Meeting Mommy

They say the sensation of flying never wears off, even on the most experienced pegasus. It fills me with glee each time I part from the worries that burden me on the ground and for once, fill my head with nothing but the joy of dashing among the clouds. I near the massive curtain of grey clouds looming over Ponyville, climbing just high enough for a foal to reach out and stroke the silken softness of one.

"Go on, touch it!" I urge, my hoof brushing against it as an example. I look back at the filly and stifle a giggle at her intense expression, with her tongue pointed out of her mouth in concentration. I roll my eyes. "It's a cloud, not surgery."

She gives me a stale look, her eyes narrowed, but she shrugs nonetheless and ventures from her grasp on my mane long enough to touch it. Her eyes widen in pure amazement as her hoof falls through the puff of grey and it vanishes like a wisp on nothing dancing on the air. "Woooow." she gasps.

BOOM! A blinding flash of light consumes my vision and an equally-devastating clap of thunder erupts around me, causing me to lose control of my wings. A searing pain rise in my left wing, the burning tingle of the lightning scorching my flesh and feathers. I cry out in agony, but that is the only sound that manages to escape my mouth. The only indicator that I am no longer aloft is the swell of 'butterflies' in my stomach as I plunge toward the earth below. Is this it? Is this how I'm going to die? The yellow light clouding my vision begins to subside and the blurred image of Viola plummeting beside me comes into view briefly. I struggle to hold my eyes open and fight the sudden urge to drift off to sleep, the wish to escape the pain and simply end t right here.

If I die, then so be it. Celestia, let her live. Let my sweet little filly live. Please.

Just... please.

* * *

Everything is a blur, but I can just barely make out the distorted silhouettes of three ponies hovering over me. There is a throbbing pain sounding in the back of my brain, and the pain is sent in jolts through my entire body. The world is spinning, but as the pounding subsides, so does the fog that has settled over my mind. I can make out the faint pitter-patter of raindrops against an umbrella.

"Shh. She's waking up." I hear a familiar voice hiss.

I squint my eyes and slowly crane my neck to view the source. "D-Diamond? Am I dead?" My vision clears and the spinning ceases. I can now clearly see a rather distraught-looking Viola being held by Diamond. The other, if I remember clearly, is the local doctor. I haven't seen him in several years, since I haven't been able to afford medical care since I moved out of my parent's place.

"No," the doctor says in an amused tone, as he clenches a large blue umbrella. "But you narrowly avoided it. You're lucky to be alive. In fact, if it weren't for Viola here, you may not have survived the fall."

My eyebrows lift in confusion. "Viola?"

"Mhmm. She took hold of you and did all she could to slow you descent. She immediately ran for help. Fortunately, I had taken a day off today to visit the fair and as a doctor, I always carry around a first-aid kit. You will most likely be in pain for two weeks, achey and such. That left wing needs some good mending as well, but your wounds aren't too severe. So you can head home now."

I try to nod, but another zap of pain warns me against it. "Thanks doctor." I rasp. He gives a curt nod and trots off. Diamond helps me to my hooves, bracing me as I stumble. I wiggle my wing as much as I can, groaning beneath the restraints of a tight bandage. Viola flies at my side, her wings beating frantically to stay aloft.

"Look! I can fly, mom! And I saved you!" she cried ecstatically. I wrap my hoof around her side, hugging her close to me.

"You did indeed. I'm proud of you."

Diamond leads us to his cart, hitching himself up once more. I climb, with some difficulty, into the back. Viola flits in and nestles beside me. The rain has begun to fall harder, and the steadily growing sheets have already succeeded in drenching me to the bone, my magenta mane falling in messy dripping ringlets around my shoulders.

"There's an umbrella back there for you." Diamond yells over the drone of rain colliding with the stone paths around us. Sure enough, beside me lays a red umbrella. I reach for it and undo the strap, pushing the ring up around the metal rod and in turn, opening the umbrella. Having a chance to dry is a relief as the storm presses on around us. The dark clouds on the horizon tell me there is yet more to come.

Diamond gives me a weak smile as his drenched mane cascades over his eye. I give a violent shiver as the icy chill of the rain seeps in. He must have noticed, as he immediately unhitches himself and pulls the rain coat from his own back, draping over mine.

"Oh, no, really.... there is no need to -" my words are muffled as his lips meet mine in a sudden tender kiss, only to part within seconds. He gives me a shy smile and returns to the front of the cart without a word of explanation. I can hear Viola's incessant giggling at the sight of them sharing such a 'grossly romantic' moment. With a groan of the wheels, the cart is pulled into motion. The hour seemed to drag on as the rain collected in tiny pools around me. But the feeling of his lips still freshly imprinted in my memory and the sleeping filly at my side kept me sane through the spasms of pain.

I must have dozed off at some point, with the hum of rain and the occasional roll of thunder like a lullaby, for I am jolted awake as the cart comes to a stop. The three of us escape into his home, all eager to embrace the warmth and dryness that lay in wait. Diamond, like the silent gentle colt he always is, immediately sets off to rummage about for some blankets. I pry off the coat and shake off the umbrella. With a wipe of my hooves on the neat little doormat, I enter.

The entire house is enveloped in darkness, for the storm had rendered us powerless. I hesitantly approach the wall of shadows, fumbling around to assure I don't bump into anything. I scream as I collide with what looks like a pony.

"Magenta, is that you?" he asks.

"Yeah! Do you have any candles or matches per chance?"

The sound of a match striking the side of the box, and the sudden dim light that emanated from the flame is answer enough. I can see his dripping face, and his two beautiful eyes peering at me from beyond the match. He lifted a candle to the steadily dying flame, and the wick was immediately alight, bathing us in light.

"I'll light a few more, you take this one and see if you can get the fireplace going." he instructs, handing me the candle and setting off to light some more. I use what little amount of candlelight I have to guide me through the labyrinth of furniture and walls, until finally, I come across the living room. It is just as neat as I remembered it. The soft, circular rug seemed to beckon to me, inviting me to nap upon it. The ornate stone fireplace, with photo frames adorning the shelf above, looked like a mouth filled with jagged teeth, lurking in the shadows. I've always hated the dark, ever since I was a filly. My over-active imagination is capable of making the most innocent of objects into a sinister creature prowling about.

I settle down on my haunches and take a few pages of an old newspaper from the pile of kindling and crumple up. I can see the silhouette of two sizeable logs already in the fireplace, so I set it alight with the flame of the candle and quickly toss it in. A few moments pass, and the flame spreads to the log, engulfing the room with a wave of heat. I hold my chilled hooves up to the growing fire.

"I'm back." Diamond says as his aura lifts a blanket around my shoulders, tucking me in all snug. Viola settles at my side, her head resting on my shoulder.

"Thanks." I beam, "Care to join me?"

Diamond settles at my side, casting me an awkward side-glance to assure he is not too close for my comfort. I shake my head with a contented smile, my head meandering over to his shoulder until it found a suitable place to rest. I could feel the tension in his body leave him immediately as he relaxed in my gentle embrace. We spent several minutes in silence , our tired eyes staring into the fire as the last remnants of cold left us.

With a loud yawn, Viola closed her eyes and slumped onto the soft rug beside me. With a weary smile, I lift my blanket and place it over her as I plant a kiss on her forehead. "G'night, squirt." Diamond Crescent has fallen asleep as well, and I can't help but think about how sweet he looks when he is sleeping. I lower myself down beside him, crawling beneath his blanket. My eyes slowly flutter shut, the same placid smile on my face as the image of the flickering hearth faded away.

The End.