Autumn is the Best Season
Just Drifting Around II
Admiral Biscuit
Sassaflash leaned over the edge of the cloud and peered down at the vibrant world below her. It was early autumn, her favorite time of the year. Watching the trees change from green to oranges and reds and yellows from her cloudtop perch was beautiful, and it meant it was time for pumpkin pies and squash and apple cider. Mornings were crisp and cool, but as often as not the days were plenty warm. Come the evening, it was time to retreat inside, and cuddle up with her cloudmate and read about ponies having adventures, like Daring Do.
Tiger Lily wasn't as fond of the fall. She always had a more pessimistic outlook, thinking about how soon it would be cold and snowy, and food would be harder to come by. She would have been happy if they'd stayed in the south, where there weren't really seasons, just warm and hot.
So they took turns. Some years, they stayed in the south. Sassaflash didn't complain; the South did have a lot in its favor. Their cooking was spicier than the Northern ponies liked, pasture was plentiful, everypony was polite, and the days stayed long. On the other hoof, their fall and winter celebrations lacked the earnestness of their Northern cousins. When snow drifts were piled up against a pony's home, Hearth's Warming meant something.
Their cloudhome was being propelled by a brisk southeastern breeze, heading for its destination with no effort on their part. Sassaflash got up from the edge of the cloud and stomped around on their veranda—as she called it—fluttering her wings slowly. Up on the roof, Tiger Lily was sprawled out on her back, dozing in the afternoon sunlight.
It's my turn to get dinner. Sassaflash regarded the sun. They were still over a forest, so it would be slim pickings. They had a small stock of food in the pantry, but she wanted something fresh.
She trotted into the house, ducking into the bedroom to grab the saddlebags they shared, before galloping off the edge of the cloud. She spread her wings wide, descending in a broad circle like a bird of prey, although her first target was only cluster of defenseless bushes.
She landed in low shrubs, trotting down to a walk. The ground was softer and muddier than she'd expected—it must have rained here recently. Sassaflash tugged a hoof loose from the mire and shook it off, frowning at the feel of the mud squelching underhoof. That was one thing about the fall she didn't like so much.
Her mood picked up right away. She was in the middle of a patch of autumn olive, and the shrubs were covered in berries. The leaves tasted pretty good, too, so it was definitely a victory, proof once again that nature would provide for the pony clever enough to reap her bounty.
She denuded two of the bushes, jamming the saddlebags full of berries and leaves alike, and continued her hunt. Unfortunately, pasture grasses were getting unappealing—one downside to autumn. Still, she managed to find enough to round out dinner, cramming it atop her earlier haul.
Sassaflash looked back up in the sky, getting an eye for how far their home had drifted while she was foraging. It was nearly a mile downwind of her; the wind was moving faster than she'd thought.
She took off in pursuit, staying low, and constantly looking at the terrain below, in case she found something else worth having for dinner.
Her search was rewarded as she crossed over a small rocky stream. Sassaflash dove into the gap in the trees, following it as it meandered through the forest. The water was tea-colored from the tannin it picked up from the shedding trees, but it was still clear enough that she could see silvery fish darting about.
She circled back, keeping them in her sight. They were close to the surface, perhaps taking the opportunity to feed on the last insects of the season, or maybe the water was warmer there.
She dove down, taking a deep breath just before she hit the water. It was a maneuver she'd been performing ever since she was a filly; unfortunately, it wasn't always a successful move, and this time was no exception. She pulled up from the stream with nothing to show but a mouthful of water.
At least my hooves are clean. She circled low, waiting for the fish to come back. Fish were dumb.
A minute later, her patience was rewarded. They were back, and she made another attempt. And another. And another.
Finally, after the third 'one last try,' she got one, gripping it lightly in her teeth as it struggled to get back in the water. Sassaflash landed on the bank, her snack still gripped in her teeth. She'd tried to toss fish up in the air and swallow them whole like birds did, but that had never worked well for her; besides the risk of choking, it reduced the reward to nothing more than a second of swallowing.
She crunched down on it, reveling in the warm salty taste in her mouth. Tiger Lily had tried a fish once and thought it was disgusting. Not many inland pegasi liked the taste, but Sassaflash's family had lived near the seacoast when she was a foal, and grown up eating fish as a normal part of her diet.
She licked the last few scales off her lips and took flight again, skimming low enough over the stream to rinse her hooves back off, then began gaining altitude with powerful flaps of her wings.
Once she cleared the treeline, Sassaflash made a beeline for home—which had drifted several miles further away while she was fishing. The setting sun highlighted the cloud, reflecting back off the unnaturally straight walls. She would have been happy enough with more organic shapes, but Tiger Lily had insisted that a proper home had regular lines, and it was a small thing, not worth fighting about.
Dinner only took a few minutes to prepare. Sassaflash emptied her saddlebags out on the kitchen table, quickly sorted out the ripest berries to eat now, and put the rest of them in jars for later. Neither of them were big on place settings, since plates and utensils meant dishes, and dishes were boring. She measured out two filling servings of food, and left them on the table, then went up to wake Tiger Lily.
*****
The two pegasi sat together on what Sassaflash called the veranda, and Tiger Lily—if she called it anything at all—would have called the bow. A oft-patched comforter was draped over both of them, so just their heads stuck out. Tiger Lily was sitting on her belly, her attention mostly focused on the empty sky in front of their home. Her right wing was draped lightly across Sassaflash, who was lying on her back watching the stars appear in the fading light.
“It's going to get colder soon.” Tiger Lily ducked her head under the covers and grabbed a loose feather out of her left wing. She flapped that wing experimentally a couple of times, sending drafts of cold air under the blanket.
“It is.” Sassaflash kept her eyes focused on the sky, tilting her head backwards away from the last fading light of the sun.
“My winter coat's coming in.” Tiger Lily rubbed a spot on her back. “Itches.”
“Mine, too.”
“Do you remember last year when we were over Maretinique?”
Sassaflash nodded.
“It was warm all winter.” Tiger Lily made it sound like an accusation.
Sassaflash turned on her side to look the elder mare in the eye. She leaned in and nuzzled her in the nose, getting a soft snort in reply. “Do you remember the year before when we were in Vanhoofer and ate a whole pumpkin pie with whipped cream at that little restaurant?”
“Where are we headed?”
“Ponyville—that's the next town. Then we'll be a day's flight from Canterlot, if the winds hold out.”
“Do you ever think about what it would be like to live in one place all the time? You and I, we could have regular jobs, like other ponies do.”
“I don't see why.” Sassaflash looked back up at the sky. “Equestria's such a big place—why would we want to settle down in a stationary home?”
Tiger Lily fell silent and looked up at the stars, too. Side-by-side, they watched the harvest moon make her way above the distant horizon. Below them, the land had disappeared in the darkness, and they were alone on their cloud.
Only Sassaflash was still awake when a shooting star trailed across the sky. She made her wish, and then nestled closer to her cloudmate. She gently nosed Tiger Lily's mane aside, before lowering her head to the cloud.
Autumn is the best time of the year, she thought, as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note
A One-Shot-Ober story.
