Twilight felt a ray of sunlight shine directly through her eyes, and groaned. ‘We slept through the rest of the afternoon and the night? Wow, we are lazy.’ Even if the sun was out now, and the morning was upon her, she still didn’t want to move at all. She wanted to stay in bed with her marefriend cuddled up beside her and… ‘Wait, hold on?’
Twilight peeped an eye open for a moment to find that she was not holding Fluttershy. The place where the pegasus had slept last night was empty and the duvet had been folded over and the door was left partially open. Twilight raised her head a bit and yawned. ‘She must have gone to get some breakfast,’ she thought. Twilight smiled, then rolled onto her back and sighed contently, her mind on the one thing that truly mattered to her now: Fluttershy.
Yesterday afternoon when Fluttershy agreed to date her felt like a dream, the greatest dream the unicorn had ever imagined. But it was real, completely real, and it made Twilight feel something greater than the time she had been named as the protégé to Princess Celestia. The moment the two became a couple was a far greater moment compared to that.
The problem that rested now, however, was maintaining that relationship with the pegasus. Like she had thought yesterday, asking Fluttershy to go out with her was the easy part, convincing her to stay as her marefriend was going to be difficult. Like Fluttershy, she knew so little about relationships it seemed quite pathetic to her. ‘How can I know so little about something when it should be common knowledge?’ she thought. But she did know what ponies did together and such, so that put her at an advantage. The only problem she foresaw was to make Fluttershy comfortable enough to do anything with her.
‘I would love it if we could dance together,’ Twilight thought dreamily. She briefly imagined herself in Fluttershy’s hold as they twirled around the dance floor, their parents and Applejack looking on with large smiles on their faces; she could see Rarity and Pinkie Pie crying their eyes out, while Rainbow Dash looked confused about the whole thing.
Yet Fluttershy was shy, terribly shy. It would take a lot to convince the pegasus to come to a restaurant and dine with her, or do anything together as a couple. It will be a hard first few months; there was no doubt in Twilight’s mind about that. Nevertheless she had the confidence and the belief that they could get around it, and come out stronger together. ‘If we take things slow and steady, at Fluttershy’s pace, then we should be okay,’ Twilight concluded to herself.
Satisfied in her plan, she jumped out of bed and gave a quick stretch to each of her legs, and then did some magic exercises by lifting some of the model boats on top of the draws. “That should keep me going for the day,” she muttered to herself, pleased her horn had not seized up for not using magic for too long.
She briefly checked her mane and tail in the mirror on the wall, hoping she looked presentable to her marefriend when she saw her again. A few hairs stuck out in her tail, so she quickly rubbed them down with a brush, and then put it away. She nodded to herself, pleased with how she looked. ‘Now time to see my adorable girlfriend,’ she thought. She turned around and trotted out of the bedroom, humming cheerfully to herself as she walked down the corridor to head outside.
When she made it through the door to the top deck, she was quickly introduced to a strong wind blowing in her face and ruining her mane. She held a hoof to her mane to keep it down, and walked slowly with the wind blowing fiercely behind her and towards the stern, thinking Fluttershy must be there.
She made it to the other end of the ship, and quickly stepped to the side and out of the wind. “Phew,” she breathed. “That wasn’t nice.” Her ears pricked upright when she heard the sweet voice of the pony she was looking for – the only other pony on this ship.
“Oh, that’s good to know. Are you sure other ponies will find it okay?” Fluttershy asked, but to whom she was speaking to, Twilight could not see. She could quickly guess the pegasus was talking to an animal, for she was sure Fluttershy was not a pony that talked to herself.
She trotted up the small stairs, past the toilets on the poop deck, and saw the pegasus talking to a small, white cockatoo that looked exhausted from what must have been a long flight. In her raised hooves Fluttershy held a bowl of water and some seeds for the bird, which dug into the food without hesitation upon finishing to speak. “I’m glad to know they are okay, mister cockatoo. Will you make sure they get all the food they need to survive?”
The bird looked up and nodded, then dived its head back in. “I’m sure you will, and thank you and your other bird friends for saving us both. We would be on this ship in ropes or chains if it wasn’t for you all,” Fluttershy said, smiling at the cockatoo.
Twilight smiled, then took a step forward. The floorboards creaked loudly with her step; making Fluttershy jump in fright and making her send the bowl that was in her hold flying through the air. Twilight quickly acted and caught the bowl in her magic without spilling any of its contents. “Sorry about that, sweetheart,” she said, her ears falling flat in regret of making Fluttershy jump. “I didn’t know the floorboards were that creaky.”
Fluttershy quickly relaxed upon hearing Twilight’s voice, and she looked over to the unicorn with a large, bashful smile. She quickly covered half of her face with her mane. “Oh, g-good morning, Twilight,” she said through her mane. “H-how are you?”
‘Oh my goodness, stop being so cute,’ Twilight thought as she walked up to her. She leaned her head forward and kissed the pegasus on the cheek. “Very well, thank you. I feel like I am in a dream,” she replied, a large grin forming on her face. “How about you?”
“Oh, I’m good, too, thanks,” Fluttershy replied, looking into Twilight’s eyes with love and kindness that could only be expected from the pegasus, and a faint blush on her visible cheek. She quickly looked down and her ears fell flat as though she was ashamed of something. “I’m so sorry I didn’t stay in and cuddle with you longer, Twilight, but I heard some calls of a bird outside so I got up and investigated.”
Twilight wiped her fears away with a wave of her hoof. “It’s fine, Fluttershy, I didn’t expect you to stay next to me just to keep me happy. Was this the bird you heard, then?” she asked, pointing to the cockatoo.
“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy replied, turning her head to look at the tired cockatoo. “Do you remember him? He was the first bird I saw on the island two days ago.”
“He’s from the island?” Twilight exclaimed. Fluttershy nodded. “How on earth did he manage to find us? We must be ages away from there by now.”
“Oh, we were quite easy to find, actually. The birds and the sea life help each other out, see, so mister cockatoo found out where we were heading from a party of dolphins, and he followed us up from there,” Fluttershy explained.
Twilight nodded incredulously. “Fascinating,” she remarked. She shook her head rapidly. “So what’s he doing here?”
“He just came to make sure we were okay, and to tell us that Wave Kicker and her pirates are fine, and living off from the food of the island well. Their biggest and strongest bird headed off towards Equestria to find ships that could follow her to rescue them.”
Twilight smiled a little. “Ah, that’s good to know. It at least puts something out of my mind.”
Fluttershy smiled at her, and then looked back at the cockatoo, who had finished the bowl of water and seeds and was getting ready to head back. “A-are you sure about that?” Fluttershy asked concernedly. “Are you certain that you are fit to head back? Absolutely certain?” The bird nodded adamantly. “O-okay then, but please take care of yourself, my friend. And thank you, for everything.”
The bird bowed his head at her, squawked something else that made Fluttershy blush, and then took off into the sky and flew south at such a speed Twilight thought it was impossible. She looked over to the blushing pegasus and asked curiously, “What did he say?”
“He hopes that you and me will be happy for always, and have many beautiful children together,” Fluttershy mumbled, her blush growing fiercer with every word coming out from between her lips.
Twilight stared at Fluttershy for a long time, not noticing her cheeks burning pink. “Well, um…” She looked away and coughed loudly. “That was… nice of him. I guess.” She shook her head to clear her blush, and smiled affectionately at Fluttershy. “Did you sleep well last night?”
Fluttershy nodded, and then leaned forward and nuzzled her softly. “Slept like an angel, thank you, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. She pulled her head back. “How about you?”
Twilight grinned. “Fantastic, thank you,” she replied. She turned away from Fluttershy. “Now, how about I cook us some breakfast?” she suggested enthusiastically, rubbing her forehooves together.
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, yet her eyes spoke of her horror of Twilight cooking the breakfast. “Oh, yo-you don’t have to do that,” she said. “I can cook something up for you, if you’d like.” ‘And preferably I want to live to see Equestria again.’
Twilight pouted, and she pawed at the deck with a hoof. “But I want to do something nice for my marefriend,” she said whiningly, looking at Fluttershy with big, puppy-like eyes.
Fluttershy’s ears fell flat, and she smiled at her; she was too loving to say no to that face. “Okay,” she relented. “But would you mind if I helped you? I could even teach you how to cook something to a particular standard, if you’d like that.”
Twilight nodded her head faster than a bobbing head model. “Oh, I would love that!” she squealed excitedly, nearly hopping on the spot in excitement. Fluttershy grinned at her, and then side-by-side they walked back inside the ship and through the thin corridors.
“So, um, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked. “You remember yesterday when we talked about what ponies in a relationship do together.” Twilight looked back and nodded. “Well, what else do couples do?”
Twilight’s eyes moved up, and her forehead creased in thought. “Well like I said yesterday, all I know about relationships are from what I have seen, read and talked about. I have no real experience in the matter, unfortunately,” she started.
Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “You know more than I do, though. So, um, what do you know, then?”
“Well, for a start, a couple is usually two ponies that love each other so much they want to see more of each other,” Twilight explained. “They go on long walks in the park, stay at each other’s houses for a day or so, or even live with one another.”
Fluttershy raised her head a little. “Would you… um, would you move in with me, if you wanted to, of course?” she asked meekly.
Twilight stopped, turned her head around, and smiled warmly. “I don’t think I would hesitate,” she answered. “Why? Do you want me to move in with you when we get back?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, no– um, at least not yet, of course,” Fluttershy stuttered. “It’s still a bit early on for that, I think. But, well, if you ever want to, you know where I live.”
Twilight smiled sweetly. “I’ll keep that in mind. And remember, if you ever need to live somewhere, my house is open to you.”
Fluttershy smiled widely at her. “Thanks,” she squeaked. The two continued walking, and turned a corner to find themselves in the corridor where the kitchen was. “Here is the door,” Fluttershy said, pointing when they came up to it. She opened up the door, and swiftly entered with Twilight in tow.
Half an hour later, after a long teaching course from Fluttershy, a short food fight and a short fire that nearly blew the ship up, the two ponies emerged from the inside of the ship, their coats stained with food from their food fight, and giggling all the while. On their backs were trays filled with perfectly toasted bread, with a bowl of cereal on Fluttershy’s and egg and pancakes on Twilight’s.
Once they moved behind a large number of crates keeping the wind out of their faces, they moved their trays off their backs, set them down, and sat on their haunches, giggling to themselves. “I don’t think I’ve had a food fight since I was little,” Twilight said as she picked up a piece of toast with her magic. “The last one was with my brother and Cadence the day before he went off to train for the Royal Guard.”
“Me neither,” Fluttershy said with a mouthful of toast. “Oh, I had one with Pinkie Pie once.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at her, forcing Fluttershy to throw up her hooves and look innocent. “She made me do it, honestly.”
The two ponies giggled, and then resumed their breakfast in a nice, companionable silence. “I have to say,” Twilight said as she swallowed the last of her toast. “That was the best toast I have ever had. I need to keep an eye on it the next time I make some.”
Fluttershy looked at her oddly. “Why don’t you keep an eye on it, then?”
“Oh, well the last time I cooked toast – discarding that time in Canterlot – I let it burn as I should do, but got so distracted by the book I was reading that I forgot about it until the smell of smoke was in the air. When I looked back, the oven was on fire – again.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, and cracked a small smile. “Well that should teach you to never read and cook at once, Twilight,” Fluttershy said.
Twilight giggled. “I know, but I still do it.” The two ponies giggled once more.
“So um, before we had that food fight, you were telling me what ponies did as a couple together,” Fluttershy recalled.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she remembered. “Oh, yes, I remember.” She set her plate of pancakes down, and put on her thinking face. “Well, ponies tend to go out to restaurants and have dinner dates, filled with good food, good company and good wine. Sometimes they go out and see things, like the zoo.” Fluttershy’s face twisted in disgust at the mention of the zoo, which Twilight noticed. “But there are other things that we can do together,” she quickly added.
“Like what?” Fluttershy asked curiously, a spoon in one hoof and a bowl in the other.
‘How she does that is beyond my understanding,’ Twilight thought upon seeing her marefriend. She tapped her forehooves together. “We could…” Her voice faded away like mist as she thought about it. “Could go out to places.”
“Anywhere in particular?”
Twilight shook her head and smiled. “Nowhere special, really.” She set a hoof on Fluttershy’s own. “As long as I’m with you, then we could go anywhere we choose.”
Fluttershy threw her mane over her face to cover her blush and her sheepish smile. ‘Twilight, you are so sweet,’ she thought; yet she was too timid to say it aloud. Her face lit up with an idea. “I could take you to Cloudsdale!” she exclaimed. “Oh, I can show you so many places there that I adored when I was a filly. I could show you the pegasi statue park; it has statues made out of clouds. According to legend, if you look close enough you could see them sway about as though they were dancing.
“Ooh, oh, and we could go to a nice café that I know of there,” she quickly added. “I used to sit outside it when I wanted to be alone for a time and have a nice hot chocolate and relax time from everything. I think you would love it there, Twilight.”
Twilight smiled. “I’m sure I will.” Her face abruptly lit up as well as an idea came into her head. “And I can show you Canterlot! I know we usually go there, but it is always to the palace and when we have business with the Princess. I could show you the palace labyrinth now that it’s been re-opened, and I could show you round the Museum of Natural History.” She emphasised it with a wink. “I’m sure you will love it there.”
“Oh, wow, I’ve heard of it, but I never had the courage to go. Is it really big?”
“It feels bigger than Ponyville. Truly, when you stand in the great hall at the entrance, and see the giant dinosaur skeleton gazing down at you, you never feel so small as you do then. There is more, much, much more to see. It would take about a day to see it all.”
“Then I’m looking forward to it already,” Fluttershy said, grinning eagerly at the image given to her by Twilight. She finished off the rest of her bowl of cereal quickly, and after a moment, put a hoof over her mouth and belched. Twilight giggled, while Fluttershy wanted to sink into the floorboards. “Oh dear, excuse me.”
Twilight lifted her hoof and said, “It’s all right, sweetheart. Better out than in, like my father used to say – and my mother. Come to think of it, my brother as well.” She giggled to herself. “I have a very impolite family.”
At the mention of Twilight’s family, Fluttershy lowered her head and looked nervously at her. “Do you think your parents will… approve of me going out with you?” she asked, rubbing the deck with a hoof.
Twilight’s heart-warming smile never faltered. “I don’t see why they shouldn’t, sweetheart. I think they will love you when they meet you,” she said, making Fluttershy smile.
After a moment, Twilight laughed as she remembered something. “I just had a thought,” she announced, much to Fluttershy’s confusion. “I wonder how your mum would react to me going out with you.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in realisation. “Of course! She might think that this is a small world, us two coming together like we have.” She paused to place a hoof on top of Twilight’s own. “But I’m sure she would be delighted to gain you as part of our family, as will my dad.”
Twilight grinned, giggling through her teeth. “I am looking forward to seeing her reaction, though,” she admitted. “Whatever it is, it’s going to be priceless. Which makes me wonder how our friends are going to react.”
“Oh, I’m sure they will be happy for us, and with us all the way,” Fluttershy said. “But I do wonder what they’re gonna say.”
“I can think of what Applejack might say,” Twilight said. She cleared her throat, and then spoke in a thick southern accent as she could create, in an attempt to mimic the earth pony. “Good on ya, girl! I just knew ya had it in ya!”
Fluttershy snorted with laughter. “Oh, and what about Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy cleared her throat, and started talking like the pegasus, trying to copy her movements as well. “Well, that’s pretty awesome, I guess. Good on ya both.” The two ponies snorted in laughter. They knew what they were doing was wrong, but they couldn’t help it.
“And then there’s Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. She started hopping on the spot like the pink earth pony would. “Oh, oh!” she squealed, her voice as high pitched as Pinkie’s. “I can throw an awesome ‘my two best friends get together and are now dating party’ party!”
“Oh, but darling,” Fluttershy said as Rarity, running a hoof through her mane as she spoke, “that is not the way to celebrate such a special occasion as this. This must be done with poise, and calm delight, and… oh, who am I kidding, I’m so happy for the both of you, let’s have a party!” Fluttershy couldn’t say anymore, for she was laughing so hard she was forced to have a hoof clutching around her stomach. Twilight was laughing just as hard, and had to lean on the pegasus to stay upright.
After a while, the two ponies calmed down, and looked at each other with big, loving grins. “That was pretty mean of us, wasn’t it?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight shrugged, her mane flowing with the wind. “Nah, I’ve seen our friends take the mickey out of each other all the time, myself included.” She leaned forward, and nuzzled Fluttershy’s neck. “But I could never make fun of you.”
Fluttershy smiled bashfully and blushed once more. “Thanks, Twily,” she said. Her eyes widened suddenly as she realised what she just said. “You don’t mind me calling you that, do you? I don’t want to take it from your brother.”
Twilight giggled. “It’s fine, sweetie. It’s not a sacred thing me and my brother share.” She stood up and stretched out her forelegs. “Right, I suppose we better start running this ship and make sure things are running smoothly. Don’t you think?”
Fluttershy reluctantly nodded, and stood up as well. “I suppose we should. I’ll head down to the boiler room and fill up the boilers with coal.”
“And I’ll head across the ship and make sure everything’s ship-shape.” She giggled at her little pun, while Fluttershy rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Admit it, that was pretty funny.”
Fluttershy shook her head, even though she had a small smile on her face. “Nope, not in the slightest.” Before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and lightly pecked Twilight’s left cheek with her lips. “See you in a bit,” she said quickly, blushing madly as she galloped through the door and inside the ship.
Twilight raised her hoof and stroked the spot where Fluttershy kissed her. “Now I know how Spike felt when Rarity kissed him on the cheek that one time. I’m never going to wash this cheek again,” she said to herself. She felt herself swoon for a moment, before she was able to regain her balance by leaning against the crates. After a minute to calm down, she sighed and let a goofy grin form across her face.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy leaned up against the wall of the corridor, breathing heavily with anxiety and panic. ‘Did I do that right? Did she like me kissing her like that? Oh, goodness, what if she thought it felt terrible?’ She groaned to herself, scared stiff that she had got it wrong, and doomed their relationship before it even began, and their friendship.
Before she decided to head down to the boiler room, she crept back to the edge of the door, inched it open, and listened out for Twilight. At first she didn’t hear anything, increasing her heart rate to the point she thought it might explode, but then she heard Twilight hum cheerfully as she trotted across the deck, looking for cracks in the ship and anything that could damage it.
Fluttershy sighed heavily in relief. ‘She isn’t mad,’ she thought. It was quite the opposite, in fact. ‘She must have liked it.’ She would have cheered to the sky if she could talk or cheer any louder, so instead she punched the air in victory. She shut the door back up, then turned around and trotted down the stairs to the boiler room, singing cheerfully, “La, la, la la la, la, la la la…”
She soon found herself in the hot, densely packed boiler room, and instantly grinned. It felt like she was back on her mother’s steam engine, sitting next to the firebox door, and feeling the heat of the flames caress her coat and her face. ‘If somepony could create a place where steam engines and animals co-existed in harmony, then I would be in a paradise,’ she mused as she walked up to one of the boilers.
She looked inside to see that the fire was going out. She quickly picked up the shovel, and began to throw coal into the boiler. As she fired the steamship, she pondered on her relationship with Twilight, and how it was going so far.
Although they started going out yesterday, and were doing quite well so far, she still didn’t feel anything special coming from being in a relationship. She thought she would feel something, as though she had been given a superpower to use. Yet she didn’t feel special, she just felt like Fluttershy.
Despite that, she knew things were good. The two were still mostly talking normally, which she was thankful for, and were laughing and doing things together. Fluttershy cracked a small smile as she remembered her food fight with Twilight, the laughter the two emitted as they chucked everything in range of their hooves or magic at each other. She couldn’t even remember how it started.
And their cuddle on the bed. Fluttershy loved cuddles, and loved cuddling anything that needed it or looked like it should be. Twilight was no exception. Cuddling with the unicorn made her feel far safer than when she cuddled with her teddy bear, and it felt like cuddling with her parents again, when she was little and exhausted from a long, tiring day.
She loved the touch of her marefriend as her hooves wrapped around her body, and her soft coat against her own, making her feel like she was in a cocoon where nothing could harm her. Fluttershy sighed as she remembered waking up with Twilight’s head above her own, and her hooves wrapped around her gently. She was annoyed that she awoke, for she wanted it to last forever. ‘I hope we get to do it again tonight,’ she thought.
She broke out of her thoughts when she heard something heavy hit the ground with a thud. She looked down at first to see a few lumps of coal on the ground, and then noticed the boiler was filled right to the door with coal. “Oh,” she said to herself sheepishly. She set her shovel down. “I guess that should keep us going till tomorrow.” She shut the door, and then filled up the other boiler with coal.
After filling up the boilers and making sure the water tanks were filled up, she emerged from the boiler room covered from head to tail in soot and ash. She shook herself rapidly, ridding herself of the worst of the soot, yet she was still as black as a panther. “I better take a shower before I go and see Twilight again.” She did not know why, but she felt her heart soar with happiness the moment she said Twilight’s name.
She shook her head, and trotted cheerfully down the corridor to the showers, which were in a small white room with tiled white walls. A single large mirror stretched across one wall, and three cubicles big enough for a pony to stand in and have a nice shower lay beside the door. Fluttershy wasn’t a fan of quick showers. She preferred a nice long bath that gave her time to look back on the day. Since there were not any bathtubs on board, however, she had to make do with the showers.
She briskly entered the room, chose the cubicle closest to the door, jumped in and turned it on. She sighed pleasurably as she felt the cold water hit her back and run down her sides and rump, calming her tense body and putting her at ease – at least for now.
She knew she shouldn’t worry about what was on the other side of the ocean, but she couldn’t help it. Throughout the night whilst cuddling Twilight, and the day when her mind went blank temporarily, she had thought of every possible scenario she could think of, from getting snatched up in large sacks by cannibals, to finding themselves in Manehatten after travelling around the entire world. All of them were just as terrifying as the last, yet she knew she would be fine, so long as Twilight stood beside her to protect her.
She picked up the shampoo bottle that sat in a rack beside the shower, and began to wash her hair. “Um,” she moaned pleasurably as she sniffed it. “Smells like lavender.” She applied it to her mane and tail, and let it wash off. As she did so, she couldn’t help but worry some more, this time about their relationship. ‘Are we going too slow?’ she wondered nervously, biting her bottom lip.
She feared she was going far too slow for Twilight, and was scared that at some point, Twilight would get bored and dump her. On the other hoof, she feared if they went too fast, they could both do something they would later regret, and hate each other for it.
She shook her head rapidly to rid herself of the thought, spraying bits of shampoo over the walls. ‘Don’t worry about that now, Fluttershy,’ she said to herself. ‘You can ask Twilight about that after this relaxing shower. You can talk to her about anything; she will understand.’ She let out a sigh of relaxation as she enjoyed the water trickling down her body. ‘I’ll have to get one of these installed in the bathroom when we get back.’
A quarter of an hour later, she finally felt relaxed enough to turn the shower off and stepped out. Her coat shined with freshness, something she needed after a long two days off the Wave Breaker, and her mane was free of entanglements and smooth as silk once more. She shook herself dry, then proceeded to head back to the main deck to see her marefriend. ‘She’s probably starting to miss me,’ she reasoned to herself.
After a few minutes of wandering about the confines of the ship, she finally found herself facing the door leading out onto the main deck. She opened it, walked through the door, and shut it gently behind her with a hind leg. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her marefriend. “Oh… my,” she whispered nervously, her eyes wandering left and right to take it all in.
Twilight sat next to a large record player, which was playing a sweet, slow piece of classical music that was rather calming – and one that the pegasus recognised. The unicorn herself was grinning at her, yet shifted herself about as though she was nervous about something. “Hey, sweetheart,” Twilight said warmly. She looked at the record player. “Do you like it? I was looking around the ship to see what the pirates left behind, and I came upon this in one of the storerooms, along with a load of records to listen to.” She got up and walked towards the pegasus. “I always loved this song. When I could use a record player, I always listened to this piece of music to help me study, and it always worked. Do you like it?”
Fluttershy was in awe. “I don’t like it, Twilight,” she said flatly. Twilight’s ears fell flat. “I love it!” Fluttershy beamed, returning Twilight’s grin. “Oh, I didn’t know you liked this piece.”
“I forgot about it till I found it again,” Twilight explained. Her head shot up and looked at Fluttershy surprisingly. “Hang on, do you know it as well?”
“Oh, of course,” Fluttershy replied, grinning as she twirled and kicked her legs out one at a time. Twilight quickly realised she was dancing, and longed to join her. “This is my favourite piece of music in all of history. I usually play it to calm the animals if they need it. And even when they don’t need calming, I sometimes play this to dance to, so I can stretch my legs and loosen myself up without anypony judging me.”
Twilight smiled and tilted her head a little, admiring her marefriend’s graceful dancing. “You don’t ever have to worry about hiding yourself from me, Fluttershy. I think you are a wonderful dancer.”
Fluttershy stopped and looked at Twilight with pink cheeks and a bashful smile. “Oh, thank you, Twilight,” she said. She pawed at the ground for a moment as an idea latched into her mind. “Do… do couples dance with each other?”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah, of course they do. It’s more natural for couples to dance together than it is for total strangers, but I guess love has to start somewhere. Why do you ask?”
Fluttershy edged herself closer, took a deep breath and said hastily:
“Iwaswonderingifyouwouldliketodancewithme!”
Twilight’s smile faded, and she looked at the pegasus oddly. “Come again?”
Fluttershy willed herself to say it normally. “I was hoping… well, if you want to of course, if you would like to dance with me?”
Twilight stared at Fluttershy for a long time, letting what she had just heard sink into her mind. Once she did, she squealed delightfully and nodded her head rapidly. “I would love too,” she replied, staggering up to a beaming Fluttershy.
When they were an inch apart, the two ponies reared up and held hooves. “Do you know how to slow dance?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight looked sheepish. “Can’t say I do.”
Fluttershy smiled comfortingly. “That’s okay, we all have to start somewhere. I’ll hold your left hoof with my right, and I will put my other hoof on your waist. Is that okay with you? I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
Twilight blushed, but nodded nonetheless. “Of course.”
Fluttershy stretched out her right hoof and Twilight’s left hoof out, and set her left hoof on Twilight’s waist. Twilight sighed as she felt Fluttershy’s cold touch on her waist, but it quickly turned nice. “Now put your free hoof on my back,” Fluttershy instructed nicely, blushing faintly.
Twilight nodded, and placed her hoof on Fluttershy’s back. “That’s it. Now spread your hind legs out a bit so we’re not stepping on each other’s hooves.”
Twilight nodded. “Okie doke,” she replied, and spread her hind legs a bit so that their hooves weren’t in a position to step on each other or trip the other pony up.
“Ready?” Fluttershy asked patiently.
Twilight swallowed the last of her nervousness, and nodded. ‘Come on, Twilight, you can do this. Isn’t this what you wanted?’ “Yeah, I’m mostly ready,” she replied.
Fluttershy nodded, and smiled assuredly. “Hey, it’s okay. I promise I won’t be mad if you make a mistake and step on my hooves. I did the same thing with Snow Storm a few times that night, and we both laughed it off.”
Twilight smiled, then together the two started to slowly spin around the deck, with the music playing its sweet, relaxing tune, while the new couple looked into each other’s eyes with love and affection the two had rarely seen or felt for each other. The music began to relax their minds, ridding them of the thoughts of what might lay ahead. It was the two of them on a ship bound for adventure, and dancing to the most soothing music they had ever heard. They both felt at peace.
That quickly changed when Fluttershy felt Twilight’s hoof stamp down on one of her own. “Oh my, I’m so sorry!” Twilight exclaimed, breaking away from Fluttershy’s hold and setting herself back down. “I don’t know what I did wrong, but I hurt you and I am so sorry, oh please don’t hate me…” She trailed off when Fluttershy laughed.
The pegasus quickly picked Twilight from the ground and continued to dance. “It’s all right, Twily,” she said comfortingly. “I told you, it happens to all of us. I did the same thing to Snow Storm the first time when me and her danced like this, and I did not stop apologising for ten minutes – trust me she counted.”
Twilight nodded uncertainly, and set her hooves back where Fluttershy said they should be. They lapsed into silence for a moment, enjoying the company of each other, and the music being played. ‘Okay, Twilight, take it slow and steady, and keep an eye on your hooves,’ Twilight thought to herself. She knew she was panicking, but she knew also that she was having the time of her life.
Fluttershy noticed Twilight’s dreamy face, and shared it. “I was thinking, as I was having a shower, if you are fine with the speed we are going.”
Twilight’s dreamy face disappeared. “What makes you think that?”
Fluttershy’s eyes cast downward. “I was worried that we were going too slowly, and eventually you would get bored and–” Twilight cut her off with her muzzle.
“Sweetie, I told you this before, and I will tell you again. I don’t care how fast we are going, or slow. I don’t care what we do, or how we do it. All I care about is making you happy, and that you are happy being with me. So long as there is a smile on your face, then a hundred years can go by for all I care, and we can still be like this.”
Fluttershy grinned widely, and felt tears of joy building up in her eyes. “That is so sweet, Twilight. Thank you, for being so considerate.” She rested her head on Twilight’s chest, and sighed. ‘I can do this all day,’ she thought.
Twilight looked shocked, but not displeased, of the sudden move from the pegasus. “You can do that?”
“Mm hmm,” Fluttershy replied. “It’s a sign of affection, Twilight.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “So, you feel something for me, then?”
Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide, and she moved her head away to look at Twilight’s eyes. Did she? “I… I don’t know how I really feel yet. I’m sorry, Twilight.”
Twilight nuzzled her nose gently. “It’s okay, I’m not expecting you to know that you love me after the first day.” Twilight lowered her head, and rested it on Fluttershy’s chest, sighing softly. “I’ll tell you something, though. I have enjoyed this with you.”
Fluttershy smiled. “So have I.” The couple fell into silence once more as they twirled slowly and swayed like a pine tree in the wind. None of them noticed that the music stopped playing minutes ago.
Fluttershy was the first to notice the lack of music in the air, and her eyes popped open and her ears pinned up. “Twilight?”
“Yeah?”
“I think the music’s stopped.”
Twilight listened out, and she realised the only things she could hear were their steady breathing, the wind howling across the ocean, and the waves hitting the sides of the ship. “I think you’re right.”
“Should we stop dancing, then?”
A silence fell between them for a second. “I suppose,” Twilight said finally. The two ponies broke off and stepped back from each other. “Wow,” the unicorn breathed a sigh of relief. “That was good. Could have been better on my part, though.”
Fluttershy shook her head in disagreement. “Oh no, Twilight. You did brilliantly for your first proper dance. You only made only one mistake, which can’t be said for many professional dancers out there.”
Twilight’s ears pinned upright in delight. “Really?”
Fluttershy nodded, then leaned forward and nuzzled her marefriend gently. “Yes, but if anyone disagrees, then don’t listen to them, for they don’t know you like I do.”
Twilight smiled, and swiftly returned the nuzzle. “I won’t,” she promised. She pulled away from the pegasus, smiling affectionately at her. “Right, what do we do now?”
Fluttershy pouted in thought. “I’m not sure. Is there anything else to do on here?”
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. “I think so. We’ll do a long sweep across the ship and make sure everything’s okay.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, then leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Afterwards, she leaned back and shied away. “Was that better than the last?” she asked worriedly.
Twilight smiled, then leaned forward and kissed Fluttershy’s cheek in return. “Even better,” she answered as she pulled back. “I’ll see you in a little while.” With that, she turned away and began looking all over the ship, while Fluttershy went below deck to look around.
“Phew,” Twilight breathed as she sat down next to Fluttershy on the top deck many hours later. “I didn’t know looking after a ship could be such hard work!”
“Mm mmm,” Fluttershy mumbled in agreement whilst chewing on a mouthful of lettuce. She swallowed a part of her dinner, and then said; “Oh yes, but I don’t see it as hard as looking after a steam locomotive, though. That can really take the energy out of you if you’re on one for hours on end.”
Twilight nodded, and then looked up at the beautiful night sky. It took many hours to scour the ship and make sure everything was okay, as well as keeping it clean, tidied and making sure it can still run properly. It had taken a while for the both of them to get used to controlling it and looking after the engines, but they got the hang of it eventually.
By the time they figured there was nothing else to do, they met back up on the top deck, and then headed down to cook some dinner for themselves. By the time they made it back up, the sun had completely disappeared from the sky, and the moon was rising slowly as it began its run across the sky. The sky itself was clear of clouds, revealing a bright starry night littered with stars, and a few constellations that Twilight could make out.
She was broken out of her brooding when she felt something pressing against her side, and looked left to see Fluttershy shifting herself towards her, until their sides pressed together. Twilight felt her face begin to heat up. “You don’t mind this, do you?” Fluttershy whispered. “It’s just that sometimes I get scared of the night, and I like something warm and fuzzy at my side to keep me protected.”
Twilight smiled. “Of course I don’t mind.” Fluttershy grinned, and then rested her head on Twilight’s shoulder. “Do you know any of the constellations out there?” she asked after a brief silence.
Fluttershy looked up at the stars to admire their beauty. She knew they were undoubtedly pretty, there was no denying that, but the problem at why she was so scared of the night went back to her childhood. Being Rainbow Dash’s friend in flight camp, she had heard from the pegasus some scary tails of creatures that snatched little fillies at night without warning. So she always took precautionary measures – closing the windows, locking the doors, closing the curtains, et cetera – before going to bed.
Now, she felt safer next to Twilight than she did in her own home. ‘Those creatures, whatever they are, can try and get me. Twilight will shoo them off,’ she thought giggly. “Um, no – well, by name, yes, but I don’t know how to spot them,” Fluttershy answered eventually.
Twilight giggled. “Don’t blame you; it is hard to pick out most of them, but there are a few that are out tonight you could spot.” She pointed to three stars that were almost perfectly aligned. “See those three stars?”
Fluttershy looked to where Twilight was pointing, and duly nodded. “Yes.”
“Well those belong to Orion, and form part of what is known as Orion’s belt.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. “How comes Orion has a belt? Why does he need a belt in the first place?”
“Not sure, sweetie, but it’s shown due to the fact Orion is rearing up, neighing triumphantly after another victory. See,” she pointed, “you can see his hind legs going down from the two stars at each end of his belt, and then going up from his belt you can see his body, his forelegs and finally his proud head looking eastward.”
Fluttershy nodded, her face expressing her deep fascination for what Twilight was going on about. “You can name all of them, then?” she asked curiously.
Twilight nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. I didn’t have my hooves full with going out with friends when I was in Canterlot, so I always stayed up at night and enjoyed the stars. By the time I was thirteen I could name all of the constellations by one star alone. Is that a little weird?”
Fluttershy nuzzled her in reply. “Of course not. It just means you’re passionate about it. That’s what I love about you. Whatever you do, you give it your all, and show so much commitment to it even when anypony else would have given up.”
Twilight blushed. “Thanks,” she squeaked. She shook her head, clearing the blush from her cheeks, then looked up at the sky again. “So, uh… oh, look there!” She pointed. “That’s Sagittarius, the last centaur of Terra.”
Fluttershy leaned forward, and saw a cluster of stars that didn’t look like a centaur at all. “Why is he the last centaur?” she asked.
Twilight’s head drooped a little. “It is a sad tale, Fluttershy. Thousands of years ago, the Centaur Empire was the greatest the world had ever seen, filled with light, magic, and peace. The last Emperor was Sagittarius, who had watched his kingdom prosper unlike any other on this world for many years. In his reign, the city, his people and the entire continent thrived. But it wasn’t to last.
“It is unknown what made the centaurs change the way they did, but many started to turn greedy, violent and arrogant. And so a great civil war raged for weeks across the land, with thousands dying each day. Sagittarius wept as he watched his country burn and his people slaughter themselves, yet he knew he couldn’t allow his failures to reach the other lands. Channelling all magic reserves his country had, he made the sea rise high into the sky, and swallow the continent whole, burying it deep under the ocean. Some ponies would say the city is beneath us right now.”
Fluttershy’s mouth hung open throughout the story. “Goodness. What happened to Sagittarius?”
Twilight looked up at the constellation for a moment. “He was killed, along with his whole race. Yet, because of his selflessness, he ascended to become a constellation, one of the highest rewards given to a mortal by the old gods.”
Fluttershy still looked confused. “Why was he given that, though? He wiped out his entire race; that’s not something I would reward somepony for.”
Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just a story, anyway, it doesn’t have to make a lot of sense – many of the older stories dating back before Equestria made little sense, thinking about it.”
“Oh… okay,” Fluttershy relented. She sighed as she rested her head on Twilight’s shoulder again, yet she couldn’t get the thought out of her head. ‘I’m going to have to look up more about it when we get back,’ she thought. Her eyes wandered across the night sky as she tried to look for another. “Oh, oh!” she exclaimed, flapping her leg. “Is that one there?” She pointed to a cluster of stars that, to her, appeared to be in a shape of a horse.
Twilight looked at where she was pointing, and grinned. “Yep, that’s one. That is Virgo. You have a good eye, sweetheart.” She rested her head against Fluttershy’s, and closed her eyes. A brief silence fell between them as they enjoyed the closeness of each other’s company, and the gentleness of the ocean below them. “What do you think we’re going to find on the other side of this ocean?” she asked a bit later.
Fluttershy shook her head as best as she could. “I’m trying not to think about it, to be honest. I hope something nice like a large butterfly grove, and hopefully the meadow where the flower is. Oh, I hope it’s as nice as the picture made it out to be, and I hope it smells better than most.”
At the thought of the flower, Twilight’s mind began to think drastically. ‘Should I tell her about the fact that the flower sings?’ she wondered. There was no point to keep it a secret. Now that they were together, she didn’t have any need to go after the flower anymore. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, wanted to continue after it, and Twilight couldn’t just tell her to stop; it would be unfair on the pegasus if she did.
Yet it still didn’t help her to know if she should tell Fluttershy about this. ‘What if she gets mad that I kept it from her? What if she doesn’t want to speak to me ever again because of it?’ With that thought, she decided to keep quiet.
She was cut off when a gasp escaped from Fluttershy’s mouth. “Twilight, look!” the pegasus cried, pointing.
Twilight looked up at the sky, and her jaw dropped and her brain squealed with excitement. Above them, waves of red and green danced and swirled across the sky, filling up the night with its intense beauty.
Twilight hopped from her sitting position in ecstatic delight, knocking Fluttershy gently off her shoulder. “An aurora! An actual dancing, swirling, brightly coloured aurora! Oh, I have always wanted to see one of these!” Twilight squealed, clapping her forehooves together.
Fluttershy watched the aurora dance across the sky with awe. She had never seen one as well, nor did she know much about them, yet she did not doubt that the things she saw that night were truly the second most beautiful thing she laid eyes upon – the first one was sitting next to her, squealing in delight.
She draped a wing around Twilight, and brought her in a comforting embrace. “This is beautiful, Twilight,” she whispered.
“Oh, it is,” Twilight agreed, shifting herself about till she felt comfortable in Fluttershy’s wing. Her marefriend’s wing felt like a soft mattress against her back. “But it doesn’t compare to your beauty, Fluttershy.” She nuzzled the blushing pegasus softly, and gave her a quick, cheeky kiss on the cheek. “And thank you. If it wasn’t for you and your desire to continue, I would never have seen this.” She looked up at the sky once more. “We must be a lot further north than I thought we were if we can see this. An aurora only happens in the northern hemisphere, so we should be close to the Frozen North.”
Fluttershy was about to say something, but all that came out from her mouth was a loud yawn. Twilight followed suit shortly afterwards. “Oops, sorry, Twily, I guess I’m a little more tired than I thought. I think I’ll go back to bed now.”
Twilight smiled and got up as well. “I think I’ll retire as well,” she announced. “I want to go to sleep with my marefriend in my embrace.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Me too.” Together, the two ponies went back to the captain’s quarters, and went to sleep, huddled together once more.
The next morning, Fluttershy awoke to the smell of cooked toast and fried hay beside the bed. She groaned and turned over, trying her best to ignore the smell of toast and hay. ‘I want to go to sleep, not eat,’ she thought grubbily.
She suddenly realised her marefriend wasn’t beside her, or holding her like she was last night, and her eyes opened wide in shock. “Twilight?” she called. She sat up on the bed, and quickly tidied her mane a bit as she looked around for any trace of the unicorn. Where she was, however, there was no sign.
Sighing sadly, she looked at the tray of food beside the bed, and saw a little note beside the plate of hay. Curious, she picked it up and read it quickly:
Sweetheart,
I’m sorry that I didn’t stay in bed with you longer, but when I woke up this morning I felt the ship wasn’t moving anymore. I went downstairs to see that the boilers had gone out. I quickly stoked them back up again with my magic, and cast a spell that will allow them to keep going until we reach land.
Before I head to the showers to clean up, I took the liberty of creating this breakfast for you. I hope you enjoy it.
I hope you slept well. See you shortly, my love.
Twilight.
X
Fluttershy giggled through her hoof as she looked at the kiss mark at the bottom of the letter. “That is cute,” she muttered to herself. She put the note to one side, and then looked at the breakfast. “Well I have never been served breakfast in bed before this trip. I might as well enjoy it while I can.” She leaned forward, picked it up and rested it across her hind legs. ‘Wow, Twilight has certainly gotten better with the cooking. I was right; she is a fast learner,’ she thought. She quickly dug into the food graciously made for her.
A quarter of an hour later, she finished her breakfast, and quickly belched while tapping her belly. “Goodness, that was good!” she declared, smiling contently. After a moment to let her meal down, she set the tray back onto the table, and then leapt out of bed with a mighty spring in her step. She felt more energetic than she did normally, and she didn’t entirely know why. Was it because she had a lovely marefriend to see every time she woke up? ‘Could it be that I am falling in love?’ she thought to herself.
She shrugged the thought away. “I’ll see how it goes for a week or so before making up my mind on whether to stay as her marefriend or not.” It seemed like a good plan to her. If she didn’t feel anything more special by the end of the week, then she could not see a future with her and Twilight as a couple. She only hoped Twilight would consort with the plan.
With that in mind, she trotted merrily out of Se– no, their quarters now, and headed towards the main deck. When she arrived, she hoped she would find Twilight already up there, having a nice breakfast and enjoying the calm sea and the fresh sea air. Yet she wasn’t to be seen. ‘Probably still in the showers,’ she reckoned. She moved up to the side of the ship, reared up and leaned on the railing, content with waiting and watching the world go by.
The sea was calm, the sky was clear with only a few clouds scattered about and moving just as slowly as the Wave Breaker was. It was peaceful, with only the soft, whistling sound of the ship breaking through the waves gracing her ears. There wasn’t a single sign of a fish, bird, whale, or even a dolphin, which was a shame; she would have liked to see a dolphin before reaching land.
Her silent prayers were, unexpectedly and surprisingly, answered, when a dolphin leapt out of the water, chatted something to her, and dived back in.
Fluttershy gasped in astonishment. “Did I just see that?” she asked herself. The dolphin appeared again, much to her excitement. “Oh, hello there, sir or, uh, madam!” she called delightfully. She giggled and jumped about in joy. “I’m speaking to a dolphin! An actual dolphin!” She looked down at the water again, to see the dolphin was now practically bouncing across the surface of the ocean, telling her something supposedly important – Fluttershy presumed so, anyway, judging by the urgent tone in the dolphin’s voice.
She leaned forward and listened intently, and with every word the dolphin said, Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh, really? How soon?” The dolphin spoke again hurriedly. “An hour away?” Fluttershy’s heart started to beat faster. “Oh my goodness, I better find and tell Twilight. Thank you, misses dolphin!”
The dolphin made some more clicking sounds as it spoke in reply, before it descended below the water once more. Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she had just heard. ‘So soon?’ she thought sadly, yet she couldn’t help but be relieved.
Her ears twitched when she heard the door to the bridge of the ship open, and spun around to greet her marefriend and tell her the news. “Hey, Twilight, I’ve got something to tel…” She trailed off when she saw her marefriend for the first time, and her jaw plummeted like an anvil falling from the sky. “What are you wearing?”
Twilight was wearing a long black overcoat with golden swirls along the edge that ran down her back and trailed behind her, with a holster around her chest carrying four toy pistols, and at her left side was a curved foam sword. An eye patch covered her left eye, and a large pirate hat sat on her head.
“You like it?” Twilight asked as she quickly looked at herself. “I found it in the wardrobe on the second deck. I thought I might try it out. Do you think it looks good on me?” She turned to her side. “Does it make my rump look big?”
Fluttershy slowly raised an eyebrow high till it disappeared behind her long mane, her eyes wandering across Twilight’s body from head to rump. “Um… it looks… great on you… I think,” she said unsurely. “It doesn’t make your rump look any bigger at all, and the pistols help compliment the pirate look very well. But, um… why have you got it on in the first place?”
Twilight grinned, and unsheathed her foam sword with a hoof. “Ah hah!” Twilight cried, waving her foam sword in the air and putting on a terribly thick pirate accent. “You have fallen for my trap, sweet pegasus. I be Captain Twilight Sparkle, the most fearsome pirate of the Equestrian seas, and you be now my prisoner… argh!”
Fluttershy blinked perplexedly, before grinning as she realised the game Twilight was playing – one of her favourites as a child. She swooned dramatically and put a foreleg across her forehead. “Oh, woe is me, to have strayed into the path of the terrible and beautiful Twilight the Mage!” She prostrated herself to the ground. “Oh, great mare, please have pity on me, for I am but a fair maiden seeking safe passage across these dangerous seas. May you please grant me this mercy and drop me off at the nearest stop?”
Twilight jumped off the balcony and walked menacingly up to the prostrated pegasus, giggling all the while. “Aye, I could do that, but what would be in it for dear old Capt’n Twilight, eh?” she asked.
“Um…” Fluttershy’s eyes wandered around the ship, thinking of something that could get her out of this predicament. “I… I could give you a hug and a kiss?” she suggested eventually, grinning widely.
Captain Twilight laughed boomingly. “A hug and a kiss will tempt the great and powerful Twily to take ya to shore? I don’t think so.” She pointed her foam sword at the pegasus’s face. “A hundred kisses will suffice!”
Fluttershy gasped over dramatically once more. “But, good lady, I do not have the strength to give you these kisses; my lips will grow sore and weary after the fifth kiss!”
Twilight laughed evilly. “Then I have no choice but to take you as my prisoner!” she declared, giggling childishly through her teeth.
Fluttershy giggled also, then got up, turned around and poked Twilight with her tail. “You will have to catch me first!” she said, before galloping away from her lover turned pirate.
Twilight giggled. “Then so be it!” she cried, before charging after Fluttershy, giggling all the while.
Fluttershy spun and galloped down the side of the ship with a huge smile on her face. She looked back to see Twilight galloping after her, giggling loudly. Fluttershy couldn’t help giggling as well. This was one of her favourite games as a little filly, being chased by her dad in a pirate costume around the garden, so to see Twilight doing it was a surprise, but it was certainly welcome. ‘I must have said something in my sleep,’ Fluttershy thought.
Twilight beamed brightly as she listened to Fluttershy’s giggles whilst chasing her around and around the deck of the ship. When she couldn’t sleep, she had heard Fluttershy muttering and giggling in her sleep about being chased by her dad dressed as a pirate. It gave her a smile, and it made her sleep better, thinking about how to make Fluttershy giggle in delight the following morning. She was glad how well the pegasus received it.
For the next ten minutes, Twilight chased Fluttershy right around the deck of the ship, from bow to stern, both giggling like fillies as they ran around and around. Twilight thought about using her magic to teleport herself in Fluttershy’s path, or use a spell to trap the pegasus, but she quickly went against it. ‘It’s more fun like this,’ Twilight thought. Again, Fluttershy spun around and galloped down to the bow of the ship, with Twilight not too far behind. “I will catch you, little filly!” she called in her dreadful pirate accent.
She arrived at the bow of the ship to find, to her surprise, that Fluttershy wasn’t there. “Ah, a little game of hide and seek now, is it?” she called out, smirking. “Just so ya know, I won every game of hide and seek with my brother when I was a little land lover. You have no chance in winning against me.”
She first looked to the door leading back into the inside of the ship, but found it to be closed. Just to make sure, she opened it up and looked in. “Not there, eh? Well there are plenty of places for ya to hide.” She shut the door back up, and looked around. ‘She must be on the top deck still,’ she thought.
She looked down to the stern, to see if Fluttershy was peeking out from the other end for her, but she didn’t see her. ‘I’ll start there in a moment, after I’ve looked around the bow of the ship first.’ Like a cheetah stalking its prey, Twilight crouched down and crawled forward, her eyes darting left and right for her marefriend.
When she nearly made it past the crates, Fluttershy jumped into her path, and poked her on the nose. Twilight stood up instantly, and put her hooves to her muzzle in an overly dramatic death scene. “Oh no!” she cried. “The dreadful muzzle poke! My mortal weakness!” She swooned and spun about as she ‘died’. “Tell my marefriend… I love her…” she wheezed, before collapsing onto her back, with her legs spread out, ‘dead’.
Fluttershy laughed to the point of tears as she watched her marefriend ‘die’ the way she did. It looked so terrible it was hilarious. When Twilight finally stopped moving, Fluttershy relaxed a bit, and then stood over her. She poked her on the chest. “Twilight? You’re not dead now. You can get up.”
Twilight replied by sticking her tongue out, and letting it hang out of her mouth. Fluttershy snickered at the sight. “Twilight? You okay?”
“I’m dead,” Twilight replied.
“Oh… oh dear, that’s not good then. Whatever am I supposed to do?”
Before she could think of something, Twilight wrapped her legs around the pegasus, and rolled her onto her back, with Twilight now above her. “Ah ha! You fell for the trap! Everypony knows the muzzle poke is my mortal weakness, so I cast a spell on my muzzle to keep it immune from even the most devastating pokes! I have you now, little pegasus! Muh ha ha ha ha! I have an evil laugh.”
Fluttershy laughed, and put a hoof to her forehead in distress. “Oh, dear, whatever am I supposed to do now?” Her face produced a loving smile as she wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck. “I know. I will give her the demands she wanted in the first place.”
Twilight gasped a little, and blushed, as Fluttershy leaned her blushing head forward towards her own. ‘She’s going to kiss me – on the lips!’ she realised. Twilight smiled, then leaned her head forward, parted her lips a little and closed her eyes as she anticipated the soft lips of Fluttershy against her own. ‘I wonder what they taste like?’ she wondered.
Just as their lips were about to touch, the cries of a seagull behind them made them freeze. “Oh, come on!” Twilight roared as she turned around to see what had interrupted them, her eyes narrow with anger. “Can’t you see that we’re about to have a romantic moment together?”
The seagull started to talk in its strange language, which Twilight didn’t have a clue on what he was saying, but Fluttershy did. “What’s he saying?” Twilight asked, slightly annoyed they had been interrupted.
Fluttershy crawled out from under Twilight, and got back on her hooves, the romantic feeling gone from her. “He’s saying that we’re about twenty minutes or so from land.”
Twilight forgot she was annoyed, and her eyes widened in panic. “Land!” she exclaimed. “We’re approaching land?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I was going to tell you that a dolphin told me that we were about half an hour away from land, but I got a little distracted,” she explained. “Sorry I didn’t say anything earlier.”
Twilight sighed, and she patted the pegasus gently on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” she said softly. “It was my fault that you got distracted anyway.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself, Twily. I had a lot of fun doing that with you, even with your terrible pirate impression.” Both ponies giggled. After they had calmed down a little, Fluttershy and Twilight moved away from the crates and walked up to the tip of the bow. They visibly gasped in shock when they saw the other side of the world.
Stretching like a wall across the western horizon were steeply angled mountains, standing taller than towers and guarding the world behind it with points sharper than pikes, Halfway down the mountainside, the land extended outwards for a moment, before dropping in a sharp descent to the razor-sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliffs.
“There doesn’t seem to be any beaches for us to land on,” Fluttershy pointed out, looking along the coastline.
“Nor is there anything we could use to climb up the mountainside,” Twilight added, looking and sounding defeated.
“Well can’t you teleport us up to the top of the cliff?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yes,” Twilight admitted. “But there is no way up and over the other side of those mountains.” She pointed to the mountains for emphasis. She lowered her head and sighed. “I guess we have no chance to find that flower, after all.”
Fluttershy hated to see Twilight looking so miserable, so she gave her a quick nuzzle in assurance. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m sure we can think of something if we put our minds to it.” Just as she said that, the dolphin from earlier leapt out of the water, and said something that made the pegasus’s eyes go wide in delight.
She tapped the unicorn on the shoulder. “Hurry, Twilight, shut down the engines and make her go slower, then follow that dolphin!” she instructed quickly, and politely.
Twilight nodded, then turned around and galloped to the bridge. ‘I never thought I would ever hear ‘follow that dolphin’ together in one sentence,’ she mused. She made it to the bridge, and slowed the engines down till the ship was crawling across the ocean. “Where’s the dolphin heading?” she called to the pegasus from the bridge balcony.
Fluttershy watched the dolphin for a second, making sure it didn’t change course, before looking back. “She’s heading forward, Twilight!” she called in response. “Keep her straight!”
Twilight nodded, and with her magic made sure the Wave Breaker stayed on course. After a while, Twilight and Fluttershy were soon able to make out where the dolphin was leading them, and their eyes widened in wonder. Twilight teleported herself so she was standing next to Fluttershy once more, and asked, “I wonder where that leads?”
Fluttershy could only shrug in response. Before them was the wide mouth of a cave that tunnelled deep into the mountain, leading into the blackness and whatever lingered at the other side. “Somewhere nice and fluffy I hope,” Fluttershy said, “and not big and scary and possibly quite dangerous.”
Twilight smiled, and then wrapped the tip of her tail around Fluttershy’s. The pegasus looked back in shock when she felt Twilight’s tail go around hers, but quickly relaxed, and smiled demurely at the unicorn. “If there is something big and nasty on the other side of this cave, I won’t let it hurt you,” Twilight said.
Fluttershy’s smile grew wider. “I know you won’t,” she said. The two went silent once more as they watched the cave drawing nearer and nearer with every eye blink.