A Night in the December Country
Nurse Redheart sighed with relief when Kerfuffle loosened the bow tie around her neck. She had been acting as the fashion designer's guinea pig for the past couple hours, and while she didn't dislike the experience as a whole she was starting to tire of it.
"Are you still sure it's a good idea to try stallions' apparel on me?" asked Redheart, rubbing the stiffness out of her neck. "I don't think I look bad in a suit, but..."
Kerfuffle, for her part, was being quite economical with putting away her clothes—about as economical as she could be, considering she had to use her mouth for nearly everything. "Oh come o-o-on now, don'tcha think ya have the right build for it? Feminine, but not too frilly. And your mane—" pointing at the tight pink bun at the back of Redheart's head. "When it's all tied up like that? You'd make a mighty handsome stallion if ya don't mind me saying."
It was a peculiar compliment, to be sure, but then Redheart was so rarely complimented in all her days that she couldn't help but sense little flames filling her cheeks. "I-I mean, if you say so."
"I'm just being honest here!" Redheart could feel the smile on Kerfuffle's face somehow.
"Yeah, well.."
Redheart tried averting her eyes from those of her friend; she didn't want anypony to see her blush, let alone somepony she liked. Didn't help, of course, that the air was a trifle chilly. The deep December air could freeze a poor pony solid on some days, and Redheart got a taste of it, even in as cozy a place as Kerfuffle's boutique.
Was it Hearth's Warming Eve, or actually Hearth's Warming now? The hour was dreadfully late. Redheart didn't keep a watch on her or anything like that, but she had long since learned to make mental estimates as part of her daytime work. Was the clock about to strike midnight, or had midnight already come and gone? Hmmm. At least she didn't have to worry about her shift in the morning.
Now where was her...?
"Got it!" Kerfuffle fit Redheart's cap on her head like it was a tiara. "Figured ya might need it."
"Oh yeah, thanks." Redheart took a moment to set her cap straight. "I'm so used to wearing it that... I guess I get a little anxious whenever I'm not wearing it. It's like a part of me, you know?"
"Aww," said Kerfuffle, butterflies in her eyes. "And look, your cutie mark's on it! Ain't that something?"
A giggle escaped Redheart's lips. "Sure is. Nopony's told me that either."
Not that Redheart was much for conversation. In Ponyville she was one of three nurses, more existing as a utility than as one of the townsfolk, and in Hope Hollow her status had only mildly improved. There was Kerfuffle, who rarely stopped talking. There was Torque Wrench, who was cute but not Redheart's type. There were the Hoofingtons, who as fellow outsiders were also the closest Redheart had to "friends" in this town. And there were the Barrels and their kids—the little rascals.
That was about it, really.
With a sigh she said, "I should probably get going now. It's... I'm not sure what time exactly, but I should probably head back home."
Without skipping a beat Kerfuffle replied with, "Aw please, I'm used to pullin' all-nighters myself!"
Redheart wanted to say, "You too?" but instead said, "Even for Hearth's Warming?"
"Especially for Hearth's Warming. I mean heck, when I was a filly I got too excited about openin' my presents in the morning, so I just stayed up the whole night through. Would watch the snow fall right outside my window, if there was any."
Her eyes meeting Kerfuffle again, Redheart saw her friend gazing out a boutique window at the snow that had once again decided to grace Hope Hollow with its presence.
Her expression softening and with the fire leaving her cheeks, Redheart said, "Sounds about right. Looking at you now I'm not sure you as a filly would've been able to survive the anticipation."
"Why did you move to Hope Hollow?" asked Kerfuffle, ignoring what Redheart had said. "Not that this town ain't just wonderful and all, but Ponyville sounds like a mighty good time. Seems there's hardly a dull moment, and Rarity's there..."
Naturally Redheart was a bit taken aback. "Well, that's the thing. It's kind of rural, like here—but, you know, with a lot more giant monster attacks." More somber now. "Maybe I'm just weak, but I got tired of all that. Looked for job opportunities elsewhere, preferably without the giant monsters wrecking things every week. And besides," she said, "it's not like I had many connections there."
"Oh yah, that'll do it." Nodding sympathetically toward Redheart, "Would ya like some hot chocolate? It's late, but it'd go nice with the weather. We could watch the snow for a while, while darn near everypony else is asleep."
"Not tired?" asked Redheart, both to Kerfuffle and herself.
"Naw..."
So they did.
The scent of cocea and melted marshmallows filled the boutique. It was all so quiet, even if the snowfall carried its own ambience. The whole town, with a few houses excepted, had drifted off into the world of dreams.
Despite the thought of going home and getting some precious sleep lingering in her mind, Redheart realized she didn't want to leave. At least not yet. Normally she didn't stay with Kerfuffle so late into the night, but then again Hearth's Warming only came once a year.
Did Kerfuffle like mares like Redheart did? Probably. Ponies, whether by instinct or collective upbringing, were not terribly picky as to whom they would love, but even so it was always a question. And what about that hind leg of hers? Something must have happened, and yet Redheart wasn't all too eager to figure out the answer. Thinking about it as she sipped her hot cocoa, nearly burning the roof of her mouth with the thick warm liquid, she figured she didn't have to know; she would probably find out eventually, one way or the other.
Not that they had to know everything about each other either. They could just sit here, with Kerfuffle sometimes slipping a string of words into Redheart's ear, with that raspy but syrupy accent of hers. And tomorrow maybe they would test some of Kerfuffle's clothes—mare or stallion, given Redheart's somewhat androgynous frame.
As for Redheart herself, she had found—since coming to Hope Hollow—that she took some pleasure in wearing more than just her nurse's cap. Heck, she did look good in a tuxedo, made with some high-class stallion in mind. And she didn't have to say the magic words yet. She would have plenty of time.
Hearts and Hooves Day was two months away, after all.