The snow bit into my fur, the feeling of sharp needles poking me prevalent in my mind. Though I may never admit to it, I hated this type of weather. The fact that I couldn’t change it without disrupting the delicate balance of nature was all the more frustrating, but that time would come with Winter Wrap Up.

No, stop getting sidetracked.

Everything as far as I could see was covered in the white powdery flakes of winter. The snow already on the ground was tossed and scattered by the wind, resettling in small niches. Behind me, the only hoofprints I saw were mine. I smirked at that. After all, only somepony as awesome as me would dare venture into a raging blizzard.

As my smile grew wider, I checked the bundle of cloth under my wing to make sure it was still there. Patting it lightly and shifting my wing a little to get a better grip, I pressed forward. The howling wind reminded me of air rushing past me, and I couldn’t help but smile even wider. Then again, air [i]was[/i] still rushing past me, albeit freezing… and cold. Stupid annoying snow. Why can’t you leave me alone?

Whatever. It’s not like I can’t handle it. I wouldn’t care even if I couldn’t. This was too important. At least for me.

Everything was covered in snow. Snow here, snow there, snow [i]everywhere.[/i] I shivered and gritted my teeth before sighing. This is all for a good cause, and I went here on my own. There’s no use in complaining now. I focused on the path ahead of me. I was almost there. How did I know? Well, the markers I had put this year on the leafless decidgici- decidu- deci- 

The markers I had put this year on the [i]not-spiky[/i] trees were pretty compelling, especially when one of them was in the shape of a tortoise wearing a flight helmet. Smiling at the sign, I hastened my pace. The cold was beginning to seep into my forelegs, which was pretty impressive considering the natural resistance to cold pegasi had for high-altitude flying, but it did not stop me.

Huffing and seeing my breath fog even more than when I had trekked out for this venture, I winced before continuing on. I could already see the specific tree I needed to go to in the distance, and I nodded to myself. One final stretch.

Breaking from the path and wading into snow that was up to my knees, I dug my way to the tree and stopped, sighing contentedly as I finally found myself exactly where I wanted to be.

Resting a hoof on the trunk of the tree, I inhaled shakily.

“Hey, Tank,” I whispered, rubbing the cold cedar trunk. “Sorry I’m late.”

The only response I got was the howling of the wind around me.

“Fluttershy was trying to look for her animals before the storm got worse and I lost track of time.”

Some of the snow at the base of the tree shifted, and my vision blurred.

“I know I said this last week, but… I miss you. Just because…” I gulped. “Just because it’s been few months doesn’t… doesn’t make it any easier.”

With a sigh, I looked around. Pursing my lips, I brushed snow off of the base of the tree and sat down, pulling the bundle from my wings. With an eager smile, I unravelled the contents of it, and was left with an adventurous-looking book.

“But look!” I said, patting the ground beside me. “A new [i]Daring Do[/i] book came out and I thought I could read it to you! It’s…”

I patted my face and felt it was wet with warm water, unlike the snow that was swirling around.

Closing my eyes, I smiled. “It’s the least I could do.”

Grabbing the blanket and throwing it over me so that the snow wouldn’t ruin the delicate paper pages, I cracked it open.

[i]“Daring Do and the Frozen Wastes of Faeridae[/i],” I began, and smiled even wider, the cold now seemingly a proper backdrop to such a title. Shifting against the tree to a more comfortable position, I continued.

“Daring Do ran as hard as she could with the limited vision she had, her clothes wet and dragging from all the rain that was falling. But even though it made her heavier, she would never abandon her trusty clothes, considering them almost like close friends that would never let her down…”