The FlutterDash Group Collab

by Dalek Saxon

Waterfall - UnlicensedBrony

Waterfall
by UnlicensedBrony

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Lightning cracked again, and a fir tree below splintered and crashed to the ground. The two pegasi flying above the woods struggled just to stay aloft as heavy rain plastered their coats and gales tore at their wings.

“Rainbow, it's getting worse!” Fluttershy squealed, barely audible above the squall. “I'm scared--”

“I know, I know!” Rainbow yelled back. She flapped her wings harder, bracing herself against the wind and gaining a little height. She had to find somewhere to take shelter. The woods below were too sparse, not to mention filled with any number of things that wanted to eat them. They needed a house, or a cave, or...

“There!” said Rainbow, pointing towards a waterfall tumbling down over a rock face. “There's a cave behind the waterfall, come on!”

“But we'll get soaked!”

Rainbow had to lift her rain plastered fringe out of her eyes to raise an eyebrow at her partner.

“Oh,”said Fluttershy. “Right.”

The two of them angled themselves towards the waterfall and pushed their way through the storm. Rainbow braced herself and punched through the wall of water like an arrow, into the cave beyond.

It wasn't deep – she could see the back wall even with what little light came in through the opening. There were stalagmites-- stalactites-- pointy rock things on the floor and ceiling, but other than that, it was empty and unremarkable. But it was dry, that was all that mattered.

Fluttershy touched down behind her with an “Eep!” and immediately collapsed to the ground, shaking and shuddering as her waterlogged wings fell limp at her side. Rainbow went to her.

“Hey, pal. You alright? You hurt?”

Fluttershy's eyes were squeezed tight, and the shaking was almost violent. “N-no,” she stammered. “J-just cold. Very c-cold.”

“I know,” Rainbow sighed, freezing too. She sat down beside Fluttershy and flapped the rain from her wings – which didn't help much – before offering one of them to her partner. “Come on. It'll be warmer if we cuddle.”

Fluttershy quivered and nodded. “O-okay.” It took her a moment, but she managed to push herself up and move to Rainbow's side, where she lay down facing the mouth of the cave. Rainbow folded the wing around her, and Fluttershy snuggled up against the warmth of her body.

Drenched as they were, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable of snuggles, but Rainbow was immediately grateful for the change in temperature, mild as it was. Any other comfort she might've got from the touch was drowned out by the cold.

“I-I'm sorry I dragged you out here,” said Fluttershy. “It was just supposed to be a nice, s-safe butterfly migration.”

Rainbow shook her head and spoke quietly. “It's a freak storm, must've blown over from the Everfree. You couldn't have known.”

Fluttershy let out a mewl that was probably her attempt at apologising again, but lacking the energy. Rainbow just closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. The warmth from Fluttershy's body was starting to spread through her, and she managed to stop shivering after a while. It took a bit longer for Fluttershy's shaking to calm down, if not completely.

“Hey,” said Rainbow, opening her eyes and nudging her partner. “At least I was wrong about it being boring, huh?”

Fluttershy let out a shuddering laugh and pressed closer to Rainbow. They sat in silence for a long time, just listening to the tumbling of the waterfall and the thunder still cracking outside. It wasn't going to stop any time soon – it'd be hours, at least, before they could go outside again. Rainbow shifted and got as comfy as she could on the rocky ground, settling in to try and get some rest.

After the longest silence, when the shivering had stopped and they were beginning to drift into sleep, Fluttershy spoke up quietly. “I'm glad you're here with me,” was all she said.

Rainbow gave a long sigh through her nose. “Yeah,” she said, squeezing her wing tighter around Fluttershy to comfort her. “Yeah. I know.”