Pony Fantasy X-2

As the group of three stepped on board the Celsius, they made their way onto the lift up to the bridge. This airship was far more advanced, showing panels that lead to different sections of the vessel on the elevator. Reaching the bridge, Pinkie raced down the corridor before Sombra could, explaining to Cheese Sandwich, the earth pony's coltfriend, what she did to Flim and Flam earlier at the stadium. Inside the control deck for the airship, it was a lot more roomy, and it didn't need much of a crew in order to fly it. All there were on the Celsius were the trio, Cheese Sandwich, Maud Pie, a colt covered head to hoof in an Al Bhed outfit named Shinra, who's face was concealed by the mask he wore, and a Hypello down in the cabin's bar area named Barkeep.

Maud is Pinkie's older sibling, a mare who doesn't show much emotion, but to the pink mare, she was a delight to be around. Though Sombra seems more lively than her, and he always looks like a brooding warrior just by his coat and mane colors. Shinra, however, was a mysterious colt to the group. Though he is only around ten to twelve years old, he's a prodigal genius when it came to the inner workings of machina, and even the historical spheres he keeps stored in his database on his console he sits at. It's hard to tell what he thinks about sometimes, none of the crew ever knowing what he looks like underneath his outfit.

Cheese Sandwich is Pinkie's coltfriend, an Al Bhed like her and her sister Maud. He helped assist Fluttershy and her guardians two years ago by manning the airship during Sin's final lifespan, though he was quickly demoted by the true ship's captain, Pinkie's father, Cid, after almost driving the airship into Sin. He's just as random as his marefriend, but a little more mature. Though that maturity is questionable since he acts like a goof when he tries to be serious.

Barkeep the Hypello was an unusual creature, coming along with the gang some time ago. He was designated as the Celsius's barkeeper, since he can make a good drink, and he also holds a shop with supplies for them. Though it was a bit odd how a shopkeeper onboard the airship they were all on, as a crew, had to have his co-workers pay Gil for supplies they need any moment, but no one questioned it. At least his prices were reasonable.

"Cheesie! Whatever Sombra says, don't listen to him! He's a liar!" Pinkie said, bouncing into the stallion's lap with a panicked look on her face.

"Uhh, about what?" Cheese asked, already speaking fluent Equish after a couple years practicing.

"She pantsed Flim and Flam of their underwear when we fought them," Sombra said with a smirk. "While they still had their clothes on."

"I was going for their accessories they had on them! I misjudged my Stealing ability!" Pinkie defended as Sombra chuckled. "And who wears underwear!? We're ponies! We can go about naked and not be judged!"

"But, what about my gift for you a couple months ago?" Pinkie shoved a hoof in her coltfriend's mouth, a deep blush lighting up her face.

"Cheesie, that's hush-hush," Pinkie whispered. "This story's also rated teen, so none of that stuff is allowed."

"Oh. Oops." Cheese felt something hit the side of his head, a small pebble landing on his shoulder. He looked over to the navigational seat, where Maud was sitting, staring blankly at the Al Bhed stallion. He began sweating at the dull look in her eyes, chuckling nervously. "Uhh, Pinkie? Mind getting off me? I kinda need to...steer?"

"Oh. Right!" Pinkie kissed Cheese's muzzle and flipped out of his lap and bounced over to Shinra.

Sombra shook his head, never going to truly understand Pinkie Pie. As he leaned against the wall, he looked around the bridge out of boredom. But out of all the crew present aside from Barkeep in the cabins, Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey. Where's Fluttershy?" he asked.

Down in the cabin section of the Celsius, Fluttershy walked out of the elevator and walked down the corridor, entering the rest area for the crew. She sat down at the bar, where Barkeep was busy cleaning some glasses.

"Oh! Mish Fluttershy!" The Hypello approached the pegasus from the other side of the bar. "Anything yoo wantsh?"

"Just some water, please." Barkeep nodded, pulling out a bottle of water from behind the bar. The pegasus sighed and drank the entire bottle in several gulps. "Today was not fun. Chrysalis stole my Garment Grid and my Songstress dressphere..."

Earlier in Luca, Sombra and Pinkie looked down at the harbor city from the entrance to Mi'ihen Highroad, looking out to the stadium from the balcony. Earlier, Chrysalis had managed to snatch Fluttershy's Garment Grid and impersonated her, setting up a concert disguised as the pegasus just to gain admiration from Spira's hero summoner.

"I can't believe Fluttershy slipped up and got her Garment Grid stolen by that old hag," Sombra groaned.

"Speaking of, Fluttershy said she was getting something to hide herself if anypony caught her while fake her was in the stadium. I wonder what she meant?" Pinkie pondered, scratching her head.

"Hi, guys...I'm here." Sombra and Pinkie turned as they heard Fluttershy's voice, only to stare wide eyed at what she was wearing. Fluttershy was inside of a Moogle mascot outfit, the large head mask for the costume carried in her hooves. "Unfortunately, this was all I could find that fit me..."

The two ponies snorted as they tried to stifle their laughter, failing miserably as the unicorn and earth pony fell over on their backs, clutching their sides tightly as they guffawed. Fluttershy sighed and grumbled to herself, putting the Moogle head on to complete the outfit.

"You can't be serious, Fluttershy!" Pinkie giggled. "A Moogle costume!?"

"I'm not good at improvising!" the pegasus argued. "Besides, I thought it looked cute..."

"Yeah. Adorable," Sombra said sarcastically with a grin. "I'm sure Chrysalis will be very intimidated by a giant furry bear with a fuzzy antenna on its head."

"Moogles are a mystical creature of their own species. They are not bears...even if they look cuddly like one," Fluttershy pouted underneath the head, crossing her forelegs.

"Whatever. Let's go before she actually gets away." Sombra and Pinkie leapt over the railing and went on ahead, leaving Fluttershy on her own.

"Wait! I can't move well with this on!" Unable to use her wings under the mascot costume, she couldn't maneuver well like she normally could without hurting herself.

Fluttershy took the long way around, running down the stairs and heading into the shopping district of Luca. There were many ponies around, possibly to hear the real pegasus perform for them in the arena for her concert. Before she could make it any further, she was stopped by one of the vendors.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going!?" he asked. Fearing she was already caught, she tried to feign ignorance while staying quiet. "If you're gonna head down to the stadium for Lady Fluttershy's concert, do it after you entertain the foals!"

"...Uhh..." Before she could say anything, the stallion thrust some balloons in her hoof.

"Give these to the kids, THEN you can go and hear the concert." The stallion mumbled to himself, saying something about her being lazy, or whoever's job it was to wear this stuffy outfit. "And don't forget; you're a Moogle. Act like one and keep the illusion."

"...Umm...K-Kupo?" Fluttershy said, trying to mimic how a Moogle talks.

"...Well, that's a lot better than the last time. Now get to handing out those balloons!" The pegasus sighed, not wanting to get caught, or in trouble, skipping along the area to hand out balloons to any fillies and colts she could meet.

Admittedly, she always adored Moogles when she was a filly, wishing they were real to have as a pet, and sometimes pretending to be one. She played off the illusion of a big, fluffy Moogle well, not wanting to ruin the foals' imaginations. The only problem was that she was getting hot and sweaty inside the costume: the fur was pretty thick, the outfit was insulated heavily, and it didn't help that Luca was a tropical city where the weather was always hot. She felt like she was already about to die of thirst.

After entertaining the foals, she hurried down the walkway to the stadium, hearing a static sound ring in one of her ears. "F, P, S, in position. It's party time."

"Oh no! I'm not even near the stadium yet!" Fluttershy made a break for it and arrived at the stadium.

While Sombra and Pinkie were going to confront Chrysalis inside, Fluttershy ran for the docks. But as she reached the number 2 dock, where several boxes of cargo were set up to be shipped out across the seas, the pegasus collapsed behind some of them, panting from dehydration. She then heard Chrysalis laugh as she passed by the docks, along with Sombra and Pinkie slashing their way through the thief's troops as they chased after her.

Grumbling at the horrible idea to wear the outfit, Fluttershy discarded the costume, finally freed from the stuffy suit. That was when she arrived and pulled out her pistols, shooting at Flim and Flam as they were about to corner her friends on the VIP dock.

After a third bottle of water drunk with not a drop left, she groaned, feeling really tired. "There you are." She looked over to the lift as Sombra walked in, sitting next to her at the bar. "Barkeep, my usual, if you don't mind."

"Comingsh up, Shombrash." The unicorn groaned, hating how a Hypello would always pronounce his name.

"So, you came up here to get away from Pinkie?" Sombra asked.

"No. I'm just really tired...and I think I need a shower," Fluttershy mumbled, her coat feeling a little sticky from sweating in the Moogle costume.

"Yeah. I told you it was a stupid idea. But, like any other filly, cute things means "want, want, want" for you." Barkeep set a wine glass down in front of Sombra filled with a fragrant red liquid. "But, without you and that dressphere change, it would have been bothersome taking those three down." He took a small sip of his beverage, sighing in satisfaction as the wine's flavors invaded his taste buds. "Though your voice is better than hers by a landslide."

"...Are you hitting on me?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm just saying Chrysalis is a terrible singer, even if her specialty is mimicry." Sombra leaned against the bartop, looking up at the windows showing the clouds the Celsius was currently flying over. "I talked with that colt, Shinra before I came looking for you. I asked him about our dresspheres." The unicorn levitated his current dressphere in front of him. "I was curious about your little dance after we beat Chrysalis and the FlimFlam Brothers. Why you couldn't stop and all that.

"Turns out these things actually carry the attitudes of the pony who was the class in these spheres. Gives you a split personality that's only temporary." He put the dressphere back in his Garment Grid, drinking some more of his wine. "Better be careful if we find anymore of them we can use. Useful skills, but one might have a deadly personality."

"Mhmm..." Fluttershy wasn't really paying attention to Sombra as her mind drifted off to a certain somepony she knew.

"...You thinking about that stallion from that sphere?" the unicorn asked, finally getting Fluttershy's attention. "I know I joined you guys just a few months ago, but I don't really know much about all your history...One question I want to ask is how you and Pinkie Pie are related. She's got too much energy while you're a little more...reserved."

"...I'm part Al Bhed," the pegasus began explaining. "From my mother's side. My mother is Pinkie's aunt, and her father, Cid, is my uncle. I don't know how to speak Al Bhed, but I have two different colored eyes: one blue, and one green. The blue one shows my Al Bhed heritage, though it's hard to tell unless you got a closer look."

"I was wondering about that too...But what about that stallion in that sphere in Shinra's database?" Sombra was treading on a touchy subject, though he deserved to know a little bit more about her, being her friend and teammate.

"That stallion looks a lot like somepony who was one of my guardians on my pilgrimage," she said. "Only, she was a mare, and they both look and act alike...She disappeared after we finally defeated Sin, nothing but a dream made by the fayth." Sombra raised a brow at that information, but didn't speak as he let Fluttershy continue. "I don't know if it might be her reincarnated as a stallion, but all I have to go on is that sphere. The problem is we don't know how old it is because it was so worn by the harsh elements of Mt. Gagazet...Her name was Rainbow Dash...a mare who ended Spira's suffering, saved my life several times...and I fell in love with her."

"...I see...You must miss her a lot." Sombra finished the rest of his glass, setting it down on the counter for Barkeep to pick up. "I find it hard to believe somepony could actually be a living dream, but if she was real, it's understandable to be upset."

"I do miss her...but I think we'll meet again someday." Fluttershy pulled out the sphere that held Rainbow Dash's final farewells to her and the others before the final battle against Faust inside of Sin. "I believe fate brought us together back then...and I know it'll do the same again, if not soon, then maybe some years later."

Suddenly, alarms rang out around the ship as red lights flashed in every room. "Gullwings, report to the bridge! We got ourselves a signal!"

"Welp. Guess that means we got a sphere to hunt." Fluttershy put Rainbow's sphere away in her pockets and followed Sombra to the lift, taking them to the bridge for a possible sphere that could hold something of Spira's past.