Graff's Inter-Dimensional Adventures

It was the first Friday after I'd returned, and I was eating a bagel, when I received a text from Sunset. I opened it, then froze when I saw the contents.

"Graff, Starlight just wrote to me. We need you to get back over to Equestria, and stat!"

I typed back, "But won't the portal be closed for a long time?"

After a moment, Sunset replied, "Don't worry; we have a work-around. Meet me at CHS's Wondercolts Statue as quickly as you can."

I quickly scarfed down the rest of my food and high-tailed it out the door.

I managed to catch a bus to Canterlot High, and arrived in a timely fashion. Sunset was standing at the base of the statue, her journal in hand, and a worried look on her face.

I crossed the street from the bus stop and reached her. "What's going on, Sunset?"

She flipped to the most recent page of the journal and shook her head. "I don't know; she just said she needs you over there soon!"

I looked at the message, and raised an eyebrow. "That just says 'I can't wait to see him again'..."

Sunset blinked as she reread the message. Her cheeks grew red, and she smiled awkwardly. "Oh, geez. Sorry, I guess I'm a bit on edge; nothing's happened lately, and I'm just paranoid something's gonna go wrong."

I looked at her, then chuckled a bit. "That's okay; you're just being cautious."

She closed the book. "Sorry for making you come all the way here for nothing."

I thought for a moment. "Actually, it's a good thing you called me over."

That elicited her to raise an eyebrow. "It is?"

I nodded. "I was sorta starting to miss them, too."

She looked incredulously at me, the book, and the Statue. "Are you suggesting...?"

"I mean, if it's okay with them," I clarified.

She thought for a moment, then reopened the book and wrote a short message. After a few moments, a reply came through, and she smirked. "I think they wouldn't mind."

I couldn't help but grin broadly. "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

She stepped aside, gesturing to the Statue.

I blinked. "That's a portal?"

She nodded.

"Cool."

We waved to each other, then I stepped back into Equestria.

"Graff!" was the first thing I heard as I came through the other side of the portal. My head spinning, I collapsed onto all fours, my body now back in its griffon form.

Starlight Glimmer ran up to me and gave me a welcoming hug. "It's so good to see you again!"

I shook off the dizziness and replied, "Same to you, too."

Starlight chuckled nervously, "Sorry about the scare back there."

"No worries," I brushed it off.

After regaining my quadrupedal bearings, we walked down a few hallways, eventually reaching the exit.

"So, what do you want to do?" Starlight asked as we looked over Ponyville.

I shrugged, barely keeping my excitement in check. "You're the local expert; what do you recommend?"

She thought for a moment before smirking. "I think I have an idea..."

I stared down at the clouds.

Yes, I wrote that correctly; I stared DOWN at the CLOUDS.

Before today, the only time I could've said that sentence would be if I were in a plane or hot air balloon or something. But now, although we'd used a hot air balloon to get up here, it was no longer the thing holding us up here.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Starlight asked as she finished casting a cloud-walking spell on herself.

I stared at the clouds beneath me, utterly transfixed at the sight. Back when I was a kid, I'd occasionally dreamed of walking on clouds.

Well, good news for you, younger me.

"I–I can't believe it, I'm walking on a cloud!" My excitement broke out as a series of elated whoops and hollers as I relapsed back to two legs, tried to prance around, flopped onto my face, and giggled at the sensation of the clouds on it. "This is the best day of my life!!"

Starlight chuckled, stepping out of the balloon. "Glad you like it. I remember my first time walking on a cloud, back when I was a teen; pure bliss."

I rolled over to my back, letting my wings spread out reflexively. "You said it! This has been a dream of mine since I was a child, but I never thought I'd get to live it!"

She laid down next to me. "I'm still surprised that the clouds in your world are so different from ours. How do you even live without knowing what the weather's gonna be like, down to the minute?"

I shrugged. "We sorta just deal with it. Although the change between weather conditions is more gradual than it is here, so that helps us prepare."

Starlight nodded. "I suppose that makes sense...."

We both lay there for a while, staring up at the open skies.

Then Starlight got up. "Alright, I think that's enough for right now. There's so much to do in Ponyville, and so little time!"

I sighed, but got up as well. We began to walk back to the balloon.

Then I got an idea. "You go on ahead, Starlight; I wanna try something."

Starlight paused and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

I responded by flexing my wings. She looked hesitant, but backed up after a moment.

Alright, moment of truth. Did the things Gallus taught me stick, or would I end up face-first in the dirt?

I spread open my wings and adjusted my stance, ready for takeoff. After taking note of the wind, I let my wings flap down powerfully, taking off into the air. I was rather wobbly at first, but I eventually found a stable pattern.

Starlight cheered, "Way to go, Graff!"

I chuckled joyously, "I'm doing it! I'm flying! I'm–!"

Then a stray bird flew by, a foot away from my face. In that moment of surprise, my wings lost their rhythm, and I began to tumble out of the sky.

Starlight gasped, then used her magic to grab me before I could fall too far. She brought me back over to the cloud and asked, "Are you okay?"

I panted, "Y'know what, I think I'll take the balloon down."