• Published 2nd Aug 2020
  • 2,043 Views, 156 Comments

The Open Road - Krickis



After she marries Twilight and Fluttershy, nopony will stop talking about Sunset Shimmer. What was once her fondest wish has become a constant strain, so the three wives decide to get away from it all on a road trip through the human world.

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5 – The Great Outdoors

Chapter Five
The Great Outdoors


After Sunset’s arrest, things could only get better. Even so, Twilight hadn’t planned on how much better things actually got. To start with, they decided to spend an extra day with the other Twilight and Moon Dancer, which meant a day spent recuperating from being out on the road. Then, rather unexpectedly, their friends offered the use of their car for the rest of the trip. Twilight worked from home and Moon Dancer carpooled to work, so they rarely actually wound up using their car. Travelling the countryside finally became the luxury Twilight had imagined when they first planned the trip.

They wound up remaking some of their plans, most notably adding a camping trip since Twilight and Moon Dancer had some gear they could borrow. It wasn’t much, just a tent, a double sleeping bag that the three of them would have to share, and a dog bed Spike could use. Still, it gave them a chance to experience how the natural human world differed from the natural pony one.

They drove as far into the forest they were camping in as they could, then set up their tent nearby so that they could keep an eye on the car and use it for storage. Sunset and Fluttershy set up the tent while Twilight and Spike set up a fire pit. Which, of course, meant Twilight set it up by herself, but she enjoyed explaining what she was doing to Spike.

“Are you sure that’s right?” Sunset said from over where she and Fluttershy were setting up the tent.

“Not really,” Fluttershy admitted. “How would you do it?”

“I think it goes like this.”

Twilight smiled to herself as she finished the fire pit. Even though she had to gather the stones for it, it hadn’t taken her that long. They weren’t actually building a fire just yet, but when they were ready for one, they’d be able to get to it easier with the pit ready for them.

With her own job done, Twilight stood up and walked over to the others. “Need a hand?”

“I think we got it now,” Sunset said as she and Fluttershy worked to get the tent’s support beams in place.

Spike cocked his head to the side. “I’m not sure that’s how it should look.”

“It’s not done yet!” Sunset said moments before it all collapsed in on Fluttershy.

Twilight giggled. “Here, let me help.”

It was clear Sunset and Fluttershy were getting nowhere, although Twilight and Spike weighing in on how to properly set up the tent only added to the confusion. They did eventually get the tent set up in a way that seemed to be sturdy, but the whole process took them around two hours.

Since they had arrived late in the morning, that meant that they were into the early afternoon by the time they set up the tent. Although they had planned on going out on a nature walk as soon as possible, it seemed silly to go out without eating lunch first by that point.

“How about some sandwiches?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sounds good,” Sunset said. “I’ll help.”

While Sunset and Fluttershy got sandwiches together, Twilight went into the trunk of the car to get some plates, a bag of chips, and their cooler. When she turned around with her arms full, she saw Spike running after a squirrel.

Twilight just shook her head. It wasn’t like he would do anything to it even if he could catch up to it, but she did feel a little bad that Spike was frightening the poor thing. “Come on, Spike. Let’s have some lunch.”

Spike stopped and looked up, panting as he did. He came walking up to Twilight, who was sitting near the unlit campfire. “Great! I’m starving.”

“Terrifying the woodland creatures builds up an appetite, huh?” Twilight asked with a smirk. “What would you even do if you caught up to one of them?”

“I dunno. I don’t really want to catch them, I just want to run around a little.”

“Having a dog’s brain will do that, I guess.” Sunset handed Twilight a sandwich and set down a plate of food for Spike. Given the dietary needs of his current body, he could only seldom eat the same things as the girls, so they prepared a mix of food special for him. He may be a dog, but they weren’t going to force him to eat pre-made dog food, so every few days Fluttershy would prepare a batch of homemade dog food from fresh ingredients. They all tried not to think too much about the fact that there was meat in it, but his body needed that now.

For Twilight’s sake, she missed her daisy sandwiches, but peanut butter and jelly was okay too. She took a bite while Fluttershy and Sunset sat down beside them and wished she had some milk to wash it down with. They did have their cooler for keeping drinks and some food cold, but milk would be a luxury for when they were staying in hotels again. She sipped a bottle of water instead.

Sunset pulled out a can of cola from the cooler, while Fluttershy joined Twilight in drinking water. “You should drink water to stay hydrated for our walk,” Twilight said.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. We’ll bring water with us, so I’ll keep hydrated while we’re out.”

“You should also just drink water more in general,” Fluttershy chided. Sunset had the habit of drinking sugary drinks more often than not.

“I’ll be fine,” Sunset said.

“Wish I could have soda…” Spike grumbled.

“Once we’re back in Equestria,” Twilight said. He’d had little aside from water to drink since they left for the human world – another concession he had to make for his new body.

“Oh! Look!” Fluttershy said, pointing towards some bushes.

Twilight shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun and saw a little face with black rings around its eyes looking back at her. “Oh, a raccoon!”

“I think there’s a few of them,” Sunset said. “Wonder what they’re doing out at this hour. They’re normally nocturnal, aren’t they?”

“They are, but they sometimes keep weird hours,” Fluttershy explained. “Seeing them out in midday isn’t that uncommon.”

“Huh. Well, we haven’t even left camp and we already saw something cool.” Sunset swatted around her face. “Aside from just these mosquitoes. Man, they haven’t left me alone since we got here.”

“I’ll put bug spray on you after we eat,” Twilight said, not taking her eyes off the raccoon. “But I’m glad we came out. They’re so cute!”

“Yeah, they are.” Fluttershy giggled. “I wish we could feed them.”

“They could probably eat some of my food, right?” Spike asked.

“Well, they could,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “And it’s nice of you to offer. But we shouldn’t feed them, or else they’ll get used to getting food from – Sunset!”

While Fluttershy was explaining why it was important to not feed the wild animals, Sunset had ripped off a piece of her sandwich and thrown it over to the raccoons. Two of them tentatively left their bush and sniffed the bread, then one of them picked it up and ate it.

Sunset ripped off another piece.

“Don’t you dare,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s only to make it fair for both of them!” Sunset said with a grin as she tossed the piece to the other one.

“Sunset, you shouldn’t feed wild animals.”

“She’s right,” Twilight said with a frown. “This isn’t Equestria, they should be wary of people.”

Sunset waved off their concerns. “It’ll be fine. And anyway, it got us a closer look.”

“It is kinda neat watching them grab things,” Twilight relented.

Fluttershy just sighed. “You two are hopeless…”

“Make that us three,” Spike said. “I like them too.”

“They are cute, but we’re just here to observe them.” Fluttershy turned her attention instead to the raccoons. “I’m very sorry, but we don’t have anything else for you.”

“You know you can’t talk to animals in this world, right?” Spike said.

“I know, but look at the poor babies. They’re waiting for more.”

“I could give –”

“No!”

Sunset shrugged. “Sorry, raccoons. Wifey’s spoken.”

Eventually the raccoons got the hint and scampered back into the bushes. That was for the best; no matter how cute they were, Sunset should never have fed them.

The group finished their lunch, then stowed their stuff in the tent. It was a pretty light lunch, but that was probably for the best. They’d have energy to go on their hike, but they wouldn’t be sluggish from a big meal.

“So we ready to go?” Spike asked.

“Yup, let’s go.” Twilight led them along the path into the forest. This was a common campsite with a clear path for them to take, so the odds of getting lost were pretty low.

Along the way, Twilight reflected on the human world's nature. It was both familiar and alien, in a way. In Equestria, ponies handled so much of what happened naturally on Earth. Here, everything happened on its own, like the Everfree Forest. But unlike the forest, there was no ominous feeling about them, no magical creatures lurking around the corner waiting to snatch them up.

In fact, it seemed calmer in every way. Maybe it was because they were so big compared to the rest of this world’s fauna, but the animals were quieter around them. Or maybe it was just Sunset’s rhythmic clapping scaring them off.

“What gives with these stupid mosquitoes!?” She groaned after they’d been walking for a while.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight frowned. “I was supposed to spray you down with repellent, but we forgot.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset grumbled. “Are they getting you all at all?”

“They aren’t biting me at all,” Twilight said.

“A little, but it’s not too bad,” Fluttershy said.

“I think my fur helps.” Spike ran ahead, then stopped to scratch his ear. “Although it doesn’t help with this heat…”

“Sorry, Spike.” Twilight kneeled down and held out a water bottle. “Here, drink a little bit before we go any further.”

Spike did as she asked, lapping up the water readily. While they were paused, the others took the chance to drink up as well. It was a hot day out, and they all needed to stay hydrated.

It was Spike that saw it first this time. “Look over there,” he said quietly.

Everyone turned in the direction he was facing to see a small deer looking at them. They all stopped to look back at it, locking eyes with the beautiful creature.

It couldn’t be full-grown, just a fawn. Twilight wanted to run up and pet it, but for obvious reasons she did not.

Instead, she smiled and glanced back at the others to make sure they were seeing the same thing. She was just in time to see Sunset swat at a mosquito, then she heard the deer running off.

“Sunset!” Twilight whipped her head back, but the deer was already gone.

“What!?” Sunset cried. “These things are fucking eating me alive over here, Twi!”

Twilight sighed, but Fluttershy just giggled. “Do you want to head back, Sunset?”

“No, it’s fine. Let’s go for a little bit more.”

Aside from the mosquitoes, they did see some other bugs that were far more interesting. Huge dragonflies, colorful butterflies, buzzy bees, and other things they couldn’t identify. Along with the occasional bird or squirrel, insects were just about the only animals they saw after the deer.

But even if it was just bugs and trees, it was a wonderful walk for everyone except Sunset, who complained nonstop. The trees grew so tall, and they were a sight to see all on their own.

At least until Twilight’s foot caught a root and she went down face first. “Aaah!”

“Twilight!” Spike was the first to her side. “Are you okay?”

Twilight groaned and tried to get up, but her leg buckled. “Ow! I think I twisted something…”

“Let me take a look at it,” Sunset said, so Twilight sat on the ground and extended her leg for the others to examine.

“No scrape,” Sunset said. “Is it your leg or your ankle?”

“My ankle.” Twilight moved it gingerly, which hurt but wasn’t unbearable. “I think I’m ready to head back now…”

“Yeah, fair enough. Here.” Sunset held out her hand to help Twilight up.

Twilight stood up, balancing on one foot at first. She put her injured foot down, which didn’t feel too bad until she put weight on it. “Ow, it hurts to walk.”

“Oh, you poor thing…” Fluttershy looked around. “Maybe we can find a stick for you to walk with?”

“I’ll be alright, I just…” Twilight took a step and was able to walk with a limp.

“Uh, no, stop that.” Sunset walked over to Twilight and stood on her injured side, wrapping an arm around her. “At least lean on me while we walk. Spike, can you look around for a good walking stick?”

“I’m on it!” Spike ran off.

“Don’t go too far!” Twilight called back to him.

They made slow progress back to the campsite, Twilight leaning on Sunset for support. Each step still hurt, but it was made far more bearable.

Meanwhile Spike ran around them looking for good sticks, and within around fifteen minutes, he managed to find one. Fluttershy retrieved it and gave it to Twilight, who used it to walk in place of Sunset. She was able to put all her weight on the stick instead of her leg, which helped a lot.

It was still slow going, but that couldn’t be helped. They had been walking for at least an hour already, and the way back took even longer. Before they managed to make it back, the sun was already going down.

“I think the mosquitoes are even worse at night…” Sunset grumbled, slapping her skin yet again to squish another one.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight said for the umpteenth time. “If I had been watching where I was going…”

“It’s not your fault,” Fluttershy said. “And you’re the one having the worst time with your leg like that.”

Sunset sighed. “Yeah, even I have to agree there. At least I can squash the fuckers going after me.”

“Language,” Twilight chided flatly. She didn’t know why she bothered. If Spike was going to pick up Sunset’s bad habits, it was probably already too late for him.

They made their way back steadily at least. Twilight’s ankle did start getting more irritated as they walked, but by the time she would’ve asked to take a break, their camp was in sight.

“Go take a seat, Twi,” Sunset instructed. “I’ll get some ice and we can –”

They all stopped as they made eye contact with the same black ringed eyes they saw earlier. The raccoons were back, and one of them was holding onto their bag of chips. No one made a move at first, then the raccoon began backing up slowly.

“Get back here!” Spike said, running at the raccoon, who also turned and ran.

“Give it up, Spike,” Twilight said, bringing him to a halt. There was a good chance that he could’ve caught up to the raccoon, but with the raccoons’ headstart who knew how far they’d get from the camp before that happened. Not to mention what would happen if the raccoon didn’t give up the snacks peacefully…

Spike was left grumbling, but he took a seat near the campfire.

“Come on, Twily, let’s get you sitting down.” Fluttershy led Twilight to a seat as well and helped her get down while Sunset went to get ice from their cooler.

They could still hear her slapping at mosquitoes, which caused Twilight to smile. “Go help Sunset with the bug spray first. She’s gonna get eaten alive if we don’t do anything.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Alright. Just take it easy.”

“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”


Even with her injury, the day wound up being a pretty good one. They ate dinner, then got a fire going. That was an adventure in and of itself, and by the time they got it going, it was almost time for bed. Still, they got to sit around roasting marshmallows, which was the perfect cap to their day.

“The stars are so pretty out here,” Fluttershy said. “They look almost like the ones back in Equestria.”

“It’s because this world has so much light pollution,” Twilight explained. “But out here, there aren’t a bunch of lights so the stars look brighter.”

“It’s nice,” Fluttershy said. “But it does kind of make me homesick.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Sunset said. “Less than a week on this trip to go.”

“I know. It’s just… well, it’s silly.”

“What’s up?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I’m just thinking about Luna. I bet she’d be sad if she saw how dull the stars look in this world.”

“Yeah, let’s not take her here,” Sunset said with a laugh.

“And that got me thinking, I miss our evening chats.” Fluttershy folded her arms and looked down.

“You two have been talking a lot lately,” Twilight said.

“I guess we have.” Fluttershy looked back up at the sky.

“I’m glad you two are so close,” Twilight said with a smile. “You’re really good for each other.”

“Is this the same Twilight who hated Amber for years?” Sunset asked with a smirk.

“I never hated her!” Twilight frowned. “And I’ve said I was wrong and that I’m sorry for that.”

“I know, I’m just teasing.” Sunset passed Twilight a marshmallow.

As Twilight skewered it onto her stick, she thought about what Sunset had said. She had never really thought to compare Fluttershy’s relationship with Luna to her relationship with Amber, but now that she did… Well, it wasn’t that they were similar, just that they might have one thread in common.

“Hey, Shy?” Twilight shifted a little uncomfortably, but not because she was afraid of the question. No, it was just that given her jealous past, she worried Fluttershy wouldn’t want to give her an honest answer. “What does Luna mean to you, anyway?”

“What do you mean? She’s one of my closest friends.”

“I know, it’s just…” Twilight smiled. “I mean, sometimes you two seem like there’s something more. And if there is, then that’s okay, you know? I just… I wanted to say that if you and Luna ever thought you might be more than friends, or well, you and anyone really, then we could talk about that and it would be okay, and –”

“Twi, you’re rambling,” Sunset said. “But she’s right. We’ve all given up the ‘one and only’ thing years ago.”

“I… I don’t know…” Fluttershy stared into the fire. “I guess… I don’t really think about it. Luna and I are… well, we just are what we are.”

Twilight was going to try and reassure Fluttershy some more that it was okay if she did have a crush on Luna, but Sunset spoke first. “And that’s great, you know? We both think you two are great together, no matter what it is you two are together.”

Twilight nodded. She was trying to press for an answer where there wasn’t one, and no good would come of that. “Yeah, Sunset’s right.”

Fluttershy smiled and put an arm around Twilight’s back. “I’m glad it’s something we can talk about, though.”

Really, that was all the answer that Twilight needed – that they would talk about it if anything like that ever came up with any of them.

The conversation was interrupted by a snore, and they all looked over to see Spike was sleeping soundly near Twilight’s feet. She smiled and scratched his ears. “What do you say we get to bed?”

“Sounds… wait, what’s that?” Sunset pointed at a light.

“Is that… a firefly?” Twilight smiled. “I think it is! Look, there’s more!”

“How about we wait out here a little longer,” Fluttershy said.

“I think that sounds fine.”

As they watched, a few more fireflies came out as well, then a few more. Soon there were bunches of them. They tried waking Spike up to see them, but he just said they were neat then went back to sleep.

“We have to protect our world,” Sunset said suddenly. “Being out here has kinda sucked, but it did remind me of that.”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, Twilight and me. We’re designing technology for Equestria, but if we’re not careful, we’ll have more than light pollution to worry about.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Twilight had read up a bit about the state of affairs in the human world, and she’d learned about its environmental concerns. “But we can learn from the mistakes of this world. We won’t run into the same problems.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Uhm, girls…”

They both looked to see that while they were talking, fireflies had landed right on Fluttershy. They all laughed, which caused the fireflies to fly away. One landed on Spike’s nose, but he just huffed and sent it on its way.

Eventually they decided to call it a night, fireflies or not, so they all made their way into the tent. It was a snug fit, especially in their double sleeping bag, but they would make do. They all snuggled in together, Fluttershy in the middle as usual.

Spike yawned and lay down on his doggy bed, ignoring the others in favor of getting right back to sleep. Twilight was a little envious, since the tent and sleeping bag didn’t offer much in the way of comfort.

“The ground’s so hard, how are we supposed to sleep out here?” Twilight asked.

“And it’s hot in this sleeping bag. Can I unzip my side?”

“Please,” Fluttershy said. “I’m in the middle, where it’s the warmest.”

“We could just sleep on top of it,” Twilight suggested.

They all agreed, so they got back out and lay down on top of it. Twilight wished she at least had a thin sheet to cover with, but it was a warm night and she had a wife to snuggle up next to.

“That’s better,” Fluttershy said. “Good night, Sunset. Good night, Twily.”

Twilight kissed each of her wife’s in turn, but she wasn’t really ready to say good night yet. “Uhm, Sunset?”

“Yeah?”

“You know it’s okay if you want to talk about things too, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” Twilight frowned. “We noticed how much hearing the other Fluttershy affected you at the wax museum.”

Sunset was quiet for a moment, then she sighed. “Yeah, I guess it’s obvious I’m still a little hung up on her, huh?”

“Maybe a little,” Fluttershy said. “But we don’t mind.”

Twilight propped herself up. “I know I haven’t been the easiest to talk to about that stuff before, but I’m okay with it now. Like you said, we all stopped believing in one and only.”

Sunset chuckled. “It’s not like I’m gonna start dating her again, Twi.”

“Yeah, I’m just saying you can talk about her if you want. Even with this trip, you’re so guarded about what the two of you had. And maybe that’s partly my fault, but I don’t want it to have to be that way.”

“Twily does have a point,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s been years, I shouldn’t be hung up on my ex-girlfriend…”

“You were going to be moms together,” Twilight said. It was a dangerous subject to bring up, but it was important that Sunset knew they understood why it was such a hard thing for her to move on from.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So, uhm…” Fluttershy turned to face Sunset, wrapping herself around her. “Are you ready to see her?”

“Ready or not, it’s coming,” Sunset said. “The concert is in two days.”

“Do you know what you’ll say to her?” Twilight asked.

“I guess just… that I’m sorry. I kind of pushed her away, made her choose between me and her career. And I guess I’ll tell her that I think she made the right choice.”

Twilight curled around Fluttershy and reached her hand over her to place it on Sunset’s. “I think she’ll really like that.”

Sunset smiled a little, but it faded quickly. This whole road trip was planned around this one stop – a Bitchette concert which they had backstage tickets to. Sunset was finally going to get the closure she needed with her ex-girlfriend, and with luck, they would finally be friends again.

But for now, it was just something to be anxious about. “It’ll be okay,” Twilight said.

“I know. No matter what happens, I have you two.” Sunset lifted her head and looked at Spike, who was sleeping soundly. “Well, you three.”

“And not just us,” Fluttershy reminded her. “Pinkie and AJ, and the other Twilight and all our friends in Equestria.”

“Yeah, I’m a pretty lucky woman.”

“And so are we,” Twilight said. “We get to have you, too.”

“You know, Twi, I’m pretty sure in this whole forest, you’re still the sappiest thing around.”

“Hey!”

Everyone laughed, then Sunset turned away from them so Fluttershy was curled around Sunset just like Twilight was curled around Fluttershy. “I’ll keep it in mind… about talking about things more. But for now, let’s get to sleep.”

Twilight settled into place. “Alright. Love you two.”

“Love you both too,” Sunset said.

“Love –” Fluttershy yawned. “Love you.”

Spike snored in response, causing them all to giggle some more before settling in.

It was hard to sleep on the ground, even with the sleeping bag beneath them. But there was nothing to be done about it, so Twilight just tried her best to get comfortable.

Meanwhile, she wondered what would happen at the concert. None of them had talked to this world’s Fluttershy in years. They hoped she was ready to move on as well, but… Well, they would just have to hold onto hope.

And love. They had to hold onto that as well. They all loved each other, and they weren’t the only ones. And as long as they had that, they would make it through everything else okay in the end.

Author's Note:

Show of hands, who expected something like this from this story’s conclusion?