Chapter 8 (part 1)
The rest of the trip to the Iron Pony Islands was uneventful, thankfully, save a few rough moments. As the Wave Breaker made its slow trail across the ocean to its first destination, Twilight and Fluttershy kept themselves active by talking to the many crewmembers of the ship, and staying up late into the night talking about anything. They joked, sang, or just sat in their room in companionable silence as they listened to the ship plough its way across the ocean.
Despite the cheerful demeanour, the two ponies couldn’t help but feel something heavy on their chests, something they both desperately wanted to get rid of. Fluttershy wanted to ask who was the lucky mare that had snared Twilight’s heart, while Twilight wanted to ask about what Fluttershy said whilst she was under the sirens’ spell. Yet neither had the courage to ask, so they kept silent about it and tried to put it behind them. But as the days grew on, they found it increasingly challenging.
‘I’ll talk to her about it later,’ the two ponies thought. However, when they would tell the other, they couldn’t say.
Thankfully, that feeling on their chests washed away when they finally caught sight of the Iron Pony Islands.
It was the middle of the night. The two mares were in their quarters, with Fluttershy looking excitedly out the window in the hope she could hear dolphins or other sea creatures out at night, while Twilight lay out flat on her back with an open book levitated in front of her, when a cry of, “Land ho!” filled the ship. At once, the two ponies looked at each other, then scrambled from their beds and raced upstairs to the main deck.
Upon making it up on the main deck, they found captain Seahoof, with his long bubble pipe in mouth, looking with squinted eyes out at the sea beyond. He glanced to see them appear from below, and gave them both a nod in greeting. “Can you two make out the light just ahead of us?” he asked, pointing to the location.
Twilight and Fluttershy looked from the captain to where he was pointing, and narrowed their eyes. “Oh my,” Fluttershy said after a moment. “What is that thing?”
Twilight still couldn’t make it out, so Fluttershy helped her by bringing a leg right up to her face and pointing directly at it. Twilight followed the leg until she finally made it out.
It was a bright orange light, too bright to be considered a star, floating in the distance. Twilight gave Fluttershy a nod in thanks, and then turned to the captain. “I thought I heard ‘land ho’ being called.”
“Aye, you did, Twilight,” Seahoof said. He pointed to the light once more. “That is the Tower of Light. It has a fancier name but I don’t see the point of it; doesn’t make any difference when it’s saving lives. It is a huge tower with a large beacon fire at the top, which is lit every night to guide ships into the harbour of the Iron Pony Islands,” he explained. He looked upwards and called out, “Slow ’er down, first mare!”
At once, the ship began to decrease in speed, to which Twilight was grateful; the last two days when the ocean had been rough were not pleasant. “Um, excuse me? Forgive me if I sound like I am criticising your job, I don’t mean to, but why are we slowing down?” Fluttershy asked, her head low but keeping her eyes fixed on the captain. “Surely we could be there by tonight if we keep going at the same speed.”
“We would,” Seahoof agreed, “but I prefer to get in when the sun starts to rise. It’s safer then; there are far too many large rocks a careless ship can crash into coming into those islands.” He gestured with his head for them to get back inside. “We’ll be in the harbour by sunrise, so get some sleep and get yourselves ready for some exploring tomorrow.”
Fluttershy nodded submissively, while Twilight nodded acceptingly. “Thanks, captain. See you in the morning, then.” With that, the two ponies went back through the door as the old steamship moved gently through the water.
As they walked back to their cabin, Twilight giggled and bounced with excitement. “Oh, this is going to be brilliant!” she squealed in joy. “The Iron Pony Islands are apparently one of the greatest looking natural features in all of Terra, and to think we will actually be standing on them tomorrow!”
Fluttershy looked at her with sleep heavy eyes, and gave her a tired smile. “I’m looking forward to it as well, Twilight, but I thin-” She was cut off from having to yawn. “Excuse me, but I think we should wait until morning to get all excited for it.”
They soon found themselves outside of their quarters. “Yeah, I suppose,” Twilight said as she opened the door, allowing Fluttershy to enter first. “Though I hope the morning comes sooner,” she whispered to herself. She walked in, locked the door behind her, then both ponies went into their beds and fell asleep, both of them dreaming about what they will find on the islands tomorrow.
Fluttershy’s mind told her she needed to wake up for some reason. She tried desperately to block it out, but it was too strong, so she slowly and reluctantly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a bright ray of sun coming into her face, making her groan and look away. ‘It’s too early to wake up,’ she thought grumpily.
The best time to get Fluttershy in a bad mood was early in the morning when it was not time for her to get up, yet she was awake anyway.
She took her pillow, flung it to the other side of the bed, then turned around and laid out on her stomach, facing the door in the hope that not seeing the sunlight would mean she wouldn’t stay awake. She closed her eyes and willed her body to go back to sleep.
She groaned even louder when a few quick, but rather timid knocks on the door met her ears. She bolted her head upright, a fierce, unforgiving look on her face, then got out of bed and opened the door, determined to give whoever a piece of her mind… if they didn’t mind it, of course.
Her heart melted and her expression softened when she saw a small earth pony mare with a light green coat and a dark green mane and tail trying to keep eye contact with her, and looking like she was about to fail at it. “Oh dear, excuse me, miss, I’m so sorry, I should have said no and said wait until later… oh, please don’t be angry with me.” The mare finished with a squeak and tried to look away.
Fluttershy could see a lot of her in this mare, especially in her younger days. She would be lying if she said it didn’t terrify her. “No, no, it’s okay, I’m sorry if I looked angry. I guess I rolled out of the wrong side of the bed.” She smiled apologetically. “How can I help you?”
The mare straightened herself up, cleared her throat, then said, “Well, the captain said to me to tell you and your friend we’re about to dock in the islands. So if… you know, you want to get ready, then that’s fine, I guess… but whatever you want to do is fine as well.” She looked to the ground and pawed at it with a hoof.
‘Are we distantly related?’ Fluttershy thought, stifling a giggle with a hoof. She lowered her head to be level with the pony in front of her, and then smiled sweetly. “Thank you, miss. I’ll tell my friend when she wakes up.” Fluttershy tilted her head when she saw something in the eyes of the mare in front of her, something that looked familiar. It was a look of nervousness, as if somepony was meeting their idol and were too scared to talk to them. “Um, pardon my intrusion, but is there something else on your mind?”
The mare nodded curtly. “Can I ask you a personal question?” Fluttershy nodded. “Are you Fluttershy Whisperwing of Ponyville? The Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy tilted her head even more, confused by the question. “Um, well yes, I am. Why?” The moment she asked that question, the answer came to her. ‘Oh my goodness! I have a fan!’
The mare’s face brightened as a grin formed on her face. Before Fluttershy knew it, the mare had the pegasus’s right hoof in her own hooves and shaking it ferociously. “Oh my goodness!” the mare squeaked in delight. “I can’t believe I’m on a ship with the shyest, yet most inspirational pony in Equestria! Oh I saw you at the feast a few days ago after the siren attack but I wasn’t sure if it really was you and I was worried that you wouldn’t want to talk to me, but now you are talking to me, and I’m talking to you! I loved your career as a model and got all of the covers with you on my wall back home!” She stopped shaking Fluttershy’s hoof and took a step back with delighted eyes. “But what I’ve loved most is the stories of your heroics. Is it true that you made a large dragon cry and run away with its tail between its legs?”
Fluttershy wiggled her leg about until she felt like she could stand on it again. ‘Oh dear,’ she thought, looking at the ground and her mane slowly covering her face. “Well… uh, you see, I…”
“Yes she did. I was there to see it myself,” Twilight said from behind her, a small smile on her face. Fluttershy squeaked in fright and spun around to face her with a look of shock.
“Wow,” the mare oozed. “That must have looked so amazing!”
“Oh yeah, it was. The best thing about it was that she never hurt the dragon. She just shouted down at him and made him cry.” Twilight looked with a small smile at Fluttershy, who was slowly turning into a pink ball as she tried to hide herself in her mane and tail. “But that wasn’t the best thing she did.”
“She did something better?” the mare asked, her tone stating she was not entirely believing it. “What could have been better then sending a dragon running?”
“She made a cockatrice cower in fear, and saved me and three little fillies from being turned to stone – well, I was turned to stone in the first place, but she managed to get the cockatrice to change me back. Isn’t that right, Fluttershy?” She looked at her companion, who by now had managed to coil her mane and tail around herself like a snake, with not a single speck of yellow visible.
“Yes,” Fluttershy squeaked from behind her hair.
The mare looked at Twilight for a moment, then to Fluttershy with wide, admirable eyes. Before anypony could stop her, she jumped Fluttershy in a hug, breaking the pegasus’s coil of hair around herself. “You are an inspiration to many ponies, Fluttershy. Especially to me. Why, if it wasn’t for you and what you have done, I wouldn’t have been able to follow my dreams of exploring and being on this ship.” She hugged the pegasus tighter, earning a squeak from her idol. “So thank you, Fluttershy. For being amazing.”
Fluttershy, with a faint pink blush on her cheeks, looked to Twilight for help. The unicorn, with a smile, gestured with a hoof for Fluttershy to wrap a hoof around her and hug her back. Fluttershy, after a moment of hesitance, nodded, and then wrapped a leg around the mare. “You’re welcome, miss…”
“Oh, I’m Green Leaf,” the mare introduced herself. She pulled herself out of the hug and backed away, giving Fluttershy some space. “Oh! Oh! I just remembered something! I’ll be back in a moment! Please don’t go anywhere… unless if you don’t want to…” Her voice trailed off as she ran down out of the room and galloped right down the corridor and out of sight and hearing.
Twilight watched her go, then looked back at her friend and crush, who’s eyes were as wide as her face, her mouth was slack, and her chest was rising and falling rather quickly. It was apparent to Twilight that she was panicking. “Fluttershy, you have to relax,” Twilight said. “Here, try this.” She put a hoof to her chest, taking a deep breath as she did so, and then let it out again while stretching her leg out.
Fluttershy watched her do it, then put a hoof to her chest while taking a deep breath, then letting it out again while stretching her leg. At once, she felt her whole body relax from its tense form. “Gosh, I can’t believe that really worked, to be honest. When did you learn to do that?”
“Something Cadence taught me when I was younger,” Twilight replied. “I sometimes had panic attacks, and she thought of that to help me calm down. I only just remembered it since I’ve started seeing her again.”
“Like that little dance you and her do together,” Fluttershy said, suppressing a giggle. “Oh, don’t get me wrong! I love it!” Fluttershy said assuredly upon seeing Twilight’s look. “It’s really cute when you two do it. It makes me wish I had something like that for me and a friend to do when we saw each other. But I only had Rainbow Dash as a friend, and she said she was too cool for that sort of thing.”
Twilight looked at her with sadness and pity. The image of Fluttershy being alone for most of her childhood was something she hated imagining, simply because she couldn’t believe it; Fluttershy was too darn nice to not hang out with. She quickly began thinking of a way to make up for something her secret love missed. “Well, how about we have a welcoming thing of our own?” Twilight suggested after a moment. “Something new, not too simple, or too complicated. Something that suits both of us.”
Fluttershy’s face lit up with unbridled joy, making it hard for the unicorn to resist the urge to kiss her. “You would do that for me?” she asked.
Twilight put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Of course, I’ll do anything for my friends.” ‘Especially you, Fluttershy.’
Fluttershy couldn’t contain her excitement, and let out a squee as she grinned from ear to ear. “Oh, thank you, Twilight!” she squealed, hugging the unicorn tight. ‘Twilight is such a kind mare,’ she thought. ‘The mare she loves will be lucky to have her.’ Yet, for some reason, that thought allowed a pang of sadness to flow through her. ‘Why would I feel like that, though?’ she mused, the smile on her face withering as she thought about it deeper. ‘I should be happy for her, and whoever this mare is.’
She would have thought further about it, had it not been for the timid knocking of somepony at the door. “Um, am I interrupting anything?” Green Leaf asked nervously, her voice muffled by something in her mouth.
The two ponies split apart instantly, looking at their hooves and blushing furiously for being caught in a compromising position. “Um, no, you’re not interrupting anything at all,” Fluttershy said. She raised her head to look eye level at the other pony, and couldn’t help but widen her eyes at what Green Leaf had in her mouth.
It was a magazine, with the front cover of her at her side looking at the camera from behind her mane. She took a step forward and leaned her head forward to be certain it was her. “Don’t you recognise yourself, Miss Fluttershy?” Green Leaf asked.
Fluttershy glanced up at her. “Um, yes, but… but I just can’t remember when this cover came out. And please, just call me Fluttershy… if you want to, that is,” she said timidly. Twilight looked away so she could roll her eyes.
Green Leaf let out a little excitable giggle. “I would love to. So… I was wondering if you could sign an autograph for me on this. If that’s okay?”
Fluttershy looked back at Twilight in the hope she would know what to do. Twilight simply gestured with a hoof for her to go along with it. Fluttershy looked back at Green Leaf, who had shrunk back at Fluttershy’s hesitant pose, and smiled warmly at her. “I would love to, Green Leaf,” she said sweetly.
Green Leaf beamed with delight. She set the magazine down on the bed, while Fluttershy took hold of a quill given to her by Twilight. With the quill in ink, she began scribbling on the magazine her signature and a small message that read, “Never stop aiming to be the best you can be, Green Leaf. Lots of love, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy spat the quill out, and then gave the magazine back to Green Leaf, who took it with shaking hooves. “T-thank you, Fluttershy,” she stammered, looking at what she wrote. “This will go in a glass case when I get back home.” She began backing out of the room. “Well I suppose I better let you both get on, and I gotta get back to work. Thanks for the autograph, Fluttershy. Don’t stop being amazing yourself.” With that, she slipped out of the room and galloped down the corridor.
Fluttershy and Twilight listened to her go with small smiles. “Well, well, well,” Twilight broke the silence, smirking at her friend. “It appears you have a fan club.”
“Please don’t tell anypony about this when we get home,” Fluttershy pleaded. “I’ll never hear the end of it from our friends – especially from Rainbow.”
“I think you’re being a bit too harsh on Rainbow. I don’t think she would tease you about it. She’ll probably praise you for it.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. She just won’t stop,” Fluttershy mumbled. She jumped up and sat her rump on the bed, sighing heavily. “I can’t believe there is actually a group of ponies out there who admire me.”
“To be fair, you did have the most successful fashion career in the history of Equestria, despite its length. Ponies were not going to forget about you so quickly. You did realise that when you did quit, didn’t you?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I never thought about it, to be honest. I was just glad I had Rarity back as a friend to think or care about what other ponies might think of what I just did.” Fluttershy leaned back till her head was resting against the wall. “How can some ponies admire me? What have I done to earn their praise?”
“A lot, from what I remember,” Twilight said sternly. She jumped up on the bed and sat on her haunches. “All those things Green Leaf said, and more. Yes, you have had some failures, but so have I, and everypony else on Terra, yet you still got back up and tried again, and that’s why many ponies admire you… why I admire you.”
Fluttershy shot her head round to face her. “You admire me?”
Twilight nodded. “Of course I do. I admire all of my friends.” ‘But not as much as you, Fluttershy.’ “You all have done so much for me, and for all of Equestria. Without you, or Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow, I wouldn’t be living in Ponyville; I would be stuck in Canterlot and have my nose stuck in a book for the rest of my life. In fact, I don’t think I would have come as far as I have without all of you.”
Fluttershy looked at her for a moment, and then felt a smile grow on her face. “I admire you, too, Twilight. Always remember that.” With that said, Fluttershy jumped off the bed. “Right, now that I am fully awake, I feel like exploring some islands.” She lifted up a hoof and turned it around for Twilight to accept, putting on a posh impersonation of an old explorer she had read about once. “Miss Sparkle, would you like to accompany me onto the Iron Pony Islands?”
Twilight giggled while she reached out and accepted the hoof with her own. “I would love to, Miss Whisperwing.” The two ponies giggled, then let go of each other’s hooves to pick up their saddlebags. “Do we have any food for a picnic, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked as she rummaged through her saddlebags.
“I think so, let me check… is that… ah! Yes, we do have some sandwiches to eat if you want some. They might be a bit old, though,” Fluttershy answered.
“Are they fresh? So long as they are fresh then they should be all right.”
“Hold on, let me check.” Fluttershy took out the bagged sandwiches in her saddlebags and scrutinised them carefully with narrow eyes. “Do they look fresh to you?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m not really the pony you should be asking that. I’m not the greatest chef in the world, remember?”
“Oh… yeah… Oh, what I mean is, you’re not a bad chef. You just need to practice some more, that’s all. If you want me to, I could help you make food better and with less time spent cooking it, if you want.”
Twilight’s eyes widened in delight. “You would do that for me?”
“Of course,” Fluttershy nodded. “You’re helping me with one thing, so I should return the favour with another… unless you don’t want to be taught how to cook.”
“No, no, I would love to be taught on how to. Especially from someone who actually knows how to cook, and not bake. I asked Pinkie Pie once, and… Do you remember that massive chocolate flood Ponyville had a month or so back?”
“Oh, yes, I remember that! But why do you mentio– oh.”
Twilight nodded. “Yeah. That’s what happens when you tell somepony to use magic to make something cook faster,” she said, shuddering at the memory. She quickly shook her head to rid the memory away. “Anyway, if we’re ready to go then let’s head up on deck. I want to see us docking.” The two ponies fastened their saddlebags up, placed them on their backs, then left their quarters and made their way up onto the deck.
“Ah, good morning to you, lassies,” Seahoof greeted them as they arrived with a wry grin, blowing a few bubbles from his pipe. The two mares greeted him with a smile. He inclined his head at them, and then gestured with a leg to the right of them. “So what do you think?”
Twilight and Fluttershy looked over his shoulder, and gasped in awe at the building they were looking at. A huge tower, made out of dark grey stone and went as high as the clouds themselves, rested on a small island in the middle of the bay where the main city of the iron ponies nestled. The two ponies could only barely make out the large beacon at the top of the tower. “Is that what we saw last night?” Twilight queried.
“Aye, that it is, lass,” Seahoof answered with a nod. “The Tower of Light, or as the iron ponies like to call it, ‘The Tower of Illumination’.”
“That’s not much of a fancier name than the other one,” Twilight pointed out.
“Does it really matter what it’s called?” Seahoof countered. “So long as it saves lives then I can call it whatever I darn well please.” He blew a few more bubbles from his pipe.
Fluttershy, however, was going pale and nauseous by looking up at it. “Oh my, it’s so… high,” she stated, pausing to swallow a lump in her throat.
Seahoof looked at her weirdly. “Well of course it’s high. Nopony could see it if it was too low to the ground, young lass. Anyway, I thought you pegasi didn’t mind heights?”
Fluttershy looked to Twilight for help, which the unicorn quickly gave. “Most do,” Twilight stepped in. “Fluttershy’s just an exception. She can get a bit scared of heights sometimes.”
Seahoof’s laugh boomed across the sea, making Fluttershy squeak in fright. “A pegasus that’s scared of heights? That’s something I haven’t heard of at all.”
“I’m not scared of heights exactly,” Fluttershy mumbled defensively, though Twilight was the only one to hear. “I’m scared of falling.”
Twilight was about to turn around and ask what she meant, but Seahoof continued. “You are a unique one, wee lass. I like that. I like that a lot. Don’t mean to poke fun at you, ’tis just something I’ve never heard off.” He lifted a hoof for her to shake. “No hard feelings?”
Fluttershy looked up from behind her mane and looked into the captain’s eyes, searching for any sign of deceit or something like that. She smiled when she saw none. “No hard feelings,” she said, taking the hoof in her own and shaking it.
Seahoof pulled his hoof away, and then turned to Twilight. “Now, I only have a day to re-supply for the journey ahead, and I only have room to supply everypony on this ship for four months. If we don’t find any land after two months, then I’m turning this ship around and heading back here. I will not risk the lives of my crew for nothing. You both understand that, right?”
Twilight gave a firm nod. “Of course we do. You’re the captain here, so whatever you say goes.”
Seahoof looked surprised. “Really? You won’t complain or protest about it?”
The two ponies shook their heads. “Like Twilight said, captain. It’s your ship, and we wouldn’t want to argue with your judgement,” Fluttershy said.
Seahoof looked genuinely surprised, and touched by the two ponies’ honesty. “Why, I don’t know what to say. Most ponies that come with me tend to protest and whine till their heart’s content if what I say doesn’t go with their ideals.” He swiftly bowed his head at them. “Thank you, Twilight and Fluttershy. You two are indeed honourable mares.”
The two ponies blushed bright pink. “Oh, it was nothing, really, we were just being honest and it’s your ship,” the two ponies muttered incoherently. Seahoof just chuckled, and then turned to face the bow of the ship once more.
“There we are,” he said. He pointed a hoof at the town suddenly appearing from around the corner. “Twilight, Fluttershy, allow me to welcome you fine lassies to the city of Skyros, the capital of the Iron Pony Islands.”
“Wow,” the two mares oozed, their mouths open and their eyes wide.
A quarter of the city of Skyros was perched above the water, with large frames jutting out of the water, keeping the old buildings fixed in place. The buildings themselves were old, with some built out of stone, and even some were built out of iron, but most were built of wood and crude brickwork. Long, old wooden bridges fastened together by rope connected the city together, giving the ponies of the island a way to get around the furthest parts of the city. Beyond the bridges and old buildings that existed above the sea, the rest of the city sat on a sloping hill that spanned across the whole bay. The buildings that made up the rest of the city were much like the older ones; large, squared, stone built homes, shops and granaries filled around the bay, with narrow streets paved in iron or stone.
“Okay, first mare, shut off the engines and bring her in slowly!” Seahoof ordered. At once, the rumble that shook the ship ended, and the ship drifted silently beneath the first half of the city. Fluttershy and Twilight looked up to see large, bulky ponies hanging over the side of the bridges, or some of the houses, watching them curiously as they floated by.
As the Wave Breaker went deeper into the city, the path the ship took was getting narrower with every second. “We’ll fit, lassies. Don’t you worry,” he assured them upon seeing their nervous looks. He was quickly proven right, for the narrow path suddenly ended, and it opened up into a small bay with a pier at the far end, devoid of ships, thankfully, yet there was a large crane at one end, shacks behind it, and a large goods-shed full of food and drink.
Seahoof left Twilight and Fluttershy to head back up onto the bridge and bring her about so they could dock comfortably. “So, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, her eyes looking over the port of Skyros, then back at Fluttershy. “What do you want to do when we get off?”
“Um,” Fluttershy pondered, sticking her tongue out a little and looking to the sky as she thought about it. “I’m not really sure. I don’t know what’s here, to be honest. What about you?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, of course, I really would like to see one of these bridges that Admiral Hurricane mentioned when she first came here,” Twilight answered, looking at Fluttershy pleadingly.
Fluttershy giggled. “Of course I don’t mind, Twilight. It would be nice to have a day of exploring.”
“Okay, then. So how about we just walk around the island and explore for a bit?” Twilight suggested. “We have got all day here, and it would be nice to get away from cities and be on our own, with nopony holding us back. What do you think?”
Although Fluttershy felt a wave of nervousness flow through her, she knew that was just normal in her case. This day was one that Fluttershy had dreamed about since she was a little filly: going to a place she had never seen before, and seeing things that had never been seen. Despite the fact that the island had probably been walked over hundreds of times, and seen at every possible angle, there was still time for Fluttershy to set her mark on something that hadn’t been seen yet. Maybe not here, but someplace else.
She looked over to Twilight, and grinned excitedly. “I would love that.” She slung a leg over Twilight’s shoulders, making Twilight rather uncomfortable for a second, shocked that Fluttershy would do such a thing. “Just me and you, painting the island red.” She gestured with a sweep of her free leg to the Iron Pony Islands.
“But we don’t have any red paint, and even if we did I doubt we would have enough to cover the whole island,” Twilight pointed out.
Fluttershy rolled her eyes. ‘Way to kill the moment, Twilight.’ “It is a figure of speech, Twilight. It normally goes when you’re heading into town to do some shopping or something like that. Rarity sometimes uses it when me and her go out shopping in town.”
Twilight’s mouth formed an O as she understood. “Oh… okay.” She was about to say more, when she suddenly staggered and fell into Fluttershy as the ship bumped into the pier, and came to a stop.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw to her horror she had pinned Fluttershy onto her back, with herself resting on top of her, her lips inches away from Fluttershy’s own. ‘Oh dear,’ she thought. The two mares fiercely blushed as Twilight got up and off Fluttershy, then helped Fluttershy up as well. “I am so sorry about that,” Twilight said, not daring to look into her friend’s eyes. “It was the ship bumpi–” She was cut off when Fluttershy pressed a hoof against her lips, smiling amiably at her.
“It’s okay, Twilight. Accidents happen,” Fluttershy said, although a small part of her liked the close proximity Twilight was with her, and wanted it a bit more often. ‘Get out of my head!’ she raged. ‘How many times do I have to tell myself I don’t love her?’
‘I will stop when you realise that you do love her,’ her mind replied, before fading away again.
“Fluttershy, you okay? You look like you just zoned out there,” Twilight asked, taking a step forward and looking worried.
Fluttershy quickly realised she had been staring into nowhere for a few seconds. She looked up, and smiled assuredly at Twilight. “Sorry, Twilight. I guess I did kinda zone out for a second.”
“How come?” Twilight enquired.
‘Because I was thinking about how much I love you,’ Fluttershy thought of saying. Before her lips could read her mind and say what she didn’t want to say, she quickly said, “I was thinking about if our friends would have liked to have seen this place as well.”
Twilight smiled and nodded at her in understanding. “We can always come back with them later, you know.” She turned around to look at the harbour, and her eyes ran along the city of Skyros. “The islands are not going anywhere after all.”
Fluttershy giggled as she moved to stand beside her. “You’re right. Sorry, I shouldn’t be thinking about our friends.”
“What makes you think that?” Twilight asked, looking at her and lifting an eyebrow in confusion. “It’s okay to think about our friends, Fluttershy. I think about home all the time, hope Spike has managed to keep the library upright without me. What makes you think you shouldn’t?”
“I just thought that thinking about home and that sort of thing ruins the mood. Sorry if it did.”
Twilight giggled, then gave Fluttershy a friendly nuzzle. “Trust me. With how everything is going so smoothly at the moment, nothing can ruin the mood for me.” She pulled away, grinning. “Not even a group of hungry sirens.”
The two shared a quiet laugh. Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by Seahoof. “Lassies, the Iron Pony Islands are free to you,” he announced, pointing with a hoof to the gangplank leading off the ship and down onto the docks. “Have a nice time, but watch yourselves out there. The weather has a nasty habit of changing without warning.”
Twilight and Fluttershy looked up at him, and gave him a nod. “We will. Thank you for getting us here,” Twilight said. Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
“Ah, it was nothing, lassies. It’s just a shame you both had to go through that horrible experience with those sirens. Oh well, you’re both here, and that’s what matters. Stay safe, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” Fluttershy and Twilight waved to him as Seahoof went back inside the ship, leaving the two mares to their own devices.
Twilight looked to Fluttershy, shaking and grinning in anticipation as she thought about what they might find on the island. Ever since she was a small filly, and learning about the world under Princess Celestia, the Iron Pony Islands was one of the few natural landmarks she had the most interest in, especially for the ancient bridges that joined them together. ‘If I get a long enough time to study them, then maybe I can find out who built them,’ Twilight thought giggly.
“What are you giggling about?” Fluttershy asked, a small grin on her face as she looked at Twilight.
“Oh, I was just thinking that if I had any longer, I could try and study one of the bridges and see who might have built them,” Twilight explained.
‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ Fluttershy thought light heartedly. Her grin grew a little wider and she shook her head. “Well there is only one way to find that out.” With a very gentle nudge of her head, she pushed Twilight towards the gangplank. “Come on, let’s do some exploring.”
Twilight pressed her hooves into the deck, determined not to get off the ship via the gangplank, which had nothing to stop her from falling into the water incase she toppled over. “Yes, yes, come on, let’s go,” Twilight said, powering up her horn. Just as Fluttershy stopped pushing her forward, Twilight disappeared in a white flash, just to appear again on the pier and dry land.
Her eyes suddenly went wide, and the grin on her face went wider as she tried to understand that she was standing on the Iron Pony Islands, somewhere she had dreamt of being on for ages. She could see it, she could feel it beneath her hooves, she could smell the aroma of the sea, and of the city around her. She had always dreamed of what it would all be like, and although the smell of it was less than pleasant, everything else was just as she had imagined. “I’m on the Iron Pony Islands!” she cheered in joy, hopping on the spot and giggling like a little filly who had got her best birthday present ever.
Fluttershy smiled as she watched Twilight dance joyfully in the knowledge she was finally here. She was glad they were here also, and could not wait to spend another day with her friend. ‘Twilight is always a great pony to hang around with,’ Fluttershy observed. ‘She’s quiet, controlled, funny, and knows so much that others could know.’
‘Careful, Fluttershy,’ her mind warned her. ‘Anypony would think you love her.’
‘I don’t love her. It was a compliment, that’s all. Now, if you excuse me, I have a friend to be with.’ She quickly spread her wings and fluttered over to where Twilight was waiting for her, shaking in uncontained excitement.
“Ready to go?” Twilight asked once Fluttershy had landed in front of her.
Fluttershy nodded. “I think so. Mind if I have a second look through my saddlebags so I know I have everything?”
“Of course not. I’ll have a look through mine while you’re at it.” The two mares dived their heads into their saddlebags, and searched them to see if they had everything.
“Right, that’s everything,” the two ponies said simultaneously as they took their heads out of their saddlebags. The two ponies’ eyes widened when they realised they said the same thing at once, and then began to laugh. Once they calmed down, they looked at each other and smiled affectionally.
“Right, come on, let’s get to seeing these islands,” Twilight said, starting to trot out of the port and out of the city.
Fluttershy smiled eagerly as she broke into a trot and walked alongside her friend, excited chills running across her body as she didn’t know what to expect.
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I found myself giggling at this part.
Even when Fluttershy is really angry at someone, she would always look out not to go overboard, not to hurt someones feelings. Even if it doesn´t make sense somehow. ^^ But that´s why we love her.
It´s really a nice change when Fluttershy is the one who explains something to Twilight.
And of course I loved especially this part for obvious reasons.
And i didn´t thougt you would put it up so fast.
“Oh my goodness!” the mare squeaked in delight. “I can’t believe I’m on a ship with the shyest, yet most inspirational pony in Equestria! Oh I saw you at the feast a few days ago after the siren attack but I wasn’t sure if it really was you and I was worried that you wouldn’t want to talk to me, but now you are talking to me, and I’m talking to you! I loved your career as a model and got all of the covers with you on my wall back home!” She stopped shaking Fluttershy’s hoof and took a step back with delighted eyes. “But what I’ve loved most is the stories of your heroics. Is it true that you made a large dragon cry and run away with its tail between its legs?”
Seriously? Where's the comedy mark on this thing?
2406414 I had nothing else to do, so I thought 'might as well'
Yeah I loved that bit with angry Fluttershy myself. Even after her assertiveness lessons, she still has troubles with things like that.
Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you will enjoy the next part as they explore the islands.
2406421 I don't really want to put a comedy tag on it. I'm not confident enough to say that this is funny or not. Hope you enjoyed the first part.
Four months worth of food... short vacation, my flank...
I love it!
Keep up the good work!
2406759 That's just a precaution in case they're out at sea for a long time. Since they don't know what's out there, they don't want to starve.
Thank you for loving it, and I hope you enjoy the next half when I get it out.
2406789
Oh, I know it's just in case. It's just their readiness to spend four months out in the waters that got to me. Not in a bad way, obviously.
And I can't wait for the next part!
Great so far, Love how awesome Fluttershy is in this Fic.
2406809 It pays to be prepared, that's what I think
I hope you don't have to wait too long, I'm currently writing one of my favourites parts of the story so far, which is near the end of the chapter.
2406825 Thank you. Fluttershy is always awesome, and when paired with Twilight, they are unstoppable.
2406840
...
Then...
WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING ANSWERING TO COMMENTS!?!?!?!?
GET BACK TO WORK!
Juuuuust kidding! Take your time and do whatever you so desire!
2406850
I don't want to be rude to you and wait ages to reply back.
And I'm switching between writing this, and the sequel to my Dragonlord story. A day working on one story and another day another story does wonders for both, I find.
2406868
It's not rude, when I am okay with this.
Then again, I was rude myself, even if in jest. My apologies.
Good to hear that the sequel of the story that made me your follower is in progress.
And that last part is quite obvious when you think about it. You are switching your attention from one story to the other fast enough, so you don't get bored with either of them. And ideas that sprout during session with one can be used in the other. Though you need to be able to process this kind of switching as not everyone actually can do that mentally.
The most important part of course is to take joy from the writing. It shows.
2406908 No need to apologise, my friend, I was just joking myself
And sometimes it is hard to keep in mind the story that I'm working on, but my mind keeps thinking about moments from the other. And yes, I actually love writing stories.
2406947
In my opinion, you could really think about going into actual writing. You are a great writer and both of your stories are fantastic and well written. I know, only my opinion doesn´t mean much, but I wanted you to know that.
And I have to stop praising you so much, i think.... I don´t want you to get annoyed by it.
(Fluttershy20=awesome)
2409821 How could I get annoyed by such kind words? I know I made need to work on my grammar and such, but what you have said is inspiring, and makes me want to do something more, something greater.
Thank you.
2410342 Wow... I´m really proud to hear that what I was said, was inspiring to you. I was only telling the truth.
And don´t worry about some little grammar errors. You still have me as your proofreader right?
2410593 Of course I do, and proud to call you my proofreader.
Now, I must get back to the next half of the chapter *flies away*
I really wonder what that promise Fluttershy made is if it can make her deny her own feeling that hard...
2410700
just came back to do some rereading and i noticed this conservation here.
Yes, you could go into writing, i would even recommend it. You have more skill at the adventure topic(?) then almost every fanfic writer i have ever read, and, with some more practice and experience, i truly think you could be a true master of it. Also,your romance skills are good enough to keep me interested, and that isn't easy to do, as i usually lose interest in romance fairly quickly. anyways, back to what i was doing, reading awesomeness.
2416929 All will be revealed in good time, my friend.
2422773 Wow, thank you so much.
2423564 I had a feeling you'd say something like that^^ lol
Thank you so much, I've been really depressed lately and this fic really brought a smile to my face. This must be the best Flutter/Twi fic I've read so far.
.
I'ts about 4am here and i cant bring myself to stop reading.
Keep up the good work
I always think it's cute when people are like "Oh, it's 10,000 words, it's so long."