Out of her Element

Chapters

Departure
Ocean Crossing
A New World
Flight of the Butterflies
Between Darkness and Light

Departure

The lingering campfire flickered two and fro as it was stirred alight once more by the Pegasus; her butter yellow fur hidden within the shadows which darted over her body in response to the crackling fire. The flames offered the only companionable sounds in the clearing where she waited for the night to pass.

Fluttershy sat on her haunches, dismissing the darkness which leeched its way around them; offering tendrils of despair whenever the fire waned. Her mind blotted out all the bad and the mean which was potentially lurking in this alien landscape. What would her pink maned friend say around now? “Giggle at the Ghostie?” It’s hard to giggle at something when you’re alone, lost and confused like a filly.

She couldn’t be afraid

Turning her turquoise eyes to the other side of the camp fire, she gazed wistfully at the slumbering cerulean athlete who’s barrel rose and fell with each laboured breath she took. Fluttershy hated seeing her best friend in this way. It was wrong. Rainbow was supposed to be the strong one. Rainbow was supposed to be the one who took care of her. How could the shy Pegasus hope of keeping both of them together? She shook her head, dispelling those thoughts into the ether. Negativity had no place here.

The fire offered little in the way of response to her minds inane ramblings - instead choosing to illuminate her friend’s prismatic mane once more. The colours seemed tamer – more diluted. She thought it may just be the darkness. She hoped it was just the darkness.

She glanced down at her right fore-hoof, frowning at the bandage which was now tightly wrapped around the elbow. She could barely feel the pain anymore and that at least was some comfort. And in such a hopeless scenario – any comfort was a blessing.

Still the rainbow Pegasus slumbered as the clouds flickered by overhead, blocking out Luna’s transcendently beautiful night sky. A few stars were visible when time allowed, but not enough to provide hope to the shaking Pegasus as the wind rattled through once more, blowing her pale and dirties pink mane up into her eyes. She squeaked when some of the fire’s embers were kicked up and blown her way – alas naught else made a sound.

Turning her head back towards Rainbow Dash, she reflected unhappily to herself:

“How did everything go wrong so quickly?”

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“How did everything go wrong so quickly?”

The blue Pegasus whined as she kicked the seat ahead of her. The stallion reading the paper grumbled once more before folding his newspaper, standing up, and leaving the carriage. He was the last one to do so, thus leaving the rumbling train carriage in the peaceful embrace of the two Ponyville Pegasi.

"I could've been practicing, or napping! I'm missing out on prime nap time here!" Her tail swished adorably as she flailed like a newborn looking for attention. She never did do well sitting still and both the girls knew it.

Fluttershy, who had been dreamingly gazing out of the window as the tall structures of Baltimare zoomed on by, pulled her head out of the train’s slipstream and looked over to her friend. She couldn’t resist a giggle as Rainbow had once again re-read the same book in the span of a few hours.

“Oh come on, Rainbow Dash. We’re almost there!” she said encouragingly, leaving her seat and trotting up amicably to the grumbling mare.

Rainbow merely cast a look of despair at the map on the wall of the carriage which showed its route. Her friend was right, they were indeed nearly there. But then what?

“And then we have to get onto a stupid boat! I don’t remember having to go through all this last year!” she flopped back onto her back and stared up at the roof in mild contemplation. Or boredom. In fact it was just boredom.

Fluttershy continued to giggle at how impatient Rainbow Dash was being. “Well of course, silly.” She said in her trademarked gentle voice, seating herself next to Rainbow and lying down so they remained side by side. “Last year the Butterfly Migration was near Whitetail woods. They never go the same place twice in a row.”

The athlete snorted, annoyed. “Any why not? And more to the point, how do we know where they will go if they never go the same place twice?” She blew the hair out of her eyes and began drawing cloud shapes in the air above them whilst waiting for a reply from her companion.

To this, the butterscotch Pegasus had no reply. She simply giggled and poked Rainbow’s hoof in mid-air. “I’m sure it’s just a very smart Unicorn who can predict these things. Maybe a friend of Twilight, she always knows the smartest people in Canterlot”

“A pony, a smart one at that, who is obsessed with butterflies all year around?” Dash chuckled. Her magenta eyes moved to the side, looking directly at the Pegasus who was prodding her hooves. “Looks like we found you somepony for Hearts and Hooves day”

The reaction was priceless for Rainbow as Fluttershy’s features immediately flushed a radiant pink. She withdrew her hoof and curled up. “Oh… um…” her turquoise eyes moved to see Dash’s wide smirk before squeaking and hiding behind her luxurious pink mane.

The reaction was too much for Rainbow Dash as she burst out laughing, sitting up just so she could bend over double and get it all out of her system. Fluttershy looked up at her friend as she laughed, barely resisting the smile which crept onto her own features. She always loved the time she got to spend with her foalhood friend, and seeing her laugh this much whilst on a trip for just two of them was marvellous.

It had taken Fluttershy months of hints, weeks of persuading and days of puppy-dog eyes to get Rainbow Dash to agree to join her on the trip to see the butterfly migration. She knew that Rainbow would never have agreed to go with anypony else – to see flapping insects much less just to go for the same of going.
Rainbow’s laughing had settled down and she wiped a few tears away with her hoof, marring her perfect coat with the few drips of darkness which now stained her. “But seriously” she concluded, getting off her seat and trotting up to the open window Fluttershy had been gazing out of. “What makes this migration so special? I thought once you saw one, you’ve seen them all?”

She was joined by the pink maned pony who stood on her hind legs at the window, letting her fore-hooves hold onto the windowsill. “Well I thought it would be nice for both of us. We’ve never gone to Canterbury before-”

“-And for good reason! It’s miles away!” the prismatic Pegasus groaned, mimicking her friend’s posture and gazing out of the window, down in the direction of the train engine as they continued eastward.

“Given how much you enjoy flying, I thought travelling to faraway places would be your thing” Fluttershy voiced, her nose in thought. She honestly thought Rainbow would be more excited to go someplace new.

In response, Dash extended her wings and gave them a gentle flap; “yeah, but I prefer to travel in style with these babies - much faster!” She gently let herself be lifted off by her flapping limbs, before sneaking out of the window and shooting up into the sky before her timid companion could utter a word.

Fluttershy just balked and clung to the window sill as she looked up at the colourful Pegasus who as she spoke did spins through the oceanic blue sky. Not a care in the world was had by the young flier and even though on her own, Fluttershy took comfort in her friend’s enjoyment.

“I guess all of us just need to do our own things sometime” she said to nopony in particular. As the pastel-coloured Ponyville train chugged onwards past the exotic skyscrapers of Baltimare, Fluttershy found her mind drawn more often to her best friend who continued to circle the train – almost akin to a vulture but far less ominously. If she listened carefully she could almost hear the whoops she gave as each lap was completed in her imaginary race course.

Of course oblivious to all this conjecture was Rainbow as she hurtled around and around, picking up dizzying speeds which left her determined to go faster. She was only fifty metres above the train but-

“Wow!” she expressed, slowing down to finally take count of her surroundings. Before her stood the widest expanse she had the fortune to see in a long time.

Blue on blue, the amazingly cloudless sky impacted the waterline in a manner reminiscent to the blue in her hair matted to her coat. She had seen the sea before many times but always to the west. This was a whole new ball game.

“Oops. Hey! Wait up!” she shouted as she realised the train had left behind. Flaring her wings, she gave a powerful thrust back with her wings which propelled her instantaneously at speed towards the train.

Too fast - it turned out – as she catapulted herself straight through the window and into an awaiting yellow marshmallow who she collided into with an “oomph.”

Fluttershy stumbled dazedly after being hit by 30 kilograms of muscle, her eyes lopsided and independently zooming around until she got her bearings. When she finally righted herself, she looked to the Rainbow maned one with a pout on her lips.

“Sorry” she said, biting her lip.

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“Awwww hay-yeah!” Rainbow cheered as she trotted off the platform on the station, Fluttershy in tow a few metres behind her. Both mares had donned their saddlebags and were enjoying being out of the cramped train carriage for the first time in hours. As much as Fluttershy loved travelling nice and slow, spending six hours in a train with little room to manoeuvre – even in their empty carriage – was pushing her limits.

The sign and sight which greeted them as they descended the grassy hill was nothing short of spectacular.

WELCOME TO HORSESHOE BAY

Both mares were captivated with the view of the bay which stretched out before them. Like Rainbow, Fluttershy was no stranger to the sea – having gone many times to visit her little friends on the shores – but also, like her athletic partner-in-crime, she had never had the luck of coming here before.

Beautiful cerulean waters, streaked with tinges of exotic peacock green along the beachfront greeted them with wide open arms, encircling the bay like a protective barrier.

“Almost like it’s giving everyone here a hug” Fluttershy remarked to herself at the arms of the cove. The young mares eyes were wide as she drank in the beauty which threatened to overflow her open mind. She would look one minute and spot some little adorable rabbits bouncing around, then see an exotic bird flying in formation with five others overhead. Her neck craned this way and that until something caught her attention.

“Look Rainbow!” Fluttershy remarked, her eyes turning to the middle of the beachfront where a large boat lay moored. A line of multi-coloured ponies queued up near it, preparing to board. “That’s our boat! Doesn’t it look so pretty?”

Rainbow furrowed her brow and gave the ship a critiquing look. “It doesn’t look very exciting. I’d have thought out boat would be a fantastically painted cruise ship!” Rainbow began to salivate at the mere thought of pure sea-worthy awesome which began to etch itself out of marble and cumulus in her mind.

Fluttershy smiled and shook her head at as the weather pony retreated into her mind to construct Celestia-knows-what. Instead, she hoisted her saddlebags to be more secure before she took off at a trot down the hill.
Rainbow’s mind for one had deviated from pondering the specifics of her capital class cloud cruiser and had instead drifted to the butter-yellow Pegasus she was accompanying. As much as she dislike the prospect to go on such an unnecessarily long journey to look at some flying multi-coloured ants, the look on her best friends face made everything worth it.

Very rarely had she seen the butterfly-flanked mare show this much enthusiasm since… well the last time they went watching the migration. Although her prospects at sharing the excitement the timid Pegasus was exhibiting were exceedingly low, she couldn’t resist but think that – regardless of the reason they were travelling:

“This will be a trip to remember!”

Ocean Crossing

The Pegasus ran. By Celestia she galloped as hard and fast as she could. Her turquoise eyes remained locked ahead of her as she bounded onwards with no intent on looking back behind her. Her body was so full of adrenaline even her wings were flapping to increase her momentum.

The corridor she was running down was opaque. Little detail was able to register in her brain as she sped on by countless mahogany doors. The corridor stretched on infinitely, and that infinite point dead ahead of her was the only source of light.

“Head towards the light, Fluttershy” she told herself. “Nothing bad can happen in the light”

Her brain argued the logical fallacy with her mouth. She knew it wasn’t true, but the less time she spent focusing on that the better.

Intertwined ivy arms of darkness grew upon the walls, shimmering like oily shadows amidst a pensive breeze. She continued to gallop. Her mane billowed behind her in its silken glory as hoof-fall after hoof-fall drummed out a rhythmic beat which on the hard stone floor. The medley of pants and clip-clops etched its way into her mind as another means of distraction.

Perspiration built up on her less-than-athletic body as she continued to work muscles she hadn’t stress tested in countless weeks. She felt pain building up in her hind legs as the lactic acid built up within her body.

Surprisingly quickly, the small bead of hope that she had been dashing towards began to increase before her. The small Pegasus quickly discovered as it engulfed her vision that it wasn’t the end.

“Another corridor? That isn’t fair!” she complained, inwardly at least. She had naught the breath to make such an exclamation aloud. The wall to the left opened up and she quickly angled her body and dashed around it, maintaining her momentum.

Alas, it was this which prevented her from stopping once she rounded the corner. All too late the Pegasus noticed the floor just stopped, but once after her left foot discovered that she couldn’t rectify it and was sent head over hooves into the ominous darkness.

Her wings flapped desperately as she tumbled out of control. Up was down, north was west. All her Pegasi-gifted co-ordination was thrown for the loop as she plummeted.

She could do little more than shriek out one word as she sank into the abyss.

“Rainbow!”

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“Rainbow!”

The panting Pegasus sat up in her bed, her eyes wide and a thin layer of perspiration coating her fur. She drank in several deep gasps of salty air as she remained locked in utter darkness. Not a single thing stirred – and most surprisingly – not even the cerulean Pegasus who continued to snore loudly above her in the bunk bed.

“What a horrible dream” she soft-spoken mare mumbled. “Fluttershy you must not eat something before you go to sleep which will give you nightmares!” She swung her hooves out from beneath the itchy blanket and over the edge of the bed before dropping down onto all fours.

She glanced up at the bunk bed, smiling slightly as even in the darkness of night her friend’s brightly coloured tail was still visible as the tip dangled off the edge. The Pegasus moved to the drawers in the room and pulled out the beautiful blue with white trim cloak Rarity had made for her. Pulling it overhead and the hood up, she tugged the white ribbon clasp in place and left the room with barely a sound.

Emerging onto the desk of the ship had been easier than she thought; and as she stepped out into Luna’s embrace – she finally began to relax. The twinkling stars which shone down from on high were the only witnesses to the canary yellow pony’s journey to the bow of the ship as it was carried across the Eastern Sea in blissful silence.

As she faced the breeze head on, she let out a soft sigh. Her cloak billowed behind her dramatically yet the hood remained steadfast and unwavering around her pink locks. Fluttershy gazed out into serenity, her pools of aqua passed over every wave and splash of light in the ocean as it danced beneath the moon.

“Why would such a dream want to happen in some place so beautiful?” she remarked aloud to herself. Her voice was as ambient as the water continued to break against the wooden hull of the boat. “It is so out of place. So… alien”

She turned her head to look back down the abandoned deck of the ship, eyes focusing on the door she came out of. “Rainbow always told me when I’m scared, to shout her name and she would come save me” she continued to monologue. “I guess it did work. The dream did end…”

She felt the gentle pull in the direction of the bow by her heart and resumed to gazing ahead. Settling down on her haunches and pulling the cloak around her body, she shivered.

“It’s not even that cold” she mumbled. “So why do I feel so?”

She held up a hoof and watched as the breeze trickled through her fur like miniscule water droplets, parting the hair this way and that in a chaotic yet perfect pattern. She stood there for what could’ve been minutes or hours in silent observation of the most simple and complex of things.

“I wish I could be like the wind” She said aloud, a smile adorning her features for the first time of the night. “Fly where I please. Scared of nothing” She returned her hoof to the ground. “Even in the face of that big dragon on the mountain, the wind continued to blow. It wasn’t scared of him.”

“Neither were you” a raspy voice came from behind her. The Pegasus squeaked and span around – all tranquillity in her mind vanished as she feared the prospect of being overheard. Her best friend stood there on all fours, her own Blue cloak adorned although without the hood up which let the symphony of colour dance in the ocean air.

Her friends cloak was so much more fancier than her own modest one, and it suited Rainbow’s personality as she trotted forwards to take a place next to Fluttershy and stare out to where the timid flier had been gazing so wistfully. “You weren’t scared of the dragon – at least not at the end!” she continued on, drawing Fluttershy’s attention away from her cloak and back onto the Pegasus proper.

She turned back around sat next to her friend. And together the two ponies gazed out into the horizon. Fluttershy didn’t reply and Rainbow didn’t push the topic any further, they just sat together in complete silence

Fluttershy let her eyes wander to the left where her friend sat seated, gazing ahead in complete calm. She didn’t bat an eyelid to the oncoming breeze, not like Fluttershy had to.

“Of course she wouldn’t need to. She’s a brilliant flier!” she kicked herself in the rump mentally. Eventually she was caught gazing at her friend who in turn returned the glance. Before giving a cocky smile and returning to sightseeing.

The two sat there for hours. It was almost uncanny to see the Rainbow Pegasus stationary for so long. Rarity struggled even to get her to sit still for a minute to model a dress.

But the silence couldn’t last as the two watched the moon finally yield to Sun, the orange hues of warm radiance raining down upon them in solar showers.

Dash sighed. “Are you going to talk about it?” she finally conceded, turning to face Fluttershy.

“T-talk? I’m not sure I understa-“ Fluttershy began, before a blue hoof met her lips to stop her.

“I heard you. I saw you” the magenta eyes which pierced into her soul were full of nothing but uncertainty and concern. “This is the second night you’ve woken shouting my name and then snuck out here.”

Fluttershy flushed a deep red then turned her gaze from the rising benevolence of Celestia’s star to the water-worn floorboards of the magically preserved deck. “I… I…” the mare mumbled, not really eager in any way to think of the cause of her solitary moments. “It was just a bad dream.”

Rainbow snorted, and turned to gaze eastwards. “No. If it was a bad dream you’d have stayed in bed. I know you, ‘Shy. You’d have stayed where you knew your friends were rather than go for a leisurely stroll”

Fluttershy sighed and looked up from the floor, scratching her right hoof but not answering her friend’s logical statement. Such an astute observation from the aerial flier was not expected. It was more something she would think Twilight would have been able to notice. But then Rainbow had been spending a lot of time at the library around Twilight as she read those Daring Do books – maybe some of the librarian's analytical traits had rubbed off on the brash pony.

The two fell back into another silence, this one far more uncomfortable now that unanswered questions lingered in the air.

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“Flutters” she heard a voice mumble into her ear. It felt loud, too loud. She curled up around her blanket and pinned her ears back to block out the noise. But the noise didn’t yield. “Fluttershy, c’mon. Wake up”

She reluctantly opened her eyes and stumbled instantly away from her friend. Rainbow was sporting a deep blush on her head as she struggled to wake the yellow Pegasus curled up against her hooves and using her cloak as a blanket. Her eyes remained skyward as she tried to relax and return her body temperature to normal. The last thing she had expected when she came out here to check on Fluttershy was to end up having the girl fall asleep against her and then cuddle up at her feet.

“She did look adorable though” she snickered to herself. But then Fluttershy was adorable in every aspect of what she did. It was like one of Twilight’s silly laws of Swirlbeard the Starred, or whoever he was. “Gravity makes stuff go down; Impact onto the ground at thirty miles an hour hurts; Fluttershy is cute.” She was pretty sure that was the order of all things in Equestria.

Sighing, she shuffled her wings uncomfortably before pointing forwards. “I wanted to wake you for that, Flutters.” She gestured ahead.

Fluttershy turned her head to follow Rainbow’s gaze. At some point whilst she slept her hood had fallen down and she once more had to brush the pink curtain away from her eyes to see exactly what Rainbow had sighted.

And what a sight it was.

The flawless blue ocean stretching as far as the horizon had given way to a small cliff which stretched along the whole horizon. The cliffs were pearly white and gleamed in Celestia’s sun which now hovered just above the shore which the boat continued to sail towards.

As before, the deck was still completely barren of anypony so it was only the pair of best friends who were privileged to see the illustrious silver cliffs ahead as they slowly grew in size.

“It’s so big!” she whispered as she gazed at the coastal wonder.

Rainbow grinned, her complexion having returned to pure blue. “It sure is! I remember Gilda mentioning she came from this way. I think the Griffon Kingdoms are a little ways north from here” she recounted her surprising knowledge. The mention of her old friend left a sour taste in her mouth but she quickly threw that aside. It had been years since she saw the offending animal and she had no intention of bringing up bad memories.

“Oh look, Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy exclaimed loudly, her gaze torn from the cliffs and instead drawn to the water directly below them. The yellow Pegasus had climbed up onto the railing and was peering over the edge excitedly.

Rainbow walked over to the other side of Fluttershy and as she peered over the edge, the first thing she got was a face full of water. She shrieked and fall over onto her rump, before letting out a groan.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Fluttershy admonished the dolphin who was leaping in and out of the water ahead of them. Each time it dived back in it would deliberately splash its tail to send more water up into the air. The prismatic Pegasus quickly righted herself and dashed forwards to the guard rail and pouted down at the offending marsupial

“When I get my hooves on-“ Splash. Another cascade of water soaked her. She didn’t even dignify it this time with a response as she merely shook herself silly until all the annoying liquid had been scattered onto the deck. “And people wonder why me and animals don’t get along” her voice game out low and dark as she stalked onto Fluttershy’s other side.

The two remained on deck some more whilst Rainbow dried out under the dawn heat. As the ship became sheltered within the shadows of the giant cliffs both Pegasi were dry and snug as a bug in their cloaks. The boat began to pitch right and the journey turned southwards. As they skirted the crystally-clean beachfront on the ever increasingly busy deck, finally civilisation came within sight.

“Look! Look Rainbow! We’re here” Fluttershy squeaked excitedly as a small harbour wall became visible. As they drew closer the luxurious purple tinted marble glistened and shined in perfection, a perfection Rarity would be enviable of.

“Maybe we should invite her next time we come here?” Fluttershy said to herself. As the boat arced around the walls and approached the bay entrance, both Pegasi’s eyes went wide at the beautiful stunning town built into a small gap between the cliffs, which stretched all the way up to the top. Even Canterlot paled in comparison to the unique architecture which was thrown at them.

Intricate pearly white houses decorated with lush purple roofs snaked up a small cobblestone road which stretched up from the level of the pier all the way to the top of the one hundred metre cliff face. Ponies of all colours and races are bustling along the waterfront and roads.

Canterbury seemed to be built on two levels. One level was the water-front level. It stretched deep into the canyon the town was built and had a beautiful city-scape despite the crowded positioning. The upper level was less uniform and felt more homely; reminding both Pegasi of Ponyville.

As the boat they were perched upon slowly glided towards the pier, both anticipated the coming adventure in and around this strange new town.

A New World

As the gangplank hit the dockside with a loud thud, both Pegasi disembarked with excitement and fascination sparkling in their wide equine eyes. Rainbow was the first to touchdown – quite literally- on the new landmass and did so with all the grace she bequeathed Canterlot in her role as Commander Hurricane.

Fluttershy followed calmly, leaving the ship by the boarding ramp as it was intended to be used. With both their weighty saddlebags once more secured around their backs and both of their cloaks fastened around their necks – they were ready.

Sure enough, they were met by the organised chaos of a town in the morning rush in all its haphazard beauty. Earth ponies trundled along drawing wagons behind them laden with food both sweet and savoury; their hooves making a distinctly different clopping noise on the hardened water-worn silvery ragstone floor than both Pegasi were used to hearing in their countryside village.

The ponies here were of a far more distinct palette than those of Ponyville where the colour diversity was incomparably widespread. Canterbury favoured the paler more saturated tones; wisps of silver and platinum with the boldest being enough to match the turquoise of the coastline.

“So what’s the plan, Flutters?” Rainbow exclaimed, her head spinning around at the buildings leading off from the dockside so quickly that the pale cream Pegasus feared for her spine. “Will we be going looking for your flying ants first or are we going to explore here?”

Fluttershy let out a light giggle at the obvious excitement of her companion. Ruffling her feathers and leafing into her saddlebags and holding it open for her muzzle, she pulled out a simple map she had obtained from Twilight’s library of the nearby area. Laying it on the floor and quickly stepping on a corner before the sea breeze sweeps it away, she begins to look at where they were due to go.

“We don’t need to leave this moment, Rainbow” she said, peering at the path that she had requested highlighted by Twilight before they had left. The lavender bookworm was all too eager to put her cartography skills to good use once more as she planned the safest route to the Bellehoof Meadows.

“So how long can we explore here?” The blue Pegasus grinned; bouncing on the tip of her hooves in glee. The excitement of exploring a new place was rapidly overtaking her. Had Fluttershy invited her to go to anywhere else in Equestria, she’d have said no. But this place was new, this place was stunning. She couldn’t remember ever seeing anything like this shoreline from as far as Trottingham to Los Pegasus.

Fluttershy looked up to the sky and squinted, a casual hoof brushing her pink mane out of her eyes. The Sun was still fairly low; it could hardly be more than nine o’clock. Shaking her mane back into position, she turned her attention back to the Pinkie-esque bouncing blue pony.

“Well we if we meet up at the top of that road there in an hour…” she said, pointing with a hoof to the road which climbed up the cliff face in the distance. “That should give you enough time to explore, Dash”

The Pegasus gave her a quick hug, a grin ear to ear being sported on her face. “Sure thing! See you in an hour!” and without further ado, extended her wings and took off into the air with a mighty downward flap, strong enough to leave her friends hair looking very windswept. The blue speed devil had taken off so fast she had left her cloak hanging in the air before gravity took control and embraced it closely.

“Oh Rainbow” Fluttershy simply giggled as she shook her locks back into place once more. “Sometimes, you’re such a silly filly” She walked up to the cloak, picking it up in her mouth and tucking it into her own saddlebag for later; and with that the smiling Pegasus trotted off down the road at a leisurely pace to do her own exploring.

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Each flap of her wings sent her up higher and higher into Celestia’s ever brightening morning sky. The crisp breeze made her shiver and allowed her to flex her joints as she finally pierced the cloud layer and fanned her wings wide, suspending her in mid-air.

After finding a suitable cloud, she tucked her wings back and allowed herself to fall into a dive, landing with a comfortable pomf onto the blanket-like structure. Settling down on her belly, Rainbow poked her head over the edge of the cloud and surveyed the town below whilst she stretched her lower extremities in her typical warm-up fashion.

Puffing a few obstructing locks of rainbow hair out of her eyes, she spotted the butter-yellow Pegasus no more than a tiny dot on a moving mosaic of colour beneath her. The town wasn’t exceedingly big by any stretch of the imagination but it was dense, which left a lot of places for Rainbow to explore.

She also noticed that there didn’t seem to be as many Pegasi here as she would have expected, most of the ponies she saw being other two races – Heck; she even imagined that she spotted a few Griffon-shaped dots from her aerial lookout. So why weren’t there many Pegasi?

“Maybe they just didn’t fancy being stuck on a boat to come here” she snickered to herself, ignoring her own impatience just a few days earlier from being on a train.

She rolled onto her back and wriggled around on the cloud, gathering a nice thin layer of morning dew from the cloud’s moisture. Righting herself, she shook herself until she shone and with an efficient brush of her mane - which sent it back into its typical cacophonic state – she spread her pristine wings once more and dived over the edge, letting herself glide down at a leisurely pace back towards the hustle and bustle of the alien homestead.

She touched down with an audible clonk onto the stone road and curled her wings up behind her saddlebags. Satisfied she had landed without causing any form of standard Rainbow Dash-related disaster, she allowed herself a satisfactory grin and proceeded to canter down the road at a brisk pace.

The ponies paid no heed to the rainbow maned Pegasus as she trotted down the middle of the street, glancing left and right at the beautifully simple designs of the houses. It reminded her much of Cloudsdale in its simplicity – there was only so much you could do when ninety nine per cent of your standard hardware passes through the floor.

The houses followed a similar design – pale grey walls fashioned from the same marble as the cliffs and quay. Any decoration was done using a subtle silvery trim, woven into the rocks themselves. Unicorn stuff – Rainbow concluded. She couldn’t see how ponies like Applejack could do something as finicky as impregnating stone with silver.

The roofs were made of angled purple tiles which ascended into steep peaks not dissimilar to how Rarity’s boutique was designed.

As she continued on deeper under the shadow of the cliff and into the denser part of town, she finally hit the true market place which was already loud and busy. Pinning her ears back to dull the noise somewhat, she cast her eyes over the different stalls, politely fending off merchants who wanted to sell her their wares and glaring down those who didn’t accept those polite undertones.

Rainbow wasn’t a trading pony – she didn’t have the time to haggle and whenever she was dragged to Ponyville market with any of her friends, she’d find the cheapest price, and accept it. Ruffling her wings somewhat to ensure her saddlebag was still firmly in place strapped around her belly and hadn’t come loose in her flight, she looked for an open spot in the market place and took off with a flick of her prismatic mane. As much as she wanted to enjoy exploring this city, it was missing something…

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Fluttershy trotted up the slowly inclining road at a pleasurably slow pace. Whilst she could have just as easily flown to the top of the cliff like she expected Rainbow to do, she preferred to give her hooves a chance to get working after so long cooped up on a boat.

The yellow pony felt the soft nudge of the ocean’s breeze ease her passage uphill, drawing a smile from the nature loving Pegasus. As she continued to climb, she cast her mind back to Ponyville and her animal friends.

Applejack had been kind enough to offer to check in on them each day and fill up their bowls for their meals in between her work shifts on the farm. Even when Fluttershy protested and offered to hire someone with the small amount of bits she had spare; she just got an orange hoof booping her on the nose in response; telling her not to be silly.

Rainbow’s faithful tortoise Tank had been taken in by Applebloom as a lesson on responsibility by her sister after a slight mishap in their last cutie mark escapade. Fluttershy didn't dare ask for details – she knew those three had a tendency to get up to all sorts of trouble.
As Fluttershy continued to climb, the houses on the left side of the path seemed to diminish until little more was left than a fence preventing ponies from going over the edge onto the houses below. She was now well over four storeys high and although she was a Pegasus and used to altitude, she still detoured slightly to the right – nestling herself in the shadow of the cliff and the remaining houses.

The wind began to get stronger as it became apparent to the butter-coloured Pegasus how much of a wind-tunnel the path she had been traversing into was. Pouting to herself at having been silly enough not to notice, she pushed her head down and continued on until something warm enveloped her withers – the sounds of trotting became doubled.

“Hey, ‘Shy!” Rainbow grinned from her position next to Fluttershy – her right wing draped over her friends back casually to provide support. Her sudden appearance didn’t have the reaction she expected as it sent Fluttershy jumping a foot into the air before scarpering further from the edge. Rolling her eyes, she trotted up and pulled the mare to her hooves.

“H-hi Rainbow Dash” she croaked out – the wind whipping all moisture from her lips. She regained her balance and took shelter between two houses to calm her heart. No matter how many times it happened, the cerulean Pegasus was always capable of sending her heart into over drive – and not in the good way.

The athletic Pegasus held back a sigh at her friend before joining her in the alcove. “You’re back sooner than I expected” Fluttershy remarked quietly after taking a sip from the flask of water she kept in her saddlebag, smacking her lips to get the moisture back in them.

“Yeeeah” the Rainbow maned girl replied nonchalantly. “Don’t get me wrong – this place looks amazing. But I’d much prefer to have someone to see it with me at some point.” She said before turning her large magenta eyes to the yellow Pegasus beside her. “Hint, hint”

Fluttershy needed no hinting to know what Rainbow meant, and so let out a titter in response to those adorable kitten-like eyes she was being subjected to. Replacing her flask, she responded by pulling out Rainbow’s cloak and wrapping it around her neck. “If you promise not to lose this again” she chided innocently.

Rainbow’s face turned beet red – indicating she had honestly forgotten about the cloak. She felt bad that Fluttershy had to mother her – picking up her belongings as she runs off too quick like a parents would for her foal’s toys. But that feeling of resentment at herself evaporated into pure embarrassment as Fluttershy dressed her up in the cloak. The otherwise world-wise Pegasus resorted to just looking at the sky – allowing her friend to fix the catch on the front so it wouldn’t fall off as well as making sure her mane wasn’t trapped beneath it.

“Perhaps we can come back and visit after we come back when it’s calmer.” The creamy Pegasus suggested, her tail sneaking under her cloak as she sat back on her haunches to inspect her work on the athlete who sat embarrassed in front of her; “Its a few hours travel to the meadow, we can have lunch and stay there for a few hours and then head back” she continued on, her friends situation leaving her tongue-tied as she tried to force the blood back into her body and away from her face.

Rainbow nodded her head and turned her attention back to the road where ponies continued to bustle past on their busy morning routines – showing far more resilience to the wind than Fluttershy had– or even Rainbow herself had been letting on. She could admire that about them. They reminded her of the ‘Mountain Ponies’ in one of the later Daring Do novels who’s skin was as hard as iron from the blistering northern winds.

The two sat there in silence for several minutes, allowing Fluttershy some time to check her saddlebags for anything they may need. Rainbow occasionally ducked out of the alcove and walked to the railing where she could look out over the sprawling townscape below. The canyon in the cliff-face was far longer than the town which occupied it but both seemed perfect for one another. Draping her forehooves over the railing and standing on her hind legs, Dash looked to Fluttershy like an adventure pony extraordinaire – especially when she turned her face to smile at her; prismatic colours shimmering in the winds, cloak sweeping majestically in the red, blue and yellow design. With her cloak secured properly – her wings were prevented from unfurling comfortably which distressed the athletic Pegasus somewhat, but she could get used to it. “At least until we get out of this wind” she told herself

“Come on Flutters” Dash said eventually, gathering herself and her timid friend. Taking her hoof and bringing her back into the wind tunnel, both began to make their way up the hill side by side. Stepping in silent sequence with one another on their ascension to the next part of their journey

Onward to the Meadow

Author's Note

In the gap between chapters I actually began working on a map to go alongside the story. You can find it Here

Flight of the Butterflies

Flight of the Butterflies

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The sun hung as if from invisible wires high in the firmament, its celestial rays making its mark over all of the countryside. The skies were cloudless and clear and all that could be heard amongst the calm winds were the voices of two mares as they made their way down the path.

Rainbow’s wings were itching beneath the layers she was confined to, and that vexed her greatly as she kept up the cheerful banter with her friend at her side. They had been trotting down the same road for an hour but their mood hadn’t diminished – much to Rainbow’s surprise. She half expected to be bored senseless but all the new sights – as simple as they were – kept her interest.

Yet her wings still itched.

“…but then Pinkie told me that we’re all addicted to our own thoughts.”

Rainbow’s head snapped back to attention, focusing on the pony beside her. She blew a strand of red hair which had been falling in front of her eyes aside, before replying with genuine curiosity despite her slight lack in attention.

“So what did you say back?”

“Well… nothing. I spent the rest of the day thinking about what she meant by that. And then it hit me. I had spent the whole afternoon thinking about my thoughts!” Fluttershy giggled gently. The whole topic had really gone over Rainbows head but she couldn’t help but crack a smile. Any topic involving Pinkie had a tendency to run loops in her head the more she questioned it.

Fluttershy herself had noticed her friend’s fading participation in the conversation, and so she herself also fell back into a quiet phase, lightly humming a song whilst they walked on. The day was so hot that they kept their cloaks on to shield themselves from its warm rays. Whilst their fur gave them protection from the sun, they were still able to get burnt and the last thing either of them wanted was a big stripe of pale on their backs to show where their saddlebags had been lying.

Yet she could see her friend fidgeting beneath her cloak – and it was obvious why.

“Do you mind if we stop for a bit, Rainbow” Fluttershy said after a few moments. She walked to the edge of the path and sat down on the grass. She herself didn’t really need to stop, but she knew Rainbow wouldn’t say anything about her itching herself. “Just for a few minutes, we can get the bags off of us and relax.”

The blue mare’s eyes instantly brightened but she followed Fluttershy without showing any overt signs of glee. Parking her rump beside Fluttershy, she wiggled out of her saddlebags before unfastening her cloak. “Do you mind if I stretch my wings, pal?” she said, glancing sidelong at the Pegasus beside her.

Fluttershy shook her head, smiling “Not at all.” Removing her own saddlebags and letting her wings stretch beneath the cloak, she watched as her friend flared her wings and with one powerful down-flap, took to the skies.

It reminded her of when Rainbow would invite her to watch the sports-oriented Pegasus practice for the Wonderbolts. Whilst her practices were nowadays far fewer (at least as far as Fluttershy knew), she was always thrown an open invitation.

The to-be-Wonderbolt was circling high above, banking this way and that. Her primaries caught the wind always at the right moment and sent her into a spiral of perfectly calculated pirouettes. Just watching Rainbow Dash made Fluttershy want to take to the skies and join her.

She was not a bad flier at all – given the right motivation. Her wings may be slightly less tuned to flying and her body a tad less aerodynamic than her companion, but that didn’t make her enjoy flying any less than the average Pegasus, regardless of how often she avoided it.

She thought back to when she and Dash had been roped into giving Twilight lessons on flying. It hadn’t gone quite according to plan and she cringed. It was one of the few points she can remember coming to verbal odds with Rainbow about something involving both of them personally…

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Three winged ponies stood in the fields outside of Ponyville. Rainbow had taken them all to her usual practice grounds for Twilight’s first proper flying lesson. In good spirits, the day had started out nice and sunny without a scrap of cloud in the sky. Without any wind, the field they stood in didn’t move at all; giving it a creepy level of stillness. But no wind was the best way to start learning how to fly. That much rainbow had conceded.

It taken them a long time to get to this simple stage, and the impatience was beginning to wear on the face of Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy saw this and cringed. Rainbow Dash was so excited at the prospect of a new flying buddy that she forgot how long it takes to get to such a stage.

Twilight was standing before them, her face strained as she tried to navigate the new muscles attached to her body – a quill and parchment hovering before her making notes in true Twilight fashion.

Fluttershy could understand Twilight’s slowness – It wasn’t every day somepony gains a pair of wings – let alone those the size of a Princess. But as Twilight practiced basic flapping whilst remaining ground-bound, Rainbow Dash was becoming more and more anxious to get airborne.

“Okay Twi, we know you’ve already master how to flap your wings” she exclaimed after watching the Alicorn flap her wings for the umpteenth time; “How about we finally get you in the sky! Nothing helps flying than throwing yourself into the deep end”

Twilight seemed a little apprehensive at that, her face mirroring the second Pegasus there. “But Rainbow, she needs to start slow. Come on Twi; let’s see if we can get you to hover a bit”

The short tempered Pegasus threw up her hooves in desperation “But Fluttershy! She can fly. We all saw her after her coronation” Twilight – who had been remaining silent throughout the two’s discussion – turned her face to the ground with a blush.

“Yes, but she didn’t know how to land did she? It took hours before we could knock Rarity out of that faint and get Twilight cleaned up after she crashed into that pond” Fluttershy said weakly. She thought it had been abnormal for Twilight to have known how to fly so well so quickly – It made sense that she had omitted in thinking through a few aspects of flying – like landing… and slowing down. Rarity had been practically bedridden at the thought of Twilight’s brand new coronation gown being covered not only in water but mud from the pond.

“Not everyone is like you Fluttershy! Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith!” Dash cried out, frustration obvious in the nerves twitching around her body, unable to stay still at all. “We can’t always go as slowly as a snail.”

“But she’s not like you either Rainbow!” Fluttershy blurted back, her voice which had come across strong had shrank into a quiet mew by the time she reached the end of the sentence.

“Please girls” Twilight said, trying to interject herself between the hot-blooded Pegasus and the one beginning to curl up.

“I don’t always go slowly,” Fluttershy murmured to herself “I take leaps of faith too” she looked up at Rainbow. She could feel each dig Rainbow took making her feel more and more uncomfortable. With her ears pinned back and her eyes wide, she tried to ready herself for the inevitable retort from her best friend.

“You always go slow! But Twilight is smarter than that. She knows that to learn something new you need to go straight in with gusto!” Rainbow immediately regretted her choice of words. Rather than admit the look of pain in her friends face, she let out an “Ugh; we’ll continue this lesson later” before spreading her wings and putting as much distance between her two winged friends.

=========================================================================

Fluttershy had been hurt by what Rainbow had said; despite the ring of truth to it. Fortunately like good friends they had both gotten together and apologised. There was no point in fighting in something so small after all and they cemented the agreement over a milkshake at Sugarcube Corner.

She looked to the sky now as Rainbow dipped and dived through the clear blue. She had watched Rainbow long enough and paid attention to how her body moved to pick up a few things about flying. Maybe once they get back to Ponyville she could ask for some lessons herself.

As long as she didn’t mind, that is.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a “Wumph” as Rainbow Dash landed to the ground with a thud on all four hooves. She grinned at her friend and sat on her haunches beside her.

“Enjoy the show?” She grinned, removing a small water bottle from her bags. Pulling the cap off with her teeth, she took a refreshing gulp from it before turning her head and looking to Fluttershy.

The dainty yellow Pegasus nodded. “It was very nice”

Rainbow facehoofed before giggling; “We need to get you a thesaurus. There are other words than ‘Nice’ y’know”

Fluttershy didn’t know how to respond to that. Honestly, the first question she wanted to ask was how Rainbow knew what a thesaurus was; but she conceded the point to say “Your flying was really impressive”, earning a chuckle from the pony beside her.

Rainbow fell backwards and relaxed in the long grass, staring up at the sky. “So how far are we from this Ballpark meadow place?”

“Bellehoof Meadow” Fluttershy corrected, before continuing on “It should only be a few minutes out from here. Want to get going?” She cast a glance over the athletic figure lying on the grass beside her – leaving a distinct Rainbow-shaped indentation behind as she sat up and nodded.

They continued walking through the simple countryside. The path they walked on was covered in a simple well-kept layer of grass and either side held fields of lush pony-high fields of verdure. In the distance ahead of them they could see great big purple tinted mountains capped with snow at the top – at least thirty leagues away.

Fluttershy was in her element. She swivelled her ears to listen to all the sounds of the wildlife which lived either side of the simple path they trod. Nightjars and Kingfishers soared through the sky, performing aerial stunts not too different than those her friend had been performing. She even sported a Hoopoe nestling in a tree beneath the shade of the canopy. Clearly Celestia’s gift wasn’t for everyone.

Her attention wasn’t always sky bound. For the briefest time she had the cutest timid little fox snapping playfully at her fetlocks. Rainbow had been less appreciative at this display of affection and had chosen to hover a hoof off the ground in response. Her magenta eyes locked on the furry rodent in the event he came close to her hooves. She wouldn’t tolerate a pony touching them and she would certainly not deign to let this long nosed orange excuse-for-a-dog do so either. The pup continued to play with Fluttershy for several minutes before being dragged back to its den by its mother, who gave less than comforting looks at the two mares. Despite Fluttershy’s insistence on the mother fox that they were not a danger; Rainbow felt the need to nudge the Pegasus along so they could continue their journey.

“Wasn’t he just adorable? I don’t often see baby foxes around. Mister Bear has a tendency of scaring them away, although unintentionally” Fluttershy gossiped excitedly to herself. Discussing animals always brought a smile to her face and she would have loved to play with the little pup some more.

“Foxes look weird. That long snout and huge ears…” Rainbow remarked as she returned herself to the ground with a soft muffled thud, falling in line next to Fluttershy

Fluttershy giggled; “They’re not all that different from dogs, you know. And you seem to have no problem with Winona”

“But they’re orange-“

“So is Applejack” the yellow Pegasus quickly replied, making the speedster roll her eyes.

“You know what I mean! Orange dogs!” Rainbow waves her hooves around, as if trying to explain something so obviously ludicrous and important. “Orange!”

It took a while for Rainbow to realise her friend was not only giggling, but outright laughing at her silly obsession with how weird she thought foxes looked. Seeing the smile on her friend’s features drew out one on her own, and she joined in with a chortle.

The two continued walking together, occasional bouts of conversation intermittent with Fluttershy fawning over the critters of these foreign lands. It took all her willpower to get her to move along from talking to a very chatty polecat perched on a roadside log. As much as she wanted Fluttershy to enjoy herself, she also wanted to get this over and done with so she could head back to town and explore without the pressing need of watching flying ants.

Before long however, the terrain changed rather stunningly. They crossed over a simple functional wooden bridge over a dried up riverbed and the green-terrain they had been walking on suddenly went up several degrees of lushness and richness. The grass either side had taken on a rich pinkie-pie-esque hue of colour caused by the interwoven blooming of pink pampas grass, giving the landscape a rich and vibrant appearance. Amongst Bellehoof meadow grew several unusual trees, ‘whistling thorn’ if Fluttershy remembered correctly which bloomed with a pale blue blossom which complimented the meadow beautifully.

Even Rainbow found herself gazing around the meadow in, perhaps not the same wonder as her friend was, but certainly with intrigue. The wind blowing from the coastline to the west made the grassland ripple like currents across the unblemished land. But something was still noticeably missing.

“So where are the Flutterby’s, Buttershy?” she said absentmindedly, mind still wandering before she clocked her head softly and corrected herself. Getting no reply, she turned to the silent Pegasus and nudged her shoulder. “Fluttershy?”

“Shhh” She was hushed by the gentlest creature. “Look!” Fluttershy crouched down amongst the grass, hiding herself very effectively amongst the pink grass. Rainbow joined her in the underbrush and looked at what she was seeing.

Swimming through the pink ocean was a moving living prism of colour coming from far to the north, cresting over the furthest reaches of the meadow. Colours of orange, red, yellow danced like iridescent fireflies amongst the snowflakes of blue, purple and white. The colour range was never garish and always vibrant

The tidal wave of colour unravelled as though it was a roll of Rarity's fabric across the meadow. Tumble upon tumble of colour covered the glade. This was certainly far more impressive than last year’s feeble performance, Rainbow mentally noted.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Fluttershy whispered beside her from their hiding place. It was impossible for the pony to tell how many butterflies were a part of the performance as they flittered their wings in their search for the south. “Oh I can see so many types I recognise but even more I don’t know!”

It was eerie for the blue Pegasus as she watched one of nature’s many wonders. That something so loud in its visuals made next to no sounds other than a deep inert rustling of tiny gossamer wings, it unnerved her enough that she did was she never would have thought she’d have done before.

“What fly-… um... butterflies do you recognise?” Seeking to hear her friend’s voice as the first of the insects began to fly over their heads, their expressions unreadable as they formed the vanguard of the colour-ridden gale.

Her friend replied without severing her gaze from the sight. “There are just too many to name! Whitetails, Orangetips. Look over there, there’s a Purple Emperor!” she pointed a hoof up at a very distinct and noble-looking insect with resplendent purple-blue wings.

“Purple Emperor? Is he like their leader?” Rainbow asked in confusion, her mind coming up with the image of a robe-clad butterfly leading an army of royal-guardpony armoured insects, biting her lower lip to avoid laughing, she turned her gaze back skyward.

“N-no. It’s just a name somepony gave them” Fluttershy whispered. As the torrents of colour reached further over the meadow, the pair who had made their way deeper into the meadow under the cover of pampas grass were now beneath the belly of the beast; with butterflies aplenty fluttering over their heads.

They stood there watching the cascade of colour trickle above their heads until the last of the fleet had passed. They had been so close that Fluttershy didn’t need to use the binoculars she had gotten last time.

“Come on Rainbow! Let’s follow!” Fluttershy said, standing up fully amongst the pink grass. She felt full of energy and eagerness, and without waiting for an answer bounded off gleefully after the army of insects.

Rainbow blinked, completely at a loss for words. It looked so unreal seeing Fluttershy gallop and prance through the grass after the wave of colour. This was something she was so passionate about; much like Rainbow was so passionate about flying. With a smile – happy at seeing her otherwise reclusive friend finally out of her shell – she gave chase, blue cloak billowing behind her as she dashed through the meadow.

The two mares galloped freely, stretching their legs and laughing at nothing as they bore a trail through the glade in pursuit of their “prey”. The wind had begun to pick up from behind them, giving them an additional boost of speed. Rainbow was a naturally fast runner and was easily keeping pace with the energetic yellow mare that had her wings unfurled for more burst, flapping them as she galloped. They just felt so free alone out here chasing after the living rainbow.

They couldn’t remember for how long they ran before a new sight appeared before them. Cresting over the hills a few miles yonder was a large forest. It brought the two ponies to a half faster than a randomly appearing Pinkie could; and not for a good reason.

The forest looked strangely familiar. Unnervingly so

The butterfly cascade had flown into a forest which was filled with large dark ominous tree trunks, supporting a vast eerie canopy. Above it clouds were looming low, unguided and free.

The forest was a spitting image of the Everfree forest.

All colour drained out of Fluttershy’s face as she furled her wings up against her side. “A-all of the butterflies went in there?” She whispered, watching the last of the colourful dots vanish into the darkness. She shivered as the wind behind them continued to pick up and making her shiver beneath the cloak she wore.

Rainbow was not afraid of the Everfree Forest; but she was at least wary of it. She wriggled off her saddlebags before taking to the sky, her cloak billowing behind her as she went higher than the canopy to gaze out in the distance. The forest stretched on for miles and miles, all the way to the base of the mountains to the east and even further south. In terms of scale it dwarfed the Everfree.

Circling back down to the ground, she returned to her friend’s side who was biting her lip in worry. Only Fluttershy would fuss over the well-being of a swarm of insects Rainbow groaned to herself.

However the fact still stood that both Pegasi would prefer leaving the forest behind them. Picking up her saddlebags once more, Rainbow bumped her flank up against Fluttershy’s. “Come on Flutters. We best be heading back.” She could barely hear her own voice as the wind whipped through the pink grass at their hooves.

That’s strange Rainbow frowned. Wasn’t the grass as tall as us? She scrutinised the floor and realised it had been blown entirely down so it was nearly flat. But when she took off moments before the grass had been at least up to her shoulders.

Fluttershy turned her head back to Rainbow – but something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. And the last vestiges of colour drained from her friend.

Making its way up behind them was the largest of storms – led by what could only be described as hurricane-speed winds. Rainbow turned to look at what Fluttershy was looking at before taking in the scope quickly.

“Fluttershy! Run!” she shouted – but Fluttershy wasn’t moving. The mare was rooted to the spot in abject terror.

A dragon, Discord, even an army of parasprites... Nothing was as terrifyingly huge to the frail yellow pony as the storm less than a minute away from hitting them.

Growling, Rainbow took off and scooped Fluttershy up in her forehooves before pushing her wings to take them skywards. If they could get above the storm, then maybe, maybe they could avoid it altogether.

But something was wrong. Rainbow could barely fly and it struck her. They were laden with supplies – both of them. Her wings bit into the chilling wind and she struggled to gain altitude. “Fluttershy!” She screamed over the winds which ripped at their cloaks, “You need to fly! Please!”

Fluttershy had her eyes sealed tight, whimpering as she was carried by her friend. She wanted to help Rainbow but try as she might – her wings would just not spread. They were paralysed at her side in terror.

That minute which separated them from the billowing storms had passed.

Rainbow let out a choked cry as the storm bit into their bodies, hurling them forwards far faster than she was able to do herself – but they were not gaining enough altitude.

“I can’t do it Fluttershy” Rainbow cried out – but failed to hear her own voice over the din. “I can’t get us over the storm. Please Fluttershy!”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried out whilst in Rainbows collective grasp, her long hair billowing in the tempest. The clouds bore down over the pair – blocking out Celestia’s sun and covering them in a blanket of darkness.

Cloud mixed with ground as the two were sent into a tumble, hurtling through the sky. Unbalanced by their gear and the constricting cloaks; the two could do little more. Holding each other close…

They prepared for the worst.

Between Darkness and Light

Fluttershy opened her eyes and was greeted with darkness. Darkness so thick it was palpable, as though someone had covered her in a thick duvet and spun her around. All of her bearings were lost and she only had a vague idea of what was up or down.

Every inch of her body was numb as she lay, or sat, where she was. With each limb of her body asleep she couldn’t even tell how she was sprawled on the floor. Only now were the beginnings of touch beginning to ebb their ways along her nerves – only to be met with a wince as the blood began to flow once more, signalled by the pinpricks of pain she was familiar with.

She lifted a hoof up in front of her eyes, or so she thought. She couldn't see anything there – the darkness being so thick. Were her eyes still closed? She remembered opening them.

Once the pins and needles had faded in her front limbs – and not a moment too soon, she thought to herself – she began to take stock of where she was through touch. Her hooves reached out along the impression where she lay – slightly lower than the rest of the surface around her.

"How did I get here?" she whispered quietly to herself. Her words - although unspoken - rang out in her head like the Ponyville town bell, an obnoxiously loud sound which made her wince. "Owie... Okay. less thinking" she scrunched up her nose and cast any questions out of her mind aside from what her condition is. The faint tingling of life came from her extremities and let her know her legs were fine - one less thing to worry about.

As she lay in the dirt, her eyes began adjust to the penetrating darkness which surrounded her like a shroud of pure oppression. The faintest inkling of colour seeped into her retina from the sides, slowly turning the inky shroud into a collage of barely discernible colours - but colours nonetheless. Unable to raise her head, she just allowed the feeling of cold air rushing into her lungs overtake all other emotional and physical burdens.

One problem at a time, Fluttershy

With both land-bound limbs accounted for, she moved to ruffle her wings tentatively. She felt a sharp pang as her left wing brushed against her body and instantly froze it in place - the right wing responding more kindly to her commands. Chin still slumped on the ground, she gently agitated her left appendage once more and the pain hit her again; although the pain wasn't from her wing but from her body.

Okay Fluttershy, stay calm. You've just gone and grazed your side. You silly thing.

She continued her steady breathing before deciding to wake up the rest of her body. Closing her eyes once more - at least she thought she closed her eyes; it was still dark enough not to tell the distance - she began rolling her shoulders and squeezing the muscles in her body. Every part of her creaked like she was an elderly mare, but it fulfilled every desire she coaxed out of it. Folding her hind legs closer to her body rather in their before outstretched manner, she began to push her form upright so she was sat back on her haunches. Her neck cricked, causing the timid yellow pegasus to groan.

She didn't know how long it had taken her to get upright: it may have taken a few minutes or an hour but once she did it, her mind cleared of the fog which had been stupefying it and allowed her to think more clearly without the migraines. Shaking her head, she turned her gaze to her side and tried to peer at her injured side - but the darkness was still too much.

"Okay Fluttershy" she spoke aloud quietly; trying to gather up the courage. Hearing her own voice in the silence did wonders for her confidence. " The F-first thing we need to do is find some light. T-then we can find out where you and Rainbow...."

All colour drained from her darkness-concealed features.

Rainbow!

The cream pegasus surged forwards and instantly met the ground once more. She spat the dust which entered her mouth and retched as the offending taste vacated her, still leaving her throat dry and her body heaving.

Come on Fluttershy. This is no time to by lying down. Get UP! Eyes squinted shut, her body shook as it brought itself upright once more. She blew a few strands of hair which had gotten tangled with her muzzle away before moving forwards, one slow step at a time. She planted each hoof purposefully and without attention to the own wincing her side was causing her to make to the void. The darkness-clad pegasus limped forwards, inch upon inch, metre after metre. With her eyes unseeing in the gloom and sealed tight against the growing pain, she relied on her hooves to be her eyes.

You can do this! It'll be just like when you showed Mister Badger how to move around when he looked too long at the sun, the silly thing. I wonder how he- No! No distractions. She shook her head side to side, clearing away anything attempting to capture her attention.

From what she could gather as she slowly continued to feel around where she was; she was in a small circular area surrounded by thick trees and very unfriendly thorn-ridden bushes between them as her hoof was wanton to claim. The ground was hard to the touch yet yielding beneath her hooffalls as she put more weight on them. Maybe that's how she had gotten here without much of an injury. Her side flared up to remind her, almost scornfully.

She continued walking around the area she had landed. Each metre travelled was a drop in the weak pony's constitution. Question flooded into her overly imaginative mind such as "What if Dash fell somewhere else?" "What if something else is here?" "What if" "What if". All of these things made her body slump lower and lower to the ground in fear which made movement all the more painful

The silence in the glade was terrifying the yellow pony in itself. Every footfall felt like it was as loud as her hammering heart. There was not even a breeze to create a comforting natural rustle in the trees and made her all too aware of how loud she was in the silence, an addled blind injured pony stumbling in the darkness looking for her friend.

On and on she walked until her hooves met something distinctly unnatural. She ran a hoof delicately over the disturbed dirt which felt like it had been pushed up to either side of a small groove. Frowning, she turned her body to follow the groove.

The path she followed was several metres long, growing wider until after a few minutes of delicate limping, something finally broke the silence he had begun detesting ever since wakening. she heard soft breathing.

She wasn't scared though. This wasn't the deliberately soft breathing she knew predators made. This was subconsciously soft breathing. Something was sleeping up ahead. Now if only I could-.

The words weaving through the ether of her mind were lost on her as her hoof ran up against something soft. She recoiled instantly before leaning forwards and nuzzling it with her muzzle. pressing her nose into the fur of whatever it is that lay still before her. She heard breathing from its mouth before moving down. Sitting beside the creature, she hesitantly extended her hooves to feel it' midsection - stumbling across a pair of lithe feathery wings.

Wings! Rainbow Dash! The wings confirmed what she had been hoping for - she had found her best friend. The lingering scent of the pampas grass from the meadow filling her nostrils; this was her Rainbow!

Her hooves moved to body beneath the wings and ran up and down her lithe form, checking blindly for anything resembling injury or damage but it was no use. Without any form of light, she was not going to be any use to her friend. She bit her lip and looked around, trying to pierce the veil but with no luck. Sighing, Fluttershy relented to the weariness building up in her muscles and the pain in her side.

"A little sleep and maybe it'll be brighter" She mumbled as she walked around her friend and settled down beside her friend with her right side to Rainbow's left; shielding Fluttershy's cut. Draping her ruffled right wing over her friend's back, she laid her head on the ground and closed her eyes, drifting off into slumber.

The winds slashed through their bodies like knives, making both mares wince as they tumbled. The winds buffeted against their airborne bodies as Fluttershy clung to the cerulean pegasus who kept her and herself aloft. The world was a canvas of grey and black clouds to Fluttershy's eyes as she stared skywards. Any hint of the celestial light-giving orb in the sky had been snuffed out like a candle in the wind.

Fluttershy didn't notice how much pain her friend was in until she heard her let out a defeated cry;

"Fluttershy" the panic-stricken mare looked up to her friend, both locked eyes with each other. Turquoise and Magenta lost in each other. "I can’t get us over the storm." Her wings continued to flap despite her announcement, clearly unwilling to believe it herself.

Each beat of her wings made the pony-laden-pegasus flinch in pain, her eyes tearing away so she could stare skywards. Her feathers were skew and hindering their ascent, and every ensuing battery of the blizzard blowing them further off-course.

"Please Fluttershy!" Rainbow's course voice, once strong and powerful was reduced to a worried whine, a sound Fluttershy had barely heard emitted from her confident companion’s lips.

This was all too much, it was horrible! This shouldn't be happening, this couldn't be happening. She did the only thing she could, the thing which came to her the most natural. She cried out for her friend as though it was a nightmare.

Rainbow.

They were falling, falling faster and faster. She felt Rainbow spread her already dishevelled wings to provide drag for the plummet downwards. They were veering south, falling closer and closer to the ominous behemoth of the forest. Down and down, A gust of wind ruined Rainbow's shaky glide and they began to roll in the air.

They hit the canopy with a loud crash, shattering twigs and branches as they smashed through them through pure force of momentum, Both mares had their eyes sealed shut, clinging to each other. Waiting for the inevitable-

Fluttershy's eyes slowly opened to be met with colour. She had to blink and give her head a shake to make sure what she was seeing wasn't just a cruel dream being inflicted on her by her over-imaginative mind, but sure as Big Mac was Red; there was colour.

There wasn't much to go on, merely an array of murky greens and browns littering the floor in the form of the sinister brushes she had encountered that night. Gazing up, she spotted the sickly grey canopy letting a few solitary shafts of light into the glade where she lay.

Turning her head to the side, she confirmed what she already knew, the creature she had cuddled up with in her dream was Rainbow Dash.

With that heavy weight off her mind, she retracted her aching extended wing and sat upright once more. The brief bout of exercise after their crash had done her a bit of good, allowing her muscles to relax a bit. She looked down at her right side and winced at what she saw.

Her right side had several shallow cuts riddled in it, decorating her dusty and muddy cream coat with red which had dried before she had first woken up. The rest of her body was a bit better for wear and tear - albeit absolutely filthy and tousled. Her wings could do with a long preening and goodness knows what Rarity would say if she saw Fluttershy's literal birds nest of a mane and tail. She picked a few loose twigs and leaves out it which she could see. She would need to wrap her wound up in something after giving it a clean - not to mention clean the rest of herself.

Once her self-study was complete, she turned her attention to the unconscious pegasus next to her. Rainbow had sustained a lot more injury than her, more so than Fluttershy wanted to even think. Fluttershy didn't know how she had gotten off so unscathed in comparison.

Rainbow's hair was a mess of muted colour. She shared a similar manner of cuts over her frame to Fluttershy, the guilty culprit being small twigs lying on the Her ear had a visible cut in it but which had appeared to have clotted nicely - Not that it will stop me tending to it later she told herself. Being in this position reminded her of how she kept patching Rainbow up after all her scuffles with the fillies and colts at Flight Camp. The calmer memories washed through Fluttershy like a warm trickle of water, soothing her shaky nerves and lighting a small fire of hope deep in her belly. If we could get through that, we can get through this- off...

Her thoughts were distracted by Rainbow's wing, and she openly flinched at it. Her left wing was obviously dislocated. It was no wonder Rainbow was still unconscious - a dislocated wing creates enough pain to render any pegasus like so

"The poor dear" Fluttershy whispered as she looked over the wing. Fluttershy moved over to Rainbow's other side and tucked her other beat up wing into its resting position at the rainbow pegasus' side. Leaning over, she gently began to nibble and squeeze Rainbow's wing muscles between her lips. Massaging them like a nurse would. she felt the wing visibly slacken in front of her as she continued to nibble and relax Rainbow Dash's dislocated wing. She knew the best way forwards was to relax the over-tense muscles before she do anything else.

She moves around to her other side again and extended Rainbow's wing into its full flight position as it would've been before she crashed with Fluttershy. It's a good thing we stuck to one another, or we'd have been so much further apart that I couldn't help. She couldn't ignore the sinister little voice in the back of her head reminding her that she was the reason for the crash in the first place; but this voice was snuffed into silence by focusing on her fallen friend. Once her friends wings were splayed out in front of her, she returned to the other side and pushed one of her arms beneath Rainbow's belly and the other around her other side so she was effectively hugging the wounded pony.

"Please forgive me for this, Rainbow" Fluttershy squeaked as she hugged Rainbow. Locking her hooves around the base of her wing, she gave it a bit squeeze with all of her might until he was gratified with a satisfying pop as she felt the wing give. The pony did not even offer up a grumble or grunt of pain, although he did notice her eyes scrunch up a bit before relaxing.

Fluttershy returned Rainbow Dash's left wing to its resting position and let out a sigh. Most of Dash's injuries were mostly superficial it seemed but they still needed tending. For now though, Fluttershy was content with her being safe.

That is, as safe as they could be inside an alien forest without any idea of which direction to go. She didn't know how far the storm had blown them southward and the canopy was too thick to see where the mountains and ocean or, indeed, the sun was. not to mention Fluttershy's muscles still ached enough to deny her to take wing - not that she would even think for a minute of leaving Rainbow Dash out of sight.

She turned back to their unfortunate crash landing site. As her turquoise eyes probed the scenery, she gathered a few new titbits of information about their surroundings.

The trees of the forest they were in were truly massive, extending many pony-lengths high, at least thirty or forty metres up into the yonder. The yellow pony almost fell on her rump as she craned her head up at the sky. Yes... flying is out of the question she sighed. Aside from the very light moisture in the ground they trod, there was almost no evidence of any kind of storm having touched them. The clouds visible through the thick canopy were moving slowly, so the wind had definitely died down.

She wandered into the middle of the glade and sat down, looking at her fallen friend. With Rainbow injured and unconscious she was being strong. She had to be strong. She needed to be strong. For her.

And with that, Fluttershy curled up and begin to sob.

She sniffled and she cried, her squeaks of sorrow echoed from the trees back at her, reminding her of the weaknesses she had. Rainbow needed her, but she needed Rainbow. Fluttershy needed Rainbow around to be strong for her, because together they were a perfect team; almost.

Almost

Tears crested as she reminded herself that this was all her fault, all her doing. Everything. Rainbow wouldn't be here if she didn't drag her along. If she wasn't unable to fly. Look at yourself! Rainbow is lying there, cold and shivering whilst useless Fluttershy sat here crying.

"Wait. Shivering?" Fluttershy looked up and realised that something was missing from both pegasi, something she hadn't noticed. Their saddlebags and cloaks. She turned her head this way and that looking for the hardly inconspicuous bags with their supplies in. a small burst of unnatural colour caught her eye within a bunch of thorns at the glade's border and she limped her way over to it after brushing the moisture from her eyes. She could do this!

The saddlebags were both fairly damaged but the contents inside were for the most part spared their containers gruesome fate. Placing both on her back, she moved to another part of the glade where she found the remains of Rainbow's cloak which had been torn off her neck during the fall. Fluttershy cringed as she saw the reminder of the injuries they had both sustained - small red flecks which had managed to tarnish the royal blue before it had been rudely stolen. Her own cloak was found not far from where she woke up, a bit worse for the wear but otherwise intact.

She returned to her friend side and draped Rainbow's cloak over her body, remaining beside her whilst she waited for the shivering to stop. When it finally did, Fluttershy let a wry smile creep onto her otherwise downcast features.

"For you, I'll be strong Rainbow. The warmth you have and your wing are my first victories." the grime covered injured mare said aloud, her own form of confidence seeping into her voice as she spoke to herself. Lifting her muzzle up, she stared into the sky before continuing. "I'll get us home."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, procrastination got the better of me for two and a half months! *winces*