Snowy evenings were beginning to become a pet peeve of Scootaloo's. They irritated her to no end, a chilly reminder of her difficulties with flying. It wouldn't be so bad normally, but when wind is pretty much a guarantee, there isn't much room to be excited. Letting out a mix between a grunt and a sigh, she forced her wings to flap faster, ignoring the numbing pain of the frost that was building on them.
The snow filled her eyes like the aftermath of a bright camera flash, blinding her. She struggled to keep aloft with all the commotion going on around her, but she could feel that she was going the right way through her wingtips. Just barely.
Stupid cold. Stupid winter. Why tonight of all times does it have to be snowing?
Sensing ground nearby, she let out a barely audible sigh of relief. Slowing down to the bare minimum, she bent her front hooves to execute a landing and lifted her wings into a solar position.
The feel of the soft, cold blanket of white on her hooves was comforting. Not in the warm, happy feeling of a blanket or a mother's hug, but the exhaustive finality of completing a long journey home. Stepping through the snow, her eyes still shut tight, she stretched out her aching wings. They felt like lead, but it was better than letting them get any more numb than they already were. She needed warmth.
The sounds of trotting turned from squishy crunching to the hard sounds of timber. Shaking her mane loose of excess snow, she opened her eyes and was greeted with the familiar sight of her small log cabin. It wasn't anything spectacular; it had sharp, shoddily-crafted poles of spruce making up the base and a cracked rooftop of marble that looked like it was ready to fall over.
Home sweet home, she thought with a small, relieved grin.
Pushing open the sturdier door, she shook off more of mother nature's frosty particles. Quickly shutting it, she began to take off her vest; a simple blue one designed for protection against the cold weather. There was a torn space near the front of it, patched up with a sewing job that Rarity would faint at the sight of. The holes for the wings were uneven and were riddled with various other rips closer around them.
Setting it onto a clothes rack, she looked around the hall with a sigh. It was filled with more shoddily-crafted furniture, ranging from decently stable to something akin to the old construction sites around Ponyville back in the day. One of them with significantly higher quality than the rest held a picture frame on top of it. The photo itself showed a sky-blue mare with a rainbow mane flying alongside a smaller, orange mare. The rainbow-maned one looked ecstatic, though it seemed like she was trying to cover it up. The orange mare did nothing to conceal her excitement, her small wings flapping in a breeze that wasn't visible, but one that Scootaloo could feel just by looking at the picture.
A bittersweet smile crossed her face, but it didn't last long before it turned sour.
She shook more snow out of her mane and turned to a small, plain metal box that was completely out of place with the rest of the hall, but was decorated with various stickers and cloth to seem more stylish.
It's gonna be empty again, Scootaloo. Like it always is. Moving out here was a mistake, nopony ever seems to remember I'm even here.
In contrast with her mind's eye, she moved a hoof to open the latch, listening to the grating sound as the metallic box opened. To her surprise, the box contained a letter, a colorful light-blue on the envelope, and a spectral heart acting as the seal. It seemed too good to be true, but to receive anything at all was an improvement from the usual routine of staring at the back of the metal box.
Putting off her curiosity, she tucked the letter under her wing and walked down the carpeted hall. Everything in here gave her a feeling of familiarity. The antiques on the shelf reminded her of home, of her aunts. The hats on the wall reminded her of her dad, and all the adventures they had gone on together. The camera sitting on a table reminded her of her mother, and the calm patience that was waiting for the perfect photo to present itself.
Trotting into the living room, she set the letter down on the sturdy table and sat down on the couch, the fabric an orange fur borrowed from her neighbors. The envelope was crisp. Lots of care was made to make sure it arrived in peak condition. Scootaloo idly noted she was shivering slightly, though despite the cold, she doubted that was the reason. She took in a deep breath before picking the envelope up in her hooves and carefully sliding the letter out. She didn't want to damage the paper in any way.
Unfolding the letter, which was colored with the same blue as the envelope, she began to read.
Dear Scootaloo,
Hiya squirt! Did ya miss me? I hope so, cause I missed you. Sorry for the absence, I've been really busy with the Wonderbolts lately. So many rookies to train and so little time. I know I could give training duty to someone else, but as captain, I feel like it's my responsibility to make sure they become the best fliers they can be.
Sorry, went off on a tangent there. Anyways, how are things for you up in Yakyakistan? Make anything new? Any new friends? Yaks can be pretty difficult to get along with, but they're sweet under the surface.
Seriously, I'm proud of you. When I was your age, I was afraid of falling whenever I was flying in places other than open sky. You? You're out in probably the coldest part of Equestria–only second to the Crystal Empire–making a name for yourself with nothing but your wings and a set of tools. Of course, I blew past my fears eventually, but that doesn't invalidate all you've accomplished at all.
I had a feeling you needed a bit of a confidence boost; constant snowstorms and frosty weather can get somepony down no matter how strong they are. Even if you're okay, I'm still really proud of you, Scoots. You're doing something I could never hope to do. Oh! By the way, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle say hello. They heard I was writing another letter and wanted to be a part of it. I told them they could just write something themselves, but, well, you know how those two can get.
Anyways, keep it up squirt! I may be awesome, but you're even more awesome than me!
Your friend, Rainbow.
The whole letter was clean and neat, and visages of prior attempts were barely visible underneath the writing. Rainbow's cloudburst cutie mark was stamped over the signature. It was evident that she cared about making the letter look as good as possible.
Rainbow.
Tears built up in Scootaloo's eyes, and for once, she didn't bother wiping them away. These weren't sad tears, like the cold sprinkle of the rain on a dark night, but happy tears. A smile crossed Scootaloo's face.
You cared.
She sat up from the couch and placed the letter back in its envelope, sealing it carefully. She proceeded to walk back to the hall, where the picture frame on the table was. Suddenly, it didn't feel bittersweet to look at anymore.
With great care, she placed the envelope next to the frame, moving it a few times until it was in the perfect position. Staring at the blue paper and the photo, Scootaloo grinned.
Why so blue, Scootaloo? You didn't come out here to be sorry for yourself. Let's get to work on something new for Rainbow.
As she stepped into her workshop to begin work on her present for Rainbow, a single thought ran through her mind past the determination.
Thanks, Rainbow. You really are awesome.
Author's Note
Happy Holidays Alaborn!
