Winter's Blanket

by TheLonewolves215

The Eye of the Storm.

"So..." Rainbow Dash said, turning to Mar as he worked the bandages around her back and wings.

"So." He repeated, checking the tightness so that it was just right.

It had been a few minutes after the loud winds of the snow storm began to reach them from outside, and already it was beginning to unnerve them.

For Mar, his mind was merely darting between making sure that Rainbow Dash was alright, and getting that window blocked up. For the second time today, he had walked over to the kitchen, grabbed another cloth and wet it with a water bottle.

"Why did you do that?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the now empty bottle.

"It's the only water that I have right now." He said simply.

This caused Dash to frown.

"Doesn't your sink still work?"

He shook his head.

"It's frozen solid."

That did not sit right with her.

Equestrian pipes where laid with spells to prevent that sort of thing. How can his pipes freeze solid when they had that going on?

It didn't add up.

Having washed out the blood in her coat, Mar stood up and gathered the things that he had used to get the job done and headed back to the kitchen.

"Hey, Mar?"

"Yeah?"

"When was this house built, again?"

He frowned at that.

"You know, don't you? You were there. It was about a month ago."

Well, that settled that question then.

Pipework was insured to last for more than twelve years. Longer still when you had a unicorn coming to re-due the spell lacing in the job.

It was a good thing that she had helped her mother with that. It let her see the lining in the situation right now.

Either the spell was done so poorly that it broke just after a measly month, or it hadn't been done at all.

Making a mental note to ask Twilight to come and check that out, she shifted off of the couch and made to stand up.

"I wouldn't do that if I where you." Mar warned from the kitchen, washing his hands with some more water. This time, however, it was from a jug.

She didn't listen. Standing up proper now, she ambled on into the kitchen and frowned up at the tall human.

"You do know that your pipes shouldn't be frozen, right?"

"Uh, duh?" He shrugged, shaking his head.

"You only got the weather to blame there."

She stared at the human, perplexed.

Didn't he understand?

Shaking her own head at his stupidity, she went to the fridge.

"I'm going to go fix that window now." Mar said after a second of watching the sink drain the dirty water out.

"You do that." She said, looking over the food that he had.

She was not impressed in the least.

"What the hay?" She muttered, looking over the contents as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

There was barely anything in it. Just a couple of apples, a few more water bottles and a cake, which she was pretty sure happened to be the same cake that Pinkie had given him for his 'Welcome to the planet' party. Sure that the cake was too old for his own good, she grabbed it and tossed it in the trash nearby.

"What in the world's wrong with this guy?" She asked.

She could remember when the human arrived in Ponyville just short of a month ago. It wasn't really much, and it made her remember the time span that the house had to be built in. During that time, he had hit a rough patch.

With little to no money, besides the scant amount of bits that Twilight could hoof him, he had nowhere to go and no food or water to even drink. Considering he couldn't even get a job, she shook her head and snorted.

These apples where bad too!

This was all stuff that he got a month ago!

Disgusted, she tossed those as well.

That just left the water, and that wasn't much at all to begin with.

How wasn't Mar completely starving?

She turned as Mar came into the room, looking to and from for something and pointed at him.

"Hey, what is up with your fridge?"

"Hmm?" He asked, lifting the first aid kit and then dropping it back down again.

"It's empty."

"No, it's not. There's apples and cake."

What?

Has he been eating that?

She shuddered.

"I tossed those."

His head shot up from under the table.

"You what?" He asked, surprised.

"I threw them out, Mar. They weren't any good."

"O-Oh." He said, fiddling with his hands some.

"Again, what's up with that?" She asked, pointing at the fridge that may as just have been empty.

"Well, I told you, didn't I? I hit a rough sort of patch. No biggy." He shrugged, turning away from her.

"A rough patch? Mar, you don't have any food!" She reared up and landed on the table.

"I got it under control, alright?" He said back, still searching for something.

She growled under her breath.

"Have you seen my hammer?" He asked.

"What hammer?"

"The one that I brought upstairs. It's not there anymore." He opened a bunch of cabinets.

Noticing that those too where empty, she shook her head.

"No. I haven't seen your hammer."

Throwing his hands into the air, he closed the cabinets and went back to the living room.

She followed him.

"Mar. Can we talk about this?"

"Sure. I'd love to know where that hammer went." He said back, looking all around the couch, and even going to his hands and knees to look under it.

"No. I mean the fact that you have no food." She frowned, looking over the water bottle stash that he had in here. It too, wasn't impressive.

"I told you I have that under contr--"

She bumped him in the head with a hoof, making him shout in surprise.

"Hey?! What was that for?"

"You don't have this under control, Mar!" She sat down on her haunches, wincing at the dull throb of her back on the way down.

"You hardly have any food, and right now I'm thinking that the work crew that built your house has missed some things."

He rubbed the back of his head and growled under his breath.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Rainbow. You don't know what your talking about. Just leave it alone." He stood back up.

"Then tell me." She demanded, following him to the staircase now.

"You don't need to hear me say it." He said, looking underneath the stairs.

Her eyes widened at this too.

"Oh come on!" She said, pointing at the stairs.

"What?" He gasped, turning to her.

The staircase wasn't even being held up right! It was a wonder he even got up to the room to help her in the first place, and this is what they suspected would help him? Glaring at the staircase, she looked at Mar and arched a brow.

"Seriously? You don't see this?" She asked, pressing a hoof onto the first step, which groaned under her weight. She wasn't even pressing down that hard.

His patience seemed to wane from there.

"Leave it alone, Dash." He warned, returning to looking under the stairs.

With a burning fire in her eyes, Rainbow Dash got up and tackled him into the staircase, causing the first few panels of wood to snap under their combined weight.

When they landed in the space between the ineffectual panels and the side wall, she glared down at him.

"This isn't how anypony is supposed to live, Mar." She barked at him.

"Well, you aren't all that good either. Are you, Rainbow Dash?!" He yelled back at her, pulling his arms up to make sure they where not hurt by the broken wood.

"Excuse me?!" She asked, offended.

"This morning you where nearly spitting venom about the weather team! What, are they not as good as high flying, super speedster, Rainbow Dash?" He asked, pushing himself up and rocking the frame of the wall as he sent her out of the hole first.

"It's not like that! We're talking about you here, Mar!"

"Then why should I tell you anything if your not willing to talk?" He asked, still at a shout.

"Why should I, if you won't?" She tossed right back.

At any other time, he would have said that she had had a point. Right now, however, pride seemed to get the better of both of them.

With a garbled snarl at the pain in his back, he pointed at the door nearby.

"There are a couple coats from Rarity in there. Take one and get out of here if you don't like my house."

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she bit back with an angry,

"Fine!"

She turned to the door, ripped it open with her hooves and took one of the thicker winter coats before throwing it on and heading for the door.

Mar reached back to his back, where a harsh pain laid, and brought out a hammer.

It must have fell down here when he opened the third floor's door...

He glared at the tool, and sighed.

"Figures..."
~~~
Outside, in the darkness of the murky clouds, combined with the darkness of the night, a light snow fall breezed past a mad pegasus.

Rainbow Dash trudged through the snow, shouting at herself more than anything.

She was mad, yes, but half of what she was shouting did not seem to make sense.

"That stubborn, Hay-headed, stupid... gah!" She kicked at the pile of snow underneath her, shaking off the bite of pain from her back.

What was Mar's problem, anyway? She was just trying to help!

Looking up at the sky with energy half spent from her march, and half gone from her tantrum, she sighed sadly and kicked at the snow once more.

She was only trying to help...

With no food, job, or even a house that was up to code, he'd only get in even more trouble that it was worth! The house could be condemned in that state, and he doesn't even care.

Talk about a shoddy job, considering it was built a month ago.

It should be brand new...

She had a bone to pick with many ponies about that, the Princess included.

The question, however, was why Mar refused to see all of this.

Doesn't he know what state the house is in?

Does he really do care, or not?

Is he... afraid of something?

She snorted.

There where too many question to be had right now.

She needed to focus on her own needs at the moment anyway.

According to the pattern of the clouds in the sky, it was only a matter of time before the storm kicked up again. She felt bad for leaving the door to his house wide open, but she had no time to go back.

She didn't think that Mar would let her back in, anyway.

As he had suggested, though, she needed to find a place to stay.

She knew that her house, although as awesome as it was, was defiantly in no shape to stay in. If it was still together, that is. She'd have to find a friend's house to stay at. But who?

As she could recall, Mar's house was right in the middle of the Business District, near Sugarcube Corner and the park. She didn't want to intrude on the Cakes, even when it was a bad time like this, and swallowed down enough pride to agree with herself.

Rarity's it was.

It wasn't like she could make it to any other ponies' house.

Twilight's was to far, and she'd get caught in another violent wind if she tried to get to Vinyl's. Sweet Apple Acres was a definite no go, and so was Fluttershy's, as it was just to far to get to in time, even at a gallop.

She wasn't even sure that she could run that fast with these bandages on. The coat was keeping her warm, but restricting her movements some, as understandably it wasn't made for a ponies' frame. It was for a human's...

Shaking Mar out of her thoughts again, she looked around to get a bead on her surroundings and growled at herself.

"Oh no..."

Her little adventure had brought her out to the edge of the park, and while there where many trees, and a lot of snow, there was just no way she'd be able to see where she was going.

Rarity's was near the park, sure, but this snow, coupled with the darkness of both storm and night meant that she couldn't see anything.

She pulled the coat up with her teeth to block out the cold some more and tried to find a landmark.
~~~
With a loud few knocks on the wood, the nails where dug in deep enough that he was sure the wood wouldn't budge from the nasty winds that where breezing past him all throughout the job.

Looking over the piece for any openings, he had time to clear his head and sighed, kicking at the snow that had built up as he had fought with Rainbow Dash.

Why did he do that?

Like the snow at his feet, regret started to pile up on him.

I mean, sure. The storm was finally calming down and everything, but there was no excuse for what he had just done.

Really.

He helps her, calls her a sister, and then has the gull to kick her out of the house just because she was trying to help him?

Was he mental?

He shook his head again and picked up the leftover nails and the hammer.

He'd have to talk to her about that some other time.

Coming back into the kitchen, which now served as a hub for this storm more than any other room today, he tossed the hammer and nails onto the table and turned to go back to the sink and the half-empty jug that he filled before the storm.

But, as fate would have it, he jumped instead.

This was due in part to the table legs near the fridge snapping in two. The entire thing sagged, sending the nails and the hammer to the floor.

He glanced at the now broken table and groaned, pinching his nose all the while.

That's what he gets for taking a table that someone else was trying to get rid of.

'Rainbow was right.' He thought, as he went over to pick the hammer and nails up again, this time setting them down on the counter gently.

He couldn't live like this.

Not only did he have no money, or job to bring in any income, but this house and the furniture within it where all hand-me-downs from the trash. Things that ponies where going to toss anyway, and things that he had took because he thought that he could fix them.

Apparently not, as he regarded the table again.

The only thing that was relevantly new in this house was his recliner.

The chair was made for him by a pony at Quills and Sofas. A masterpiece is what he said it was. And worth every bit that the Princess gave to him in order to survive until he got a job.

Yes, he screwed up.

With a rumble in his throat, he went back to the living room and froze.

The door was open!

With a slight jump toward the door, he slammed it shut again.

"Ugh... Rainbow." He growled, and kicked the snow that had piled here as well. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as the pile upstairs, and thus it was easier to clean up.

He pulled a broom over and scooped the snow into a bucket that he usually used for moping. With that done, he sighed and collected the radio from the couch, sat down and fiddled with the knobs again.

"Skrreeee--"

He winced at the stupid noise that all radios seemed to make while being tuned in, and tried to remember where he had it before.

Surely enough, though, he found the station.

"Good evening, ghouls and fillies, and welcome back to the call in the sky, with you host, High Wire, talking to you straight from the Canterlot Towers."

He groaned, remembering why he quite disliked this guy now.

He listened to him prattle about an apparent fund getting put together for a town that was not to far away. Something about parasprites, and blah blah blah, until quite quickly the show went quiet.

Then, High Wire cleared his throat.

"Alright, you cool cats, it would seem that our report has come in from the Royal Weather Patrol directly! Getting all these shows and stations to put out the news so that you all can hear it. It would seem that the storm front has hit Ponyville..."

"No, really?" I deadpanned, looking out the window at all of the frost and snow pelted against it.

"But, it isn't over yet, folks..."

I shot up in the chair.

"What?" I asked.

"It would seem that the storm has an eye. For all you wondering what that means, basically it's the middle of the storm. A sort of calm period is what Ponyville is experiencing right now. It seems safe for the moment, but I assure you that you should take this time to hunker down again after stretching you legs out. Seriously, folks. It is not going to be pretty if you stick your heads on out thinking it's done."

He glanced at the window again, and wished that it wasn't blocking out the view now. He knew that it was dark, and he had just sent Rainbow out in the uncertainty that was this mess. He lifted a hand and bit at a nail, trying to cull his fears.

"Another band of snow is going to hit, and I hope your all ready for it, but in the mean time, let me hit your radios with some music that'll hopefully lighten the mood."

As a soft, pony track began playing, he shot up, stock still.

He couldn't do it.

Even if he thought that Rainbow Dash had got to another friend's house, or just found a place to stay for the evening, he just could not do it. His worry had got the best of him.

He walked over to the coat closet, and grabbed the coat meant for lighter weather.

Rainbow had taken the larger one, thankfully.

As he pulled it on, he regarded the lantern that was in the corner and pulled that out as well.

He grabbed a match in the kitchen, struck it and lit the lantern, and then he headed to the door and opened it.

A gust of wind greeted him, and he covered the lantern with a hand in hopes that it wouldn't go out. He tossed a glance back at the radio, which continued to play the sounds of a calm, peaceful cello and then went out.

He had to find her.

Hopefully, he could do it before the eye of the storm left them in the wake of the second band of snow.

Comments

[Adamanthys]

Looking at that sad tag, Hoping dash doesn't freeze to death... and now I have to wait!

lol.

[TheLonewolves215]

Looking at this now, I think that putting the Sad tag on this story was a mistake on my part. I also bumped it from E for everyone to T for Teen, just to be safe. Let me know if this is also a mistake on my part.

I don't think that the Sad tag makes much of a difference to this story, but the T one might. As I said before, just to be safe.