In the presence of so much food I couldn't help myself. I dashed forward and pulled down a can.

I glanced around for a can opener.

Instead of a can opener, my eyes landed on a staircase leading up.

I tucked the can of peaches under a wing and trotted towards the stairs. The view of the floor above was obstructed by another door.

Undeterred, I climbed up. Opening the door, I was greeted by the sight of a dimly lit, grey room. The most notable thing about it, was the wooden table in the center, followed very closely by a wooden stove that had a pipe extending into the ceiling, a counter that had a sink embedded in it, and a single door.

I stalked towards the counter, now noticing drawers below.

I found all sorts dishes, pots, pans, and knives. But the true prize was indeed what I was looking for.

The can opener.

I immediately sat on the floor and pried the can of peaches open.

They didn't last very long.

I set the empty can onto the counter.

I'll deal with it later.

I turned towards the door and approached, opened it, and peeked inside.

Couch. Coffee table. Two arm chairs. A brick fireplace. The mounted head of a stag on the wall. And three other doors.

Nothing seemed too interesting, so I moved to the next door over.

Sink. Toilet. Tub.

Tub!

I approached the tub eagerly. I turned the hot water knob and-

Nothing.

I examined the tub.

The pipe that fed the faucet didn't embed itself into the wall, but climbed up vertically along the wall into the ceiling.

Was there an attic?

I turned and left the bathroom.

The next door revealed a bed, a nightstand, and the painting of a deer in a sunny field.

I shut the door and turned to the last door.

Large bed. Nightstand. And two paintings, one of a bass jumping out of the water, and the other of a deer drinking from a river bank.

What the-? Why was the tub pipe running into the ceiling? Where do you access the space if it needed repairs? What was-

Box.

...

I was already in the master bedroom, so I blinked to clear my head and looked a little closer.

Large bed. Nightstand. And two paintings, one of a bass jumping out of the water, and the other of a deer drinking from a river bank.

No, wasn't in here... Moving on.

Back in the living room, I almost immediately found a felling axe that was leaning against the fireplace. From my initial view point it had been hidden in the corner of the fireplace's brick wall and the log wall of the cabin.

That will come in handy.

Another more through search of the living room also revealed a keyring with a black stick and metal slat attached.

define:entity.unknown=entity.flint_and_steel

Also handy. Especially since I doubted that I could start any fires without my magic.

A gust of wind made the shack groan.

I shivered. It was warmer in here, but it was still freezing.

There had been a stack of wood in the cellar right?

I turned back towards the kitchen, and made my way through to the stairway.

I grabbed a few logs, tucking them under both wings, and headed back up.

I put the logs in the fireplace when I realized something critically important.

I didn't have any kindling.

I got up to go back to the kitchen.

Yes, the now empty can had a paper label.

I picked up the can and tore off the label.

Heading back to the fireplace, I tore the label into crumpled, thing strips, doing my best to mimic air filled clumps of dry grass.

I gathered the flint and steel and started to strike it at the base of my makeshift tinder.

"Come on..." I grunted after a few unsuccessful minutes. "Light you mother-"

Box.

...

Finally, after a few more minutes, a spark caught and the logs began to properly smolder.

I sat and watched as the flames grew.

Surely there must be a source of water for the shack. There were pipes for the bath tub after all. And I doubted that the shack was connected to a city's water main.

I brought up more logs and set a small pile nearby. After throwing a few more logs into the fire, I resumed searching.

If there was a ladder to the attic, where would it be?

I glanced around the living room, looking in particular for a hanging string.

I turned towards the guest bedroom, as it was the one I had been in the least.

The room was as I had left it, but this time I payed close attention to the ceiling.

Where was-? There!

In almost the very corner of the room, hung a dark brown string of small beads. It was colored specifically to be hard to notice.

What a jer-

Box.

...

I walked around the bed to grab the string, but quickly realized I was a small Pony.

Instead of becoming frustrated by jumping up and down to try and to get hold of the string, I climbed onto the bed and jumped off that.

Shhhcrkk!

The hidden trapdoor that hid the attic ladder slowly fell down, resisting gravity slightly so the ladder itself didn't crash down.

Sliiiiiiiiiik

The ladder smoothly unfolded, gently landing on the floor.

Climbing up the ladder was awkward as a Pony, but I managed.

The attic was dark and dusty. Cobwebs gathered in the corners of the roof, where one had to crawl on her stomach in order to pass. There were a few cardboard boxes, but the most noticeable thing was a huge shape that loomed in the darkness.

At first I thought it was another box, but it was metallic and much too large for anyone to want to lift.

Attic tub? What?

I approached the tub, but another, smaller shape loomed over the seemingly massive tub.

I approached the water pump. It was too high to reach because it was lifted into the air to reach over the tub, but a simple steel frame floored with wooden boards made a stairway and platform. I climbed up.

I looked over the edge of the tub. It was empty, but on the opposite side of the tub, I could see a drain.

Oh! The pump drew water from a well, collected it in the tub, and made a reservoir to give water pressure!

Impressive! Most imp-

Box.

...

I grabbed hold of the pump's handle and gave it an experimental lift.

gggggggLRK

... That didn't sound right.

I stepped down from the pump.

This will take a while...

I climbed back down the ladder and went back into the living room. I laid down in front of the still burning fireplace, watching the flames.

It wasn't like I had anything better to do.

Slowly I drifted to sleep as the snow bright outside grew dark.

Strangely, I could've sworn I saw Celestia standing over me as I lay there, her shoulders heaving as liquid fell from her face.

Whoof... It's harder than you think to write "non-emotionally" and still have a decent word count...