//------------------------------// // Winter Snow // Story: A Moment of Happiness // by Rakoom //------------------------------// Winter Snow Anypony else than old Shoelace would probably not be as surprised as old him, but he thought he was being attacked by some animal for a moment when Lily bounced around the bed. "Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" she cheered while continuously bouncing about. Shoelace couldn't even react before the little filly beamed down the stairs. Shoelace was pretty much completely awake now, opening the curtains right in front of his face would have had less effect than that little filly made. Lily was standing on a chair she had pushed towards a window. She had the happiest expression she could make painted over her face. She rushed to the door and grabbed a scarf that she swung around her neck one throw. Then she rushed outside and jumped into a pile of soft snow. Shoelace had just gotten to the door before the party had started outside. Shoelace sighed and shook his head at the scene she made. But he had a smile on his face as he went inside again, he lit the fireplace anew so that the house would stay nice and warm before wondering what to do. Maybe he should have some food ready when that little foal was done playing in the snow and needed something to warm her up again. Lily literally bathed in the snow. The scarf was big and warm, and she wasn't in the snow long enough to get cold. She could go on like that ALL morning if she wanted to. Winter was her favorite time of the year, even though it was pretty bad the day she met Shoelace. "But no time for sorrow," she thought for herself. It was her fault that she went outside, not the winter. She also met Shoelace because she went into the blizzard, so it wasn't so too bad after all! She heard the birds chirp in one of the trees. She had seen some birds before, but not too many up close. She trotted closer, standing under the tree. She heard it again, a group of birdies maybe? Or maybe even a nest! The tree had lots of branches, and it didn't look too slippery. It was good that Shoelace had learned how to cook a good and warm soup - although it was the only food he was really decent at making. They had bought a lot of ingredients for it too, so he could even spice it up with some more goodies for Lily. He grabbed more and more ingredients he knew would work just fine without adding TOO many flavors. The stove started warming up and no smoke in sight, good. But he should probably check on Lily, who knows what she was doing at this point? Shoelace trotted out the door. It was cold, but he didn’t plan on staying outside for long. "Now, where is she?" he asked himself. The snow was riddled with hoofprints everywhere, so it would be nearly impossible to find her by looking at the snow. "Lily?" he trotted further out the door, looking back and forth for any signs of her. He called for her repeatedly, but didn't get an answer. A sudden giggle caught his attention. He trotted closer to the source but couldn't find her. He ended up standing and listening at the birds chirp, listening for Lily. "Lily?" he repeated once more. "Shhh, up here," she whispered. Shoelace the sound didn't come from around him, nor from behind any of the piles of snow around him. Shoelace looked up, and his heart sank in his chest when he saw a hoof waving at him from the tree. Far, far above him. "Lily? What are you-" "Shhh, you'll scare away the birds," she said. Clearly she wanted to see them, and it looked like she had succeeded in getting to them. "P- Please come down," Shoelace begged. "That tree doesn't look safe." He trotted a little back and forth in unease. "Psssh, it looks fine to me," she replied to him. Suddenly a big lump of snow fell next to Shoelace with a thump, nearly stopping his heart. "Don't worry, that was just my bad," she said to him. But now he was seriously worried. "Lily, I-" he started in an attempt to try reasoning with her again. But his start of a sentence was interrupted by some noises above him from Lily. "Woah, woah, watch out!" Lily said. The birds flew away, and snow fell everywhere. Shoelace could hear a branch breaking, and then he saw the little filly falling. Shoelace wasn't very talented with magic. Sure, he was very decent with practical things in the house. But he didn't really excel at it, especially now that he grew old. Luckily, his reflexes and sharp mind quickly thought out what to do. He quickly gathered up as much snow as he could with his magic into one pile, focusing it all under Lily. The pile was almost instantly large enough, and not a moment too late either. Lily dived into the pile with her head first, halfway disappearing into the snow. Shoelace's heart threatened to make a jailbreak through his chest, but now he could let the boulder in his stomach fade away. He pulled the little foal up by her legs - since she obviously couldn't get out by herself with half of her body submerged in the snow. She gasped for air and shook some snow out of her hair. "That was fun! Let's do it again!" she cheered. Shoelace sighed again and put the little rascal back on her hooves. "Maybe we can, later. Come on, I've made you some soup," he said. He thought silently that she would be the end of him, but it seemed as if she never would run out of fun. Lily was tucked in a big blanket on the couch, while Shoelace sat comfortably in his biggest chair. Lily appreciated the good soup, but she wasn’t content just yet. "Can't we make big piles of snow like that again? Please? It was so much fun!" Shoelace sighed again. "Tell you what. If you eat your soup now, we can throw water on the snowfoals to make them into icefoals!" he said, purposely saying ice a little louder. He couldn’t have predicted her response more accurately. She gasped loudly about such a cool idea. "And- and we can make another one as big as you!" Lily cheered. Shoelace laughed, it was still some time before dark. Still a little time before the big moment...