//------------------------------//
// A Temporary Shelter 
// Story: Warmth in an Arctic Jungle 
// by HonorInDefeat 
//------------------------------//

	Somewhere beyond the mountains, the sun had begun to paint the sky a pale orange as ice crystals created a bright rainbow in the sickly, foggy sky. Soarin and Shining trekked through the icy jungles with a great sense of urgency. Something behind them has creating a loud whooshing noise as it cut through the air, and it was approaching quickly.
“Shining, I don’t think that we’re going to make a decent shelter, we better just find something to duck under for now.”
“Good idea” Shining paused for a second and looked around the canyon “Fuck, I think we’re boxed in.” All at once the sound grew even louder, the machine that was making it sat perched in the air above a nearby hilltop. 
“What the hell is that thing?” 
“Whatever it is, it hasn’t seen us yet” just as Soarin finished, the machine turned to them and charged in their direction.
“Nice one, Run!” The two of them ran through the vines and bushes, hoping to elude their pursuer in the dense fog and vegetation. The Griffon who controlled the flying machine was ordered to stop them. On command, he placed the two within the sight of the machine and peppered the Rainforest with shrapnel.
“Is the thing shooting at us?!”
“Run faster!”
“Hard to run when there’s trees in the way!” 
Just then, Soarin felt a searing pain in left wing. The sound of Hollow bone shattering into pieces isn’t a pleasant one, especially seeing as how it can seem like the loudest sound in the world at the time. The pain didn’t last long; pegasi are naturally swift, a Pegasus on an Adrenaline rush was nearly invisible. Needless to say, no more shots found their mark. Bursting through the foliage, it wasn’t long before they found themselves at a dead end in the bottom of the valley. Shining, no way out over here! Bunch of vines covering the rock though, maybe we can climb out.”
“Hold I’m trying to get out!” said shining as he tried to dislodge himself from a clutch of vines. “Maybe I can just cut the-” As he spoke, the plants became dislodged from the ground. Armor lost his footing and tumbled down the mountain and into the vines. For a split second, he felt the scratches of plant hold him, and in the next second, cool mud, and the next: A sharp pain to the head. “Armor!” Soarin shouted, following his path between the narrow rocks. Meanwhile overhead, the strange machine’s blade sliced through the air, it seemed to defy gravity, but it could not defy a mountain; the pilot’s prey was accepted as lost. He did not worry, hopefully things would work out for him.
Shining Armor was home again. In a hospital bed, holding an apple, looking out the window over the fields outside Canterlot. Somewhere down there, his sister was having an adventure, his friends were fighting in wars and governing nations. All but Soarin. He knew Soarin was somewhere nearby, waiting to be found. He walked through hallways made of cobalt and gold, ignoring the hushed voices of those around him. As he traveled through the strange building, he called out for his friend. He knew he was here, he just needed to find him. Soarin wasn’t hiding, just hidden. He soon wandered back into his quarters, studying the apple he was holding when he woke up, He knew he must be dreaming. Dream apples were rare to him, so he took a bite, not expecting what he tasted.
“Bluh...apple...eh” Armor mumbled to himself. He felt something strange in his mouth and wondered if he somehow ate in his sleep. Four seconds later, Armor was spitting out mouthfuls of mud. With his mouth and head clear, Armor begun to wonder where he was. He clearly wasn’t in the Jungle anymore, but he didn’t know anything else.The first thing he noticed was the strange light dancing in the sky, the second thing he noticed was that someone had make a terrible mistake. They had put stone where the sky was meant to be, lastly he noticed the smell. Not an unpleasant one, but a strange one. Like freshly fallen rain. “Cave” he thought to himself. He set off to find Soarin, sure that he was in there with him. The caverns were larger than he anticipated, but he followed the path that seemed most familiar to him. He had clearly been moved from near the entrance of the cave, as drag marks could be seen along certain paths. “Soarin?” he whispered, not knowing if he and Soarin were the only ones there. He called out for his friend until he found the entrance of the cave.