It was well into Winter at the Sequoia National Park.
Few Fluffies lived there, during the Cowd-Times, as food was scarce and herds mostly migrated towards Hoomins, hoping to acquire a home before the cold set in. Most, if not all, would fail…
A Feral Family, Gem, a Hot Pink Alicorn, and Salt, a White Unicorn, and there babbehs, snuggled in there nest, a deep hole that they had dug out during the previous seasons.
Gem was very clever. Gem had known that some of Salt’s brood wouldn’t make it thru the Cowd-Time, so he had to prepare. Instead of risking the trek into the snow, Gem had collected baggie nummies that were left behind by hoomins all before the snow began to fall. A few Animal Cracker boxes, the occasional cereal bar, and the very rare, very enjoyed, Muffin Bites!
When the first snowfall came, he had a stockpile of about seventy dollars worth of food, none incredibly healthy, but it was fattening and they needed that to survive the blistering cold.
Salt and Gem had a brood of four colts. All were not given names, as there parents knew there was a chance they would never last the full winter, even with preparations in place. They told themselves that they would name all the survivors, and lvoe them as much as they could. The strangest thing about these four colts?
They all shared a golden hue to there coats! Two Eathies, and Two Unicorns. four golden balls of fluff.
The first few weeks passed with very few problems, snow melted down the entrance of the nest providing water during the morning times, it wasn’t a lot, but they greedy took what they could get. The nummies were only eaten when they needed to eat, they needed to make sure they would last. The Babies, while cute as buttons, all wanted to explore and do nothing but drink miwkies. It broke Salt’s heart to have to ration her milk, to force them to stay with her. But she had no choice, she just had to sit and bear the grumbling and crying of her foals, no matter how much it hurt her.
“Huu-huu… Sawt am wowstes’ Mummah, wan gibe babbehs miwkies, but dey nee’ tu dwink onwy widdwe bit…” Salt cried quietly, only to be hugged by Gem. “Nu am Bad Mummah, am gud Mummah, babbehs gon gwow up, and see Bwite-time! Suwe dey cwy, buh dey nu know dat we keepin dem safe, and wawm, and awive!” Gem was Salt’s rock… Literally, He was the thing that kept her going, she wished the Cowd-Times would leave soon, Salt wanted her babbehs to play and have fun! “Wuv ou’ Speshuw Fwend…”
“Gem wuv ou’ mowe!”
It wasn’t until the second month of Cowd that things were gettign complicated, water was becoming scarce, food was still going good, and milk was still in abundance, but the foals wouldn’t stop crying for more. They all craved more, but only received enough to live and get thru these hard times, but they were so hungry for more!
Salt had worried that she would one day have to do the unthinkable and NUM one of her babbehs for milk, but thanks to Gem and her planning ahead of time, things were going good. Until she heard digging.
“S-s-smeww wike m-m-mawe! S-smawty! obah h-h-hewe!” Cried a strange, cold, fluffy voice. one that Salt and Gem had never heard. It seems that a nummie finder had caught the scent of Salt, and reported it back to the resident tyrant, a Smarty. Clad in icicles and a Grey coat, the Smarty demanded the Mare come out for special huggies. “Nuuuuu- Nu wan bad huggies Special-Fwen-” Cried out Salt, before being stopped by Gem. “Quiet speshuw fwend, Gem pwanned fo’ dis!”
As the Smarty stood unimpressed by his Nummie finder’s digging, he slowly began to see a figure trudging thru the snow to meet him. It was a Hoomin. “GU AWAY DUMMEH HOOMIN! DIS AM SMA-” Was all the Smarty could utter before he was shot by the Ranger’s riffle, the noise echoing into the burrow scarring Salt. “W-w-w-w-wha’ was noisey? Munsta?”
“Nu Speshuw Fwend, Dat was Hoomin, he gud AN’ bad hoomin, good if fwuffies gud to twee pwace, an’ bad to fwuffies who am bad fwuffies. Gem met hoomin befowe, nice hoomin, but scawy, nu wowwy tho, he nu huwt famiwy.” Gem knew exactly what to say to Salt to calm her down. Giving her Special Friend a hug, they cuddled together. With the family safe, they slept, thinking the warm sun would come sooner rather than later.
The Cowd-Times were almost over, only a month or so for the snow to leave, and a few weeks after that for the temperature to return to the normal. Snow was melting more and more, fresh cold wawa was on tap whenever they needed it. The only problem towards the end was the abundance of “Bad-Poopie Howes” Lining the walls of the burrow. While the smell was a problem, the warmth it provided was nice for a time, until the hole was filled, and needed to be closed, and another hole needed to be dug.
No casualties from the foals or the parents. Food was shared accordingly, a foal was getting fat? Lesser rations, too skinny? More rations. It was around this time the foals began to open there eyes, and start talking. “Mummah!” “Wuv!” “Daddeh!” “Poopies?” were echoing thru the nest, delighting the Mother and Father. All four babies were indeed growing up, a little slower due to the rationing of milk, but come Summer they would begin to eat abundantly and grow bigger, soon they would be given names, and be able to see land they lived in!
Gem and Salt couldn’t wait to show them the park they called home, a place where they grew up, met, and fell in love with each other. They would love it, Salt and Gem were sure. They just had to be patient. they needed to make it till the snow had left the hole, or was thin enough to break in case they all had to leave.
They just had to be patient.