falling//in reverse

by The Red Parade

six//two

The air was crisp above Appleoosa, as it always was during the cool summer nights. The town was still moving as ponies headed home from long days at work, and a few stray tumbleweeds ducked and weaved across the horizon.

Soarin took it all in from the hill he was sitting on with a lazy smile. “You were right, Brae. It really is something different from up here.”

“Yeah? Just wait until we get to the good part,” Braeburn replied from next to him. “When the sun starts to set and the stars start to come out… it’s really somethin’ else.”

Soarin nodded, taking a bite from his apple and glancing up again. Not a single cloud dotted the sky, leaving it empty like a blank white canvas, ready to be painted.

“So, you gonna be in town for much longer?” Braeburn asked.

“Two weeks, then I gotta go back and start summer training,” Soarin replied. “But don’t sweat it, I’ll be back by your birthday.”

“Heh. That’s all I could ever ask for,” he replied.

Soarin reached over and tousled his mane. “I told you, Brae, you don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Braeburn pointed up at the sky. The sun was now barely visible over the horizon and the sky above was turning dark. “But watch. See the way the orange sits against the purple?”

“Yeah, yeah. Wow, that’s… you don’t see that in Canterlot,” Soarin replied. “Or even Cloudsdale for that matter.”

“Sky’s really different out here,” Braeburn said. “It’s somethin’ beautiful, ain’t it. I’d put it in a paintin’ if I could.”

Soarin glanced at him in thought. “A painting, huh?” An idea bounced into his head. “Interesting.”

He filed that idea away for later.