Half Hour Horses: Legacy Prompts

by HoofAndQuill

LP14: Cold Hearth, Warm Heart [Slice of Life]

The Prompt:

Warm Hearth, Cold Heart

OR

Cold Hearth, Warm Heart

It was cold. Freezing cold, and it had been for days. She wasn't sure as she trudged through the frosty forest, drifts of snow falling down from the laden branches. She wasn't sure if she would make it another night. The wind howled above the canopy, and the shaking branches threw down another blinding flurry around her, and it was all she could do to shake the freezing snow from her body.

No, she wouldn't give up. But the deadened feeling in her legs and the slow, sluggish way her mind was running certainly made it tempting.

The snow whirled and twisted in the nighttime darkness. It felt like this forest just went on forever in all directions. She knew, dimly, that this wasn't where she was supposed to be. But right now she couldn't remember exactly how to get where she wanted to be.

A faint twinkling of light shone through the snow, just for a second.

It was enough. Maybe it was a fire, maybe it was even a pony. Maybe it was just an illusion brought on by the cold. But it had to be something.

Fluttershy's cottage was quiet despite the winds that howled in the darkness outside. Fluttershy sat on her little couch, wrapped in a warm blanket with Angel Bunny cuddled up to her chest, reading by candlelight. She had never really enjoyed storms, but this one had no thunder to scare her. All it had was nice, isolating snow, and the kind of howling winds that helped her feel somehow more secure inside her closed, comfortable cabin... even if her firewood had run out the day before. She knew that the weather team would never have built this kind of blizzard, and she didn't doubt that her friend Rainbow Dash would be out there fighting back the clouds if there was any hope of stopping it from rolling in out of the Forest.

Fluttershy's ruminations and reading were both stopped short by a pawing, scratching noise at her door. She looked up sharply, eyes widened at the sudden sound, but then leaped up from her spot on the couch and galloped over, apologizing to the displaced bunny on the way. Some poor animal must be trapped outside in this storm! Fluttershy pushed on the door, and then leaned on it with her entire body, pushing against the winds and snow outside until it inched open enough to let the small, furry animal inside.

"Oh my goodness! What in Equestria is a little puppy doing out in this cold?" Fluttershy pulled the door shut and smiled down at the little, cowering puppy that had just come into her cottage. It was easy to see that the poor little thing had been lost for aw while now, mud and snow were caked all around its... her paws, and she was shivering and miserable there on the floor.

The puppy threw a longing glance toward the empty fireplace. Fluttershy's smile slipped only slightly, but then returned after a moment. "I'm sorry, I don't have any firewood for a fire. But let's get those paws cleaned!"

Fluttershy led the puppy into a small bathroom, and quickly washed away the dirt and grime a lost animal always collects, as well as melting away the snow. The puppy seemed to revel happily in the attention and care she gave it, and Fluttershy couldn't help but smile a bit. The water wasn't warmed of course, but she still had plenty of soft, clean towels. Soon the puppy was cleaned and dried, and Fluttershy led her back through the small cottage.

She couldn't help but notice that the lost dog didn't even so much as look at her stored vegetables and other food.

Still, the main problem was the cold. "Come on now, hop up here! I don't have a fire, but sitting together under the blanket should be warm enough for both of us."

Despite everything, the cold, the hunger, the lack of a fire... this pony did have a soothing voice. Weirdly, she was almost commanding in an undefinable, quiet, gentle way. The puppy jumped up onto the couch, only to find herself being stared down by a very irritated looking rabbit. The rabbit stood on hind legs with its forelegs crossed, and then thumped one foot against the cushion while staring daggers at his owner.

Fluttershy only smiled and shook her head. "Now now, Angel, we just can't turn her away! I know what you're saying, but we have to help anypon-- anybody that's lost in the cold."

The bunny, apparently named Angel, just glared at the puppy again before stomping over to the other end of the couch and burrowing his way under the loose blanket there. The couch shifted a bit as the yellow pony climbed up onto the cushion. She held out her forelegs invitingly, and after a moment's hesitation the puppy curled up against the pony's warm coat. A moment later, the pony pulled a soft, warm blanket down from the back of the couch, and wrapped it lightly around the both of them.

At first it was still cold, but after only a few moments, the puppy's shivering stopped. Pressed up against this loving, caring pony in her softly lit and comfortable home... it was hard to imagine that just a few minutes ago she had been wondering if she was going to freeze to death. A hazy, warm fog spread through her as she relaxed. She could feel her eyes closing on their own, as the safety and warm, loving feeling from the pony just overwhelmed her. In a few moments, she was asleep.

Fluttershy only jumped slightly as the puppy that lay against her flashed green. There in her forelegs lay a tiny, black changeling. It was barely bigger than a foal, it must be an immature nymph. She had known right from the start, of course. Changelings might be able to act like ponies, but Fluttershy knew all about animals, and it took more than looking fluffy to fool her. She felt the couch shake as Angel thrummed his foot against it again, pointing at the buglike creature against her. Fluttershy spoke quietly as not to wake her. "I know, Angel, but it's awfully cold outside, and even if she isn't what she pretended to be, I can't just let her freeze! Besides, she's so adorable curled up like this!"

Angel only frowned and burrowed back under the blanket again. Fluttershy smiled and nosed her book open again, returning to her candlelight reading. The little changeling shuffled in its sleep, and then relaxed again in the warmth and security of Fluttershy's cottage. The pony only giggled quietly, happy that she could help, no matter what the morning brought.