Over the ocean


                                            ##

                                            (You) and Derpy are returning from a vacation on an island in the warm south.

                                            Thanks to a new invention aiding Pegasus flight, it is possible for Derpy to carry you on the way back over the ocean.

                                            Disaster strikes however when you get off course and find yourself directionless out on the open ocean.

                                            ##


                                            ‿︵‿︵‿︵ Over the ocean ‿︵‿︵‿︵


                                            >It's a bright and sunny day.

                                            >Derpy carries you on her back as she soars over the open ocean.

                                            >With compass in hoof, you assist her in keeping a steady course.

                                            >Out here, there are no landmarks to orientate oneself by, just a shimmering blue sea stretching endlessly in all directions.

                                            >The ocean is blue, the sky is blue, and your hoof is blue too, thanks to the little device strapped under Derpy's belly, that makes this whole thing possible.


                                            >You have been vacationing together on a popular tourist island far off the coast in the warm south.

                                            >For the longest time, earth ponies like yourself and unicorns had to travel there via ferries or hot-air balloons, while Pegasus opted to simply fly the distance by themselves.

                                            >With favorable winds, Pegasus can make the distance in about two hours flat, while their usually ferry-transported luggage takes a whopping eleven hours for the same route.

                                            >But now, thanks to one mad unicorn's invention, ponies with Pegasus friends can take advantage of this faster and, quite frankly, much more enjoyable way of traveling too.

                                            >And you DO have a pegasus friend. Actually, you are more than just friends.


                                            >Having never been so far south, it has been an exciting vacation for the both of you.

                                            >You would never have guessed that Derpy would turn out to be such a prolific sandcastle builder.

                                            >But you didn't just hang out on the beaches all day.

                                            >There was much else to explore on the surprisingly huge island.

                                            >You visited an old monastery devoted to the one true sun-goddess, went shopping at a street market, and even visited a cave system, with awe-inspiring stalagmite and stalactite formations.

                                            >Okay, visiting the poorly lit cave system with its many slender obstacles might not have been such a good idea in hindsight.

                                            Luckily, Derpy managed to get through it all almost unharmed, sticking close to your side the whole time.

                                            >To make it up to her, you bought her some ice cream afterwards. The vendor had flavors available that you had never heard of before.

                                            >Some of which you now wish they would also sell back home.


                                            >The best part of the vacation was its last evening, though. After having had a light dinner in one of the various restaurants close to the hotel, you decided to head down to the beach instead of straight back to the hotel like the prior evenings.

                                            >With nightfall, the heat of the day had given way to a pleasantly chill breeze, and you had found the usually crowded beach almost completely desolated.

                                            >The sand beneath your hooves was still warm as you walked together along the shoreline, listening to the rhythmic sounds of waves breaking on the beach.

                                            >Soon you found yourself alone in a little cove, the lights of the village no longer visible.

                                            >With the night sky full of stars above and the warm sand below you, well, you sort of got in the mood...

                                            >This was the first time you did it outside. Hopefully, nopony else saw you, or you would die of embarrassment.


                                            >However, that is all behind you now, literally. Like all good things, this vacation ended way too quickly.

                                            >Your dull daily life in Ponyville awaits you, but luckily you aren't home yet.

                                            >The vacation doesn't have to be over yet if you don't want it to.

                                            >This flight back over the glistening ocean under the clear blue sky, feeling her warm body under your belly as you lay on her back enjoying the sun on your back, is still vacation as far as you are concerned.

                                            >You will not let the inevitable arrival back home ruin these last few hours.


                                            >Your flight so far has been mostly silent, save for the air current in your ears.

                                            >You have been distracted, indulging in idle daydreaming and observing the horizon.

                                            >Every once in a while, a balloon appears on the horizon or a boat sails beneath you, full of lucky ponies whose vacation is still ahead of them.

                                            >You watch them go by, wishing you could join them.

                                            >A few pegasus cross your path, but not many, and they are far away. The sky is huge after all.

                                            >Now though, at what must surely be the halfway point of your journey, you can't see anypony else anymore. Not a boat, balloon or fellow flyer disturbs the endless blue on blue on blue. You are alone.


                                            >This strikes you as odd, and you glance down at the compass you have been ignoring.

                                            >Derpy is a good flyer as long as there aren't any surprise obstacles. She maintains her balance well, and it all feels more like gliding than flying.

                                            >But she does have some problems with keeping a straight course.

                                            >She is usually great at finding her way back to somewhere she has been to before, but without any landmarks to go by and an ever shifting vision messing with her perception, she struggles to fly straight.

                                            >This however, is why you brought a compass and thus not a big deal.

                                            >Looking at the blue compass, your suspicion turns out to be correct.

                                            >Your heading is off by tens of degrees. You should have checked sooner.


                                            "Derpy? Could you fly a little more to the left?"

                                            >"Like so?"

                                            "A little more"

                                            >Her adjustments are subtle. Without the compass, you would have hardly noticed any change at all.

                                            "Alright, that's enough. Looks good."

                                            >Derpy nods.

                                            "I'm thirsty."

                                            >It is pretty hot without any clouds to give some shade from the sun shining on your furs.

                                            >At least the breeze of your flight helps a little to cool you down, but not by a lot.

                                            "Wait a sec," you reply, searching for the water bottle in your saddle bag.

                                            "Here"

                                            >"Thanks co-pilot!"

                                            >Derpy takes the offered bottle and greedily drinks.

                                            >Maybe too greedily, as she starts coughing and drops the bottle.

                                            >You watch it fall, the label glued on it regaining its original colors, until after a few hundred meters it disappears somewhere between the waves.

                                            >Never to be seen again.


                                            "Hey! That was totally my favorite bottle. I mean, there are many like it, but this one... oh I will miss it."

                                            >"REALLY? *cough* Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I..."

                                            >Clearly your sarcasm wasn't obvious enough.

                                            "My sweet summer child, I'm *kidding*. I picked it up for cheap at some clearance sale back home."

                                            >Derpy's coughing has turned into hiccups, turning your smooth glide into a shaky ordeal.

                                            >"DON'T *hic* do that to me! You know how *hic* how I hate constantly ruining other ponies' stuff..."

                                            >She lets her head hang a bit, still making a *hic* sound occasionally.

                                            "Relax."

                                            >You caress the back of her head with your muzzle, coxing her to stop letting it hang down.

                                            "Those sandcastles had it coming anyway. I'm surprised these fillies and their parents made such a big deal out of it."

                                            >Derpy growls.

                                            >Maybe it would be a good idea to change the topic.


                                            "We should be reaching good ol' mainland soon, even with our slight detour. You have made pretty good speed!"

                                            >"Oh I loooooove flying here! The updraft is amazing. I can go as fast as I want without flying into anything. I could do this all day!"

                                            "You know, sometimes I get *really* jealous of you being able to fly. You are really good at it too! So glad that we could do this!"

                                            >Derpy makes a few extra wing beats, clearly a bit flustered at the unexpected compliment.

                                            >"Yeah, this blue gizmo magic thingy is super cool! Now you get to be my handsome co-pilot! Can we... can we just not give it back and keep it? Imagine how much easier mail delivery would be with this thing making everything much lighter. Aaaand I could fly you around to wherever you want to go!"

                                            "Well, only if I wanted to go somewhere over the ocean. Didn't you listen to that eh... whatever his name was, that instructor pony at the rental place?"

                                            >"I tried too, but he used sooooo many words and you kept egging him on with your questions... I just wanted to get out of there and try it out."

                                            "Well, I thought it was quite interesting. Did you catch the part where he explained that the device strapped under your belly right now was actually supposed to create a never-before-seen shade of blue? Its inventor, Rusty Azure, was simply obsessed with everything blue."

                                            >"Weirdo, yellow is a much better color."

                                            "Well, to each their own. I for one like gray and yellow best."

                                            >"Oooh, like those carmel bonbon wrappers. Good choice!"

                                            >You shake your head in amusement, but you're on her back so of course she can't see it.

                                            "You're right though, Rusty Azure was a strange unicorn. He just really, really loved blue things. He exclusively ate blueberries, to the point that his teeth turned blue permanently. His house, built close to the sea, was painted top to bottom exclusively in shades of blue. Sometimes he was even seen by locals yelling at clouds for disturbing the magnificent blue of the sky."

                                            >"How can anypony not like clouds? Clouds are just the softest, most craziest-shaped, most awesomest thing ever! I don't even mind that they taste like boring water with a smidgen of cinnamon. Hating clouds is such a non-pegasus thing. They just don't know what it's like to fly amongst them. To have kilometers upon kilometers of soft cotton to hide yourself in."

                                            >She cranes her neck upwards to look wistfully at the empty sky.

                                            >I wish there were clouds here right now. I'd show you what I mean. You like clouds, don't you?"

                                            "Sure I guess... as long as it's not raining."

                                            >Your flat joke earns you a chuckle.

                                            >"That's such an earth pony thing to say. Above the clouds it never rains It's always sunny."

                                            "Rusty Azure didn't see it that way I guess."

                                            >Derpy pouts.

                                            >"I don't like this stallion. Probably didn't even like muffins!"

                                            "Probably not, cause they are orange-y. In fact, he hated everypony with an orange fur or mane and barely tolerated the other non-blue ones. He was a recluse, only coming into town to buy supplies or new parts for the magical generator he worked on. The generator was supposed to create a new shade of blue. A shade so pure that everypony would come to see the error in their ways and join him in his appreciation for everything blue."

                                            >"Inspiring! You know, I'm on my own quest to find the perfect muffin recipe. Something that everypony will want after tasting it just once. But I will be the only mare who knows how to bake them. Then they will all have to come to me, to beg me for some scraps of Derpy-muffin, but I will share none!"

                                            >She rubs her hooves together, while you scratch your head.

                                            >The last part sounded sort of... *evil*. Should you be concerned?

                                            "And how far along is this 'Derpy-muffin'?"

                                            >"Remember that time I asked you to explain to me what each dial on the oven actually does? It's all going along as planned. Muhahahaha!"

                                            >Her over the top evil laughter makes you wheeze.

                                            "But be careful with your plans, Derpy. You wanna know what happened to Azure when he completed his blue-field-creator?"

                                            >"Well, since I'm still not into blue, I guess it didn't work out as planned?"

                                            "It sort of did. The BFC created a new shade of blue, coloring anything in a small radius around it. But the new shade was so weird that every other shade of blue started to repel it. You'll never guess what Rusty Azure's fur color was.

                                            >"Hmh..."

                                            >She puts a hoof to her chin.

                                            >"Oh no!"

                                            "That's right. While no one exactly knows what happened to him, he was never seen again."

                                            >For a few moments your flight gets a little wobblier. After she gets herself under control again you continue talking.

                                            "The BFC was later found by another pony sent to check up on Rusty Azure. Luckily, that pony didn't have blue fur, so she could turn off the BFC without trouble and take it with her for further investigation of the artificial blue it created."


                                            >Derpy scratches her chin.

                                            >"art-ifi-zi-al?"

                                            >She sounds out the word.

                                            "Something not found in nature."

                                            >"Oh okay. Like shampoo or muffins right? Why don't you just say that? Doesn't have to be all complicated... And why does that mean I can't use it to transport mail? You still haven't explained!"

                                            "Well, because the field makes things lighter by coloring them such that they are repelled by other blue things. We are being repelled by the ocean right now. It makes us lighter, so that you can carry me."

                                            >"What about that thing though?"

                                            >She points at the sky.

                                            >"Isn't that blue too?"

                                            "I guess because it's further away? This whole device raises a ton of questions really. Like, what would it do to a pony that already has blue fur? Could one such device be created for other colors? Do different shades of blue repel differently? Does it follow the rules of-"

                                            >Derpy cuts you off.

                                            >"All very interesting *yawn* questions. But really, all I'm hearing is that the ocean is a total jerk to this new color and doesn't want to get along with it! Well, I'll show them!"

                                            "What? Derpy wait-" but it's already too late.


                                            >With strong wing beats, Derpy begins to propel herself downwards at frightening speed.

                                            >You just manage to wrap your hooves around her neck and clamp your thighs around her body to keep yourself from falling off.

                                            >Your stomach drops. The air current pulls your skin back.

                                            "STOOOOOOP" you yell over the roaring wind, but she does not listen.

                                            >At two big tree lengths from the water surface, the pace of decent does slow down considerably, even though Derpy still tries her best get close to the water surface. It feels like being pulled back by an invisible rubber band. You relax your grip around her a little again.

                                            >With only one wing length between her and the ocean she is gets stopped completely and, for the briefest of moments just hover over the ocean.

                                            >Then suddenly you are being shot back up like a bottle full of air that someone let go deep under water.

                                            >The sudden upwards velocity hits you completely unprepared.

                                            >You desperately tighten your grip around her neck.

                                            >"Yippie!" Derpy shouts over the raging wind as she is propelled upwards at breakneck speed.

                                            >With her back being almost vertical now, it feels like you are no longer riding her as much as you are hanging down from her neck.

                                            >You close your eyes, concentrating all your strength on not falling off her back and into the sparkling ocean now so much further below.

                                            "SLOW DOWN!" you yell against the wind.

                                            >No response, but after a few more long moments, she does indeed slow down.

                                            >However, only because gravity is slowly winning against your upward momentum, while she just lets it all play out.

                                            >At the apex of your ascent, shortly before stalling, she does a little twirl in the air. Its centrifugal force almost throws you off her back.

                                            >Then she uprights herself again and continues to fly at a leisurely pace at about the same altitude as before.


                                            >"That was awesome!! Again! Again!!"

                                            >You breathe heavily.

                                            "No. We. Are never. Doing that. Again!"

                                            >"Eh, no fun allowed. Earth ponies have no chill. Kinda cute how you clung to me though."

                                            >She giggles.

                                            >Sometimes she acts too bubbly even for your liking.

                                            >Her vision problem combined with that nature of hers is a very 'interesting' combination to say the least.

                                            "I almost fell off!" you protest.

                                            >"Ah, don't be such a filly. I would never have let that happen."

                                            >You are not sure how she planned on actually keeping that promise at such high speeds, but now that she is flying calmly again, you feel secure enough to slowly let your tight grip around her neck weaken.


                                            >"Are we still on course? That twirl might have thrown me off. Sorry, I just had to!"

                                            "Ahem, let me check..."

                                            >Looking down at your hoof, on which you had held the compass previously, you see... nothing.

                                            >No... that can't be... you didn't... oh no.

                                            >You must have dropped the damn thing while she made those extravagant flying maneuvers.

                                            >Looking down at the faraway ocean surface, yeah, there is no way you are getting it back.

                                            >"So? How are we heading?", Derpy asks again.