Familiar Faces in Unfamiliar Places (RD/FS)

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       Times were bad in the great vast ocean off the coast of Las Pegasus. Granted, for most everypony, times were great! Ponies would walk about, talk about the great sights they see out the windows of the submarine, even complimenting the chefs on the food! The air was electric, but in a calm manner, Noise typically carried quiet easily throughout thesub it seemed and nopony seemed to be in a particular rush to start talking loudly. But times were bad for one.

            Rainbow Dash hated bodies of water. She loved her showers, she loved her rainstorms, she even loved sprinklers when they were set up as foals. NOT bodies of water. It wasn't that she couldn't swim, she totally could, but once her wings take on too much water, they become excessively heavy to continue to lift up and down. Not to mention the time it takes to dry her wings off were unbearably long, even if she had become more patient over the past few years. If she got completely underwater though and had made it a point to just swim that day, then... sometimes there was an exception to the rule. 

         However, this was nothing familiar to Rainbow. If she was underwater, she could swim back to the surface and get to land to dry off. Under here? There was no such thing. This ship at the moment had been the only thing separating her from her beautiful sky and it was killing her. To the point she began to believe she had claustrophobia due to not being able to simply get out! What would happen if the ship caved in? What would happen if there was a leak!? 

      Oh stop it you silly filly... stressing out over nothing... Besides, I'm supposed to be enjoying myself here! Not moping at the entrance off to the side in a small corridor! Get on your hooves and get out there Rainbow!

      Rainbow looked around, making sure nopony was around to see where she had gone to hide before stepping out, hesitantly taking step after step, making her way to the main mess hall. That however, would be much to her displeasure as much of the ocean came into view behind a window off in front of her upon walking through a small thin hallway to get there. Ponies were about looking at the window and conversing, eating the specialty item, or simply biding their time until they got to depart the sub. This was NOT what Rainbow wanted to see and soon after began to feel herself moving backwards as if the fear had become so strong it had taken over and began to take her back to her corridor.

[Fluttershy]

Okay, you can do this Fluttershy. It's just a date...on Heart's and Hooves Day...on a boat....though that does mean you get to get close to a lot of fishes and stuff..

If Rainbow Dash was too busy freaking out over being by water in a closed space, Fluttershy was in the corridor equally freaking out about the whole dating social-interaction thing. In fact, it was a miracle she hadn't gone and hid under her bed today. But, well, she thought about all the work Cadence had put into the whole thing and it really would have been rude to let it go to waste by not showing up. There was also the more selfish side of things of course. That the date ended up in a tunnel under the water, letting her get all close and personal with the fish. Oh, and the possibility of meeting Sea Ponies! That alone was probably worth the whole trip!

Still didn't stop her from basically being frozen in spot in the corridor, her legs locked tighter than a bank safe and wings stuck to her side as if glued there. Her breathing was hard and deep as she tried to steady her nerves, keeping all her thoughts on fish and Sea Ponies.

In fact, her mind was so caught up on that she didn't even notice the rainbow tail till it practically smacked her in the face. Blinking for a second, she found her anxiety practically melt away at the sight of her friend!

"Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?!" she said, a grinning smile quickly growing as she gently flew up enough to hug Rainbow Dash from behind,"I didn't know you signed up for this date thing?! Oh, maybe we'll get placed near each other and we can give each other support and stuff!"

[Deleted]

       Water... there's water everywhere... I'm gonna drown! I'm gonna drown and there's nothing I can... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" Rainbow shouts as she feels something wrap her up from behind, jumping into the air with her wings flared out and flies up... only to bonk her head on the ceiling, landing back down on her tush with a groan.

      "What... the hay... who grabbed a hold of... HOLY PONYFEATHERS FLUTTERSHY!?" Rainbow yells as she looks at Fluttershy hugging her from behind. There was no mistaking that spring yellow coat of fur and pink mane. Now she had begun to feel bad for freaking out as badly as she did. That was supposed to be Fluttershy's niche, not Rainbow's. Not that it mattered now.

     "Y-You're here for the date too!? You!? Heh... guess the years have changed us a little bit huh?" Rainbow asks as she turns around, rubbing the back of her mane with a sheepish smile. What the hay was she doing here? And why, of all the ponies she could have been paired up with, was it her friend? Immediately, she shakes her head, that was wrong thinking and she knew it. She was grateful it was at least somepony she could be mostly comfortable around.

      So with a sigh, she leans forward and hugs Fluttershy back. The mare was fragile enough as it was and this trip was only going to be salvaged if she could find some semblance of enjoyment, and now give Fluttershy the same feeling. "Hey... are you okay? I hope I didn't hurt you any when I spazzed out there.... kinda silly of me. I'm sorry... water's... not really my forte. I'm glad you're here though Flutters."

[Fluttershy]

Their meeting was rather quick, enough that Fluttershy was just as caught off guard of Rainbow Dash's reaction as she did at Fluttershy's hug. Though instead of a giant shout it was more of a quiet "Eeep" and freezing up a little bit till everypony had calmed down and no longer literally hitting the ceiling.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to have scared you Rainbow! I was just here for this whole date thing and..." she said, slipping into her some of her usual demure self.

Fortunately, everything was okay as Rainbow Dash gave her a hug back, and her scared and worried look slowly turned into a content smile. And of course she was glad to return Rainbow's return hug.

"I'm really glad to see you too. Though to be honest, I kind of really signed up because I heard we would get really close to the fish and even see sea ponies," she said, her cheeks aglow with embarrassment as she glanced away,"I just hope whoever I get will be okay with that."

Speaking of which, it was probably getting close to time to actually meet up with their dates. But, well, Rainbow Dash might still need some help with the claustrophobia so could wait just a little bit on moving out. Till Rainbow was ready of course.

[Deleted]

      Great. Rainbow had scared the mess out of Fluttershy and it really showed at first. Rainbow felt bad as she took a moment to look over at the water behind the window in the next room, glaring at it slightly. It wasn't her fault!... Okay... maybe it was... completely her fault. She could have handled her fear better and she turned into a little filly who was frightened of the monsters in her closet at night. With a bit of embarrassment as she turns to Fluttershy, she reaches over and hugs her gently, wings wrapping around Fluttershy. 

       "Come on, no need to apologize. Heheh, you looked like you were handling this better than I was, that's for sure. And you had better believe that's a compliment... I know I give the whole 'I'm not scared of anything' act but... water...  yea... definitely scared of water."

      There, Rainbow got it out. She was terrified of water unless it was a day she had already prepared to go swimming. Now with her cheeks just a bit red and biting her lip, contemplating if she should have said that, she lets Fluttershy go and stands up, offering a hoof to help Fluttershy up. It was the least she could do.

     "Well if they aren't just let me know and I'll kick their flank for ya! If they were smart, they'd ask why and watch them with you. Anyways, come on, I'll help ya up. We sure aren't going to even have a date with anypony if we don't even get out there. Besides, what can go wrong when we've got the both of us here?"

      Did I just say that!? Why did I say that!? Okay, just believe that nothing will go wrong and Fluttershy will too, ignore aaaaaaaaaall the stories that end up having something go wrong when someone says that. Everything's gonna be okay Rainbow, just relax.

[Fluttershy]

Fluttershy couldn't help but give a slight giggle as Rainbow Dash went gung ho about the date and dealing with hers if they had a problem with her interest in fish. She could always count on Dash to have her back. Although after this maybe not for swimming, but even she could handle that. Unless it was the deep, deep ocean....okay, point was, she could generally count on Dash.

"Oh, well, I don't think violence will be necessary, but I appreciate the sentiment," she said, giving a small smile as she took Dash's hoof to get up.

Whenever the two of them got moving, she stayed behind Dash just a little bit, still kind of nervous about it all and hoping she could hide from her date just a little till she could see. By now it seemed most of the other couples had already begun to sit down and get to know each other, so she thought it would be easy to find her pony. So when she saw that there was a completely empty table but no ponies really alone, she began to feel a little anxious, her wings fluffing up a little.

Of course maybe they were just late, or maybe they were scared of the water too and needed their time. Her mind tried to stay off the other obvious option, which was that she got ditched or stood up. Swallowing, she walked over to the empty table and spotted the placard for her.

"So, uhhhm, good luck with your date Dash," she said, giving a wave and smile to Dash as she glanced over at the other placard. Curious as to who she got, and glancing around just to make sure no one else was looking as if she was doing something naughty, she grabbed the placard and took a look.

In about a second her wings were clenched tightly to her sides, her face slowly turning almost as pinky as Pinkie Pie as the rushing blood faded into her soft, light fur.

"Dash....." she squeaked out towards her, eyes fixed on the name on the card.

Rainbow Dash

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         "Heheh, anytime Fluttershy! Good luck to you too!" Rainbow said before taking a breath, trying to relax. This place was strange, but it seemed to be watertight. At least that's what she could tell as she began to walk about the place. Of course it's watertight you featherbrain! They wouldn't let you inside if  it wasn't! "Okay Dashie Dash, relax! Everything's gonna be fine! You're Rainbow Dash! The best of the best!"

          Yea, that psyched her up as she looked in her reflection against the glass. This was some simple date that really was just meant to make a good friend of just have a good time, there wasn't any romantic point that had to be made. On top of that, the ship was watertight, so she should be fine! Fluttershy however had better be in Rainbow's sight when she takes a seat. The prospect of not being able to watch whatever jerk that might come and ruin Fluttershy's time just was NOT ACCEPTABLE!

       Oh crap! I need to go find my seat! Rainbow flared her wings and took flight in the large room. She had an easier time seeing things from above, her vision wasn't quite as sharp as a griffon's was, but when you break the Sonic Rainboom barrier and fly at the breakneck speeds she does, your vision and hearing abilities increase dramatically. So with that, her ears began to listen out for any key words that might signal who her date was. 

      "No... nope... nada... zilch... crud... crap... AAAAAAH WHAT THE HECK!? Where am I sitting at!?" Rainbow yelled after minutes of searching about the room. There was no table that held a placard with her name on it. Even more frustrating, other ponies were giving her grief for flying overhead and making their menus so hard to see. TOUGH! It wasn't like she was trying to make it hard, she just wanted to find her seat and be done with it!

      Her ear twitched. Fluttershy's voice, she could hear that squeaky voice anywhere. Without wasting ANY time, she lurches her body forward an zips on over to Fluttershy's table, hovering overhead a mere moment later. "What!? What is it Fluttershy!?..." Rainbow tilts her head, Fluttershy was holding a placard. Rainbow carefully flies above Fluttershy, reaching down with a hoof and picks it up from the heavily blushing mare. "What? Heheheh, didja get the royal sunbutt or soooooooOOOH!...." Now it was her turn to turn fifty shades of pink.

Rainbow Dash

[Fluttershy]

Normally, Fluttershy was all for Rainbow Dash flying towards her when she called out. But considering the situation, well, all she could do was continue becoming a lovely shade of pink as Rainbow Dash realized what their situation was.

"Seems, uhm, we got paired together...." she said, eyes still fixtated on the card. It was then that she glanced up and notice Rainbow Dash was right next to her basically, causing her to give a slight gasp as her wings glued to her side.

"Oh, uhm...sorry," she said as she gently scooted back a bit, fortunately bumping into a seat. Automatically she sat down, a quite favorable turn of events as her legs had started to feel a little weak.

"If..if you want to just go ahead and call this off I would understand. This really is quite awkward. I mean, what are the chances the two of us would get paired like this," she said, shyly hiding in her mane a bit as she talked. She was way too embarrassed to look at Rainbow Dash in all this mess.

[Deleted]

        I got paired with FLUTTERSHY!? Of ALL THE PONIES in ALL OF EQUESTRIA... I got paired with my life long friend... ON A DATE!? Well... I mean... it could be worse. I coulda got picked with a slob... or a stuck up pony... RAINBOW! FOCUS! WHAT DID YOU JUST GET DONE TELLING YOURSELF!? BEING A JERK TO FLUTTERSHY IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!... Welp, time to mare up!

        "H-hey, come on now, you don't gotta apologize Flutters!" Rainbow says as she looks over, reaching out with a wing and wraps it around Fluttershy, grinning despite her blush. "I mean, come on, we coulda got paired with somepony that coulda made today reeeeeally awkward. PLUS, look at it this way, we're already like, great friends!" Rainbow walked around to her chair, pulled it out and took a seat, keeping a soft smile as she looks at Fluttershy. 

      As she does so, she immediately notices Fluttershy hiding behind her bangs. Well that isn't right. "Hey... come on, you don't gotta hide." Rainbow says as she reaches out with the same wing, gently pulling Fluttershy's bangs back and around her ear so she can get a better look at Fluttershy. "Besides, how else am I gonna learn about all the sea creatures here if you're hiding behind your mane? I mean, you've gotta be bursting at the seams to talk about em." At least she hoped. If Rainbow knew one thing that might help ease Fluttershy into the date, get her talking about animals. She loves em to death! Easy as flying!

[Fluttershy]

Well, getting paired up with Rainbow Dash did at least mean she didn't have to deal with a stranger or anything like that. But, still, it was her childhood friend now as a her date. And, well, as much as Fluttershy pretty much never ever vocalized it, she had always had in the back of her mind the thought about thinking of Rainbow in...that way. Her strength, her confidence, her loyalty to her friends. These were just some of the traits Fluttershy admired in her friend, and when she thought about just snuggling into her warm, protective wings or listening to her cheer her on when facing down her fears....

By now, of course, Rainbow probably would have realized that Fluttershy was practically frozen in place and gently growing more and more red in the face. It wasn't till Rainbow reached out to move her bangs out of the way that Fluttershy, with a gentle "eep", came back to reality.

"O-oh, right, the sea creatures...." she said, using the excuse to turn towards the window all the fishes. With her brain all muddled, however, she had a little trouble focusing on one.

"W-well, uhm..."

Before she said anything she was startled by the sudden appearance of a dolphin at the window, gently tapping it's snout on the window and giving a slight wave of a fin. Regaining her composure, she gave it a wave back before it swam away towards it's pod.

"Ooooooh, look, it's a dolphin. I think it's a bottlenosed dolphin. You can tell because of that long part sticking out. Some might think it's the nose cause of the name, but it's actually it's jaws. And that's its pod over there, which is basically all its friends and family."