She Brings the Butterflies

by Thithle Candytufth

One For Winter to Own

I knocked on the door to her cottage vigorously. As always, I had some get-together planned, and, as always, she was the last one to respond. But even upon her doorstep she did not answer me. I figured she would not mind the intrusion if I went in.

The door opened with ease and I slipped inside. A menagerie of animals swarmed about, shocked by my presence. Squirrels slipped into the tiny spaces amidst furniture, rats fled into their holes and birds tucked away to their houses. A single pink butterfly floated about. It alighted onto my hoof. I brushed it away with a smile.

I called out her name, and listened for even the faintest of murmured responses. I heard nothing. She was nowhere to be seen. A part of me wondered if she had gone without my invitation, but that thought was quickly ousted.

I searched her home, overturning furniture in an overly dramatic manner. A quick look in the fridge did nothing to help me find her. A sudden revelation occurred to me in that she may be still sleeping. A rational thought, but upon a quick look, she was not there. Her bed was in disarray, the comforter and sheets pulled off haphazardly.

Of course, I fell into a panic. I rushed out the door and ran to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity were sitting at the table. I gave a mile-a-minute explanation of the brief and minor happenings. Unsurprisingly I was met with deadpan responses from the four. This was not the first time she had made herself scarce, to be sure. But I had a deep dread within me, one I had not felt before. I tossed it up to Pinkie Sense.

It was the dead of winter, I figured, so there was no way she would have gone somewhere without any shelter. The blustering winds would have made flight impossible, especially for her. Despite their misgivings on the severity of this event, I convinced my comrades to join me in the search.

We searched every inch of Ponyville, inside and out. There was no sign of her. We asked about, but the few that knew her replied with a shrug and an ‘I’ll keep an eye out’. The more we asked, and the more unsure responses we got, the more the lump in my throat grew. After asking the last of Ponyville’s citizens, my friends shared my apprehension. We theorized, wondering where she possibly could have gone, and why. Twilight stated that, since she had seen her the past night, she could not have gotten far.

Applejack pointed out that the only place left unsearched was the Everfree Forest. This elicited a gasp from the three others. I cringed at this notion. I envisioned her thin, frail body enveloped in frost. I thought of her little wings were pressed against her side, and thought of her shivering and whimpering. We had to find her, no matter what. This was not a game. It was not hide-and-seek. Even I knew that.

We resolved to expand our search to the frozen forest. We packed saddlebags with emergency supplies and some of Applejack’s wares. Rarity provided us with immensely puffy coats that made her wince in their tackiness. I half-smiled at seeing our search party. I said we looked like overstuffed pillows. The five of us shared a good chuckle, but then returned to sternness.

We wove our way through the bare trees, calling her name. There was no color in this maze of comatose plant life. The pale snow and black bark strained our worried eyes. Even I began to lose my voice after the eleventh hour.

Night had fallen upon the Everfree Forest. I wanted to keep looking, but Twilight stated it was far too dangerous, especially with the sorts of creatures that roam the forest at night. The rest of them agreed, with disappointed sighs and looks of dejection and concern. I begrudgingly went with Twilight’s judgment and we began to make our way back through the forest. I could have sworn I had seen a blur of beige and pink through the trees as I took one last glance at the forested landscape, but I know now that it was my positive attitude deceiving me.

I did not sleep at all that night, and for once it was not due to my sugar intake. I was tossing and turning about, calling out her name. No part of me wanted to be in bed. I wanted to be out there, looking for her. I knew my friends felt the same way, and even though Twilight said we should go back, I know it pained her to say it. No one wanted to admit that there was a small part of them that worried that we would never see her again.

Starting at five A.M., I began staring at the clock, giving up all hopes of sleep. I resolved to return to the search at six. It was a fairly painful hour, forcing myself into some semblance of rest. I constantly stifled the desire to bolt out of bed. When the second hand finally passed over the twelve for the last time, I ripped off the covers and darted down to the ground floor of Sugarcube Corner.

They were all waiting for me. I smiled and wiped a joyful little tear from beneath my eye. Rarity passed me my puffy coat. We set out again. The cold was oppressive, and our legs ached from the hours of walking. Our voices were hoarse from all of the yelling, and of course I made a joke about it. Nopony laughed this time. I decided to keep the humor to myself, especially since, at this point, even I did not find it funny anymore. My noble efforts of lightening the mood futile, we continued the search. We did not speak to each other. The only word spoken was her name.

Eventually, the night air became too thick with darkness. Our common sense finally overriding our yearning for her presence, we turned around and headed back to civilization. We returned to our homes, awaiting another sleepless night.

This was how every day began and ended for the next three weeks.

Comments

[nodamnbrakes]

I like that you appreciate good doom.

[Battoushy]

This is pretty interesting. I eagerly await more.

[Xenonic]

This is really sweet and sad at the same time. More, please.

[Thithle Candytufth]

1398804 Yeah, it's a really great song. Of course I have to mix doom and ponies.
1399475 1399722 Thanks. While I won't be updating this as often as my other story, it won't be long.