Hoofsteps in the Snow

An MLP:FiM story by Midnight Shadow

The wan morning sun brought a cold wind from the North as it peaked lazily above the horizon. Its weak rays slowly burned off the morning fog and melted the hoar frost, but did little to hide the bite in the wintry air. Twilight was glad she'd decided to wear her new scarf that day, along with her new boots -- both a gift from Rarity -- as she went about town.

Warm smiles had sufficed to chase the worst of the chill away, and thus it was with a bounce in her step and a glow in her heart that she visited sundry stalls in the market and filled her saddlebags with all manner of tasty treats for the pony she was visiting.

Twilight paused in her journey as she left the town behind -- was Zecora a pony? Beneath the stripes lived a very equine creature, and despite numerous external differences, there didn't seem to be anything fundamentally other in the zebra. She knew there were both genotypical and phenotypical divergences from standard Equestrian stock, but surely… Twilight caught herself and put a hoof to her muzzle, chuckling softly. It didn't matter what Zecora was, because when she got down to it, Zecora was her friend, and that made her a pony where it counted.

Laughter helped to keep the spirits up, Twilight mused, as she left Equestria proper and trotted into the Everfree. It had been the key the first time she and her friends had set hoof in that dark labyrinth, and likely always would. The dead, moss-soaked branches of its ancient, gnarled trees may be twisted and clawing, the spaces between the rotting trunks pregnant with hidden menace, but a laugh rang loud and true all the same.

Still, laughter ringing true or not, it was a relief when Twilight finally entered the circle of grimacing tribal masks that marked the boundary to Zecora's domain. Weaving her way through the flickering torches that cast a warm, welcome glow upon the strange little shack, Twilight trotted up to the front door. She raised a hoof and rapped on it smartly, casting one last, short glance back over her shoulder. It was barely past noon, but with the winter coming in, the sun was already lowering. Twilight shuddered and turned back.

"Zecora! Zecora? It's me, Twilight!" called the unicorn.

"Who is that knocking there, without? Come straight in, no need to shout!" answered Zecora, from somewhere inside.

"Knocking without what?" asked Twilight, as she lifted the latch and pushed the door open.

"Why, without the door, was knocking heard. And I see it's Twilight, of this I'm glad." Zecora smiled, twitching her ears joyfully as she trotted over to welcome the unicorn in.

"Knocking without a door?" giggled Twilight, grinning, as she embraced the zebra with her neck. "Whoever heard of something that wasn't really there?"

"Ah, my friend, speak not of such matters. They lie heavy on the heart when shadows gather." Zecora backed up slightly, lifting a hoof admonishingly. Twilight shivered slightly as a cold wind flitted around the hut, breezing in through the still-open front door.

"Oh, Zecora, you're silly," replied the unicorn, with a chuckle.

For a moment, the zebra's eyes narrowed, but then a grin lit Zecora's face as she spun and beckoned the other mare further in. "Indeed my friend, you well know me. Come, sit, let us have tea."

Moments later, the stout door was closed, sealing out the whispering wind. Almost immediately the atmosphere brightened as the two friends got re-acquainted with each other.

***

It was later and the fire had burned low. Twilight awoke with a start as the shutters on the hut's windows suddenly slammed open and closed. Her heart was pounding in her chest as the wild wind howled outside. She slowly forced herself to relax as she stood up and stretched. The fire was little but embers, the soupy stew Zecora had made with the ingredients both she and Twilight had supplied was reduced to the last few dregs, and the teapot was cold.

Everything was quiet, everything was normal. Why, then, were Twilight's hackles raised?

The mare looked around the perfectly ordinary -- for Zecora at least -- room, ears flicking to and fro. As she caught sight of the door, an involuntary shudder shook through her body. The idle banter earlier came back to haunt her, despite her rational mind discarding such rubbish. Things that were not there, phooey. She shook her head, nonsense was nonsense, whatever time of the day. Abruptly, she yawned, jaw snapping shut when it finished. "Zecora?" she called, sleepily. "I think it's past time I went home." She stepped off from the comfortable cushion pile she'd been sleeping on and threw off the blanket. Movement on the other side of the room made her turn, as Zecora struggled to rise.

"Twilight my friend, do not be mad, but you cannot travel in weather this bad." Zecora was shaking her head, ears planted back against her skull, as she moved to stand between Twilight and the front door.

"Zecora, don't be silly. It's just a little wind and rain!" Twilight turned to the window, and gently lit her horn. Outside, enveloped in a lavender glow, the shutters pulled themselves closed, ceasing their flapping with a firm twist of the latch. "Besides, Spike's home alone and you know how worried he gets. I wouldn't want him to come charging in to the Everfree after me."

Reluctantly, Zecora stepped clear of the door. "Travel then, if you think you must, but you will be careful, of this I trust?"

"I promise, Zecora. I'll be fine." Twilight looked at the door, without really seeing it. Outside was dark, cold and wet. And scary. A little bit scary. "I'll be fine," the mare repeated, with a bravery she wasn't sure she truly felt.

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