Dashing Through the Holiday!

CRASH!!<

Fluttershy jumped at the sound coming from outside her kitchen, then ground her Fluttershy Teeth as she recognized the Source. "Rainbow..." She carefully set the pie she was preparing back onto the counter, wiped her hooves, sighed, and then went out into her living room.

Only to see the prismatic pegasus trying to disentangle herself from Fluttershy's curtains, as she'd tried (once again!) to use the window instead of the door. The mare in question stopped her struggles as she felt a Presence, then slowly raised her eyes to see a little yellow pegasus just...staring at her...

...menacingly...

"Oh! Hey, Flutters! I was just coming over to see you!" she tried, valiantly. She finally managed to free herself from Fluttershy's custom curtains and sat up. Pulling an empty container from one of her saddlebags, she sheepishly offered it and asked, "Got any sugar? I'm out."

Fluttershy's Fluttershy Glare deepened.

Two Weeks Earlier

"I need my special order NOW, Miss!" yelled the tourist. "My plans have changed, and I'm throwing a HUGE party tonight for all of the important ponies I know, ponies that would never set hoof in this miserable little town! Even so, I was informed that this is the best bakery outside of Canterlot, which is the only reason I bothered to come in here at all! So! If you cannot meet my needs, I shall take my business elsewhere! AND I shall inform ALL my friends of how unprofessional..." her voice trailed off as the Shop became unnaturally still all around her. The hairs on the back of her neck arose as a "survivor's instinct" kicked in at the silence, and she slowly turned around. Her eyes grew wide as the crowd parted, and she saw a little yellow mare standing at the entrance of the Shop. Whispered, dark tales of The Before Time® flashed into her mind as she tried to swallow past a suddenly dry throat, then she turned back to Pinkie and stammered, "On...on s...second thought, there's no real rush! Hearth's Warming isn't for another two weeks; I'm sure my party guests can make do with something less...appealing until then!"

"Nonsense!" laughed Pinkie. "If there's one thing I know how to do, it's to make sure ponies have a good time at a party! You just wait right there!" Before the tourist could further protest, Pinkie zipped to the back of the kitchen and then bounced back with a confection that wasn't quite what the tourist wanted but similar. As Pinkie held it out, she added, "I'm super-duper sorry it's not exactly what you ordered, but I'll throw in some yummy chocolate eclairs for free! Okie dokie?!"

With a swift, nervous glance over her shoulder, the unicorn quickly said, "No, no...that's quite alright!" Throwing a huge amount of bits on the counter, she grabbed the box, turned tail, and bolted (giving the yellow mare a WIDE berth!) as Pinkie called after her, "Hey, wait! This is too much!" but she was already in the wind!

Pinkie watched the silhouette of her outline slowly fade into dust from the force of her exit, then asked, "Now, what got into her?" Then her face brightened as she saw her marefriend approach the counter. "Oh! That explains it! Hi, Fluttershy!" then glomped her with a fierce hug! Fortunately for her, after dating the exuberant party pony for the past year, she'd gotten used to her...enthusiastic greetings, so she was well prepared, and hardly ever got bowled over anymore!

Usually!

She gave her a Fluttershy Pat on the back and asked, "Hi, Pinkie...have you seen Rainbow?" Pinkie gave her one more Squeeze, stood back, and shook her head.

"Nope! Haven't seen her all day!" She then held her at arm's length and slightly frowned. "Why...is something wrong?"

Fluttershy looked away. "Maybe." She looked up. "I think she might be doing...that...again this year..." Pinkie gasped as her hooves flew to her mouth.

"NO!"

Later that same afternoon, a certain mare opened her eyes, yawned, and then sat up sleepily. She smacked her lips as she looked around her bedroom, noting the empty cider jugs and pizza boxes, yawned once more, then stumbled out of bed and into her bathroom for a quick shower. After brushing her teeth, she flitted downstairs to her kitchen and opened her fridge.

Only to find a few apple (cores) and a half-empty jug of milk.

She shrugged, downed the milk in two gulps, wiped her mouth, threw on a scarf and her wool hat against the cold, and then headed out her door in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. If her stomach clock was right (and it usually was), the Apples would be just sitting down to their noon meal, and they always had plenty to go around! As she touched down in the snow outside the farmhouse, she noticed all the Hearth's Warming decorations and thought to herself, I should probably get on that with my house, and then knocked on the door. She heard, "Come on in, Rainbow!" before she'd even opened the door, so she grinned and went inside.

"How'd you know it was me?" she asked as she tied on a bib and sat down at the proffered seat. Applejack exchanged a wry look with the rest of her family.

"Who else would it be a-comin' over fer lunch unannounced?" But it was doubtful Rainbow even heard her, for she'd already filled her plate and was tucking in with gusto! As she'd expected, there was a veritable mountain of food available, and it was several minutes before she came up for air, sat back, and sighed.

"Sooo good, Apples!" she breathed. "I really, really needed this!" as she rubbed her now pudgy belly. "You all really know how to spoil a mare!"

Applejack smiled. "Yew know yer always welcome, Dash..." and here she frowned, "...but...you ain't thinkin' about lollygaggin' agin this year, are yah?"

Rainbow sat up. "What are you saying?"

AJ leaned forward. "Yew know whut Ah mean: Waitin' until the last minute ta dew all yer shoppin' an' decoratin', drivin' the rest of us nuts with yer last minute "requests" (making the air quotes with her hooves), an' bein' a nervous wreck 'cause yew ain't dun everythin' on time!"

She waved a hoof dismissively. "Pshhff! Don't worry! As fast and as organized as I am, I'll have everything done in no time!" Applejack exchanged another look with her family as they all shared the same skeptical expression.

"That's whut yew said last time."

Hearth's Warming Eve

"What was I thinking?!"

Rainbow fluttered outside her undecorated house and hugged herself nervously. Below her, every house in Ponyville twinkled and sparkled with magical lights and garlands; every home had the wonderful smells of holiday feasts wafting up into the air...and all the stores were closed! Then, she put on a determined expression and dove back into her house. If she couldn't decorate, at least she could whip up a cake or a pie so she would also have the holiday smells in her house.

Going through her pantry, she soon realized she was missing a few vital ingredients...but she knew where she could get them! Throwing on her saddlebags, she flew out of her home and made a beeline to her best friend's home. Surely, she could help her!

Fluttershy Sighed a Fluttershy Sigh. "What else do you need, Rainbow?"

Dash placed a hoof behind her head and said, "I...(heh heh) I...kinda waited until the last minute, so I...kinda need to do well...everything..."

Fluttershy closed her eyes and Sighed again. Then she opened them and said, "You can use my kitchen...it has everything you'll need." Rainbow's eyes flew open, and she grabbed her in a fierce hug!

"ThankyouThankyouThankyou, Flutters! I won't forget this!" With that, she flew into the kitchen and the sounds of pots and pans being thrown about and a few dishes being broken could be heard. "Sorry!" she called from the kitchen as Fluttershy shook her head, scribbled a quick note, and then quietly went to her door and left her home.

An hour later

Rainbow came out of the kitchen holding what MIGHT be considered a pie, and called out, "Hey, Fluttershy! Do you have any...Fluttershy?" She looked around, expecting to see her, then heard what sounded like...tapping? She looked down to see Angel Bunny glaring up at her while tapping a back paw and holding a note. "Is...that for me?" she asked. He rolled his eyes and held it up to her, then she took it.

Rainbow Dash:

Please come to your home. There's something I need you to see.

Fluttershy.

"Huh. I wonder what this is all about?" She wrapped her pie(?) in one of Fluttershy's dish towels and flew off in the direction of her home, only to stop in mid-air once she came within sight of it.

She could hardly believe what she was seeing!

Her house had been completely transformed into a 'Winter Wonderland,' with garlands, tinsels, and twinkling lights...far greater and more festive than anything she'd ever done before! As she landed on her front porch and opened the door, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a loud "SURPRISE!" from all of her friends who had waited inside! The outside was nothing compared to the inside, for they had outdone themselves there as well: the stairs were looped with tinsel, the walls were festooned with lights, and an enchanted tree had been set up in the center that twinkled and shone with unicorn magic!

Dash was nearly speechless. "How...how did you do all of this?!" Fluttershy stepped forward.

"We've been planning this for weeks, Dash...ever since we knew you were waiting until the last minute again..." Rainbow blushed.

"I'm...really sorry, everypony...but thank you...thank you all!" Fluttershy stepped forward and gave her a hug.

"We love you, Rainbow Dash."

Then, her hug tightened to the point of being almost painful, and she growled, "BUT...don't do this again..."