Chapter XI
Dash fanned herself, trying to relieve some of the blasted heat. It was the middle of winter for neighing out loud. Why was it so hot?
After the debacle at the weather factory, the Cloudsdale town council decided that they’d already had their share of winter, and in order to keep up production for the rest of Equestria, Cloudsdale would be forced to sit the season out. Of course it was all just a lie to disguise the fact that the politicians didn’t want to wander around in slush any more.
It wasn’t just hot, either. The air held an oppressive humidity, forcing every pony to pant like dogs because of the unusual weather. It was as if autumn had given winter and spring a miss and went straight on into summer.
The rest of the country didn't much care for that, especially the other Pegasus cities. It wasn't their fault Cloudsdale bucked up so badly. How come those Pegasus got to cruise through an Indian summer while they had to suffer snow and ice and Winter Wrap Up? Cloudsdale objected highly to having their sovereignty overlooked. How dare other ponies stick their nose in Cloudsdale business! It got to be bad enough that Princess Celestia was called upon to moderate the situation.
Cloudsdale, for their part, had yet to relent. If they wanted their city warm and humid, what did it matter to everyone else? They could just get the Unicorns to use magic if they broke the natural cycle of things. Or better yet, Celestia could do it herself. That argument was winning them no favors, especially right before Hearth's Warming Eve.
Not that Rainbow Dash cared. All she recognized was that the heat was on. At least the swimming holes were still open.
“It. Is. Sooo. Hoooooot!”
Dash was splayed across her bed, belly up. She’d returned to her room after another disastrous Weather Training that, for once, hadn’t been her fault. Snow simply did not like 80-degree weather.
Fluttershy chuckled. “Um, I don’t think it’s really that hot. It’s just humid. It kind of makes your wings stick together.”
“Lucky for you.” teased Dash.
“Dashie, you promised.” Fluttershy’s cheeks flushed.
“I know, I know. It’s just… Look outside, Shy.” Dash didn’t have the energy to move. “See those black clouds below Cloudsdale?”
“Yes?”
“That’s the weather barrier. There’s cold and warm air trying to mix, creating monstrous thunderstorms.”
“Oh my.” Fluttershy hadn’t thought of that before.
“And you know what?”
“What?”
“I’d rather be inside the storm than here. Because, it. Is. Sooo. Hoooooot!”
Fluttershy giggled. “At least we can go swimming.”
“Too hot.”
“Flying?”
“Too hot.”
“We could always do our homework.”
“Way too hot.”
Fluttershy was beginning to recognize a pattern. “You could always lie on your bed and complain.”
“Perfect weather for that.”
Fluttershy giggled and Dash couldn’t help but giggle as well. They sat, trying to cool off, the weather matching the general temperament in the air.
“Have you heard from your father lately?”
“Not since the last twenty times you asked.” Dash huffed.
“Oh, sorry. I’m just worried about Firefly.”
“I know. Me too. Daddy says now that she’s out of the hospital she'll rest at home. Which means I get to stay in boarding school over vacation instead of spending it at home with my friends and family, just so mom has time to get better. Whatever.”
“Maybe we could go see her over the Hearth's Warming Eve break?” Fluttershy offered.
“Yeah.” Dash was none too enthused with that idea.
She loved her mother, but seeing her like that… It hurt. A lot. Firefly had always been so strong and alive, and seeing her reduced to a weakened form, well, Dash would rather just avoid it all together.
“What about your father?” Dash suggested. “I hear Manehattan is pretty in the snow.”
“It’s quite beautiful.” Fluttershy nodded. “But my father doesn’t want to see me.”
“How do you know?”
“He told me so.” Pink bangs hid her face as she spoke.
“Recently?” Asked Dash. Fluttershy’s pink-shrouded head nodded. “It doesn’t matter anyways.”
“Why not?” Fluttershy wiped her nose. At least she wasn’t crying again.
“Because, it’s. Sooo. Hoooooot.”
Fluttershy giggled, hopping down. “I know it’s still two weeks away, but I got you something for Hearth's Warming eve.”
“Aww, Fluttershy. You didn’t have to. It’s just gona be you and me alone in this great big school over the break. That’s good enough for me.”
“Now now, Rainbow Dash. You must respect the spirit of the holiday. I pondered for a long time what to do for you, and I thought about getting you a fashionable necklace, but you never struck me as the fashionable type.” Fluttershy wandered over to their closet. “Then I thought about sewing you a dress, but I never perfected my French haute couture. And then I remembered your hairbrush.”
“Hey! You leave my hairbrush alone!” Dash jumped up, ready to defend her favorite grooming tool.
Firefly used to comb her daughter’s hair with it every night when she was a foal. It was the first gift Skystriker every brought his wife when they were courting, and Firefly had given it to Dash. Lately Fluttershy had taken a turn with it, spending hours combing Dash’s mane and tail. She was the only one that could get the rambunctious pony to sit still long enough to get a brush through it.
“Just teasing.” Fluttershy gave her squeaky grin. Dash nearly smacked her own face. This was probably payback for the wing comment earlier. “But I found something even better. I found out the Wonderbolts will be performing at the Grand Galloping Gala in the spring.”
“Fluttershy, they perform there every year. Every pony knows that.”
“Yes, but did you also know that Cloudsdale will be right in their flight path this year?”
“You mean--?!”
“Ta-da!”
Fluttershy produced two tickets from her hiding space in the closet. They were obviously made with her own love and talent, yet still looked amazing. Each had a picture of the Wonderbolts and said ‘Admit One’ while one had a drawing of Dash and the other of Fluttershy.
Dash freaked out. “Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!”
“You and I will be in Cloudsdale and watch as they fly over head to Canterlot, so close we can almost touch them.”
“Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!”
“I’m sorry it’s not more. And that you have to wait for spring. I wish I could do more to express how much you mean to me.”
“Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!Ohmygosh!”
“Do-- do you like them?”
Fluttershy crossed a leg, ducking her head. Apparently Dash’s exclamations of ecstasy weren’t getting through. Drastic measures were required to convey to the older filly just how amazing the gift was. So Dash glomped her, knocking them both ever.
“Fluttershy! You are the most amazing and thoughtful friend ever! Do you know who's on the Wonderbolts this year? Spitfire! My heroin! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes.’” She smiled, struggling to breath with the extra weight on her chest.
“I got you something also.” Dash reached under her bed.
“Oh, you didn’t have to.”
“Fluttershy, you know how much I mean to you?”
“Yes?”
“Then stow it, because you mean just as much to me too.”
“Okay.” Fluttershy wasn’t sure that was right. How could any pony love her as much as she loved Dash? She was Fluttershy; she was useless.
“You’re my best friend, and I wanted to get you something you’d like. I finally figured it out, but I think it may be broken.”
Dash pulled an object from under her bed, whipping the blankets back down on top. It was fairly large, shaped like an upturned watermelon with a handkerchief over it. Dash slid it carefully across the cloud floor, careful not to jiggle it.
Fluttershy eyed it curiously, unsure what to make of it. She let out a surprised gasp as Dash pulled back the handkerchief. A gilded cage sat before her, containing a single white bird nestled onto the swing. It looked sad, almost filling the cage, its wing bent at a peculiar angle.
“Oh my.” Fluttershy breathed.
Dash removed the bird from the cage. It barely moved. “I found this guy while flying one morning. He was trying to get away from a hawk, and wasn’t fast enough. I caught him on the way down.”
“What is it?” Fluttershy approached cautiously. She’d never seen a bird like this up close before. He was beautiful, with a black head and white body. His eyes though were dimmed by sadness.
“I asked Miss Skywishes. She said it’s a ‘sea gull.’ They rarely fly this high.”
“Is that good?” Fluttershy was afraid to touch it.
Dash shrugged. “I just know how much you like birds. So I got him for you. Go on, take him.”
With a trembling hoof Fluttershy reached out, gently caressing the bristly feather’s along the gull’s back. He turned his head to stare at her, as if wondering what new tortures and pain he would now know from this new being. In that moment, clairvoyance crossed Fluttershy’s mind. The bird longed to fly again, to sore where birds belonged. Yet pain from his past kept him bound to the clouds. Fluttershy knew at once what she must do.
“Oh, Dashie. He’s beautiful. But I can’t keep him.”
“Do-- do you not like him?” Asked Dash, afraid of her gift being rejected.
“Of course I do. But he can’t belong to any pony. He’s a wild creature, and I have to fix him so he can continue to live wild. I’m going to fix his wing and set him free.”
“That works too.” Dash agreed. “If any pony can fix him, you can.”
“In the meantime I think I’ll call him Snowball.” Fluttershy nodded once. “What does he eat?”
“Usually whatever I feed him off my plate. I don’t think he likes it very much.”
“Oh, that will not do at all. We must find a proper diet for him, mustn’t we Snowball?”
“Um, Fluttershy?”
“Yes?”
“Are you, um expecting the bird to talk back?”
“Animals do talk, each in their own way. You just have to be willing to listen.”
“Great, I’m never going to get you away from the parrot, am I?”
“It was your present.” Fluttershy smiled.
“Happy Holidays, Fluttershy.”
“Happy Holidays, Rainbow Dash.”