//------------------------------// // Part 1- Stuck In The Blizzard // Story: Snowy Days and Nights // by TheBluWaffle //------------------------------// They couldn’t get out of it. It hit hard, it hit fast, it was completely unexpected, except for the last couple of moments before it happened. One thing that Rainbow was surprised about was that she didn’t know that it was coming. The weather system in Cloudsdale and Ponyville was common knowledge to her, and she basically knew the entire schedule of weather patterns, but this must have been that one day that she forgot to memorize. The wind was whipping and the snow was falling fast and hard. It was a good thing that they had their jackets, but they didn’t really help as much as they should. Fluttershy didn’t look to well. To begin with, her jacket was stained with snow and now she was so weak that Rainbow had to carry her. She looked pale, her eyes were slightly open and quivering, and her breathing was spastic. Rainbow herself wasn’t doing so good either. Her body was getting colder by the second, and her strength was slowly diminishing. Carrying Fluttershy around her neck wasn't helping either, but she wasn’t going to give up, not yet. She wasn’t going to give up until they found some sort of building. So far, they could barely see anything through the heavy snowstorm. Rainbow closed her eyes for a moment as the wind picked up. The snow felt like sharp daggers against her fur, and she could feel Fluttershy shudder violently in that instant. When Dash looked again, it seemed like an even denser layer of snow formed within her sight. She kept pushing through it. Rainbow wasn’t just thinking about Fluttershy. She was thinking about her dad, Rainbow Dad, her loving, caring father. He must have been worried sick, and he was probably looking for them right now. Knowing her dad, he was, and he wouldn't stop until he found them. She was also thinking about Derpy, sweet Derpy Hooves, who was probably more worried than dad. She recently became her sister, and she connected with Fluttershy pretty quickly. After everything that had happened, after all the bad things that happened, she was more than overjoyed by the good things in life, the fun experiences that she had with her new family. Now, that all would take a turn, and Dash wondered just how shocked and upset it made her to hear from dad that; “Your sisters are stuck in a raging blizzard, with just a jacket and each other to keep them warm.” There wasn’t any warmth right now. It was just the cold. It was everywhere. It covered every single thing in sight. It was covering them. It was killing them slowly. Dash trudged on, freezing, weary and nearly blinded from the onslaught of snow and wind. She wouldn’t give up now. She wouldn’t! She was too dedicated to save her best friend, her sister, from this untimely doom. They weren’t going to die here, not today. Dash wished that Fluttershy would pick up her hooves just a little, but the yellow pegasus was growing weaker and weaker by the second. Dash readjusted her on her shoulder, trying to get her in a less awkward position. Even through the storm, she could hear a soft groan come from the pegasus. “C-Come on Flutters…” She said to her. Fluttershy’s hooves were no longer even moving. Dash was practically carrying her full weight now, which made Dash strain to keep up with her dying strength. “Ahh…” Dash groaned. Her knees were clipping, her legs were giving way, her hooves were aching in constant pain and stress. No! She wouldn't stop! She had to keep going. It seemed like the wind was blowing harder and harder, and the snow was falling more and more, as if to challenge her very will. She accepted it. She struggled along. “D...Dash…” Fluttershy’s weak voice almost whispered. Dash didn’t hear it. She continued, fighting her inner longings to sit, to wait and hope that someone would find them. “Ergh...c-come on...w-we’ve got t-to be close t-to someplace…” She said, squinting through the snow. She could barely see anything two feet in front of her. Suddenly, as she started moving again, Fluttershy collapsed in the snow. Dash looked back, kneeling down to her weak friend. “F-Flutters! Come on...w-we’ve gotta, k-keep going!” She yelled, picking one of her hooves up. She tried to drag her a ways. The snow was too thick already. She knelt back down. She looked terrible. She was so pale, she was so cold, her eyes were barely open, her breathing was less frequent, she was shaking violently. Dash’s worries increased. “D-Dash…” She gave a breathy sigh. “C-Come on...Get up!” She almost screamed. “N...No Dash…” She gave a long breath of cold air. Dash just sat there, trying to will her up. “F-Flutters, d-don’t give up F-Flutters...we can m-m-make it…” She tried picking her up again, but she didn’t even give an attempt to get up. She looked back, icy tears forming in her eyes. “F-Flutters…” She said softly. Fluttershy did something unusual in that moment...she smiled. She smiled straight up at her determined friend. She kept that smile as long as she stared. “I’m...s-so glad…you at l-least…tried…” She coughed, eyes shot open after. That was not a good sign. “F-Flutters...no...I’ll keep t-t-trying...we c-can make it...y-you just--” A sudden gust of wind stopped her. She covered both of them using her body, but she took most of the hit. It’s like a whole icicle just sliced her back. She winced and bit her lip from the pain. She looked back down to Fluttershy. Her smiled ceased to exist, and she had a blank look in her eyes. Dash’s had tears, ice cold tears, that could have been small ice drops with contact of the air. “Flutters...d-don’t go…” She whimpered. Fluttershy looked up at her one last time. She took Dash's hoof in one of hers. Dash looked down at it, shaking her head slightly, somehow knowing what was coming next. Fluttershy took her last breath and said; “I...love...you…” She slowly closed her eyes. A second later, her breathing stopped. Dash was in disbelief. No...she couldn’t really be dead...right? “C-Come on Flutters…” She picked her hoof up again and pulled it. She didn’t move. Rainbow’s tears started flowing more. “No...g-get up...F-Flutters, stop playing...t-this is s-s-serious...get up…” She felt her chest for a heartbeat. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Rainbow’s mouth quivered. She stared silently at her friends still body. She wanted her to move. She wanted her to make some indication that she was still living. Nothing. The only thing she could hear now was the screaming wind. The cold nipped at her ears and muzzle, but she couldn’t feel it anymore. She felt totally numb, inside and out. The tears had made dark spots on the snow, and they kept coming. She glanced once more at her still friend, before finally, she swallowed her sadness and picked her up again, a new courage and strength in her body. “I-I’m not l-leaving you, F-Flutters…” She said, continuing along, a sliver of hope for her friend. She made her way at a crawling pace for what seemed like hours.The cold winds and heavy snow pummeled her throughout her trip, relentlessly trying to stop the blue pegasus from reaching her goal. She wasn’t giving in, never. Minutes went on. She had no luck. She couldn’t see anything in front of her now, she was completely blinded by the blizzard. She was walking aimlessly into the storm, hoping for a miracle that they would find civilization soon. She kept going, but she was starting to falter. She had started getting blown backwards by the wind, decreasing her chances of moving forward. She was shaking endlessly from the freezing temperature. Her strength was depleting every second from the added body. She looked up towards the sky, hoping that Celestia would hear her prayer. Suddenly, she looked forward, and for a split second, she thought she could see a very faint red light flash from the distance. She waited a couple more seconds, and it happened again. She smiled, and quickened her pace, despite her nearly depleted strength. “Come o-on...c-come on…” She willed herself. Her legs were almost gone. A few more steps and they were done. A few more steps was all she needed. She could see the light clearly now, and she could also spot sliding glass double doors. With her last remaining will and strength, she took a deep breath, rushed towards the door as fast as she could, still carrying the seemingly dead yellow pegasus, and collapsed through the front as the doors opened. Rainbow was on her back, panting for any air she could find. She still couldn't feel a thing. She was staring up at a yellowish ceiling, her hooves limp by her side. She looked over to her left; Fluttershy was lying there, completely still. Dash looked around briefly, and she could spot someone with a white coat and a red cross on the coat. She looked back to Flutters weekly and smiled. “W-We made it...Flutters…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I...k-knew we w-would…” Deprived of all her strength and will, she fell unconscious on the hospital floor.