The ever-watching eye of the moon was no longer floating above Equestria, having been replaced by the bright yellow rays of the sun. Yes, morning had finally risen over the mountaintops quickly and quietly, with no fanfare, and no lavender unicorn to greet it with a song. No, there was just a duo of pegasi and their animal companions, journeying across the flatland with the fresh morning wind blowing at their backs. With her chin held high, Dash was trekking across the flat plain with a bit of spring in her step. If somepony didn’t know any better, one might have even called it skipping. But of course, this was Rainbow Dash, the fastest pegasus in the world, and the fastest pegasus in the world definitely did not skip. Of course, that didn’t stop from Fluttershy letting out a small giggle behind her friend’s back.
Already feeling ecstatic that she had made it through the night without dying, Dash felt the sun’s warmth on her skin, heating away whatever anxiety she had left. She and Fluffy had started to take advantage of the peace and quiet and have some fun. The manticore started to rhythmically tap his scorpion tail against the bars of his cage. Bobbing her head up and down, Dash pursed her lips and the words began rolling off her tongue.
“Listen up everypony this is Rainbow Dash
And her manticore MC, Fluffy da Flash
Breakin’ all the rules, yeah, defying the crown
Not even an army of guards can keep us down
And that wildfire ain’t even bringing the heat
not like Dash n’ Flash’s brilliant beat, yo!”
Letting out a snicker, Dash gave a friendly tap on the cage, much to Fluffy’s delight. However, the pegasus still felt just a tad bit off, probably because she also felt about ten pounds lighter. The loss of phoenixes was still fresh in her mind, leaving it difficult to just shrug things off . But Dash simply put on a cocky grin and continued hovering on, with Fluttershy daintily trotting behind.
Being daytime, Fluffy had soon fallen asleep, and so Dash decided to walk with the cage balanced on her back. On the other hoof, Fluttershy’s animals were still up and attentive despite the fact that most of them didn’t get any rest. The otter triplets seemed to be on an infinite cycle of energy, as they were chatting along in the bag and causing a bit of ruckus. They had started sliding the box of mice inside the bag to pass the time, their little whiskers twitching mischievously. And as for Fang, he had made himself home inside Fluttershy’s long pink mane, almost blending in the flowing locks.
“Looks like you’re becoming a zoo yourself, Flutters,” Dash remarked.
Giggling, Fluttershy replied, “To be honest, I’m quite used to this sort of thing.”
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s totally not weird. Like at all.”
As they continued their trek across the rocky terrain, they began to spy something far ahead. At frst, it looked like a tiny dark sliver at the spot where the ground met the sky. But as they got closer, that sliver expanded towards them, getting wider and wider. Soon, they realized the ground to opening up before their very eyes. By the time they reached the edge, they were looking upon a huge canyon, the sides of which sharply dropped down into a black abyss. Dash nudged a rock off the edge, watching it disappear into the darkness. There was no sound.
Whistling, Dash glared down at the bottomless chasm and said, “So I'm guessing this is Deep Crevasse, huh?”
“Yes.”
“And we’re going to have to cross it?”
“Yes.”
“With a bunch of restless animals hanging precariously off our bodies?”
“You’ve got it.”
Heaving a sigh, she cracked her neck and uttered, “Okay then…let’s do this chizz.” Leaning down so her eyes were a few centimeters from the ground, Dash pointed her hooves to the far edge and lined up her gaze with them. “Let’s see, using the skills from the weather patrol, I’d say that gorge is about…”
“Twenty-eight kilometers,” a voice behind her replied.
“What? How’d you know?”
Dash turned around to see a large piece of paper at Fluttershy’s hooves. Giving a shy smile, the yellow pegasus replied, “It’s on the map.”
“Twenty-eight kilometers, huh? Alright, no big deal. Come on Fluffy, let do this thing!” Dash shouted. She grabbed Fluffy’s cage in her mouth and leapt off with reckless abandon, waking up the animal inside. It jolted its eyes open only to watch in horror of the black bottomlessness spanning below him.
“Wait!”
Dash stopped herself in the air, jerking Fluffy’s cage which caused him to let out a terrified screech. Rolling her eyes, Rainbow rotated around and asked, “What do mean ‘Wait’? We've gotta go, ‘Shy. The other side’s waiting!”
As her friend hovered above what seemed to be certain death, Fluttershy softly pointed out, “Umm, well there’s a bridge a bit of a ways down if you want to…um…use it.”
Fluffy seemed to nod at this idea, but Dash simply replied, “Why would we use a bridge if we got wings?” But as she took a closer look at her friend, she realized Fluttershy was slightly shaking and her eyes were wide, unable to take her eyes off the bleakness that waited below. Frowning, Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves and conceded, “Ugh…fine. If it’ll make you happy, we’ll use the bridge.”
When she finished the sentence, it sounded like Fluttershy and the rest of the animals let out a collective sigh of relief. And as Dash put her hooves back on solid ground, Fluffy let out a sigh too.
Moving along the edge for a few minutes, the duo soon came upon the bridge Fluttershy had mentioned. Unfortunately, in this case, the term 'bridge' applied very loosely. It was more like a row of two-by-fours strung together by some rope and glue. The boards were crooked and bent, leaving small gaps strewn throughout the bridge. But somehow, the span seemed to defy gravity, despite its rickety and rotted look.
“This is the bridge?” Dash asked, pressing down on one of the boards, causing it to creak. “This thing looks like something I made in third grade…with toothpicks.”
“Don’t worry, it’s safe. I’ve used it before,” Fluttershy reassured.
With a scoff, Rainbow Dash muttered, “Really? Were you temporarily insane?”
“Apparently, whoever built this bridge put a spell around it so it would last for years to come. Despite how…unstable it looks, this is actually one of the safest in Equestria.”
“Let’s hope you’re right, Flutters.” Dash took her first step onto the bridge, letting her weight slowly press down on the board. When it held, she took another tentative step, then another, until she was slowly treading along, trying her best not to look at the ground. However, that didn’t stop Fluffy from staring down at the crevasse, mesmerized by the infinite drop below. When it was clear the bridge wasn't going to collapse, Fluttershy cautiously stepped across, keeping one hoof clasped around the rope.
Suddenly, the fearless otters decided to cheat death, hopping off Fluttershy’s pack and onto the skinny rope. The resulting bounce caused Fluttershy’s heart to stop for second, a look of terror plain on her face. “Now, now. Let’s not…fool around, okay?”
Fluttershy’s plea only made a rascally smile spread across the otters’ whiskered lips. They began bounce harder on the ropes, causing the bridge to wobble even more. Fluttershy tried to stop them, but she was too occupied with trying to keep a firm grip on the rope. Finally, after one particularly strong jump, the rope undulated upwards in a vicious jolt. Two of the otters managed to hold on, but another was launched up over the bridge. It tumbled throughout the air, headed towards the side of the bridge. The otter began to fall, with nothing but the dark abyss below. Down and down it went, while the siblings could only watch in horror.
There was the sound of hooves clopping against wood, followed by a grunt and a thud. A yelp of a manticore echoed across the chasm, and the bridge began to teeter back and forth. Fluttershy couldn’t help but shut her eyelids, just as something slid by her legs. When the swaying subsided, and the screeching and hissing died down, she opened her eyes, and was greeted by a remarkable sight. Rainbow Dash had somehow dived behind her, stretching her body under the rope and over the side of the bridge. Only her hindlegs remained on the wooden pathway; the rest of her body was hovering over the crevasse, held there by her strong wings. Two of the otters had hitched a ride and her back, while the one that had been flung was gripped by its tail, safe in Dash’s nimble hooves. And throughout all that madness, Fluffy’s cage had somehow stayed locked in Rainbow’s jaws.
Breathing out a long breath, Fluttershy said, “That was…amazing! How did you...”
Once Rainbow safely had all four of her hooves on the walkway, the otters let out a squeaky cheer. She told the trio sternly, “Yeah, yeah, thanks. But maybe next time, you should listen to Fluttershy. Especially you, Frankie. Wouldn’t wanna go flying again, right?”
Still shaking, Fluttershy remarked, “And you got her name right too! You...you’re really getting the hang of it.”
“Guess so. But they still look pretty much the same.” Dusting herself off, she continued to walk across the chasm with Fluttershy taking the lead. The otters had scrambled back into their bag, quieted from the stern scolding given to them by their caretakers.
They were about halfway across the bridge when Dash commented, “So I've been wondering, how long have you been doing this again?”
“Umm…about five months I think,” Fluttershy replied.
“Five months? How have you been doing this for five months by yourself? I’ve already been almost killed, like, six times in the past twelve hours!”
“Well, I haven’t this much trouble before. This is the first time the guards have come after us. Maybe you’re just a bad luck charm.”
“Pssh, yeah right. I’m the bad luck charm that saved your butt.” Rainbow Dash looked up to see her friend staring back, her head peering over the rope. “Fluttershy? What are you looking at?”
With wide eyes, she asked, “Remember when I said this thing was…um…safe?”
“Please tell me you weren’t lying,” Dash answered.
“N-no, that was true.”
“Oh good.”
With a frightened gulp, the timid pegasus uttered, “But I’m not sure how well that statement would hold when there’s somepony cutting the ropes.”
Rainbow Dash turned around, focusing her gaze on the far away edge of the canyon. And just as Fluttershy said, there was a tiny golden speck standing by the bridge, and a red laser beam shooting straight at the rope holding them in place.
“Oh, you’ve gotta be kid-.”
Before they knew it, the planks they were standing on were no longer there. There was a loud snap, followed by a whiplash, and before they knew it, they were standing on air. Gravity took hold, and the black maw of Deep Crevasse awaited them.
xxx
Fluttershy had no idea how long she had blacked out for. It could have been for a few seconds or a few hours; it didn’t really matter. What mattered was that she felt the wind rushing by her face, and there was only blackness below her.
When her vision focused, she realized the blue sky was still visible, and the bridge was still swinging down. Fang was still wrapped around her neck, hissing madly as they fell. Regaining control of her limbs, Fluttershy spread her wings to slow herself to a complete stop. Above her, she spotted an object rapidly falling right on top of her. Extending her legs, the satchel landed safely in her hooves. The trio of otters had heeded Dash’s advice, as they had stayed tucked inside throughout the entire free-fall.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned pegasus had reacted much more swiftly than her yellow friend. The abrupt jolt of the snapping rope actually smacked her in the face, causing her to lose her grip on Fluffy’s cage. “Fluff!” she shouted, jetting towards the tumbling cage. Flattening her wings against her body, Rainbow Dash glided faster towards her target. The gap between them got smaller and smaller, until finally…
Clank!
The nimble pegasus wrapped her hooves around the bars; Fluffy was safe. He let out a purr, licking Rainbow’s hooves tenderly. “Aww stop it, little guy,” the pegasus said softly. “Uh, no really, you’re gonna make me drop you.”
It was at this time that Fluttershy realized her pack was lighter than it had been before. Looking inside, she realized there were three otters, but no mice. She scanned the darkness below. At first, she couldn’t find anything among the overwhelming dimness. But then, at about eye-level, she spotted the clear glass box, with two furry little creatures inside.
“Rainbow! The mice!” Fluttershy called, pointing towards the falling cube. But Rainbow was further from the box than she was, and with Fluffy dangling from Dash’s hooves, Fluttershy knew she’d never reach them in time. All she could do was watch the innocent little rodents plummet to their doom. Again.
And once again, as if it was a gift from the gods, her prayer was answered. But this time, it wasn’t the otter triplets saving the mice. A bright red object blazed through the air with odd orange flecks following it, catching the mice on its back. It took Fluttershy another look to realize that those flecks were embers, fluttering about the air like petals. As the objects got even closer, she saw that there were two, and that they weren’t objects, but animals.
The duo of phoenixes flapped over to the awe-struck pegasus, and she couldn’t do anything but give a relieved smile.
xxx
When they all landed safely on the opposite side of the gorge, Fluttershy immediately plopped her satchel on the ground and trotted over to family of phoenixes standing at the side. Both stood upright with their heads held high, looking absolutely regal, as though they were saying, Yeah, I know you missed us. Tucked within the mother’s wings was little Chibi, who had a little smile spread across his cute little beak.
Scooping up the mice, Fluttershy said, “Thank you so much. I can’t believe…the way you swooped down so fast!”
Then a pair of cyan hooves popped over the edge, and Rainbow clambered over with her manticore in tow. “Hey…what about me? I had a pretty good catch too.”
“Rainbow! The phoenixes! They came back!” Fluttershy exclaimed, practically bouncing with joy.
“Oh hey, yeah. That’s pretty cool. Welcome back.” Leaning tiredly on Fluffy’s cage, she added, “By the way, what about that guy back there? The one who-.”
“That was some pretty good flying you two. You saved the mice,” Fluttershy thanked, almost patting the duo on their heads before realizing she’d burn her hooves.
Rolling her eyes, Dash said, “Yeah, I guess that was pretty cool. Y’know, for a couple of phoenixes.”
And so, the duo of smugglers and their furry contraband gathered together, a full party once more.
xxx
Seeing as though day had once again risen, Princess Luna had been relegated to her usual post, the highest tower in the castle as far away from pesky servants as possible. Her pet ferret lay snuggled on her back, and the duo stood in that windy balcony where Celestia could not bug them. Suddenly, a magic portal began to form over the ledge, causing Luna to jump back in surprise. Soon, the face of an armor-clad stallion was floating in the air, with Deep Crevasse in the background.
“Ah, you must be Sergeant Buttercream,” Princess Luna exclaimed, propping herself up on the balcony edge.
“Um, princess…my name’s actually-.”
“Oh cut the formalities, Sergeant Butterworth,” the princess interrupted. “Just tell me, did you catch those smugglers?”
Scratching the area underneath his helmet, the stallion stared at the ground and muttered, “Err, well, not exactly.”
“WHAT?” Luna cried in the Royal Canterlot Voice, startling the creature on her back into grabbing onto her ear. Clearing her throat to compose herself, she shook her head and said in a much more subdued tone, “I mean…what do you mean?”
The guard, whose eyes looked abnormally wide, began to explain, “We tried to meet them at Deep Crevasse like you said, Your Majesty. We saw them travelling across the bridge, so in order to stop them, we tried cutting the ropes. And as it would turn out, they’re actually pegasi.”
“And your point is…?”
“Uhh…they…flew…across?”
Princess Luna’s eyes lit up as though something had clicked in her mind, and with an unusually wide grin, she said, “Oh! So what you’re telling me is, the smugglers got away, you destroyed the only way to get our soldiers over the chasm, and with our soldiers already spread thin containing the wildfire, we’re going to have to think of another plan to stop them?”
“Y-yes.” By now, the stallion’s face looked five times smaller, as he had backed away from the viewing portal as though he were afraid Luna would reach out and grab him.
But to his surprise, Luna shrugged and added, “Well, if you put it that way, things could be worse.” Taking her pet ferret and levitating him so his snout touched hers, Luna said in a high-pitched voice, “Well Jeffery, what shall we do now?”
The sergeant simply stood there silently for a minute, watching the princess rub noses with her pet while making baby noises. He felt the urge to avert his gaze, and yet the sheer oddness of the situation compelled him to keep watching. Finally, after giving an awkward cough, he stated, “Oh wait! Princess, I almost forgot. We did manage to find a map a bit further down the cliff side. It had Cragslane Rock circled. I think the smugglers are headed towards the border crossing near there.”
Pausing her antics, Luna turned her head towards the portal and remarked, “Well that’s excellent news, Buttermelon! And if that’s the case, I think I have a plan to stop those dirty thieves once and for all. Send for all your remaining pegasus guards to amass at the border east of Cragslane. I shall send some of my batguards as well. “
“Yes princess,” the stallion said with a salute, breathing a sigh of relief.
“Oh and one last thing, Sergeant Buttermouth Cupcake.”
“Yes?”
“You’re fired.”
And with that, Princess Luna zapped the portal shut with her magic and pressed the ferret to her face lovingly. Wearing the animal like a beard, she whispered, “I’m so excited, Jeffery. It’s not every day I get to use the Immovable Object Protocol! In a few hours, Plan Trap-Those-Nasty-Rotten-Animal-Smugglers-Once-And-For-All will soon be put into effect.”
Turning to head back into her quarters, she raised her eyebrows and muttered, “Huh, that last bit sounded a lot better in my head.”