//------------------------------//
// The lonely cold inside of her. 
// Story: A Game of Homes. 
// by Lethrael 
//------------------------------//

The lonely cold inside of her.

Curryfeather woke up, something was terrible wrong. Why did she feel so weird? She tried to stand up, but her legs, didn't respond in the any way.
"Oh, Curryfeather. You are awaken, at last."
Was this her own voice? How could it be?

It had started as she had left the birthday party from Open Skies. She had talked with her friends the whole day, had played with them many fun games and had eaten a wonderful birthday cake. It was a perfect day. But she had to go, as the sun started to sink. She would reopen the Curryparadise tomorrow and post up the new opening hours for everpony.
"I will be in Cloudsdale only every other day. So I can be more there for you, Scootaloo."
She mumbled to herself, as she took off and started to fly. She rushed through the empty darkened sky and headed home. She yawned cautious and glided past the weather fabric in the warm breeze.
"Curryfeather? Wait for me please."
This voice sounded very familiar for her. It was Rainbowshine. Right the mare was flying in a hasty pace and closed the gap quickly.
"Sorry, but I want to talk with you. I have a huge problem."
Curryfeather sighed about the loud voice and shook her head, as the pegasus flew closer and hovered in front of her.
"I'd like to go to bed just now, Rainbowshine. Please let us talk tomorrow. Meet me before breakfast in the Curryparadise."
The other mare sighed gentle and drooped. In her eyes a few tears gathered , but she suppressed them firmly.
"Please. It wouldn't take you long. I promise."
Was that a lurking undertone in her voice? Or was she just sad about something? Curryfeather pondered for a few seconds and smiled finally. It couldn't be anything else than sadness, right. She had to cheer her up, right? It was important for her, so she nodded and headed home, as it appeared down there. She shook away her own feelings and took a deep breath.
"But just one cup of tea, Rainbowshine. I have to go to sleep early. I have many chores to do tomorrow. Please understand that."
Curryfeather landed on the cloud-walk to her home. The mare smiled back and nodded relieved. She was following her in a gliding pace, and was avoiding every chance to land in a well considered and almost worried way. So it looked like she was different. Curryfeather didn't notice it in a slightest, she was focused on the door and trotted slowly closer. Rainbowshine spoke up again in a gentle manner.
"It wouldn't take much time."
Curryfeather stopped in front of the door, her hoof raised to push it open. How did this work together? It was urgent, but wouldn't take much time?	What kind of problem was so simple to solve? She looked back over her shoulder and starred at the pony behind her. It smiled friendly and she looked like every day before. Well she was just a little bit tired, so it wouldn't make much sense now. But for Rainbowshine it was kind of urgent. Curryfeather wiped gently over her eyes and suppressed another yawn.
"Alright, I prepare the tea and you can make yourself comfort..."
As she stepped into the house, she squinched up her face in disgust. What stank here so badly? It smelled earthy and mouldy like a swamp. The house was clean as she had left in the morning. So what happened. She didn't enter the kitchen, but followed the trail of stench deeper into the house. The pony behind her followed her fluttering and closed the door. Why wouldn't she walk on clouds, as a normal pegasus would? Now Curryfeather saw it too.
"Please walk. You will make a mess out off my home, if you flutter on."
She asked politely, but simply disregarded the reaction from Rainbowshine.	She didn't land on her appeal. Curryfeather was too distracted from the stench, who were clearly drifting out off Scootaloo's room. But she had checked it yesterday and nothing was there, besides her bed.
"Excuse me for a moment. Did you smell this too? Something isn't right there."
Curryfeather pointed out a door on her right side.
"Please go to the living room and take a cloud. I'm there for you in a moment."
Rainbowshine smiled back and turned over to the door. She was still hovering. Curryfeather frowned a little bit.	What was the problem? Didn't she hear her request? Well first she had to look out for the source of the stench, then she could ask the weatherpony again to settle in. She looked over to Scootaloo's room door, it was closed. Hadn't she leave the door open, yesterday? Had somepony else entered her house, as she had left in the morning? She shook away this thought quite easily, it wasn't possible. 	Nopony would ever go into another ones house uninvited. Rainbowshine hovered behind her, went slowly into the living room. She looked over her shoulder and slowed down even more. Her cerise eyes were shut small and for a short amount of time she looked kind of angry. Why was the mare so slow?
Curryfeather raised a hoof and pushed the door open. Something shimmered green out off Scootaloo's room and the stench off mud and swamp intensified. Behind her back a green light flashed out and pushed her into the room. She hit a flexible, slimy cold thing and went right through it, as it was like a cloud. But it wasn't, it was feeling false for it. A cloud didn't have so solid things behind itself. She hit something really hard with her head and all darkened quickly.

“I love you, Curryfeather. I will always love you.
Let me be the stallion of your dreams.”
Whose voice was that?
His gentle words were gathering in Curryfeather's mind and a picture off a stallion with a wedding tiara in the front hooves was even more eager to show up. She didn't remember, where it had happened, only the stallion was keep in mind for her. She felt a sudden burst of joy and jumped to the blue stallion. She kissed him and nuzzled her younger body close in his soft embrace.
“Yes, Wind Dancer. I will marry you.”
All was just perfect. The wedding made everpony happy. It was just sad, that Mum didn't live to see  it. 
A tear went down her thought and her face and a cold hoof wiped it gentle away.

“Wind Dancer, why are you leaving? I thought you loved me.”
She didn't know how much time had past, but the stallion didn't smile for a long time. He bagged his stuff into his saddle bags and looked shortly into a cloud-cradle.
“I just don't want it, Curryfeather. I won't have a foal like this.
Look at it. It had no wings, just stubs!
You should bring it down to the ground and handle it over to the earthponies there.”
His cold voice was hurting her feelings and she strengthened her stand against him.
“She is your daughter for goddess sake. I don't care, if she isn't able to fly. Look at her, look at her small face. She smiled so gentle and...”
Wind Dancer flinched away with a fast flap of his wings and shook his head.
“I don't  want to break up, but if you don't give it away, she...”
He spoke out the word with great objection.
“She will be miserable here, if she stays and I won't witness it. I just can't.
It's all for your own sake, like it always does.”
His voice awakened thunder under his hooves and the foal too. She felt the anger nearby and started to cry. Curryfeather turned over to the cradle and took the orange coated filly and the tiny magenta mane with a gentle wing out off it. She held her daughter against her chest and nuzzled her with her nose.
“Sch...sch...sch, it's alright Wingdaloo. Mum and Dad would never abandon you. We won't upset you, right?”
Wind Dancer squinched his face in disappointment and rolled his eyes.
“You know, where you can find me, Curryfeather. If you realise your mistake one day, I will return to you and we can be a happy family again....”
The stallion was fading out off her memory slowly and the words he had spoken dissolving into silence. 

The cold...the cold was piercing into her soul, taking away something and leaving an empty spot behind instead. Tears flowed down her face, as she opened her eyes again. The cold inside of her sent shivers over her coat and even her mane felt like a goose skin. Her wings trembled irrepressible and she was staring blind folded into the surroundings. Slowly the cold moved away, but the hole deep inside of her stayed. She closed her eyes and tried to remember, who had filled it in the past. Either it was too small, or the pony wasn't important any more. Again she looked around and now she was able to see. The green light around her, made it difficult to see clearly, but as she accustomed herself to it she realised, where she was. In a cage. Why was she in a cage?

“I'm glad, that we can speak at last, Curryfeather.”
Again, it was her ow voice. She heard herself, but how was it possible. She tried to pick herself up and  flapped her wings once to help herself stand up. But nothing happened, she didn't take off or even found the strength to stand up straight.
“Don't try it. The magic of flight won't work, as long as you are in that cage.”
Her vice sounded so different, spiteful and cold. Almost as a complete stranger, but she knew, it was her own voice.
“Who...are...you?”
Her teeth clattered along and Curryfeather was only able to whisper. Were these white clouds coming out off her mouth? She breathed out more of them, until her lungs were filled with warm air. Even this warmth wasn't enough to warm her up. She herself was cold, not the surrounding. How could she be so cold?
"I'm you. Or am to be. Just call me. Who is Wind Dancer?”
This name touched something in her. But as a strainless string it just hummed and Curryfeather shook her head. The empty spot in her took over her eyes and any shine trailed away.
“I don't know.”
She whispered. Her own face leaned nearer to her, looked at her very firmly and simply pierced into her soul.
“So this is the love, I took away from you?”
The eyes of her double gleamed in a strange green light and filled her whole field of vision. Her voice sounded so greedy and grim in her ears, that she simply had to flatten them. But her mouth were still shut, she couldn't say anything.
“But it is much more love left in you, Curryfeather.”
A cold hoof wiped roughly over her cheek and the trail of it set up the goose flesh again. The cold travelled through her and deadened on the travel every other feeling.

“I'd call it a lovely day, Curryfeather. Sleep tight.”
Her voice filled her ears once more, as she finally passed out.