Ships and Boats, But Mostly Ships - Collab

“I’m sorry, Twa- Twil- Tw-AAAHHCHOOOO!”

Rainbow Dash held a small bag of ice to her forehead.

“I know how much you were looking forward to practice today, b-b-b-ah-ah…”

The pegasus managed to contain her sneeze and continued.

“But I’m too sick. I hope you d—”

“Of course I don’t mind, Rainbow Dash! Do you need anything else? How about a blanket? Or a thermometer?”

In less than a second, the measuring device was in Rainbow’s mouth as Twilight levitated the nearest blanket over to her.

“Twilight, no, I don—”

“I know! You need a hot cup of tea!”

The alicorn rushed over towards the kitchen. Unfortunately, Rainbow’s tablecloth had extended down to the floor, and in Twilight’s haste her hooves had gotten tangled in the fabric.

CRASH

“TWILIGHT!”

“Yes, Rainbow?” In an instant, as if nothing had happened, Twilight appeared right by her side, a small teacup in her hoof.

“Twilight, I don’t need all of this. I just need some rest.”

“Are you sure? From all the books I read I kn—”

“Look, Twilight, I’ll be fine, but I don’t want you to stay cooped up in here.” Pointing to the open window, Rainbow continued. “It’s a nice day outside, and you still need to practice flying. Just remember the exercises I taught you. Or better yet…

“Fluttershy, could you help her?”

“Oh, to fly? Of course, but I’m not really a good flyer…”

“Don’t worry, Flutters, you’ll do fine.”

“O-okay.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay here? What if you start to have another fever? What if you need some water but get so dizzy that you can’t walk straight and you accidentally crash through the window and you tr—”

“Twilight! It’s okay. Don’t worry about me.” Rainbow’s smile managed to slowly quell most of Twilight’s fears and doubts.

“Oh, if you say so, Rainbow.”

Twilight and Fluttershy slowly glided down to the ground and began to walk back to the library.

“So Fluttershy, you know all the techniques Rainbow uses to practice?”

“Rainbow showed me all of them a little while ago, but I don’t think I can d—”

“Perfect!” I don’t have to deviate from my triple-checked schedule! “Okay, I think this is a nice spot. The first thing Rainbow Dash told me was to have a good takeoff.”

In the blink of an eye, Twilight was shooting up off the ground, albeit a bit shakily. Fluttershy, astounded at her sudden disappearance, slowly rose up into the air behind her and landed on a nearby cloud.

“So, what did you think, Fluttershy?” Twilight appeared right beside the timid pegasus, a small smile forming on her muzzle.

“Oh, well, I didn’t really see it because it was too fast, b—”

“It was horrible, wasn’t it? Oh well, I just have to keep practicing!”

Twilight once again decided to shoot off, but alas, she had forgotten one key piece of advice that Rainbow had divulged in past practices:

She forgot to check the surface of the cloud she was on. Upon takeoff, her front hooves collided with a small bump on the cloud surface, skewing her equilibrium as she flapped her wings to no avail.

AAAAHHHHHHH!

She continued to flap, but each motion failed to straighten her out as she spiraled downward. Eyes closed, she awaited that final impact, that one last shot of pain.

Is this how it ends? Will this be my fin—

Out of nowhere, a streak of pink and yellow shot towards her with remarkable speed, and she felt… warm. Time seemed to slow as Twilight felt her body decelerate second by second, her breath slowly returning, until she finally decided to open her eyes.

It was the sun. No, that wasn’t it. It was the familiar face of her friend, but yet it seemed so different from that angle. Twilight could see the small rivulets of tears streaming down from those sparkling blue eyes, but it was not the sight that had captivated her.

No, it was the hooves around her. The warmth was incomparable, so much it made Twilight feel at ease. She was lost in her thoughts, lost in the feelings that surrounded her…

Why… Why is my heart beating so fast? A-am I blushing?

Yet, as much as Twilight didn’t want the moment to end, Fluttershy touched down on the ground.

“Oh Celestia, Twilight, are you okay? Oh, I was so afraid I wasn’t going to catch you, and th-then I started to think about what would happen if you were gone and then I jus—”

Twilight stretched out a hoof to her friend’s muzzle, effectively silencing her with a small ‘eep.’ The alicorn took two more steps and wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy.

“Thank you, Fluttershy, you saved me!”

But this hug was different, and both of them knew it. It lasted much longer than any others they had shared, and yet… neither wanted to let go. The warmth had returned, the relaxing warmth that detached them from the rest of the world.

This… why do I feel this way?

Fluttershy didn’t have the courage to ask as they separated after what seemed like hours, but they both knew one thing…

“I think I’ve had enough practice for one day. Want to head over to Sugarcube Corner and get something to eat?”

“I-I’d love to.”

They were going to spend much more time together.