Not So Far Away

by Cold Bolt

Authority

Pinkie's eyes darted around so much, she had to consciously remind herself to blink.

This town was no less weathered by time than the previous island she had visited, but it was clearly much better kept; there were no piles of debris from the crumbling buildings, whose missing walls and ceilings were patched expertly with sheets of woven straw. The roads were level dirt, no grass or weeds encroaching on them. Here and there a wagon would squeak on by, most carrying loose heaps of a kind of grain Pinkie couldn't identify at a glance.

Mostly because she was barely looking at any of these things.

Winged ponies fluttered about everywhere she looked. They talked, they ate, they laughed, they played, they flew; craning her neck, she saw some hovering at least a hundred feet above.

click

She hoped they wouldn't mind. It was for the mission, after all.

Not that she wasn't getting plenty of the same in return as she trotted her way down the road. Being the only clothed pony on the block, she seemed to be earning a good number of curious stares as she followed her guides down the road. Curious foals poked at their parents, asking the same questions that were running through the heads of their elders.

"You are a portent," said Whirlwind, clearly having noticed as well. "They sense this, I think, though they might miss its meaning."

"As still do we," warned Aerial Ace. "Whether good or ill sits yet in shroud."

Whirlwind sighed and turned to Pinkie. "Her wariness must tire, but it is among her strengths."

"That's okay!" Pinkie grinned. "She can't be a big old grumpypants forever. Before I'm done here, all three of us are gonna be the best of friends!"

Aerial Ace rolled her eyes.

Before long, they came to a stop in front of a three-story building. It looked even more patchwork than the rest, with wooden supports bracing it from inside and out. The upper two floors had balconies; it was to the lower of these that Whirlwind fluttered, landing gently and gesturing at the doorway in front of her with a hoof.

"From this place does the Constable guide and order," she explained. "Come, we must - "

A distant cough interrupted her words.

Pinkie Pie and Aerial Ace stared up at Whirlwind, their faces blank.

"Er... ahem."

Blushing, Whirlwind descended once more to help lift Pinkie onto the balcony.

A sliding screen served as the front door, which Aerial Ace nudged aside. "Fair winds, Constable. We gift you an anomaly."

Was it supposed to be so dark in there? Pinkie found herself wondering if there was even anypony home. She got her answer swiftly in the form of a voice responding from within, somehow soft and firm at the same time.

"What form does it take?"

Whirlwind stepped inside, gesturing for Pinkie to follow. "A groundwalker seeks your audience!"

Pinkie squinted into the darkness, the dim evening light barely illuminating the room enough for a shadowy figure to be visible behind what she assumed to be a desk.

"A groundwalker..." The figure slowly stood up on the desk, towering over the scene.

"Hiya, Your Lordship Princess Captain Constable, sir and/or ma'am!" Pinkie grinned. "I brought cupcakes! And pie, and cheesecake, and some lemonade... Oh, and a message too, I guess, but that can totally wait until after the party!"

The next several seconds were silent.

"The words of Commander Hurricane were explicit indeed regarding the fate of the groundwalker who should once more tread upon the Cirrus Kingdom," said the figure.

Pinkie blinked. "If you have a particular theme in mind, that's totally fine! I can work with that. I wouldn't be the best party planner in all the land if I couldn't!"

The figure continued. "That groundwalker shall be destroyed."

With a great wingflap, the figure leaped into the air and landed hard in front of Pinkie, causing her to stagger backward in alarm. "Um... if you don't like lemonade, I'm sure I can whip up some fruit punch instead...?"

A pale yellow face framed by a pink mane peeked out of the shadows, smiling pleasantly. The pony behind it wore the only clothing Pinkie had seen thus far besides her own, a faded brown uniform shirt with a rusty star pinned to the lapel. "Fortune upon you, then, that we are not the Cirrus Kingdom."

Pinkie's alarm slowly gave way for confusion. She dug in her saddlebag for a moment before producing what appeared to be a folded map - which she promptly unfurled upside-down. "Aw geez, was I not supposed to take that left turn at Santa Fe? Or was it - " She gasped in realization, scowling. "Albuquerque...!"

The pony before her giggled softly and extended a hoof.

"Fair winds, friend groundwalker," she said. "I am one Constable Fluttershy... and I welcome you to the town of Alto, final bastion of the sky."

Comments

[Sun Sage]

AU, indeed, if she's in charge here. That was a surprise... in fact, I was expecting Surprise, but this is better.

"That groundwalker shall be destroyed."

"...In a game of Old Mare! ...Take up your cards, groundwalker, and prepare for humiliation! ...After that there's punch n pie."