Lightning's Life

Chapters

'It was okay in self-defense!'
'That would make us friends'
'This is just who I am'
'I'm joining a band!'
'You up for making any new friends?'
'Welcome to our new channel'
'Worst surprise date ever'
'I have a bit of a surprise'
'It’s going to be a great memory'
'We'll get through this'
'Maybe things do happen for a reason'
'Challenge accepted'
'Someone is going to come'

'It was okay in self-defense!'

Beep beep beep! Lightning Dust’s alarm clock chimed. It was 6:30 a.m. Today was a big day, and she had been excited for the last few weeks. She was going to a new high school, Crystal Prep, for the first time today. It wasn’t very easy to get accepted, but she had gotten a Track and Field scholarship.

She jumped out of bed and got ready for the big day. She got dressed in her school uniform and packed her books in her favourite red backpack. She had a couple others, but this one was the most special. Her dad had given it to her for her 13th birthday the year before, and red was her favourite colour. When she finished packing, she glanced around her room. It wasn’t very big, but she wouldn’t want any other bedroom. She looked at her various Air Force posters. As long as she could remember, she’d wanted to be in the military and be a fighter pilot. Yes, she knew it wasn’t easy, but she couldn’t see herself doing anything else. And she couldn’t wait to go to the Air Force Flight School when she graduated. Only a few more years!

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her dad was having breakfast and coffee.

“Lightning, what have I told you about running down the stairs?” he scolded her. “You’re going to-”

“Get hurt?” she interrupted, having heard these words enough times. “No, I’m not. I’m not clumsy,” she said as she started making chocolate chip waffles, her favourite breakfast food.

“Well, you know why I say these things,” he explained. “It’s because I care about you. How do you feel about your first day at Crystal Prep?”

“Great, I’m excited,” she answered. When she finished making her waffles, she sat down at the table with her dad. It only took her about 5 minutes to finish, she wasn’t one to take her time. When she was done, she and her dad headed out to the car.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning got out of the car near the Crystal Prep entrance. The school was bigger than she even expected. She was about to leave when her dad came up to her and hugged her.

“Have fun at the new school, Lightning,” he said. “Your mom would be so proud of you.”

“Stop it!” she protested as he let go of her. She hoped no one was looking. She hated hugs enough as it was. “I know.”

“And don’t be nervous,” he added.

“Dad, tell me,” she started. “When have you once seen me get nervous?”

Her dad was about to reply, but he couldn’t think of anything. It was true, she was never afraid to try new things. “Well, I was very nervous when I was your age, you know.” He told her.

“And you still are about most things,” she laughed. Hopefully, he didn’t have anything else to say. She was going to be running late.

“And you’re sure you will be alright walking home?” he asked. “Because I can always close the shop early and-”

“Aren’t you listening?” she snapped. “I said I’ll be fine, just go!”

He paused for a moment. “Alright,” he said. “Just have fun, and don’t forget to join in and make friends.” He got in the car and waved to her once again before driving off. She laughed and waved, then started towards the school entrance. “Okay, let’s do this.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

As soon as Lightning entered the school, she was a little surprised by how sparkly it was. Her old school was nothing like this. It was quite crowded, at least she wasn’t late. As she started off towards her first class, a girl with blue skin and short purple hair approached her.

“Hey, I’m Sunny Flare,” the girl introduced herself. “I don’t think I recognize you.”

“Probably not, cause I’m new here,” Lightning said. “I’m Lightning Dust, and I-”

“Oh, you are?” Sunny Flare asked, then she smiled evilly. “You’re the scholarship girl.”

“How did you know?” Lightning asked. She hadn’t even talked to anyone in the school yet.

“Oh, I have my ways,” Sunny continued. “What did you get in for, running or something?”

“Yeah,” Lightning replied, not knowing where this girl could have gotten this information. Before she could ask, Sunny kept talking.

“Hm, so what’s your favourite school subject?” Sunny questioned. “Are you good at any classes?”

“What’s with all these questions?” Lightning snapped at her. “What, are you writing a book about my life or something?”

“Fine, I see how it is,” Sunny turned around and started walking away, but Lightning grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“Hey, what’s your problem?” Lightning asked. Sunny pulled away, but turned back towards her.

“Don’t touch me!” Sunny yelled. “My problem is that you’re a lower class, alright? You needed a scholarship just to get into crystal prep. You’re a loser.”

Those last words did it for Lightning as she shoved Sunny Flare, almost knocking her to the ground. Sunny instinctively shoved her in return, and before she could say another word, Lightning slapped her hard across the face.

“Hey, leave her alone!” a pink-skinned girl with green hair shouted, having seen what happened.

Once Sunny had recovered and stepped back a safe distance, she went back to her normal snobby attitude. She stomped her foot. “I’m going to tell on you! Your first day here will be your last, I assure you.” Sunny turned around and a girl with a long pink ponytail ran up to her.

“What did she do?” the girl asked. “Are you okay?”

“No, not at all!” Sunny whined. “I think my makeup is smudged! Come on, we need to go to the bathroom.” And with that, Sunny Flare and her friend left. Lightning just scoffed, she had hardly touched her.

“I don’t know who you are, but you can’t just hit other students,” the green-haired girl told Lightning. Before she could reply, a laugh came from across the hallway. Lightning glanced over to see a girl with short blue hair come up to her.

“Well, it’s about time someone put Sunny Flare in her place,” the new girl said. “That was iconic! So, what’s your name?”

“Lightning Dust,” she introduced herself. “Coolest name ever, right?”

“I’d say second coolest, to me,” the blue-haired girl replied. “I’m Indigo Zap.”

“Well, your full name isn’t that cool,” the other girl commented, but Indigo glared at her. If looks could kill…

“Stay out of it, Lemon Zest,” Indigo Zap said. Lemon just nodded and quickly walked off in the other direction.

Indigo looked in the direction Sunny Flare and her friend had gone. “Wonder where she went, probably to fix her makeup or something.” Indigo said. “So, I heard what she was saying. How you got accepted into Crystal Prep. But wait, it’s not a bad thing. Sure, my family is a higher class too but I don’t really care about those things. You seem really cool.”

Lightning was about to reply, but a woman came up to her with Sunny Flare.

“Lightning Dust, you are needed in the principal’s office with Sunny Flare,” the woman informed.

“Okay,” Lightning replied. She had seen this coming. She looked back to Indigo. “See you later, then.”

“Good luck,” Indigo said as she left for her own class. Lightning waved, and followed them. Indigo was right, she was going to need some luck.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning walked home after school around 5 p.m. It was a lot later than she had expected, since she had gotten detention for attacking another student. The day had not been nearly as enjoyable as she was expecting, but it could be worse…somehow. She arrived at home, and walked up to the front door. Now she would have to tell her dad what happened, and he would most likely lecture her for an hour.

“There you are!” her dad noticed she was home and walked up to her. “I was so worried, why are you coming so late? Are you okay? How was your first day?”

“I hated it, alright?” Lightning dropped her bag and collapsed on the living room couch. Her dad sat next to her.

“What happened?” he questioned.

“I got detention,” she explained. “And I didn’t even do anything wrong!”

“What?” he asked. “Why would they send you to detention if you didn’t do anything?”

This was not going to work. “Well, okay, maybe something,” she admitted. “But only in self-defense! This girl was talking crap and she wouldn’t stop, so I…” she trailed off. Her dad looked at her. “I hit her.”

“You got into a fight?” he asked, raising his voice slightly. “On your first day?”

“Technically, it wasn’t a fight,” she said. “She ran off to tell on me. And now I have to go to detention every day this week!”

“Well, good!” he said. “Maybe that will teach you not to hit other students. I didn’t expect…” he paused. “Well, maybe I did.” He knew her too well.

“You told me it was okay in self-defense,” Lightning told him.

“If someone is a threat to you,” he explained. “For instance, trying to kidnap you. Not some girl who is just talking to you. Well, I’m disappointed to say the least. And I can assume you didn’t make any friends.”

“Well, not exactly,” she admitted. Then she remembered Indigo Zap. “There was this one girl who was on my side though.”

“But you’ve still made more enemies than friends,” her dad continued. “I don’t know what to do with you. Can you promise you won’t do this again?”

Lightning thought for a moment. She might have been a trouble maker, but she didn’t want to break a promise. “I mean…”

“Oh, your mom would have handled this better than me,” he said, then switched to a more serious tone. “You need to promise you won’t do this again. Right now.”

“Okay, fine,” she agreed.

“Good,” he sighed. “I just don’t want you to get expelled, after you worked so hard to get in.”

“Okay, fine!” she repeated, getting more annoyed with him. “Stop being so dramatic. That girl deserved it and I’m never changing my mind.” Lightning got up and ran to her room stairs before he could respond. After a few seconds, he heard the door slamming upstairs. It wasn’t uncommon recently.

He sat in silence, thinking about what had happened. What am I going to do?

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning slammed the door and locked it, there was no way she was dealing with him again today. Why did he have to make such a big deal out of everything? He wasn’t there. He didn’t hear what Sunny Flare said about her. She realized she had left her bag downstairs, but there was no way she was going to get it today.

She looked at her watch, still 2 hours until bedtime. She had enough time to do homework and then play her favourite flight simulator video game, it had been a while. It would be a fun evening, she just had to forget about what her dad said. It wasn’t realistic. Sure, he could just be nice to everyone and let them get away with things, but she believed that you had to fight back. And she wouldn’t have done anything differently.

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

'That would make us friends'

It was a bright day in Canterlot city and Lightning was on her way to Crystal Prep. It was only about a 10-minute walk from where she lived. As she was about 5 minutes away, she heard a girl calling to her form across the street.

“Hey!” The girl crossed the street and approached her. “Aren’t you that girl from school?”

“Who are you?” Lightning asked, only now starting to notice she looked familiar.

“Indigo Zap,” Indigo reminded her. “We met yesterday after you slapped Sunny Flare.”

“Oh, yeah,” Lightning replied. They looked at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter. What a way to meet your first friend.

“I’ll race you to the school entrance,” Indigo said.

“Challenge accepted,” Lightning agreed. And with that, they took off down the sidewalk towards Crystal Prep. Lightning immediately took the lead, and Indigo only was able to overtake her once, but it didn’t last more than a second.

The school was in sight now, and Indigo did all she could to catch up, but Lightning was too fast. Indigo had never lost to any other student before. Lightning was just a few feet ahead of her when they reached the main doors. Both girls stopped outside to catch their breath.

“Wow!” Indigo said. “Okay, that was unexpected. We should try it again later. I wasn’t warmed up yet.”

“Me either,” Lightning laughed.

“Well, it makes sense why you got into Crystal Prep for running, anyway,” Indigo commented.

“I live up to my name then,” Lightning said. “I’m fast as lightning, and I leave everyone else in the dust.”

Indigo laughed. She was starting to think they would get along well. “So, do you play any other sports?” Indigo asked her as they entered the school.

“Not usually,” Lightning answered. This may or may not have not been completely true. “But my dad really wants me to join in.”

“Sure,” Indigo said. “I play basketball, and I want to be a professional when I’m old enough.”

“That’s cool,” Lightning replied.

“Come on, I can’t be late again and you can’t be in any more trouble than you are already,” Indigo laughed as they continued walking together. “But remember, running is strictly forbidden in the hallways. I’ve learned that the hard way.”

“This school is really strict,” Lightning noticed.

“Totally,” Indigo agreed. “But it’s the best school ever, if you’re set on success. Just one thing I need to do, I’ll see you later.” Indigo went around the corner, and Lightning’s curiosity got the best of her. She followed Indigo around the corner and saw her a little ways down the hall, talking to a girl with red and purple hair and glasses. The girl looked to be upset about something. Maybe she was one of Indigo’s friends.

Lightning watched as Indigo turned around and came back the same way, but the girl didn’t move anywhere. Indigo was looking at some papers in her hands and didn’t notice Lightning right away.

“Hey,” Lightning said, getting her attention. “I thought you had something to do.”

“Oh, yeah,” Indigo replied a bit nervously. “Just had to talk to her about something, she’s…well not really a friend. Anyway, I don’t have to tell you everything.” Indigo had become defensive very quickly for some reason.

“I’m just curious,” Lightning said. “You don’t have to. but if we’re friends, then-”

“Friends?” Indigo asked. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Honestly, Crystal Prep is really against friendship too, they think it gets in the way of success. You’ll notice most people who are ‘friends’ around here just need something from each other.”

“So…why are you talking to me then?” Lightning questioned. It didn’t seem like Indigo needed anything from her.

“Well, because…” Indigo paused, searching for an answer. “I don’t know. I just admired the way you stood up for yourself against Sunny Flare, and today I was pretty impressed by your abilities. I guess I like you.”

“Well, that would make us friends,” Lightning told her.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Indigo admitted. “Just don’t make a big deal about it.”

“I’m not stupid, Zap,” Lightning replied. “I can call you that, right?”

“Sure,” Indigo said, walking ahead to the classroom. “Why not?”

~.~.~.~.~.~

The rest of the day had gone well, even though Lightning had to go to detention again. She did get to try out for the basketball team, though, and Indigo Zap had said she would get in. Lightning wasn’t worried, of course. She didn’t worry.

When she reached home, she was having dinner with her dad and discussing the day.

“So, did you join any of the teams today?” her dad asked.

“Yeah, I did,” she answered. “I tried out for the basketball team, but I know I’ll get in. Zap said I would, too.”

“Zap?” her dad questioned. “Who’s this?”

“She’s the girl I told you about yesterday,” Lightning explained. “Not the first one! That’s Sunny Flare,” she quickly clarified. “The one who supported me. She’s so cool, she’s almost as fast as me.”

“Wow, well that’s impressive,” her dad commented. “I’m glad you are joining in more. Even though I told you to. It makes me happy when you take my advice. Maybe you’ll end up liking it more than you expect.”

“I don’t think so,” Lightning said. “Not in the way you’re saying.”

“How do you know what I’m saying?” her dad laughed slightly.

“Because I do,” she started. “I’m not going to be a professional athlete. Just because you want me to. I’m still going to join the Airforce after I graduate.”

“Well, you have 3 years until then Lightning,” her dad continued. “And you’re so gifted at sports, you shouldn’t take it for granted. It’s also much safer than flying jets! Don’t make decisions too quickly.”

Lightning paused. “Okay first of all, do you even know me?” They both laughed, yes, even she knew that she made decisions without thinking too hard. “But yeah, I’ll let you know how it goes.” She added, though she knew she wasn’t going to change her mind.

No matter what friends she had in school, her dad was her best friend. And she hoped it never changed.

~.~.~.~.~.~

The next day, Lightning was walking quickly through the hallways of Crystal Prep. Not running, of course, as she didn’t need to get in trouble again. When she spotted Indigo, she walked up to her.

“Hey,” Indigo greeted her. “I know it’s totally not a surprise but you made the team!”

“I wasn’t worried,” Lightning replied.

“You’re really good,” Indigo said.

“Yeah, okay,” Lightning replied indifferently. The girls started off towards the classroom once again.

Indigo laughed. “What, you don’t seem that excited about it. Oh well, see you at practice later, got something to take care of.” Indigo suddenly sped ahead, as if she were looking for someone. Maybe she wanted to talk to that girl again about something.

Lightning decided to mind her own business and keep going. In the distance, she saw Sunny Flare walking with her friend, and looking down at a book. As they were passing by her, Sunny looked up and gasped, then walked faster, whispering to Sour Sweet.

Lightning laughed. Well, on the bright side, Sunny Flare wouldn’t be messing with her again.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Basketball practice had gone great, with Lightning and Indigo being the best on the team, obviously. Afterwards, the 2 girls had stayed in the gym together. They were sitting on the bleachers chatting.

“So, how did you get so good?” Indigo asked. “Your family must be into sports, right?”

“Kind of,” Lightning replied. “It’s just a natural talent, you know, it’s not like I’ve played a lot before.” This wasn’t fully true. Lightning had played sports in her old school as well, but having a natural skill seemed more impressive.

“You should!” Indigo told her. “We could go professional together.”

“No thanks, Zap,” Lightning said. “I’ve got other plans. I’ve always wanted to join the Airforce.”

“Oh, well, that’s quite different,” Indigo laughed. “But that is so cool! I hear it’s not very easy.”

“No, it’s not,” Lightning agreed. “But it’s what I want and I’m going to get it.”

“I love your attitude,” Indigo complimented her. “You just remind me of myself. What do your parents do?”

Lightning wasn’t ready for that question. She looked away for a second, but then decided she would open up to Indigo. They were friends, after all.

“Well, it’s a long story,” Lightning started. “My parents were in a band together with some of their other friends. It was called Over the Rainbow. But not too long after I was born…my mom passed away.” Lightning looked up at Indigo, and noticed her regret asking the question. “I don’t remember much about her. But after that, the band kind of fell apart, they couldn’t keep going without her.”

“Oh no…that’s too bad,” Indigo said. “So, your dad was a singer?”

“Sometimes, but mostly he played the piano,” Lightning continued. “My mom was the main singer, and she was amazing. According to my dad and his friends anyway. I don’t know much about music. But they also opened a music shop together, and my dad still works there today.”

“I thought you’d know a lot about music,” Indigo commented.

“No, I kind of have an aversion to it,” Lightning explained. “Maybe because it reminds me of her.” After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she got up and jumped down. “I’ve got to get going,” she said as she picked up her bag and headed for the exit. It wasn’t hard for her to tell the story, as it had been long enough. She had somewhat accepted it.

~.~.~.~.~.~

That evening after dinner, Lightning was on her computer. She didn’t usually go online without a purpose, as it made her feel unproductive. However, she was still thinking about her parents and their band. She never let herself stay in her feelings too long, but she wondered if she could find a video of the band online.

Wondering why she hadn’t tried this before, she typed ‘Over the Rainbow’ in, and searched for videos. To her surprise, a video came up of the band performing a song she was familiar with. Her dad would sing it to himself around the house sometimes. She clicked on the video, but noticed her headphones weren’t plugged in. It was too late! The video had already started and the volume was way up. She fumbled around trying to plug the headphones in, but then there was a knock on the door.

“Wait one second!” she called, slamming her computer shut and luckily, it turned off. “Okay, come in!”

Her dad came in and looked at her strangely. “What are you up to?”

“Just uh…gonna go to bed soon,” she lied, then glanced up at the clock at the same time he did.

“It’s only 7:30,” he commented.

“Well…” she trailed off. “Yeah, okay.”

“Did I hear music?” he asked. “I didn’t know you listened to music very much.”

“Sometimes, okay?” Lightning replied defensively. “I mean, everyone listens to music sometimes, right?”

“Okay, no need to be that way,” he said.

“What way?!” she snapped, just then realizing how annoyed she had been sounding. “I’m just…okay fine,” she admitted. “I was watching a video of your band.”

“Oh,” her dad sat next to her. “I miss her too.” She opened her computer and the video resumed, with her mom singing the first verse of the song. “How did you get that video?”

“I found it online,” she explained. “From some concert you were in. Over the Rainbow.”

“Yes, she wrote that song about me,” he said, looking very deep in thought. “To this day, it is still my favourite one.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

It was Tuesday, and Lightning’s second week at Crystal Prep. Things were going great, though the classes were a little difficult and there was a lot of homework. She was having a great time, though. It was around 2 p.m., and everyone was outside for physical education, her favourite class. They were at the starting line, preparing to run around the track.

“Man, I hate physical education!” Sunny Flare complained. “Why can’t we just do things indoors and while sitting?”

“Who are you asking?” Sugarcoat said. “Nobody really likes it, but we’re being forced to do it anyway and you don’t need to make the situation worse by whining about it.”

Sunny Flare gasped. “Whining? How dare you?!”

“Yeah, right,” Lightning laughed, then whispered to Indigo. “The reason they hate it is because they suck at it.” Indigo laughed with her. “Let’s show them how it’s done.”

“Okay,” the coach got their attention. “Ready, get set, and go!” he announced. Lightning and Indigo instantly took off, in the lead of everyone else. Sunny Flare didn’t get far before she got a cramp and collapsed, and Lemon Zest tripped over her own feet.

The other students were not doing as badly, but still far behind Indigo and Lightning. The only girl catching up to them was Sunny Flare’s friend, Sour Sweet. She seemed to be quite athletic as well, and about halfway around the track, she was getting closer to them. Lightning looked back to laugh, but she didn’t expect Sour Sweet to be as close as she was.

Just as they were reaching the end, Lightning looked around. Sunny Flare was still trying to get up with the help of the coach, and no one was looking their way. Lightning slowed her pace down a bit, letting Sour Sweet catch up. But before Sour could think anything, Lightning extended her foot in front of her, tripping her. Sour Sweet face-planted on the ground, and Lightning didn’t look back. She crossed the finish line first, with Indigo just slightly behind her.

“Alright everyone, that’s good for today,” the coach announced. Then he looked at Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest, still on the ground. Sour was sitting up, but seemed to wince when she moved her leg. “Is everyone okay?”

“Hey!” Sour called to him. “I’m not, my leg really hurts.”

“That’s what happens when you’re clumsy,” Lightning commented a little too loudly.

“Lightning Dust, don’t say things like that,” the coach scolded her as he walked over to Sour Sweet. He reached for her hand to help her up. “Did you trip on something?”

“I don’t know, there wasn’t even anything there!” Sour replied. “Happened too fast. One of the other students must have done it, I’m telling you.” she took his hand.

“What? No, they wouldn’t,” the coach said. “I was watching for nearly the entire time. Come now, can you stand up on it?” He helped her up, and she winced slightly, but was slowly able to stand on her own.

“Sour Sweet, what happened?” Sunny Flare asked as she approached her friend.

“I don’t know but it’s got to be one of them!” Sour pointed to Indigo and Lightning, standing together on the side.

“Now Sour Sweet, we don’t blame others for our own mistakes,” the coach explained. “Come, we’ll go to the medical room. Class is dismissed.” He walked with her and Sunny Flare back inside, and the other students made their way back inside. Once Indigo and Lightning were the only ones remaining, Lightning started laughing uncontrollably.

“What’s so funny?” Indigo asked.

“Don’t tell,” Lightning whispered, calming herself down.

“What?” Indigo asked again.

“I’m the one who tripped her,” Lightning told her, trying not to laugh.

“What?” Indigo gasped, before laughing herself. “You did?!”

“Yeah,” Lightning said. “The coach just looked away for a second and I had the chance.”

“Why, though?” Indigo asked. “She wasn’t a threat to us.”

“She was getting kind of close,” Lightning answered. “Anyway, nobody believes her. See?”

“Yeah,” Indigo laughed again. “That’s pretty funny, but just be careful with it. Make sure you don’t get caught.”

“I’m not going to, Zap,” Lightning said. “Come on, let’s go, it’s time for practice.” She walked ahead.

Indigo thought for a moment, then caught up to her. “All I’m saying is if there’s not a need for it, then don’t trip people just for fun,” Indigo advised her.

Lightning glared at her. “Well, you can do whatever you want, Zap, but don’t try to change me. You don’t wanna be my enemy, do you?”

Indigo was a little surprised, she hadn’t seen this side of Lightning before. It was almost…scary. “Alright, I get it,” she answered. “Let’s go. We do have that basketball game this weekend, gotta be prepared.” As the 2 girls headed inside, Lightning went back to her usual fun and positive self. Indigo was not quite sure what to think about what she did, but Lightning was right, she didn’t want to be her enemy.

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

I hope you are enjoying the book so far. Lightning is my favourite character, and most relatable to me <3 I'm trying not to binge update, but I've written 8 chapters 😅

'This is just who I am'

Lightning was in her bedroom doing a homework assignment when her phone rang. She picked it up, it was Indigo Zap. She never called unless she wanted something.

“Hey, Zap-”

“Lightning, you are not going to believe this,” Indigo said, sounding panicked. “I’m not going to be playing in this weekend’s game.”

“What- why not?” Lightning asked.

“I did something and I’m in big trouble,” Indigo replied quietly. “I can’t talk for very long. My parents are gonna be taking my phone. I am so mad about this.”

“But we need you Zap,” Lightning told her. There was no way Indigo was leaving her with the rest of the girls on the team, they had no hope of winning the game now.

“I’ve tried telling them that but nobody lis- hey! No, you can’t take-” Indigo’s voice cut off as the call was disconnected. Lightning tried calling her back, but she never answered. Well, she would find out in school the next day.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning walked through the hallway as fast as she could without actually running, determined to find out what was going on. She finally spotted Indigo and called to her.

“Zap! Indigo Zap!” she got her attention. “Hey, what is going on with you?”

“Hey,” Indigo sighed. Her make-up was messed up, and she was rubbing her eyes.

“Have you been…crying?” Lightning questioned her.

“What- no!” Indigo denied. “It’s just allergies.”

“What did you do?” Lightning asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Indigo replied, walking over to her locker.

“Yeah, it does!” Lightning followed her. “You’re the one who made a big deal about not getting caught. What could you have done that would make them bench you from tomorrow’s game?”

Indigo glanced around, then lowered her voice. “There’s this girl who was helping me, okay? She was helping me do my homework since I’ve got a lot going on right now, and she reported me! I thought we were getting along great, and then she betrays me. Anyway, she sucks, but there’s nothing I can do about it. About tomorrow, they’ve still got you, okay? And you’re awesome! You guys can still win this.”

“Yeah, I know I can do it,” Lightning agreed. “But the other girls are just…they’re not like you.”

“I know,” Indigo said. The bell rang, and Indigo gasped, grabbing her things from the locker. “I’ve gotta go to class, can’t be in any more trouble.” She walked away, waving back to Lightning. “See you!”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Saturday evening, Lightning and her dad arrived at the school entrance. She was ready for the game, hoping the other girls didn’t mess up too badly.

“Good luck, Lightning,” her dad said as they got out of the car. He approached her. “I’m proud of you no matter how you do. Just remember that.”

“It’s out of the question,” Lightning replied. “I’m gonna do great. The others, not so much.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

The game was going alright…well, not really. The Crystal Prep Shadowbolts were in the lead, but the other team was catching up. Indigo and her parents were there watching, and to say she was anxious was an understatement. It was painful for her to watch. Crystal Prep would regret not letting her play.

Lightning was doing her best, but it was a team sport. As the other team was about to overtake them, she decided she’d had enough. Just as one of their opponents was about to make a shot, Lightning didn’t think twice, running up and tripping the girl. Indigo gasped from the audience, knowing everyone would have seen it.

The girl fell to the ground, clearly in a lot of pain. Immediately, her teammates stopped to check on her, and the other Shadowbolts glared at Lightning, before going to see if the girl was okay. Lightning looked up to where her dad was, and caught sight of him shaking his head, looking extremely disappointed. She stood off to the side of the court, watching the scene. The girl must have been seriously hurt, because she couldn’t get up.

Lightning glanced around before quietly making her way to the door, and slipping out, hoping no one had noticed. She wasn’t so lucky, though. As she walked out towards the car, she heard her dad calling after her.

“Lightning, we need to have a serious talk!”

She spun around to look at him. “Oh, whatever!”

“Don’t say that!” he shouted. “Everyone saw what happened, and that poor girl got seriously hurt. Because of you! I know I taught you better than to cheat. What’s been going on with you lately?”

“This is just who I am, alright?” Lightning argued. “It doesn’t matter, let’s go.” She started towards the car again.

“It does matter,” her dad continued. “You got your entire team disqualified.”

Lightning stopped in her tracks, thinking for a moment, then turning back to him. “Well, I feel crappy enough about it already, but thanks!”

He softened his tone a little, walking closer to her. “What I mean is cheating and hurting others won’t get you anywhere. In fact, it’ll only make things worse. I wanted you to join the team so you would make more friends, not so you would cause trouble.”

“Lightning Dust!” Indigo Zap yelled to her as she ran over, her parents following behind. “What the heck was that?!”

“Just leave me alone everyone!” Lightning shouted, running in the opposite direction. She knew what she did, and she didn’t need everyone reminding her.

“Lightning, wait!” her dad called. “Where are you going?” he started after her, but realized he would never catch up. He looked over to Indigo. “You must be-”

“Indigo Zap,” Indigo replied. “Has she mentioned me?”

“Yes, very much,” he said.

“Indigo!” Indigo’s mom called to her, standing by their car. “It’s time to go home, come on!”

“I’ve gotta go,” Indigo laughed, waving to Lightning’s dad. “Good luck with her.”

“I could use some luck,” he said to himself as he waited for her to come back.

After a few minutes, she returned to the parking lot, and all she got on the drive home was another lecture about running off into the city alone at night. She didn’t argue anymore, as he wasn’t going to change his mind…but she wasn’t either, of course. She realized she probably shouldn’t have tripped that girl when so many people were looking, but in her view, she was trying to help her team. And no one was going to convince her otherwise.

~.~.~.~.~.~

It was Monday afternoon, and Indigo Zap was leaving school as fast as she could, hoping not to talk to a certain light green, golden-haired classmate of hers who she was still mad at. She exited the school and only got a few steps down the sidewalk before she heard that familiar voice and sighed.

“Zap!” Lightning called. She had been looking for Indigo all day, but Indigo must have taken a different route to class every time to avoid her. “Hey, Zap!” this time she knew Indigo had heard her well, because Indigo just kept walking faster. Oh, she wanted to play that way, did she?

Lightning ran ahead, easily catching up to Indigo. Before Indigo could even turn to see where she was, Lightning had tackled her, both girls landing in the grass by the sidewalk. Lightning pinned Indigo to the ground, determined to talk to her.

“You forget that I’m faster than you, huh?” Lightning laughed at Indigo’s efforts to fight her. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I don’t even know what to say to you,” Indigo said. “You ruined everything!”

“You’re still on that?” Lightning asked. “That was 2 days ago, and you cannot tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

“No, I wouldn’t!” Indigo argued. “Because I think before I act! Everyone was looking, why would I do something so stupid? We weren’t even behind by that much.”

“Okay, maybe it wasn’t my best idea but what do you want me to do about it now?” Lightning asked her.

“Nothing, just don’t do it again!” Indigo said, as Lightning finally let her up. They stood for a minute, Indigo brushing her clothes off.

“Well, you know what?” Lightning continued. “It isn’t like you’re a perfect girl either, Zap. You weren’t even allowed to play.”

“Okay, okay, enough about this,” Indigo said. “You in trouble?”

“Yeah,” Lightning started. “I’m off the basketball team, but I don’t really care honestly. I’ve had it with that team anyway. My dad was the one who wanted me to join in the first place. Oh, and he lectured me for like 2 hours when we got home that day, but that’s it.”

“Geeze, I wish my parents were that nice,” Indigo commented. “Well, I guess we’ve all got to make mistakes to learn. I forgive you.” They smiled at each other, then Indigo extended one arm out awkwardly. Lightning laughed and gave her a high-five. They definitely weren’t the type to hug, even if Lightning didn’t hate hugs already. She assumed Indigo felt the same way.

The girls didn’t have basketball practice, so they settled on going to the adventure park downtown. Of course, they competed in everything there was, but they had a great time. If Lightning Dust ever had a best friend, it would have to be Indigo Zap.

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

This book is so fun to write ahaha, I think the girls may be starting to grow up and learn what friendship is. 😊

'I'm joining a band!'

The last 2 weeks had been pretty uneventful for Lightning Dust, as she was no longer allowed on the basketball team and Indigo Zap had been strangely busy. She was always vague about it, though, saying she had ‘something to take care of’. It had been a couple weeks since they actually did anything together, and it was the middle of October now.

One Friday, Indigo had sent her a message saying she had ‘amazing news’, but that she had to tell her in person. They agreed on meeting at the park that evening, and maybe Indigo would finally tell her what’s been going on.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Indigo was in the park near the playground, waiting for Lightning to show up. It was 10 minutes after the time they had set, and Lightning was usually on time. Indigo glanced around searching for her, it wasn’t like she could miss her. There was no one else in that area of the park.

Finally, she spotted Lightning just across the field, and ran over to her. “Hey, there you are!”

“Hi, Zap,” Lightning waved. “Come on, now! What’s your amazing news you’ve been waiting to tell me?”

“Well, it may seem a little…weird at first, but hear me out,” Indigo said.

Lightning looked a bit confused. “Alright, I’m listening.”

“I am joining a band with my friends!” Indigo announced excitedly. She waited for Lightning to congratulate her, but her expression stayed the same.

“Uhm...why?” Lightning asked simply.

Indigo kept her smile. “Well, I've gotten close with some of the other girls at school, and they all want to do this. It's gonna be a music group called The Crystals, and it's gonna be my main focus for a while. I'm not going to be playing basketball for a while, it takes too much of my time."

Lightning was quiet for a moment, trying to understand what was going on…Indigo had other friends? Who were they? But the biggest question was… “You're quitting basketball?”

“Yeah,” Indigo replied, still looking happy.

“Zap, you’re kidding!” Lightning exclaimed. “What about your basketball career?”

“Not right now,” Indigo said. "My friends need me for this."

Lightning couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But you’re amazing,” she said. “You have so much potential! You’re really gonna waste your life being in a band? It’s not gonna work out, they never do.”

“Just because Over the Rainbow didn’t!” Indigo argued. She noticed Lightning wince at those words, but continued. “This is what I wanna do, and if you’re not gonna support me…then we can’t be friends anymore.”

“Zap, you don’t mean that,” Lightning laughed. “Stop being so dramatic.”

“You know what?” Indigo raised her voice, glaring at Lightning. “I’ve not wanted to say this, but I think it needs to be said. You’re a crappy friend, Lightning Dust! You only care about yourself and your own success!” she shouted. It was a good thing no one else was in the area, because they might get worried now. Indigo looked like she was about to cry.

“Yeah, so what?” Lightning replied casually. “You do, too.”

“Well…” Indigo started, trying to find a way to defend herself. But Lightning was right, they were very similar in that way. She stuttered a bit, then came up with an answer. “We are not talking about me right now!”

“Yeah, we kind of are,” Lightning said. “And you’re totally right, we don’t need to be friends anymore. Because I don’t support you!”

Indigo looked shocked, taking a step back. “What?!”

“You’re making a big mistake, Indigo Zap,” Lightning continued. “And you’ll see that I’m right! Just don’t come back to me when your stupid band flops.”

“I never would!” Indigo shouted. “I HATE you! And our friendship was the only mistake I made, believe me. I have other friends and you don’t, so just be alone forever!”

Lightning never looked away from her. “I’m better off alone anyway,” she responded. “Just remember what I said.”

“I don’t!” Indigo turned around to leave. “It was stupid!” she stormed off towards the park exit. Lightning looked after her for a second, then started in the same direction.

Indigo didn’t look back, trying to slow her heart rate. This girl wasn’t going to make her cry. As she was nearing the city, she heard footsteps behind her. Knowing no one else had been in the park, she whirled around to face Lightning one more time. “What?!” Indigo yelled. “I got nothing left to say to you!”

“I’m uh…going home too,” Lightning explained.

Indigo stepped to the side of the path, motioning for her to go first. “Well, you go right ahead, don’t let me stop you.”

“I’m not,” Lightning said, before walking ahead. She was…well, she wasn’t fine with losing Indigo as a friend, but she was sure she could find someone to replace her. It was Indigo’s loss, not hers.

“You know what?” Indigo called, stomping to catch up with Lightning. “I was excited to tell you! Now you’ve gone and ruined the best day of my life! You suck-” before she could get her words out, Lightning had reached up and slapped her in the face.

Indigo cried out in pain, but quickly recovered, anger overtaking her. “Oh, don’t you start with me!” Indigo grabbed Lightning and threw her on the ground. Thinking she had gotten her revenge, she prepared to walk ahead, but Lightning had grabbed her foot and pulled her down too. It was on!

The girls wrestled around in the grass for quite a while. They were both very strong, and they weren’t going to give up easily. Indigo coughed harshly when Lightning delivered a punch to her stomach, causing tears to stream down her cheeks. Indigo found the strength to punch Lightning hard in the face. Lightning fell back on the grass, dazed and seeing stars.

Indigo collapsed next to her, both girls out of breath. They laid there for a few moments, weak from the fight.

“We gotta stop…” Indigo spoke up between breaths. “No one’s gonna stop us.”

“Yeah,” Lightning choked out, looking over to Indigo.

“You okay?” Indigo asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Lightning replied, though she wasn’t really. Physically, she was still dizzy and in pain, but she couldn’t help but laugh. They had really gotten into a fist fight over Indigo joining a band. She looked back at Indigo, who was still catching her breath. “Are you okay?”

“Actually, yeah,” Indigo replied, struggling to get to her feet. Eventually she came to standing, and reached her hand down to help Lightning up. “I’m…kinda sorry,” Indigo said. “I mean, you really thought you were somehow giving me helpful advice, didn’t you?”

“I was,” Lightning said, wincing and holding one hand on her head as she got up. They stood for a moment. “I care about you, Zap.”

“Yeah, I know,” Indigo smiled. “You’ll make it home okay, right?”

“Yeah,” Lightning replied, despite feeling dizzy. She was not going to accept help. “Bye, Zap.”

“Goodbye, Lightning,” Indigo said, walking out of the park and down the street. Lightning looked around, then sighed. She really was alone now.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning reached home safely, entering the house and slamming the door behind her. Her dad noticed she was home, and came into the living room.

“Don’t break the door, Lightning,” he was about to scold her, but noticed her state. She was a disaster. “Are you okay?” he approached her.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lied, not wanting any sympathy. “Zap and I just got into an argument, okay? We’re not friends anymore so it won’t happen again. We're definitely going to be avoiding each other from now on.”

“You had an argument?” he asked, surprised. He knew how close Indigo and Lightning had been.

“Yeah,” Lightning answered. “That’s kind of what started all this. I’m going to my room, see you later.” She didn’t wait for any reply, and walked up the stairs. Once she got to her room and locked her door, she could finally let herself react to what had happened.

She looked in the mirror in her bathroom, noticing how ruffled her hair was. She didn’t have many visible injuries, but her clothes were covered in dirt and grass. No wonder her dad had worried about her.

After changing into her night clothes, she sat down on her bed, replaying the events in the park. She had done the right thing, and Indigo would regret not listening. Bands were a waste of time and ended in tragedy. She had seen it for herself. Indigo would have to learn it for herself, though. She and her friends weren’t going to get anywhere.

No, she’s not going to make me cry…

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

I don't THINK this qualifies for the 'violence' tag. I read about it and I'm pretty sure if it is not a main part of the story, then it's not needed, but I still have no idea what I'm doing 😂 please let me know if I need to change anything, and feel free to share your thoughts!! <3

'You up for making any new friends?'

3 days later, Lightning got to Crystal Prep earlier than usual, because she had a mission. Indigo Zap was wrong about her, and she could make friends just like anyone else. There were about 15 minutes until her first class, and she was determined to succeed before that. She glanced around and noticed 2 girls chatting across the hallway. One of them was light blue with long turquoise hair, and the other was orange with purple hair. She knew they were in her class, but never paid attention to their names.

Lightning confidently approached the girls. “Hey! You look interesting! Wanna hang out?”

The girls stared at her weirdly, before the girl with purple hair spoke up. “Aren’t you that girl who cheated in that basketball game?”

“And hit Sunny Flare on her first day here,” the other girl noted. “She’s bad news.” The 2 girls glared at her, then walked in the other direction.

Lightning sighed. Surely, not everyone was like that. She had a good explanation for what she had done. Looking at her watch, she noticed she had about 10 minutes left. This mission was not over yet!

~.~.~.~.~.~

Mission failed. Everyone else had heard what she’d done, and if they hadn’t, Indigo had probably told them. No one accepted Lightning’s explanation. They said there was no excuse for hitting Sunny Flare. Well, most of the students there were on Sunny Flare’s side. And everyone hated her for what she did in the basketball game. Just as she was about to try again, the bell rang.

Lightning noticed she had wandered far from her first classroom. She was not getting in trouble again, and she definitely didn’t need to be any more hated than she was. The only way to get there on time would be to run, hoping no one caught her. It was the stupidest rule, honestly. They expected everyone to be there on time, but running was forbidden?

She took off at full speed around the corner, but suddenly wished she had checked first. She instantly ran into another student, both of them tumbling to the ground.

“Would you watch where you’re going?” she said as she sat up, looking at the other person. He looked to be the same age as her, if not a little older. He had light grey skin and dark blue hair.

“You’re the one who was running,” he pointed out, getting to his feet.

“Whatever, I’m not gonna miss class because of you,” Lightning said as she was about to stand up. It was only then she realized she had twisted her ankle during the fall, and winced as she tried to put weight on it.

“Do you need help?” the boy asked, noticing her struggle.

“No, I don’t!” she snapped, finally regaining her balance. She could walk, but there was no way she would make it to class in time. The boy seemed to notice he was late as well.

“Well, we’re both getting detention now,” he said, walking ahead of her. She took a few steps and it wasn’t that bad. She would make it to class, there was no need to be even more late than she was. Today was not her day.

~.~.~.~.~.~

After the day’s classes, Lightning was preparing to leave, but she had forgotten…she had detention again. She was stuck in the classroom, but at least not by herself. Well, that might have been better in this case. The boy from that morning had also been late, and was in trouble as well.

They were sitting in the classroom, and the teacher was at the front looking through some papers. Lightning glanced at the clock, thinking it should be over soon. It must have been about 45 minutes.

2 minutes had gone by.

“You do know this school is very exact with their timings?” the boy said quietly.

“Yeah,” she replied. “You shouldn’t have gotten in my way, that’s the problem.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you were running around a sharp corner,” he pointed out.

Lightning thought for a minute. “…Well, you must be mistaken.”

“Would you 2 stop arguing so loudly?” the teacher spoke up, getting their attention. “You still have 47 minutes left in here and I won’t be putting up with all the noise.” They fell silent, but it only lasted about a minute.

“Well, this is boring,” Lightning whispered to him.

“We could always forget what happened and start over,” he suggested.

“Okay, fine,” she agreed. “Nothing else to do.”

“I’m Snowfall,” he introduced himself.

“Lightning Dust. I’m sure you’ve heard of me,” she said. She was very popular in school, for all the wrong reasons though.

“No, I don’t talk to others very much,” he explained.

“Why not?” she asked.

“There is no need,” he answered, staring at the desk in front of him.

Lightning didn’t get the message. She glanced around, then looked back at Snowfall. “How old are you?”

“18,” he said, not looking up. “It’s my last year. I will be graduating in the springtime.”

“Well, congratulations,” she said. He looked up at her uncertainly. “What? I mean it. I’m 15,” she said, waiting for a reply. He didn’t say anything, and was looking back at the desk.

“So, uh…” Lightning tried to think of another question. “What’s your favourite colour?”

“Black,” he answered.

“Oh, okay,” she said. “Mine’s red. I like warmer colours.” Once again, he remained silent. Anyone else might have noticed he was starting to get annoyed.

“You don’t talk a lot,” Lightning noted.

“That’s what they say,” he replied blankly. The sound of a chair moving made them look up to the front of the room.

“I will be back shortly,” the teacher announced as she went to leave. “Don’t try to go anywhere.” Well, it was going to be a long 44 minutes.

“You going to college?” Lightning spoke up. Snowfall shook his head, still looking down. “Oh. I’m going to be in the Airforce and be a fighter pilot! It’s going to be so amazing, to go on missions and stuff. Just 3 more years!” she paused. “You don’t have any friends, do you?”

“Do you?” Snowfall returned the question, this time making eye contact with her.

“…I don’t have to tell you anything.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Around 5 p.m., Lightning finally got out of detention and was sent home. She was feeling better after all that had been happening, except for the fact that she hadn’t accomplished her friendship mission yet. After she finished her homework, she had gone on her computer for a while. It was today that she discovered Crystal Prep’s school website.

Some of the students had posted various pictures and videos online, but nothing special. She recognized most of them, except the last video that caught her attention.

“Vlog: Zip lining at the adventure park!”

She opened the video, as she didn’t know the girls in the picture. One of them was light-green with red hair, and the other was orange with light-blue hair. The first girl was holding the camera.

“Hi, everyone! My name is Melon Mint, but you can call me Minty,” she introduced herself, then the other girl entered the shot.

“And I’m Frosty Orange,” she waved. “But I’m more known as Frosty. And today, we are at the adventure park to zip line!”

Lightning couldn’t help but smile as she watched the rest of the video. These girls looked like fun. They had a few different videos at the adventure park, posted just the week before. She wondered if they would be up for making a new friend.

~.~.~.~.~.~

The next morning, Lightning arrived at school early again, giving herself enough time to find these girls from the video. Just as she was getting her books from her locker, she glanced over at 2 other girls walking by. It was Frosty and Minty! Well, that was easy. As they were passing by her, she stepped in front of them.

“Hey, how are you guys?” she asked.

“Um, alright,” Frosty replied.

“You up for making any new friends?” she asked hopefully, though she was expecting them to say no like everyone else.

“Maybe,” Minty said. Well, that was closer at least!

“Saw some of your videos on the school website,” Lightning said.

“Oh really, which one?” Minty asked.

“The one where you guys went zip lining,” Lightning answered. “You know, I love extreme sports too.”

“Really?” Minty smiled. “That’s so cool, no one else really seems to around here. Do you want to join in?”

“Sure, that’d be great,” she replied casually, not wanting to sound desperate. On the inside though, she was ecstatic! Mission accomplished!

“Cool,” Frosty replied. “Well, you probably already know this then, but my name’s Frosty, and this is Minty.”

Lightning smiled. “I’m Lightning Dust.”

“Okay, you have such a cool name though,” Minty commented.

“Right?” Lightning agreed. The girls laughed together. They were going to get along great. “So, what else do you plan on doing?”

“We were thinking of going mountain climbing one day,” Frosty said.

“Yeah, and we could use my idea too!” Minty suggested.

Frosty sighed. “No, not that one.”

“It’s really good!” she insisted, looking at Lightning. “You’ll like it. Extreme ironing.”

“Uhh…can’t say I’ve heard of that one before,” Lightning said, wondering if she’d heard it correctly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Minty said. “You iron clothes in the most extreme locations! Like on the top of a mountain, on a cliff, in the snow, those type of things. But Frosty thinks it’s lame.”

“Frosty is kinda right,” Lightning laughed.

“Oh, come on!” Minty said.

Frosty laughed and looked at Lightning. “I told her maybe one day when we are completely out of ideas we could give it a try,” Frosty explained. “How about you, Dusty? You like that name, right?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Lightning said. It wasn’t her favourite nickname ever, but it made her fit in with them better. “Well, I’ve always wanted to go skydiving,” she continued. “It’s my dream! But we can’t do that until we’re 18.”

“We can have lots of fun in the meantime though,” Minty told her.

“So, about your videos, where do you post them?” Lightning asked.

“Just on my account,” Frosty said. “We were thinking of creating a channel together, but no idea what do call it. It was going to be Frosty and Minty, but now that you’re joining, that would be too long.”

“I’ve got one!” Lightning spoke up. “We should name it To the Extreme.”

“I love it,” Frosty replied.

“Me, too!” Minty said. “It would really fit our theme of extreme ironing, too.”

“I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun together and get lots of views too,” Frosty said, ignoring Minty’s idea.

“Totally,” Lightning agreed. The bell for class rang. “I’ve got to get going.” There was no way she was going to get in trouble again. She must have been close to getting expelled.

“We’re going for ice cream after school,” Minty told her. “Do you wanna come?”

“If it’s not extreme ice cream eating, then no, not really my thing,” Lightning laughed. “See you.” she started off to the classroom.

Success! She was very proud of herself.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning was on her way home from school, imagining the next few years. Her remaining time at Crystal Prep actually started to look brighter now that she had friends. Hopefully, it would last longer than her friendship with Indigo Zap. She thought about her 18th birthday. She would go skydiving with Minty and Frosty, and it would be their last year together. Then after graduating school, she would go and do what she’d always dreamed of.

Lightning stopped walking and looked around, realizing she had no idea where she was. It was some different neighborhood…did she take a wrong turn? How was that even possible? She had walked home so many times. She must have been really lost in her thoughts today.

As she looked back the way she came from, she noticed a person standing on the side of the path. They were wearing a black hoodie and pants, and they looked to be just standing in the same place. Lightning looked back in the direction she was going, and realized no one else was out. It was about 4 p.m., so it was still pretty light out. But she only had another hour or so to find her way back to her neighborhood.

She knew one thing, she had to go back the way she had come to find whatever turn she’d missed before. The person was still standing there, not moving. She thought about crossing the street to walk on the other side, since this person gave her a strange feeling. However, she decided against it. She wasn’t going to change her path just to avoid someone.

As she got closer, the person still didn’t move. She increased her speed, focusing on the path ahead. Just as she was passing this person, they suddenly stepped out in front of her. It was a man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, actually,” the man replied. “You can come with me.”

“Come with you where?” Lightning asked, her heart pounding faster.

Before she could do anything, the man grabbed her and pulled her behind the nearest fence, holding her tightly. “I have a knife in my pocket, and I will kill you if you scream or draw attention in any way.”

And in that moment, Lightning knew she should have listened to her intuition.

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

Bet you weren't expecting THAT!! This book is just full of plot twists and cliff hangers 😉😂 also Frosty Orange and Melon Mint are actual Crystal Prep students from the movie!! 💕

'Welcome to our new channel'

In that moment, Lightning knew she should have listened to her intuition. It was too late, though. Just as she was preparing for the worst, she heard footsteps quickly approaching from around the corner. Someone was coming! She just hoped they would notice her.

The man must have not heard them because he wasn’t prepared. All of a sudden, he was forced to let go of her, and someone pulled him away from her. She could hear him struggling, fighting with someone, and then after a few seconds, it went quiet. She looked around the corner and saw the last person she would have expected…Snowfall.

“Are you alright?” Snowfall asked, coming over to check on her.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Lightning replied slowly. “Where did you come from?”

“I live nearby,” he said. “Let me take you home.”

“No, I don’t need you,” she insisted.

“What? I won’t let that happen to you again,” he said. “Why don’t you want anyone to help you?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “It’s just something about me. I’ll be fine.” She turned around to keep walking, she still had to find her way home as well.

Snowfall stared after her. “No thank you?!”

~.~.~.~.~.~

It was about 5:30 by the time she found her way home. It was just shortly after where she was attacked that she missed the turn, and was able to find her way from there. When she got inside the house, her dad ran up and hugged her tightly.

“Woah, what’s up?” she laughed, pulling away after a second.

“There you are,” he said, a look of relief on his face. “I tried calling you, and you never picked up your phone. Are you okay? What happened? Why are you home so late?”

Lightning paused. “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I just forgot to call you back.”

“You knew I called?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I was a little busy, okay?” she said. If she told him the truth about what happened, he would never let her go outside the house again. “I made some new friends and we were doing something important. Now, I’m going to my room.”

“Not yet you aren’t,” he stopped her. “Hey, I was really worried about you. You really must let me know if you’re going to be out so late, and make sure you’re doing things with people you trust.”

“Okay, fine,” she said. “I know that already.”

“Lightning,” he walked closer to her. “I can’t lose you. That’s why I’m so protective, you see. If I lost you, I wouldn’t have anything left. You are so important to me. I love you.”

“Love you too!” she quickly said, before hurrying up to her room. “Bye!”

Her dad sighed, sitting back on the couch. She doesn’t understand. One day she will.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning got out her phone right away, excited to call her new friends and make plans. She had gotten their numbers just before leaving school that afternoon. First, she video called Frosty. It seemed like she was the one who made most of the plans.

Frosty was quick to answer. “Hey, Dusty!” she was in her bedroom, and Minty was in the background doing something. However, she got up and came over right away to join them.

“So, we’ve got the entire weekend ahead of us,” Lightning said. “What are we gonna be doing?”

“Extreme ironing!” Minty exclaimed. “Or like you said, Dusty, extreme ice cream eating!”

Lightning sighed. “I wasn’t serious!”

“Oh my gosh Minty, just leave the planning to us,” Frosty told her. “You haven’t been zip lining with us yet. I think we should start with that. We could go to the adventure park downtown. They have zip lining, climbing, skate boarding, all kinds of things.”

“Yeah, I remember that place,” Lightning replied. She used to love going there all the time with Indigo. Well, that didn’t matter anymore. “So, tomorrow? What time?”

“How about 10:30?” Frosty suggested.

“Sounds good,” Lightning said.

“I don’t know, I’m gonna be up late tonight,” Minty spoke up. “The Crystals’ new song drops at midnight and I need to stay up for that-”

“Wait,” Lightning cut her off. “Did you say…The Crystals?”

“Yeah!” Minty said. “They also go to Crystal Prep.”

“Yeah, okay, I know that they go to Crystal Prep!” Lightning said. “Can you just tell me about that song?”

“Well, they are releasing her own music,” Minty explained. “Their new song comes out at midnight tonight. And I’m staying up for it!”

“Well, I’m not,” Lightning said bitterly. “Don’t really get along with them.”

“Not many people do,” Frosty said. “They’re popular and only associate with other popular girls. I don’t like them much, but that snippet of the song was a bop.”

“Okay, we’re gonna stop talking about them or I’m out,” Lightning told them.

“Fine,” Minty said, not daring to ask what Lightning had against The Crystals. “I can’t wait for tomorrow! Ooh, I just thought of one! Ironing while zip lining! It seems totally impossible but we can pull it off!”

Lightning and Frosty sighed in frustration.

Minty shrugged. “What?”

~.~.~.~.~.~

The adventure park was already busy that Saturday morning. The 3 girls stood near the climbing wall, Frosty holding a camera.

“So, who’s going to be doing the intro?” Frosty asked.

“Oh! I’ll do it!” Lightning grabbed the camera and started recording. “Hi, what’s up, I’m Dusty!”

“I’m Frosty,” Frosty said.

“And I am Minty!” Minty joined in. “Welcome to our new channel.”

“And today, we are going to be doing everything at the adventure park!” Lightning announced. “It looks pretty extreme, but nothing we can’t take on. Come on, let’s do it together.”

The girls joined their voices. “To the extreme!” Frosty and Minty laughed. Lightning had already taken off to get started.

~.~.~.~.~.~

The first vlog was off to a great start! Minty still needed some practice, and she did tend to be a little clumsy. But Frosty was always there to help her.

After they had finished, they were sitting at a nearby picnic table rewatching their videos on the camera. One video in particular, they had watched at least 10 times. Minty had attempted the climbing wall, but didn’t make it very far before losing her grip and falling. Luckily, she was wearing a helmet.

Lightning clicked the ‘replay’ button again, laughing. “Minty, you’re so clumsy.”

“I know but practice makes perfection,” Minty said. They were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Frosty and Minty looked at Lightning, who was already rejecting the call.

“He won’t stop calling me,” she said in an annoyed tone, putting her phone away. “I told him I would be busy all day. I don’t know what he wants.”

“Maybe you should find out,” Frosty said. “What if something bad happened to him?”

“Nah, he’s fine,” Lightning replied. “He always does this.”

“It’s your dad, right?” Frosty asked.

“Yeah,” Lightning answered. “I don’t get it. He wants me to join in different things and keep busy, but then he gets all offended when I get home late. Like, make up your mind.” She laughed slightly.

Minty looked back to the park. “I’m gonna go practice some more!” she said, running back over. Lightning was about to play another video, but Frosty stopped her.

“Lightning Dust,” she said, taking the camera out of her reach.

“Woah, why are you calling me that all of a sudden?” Lightning asked.

“Well, I have something to tell you,” Frosty’s tone turned more serious. “I…I lost both my parents a few years ago.”

“Oh…that’s too bad,” Lightning said, glancing around. She wasn’t quite sure how else to reply, or why Frosty was bringing this up now.

“It is, yeah,” Frosty took a deep breath. “I’m staying with extended family now, and they’re really supportive, but it’s nothing like the love of having your parents with you. If I were you, I’d be more grateful to have a dad who cares enough to keep calling you.”

“Oh…okay,” Lightning said.

“Just think about it,” Frosty told her as she got up. “I could go skate boarding again, that was so fun! You wanna come or not?”

Lightning looked down at her phone, seeing 4 missed calls from her dad. “I think I’m done for the day.”

Frosty smiled. “Sounds good to me. See you later, Dusty!”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning stepped into the music shop, looking around at the various instruments and posters. There wasn’t anyone else in the shop, except for her dad, who was setting up a shelf. It wasn’t very big, and she didn’t remember it very well honestly. She picked up a guitar by the door and strummed it lightly. She had never thought about learning music, as much as her dad had tried to offer her lessons over the years.

“Lightning, there you are,” her dad walked over to her. “You said you were busy with your new friends.”

“Yeah, well, I had a change in plans,” she explained.

“You haven’t come to the shop in a while, have you?” he asked.

“I think it’s been a few years, actually,” Lightning said. It looked quite different from the last time she had stopped in. “So, what do you do here all day?”

“Well, a lot of things need to be set up,” her dad replied. “Customers ask questions, and we have some teachers who give music lessons as well. I do sometimes. Speaking of, can you take this and put it with the others?” He pointed to the guitar by the door, and then to the shelf where the other guitars were.

Lightning took it and placed it on the shelf. “So, why did you call me so many times?” she asked.

“Well, you said you would be at the park with your friends,” he said. “And I asked you for how long and you said until about 2:00. And then I called you at 2:15. I gave you time to finish whatever you were doing, and then you didn’t answer. And I get worried, because what if something happened to you?”

“Yeah, I know,” she replied. Frosty was right, he really was concerned about her.

“I mean, everything I do is for you,” he continued. “Why do you think I work here? I’m getting enough money to save up for your college. And why do you think I come home early some days? To see you and listen to how your day was at school. I can’t say you’re anything like your mom, quite the opposite. She was very gentle and calm, and you’re…”

“Not?” she laughed. “I know! And I guess I wanted to say…I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” he asked.

“For ignoring your calls and not spending time with you,” she said. “I’m going to try harder.”

“You really are growing up,” her dad smiled, but didn’t hug her. Then he looked around the shop. “Now help me move this piano.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

It had been a while since she arrived at the music shop. They had been cleaning up and organizing the instruments, and putting up new posters. Lightning had a good time, as it had been a few years since she did anything with her dad. Frosty’s words really stayed with her.

She had just finished setting up some microphones on a shelf when the door opened and the bell rang. She glanced up from the shelf and was shocked for a second when she saw who had come in. Snowfall stepped inside, and was looking around for something. Then he set his eyes on her and started walking over.

“What’s the matter?” her dad asked, seeing her uncomfortable expression.

“I gotta go to the, um…bathroom,” she lied, running off to the back of the store.

“But you just came back from…” her dad started, but she had already left. “Well, alright then,” he glanced to the front of the store, finally noticing Snowfall. “Finally, a customer. How can I help you?” He approached Snowfall with a smile.

“Just looking around,” Snowfall said.

“Alright then,” Lightning’s dad replied. “Let me know if you need anything,” he went back to resume his job of sorting out a box of music books. While he was distracted, Snowfall started towards the back shelf of the store, where he had seen Lightning disappear.

Lightning was hiding behind the shelf, hoping Snowfall would just go away, and that he wouldn’t talk to her dad too much. As he was walking by, she reached out and grabbed him, pulling him behind the shelf.

“There you are,” he said.

“Yeah, what are you doing here?” she asked in an annoyed tone, lowering her voice.

“Just looking for a tambourine, alright?” Snowfall replied.

Lightning scoffed. “Yeah, right. You idiot, how’d you know I was here?”

“I saw you at the park and followed you,” he explained.

“Oh, so you’re stalking me,” she said.

“Not exactly,” he started. “If you don’t want me to find you, then maybe don’t go out.”

“Okay, and what were you doing at the adventure park, Snowfall?” Lightning asked.

“Skateboarding,” Snowfall replied.

“Cut the crap, you followed me there too,” she said.

“Alright, maybe,” he admitted.

“No, not maybe!” Lightning raised her voice, a little too much. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Lightning, could you help me move something?” her dad called from the other side of the store.

“Ugh, it doesn’t matter now,” she whispered to Snowfall. “My dad doesn’t know that we are…well, that we know each other. Just act like you don’t know me, you got it?”

Snowfall nodded, then they looked over at her dad, who was staring at them. Lightning noticed how closely they were standing, and stepped away.

“Just helping him out with a question!” she called back, then started towards her dad. “Coming!” Just as she was walking that way, Snowfall grabbed her wrist. She instantly reacted, stomping on his foot and forcing him to let go of her. “What’s your problem?!”

“I need to talk to you,” Snowfall said.

“Not the time,” she answered, going over to her dad and helping him move a box. They put it down on the counter, then she looked at him. “Is that all?”

“Yes,” her dad said. “It’s nice to have you here. You should stop by more often.”

“Yeah, but actually I gotta go for a minute and…call someone,” Lightning said. “Wait right here.” She walked back to the shelf where Snowfall was, grabbing him and pulling him towards the back door. “Outside!”

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

Someone really needs to remind me to update this book every couple days 😂

'Worst surprise date ever'

Lightning pulled Snowfall between the music shop and a building directly next to it, and after looking around, she finally let go of him. By now, she was just hoping her dad wouldn’t follow her outside.

“Okay,” she whispered to him. “What do you want?”

“Well, I like you,” he said. “I have since that afternoon we spent together.”

“What…afternoon?” she asked, now extremely confused. He certainly never acted like he cared about her. Well, now that she looked back at her encounters with him, he was always sort of emotionless…but he did save her that one time when she was lost.

“In detention,” he replied. “Unless you know of any other afternoons we’ve spent together.”

“Okay, okay,” she said. “But you just seemed kind of annoyed with me the whole time, like you were waiting to leave.”

“Listen, I’m not sure what I am doing,” Snowfall said, taking her hand. “Because I have never dated before. I’m not very good at showing emotions. It kind of runs in my family, I guess. My sister went to Crystal Prep as well, and she’s the same way. But you…you give me feelings I have never experienced.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lightning admitted, thinking back to the times she’d had with him. It really was kind of sweet, how he had never felt anything for anyone else except her. Then a thought occurred to her. “But look, my dad cannot find out about this. He doesn’t trust anyone, not even the girls I’m friends with. I don’t know how he’d react if he knew I was dating someone.”

“He doesn’t have to know,” Snowfall whispered, pulling her closer. “I want you, I have ever since I met you. Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Sure, why not?” she said. She been on a few dates before, but never specifically in a ‘relationship’, as she had been quite young at the time. Just as she was about to pull him closer…

“Lightning, are you out here?” her dad called from around the corner.

Lightning let go of him and stepped out. “I’ll see you later. Wait here until we’re inside,” she demanded him. If this was going to work, no one could find out, and he would have to do what she said. So far, it was working. Well, the last 5 minutes or so.

~.~.~.~.~.~

The next morning, Lightning woke up excited for the day’s vlogs with her new friends. She hadn’t gotten Snowfall’s number yet, but she would find him the next day in school, or he would find her…like he had before. She still wasn’t quite sure how he located her, but she had other things to think about. After getting dressed and ready for the day, she called Frosty.

“Hey, do you want to do something?” she asked, picking up her backpack and expecting to go somewhere.

Frosty hesitated. “Actually, we’re kind of tired out from the vlog we did last time.”

“What? That was yesterday,” Lightning said. Maybe these girls were not as cool as she thought.

“Yeah, but I don’t know,” Frosty continued. “We were gonna do something else like maybe go to the park, and have some food. It could be like a picnic. Minty and I used to do this all the-”

“Ugh, that’s lame,” Lightning cut her off. “Fine, I’ll just go to the adventure park by myself. You’re missing out, but whatever, it’s your loss.” With that, she hung up and packed her phone in her bag. Oh well, she wasn’t going to waste her day on doing nothing.

~.~.~.~.~.~

She had a good time at the adventure park, and spent about 2 hours there. It was a little boring though, as she had done everything so many times. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she would have liked to go with Minty and Frosty again. But surely, they were missing her just as much. It was around 2:30 when she was walking home, and she decided to take a different route through the park and try to spot them. She hadn’t been to this park since the last time talked to Indigo Zap.

She glanced around at the picnic tables, and the girls were nowhere to be seen. They might have already come and gone, or gone to a different park, or missed her so much that they decided not to do anything at all. Lightning decided on the last one.

Just as she was leaving the park, she saw someone approaching her. It was him.

“Hey, Lightning,” Snowfall called to her, running up to stop her from leaving. He was slightly out of breath.

Lightning laughed. “You need to get in better shape, you know?”

“I know,” he replied. “I was just here with a friend, and I saw you. I never got your number.” He got his phone out of his bag, dropped it on the ground twice, and then she told him her phone number, trying not to laugh the entire time. He must have been nervous around her.

“So, do you have any plans for the evening?” Snowfall asked her.

“Not yet,” she replied. “Do you?”

“Well, now I do,” he said. “We’re going on our first date, and it’s a surprise. I’ll pick you up around 5:30.”

“Uh, I hope you don’t mean my house,” she replied. “You know why you can’t-”

“I know,” he cut her off. “Come back to the park, and I’ll meet you here…then I have a very special place to take you. You’ll love it.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

“I can’t remember a time we weren’t sitting here,” Lightning complained, looking around impatiently. Snowfall had thought, for some reason, it would be a good idea to take her to a restaurant for dinner. Of all the things she expected, it wasn’t this.

“It's been 15 minutes, Lightning,” Snowfall reminded her.

“Yeah, 15 minutes of my life I could've spent doing something amazing,” Lightning said. “I give them 2 more minutes and then I'm out.”
“We've already ordered, we can't just walk out,” he explained.

“It isn't our fault they're taking forever,” she replied. “Sure, we can.”

“Settle down,” he said. “We can talk while we wait.”

Lightning laughed slightly. He didn’t know her at all. “Yeah, no thanks, I don't ‘wait’.” Just as she said this, their waitress finally returned with their plates. She had gotten mozzarella sticks, her favourite food of all time, and he had gotten pasta.

“Finally!” Lightning glared at the waitress. “I don't know what you've been doing but-”

“Thank you,” Snowfall interrupted, smiling at the girl as she left for the kitchen.

“Worst surprise date ever,” Lightning said, picking up one of her mozzarella sticks. “Next time, we're doing something fun.”

“Like what?” Snowfall asked hesitantly.

“You’ll see,” she said.

“Well…” Snowfall started.

“Do you wanna be with me or not?” she snapped, glaring at him.

“Yes, of course I do,” he answered quickly.

“Great,” she smiled, starting to eat. “I’ve already got the perfect idea. We’ll go after school tomorrow.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

The next afternoon, Lightning and Snowfall arrived at the adventure park, and he looked more nervous than ever.

“So, you know how everything works here, right?” Lightning asked, leading him over to the skateboard park first.

“Yes, I've saw you doing these things the other day,” he replied. “That is not the problem. I don't like them.”

“Well, it's too late now,” Lightning said, taking a skateboard from the shelf. “You agreed to come, so here we are.”

“You forced me to,” Snowfall pointed out.

“I did not! It was completely your decision,” she said. “Remember? I was very peaceful about it.”

“Oh, I remember,” he replied. “Well, what is first?”

“Now, that's the right attitude,” she said, handing him the skateboard. “Come on, my goal today is showing you how amazing the adventure park is.”

Snowfall took the skateboard and put on a helmet. Unlike her, he actually worried about his own safety. He placed the skateboard on the ground, hesitantly stepping onto it and holding his arms out for balance.

“Great,” Lightning said. “Now, you said you skateboard a lot. Just push off with your foot, and you should-” she was cut off when Snowfall let out a rather high-pitched scream, the skateboard sliding away from him and causing him to fall on the ground.

“Snowfall, I meant push off with your foot,” she said, watching him get back to his feet. “Not push the skateboard away from you.”

“Good thing I wore this helmet,” he said. “Well, that's done. What is next?”

They walked over to the bottom of the climbing wall, and he shook his head.

“No,” he said. “That's very high up and doesn't look well supported.”

“Fine, let me go first and show you how it's done,” Lightning went ahead of him, and grabbed the ropes. Yes, she loved showing off. It only took her about a minute to reach the top, where she got off onto the platform. Normally, she would use the zip line to get back down, but she stopped and waited for him. “See? Simple. You're up!”

Snowfall nervously took the ropes and tried to copy everything she did, slipping a couple of times, but keeping a tight hold on the rope with his free hand. He knew he was going to laugh at her, but to be honest, he hadn’t actually done anything at the adventure park before. She had probably figured it out, though. After about 5 minutes, he reached for the last climbing hold, feeling very successful. Just then, his foot slipped, and his life flashed before his eyes.

However, Lightning was quick to grab his hand and pulled him up onto the platform.

“Well, you did it,” she said. “Took you a lifetime but anyways, let’s go down! This is the best part!” She ran over to the zip line and strapped herself inside, then looked back to make sure he was watching. Snowfall had just made his way to a sitting position and smiled uncertainly at her.

“You’ll be okay,” she said, before taking off. No matter how many times she did it, she still enjoyed it quite a bit. Once she reached the ground, the looked back up at Snowfall, who was preparing to come down. He looked down at her, and she gave him a thumbs-up. He took a deep breath, and held on for dear life.

Lightning wished she had been recording. It was the most hilarious thing she’d ever seen. As soon as he took off, he was kicking and flailing around, but about halfway down he seemed to calm down and stop moving. When he reached the ground, she helped him out.

“Wasn't that amazing?” she asked, removing the straps. “Okay, let go now,” she laughed as he finally let go and dropped to the floor. “Are you frozen in fear?”

Snowfall didn’t say a word, and just hugged her tightly. She hugged him back for a second, before gently pushing him away.

“Congratulations,” she said. “You conquered your fear of the adventure park.”

After that, she got her things and quickly left, looking at the time. It was 5:15 p.m. and her dad would definitely question where she was. She would tell him she was with her friends again, hoping that he never actually ran into them. It was possible, but there was no way she was going to tell him she had a boyfriend. She thought about telling Minty and Frosty, but then she would have to tell them it was a secret, and if something happened between them like it had with Indigo Zap…well, they could tell him if they wanted to.

For now, it was best to not tell anyone. It was kind of fun anyways, avoiding people they knew whenever they were out in the town. And she was really starting to love Snowfall.

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

I know it has been FOREVER since the last update, some things came up. I'm creative and lazy, ok? It's the worst combination honestly 😂 But I'm nearly done with the book now!! It should be up by the end of the month. Thank you guys for the favourites and comments :heart:
-Faith x

'I have a bit of a surprise'

~ 2 months later ~

The last couple months had gone by quickly for Lightning Dust and her friends. Their channel had grown quite popular in school, and they had become famous in Crystal Prep. The only channel on the school website that had more views than theirs was The Crystals music channel. Lightning had tried to ignore them, though, especially Indigo Zap. And Indigo made sure to do the same.

Lightning was still with Snowfall, but her dad had never found out. She and Snowfall hadn’t talked much about what was going to happen when she left for Airforce Flight School after graduation. He knew he was going to miss her, though. She had finally told Frosty and Minty about their relationship a few weeks back, feeling she could trust them, and they promised not to tell anyone. They really were great friends.

The 3 girls were in the local park on the playground dressed for the cold weather of December. Lightning and Minty were sitting on the swings, and Frosty was on a bench nearby reading a book for her upcoming exams. She always planned ahead.

Frosty finished studying and packed up her books, walking over to the girls. “Only 1 week until the holiday break!” she said. “Are you all excited?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Lightning replied. “It’s gonna be so fun.”

“That’s for sure,” Minty said. “Dusty, we were going to go to the Christmas parade. It’s on the 21st of December. Do you want to-”

“First of all, do you even know me?” Lightning asked her. “Let me know if you want to go snowboarding, and then maybe I’ll be there.”

Minty looked hurt. “I just thought it would be a nice thing to do as friends, since we’ve not really done anything like it before.”

“Well then, you guys have a great time,” Lightning said, getting up to go home. “See you.” She waved, then took off to leave the park.

Frosty spoke up after a moment. “Don’t worry, we’ll have a great time at the parade.”

Minty sighed. “I just wish Dusty was-”

“Well, she made it clear she didn’t want to join us, right?” Frosty said, sounding frustrated. “Minty, do you ever notice that the only things she does with us…are her own ideas?”

Minty looked off in the distance in thought. “Maybe. I try not to think too hard about it. Maybe something’s wrong, what if she’s just having a bad day? Or someone hurt her feelings?”

“Well then, we could’ve said that every day,” Frosty said. “We don’t need to keep making excuses for her, you know. This friendship just isn’t working out very well. I think we need to have a few words with that girl.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

On Sunday evening, It had been 2 days since Lightning saw her friends, and she hadn’t heard anything from them like usual. Normally, they would send her messages all the time, offering her to go out and do things which they should know she wasn’t interested in. But for the entire weekend, she hadn’t gotten anything. She would see them in school the next day, though, and find out what they’d been doing.

She went on her computer to watch some of the old To the Extreme vlogs with her friends, but she was surprised to see that a new live video had been started just 5 minutes ago. She opened it and saw Minty and Frosty, recording themselves in some park by the forest.

“Hey, guys! Minty and Frosty here,” Minty happily said to the camera. “Today, we’re gonna be climbing trees and exploring forests outside the local park. We can’t wait to show you what we find.”

“And to reply to your comments,” Frosty spoke up. “Yes, Dusty is fine. She has just decided to leave our group, as she’s not interested in extreme sports or adventures anymore. It’s alright though, we will have lots of fun with you guys for the next week. And maybe we’ll get back together in the future every now and then.”

Lightning slammed her computer closed. “What kind of crap is this?”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning stomped down the stairs, determined to find them and find out what that video was about. She had seen that place in the park before and if she was fast, which she was, she could catch up to them and confront them about it.

“Hey, where are you off to?” her dad came over to her.

“Be back later,” she said, heading for the door.

“Hey, hey,” he stopped her. “I thought we were going to the music shop to clean up this-” he barely had time to finish before she took off out the door, slamming it behind her. “…evening.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

As Lightning ran through the park, she finally caught sight of Frosty and Minty still talking to the camera, and called to them.

“Hey! You guys!” she approached them.

Frosty turned off the camera and glared at her. “What, now you want to see us?”

“I came to see what is up with the vlog you just posted?” Lightning asked them.

“Ohh, that,” Minty said nervously. “Yeah, we’re gonna go into the forest and vlog today!”

“Not what I mean,” Lightning said. “The part about me ‘not being interested’?”

“Oh, yeah,” Frosty replied. “Well, you don’t seem to be interested in being friends with us, so we figured we didn’t need to have a channel together anymore.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lightning said, starting to get very annoyed with these girls. “It’s not that deep. Just because I don’t like having sleepovers or going out for ice cream. But I’m still part of To the Extreme! I’m ready to come with you. Now, take down that last video before anyone sees it.”

Frosty and Minty fell silent, looking at each other hesitantly. Finally, Frosty stepped forward, making it known that she had something serious to say.

“What?” Lightning asked slowly.

“…there’s something we’ve been meaning to tell you, Dusty,” Frosty said after a minute. She took a didn’t look at Lightning for a long time, and shut her eyes tightly. Then, with a deep breath, she continued. “Um…we don’t wanna be friends anymore.”

Lightning furrowed her eyebrows, feeling incredibly confused. “Any reason why?”

Frosty sighed heavily. “It all started about a week ago. In fact, it’s been going on ever since we made friends with you, and we just didn’t notice before. Basically, you’re a terrible friend.”

“Yeah,” Minty spoke up. “We always tried to invite you out to do things like get ice cream, go shopping, have sleepovers-”

“Yeah, and I believe I said those are completely lame and ridiculous,” Lightning interrupted. “And I still stand by that.” There was no way her friends were going to leave her just because she had different interests.

“Exactly,” Frosty continued. “We realized you don’t go do extreme sports with us because we’re your friends. You do them for yourself. And you don’t care about doing anything with us that you don’t like.”

“I don’t understand,” Lightning said, stepping back. “Why would I do things I hate?”

“And we always listened to you and tried to support you,” Minty said. “We didn’t have to come surprise you at your house when you were sick, but we did. And you didn’t have to call me when I was going through a roughtime a couple weeks ago. And you didn’t! That’s the difference, and when we realized for the first time that you don’t care about us. You only care about yourself, Dusty.”

“Alright fine, I’ve heard enough,” Lightning said quickly. “I’ll just start my own vlog series. Most people probably watched this one for me anyway.”

“Fine, see how that goes for you,” Frosty said. “But in the end, we have each other, and you have no friends. Now just leave us alone. We have things to do.”

“Yeah, I’m going,” Lightning said. “Just one more thing.” She grabbed the camera out of Frosty’s hand, holding it up in the air. Before the girls could do anything, Lightning threw it, hard, on the ground. They could hear the lens shatter. Minty gasped as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

“Alright, go do your things now,” Lightning finished, leaving for her house and not looking back. She’d had it with these girls weeks ago.

Frosty picked up the camera, but it was broken beyond repair. She set it down on a nearby picnic table, before looking at Minty, who now had tears streaming down her cheeks. Minty sniffled, trying to wipe them away.

“Stop crying, it’s okay,” Frosty hugged her tightly. “We’ll get another one. It was getting pretty old anyways. It’s a new beginning for us, we don’t need to deal with her anymore.” The two pulled apart after a couple minutes, smiling slightly at each other.

Lightning continued walking through the park, thinking this was all too familiar. After all the things they did together, they were just going to end it like that? Well, it wasn’t her loss, for sure. That’s what she tried to keep telling herself. They were the same as Indigo Zap, and they never cared enough to see who she really was.

~.~.~.~.~.~

It had been nearly a week since that incident in the park, and to be honest, Lightning’s life was not going that well. She had tried starting her own vlog series the day after all that happened, and she hardly got any views. However, ‘Minty and Frosty’s Adventures’, as they now called it, had only become more popular. They hadn’t spoken, but she could tell when she saw them in school that they were happier without her. About 2 days after waiting and only getting 5 views on her video and 1 comment from her dad, she deleted it in frustration. She would film more videos after the holiday break.

Lightning came home from school on Friday, the last day before the break. Her dad approached her with a smile as usual, but he actually seemed even more cheerful today.

“How was school, Lightning?” he asked quickly, seeming like he had something else to say.

“The same as usual,” she replied, sitting with him on the couch. “What are you so happy about?” she asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

“I have a bit of a surprise for you,” her dad said, getting out his phone from his pocket and showing her something. “There’s going to be a scenic Christmas-themed train ride, leaving from the station downtown. It goes through the city and the hills outside of town as well. And I got tickets!”

“Oh, come on!” Lightning sighed in frustration. “That sounds so boring, couldn’t you have at least asked me first? Return them, I don’t want to go.”

“They’re non-refundable,” her dad said. “It’ll be fun, Lightning. It’s only 2 hours long, and I booked them for December 22nd. We can still spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here at the house like always. Maybe your friends from school can come over. Are you still friends with them? I can’t quite remember their names…”

“No, we’re not,” Lightning said, getting up. She did not feel like getting into that story right now. “Alright, I guess we’re going on that train ride then.”

As she went upstairs to her room, she thought to herself. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She and her dad hadn’t done anything together in a while, and this was definitely the most extreme thing he would ever do. What could be that bad about it?

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

I'm working on writing the next part to this, just got a lot of things going on right now.

'It’s going to be a great memory'

~ December 22nd ~

It was snowing lightly in the streets of Canterlot as Lightning and her dad walked through town. The week before, they had gotten tickets for a scenic winter train ride through the city and the woods. It wasn’t exactly her thing, but her dad didn’t really give her a choice.

After about a 20-minute walk, they arrived at the train station. Lightning was glad she wore her heavy coat and scarf, because it was extremely cold and they still had half an hour until the train ride. As they walked around a corner, they noticed a long line of people waiting.

“Is that the line for the train ride?” Lightning asked, sighing in frustration. She absolutely hated waiting in lines.

“Looks to be,” her dad replied. “It is quite a big deal. We’ve got time, though. I’m just going to use the restroom, go and get a space.” He told her as he went in the building.

Lightning looked back to the line and noticed a family approaching. Oh, no you don’t, she thought as she rushed over and claimed her space in front of them. Well, some might say they arrived at the same time.

“Um, excuse me,” a young girl from the family spoke up, getting Lightning’s attention. The girl had red hair with a few purple streaks in it.

“Do you want something?” she asked, rather annoyed.

“We were in line already,” the girl said plainly, adjusting her glasses.

Lightning furrowed her eyebrows. “Oh, looked like you were just arriving.”

The other girl took a deep breath. “Well, we were just about to, actually-”

“Well, that isn’t really my concern, is it?” Lightning asked. “I got here first and you didn’t.”

The girl seemed too shocked to respond. Before she could do anything though, an older woman spoke up.

“It’s alright, Moondancer,” the woman whispered, glaring at Lightning. “Let’s not make a big deal about it. There are already so many people waiting, it’ll just take another minute.”

Lightning could see the resemblance now, the woman must have been her mother, and the man looked to be her father. As Lightning got on her phone, she glanced over and realized she had seen the girl around Crystal Prep before. No one else looked familiar, though. As her dad returned, she spoke up immediately, not wanting the family to mention anything to him about what happened.

“So, uh, how long is this thing anyways?” she asked.

“About 2 hours,” her dad replied. “it’s going to be a great memory.”

Lightning laughed slightly, rolling her eyes. It would be a memory, alright. A memory of a perfectly good afternoon she could have gone snowboarding for her new vlog series. Oh well, there were more days to come. She thought to herself, maybe something exciting would happen on the train.

~.~.~.~.~.~

After about 20 minutes, Lightning and her dad had finally reached the front of the line. A woman stood behind the counter, typing something into her computer.

“Hi, we have tickets for the 12:30 train,” Lightning’s dad said as he held up his phone. “We got them online about a week ago.”

“Okay, let me give you your tickets,” the woman said.

“Thank you so much,” he said as she took the 2 tickets.

The woman smiled. “Have a great time.”

Lightning looked down at her phone while walking ahead. Her dad smiled to the woman before catching up, getting on one of the train cars near the back. It was very cozy inside. The walls covered in red and gold. They took a seat in one of the only booths that was still empty.

“No wonder these tickets were so expensive,” her dad laughed, looking around. “This is amazing.”

Lightning didn’t respond, instead looking at her phone. She was on the Crystal Prep school website, which she had been looking at quite often over the last couple weeks. Her friends’ channel was still as popular as it was when she was on it, and her own video didn’t even have half as many views. She couldn’t help but wonder why. She was amazing and fun, who wouldn’t want to watch her videos?

“Must be snowing quite a lot up in the hills,” her dad commented. “It’s going to be beautiful. I saw on the website that they serve hot chocolate and give out small gifts as well.” There was a pause as he waited for a response, but then looked out the window. It wasn’t anything new for Lightning to ignore him, so he was quite used to it.

After another minute of waiting, the train finally started to move. It gradually got faster as they left the train station, heading off through the city. Lightning still looked down at the view count on her friends’ videos. She had been feeling strange recently. Not insecure, she was way too cool to get 'insecure'. For as long as she could remember, her dad had told her she was amazing and a gift to the world, and she knew it too. She had it all, she was special, talented, fun…but why couldn’t anyone see it? They were the ones missing out, not her, that's she kept telling herself. Whenever she felt this way, she would always find a distraction, knowing that insecurity was a weakness.

Lightning finally looked outside, wishing the train went more than 15 miles an hour. It was definitely not her speed. It had been about 10 minutes, and they were leaving the town and going out into the forest. Lightning watched the snow-covered trees go by, sipping the hot chocolate they had given out just before.

About 20 minutes later, they were handed small gift boxes to open. Lightning’s dad offered for her to choose one, and she took the one with red wrapping paper, her favourite colour. She quickly tore the paper off, taking out the gift inside the box. It was a necklace with a snowflake on it. Lame, she thought, her excitement disappearing.

“That’s so beautiful, Lightning,” her dad told her with a smile.

Lightning stuffed it in her pocket, then got out of the booth and stood up. “You can open yours.” She looked around, deciding to go into the next car and see what was there. When she entered the other car, she saw that it was a gift shop, and they had things like plushies and various clothes to buy. She saw that they were giving out cookies at a small stand, and went to get one.

However, before she could get there, she caught sight of the last person she wanted to see heading for the cookie stand as well. Her former friend, Minty.

Lightning had no idea she was even on the train, but if she was, then Frosty must have been around, too.

“Hey, what happened to the cookies?” a familiar calm voice spoke up. Frosty had come out from behind a shelf and was looking at Minty.

“Oh, right, the cookies! I was getting there,” Minty smiled, just as forgetful as she always was. “They had this really cute plushie, you just have to see it. It’s a hedgehog, and it has the name of the train on it.” Minty then showed her the plushie. “Isn’t it the cutest thing ever?”

“Yeah, sure, but do you wanna know what’s cuter?” Frosty asked, walking up to the cookie stand. “Christmas cookies to go with that hot chocolate.” She took about 5 cookies and put them in a napkin, then stuffed them in her bag.

“You can’t take that many,” Minty laughed.

“Well, I guess whoever was supposed to be here should have stayed around then,” Frosty said, looking at one of the keychains they had for sale.

Lightning wasn’t going to wait around, and these girls were not going to get between her and her cookies. She confidently entered the car and walked over, noticing the girls’ surprised expressions.

“Lightning Dust,” Frosty looked down, avoiding eye contact and seeming almost sad. “What do you want?”

“Hey, don’t think I came in here to see you or anything,” Lightning said bitterly, grabbing 3 cookies in a napkin.

“...oh, I see how it is,” Frosty said after a minute, glaring at her. Minty backed up a little, clearly afraid of any conflict. “What are you even doing here? Thought you didn’t go for ‘boring’ Christmas events.”

“My dad surprised me with the tickets, isn’t he amazing?” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “I wouldn’t choose to get on this thing, I can walk faster than this.”

“Uhuh,” Frosty said, unimpressed. “Well, we’re here to make a video for our channel. It turns out you were wrong about us. People do love our vlogs. Hey, when are you starting your channel up? You’re a little slow there, Dusty.” Frosty laughed.

Lightning felt her anger raising at those words, glaring at her former friends. She didn’t even think, and let her feelings take control as she grabbed the plushy out of Minty’s hands and walked over to one of the open windows.

“Give that back to her!” Frosty ran after her, but it was too late. Lightning tossed the plushy out the window, and turned back feeling satisfied with her revenge. Frosty looked over at Minty, who was about to cry, and that was all it took. When one of her friends was hurt, Frosty would defend them no matter what. She grabbed Lightning harshly and shoved her into a shelf behind her full of blankets. Lightning nearly collapsed, but quickly got to her feet and shoved Frosty back.

“Oh my gosh, please stop it!” Minty cried out, hiding her face in her hands. “Don’t fight!”

“You know what?” Frosty raised her voice as she and Lightning got up. “I was going to apologize to you! Minty and I have been feeling bad about what happened, and how things ended. But it was definitely for a good reason, and you haven’t changed at all. I don’t want things to be like this, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“Oh, I know what you can do,” Lightning said. “If you want to make me really happy, Frosty? You can go to the back of this train and-”

Before she could say another word, there was a loud screeching noise followed by screaming, and then a bang.

The train crashed.

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

Well, she wanted something exciting to happen 🙄😂
I'm back!! Looks like I haven't given up on this book after all, just have been deciding where to take it next. I have so many ideas that I want to write about but can't do them all at once ahaha, but I should be updating more frequently now. I will be developing Minty and Frosty's characters more coming up as well!! -Faith x

'We'll get through this'

Lightning slowly woke up, opening her eyes and rubbing them. Then she stopped, looking around and realizing this was not her bedroom. She had no idea where she was, but it looked like a forest…and it was snowing.

Then the memories rushed back to her. She had just been in a train crash! She was going to the bathroom…no, she was talking to Frosty and Minty. Then there was a screeching noise, lots of screaming, pain, and then darkness. She couldn’t remember anything between that moment and now.

Slowly, she sat up, wincing as she did. She was sore everywhere, but she needed to look around and find…oh, no. She gasped and got to her feet as quickly as she possibly could, looking around quickly. Her dad…where was he? And everyone else who had been on the train? And the train? It looked like she had just been dropped in the forest somehow.

As she started walking, she winced at the sharp pain that it caused. Not that it was the worst of her concerns, though. She ignored it as best she could, as she had quite a high pain tolerance, and trudged through the snowy forest. She needed to find some way out of this now.

After a few minutes of walking, she still hadn’t found anything or anyone. At this point, she had no idea if her dad was alright or even alive for that matter. Thinking back to the last words they had exchanged, she cringed. It was hardly a conversation at all, as she had been ignoring every word he said. Lightning took a deep breath, not allowing herself to think of the worst.

She walked for at least 15 more minutes, the pain in her ankle starting to make her feel dizzy, and no one had come along yet. All she could do now was keep looking. She was a strong and determined girl, and she would get out of here.

“Hello? Is someone over there?”

Lightning heard a voice in the distance, but couldn’t tell which direction. She looked around quickly before seeing someone sitting on the ground against a tree, just to her left. She took a deep breath and walked over to them, not thinking about who it could be. As she got closer, her heart sank. No…not her.

Minty was sat at the edge of a tree, her face stained with tears. She looked up at Lightning desperately, then got to her feet and rushed over. Lightning was surprised when Minty pulled her into a tight hug, crying.

“I- I didn’t see anyone else,” Minty sobbed. “I thought everyone else on the train…oh, my gosh, I thought I was the only one who made it.” Minty pulled away, noticing how unimpressed Lightning looked. “Sorry.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Lightning said. “I didn’t think I would ever say this again, but I’m kind of glad to see you, too. Have you seen anyone else?”

“No, you’re the first person I’ve found,” Minty replied nervously. “I was with you in that car with Frosty, just before the crash.”

“Oh yeah, I remember,” Lightning said, thinking about the fight. She glanced around for a moment, then looked into Minty’s eyes. No matter what happened between them, they were in the same situation, just 2 girls who wanted to get home and see their families. “Are you…okay?” Lightning finally asked.

“I’m a little sore, but nothing else terrible,” Minty responded. “But now I’m really worried about Frosty.”

Despite her anger towards Frosty, Lightning felt her anxiety raising at the thought of something happening to her. “Hey, don’t worry, we’re going to find her. She’s got to be around somewhere.”

Minty nodded, still shaking quite a bit. “Well, since I found you and we were in the same train car, she should be here too.”

The girls began walking. Lightning had almost forgotten about her injured ankle until she started walking again. She winced in pain, and Minty looked at her with concern.

“Are you alright?” Minty asked.

“Yeah, I think it’s just a sprain,” Lightning replied. She had grown up playing sports and had her fair share of injuries, so she could usually tell the difference. They continued walking for about 5 minutes, then heard a voice.

“Hello?”

Both girls recognized the voice. Minty looked to where it had come from and sighed in relief as Frosty ran up to hug her tightly. Lightning stood off to the side, waiting for them and gazing at the ground. They finally pulled apart.

“It’s okay Minty,” Frosty reassured her in her usual comforting tone. She looked at Lightning. “Um…hey.”

“Have you seen the train?” Lightning asked.

“Um…no, I haven’t seen it,” Frosty replied. “Never even saw any train tracks. Do you still have your phone?”

Minty felt around in her pockets, and Lightning reached in hers too, then remembering she left her phone on the table where she had been sitting. Instead, she felt something else and pulled it out. It was the necklace she had gotten on the train. She blinked a few times, shoving it back in, not wanting to think about what happened.

“Must have gotten lost it in the crash somewhere,” Lightning finally told them. “We can walk a little ways and see if we can find anything. A little pain is worth it to get out of here.”

Minty nodded slowly, still holding onto Frosty’s hand tightly as they continued walking the same way they were going. The forest never seemed to end, and the trees covering the small path they found made it darker and therefore colder. The train had been going through the forest for at least 15 minutes before the crash, so they were far from any civilization.

Lightning occasionally glanced over at her former friends, remembering all the good times they had together. If only they weren’t so dramatic, the friendship didn’t have to end like it did. But no matter, they needed each other right now. She heard a sniffle and turned to Minty, who was crying again. Frosty still looked quite shaken up, and too disturbed to notice.

“Don’t…don’t cry,” Lightning told Minty. “You, uh…shouldn’t be doing that.”

Minty smiled slightly. Lightning hadn’t had much experience comforting anyone before, but she was trying her best.

“I told you already,” she continued. “We’re going to find them.”

“How are you so…positive?” Minty asked quietly, shivering a bit and wiping a tear from her eyes. “Aren’t you even a little worried that…everyone else who was on the train…”

“Hey, we can’t think that way,” Lightning replied. “We’ll get through this. It’s called positivity, and you should try it sometime.” As they continued slowly walking through the snow, it seemed that she was a little bit warmer. The movement was definitely helping, even if it was only a small amount.

After another 10 minutes, Frosty had stopped walking and propped herself against a tree, holding a hand to her head.

Minty stopped and walked over to her, concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I just need to take a little break,” Frosty said, making her way to sitting on a log nearby. She took a deep breath as Minty sat next to her. Lightning would have kept going if it were just her, but it didn’t feel right to leave these girls. She sat down on the opposite end of the log, actually needing a break herself. The pain in her ankle was getting worse, and she was starting to think something was broken after all.

There was a long pause as the girls glanced around at the trees, but not directly at each other.

After a while, Minty spoke up. “You guys, it can’t be this way. Look at me.” The others turned to look at her as she continued. “Who knows how long we’re gonna be out here for? I’m scared to death, I mean, think about what could happen to us. We have to work together now, more than ever, and we can’t be bitter and miserable to each other the whole time.”

“Says who?” Lightning went back to playing with her gloves casually.

“Says me!” Minty said, quite loudly for her. “I hate conflict, and if you care about me, then don’t do this.”

“I care about you,” Frosty smiled, then turned serious again. “But since you have different interests than Lightning, she probably doesn’t care what you think.”

“Don’t even start with me,” Lightning began, but Minty stopped her.

“Listen,” Minty told them. “This is already a terrible situation. We don’t need to make it any harder. Can we just get along until we get back home? Then you don’t have to talk to each other ever again.”

Frosty took a deep breath, then moved a little closer to Lightning. “She’s kind of right. We’re wasting time and energy by fighting with each other. I’m gonna be the mature one.” She reached her hand out.

“Alright, if you can stop being dramatic,” Lightning took her hand. “I’ll forgive you, but only until we get out of here.”

“Thank you,” Minty said.

Finally, Lightning had a thought. “What time do you think it is?” she asked, still not looking over to the others.

“Well, the sun looks like it’s got about 2 hours until it sets,” Frosty said, pointing to the sky. “Sunset in the winter would probably be around 5:30, but there’s still some light for about an hour after that.”

“So, it’s about 3:30,” Lightning said.

“Seems like it,” Frosty replied.

Lightning laughed. “That’s all I really wanted to know, but alright. You up for walking again?”

“I think I’m good to keep going,” Frosty responded, getting up.

Lightning stood up as well, trying to dust the snow off her clothes.

“That’s not going to do any good, you know,” Frosty said. “You’re all wet from where you’ve been sitting in the snow.”

“Oh, shut up.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

It had been 2 hours now since the girls started walking, and they still hadn’t found any sign of anything. The sun was going down quickly, and Frosty had decided that they needed to start a fire if they wanted to survive the night without freezing to death. And the next day, they would keep looking. They gathered up leaves and branches, anything that could burn, and eventually managed to light a fire.

“At least this will warm us up,” Minty said. “Hopefully someone will see the smoke and be able to find us.”

“If we had something to use, we could fan the smoke so people could see it above all these trees,” Lightning said, looking around.

Frosty looked at her. “That’s actually a great idea, but there’s nothing around.” She sat down on the opposite side of the fire, still feeling very weak. It was now that she realized she hadn’t had anything to eat since before she left home. That was about 6 hours ago, and she wasn’t going to eat anything now. The only option would be snow, and it was probably polluted.

They had a long night ahead, at least 12 hours until sunrise. Frosty glanced over and noticed that Lightning looked extremely tired, and like she was about to fall asleep.

“Hey, you can’t fall asleep,” Frosty said, moving closer to her. “If you fall asleep in this cold, you might never wake up again.”

“It’s too freaking cold to sleep anyways,” Lightning replied, putting her hands over the fire. “It’s got to be colder than normal.”

“I think it is,” Minty said. “Plus, we’re out in the forest in the snow. But at least we have hats, scarves, and warm boots on.”

Lightning smiled at her. “So, you can think positive.”

“Guess so,” Minty said.

It was quiet for a moment before Lightning spoke up. “You know, maybe we should talk about something, or play a game? It would take our minds off the cold, and keep us awake.”

“Okay, fine,” Frosty nodded. “Let’s talk.”

⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐⚡⭐

Author's Note

Is anyone still reading this 👀😂

'Maybe things do happen for a reason'

~ Canterlot Hospital ~

Lightning's eyes snapped open as she woke up, quickly looking around the hospital room. After remembering where she was, she leaned her head back on the pillows and calmed down. They weren't in the forest anymore. It had been a few hours since the girls had been rescued, and she had finally gotten to sleep. Just as she was closing her eyes again, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Lightning said, sitting up in the bed. She gasped when her dad came in the room, quickly running over to her side and wrapping her into a hug.

“Dad!” she hugged him extremely tightly. “I thought you didn’t make it.”

“Oh no,” her dad said, sitting down next to the bed in a chair. “I thought I had lost you.”

Lightning sat back on the bed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” her dad replied. “They found me a few hours after the crash, and a few other survivors as well. But unfortunately…not everyone was so lucky. Many of the people on the train didn’t survive. I thought you were one of them until today. Do you remember what happened?”

“Yeah, think so,” Lightning said. She remembered getting rescued, and then being taken to the hospital, but then being separated from Minty and Frosty once they arrived. Minty had passed out just after being rescued. Suddenly, Lightning had a thought. “Wait, the other girls. I was out there with my frien- I mean, some girls I knew. Are they-”

“I don’t know, I came to your room as soon as I found out where you were,” her dad explained.

“I need to go find them,” Lightning said, getting out from under the covers.

“Lightning, wait-”

“I’m fine,” she reassured her dad. “I need to check on those girls.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Melon Mint was lying in bed in her own hospital room, just having woken up about 15 minutes before. There was a knock on the door. “Who is it?”

Lightning walked inside, waving to her.

“Hey Dusty,” she smiled at Lightning and her dad. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” Lightning said, sitting down on the bed. “What about you?”

Minty sighed. “I’m pretty good.” She paused for a minute, looking around. “How…did we get out of there?” she asked.

“Someone found us,” Lightning said. “I heard them, remember? You were about to pass out too, but then we heard someone’s voice, and we were calling to them for about 5 minutes. But just as they found us, you passed out. I didn’t have hypothermia quite yet, but they said I probably would have if I’d been out there for another few minutes. The search party said they’d been looking for survivors since the day the train crashed, but just couldn’t find any of us.”

Minty nodded. “Oh, okay. What about Frosty, how is she?”

“I haven’t seen her yet, think I’ll go visit her now,” Lightning said as she got up to leave the room, closing the door behind her.

~.~.~.~.~.~

A few minutes later, Lightning and her dad walked up to a door and she knocked on it a few times.

“Come in,” a voice called.

Lightning opened the door and walked inside to see Frosty sitting on the hospital bed. Frosty looked at her strangely like she was expecting someone else. “Hey, what are you doing here?” She asked.

“I just…wanted to talk to you,” Lightning said, sitting down awkwardly on the bed beside her.

“I’m doing fine,” Frosty responded. “What about you?”

“Pretty good,” Lightning told her. “They wrapped up my ankle and said it’s just a sprain. Should heal soon.”

“That’s good,” Frosty said. “What happened? Did you guys pass out too?”

Lightning laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m way too cool to pass out. Determination goes a long ways.”

Frosty rolled her eyes. Then there was another knock on the door, and Minty came in. “Hey Dusty,” she said. “Just saw you coming this way.”

“Yeah, just had a few things to tell you guys,” Lightning said. “So, we all made it. I told you we would.”

Frosty smiled. “Well, then, everything is back to normal.”

“Yeah, normal,” Lightning said. “About that, why did you guys come to find me?” She paused, then continued. “You thought you’d be rescued if you stayed there, so you had no reason to come and find me.”

They glanced at each other. “Well, we um…” Minty began. “We didn’t want something to happen to you.”

“Why not?” Lightning asked, standing up. “That’s what I don’t get. Why do you care? We’re not friends, you guys don’t want to be friends-”

“Actually, that’s not true,” Frosty spoke up. “We really want to try again. This is…actually what I was gonna talk to you about on the train car all those days ago. We really miss you, and…it looks like you kind of need us, too. I mean, how many views did your last video get?”

“I don’t need you,” Lightning said defensively, then looked at them. “But yeah, you know, it might be cool to hang out again.”

Just then, there was another knock on the door before a man came inside.

“Hello, my name is Rainy Day,” the man introduced himself. “I’m the one who found you girls out in the forest. How do you all feel now? Better?”

“Warmer, that’s for sure,” Lightning answered.

“You look a whole lot warmer,” Rainy said. “I just decided I’d stop in and give you some information we learned about the train accident.”

“What things?” Frosty asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, the crash was caused by damaged brakes,” he explained. “They suddenly stopped working out on the ride.”

Lightning furrowed her eyebrows. “Don’t they check those things before taking people out?!” she raised her voice.

“They did,” Rainy answered quickly. “It seemed alright at the time before they sent the train out, and something must have happened to the brakes out on the tracks somewhere. No one is to blame.”

Minty sighed, then speaking up. “How many other people survived?”

Rainy looked at the ground. “You 3, and 7 or 8 others,” he responded. “But everyone else…didn’t make it. Many of the survivors were…thrown off the train. And then it kept going. That’s what happened in the last 2 cars.”

Minty took a shaky breath, thinking of all the kids she had seen. Everyone they had waited in line with at the station, all so happy and full of excitement, with no idea of what was to come.

“Well, thank you for stopping in Rainy,” Frosty told him.

“Of course,” he smiled back heading for the door. “Merry Christmas, everyone.” He closed the door leaving the girls in silence, not quite sure what to say.

“Well, I’ll see you guys after the holidays,” Lightning got up to leave.

“Hey, wait,” Frosty stopped her, remembering what Minty had told her the day before. “Um…my aunt and uncle just called and they’re coming to pick me up soon, and tomorrow we’re gonna do something for Christmas dinner. I know, you’re not really interested in holidays or anything, but if you want to stop in for a few minutes…you’re definitely welcome.”

Lightning turned back to her and smiled slightly. “We’ll see.” With that, she left the room and saw her dad waiting outside. “Okay, we’re good to go,” she told him as they headed for the hospital exit.

“What took so long?” her dad asked.

“Oh, just talking about what happened,” she replied. “Hey, so what are we doing tomorrow evening?”

“I was thinking we could have Christmas dinner like we usually do,” he said. “If that’s alright with you. After all that’s happened, I think you would want to do something calm for once. You also need to take it easy until your ankle is better.”

Lightning laughed. He knew her too well. She never followed her doctor’s orders and got re-injured most times by doing things she was restricted from. “I know, I know,” she told him. “I’ll give it a few days this time. About tomorrow, Frosty invited me over to her place in the evening. You want to come?”

“That sounds great,” her dad said as they reached the car. He opened the door for her. “But I thought last you told me, you weren’t getting along with them anymore.”

“Oh, we’re fine now,” she said, getting in the car. It was true. When you have an experience like they did, it really makes you think about things differently. Maybe some things do happen for a reason.

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'Challenge accepted'

~ 1 week later ~

“Hey, Lightning! What are you doing?”

Lightning looked down from the tree she was currently climbing in the front yard, just now noticing that her dad had arrived home from work.

“How many times have I told you not to climb trees after it’s just snowed?” he called to her, getting out of the car.

“And how many times have I done this when you weren’t around, and turned out to be just fine?” she responded, laughing slightly. “Besides, it only snowed…well, a lot.”

Her dad shook his head, walking closer. “It’s going to be too slippery and the branches are much more likely to break if they’re wet,” he explained. “Now, carefully come down.”

Lightning sighed. Her dad had always been way too protective over her, but ever since the train crash, it had been worse than ever. She made her way down, knowing he wouldn’t leave her alone until she was safely on the ground.

“You ruin everything, you know that?” she told him, jumping down from the lowest branch.

“Well, at least you’re safe,” he smiled, heading inside. “I’ll start making dinner.”

Lightning didn’t respond, getting her phone out and checking her messages. There were several unopened texts, as she hardly ever ended up reading most of the things people sent to her. There were a few missed calls from her boyfriend, Snowfall, and he rarely ever called her for no reason. As she was about to call him back, something else got her attention.

“Hey, Dusty,” Minty called to her as she and Frosty approached down the sidewalk. “I just love your neighborhood, you know. My house is nice, but honestly when I move out, I’d just like to live in a cute little house like yours.”

“You’re the only one who thinks so, Minty,” Lightning said, putting her phone back in her pocket. “So, what’s up, you guys?”

“Not much,” Minty replied. “Wishing we were still on holiday break. What are you doing out here? Just admiring the pretty snowflakes?”

Lightning laughed. “That’s more of your thing, Minty. I was climbing this tree but my dad made me come down.”

“Oh no, Dusty, it’s not the time to climb trees,” Minty told her. “The snow makes them really slippery and the branches get weak. Besides, didn’t you fall out of that thing when you were little?”

“Yeah, like 12 years ago,” Lightning said.

Frosty raised an eyebrow. “Why were you climbing trees when you were- wait, because it’s you. Never mind.”

“So, does this mean you’re not doing anything?” Minty asked.

Lightning looked at her suspiciously. “Why?”

“Well, we were just going over to Minty’s place for the evening,” Frosty said. “You weren’t answering any of our messages, so we thought maybe something was wrong. But it looks like you’re fine.”

“Oh, whoops, I actually left my phone inside,” Lightning said quickly, though the other girls looked unimpressed.

“…you were just on your phone when we got here,” Frosty told her simply.

I really need to think before I speak, Lightning thought to herself. “Alright, well let’s not live in the past, are we going to Minty’s house or what?”

Minty rolled her eyes. “Sure, let’s go.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

The girls stood around Minty’s kitchen, Frosty flipping through the pages of a cookbook. They had planned on baking cookies, and Frosty was searching for the recipe.

“Here it is,” Frosty finally announced, proudly holding up the book. “Minty, do you think you’ve got all this stuff?”

Minty carefully read over the ingredients. “Looks like we do. Oh, this looks confusing. You’re the one who’s got a thing for cooking, Frosty.”

“That is true,” Frosty said. “I’m the best baker in our little group, anyways.”

Lightning looked up from her phone. “Well, I’m sure it’s not that hard. All you do is follow the directions. It’s not exactly a skill, Frosty.”

“It does take a lot of practice,” Frosty said. “You need to be really specific with the measurements, and it takes quite a bit of patience, too. Not your thing, Dusty.” She reached in the pantry and pulled out a mixing bowl and a bag of flour.

“Frosty,” Lightning looked at her. “You really think you can make better cookies than me?”

“Well, you haven’t ever done it before and I’m used to cooking,” Frosty said. “So, yeah, I guess I am.”

Lightning smiled. “Challenge accepted.”

“Wait, I’m sure she didn’t mean it that way,” Minty said, watching as Lightning got out her own mixing bowl. “Right, Frosty?”

“Oh no, I definitely did,” Frosty replied. “She’s not going to take my baking skills seriously until she actually realizes how hard it is. Let her try, see how far she gets. It’s a good thing you have 2 ovens!”

Minty sighed, sitting on a chair in the dining room. She knew once her friends got caught up in any kind of contest, there was no reasoning with them. Their friendship was definitely back to normal.

Frosty set the cookbook on the counter between them, and went to the cupboard in search of measuring tools. She found the cups she needed and went to locate the other ingredients in the fridge when Lightning shoved her aside.

“Hey, watch it,” Frosty snapped at her. “We’ve got all evening, you know, and I hope you’re not gonna be in such a rush when you’re cooking. Hand them to me.”

Lightning walked past Frosty, setting the ingredients on the counter. “Well, you think highly of me, don’t you? I’m not completely careless, you know.” She glanced quickly at the recipe and then scooped some flour out into the bowl. Frosty held back from correcting her, trying to concentrate on her own instead. However, it was difficult when there was flour flying everywhere, and the occasional swearing coming from Lightning’s side of the kitchen.

After a few minutes, Frosty was just beginning to pour out the proper amount of vanilla when Lightning grabbed the cookbook.

“Hey, I need to see that,” Frosty said, reaching to take it back.

“I’ll just be a second,” Lightning said, taking it over to one of the ovens and hurriedly looking it over. 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, that seemed like way too long. She looked back at Frosty, who was organizing her measuring tools and laughed to herself. This was way too easy; she would have hers done before Frosty even got hers in.

She gave the book back to Frosty before going to her oven and turned the temperature up as high as it went. 500, that wasn’t too bad. If she took them out at around 8 minutes, she should get the same result in a lot less time. As she put the sheet of cookies inside and pushed ‘start’, she turned to see what Frosty was doing.

Frosty was carefully measuring chocolate chips in a cup, looking the other direction. Lightning smiled mischievously, scooping up some of the butter that was left. Just as Frosty started to turn around, Lightning reached up and rubbed it into Frosty’s hair, bursting into laughter. Frosty ran her hand through her long blue hair, getting butter all over her hands.

“Oh, you’re in for it now,” Frosty said.

“Oh, am I?” Lightning asked, still laughing. “What are you going to-” but she never finished, as before she could, she found herself covered in flour. She wiped the flour from her eyes, now seeing Frosty smirking at her.

“Oh, it is so on!” Lightning said, grabbing a handful of flour and throwing it at Frosty’s face. They threw ingredients back and forth a few more times before Minty ran over and stopped them.

“What are you doing?!” Minty shouted, taking the bag of flour and setting it aside. “This is going to take hours to clean up, and my parents will be home anytime!”

The 2 girls looked at each other for a moment, when suddenly Frosty sniffed the air a few times.

“Um…Dusty?” she glanced around, before setting her eyes on the oven. “What did you do?!” She cried out, running over.

Lightning’s eyes went wide as she heard the smoke alarm, realizing she forgot to set the timer for her cookies. She ran over and coughed as she opened the oven and some more smoke poured out.

“I turned it off!” Frosty shouted over the incessant beeping of the smoke alarm, coughing a little. She waved the smoke out of her face as Minty grabbed some oven mittens, getting the pan out after a minute. She dropped it on the counter, looking at the black circles that were supposed to be cookies. After most of the smoke had gone out the windows, Minty and Frosty turned to glare at Lightning, who was standing off to the side of the kitchen.

“Frosty, I’ve got to admit…” Lightning started, entering the kitchen.

“Yes?” Frosty said, knowing her point had been made.

“This was so much more fun than I ever expected!” Lightning said, causing Frosty to groan in frustration. “Baking is awesome!”

Frosty had no idea what to say. She glanced at the mess, remembering the food fight, and then back at the girls. “Well, talk about extreme cooking,” she said, before unusually bursting into laughter. Minty was about to join in until she heard her phone ringing, picking it up hesitantly.

“Oh, no,” Minty said as the phone continued ringing. “It’s my mom, they must be on the way home. We need to clean this up right now!”

“Most of it is flour,” Lightning said, brushing off her clothes. “And we know whose fault that is. Frosty, what have I told you about being careless?”

Frosty simply rolled her eyes. “Where’s the cleaning supplies?”

~.~.~.~.~.~

After about half an hour, the girls had gotten most of the mess cleaned up, except for the faint smell of smoke in the air. Minty hoped her parents wouldn’t notice. Frosty had washed her hair and gotten most of the butter out, and Lightning had changed into one of Minty’s extra outfits as hers was still full of flour.

They sat on the living room couch to watch a movie, one that Minty had chosen. It was a romantic comedy, which Lightning found to be boring and cringey in the first minute of watching. She was scrolling through her phone instead, deciding it was finally time to read her unopened messages.

Some of them were memes from her friends, and others were ‘good morning’ or ‘goodnight’ texts from her dad. She finally got to Snowfall’s messages, and saw the latest one which read,

“I need to talk to you.”

She looked up at the other girls and saw that Frosty was also on her phone, and Minty was way too involved in the movie to even know if she was there or not. She got up and went to one of the extra bedrooms, closing the door. When she called Snowfall, he instantly picked up.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked in his usual monotone voice.

“Been a little busy, alright?” Lightning responded. “My friends wanted to do something, so I’m at Minty’s house. But she put on a long cringey movie, so I’ve got a few minutes.”

“Oh, it won’t be long,” Snowfall said. “I’m just going to say it. I’ve found someone else.”

Lightning paused for a minute before laughing. “Good one. Like you could find anyone better than me even if you wanted to. Anyways, what are you-”

“I’m serious,” Snowfall cut her off. “There’s another girl who I met, and she also goes to Crystal Prep. Lightning, I’m sorry to do this, but it wasn’t like you valued our relationship anyway.”

“Well…” Lightning started, wondering if she should tell him the truth, but decided against it. “I have a lot of other things going on right now, okay? I can’t just change my life for you.” She stopped to force a laugh. “You know, this is your loss, Snowfall. There are plenty of other guys, and probably girls, who would do anything to go out with me. I can get whoever I want. You have fun with her, I’ll just…yeah. Bye, Snowfall.”

With that, she hung up, standing in the middle of the room for a minute before throwing her phone on the nearby bed. She sat down, staring out the window. What she told Snowfall was mostly true. She had been asked out by many of the other Crystal Prep students before, but turned them down. They were too ordinary for her. Snowfall was different, and though she hated to admit it, she loved him. She had gone on lots of dates, but never would have gone so far to say she ‘loved’ anyone else.

“No, snap out of it,” she whispered to herself, taking deep breaths. It had happened again. She let herself get emotional, and that wasn’t supposed to happen. It was going to be okay. She was a tough girl, and a breakup wasn't going to affect her like this. Just as she got up, she heard a knock on the door.

“Dusty, are you in here?” Minty’s voice called.

Lightning took a deep breath, going to open the door. As soon as she saw Minty, she put on her usual smile and acted normal.

“Hey, just uh…had to take a call from my dad,” she said. “Did I miss anything?”

“The movie’s over,” Minty told her. Lightning quickly looked at her watch, noticing it had been half an hour since she left.

“Well, I should be getting home,” Lightning said, walking past Minty and grabbing her bag and smiling at Frosty. “Baking was great, can’t wait to do more.”

Frosty chuckled, waving to her as she headed out the door as well. “Goodnight, Dusty.”

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Author's Note

Yes, I updated twice today. This is probably my favourite chapter I've ever written, it was so much fun!! It looks like this book is going to be a little longer than I planned at first.
I would love to know your thoughts!!

'Someone is going to come'

The girls had spent the last few hours chatting about their past memories when they were friends, and all the videos they had made together. It had been about 6 hours, and no one had seen the smoke from their fire yet. The girls must have been very deep in the forest, because no one had come to rescue them. They had managed to continue talking about things on and off, various subjects from school to their favourite colours.

They had gotten up every hour or so to move around, just to keep warm and keep them wider awake. Minty had just finished taking a short run around the fire, and Frosty was doing lunges and jumping up and down.

“Do you think we can stop now?” Minty asked, sitting down on the ground and panting.

“Yeah, for now,” Lightning said as she stopped jumping. Frosty also stopped to take a breath, but she started coughing harshly, sinking to the ground. She coughed for a few seconds, and it didn’t sound very good. Minty was beginning to get worried.

“Are you alright?” Minty asked, walking over to her.

“I’m fine,” Frosty said before coughing a few more times. Minty helped her to sit up properly, as well as she could.

After another hour or so, the sky finally seemed to get a little lighter.

“I love the sunrise,” Minty said quietly. “Although, I’m never awake early enough to see it.”

“I’m usually up before the sunrise but I never stop to watch it,” Lightning commented. She looked down at the snowy ground, hoping the sun would make it at least a little bit warmer. It must have been the 23rd of December now.

“I really love my family,” Frosty spoke up. “I wish I told them more often.”

“You can tell them again,” Lightning said. “When we get out of here.”

Frosty scoffed. “When.”

“What was that?” Lightning asked.

“You said ‘when’ we get out of here,” Frosty said. “You think anyone is going to find us? Where do you think everyone else could be? It’s been almost a day.”

“Someone is going to come,” Lightning reassured her. “They’ll notice that the train never came back and send someone out looking for us.”

“But they’ll probably look near the location of the crash,” Frosty told her. “Not anywhere close to where we are. We shouldn’t have wandered so far, now they won’t even be able to locate us. We were probably thrown off the train when it crashed, and who knows how far…and who else could have survived that?”

Things were starting to become too much for her. The hunger, thirst, and exhaustion, she didn’t know how much longer she could go on like this for. “They think I’ve died,” she slowly said.

“No, they’re going to be-”

“How do you know?!” Frosty snapped, getting to her feet and standing by the fire. “I’m sick of this. We’re slowly freezing to death, and we can’t do anything about it. If no one finds us today, I don’t know how we would survive another night out here because if it snows, our fire will go out. And it looks like it’s about to anytime! I’m sick of these back-and-forth thoughts, and fearing the worst, and…”

She couldn’t say another word before she started sobbing, burying her face in her hands. Lightning just stared at her for a minute, never having seen her like that before. She realized that nothing she could say would help at this point. Instead, she walked up to Frosty and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Frosty looked surprised, but returned the hug anyways.

After a couple minutes, as the girls pulled away from each other, Frosty was still crying but significantly less than before. Both girls smiled at each other and looked over at Minty, who was smiling widely. Lightning quickly stepped back from Frosty, remembering that they weren’t friends anymore and that she was still mad at her. Although, in that moment, she felt a little warmer having these girls with her.

~.~.~.~.~.~

For the rest of the day, they stayed in the same area. If someone were to come looking, they would find them more easily if they weren’t moving around. The girls could try walking in one direction and get back to where the accident was, but it could also take them even farther away.

They kept up a conversation throughout the day, and managed to get along quite well, considering they didn’t have a choice. It distracted them from the cold and hunger, and prevented them from falling asleep.

By evening, there was still no sign of anyone. The 3 girls sat around the fire trying to keep as warm as possible. Frosty hadn’t said much of anything, and just wanted more than anything to go home.

The sun was setting again and it felt even colder than the previous day if that was possible. Minty had eventually suggested that they could go find some more sticks so in case this fire went out, they could build another. Right now, it was the only thing keeping them from freezing to death.

Lightning had offered to go with her, saying she could use some exercise to warm up as well. The 2 girls walked through the woods nearby, looking for sticks, but not having much luck.

“It’s weird, you know?” Minty said, picking up a small twig. “I was just thinking about you when I was getting on the train.”

Lightning looked at her. “Oh, you were?”

“And all the fun things we did,” Minty said. “How we first met, and our connection was instant. I thought we would really be friends for a long time.”

“Me too,” Lightning said, pulling a loose stick off of a tree. “And then you guys decided to kick me out of your channel, and for what? Just because we found different interests?”

“It’s not that,” Minty said. “I mean, not for me anyways. I think it’s fine if you don’t want to do everything with us, we still had lots of fun making videos. But it just hurt, every time you rejected us and not only that, you had to tell us the things we enjoyed were ‘lame’ and a waste of time.”

“They are,” Lightning replied. “And now we’re not friends, so that’s that.” They continued walking slowly, searching for more sticks. Lightning did think to herself whenever she saw Minty and Frosty comforting each other or hugging, she wished she had something like that.

Minty stopped and looked around. “That’s it?”

“Looks like it,” Lightning said. “Okay, this is not so good. If that fire goes out…”

Minty understood, finishing for her. “We’re probably not going to make it.”

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“Do you think if I cried…it would turn into ice?” Minty asked the others as they sat around the small fire. It was becoming darker, and much colder.

“Probably,” Lightning said. The girls looked at her a moment later when she coughed loudly, and it sounded quite painful too.

“Are you alright?” Minty asked, still sitting on the other side of the fire.

Lightning nodded. “I’m fine,” she tried to take a deep breath before coughing again.

Minty eventually moved next to her and touched her hand. “You’re absolutely freezing,” she commented.

“Well, of course I’m freezing!” Lightning said. “It’s probably 10 degrees out and we’ve been stuck here for days! But hey, at least it’s not snowing.” She added, remembering to think positive. It’s what she had been telling the others the entire time, but it was only now she realized that it had been more of a reminder to herself. And positive thinking could only get you so far.

“Um…guys?” Frosty spoke up, reaching her hand out and looking up at the sky. “I think it may be snowing.”

Minty looked up as well, and noticed a few snowflakes falling down. “It is,” she said.

“Well, hopefully it doesn’t snow too much,” Lightning said, but just as she finished, she snowflakes got larger and heavier.

“Just stop,” Frosty glared at her.

“Oh yeah, like I made that happen,” Lightning said sarcastically. “Sorry for being hopeful.”

Minty was shaking more, glancing at the fire. “The fire is going to go out soon,” she whispered.

“We can make a new one,” Lightning suggested.

“That’s not going to work,” Frosty said plainly. “We already looked for wood, and even if we found any now, it’s all going to be wet from the snow.”

Lightning went to stand up. “We could look around and gather some really fast before it gets wet.”

“There’s no point in lighting a fire while it’s snowing,” Frosty told her. “It’s not going to last anyways.”

Lightning sat down again, staring at the fire, or rather what was left of it. She reached her hands over the fire and tried to warm them up.

“The snow is actually so beautiful, if you’re in the right place,” Minty laughed slightly. “I love the view from my bedroom, on the second floor of the house. When you look outside, it’s just so pretty. The lights of Canterlot City in the background…” She looked off thoughtfully.

“The fire is out,” Frosty commented. “It’s about to get a whole lot colder.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Frosty turned out to be right. About half an hour later, it had gotten even colder than before, and everyone was shivering hard.

“Alright, I’m tired of sitting here and doing nothing,” Lightning said.

Frosty looked at her strangely. “Wait…do you mean you’re bored? How can boredom possibly be on your mind when it’s this cold outside?”

Lightning stood up, struggling a bit, but getting to her feet. “No, I don’t mean I’m bored. I mean, I’m not going to sit here and do nothing while we all slowly freeze to death! Come on, we should keep walking or something, and maybe we’ll run into someone.”

“No, we should stay here,” Frosty argued. “It’s the most logical option to stay close to the scene of the crash. That way, if someone is going to find us, we won’t be too far away in the middle of nowhere.”

“If is the key word here,” Lightning said. “Look, it’s been one and a half days. We have to try something else, and I’m not going to just sit here and wait. You guys can if you want to, though. You’ll probably be much happier without me here anyways.”

“We should stay together,” Minty said once again.

Frosty stood up, shaking. “She’s right. Or else it’s going to be impossible to find all of us! If you want to go, then I can’t stop you. It could take days to find someone else, but if you want to take that chance, then go right ahead. We’re not even friends. You’re going to get yourself more lost, but that’s none of our business. You just go do your own thing like you always have. You’re selfish, Lightning Dust, and you’re gonna spend the rest of your life alone anyways.”

Lightning glared at her after those last words, before turning and running in the opposite direction. Minty stared after her, in shock of what had just happened.

Frosty sat down next to her, not saying anything for a minute, just shivering. Guilt immediately overtook her, as she regretted the last words she had said. She looked at Minty, who finally spoke up.

“I don’t think she means it,” Minty said.

“What?” Frosty asked.

“I think that’s just who she is,” Minty explained. “I’ve tried telling you this before, but you didn’t listen either. Maybe…maybe she needs us, more than anyone. Maybe instead of just leaving her with no friends, we should try harder to be the friends she needs. Look, what have we shown her about friendship by kicking her out of our channel?”

Frosty nodded slowly, thinking deeply about how it happened. Lightning had her whole life ahead of her, and if she went too far away now, nobody would find her, and then…

She stood up, getting Minty’s attention.

“What are you doing?” Minty asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m going to find her,” Frosty replied, starting to walk through the snow.

“Hey, wait,” Minty called after a minute, struggling to stand up. “I’m coming, too. You’re my best friend no matter what, and I’m not going to let you wander off in this cold by yourself. I’m coming.”

~.~.~.~.~.~

Lightning slowed down after running for about 5 minutes, the pain in her twisted ankle becoming too much to handle. She sat down next to a tree, wincing as she tried to take a deep breath. It only caused her to cough harshly again. She and Frosty both seemed to be falling sick. As she looked back where she had come from, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Surely, she would run into someone eventually, if she could find the strength to walk again. Right now, though, she wasn’t so sure.

She was sick of everything, but mostly the back-and-forth thoughts. One minute, she would think that they were going to get out of here and that someone would find them. It was sensible that someone would realize the train never returned that day and come looking. But the next minute, she would have thoughts that nobody was going to…no, she couldn’t think about it. If she thought that way, she’d drive herself mad…and it seemed like that was what she did earlier.

Looking back what she said to the girls, about them being happier without her, she began to wonder why she even said it. Maybe some part of her wanted them to stop her, to actually care if she stayed or not, but that never happened. Her dad was the only one who cared about her, and if he didn’t make it…

Lightning shook her head, hating herself for even thinking like that. She would get out, she would find her dad, and she would still be a fighter pilot in the Airforce. This was just a little setback…everything would be fine. She struggled while using the tree beside her for support and eventually got to her feet. She didn’t need those girls, anyways.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Frosty and Minty trudged through the forest as the snow kept falling down.

“Lightning Dust?” Minty called weakly, as she had several times. She couldn’t have gone that far, could she?

“Minty,” Frosty spoke up. “We have to go back to where we were. Now we are the ones getting farther from wherever the crash was, and losing our own chances of being rescued.”

Minty turned to her. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing. If she never gets rescued, and we could have done something…” Before she could continue, Frosty began coughing harshly again, this time collapsing to the ground. “Frosty!” Minty leaned down to check on her right away. She had stopped coughing, but her eyes were drooping, and she was breathing very slowly.

“Are you okay?” Minty asked her, already knowing the answer. Frosty just stared up at her for a minute as if she didn’t hear her. “Oh, no!” Minty started to panic, looking around. “Help!”

Lightning was several yards away, but she was still able to make out Minty’s weak cry for help. She felt something inside her she hadn’t felt before…concern. Looking back to where she had come from, she turned around and started back as quickly as she could, coughing quite a bit herself. “Minty?” she called out, her voice scratchy.

“Over here!” Minty called back. Lightning saw her up ahead, and wincing with every step, she made it over to her. Frosty was on the ground and she didn’t look very good. Lightning sat down beside Minty and stared at Frosty for a minute. Frosty breathing very slowly, and her lips were blue.

“We were coming to find you,” Minty explained, keeping her eyes on Frosty. “Then she coughed like crazy and now she’s collapsed here.”

Lightning nodded, still trying to figure out why they had come after her. Didn’t they think she was a terrible friend?

“Oh no,” Minty gasped. “Her lips are turning blue!”

Lightning looked back at her right away, the thoughts of them freezing to death out here becoming much more realistic.

“Can you hear me?” Minty asked Frosty once more. Frosty nodded slowly, looking up at her. “Your lips are blue,” Minty told her.

Finally, Frosty answered between shivers. “…They- they are?”

“Yeah, do you feel okay?” Minty asked.

Frosty didn’t say anything for a while, her eyes drooping. “I’m…I’m really tired…” she responded slowly, her eyes eventually slipping shut.

“No, no!” Minty cried, trying to shake her awake. “You can’t go to sleep, Frosty! You’re the one who told us we might never wake up again! Come on!”

“Hey, Minty,” Lightning grabbed her and got her attention. “She’s passed out.”

“Well, what do we do?” Minty asked.

“I don’t know, she’s the one who knows all this,” Lightning said. “We can try to keep her warmer.” Minty moved closer to her, tears filling her eyes as the girls realized the harsh reality. If no one found them soon, they would probably not make it.

They didn’t say anything for a few minutes, but suddenly Lightning sat up and looked around.

“What was that?” she said. Minty stared at her, wiping away tears. “I heard something. I think it was a person!”

Minty sat up and after a minute, she gasped. “I heard it, too!”

The girls called out for help, using the last of their energy. For a minute, it seemed like nobody heard them, but eventually they saw a light in the distance.

“I told you so,” Lightning nudged Minty, who just laughed.

The lights got closer, and finally a young man ran up to them with a flashlight, stopping right in front of them and looking shocked. “I found them!”

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Author's Note

These are all chapters I wrote a while ago, just getting around to finishing them up and posting them 💕😊 I'll try to post the next one this week and not disappear for 3 months again 😂