//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: On the Plains of Naboo // Story: Fluttershy: Galactic Zoologist // by Boogaloo10 //------------------------------// It was way too early in the morning for Fluttershy and Ahsoka to get up. Well, in reality, it was probably between eight or nine o'clock--a perfect time to wake up. But after the night they'd had, the two girls wanted to sleep for another few hours. Somehow, though, Fluttershy and Ahsoka managed to slowly crawl out of bed, stretch for a few minutes, and get ready to go look at some of the fauna of Naboo. Fluttershy packed a bag for the day while Ahsoka readied her speeder. As she exited the hut, she saw the Padawan arguing with one of the troopers. "We'll be fine on our own!" Ahsoka insisted. "I'm really powerful, and so is Fluttershy! We don't need 'supervision'!" "With all due respect, Commander, it was our orders to protect you and Miss Fluttershy, and I can't well do that if I'm not with you." The clone trooper said. "But-" "I won't be breathing down your necks. I'll simply watch you two from afar. Deal?" Ahsoka folded her arms and looked at the ground. "Fine. Deal." she growled. As the trooper readied his own speeder, Fluttershy walked up to Ahsoka. "What was that all about?" "Well, I just... kinda wanted this to just be a you-and-me thing." she looked up towards the clone. "Now he's coming along and ruining that." "Come on, Ahsoka!" the pony said, rubbing up to her friend playfully. "This can still be a you-and-me thing! We just have to practice ignoring him for a while." Ahsoka laughed. "All right. I am rather good at ignoring people who give me orders." She jumped onto her speeder and motioned for Fluttershy to jump on behind her. The pony smiled. Today was going to be fun. The weather today was beautiful. The sun was a glorious yellow color that brilliantly lit up the green plains of Naboo. The breeze that came with riding on a speeder countered the already warm air, making the temperature absolutely perfect. The grass still had some dew, and when the speeders flew over it, the water sprayed behind the bikes in a sparkling arch. Fluttershy had a wonderful feeling about today. The plan was to cruise around the plains of Naboo, stopping whenever they spotted some wildlife that they wanted to see. Fluttershy came up with it, hoping that it would help them find as many creatures as possible. They had been riding for about a half an hour when Fluttershy had Ahsoka stop their speeder. She hopped off and ran to a thick patch of grass nearby. When Ahsoka caught up to the pony, she asked, "What is it?" Fluttershy had her face buried into the grass for a bit before turning to Ahsoka. The Padawan jumped a little when she saw the pony's face and mane. "I found some Voorpaks!" Fluttershy said happily. Little fluffy ball-like creatures had nested themselves into her mane, and one was even hanging off her muzzle. Fluttershy was smiling and giggling. She motioned for Ahsoka to come closer. "Go on, take one!" Ahsoka, while a little wary of the creatures, couldn't help but think they were cute. Carefully taking the voorpak off of Fluttershy's face, she then cupped it in her hands. It smelled rather nice, and purred softly. Ahsoka couldn't help but smile, making Fluttershy's grin even bigger. The two girls played with the voorpaks for a while, until they began to feel annoyed with the attention. The voorpaks retreated to their patch of grass, and, much to Fluttershy's dismay, the girls had to get back on the speeder. They returned to riding across the plains, searching for another creature to meet. The sun was in its highest point in the sky. The trio had stopped riding and instead ate the lunch they packed. Fluttershy happily chewed her food; even though they had only seen one group of creatures, she was having a ton of fun, and had high hopes for the afternoon. Besides, this lunch felt like a picnic. Fluttershy always welcomed a new memory that popped up. Eventually, they all finished their lunch. But just as they had finished packing up and were about to get on the speeders-- "Guys, look!" Fluttershy pointed to the horizon. Ahsoka and the trooper walked up beside her. Where the land met the sky, there was a big brown cloud rising. Beneath the cloud was a whole lot of brown specks that seemed to be approaching rapidly. While Ahsoka looked a little worried, Fluttershy was once again grinning from ear to ear. "It's a shaak stampede!" the pony cried out in excitement. Ahsoka wore a mixed expression, smiling at her friend even though her eyes were filled with fear. Fluttershy jumped onto the speeder before Ahsoka even began walking toward it. The trooper got onto his and said, "Come on, we need to get out of the way of the stampede!" Fluttershy glared at him. No way am I passing up this opportunity! She whispered something into Ahsoka, making the Padawan smile. She revved up the speeder and took off-- towards the stampede. The shouting of the clone trooper was quickly drowned out by the wind produced by the speeder and the increasing volume of the stampede as the two girls drew closer to it. Fluttershy couldn't help but let out a giddy laugh, and Ahsoka wore a smug smile. The shaaks grew larger and more detailed as the girls grew closer. They were awkward creatures, with most of their mass at their bulbous back ends. Several cries were released at any given time, filling the air with more than just dirt and the sound of thumping hooves. Ahsoka, trying to channel her inner Anakin, drove up real close to the stampede. Just as they would have been trampled by the shaaks, Ahsoka made an extremely sharp one-eighty degree turn and sped up as fast as she could go. Fluttershy had never felt so in awe in her life. The shaaks, while upset about the new member of their stampede, simply moved around the girls and enveloped them into the herd. They were surrounded by the creatures, joining in to their crusade, racing across the plains without a care in the world. This was what Fluttershy had wanted from today. To be with the animals in their natural setting, to experience what it was like to be with them, to be them. The pony, overwhelmed by happiness, let her wings unfold behind her-- Fluttershy was ripped off the speeder and thrown behind it. Ahsoka looked around in horror. She wasn't sure where Fluttershy went. She desperately hoped she was hanging off of the speeder and not on the ground, where she's surely be trampled. Panic set in. Ahsoka was going to cry out when she heard a familiar voice. "Up here!" Ahsoka looked at the sky behind her. There Fluttershy was, soaring above the stampede, flapping her wings as freely as a bird. She came in close to Ahsoka and offered her hoof to her. Ahsoka, unsure as to what to do, simply high-fived her friend. Fluttershy returned to the sky above Ahsoka, admiring the view. The plains sprawled endlessly before them, seeming to go even beyond the distant horizon. The green grass swayed with the wind, much like Fluttershy did. The feeling of freedom and intense happiness filled the happy pony. She flew with the stampede, Ahsoka riding along below. The sun was nearly touching the horizon when they all returned to the camp. Ahsoka and Fluttershy had to endure a scolding from the clone trooper, but they were in too good of a mood to care. The girls parked their speeder and headed straight to their hut, where they both promptly jumped into their beds. "What a day," Ahsoka said, stifling a yawn. "I must admit, I never expected to get caught in a stampede of shaaks." "That was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had. Or, at least, that I can remember." Fluttershy turned in her bed so she could better see Ahsoka. "Anakin would be proud of the speeder stunt you pulled." Ahsoka smiled smugly. "I know." The two girls laid in silence for a while. The cries of shaaks in the distance carried through the air. The breeze rustled the grass. The sun was nearly gone, giving only a faint, purple-orange glow into the sky and through the hut's window. The two girls fell asleep easily and happily. The day had been wonderful. Tomorrow could only be just as good...