//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Homeward Bound // Story: The First Steps of the Rest of Your Life // by Rhino //------------------------------// ***Thursday, Day 13, Noon*** Well if it isn’t Cloudsdale, or as I like to think of it: The Fluffy City. Seems like we were here only a few days ago, oh wait, we were. At least the trip back was pretty relaxed. I swear though, without the whole “threat to the nation” this time around I had a hay of a time trying to convince Hydro to stop complaining how slow the airship is. Still not sure what is so wrong with it, yes it’s a little slow, but it’s comfortable! It’s almost a flying house! Still, at least he maintained his silence once Pinkie mentioned something about that flying bicycle of hers… come to think of it, that does actually worry me a little… I’m sure it won’t be that bad. The rest of us mostly lounged around trying not to aggravate any of our wounds, luckily all most of us have are cuts, bruises, and the occasional burn. Nothing some quality time with the first aid kit can’t put on the fast track to healing. Volt seemed to get the worst of it… but being a pony cannon ball shot into what amounts to almost pure electricity, one is expected not to come out unscathed. He had us worried for a bit when he woke up… seeing as his eye balls were smoking and it hurt to blink. Luckily a convenient bucket of water to the face, courtesy of Hydro, and he was at least to get past that particular side effect. Unfortunately the rest of his burns aren’t quite so effortless to get rid of… he’ll be fine of course, but for now with the amount of aloe and bandages he looks like a mummy for Nightmare Night. Anyways, here we are back at Blue’s house, bracing for shock and awe from family members when they answer the door in three… two… one… “BLUE! What in Equestria happened to all of you! Come inside and sit down right now!” Raindrop says the instant she opens the door. We all head inside and take our various seats while Raindrop’s protective mother instincts run their course. While she was double checking all of Blue’s bandages, Thundercloud and Hail walk out of the adjacent room to see what all the fuss is about. Suffice to say, their reactions really only create even more of a fuss, in a good way though. “So Blue, with this many scratches I’m assuming it was a good battle then?” Thunder says, gesturing at our injuries as Raindrop is checking on Blue’s wings. We let Blue tell the tale of our fight against Fluffers. It was interesting for me to be able to mostly tune out Blue and just watch his family’s reactions to the various parts of the story. The looks of wonder at the drawn out battle against the initial clouds. The big mom hug at Blue’s attempt for the core and the resulting injuries. Haily’s giggling at the thought of us launching Volt out of a cannon as a serious plan of action. The vision of all three of them on the edge of their seats at the silence when Volt was launched into the core and silence loomed. And of course, throwing their hooves in the air and cheering for the explosion. Everypony loves explosions, I’m sure even Fluttershy likes fireworks. And if she can enjoy an explosion, anypony can. Haily offers her professional opinion of our little adventure, “So let me get this straight, all that time, injuries, and you still haven’t made progress with any of these mares?” Like mother like daughter. Volt defends Blue, “Hey he did get to hug Rainbow Dash here for a bit… of course he thought she was a tasty dessert at the time…” Blue sits straight trying to maintain some semblance of dignity while Haily facehoofs, “Typical Blue, more concerned with food… I suppose it’s at least a little improvement, just try not to go hitting on lunch today.” Just as Haily finishes this sentence Rain brings out some sandwiches for all of us. As we all pick up our tributes to sliced bread I notice Blue adjusting his hold on his, “Blue, stop fondling your sandwich, it only likes you as a friend.” Half of the ponies in the room choked for a bit as all of us tried to bust out laughing at Blue’s face after that one. "Damn, and I wanted to invite it to bed." And now the half of the room that wasn't choking fell out of their seats onto the floor. After calming down a bit we refrain from embarrassing Blue for a time… if only so we can finish eating. Probably a good thing we had that laugh, seeing the bittersweet news Blue has for his family afterwards. “Mom, Dad, I just wanted to let you know… I’m moving out.” Rain gets a little quiet while Thunder tries to make it a little more light-hearted, “You know Blue, that doesn’t have the same impact as it did the first time you moved out.” This gets a little giggle out of Rain. Well, I suppose he is already mostly packed. From what he told us he doesn’t have much more to take. Admittedly I have grown fond of Blue, he’s a good guy, and what kind of friends would we be if we hadn’t offered him a ride when he told us this news last night? Things are quiet for a time as we help Blue gather up the last few things, once we get the last box, then comes the worst part… good bye. Rain gives Blue a hug, kissing him on his cheek as she does so, and manages to embarrass him even now… she really is a good mom. Thunder gives Blue the guy hug where you embrace with one foreleg instead of both to make it more casual and dignifying. Finally it comes down to Haily. Haily walks up to Blue and looks up into his eyes. She moves forward and gives him one of those hugs that you can’t really describe, the kind of hug you can only give to a beloved sibling, one that you can never replace. She looks up at him, “I’ll miss you Blue… you better come visit us!” Must… focus on sweetness of moment and not sadness… Blue assures her he will come back to visit as the rest of us head out the door with the boxes. After a minute he comes out and we all head back to the airship. I offer to help Blue with a relatively small box he had pulled out from under his bed because it seemed like one of those ones filled with books or something seeing as how heavy it is. He declines rather quickly and tries to change the subject. On the way back we all start getting into the spirit of the last part of our trip away from home. Time to get our reward in Canterlot.