//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: An Expression Of Love // by Fluttershy20 //------------------------------// The first thing Twilight felt was aching – severe aching all over her body. Her head felt like it was being used as a drum, with a constant throbbing on one side of her head. Her legs felt like they were about to fall off, and her mane and tail felt stiff and messy. ‘I bet they look like bushes,’ she thought grubbily. She flickered her eyes open, and slowly and painfully raised her head, groaning. The first thing she noticed was that she stank of salty water. ‘I could really do with a fresh bath,’ she thought upon smelling herself. The second thing she noticed, that she was in a small lifeboat that looked like it had been through a terrible storm. Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw that it was the same boat Seahoof gave to her and Fluttershy when the two of them were stuck in the ocean. The next thing she noticed was that she was thankfully on land, with a large wall of tropical trees in front of her, and between her and the trees lay bright, golden sand. Behind her, cyan blue water stretched out towards the horizon, bobbing slightly like jelly. The forth thing she noticed, and the thing that horrified her most, was that she was alone. She looked behind her once again to see if Fluttershy was sleeping, and felt her heart plummet when she saw she wasn’t there, or anywhere around the boat. “Fluttershy!” she called. There wasn’t even a squeak from the pegasus as a reply. Twilight clambered out of the boat and onto the soft sand, her eyes wide with worry and her heart pounding against her chest as she looked around her. “Fluttershy!” she called once more. She suddenly stopped when she felt something under her hoof – something that did not feel like sand. She pulled the hoof back, and gasped at the sight of the single yellow feather resting on the ground, torn and withered. She quickly recognised it as one of Fluttershy’s feathers, but if it was here and not on the pegasus and in the state that it was, then that meant… Twilight collapsed onto her knees, her eyes brimming with tears as she slowly picked up the feather with her magic, staring at it with a sense of loss. “No…” she whispered, shaking her head in the hope it would take away the truth. But not even magic could take that away from her. Fluttershy was gone. “NOOOOOOOO!” Twilight screamed, sobbing uncontrollably. She threw the feather away, and buried her head in her hooves, spilling out her tears wildly, almost painfully, yet she felt like she deserved that pain. She had promised Fluttershy that she would get her home safely, and she had failed that promise. The worst part was that the pegasus never truly knew how much she meant to her. “Twilight?” Twilight shot her head up instantly, and gasped when she saw Fluttershy standing in front of her. The mare in question didn’t look as worse for wear than Twilight did. A few strands of hair stood out like branches in her mane and tail, and her wings looked fine, with just a few feathers out of place. Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind about her state, however, for her eyes lit up with joy on seeing Twilight was awake. “Oh my goodness, I am so glad that you’re all right!” Fluttershy cried, fighting back the urge to cry happy tears. “I was so worried when I woke up and you were not awake yet and–” She was cut off when Twilight jumped her in a bone-crushing hug, crying tears of joy. “I though- I thought you were g-go-gon-gone,” Twilight sobbed hysterically, clutching Fluttershy tightly like a teddy bear. Fluttershy grimaced as she felt her back being snapped in half. “I sa- I saw the feather on the ground and I thought you were… that you were…” She couldn’t say anymore, so let her tears fall loudly and her shoulders spasm. Fluttershy gently eased the pressure she felt on her back, and then wrapped her hooves around her unicorn friend, feeling like she was about to cry as well. “There, there, Twilight,” she said soothingly, patting her on the back. “It’s okay. We’re safe now… I think.” Fluttershy looked back at the large tropical jungle behind her, and gulped. ‘Still, we could be in worse places to get stranded,’ she figured. Behind her, tropical trees lined up like a wall spanning as far as the eye could see. Inside the vast jungle, the sounds of tropical birds and other creatures unknown to Fluttershy graced her ears, bringing this paradise alive. At least, it would have been paradise if her and Twilight had a way off. She suddenly noticed that Twilight was still holding her, spilling out tears of joy at the fact that she was alive. “Um, Twilight? As nice as this is, could you kindly let go of me, please?” Fluttershy asked politely. Twilight instantly stopped crying, and her eyes widened when she realised how tight she was hugging the pegasus. She broke contact, and gave the pegasus a sheepish grin. “Sorry,” she coughed. “It’s just that I thought you wer–” Fluttershy cut her off by placing a hoof over her mouth. “It’s all right, Twilight,” she said kindly. “I know what you meant, and I felt the same when I realised you were still alive.” She pulled her hoof away from Twilight’s mouth, and sighed sadly. “I’m sorry I worried you like that, though. I didn’t mean to run off; I should have stayed with you until you were awake.” Twilight waved a hoof dismissively while sighing. “It’s all right. I’m just glad you’re okay and safe. Where did you go, anyway?” Fluttershy’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “Oh yes!” she exclaimed. She took one of Twilight’s hooves and started dragging her into the jungle. “Come on, I’ll show you what I found – if you want to see it, of course. I don’t want to force you.” Twilight giggled; when Fluttershy asked as meekly as she just did, it was hard to say no. “Of course I want to see. Come on, show me the way.” Fluttershy nodded, then let go of Twilight’s hoof and broke into a trot through the jungle, with Twilight close behind. Around them, the trees seemed to be alive. Twilight shrank down every time at the sound of some animal she and Fluttershy did not know hooted or hollered across the jungle, while the trees themselves appeared to stare down at them, daring them to step forward and ever closer into the jungle. Yet they continued, for both ponies knew that trees cannot hurt anypony unless it was by accident. “Here we are,” Fluttershy announced. She reared up and spread her forelegs out wide. “What do you think?” Twilight gaped at the pool in front of her. The pool was long and thin, with a small island in the middle, and a small waterfall at the far end. The thick cluster of trees kept their distance as though this was sacred ground, allowing beautiful and vibrantly coloured plants to come to life in the space between the trees and the pool. Small streams ran from the pool and into the jungle itself, with one leading towards the way they came. While overhead, parrots of different colours, toucans and other exotic birds Twilight thought she would never see in the wild flew into the trees. Twilight slowly shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, who was watching the birds fly away with a small smile. “How did you find this place?” “I didn’t,” Fluttershy admitted. She stretched a leg out, and a large bird white as snow and what looked like a curved unicorn’s horn on its head landed on her cannon. “This cockatoo led me to this place after seeing me looking rather lost and confused, as he had put it.” She gave the bird a quick nuzzle. “Thank you, little friend.” She thrust her leg upwards, and the bird took off, screeching a goodbye as it flew over the canopies and out of sight. Twilight chuckled. “Been here for about a day and you’re making friends already. I swear sometimes you and Pinkie Pie are related.” Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t see why you think that; there’s nothing similar between us at all.” She shook her head, and then gestured with a hoof to climb in the pool with her. “Come into the water with me. It’ll make you feel better, honest.” Twilight nodded, and together the two ponies moved slowly into the water. Twilight gasped as the cold water wrapped around her hooves, but she relaxed once her body got used to the cold water. She heard Fluttershy squeak at the coldness of the water, but she soon relaxed just as quickly as she did. Soon the two ponies were standing in the surprisingly shallow pool. “Wow,” Twilight remarked, “it looked a lot deeper from above.” “It might look it, but it feels just as relaxing,” Fluttershy said. She set herself down onto her belly, gasping once more as the water touched her tummy. The cold feeling soon died away, however, and she felt at peace all of a sudden, with the animals around her, and one of her best friends at her side. ‘I know I should be scared, but I’m not,’ she thought to herself. Twilight set herself down as well, and sighed contently as the water started to turn from unbearably cold to a more relaxing temperature. “How do you feel, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked after a spell of silence. Fluttershy opened her eyes, and smiled at the unicorn. “I know I should feel scared. I mean, we’re stuck on a tropical island with no way of getting off and miles away from Equestria. Yet I don’t feel scared. I feel fine. I don’t know why, but I’m just not scared.” Twilight smiled. “Maybe it’s the animals here?” she suggested, looking around at the numerous number of birds that appeared to inhabit the island, landing on the trees and getting a glimpse of the two newcomers. Fluttershy shrugged. “Maybe, but maybe it’s the company as well that makes me feel unafraid.” Twilight looked around her for somepony else. “And who’s that?” she asked, looking at her with a teasing smirk. “You, you numpty,” Fluttershy giggled, tapping the unicorn on the chest. “I don’t think I would be able to survive here on my own.” Twilight shook her head. “Me neither.” With that, she dipped her head under the water for a moment, then brought it back up and began to straighten her mane and tail down. Fluttershy started picking out some of the feathers that had loosened through their ordeal, and licking some straight again. “I’m glad we got here, though,” Fluttershy said as she plucked the last torn feather out. “I don’t think we would have survived otherwise.” At that, Twilight’s mind suddenly went back to the last thing she remembered – lying in a small lifeboat, her and Fluttershy gripping each other as a large tidal wave charged towards them, and she was about to tell Fluttershy her love to the pegasus, just before the wave crashed into them. “Fluttershy? Do you remember what happened after you fell into the water and we were on the boat?” Fluttershy nodded. “Oh yes, I remember. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. The two of us holding each other and the wave was coming towards us and we both thought it was the end and the wave crashe–” “Yes, I know, I was there,” Twilight interrupted. “I want to know what happened next, and how we got here?” she asked, gesturing with a twirling hoof at the island around them. Fluttershy moved some of her mane out of her face, and cleared her throat. “Well, you see, it happened like this…” Fluttershy spat out as much water as she could, coughing another load up just to be sure. The first thing she noticed was that she was still on the boat, which was still upright. The second thing she noticed was that Twilight was in her embrace yet knocked out cold after using so much magic in such a short space of time. The third thing was that the world around her looked like it was ending. She shook Twilight gently. “Twilight! Twilight, wake up, please wake up!” she cried. When Twilight didn’t stir, she felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes. “No, please don’t leave me alone, Twilight. You would never leave me alone so why should you now? Wake up.” Twilight did not awaken, so she shook her harder. “WAKE UP!” When Twilight still did not stir, she put a hoof to Twilight’s neck, and felt a faint yet quick pulse running through her body. Fluttershy relaxed a little, but she still felt frightened for the safety of herself and her friend, and the world around them. Everywhere she turned, krakens raised their tentacles to full height, then sent them crashing down and creating more gigantic waves. They seemed a bit further away than they were, making Fluttershy believe she and Twilight were finally safe. Safe yet lost. Suddenly, right next to the little boat, a kraken leapt out of the water, making Fluttershy’s jaw drop at the sight of it. The kraken looked like a light green blob with tentacles behind it with two black fish-like eyes and teeth like a great white shark’s on the face of it. ‘How is that even possible?’ Fluttershy wondered as she watched the kraken soar through the air for a moment, its tentacles trailing through the air, before crashing back into the water and, instead of creating a giant wave, created a suction that pulled the boat towards it. Fluttershy braced with one hoof wrapped around Twilight, and another on the side of the boat, and she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the end. ‘I’m so sorry, mum and dad. I’m so sorry for everything.’ Just when she felt the boat was about to be pulled into the giant whirlpool, another creature shot out of the water to her right. Startled, she looked and saw with joy a humpback whale shooting out of the water, its mouth wide open and its eyes showing no fear at what is going on around it. It took Fluttershy at least a second to realise what it was about to do. “Oh no, wait! Wait!” she screamed, yet it was too late for the whale to turn back now. In an instant, the large humpback whale swallowed the two ponies and the boat as it dived back into the water. Twilight’s jaw was under the waterline. “Close your mouth, Twilight, it makes you look like a purple goldfish,” Fluttershy said. Twilight’s mouth closed with a chomp. “We were in the mouth of a whale?” she enquired. “We were in the mouth of a huge, gigantic whale!” Fluttershy nodded. “Well, on the plus side it was a bit roomy.” “Roomy!” Twilight exclaimed. Fluttershy nodded cheerfully. “Oh, yes, and I admit I was a bit terrified at first, but once the whale assured me we were safe, I relaxed a lot…” Fluttershy’s vision was completely black, yet that was because her hooves were plastered firmly against her face, while she lay prostrated on the small lifeboat and shaking violently in terror. ‘Okay, Fluttershy, just relax; you didn’t just get eaten by a humpback whale. In a minute you will wake up in the cabin of the Wave Breaker, with Twilight in the bed next to you, and everything will be fine.’ Surprisingly, her own words assured her enough to remove her hooves from her face, and look around her. She and Twilight were still in the mouth of a whale. Fluttershy screamed loud enough to awaken the dead. The boat rested on the giant tongue, keeping it firm and still. Behind her, the whale’s blunt wall of teeth barred the way between them and freedom, while the other way went down a long tube towards digestion – somewhere Fluttershy didn’t want to be today. “Um, excuse me, mister or misses whale?” Fluttershy called aloud, hoping the whale would hear her. “Um, I thank you kindly for saving us from those krakens, but… COULD YOU PLEASE LET US OUT SO WE DON’T GET EATEN NOW?” she screamed. After a moment of silence – making Fluttershy fear the whale didn’t hear her – the whale began speaking in its slow, tedious language. Fluttershy’s eyes wandered everywhere as she listened to the whale speaking slowly, almost painfully to her ears. “Oh, so you don’t want to eat us?” The whale replied with a, “No.” “Oh, that’s good,” Fluttershy sighed in relief. “Then, why are me and my friend in your mouth?” The whale began a long reply, which dragged on and on, making Fluttershy feel tired just by listening to it. “Okay, so you wanted to save us from the krakens, and the only way you could do that was for us to be in your mouth?” The whale replied with a, “Yes,’ followed by another long sentence. “And you are going to take us to a place where we would be safe?” The whale replied, “Yes.” “So you’re not going to take us back to the Wave Breaker?” The whale said another long, slow response, prompting Fluttershy to start tapping her hoof in impatience – a trait all pegasi shared – as she waited for the whale’s answer to end. Eventually it did, and she blew a stray strand of mane out of her face. “No? Okay then,” she said, although she couldn’t believe it took that long for the whale to say ‘no’. “Then where are you taking us?” The whale’s reply wasn’t as long, thankfully, but its answer made Fluttershy suddenly fearful. ‘Wait and see?’ she thought incredulously, not wanting to say it aloud in case it would upset the whale. “Thank you, kind sir. Thank you for saving us,” she said. With that settled, she took hold of Twilight’s unconscious body, and wrapped the unicorn in her embrace. “We’re safe now, Twilight. Safe from everything,” she whispered gently into Twilight’s ear. She closed her eyes, and her mind suddenly went blank as fatigue quickly took her in its hold. “And that’s all that I remember. When I woke up I was in the boat with you and on this island. I first made sure that you were all right, and then I went deeper into the island to see if I could find some help. That was when that cockatoo found me.” Twilight nodded nimbly, her eyes expressing her interest to what she had been told. “Amazing. How did the whale manage to dump us here, though?” “I’m not sure, but I imagine he spat us out and let us drift onto the island before setting off again. I figure he wouldn’t have been able to get too close to the island, or else he would strand himself.” “I guess.” The two went silent for a moment, and let the birds around them chatter amongst themselves. “Did you find out anything from that cockatoo about this place?” “Only that we’re on an island,” she replied. Twilight sighed. “That’s it? Nothing about settlements or anything like that?” Fluttershy solemnly shook her head. “Sorry,” she said. Twilight smiled serenely at her. “No need to be sorry, Fluttershy, it isn’t your fault.” She had a quick look around. “I suggest we find out what we can about this place before we get too comfortable, and hope we don’t have any company that would like us as a meal.” Fluttershy nodded, though she slightly paled at the thought of a predator on the island. “Okay, but where should we go? And are you fit enough to move?” she asked worriedly. Twilight nodded assuredly. “I feel fine now, thank you, Fluttershy. I guess this soak in the pond has boosted my energy once more. What about you? Feeling brave?” Fluttershy looked at her with wide eyes. “No,” she squeaked, shaking her head. Twilight offered her a brave smile. “That makes two of us.” She stretched out a dripping wet hoof for Fluttershy to take. “Are you with me on this?” Fluttershy looked hesitantly at her hoof. “I know you are scared, Fluttershy. Scared of not seeing our friends, our home, and our loved ones ever again. But we need to put our fears to one side for the moment, and work together if we want to get off this island.” Fluttershy looked at Twilight with big, frightened eyes. She said to herself that she wasn’t scared before, but she was now. The prospect of never seeing her friends again, or her home, or her country made her want to lay down and cry with her tail as a tissue, plus the suggestion that a predator being on the island chilled her bones and made the butterflies in her stomach come to life. Yet she had Twilight Sparkle to protect her, a pony that was the most powerful unicorn on Terra, and incredibly loyal to all her friends. If there was anypony Fluttershy wanted to be stranded on an island with, it was her. Fluttershy grasped Twilight’s hoof with her own, and nodded determinedly. “I’m with you, Twilight. Always.” Twilight’s smile grew into a grin. “Thank you,” she said. She pulled her hoof back, then jumped out of the pool and shook herself dry. “Right, I suggest we find some high ground like a mountain or something. Then we can both find out what this island has got,” she said, looking above the trees to see if there were any sign of any high ground. Upon seeing none, she turned back to Fluttershy. “How do your wings feel?” Fluttershy spread her wings out, and flapped any excess water off them. “They feel okay. Apart from a few loose feathers I just had to get rid of, I don’t think they were damaged when the krakens appeared.” “That’s good. Do you think you could fly up high and see if you can spot any mountains?” Fluttershy began flapping her wings and took to the air, her body dripping with water as she flew away from the pool. “On it,” she replied, saluting. She shot up into the sky, and brought herself into a hover just above the trees, and had a good look around. She soon found herself staring northeast at a large cone-shaped mountain, and narrowed her eyes to get an understanding of how long it would take for them to get there, and how big it was. The mountain itself appeared to be the dead form of a volcano; since she could make out a massive gash that was at the back as though it had erupted with such force it had ripped the mountainside open. ‘I hope that volcano is dead, or else we’ll be learning how to swim for a long time,’ she thought. She relaxed her wings, and let herself fall gently like a snowflake to the ground. “There’s a dead volcano just northeast of here,” Fluttershy explained, pointing in the direction the volcano was. Twilight looked that way and nodded. “How long do you think it will take us to get there?” Fluttershy shrugged. “I’m not sure, but at a wild guess maybe an hour, two at the most.” Twilight nodded. “That’s fine. Right,” she sighed, “I suggest we get a move on then. Ready?” Fluttershy nodded confidently. “Ready.” With that, the two ponies spun around and headed northeast, through the thick jungle and towards the large mountain. As they trotted through the jungle, the two ponies felt emotionless eyes bore into the back of their necks. “Um, Twilight, do you have that feeling that you’re being watched constantly?” Fluttershy asked, not daring to look around her to see if that was the case. Twilight looked back, and nodded. “Yeah, I do.” she looked from the pegasus to the trees around her. They weren’t the type of tree a pony would find in Equestria. Most of the trees’ trunks looked like little blocks stacked up on top of each other. At the top of the tree, however, a whole bundle of coconuts grouped to the branches that nested just between the leaves, which looked like feathers. “So, um,” Fluttershy said conversationally, “have you thought of a way for us to get off this island yet?” Twilight shook her head. “I’ll come to that when we get up the mountain, and see what’s around us. It might not even come to me coming up with something clever. We might be able to find a group of ponies who are willing to give us a boat, and point us in the right direction to Equestria,” Twilight answered. “Have you had any ideas about getting off?” Fluttershy sighed sadly while shaking her head. “No, not really. I did think about cutting down some of the trees, and then making a raft out of them and use it to get back to Equestria. But like you said, we may find some ponies who are kind enough to give us a boat and let us take it back without giving them any money. I guess we just have to find out when we get to the top of the mountain.” She added a moment later, “Plus I don’t think the trees would like us cutting them down.” Twilight nodded. “I guess.” The two fell silent once more as they wandered into the woods, their movements watched vividly by the many birds and other creatures that inhabited the island. About an hour or so later, the two finally arrived at the foot of the mountain, and nearly let their jaws drop at the size of it. In front of them was a large stonewall, ragged and pointy at the top, and almost threatening. “This is certainly bigger than it looked from where we were before,” Fluttershy remarked, her eyes wandering up and down to take in its size. “I’m not sure, since I haven’t seen it till now,” Twilight said. Her eyes began to search for a path they could use to get up the mountain. She groaned when she saw there wasn’t one. “I guess we just have to walk around it and see if we can find a path up,” Twilight said. With that, she began walking right to follow the mountain around, while Fluttershy backed up a bit to get a better view of the top. “Um, Twilight, I think I can see a path at the top there,” Fluttershy said, pointing with a hoof at the top of the mountain wall. “The top seems to stretch back a bit. There must be a path up there.” Twilight stopped, and looked back at Fluttershy with surprise. “Oh, really? Brilliant! Could you go up there and see if it’s safe, please?” Fluttershy’s wings spread out, looking elegant and graceful as she thrust them against the ground. “Sure,” she said, before shooting up into the air like an arrow, and flying onto the path and out of sight. Twilight’s tail twitched as she waited anxiously for her crush to come back into view. ‘Oh, come on, Fluttershy, where are you?’ she wondered as she scraped and pawed at the ground with her hooves. After a while, the head of Fluttershy appeared over the edge of the wall, looking down at her with a wide smile. “The path’s wide enough for three ponies, Twilight!” she yelled as loud as she could; yet it still sounded quite quiet to Twilight. “Do you think you could teleport yourself up here?” “I may be able to, but you’re going to have to guide me up there!” Twilight yelled back. Fluttershy bit her lower lip in confusion. “Um, how am I exactly meant to do that?” “Just tell me what the area looks like in absolute detail!” Twilight explained. “Do not leave a single detail out, or else the teleportation spell might not work, or worse send me to the wrong place!” Fluttershy nodded. “Okay!” she called, and then looked around her. “Right, the path is big enough for about, say, three ponies to stand side by side! The path is covered in small, dark grey stones that grind against your hooves like rough granite! Um, is that enough?” “I think so! Let me see!” Twilight powered up her horn, and in a white flash she was gone, only to reappear next to Fluttershy with a wide grin. Fluttershy clapped her hooves together in delight. “Yay!” she cheered. “I knew you could do it!” Twilight shook her head modestly. “I wouldn’t have been able to if it wasn’t for you. The spell wouldn’t have worked otherwise if you hadn’t given me that description.” Fluttershy and Twilight smiled as they followed the path up the side of the old volcano. “So, is that how teleportation spells work? You need to see your destination to jump there?” Fluttershy asked curiously. She had always wanted to know about magic, in particular the teleportation spell Twilight frequently used, for it was the one spell she wished she could use to get around quicker. “Most of the time, yes,” Twilight replied, nodding. “But you can use your memory also to get around, like I could teleport us from here to the beach where we started from without even looking. As well as that, I can also teleport us to somewhere randomly if we are ever attacked or something around those lines.” Fluttershy nodded nimbly in understanding. “Do you think, I could use that spell?” she asked, her tone hopeful. Twilight stopped, and turned her head back to look at her oddly. “Why do you ask that?” Fluttershy shuffled her hooves on the rough ground, kicking up dust and such. “I just would like some other way of getting around rather than use my hooves or fly, someway where I can be quick and save the life of some poor, needy creature. Celestia knows how many little critters I could have saved if I was just that little bit quicker.” Fluttershy’s lips quivered as she remembered some things her eyes had seen she dearly wished she could forget. Twilight tilted her head a bit, her eyes expressing her sorrow for the pegasus. She leaned her head close, and nuzzled Fluttershy gently on the cheek. “I’m not sure if a non-unicorn pony can learn such a spell, but there are stranger things that have happened in Equestria.” She pulled back from the pegasus. “For you, I will look it up, and if it is possible I will teach you and make you a master of it.” The grin on Fluttershy’s face would be bright enough to re-ignite the sun if it were ever extinguished, Twilight believed. “Oh, that would be so magical if I could teleport like you!” she said excitedly as they continued up the mountain once more. “We could have teleport races, appear in each other’s houses, see who can teleport the furthest, and…” Fluttershy went on and on about what she and Twilight could do if they could teleport. Twilight couldn’t help herself but giggle. ‘How can this delightful mare not have a marefriend yet?’ Twilight wondered as she watched Fluttershy prance alongside, looking up at the sky with a dreamy grin. Just as she thought that, her grin faded a little. Was what Fluttershy said on the ship true? Was she more attracted to other mares than stallions? She hoped she didn’t just say it to get Seahoof off her back. “Fluttershy? I have to ask you something.” Fluttershy stopped prancing and looked at the unicorn with a more serious expression. “Is what you said to Seahoof back on the ship true? That you’re a lesbian?” Fluttershy suddenly flinched back at the use of the word as though she had been physically hit across the face with it. Twilight immediately felt sick of herself. “Please don’t ever use that word again, Twilight,” Fluttershy warned her. Twilight quickly crushed the pegasus in a comforting embrace. “Don’t worry, it’s all right. I don’t mind, really, it was just something of a surprise to me, that’s all,” Twilight cooed into the pegasus’s ears. “I’m so sorry I offended you.” Fluttershy visibly relaxed. “You mean you’re not bothered by it?” she asked as they pulled away from each other. Twilight laughed aloud. “Why should I be bothered about you liking other mares? This is a world where love is free and limitless, Fluttershy. You have no reason to hide who you are, and who you love. But I must ask: why don’t you like the L word so much?” Fluttershy shrugged as they continued their ascent. “I guess I thought it was a word some of the older families used as an offensive term towards those ponies. My family knows a few families who still stick to the old ways, and would probably find me wanting if they ever found that out.” “Well,” Twilight snorted, “don’t ever worry about those type of ponies, for they are just stuck far up their own backsides.” Fluttershy gasped in shock. “Twilight! Such vile language! I would rinse your mouth out with soap if I had some!” Twilight shrugged. “I apologise, but it is the truth. They can’t see that the world is changing, and things like mare and mare relationships are becoming more common and agreeable. No, I want nothing to do with those ponies, and neither should you.” Twilight cleared her throat quickly as she suddenly went into lecture mode. “As for the L word, it wasn’t used as an offensive term at all. It originated from an island called Lesbos that sits off the coast of the eastern continent, just above the griffon territories to be precise, and is the only pony territory that far out from Equestrian mainland.” Fluttershy rolled her eyes as she realised what was coming. ‘Here we go again,’ she thought. “Once upon a time, well, more specifically, back at about the same time as the Third Equestrian Expansion had begun, Private Pansy, or General Pansy as she became known as, founded this small island at that point, and began a settlement there. Along with her and a few other ponies was a pegasus named Sappho, who was apparently the most beautiful mare on the island. A blazing white coat, short brunette mane and a long, flowing tail with a cutie mark of an open parchment and harp. “She was a poet, you see, and certainly one of the best poets of the ancient world. Most of her poems had been written autobiographically, but others had been written about home, love, food and everything else that gave ponies of that time comfort. A year or so after the founding of the island of Lesbos, according to some sources anyway, she became the scribe and assistant of General Pansy for a while, and it is said that the two became good friends. Some sources even say they openly declared themselves as lovers.” Fluttershy’s cheeks went pink as her eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my, and was Hurricane all right with that?” Twilight shrugged. “It doesn’t say, but that was the last thing written about both of them. It isn’t easy to see it as fact as well, since most of the records of the time – and a lot of Sappho’s poetry – were destroyed at some point or other, which is a pity, really. I would love to get my hooves on that poetry.” Fluttershy giggled. “Maybe you will one day. Like you said before: strange things have happened in Equestria before. So who knows, they could turn up again at some point.” Twilight waved her head in consideration. “Maybe.” Her attention was quickly re-directed when she felt the ground even out beneath her hooves. “Well it looks like we’re at the top,” she announced. “Time to see where we’ve been stranded this time.” Together, the two ponies turned themselves around to see the whole island, and felt their jaws plummet to the ground. The island was roughly twice the size of Ponyville, and was an assortment of nature. At the base of the mountain going back to around halfway down the length of the island was the jungle. Dotted sparsely within its boundaries were small clearings, with some containing small, fresh pools, and trickling streams. Beyond the woods, a great plain lush with grass and dotted with some trees made up the other half. On the other side of the mountain, they could see more jungle stretch from halfway up the mountain, and back until it reached a strip of land that resembled a quay stretching into the ocean. “Well, I think we might have found paradise, Fluttershy,” Twilight observed with a small smile at the beauty of this place. Fluttershy shook her head in disagreement. “I would only call it paradise if we had a way off of it.” She put a leg above her eyes to block out the sun, and peered for anything that might have been built by an intelligent creature. “See anything?” she asked Twilight, who stood next to her. Twilight copied Fluttershy with how she looked, and soon was scanning the entire island for something that resembled other intelligent life. Minutes passed by soundlessly, and with every minute gone, the two ponies’ fear increased. If they did not find anything, they would be stuck here forever, and would never see their friends, family and home ever again. Despite their fear, they kept on looking intensely, for to see their country and everypony they knew on it drove them to keep looking and keep thinking. “Hold on, what’s that?” Twilight muttered, narrowing her eyes as she tried to get a better look at it. She tapped Fluttershy on her side. “Have a look at that and see what you make of it,” she pointed. Fluttershy looked down Twilight’s outstretched leg like the sight of a sniper rifle, and gasped when she could make out the outlines of what looked to be huts. “Are those houses?” “I think so, and if there are houses here, then that means–” “– There are other ponies here as well,” Fluttershy finished. Both ponies began jumping on the spot in joy and hugged each other, laughing in delight. “We did it, Twilight!” Fluttershy squealed as they spun around in a dance. “We now have a way off this island!” Twilight giggled and pulled away. “And we’ll be able to see our friends again!” the two ponies stopped dancing, and looked back at the village side by side, grinning cheerfully. “How long do you think it will take us to get there, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. “I don’t know, and I don’t really care. I’m just glad we might have a way off this place.” Fluttershy arched her head up, and sighed contentedly. “Now I feel like I’m in paradise.” The two ponies fell silent as they watched the island’s inhabitants scurry about the island like lords and ladies would in a castle. The two of them felt at peace, and calm with a gentle wind massaging their backs, shoulders and necks. Here, Twilight saw a place where she could tell Fluttershy how she truly felt about her, while Fluttershy felt that she could relax for a moment and not worry about anything back at home, or anything else that had happened thus far. The two of them were safe. That safe feeling died a painful death when both ponies heard a faint hissing sound coming from behind them. Twilight immediately went deathly pale at the thought that snakes could be inhabiting this island, and silently prayed to anything that might hear her for protection. “Please tell me that was you breaking wind,” Twilight said nervously, not daring to turn around. Fluttershy looked incredibly embarrassed. “Um, excuse me?” she asked, a blazing pink blush on her cheeks. “I would rather take that than knowing there could be a long, slithery and possibly quite dangerous…” Twilight gulped, “snake right behind us.” “Oh, well, I’m sorry, Twilight, but I didn’t just fart. And yes, I think that was a snake just behind us.” “Do you know what kind it is?” “I can’t make out what kind of snake it is just by its hiss, Twilight, I’m not that good. I could take a quick look, if you’d like.” “Yes, please do, and do it quickly so I know when I can slide down the mountainside,” Twilight replied, her legs shaking with fright. Fluttershy nodded, then slowly turned her head around, and gasped in horror. Behind them, perched on the edge of the mountain with its back to them, was a creature Fluttershy had only rarely heard about. The bottom half of it was a large brown bird, similar to that of a roc, with sword-like claws on the ends of its talons, and large, powerful wings that would easily out fly any pegasi, even Rainbow Dash. That was where any resemblance for them ended, for the head of the bird was the same as a python’s head, with hair made up of around a dozen snakes, hissing at each other madly and glaring at each other with golden, lizard eyes. Some of the snakeheads had the remains of some poor birds that wanted to live being swallowed whole down their mouths, while the main head swallowed down the body of what appeared to be a large mammal of some sort. Fluttershy quickly looked away in disgust, and Twilight could hear her friend’s breathing become quicker. “So, do you know what it is?” “Yeah, it’s a gorgon,” Fluttershy replied, nodding. “What’s a gorgon?” “A bird with the head of a snake with around a dozen venomous snakes as hair on its head. It isn’t the talons with this bird you have to worry about, though, it’s the eyes. You look into even one of those snake eyes, and they turn you into stone.” “Like a cockatrice?” “Sort of, but much worse. While being turned to stone by a cockatrice only freezes you in stone, a gorgon’s eyes can turn you entirely into stone, inside and out and killing you outright. There’s no going back after being turned to stone by a gorgon.” Twilight gulped. “So what do we do?” “Well,” Fluttershy replied. “If we stand completely still as statues, we might be okay. Other than that, I don’t know.” “Great,” Twilight sighed. “What else do you know about it?” “Why me?” “Because you are the animal expert.” “Just because I’m an animal expert doesn’t mean I know about every animal on Terra. You probably don’t know every spell of magic out there, but you’re getting there.” Twilight raised her hoof to make a point, but quickly realised she had made a fatal error. “You moved your leg, didn’t you?” Fluttershy queried, not even daring to look to see. “Yeah, I kinda did,” Twilight replied. “And gorgons are able to sniff out their prey just by a single casual movement like that, so that means…” Fluttershy’s voice faded away, as did her coat colour. Both ponies looked around at once, and saw that the gorgon was turning around and bringing its deadly gazes to bear. “Don’t look directly into those eyes!” Fluttershy cried as she threw a leg over her own eyes. Twilight did the same, earning a screech of anger from the gorgon’s main head. One of the snakeheads thrust forward and snapped its jaws by Twilight’s ear, earning a little frightened scream from the unicorn, and her leg was itching to remove itself from her eyes. “Twilight, don’t you dare lift your leg away from your eyes!” Fluttershy shouted, even as she felt a snakehead hiss into her ear and by her face. “A gorgon not only eats meat, but also magic and the life-force of any one that looks them in the eye. They drain the victim they had just turned to stone of their life-force or their magic, until they are just statues.” “So that makes us a very nice meal!” Twilight simplified. “Lovely, and I were just beginning to like this island, too.” The gorgon screeched once more as its threats were not working. Twilight knew that soon it would give up on using its eyes to kill them, and then use its claws instead to tear them apart. They had to get away, now. “How close are you to me, Fluttershy?” “Um, let me shift closer to you.” Fluttershy shuffled painfully slowly to Twilight’s side, until she felt their flanks touch. “Okay, I’m next to you.” “Good, because you know I said I can teleport us anywhere in case of an emergency?” “Yes,” Fluttershy replied, sounding suddenly nervous. “Well, as you can guess, this is one of them. Now hold onto me!” Fluttershy quickly flung her forelegs over Twilight’s back and buried her head in Twilight’s mane, while the unicorn powered up her horn, forcing the gorgon to step back in fright. It’s screech of anger died away from Twilight’s ears as she felt the ground disappear beneath her hooves, and a white light encircled her. She threw her leg off her face, and looked around to see her world, for a brief second, was white and strangely beautiful. The white around her started to form with colour, and soon she and Fluttershy found themselves to be in the sky, a few miles from the top of the volcano. Both ponies looked down, looked back up at each other, and screamed as they fell towards the ground. Fluttershy quickly recovered and spread her wings to ease her descent, while Twilight cast a levitation spell around herself, stopping herself hitting the ground by about an inch. She set herself upright and back onto her hooves, while Fluttershy glided down to stand on front of her, a relieved grin on her face. “That was close,” Twilight remarked. Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but screeches of rage echoing across the island made her close it back up and look up. Her eyes widened in horror as she witnessed the gorgon take to the air, and start circling the island to look for them. She pushed Twilight back until the unicorn was pinned against the tree, with her back flat against it and Fluttershy right up against her. From afar, it looked as though the two were fiercely making out. Such a mental image made Twilight blush, but any thought on what they could be doing died away when the screeches of the gorgon entered her ears. ‘Focus, Twilight, focus, or else you will never get the chance to tell Fluttershy how you feel about her.’ Twilight felt the – surprisingly – fresh breath of Fluttershy against her neck, and shuddered a little as they stood completely still, praying the gorgon would not discover them. Eventually, the gorgon began to fly further up the island, making both ponies relax a little. “Um, mind if I get my back off this tree now, Fluttershy? It’s really starting to ache.” Fluttershy looked back at her, and noticed for the first time how close she was to Twilight, and how very awkward the whole scene looked. She backed away and fell down onto her all fours, blushing while covering her face with her mane. “Sorry about that, Twilight,” she said meekly. “I just thought it would be easier if we squeezed together like that.” A part of her actually enjoyed being that close to Twilight, and wanted to do it again. She wanted to shout out how much she did not love Twilight, but any word of protest died in her mind. The cracks were now starting to get wider, and soon they would smash apart like brittle windows. Twilight smiled beatifically at Fluttershy, and gently brushed her friend’s mane out of her face. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. You thought quickly, and hid us from danger, so I should be thanking you for saving us.” She leaned her head forward, and nuzzled Fluttershy on the cheek. “So thank you.” Fluttershy’s blush grew fiercer, but she smiled and nuzzled the unicorn in return. “You’re welcome.” Both ponies pulled their heads back, smiling affectionately. Hisses and screeches from above them made the two look up, and they gasped in horror when they saw the gorgon flying over them. They quickly looked back at each other in horror. “Come on!” Twilight cried as she raced past Fluttershy, taking one of the pegasus’s hooves in her own. “Let’s get to that village; if there are ponies there, they may know how to keep the gorgon away!” With that, the two ponies broke into a fast gallop through the trees, with the gorgon flying slowly over them, as though it was playing a game with them. Fluttershy could feel her breath sobbing as she ran in front of Twilight. She might be fast like most pegasi, but she didn’t have the same endurance as they did. She felt herself beginning to tire quickly, her legs began to ache, and she felt ready to fall over and rest for a bit. ‘Rest,’ she thought. ‘Rest sounds quite nice at the moment.’ The screeches of the gorgon made her return to her senses, and made her go just a little bit faster. She looked back to see how Twilight was doing, and gasped. Twilight was slowing down much faster than she was; in fact, she looked as though she was going to collapse at any second. She looked up to see that the gorgon had spotted how slow her friend was going, and prepared itself to dive. Fluttershy spun around and galloped back towards Twilight, intent on saving her friend. If any of her other friends were here, she figured, she would let them save Twilight. But they were back home, safe in Equestria, so Twilight had to make do with her. Just as she made it to Twilight’s side, she glanced up and saw with terror the gorgon beginning to dive towards them like a peregrine falcon. “Get on my back!” Fluttershy ordered sharply, feeling there wasn’t any time for pleasantries. Twilight used up all her energy to jump up on Fluttershy’s back and wrap her legs around Fluttershy’s neck and waist. With Twilight secured, Fluttershy galloped with double the speed she had showed before, and was out of the way of the gorgon, which slammed heads first into the ground. Fluttershy glanced back to see the gorgon lift its main head up and let out a scream of rage, making Fluttershy shake violently with terror as she ran. ‘Oops, looks like I made it mad,’ she thought. ‘Good. You can be as mad as you want, gorgon, but you are not having my friend, nor me!’ She looked ahead again, and concentrated all her being into getting to that village, ridding themselves of the gorgon, which flew back into the air and began to follow them once more, and getting off this island. Twilight could only watch with admiration as Fluttershy galloped at a speed she had never seen the pegasus run before; not even their race through Whitetail Woods was Fluttershy as quick as she was now. She swerved around one tree, and then another and another with a frightful speed that she had only seen Rainbow Dash do. “You can go at quite a speed when you want to,” Twilight commented dryly. “You should race with Rainbow on the ground a bit more often.” Fluttershy made sure her way was clear for a moment, and then looked back at Twilight with a small smile. “I could never show up Rainbow Dash like that. She would only moan about it for days afterwards.” She looked ahead again, and smiled in relief when she saw the end of the jungle was ahead. “We’re nearly there, Twilight! Just hold on for a bit longer!” They soon emerged from the denseness of the jungle, and found themselves staring despairingly at the remains of an old village. Twilight climbed off Fluttershy’s back, and felt her heart sink with sorrow as she looked at it. The village was in pieces. Bits of old roofs and broken timber from the very old wooden huts were scattered about the ground like toys in a child’s playroom. A few huts were still largely intact, but they were dotted around the small area like willow trees. They walked slowly into what they presumed to be the village centre, and felt their hearts sink even further at the age of these huts. From afar, they looked quite recent, but up close, they looked as though they had been here longer than Celestia and Luna themselves. “These are old,” Twilight whispered as she looked into one of the rectangular huts. She noticed a ruined banner of some sort with a unicorn’s head on it, but she passed it by with a fleeting glance. She looked back, and her heart melted even further when she saw Fluttershy had collapsed onto her rump, and was allowing tears to freely fall down her cheeks. “Nothing’s here,” Fluttershy whimpered. “Why isn’t anypony here? Why are we alone? What have we done to be st-t-uck here?” She couldn’t say anymore, for she buried her face into her hooves, and cried inconsolably. She would never see her friends, her family, and her home ever again. She and Twilight were condemned to be stuck here forever, it seemed. She looked up when she felt hooves wrap around her, and saw Twilight crying just as fiercely as herself, crying for the loss of their friends. Fluttershy and Twilight hugged each other tight as they let their tears fall heavily, comforted only by the fact they had one another as company. As they cried, Twilight thought of anything she could think of to get them away from this island, and to escape from the gorgon… Her eyes snapped open when she remembered the gorgon, and looked right just to see the gorgon flying straight towards them, its talons reaching out for them and its hundred gazes powerful and deadly. She looked back at Fluttershy, and braced herself for the right moment. She saw with the corner of her eye the gorgon’s wings, and made her move. She grabbed hold of Fluttershy as tight as she could, and leapt out of the way of the beast’s talons and terrifying eyes, sending the creature crashing into one of the large huts. The hut collapsed on top of it, and the gorgon disappeared under its ruined structure, with only its outstretched wings showing it was ever there. Twilight and Fluttershy waited until the dust settled to the ground, and then scrambled back to their hooves and looked at the ruined hut. The gorgon lay unmoving in the ruins, with not even a wing twitching. “Do you think it’s hurt?” Fluttershy whispered nervously. Twilight shook her head in uncertainty. “Stay here.” With that, she walked cautiously towards the hut, with every nerve screaming out in her body to turn back and run with Fluttershy beside her back to the beach. She shook the thought from her head. ‘Fluttershy would never forgive me if I ran now if the creature is hurt.’ She magically moved some of the debris covering the heads of the gorgon, and when she saw it she quickly looked away. “Is it… dead?” Fluttershy asked, even if she thought asking Twilight was pointless, for she already knew the answer. Twilight nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, it’s dead.” She turned away from the dead gorgon and walked back to Fluttershy’s side. She saw the state of sorrow in the pegasus’s eyes. “There was nothing you could have done to stop it, Fluttershy,” she said softly, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “It wanted to kill us and have us for lunch.” Fluttershy sighed knowingly. “I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier. It was only hungry. It had to survive somehow.” She looked up at Twilight expectantly. “Now what do we do, Twilight?” Twilight looked from the pegasus to the huts around her, and went deep into thought. The wood the huts were made out of, though old, would be strong enough to carry them across the water if put together and made into a raft. However, the only problem she could see would be to A: supply them with enough food to last them a few weeks at sea, and B: fix the wood together with something strong enough to hold it together, and endure rough weather. She wanted to think of something for both of those problems, but her mind was at its limits, and needed to relax. She sighed. “Tomorrow, we’ll start building a raft out of these timbers, and then think of a way to hold it together, as well as forage for food. Okay?” Fluttershy wanted to say that they should start now; that the sooner they could finish it the quicker they could get back home. Instead, her quivering legs told her to say, “Okay. Tomorrow it is.” Twilight nodded, and then led Fluttershy back to the beach where they started. The two ponies eyes each other narrowly, both of them planning on how to destroy the other with their next move. The battle so far had been long and fierce; with both ponies gaining and losing ground with near equal measure, and the ground between them were covered with the evidence of their struggle. Their hooves were stained with the carnage on the ground, and even though they were tired, they struggled on, determined to destroy the other and become the dominant pony on the island. “You’re going down, Fluttershy,” Twilight growled, making a slit throat motion with her hoof. “Not before you go down first, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy growled in response, rubbing her hooves together in anticipation. “I’m already down, I’m on my stomach,” Twilight pointed out. “So ha!” “Well you’ll soon be lower than that. You’ll be six feet under the sand when I’m finished with you.” “Well if you think you’re so confident, then why don’t you make the next move?” Twilight allowed, gesturing with her hoof for Fluttershy to strike next. “Why, thank you, Twilight, I will just do that, and when I have finished it will be the end of this,” she said, a triumphant grin on her face. She lifted her right hoof up, ready to strike, and then drew a circle in one of the squares on the tenth grid laid out between them, next to two other circles. ‘Oh, bleeping bleep bleep,’ Twilight thought as Fluttershy marked a line through the three circles with her muzzle. “Wahoo!” Fluttershy cheered, punching the air in victory. “That’s six games to four! I’m surprised you missed that one.” “Yeah, well I guess I feel a bit tired to notice something like that. I tend to lose more when I’m tired,” Twilight said. Fluttershy giggled. “Don’t give me that excuse,” she said, nudging her with a hoof. “You’re always good in anything, even when you’re tired.” “I think this time it is because I’m tired,” Twilight said, rubbing an eye. “Being stranded on an island, chased across it by a gorgon, found an old, abandoned village, and then taking part in killing said gorgon does tend to tear the strength from me.” Fluttershy giggled, and then sat back on her haunches and sighed with content. After the two had made it back to where the boat was, Twilight ripped the ruined boat up, and placed it in a heap to make a campfire that would last them the night. Fluttershy wondered if that was wise, but she quickly saw any wood from the boat to make the other one would be useless. As Twilight got a fire going, Fluttershy rallied the birds together, who rejoiced when they heard the gorgon was dead, and asked for their aid in collecting food for a suitable dinner for the two of them. The birds eagerly went off in different directions, and soon came back with bananas, coconuts torn open for them, and other tropical fruits. “The birds all said there’s enough food on this island to last years,” she had said when she flew back, hooves heavy with fruits. “We should be fine with food on the boat once it is ready. “That’s good to know,” Twilight said, nodding in understanding. “But all we need now is something to hold the wood together.” They decided not to think about that for now, and instead focused on eating the plenty of fruit given to them until their bellies felt full. Afterwards, they decided on a game of noughts and crosses, and they played until Celestia’s sun disappeared out of the sky and Luna’s moon took its place. Fluttershy broke out of her reminiscence, and looked out at the ocean. It looked calm; so calm she thought they would be able to walk over it and get home. However, she knew they were not in any state to think about getting home now, for both of them were weary from the long day. Yet, they were alive, and as long as they were alive, they would think of everything they could between them to get back home. ‘We will see our friends again, even if it takes most of our lives, we will get home,’ she thought. “So, um, what shall we do now?” Fluttershy asked as she shifted her back end about so that she was resting on one flank. Twilight looked up at the clear night sky in thought. “I’m not sure, to be honest,” she replied. “I would suggest telling some ghost stories, but you wouldn’t like that.” “Oh, well I wouldn’t mind if we were telling each other stories, just not ghost stories,” Fluttershy said. “Though, if you want to tell a ghost story, then by all means tell one, just let me be out of hearing range when you do,” she added meekly. Twilight giggled. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I won’t tell a ghost story. I was actually hoping for you to go first.” Fluttershy rubbed her forehooves together. “But, I don’t know any stories; any good ones, or ones you haven’t heard of, at least.” “Maybe it doesn’t have to be a fictional story,” Twilight pointed out. “Maybe it could be about yourself, or something that happened in your life that changed you in a way.” Twilight secretly had an idea on what she wanted Fluttershy to talk about, but she didn’t want to force the mare to say it. ‘Did she always know she was attracted to mares, or was it something that came out later in life?’ she wondered. “Well, I suppose I could tell you about my first relationships,” Fluttershy said. Twilight knew if she had a drink in her mouth she would have spat it back out. “You have been in relationships?” Fluttershy nodded. “I thought you said you didn’t when Rarity asked when we were on the train to Canterlot last Hearts and Hooves Day.” “I just said that to get her off my back,” Fluttershy replied. “All your eyes were on me, and I didn’t like it, so I said no, and you all left me alone after that.” Twilight’s ears fell flat at the thought of making Fluttershy uncomfortable. “I’m sorry for that,” she said. “I should have said something for them all to stop. I hate seeing you uncomfortable like that.” Fluttershy smiled sweetly at her. “It’s all right, Twilight. Besides, it was ages ago; I had forgotten about it until you brought it up.” She shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. “Well, anyway, I suppose you want to know my first crush, huh?” Twilight shifted herself about until she felt cosy once more, and briskly nodded. “Well, um, okay, just don’t tell the others about this, please? I won’t hear the end of it if they found out.” Twilight nodded sternly. “My lips will be sealed after this,” she promised sincerely. “Thank you,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Well, um, to begin with, my first relationship was at school. Not flight school, but school for the fillies and colts whose wings were underdeveloped. I was the oldest in my class, since I started later than most; I seized up in fright every first day before I felt brave enough to actually go inside.” She saw Twilight smirking at the image she had just given her, and quickly continued. “Well, uh, anyway, all my relationships were in my last year, before I went to flight school. My first one was with a colt named Storm Cloud. He was quite sweet, really, a dark grey coat with a bright white mane and tail. He didn’t have his cutie mark at the time, none of us did, but I know he got a white lightning bolt as his cutie mark; he specialised in making the finest rainstorms there is. “Well we got off quite well, even though both of us were quite shy and not very talkative, we grew quite close, and enjoyed each other’s company. He asked if I would go out with him later, and I said yes, so we became a couple. He came over for dinner with my parents, played games, had a good laugh, and when he had to go, we both hugged and parted ways.” Fluttershy’s smile faded as she remembered that. “When I thought about it afterwards, I realised it didn’t feel right. Hugging him felt wrong, rough and weird. I couldn’t put a hoof on it, but it just felt wrong.” She paused once more to let out a sigh. “It didn’t last long anyway. After a few days, we both split up on mutual terms, and he went off with his own group of friends, while I was left alone, with nopony to turn to but my parents. “It was turning to spring when I found myself in another relationship – if you could call it that. He was a large colt, dark brown and with black, scruffy mane and tail. He said one lunchtime how much he loved me, and that one day he wanted to marry me. I felt so overjoyed that I skipped back to class, looking forward to seeing him afterwards.” She paused again as tears built up in her eyes. “Turns out he only did it for a laugh, and to see how gullible I was and use it to pick on me. I ran back home in tears. I have never felt so humiliated before that.” She paused to wipe away the tears from her hoof, while Twilight patted her on her free hoof. “It’s all right now, Fluttershy. That’s all in the past,” the unicorn said softly. Fluttershy nodded. “I know, but it hurts sometimes to think about that.” She shook her head again. “I never did see him again after that, thankfully. I heard a rumour that he was expelled from school a few days later for doing something or other, but I don’t know entirely what happened. My incident with him was forgotten, and I was left to my own devices. That was until the beginning of summer, when I met her.” “Her?” Twilight repeated, tilting her head curiously. “Yes, her. Her name was Snow Storm, and she was the most beautiful filly I had ever seen. She was taller than me by about half a foot, and was as white as the snow from which she was named. She had brilliant violet eyes, and a gorgeous flowing mane and tail that were the colour of sand. “She had moved from her class to ours after getting quite good marks in all her lessons, so she was moved up a grade. She sat on the empty desk next to mine, and I became transfixed with her. I didn’t know why then, but I just was. She was beautiful, and was so lovely, with a voice as soft as snow, and a heart as big as the school.” “I bet you’re going to tell me that she flew as gracefully as snow,” Twilight said in the pause. “Oh, no,” Fluttershy replied, shaking her head sadly. “She couldn’t fly yet, none of us could, and she would never be able to anyway.” “Why not?” “She had lost one of her wings in an accident early on in her life,” Fluttershy explained. Twilight put a hoof over her mouth in shock. “That’s horrible!” “Oh, yes, it was, and she got picked on quite a bit for it, as well,” Fluttershy said sadly. “That’s where I came in. We both found ourselves to be the outcasts in the school, so we stuck together and became good friends.” Fluttershy smiled dreamingly as her mind flicked through those days with Snow Storm. “Those were days I will cherish always about school. The last two months of being there were certainly the best of my life. “In that time, me and Snow Storm played together, sang songs, went to each other’s houses, and every time we had to leave each other we hugged tightly like sisters would. That’s when I started to feel something different for Snow Storm. I loved being in her embrace, making me feel safe and comfortable, and her soft touch to my coat as she pulled away from me, and her sweet, amiable smile. I wanted to be with her always, and I truly felt love for the first time.” Twilight smiled at her. “Did you ever tell Snow Storm about your feelings for her?” After a moment of hesitation, Fluttershy nodded. “Yes. It was the last day of school, the night of the school prom. Me and Snow Storm didn’t have a partner to go to so we went with each other, and boy did we dance! We showed everypony there how well we were together; we practiced, see, so we wouldn’t make fools of ourselves. We did the tango together, the slow dance, the barn dance, oh my it was wonderful! The slow dance, especially, for obvious reasons,” she said with a blush forming on her face as she remembered Snow Storm looking at her with a smile on her face, with one hoof on her waist, and another in her own as they twirled around the hall. She shook her head quickly, and then continued, “Well, it was getting late, and we were both tired, so decided to walk back home together. It was then that she hit me with a bombshell; she said tomorrow she would be leaving Cloudsdale and heading to Trottingham with her family to start a new life there. “I was devastated to say the least, yet I didn’t show it. I looked happy for her, and wished her and her family all the best when they moved to Trottingham. I don’t know why I did what I did next, whether it was an act of desperation, or just to show her how I loved her so much, but I saw other ponies who loved each other kiss, including my own parents, and I thought I should do it as well. “I leaned forward, and lightly kissed her on the cheek…” Fluttershy didn’t know what she had just done, her eyes were closed yet she could feel her lips put together and pressed against Snow Storm’s cheek. A wave of regret and remorse suddenly washed over her, making her wish she could go back in time and tell herself to stop it before she ruins everything. She opened her eyes, and glanced to her left to see Snow Storm looking at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. She pulled away and stepped back, looking at the ground in shame. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t know what came over me; I just thought that if you were leaving you wouldn’t know how much I really like you and how I would want you to stay, but now that I have done that you probably hate me and won’t want to see me again,” she said quickly, tears building up in her eyes. “I’ll go away now.” She turned around, and moved to run back into her small house. “Fluttershy, wait!” Snow Storm called. Her smoothing, motherly voice made Fluttershy stop instantly, but she didn’t look around. She heard the sound of Snow Storm’s hooves hitting the soft cloud beneath them, and as they got louder, Fluttershy braced herself for some harsh words from the other pegasus. She nearly fainted when she felt her friend’s forelegs wrap around her in comfort. “It’s okay, Fluttershy,” she said sweetly. Those words were enough to make Fluttershy lift her head up and look at Snow Storm, who looked back at her with a loving smile. The one winged pegasus lifted herself off her, and said, “Have you ever been hugged or kissed by a colt before?” Fluttershy bashfully nodded. “And how did that feel to you?” Fluttershy only had enough bravery in her to say, “W-w-weird. And rough. Not gentle, like you when we hug.” Snow Storm nodded in understanding. “And when I hugged you just then, what did that feel like to you?” Fluttershy lifted her head up to gaze at her directly with love struck eyes. “It felt comforting, soft and tender, and so lovely I could melt in it.” Snow Storm smiled, and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Then I’m sure you will find a pony somewhere who can make you feel like that. It just won’t be from me.” Fluttershy’s face fell. “I’m sorry, I really am, but I only love you as a friend, Fluttershy, and that’s it. I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, but even if I did love you it would be difficult for us to see each other. I’m moving to Trottingham with my parents, and nothing’s going to change their minds.” Fluttershy nodded understandably, yet her eyes sung of her devastation. “We can still be friends, yeah?” she asked hopefully. Snow Storm grinned. “I don’t see why that is a problem, Fluttershy. I will always be your friend, through anything, and…” Snow Storm paused as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “I’m really going to miss you.” Fluttershy could feel more tears coming out of her eyes. “And I’m going to miss you, too.” The two fillies hugged each other tight once more as they cried, knowing they might not see each other again. “Write to me, please?” “I will, so long as you write to me,” Snow Storm promised. She pulled back, and wiped her eyes. “Right, it’s getting late, and I better get back home. Goodbye, Fluttershy. The last few months at school have been the best with you.” With that, she turned away and trotted down the street. “And I hope you find your Princess one day,” she called before vanishing into the darkness like a ghost. Fluttershy waved to her until she was gone, and then sighed as she turned around and walked into her quaint, little home. Snow Storm was the only friend she had at school, so to lose her just as Fluttershy was made into going to flight camp was devastating. ‘I doubt I’ll make any friends there,’ she thought. “Fluttershy, sweetie, there you are!” her mum, Velocity, called. The head of her mum appeared from the other side of the living room, and she came into view. “How was the prom? Did you meet your future Prince?” Fluttershy shook her head; the last words of her friend rang through her ears like bells. “No, mum, I did not,” she said, raising her head high and looked at Velocity with a large smile. “But I know that somewhere out there I will find my Princess.” Velocity’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly relaxed and grinned for her daughter. “I’m sure you will, my love,” she said, grabbing her in a hug and giving her a little noogie. Twilight smiled as Fluttershy finished her story. “What a fascinating tale, Fluttershy,” she remarked. “I never knew somepony who decided on their preference at that age. But then again, I knew very few ponies at that time.” Fluttershy giggled. “I know, when I look back at that I sometimes think to myself, ‘how could I make such a decision at such an age?’ But I know it is the right one, for I don’t find any stallion attractive, and my eyes always looked at the mares.” She sighed, and looked to the sea once more. “I only heard from Snow Storm a few times afterwards, saying she moved in well and that Trottingham was quite nice, but we sort of drifted apart until we heard nothing from each other ever again. I sometimes wonder what she’s up to, and if she has found that Prince she always wanted.” Twilight looked to the sea as well. “I’m sure that wherever she is, she is happy,” she said comfortingly. Fluttershy nodded, then looked back at Twilight. “What about you? Any relationships we never knew about?” she asked with a slyly raised eyebrow and a wry grin. She hoped that asking Twilight would be enough to coax her out of hiding the identity of the mare she had talked about while under the sirens’ song. Twilight fiercely blushed, and looked to the ground. “Well… I may have once had a teacher’s crush on Princess Celestia,” she muttered very quietly, so that Fluttershy had to strain her hearing to make out what she said. Fluttershy threw a hoof over her mouth to stifle her laughter. “Really? Princess Celestia?” She stifled her giggles with a foreleg. “That must have been so cute!” “Hey, it was only because I was the only pony in Equestria that had personal time with her, and it grew from there. It faded away when I grew up and realised such a relationship was ridiculous. She’s immortal and a Princess, and I’m just a regular old unicorn. That was the only crush I had; none other.” Fluttershy smiled, though she giggled at the mental image of Twilight and Celestia cuddling up together. “How comes you never told anypony about it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, her head tilting curiously while her eyes sparkled with sweet innocence. Twilight flicked an eyebrow. “Really? Tell Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie that I had a teacher’s crush on Princess Celestia? I would not hear the end of it for years, and I just know Rarity would try to hitch us together!” The two ponies giggled as they knew Rarity would go that length for her friends. “What about you? Why haven’t you told anypony but me and your parents that you’re more attracted to mares?” “Oh, Applejack knows,” Fluttershy said, “and I imagine Pinkie does as well; she knows everything about us. But tell Rarity?” She laughed. “As much as I love her, Rarity and Applejack are the largest gossipers in Ponyville.” “Wait a second, Applejack is a gossiper?” Twilight asked disbelievingly. “Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said, nodding her head. “I pretend not to hear, but when those two are at the market place they chat about all the goings on in Ponyville. I guess now that those two are good friends, Applejack is taking some pointers from Rarity.” She shook her head. “But anyway, if Rarity knew I liked mares more, she would try and get me to date one of our friends, and I’ve already promised myself that I will never date any of my friends.” Twilight hoped Fluttershy didn’t just hear her heart shatter like glass. “Really?” she asked, hoping she didn’t sound too hurt, though all she wanted to do was scream it out. “Oh, no, I could never do that to them. They are my friends, and I prefer them to be that way.” Fluttershy tilted her head when she saw Twilight’s posture change dramatically. She looked tense, and on the verge to cry. “Are you all right?” Twilight coughed to clear her throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Never felt better. Guess I’m a little tired, that’s all.” She gave Fluttershy a sweet smile. “Goodnight, Fluttershy. I hope you sleep well.” With that, she settled down onto her side, and closed her eyes. “Goodnight, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as she rolled onto her side to face the sea, and home. “I’m glad you’re with me here. You’re a good friend.” She closed her eyes, purred as she got comfortable where she lay, and fell asleep. Twilight opened her eyes again when she heard Fluttershy fall asleep, and waited for a long time before she got up and trotted into the jungle, her ears flat and her eyes glistening of devastation. ‘So this was all a waste of time,’ Twilight thought as tears ran down her face. ‘Fluttershy wouldn’t love me back in the first place. She made a stupid promise to keep herself from it.’ She had never hated the pegasus more than she did at that moment, even if she hated herself for thinking it. ‘There has to be a reason Fluttershy would say something like that. Something to say that she wouldn’t date me or my friends.’ Did something happen with Applejack? Was there a good reason, if any? Twilight didn’t know, and that made it worse. Unable to walk anymore, Twilight reared up and hugged the tree next to her, taking comfort in its embrace as she let out her sorrow. She knew now there was no point in loving Fluttershy anymore, for all she would do was reject her, simply because they were friends. This trip, the time they had spent together, the things they had seen and done, it was all just a waste of time. There wasn’t a point in even saying she loved her. Her eyes suddenly snapped open. “No,” she whispered. “No!” She punched the tree in anger, her eyes narrowing with determination. “I have come too far to give up now! I made a promise to myself in Ponyville that I would tell Fluttershy that I love her, and I am going to keep it!” she declared to the jungle around her. She took a deep breath, and bowed her head. “I just hope she will still be my friend afterwards when she does reject me,” she whispered. She set herself back down, and then walked slowly back to the camp, her mind full of ideas on how to convince Fluttershy otherwise. ‘I’m sorry I thought I hated you, Fluttershy,’ she thought to herself. ‘I only hate that promise you had made. I love you too much to hate you.’ She arrived back at the camp to see the fire dying out slowly, and the pegasus of her dreams asleep with her back to her and sleeping soundly. ‘Tomorrow,’ Twilight decided with a nod of the head to herself. ‘I will tell her tomorrow.’ It was now or never, she realised. If the boat couldn’t be built, then they would be stuck here for the rest of their lives, and at some point she would have to tell the truth. ‘After that, then we can – hopefully – continue being friends,’ she thought. She settled down on her stomach, and rolled onto her side facing Fluttershy. She loved the pegasus dearly, and even a promise would not keep Twilight from admitting her feelings. “Goodnight, Fluttershy,” she whispered, before setting her head down, and falling asleep with her tail swishing against the night. Oblivious to the fact that Fluttershy was still awake, and wide-eyed in horror after hearing everything Twilight had just said in the jungle.