- >Your name is Anon, you arrived in Equestria a year ago, and you're currently stuck in the freezing cold.
- >Despite the lack of cutie mark, your special talent is exploring.
- >You can easily hold your own in a survival situation, and you love the outdoors. The adrenaline rush of fighting (and winning) against the elements is what you lived for on Earth.
- >You told Twilight and her friends about this hobby when you introduced yourself, and they've not let this talent go unusued.
- >First it was easy stuff, a few scouting "missions" in the Everfree Forest (as an excuse to gather shit for Twilight's zebra friend) and rock gathering with Maud.
- >Then, more challenging tasks, such as exploring spooky abandoned ruins, and investigating sightings of new fauna in various parts of Equestria.
- >Life was good. You were in your element, and couldn't ask for more.
- >That is, until two days ago, when Twilight recieved a special letter from the boss herself, Princess Celestia.
- >It was for you!
- >"Dearest Anon,"
- >"My star pupil and her friends are very impressed by your connection to the outdoors, and so I humbly ask of you to embark on a very important trial."
- >"I have felt the faint presence of intelligent life in uncharted territory in the snowy forests right behind Mount Everhoof.
- >"My request is for you to put your exploration and tracking skills to the test to find and make contact with this life.
- >"Please report your findings to me upon your return, and please, be carefu-"
- >Blah, blah, blah. Why is she sending you alone? Could she be sending you to your death? What even is this "intelligent life" she speaks of?
- >"I will send a chariot with two of my finest pegasi tomorrow morning. Be up early!"
- >Sigh. The possiblilty of horrible snow monsters and freezing to death in a frozen wasteland. This is fantastic.
- >You had arrived in the winter wonderland three days ago. Morale is low.
- >Food had completely ran out, and even through the thick, slightly misshaped winter coats you commissioned from Rarity, your entire body was shutting down from the temperature.
- >A blizzard was beginning to pick up, with flying shards of frost attacking your face like angry bees.
- >Your legs and feet groaned in pain with every step through the deep, slushy snow.
- >No sign of any life, or snow monsters, but the cold was becoming too much to bear.
- "I should have asked Twilight to send the little dragon with me"
- >You thought to yourself, but then again, you would have been long dead from annoyance if you brought him along.
- >In your exhausted shamble, you catch your foot on a hidden rock hiding in the blanket of white, falling face first into freezing hell.
- >You feel numbing chills course through your body as the snow envelops the front of your body. Any energy you had left was frozen away.
- >Was this it? Were you going freeze to death here? All because Celestia couldn't send some other ponies to do it? Your eyes shut and then-
- >Darkness.
- >...
- >Warmth?
- >You open your eyes slowly, still in a slight state of shock from your tumble.
- >Blunt pain throbs on your forehead, accompanied by something very fuzzy and cozy covering you.
- >Your eyes open completely and you notice that you're in some kind of igloo.
- >and whoever lives in said igloo is making sure you stay warm.
- >Thank Celestia it isn't a snow monster.
- >It's a mare! An earth pony with a very thick and soft coat, hugging onto your side with her hooves wrapped around your once freezing body.
- >These snuggles probably saved your life.
- >You nudge against her a little bit in an effort to wake her up.
- >She begins to stir, and peacefully awakens.
- >"You're awake! I'm so relieved that you're okay!" greeted the fuzzy equine, hopping up excitedly.
- "What happened? Where am I?" you stammer, surprised that you're still alive.
- >"You had a nasty fall and I found you, thank the stars!"
- >"If I wasn't on my way back from catching dinner you'd be a gonner!"
- >"Thank the stars?" "Catching" her dinner? What the hell?
- >The questions running through your head began to calm as the smell of roasting fish drifts towards your nostrils.
- >Your mouth is watering. You haven't had meat of any kind since you arrived in Equestria.
- >The sweet, savior mare notices that you want the fishe.
- >"Hungry?" she asks playfully, beckoning for you to come to the fire.
- >After standing up and painfully stumbling to a log set up in front of the glowing bonfire, the strange pony offers you a fish on a stick, cooked to perfection.
- >You take a bite, your heart skips a beat, the flavor of the freshly caught trout took your pain away instantly.
- >After an entire year of oats and apples, this was incredible.
- "This is delicious! Ponies like you eat like this every day?" you ask excitedly, between bites of fishy heaven.
- >"Well, yeah, silly! What else is there to eat?"
- >Is this mare a true carnivore? Freaky, but you aren't complaining about the meal.
- "Where I come from, ponies grow what they eat and-" you pause your meat fueled excitement.
- >You haven't even properly introduced yourself to the pony that saved your life.
- "I'm sorry, where the hell are my manners? I'm Anon. I'm a human. Probably the only one in Equestria."
- >You extend a hand to shake her hoof.
- >She appears confused, and pokes your hand curiously.
- >I guess hoofshakes aren't a thing around these parts.
- >You take her fuzzy hoof gently in your hand and move it slowly up and down.
- "It's called a hoofshake, it's how you say 'nice to meet you' back where I live!" you explain, smiling.
- >The sweet, isolated mare blushes deeply, and gives a shy smile.
- >"It's um, nice..." she mutters softly.
- >She moves her hoof away, still blushing, clearly not used to having her hooves touched.
- >A few seconds pass and she returns to her original, upbeat tone.
- >"Anyways, nice to meet you, Anon! My name's Frosty Flakes and I just saved your life!" your new friend explains.
- >"What caused you to poke around in a blizzard like that? You could have gotten seriously hurt!"
- >You explain Celestia's letter, your assignment, and your talents (or lack thereof in this case).
- >"Wow, so you risked your life just to learn about my kind?"
- "Basically, yeah."
- >"Well what do you want to know?" She asks, with a wide smile.
- >You swear you heard a squee come out of her.
- "How long has your kind been around? How come no one has ever heard of, well, snow ponies?"
- >"Mmmm..."
- >She begins digging her mind for any relevant info.
- >Her facial expression changes and answers in a matter of fact tone:
- >"I have no idea!" she states, proudly.
- >You're shocked. Is she the only one of her kind?
- >"This way of life has been all I've known for my entire life, and I've never really thought about it!"
- >"I don't remember my parents, but I'm sure they taught me everything I need to know. Making the most out of the snow just comes naturally to my kind, I guess!" she fills in casually.
- >You feel bad for the poor mare. She must have been miserable out here alone for decades.
- >Your friendly grin turns into an empathetic frown. You feel horrible for her.
- "So, you've been here all alone your whole life...?"
- >"Yeah, but the snow is my friend! I make snow ponies, snow angels, have snowball fights with myself-"
- >You feel like you're about to cry.
- >"But it is nice that the stars sent me someone to talk to..." Frosty adds on, still smiling but revealing her needy eyes.
- >Again with the stars. However, you're too worried about the lonely mare to change the subject.
- "Is that part of why you saved me?"
- >"I saved you because you needed help, no one should be trapped in the cold, silly!" the pony quips back, flustered.
- "The snuggling too?"
- >"Snuggling? You mean when I kept you from freezing to death?"
- >You look at her with a "come on" facial expression.
- >"Okay, yeahhh...it WAS nice to have somepony to sleep on."
- >She's so cute, your heart is melting and you want to keep this sweetheart company for as long as you can.
- >You swallow your pride.
- "If you'd like, I can stay here with you a little longer. It could be fun!" you offer to her, with a big, dumb grin.
- >She perks up instantly, her big sapphire eyes filled with excitement.
- >"Yes of course!!" she nearly shouts, positively beaming. "We can talk all night and play in the snow and eat lots of fish together!"
- >She hugs you tightly, revealing a crimson blush after she realizes what she's doing.
- >You hug her back with nearly the same amount of tightness, causing her to turn to butter instantly.
- >You now had a cute snow mare with her face buried in your chest.
- >With Frosty Flakes now extremely content in your arms, you push your luck and try stroking her fluffy brown mane.
- >Shivers run down her spine. She never thought about how much she needed something like this.
- >"Thank the stars..." she mumbles to herself, with a muffled voice.
- >Okay, now you had to know. What the hell is up with the stars thing?
- >You wait a few more seconds to let her enjoy the hug a little longer, then slowly release her.
- "You keep thanking the 'stars' for things, what do you mean by that?" you ask with a friendly and curious tone.
- >Her eyes widen even further.
- >"Let me show you...!"
- >The blizzard had calmed down at this point. It was still freezing, but a liveable level of cold.
- >She lead you outside the igloo, laid down on the freezing snow, and motioned for you to lay down next to her.
- >Obliging her, you laid down on your back next to Frosty, doing your best to ignore the piercing coolness of the ground.
- >"Look up! Aren't they beautiful?"
- >There was no trace of the storm from earlier. Not a cloud left in the sky. Only the beautiful night, sprinkled with gorgeous shining stars.
- >"They always gave me hope whenever I needed it. I feel like they've always had a plan for me."
- >"Can I tell you something personal?" she asked with a somber look on her face.
- >Whatever she's about to say next seems very important to her.
- >"When I was just a filly, I hated it here."
- >"I was scared, cold, and alone. Sure I was able to keep myself from starving to death, but sometimes I felt like I didn't have a purpose."
- >"It truly was lonely. I couldn't bear the thought of being out here on my own another minute. The emptiness was taking me over."
- >"Then I saw them. They spoke to me. They were guiding me. They showed me my destiny."
- >"It was a breathtaking green ripple in the sky, dancing with them. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Suddenly, the cold didn't feel so cold anymore, and I could feel someone out there was rooting for me."
- >"I planted my hooves deeply in the snow and could finally accept that this place was my home. Then, this appeared."
- >She presents her flank and shows off her cutie mark, two snowflakes.
- >"The cold is truly my destiny, and I'll always be happy here." she states proudly, finishing up her story.
- >You understand and appreciate Frosty's optimistic outlook now. This is what she was meant for. Possibly the last of the snow mares, doing what she does best.
- >The smallest signs and slightest displays of beauty can inspire anyone or anypony to keep on going.
- "That's...really amazing, Frosty." is all you can say. This mare is definitely something special.
- >"The real amazing thing is that I finally get to share my stories with a good friend..." she replies, with a crimson blush covering her face.
- >You pull the sweet, strong mare into a deep hug, which she reciprocates immediately, wrapping her hooves around your body once more.
- >Frosty grew very comfortable, and her wide sapphire eyes began to close. Soon enough she was snoring on your chest.
- >Taking the opportunity, you plant the smallest of pecks right on her forehead, prepared to drift away into a peaceful slumber right next to her.
- >Without warning, she returns your tiny kiss with an even bigger, sloppier one right on your cheek.
- >You can barely think and your mind is racing with fuzzy thoughts about this fuzzy mare.
- >Once again, the snow mare was passed out on your chest, with not a care in the world.
- >You begin to drift away into her warmth as your eyelids struggle to stay open.
- >However, just before you fall asleep, you notice a glowing green wave of light in the corner of your eye.
- >The frigid surface you are laying on doesn't bother you anymore, you only pay mind to the kind mare who was all alone in the snow.
- >You hug her tighter.
- >Celestia's report is going to have to wait.