When Cherry and Indie emerged from their room the next morning, they found Cloud waiting for them. "Hello! Now what did you two have in mind for today, hmm?"

Cherry considered that with a little frown. "I was mostly going to wait."

"Tell me, why did you come to get a train?" Cloud leaned forward. "You didn't come just because you like the way trains look, did you?"

"A little." Cherry smiled. "Mostly what's inside of them. I like mechanical things." She sat on her haunches and tapped one of her mechanical legs gently.

Indie pointed at Cherry. "I'm here to help her out."

"Of course you are dear." Cloud flashed a smile at Indie before looking to Cherry. "Well, if you came to look at complicated gears and things, why don't you come with me? I know where they throw things waiting to be melted to bits. I bet we might find something worth looking at."

The very idea had Cherry's ears perking, but she heard a soft rumble come from Indie, only to be echoed by her own body. "How about we get some of that breakfast first, then we can check out that place." She led the way into the main room, following the curious but pleasant smells. The table had a small assortment of food on large platters. It was clear others had come and taken some before.

Indie sniffed softly before wheeling up beside the table and licking his lips. "Some of this smells like what Spike would make, but a lot of it smells new."

Cloud tilted her head a little. "You've never had this?" She gestured with a hoof. "Potatoes, grilled with black and bellpepper and charred to a nice and crispy layer." Her hoof moved. "Thinly sliced tomato, cheese and toast with a light sauce. It's quite lovely." Her hoof continued. "You really should try some of this. Crushed and pulped apricot, delicious."

The idea of a new drink brought Indie over and he nodded to Cloud. "Could you pour me some please?"

"Of course." She carefully tipped the jar over into a mug and slid it over to Indie. "Here you are. Have you had fruit before?"

Indie dipped his snout right into it, lapping up the sweet and sticky juice with a happy noise.

Cherry offered a more coherent answer, "I've had oranges and apples before. Are apricots more like oranges, or apples?"

Indie came up with a soft sigh. "It's not like either. Try some!"

Cherry eyed the apricot with obvious temptation, but pointed instead to the potato dish. "I'll try that first." They were the one clearly most shaped by the power of The Dry, burned and caressed by that heat to create the food before her. What was the limit of that power the dry ponies seem to take for granted?

It also tasted great.

Filled and energized, they set out with their new friend into the noise of the train yard. They crossed the tracks, Cherry and Cloud helping Indie get across and then they were surrounded by scrap and metal of all varieties.

Cherry's eyes wandered eagerly. "I could use some of this..."

Cloud shook her head. "None of that. Stealing from the yard is a serious crime. Look, touch, but take nothing with you." She gave a powerful flap of her air flippers and did a circle in place before coming back down and pointing. "That way."

Indie pulled himself along Cloud, looking to her. "What if we pay for it?"

"You have bits?" She raised a brow. "I suppose if you're ready to pay for it, then they wouldn't be so angry."

Cherry flashed a bright and sharp smile. "We could do the same thing."

"Same thing?"

Indie got it and grinned. "Charge it to the royal account."

Cloud glanced between the two giggling sea ponies and raised a brow at them. "You do realize that means your host will have to pay for everything you take. I doubt they'd be too happy about that..."

Cherry opened her mouth to oppose that, but the thought of it settled on her. "I don't want to make Twilight sad, or angry." She settled to her haunches, then produced her pittance of bits. "Is this enough for anything?"

Indigo dropped his small collection of shells to join the tiny pile of bits. "Here. Is that enough?"

Cloud leaned forward over the offering and quickly counted with her eyes darting over them. "That's not really enough to take anything. Look, today we'll just look. Looking's fun, isn't it?"

Cherry passed back Indigo's shells before tucking away her own money. "We're with you, sky swimmer."

Cloud raised a brow at that. "Cloud Skipper."

Indie pulled himself in the direction Cloud had pointed in. "What's a cloud?"

Cloud burst into a fit of titters before pointing up at one of the air glaciers. "That is a cloud. Surely there are clouds out at sea, aren't there?"

Cherry craned her neck back to look up at the air glaciers, er, clouds. Cloud was an admittedly easier word to say. "There are, yes, but we don't really... interact with them. They're just kind of... there? They rain sometimes, but that doesn't mean anything. When everything is wet--"

"--nothing is," completed Indie in agreement. "I didn't even know what they were for, but I do now."

Cloud smiled at her guests. "And what are they for?" There seemed a good chance the answer might be hilarious.

Cherry quickly thrust a hoof out and waved it wildly. "They water The Dry so there's enough water so you dry ponies don't go all the way dry and blow away like dust."

Cloud blinked. "That's about right. You two, how long are you planning to stay in 'The Dry'?" She snorted softly. "That's a silly name for land. We're not that dry."

A little squeak drew their attention to a family of squirrels making a home in all the discarded metal. One was proudly waving a nut he managed to find and the rest seemed happy enough about it.

Indie smiled brightly and wheeled closer. "Hello, fish of The Dry. What sort of fish are you?"

The lead squirrel turned to face Indie while tucking the nut behind its back and squeaked at Indie as if in reply.

"Oh. You're cute and fuzzy." Indie smiled at the family. "Are you doing alright? This hardly seems like a good place for a family."

The squirrel squeaked and shook a tiny fist at Indie before pointing away.

"What, really? Is it that bad?"

The squirrel nodded firmly.

Cherry stepped up beside Indie with a raised brow. "What's it saying?"

"He," corrected Indie. "He said their old home got knocked over when they were moving one of the trains." He pouted a little. "I wish we could help..."

Cloud considered a moment before perking her ears. "What if we just got them a new tree?"

Indie glanced at Cloud and nodded before looking back to his new squirrel friends. "How about that? Would you like a new tree?"

The squirrel took a hesitant step towards Indie, chittering and flicking his tail before darting back to his family.

Cherry nudged Indie. "Well?"

"He said they'd love a tree, but it has to not be taken by any other squirrels." He pointed a hoof at their makeshift metal den. "Until then, they're going to make do here."

Cloud raised a brow at it. "This is no place for squirrels, or any other critter, really. I'm surprised he even found that one little nut." She flashed a bright grin. "Alright, let's be heroes and find a tree!" She looked positively delighted to be drafted for the little adventure.

Indie easily nodded, ready to help his new friend.

Only Cherry showed some hesitation. "I thought we were going to look at the parts..."

Indie nudged Cherry gently in the side. "I do what you want every day. Just this once, we do my thing. Alright?"

Cherry waffled a moment before she let out a sigh. "For you." She smiled. "What are friends for? Let's find a... tree, just be careful, they can bite." She frowned at the memory.

Cloud blinked at that. "Trees don't have teeth, dear. How did you get bitten?" Despite her question, she lifted into the air and circled in place, scouting quickly. "There are trees that way!" She pointed before landing. "We'll want to skip the first few. It would be a shame if they had to move too quickly."

Indie turned towards the potential trees. "We should get far away from all of this. I don't think they belong here. This is not their sea."

Cloud tilted her head slightly as she got walking. "I should think it wasn't their sea. They don't live in one of those."

"Not like that." Indie waved it off. "We all have a sea, a home, that calls to us and keeps us relatively safe. This is not theirs."

Cherry snorted loudly as she ambled along. "We're a far ways away from our sea."

Indie nodded. "And we would be in a lot of trouble if we didn't run into such nice ponies ready to give us a hoof. Fishes out of water in the most literal way possible." He sucked in a slow breath before sighing and working himself over a clump of metal. "Let's find a tree."

Cloud threw a leg over Indie, holding his front-body up while giving him a quick hug. "And who could resist such an adorable pair caught wandering the world? Are you two as young as you look?"

Indie, colored from the sudden contact, glanced around nervously. "I'm almost a stallion..."

Cherry snorted softly. "In a little while. Let's find those trees so I can get back to looking at parts." Her powerful tail was swaying with anticipation, clearly ready to finish the tree hunting task they had just begun.

They emerged from the field of broken trains and abandoned parts to find themselves already half in the wilderness. There were many trees to choose from. The harder part appeared to be selecting just the right one.

Indie rolled up to one and reached out cautiously.

"It bites!" warned Cherry with a frown.

Indie's hoof drew back nervously. "They can't bite too hard or often, or the land fish we're here for wouldn't stay here."

"Squirrels," offered Cloud with a gentle smile. To settle the argument, she reached for the tree and gave it a patting. "See, no biting. Trees are lovely things that shelter many critters, including those squirrels relying on you."

Indie moved in closer and rested both of his hooves on the mysterious and silent creature known as a tree. Looking up into the bough of its branches, a slow smile spread over his face. "The coral of The Dry, sheltering fish and creating a place of life and splendor..."

Author's Notes:

Indie finds his first tree, and he kinda likes them.

He'll get along just fine with Fluttershy, I think.

Cherry is told she suffered a typo, but she isn't fully buying it.