I woke up the next day to find Rarity sleeping beside me, I smiled instantly and kissed her on the forehead and she smiled right back whilst sleeping. I got out of the bed slowly and looked through the window, I noticed that there were orange leaves by a tree. Looks like Autumn is here and about time too, it's been a long while since the Season changed.

I looked back at Rarity and I did ponder, where could we go to find an ideal location for us to move in together?

Just then, I saw a rainbow whoosh outside, I knew straight away that was Rainbow Dash and I also saw her pet Tank in his helicopter ride, it had been a long while since we last saw him and then I remembered back during my school years that tortoises tend to hibernate for the Winter.

I wasn't sure if Rainbow knew that already, but that isn't really much of a concern for me. Today, I'm going to get a new house built in an empty spot where the tree library used to be, I'm sure Twilight and Spike won't mind if I have a big house built there so I can move all my stuff and have loads of room for Rarity as well.

I was about to get back into bed with her when I heard a door knock which woke up Rarity.

"Don't worry, Rarity, I'll get it." I whispered to her.

"Thank you darling..." she replied sleepily.

I walked downstairs and opened the door to see Rainbow and Tank.

"Hi Rainbow and Tank, long time no see."

Tank yawned and I could see that Rainbow was not happy.

"Yeah, hi Bond...I was gonna ask you why you're in Rarity's home, but that's not important, listen you got a minute?" she asked.

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well Tank here seems to be on the slow side today."

"Hmm, I think I know why, because I did my voluntary work with Fluttershy years ago as well as doing a report during my school years."

"That's nice, but what's wrong with him, then?!"

Tank yawned again with a smile.

"Well, he looks fine, he's just going to hibernate."

"You do realize he's not a bear, right?"

"I know that, Rainbow, but Fluttershy says that when the weather grows cold and less food is available, many animals hibernate to conserve energy. It's like taking a really long nap during winter, and then they wake up in spring. And see? Even tortoises do it! When the time comes, Tank will leave and dig into the ground."

Rainbow didn't seem convinced by what I was saying.

"But don't worry. He'll reappear when the spring sun warms the ground back up." I added.

"Come on! Tortoises don't hibernate! Somepony put that in there as a joke."

"It's not a joke."

"Well then Fluttershy must be wrong!"

"Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy has studied all about animals ever since she landed in Ponyville I'm sure she knows what she's taking about. Besides, Tank needs to hibernate. It's healthy for him, just like sleeping is healthy for us."

Rainbow snorted. "What-ever. Okay, thanks. Come on, Tank."

"Where are you going?"

"To get a second opinion from a real reptile expert."

"Reptile? What could Spike possibly know?"

"That's what I'm gonna find out, laters..."

She then flew away, grabbing Tank with her and I closed the door.

"Well...that was impolite of Rainbow."

I heard and saw Rarity walking downstairs in her robes.

"Is everything alright dear?" she asked.

"I guess so. Rainbow came here to talk about her pet Tank and how he's getting tired and I told her about hibernation and she just refused to believe the true facts."

"I see, I guess she is in self-denial about it, I'm sure she'll come around to accept it before Winter comes."

"Yeah...as long as she doesn't do anything stupid...but anyways, I've been thinking about the new house idea I have in mind."

"Really dear, what kind of house should it be?"

"Well obviously, it has to be a big one for the both of us to live in and it has to be as close to this boutique so it can be less of a problem."

"And where should we have the house?"

"In the now empty area where the tree library once stood."

"Umm, are you sure, dear? Because I don't think Twilight would like the fact that you're suggesting having a bigger home for us to move in where she first began her journey."

"It wouldn't hurt to try and you raise a good point, perhaps I could ask Twilight about it if she's around."

"I think she's up in the clouds with the pegasuses, making sure everything is ready for the Winter."

"Alright, I'll go and see Twilight and ask her...would you like to come along?"

"As much as I like to, darling, I've gotta start working on a new dress plan since Nightmare Night will be approaching again during the Autumn."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that...okay, I'll see you later, love."

"See you again, darling."

We then shared a loving and passionate kiss and I left her home. I then flew up and went around Ponyville, looking for Twilight and it took me a bit of a while until I heard a loud voice coming from the trees where most of the leaves were being taken down.

"If you think hiber-you know, that napping thing-is so cute, why don't you go do it?! Somewhere far away from here?!" I heard Rainbow yell.

I landed down to see Pinkie, Twilight and Applejack nearby, busy digging up the leaves into bags until they saw Rainbow looking mad.

"What are you looking at?! Pinkie Pie and I are just having a conversation!" she added.

"Look, Rainbow Dash." Twilight said. "We all know how upset you are about Tank hiber-"

"Shhhh! Don't say that word! That's what started this all!" Pinkie said, cutting her off.

"We all know how upset you are about Tank." I added. "But you shouldn't take your anger out on your friends."

"Who said anything about anger?! I didn't say anything about anger! I'm not upset! And I am not angry!" Rainbow shouted. "Do I look angry?! Come on, Tank! Let's get out of here!"

"If I was my old self, I would've said that she must be on her period." I said out of the blue.

The mares gasped.

"Well thank Celestia, ya not that random and crazy." Applejack replied.

"But seriously, maybe we should leave her be for now to blow off some steam, whilst we finish off the work." Twilight advised. "They'll be bringing in the snow clouds from Cloudsdale soon."

We then nodded and I helped out with the leaf clearing and by the time we were done, several snow clouds were pouring in and the Winter was about to start, I said to the girls that I would see them later and look for Rainbow. I then thought of Cloudsdale, perhaps she's in her home with Tank, I flew upwards and to her home, I knocked on her door, but got no reply.

I then looked back and saw Rainbow in the distance going to the center of Cloudsdale.

"Hmm, what's she up to now?" I asked myself.

I then followed her to a huge building where the snow clouds were coming out of, I took another way in so as not to be seen by her and I greeted myself to the pegasi and they allowed me to explore the building as I please. I hid behind a column and took a quick look to see Rainbow sneaking around.

She trotted in her a uniform as a disguise I guess and stopped to see a hallway leading to a door, I followed behind her sneakfully and she opened the door to see a huge room that looked like a laboratory. I activated my stealth spell and held the door calmly as she and Tank went in.

"The winter lab. We're in, Tank!" she said happily. "Now we just gotta figure out a way to shut it down!"

She then wrapped Tank's leash on a microscope. "Wait here!"

I wanted to see what she was going to do before moving in, so I waited for the right time.

"Hm, we could get rid of these clouds, but...that's still not big enough." she then gazed at the big liquid bottle. "Slam dunk! With no water, they can't make clouds or snow! They can't make winter!"

Yep, I knew I had to step in, so I deactivated my stealth spell and appeared from behind her.

"Can I help you, Rainbow?" I asked smugly.

Rainbow gasped and turned around. "Bond! What are you doing here?!"

"Me? I could ask you the same question."

"But I asked you first, right?"

"I think we both know why you're here and I have to be honest...this has to be the stupidest thing you're about to do."

"Don't try and stop me, I don't want Tank to go into you know what!"

"Well since you are in complete denial over the true facts of nature, I'm just gonna come out with it...what you are about to do could potentially damage the Equestrian climate, we NEED Winter as much as we need the other Seasons, it is what helps makes the world go round and all lifeform to live. But I have to say, you are behaving like a baby and you need to stop it!"

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Rainbow shouted. "You can't tell me what to do!!!"

"Don't throw a fit, you could break something in this room!"

"I don't care...if you're gonna stop me from having the best time with Tank, then I'm taking you down!"

She then whooshed at me, but I stepped aside and she ended up crashing through another door and into a room full of jars that had something inside them, one of the jars however began to wobble and dropped...I knew that this was about to get ugly!

Several jars fell and exploded knocking Rainbow into the switch and suddenly the machine began to spin up, but it appeared that they were powering up too much, I could see that Rainbow was knocked out. I grabbed her and put her on my back and I took the leash with Tank on it and flew through one of the windows to escape.

I then flew to a safe distance from Cloudsdale and then looked back to see a huge pile of snow clouds crashing down onto Ponyville, I feared the worst was about to happen, I shut my eyes and then opened them up to find the whole town now completely covered in snow, looks like Winter will be here after all.

When it was safe, I flew down gently to where I saw the rest of the girls in one area and brought Rainbow and Tank down gently.

When Rainbow woke up, she shook her head and looked to see Tank still safe.

"Uhh, you okay, Tank?" she asked calmly.

Tank yawning was his only reply, then the other girls came by around us.

"Bond, what happened darling?" Rarity asked.

"Well, it's a bit of a complicated story, I'll explain later, I think Rainbow needs somewhere warm to rest." I replied.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?" Twilight asked.

"Wh- No..."

"Let's get you and Tank back to your home, you should be fine soon." Fluttershy suggested.

We nodded in agreement and borrowed Pinkie's balloon and same as before with the cloud walking spell by Twilight, we all traveled to Rainbow home and placed her on the bed with Tank beside her. Fluttershy made a warm soup and after a while, Rainbow began to feel a little better.

"How are you feeling, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.

"Whatever..." Rainbow replied.

"The poor thing looks so sad!" Rarity exclaimed. "Just what are we doing to do?"

"I don't know what we can do." Twilight replied.

"Buck up, Sugarcube. You just ain't yourself these days." Applejack said.

"Whatever..." Rainbow repeated.

"Uh, how can I say this tactfully...you've lost your sparkle, Rainbow Dash." Rarity said.

"I hate to say this, but, well... you've become...! A party pooper!" Pinkie added.

"Didn't you hear me? I said 'whatever'. " Rainbow exclaimed. "I don't know if you're here to cheer me up, or what, but I'm fine."

"Let me handle this, girls" I said. "Rainbow Dash, I was trying to give you some tough love earlier, but I wasn't saying the right words. But this time, I know what I have to say...your winter is going to be pet-less."

Rainbow suddenly perked up and began to cry loudly, holding on to Tank. I felt so horrible saying it, but there was no other way to get through.

"Bond darling, why did you do that for?!" Rarity asked.

"Because she'll never get past this until she lets it all out."

Rainbow continued to wail in sadness, I then saw Twilight bring Applejack forward.

"Uh... it's okay. Tank'll come back in a few months." Applejack said.

"Months?!" Rainbow cried. "I don't want him to go!"

"Alright, alright. There there." Fluttershy said, trying to comfort her.

"Thank ya Bond. Get her to stop." Applejack said.

"She's got to be about done by now." I replied. "Can't be too much left in there."

Rainbow cried more before she began to go quiet and sighed sadly.

"Feeling better?" Fluttershy asked.

"Uh-huh." Rainbow sniffed before she started crying loud again.

"Oh, you poor, poor thing..." Fluttershy then hugged her before she started crying.

"I can't bear to see Fluttershy cry!" Rarity said before she began feeling emotional.

"It's just heart wrenching!" Pinkie added and cried as well.

All four of them got into a group hug and I saw Applejack shedding a tear underneath her hat, Twilight saw it, though.

"You too?!" she asked.

"Nope, ah'm good." Applejack replied.

"It's alright, Fluttershy. It's alright." Rainbow said as she began to stop crying again.

"Look, everypony, I know how hard it is to say goodbye." I said. "But that doesn't mean Tank will be gone forever, you just gotta be patient and let nature run it's course, you have to trust me and everypony else when we say that by Spring time, Tank will be back."

"You think she's done, or just getting a third wing?" Applejack asked quietly.

"I don't know... Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"I think so. I feel better. Really, I do." Rainbow replied sadly as she got off the bed, "Thanks, everypony, I don't know what I'd do without you....or him..." she then paused to look at Tank. "Oh, Tank... I'm sure gonna miss you!"

She then hugged him, we then all joined in for a close group hug, it had been a long while since we did that and it felt emotional. It took a lot of my strength to resist crying, but they knew why. My past has emptied all the tears I had, there was none for me to shed so I had to be strong.

Shortly afterwards, we left Rainbow and Tank to spend their last moments before he goes into hibernation and sometime later, we put on our warm  clothing and began to enjoy the first day of Winter, it felt great to be ice skating again, although Spike was being a bit of a showoff.

"Well, guess we're starting winter with a bang!" I said as I made a few snowballs.

"The fun's come early! Yee-haw!" Applejack exclaimed as she bucked a snowball at Pinkie who fell and made a snow angel.

"You think we could mess up winter every year?" Pinkie asked. "It gets way less work!"

"Uh, I don't think Rainbow Dash could handle it." Twilight replied.

Rainbow then showed up with Tank in her saddle bag. "Riding that entire season from Cloudsdale to Ponyville was awesome. I thought you guys might like to say goodbye to Tank. He's ready to hibernate."

"And when Tank finishes hibernating, I'm gonna throw him the biggest welcome home party ever!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Or wait. Should it be a 'welcome above ground' party? Or a 'happy wake-up' party? Maybe an 'it's about time!' party!"

"And I'll design him a very special suit just for the occasion, whichever one it ends up being." Rarity added.

"I'm glad you're feeling a little better, Rainbow." I said.

"Yeah, me too." Rainbow replied before she put a hoof on my shoulder. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, I knew you were trying to do the right thing."

"It's alright, I knew you weren't yourself at the time, but it's good to know that you're much better." I then looked at Tank who was put down on the ground by Rainbow. "So Tank, you ready to go and hibernate?" I asked him.

He just yawned and began walking into a soft grounded tunnel underneath the snow. We then all said goodbye to him whilst Rainbow said that she'll read one last Daring Do book to him, so we left them be and enjoyed the snow activities.

When it was approaching towards the evening, Rarity and I decided to leave and walk back to her home for a hot cocoa.

"Might I say that you were looking gorgeous in that winter outfit." I complimented.

"Awww thank you darling, they were the outfits that I wanted to make today and I am proud to have finished them." she replied proudly.

We then lit up the fireplace and got comfy together with our drinks. I had then remembered what I was meant to do earlier.

"Rarity, I forgot about my housing request today, I just remembered."

"It's okay darling, you'll get another chance to ask Twilight." she replied. "Now let's just snuggle up...no more words."

"Alright..." We then kissed passionately before cuddling up close together underneath a rug.

It was indeed Winter, but the love I have for Rarity is like celebrating the Summer time! I couldn't believe that Rainbow would go so far to keep Tank, but the point is that she has finally accepted what has to happen and she seems back to her self. Oh well, it's time to sleep with Rarity. Next Chapter: Moving On Up Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 7 Minutes