Zero Degrees Cocoa
Written by PacifistDoodl3r
Sharp icicles formed around the bottom of gold railings that lead to the castle entrance as a raging storm continued throughout the snowy land. Flecks of white streaks rained from above, carried by harsh winds. Crystal houses were lit by reinforced lanterns which hung from thin handles, swaying. They were like tiny bug eyes from a distance, watching... Waiting... Taunting the guard with tender warmth.
Through the blinding blank canvas in front of the guard, he saw quick glimpses of tiny marshmallows fall to the ground and disappear. His stomach fell and tensed, grumbling fiercely to an uncaring body. Although it had been two hours since he had taken post, the sun was quiet and refused to move up. It only shrunk.
If only it could come back and grace the land with heat for one last time... he longed for the green grass and vivid plant life again. The early morning fog covered everything past the few visible houses. He internally jumped everytime a pony appeared through the cloudy abyss.
The snow nearly swallowed his boots and the wind showered him with frosty kisses. It sort of burned him in a way, how these pieces of shattered white bullets grazed any exposed fur. His leather coat along with the golden armor wasn't enough to stop the occasional shivering. The brown leather had whitened and procured a collection of ice sheets every now and then.
He rubbed his snowy boot against his other foreleg, hoping to feel warm but of course the metallic hardness couldn't help his case. In fact, it just made his fur thicken like spike spindles which crunched from sneaky snow. Accumulated ice that rained from above crystalized inside of the golden boots, refusing to melt as one would expect. The guard, in response to the rejected comfort of any protection from the elements, took a slow breath before closing his eyes.
He was now a small colt resting on a spongy foam mattress with tufts of hay underneath it. The room was lit with a dark blue lighting with quick darts of black shadows. This felt like a nightmare the way everything looked so desaturated and muted. He heard humming coming from the other room. A lifted, sing-sing voice that immediately brought him comfort.
After a scramble to get on the planked wooden ground, he slowly approached the door. The colt was surprised at how much he had to look up to see the top of the door as a few steps back created a clopping echo. Some chopping from a knife could be heard but it was a little hard to hear for his small ears.
With a little focus, the light tangerine furred colt heard the humming again. It sounded like home. And then there was this sweet smell streaming underneath the door. He could see the white streams of heat snaking its way through his room. Everything smelled like cinnamon and cocoa. Without a further thought to whatever was being crafted in the kitchen, he opened the door to the sight of an orange mare washing off fruit from a cutting board. She had dark aquatic coloured hair, soft and turned auburn from a stove oven. He found the source of the humming as his eyes gazed longingly at the mare as if she held the source to eternal happiness.
He suddenly sneezed, causing the busy pony in front of him to turn her head. Once their glacier blue pupils met for a moment, the colt adverted his eyes to the stone walls. A coldness grew over him, blocking the heat from the oven. The mare's hoof reached out with a washcloth. It was wet and smelled of lemon scented soap.
Without looking up at her, the colt took the washcloth and cleaned his face. A lighthearted sigh came afterwards, as he found the mare gently brushing her hoof against his face, seemingly asking to give her a smile. She calmly retracted her hoof after the failed attempt, turning around and walking a short distance to one of various cupboards.
He tilted his head, tracking her foreleg movements as a few items were placed on the countertop. A small box of brown sugar, a tiny bottle of vanilla abstract, and cocoa powder. The colt eyed the freezer, anticipating the new ingredients. And as expected, the mare opened it and took out a milk carton with a small bowl of butter. She turned her head to check on him without any change in expression, then swiftly took out two metal tankards from a drawer next to him after petting the colt’s head with a free hoof. They were placed next to the ingredients but on top of a tray.
Curious like a hungry mouse, he took a few steps to get a better look but alas, he wasn't tall enough. He saw as she cut a piece of butter, splitting it up and sliding both sides into each cup. The mare poured less cocoa powder into the cup closest to her, rubbing her stomach and wincing. He watched intently as the brown sugar was put in, and a tiny droplet of the vanilla.
Finally, it was time for the milk to make the drink complete. The mare poured only a little bit of milk into the cup closest to her but a plentiful amount into the other. One last look at the colt was made before she took the tray and slid it inside of the oven. He slowly sat next to her awaiting the beverage. The pair only watched in silence as the milk morphed into a dark brown colour.
The two drinks bubbled and popped as the hot chocolate grew and rose like seafoam. It was an erupting volcano with all the smoke and contents spilling over. After admiring the heat and orange waves inside of the oven, the mare took a wooden shovel peel to receive their hot chocolate. He felt his face burn for a split second, and then his eyes were lit from reflecting the marvelous drink.
His head followed the one closest to him, ignoring the mare cooling off his drink with a wet rag. She blew as a gust of coldness mixed with steam touched his face. The colt sniffled and sneezer again, wiping his nose with a icy hoof. Inching with a scraped roar on the table, the cup was now below his chin on the oven counter. His hoof wasn't big enough to fit perfectly inside of the handle but he knew not to support the bottom of the cup. The cup slowly tipped over the small counter top, pushing some of the hot chocolate towards the cup’s edge. There was the burning sensation again, leaving a trail of white mist in its wake without any care in the world. It was like a warning, telling him not to stick out such a small and fragile tongue. But once he inevitably did.
It bit him.
The sting felt like a tumb tack jabbing at him but moving through liquid. He quickly placed the cup down and squeaked in pain. It made his mouth water in response, pooling in salvia due to the sudden burn. Immediately following the hot chocolate’s betrayal of trust, he was taken aback by the calm sipping coming from the mare adjacent to him. Jealously, he stared, unable to pin an emotion to himself. Was he upset? Confused? Somewhere in between?
The way she slowly made the contents inside of the tankard disappear made him feel icky. Why couldn't he do that? His young mind was so pressed that he had to wait to enjoy the hot chocolate. But it was as if she could hear his thoughts that found this to be unfair. Behind the rim of the cup, her eyes peeked over. Was she smiling or opening her mouth to drink some more? He couldn't tell from his size but either way could he seen as mockery.
Her ocean orbs of soul naturally rested on his filled cup. They switched between staring at him and the heated drink for a moment. A few strong gulps were heard, signifying the end of her hot chocolate adventure. She placed down the metal cup with a *clink*, choosing a spot to sit next to him. He felt her soft tail wrap around him protectively but it sort of tickled. The mare picked up the hot tankard with a hoof so effortlessly, blowing on the steam like earlier.
Humming the familiar tune as always, she finally assisted the foal and gently tilted the cup towards his mouth. It was still pretty hot but he trusted her. The hot chocolate tasted like sweetness itself. It was like a cloud made into the heavenly bliss of sugar with an added dash of love. Warm hot chocolate.
For the first time in days, he finally smiled. It matched the upright perch of the mare's lips as it had been for a while. Was everything always so bright and dreamlike? Or maybe the love of his mother coated his mind in this peaceful sprinkle of happiness.
Everything melted into a fuzzy white. His vision blurred and warped back in reality where the snow piled up and obscured his vision. The guard gritted his teeth, closing his eyes to transport back inside the sanctuary of his memories.
The Blizzard was howling. It was ruthless and erratic, never showing any signs of stopping the mad twister of ice. The day lost its brightness as it progressively accounted for the travelling sun above. Nopony ever got to say goodbye to it. What were the princesses up to? Just when he was about to say a prayer to the only two capable of saving the day, he tuned in to the sound of crunching ice.
His eyes weren't accustomed to a blinding eternal cloud of nothingness in front of him. Who was? A grey figure appeared for a brief second before the thick air made way for a pink figure. He frowned, unsure if this was a matter of worse or of better.
They made their way to him slowly, protected by an aura of cyan shielding. Snow melted away with each of their steps, revealing the purple crystal floor underneath. After what felt like five minutes for a six meter journey, the princess gave a nod of acknowledgement to the guard.
“Flash Sentry?” She asked with a shiver to her tone. “I couldn't find you inside. What... What are you doing out here?” The princess was closer to him now, creating a matching cyan shield around him.
“Y-your highness,” he gave a bow the best he could with a half frozen body, “I ask t-to p—phleasse let me feel the c-coldness.” He tried his best not to let chattering teeth pause his sentences.
“Oh? And why is that? Are you making ice cream?” She half jokingly remarked with a hoof wave. “You're going to enjoy the Hearth Warming Festivities inside with an all you can eat buffet!” Princess Cadence was directly next to him, noting his frostbitten ears that had begun to turn a bright pink.
“A-again... I want to freeze until I have no choice but to head back inside. Y-you n-never know if danger strikes... you never— never know!” He coughed heavily soon after, wiping away tiny tears.
“I'm a bit confused. My husband told me to be a little more open minded about holiday traditions but... Freezing one’s flank off? That's simply not acceptable.” She straightened herself, then coughed to clear her throat. “Flash Sentry, you are to report to the main hall with a snuggly blanket and scarf, warm up by the fire and eat desserts immediately.”
He stared at the ground, attempting to hide his face. “Y-your highness... if I may...”
“Immediately. That is an order. If you disagree again, you'll help my beloved munchkin open up her presents and sing many holiday songs for your fellow soldiers.” The princess gave him a low brow look.
“T-two more hours... please... my mother— she… I— I want this.” He stared at the empty whiteness around them, giving a small smile once he saw the faint glimmer of yellow dots inside if the blizzard.
Princess Cadence gave him a nod, using her magic to adjust his coat collar. He took that as a sign to continue.
Flash felt warmer, feeling his shoulders relaxing from melting ice. “When I was a colt we stayed inside all the time during the holidays. She warned about the dangers of coldness and how snow can harm small foals like me. I was too young to realize how exaggerated these warnings were but they got to me. You see, she was always so calm and seemingly knew everything... The moments where my mom broke that persona put me under a spell.”
“Your mother's parenting already sounds better than my parenting.” Princess Cadence put a hoof to her chest, fiddling with the golden armor on her.
“She promised me I'd never have to feel the horrible conditions of the unforgiving coldness. Till this day I never found out why she was so protective of me when winter came.” Flash Sentry saw a twinkle in Cadence’s bright amethyst eyes.
“As a mom myself, I value the safety of my family before anything else but that does sound interesting. What did you two do for the holidays? Anything special un-snow related?”
“She made hot chocolate. She had an affinity for crafting baked treats and beverages. But... It's the hot chocolate I'd never forget.” Flash was lost in the sky. Memories danced around his mind, entrancing him in a world he had left long ago.
“We don't have hot chocolate, unfortunately. But I'll be right back. I think I know just what to do and... Hey... I'll tell my husband I'm keeping you company. We may not know what the sun is up to but I think it will be lovely to watch together.” The princess disappeared in a flash with a *bampf*.
It appeared not even she knew what was happening with the shrinking sun and permafrost. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was something. The matter didn't alarm him, however, despite freezing in the zero degrees of whiteness.
A minute of waiting and shivering had passed, gifting him the return of Princess Cadence.
“Greetings! I'm back. And, here!” She floated a mug to him, trying to hold back a laugh. “No, we don't have hot chocolate but I hope this will do.”
He held the scorching mug in his hooves, trying desperately to find the right words for this predicament. “I— uh— what... What is this, then? If it isn't...”
“Hot cocoa!”