Heads in the Clouds

'That wasn’t ever going to be enough.'

Unknown to Bright, those words resonated with Aero strongly. Despite the beauty of Cloudsdale, the freedom of space to fly and breathe, and the comfort and familiarity he had established there, it was no longer home. It hadn't been for a long time. While he was proud to have been born and raised in the clouds, the very view in front of him now was one of the main reasons he'd yearned to travel Equestria. There was so much more out there. Aero had hoped that out there, he'd find what he was looking for. Whatever that may be...

'What's to come?' was the question that had plagued Aero's mind for a long time now. But right here and now, as he hovered sat beside Bright on their own cloud cut out just for them, he was definitely focusing on the present. He was glad that she had experienced something new and unique to her today. The impact of this day would hopefully be a memory that she could hold onto for years to come.

"I think I can guess one thing," Aero stated matter of factly with a blank expression, before he smirked at Bright, "You'll be reading that big book as soon as you get home tonight."

Home was a funny concept… Especially as she didn’t have one to return to, only a stuffy old room at the tavern.  Regardless of that fact, she grinned as her eyes turned to Aero to catch sight of the stallion’s characteristic smirk. “I’m excited to look through it.  Later.”  When everything else was gone, on days rendered dark beyond measure, she would still cling tight to her memories of happy days.  And today had been nothing less than that - and more, she would decide later when she looked back.  She just knew she didn’t want to leave their private cloud.

Never guessing the trouble awaiting her, she had already made up her mind to travel to Trottingham next to visit.  Peeking over the side of the cloud again, she was careful not to step too close to the edge and what promised to be a horrifying fall, though she had no doubt that Aero was faster than gravity and would catch her first. That was an embarrassment she didn't need after a picture perfect day.  “I hope we can do this again soon.”

"Yeah. I think I'd like that. Today was..."

Brilliant? Enjoyable? Fun?

"Nice. Really nice," His mind cast back to the one incident of the day, which he quickly brushed aside.

Thinking about it, Bright could technically return to Cloudsdale whenever she wanted now. All she had to do was cast the spell and get an air lift up to the city. Aero secretly hoped that she wouldn't come back too often without him. There was more they could enjoy together up here and he would like to be there to witness it.

With that, Aero sat in quiet beside Bright Eyes. He was more than happy to sit with her and enjoy her company. He watched absently as a cluster of cumulus clouds drifted by in the distance. From his perspective, two of the clouds coasted separately from the rest before with nestled together into each other. And here they were on their own cloud, drifting aimlessly in the breeze, content in the tranquility of the gentle winds that carried them.

“Yeah.  Nice.” The azure colored mare repeated his sentiment in hushed tones, again struck by how comfortable she felt in the presence of the pegasus - and a whole swarm of new emotions that made her feel as if she was watching herself from above, like none of it was really happening to her at all.  Like a dream she had never had before, never knew she had wanted.  It was almost like the things she had read about in books of fables and fairy tales, watching clouds unite as one with a feeling of tranquility and restlessness, all at once.

She didn’t intend to return to the city in the clouds without Aero there as her guide.  It wouldn’t be the same on her own.  She did nearly everything alone, and the notion of having someone to share a day or even a few hours with appealed to her more than it had before since she found her life on the open road.

Relaxed - and perhaps too relaxed - she found herself leaning naturally toward Aero at her side, but she caught herself before she did anything embarrassing.  Her face felt flushed, though the air at that altitude was growing cooler as the day progressed and the sun continued hurriedly toward the western horizon.

The restfulness of the moment was pleasantly serene. Aero felt he could sit and watch the sky shift and move for the rest of day. Nothing else mattered at this point in time, just himself and Bright Eyes relaxing and experiencing the idyllic moment together.

At one point, Aero noticed Bright edging closer towards him. She seemed to catch herself and move away again. He frowned slightly, wondering what to make of the moment. Perhaps she was cold? It was this that finally made Aero take notice of the time. It seemed that more of the day had passed than he'd expected. It wasn't late by any means but they had been floating peacefully amongst the city of clouds for a while.

By no means a magical expert, he wasn't entirely sure how long Bright's spell would last. Perhaps it was time to call it a day. It felt a tragedy to end it since it had been almost nothing short of a perfect day.

Wordlessly, Aero stood from his sitting position and took off into a hover. His hooves grappled the cloud as he started to move it back towards the city. Realising he could simply lower Bright to the ground on it, he made a 'ding' sound like an elevator and posed the question.

"Going down?"

The unconscious pull toward her pegasus companion was inexplicable - but undeniable, and not only because he controlled the cloud she was sitting upon.  It had been a while since she had stopped to think about the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be up there amongst the clouds.  As a unicorn, it was not a domain she could inhabit for long, so when the time came for the day’s activities to end, she couldn’t be too disappointed.  She cast one final gaze at the jagged hilltops toward the north, trying to paint a clear picture in her mind’s eye of what it had looked like from the sky.

She nodded when he had seized the cloud once more to descend back to Cloudsdale, where a hot air balloon would be waiting to take passengers back to the earth - and, for Bright Eyes, back to reality.  “Thank you again for being such an excellent tour guide today.”

"Not a problem. Happy to show you around," said Aero, as he rested the cloud onto the one of main clouds comprising of the city. The hot air balloons for ferrying earthbound ponies were in sight, just down the road from them.

He waved to a balloonist for their attention and they started to prepare their aircraft for departure. He checked that everything in his own bags were in order and that Bright was sorted for the return journey. It seemed the day was closing faster now they had decided to end it.

In a moment of reflection, Aero cast his gaze to the other side of the city. In the distance, peaking out from the rooftops and clouds blocking his view, he caught the spires of the weather factory. He knew his father would be hunched over at his desk, working away as usual, shut away from the beautiful view they had witnessed. He didn't know why the thought had popped into his head; Storm certainly wouldn't be thinking about him. Aero was happier to think about Bright.

The pegasus reached for a topic to take his mind away from his own treacherous thoughts. "I bet you'll be glad to be on solid ground again. I have to say, you adapted to cloud walking pretty easy. Some ponies tend to freak out."

As she had exited the small bit of cloud, the ancient book hovered behind her, faithfully following as a shadow.  At his comment, Bright Eyes gave a short laugh and a faint shrug. “I suppose it’ll be safer to be close to earth again, given my history of clumsiness.  I’m certainly glad the spell I found was legitimate.  Very useful.”

The pegasus balloonist was staring in their direction, waiting with tenuous patience for a passenger or two so that he could be on his way before the sun began to set.  With a final smile cast in Aero’s direction, Bright Eyes trotted over to the big purple balloon, calling over her shoulder.  “Until next time, Aero Dynamic!”