Many restless teenagers in the dreary suburb spend their sleepless hours performing small tasks to fill their time. Some turn on their TV's to watch a movie or play a video game with the brightness and volume lowered. Some gaze blankly into space, carried gently to a place with wondrous things by the beckoning music of their choosing. Some may even resort to doing homework.
All this is done, of course, to avoid doing one very isolating thing. Something that two young women found themselves trapped doing. They were thinking.
Which is hardly a bad thing. For example, Fluttershy's thoughts often returned to the care of her pet rabbit or her volunteer duties at the pet clinic. Rainbow Dash typically thought of success, fantasizing the perfect moment in which she would be lifted on the shoulders of others while hearing thousands vigorously chant her name. Healthy thoughts, all of them. But those were not the things Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were thinking of that night.
Fluttershy anxiously searched for patterns on the ceiling underneath the off-white paint. Having fed and watered Angel, brushed her hair, tidied up her room, and doodled some above-average sketches in her notebook, she was now out of alternatives. Her mind refused to rest, no matter how long her eyelids slid downward.
She sighed in resigned tiredness, pondering going downstairs to fix herself a glass of warm milk, when upon a sudden, she heard a tap. A single enchanting tap on her window. It was followed by another, then another. Fluttershy turned her head. Soon, small steady streams of water ran down the glass. Intrigued, Fluttershy sat up and crawled over to the window.
She undid the latch, then slid it open. The piercing tang of ozone hit her nostrils immediately. Fluttershy breathed in deeply, all sorts of fresh, not-lonely ideas filling her head.
"I'll be back, Angel," Fluttershy whispered as she slipped quietly out into the liberty of the outside. Fluttershy raised a finger to her lips at the white bunny staring questioningly at her from the comfort of his small, fluffy bed. "Don't tell anyone I'm going."
Rainbow Dash grimaced as her thumbs worked the controller, almost automatically. She had played this level probably a billion times. She wanted to strum a little on her guitar; it would certainly help ease her mind, but she didn’t want to wake up her dad or brother.
With a groan, Rainbow Dash pawed the power button, allowing the screen to blacken. She tugged her earbuds out of the jeans that were strewn on the floor, then plugged them into her phone. Rainbow stood up as heavy metal filled her head, rattling away whatever exhausted tendencies that hid in the corners of her brain. Rainbow paced urgently in a line in her room.
It was almost 11, so why couldn't she get to sleep? Rainbow Dash's gaze was torn from the floor in front of her feet to the window by her bed by a rumbling sound that distinctly did not originate from the pounding of drums in the music. She yanked one earbud out just in time to hear the distant roaring of thunder. A moment later, the street outside was illuminated in a brilliant flash of white.
A lone figure could be seen out there, striding on the wet concrete with purpose. Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes in a vain attempt to drain the image burned into them, and make out who exactly it was that was cuckoo enough to go for a stroll this late. And in this weather.
Rainbow Dash drew closer to the window, cocking her head at the long hair and rather skinny body. Was that Fluttershy? Rainbow ogled in disbelief. What was she doing? That was definitely Fluttershy, following the sidewalk in the rain, amazingly still in her pajamas.
Is she crazy? Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She's gonna get sick!
Rainbow Dash hurriedly pulled on a hoodie and sweatpants, then raced down the stairs, careful to avoid the creaky spots. She pulled open the front door, stepping into the stormy air and shutting it behind her. Rainbow promptly tailed Fluttershy, mindful not to lose her in the darkness.
Fluttershy let her legs carry her where they felt she needed to go. Small puddles began to form at the toes of her slippers as she walked. Lightning flashed every now and then to light her way, always followed by the explosion of thunder. Had she really once been afraid of thunderstorms?
Fluttershy began to slow as she approached her destination. She had no idea why she came here, or what she would do when she arrived. But now that she stood at the treeline of the Everfree, Fluttershy felt a sense of, almost connection. Something that wasn't quite hers, but privileged her with just the barest of belonging.
Hesitantly, Fluttershy lifted a foot, tilting it forward to let the slipper drop away, then set it down to do the same with the other foot. She gasped slightly at the chill of the slashing grass blades against her soft flesh. Somewhat encouraged by the touch, Fluttershy continued on, disappearing into the vast array of wood.
Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself, hands jammed into her pockets. Her clothes were already soaked through. A part of her nagged at her to turn around and go home, where it was dry.
But if I feel this crappy, Fluttershy must feel worse. Honestly, I don't know what could possibly make her want to go marching off into the forest in her PJ's.
With lips turned down in a scowl, Rainbow Dash trudged after Fluttershy.
Here. Here would be perfect. Fluttershy examined the clearing. There was a spot just by a grassfield with a small stream stretching away from a freshwater spring. Fluttershy dug her toes into the ever-liquidating dirt and smiled. For whatever reason, Fluttershy could picture this one little spot as the perfect place to build a small cottage.
Fluttershy leaned her head back, catching the downpour on her face. She opened her mouth, her dry tongue welcoming the flow of raindrops spiced with sweet pine. Fluttershy brought her palms up, letting the icy rainfall cleanse everything away.
Rainbow Dash watched in confusion as Fluttershy stood there, arms extended and head back. The silver glow of moonlight from the opening in the canopy overhead miraculously shone down on Fluttershy, blanketing her in a silky cone of illumination.
Her drenched pajamas clung to her body, and her normally graceful, flowing hair hung from her head like a netted veil. Her positively clear skin almost reflected the light bearing down on her, lighting the world around her as if she were an angelic bonfire.
A morose longing began to sing wistfully in Rainbow's head. Rainbow Dash shook her head in frustration. She had to get Fluttershy back before she got hypothermia, or something.
"Fluttershy!"
Fluttershy must have jumped five feet in the air. She had truly thought she was alone. As Rainbow Dash sluggishly tramped towards her, Fluttershy couldn't help but feel as if she had been caught doing something inappropriate.
"R-Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow Dash looked Fluttershy up and down. "What are you doing out here? Aren't you freezing?"
Noticing that Rainbow Dash kept her hands firmly tucked underneath her armpits, Fluttershy did at last realize that it wasn't particularly warm out. She stammered as Rainbow locked her gaze on Fluttershy's eyes (and safely away from her chest).
"I-I just decided to... go for a walk."
"...Uh-huh." Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows, but didn't question it. "Look, we can talk later if you want. But please, let's get out of this rain. You're gonna get sick."
Fluttershy only nodded meekly in return.
Rainbow Dash growled softly as she struggled to work the comb through her hair. Under normal circumstances, she'd just leave it, but Rainbow despised having matted hair, much less having to sleep with it. Fluttershy observed curiously, her hair already brushed.
"Do you need some help?"
"I got it." Rainbow seethed, hoping that she didn’t sound too hostile.
Fluttershy uncurled from her spot on the floor. She was now dressed in old gym clothes of Rainbow's. She wasn't the type to typically wear a Wondercolts Weightlifting tee, but it was warm and dry, so she had no complaints. Her and Rainbow's clothes were in the washing machine downstairs.
Fluttershy stood up and sat behind Rainbow Dash on her bed. "You're going to tear out a lot of hairs if you keep doing that. Here, let me take over."
Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder, eyes considering Fluttershy's offer with a degree of calculation. Reluctantly, Rainbow Dash passed the comb back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy accepted it, then began her work.
She gently brought the teeth of the comb down onto the back of Rainbow's head, then slowly shifted its trajectory straight down. Whenever she hit a clump, Fluttershy carefully used her fingers to release it, then start again, until she could comb all the way down to the hair reaching down to Rainbow's back.
Fluttershy moved on to Rainbow's sides and front, eyes occasionally flitting down to admire the muscles on Rainbow's back. Rainbow tensed when she felt Fluttershy place her hand on it. She received neither cold nor hot sensations, but rather one of pure energy.
"Uh, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash coughed. "I think it's good now."
"Hm?" Fluttershy snapped from her trance. "Oh, sorry." She didn't realize that even though she had finished a few minutes ago, she had kept stroking away at Rainbow's hair. With her hair no longer resembling a spiky clown wig, Rainbow Dash pulled on the t-shirt she had in her lap.
Fluttershy scooted away, sinking back to the floor, where Rainbow Dash's sleeping bag awaited her. An internal debate raged inside of Rainbow Dash as she watched Fluttershy nestle her way inside. Both decisions could have possibly negative outcomes.
Oh well, that's what I get for being a smart cookie.
"Hey Fluttershy."
Fluttershy looked up into Rainbow's ruby eyes. "Yes?"
"You know... you don't have to sleep on the floor," She patted the mattress. "Plenty of room for two."
Fluttershy waited, frozen like a deer in the headlights. Was that an invitation? Did that mean...?
"A-Are you sure, Rainbow?"
Rainbow Dash smiled. "Totally."
Fluttershy carefully wormed back out, confidence restored when Rainbow encouragingly waved for her to come. She laid herself down, now enclosed next to Rainbow under a comforter that smelled a little bit like cologne.
Rainbow Dash shut her eyes, and minutes later felt warm arms wrapping over her belly. She cracked open one eye, but didn't roll over. Fluttershy's breathing was already relaxing into the slow, deep breaths of fatigue; why disturb her?
Rainbow Dash smiled to herself. All this was something she and Fluttershy would have to figure out, but that could wait until morning. It felt good, and that was all that mattered right then. All thoughts finally quelled, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy closed their eyes.
Basking in each other's warmth, the two girls sighed harmoniously, the pitter-patter of raindrops singing them gently to sleep.