Many hours had passed since the train departed from Ponyville. Ponies looking outside could see the many different landscapes they passed by, ranging from forests, canyons, and even other towns. The train even took a stop to Appleloosa, dropping off many passengers before it continued its travels.
Now the train was passing over the mountains, heading to the edge of Equestria. The temperature shifted considerably to the warmth that the birds needed. But the trees they passed by were already filled with nests, containing either eggs or other birds. Some of them even flew by the train.
Fluttershy smiled as one hummingbird closed its distance to the train. She held out her hoof for it to land on. When it did, it started singing a carefree tune to which Fluttershy joined in with. The hummingbird was easily joyed by Fluttershy’s caring nature. They continued to sing their happy tunes under the sunset over the horizon.
“Fluttershy, I hope you don’t mind a little rain, because we don’t have umbrellas.” Fluttershy blinked her eyes when Rainbow Dash said that. The hummingbird that was on her hoof had already flapped away.
“R-rain?” Fluttershy asked as she looked towards the skies in the direction they were going. That wasn’t a sunset she was witnessing. There was a large cluster of clouds in the sky, blocking out the sun’s view. And they were heading towards it.
Fluttershy brought her head back inside the train, taking notice of the two bag piles that their friends brought. Some of them had been opened and moved. While they were traveling, they had helped themselves to some of the delicious treats that Pinkie baked for them. But now Rainbow Dash had searched Rarity’s pile for anything to use.
“Yeah, and it looks like we’ll be caught in it when we arrive at the station,” Rainbow Dash said, answering Fluttershy’s earlier question. Fluttershy walked over to the bags from Rarity’s pile while the room dimmed darker due to the sun disappearing behind increasingly thicker clouds.
“Doesn’t Rarity have anything we can use?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, you can check if you’d like, but I couldn’t find anything,” Rainbow answered. Fluttershy went ahead and searched the bags, unzipping them or searching through their openings.
Rainbow Dash was right. The items that were in Rarity’s bags ranged from swimming gears, flight goggles, sleeping bags, and for some reason life jackets and parachutes as well. In her hurry, Rarity must’ve put her priorities on safety for traveling through seas, but briefly forgot who she was giving the safety to.
“I can’t find anything either,” Fluttershy concluded her search.
“Well then -” Rainbow Dash tossed a small bag to Fluttershy, to which Fluttershy caught in her hooves, “- get yourself prepared for everything else.”
Fluttershy looked to the two different piles of bags, one question in her mind. “Rainbow Dash, how are we going to carry all of this with us?” she asked.
“We’re not,” Rainbow Dash answered bluntly, causing Fluttershy to twitch back.
“W-what? B-but they worked so hard to prepare these for us.”
“I would’ve told them not to had I known they’d go through this much.” The insides of the train continued growing darker as they neared the station.
“But Rainbow-”
“Look, Fluttershy, if you can figure out a way for us to carry all of this, then we will. Otherwise, we have no other choice.”
Fluttershy jittered her voice as she thought, but that was like planning a trip for moving out of a house to live somewhere else. She couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t involve them having to take another trip back to Ponyville. “T-then, what are we going to do with them?”
“We’ll just tell the conductor to send them to an orphanage or something. I don’t know.” Rainbow Dash searched her hooves through some of the bags. “At least their work will be used to help those who need it more.” Rainbow Dash grabbed what she was looking for and flew to Fluttershy. “Here, grab anything else you need and we’re outta here,” she finished as she held a pair of flight goggles in front of Fluttershy, to which Fluttershy took and placed in the small bag she received earlier.
They continued searching through both piles, grabbing any items they could use and fit in their small ones, including some wrapped or boxed food.
______________________________________________________________________________
The train had arrived at the station. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy exited the station, each taking one bag of prepared supplies and leaving the rest. They placed their flight goggles on, intending to fly to their next destination, but Fluttershy hesitated when she saw what she would be flying through.
The skies were dark due to the heavy clouds, making it look like it was night time. Strong winds blew against them while the thunderclaps made their presence. Fluttershy squeaked at the loud sounds, lowering her shivering body. It was a lot colder outside now, and the winds weren’t helping.
“I can’t fly through that,” Fluttershy hesitantly said as she took another peak in the distance. The lightning flashes briefly illuminated the numerous buildings that this town held. No pony else was outside but them. All the citizens must’ve taken refuge inside the buildings.
Rainbow Dash silently grunted at the sight of the rain coming from the distance. Fluttershy whimpered when she noticed them too. Despite having flight goggles on, she found herself too afraid to keep her sights straight. Her shivering grew more intense the closer that rain got. She lowered her body, dropped her gaze, and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for that rain to start tumbling down on her. It went darker, and she continued to wait.
But then Fluttershy realized the rain was already pouring down, but not as much as she thought. She opened one eye to look. It was pouring down all around her. Making a questioning noise escape her, she let both of her eyes open, and noticed what it was.
One of Rainbow Dash’s wings was extended over Fluttershy’s head, covering most of her lowered body from the rain. Fluttershy was being somewhat protected from the rain, but she could see Rainbow Dash rapidly getting soaked.
“Come on, Fluttershy! We gotta move!” Rainbow Dash shouted through the piercing sounds of the rain storm. She bumped Fluttershy with her hind leg, signaling her to move right when Rainbow did. They started running through the streets of the town. Thankfully most of the buildings’ lights were still on, helping them see where they were going. Rainbow Dash made sure to keep her wing protecting Fluttershy as they ran.
“But Rainbow Dash, where are we going?” Fluttershy asked as she kept up. Their hooves left multiple splashes along the puddles that formed due to the rain, making it harder for them to run.
“We need to get to the other side of town before the storm gets any worse!” Rainbow Dash yelled through the storm. Another flash of lightning flashed, the thundering boomed in their ears. Fluttershy screamed and shut her eyes, but still kept running.
“B-but, shouldn’t we find shelter?!” Fluttershy cried.
“Just keep running, Fluttershy!”
The two pegasi continued running despite all the rain pouring down. Fluttershy was getting protected by most of the rain thanks to that cyan wing, but Rainbow Dash was getting completely drenched. Fluttershy could hear a shivered grunt coming from her friend as they stopped at an intersection.
“Rainbow Dash! We need to find shelter!” Fluttershy attempted to move away from Rainbow Dash in order to search, but Rainbow Dash stopped her.
“We have to keep moving, Fluttershy!”
“But Rain-”
“GO!” Rainbow Dash bumped Fluttershy with her back legs again to get her to move. Fluttershy squeaked, but wasted no hesitation to keep moving with Rainbow Dash, still being protected by her wing.
Lightning continued flashing while the wind continued tossing the rain around. Fluttershy kept getting splashed by small droplets of water, but it was nothing compared to how much water was hitting Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy could barely see through the goggles she wore. She was increasingly getting worried.
“You’re pushing yourself too hard, Rainbow!” Fluttershy continuously attempted to stop themselves so they could find shelter. But that was when Rainbow Dash looked back at her with a fierce glare. The flash from the lightning made them easily visible through those soaked goggles.
“Fluttershy! Don’t worry about me! Just listen to me and keep running!” Fluttershy’s shivering was suddenly sparked by fear instead of the cold. Their adventure hadn’t started yet, and they were already facing a tough challenge. Fluttershy attempted to still struggle, but Rainbow Dash had gripped her with her wing in a way that made it too difficult for her to stop running. She was left with no choice but to listen to Rainbow Dash.
But soon, Fluttershy found the answer to where they were going. Rainbow Dash had led them to one of the stretched buildings, making no hesitation of opening the door and rushing inside. The doors immediately closed behind them, sealing all the rain outside. The two pegasi collapsed with a thud, panting heavily.
Fluttershy managed to recover first, hastily picking herself up and out of the grip from Rainbow’s wing. “Oh goodness! Oh goodness!” she panicked, quickly removing her goggles and bags before tossing them aside. She hastily shook herself to rid some of the water on her body before looking at Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t see much due to the lack of light, but the lightning gave her a clear view of the state her friend was in.
Rainbow Dash lied on the floor, panting slowly and completely soaked from head to tail. Water hastily slid away from her lying body. Her eyes squeezed shut while her breaths jittered. She must’ve been freezing.
Fluttershy searched the dark room that she was in for something to dry or cover Rainbow Dash. The first thing she could see was the curtains from the nearby windows. Without thinking, she yanked one of them off their hinges and rushed it to her friend.
“Rainbow Dash! Are you okay? Ohhhh…” Fluttershy removed the bag and goggles off of Rainbow Dash so that she could cover her soaked friend with the curtains as best she could, making sure her wings were securely tucked to her sides in the process. The flashes of lightning didn’t startle Fluttershy anymore because she was more worried about Rainbow’s condition. Taking a few glances around the room again, she saw what looked like a fireplace. Gasping, she knew immediately that she had to get Rainbow Dash there. She wrapped her hooves around the sides of Rainbow Dash and fluttered her wings.
“Oh, please be okay, Rainbow Dash, please!” Rainbow Dash just shivered in Fluttershy’s grip. She felt so cold and wet, even through the curtains covering her, but it wasn’t too difficult for Fluttershy to get her in front of the fireplace.
Fluttershy found that the fireplace was already prepared with logs. There was a bellow to the side with a button right next to it, which she pressed. Pressing the button released a small flame within the fireplace to fall onto the logs, starting a small fire. Fluttershy pumped the bellow up and down, blowing its fumes to feed the flames so that it could burn brighter. She didn’t stop until the fire was big enough so that she could feel the intense heat warming her coat.
Rainbow Dash’s shivering was settling down due to the heat from the flames, and her breathing became steady. Fluttershy took a sigh of relief, knowing that her friend was going to be okay. She walked back over to her. Using her hooves, she rubbed along Rainbow Dash’s back, warming and drying all of the wet and cold her body had suffered. Fluttershy was shivering, not because of the cold, but in fear of what her friend endured.
“Rainbow Dash, please don’t do something like that again.” Rainbow’s ears twitched up when Fluttershy started speaking. “If we’re going out to places we don’t know, we shouldn’t be so reckless.”
Fluttershy paused for a second, while the sparking ember sounds of the fire filled the silence. She continued to rub Rainbow Dash, but looked away before she continued. “You need to be more considerate about your abilities and know when to stop… I mean, look at yourself.” Rainbow Dash’s shivering intensified. “If I hadn’t been there to help… who knows what could’ve happened to you. I know you like to challenge yourself, but that’s no reason to push yourself to, AHH!”
Fluttershy felt something tug hard at one of the locks of her mane, dragging her head down right next to Rainbow Dash’s. She could hear a low growling while she struggled to keep her balance. The growling of course, came from Rainbow Dash.
“...Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash started in what sounded like a hushed and pained yell. “I wasn’t… pushing myself so hard to be reckless…” Her tone suddenly raised. “I was pushing myself for your sake!”
Rainbow Dash tugged Fluttershy’s mane harder, causing her to squeak at the same time lightning flashed again. Fluttershy’s mane was suddenly released from Rainbow’s grip, causing Fluttershy’s head to thrust back.
“Ngh… what?” Fluttershy asked, placing a hoof on her lock.
“When we were out there rushing through that storm, what options did we have?! Finding shelter? What were the chances we would find one closer than this that could actually hold, huh?” Fluttershy tried to answer, but could only stutter. “If we didn’t keep moving, we both could’ve been stuck in that storm, and you would be hurt as well. What would we do then?”
Fluttershy’s ears fell flat as she realized what she had assumed. Regret filled her heart, making a few tears present in her eyes. “I-I…” She tried so hard to speak.
“When you’re out there in the face of danger, you don’t have time to think. You take any moment to stop moving and you’re done for.” Rainbow Dash struggled to lift herself up a few inches to turn her face towards Fluttershy, who had tears dripping out of her eyes. “Even when traveling harsh lands or weather. If you don’t keep moving, you won’t make it.”
Fluttershy had to face away, whimpering as the tears escaped her eyes. “I-I’m so sorry... I had no idea...” Rainbow Dash’s anger started fading away at the sight of Fluttershy’s display of sadness. “I should’ve realized... you were pushing yourself for my sake...” Her mind flashed back to the fierce winds blowing rain all over them both as they ran. “I thought you were… I mean… oh…” A flash of lightning occurred. “I’m so sorry… Rainbow Dash!”
Fluttershy rubbed one of her eyes with her hoof, attempting to suppress the tears that were pouring out. She was just trying to be considerate and watch out for Rainbow Dash. But Rainbow Dash was the one protecting her, and she just assumed poorly. She now wished she hadn’t tried opening up and speaking her concerns.
Rainbow Dash made a soft grunted snort seeing Fluttershy’s display, letting her expression falter. She didn’t like seeing Fluttershy upset like this. She lifted a hoof from out of the curtains that held her body warm, shakily moving it to stroke the lock of hair that she pulled earlier.
“H-hey, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said through her shivers. The cold that her coat was suffering became apparent again after she settled her temper. But the stroking her hoof did on the lock seemed to be calming Fluttershy down. She stopped her whimpering and looked at Rainbow Dash, those eyes no longer pouring more tears. “You're okay at least, and that's all that matters."
Fluttershy found it difficult to look at her friend. It almost felt like some of the cooled embers of the fire somehow landed on her cheeks. "But... what... about..." She couldn't form her words straight while Rainbow Dash laid back down, looking at the fire.
"H-hey, Fluttershy?" Rainbow started, shifting Fluttershy's attention back to her. "Can you keep doing what you were doing earlier? I-I'm still cold..." A short pause later, and Fluttershy's ears perked back up.
"Of course, Rainbow Dash," she said with a smile, continuing her little warmth massage on Rainbow's back. Not even the lightning outside could disturb Fluttershy's motions with her hooves. She could hear Rainbow Dash moaning silently.
Normally Rainbow Dash was not one to show such a soft side to her. Fluttershy had to wonder if Rainbow even realized she was doing it. But if she found out, she might have a repeat of what happened in the train earlier, even though it seemed like not such a big deal. But, Fluttershy realized a question she had that might distract the moment.
“Rainbow Dash?” The sound of her voice made Rainbow flinch, but Fluttershy continued. “What is this place?” she finished while looking around, but keeping her hooves rubbing up and down her friend’s back.
Rainbow Dash’s body settled down when the question reached her ears. “It’s an adventure shack. Ponies use it when they are getting ready to cross the border outside of Equestria.”
“Oh, I see.” Now that Fluttershy got a good look at her surroundings, she could make out in the darkness that the furniture was more simple and convenient than it was in looks. Only one couch right next to a window with a cabinet right next to it. Besides the fireplace, she couldn’t tell if the shack had any lights, but it looked like it had a kitchen.
Before she could look further into it, something clicked in Fluttershy’s mind. “But wait... aren’t most ponies too afraid to cross the border? Isn’t it dangerous like the Everfree Forest?”
Rainbow Dash hummed to herself before answering. “Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe that’s why nopony’s been using this.” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she concentrated on the relaxing massage her friend was giving her. “Hay, I wasn’t even planning on using this either.” The comment made Fluttershy’s ears drop, realizing what it implied.
“O-oh…” Fluttershy whispered and slowed her motions. Rainbow noticed the shift in the massage and realized what she said.
“H-hey, don’t get any seconds thoughts now about being a burden, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said, turning herself to Fluttershy and putting a hoof on her shoulder. “As long as you just listen to me, you won’t slow me down, okay?”
Fluttershy wasn’t too sure about that. She wondered if Rainbow Dash really meant that as long as she listened, Rainbow wouldn’t get mad at her even if she did slow Rainbow down. She tried not to falsely assume like she did earlier, but she couldn’t help herself smiling at the thought. Even without assuming, it would still involve listening to Rainbow anyway.
“Okay,” Fluttershy replied.
______________________________________________________________________________
The next morning saw the light of day with clear skies. No more rain to ruin such a nice heated weather. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stood at the edge of the shack’s rooftop, looking far into the distance of where they would be headed.
“Wow…!” Fluttershy whispered in awe as she admired the large ocean view. It looked like there wasn’t a single cloud for miles, only the light blue sky that looked like it could mix in with the sea, but the ocean waves and ripples made them stand out.
“Mmh…” Rainbow Dash relaxed herself in the gentle breeze, cooling down the heat from the sun. The ocean waves was like music to her ears. For something that gave her chills thinking about the other day, it was much more majestic than she thought it would be.
“Get used to the view, Fluttershy, because we’re gonna be seeing this for a while,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking the somewhat silence in the air.
“Rainbow Dash, are you sure you’re well enough to fly right now?” Fluttershy asked, thinking back to Rainbow Dash’s condition last night.
“Yeah. Thanks to that shot, I didn’t catch anything.”
“Shot?” Fluttershy asked, looking to her friend.
“Yeah. Since pegasi in the weather team are gonna be creating the harsh cold weather, they’re gonna be dealing with it a lot, and most likely get sick.” Rainbow Dash reached into her bag. “That’s why the pegasi in the weather team have to take shots before they start their weather team duties.” After searching for a bit, she managed to pull the map out that Twilight gave her. “I don’t like taking it, but I’d rather have it than get sick.”
Rainbow Dash took a look at the map with Fluttershy standing close to her to see as well.
“Hmm… it looks like the dragons lair would be west from here.” Fluttershy cringed while her eyes shrunk.
“D-dragons?!”
“Hey, chill out Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash hastily replied, tapping Fluttershy’s back. “Heheh… we’re not going there. We want to avoid that place.” Fluttershy sighed in relief of that. She completely forgot for a moment that the whole reason they were taking this trip was to find a new habitat for the birds in Ponyville.
“It looks like we should start our search a little east from here,” Rainbow Dash said as she rolled the map up and placed it back in her bag. She started walking to the left side of the rooftop with Fluttershy following close behind. They appeared to be heading towards a long runway that pointed towards the sea.
Fluttershy wanted to question so badly why it was pointing in the direction of the dragons lair. But she couldn’t tell if it really was pointing there, or if that was just her mind playing tricks on her. She swallowed her question down, knowing that they weren’t going there anyway.
They stopped at the starting point of the runway. Rainbow Dash stretched her body around, making a few pops with her wings and legs to ready them for the journey they were about to go on. Fluttershy took a few deep breaths, relaxing her nerves and any second thoughts she might have. She even reached into her bag to take a sip of water in the canteen she brought.
“Ready Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy took another look through her bag, making sure she didn’t forget anything important. Fresh food and water, along with a few other tools such as a hoof held fan. Rainbow Dash packed differently from Fluttershy, but together they both had what they mostly needed for the trip.
“Mhm, ready,” Fluttershy answered with a nod. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took out their flight goggles and strapped them on.
“Remember, we don’t know how long we’ll be flying, so let me know whenever you need to rest.”
“Okay.” Fluttershy nodded again.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy started galloping across the runway. The runway was long, and Rainbow made sure to keep her pace steady with Fluttershy’s so that they could stay together.
“Spread your wings!” Rainbow Dash commanded. Fluttershy spread her wings in sync with Rainbow Dash’s. They kept running along the runway, getting close to the end of it. Fluttershy waited until Rainbow’s next command.
“Aaand, jump!” The two pegasi leaped as soon as they got to the edge. They dove head first towards the water, keeping their hooves forward and wings straight behind them to slice through the winds. Fluttershy was getting nervous, but she followed what Rainbow Dash did. The water in front of them was closing in.
“Release!” Fluttershy shifted her wings in sync with Rainbow Dash. Their dive stopped quickly just above the sea, gliding fast along the winds. Their shift left a large wave of water to splash along their path. They started flapping their wings to increase their altitude and change their direction. Thanks to the speed they gained from that dive, they were able to fly at great speeds even while they increased their altitude.
Fluttershy was amazed at the speed she was able to pull off. She was flying even faster than she ever did at the Equestria Games. And even then, she wasn’t even putting as much effort into her wings.
When Fluttershy looked behind her, she could only sigh in awe at how far they had already traveled. They were now above cloud level, if there were clouds around, and within a minute, they had flown a distance that a casual flight for Fluttershy would take probably ten minutes to travel. She could barely make out the shack they were in earlier from this distance.
“Cool your jets, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, placing a hoof around the back of Fluttershy’s neck. “We don’t wanna burn off too much energy. Keep a steady pace and stick close to me so that we don’t lose each other.”
Fluttershy smiled and nodded, letting her limbs relax under her. Looking in front of them, all they could see was an endless ocean filled with waves and ripples, not a cloud in sight. She hoped that they would see them soon though. Without any clouds, they wouldn’t be able to take a break from their flying.
But for now, Fluttershy had plenty of time to admire the amazing sight before her. She could tell that Rainbow Dash was enjoying it too. They may have been on a mission, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy themselves while on it. And it was all thanks to Rainbow Dash’s training that she could ever find so much joy with flying now. But for now, one fact remained.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy’s journey outside of Equestria, began now.