------------------------------// Far Away I like to watch from far away, watching the world go about its day. And while I watch the children play, the clock ticks our lives away. I'm sorry I'm not always there. I'm trying to find a good place where we can sit without a care, and watch the world from far away. For now let's sit down in the grass, and debate what's gold and what is brass, and watch the birds above us pass, and fly back home so far away. So when you lay alone at night, do not cry, for it's alright. I'm laying there with you tonight, even if I'm far away. I love you more each passing day, and for you I'd gladly run away, so I can be with you today, and not be far away. ------ I sighed heavily, shutting the larger-than-necessary oak door to my new chamber in Canterlot Palace. I trotted immediately to my balcony to see the setting sun and rising moon, setting my tiara down on a nearby dresser. But that wasn't all I wanted to watch that evening. I debated to myself, struggling between the setting sun or something else to watch that evening. The latter won by a longshot. I quickly aimed my telescope to the southwest, aligning it to a set position that I had managed to make the telescope "remember." Which was to say that I had carved a few notches into the gyroscopic tripod that would click together in a fixed position whenever it hit that position. And though somepony could have moved the telescope, thus screwing the aim, I had made subtle dents in the concrete floor of the balcony where each peg would rest. Sometimes, I wondered about myself. I peeked through the telescope, finding that its aim had been true as it had been for the past five months since my ascension. The sight of Fluttershy finishing her daily routine comforted me, making me feel closer to her than I actually was. I smiled with contentment, sitting down, watching her from far away. Does this make me a stalker? I shrugged to myself. I had been watching her like this since a week after my coronation. It was the only way for me to see her each day. I felt my heart lurch again, tugging me towards her. Tugging me to the beautiful mare that had stolen my heart. Tugging me towards she who I wanted to go back for. Tugging me to Fluttershy. I spread my wings, sealing my door with magic. I stepped back, giving myself six meters to the balcony's railing. I sprinted forth with all of my might, covering the distance in seconds. I leapt up, my hooves landing on the railing for a moment before I shoved off of it, taking flight. I smiled, my heart satisfied with me for finally listening to it. I sailed on the summer evening updrafts, navigating the skyward sea like a deer would the forest, to get to Fluttershy's cottage. I giggled at the comparison. I only hoped she'd love me more than she would a deer. I laughed, reveling in the fact that I had escaped the castle's confines. I had taken my freedom back. It felt marvelous. The breeze in my feathers and mane kissed me like a warm summer rain. I felt like a bird let free from its cage. I flew like a bird let loose from its cage. I came across a cloud that had been left out by the weather team. I smiled, seeing that the sun would be turning it pink soon. I smiled, and banked left towards it. Slowly, I carved the massive cloud with my wings, shearing tiny pieces off at a time, sculpting it with the utmost precision, my meticulousness rivaling that of a sculptor and his marble. I smiled, shearing off a large chunk of cloud, the puffy white material dissipating into the pre-evening breeze. I stopped in the air, hovering at a vantage point to look at my masterpiece. I smiled, satisfied with it. I cast a quick spell upon it before I continued on my course to Fluttershy's cottage. I landed just before her door, folding my dampened wings to my sides, the chill of the soaked feathers sending a shiver up my spine. I knocked on her door three times. I listened to her make her way to the door, stepping over her animal friends, apologizing to each one. I looked back to my masterpiece, hanging in the sky. I smiled as the sun began dying it as pink as her mane. "Perfect." As she opened the door, I heard her gasp in surprise. She began to bow. "Don't bow. I'm no princess here." She smiled, welcoming me into her home, opening the door enough for me to enter, "Would you like to come in?" I shook my head, "I have something I want to show you. It'll be perfect in just a moment, and it's better when seen outside." She smiled at me, stepping outside to join me. She closed the door behind her, trotting to my side. I smiled as her wing brushed against mine. We walked away from the cottage, following the tree-line of the Everfree Forest. I smiled, leading her to a small hill in the meadow next to the forsaken place. As we walked, we caught up on what we'd been doing. The small talk made me feel normal again, if only for a little while. I smiled broadly, my heart pounding excitedly. My mind whirred in circles quicker than Rainbow Dash's Cloud DJ move. My throat prepared itself to say three words to the one pegasus they spoke of. We laid down on the hill, her body brushing against mine on occasion, sending shockwaves through my body. I smiled, seeing what I had come here to show her. I motioned for her to look up. I turned to look with her. Our gaze fell upon a cloud sculpture of us. It was a simple sculpture, really, comprised of myself and Fluttershy... kissing... My hooves cupped her cheeks, pulling her into the kiss, whilst her hooves rested on my shoulders. At least, that's what the sculpture depicted. I had seen us that way in my dreams numerous times, always in that pose. The sun dyed the sculpture perfectly, her mane becoming a natural sunset pink, the spell making her body glow a bright yellow. The shadows of her cast on me dyed me purple, the more intense shadows hitting my mane and dying them indigo. The spell kicked in, adding the streaks of color to my mane in just the right positions. I smiled as the setting sun cast the final detail: a heavy pink blush on both of our cheeks. "I love you, Fluttershy," I whispered into her ear. I turned to see her smile grow. She lifted a wing, draping it over my back. We sat close together for hours. When we finally walked back to her cottage, she turned to me with a sly smile on her face. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what sort of Discordian idea could have crept into the innocent pegasus' mind. "Let's replicate that sculpture of yours," she purred softly, the sultry tone behind it making my knees wobble a bit. Without enough time to process what she had said, she leapt forward, her lips connecting to mine, her hooves landing on my shoulders. As soon as my mind figured out what was happening, I lifted my hooves to her cheeks, a heavy blush already staining my cheeks. I smiled through the kiss, content at our proximity. "Princess Sparkle," a gruff voice interrupted in my head. I brushed it aside. "Princess Sparkle, your brother is waiting for you," the voice interrupted again. I opened my eyes to the sight of my pillow in Canterlot Palace. I looked around, my tiara resting on the dresser like I remembered. I cursed myself, falling for another dream. I suppressed the tears that threatened to escape. Princesses don't cry... I just wish I weren't so far away...