//------------------------------// // Getting close // Story: A Circus At Cliffside // by Ardent Wing //------------------------------// The closer that they Cloudy got to the circus, the more uneasy she felt. Every hoofstep seemed to increase the power of the pulse she felt booming through the world around her. Of course, it was not extremely powerful, or very overwhelming of a beat, but it was different, and it was coming from the circus. Why was it that Cloudy just could not trust that circus? It had to be more than just the beat it gave off… she honestly didn’t know. Perhaps the suddenness of this whole travelling show had made Cloudy nervous. It did catch pretty much everypony in town off guard; she had seen that during Master Mirage’s special introduction yesterday. The circus was new, and weird, and to Cloudy Night, that gave it some cause for hesitation. Cloud Charmer was just in front of Cloudy Night, practically hopping on her hooves. Her wings were also fluttering just the tiniest bit, as if they were trying to lift her up into the air. As far as Cloudy could tell, she felt no apprehension for the circus or the beat it gave off, and that annoyed Cloudy. Why was she so comfortable with this new change? Well, Cloud’s mother did say that she met the ponies of this circus before… or, at least that she met Master Mirage. Perhaps for Cloud Charmer that was enough to reconcile her feelings about the circus. Or… maybe nothing really bothered Cloud Charmer. Cloudy Night looked up at the early morning sky, still lost in thought. Through the trees of the forest path she could see that the sky was nothing more than a gloomy ceiling of grey clouds. They looked so close to the ground, which was not uncommon here. Cliffside did sit on the side of a mountain, meaning that any low flying clouds will be far closer to the ground here than they would anywhere else. It was nice to have clouds so close, because it made actually getting on one a much easier feat for Cloudy Night. Cloudy could walk on clouds. She had never understood why; it should be impossible for anyone other than a Pegasus. Of course, she could cast one of those cloud walking spells she had read of in one of her mother’s books, but she had never needed to. She could naturally walk on clouds, and had never thought to question it. Only now did something as strange as that seem like a question worth asking. But these clouds… they did not feel like the nice fluffy pillows that had made her a comfortable be on many a night. Instead, they felt wild, unknown, and… well… uneasy. Looking at them only seemed to make this feeling worse, so Cloudy returned her attention to the path ahead of her. To her surprise, Cloudy Night saw that Cloud Charmer had also been looking up at the sky. Even as they walked she continued to stare, and though Cloudy could not actually see her face, she suspected that they were analysing the sky. Last night’s conversation had left Cloudy with something that she had not come close to achieving before then: A much greater understanding of her friend. In one night Cloud Charmer had become a little bit less of a mystery, and Cloudy knew why her friend stared longingly at the sky. It did seem very unfair, for a Pegasus to be as old as Cloudy’s friend, and to still have to wait to take off into the sky. It was like having a limb that she couldn’t actually use. Cloudy Night felt horrible for the way she had acted towards her friend yesterday. She had called out her inability without any knowledge whatsoever of how Cloud actually felt on the matter. For such a smart pony, she sure could be dense. The pulse coming from the circus changed. Not by a lot, but it surprised Cloudy, and she tripped on her hooves, causing her to stumble. When she recovered she noticed that Cloud Charmer was staring at her. Her friend’s ears were turned slightly down the path ahead, obviously meaning that she had heard… or felt… the change as well. “You’re not still bothered by that are you?” She asked. “Well, it’s changed now.” Cloudy answered. “So?” “So! It’s different from what it was before. It’s weird, large, and I don’t like it!” Cloudy said. She was actually becoming annoyed that Cloud could not understand her feelings about the beat. “Beats change all the time. What’s so special about this one?” “It’s odd, that’s what makes it special. It doesn’t feel like it belongs! It isn’t normal!” Cloudy Night glared at her friend. It was so obviously different from everything that they’d ever felt before, why was there apparently no cause for suspicion here? “Clouuuudy.” “Cloud Charmer.” “Listen, we’ve only been able to hear these beats for a month, right?” Cloud asked. “Yes.” “And we have no idea why, correct?” “Also yes.” Cloudy answered. “In that case, how can we determine what is normal for a pulse? We’ve never heard them before! Maybe they work in some strange way; maybe they change all the time. Hay! Maybe they don’t even exist!” Cloud responded. Cloudy sighed. “Well, they do correspond to actual things in our world, so I do think we can say that the beats exist.” “Okay, fine. But how can you say we know how they work?” “I’m not. I honestly have no idea where the beats come from, nor do I know exactly how they work. What I do know is that if you listen closely, you can start to understand what they represent, and that circus feels weird.” “Oh, I see, now you’re back to calling me a bad listener.” Cloud Charmer said. “I never said you were a bad listener!” “Whatever! You aren’t getting any candy at the circus!” Cloud shouted. “Wha- what are you?” Cloudy then noticed that her friend was smiling. It was infuriating. “Ugh! Could you please take this seriously, Cloud Charmer?” “Today isn’t made to be serious. Let’s enjoy that while we can.” Cloud Charmer chimed, jingling her neck purse when she hopped over a stone in the path. “But I seriously think we should talk about thi-“ “Cloudy Night, don’t you see? We’re going to be at the circus as guests. It’ll be the perfect chance to judge whether or not these ponies are friendly. Isn’t that what you want to find out?” Cloudy looked at her friend for a moment before nodding her head. She needed to know if these ponies could be trusted. “Well then, let’s do just that. I know these beats are something special… and weird, but we still don’t understand how they work. I’m not going to base everything I think about these ponies on just that beat, and neither should you.” Cloud lectured. She was right. It would be best to reserve judgement until they had experience. Perhaps she was looking at this situation the wrong way. “Okay, you’re right. I should meet them first.” “Thank you for listening… but you’re still not getting any candy.” Cloud Said, immediately proceeding to stick out her tongue at Cloudy. Cloudy Night, of course, returned the favour, sticking her own tongue out at her friend. Despite the gloomy day, she did feel energetic, and Cloud Charmer’s playfulness was actually putting her into a good mood. She knew that Cloud was joking about the candy. At least she better be. Nopony was gonna stop Cloudy night from trying some candy. It was such a rare food to have around here, and she had only had some once before. As Cloudy Night reflected on the conversation she had just had with Cloud Charmer, she found something a bit funny. So far, since discovering the beat given off from the circus Cloudy and her friend had had the same argument every couple of hours. Including the fact that it usually ended with Cloud Charmer telling her not to worry, and Cloudy agreeing not to worry… except that she did, over and over again. No matter how many times Cloud consoled her, Cloudy simply could not change her opinion on the circus, at least until she saw it for herself. Still, the fact that they had been having the same arguments for the last day or so was strangely amusing to Cloudy. It was like when they had first met, and Cloud Charmer had forced the cloud they were on to rocket around, it felt just like that. Like moving while staying in the same place. As Cloudy watched the sky, there was a momentary parting in the grey clouds, and a long beam of shining golden light toughed the mountainside for just a moment before it was gone. Things might not be as bad as she thought, though she’d have to see the circus before she decided that. “Cloudy, are you coming!?” Cloud Charmer shouted to her, as she was now far ahead on the forest path. Cloudy didn’t answer, but she did gallop ahead to catch up with her friend. She would find out everything she needed to when they got to the circus.