So they went down the mountain, which was on the one hoof much more boring and on the other hoof far less frightening than had been the journey up.
The Sun was already riding low on the horizon when they reached the rockfall. This time, Fluttershy had no problem flying, and she and Rainbow Dash combined their strength to carry their friends over that section one by one. The cliff face beyond was stil unstable, but the avalanche had been triggered, they moved quietly, and they had no trouble.
The Sun was setting as they got down to the crevasse crossing. It was an absurdly short distance from one side to the other, though Rainbow and Fluttershy hovered watchfully to make sure that nopony slipped. They were all rather tired then, with multiple aches and pains from their various injuries along the way.
Pinkie Pie was moving with especial stiffness; when asked she admitted that she'd gotten some "ouchies" when the Dragon had tail-lashed her out of his cave. As soon as they were across the chasm, Fluttershy got them to stop while she did a quick check on Pinkie to make sure that she had no serious injuries. As near as Fluttershy could tell, the pink party pony was not too badly injured, though unusually-subdued. She made Pinkie promise to see a doctor tomorrow, when they got back to Ponyville. "Okey dokey," replied Pinkie, seemingly lacking the energy for the "lokey" with which she usually terminated that phrase.
Applejack was also starting to limp a little. She was paying for that incredible burst of effort in the avalanche, when she had saved the life of Twilight Sparkle -- and also for the efforts she had made to get Fluttershy up the mountain. Fluttershy wanted to return the favor, but AJ merely commented, "Naw, I'm okay. I'll be fine after I get me some shuteye," and nothing Fluttershy could do could convince her to accept her help. Twilight kept close to Applejack, and Fluttershy saw the lavender mage was keeping a concerned and caring watch on her savior.
They were now in the shadow of the mountain itself, and though it was technically still not full night, the remaining skyglow barely illuminated the path. Twilight took the lead and lit up her horn with a diffuse glow, while Rarity took the rear with Pinkie and lit her own horn, each of them making sure that neither Earth Pony had to walk to trail alone in darkness. Rarity had managed to avoid more than minor bruising, and was in far better shape right now than was her pink companion.
Rainbow Dash seemed unusually subdued. Right after their victory, she had been joyful, but before the Sun set Fluttershy had seen her casting troubled looks in her own direction. Fluttershy was still feeling love from her, a quiet steady pulse of it, but she could tell that her oldest and dearest friend was sad. She had her suspicions as to the reasons why, but now was hardly a good time to talk about them -- assuming that Rainbow was ever willing to talk about it directly. Fluttershy knew that Rainbow was never very good at expressing any softer emotions.
By the time they reached the plateau, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were stumbling, and even Rainbow Dash was admitting that her wings hurt. Twilight ordered them to halt and set up camp. The descent the rest of the way would be long or steep, depending on which path they took, and there was absolutely no point in defeating a Dragon and then losing one of their party to a stupid accident made inevitable by exhaustion.
Fluttershy still felt fresh, which didn't totally surprise her. She hadn't used her wings much going up the mountain, and had actually been carried part of the way by Applejack. She had avoided most of the sources of injury that had bruised the others. And she was getting so much love from everypony now that she was full of energy -- seeing the state of the others, she tried to tap it as little as possible, as it would not have taken much right now to make somepony collapse.
Fluttershy and Rainbow flew down to the forest to fetch wood. Fluttershy found a large dead tree. The two Pegasi took turns collecting the wood and carrying it back up the mountain to their friends. Rainbow Dash said very little besides the minimum needed to coordinate their efforts, and Fluttershy was a bit worried by this. She'd camped out with Rainbow Dash many times, especially in the militia, and it was usually more difficult to get her friend to stop than to start talking. She also noticed that Rainbow Dash was increasingly grunting with effort when she bucked the tree or first lifted a load, and was breathing heavily during her periods of rest on the ground.
After a while they had a huge pile of wood on the plateau, Rainbow Dash was clearly wincing with every motion now, and Fluttershy decided that enough was enough. If the fire died out in the night, so be it -- there were not likely to be any dangerous animals here, high in the White Tails, and the night was chilly but not lethally cold.
"We have enough wood," Fluttershy said softly. "We should rest now."
"I'm up for more," Rainbow Dash declared, got up and stumbled slightly as she positioned herself for the launch off the cliff for another trip down. She caught herself instantly, but her face twisted in a spasm of momentary pain.
"Well, I'm not," Fluttershy declared with unusual firmness. "And I certainly want your company in the middle of this big, scary ..." she looked around, "... ledge," she finished, somewhat uncertainly as there was absolutely nothing at all frightening around them.
"Okay," said Rainbow. "I guess I should stick around ... to protect you."
"I would like that very much," replied Fluttershy.
Applejack and Twilight had already gotten a fire going. Between them the party had three large blankets, each big enough to wrap around two ponies, and several smaller items of bed-clothing -- though the only bed they had to clothe was the bare rock beneath their bodies. Applejack and Pinkie Pie had wrapped one of those big blankets around the both of them and had collapsed almost immediately. Pinkie Pie had a remarkably loud snore, but it didn't seem to be getting in the way of Applejack's ability to sleep.
Twilight and Rarity were under another blanket, conversing in low tones, sometimes looking worriedly at the two sleeping Earth Ponies. Fluttershy and Rainbow walked over to them.
"We should set watches," Twilight said. "We'll want to keep the fire going, and keep an eye out for anything dangerous. Two awake at a time; we're all exhausted and a single sentry will just fall asleep." She glanced in the direction of the snoring Pinkie Pie and the unconscious Applejack. "I think they should take the predawn -- they were almost falling asleep on their hooves this last stretch."
"Makes sense," said Rainbow Dash. "Do you and Rarity want first watch, or second?"
"First," said Twilight, "You and Fluttershy can get some rest, I'll wake you in a few hours."
"Sure thing," replied Rainbow Dash. She and Fluttershy assembled their bed efficiently; they'd both done this together before, many times in the field.
Finally, they lay their weary heads down to sleep. The night air was cold, but the blankets were warmed by both their bodies, and Fluttershy was calmed by Rainbow's familiar scent.
Fluttershy still had a little energy left.
"We did it," she said happily. "And everypony's okay."
"Yep," said Rainbow Dash. "That we did, and everypony is. As one would expect, with yours -- ahh, never mind." She didn't seem to even want to make the effort to complete the boast.
"Are you feeling all right?" Fluttershy asked her friend.
"Sure -- I just -- ahh, we can talk about this another time," said Rainbow, rolling so as to turn away from her.
Fluttershy felt a bit sad. She knew Rainbow wasn't mad at her.
It was hard for her to read, because it didn't map well onto a love-hate axis, but she thought Rainbow Dash was feeling guilty.
She thought she knew why, too. But this would be a complex conversation, and now was not the time for it.
"Night, Rainbow," she said softly.
"Night, 'Shy," came Rainbow's sleepy mumble.
There was silence for a long while. Then, from Fluttershy. "Rainbow?"
Rainbow emitted some alarming sounds, which swiftly settled into her usual stentorian snores.
Fluttershy fondly smiled. "I love you," she whispered, so softly that Rainbow, even had she been awake, might not have even heard her. The snores were comforting. Fluttershy's whole body relaxed, and a dreamless sleep soon claimed her.
***
Seemingly the next moment, Twilight was gently shaking her awake with a hoof, her horn glowing to illuminate them both
"Fluttershy," Twilight was saying. "Your turn on watch."
Fluttershy mumbled something which sounded vaguely like Equestrian, and forced her eyes open.
There was a warm familiar-smelling fuzziness cuddled up against her chest. The fuzziness opened her pinkish-red eyes and said, loudly "I'm awake!" and detached herself from Fluttershy's forelegs.
Neither of them displayed any embarrassment about their situation. They were both seasoned campers, and had awoken like this more than once on a cold night. Others might rib them about it, but they did the same thing: when one slept under the stars, it was instinctive to seek the literal warmth of another pony.
Especially if one loved her. But this wasn't the moment for that conversation.
"My watch was quiet," Twilight told them as they got to their hooves. "Just Rarity and myself, and the dark mountainside."
"You make it sound so boring, darling," came Rarity's familiar sleepy voice. "You're forgetting all that fascinating information we exchanged."
Twilight smiled. "At least now I know exactly why they call Golden Harvest's older brother 'Scapegrace' Carrot," she said wryly. "And why he might have decided not to come back to Ponyville."
"But do not repeat any of this to Applejack," Rarity reminded her. "She won't appreciate the topic, trust me."
"I won't," said Twilight.
She and Rarity retired to their blanket, and Fluttershy and Rainbow took their places by the fire, sitting side by side, positioning themselves so that they had the mountainside to their backs, commanding the most important fields of view. Militia habits were well and truly ingrained within them.
There was a long and awkward silence. They murmured small pleasantries, compared minor notes. They were waiting for something, and that something soon arrived in the form of Twilight and Rarity's snores.
The silence was finally then broken by Fluttershy.
"You were very brave yesterday," Fluttershy said. "Fighting that Dragon."
"Yeah," said Rainbow Dash bleakly. Then, with a momentary pride: "I kicked it in the face, you know!"
"I know," said Fluttershy with unfeigned warmth. Among Pegasi, doing something of that sort was admirable in and of itself, for the courage it required. Even when it hadn't been a very good idea. Which perhaps, Fluttershy sometimes thought, exemplified what was wrong with Pegasus culture. But she was enough a daughter of that very same culture that she shared, to a lesser degree, Rainbow's own sentiment.
"I guess it was a dumb thing to do, though," Rainbow admitted. "I nearly got myself killed. Nearly got all of us killed." She sighed to herself.
"Well, it was perhaps a bit too fearless," Fluttershy said. "For a moment I thought that Red Haze was going to kill you."
"Red Haze?" asked Rainbow, turning to look at her. "Who's that?"
"The Dragon," replied Fluttershy, looking into the fire, admiring the beauty of the flickering flames. "Oh, I should probably tell Twilight about all of that later. He said his name, in his own language, when Twilight was talking to him."
"You speak Dragon?" asked Rainbow disbelievingly.
"I picked it up," Fluttershy explained. "Part of my Talent."
"That sure is a useful Talent," Rainbow said.
"It can be," admitted Fluttershy.
Another long silence fell. The fire cast dancing shadows all about them. Part of it guttered low, and Rainbow fed it a nice thick piece of wood. She gave Fluttershy a long look; Fluttershy noticed from the corner of her eye but said nothing. Rainbow looked away again.
"I'm sorry," Rainbow Dash said abruptly.
"What for?" asked Fluttershy, turning her head slightly. She thought she knew for what Rainbow was apologizing, but she wanted to be certain.
"Being so rough on you," Rainbow said, looking directly at Fluttershy. "I got mad at you when you ... had trouble flying, and then when the avalanche happened, and you didn't want to go into the cave and ... I was a jerk. And I'm sorry I was mean to you. And I ..." Rainbow looked down at the ground, ".. I hope we're still friends."
Fluttershy looked into the fire. "Of course we're still friends," she said firmly. "Nothing could change that. And I forgive you. I ... I was being a pretty big baby myself. I made mistakes that could have gotten us all hurt. You were right to blame me for that."
"There's more," said Rainbow Dash, eyes still downcast. "When Twilight asked us all to do this -- I didn't want you along. I ... I thought you were weak, I didn't want you to get hurt, I didn't want you to embarrass yourself. So I nearly took this away from you. Your win. I don't know how you can forgive me for that. I don't know how I can forgive me for that."
"I was weak," Fluttershy admitted. "And you wanted to protect me. I knew that. You've been protecting me ever since we were both small." She was quiet for a moment, then added. "Often I've needed your protection. Rainbow -- if you hadn't been there for me, so many times, I don't know if I'd be alive today. Or sane. You were my friend at times nopony else was. And ... even when you're not there -- when things get tough I think of you. That you care about me, and it makes me think that maybe I'm worthy, after all."
Rainbow looked at Fluttershy in surprise. "Oh, Fluttershy!" she said. "Of course you're worthy! Hey," she nudged Fluttershy in the side, "you just drove off a great big Dragon! You stood up to it and told it -- him, I guess -- exactly where he could get off. And he did! It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life!"
"Thank you," said Fluttershy, smiling at her friend.
"But I've never minded protecting you," said Rainbow. She looked into the fire and said. "When we were young I used to imagine that you were some great lady like in one of the old tales, about the Clans and their wars in the time before the Unification. And I was your loyal bannerpony, and I'd go out and fight for your honor, and it would be all epic and awesome and stuff." She looked up at Fluttershy, blushing. "I guess it's all really dumb, huh?"
"No," said Fluttershy, still looking into the fire. "That's not dumb." She turned and gazed quite seriously into Rainbow's eyes. "I think it's wonderful. I think your friendship is wonderful. I think you're wonderful. And I think you have the heart of a real hero, as strong as that of anypony from the old legends."
Rainbow blushed deeply, smiling in almost disbelieving joy. "Thank you," she said. "I don't des -- thank you."
"But we're not just little fillies playing pretend any more," said Fluttershy, speaking very gently, to soften what she was about to say. "We're adult mares, and this was real life, and we both made mistakes, ones that nearly made things turn out very badly. I made most of them ..."
"No, you saved us all .." protested Rainbow Dash.
"In the end," said Fluttershy.. "After I was scared, and was a burden, and nearly got everypony hurt ... or worse." She frowned for a moment. "I need to be more honest with myself," she finally said. "With everypony. I'm not always an honest pony. It's one of my faults."
"You're a great Pony, 'Shy!" said Rainbow Dash, standing up and looking a bit confused, as if she wanted to fight the one who was insulting her friend, but unable to find a target.
"Thank you," replied Fluttershy. "I try to be, though I don't always succeed. But I think I'll try to be better from now on. I don't want to risk the lives of my friends again by my failure." She looked deeply into Rainbow's eyes. "I don't want to risk yours." She smiled. "After all, you're my most loyal bannerpony."
Rainbow Dash grinned. "No peril is too great in My Lady's service." Her bow was almost a mockery, but the adoration that accompanied the gesture was very real.
Fluttershy giggled. "I'm lucky to have a great warrior like you to protect me."
"What great deed shall I do next?" Rainbow asked.
"Just stay by my side," answered Fluttershy.
"There's nowhere I'd rather be," said Rainbow.
Rainbow sat down again next to Fluttershy. They sat companionably like this for a long while, looking into the fire and thinking.
"Rainbow," said Fluttershy. "Be careful, okay?"
"Careful of what?" asked Rainbow, looking at her curiously.
"Your life," said Fluttershy. She looked into Ranibow's eyes. "Do you know my worst fear?" she asked.
Rainbow thought a moment, shrugged. "Dragons?" she asked.
"No," said Fluttershy, very seriously. "You. Dying."
"Eh," said Rainbow Dash, . "I'm young, and strong, and healthy. And the fastest thing with wings." She grinned at Fluttershy. "I'll still be kicking flank and taking names decades from now."
Fluttershy smiled, then her face grew more serious again. "Just don't take any unnecessary risks," she told her friend. "Rainbow -- you're already my hero. And you're becoming a hero of all Equestria. And I think we may have to do dangerous things again," she shuddered for a moment at the thought. "You'll have a lot more chances to be a hero. Don't put yourself in needless danger. Because ... I don't want to have to face a world without a Rainbow Dash in it." Sadness overcame her at the thought.
"Aw ... I was just doing what I had to do ..." said Rainbow.
"You kicked a Dragon. In the face!" Her voice was still low, but there was an angry edge.
"I know you said that was mean, but he was being pretty mean to Pinkie ..." Rainbow started to explain.
"It's not about him! It's about you!" Fluttershy said, her voice brittle with stress. "You could have been killed! And it wasn't necessary!"
"Wasn't it?" Rainbow asked.
Fluttershy looked at her in shock.
"Everypony was just standing there, no idea what to do next," pointed out Rainbow Dash. "Even Twilight didn't know what to do. I got things moving."
"But ..." started Fluttershy.
"And I think it was when you saw me got hurt that you got mad enough to stop being afraid," Rainbow said. "Isn't that why there are heroes? To lead by example? Even if they fall?"
Fluttershy started to say something, then stopped and thought. A lot.
"You ... you're right," Fluttershy said. "Without you being brave, I might have continued to be scared. I might have just kept hiding behind that rock while things worked out without me. And without me, I think someponies would have died."
"Heh," said Rainbow smugly. "And at Flight School they kept saying my tactics were too rash." She frowned. "Actually, I think Gilda's bunch said the same thing about me more than once. Which is weird, because Griffons are mad-aggressive." She shrugged. "I dunno. But it worked. And we're both alive to enjoy the cake. Mmm, cake." Her stomach rumbled.
"We don't actually have any cake," said Fluttershy, a bit sadly. She was starting to feel hungry too.
"Which is also weird, because Pinkie Pie usually has a ton of cake," commented Rainbow. "But she hasn't been popping out anything like that since the cave. Weird, huh?"
"Or too normal for Pinkie," laughed Fluttershy. She walked over and rummaged in her bags. "Here," she said. "I've got some greens, and some carrots and tomatoes, and trail mix ...some spices ..." She took out a pan and poured in some water from a canteen. "I can make us a quick veggie stew."
"I'm hungry now," Rainbow complained.
"Here's some bread," Fluttershy said, tossing her half a loaf. "You can have that while this is cooking."
Rainbow did. Then they had stew.
Afterward they sat side by side, conversing about everything and nothing in particular.
Finally they just relaxed together, leaning against one another and looking out at the dark small hours of morning. It was quiet now; most of the things that moved in the forest far below were stealthy and nocturnal, and it was far too early for most of the morning bird chorus.
"We used to do this a lot together," Rainbow said. "Back in Flight Camp ... later in the militia. It was nice."
"I agree," said Fluttershy. "I've missed camping out like you with this."
Somewhere, an owl hooted.
"I have the Weather Patrol, you have your shelter -- we don't have as much time as we used to. We don't get to do this enough any more. We should do this again."
"I'll skip the Dragon next time," said Fluttershy, smiling at her friend.
"Yeah," chuckled Rainbow Dash. "You got that right."
"Would you really like to go camping again?" asked Fluttershy.
"Sure!" said Rainbow Dash. "When do you want to do it?"
"There's a place I go, middle of every October, in the eastern spur of the Pegasus. There's a butterfly migration I like to see then -- it's really beautiful out there, and I've never been there with anypony else -- it's kind of special to me," she finished, feeling suddenly shy. "Would you like to ... come with me this year?"
"Sure thing -- it's a date!" replied Rainbow Dash, and then she was the one to be embarrassed. "Um, I mean, like a camping trip."
"I know," said Fluttershy, smiling to herself. She thought about the fact that less than twenty-four hours ago she'd been sleeping safely in her bed, unaware of what she was going to see that morning, of the call that would come to draw her into terror and adventure ... and conflict with her best friend, but a conflict that had ended in a closer reconciliation.
"It's been a pretty good day," she said to Rainbow Dash. "An awfully scary day," she amended, "but a good one at the end of it."
'
"We beat a Dragon!" Rainbow affirmed, nodding, then modifying her statement. "Well, you did."
"You were right the first time," Fluttershy said. "We beat that Dragon, together. All of us. Myself, and Twilight, and Pinkie, and Applejack and Rarity. And especially you," she said. "I could never have done this without your love."
Rainbow looked away in happy embarrassment.
They sat there a long time, just enjoying each other's nearness. Fluttershy put a wing around Rainbow Dash, and Rainbow silently rubbed her cheek against Fluttershy's chest, then leaned in to let her taller friend cradle her in her forelegs. Occasionally, Fluttershy gently caressed Rainbow's mane, or Rainbow nuzzled her chest.
They said nothing. There was nothing to say, nothing that wasn't already being adequately communicated by their shared warmth, by the love Fluttershy felt radiating from Rainbow. Both were afraid that anything they might say, anything they might do beyond these minor but precious intimacies, would spoil the perfection of this moment.
Eventually Rainbow let out a very large, indelicate yawn. She looked up at the sky.
"Wow, we should wake AJ and Pinkie," she said. "By the stars, we're an hour late to do that."
"Oh ... I'm sorry," said Fluttershy. "I didn't notice." Actually, she had, but she'd been enjoying the closeness a lot.
"I did," said Rainbow Dash. "You were just being such a nice pillow I didn't want to move." She grinned and rolled to her hooves. "But I think we should get some more sleep before we head home."
Applejack was a bit muzzy when they woke her up. Pinkie Pie was straight-out incoherent.
"Ten more minutes, Maw," Pinkie said, waving her hooves. "It's too early to start turnin' the rocks." Her mind was obviously somewhere far from their mountain ledge camp.
"Aw, let her sleep," said Applejack, coming to her hooves. "I got plenty of rest, and she got banged up pretty bad by that Dragon at the end. I can stand watch solo."
"All right," said Rainbow Dash. "I guess it don't matter."
The two tired Pegasi sought their blanket, crawled in and lay down. Under the blanket they touched hooves, meshed the suckers on their pads in the Pony equivalent of squeezing each other's hands, smiled briefly at one another. Then they closed their eyes, and soon returned to the land of slumber.
***
When Fluttershy awoke again in the morning, the golden light of the Sun streamed down upon the mountain ledge, and the air was already beginning to get a bit warmer. Some time in the night, Rainbow had once again rolled over into her forelegs and was embracing her, but that didn't bother Fluttershy at all. Though it was Twilight who woke them up, and the strange look she gave Fluttershy upon seeing their sleeping posture did embarrass her slightly.
She wanted to say "Nothing happened," but that would not have been entirely true, though what had happened had been far more on the emotional plane than the physical. She and Rainbow were reconciled, and would be closer friends again now. And something had passed between them, some sort of understanding that Fluttershy found difficult to name. She knew that the emotion Rainbow felt for her was love, and there was something romantic in there, but not what any of it meant. She simply lacked the experience to understand Rainbow's feelings -- or her own.
So she remained silent.
It didn't matter.
They'd succeeded. They'd driven off the Dragon. Twilight Sparkle had proven her worth to the Princess, and Fluttershy had proven her worth to Rainbow Dash, and to herself. And nopony had died, or even been hurt too seriously. Applejack had broken out the coffee, Rarity was making tea, and Pinkie Pie, regenerated by a good night's sleep, was bouncing happily around the campsite. Rainbow stretched against the Sun, her limbs and wings at full extension, healthy and strong and brave and beautiful beyond compare in Fluttershy's eyes.
There was tea, and coffee. And Pinkie Pie's eyes sparkled as she reached ... somewhere ... and pulled forth something beyond all price on an early morning after a very rough day, something which she shared with all her friends.
Pinkie had cake.
There was no need right now for complex questions.
All was once again right in Fluttershy's world.
END.