Purified Colours
It seems to Big Macintosh that the first snow is probably coming tomorrow, if not tonight. Interesting - it feels to him that it’s too early in the year for that. But the tiny flakes that fill the air tell no lies.
Macintosh realises that he’s running a bit late - he hurries his pace accordingly. He’s going to see his... Well, his marefriend. He’s still getting used to thinking of Fluttershy like that. Of course, it’s not as if much has changed since they started “dating”. Really, Mac thinks, the term “dating” is a silly one in the first place. What’s the difference between good friends and romantic interests? Well, he supposes if they were to kiss, that would be a little different.
But pushing the envelope in their relationship isn’t really a priority for Macintosh. He knows Fluttershy doesn’t care much for physical nonsuch like kissing, either. Truthfully, he doesn’t think that he and Fluttershy would ever have become “more” than friends if it weren’t for his sister Applejack and Fluttershy’s friend Rarity.
Presently, Mac comes into sight of the little cottage on the border of the Everfree. He sees smoke rising from the chimney - good. Fluttershy has been rather sick lately, and Mac has told her she needs to keep warm to recover, especially in these quickly dropping temperatures.
Entering his friend’s cottage, he sees her lying in her bed, sipping on some hot soup.
Fluttershy looks up at him from her bed with a kindly smile on her face.
She looks better, Mac thinks. That’s good.
He asks her how she’s been feeling. She tells him fine, then immediately disproves her own words with a dry cough. She isn’t fine. But she’s better than she was.
At Fluttershy’s timid request, Macintosh puts on a pot of tea. Before long, it boils, and Fluttershy and Mac then enjoy a nice, peaceful silence together. The two are perfectly content to sit and smile at each other, occasionally sipping at their beverages.
Hours later, it’s time for Mac to go home. He gives Fluttershy a hug (something he’s done since long before they started to “date”), and tells her to take it easy tomorrow. She shouldn’t get up too early, he says. Sleep is a powerful medicine, right? Right.
Big Macintosh leaves and returns home.
When Fluttershy awakes, she awakes slowly. She gradually becomes aware of a drop in temperature - it must have snowed last night. She slowly creaks one eye open, but to her surprise it’s still very dark inside her room. She thought it would be later in the day, but if the sun isn’t up yet, it can’t be past five in the morning.
She slowly falls back into slumber, reckoning she could use the extra sleep.
This time when Fluttershy regains consciousness, she’s aware of a pocket of warmth right in between her forelegs - it’s Angel. He must have crawled into her bed because of the cold... The cold... It’s actually remarkably cold. Why?
She opens her eyes again.
Um... What...!?
It’s still dark. This time she lifts her head off the pillow, and looks around the room. The window isn’t obscured in any way - the curtains are wide open. But there’s still no light entering the room. Fluttershy is utterly confused, but still convinced that it must still be before sunrise.
She remembers Mac’s words about conserving her energy, not getting up too early...
She falls asleep once again.
Fluttershy awakes, panicked. Surely she has slept far too late - her body is telling her so. She can tell by the slightest of aches in her joints and wings that her body has been in one position for far too long.
She simultaneously opens her eyes and rouses herself, slipping out of bed...
Then she stumbles into the dresser directly next to her bedside - she can’t see a thing! Fluttershy is absolutely astounded, and now she’s convinced that some sort of trickery is afoot.
Did... Did Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie pull another prank on me? What if they blocked my doors and windows? Am I trapped in my own house? That doesn’t seem like the sort of friendly prank Pinkie and Rainbow would do...
She quickly becomes accustomed to the lack of light, and locates her nearest window. She grasps the handle attached to the lower sash, and tries to lift it up. She encounters heavy resistance.
So she places her other hoof on the panes of the window - she’s surprised again by how cold they are - and tries to push up with both hooves. She can’t even budge it an inch.
Fluttershy peers through the window into the darkness beyond. It seems... Shallow, somehow. She was expecting... Well, she doesn’t know what. But it’s pitch black, surely there should be moonlight or light from the rising sun? It occurs to her that her window must be obscured - maybe by paint?
Her curiosity gives her newfound strength. She grabs ahold of the window frame with both hooves and heaves upwards.
The window snaps up, and suddenly Fluttershy is thrown backwards by a powerful surge, a tidal wave of force.
Forced backwards into her coffee table, she finds herself covered in... Snow? Fluttershy is much more confused than she is hurt.
Then realisation strikes her - she's been snowed in. The cottage is completely buried in snow. And judging by the force and weight of the snow that has filled her room, this isn't just a few feet, it has to be several storeys worth.
The revelation causes Fluttershy to stumble backwards in shock. How could this have happened? It doesn't make sense to her - how had this all fallen in one night? Yesterday night it had just dropped below freezing, now a quarter of her residence is a massive icebox.
Still slightly shocked, Fluttershy barely registers Angel's tapping on her shoulder. She looks at him blankly. Angel gestures to the other side of the room, towards Fluttershy’s fireplace and the dormant log laying in it.
It takes her a moment, but Fluttershy realises Angel’s suggestion is a good one. Considering how many unknowns there are in this situation, keeping warm should be a priority - she doesn’t know how long she’ll be stuck here.
Stumbling, she finds her firestarting supplies in a nearby cabinet and sets fire to the log. The murky dimness of the room is replaced by the orange glow of the fire.
Then she sits, without any idea what to do. Her mind wanders... And she comes to ponder what could be happening in the world outside. Other ponies in their homes... Are they going through the same thing as her? And... Oh no. Oh NO. The animals in the forest!
If the snow has covered her entire house... It has to have... The poor creatures must be buried alive in the forest...
Fluttershy starts to lose control. Tears begin spring from her eyes, unchecked.
Time passes. An hour, perhaps, of nothing but the silent sounds of a yellow pegasus weeping, and a small bunny rubbing close to her with no idea what to do.
A sizzling noise fills the room. Fluttershy glances up. Her eyes, now dry of tears, can't make sense of what she's seeing. The fire is inexplicably flickering and dying...
There's water dripping on it.
A few moments, and she realises what's happening. Not only is her entire house covered in snow, even her chimney is buried. The reason the snow didn't fill the fireplace initially is because of the cap covering the flute.
But now, the melted snow is dripping onto the fire.
Before long, the steady drip of water increases in frequency until the fire is almost completely extinguished. Fluttershy can't do anything about it - fanning the flames would only increase the heat and make the water drip faster.
Completely helpless, she watches the last tongues of fire die. How useless she feels. Before long, she is left in the dark once more.
The cold creeps in once again, eating away at her.
Her consciousness dims for what feels like a moment...
A curious scratching noise fills the room, rousing a weary Fluttershy from her slumber.
Her ears perk automatically, searching for the source of the sound and quickly approximating it to be coming from the snowed-in window.
Cautious now, Fluttershy rouses herself from her seat in front of the cold, wet fireplace. She timidly plods over to the mound of snow, listening closely...
It gets louder. A shifting sound that repeats itself every few seconds, drawing nearer...
Nearer...
Fluttershy can now see movement through the snow. She backs away, alarmed, giving a squeak of panic which, although above average volume for her, is still barely inaudible.
Then the snow bursts open.
Through the new entranceway stumbles a large, apple-red stallion with a blonde mane and fetlocks.
The newcomer shakes snow from his trimmed mane, and then spots the mare he's come for. The small yellow mare is trembling with her head buried underneath her wing in the corner of the room.
Big Macintosh approaches her slowly, then, as gently as he possibly can, touches her mane with a large hoof.
Of course, try as he might, he stills scares Fluttershy half out of her wits.
But after seeing who the invader is, she calms down immediately, her hopelessness replaced by optimism and a sense of security.
Big Mac sometimes has that effect on ponies.
Few words are exchanged as the two reconcile in each other's presence. What use are words when they can hold each other?
After the moment has passed, it occurs to Fluttershy to wonder how in Equestria Mac managed to burrow to her house from Sweet Apple Acres. A single Tunnel extends from her window back into darkness. Bewildered, she peers into it, seeing nothing at all.
But before she can ask about how Mac had managed to find her cottage in the snow, Mac has started digging again.
This time, it's on an upwards angle. The snow has formed a sort of sinkhole where it collapsed and rushed into Fluttershy's home, and the two ponies can see a faint glow of light coming in through the tunnel ceiling.
Mac essentially burrows towards this light, scraping away at the ceiling with his hooves. Before long, a loud shifting noise fills the air.
The snow caves in.
Fluttershy squeals again, momentary panic gripping her until Mac's head pops up from the pile of snow. He looks at her reassuringly, then raises his gaze to the broad hole in the ceiling.
Light! Bright sunlight shines through, the physical representation of the slight possibility of redemption from this dark nightmare.
Mac lifts Fluttershy up through the hole, and she finds herself in a pit of snow of which she is the centre. It's not unlike of the top half of an hourglass.
She scrambles up the side, not an easy task given her weak state. Mac has trouble too as he clambers out and begins to climb up the conical slope. Heavy, tired, and discouraged, they make for the edge of the steep pit, curiosity and a glimmer of hope driving them.
Mac reaches the top first, then turns and helps Fluttershy out onto the flatness. Luckily, the surface of the snow has frozen thick and seems solid enough to support the ponies standing on it.
Unluckily, on the other hoof, is the sight that greets them.
Snow.
Blank, white, vast, endless.
The distant horizon is completely flat, save for the mountains which are barely visible from this distance.
No snow is falling currently, the sky is a bleak white-grey blanket stretched taut - devoid of any features or definition whatsoever.
It's hard to imagine a more dismal sight. Both ponies feel exceedingly small. They huddle together silently.
Indeed, words are futile devices. The two friends have nothing to say.
Fluttershy and Mac start to walk.
