"You know, that boulder looks just like one we saw half an hour ago..." Flight said, nodding her head at a large rock jutting out from the bushes below the trees. She and Kevin were still walking along the ravine, but the sun was high in the sky.

Kevin groaned. "Have we even been moving at all? What if we're just on some giant treadmill in a simulation, and we're actually in some sort of government lab where they're observing us to find out our secrets?"

Flight looked at Kevin and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, Kevin, where do you come up with this stuff? It's just a long walk—we both knew that coming into this."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't exactly have much choice..."

"You didn't want to come?" Flight asked, her features curved with worry and frustration. "Fine! See if I care! Go off and look for your new girlfriend, since you apparently have no time for your friends from back home!"

Kevin was legitimately confused. "Huh? That filly isn't my girlfriend, Flight—I don't even know her name!"

"Mmmff... nevermind..."

"Flight," Kevin said, "don't worry. I still care about you, and I'm super excited to get to see you again. I'm really just annoyed about all the walking..."

"Let's just keep going. Maybe we can make it to the bridge today." Flight's tone was terse. Kevin did not respond; he just looked down at his hooves and kept walking forward, avoiding the branches that occasionally appeared in the dirt.

They kept walking for some time, not talking. This was making Kevin increasingly bored, as he had nothing to focus on. And, when you are bored and you are sleep-deprived, you start to grow very sleepy. This is what Kevin did; he felt his eyelids grow droopier and droopier as they went along, eventually falling shut. He was only walking due to instinct, continuing the cycle he had already initiated.

"Kevin! Look!"

Kevin jerked his head and his eyelids fluttered open. "Huh?" he mumbled. His eyes followed Flight's outstretched hoof and where it was pointing until he could see what she saw. He blinked in surprise at what he saw: a dark blue wooden bridge spanning the ravine. "Friggin' finally..."

"Friggin' finally is right!" Flight exclaimed. "C'mon, Kev!" She quickened her pace, trotting and then galloping in front. Her hooves kicked up small clouds of dust, and Kevin coughed.

"Nnnngh... wait up!" he called, but it was no use; she was already so far ahead of him. He let out a grunt and started trying to run, too; however, as he was still dazed, he tripped over his own hooves and fell to the earth, faceplanting in the dirt. "Ugh... what did I do to deserve this...?"

"Kevin?" he heard Flight say, a hint of worry in her voice. "Aeneus, are you okay?" Her voice was getting closer. Mustering up as much energy as he could, he pushed his body upwards and, although he teetered a little, stabilised himself on his hooves.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired." Kevin winced; his voice sounded weak even to himself.

"Don't worry—we can go slowly," Flight said, smiling warmly. "And, once we get across the bridge, we can stop. Maybe we can even get some sleep."

"Sounds like a plan," Kevin exhaled. He started walking forward, this time at a slow pace. Flight walked alongside him, matching his speed. Even going slower, it only took them a few minutes to walk along the last section of the ravine until they got to the bridge.

As they got closer and closer, they noticed that there was a small building with glass walls on the right side of the bridge entrance. They could see the shape of a red-coated stallion standing inside. What's more, though, was the long, white-and-red striped piece of plastic that extended across the mouth of the bridge, attached to the little building.

"Hmm... I hope that doesn't end up being a problem," Kevin said.

"It shouldn't be. Even if it is a toll bridge, I've got my card so I can pay the toll."

As they approached, the stallion inside turned to face them and he smiled and slowly nodded. "How are you young'ns doin' on this fine day? Glad to see folks like you out here—honestly, most young ponies these days are too focused on their schoolwork and their darn videro games to 'preciate such fine days like these, ya know?"

"Oh, I agree! What a lovely day it is." Flight inhaled loudly. "Mmm... I love the feeling of the fresh air."

"Heh... you and me both, filly. Now, I'm you and yer little companion there wanna get across the bridge?"

"Yessir," Flight affirmed, nodding. "How much is it?"

"That'll run ya two bucks. I'm sorry it's so high—I wish it were lower, so I didn't have ta commit highway robbery every time I do my job, but that's life for ya."

"Sure thing!" Flight slid her saddlebag off and rummaged around inside, finally pulling out a small plastic card. It was light green and had a series of numbers running along the front, along with the words 'Dienna Community Credit Union'.

The stallion in the little building frowned. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we unforch'nately don't take card after an incident last year. Kinda surprised ya didn't hear about it in the news, to be honest. But yeah, we're cash-only."

"Cash only?!" Flight exclaimed. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "B-but... most ponies don't even carry cash anymore! That's ridiculous! That's stupid!"

"Calm down, Flight..." Kevin said, attempting to make his voice sound soothing. It didn't really work.

Flight turned to him, looking at him in amazement. "I can't calm down, Kev! You know what this means? This means we can't get across the bridge!" She turned back to the stallion. "Right?"

"Right you are, filly," he said, nodding.

"I'm sure we can figure something out," Kevin said. "Is there anything we can do? Maybe we can write you an I.O.U.?"

"No toll, no stroll," the stallion replied. "Er, across the bridge, that is. Meh. I'm still working on that one."

"Pretty please?" Kevin asked, doing his best to contort his face into a puppy-dog-eyes expression. He was pretty sure he just looked like he was going to sneeze, though.

"Sorry, kid, but no can do. I've got a job, and I'm darn good at it!"

"Say," Flight said, at which point Kevin noticed she had turned the corner to look at another side of the little building, "this sign says that the toll bridge only goes until 1900 hours. Is that true?"

The stallion sighed. "Yes, that's true. I'll be going home then. So, if you really wanted to cross without paying, you could go home and come back then. See if I care."

Flight grinned. "Okay! Thank you so much for all your help, sir!"

"You betcha. Stay outta trouble, you hear? You kids seem like nice folk."

"We will!" Flight called, walking down the path away from the ravine. Confused, Kevin followed her.

"What are you doing?" he hissed once they were out of earshot. "Where are we gonna go? I can't keep walking for much longer..."

"Don't worry," Flight replied, walking off the path. She stopped amongst the bushes. "We can stop here until it gets late—in fact, why don't we use that time to sleep?" She grinned, knowing this would appeal to the colt.

Kevin grinned too. "You know, that sounds pretty good." He joined Flight, walking off the path until he was standing in a little grassy patch between two bushes. "See you in a few hours." With that, he plopped down onto the ground and, in just a moment, Flight could see he was already out like a light.

"I can friggin' still see you kids!" Flight heard the stallion call from afar.

"And what of it?!" Flight shouted, loud enough that the stallion would hear. She wasn't afraid of waking Kevin up; she doubted that even an explosion next to his ear would be enough to shake him from his much-needed slumber. "We're not doing anything we're not supposed to!" She heard the stallion sigh.

"I reckon you're right, kid. Just... be smart, alright? You can't play this crap with everyone and expect to get away with it."

"I'll keep that in mind!" Flight shouted. The stallion didn't reply, so she staked out her own little grassy spot in the bushes and lay down on the ground. As she closed her eyes, she almost wished she were lying right alongside her companion, her feathers lightly brushing against his side...

Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CdjYypgbss