Day 6, Hearthswarming Day:
With a gentle stir, her senses soon began to return to little Flurry Heart, the bright sunlight flickering with the shimmer of snow falling from above, the warm and comfortable feeling of the silky sheets she slept curled up beneath, the sounds of laughter from the kitchen, the scent of delicious Biscuits and Hayvy cooking on the stovetop... All of the indicators of her favorite day of the year! Hearthswarming was finally here!
Throwing off her blankets and hopping out of bed so fast she almost fell to the ground, she giggled and screamed as she bolted out of her room to give her greeting to her parents, friends, family and all else whom she would encounter that day during the festivities!
The entire day was such a wonderful blur of joyful playing, laughter, gift giving, spreading cheer and visiting with loved ones, it was truly a day for Flurry Heart to remember for the rest of her life!
Back in the eerie, hollow and desolate cage that she resided within; Cozy Glow brooded away. There were no decorations, no gifts, no tree to tuck them under. She was fine with no caroling, no sparkling lights, no fancy feasts. She plotted and planned and schemed her revenge! She didn't need cookies or candy canes or sappy stories! All she needed was time to plot the perfect escape so she may exact her revenge upon those that humiliated her!
Pacing circles within her prison, she continued to ruminate aloud, "I don't need other ponies or presents or potlucks or pictu...", pausing as her gaze fell upon the previously discarded ball of crumpled up paper that was just outside of her cage.
After a few moments' pause, she slowly moved to stand at the edge of her cage and reached out to the poor letter she had previously wrecked and rejected. Her hoof getting closer and closer to the letter, she pressed her body against the bars of the cage to get every last bit of reach she could manage, yet it felt like it was juuuuust too far away!
"Why did I have to throw you so far, you stupid thing?!", she grumbled to herself as she strained as hard as she could. After exhaling her breath, she felt as though she might soon squeeze through the very bars holding her back, her hoof made purchase, and she laughed in celebration before quickly withdrawing it back into the cage with her, "Hah! Got you!"
She hastily unfurled it once more and placed the crease-covered paper upon the floor of her prison, smoothing it out as best as she could, she gazed upon the colored pencil-covered side and just stared at it.
She stared at it, looking over every stroke, every little erase spot from a mistake, every color used. She just... Stared.
After what felt like an eternity, the echoing of one of Cerberus' long howls shattered the silence, causing Cozy Glow to jump in surprise and grab the photo, possessively squeezing it to her chest.
It was hers, and none shall ever take it from her!
The End