The ‘Ship’ in ‘Shipping’

by Elkia Deerling

Chapter two: the slow ship, a.k.a. the ship that drags on and on and on

Twilight had chosen a lovely spot to have breakfast with her friends. Their table stood very close to the railing, so that they could watch the sea slowly gliding by as they nibbled their sandwiches and drank their tea. But they were incomplete. Rainbow Dash was missing.

‘How can a pony that fast be so tardy?’ Rarity asked with a frown.

Applejack waved a hoof. ‘Relax, Rarity, it’s not as if we’re in a hurry on this relaxing cruise.’

‘No, but still…’

‘Maybe she just needs some more rest,’ Starlight Glimmer offered. ‘That performance sure looked exhausting yesterday.’

‘But so PRETTY!’ Pinkie said, her eyes sparkling like the fireworks that had set the sky ablaze.

Suddenly Twilight pointed. ‘Oh look, here she comes.’

Rainbow Dash hovered leisurely towards the table, but almost bumped into a waiter. Landing, she smiled to her friends. ‘What’s up, everypony?’

‘Oh my! What happened to you?!’ Rarity called with big eyes, as if Rainbow Dash were a ghost. She had spotted Dash’s messed-up mane, her ruffled feathers, and the bags under her eyes instantly. She had an eye for detail, after all.

‘Whoa, she’s right,’ Applejack said. ‘Had a rough night or something?’

Rainbow Dash looked dreamily into the distance, pretending to watch the azure sea. Then she let out a small chuckle. ‘Yeah, you could say we had a rough night. But it was good, soooooo good!’

‘Wait, who is “we?”’ Twilight asked, although she could very well have taken a guess.

‘Girls, I have something to tell you,’ Dash said. She turned around and gave a loud whistle. A second later, Soarin of the Wonderbolts came trotting from around a corner, as if he had been obediently waiting for Rainbow Dash to call him forth. That was the case, actually.

When he reached the table and stopped right next to Rainbow Dash, Pinkie said, ‘Nice! You finally got his autograph.’

‘Hehe, I got way more than that.’ Rainbow Dash wrapped a hoof around her coltfriend. ‘Girls, I’m in love!’

Her friends’ reactions were all the same: big eyes, gasps, and open mouths. When she finally managed to close her mouth again, Pinkie said, ‘Awwww! That’s so sweet. Congratulations, Rainbow Dash.’

‘I didn’t figure you for a romantic type,’ Applejack said with a teasing smile.

But Dash ignored that smile. ‘I’m not, and neither is Soarin.’

‘Yeah, we’re athletes, not sappy fanfiction writers or something,’ Soarin said. ‘But that doesn’t mean we can’t love each other.’

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, thinking this whole situation over, trying to find the logic in it. She could instantly see the click, but wondered why and how Rainbow Dash had kept this crush secret for such a long time, apparently. In the end she shrugged. ‘Well, I think I can speak for all of us when I say we are all happy for you two to have found each other.’

‘So are we,’ Rainbow Dash said. She wrapped her hooves around Soarin’s neck, jerked him to her, and gave him a smooch on the muzzle that was way too loud and passionate. Needless to say, Soarin didn’t mind at all.

Everypony watched them silently in the soundless vacuum of awkwardness, wondering when the kiss would be over. All good things come to an end, eventually, and so did the kiss. Rainbow Dash grabbed Soarin’s hoof and flapped her wings. ‘Now come on! Let’s get married!’

A second gasp went through the ponies, one of true shock this time. ‘Wait, WHAT?!’ Twilight called out.

‘Don’t you think you two are moving a little too… fast?’ Rarity asked.

Soarin laughed. ‘We’re pegasi, of course we’re fast.’

‘There’s actually a chapel somewhere on the ship that can marry couples in less than fifteen minutes,’ Rainbow Dash explained. ‘Just like in Las Pegasus.’ She nudged her love. ‘And now it’s time for a RainVOW Dash. Come on, let’s go!’

And before anypony could talk some sense into them or even try to stop them, the two lovebirds were gone.

‘Shouldn’t we go after them?’ Applejack offered.

‘I’m not sure,’ Twilight said. ‘I have to think this over. Let’s eat first.’ So the ponies continued their breakfast, still a little haunted from the strange scene. Everypony, that is, except Fluttershy. She had been silent the whole time—as is usually the case—and couldn’t even take one single bite anymore. Normally her being silent meant she was at ease, quietly enjoying whatever she was doing and of course, the company of her friends. This morning, however, she was a different kind of silent. Constantly shuffling on her chair, she was sunken in deep thoughts, but nopony could have guessed what exactly she was thinking. In fact, she was gathering courage.

Next to her sat Pinkie, who had no trouble at all with her appetite. She shoved sandwich after sandwich into her mouth, eating like a swine with curls in an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Of course she received many strict glances from Rarity, but seemed oblivious to them.

The display made Fluttershy smile, and her thinking frowns disappeared. Now, she thought, and tapped Pinkie lightly on the shoulder.

‘Hmm…?’ Pinkie said with her mouth full.

But Fluttershy had acted before thinking of the follow up, and was at a loss for words now. ‘Eh… Pinkie, would you… eh… um… I would like you to… That is… Do you think you can…’

‘Of course I would, of course I would like to, and of course I think I can… do what, exactly?’

‘I am… not sure,’ Fluttershy muttered. ‘I have to go and eh… do something. Will you join me?’

Pinkie dropped her sandwiches and stood up. ‘I love doing things. Lead the way!’

Fluttershy could feel the questioning stares in her back as she and Pinkie walked away, but she ignored them. This was her moment. They needed to get as far away as possible. All the way on the other side of the ship was a quiet place. The sun shone and made the Celestial Sea shimmer with a million diamond-like sparkles. The setting was absolutely perfect. Now the only thing Fluttershy had to do was make her move. But that proved to be the hardest part.

‘What did you want to do?’ Pinkie asked, putting her front hooves on the railing and sticking out her tongue to taste the salty air.

Fluttershy kept a little space between them. ‘I eh… actually wanted to talk to you about something.’

‘Hm… I don’t know… Talking about something is way below doing something on my list of things I like to do,’ Pinkie said.

Oh no! She was already messing it up! Fluttershy let out a small gasp. ‘But… it’s important, really important.’

Pinkie Pie turned her head and looked straight into her friend’s eyes. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. Please continue, Fluttershy.’

‘Oh, ok then.’ She took a deep breath, let it out in a sigh. It didn’t help. She still had no idea where and how to begin. Pinkie staring directly at her didn’t help much either. ‘Um… Pinkie?’

‘Fluttershy?’

‘Yes, I just want to say…’ Should she just say it directly, right-in-your-face style? No, Fluttershy wasn’t like that. But how should she say it then? Was there even a right or wrong way to say it? A proper way? A subtle way? A Fluttershy way?

Pinkie saw she was hesitating big time, and wanted to put her friend’s mind at ease. She wrapped her hoof around Fluttershy’s shoulder, much like Rainbow Dash had done to Soarin. ‘Amigo, you can tell me anything you want.’

A physical shiver went through Fluttershy’s body. But it wasn’t a shiver of cold, this was a shiver of warmth. It was a pleasant feeling which spread through her entire body. This was exactly how she felt all the time when she saw Pinkie, only now the feeling became amplified a thousand times.

‘Are you cold?’ Pinkie asked.

‘N-n-not really.’

‘But you’re shivering and stuttering.’

‘I eh… I do that all the time.’

Pinkie giggled. ‘Oh yes, that’s true.’

That giggle, that cheerful, funny giggle, came like a magical chime to Fluttershy’s ears. It was squeaky and sharp but always invited ponies to follow her example and laugh along. Her giggle was probably what she liked most about Pinkie, together with her puffy cheeks and bright, cheerful eyes, always seeing the positive side of things. Yes, she had to do this. There was no reason not to do this. No more secrets. Fluttershy tried the tactical approach. She started from the beginning.

‘Well, when I saw Rainbow Dash and Soarin together like that, all happy and totally into each other, I realized that I am… totally into you as well.’ She gasped, the words had escaped her lips before she knew it.

Pinkie’s face was a frozen picture with a smile.

Did she realize what Fluttershy had just said? Was this her reaction? Should she continue? She had to. She wasn’t finished yet. Fiddling with her hooves, Fluttershy gathered some more courage and said, ‘I realized I should open up as well, just like Rainbow Dash. I realized I should open up to… you.’

Finally Pinkie’s expression changed. To confusion, actually. She tilted her head. ‘What do you mean “open up?”’

‘Eh… I mean… open up my fee— open up—’

Pinkie suddenly jumped right on top of the railing like a true acrobat and started to sing like nopony was watching:

Open up your eyeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
See the world from where you stand!
You among the mighty
My ears are at your comaaaaaaand!

It wasn’t even out of tune, but Fluttershy still jumped twice as high as Pinkie, flipped forward, and tumbled right over the side of the ship. She was too startled to flap her wings, but not too startled to keep from screaming, and yelled it out.

But Pinkie was quicker. She fell forwards, hooked her tail around the railing, and her front hooves around Fluttershy. Fluttershy kept screaming. ‘Easy, Fluttershy, everything is alright. Just calm down,’ Pinkie said, patting the yellow pegasus on the head with a hoof, but in doing so, Fluttershy almost slipped from her grasp. Pinkie managed to grab her again just in time. ‘Whoops, hehe.’

Gasping for breath, Fluttershy hyperventilated. Looking down and watching the wild, white foam around the ship’s side didn’t calm her down at all like her relaxing chamomile tea always did.

‘Alright, ready to swing?’ Pinkie called.

Whether she was ready or not didn’t matter. Pinkie waved her tail back and from, until they swung like a swing in a foal’s playground. ‘Weeeee!’ Pinkie shouted out. She always knew how to see the fun in life-threatening situations. When she let go, Fluttershy yelled again. Then both ponies made a somersault, and landed back on the deck. Pinkie on her own four hooves as if she did things like this every day, and Fluttershy on her flank.

Only when she stopped shaking did Fluttershy look up at her friend, which took quite some time. ‘Pinkie, you… saved my life.’

Pinkie waved a hoof. ‘Aw, it was nothing. Besides, it was kind of my fault you fell overboard.’ She smiled an awkward smile. ‘Hehe. Sorry for that.’

Standing up carefully, very carefully, commanding her still-trembling knees to work, Fluttershy suddenly felt very guilty. Until now she had only kept Pinkie in the dark, and, even worse, become a danger to herself and Pinkie both. No more. She had to repay Pinkie for saving her, and the only way to do that was by telling her the thing she wanted to tell. A fire of longing, fueled by guilt, made her frown hard. It was now or never. Breathing in, she spoke the words.

‘Pinkie, I love—’

‘CINNAMON NUTS! GET YOUR DELICIOUS CINNAMON NUTS RIGHT HERE! CINNAMON NUTS!’

It was none other than Bulk Biceps who interrupted her. Even if Fluttershy had wanted to try again, she couldn’t, because his cart squeaked so annoyingly when it passed by. Bulk did offer a friendly smile, though, and some cinnamon nuts, of course. Pinkie actually bought some, further stalling Fluttershy’s moment, and making her feel worse and worse without her realizing a thing. When Bulk Biceps moved on and Pinkie saw Fluttershy’s defeated expression emerge from behind the cart, she asked, ‘Hey, Fluttershy, what’s wrong?’

Maybe she should just give up. It was of no use. ‘No… it’s nothing, Pinkie,’ she said with a sigh.

‘Oki doki loki! Wanna go back to the others and tell them about this exciting and adventurous conversation?’

Fluttershy made a small step, putting one hoof in front of the other, touching down on the shiny, wooden deck. An invisible force made her stop. It couldn’t end like this. If she didn’t tell Pinkie now, she would never tell her. She would be caught in an endless cycle of procrastinating, shedding tears of regret and crying herself to sleep every night. Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Part of her longed to spit it out. Part of her longed to speak out her mind, for the very first time in her life. And that part was strong, laden with the power of love she didn’t even know she possessed. She sighed, and then took a deep breath. Time for attempt number three…

‘Pinkie,’ she began, in a matter-of-fact kind of voice. ‘Have you ever liked someone? Someone who’s really special in your life?’

Pinkie skipped cheerfully. ‘Of course! I like my family on the rock farm, the Cakes, and Gummy. Oh, and you guys, of course.’

The key was to avoid the word “love” for as long as she was able. ‘Yes, but I mean not just like someone, but like like someone?’

‘Isn’t that the same thing but then 20% more intense?’ Pinkie asked.

‘Eh… kind of.’

‘Then I like like everyone I just mentioned. No, I don’t just like like them, I like like like them!’

Fluttershy felt like slapping a hoof to her face like Twilight loved to do as often as twenty times on average in a conversation with Pinkie Pie. But she ignored the urge. ‘Okay, let me put it another way. Have you ever liked someone—somepony—so much she gave you butterflies in your stomach?’

Chuckling, Pinkie Pie said, ‘Butterflies belong on your flank, not in your stomach, Fluttershy.’

To such a childish and ridiculous answer, Fluttershy had to think. ‘Yes, but I’m not talking about the animals in a literal sense, but figuratively.’

‘Like figure skating?’

‘No. I mean the feeling you get from seeing or being with somepony.’ Uh-oh, she was getting dangerously close to the word “love” this time.

Pinkie raised her hoof as if she were a filly in school. ‘Oh, oh, oh, I get it!’

‘Great!’ Fluttershy said.

‘For example, being with you all makes me happy inside.’

Was she finally going to understand? Fluttershy pushed it further. Pinkie was heading in the right direction, and so was she. ‘And what else? Can you be more specific?’

Pinkie rubbed her chin, but didn’t need to think long. ‘Yes! You guys give me a warm feeling in my belly like eating soup. But unlike soup, the feeling you girls give me stays with me for the rest of the day.’

‘Yes, yes, good!’ Fluttershy nodded vigorously. ‘Now imagine that feeling, and amplify it a thousand times. Make it bigger, better, stronger.’

‘Imagining it… imagining it…’ Pinkie said, rubbing her temples, her eyes closed as if she were a psychic predicting somepony’s future. ‘Loving it… loving it… WOW! What a feeling!’

Now Fluttershy became enthusiastic as well. Her plan seemed to be working! ‘Exactly. Hold on to that feeling. That exact feeling is what I feel every time I… Every time I look at you.’

But Pinkie was so concentrated, she didn’t seem to grasp Fluttershy’s meaning.

‘I actually didn’t fully realize I felt this way for you. I have… actually never felt this way about anypony before,’ Fluttershy elaborated. ‘Of course I adore all of my animals, but that feeling is different. As soon as I stepped onboard this cruise ship something changed inside of me, like a nymph transforming into a gorgeous butterfly. I suddenly got this feeling every time you talk or giggle or bounce up and down, or even sneeze.’

‘Yeah, your sneeze is really cute too, Fluttershy,’ Pinkie said. ‘It’s like a bird chirping but much softer.’

‘Wait… was that the only thing you heard me say?’ Fluttershy said with a blank stare.

Pinkie nodded. ‘You lost me at, “I actually didn’t fully realize.” I’ve never heard you talk so much. Only Twilight talks so much, oh, and Starlight, of course. And sometimes me, hi hi h!’

‘UGH!’ Fluttershy growled like an ursa major, and that was no small feat for a pony her size. She stomped her hoof on the ground, frustration bottled up inside of her, something that almost never happened, mind you. Only Pinkie Pie had the invaluable talent of driving ponies insane. The volcano inside of Fluttershy was about to erupt. Overcoming every single barrier that held her back, Fluttershy grabbed Pinkie’s shoulders and shook.

‘Hug time?’ Pinkie asked.

Fluttershy’s face contorted with the explosion of emotions. ‘No! Yes! I mean no! I mean I would like to! I mean not yet.’

‘You’ve made me confused… and dizzy,’ Pinkie said.

‘Good! Good! I feel just as confused and dizzy as you.’

‘Why is that? I’m not shaking you like a milkshake shaker.’

But Fluttershy didn’t let go. She grinded her teeth, spit out the words, angry at herself, at her feelings, and a little bit at Pinkie too. ‘I just don’t dare to say that I… that I…’

‘That you… that you…’ Pinkie mimicked.

‘That I really LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL…’

Pinkie tilted her head, genuinely a little disturbed and amazed as well. She had never heard an L that long. ‘Eh…’

‘…LLLLLLike you, Pinkie.’

‘Oh, that’s nice. I really like you too, Fluttershy,’ Pinkie said.

All the strength flowed out of her hooves. They slipped off Pinkie’s shoulders, and dangled limply aside. Her neck felt weak too, and she bent her head low. It was over. Fluttershy had failed in the most important mission of her life. Climbing the Mount Everhoof would have been an easier task, and it would probably have taken her a much shorter time to accomplish that challenge.

As if on cue, more ponies arrived, intending on enjoying the view or just walking around the ship, and of course, ending Fluttershy’s and Pinkie’s moment of intimate privacy that had not been that intimate after all. Some of them stared at Fluttershy as they passed by, probably wondering why a pony could be sad on such a beautiful cruise. Pinkie was just about to ask that exact question, when Fluttershy promptly started walking. ‘Come on, let’s go back to the others,’ she said in a voice that may very well have belonged to a shadow.

‘Oh, ok then,’ Pinkie said. She skipped cheerfully back towards the table all the way on the other side of the main deck, but when she sat down, she discovered Fluttershy hadn’t followed her.

The ponies had finished their sandwiches and had moved on to yoghurt. ‘You stayed away for quite some time. What have you two done?’ Starlight inquired.

‘Just talking, actually,’ Pinkie said. ‘Nothing too special, I think. Fluttershy just said that she likes me. Oh no, wait, she said she likes likes me, or likes likes likes me. Ah, I remember. She said she really likes me. Yes, that was it! Oh, and we almost fell off the ship, of course.’

‘Okay, that’s… nice,’ Starlight said, not sure what to make of that answer. She focused her attention on her spoon again.

But everypony else guessed exactly what had been going on. They all stopped eating and looked at each other thoughtfully. Twilight brushed her chin, and if she had a goatee, she would definitely have stroked it. ‘Two new relationships on the same day? That’s really strange, don’t you girls think?’

‘I dunno, she’s just a pony,’ Applejack said.

Rarity nodded. ‘I agree it is quite odd, but, love is love, and you cannot stop it. It is Hearts and Hooves day, after all, the day of love.’

‘Yes, but still, I can understand Soarin and Rainbow Dash,’ Twilight said. ‘I mean, those two are meant for each other. Same passion, same way of talking, same profession. But Pinkie and Fluttershy? That is a bit out of nowhere if you ask me. I didn’t even know Fluttershy liked mares.’

‘I’ve known all along,’ pinkie said, her cup of yoghurt already empty.

‘You have?!’ Twilight called.

A shrug. ‘Of course she likes mares. She likes us, right?’

Twilight facehoofed. Bad habit. ‘That’s not what I—never mind.’

‘Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her later in private,’ Rarity whispered.

Twilight flashed a thankful smile at Rarity but the truth was that her mind was everything but at ease. A million theories started filling up her head, where normally her calculations and estimations resided. The whole affair produced a thinking frown on Twilight’s forehead she wasn’t able to lose through the rest of the day.

* *

My, oh my, talking about a slow ship! I can’t believe it took Fluttershy four and a half pages to express her burning love to Pinkie, and even then she only barely succeeded. Ah, well, Fluttershy will always be Fluttershy. I rooted for her, of course, and hoped she would eventually say what she yearned to say. Of course love itself is fun, as we could see with Dash and Soarin. But apparently, expressing that love can be difficult. Whatever. You know what they say: “better luck next ship.” This had been a great test for Fluttershy, and if there’s anything we can learn from this scene it’s that Pinkie Pie can drive anypony crazy without even breaking in sweat.

Comments

[Diamond Sparkle]

Funny.

[Ri2]

Oh, Pinkie.