Just as soon as she had taken off, Alysanne realized just how long it had been since she had taken flight. Short, little flights – like across a small lake to reach a friend – were rare and longer ones were rarer still. She had walked all the way here from Nocturne – believing her sense of direction better when she was walking than above.

Obviously, she was quite wrong. Considering her relatively new surroundings. At first, she did not plan on spending more than a couple weeks here – gather her bearings and then make her way back to Nocturne. But that had changed when she started finding her dear friends here, and heard the news that her son was safe with his aunt.

Oh, she missed him and planned on returning soon – he may be old enough to survive without her but he was still her little son – but the news of his safety delayed her somewhat. She could afford to take her time, learn more about Helovia. Maybe this was a place where her family could settle, if it was truly as peaceful as it seemed.

Aside from just not practicing, one of the major faults that Aly had when it came to flying was her attention span. Yes, there was a certain beauty associated with seeing things from above – but things were so much more interesting on ground level.

For example, as she was in flight and passing over a thistle and flower bright field, she spotted a filly – beautiful white and gold standing on her own. Now there was nothing more interesting than that in the sky! So she circled, or tried to, and made her descent. Flight was relatively easy, but the landing she always found tricky. Wary of the location of the filly (oh god it would be so terrible to knock her over), the white and black Pegasus came to land a ways down the river. She meant to land in the grass and so she did - but misjudged her speed and ended up running right into the river – causing some commotion with her splashing.

Ah yes, perfectly graceful on her hooves but using those wings was an entirely different story.

With a laugh – why let embarrassment get to her? – she folded her wings and returned to dry land, making the rest of the way to the filly on foot. She was older than Arty would be, but young still. But age didn’t change the fact that she was greeted with a bright smile – those emerald eyes alight with the laughter at her landing just moments ago. “You didn’t see that did you? I think I just disgraced generations of Pegasi.” Her tone made it clear that she was joking – though, of course, what sort of full-grown Pegasus did not know how to execute a smooth landing? Her mother would not be impressed, but her father would have laughed with her.

“Maybe you could give me some tips!” The filly had a beautiful pair of wings, no doubt about it. “I’m Aly, what’s your name?”

Well, it did not seem that the pale filly was going to be able to help with the learning to land situation – that was no problem, though. Maybe Alysanne misjudged whether the girl had learned to fly herself. Still, the words that the girl chose were different than she might have expected. “Dishonour?” The word caused a little frown to crease Aly’s black face – but it soon disappeared and was replaced by an encouraging smile. “You could never dishonour me.” What a strange thing to say coupled with an innocent look. There was nothing wrong with not being skilled at landing – Aly was just trying to find common ground. Perhaps their mutual inability to land would fill that spot. “That’s alright though. Maybe we can practice together sometime?” Maybe they would need to find a teacher to help them but Aly liked the idea of learning to fly and land much better when there was a fellow student along.

The manners of the white and gold filly were impressive – it was a long time since she had been called ‘ma’am’ or ‘miss’. She did not mind, though, and in response to the question posed she nodded her head with a soft smile. Aurelia, as she introduced herself, could call her whatever she wanted. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aurelia and your home sounds just beautiful! I think this is the farthest south I’ve been since I arrived here.” She remembered Blitzen mentioning that there was a land further south but she had not heard the name before. Dragon’s Throat. Such a strange name. How did it get it? Were there dragons here?

Every time Aly learned something new about Helovia it raised more questions.

But Aurelia had posed one of her own and the white and black pegasus was happy to oblige. “Right now I’m living in World’s Edge which I think…” Aly turned her head – trying to figure out which direction the Edge lay. “Is north… west from here. On the coast” It was a guess and she could not help but look at the girl and wonder if maybe she had any idea about the direction. “Have you ever been there?”

Well, it seemed Aly really was a little rusty on reading situations. Her sheepish look only grew when it was revealed that the filly did not yet know how to fly. “Ooh, I see. Sorry for misunderstanding.” Hopefully Aurelia would not hold it against her. “I wish I could offer to help you learn, but as you just witnessed I don’t think I would be a very good teacher.” If only Iona were here – her twin had always been an incredible flyer. Aly would have sworn that she was born knowing how to fly if she had not known better. But Aly much preferred to keep her feet on the ground, to be where the trees and mountains were taller than her and let the birds have their dominion.

The filly was bright with enthusiasm about her home and it was infectious – although Aly was still uncertain about how long she would be staying in Helovia, so far everyone she knew that lived here had such amazing passion for their homes. It was refreshing and truly delightful! Hearing Aurelia describe her home and how much she loved it brought a honest and bright smile to those deep green eyes.

One day, she just might feel that way about a home or a herd herself. That was the dream, anyway.

For now, she took delight in hearing the joyful note that came when someone described something they truly loved and were proud of. Aurelia had already found it at such a young age. “I didn’t know that, but that’s wonderful news! Your home sounds wonderful – I like the idea of not taking a swim when I go for a landing.” Kahlua had mentioned that the Qian was a peaceful herd, the news of allies was not altogether surprising. A happy coincidence that the ally was her new friend’s home! “How about we do both? I’d love to visit your home and to show you mine. There’s a beautiful glass wall that they just finished building that runs around the boarder and so many trees I don’t even think you could count them.” Of course she had to mention those trees – one of the first things she had noticed.

Her eyes lit up even more as a great idea came to her. Or, at least, it seemed like a great idea. “I’ve even got a friend there that might be able to help us with the whole ‘flying’ business – if you’re interested.” From what she remembered, Miykael had never once failed at a landing, take off or anything in between around her. Then again, maybe Aurelia already had a teacher lined up. “Do your parents live in the Throat with you?” It seemed an innocent enough question, asked with gentle and sincere curiosity.

Aurelia asked whether she had taught anything to anyone and Alysanne had to think about it for a moment. But, of course, the answer was right there and did not require any thought at all. There was someone she had taught a whole lot of things – simply because it had come with the territory. So with a smile, she explained “I taught my son some things – tried to teach him how to fly but he was still too young to do very much.” His wings were still fluffy, filled with down so he mostly played at flying – flapping those adorable little appendages as quick as he could as he ran about. “But I taught him the names of the trees and the plants where we lived.” It had been something she was happy to share, though he had been too young and too interested in other things to really settle down and find it worth listening to her for long periods of time. He had cousins, plenty of them, to play with and he was much more interested in chasing them around.

Just as she was thinking ahead, wondering whether Mikey would be up for the lessons (she did not doubt that he might – the kind stallion was always there to help when he could), Aurelia announced that she had to leave. Though saddened, Alysanne did not question the reasons for Aurelia having to leave soon – it was getting dark and as peaceful as Helovia had seemed so far, the land would surely be dangerous for a foal out on her own. But the little winged girl did not seem concerned enough to require an escort so, despite her instincts, Aly doesn’t say a thing about it.

Instead, she merely offered the girl a bright smile – truly happy to have come across her. “It was wonderful to meet you too, Aurelia. I look forward to seeing you again!” She rather hoped that their paths would cross again - hopefully before she left, which was seeming like a real possibility the more she spent here. At least for a time.

Soon, Aly would turn back and try to find her way back home to the Edge – but she lingered, enjoying the sunset as it shifted from blue to pink to orange and the sun burned a vivid red as it slipped towards the horizon across the meadow and trees. Her smile lingered with her - Helovia was certainly beautiful.