Beneath the Northern Skies

“Rarity, wait!” Rainbow Dash came to a sudden halt. “I’m pretty sure I recognize this rock.”

She was shouting over the wheezing of wind, hoping that Rarity could hear her. Even though they were no more than ten paces apart, she could barely see the unicorn’s silhouette through the blizzard. Still, the presence of her friend was the only thing keeping her frayed nerves intact.

Rarity turned around and trotted closer. “You remember it from yesterday?”

“No, from an hour ago.” Rainbow kicked the offending stone aside. “I can’t believe we’re lost! After everything we’ve done, we’re still stopped by the dumb weather getting even worse. Wasn’t that deer-spirit-thing supposed to help us?!”

“He’s protecting his village.” Rarity sighed. “He only promised that the train will be able to pass through the snowstorm unimpeded; we’re left to find the way back by ourselves.”

Rainbow stomped, pushing the snow in every direction. “That’s so stupid! Why would we care about the train if we—you, specifically—can’t board it?!”

“I think he believed we’d be able to make it back on time,” Rarity said after a moment.

“Yeah?” Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes. “Maybe if I could keep us on the right path; pegasi are pretty good at finding the way out in the open. Well, guess what? I can’t do that!” Her voice wavered on the edge of tears. “I’m useless in this storm!”

“You’re anything but useless, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity smiled and nudged Rainbow’s side with her forehoof. “We convinced that creature together; your bravery really impressed him. I will admit that I am afraid of this blizzard, too; I can’t imagine how much it must’ve taken for you to keep your cool despite… Well, this.” She gestured at the snowstorm raging around them and shivered.

Rainbow took a deep breath. She returned Rarity’s smile, even if hers was a weak and frail thing, like a candle flickering in the wind. “What’s the worst about this is that we can’t be far, Rares. I know I couldn’t have been that wrong. But in this weather we could pass a hoof’s reach from the tracks and not notice!”

“Not the tracks—we would tell from the storm disappearing—but you do raise a good point.” Rarity cast a simple light spell, illuminating the surrounding snowfield. “I can’t keep it up forever, but it improves our odds.”

“Rarity, that’s genius!” Rainbow cried triumphantly. “We just need to find the place where the storm gets weaker! I’ll just…” She trailed off when the implications of her plan finally hit her.

“If you’re thinking that they could find us this way, I’m afraid to say that there’s a good chance nopony would notice. Even if they did, who knows if they’d stop to investigate a strange light in the middle of a frozen wasteland? We can’t count on that.”

“No, that’s not what I was thinking. Magic or not, those clouds are very low.” Rainbow looked into the swirling masses of air coursing above them. They were mesmerizing and deadly, a rare display of natural forces that ponykind hasn’t tamed yet.

“I suppose they could be,” Rarity nodded.

“And as you said, the tracks should have clear skies above.”

“Well, yes. What of it?” Before Rainbow could respond, the terrible recognition dawned on Rarity.“You can’t possibly be thinking of doing that!”

“It’s the only chance we have to find the train.” Rainbow Dash spread her wings.

“But what you told me about yourself and the snowstorms—”

“It’s all true,” Rainbow interrupted her. The cocky smile on her face looked almost authentic. “But I won’t let some snow win against the Rainbow Dash. And, Rares, you know that—” She blushed, feeling vulnerable “—After what we’ve been through, I… It’s much easier with you around.”

“Rainbow Dash, I…” Rarity found herself unable to respond. She didn’t need to. The duo stood in silent understanding, and of the two, Rarity didn’t try to pretend that she wasn’t getting misty-eyed.

The cold brought them back to reality far too soon. Rarity quickly dried her eyes and said, “I… I can’t let you risk your safety over my promise.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m not a scared little filly anymore.” Rainbow batted her wings. “It’s like you said—we’ve dealt with far worse in the past. Oh, and I’ll need your help, too.”

There was not a trace of hesitation in her voice. “Anything, darling.”

“Keep that light as bright as you can. Going up won’t be a problem, but I must know where to land.”

“I can do that,” Rarity agreed. “Let me ask you one more time, Rainbow: Are you sure about this?”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Honestly? No. This is the dumbest thing I’ve done in… a month, at least.” She struck a pose. “But that has never stopped me.”

“Then go.” Rarity pulled her in for a quick hug. “And thank you for doing this for me. I’ll never forget about it, Rainbow.”

“I’m doing it for us, Rarity.”

Rainbow steeled herself for the final time and shot upwards.

***

At first, she was piercing the heavens like a bullet. Winds parted before her, stricken by the speed of her wings and the conviction of her heart. Fifty, hundred, five hundred heights passed in a technicolor blur; Rainbow felt unbeatable. Looking at the gale surging after her, she wondered how she could’ve ever been afraid of it in the first place.

Then Rainbow Dash hit the snowstorm clouds.

Pegasi are taught to never fly directly into storm clouds, and snowstorms are even more dangerous. If the wind below could be called ruthless, the wind in the cloud was cruel and ravenous. It stopped her as surely as a brick wall, and she had to fight it for every flap of her wings, every inch of progress.

Yet progress she did make, and before long she was at the very heart of the cloud—that was when the other winds made themselves known. She dodged as much as she could afford, but a sudden gust scored an unlucky hit on her right wing, throwing her into an uncontrolled corkscrew spiral. Though she stabilized her trajectory at once, the second was all it took for her fears to resurface.

Rainbow found herself at the storm’s mercy. In her mind, every bump or strike was akin to running face-first into an anvil, and every gale brought detailed memories of falling.

So Rainbow did the only thing she could think of, and fell.

Guess I wasn’t good enough after all, she thought.

Rainbow Dash saw a gleaming blue light in the middle of the white plains below. It seemed to flicker in and out, fighting and struggling to remain visible through the curtain of snow, but it never went out.

“Rarity…”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed with single-minded focus. She closed her wings and turned the fall into a dive, accelerating rapidly. She pulled up sharply at the last moment, launching herself even faster with perfect flying technique. The clouds that stopped her previously couldn’t touch her now, and Rainbow dashed past them, scattering them.

The first thing she noticed was how bright the sky was. Shifting to a slow upside-down glide, Rainbow spent the next several seconds soaking in the sunlight. The air was still very cold, however, and she had no time left to waste. “I’ll be back soon, I promise!” she said to the heavens, turning towards the ground. The spirit kept his word—the tracks were easily recognizable as a line of clear skies that stretched from one horizon to another.

Having memorized their location, Rainbow Dash dived again. The descent proved to be even easier, and due to her previous flight dispersing some of the clouds, Rarity’s beacon of light was noticeable from a good distance. Rainbow smiled.

She spread her wings to lose some of her speed, but the maneuver was far less effective than she’d hoped. She quickly found that trying to pull up was completely futile as well. Rainbow glanced over her shoulder and blanched. She did not panic over seeing the shining layer of ice that coated her wings; she just spread her limbs as flat as she could to increase air friction and closed her eyes, bracing for the impact.

The impact never came.

“You can open your eyes, darling.” Rarity levitated the pegasus to the ground and immediately jumped in with a hug.

Rainbow wheezed as air left her lungs from the strength of the embrace. “Rarity! A little… space!”

“Oh, right. I’m terribly sorry!” Rarity blushed and let go of Rainbow. She immediately took off two of her winter jackets and levitated them over. “Take these.”

“Won’t you be co—” Seeing the determination in Rarity’s eyes, Rainbow decided to drop the topic. Besides, even though she hated to admit it, she really needed something to warm her up, so she quickly slipped into the outfit. Not even a pegasus coat can protect a pony from getting caught in the middle of a snow cloud, and the clothes were very warm on top of being fancy-looking. She pointed to the west. “Rarity, I saw the tracks! They’re at most half an hour away from us.”

“They are?” Rarity’s ears perked up, and she pranced in one spot like a filly. “So we will make it in time! Thank you, Rainbow Dash; this is the best Hearth’s Warming gift I’ve received in years!”

“Aw, shucks, Rares. I just did what I had to. And please save your thanks until we’re somewhere warmer.”

Realizing how she reacted, Rarity stopped and cleared her throat politely. “Ahem. Yes, well. You’re right, of course.” Her eyes drifted to meet Rainbow’s. “But I must say that when I saw you facing your fears for me, valiantly charging into the heart of the very thing you never wanted to look at, I immediately realized that you’re the most incredible mare I’ve ever known.” Even as she felt herself blushing, Rarity didn’t look away. “Although I might have known that for a while already.”

“I… What does that mean, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked in an uncharacteristically meek whisper.

“I am not quite sure yet,” she admitted. Just then, a gust of the cold wind ruined the mood and made her shiver. “Let’s finish this conversation over a cup of hot cocoa in Ponyville.” Her voice quivered with uncertainty. “Only if you want to, naturally.”

Rainbow smiled and nodded in agreement. “You’ve got it, Rarity.”