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Gazing to the Ocean of the Sky

by David Silver

Chapter 29: 29 - On Our Own

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Cherry and Indie wandered down the street towards the place they were told they could rest in while waiting for their train ride. Indie glanced over at his friend. "Did you notice?"

"Huh, notice what?" Cherry directed an ear but kept her eyes forward.

"That princess we just met. She kept talking funny." Indie rolled a hoof before pulling himself back into line.

"Oh, I wasn't sure." Cherry tilted her head a little. "Maybe that's just how they talk where she's from, like an accent?"

"She was nice though." Indie smiled. "Funny talking or not, she got you your train."

Cherry's confusion faded instantly into that face-splitting grin. "Just a few days and we get to bring it home. Until then, we... stay here?" She tilted her head up at the building they arrived at. A sign declared it as 'Iron House Bed and Breakfast'. "Huh, at least it comes with breakfast."

Indie produced a few shells. "Do they take these? I don't have much..."

Cherry waved a hoof. "Weren't you listening? Watch me." She trotted inside confidently. It was cooler and quieter, blocking out the sounds of work in the trainyard. She spied a counter and made her way for it quickly. "Excuse me?"

The stallion there looked down at Cherry from beneath especially bushy eyebrows. "Huh, you're an interesting slice of pony, ain'cha?"

Cherry dipped her front. "Nice to meet you. One room with an extra large tub of water, largest you have, for two, meals included." She raised a hoof to tap at her chin. "Fish preferred if you have any."

He blinked at her rather pointed list of demands. "Huh, alright. You got the bits?"

Cherry raised a hoof. "Deduct it from the royal account. We're here under protection of Princess Luna."

He crossed his forehooves, rising up on his hind legs with a scowl. "Now, you wouldn't be trying to play a trick on me, wouldja?"

Indie shook his head as he joined Cherry at her side. "She brought us here, and had to go do important things while we wait for our ride back to Ponyville."

"We're getting a train." Cherry beamed with joy. "They're getting the schedule ready and then they'll take it and us to Ponyville."

He nodded lightly as he fell back to all fours. "If'n you say so, but if you're lying, they'll find you. The Princesses don't like people pretending like that." He fetched a key off the wall and slapped it on the counter with a flick of his neck. "Room 205, upstairs."

Indie paled a little. "Don't suppose you have one on the ground floor?"

The shopkeep snorted softly, looking back at Indie's wheels that supported most of his body. "Huh. What even are you two?" As if he hadn't noticed just how exotic his guests were until that point. "Look, I'll see if one of the guests want to exchange, but no promises. Go hang out in the common room." He pointed a hoof inside, to a room where a dry geyser, otherwise known as a fire, crackled large and intimidating. "I'll find you with an answer."

Cherry got to moving towards that curious source of dry. "Why would they have this just... like that?"

Indie wheeled beside her, also examining the crackling and snapping source of warmth and anti-wet. "They must feel safe from it to have it so close."

"What're you two talkin' about?" asked one grizzled unicorn. "The fire? Ain't nothing unusual about a fire."

Cherry pointed at the fireplace. "I thought the power of The Dry was used to do things, like cook food, or make trains work. What's this one doing?"

The unicorn shrugged a little. "Keeping the room warm, and looking nice enough. They cook in the kitchen. This one's here for us."

Indie leaned his platform back to clop his hooves together quickly. "We get dry power too? This is a remarkable place." He glanced aside at his companion. "You could start working on the metal you need, right?"

Cherry frowned a little. "I never learned how to do it right... Twilight said she knows a pony who's really good at metal shaping."

The engine-working unicorn laughed at the suggestion. "That fire ain't anywhere near hot enough for metal work. You need a smith for that."

Indie pivoted in place to face the pony. "The, uh, fire? It comes in different sizes?" It felt plenty warm and drying to him. The idea of a more intense variety was a little scary.

"You betcha." He nodded firmly. "Hell, you're getting a train? You'll have a fire in there if you're actually operating it, and it'll put this little fire to shame."

Cherry wobbled a little at the realization. She would be a wielder of the power of The Dry, and no small one at that. From the size of the train she selected, she would get a big, um... fire? Dry power sounded better in her head. She would wield it! She giggled a little manically at the thought before clearing her throat. "This one's big enough to cook, if we wanted to?"

"Oh sure." He shrugged. "Why, you plan to cook meat? You two look kind of like fish."

Indie stuck out his tongue. "I met plenty of fish and they're not like us. They're not ponies."

"Huh, guess they wouldn't be."

The innkeep came walking in beside a well-dressed pegasus mare. The mare locked eyes on Cherry and Indie and came for them. "You weren't pulling a leg... What marvelous creatures!"

Cherry tilted her head up at the pegasus, taller than her and, by nature, more comfortable on The Dry than ever Cherry was to be. "Hello?"

"Hello to you." The mare offered a hoof as her wings extended slightly. "A pleasure to meet you both. I'm told you need a room on the first floor."

Indie bobbed his head, rushing towards the mare a few steps. "Oh yes, please. Stairs are very difficult to deal with." He tried to meet that hoof, but his platform tipped forward mid-hoof-bump and he ended up falling face-first into the ground with an oof.

The innkeep gave a new key to the mare. "Here you are, that's what I was about to give 'em."

She passed a key to Cherry, but her attention was focused on Indie. With a strong wing, she helped him get upright. "You poor things. Are you here alone?"

Indie righted himself, balancing on his wheeled platform. "We're not alone, we have each other."

Cherry giggled softly. "Besides that, yes, we're alone until we go home."

She raised a brow slightly. "Where is 'home'?"

With an internal click, Cherry realized the mare wasn't dressed like the others, or talking much like the others either. "We're staying with Princess Twilight, of Ponyville. Are you traveling too?"

The mare leaned in a little. "I heard you were with Princess Luna?"

Cherry shook her head. "Luna brought us here, to get a train, and went back to where she's from. Twilight we're staying with." She looked over the pegasus' air flippers, realizing she never had a lot of chance to see one of those. It wasn't as if Twilight didn't have a pair, but she was usually busy. "Excuse me, miss, may I see your air flippers?"

The pegasus blinked owlishly. "Air flippers?" She looked back over herself as if to find the named part. "Whatever do you mean, dear? Oh! You wish to see me perform? I'm no Wonderbolt, but I could show you a few things if you'd like." She began striding for the outside. "Come along, there's hardly any room in here."

Indie wheeled after the pegasus. "What's a Wonderbolt?"

The pegasus paused, looking over her shoulder. "I guess they wouldn't have any Wonderbolts where you're really from." She gave a little smile. "Where are you really from, before Ponyville?"

Cherry stepped back outside, into the noise of trains being worked on, assembled, and torn apart. It was, in some ways, a haunting sound. At least her train was safe from being carved apart. Only she would do it, and she would be gentle.

While Cherry was lost in thought, Indie provided an answer. "We're from the sea." He pointed where he thought the ocean was from there, though he wasn't entirely sure what direction that was. "Cherry came out onto The Dry first, and I kind of followed her."

"Aw, that's so sweet." She smiled down at Indie. "Love drives us into things, even dangerous places. She must be so proud to have you."

Cherry snapped out of her thoughts and began to blush quite brightly, realizing what had been just said. Indie didn't argue, at least, not coherently. He mumbled and squirmed and looked quite helpless. She moved between the pegasus and her friend. "You were going to show us some tricks?"

"Oh! Yes, watch this." She gave her air flippers a powerful flap and she lifted from the ground easily. "Like I said, I'm not a Wonderbolt, but I know a few." She started with a somersault in the air, then spun the other way, keeping her head straight forward while her body rotated the long way.

Cherry and Indigo both clopped with applause. The act of aerial swimming was quite impressive enough for both of them.

The mare seemed pleased at their attention and launched higher just to come crashing down in a blur and pull out dangerously close to the ground, her hooves brushing against the dirty road before she evened out and landed, wings fully flared. "Ta da!"

Indigo wheeled up to her with a smile. "You're really good with your air flippers."

"I like flipping in the air," agreed the pegasus.

Cherry shook her head and pointed at the pegasus' sides. "Air flippers."

"My wings?!" She looked back at them, spreading one out into view. "I never heard them called air flippers before. You two are too adorable. If you weren't already snatched up by a princess, I'd keep you for myself." She reached with one of those wings and patted both of them on the head. "Now you go and relax, you both look tired. How long will you be in town?"

Indie pointed off towards where Cherry's train was. "They said they can get Cherry's train back in two days, which is when we'll go back with it to Ponyville. Are you here for long, ma'am?"

She folded her wings against her back as she nodded. "They del... Oh!" She burst into a laughter. "It's your fault. The train I would have caught in a few days was postponed for something and they wouldn't tell me what it was." She sat before the two. "I was so angry."

Cherry blinked with growing worry. "We didn't mean to mess things up for you."

She waved it away. "It means we get to hang out that much longer. This seems as fine a way to spend a day as any other. Now go, rest." She started with realization. "Oh, I'm Cloud Skipper! Nice to meet you both."

"Indie."

"Cherry."

They exchanged hoof bumps in parting and the two tired sea horses retired to soft beds and big tubs of water to recharge for the next day.

Author's Notes:

Day 1 completed, 2 days to go before they can ride back to Ponyville!

What typos await the duo?

Next Chapter: 30 - New Friend Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 7 Minutes
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