//------------------------------//
// Walk 
// Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World 
// by MagicS 
//------------------------------//

Even with the snow falling around her and the unnatural freezing cold of these mountains, Rainbow Dash managed to still feel a little bit warm thanks to the fire she had started. By now the burning tent was little more than a heap of ashes with dying flames atop it but it would stay alive for at least a couple minutes longer. Rainbow Dash planned to enjoy and bask in the heat of it for as long as she could.

Felt good to move her wings around too, even if she wasn’t flying, just getting some blood pumping through them again was doing wonders. Rainbow Dash had to shake them (and her mane and tail) a few times to get all the melting ice and snow out. It wouldn’t do any good to just end up covered in water for when she got up and started moving again, she had to be dry too.  

“Almost doesn’t feel so bad like this,” Rainbow said as she patted her new bag with the helpful flint inside it. “That’s gonna change soon...”

Despite her desire to fly off as soon as the fire died she knew she shouldn’t. Soon enough her wings would freeze again and if she happened to be above some rocks when that happened… that might be it. So it would be back to walking and walking and walking some more through the snow. This crazy place was just too extreme, she couldn’t fly through it without any way to keep her wings and the rest of her body from failing her. And the winds and snow up higher in the sky would make her blind again. No, she hated to admit it but she need to take the slow walk through the snow and keep going south.  

So once the fire had reached it’s last few, pitiful moments, Rainbow Dash stood up and stretched. There was still cold whipping all around her now but it didn’t feel any worse than “average winter” to her thanks to the fire. She knew that was going to change the instant she stepped away and started walking again. Rainbow Dash huffed and blew a breath of air out her nose before cracking her neck and turning away from the dying fire. All that was left now was a black pit in the middle of the snow, and soon that would be buried too, erasing all traces of the former tent.

Just as she had expected, a freezing cold breeze blew over her body once she had only stepped a few feet away from the fire and the numbness started crawling up her snow covered hooves. Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings every few seconds, not flapping them fully, just moving them to keep some activity up and make it take a little longer before they froze completely.  

Ahead of her she didn’t see anything yet. Just the snowy landscape with all the valleys and mountains she had seen from atop the ridge. So still no idea where she was actually going or how far she would have to walk, just the vague direction of “south” was in her head.

That was good enough for now.

Eventually she knew she’d have to start climbing up hills again, or even over and around some of the mountains. There was the possibility she’d get lost or snowed in or stuck somewhere and have to backtrack. That’s just the weakness of walking and Rainbow Dash hated it. And while she was a risk taker she knew flying was basically pointless with how fast her wings would freeze back up. So might as well just walk from the beginning.

And as she thought about that she could feel the frost working its way back over her exposed feathers once again. Rainbow Dash tried to keep them loose but the snow and ice continued to fall and coalesce on her. A shiver or two was all she had before her body started turning a deeper shade of blue again, and her lips turning even deeper than that.  

The bag and the flint were the only positives Rainbow could think about right now. If she ever came across something else she could burn for heat she had the tools to do so now. And if worst came to worst she could set the bag on fire too. If she could actually set it down someplace a little dry.  

Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky to see if she could tell how late in the day it was but all she saw was the same impenetrable cover of clouds high above the peaks of even the tallest mountains. A blurry grayness clotted out everything. It was definitely still daytime or she wouldn’t have any light at all but things were still far darker than she would have preferred. Judging from what she had seen so far and what she read from that journal, she didn’t think the sky would be clearing up for her soon either. Only the faint shadow of sunlight made it through those clouds and brought a dim light to this frozen wasteland. If she was the type of pony to get depressed she would probably find this place depressing.

Instead she was just more annoyed than anything.

Dumb colder than cold weather that she thought she’d be more than used to by now. Dumb walking that she didn’t want to do. Dumb north that she just wanted to be out of.    

It was so cold, so inhospitable here that it made Rainbow Dash think about the Windigos from Hearth’s Warming legend. But they only came around when ponies were at each other’s throats and not getting along. Still, she had seen so many crazy things on her journey that it wouldn’t surprise her if somehow Windigos lived up here too. If you could even call creatures like that alive in the first place.

Rainbow Dash shivered, she didn’t like the idea of facing an enemy or problem she couldn’t punch. Or challenge to and beat in a super awesome race.

She didn’t have enough of those in her life.

Now she was back to being as cold as she was before she had found the tent and the fire, any lingering traces of warmth had completely left her body. With a grimace, she closed her wings tight against her sides as she felt her feathers completely freeze over. Her mane and tail were in a similar frosted situation and freshly made icicles hung from her chin and ears. A pony popsicle once again. But she was still moving. The cold was a problem but she wasn’t going to let it beat her, as agonizing as this trek was.

Unbeknownst to her, a shadow flew through the clouds above her head.