Out of her Element

by Sintakhra

Departure

The lingering campfire flickered two and fro as it was stirred alight once more by the Pegasus; her butter yellow fur hidden within the shadows which darted over her body in response to the crackling fire. The flames offered the only companionable sounds in the clearing where she waited for the night to pass.

Fluttershy sat on her haunches, dismissing the darkness which leeched its way around them; offering tendrils of despair whenever the fire waned. Her mind blotted out all the bad and the mean which was potentially lurking in this alien landscape. What would her pink maned friend say around now? “Giggle at the Ghostie?” It’s hard to giggle at something when you’re alone, lost and confused like a filly.

She couldn’t be afraid

Turning her turquoise eyes to the other side of the camp fire, she gazed wistfully at the slumbering cerulean athlete who’s barrel rose and fell with each laboured breath she took. Fluttershy hated seeing her best friend in this way. It was wrong. Rainbow was supposed to be the strong one. Rainbow was supposed to be the one who took care of her. How could the shy Pegasus hope of keeping both of them together? She shook her head, dispelling those thoughts into the ether. Negativity had no place here.

The fire offered little in the way of response to her minds inane ramblings - instead choosing to illuminate her friend’s prismatic mane once more. The colours seemed tamer – more diluted. She thought it may just be the darkness. She hoped it was just the darkness.

She glanced down at her right fore-hoof, frowning at the bandage which was now tightly wrapped around the elbow. She could barely feel the pain anymore and that at least was some comfort. And in such a hopeless scenario – any comfort was a blessing.

Still the rainbow Pegasus slumbered as the clouds flickered by overhead, blocking out Luna’s transcendently beautiful night sky. A few stars were visible when time allowed, but not enough to provide hope to the shaking Pegasus as the wind rattled through once more, blowing her pale and dirties pink mane up into her eyes. She squeaked when some of the fire’s embers were kicked up and blown her way – alas naught else made a sound.

Turning her head back towards Rainbow Dash, she reflected unhappily to herself:

“How did everything go wrong so quickly?”

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“How did everything go wrong so quickly?”

The blue Pegasus whined as she kicked the seat ahead of her. The stallion reading the paper grumbled once more before folding his newspaper, standing up, and leaving the carriage. He was the last one to do so, thus leaving the rumbling train carriage in the peaceful embrace of the two Ponyville Pegasi.

"I could've been practicing, or napping! I'm missing out on prime nap time here!" Her tail swished adorably as she flailed like a newborn looking for attention. She never did do well sitting still and both the girls knew it.

Fluttershy, who had been dreamingly gazing out of the window as the tall structures of Baltimare zoomed on by, pulled her head out of the train’s slipstream and looked over to her friend. She couldn’t resist a giggle as Rainbow had once again re-read the same book in the span of a few hours.

“Oh come on, Rainbow Dash. We’re almost there!” she said encouragingly, leaving her seat and trotting up amicably to the grumbling mare.

Rainbow merely cast a look of despair at the map on the wall of the carriage which showed its route. Her friend was right, they were indeed nearly there. But then what?

“And then we have to get onto a stupid boat! I don’t remember having to go through all this last year!” she flopped back onto her back and stared up at the roof in mild contemplation. Or boredom. In fact it was just boredom.

Fluttershy continued to giggle at how impatient Rainbow Dash was being. “Well of course, silly.” She said in her trademarked gentle voice, seating herself next to Rainbow and lying down so they remained side by side. “Last year the Butterfly Migration was near Whitetail woods. They never go the same place twice in a row.”

The athlete snorted, annoyed. “Any why not? And more to the point, how do we know where they will go if they never go the same place twice?” She blew the hair out of her eyes and began drawing cloud shapes in the air above them whilst waiting for a reply from her companion.

To this, the butterscotch Pegasus had no reply. She simply giggled and poked Rainbow’s hoof in mid-air. “I’m sure it’s just a very smart Unicorn who can predict these things. Maybe a friend of Twilight, she always knows the smartest people in Canterlot”

“A pony, a smart one at that, who is obsessed with butterflies all year around?” Dash chuckled. Her magenta eyes moved to the side, looking directly at the Pegasus who was prodding her hooves. “Looks like we found you somepony for Hearts and Hooves day”

The reaction was priceless for Rainbow as Fluttershy’s features immediately flushed a radiant pink. She withdrew her hoof and curled up. “Oh… um…” her turquoise eyes moved to see Dash’s wide smirk before squeaking and hiding behind her luxurious pink mane.

The reaction was too much for Rainbow Dash as she burst out laughing, sitting up just so she could bend over double and get it all out of her system. Fluttershy looked up at her friend as she laughed, barely resisting the smile which crept onto her own features. She always loved the time she got to spend with her foalhood friend, and seeing her laugh this much whilst on a trip for just two of them was marvellous.

It had taken Fluttershy months of hints, weeks of persuading and days of puppy-dog eyes to get Rainbow Dash to agree to join her on the trip to see the butterfly migration. She knew that Rainbow would never have agreed to go with anypony else – to see flapping insects much less just to go for the same of going.
Rainbow’s laughing had settled down and she wiped a few tears away with her hoof, marring her perfect coat with the few drips of darkness which now stained her. “But seriously” she concluded, getting off her seat and trotting up to the open window Fluttershy had been gazing out of. “What makes this migration so special? I thought once you saw one, you’ve seen them all?”

She was joined by the pink maned pony who stood on her hind legs at the window, letting her fore-hooves hold onto the windowsill. “Well I thought it would be nice for both of us. We’ve never gone to Canterbury before-”

“-And for good reason! It’s miles away!” the prismatic Pegasus groaned, mimicking her friend’s posture and gazing out of the window, down in the direction of the train engine as they continued eastward.

“Given how much you enjoy flying, I thought travelling to faraway places would be your thing” Fluttershy voiced, her nose in thought. She honestly thought Rainbow would be more excited to go someplace new.

In response, Dash extended her wings and gave them a gentle flap; “yeah, but I prefer to travel in style with these babies - much faster!” She gently let herself be lifted off by her flapping limbs, before sneaking out of the window and shooting up into the sky before her timid companion could utter a word.

Fluttershy just balked and clung to the window sill as she looked up at the colourful Pegasus who as she spoke did spins through the oceanic blue sky. Not a care in the world was had by the young flier and even though on her own, Fluttershy took comfort in her friend’s enjoyment.

“I guess all of us just need to do our own things sometime” she said to nopony in particular. As the pastel-coloured Ponyville train chugged onwards past the exotic skyscrapers of Baltimare, Fluttershy found her mind drawn more often to her best friend who continued to circle the train – almost akin to a vulture but far less ominously. If she listened carefully she could almost hear the whoops she gave as each lap was completed in her imaginary race course.

Of course oblivious to all this conjecture was Rainbow as she hurtled around and around, picking up dizzying speeds which left her determined to go faster. She was only fifty metres above the train but-

“Wow!” she expressed, slowing down to finally take count of her surroundings. Before her stood the widest expanse she had the fortune to see in a long time.

Blue on blue, the amazingly cloudless sky impacted the waterline in a manner reminiscent to the blue in her hair matted to her coat. She had seen the sea before many times but always to the west. This was a whole new ball game.

“Oops. Hey! Wait up!” she shouted as she realised the train had left behind. Flaring her wings, she gave a powerful thrust back with her wings which propelled her instantaneously at speed towards the train.

Too fast - it turned out – as she catapulted herself straight through the window and into an awaiting yellow marshmallow who she collided into with an “oomph.”

Fluttershy stumbled dazedly after being hit by 30 kilograms of muscle, her eyes lopsided and independently zooming around until she got her bearings. When she finally righted herself, she looked to the Rainbow maned one with a pout on her lips.

“Sorry” she said, biting her lip.

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“Awwww hay-yeah!” Rainbow cheered as she trotted off the platform on the station, Fluttershy in tow a few metres behind her. Both mares had donned their saddlebags and were enjoying being out of the cramped train carriage for the first time in hours. As much as Fluttershy loved travelling nice and slow, spending six hours in a train with little room to manoeuvre – even in their empty carriage – was pushing her limits.

The sign and sight which greeted them as they descended the grassy hill was nothing short of spectacular.

WELCOME TO HORSESHOE BAY

Both mares were captivated with the view of the bay which stretched out before them. Like Rainbow, Fluttershy was no stranger to the sea – having gone many times to visit her little friends on the shores – but also, like her athletic partner-in-crime, she had never had the luck of coming here before.

Beautiful cerulean waters, streaked with tinges of exotic peacock green along the beachfront greeted them with wide open arms, encircling the bay like a protective barrier.

“Almost like it’s giving everyone here a hug” Fluttershy remarked to herself at the arms of the cove. The young mares eyes were wide as she drank in the beauty which threatened to overflow her open mind. She would look one minute and spot some little adorable rabbits bouncing around, then see an exotic bird flying in formation with five others overhead. Her neck craned this way and that until something caught her attention.

“Look Rainbow!” Fluttershy remarked, her eyes turning to the middle of the beachfront where a large boat lay moored. A line of multi-coloured ponies queued up near it, preparing to board. “That’s our boat! Doesn’t it look so pretty?”

Rainbow furrowed her brow and gave the ship a critiquing look. “It doesn’t look very exciting. I’d have thought out boat would be a fantastically painted cruise ship!” Rainbow began to salivate at the mere thought of pure sea-worthy awesome which began to etch itself out of marble and cumulus in her mind.

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head at as the weather pony retreated into her mind to construct Celestia-knows-what. Instead, she hoisted her saddlebags to be more secure before she took off at a trot down the hill.
Rainbow’s mind for one had deviated from pondering the specifics of her capital class cloud cruiser and had instead drifted to the butter-yellow Pegasus she was accompanying. As much as she dislike the prospect to go on such an unnecessarily long journey to look at some flying multi-coloured ants, the look on her best friends face made everything worth it.

Very rarely had she seen the butterfly-flanked mare show this much enthusiasm since… well the last time they went watching the migration. Although her prospects at sharing the excitement the timid Pegasus was exhibiting were exceedingly low, she couldn’t resist but think that – regardless of the reason they were travelling:

“This will be a trip to remember!”

Comments

[Slate the Pegasus]

I love it I need MAOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rainbow87dash]

Awesome!

[Officer Hotpants]

Is it just me, or does Fluttershy look like an Abra with a pink wig in that pic? Not that it's a bad pic; that's just something that popped out at me right away.

[Skeeter The Lurker]

Curious.

I'll see where this goes.

~Skeeter The Lurker

[ninjafaceify]

You have my attention. Please continue.

[carnivale]

Hm. This is interesting so far... Curious on where this might take us.
Hope you update soon!

[Rainbooms]

I like where this is going.
MOAR!

[Draconicdash]

I saw this picture on deviant art yesterday. Story seems interesting.

[Inferno demon Dash]

Gods damn, other then a few minor errors and not separating a paragraph here or there, I'm very impressed, I love the way you write, it very much draws you in, this story is getting good, such a flare that just hooks you....I'm in