A Cloak With No Dagger

by Rusty Parker

Prologue

A Cloak With No Dagger
Written by: Rusty Parker
Edited by: Wanderwing
================================================================================
-Prologue-

Swirling in the high winds, white crystals floated and fluttered from bank to bank. The flurries twisted and churned as snow piled heavily across the ground. Apple trees, which up till recently, had shown their lively green leaves and round, plump apples of all colors now went bare in the chilling onslaught. While just that morning the fields were green and the skies clear, winter had now claimed the land and the sky alike. Held in the freezing grasp of a brutal blizzard, the farm seemed insignificant and lost in the sea of white.

Yet still, Apple Cider could not help but appreciate the beauty of such a storm. As she stood on the porch, a small overhang barely keeping the sheet of white at bay, she pondered just how long the snow would continue to fall through the night. It had been about an hour since the sun had set, and since then, the mare had stood watching the shifting winds filled with flakes of frozen water. The cold may have bitten at her nose, it may have chilled her hooves and frozen her home, but it was also something to take comfort in. She had pulled in a very successful bounty of crops this year, and had plenty to help herself through the winter just fine.

Cider finally snapped to attention when it was clear that the snow would only continue to build up through the night. She wasn’t too keen on staying up so late on regular terms, a farmer had to rise with the sun, after all, but her duties as a farmer were over for the year now. Her blonde mane flowed too in the breeze, catching flakes of snow and holding them as she moved toward her plow. Her padded, orange vest and pure white scarf did well to shelter her baby blue coat from the cold, just as her white boots kept the wet slush away from her hooves. With wandering blue eyes, she found her plow up against the side of the house and wasted no time going to it.

The iron bar of the plow forced the cold through her vest as she pressed herself up against it. For a second, Cinder worried that the wheels would be frozen to the ground under all this snow, but it budged easily still. Using the plow, she was able to clear out a path that would later allow her to take the wagon out to town and pick up supplies she would need. While most would have simply waited till morning for a task such as this, the mare knew that heavy snow would only make this more difficult. She’d much rather go over the same track multiple times than have to somehow deal with a solid wall of snow all at once.

Within a few minutes, she was able to clear enough of a path to reach the road that lead to town. The snow had piled high for it having only been one day, it was already reaching her knees, but with being a farmer came strong legs. She could handle a lot more if she wanted, but then, getting cocky would also be her downfall. The banks around her rose much higher now, thanks to the added snow from the path she had cleared out.

Cider returned to the house, and then immediately set her focus on the barn. It was farther off than the road, and she’d need to reach if it she had hopes of eating any food that she’d stored there over the winter. Testing the plow, she let her legs ease up a bit, and stood tall and strong. With a breathe, she pushed her way to the barn, the flurries blasting her head on now as she went. She could feel the snow both blasting over her cheeks and forming on her forehead and nose. She had to wince to see with the blizzard suddenly growing so thick. Her teeth chattered a little in the cold, and it was plain that things were only getting worse.

Eventually she ended up against the barn, the path cleared. Relief spilled over her as she whipped the wet snow off of her face and felt her numb features return to life. It burned, but then, it also brought comfort to know that she didn’t have to face the wind on her way back to the house. As she turned the plow around, readying it to head back to her home, something caught her eye. She froze suddenly as a patch of blue emerged from a bank of snow in the distance. Blinking, she almost immediately abandoned her plow to run out to it. As she approached, the snow around the blue object shifted with the wind.

Panic filled Cider as she saw a lock of red hair emerge from a fold in the blue cloth. Without stopping to think, she dug into the snow with her boots. Eventually, she had uncovered enough of the dusty frozen water to make out a face. Her eyes clenched shut and cheeks turning purple, the filly was plainly out in the freezing cold for a while now. Tracks mostly filled with snow lead to the point where she had fallen, and here she lay.

Cider had so many questions, but more than that, she had many fears. She did not wait to see if the filly was alright, she did not try to rouse her or check her pulse. Lifting the cold, half frozen filly to her back, Apple Cider instead rushed back to her house, leaving the plow abandoned. She didn’t care about her fields or how beautiful the snow was so suddenly. If she was lucky, maybe she could save this filly… though it was up in the air. She had enough time in the freezing cold to become completely buried, after all.

Cider burst into her home and immediately tore off the wet, snow covered cloak that the small, yellow filly was wrapped in. The filly’s hooves were, in addition to nearly being frozen, cut and split in many places. She’d been running through the woods and without heed for herself… Cider wrapped the filly in blankets, her red and white mane poking out from the wrappings, and then immediately set her down on the couch near the fireplace. She set a pot of water on the fire, and let it reach a boil while she soaked a towel in it.

The filly had a burning fever the likes of which could kill, and likely had gained frost bite in many places. Cider, when she was finally able to catch a breath, looked her over. Her mane had a white streak down the side, and her right ear bore a bandage that covered most of it. While the water began bubbling, she pondered what had happened that could lead this young filly to end up collapsed and alone in a snow bank. And where were her parents? Surely she didn’t end up here alone. There had to be somepony out there looking for her right now. For the time being, she decided it was best that she simply made sure the filly had the best chances she could of making it through this… she’d need to call the doctor over tomorrow once this storm was gone.

Ringing out the warm towel, she placed it onto the filly’s forehead. “You’ll get through this,” Cider whispered. “I just know it…” The howling winds did not end until long after the mare had fallen asleep on the floor beside the couch.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! Been a good long time since I've written anything big so I am starting with this; a short story I have thought up to get my head back in shape for writing. It will have from 3 to 5 chapters and likely will be linked to Chronicles of the Glow in some way. Hope you all enjoy it!

~Rusty