Swept up

Howdy, this is my first fanfic, so please be brutally honest, it's the only way i'll get better. Depending on the reaction I’ll continue this, I've already got a rough map of where'd i'd like to go, and I have to say...I'm pretty excited! Please Rate and Review, but most of all, I really hope you enjoy the story! Right off the bat, I want to say that this is humanized… Sort of. Pegasi still have wings, and unicorns still have horns. Alright! Go forward and read!

It was an unusually cloudy, gray day in ponyville. Wind whipped across the land as the Pegasi prepared to give the town the first snow of the season, but they didn't seem to be able to gather quite enough clouds to carry those carefully crafted snowflakes, so it had been delayed for at least a few days. Instead, the steel sheet hung over the land like a tarp, while on the ground at the edge of the Everfree forest, a fair-skinned, pink-haired, quiet girl stared out of the window of her birdhouse adorned home, and sighed quietly.

Her name was Fluttershy, and it was undoubtedly her least favorite time of year. She was not alone in this sentiment, as for many of the townsfolk this was the most...well, dull time of year. The Running of the Leaves had been completed, so the trees stood stark and bare, and the festivities and fun of the winter season and hearths’ warming had yet to begin. It was a strange limbo stage between autumn and winter, one that left even the most jubilant of the overall lighthearted citizens of Equestria little to celebrate.

The cold melancholy of the season struck especially hard for Fluttershy. Many of her animal friends had retreated south for the winter, and even more had begun their months-long hibernation cycle. Of course Fluttershy felt no ill towards the animals, more than anyone she understood their need to rest or move someplace warm, it was their best method to get through the winters, which, in Ponyville, were bare, cold, and provided little for them to eat.

Still though, she couldn't help but feel a bit lonely these days. She thought about visiting one of her friends, but certainly didn't want to impose or cause a fuss over her own silly loneliness. She knew they were all very busy, possibly preparing for their own winters.

She let out another soft sigh, lost in thought of what her friends were doing. 'Applejack must be checking apple stocks, making sure her fields are prepared for the coming months, and baking apple pies, fritters, dumplings... I would just slow her down. Twilight must be, as usual, in her own home, studying magic...I wouldn't think of disturbing her, I would make far too much noise. Rainbow Dash is up in the clouds, trying to start up the snow...I could help, but I'm not much of a flier, and If she needed my help up there, she’d ask for it. Rarity's not even home, she's away at a fashion show in Canterlot. Pinkie-pie is running the Sugar cube corner today... I wouldn't think of disturbing her at work... but a cupcake with a nice hot chocolate would be lovely, and I bet she'd appreciate the business...'

She pulled a simple sweatshirt over her bright yellow shirt to protect her from the bite of the outdoors, and, after saying a quick farewell to her agitated and suddenly awoken pet bunny Angel, took off outside. Angel rose out of his bed, scowling and with a blanket still wrapped around him, trudged over to the door, and slammed it shut behind Fluttershy to keep the chill air out of the house. He returned to his bed, and within moments was snoozing again.

After a few minutes, Fluttershy arrived in front of the frosted gingerbread looking store, and opened the door. As soon as she was inside, she let out a small gasp, for a large pink-haired blur had just zoomed out from behind the counter of the shop and was now standing uncomfortably close to her, a pair of blue eyes staring directly at the startled pegasus, and speaking a million miles a minute.

“HI! Welcome to the sugar cube corn-Ohmigosh hi Fluttershy! I didn't recognize you for a second because when I heard the door open I got so excited I was like * gasp * 'omigosh a CUSTOMER!'  so I didn't look instead I ran but then I was there so I stopped running and started talking but while I was talking I looked and when I did it was you and then I said 'Welcome to the sugarcube corn' but this place isn't corn, silly! I just stopped in the middle of corner-”

“H-hi pinkie.”

“-because I was so excited to see you, we do have candy corn though if you were disappointed-”

“..N-no thank you pinkie, I...”

“-But I’ve gotta warn you I haven't resupplied since Nightmare Night so it might not be prime stuff it's still good though-”

“pinkie...”

“Come to think of it I don't think I’ve ever run out of-”

“-pink-”

“-I don’t think it ever goes bad! That reminds me of this one time with Roseluck when we-”

“um...-pin-”

“Needless to say, we ran out of icing, Bon-Bon was furious and there was a HUGE mess-”

“pinkie!”

“Oh sorry, did you say something?”

Pinkie pie tilted her head to the side and blinked as Fluttershy scuffed at the ground with her shoe. “Uhm, yes, sorry for interrupting and flying off the handle like that...” she squeaked apologetically.

Pinkie Pie grinned at Fluttershy and wrapped her into a hug. “I have no idea what you're talking about but I forgive you!”

After a few strangling moments, Pinkie Pie released her from the iron-grip hug, and Fluttershy stumbled back a bit, taking a few sharp gasps of breath. Pinkie Pie was a sweet girl and always meant well, but her way of going about things with such constant and unending exuberance was difficult for most other folks to keep pace with.

“Thanks...Anyway, I uhm, wanted to come over to... Since it's so chilly out I wanted to... well, buy a cupcake, and a hot chocolate, if that's okay.”

Pinkie's smile only grew wider. “Sure! Come on! I've got some super yummy ones, fresh out of the oven! Take a seat, I'll be back in a teensy second!” Pinkie gestured to a small cluster of tables in a corner of the shop populated by a few groups of chatting friends before she dashed into the kitchen. Fluttershy shrank away from the groups, and headed towards an empty table, settling herself down.

Soon enough, Pinkie trotted over to fluttershy and set a tray with her order, but just as Pinkie was about to open her mouth to say something, the door flew open, accompanied by a frigid gust of air and a group of windswept, disgruntled and shivering pegasi, led by a very frustrated Rainbow Dash.

“WHAT THE HECK was going on up there?! You were all acting like idiots! We've already had to push the snowfall back two days! This was something I was put in charge of, but you guys are slacking off up there!” She barked, causing the following pegasi to lower their heads sheepishly.

Rainbow dash sighed heavily and strode over to the table where Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were chatting. Her pilot’s jacket was unzipped, and her hair was messier than usual. She pushes a lock of her hair away from her face, and nods at her two friends. “Hey Pinkie.., we're taking a quick break, and I was wondering if you had anything to, y'know... perk these guys up a bit, it's a mess up there... Maybe they just need a shot of sugar to keep up with me, I dunno…” She muttered, jerking her thumb towards the gaggle of pegasi. Pinkie nodded eagerly. “Oh! I sure do! I don't have any ready at the minute, not many people order it, but wait a few minutes, and you'll be going faster than ever!” With that, she dashed away again into the kitchen.

“Thanks Pin-..ah she's gone.” Dash turned to Fluttershy “Oh, hey Fluttershy!...everything okay?”. Fluttershy had shrunk back into her seat during Rainbow's rant, and still looked a little apprehensive... more so than usual, at least. “Um, h-hi Rainbow...  Y'know, I could, uh, help you up there, if you want.” She offered.

Rainbow Dash smiled kindly as she mulled over a way to put this gently. “Aww, Fluttershy, I really appreciate it, but uh... I couldn't ask you to do that, I'm sure you're very busy... and-oh, here's Pinkie!” She said, thankful for the shift of focus.

“Alright, here we go! Coffee!” Pinkie announced proudly, carrying a tray of mugs filled with a hot, black, and alluringly-scented liquid.

“Coughy? This isn't going to make us sick is it?” Dash questioned, taking one of the mugs and sniffing it.

“Of course not silly! It'll wake you up! Careful though, It'll burn you if you're not careful. I think that's why Mrs. Cake said I'm never supposed to have any, she's always looking out for me!...Okay, everypony, take one, but remember, it's hot!” Pinkie cautioned, passing the mugs out to the Dash's coworkers, and they began taking tentative sips.

The reactions were mixed.“Well, it smells awesome” “I'm just trying to pretend it's hot chocolate.” “Yech, it's so bitter!” “I like it!” “Add some sugar or milk” “Do you have any cream?” “This is gross, and I am not a good pretender!” “It's good!” “I'm starting to feel a buzz...”

A few minutes later, Rainbow dash was tapping her foot rapidly enough to pass for a drumroll, her pupils constricted and darting around. “Oh man! Thanks Pinkie that stuff's great! Cmon, cmon cmon guys lets get up there and finish! While you guys get ready i'm just gonna fly around the shop a few times to, uh...stretch out, I'll be back before you can blink!”

With that, she dashed out of the store, leaving a faded rainbow blur in her wake. The rest of the pegasi sighed and took seats, muttering. “She's been running us ragged up there.” Blossomforth mumbled, reaching back to rub the end of one of her white wings. “We'd be done if she didn't have us doing everything so fast, she makes us rush and then we have to go back and fix it!” A few of them nodded in agreement as a solid rainbow streak suddenly appeared in front of the shop's window, followed by another and another in rapid succession.

Fluttershy was watching this and sipping on her cocoa, unaware of the slightly raised male voices nearby, “Go!” “Just do it you coward!” “Guys, it’s not that simple, I…” “Yes, it is!”

Suddenly, a Pegasus, one she had never spoken to before, stumbled over to her table, as though he had been shoved. “Uh...hey. Would it be okay if I sat here? Everywhere else is taken.” His wings, currently folded behind him, were navy blue, and his head was covered with a mess of untidy forest-green hair. His hazel eyes flicked up to Fluttershy, then to the chair several times as he shoved one of his hands in his pocket absently and ran the other through his hair. He was long and lean, almost lanky with his limbs, and even with them folded behind his back, a discerning eye would notice his wings that to be a bit large for his body.  He was smiling, but there was a nervous air about him as he stood before Fluttershy, shifting awkwardly on his feet.

Fluttershy blinked, and squeaked out a response, sinking deeper into her chair by the second. The young man quirked an eyebrow. “Uhm...Sorry, I didn't hear that... do you mind if I sit here?” He repeated, tilting his head to the side, and losing a bit of his nerve. “I mean, it's alright if you don't want me to, I understand... no pressure, I get it, you don't know me, it was kind of weird of me to ask...but there isn't really anywhere to... y'know...” He said, trailing off, but standing his ground for the most part.

Then, Fluttershy spoke up just enough for him to pick it up. “...No...”

The young man’s face fell, and he backed away a few steps. “Oh...no? Okay, thanks anyway, I'm sorry, it was wrong of me to-”

“No, I mean I don't mind...”

“Oh...OH! Really? Cool!” He said, smiling and breathing a sigh of relief as he flopped down into the char across from Fluttershy. They sat together quietly for a few seconds, before he attempted to break the silence. “So! My name's Gust, what's your name?” He asked, voice shaking a bit. Fluttershy stuttered for a moment, and responded “I...I'm Fluttershy...” She mumbled, blushing and suddenly becoming very interested in her cupcake, without taking a bite. “Fluttershy, huh? Well it's nice to meet you, my name's Gust”

“...You already said that.”

Gust blinked and clapped a hand to his head, letting out a strained laugh. “Oh, right... You know, I've never seen you around Cloudsdale before, are you new in town? “

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no, I don't live in Cloudsdale.” She said. “I live here in Ponyville, near the everfree forest, so I can be close to all the creatures.” A bashful smile grew on her face. “I-I really love animals. They're so sweet.” She said, taking another nibble of her cupcake. Gust raised his eyebrows. “Is that so? I've never heard of a pegasus who doesn't live in the clouds...that's actually pretty neat.” He said. “It must be kind of nice...leaves and grass rustling in the wind are my favorite sounds in the world. I never get to hear it much up in cloudsdale but I bet you get to hear it all the time, What kind of anima-” Gust was cut short as he let out a startled yelp, caused by the sudden, violent appearance of a very upset Rainbow Dash directly in front of him, still clearly on a caffeine high. Gust nearly fell out of his seat in shock.

“WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING DOWN HERE!? Everybody else is already back!” Rainbow Dash roared, causing Gust to shrink back and look around wildly. It was true, the pegusi had all flown back up into the clouds, leaving sugarcube corner much less populated.

Gust did his best to stammer out a response. “I-I'm sorry! I just got caught up! I'll be up in a flash!”.

Rainbow continued to glare at him. “You've got 10 seconds to get up there, after that... we do this the hard way.” She growled, a definite threatening tone in her voice.

“Yes sir-uh-ma'am!” He said, before turning to Fluttershy. “Uh, it was really nice talking to you and stuff...maybe we could meet up again? Same time tomorrow? I'd really like to hear about what you do.” Fluttershy turned slightly pink and nodded, causing Gust to grow an exuberant smile. “Really? Okay! Well I guess I'll see you then Fluttershy, I really should get going now or Rainbow Dash'll have my - whoah, hey!”

“Hard way it is!” Rainbow exclaimed as she took a hold of Gust's shirt collar. “Talk to you later Fluttershy.”  With that she raced out the door, dragging Gust with her into the dark grey clouds as she took off.

                                                                      End Part 1

Well… let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!