Chapter 5
When Fluttershy awoke the next morning, it was to the sound of music and singing.
Fluttershy’s ears pricked up as high as they could in an attempt to pick up the source of the singing. At first, she thought it was birds just outside the tower singing their morning songs; she quickly changed her mind upon recognising the voice. She smiled when she realised it was just Twilight singing. Her friend had such a lovely singing voice, but she could barely make out what she was singing.
Curiosity guiding her, she got out of bed and hovered just a few inches off the ground, knowing she would be quieter if she flew rather than trotted. She didn’t want to startle the poor mare after all. As she left the bedroom and got closer to the kitchen, the aroma of food cooking entered her nostrils – food that they had bought yesterday for this morning and part of today’s trip. She pressed herself up against the wall next to the door leading into the kitchen, and when she peered over to see what Twilight was doing, her eyes bulged.
Twilight might have a good singing voice, but her dancing was not something she would ever be famed for. Twilight was staying in one place, shaking her flanks back and forth, kicking her legs out, her eyes shut tight and singing her heart out, “Don’t you want somepony to love? Don’t you need somepony to love? Wouldn’t you love somepony to love? You better find somepony to loooovvvvvvvvvveeeeee!” As she sang, her horn glowed its magenta colour, and some of the food she was cooking ended up on some of the kitchen units, the floor, and on her.
Fluttershy watched Twilight for a moment, and then slowly began to back away, her eyes wide in horror at what she just saw. ‘What has been seen can not be unseen,’ she thought. How can anypony dance like that and not be embarrassed, even when they were alone? She backed away from the kitchen, backed into the bedroom, climbed on the bed, and settled back under the covers, shivering, with her eyes unable to squint due to what she had witnessed. ‘I have a feeling I’ll be seeing that in my nightmares,’ she thought.
About ten minutes later, Twilight emerged from the kitchen with a few stains of food across her face and on her coat, and something gripped in her magic that smelt like it had been through a furnace. She grinned in delight at seeing Fluttershy awake. “Good morning, Fluttershy,” she greeted the pegasus cheerfully.
Fluttershy shook her head and made her face look like she just didn’t watch her friend dance horrifically in the kitchen and waving her flanks in her face. “Good morning, Twilight,” she greeted her with a small smile. “How are you this morning?”
“Oh, I’m very good, thank you. I hope you’re hungry, because I made you breakfast.” She set the plate of something that was held by her magic down on the bed in front of the other mare, and then backed away, grinning proudly at herself.
Fluttershy tilted her head slightly like a very confused puppy. “Wow…” she said, looking at the very burnt toast, a bowl of cereal, juice with bits in it, and… ‘Please tell me that isn’t egg,’ she thought, staring at the fried eggs that rested on the plate. Fluttershy looked from the breakfast – if it could be called a breakfast – back to Twilight. “You didn’t have to make this for me.”
“Oh, it was nothing,” Twilight said, grinning bashfully while shrugging it off with a wave of her hoof. “It’s the least I can do after yesterday. Now, I’m going to have a shower. Cooking is a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
“You mean you never cooked before?”
Twilight shook her head. “Spike did most of the cooking for me. I did it once, but afterwards he insisted that he’ll cook in the future.”
“That was very sweet of him,” Fluttershy remarked, although she had an idea why he did it afterwards, especially if it was after that incident with him throwing up everywhere.
“Yeah, it was. Right, I won’t be long. Enjoy you breakfast.” With that, she spun around and pranced towards the bathroom, humming a little, and yet cheery song.
‘I can see now why Spike does most of the cooking,’ Fluttershy thought, gazing down at the breakfast her friend had made for her, hesitant to actually touch it. She was touched that her friend went to a lot of trouble into making her this, but she didn’t think she could stomach what was before her. Neither did she want to wait until Twilight came back and say, “This breakfast is awful. Take it back and do me another… if that’s okay?” ‘It would be very rude if I did, and I don’t want to hurt Twilight’s feelings.’ So, she went down the polite path, and decided to give it a chance. ‘It might not be so bad.’
She picked up a piece of toast with her hooves, watching as some of it broke apart in her hooves and back onto the plate in little pieces. She loosened the pressure, then brought it up to her mouth and took a quick bite out of it. She moved her mouth to give it a quick crunch, but stopped when she thought her teeth were going to crack apart. So slowly and gently she chewed on it, and felt some of it slip onto her tongue. It tasted like she was biting into burnt metal, and the aftertaste once she had swallowed would probably stay there for weeks.
She put the toast down, her appetite fading away like mist after that bite, and looked at the eggs vehemently. She hated the idea of cooking eggs. Sure, she sold them off to other ponies knowing they would be cooking them, but that was their life, and she thought it would be rude to stop it for her sake. Plus it gave her considerable amount of bits, and she had to pay her taxes somehow.
But she was unsure of what to do with them. ‘I can’t eat them, yet I can’t disappoint Twilight. She made this for me after all.’ So she decided on the only option left to her – leave them be and have something else. She looked at the bowl of cereal. “Pony flakes!” she squeaked, beaming. At once, her appetite suddenly returned. She picked the bowl in both hooves and devoured the contents of the bowl in an instant.
Once the last of the flakes had been devoured, she put the bowl back down. After a moment, she doubled over and groaned as she felt a bad stomach ache occur. She knew what it meant, and wanted to hold them in and wait until the bathroom was free, but she had no choice. She suddenly let out a series of low but long belches. Once they had passed, she clamped her hooves over her mouth and blushed furiously.
“Those sounded nasty,” Twilight commented from the doorway, smirking at a side of her friend and crush she never saw.
Fluttershy felt – and probably looked – like she wanted to melt away from here. “Um… excuse me?”
Twilight giggled. “Don’t worry about it,” she said as she walked in. “I live with a dragon that belches out letters, so something like that is not unheard of to me. And like my dad says, ‘better out than in’.” She jumped up on the bed and looked at the meal she had made. Her eyes suddenly widened when she saw the eggs on the plate. She facehoofed herself and groaned at her insensitivity. “I am so sorry, Fluttershy. I’d forgotten you didn’t like eggs.”
Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. “You knew I didn’t like eggs?”
“Well, no, actually. Being an animal lover I figured you would avoid eggs. I guess I forgot about it when I started to make them; I was in such a good mood as well.” Her ears fell flat across her head. “Sorry I ruined your breakfast.”
Fluttershy quickly hugged the poor mare. “There’s nothing to be sorry for, Twilight.” She pulled back and let go, smiling lovingly. “Thank you for making me it, though. I’m just sorry I didn’t eat the toast. It was a bit burnt to my liking.”
Twilight smiled in understanding. “It’s fine, Fluttershy. Maybe I should have been less hasty than I was. I should’ve waited until you were awake, at least. Oh well, at least you ate the cereal.” She took her hooves off Fluttershy, and then looked to the ground, unsure of how she wanted to say what was on her mind.
Fluttershy noticed the unease coming from Twilight, and decided to prod her about it to help her. “Twilight, are you okay? You look like something’s on your mind.”
Twilight looked up again and nodded, while swallowing the vile lump in her throat. ‘Here goes nothing.’ “When I woke up this morning, I found you snuggling up to me. I was wondering why?” As she finished speaking, her cheeks went a bright pink as her mind drew her back to when she wake up in Fluttershy’s embrace.
It was a beautiful, yet confusing moment for her. It had never happened before in her life, so she felt a slight unease when she realised Fluttershy was clinging onto her. But after a moment, she didn’t want it to end. Yet, unfortunately, it had to. She teleported herself out of Fluttershy’s grasp, and walked to the kitchen with intention to give her friend something good to wake up to.
Her mind drifted back to the present when she saw Fluttershy blushing a light pink and giving the unicorn a sheepish smile. “Last night, there was a lightning storm that woke me up,” Fluttershy explained. “When it was over, I was about to drift off back to sleep when I heard you muttering to yourself about somepony not leaving you and that you didn’t want to be alone. Then you were starting to cry. I couldn’t leave you like that, so I held you close until you stopped and drifted back into a peaceful sleep.”
Twilight tried to bring up her voice, but found she couldn’t. “I… I… I don’t know what to say…” But she knew what to do. She gave Fluttershy a quick hug, which the pegasus quickly returned. “Thank you, Fluttershy,” she whispered.
“You are most welcome. If I may ask,” Fluttershy said once they pulled away, “do you remember what you were dreaming about that would make you do such a thing?”
Twilight’s eyes moved to look at her hooves, and she replied sullenly, “Do you remember the wedding my brother had a few months ago?” Fluttershy nodded. “And do you remember the day before it; the first attempt, at least?”
Fluttershy nodded, then her face fell into one of horror as she realised and remembered with a shudder at what Twilight was going on about. “Oh no… Twilight, you know I was so sorry for that. I… I was such a coward for following anyone else… I should have followed my instincts and comforted you… I’m… I’m so sorry.”
Twilight feared Fluttershy was about to burst into tears, so for the third time that day the two shared a hug. “Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy,” Twilight cooed softly. “There was nothing ever to forgive in the first place. I just don’t understand why I keep dreaming about it, though. It happens every now and then. I’ve tried everything to forget about it and move on, but nothing seems to be working. I don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe you need to talk to the rest of our friends about it,” Fluttershy suggested. “Maybe then that would put your mind at rest. Don’t worry, for nopony will think of you any less.”
Twilight looked in shock at Fluttershy’s excellent advice. “How do you know that?”
“Some animals come to my home sometimes having experienced dreams of past experiences that affected them. I told them all the same thing and it worked every time for all of them.” She quickly added, “It may be different on ponies, but you could at least try it out.”
Twilight gave it some thought over. “I think I will just do that,” she declared after a moment. “Just as soon as we get back from finding this flower.” She patted the pegasus on the shoulder in thanks, and then looked outside at the bright day. “Are you certain you want to do this, Fluttershy? Absolutely certain?” she asked, turning back to face her. “I will not think of you any less if you change your mind now. But know that once we leave Equestria, it will be hard to turn back.”
Fluttershy looked from the unicorn to the window, gazing to where they would be heading today. A part of her mind was telling her to take this opportunity to go home and do what she always did; hide in the closet until it was okay to come out again. But she didn’t want to be that mare all her life. She wanted to be strong like Applejack, smart like Twilight, and be brave like Rainbow. And if this was the way to do it, then it would be wrong to turn back now.
She looked back at Twilight and gave her a firm nod. “I want to do this, Twilight. More than anything.”
Although Twilight was nervous that Fluttershy wanted to do this, she couldn’t help but be relieved. “Brilliant!” she squeaked, rearing her head back and grinning in delight. “Then let’s get ready. I’ll go and make our lunch.”
Before she could leave the bedroom, a gentle hoof of her pegasus friend stopped her. “Um, maybe I should make the sandwiches and such, while you plan out where we have to go and what we have to take. Unless, you want to do something else…” she said, trailing off near the end.
“Of course!” Twilight exclaimed, planting a hoof on her face. “We need a plan! We need to know what we’re doing! Good thinking, Fluttershy. Right, you get to making lunch, and I’ll make out the plan and found out where we need to go.”
Fluttershy nodded, then jumped off the bed and began walking towards the kitchen. “Oh, and if you need any help, just shout,” Twilight offered.
“That won’t be necessary, Twilight. But thanks anyway,” she said, looking back with a thin smile. The two looked at each other for a moment, until the silence became too much and Fluttershy walked off to the kitchen, leaving Twilight to make out the plans.
“Right, ‘Operation Flower Discovery And Winning The Heart Of The One You Love’ is a go,” Twilight muttered to herself, bringing out a secret checklist she had stashed in a hidden pouch in her saddlebag and moved under her bed when Fluttershy was asleep. For the next ten minutes or so, she listed through the possible ports that could contain a suitable ship, which would take them to the Iron Pony Islands; it wasn’t a hard choice since there were only two. Afterwards, she looked at a timetable she had for the right train they needed to take, and wrote down the ones suitable, along with the times they left Canterlot.
As she did this, she thought back to the dream she had last night, the one that wouldn’t go away. She remembered with a breaking heart her friends walking out of the room, not even able to look at her. She wanted to cry out and say that she was sorry, but a part of her pride told her not to, so all she could do was raise a hoof in the hope one or all of them would return. Then Princess Celestia said some words to her, and her could hear her heart shatter like the sound of a thousand windows breaking.
But then the dream suddenly changed. It wasn’t like the other times; it was a vast improvement. Before the doors slammed shut, Fluttershy galloped back through the door, a look of regret and pity on her face, and hugged her tight. Twilight returned the hug and broke down into tears, sobbing, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorr-r-ry.”
Fluttershy had rubbed her back in little circles, cooing softly in her ear, “It’s okay, Twilight. It’ll be okay. We’re not mad, Twilight. Just disappointed – at least I am. I thought you would be above jealousy.” She hugged the poor mare tighter. “But you can still make things right, you know? All you have to do is apologise to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”
“B-but what if she doesn’t except my apology?” Twilight sobbed.
“I think she will, Twilight. I know she will. I know I would if I were in her hooves.”
Twilight pulled away, and sniffed back her tears, smiling thinly at her. “Thank you, Fluttershy. You’re a great friend. I don’t think I deserve your kindness, though.”
Fluttershy’s mouth opened, shocked at the statement. She put her hooves on Twilight’s cheeks and said, “Of course you deserve kindness, Twilight. Everypony deserves some kindness. Especially you.”
It wasn’t enough for Twilight, though. She slipped out of Fluttershy’s hold and walked to the stairs leading to the altar, her strides heavy and her ears flat. “Thank you, Fluttershy. I really appreciate what you’re doing for me, but I think I need to be alone for the moment.” She plonked her rump on the ground, then bowed her head and closed her eyes in an attempt to stop the tears pouring down her cheeks.
She heard the sound of hooves walking, and thought Fluttershy was heading towards the doors. She gasped lightly in surprise when she saw and felt hooves wrap around her neck and the breathing of a pony against her neck. “No, Twilight. I’m not going to leave you alone,” Fluttershy said softly, nuzzling the unicorn’s neck.
Twilight wanted to protest, to yell at her to go away, but couldn’t find the words. So she stayed where she was, wrapped in Fluttershy’s loving embrace, and her own misery. ‘If that actually happened,’ Twilight thought. ‘Things would have turned out rather differently.’
“Twilight, are you all right?” Fluttershy said, her tone heavy with concern.
Twilight realised she had been staring blankly at the door for a minute or so. She shook herself out of her daze and smiled assuredly at her companion. “I’m fine, Fluttershy. Why do you ask?”
Fluttershy inclined her head, her gaze unlocking from Twilight’s. “Well it’s just that… you’ve been crying.” She pointed at the unicorn’s cheeks.
Twilight put her hoof to her left cheek and felt how moist it was. She quickly dried her cheeks and wiped her eyes, clearing them of any excess tears. “It’s all right. My eyes tend to water from time to time for no reason,” she lied. “Probably all those books I read.”
Fluttershy doubted it, but she didn’t want to push Twilight any further if she was uncomfortable about it. “So have you got a plan on where we go from here?” she enquired, gesturing with her head to all the papers on the bed and the floor.
Twilight cleared her head, and then began to organise the papers in a sensible and easy to understand order. “Right, so here’s the plan. Firstly, we make our lunch for the trip today, then we see how many bits we have between us. After that we lock up the place behind us, and then got to the palace and give the key back to Princess Celestia. Then after that we head to Canterlot southern station, and board the ten thirty train to Vanhoover, and then-”
“Forgive me for interrupting you, Twilight,” Fluttershy cut her off, her curiosity wanting to be stayed, “but I was just wondering why Vanhoover? Surely Las Pegasus has a better port.”
“While Las Pegasus has a better port,” Twilight agreed. “Vanhoover has a bigger port. It has far bigger quays and docks for ships of all shapes and sizes to harbour themselves. Odds calculate there would be at least one ship there that would be able to take us to the Iron Pony Islands. Does that sound reasonable to you?” Fluttershy nodded; glad to have an explanation on the choice. “Good. Right, let’s go see how rich we are.” She jumped off the bed and walked with Fluttershy to where their saddlebags were kept.
The two began working out how many bits they had, putting them in groups of ten or twenty to make it manageable. In the end, Twilight calculated she had about five hundred bits, while Fluttershy had about eight hundred. “Oh dear,” Fluttershy said, looking at Twilight’s calculations with surprised eyes. “I think I got out a bit more than I thought I did.”
Twilight giggled. “A bit? It doesn’t matter anyway. You are arguably the richest pony in Ponyville.” She paused for a moment. “In fact, change of subject, would you like me to go over your finances at some point? I know you tend to worry if you have enough to make a living.” ‘Well, she does worry about everything.’
Fluttershy pawed at the floor with a hoof. “Well… if it’s not too much… I don’t want to impose…”
“Oh nonsense,” Twilight said dismissively, waving her hoof. “It’s the least I could do for you, since you’re coming with me on this trip and all.” Using her magic, she put her bits back in a special pouch for safekeeping, and then put Fluttershy’s away in her own bag. Once their money was away, she took out her checklist and scratched off the part about the bits. “Right, that’s one bit taken care of. Have we got lunch for later?”
Fluttershy nodded, and then took out from her mane two large bags full of food. “And I made us some light snacks incase we get peckish on the way.”
Twilight took her bag with a nod in thanks, and then stuffed in her saddlebags. She saw that Fluttershy’s bag was slightly bigger, and giggled. “You love your food, don’t you?”
Fluttershy blushed a light pink, her eyes drifting from Twilight’s. “Um, yes, I really do like food. It’s the only thing I feel I can be greedy at, and not be ashamed about it.”
“Well, just be careful,” Twilight advised. “Or you’ll start getting a pudge.”
“I thought I already had a pudge,” she said. She looked down at her belly to gaze vehemently at the little pudge she had. “I’ve been taking exercises to try and get rid of it, but it’s so stubborn.”
Twilight looked down herself and saw her friend had a little pudge, not noticeable from afar, yet still there. ‘She looks even cuter with it, actually,’ Twilight thought with a small smile. She looked back up at the pegasus’s face. “I wouldn’t worry over it, Fluttershy. Besides, you could lose it on this trip. I imagine we might have a lot of walking or flying ahead of us.” She flicked her head at her bags, her horn coming to life with colour as she did so, making the bags disappear and then reappear on her back. She sighed, and then looked back at Fluttershy. “You ready?”
Fluttershy got hold of her bags with her teeth, then threw it into the air, stepped forward, and let it land on her back with perfect precision. “I’m ready, Twilight.”
Twilight’s jaw hung loose from her mouth. “How did you do that?”
“Something I practised a long time ago with Applejack,” she replied, looking at the bags and smiling at the memory of her time with Applejack, and at Sweet Apple Acres. She looked back at Twilight with a warm smile. “Let’s get going, before I change my mind.”
Twilight agreed with a nod. She turned to face the door and, with an aura of magic surrounding it, pushed the door open. Outside, the day was mild. Although warm with a few clouds leftover from the storm last night, a quick chill swept between the two mares as Twilight locked the tower behind them and began to descend the stairs. While scattered about the fields and pavements, puddles of various sizes littered the ground, leaving it damp and hazardous.
As Fluttershy and Twilight walked towards the palace, Fluttershy was curious about something. “Twilight? What do you feel about going on this trip?”
Twilight took her gaze off their surroundings and looked at her bewilderedly. “How do I feel?” she repeated.
Fluttershy nodded. “I mean, you know why I want to go, but what about you? Why did you want to do this in the first place?”
Twilight knew she was in trouble. She knew she couldn’t just say, “Because I love you, Fluttershy, and wanted to say it in a field full of magical flowers.” It was too early for that, and she still wasn’t sure of how Fluttershy would react, and turn her worst nightmare into a reality. “It’s just that,” she answered, “I first read about this flower when I was bored and had nothing to do. It was just a fleeting passage about it, but I found myself wanting to learn more about it.”
She paused for a moment to acknowledge some guards standing by the palace doors. The two pegasi smiled at her in greeting, then with a gesture of their heads, ushered them in. “I crave knowledge, Fluttershy. Nearly everything I have been taught has come from a book, and most of my knowledge outside of Celestia’s teaching has been from books. But now I want to go one step further than reading a book; I want to see rather then read.
“So when I first read about this flower, I wanted to know more about it. So I looked through every book, every scroll in my library, and found out only one little thing about it; the fact that it is silver and was discovered by Botany the Botanist. To me, it wasn’t enough, so that’s where this little trip comes in.”
Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “Okay, but what about going west? How do feel about leaving Equestria?” Fluttershy prayed silently to herself that she wasn’t being too inquisitive.
“To be honest I wasn’t expecting it,” Twilight answered instantly. “But it’s going to be strange to leave Equestria and go over uncharted ocean. A part of me worries about it, but another part of me thinks how exciting it’s going to be.” She slung a leg over Fluttershy’s shoulders, gaining an uneasy reaction from the pegasus. “Think about it. Whatever we find across that ocean, and come back home with, would never have been seen by any living pony’s eyes. We would be the first to discover whatever’s out there, and it’s going to be awesome.”
Fluttershy’s eyes glanced nervously from Twilight’s eyes to the leg now around her shoulders. After a moment, she looked back into Twilight’s eyes. “Um, but wouldn’t that mean we’ll get some attention?” she asked fearfully.
“Some attention?” Twilight snorted, pulling her leg off the pegasus. “It’ll be more than that, Fluttershy. We would become the most famous explorers in Equestria!” Fluttershy squeaked at the thought and shrunk towards the ground. At that, Twilight felt guilty. ‘You really are messing up with Fluttershy today, Twilight,’ she chided herself. ‘First you give her eggs, and now you make her scared about coming back!’ She nuzzled the side of Fluttershy’s face delicately. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Tell you what; if we are asked to do any interviews, I’ll do the talking and you don’t have to turn up at all.”
Fluttershy flicked her mane out of her face and smiled at her sweetly. “Or, we can just record what we see, and when we die then share it out to the rest of Equestria so they know what we saw. I don’t think I would mind what ponies say about me after that.”
Twilight couldn’t help but giggle. “Oh, Fluttershy. So, we keep it between our friends and ourselves, yeah? Then once we die share our knowledge out to the rest of Equestria?” Fluttershy nodded frantically in response. “Fine,” she said with a hint of reluctance. “We’ll do that. But I wouldn’t worry about what other ponies say about you. I don’t think anypony could ever think of a bad thing to say about you, even if it takes them a hundred years.”
Fluttershy blushed a dark pink and covered her face with her mane, while a small smile crept across her face. ‘Why am I smiling?’ she thought. ‘It’s just a compliment. It doesn’t make Twilight special.’ But a tiny, insignificant voice in her mind said it did.
They rounded another corner to see a unicorn royal guard heading towards them. “Excuse me, sir? But we were wondering where could we find Princess Celestia at this time?” Twilight enquired.
“Oh, hey, Twilight. Good to see you again,” the guard replied, smiling. “And you’ll find the Princess in the throne room.” He gestured with his head the throne room that was just behind him.
“Brilliant! Thanks,” she replied. She bowed her head, and trotted past the guard with Fluttershy close behind, while the guard continued with his patrol.
“Um, Twilight? I don’t mean to sound bossy or anything, but back there… don’t you think that was a little, um, rude?”
Twilight stopped just before the doors to the throne room, and turned to face her companion. “What was rude?”
“Um, well, he did call you by name, yet you didn’t call him back.”
“Oh, that. Haven’t you noticed that all the guards look the same?”
Fluttershy looked from the unicorn to two pegasus guards walking by, and saw that they looked exactly alike. “Well now that you mention it…”
“Exactly! It’s hard to know and remember who’s who around here, so I just say thanks and move on.” With that, she turned around and entered the throne room, while Fluttershy lingered outside. “You know, you can come in, if you like.” Twilight said, her head peering from the other side of the door. “Celestia won’t bite.”
“Oh… okay then, I don’t want to be in the way,” she replied, getting up from her sitting position.
“Like I said before; you’re never in the way, Fluttershy,” Twilight assured her. “Come on, she’s over there.” She pointed to where the winged unicorn was sitting, her muzzle buried in a thousand parchments pressed against her face.
Twilight and Fluttershy walked alongside each other up to the throne. When they were close enough, Twilight let out a fake cough. “Princess Celestia?”
Celestia moved the parchments out of her face and grinned when she saw Twilight and Fluttershy. “Twilight, Fluttershy, so good to see you two.” The two ponies smiled in return, and prepared to bow. Before they could get halfway, Celestia stopped them with a raised hoof. “Oh, don’t concern yourselves about formalities here, my little ponies,” she said cheerfully. She nodded her head to the earth pony next to her, who stiffly bowed her head and left the throne through a back passage. “So what I can do for you today?”
Twilight opened up one of the pouches from her saddlebags and took out the house key within. “We just wanted to give this back to you, and say thanks for letting us have it for a few days.”
“Oh yes, thank you, Princess. It was nice,” Fluttershy said meekly.
Celestia took the key out of Twilight’s magic using her own magic and stored it somewhere behind her. “You are most welcome, you two.” Her smile withered just a bit. “So I take it you will be leaving Canterlot?”
“Yep,” Twilight answered, “We found what we were looking for – well, it was actually Fluttershy who found what we were looking for.” Fluttershy blushed once more. “So we’ll be heading to Vanhoover, and from there set out to search for it.”
Celestia nodded. “I see, and I take it you would be getting the train?”
Twilight and Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, Princess. There should be one in roughly half an hour that should get us there.”
“Oh, don’t take that one,” Celestia advised. “That one stops at every station, and even then it’s highly unreliable. You would probably get there by midnight!” With her magic, she cast some golden tickets, and blew them to the two ponies. Twilight accepted it with her magic, while Fluttershy jumped and caught it with both hooves. When Fluttershy looked at the picture, her heart stopped beating for a second and her eyes went wide. It was like she had just seen a ghost. The ticket had a small picture of a large steam engine; vastly different to the one they would take to Canterlot. “This one would get you there by the early evening,” Celestia explained. “It’s a none stop train that, from what I heard, is very fast.”
“Oh, I think I know this train,” Fluttershy said, smiling at a distant memory that appeared in her mind. “Thank you, Princess.”
You’re quite welcome, Fluttershy. Well I better let you both get on, before you miss it. I wish you two a safe and pleasant journey,” she wished them, smiling pleasantly.
The two ponies bowed their heads. “Thank you, Princess,” they chimed in unison. They turned around and quickly galloped out of the throne room. Celestia watched them go with a small, sad smile, then called for her secretary to come back in.
“It says here the train departs at around quarter past ten,” Twilight read the ticket. She looked around for a clock of some sort. “What’s the time now?”
“Um, I’m not sure. I don’t have a watch on me.” Fluttershy looked around also, her eyes looking at the ceiling and then at the walls.
“Miss Sparkle?” A guard stopped them. “The time is about a minute past ten.”
“Oh, thank you, sir,” Twilight said, bowing her head. Fluttershy followed suite, meekly waving at him. The guard bowed his head in return, and then walked away. “Right, so the train station the train departs from is approximately fifteen minutes away from the palace.” Her eyes widened as she realised what that meant.
“And the train departs in fifteen minutes time,” Fluttershy finished for her, her eyes wide already. “So that means…”
Twilight nodded. The two stared at each other for a long time, before suddenly breaking out of their daze and galloped towards the palace exit. They galloped past startled guards and servants of the palace, veering one way and another without thinking of slowing down; all that mattered at present was getting to the train station on time.
“Hey, Miss Sparkle, what’s the hurry?” a guard called as they ran by.
“Not now, we’re busy and running late!” she yelled back.
The guard looked confused. “Late for what?” he called before the two zipped out of earshot.
“We’re going on an adventure!” Twilight called, just before they rounded the bend and left the palace.
The two kept running until they arrived at Canterlot’s central station. Unlike the one they usually get off at when they come to the capital, this one was much bigger, and grander. There were three platforms: one heading east, the middle heading north, and the other heading west. Each platform was around forty feet in length, and was as tall as a pony. And a glass roof, held up by thin pillars across the middle of the platforms, covered the station to protect it from the elements.
“What platform is our train on?” Fluttershy enquired, looking from train to train.
Twilight looked to each of the signs stating which platform was which, and where the train currently at each platform was heading. “There!” she shouted, pointing to the one at the far end. “Come on, let’s go!” Fluttershy nodded, and then galloped after Twilight.
Before they could step onto the platform, however, a guard stopped them with a raised hoof. “Do you have tickets?” he enquired in a flat tone, expressing his boredom. Twilight showed him the tickets. He stared at them for a long time, making the two think he wasn’t going to let them board. “Enjoy your trip,” he said, giving them back to the two. Twilight and Fluttershy nodded their heads in thanks, and then moved past him.
The two then galloped down the platform, looking through the windows for an empty space so they could have some privacy. All of the five carriages were built with little compartments, so ponies could have a private conversation without anypony else listening. Twilight screeched to a halt when she saw an empty one in the middle carriage. “Fluttershy, there’s one right here!” she called, pointing to it.
But Fluttershy didn’t stop; she just kept on running, wondering if this really was the same train. She stopped just by the engine, and gasped when she recognised it. It was an apple green, and was huge. About seventy foot long, it’s wheels were bigger than her, and its boiler was round. A large tender trailed behind it, filled to the brim with coal and water. And the smell! She inhaled deeply the smell of burning coal and steam coming from the engine, and let it out again, a big smile across her face. ‘That brings back some memories,’ she thought.
“Uh… Fluttershy? Are you all right? Twilight asked, tapping her on the shoulder.
Fluttershy shook herself out of her reminiscence, and blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I was just trying to remember if I saw this train before.”
Twilight, although slightly confused, looked over at the nameplate that rested on the running plate, right up against the boiler. “The ‘Flying Scotsmare’,” she read aloud. “Do you remember it?”
Just before Fluttershy was about to answer, a whistle blew from the far end of the platform, signalling to ponies that the train was about to leave. In haste, Twilight opened the closest door, and nudged Fluttershy into the carriage. She quickly jumped on board and slammed the door behind her, just as the train was about to move. “Phew,” Twilight sighed in relief. “I thought we weren’t about to make it then.”
Fluttershy looked crestfallen. “Sorry I nearly messed up.” She bowed her head in shame.
Twilight lifted her friend’s head up with a hoof under the chin and smiled at her. “I’m not blaming you, Fluttershy. If anything, that ticket inspector was slower in checking our tickets were correct than you checking if you knew the train.” She gently brushed past the pegasus and began the walk through the train. “Come on, I saw a compartment we can have just down here.”
Fluttershy followed close behind Twilight, all the while thinking back to old times. After a while of jumping from carriage to carriage, they found the compartment they found earlier and got inside. Just as they did, the train began to crawl forward. A sound that seemed like an explosion followed shortly after. Fluttershy jumped a little at the exhaust of the engine; even though she knew what it was, it still got her every time. Soon the train was picking up speed as they left Canterlot station, and was going faster with every passing second.
Fluttershy reared up and pressed her hooves and face against the window, watching as the ‘Flying Scotsmare’ left Canterlot and began the long descent down the mountain. Twilight meanwhile settled onto the chair on her stomach, tucking her legs in, and began reading the romance story she’d brought along.
After half an hour or so, the train had made it off the mountain and was now charging across the fields and landscape of Equestria. “Home is now behind us,” Fluttershy muttered to herself as she watched the world pass by. “The world is ahead.”
“What was that?” Twilight asked, too transfixed by her book to look up.
“Oh, just a line I remember from my favourite book,” Fluttershy said, looking back at her. “I figured it might be appropriate for this trip.” She tilted her head slightly when she looked at what Twilight was reading. She couldn’t make out the title but could tell from what she saw of the cover that it was a love story. “I didn’t know you had a romance book with you, Twilight,”
Twilight looked up from her book to see Fluttershy gazing at it with curiosity. “Oh this? It was something I quickly picked up at the library before we left. I don’t usually read romance books but I thought I might give it a go this time.”
“So what’s it called? If you’re okay with me asking that is,” Fluttershy asked. Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes, then lifted the book up for Fluttershy to see the title. “‘The Meaning Of Love’,” she read aloud. She reared her head up from it in horror.
Twilight had seen that look before. “You’ve read it before?”
Fluttershy nodded, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. “It was one of several Rarity lent to me a while ago. I was glad to see the back of them, especially that one,” she said, pointing at it accusingly.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it, Fluttershy. I mean it’s well written, got some interesting characters, and it’s set in the past, which is always a hoof up from me. So why did you hate it?”
“It is well written, I agree with you there,” Fluttershy admitted. “But if you want, turn to page two hundred and twenty one, I believe it’s when it starts, and you’ll see why I hate it.”
Unable to quell her curiosity, and understand Fluttershy’s hatred of it, Twilight quickly turned the page over to the one marked by the pegasus, and read it quick. Afterwards, she wished that she never did. She looked up from the book, an expression of horror and disgust on her face. She slowly shut it, and then put it back in the darkest reaches of her saddlebags. “Well that killed the moment,” she said flatly. “How long does that go on for?”
“About seven pages, I think,” Fluttershy answered.
Twilight’s mouth slackened. “S-seven pages!” she stammered. “Who the hoof would write that for seven pages? Seven pages of perfectly good book ruined.” She lowered her head and pouted, sulking at the violation of a few good pages.
“Ah, it could’ve been worse, Twilight,” Fluttershy said comfortingly, patting Twilight gently on the shoulder. “At least you didn’t read the rest like I did. Some of the images I got in my head were not pretty.”
Twilight raised her head up and lifted an eyebrow. “It gets that bad, huh?”
Fluttershy nodded solemnly. “Afraid so.” She leaned closer to whisper, “Just don’t tell Rarity I said so. She idolises that book, and would be very hurt if you did.”
Twilight gave her a small grin and tapped her nose with a hoof. “Your secret is safe with me.”
Fluttershy grinned in thanks, then jumped up on the other chair and settled down with her legs tucked against her stomach. “So Twilight, what do you know of the Iron Pony Islands?”
Twilight tilted her head from side to side. “A fair amount. Why do you ask?”
Fluttershy pawed at the couch shyly. “Because I was wondering – if you’re okay with it, of course – if you could tell me about them. I’m just curious about them, that’s all.”
Twilight looked at her oddly. “They didn’t teach you about them in history class at your school? They are, arguably, the pegasi’s finest hour, after all.”
Fluttershy’s head lowered, but her eyes never left Twilight’s. “Um… I kinda missed those classes. I later tried to catch up by reading books on history, but I couldn’t understand most of the words being used to describe events, so I gave up in the end.” She bowed her head, ashamed of herself.
Twilight felt her heart melt for the pegasus. She gently put a hoof under her friend’s chin and lifted Fluttershy’s head. When the two made eye contact again, Twilight smiled at her lovingly. “Hey, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just because you have a low vocabulary doesn’t mean you aren’t smart. I usually find the ones that use the simplest words to describe things the more intelligent, and the most modest.” Her ears fell flat. “Which doesn’t count me, if I’m honest.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened, shocked by this. “You are not arrogant, Twilight. Not like Rainbow Dash at least.” She leaned forward to whisper, “Don’t tell her I said that though.”
Twilight giggled. “I won’t. Now, you want to know about the Iron Pony Islands?”
Fluttershy nodded, shifting herself about until she felt more comfortable. “Oh, yes please… if that’s okay?”
“Mm hmm,” Twilight hummed with a nod. She followed Fluttershy’s example by shifting herself about. Once comfortable, Twilight began to tell the history of the islands.
“It wasn’t long after the founding of Equestria when the Iron Pony Islands were discovered. You see, Private Pansy, now General Pansy at that point, suggested to the Council of Six that they should catalogue the amount of land that surrounded their thriving kingdom. After a unanimous agreement, they sent out at least thirty explorers across the land, recording features like mountain areas, suitable places to settle, that sort of thing. One of these explorers was Commander Hurricane, who was now Admiral Hurricane.
“The good admiral had gotten bored of city politics, and the constant arguing it brought with ruling a country, so decided to go exploring to see what’s out there. Leaving Pansy in charge, she left the capital and headed west, towards the sea. She crossed the ocean for supposedly days, stopping occasionally for a quick nap in one of the clouds that clustered the sky. Eventually, she came across a group of four large islands, each of them connected by these ancient stone bridges, each supposedly as tall as Canterlot’s highest tower. The strange thing was that she had no idea how they were built, for there was no life on this island. But from what she recorded about them, they were ancient beyond belief.
“She flew back to the capital as fast as her wings could take her. Upon arrival, she told the Council of Six what she discovered. It was decided, after a long night and after drinking plenty of coffee, that the Equestrian expansion would begin. And so, thousands of ponies surged out of the capital, heading in every direction at the behest of the Council of Six. A group of ponies, however, followed Admiral Hurricane to the Iron Pony Islands, and began to settle there, with Hurricane as their first lady.
“Upon arrival, they quickly discovered the islands were cursed with huge storms battering the island from the ocean, great gales that would strike from everywhere and nowhere, and the constant danger of disease and lack of good grass on the island. Nevertheless, the ponies stayed, purely out of stubbornness than anything else. But it made them stronger than most ponies, both physically and mentally.
“Their luck changed when they found out the island was rich in iron under the ground. So, with reluctant help from Queen Platinum, they began mining out the iron ore from the ground, and shipping it over to Equestria for trade of food, gold, and especially building materials so they could build homes and great halls.
“Everything went brilliantly after that. The ponies were soon able to farm their own foods. They created defences against the elements that constantly besieged them. And most of all, the population thrived across the islands. A hundred years of peace and prosperity followed afterwards, but the seeds of doubt and arrogance began to fester in their hearts.
“The iron ponies, as they were called by those on the mainland, were beginning to see themselves outside of Equestrian rule, and began to create their own laws that faded out some of the Equestrian ones. However, they stayed as part of the kingdom for a while. Until one moment changed everything.
“The Equestrian Council, the descendents of the first founders and the current rulers, decreed that iron was becoming more and more of a needed resource for the kingdom to thrive. So they ordered the ponies of the Iron Pony Islands to double the amount of iron they send over the water. Of course, the iron ponies refused, and seized the chance that had been given to them on a silver platter. Under the governess’s orders, they separated themselves from the country, formed their own laws and ceased trading with Equestria. They became their own nation.”
Fluttershy found herself to be hanging on every word. “I take it the Equestrian council didn’t like that?”
“No they didn’t. They didn’t at all,” Twilight agreed with a nod. “As soon as word reached them, and after quite a hissy fit if the books tell it right, they summoned every able bodied pegasus and unicorn to the capital, gave them armour and weapons, and got them ready to take back the islands.”
She paused for a moment, then asked, “What do you know of our military, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy went slightly pale at the thought. “I… I thought we didn’t have an army anymore. I thought it was just the royal guard.”
Twilight grinned. “You’re right. It is just the royal guard nowadays. But back then the Equestrian army was strong – very strong. They were unmatched anywhere else on Terra. So anyway, thousands of the greatest army ever created were assembled on great warships and airships, and set out on the three-day voyage to reclaim the Iron Pony Islands.
“One morning, the iron ponies awoke to find their skies filled with airships, and their bays full of Equestrian galleys, cogs, and every other type of warship that Equestria used back then. The iron ponies attempted to defend their homeland in a massive battle across the islands. It apparently lasted for the whole day, with pegasi soaring across the sky, magic blasts happening everywhere, and the cries and whinnies of ponies.
“But by nightfall, the defenders of the Iron Pony Islands were defeated, the governess deposed and taken back to Equestria in chains, and so much of what the islands have achieved in a hundred years was gone – smashed – in a single day.” The way Twilight said it made Fluttershy think her friend was sombre about it.
“What happened next?” Fluttershy queried. “Did the islands be ever repopulated again?”
“Oh yes,” Twilight answered with a nod. “A few iron ponies were left behind by the army after the traditional few days of pillaging. They were so few and so little was left that many thought they would perish. But they did what was thought to be impossible, and thrived once more. They rebuilt, they repopulated, they re-grew; they rebuilt everything the Equestrian army destroyed in nearly a decade.
“After a while, they were pardoned by the council for their services to the country, and were welcomed back into Equestrian law with open forelegs. After that, the Iron Pony Islands have been in peace ever since. And that, Fluttershy, is the history of the Iron Pony Islands.”
After all that talking, Twilight’s throat felt dry. She took out a canteen from her saddlebags and took a good long drink. She sighed as she pulled the drink away, and then slid it back in her saddlebags. “That was… incredible,” Fluttershy remarked, her eyes wide with interest. Her eyes suddenly squinted to give her a look of sadness “I do feel sorry for them, though. Getting through all that hardship, only to go back to square one.”
Twilight nodded her head in agreement. “I do too. I think I know that feeling, actually.”
“Same here,” Fluttershy agreed.
The two ponies giggled. Afterwards, Fluttershy suddenly let out a yawn. “Oh dear, excuse me. The sleep I missed last night must be catching up to me. Would you mind if I…?”
“Of course not. You don’t have to ask permission to take a nap,” Twilight said, gesturing with a hoof for Fluttershy to lay her head down and go to sleep. She got out another book from her saddlebags. “I’ll be all right for the moment.”
Fluttershy smiled, and then shifted herself so her whole body was spread out on the chair, her legs tucked towards her stomach, and her head resting by her chest. “Thank you, Twilight, for telling me that. It was very interesting.” With that, she closed her eyes and drifted quickly into sleep.
Twilight smiled with great affection at the sleeping form of Fluttershy. Using her magic, she took a spare blanket out from her saddlebags and placed it over Fluttershy’s body. “Sleep well, Fluttershy,” she whispered. She briefly wondered if she could get away with kissing Fluttershy’s forehead, but immediately went against it. ‘I don’t think I could survive explaining it to Fluttershy if it wakes her up,’ she thought.
She decided to leave Fluttershy be for a moment, and went back to her book on complicated physics. Outside, the train rattled past woodlands and fields, and whisked by farms in the blink of an eye. Great clouds of white smoke whooshed from the chimney as it thundered along. In all, everything was going fine.
“What do you mean you can’t find the second turn crew?”
Fluttershy’s head bolted upright at the sudden sound of ponies shouting. “That’s what I just said, the second crew isn’t on the train. I’ve searched every compartment and they ain’t anywhere.”
Fluttershy glanced at Twilight to see she was too engrossed in her book to pay attention to her. She quietly got off the couch and pressed her ear against the door, listening intently to what the two ponies were saying.
“Are you sure they aren’t on the engine now?” one pony, a stallion, said.
“Positive, boss. Been there, been across the whole train. We must have left them back at the station,” the other pony, a mare, said.
“Urgh,” the stallion groaned. “This is terrible. Never in a hundred years of service has something like this happened before.” Fluttershy opened the door gently, and peered through the opening. The stallion – a light blue unicorn with a dark blue and black striped mane and tail – had his back to her, while the green earth pony mare with a yellow and orange mane and tail was in front of him. She watched as, with a sigh, the stallion slumped. “We have to stop the train. There’s no way the crew can continue the trip.” The mare opened her mouth to protest. “You know the railway regulations. Such a journey for two ponies to do themselves is strenuous to health. We just have to stop the train at the next station and give the passengers back their money.”
Fluttershy’s ears flattened in disappointment. It seems like they won’t make it to Vanhoover today after all. She was about to shut the door and tell Twilight when all of a sudden an idea stopped her. As she thought about it, the crazier it became. ‘Could me and Twilight really do that?’ she wondered. But they could do that; they’ve done more than most ponies ever could. She felt the butterflies in her stomach begin to fly about, making her hesitate. ‘Would they recognise me? It has been so long none of them know who I am, but they probably know my mother. I could get myself and her in trouble for this.’ Her mind quickly reminded her that she and Twilight weren’t the only ponies on this train. There were others on the train going to Vanhoover to visit family, see the sea, or go to the city to have fun. Her kind heart told her it would be unfair on everypony if they had to stop whilst she sat by and did nothing. And besides, it would be a chance she never got when she was a filly.
Plucking up all her courage, she opened the door and stepped out into the walkway. “Um, excuse me?” The two ponies turned to face her. “Um, I couldn’t help but overhear you don’t have a spare driver and fireman.” She quickly added, “Forgive me if I was a bit intrusive.”
The two ponies gave strange looks at each other, then back to her. “You heard right, though,” the mare said. “The spare crew that’s supposed to be on this train aren’t on the train. Therefore, I’m afraid we can’t have it go no further.”
“Well, if you want…” This was it. Fluttershy took a deep breath, and then blurted out, “I could drive it for you.”
“You can drive a train?” the mare asked.
“You can drive a train!” the stallion exclaimed.
Fluttershy nodded meekly, trying to keep eye contact. “Well, I know how one, especially this one, works, if that’s what you were wondering.”
Surprisingly, the mare looked like she was considering. The stallion, however, was shaking his head furiously. “There’s no way under Celestia’s sun that I’m allowing a civilian to go forward and drive a seventy ton steam engine!” he yelled.
Fluttershy flinched back, but refused to give ground. She decided to go for the pleading look. She gave him big eyes and drew out her bottom lip. “Oh, please give me a chance,” she said. “Me and my friend need to get to Vanhoover by tonight, and chances are so many other ponies on this train need to as well. It would be better if me and my friend do this, than you having to deal with a load of angry ponies.”
The stallion, to his credit, gave it some thought. “You’re right, Miss. But I can’t just go against regulation like that. And besides, you’re not permitted to work on an engine like this.”
At that, Fluttershy took something out from somewhere and showed it to them. “I think you’ll find that I can,” she informed them, trying her best not to sound smug.
The two ponies squinted their eyes as they read the little red card. Once they did, the stallion jumped back in surprise. “Is this real?” he muttered to the mare.
“It sure is. It’s written in the mouth writing of the mare herself. I didn’t even know she had a daughter,” she muttered in response.
The stallion went, “Hmph,” then looked back to Fluttershy with newfound interest. “You’re absolutely sure you know how to drive this train?”
“Oh yes, and my friend could help me. She might even know a bit about trains, and if she doesn’t she’s a fast learner.”
The guard looked wary once more. His assistant put a hoof on his shoulder and said, “Let’s give her a chance, boss. For once, forget regulations and rules – except the most important ones at least. She’s doing this out of the kindness of her heart, and that’s an offer we just can’t throw away.”
After a long silence, the stallion sighed and nodded in agreement. “Fine.” He pointed a warning hoof at her. “But take her steady. She’s older than any of us.”
Fluttershy beamed with delight. “Oh, thank you, sir! I promise, I won’t let you down.”
The stallion returned the smile, even if it wavered a bit. “Right, go and relieve the crew then, and I’ll tell everypony we’re slowing down due to difficulties.” With that, the stallion budged past the earth pony mare and started going through the compartments. The mare looked back at Fluttershy, mouthed, “Thank you,” and then followed him.
Grinning with excitement, Fluttershy hopped on the spot for a moment. She spun around and went back in the compartment with Twilight. The unicorn jumped with an, “Ah!” when Fluttershy shut the door. “Oh, hello, Fluttershy,” Twilight said once she recovered. “I didn’t hear you get up.”
“That’s okay, I was just outside the door.” She looked at the floor between the chairs, thinking about what to say next. “Um, Twilight? I was just wondering, if you wouldn’t mind getting hot and dirty with me in a moment?” The heavy pink blush she could feel on her cheeks made her quickly realise she should’ve given it more thought.
The book Twilight was magically holding on to fell out of her magic and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Her jaw hung open as she tried to process what her quietest friend and secret crush just said. “W-w-wh-what?” she stammered, hoping she wasn’t blushing. ‘Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Twilight, of course you’re blushing! Your whole body is going red!’
“I was hoping if you could help me drive this train to Vanhoover,” Fluttershy quickly explained.
At that, Twilight’s heart slowed down to a more reasonable pace. Her blush faded away and her horrified look disappeared, to be taken over by confusion. “What do you mean?” She didn’t wait for Fluttershy to answer, for she knew it just after she asked. “Are you saying you can drive this train?”
Fluttershy nodded. “But I can’t do it alone. I need your help. Don’t worry I can guide you on how to help, if you’d like.”
Twilight was hesitant. She didn’t entirely understand why she and Fluttershy would have to drive this train, so considered backing out. But the moment she looked into Fluttershy’s eyes, she felt horrible for even considering saying no. They were carving into her soul, pleading for her to help her in this. ‘I could never refuse those eyes,’ she thought to herself.
With a sigh, she nodded. “Okay; I’ll do it.” She jumped off the comfortable couch.
Fluttershy grinned with delight, and then gave the unicorn a quick hug. “Oh thank you, Twilight!” she squeaked. She pulled away. “Right, come on then, let’s go and relieve the crew.” After picking up their saddlebags, Fluttershy led Twilight to the front of the train, while explaining to her the circumstances that led them into doing this.
“Well it’s nice that you want to do this to help us and everypony else on this train, Fluttershy,” Twilight said as they neared the door to take them onto the engine. “But do you really know how to drive this train?”
Fluttershy stopped opening the door and looked back at her. “Of course I know how to drive this train, Twilight. I wouldn’t’ have offered otherwise.” Fluttershy’s ears fell flat. “You don’t doubt me, do you?”
Twilight shook her head fiercely. “Of course not, Fluttershy, I have the utmost faith in you. I just can’t get my head around the fact that you could actually drive one.” Fluttershy opened the door and walked on through without replying. Twilight grimaced at the thought she might have just upset her, so quickly cantered to catch up with her. “Fluttershy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you if I did.”
Fluttershy looked back at her. Instead of a scowl across her face, it was a warm, friendly smile Fluttershy usually had. “It’s okay, Twilight. You haven’t upset me at all. You’re right to be confused. Even Rainbow Dash didn’t believe it when I told her. But yes, I do know how to drive this train.” She turned around upon realising they were nearing the end of the carriage. Once they arrived at the door, she reared up and slid the door open with her hooves.
“But how do you know how to drive this train?” Twilight queried as they walked into the tender corridor.
Fluttershy looked back at her. “Because my mother taught me how.” She turned around and continued walking, not stopping to notice the perplexed look on Twilight’s face.
How was such a thing possible? As far as Twilight knew, Fluttershy had stayed in Cloudsdale for most of her childhood, with only the one time when she fell to the ground and gained her cutie mark. When Fluttershy told them all this, she made it sound like she had never been on the ground before then, so how did this happen? The unicorn was shaken out of her thoughts when she was rammed against the side of the corridor as the train went round a corner.
“Oww,” she groaned. She got up and rubbed her side better, then continued through and out onto the footplate itself.
“Ah, there you both are. I was beginning to wonder when you all would turn up,” the fireman said when she appeared. He gave her a shovel, which she took with her magic. “Have fun.” With that, he walked through the corridor with the driver and shut it behind him, leaving an utterly confused unicorn with a shovel wrapped in magic.
“Such nice ponies,” Fluttershy commented as she watched them go. She turned to Twilight, who looked a little nervous. “It’s okay to be nervous, Twilight,” she said comfortingly, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I’m nervous too. But we, as well as many of other ponies on this train, need to get to Vanhoover today.”
Twilight looked down at the shovel in her magic for a moment, and then looked back at Fluttershy. Her crush was right; it wasn’t just them that needed to get to Vanhoover, but everypony that was on this train. ‘She’s doing this not because she can, but because she wants to help everyone,’ Twilight thought. It seemed to her that everything Fluttershy did was to help others. And with every kind act Fluttershy did, even if things went wrong in the end, it made Twilight’s resistance to the urge of wanting to kiss her increasingly difficult.
Twilight nodded confidently. “What do you want me to do?”
Fluttershy grinned. “Right. You need to shovel coal from there into there.” she pointed to the tender, where black lumps of coal were strewn about, and then to the large door, which kept the raging inferno inside and out of harm’s way. “And you need to keep the water those glasses level with those.” She pointed to the little glasses full of water, and then pointed to a lever thingy in the right corner. “Do you think you can do all that?”
Twilight nodded with a little grin. ‘At least the coal thing will be easy.’ “Just stand back.” She jumped up on the chair by the window, and with her magic, began shovelling coal from the tender into the firebox.
‘She’s making it look like a casual chore,’ Fluttershy thought, her eyes watching the shovel as it made its way from the tender to the firebox door and back again, while Twilight sat on the chair gazing out at the scenery, her horn glowing its magenta hue. With that taken care of, she jumped up on the other chair and sat on her haunches. Sitting in the chair her mother used to sit on made her giddy with excitement. ‘I wonder what she would think of me if she saw me now?’ she mused. ‘She’ll probably find out about this later on. Being the mare in charge of the railway network would mean this won’t go unnoticed.’ It would mean she would finally get a letter from her.
Ridding the thoughts of her mother out of her head, she reached out a hoof and gently pushed the regulator down. At once, as if it knew she was there, the engine responded and began to slow down into a gentler rhythm. ‘That feels better on the rump,’ she thought. She remembered how achy her legs and rump felt when she was little after going at seventy or ninety miles per hour down the line. She peered her head out of the window and squinted her eyes, trying to make out trouble along the track.
Twilight, on the other hoof, was having the time of her life. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as she watched meadows, farms, villages, rivers, forests, and woodlands race by. Yet, despite the joyous feeling she had, she couldn’t help but be confused. An hour later, after settling in and getting to know how to work it, she decided to voice her concerns. “Say, Fluttershy?” she called. After a moment of no response, she realised the pegasus couldn’t probably here her over the roar of the engine. She quickly cast a spell on herself that amplified her voice, allowing herself to be heard. “So tell me, Fluttershy, when did you learn how to drive a train?” she said as she turned her head round to face her friend and crush. She did a double take when she saw the pegasus and what she was wearing. ‘Where and when did she get that cap?’
Fluttershy was wearing a driver’s cap on her head. It looked a bit too big for her, as was evident by the fact one side of it covered her left eye, but she looked happy with it all the same. Fluttershy jumped when she realised Twilight was talking to her, and then turned to face her. “Oh, I’m sorry, Twilight, I didn’t hear you for a moment!” How are you so loud?”
“A spell that amplifies voices,” Twilight replied. She cast it on Fluttershy quick. “There. Now we should still be able to talk to each other without having to move.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Okay,” she said. Her eyes widened when she realised how loud she sounded. She calmed down when she realised Twilight had cast a spell on her. “Did you say you wanted to know when I learned how to drive a train?” Twilight nodded. “I was a little filly when I first learned.”
“But you said once you’ve never been on the ground before,” Twilight pointed out. “And you never saw any of those animals you met when you got your cutie mark, nor could you fly well at that age.”
Fluttershy tilted her head and grimaced. “Well, that’s half the truth, I guess,” she admitted. After a deep breath, she began to tell her story. “My mother was a pegasus pony who worked on this railway since she was a little filly. She went a long way to becoming a driver, and was one of the best there was. Even after she was married to my father and got pregnant with me, she didn’t stop on maternity leave until she was about five months pregnant, I believe she said she was.
“Anyway, once she had me, and I was old enough to walk on my own four hooves, she couldn’t afford to stay at home to look after me, nor could she afford a babysitter, so she took me with her.” She stopped to smile as a memory flashed through her head. “I remember my first day going with her as though it was yesterday. She woke me up early that morning, just before the sun came up, and said that we were going on an adventure together. At first I was excited because I had never travelled too far from my home, but that excitement quickly turned to terror when we started to fly from Cloudsdale. I clung onto her back as tight as I could, and buried my face in her mane as she flew across the sky. I was too scared to look around me; I just kept my eyes closed and waited until we arrived at where we were going and safe.
“After an hour of flying, we arrived at the depot. I remember the forepony saying to my mother upon noticing me, “You should get that lump on you back checked out.” I remember my mother replying, “It’s just my daughter.” We were fine after that. Once passed him we went straight to the engine, which was ready for us.
“Once we got on the engine, I shot off my mum’s back and stood in that corner out of the way,” She continued, pointing at the corner just behind her. “I stayed there for the whole trip, peeking out of the gap to gaze at the scenery that flew by. It was so fast I couldn’t see a thing, Twilight. Didn’t see an animal, nor did I see a meadow. My mum did, though, and tried to point several critters out to me, but we were going too fast for me to see them. Even when we were at the station I stayed glued where I was, in fear that I would get lost and then stuck on a station in the middle of nowhere and would never get home and I would be st-” She cut herself off when she realised she was rambling.
“Is that why you chose the engine that night to disguise yourself?” At Fluttershy’s confused look, Twilight went on. “The night when you took a bite out of Pinkie’s cake,” Twilight said, a small smirk on her lips.
Fluttershy blushed red in embarrassment. “Um… well, yes. I did. It was something I knew I can do and nopony else knew about. I thought it would be perfect. I guess I didn’t count on you and your meddling nose.” She finished by giving Twilight a friendly grin. That grin faded. “I still feel horrible for doing that, though. It wasn’t fair on Pinkie, or anypony.”
Twilight giggled. “Don’t worry about it. Besides, Pinkie ate the whole thing there. Nopony was none the wiser. And it’s quite funny when you look back at it.”
Fluttershy gave a small shrug and said quietly, “I suppose.” She gave Twilight an apologetic look. “Listen, Twilight, I’m sorry that I never told you before about this. I guess I didn’t feel like it was something important to tell.”
“Hey, don’t worry yourself over it,” Twilight said comfortingly, smiling at her. “I know how much you don’t like talking about yourself. But I am glad you told me about it – I was beginning to get confused about it.”
Fluttershy giggled. Her concentration was quickly pulled away when she saw a signal up ahead. It was green, thankfully, but below it was a sign saying, ‘whistle’. She jumped up and down in her seat in excitement, and then move to pull the whistle chain down. Before she did, something stopped her. She looked over to Twilight, who continued to look at the scenery and what’s in front of them. She put Twilight in this predicament, the least she could do is give this to her. “Twilight?” The unicorn turned around. “Would you like the pull the whistle chain?”
Twilight’s eyes widened in delight, something Fluttershy only saw in her eyes when somepony mentioned a library. “Really? Me? Blow the whistle?” Fluttershy beamed at her, then gestured with a hoof to the chain. “Are you sure?” Fluttershy nodded again. She didn’t need a third nod. Twilight reached up with a hoof and pulled the chain down, emitting a deafening screech that echoed across the land. When Twilight let go, she giggled like a little filly. “That was so awesome!” Twilight squealed, grinning with delight.
Fluttershy couldn’t help but grin at Twilight’s giddiness. ‘She looks so cute with that grin,’ she thought. She felt her grin dissipate as she realised what she just thought. ‘Stop thinking like that, Fluttershy,’ her thoughts scolded her. ‘She should stay as a friend and keep it like that, or else.’ Fluttershy knew her thoughts were right, but another part of her mind told her otherwise. Just looking at Twilight now made her heart flutter with joy at seeing her look happy, more so than any other pony. And she looked beautiful as well; more beautiful than any other mare she had ever seen, even with some black soot on her coat and face. ‘No!’ her thoughts screamed out. ‘She’s my friend. One of the best friends I ever had. And that’s all she will ever be.’ But a tiny voice, almost inaudible to her but growing gradually, was telling her something else. ‘That voice has only gotten louder since we left Ponyville.’
“Fluttershy, look!” Twilight shouted. She pointed out the window to something, not noticing the inner conflict her pegasus friend was going through. Fluttershy jumped off her chair, walked over to Twilight’s side, then reared up and leaned her head out of the window. She gasped upon seeing what Twilight was pointing at.
Ahead of them, the city of Vanhoover was in sight, and beyond that, stretching far out to the horizon was the ocean, which glittered in the sunlight.
“That’s our destination, Fluttershy,” Twilight said. She turned to face her friend. “Do you think we could double her horse power?” She giggled at her own joke. Fluttershy could only roll her eyes and shake her head. “Get it, the term ‘horsepower’ and because we’re horses – well, we and horses share a common ancestry, but there are some differences between us like we’re smaller and-” She was cut off by a hoof in her mouth.
“Twilight, care to have some advice? Stick to being smart and leave the puns to Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said sternly. Twilight gave a little nod in response. Satisfied, Fluttershy pulled her hoof back, then fluttered back to her seat. “Right, we better get ready to stop her, then afterwards get ourselves cleaned up and ready.”
Twilight nodded, then began to work with Fluttershy on keeping the train going. While Fluttershy kept a lookout for trouble, Twilight shovelled coal and added water with her magic while keeping look out as well. It wasn’t easy since the wind was blowing the soot and ash from the chimney into her face, turning her coat black and her eyes stinging from the ash that fell in them.
Another hour later, the ‘Flying Scotsmare’ pulled into the terminal at Vanhoover, and came to a slow and gentle stop just by the end of the platform. “Well that was incredibly easy,” Twilight remarked, her eyebrows high on her head. “You know I kept thinking something bad was going to happen. Like the whole engine suddenly blows up in our faces, or we derail and crash, or run into bandits trying to board our train.” She shook her head at herself, sighing heavily and running a hoof through her mane. “I think I need a holiday.”
Fluttershy stifled a giggle with a hoof. “We are on a holiday, Twilight. Just one quite unexpected.” She jumped off her seat and picked up her saddlebags. Twilight followed suite. “Come on, let’s get off this train.”
Twilight nodded, and together the two ponies jumped off the engine and onto the platform. “Now that we are here,” Twilight said as they walked away from the engine, “it’s probably best to lay down the next part of the plan. First, we shall go and find a ship that would take us to Iron Pony Islands, and further if possible. Afterwards we go and get a hotel for the night. Then we get washed up.” She paused to look at her stained coat. “Yep, definitely get washed up.” The two ponies giggled as they saw the state they were in; not a single spot on their coat was clean.
“Um, wouldn’t it be easier if we find a hotel, then get washed up?” Fluttershy suggested. “We wouldn’t look like two ponies that had just climbed out of a coal mine then.”
“Hmm, fair point I guess. All right, we’ll find a hotel and get washed up, then go to the port and find a ship. “Right, I think that’s the plan. Come on, let’s get going before it gets too dark.”
Fluttershy nodded in agreement, and followed Twilight’s lead as they walked out of the station and into the city around them. Before they left, Fluttershy turned around and looked back at the engine. A flash of memories, of better times, with her mother passed in an instant. They had laughed together on that train, sang together, wept together, they did everything a mother and daughter should, just a bit differently. Her smile faded slightly as she remembered those times – times before the inevitable happened.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. Fluttershy looked away from the engine, smiled assuredly at Twilight, and then continued with the unicorn out of the station and into the city of Vanhoover.
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Awesome chapter as always my friend. Just love this story.
2080157 Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying this story. I'm having a lot of fun actually writing it - probably helps when you're writing about two best ponies.
2080175
I enjoy it really a lot. This chapter i was really impressed about the Iron Pony islands history by the way. Coming up with that is a sign for me that you really are putting hard work in this story. You have my respect. And yes, Twilight and Flutters are best ponies.
2080225 That was a bit of a reference to the 'A Song Of Ice And Fire' books by George R R Martin. He sometimes has the characters go into a bit of history about Westeros, and it fascinated me how he was able to come up with some moments that sounded so legendary and brilliant, even to the smallest detail, I just had to follow his example. Plus I love world building.
Thanks again.
I'm seriously enjoying this and the fact that you're putting so much detail just makes me so happy ^^
Though...a small bit o' advice: Be careful with world building. I've seen a good number of amazing stories go into hiatus simply because they got overwhelmed with the world building and I'd hate to see that happen to this story...So just, take it nice and easy, ja?
And I totally agree...Fluttershy X Twilight is best <3
2082236 Thanks ever so much, good sir. And don't worry, I've already thought of what world building I'm going to put in and such. I thought of it all before I had begun to write; I thought it might be best to think what world they're going to see first, then write it out later when it's finalised.
But yeah I will take my time with it. I'm writing two stories at once as well so I'm taking time between them. It won't mean it's going on hiatus, but the time between updates might be longer. Thanks for sticking to it, and I'm glad you're enjoying it.
2083721
Hurray for preparedness!
And two stories at once huh? Good luck is all I can say XD
And thank YOU for writing this ^w^
2083755 Thanks... I'm gonna need it.
I saw all your Hobbit references.
And I loved them
Okay, at this rate, you're going to beat out Once Bitten, Twice Shy for my favorite Twishy fic. =P
I mean, really, there's so many things I love about this fic so far that I don't really know where to start. Even though the adventure itself might be taking a bit too long to actually happen, I don't feel like anything the two of them have done thus far is pointless or unessesary. There's always some kind of purpose and reasoning to everything they do, be it for the adventure itself or backstory.
On that note, the back story. I love backstory for the mane 6 in fics, and from what I can gather you have an extremely deep headcanon for both of them. That might bother some people, but for me personally I love how you're handling it. Thus far, it's believeable and it makes me crave more. You've got me hooked, for sure.
Your characterization is still spot-on as well. I snickered at Twilight's breakfast mating dance was adorkable, Fluttershy is as politely timid as ever, and the interaction and thought process between both of them is still refreshing to see.
So yes, I love it so far and there's still so much left. I can't wait to see what you come up with next, keep it up!
2083885 Thanks, those were a lot of fun to put in, mostly becasue The Hobbit is the best film I've seen in ten years (the best film I've seen is The Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers). I hope you're enjoying the rest.
2083923 Wow... seriously thank you so much for that. Yeah I know the adventure might be taking a while to finally get a move on, but to me an adventre begins as soon as they step out of the front door; it's one of the main reasons I thought The Hobbit film was so good, becasue it didn't fly through like the book did.
For me, the headcannon changes depending on the story type and such. Fluttershy's background in this one is vastly different compared to my first story's background, mostly because she was an orphan in that one, where in this one she does have her parents.
And most of all, I'm glad that I seem to be getting the characters right in this one. I love writing the interactions between them, and I'm glad it's showing in the story.
Thanks so much for this, and I hope you will enjoy what I have planned next.
An awesome chapter. Fluttershy was just as adorable as ever, and I love how you tied in the cake episode. Also, I can't help but wonder what happened between Fluttershy and her mother. Look forward to the next part.
2084958 Thank you, good sir. Having read your stories and loving them (especially the rainbowshy one you have on deviantart) that means a lot to me.
The story of Fluttershy and her parents will be answered in a later chapter; I plan to leave no question unanswered. Thanks again and I hope you will enjoy the rest.
I was going to comment on the Hobbit references, but it seems someone already did...
Maybe I should comment on the actual story instead...
Nah.
2084995 Thank you for enjoying my stories. I really need to clean up Quiet Confession do the the chapter that tie it to Rainbow's Best Cheerer.
I look forward to reading more about Fluttershy's family. Can't wait for more.
This just keep getting better and better^^ And that little adult joke you threw in really cracked me up^^ confused Twilight is so hilarious^^
2096842 I thought you might like that one. Thanks again and I hope you will enjoy the rest.
Ah... I need to read these chapters when they come out, not days later. Very lengthy chapters, but there's no problem in that.
I can't wait until the TwiShy really starts, but even without that, it's a great story. Good job.
2104966 Thank you, good sir. I know the chapters are long, and I can only say they may get longer, but I think ahead of what I'm going to put in them and then go to that end; I'm not one for word limits, see.
Thanks again, and don't worry, the Twishy will start soon... sooner than you think...
2106727
There's really nothing wrong with the length. Gives me something to do, and lasts longer than about every other TwiShy.
Reminds me of Like Gravity.
Was this supposed to be similar to the American Revolution, or was that just coincidence? Also, about actual story quality, amazing! One of the best TwiShys on the site. I usually shy away from the novel-sized stories on this site, but this is easily an exception.
2166586 Thanks for the favourite
As for the teen rating, I might just pass it; I've seen everyone rated stories with swearing and some violence, which is wrong, I know, but since sex isn't actually mentioned I thought I could make it slip.
Also the American Revolution thingy is just coincidence. Never really thought about it until you mentioned it.
And finally, thank you so much for enjoying it, and I hope you will enjoy the rest of the adventure.
2217000 From 'MMMystery on the Friendship Express'. As I put in the story, Fluttershy uses the guise of the conductor to hide herself from Pinkie, knowing that only Rainbow knows about her involvement with railways, so she wouldn't be suspected for taking a bite out of the cake. A bit wierd I know but I wanted to put that small feature further.
And she likes trains *gets hit by a train*.
2219117 It's all right, no need to facehoof yourself.
I'v always been fond of trains more specifically steam trains they have all ways been my favorite so after this chapter i'm like 'ok the confirms it fluttershy is best pony.
Fluttershy, a Steam Locomotive Operator?
Yeah, I could see that.
... How can Fluttershy have a problem with eggs? Pancakes... Use eggs...
I love this story so far, it's just so cute how Twilight and Fluttershy act around each other. I also like back story you have made for Fluttershy, it's really interesting to learn that she has always had an adventurous heart but due to her shy nature never sought out to go on any adventures until now and that she knows how to drive a train due to her mother being a driver herself taught her. Also what I find interesting is that Fluttershy seems to be estranged with her mother due to some event in the past, and I can't wait to find what that is and see how Twilight's and Fluttershy's adventure goes and what trails they will face.
First there were "Hobbit" references, now I see some "Song of Ice and Fire" (or Game of Thrones for the HBO viewers). This story gets better and better.
Great chapter! Just goes to show that adventure doesn't need to be dangerous and over the top. Adventure starts just beyond your comfort zone.
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