Chapter 3: Shelter From The Storm
Hours had probably passed as I kept walking down this snow-covered road. My mind was slowly getting duller and I felt my fingers numb as the cold got more unbearable. My face was slowly growing icicles and I felt my beard and my hair getting heavier. The wind was also slowly picking up and to make matters worse? My body was shivering uncontrollably and I started clenching my arm around my body as I kept moving on.
I need to find shelter or start a fire, if not I would die from hypothermia and this second chance would have been wasted.
As if my wish had been answered, I saw something in the distance, a cabin! I’ve never been so happy to find an actual sign of life in this damn winter wonderland. I saw that the windows were either covered or barricaded but didn’t care as I ran towards the cabin.
I thought it would be farther since of its size but to my surprise? It was closer than I thought and smaller. My head was slightly above the roof. I guess it's buried under the snow, well it's either that or a dwarf lived in here. I quickly looked for the door and found it was also smaller as well.
I crouched down and banged the door and started screaming for help, “Hello?! Is anyone in there?! Please! I need help!”
I waited for a response but nothing. I tried once more but again, nothing. I looked through one of the barricaded windows and saw that no one was inside. I walked back to look at the chimney and saw that it wasn’t smoking.
With not a lot of options left and desperation slowly setting in my mind, I tried to open the door. First I had to find a handle. Lucky for me, it was sticking out of the snow. I wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for the light shining off of it. I would have tried pulling it but something was wrong, it was slightly larger than a usual door handle. I disregarded it as an engineering flaw and tried opening it anyways.
I tried pushing and pulling but nothing happened. I wasn’t surprised that it didn’t open, so I tried kicking it down but that failed as well. I started looking for another way in by going around the cabin. Luckily, I saw a window that wasn’t barricaded. It was also open and I saw snow pouring inside.
I ran quickly to the broken window but rather than crawling inside the broken window, I slipped on the snow and fell inside. Okay, I should’ve been more careful as anything can and most likely will kill me at this point. I shrugged off the snow and would have stood up straight if I didn’t underestimate the height of the house.
I smacked the back of my head on one of the beams of the house and I was just hunched over. Jesus who lived in this house? Dwarves? And I was joking with myself with that question a while ago.
Rather than stand up, I instead crouched down out of pure instinct. I could’ve hunched over or squatted down a bit and would’ve been fine but I don’t want to accidentally hit my head again on the roof. I looked around my general area to determine my location in the house.
There was a table with no chairs but hay on the floor, a door to either the pantry or a storage closet, a row of counters, and a barrel... I’m guessing I’m in a kitchen or storage area. I noticed that the table was overturned and contents from the cabinets were spilled on the floor. I also noticed that there were no tiles or coverings on the floor but just bare dirt, I guess whoever lived here didn’t have a lot of money. There was also a doorway on the other side of the kitchen to hopefully the living area or common rooms.
I made my way to the doorway and entered a somewhat wide room with once again no chairs but some more hay on the floor. Just like the kitchen though, the whole place was a mess as well with cabinets turned over and furniture was torn up. Once again, I couldn’t think much of it or why the whole house was like this. I saw a fireplace made out of stone and I quickly started looking for firewood but found none.
My body was getting numb and I knew I’m running out of time. Out of desperation, I started looking for furniture to tear down to use as fuel. Lucky for me, there were damaged furniture and torn up ones scattered everywhere. I started gathering the broken pieces first, like sticks and anything small that can be burnt and tossed them to the fireplace. Next, I grabbed the hay and placed them near the fireplace to use as kindling.
With fuel and kindling out of the way, I need to start the fire. I started scuttling my way to the kitchen to find a match. I looked around the messy kitchen trying to find where the matches were, I checked the shelves, the pantry, even the floor but found nothing.
I looked around trying to find something I can use as a spark and as if whatever god was up there, I found something that was a lifesaver. A piece of flint! I would have mistaken it for a rock if the light was shining on it.
I grabbed the piece of flint and quickly made my way back to the living room where I had gathered all the materials.
I now had all the pieces, I just had to start a fire. Think, think! What do I need to do first! I remembered that I had to create a spark and let it land on the kindling, which in this case, was a small bundle of hay. I also remembered that to create a spark, I need to hit the flint and steel, which was my knife, together to create said spark. It would have been an easy task if only had had two hands. I couldn’t just place the flint or the knife on top of the kindling without smacking either one of the tools away or burning myself.
As I struggled to think of some way to light a fire, I had thought of an idea that could probably work, all I needed was something to hold my knife up while I hit the flint on the knife.
I grabbed a piece of broken wood about the size of a small stick from the fireplace and placed it on the ground near the fireplace. Next, I leaned my knife on the stick, with the blade facing upwards, and then stepped on the handle of the blade with my foot. I then placed the kindling below the tip of the blade and finally grabbed the flint.
With a prayer to whatever God exists up there, I started striking the flint on my knife, trying to make it spark. After a few attempts, I managed to make it spark. Oh finally! I thought to myself as I continued, hoping to finally light the kindling.
A few more attempts and I finally noticed that embers were finally forming on the kindling. I quickly grabbed the now slowly heating up kindling and gently placed it on the fireplace. I grabbed my knife, prodding the embers a couple of times hoping that it would finally light up.
“Come on… Light already…” I kept on prodding it with my knife.
I noticed that the embers were slowly dying out, “No no no no… NO! Please don't you dare fucking die!” I shouted at it and kept prodding it more hoping to light it.
I saw the embers of the kindling dying out with the fireplace not lighting up. I tried lighting another kindling but I was getting too weak to light one. I sighed in defeat and laid down next to the fireplace. I guess this is it, this is where my story ends… I thought to myself as I felt the cold slowly enveloping me.
Then, I felt a small warmth coming from the fireplace. I noticed that the ember wasn’t actually out but I accidentally buried it under the wood and was poking some piece of wood. I then noticed the fireplace was slowly being enveloped by flames. Eventually, the fireplace lit up some part of the room and a slowly but increasing wave of warmth and heated air.
Then, the fireplace roared with life! As a brilliant flame engulfed the whole fireplace, lighting the whole room with light and life. This felt good. I raised my fist and shouted in victory! Excited about the fact that I was able to light a fire despite the fact that I was suffering from hypothermia. You know? I wonder why I was able to keep a straight mind? I don’t think I’ll find an answer to that immediately.
I finally laid down on the bundle hay on the floor and took a rest and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like this second chance wasn’t going to waste after all… I then fell asleep from exhaustion.
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We walked down the halls of the castle heading to the elder unicorn section near the highest point of the castle while carefully balancing a tea set the Princess made me carry on my back. I felt an unnerving presence coming from the princess as we walked down the halls. I could tell that she’s annoyed and was running out of patience.
“Princess,” I begged, “You know Starswirl strictly stated that he must not be disturbed when he is in his room studying.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that, all I want to know is the progress with his spell to end this Faust forsaken winter.” Princess Platinum said as she picked up the pace, clearly obvious that she’s in a hurry.
“If he had any progress done, then he would’ve told some pony to deliver the news to you,” I said as I maintained my pace with the Princess.
“Another report or a quick pass by would have been nice at the very least!” She shouted as she glanced at me.
Silence filled the air for a while as the Princess was trying to find a question to distract herself from the responsibilities and duty of a leader.
“When was the last time you saw your mentor, Clover?” She asked in a demanding tone.
“L-last time?” I stammered, “About a week ago…”
“And you were the last one that saw him correct?”
“Yes, Princess…” I answered as a worrying sensation started forming in my head. I hadn’t realized that it’s been over a week since the last time I saw him. He used to teach me every single day and give me at least a day or sometimes two to rest, but never a week.
“The last time he gave me a report on that spell of his was more than 2 weeks! Can you believe that?!” The Princess threw her hoof up in annoyance.
“Well, making a new spell isn’t that easy.” I tried defending the reason for my mentor’s disappearance, “It takes weeks, perhaps months to even make a new one.”
“Yes, I know that but we don’t have a month to wait because we have stack upon stack of problems!”
“And what are those problems, princess?”
“First! We have about a month left of food! Second! We are running out of time and my father’s patience is running low-” She paused as she levitated a teacup from the tea set on my back as she cleared her throat, “I’m sorry, where was I again?”
“You were complaining about running out of time and that your father's patience was running thin?”
“Ah yes, thank you, for reminding me.” She continued, “Thirdly! Our gatherers aren’t gathering wood for the fire and whatever can be scraped from the woods for whatever Faust forsaken reason! And thirdly and most importantly! THIS FAUST DAMNED WINTER!”
“What about the winter?” I asked as I suddenly realized my own mistake of asking.
“WHAT ABOUT IT?! Well, you see… IT HAS EVERYTHING DO WITH IT!” Princess Platinum started a long rant, damning this winter for being the cause of everything horrible things that have happened to her life, not being able to drink wine, blaming the pegasus for causing the winter to extort more food from the Earth Pony tribe, and many more that will certainly make anypony or anyone annoyed and hoping for a sweet release of death instead and she ranted for hours.
“...AND THAT IS WHY THE UNICORNS ARE THE SUPERIOR RACE OF ALL THE PONIES!! -Wait, where are we?” Princess Platinum looked around confused, trying to figure out where we were in the castle.
“Princess…” I answered in a tired voice and slumped down on the floor with the tea tray not in my back anymore and placed on the floor, “We’ve been walking for hours and we passed the hallway leading to Starswirl’s tower many times, and we’ve been walking in a circle for hours…”
“I’ve been ranting for that long?” Princess Platinum pondered, “Huh, well then Clover, onwards to Starswirl then! Get your flank up and let's go and this time, you lead the way because I'm quite famished from that awfully long rant.”
“Yes, Princess…” I sighed as I stood up, ignoring the tea set.
“Also, darling, continue bringing my tea set.”
Dear Faust, please take me to the afterlife.