The Longest Winter
Chapter 4
The mare woke up with one of her foals climbing on her face. For the first time they had full bellies and were eager to explore. The small hole that the mother had dug was like a whole new world for the babies to investigate. While their eyes hadn’t opened yet, nor had they begun to speak, they were still able to crawl excitedly around their mother like a fluffy little mountain.
The mare smiled for a moment as the brown alicorn finished climbing up her face and into her mane. But play time was over. The mother placed her babies into her back fluff and they instinctively latched on as she began to move. She had done a good job finding enough food for the day, but she needed to collect as much as possible to store for the winter.
She peeked out from under the branch covering the hole to make sure nothing dangerous was nearby. She saw a squirrel climb up a nearby pine, but nothing else. She emerged from her pit and dragged another branch over it. It might come in handy later if the porch was no longer an option. She looked up at the sun and saw that she hadn’t been asleep for very long. The bright ball was still high in the sky which meant that she still had several hours before dark. Now to find more food.
The mare began to sniff the ground again, hoping to pick up another sweet mushroom scent. Instead, she came across something savory. It was a patch of wild onions. While the recent frost had browned the top parts, the bulbs buried in the soil were still alive and well. There were dozens of them!
Now the question was how to get them back to the porch. She certainly couldn’t carry them one by one, and what little space she had on her back was occupied. She needed a container or a bag of some kind. She looked around her but only saw trees and leaves. But she wouldn’t give up! Surely she could find something nearby.
She trotted from tree to tree hoping for something, anything. Perhaps a bag had been blown into the woods or other such litter. Humans were always scattering their trash about carelessly. Unfortunately the mare could find nothing.
She rested against a tree to catch her breath and was about to give up when she heard a cracking sound. She looked behind her and saw that the tree she was leaning on was dead. Its bark was old and dry, and it was beginning to peel from the tree. The gears in her little head began to turn. If she could peel off a large enough piece of bark it could hold several onions. She would only have to make a few trips!
She circled the tree, looking for the best angle to start from. She eyed a large chunk of bark near the middle that looked perfect, but it was out of her reach. She huffed in frustration and stomped her hoof on the forest floor. A stick snapped under her and she looked down. That gave her an idea!
She quickly began to search the area for a larger stick - one that was straight and long enough to reach the loose bark of the dead tree. But it also had to be light enough for her to lift and work with. She sniffed and searched for several minutes before finally finding the perfect branch on the outside of a huge bush.
It was still green, so breaking it off wouldn’t be easy. She tried rubbing her hoof against it, but it would take hours to cut through. She snorted in frustration and grabbed the branch with her teeth. With all of her might she chewed and yanked at the branch. Furiously she chomped and pulled, growling and snorting as she slowly wore down the branch. She ignored the pain in her mouth, even as blood began to trickle from her lips. Just… a little… more…
SNAP!
She dropped the stick in triumph and spit the blood from her mouth. She took a second to catch her breath before picking it up and heading back to the dead tree. She carefully gripped the bottom of the stick in her teeth while slowly wedging the other end behind the loose bark. She had to be careful not to break it off too soon. It needed to retain as much of its curved form as possible so that it would be a good basket.
Luckily her stick was still green, thus it was flexible. It bent behind the bark perfectly before finally breaking off a huge chunk. It landed safely on the leaves below. At last, the mare had her basket. She smiled in self admiration and grabbed one end of her new makeshift basket. She dragged it all the way back to the onion patch and filled it with delicious, savory, wild onions. Her mouth began to water - she was getting hungry again. She decided to head back to the hole she had dug and dig up the rest of the remaining sweet mushrooms that she had found. She quickly devoured them and popped back out to the onion patch.
All the commotion had caused her babies to stir on her back. They were getting hungry again as well. It wouldn’t be long before their instinct to feed would override their instinct to stay gripped to their mother’s back. She needed to hurry and finish gathering food so she could get back to the safety of the porch before dark. She looked up at the sun, it had gone down since she last checked, she only had a couple hours left.
After some quick digging she had filled the curved bark with wild onions as well as some moss and regular mushrooms she chewed off another log. This would be enough food for a week if she was careful not to eat to much. She bit the corner of the bark and began to drag it carefully back towards the cottage.
She stopped a little ways away from the house to get a good look before going closer. Smoke was rising from the chimney and the sun was beginning to set. The mare squinted as she carefully looked around. Everything seemed normal, and she cautiously continued her approach. She was almost there, almost home. Her entire body was sore from a hard day’s work. She would sleep well tonight.
That was when she heard a noise. A strange collection of wild howls and barking sounds from the forest behind her. Her heart began to race with fear. Barking was never a good sign. Dogs often protected areas in the village and the mare had many memories of hiding from them while surviving in the back alleys of town.
Her plan to quietly sneak towards the house was no longer an option. She gripped the bark filled with food and quickly dragged it towards the cottage. She didn’t care if some of the food fell out, she could gather them again tomorrow. Right now all she cared about was saving her foals from danger. The howls and strange barking sounds grew louder. The scent of the mare’s blood from her wounds that she suffered throughout the day were attracting whatever was hunting her. While the house was now just a few yards away, it felt like miles.
The mare’s eyes frantically darted around her. She was doing the best she could to watch the ground behind her so she didn’t trip, while also eyeing the woods in front of her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her pursuers. Their howls grew louder and more erratic as they finally emerged from the woods. Their eyes reflected the sunset and seemed to glow yellow in the encroaching night.
It was worse than the mare feared. She realized that what she thought were dogs were in fact coyotes. They were known to sneak into town late at night to scavenge food in the streets, and they killed any smaller animal that they came across. They had her scent, and she was unsure if the isolated human cottage would be enough to fend them off. A faint light shown from the side window of the house, but it wouldn’t be enough to frighten the band of coyotes. Their hunger would surely override their fear of humans, and they were getting closer.
The mare’s anxiety soon turned into full blown panic as she heard the dreadful sound of coyote paws running towards her. She decided that her food wasn’t worth the risk and abandoned it. She turned and ran as fast as she could towards the porch. This seemed to increase the coyote’s speed as well, their claws rapidly sprinting over the ground as the mare fled. Her foals chirped in fear and clung to their mother’s fluff for dear life as she ran.
She was almost there, the hole in the porch was just a few more yards away. The mare ran as fast as her short legs could carry her. She knew they were closing in, she could hear their furious panting and desperate growls as they ran. With one last leap the mare dived into the hole under the porch and slid safely inside just at the first coyote closed the gap behind her. It’s head was all that fit through the hole, its jaws desperately snapping and growling for its prey. The wood around its neck began to splinter and crack as the beast eagerly tried to force its way under the porch. It soon realized that it was not going to work and began digging furiously at the bottom of the hole. The mare quaked with fear as her foals began to squeal in terror. She had run out of options. The howls of the coyotes circling the house grew more wild as they knew that their prey was corned and soon within their grasp.
The mare closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. Her life flashed before her eyes, her abusive family, her days surviving in the shadows of town, her mate, and now her and her babies facing certain doom. She gritted her teeth in anger as tears streamed down her face. Her life had been so pathetic. And just when she thought she had a chance of survival, it would end in tragic violence. She was helpless.
POW!!
A loud bang echoed through the forest. A foot kicked open the screen door of the cabin as the porch light came on. The old woman stepped out holding a Winchester model 9422M .22 Magnum lever action rifle.
“Get your mangey asses of my property, you damn dirty mutts!!”