Author's Note

Let me know what you think in the comments, and remember to point out any flaws or errors for me, please and thanks!

Falling

273 Hours

Blue and Fluttershy couldn't believe what they were seeing.

There, barely a darkened silhouette against the backdrop of pure white, clouded by the ever-increasing intensity of the snow storm, stood a small log cabin.

Fluttershy and Blue cavorted around for joy, hugging each other multiple times before sprinting off with newfound energy towards their finding. At the least, it would provide shelter. At the most, somepony would be home. Either way. they'd found something great that was no doubt the turning point in this horrible situation.

As the approached the structure, they discovered that it was in better condition than they had expected to find it in. It even appeared as though somepony had been home very recently. Outside was a crate of fruits and veggies that was nearly empty, but the fruit was preserved from the cold. Nearby, a wagon stood up against the cabin. It had been filled with hay bales, one of which seemed to be missing, at least, that's what Blue suggested.

As a whole, the cabin was well-maintained. There was no rot, no logs missing or damaged, and all windows were intact. There was even a chimney, with which the prospect of having continuous warmth excited the two ponies even more.

Making their way around to the front of the square cabin, they came upon another sign that the occupants or owner was around recently -- a literal sign. It was hung on the front door, on the bronze handle. It read, "Gone to town. Leave mail on doormat." Blue silently wondered who would be dumb enough to deliver mail in the middle of nowhere in the Frozen North.

"That must be the town you and I have been trekking for!" Fluttershy exclaimed hopefully.

Blue smiled nervously. "Uh, yeah. That town." He had almost forgotten his terrible lie and plan which had led them to this cabin by chance. Maybe this was his opportunity to change the plans again to something that was honest, and avoid ever having to lie to this mare he was with again.

Blue and Fluttershy now stood on the covered porch, unsure as to whether they could morally justify breaking into some pony's house. Blue was less certain that the owner would care, seeing as how they were near death and currently in the middle of a raging, life-threatening winter storm.

With survival instinct finally winning them over, they found the heavy wooden door unlocked and made their way into the cabin. It was dark, but they could see that it was fully furnished. Somepony definitely lived here, and very recently.

Fluttershy went around and lit up lanterns while Blue got the fireplace going. They could now see the extent of their situation.

The cabin was furnished, decorated, and had many personal belongings scattered about. There was even food in the kitchen that was still good. By the door was a wrought iron rod poker for the fireplace, probably stuck there by the owner for intruders to learn their mistake.

Fluttershy wandered over to a corner of the room where a stack of green metal pans sat in a precariously, along with a long, ribbed open-topped box. "What is this stuff?" she inquired aloud, picking up one of the pans and putting it on her head like a hat.

Blue chuckled as he trotted up to her, taking the pan off her head and turning it upright. "It's a gold pan. And that box down there is a sluice box. The fella that owns this cabin must be a prospector." He stuck the pan back down on the stack of others, feeling a quick pang of jealousy for the cabin owner. Prospecting for gold in this area must be so relaxing, he thought to himself.

Fluttershy blushed with embarrassment and turned away. "Oh, right..."

Blue gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile. "Let's go finish seeing what we have to work with in here, shall we?" The he moved off towards the back of the cabin.

On the left, Blue found a lavish yet simple bathroom. It contained a huge tub, a sink with a mirrored cabinet above, and a small corner table with a beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers in a pot on the top. Finding a way to get clean was a relief. Neither of them had done anything to wash the filth from their bodies -- which included dried blood and soot -- since the accident. He shivered at the thought of getting to soak in a relaxing, steamy bath.

Across from the bathroom was a comfy little bedroom. The large bed seemed a bit too big for a single pony, and Blue wondered if there was only one owner to this property. There was a shag brown and gold carpet at the foot of the decorative walnut bed frame, and a heavy dark-wood wardrobe to the left of the door, beside the bed. A lantern sat unlit on the nightstand by the opposite side of the bed.

"Blue! Are you hungry?" Fluttershy called out from behind him some distance. Blue turned to find her merrily trotting up to him, munching on a pear. She held one out to him, much to his surprise.

"There was food? Where?" he asked inquisitively, taking the pear and removing a generous portion of one side with a single bite.

Fluttershy gave a feminine little giggle. "The kitchen. of course. It's almost fully stocked! Want dinner?"

"Boy, would I!" Blue replied with a cheesy grin after swallowing without chewing. "It's been awhile since we were civilized, hasn't it?"

"Mmhmm," Fluttershy nodded in agreement, already done with her pear. She turned and went back to the kitchen and began shuffling around in cabinets, getting some type of meal ready for them.

Blue shuffled over to the couch sitting before the fireplace and plopped down lazily, sinking down between the cushions. The soft, cushiony seat was almost alien to him, considering he and Fluttershy had been sleeping on rocks, dirt, and metal floors the past week or so.

Blue began scanning the room in greater detail, looking for anything that might give a clue as to whom the owner might be. Atop the fireplace, where there was space on the stone for smaller objects and decorations, Blue sighted some pictures of an older stallion with two foals. They were all smiling at the camera. Beside it, on either side, were two decorative bells of gold and silver. Representations of the two foals? Gifts from the foals?

Off to his left, where the gold mining tools were, Blue saw a small desk. There was a small lamp on top that Fluttershy had lit, some papers, it appeared, and a book. Beside the desk was a short bookshelf with maybe 15 volumes, Blue estimated. On top of that bookshelf were a few carafes and a wine bottle.

On the far right side of the room was a huge, towering safe. Blue wondered what was in it only for a second until he nearly facehooved. Gold, duh.

"Blue, what kind of bread to you want? Rye or wheat?"

Blue snapped out of his deep thought and peered over his shoulder into the kitchen. Fluttershy stood there at one of the counters looking back at him while holding a loaf of bread in either hoof.

"Uhhh… Rye?"

Fluttershy frowned. "Is that a question or a statement?"

"Rye," Blue corrected himself with an innocent grin.

Fluttershy seemed concerned for a moment, but returned her attention to making what looked like sandwiches. Blue couldn't wait for real food.

And he didn't have to wait long. Fluttershy handed Blue a plate with his sandwich over his shoulder, then came and sat beside him, wasting no time digging into her meal.

"I honestly can't blame you for that ravenous hunger you're displaying," Blue said with mild amusement, watching Fluttershy devour her meal. "I wish I could share the feeling. I'm hungry, just not that hungry. Stomach has probably shrunken due to this mess of a situation and our piss-poor diet lately." He finally indulged in his sandwich. It was every bit as delicious as he'd expected it to be.

Fluttershy swallowed and peered over at him, giving him a slightly motherly look. "Are you okay? You're not feeling ill, are you?"

Blue shook his head. "Nah. I feel alright. I just don't have as big of an appetite right now. I'm glad you're eating, though. You never seemed to eat very much and that always worried me."

"I've never been a big eater," she said admittedly. "I guess this event has had the opposite effect on me than it did for you." She dug back into her sandwich.

"It seems it has." Blue resumed eating his sandwich as well.

They ate in silence for the rest of their meal. Fluttershy finished first, naturally, and decided to use the opportunity to clean up. Blue got the fireplace going while he waited, sitting on the couch and listening to the crackle of the fire and the whistle of the wind outside and got to thinking.

Would he and Fluttershy have a friendship after this was all over? Would they stay in touch? Would they end up more than friends? Should Blue even cross that line? Technically he'd already asked her out, and she didn't say no. But Blue wondered just how far they would take this relationship. They'd only known each other this last week and a half roughly, but had spent so much time together, facing trial and tribulation one after another, that he believed their connection to be strong enough for a relationship after everything was said and done.

The question was -- did Fluttershy feel the same way?

Staring blankly at the flickering flames before him, Blue pondered further. What would life be for him after this all ended? Would it go back to normal? Would he feel normal? With such a traumatic incident in his past, would he have any psychological drawbacks? Anything that would cause him trouble, like nightmares or flashbacks? PTSD? How would he deal with it all?

Working aboard a cruise ship while suffering from PTSD seemed like a terrible plan, but somehow, Blue felt he wouldn't have to deal with any of the aforementioned issues. He was strong-willed enough, he thought, to move on quite well from this terrible chapter in his life. Never mind the bouts of depression that plagued he and Fluttershy from time to time -- that came naturally with a tragedy such as this. It didn't make either of them any less strong.

Correcting himself on earlier thoughts, Blue noted that it wasn't all that bad, to be completely honest. He had met Fluttershy. That wasn't bad. He made friends with her, had survived thus far with her, and even confessed his growing attraction to her without being rejected. Where was the wrong in that?

Blue stood and brought his paper plate to the kitchen, where he deposited it in the metal trash bin by the sink. He silently returned to the couch after making himself some tea from the cabinet using the water on the stove Fluttershy had boiled during dinner. She claimed to have found purified water in a jug under the sink to use for tea, which would help with the flavor.

What about his parents? He hadn't spoken to them in awhile, but they did worry about him all the time when he was working in the mines. At least once a month, his parents sent him a letter, and he would return one. Depending on how long this ordeal took to get out of, if he and Fluttershy ever did, he might end up missing his monthly "check-up" with his parents. That wouldn't go well, seeing as how they once contacted Princess Celestia's Royal Air Force when his letter back to them was a day late.

Blue knew nothing of Fluttershy's family or friends, aside from the other Elements of Harmony, which were no doubt aware of her lack or presence. There was also Discord, but he was apparently in charge of watching over her cottage while she was away, which Blue had expressed concern for why he hadn't just tracked her down through detecting her magic. Fluttershy had no answer for that. She suggested Discord might be off in a multi-dimensional adventure again, which he did every so often.

His reverie was interrupted when Fluttershy emerged from the latrine, wrapped like a pony taco in towels.

"Um, bathroom's free," she said with a demure smile, then disappearing into the bedroom, closing the door tightly behind her.

"Guess it's my turn," Blue said, standing up and stretching.

Blue and Fluttershy sat on the couch before the blazing fireplace with steaming mugs of freshly brewed herbal tea and keeping warm.

Then storm outside hadn't let up a bit. As it was hours ago, the it howled like an angry predator, consuming the land with copious quantities of powdery, white snow. There was no telling how long it was to last, so Blue and Fluttershy agreed to hunker down in their newfound shelter until it showed signs of weakening.

To pass time, they held random discussions about various things, from how much better they felt after their showers, to foalhood stories, to recent happenings in their lives. It was a great way to learn a little more about each other, and to break up the dark metaphorical cloud that seemed to be trailing behind them lately. With things finally looking up, they felt more normal, and they both could tell they were loosening up a little.

Blue was just finishing up a story about the time he found a 100-pound ruby when a loud crack of thunder rattled the windows and sent the two ponies to the floor, cowering in fear.

"W-what was that?" Fluttershy stammered, trembling un controllably.

Blue swallowed hard, shaking as well. "I... I think it was... thunder? Like... lightning thunder?"

Fluttershy was confused. "It's not summer, and it's not a thunderstorm outside right now. I don't understand..."

They both slowly sat up, swiveling their heads back and forth like a pair of meerkats looking for danger.

"That was thunder, the more I think about it," Blue confirmed. "It can happen in severe winter storms. Rare, but possible."

"Well, I've never heard thunder in a snowstorm before." Fluttershy crawled back onto the couch and wrapped up in her blanket once again.

Blue sighed down at his spilled tea and broken mug. Fluttershy had set hers down but Blue was holding his when the thunder struck, and when he flopped to the floor, it sent his precious tea flying. "Guess I'll go get a mop or something."

"Sorry, Blue..." Fluttershy offered.

Blue laughed. "Be quiet, you. Don't be sorry."

"Sorry..."

Blue returned once he located an old mop in the kitchen closet. Good thing the floors in the living room were wood, otherwise he'd feel bad about staining whoever's carpet it was.

After cleaning up his mess, Blue put the mop in the tub to deal with later. He returned to the sofa with Fluttershy, tealess and mopey.

"I'm sensing distress," Fluttershy said, leaning forward to see Blue's face better, as he was slouching and staring down.

Blue sighed. "That tea... it was so young."

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but words evaded her. Confusion set in quickly, and she closed her mouth, sitting back, and diverting her gaze to the fireplace.

Blue could only hold in his laughs for so long. he burst into a fit and nearly fell off the couch.

"Uh, are you okay? You're not suffering from delirium again, are you...?" Fluttershy questioned him, unamused.

Blue stopped giggling and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Whew... okay so, that was not as funny as I made it out to be, I have no idea why I laughed that hard, probably due to the lack of humor lately altogether, and, suffering from delirium again? What?"

Fluttershy sipped her tea, staring straight forward. She said nothing.

"Okay then. Onwards! I'm feeling much more chipper. How about you?" Blue clasped his hooves together, feeling a bit woozy. Why was he suddenly so... tired? So disoriented? So goofy?

Fluttershy nearly dropped her tea as she tried to set it down on the floor. "I don't know why, but this tea doesn't taste right. I also feel weird..."

Blue struggled to stand. "Yeah, I noticed this, but I didn't want to say anything and sound like a jackass. Uhhhh, what kind of tea is this you made?"

"Herbal, I said. I think." She too, struggled to stand, tossing her blanket haphazardly back onto the couch to follow Blue.

Blue staggered into the kitchen with Fluttershy hot on his tail. "I don't know about that one, Dollface. Something ain't right here." He snatched the tea box off the counter and tried to read it for information. "Ah, Herbal Remedies: Echinacea Blend. That doesn't seem a viable culprit."

Fluttershy held onto the counter for support, wobbling to and fro. "That can't be why we feel sooooo odd."

Blue remembered something through the haziness in his thoughts. "You said you used filtered water from a jug, right?"

"Yeah. It's under the counter. You don't think the water did this, do you?"

Blue dug under the counter for the jug, which he pulled out for inspection. "Oh, shit. Fluttershy, this isn't water. I knew this tea seemed off."

Fluttershy shook her head vigorously, trying to rid herself of the slowly increasing dizziness. "Uh, what is it?"

"It's absinthe, you goof. You got us drunk."

"Oh."

"Well," Blue coughed, setting the jug on the counter. "That explains the strong taste," he said in a gravelly voice. "How does shit like this even happen? How did neither of us gag on this shit long before drinking enough to pass out?"

"I don't know. Maybe the echinacea canceled it out? I don't know much about alcohol, frankly." She hiccupped loudly and abruptly, startling Blue. "Oh. I'm sorry. That was rude of me."

"No?" Blue cocked an eyebrow at her. "We should probably go sit down."

"I think I agree, though I'm probably going for the bed."

Blue shrugged the best he could. "Oh, okay. Going to bed without me?"

Fluttershy smiled coquettishly. "I didn't say that." She held his gaze and the smile as she left the kitchen, wandering in a stumble to the bedroom, leaving Blue with a million thoughts running through his mind.

"I guess I'd better toss another log into the fire and get to bed then," he said aloud, to nopony in particular. He knew he was inebriated, that Fluttershy was inebriated, and that both of them would feel like complete shit in the morning, but to him, even though this was an accident, it was worth it. They deserved a little fun, right?

After fueling the fire for a bit longer, Blue headed to the bedroom, where Fluttershy lay sprawled out under the covers, staring curiously at him as he entered the room.

"Hey," she said.

Blue waved. "Uh, hey?" He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his eyes. He was going to say something more, he even had his mouth open, until he felt Fluttershy wrapping her forelegs around his torso and tugging him onto her. In a flash, he was staring into the eyes of a drunk mare who seemed a bit too frisky for her typical personality.

Blue swallowed hard, his throat suddenly feeling dry. His muzzle was inches from hers, so close he could feel her hot breaths on his face and smell the alcohol on her breath. "I, uh..."

Fluttershy shushed him, holding a hoof to his mouth. "You don't have to say anything. I just wanted to hold you." She pecked his cheek and giggled mischievously.

Blue felt his face growing hot. "Fluttershy, I think you may have had too much to drink."

"We both did, silly. I'm just having fun. Don't you like having fun?"

"I... yeah, but..."

"But what?" She began gently stroking his chest with a hoof while fluttering her lashes flirtatiously.

Blue considered all things for a moment. He was lying on top of Fluttershy, their bodies flush. She was touching him with more than just a platonic hug, they were both inebriated, and they had a place too stay finally, somewhere inherently safe, with food, water, shelter, warmth, and even entertainment. Why shouldn't he indulge in a little harmless dalliance, especially if the mare is the one enticing?

From a moral standpoint, Blue questioned the current situation. But, as it seems, he also had interests and desires, as it appeared Fluttershy did. But that didn't mean she wanted to do anything with him, did it? Then again, by her actions and gestures, she was clearly looking for something from him, and he had every intention on supplying whatever she wanted.

He swallowed hard, locking eyes with the mare beneath him. "I... I have a lot of things on my mind, right now. The most prominent being what I would like to do with you right now."

"And what is that?" Fluttershy asked, fluttering her eyelashes provocatively at him. Were these her true feelings being amplified by the alcohol, or simply alcohol turning her into a mindless deviant, as it sometimes did with some ponies? Blue couldn't tell -- his own mind was clouded from the alcohol, and even he was beginning to feel a bit inappropriate.

He sighed heavily, opening his mouth to speak every dirty thought he'd ever had about her throughout the whole trip, but her hoof to his lips stopped him.

"Show me," she whispered.

284 Hours

Blue's eyes cracked open, and the first thing he felt was the telltale signs of a hangover. Also there to greet him was the grogginess of a terrible night's sleep. He sat up, yawned unnecessarily loud, and rubbed his eyes.

And then he remembered what had happened last night.

In a slight state of panic, he shot a glance over to Fluttershy's side of the bed, but she wasn't there.

"Fluttershy?" he called out, quickly hopping out of bed and wincing. His pastern was still broken and still hurt, albeit much less than before, especially with Fluttershy constantly treating it.

Blue got no reply, so he wandered wearily into the hall and out to the living room. Fluttershy was sitting on the couch at the fireplace, which she had lit at some point. She also had a cup of what appeared to be hot tea, and a blanket wrapped around her.

"Fluttershy...?" He approached her slowly.

"Sit please," Fluttershy said sternly.

Blue had a feeling this was about the events that transpired last night. He complied, though he sat in such a way where there was no chance he would be touching her. Somehow he doubted she wanted that right now. He had clearly crossed a line last night.

Fluttershy stared at the fire, then closed her eyes and sighed. "Blue... Last night..."

"I know," he interrupted. "I'm sorry. I let-"

Fluttershy raised a hoof to stop him. "Let me finish."

"Sorry... Go on."

"Last night should never have happened. I..." she paused, searching for the right words. "I like you... a lot. But... I wasn't ready for what we did. I wasn't, but... that alcohol is nasty stuff. It made me think I was."

Blue nodded, not sure how to respond. Fluttershy continued after a moment.

"I can't really say I'm mad. I'm not, honestly. But we shouldn't have done... what we did. Neither of us were ready." She sipped her tea and went on. "I also can't blame you. I'm the one that used alcohol in our tea. that was purely an accident that will never happen again."

"It's not your fault," Blue said gently, looking over at her. She glanced up at him from the fire. Her eyes were red-rimmed, most likely from crying. Blue felt a gut-wrenching pang of guilt. "Listen... that bottle was labelled on the bottom with marker. It had no real label. You had no way of knowing it wasn't water. It's a mistake you really couldn't have prevented. And also... I let myself get carried away last night. I can't blame it all on the alcohol. And I'm sorry for that. I just hope I can be forgiven..."

Fluttershy averted her gaze back to the fire. "I'm not mad at you, Blue. I just want you to understand that last night shouldn't have happened. I can't pretend it didn't happen, but I'd rather not discuss it anymore." She sighed. "And it won't happen again. At least, not during this mess..."

"Right," Blue agreed. "We have more important things to do than engaging in personal affairs."

There was a moment of silence from the both of them, with nothing but the sounds of the winter storm and the fire filling the void.

"So..." Blue was the first to break the silence. "Are we okay? Are we good?"

"Everything is fine, Blue. I already told you I'm not mad at you. Let's just move on, okay?"

Sensing her irritation, Blue decided she was probably right. New topic. "Well, looks like the storm is still growing strong."

Fluttershy followed his gaze to the window by the front door. "Yeah. I'm glad we found this place. I don't think we could've made it a single night out there."

"No, we most certainly would not have made it."

As if to confirm this, a strong gust of wind sent curtains of heavy snow against the west side of the cabin, making the whole structure creak and groan in protest.

"Well, I have no idea when this storm will end, and we have no reason to venture outside the cabin except for more firewood, which we don't have to go far for since it's in a pile on the porch, but I can't just sit here. I'm going to find something to do." Blue stood and stretched, his joints cracking audibly.

"I need to rewrap your wing," Fluttershy said quietly, sipping her tea. "I'll do mine afterwards. Go sit in the bathroom and wait for me."

"I suppose that needs to be done, yeah." Blue made his way into the bathroom, where he closed the lid to the toilet and plopped down. His head was throbbing, which meant he would have to end up looking around for pain reliever. Not to mention his leg was still broken.

Fluttershy appeared moments later, pulling a roll of bandages from the cabinet over the sink. She used a pair of scissors to cut loose his old, dirty, tattered ones, carefully and methodically. Blue watched in awe, noting how doctorly she could be.

She began wrapping his wing after gently cleaning it with an alcohol-soaked rag, but she very quickly ran out of bandages.

"Shoot... I don't know if we have any more bandages." She scratched her chin thoughtfully and stood by the sink.

Blue shrugged. "Uhhhh… In the kitchen? I don't know. Have any in your bag?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I'll go search around here a little. There's got to be more, or at least a viable substitute." She pranced out of the room on the hunt.

Blue used the opportunity to check out his half-wrapped wing. He could stretch it out farther now, but it ached, and the bandages prevented him from fully extending it. It looked dirty still, too, but much cleaner after Fluttershy had cleansed it.

Where did Fluttershy learn all this medical stuff, anyways? Blue couldn't imagine she'd ever been a nurse. But he also couldn't deny that she'd be a great one. Now that he gave it more thought, she'd probably learned all her medical knowledge from treating her animals. That seemed the most reasonable explanation.

Blue rubbed his leg tenderly at the break. The splint needed replaced. It was falling apart, dingy, and stank. He'd ask her if she could take care of that as well whenever she came back, assuming she found more bandages.

Blue looked up when Fluttershy appeared in the doorway, but she wasn't holding bandages. His heart skipped a full two beats when he saw the furious glare on her face as she held up a map, unfurled.

His map.

Blue stood from the toilet slowly. "Fluttershy... I can explain."

She did not appear convinced. "You have a lot of that to do then."