Holiday
by Quadragnita
Spherical clumps of frozen liquid fall freely from the clouds, while simultaneously raging through the air. They collect on the ground below, forming layer upon layer of soft white, reflecting the moon's brilliantly and deceivingly warm glow.
Hooves sink deeply, but silently into the white, their owner trudging parallel along the Everfree Forest. Her exposed head hangs low in a vain, yet half-hearted attempt to protect itself against the cold, as she walks towards her destination, the crunching sounds of the snow barely audible above the howling wind.
A sound even more inperceivable to the ear escapes her lips. A very quiet "ssss...!"
I should have thrown on a coat, the fleeting thought flows through her mind. But there is no time. The distance has already been halved. And once it is finished, comfort will be found. With newfound resolve, she takes another step forward, and lifts her head. She instantly regrets it. The wind pushes her mane back, revealing her eyes, and exposing them to the freezing white and the bitter gale.
The envelope in her mane shifts position, it's current owner recognizing it's unspoken threat. She pushes the envelope back in to make sure it doesn't fall out, and then continues upon her way.
Another thought, even more fleeting than the last, occurs to her. I am insane.. And it was partially true. For why else would she trek through the worst blizzard in many years, just to give an envelope to her? For what reason?
"M-m-m-my.........ea.......................," the words refuse to be released without the object of intent. Or is it the bitter cold preventing her from speaking? She shakes her head. The words will come out once she reaches her.
She stops in what would seem like a random spot to anypony who saw her. In reality, it is the spot where she will vertically ascend to the cloud where she makes her home.
She tries to unfurl her wings, only to find, with dismay, how numb they've become. She tries again, this time with more effort, and takes some small pride in seeing the infinitesimal rising of the feathered limbs. She lifts them further, and with greater effort, until her wingspan is shown.
The white which gathered on her wings earlier now forms thicker layers due to the unfurling. She shakes her wings, casting as much of it off of the white as possible, before beginning her ascent.
Her wings are incredibly stiff, due to the cold. They feel heavy, so incredibly heavy, as does her entire body. But comfort is a mere ascent away, and then she can sleep away the night, and the cold.
She thrusts her wings downward once, testing just how inflexible they are. They border on the line of immovable, though if she hurries, she can reach her.
She begins her ascent, looking upwards to gauge the distance between the ground and the cloud. To her relief, it isn't as far as she thought it would be.
Gradually, though, her wings grow steadily immobile. Her wings begin to thrust slower, the exhaustion of flying in a blizzard taking over her.
Just a little further.... the third fleeting thought attempts to encourage her. to seemingly no avail, as her wings slow down further. She is beginning to grow desperate.It is such a short distance away from the cloud, yet her wings refuse to work.
Then, without warning, anger takes over her. Anger at her own weakness, at her own inability to say what she wanted to, anger at how she was letting something as insignificant as a blizzard stop her.
Her anger fuels her for a brief moment, as she thrusts her wings fiercely, her own emotion seemingly strong enough to melt even the bitterest white.
She finally rises above the cloud, and then falls upon it. Now lying on the ground, with unconsciousness nearly fully embracing her, her breaths start to come in harsh rasps, the inflexibility in her wings now complete. She looks in front of her to see the house, cleverly fashioned out of a cloud. It is large and imposing, yet looks warm and comforting, at least in a more genuine way than the white below. The rainbow that extends from it adding to the image.
She gets up and starts walking towards the house, each step growing smaller and smaller, fear now clearly showing in her eyes. If somepony were to see her npw, the thought of a guilty one walking to their executioner would likely not be far off from their mind.
She stops before the door, raising her hoof towards the knocker. Her hoof makes it to the halfway point, before hesitation takes hold of it. Or maybe it is the cold.
Her eyes widen, and then her thoughts cloud her mind. Would it be worth it? Giving her the envelope? How would she react?
Her attention is shifted back to her surroundings once she hears it. The sound. The sound coming from the door. She realizes, to her horror, that she her hoof wis now impacting the door repeatedly. Many options go through her mind. She could try running away, or she could try hiding, or-
The door opens, revealing the opener to be Rainbow Dash, who looks at her with confusion at first, perhaps at who could possibly be knocking on her door in this weather, then shock, making way for concern.
"Fluttershy?! What are you doing in this blizzard?!" Rainbow Dash yells. "Are you crazy?!"
"R-r-r-r-r-r-rain-b-b-b-b-b-b-..." Fluttershy only now realizes how dysfunctional her lips have become due to the cold.
Rainbow Dash reaches out towards Fluttershy with one hoof and frantically pulls her inside, slamming the door behind her. She leads, more or less drags, Fluttershy to a couch next to the fireplace.
Rainbow Dash hurriedly tries to ignite the fire, which she extinguished earlier. Fluttershy watches as the sparks fly off of the flint and steel and onto the wood, kindling a small, but quickly growing fire.
After completing this small task, Rainbow Dash then obtains a blanket and wraps it around the violently-shivering Fluttershy, before sitting down next to her, looking at her with an expression of wonder, concern, and disblief.
"What the hay were you in that blizzard, Fluttershy??" Rainbow Dash asks. "Everybody else is at home, fast asleep! What could possibly be so important?"
Guiltily enjoying how concerned Rainbow Dash was towards her, she responds with, "I-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-" before sneezing, and then blushing. Without saying anything else, she reaches into her mane with a shaky hoof, and withdraws the envelope from it, before handing it to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash, frowning in confusion, take the envelope, opens it and pulls out a holiday card, decorated with presents. She opens it and reads what is inscribed, with realization coming to her. Hey eyes slightly open in surprise, she stares at Fluttershy, who stares back with a timid smile.
"I-" Rainbow Dash begins, before Fluttershy silences her by placing her hoof on her lips.
Fluttershy then lays her head on Rainbow Dash's shoulder.
"M--m-m-my D-d-d-...." the words fail to leave Fluttershy's mouth. "M-m-m-my D-d-d-...."
Rainbow Dash hesitantly wraps one arm around her. "I-"
"My Dear Dashie...." The words finally manage to escape.