//------------------------------// // Sisters at Heart are Never Alone // Story: Broken Feathers: Frozen North // by That Avi Nerd //------------------------------// Several hours later The storm's rage grew exponentially. The wind alone drove the temperatures far below freezing. That, factored in with the falling sun, made the cold bite that much more. The cold on her forehead from the tiara was not helping. Even as night fell over the Glacien forest, Phantom Knight and Rainbow Dash continued to power through the snow. The only warmth they had was from their feathers, but Phantom had the added advantage of insulated armor. "Phantom!" Rainbow Dash yelled over the fierce winds. "We need to find shelter!" "That's what I'm looking for, Dashie!" Phantom responded. "If we could find Palmyra, that'd be great!" "I'd prefer it if we found Scootaloo..." "But if we find Palmyra, we can stop Sky and Soarin'! Save thousands of innocent ponies and end this civil war once and for all! We'll probably find Scootaloo in the process, too! Especially if Sky really is the one who took her." "We're going to find Scootaloo!" "Yes, we are. I never said we weren't. Now keep you're eyes open for shelter, the storms getting worse." The pair of pegasi pushed on in silence for awhile. Being a pegasus, Rainbow Dash's feathers naturally insulated her from the cold. Rainbow stayed close on Phantom's flank, careful not to lose him in the decreasing visibility of the ever growing storm, and to try to use his body heat to warm up. At several points, lightning leapt from the clouds, striking a tree around them every-so-often. The pegasus groaned in frustration. "I'm a weather pony for Celestia's sake! I could take out this storm in no-time!" "I told you before, Dash. The storms you're used to dealing with are made by ponies. There's are naturally made, and therefore much more powerful! The storm may seem bad now, but most of it is being blocked by the trees. I'll be it's a thousand times worse above us." Rainbow looked up. Phantom was right. Above them, small cyclones of snow swirled about, and the tops of the trees were nearly being blow on there sides. if the winds picked up any more, they might start to be ripped off entirely. Though she would never admit it, this storm scared the color out of her. There was another crack of thunder. Rainbow Dash quickly found herself pressed up against Phantom's flank, trying to duck under his flapping cloak. The stallion looked over his shoulders with a smile. "What's the matter, Dashie?" he laughed. "Scared of a little storm?" With rosie cheeks, Rainbow Dash got out from under his cloak, trotting a few feet to his right side. "N-no! Nothing can scare me! I'm Rainbow Danger Dash!" Phantom sarcastically mimicked her last statement, having heard it more times than he could count. She was about to continue, but was abruptly interrupted. "Look out!" Phantom called, pushing the mare into the frozen snow. Rainbow shut her eyes, and covered her head with her hooves amidst a deafening roar that was definitely not thunder. Once the noise subsided under the raging storm, Rainbow Dash looked around to make sure she was okay. She was laying on her side in the hard packed snow, with Phantom protectively covering her. Rainbow Dash crawled out from under him. A large tree had fallen just feet from them. Then she started pacing back and forth in a panic. "Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohymgosh!" The back of Phantom's cloak was stuck into the tree, and it looked as if his tail may have been caught as well. She shook the stallion, bringing him out of his daze. "Wha-What?" "Phantom! You alright?" The stallion stood up, and tried to move forward, but was stopped when his cloak tugged at his neck. Turning around, it was revealed to him that the back part of his cloak was caught under the trunk under the tree, unable to move. Thankfully, his tail was free. "... I was hoping to keep this thing intact for once..." Phantom leaned down, grabbed a bit of the cloak closest to the tree trunk, and tore it, freeing himself from the tree. Instead of having a crisp, new looking cape like, it was now torn and tattered. "This was my favorite one, too..." "I think we've got bigger things to worry about, Phantom." Phantom turned to see Rainbow Dash pointing off in the distance. On the darkening horizon, what little light was left revealed a monstrous thunderhead storm, the top of which was strobing solid white with lightning. To make thing's worse, it was heading their way. Being pegasi, they could both feel the barometric pressure rappidly dropping. "Agreed. I do not want to be caught in that storm. C'mon, let's go find shelter." The pair plowed through the growing storm. It was nearly impossible to see. Visibility had dropped to only a few feet at the most. To keep the wind off of their faces, both ponies had to keep their heads bowed; with the added benefit of making them slightly more aerodynamic. Phantom had only a gut feeling guiding him, while Rainbow Dash had nothing but his now ripped cloak to guide her. "Through the loooonggng and loooonnnnely niiiiiggghhhts," "You hear that!?" Rainbow yelled ahead to Phantom. "Hear what!? All I hear is the wind!" "To the daaarrrrk and stooorrrrmy dayyyssss," "There it is again!" "I think this cold is getting to you. I don't hear anything!" "Be quiet for a second, and listen!" "From the moooouuuntains tooo the praaaiiirrries," "Hear it?" "No!" "For everrryyy word III sayyyyyyy." "Now?" "I'm seriously wondering if you're going crazy, now." "Just... Gah!" Rainbow Dash zipped up to his side. She pulled Phantom's hood down, and used her hooves to make his ears point straight up. With the snow and wind blowing straight into his ears, the stallion was becoming very uncomfortable. "No maaaaatterrrrrr whaaaaaattttttt the troublllleee," That time, Phantom heard it. Very faintly. The sounds of somepony... singing? Whoever they were, they sounded far away. Their voice was being carried by the winds. "Well?" "I heard it that time! Where's it coming from?" Rainbow released Phantom from her grip, and took off galloping into the storm. "This way!" "Dash! Wait— G-gah!" The sensation of snow, ice, wind and rain in his ears became too much for Phantom. He used his forelegs in an attempt to rub the particulates out of his ears. "No maaattttttttteerrrr whaattt'ssss aattt staaaaakkeeeee," By the time Phantom regained his composure, Rainbow Dash was nothing by a polychromatic blur disappearing into the vicious storm. "Dash!" he cried, giving chase. "Even if the proooobbllleeem douubbllleeesss, And I'm not sure whatt too maakkee, I'll have yooouuuuuu." The two ponies struggled through the storm, straining as if they were pulling a lead filled carriage. The only thing guiding their direction, was the angelic sounding voice, echoing through the wind. "I see you fllyyyyinnng oovveeeer moounnntainnnss, Leaving oooobbbbstiiclllesss at bayyyy, Living liiiifffeeee withoooouuutt your woorrieesss, No maaattteeerrr whaaatttsss atttt staaakeeee." Rainbow Dash seemed to have all of her attention on those lyrics. She was honed in on it, determined to follow it to the ends of the world. The bite of the cold air and wind seemed to have no affect on the determined mare. "I see you fllyyyinnng oovveeer moounnntainnss, Leaving ooooobbbbstiiclllesss at baayyyy, Living liiiifffeeee withoooouuut your woooorrieess, No maaattteeerrr whaaaattttsss attt staaaakeeee." "Dash! You need to pace yourself! This storm will drain everything out of you! Slow. Down!" He was ignored. "You're my alllll, myy everyyyythhiiiinnnnnng, Exaactllllly what I want to beeeee, Onneeee daaayyyyy I'll fly up moountaaiiiinnss, One dayyy I'll reeaachh myy peeaak. And I'llll haavveee yoooouuu." The voice was becoming more clear. It carried with it a distinctive echo, telling the two pegasi that it was coming from inside of something. Phantom could now hear that the voice belonged to a young filly. Rainbow apparently made the distinction too, as her pace picked up. Phantom did what he could to keep up with the experienced weather pony, but the wind shear was making it difficult. "Ohhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhh, Ohhhh ohh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhh ohhh ohhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhh ohhh ohhhhhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhh." "Soarin' thrrooouuuggghh the skiiieeessss wiiitttthhhh biiirrrdddddss, Innn the soooooffftttt eemmmbrrraaaccceee off clloouuddddsss, With my wing, stttrreeecheedd too thhheeee suuuuunnnnn, The siilleeennncccee rooooaaarrriinnnggg lloouuuudd." "Inn my miiiinnnnndd I'm clearrrrlllyy thereeeeee Reeaaacccchhhinngg oooutttt tooo yooouuuu, IIIII open up my eyyyeessss And IIIIII sweeaarrr that I flleewwww. And III haaaddd yooooouuuu." "When niiiiiiiiiiight is allllllmooosst ovvveerrrr, To find reeeaaalllityyyyy, Myyy wiinngs cannoooot bee yoooourrrsss, But innnnn myyyyy dreeeeeaaammmmsss, IIIIIIIII caannn fllyyyyy besssiiiiiiddeee yoooouuuuu, Togeeettthhheerr weeeeee caaannn soooaaaarrrr, And just until I waaakkkeee, I'm alone noooo moooooooooooorrrrrrrrreeeeeeee." The newly crowned princess and armor-clad Knight followed the singing to a snow covered cave. Warm air and smoke drifted from inside. "Dash," Phantom spoke in a relatively quiet voice. The cave was breaking most of the wind, so it was no longer required to yell over the storm. "You alright?" "That voice..." Rainbow mindlessly staggered into the cave, mesmerized by the singing. Phantom warily followed her. "Ohhhhh ohhh ohhh, Ohhhh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhh, Ohhhh ohhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhhhh ohhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhh ohhhhhhh, Ohhhhhhhhh ohhhh ohhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ohhhhh oh ohhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhh ohhhhh," Ahead of the two ponies, the light from a small fire shone through the darkness. Next to it, sat a young, orange pegasus filly, with a purple wind-blown mane, and violet eyes. Upon seeing the filly, Rainbow Dash froze in place, gaping at what she saw. Her mind was having trouble processing it. "Fooorrr IIIIIIII haaaavveeee yoooooouuuuu..." The filly sighed, continuing to stare at the fire. Feeling another presence in the cave, she looked around. Immediately, her eyes fell on the polychromatic mare. "R-R-Rainbow?" "Scootaloo?" "Rainbow!" The filly shot to her hooves, using her wings to zip over to Rainbow Dash. "Scoots!" Rainbow embraced the filly, taking to the air and completing a quick backflip with her in her forelegs. Landing back down on the ground, Rainbow held the filly at leg's length to see if it really was the filly she thought she was then brought her back in for another tight hug, sing her wings to completely envelope the young pegasus. "I'm so happy you're here," Scootaloo's voice was muffled in Rainbow's fur. "And I'm so, so happy that I found you." Phantom removed his hood, and sat by fire for warmth. Rainbow Dash carried Scootaloo to the fire, placing herself across from Phantom. "Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked pleadingly, leaving their tight embrace and sitting on her own. "Why are you wearing a tiara? And how did you find me?" "Because I was willing to go to the ends of Equestria and beyond to find you, Squirt. Phantom here," she pointed to the stallion who was now lying on all fours, "gave me the chance to. So, we're here, and we found you!" Scootaloo seemed to have her gaze fixated on Phantom. She found something in him fascinating. "Wait..." she said in a suspicious tone. "Aren't you the pony who saved Rainbow's life that one day?" "Eeyup, that was me alright. Name's Phantom. Phantom Knight," he politely introduced himself with a smile. Though, he was completely caught off guard when Scootaloo quickly hugged him, rubbing her muzzle into her neck. For a second, the experienced guards-pony had frozen in place. "You look really cool, Phantom. A lot like the pony who saved me, actually. Except, your coloring is backwards... and you have different eyes!" Phantom tilted his head to one side, gently pushing the filly back towards Rainbow Dash. "Saved you? Who saved you?" "Well, after that meanie head foalnapped me, I eventually managed to escape. I was wondering around in the woods for awhile, completely not scared at all. I even felt like Daring Do! But there I was, bucking away every pack of windigos and wolves that tried to attack me! When all of a sudden, this mare showed up in a hood and cloak, like yours, but it was black! She took me to some old looking town with a bunch of her friends and took care of me." "Can you describe her?" "Yeah! She had hair like yours, except it was blue then black instead of black then blue. And her coat was black with blue tips, the same as her wings! And her eyes were this really pretty red that seemed like they glowed in the dark, too!" "... Did... did you get a name from her?" Scootaloo shook her head. "She said it wasn't important or something like that. I fell asleep a bit after that..." the filly yawned widely, spreading the contagion around to the other two pegasi. "C'mere Scoots," Scootaloo did what Rainbow Dash instructed. The filly snuggled up against the mare, comfortably covering herself with the larger feathers. Then, Rainbow did something Phantom had never expected. She began to sing. "Hmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Scooooooooooooootttaaaaalloooooooooooo, Don't you crrrrrryyyyyyyy, We'll get byyyyyyyy. IIIIIIIIII-I neeeeeed you toooooo, More than III kneewwwww, Before I met yooouuuuu. Scooooooooooooottaaaalloooooooo, Don't you feeeeeeaaaarrrr, I aaammmm heerrreeeeee. My woooooooorrrrllddd waaaassssss grrraaayyyy, But we found a waaayyyyy A brand neewww daayyy. I'll be there by your side, Remember you're not alone, You'll always have a place to cal hooomeee, When I'm with yoooouuuuu. Never to far away, Don't forget that all it takes, Is to call on myy naammmmmeeeee, And I'll be, I'll be riiiiiiggghhhtt neexxt to yooouuuu. Scooooooooooooooootttaaaallooooooo, Don't youuuuu seeee, I'm right heeerrrreeee. We'lllllllllll chaaasssseeee theee suuuunnn, Just for our fuuuuuuunnnn, And when we're doooonnneeee, I'll be there by your side, Remember that you're not alone, You'll always have a place to call home, When I'm with youuuuuuu. Never to far away, Don't forget that all it taaaakkkes, Is to calllll onnnn my naaameee, And I'll be, I'll be riiiiiiggghttt neeeexxxt tooo youuuu." Scootaloo was by now well asleep. Rainbow Dash herself was nodding off but refused to fall asleep until she had finished the song. Phantom, meanwhile, stared thoughtfully into the fire. "I'll be riiiight neeeexxxxttt to yoooouuuu......" "Hey, Dash?" Phantom whispered after a brief pause. "Hm?" "You... You'd make a great mother. You know that?" "Heh, thanks." Silence fell between the ponies. The only sounds to be heard was the popping of the fire, the distant wind and thunder of the outside storm, and the light breathing of the now two sleeping ponies. Phantom wanted to sleep. Every part of his body screamed at him to, but, his mind kept him awake as he stared into the fire. That mare Scootaloo had described to him. She said she looked like him, but with a black coat. Apparently with brilliant red eyes. Can't be... he thought to himself. Could it? Could it have been Nyx? Phantom shook the thoughts out of his mind, continuing to stare into the fire. Several times he could have sworn he saw his sister's image in the flames. Hours seemed to pass, when finally Phantom fell asleep. For awhile, he dreamt of finding Nyx. What she would look like, act like, and catch up on each other's history. But eventually they slipped from his mind, leaving the stallion in a dreamless slumber. Rainbow Dash was the first to stir, her eyes fluttering open. Soft morning light illuminated the still cave. Wisps of smoke rose from the ashes of the now extinguished fire. A smile formed on Rainbow's muzzle when she saw the sleeping filly under her wing. Careful not to disturb the foal, Rainbow Dash slowly rose to her hooves. Suddenly, she found herself shivering. Having been used to the warmth of the fire for most of the night, and no longer having the comfort, made the chilliness in the air have that much more bite. Her thoughts drifted to the filly at her hooves. Gently, Rainbow Dash picked Scootaloo up, and flew her over to Phantom. Oddly enough, there was a frozen trail of water under his eye. The stallion was curled up in a ball next to the wall, with a perfect space next to him that looked like it would suit the filly well. Rainbow placed the filly in the grasps of Phantom's legs, and covered her with his wing, using it as a sort-of blanket. To her surprise, Phantom didn't even stir. She had expected somepony like him to react if they were disturbed while sleeping. But he did nothing. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but gush at the cuteness of the scene. A big, bad, protective guardspony who liked to maintain his 'I-don't-do-that-emotion-girly-fru-fru-stuff' more than Dash herself did, snuggled up with a filly like Scootaloo? Dash found the scene all too enjoyable. The pegasus headed over to the snow cave entrance, where she sat and watched Celestia's rising sun. The wind from last night's storm had smoothed the snow on the ground, creating a perfectly flat, untouched plain. That, paired with the thin layer of ice that covered the snow, and the morning sun, created a brilliant sparkling crystal-like effect. Rainbow Dash sat captivated at the scene worthy of an artist's rendition. Her attention was diverted from the scene upon feeling the presence of another pony. Expecting it to be Phantom, Rainbow didn't bother to confirm. "Phantom," she said, "we need to talk..." "Okay, what?" Had Rainbow paid any attention, she would have noticed something severely off about the voice that replied. "I... I... I—Wait!" Rainbow looked to the pony that was now at her side. Instead of seeing a larger, midnight blue pegasus stallion, she saw a little, orange purple maned filly. "Scootaloo? S-shouldn't you be sleeping?" "I slept most yesterday. So, what'd you want to tell Phantom?" The filly leaned against the larger mare, giving her mischievous smile. Rainbow blushed, and Scootaloo didn't fail to notice. "N-nothing. Don't worry about it." The young filly gasped. "You have a crush on him, don't you!?" "Wha-What!? No! No I don't!" "You have that same look Big Mac and Ms. Cheerilee had when we gave them a love spell!" The filly began to bounce in circles around Rainbow Dash. "You do! You've got a crush on Phantom!" Back in her starting place, Scootaloo turned to face into the cave. Sucking in a large amount of air, she yelled."PHANTOM! RAINBOW DASH HAS A CR— Hmmpf hmph hmmmf!" Rainbow Dash wrapped a leg around Scootaloo's mouth, turning her yells into muffled mumbles. "Okay, okay, okay!" She hissed. "Fine! I have a crush on Phantom. Happy?" Scootaloo nodded, and was released from Rainbow's grip. "Just.... just don't tell him, okay?" Scootaloo turned to reply, but her ears fell, and an expression of shock formed on her face. "Be... be... be..." Rainbow tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Behind... you..." The orange pegasus was trying to make herself smaller than Rainbow's shadow. The cyan mare turned back to face the cave entrance. There, stood five new ponies of various types, all wearing black armor and cloaks. On the front of each of their chest plates, was the symbol of two wings cupped together to form a heart. Rainbow scowled at them. "Nightingales..."