//------------------------------// // Somepony to Help // Story: Conquering Cold // by RationalCube //------------------------------// Conquering Cold ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Lean on me” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2: Somepony to Help Noteworthy was a pretty deep sleeper. At least usually. Apparently he would sleeptalk and sleepwalk on a regular basis, but he never really woke up until morning. This morning wasn’t that different, other than the fact that he woke up on the floor. The low bars around his bed usually kept him from getting out too easily, so that was a bit of a surprise. Opening his eyes was another surprise. He was staring at a fuzzy brown wall of… hair? Curious but not afraid, he turned over to look at his surroundings. Above him, he could see dark constellations centered in the middle of a wooden ceiling, walled off by books. He turned back as the brown wall began to slowly move around, revealing a red earth pony who seemed completely trapped underneath the couch Noteworthy had been sleeping on. Careful to not startle the sleeping stallion, Noteworthy rolled up to a standing position. When he was finally standing, he pushed back the couch to unveil the upper body of the smaller pony. Slowly. He could see the red pony’s muscles tense in his sleepy state as the quiet movement of the couch threatened to wake him. “Ah’m okay mom, Ain’t got noth...” Noteworthy softly chuckled to himself in the morning light. He was glad somepony else sleeptalked beside him. It was comforting, in a way. “It’s okay bud, just wake up when you feel like it.” He ran his hoof down the brown mane of the other pony, in what he hoped was a comforting manner. The red pony looked a bit like his younger brother used to, nice and warm in his sleep, without a care in the world. The blue stallion softly padded towards a window, glancing outside to see sheets of white still coming down from the sky. What were the pegasi up in Cloudsdale doing? There wasn’t supposed to be another blizzard until next Wednesday. They’d probably be trapped in this library until then anyways, judging by how much snow had already accumulated on the ground. Letting out a firm puff of air, he turned back to stare at a fireplace, filled with charred wood. Huffing again, he started emptying it to get it ready to host another fire. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rational opened his eyes slowly this time, giving himself enough time to take in the surroundings before freaking out again. He was glad that somehow the couch had been pushed off of him, and grateful for whatever sleep-possessed movement had made him do that. He turned his head, glancing at a blue pony who seemed to be struggling with flint and steel. The red steed wiggled himself out from underneath the couch, shivering as he realized just how cold it’d gotten, even with the magical barriers he suspected the alicorn had put on the library. He took a seat a couple feet away from the blue pony, who he couldn’t see the face of quite yet. The blue stallion looked up to see Rational making his way across the floor, calling out, “Oh hi! You’re finally awake! That’s great!” Then, realizing that he was almost twice as loud as he should be, he quieted down to a near-whisper. “I just wanted to start a fire, you know. To warm things up a bit in here.” Rational smiled back at the blue stallion, placing his face and name. Noteworthy, that was it. He’d seen this pony sing at a few concerts, and play piano. Both of them were hard to do, but at the same time… His amber eyes always seemed to glow so brightly whenever the red pony got a glimpse of him, and his voice was so lovely whenever he was on stage. Rational inched closer to him before jerking his head back. “Ya said ya wern’t gonna think ‘bout those kinda things ‘gain, remember?” Noteworthy stared back at him, startled at what the pony had said to himself. “You okay there, bud? All I said is that the fire’ll be up in a minute or two. I just wanted us to be warm…?” The red pony shook his head quickly, seeming to clear his mind as he opened his violet eyes yet again. “Yeh, ah got that. Sorry ‘bout that. Ah just thought something… Name’s Rational Cube, yer Noteworthy, correct?” The red stallion forced a smile as he sat down closer to the stallion than he intended, quickly scooting back to a more reasonable distance. “Yup, that’s me! I think I’ve seen you sometimes at some parties. You sang at the Ponyville Gala two days ago, right?” “Sure did, partner. So did ya, if I r’call correctly. Ya have a mighty fine voice...” The red pony slowly trailed off, feeling his ears and cheeks heat up in the cold. His fur would cover that up, no worries. “Ah- ah just. Uh- d’ya need some help there? Ah’m good- ah’m good at startin fires. Ah- Ah got practice” Noticing he was about to start rambling again, the red pony lowered his head. Hoping the other wouldn’t judge him for his stuttering. The other stallion simply laughed out loud as a response. “Don’t worry, you got a good voice too. Didn’t know you stuttered though. Kinda cut-” His blue fur did not hide his blush. “And yeah, I need some help. Think I’ve been here for 20 minutes trying to get this darn thing to light.” Gratefully the red stallion took the flint from his hooves before responding back. “Ah- ah don’t usually stutter. Only when ah’m nervous or somethin’.” Immediately, the two rocks struck together, lighting a spark that seemed to be attracted to the hay underneath the logs. The red stallion bent downwards and breathed a few gusts of air onto the kindling, which soon lit up with a burst of very welcomed heat. “Ya think that we can get somthin’ ta eat? Ah’m starvin.” The blue pony nodded in approval, still confused about what he had almost said beforehand. What had come over him? His tongue didn’t usually slip like that. “Ah’m jist gonna go git Spike. Just sit ‘ere til Ah get back. Not really sure where the kitchen is in here an’ Ah don’t really wanna go snoopin’ just yet.” The red colt was talking in a firm voice, stark contrast to his nervous tone before. Noteworthy carefully followed the red cold with his eyes as he laid down with his back facing the fire, warming his fur. Humming helped pass the time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rational’s head was spinning by the time he got up to where the purple dragon was sleeping. Not the spinning that he usually experienced when he had one of his migraines, but it was similar. It was more of what he got when he stood up too quickly after laying down, but deeper. It seemed to go all the way down through his throat to his chest, forcing him to listen to his heart beat faster and faster as he climbed the stairs. He forced it to quiet down as he reached out and shook the assistant from sleep. “Twi? Twi? That you? Let me go back to- oh.” Spike cut himself off with a murmur. He looked depressed, and like he hadn’t slept a wink. “Is she back yet?” His eyes pleaded in a way that made the colt carefully swallow his words three or four times over before he could get anything out. “Ah- ah haven’t seen her ‘round. She’s prob’ly still at one a her friend’s houses. In’t that what ya said yesterday?” He hoped he’d put enough hope into his words. The dragon looked close to tears, and he almost brought Rational down with him. “Ah’m sure everythin’ll be just fine, don’t ya worry now…” The red stallion drifted off as the dragon embraced his front hoof, like a foal holding onto his mother. “I’m just… I’m just so scared. I haven’t seen her since before the storm, and…” Spike was clearly holding back tears, afraid to cry in front of the colt he’d only talked to a few times. “I just… I want to know she’s safe.” It was like a dam had broke just then. Rational quietly comforted the scared assistant as he himself tried to hold back his own tears. He slowly worked on chewing off the scab that had formed on his bottom lip, wincing to himself as he bit a particularly tender area. Slowly, the dragon regained his composure. By the time the red stallion had finished his work with the scab, the assistant seemed his normal chipper self. Still looking worried, but more for the stallion in front of him than his lost friend. He watched the stallion as he stood up and made his way downstairs, following closely behind. Rational’s southern accent cut quickly into the silence, “Uhm, uh, do ya know if we could get somethin’ ta eat? It’s prob’ly past lunch and Ah’m starvin’ ta say the least.” He glanced back at the younger one, making sure he’d been heard. His response didn’t come quick enough for the red pony, who idly drifted off into his own world again until they reached Noteworthy by the fireplace, who glanced up at them before going back to his book in faked annoyance. “Took you guys long enough. I had to find a book to read, and you both know how hard that is.” Spike seemed to snap back into reality rather quickly when he heard the voice of the blue pony. “Oh. Sorry. Just thinking. What did you want again?” “Jist some food. Ah didn’t wanna go lookin’ around yer house a’fore I woke ya up. An’ it’s okay. Ah know yer worried for yer friend out there.” “Yeah. Sorry about that. Uhm, just follow me I guess. We don’t usually have much food right now, that’s actually what Twi said she was going to get, but we have enough to last the storm.” Spike attempted to keep up small talk as he lead the two stallion towards another staircase leading downwards, but his mind was obviously focusing on something else. “And right in… Here! Spike flung open a door that blended perfectly into the wall, leading the two directly into a pristine, albeit freezing, kitchen. Spike obviously noticed the other two shivering in cold that he couldn’t feel. Mumbling an apology under his breath, he went inside on his own, asking the two for their food preference. They had oats and hay and all kind of good stuff. Nothing fancy though. Rational settled for basil while the blue pony said he’d take whatever Spike made. Soon enough, the three made their way back up to the fire, chewing gratefully on their food. “Ya okay there bud? Something get in your food?” Two sets of eyes were locked onto Rational, who realized he’d been pacing across the library for some time now. “Oh na, it was great. Ah was jist… thinkin. Ah’m fine don’t worry.” He realized how terrible that lie was when he felt more blood run into his mouth as well as down his chin. He’d cut his lip again. “Ah just… Ah got some medicine back home fer this. Don’t think y’all got anti-psycaw’tics layin around anywhere, do ya?” Spike shook his head slowly. “How bad is it, if I might ask?” Noteworhy seemed genuinely worried for the red pony, “My brother needed those too. His was bad, worse than yours probably. I used to carry them around all the time- for him. Stopped after he… uhm…” Noticing he was about to go on a depressing ramble, the blue pony stopped his sentence short. He wasn’t getting a chance to go on anyways. Rational cut in as quick as he could when he saw the colt grow more awkward. “It’s not that bad. Ah jist need two pills a day. Can probably go one day without needin’ any. They’re mostly just ta keep me happy, an’ ah think books can do just the same. Ah’ll tell ya if it gets any worse. Shouldn’t on any hoof. Ah’ll be fine, stop lookin so worried!” The red pony chuckled to himself as he poked Noteworthy’s side playfully, who squirmed and let out a nervous laugh of his own before quickly growing serious yet again. “I dunno, Rat- is it okay if I call you that?- what if something bad happens and you need them. I’ll be happy to go get them for you. I’ve had to do it before, and don’t wanna see anypony end up like my brother again.” The red pony shook his head. “Ah’ll be fine. Ah’ll tell ya if it gets any worse, don’t you fret. And Ah’ll be the one to get them, thank you very much. Not forcin’ anypony ta go anywhere. Not in this weather, not ever.” He looked back to where the blue pony was, seeing Spike rummaging through a few cabinets, probably looking for something that could help. “And anywho, I’ll be readin’ anyway. Ah know nothin’ can get to me then. Seriously, please stop lookin so worried.” Noteworthy let out an audible sigh as he turned back towards his book. “Just… Make sure you let me know. I can’t stand ponies who think they can do everything by themselves”