She Flies on Strange Wings
Alula stretched her wings, basking in the noon sun. She loved feeling the warmth upon them. It was her second favorite thing about having wings. The first was flying, of course. She loved swooping through the sky. The freedom of movement. The speed she could attain in a dive, and the way her mane felt with the air rushing through it. Sure, there were downsides. She could do without having to spend a couple of hours each day preening them, but if that was the cost to be able to fly, she paid it gladly. Besides, there was something soothing about the activity.
It almost made her feel sorry for her companions. They would never experience the joys of dancing amongst the clouds or the softness of using one as a bed. Of course, that did not seem to bother either of them. They sat upon a blanket in the shade of a tree, idly eating their lunches, without so much as a glance up to the sky. She wondered if it was because they did not know what they were missing.
She would show them if it were within her power. To give them wings, so that they might take to the sky. It did not even have to be both of them. She would be happy if it were just Diamond Tiara. To be able to soar through the sky with her, that would be a dream come true. Why, they would even be able to visit Cloudsdale together, and she would be able to introduce Diamond Tiara to her grandmother. Without the wings, well, she imagined it would be like one of the cartoons they showed before the main attraction started at the theater: A shocked look, an exclamation mark above the head, flailing limbs, and then a downwards plummet ending in a small cloud of dust.
She laughed at the thought of it. Her two companions looked up from their lunches. "Just a silly daydream," she said with a giggle. Seeing their questioning looks, she explained further. "I was just thinking how great it would be if we all had wings. Then we could visit Cloudsdale together." She turned her attention fully to Diamond Tiara. "I'd love to show you Cloudsdale."
It was too bad it could never happen. Not unless Diamond Tiara managed to do whatever it was the librarian had done anyway. Besides, she was getting ahead of herself. They had only been dating for a couple of weeks. No doubt Diamond Tiara would want to wait at least a month before telling family of their relationship. That is what all the magazines she read said was the proper amount of time to wait anyway.
Ah, but a filly could dream. Especially a filly as happy as she was. She had wanted this for so long. From the first moment she had seen the pink filly, she had known that this was the one for her. She smiled at the thought of how she had acted. She had been so shy. It had taken her months to work up enough courage to say more than two words to the object of her affection, and months more to become her friend.
She had never worked up the nerve to profess her love though. As much as she had wanted to, doubt had plagued her mind. What if Diamond Tiara preferred colts and freaked out and never ever wanted to talk to her again? Or what if everything she did to Apple Bloom was because she was secretly harboring a crush on her? And so for a year, Alula had tried her best to be content just to be Diamond's, to be close to her. And then had come that day two weeks when Diamond Tiara had asked her. Well, actually, there had not been much asking involved. It was more like a statement. Diamond had just walked right up and said that they were going on a date. She still had trouble believing it had happened.
She giggled again.
"What now?" Diamond Tiara asked. Anyone who did not know her well might have thought that she was annoyed, but Alula knew better. That was her "content, but don't want to admit it" voice. She had made it a point to get to know all of Diamond Tiara's moods. Diamond could be a bit tempermental, to put it nicely, and so it was important to be able to know which way the wind was blowing. She was worth the effort it took though.
"Just looking at you makes me happy, Tia," she said. Tia: her nickname for Diamond Tiara. She loved the sound of it. It had this wonderful playful quality to it, and yet, for some reason, seemed so regal. She never got tired of saying it. What she was tired of was that pesky itch just between her wings, but she knew how to solve that. Carefully, she judged the distance between herself and Diamond Tiara and found it to be just about right.
"Oh, Tia," Alula said softly. The moment Diamond Tiara looked her way, Alula rolled toward her, taking a moment to wiggle back and forth and deal with the itch, before coming to a stop next to her girlfriend. She gently nuzzled Diamond's cheek, taking pleasure in the rising warmth.
"I can feel you blushing," Alula teased, stretching out the last word. Who would have thought that Miss Always-In-Charge would light up like a Hearth's Warming Eve fire at the slightest bit of public affection? Alula loved Diamond's reaction though. It made it even more fun. Alula nuzzled Diamond Tiara again. Silver Spoon rolled her eyes upwards, before laughing, enjoying her best friend's discomfort.
"You know she totally does that just to see you squirm, right?" Silver Spoon said. "And you, like, make it so easy for her."
Alula watched as Diamond gave Silver Spoon her "annoyed but not really" glare. It looked a lot like her actually annoyed glare, but the scowl was slightly different. The glare continued, while Silver Spoon sat smugly resisting it with a huge smile on her face. At last Diamond gave up with a harumph. Ignoring Silver Spoon's laughter, Diamond Tiara turned toward Alula.
"So I was thinking..." Diamond Tiara said, before looking away and down at the ground, her face flush with embarrassment.
Alula leaned toward Diamond Tiara. Whatever had her blushing without saying a word had to be good. "Yes?" Alula asked.
"Would..." Diamond Tiara stopped again, blushing even more furiously. She looked away, breathed in deeply, then turned back and blurted out her question so fast it all seemed to be a single long word. "Would-you-like-to-come-over-after-school?"
Alula's rump hit the ground. That was the question? Why would asking that embarrass her? The answer came to her immediately: Diamond Tiara had been too embarrassed to ask the actual question. Alula spent another second wondering what the question could have been, before deciding it did not matter. Diamond Tiara would ask her when she was ready.
And in the meantime, spending an afternoon at the Rich's house with Diamond and Spoon would be fun. Her perplexed look turned into a smile. "Would I? Of course I would. It'll be an absolute blast. We can have a tea party and then Sil can do our manes. It'll be so fun!" She readied herself to hug Diamond Tiara.
"No!" Diamond Tiara said, raising a hoof in protest. "I was... I was thinking just you."
Alula looked at her, head askew. No Silver Spoon? But getting their manes braided by Silver Spoon was almost a tradition.
"See, my father is going to be home this afternoon... and I'd like you to meet him."
Alula was still confused. "Tia," she said, stretching the last syllable, "I've met your father lots of times. You know that."
Silver Spoon laughed, causing Alula to look her way. "Lula, you can be, like, so clueless." Sil shook her head in amazement. "She's saying she's going to tell her father you're her very special somepony."
"Oh." It took a second for what Silver Spoon was saying to fully sink in, and when it did, she repeated the word, longer and more drawn out. "Oh!" Instantly, she was on her feet, throwing her forelegs around Diamond Tiara's neck. She squeed with excitement. "Of course I'll go!"
"Great!" Diamond Tiara said, her usual take-charge manner returning full force, despite her cheeks still burning from the question and hug. "We'll walk together after school, okay?"
"It's a date!" Alula said. "And on Friday, you should come over to my place for family dinner. And then I can—" A brown blur flew in and smacked her in the head, toppling her over.
"Oow," she said, rubbing the side of her head. Her hoof was quickly pushed aside by Diamond Tiara. A new hoof felt along Alula's head as Diamond Tiara made her own inspection. Alula smiled dreamily. It felt so nice she almost did not mind having been walloped on the head.
"Are you okay?" Diamond asked. "How many hooves am I holding up?"
"Two." Seeing Diamond's two mouths frown, Alula squinted, trying to see clearly. "No, wait. One. Definitely one." She struggled to get to her feet and would have fallen over onto her other side, if not for a steadying hoof from Silver Spoon. "What hit me?" Alula asked.
"Gee, I wonder," Diamond Tiara said, gesturing toward the two ponies running up.
"Are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked, Scootaloo at her side. "I'm so sorry."
"You totally are," Silver Spoon said. "I don't think there's a single pony sorrier than you in all of Equestria."
"I thought we'd told you losers to stay over on that side of the playground," Diamond Tiara said.
"That's where we were!" Scootaloo said. "I was just trying to get a cutie mark in football, just like Sweetie's dad." She looked back to the spot she had come from. "I sure got some good distance!"
Diamond Tiara scowled at her. "Yeah, well, does this tree look like a goal post to you? Well, does it?"
"No?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"That's right. It doesn't. And do you know why it doesn't look like one? Because it isn't one. The goal post is all the way over there!" She pointed off into the distance. "You could have hurt Alula, you know."
"I'm fine, Tia," Alula said. "Just a little bit sore. It's okay."
"No, it is not okay." She shook a hoof at the two crusaders. "They're a menace. We're all lucky they haven't killed anyone yet."
"Seriously. How do you even manage to miss that badly?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Maybe next time I'll try to hit you," Scootaloo muttered under her breath.
"Sorry again, Alula. We really didn't mean to," Sweetie Belle said. "Come on, Scootaloo. Let's get the ball and try again. I'm sure you can at least get it to go in the right direction this time!" And with that, the two crusaders were off after the ball.
"Could they, like, be any more annoying?" Silver Spoon said.
"I don't know. I don't find them that—" Alula started.
"Apple Bloom could have been here," Diamond Tiara said, with a shrug.
Silver Spoon laughed. "That would totally have been worse."
"Why isn't she here anyway?" Alula asked. It was strange for Apple Bloom to not be in class. Her friends were here, and her family did not seem like the type to put up with any foal of theirs skipping school for no good reason. It was possible that she was sick, Alula supposed, but if that were the case, there should have been a note, and Miss Cheerilee would have mentioned something.
"She's off helping the family with the harvesting," Diamond Tiara said. "Napping in the barn more likely. No way she'd be useful for anything."
Silver Spoon nodded. "I know, right? She'd probably, like, bruise all the apples." She giggled.
"I'm so surprised Miss Cheerilee even lets her miss school. I mean, she totally can't even talk right. Yer and Ah'm and those y'alls. Seriously, like, who even talks like that?"
Diamond Tiara nodded. "I'm so glad that daddy isn't farmer. Could you just imagine being one of those? Having to haul all those heavy loads around..."
"The hoof damage from kicking trees." Silver Spoon looked at her hoof in mock horror.
Diamond Tiara shuddered. "And could you just imagine how sweaty you'd get from doing that all day? Just gross!"
Alula nodded. It did seem much worse than kicking clouds. Those at least gave a bit when you gave them a good buck. Wood though? That stuff was hard, and there was always the chance that it could shatter. No, it did not seem fun at all. Not even if it was only tiny pieces. "I bet you get splinters as well. Could you just imagine how annoying that would be?" She gave an exaggerated shudder, causing her two companions to laugh. With a grin, she continued on. "And don't forget the digging in the dirt. Why, after a while, you probably could never get your hooves clean. I can't imagine who would ever want to live like that. It's like they think they're pigs or something." She pawed at the ground with her forehooves and lowered her nose to the ground, like she was rooting through the much. "Oink-oink!"
Silence. There should have been laughter or at least giggling. She raised her head and looked at her friends. The two ponies stared at her with unblinking eyes, their mouths wide open. Even the sound of the bell ringing, signalling the end of lunch, did not seem to reach them.
"I can't believe you said that," Diamond Tiara said.
"What?" asked Alula. In Diamond Tiara's face, she could only read hurt. Not mock or playful hurt, but a type she had not seen before. Could it be real hurt? Hoping for clarification of what she had said wrong, she looked toward Silver Spoon.
"Not cool," Silver Spoon said, shaking her head. "Like, so not cool." With swift motions, she shoved her things into her lunch box. "Come on, Diamond. Let's go."
Diamond Tiara nodded and quickly cleaned up her lunch. The two earth ponies picked up their packs and walked off towards the school building, not looking back other than for a single pointed stare at the confused pegasus.
"What did I say wrong?" Alula asked, still sitting on the grass, as she watched them disappear inside.
Alula rushed down the hall toward the exit. She was late, but that was because she had had to clean the erasers because she had not been paying attention in class. Nopony could really blame her for that though. She had been trying to figure out why what she had said had upset Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, and why they had done their best to avoid her attempts to get their attention throughout the afternoon. She had succeeded in getting somepony's attention though: Miss Cheerilee's. And so the eraser cleaning. Still, it could have been worse: It had not taken so long, and now she could meet Diamond Tiara and find out just what the problem was.
Alula pushed open the door and stepped outside, looking around. In the distance, she could see some foals playing touch football, no doubt with the same ball that had knocked her silly earlier, while closer-by some of the younger foals sat on the playground's see-saws. She looked again, taking in the red walls of the schoolhouse, the plants in the flowerbeds, and the worn path leading to the school.
Diamond Tiara was not there. She should be here, because this was always where they met when one of them got held up for some reason. It was not like Alula was very late. She had cleaned the erasers as quickly as she could. She looked around again, hoping she had somehow missed Diamond the first two times. Certainly she was not so mad that she would just leave.
Alula's face lit up as she realized what must have happened. Diamond Tiara must have wondered what was keeping her and gone back inside the school to find out. Somehow, they had missed each other in the hallway, and right this very second, Diamond was no doubt inside the classroom asking Miss Cheerilee. It was the only thing that made sense.
Alula pulled open the door and raced inside, skidding around corners. Sliding into the room, she scanned the room and let out a sigh. The only pony left in the classroom was Miss Cheerilee, who looked up from the papers she was grading, letting the red pen in her mouth drop to the desk.
"Yes?" the teacher asked.
Alula shuffled her feet and shifted her eyes from side to side. "Oh, um... I thought maybe I forgot my history book on the desk, but it's not there. I must have remembered it after all." She reached around and pulled the book out of her bag just far enough for the teacher to see it. "Yep. Here it is. Silly me." She forced herself to laugh. "I sometimes think I'd forget my feathers if they weren't attached to my wings. See you tomorrow, Miss Cheerilee!"
"Of course, Alula," Miss Cheerilee said, returning her attention to the papers she was grading.
The moment she was out of sight, Alula flew down the hallway back toward the usual meeting spot. Flying indoors was not allowed at the school, but she ignored the rule. She had to get back there as fast as possible and that meant flying. While she had been checking if Diamond Tiara was in the classroom, maybe Diamond had shown up at the spot and even now she was growing irritated at waiting. Diamond Tiara hated to be kept waiting.
With a shove, Alula flung open the door, calling out, "I'm here!"
Nopony answered back. Which made sense, she supposed, since she was the only one here. The other foals had finished their playing and moved on. More importantly, still no Diamond Tiara. She sat down, unsure of what to do.
Her mind flashed back to lunch, and the pointed glances from both Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara over the course of the afternoon. Just what had them so upset? She could not figure it out. All she had done was say something similar to what they had. It had just been a joke, nothing more.
She bounced to her feet. That was it! That had to be it! Diamond was getting her back for all the times Alula made her blush. Any minute now, they would run up and point at her while laughing about how funny her expression had been. It had probably been Silver Spoon's idea. She was always planning jokes like this. Alula sat down to calmly wait them out. Any minute now.
But as the minutes passed without any sight of Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon, Alula found herself looking around more and more often, until at last she had gotten up and started pacing. What if what she had said really had offended her friends? She had no clue why it would have, but... well, they had been distant all afternoon, and now Diamond Tiara was not here, when she had said she would be.
Was it over when it had barely begun? Had she lost her girlfriend? Had what she had said crossed some line she did not even know existed? Was it her fault?
Well, she was not going to let it end this like this. She might not know what she had done wrong, but she could find out what she had done wrong and make it right. She unfurled her wings and lifted into the sky, circled once, and headed off in the direction of Diamond Tiara's house.
Catching a warm updraft, she rode it upwards, gaining a bit of altitude, before heading out at rooftop height. As she flew, she looked down, watching the buildings, gardens, and ponies pass beneath her. Some looked up as her shadow passed by them. Ordinarily, she would imagined the jealousy they must feel, to be stuck on the ground while she roamed free above, but right now, her thoughts were focused on reaching Diamond Tiara's home.
Arriving at her destination, Alula landed lightly on walkway leading to the front door. She knocked on the door, tentatively at first, then again harder. Had she angered Diamond Tiara enough that she would just send her away? Maybe Diamond would not even do it herself, but would have instructed Praiseworthy to do it. The thought sent chills through her, that she might have unknowingly angered Diamond Tiara so much that she would not even want to see her.
She almost turned and fled, think it would be better to flee than to know for sure. She would have, had the Rich's butler not chosen to open the door at that moment.
"Good afternoon, Miss Alula," Praiseworthy said, the old grey-coated unicorn as dignified as ever. "Are you here to see the lady of the house?"
Alula cast a glance upwards, at the freedom of the sky. She could still fly away if she wanted. But the impulse had passed, and she turned her gaze to Praiseworthy. "Yes." She swallowed. "If she'll see me, that is."
"Well, considering she asked me pick up some raspberry and peach puff turnovers for a special guest she was having over this afternoon, I find it hard to believe that she would not want to see you. I seem to recall that those are your favorite," he said with a wink, stepping aside and gesturing for her to come inside. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to her. She's in her garden and in a bit of a mood."
"Her garden?" Alula asked. "She has a garden?"
"Almost every earth pony does, my dear. Quite proud of it she is too. And protective. She will not let anyone else help her tend it."
The idea shocked Alula. Sure, she could imagine Diamond sitting a garden, sipping from a glass of ice tea, but the thought of her digging, weeding, and whatever else gardening required, well, it all seemed liked the sort of thing a pony with Diamond Tiara's tastes would have no interest in. But apparently she was interested, and now the words Alula had said came back to her. She gasped in horror. No wonder Diamond had been so upset.
"Is something wrong, ma'am?" Praiseworthy asked.
Alula looked up at the elderly butler. "You said she was in a mood?"
He nodded. "Indeed. She went straight to her garden as soon as she got home. She did not even have her usual after school snack. That usually means something upset her quite significantly. I don't suppose you might know what might have done that?" He stopped besides a door to the outside and waited, not opening the door, one eyebrow raised.
Alula tried to wait him out, but she soon found herself fidgeting under his patient gaze. At last she cracked. "We, uhm, sort of had a fight. I might have said something stupid."
"I thought that might be the case. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really." She looked down in shame. "We were sorta joking about stuff, and I said something about gardening and pigs. And now I find out she has a garden. No wonder she's mad at me." She looked up and met his eyes. "Do you think she'll forgive me, Mr. Praiseworthy?"
He gave her a comforting smile. "That is not my place to say. I can tell you though that there is only one way to find out..." He opened the door and indicated onward with his hoof. She took a small step forward, then another. "Straight ahead, just past the hedge, over by the water tank."
"Thanks, Mr. Praiseworthy."
"Best of luck, young miss." He bowed slightly and shut the door behind her.
Alula started down the path leading toward the water tank. The closer she got to the hedge, the more her stomach felt uneasy. She stopped once, looking back toward the door, before she gathered her resolve and continued on.
Cautiously, she peeked around the hedge. She could just make out Diamond Tiara behind a shrub of some sort. Alula took a step toward Diamond Tiara and stopped, as the sight hit her. Her rear legs collapsed underneath her and she sat down, mouth open.
The plants were of various heights and shapes. Some were low to the ground, while others reached for the sky. The colors varied as well, from the greens one expected to some that were almost blue or red. And the flowers: big ones, little ones, in all the colors of the rainbow. The soft bubbling of the creek that ran through the garden. Even the smells seemed to be delicately balanced. She thought she recognized a couple of them from some perfumes, but she could not be sure.
Within her, she felt something familiar, yet she could not quite place it. A feeling of joy, of hope, of exhilaration. She struggled to remember just what this place reminded her of. A white stretch of clouds. Her mother holding her up, while her father provided encouragement. Her wings flapping. And then that moment when she felt herself lift into the air. The day the sky had opened up to her.
And she knew: this was why no earth pony seemed envious of her wings. They had their own way to reach heights unknown, and they had no need of wings to do it. To be able to create something like this. . . She felt like she could stay here forever.
"What do you want?" The question tore her away from her rapture. Diamond Tiara stood in the middle of the stone path, glaring at her. Her hooves were dirty, and in place of her tiara, she wore a scarf wrapped around her head. "Have you come to call me a pig again?"
"It's... it's beautiful." Alula gave her head a quick shake to clear her thoughts. "I'm sorry. I came to apologize. When I said what I said at lunch and you got angry, I was confused. And then you didn't talk to me for the rest of the day, and you weren't there after school. At first I thought maybe it was a joke you were pulling on me because I'm always embarrassing you with my snuggle attacks. But after I waited for half an hour and you still didn't show up, I realized I must have done something to really hurt you.
"It's because of this, isn't it? Did you really do all this?"
Diamond Tiara stared at her. Alula could see the anger and hurt in her eyes. Less than it had been though. "Yes."
"I'm... I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't know. With how you love to dress up and how you talk about Apple Bloom, I just assumed..."
"I'm an earth pony, Alula." Diamond Tiara gestured to the garden around her. "You fly. We garden. It is what we do. It calls to us. When we get stressed, we feel the need to garden. When we're happy, we're even happier amongst the plants. And when our very special somepony says something that really hurts us..." She turned her head away and snorted.
Alula shot forward and threw her forelegs around Diamond Tiara, hugging her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Tia," she said. "I've been such a bad girlfriend."
"What?" Diamond Tiara protested, struggling to break free.
Alula stepped back. "It's true." She placed her hoof against Diamond Tiara's mouth, to silence any protest. "I've been thinking this whole time about how I wish you could be a pegasus, so that you could share the joy I feel when I fly. That to be a pegasus was somehow better than being an earth pony. I didn't ever think that you might have something of your own to show me. I've been so selfish." She lowered her head and closed her eyes, attempting to stifle the tears. "I don't deserve you."
"Of course you don't deserve me." Diamond Tiara's words cut, and Alula allowed her tears free reign. She felt a gentle hoof lift her head back up and words were whispered into her ear. "But I don't deserve you either. I'm so sorry, Lula." Diamond Tiara pulled her head back and Alula found herself staring into Diamond Tiara's eyes. "I shouldn't have just ran off. I should have explained. But I was just so angry. I needed to get away, to calm down." Diamond Tiara gave her a soft kiss on the nose. "Two undeserving ponies. See? Maybe we are perfect for each other." Diamond Tiara kissed her nose again.
Joy surged through Alula, and she nuzzled Diamond. She got a nuzzle of her own in return, and the two ponies found themselves hugging each other, holding on tight in relief that they had survived their first fight. At last, the hug broke and the two ponies sat looking at each other.
"Hmm," said Diamond Tiara, her head held at a slight angle. "We're definitely going to have to do something about your face. Between my hooves smearing dirt all over and your sobbing, you look a mess. Let's get you cleaned up by the stream."
She turned and walked up the path, and Alula followed her, looking around her at the splendors of the garden. "Mr. Praiseworthy said almost every earth pony has a garden. Are they all this beautiful?"
Diamond Tiara stopped in her tracks and gave a mock shocked look. "Of course not. Do you really think anypony's else could compare to all this beauty?"
"Oh," Alula said, looking down at her hooves. "No, I guess not." She watched a ladybug crawl along a leaf and sighed. "It's just I really like yours and was hoping that maybe there were others just as wonderful."
She felt a hoof on her shoulder and slowly looked up at Diamond. Diamond Tiara glanced around quickly, before leaning in close.
"Look, I guess there's five or six that are pretty okay," Diamond admitted. "There's some stuff Roseluck, Lily, and Daisy do in their garden that I wish I could have in mine." Diamond Tiara jabbed Alula with her hoof. "But if you tell anypony I said that I'm so going to hurt you."
Alula giggled at Diamond's half-joke. "I think I'd like to see them. With you, I mean. Do you think that might be possible? I know we'd been talking about going to the new art exhibit on Saturday, but maybe you could show me all your favorite garden spots in Ponyville instead?"
Diamond Tiara dipped her hooves into the water of the stream, swirling them around until they were clean. Scooping up some water, she turned her attention to Alula's face. With care, she wiped off the dirt and the tears. She gave it a look over, then cleaned some more. "There," she said with a satisfied nod. "Now you look worthy of me."
Diamond Tiara smiled gently at Alula. "As for Saturday, yes, I think I'd like that. It's a date." Diamond Tiara looked around her garden. "You know, we've got a little time before my dad gets home. I could tell you about mine, I mean if you'd like to hear about it."
Alula looked around at the garden, taking in its beauty and contemplating the time and effort it must have taken to create. "I'd love to."
As Diamond Tiara began to explain about her garden, Alula listened intently. The words raced by and she did her best to understand them, but it was as if Diamond Tiara were speaking a foreign language. At last, Alula gave up trying to follow and decided to just enjoy the passion in her girlfriend's voice.
With a sigh of contentment, she snuggled against Diamond Tiara.
Author's Note
If you find yourself in the mood for more DT+Alula, might I suggest Yukito's Alula and Diamond Tiara's Adventures in Romance?
