Once the Wave Breaker found itself outside the gaping mouth of the cave, the two ponies couldn’t help but shiver in fear at the prospect of what might be inside. The cave entrance was wider than most houses in Ponyville, and just as tall, with jagged rocks around the top of the entrance like teeth. It almost made Fluttershy feel as though they were about to enter the belly of some beast.
“Wow, look at those teeth,” Fluttershy said, amazed yet scared of them. She inched closer to Twilight, who was next to her, and still holding her tail. It was an odd feeling, knowing her marefriend’s tail was wrapped around her own, but something that was becoming more assuring with every passing second.
“Actually, they’re called stalactites,” Twilight informed her, “and they’re formed by the desposition of calcium carbonate and other minerals grouped together into one solid mass, to put it simply.”
Fluttershy looked at her marefriend perplexedly, her face expressing the fact she didn’t get a word of what Twilight just said. Nevertheless, she nodded politely. “Fascinating,” she said. She looked back at the gaping hole in the mountain. “So, um, shall we go in?”
Twilight chewed her bottom lip. “I’m not sure.” She leaned over the edge of the bow and looked down. Once they had made it as close to the entrance of the cave as they could safely go, Twilight slowed the ship to a gentle stop with her magic. Now all they needed to know was if the ship would fit through and not get stranded, and whether or not the cave ceiling was tall enough for the Wave Breaker to fit through.
“Blast,” Twilight cursed as she set herself back onto all fours. “I can’t tell how deep the water goes from here.”
Fluttershy hummed in thought. “Perhaps…” she started, but her voice faded away into nothingness. “Forget I said anything.”
“No, go on. What was it you were going to say?” Twilight insisted.
“Well, um, perhaps if I dived in and had a look–” Fluttershy suggested, but was cut off by Twilight’s hoof when the unicorn realised what she was going to say.
“No,” Twilight said fiercely. “I want to do this without risking anypony’s life, especially yours.”
Fluttershy pushed Twilight’s hoof out of her mouth. “But how else are we going to find out how deep it goes?” Fluttershy queried, raising an eyebrow. “I’m a good swimmer, Twilight, and I have dived in some of the really deep lakes around Ponyville.”
“But this isn’t a lake!” Twilight persisted. “This is the ocean, which goes far deeper than any lake in Equestria ever could, and filled with all sorts of monsters that would gobble us up without hesitation.”
Fluttershy’s raised eyebrow rose a little higher. “Is that what you are worried about? Me getting eaten by some sea creature?” Twilight nodded sharply, which made Fluttershy laugh. “Oh, Twilight, that is sweet of you, but I can take care of myself when it comes to sharks and other sea predators.” She put a hoof on top of Twilight’s own. “Let me do this. Please?”
Twilight wanted adamantly to say no, and that she would have to tie Fluttershy up if it meant keeping her on board and safe from harm. Yet, to see the pegasus so confident in something was a rarity for her and anypony. It made her feel terrible and clingy to Fluttershy to want to keep her so close. ‘She’s two years older than me,’ she reminded herself. ‘She can look after herself in times like this.’ Despite that, she knew the pegasus needed some comfort and protection from time to time.
Twilight reluctantly sighed, and nodded. “Okay, Fluttershy. You can jump in, but please be careful.”
Fluttershy embraced Twilight in a tight hug. “Don’t worry about me, sweetie. I’ll be fine.” She gave Twilight a quick kiss on the cheek before she pulled away from the unicorn, turned around and prepared herself to dive into the water.
“Wait,” Twilight called as she walked up to Fluttershy. “I just had an idea. Something I learnt so I can keep in contact with you.”
Fluttershy turned her head around to face her. “What do you mean?”
Twilight lowered her head so the tip of her horn was touching Fluttershy’s forehead. “Like this.” Her horn lit up, and Fluttershy’s head turned magenta for a moment, before resorting back to her normal yellow colour.
Fluttershy took a step back, and shook her head to clear it of the dizziness that blurred her vision. Her head somehow felt heavier than it should, as though Twilight had placed a stone inside her head. “What did you do?” she asked.
Twilight smiled pleasantly. Can you hear me? she asked, though her mouth did not move – Fluttershy could hear Twilight’s words in her mind. If you can, speak to me through your thoughts.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened in alarm. How did you get in my mind? she enquired.
A simple spell I cast that has connected our minds for a while. It allows us to talk privately while listening to others – or making it seem like we are anyway, Twilight answered. Her voice seemed to echo in Fluttershy’s mind, as though the unicorn was talking to her from another hill miles away, yet she was right in front of her. Celestia taught me this when she was bored in her meetings, and could talk to me and help me out with my studies when she couldn’t be there.
That was nice of her, Fluttershy said, her own voice echoing across the plains between them. Do you use this spell a lot, or is this time just a rare moment?
Twilight shook her head. To be honest, she admitted, I have used this spell a few times with Spike when we were all together and having a sleepover. I just did it so I could talk to him privately about matters, mainly involving Rarity on Spike’s side.
Fluttershy giggled. Everypony knew about Spike’s crush on Rarity, even the unicorn herself knew it, yet nopony seemed to tell Spike about it. Poor thing. I hope he gets the courage to tell her soon.
That’s what I’m hoping on, too, Twilight said, grinning. She nimbly shook her head. Anyway, shouldn’t you be going under?
Fluttershy’s eyes widened once more as she remembered what she was about to do. “Oh yes, of course,” she said aloud. She leaned forward and kissed Twilight’s cheek once again. “See you in a bit.” With that, she jumped over the railing of the ship, closed her eyes and dived into the water.
When Fluttershy opened her eyes again, she found herself in a large bowl that had overfilled with water, and was squished a bit so some of it could fit into the cave. She could see seaweed, and other sea plants dangling from cracks in the rocks. She looked down at the bottom of the bowl, and giggled as she watched a small red crab scurry away from the newcomer, walking sideways. ‘That always looks so silly,’ she thought.
What looks silly? Twilight asked curiously.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she felt Twilight’s voice carry itself through her mind. How did you hear that?
Oh, sorry, it’s a terrible side affect of the spell that I have to listen to your thoughts as you have to listen to mine, Twilight explained. I’ll try not to think of anything that would embarrass you.
And I’ll try as well, Fluttershy said, though she couldn’t help but be annoyed. Anyway, the water is pretty deep down here. The ship should be able to get through easily without much trouble.
On the Wave Breaker, Twilight sighed in relief. How far does it go?
Up to the entrance of the cave, Fluttershy replied. I’ll swim ahead, while you guide the ship into the cave. How does that sound?
Twilight felt her stomach begin to growl in worry once more. Can’t you come back on board now, and wait until we’re further into the cave?
But by then it could be too late, and the ship might get stuck, Fluttershy countered. I’ll swim ahead, and make sure you know where I am constantly. By the time you get the ship to move again, I’ll be ages ahead.
Twilight sighed. Though Fluttershy was usually quiet, she knew how to make a good argument when it mattered. ‘She’s a lot cleverer than most ponies give her credit.’ Her eyes widened when she realised she had thought it, instead of saying it aloud.
Oh, thank you, Twilight, Fluttershy said. But I’m not as clever as you.
Twilight chuckled. Sometimes I wonder. Anyway, take it slow, and mind the rocks; they’re a lot more dangerous than they look. Be careful, sweetheart.
Fluttershy was touched by Twilight’s care for her. I will. And you, too. She swam back up to the surface of the water, gasped a lungful of air, and then began swimming into the cave. She ignored the feeling in her guts to take up Twilight’s offer and get back on board the ship. ‘The ship and Twilight need me down here. I won’t be any use up there at all.’ She put her head under the water, and her eyes widened in horror as she saw the vast number of sea plants inhabiting the floor of the cave.
The plants of the ocean, though they didn’t look it, were far deadlier than any predator of the deep, she believed. One wrong move with a leg and she could get it tangled in weeds that could keep her down and make her unable to escape. She didn’t want to dwell on what happened after that. ‘It’s fine, Fluttershy, just keep your hooves up high and make sure you avoid any plants from the seabed,’ she thought. She quickly cursed herself for briefly forgetting Twilight could hear her thoughts once again. She shook her head, floated to the surface once more and continued to swim deeper into the cave.
Back on the Wave Breaker, Twilight’s belly growled with worry and dread as she watched her marefriend disappear into the darkness. At first she had been glad that Fluttershy seemed so confident with herself and so ready to take this on. But to hear her sounding so unsure of herself made Twilight want to dive into the water and drag her back on board. She took a deep, calming breath to keep herself together. “Panicking would not help anypony,” she told herself, “especially Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy, my sweet, talk to me. How far are you into the cave? Twilight asked, hoping she didn’t sound too concerned.
I’ve just swum around a corner, Fluttershy replied. It’s a bit too dark now; I can’t see a thing in front of me. Are you going to bring the ship forward? The water is deep enough for it to come in.
Sure thing. Just stay where you are until I can get the ship’s lights to work, Twilight replied. With that, she lifted her head high so her horn was pointing to the sky, and cast her magic until the hull of the ship glowed with a magenta aura. She heard the ship’s systems begin to kick in, and then the ship began to surge slowly forward like Rainbow’s pet turtle – tortoise! – when it was time for lunch.
She turned around and watched with anxious dread as the ship began to be cast by the cave’s shadow, and the gap between the ship’s tall funnel and the cave entrance began to thin quickly. All right, Fluttershy, I’m coming in, Twilight said.
I know you are, I can hear it from ages away, Fluttershy said. She was bobbing up and down in the water, waiting patiently for Twilight and the Wave Breaker to catch up with her. She couldn’t see much thanks to the darkness, but what she did see put her in awe. The walls of the cave glittered dark silver from the rocks. She could hear the faint sounds of water dripping from the ceiling to what she presumed to be a narrow path beside her.
Twilight, when you get here, could you shine a light left of me and see if there is a path next to me? Fluttershy asked politely.
Twilight was confused. What makes you think there is a path next to you?
Just a hunch, but I can hear water dripping down onto a flat stretch of rock, and I figured it could be a path next to me, Fluttershy replied.
Twilight was still unsure, but she nodded. Sure thing, sweetie, she said. She looked back, and gasped in horror as she finally calculated the ship’s funnel was far too tall for the cave entrance. She thought about stopping the ship and engaging the reversing engine, but quickly went against it – the ship was going too quickly to stop and go into reverse before it could hit. Either way, the funnel would collide with the tunnel entrance. She looked around frantically for something that could protect her from what would shortly be a very large piece of falling metal. Unable to see anything, she came to the best bet of survival – her magic.
She powered up her horn once more, and cast a powerful shield around herself. Just as the shield sprang to life, the funnel collided into the top of the cave entrance, the metal shrieking as it was pushed against the cave. For a moment the ship stalled, held in place by the funnel that was being pushed back relentlessly. Twilight watched in horror – and mild fascination – as the forces of nature and the creations of ponies were fighting to see which would break apart first. She knew already which would win. Nature always won in the end.
Fluttershy flattened her ears as the screeching sound of metal against rock rang ceaselessly through her brain. Is everything all right, Twilight?
Yep. Fine. Totally under control. The funnel is definitely not crashing into the top of the cave entrance and threatening to break off and fall on top of the ship, Twilight replied, trying hard to keep the panic out of her voice.
Oh, okay then, Fluttershy said, turning back towards the rest of the cave to mind her own business. Her eyes widened when she realised what Twilight meant. The funnel is going to collapse on top of the ship!
Yes, well, no, well, probably, well, okay, very likely, Twilight replied. But don’t worry; I have a shield protecting me from whatever damage is likely to occur. Just keep away and you’ll be fine. She felt the ship lurch forward suddenly beneath her hooves, making her stagger backwards. It was thanks to her rump hitting the railing on the bow of the ship that she managed to stay upright. She looked up, and watched as the top of the funnel was crushed by the thick rock, and several of the supports keeping the funnel were ripped off with a mighty twang.
The ship bolted forward again, this time sending Twilight hurtling forward. She landed on her stomach with an, “Oof!” leaving her lips. She shook her head to clear the dizziness, and then looked up in horror as the funnel couldn’t be held up any longer, and fell backwards on top of the back of the ship.
Smoke as white as a cloud billowed out of the gaping hole where the funnel once was, filling up the cave with its foul smell, as well as blinding Twilight. The unicorn’s horn lit up once more and, with a swing of her head, swept the smoke out of the cave and back outside in a powerful and magical gust of wind. “There, that will do it,” she said to herself.
With visibility restored, Twilight turned around to guide the ship, but looked in increasing alarm as she saw the ship was going too fast and about to crash into the rocks at the far corner of the turn. Twilight lit up her horn once more and tried to make the ship turn about quickly.
“Twilight, get off the ship, now!” Fluttershy yelled, knowing the ship would never make it. A small part of her wanted to be wrong, however.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t.
With a groan, the ship collided into the bank of the cave, and arched to the left as it ran up the side. Twilight was thrown about the bow like a pinball as the ship crashed. She eventually stopped and was able to concentrate at last, even as she could feel the ship wobble unsteadily from its new perch. “Twilight! Twilight, can you hear me?” Fluttershy called.
“I’m fine… I think!” Twilight replied. She looked herself over for damage, and was relieved to see she was okay. She was forced to press her hooves firmly into the deck as the ship began to keel over and fall. “Time to abandon ship, I think,” she mumbled to herself.
She galloped to the other side of the ship towards her marefriend, not noticing the ship capsizing thanks to her movements. She leapt over the railing, and landed into the water. Before she could rest, she briskly swam away from the ship as gravity finally took it, and sent the Wave Breaker onto its side. Water rushed through the hole where the funnel used to be, and through any open windows that touched the surface of the water.
The wave that was produced once the Wave Breaker had fully capsized slammed into Twilight as though somepony had hit her on the head with a hammer, and sent her under. The unicorn began to panic blindly as she tried to think about what just happened, and to get back up and get some air. She panicked even more when she couldn’t reach the surface. She looked down and saw a long piece of sea plant had entangled in her hoof, and was keeping her down. She clawed like a cat scratching a new pair of curtains as she tried to push herself free, but to no avail. Her vision started to go dark as water filled her lungs.
She suddenly felt the feeling of soft, furry hooves wrapping around her, and pulling her upwards. At first Twilight thought it was an angel taking her soul to Paradise, but when she felt the freshness of the air, and water dripping down her face, she knew immediately she wasn’t in the embrace of an angel – she was in the embrace of somepony far greater than one of them.
“Twilight, take deep breaths for me!” Fluttershy yelled, patting her marefriend’s back. The patting forced Twilight to cough out some of the saltwater that got into her lungs, and quite a bit went in, judging by how much Twilight was spitting out. After a while, Twilight stopped coughing, and tightened her hold around Fluttershy, her eyes open and looking heavy with fatigue. “Oh, thank goodness you are safe,” Fluttershy whispered, nuzzling Twilight’s forehead.
A silence stayed between them for a moment as they bobbed up and down in the water, with only their heavy breathing breaking it. “Thank you for saving my life,” Twilight whispered eventually. “I thought I was going to drown.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. I was here, wasn’t I?” Fluttershy said, stroking her marefriend’s cheek. “Come on, let’s get out of the water; it’s starting to get cold.” Gently, the pegasus began to swim towards the bank to get out of the water, with Twilight paddling like a foal to keep going.
“Hold up,” Twilight said. With a burst of magic from her horn, the two ponies disappeared from the water, and emerged on a thin path that led deeper into the cave. That didn’t matter now, especially to Fluttershy, who felt Twilight shake in her hold. Being a pegasus, Fluttershy was able to take cold temperatures. For others, especially the unicorns, it was a more frightening matter.
She tightened her grip around Twilight, and wrapped her wings around the unicorn for safe measure. “Wait, what are you doing?” Twilight asked as she looked at the two wings wrapping around her. She couldn’t stop herself from blushing.
“I’m using my body heat to warm you up,” Fluttershy whispered. “If you stay as cold as you are for long, you could catch pneumonia.” She shut her eyes tight to rid herself of the images she didn’t want to come true.
Twilight smiled thinly, and wrapped her hooves around the pegasus as well. “Good thinking,” she complimented.
“Thanks,” Fluttershy said, grinning. She slowly lowered the two of them to the ground, with Twilight resting flat on top of her. She blushed at the position they were in, but she knew it was out of necessity. “How does this feel?”
Twilight felt her cheeks go from pink to red as she felt herself lying on top of her marefriend; she started to feel warmer already. “Much better, thanks” she rattled. “Are you–?”
“Shush, Twilight, my dear, don’t speak,” Fluttershy whispered, putting a hoof against Twilight’s lips to silence her. “And to answer your question – yes, I am comfortable like this.”
Twilight nodded, and then lowered her head and rested it on Fluttershy’s chest, breathing heavily. Fluttershy rested her head back and sighed, gently stroking her marefriend’s mane. ‘An hour or so, and we should be able to get going again,’ she thought. “We’ll give this an hour before we set off, if that’s okay with you?”
Twilight only nodded in reply. With that in mind, both ponies closed their eyes and took a quick nap.
An hour later, Fluttershy opened her eyes when she felt a drip of water land on her muzzle. She wrinkled her nose as she felt it trickle down, before wiping it off with a hoof. She brought her head up, and smiled sweetly at the unicorn lying on top of her.
Twilight looked very comfortable where she was. Her head was buried in Fluttershy’s thick coat, breathing steadily, and her legs were wrapped tightly around the pegasus, keeping her down and unable to get up.
Fluttershy felt very guilty for what she was about to do, but she had to do it nonetheless; her back was starting to ache against the cold floor. She gave Twilight a gentle tap on the shoulder. “Twilight?” she said softly. “It’s time to get going.” When all she got in reply was a snore, Fluttershy nudged her again, this time harder. “Twilight? Sweetheart?”
At that, a groan left Twilight’s lips, and she slowly opened her eyes. “Huh… what?” she asked. Her eyes widened when she realised she was lying on top of her pegasus lover. She got up and hastily backed away, allowing Fluttershy to get back up. “Oh dear, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep but I was so exhausted and…” The sweet smile from Fluttershy cut her off. “I didn’t dribble on you, did I? I’m told I do that – a lot.”
Once she was on her hooves, Fluttershy shook her head. “No, Twilight, you did not. And it’s okay you slept; I had forty winks myself.” She let out a sigh. “But I think it’s best we get out of this cave and see what’s ahead.”
Twilight nodded in agreement. “I think it’s best as well. It’s a shame we’re going to have to hoof it the rest of the way, now that we have lost the ship.” Both ponies turned around and saw the capsized form of the Wave Breaker. The hole where the funnel had been was under the water, and the two ponies could make out some of the crates floating beside it.
“Can’t you set it upright with your magic?” Fluttershy asked.
Twilight shook her head solemnly. “I don’t think I could do that, I’m afraid.”
“But you did lift a ursa minor off the ground and back into the Everfree Forest,” Fluttershy pointed out.
“Yes, but that was in an emergency, and a unicorn’s magic ability is boosted substantially when said unicorn is in danger. Here, though, we aren’t in any danger as far as I can see, so I won’t be able to do it.” Twilight sighed. “Even if I could, there is a chance that when the Wave Breaker crashed into the rocks, it tore a few holes in the hull. If I do get it upright and back on water, it probably won’t stay afloat for very long.”
Fluttershy’s ears fell flat, and she looked at Twilight with devastated eyes. “So you’re saying that…?”
Twilight nodded. “The Wave Breaker is gone,” she stated sadly. The two ponies put their heads together, and bowed in respect and lamentation to the ship that had taken them to the other side of Terra.
“Do you think it’s stable now?” Fluttershy asked when their heads parted.
Twilight tilted her head from side to side as she analysed the shipwreck’s position. “I think it is for the moment,” Twilight answered after a while. “Yet it still might slip from its perch and sink entirely. Why do you ask?”
Fluttershy spread her wings, and made herself ready to fly. “Our saddlebags are in there, and I figured I might be able to get them,” Fluttershy replied. She looked around and saw Twilight’s face, which screamed its protest. “I won’t be long, I promise.”
Twilight felt like wrapping Fluttershy in her magic and dragging her kicking and screaming if need be away from the wreck and deeper into the cave. Yet she knew it wouldn’t win Fluttershy over – the pegasus would pick the moment she had her guard down, and then make her way back.
Twilight looked away and sighed. “Two minutes, please,” she said sharply.
Fluttershy grinned, and gave Twilight a quick kiss on her marefriend’s cheek. “I won’t even be that. See you in a minute.” With that, she flew off away from the unicorn, and towards the wreck of the Wave Breaker, leaving Twilight to twist her stomach in worry.
Fluttershy felt a knot being tied in her stomach as she fluttered over the Wave Breaker, looking for an entrance. The light from outside was enough to light up the ship, thankfully, so she was able to see clearly. “Twilight!” she called over to the unicorn. “Do you think Seahoof and Wave Kicker’s cabin are on this side of the ship?”
Twilight nodded. “I think it was! If not, don’t bother about going any further, please?”
Fluttershy felt touched once more about Twilight’s concern for her well-being. She nodded. “Of course, Twilight,” she replied, before diving into one of the open doors of the ship. She spread her wings and flapped them hard, allowing her to descend at a calm pace. She eventually made it to the start of another corridor, and flew forward.
It felt weird to her flying through a ship lying on its side, but it was also, as Rainbow Dash would put it, pretty cool. She stopped all of a sudden. ‘Am I just trying to act like Rainbow Dash to make Twilight like me more?’ she asked herself. This did seem to her to be a thing the rainbow-maned pegasus would do. ‘Oh, no wonder poor Twilight looked so worried. I’m not Rainbow Dash, but I can’t turn back now. I need to get the bags and get out of here.’ She flapped her wings faster and sent her forward.
She eventually found herself outside a plain white cabin door that looked familiar to her, and tried to push it open. She silently cursed when she found it to be jammed. ‘I’ll have to find another way around,’ she thought. She recalled there was a window at the front looking towards the bow, and figured she could get through there. She turned around and flew back the way she came.
She came out once more, and flew around to what was the top of the ship. “What’s wrong?” Twilight called from her place.
“The door was jammed!” Fluttershy replied. “I’m going to try another way in!” she looked up and down the length of the ship, and eventually saw it just at the edge of the water. Fluttershy cracked a wide smile. She flew forward, and gently slid open the window, not noticing Twilight was leaning forward and preparing herself to power up her horn at any moment to pull Fluttershy away from danger.
The ship groaned loudly like an empty stomach as Fluttershy made the opening wide enough for her to slip through and get inside. She noticed quickly that the wardrobe housing their saddlebags was against the door, and tilted to the side with the door barely revealed. Fluttershy grinned at her luck, and then cautiously fluttered forward.
She made it to the wardrobe door, and anticipated her next move. Sweat poured down her face as she thought about it. She didn’t know whether to open it up quickly, snatch the bags out and fly as fast as she could out of there, or take it nice and slowly. ‘Oh,’ she moaned in thought. ‘Now what would Twilight do with this wardrobe if she was here instead of me?’
I would lift the wardrobe up with my magic and turn it the right way until it is safe enough to open the wardrobe and get the bags, Twilight’s voice replied in her head.
Oh, okay, of course she would, Fluttershy said, nodding. Her eyes bulged when she realised she had heard Twilight’s voice in her head. Are we still magically connected?
Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention it, Twilight said apologetically. Don’t worry it will be gone in less than a minute. Anyway, what’s the problem?
The wardrobe is tilting a bit against the door, Fluttershy replied. I don’t know whether to open it fast and get them quickly, or take it slow and steady. What would you do if you didn’t have magic?
Personally, I would leave it, Twilight replied. My saddlebags aren’t something for me to cry over. I can always get more, as well as the books, and I made copies of my artwork for later. But I take it the same can’t be said for yours?
Although she knew Twilight couldn’t see it, Fluttershy nodded. My grandma made those saddlebags for me after I got my cutie mark. It is the only item I own to remember her by. And that blanket my mother made for me is in there, as well as other things. I can’t just leave them here, Twilight. They are too precious to me.
Twilight nodded understandably. I know, sweetheart. Just remember that you are more precious to your parents and your grandmother than any of those things. And you’re precious to me, too.
Fluttershy went pink completely. She could see that Twilight was right, though. Even with her grandmother gone, she knew she would not approve of this, neither would her parents. She could practically hear her grandmother yelling in her colourful language at her to stop and leave them, making the pegasus giggle.
Eventually, she came to a decision. She turned around and flew out of the window, leaving it all behind, and back towards Twilight, whose heart leapt out of place upon seeing her coming back empty hoofed.
Fluttershy landed in front of Twilight, and smiled nervously while looking anywhere but in front of her. “You are right, sweetie. I am more precious to them than a few things I can replace. My grandmother wouldn’t approve as well, and I know full well what she would say if she could see me now,” she said softly, her ears falling flat. Her eyes started to brim with tears. “I’m sorry I worried you like that. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
Her words were drowned out when Twilight leapt forward and crushed her in a tight, loving hug. “Shh, it’s okay, I’m not mad,” she cooed tenderly, rubbing her lover’s back. She kissed the pegasus’s forehead, and then tightened her embrace. “Just don’t ever try anything as reckless as that again. I fell in love with you for other reasons; your recklessness was not one of them. Promise me you won’t?”
Fluttershy pulled back and looked into Twilight’s loving eyes. “I won’t do anything like that again. I pinkie promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ey– ow!” she said with the gestures, but only forgetting to close her eye before placing her hoof on it.
Twilight looked away so she could snort and snigger. “Sorry,” she said upon noticing Fluttershy’s glare. “It’s just I made the same mistake myself one time, and boy, didn’t that hurt!” She stood straight and cleared her throat to calm herself down, then turned around to look ahead. “Right, feel up for a bit of adventuring?”
Fluttershy stood beside Twilight, and wrapped her tail in the unicorn’s own. “I’m ready, Twilight,” she replied, blushing a little. “And my eye is fine, thanks for asking.”
“You’re welcome,” Twilight replied, grinning. “Right then, let’s go.” With that, Twilight’s horn emulated a bright light, illuminating the path ahead, and the couple started to walk deeper into the cave.
“So, um…” Fluttershy hummed, looking around the cave, about a quarter of an hour later. “How should we pass the time until we get to the other side?”
Twilight looked at her marefriend for a moment, before turning her head away in thought. Around them, the cave glittered wetly in the light coming from Twilight’s horn, and grew wider the deeper they went in. Above them, stalactites pointed threateningly at them with tips sharper than a spear’s. On the other side of the cave, beyond the narrowing river, the walls flowed like waves across the ocean, creating a beautiful pattern in the process. Twilight knew they were flowstones that were formed by water flowing down from the cave ceiling to the floor, but she didn’t care – they were beautiful, just like the pegasus next to her.
And right now, the pegasus was still awaiting an answer. “Oh, uh, sorry, sweetheart, I got a bit distracted for a tic. I don’t know what to do to pass the time. I would suggest a game of I Spy, but I can already guess the answers every time.”
“Um, I don’t know, let’s try it and see,” Fluttershy said. She looked around for something to play as the river suddenly ran dry and a small pool appeared next to them. “Oh, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with–”
“Is it a rock?” Twilight butted in.
She was surprised when Fluttershy started laughing. “Nope, something beginning with D,” she said as she stopped walking. “That would teach you for butting in.”
Twilight halted as well, and looked at her marefriend in shock. “But there is nothing around here that starts with a D!”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Fluttershy said, looking at the ceiling while scraping the ground with a hoof. “I can see something that is technically named with a D around here.”
Twilight’s brow creased in surprise. “So we’re going to be using the technical names for rocks, then?” A large smirk appeared across her lips. “This is going to be good.” She darted her head left and right to look for something Fluttershy had noticed. Being the bookworm she was, she knew every type of rock in a cave. ‘Fluttershy probably knows that as well,’ she thought.
Seeing nothing on the walls, or on the cave floor, she looked to the pond, and grinned when she saw the oddly shaped rocks that, from afar, looked like little balls of fluff huddled together. “Is it those dogtooth spar rocks over there?” Twilight asked, turning her head slowly to smile wryly at the pegasus.
Fluttershy nodded excitedly. “Yay!” she cheered, her cheer echoing across the cave. “To be honest, I am surprised you got that as quick as you did.”
“That’s what happens when you read a book about rock formations in a cave on a rainy day,” Twilight replied, smirking. The two set off down the path once more, their tails still attached together. “And if I am honest, I’m surprised you knew about them. I was right earlier – you are a lot smarter than most ponies give you credit for.”
Fluttershy blushed. “Thanks, Twily, but I don’t think I’m that smart,” she said modestly. She sighed and bowed her head. “How can I be considered smart if I don’t even know what love feels like?”
Twilight looked at her beloved concernedly. “Is that what’s been bothering you?”
“On and off,” Fluttershy replied, nodding. “It’s just that, I’m annoyed with myself that I don’t know my true feelings for you yet, and I don’t want to make a decision that will end poorly for the both of us.”
Twilight nuzzled her face gently, and then looked ahead again. “To be fair, sweetheart, I don’t think anypony truly knows what love feels like. Some ponies say that you get butterflies in the stomach when you look at the pony you love, or you start to think differently about your crush, or get tongue tied when you’re around them. It varies from pony to pony, I think.”
“So, um, how did you know you were in love with me?” Fluttershy asked, raising her head a little with a look of curiousness in her cyan eyes.
Twilight lowered her head a bit. “I didn’t,” she admitted. “Not for a while, at least.”
Fluttershy really wanted to know now. “How long?”
Twilight chewed her bottom lip. “About… three years ago, I think? Maybe less.”
Fluttershy’s eyes nearly fell out. “Three years?” she repeated incredulously. “But, that’s since we’ve known each other. You mean to say that you have had this crush on me since we first met?”
Twilight shook her head. “I think it more came about after you saved me from that cockatrice. After I left you with Rarity, I could not stop thinking about you: what you did for me, how you have always been a good friend to me, even when I don’t deserve your kindness, and how loyal, trustworthy and honest you are. It was only after the wedding of my brother did I realise what I was feeling for you was love.” Twilight’s ears fell flat and she looked at the ground. “Sorry I never told you earlier.”
Fluttershy walked forward and wrapped her neck around Twilight’s, gently nuzzling her back. “Don’t you ever be sorry about that, you hear? You didn’t know how I would react to such news.”
Twilight smiled and returned the loving nuzzle. “Thank you,” she said. They pulled their heads away and continued walking through the cave. “How would you have reacted had I told you about it?” she asked.
Fluttershy shrugged. “I… I don’t really know. Freaking out would have been the main one, I think. Sorry, but it’s true. I would have never expected it, especially from you.” Her brow creased for a second as they moved out of the large area and into a smaller passage. “What did it feel like? Knowing that you loved me?”
Twilight stuck the tip of her tongue out. “When I realised that I love you, I felt more happy than I did when I became a student to Princess Celestia. The feelings, though… that was a difficult one. When I saw you, I wanted to sit next to you and be next to you always. Even on a gloomy day, seeing you always brought a smile to my face, and it always brightened up my day when you came round for tea or a chat. Even long after those talks, I always remember them over the talks I had with our friends, for our little chats just seemed more special to me than anypony else’s.” She hung her head as though she was ashamed of it. “Does that seem weird to you?”
Fluttershy shook her head briskly, smiling sweetly with a faint blush on her cheeks. “Not at all. I think that’s sweet, if I’m honest.”
Twilight smiled. “Thanks.” She looked ahead. “How do you feel, though? Being next to me and holding tails with me? Does this make you feel anything different to me?”
Fluttershy looked at the ground, deep in thought. “I’m… I’m not sure,” she said sadly, drooping her ears. “Oh don’t get me wrong, I do like us holding tails. It feels strange, but I suppose it is something I will get used to over time. And I adore our cuddles. They make me not just feel safe and secure, but loved as well. However, I just don’t know. Maybe if I had more time, then maybe I will know.”
Twilight chuckled. “There’s no rush, sweetheart. You have all the time in the world.” The couple went silent for a bit as they continued down the long dark tunnel. Halfway down, Twilight started to laugh. “Look at us?” she said, much to Fluttershy’s confusion. “We’re together as a couple, and not one of us knows what to actually do in a relationship. Something that should be common knowledge, and the both of us are terrible at it.”
Fluttershy shook her head rapidly in disagreement. “I don’t think so at all. So what if we cuddle and play games together and just be by each other’s side a bit more rather than doing anything else? I like it, and I don’t care what other ponies say or think about it.”
Twilight grinned. “That’s the spirit, girl!” she exclaimed delightfully. The two grinned at each other, and then continued along the path.
After a few minutes, they emerged from the passage and entered a large, domed-shaped chamber with two or three huge stalactites hanging from the ceiling. They could see a large pool in the far corner, connected by the other one by a thin stream that trickled with water. The two ponies continued walking for a moment, but then stopped when they saw a problem. Ahead of them were two perfectly formed tunnels, each heading in a different direction.
“Okay, which one shall we take?” Twilight asked, her eyes wandering from tunnel to tunnel.
Fluttershy let go of Twilight’s tail, and plonked her rear down on the floor for a bit. “I have no idea,” she replied as her eyes wandered from tunnel to tunnel as well. Both didn’t give any hint or clue of which one led where; they couldn’t feel even the slightest breath of air coming from one of them.
“How do we know which one to take?” Fluttershy asked. She looked to Twilight for answers. “Can you think of anything?”
Twilight started to pace up and down, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “Give me a moment to come up with something,” Twilight said as she paced. She looked around at the chamber around her. “There must be something here that could show us the way out.”
Fluttershy’s eyes slowly wandered the chamber as she searched as well. After a moment, she realised her bum was getting wet from sitting on the ground and stood up straight. “Be careful with the ground, Twilight,” she warned her marefriend, shaking her rump dry. “It’s pretty wet.”
Twilight waved a hoof in acknowledgment. “Will do,” she called. She froze all of a sudden when Fluttershy’s words hit her in the back of the head. ‘The ground is wet?’ she thought. She looked at her hooves, and was surprised to see how wet her hooves and the coat hair on her lower legs had become. ‘But I dried off from the water ages ago. How can my hooves get all wet now?’
She looked up at the ceiling, closed her eyes, and sent the glowing orb hanging from her horn into the air like a pegasus doing a fast take-off. The orb exploded in a blaze of white light, blinding the two ponies for a second, then it calmed down to glow like the sun veiled by misty grey clouds.
“That did the trick,” Twilight remarked as she looked around once her eyes returned to their normal size. The cave was lit up as though Twilight had ripped down the ceiling and brought the light of day in. The rough, uneven cave walls glowed in a dark, golden colour, which Twilight knew was limestone, and the pool rippled as waves of light pulsated from the orb and bounced across the surface of the water.
“Twilight, look at this!” Fluttershy called, beckoning her over with a flapping hoof.
Twilight ran over immediately, and once she was beside her marefriend, gasped at what she was seeing. Along the cave wall the couple faced, once hidden by the dark but now revealed to all, were the remnants of a cave painting. Most of it was destroyed, with limbs of ponies missing, and huge gaps between it where the water had washed some of it away. Nevertheless, it was still recognisable as a long line of ponies marching together, heading off to a journey unknown to the two ponies looking at it.
Twilight inched closer, and ran a hoof gently over the faded image of a pony. “These are incredible,” she whispered. She moved back to Fluttershy’s side, who looked at the painting with wide eyes and an open mouth.
“Any idea how old that is?” Fluttershy asked with a flick of her head at the paintings.
Twilight shook her head in puzzlement. “Not a clue,” she answered plainly. “But what I want to know is who made it, and why?” She put her hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulders and shook her excitedly. “Isn’t this brilliant? The possibility that we may have found the remnants of an ancient breed of pony!”
Fluttershy nodded, a wide smile forming on her lips. “Oh, it is, truly brilliant.” She looked back at the painting, and her smile faded. “But what happened to the rest of it? Surely they didn’t start it and then not finish it.”
Twilight shook her head. “I think the water must have destroyed most of it, sweetheart,” she replied. She looked around at the cave, nodding to herself as she came to a conclusion in her mind. “The cave must get flooded by water when the tide comes in. Over time the water from the ocean just wipes away most of it whilst the tide stays up. When it recedes, another piece of history is taken away with it.” She pointed to the cave painting. “I reckon in a hundred years or so, there will be nothing left of this.”
She didn’t notice Fluttershy going pale yellow. “Did you say the tide comes in and floods this place?”
“Uh, yeah, I did. Why?”
“So when does the tide come in next?”
“Well that depends on the place really. One part of Terra may experience only one high tide, while another may experience two high tides a day. Even then, one would be in the morning and the other in the evening.”
“But doesn’t that mean we should get out of here before the sun starts to set?”
Twilight’s face fell into a look of horror as she realised what Fluttershy was getting at. “Oh.” She hastily looked back and forth between the two tunnels. “Quick, pick a number between one and eleven!”
“Um, how about five?”
“Five, great number! That was the age I stopped drinking my mother’s milk!” Fluttershy looked at her as though she had heard something she didn’t want to know. “Okay, let’s do this.” Twilight started pointing at both entrances one at a time, silently muttering to herself, “One, two, three, four, five.” Her hoof landed on the one on the left, where the cave painting went into. “We’ll go down that one,” Twilight concluded. She brought the light floating above the cave entrance back onto her horn, and galloped down the passage with Fluttershy just behind her.
‘I hope I picked the right number,’ Fluttershy prayed as she caught up with Twilight. The two exchanged nervous grins, then looked ahead once more as they rounded corners at a fast pace, and avoided cracks and large rocks that could trip them up.
Fluttershy felt her hoof connect with a large piece of rock sticking out of the ground, and felt herself fall forward. Before her face could plant itself onto the ground, Twilight wrapped her magic around Fluttershy, and levitated the pegasus back to her side. “Are you hurt?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy looked down at the hoof, and saw a faint chip along the edge. “I’ve chipped my hoof, but other than that I’m fine,” she replied, smiling calmly.
“Let me see your hoof,” Twilight asked. Fluttershy lifted her leg up and showed the chipped hoof to Twilight. The unicorn leaned down and gently kissed the place where it was chipped. “Better?”
Fluttershy blushed crimson red and nodded. “Very much so,” she squeaked through her mane. She cleared her throat, and gestured to the passage ahead. “Shall we?”
Twilight blushed pink in embarrassment, and nodded. “Of course.” With that, the two broke into a gallop, with Fluttershy taken shorter strides now that she had a chipped hoof.
As she ran, Fluttershy thought back to that moment. Despite Twilight’s lack of sense of hygiene, she found the gesture touching. Her parents had done the same thing when she had injured herself as a filly, and it always made her feel better. ‘Does that mean what I feel for Twilight is not love, but a longing for a parent figure other than my real parents?’ she wondered.
The thought sounded, and seemed strange, yet even with its weirdness, it could be true. Even though Fluttershy was two years older, Twilight was wiser, stronger, more confident, and could be a great parent someday than the pegasus could ever be. She was the one most ponies turned to when a situation arose, and Fluttershy always went to Twilight for help before anypony else. ‘Does that make me want her to be the bigger and better sister I always wanted?’ she thought.
“Fluttershy, look! Twilight cried joyfully. Fluttershy looked up, and her face widened in delight when she saw light. Not the magic light coming from the tip of Twilight’s horn, however, but natural light from the sun.
“We’re nearly there!” Fluttershy chirped. They pushed themselves to their limits as they rounded the bend and came onto a long straight that ended with a wall of white light. With the thought that the end through the cave was in sight, they galloped even faster, and finally found themselves out of the cave.
When they emerged, they found themselves at the bottom of a long canyon that stretched around a sharp bend. “Oh, that feels good!” Twilight yelled, sighing as she breathed the fresh, sea air in, and felt the sun’s warmth massaging her body.
Fluttershy nodded as she felt the rays of the sun stroking her back and shoulders. “It does,” Fluttershy agreed, grinning at Twilight. She looked ahead, and her mind came up with a thousand possibilities to what could be around the corner. “Shall we see what’s around the bend?”
Twilight nodded agreeably. “Certainly.” She hopped excitedly on the spot as the couple started walking. “Oh, this is so exciting! I feel like I am Daring Do on one of her great adventures! And right now we are possibly about to find the ruins of a lost civilisation, or a great jungle. Oh, what could be around the corner?”
Fluttershy wished she could share the same excitement as Twilight did. Her belly started to rumble with dread, and every step closer made her want to take thirty steps back.
Twilight sensed this, and walked forward and latched her tail around hers. “Remember, sweetheart, if you are ever afraid, just hold on to my tail. I promise you, as long as you want me to, I will never let go,” Twilight said angelically.
Fluttershy felt her stomach calm itself down, and her legs did not want to turn her around anymore. The simple expression of love from Twilight wanted her to keep going and see what is out there, knowing no harm would come to her so long as Twilight’s tail was attached to her own. She wrapped her tail tightly around Twilight’s, and smiled serenely. “Thank you, Twily. Thank you for your kindness.”
Twilight smiled pleasantly. “You are most welcome, my love.” She looked ahead as they rounded the bend, and felt her heart start to freeze over. On one hoof, she was as excited as a filly on Hearth’s Warming morning. On the other, she was petrified of what they could find. Her mind, like Fluttershy’s, came up with every possible scenario she could think of, and each one was just as terrifying as the last.
Suddenly, the corner ended, and they soon find themselves staring at a wide bay covered in deep, bright blue water, and sparkled like crystals in the bright sunlight. Despite the beauty of the bay, it didn’t compare to the golden city on the far side. “Oh… my… goodness,” Fluttershy gasped, her eyes growing in wonderment. Twilight’s jaw dropped as she looked.
The massive city stretched out across the other side of the bay and went back over a large rise, and was shaped like a pincer ready to snap shut. The front of the city was a large harbour, its quays and docks full of long, wooden sailing ships, with each ship’s main sail emblazoned with different creatures: basilisks, griffons, minotaurs, winged unicorns, winged bulls, four-headed dragons, krakens, to name but a few.
Behind the main harbour, the many houses, shops, and towers that made up the city were densely packed together, with little space between them. The buildings they could see were largely squared, rectangular or rounded buildings with flat rooftops and walled with the colour of sand as it shone in the low sun. None of the smaller buildings, however, compared to the two largest buildings that dominated the skyline: one that sat at the far right of the city was a large golden roundhouse with a domed ocean blue roof, while the other one rested at the centre of the city, and dwarfed the Crystal Palace in its height.
“Do you think it’s populated?” Fluttershy asked, looking from the city to Twilight.
“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “But if it was abandoned, those ships are in excellent condition after a long time of being neglected.” Twilight took a step closer, her eyes squinting as she looked at it in awe. “This is incredible. I never knew there was a civilisation out here.”
“Neither did I,” Fluttershy said nodding. “But how are we going to get there?” she asked, looking around the wide bay. “There’re no paths from here that leads into the city.”
“And we have no ship to take us over there,” Twilight added. They looked left and right and saw the steep cliff faces that towered above them; they continued until halfway around, where they eased into gentle slopes right up to the city itself. “We need to get to that city today, but how?”
Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin as her mind went into deep thought. The more she thought, the more choices came up, and were quickly put down. They couldn’t swim across the bay; they were too far away from the city to make it. They couldn’t walk across, and neither could they wait until tomorrow, or else they would find themselves asleep underwater. ‘I wouldn’t want to rest up on the cliffs as well,’ she thought. ‘There could be anything living up there that could snatch and eat us while we slept.’
There seemed to be only one option left to them, and although Fluttershy feared she wouldn’t make it, she knew she had to give it a shot, for Twilight’s sake more than her own. She walked ahead of Twilight until she stood by the edge, and then looked back to Twilight as she slowly spread her wings, ready to take off. “Hop on to my back,” she said nicely, gesturing with her head at her back.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy’s firmly straight and strong back, something she rarely noticed before, uncertainly. “Are you sure you can fly us both to the city?” Twilight asked worriedly. “I know I’m not the lightest pony on Terra, nor am I the heaviest, but will you be able to take me and yourself to that city?”
Fluttershy gave Twilight a brave smile. “I know I’m not as strong a flier as Rainbow Dash is, but for you, I will give it a shot.” She flexed her wings and shook her backside, making Twilight blush as she watched. “Come on, hop on.”
Twilight nodded reluctantly, and jumped up on Fluttershy’s back. Though she had been on Fluttershy’s back before, she didn’t notice how soft it felt against her stomach. She felt as though her body was melting into it. “How thick is your coat?” Twilight asked as she wrapped her legs around Fluttershy’s neck.
“Um, it’s not that thick,” Fluttershy replied. “But it is thicker than any other ponies due to the weather we pegasi had to endure in our infancy.” She spread her wings wider, and brought them up, ready to flap down and send herself into the air. “Hold on,” she said, before flapping her wings as hard as she could.
Twilight tightened her hold around her marefriend’s neck, and pressed her hind legs into Fluttershy’s waist. At first, they didn’t get very high up, as Fluttershy struggled to keep herself up and move herself forward at once. Twilight, for one of the rare moments on her life, felt powerless as Fluttershy relentlessly flapped her wings and sent them higher into the sky. ‘Come on, Fluttershy, you can do this. I know you can,’ Twilight thought.
Fluttershy looked down for the first time and saw how high they were. ‘That should be high enough,’ she thought, her breath sobbing as she felt her wings were being used to the point of exhaustion. ‘Don’t give up. Think about Twilight.’ She began to kick back with her legs and flapped her wings behind her, sending her forward very slowly, stopping and then moving again. After a moment of uncertainty, she made up a rhythm, and began to fly more calmly, as though she was swimming.
“You okay, Twily?” she asked in a rasping tone, glancing over to her marefriend.
“I’m fine,” Twilight replied. “I’m just annoyed I can’t help you now. Gah, in times like this I could really do with a pair of wings.” She chuckled to herself. “Can you imagine that? Me with wings? The idea sounds ridiculous.”
“Oh… I… don’t know. I think you… would look lovely… with wings,” Fluttershy said breathlessly as she began to tire. “In fact… I think they would… suit you.”
Twilight smiled. “You think?”
Fluttershy nodded as best she could. “And even if… they don’t… I wouldn’t stop loving you… because of them.” She suddenly dropped as her wings started to get tired from use they weren’t familiar to. Twilight felt her insides leave their places and grip themselves onto Twilight’s back as Fluttershy tried to keep them in the air, but to no avail.
“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy whispered, before her wings gave up flapping. They both fell like stones.
Twilight’s mind whirled about as she tried to come up with something, even as the world started to spin and fall. She felt Fluttershy leave consciousness as the pegasus went slack in her hold. Twilight shook Fluttershy as best she could, but got no response. She didn’t notice the water was coming up fast. Without thinking, her horn lit up in its magenta glow, and the world stopped spinning.
Twilight peeped an eye open, and grinned when she saw herself and Fluttershy floating above the water in her magic. With them safe for the moment, she nuzzled the back of Fluttershy’s neck. “Fluttershy? Fluttershy, can you hear me?”
After a minute or so with no response, Fluttershy let out an exhausted groan, and could barely lift her head. “Twilight?” she mumbled, much to the unicorn’s relief. “Did I just kill us?”
Twilight shook her head and stroked the side of Fluttershy’s neck. “No, my sweet, you did not.”
Fluttershy groaned as she lifted her head, and for the first time noticed they were floating in Twilight’s magic. She suddenly remembered that Twilight had used the same spell before at the Iron Pony Islands, when she learnt to swim. “I suppose you are wondering why I am doing this when I could have done so ages ago and made sure you didn’t strain yourself,” Twilight said guiltily.
Fluttershy looked around with a little glare. “Yes I was, actually.”
“Yes, well, you recall what I said about unicorns saying their magic is boosted in an emergency?” Fluttershy nodded. “This was one of them.”
“Yes, I understand that bit, but why didn’t you do it earlier like when you did it back on the Iron Pony Islands?” Fluttershy asked, a bit too harshly than she would have liked.
Twilight’s ears fell in regret. “Because, in my mind’s mind, that moment was an emergency. I was scared of what might happen when it was time to go into the water, and my mind sensed that fear and saw it as an emergency so it boosted up my magic abilities and allowed me to levitate myself, supposedly out of harm’s way.” She nuzzled Fluttershy’s neck softly. “I would never let you strain or injure yourself because I was too lazy to use my magic, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy’s harsh gaze softened, and she returned the smile while mentally cursing herself for thinking that Twilight would do that. ‘She is far too loving for that,’ she reminded herself. “I know, and I’m sorry if I sounded a bit too harsh.”
Twilight smiled, and then lightly kissed Fluttershy’s neck as she levitated them both towards the giant city. “It’s okay, I would feel the same if I didn’t have any magic.” The two went silent as they floated calmly as though they were both on a cloud towards the great city.
As they drew closer, Fluttershy pointed to a quay that stretched out further than the seven or so others that adorned the front of the harbour. “Land there, if you want to, of course,” she said politely.
Twilight looked at where her marefriend was pointing, and nodded agreeably. “Hold on, we’re going down.”
She started to gently descend down to the quay, while Fluttershy looked out for signs of any life that could be around the harbour. She was surprised to see no sign of movement at all. ‘This city can’t be abandoned,’ she thought, looking at the ships and the buildings. Like Twilight said earlier, the ships looked recently re-painted and brand new, as did the quays. None of the buildings she could make out in detail looked as though they were falling apart; in fact, they appeared to have been recently built or giving a re-design. If this city looked so new, then where was everypony?
She was brought away from the thoughts about the city when she felt her hooves touch the planked quay. “That was close,” Twilight said as she clambered off from Fluttershy’s back, sighing in relief. She staggered and fell onto her side, breathing heavily. She felt tired and exhausted after levitating the both of them to the city at quite a distance, something she had never done before till today.
Fluttershy rushed to her side instantly, her face expressed with worry. “Oh, Twilight, I’m sorry I didn’t help,” she said, stroking her mane. She could feel the unicorn’s mane was soaked in sweat, but she didn’t care.
Twilight patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You needed the rest,” she said comfortingly.
Fluttershy quickly dashed to the edge of the quay, leaned down and dipped her hoof into the water. She ran back over to Twilight and ran her hoof over Twilight’s face, mane, neck, back and sides, cleaning up the unicorn and making her smell a bit better.
Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as she felt Fluttershy’s cold hoof running along her face, but soon relaxed, and even began to enjoy it. ‘Fluttershy gives a good massage,’ she thought as she felt Fluttershy’s hoof run up and down her back this time, moaning quietly and pleasurably. ‘I should give her a call sometime when she isn’t busy killing bears.’
She pouted when she felt Fluttershy’s hoof move away, never to come back. “Could you do that again?” Twilight asked, grinning cheekily and wearily.
Fluttershy flicked an eyebrow up in confusion, and her cheeks started to go pink. “Um, maybe later,” she said. She lifted a hoof up for Twilight to take. “Need help getting up?”
Twilight took Fluttershy’s offered hoof, and the pegasus walked back while pulling the unicorn onto her own hooves. She let go once Twilight was steady enough to stand on her own. “Thanks, sweetheart,” Twilight said, smiling.
Fluttershy smiled in reply. “You’re welcome,” she said. She moved to turn around. “Right, I suppose we better do some… exploring…” Fluttershy trailed off as her eyes widened in surprise and fear. She instinctively took a step back, while her marefriend watched her in puzzlement. “Twilight, look.”
Twilight looked around, and gasped at the line of earth ponies barring their way into the city. There were about a dozen of them, and all were darkly coloured in coats of brown, black, tan, chestnut, bay and grey, which were barely visible under the bronze and dark blue armour they wore. Long, scruffy manes hung over one eye, with a forelock of hair running down between their eyes, and their coats were thick with hair as though they had winter coats.
With the armour and the spears they held, and their unfriendly gazes, they would have looked intimidating, had they not been smaller than the average teenage filly or colt.
The two Equestrian ponies looked at each other oddly, and then looked back at the group of very little ponies. “Heh, hello there,” Twilight said cheerfully, waving at them amiably. Fluttershy waved meekly. “Lovely day, isn’t it? The sun is out, the birds are singing, and ponies are dropping from the sky likes stones. That bit is slightly weird, isn’t it? But hay, can’t be helped if we would like to ‘drop’ in for a bit.” Behind her, Fluttershy facehoofed and groaned at the joke. “I take it this is your city, then?” she asked casually, pointing to it. “It’s a lovely city, isn’t it, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, yes, a very lovely city. Very golden, too. I do like that large building over on the right,” she remarked, pointing to the domed structure. “It looks… big.”
“Yes, hehe, very big,” Twilight said nervously, rubbing the back of her neck as the stares they were receiving from the tiny ponies did little to comfort their nerves. A moment of awkward silence followed, with the two groups staring at each other as though anticipating which would strike first.
“So, um, where is the leader of this great city?” Twilight asked eventually, grinning widely and blinking disarmingly. “We would like to visit him–”
“Or her,” Fluttershy added.
“Yes, or her, and find out a bit more about your city, and hoping he, or she, could help us. Do you think you could take us to your leader?”
The little ponies looked at one another for a while, before one finally stepped forward until he was about an inch from them, and removed his helmet. “You are ponies, yes?” he asked roughly, as though he wasn’t familiar with speaking in Equestrian.
Fluttershy and Twilight glanced at each other for a second, then looked at the mini pony and nodded. “Why yes. Yes we are. I am Twilight Sparkle, and this is my marefriend, Fluttershy.” The pegasus waved timidly in reply. “We’ve come from a place far, far away from your borders, on a quest to explore strange, new lands. To seek out new life, and new civilisations. To boldly go where nop–”
“Um, Twilight, as epic as that sounds, it isn’t why we set out in the first place,” Fluttershy muttered in her ear.
Twilight’s ears fell flat, and she pouted at Fluttershy. “But I have always wanted to say that when we do find a new place,” she moaned.
Fluttershy smiled sweetly, and gently patted her on the shoulder. “Another time, sweetie. Another time.” The two looked back at the group of mini ponies, to watch as one of their group galloped urgently into the city, hopping a little like a rabbit. “Oh my goodness, they look so cute when they run,” Fluttershy remarked, giggling in delight.
The other group of ponies gasped in horror, and then lowered their spears at the two ponies. Fluttershy and Twilight sank onto their haunches and raised their forehooves in a gesture of surrender, their eyes wide in alarm. “Oh my! Was it something I said?” Fluttershy mumbled to Twilight.
“Just this once, I think it was,” Twilight replied, nodding curtly. She turned her head to look back at the group of ponies, and gulped. “Whatever it was my friend said, she didn’t mean anything by it,” she said calmingly. The group didn’t look convinced, however.
Two of the little ponies ran around the two, and poked their backsides with the tip of their spears. It felt as though they had sat on a pin, but it was enough to get them up on their hooves. “Okay, okay, we’re moving!” Twilight shouted, glaring at the ponies behind her as they were forced to walk ahead. Fluttershy followed close beside her with her head low and a look of shame on her face.
“I’m so sorry, Twilight,” she whispered, eyes glistening with tears. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
Twilight quickly nuzzled her marefriend. “Don’t be sorry, Fluttershy. Whatever you said that upset them must have meant something entirely different to them than us. We just have to be careful with our words from now on.”
“But what if we say something like ‘hello’, which means something else in their language?” Fluttershy queried. She looked back at the two ponies behind them, and shuddered in fright. “I don’t want to get on the pointy side of them again.”
Twilight shrugged. “Well, then we just stay quiet until we get to their leader. And once we do, hope he or she is understanding and merciful.”
“And if he or she isn’t?”
“Come up with a miraculous escape plan which involves an daring dash through a hostile city like Daring Do on one of her adventures,” Twilight replied, chuckling. “Oh I can imagine the look on Rainbow Dash’s face when I tell her that.”
They were interrupted when the pony that had run off into the city returned, and said something in their language to the leader. After he stopped speaking, the leader nodded, and turned to the two Equestrians. “Merchant Prince will see you personally, big ponies,” he said. He pointed threateningly at the two. “But say something nasty again, and we will muzzle you both. Clear?”
The two ponies nodded. “Very clear,” they said together. The leader of the group nodded, and gestured with his head for them to follow him. “By all means,” Twilight said, “lead the way.” With that, the two ponies were led off the quay and into the harbour itself. As they walked through the harbour, they saw another group of little ponies working on a new ship, which was halfway done. The ponies stopped and looked at the two newcomers with curious eyes.
“You know what, I think you’re right. They do look pretty cute,” Twilight said as she met the gazes of the ponies looking at her. The group stopped suddenly and gasped in horror once more as they heard what Twilight said.
Twilight and Fluttershy looked at the disgusted looks on their faces, and gulped nervously. “I don’t think they like the word cute, Twilight,” Fluttershy noted, much to the ponies’ increasing anger.
Twilight looked back with an exasperated glare. “Really? What gave you that idea? The fact they’re pointing spears at us, or their glares?” Twilight asked with a raised hoof and eyebrow. The two inched closer to each other in fright as the group of mini ponies closed in on them.