Months passed after my parents visit. I ended up telling Felix the next day about it. He was shocked, mad, annoyed, and confused. Yep, that pretty much sums up how I was feeling as well. That box that Fluttershy got started to fade away in my memories, but I knew that Fluttershy didn't forget it. I could tell she was a little nervous But, it's Hearts Warming Eve. I should be excited, right?
"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I told her. I wasn't really. I was really worried she wouldn't like my gift. I know she wanted something animal related, but I didn't know for sure what to get. I was taking her to the market claiming I needed to pick up Felix's gift. I already had it, though. I got him a finance simulation board game. I knew he loved stuff like that, but I also hoped that maybe he could show me some of it. I was going to need some advice if I ever left home.
"So, what are you going to be getting Felix?" Fluttershy asked as we walked through the horde of ponies doing last minute shopping.
"Something financial. How about you go that way and see what you can find." I told her as I pointed away from the animal shelter.
"Alright. I guess I can find something." she said.
"Call my name if you find anything." I said. We went our separate ways, each looking for something different. I walked into the shelter when I was sure Fluttershy couldn't see me. A bell rang when I walked in and a green haired mare walked out from behind a counter.
"Oh! Rainbow Dash. Are you here to pick up her gift?" she asked me.
"Yep. She's on the other side of the market looking for a gift for Felix. Should be a surprise to her when she sees it." I said as I looked behind me to make sure she wasn't there.
"I'll be right back." she said with a smile and walked into a separate room. I looked around the store at all the animals that were around. Usually, I wouldn't bother myself to come look at the animals. But in case Fluttershy came by, I wanted it to look like I was actually looking for something for Felix. It was a stupid idea since I told her I was getting him something with finances, but it was all I had at the moment.
The mare came back with a little cage that had a blanket over it. I smiled as she set it on the counter. "Here you go!" she said. I put bits on the table for the pet, but she pushed them back to me. "No need, Rainbow. Happy Hearths Warming." she said with a smile.
I thanked her, and walked out to find Fluttershy standing in front of the shelter. "Gah!" I shouted as I saw her in front of me.
"Oh, hi Rainbow. Did you find something for him?" she asked as she eyed the cage. "I saw you looking at the animals. I thought you were getting something financial for him?" she asked.
"Oh. Well, uh..." I stammered. "I...found something that I think he would like more than financial...things." I lied. It was an absolutely terrible lie, but I hoped she wouldn't ask too many questions.
"Oh. I see." she said. She started to look under the blanket, but I quickly stopped her.
"It's sleeping!" I exclaimed. "We have to be quiet not to wake him." I said, lowering my voice.
"Oh. Well then we should get home so the commotion here doesn't wake him." she said, her animal care instinct starting to kick in.
"Then let's get going." I said. "You didn't buy anything for him here, did you? I don't want you to spend your money on something I was going to get him." I said as we headed home.
"Oh no. I didn't even get a good chance to look around. When I saw you walk into the shelter, I was so curious as to what you could want there, that I couldn't help but see what you were getting." she said. We flew home and landed in our room. "So do you think he's going to like his gift?" she asked, trying to look under the blanket again.
I stopped her again. "I think this will be the best gift ever." I said, as I tried to hide my grin from her.
"Oh, can I at least see the poor thing?" she asked pleadingly.
"No! I want it to be a surprise to every pony." I said. "Besides, I think he's still asleep." I said.
"Oh, come on, Rainbow. I won't tell. I promise." she pleaded with a smile.
"Nope. Not until we open everything." I said. I wanted to show her now, but I had to wait. The anticipation of seeing it would make it all worth while to her. At least, I hoped it would.
"Oh. Okay." she said with a defeated look.
"I'm going to put him with the rest of the gifts. Maybe we can convince Felix to let us open our presents early." I told her. We walked downstairs to our living room where all the wrapped goodies were. I placed the cage and put him on the table.
"Does he need food? Or water? Oh, please Rainbow, let me just make sure he's okay." she pleaded with me again.
"Fluttershy, trust me. He's fine." I said.
"Are you sure? Maybe he's cold." she said. I had to pick her up and fly her away from the cage. She kept trying to run towards it, her legs moving in the air frantically. "Can I please make sure nothing is wrong?" she asked.
I placed her in a chair. "Fluttershy, just sit there." I said impatiently. She finally sat there quietly with her hooves in her lap. "Thank you." I said. I sat in the chair next to her and waited for Felix. There was a knock on the door and when I went and opened it, a pony in a big red suit and a white beard walked in.
"Ho ho ho!" he yelled. He walked in with a bag on his back with bows sticking out. "Happy Hearths Warming!" he shouted.
I laughed. "Felix! You look hilarious!" I exclaimed. He gave me a wink as he walked in and placed the bag in the middle of the living room.
"Let's see what we have here!" he said in a deep voice as he pulled a box out. "Fluttershy! This one is for you!" he said as he handed a box to her. She walked up and took it as he pulled another one out. "Rainbow Dash, I believe this one is for you. It feels like a hoodie of some sort." he said. I took the box and ripped it open.
"Wow! This is so cool!" I said, pulling out a Wonderbolts hoodie. I put it on and looked in the bathroom mirror. "Thanks, Felix!" I exclaimed. I heard whispering coming from the other room. I walked in and found a small envelope sitting on the table next to the cage. "What's that?" I said pointing to it. They were smiling and looking at me.
"Open it." Fluttershy said with a smile. The box Felix gave her had a scarf with bunnies and birds on it. It was wrapped around her neck snuggly.
"Well hold on a second. You guys still need to open up your gifts from me!" I said. I rushed over to the other presents. I picked up a square box and gave it to Felix.
He tore it open and gave a shout. "Woo! Thanks, sis! Now you have no excuse to say that you aren't interested in finances!" he said. "You know, since you were the one who bought this."
"Hey, if I ever move out of here, I want to know how to handle myself." I said. Fluttershy stood next to me and tugged on my tail.
"But, I thought what was under the blanket was for Felix." Fluttershy said, confused.
"Nah. I wouldn't give him something like this. He wouldn't know what to do with it." I said as I picked the cage up and placed it in Fluttershy's lap. I pulled the blanket off and she gasped. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the red song bird. It sang a tune to her and fluttered around a little bit.
"Oh my gosh. He's so beautiful." she said. She opened the cage and the bird flew onto her shoulder. It rustled it's feathers and snuggled into her mane. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed and gave me a big hug. It threw me off balance and I struggled to stay upright.
"No problem. I know how much you love animals and creatures, so I had to get this bird for you." I said. She let go of me. She ran to the card and handed it to me. "Here. I know you're going to love this." she said all giddy with excitement.
I opened the card and pulled out two pieces of paper. When I saw them, my jaw dropped. What I had in my hoof, were two tickets to the Wonderbolts air show. When I looked closer, I noticed not only were they tickets for us to see the show, but they were meet and greet VIP passes. I squeed, which I rarely do, and gave Fluttershy a bigger, tighter hug than she gave me.
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh! Thank you, Fluttershy!" I said excitedly.
"Well, it wasn't just me. Felix was the one who thought of the tickets. I just added the meet and greet." she said.
I ran over to Felix and gave him a hug as well. "You guys are so awesome!" I said.
"You know we try to." he said, returning my hug. "Happy Hearths Warming."
"Happy Hearths Warming." I replied.
We sat together opening the rest of our gifts. Once we were done, we all headed to our rooms. We were exhausted, even though it was only 6 o'clock at night. I took my Wonderbolts hoodie off and placed it on my bed. Fluttershy had placed her bird next to Angel, who instantly made friends with it.
"Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked. I turned to look at her. She still had her scarf on and in the moonlight, she was gorgeous.
"Yeah?" I said, trying to hide my blushing cheeks.
"I really liked what you got me. He's so beautiful and he can sing wonderfully." she said. She walked closer to me. "Did you like what me and Felix got you?" she asked.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I liked it. I loved it! The Wonderbolts are the most elite flying group in Equestria, and you got me tickets to actually meet them!" I said. I stood up and walked up to her. "Fluttershy, it's the best gift I've ever been given." We both flushed. I gave her a tight hug. I could see Angel looking at me. It was like he was telling me, 'Go ahead. Do it.'
I pulled out of the hug and looked into her eyes. I leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. Her face flushed. I gave a short laugh.
"Rainbow?" she asked quietly.
I gave her another kiss to seal the deal. "Happy Hearths Warming." I told her as I wrapped her in my tight embrace.