What We Learn
"There's so much more
to a pony's life than
reading and studying!"
Tired.
I was very, very tired. Or, to be more specific, my wings were very.
Very.
Tired.
It was almost unheard of – a blank-flank colt was trying to fly from Cloudsdayle all the way to ground level. In fact, it wasn't just unheard of; it was stupid and extremely risky, but I didn't care. I had barely passed the flier's test; my wings were by no means considered “strong”. And yet here I was, gliding as gracefully as a newborn bird, landing down on a nearby cloud for a quick rest.
I flopped onto my back, looking up to the city I was leaving behind. Little pegasi were flying around like ants with wings. The residential district, where my home remained, seemed to be drifting away. The entire city looked so peaceful, so majestic; it almost made me have second thoughts about leaving.
Expelling the thoughts from my mind, I rolled over onto my stomach to view the world below me. There was a large green forest spanning in every direction, occasionally spotted by a mysterious-looking swamp or a peaceful plain. My mind drifted back to my time in school, and came up with a hazy name. Was it... Evertree Forest? Everspree Forest? In any case, geography was never my strong suit, and it wasn't like the name of these woods really mattered. A forest is a forest.
I rolled back over, settling once again into the lazy groove I was working into the cloud. I stared up at Cloudsdayle for a while before closing my eyes. I thought back to the home I so dearly loved, where my parents were probably cooking up dinner. My mouth watered at the visualization of pumpkin pies and dandelion salads. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to go back, I found myself thinking. However, deep down I knew there wasn't really anything left for me there. My parents had approved of my trip down here so long as I would write as soon as I arrived at the nearest city and promised to keep myself fed. They knew that I wouldn't find my destiny in a city built for fliers.
Without having to focus on the scurrying of other ponies, I was able to lay back and feel the subtle pleasures that nature brought. I felt the gentle breeze stir the hairs in my mane and tickle my spread-out feathers, heard the gentle lullaby of the birds underneath me, tasted the sweet air flavored by the sticky sap oozing down the bark of several trees... and before I knew it, I was asleep.
.o*
I heard the familiar shouts of bullies and the whimpers of little fillies before I saw much of anything. I realized that I was back in Cloudsdayle, back in gym class, and that two colts were picking on one poor filly that seemed on the verge of tears. Enraged by the sight, I dashed over to go help her, when I saw the faces of the colts and skid to a stop. These were the same two jerks that had picked on me for my name. (So what if Audiophillie was pronounced Audiofilly!? It was a play on words for Audiophile! Besides, I didn't decide what I was named; they could blame my parent's sense of humor for that!)
My cowardice kept my hooves cemented to the clouds. However, not even another moment passed before another pony rushed over to defend her. A bright cyan filly with a colorful mane and a squeaky-aggressive voice challenged them to a race. The colts laughed at her, but the challenge was accepted, and I felt strangely comforted in this, knowing that somehow, the little yellow filly with the soft-pink mane would be just fine in her hooves.
*o.
When I awoke, the sun was setting. I had been asleep for maybe three hours. I rolled off the cloud, kicking myself for being dumb enough to sleep daylight off just so I could fly in the dark.
But wait. Something wasn't right. Before I fell asleep, Cloudsdayle had been almost directly above me. Now, it was nowhere to be seen.
The city, my home, had moved. That, or I had moved. But... Both of those options were impossible, unless pegasi were pushing around clouds for no reason.
That's when I realized my fatal mistake. This wasn't just any forest. This was Everfree Forest. The only place in Equestria where clouds moved on their own.
I had slept on an auto-cloud. And I was brought deep into the most dangerous forest known to ponykind.
I was lost.