As any resident of Cloudsdale could tell you, the city was at its most active during the coldest months of the year. On the ground below, the sharp bite of winter drove families indoors to gather round warm hearths, share warm drinks, and bury themselves under thick coats and blankets. But a city of pegasi was not so easily hindered; theirs was a race built for high altitudes and low temperatures. Even on the chilliest winter nights the air was abuzz with activity, and the paved cloudstuff streets were filled with lively hustle and bustle. Ponies moved from shop to shop, glowing window to glowing window, hunting down Hearth's Warming gifts for loved ones, or simply seeking a quiet space to chat with good friends, nibble on a bagel or a donut, and breathe in the comforting scent of coffee and confections.
On one particular evening, along one particular sidewalk, just as flurries of snow began to swirl down from high overhead, strolled two fillies. The taller of the two moved slowly, stopping here and there to gaze with longing blue eyes into the bright store windows, wishing and wondering aloud why they couldn't just find a nice, cozy bakery or bookshop and rest for a while, taking shelter from the snow. But the smaller filly would scowl, and tug at her friend's scarf, and prod her sharply with a sky-blue hoof, saying, "Come on, Fluttershy! We're only half a block away!"
Eventually they reached their destination: a broad-windowed shop, its glassy storefront lit with a glamorous white light, and guarded against the snowfall by a wide awning. By the time they came under the awning, a light dusting of snow had settled on each filly's mane. Fluttershy tenderly brushed her head dry with a hoof, and then reached out, offering to do the same for her friend. "Oh, here Rainbow Dash, let me get your – "
Before she could finish speaking, Rainbow shook her messy, multicolored mane with such violence that a shower of snowflakes went flying in all directions – including Fluttershy's face. Though the sudden sensation of cold and wet made Fluttershy wince, she couldn't hold back a giggle when she saw the frizzy, frazzled state of her friend's hair. Catching her reflection in the glass beside her, Rainbow had to laugh as well.
"Okay, here we are," announced Rainbow once her laughter had abated. "Here's where the coolest thing in Cloudsdale is!"
"Pegastyles?" Fluttershy read the bright neon sign above the door. "But, Rainbow Dash... you always said you hated fashion."
"Well, mostly just the frilly frou-frou stuff my Aunt Featherwind's always trying to foist on me. But check this out!" Rainbow lifted a hoof and pointed, directing Fluttershy's eyes to a tall, pale ponniquin that stood proudly in the nearest display window. It was garbed from head to hindquarters in a bold blue bodysuit, streaked down the front and around the ankles with yellow lightning. "A real. Full-sized. Wonderbolts uniform. Seriously – the coolest thing, right?"
"Oh, um... yes," Fluttershy answered timidly, looking the suit over. It was smooth and glistening, made from some aerodynamic fiber-mesh, woven so close it was nearly textureless. The insignia on its flank caught her eye: a white-winged bolt of lightning, identical to the symbol on her friend's blue scarf. "You're right. It is very cool."
"You can say that again," Rainbow agreed, looking up in awe. "And someday – someday, I'm gonna be wearing one. Just you wait."
Fluttershy could see her friend's face reflected in the frosty glass, her magenta eyes sparkling with wonder and delight. And although her gaze was fixed hard on the uniform, she could tell that the little blue filly's mind was elsewhere. She could see, deep in the black of Rainbow's eyes, dreams of dazzling aerobatics, pitches and rolls and climbs, and long intertwining trails of gray smoke. She could hear, faintly, as from a great distance, the excited squawk of an announcer's voice, the thrilling whoosh of a skilled flyer passing overhead, and the gleeful roar of an appreciative stadium crowd. Then Rainbow blinked, and the dream vanished from her eyes as quickly as it had appeared.
"I asked my dad if they had one in my size," she said. "He said they probably wouldn't."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Eh, don't worry about it. I don't need some fancy uniform to know I'm an awesome flyer." Rainbow grinned, but a sad spark of wonder seemed to linger in her eye as she turned away from the window. "C'mon, let's get out of here. There's other places I wanna check out."
They trotted on down the sidewalk, through the forest of legs belonging to the older, taller ponies that moved heedlessly about them, and under the shadows of pegasi that passed overhead, winging their way through the night air. Rainbow led the way, moving purposefully, and Fluttershy trailed along very close behind her. At length the sidewalk rounded a corner to the right, and to their left was spacious square of cobblestone cloudstuff, glowing yellow under the friendly light of lampposts. At its center stood a circular fountain, white as spotless marble, its crystalline pools and spouts of rainbows frozen solid by the season's icy breath.
"Wow," said Rainbow. "I'll bet those ponies on the ground are freezing their haunches off."
Fluttershy nodded worriedly. "And all those poor animals – little badgers and bunnies and moles – oh, I hope they've all got warm places to sleep!"
"Heh," Rainbow laughed, glancing at the cutie mark on her friend's flank. "Yeah, you would be worried about those, wouldn't you? Don't sweat it, 'Shy. They've got this system going down there, where whole townfulls of ponies help get the animals ready for winter."
"Really? I mean, I knew there were ponies who took care of animals, but…."
"Oh yeah. That's what my mom used to do," said Rainbow casually, as if in passing. "That was back when she lived in Vanhoover. Every winter she'd help the earth ponies dig rabbit holes or something like that."
"Your mom?" A sudden spring of interest welled up in Fluttershy's mind; this was something Rainbow had never mentioned before. "Do you think, um… do you think I could maybe talk to her sometime? I'd love to learn about animal care from somepony who knows it really well…."
Something in Rainbow's expression darkened, and the brightness went out of her eyes like the glow of a gas-lamp turned suddenly down. "Uh, yeah," she began, rubbing the back of neck with a hoof. "I don't really, y'know… I don't really see her that much anymore."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Dunno. Dad doesn't really like to talk about it."
"Oh, um... oh."
An uncomfortable silence descended over the fillies, falling on them so heavily that they both felt the need to sit down. Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to raise her timid voice again; she felt as though she'd stumbled guilelessly into a gloomy and unfamiliar patch of woods, or stepped with careless hooves on something precious and sensitive. Her sullen eyes wandered, unable to meet her friend's gaze as a chill wind blew down the street, biting their faces and tousling their manes.
The silence lingered.
"Hey," said Rainbow at last, her voice just a bit brighter. "Wanna go check out the toy store?"
A tiny smile reappeared on Fluttershy's lips, like a flicker of warmth in the cold. "Yes," she answered, nodding tepidly – but then a sad realization blew through her mind, snuffing out the flame. "Oh, but I can't. My parents told me I needed to be home by eight."
"Well, what time is it now?"
In answer to Rainbow's question, a bell began to toll, loud and solemn, ringing through the streets from the direction of the city hall's clock tower. Fluttershy listened, counting along with each tone of the great bells as they counted out the hours. An excited hope fluttered in her heart at the seventh stroke, but crashed gracelessly back to earth at the eighth.
"Whoops." Rainbow's face flushed. "Guess we lost track of the time. Hope your folks don't get too upset."
"It's all right," Fluttershy assured her. "I, um… I think they're getting used to it by now."
"Heh. Yeah. We've made a habit of staying out pretty late, haven't we?" Rainbow stood up. "Well, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow."
"Oh. Okay." Fluttershy stood as well, giving her head a gentle shake to dislodge the snowflakes that had settled on it while they had been sitting. "Good night, Rainbow Dash."
"G'night, 'Shy."
With a final parting nod, the two fillies turned from each other and struck off in opposite directions. Fluttershy's cloud house stood on the far end of the city's Central Cloud, safely distant from the noise and light of the big city – and sadly distant from her best friend's downtown apartment. She reached down and gripped her scarf in her mouth, giving it a tightening tug to guard herself against the wind; it would be long, cold walk back home.
"Hey, Fluttershy! Wait up!"
Before she had even made it across the square, Fluttershy was stopped by the quiet clip-clop of Rainbow's hooves racing across the cobblestone to catch up with her. She turned around, greeting her friend with a mixture of confusion and pleasant surprise. "Yes, Rainbow Dash?"
"Hey, uh... I just wanted to, um…" Rainbow seemed to squirm uncomfortably. "Look, thanks for coming to look at that uniform with me. It really means a lot."
"Oh, it was no trouble at all – "
"Yeah, yeah, you always say that. But I know you, 'Shy. I know you're not really into all that Wonderbolts stuff. You'd rather be on the ground digging rabbit holes. But you're the only friend I've got who'll listen to me rave about them, and go to their air shows with me, and follow me around on a night like this just to look at some stupid costume in a window." Rainbow laughed bitterly at herself. Then her voice sank down to a soft whisper, her tone delicate and vulnerable. "And… well, really… Fluttershy, you're the only friend I've got, period. So thanks. Thank you. For everything."
Fluttershy was silent as she stared back into Rainbow's eyes; there was something in them that troubled her deeply. Just minutes ago she'd seen her friend's wildest dreams in those deep black orbs, but there were no dreams to be found there now. Instead, she saw loneliness. She saw long trudges down grimy streets towards unlit, unwelcoming windows with the curtains drawn shut. She heard the slam of the front door echo through the empty house, signaling the beginning of another long night alone. She sensed a craving, a longing, a desperate pleading for warmth and affection that went unanswered day after day – save for those blessed hours that she spent with her only friend.
Moved beyond words, Fluttershy reached out her forelegs and wrapped them around Rainbow's neck in a tender embrace.
"Hey! Ew! I don't do hugs, remember?"
"Oh! Sorry." Fluttershy let go of her friend and drew back, face flushed and ears drooping. "I'm so sorry. I forgot."
"Hey, it's no big deal." Rainbow gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder before standing again, moving to walk away. Before she left, she turned her head one last time to offer her friend a warm, appreciative smile. "Happy Hearth's Warming, Fluttershy."
Though she could see Rainbow's eyes glistening in the light of the lampposts, Fluttershy opted not to comment on it. Instead, she simply returned the smile with equal warmth. "Happy Hearth's Warming to you too, Rainbow Dash."
And with that, they parted for the night.
With renewed purpose, Fluttershy trotted down the cloudy streets, passing away from the noise and commotion and bright yellow lights of the city and into the wide fields of wispy cloudstuff under a deep, inky sky that glowed with brilliant white stars. Her heart glowed as well at the thought of coming home, because she knew that, as late as she was in returning, a warmth hearth, warm hugs, and a warm mug of hot chocolate still awaited her there.
She desperately hoped that Rainbow Dash could expect the same, though in her heart she knew otherwise.
