Morning had broken in a snowy Equestria. Ponies everywhere were up early, especially in Ponyville as today was Winter Wrap Up day. Ponies all over the town were getting themselves ready for the day and Lightning Sprint was one of them. In her cloud home high above Ponyville, in Cloudsdale, the pegasus was up just as early. She was barely able to contain her excitement the night before and had struggled getting to sleep.
Happily flying around her bedroom, she went over to her wardrobe and opened it up. Inside was her Winter Wrap Up vest, which everypony had to wear for the duration of the day.
"Winter Wrap Up! Oh, I can't wait for this." Lightning Sprint said with a smile, pulling out the vest and putting it on. The cold winter air blew through the room through an open window, making her shudder briefly. "I thought I closed that."
Walking over to the window, she pulled it closed before scrunching her nose. The cold air made her nose feel slightly uncomfortable, making her take a step back from the window. A tingling sensation soon followed and Lightning knew what was coming, a small intake of breath later and she let out a sneeze.
"Achoo!" She sneezed, stumbling back, the sneeze bigger than she expected it to be. "Uh oh." She muttered.
Come on, Lights. It was just one little sneeze. You'll be fine, you'll be able to go to Ponyville and help out with the cleanup.
Then she sneezed again.
And again.
And again.
Ponyfeathers...
Over the next ten to fifteen minutes, she continued to sneeze, almost being knocked off her hooves multiple times. Checking in a cabinet in her bathroom, she looked for cold relief medicine but was unable to find any. Using both of her forelegs to look through the cabinet, she had nothing to stabilise herself when another sneeze came.
"Ah.... ah... ah...." she braced for it but nothing came. "Phew...... ACHOO!!" The sneeze physically launched her off her hooves, resulting in her landing on her rump, sliding backwards out of the bathroom door and then flopping onto her back in the hallway.
This is going to be a fun day...
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As the morning progressed, and the number of sneezes intensified, Lightning Sprint began feeling the illness much more. Her nose had changed to being a prominent shade of red, whilst also becoming more blocked. Her mane had also become quiet messy and dishevelled. She had attempted to get things done in her home and continue to ready herself, not wanting to miss out on the day ahead but the sneezes continued, each one strong enough to make her stumble.
After the struggle of getting to the front door, she placed a hoof on it, held in a sneeze, took a breath and then promptly surprised herself with another sneeze which knocked her onto her back once again.
"Why today of all days?" She groaned, looking up at the ceiling. "If only there was a way I could- ACHOO! Ugh!"
Slapping her hooves on the floor a few times, like a filly having a strop when she couldn't get a toy she wanted, Lightning groaned again. That's went her doorbell rang, making her sit up.
Pulling herself to her hooves, Lightning stepped towards the door and opened it.
Standing on the other side of the door was a pegasus mare, her coat a light shade of grey whilst her mane and tail were on the darker side. A tornado cutie mark adorned her flanks and she was wearing a black scarf wrapped snuggly around her neck.
"Whirlwind!" Lightning Sprint exclaimed with a smile.
"Good morning, Lightning Sprint! How are you?" Whirlwind asked, only then taking in the appearance of the mare opposite her. "Wow, bad start to the day?"
"Not at all. I'm feeling fi- fi- fin- ACHOO!" Lightning tried to deny before the sneeze got the better of her, forcing her to turn away so she didn't sneeze on Whirlwind.
"I can see that." Whirlwind smirked.
"So." Lightning sniffled. "What brings you over, Whirly?"
"I was actually just passing by to see if you'd set off already but clearly enough you haven't and for good reason." Whirlwind answered.
"Good reason?"
"Lights.... as your friend I'm going to be honest. You need to go back to bed."
"I don't know what you're talking about. We're going to be late if we don't get going soon. Ah....Ah..........phew. See?"
Whirlwind narrowed her eyes at her. "That's besides the point."
Lightning Sprint let out an impatient huff and spread her wings, about to start flying. Whirlwind, on the other hoof, was having none of it. Moving in the way of the doorway and spreading her own wings, Whirlwind looked Lightning in the eyes.
"Whirl. Get out of the way."
"I'm not going to do that, you need to rest."
"I don't wanna let everyone down!" Lightning whined.
"You're not going to let anyone down, you're sick. You have a reason for not being there. I'll make sure to tell Rainbow Dash that you can't make it. I know she'll understand." Whirlwind told her, putting a hoof on her shoulder.
The two stared at one another for a few moments before Lightning Sprint finally relented and folded her wings.
"Fine, you win Whirl. I'll stay home." Lightning said with a sigh.
"It'll be worth your while, Lights. I promise." Whirlwind said with a smile.
Lightning was about to say something but felt another sneeze brewing. She reared back, causing Whirlwind to duck for cover out of the doorway, then let out the sneeze. The sneeze once again took her off her hooves and threw her back into the house.
Whirlwind trotted over and looked down at her. "The sooner you start resting the better."
"Just go before I change my mind." Lightning said with an eyeroll.
With that, the two said their goodbyes and Whirlwind made her way out of the house. Taking flight, she dropped down through the clouds and headed down towards Ponyville.
Watching her friend vanish from view, Lightning Sprint pulled herself up off the floor and walked towards the couch, promptly flopping onto it with a dissatisfied groan. Now I wanna go even more. Pulling her head up from the sofa, she sniffled and groaned once again. It didn't take long for her sneezes to come back.
Turning over, she looked up at the ceiling as her thoughts took over. She began to think about Winter Wrap Up Day in Ponyville and how everyone would be getting to work in their teams and making everything look presentable for the first day of Spring.
"Dash will lead the pegasi team, no doubt." Lightning said to herself softly. "She'll probably even sing about it, knowing her."
Before she could mention anything else about the day she was missing, there was another ring of the doorbell. Lightning's ears perked at the sound and she turned her head in the direction of the door, pulling herself up and walking back over. Opening the door again, this time she was greeted by a red coated stallion, his white mane, tail and muzzle matching the colour of the snow being gathered down below the clouds.
"Lightning Sprint! You're here!" The stallion exclaimed.
"Hey RC." Lightning Sprint said nasally in response.
"My name isn't even that long, do you have to shorten it more?" RC asked.
"Come on, Red Cross, you know you love it." Lightning responded.
Red Cross rolled his eyes and smirked. "Listen, I can tell from that bright red muzzle that you're feeling under the weather."
"Oh haha, under the weather, cause we live in the clouds."
"That's not even what I meant!"
The two narrowed their eyes at one another before letting out a soft laugh.
"You always know what to say, huh?" Lightning smirked.
"Just get the rest you need, will ya?" Red Cross said.
"Doctors orders?" Lightning Sprint asked with a wink.
"Very funny. I'm sure if Nurse Redheart could fly she'd tell you exactly what I'm telling you." Red Cross answered.
"Okay okay, Red, you made your point."
"Good. I'll stop by later with some soup or some hot chocolate, if you'd like?"
Lightning zipped forward, her muzzle pressing against Red Cross'. "With cookies?!' She asked, her tail wagging like a puppy's would when being offered a treat.
With a sigh, Red Cross nodded. "I'll swing by Sugar Cube Corner and grab some."
Stepping back from the cookie loving mare, Red Cross cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Ponyville.
"They're gonna need you down there." Lightning Sprint said, smiling at the stallion. "Plus, you can't get cookies from up here."
"I won't forget about them."
"You're the best."
"Hey, that's what friends are for."
Sharing a wave, the two bid their farewell and Red Cross took off, soaring down through the clouds as Whirlwind did before him.
Lightning paused for a few moments, looking out across the sky before closing the door and heading back over to the couch. Sitting back down, she picked up the nearest cushion to her and pulled it close.
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The day went by, dragging on forever, Lightning had shifted into multiple positions on the couch as her boredom increased. She couldn't go anywhere thanks to her cold, as well as the fact she would be sent back home before she even landed in Ponyville. She had gotten to the point where she began tossing the cushion she'd picked up into the air and catching it over and over. Hours had passed which felt like days and all Lightning could do was sit and think about what everyone down in Ponyville would be doing at that moment in time.
She imagined the citizens of the small town coming together to clear away all the elements of winter. Shovelling the snow, planting seeds to allow the growth of plants, making birds nests, cutting the ice away. As each thought painted a picture in her head of each of her friends going about their business, she glanced in the direction of the door. She smiled, thinking about her friends who had come to see her. Of course, they didn't know she was sick until they got there but their visits were welcome nonetheless.
Shuffling around on the couch, she picked her head up and looked back towards the kitchen. Maybe a snack?. Hopping down off the couch, she headed into the kitchen and began looking through cupboards for something she could snack on. As she looked, she started to find less and less things that were quick and easy to eat. She sighed softly, sniffling once more before yet another knock came from the front door.
"I must be popular today." She muttered with a giggle as she turned and walked to the door, pulling it open for the third time. This time, her gaze tilted down in the direction of her newest visitor.
"Hi!" The small changeling opposite her said with a happy smile.
"Chad?" Lightning Sprint asked in disbelief at seeing him standing there. "How did you get up here?"
"I used my lasso." Chad responded without faltering.
"Makes sense." Lightning said.
"I brought tea." Chad said, pulling out a small black teapot that was gently letting out steam from the spout.
"How is that- You know what? Nevermind, come on in." Lightning said, shaking her head and stepped aside, letting him walk in.
Chad did so without hesitation, trotting through the door. "Nice place you got here."
"Thanks." Lightning Sprint responded.
"Rainbow Dash mentioned you weren't feeling to well so here I am to help." Chad said, smiling once again.
"I guess Whirlwind passed the message on." Lightning said to herself before looking at Chad. "So how is the day going so far?"
"Well, it started out pretty good but then Twilight wasn't sure about how she could help out. She tried helping out the pegasi but without wings that wasn't gonna happen. Then there was the bird nests with Rarity and that... was an experience, but the ice skating with Pinkie Pie was fun." Chad began.
"So Twilight managed to help her?" Lightning Sprint asked.
Chad gave her a 'what do you think?' type of look that she promptly nodded her head at in understanding.
"Well, what about helping Fluttershy and Applejack?" Lightning asked.
"Well, with Applejack the snowploughs needed pulling in order to plant the new seeds but Twilight seemed to... how can I put this?" Chad started.
"Crashed and burned?" Lightning asked.
"She caused a bit of a kerfuffle with a plough."
"What kind of kerfuffle?"
"A magic sort of kerfuffle."
"Magic?! Why did she-?" She attempted to exclaim before a sneeze interrupted her, making Chad duck out of the way.
"Bless you. Trust me though, she knows what she needs to do." Chad said with a confident smile.
"What about the animals with Fluttershy?" Lightning asked.
"Assuming which animal you're waking up is more difficult than you think."
"Fair enough."
The two continued to talk with one another as Chad poured out a cup of tea for Lightning Sprint and brought it over to her, which she gratefully accepted. Balancing the cup in her hooves she gently blew on the drink and took a sip from it.
"Well? How's it taste?" Chad asked, an adorable expression on his face.
Lightning couldn't help but smile at his expression. "It's amazing! Did you get this from Fluttershy by any chance?"
"Nope. I made this tea myself." Chad answered proudly, sticking out his chest.
"Really? Well I've gotta say that I'm impressed." Lightning said with another sip of her tea. "Wow, this really is good."
Chad continued smiling until it grew to almost cartoonishly large size. "Thank you."
Lightning giggled and sipped the drink once more. "Is there anything else that needs doing today?"
"We're getting to it. There's a lot going on but we're organising it. Twilight is too." Chad answered.
"Oh? Well I'm glad to hear she's got something that she was able to help with."
"Yeah, she sure does love helping out."
A smile grew on Lightning Sprint's face and she nodded.
The two continued to talk about the day down in Ponyville and what had gone on throughout it before it was time for Chad to take his leave. As he turned towards the door, Lightning Sprint placed down her tea cup on the table next to the couch and stood up, walking with him to the door.
"I hope you feel better soon, Lightning." Chad said, beaming a smile.
"Hey, no need to worry, I'll be in tip top shape in not time." Lightning Sprint said, bringing a hoof to her chest.
"I'll be expecting it. Bandit's gonna come check up on you soon." He informed her, pulling out a magic lasso and begin to twirl it.
"I'll make sure to make room for him." Lightning muttered jokingly, watching the lasso before Chad swung it out to the nearest cloud.
"Make sure you take it easy, the more rest you get the better you'll feel." Chad told her.
"I will, take care Chad." Lightning said, smiling at him as he tugged the lasso and hopped off the cloud.
"Byyyyeeeeee" he said, his voice getting quieter as he descended.
"I'll never understand that kid." Lightning said with a giggle, turning and walking back inside, closing the door behind her. Trotting back over towards the couch, she sat down and picked up her cup of still warm tea and took a sip. Clearing her throat, she smiled and sipped once again.
Relaxing, she placed the cup down and softly exhaled.
"Those cookies had better be nice and warm."
Author's Note
Hey there everyone. Me again. Another short story for you all today, the shortest that I've done yet.
If you check out my good friend Alpha Wolf's stories and the Winter Wrap Up episode, you'd see Lightning Sprint wasn't involved because of being sick. This is what happens from her point of view.
All comments are welcome.
I'm considering doing a longer term story in the future as well as continuing these shorter stories too. I hope you'd wanna see that from me.
Take care all!
