TwiDash Prompt Collab

by TwiDashCollabs

Stormcloud - Shellsh0cker

The sky was deep gray, like slate. Water fell in sheets, promising instant saturation for any creature unfortunate or unwise enough to be outside. Lightning would occasionally rend the sky asunder, bringing with it a deep rumble—or sometimes a sharp crack—of thunder, momentarily overwhelming the soft, continuous hiss of rainfall.

Twilight Sparkle could perhaps be forgiven for mistaking the knock on her door as another byproduct of the rapid expansion of air caused by a sudden electrical discharge. When the sharp rap-rap-rap came a second time, though, she quickly realized three things:

First: there had been no recent lightning strikes which would have caused any thunder.

Second: thunder, as mentioned earlier, was characterized by a deep rumble or a sharp crack. Neither of those sounds were all that similar to rap-rap-rap.

Third: rap-rap-rap was, in fact, remarkably similar to the sound of a hoof repeatedly striking the door of the library in which she lived.

Quickly hopping down off the couch (and silently grumbling at the loss of a comfortable reading position which she knew she’d never be able to perfectly recreate) she trotted to the door, opening it to be greeted by a very familiar, if unusually wet, face.

“He- Hey T-T-T-Twi,” Rainbow Dash managed to shiver out.

“Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed, ushering her friend in. Her horn lit up and several towels came flying out of the bathroom and down the stairs to wrap themselves around Rainbow’s drenched form. “What were you doing out there? Harmony, you look like you’re freezing! Come over here, I’ll stoke the fire and heat up some tea.”

Twilight guided Rainbow in front of the fireplace and had her sit down, discarding the soaked towels and trading them for thick blankets. Thanking Celestia that it was late autumn and she’d had a fire going already, she tossed a couple of extra logs onto the low flame and blew on the red-hot embers, expertly coaxing the dying fire into a healthy blaze. Finally, she cast a mild warming spell on her half-full teapot and floated a cup out of the kitchen for Rainbow.

“Here. Drink,” she commanded, setting the cup down in front of the shivering pile of blankets that was Rainbow Dash. “On second thought, let me help. You’re shaking so bad you’d probably spill most of it.” The cup floated up to where Dash’s snout poked out of the blanket pile, allowing her to take a shaky sip. “Harmony, Rainbow, you’re in bad shape. OK, I’m coming in there.”

“H-h-h-huh?” was as far as Rainbow Dash got before the blankets opened up and a warm body settled next to hers.

Twilight let out a little gasp as she snuggled up to her friend, wrapping the blankets around them both as she did so. “Dash, you’re like ice. Come on, wrap your wing around me. The more surface area in contact, the better.”

It took all of Rainbow’s willpower to force her wing to unclamp from her side and wrap around Twilight’s back.

“Good,” Twilight said, lifting the cup so her friend could take another sip of tea. “Now, what were you doing out there?”

“S-s-standard p-procedure,” Dash stuttered. “S-somepony has to m-monitor s-s-storms to m-make sure they d-don’t get out of c-c-c-control or anyth-th-thing. W-we take shifts. M-m-mine just end-ded.”

“Sure, but we’ve had storms before. You never came to the library soaked to the bone any of those times.”

“F-f-forgot my s-storm g-gear this time. Th-th-thought I c-could t-tough it out-t-t.”

“You featherbrain! Hypothermia isn’t some joke, Dash!” Twilight threw a foreleg around her friend’s neck, drawing her close as if to reassure herself Rainbow was still there. Nuzzling her under the jawline, Twilight whispered, “You . . . you could’ve died out there, Rainbow.”

“I . . .” Rainbow hadn’t thought it was that serious. A little rain never hurt anypony, right?

“Please, Dash, just . . . don’t take a risk like that again, alright?”

Even with her teeth chattering, Rainbow managed a snicker at that. “Uh, T-twi? Th-think about who y-you’re t-talking to, here.”

“What do you . . . oh, right.” Twilight blushed a bit. “OK, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say. But . . . I worry about you, Rainbow. Seeing you like this . . . I don’t want to lose you to some stupid accident. Can you at least promise you’ll think before doing something like this again? For my sake?”

Rainbow ducked her head, embarrassed by Twilight’s sincerity. “S-s-sorry, Twi. G-g-guess that w-was p-pretty boneheaded of m-me, huh?” She gave Twilight a reassuring, if shaky, nuzzle. “Alr-r-right. P-promise I w-won’t just try to t-tough it out n-next time. F-for your s-sake.”

“Good,” Twilight said. “Now, come on, finish your tea.” She floated the cup to Rainbow’s lips, allowing her to drain it. “Hey, would you like to read? I just started a new series I think you’ll like.”

“S-sure. B-but, um, c-could you m-maybe read out l-loud? I d-don’t think I c-can focus th-th-through the sh-shivering.”

“Sure, Rainbow.” Twilight cuddled closer, floating her book over as she did so. “Alright, here we go. ‘Ash fell from the sky...’”

---

Twilight was only halfway through the first chapter when she heard the soft snoring that indicated Rainbow was asleep. Smiling, she marked her place and set the book down before enclosing the fire in an airtight bubble, extinguishing it. Nestling her head next to Rainbow’s, she closed her eyes and allowed sleep to claim her.

Outside, rain fell, lightning struck, thunder rumbled, and the sky was deep gray, like slate.