Priorities

Twilight scanned her map, barely paying attention to the back-and-forth chatter between Pinkie and Fluttershy: she had seen the scenery before, and all she really wanted was to figure out where she'd find her hotel once she reached Kathmanedu, and how long it would take her to get to her destination: she didn't mind train rides, but she knew that this would be a very, very long one.

A shadow loomed over the map, darkening the letters and making the lines and dots almost unreadable. Twilight glanced up.

"So, where are we going?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side adorably. "And what's this about a Snowpony again?"

"Um, yes..." Fluttershy began. "I'd really like to know more about this trip."

"Like what?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy lapsed into a brief moment of thought.

"Well, who sent the SOS message, what village are we going to..." she explained. "That sort of thing."

Hmm... good point.

Twilight rummaged around her bags and pulled out the small scrap of paper she had been sent. "This is the message: I had been recieving letters about damaged property and rumours of some strange giant monster for a while, but this is what prompted the trip." She held the message up so she could read it properly. "A telegram from a small research airship exploring the area. They were downed due to a mechanical failure, and then apparently encountered the Abominable Snowpony, or 'Yeti'."

She cleared her throat as her audience listened attentively... even Pinkie Pie. Spike had read the message before, but that didn't mean he wasn't doing his best to offer thoughts on the matter... even if he did think it was bogus.

Airship broke down in Himarelayas STOP

Encountered Abominable Snowpony, Globe freaking out STOP

Send help STOP

Also I am rerouteing power from telegram to engine so if you want to communicate back just STOP

Sincerely Vector Velocity STOP

Spike frowned. "Explain who these guys are, again?"

"Apparently, they're researchers... or at least, that's what the paperwork said," Twilight told him. "I don't know much about them, though. One of them is an explorer, the other some kind of scientist."

"Isn't cutting off communications rather... risky?" Fluttershy asked.

Well, apparently nopony told these guys.

"Snowstorms, monsters, avalanches, and icy, bitter cold..." Spike muttered gloomily. "Why'd I let you bring me along again?"

"It's too bad Rainbow couldn't come," Fluttershy pointed out. "I'd have felt much better with her around. Or Applejack. I don't know what I'd do in an avalanche."

"I'd scream and run around like crazy!" Pinkie exclaimed, as if thrilled by the concept.

"I know it's a shame Rainbow dropped out on us," Twilight said, "But I'm sure that between myself and Spike, we can handle most problems we can encounter. Dragon-fire can melt snow, right?"

"Not if everything around me is frozen soli—"

"Exactly! So there's nothing to worry about!" Twilight said, cutting the young dragon off before he could dampen Fluttershy's spirit's even further. Not to mention my own. "And besides, once we find the expedition and the village, we'll have plenty of help!"

"Rainbow, it's morning!"

Applejack wondered if the real reason Rainbow had decided to stay at home was so she wouldn't have had to catch the early train out east. As expected, the pegasus had been sleeping in.

"Morning weather never changes!" she'd argue. "So I'll only ever need to get up after eleven!"

And Rainbow was holding true to that philosophy today: it was well past ten o'clock and the pegasus was nowhere to be seen.

Applejack shook her head to herself, ever amused by her lazy, fun-loving partner. What do I see in her? Besides an exciting, loving, energetic mare, of course.

Applejack was going over her notes and charts for the business meeting in two days: she wasn't a born mathematician, but that didn't mean she couldn't learn on the job. Just countin' coppers, really, she thought. Addin' and multiplyin'.

Except this time, she had gotten help from Rainbow Dash. And whilst she was no real maths-machine herself, she sure did know how to power through numbers. Applejack had been almost surprised at her explanation:

"Flying manoeuvres is more than just flapping wings and hoping for the best. There's this whole science behind it, and although I kinda' forgot all that, it did involve some weirder sums than this."

It was a bit strange realizing that some ponies were skilled at more than one thing, and a humbling one. All too often, Applejack found herself thinking she was a bit of a one-trick pony: farming and apples being all she was good for, whereas Rainbow... Rainbow was exciting.

'Course, when I tried telling that to Rainbow, I got myself laughed at. As usual...

Rainbow had mistakenly thought Applejack was joking. She always found something funny about Applejack, and it was beginning to wear thin. Maybe it was just her way of trying to make her feel better, or maybe she was just a bit dense. Probably both.

"Rainbow!" she shouted again, her irritation beginning to show. "It's half past ten! Breakfast went cold ages ago!"

This time, she heard the sound of a very lazy pegasus stirring upstairs. Applejack rolled her eyes. Finally...

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" came the exasperated reply. Applejack's ears flickered as she paid close attention to the sound of Rainbow whizzing through the corridors of her house. Unlike the rest of her family, there were no hoofsteps: instead, there was only the silken smooth sound of feathers gliding through the air as one of the few flyers skilled enough to fly indoors made her way to the kitchen.

And with that, Applejack turned her attention back to the deal.

"Hey there!" Rainbow greeted. "Done pestering me to get up?"

Applejack sat down, hunching over her pile of charts and numbers. "I only pester 'cause I care."

"Yeah, right," Rainbow snapped, both playfully and grumpily. "Do you want pancakes?"

Applejack hesitated. "Pancakes? Why pancakes? I already made—"

"Which you also said went cold," Rainbow interrupted. "Also, pancakes have something that apple-confectionery doesn't," Rainbow went on, and opened the fridge with a flourish. "Pancakes have this!"

Applejack looked up and saw Rainbow holding out a bottle of milk. "Eh... okay..." She replied, not at all sure if this wasn't some sort of joke. Rainbow rolled her eyes, as if she had to explain something to a child.

"Applejack, what is it I do for a living?" she asked.

"You work for a livin'?" Applejack quipped. Rainbow narrowed her eyes, although she was most certainly amused by the retort: Rainbow enjoyed conflict, for some reason, and Applejack was more than happy to oblige.

"I fly. Dangerously. And what happens when you fly dangerously?"

"You crash," Applejack replied, unsure where Rainbow was going with this. The pegasus nodded.

"Nailed it! Now, this may come as a surprise, but when you crash, sometimes you break bones. And what helps strengthen bones?"

Not crashing, perhaps...

"Dairy!" Rainbow concluded. "And there isn't much milk in apple tarts, is there?"

"RD, there's about as much milk in apple-tart pastry as there is in a pancake, so there ain't much difference, really." Applejack replied, causing Rainbow to glower at her.

"Yes, but I want pancakes."

"Vector?" Globe Trotter began as the airship began to slowly gain altitude, hovering ever so slightly above the snowy mountaintops. "Why haven't we received any further communications from the Princess? I'd have thought they'd keep in touch."

Vector shrugged. "I turned the telegram off. I wanted heating instead."

Is he serious?

"But... anything could have happened! We could have been attacked by that... that thing! We could have called for—"

"Called for help again? I'm not a wuss," Vector grunted. "Once is quite enough. This is embarrassing enough as it is. Oh, and the telegram is also broken now, too: I needed the parts to make a microwave."

Embarrassing? *Broken*? Is he for real?

"But— we needed that!"

"You weren't complaining when we had hot porridge earlier, though, were you?"

"But sir!"

"Hey! I'm no 'sir'," Vector grumbled. "If my predictions are correct, I'll only have my knighthood in three years..."

Globe rubbed his eyes angrily. Why couldn't he have been hired as a guide by a more reasonable pony? Somepony who didn't treat a dangerous voyage high above Equestria like a walk in the park, and treated a Celestia-darn Abominable Snowpony like an unruly poodle. It had to be that disgusting chunk of metal in his head: it was messing with his brain for sure.

"I... whatever," Globe grumbled. "What do you think that thing was?"

"Well, we know it leaves footprints and likes to yell a lot," Vector pointed out. "It could have been my uncle Cog. All it needs is a smoking habit..."

Globe shook his head, exasperated beyond belief.

Vector peered down the side of the ship, then grinned like a shark. "Good! We have enough altitude!" he snapped out a small compass dramatically, and cantered to the prow of their vessel.

And there, he stood, motionless.

"Vector?"

"Which way is north again?" the eccentric pegasus asked. Globe sighed.

"Follow the red arrow, Vector."

Well, at least I'm here for a reason: for all his intellect, Vector Velocity couldn't find his way to lunch.

"Excellent! And which way do we want to be going?"

Globe Trotter snatched the compass away with an irritated grunt, and took the wheel of the ship. "How about you drink yourself unconscious whilst I fly the ship?"

Twilight ached everywhere. And by everywhere, she meant everywhere. Her neck, her back, her legs, and most uncomfortably of all, her flanks, which had been sat on for well over twelve hours straight. She hadn't exercised at all during the train-journey, so despite it being pitch black outside the Friendship Express, she couldn't even get a wink of sleep.

Fluttershy didn't seem to have that problem though, and neither did Spike. Both were fast asleep, curled up on their respective seats, despite being jostled slightly by the train bumping over the rails.

Twilight had long since stopped trying to see anything out the window: everything was black, minus the small strip of earth made visible by the light of the window, running alongside the tracks. It was absolutely covered in snow.

It must be freezing out there... she thought to herself.

"Next stop: Kathmanedu! Next stop, Kathmanedu!"

Twilight's ears pricked up: that was their stop! The capital of Neighpal, and soon to be their headquarters during their investigation. Twilight leant to the side and gently shook Spike awake. Pinkie followed suit and grabbed Fluttershy, rattling her from side to side like a rag-doll.

"Spike, we're almost there!" Twilight whispered.

"Wakey-wakey, sleepy-baby!" Pinkie screamed.

Spike's reptilian eyes drifted open, taking their time to focus in the dim light of the train. "Is it time for us to freeze to death now?" he asked gloomily.

"Well, aren't you of the 'cup half-empty' persuasion," Twilight retorted. "But yes."

"Aah!" Fluttershy screamed, finally reacting to Pinkie's assault. "What's happening? Pinkie, stop shaking me, please!"

Pinkie grinned enthusiastically. "There's snow everywhere! It's just like Hearths Warming but all the time!"

The train began to slow down, grinding to a halt. Each pony (and dragon) grabbed their luggage, and wrapped the warmest scarves they could find around their necks. They were under no illusions about how cold it would be: very.

They trotted to the door: even though it was still closed, the air drifting through the cracks and ventilation was freezing, and managed to elicit a shiver from Fluttershy.

And then the doors opened:

Even though the breeze along made Twilight wince, it was beautiful. The snow coated the truly unique, beautiful buildings. It was like Ponyville at the height of winter.

"Oh, goodness..." Twilight mouthed as she leapt off the train. "We should travel more often..."

It wasn't snowing just then, and the air was almost completely still aside from the gentlest of breezes: it was like the whole place was under some sort of spell, put to sleep in an age of permanent winter.

"Let's get to the hotel," Spike grumbled in between shivers. "I can't feel my claws and I can't see a thing."

Way to ruin the mood, Spike...

"We'll find a guide to take us up to the mountains tomorrow. For now, let's just... unpack, and try to get some rest," Twilight suggested, using her wings to hug her sides, holding the freezing air at bay. Spike was right about one thing: it was cold.

"This is so exciting! This is the furthest I've been away from Ponyville!" Pinkie told them as she bounced after Twilight. "Let's send the others postcards!"

"How do animals even survive up here?"

With a whole lot of fur, Twilight hypothesized. "We'll do all that tomorrow: for now, to the hotel!"

I bet Rainbow would have loved to be here.

Down in Ponyville, away from the snow and ice, night blanketed the town. The valley was pleasantly cool, although the Apple Family's farmhouse was warm, and cosy. Rainbow was on the verge of sleep, curled up on her side of the bed, blearily staring at wall opposite her, thinking of nothing in particular.

It had been a pleasantly uneventful day, she had been quick to tell Applejack. Plenty of time to practice, and plenty of time to enjoy pancakes with her.

It was just before Rainbow fell asleep that Applejack suddenly spoke, her voice drawing drawing Rainbow's attention, without warning.

"What do you see in me?"

The question took Rainbow quite by surprise. Her muscles were aching from a day's worth of flight, and another afternoon's worth of fighting practice. She hurt everywhere, and was tired to boot.

She wasn't prepared to answer such an out of the blue question.

"Uh... 'cause you're awesome?"

Applejack didn't reply instantly, and instead drifted under the sheets a little more, as if she were hiding. "Promise not to laugh?"

Rainbow shrugged.

"I make no such promise."

"It's kind of a serious question, is all," Applejack told her, sulking slightly.

Rainbow heard the tone in her marefriend's voice, and for the first time in ages, decided to put on a serious face. "Uh, 'kay."

"Do you think I'm boring?"

"Why would I think you're boring?" Rainbow asked, puzzled.

The half-closed curtains let in the starlight just enough for her to make out Applejack's face... or rather, the top half of it. The rest was under the sheets. "I'm just a bit confused, sugar... ya'll aren't exactly the 'normal' type. You have everythin' you wanted already: excitement, flyin'..."

Rainbow slid up towards the earth pony, nestling herself comfortably next to her. "What makes you think I don't want more than that? I'm a pretty greedy filly, y'know."

"But what do I have that you don't?" Applejack asked.

Mmff... she's so warm.

"I'll tell, but only if you don't laugh."

Applejack nodded. "Sure thing."

"You have a family."

Applejack looked taken aback. Rainbow instantly regretted her confession: she hated awkward talks. She pressed her muzzle against Applejack's neck. "You're so cu—"

"Are ya'll deflecting?" Applejack asked, stopping Rainbow in her tracks.

"Is it working?"

"What do ya'll mean I have a family? I know for a fact you have one too."

"Well, yeah..." Rainbow began. "But they live in Cloudsdale, and we're not nearly as close as you and your family. I guess I kinda' envy that... just a little bit."

She rolled over onto her back, keeping her wings firmly pressed against her sides so's not to disturb Applejack. "And it's 'cause I went off and became an Element and had adventures and stuff that I lost contact with them," she admitted. "And that's part of why I quit."

Applejack was silent, retreating inside her own mind to think. Rainbow knew that face: it would take her a while before she came to a decision on what opinion she had.

"Tell me when you're done," Rainbow said, and closed her eyes. "Preferably in the morning."

Even more preferably, early afternoon. Seriously, what is it with her family and waking up early?

Vector leapt to the ground lazily, only using his wings as much as he needed to. He was very economic in his movements, Globe found... which was strange considering he wasn't economic with the food, the drink, and most worryingly of all, the airship's power supply.

"Come on Globe! I'm willing to bet our reinforcements have arrived by now."

Oh, goody...

"And what gives you that impression? You really did a number on our telegram, you know!"

"Friendship express takes twelve hours to get from the Heartlands to Kathmanedu... they'd have probably left the morning following our SOS, if they left at all."

Ugh, another one of his famous 'deductions'... worse thing is, he'll probably be right...

"So, what about it? Even if they are here, they'll be asleep!"

"Well, we find their hotel and wake them up!" Vector exclaimed vehemently.

Oh, sweet Celestia, he's serious...

"Vector, you're talking about a Princess!"

"Well, according to you, she isn't a 'real' Princess, so it'll all work itself out."

"It's still rude! Besides," Globe went on, "I'm sure that the Barrel Scraper is still open at this hour..."

Vector hesitated. Then he groaned. Then he stamped his hoof in the snow.

"Dammit', Globe! Fine, drinks at the Scraper, then we wake Twilight up!"

Why is it so cold? Rainbow thought as she woke up. She shouldn't be cold: she was nestled closely to the mare next to her, but despite the warmth of Applejack's fur and flesh, Rainbow still felt like shivering. Like she needed to move.

She glanced at the window, and winced when she saw that the sun wasn't even up yet. What is this? Is this morning?

Rainbow stopped herself from wriggling closer to Applejack: she didn't want to wake her up, after all. Not when she already got so little sleep as it was...

I need to fly. If I'm awake, I might as well do something...

Doing something... now that sounded like a good idea. It occured to her that she hadn't even crashed once yesterday.

I could use some good adrenaline... maybe a coffee, too.

Rainbow silently leant towards Applejack and kissed her, enjoying the scent of her mane before sliding carefully out of the covers.

Is this what normal ponies do? Get up early?

Rainbow Dash had no idea: but what she was sure about, was that if she didn't get her blood pumping through her veins, she'd freeze to death.

"See you, AJ," she whispered as she tiptoed out of the room. "I'll make you pancakes later."

Now, let's gain some altitude...