LINK TO PART 11 DOWN HERE
Dew dripped off the sparse shrubbery, the drops poking holes into the layers of snow the fluffies of the Good Herd trudged begrudgingly through. Around the technicoloured mammals lay nothing but snow, and as far as they could see; it wasnât about to end.
The sun was sinking, creating an enormous atmosphere of grandeur. The hot star displayed all of its colours, haphazardly splashing oranges, purples, pinks and yellows into the sky and creating a beautiful, ocular cacophony.
None of the fluffies acknowledged this beautiful sight though: they had more pressing problems.
âSandy su tiwed, wan sweepie piwe nao!â
Muscari rolled his eyes. The grating mare seemed to only make situations worse. Even so, he found himself peering at the sky. It was definitely growing darker, but there was no shelter around, and sleeping out in the open was not only risky due to possible hypothermia, but if any creature were to come upon them there would be nothing they could do.
It had only been around three days since the herd set off, and because of their thorough scouting before leaving, the entire herd could eat quite comfortably for a few days.
This didnât help with the cold though.
As they waded for hours on end through the powdery snow, frequent stops were made. May it be because of fatigue, hunger or cold - whenever anyone complained the whole herd would stop and rest, but not before complaining about their situation.
They did make progress
But at a laughable rate.
âOu nee tu wait, hewd nu can maek sweepie piwe âtiw we finâ shewtew.â
They carried on their march, but soon enough it became clear that their chances of finding shelter were dwindling sharply.
The blue leader half-heartedly pawed the snow.
It was deep enough that it was a pain and a struggle to wade through, reaching the torsos of the younger fluffies and knees of the older ones, but simply not deep enough to burrow in.
Just as Muscari was about to relent, Dandelion spoke up.
âWook, Muscawi.â
She raised a hoof south. Muscari squinted; he could see the snow dipped slightly as if a ditch of some sort was there, but what really excited him was the faint outline of a tree just beyond it.
His tail wiggled in sheer relief, and he turned to his idling herd mates.
âHuwwy ebywun! Bigges twee obew dewe!â
A surge of excitement rippled through the herd, the net pace of the fluffies picking up substantiallyâ it was a race against time.
As the fastest of the herd grew closer, it was quickly made clear to them that getting to the tree would be no easy task.
A ditch. That was indeed what the unassuming dip in the snow was, and up close, it was a lot more menacing.
It was just under a meter deep at most, but the steep V shaped sides posed a problem to the shivering creatures. Not only that, but a thick band of icy water carved its way though the bottom of the ditch.
ââŚWawa bad fow fwuffiesâŚâ Dandelion hissed, shivering at just the sight.
âNee gu anodew way.â Her eyes already wondered elsewhere, scanning for anywhere easier to cross.
âHewd Id cowd.â
Her head snapped back towards Muscari, eyes widened in shock.
âMuscawi. Ou dun possibwy fink hewd can cwoss hewe?!..â
The stallion threw her a hard stare.
âId dawkie time awwedy, Hewd nu can spen preshious time wookin fow cwossing⌠Wose babbehs awe in dangew!â Muscari cried defensively, revealing his true worries.
It seemed like the power Muscari held had slightly gotten to his head.
in the three days he was in charge
It wasnât completely unwarranted fretting. Indeed, the curly maned mare seemed distressed, coddling the smallest of her foals as it peeped weakly, even Dandelion couldnât deny that the foal looked as if itâd drop dead if it didnât get warm soon.
Still, she stepped closer, tail flicking as the terrible feeling she felt grew.
âId stiww nu wowf id! Ib ou gu dis way den da whowe hewd wiww be in dangew!â
She hesitated, averting her gaze as she murmured the last part.
âWun babbeh id bettew dan aww ob usâŚâ
Muscari recoiled in disgust.
âOu soun jus wike Zebwa.â With a resolute shove, he pushed pass the anxious mare, advancing to the lip of the ditch then turning to address the herd.
âEBYWUN! WE AWE CWOSSIN HEWE.â