Livin large...Sort Of

Far in the distance, I could see the outline of Cloudsdale. I could only just make out the towers that made up the weather factory on the east side of the city. If I looked close enough and thought hard enough, I could picture a busy day in Cloudsdale. Junior Flight Camp would be going, as usual, young pegasi would be laughing as they zipped through hoops of cottony cumulus. Fillies would be smiling and giggling as they mastered different relays and got paired with their friends in race teams. Fluttershy and I were far too old for JFC, but memories of the camp were still enjoyable ones. It was at JFC that we had both gotten our cutie marks and I had created a friendship with Fluttershy. I looked ahead of me and saw Fluttershy adjust her satchel. Her small wing beats sounded through the otherwise silent sky. Her long pink mane blew gently in the kind breeze. Thank Celestia it was a nice day. If the conditions had been bad, flying all this way would've been downright torture.

"Oh! Look!" Fluttershy called from ahead. She picked up speed as a little blue and gray bird led us below the clouds. Fluttershy stuck out a buttery yellow hoof. "Ponyville!"

Sure enough, there it was. A sprawling town that spread through the valley and covered the sides of the hills with quaint cottages and colorful shops. From above, I could see hundreds of happy ponies going about their day. On the far side of the town, on the crest of a hill and all the way down it, I could make out beautiful patches of apple trees bursting with plump red fruits. At the center of the orchard, I could see a beautifully painted red barn with a few ponies carting wagons of apples around and into it. I turned my head down the orchard hill to see a train station. A lovely candy coated train puffed into the station and was greeted by swarms of travelers. I could make out the tall steeple of a frivolously decorated purple building. Ponies in elegant hats went to and fro around this one. I turned and saw a delectable looking bakery. Painted and roofed to make the whole building look like an immense cupcake. A red schoolhouse where little fillies were jumping rope and swinging. A spa, a joke shop, a jeweler, a post office, and pretty much everything to make a great town. All around it was the infamous Everfree forest. Shrouding the ground from my view with thick forestry and vines. I had to admit, Ponyville didn't look half bad.

"Oh. Isn't it just beautiful!?" Fluttershy exclaimed. She twirled in the air and smiled brightly at me. I frowned a bit despite the beauty of Fluttershy and the town. "Oh. Rainbow are you alright?" Fluttershy flitted over to me and wrapped a hoof around my shoulder.

"Yeah," I muttered. I wrapped my hoof around her buttery yellow neck and she gave me a slight squeeze. I smiled and turned my head to hide my blush.

"Y'know," She said softly. "If you don't like it, Cloudsdale would love to have their blue bolt back." She said with a sad smile.

"No," I said. "I-I love Ponyville. I just miss Cloudsdale a bit." I said puffing out my chest. Fluttershy giggled. I blushed again. This wasn't good, my face was heating up.

"You didn't have to follow me you know?" Fluttershy whispered.

"I wanted to!" My voice grew louder to hide the tremor in my throat. Fluttershy giggled again and pulled ahead.

"Lemme show you your house!" She called.

"Awesome!" I called, as I adjusted my satchel. Fluttershy had thought I had come to Ponyville as her friend. I had. But I also just needed to be with her. Even if that meant leaving cloud utopia behind. But I had to admit, Ponyville didn't look half bad.

"Wow." I breathed.

"I know! Isn't it awesome for you!?" Fluttershy exclaimed.

My eyes grew larger and larger as I took in the grandeur of this floating mansion that I could now call mine. I tall cloud tower protruded from a large cottony cloud spewing rainbows onto the ground below. It had a beautiful cloud archway that led to a large wooden door. Fluttershy excitedly pushed it open. My jaw hit the floor as I took in the interior. Collums covered the walls of the circular entryway, and giant spiraling staircases led up the sides of the tower. The floors shone so brightly that I could see Fluttershy's excited expression behind me. I shot up into the air and bolted around the entire house. Room after room of beautifully sculpted clouds. Hallway after hallway floored with shimmering blue glass. Couches and chairs as soft as waterbeds lay draped with blankets stitched from wisps of clouds. Windows with sills studded with shimmering stones gave me 360 views of Ponyville and the beautiful crystalline sky. I loved it.

"So? Whaddya-"

"I LOVE IT!" I called, cutting off and startling Fluttershy. "It's amazing!" She smiled that smile again. The smile seemed to dim all the beauty of the cottony cloud rug and shimmering floor.

"It's a pegasus suite." She explained. "When Ponyville heard about your racing rep, they set it up for you."

"Wow." I said. "that's amazing!"

"The moving chariots come in about an hour. One for you and one for me. They have most of the stuff that we didn't carry." She then plopped down on a fainting couch. After a moment of me awkwardly staring at her, she rose. I blushed when she caught my eye. "Wanna explore Ponyville?"

About an hour later, Fluttershy and I were laden with bags of quills, books, taffies, cupcakes, and apples. Lots of apples. Apparently, the farm I had seen earlier was called Sweet Apple Acres. It was run by an earth pony named Applejack and her earth pony family. Fluttershy and I had traipsed around Ponyville, going into every shop, window eating at every cafe, and looking at every vendor at the open air market. The place that had looked like a cupcake was run by the cake family and Pinkie Pie, who was out making the icing, we didn't see her. The purple house with the fancy hat ponies was Rarity's boutique. It was technically closed, according to her younger sister Sweetie Belle, but the filly let us look around while her sister was upstairs making more hats. Then, at the market, we met Apple Bloom and Granny Smith who gave us plenty of apple merch and about 15 extra pounds of free samples. Applejack was out with her older brother Big Mac out at the farm so we didn't meet them. Now, we were on our way to Fluttershy's new house. I could see why she would choose Ponyville. It was her style.

"Here it is!" Fluttershy squealed. She rushed ahead as I turned the corner to see her house.

The path we were on split into two and the one on the left continued up a slight incline. A bubbling little brook trickled by under a little bridge. Flowers and grasses lined the path that led up the hill to her house. Little saplings grew here and there all around making the perfect place for this Pegasus. The house itself was carved out of some sort of shrub like tree. It had beautiful curved windows that sported window boxes growing flowers and peas. Birdhouses were hung everywhere and little critters dashed about. I flew into the house through a little red door and was met with the most perfect little cottage ever. A giant moving crate lay open in the middle of the entry way and Fluttershy dashed back and forth up and down her set of stairs, in and out of doors, and making her place look like it belonged to her. I dashed to the crate and began to help her arrange her home. Only twenty or so minutes later, we were sitting on her bed after hauling it upstairs. Fluttershy leaned back and smiled. I smiled back.

"This is perfect." She said.

"Yeah." I agreed quietly. Then she reached over and wrapped her hooves around me in a big hug.

"I'm glad you came here with me." She whispered into my ear.

"I'm glad i did too." I said. If only I could tell her really why I did.