//------------------------------// // Shelter // Story: "Well, this sucks." // by AwkwardInfo //------------------------------// Flash was worried. About what, you may ask? … Well, everything, really. The pair of him and Rainbow had been going in this one single direction for…a couple of hours? Maybe more? He had no idea, and it was stressing him out. Everything looked the same, just trees, rocks, and snow everywhere he looked. They could’ve been going around in circles for all they knew, and neither of them would have any idea. It didn’t help that it was starting to snow, either, which was a completely different problem entirely. He had no idea if it was planned or not. He didn’t watch the news daily like Dad did, but he thought that he would’ve heard something at the very least from school in passing. Then again, he had no idea how long they had been knocked out for. It could probably be a million years in the future and they could be the last surviving humans left on the planet… … Nah, if that were true, there wouldn’t be any snow. Global warming would’ve melted it all away. Still, whether or not this was snow or ash from a war that had plunged the world into a nuclear winter, what he did know was that it was cold. Like, stupid cold. When they had first started, there had been a bit of a chill in the air, but it wasn’t awful; just enough to give him goosebumps. They made decent progress during that time, with the sun breaking through the thin cloud cover and the wind a bit brisk. Then it got darker. Then the wind got even worse. Then the snow started falling. Then his hands went numb, which wasn’t really relevant, but it was another factor that had made the two slow to a fraction of the speed when they began. But that wasn’t the issue… okay, it was one of them, but not the main one. What was really getting to him was Dash. Ever since they had left the remains of Castle Hoofbeard, the athlete had barely so much as glanced his way. He couldn’t get anything out of her; not a word, a peep, or even a grunt, and it's not like he hadn’t tried; he had tried talking, teasing, and even riling her up, but she seemed completely unphased. It also didn’t help that she seemed to be actively avoiding him at all costs. She was always ahead of him, darting from one place to another with her super-speed…at least, she was until the storm had picked up, but even still, she made an effort to not be side-by-side with him. And he had absolutely no idea why. She had only started ignoring him after she had broken that branch in front of him, which…yeah, he wasn’t expecting it, but he had told her it was cool. Was that why she wasn’t saying anything? Had he offended her in some way? Was she just really focused on getting them back home? Why couldn’t she just come out and tell him what he did wrong? … Man, women are confusing. Well, whatever the reason might be, she didn’t seem to want to discuss it with him, which hurt his heart quite a bit, but if he’d made it this long, then he could go a bit longer…maybe. Ugh, he really needed to get out of this storm before it turned him into a Flashcicle. And he didn’t seem to be the only one getting sick of the cold, either; poor Rainbow looked miserable. She was trying desperately to keep up the speed she’d had previously, but as the snow kept piling higher and higher, she wasn’t running as much as kicking snow everywhere, and most of it was getting on her rather than the ground. He could see her breath coming out in small, rapid bursts billowing in front of her as she pulled the hem of her shirt down with clenched fists. It was like she was trying to force herself to not cross her arms to look weak in front of him. He didn’t know if that was pitiful or adorable… probably more on the pity side. Plus, he knew that what she had on was definitely not for the chilly weather. She may have had a jacket on, but the sleeves didn’t even go to her elbows, and barely made it past her stomach, which either meant that it was somehow the actual worst piece of clothing ever designed, or that Dash was way more into fashion than she lets on. He’d have to check on Rarity on that one. And sure, he may have been wearing tattered jeans and tennis shoes, but yoga pants and sneakers that were constantly kept kicking up ice water? Her entire lower half had to be frozen by now… Not that he was checking her out or anything. He was just… worried for her safety! Yeah! He was totally not checking out one of his ex’s best friends in a snowy wasteland where she was wearing a white t-shirt that was more than likely wet and— No! Bad brain! Bad! This fic is rated T for Teen! We are not going to bump this up to Mature because you can’t control yourself! So either nut up or shut up! … And don’t take that out of context! An icy chill brought him out of his thoughts, sending a shiver down his body. He was starting to lose feeling in his toes now, and he knew that if he couldn’t, then Dash probably had it much worse. And looking up at the blustery skies, he could tell that this storm wasn’t gonna let up anytime soon. They needed to find shelter, and fast. Forget their feud; if they don't warm up soon, they’ll be ice sculptures before long. Flash hurriedly lumbered his body across the snow, closing the distance between the two teens. It may have been getting darker and snowier, but even he could still see her vibrant colored hair from a mile away. “We need to find shelter!” He yelled over the roaring winds, hoping she could hear him. And apparently she did, if the way she turned her nose away from him was any indication. “Oh, c’mon, Rainbow!” He pleaded. “I know that I’ve done something wrong and that you’ve been avoiding talking to me about it, and whatever it is, I’m really, really sorry!” He would’ve gotten on his knees, but he didn’t really want to sink any lower than his manly pride had already done. “But if we don’t find a cave or something soon, then the police will find our frozen bodies and your friends will feel even guiltier about leaving us behind after finding out that we didn’t die from that death trap of a castle! And frankly, I don’t wanna make Sunset or Twilight, or any of the rest of the girls any more upset than they already are, and I know you don’t want to, either!” Dash grimaced, and Flash knew he was getting somewhere. “So, if we’re gonna make it out of this situation alive, then I’m gonna need you to do exactly as I say! You got it?!” The girl hesitated for a bit, and for a split second, Flash’s heart sunk into his stomach. Luckily, it was only for a second as Rainbow finally relented, looking him in the eyes for the first time since they had left. And that was all he needed. “We need to get out of the wind!” Flash glanced around the general area, but with all the snow, he couldn’t really see much. “I’ll scout ahead for a cave; you go find some kindling for a fire, but don’t stray too far, or we won’t be able to find each other!” “Right! One question though!” “What?” “… what’s kindling?” … … … Yep, they were definitely gonna die. “Just… pick some dry leaves and sticks from the snow! Don’t get any wet ones; the fire won’t start from wet kindling!” “But I don’t have any gloves on! And I lost feeling in my hands hours ago!” … right. Of course he couldn’t let her fiddle around and pick random sticks that she thought were dry enough. She’d probably lose a finger or two from frostbite, and he didn’t want to explain that to the authorities…or worse yet, her parents. Okay, so she needed something to cover her hands with. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything that could protect them, which meant that they needed something that could both keep them warm and could carry a fair bit of weight, seeing as how Dash’s digits weren’t exactly functioning at their highest capacity. Normally, he’d just pull his jacket to hide them and use it that way, but the sleeves definitely weren’t long enough… to… … Darn his gentlemanly nature. “Here, take my jacket.” Flash as he began pulling it off before she could argue. And argue she did. “What’re you—” “It’s too long for you, so you can use the sleeves to wipe off some of the snow.” He interrupted. “Also, try to keep them from getting snowed on; no reason to go through the effort for them to get wet all over again.” “But—” “No buts, Dashie. I don’t want to stay out here any longer than you do, but we need to find a place to lay low and thaw out until the storm passes over.” He held out his prize, shaking under the frigid winds. “So please, just take it.” The tomboy looked at the jacket longingly, and her brain went into overdrive as wondered if this was a good idea or not. Sure, she desperately wanted to wrap the thing around herself, if only for just a bit of heat… but wouldn’t he be cold, too? Why would he be doing all this for her? What was the point of giving her his only protection from the snow if he froze to death? Plus, it would be, like, totally uncool if she took it from him. She had an image to uphold, here! There was absolutely no way she would ever take a handout from some random, no good, incredibly handsome looking… very muscular… uhh… “Dash, my arms are going numb.” Alright, that settled it; she was taking the jacket. Rainbow practically snatched it from his outstretched hand as she wrapped the article of clothing around herself tightly. It may have been soaked with meltwater and thin as a sheet, but to her, it felt like heaven. It even had a bit of his scent on it…which she was now very confused as to why she was thinking about his scent at all…or why she liked it. “Uhh, Rainbow? You alright?” “I wasn’t thinking about how you smell!” She blurted out suddenly. … “Umm… okay then?” Man, they really needed to get in soon. Dash was going loopy, and her face was getting redder by the second. Hopefully she hadn’t caught a cold out here. And so, they were off; completely abandoning the direction they had been on to find some shelter from the snowstorm. Flash didn’t care if it was an abandoned cabin or a fallen log; anything to keep Dash and him safe would be fine enough for him. Along the way, Flash would periodically stop by random lumps of snow, whether they be near trees or because they were too oddly shaped to be natural from the terrain, and instruct Rainbow to wipe away the snow to check for anything dry. Not all of them were winners; one time Dash even dropped a pile onto a particularly perfect bunch of sticks, but soon they had grabbed enough for them to completely focus ahead for a place to stay. The storm wasn’t deciding to let up, either, blowing more and more frosty fluff onto the already thoroughly powdered ground, bringing it up to his knees, and he hoped that Dashie was doing alright behind him. He would’ve offered to carry some of the weight, but carrying that coupled with his crutches and the icy winds battering his now exposed arms would’ve meant losing more than gaining. He sighed. He just hoped they got somewhere safe before they became part of the snow itself. And luckily, they didn’t have to wait long, as after a bit of trekking, Flash could make out a cliff face. And even better, not too far away, their salvation sat, looking as unassuming and unimpressive as could be: A cave. “There!” He shouted, pointing a finger over towards the entrance. He got a response, but couldn’t make it out; he could barely hear his own voice over this wind. The pair of teens trudged through the increasingly deep snow and harsh winds, but soon enough, they broke through, both nearly collapsing onto each other. They breathed heavily, white clouds billowing through their mouths as they assessed their surroundings. It was your typical cave affair: long, dark insides, dank looking rocks, and that good old fashioned cave smell of uncirculated air. All in all, it was pretty standard, aside from the icicles hanging down from the ceiling, but that wasn’t that unusual. Flash just hoped that there wasn’t a bear in here. He knew Dash was strong, but he’d rather have Fluttershy handle that situation, either by talking it down… or wrestling it. He knew she could do it. He had seen it happen. It was so… mesmerizing… … Weirdest. Talent show. Ever. But forget that now. They may have found shelter, but without any form of heat, they’d be gone by tomorrow. “Put the kindling over… here.” Flash instructed, walking over to a spot on the floor. He could feel the current of the cavern blowing out away from them. No use in starting a fire if they were gonna choke on the smoke. Dash dropped the pile, the leaves making a satisfying crunch as it hit the ground. That was good; that meant that there were at least a few dry leaves still inside. Flash inspected the clump carefully, checking the sticks in particular. He didn’t have a fire starter on him, so he had to go back to basics for this one. He found a pretty thin but sturdy looking one soon enough, and tried to pick it up… only to remember that he couldn’t feel his fingers… or his hand… or both of his arms… See, this is where being nice gets you. Unarmed. Luckily, he wasn’t the only one around here with hands. “Dash.” The rockstar boy called, beckoning the tomboy over. She quietly obliged, kneeling next to him.  He gestured to their ‘fireplace’. “I need you to rub that stick against the leaves.” He touched the stick with his numbed finger. “Put it between your hands like you’re spinning it around. Give it some pressure, but not too much. Keep going until you see some smoke, and I’ll try to stoke the flame. Got it?” The girl nodded silently. “Good. And also…” He reached over and pulled the sleeves of his jacket up her arms. “Don’t catch my jacket on fire; it was custom made, and I don’t want to pay for a replacement.” Dash gave him a glare, but said nothing. She did what she was told, twisting the wood in between her palms like she had seen in her Daring Do movies. Rainbow never thought she’d ever be in one of those situations, but here she was! And she even had the one-off assistant/friend/romantic partner, too! She was checking off all the tropes today! “Don’t go too fast! Ya don’t wanna fling it all over the cave!” “I’m just doing what you said!” She growled. “Why couldn’t you have done this, anyway, Mister I-Know-How-To-Start-A-Fire? Got cold feet?” “No. Cold hands, actually. Cause I gave you my jacket, remember? In the blizzard outside?” Flash was getting pretty annoyed at her cold attitude. Dash opened her mouth to retort… but couldn’t. As much as she hated to admit it, stupid rich kid had given up heat just to keep her from freezing more than she already was. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, not wanting to stay silent, but unable to properly fight back. Stupid Flash with his stupid words and his stupid good looks… Why’d she have to get stuck with someone who didn’t even care for her tricks? Why couldn’t she have been here with AJ, or Pinkie, or even Rarity? At least they know something awesome when they see it. But not Flash. Oh no, not him. He just thought it was ‘cool’ that she had literally broken a branch as thick as her arm in front of him. That’s toootally just ‘cool’! “Uhh, Dash?” I mean, there are a lot of things that are cool about her: her hair, Tank, her calf high sneakers that she wore a few years ago. But that? That was totally incredible! And yet, all he could say was that it was ‘cool’. That was like saying a Daring Do beating up a whole squad of ninjas was just ‘fine’. You don’t just say that! “… wait, I thought the kindling was supposed to catch first, not the stick.” And why did she even care so much, anyway? It’s not like he was a part of their friend group. He only came in after they had found out about the Yaztec artifacts and their magic. Heck, not too long ago, he was just known as ‘Sunset’s ex’! He wasn’t anything that special; he was just another boy at school that they had to save from whatever monster reared its ugly head! Why did it matter what some boy thought of her, anyway?! CRACK! FWOOSH! “Ahh!” She dropped the stick, startled by the sudden loud noise and boiling heat as it caught flame in her hand, falling over and lighting the kindling ablaze. “Huh.” Flash remarked. “Never thought wood could turn red like metal… or spark like it, either.” Dash snorted, half trying to not laugh because she was mad at him and the other half failing at him being stupid. And Flash seemed to take it badly. “Oh, I’m sorry, is something funny to you?” He rolled his eyes. “Cause I feel like I’m missing the joke here. You haven’t been talking much, if you haven’t noticed.” Ohh, was he actually standing up for himself? Good. She’d been itching for a fight for a while now. “Oh, you finally noticed, then?” She spat right back. “I thought you only noticed things that were ‘cool’…like the wall over there.” Flash actually growled at that, which scared her a little, but riled her up all the same. She’d fought with AJ plenty of times, sure, but she’d gotten used to it after being around her for so long. But this was something else; something much more exciting. So then why did it hurt so much? “Are you really still mad about earlier?” He asked. “I already apologized for that, didn’t I?” “No, actually.” “Wait, I didn’t?” “Ennnope.” “… Huh.” The boy blinked dumbly. “Well… I’m sorry?” “Yeah, I think we both know that’s not gonna solve this that easily.” Dash deadpanned. “Yeah, I figured as much.” Flash let loose a small grin, a hint of malice and… something else hiding behind it. “I mean, why would you want an apology from someone like me?” Her heart ached at his words, begging her not to say anything rash, but unfortunately, she didn’t listen. “You’re just another ordinary guy I can leave in the dust with my powers. Why should I listen to you?” And so, the battle between the two rockers began. Their foreheads pressed together, eyebrows furrowed in restrained anger, both giving a glare colder than the blizzard outside, noses nearly touching, teeth grit ferociously, Flash’s in a smirk, Dash’s in a grimace, hands clenched tightly, just waiting for the other to throw the first punch, knees bent and feet perched to dodge once it happened. Flash let out a small chortle. “And to think, I was gonna ask you to do it again.” And yet, Dash was completely unprepared for that.  She suddenly fell back, almost like she was shoved, falling onto a knee. “W-what? Really?” “Well, duh! Of course I want to see you do it again!” Flash rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I’ve seen you girls do plenty of amazing things; that battle with Hoity being one of the best, if you ask me. But breaking a tree in half with just one swing of your leg? With or without your superpowers, that’s pretty awesome, Dash.” He chuckled heartily. “Plus, I think we’re gonna need some firewood, and frankly, I don’t wanna go back out there just to find some dried up branches. “He gestured over to his crutches. “We can find some replacement for these after the storm calms down.” The girl sat in shock as he spoke, absolutely mesmerized by his speech. “And I know that I didn’t really tell you how great it was at the time, but it had happened so suddenly that I could react properly, y’know?” He laughed, a sparkling grin whiter than the snow in his hair. “So I’m really sorry if I offended you with what I said. I’m not really sure what I did say that made you so upset, but apparently it made you avoid me all day, whatever it was.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “But I did mean what I said; it was very cool, and it really got me out of a jam, so…” He lowered himself to the ground, extending his hand to her. “Thank you.” … Dash couldn’t believe her ears. Was this really happening? Flash was finally admitting he was wrong this whole time…and was thanking her for what she had done to him! This was everything she had been working for! She should feel proud, with her chest puffed out, a smug look on her face, and a ‘I told you so’ on her lips. And why shouldn’t she feel proud? All she’d done is ignore him and insult him and nearly fight him over a stupid fire. Why shouldn’t she feel like the greatest girl on Earth? “Uhh…Dash? You doin’ alright?” The boy asked worriedly, his hand still extended outward for her to take. The mark from when he had punched Principal Cinch and gotten struck with her magic flickered in the firelight. It only made her feel worse. He was just another ordinary guy that had saved her and her friends’ lives countless times, had jumped on top of her to protect her from a falling castle, had offered her his jacket despite not having much covering to begin with while having a lame leg, and had still somehow thought he wasn’t good enough without any powers. Why should he listen to her? “Y-yeah, I’m f-fine…” Dash finally managed to stumble out, her voice shaking, and it wasn’t from the cold. She pushed herself off the ground, ignoring his outstretched hand completely. She didn’t deserve it, anyway. Flash raised an eyebrow over at the girl as she grasped his crutches in between her fingers, noting the pained grunt as she tried bending them, but that didn’t really matter to him at the moment. He sat down on the floor as he watched her do her trick again. Oh, this is gonna be great! Now that he knew it was coming, he’d be able to see how she does it! It was gonna be awesome! She laid down the logs on the floor, lifted up her leg, and brought it down. “Hi-yah.” Crunch. … … … Huh… To be honest, Flash thought it’d be more…interesting than that. And maybe something that looked more comfortable than how she looked now. Everything seemed totally off about it, from her awful posture to the pitifully slow and not very powerful kick. Her cry sounded as enthusiastic as Maud finding a new rock on the street, and the branch didn’t even completely snap like before. A few more times solved that issue quickly, but he could tell that it wasn’t as clean a cut as before, looking less like an axe had chopped through it and more like those spikes at the bottom of a jungle trap, all jagged and not at all even. Regardless, Dash didn’t seem to mind too much as she moved on to the shorter piece and did the same thing. It was honestly really surprising to the young boy. This was Rainbow Dash, right? Toughest girl at Canterlot High, head of every sports team, and the one with an ego so large her head was a planet? She always wanted to try her best no matter what, and didn’t want anyone to see her do poorly at anything. So then why was she acting all…mopey? He looked up into those magenta eyes to see how unfocused they were, glazed over in thought. It was a look he had seen plenty of times in Sunset’s eyes after the Fall Formal, and one that he could recognize from a mile away: a look of pain. Regret. Shame. Gulit. She was feeling guilty about something. But what? “Done.” Flash jumped, a bit startled from her sudden declaration. He glanced over to where she was standing, and sure enough, she had finished. Granted, the pile looked about as even as the first time he shaved, but it would get the job of warming them up soon enough. “Good… good job, then.” He replied simply. Wow, amazing conversation skills there, Flash. You’ll be speaking full sentences soon enough. If Dash had heard him, she didn’t acknowledge it. She just nodded her head with glazed over eyes, trudging over to a far corner of the cave and sat down as far away from him as possible, curling her body into a ball and burying her head in between her legs. She didn’t want him to see her cry.