“Well, this sucks.”
That was all Flash could really say about the situation he was in.
And he was right. It did suck. Like a lot.
After the Rainbooms’ fight with Hoity Toity in the secret portal room beneath Castle Hoofbeard, Flash figured out too little too late that Hoity’s battle with them was just a diversion to destroy the foundations holding up the castle and steal the Portal stone from them while they would frantically try to escape. However, Hoity didn’t expect poor, normal, magicless Flashy to reveal his plan to the girls, with Twilight snatching away the stone before he could get away.
However, that left him in a bit of a dilemma. With the whole place coming down, threatening to bring them all to an unlucky grave, Flash saw the ceiling nearly fall onto one of his unsuspecting friends and tackled them before it could crush her, the rubble separating the two from the rest of the group. Twilight had tried her best to hold up the castle with her levitation, but he knew that it would only be holding back the inevitable. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before the end, and asked his friends to remember him as a hero before asking Twilight to let go, practically sealing them in their own tomb. It took a bit of convincing from him, but that, combined with the nerd girl’s own exhaustion, led to the complete collapse of the cavern on top of the pair, with Flash practically wrapping himself around his friend in a vain attempt to possibly save her, even if he couldn’t save himself…
…
…
…
But apparently, having an entire castle made from stone fall on top of you didn’t actually mean that you would die immediately. In fact, he’d go as far as to say that he got incredibly lucky. Absurdly luck, even. Perhaps it was even impossible for him to survive those circumstances.
But there he was, underneath enough stone to fill up maybe twenty graveyards, and yet he was still alive. Granted, it felt like he had slept under a rock for the past few weeks, but considering the circumstances, it could’ve been worse. He didn’t know how long he was out. For all he knew, he really could’ve been there for weeks. All he did know was that it was heavy and it hurt and that explaining this was only gonna give him a worse headache than he already had to begin with.
When he came to, he had no idea where he was for the first few seconds, completely blanking on why he wasn’t in his bed in his father’s mansion. It didn’t take long, however, for his throbbing head to catch him up to speed and remind him what had happened, and so, he said the first thing that came to mind:
“Well, this sucks.”
Yes it did, Flash Sentry. It really, really did.
…
…
…
Well, he might as well try to get out of here. If the universe tried to bury him alive and failed, then surely he wasn’t supposed to stay there. He was gonna get up and find some way to get back home. Everyone was probably worried sick about him, especially the girls. I mean, seeing anyone get crushed by huge pieces of stone would be traumatizing, but actually having a connection with them would probably kill anyone, especially after he went out of his way to…
Wait…
Oh no.
He forgot that he was laying on top of one of them.
He frantically tried to move his hands around, trying to figure out if she was still breathing, but to no avail. However long he had been sleeping for had been long enough to completely numb his arms, so he couldn’t really feel much, if at all. Darn rocks had cut off all the circulation from his shoulder down. He hoped she was still alright, and given her track record against many magical entities, she’d probably be fine…
Probably.
A blinding light suddenly caught his attention, burning brightly through the cracks in between the damaged castle’s walls. Flash only knew of one thing that could shine this far into a war-torn cavern: the sun.
And if that was the sun, then that meant the surface had to be nearby.
And if the surface was nearby…then maybe they weren’t buried underneath as deep as he’d thought.
At least, that’s what he hoped, anyway.
Well, he’d never know unless he tried, right?
With a newfound sense of purpose, Flash dug his feet into the ground beneath him and put all of his strength onto his back.
One…
Two…
THREE!
He hoisted himself up as hard as he could, pushing the rocks aside, breaking through to the surface to get himself a nice gulp of delicious, non-seawater smelling air.
At least, he would’ve gotten that if he didn’t just push the rock onto his leg.
He tried his best not to scream…
He failed miserably.
“AHHHHHHHHH!”
The poor boy’s scream echoed throughout the island, shaking the snow off of the trees and waking many unsuspecting animals out of their hibernation. Some residents from Filthy Rich’s resort thought they heard something, Quibble Pants believed that he had finally gone insane from the lack of human interaction, and even Gloriosa swore that the wind sounded a bit…higher-pitched than normal.
Flash’s cries of pain lasted for all of ten seconds before he finally got a grip on himself…or he ran out of breath. It was one or the other and he couldn’t really tell which came first.
He gasped in huff and puffs of air, trying to get as much oxygen into his head that he desperately needed, billowing out into white clouds from the chilly winter temperatures. Jeez, when did it get so cold out here? How long had they been in there for, because it couldn’t have been this bad when he was last outside. The wind was awful, completely ignoring his jacket and just piercing straight through him, especially around his arms. It felt like needles were being jabbed wherever they felt like. Seriously, if you can’t make a custom jacket that looks cool and also protects against the weather, then what’s the point of having a jacket in the first place? He’d have Edmund find another tailor when he got back, because this is ridiculous…
…
Wait, weren’t his arms supposed to be numb or something?
He looked down at his arms to see that he had, in fact, dislodged them from their spot underneath the poor girl he had been holding, the heat rising rapidly as his blood flow overcompensated and tried to fill them back up again after being blocked for so long. Honestly, it felt great that he could feel his extremities again, but that only left him wondering…
If his arms were here, then where..?
Flash looked over and confirmed exactly what he had suspected.
“Yep. She’s in the hole.”
He sighed. Figures he’d do that. Letting her and the other Rainbooms down again. I mean, he didn’t think he’d do it in a literal sense, but now he could say he’s done both.
…
Right, he’s gotta get her out of the hole. That’s what people who are human shields do. Of course.
But first he should probably take care of the huge thing on his leg.
Shaking the blood back into his arms, Flash grasped the piece of ceiling tightly into his grip. It was cold and wet, which made him pause for a bit. Why was it wet? Did it snow when they were down there? He had no idea. Nonetheless, he threw it away, hoping it broke in half like it had done to his pride a minute ago.
He moved over some more rubble and picked up his companion, gently placing her on his lap. Unfortunately, laying her down anywhere on these shards of rock would probably stab her in her sleep, so he decided to take the more gentlemanly approach this time, even if she freaked out once she woke up. Best to own up to it than to cause her any more discomfort.
She looked…well, he wouldn’t say she looked bad, but she definitely looked better before the roof literally fell on them. Her hair was covered in dust and broken pebbles, dulling her usually bright and vibrant colored hair. Her shirt had a few rips and tears (which he purposefully tried not to stare at), and her legs looked pretty battered and bruised. She was breathing, thankfully, her chest rising and falling pretty normally, so she probably didn’t get any debris stuck in her throat.
All in all, he could’ve done a worse job at saving someone. He’d give this rescue attempt a solid 7/10 at the most.
That is, if she’ll actually wake up. You’d think that after hearing him let out a super manly and not at all feminine scream that she’d at least be somewhat awake, but nope; she was out like a light, not even mumbling or drooling like he’d seen her do plenty of times in class. It was pretty adorable, all things considered, but he wouldn’t tell her that, unless he suddenly lost feeling in his leg and needed a good kick.
Alright, time to stop stalling. The longer they stayed here, the more worried everyone else was gonna get, and while he was a sucker for a pretty face, they didn't make for good food and certainly weren’t gonna keep him warm. Shaking her slightly and patting her face, Flash tried to stir her from her sleep.
“Dash?”
It took a few tries, but soon enough, he could see her beautiful magenta eyes open up again as she let out a small, scratchy moan.
“Ugh…”
She tried to sit up, wondering why her bed felt so nonexistent before she nearly fell over onto the hole again. Luckily, Flash grabbed her by the hand and hoisted her back up onto his lap.
“Okay! I’m up, I’m up!” Dash cried, eyes wide as the adrenaline kicked in. “I know that I put shaving cream on your ice cream, Pinkie, but this is going too…far?”
Dash frantically glanced around, a million questions flowing through her head. What happened last night? Why did it feel like she had slept on a rock? What was Flash doing here? Where’s her Wonderbolt plush toy that she always sleeps with?
Wait…Flash?
“Flash?” She asked, rubbing her eyes to see if this was a dream, but nope; that was definitely Flash Sentry alright, although he looked a bit worse for wear, with his hair standing on end and his tattered clothes that was the complete opposite to the rich gentleman their group had come to know.
“You alright? You didn’t break anything, did you? I see some bruises, but I can’t see everything. How many fingers am I holding up?”
And like a gentleman, he was also being as overbearing and overprotective as possible.
“I’m fine.” Dash grumbled, pushing his hand out her face before groaning again. “Ugh, what happened last night?”
Flash gave her a worried look. “Do you not remember?”
“Not really. I kinda just woke up and nearly fell into a hole, so I’m gonna say I’m not at home right now.”
Flash chuckled nervously. “Yeah…”
Dash picked her brain, trying to remember what had happened. There was some kind of pageant going on, and Hoity Toity was apparently scouting out where to go on some island? There were some vague memories of the gang going to a castle, getting chased by some snakes…they found Flash somehow, even though they didn’t invite him…Twilight was in danger…then Hoity showed up and they had a huge battle before—
“OMIGOSH TWILIGHT!” She suddenly exclaimed, nearly deafening her companion. “Did she make it out okay?! The room started falling apart and I had no idea what I was doing and then I was on the ground and then—”
“Hey, hey! Calm down, Dash! She and the others made it out alright…I think.” He muttered that last part under his breath.
“Then where the heck are they?! They didn’t just leave us here, right?!”
An uncomfortable silence filled the air when Flash didn’t respond.
“They…didn’t leave us here…r-right?” She repeated, a little bit of fear starting to grip at her heart.
“I mean…if I saw someone get flattened by a giant castle made from stone, I wouldn’t stay around. What if the police showed up? I’m about to be the mayor’s kid! That would kill his career! Hehehe…hehe…he…” Flash’s chuckles trailed off.
Rainbow Dash blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
…
…
…
“Uhh, Dash?” Flash asked, raising an eyebrow. “That was a joke. You’re supposed to laugh.”
…
“You alright there, Rainbow?” He snapped his fingers in her face which stared into the endless beyond. “Look, I know it was in bad taste, but that’s how all political humor—”
“YOU MEAN WE’RE STUCK HERE?!”
…
“…okay, ow.” Flash put a finger in his ear to pull the bell that had been suddenly thrust into his ear.
Dash, meanwhile, began to have a complete nervous breakdown.
“Omigosh, what if they told my parents what happened? I mean, we’ve been on dangerous adventures before, but I never thought about what we would do if someone actually got hurt or anything! Oh, they’re probably gonna freak! And then they’re gonna tell Principal Celestia and then they’re gonna take me out of school and then I’ll be stuck out on the streets like a hobo and then I’ll have no chance of joining the Wondercolts team because they don’t accept anyone who isn’t enrolled in the school and then they’ll cancel my phone plan and use my savings on my funeral and then—”
A sudden pair of arms wrapped around her, silencing her from her mental spiral of ‘what ifs’ right then.
“Shh, shhhh.” Flash soothed, rubbing her arms with slow and calm motions. “It’s alright. We’re fine now. It’s gonna be fine. Just breathe.”
Dash took a few deep breaths. She took a few breathing classes to try and increase her stamina out in the field, so she knew how to handle this. Just in and out.
In and out.
In…and out.
In…and…out.
“You good?” Flash questioned, still a bit worried.
“Yeah…yeah, I’m good now.” Dash breathed out, her nerves subsided.
They sat like that for a few moments, relaxing into the sound of their own heartbeats and breathing. After everything that had happened in the past few weeks, what with this new magic, a secret society bent on taking over the world, and literally having a building fall on top of them, they felt they deserved a bit of a break.
At least, until they realized that they had been hugging for quite a bit longer than any normal person should.
The two high schoolers tore apart, a burning blush spreading across their cheeks.
“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“N-no, I shouldn’t have tried that—”
“Still, I was the one freaking out, and you were just trying to help—”
“Really, it’s fine, I was just overreacting, and—”
“I just wanted to say that I was—”
“All I want to say is that I’m—”
“Sorry.”
An awkward silence filled the air, the pair not daring to look into the other’s eyes.
…
…
…
“S-so, anyway…” Flash coughed into his hand, trying to ignore his boiling red face. “What’s the plan, then?”
“Plan? What do you mean, ‘plan?’” Rainbow asked incredulously.
“Well, I mean, we’ve kinda been living under a rock…or two…or ten—”
“Get to the point.”
“How’re we gonna get home?”
…
…
…
“Ehehehe…I was hoping you’d come up with something.” Dash replied, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
“Yeah, I figured as much.” The blue haired boy rolled his eyes playfully. “Luckily for you, I do have an idea of how to get us back.”
“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you ask?”
“Cause I like messing with you. You look adorable when you’re flustered, and I’m a sucker for a cute face.” He flashed his signature grin, giving her a little wink.
Whatever remained of her blush instantly came back full force as the tomboy pouted, pursing her lips and crossing her arms as she tried to ignore his teasing.
“Yeah, just like that!”
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working.
“Whatever, rich boy.” The girl grumbled, not looking him in the face and definitely not thinking about how shiny his teeth were. “What’s this ‘idea’ you have that’ll get us out of this frozen wasteland?”
“I’m so glad you asked.” Flash gave one last chuckle before continuing. “So, you know that theory proposed by Occam Razor from science class?”
“No, I’m not an egghead like Twi or Sun-Shim…or you, apparently.”
“Okay, first off: ouch, my pride.” He clutched his heart in mock offense. “And second: Occam Razor was the guy who came up with the idea that the simplest solution to a problem is the correct one. Sooooo…” The rocker trailed off as he put his hand in his pocket. “I thought that we should call your friends and tell them what happened so they can pick us up.”
“Ooohhh, good idea!” Dash perked up at the idea…before remembering that she was mad at him. “I mean…duh! Of course I knew what you were gonna do. I was just…testing you! Yeah!”
“…riiight.” Flash deadpanned, not believing a single word coming out of her mouth. “Well, whatever the case, we’ll give ‘em a ring, they’ll find us, patch us up, and we’ll be on our way back like nothing happened! Problem solved!” He gave her a small smile as his hand gripped on the super rectangle in his pockets. “And no one will be the wiser! Not Celestia, not Luna, not Dad, not your parents; we’ll be…fine…” He trailed off as he pulled out his phone.
At least, what used to be his phone, because what he had grabbed was definitely shaped like a phone, but sadly…it wasn’t anymore.
The screen was completely busted, with long, spider-like cracks webbing the glass in a way where you’d definitely cut your hand if you tried to touch it. It had obviously been squished from the heavy weight of an entire castle, considering that it somehow looked even flatter than normal, with bits of wiring and circuitry bulging out of the sides like someone performing amateur surgery and trying to find where the organs go.
But hey, they at least knew that it could still receive calls and messages, since the antenna was sticking out from the phone. What was this, the 80s?
“Eheh…maybe it’ll still work?”
A piece of the screen promptly fell onto the broken floor, making a soft plink on the stone.
“Dude…I think your phone might be broken.”
Flash gave the blue-skinned girl a hard glare. “Really, now?”
“Well, I was bound to break sooner or later.” Dash shrugged off his “I mean, it’s definitely not one of Nokia Brick’s phones. Those things are completely unbreakable!”
Flash sighed, rubbing his eyes in frustration. “Well, that was a bust. What about your phone?”
“Aww, if you wanted my number, you could’ve just asked.”
“RAINBOW!”
“Alright, alright! Jeez, you can tease me but I can’t do it to you? Sounds like hypocrisy to me.” Despite her annoyed attitude, Dash fished her own phone out of her pocket and showed it to him.
And somehow, either by divine intervention, Flash protecting it from harm, or a plot hole, her phone seemed completely fine. If anything, it seemed like it hadn’t been touched at all.
“Wha…how…why…ehh?!”
“Like I said, Nokia Brick knows her stuff.”
Flash shook himself out of his stupor, not bothering to try and logic his way out of this one. It was like Pinkie Pie: an enigma, unsolvable by life, the universe, and Twilight Sparkle.
“Well, call them already!”
“I’m gonna, I’m gonna!” She rolled her eyes as she dialed the number, held the receiver to her ear, and…
“OH, COME ON! NO SIGNAL?!”
Wow, this girl had some lungs on her. If he hung around her any longer, he’d probably go deaf before he turned 30.
“Well, that’s just great!” Dash ranted, angrily shoving her phone back in her pocket. “We’re stranded on an island, with no way to get back, no way to send our friends a message to let them know we’re even alive, and we have no place to stay, no water, and no food for us to—”
“I’ve got a granola bar.” Flash chuckled nervously, spurring the girl out of her tirade.
The poor boy could practically feel the sensation of someone trying to burn a hole through his body from the glare that the hothead was giving him.
“We’ve got…one…granola bar…” She repeated, her eye twitching.
“Umm…” Flash gulped. “I actually have two—”
“I DON’T CARE ABOUT HOW MANY GRANOLA BARS YOU HAVE!” Rainbow Dash exploded. “I CARE ABOUT GETTING OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE FREEZE TO DEATH IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!”
A sudden blast of chilly wind blew past the two, making them shiver. Dash was right. The longer they spent here, the sooner it would be before the sun went down and it got colder. The sky did not look pretty, and it didn’t seem to be filled with sunshine and warmth at the moment.
“You’re right.” Flash relented, sighing. “But how are we gonna get back then? There’s no way you plan on us walking all the way home, right?” He let out a laugh at the absurd idea.
Until he saw that she wasn’t laughing with him.
“You’re…kidding, right?” He asked again, a lump forming in his stomach.
“It’s either that, or we stay here and become dinner for the wolves. And Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash won’t allow being eaten by a couple of dogs.” She replied, a determined look in her eyes.
It was such a shame that he didn’t feel the same.
“Seriously?!” He exclaimed, standing up from his rock. “Could this day get any wo-OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH, SWEET MAMA, THAT HURTS!”
Flash clutched his leg in pain as he fell over on the ground, whimpering softly as tears formed in his eyes, curling up in a ball.
“Dude, you alright?” Dash asked worriedly, immediately kneeling by his side.
“N-no…” The blue haired boy groaned, grasping his calf tightly. “I pushed a rock on myself earlier when I was trying to get out of the hole.” He heaved, his vision going fuzzy. “I think I may have broken it.” Dark circles were starting to form in the corners of his eyes. Were there always three Dashes there? He couldn’t remember.
“Hey, hey!” The trio of blue-skinned pony women slapped his cheek as they all suddenly became one very clearly annoyed girl. “Stay with me here. I don’t want you passing out on me. I’m not gonna carry you by myself.”
His mind cleared up as the pain began to fade a little, but only slightly. “O-okay…” Flash took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. “I’m good now.”
“Good.” Dash replied simply, nodding. “Now, give me your leg.”
…
…what.
“…what.”
“Your leg. I need to see it.” She repeated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Unfortunately, Flash didn’t live on Planet Rainbow.
“Umm…” He gulped down the lump that had suddenly made its way into his throat. “I’m not sure that’s…a good idea…”
“Oh, don’t be a baby!” Rainbow chastised, scooting a little closer to the boy. “I’ve had a few pretty bad wipeouts in my day, and I know the difference between a sprained ankle and a broken bone.” She shuddered. “I’ll never forget how Bulk’s leg looked after falling on the skate ramp from a stunt gone wrong. I learned how the femur looks pretty quick, especially after seeing just how far it had popped out of his knee—”
“TMI, Dash! T. M. I!” Flash squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to shake the thought of Bulk Biceps’s bones being broken from his body.
“The point is, I know how to fix a bone.” She continued. “You should see some of the lines in gym class of all the people that need me to check them out for injuries. The guys are always begging me to help ‘em out, since I’m apparently really good at massaging the sore spots.” She chuckled. “They make all these weird noises when I get at juuust the right place, and a few of them really like it when I slap them on their—”
“Okay, okay, fine! Just stop talking about your weird cult of massage hungry teenagers!” Flash finally gave in, trying his best to stop the raging heat on his face…and the sudden fantasies he was imagining in his brain.
Dash pursed her lips as her brow furrowed in confusion. Normally the guys would be blushing after she had given them her treatment…
Eh, whatever. Boys were too complicated for her to understand.
Flash begrudgingly rolled up his pant leg as he stuck it out for the tomboy to feel around with, and so she reached out and began kneading the muscles. Her hands felt…awfully smooth. He didn’t know why, but he thought that they would’ve felt much rougher, seeing as how she’d constantly complain about anything being “girly” at the school, yet it seemed that she still had a bit of her feminine side shine through, just in very small, almost unnoticeable ways. And the way she moved them, with a little pressure here, a squeeze there, gliding across his calf with near expert precision made the experience feel…nice. He slowly began to relax, the gentle prodding beginning to fade away as the adrenaline from earlier faded away, his eyes growing heavy while his thoughts wandered, resting his head on the rock like it was a pillow, drifting into the land of dreams that a falling castle that knocked him unconscious couldn’t possibly provide…
…
And then she squeezed his ankle, and the wave of pain immediately forced him awake again, cringing and letting out a wince.
“Does that hurt?” Rainbow Dash questioned, completely focused on his ankle and completely oblivious to the torture that her fingers were causing him.
“No, I’m just twitching over here for fun; of course it hurts!” Flash snapped angrily. He didn’t care if he started another fight or not; he just wanted the pain to go away!
“Well, from what I can see, you haven’t broken anything.” She took her hands off his leg as the blue haired boy haughtily pulled his pant leg back down. “But your ankle is definitely sprained, judging by the swelling. You won’t be putting weight on it for a few days at least, a week at most.”
Flash groaned. As if not having any transportation wasn’t enough, now he couldn’t even walk properly! Their trip would’ve been slow regardless, but he’d hoped they’d make it to an actual building before the day ended and the snow kicked in, but with this? He didn’t know how long it’d take.
“Dang it…” He murmured under his breath, shaking his head wearily. “Sorry, Dash.”
Dash gave him a look. “What? What’re you talking about?”
“For being useless.” He replied with a frown.
“Okay, did that rock fall on your head, too, cause you’re speaking nonsense right now.”
Flash sighed. “It’s just…you girls go on these grand, magical adventures together all the time, beating up the bad guys, having fun with each other, and looking pretty good doing it, too.” His statement made her blush a little, but she forced it down. “And I’m just…here; your normal, average guy, with no special powers or abilities of any kind, and somehow I’ve wrapped myself into this situation where I’m forced to fight off these monsters that you face every day…without any way of helping.”
Dash’s breath hitched. “Flash, what—”
“I mean, look at that last battle.” He continued. “I was a sitting duck that whole time. When Twilight was battling it out with Hoity in the portal room, I was busy getting myself trapped in a broom closet away from all the action. And then, when we finally got back down there to face off against him…I was told to sit back and watch while you did all the dirty work…” He huffed, staring at a now very interesting looking rock. “And when I actually tried to help you girls fight back against him…this happened.” He gestured to the ruined site. “I couldn’t even keep from hurting myself when the whole place started coming apart.” He shut his eyes tight and grimaced. “I’m just another useless bystander, watching from the sidelines, while you go ahead and save the world for the fiftieth time over in the span of a week.” He let out another sigh, ducking his head low. “You would’ve been better off without me butting in like one of your fans…”
“Flash…”
The air was dead for a few seconds, save for the sounds of the wind whisking through the trees and the gentle crashing of the sea against the rocks in the distance…
And the Rainbow Dash punched Flash in the stomach.
“Ack!” He doubled over, the wind knocked right out of him. Once he got his breathing back in order, the rockstar boy gave the rainbow haired girl a glare. “What the heck, Dash?!”
“What the heck’s with me?!” She retorted, matching his gaze in kind. “No, the heck’s with you, ya idiot!”
Flash stared at her incredulously. “What’re you talking about?”
“You!” She responded simply. “Do you honestly think that you were actually useless that entire time we were fighting Hoity?”
Flash blinked. “Uhh, yeah? If I wasn’t, then I wouldn’t have said anything?”
“Well, you’re wrong! If it wasn’t for you warning us about him bringing the castle down on us, then the rest of the girls would’ve never gotten out in time!” She threw her arms up in exasperation. “Also, you were the one that found Twi when she fell down that hole in the floor, and you were the one that led us right back to her when she was beating the crap outta him with her weird clone crown or whatever. And…” She trailed off, her sudden stop not going unnoticed by her companion. “And if it wasn’t for you…I’d probably be a pony pancake right now…so thanks for that…I guess…” It was her turn to look away now, studying that very interesting looking rock.
Oh.
Oh, wow.
That…wasn’t what he expected.
Flash felt his heart flutter at her compliment. He knew Dash could be pretty…proud a lot of the time; always talking about how ‘awesome’ she is, boasting about her music skills, and basically just showing off her powers every chance she got…but getting a genuine ‘thank you’ out of her was a goal that not many people could say they’ve received from her. And it felt…nice, to say the least.
So of course he milked her praise for all it was worth.
“D’aww, c’mere, ya cutie!” He wrapped his arms tightly around the off guard tomboy, who struggled furiously against him, mumbling curses he couldn’t hear against his shirt. It was really adorable watching her try and wriggle her way out of his grip, but this was more out of spite than anything. He’d been in a lot of pain since waking up, and he really wanted to get back at her for that punch earlier.
Eventually, however, Dash managed to pry her face away from the grinning teen, her face bright red from her struggle and definitely not because of any other reason.
“Stupid, sexy rich boy…”
“What was that?”
“Nothing!” Her voice cracked a bit hard on that last bit, but she hoped he didn’t notice.
“Aww, you’re blushing!” Flash gushed, trying his best not to squeal in delight. “I just wanna squeeze those cute cheeks of yours—”
“Touch me again and I’ll break your other leg.” She growled.
…
“…alright, you make a pretty compelling argument.” The boy coughed into his hand, hoping to get back on topic. “So, anyway, how are we gonna get me back on my feet?” He thought for a bit before snickering. “Unless you plan on carrying me the whole way, hehe…”
“Yeah, that’d…that’d be weird!” Dash laughed with him. “Like, why would I even want to do that?”
“Exactly!”
“It would be pretty hot though…”
“What?”
“What?”
…
“You know what? I don’t really care anymore.” The boy pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a heavy breath. “I don’t suppose you have a pair of crutches that I could use?” He gave a worried glance at the rubble. “Playing hopscotch over a bunch of very sharp rocks doesn’t sound like a good idea, y’know?”
“Yeah, sorry bud, but I don’t exactly carry things like that in my pocket.” Dash looked around before she gasped suddenly. “Wait a minute! Stay there; I’ll be right back!” She rushed away without waiting for a response.
“Don’t worry; if I could, I would.” He shifted in his makeshift seat. “I swear, there’s no way to get comfortable in this thing. And I’m pretty sure it’s sticking me right up the—”
“Got it!” Dash exclaimed proudly, practically teleporting back. “No need to thank me; I know I’m awesome.”
“Riiight.” Flash rolled his eyes. “And you got me…” He glanced over at the object in her hands. “…a stick?”
“Uhh, no!” The rainbow girl scoffed. “It’s a branch. If it was a stick, it’d be smaller.”
“…and you only got one of them?”
“One’s all ya need!”
“It’s not even my size! That’s gotta be, like, twice my height!”
“…is it?” She gave it a look over before looking back at him. “Huh. I guess it is.”
The blue haired boy facepalmed. “You know, the longer we stay here, the less time we have to—”
“Hi-yah!”
CRUNCH!
Flash didn’t have time to finish before Rainbow suddenly karate kicked the wood in two, a solid clean cut through the middle, just enough for him to rest both of his arms.
Flash blinked dumbly, his brain not registering what had happened before Dash brought him out of it.
“AJ might have super strength, but without it? I’m still the strongest Rainboom in the group.” She gave him a smirk, flexing her muscles. “So, whaddaya think?”
He shook himself out of his gaze, remembering that he had to talk sometimes. “Oh, that’s, umm…cool.”
…
Apparently that was not the right thing to say, given the stare that was now freezing him in place.
“What?” She asked, her tone sending chills down his spine.
“W-well…” He sputtered out. “I-it was pretty cool, don’t get me wrong.” He gulped audibly, hoping she didn’t catch it. “It’s just…I don’t really get why you did it, is all. Ya get me?” He let out a nervous laugh, trying to diffuse the situation.
Her glare only hardened more as the intensity doubled, making him sweat nervously. Forget the cold; Dash’s eyes were gonna turn him into a Flashcicle at this rate.
…
…
…
“Whatever.” She suddenly spoke, looking away from the poor teen. “Come on; we gotta get moving.” She started walking away from him before he answered, her direction already chosen.
“Umm…can you give me the crutches, please?” Flash asked meekly.
The sound of the wood clattering to the ground was the only response he got.
He frowned. “Thanks, I guess..?”
She didn’t respond.
And so, with a plan in mind, the pair began their journey to make it back home, away from the cold, the wilderness, and this stupid castle.
Flash just hoped they’d make it back before they killed each other first.
Flash was worried.
About what, you may ask?
…
Well, everything, really.
The pair of him and Rainbow had been going in this one single direction for…a couple of hours? Maybe more? He had no idea, and it was stressing him out. Everything looked the same, just trees, rocks, and snow everywhere he looked. They could’ve been going around in circles for all they knew, and neither of them would have any idea. It didn’t help that it was starting to snow, either, which was a completely different problem entirely.
He had no idea if it was planned or not. He didn’t watch the news daily like Dad did, but he thought that he would’ve heard something at the very least from school in passing.
Then again, he had no idea how long they had been knocked out for. It could probably be a million years in the future and they could be the last surviving humans left on the planet…
…
Nah, if that were true, there wouldn’t be any snow. Global warming would’ve melted it all away.
Still, whether or not this was snow or ash from a war that had plunged the world into a nuclear winter, what he did know was that it was cold.
Like, stupid cold.
When they had first started, there had been a bit of a chill in the air, but it wasn’t awful; just enough to give him goosebumps. They made decent progress during that time, with the sun breaking through the thin cloud cover and the wind a bit brisk.
Then it got darker.
Then the wind got even worse.
Then the snow started falling.
Then his hands went numb, which wasn’t really relevant, but it was another factor that had made the two slow to a fraction of the speed when they began.
But that wasn’t the issue… okay, it was one of them, but not the main one.
What was really getting to him was Dash.
Ever since they had left the remains of Castle Hoofbeard, the athlete had barely so much as glanced his way. He couldn’t get anything out of her; not a word, a peep, or even a grunt, and it's not like he hadn’t tried; he had tried talking, teasing, and even riling her up, but she seemed completely unphased. It also didn’t help that she seemed to be actively avoiding him at all costs. She was always ahead of him, darting from one place to another with her super-speed…at least, she was until the storm had picked up, but even still, she made an effort to not be side-by-side with him.
And he had absolutely no idea why.
She had only started ignoring him after she had broken that branch in front of him, which…yeah, he wasn’t expecting it, but he had told her it was cool. Was that why she wasn’t saying anything? Had he offended her in some way? Was she just really focused on getting them back home? Why couldn’t she just come out and tell him what he did wrong?
…
Man, women are confusing.
Well, whatever the reason might be, she didn’t seem to want to discuss it with him, which hurt his heart quite a bit, but if he’d made it this long, then he could go a bit longer…maybe.
Ugh, he really needed to get out of this storm before it turned him into a Flashcicle.
And he didn’t seem to be the only one getting sick of the cold, either; poor Rainbow looked miserable.
She was trying desperately to keep up the speed she’d had previously, but as the snow kept piling higher and higher, she wasn’t running as much as kicking snow everywhere, and most of it was getting on her rather than the ground. He could see her breath coming out in small, rapid bursts billowing in front of her as she pulled the hem of her shirt down with clenched fists. It was like she was trying to force herself to not cross her arms to look weak in front of him.
He didn’t know if that was pitiful or adorable… probably more on the pity side.
Plus, he knew that what she had on was definitely not for the chilly weather. She may have had a jacket on, but the sleeves didn’t even go to her elbows, and barely made it past her stomach, which either meant that it was somehow the actual worst piece of clothing ever designed, or that Dash was way more into fashion than she lets on.
He’d have to check on Rarity on that one.
And sure, he may have been wearing tattered jeans and tennis shoes, but yoga pants and sneakers that were constantly kept kicking up ice water? Her entire lower half had to be frozen by now…
Not that he was checking her out or anything. He was just… worried for her safety! Yeah! He was totally not checking out one of his ex’s best friends in a snowy wasteland where she was wearing a white t-shirt that was more than likely wet and—
No! Bad brain! Bad! This fic is rated T for Teen! We are not going to bump this up to Mature because you can’t control yourself! So either nut up or shut up!
…
And don’t take that out of context!
An icy chill brought him out of his thoughts, sending a shiver down his body. He was starting to lose feeling in his toes now, and he knew that if he couldn’t, then Dash probably had it much worse. And looking up at the blustery skies, he could tell that this storm wasn’t gonna let up anytime soon.
They needed to find shelter, and fast. Forget their feud; if they don't warm up soon, they’ll be ice sculptures before long.
Flash hurriedly lumbered his body across the snow, closing the distance between the two teens. It may have been getting darker and snowier, but even he could still see her vibrant colored hair from a mile away.
“We need to find shelter!” He yelled over the roaring winds, hoping she could hear him.
And apparently she did, if the way she turned her nose away from him was any indication.
“Oh, c’mon, Rainbow!” He pleaded. “I know that I’ve done something wrong and that you’ve been avoiding talking to me about it, and whatever it is, I’m really, really sorry!” He would’ve gotten on his knees, but he didn’t really want to sink any lower than his manly pride had already done. “But if we don’t find a cave or something soon, then the police will find our frozen bodies and your friends will feel even guiltier about leaving us behind after finding out that we didn’t die from that death trap of a castle! And frankly, I don’t wanna make Sunset or Twilight, or any of the rest of the girls any more upset than they already are, and I know you don’t want to, either!” Dash grimaced, and Flash knew he was getting somewhere. “So, if we’re gonna make it out of this situation alive, then I’m gonna need you to do exactly as I say! You got it?!”
The girl hesitated for a bit, and for a split second, Flash’s heart sunk into his stomach. Luckily, it was only for a second as Rainbow finally relented, looking him in the eyes for the first time since they had left.
And that was all he needed.
“We need to get out of the wind!” Flash glanced around the general area, but with all the snow, he couldn’t really see much. “I’ll scout ahead for a cave; you go find some kindling for a fire, but don’t stray too far, or we won’t be able to find each other!”
“Right! One question though!”
“What?”
“… what’s kindling?”
…
…
…
Yep, they were definitely gonna die.
“Just… pick some dry leaves and sticks from the snow! Don’t get any wet ones; the fire won’t start from wet kindling!”
“But I don’t have any gloves on! And I lost feeling in my hands hours ago!”
… right. Of course he couldn’t let her fiddle around and pick random sticks that she thought were dry enough. She’d probably lose a finger or two from frostbite, and he didn’t want to explain that to the authorities…or worse yet, her parents.
Okay, so she needed something to cover her hands with. Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything that could protect them, which meant that they needed something that could both keep them warm and could carry a fair bit of weight, seeing as how Dash’s digits weren’t exactly functioning at their highest capacity. Normally, he’d just pull his jacket to hide them and use it that way, but the sleeves definitely weren’t long enough… to…
…
Darn his gentlemanly nature.
“Here, take my jacket.” Flash as he began pulling it off before she could argue.
And argue she did. “What’re you—”
“It’s too long for you, so you can use the sleeves to wipe off some of the snow.” He interrupted. “Also, try to keep them from getting snowed on; no reason to go through the effort for them to get wet all over again.”
“But—”
“No buts, Dashie. I don’t want to stay out here any longer than you do, but we need to find a place to lay low and thaw out until the storm passes over.” He held out his prize, shaking under the frigid winds. “So please, just take it.”
The tomboy looked at the jacket longingly, and her brain went into overdrive as wondered if this was a good idea or not. Sure, she desperately wanted to wrap the thing around herself, if only for just a bit of heat… but wouldn’t he be cold, too? Why would he be doing all this for her? What was the point of giving her his only protection from the snow if he froze to death?
Plus, it would be, like, totally uncool if she took it from him. She had an image to uphold, here! There was absolutely no way she would ever take a handout from some random, no good, incredibly handsome looking… very muscular… uhh…
“Dash, my arms are going numb.”
Alright, that settled it; she was taking the jacket.
Rainbow practically snatched it from his outstretched hand as she wrapped the article of clothing around herself tightly. It may have been soaked with meltwater and thin as a sheet, but to her, it felt like heaven. It even had a bit of his scent on it…which she was now very confused as to why she was thinking about his scent at all…or why she liked it.
“Uhh, Rainbow? You alright?”
“I wasn’t thinking about how you smell!” She blurted out suddenly.
…
“Umm… okay then?”
Man, they really needed to get in soon. Dash was going loopy, and her face was getting redder by the second. Hopefully she hadn’t caught a cold out here.
And so, they were off; completely abandoning the direction they had been on to find some shelter from the snowstorm. Flash didn’t care if it was an abandoned cabin or a fallen log; anything to keep Dash and him safe would be fine enough for him.
Along the way, Flash would periodically stop by random lumps of snow, whether they be near trees or because they were too oddly shaped to be natural from the terrain, and instruct Rainbow to wipe away the snow to check for anything dry. Not all of them were winners; one time Dash even dropped a pile onto a particularly perfect bunch of sticks, but soon they had grabbed enough for them to completely focus ahead for a place to stay.
The storm wasn’t deciding to let up, either, blowing more and more frosty fluff onto the already thoroughly powdered ground, bringing it up to his knees, and he hoped that Dashie was doing alright behind him. He would’ve offered to carry some of the weight, but carrying that coupled with his crutches and the icy winds battering his now exposed arms would’ve meant losing more than gaining.
He sighed. He just hoped they got somewhere safe before they became part of the snow itself.
And luckily, they didn’t have to wait long, as after a bit of trekking, Flash could make out a cliff face.
And even better, not too far away, their salvation sat, looking as unassuming and unimpressive as could be:
A cave.
“There!” He shouted, pointing a finger over towards the entrance. He got a response, but couldn’t make it out; he could barely hear his own voice over this wind.
The pair of teens trudged through the increasingly deep snow and harsh winds, but soon enough, they broke through, both nearly collapsing onto each other. They breathed heavily, white clouds billowing through their mouths as they assessed their surroundings.
It was your typical cave affair: long, dark insides, dank looking rocks, and that good old fashioned cave smell of uncirculated air. All in all, it was pretty standard, aside from the icicles hanging down from the ceiling, but that wasn’t that unusual. Flash just hoped that there wasn’t a bear in here. He knew Dash was strong, but he’d rather have Fluttershy handle that situation, either by talking it down… or wrestling it.
He knew she could do it.
He had seen it happen.
It was so… mesmerizing…
…
Weirdest. Talent show. Ever.
But forget that now. They may have found shelter, but without any form of heat, they’d be gone by tomorrow.
“Put the kindling over… here.” Flash instructed, walking over to a spot on the floor. He could feel the current of the cavern blowing out away from them. No use in starting a fire if they were gonna choke on the smoke.
Dash dropped the pile, the leaves making a satisfying crunch as it hit the ground. That was good; that meant that there were at least a few dry leaves still inside.
Flash inspected the clump carefully, checking the sticks in particular. He didn’t have a fire starter on him, so he had to go back to basics for this one.
He found a pretty thin but sturdy looking one soon enough, and tried to pick it up… only to remember that he couldn’t feel his fingers… or his hand… or both of his arms…
See, this is where being nice gets you.
Unarmed.
Luckily, he wasn’t the only one around here with hands.
“Dash.” The rockstar boy called, beckoning the tomboy over. She quietly obliged, kneeling next to him.
He gestured to their ‘fireplace’. “I need you to rub that stick against the leaves.” He touched the stick with his numbed finger. “Put it between your hands like you’re spinning it around. Give it some pressure, but not too much. Keep going until you see some smoke, and I’ll try to stoke the flame. Got it?”
The girl nodded silently.
“Good. And also…” He reached over and pulled the sleeves of his jacket up her arms. “Don’t catch my jacket on fire; it was custom made, and I don’t want to pay for a replacement.”
Dash gave him a glare, but said nothing.
She did what she was told, twisting the wood in between her palms like she had seen in her Daring Do movies. Rainbow never thought she’d ever be in one of those situations, but here she was! And she even had the one-off assistant/friend/romantic partner, too! She was checking off all the tropes today!
“Don’t go too fast! Ya don’t wanna fling it all over the cave!”
“I’m just doing what you said!” She growled. “Why couldn’t you have done this, anyway, Mister I-Know-How-To-Start-A-Fire? Got cold feet?”
“No. Cold hands, actually. Cause I gave you my jacket, remember? In the blizzard outside?” Flash was getting pretty annoyed at her cold attitude.
Dash opened her mouth to retort… but couldn’t. As much as she hated to admit it, stupid rich kid had given up heat just to keep her from freezing more than she already was. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, not wanting to stay silent, but unable to properly fight back.
Stupid Flash with his stupid words and his stupid good looks…
Why’d she have to get stuck with someone who didn’t even care for her tricks? Why couldn’t she have been here with AJ, or Pinkie, or even Rarity? At least they know something awesome when they see it. But not Flash. Oh no, not him. He just thought it was ‘cool’ that she had literally broken a branch as thick as her arm in front of him. That’s toootally just ‘cool’!
“Uhh, Dash?”
I mean, there are a lot of things that are cool about her: her hair, Tank, her calf high sneakers that she wore a few years ago. But that? That was totally incredible! And yet, all he could say was that it was ‘cool’. That was like saying a Daring Do beating up a whole squad of ninjas was just ‘fine’. You don’t just say that!
“… wait, I thought the kindling was supposed to catch first, not the stick.”
And why did she even care so much, anyway? It’s not like he was a part of their friend group. He only came in after they had found out about the Yaztec artifacts and their magic. Heck, not too long ago, he was just known as ‘Sunset’s ex’! He wasn’t anything that special; he was just another boy at school that they had to save from whatever monster reared its ugly head!
Why did it matter what some boy thought of her, anyway?!
CRACK!
FWOOSH!
“Ahh!”
She dropped the stick, startled by the sudden loud noise and boiling heat as it caught flame in her hand, falling over and lighting the kindling ablaze.
“Huh.” Flash remarked. “Never thought wood could turn red like metal… or spark like it, either.”
Dash snorted, half trying to not laugh because she was mad at him and the other half failing at him being stupid.
And Flash seemed to take it badly.
“Oh, I’m sorry, is something funny to you?” He rolled his eyes. “Cause I feel like I’m missing the joke here. You haven’t been talking much, if you haven’t noticed.”
Ohh, was he actually standing up for himself?
Good. She’d been itching for a fight for a while now.
“Oh, you finally noticed, then?” She spat right back. “I thought you only noticed things that were ‘cool’…like the wall over there.”
Flash actually growled at that, which scared her a little, but riled her up all the same. She’d fought with AJ plenty of times, sure, but she’d gotten used to it after being around her for so long. But this was something else; something much more exciting.
So then why did it hurt so much?
“Are you really still mad about earlier?” He asked. “I already apologized for that, didn’t I?”
“No, actually.”
“Wait, I didn’t?”
“Ennnope.”
“… Huh.” The boy blinked dumbly. “Well… I’m sorry?”
“Yeah, I think we both know that’s not gonna solve this that easily.” Dash deadpanned.
“Yeah, I figured as much.” Flash let loose a small grin, a hint of malice and… something else hiding behind it. “I mean, why would you want an apology from someone like me?”
Her heart ached at his words, begging her not to say anything rash, but unfortunately, she didn’t listen.
“You’re just another ordinary guy I can leave in the dust with my powers. Why should I listen to you?”
And so, the battle between the two rockers began.
Their foreheads pressed together, eyebrows furrowed in restrained anger, both giving a glare colder than the blizzard outside, noses nearly touching, teeth grit ferociously, Flash’s in a smirk, Dash’s in a grimace, hands clenched tightly, just waiting for the other to throw the first punch, knees bent and feet perched to dodge once it happened.
Flash let out a small chortle. “And to think, I was gonna ask you to do it again.”
And yet, Dash was completely unprepared for that.
She suddenly fell back, almost like she was shoved, falling onto a knee. “W-what? Really?”
“Well, duh! Of course I want to see you do it again!” Flash rolled his eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I mean, I’ve seen you girls do plenty of amazing things; that battle with Hoity being one of the best, if you ask me. But breaking a tree in half with just one swing of your leg? With or without your superpowers, that’s pretty awesome, Dash.” He chuckled heartily. “Plus, I think we’re gonna need some firewood, and frankly, I don’t wanna go back out there just to find some dried up branches. “He gestured over to his crutches. “We can find some replacement for these after the storm calms down.”
The girl sat in shock as he spoke, absolutely mesmerized by his speech.
“And I know that I didn’t really tell you how great it was at the time, but it had happened so suddenly that I could react properly, y’know?” He laughed, a sparkling grin whiter than the snow in his hair. “So I’m really sorry if I offended you with what I said. I’m not really sure what I did say that made you so upset, but apparently it made you avoid me all day, whatever it was.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “But I did mean what I said; it was very cool, and it really got me out of a jam, so…” He lowered himself to the ground, extending his hand to her.
“Thank you.”
…
Dash couldn’t believe her ears. Was this really happening? Flash was finally admitting he was wrong this whole time…and was thanking her for what she had done to him! This was everything she had been working for! She should feel proud, with her chest puffed out, a smug look on her face, and a ‘I told you so’ on her lips.
And why shouldn’t she feel proud?
All she’d done is ignore him and insult him and nearly fight him over a stupid fire.
Why shouldn’t she feel like the greatest girl on Earth?
“Uhh…Dash? You doin’ alright?” The boy asked worriedly, his hand still extended outward for her to take. The mark from when he had punched Principal Cinch and gotten struck with her magic flickered in the firelight.
It only made her feel worse.
He was just another ordinary guy that had saved her and her friends’ lives countless times, had jumped on top of her to protect her from a falling castle, had offered her his jacket despite not having much covering to begin with while having a lame leg, and had still somehow thought he wasn’t good enough without any powers.
Why should he listen to her?
“Y-yeah, I’m f-fine…” Dash finally managed to stumble out, her voice shaking, and it wasn’t from the cold. She pushed herself off the ground, ignoring his outstretched hand completely.
She didn’t deserve it, anyway.
Flash raised an eyebrow over at the girl as she grasped his crutches in between her fingers, noting the pained grunt as she tried bending them, but that didn’t really matter to him at the moment. He sat down on the floor as he watched her do her trick again. Oh, this is gonna be great! Now that he knew it was coming, he’d be able to see how she does it! It was gonna be awesome!
She laid down the logs on the floor, lifted up her leg, and brought it down.
“Hi-yah.”
Crunch.
…
…
…
Huh…
To be honest, Flash thought it’d be more…interesting than that. And maybe something that looked more comfortable than how she looked now.
Everything seemed totally off about it, from her awful posture to the pitifully slow and not very powerful kick. Her cry sounded as enthusiastic as Maud finding a new rock on the street, and the branch didn’t even completely snap like before. A few more times solved that issue quickly, but he could tell that it wasn’t as clean a cut as before, looking less like an axe had chopped through it and more like those spikes at the bottom of a jungle trap, all jagged and not at all even.
Regardless, Dash didn’t seem to mind too much as she moved on to the shorter piece and did the same thing. It was honestly really surprising to the young boy. This was Rainbow Dash, right? Toughest girl at Canterlot High, head of every sports team, and the one with an ego so large her head was a planet? She always wanted to try her best no matter what, and didn’t want anyone to see her do poorly at anything.
So then why was she acting all…mopey?
He looked up into those magenta eyes to see how unfocused they were, glazed over in thought. It was a look he had seen plenty of times in Sunset’s eyes after the Fall Formal, and one that he could recognize from a mile away: a look of pain.
Regret.
Shame.
Gulit.
She was feeling guilty about something.
But what?
“Done.”
Flash jumped, a bit startled from her sudden declaration. He glanced over to where she was standing, and sure enough, she had finished. Granted, the pile looked about as even as the first time he shaved, but it would get the job of warming them up soon enough.
“Good… good job, then.” He replied simply. Wow, amazing conversation skills there, Flash. You’ll be speaking full sentences soon enough.
If Dash had heard him, she didn’t acknowledge it. She just nodded her head with glazed over eyes, trudging over to a far corner of the cave and sat down as far away from him as possible, curling her body into a ball and burying her head in between her legs.
She didn’t want him to see her cry.
Author's Note
Okay, so I wasn't going to use author's notes, but with how absent I've been, I feel obligated to give a reason as to why I haven't written in awhile...
I'm lazy.
That's kind of the long and short of it. This was originally gonna be longer, but I decided that instead of having 3 chapters, it'll be however many it'll be by the end.
So yeah, that's kinda it. I hope I don't take 2 months to upload the next one lol.
