Her Rainbow, Her Butterfly

by HyperBlossom7

By the Sea

In the last few months, many things had changed for Fluttershy and her friends. Twilight Sparkle had realized her destiny as an Alicorn, and became the Princess of Magic. They were no longer bearers of the Elements of Harmony, but they were still a close group of friends. In more recent weeks, Applejack and Rarity had begun their new relationship and had been spending a lot of time together. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had decided to sell her cloud home so she could move in with Fluttershy.

The move had been easy, since Rainbow Dash was able to sell it to Derpy, who was in need of a new home for her growing family. Tank took the move well since it meant he could spend more time with his best friend, Angel Bunny. Rainbow Dash had told Fluttershy that she would gladly help her with chores around the house and taking care of the animals. She didn't want to be a freeloader and take advantage of the animal caretaker. The animals seemed to like Rainbow Dash anyway, most of them except for Angel. The young bunny was jealous of all the attention Rainbow Dash was receiving from his surrogate mother. Still he was on his best behavior around Rainbow Dash, as to avoid upsetting Fluttershy.

Now Spring rolled into the hot days of Summer. The six former Elements of Harmony were all at Sugar Cube Corner. They were planning their trip for the Summer. Last year they had gone to the mountains, and this year they were planning to go to the beach. The beach was a follow up on Rarity insisting that they go somewhere with less dirt and more beauty. Now they were deciding on which beach to go to, since there were several popular spots around the coasts of Equestria. Rarity was suggesting a city her parents used to take her and Sweetie Belle to when they were younger.

"Seaddle is a gorgeous place! There's a great resort there we can stay at," Rarity was saying.

"Well then let's go to to Seaddle!" said Pinkie Pie happily. "We can go right?" She looked around hopefully at her friends.

"That sounds like a good place to go Rarity! And if you've been there before, then it must be as lovely as it sounds," said Twilight Sparkle. "Well everypony, shall we go to Seaddle this Summer?"

"Yes!" said Pinkie Pie immediately.

"Ah'm up for it!" said Applejack, raising a hoof.

"Same here!" Rainbow Dash agreed. She looked at Fluttershy who was listening attentively.

"That sounds wonderful, but who will watch my animals?" Fluttershy asked, thinking of her charges at home first.

"Spike can do that for you Fluttershy. I've relieved him of his duties for this occasion so don't worry about it," Twilight Sparkle assure the animal caretaker.

"Well all right, this should be fun!" said Fluttershy, smiling now.

So with that everypony started packing up for their big trip. Twilight Sparkle went ahead and made checklists for each of her friends so they could be sure they had everything they needed. The meticulous alicorn wanted this trip to be as fun and enjoyable as possible. Being a Princess, she was able to get her friends a private train to Seaddle. They each got their own car, and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were happy to have some alone time together on the train.

Once the train had left Ponyville's train station, everypony went to their respective cars to relax. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went to their car to spend some time together. Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her for some privacy. Fluttershy had gone ahead and taken a seat on one of the beds. She was smiling warmly at Rainbow Dash, and the cyan mare went to her lover. Rainbow Dash nuzzled noses with the yellow pegasus and hopped up onto the bed with her. Fluttershy scooted over to give her some room and the two mares snuggled up with one another.

Rainbow Dash layed on her back, wings splayed out as her lover laid on top of her. She stroked Fluttershy's back with a hoof, making small circles underneath her wing bone. Fluttershy rested her head on Rainbow Dash's chest, looking up at her with a big smile.

"Careful Flutters, you might make me start feeling naughty," said Rainbow Dash with a wink.

"Oh..." the shy mare's cheeks flushed. "Um...would that be a bad thing?" she said, trying to be like the bold mare underneath her.

"Not at all," said Rainbow Dash with a smirk. She kissed Fluttershy on her nose and brought her hoof up to stroke her pink mane. "You wouldn't mind, would you though?"

"Well...not really," Fluttershy murmured, blushing deeply.

Rainbow Dash chuckled softly and smiled at her lover. "I wouldn't mind either, you know..."

Rainbow slid her tail out from underneath Fluttershy's hind hooves and stroked her hind legs. Fluttershy swallowed hard as the bold pegasus continued to stroke her inner legs with her tail. She shuddered at the sensation on her fur. No one had ever touched her so intimately before, not until she had met the rainbow maned pegasus. Now their bodies were pressed up against each other, both warm and full of love for one another. Rainbow Dash brought her tail further up her leg, and she whimpered softly. This made Rainbow Dash pause, and her smirk changed into a concerned frown.

"I-I'm sorry...I'm not quite ready for that yet, Dashie," Fluttershy apologized

Rainbow Dash sighed in mild disappointment. Still, she didn't want to push the timid mare. So Rainbow Dash just nodded and said, "I understand Flutters. I'm not going to force you. We can just cuddle if you want."

"I'd like that," said Fluttershy, smiling again.

"Good," Rainbow Dash smiled and gave her love a gentle kiss on the lips.

On the other side of the door to their car, Pinkie Pie was about to knock on it when Rarity caught her.

"Pinkie Pie! Leave them alone, they clearly want to spend some time together. By themselves," Rarity scolded her. "You ought to know better than that."

"Aww, but I wanted to tell them about the party!" Pinkie Pie whined.

Rarity smiled warmly at the party pony and said, "We can tell them when they come out. Besides, they'll be out for dinner. Just be patient, dear."

Pinkie Pie had decided that since they were on a train, they should have a party. She had never thrown a party on a train before, much less been to one before. She had shared this with all of her friends but the two pegasi who were currently cuddling in their private car. Pinkie Pie knew Rarity was right, however. Plus, those two couldn't stay in their car forever, and the party was after dinner anyway. She sighed and decided to find Twilight Sparkle and bug her until dinnertime.

Dinnertime finally came and the two lovers came out of their car. They were both smiling warmly and their tails were intertwined with each others'. When their friends saw this, they all giggled, finding the couple adorable. This of course made Fluttershy blush furiously, but the cyan mare beside her smiled proudly. The couple joined their friends for dinner, and then they all had fun at the party Pinkie Pie threw for them.

The next few days on the train ride were very peaceful for the six friends. The train made good time and arrived to Seaddle on the fifth day. Twilight Sparkle had already sent a letter ahead to the hotel they would be staying at, so the reservations were all prepared. The group of friends checked into the hotel and got settled into their rooms. Then they all met in the lobby for a short meeting about their plans for the following week.

"And on Tuesday we can go to the Aquarium and-"

Twilight was interrupted by Rarity who said, "Twilight, darling, I think most of us just want to enjoy ourselves and do what we want. Do we really have to follow a schedule?"

"Ah agree with Rarity, sugar cube," said Applejack. "Following an organized schedule isn't exactly mah idea of a good time."

"We can still totally hang out and do the stuff you want to do, just on our own time," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

Twilight Sparkle chuckled nervously, "Right, sorry. I guess I got carried away."

"Oh, but the Aquarium on Tuesday sounds lovely!" said Fluttershy, trying to cheer up the hyper-organized alicorn. "We can all go there together."

"I'm cool with that," Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Yay!" squealed Pinkie Pie.

"We do still need maps to get around, however," Twilight Sparkle pointed out. "Which is why I brought these! I made copies for everypony."

She used her magic to open up her saddlebag and six rolled up pieces of parchment surrounded by an aura of unicorn magic rose out. Twilight Sparkle handed each of her friends a map, while keeping one for herself. Everypony put their map in their respective saddlebags and Rarity spoke up,

"Well we have the rest of the day to look around Seaddle. This is going to be the best vacation ever!"

Applejack laughed and smiled at her marefriend. "That's what you said last summer, Rarity."

"Well I know this one will be better, because there will be less dirt on our hooves. Mountains are so filthy compared to beautiful seaside resorts!" said the fashion loving unicorn.

"That's what you said before you found the hot spring," Applejack added with a smirk.

Rarity giggled and brushed her tail against Applejack's flank. "Shall we go look around, dear?" she asked the farmer pony.

"Sure!" said Applejack. She nodded to the other ponies, "See y'all later! Come on Rares."

The two left the hotel together. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie excused themselves, wanting to go to Pinkie Pie's room for a bit. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were left alone in the hotel lobby. Fluttershy looked at her marefriend, wondering if there was something she wanted to do.

Rainbow Dash looked back at her and asked, "Want to go fly over the resort? We can get a quick over view so we know where we want to go first." Then in consideration for her marefriend she added, "I promise we won't go too high."

Fluttershy smiled gratefully and said, "I don't mind flying as long as you're with me, Dashie."

The cyan pegasus grinned and exited the hotel with Fluttershy. Then she spread her wings and flapped twice, lifting off from the ground. Fluttershy followed, staying close behind her lover. Then to the earth loving mare's surprise, Rainbow Dash hovered above her and took her body in between her hooves. She hooked her hind legs around Fluttershy's torso, and held her shoulders with her front hooves.

Fluttershy looked up at her as Rainbow Dash asked, "Do you feel safer now, Flutters?"

Fluttershy blushed, but she nodded. "Much safer, thank you Rainbow Dash. But I didn't mean to make you go through all the trouble," she apologized quickly.

"I don't mind Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash. "I want to make you feel safe anyway, because I don't want you to have to be afraid anymore."

"T-thank you," she stammered.

"Now let's go take a look around!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

Fluttershy smiled and looked down as her lover carried her higher into the sky. When she saw the ground getting further and further away, she whimpered in mild terror and shivered underneath Rainbow Dash. The bold pegasus holding her felt her shaking, and tightened her hold on Fluttershy. The yellow mare relaxed a little bit, but she still shut her eyes in fear from being so high above the ground. She didn't normally fly up this high, in fact the only times she did go so high above the ground was if she was helping a bird in the trees or retrieving fruit from said trees.

Rainbow Dash sensed that Fluttershy was still frightened. So she decided to fly closer to the ground. Then something caught her eye and she smiled. She carefully set her charge down, and when Fluttershy felt her hooves touch the ground, she opened her eyes. In front of them was a large restaurant that was rather fancy looking. She turned to Rainbow Dash, who was giving her a wide smile.

"Are you hungry? We can eat here if you want," Rainbow Dash offered.

"U-um, okay," Fluttershy agreed with a nod of her head. "But it looks really nice...I feel like I should have dressed up a little. I mean I know we don't normally wear clothes but--"

Rainbow Dash cut her off. "Relax Shy," she assured her shy marefriend. "We're here to have fun and eat some good food. I don't care if you have mud in your mane or dirt on your hooves. You look great, just the way you are.'

Fluttershy blushed again for what felt like the fourth time that day. "Thank you," she whispered. "Let's go inside then!"

"All right!" Rainbow Dash looked happy at this. Then she noticed that there were tables outside of the restaurant, and that gave her an idea. Despite how sappy she knew she would sound, she said, "Hey Fluttershy, why don't we sit outside? This day is too beautiful to sit indoors."

Fluttershy giggled and smiled. "That sounds lovely, Dashie. I would like that very much."

Rainbow Dash brought her marefriend into the restaurant so they could get one of the tables outside. Once they were seated, they went ahead and got their drinks from the stallion who was serving them. Fluttershy noticed there were many well groomed ponies sitting at other tables around them. This made her feel like she stood out, but Rainbow Dash's presence made her feel comfortable. She decided she would only focus on Rainbow Dash, and not worry about what was going on around them.

Rainbow Dash smiled at Fluttershy and said, "Hey Flutters, what do you want to do after this?"

"I don't know...we could look around some more if you want," Fluttershy suggested. "As long as I get to spend the day with you, I don't mind what we do."

"Anything for my beautiful marefriend," said Rainbow Dash with a grin.

As soon as those words had come out of her mouth, there was a loud gasp from the table closest to them. Fluttershy looked and saw two unicorns sitting together. The two clearly came from Canterlot, since the stallion wore a fancy hat and collar and the mare had on a shiny necklace and cuffs around her hooves. The two Canterlot unicorns looked down at the two pegasi with frowns.

"Well I say, I have never seen two mares courting each other," the mare said with a sniff.

"I agree, I find courtship between two mares very uncouth." said the stallion, looking at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash disdainfully.

"Highly improper," the mare added.

Rainbow Dash heard this, and tried to ignore it. She was here for Fluttershy, and she didn't want to ruin their date by letting two snobby unicorns get to her.

Then she heard the stallion say, "Ignore them dear. You know pegasi are very barbaric in nature."

Rainbow Dash growled and stood up. "If you don't like it, then quit paying attention to us!" she snapped at the two unicorns.

"Oh look, one of them is getting angry. She seems rather violent," the mare whispered to her husband.

"Nothing I wouldn't expect from a rough and tumble pegasus," the unicorn mare said.

Fluttershy noticed Rainbow Dash's temper was rising. "Rainbow Dash, it's okay. We can just leave..." she said gently, trying to calm the rainbow maned pegasus.

"No, they can leave instead," said Rainbow Dash. "I brought you here to treat you to a nice dinner. I'm not about to let two snooty unicorns drive us away."

"Snooty? How rude!" the Canterlot mare gasped. "You are the one being rude. You dare dirty this fine establishment with your barbaric manners? I think not. In fact, you've over extended your welcome here."

"And just who put you in charge of us, anyway?" Rainbow Dash snapped at the unicorn.

"Honey, don't let them get to you," the stallion tried to calm his wife down.

"Rainbow, we can just leave. Really, it's fine," said Fluttershy in her soft voice.

"But Fluttershy--"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy raised her voice, surprising herself. She sighed and spoke with a tone she would use on animals who were misbehaving. "I don't want you to get into a fight. I want us to enjoy ourselves, and clearly this is not the place to do so. We can simply leave and go have dinner somewhere else. Please, Rainbow, for me?"

Rainbow Dash sighed but she still glowered angrily at the two unicorns. The two Canterlot ponies were staring back with cool gazes. Fluttershy got up from her seat and went to her marefriend's side. Rainbow Dash's anger subsided at the gentle mare's touch, and she turned her attention away from the two snobby unicorns. The two pegasi left the restaurant in silence.

Fluttershy spotted a nice cafe and suggested to Rainbow Dash that they go there. Rainbow Dash agreed and they went to the cafe for dinner. It was small and not as fancy as the restaurant, but the two lovers were still able to have a good time. They settled for daffodil sandwiches with hay fries, with two glasses of water to wash it all down. By the time dinner was over, it was already late into the evening. So the two decided to return to the hotel and spend the rest of the night in their room.

"I'm sorry we didn't have the perfect dinner," Rainbow Dash apologized as she slid into bed with Fluttershy.

Fluttershy turned onto her side, facing Rainbow Dash. She shifted her wings so they were in a comfortable position underneath her, and then nuzzled her lover on the nose.

"I still had a good time with you at that cafe, Dashie," she said gently.

"But still, if I had known we would run into those two snobby unicorns, I would have chosen a different place that was just as nice," Rainbow Dash said.

"Rainbow Dash, there is no way you could have known. I mean, you don't have Pinkie sense, nor do you have one of Rarity's hunches," Fluttershy explained. "Still, you did the right thing in leaving in the end. Don't you think we had a good time at that cafe?"

"Well...the pie was delicious," Rainbow Dash admitted.

Fluttershy giggled and scooted closer to her lover. "Exactly. We both enjoyed ourselves there. Don't you think that's the most important thing?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, knowing Fluttershy was right. The two unicorns had made her so angry. They had practically insulted Fluttershy and her, calling their relationship 'uncouth.' If Fluttershy hadn't been there, Rainbow Dash may have done something she would have regretted later. Still, they did have fun at the cafe afterwards. They had shared a piece of pie, and they didn't run into any trouble. Even more, they had met a relative of their good friend Doughnut Joe, who had treated them after that first disastrous night at the Gala. Fluttershy was right. She should stop thinking about the restaurant and just focus on the good time they had spent together.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again.

"It's fine, Dashie," said Fluttershy.

"Thank you Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash. "You are one of the best things that have ever happened to me."

She giggled again and kissed Rainbow Dash gently. The two mares just laid there in each others' legs for the rest of the night.

Morning came and Fluttershy woke up to a pair of magenta irises gazing warmly at her. Rainbow Dash smiled at the familiar sight of her love's face as she woke up. She brought her lips to the yellow mare's and Fluttershy returned the kiss lightly.

"Good morning, Dashie," whispered Fluttershy.

"Good morning, Flutters," said Rainbow Dash in a soft voice.

The two were just enjoying each others' company when there was a knock on the door. Rainbow Dash scowled and tried to ignore it. However, the unknown visitor kept knocking. Then a voice called out,

"Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! It's almost lunch time, and we're going out for brunch!" It was Rarity's voice.

Fluttershy was surprised they had slept in so late, and she was rather hungry. Rainbow Dash heard her own stomach growl, telling Fluttershy she was hungry too. Rainbow Dash smiled and got out of bed. The two washed up and joined their friends in the lobby.

The six friends went out for brunch and talked about what they were going to do for the rest of the day. Pinkie Pie was going to take Twilight Sparkle to tour a Chocolate Factory and promised her a visit to one of Seaddle's libraries afterwards. Rarity and Applejack were going to spend the day at one of the most popular spas in Seaddle. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash decided they would go to the boardwalk, and meet Pinkie Pie and Twilight at the water park later.

Once brunch was over, everypony went their separate ways. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash headed to the boardwalk, using the map Twilight Sparkle had given them. When they arrived at the boardwalk, it was already bustling with families enjoying their own vacations. Fluttershy stayed close to Rainbow Dash so they wouldn't get separated as they walked down the path. Movement from above caught Fluttershy's eye. She looked up and saw sea gulls flying over the boardwalk, squawking and keeping an eye out for any food left out in the open.

Wanting to greet them, she flapped her wings and lifted herself into the air. She flew up to the sea gull's level and smiled.

"Hello friends! My name is Fluttershy and--" she was caught off as some of the sea gulls looked towards her rather menacingly.

They flew towards her, hoping the timid pegasus had some food. She shrieked and covered her eyes with her hooves as the sea gulls crowded around her. Rainbow Dash, seeing this, frowned and flew up to help her mare friend. She flew at the sea gulls, trying to chase them away.

"She doesn't have any food, so leave her alone!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the gulls.

The birds squawked back at her angrily, but seeing as she had no food either, they flew off in search of food elsewhere. Rainbow Dash sighed and went to Fluttershy's side. She put a hoof on the frightened mare's shoulder.

"Hey, they're gone now," she said gently. "It's okay."

Fluttershy whimpered, but opened one eye and saw that the gulls had indeed left her alone. She went back to the ground with Rainbow Dash and the cyan pegasus put a wing over Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Sorry Flutters," said Rainbow Dash. "Looks like they're too focused on food to think about making friends."

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Yeah..."

Rainbow Dash nudged her in the shoulder and said, "I think I smell some sea salt ice cream. Let's go get some!"

Fluttershy brightened up at the sound of ice cream. She followed Rainbow Dash to a stand where different flavors of salty ice cream were being sold. Fluttershy got a mixture of orange and mango ice cream, and Rainbow Dash got a chocolate-vanilla swirl flavor. The two walked side by side together while licking their ice cream cones. Soon they came to the games and rides part of the board walk. The games were closer to the path, and there was a large area for all the rides. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy settled for the games.

Fluttershy caught sight of one game that looked rather fun. It was a game of luck. The game was set up so that there was a large vat of water. A platform with a miniature model of the boardwalk had been set in the middle, and the water flowed slowly around the platform. In the water were rubber ducks. According to the sign next to the vat of water, the ducks each had a sticker attached to their bottoms. There were three colored stickers; red, blue, and green, and on each sticker was either 0, 1, 2, or 3. The stickers with 0 on them were all white. That meant there was a total of 9 possible prizes, and if you picked the white sticker with 0 on it, you didn't win anything at all. It cost 3 bits to play, which was cheap enough for parents to allow their children to play.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Isn't that a game for fillies and colts?" she pointed out.

Fluttershy looked at her and said, "But there's an adorable stuffed bunny on there! it makes me think of Angel Bunny, and I want to get it for him. So please Rainbow Dash, can we play?"

Rainbow Dash was about to say no, but then she saw Fluttershy giving her a wide pleading look. She sighed and reluctantly agreed. "Fine. But only for you, Shy."

Fluttershy smiled happily and went to the stand, Rainbow Dash right behind her. The stallion running the stand was short and gray, and he had a short black mane and cold eyes.

"That'll be 3 bits if you want to play," said the stallion, looking down at Fluttershy.

"Okay," Fluttershy got 3 bits out of her saddle bag and handed it to the stallion.

She turned her attention to the vat of water, and examined the ducks floating around. She looked up at the shelves with the prizes on them. In order to get the bunny, she had to get a duck with a red sticker that had the number 2 on it. Fluttershy looked back down at the ducks and concentrated. She decided to go with her instincts and grabbed a duck that was moving in her direction. She showed the bottom of the duck to the stallion, and he read the number on the sticker.

"That's a white sticker with the number 0, you lose the game," said the stallion.

"What?" the duck fell back into the water when Fluttershy opened her mouth. "No no, I wanted the bunny. Can I please try again?"

The stallion chuckled and said, "You'll have to pay 3 more bits if you want to play again."

"That's fine," said Fluttershy. She took 3 more bits out of her saddle bag and handed them over to the stallion.

She tried her hoof at the game again, but ended up with a white sticker with the number 0. She had lost again. Fluttershy lowered her ears in disappointment. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and tried to negotiate with the stallion.

"We'll buy that bunny for 6 bits," she said, hoping the stallion would comply.

"No can do Missy," said the stallion. "That's not fair to the other kids. You got to pay and play to get a prize."

"Fine, I'll have a try then," said Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash, you don't have to do that, really," Fluttershy told her.

"I'm getting you that bunny, Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash stubbornly.

She paid the stallion 3 bits and focused on the game. Fluttershy watched as Rainbow Dash grabbed one at random. She scooped one out of the water, making a splash as she did so. She looked underneath it and frowned, seeing a white sticker with the number zero. Rainbow Dash got a suspicious feeling, and she pulled out two more ducks at once. They both had white stickers on them. The stallion's eyes widened as he realized his ploy was being discovered. After further investigation, Rainbow Dash saw that all the ducks had white stickers with zeros.

She glared at the stallion. "You've been cheating off of innocent kids for money!" she shouted. "You're a thief, and I demand you give us our bits back!"

The stallion smirked at that. "You already paid, and the bits are now mine. I don't have to return anything," he said coldly.

"You jerk! Give us our bits back!" Rainbow Dash was shouting now.

Fluttershy looked around as she realized they were getting lots of attention. There were a few families who had been waiting behind them, and they had seen the whole thing. The parents got angry and they led their children away from the stand.

"Um, Rainbow Dash," she spoke in a soft but frightened voice.

Rainbow Dash didn't hear her. She was too busy shouting at the stallion. "No one cheats off of Rainbow Dash! Now give me back my bits!"

Fluttershy sighed in relief when she saw a few security guards rushing over. The stallion behind the stand tensed at the guards and turned to run. However, the guards apprehended the thieving stallion quickly. Rainbow Dash moved behind the stand and saw several buckets full of bits. She took back the amount of bits she and Fluttershy had already spent, and put the buckets on top of the stand. Then she looked at the shelves and saw the bunny. Smiling, she grabbed the bunny and handed it to Fluttershy.

"Here you go, Fluttershy. I got you the bunny, like I said you would," said Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy frowned and asked, "Isn't it technically stealing?"

"Nah, you probably should have won this in the first place. So it's yours!"

Fluttershy squealed in happiness and kissed Rainbow Dash on the cheek. "Oh thank you so much Dashie!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled and grinned. "Anything for you, Shy. Come on, I've had enough of games for today."

"I understand," said Fluttershy.

The two pegasi continued going down the path. Soon it was getting close to the time to meet Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle at the water park. So they headed to the park where they spent the rest of the day with their friends. They stayed at the park until it was time for it to close. Twilight Sparkle had to use her magic to levitate a wailing Pinkie Pie away from the park.

"You need your rest anyway," Twilight pointed out to the fun loving pony. "Tomorrow we're all going to the aquarium together. You don't want to be too exhausted to go, do you?"

Pinkie Pie sighed in resignation. "I suppose not. But hey, we can still cuddle together!" she gave Twilight a playful wink, which made the princess blush.

"Yes, we can," she said with a small smile.

The four of them returned to the hotel and went to their rooms for the night. Fluttershy put her stuffed bunny on the nightstand in their hotel room and curled up in the bed next to Rainbow Dash. The two fell asleep quickly, both exhausted from a long day of fun.

The next day the six friends met up in the lobby for their trip to the aquarium. They went there together and headed inside. Pinkie Pie was very excited since she had never been in one before. She was literally bouncing all over the place, and didn't stop until a nearby security guard spotted her and reprimanded her for her recklessness. Luckily by that time, the hyper pony had managed to get all of her excitement out. So now she walked happily with her friends as they moved among the exhibits.

Then she saw the clown fish. Pinkie Pie was amazed by the orange fish with thick white stripes on their bodies. They were in a medium sized aquarium, along with other small fish. Pinkie Pie pressed her face against the glass, and stared as the fish swam by. Twilight Sparkle had to peel her off after she had been staring for 10 minutes. Pinkie Pie only giggled and followed her friends as they moved to more of the exhibits.

Rainbow Dash saw the entrance that led to the shark exhibits. She pointed it out to her friends, but Fluttershy was reluctant to go see them.

"I've heard they're very big...they sound as scary as dragons," she whimpered.

Rainbow Dash smiled kindly at Fluttershy and said, "They're stuck in cages, Flutters. They can't hurt you. Besides, they're pretty much just bigger versions of the little fish you just saw. You weren't afraid of them."

"I suppose so," murmured Fluttershy.

She warily followed Rainbow Dash and the others down the hallway. They walked by a very large glass tank. At first Fluttershy didn't see anything, but a huge mass swam into view. She shrieked and hid behind Rainbow Dash, shaking. Rainbow Dash chuckled and put a wing over Fluttershy's shoulder. She nudged the timid pony and Fluttershy peeked out from behind Rainbow Dash. The shark wasn't paying any attention to them. He was just swimming by lazily.

"Hey Fluttershy," Twilight called. "Come over here, you might like to see this."

Fluttershy went to where Twilight Sparkle was standing on the other side of the exhibit hall. She was looking down into a smaller tank. Fluttershy looked inside and saw a small brown shark, Its body was almost flat, and there were much tinier forms swimming under the shark.

"This is a nurse shark, one of the more passive sharks," Twilight Sparkle explained. "They're smaller than most sharks and are relatively harmless."

Twilight's tone took on more of that a teacher's, and she launched off into a lecture. Fluttershy half-listened to her friend while watching the nurse shark in the tank. She seemed to be feeding her babies, and paying no attention to the two ponies who were observing her. Fluttershy smiled warmly and being the former element of kindness, she waited until Twilight was done with her lecture before going back to Rainbow Dash.

She still stayed close to Rainbow Dash as she went through the shark exhibit with her. The six friends came to a door that led to an outdoor stadium. In the center was a very large pool and there were dark masses swimming underneath the water. Twilight Sparkle recognized the shape and explained that they were porpoises. There was a show in a few minutes, so the six of them decided to get seats and watch the show. The show lasted an hour, and the first part was spent introducing the dolphins and having each perform a special trick. During the rest of the hour, the dolphins did synchronized swimming routines.

When the show was over, the six ponies left the stadium and went to the souvenir shop to buy a few trinkets. Unsurprisingly, Twilight Sparkle got a few guides on different species of the fish that were at the aquarium. Fluttershy got Rainbow Dash a stuffed sea turtle as thanks for the stuffed bunny. Afterwards. they went to a cafe for lunch and spent the rest of the day just walking around the city.

On the last day of their week in Seaddle, the six friends spent the day at the beach. They brought towels, drinks, and sandwiches. Pinkie Pie brought a few beach toys like a beach ball and some sand buckets and little shovels. While she was almost a grown mare, Pinkie Pie was still a child at heart. Twilight brought a book to read and Rarity brought extra lotion so she could bathe safely in the sun.

Twilight settled on her beach towel, which was positioned underneath the umbrella she had brought for shade. She read her book while Rarity laid back on her towel underneath the bright sun. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both decided to have some fun in the water, coming up with different challenges for each other. Fluttershy stayed on the beach and decided to help Pinkie Pie build sand castles, as she thought that was a safe and quiet activity.

Fluttershy was carefully building one of the towers for the sand castle when she felt something pinch her hoof. She looked down and saw it was a tiny crab. She smiled and gently peeled the crab's claw off of her hoof.

"Hey there little guy," she said gently to the little creature. "My name is Fluttershy. I was just building a sand castle."

The crab didn't respond of course. It just stared up at her with two beady black eyes. Fluttershy giggled at this and gave it a pat. The crab tried to grab her hoof again but she pulled it out of reach.

"Run along and play now," she said to the crab.

The crab scuttled away but only made it a few inches before a pink hoof scooped him up.

"Wait wait, this crab can be the guard of the castle!" said Pinkie Pie. "He's the perfect size."

Pinkie Pie put the crab in the ditch they had dug around the sand castle. The small crustacean wasn't trapped however, since he easily climbed out of the ditch. Pinkie Pie pouted and Fluttershy giggled as the crab scuttled away quickly.

"I think our castle is almost done, anyway," said Pinkie Pie. "It looks good enough. We just need one more thing...Ooh!"

Fluttershy watched as the pink pony bounced over to Rarity. "Rarity, did you bring any gems?" Pinkie Pie asked the sunbathing unicorn.

Rarity frowned and said, "No Pinkie. Now can you please move? You're blocking my sun."

"Fine, I'll just use sea shells," said Pinkie Pie grumpily.

She bounced off in search of sea shells. Fluttershy smiled and turned back to the sand castle. She finished the tower she had been building. Then she heard some pony calling her name.

Fluttershy looked towards the sea and saw Rainbow Dash waving at her. "Fluttershy! Come join us!" Rainbow Dash was saying.

Fluttershy decided it wouldn't hurt to play in the water a bit. Just as long as she didn't go too far in, of course. She waited until Pinkie Pie returned with a bunch of shells and then went to join Rainbow Dash. Applejack had now gone to join Rarity and make conversation with her, so it was just Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

"Having fun?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash as she reached the edge of the water.

"Loads of fun!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Applejack beat me at holding holding her breath and swimming, but I beat her at wave jumping. I didn't necessarily use my wings, but I did use the wind to my advantage."

Rainbow Dash walked over to Fluttershy and shook her wings a bit, getting some of the water out of her feathers. The two sat side by side on their hind haunches, looking out over the water. Rainbow Dash extended a wing and rested it over Fluttershy's back. The yellow pegasus looked down at the small waves lapping at her hooves. She leaned a bit to the side, resting against Rainbow Dash's flank. The rainbow maned mare smiled at that and leaned her head against Fluttershy's. They sat there for a long time, just watching the waves and listening to the sea.

Author's Note:

This was probably one of my longest chapters and I am rather proud of it. Once again, I appreciate constructive criticism. So if you see any problems, please tell me.

Also, for the boardwalk scenes, the game with the ducks is actually based on an actual game I played at the board walk once when i was little. I'm probably wrong about some of the rules i put for this game, but I do remember that each duck had a sticker on the bottom and there were different colors that got you different prizes. I based the layout of the boardwalk on my memory of the one I often went to whenever I visited my grandparents in Delaware. I know this boardwalk is in Seaddle, and Seaddle is a pun for Seattle, but I've never been to Seattle. Plus, considering that this is my story, and Equestria is a fictional world, and there hasn't been an episode where the ponies went to Seaddle, I can do what I want with it.

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Have a nice day.

Comments

[pendrake72]

@HyperBlossom7...

Never apologize, or be regretful, for putting out a high word-count chapter. Never.

~ a. Hearty word-count chapters show the readers that the Author has put in the time + effort towards the fan-fiction, giving them something to invest their time + interest in.

~ b. A large word-count also generally means the Author has taken to writing out a descriptive & detailed story, not just putting out short lines of "Rainbow did this. Fluttershy said that. And then they kissed."

~ c. Healthy word-count chapters also act as a literary "buffer" for the Author as well. While not everyone may particularly "like" the story itself, all but the worst of internet trolls will respect that the time + effort into the work through the word-count.

[HyperBlossom7]

3641031

Thank you

[lillytheomegawolf]

Nice cute chapter there.
Its not too long and not to short.

Aside from perhaps adding a little more detail to some of the areas around the scene jumps, I found it an easy and fun read.

[dzonewolf]

Having lived in the Seattle area for most of my life, I regret to inform you that in fifteen years of living there, I have never seen two sunny days in a row.

[The Plebeian]

Hello! I’m Plebeian, and I’m here to review your story on behalf of WRITE.

Shipping isn’t easy, and the reasoning is simple. Since the show depicts very few characters in love, authors are already writing out-of-character portrayals. Very few are able to realistically portray characters sensibly when love is thrown in the mix. Not only do they have to understand the characters to portray them individually. They have to be able to figure out where love fits into their personage. On request of the author, I’m going to focus primarily on the romantic characterization he provides, and how it can be improved.
One of the key limiting factors of this piece is the shallow sort of love dynamic going on between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Whereas the show lends complexity to both characters, this piece seems to lend them only caricatures. Rainbow Dash is bold and defensive, Fluttershy is timid and fragile, and we don’t end up seeing much else. Even though this piece depicts a homosexual couple, it’s a bit disappointing that it still resembles a marriage stereotype that feminism has fought for over a century: the protector and the damsel. While this sort of relationship can certainly be a part of a good love story, it should not be the entirety of their bond. There’s more to any realistic love than a single trait or interaction, and this story really only develops that single weakling-savior relationship. It makes their love seem rather shallow and underdeveloped. The author needs to develop a bit more dynamic interaction between the two, something that shows there’s more than a simple deficiency-fulfillment sort of bridge between them.
The particular take on their relationship also flattened the characters a lot. There’s a lot more conflict and insecurity in Rainbow Dash that the show addresses, but in the story, we only get her bolder side. Likewise, with Fluttershy, we’re only getting her shy side, not the thoughts or emotions behind it. Rainbow is never really threatened by any sort of conflict in the story, and the fact that anything opposing her is immediately rendered as incapable, immoral, or ineffectual, actually brings out the fact that Rainbow is a Mary Sue character. Meanwhile, Fluttershy takes the other end of the spectrum, unable to face anything. She is wholly dependent on Rainbow Dash for reassurance and support and unable to face the world on her own – hardly the Fluttershy the show’s spent nearly four seasons developing. Fluttershy may be shy, but she isn’t weak. Likewise, Rainbow Dash may be excessively confident, but she isn’t invincible. Understanding and writing the characters as the show portrays them will be crucial to establishing a more meaningful bond between them. Otherwise, they’ll never reach the characteristic mutual dependence that love entails. As-is, Rainbow Dash is a clear and dominant protagonist, while Fluttershy is essentially dragged behind by weakness. Ideally, a story like this would depict them as equally complex and powerful co-protagonists.
Under that blueprint, none of the conflict of the story really pans out as gripping or convincing. Because each conflict is overcome so easily, the story doesn’t keep the readers interested or invested. The events of the story don’t seem persistent or tailored-together, with the only overarching plot being focused on a love that the author already seems to have deemed flawless. To put it bluntly, flawless love does not happen because people are flawed. No two fit together perfectly and seamlessly, because they are constantly changing, learning, and growing. Until some conflict is added to that relationship, it just won’t feel complex, and the story will feel like a stitched-together collection of irrelevant other stories. There has to be something, some independent growth in both characters that actually makes their love feel real and tangible. Right now, the relationship is just a static ecstasy, which is not at all effective in fiction. The relationship should be as complex as the characters themselves.
The story overall suffers from an overwhelming shallowness, and until a bit more complexity is thrown into the characters, the relationships, and the conflicts, the story will not feel real or tangible. With every confidence comes an insecurity, and with every insecurity a hope and determination. Take the time to understand the characters and how they interact, then make sure love is an addition to that, not a subtraction. Thank you.

- Plebeian, WRITE’s Dark Lord General Flour Sack