I'll Do Anything for You

by The Abyss

The Only Easy Day was Yesterday

Rainbow woke up sometime in the middle of the night with a groan, jerking awake for what felt like the umpteenth time. The storm outside raged just as hard as it had when they went to sleep. She lifted her head, little bits of snow falling off of her. To say that she was cold was an understatement. The tips of her hooves felt numb. She hadn’t gotten that much rest; the storm and the worries plaguing her mind had made sure of that. Rainbow blinked a few times before her gaze settled on their little wall. It had worked well enough to block the worst of the wind though it did little to provide any warmth.

She lifted her head. “You awake?” she mumbled. It felt hard to think and was even harder to utter those words.

“Yeah,” Twilight croaked.

“How’s your horn? Any chance you can use magic?” Rainbow hated to ask such a sensitive question but she felt that Twilight’s magic was the only way out of their predicament. The cold had dulled the pain in her broken wing. She winced as she felt her stomach grumble, partly from the feeling of it being empty and from the fear of having no food. With no food, no water, no heat source, and no way to get off the mountain, they wouldn’t last long if they didn’t find something to help them survive.

Twilight shook her head. “I feel it a little bit but I don’t think I can use it yet.”

“That’s a relief. I thought that… you know.”

“...Yeah, me too.”

“We shoulda brought Spike with us; he could have kept us warm with his fire,” Rainbow dryly joked. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your magic.”

Twilight whimpered.

“He woulda been a huge help out here.” When Twilight didn’t respond to her joke, Rainbow lay back down next to her and pulled her close.

“He would have just been stuck out here like us,” came Twilight’s soft reply. “I don’t think he would have lasted this long in the cold.”

“I don’t think we’re going to last that long. What are we gonna do, Twi? We gotta try something!”

“I don’t know,” came her weak response. She avoided Rainbow’s gaze.

“You hungry? Thirsty?”

Twilight nodded.

“Yeah, me too,” she said with a sigh. She scooped out a chunk of snow in the crook of her hoof and held it up to Twilight’s lips. At her curious gaze, she shrugged and said, “All we got.” Twilight coughed again, then took a bite of the snow.

“How’s your wing?”

“Still busted… I’m going to go look outside real quick; maybe I can see something that can help.” Rainbow stood up and walked outside the cave. She peered over the edge once more, looking for something, anything that could help them. Given their situation, she’d risk it all to find help, but even if she managed to get down the mountain safely, she still had nothing to guide her. The stars were hidden, the moon was nowhere to be found, and none of the mountain peaks looked familiar. As the wind ripped what little warmth she had left in her coat, she took one last look down and tried to find any path down, but with her busted wing, any path was far too dangerous. If she slipped and tried to fly, it would surely mean a swift end.

Feeling a bit of desperation grow within her chest, she stomped on the ground in frustration and nearly lost her balance. She uttered some choice words and with a groan, she turned and walked back inside the cave. Rainbow slumped against Twilight’s side, surprised at how quickly her limbs gave way.

“Anything?”

“Nothing has changed, no.” She took her fill of the snow, praying that it would quell her hunger. She winced as she felt it slide down her throat, making her feel colder than she already felt. She held her right front hoof up in there and tried to hold it still. “I can’t stop shivering, Twi…” she murmured as she tried her hardest to still her hoof. She pushed her right wing out and tried the same thing.

“Me… me neither.”

Rainbow lay down against her side and shuffled as close to her as she could. She blinked a couple times then held the same hoof up in front of her. “I-I can’t stop shivering, Twi…” she murmured. She focused really hard on her hoof and concentrated on keeping it still, though after several seconds she gave up. Small shivers ran down through her back and into her extremities.

Twilight looked up at her with a concerned look. “You said that already,” she cautiously said. Her ears perked up as she came to a conclusion. “I didn’t think it’d set in so soon!” She pushed herself up and placed herself between the tunnel’s entrance and Rainbow, then tried to cover as much of her body with hers as she could.

“Wha… What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, the words a struggle to speak coherently.

“I think you have the first or second stage of hypothermia. If you have it, then I…” A shiver ran down her back. “Then I may have it, too. Can you feel your hooves? Your feathers?”

“N-Not really. Hooves numb. Can’t feel feathers.” She felt Twilight rub her side as she tried to warm her core up. “Sure could use another nap,” Rainbow mumbled.

“We’re not going to make it if you take a nap. We need solutions, not sleep,” Twilight mused.

The rhythmic motions of Twilight’s rubbing to warm her up lulled her ever closer to sleep. Rainbow felt her head droop back down onto her forelegs. She licked her dry lips, feeling herself grow more and more tired with each passing second. With a start, she jerked back awake, making Twilight look her way. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she lied. Death lay in wait just around the corner if she allowed herself to sleep. She heard Twilight murmur something, almost like she was reciting lines. “What?” she asked, forcing herself to stay in the present for fear of letting her mind wander off.

Twilight stopped talking, then said, “I’m just trying to remember what I read about hypothermia. I’m afraid I’m missing something and what if it’s the thing that saves us?” She stayed silent for several seconds as she continued to think. “Maybe I can fly somewhere and find help; we can’t be that far away from the castle…”

“And leave me all alone without my snuggle buddy?” Rainbow joked.

“You said it yourself; we have to do something. I won’t let us perish due to my inaction.”

Before she could react, Twilight pushed herself up on unsteady legs and walked out of the cave. Rainbow rolled onto her side and tried to make her eyes come into focus as she watched Twilight walk away from her. The ferocious sound of the wind made Twilight’s ears flick back, and as the seconds crawled on, Twilight’s wings spread out halfway before she clamped them back to her side almost immediately. A particularly strong gust of wind nearly pushed her over. With her head hanging low, Twilight trudged back inside and carefully lay back down next to her.

Several seconds passed by as they shivered together. “It’s okay,” Rainbow finally said.

“No, it’s not! Maybe if I had your experience in flying in poor conditions, I could…”

Rainbow observed a line of tears slip down Twilight’s cheeks. “Still too dangerous,” she said, trying to console her. “I could never ask you to take a risk that big.”

“Perhaps…” Twilight stiffened, then sat up. She gazed out of the cave, her eyes locked on something far off in the distance.

Rainbow noticed a change in Twilight’s demeanor. “What’s wrong?”

“I see no other way,” Twilight said in a near-whisper, her words nearly lost in the sounds of the wind gusting just mere feet away.

“What do you mean? You’re…” Rainbow’s vision blurred; even blinking didn’t make it better. She felt Twilight’s hooves rub her back once more. They felt cold to the touch, though she did provide a little warmth to her otherwise freezing fur.

“I’ll be right back, my love,” Twilight murmured.

“Don’t talk like that!” Rainbow wrapped her hooves around one of Twilight’s legs though she wasn’t sure which one it was. She held it close to her as if her weak grip would be able to keep her from doing something rash. Rainbow took a few deep breaths, though it only served to make her feel colder. Thankfully, she regained most of her vision. “You’re scaring me.”

“I’ll… We’ll be fine. There’s something I have to do. I’ll be back.”

Rainbow noticed a single tear slip down Twilight’s cheek through her blurred vision, though she tried to hide it from her by turning away.

“No life is worth living if it’s without you. If my magic is the price to pay so that you may live, so be it.” Twilight pulled her leg out of Rainbow’s grasp with relative ease, then turned and started walking back outside.

With her heart sinking into her chest, Rainbow finally realized what she was going to do. No! There must be another way! She reached out and tried to stop her, her hoof scraping against the ground. Rainbow lost her balance and fell against her broken wing, forcing a whimper from her scratchy throat. “W-Wait!” she called out, managing to catch a glimpse of Twilight’s tail before she disappeared outside. She feared that the wind kept Twilight from hearing her pleas. “Twilight! Don’t leave me!” Rainbow used what little strength she had left to try and push herself back upright. Before she could stand up, she heard an explosion far overhead. A shockwave shook the mountain, making her lose her balance for a few moments.

With a great heave, she pushed herself up on wobbly hooves and managed only a few steps before she saw Twilight lying prone just outside the cave’s entrance. An odd light danced upon her motionless body. With desperation clawing at her heart, Rainbow summoned what little strength she had left to crawl out of the cave and out into the cold.

Seeing that odd light dance upon the snowy ground, Rainbow looked up and saw a wonderfully bright magenta and cyan aura shimmering above them, its thin tendrils dancing with each other. It was at least a hundred feet across and shined with a radiance that lit up the whole mountain range. Rainbow’s eyes went wide at the sight, unable to tear her gaze away from the spectacle. Confusion, tinged with fear and uncertainty all tugged at her mind, though she managed to shove those feelings down to focus on the task at hoof.

The light winked out of existence as soon as she looked away, plunging the area back into darkness. “Twilight?” She pulled herself to Twilight’s side, then nudged her with her muzzle. Rainbow heard Twilight groan. Though while she felt relieved that she still breathed, she feared that she did not have the strength to bring them back inside and out of the cold. Her hooves screamed in protest as she stood up. Her breaths came in ragged pants, the cold air doing nothing for her overly-dry throat. Rainbow pulled Twilight onto her back, even though it pained her greatly. She locked her knees as she steadied herself, then gingerly took a step forward. “Why did you do that?” she grunted as she took another step. Twilight felt like nothing more than dead weight on her back. Even though she was warm just a couple minutes ago, she felt cold to the touch.

Rainbow slumped against the wall of the cave as soon as she made it past their little wall. With all feeling gone from the tips of her hooves, Rainbow rubbed Twilight’s back. “Come on, wake up…” she muttered. She leaned in and nuzzled her cheek, coaxing a cough out of Twilight. “There we are…”

“Di-Did I do it?” Twilight mumbled.

“You mean the most awesome, insane, biggest aura ever? Yeah.”

“Aura? I…” Twilight coughed. “I thought I shot a flare.” She winced as she buried her head in her front hooves. “Ugh… Okay, this is the worst headache I’ve ever felt.”

“Help has to be on the way. That darn lightshow of yours lit up the night sky for what seemed like forever.” Only then did Rainbow notice Twilight’s horn. The crack had doubled in size, sending a pang of guilt piercing through her heart. “I’m not worth the magic of an alicorn, Twi. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, you are, and yes, I did,” finally came her reply, this time a little louder and more firm. “You’re worth more to me than you’ll ever know. Plus I did it for Spike and Scootaloo, too. What would they do without us?”

“Well…” Rainbow snickered. “Scootaloo would scoot around town all day doing all sorts of daredevil stunts and Spike would clear out the pantry. I think they’d be okay without us, at least for the first day or two.”

Twilight’s laughter turned into a fit of coughs. “May that day not come for a long time.”

“You know, with all that sappy romance stuff you just said… it almost sounded like you were going to propose to me,” Rainbow said with a nervous laugh.

“Did it?” Twilight chuckled with the same nervous energy. “I suppose it did. I’m sure Shining and Cadence rounded everyone in the Crystal Empire up to search for us out here. With my aura shining bright, I’m sure help is already on the way.”

“Y-Yeah, me too, but… it only shined for like, seconds. It faded out once I reached you.”

“...Oh.” Twilight grimaced. “I had hoped that it would last far longer so that somepony could find us. Only seconds, you say?” Rainbow nodded solemnly. “I sure hope someone was looking in this direction…”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Rainbow glanced away, feeling rather sheepish in that moment. Her heart thumped away in her chest. While she couldn’t feel her wings, she felt the warmth of embarrassment flow through her like she’d chugged a mug of Applejack’s hard cider. She nuzzled Twilight’s cheek, prompting her lover to lift her head to look into her eyes. “I feel like I don’t tell you this enough, but… I love you.”

“And I love you as well,” Twilight replied with a warm smile. “Just in case we don’t make it out…” She nuzzled the side of Rainbow’s cheek. “I know in my heart that I already know the answer, but I still want to hear it. If we survive, will you marry me? I know I don’t have a ring or some extravagant proposal but I’m worried that if I don’t ask now that I never w–”

She’s such an egghead… Rainbow thought with a grin as she leaned in for a quick kiss, knowing that Twilight would understand her silent answer.

Comments

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

The Suspense of this is really killing me here!

[6-D Pegasus]

Eeeeeeee please I hope they get found!

[Fluttershylover3]

I so hope they survive.

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

[Bronyshot2020]

Oh God hopefully they see that through the storm

[Gainedbedrock]

The only part about this story I hate is that I have to wait for the next chapter

[The Abyss]

11535138
If only the next chapter was always available on Patreon for $5 a month... oh wait. It is!

[Gainedbedrock]

11535453
yeah I know, you said that last time, but I'm a cheapskate. Now I'm just waiting for "from lost to live"

[Solar_Wolf]

???? Idk if thay would keep the parents in the same cell for me that alone was a bad idea separate theam at least it is supper to be a prison not a love shack thay put theam in the same room for crying out loud is stupid

[The Abyss]

11538845
...what?

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

you better survive twilight and rainbow