“You sure you’re going to be okay?” Starlight asked, cocking her head to the side as she lifted a single eyebrow. “It’s freezing cold out here.”
“After a big dinner like that? Of course! Trixie doesn’t need to live in a big fancy castle like you, after all!” Trixie said. “Now go on, shoo! Trixie will be fine.”
“I, uh... okay then. You wanna get breakfast tomorrow morning at Sugarcube Corner? It’ll be my treat!” Starlight said, taking a few steps towards Twilight’s castle. Snow fell from the heavens, coating everything in sight like it had been doing for the last several hours. She tightened her scarf, wishing that she’d worn something heavier to keep her warm as a shiver ran down her back. I should ask Rarity to make me a comfy saddle pad if nights are gonna be this cold...
“Trix—er, I would like that, yes. So long as we can get some piping hot coffee, you’ve got a date!” Trixie walked up the ramp to her wagon, her hoof resting on the doorknob. Silence met her ears, making her glance back in Starlight’s direction.
“A... A date?” Starlight asked as she blushed madly. There’s no way that she’d think of me like that... right? She has been a little more touchy around me lately, though she thought, her ears flicking back as a hopeful grin grew on her face.
“Oh, you know what I meant, silly!” Trixie said with a giggle and a dismissive wave of her hoof.
Darn... Starlight’s shoulders sagged. “Heh, yeah...” she said, unable to keep a little bit of uncertainty out of her tone. A shiver ran down the back of her neck again, no doubt caused by the freezing cold touch of the snow gracing her fur. “Well, it’s getting pretty cold out here, so I’m gonna go warm up back home. Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to sleep inside? My bed is easily big enough for the two of us!”
“Yes. My wagon is usually warm enough. Go! I’ll be fine!” Trixie said, shooting her a warm smile.
Starlight’s heart fluttered at her smile as it usually did when she saw it. Her blush deepened as she licked her chapped lips. “Alright, then. Goodnight!” she said, waving at her as she trotted up the steps of Twilight’s castle.
“Night! Don’t let the bedbugs bite!” Trixie yelled back before she closed the door behind her. Using her magic, she cast a small magical orb that hovered in the middle of her wagon, giving her just enough light to not step on the numerous objects and trinkets she used for her shows. Carefully making her way over to her thin, beat up, and rather smelly mattress, she flopped down on it and glanced around, looking for her blanket. “Ah, there it is!” she said, feeling sleep tug at her eyelids.
Trixie pulled off her mittens and scarf, setting them aside as she slipped under the sheets. Flicking her mane out of her eyes, she laid her head down on the pillow and sighed. “I gotta get myself a new mattress... This one just stinks, and Trixie cannot have a stinky mattress!”
Ten minutes passed, but for some odd reason, she still felt wide awake. The cold from outside seeped into her wagon, penetrating every essence of her being. The blanket that she was wrapped so tightly in did nothing to keep her warm.
Another hour passed. Trixie couldn’t stop shivering. Her teeth were incessantly chattering, and her horn was so cold that she feared that she would be unable to cast a small spell to warm herself up. Although, while such a spell would provide her with the warmth she needed, the spell would fade away if she was able to fall asleep, which in turn would leave her in exactly the same position that she was in right now. Why didn’t I take Starlight up on her offer? She wasn’t lying when she said that it was going to be freezing cold out tonight... It feels like it’s below freezing! She lit her horn, struggling to pour energy into it, but instead of the air in her wagon warming up, a few sparks sputtered from the tip of her horn.
As she pouted, a loud, sharp crack from above made her head whip up, her eyes wide in fright. Oh, nuts... Much to her disbelief, the ceiling started sagging, then part of it collapsed upon her, pinning her under a few feet of snow and many heavy pieces of broken wood.
Starlight woke with a jolt, her heart pounding in her chest as she listened to the sounds of heavy winds crashing against her windows. Pushing herself out of her wondrously warm bed, she smoothed down her chest floof with a hoof and winced as the cold air in the room bit at her fur. Doing her best to push it from mind, she glanced out of her bedroom window, worry gnawing at her heart as she looked down at Trixie’s wagon; the entire thing was almost buried in snow.
She placed the flat part of her hoof against the window and pulled it back a split-second later in shock. “Oh jeez... There’s no way that she’s warm in that wagon of hers, right?” she asked herself. Lighting her horn, she cracked open the window and winced as the coldest of breezes blew against her face, making the fur on the back of her neck stand up straight. “I really should go check up on her. At the very least, I can ask if she needs more blankets.”
After bundling herself with a few scarves and a thick wool hat that pinned her ears to her head, she trotted out into the hallway and down the staircase. Standing in front of the big doors leading outside, she took a deep breath, braced herself, then used her magic to open one of the doors, leaving it slightly ajar.
“Oh... my... gosh...” she said as she trudged through the snow. It reached halfway up her legs, coating her fur in an absolutely freezing cold white fluff. The warmth from her bed quickly faded away into nothingness, replaced by an ever-growing feeling of numbness that grew from the tips of her hooves. “I should have grabbed some mittens,” she muttered to herself. “And I really should get a saddle pad.”
Not only was the snow coming down heavier than ever, snow flurries blasted Starlight from all sides, the frigid air biting into her coat. She trudged along through the snow, barely able to see Trixie’s wagon. “Trixie?” she called out, pushing herself up the snow-filled steps of her friend’s wagon. “Trixie, you okay in there?” Starlight pressed her ear up to the door and listened as hard as she could, barely making out Trixie’s voice through the raging snowstorm. Lighting her horn, she pushed the door open, her gaze settling down upon her friend. “Trixie! Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” she asked as she darted forward, using her magic to rip the wood off of her friend. She wrapped a hoof around her foreleg and dragged her out of the snow.
“S-S-Starlight?” Trixie stammered out, struggling to push herself up with a hoof. “W-What are -y-you doing h-here?”
“I’m bringing you inside, that’s what! And I’m not taking no for an answer!” Starlight said, stomping her right front hoof for emphasis. She lit her horn and lifted her friend up, then carried her back out into the winter wonderland, shielding her eyes with a hoof.
“St-Starlight! It’s freezing out here!” Trixie said, curling up into a ball as she tried to conserve what little warmth she had left. “Ever hear of teleportation?” she asked.
“I can’t teleport anypony other than myself yet; you know that!” Starlight shot back as they neared the steps to the castle. She trotted up to the door, nearly losing her balance due to the numbness emanating from her hooves. “Ugh!” she said, pushing the front door shut with her forelegs. “There! Thank Celestia we’re back inside.”
“No, thank you,” Trixie said, rubbing the back of her neck with a foreleg. “I don’t think I would have lasted the night out there...”
“Yeah, me neither! What were you thinking, and why didn’t you just listen to me in the first place? You could have frozen to death out there, or at least you could have gotten horribly sick!” Starlight said as she trotted up the staircase. “You think you can walk the rest of the way on your own?”
Trixie shook her head. “My poor little hoovsies feel like they’re about to fall off, so that’d be a no,” she said. “You have a fireplace or something in your room?”
“Heh, I wish.” Starlight pushed her bedroom door open and closed it behind her as softly as she could, trying her best to not wake anypony up. “Sure would be a nice thing to have on a cold night like this. I do have a warm bed with lots of blankets, though!” She levitated Trixie over to her bed and hopped up on the bed beside her, ripping off of her scarves and mittens and tossing them over the edge of the bed. “And now to warm you up!” she said with glee, draping herself over Trixie’s back as she pulled the sheets up past their shoulders.
Trixie blushed madly as Starlight’s weight pinned her to the bed. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because friends take care of their friends,” Starlight said, wrapping her forelegs around Trixie’s cold, shivering body. She wiggled about, hoping that the friction from their fur rubbing together would help warm her up. “And because you’re freezing cold, and this is the best way to warm up a friend.”
“Couldn’t you use your magic? Wouldn’t that be easier?” Trixie asked as she squirmed into a more comfortable position.
“I suppose, but it would feel so impersonal. Besides, this is more fun. And comfy.”
“I can’t really argue with that,” Trixie said, an earnest smile gracing her lips as warmth started to return to her limbs. “Not that I would.” A light blush tinted her cheeks pink. “T-Thanks.”
“It’s not a problem, really...” Starlight felt herself blush as she snuggled in deeper. “You think it’s gonna take a while for your wagon to get fixed?”
“Probably...”
“I could help you repair it if you want,” Starlight said as she slipped over onto her side, keeping her legs wrapped around Trixie. She tugged her in as close as she could and smiled, for this was what her heart had desired for the last few months. She felt Trixie wrap her forelegs around hers, making her tail swish about under the sheets. Tucking her head in between Trixie’s ears, Starlight felt her chest fur floof up as warmth returned to her body. She lit her horn, tucked the blankets in all around them, then finally let herself relax. “You comfy?” she softly asked, forcing herself to keep from squeeing right into Trixie’s ears.
“Oh yeah. Why haven’t we done this before?” she whispered. “You’re so... warm! I love it.”
“Heh, I dunno. So I was thinking...” She licked her dry lips and nuzzled her. “If you want, you can snuggle with me until your wagon gets fixed. Like I said, my bed is big enough for the two of us, after all.”
“I’d like that.” Trixie nuzzled Starlight back as she finally felt sleep start to tug at her eyelids. As a yawn forced itself past her lips, she snuggled closer to her and whispered, “I’d like that a lot.”
