It's been awhile since I added a new Stormy/Moonglo fic, but here's one just in time for the winter season. Got the idea shoveling snow today. I may or may not do a Christmas themed story with these two; not sure at this point so for now, this doubles as a holiday story ![smile :)](./images/smilies/smile.gif)
Winter Fun
Moonglo stirred groggily, blinking and finding a soft glow of light near her face. She closed her eyes and pulled the blankets up over her head to hide the light and go back to sleep. She was surprised when the blankets were pulled back down and a set of bright green eyes looked down at her. Those eyes were attached to a large grin; this surprised Moonglo even more than the blankets being yanked from covering her face. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.
Rubbing her eyes didn’t change the scene in front of her. Stormy stood beside her bed with a huge grin on her face. Moonglo couldn’t believe that Stormy of all people was grinning so willingly. She’d never known Stormy to look like that or to bare her happy emotions so openly. Anger was one thing she displayed easily, but happiness was another story entirely. “What… what’s going on?” asked Moonglo.
“Come see!” called Stormy, taking her hand and pulling her out of bed.
Moonglo quickly got her footing. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“To a window,” replied Stormy, matter-of-factly. “There aren’t any windows in your room.”
Stormy led Moonglo into the hallway and then up the stairs to the main floor. Becoming impatient, she opted to head to the front door instead.
Moonglo tried to pull against Stormy. “Wait, I can’t go outside yet! I don’t even have my shoes on!” she protested.
Stormy ignored her comment and instead pulled on the heavy door, flinging it open. “Look outside!”
Moonglo took one look out the door before her hand flew to her mouth to cover the surprise she felt at the scene before her. “What… how…. You?” was all she could answer incoherently.
Stormy looked out at the white landscape before her. Everything was coated in a sea of whiteness. Sprite houses became large round white hills, and there didn’t appear to be any path across to the main land, as the bridge was coated in snow. The lake surrounding the Color Castle was frozen over. Objects that seemed so familiar were now mere white blobs. Stormy puffed up proudly as she studied her own handiwork. “I did it! The first really big snow storm in Rainbow Land for the winter season. Looks great, doesn’t it?”
“I thought you told Rainbow you weren’t going to make them so big anymore?” questioned Moonglo, still shocked.
“I did, but Rainbow already knew about this.”
“She wasn’t mad about it?”
Stormy shook her head, a secretive smile on her face. “Not at all. Go change and we’ll go outside.” Stormy herself was in her usual dress. “It’ll be fun.”
Moonglo suspected Stormy was up to something. She reached out and took Stormy’s hand in her own. “All right.”
The two girls descended the stairs into the lower level of the Color Castle. They split up to go to their respective rooms. Moonglo entered her room and saw the disheveled blankets from minutes ago. She shook her head with a smile and then changed into a snow suit that was pale blue and trimmed with pale pink around the sleeves, buttons, and legs. Shy Violet had designed an outfit for each Kid, making it thin and light, yet able to keep the wearer warm and dry. Moonglo pulled on a pair of pale pink boots, added gloves. The final touch was the pale pink toboggan. She trudged back upstairs to meet up with Stormy, not used to the extra weight her outfit and boots added.
Stormy was waiting for her in the main hall. She wore her usual boots, but had a dark green suit with lighter blue trim and a light blue toboggan atop her head. Her face lit up when she saw Moonglo, and she took Moonglo’s hand in her own. “Ready?” With Moonglo’s nod of agreement, she pushed open the door once more and the two of them stepped outside.
As soon as she stepped foot into the fresh snow, Moonglo noticed herself sink a few inches. Her body was warm, but she felt the slight chill of the wind against her face. Her eyes studied the land before her, and she was caught up in the beauty and calm she felt just by being in the landscape. “It’s so beautiful,” she commented.
She turned to look at Stormy, who only smiled more. Skydancer stood by her side. “Let’s go for a ride,” suggested Stormy. “I want to show you more.” She held out her hand.
Moonglo took Stormy’s hand and was helped up onto Skydancer’s back. She settled herself as Stormy climbed on. Stormy reached around her to grab Skydancer’s mane and Moonglo felt herself grow warmer inside. It certainly wasn’t the snow suit that was doing it.
Stormy spurred Skydancer, who took off at an easy pace. Skydancer was used to snow and easily made his way across the bridge to the main land. Stormy directed Skydancer with ease, guiding him to head into the forest. “Do you like it?” she asked Moonglo.
“I love it, Stormy. It’s so beautiful. It’s like magic,” she answered.
Beaming with pride, Stormy gave an extra kick to Skydancer, asking him to slow his pace as they entered the forest. They were surrounded by white trees, snow laying heavy on limbs. The air was quiet. Both girls looked up into the canopy of snowy branches. One of the branches shifted in the wind and dumped a small load of snow on the two. They giggled as they each shook the snow from their bodies.
The forest led the two into an open meadow. Moonglo got an idea. “Let’s stop here,” she suggested.
Stormy didn’t question Moonglo and halted Skydancer. The two slid from his back and into the soft snow. “What did you want to do?”
“Let’s build a snowman,” answered Moonglo with a smile.
“A snowman?” asked Stormy. “Like the children on Earth?”
“Yes!” answered Moonglo gleefully. “I’ve always wanted to try it.”
Stormy was hesitant to agree, but it only took one look at Moonglo’s happy face to change her mind. “Okay then. How do we start?”
The two girls worked together, rolling three different sized snow balls. They stacked them together with a little help from Skydancer. Moonglo searched out rocks to use for the face, while Stormy gathered the sticks for the arms. They each added the finishing touches to their creation.
Moonglo stood back and admired their handiwork. The snowman was twice their size in height, and looked charming with the shiny stones Moonglo had found. “It’s even better than the ones on Earth.”
Stormy smiled back at her. It had been fun to build the snowman. She was glad that she had helped. She moved to stand next to Moonglo. “It is,” she agreed.
Moonglo looked up at her and smiled. She leaned in and kissed Stormy softly. “Thanks,” she replied. It was then that she noticed the change in the sky behind Stormy. “Oh no! I need to begin working on the night!”
“I’ll take you back to the Color Castle so you can meet up with Nite Sprite,” said Stormy as Skydancer came to meet the two.
It didn’t take long before the two arrived back at the Color Castle. Night Sprite already had the bag of nite sprinkles and was wearing a yellow hat and scarf. He chattered happily when he saw Moonglo. Moonglo slid from Skydancer and went to meet him. She turned to Stormy, who stood by Skydancer. She smiled softly. “Thank you,” she said softly. Then, she and Nite Sprite walked back toward the bridge. Before she crossed, she went quickly to Stormy and kissed her cheek.
Stormy watched the two disappeared into the night. Her hand rested on her cheek, and she suddenly felt warmer than she had just a moment before. She sent Skydancer on his way and disappeared into the Color Castle.