105 hours

It was a long, bitterly cold night. Blue couldn't sleep very well; his leg bothered him all night, not to mention the fact that he was sharing a blanket. He had to hold a very uncomfortable position all night just to stay even remotely warm.

As for Fluttershy, she found it hard to sleep for some of the very same reasons, except she also felt discomfort from sleeping up against somepony she hardly knew. It was for survival, yes - but that didn't make it any less awkward. However awkward, she lived with it, for her own personal reasons.

All in all, they both barely managed four hours of sleep.

Early the next morning, they got up and prepared for a long day of walking as they tried to figure their way up and out of the ravine.

Blue waited patiently while Fluttershy stepped outside the cave to relieve herself, and when she gave the all clear, he stepped out into the daylight.

The sky was clear, and the sunlight lay in bands of gold along the upper ravine walls. As it rose higher into the sky, the sun would beam down on them for a very short period of time. That would mean a brief warm up, but that was hours away.

They began their walk down the rock-littered and snowy ravine floor, yawning periodically and stumbling over obstacles along the way.

"You know," Blue grumbled, nearly tripping over a large rock. "This would be loads easier if my damn leg wasn't broke."

"I'm sorry..." is all Fluttershy knew to say. She already set his leg with a splint; there was not much else she could do for him.

Blue grunted in response. He had nothing else to say.

The walk went slowly and uneventfully for a long couple hours. The sun eventually reached its zenith, and the whole ravine was bathed in its warm light. It even appeared as though the snow piled up against the ravine walls in drifts was beginning to melt.

"This could be the break we needed," Blue pointed out, receiving a nod from Fluttershy.

After they traveled what felt like miles - and probably was - the sun had already begun its descent towards the horizon, casting deep shadows from the ravine walls down on the two ponies as they made their way towards an exit they hoped was there.

There was no relief in sight; the ravine was as bare and deep as ever. Even worse, the debris littering the ground was bigger and more troublesome to maneuver around, especially for Blue.

They eventually stopped near a depression in the side of the ravine and took a breath.

The air was growing chillier, already far below freezing. The only plus for them was that the breeze had gone away. No more danger from the wind chill - for now.

Blue collapsed on his hindquarters propped up against the wall in the depression. "This is ridiculous..." he said wearily. "We made almost no progress. We may as well have done nothing."

Fluttershy sat beside him on her haunches and removed her saddlebags. "Blue, that's no way to think," she chided him, pulling out the blankets. "We went a long way today. That's progress. We could be close to a way out. There's no reason to start losing hope."

"Losing? I haven't had any since we fell in this deathtrap," Blue said derisively, looking away and scowling.

"Blue..." Fluttershy sighed. "Please. I know things are rough but we can't give up now. We can do this. Neither of us can give up reasonably now. We've come too far."

"Fluttershy - we're stuck in a pit. We're worse off than we were when this all began," he stated with surety.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to reply, but closed it after a few seconds of thought. He was right, and the truth stung.

Darkness began to deepen, and they both knew they needed to set up for the night now before the temperature dropped any further.

Fluttershy laid out a blanket and used the thicker one to stay warm. The only problem was, the very same problem from the previous night: one blanket, two ponies.

"Um, do we have to share a blanket again...?" Fluttershy asked sheepishly, peering up at Blue as he returned from relieving himself.

"Unless one of us wants to freeze to death tonight, I'd highly advise it."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and let it out as Blue joined her under the covers, their bodies flush to hold and generate warmth. They turned and made eye contact briefly before both blushing lightly and turning their heads away, going off into their own thoughts.

Sleep came for both of them soon after.

126 hours

The next morning, they rose up early and began their search once more.

It was clear again, but colder than the day before. This wasn't a good thing, but at least the weather was decent. It would be a whole new game if it were snowing and windy.

After a few hours of stumbling through the ravine, they reached a point where they could hear rushing water. Fluttershy was the first to hear it; she mentioned it to Blue, who only began to hear the telltale signs of moving water a few moments later.

It was coming from far above their heads, outside the ravine.

"There's a way out of here somewhere," Blue gasped.

They began to hustle, weaving in between boulders and small shrubs poking up from the ground.

Moving water meant a bunch of things for them, all positive: there was now access to water; moving water usually meant it was going down, and if it was that close to the ravine, maybe the ravine went up; and running water sometimes lead to some form of civilization. If this river or stream was accessable, many of their problems were now solved.

As they traversed the winding canyon, they noticed a trend: it was growing shallower. At first, it wasn't immediately evident. But when they glanced up to see clouds moving in, the top of the ravine was much closer to them then it had been the whole time since they fell in.

"We're closing in on a way out!" Fluttershy exclaimed, and the two of them cajoled around, shouting in relief and joy. They gave each other a quick, almost congratulatory hug, pulling away seconds later in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Fluttershy. I got a bit carried away," Blue admitted with a half-hearted grin.

"It's fine..." Fluttershy replied shyly, rubbing the back of her foreleg and smiling faintly. "We're just excited to almost be out of this mess."

"Not quite. We've still got to get back to the train. We need to be there for whenever the rescue team comes looking for us."

Fluttershy gawked up at the top of the cliff sides, not looking very hopeful. "But we've wandered so far from it... How will we ever get back?"

Blue motioned towards the expanse of the ravine. "Follow this all the way to where we fell in."

"Oh... I suppose that makes sense," she said.

Blue turned to the direction they were traveling. "Let's get a move on. I have a feeling those clouds don't mean to be our friend."

Deep in his mind he hoped that they weren't somehow making a mistake by starting further and further from the train.

127 hours

They did it.

Within the next hour, the ravine tapered off and sloped upwards, allowing for a tricky but doable escape.

The ravine now behind them, soon to be a dark memory, they took a brief break before they returned to walking.

Up under a large, crooked alder, they sat on a blanket and talked for the break, keeping the atmosphere light-hearted.

"You never did tell me why you were up here in the first place, Fluttershy," Blue said, eyeing her as she sifted through her saddlebags for something.

"Well," she replied, stopping and looking over at him. "If you really want to know, I was observing the animals up in the Crystal Mountains. I come here every year around this time because there are some animals I can't see in Ponyville, so I take the train out here for a week or two, then go home after I've had my fill."

Blue nodded in understanding. She wasn't the first pony he'd ever heard of traveling long distances to observe nature. While he was out in the mountains himself, him and his fellow workers ran into tourists and hikers all the time.

"So, did you see anything this year? How often does coming out here pay off?"

"Every time, actually." She smiled. "Though, this year, I had the pleasure of meeting a pack of grey wolves. They were so lovely!" She clasped her hooves together gleefully.

The joy was contagious. Blue broke into a smile involuntarily and tried to fight it, unsuccessfully. "Well, I'm certainly glad it was worth it for you. Aren't wolves like, predators though? How did you not get attacked?"

Fluttershy set her bag aside in the snow, having pulled out their flask of water. It was empty, so Blue had no idea what she planned to do with it.

"I'm quite good with animals, actually. They'd never hurt me, and I'd never hurt them."

"Good with animals? How do you mean?"

Fluttershy stood suddenly, scanning the trees around them, her eyes searching the branches as she squinted hard.

"Um, are you okay?" Blue asked, concerned. "Did you hear something? Are we in danger?"

"Oh, no," Fluttershy said, smiling back down at him. "I'm looking for a little bird or something I can call to me. I'm sure there's some around..." She returned her gaze to the trees, stepping away from the blanket and Blue.

"But why?" Blue asked, unsure of her intentions. Then it dawned on him. "Ohhhhh, I get it. You're going to show me what you mean, huh?"

She turned and beamed briefly before making her way over to a tall, gangly fir, where she stopped and peered straight up into its branches.

"Hello there, little birdie. Won't you come down?" she said in the most soothing, angelic voice Blue had ever heard. She could convince a crocodile to do backflips with that voice.

Blue found himself absent-mindedly admiring her lissome body, his eyes trailing up and down her form as she stood at the tree, calling for the bird to come down to her. He quickly averted them, feeling his face grow hot. What in Equestria was he thinking? This wasn't the time, nor the place, to be checking a mare out. Completely inappropriate behavior on his part. The only good thing was that she hadn't noticed, saving him that embarrassment.

Fluttershy seemed to have won the bird over, and it soon came soaring down and fluttering to a stop over her outstretched foreleg, landing and chirping cheerfully.

Fluttershy hummed a tune with it, and the bird chirped back. Blue sat with his mouth agape, in complete disbelief.

"No way..." he said under his breath. He'd never seen anypony do anything like that. It was as though the bird had no fear of her at all. Then again, why fear Fluttershy? She was kind, gentle, and beautiful...

Blue shook his head to clear the thoughts away. "Fluttershy... how did you learn how to do that?"

Fluttershy turned to him, the bird nuzzling up into her frizzled mane.

"It's a rather long story. I don't think we have time to sit and talk about it, unfortunately." She looked off at the sun, quickly setting behind the mountains and trees, trickles of golden light shining through the branches of the forest around them.

"I suppose you're right... Let's go. We can't be out after dark. Let's try and find a cave or something. We have to stay out of the weather and wind at all costs." Blue struggled to his hooves as Fluttershy released the bird, watching it disappear into the trees. She came over and helped Blue, as the pain in his leg still made getting up on his own nearly impossible. Walking was doable, but nonetheless painful.

Once stood up, Blue and Fluttershy were face to face. He found her curious eyes searching his, a look of interest in them.

"Uh..." Blue began, uncertain how to continue.

"Oh, sorry, Blue." Fluttershy blushed and turned away, smiling sheepishly. "I thought you were going to say something. I'm sorry..."

"Like what?" he asked. "I just needed help standing. It's embarrassing though. Never had to get help standing."

Fluttershy snickered. "Blue, it's okay. I have no problem helping you. If I did, I wouldn't be a very good pony."

Blue shrugged. "If you didn't want to help, I wouldn't blame you. I'm a pompous windbag sometimes. It's a wonder you've put up with me this long."

Fluttershy gasped, taken aback. "You're not pompous or a windbag." She knit her eyebrows at him. "Why do you put yourself down? That's not healthy..."

Blue turned away, closing his eyes. I have my reasons. "Let's go. Losing daylight here." He limped off before Fluttershy could reply.

Dusk closed in rapidly, with night descending upon them before they were able to find shelter. Now in complete darkness, they wandered aimlessly through the woods, staying close together. It was so dark, they nearly ran into trees before they even saw them. With the sky overcast, there was no moon or stars to offer precious light and aid their travels.

It didn't take them long to come to the unanimous conclusion that if they kept wandering without having a clue where they were going, they'd end up in another ravine situation fast.

The mountains did seem to offer the possibility of shelter, as the two ponies' approach to the rocky bluffs and outcrops proved fruitful: various caves and depressions in the rocks gave them ample opportunity to find shelter for the night. Travel by day was safest and most effective, so they needed to stop for the night and get rested for the long daytime traveling.

They scoped out a few locations that seemed promising, but it wasn't until they found their way around a huge rock jutting from the hillside that they came across a deep, labyrinthine cave - perfect for their needs.

They immediately bivouacked, with Blue checking out the first hundred feet or so inside the cave. He found nothing - no evidence of anything having used the cave recently. They'd found themselves the perfect shelter.

Blue stayed just inside the cave entrance as Fluttershy left to relieve herself before bed. Blue began setting up where they'd sleep when Fluttershy returned with a decent stack of sticks and branches, dropping them just inside the cave entrance.

Blue glanced up as he laid the blankets down for them to sleep on. "Um, starting a fire?"

"I figured we'd light a campfire in here and it would keep us warm," Fluttershy said just above a whisper, as if she was trying to be heard only by Blue and nothing else that might be nearby.

Blue shook his head and struggled to his hooves. "Bad idea. Very bad idea."

Fluttershy was heartbroken. Her efforts to help out seemed all but useless. "What do you mean? We need a fire to stay warm, I thought..."

Blue plodded over to her, placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "You had good intentions, Fluttershy. I recognize that. But we cannot, under any circumstances, start a fire inside this cave." He bent over and shuffled the pile of wood out of the cave with his forehooves.

Fluttershy followed closely. "But why? I'm so confused..."

Blue stopped and turned to to her. "Fluttershy, fire is hot. Rock expands when it gets hot. Expanding rock breaks apart in caves. Bad idea."

It finally registered to her what he meant. "Oh... I'm so sorry... I didn't even think..."

Blue came closer and placed a hoof under her chin, moving her head to face him. Her tousled mane framed her despair-stricken face, peering back at him.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know about that. Not many ponies think of expanding rock in caves when in situations like this. But with the fact that I work in caves for a living, I know how rock works. Don't beat yourself up over this, okay?" he said gently, giving a little smile to cheer her up.

It took her a few moments, but eventually she smiled back. "Okay..."

"Good," Blue said, givng her shoulder a pat. "Let's try and start a fire directly in front of the entrance to deter predators and provide some warmth."

They returned to the cave, moving their stuff a little deeper, then Blue left to scour the surroundings for something. Fluttershy joined him a couple minutes after he left.

"What are you looking for?" she asked curiously as he shuffled through some rocks, picking them up and studying them before tossing them aside.

"Iron pyrite. Or a quartzite family rock," he said, picking up another hoof-sized rock and tapping it against the rocks that made up the cave.

Fluttershy was confused. "Why rocks? To line the fire pit?"

Blue grunted. "To start the fire."

Fluttershy was lost. "I don't understand," she admitted defeatedly. "Rocks to start a fire? How?"

"Aha!" Blue shouted, snatching up a couple grey and black stones, dusting the snow off them and holding them up in triumph.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Blue turned and smiled. "Iron ore. Magnetite." He held the stones out for her to see. They didn't look like anything that would start a fire, to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't get it, Blue. How are these going to make fire?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

Blue slipped past her and trotted back to the pile of wood. "Easily. We just need some kind of tinder..." He glanced at the cave entrance. "Do you have anything cloth or paper in your saddlebags?"

She came up to him and nodded. "Um, I have a handkerchief. Will that work?"

"Perfect," Blue said. "Tear it up. Into as small of pieces as you can get. Try and loosen some threads and make a ball of them for me."

"Alright, whatever you say..." She trotted off into the cave, retrieving her handkerchief and returning to Blue. She knelt by the pile of sticks and began tearing the handkerchief to bits, yanking out threads and balling them up until she had a wad the size of an apple.

"Excellent! Now, stand back," Blue said, motioning her to back away, which she did.

On his knees, Blue began violently slapping the rocks together at an angle, sending sparks flying in all directions. Fluttershy watched in awe as eventually, the sparks caused the ball of threads to go up in flames.

"Oh, my..." she breathed, covering her mouth and watching Blue fume the flames. In moments, they had a full-fledged campfire going, its sudden warmth blasting away the cold.

"I have made fire!" Blue exclaimed, tossing the rocks down and standing on his hind legs, throwing his forelegs up. He nearly collapsed, having forgotten about his leg injury.

Fluttershy rushed to his side as he began to fall over, catching and setting him down gently. "Easy, Blue. Don't get too excited."

Blue grinned widely with embarrassment. "Heh. Got a little carried away. Sorry."

She smiled brightly. "No worries. I'm glad we have a fire. I had no idea rocks could do that."

The two sat on their haunches before the fire, watching the orange-yellow flames lick at the air.

"Only rocks with metals such as iron, or rocks in the quartzite family can do that," Blue said matter-of-factly. "Again, my job helped me here."

"Fascinating," Fluttershy noted, staring down at the fire, enthralled by its heat and light. Somehow, this fire felt like more of an accomplishment than it really was. Then again, creating in a dire situation such as theirs was an accomplishment.

"Now that we have a fire, we can stay warm without having to share a blanket," Blue said, sounding relieved. It was kind of awkward, so he was a bit relieved.

Fluttershy deflated a little. "Yeah, that's good." She hoped Blue hadn't seen her disappointment. She couldn't possibly tell him how much the "cuddling" had helped her feel safe and secure.

Blue smiled over at her. "Bed?" He noted how the flicker of the fire made her pretty turquoise eyes twinkle.

"Yeah," she said with a nod. "I'm exhausted."

"Let's go then. I don't know what our plans are for tomorrow, but we definitely need to rest if we want to come up with a reasonable plan." Blue stood and stretched. "Tomorrow will be a good day. I can feel it."

"What about the fire?" Fluttershy asked, staring at it and standing to join him.

Blue waved a hoof dismissively. "It'll burn for awhile. You gathered fir sticks - they burn longer than other woods. They'll burn until way after we've already fallen asleep."

Fluttershy took his word for it.

They returned to the cave, setting up their own blankets and preparing for sleep.

Fluttershy curled up in her blankets, wrapping them around her and yawning. "I can't believe how fast this day went by," she said as Blue threw his own blankets over himself, resting his head on his hooves. His leg throbbed in protest, forcing him to reposition.

"Yeah, a good thing. Slow days are my least favorite." Blue winced. "Hopefully tomorrow we can figure out something productive. Maybe we should follow the ravine back to the train. We need to be there for whenever the rescue team shows."

"Most definitely," Fluttershy agreed, noticing his discomfort and wishing she could do something for him. She hated seeing anypony suffer.

At last, they wound down past idle talk to their own thoughts, falling silent as they delved into their reverie. Both wished tomorrow would bring better luck than they'd been having. Both hoped help would come soon. Both wished for a break, a chance to relax.

As they drifted off to sleep, their fire faded to embers. Nearby, a creature stood amongst the trees, watching, waiting, stalking, wanting an opportunity to taste the ponies in the cave.

It would have them soon.

151 hours

"This... this is good," Blue said, munching on some roots Fluttershy had gathered for them to feast on for breakfast. They were both starving, so a plentiful bounty of the edible chicory roots, found growing along the mountainside where snow hadn't been able to bury them, provided nourishment. Although the ground was mostly frozen, a little water loosened the soil enough to pull the plants up.

The water was easier to obtain, though Blue wasn't the one to come up with the way to get it - Fluttershy surprised him with the idea.

"Now, to make some tea from these fir needles, I'll place them in the canister with the snow and put it over the fire," Fluttershy said, showing him step-by-step.

"I'm glad you know what you're doing, because I have no idea what's food out here and what's not," Blue said admittedly. He bit off and chewed another chunk of fibrous yet juicy chicory root. It had a distinct coffee-like taste to it, dark and bitter. It was food, however, so Blue made no complaints.

Several minutes later, the tea was brewed, and they took turns sipping it from the canister. The fir tea was surprisingly pleasant. Fluttershy expressed that it was also full of essential vitamins.

Today, the sky was clear again, but it was still cold, definitely below freezing, a bite in the air. They'd have to get back to the caboose as soon as possible.

Their first plan for the morning was to find the river or stream they'd heard while down in the ravine. They could gather a bunch of water and be well off until they returned to the train.

They gathered up their stuff after finishing the tea and chicory roots, packed up what was left, and got to moving.

They slogged along, the cold weather making travel rough, but with their newfound hope, they trudged on, knowing their efforts would pay off eventually.

They first went back to the ravine, which was oodles easier in the daylight, and listened for the water they'd heard before. Once they located the direction of the noise, they set out, keeping careful note of how to return to their cave, just in case. It was more than likely they'd have to return to it for one more night.

The forest grew dense, and the trees grew bigger, hiding the sun from them for the most part. But the trees had also blocked snow from falling around them, making the journey easier in that fashion, as well. It was much less exhausting to simply walk than to push through foot-deep snow constantly.

For a couple hours they walked on, the sound of the water growing louder. Blue expressed concern, noting that they'd traveled a long distance for the water to be so loud from so far away. It didn't mean anything bad, but he had an idea of why it might be running water in the dead of winter, as well as what the source of the noise was. And unfortunately, they soon discovered he was right in his assumption.

It was a raging waterfall.

"Oh, no..." Fluttershy groaned in disappointment.

Blue growled in frustration. "Not the end of the world. This doesn't help us much, but it's still water."

The waterfall was a decent-sized river - likely snowmelt from the surrounding mountains - falling over a precipice of at least 200 feet. All around the edge of the falls at the top and bottom were massive boulders, strewn about by the forces of nature and littering the shore. A cloud of vapor rose from the bottom of the falls, concealing whether there were rocks directly at the bottom, or just more water.

Better to not find out.

All around the river roaring over the cliff, the land was clear, besides the rocks. Glittering snow covered most of everything, but a few precarious plants jutted up, reaching for the sun. The fields abruptly ended and turned to thick, evergreen forest where they were, standing and gazing out over the landscape.

"So what do we do?" Fluttershy asked, staring at the waterfall in awe. It was the most gorgeous thing she'd ever seen. The mist it threw up froze in the air created a dazzling, twinkling cloud of ice crystals that settled on the rocks, making them look like giant, precious gemstones.

"We get water, that's what," Blue said, walking ahead and towards a large, flat rock that lay at the shore of the river, a good distance from the raging waterfall to be safe - enough.

"Wait up!" Fluttershy called after him, prancing through the snow as he climbed up the huge rock, careful not to slip on the thin layer of ice crystals on its surface. He still didn't, all the way up the side until he reached the top, staying low and spreading his legs out for better grip. "Don't come up here," he warned Fluttershy as she attempted to join him. "Much too dangerous."

Blue scanned their surroundings. There didn't seem to be anything of great use to them besides the river. As far as the eye could see upriver, there was nothing but water and trees, eventually giving way to a massive mountain - the mountain the train tracks skirt along.

"That's the way we need to go," Blue said, pointing towards the mountain. "The train will be over there. We might even just be able to follow the river to it. I think it starts atop that mountain."

Fluttershy glanced warily in the direction of the mountain and furrowed her brows. "Um, I didn't know... Should we play it safe and still follow the ravine?" She looked up at him, shielding her eyes from the midday sun with a forehoof.

Blue weighed their options. She was right - no point in taking chances when they could play it safe, as she said.

"Yeah... yeah, you're right. Let's gather some H2O and get back to camp." He slid down the rock and grunted in pain, landing on his two hind legs, the injured one giving out as he hit. He crumpled to the ground and Fluttershy rushed to his aid.

"You need to be more careful, Blue," Fluttershy said, sounding motherly. "You're going to make it worse, and it'll never heal, or heal wrong. You don't want that, do you?"

"Obviously not," Blue retorted, rolling his eyes as she helped him to his hooves. "But that needed to be done. We found our way back, didn't we?"

"Or so we think." She glanced back towards the towering mountain in the distance. "How do you know that's the same one where we came from?"

"The shape, for one," Blue said pointedly. "The other ways just kinda... fall into place after that. In any case, let's get stuff done. We're burning daylight like madponies here."

Fluttershy filled the canister with water. They'd have to boil it, as she suggested, but at least they had it if they needed it. Which they would.

Once they gathered that, and a few more plants Fluttershy identified as edible, they headed back to the cave.

As they approached it, Blue stopped, noticing tracks in the snow along their path from today and the day before.

He balked immediately. "Fluttershy..."

She stopped, a few feet ahead of him. She turned back, concerned. "Hmm? What's wrong, Blue?" She walked over, following his gaze and gasping. "Oh... that."

"What in Equestria left these," he asked fearfully, kneeling to check them out. The huge paw prints nearly a foot in diameter showed whatever it was was big, and the several-inch-long nails spoke a story that said whatever it was that bared them meant business.

Fluttershy knelt beside him, staring in confusion at the tracks. "They're... much too big, but they appear to be... wolf tracks."

Blue's ears pricked. "Wolf? And they're too big? Then what the hell is this?" He paused. "Timber wolf?"

Fluttershy swallowed hard - hard enough that Blue heard it. "Still too big..." Her voice trailed off.

"Oh, Dear Celestia."

"Now, Blue, it could be anything," Fluttershy started, placing a hoof in one of the paw tracks for size comparison. It dwarfed her hoof, at least four times bigger. "A bear, a dragon..."

Blue shook his head. "I've seen those animal's tracks before. You and I both know this is neither."

Fluttershy closed her eyes, looking away. "I know..."

Blue stood abruptly. "Cave. Now. We need to prepare for nightfall and whatever this is. With claws like that, it can't be stopping by for tea."

Fluttershy stood up, joining him as he strode hurriedly with a limp towards camp.

"Blue... what if it's in our cave?" she asked, feeling a stab of fear.

"I'll take care of it."

Somehow, she didn't think he was capable of fighting off whatever creature left the tracks, but she knew she couldn't, either.

If it attacked, they wouldn't be able to do a thing.

Author's Note

What do you think is following them? Have any guesses? The following chapters will tell you if you stay tuned. ;)