> The Wilderness Mistress > by OroKinAu > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Den Vilda > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was the weekend before Hearths Warming Eve. Snow blanketed the entire town of Ponyville, the sunny and cloudless day helped give the snow the appearance of fallen crystal as they shimmered in the light. The citizens of the town all happily walked through the snow covered streets to get any last minute shopping done or to play in the snow. Holiday decorations littered the streets to celebrate the upcoming celebration. "Okay mom and dad, I'll be out with a friend all day, see you before it gets dark." said a young filly who put on her parka, her cap and boots on. She waved goodbye to her parents inside and walked out the door. The cold crisp air could be felt as she smelled the air. "Defiantly winter." she mused. "I hope he'll enjoy our date, it'll be our last chance to be together until after New Years." she commented to herself as she walked over to her date's house. Ginger arrived at the house, the front door had a Hearths Warming Eve wreath hanging on it. She happily knock on the door and it opened to reveal her coltfriend of six months himself; Caramel. "Oh hey Snaps, came here just in time, I'm ready for what you have planned." smiled the adult stallion at his secret marefriend. He and the filly secretly agreed to save the public displays of affection for when they are away from town, they don't want anyone to know that they are more than just friends. "Great, because I discovered this super cool place a few weeks ago, and I wanted you to see it." she happily exclaimed. She was extremely anxious to get their romantic hike started. "A super cool place?" he chuckled. "Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" he let the filly lead the way out of town and to the Everfree forest. During the winter months, the Everfree forest as much safer and less wild, since the animals are hibernating and all the dangerous plants are dormant. The stallion and the filly walked side by side as they entered the forest, it looked much more inviting and beautiful. A true winter wonderland. The trees looked like frozen crystals and the snow shimmered in the sun. Everything was awe inspiring to the couple. Suddenly, Ginger nuzzled up against Caramel's side. "It's beautiful Mel." commented Ginger with eyes full of wonder and innocence. "Not as beautiful as you." smiled Caramel. The filly giggled in response. "That's right, and don't forget that." she joked. The couple continued on their walk until both their ears perked up from the sound of rushing water. "Do you hear that Snaps?" asked Caramel. "That's the waterfall!" she exclaimed. "We're close!" she ran ahead towards the sound as the stallion ran after her. She ran through the snow as the waterfall finally came into view. Caramel was in complete awe, the entire landscape was pure white yet the waterfall and the spring was a deep shade of clear blue. "This looks nice." said the stallion impressed. "Wait until you see what's behind it." said the filly with excitement. "Behind it?" "Of course silly." she giggled before she gave the stallion a kiss on the lips. Caramel kissed her back, but she quickly broke it. "Now don't get too excited just yet, the real surprise is just ahead." she winked before she ran off around the spring to get to the ledge that went behind the waterfall. "Be careful up there!" he warned as he followed her. "I'm a filly scout silly, I have been through more perilous situations than this! I practically grew up in the wilderness!" she reassured as she carefully walked along the ledge. The roar of the waterfall was really loud. Caramel made sure to be extra careful since he was not used to walking on ledges like his marefriend was. He saw the filly disappear behind the falls. He quickly tried to catch up and finally reached the place to see a large cave entrance hidden behind the falls. "Wasn't expecting this." he looked around. He looked to see Ginger waltzing around in excitement. "You okay there?" She walked up to the stallion and kissed him deeply. Caramel kissed her back and held her close to him as their lips locked into each other's. They have waited to be alone first before they could finally express their true love for each other. Little did they both knew, but they started to slow dance with each other as they kissed. To Caramel, her lips tasted sweet, her lips drove him wild with desire, he hated that he couldn't kiss them as often as he would have liked, but he had to show restraint to prevent others from catching on to their illicit and illegal affair. He softly ran his hoof through her mane, eliciting a soft moan from the filly. To Ginger, he was her Prince Charming, her knight in shining armor, her protector, her lover. His heart so pure and his intentions clear, he's the opposite of a monster, she knew that he would never dare hurt her or take advantage of her, she is the one that sets the pace and she is the one that wanted to start a relationship with the stallion. He has so far been the best coltfriend she could have ever imagined, in fact, even surpassed her imagination at times. They continued their slow dance, lips still locked. It was just them and no one else, free to express their hidden desires for each other. Ginger wanted the kiss to last longer and maybe even go further, but there was something she really wanted to show him first. She reluctantly broke the kiss. "Come on Mel, there's something great that you really need to see." she said as she lead the stallion deeper into the cave. The stallion nodded and quietly followed her down. He really did not care how far they go romantically as long as she was happy. Everything slowly got dark, all the stallion could see was black. He was nervous, he hopped that the filly knew what she was doing. But suddenly, the cave began to light up again, a faint glow could be seen in the distance. "We're getting close!" exclaimed the excited filly. It gradually became brighter and brighter, a blue hue enveloped their surroundings. Soon, the cave opened up to reveal the most dazzling sight; a crystal chamber. "Oh wow..." said the stallion in awe. The entire chamber had walls made of clear crystal, so clear that he could almost see his reflection from them. The entire floor was also made of crystal, it almost appeared like the room was covered in ice if not for the prismatic shimmers of light. The two looked around at the room in awe. Ginger walked over to the stallion and leaned herself against him. "It's beautiful." she mused. Caramel smiled. "Not as beautiful as you." Ginger rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Very funny Mel." The stallion chuckled as well, before he got in front of her, he put out his right foreleg. "Care for a dance m'lady?" he politely requested. "Why of course my brave knight." she happily played along and grabbed his hoof. The couple soon began to waltz with each other as if they were in a royal ball. They happily dance with each other for what felt like an hour, they both enjoyed their closeness to each other. "Mel," began the filly as the dancing winded down. "thank you for being my coltfriend." she complimented. "thank you for risking so much to be with me." she suddenly began to cry and quickly placed her face against the stallion's shoulder. He gently wrapped his forelegs around her. "What's wrong Snaps?" he asked with concern. "You just care for me so much, you treat me like a lady, and I really like that." she cried. "You are sacrificing your life being with me...I don't want to be the one responsible for getting you into trouble." "Snaps," he gently made Ginger look into his eyes. He delicately wiped her tears away. "I love you so much Snaps, being with you makes me feel normal for once, so what if my one true love is a filly, we were made for each other, and I promise, as long as we keep our relationship a secret until you come of age, nothing bad will happen." he showed her a reassuring smile. Ginger just looked on in awe. "You will always be my little wilderness mistress." he complimented as he brushed her mane to comfort her. Ginger enjoyed the greatly and let him. She buried her face into his chest and held him tightly. "I do love you Mel." she said. Caramel said nothing but to continue brushing her mane. She didn't mind him being quiet as long as he was there comforting her. At around sunset, Caramel and Ginger returned to Ponyville and reached the stallion's home. They both enjoyed their trip and were glad to spend the day together before Ginger had to leave for a family trip and would not return until after New Year's. "Want to come inside for some hot cocoa?" he offered the filly. "No thanks, I promised my parents I would come back by sunset." she reluctantly turned the offer down. "I understand." he nodded. "Hope you'll have a great Hearths Warming Eve." he smiled. "The same Mel." smiled the filly back. They gave each other a quick hug before Ginger trotted off back to her house. Caramel smiled at the filly one last time before he walked inside and closed the door. As the filly walked back to her house, she looked up to see a bright star near the horizon, next to the sinking sun. She quickly closed her eyes and made a wish. A wish for the future, a happy future for both her and Caramel. After making the wish, she resumed her walk home as stars started to appear in the sky and snow began to fall. Hopefully her wish would come true. THE END