Tears of Snow

by FlashKenshin77

VI - Can't Fight this Feeling

Consciousness slowly came back to me, the gentle pat of snow hitting the window the first thing I heard. I yawned, opening my eyes before everything rushed back to me, and my face turned bright red. I felt somepony breathing on me, my ear flicking back and forth. I turned, my eyes resting on Snowdrop’s sleeping face. My face turned redder, last night replaying in full force.
She looked so happy and peaceful, a lot happier than when she was awake. She unconsciously strengthened her grip on me, her hooves tight around my back.
Some of her mane fell down across her face as she leaned forward, resting her chin against the top of my head.
I blinked, my face feeling hotter than the sun. I pushed her against the couch, trying to see her face as I brushed her mane back into place. She moved into my hoof, a small smile on her lips. The same part of her mane fell again, right to the same place.
I leaned forward, trying to get it to stay when our muzzles touched. I shot my head back and closed my eyes, expecting her to hit me. When she didn’t, I peeked through my eye, and saw her cheeks were red. I hesitantly leaned forward, our muzzles touching again. I watched her face get redder, and she pushed against me, our lips brushing for a moment.
My heart skipped a beat as she whispered something incoherent, my brain foggy. “W-what?” I whispered and leaned in closer, but she stayed silent, snoring softly. My tummy feels weird… I stared into her eyes as I fought the urge to press our lips together again.
Before I could try again, I heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. I quickly closed my eyes, resting my head against hers. I opened my eye slowly, just enough to see Primrose and Storm looking at the two of us, a hoof to her mouth. They quickly went into the kitchen and I could hear them arguing. I made out a few words, “cuddling” and “wish I could take a picture.”
My ear flicked again as Snowdrop yawned quietly and I shut my eye. I felt her move, trying to stretch. “Icy? You awake?” She whispered.
I stayed silent, hoping she’d go back to sleep or go into the kitchen with her parents.
She sighed and took a deep breath. “W-well that’s good cause I’m not s-sure if I could tell you otherwise.” She stuttered.
I slowly opened my eyes, confused.
“I’ve been thinking about what we talked about yesterday… and I realized something. We’re pretty similar and we really do make a good team. What did you say, ‘between the two of us, we could maybe see normally?’ She smiled as her face turned red.
I went to agree but quickly shut my mouth as she stared right into my eyes.
“The only difference is, I had somepony to help me or somepony to make sure that everything was alright. You didn’t. You always had to rely on yourself…and n-not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just not right. I had my mom and dad to help me. Your dad…” She huffed, shaking her head. “A-anyway, what I wanted to say was…if you were okay with it, I wanted to be that pony. I wanted to be the one that you could talk to, who you can share your feelings with…I know you don’t like to trouble anypony with your problems, but I want to help. Knowing that I can make you smile or laugh makes me feel better, like I’m actually important.”
I bit the inside of my cheek trying not to say anything.
“So I-I just wanted to let you know that I will do anything I can to help you…be-because…I like you…” She trailed off, her face completely red.
My mouth dropped slightly as my mind tried to register what she said. She leaned forward, gently pressing her lips against mine. She’s…she’s kissing me! My upper wing shot out with a ‘pomf’ as Primrose walked out.
“Snowdrop, Icy, time to get-” She stopped, her thoughts trailing off as Snowdrop immediately broke the kiss and eeped, pushing me away from her.
Before I even knew what happened, I was on the ground and laid there, my brain still trying to gather itself after the kiss. D-did she…did she just kiss me?!
Primrose stood stock still, a hoof over her mouth as Storm walked in, his eyes going wide as he saw my wings rigid. He blinked a few times before he tried to suppress a laugh, that quickly escape and he laughed loudly, holding a hoof to his stomach. I tried to get up, my other wing making it even more difficult as it had decided it was time to go stiff as well. As I tried to roll onto my side, only to notice my left wing, Storm laughed even harder, buckling at the knees as he tried to breath.
Snowdrop launched herself off the couch and landed on my wing. I yelped in pain and she quickly backpedaled, hitting the couch and fell forward. I tried to catch her and my hoof touched her chest. We stared at each other, and I could feel her heart beat faster as her wings shot out with a ‘pomf.’ Both of our faces turned crimson as we struggled to get up, our muzzles bumping against each other.
“Why are your wings out?” Snowdrop asked, trying to get up without stepping on my wings.
“Why are yours?” I countered.
She blushed shaking her head. “I-I don’t know, can’t you just put your wings away?”
“N-no, they’re not listening.” I stuttered, willing my wings to close. They stubbornly refused.
She tried as well, her wings bending slightly before they shot back out. She pouted, looking up at her parents, asking for help. Primrose gasped, holding a hoof over her heart as she tried not to giggle. Storm himself was wiping tears from his eyes, finally calming down. He stood up as Primrose dramatically fainted, falling into his hooves. They smiled at each other, shaking their heads.
“D-dad? Why are our wings out like this?” Snowdrop asked.
All the humor left her parents as they shared a look. “W-well you see, that…uh, just means that you're both ready to learn to fly.” He said nervously.
“Oh…so it’s normal?” I asked.
There was an awkward pause as Primrose and Storm stared into each other’s eyes before he quickly put her down, walked over, and picked up Snowdrop. “Well, we don’t want breakfast to get cold.” He said, putting Snowdrop on the floor before they disappeared into the kitchen.
Snowdrop and I stared at the kitchen door before she turned around, feeling around for me. “For that to be normal, they sure are acting strange…” She said as she helped me up.
I got to my hooves, our wings finally calming down and folding at our sides. “Well uh…guess it’s time to start training, right?” I asked.
She paused, smiling. “Yeah! I can’t wait.”
I chuckled. “Me too…but breakfast first.” I said, leading us into the kitchen. Primrose and Storm already sat at the table, heads close together and whispering rapidly.
We walked in and they went quiet, smiling as Primrose got up, helping Snowdrop into her seat before grabbing us a plate and filling it with pancakes. It was silent around the table, both Primrose and Storm looking like they wanted to say something.
“So um…Dad, what were you and Mom talking about?” Snowdrop asked.
“I was just asking her what she wanted to do today. Since we have to wait till the snow calms down. I thought it’d be nice to just relax and spend some time together.” He said, picking up everypony’s plates and putting them in the sink.
“So what do you two want to do today?” Primrose asked, looking at both of us.
“Oh! I know, I know!” Snowdrop said.
“Why don’t we let Icy pick, he’s our guest.” Primrose suggest. Snowdrop huffed and crossed her forehooves over her chest.
I shrugged. “I’m not sure…I’ve never played games with my dad.”
“What do you mean?” Primrose asked.
“He was always busy with work…never really had time to play anything. He’d come home exhausted.” I said, watching her and Storm’s eyes widened slightly.
“Oh…well, what would you like to do then? We can play hide and seek, watch a movie, play charades.”
“I hate charades, Dad always wins…” Snowdrop muttered.
“Years of experience kiddo.” Storm chuckled.
“So…I can choose?” I asked, nervous as everypony watched me. Both of her parents nodded, silent as they waited. “How about…um…” He paused, wracking his brain before he blushed. “I-I’ve always wanted to learn how to cook.”
“Well then you’ve come to the right household. Primrose use to be a professional chef.” Storm said, grinning over at his wife.
She blushed and raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?” I shook my head and she got up. “Alright then, Snowdrop and Icy, wash your hooves while I see what we can make.” She said, walking to the pantry.
We quickly washed our hooves as Primrose ordered us to gather what we could to make pie. We stumbled over each other as we tried to get the stuff out of the pantry as fast as possible. We’d barely started when Snowdrop grabbed the flour and ripped the bag in half, a white mushroom cloud following. I tried to stop her from tripping in it and landed face first into it instead.
After a quick trip to the shower, I came back. Primrose was helping Snowdrop measure out the remaining flour. Storm was sweeping up the floor, and threw away the ripped bag. I helped him sweep the rest of it up. Finally, I was able to go back and finish getting stuff without stepping in the flour landmine.
I placed the butter and rolling pin on the counter, turning back to grab the salt. “Icy, do you think you can help Snowdrop for a moment while I go get the pans?” Primrose asked.
“Sure.” I said, helping Snowdrop measure the last of it, pouring the extra back into the new bag. We smiled at each other, glad to have finally finished the dreaded flour.
Primrose came back, a pie pan and bowl on her back. She slipped them onto the counter, right next to the measuring cup. “Alright, now we just need to measure out some salt, pour them in the bowl, and whisk them together.”
“I’ll get the salt.” I said, darting into the pantry for the forgotten salt. I carefully walked over, Storm chopping up butter into squares to make them fit into the bowl. I poured a teaspoon of salt as Snowdrop, with the help of Primrose, poured the flour.
She hooved me the whisk and I stuck out my tongue, trying to get the salt and flour mixed well. After a few minutes, Primrose tapped my shoulder and made sure to show me how to mix the edges as well. I looked over and saw Storm messing with Snowdrop with an ice cube, holding it gently against her wings as they twitched.
We all chipped in as we threw the butter into the flour, mixing it as Primrose stopped Storm from starting a buttercube war. He pouted as we started to mix the butter and flour together, Snowdrop flinging some into my face. As me and Snowdrop mixed, Primrose added teaspoons of water, checking the dough every few minutes.
She stopped, putting the glass of cold water down next to Snowdrop and me as she rinsed her hooves. “Alright, I think that’s enough mixing. Grab the two pans and divide them into two parts. Press them into the pans while I preheat the oven.” She said as she turned around.
Me and Snowdrop grabbed the dough, our hooves touching as our wings twitched and we blushed. Her wing smacked against the cold water, knocking it over as it went down her back. She eeped, flinging the bowl straight into my face. I backpedaled and fell backwards, lying on the floor. Primrose turned around and saw what happened, sighing as she held a hoof to her forehead.

=

After quickly making another one, Storm and Snowdrop filled the pans before passing them to Primrose and me. Then we put them in the stove. She shut the oven and we all sighed. “Well that was an experience.” Storm chuckled.
“Is that how it usually is?” I asked.
Primrose shook her head. “Not really, there are those nights were a certain somepony starts a batter war but its very rare.” She said, looking at Storm as he nervously chuckled. “Anyway, why don’t you two go up and play for awhile, it won’t be ready for some time.” She said, turning back to start picking up the kitchen.
“Okay.” Me and Snowdrop said together, racing up into her room. We waited a moment before she launched into planning a surprise attack on her dad, trying to figure out how we were going to win. I paused, not sure if this was a good idea. I tried to talk her out of it, knowing that we’d only get in serious trouble. After a few minutes of debate, I sighed, relenting as she raised a hoof in victory.
We knew a frontal assault wouldn’t work, so we thought of a few tactics, both hoping it’d be enough. We gathered the necessary supplies, and listened to them talk downstairs, waiting for the best time to strike.
We snuck down the stairs, peeking around the couch to see Storm standing in the kitchen door, completely unaware of us. We grabbed our pillows and with a war cry, launched ourselves at him. He jumped and turned around before grinning as he laughed maniacally. Snowdrop continued to attack him as I peeled off, bouncing from the side. He easily blocked her attack as I came a split second later, nearly missing him, afraid of hitting Snowdrop as he used her as a shield.
I paused, watching as he continued to use her as a shield, tickling her the whole time. “Come on Icy, what are you going to do?” He grinned evilly, Snowdrop gasping for air.
I thought for a moment before I threw my pillow just below Snowdrop. I turned around and jumped over the couch, grabbing more pillows. I chucked them as hard as I could, hoping to distract him as I ran closer. He smiled, seeing through my ploy as he dodged them all expertly, the pillowing bouncing harmlessly against the doorframe.
“Is that the best you have?” He cackled.
Suddenly he was smacked in the head by Snowdrop, her weapon clung tightly in her hooves. He stood there, stunned for a moment before he closed his eyes and we grinned as he dramatically fell, making sure he hit the floor and not her.
We ran up to each other and hugged as soon as our hooves met. “We did it!” We yelled, grinning at each other. Before I knew what happened, I leaned and kissed her cheek. Our faces went crimson as our wings ruffled.
I quickly pulled away. “I…I uh...s-sorry, I don’t know what we-” I stopped as she kissed my cheek as well. I stood there dumbstruck as those butterflies in my tummy flapping their wings.
“D-don’t worry about it…” She whispered, blushing.
I stood there in a daze as Primrose cleared her throat. “Alright you three, I think that’s enough for one day.” She said, Storm on his hooves as they cleaned up the pillows.
Afterwards we rushed upstairs, going back to playing Twister. Then we did the dreaded math homework we didn’t finish yesterday. We struggled for a good hour, both going back and forth before we had to ask Storm for help. He explained it so well we felt stupid for not getting it the first time. He chuckled, saying it’ll come in time before leaving us to read the other chapter we’re supposed to read for a quiz.
It seemed like time flew by as we played in her room, the once organized books and toys strewn all over the place. Her bed had become a mobile fort or the only safe place from the lava floor.
Storm opened the door just as I jumped, landing on her toybox. “Dinner will be ready soon you two.” He said smiling.
“Okay Dad.” She said, her tongue out just a bit as she jumped and landed next to me.
“Alright.” I said, looking for our next target. He shook his head, shutting the door as I jumped back onto the bed. I turned and she was next to me. “Well then, guess we better head down.” I said.
“Do you think we could make it without touching the floor?” She asked.
“And how would we do that?”
“Well, if we used the banister like a rope and slid or climbed our way down, we wouldn’t touch the floor.”
“Hm… sounds risky and could get us yelled at. Let’s do it.” I grinned.
“Yeah!” She said, hopping onto her saddlebags.
I jumped next to her as we made our way slowly to the door and I opened it as we hopped to the banister, latching on. She started crawling first as we shimmied our way downstairs, our tails wrapped tightly around each other. We made it halfway down the staircase before we realized a rather large oversight. How were we supposed to get to the safety of the kitchen?
“Seems you guys are stuck.” Storm said as he rested against the couch. “I’ll help you out but you have to clean it up.”
“Okay, we promise.” Snowdrop said.
He nodded and tossed a few pillows, spaced just enough so our jumps had to be dead on. Snowdrop stared at the pillows, her ears flicking as they hit the ground. She squinted, glaring at the pillows before taking a deep breath and she jumped, landing nicely on the first pillow.
She looked down in shock as Storm whistled, messing with her mane. “That’s my filly.” They looked up, waiting for me to follow.
I gulped, looking at the pillows before sighing, scooting to where she was moments ago. I took a deep breath, swinging a bit before flinging myself in a barely controlled jump. I landed awkwardly on the edge of the pillow, my hind hoof nearly in the ‘lava’ before Snowdrop saved me, pulling me in as I leaned against her.
I sighed as we went into the kitchen, our pie sitting on the counter to cool. Primrose grabbed it and put it into the fridge. She grabbed something from the oven and set it on the table. “I wanted to try something new…so I made some three-cheese lasagna.” She said, cutting it out of the pan and serving us each a slice. She sat down, taking a deep breath. “I haven’t made lasagna in a long time so I’m not sure how it’ll taste.” She said, waiting for us to take a bite.
We all looked at each other, shrugging as we dug in. It was silent before we devoured what was on our plates, asking for another helping. She smiled, hoofing us each another slice, that we finished fast. She ate hers, after saying it wasn’t her best. Which all three of us disagreed with.
Me and Snowdrop got the living room to ourselves again, her parents retreating to their room after cleaning up after dinner. We laid on the couch, an awkward silence hanging over us.
“So…”
“You’re warm.” She whispered.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“I didn’t need a blanket last night because of you…you kept me warm…”
“Y-yeah…” I paused, taking a deep breath. “So… um… co-could I be your blanket again?” I asked, blushing.
“You’d want to?”
“Of course… why wouldn’t I?”
“Well… most ponies think that’s weird… and wouldn’t…”
“Well I’m not most ponies…” I said, getting up and sat next to her. I wrapped my hooves around her and rested my head on her chest. “Your heart… it… it lets me sleep easier…” I chuckled.
Her hooves wrapped me and she sighed contently. “I’m glad… because I wouldn’t want to spend time with any other pony.” She whispered, leaning back as we closed our eyes, falling asleep as the snowstorm wanned for the night.