Cliff felt cold, damn cold, a familiar kind that he had not felt in a long time. One that seeped down into the bones, bit at the tips of the toes and ripped the warmth from your very soul. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the whiteness of the snow which surrounded him, his breath escaping in white puffs of vapor.
The man stood up, dusting himself off in the process, and underneath it revealed a uniform, a dark olive drab winter jacket. On his shoulder, was the patch of the Second Infantry Division, the Indian head and on the other, three chevrons and a rocker, the insignia of a Staff Sergeant.
I haven't had worn these in a long while.
It was eerily quiet and as he looked around, he then recognized the hill upon which he stood, an infamous place from what felt like lifetimes ago. There was also a familiar entrenchment, one that wasn't too far from him and he began to trek toward it.
crunch crunch crunch
He approached a rudimentary machine gun nest, which was the closest, and upon arriving saw that it was empty of anyone and anything. He turned toward the trench itself to search further but he was stopped in his tracks by a loud yell.
"Jug-idaaaaaaaa!"
He snapped toward it in reflex and had his sidearm holster open in less than a moment, only for his hand to grab the biting cold air, the holster empty of his trusty weapon.
Shit.
A single Asian soldier charged towards him with an old Russian bolt action, bayonet at the ready. Cliff went to take his stance and put up a final fight - until his vision fuzzed and static filled his ears.
He awoke from the cold wasteland to a warm grass field. He panicked for a moment, not understanding how he got here, and some of the aftereffects of drinking came back with no small vengeance. The sun felt intensely bright to the eyes, his head spinning and a strong innate urge for water steadily increasing with time. Then the memories from last night rushed back into his head.
Did that really happen? Then where is-
He noticed a small scrap of paper in his lap, and upon inspection he saw his name written on it though the 'i' had a heart on top instead of a dot. The man opened it and inside was a small message.
I had to head back early.
See you soon.
-Sunny
P.S. XOXO
Cliff smiled at the cutesy note, as if he could not, there was even a light pink lipstick mark on it. The trepidation from the strange dream and slight adrenaline rush of his reverie, all but vanished from him.
Guess it's time to head home...
Cliff had groggily managed to stumble his way back to Elder Street. He was thankful that it was early enough that not many were out and about yet. Though the winter chill that resumed after he left the enchanted park, was all the encouragement he needed to hasten his trip regardless.
Once he arrived at the front door of his shop and found the right key, he inserted it and began to turn the lock-
"Ohhhh Clifford!"
He let out a breath of exhaustion, already feeling tired of the conversation before it even began. "Yes, Miss Bean?"
Of course it was her, the aforementioned mare who ran the Coffee shop. She stood in front of him at about five feet tall, with light brown hair and a cream colored coat.
His exhaustion at interacting with the hyperactive sweetheart of the neighborhood was due to her bountiful energy, which was simply too much for him. The hangover and the early hour not making it any better.
It was unnatural.
"Oh you know to call me Beebee silly dear, none of that Miss business. Anywho, I saw you go out on your date! So I knew you would be tired this morning and brought you a cup of coffee!"
A sweetheart-
"Ohhh and I just want to hear all about it! The whole neighborhood was in a tizzy about it! We thought you would never get a mare with how grumpy and lonesome you were."
-and a hyperactive earful.
He accepted the cup from her and continued on inside. "Yes, thanks for the cup but my lips are sealed for now, maybe another time."
Though before he could close the door and hasten his retreat, the mare blocked the door from closing.
"Just one thing dear! Will you be coming to the winter potluck for the neighborhood today? It will be around lunchtime and we all would appreciate it if you came."
Cliff knew that meant it wasn't really optional.
"Yes, I'll be there."
She gave him a little wave. "Too da loo!" Then allowing the door to close as she quickly departed. If she was any indication, the rest of the neighbors are a bit, atypical.
It's going to be an interesting potluck as usual.
After a morning ritual, he donned a nice pair of clothes, new blue jeans and polished light brown boots with a tailored white button up shirt, the sleeves still rolled. He briefly wondered if he should bring any cuisine of his own to the potluck but decided against it as there was plenty of cooks who would be attending; Parisian patisseries, daring delicatessens, and familial food would be available. The small community of Elder street drawing no small crew of strangeness. Not only in people but in eccentric eateries as well and much to the benefit of Cliff, as the standard diet of a typical pony left much to be desired for those of the omnivorous variety.
As much as he may seem reluctant to go, there was no shortage of thankfulness for the sincerity of his neighbors. The very same community which accepted an outsider like himself all those months ago, probably a year now, when he first arrived. The shock from the culture still reeled inside him then, as the pacified populace left a nasty passive-aggressive taste in his mouth. In his foolishness, he almost wrote off them off as well, preferring to seek isolation in his craft.
Through their kindness, albeit sometimes misguided or even detrimental, the lonely human began his journey in opening up the weary avenue for new people in his life. One that had been closely guarded, from his time in the warring wastelands, which had been all too fresh in his mind back then.
He headed toward the community meeting spot, which was a small little square and a well kept secret, hidden by the dense urban sprawl. It was a couple shops down, at the end of a small alley and through the dilapidated wood gate. Upon entering the small square, he saw magic heaters, tables, and banners with streamers adorned everywhere. What he didn't expect was the-
"Surprise!" The crowd shouted at him, causing the tall human to blink a few times in confusion.
"It's also your one year anniversary dear!" Miss Beebee said to him from the crowd. "Did you forget?"
He looked around at the assortment of smiling faces made up of ponies, griffons and other atypical species; he gave a soft smile, appreciating the thoughtfulness of the small group.
"It seems so, thanks everyone." He said with an appreciative nod to the group.
Everyone returned to the festivities, tables were set and next to them was a buffet of various culinary delights, including meat. Cliff approached and came across a griffon who was serving the meats. He was taller than the average pony and stockier, covered in light brown and accented by graying golden feathers on his head with a pair of matching wings. The griffon looked up from his delicacies and his beak opened wide upon recognition then turning into a big grin. The two gave each other a hardy hug with powerful pats on the back.
"Grüß dich mein freund! Was brauchst du?"
"Grüß dich Gunther! Ich möchte gern…Wurst bitte." Gunther loaded up a plate for Cliff with a large amount of homemade sausage, which he eagerly accepted.
"Danke! Wir sprechen uns später?"
"Immer, mein freund."
After he had cemented his plans to talk to Gunther later, Cliff filled up the rest of his plate with some mixed vegetables and desserts. He sat at the head of table after much insistence from Miss Beebee, as he was the man of the hour for this celebration according to her.
As he ate his meal, the man let his gaze wander and simply observed the bunch he called his community.
First, he noticed Sprung Spring with his fiancee. The earth stallion stood at about average height with a lithe build and was white with gray hair and tail. All of that contrasted by his golden irises, with clothing not unlike Cliff's except covered by little bits of grease. He was currently listening to his wife, the spectacles on his face slightly askew from the wrath that was being laid upon him about one thing or another.
The wrath-giver in question, Sugar Swirl, was a short pink unicorn mare with white hair. A new feature he just noticed was a slightly bulging belly that poked through her winter clothing. The two had been quite busy indeed, and that Cliff reckoned, was the source of her irrational behavior.
Cliff pondered for a moment about helping but decided against as he could almost see the verbal lashes from her tongue, like steel whips across the poor stallion's psyche.
His gaze wandered further.
He then spied the rest of Gunther's flock, his two twin daughters Josephine and Johanna, sat not too far down the table from him. They were much taller than their father, light brown and gold with sleek muscle toned figures, as was common for the females of that species. They noticed his gaze and both gave some giggles with flirtatious waves. The two were definitely well past the age of maturity now. It didn't help that griffonesses during the peak of winter are quite feisty with the males and Gunther always did approve of him being married to both his daughters, which only served to encourage them. To Cliff, that was too different even with what he had become accustomed to. That and he viewed them more as kids even if they weren't anymore, due to their history together from before Equestria as practically, a family.
He finally spied the last member, Gunther's youngest and only son, Oskar who was playing with the other children. A youth still at a very tender age, and wasn't bigger than most foals. He also had the same golden feathers but his browns were much darker, like his mother.
A more somber overtook the man's features at the thought of her fate. The impact of her untimely departure had done a number on the flock, one that had already been so thoroughly ravaged already. Cliff didn't have too much time to ponder it as a light brown wing blocked his view, snapping him out of the somber trance.
"Jeez, what's with the sour face big guy? Not liking your party?" Said who he recognized as Johanna and turned to her as she moved her wing out of his view. Up close he saw the styled feathers on her head, which was spiked forward in a rebellious style with the tips dyed red. Very much like her, being the more assertive of the two twins.
"No Joan, that's not it, just some random stuff on my noggin. Though I really like the food as usual."
Her meek twin poked out from behind her, the feathers on her head instead laid flat and styled to the side to partially conceal her left eye, as if to help her hide from the world.
"Uhm, well I hope you enjoyed the uh sausage. I prepared it myself..." She said with some timidness to her voice.
Cliff gave a soft smile to her. "It's great Jose, you really have a knack for it."
A big smile broke out across her beak as she retreated back behind her sister.
Joan then took a seat next to Cliff with Jose flanking him on the other side, they both scooted up close and angling themselves in provocative postures. The outfits only served to make the effect more powerful as they only had on small tight shorts with minimal tops that matched, thanks to their natural resistance to the cold, they could leave their endowed and athletic bodies on display in the chilly air.
"Anyways, we saw you looking at us. You finally gonna give us a chance big guy? We could ditch this place and head somewhere, more, fun." She gripped his thigh firmly, her intent not remotely a secret.
He let out a sigh. "Ya know, don't ya think it's weird to proposition your dad's friend, especially an old geezer like me."
She chuckled throatily, desire still dripping from her voice.
"You know our customs, my father already approves of you and even before that, we've already had these feelings for you. You're also not an old geezer to us, and it isn't like you have anyone else you're seeing right now... "
"Except there is."
A look of shock smacked her face, the response causing her to stand up and puff her feathers angrily.
Jose tried to move towards her to calm the angry griffoness down. "Joan please, as much as I care for him too, please don't make a scene..." But Joan just jerked away from her twin.
"Who is she huh? I'll challenge her right now for the right to court you!"
Cliff chuckled, even though she certainly was a tenacious fighter, being Gunther's daughter and all but against Princess Celestia? There was absolutely no chance. The chuckle only served to egg her on but before she could escalate further-
"Look, Joan and Jose, I do care for you both." Cliff reached out and grasped Joan's taloned hand gently, rubbing his thumb over the surprisingly soft texture of it. The gesture which served to calm down the normally assertive griffoness, who instead looked timidly away from his gaze.
"As family and I always will, but you know that type of behavior isn't allowed here, especially if I am willingly with her."
"Fine." Joan said quietly, almost to herself. Then she looked up at him, a hopeful look in her eyes. "Will you at least stop by more often? We still miss having you around like back in the old days..."
He nodded with a smile. "Of course, and I promise to spoil you both the next time I do."
Joan surged forward in her excitement and gave the big human an affectionate hug with her twin sister following suit, squeezing him like a vice from both sides as they rubbed their heads against his torso. After a few intense moments, they released him and quickly scampered off, giggles left in their wake. The typhoon of activity that was the feisty feathered females, now all but vanished.
I really need to stop spoiling them...
He felt a tug on his shirt and he turned to see Oskar, who looked like he wanted something but still hadn't worked up the courage.
"Hey bud, whatcha need?"
"Uh Mister K, ya want to come and play with us?" The small griffon boy coyly pointed over to his group of friends.
"Ya sure, why not, and I think I already what my role is..." The man stood up in a sudden manner, his arms dramatically raised to menace over the small griffon. A malicious smile followed and a guttural growl arose from his throat. The hatchling let out a little squawk and high tailed it. Cliff gave chase to him and all the other kids, all the while making melodramatic monster noises.