//------------------------------//
// Journey into the Blizzard 
// Story: Learning to Live and Love 
// by FlashKenshin77 
//------------------------------//

	I had just nodded off when the front door flew open and a cold wind rippled through the house. I quickly opened my eyes to see a snow covered Rainbow Dash staring at Fluttershy, trying not to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I whispered.
She jumped and gave me a glare. “Didn’t know you were here, and just the way she looks…” Dash trailed off as she noticed Fluttershy’s red, puffy eyes. She angrily glared at me, her wings fluttering. “What did you do?” She accused as she lowered herself to jump.
I put my hands up in defense. “Whoa! I didn’t do anything, I swear!”
She hesitated. “Pinkie Swear?”
“…Yeah; I Pinkie Swear I didn’t do anything.”
“You still didn’t tell me what happened.”
“It’s not my place to say…” I said, closing my eyes and waiting to feel pain. When none came, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Dash standing over Fluttershy with a look of worry on her face.
There was a moment of awkward silence as I still cringed in fear. Dash finally sighed. “Alright, I believe you.” She said, looking like she still wanted to ask what happened. She walked away from Fluttershy and shook the snow off her body. Some of it landed on my face. I sneezed and she saw me and tried not to laugh.
“Thanks.” I said sarcastically.
“Anything for a laugh.” She said with a faint smile.
I sighed and put my fedora over my head again to try and sleep when she poked me.  I groggily lifted the hat so I could look at her. “Yes?”
“So what are you doing here?”
“I was making sure Fluttershy was okay. Rarity told me no pony had seen her in a few days.”
It looked like Dash was trying really hard not to laugh. “So… you were checking on your marefriend?” She asked before she started to laugh.
My face grew red. “Marefriend?”
“You know… the pony you’re dating…” she said through laughing.
“Oh… no! I’m not dating anyone-err-pony!”
She smiled. “Your face says otherwise.”
I face palmed and tried to change the subject. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh… uh... I needed to ask Fluttershy a question.” She said as her face turned slightly red.
“Oh?”
“Yeah… but she’s not awake… so I’ll just have to wait.” She said before taking a seat next to Fluttershy. There was a really awkward pause. “So… glad to be out of the hospital?”
“Very much so… I’ve hated hospitals my entire life.” I said with a faint smile.
She laughed. “Same here; which is weird with all the time I’ve spent in them.”
“Why do you spend so much time in them?”
“Well…” she started, one of her fore-hooves scratching the back of her head. “When you train as much as I do, they always don’t end peacefully.”
“Oh… I see.” I said. The snow was really picking up outside as me and Dash stared out the window. I glanced at Dash. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, when I first met you all, you pushed Fluttershy into me. Why?”
She grinned. “I was getting her back for kicking me when she wouldn’t go see the dragon migration with us and I was getting the feeling she was miserable with Shadow.”
“Oh…” I said, not sure how to respond.
Dash sensed the sudden change. “He dumped her, didn’t he?” I couldn’t respond. She sighed. “I knew he would; I tried to tell her but she wouldn’t listen.”
“People or ponies are blinded to the truth by their heart, no matter how obvious.” I said, shaking my head.
Dash turned and looked at me. “Personal experience?”
“Eeyup.” I said, going silent and thinking about Ashley, my last girlfriend. I felt my eyes start to fill tears.
“Hey, you okay?” Dash asked, concerned.
“Yep, just fine.” I said as I put my fedora over my face and closed my eyes, willing the tears to stop. I heard the flapping of wings and I felt my fedora taken off my face. I opened my eyes to her beautiful magenta eyes, full of concern. I immediately jumped up and ran past her and out the door into the snow storm.
I heard her yell my name but it quickly disappeared into the howl of wind.


--**--


“Fluttershy, you need to wake up! We have an emergency.” Dash insisted as she continuously poked the sleeping Pegasus.
“I’m... up, what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked half-asleep. She realized the jacket on her and the fedora in Dash’s hoof. “Where’s Leon?”
“I don’t know… he took off into the forest somewhere.”
“What?” She asked her whisper-voice loud. They both stared out the window as the snow continued to pour down. “We need to find him before he freezes to death... I mean if you’re not busy.”
“Of course I wanna find him! He was pretty cool…” Dash said with a slight blush that Fluttershy didn’t see.
Fluttershy rushed to her closet and grabbed two jackets and scarves, passing a reddish pink one to Rainbow. After a few minutes of getting ready, they both headed out the door as Fluttershy carried the fedora and Dash carried the heavier jacket.


--**--


“Note to self; if I survive, never EVER go into a snowstorm with just a long-sleeved shirt and pants.” I muttered to myself, shivering.
The tears froze as they slid down my face, not helping my already low body temperature. I could barely feel my fingers, my nose and ears were long gone. I tried to imagine wearing my jacket, but every time I did, pain flared through my head and I got really weak.
After the fourth try, I leaned against a tree, my sword in my hands. I stared at my reflection in the cold steel, my lips were blue and my face was completely white. My green eyes were glazed over, almost as if I was asleep. My gray streaked brown hair was covered in white snow.
“I wonder if it would hurt.” I asked myself as I thought cutting out my heart; it was already a dead organ. When no one responded, my deluded self started placing the tip of the sword over my chest.
I suddenly dropped the sword as voices flared in my head and I screamed in pain.


--**--


I was little, maybe six or seven, and sitting alone when two other kids, both boys, walked towards me. One of the boys, a blonde kid with dark blue eyes looked at me. “I’m Timmy and this is Kevin, what’s your name?”
I smiled faintly. “Leon.”
“Do you wanna play with us?” They asked.
“Sure!” I said as I got up and we ran deeper on the playground.
Kevin played on the monkey bars {I think that’s how you spell them} as Timmy and I sat on top.
“So why are you always by yourself?” Timmy asked.
“Well… no one wants to hang out with me or play any games.”
“Why, you’re pretty fun.” Timmy laughed.
“Thank you, you’re pretty fun too.”
Suddenly my nose began to bleed and Timmy quickly looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… I’m fine; my nose sometimes starts to bleed.” I said as I grabbed a tissue from my pocket.
“Wait… you’re not Leon Kennedy are you?” Timmy asked, his face suddenly going white.
“Yeah why?”
He immediately jumped down and Kevin followed him as they took off running. “Stay away from us, you freak!” They yelled as they continued to run.
“Wait!” I yelled, but they were long gone. I felt something wet and cold fall on my face and felt tears trail down.


 --**--


My body was rigid as pain coursed through the numbness. My mind was reeling as another flashback hit.


--**--


“Oh Leon… I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Ashley said as she looked at me with pity.
I held my head in my hands. “How long?”
“What?”
“How LONG have you been cheating on me?”
“We were broken up long before I met him.”
“Bullshit! We just broke up yesterday and I know you’ve been seeing him for a while!”
“Are you calling me a liar?”
“Yes!”
She slapped me and ran off before I could say anything. I just sat down on the porch that seemed to be the only thing not moving. My body started to shake as I felt another seizure coming on.


--**--


Snow continued to pour, making flying nearly impossible. Dash soared through the never-ending white rain, squinting to see a hoof in front of her. She flew as fast as she dared over the tree tops of the Everfree Forest, being the crazy one that flew while Fluttershy tried on hoof.
Where the hay is that stupid human? She wondered why he had rushed off in the first place. The jacket he wore was gripped tightly in her forehooves.
She came to a clearing and thought she saw a brief patch of black on the ground, pausing to get a better look. It turned out to be ‘nothing’, she flapped her wings, getting ready to leave again when she saw a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye. She headed down and landed on the snow. She trotted over and saw the sword dropped next to a hill of snow. It looked odd so she walked up to it only to notice the very slow rise and fall. She quickly brushed snow off to find pants and a shirt. She frantically searched for the head and found a very cold, half dead Leon leaning against a tree.
She quickly pushed him away from the tree and slipped the jacket on him. She saw his teeth chattering. She felt his face and found it incredibly cold; she also felt the frozen tear tracks.
She looked for a way to warm him up and failed to notice him waking up.


--**--


As I came to, I felt some warmth and struggled to open my eyes. I finally forced them open, only to be face to face with those beautiful magenta eyes once again. I realized Dash had somehow found me and I felt another layer of clothing so I’m assuming she draped my jacket over me.
“Hey… D-d-dash.” I struggled to say, my mouth refusing to work.
“Ohmygosh you’re awake!” She said, staring into my eyes. I felt a small pang of pain on my cheek, I assumed she had hit me. “What the hay were you thinking?” She demanded.
“S-s-sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” I said.
“Well duh, I can see that. Are you trying to kill yourself again?” She said. I failed to notice the corners of her eyes were filled slightly with tears.
I tried to laugh. “It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if I did.” I said, trying to get comfy before I died a second time.
“Horse apples!” She yelled, startling me. “Leon, in case you haven’t realized; you’re one of the group and if you weren’t informed, I’m the Element of Loyalty. That means I’m loyal to my friends and I won’t let my friend try and kill himself over something that happened before he killed himself the first time!”
I sighed. “Fluttershy told you?” My brain slightly hurt trying to understand what she had just said.
“No, you did remember?”
I slightly remember telling her after another one of our ‘heated discussions’ of Daring Do. We were both extremely tired and she decided to leave. Before she left, I felt a connection and I decided I could trust her. I stopped her before she left and told her everything. She was silent for a while before she told me of her past; the father that left her mother and how her mom had tried to work two jobs to keep up with the bills. Eventually her mom had to be rushed to the hospital due to fatigue. Her mom was still in the hospital, exhausted from working constantly. Dash visited her every other week. After that, Dash had started to cry and I held her as she tried to stop.
After a while, her tears had stopped and she went to leave before she ‘embarrassed herself more’ as she said.
Before she left, I had said; “it’s funny that all the years I lived on Earth I didn’t trust anyone, but I’m here for less than a month and I already trusted two people.”
She had stopped at the door. “Because here, we actually care what happens to you.” She said before disappearing.
I felt more pain as Dash had hit me again. “Hey Leon, stay with me.” She said.
“I’m okay… just really tired.” I said; my voice sounded very slurred.
She glanced around nervously. I felt weight on my numb legs and something clung to my chest. I looked down to see Dash nuzzling my chest, her wings covering what they could. I saw her blushing.
“Don’t get any ideas buddy; I’m trying to keep you warm.” She mumbled.
I faintly smiled. “I wouldn’t think of anything.”
“Oh my gosh; Leon, what’s wrong?” We both heard Fluttershy shout. Dash immediately jumped off as Fluttershy came over.
“Nothing Fluttershy; just a little cold.” I said as I started to shiver again.
They both grabbed my hands and tried to pull me up. “Come on; we need to get you inside.” Dash said as they flapped their wings and pulled me to my feet.
I laughed. “I can’t move my legs.”
They stared at me. “How is that funny?” Dash said, looking like she was mad. She looked at Fluttershy. “Stay here and watch him, I’m gonna go get Twilight.” She said before taking off in a blur of a rainbow.
Fluttershy stared at the disappearing Dash and then shuffled her hooves as I fell back onto the ground.
“Ouch.” I said as the snow billowed around me. My body started to shake, but it wasn’t because of the cold. “Not… again.” I managed to say before I blacked out.