White Demure

by Heitomos

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash: Part 2

The night sky was beautiful as the stars twinkled brightly and the full moon shined down upon the land of Equestria. The light was appreciated by many, but few ponies appreciated it more than a certain pair of pegasi, who found themselves under the pale moonlight, trying to make camp and start a safe fire at the base of Mount Marebrum.

Neither of the ponies were having much in the way of luck when it came to finding anything that could start a fire. Of all the things the two of them had forgotten to bring, they forgot to bring something that could make a flame.

Rainbow Dash had collected a bunch of dry sticks to use as kindle, while Fluttershy had found some dry bark to help start the flames. However, they soon realized that they had absolutely no supplies that could help them get this thing started. No knife with which to carve makeshift fire starting tools, no sticks that they could use to rub together without making themselves too dizzy to continue, and good rocks to bang together.

"Agh! Why didn't I think to bring something for a fire." Dash shouted, bringing a hoof to her face.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash. I'm the one who should have thought ahead..." Fluttershy replied.

"No, don't blame yourself. You brought medicine and food, that's pretty much the best and smartest thing you could have brought. I should have thought ahead, I just didn't see this happening... Still, at least the moon is bright, so we won't completely blind."

"And these clothes Rarity made us will keep us warm, but... it's still so very dark, and I'm not used to this forest." The yellow pony said, her head hanging low as her eyes darted around, looking for some sort of danger that might jump out at her.

"Oh Fluttershy, stop being such a scaredy pony. I haven't heard a noise except for us since we got here. There's absolutely nothing in this forest, except for some bugs, maybe." The blue pegasus said, trying to encourage her friend.

"But that's what I'm afraid of... what if something really big and really quiet is out there and it ate up everything in the forest and that's why it's quiet? What if it smells us and comes to eat us too?"

Rainbow groaned as she watched her companion become increasingly panicked as her imagination created fears and horrors for her to be afraid of. Sometimes she wondered if the pegasus just liked being scared. "Look, you need to calm down! Let's just find a nice spot to sleep and in the morning, we'll eat and then make the trip up the mountain. The sooner you sleep, the sooner you won't have to worry about invisible monsters."

The blue mare soon found herself a nice spot to lay down for the night. With a quick look up to the sky, she gazed at the stars above, and then silently cursed the fact that she could see them so easily. There wasn't a cloud in the sky for at least a mile in either direction, which meant that they were grounded if they actually wanted to sleep. After having that nap on the ground earlier, having to sleep a whole night on the ground was not something she wanted to do, and she was quite dismayed when she realized she was going to have to.

After a moment, she lowered her head down upon her hooves, but just as she was about to close her eyes and try to sleep, she heard a strange chattering sound. Her gaze turned to the yellow pegasus laying down a few feet away from her, and she saw that Fluttershy was having quite the awful time.

The scared pony had lied down, but her eyes were darting around in fright and her teeth were chattering heavily as she spoke, "...i-i-invisib-b-ble m-m-monsters?" She whispered to herself.

Rainbow Dash was suddenly met with a conflict of emotion. On one side was her frustrations with the constantly frightened pegasus, and on the other side was her regret for adding fuel to the fire. Fluttershy was a really good friend, and in fact, her oldest one, and despite her frustrations, she genuinely cared about her, like she did all of her friends. And when one of her friends needed her, she was there to help.

After mulling it over in her head, the side of her that felt bad for her companion won out, and she made a move to help. She shifted around and trotted over to the scaredy pony and lied down beside her before shaking her wings free of her parka and placing one of them over her friend.

The pink-haired pony seemed to freeze up at this. Slowly, she turned her head to Rainbow Dash, who seemed to have already closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep, "R-Rainbow?" She squeaked.

Dash kept her eyes closed and merely waved a hoof casually before speaking, "Don't worry, Fluttershy. Nothing will be able to get you now." She said.

"W-what do you mean?"

"My wings are out from under my clothes, and I have one over you now. If any monsters come, I'll be the first one to know, and I'm awesome enough to be able to wake up, grab you, and fly off before they can even touch me. So, you don't have anything to be afraid of now. Just calm down and get some sleep. And please, no more teeth chattering, it was keeping me up."

For nearly a minute, she heard nothing from the other pegasus, not even the sound of her breathing, though she did feel it under her wing. All of a sudden she felt and heard Fluttershy's head turn away from her and rest upon her hooves.

"...thank you..."

A smile graced the blue pegasus' face as she heard those words. She had done something good for a friend, and as a bonus, she was going to be able to sleep peacefully. Mission accomplished.

---

Dash was awoken by the feeling of something stirring beside her. It was moving too softly and gently to be a threat, so her body took a few moments to become fully alert instead of snapping to attention. When she finally managed to open her eyes, she saw that the movement was coming from Fluttershy, who seemed to already be awake and trying to get away.

"...mmph... Fluttershy? What are you doing?"

The yellow pegasus suddenly jumped away in fright, making their parting complete, "Oh! Umm... Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I woke up before you did and I didn't want to wake you up..." She replied, her head lowering a little.

Rainbow simply chuckled at this, waving a hoof to show it was no problem, "Don't worry about it, Shy. I didn't want to sleep in too much anyway." She said before giving out a large yawn, "So, did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Oh, yes, I had a very good rest. Thank you so much for what you did, Rainbow." Fluttershy said, suddenly turning away to pick up her bag.

"Don't worry about it. It was the least I could do for a friend." She said as she got up to stretch.

Her muscles were tight and popped audibly as she stretched, "Ugh... I am never sleeping on the ground again if I can help it." She complained. After a moment, she looked over to her left wing, the one she had used to cover Fluttershy, and sighed, "Jeez... Even my wing is stiff as a board."

With a few careful movements of her hoof, she moved her wing up and down, stretching it out enough for it to start moving on its own. After a few more moments of working the wing, she gave a few experimental flaps and found herself lifted off the ground, "There we go. No more stiff wing. Okay, you ready to go, Fluttershy?" She asked, turning to look to her friend for the first time since starting her stretches.

"Oh but..." Was all Fluttershy let out in response as she stood in front of two large leaves she had found, each covered with some of their rations for the trip. The platters each seemed to have two apples, some freshly harvested grass, as well as a single small cake for dessert. "I umm... I thought we should eat before we go. I got a little of the grass from around here to help fill out the meal and preserve our rations. If that's alright with you that is..."

In all of her want to keep going, she never stopped to think about food, but now that she was presented with some, she realized just how hungry she really was. Her face turned slightly red as her stomach gave out a large grumble, "Oh... Heh, yeah, I guess I kinda forgot about that. That's a really smart idea, Shy. I don't think I would have ever thought of that. I probably would have flown up to the mountain starving if not for you." She said, rubbing a hoof behind her head.

"You're welcome." Her friend replied, giving the blue mare a large smile.

Together, the two of them sat back down on the ground and ate in relative silence, only the sound of crunching food passing between them. While the grass was nearly as tasty as the apples or the dessert, Dash had to admit that Fluttershy was right, the extra substance helped to fill her up nicely, which was going to keep their rations going much longer. She briefly thought about packing more of it for the trip, but after a quick glance around, she saw that the pink-haired pony had already picked the only large pile of grass in the clearing, the rest of it too small to be harvested in any reasonable amount of time. Still, it was huge boon for their ration situation.

Once the two had finished, with Dash clocking in thirty seconds faster than her friend, who sped up after noticing she was done, they both grabbed their saddlebags and straightened out their parkas.

"Okay, NOW we can get going."

"I believe so. Oh! Rainbow, don't forget to lift up your hood now before it's too late, it's going to be cold up there."

"Oh, right, thanks Fluttershy."

After the of them lifted up their hoods, they began to fly straight up, no longer able to use the gliding method they used before. This was most likely going to be the hardest part, as the mountain was incredibly high and the air was only going to get colder and thinner the higher they went up.

"Do you think you can make it all the way up there, Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked after they had scaled a couple hundred feet.

"I... I think so. It's going easier than I thought, but I am starting to feel the strain. I'll do it though! For Apple Bloom." Fluttershy said, her voice filled with conviction.

"That's good to hear. Let's try and get as high as we can before we start looking for that flower. Do you still have the drawing?"

"I do! It's in my food bag. I didn't want to put it in with the medicines in case one of them broke open."

"But, what about the food? Won't it stain the paper?"

"Oh, no. I packed dry foods. Stuff that wasn't very messy. Maybe a little dusty, but that's easy to clean off."

"Oh, okay then. Well, let's keep going until we can't fly anymore, then we can touch down on the mountain and start looking."

Dash received a nod from her fellow pegasus, and with that, the two of them lapsed back in to silence as they continued to climb in to the air. They were both used to high altitudes, though, Rainbow Dash more so than Fluttershy, but having grown up in Cloudsdale, at a height of 8,600ft, they were able to climb quite high on wing power alone. However, Mount Marebrum was much, much taller than that, and at the 11,000ft mark, things began to get bad.

The air had thinned considerably, and it was taking stronger and more frequent flaps to keep gaining height. And despite the intense exercise the two were undergoing, it was getting colder and colder very fast. What made things worse was the fact that their wings weren't covered by their parkas, and the feel of fresh, chilling air beating against their wings was beginning to freeze them both.

"R-Rainbow?" Fluttershy suddenly asked, her voice chopped up by her shivering jaw.

"What is it, F-Fluttershy?" Dash asked, unable to hold back her own shivering.

"I-I think we should stop now. I don't t-think I c-can fly any h-higher. W-We should s-stop and warm up s-some."

"Yeah, I t-think you're right, Shy. Come on, let's touch down o-over there on that ledge." She said, pointing to a ridge that looked easy to climb up when they needed to.

The two pegasi slowly flew closer to the mountain, their eyes squinting in the oncoming winds and snow. With a crunch, they landed on to the fresh white powder that coated the entire peak. The moment they landed, they quickly tucked in their nearly frozen wings and slid them under their parkas in order to share in the heat it stored. Their wings immediately began to sting as they warmed up, neither having noticed that they had become numb from the cold. Still, the stinging usually meant that they weren't frostbitten and were going to warm up soon.

"Ohhhhh yeah, that feels really, really good. These parkas Rarity gave us are amazing!" Exclaimed Dash.

"Oh yes. They are quite snug and warm. Though, we should keep moving, our hooves are the only thing not covered, and we might get frostbite if we stay still for too long." Fluttershy explained.

"Oh yeah... That wouldn't be very good. Okay, you let me get the paper and we'll take a look over it, and try to memorize it so that we don't have to take it out very often. Then we can get moving."

"Oh, um... Alright. Here." The yellow pegasus replied as she turned, giving Dash access to her saddlebags.

Rainbow gave a nod as flicked open the bag and took a look inside. Just like her companion had said, the bag did have some food supplies in it, mostly dry hay and a few biscuits. But what she was interested in the most was the piece of parchment buried underneath it all. With a few swishes of her head, she moved the food aside and grabbed on to the parchment gently, taking it out and doing her best to make sure it didn't blow away in the wind.

With a bit of maneuvering with her lips, she managed to bite down hard on one of the edges of the scroll, making sure to hold it in place, while letting the rest fall free. However, her attempt to let the piece of parchment simply hang from her mouth for them to read was immediately thwarted by the winds around them. The paper flapped madly in the winds, obscuring the page and making it impossible to read. Dash tried her best to keep it still, but nothing she did seemed to work, and it was frustrating her to no end. However, the page suddenly stood still, for the most part, thanks to a helping hoof from her companion.

Fluttershy had bitten down on the other edge of the scroll, holding it mostly in place, "Oh! Heh... Shoul'a as'd fer halp, huh?" Said Rainbow Dash through her clenched teeth.

Fluttershy merely smiled gently before turning her eyes down to the page. The two ponies stood there, holding the short parchment between their teeth and scanned the drawing. Twilight had done a good job of drawing it down, which was going to be a big help, as well as a few descriptions, such as it being purple, and the fact that it was most likely in a cave as to keep out of the winds. They couldn't read much else thanks to their awkward angle, but they felt it was enough.

Rainbow gave the yellow pegasus a nod, and on cue, her companion let go of the page and turned to give her access to the saddlebag. With the page clenched between her teeth, she made her way to the back, but suddenly froze in place.

A humongous gust of wind blew came from nowhere and assaulted the two pegasi. They manage to buckle down enough to keep their hooves on the ground, but the scroll wasn't as lucky. The torrent of air ripped the paper out of the blue pegasus' mouth, leaving nothing but a useless scrap between her lips. Neither pony could do anything as they fought to stay standing, their only image of their goal becoming lost in the snowfall around them.

As the wind died down around them, Rainbow Dash found herself able to move and speak again, "Pthu! No! This is way too bad! I need to go after it."

"Rainbow Dash, wait!" Fluttershy cried out before Dash had time to uncover her wings.

"What? I can't wait now, Fluttershy! I have to get that paper!"

"It's too late for that now! Besides, if you go out there now, you'll get lost in the snow... And we might get separated."

The impatient pony stood there for a moment, her parkas halfway lifted to get her wing out, as she mulled over the words. Soon, she let her clothes drop back down and sighed, "You're right... I just hope we don't forget what that thing looks like."

"I'm certain we won't, Rainbow. I remember what it looks like, and I saw the part about finding it in a cave. So... I think we should get moving now and try to keep warm and find some caves around here... I just hope there's nothing but the flowers in them..." Fluttershy said, her imagination already beginning to frighten her.

"Alright... Yeah, I see what you mean. Alright! Let's get a move on, Apple Bloom is counting on us."

She received a determined nod from her pink-haired companion and with that, the two of them began to climb the mountain on hoof, aiming to brave the cold and the elements to get that plant.

The wind was bitter and cold, and the crunching snow beneath their hooves chilled them even further. They climbed up the side of the mountain, going wherever the footholds would allow, and doing everything they could not to slip and fall. As they walked, neither pony spoke a single word, both too focused on staying standing in the terrible winds surrounding them.

As time went on, they two were becoming increasingly lost on the mountain top, with only the thought that they could simply jump off and glide away keeping their hopes up. Rainbow Dash was getting feeling the cold more and more as her hooves became numb. Her whole body was starting to shiver to produce heat, but she knew that is she kept this up, she was going to start to freeze, badly.

All of a sudden, she felt a tap upon her shoulder, and slowly turned her head to see Fluttershy, who quickly invaded her hood and brought her mouth right up to her ear in an attempt to be heard over the winds.

"Rainbow Dash, if we keep going like this, we're going to catch hypothermia. We haven't spotted a cave here yet, and if we don't find one soon, we're going to be in trouble. I umm... I have an idea to help keep us warm, and safe on the icy rocks." Said the yellow pegasus, her voice just barely making it past the wind.

After her companion finished speaking, she took her turn invading the pink-haired pony's hood and spoke to her, "Hopefully we find one soon! And what idea is that?"

She let Fluttershy back in to her hood and listened, "I'm going to spread our parkas over each other. That way, we can share body heat, and it'll help a lot. If that's alright with you, that is..."

After parting once again, Rainbow Dash mulled it over in her head for a moment, and decided that it was actually a very good idea. Wanting to try this, she gave the yellow pegasus a large nod and let her go about her plan.

It took Fluttershy only a few moments to move the parkas around. They had both been blasted by chilling winds as she did so, but the end result was more than worth it. They're clothes now resembled a tarp covering the two of them in now double thick clothing, and the two were walking side by side, keeping their shoulders together to help with the heat. The effects were gradual, but it was most definitely an improvement, and the friends began to warm up.

Now that they were both warmer, the trip through the cold was becoming easier and easier for them. The warmth they shared helped bring feeling back to their legs, which meant they weren't going to get any bad frostbite, something they were both grateful for.

As they traveled, it was Rainbow Dash that got first sight of something that wasn't a slippery rock ledge. She raised a hoof and tapped Fluttershy on the shoulder, getting her attention before pointing at a crevice in the mountain. When they got closer, the crevice seemed to lead in to a small valley carved in to the snowy peak, one that looked to be shielded by the wind; and thankfully, it was.

When the two entered in to it, they felt an intense relief from the cold as the bitter chill of the wind almost died entirely in this natural shelter. While they could still hear it blowing behind them, they could hear much better now that they didn't have it blowing in their ears.

"Finally! I can hear myself breath again..." Exclaimed Rainbow Dash, "My face feels all numb because of that wind..."

"Mine too. But, at least we have some shelter now. You know, with the lack of wind, this might be a good spot for a plant, maybe? It won't hurt to look around here for a while."

"Yeah, you're right. It'll be a good place to warm up and get some food in us. Feels like we've been doing this for hours..."

"I'm not sure, I've lost all track of time, but at least it's still daylight out."

"Which is good news. I don't want to be out here come night. We'll have to take a dive off the mountain if it starts to become dark, we won't survive otherwise."

"I-I think you might be right... We should hurry up then."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Dash replied, a smile on her face.

The small rocky valley was turning out to be a lot longer than they originally thought it was. It was full of twists and turns that lead through the mountain's passes, from one side of it to another and then back again. Sometimes it went up, and other times it went down, but they could tell they were slowly gaining in height.

"This valley goes on forever! How did something like this even get carved in to the mountain? And why haven't we seen any caves yet?"

"I don't know, Rainbow Dash... Maybe somepony carved it years and years ago? I don't think it could have been water erosion..."

"It had to have been the work of something. No way this could happen naturall- woah!"

"Eep!"

Both Rainbow and Fluttershy yelped as they were suddenly pulled to the ground. The blue pegasus had not been paying attention to her footing thanks to the conversation and had stepped on an icy patch hidden under the snow. What would have been a simple tumble was made worse by the way they had set up their parkas to share body heat, and because of it, the pink-haired pony was pulled down on top of her.

"Ow! Sorry about that, Shy. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I-It's alright, Rainbow. Let's umm... Let's just get back up carefully an-"

Her voice suddenly turned to a whimper as a horrible groaning and crunching sound echoed loudly around them.

"...what in the hay was that?" Rainbow Dash asked, her head darting around.

"I-I don't know..." Fluttershy replied.

"Well... Whatever it was, I can't hear it anymo-"

Dash's words were suddenly cut off as the sound came back, this time louder and more sinister then before.

The yellow pegasus was nearly frozen in fear at the large and terrifying sounds that were echoing around her, while the blue pegasus was darting her head around, looking for the danger. This second time it had been closer, and she was certain she had heard it coming from above them. As she looked, the sound came around a third time, the loudest it had been so far, and Rainbow's eyes widened considerably.

"Fluttershy... We need to run. Now."

"W-w-what i-is it?" Fluttershy asked, her teeth chattering in fright.

"AVALANCHE! RUN!"