Chapter 2
The sun crept slowly over the horizon, and with it the day Twilight had been waiting for since when she came up with the idea. The unicorn was sitting on her bed, with her head looking towards the window, as she watched the last sunrise she would see in Ponyville for a long time.
A grin plastered itself across her face, showing the barely contained excitement she had for today. Despite her friends’ concerns, she considered herself a genius in the plan she had. During the entire night before seeing Fluttershy, after literally turning the library inside out to look for what she had on the flower, it eventually came down to the scrolls she had: linen scrolls, elder scrolls, she looked through them all, until finally she found what she was looking for, and planned the next day to go and see her.
She had taken a big gamble on asking Fluttershy to come with her on what would essentially be a wild flower chase. Nevertheless, it paid off in the end, and now it would be her and the love of her life out in the wilderness.
It excited her and scared her at the same time. Although Twilight and Fluttershy were great friends, they didn’t spend as much time together as they should, so this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know her better, and maybe reveal her feelings for the pegasus. Although that was what she wanted, she was terrified about Fluttershy’s reaction to such news, and if it went wrong she could lose a good friend.
Now, it was morning, as she kept reminding herself, and the day she was anticipating and dreading came. She glanced at the saddlebags she had that were waiting for her by the stairs leading down into the study area. She looked back out the window and reflected on the previous afternoon, on how smoothly it went with Fluttershy, and what she did afterwards.
After getting back from Fluttershy’s, she spent the rest of the afternoon deciding on the second love of her life, and one of the toughest choices she had to make. Which books she wanted to take with her, and which ones stayed here. It was gruelling, to say the least, but in the end she picked three books: one on the flora and fauna of Equestria, a romance story that might give her hints on how to confess her feelings to Fluttershy (despite Applejack’s objections), and a simple science book on complicated physics.
The next part was getting enough bits that would allow her and Fluttershy if need be to get from one side of Equestria to the other. So once she sorted out her books she headed to the bank, and got out as many bits she thought the two ponies would need. Only one part was left – telling her friends where they were going.
It wasn’t as difficult as Twilight thought it would be. Rainbow was probably the one that didn’t like it the most. She was worried about them and wanted to come with them to make sure they would be okay. Once Twilight told her about the flower, however, she simply wished them a safe journey, said goodbye and went back to work. Pinkie promised a party for them when they got back, and Rarity jokingly berated her for making her lose her spa buddy, but wished her a safe journey nonetheless.
Applejack was another matter. “So, let me get this straight. You and Fluttershy are going to leave Ponyville to go to Canterlot, then from there ya’ll are gonna go in any direction on what is basically a wild flower chase, and with that flower ya gonna confess your feelings to Fluttershy,” Applejack had said.
Twilight nodded. “Eyyep.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Sugar, I have to say of all the plans of getting the girl of their dreams I’ve heard, that one is the most nuts!”
Twilight tilted her head slightly. “What do you mean?”
“It’s ridiculous, sugarcube, simple as that! Dangerous, mental, off the rails, coco in the loco! Seriously, I expected something like that from Pinkie but not from you.”
Twilight’s smile fell the same speed it took for a heart to beat. “Why, what’s wrong with it?”
“Well firstly, ya’ll could get lost.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have an updated map of Equestria for us to use, so as long as we’re in Equestria we should be okay.”
“Fair enough. Second reason: there’s a big chance that Fluttershy won’t even want to come with ya on this.”
“Oh I’ve cleared it with her already,” Twilight said with a wave of her hoof. “She wants to come.”
Applejack’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Really? She wants to come?”
Twilight nodded. “She seemed quite keen.”
“Okay. Third reason: are you certain that Fluttershy feels the same way about ya. And if not, what then?”
Twilight looked at the straw that covered the floor of the barn they were in. “I don’t. That’s why I’m hoping the flower will show me.”
Applejack snorted. “How’s a flower gonna show ya someone else’s feeling?”
“This flower is said to be magic,” Twilight explained. “I never told Fluttershy this when I saw her as I thought it might give the game away. According to legend, when two ponies that are meant to be together are present in the field, and when the moon is out and shining down on them, the flowers begin to sing a love song. It means that if Fluttershy is hiding the same feelings for me, the flowers would start singing.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
“Then they don’t, and we’re not meant to be together,” Twilight said plainly.
Applejack smiled comfortingly and placed a hoof across Twilight’s shoulders. “Don’t ya think that for one second, do ya hear?” She put a hoof where Twilight’s heart was. “The only thing that matters is this. So follow that, and not some stupid plant who doesn’t move, talk or feel.”
Twilight looked from the ground to Applejack with a hopeful smile. “Thanks, Applejack. But there’s no point in cancelling it now. I might as well go on with it and hope for the best. And even if they don’t sing, I’m going to keep trying.”
“That’s the spirit, girl!” She patted Twilight on the back. They looked at each other for a minute in silence, and then they both wrapped each other in a hug. “If I can’t change ya mind on this, then come back safe, ya hear? Both of ya’ll. And I hope ya get her, Twilight.”
“Thank you, Applejack. And we’ll be back. I promise.” Twilight pulled away. “One more thing. Have you told anypony else about me loving Fluttershy?”
“I sure ain’t, sugarcube,” Applejack replied with a shake of the head.
“Good, because I was wondering whether you could keep it that way. I don’t want anyone to know yet. Will that be okay?”
“Don’t worry, sugar, I won’t tell anyone. Pinkie promise,” Applejack said, followed by the hoof gestures of the pinkie promise.
With that, the two had one final hug and parted ways – Twilight heading back to the library to finish off things, and Applejack back into the orchard for bucking down more apples.
With everything taking care of, all that was left to do was wait. Twilight didn’t sleep at all well last night, which was evident by the small bags under her eyes. She was too excited and nervous about today, so had to put up with Spike’s snoring for most of the evening.
Now the sun was rising, and with it the beginning of a journey. If Twilight was successful, she and Fluttershy would come back not just as friends, but also as a couple. If not… she didn’t want to dwell on that.
She looked at her clock and saw it was about nine. ‘Well, no point sitting about here. Better get over to Fluttershy’s,’ she thought. She jumped off the bed, picked up her saddlebags and trotted downstairs.
When she arrived on the ground floor, she found Spike sitting on the couch waiting for her. He looked up when he heard her hoofsteps and his face fell upon seeing Twilight with her saddlebags on her back. “You’re leaving now?”
Twilight’s ears fell flat. She never liked leaving Spike on his own; he was a baby dragon after all. However, he did have Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack here while she was away, so he wouldn’t be alone. “Sorry, Spike, but I want to get to Canterlot by tonight at least.”
Spike stared at her for a moment, before shrugging. “Okay then,” he said, then turning around and walking back into the kitchen.
Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “That’s it? No pleading for me not to go? No last teary goodbyes? Nothing?”
“Well, I was sad at first,” Spike called from the kitchen. “But then I remembered I cooked some pancakes for you. But since you’re planning on going so soon I thought, ‘the more for me’.” He returned from the kitchen with a large plate of pancakes in one claw.
Twilight did a Pinkie Pie moment. She zoomed from the spot she was standing, flung her saddlebags off her back and sat patiently on a cushion, waiting in anticipation for the beautiful pancakes, the third love of her life. And all of this was done in the time it took to blink.
Spike set them down in front of her and sat opposite Twilight. The unicorn took a pancake in her magic and proceeded to devour it in rapid fashion, tearing into it like a shark would with its meal. “So you’re planning on telling Fluttershy on how you feel about her then?” Spike asked.
Twilight spat out the pancakes in her mouth and looked at Spike incredulously. “H-how… how do you know that?”
“You sometimes talk in your sleep, and most of the time you say Fluttershy’s name so I put two and two together.” He saw the panicking look on Twilight’s face and added, “Don’t worry if you’re thinking I’m going to tell everyone. I won’t. What I don’t understand is why you don’t want anyone to know?” Equestria was once a nation with traditional ways, with a belief that only stallions and mares can be together, but over time those views changed, and now same-sex relationships are celebrated just as equally as heterosexual relationships.
Twilight relaxed and brought the dragon in a hug. “Thanks, Spike. It’s not like I don’t think my friends will disagree with it. I’m sure they will. I know Applejack agrees with it. I just don’t want to raise their expectations if it all goes wrong. I promise I will tell them when we get back.”
“I know you will, and I doubt it will go wrong,” Spike counselled her. “Just be cool and calm when you do reveal your feelings for her, and be slow as well. It’s Fluttershy we’re talking about here, so don’t expect a quick answer.”
“Oh, I know that. And I’m definitely not expecting her to answer me in one day. Unless she loves me also, in which case, yes!” She then dug into her pancakes once more, with Spike following close behind.
Soon the pancakes were all gone, and Twilight let out a small sigh of content and licked her lips. “As good as ever, Spike. I’m going to miss your cooking while I’m gone. Speaking of which…” She looked at the time and sighed when she saw it was around quarter past nine.
“Well I better get going, Fluttershy might be wondering where I am.” She got off the couch, picked up her saddlebags with her magic, and moved to the door. Before she opened it she looked back at Spike with concerned eyes. “Will you be all right while I’m gone?”
“Of course,” Spike replied. “You’re leaving me with Rarity to take care of me for a while, so take your time going on your quest and coming home.”
Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes. “Oh, Spike.” They stared at each other for a moment, the sound of the clock ticking destroying the silence. After a minute, the two flung into each other’s embrace and stayed like that for a moment. It didn’t take long for Twilight to feel tears falling from Spike’s eyes and onto her shoulders.
“You take care, won’t you?” Spike sniffed. “Come back safe, and I hope you get her.”
Twilight felt a tear in one of her eyes. “I will be fine, Spike. You just take care of here and Fluttershy’s place while we’re gone. Okay?” Spike nodded. With that, Twilight broke apart from him and turned towards the door.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Spike called to her before she opened the door. “If you do start dating her, would that mean we might have to move out of here and live in Fluttershy’s?”
Twilight chuckled. “I wouldn’t think that far ahead if I were you. See you later.” She pushed the door open with her magic and walked out, not once looking back in the fear that if she did, she would never leave.
The day was a nice one, with a small breeze that cooled what would have been a hot summer’s day. Twilight took a deep breath of air and it filled her lungs with a calming feel that eased her mind for a while. She knew this trip would be fine, but if at some point it would turn ugly – and there was every chance it could – then she would defend Fluttershy till her least breath. Fluttershy wanted to come with her, and in Twilight’s mind it was her responsibility to keep her safe, and get her home.
She took another breath and turned right towards Fluttershy’s cottage, hoping Fluttershy would be in a clearer state of mind than she was.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Ponyville, Fluttershy was lying on her living room floor, with her legs tucked beneath her stomach, her eyes fixed on the front door, and her entire body was trembling with excitement, and fear. She had been waiting for about an hour now and still there was no sign of her friend, and soon to be companion on this trip, just her friends every now and then seeing her before she left. It wasn’t helping her nerves at all, so she hoped that Twilight was soon on her way. As she waited, she started to reflect back on what happened after Twilight had come to her with something she only just remembered she wanted to do for a long time.
Once Twilight had gone and Fluttershy had finished in the bathroom, she began making preparations around the house for her departure. She started by making a list for Spike and Angel to follow on what to do while she was away. Afterwards she went into town and went to the bank to get out some bits for the journey should they need it. She didn’t plan to let Twilight pay for it all; it seemed rude if the unicorn did.
Afterwards, she went home and began making food for the trip, like sandwiches and pancakes incase they got hungry. Once she had done those she went upstairs and considered what items to bring with her when she got bored or when there was a lull in their travelling. She figured Twilight was doing the same with her books, so it might be best she did as well.
After half an hour, she decided on what to take: some medicine, a couple of books, including the Daring Do book she was reading at the moment, and a brush to preen her feathers, mane and tail with.
Once that job was taken care of, she fished her saddlebags out of her basement and placed everything she wanted in them, then left them by the door. When she realised she was ready she sat on her rump and looked at the time, and groaned when she realised that it had only been an hour since Twilight had left, and the sun hadn’t even begun its descent over the horizon.
Therefore, she decided to take a long walk around Ponyville until she felt tired and wanted to go to bed. As she walked through the park, she looked around her to see mothers playing with their foals, and couples walking together, smiling beatifically at each other. Her ears pricked upwards when she heard the birds singing from the tree where she and her friends would meet at the same time every week for a pet play date, and the same one she had met Twilight Sparkle three years earlier.
‘Three years, has it really been that long that I’ve known her?’ she thought as she stared at the tree. Despite trying hard not to think about it, she couldn’t help but look back as to why she’d thought of Twilight as cute. She’d never thought about her that way before, so why now?
‘Don’t be silly, Fluttershy,’ she berated herself. ‘You shouldn’t think like that about her, or any of your friends. You promised yourself you wouldn’t.’
She shook it away once more and continued with her walk, not noticing some of the looks she received from making the motion. When the park got too crowded for her liking and comfort, she moved away from the park and moved to a hill about half a mile or so outside of Ponyville, a hill she knew was isolated from the rest and where she wouldn’t be disturbed.
The hill overlooked all of Ponyville, and had Canterlot in the far distance, which was a white speck on the large mountain it hung on. She looked from Canterlot back to the town that she lived in, which she practically grew up in. She wondered if the town she barely ever left would change while she was away. She had watched the town grow and expand since she had lived here and now she thought about it, it seemed harder to leave it behind.
She shook that thought away. ‘Getting away from it all might be nice for a change,’ she decided. The next thing she knew the sun was halfway behind the horizon and the first stars began to show themselves. She yawned and decided to head for home, anticipating and fearing the next time the sun rose.
She was brought out of her reminiscence when a sharp knock on the door made her jump out of her coat. “Fluttershy, are ya in?” Applejack’s voice called from the other side of the door. “Drat, I must be too late.”
“No, no! I’m here!” Fluttershy called out once she recovered from the shock of the sudden knock. She got up and opened the door, greeting Applejack with a welcoming smile. “Good morning, Applejack. Sorry about that, you just startled me.” She got out of the way so Applejack could come in.
Applejack walked in, wiping her hooves on Fluttershy’s doormat. “Good morning to ya as well, Fluttershy, and sorry ‘bout startling ya like that. I shouldn’t be so heavy hoofed on the door.”
“It’s okay. Now, would you like a drink?”
“No thanks. I just came over to see ya before ya go.” She looked over to where Fluttershy’s saddlebags were laid out, then walked over to where Fluttershy was sitting. “If I’m honest,” she said as she made herself comfortable on Fluttershy’s couch, “when Twilight came over to see me yesterday saying that you and her are going on this adventure, I didn’t really believe her.” Applejack’s ears fell flat. “I’m sorry I thought that way about ya.”
Fluttershy gave her a loving smile. “Oh don’t be silly, Applejack. If I’m honest I wasn’t expecting it myself. It sort of came out of the blue to me as well.”
“I’m sure it did.” Applejack suddenly glanced at the door, as if she was expecting Twilight to come knocking on the door at any moment. She looked back at Fluttershy with a concerned look, which Fluttershy returned. “Fluttershy, I know that sometimes ya do things that ya don’t like just to appease your friends, like what ya did for Rarity and Rainbow Dash those two times. I was wondering whether this is the same thing? Are you doing this just because you were worried you would upset Twilight if you said no? Or did Twilight insist you should go?”
Fluttershy brought her head back slightly in surprise at the questions. Although she found it unnecessary, she was quite touched by Applejack’s concern over her well-being. Ever since Applejack’s family took her in during those early, unpleasant days when she first came to Ponyville, Fluttershy had always seen Applejack as a sister, and with Applejack she had seen Fluttershy as an older sister. Even Big Macintosh had seen Fluttershy as a sister, and the three of them would be seen around town together many times, before Fluttershy found her hooves and bought her own place.
Fluttershy came out of her second reminiscence of the day and gave Applejack another loving smile. “Twilight never did such a thing, Applejack,” Fluttershy said. “I want to do this – more than anything.”
Applejack relaxed, glad and relieved Fluttershy wasn’t being forced into doing this. “Then if it’s okay to ask: why are you doing this?”
“Because I want to, Applejack. It’s as simple as that,” Fluttershy replied. “I’ve been getting bored here, and have been stuck indoors for Celestia knows how long. I think it’s time for me to go out and stretch my legs for a bit.”
Applejack smiled, and then before Fluttershy knew it, the earth pony had the pegasus gripped in a tight hug. “Just be careful when you go out into the world, ya hear me? Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. And if Twi tries to get ya to do something ya don’t like, tell me how many times she tries, and I will buck her that many. You know I will.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the thought of Applejack hitting one of her best friends. She didn’t want anypony to be hurt at her expense. “Um, couldn’t you just scold her instead?” Fluttershy suggested. “It’ll be nicer than hitting, don’t you think?”
“Sorry, sugar, but my mind is made up.” Fluttershy made a squeak sound that seemed like a plea to rethink it, but when Applejack pulled away from their hug, she relaxed to see the cheeky grin on her face. “Don’t ya worry, Fluttershy. I promise I won’t hit her hard. Just punch her lightly.” She chuckled again at the worried expression on Fluttershy’s face. “I’m just kidding. Seriously, Fluttershy, sometimes you’re too darn nice for your own good.”
She pulled away from the pegasus, jumped off the couch, and then headed towards the door. “How are you feeling anyway? About this trip, I mean?” Applejack asked.
Fluttershy jumped off the couch and walked alongside her. “I’m okay, at the moment. However, sometimes I have little fears go through me that make me wish to run for the hills and hide. I mean, what if I upset Twilight and she leaves me in the middle of nowhere? What if I’m no good for her as a companion? What if I make a mistake and put us both at risk?”
‘Ya know, those two are actually perfect for each other,’ Applejack thought with a small chuckle. ‘They both worry dramatically over the littlest things.’ She put a hoof on Fluttershy’s right shoulder and shook her gently. “Sugarcube, there’s no reason to think like that. In some ways you are far clearer headed and more thoughtful than Twi, so if she loses her head, you can be there to pick her up. And I seriously doubt she would just leave ya in the wilderness like that. This is Twilight we’re talking about, after all. And I’m sure you will make a great companion for her.”
Fluttershy smiled, and felt re-assured once more. Applejack was right; Twilight wouldn’t abandon her in the middle of nowhere, even if it was over the biggest and worst thing she could do. “Thanks, Applejack,” Fluttershy said.
“You’re welcome,” Applejack replied. She looked back at where the town bell tower chimed and heard it go to ten. Applejack sighed, and Fluttershy could’ve sworn she saw the earth pony’s eyes begin to water. “Well I gotta get back to work. Those apples won’t fall themselves, ya know.” She looked up again, and Fluttershy could see she was teary eyed. “Do ya know how long ya gonna be?”
Fluttershy quickly embraced the earth pony. “I wish I knew, Applejack. But I’ll have to leave that for Twilight to answer.” She pulled away and smiled lovingly at her, wiping away her tears. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got the most powerful unicorn in Equestria and a great friend by my side, so I should be alright.”
Applejack smiled, and nodded. “I know ya will. It’s just gonna be different around here without ya for a while. It’s gonna be awfully quiet.” She broke away from the pegasus and turned around. “Have a nice trip, stay safe, and I’m looking forward to hearing ya tales when ya get back.” She looked and began to trot away from town and her cottage towards her farm.
“Thanks, Applejack. And good luck with the cider season!” Fluttershy called. Applejack looked back and waved, before disappearing over the hill and out of sight. Fluttershy watched her disappear with a sad sigh. It had been odd for the both of them in the first few weeks after moving out of Applejack’s home and into her own, but she had got use to it, and the two still saw each other, just not on a regular basis than they used to.
She looked away from the hill where Applejack went towards the path leading to Ponyville, and her heart froze when she saw Twilight coming down it, determination written on her face. “Okay, here we go,” she said to herself. She waved in acknowledgement to Twilight, then hurried back inside and picked up her saddlebags, flinging them onto her back with such graceful movements.
She then quickly ran up to Angel, picked him up, and brought him in a hug. “You take care of yourself while I’m away,” she said, tightening her hold on the bunny to the point he was going blue. “I left a lot of carrots in one of the cabinets for you. And one more thing, could you make sure Damien stays safe?” She was referring, of course, to her teddy bear, one that her parents gave her when she was little.
The rabbit nodded moodily, and Fluttershy gave him a big kiss on the head for it. “Thanks.” She dropped the bunny to the ground, and turned to the door. “See you when I get back,” she said, before shutting the door behind her and locking it with her key. At that moment, she felt free. She was free to do what she wanted at any time, and it felt extraordinary. She wasn’t held back by anything now. ‘So this is what it feels like to be a animal,’ she thought.
She turned away from the house and walked up to meet Twilight, who was waiting for her at the other end of her little bridge. “Morning, Fluttershy,” Twilight greeted her, not bothering to hide her excitement. “You ready to go?”
Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around her friend in a brief hug in greeting, and for that second Twilight enjoyed it so much that she didn’t want it to end. “Morning, Twilight,” Fluttershy replied. “And yes, I’m ready to go. You?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Twilight turned around and began walking back into Ponyville, with Fluttershy alongside. “Sorry that I’m late, by the way. I left about forty five minutes ago and I kept being stopped by a whole bunch of crazy ponies asking me about where I’m going and why and they kept asking me about these problems they had and-” She cut herself off when she realised she was rambling. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be, and I was all right while I waited. All our friends came to see me and asked about where and why I was going and wished me a safe trip and all that. So the minutes went quickly by for me.” She looked at one of the meadows that laid outside her closest neighbours’ house; a beautiful array of bright yellow and dark red and lavender coloured flowers.
“Oh, I am so happy you could come with me on this,” Twilight said joyfully, almost skipping down the road as they began to enter Ponyville proper. “It’s going to be amazing. You and me going out into any part of the country, sleeping out in the wilderness with the stars above us, telling jokes, singing songs… Yeah, I’m sure it’s going to be brilliant with you. Just think, we’ll have a tale or two to tell when we come back.”
Fluttershy stopped, and looked at Twilight with a new sense of fear. “You can promise that we will come back?”
Twilight stopped, turned her head around, and gave her a re-assuring smile. “Of course we will. You have my word. I promise I will not let anything happen to you.” If it were any other pony, she would have teasingly replied, “No,” but since it was Fluttershy, and the pony she loved most, she knew she had to be careful in what she said.
Fluttershy relaxed instantly. “Shall we?” she said, gesturing with a hoof towards the street they were heading down.
“Of course.” Twilight turned around once more and broke into a trot, Fluttershy cantered at first to keep up, then slowed into a trot when she was alongside her friend. The two fell silent as they had one last good look of the town they were leaving. Although they had left the town before, it was always either to save the world, do something for the Princess, find a friend, or do all three at once. Now it was different; they were leaving at their own accord, for reasons that mattered to them, and it felt weird.
As they walked, ponies stopped what they were doing and waved to them. Twilight waved a hoof in response, while Fluttershy gave a meek nod. It was about halfway through Ponyville that Fluttershy realised she hadn’t got a clue of what they were doing. “So what’s the plan? If there is one, if you don’t mind me asking,” Fluttershy asked, her voice getting quieter nearer the end.
Twilight giggled. “I’m glad you asked.” Her horn lit up into its usual magenta coloured hue and a second later one of the pouches of her saddlebag opened. From it came a huge scroll with writing that went down from the top of Fluttershy’s head to the bottom of her chest. “Right. The plan is we walk through Ponyville, go to the train station, buy tickets for the train, get on said train, take train to Canterlot, get off train at Canterlot, spend the night there, next day go to the library and look up for this flower and see if we could figure out where it would be, then from there we go in any direction so any planning is useless after that,” she said in one sentence. Once she had finished she breathed in a lot of air, and then let a lot more out again.
Fluttershy looked at her friend with her mouth forming an O and her eyes wide. “Wow. That was… how long did it take you to come up with that?”
“Oh, not too long, to be honest,” Twilight answered. “Probably all night.”
“All night!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Oh my, you must feel awful.”
“Nonsense, I’m fine,” Twilight assured her. “A little bit tired but otherwise I’m fine.” She looked at the worried expression on Fluttershy’s face and giggled. “Don’t worry. As soon as we get to Canterlot I’ll get us a room and go to sleep.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Okay, but don’t stay up all night reading a book. I don’t want you to get ill.”
“I won’t, but thanks for your concerns. At least I know I’ll be in good hooves when it comes to staying healthy.”
Fluttershy looked away, her mane covering her face to hide her blush. She glanced up again to see they were outside the train station. “Oh no,” Twilight spoke up, her voice on the verge of a panicky tone. “Oh no oh no oh no oh no, where’s the train? There should be train waiting there for Canterlot.” Twilight galloped towards the train station, her face revealing the verge of panic in her.
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said aloud, and then galloped after her, hoping to calm Twilight down before she got out of control. She stopped just beside Twilight to see her friend was reading a note on the door with a devastated face. “‘All trains to Canterlot have henceforth been cancelled’,” Fluttershy read aloud. Her eyes widened in horror.
“How is this possible?” Twilight demanded aloud. “How can they simply cancel trains to Canterlot?” She looked around for a pony who could explain this. She grinned when she saw a pony that looked like a guard, and walked up to her. “Excuse me, miss?” Twilight said, with Fluttershy close behind. “I was wondering why trains have been cancelled to Canterlot? It’s just that me and my friend here wanted to get into Canterlot by tonight.”
The guard mare gave them both a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, but there was an accident last night on one of the bridges leading into Canterlot.”
“Oh, what happened?” Twilight asked, expecting it to be a little something.
“The whole thing collapsed,” the mare replied.
The ponies’ eyes widened. “Was anypony hurt?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.
“Thankfully no,” the mare said. “But I’m afraid that the line would be out of action for a week or so until they could get it fixed. Sorry about that, ladies.” She smiled sympathetically at them once more, and then trotted into town.
Twilight looked gutted, and then began to walk in a random direction with her head down and her ears flat against her head. “Just my luck,” she muttered sadly.
Fluttershy galloped up alongside her, and with slow, hesitant movements, nuzzled her head up. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We can just try again next week. After all, Canterlot’s not going anywhere.” Twilight giggled at Fluttershy’s logic, which made Fluttershy feel happy. “Come on, let’s walk into the park and have some lunch. How does that sound?”
‘Walk?’ That one word struck out to Twilight like bright red on a completely black painting. An idea suddenly clicked in place in Twilight’s head, and her face lit up with joy. “Fluttershy, you’re a genius!” She picked the stunned pegasus up with her hooves and spun her around, grinning with joy.
Fluttershy was eventually put down. Her eyes spun around in their sockets and her mouth moved, but no sound came out. “I… I don’t think I’m a genius. I’m definitely not as smart as you.”
“Oh, you are. You know why?” She didn’t give Fluttershy the time to answer. “You just gave me the answer that just saved this trip and this plan. We’re going to walk to Canterlot.”
Fluttershy went pale. “Walk to Canterlot?” she repeated fearfully.
“Yeah. I mean it shouldn’t be too bad. If we start now and stop for a quick break we can probably get there before, or just after the sun goes down.” Twilight spun around and broke into a trot towards Canterlot, not noticing that Fluttershy was shaking in fear.
Twilight made it a few paces before realising Fluttershy wasn’t beside her. She looked back to see her friend was sitting where they were standing previously and was trembling with fright. “There’s nothing to be scared of Fluttershy,” she said, as she walked back up next to her. “There’s nothing that way that could hurt us.”
“I know that,” Fluttershy replied. “It’s just that…” She trailed off, looking down to the ground.
“Just what?” Twilight asked patiently.
Fluttershy got her courage back and looked up again. “I just don’t want to be a bad companion for you,” she blurted out.
Twilight looked at her oddly. “Bad companion?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I don’t exactly talk much, do I?”
Twilight stared at her emotionlessly for a second, and then started to laugh and brought the pegasus in for a hug. “Oh, Fluttershy, I didn’t ask you to come for your voice.” She pulled away. “I asked you to come for your company. You don’t need to talk just for my sake. By all means, you can stay silent this entire trip and you would still make a far better companion than most ponies. I just want you.” ‘Maybe she might get the message, and we wouldn’t have to even bother going,’ Twilight thought.
Fluttershy looked into her eyes, a small smile growing across her face. “Really? You mean that?”
Twilight nodded. “Of course I do.” ‘Did she get it?’
Fluttershy’s smile grew into a grin and she hugged her friend. “Thank you, Twilight. You are such a good friend.”
‘Drat,’ Twilight thought. Nevertheless, she wrapped a foreleg around her friend and returned the hug. “You’re welcome, and you are a good friend also.” She pulled away and then gestured the road leading out of Ponyville towards Canterlot. “Shall we?” she asked, giving Fluttershy the choice on whether or not to go.
Fluttershy didn’t take long to decide. She took a deep, calming breath, and then broke into a trot past Twilight and towards Canterlot, which was a bright white block at the top of the mountain. Twilight grinned, and quickly caught up with her.
Soon they were outside of the town and heading over one of the bridges that served as the town’s boundary. Fluttershy and Twilight decided on a quick stop for a breather. Fluttershy reared up on the bridge and looked down at the river, watching a few fish swim against the current, then looked up at the town, which she realised she won’t see again for a while. “Is it hard for you, Twilight?” she asked. “Leaving what has been your home for so long now? Is it hard to just walk away and leave it all behind?”
Twilight, who had sat down for a quick breather, looked up at Fluttershy, then at the town itself, deep in thought to what she was just asked. This town that she had lived in for the past three years had given her a few bad memories, granted, but were heavily outweighed by the thousands of good memories that she had to remember it by. So was it hard for her, even temporarily, to leave her home and her friends minus one behind? “It’s not as hard for me as it is for you, I imagine,” she answered after a while. “I mean it’s not like we’ll be gone forever, right?”
Fluttershy looked at Twilight and smiled. “You’re right. I know we won’t.” She set herself back on all fours and trotted over to the other side of the bridge, and began walking into the woods towards Canterlot, with Twilight close behind.
With the bridge crossed and the road now open to them, Fluttershy and Twilight felt that their adventure had truly begun.
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Hey, sorry I never got back to you earlier; life gets crazy and stuff gets buried. I went back and read your edits to chapter one. All of the changes you made to it were definitely improvements. Twilight's conversation with Applejack still feels a little bit rushed, but on the whole, the chapter is much better than it was.
That said, this new chapter is far superior. It's clear that you took your time here on chapter two. I especially liked the warm dynamic between Fluttershy and Applejack. Their conversation had emotion behind it; it didn't feel like just a frame for exposition. Not to say this chapter was flawless--there were some actions and dialogue that felt a bit more contrived than the interaction between AJ and Fluttershy, and there were some awkward parts where you backed up to explain things in the middle of the flow. But there is definitely improvement happening here. Good job, and keep writing!
1788522 Thank you very much for that; I'll try and improve in the dialouge and the explanantion things I'll try and stop, but thanks again for that. I loved writing for Applejack and Fluttershy; I really wish there was more that happened between them in the show, and I hope I got a good side of thier friendship.
I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy the next one.
Enjoyed this chapter a lot. I am really looking forward for this twishy adventure.
1788685 Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the adventure as well.
As Flapjack says constantly, "Adventure!" Heh, can't wait to see what happens as they travel
Yay new chapter! More Twishy is always good.
Anyways, good chapter. Waiting eagerly for more!
Lots of little punctuation/comma mistakes, but otherwise I like this.
Moar!
Edit:
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I have a feeling I'll be praising this story a lot. Excellent chapter.
You have used the same words/ways to describe stuff a few times in a row at some points but other than that its a solid chapter^^ Looking forward to the next one^^ Also, I really wanna know if something I have caught up on here is true or not... hehehe
1789696 There will be a lot of things, one is pirates
1792037 I glad you like it. It is my first romance story so don't expect much. Also I couldn't resist the elder scrolls thing.
1792543 I hope you do, and I hope you enjoy what I have planned...
1793438 I'm glad you liked it, and sorry about the description stuff, I hope it will differentiate from time to time. And what is it you want to know?
1794022 Dont worry, I know you will get better with time^^ And Im not gonna tell you what it is because I wanna find out as the story progresses. hehe^^ But if you want a clue to what it is: it has to do with Fluttershy and her thoughts^^
1794040 Oh I know now, and it is a major part of the plot.
1794022
The plot of the story so far is quite fetching, the flower intrigues me.
I commend you on that, it's difficult to come up with an original plot these days.
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1794050 kinda figured that^^ hehe. *sits here, waiting patiently for the next chapter*
1794056 It wasn't easy coming up with it, I'll tell you that now. I've wanted to do something that involved these two amazing ponies for a long time, but couldn't think of a reason for them two to be together with noone else to interrupt them. Only now did I have the courage to put this up.
As for the flower, there will be more about it.
1794687
If you read any of my active stories you'll see it took me fffffooooorrrreeeeevvveeeeerrrrr to really get them going simply cause I try to be original, especially with my HiE fic... that thing took months to plan out and have it be good.
I can see a massive amount of potential for this story, I eagerly await the next chapter
But like I always tell people... quality before quantity. So take your time
1794717 Of course I will. Thanks again
1794751
Welcome.
cdn.derpiboo.ru/thumbs/1200/500/2012/12/06/18_08_04_786_174278__UNOPT__artist_cradeelcin
you know after rereading the line
i imagine the flowers singing
"Fluttershy and Twilight sitting in a tree K-I-S-S- ..."
2779903 I-N-G
First comes love,
Then comes marriage
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage!
Maybe I'm crazy, but alot of the dialogue sounds like direct quotes from "The Hobbit" and I love it!
This chapter is far superior to the first one, which felt rushed. I like it so far.
I'd let Twilight read to me about physics any day.