Cold Days with Stars & Diamonds

by SteelyThePally

Aftermath

Later on that day...

Me and Twilight were finishing our... whatever descent that was. I've lost count. She really loved snowboarding. Really. And it was my fault. No, Andy's fault. He was the one who came up with this idea. But I can't whine. It's getting really funny. We've befriended the lift maintenance dude, found Lilly idly riding down the beginner's course after completing a full mountain descent, and some other things. Such as a crash-landing Andy, who went up the whole mountain again.

I make a shy turn to get nearer to Twilight, who wasn't even turning.

"You're pretty good at this, Twi. I must admit. You learnt to ride faster than me." I look at her behind my goggles, her cheeks flowering a vivid blush.

"T-thanks, John. But I think that you are way better than me." She replied, leaning her body back to not fall flat on her face.

"Oh, well, thanks. I used to compete on championships, you know. I ended up winning some half-pipes and races." I slowed down a little, noticing the growing figure of Rarity on the distance.

"That's why you are better. But, if you were so good, why aren't you looking for... championships to compete on? You could try them." She asked, making a turn to keep up with my speed.

" I've competed on them, like I said. Well, I can tell you about an accident that kept me from competing for some time. It's a long story..."

---

2012, Peak of Alyeska Resort's mountain, eastern face.

Eight snowboarders stood at the peak of a mountain, a news helicopter hovering right next to it, containing both the narrator and cameraman to record the dangerous race. The weather was freezing, snowflakes falling from the sky violently. The helicopter's propellers sent snow away, barely bothering the riders who were waiting for the countdown. A small crowd of people stood nearby, raising flags with the names of the competitors. The athletes now held themselves to the gates, anxiously waiting for the race start countdown, moving their bodies back and forth to practice their launch into the descent.

"Ladies and Gentleman! Welcome to Alaska's Alpine Snowboard competition! This is the first Alpine Snowboarding race held in Alaskan territory. Now, let's meet the riders!" The small crowd cherished as the narrator ended his enthusiastic speech.

"Firstly, we have a young champion: Mackenzie 'Mac' Fraser! While he's most know for the incredible tricks that he pulled, as he got older, Mackenzie focused more in dangerous rides..."

As the presentation of Mac went on, a 19 year-old John stood nervously at his spot in the gates, cold sweat coming down his covered face, taking long breaths due to the mountain's height. He flexed his arms while moving his head right to left, his bones and muscles ready for the race. Suddenly, a soft poke on his shoulder brought him back to the real world.

"Your breathing is off. Are you nervous?" Lilly. The girl beamed a warm smile at him, enough to snap John out of his anxiety and angst.

"My breathing is off because of this altitude. We're nearly hitting the clouds, Lils!" He replied, breathing heavily to keep himself from blacking out.

"I know, I know. It's our first non-training alpine ride after all. I have to admit that I'm nervous, too. Also, don't you think that their insistence of putting a camera on our helmets might be awkward?" She asked, scratching her red nose slightly.

"No. It's on the TV. Let's just hope that our conversation isn't being recorded right now." She giggled weakly at John's statement, her body shaking from the strong wind that passed by them. "Look, they're talking about Andy."

"A raising snowboarding star. Champion of many regional and national championships. The first of the youngest trio here. Andrew MacArthur!" Andrew raised his arms, the crowd shouting as loud as when Mac was presented. John's heart beat faster and faster as the narrator began his speech about Lilly.

"Lilly Campbell. The second from the trio, relies more in speed than in tricks. Her determination has lead her to many medals and trophies! She is known for the bullet speeds that she can achieve during vertical drops, overtaking any opponent on the way!" Lilly raised both arms and waved at the crowd, primarily at her family.

"And now, the last but not least, John Sullivan! This young rider completes the trio. He has won many medals in both racing and trick competitions! John is also known as 'The Masked Snowboarder' because of the bandana and goggles that cover his face. Now, let's get started with the race!"

---

"You three were famous?" Twilight asked, moving herself next to me.

"I wouldn't say famous. Just...known among the snowboarding community. While Andy's fame went on after the accident, me and Lilly took some time to return. Well, she returned way earlier than me. Today was my first ride after my hiatus. Lemme go on with the story..."

---

John's muscles tensed once again as the narrator explained the race's rules and course. He took a long breath, and the narrator started the countdown:

"Three!" The riders held firmly the handrails, sticking their torsos back, ready to launch themselves at any second.

"Two!" The snowboarders remained still, their eyes focused on the drop.

"One!" John flexed his body even more.

"GO!!" The shout made the eight riders to let go of the handrails, their bodies slowly falling as the strength used to head-start faded away, their boards hitting the fresh snow that covered the mountain's surface. All of them made turns to keep from going too fast, avoiding the gaps that could tackle down an unfortunate rider with ease.

Coming upon a hidden rock, John's board lost contact with the ground, having few seconds of air before his knees barely sustained the landing. However, the jump got him in third place, Mackenzie and Andy being the only leads on the run. crouching to obtain speed and catch up with the leaders.

Much to the competitors despair, the rider who occupied the eighth place shouted from behind, obviously panicking due to his loss of balance:

"AVALANCHE!!!" Within seconds, the rider stumbled upon another one, their bodies rolling down together while the other racers looked back to see a giant cloud of snow coming down, nearing the group as every second passed.

"GO FASTER!!! GO FASTER!!!" Mackenzie shouted to John and the riders, who were losing their stance as the avalanche consumed the bodies of the fallen snowboarders.

John's vision became clearer as he quickly swept the ice and snow that formed in his goggles. He spotted three riders, one of them being Mac, going straight down, trying to speed up to not get caught by the avalanche. His heart was flooded with the fear of being buried by tons of snow. With a million thoughts running through his mind, John diverted his route to the nearby woods, his body dangerously leaning back and forth as he tried to brake from his increasingly speed.

Arriving at the tree-filled section, John found himself in a maze of trees and fallen logs, barely being able to dodge them. He hopped, grinding on a tree's branch, getting a clearer vision of his path before descending to the trees, dodging them with difficulty. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared, as sturdy as John, and ended up tripping over a hidden tree, prematurely ending his/her ride with a horrible fall.

"Lilly!!" John shouted, worried, speeding up to the girl's crash site. Her body remained immobile, blending slightly with the snow that fell from the skies.

Not paying attention to the route, John's left arm hit a rock with strength, breaking the bone, a visceral *crack!* echoing in the distance, being only muffled by the avalanche's terrifying sound coming from the distance. John shouted while holding his broken limb with his right arm, his balance being reduced critically. Tripping over the same log that Lilly stumbled upon, the young rider struggled to maintain his balance. Much to his angst, his board hit Lilly's head precisely, launching him at the air. Barely comprehending what was happening because of his arm's growing pain, John fell flat on his chest, his nose and rib aching tremendously, adding to his numb arm.. He tried to climb with his right arm, gripping tightly on a branch. The sounds of the avalanche came closer and closer, and then, a large object fell on him, knocking the rider unconscious, his body being carried away by the feared strength of the snow-wave.

---

We were now nearing Rarity, her head raising at the sound of our boards cutting through the snow. While we tried to diminish our speed, Twilight's expression got very gloomy.

"What did knock you out? Who rescued you two?" Twilight asked, sounding so worried that any over-hearer could think that I just got out of an avalanche.

"Well, ironically, what knocked me out was Lilly's body. They discovered that using the record on my helm-cam. I guess it was an eye for an eye, since I ended up giving her a scar over her right eye with my board. We both escaped it, the ski patrol finding us laying near the mountain's base. And then, we received the results: Andy broke two ribs after making a 10 feet high jump, and two riders got buried alive. After that, I stayed away from my snowboard for two years." I stopped near Rarity, trying my best to not spill snow on her, and not have a purple-haired skier on my throat again.

I took my feet off from the pads, and immediately grabbed the board, taking a seat near Rarity, whose arms were folded.

"Sup', Rarity? Anything new?"

"No, John. I think that I took a quick nap while you two were riding for the tenth time this day." She sounded incredibly sleepy, scratching her eyes to stay awake.

"Well, you said that you were too tired after we had lunch, and spent some hours down here. I think I'll take some minutes to relax..." I yawned, flexing my tired legs. Twilight, however, simply removed her board from her feet, and took a seat next to us, not showing a hint of tiredness.

I leaned back, taking a long breath to rest after countless non-stop descents. At the beginner's course. The most boring course after you learn how to ride on the advanced and even on natural slopes. But I think that riding with Twilight sort of lightened things up.

Taking some snow out of my board's nose, my eyes wandered to the resort's 'recreation' area, where people go to make snowmen, sit idly at the soft snow or to have snowball fights. This give me a brilliant idea.

"Hey, are you girls hungry or something?" They nodded negatively, my plan slowly working. "Want to go there to... rest?"

"Why not?" Rarity replied, taking both her skis and poles. Twilight and I picked our boards, and we headed to the fun zone.

Arriving there, I sighed in relief realizing that no kids were having WW3 with snowballs. I walk with both girls way more confident, knowing that I couldn't get hit by a snowball traveling at 200 mph. We leave our gear at the nearest bench, and I clap my hands together, trying to catch the girl's attention.

"Okay. Who's up for a snowball fight?"

"Me!!!" Twilight enthusiastically replied, clapping her hands together in her trademark way, both eyes closed.

"And you Rarity? Won't you join us?" I asked her, who was idly sitting on a bench. Man, she likes these benches...

"Thank you, darling. But I won't participate in game that could easily destroy my beautiful hair!" She run a hand through the streaks of hair that escaped from her hat, closing her eyes in disapproval. Knowing that it would be useless to convince her, I simply begin to gather some snow to build a small barrier. "Hey Twilight. Build yourself a barrier, too."

With this, she gathered some snow, copying my movements, making a inch high barrier. I myself keep from laughing, and continue raising my wall of snow. Suddenly, I realize that my fingers are freezing, even using gloves. Winter's pretty rough this year... Well, at least the snowfall was pretty regular.

Adding some snow there and removing some from over there, I look at my not-so perfect barrier, thinking that it would be perfect to protect me from incoming balls. I would call it a fort, but it's too... deformed to receive such title. I look back at a group of kids, who constructed something like a real fort. I envy their constructive ability. Really.

"Okay, Twilight. I see that you raised a wall, too. Now, make some snowballs to fight with me." I lower myself to form some balls with the available snow, making a small pile of ammo. We're getting ready...

"Ready?" I ask, a snowball ready to hit someone's face.

"You bet!" Twilight stood up, throwing a well-aimed ball to my face. I counter-attack, throwing two at the same time, hitting her on the head and chest. I sweep some snow from face, getting down to grab another ball and throw at her, missing idiotically.

I take some cover to protect myself from Twilight's new barrage, my barrier effectively deflecting her shots. I stand up, my shots hitting her on the stomach, only to be greeted by another barrage, covering my whole body in snow. Taking some time to reload my armory, I see that Twilight's firepower was larger than mine, her attacks continuing viciously, bits of snow falling from the snowballs covering my hood in white. With my storage fully reloaded, I stand up, throwing snowball after snowball, creating some kind of suppressive fire on her. As each ball from my furious counter-attack hit her body, she slowly retreated back. I saved the last ball for a headshot, winning the battle against my opponent.

"I surrender! I surrender!" Two arms raise from her walls, her hands make somewhat of peace gestures. I let out a chuckle at her innocent act, making my way to her territory. Rarity remained still, like if she was a mother taking care of two little demons.

Behind her barrier, Twilight laid breathlessly, whipping some snow off her face and chest. I lent her a hand, easily bringing her up. Jesus, she's light. After getting up, she removed the excess of snow on her coat, a big smile being beamed at me. That warm feeling at my heart invades my chest again, a killing wish of hugging her tightly boiling inside me. I control myself, and give her a simple yet friendly hug.

"Again?" I ask, raising a eyebrow;

"Of course. But I'll obviously need to create more balls. Let's reload." She lowered herself to make more bullets, and I swiftly returned to my HQ, doing the same. While making some balls, I noticed the pompous figure of Rarity sitting on the bench, looking like she haven't moved a finger. A mischievous smile pops on my face as an idea invades my mind.

"Hey, Rarity!" When she turned her head to look at me, a ball scored a direct hit on her face, leaving snow hanging on her hair. She let out a loud yelp the moment the ball exploded on her face. Problem it is, that she instantly got angry.

"You insolent ruffian! You dare to attack a defenseless lady?"

"C'mon, let's have a battle!" I grabbed another snowball, hitting her on the face again. Well, I have to admit that I shouldn't have done this.

"IT...IS...ON!!" Holy shit. God protect my sorry ass. The look on her eyes is of complete hatred. She shoved Twilight aside, letting her friend fall on the snow. Suddenly, nearly every ball that Twilight made floated around her. Sweet Jesus Christ...

The legion of fatal snowballs was launched against my defenseless body. Her shots were practically hitting everywhere on my body. I'm barely able to dodge her attacks, throwing some balls at my opponent, not even halting her vicious barrage. Arms, legs, stomach, face and even...

"Owww..." I fall to the ground, defeated. My weak spot was critically damaged by a precise and heavy shot. My second Achilles ankle hurts horribly, leading me to curl even more on the soft snow. What the hell did she throw here? A rock? Ah, it hurts...why does it hurt so much? Breath in and out, in and out...

Finally, her relentless assault on my poor figure stops at my groan of pain. My world swirls and twirls, the snowflakes doing back-flips and front-flips as I try to fix my vision. I spot a blurred figure looking worriedly at me. Wait, there's two of them?

"Oh, darling. Did I hurt you?" Bipolarity for the win. I give her a thumbs up, trying to divert any attention from me. Slowly standing up, I try everything to mask away the sharp pain coming from my lower belly.

"N-no, I-I'm fine..." I groan again, the pain slightly going away. I'm able to stand up properly now. "You just scored a critical hit. G-good attack, by the way."

"That's why you never should challenge a lady to a snowball duel." She proudly said, horribly masking her boast attempt.

"Yeah... I got it..."

That's why you shouldn't challenge a girl who was telekinetic powers to a snowball fight. If you do so, use protection.

"What about doing a three-way battle?" Rarity wanting to fight two people. I think that I somehow turned her sporty side on.

"What about doing a four-way battle?" A voice calls from behind, nearly ghostly.

We all turn to the voice, who turned out to be Andy, perfectly stopping his board near ours, joining us in our snowball battle. Perfect, just... perfect.

---

Andrew's Cabin, 02:10 AM.

Great idea, John. trying to sleep with the great person that Andy is during slumber. Probably a kung-fu fighter or something. He hit me on the lap and... yeah, I think that being kicked on the weak spot is way more painful than simply taking a snowball. But I have my doubts that Rarity's snowball was REALLY a snowball...

Dodge. Phew. He nearly scored a second kick on my legs again. I think I'll consider sleeping on the couch once more.

I don't know how the hell I managed to stay awake this late. It's already two in the morning. And no hint of sleep. I'll close my eyes and clear my mind of thoughts, then...

As soon as I begin to lose my conscience on the black void that slumber is, a finger is softly pressed against my shoulder.

"John, are you still awake?" Rarity. Is she having insomnia too?

"Rarity? What are you doing awake? It's already two in the morning!" I whisper back, trying not to wake Andy and receive a flying kick.

"I can't sleep." Perfect. What's the best way of curing insomnia? Ah, milk.

"Let me get up. I'll take a look at the kitchen to see if there's anything that can make us both sleep..." I groggily stand up, taking care to not step on those bitchy spots on the ground that may can reveal your position to your neighbor. "Hey, put your hand on my shoulder."

"Why?" She asked. Well, she has got a point. The only ones who do this are blind people. But I won't risk turning the lights on.

"I won't turn the lights on. Let's save Andy and Twi some rest."

Reluctantly laying her hand on me, I slowly guided myself and Rarity through the dark cabin, the moonlight weakly penetrating the windows, silence reigning if not by the heater. If my memory doesn't fail me, here's the... kitchen. Okay now. I close the door, my hand searching for the light switch.

It's...here. Well, enough with a blind experience. I rub my eyes to get used to the light, noticing the fridge not far from me. I open it, my mouth hanging open at the great quantity of beverage. The kitchen feels as cold as the outside, but nothing that I couldn't handle. But Rarity herself was shivering in cold.

Opening the fridge's door, I grab a milk bottle, leaving it over the minuscule table. I couldn't help myself but to steal a glance from Rarity. Strange...she looks very sad. I think that asking might help her.

"Hey, Rarity. You look troubled. What's the problem?" She takes a few steps to get near me. The atmosphere between us feel gloomy.

"John, you have been a wonderful po--person to me and Twilight. You are sweet, kind, generous, caring. But..." My heart aches a little at the sight of tears rolling down her porcelain face. "...I-I miss my family. My friends... my house..."

Shit. She's homesick. How can I get out of this? Should I tell her about my conversation with that Celestia horse? No. It would probably break her heart... Being stuck in an alien world, not being able to see her friends and family... and worst of all, not being able to be who she is. I'm slowly understanding her sorrow...

"I...I..." My mouth hangs open as she hugs me, her warm tears staining my pajamas. My heart sinks at this. I wrap my arms around her weak body. It's new for me, to see her like this. She always has that firm posture, exhaling beauty and formality. Now, she's vulnerable. Weak, broken.

She responds to my gesture by hugging me tightly, her sobs getting louder and louder. I run my hand through her beautiful purple hair, eventually whipping some tears from her face. I caress her soft cheeks, trying my best to not blush madly.

"Shhhhhh. Don't worry, Rarity. I'm here..." My voice fades as she rubs her head against my chest, a wave of heat shooting through my heart. Again, that warm and relaxing sensation numbs my senses.

We stand still for minutes that pass like hours, sharing our body's heat with each other. Is this getting a little roma... no, no. I'm just helping her to pull through a problem. I stared at the window, seeing that an Aurora Burealis was dancing on the moonlit night sky. While glancing at the show of green, blue, purple and yellow, my thoughts wandered: 'And what about me? Am I happy?'

My heart skips a beat as I watch a movie of my life. Ranging from the now distant memories of my childhood, my parent's deaths, the high school days, my now forgotten crush on Lilly, grandpa's funeral, Spidey, the snowboard championship, the accident, my first day in my new home, and finally, the day that Rarity and Twilight knocked on my door. Am I really getting away from my depression? Or am I just running away from it?

"Are you feeling better now?" I asked her, loosening my grip.

"Y-yes. I think that it's better for us to go to bed now." She replied, taking a long breath to regain her posture again.

We both walked slowly to the door, not muttering a word. I now realized that, even when we argue about petty things, Rarity and Twilight trust on me as friends. As true friends.

Before I could turn off the lights and return to bed, Rarity pokes me on the back. I groggily turn my body, Rarity smiling at me.

"Yeah? Is somethi..." My voice fades away. She leaned towards me, giving my heated cheeks a quick kiss. My eyes still try to register what she did, my cheeks getting even hotter as she gave me quite the seducing look.

"That's my 'thank you'. You're a great person, John." I numbly turned off the lights, not being able to remove my stare from her.

Wait, why is my heart beating so passionately?

Author's Note:

Hey. New chapter. Imma hug anyone who found the SSX reference.

Leave a comment, and point out any errors.

SteelxPaladin