A Boring Hearth's Warming
Fluttershy awoke to a tickling sensation on her nose. Eyes still closed, she reached a hoof up to rub at it, but found something soft in her way. Her eyes snapped open, and through the dim light coming in from around the curtains, she found a familiar little gray face staring at her from just beyond her muzzle. Mr. Mousey squeaked at her, stepping back a few inches to join the other two mice just behind him. His whole family was lined up along the edge of the bed, and they all squeaked in unison. Fluttershy smiled, reaching out a foreleg and pulling the tiny family closer. They all hugged her snout, and she whispered, "Happy Hearth's Warming to you, too."
The trio of mice scampered off the mattress, and Fluttershy took a moment to stretch. Her hooves slid across the sheets and her wings flared out, pushing the blanket up and away from her. A yawn came to her as she sat up, but it died in her throat suddenly as she saw the rest of her room. There were ferrets on her dresser, bunnies on the floor, robins in the rafters, and squirrels by the door. Mr. Mousey and his family all stopped just by one of Harry's feet, but scattered when he took a step forward. The bear leaned down toward Fluttershy and deposited a wide tray of pancakes on the bed beside her, grunting something in Bearspeak.
Fluttershy's grin spread from ear to ear, and she cooed, "Oh, you didn't have to make me breakfast." She pulled herself up onto her haunches as the critters throughout the room chittered and squawked, all of them smiling at her. "Thank you, everyone. And a Happy Hearth's Warming to all of you, too." She leaned forward, taking a bite of the pancakes. They were a bit on the lumpy side, and none of them were even close to circular, but she made no signs of displeasure as she munched away. A layer of maple syrup covered up any deficiencies.
Harry hauled away the dishes once Fluttershy was done, and the mare slid from her bed. Making her way downstairs, she said, "So, what did you all want to do today? Rainbow Dash said there would be lots of snow, like always. We could make snow creatures. Or stay inside and play games. Or maybe..."
Fluttershy's hooves stopped suddenly as the kitchen came into her view. Quite the mess had been made inside, with splatters of batter and flour all over the countertop. She stared at the mess for a few seconds, mouth forming a little "o", but her gaze was soon drawn down as Angel hopped into the doorway in front of her. His little arms waved about and he let loose a series of squeals. A mixed squad of critters broke off from Shy's entourage and scampered into the kitchen, setting to work cleaning up the room.
"Oh, no, it's okay. You've already done so much for me today." She took a step into the kitchen, but Angel sprang up off the floorboards and latched onto her snout. He gave a quick shake of his head and pointed toward the living room. Fluttershy blinked, but then turned around. "Well, alright then, if you insist." Angel dropped down from her face as she made her way to the sofa. "So, what did everyone want to do?"
The sound of hooves on wood rang out through the tiny cottage, and Fluttershy stiffened, wings twitching against her back. All eyes swiveled to the front door as she trotted toward it. She tugged on the door gently, swinging it open just enough to see who was outside. At the sight of a rainbow mane, she swung it open fully and gave her visitor a smile. "Oh, hello, Rainbow."
"Hey, Fluttershy. I just got finished with the snow for the day. Pretty awesome, huh?" Rainbow Dash held a foreleg out, gesturing vaguely to the world outside. Sure enough, a coat of white powder was draped over everything in sight. Everything except Rainbow herself, save for a few flakes stuck in her red scarf.
"It's beautiful," Fluttershy replied with a nod.
"So hey, I'm gonna go to the northside park and do some extreme winter sledding. Wanna come?"
Fluttershy raised one eyebrow, her smile fading for a moment. "Extreme?"
Dash puffed out her chest a bit. "It's like regular sledding, except I'm pulling the sled." She returned to a more casual position and furrowed her brow. "For some reason, nopony wants to do it with me, yet."
"Oh, um, sorry, but I promised to spend the day here."
"Here? Promised who?" Rainbow leaned to one side, looking around Fluttershy and into the cottage. The small army of animals waved to her from within, and she stood up straight again. "Oh yeah, them. Well, okay then. Have fun." She hopped up, wings flaring and going into hover. "I'm sure I can find somepony to come sledding with me."
"I'm sure Scootaloo wouldn't mind. She likes extreme things."
"Hey, yeah, I'll bet she wants to come. I just gotta find her." She drifted back away from the cottage entrance, waving a hoof as she went. "Happy Hearth's Warming, Fluttershy!"
"Happy Hearth's Warming," Shy called back moments before Dash whipped around and bolted, naught but a prismatic streak left in her wake. Fluttershy shivered slightly and shut the door. Turning back to the living room, she found that a game was already being set up. Floor pillows were arranged in a circle and Harry was shuffling a deck of cards.
"Oh, what are we playing?" Fluttershy asked, walking closer to the circle of pillows. Harry grumbled something while she had a seat. "It has been an awful long time since we had poker night. Shall we play for a prize?" Several of the animals around her shrugged, a few nodded, but none seemed to dislike the idea, so Shy pulled the old set of wooden casino chips from the closet and hoofed them out.
Cards were dealt, bluffs were made, and chips slid all around the floor. Upon Fluttershy's fifth win in a row wherein half of her opponents folded, she put her cards down and quirked an eyebrow at the group. "Are you guys letting me win?" she asked with a little smile. The others collectively waved their limbs dismissively, and her smile disappeared. "Come on, now, I want a fair game."
Upon losing the next round, Fluttershy nodded slowly. "That's more like it. We're all friends here, after all, right?" Grumbles, squeaks, and chitters of agreement surrounded her, and she dealt another hand.
