Life Outside Work

by enigmaMystere

Snowbound

The last couple weeks before Winter Wrap-Up commences, ponies have often grown tired of the snowy season, growing bored of sitting by the fire or taking part in snowball fights. Some ponies, however, prefer to enjoy the season all the way to the end, taking part in winter sports or doing some travelling. In the case of three particular ponies (well, two ponies and one changeling), it’s a little bit of both. Having ventured to a spot practically in the middle of nowhere, they’ve been enjoying a cozy ski resort for the past couple of days with a number of their friends.

On this day, due to warnings of a small blizzard due to a rather overzealous worker in the snowflake part of Cloudsdale’s weather factory, the three decide to head back to their own cabin early. This doesn’t affect their attitude, though, as they’re all clearly still enjoying themselves as they open the door to make their way inside, tracking snow all over.

Shaking off the snow from himself, Volt laughs. "Phew; my fur was standing on end almost as much as when I'm doing my usual job. Cold wind takes no prisoners."

"Especially for someone without a fur coat." Gel rolls her eyes, her tail flicking to get the last bit of snow off it. "Seriously, you ponies are lucky to have those."

"Hey, you can just melt the snow with your fire," Winter comments. "You don't get to complain." He sticks his tongue out.

"It's not like I keep my fires burning constantly." She takes off her knit cap, tossing it onto one of the beds. "I'd run out of energy before the first hour, in this weather."

"Fair enough." Winter looks down at himself, noting how unlike his two friends, he has minimal covering; just a pair of green earmuffs and black winter boots. "...guess sometimes I take my heritage for granted."

Volt starts unzipping his poofy purple jacket. "Hey, it's just part of the deal. Like me not being afraid to go out in storms because it won't hurt if I get hit, but Twi having to yank me back inside anyway because she worries."

"Speaking of, why couldn't she come, again?" She looks to him as she shakes off her boots, an eyebrow raised. "Surely she would've enjoyed a relaxing place like this, right?"

"I think she said that Spike had reserved a lot of the winter for his own vacation since almost a year ago, and somepony still has to watch the library." The electric unicorn takes off the matching earmuffs, another gift from said marefriend. "I tried to convince her to let it just be closed but she said that she would never abandon responsibility as a princess, a marefriend, or a librarian." His tail wags a little. "Said she'd make it up to me when I got back..."

Winter smirks as he deposits his only cold weather clothing in the corner. "Bow chicka bow wow~"

Letting a blush come to his face, Volt huffs. "Didn't think you thought reading together was so sexy."

The cobalt unicorn blinks, then sighs. "You and her are the only ponies I know who could turn being all lovey-dovey into a nerdy pastime."

Tilting his head now, Volt looks confused. "But I like it when she's nerdy..."

"Never mind, forget I said anything." Winter pats his fellow unicorn on the back before turning to Gel. "So... don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here, but why aren't you in Rhino's cabin?"

In response, she looks to him, her scarf dangling limply in her magic. The nymph simply smiles, a knowing twinkle in her eye. "Let's just say I knew you needed the company."

The electrician of the group looks up from where he has now stowed all his snow gear. "What? You thought Frosty here would get cabin fever?"

"No, I didn't." She starts packing her stuff away, trying to hide an additional response under her breath. "I feared he couldn't handle your puns all on his own..."

"And don't call me Frosty," Winter jokingly admonishes him. "I already have fourteen nicknames. Please don't make me add to the list."

"I'll try to resist," Volt honestly says, standing idly by. "Wouldn't want you giving me the cold shoulder."

The royal guard rolls his eyes. "Are we really gonna start this? Not cool."

The other unicorn smirks. "I see I'm rubbing off on you."

"Mr. Surge, I've been making puns since before I hit puberty. You had nothing to do with it." He makes a face. "And I don't want you doing any rubbing off on me."

"Ew." Volt grimaces at the thought. "I know Twi put that charm on me so she knows if mares do that, but I don't even want to think what would happen if a stallion did."

Winter blinks. "She put a charm... in case..." He slowly turns to Gel. "...get me out of this conversation."

She looks back at him from where she removed her last piece of outer clothing, breathing heavily from the exertion of taking it off. "...I'm sorry, what conversation?" She turns to see where she's putting her fleece pants, inadvertently turning her light blue panty-clad rump back towards him. Aside from those, all she still has on are some matching thigh-high socks, which only serve to bring attention to her otherwise mostly-undressed form.

The cobalt unicorn blinks again, this time in surprise at watching her strip to such a state, as well as the view she provides him. After a moment, he wordlessly slaps himself in the (rather red) face a couple of times, but even that can’t keep his gaze away.

Volt, meanwhile, has a foreleg securely draped over his eyes. "I know you needed to bundle up since you don't have fur, but still..."

"But what?" She finishes tucking everything into her bag and takes out a pair of reading glasses. She pulls back the covers, getting ready to climb into her bed as she awaits his reply.

"But I'm still fairly certain your husband would maim me for even getting glimpses of you in that," the electric unicorn finishes, still standing there with covered eyes.

"If I were you, I'd be more concerned with what your marefriend might think." Gel smirks at him, grabbing up a pillow in her magic. "Just keep your mind out of the gutter, and you'll be fine."

Lifting his hoof slowly from his face, Volt nods. "Yeah... this might be something to avoid telling her about the trip." As soon as he finishes his sentence, he gets smacked in the face with something white and soft.

This is enough to snap Winter out of his near-trance, and he chuckles at the two of them. "Are we about to turn this into a slumber party pillow fight?"

"Why not?" The nymph giggles, laying herself down on her bed. "I hear it's fun when it's with friends, and I've never actually tried it, before."

"Hey, I didn’t say I was complaining." The blue unicorn levitates a pillow from his own bed over to the nymph, batting her lightly on the top of the head. "But you may have an advantage in the form of distraction."

She quirks an eyebrow at him, the corner of her mouth turning up in a coy smile. "Would you prefer I change into someone else? Someone like, say... Applejack?"

His face flushes red again. "I... uh... m-maybe?" He winces and looks away.

"Oh..." She shakes her head, turning back to the sea-green pony and lifting up almost every pillow in the room above his head. "I think I'll stay like I am. That makes it a lot more fair to everyone."

"Yeah..." The electric stallion shakes his head, trying to get thoughts of Twilight in Gel's outfit out of his head. "Distractions like that would be awkward..."

"Now, my turn!" She grins, dropping all of the items in her grasp on top of the stallion, sliding her glasses onto her nose soon after.

Winter laughs. "Somepony just got KIA."

A lone pillow flies across the room, landing right on the cobalt unicorn's horn. Gel flinches slightly, seeing the hole this makes in the cloth. "...oops?"

Winter raises an eyebrow before pulling the pillow off with a hoof and tossing it into the corner. "Hopefully nopony will notice."

The navy changeling covers her mouth, trying to keep herself from laughing out loud. "...heh... y-you have feathers all over your face..."

From under the pile of pillows, Volts head pops up as he quirks. "Winter's become an alicorn! Equestria is doomed to a frosty fate!"

The royal guard rolls his eyes playfully. "My first decree is to have the electric one executed. Gel, if you would?"

"Of course, m'lord." She smirks and pulls the torn pillow over, smacking the unicorn in question in the face and knocking him onto his back. "...too hard?"

"It is a deserving punishment for one such as he." Shaking off the feathers, Winter trots over to his own bed.

"You know, when I once heard mares were the cause of all wars, I didn't believe it." The sea-green pony raises a hoof from his prone position. "Now I see; they use their feminine wiles to force stallions to battle for them!"

"...you realize I'm the one hitting you, right?" Gel walks over to him, placing a hoof on his chest to pin him in place. "Now... care to clarify what you said?"

"I regret nothing!" Volt closes his eyes, awaiting his due.

As she stands above him, the hoof against his chest begins to heat up. "I should punish you for that... but I'm better than that." She pulls away, turning and walking back to her own bed.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Volt flops backwards. "Phew... I know I can take electrical and physical abuse... wasn't looking forward to testing heat."

"If it's like everything else, you'll find some way to survive." Gel climbs onto her bed, stretching out luxuriously. "I swear you survived getting stabbed by a lance, at some point... of course, it was Vinyl who told me, and she isn't the most reliable pony when it comes to stories..."

"Well... actually that happened... I tripped, and there was a guard so..." He chuckles sheepishly as he climbs onto his own bed. "So to change the subject; do you always sleep in thigh high socks?"

"Not always." She rolls onto her back, watching the fan on the ceiling. "I sometimes wear a nightie... other times, I just don't wear anything..." She looks to him, confused. "But you should know this, already... we've spent the night in that tent enough..."

He tilts his head at her. "Umm, no... you sleep in a sectioned off section with your husband. You could be wearing or doing anythign in there and none of us would know."

Winter sighs. "I'm gonna have too many bad thoughts tonight..." He fluffs up his pillow and lifts his glasses off, dropping them on the bedside table.

"Oh, that's right..." The nymph nervously chuckles, a soft blush on her cheeks. "We do try to keep ourselves in check, regardless... wouldn't want anyone walking in at a bad time, right?"

"Going to bed now!" The blue unicorn practically shouts as he dives under the covers headfirst, trying to muffle all outside sound.

"..." Volt blinks at the sudden outburst. "Umm... okay... I know Twi says I can be sexually oblivious at times, but does that little stunt there make him sexually in denial?"

"He probably just doesn't want to associate those thoughts with anyone but his beloved." Gel giggles, shaking her head as she shifts onto her side. "Though the lump in his blankets shows he's not quite successful at it..."

The blankets in question rustle about frantically before settling down, the lump concealed. Winter pokes his head out to lay on his pillow, glaring. "Now I remember why we never had co-ed sleeping quarters..."

The nymph peeks an eye open, an eyebrow quirked curiously. "I thought that was because of heats?"

"That too." Sighing, he lets his body relax into a more comfortable position. "But frankly, I think we were all more thankful for the lack of teasing. Most of the guys I knew in training would've gladly shared rooms with a sex-crazy mare."

"Feminine wiles~!" The other stallion waves his hooves in the air as he speaks in the voice of one telling ghost stories.

"And apparently, one such pony is resting in the bed behind me." Gel rolls her eyes, raising one hoof and letting a flame burst to life right above the cloth covering it. "Need I warn you, Volt?"

In character, the electric stallion yanks her hat over from where she had stowed it, holding it in front of himself like a shield. "Back temptress, I have a hostage!"

She turns to look at him, an eyebrow quirked. "You'd seriously take an innocent hostage? You monster!" She grabs up a pillow, flinging it at the back of his head. "Have at you!"

With a dramatic cry, the stallion falls onto his back just after a few pillows lob towards the nymph. "Return fire!"

Unable to dodge in her current position, Gel's forced to take each of them to her body. Shaking herself off, she points a hoof at him, smirking coyly. "Take this!" With her magic, she launches her sock straight at his face, bopping him on the nose with an ethereal hoof inside the cloth. It quickly returns to her, going back onto her hoof.

Flopping down completely, Volt can't help but let a laugh slip as he speaks. "The enemy has discovered extendo-socks! Emergency measures!" With surprising aim, he flicks the hostage hat over Gel's eyes and burrows underneath his sheets to where not a hair of him can be seen.

Winter just silently watches all this with an amused expression on his face, lying with his head on his pillow and just waiting for them to finish.

She fumbles with the hat over her face, struggling to get it off without ruining it. After a half minute, she stops, wondering why she's trying to grab it with her hooves, and carefully takes it off with her magic. "You know, my horn could've torn this... and then you'd owe me four hundred thirty bits."

A sea-green muzzle pokes out from under the sheets. "Wow... you have expensive winter gear."

The nymph smacks him on the nose with her sock once more. "I had to get it custom-made! No one specifically makes winter wear for changelings, you know!"

"What about your 'sleepwear' there?" Winter comments.

She glances over her shoulder at him, then looks away, slightly embarrassed. "Seven hundred bits... it costs a bit more for smaller figures like mine..."

"...wow." He blinks. "Pretty expensive for something no one's supposed to see in the first place... how do you afford this stuff?"

"A patent I made as Angel." She shrugs, turning onto her back and closing her eyes. "I think that's all that needs to be said about that."

Winter chuckles. "If you say so... bedtime then, I guess?"

"I think that'd be best." She peeks an eye open, looking to the cobalt stallion. "Unless you want to converse the rest of the night?"

"Nah, I'm fine." He grabs his blankets in his magic, but rather than pulling them over himself again, he flicks them over to Gel's bed. "Here, you might need these. It's gonna be a cold night."

"You sure you're okay spending the night away from Rhino and your little ones?" Volt asks, a serious yet soft look on his face.

"I'm sure." Gel sighs, pulling both blankets over her body. "Rhino probably would enjoy the time with them... besides, we can spend time together, tomorrow... maybe on that nature walk, or something like that..."

Winter smiles. "A nature walk sounds nice and peaceful." He curls up on his now-bare mattress.

"Sure you're alright too, Win?" The electric unicorn settles into his own sleeping position as he asks. "I don't need you getting cold and sneaking into my bed later."

"Yeah, I'm fine." The other unicorn chuckles. "I'm literally immune to the cold. Only time I feel anything below room temperature is if I'm sick or dying, and I feel pretty healthy right now."

"Darn," a familiar southern voice pipes up. "Ah was gonna offer my bed if ya got cold."

Winter shoots up into a sitting position, looking around. "Who said... A-Applejack, what...?"

"Look to your left, Sol."

He does so, and immediately sighs upon seeing Gel, clearly trying to hold in her laughter. "...way to almost give me a heart attack."

"Be thankful she didn't totally transform into her like she threatened to earlier, considering what she's wearing... which again I'm going to deny ever seeing in front of your husband." Volt once again goes back to clearing his mind to avoid prosecution by protective magical stallions.

"If I transformed into her, I'd likely rip my clothes." The nymph scoffs, gesturing to her lower body. "You have seen her flanks, haven't you?"

Winter groans and conspicuously flips over onto his other side, keeping his little tent-pitching out of their view. "Goodnight, you little scallywags."

"Goodnight, temptress and snowpony." The electric stallion settles down, relaxing.

With those final words fading from their ears, the three tired beings soon doze off to sleep, unaware of how soon it would be interrupted.

---

Volt, being a fairly light sleeper, is the first to open his eyes only a few hours later. At first unsure of what woke him up, the stallion soon begins to hear something far off just as the light rattling of various items starts up in the cabin. Still partially asleep, he soon finds himself waking up quickly as both noises get louder and louder, the rattling now accompanied by a rumbling that shakes everything.

"G-Guys...." He starts to speak only to be suddenly drowned out by a gigantic 'whump' as the cabin suddenly gets much darker. Which is saying something, considering it’s the middle of the night.

Winter jolts up next, grabbing around for his glasses before remembering his magic. Once he has them back on his muzzle, he looks around. "What the heck...?"

"So... something happened..." Volt says unhelpfully, his voice seeming to stop in the oppressively quiet night. Not even the birds or bugs could be heard.

A blue flame pops up in mid-air, illuminating the confused look on the sole changeling's face. "...I thought... it was a full moon, tonight... why is it so dark?"

Cautiously, Winter steps out of his bed. Using the blue flame as a light source, he creeps towards the wall, feeling around with his hooves once he gets there. Upon finding the window, he squints his eyes as he peers out. "...I think... the window's blocked?" He starts trying to open it.

"Blocked? By what?" Volt eases out of bed, heading over to the window as well.

After a moment, the window pops open. The cobalt unicorn's eyes widen as he gets a clearer look, and he slowly pokes his hoof out. It comes in contact with a cold, soft, but unmoving surface. "...snow..."

"...oh crap..." The other stallion only says those two words.

"...snow?" Gel walks over, the flame dancing above her head to illuminate the way. "Why is snow..." She trails off, realization dawning on her. "...oh. Oh dear..."

"Umm... umm... the door! Check the door!" Zipping over to the door, Volt opens it only to be greeted by a barely visible white wall. "No good..."

"Well, that's definitely not good..." She looks around them, frowning deeply. "We... we had the cabin closest to the mountain, didn't we?"

"Yeah... right at the base." The sea-green pony nods.

"Volt..." She gulps quietly, apprehensively glancing around them. "I... I think we got caught in an avalanche."

"Ah..." The stallion's response is mellow as he nods again. "That makes sense... and sucks... so... what do we do?"

"First?" She looks to Winter, who has been standing in place since he opened the window, breathing abnormally quickly. "We need to get Sol to calm down."

"Right, so... feminine wiles?" Volt asks hopefully.

Gel slowly turns to look at him, an eyebrow quirked. "Do you really want him to get excited, again? Because that's what my brand of 'feminine wiles' does."

"Ah... no, then, wait for when we get more desperate." Cautiously, he walks over to the other stallion, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "Win?"

The cobalt unicorn jumps, stumbling back away from the hoof. "I'm fine!"

The navy changeling cautiously approaches him, holding out a hoof. "You sure about that, sugarcube?"

He whirls about to face her next; the panicked look in his eyes has not gone down, but thanks to her choice of familiar phrasing, his breathing has begun to slow. "Yes. We're just... stuck." He glances back to the window, then shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"...please don't tell me you're claustrophobic..." Volt says quietly.

"Oh, I am... but I can usually keep that under control." Winter opens his eyes, which are much calmer now. "Cleithrophobia, on the other hand..." He takes another deep breath. "I-I'll be fine..."

"Hey, I have an idea." Gel takes him by the hoof, calmly leading him over to the middle of the cabin. "How about we play a game? I'm sure the others have heard what happened, by now, and will be digging us out any moment now."

The cobalt unicorn nods shakily. "A-Alright..." He sits down on the floor, keeping close to the nymph.

Curious, Volt sits down near them. "Never heard of an avalanche game before..."

"No, it's a game I've played before..." She coughs awkwardly, covering her mouth with a hoof. "...once. A-Anyways, Surge... truth or dare?"

"Oh, this game. Hmm... dare." He smiles, wondering what this will be like.

"I dare you to..." Gel pauses for a second, trying to think of something. "...no, that's too stupid... that's too raunchy..." After a moment she shrugs, unsure. "How about... standing on your head?"

"Okay." A bit shakily, the electric stallion stallion backs up and tries to stand on his head. However, equine anatomy being what it is and unicorns specifically having something to inhibit them, he quickly flops over onto his back with a thump.

Winter can't help but laugh as his fellow unicorn attempts and fails his dare. "Really, Volt?"

"Hey, I tried!" Volt sticks his tongue out at the both of them as he gets up.

"Yes, but you still could've done better." She giggles, wagging a hoof at him teasingly. "You didn't even last two seconds."

"I don't exactly see you doing it..." Still, Volt returns to the circle. "So... does anythign happen since I wasn't able to?"

"That depends on whether Sol wants there to be." The nymph turns to him, curious. "Do you?"

Winter shrugs. "I'd say just let him have his turn now. It's not like he refused to do it, he just can't."

"Fair enough." She turns back to the other unicorn, nodding towards the spectacle-wearing stallion. "Go ahead and ask."

Volt nods. "Truth or dare, Win?"

"Dare. I'm not afraid." He grins.

"I dare you to..." he looks around the room for inspiration. "To... lay on your back and beg Gel to rub your stomach."

Winter blinks, but with a shrug, he lies down on his back, holding his front legs up over his chest. He looks over to Gel, giving a pleading whimper as he does his best puppy-dog eyes.

Rolling her eyes, she moves closer, her appearance slowly changing in the flickering light of the fire. She winks at him, smirking playfully. "Just so it's more comfortable for you, sugarcube." She trails a cloth-covered hoof over his belly, letting the light vanish to give him privacy in case of any bodily reactions.

Said bodily reactions happen rather quickly, along with the stallion blushing majorly at the sight of the transformed changeling taking on the appearance of a certain orange farmer, but keeping the clothes. He opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it as soon as her hoof makes contact with his stomach, bracing himself for whatever she has in store.

She holds it in place for a moment before pulling away, her magic bringing a pillow over and placing it on his belly. As soon as it's in place, she lets the fire come back to life, smiling warmly at Volt as her normal self. "There. Now, I believe it's my turn?"

Winter groans, flopping down onto his back. "Dammit…" Volt just chuckles to himself at the flustered stallion. "Fine, your turn Gel. Truth or dare?" He slowly sits up, keeping the pillow over his groin.

"You know what? I think I'll go with truth." She smirks slightly, gesturing to him. "I'll do a dare next time."

Winter chuckles. "Fine by me. Truth... hm... you mentioned you played this game once before. What happened?"

"I, uh..." She blushes profusely, glancing from one to the other. "...w-well... Ruby was conceived, that night... we played it during my birthday party, and, well... things got a bit heated when Rhino and I got home..."

"...oh." Winter coughs awkwardly. "Not what I was expecting..."

"Wow... the rumors of this game getting dirty continue to be well founded." The other stallion says bluntly.

"Yup... and your turn next now." Winter smirks, then frowns. "...I think. Do we have to go in a circle, or can we ask whoever we want when it's our turn? I might want to give Volt a dare, or something."

"We switch, at the end of each cycle. So..." She smirks, tapping him on the head. "Truth or dare, Sol?"

He blinks. "Oh. Uh... dare again."

"Alright..." She smiles coyly, nodding towards Volt. "I dare you to throw a snowball at him."

Smirking, Winter stands up and trots over to the window. "Hold him in place for me."

She lifts him up into the air with her magic, holding him upside down and nodding to the cobalt pony. "Does this work?"

"Why do I have to be upside down?" Volt's legs kick ineffectively as he is held, not particularly wanting to be pelted with something cold.

"Perfect." Reaching out, Winter uses his hooves to gather up a decently-sized snowball, being careful not to let the snow pour into the cabin. Once he's finished, he shuts the window, turns, and launches the snowball at the upside-down unicorn's chest.

"Cold!" Volt flinches, trying to curl in on himself as the ice crystals stick to his coat.

"There we go!" Gel giggles, placing the unicorn back down on the ground in his little ball. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Slightly irate grumbling is her only response from the stallion, who uncurls after a moment, a damp spot on his pelt his only souvenir.

"Come on, it's still plenty warm in here." She shakes her head, patting his cheek teasingly. "You'll get over the cold soon enough."

"We'll see, for now... truth or dare?" His smile appears, though it's meaning is unclear.

"...damn it, I said I'd do dare next time, didn't I?" The changeling sighs, shaking her head. "Whatever. Dare, I guess."

"Hmm... what to do, what to do..." Volt makes a little show of gazing around the room at everything, from bed to clothes to the snow wall in the window. Gel simply watches him, her face an unreadable mask. "I dare you to..." He lets the suspense build for a moment longer before finally continuing. "Fill your socks with snow, then put them back on."

"...what." She stands up and steps close to him, her eyes narrowed in irritation. "You realize what that'd do to me, right?"

Shrinking back a bit, the electric stallion gulps. "Umm... make you cold?"

"Try again, Volt," Winter says with a sigh. "Keep changeling anatomy in mind."

"What's wrong with my idea? Even if I consider the holes in her legs, she doesn't have to stay in there forever..." He huffs as his bit of revenge fails.

"It's not just changeling anatomy." She pats her chest, wings buzzing as she starts to get worked up. "My body, nay, my entire physique depends upon heat. If I get too cold, I lose consciousness. And that's not being pulled out of my ass - I actually fainted once when playing in the snow." She taps his forehead, just below his horn. "That's why I wear all those layers, Surge."

"Oh... sorry then. Umm..." Quickly trying to think of something, he grabs onto the first thing that comes to mind. "I dare you to... braid Winter's tail without magic while he does the same to yours."

The other unicorn lifts a hoof in protest. "Number one, I have no clue how to do that. Number two, changeling tails are a lot different from pony ones. I'd probably hurt her."

"Then wing it and be gentle." Volt says simply, not wanting another dare to fall through.

Shrugging, Gel grabs his tail in her teeth and gets to work. With a sigh, Winter positions himself so that he can begin doing the same to the nymph's tail. "Sorry in advance if this goes completely south, Gel."

"Noh your faul..." She continues her work, keeping one lock of his tail in her teeth all the while. "I'll 'hink of so'hing for him, la'er..."

Eventually, the two of them finish their task, now sporting braided tails, though Winter's work on Gel's tail looks significantly more amateurish than hers on his. "There." She looks to the electrician, an eyebrow raised. "Happy?"

Nodding, he smiles. "I think so. Both of you mares have very pretty tails now."

"You are literally scum," Winter grumbles.

"Calm down, we'll get you a nice bow to go with it." Volt waves off the blue stallion.

"Anyways," Gel interrupts, "I believe it's Winter's turn to ask, now?"

Winter nods, turning to Volt. "Truth or dare?"

Taking a moment to consider, the answer comes out. "Truth."

"Coward." The blue stallion thinks for a moment. "...what sexual encounters have you had with Twilight?"

A blush quickly grows on his face as Volt narrows his eyes. "You say 'coward', but this is probably harder for me than anything you could have come up with. Okay, so we've... kissed, cuddled... made out... groped... and did... you know... the deed..." His voice gets quieter and slower the longer he speaks.

Winter's smirk grows wider with every word. "And what was that like?"

Squirming in place, it takes the sea-green stallion a moment to answer. "Amazing... and a little intimidating at first because she didn't stop until she passed out..."

The other unicorn chuckles. "Really? Didn't expect that from her of all ponies..."

"You'd be surprised." The nymph grins coyly. "Sometimes, the most reserved of ponies become wild in bed..."

"No, I wouldn't be surprised." Winter turns to her with a deadpanned expression.

Her smile falters, feeling cowed under his gaze. "...um... did I say something wrong, Sol?"

He shakes his head. "Never mind. It's your turn next, right?"

"Okay, then..." She shakes her head, then turns to Volt, willingly dropping the earlier subject. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," he says quickly, sticking his tongue out at Winter.

"I dare you to..." She trails off, looking to the other stallion hopefully. "...do you have anything you'd like to suggest?"

Winter grins. "Do you happen to have any more of your 'outfits' here?"

"Yes, I do... half my wardrobe, in fact." She quirks an eyebrow at him. "May I ask why?" He just keeps his grin up and nods toward Volt. "Oh. Oh!" She turns back to the electrician, grinning slyly. "This is going to be fun... Volt, I dare you to wear my maid outfit for the rest of the night!"

Holding up a hoof, the electrical engineer's face is surprisingly neutral. "Two questions first: how would something made for you even fit me, and two, why would you bring so much including something like that on a ski trip?"

Gel smirks, bringing a hoof up to cover her mouth. "Are you saying a nymph like myself wouldn't be interested in a little flavor now and then?"

"Huh? Flavor?" He blinks, confused once more.

"In the bedroom, Surge." She quirks an eyebrow at him. "I'm surprised I have to spell that out for you..."

"Keep in mind who it is you're talking to," Winter reminds her.

"Wait... so you and Rhino were going to..." Volt trails off.

"We... already did, actually..." She clears her throat, then turns to the sea-green unicorn once more. "Anyways, as for how we'd get it to fit you... that's the one outfit I have that's elastic."

"Oh yay, it's stretchy and frilly!" Volt deadpans, but nods nonetheless. "Alright... I'll do it."

"Good." The nymph gestures towards her bed. "When you open my bag, it should be the first one you see."

Walking over to the bag, the stallion opens it and raises up a mass of light blue fabric with white lace. "Why does this look like the outfits of the waitstaff at that one restaurant in town?"

"Because... I used to work there, as Angel?" She ducks down a bit, her cheeks flushing with color.

"Makes sense." He shrugs, flipping the outfit a few ways. "How do you even get this thing on..."

"Maybe you should help him?" Winter suggests.

"No problem." She stands, walking over and grabbing a piece of silk cloth. "Now, would you prefer with or without the panties?"

Volt's face instantly goes red as he coughs. "You... but those are yours!"

"Don't worry, they're clean." The nymph smirks. "It's also part of the outfit, but I'm actually giving you a choice, here. Unless you want me not to do that?"

"No, no, and umm... no, to the actual question." He backs off quickly. "I don't think any of my... parts... should be right where any of yours were, or will be, frequently."

She stands there a moment, staring blankly at him. It isn't long, however, before she bursts out laughing, shaking her head. "Oh, come on, Volt! I wasn't really going to make you wear them! I mean, could you imagine how painful that would be for a stallion?"

"Well, yeah, but I heard some are into them so I thought you were serious..." he says with a bit of a huff.

"No, we aren't into that." She wags a hoof at him. "And I don't like what you're implying, Surge."

"What am I implying?" he asks.

"That I-" She stops, brows furrowing as she thinks over his words once more. "...I... I don't know what I thought you were implying, actually..."

"I think you are just a dirty mare... nymph... female of breeding age." He nods at his technically right answer as he finds the bottom of the outfit and starts putting his head through it.

"You realize it's easier to slide your legs in it, right?" She giggles at his attempts.

"...female clothes confuse me." Eventually, with the nymph's help, he gets the outfit on, picking at a few spots with magic. "Very form fitting..."

"I know." Gel winks at him, turning and walking back to her spot by Winter's side. Winter, for his part, is just staring at Volt with an unreadable expression on his face.

Volt stares right back for a few seconds before he gets a worried look on his face. "Winter, I want you to remember that you are dating Applejack. Try to keep that in mind."

The cobalt unicorn coughs and forces himself to look away. "S-Sorry."

Looking from one to the other, Gel decides to speak up, if hesitantly. "You know... I, uh, I think it's Volt's turn to ask you, Sol..."

Looking to the female in the room, Volt does a small pose. "I did not expect this to be so potent... probably a good thing you didn't wear it."

Winter blushes, covering his eyes with his hooves and staying quiet.

Gel slowly raises a hoof to her face, rubbing her forehead gently. "...please just take your turn, Surge."

Smirking, he settles back down into the circle, adjusting himself a little in the tight clothing before looking to Winter. "Truth or dare?"

Pulling his hooves away, but still not looking directly at him, Winter gives his answer. "Truth."

Deciding to go easy on the stallion, Volt keeps it simple. "How far have you and Applejack gone, how far do you want it to go, and how far are you looking forward to it going?"

The blue stallion sighs as he rubs the back of his neck. "Um... to answer that first question? We haven't actually 'done the deed' yet, but... well, we've kissed, snuggled, things like that..."

"Any touching?" the shock wizard asks.

"...unless flanks count, no." Winter shakes his head. Shrugging, Volt just motions for him to continue. "As for the second question... right now, I don't know. I mean, sooner or later I'll probably want us to go to the next step, but I'm not sure when I'll be ready... as wimpy as that sounds."

"That's perfectly understandable." Gel gently rests a hoof on his shoulder. "Let things go at their natural pace, and things should work out for the best." She pauses, considering her own words, and continues sheepishly. "Admittedly, Rhino and I went a bit fast, but it was still natural... for us, at least..."

Winter smiles at her. "Thanks... that's what I've been doing so far, and I think it's working." He turns back to Volt. "As for your final question... I guess, in the long run, I'm looking forward to going all the way. Sex, marriage, maybe children... even if I'm nervous about all that right now, I think it's going to end up being what I want. If she wants it too, I mean."

"Good answer." Volt stretches out on his stomach, letting out a sigh. "I think this is actually fairly comfortable. Your turn, right?"

Winter nods, looking to Gel. "Truth or dare?"

Watching the sea-green unicorn carefully, the nymph bites her lip as he shifts his pose once more. "If you rip that, Surge, you'll owe me fifteen hundred bits." She turns to the other stallion, shrugging slightly. "Dare, I suppose. Hopefully you can come up with a better one for me than he did."

The cobalt stallion chuckles and flops down on his back. "I dare you to actually give me that belly rub you cheated me out of earlier."

"Hah!" the other stallion scoffs.

"Fine." She smirks slightly, letting her voice gain a southern twang. "Ya want me t' look like Ah did earlier, too?"

"Depends on if you want something poking you while you work," Winter warns with a smirk of his own.

"I don't personally mind," Gel shakes her head, gently placing her hoof on his belly, "but my husband might be a... bit miffed."

"What, the poking? Just don't tell him. Not like I'm trying to do it." He closes his eyes as she starts to rub, tail wagging like a dog's.

Volt watches with curiosity as he chuckles, seeing the big bad guard pony reduced to a puppy.

"I never thought I'd see you acting like this, Sol..." She giggles, broadening the circles she makes with her sock-clad hoof. "It reminds me of Mercury, when Ruby and Goldie play with him..."

"Mmm..." Winter hums, unable to form coherent words at the moment. His back leg kicks a little.

Snickering quietly, the other stallion muses, "I wonder how fast you can get him to kick..."

"So do I..." She continues at the same pace, regardless, for a couple minutes. At that point, she decides to speak up. "...you know, you never told me how long I was supposed to do this."

Winter mumbles something before saying it louder. "...five more minutes?"

"I have a feeling you'll say just that if I wanted to stop, later." She pulls her hoof away, wagging it at him in mock-chastisement. "Sorry, Sol, but I don't want to get a cramp from something like that."

He pouts, looking genuinely distressed. "But... aww..."

"Come on now Gel, give him a bit more time," Volt eggs them on.

The nymph turns to him, glaring slightly for a few seconds before a coy smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. "If you two really want me to..." She lets the light die out once more, the only light visible for a moment the brief burst of fire that goes over her body. In the darkness, one of her hooves rests on Winter's belly once more, tenderly stroking him.

While it can't be seen in the darkness, the poking that Winter warned her about can certainly be felt as it almost immediately perks up. "Wh-whoah..."

"Oh, my, Solstice. Are you sure Applejack won't mind you doing that?" One can almost hear the smirk in her voice.

There's an audible gulping sound before he responds. "I'd... rather not think about that right now..."

Hearing his marefriend's voice, Volt gulps as well, but for a different reason. "Umm... I have conflicting feelings about this now..."

"Too late, you wanted me to do this." She continues her rubbing, covering Winter's eyes and lighting up her horn just enough to reveal her face. "Sorry, but I'm only doing what you asked, Volt."

"...I don't how to react to this... although i kind of want a belly rub now." He nervously chuckles.

"What's so funny...?" Winter asks fearfully.

"Nothing!" She giggles, letting the darkness in once more as she continues to stroke his stomach. "And I'm afraid you weren't included in the dare, Volt. So sad!"

The electric unicorn's voice speaks from the darkness. "From making the ones being dared suffer to making those watch suffer... touché, one point to feminine wiles."

Sighing, Winter just lets himself relax and enjoy the rubbing, preferring to wait until later to worry.

"That's what you get for wanting me to continue." She moves her other forehoof down, lightly tracing his side. "And this is what Sol gets." She makes her hooves dance along his ribcage, gleefully awaiting the sounds that will pierce the darkness.

With a loud squeal that wouldn't be out of place coming from a startled schoolfilly, Winter flails his limbs about, reluctant laughter breaking into his cries for help.

"You will pay for making me do this for longer!" Gel’s disguised voice proclaims.

Bouncing back into earlier character, Volt exclaims. "The she-demon has awoken! She will corrupt us until we can do nought but what she orders!"

A pillow slams into his face, the nymph on the other side of it huffing softly. "I think I prefered when you called me a temptress. At least then, I was still considered pony-like." She pulls away completely from Winter, sighing softly. "Do you want to know what had him all flustered earlier, Solstice?"

Letting his laughter and squealing die down, Winter slowly pulls himself into a sitting position, not noticing his erect excitement indicator. "Y-Yeah...?"

A flame bursts to life in front of him, revealing her face. Rather than the familiar face of the nymph, he is instead greeted with a similarly familiar face belonging to a particular purple alicorn.

Winter yelps, jumping backwards and stumbling over himself, landing on his back again. "Twi...? Gel, what the heck?!"

"I was trying to get you back..." Her gaze slowly wanders down his body, an eyebrow raised. "...but not to this extent."

Volt averts his eyes. "Flying your flag at full mast today, I see..."

Blushing madly, he flips up so he's standing on all four hooves again. "O-Okay! I think that's enough truth-or-dare!"

"Being a bit forward, aren't you?" The other stallion quirks an eyebrow. "And you know that doesn't hide anything unless you lay down."

Quickly, Winter lies down on his stomach, blush not decreasing in the slightest. "Wh-what do you mean, forward?"

"Eh, I don't really know, it just felt right to say." Volt shrugs as he adjusts the lacey maneband that came with Gel's outfit.

"Anyways.." Gel sighs, shaking her head. "Do either of you have a good idea what to do next?"

"...try to sleep the rest of the night away?" Winter offers. He glances at his watch. "It's about three in the morning now..."

"Do I still have to keep the maid outfit on?" Volt looks to himself, glancing up and down his body.

"As much as I kind of want you to - don't tell anypony I ever said that - I'm gonna hazard a guess that you'd be more comfortable sleeping without it," the other unicorn comments.

"Agreed. I really don't want that torn..." She sighs, a shiver trailing up her spine. "D-Damn... the cold's starting to creep in..."

"Well, not exactly... tight as it is, it is soft... and as she said, it is getting cold... I guess blankets work too though." Walking back over to the nymph's clothes, he starts trying to get it off.

As he does, Winter turns to the changeling. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"You know what, just... just let me help you take that off." The nymph quickly stands and walks over, pulling the top off. "To answer your question, Sol, I don't know... I think the heater in the cabin is failing..."

The cobalt unicorn covers his eyes. "Right... didn't know. Um... what should we do? I don't think we have any spare blankets..."

Walking out of the outfit, Volt has to shake his flanks to get the final part off as it was made for somepony smaller. As soon as the cloth leaves him, he shivers, tail tucking between his legs. "I didn't see any…"

"...well, there's always another option, boys..." Gel starts to point out.

"What? Do you have a secret changeling way of keeping warm?" Volt asks hopefully.

"Not exactly..." She clears her throat, gesturing to her bed and the two comforters atop it. "When I get cold at home, my family and I cuddle together for warmth. That could work, right?"

"...actually not a bad idea." Winter smiles. "What do you think, Volt?"

"I think unless you're on bottom, things are going to get very awkward very fast," he says matter-of-factly. "But I am feeling my tender bits shrinking enough from cold to make me agree with this plan."

Winter chuckles. "Cuddling it is." He starts trotting over to Gel's bed, levitating over the blankets from Volt's mattress.

"You sure it's the cold?" She sticks her tongue out at him as she climbs onto her bed.

The electric stallion's comeback is cut off as the changeling, still in Twilight's form, climbs onto the bed in her panties and socks while giving him quite a view. He bites his tongue as he suddenly feels warmer as he climbs on the bed, joining the other two.

Winter snuggles up against Gel, a little weirded out by her current form himself. "...any chance you could change back to normal, please? I'm gonna feel really awkward sleeping with Volt's girlfriend, and a princess at that."

"...might be a good idea... especially with the warmth he's pressing against my lower back..." She shakes her head as a small burst of fire covers her form, returning her to her normal self. "Better?"

"Much." He pulls the blankets up over the three of them, moving in close to share as much heat as he can.

"I am both disappointed and relieved." The other stallion mutters as he tries to get comfortable with his blood not knowing where it is needed most. Unfortunately, the marefriend-centered part of his brain is not so easily denied, and takes advantage of what cuddling usually entails these days.

Gel squirms between them, knowing just what the two sources of warm against her chitin are. She lets her flame die down one last time, both to preserve their dignity and to hide the luminous blush on her cheeks.

"Well... goodnight, you two." Winter sighs into the night as, once again, he deposits his glasses off to the side. "See you when we hopefully get saved."

"We will be saved." Volt squeezes them both tighter, no matter how awkward. "You'll see."

---

Not even a full hour passes before Winter's eyes snap open, his brain making a quick jump from "unconscious" to "wide awake". His ears flick, and he listens carefully, not moving an inch. After a moment, a small creaking reaches his ears, confusing him before realization dawns on him.

He nudges Gel firmly, starting to panic as the creaking gets louder. "Gel. Gel! Volt! Wake up!"

She clutches him tighter to her body, groaning softly. "Five more minutes, Rhino..."

"Gel, wake up!" he suddenly shouts, giving her a hard shove.

She grips his body tightly, growling at him. "Don't you know not to forcefully wake up an ex-soldier, Sol? I could've broken your ribs if I wasn't half-awake..."

Before he can reply, a small piece of wood drops down onto the bed between them. He glances at it, then glares at her. "If you don't get a move on, broken ribs are the least either of us will have to worry about!" As he speaks, he gives Volt a shove as well using his magic, trying to get him up.

"I'm awake! I was just seeing why you woke me..." The electric stallion grumbles as he slides out of the bed.

Gel, meanwhile, glances at the piece of roof and jumps off the bed with a sudden burst of speed. She skids to a halt, realizing that she didn't bring the cobalt stallion with her.

Just as she realizes this, the creaking that had been steadily increasing in volume is suddenly replaced by a loud crack, followed by an even louder crash. In one fell swoop, all that remains of the spot where the bed and the spectacled stallion had been is a pile of thick and jagged pieces of wood, with heaps of snow and ice on top.

"Holy shit! Win!" Volt springs to the pile, desperately starting to dig.

Gel rushes over, shoving her hooves into the snow with a hiss. Her forelegs turn blue, showing how warm they're getting from the heat she's emitting. "Come on... melt, you dumb slurry..."

As the snow quickly melts, the pile of wood beneath can be completely seen, with traces of cobalt blue underneath it all. However, a disturbing amount of dark red can also be seen leaking out onto the crushed remains of the bed.

"Shit!" She pulls her hooves away, eyes wide in horror. "We need to stop the bleeding! We need to get this debris off him!"

"But how do we know what we can move and what we can't? He could be impaled!" Volt is officially freaking out. He trots in place, eyes darting all over the pile as he tries to assess it.

"I'm thinking!" She bites her lip, sifting through the wood quickly yet carefully. "I... I'll dig him out! You take the items a safe distance away... but first, we need to move him out from under this unstable section of roof!"

"Right... right..." His golden aura envelops his horn as it also wraps around the mass of debris. "Here, I'll need your help to keep it steady."

She nods, her own horn lighting up and surrounding the pile, as well. "G-Go to the center of the rug. W-We'll need the room."

"Yeah, okay..." The two horned beings work in tandem as they move the pile, not a piece being disturbed as it is set down on the floor.

Their efforts turn out to be just in time; just as they set down the pile, the roof back where they had been cracks and begins breaking apart even further. Several bits of wood collapse onto the ground, piles of snow following them. Eventually, all is reduced to a quiet creaking once again, and nothing else falls besides the temperature in the room.

Letting out a quiet exhale, the still standing stallion nods. "Well... that was close."

Gel shivers softly, her breath slowly starting the fog the air before her. "T-Too close..." She quickly turns to Winter, picking piece after piece out delicately. "W-We need to... h-hurry... d-don't know how much... b-blood he lost..."

"I'd... rather not think about that." Letting out a shiver of his own, Volt brings over the blankets from the non-buried beds, setting them on the fire changeling.

She slows her trembling, looking up at the sea-green stallion. "I... thank you..." Taking a deep breath, she continues to remove the pieces of wood. She grabs another piece in her magic and jumps when it twitches from being pulled. "...oh, no..."

"What? He moved... that's good, right?" The stallion looks between the nymph and the pile.

"That's not why I'm worried..." She bites her lip, moving onto another piece of debris for now.

"What then? Come on, I'm stuck being a useless nurse here." His hooves drum a worried beat on the floor.

"The only reason it would move from being tugged on... he would move from it being tugged on..." She sticks it in a pile with the rest, setting it on fire to give her elemental magic a rest. "...is because it's embedded in him..."

"...you are making me feel like we are more and more screwed," he says bluntly, looking at the pile in fear. "I don't think we can fix that..."

"I can... sort of..." Gel takes a few deep breaths, then gestures to what's left of the bed. "In my bag, there should be a container of what looks like salve... I'll get the last of this off while you get it..."

"I can do that." Nodding, Volt walks over to the bag and starts digging. After a couple of minutes, he comes back with the vial of strange green goop. "Why did you have this, anyway?"

"In case myself, Rhino, or one of the kids get injured..." She takes a deep breath, glancing at the downed stallion.

Now uncovered, the full scale of Winter’s injuries can be seen: aside from the various cuts, bruises, and splinters around his body, he also sports three large jagged pieces of wood sticking out of his body. One is coming from his left hindleg, another from his right flank; the largest is sticking directly out of his back, up near the left shoulder.

Gel uses her magic to grip one of the shards sticking out of the stallion's frame. "This is important... as soon as I pull this out, you need to apply some of that directly to the wound. Okay?"

He nods. "Gotcha." The lid screws off with a bit of magic.

Inhaling sharply, she yanks out the wood in Winter's hindleg, her magic preventing any splinters from coming off inside him. His body instantly convulses, a loud scream coming from his throat as his leg almost kicks her.

"Shit!" She barely stops the limb with her magic, turning to Volt with a grimace. "Please hurry!"

Eyes wide, the stallion slaps on a good amount of the salve, plenty going in and around the wound as he rubs it in. As he does, Winter yells again, but a little quieter and his body begins to relax. Nevertheless, it's been made clear that he is definitely awake, and his wide eyes dart around the room fearfully.

As soon as he finishes, she swallows and spits a glob of slime on the medicated area, sealing it up. Panting softly, she looks to the cobalt unicorn, nervously laughing. "Well... good morning, sunshine..."

Winter doesn't speak at first, just looking at her for a moment and then shutting his eyes, his whole body vibrating lightly. "...c-cold..."

Gulping, Volt whispers. "That's not good..."

"That's just the blood loss... the salve should help get those red blood cells back up, soon..." She gently nudges him closer to the fire. "Regardless, this should help you keep warm..." A teal aura surrounds the next stick, and a navy hoof rests on his back. "Don't worry. I'm a professional..."

"R-Right..." Still shivering, Winter clenches his teeth and waits.

With a glance and a nod to the electrician, they quickly repeat the process with the wood in his flank, removing it, medicating and sealing up the wound. "There we go... one less pain in the ass, right?" She stops, wood still in her magical grip, and slowly turns to Volt, eyes narrowing.

He smirks at her, nodding approvingly. "You have learned well, young one."

"I swear you'll get what's coming to you." She growls as she turns back to Winter, the air around her body starting to wiggle as it heats up. "One last piece, and you'll be good as new... though with a few temporary holes..." Her magic grips the shard in his back, looking at him with a concerned, if miffed, expression. "Are you ready?"

Winter just nods, his eyes still shut. He clenches his teeth shut and braces himself for the removal.

"...shit." Gel lets go of the wood, wincing involuntarily. "That's not good... it's not horrible, but it's certainly not good..." Her response causes Winter to open his eyes, glancing back at her with a worried and questioning look.

"I... might throw up after we get through with this... just so you know," Volt comments from the sidelines, a bit more green than usual.

"It's deep inside, and up against your spine." She bites her lip, eyeing the offending piece of debris. "If I move it too far one way, it'll paralyze you... if I move it the other direction, it may pierce your pericardium..."

Winter winces, eyes darting around a bit as he tries to think. Finally, he takes a deep breath and speaks. "S-So... you're not gonna pull it, or...?"

"As it stands, I think field medicine is insufficient." She gently places a hoof on his shoulder. "We'll need to take you to a hospital... that's the only way to make sure this doesn't debilitate you..."

"...we're miles away from civilization... and snowed in to boot," the prone stallion reminds her.

"We'll be out in no time, I swear to you." She pats his head reassuringly. "Our loved ones wouldn't leave us buried like this. I know it!"

He sighs, still shivering. "M-Maybe not... but it's gonna take them a while to..." His sentence trails off.

Worried, Volt steps forward. "Win, stay with us, okay? Just... try to focus." The cobalt unicorn nods, eyes half-open, but doesn't bother trying to finish his sentence.

Gel growls, holding up a hoof as it turns bright yellow. "Damn it, stay awake!" She jabs his side with the superheated limb, causing a sizzling noise from the point of contact. Winter yelps, his whole body flinching from the heat, and then flinching again when the wood gets jostled inside of him. The nymph grimaces and looks away, ashamed at her actions. "I'm sorry, Sol... I just... I..."

Looking down at the vial he's holding, Volt shoves it between the two to try and shift the focus. "Hey, if we put this around it, would it help?"

Her eyes cross as she tries to focus on the medicine. She slowly nods, looking over to the sea-green stallion. "It encourages faster production of blood cells, so it should... but he still needs fluids to..." She trails off, her gaze slowly shifting to the snow outside the window. "...do either of you have a bowl that won't burn?"

Thinking, the electric stallion raises a hoof. "I have a basic metal one packed. Will that work?"

"Yes, that should." She nods, taking the vial and opening it up. "Grab it, and fill it with the snow outside the window."

Nodding, Volt does a quick rummage through his pack before coming out with the bowl. A quick trot over to the window and a swipe of the bowl nets him one full of snow as he walks back over. "Here."

As Gel applies a bit of warmed salve on Winter's back, she turns to look at Volt. She takes the bowl from him with a small smile. "Thank you." Her hooves heat up, warming up the bowl. It starts to melt, and she turns her attention back to Winter. "I'm sorry if this comes out a bit too warm. It's only the second time I've tried this..."

With just a grateful nod, Winter takes a drink from the bowl once the snow has melted, ignoring the taste due to bad water being the last thing he has to worry about.

Gel rubs his head soothingly. "Feeling better? Do you want some more to drink?"

"No thanks... I think I'm fine... relatively speaking." He twitches a bit from the contact.

"Phew... you had us worried there, buddy." The other stallion steps forward, smiling.

Winter looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "You were worried? Volt, I have a plank of wood in my back."

"Enough of that, sugar cube." She teasingly taps his horn. "We need to save your energy so you can see AJ when she rescues you. Doesn't that sound lovely?"

He groans, rubbing his temple. "Right... she gets to see that I managed to near-fatally injure myself by sleeping. Why does she date me again?"

"Because of the wood you're sporting?" Some ponies just can't help themselves, as Volt demonstrates.

"...Gel, if I die from this, keep him away from my funeral."

"You aren't going to die from this." She looks from one to the other before leaning in, whispering to him. "I'll try to keep him from your funeral, regardless."

He chuckles, whispering back. "Nah; if I get KIA or die of old age, he can come. Just don't let him deliver a eulogy."

"Deal."

With a small smirk, Winter rests his head on the ground again. "...you know, I can't even feel the wood anymore... I think the salve is working."

"That's... not supposed to happen..." She looks to the wound, gingerly touching the very edge of it. "Can you... feel that?"

"Um... no..." The cobalt unicorn's expression turns back to one of worry. "...is that a problem?"

"I think your nerves may be damaged..." She carefully runs her hoof along his sides and back, a lump of emotion sticking in her throat. "Tell me when you can feel my hoof..."

He doesn't respond until she's practically at his flank. "Right around there."

"...brilliant." She sighs, tapping her temple as she thinks. "...Win, how thin can a shield spell be to protect you from heat?"

"Uh... if I use the right kind? About... half as thin as paper." He pauses. "...why?"

"I need you to surround this piece of wood with that." She groans, rubbing the sides of her head. "The part in your body, and then a couple inches above that. I'm afraid we have to remove it to prevent further damage to your nerves." She turns away, grumbling to herself. "Idiot... made him jump like that... probably caused the issue..."

Seeing the grumbling, Volt pats her on the back. "Hey, come on, I mess up all the time. Do what you can now, regret later."

Gel looks over at him, then slowly nods, turning back to Winter right after, her expression hardening. "Please, Sol, trust me."

With a nod, the cobalt unicorn lights his horn, silently thankful that he hadn't taken enough damage to the head to render his magic unusable. After a moment, he forms the shield, barely visible to the two observers. "There you go... heat-proof shield, around the wood in my body and three inches out of it, somehow thinner than my dick. Hopefully that meets your calculations."

"I've seen your dick, Solstice. It seems to be as thick as my leg. Let me tell you, Applejack's one lucky mare." She rolls her eyes and surrounds the rest of the wood with her magic, eyes narrowing slightly. "Let's see... keep it up, now..." A light, subtle yet warm, emits from the center of the debris, a palpable heat radiating off the section not surrounded by the shield. "I just need to turn this to ashes..."

Winter shuts his eyes and keeps his body rigidly still. "I don't know what makes me more uncomfortable. The fact that you're burning something to ashes when it's inside my body, or the fact that you've been looking at my genitals."

"To be fair... our species isn't exactly subtle about them..." Volt points out. "Though it might be best if we don't go around comparing, ever, in case of husbands who question how you know."

"Your fault for being aroused so easily." She watches the wood as it burns from the inside out, a bit too distracted to follow the conversation properly.

Winter raises an eyebrow. "Excuse me for having bottled up my hormones until only last year."

"As long as you don't go spraying them everywhere," the other stallion mumbles.

"I heard that."

"Finished." She nods, looking at the light-gray pile now in the shield. "Now, carefully remove it and set it by the fire, okay? Volt, I need you to apply more of that salve..."

Winter shuts his eyes, his horn glowing brighter as the thin red shield, full of ashes, starts to slowly levitate its way out. As soon as it fully removes itself, the unicorn gasps from the cold rush of air making its way into the wound, nearly dropping the shield. "Fuck...!"

Quickly, Volt slaps on a large amount of the salve, making sure to get it in and all around the open wound. "Don't worry, Splooge Pony has your back."

Gel nearly chokes on her slime, but she successfully seals up the wound, turning to the electrician and bopping him on the shoulder. "Damn it, Surge!"

The ash-filled shield eventually makes its way over to the fire, the shield dissipating and letting its contents fall. Winter groans. "...how did that improve the situation? The hole's still there, even if it's covered..."

"And how does hitting me help?" The electric stallion adds.

"It made me feel better." She turns back to Winter, patting his back gently. "And the salve should help with your nerves... I just hope it isn't too late..." The last part is said under her breath, not wanting to cause anyone to be more worried.

"...yeah. My nerves. What about everything else it pierced?" he deadpans.

"It missed most of your organs." She looks down through the translucent gel, an eyebrow raised. "Came within inches of both your heart and a major blood vessel, though. You're lucky."

He sighs. "So, what? I'm fully healed?"

"Well, you look a bit more like a changeling in some places now..." An attempt to lighten the mood comes from the other stallion.

"...wow. First I’m a unicorn, then an alicorn, then a changeling. How many different species' am I gonna be by the end of this trip?" Winter rolls his eyes.

"Hopefully, one." Gel sighs, looking around the room cautiously. "...how much longer until dawn, do you think?"

Winter takes a glance at his watch. "It's almost five in the morning now..."

Suddenly, a sound starts to filter through to the otherwise silent cabin. At first it sounds like a light scratching, but as it gets louder and louder it becomes more like scrabbling. As it gets even louder, it becomes clearly the sound digging coming from above the roof.

Ears perking up, Winter starts to push himself up, only to hiss and fall back onto his belly. "Okay, still hurts..." He looks to the other two. "You hear that?"

"I think so..." Gel's ear twitches, and she looks up above them, slightly nervous. "You... you can use a shield if it tries to collapse again, right?"

"Probably, but no guarantees on how long it'll hold." His horn glows faintly, as though he's preparing just in case.

"Should we get under the part that already has the hole?" Volt asks, unsure.

"No, I trust that he can hold it." She places a hoof on his shoulder, reassuring.

The digging gets louder and louder until suddenly a loud thump is heard above them. A familiar voice calls out, "I found the roof! Gel, can you hear me?!"

"Rhino? Is that you?" She looks up to the roof, letting the fire vanish in a vain attempt to hide her tears of joy. "We're alright! W-Well," she glances at Winter, "mostly alright!"

"There's already some holes in the roof; see if you can find them!" Winter calls up. "Probably the best point of entry at the moment!"

"Got it!" The digging resumes, now accompanied by hoofsteps. "Don't worry, you guys will be out in a moment. Haven't been abusing Volt too much, have you?"

"Oh, trust me, he's just fine!" Winter sighs. "He's made us suffer more than we could ever do to him, I think!"

"Good to know he's being good then!" More digging. "Any comments from you, Volt?"

"Twilight's never gonna let me out of her sight again!" he says with complete seriousness.

"I know how she feels!" the stallion on the roof replies with both seriousness and humor. "The foals and I won't be leaving Gel alone for a while, might even be attached at the hip!"

"Nice to know that I'm missed too!" Winter yells up playfully.

"Ya'll wait until ya get up here and Ah'll show ya just how much Ah was worried!" A thunderous southern accent drills through the ceiling.

"...I'm kind of scared," Winter whispers to Gel.

"I think she's just worried." The nymph shrugs. "You were inside an avalanche for a night..."

A bright flash of light stops her from saying anything else, a pink blur jumping out of it and tackling Volt to the ground. "I'm so glad we found y-" She stops, blinking as her eyes adjust to the relative darkness. "...you aren't mom..."

"Not last time I checked..." The sea-green stallion says bluntly, but smiling. "Still, at least I get a hug too before we go home."

Hearing the new voice down below, the one on the roof, who is now next to the hole, calls down. "Ruby, I told you to stay up on the top with the twins so they stayed safe."

"Sorry, Dad!" She vanishes, and the electrician is taken along for the ride.

Gel blinks, watching in stunned silence. After a moment, she slowly turns to Winter, confused. "Did... she just..."

"Yes, she did." He sighs. "Wish she took all of us."

Finally, a green hoof is seen at the edge of the hole just before the rest of the stallion himself jumps down. "I told her teleporting into places she doesn't know or can't see was dangerous... I don't want her trying again." Even as he was saying this, Rhino was making his way over to the changeling and embraces her tightly as soon as he finishes. He lets out a slow breath as he holds her. "I was so worried..."

The navy nymph hugs him back, smiling sweetly. "So was I... I'm glad you found us, love..."

"Always." Caught up in the emotional moment, he kisses her deeply, not looking like he's going to stop soon.

A couple minutes pass before Winter coughs. "...guys."

Breaking the kiss, Rhino blinks. "Oh, right... sorry, Win. I... guess you got hit? Here..." Lighting up his horn, he lifts the other stallion as is and starts floating him out of the cabin. "We'll be up in a moment."

Winter shuts his eyes to keep the vertigo from getting to him. "Thanks."

Turning back to his wife, Rhino looks her over, noting the... outfit. "...I might need to have a talk with them about what they saw."

"Not really, love." She winks at him, turning away and brushing her tail against his cheek. "Think you can help me get all of our luggage out of here?"

"You want to go out there, like that?" He raises an eyebrow as his gaze goes over her rump.

"No, but I figured I'd let you decide exactly what I'm going to wear." The nymph sticks her tongue out at him, shaking her flanks as she approaches the ruined bed, where her bag is.

"Right... let's see what we have for now..." With a smile, he walks after her.

---

As Winter is levitated out of the cabin, he sighs in relief when he feels the roof underneath him. With a strained groan, he starts trying to force himself up onto all four hooves.

A familiar orange hoof lands in front of him, its owner smiling sweetly down at him. "Easy there, sugarcube... ya look like ya got a bit roughed up while ya were down there."

Looking up, Winter smiles at the orange mare. "Yeah... I've had worse, though." He finally manages to stand up, only slightly shaky.

"Sorry it took us so long to get to ya... we didn't know what happened at first until the ponies that work here told us." She throws her forehooves around him. "Is there anythin' Ah can do to make it up to ya?"

Normally, Winter would have just tried to brush such an offer off and calmly assure her that everything was alright. However, the sudden embrace not only surprises him, but also happens to squeeze right on a spot of his back that had only recently been sealed up, still quite sore. As such, his response is a loud "Fuck me!"

All is quiet for a moment after, but the farm pony breaks the silence. "Well... Ah guess that's yer way of saying you're ready... okay then. Soon as we get somewhere we are freezing our tails off and the little ones aren't around."

Winter's eyes widen and his face goes red. "W-Wait, I... what?"

"Thanks for cursing around them, by the way." Ruby frowns at the unicorn, her horn lit up to keep the sound proof bubble around her siblings.

The stallion turns to her with an only slightly irritated look. "Ruby, I was impaled by wood down there. I am currently in need of a hospital. I'm sorry, but do you think I care about young ears at the moment?"

"No..." Her stare softens. "But I really don't want them hearing that word, this young..." She sighs, glancing around. "...wait, where's Ash and Mercury?"

Winter's look becomes one of worry, and he glances to the farm mare hugging him, hoping she has the answer.

"Ah left em at the cabin and told em ta stay put and sleep. It was the middle of the night." In a smaller voice, she adds, "don't be expectin' to sleep without 'em for a while."

'Yeah, but since when am I one to follow orders?' A silver head pokes out from a nearby snow bank, smirking over Applejack's back at his friend.

Winter chuckles at the kitsune's appearance. "Get over here, you." He levitates Mercury over to join the hug.

Seeing the fox, Applejack frowns. "Umm... if you're here, where's Ash?"

'She's still asleep, last I checked.' He smirks, patting the stallion on his chest. 'Glad you're alive...' He glances at the sealed wound on his back. '...if a little holier than usual.'

"I'm glad to be alive too," Winter assures him. "But if I'm being honest? I now look forward to winter wrap-up."

'You want to be wrapped up?' He tilts his head at this. 'Well, I'm sure she'll oblige you, if that's really what you want. Try to keep your noise to a minimal, though; don't want to catch Ash's ears during your fun, right?'

The stallion groans. "Not the time, Merc."

'Of course not. You have to recover, first.' He jumps onto Applejack's back, patting his friend on the head with a paw. 'Why don't we see about a hospital somewhere... warmer? Say, Las Pegasus?'

Winter whines. "Applejack... make him stop."

Used to them speaking without her, the farm mare shrugs as she starts leading them up out of the hole. "You two be nice now, even if Ah have no idea what you're sayin'."

'It's not my fault. He opened the floodgates for teasing with his outburst.' Mercury curls up on the orange pony's back, sticking his tongue out at Winter.

The unicorn sighs. "Just let me know when I can go to sleep or something..."

"As soon as you're warm n' safe, sugarcube." She nuzzles him as they walk, sneaking in a little kiss at the end.

Smiling, he returns the nuzzle. "I'm guessing Rhino and Gel will be out when they're done... whatever it is they're doing. Where's Volt?"

"Last Ah saw him, Ruby had brought him up outta there. Everypony's waiting right up here." She gestures to the close rim of the snow hole.

"Good..." He leans his head against her and yawns, the almost-sleepless night catching up to him.

The trio exit the snowpile to the sight of a good number of four ponies waiting for them. Two are small foals, switching between worried looking down in the hole and their older pink sister. Beside all of them sits Volt, aimlessly rolling a tiny snowball.

"Hey..." Winter greets tiredly, waving a hoof at them.

"Hey." Ruby holds up a hoof, upon which rests her own snowball, smiling warmly. "Glad you're okay. I don't think any of us wanted to lose a great friend." She looks to the other unicorn. "Don't you agree?"

Giving a small smile, Volt answers simply. "I knew he'd be fine, this is his element. If we went to the beach, I'd be worried."

"I'd be worried too if we somehow got snowed in at the beach. Though less for my safety and more for the state of climate." Winter chuckles.

"Anyways, you should take him back to your own cabin for now," the pink filly says to the farmer, nodding towards the area bereft of snow. "It's far enough to be safe from any more snow-ins, I think... and you know Ash will be happy to see him, right?"

The cobalt stallion smiles. "Yeah... and I'll be happy to see her." The two adults and one fox set off into the snow, Volt deciding to tag along, as the young adult and foals stay behind, still waiting.

The green colt looks up at his pink sister. "How come Mom and Dad are taking so long?"

"I think they're still getting mom dressed." Ruby pats her little brother on the head, smiling warmly at him. "She gets cold if she's not bundled up, you know."

"We could keep her warm..." He mutters, looking to his twin. She nods as well, huddling closer to him in her own small snow jacket.

"I know, but she's adamant on wearing layers." The pink filly shrugs, looking over to the hole and muttering to herself. "I hope that's all they're doing in there..."

Unfortunately, the little ones don't have much else to listen for, so she is heard. "What do you mean, Ruby? What else would they be doing?" Mystic was always the slightly more talkative one.

"Oh, nothing, probably warming mom up." She smiles to them, though on the inside she's beating her head with her hooves, trying to remove the image that conjured up. "Clothes only hold in heat; they don't necessarily create it, unless they're those expensive arcane ones."

"Dad could make heat," Serene mentions, thinking of his fur and runes.

"Y-Yes, he could..." Ruby turns away, her eye twitching as she tries to not think of the implications of her sister's words. "Please come out soon, dad, mom..."

As if on cue, the sounds of crunching snow are heard as the two figures emerge from the ground. Rhino looks at all of them, smiling. "Hey, look who I found down there."

The bundle of clothes beside him waves, laughing shyly. "Hey, kids. Did you miss me?"

In response, two small blurs impact her as the twins show her the answer. "Mom!" They both nuzzle her face once they find it amid the cloths, tails wagging happily.

She giggles at this, hugging them both close to her body. "I'm happy to see you both, too." She gently pecks them each on the head, pulling back to give a playful smirk. "Have you two been well-behaved for daddy while I was away?"

They nod and smile as the blue one answers. "We all slept together in the bed last night, Ruby was being really cuddly."

"I see." She looks to her husband, then back to them, smiling warmly. "When we get back, how about we all sleep in the same bed?" She pulls up her scarf, hiding the wide yawn she gives. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted... and cold..."

"Of course, love..." Rhino nuzzles her as well. "Ruby, do you want to get a hug in before I carry your mother back?"

The filly steps forward, gently hugging her mother, nuzzling her neck affectionately. "I was so worried..."

Gel wraps her foreleg around her eldest daughter. "I'm sorry I scared you... but I'm fine, now... we all are..."

Waiting until they are done, the stallion scoops the nymph onto his back. "And now, we all go to be safe and warm inside a cozy cabin."

---

The cabin door opens, Applejack being the first to enter, with Winter still hanging onto her. Mercury just rides the orange mare's back, and Volt follows them all in from behind, closing the door on his way.

The cobalt unicorn glances around, shuddering. "Feels weird to be back in a place like this so quickly..."

"The fact there's light coming through is a nice change," the other stallion comments, looking around.

"How about ya focus less on the cabin and more on somethin’ else?" The one mare in the room nods her head towards a small lump under the covers of one bed.

Smiling, Winter unhooks himself from around the mare, making his way over to the bed. He slowly levitates the covers back to reveal the foal beneath them.

The young pony curls up slightly when the light reaches her closed eyes, yet she doesn't wake up. She pulls the pillow she's holding closer to her body, nuzzling it in her sleep.

With a chuckle, Winter leans down and nuzzles her, climbing into the bed beside her. "Silly filly..."

When a small smile forms on her lips, Mercury can't help but speak up. 'I knew she'd recognize your voice, Win. Even in that deep sleep of hers.'

"Well, hopefully she knows I'm safe then." He pulls her close into a snuggle.

She lets go of the pillow to try and embrace his body, her hooves only able to reach part way. "Daddy..."

A look of surprise flashes across his face, and he glances to the others in the room as though asking what to think. Applejack is positively beaming, family always being important to her. Volt, meanwhile, simply stands off to the side, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Mercury just chuckles, waving a paw to his friend. 'Don't worry Win, you can sleep there with your special girls. I'll take the corner.' He turns and walks over to where a wingback chair rests, jumping up and curling on its seat.

Slowly letting his face go back to a smile, Winter gives the filly a small kiss on the forehead. "That's right... daddy's here..."

She happily hums, nuzzling his chest affectionately. Her little tail starts to gently sway, showing how much she's enjoying this. With a contented sigh, Winter relaxes into the embrace.

'...this means I can sleep with Applejack, right? Because I doubt you want Puns McFlop to sleep with her.'

Winter looks up at him. "Merc, you can keep Volt company for the rest of the night... or morning, as the case may be." He glances to Applejack. "I'm hazarding a guess that AJ isn't going to leave me alone anytime soon."

"Darn right." To prove this, the mare slides into the bed with him, cuddling the little filly between their chests.

Volt just shrugs. "You don't have to, you know. We were each going to sleep on our own anyway in the last cabin."

Mercury leaps from his seat onto the electrician's back, sniffing at his back before commenting thoughtfully. 'Then why do you smell like both Win and Gel?'

"Well 'bark bark yip' right back at you." The stallion chuckles, heading over to the spare bed as he yawns.

"Because we huddled together for warmth," Winter answers for him.

'...Win, it's an aroused scent. Like that time you saw Applejack-'

"Go to sleep, Merc!"

'Alright, sheesh.' He walks off Volt's back so he can lay down. 'You didn't have to shout. You'll wake up the baby.'

A tiny pair of hooves tighten around the sides of Winter's ribs, a quiet, tired voice speaking up from between the couple. "I'm not a baby..."

Looking down, Winter gently nuzzles the filly, smiling. "No, Ash, you're not..."

Applejack smiles. "Ah dunno, Ah kinda like thinkin' of you as Win's baby."

She giggles at the affectionate gesture, looking up at him with eyes heavy from exhaustion. "Dad... I'm glad you're okay..." Her nose twitches, then scrunches up slightly. "What... what's that smell? It... seems so familiar..."

Realizing what she means, Winter glances back at the wound on his back. "Nothing, Ash... I just got a little roughed up. It'll heal."

She pouts softly, gently nuzzling his chest. "I wish I still had my sword..."

"Don't worry about it." He nuzzles back. "Once we get back home, I'll just check with a doctor to get patched up properly, and then I'll be good as new. Okay?"

"...promise?"

The unicorn hesitates, but after a moment, he nods. "Promise."

"Good." Ash closes her eyes, letting herself relax. "I hope it's soon... I don't like seeing you hurt..."

Winter chuckles, relaxing as well. He leans in and gives Applejack a small kiss on the cheek. "Guess the family's back together again."

"Mmmhmm..." She gives him a kiss on the lips back before planting one on Ash's head. "And Ah'm keeping it that way."

"Fine by me." The unicorn lets his eyes drift shut, ready to let sleep take him.

---

Well over thirty hours later, the group finds themselves in a new location; specifically, Ponyville Clinic. While the young ones are being watched out in the waiting room, six adults and one kitsune sit in the recovery room; one, a cobalt unicorn, lies unconscious on the bed with bandages around most of his body. Around the room, the others sit or stand, either waiting patiently or chatting with one another.

All three couples have not left each other's side since the incident, though admittedly a certain purple pony princess wasn't able to do so until they got back into town, and seems to be making up for lost time if her frequent looks to her coltfriend are any indication.

He doesn't seems to mind too much though. "I keep telling you, I'm fine, Twi."

"I know..." She sighs. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to worry anyway..."

"He was far from where the debris landed." Gel sighs, reaching over to pat the alicorn on her shoulder. "I'm certain he didn't even get a scratch."

The princess turns to her. "Are you sure? He tends to be a magnet for injury..."

"Surprisingly, all he got was a snowball to the stomach that night." She giggles softly, shaking her head. "He didn't get hurt." She glances to the bed, where Applejack sits. "Wish I could say the same for Solstice, though..."

Rhino tightens his grip on his wife. "I can't imagine what I'd do if you got hurt like that..."

"I heal quickly, love." She rolls her eyes playfully, bumping his side. "Don't forget, we changelings recover quickly, the Elite even more so."

He nuzzles her regardless. "Still doesn't mean I don't worry... and spoil you when you get hurt."

"I love every minute of it." Gel taps his nose with a hoof. "Doesn't mean I'm going to look for danger, of course."

The door opens, and in walks a pony they had all been waiting to see. The doctor glances up at them from the pages held in his magic, and nods in greeting. "I take it you are all friends or family of the patient?"

Mercury speaks up from his spot on the bed. 'Yes. Yes we are.'

The doctor raises an eyebrow at the fox. "...or pets, apparently."

"We are," Applejack answers from her bedside vigil.

Nodding, the doctor walks over to the other side of the bed. "Well then... do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Start with the bad news, get it out of the way," she says quickly.

"Very well." He glances at the stallion on the bed. "Captain Solstice has suffered some nerve damage, but nothing permanent; aside from some general numbness for a few weeks, he should be good to go in that regard. However, we can't say the same for his bones." He levitates up one of the pages, shown to be an x-ray of Winter's upper back. "While you did get the wood out, its entry still nudged part of his spine, and some amount of jostling seems to have done further damage." He raises an eyebrow. "Frankly, he should be completely paralyzed."

'But he isn't. That's wonderful!' The fox uncurls himself, his tail wagging happily. 'Ash will be happy to hear that!'

The nymph whimpers at this, resting her head in her hooves. "Stupid... hurt him..."

"That isn't all." Putting down the x-ray the doctor continues. "Somehow, all of you - himself included, surprisingly - missed the fact that three of his legs were broken. How he was even standing, let alone walking, is a medical mystery."

'...wait, what?' Everyone else in the room has much the same reaction.

The doctor shakes his head. "I don't understand either. Nevertheless, him forcing himself to walk caused even further injury. In order for them to heal, he'll have to stay off his hooves for at least three weeks. Maybe more."

"So... he'll have to stay here?" Gel tilts her head, confused. "But... what about his job? It's an important one, you know."

"I'm sure someone else can run the guard for a little while," the doctor assures her. "I highly doubt they'll just crumble into clueless colts and fillies. Besides, he doesn't have to stay here. He can go home tomorrow, as long as he's kept in bed."

"Well, better decide whether he'll be stayin' at yer place or mine." The farm mare looks down at the injured pony. "Either way, looks like me and the little ones will be helpin' him fer a while."

"Yeah, but does he have a pony who can cover for him with the guard?" Rhino asks.

"You can ask him yourself when he wakes up." The doctor adjusts his papers. "Now... would you like to hear the good news?"

Volt tilts his head. "That wasn't both mixed together? You sort of went back and forth about how lucky he was yet how bad it was."

"His legs being broken and his potential spine damage was the bad news," the doctor explains. "We usually just try to soften it as much as we can."

"I don't understand." Gel shakes her head, frowning softly. "What's the good news, then?"

The doctor sighs, looking almost puzzled. "Apart from his legs and the large hole in his back... by the time we got to him, he had already healed. The wound on his flank had patched itself back up, and while his hindleg was certainly broken, you wouldn't ever be able to tell there had been wooden shrapnel inside."

'...why is that nymph suddenly smiling?' Mercury shakes himself off and moves further up the bed, sitting down next to the farmer. 'I really wish these ponies could understand me... I feel like I'm talking to myself...'

Nopony comments on the chatty fox, but a certain green stallion in the room brings his wife into an embrace as he sees her perk up.

"Furthermore, there are a lot of injuries he managed to avoid," the doctor continues. "Brain and horn damage seems to be minimal, and despite the placement of the wood in his back, the fact that it was somehow removed without so much as touching anything vital - aforementioned spine incident aside - may have saved his life." He allows a small laugh. "At the very least, it certainly saved us from having to do it ourselves, which would have just been another thing to add to his medical bills."

"Small graces for being a field medic, I suppose." Gel shyly laughs, trying not to draw attention to her elation at how she helped him, despite her mistakes.

Leaning down so only the unconscious stallion could hear her, Applejack whispers. "Boy, Ah might need to get mahself a nurse outfit fer all the carin' Ah'm gonna have to do fer ya."

"As it stands... he should be fine to go home tomorrow." The doctor nods, finishing up. "Make sure he gets as much rest as possible for the next week, and bring him right back if his situation seems to get worse or he disobeys doctor's orders."

'I'll be sure to do that, Doc.' Mercury gives a small salute before moving onto Winter's chest, curling up on the spot. 'He's not getting up if I have anything to say about it.'

His diligence gets him a fond pet from the farm mare. "Atta boy."

The stallion underneath him starts to twitch, and the doctor chuckles. "Looks like he's waking up... I'll leave you to it, then." He heads to the door and leaves the room, just as the unicorn on the bed starts to open his eyes.

The room is silent with suspenseful joy as they wait for him to make the first move. He groans, rubbing his eyes. "...gedduff..."

'No. I was told to not let you get on your legs.' The fox sits up and puffs his chest out. 'The best way to do that is to make sure you don't get up!'

"...Merc... get off..." Winter swipes his one good hoof in the general direction of the fox, missing completely.

'Don't make me make Gel glue your legs to the bed. I'm here for a re-' He yelps as a blue aura lifts him up, dangling him in mid-air.

The aforementioned nymph rubs her head, muttering to herself. "That barking is starting to give me a migrane..."

Sighing, the unicorn on the bed lifts his head, finally waking himself up completely. He looks around. "...did they fix me?"

Nodding, Volt quips. "Yep, looks like you and AJ are stuck with adoption."

Twilight nudges him. "Volt..."

"Right, sorry..." Clearing his throat, he tries again as everypony stares at him. "You're banged up, but could have been much much worse."

Nodding at this, Rhino takes the speech ball. "Aside from the numbness, you also broke three of your legs, which nopony has any idea how you were able to walk on."

"Huh...?" Winter blinks. "Oh... that's normal."

"Uh, no, no it ain't," Applejack argues.

"When it's cold, it is." The stallion tries to sit up, but fails, and just flops back down onto the pillow.

"Here, let me..." Gel steps forward, grabbing the part of his mattress under his upper body and carefully lifting. Once it's in a sitting position, she lowers it back down, nodding as it stops after an inch. "There. Now, what did you mean by 'when it's cold, it is'?"

He sighs in relief. "Thanks... and, well... you know how the cold pretty much never bothers me? As in, at all?"

"Yeah, but I figured you had a bit of windigo in your blood." The nymph chuckles at her own teasing, turning to head back to her seat by Rhino.

"I do," Winter says bluntly.

She stumbles at this, nearly falling face-first in her husband's lap. She quickly whirls around, eyes wide in shock. "Wait, what?!"

He sighs. "Remember how, all those however-many-years ago, windigoes were feeding off the hatred between the three pony tribes? Well, some windigoes rebelled and wanted to join the ponies rather than use them for food. They took on pony forms and tried to fit into society."

Twilight nods, a pensive look on her face. "I remember those... the books tended to gloss over them, though."

"Because books written by ponies like to treat non-pony creatures as mindless hostile beasts." The stallion glances meaningfully at Gel before continuing on. "Long story short: some of those windigoes, disguised as ponies, fell in love. Bada-bing bada-boom, and years later I pop out of the womb."

'Too much information, buddy. Just say you were born.' Mercury rolls his eyes.

"I don't understand..." Gel's brow furrows. "Why can't you use ice like them, then? The capacity should be in your blood..."

"Well, for one thing, you know how bad I am at unicorn magic. Windigo magic, which is supposed to be almost godlike, is way out of my league. And secondly..." He motions to Mercury. "It'd explain why he and I were connected."

'And here I thought we were just great friends.' He sticks his tongue out at him.

"It's likely that the magic also dulled over the generations along with the windigo DNA," Twilight suggests. "So only the most basic traits would remain. I'd bet that in a couple more generations, even those would be gone."

"Are there any other traits left over from your hybridization?" As a father of three hybrids himself, Rhino feels he must ask.

"Well, there's my immunity to cold... which seems to go away when my body is in danger from illness or major injury. Unfortunately." Winter sighs. "Along with that... cold seems to rejuvenate me, if not outright heal any minor scrapes. That would explain why I didn't notice my legs being broken. Aside from that... it might explain any extra strength, durability, or speed I have, but that's about all that I know of."

'What about durability in the sack?' As soon as this escapes his mouth, the fox whimpers, ears folding back against his head. 'Don't blame me, blame mister Shock and Awe over there...'

"...Gel, can you slap Merc for me?" Winter asks pleasantly.

She quirks an eyebrow at him. "I'm not one to abuse animals, Sol."

'Hey!'

He sighs. "Then can you just bop him on the head or something? That's what I usually do."

"Why not Applejack?" The nymph gestures to the farmer by his side. "She's closer."

"...I don't know. I think my brain's still waking up." He sighs, slouching in the bed. "So... how long am I here for?"

"Until you feel up to leavin', sugarcube. Of course, then ya gotta decide where you're goin', because wherever it is, you're spendin' the next three weeks there off yer hooves." The bit of stink eye she gives him informs him there will be no argument on this point. "Got it?"

He groans. "Great... that'll go over well with the guards. 'Where's Winter?' 'Lying down at home because he broke his legs at a ski resort.' Only way it could be wimpier is if we had gone to the beach."

'Think of it this way, Win.' Mercury smirks at him, playfully batting at his head. 'Applejack may wear a nurse outfit to tend to you. Doesn't that sound wonderful?'

His eyes widen, and he's immediately frustrated by how thin the blanket over him is. "...Merc, you're not allowed to talk anymore." The fox simply shrugs and pats him on the forehead.

"So, dare I ask where you'll be staying? Just so we know where to find you, of course," the green stallion in the room clarifies.

"Well..." Winter's eyes dart back and forth a bit. "...I think it'd be best to stay with Applejack, if she's alright with that... being home alone with only a fox only I can understand and a roughly seven-year-old filly would likely not end well if I can't even walk." He looks at the farmer. "That's fine, right?"

"Saves me comin' ta check on ya every day, so Ah think that'd be mighty fine." She giggles as she leans down and nuzzles him. "If you're extra good about followin' the doctor's orders, Ah bet Ah can even convince Granny ta break out one of her spare rockin' chairs so ya'll can sit on the porch instead of bein' copped up in the room."

He chuckles. "Trust me, I know the importance of following orders." He nuzzles back before yawning.

"If you need anything, you can always send your little buddy to me with a note." She smiles warmly. "I'll even get Silk to get Applejack that outfit she was talking about, if you want it."

'I want you to remember the mare by your side.' He's placed beside Winter, and looks up to him questioningly. 'Does AJ really need the outfit?'

"Huh?" Winter blinks, rubbing at his eyes. "Uh... thanks, Gel. Merc... try again tomorrow..." He yawns again, this time letting his eyes close, his breathing going to a steady pace.

"If he’s going to sleep, we should leave." Gel looks to the mare by his side. "I suppose you can stay, since the doctors said it was a special case... do you want us to take care of Ash for a bit?"

"Well..." The farm mare chews on her words for a minute before she nods. "Ah'd appreciate that, at least until I can get this one down to the farm. A little filly like her shouldn't be livin' in the hospital, even if it is for just a few days."

"It's settled, then." She takes Applejack's hoof, shaking it the way one seals a deal. "We'll take care of Ash, and you can come get her once Win's settled in at your place."

Rhino nods as the two females conduct family business. "Heh, our house has never been one to begrudge another small set of hooves running around, no matter the source."

"Yes, though, admittedly, Silk is the one who looks after young ones." Gel taps her chin thoughtfully. "Speaking of, I wonder how she's handling them, right now..."

"Well, why don't we all go check and leave these three in peace?" Volt and Twilight nod to the suggestion as everypony begins to file quietly out of the room.

As the last one out clicks off the lights, Applejack gets onto the bed, cuddling against her stallion as her eyes close.

Comments

[Atomic Vortex]

19,000 words of fantastic reading.