A Flutter of Wings on a Cloudy Day
Flitter was curled up in bed, reading on a Friday night. To her, hot tea, a warm bed, and a good book under the dim light of a candle was the perfect way to spend an evening.
Cloudchaser disagreed. She was, as was the norm for a Friday evening, probably out at a party in Ponyville, or on a date with some goofy stallion who couldn’t keep his eyes off her flank. In Flitter’s humble opinion, stallions were overrated, and tea was better.
The book that Flitter had herself currently engrossed in was a romance called The Mare and the Dragon. It was a fantastic read, and since she’d discovered it with the help of the local librarian, she hadn’t been able to put it down. While she normally detested the idea of smacking lips with some stallion in a park, she found the idea of physical romance at least a little endearing on paper.
This particular book was so good, in fact, that Flitter had gotten so caught up in it that she didn’t hear the door to the apartment she shared with her sister swing open loudly, the thump of something falling off a shelf, and the swearing of a certain pegasus as she stumbled through the living room in the dark. She did, however, hear Cloudchaser burst through the shared bedroom with a dramatic sigh and a flop onto her own bed.
“Awful! Just awful!” Exclaimed the overly emotional Cloudchaser, obviously panning for attention. Flitter begrudgingly put down her book and rolled her eyes, recognizing this as a usual occurrence.
“Guessing this guy didn’t work out so well, either?” Flitter mumbled, her expression deadpan.
“He couldn’t stop ogling the mare at the table next to us, and was super rude to the waiter, Flitter! And then he insisted on taking me home, and when I refused, got all upset and raised his voice. Told me I owed him him since he paid for the meal. Can you believe that?” Cloudchaser threw her forehooves up into the air and groaned. Flitter could, in fact, believe it. She sighed again, this time her tone something that sounded like empathy, her voice caving.
“Sounds terrible, Cloudy. You can come over here with me, if you wanna.” She scooted over on her bed in the corner, knowing full well Cloudchaser’s tradition when it came to relationships had always been, for as long as she could remember, a bucket of ice cream and curling up on Flitter’s bed. Flitter didn’t mind, despite her casual annoyance. Her book would have to wait until later.
In an instant, Cloudchaser jumped from her bed over to Flitter’s and threw herself down onto the cushiony surface with a fwump, nestling herself into the soft covers and up against her sister. It felt good to be so close to someone else, especially after the treatment from earlier.
“It’s okay, you know. Just a stupid stallion, right? Don’t let it get to you. He had no right.” Flitter squeezed her sister, trying to comfort her. She heard a small squeak and a sniffle, and immediately realized that today was different, because Cloudchaser was actually crying, and she never cried. Swiftly, Flitter moved in and nuzzled her cheek, bringing a forehoof around her side to hug her tightly. She absolutely hated seeing her like this: it fed to her protective instincts and fueled a deep hatred for whoever would do such a thing to her best friend.
“Cloudy...Cloudy, hey now...you okay?” Flitter pressed in along her cheek, voice dripping with concern. Thankfully, the sniffling stopped and Cloudchaser simply lay still. Flitter took this as a cue to gently bring up the covers around them. Flitter didn’t need a response to know what she was thinking, their relationship was such that it often wasn’t necessary. Words can only express so much, and the closeness of another pony you care about so deeply was a therapy words couldn’t speak.
The room was lit only by the candle next to the bed that flickered and waved, casting shadows of the two huddled pegasi onto the wall. As she lay comforting her sister, Flitter found herself watching them halfheartedly, noticing how the shadow of the other mare had calmed.
“Flits’...I...I almost went with him. I was gonna do it,” Cloudchaser broke the silence with a sniffle, “But then I thought about you, and what you would do in that situation. I know you would have told him off, and you would be disappointed in me if I went. I felt so bad, but in a funny way you were what made me do the right thing.” She peered out from under her cocoon of wing, fur and blanket with glassy eyes, springing forward to press her face into the neck of a startled Flitter.
Flitter had never thought of herself as a role model before. She was the quiet, bookish little sister that didn’t get out much, wasn’t interested in having a large group of friends like Cloudchaser--a small selection of two or three was enough by Flitter’s standards-- and was more reserved and introverted. Ever since they were young, Cloudchaser teased her playfully about it. Now she was suggesting that she looked up to her?
Her disbelief must have been written all over her face, as it earned an affectionate nudge from Cloudchaser. For the first time, Flitter had a good look at what a mess her normally proudly-kept mane was, disheveled and covering her face, the normally upright bob having lost its form and spluttered out in all directions. Flitter drew back the covers to get a good look at her wings, and nearly cried out in shock. They, too, had lost their pristine form, feathers splayed everywhere from Cloudchaser’s frantic flight back and blind stumble through the dark.
“Oh Cloudy, you’re an absolute mess. Look at your wings!” Cloudchaser did, giving a slight murmur of acknowledgement and flapping them meekly.
“You’re right…I’m an absolute wreck.” She frowned and rolled to her back, but Flitter seemed insistent.
“That’s not the Cloudchaser I know. Enough moping! You’re better than this!” she spoke with a newfound authority in her voice, “We need sister time, pronto! Go take a warm bath. I’ll get us the ice cream and snacks and we can stay up late watching those dumb shows you like.” Her hooves wiggled free and she started to get up, giving Cloudchaser a firm shove, who rolled and nearly fell off the bed had she not stuck out a hoof to brace herself.
Begrudgingly, she shook off her sore wings and stretched, her limbs giving a satisfying pop. Once the feeling in her hooves had restored and she felt stable, she made her way to the bathroom that was adjacent to the bedroom. Flitter crossed into the living room, pausing to watch her enter the bathroom. She considered giving her her privacy, but there was something nagging on her brain.
“Cloudy…” she began talking in a low voice as she stuck her head into the cold, tiled room. “Do you...really look up to me like that?” It seemed like such a stupid question now that she’d said it out loud. Here Cloudchaser was, enduring one of the worst nights she’d ever had and was clearly trying to recover, and Flitter was bombarding her with such questions. She was sprung from her thought by the sound of Cloudchaser erupting into a small fit of snorting and laughter, almost slipping onto the floor as she ran the water for her bath.
“You dork, of course I look up to you! You’re way smarter than me and never seem to get the kind of problems I do with dates. Not to mention, you’re my sister.” She trotted over to give a warm hug, brushing her head on the underside of Flitter’s neck, who seemed taken aback.
“But...you’re the one who’s good at talking to ponies. I haven’t had a date in years and you’re always going out to parties.” Flitter reciprocated with a brief nuzzle, head listing to one side.
“Don’t you remember college?” Cloudchaser was quick to correct her sister. “I had too many dates to count, and you dated one guy for three years! If I could keep relationships like you do, I wouldn’t have half as many problems. I only want one coltfriend, after all.” With a hoof, she gave Flitter a playful shove and turned to resume preparing her bath while Flitter was left deep in thought. Cloudchaser did have a point: for her dozen short relationships, Flitter had had no more than two or three, and they typically went on for several years, even if she hadn’t had a date since college. It had just never occurred to her to think of herself as more relationship-savvy than her more outgoing sister.
Feeling slightly awkward that she’d been standing in the doorway deep in thought for longer than usual, Flitter hastily slipped out of the room and went back to her search for the emergency ice cream. Cloudchaser was left alone to sink into the warm water once she was satisfied it was the right temperature.
For a while, Cloudchaser let the water relax her muscles and clear her head of the troubles of the day. Flitter was right: who cared what one lousy colt thought about her? She picked up the soap and began to wash down her limbs, working in slow motions to really work it into the matted fur. Her thoughts wandered to her sister, and a twinge of guilt struck her as she realized that she’d probably had her own plans for the evening prior to Cloudchaser’s outburst. Poor Flitter was always quick to let herself be a source of comfort for her older sister, no matter what the inconvenience was. Could Cloudchaser really say she had done the same?
There was no question of whether or not she would have offered her shoulder to cry on, as she knew without a doubt that she would, but there hadn’t been a time in recent memory when Flitter desperately needed someone to hold her, and had gone to her sister. Cloudchaser frowned as she began washing down her wings carefully, using her muzzle to nibble along the edges of her primaries to correct their positioning and make them less uncomfortable.
She thought back to when Flitter’s last relationship had ended. As far as Cloudchaser could recall, the stallion had wanted to move to Fillydelphia, and Flitter just couldn’t leave her home for that, so they had split. Yet, digging through her memories, she had no idea if Flitter had ever cried, or shown any outward sadness, and this visibly bothered Cloudchaser. They were sisters, and they shared everything! Had Flitter kept it from her?
Satisfied she was clean and had groomed herself enough, Cloudchaser reached for her fluffy purple towel and stood up, proceeding to dry herself off. When her hooves were no longer dripping, she stepped out and reached for her blow dryer to take care of her wings and mane. No matter how much she tried to dig through her mind, no memory of Flitter mourning over a recently broken relationship arose.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Flitter had finally found a bucket of chocolate-mint ice cream, two spoons, and a couple sodas. She hummed a familiar tune to herself as she walked back to the living room, spotting Cloudchaser emerging from the bathroom at the same time, a towel wrapped around her head. As she laid the items down on the coffee table, she was suddenly tackled onto her back and pressed into the cushion by a giggling Cloudchaser, who squeezed her in a tight hug.
"Flitter...I just wanted to say that you’re amazing, and the best sister in the whole world. I don’t know what I did to be so lucky for all the things you do for me, but...thanks.” She tried not to appear teary-eyed as she gave another lung-crushing hug with her hooves, and Flitter wheezed.
"Oh, shush, I know you’d do the same for me.” Flitter gasped for air and coughed, weakly trying to wriggle free. Eventually, Cloudchaser sat up, grabbing a spoon and a generous helping of ice cream.
“Still, though. You really helped make this night a lot better than what it was.” She took a mouthful of dessert and leaned against Flitter, who took a sip of soda and put her head on Cloudchaser’s shoulder. They watched Cloudchaser’s corny shows for nearly an hour, giggling at the jokes and engorging on delicious ice cream, before Cloudchaser finally had the nerve to turn down the volume and turn to Flitter.
“Flits, can we talk?” Cloudchaser’s expression looked slightly concerned, drawing feelings of worry from Flitter, who nodded enthusiastically.
“Of course we can. Still dwelling on that guy?” Flitter rose to a proper sitting position and made eye contact, her forehooves pulled tightly against her body and a warm blanket around her shoulders. Cloudchaser didn’t say anything at first. She mulled over her words, thinking of what to say and how to approach such a delicate topic. She knew Flitter didn’t like to talk about him, or even say his name. Perhaps that was how she coped?
“I’ve just been thinking...about how you’ve always been there for me when colts are lousy and I get my heart broken, and I realized how I’d never done the same for you. I know it hurt you when…’he’ left, Flits, but you never talked about it or cried. It was like you immediately bounced back the minute he left. Why is that?” She found herself wincing as Flitter seemed to pull back, drawing the blanket around her further and let out a long sigh.
“I...I did cry, but I didn’t want anyone to see. I felt like he didn’t deserve even a minute of moping, after what he did.” At Cloudchaser’s look of confusion, she continued. “It wasn’t just because he was going to Fillydelphia. He cheated on me a few months before he left. I hated him for a long time but I didn’t want to be sad.” She crossed one forehoof over the other and looked down. Cloudchaser saw the opportunity, and swooped in to draw her up in yet another hug.
“I had no idea he did that to you. How could he! You were probably the best thing that ever happened to him, and that was his loss.” She squeezed her forehooves around Flitter’s chest. “You should have told me. You shouldn’t bottle that in.” Flitter seemed comforted at the thought and gave a reassuring nod, leaning against Cloudchaser with a smile.
“You’re right, I should have. You shouldn’t feel like it ever had anything to do with you, though. It wasn’t….it wasn’t like that.” She opened her mouth to say something else, to reassure Cloudchaser that she was, in fact, a great sister, but no words came out. She didn’t need to say anything, because Cloudchaser understood. Nothing else needed to be said.
The two mares huddled together until the ice cream was gone and the show became a blur. With Cloudchaser snoring peacefully against her shoulder and her eyelids drifting closed, Flitter had one last thought: It wasn’t such a bad night, after all.
