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Walking on air (Closed, Bellosh)


Blueblood

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"I told ya not to look down!"

The balloon operator chortled as he watched a tan unicorn stallion reel back from the edge of the basket. He didn't often have passengers for this run, as most visitors to Cloudsdale were pegasi, and hence had no need for his services. Indeed, up until recently pegasi had been the only visitors to the factory town in the sky, but a recent magical discovery by the Twilight Sparkle had allowed for other ponies to traverse the cloudways of the floating city.

Earth Writer had never met the newest princess himself, but he had other connections in the magical world. As a Canterlot reporter, he'd interviewed some members of a new magical guild on some technical points in a story he'd been working on, and had struck up an acquaintance with a few of the members. When he mentioned that he would like to one day visit Cloudsdale, one of them, Moonshield if he remembered right, had volunteered use of the spell, especially after he said that he wanted to visit a special somepony while he was there...

He wasn't regretting his decision now, exactly; he just felt as if his head was about to lift off like the gasbag suspending him above the earth, and leave his stomach behind. Looking down hadn't helped, obviously. "No kidding." He muttered, taking a few deep breaths to steady himself.

His arrival attracted some attention at the balloon's landing platform, as unicorn visits were a pretty rare occurrence. Bets were taken on how long he would hesitate before stepping on to the cloud surface; the winner was less than five seconds. After all, if a unicorn couldn't trust magic, where was he? *Halfway to the ground, probably.*

After stepping out into the street, he took a slow walk through the center of town first, just in awe of the high and airy classical architecture. Almost nowhere else in Equestria could one see it in such quantity. Gradually, however, his enchanted hooves brought him towards one particular address.

He hesitated before the door, re-adjusting his shirt and collar and checking on the bouquet he'd brought up from the surface. Satisfied with his presentation, he knocked on the door of Sugar Apple, his marefriend. In the interval before the door opened, he bounced on his hooves, nervous excitement coursing through him. The moment it did-

"SURPRISE!"

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“Just a minute!” Somepony knocking on Sugar Apple’s door during a weekend? Most likely someone wanting to sell knick-knacks again. And of course, they came knocking just as the homeowner was drying off from a shower, so she’d have to show up at the front door wearing a towel. With Sugar’s mane still drenched as well, she didn’t look presentable in any way whatsoever.

Not looking particularly joyful, Sugar Apple brought a mug of coffee to sip on on her way to answer the knocking. One could only imagine her surprise when she opened the door to see that instead of a random pegasus, Earth Writer himself was standing right there! A unicorn, in CLOUDSDALE!

“Earth Writer???” Sugar gasped, her mug slipping from her hoof to shatter all over the cloud floor, spilling everything inside. “How-how are ya’ even hyar?”

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It had never occurred to Earth Writer that Sugar Apple would be anything but overjoyed to see him. It was perhaps a hasty assumption; even a pleasant surprise can come at a bad time. In this case, the unicorn was granted a quite early opportunity to see just how well the newly-fashionable "wet mane" look worked on his marefriend.

He thought it looked very well, himself, but then he was far from an unbiased judge in the matter.

"Magic!" He called out in answer to her question, waving his hooves in what he hoped was a mystical manner. "Called on an acquaintance to set me up with a cloudwalking spell. Amazing, isn't it?" He looked down to see the puddle of coffee and porcelain shards at Sugar's hooves, and began to pick up the pieces magically. However, his momentary apologetic impulse was quickly overtaken by fascination. "Is that magical too? It didn't fall. The coffee isn't even draining! How is a surface of water vapor impermeable to liquid?" Not, perhaps, the most tactful way of opening the conversation, but that was the corollary of the journalist's curiosity. Conversation very often involves questions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Having just gotten out of the shower a couple minutes ago, Sugar Apple was not in the right frame of mind to answer questions about the nature of Cloudsdale decisively. “Well hun, thet’s just how pegasi magic works,” she explained with a minor tinge of disinterest; “Can’t keep anythin’ up hyar if et’d fall through clouds, ya’ know.”

Sugar Apple next gestured to Earth Writer to come inside her home; “Make yerself at home, Earthy. Thar’s not much t’ see in th’ livin’ room; photo albums, records, coffee table books. Ya’ know, mah usual stuff. Ah gotta’ dry mahself off first, so ah’ll be back.” Sugar left her boyfriend to his own devices for a couple minutes while she returned to the bathroom to finish drying off.

OOC NOTE: You have relative freedom to describe in greater detail what Earth Writer sees in the living room. Just don't mention anything that'd be too OOC for her. XD

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Earth Writer supposed that there was a reason that it was an academic scholar, and not an Earth Pony farmer, who'd first written about the details of plant structure and cell growth. Those who grew up close to particular kinds of magic saw them as normal, and not as fascinating new phenomena, begging to be studied. He didn't blame Sugar Apple for not answering his question, but he still resolved to have an answer soon.

He nodded and smiled as he made his way into her house. "Thanks! Hope you don't mind the short notice, I thought it would be a nice surprise." The unicorn looked around the living room, hoping to find an empty vase to put the flowers he brought up in. There wasn't one, which made sense, he supposed. Flowers were hard to come by in the clouds, so normal pegasi furnishing wouldn't account for them.

Understandable as it was, it left him holding the bouquet while he took stock of his marefriend's living room. The first thing he noticed were the pictures, some of the town, but mainly scenes from the ground. Some were of nature, others of ponies going about their lives. "Did you take these?" He asked the pegasus as she returned. "I remember you saying that you were interested in photography."

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Still drying herself off in the bathroom, Sugar Apple spoke up loudly so she could continue answering Earth Writer's questions; "Thet's right! Ah took 'em all on all mah vacations. Feel free t' keep lookin' at th' pics while ah finish up in hyar." Soon enough, the pegasus mare was presentable again, most of her body completely dried off. Sugar's mane remained a little damp, but she'd have to live with that for the time being.

It was only when Sugar Apple came back into the living room that she saw Earth's flower bouquet. She didn't have a proper vase around the cloud house, but they all looked and smelled pretty anyway. "Oh, them flowers look real nice Earthy! Lemme' see if ah got a spare kitchen pot for th' things." And like that, she dashed away once again, leaving her boyfriend to look at her photo albums some more.

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Oh, so these were vacation pictures? Made sense, given that Sugar had a love of both travel and photography. Earth Writer tried to place them as he took them all in. One of them he could place to the very street, given it was only a block away from where his aunt lived in Manehattan. There was another of the Canterlot Skyline... the rest, though, were new views. One particular picture of a glassblower caught the unicorn's fascination; his marefriend had really outdone herself with this one. It used only the light of the small window and furnace in the glass-shop, but had just enough to light the face of the blower, and the glowing lump of melted sand soon to be made into a bottle.

He was still looking at it when Sugar Apple came in, taking the flowers. He smiled as she dashed away to look for a pot to put them in. "Gives a new meaning to the term flower-pot, eh?" He chuckled at his rather indefensible pun, fully expecting to be splashed with water for it as he followed her more leisurely. "By the way, where was the glassblower picture taken? I think it's my favorite of of yours."

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  • 2 weeks later...

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"Ha ha; veeeery funny hun." From the kitchen came Sugar Apple's sarcastic response to her boyfriend's flower-pot pun. Well, the pegasus supposed it was a cute thing to say, she could give Earth Writer that. But Sugar's boyfriend must never know that his lame pun amused her... never. In other news, finding an empty pot for the flowers proved easy to do. In no time flat, the mare returned back to the living room with the flowers just as Earthy asked a question about one of the scrapbook pictures.

"Ah yeah," Sugar set down the improvised flower pot on the coffee table; "Thet was taken in Roam. Pretty much all of th' most skilled glassmakers in Equestria set up shop in Roam. Ya' really should take a trip t' Roam some day, Earthy. It's kinda like Canterlot, but with canals and pegasi-inspired architecture. Roam's really a lovely place; maybe ah'll have t' make a return vacation thar in a few years....."

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Sugar Apple's sarcastic response only served to encourage her coltfriend. Earth Writer had to admit, his own attitude towards puns was not free of hypocrisy; any that he made himself he viewed a polished and prompt gems of wit, any made by others were mere groaners. He only smiled at her attitude, therefore, calling back, "Sorry dear; I really must remember what the Baker told me. Buns are the lowest form of wheat." Even he had to admit to himself that Sugar would have every right to bop him on the head for that one, but he couldn't help it.

Returning his gaze to the picture, he nodded as she suggested visiting Roam. "I'm actually angling with my editor to get an assignment out there, but I don't think he'll increase the number of his correspondents there until he needs a pony to cover their Hearts and Hooves day celebration. Not sure I'd be willing to go so far away from you on that particular holiday." He cast off the thought with a shrug. "Speaking of visiting, though, it's your turn to show me around your home city! I'm completely new here; surprised I didn't get lost on the way, actually. This is not exactly a town build for pedestrians."

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Note: serve Earth Writer a pair of frosting-coated buns later. And lay them down on the ground to make Earthy bend down. That should be more than adequate pun-ishment for the stallion. Anywho, that mention of Hearts and Hooves Day brought upon a flashback in Sugar Apple's mind. For that of course was the day of the couple's first official date, quite a few months ago. No photos of that exact day existed sadly; Sugar didn't have a camera on her at the time. But no matter; if Sugar's boyfriend looked far enough into the scrapbook, he'd start seeing pictures from the couple's subsequent outings.

Naturally, Earthy asked to be led on a tour of Cloudsdale, the majestic city of the clouds that Sugar Apple called home sweet home. "Hmmm," the pegasus pondered; "Ah didn't really have anythin' planned fo' th' next few hours....." Ms. Apple suddenly perked up; "Ah guess yer in luck, hun! Yer goin' go on a grand tour of Cloudsdale thet most landlubbers never git to experience! When yer ready, we can head out anytime."

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In spite of recent trends, it was not at all common or convenient for photography to produce self-portraiture. Of course, unicorns had something of an advantage in holding the camera, and so at least half of the pictures of the couple that Earth Writer encountered towards the end of the album were actually taken by him. One particularly memorable image showed him in the act of over-balancing himself backwards into a fountain in the quest for the best angle. Sugar took most of the pictures after that; less dramatic and artistic in composition, perhaps, but no less genuine.

He closed the album with a smile, always willing to abandon the image for the reality, as Sugar Apple walked in, having gotten ready to head out at last. "Excellent! I should be ready right now, as a matter of fact, unless I need to bring an umbrella or something." He pondered that statement for a moment as he walked up beside his marefriend. "Hm, do you actually have weather up here, or must you poor pegasi be content with mere climate?" He chuckled in good humor, leaning closer to give her a quick nuzzle. The unicorn was in a particularly good mood today, and in fairness had every reason to be so!

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The purple pegasus briefly flashed a smile as she caught a glimpse of that one picture showing her boyfriend falling into a fountain. After returning Earth Writer's nuzzle, Sugar Apple began answering; "Way up here, thar' ain't much other than wind. We're not low enough to th' ground for rain an' snow. Since et's always sunny outside, let's head out shall we?" The mare lead the way outside, out the front door from whence Earthy came. There wasn't much of note to see other than two rows of air houses facing a cloud sheet, which passed for a street in Cloudsdale. "Any place ya'd like to check out first, huh?"

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It was certainly something that they could be assured of good weather. Earth Writer wondered if pegasi regularly felt what he felt, the feeling of being on a giant ship, sailing calm on the surface of seas that may be savage below. Why, there might be rainclouds right beneath his very hooves, blocking the sun and blue sky he was now seeing bright against the rooftops! Air houses and cloud streets!

"What is this place, filled with so many wonders..." The unicorn hummed under his breath as he and Sugar Apple stepped out to take in the town. It was no easy question what to see first, given that he hardly knew what there was to see in a cloud town that could be more amazing than the mere fact of a cloud town. "Well, let's see where this street goes, for one thing. Is there any place we can walk to to get a view of the whole town?"

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Where could somepony find a good vista of Cloudsdale? "Hmmmmm....." pondered Sugar Apple, gently flapping her wings to hover by Earth Writer's side; "Ya' know Earthy... ah've never thought about it before. Anytime ah wanted a good view of Cloudsdale, ah just flew where ah wanted t' go. Plus we don't tend to craft our cloud buildings thet high; it's just not in our local architectural style. Th' important buildings always go fo' more of th' ancient columns style. Ah suppose ef ya' wanted t', ah could ferry ya' on a cloud t' a good overlook later on."

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There was a slight pause, as Earth Writer considered the idea. It wasn't long before his eyes lit up, illuminating his grin. "That... sounds... awesome!" With a short laugh, he bounded near the edge of the road, such as it was, looking over prospective cloud-carriages. "Hm, something that keeps together, maneuverable, but with room for two..." He muttered to himself, before coming across one that seemed to fit the bill.

"Aha!" He lept onto in, landing in a kind of sprawl on top of it. He didn't care about looking dignified at the moment. He beamed back at Sugar Apple as he raised a hoof to the sky. "Excelsior! We'll take in the town at a glance, and make an entrance when we select our destination. In fact..." He looked back down on the cloud, tapping his chin in though. "You know, if there's ever an increase in tourism from the surface, this would be a pretty good business opportunity. Think about it, Cloud Taxis! Much more manageable than balloons, for sure."

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The couple didn't have to trot very far to reach the nexus area between the suburban-styled cloud homes and the more classically-inspired structures of Cloudsdale proper. Here, Earth Writer was inspired to jump into one of them cloud taxis, originally intended for use by pegasi in case they were too tired to use their wings. Weather Factory workers in particular enjoyed the convenience offered by such taxis after extra-long work shifts. Sugar Apple jumped into the cloud taxi after her boyfriend, abit in a more dignified manner. "Not t' mention they'd be more economical too," she joined in the speculation; "But y'all need somethin' other than a walking spell t' actually git moar folks hyar, other than a fancy spell from a unicorn. Maybe somethin' ya' can eat or drink?"

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As a geographer by training, borders actually visible in physical phenomena fascinated Earth Writer. He wondered, briefly, if the classical-styled buildings were actually older than the suburban cloud houses surrounding, or if they were made in a kind of artistic revival, as sometimes happened in Canterlot building. They all looked equally new; cloud architecture had to be constantly maintained, but it was apparently no difficult task.

Only part of his mind was on that view, though. He looked over to where Sugar Apple had got in next to him as the taxi began to take off. "Hm, there is that. Local delicacies are always an attraction to the tourist. Heck, you could serve them on-tour, though provisions would have to guard against littering. Imagine being hit by an apple core from 10,000 feet." He chuckled, looking down over one of the public "streets," which resembled more like a multistory collection of storefronts and porches, each disconnected from each other. Young pegasi were zooming in and out of the alleyways beside, under, behind, and above them. "By the way, what are the local delicacies? I imagine you have to import most of your food from the surface."

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  • 3 weeks later...

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"Don't ya' worry hun," Sugar Apple played down Earth Writer's concerns about the immediate dangers of aerial littering; "Everypony in Cloudsdale knows thet throwing trash down t' th' ground is bad for th' environment, not t' mention th' noggin down below." And then the subject of food arose; "Yep, almost all of our food comes from down below. Ya' might be even able t' see a sky convoy or two ferryin' food t' our markets. However, we can make certain treats of our own, like ice clouds. Et's like chilled cotton candy..... made with cloud. Neato, huh?"

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"It's not the natives I'm worried about littering, it's the tourists!" Earth Writer gave a half-laugh and little shake of his head. "At least in my city, its the visitors that do most of the littering, not those living in Canterlot. After all, nopony wants to live in their own mess, with the possible exception of teenage colts. You should have seen my room at that point!" The stallion didn't consider himself any exception to the trend; even now, he probably could tolerate more disorder in his living spaces than was good for him. Still, he did make some effort to be civilized these days. Especially when around his marefriend.

"Ice clouds..." The reporter smacked his lips at the mention, clearly intrigued. "And, suppose, if a pony wanted to get the absolute best specimen on the kind in town, where would you take him?" He smiled playfully at Sugar Apple, but couldn't hide a bit of salivation at the corner of his mouth.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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After laughing at the wisecrack about teenage colts, Sugar Apple addressed the topic of ice clouds further. "Ah can't say for sure which place has th' best ice cloud," the pegasus explained, "But me and th' gals often go to this one place by th' Factory durin' lunch breaks. Et's called 32 Degrees, and they make some pretty darn good ice cloud among other things. They're other places around Cloudsdale of course, but 32 Degrees ah go to th' most since et's right by my work."

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"Very well, then, to 32 Degree- yaah!" Striking a hoof-raised pose, as if he were setting off an an expedition to the other side of the world (rather than simply across town), Earth Writer betrayed his lack of knowledge about the fairly precarious balance of a cloud taxi. While a quick dropping to all four hooves saved it from actually capsizing, the stallion had to keep a deadly firm grip as the cumulo-transport careened down the street!

Frightened pedestrians scrambled for cover as the unicorn tried to regain control of the vehicle, but his efforts did nothing more than to cancel out the more practiced maneuvers of his marefriend...

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  • 3 weeks later...

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A note for the future: never let Earth Writer get on an air taxi in the near future. The enthusiasm of the obvious tourist almost made him fall off, and Sugar Apple spent the journey anxiously gripping her coltfriend, making sure for his well-being that no other incidents occurred. Unlike Sugar, Earth did not have the luxury of being able to start flying in the event of a aerial capsizing. Thankfully though, the couple managed to arrive outside the Weather Factory without any further incident. The mare made sure however to sarcastically quip as she exited the vehicle; "Ah think we'll be walkin' home." From this point, 32 Degrees was only a simple stroll away.....

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Aside from the embarrassment that all stallions suffer when revealed in an area of incompetency, Earth Writer couldn't help but feel pretty good as he stepped out of the now-halted taxi. True, his legs still felt as if they wanted to run madly off in all directions, but he could still feel the remnants of the tight grip of Sugar Apple around his haunches, and the surge of adrenaline kept his mood buoyant.

"Of course, walking, yes. Best way to see a town, really." He grinned at his marefriend, before looking up at her place of work. It was well worth looking at, with the colossal cloud chimneys streaming the great weather fronts to all parts of Equestria. Even now, there were pegasi out and about, directing these great masses of vapor. "A real 24/7 place, that. Kind of odd to a Canterlotian to see that, now that I think about it. Even the press rests for at least 4 hours a day, although," And he smiled a little ruefully, "Most of us pull all the shifts there are in a day."

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