It was faint at first. Just a flutter.
Rarity stirred in bed. With a kittenesque trilling sound, she turned over, swaddled in layers of silk and satin. The duvet cocooned her, and she delighted in the drowsiness as she submerged once again into slumber.
Then, the flutter happened again.
A pale ear twitched, followed by the other. Fuzz and more fuzz. Rarity's soft muzzle scrunched.
“Mrmffff...”
With an uncomfortable exhale, she wriggled herself loose from the comforter and sat up in bed. A tired hoof fumbled to grip her laced sleeping mask—ultimately lifting the article up. The fashionista's sleepy blue eyes batted against the blackness of her bedroom. She searched and searched, teetering.
“Wha...?”
This time, she knew she heard it: a knocking sound—rhythmic and deliberate—from the first floor below.
Rarity's heart started. She tilted her head to the right. Light snow and frost clung to her second-story window, but all beyond it was darkness.
With a nervous lump forming in her throat, Rarity shuffled out of bed. She slid her hooves into her pink slippers and wrapped a terry cloth robe around her dainty figure. Summoning a faint glow to her horn, she shuffled her way down the steps and into the empty black haze of her boutique. A miniature halo of blue light followed her.
Rarity lingered at the bottom of her stairs. Across the way, the front door rattled with hoof-knocks. They were even fainter than Rarity had first thought, which only served to alarm her further.
“H... hello?” Rarity bit her bottom lip, craning her neck. “Who's th-there?”
Silence. Or—at least—Rarity thought she heard a squeaking noise, but she couldn't tell for certain. After a determined breath, she marched forward, unlocked the door, and bravely swung the thing open. A gust of cold, wintry air billowed in, but a demure silhouette blocked her view of the pale snowfall outside.
“Why...” Rarity gasped. “Fluttershy!” She gasped again. “What are you doing outside in the dead thick of night?!” Fully awake now, she waved desperately. “Come! Come inside this instant! Before you catch cold, darling!”
Fluttershy obeyed... albeit in a noticeable slump. On limp wings, she carried herself across the threshhold. Her head was bowed the entire time.
Teeth chattering, Rarity shut the door close. “Brrrrrrrr...!” She wrapped the terry cloth robe tighter around herself and shook errant flakes of snow off her well-manicured fetlocks. “Now now... Fluttershy, my dear...” She trotted over with a sympathetic expression. “What has gotten into you? You should at least wear a thick sweater if you're going to go traipsing about at... n-night...” Her words trailed off.
Fluttershy lingered in the penumbra of Rarity's glowing horn. She pawed the tile floor of the Boutique, sighing melancholically into the shadows. In the stark contrast, Rarity realized just how pale Fluttershy looked... how frail and how positively pallid.
“Why... you're white as a sheet, darling!” Rarity crossed the distance between them. With a tender hoof, she lifted Fluttershy's chin. “Please... you must have come here for a reason. Do tell me what's bothering you...”
Fluttershy gazed deadpan at her friend. Snowflakes clung to her bangs and lashes. “Sometimes, Rarity...” She murmured breathily. “Mmmm... I-I wake up in the middle of the night... and all I can think about is death.”
Rarity gazed at her.
“Everything we're used to... everything that we feel and see and touch and taste...” Fluttershy gulped hard. “Everypony we love and all the things we strive for. Someday it will all end and there's nothing we can do about it, Rarity.” Her ears drooped as she sniffled. “I don't know how... I manage to c-carry on in the daytime without thinking about it so much. But... at times like this... I'm scared, Rarity.” The tiniest of whimpers. “I'm scared to... not be.”
Silence.
Rarity took a deep breath. And she smiled.
The mare took Fluttershy's fetlock, gently squeezing it. Wordlessly, she led the mare over to a couch, then gestured for her to sit down.
Trembling, Fluttershy did just that. She curled up on the sofa with a sniffle or two, watching as Rarity trotted away... vanishing from her peripheral.
The pegasus lingered in darkness. The shivers took hold, and she hadn't the strength to whimper.
Two anxious minutes later, Rarity returned—along with the light. She levitated several things by her side: two fluffy comforters, two bowls of vanilla ice cream, and a single candle. With unicorn finesse, she lit the candle's wick, then placed it gently on the coffee table before them. Then—without saying a word—she crawled up onto the sofa next to Fluttershy, scooching up real close. She draped the first comforter over the two of them... then the second. The two ponies' collective body heat swiftly melted away any residual snowflakes clinging to Fluttershy's tender coat.
“Hmmmm...” Rarity melodically hummed. She took a dainty bite of ice cream, then offered Fluttershy a spoonfull of vanilla. She waited patiently, smiling.
Fluttershy fidgeted slightly. At last, with a defeated sigh, she leaned in and took a bite. Then a second.
Rarity bore a contented grin. Placing the bowl down, she exhaled as she drew a hoof around Fluttershy's shoulder, holding her close. “Now...” Her humming voice resonated beneath the warm blankets. “...do you still feel scared?”
Fluttershy gulped. “Yes.” A shuddering breath. “But... this is still nice.”
“The nicest,” Rarity said with a wink.
Fluttershy's lips curved ever so slightly. She sniffled, and her eyes moistened.
“Shhhh...” Rarity nuzzled her friend dearly in the candlelight. “Cherish.” She kissed Fluttershy's ear, then nuzzled her again. “Cherish,” she breathed.
Fluttershy did. Her eyes closed, and the tears vanished amidst the warmth.
The two huddled side by side under the blankets. Cold and darkness lingered beyond the tiny glow.
The night passed. When the light of the candle went out, nopony could tell.
