//------------------------------// // Early Morning Departure // Story: A Love That I Can't Win // by super3rainbow1 //------------------------------// Fluttershy woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. She almost had been startled by it. She turned over and half opened her eyes to see the time on the clock. Sure enough it was five o'clock in the morning. She stretched out a little and let out a small yawn under the thick blanket. She tried to brace herself for getting out from under the blankets. She stood up and immediately felt the cold air in her cottage. Fluttershy shivered for a minute and refused to move. She then reluctantly walked down the stairs to her living room. If this was any other morning she would be putting wood in her fireplace and warming her little cottage up. She turned on a lamp to brighten up the dark room. Sitting on a table was her saddlebag, packed with her toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, silk pajamas, and some other small necessities for travel. There was also a duffle bag that contained a pillow and a blanket inside it. Fluttershy was almost ready to leave her cottage. Fluttershy trotted upstairs to get the hat she forgot to pack. She went through her closet, looking around the clutter for her hat. Something caught her attention and she picked it up. It was picture of two fillies with their hooves around the other's shoulder. One of them had a goofy look on her face and the other was reserved. They both looked pretty happy in that picture. She sighed and held the picture closer. Fluttershy had spent a long time wishing Rainbow Dash was her special somepony; her marefriend. She wanted somepony who she could snuggle up with that would always make her feel safe. Rainbow Dash was that pony. She rarely hugged other ponies. Fluttershy was really the one who she had hugged the most. She left the picture on her nightstand and continued searching. She pulled out a dusty ball cap. It was pink with a little yellow at the top front. This was a gift from Rainbow Dash years ago. Fluttershy wasn't sure if she wanted to wear something this special for the vacation. It seemed to be the only hat she could find. On the clock it was 5:20. Fluttershy needed to meet up with her friends at 5:30. She grabbed the hat and finished her packing. Before she left, she tried to give all her animals friends a quick hug. She hoped she could trust the ponies that Twilight asked to take care of them. Only one of them was somepony that she knew a little bit and that was Ms. Cherilee. It was still dark outside and the air felt even colder. Fluttershy was shivering more. She made it to the train station in time to meet her friends. "Fluttershy! Just in time," Twilight remarked. "Good morning, Fluttershy!" Rarity greeted. "Oh hello, Rarity," she replied. Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash, who also had a saddlebag on and was holding a duffle bag. From the looks of her face, Fluttershy could see that she was extremely tired. It looked like she had been given a rude awakening. "All of our supplies are on the train now," Applejack said, coming out of the train. "Good," Twilight said. "Now that we all are here, let's get on," she added. "This is going to be so much fun!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing up and down. Fluttershy followed her friends onto to the train. She couldn't believe how her friends had managed to pull this off. It seemed like this whole vacation was expensive for Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Inside, there were beds lined up in bunks. Everypony picked out a bed and stored their bags. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy just put their stuff down in front of their beds. "I can't wait to get there!" Pinkie Pie said. "Um.. Twilight? Pinkie?" Fluttershy said. "What is it, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "How did you and Pinkie manage to set up this whole vacation and get us a private train ride?" she asked. "Oh that was easy, Fluttershy. A little while back, I was telling Princess Celestia about how tense things were getting. I mentioned something about needing time to relax. She suggested that I take time off and have a little vacation. She even pointed out a great place and got us a discount on this private train ride," Twilight explained. "I also helped out by getting all the food for us" Pinkie Pie added. Twilight smiled at Pinkie Pie. "Yes, you did. Thanks again for doing that," she said. "You're very welcome, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said. "Last week I was making all the arrangments so we can stay at a hotel. I even got a hold of a map of the area that shows all the places of interest. This whole thing didn't cost that much. I had been saving my bits for something worthwhile and this is definitely going to be worth it," Twilight said and climbed onto her bed. "Well, thank you so very much!" Fluttershy said. Fluttershy climbed into her bed and tried to sleep. Her other friends seemed to still be sitting on their beds and talking. None of them seemed tired except Rainbow Dash. Finally, Rainbow Dash got up and grabbed her stuff. "Where are you going?" Fluttershy asked. "I just want to sleep, Fluttershy. There's another bunk car. You should come with," she said. Fluttershy couldn't say 'no' to that offer. She picked up her stuff too and nodded at Rainbow Dash. They both left the car and moved over into the next one. They couldn't hear their friends talking anymore. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash decided to take top bunks across from each other. It wasn't long before Fluttershy heard Rainbow Dash start to quietly snore. She looked over at the cyan pegasus. Fluttershy couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked sleeping. She smiled but it soon it quickly faded. 'She would never be able to like me back,' Fluttershy thought. She sighed and tried to sleep. Fluttershy woke up feeling sore. She looked over to see if Rainbow Dash was still asleep. She was awake, lying on her bed reading a book. Fluttershy was surprised. She thought Rainbow Dash would be with her other friends. "Fluttershy, you're awake!" Twilight said. Fluttershy let out a little scream as she hadn't seen or heard Twilight come in their car. "Sorry," Twilight apologized. "Why don't you come over by us and have something to eat? What about you, Rainbow Dash? You still want to stay here?" "Look, I just want to relax like you said we would," Rainbow Dash replied. "Fine. Come on, Fluttershy," Twilight called. Fluttershy looked at Twilight and then Rainbow Dash. She wanted to stay there with the pony she had a secrete crush on. Her stomach started to make noises. "I don't know, Twilight. I'm fine here. Really," she said. Rainbow Dash lowered her book. "Fluttershy, just go over with them. You missed breakfast and lunch already. It's almost already the evening," she said. Fluttershy couldn't help but feel a little hurt. It sounded like Rainbow Dash wanted to get rid of her. She lowered her head a little and followed Twilight. "There you are, Fluttershy! You've been asleep for a really long time!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Yes, I can't believe that somepony like you could sleep for so long," Rarity commented. "How bout ya get a little something to eat, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked. Fluttershy looked at all the faces and then nodded. "Ok," she quietly said. She was given a few muffins that smelled pretty good. Fluttershy sat near Rarity and ate, taking small bites. She got an idea that could her find out a little more about Rainbow Dash. "Rarity?" she asked. "What is it, darling?" "Um," she said and lowered her voice. "Do you know if Rainbow Dash has um.. any pony she likes in particular?" she asked. Rarity gave her an odd look. "Are you asking if she has any romantic interest in a pony?" she said. "Oh.. yes, Rarity," Fluttershy said. "Well, I really don't know. She's not the kind of pony that likes to show affection. I'm not sure that she has any interest in anypony whatsoever. Why do you ask?" Fluttershy suddenly got nervous. "I.. well.. she doesn't really tell me much about stuff like that," she said. She was hoping that Rarity wouldn't have asked. "Oh.. I suppose that she really doesn't like talking about stuff like that," Rarity said. Fluttershy nodded and finished the rest of her food. She really was hungry. She slipped out of the room and into the car that she had slept in. She went back up into her bed. She spent the remainder of the day staring out the small window beside her bed. She watched all the scenery pass by with a frown on her face. She looked past the vast lands and sighed. Rarity seemed to be the expert on relationships and romance. She was also the pony who hears a lot of gossip around Ponyville. If she thought that Rainbow Dash has no interest in love then there was no hope for her at all. It grew dark outside and soon Fluttershy was becoming more and more tired. She snuck a quick glance at Rainbow Dash. She had put her book down and was looking out her window. Fluttershy yawned and slowly started to close her eyes. She drifted into an uneasy sleep.