The quill scratched against the parchment as Cadence wrote through it, her eyes half closed in concentration, aided by the light of a small lamp lying next to it on the desk, in the night of a day wholly soaked by constant precipitation. Next to her, in the comfortable bed provided by the Apples, Winter Blossom slept, her deep breaths easily heard by her mother. Down in the document being created by her magic, some names were jolted down in one side, while at the other, a single name counterbalanced them. Her eyes gazed intently upon the sheet, as if expecting it to reveal untold secrets it was helding back from her.
The lack of any response on the part of the inanimate document after a couple of minutes of intense staring led to her releasing a deep, long sigh. She then felt Winter stirring behind her, and turned to find the small pony stretching her hooves, looking at her from the heavy veil of slumber, her eyes only slightly.
"Mom?" asked Winter, her voice only barely rising beyond a whisper, clutching the sheets with her small hooves. "Why aren't you sleeping?"
Cadence smiled at her daughter. "It's alright, honey. I'll be there with you in a minute. Sleep now, Winter."
The filly blinked, looking at her, only to slowly fall once again on the clutches of sleep. Cadence turned her attention again to the sheet of parchment lying in front of her. She frowned looking at it, and then sighed quietly. She rolled the parchment and put it in one of her bags. She looked out of the window. Up in the sky, the stars shone brightly in a firmament cleaned up of clouds by the weather pegasi, after the heavy rain of the past day.
"Well, I can't complain. It was pretty relaxing."
It was then that a yawn made its way towards her mouth. She covered it out of pure instinct. She put down the quill, turned out the lamp and walked over to the bed. She looked at her daughter, her white coat reminding her of her husband, busy on official Royal Guard duties, doubling with their tenure as Crystal Empire rulers.
She climbed into bed, snuggling next to Winter, whom she caught in her hooves. The small filly relaxed even more into her mother's embrace. Putting her head next to Winter's, Cadence gave herself up to dreams.
She was shaken awake by the pressure of a little pair of hooves against her chest.
"Mom!"
Her eyelids refused to open, locking her in a state of semi-wakefulness while the soft pinching on her stomach continued, accompanied by the voice calling her from afar.
"Oh, Winter, just let mom go on a little more..." She turned to the other the small pounding on her back finally made her rise. Her eyes finally opened and she spent some time focusing before looking back to Winter, who sat there smiling. Briefly, a memory of three rambunctious fillies of each race flashed through Cadence's mind, and she smiled even more.
"Good morning, honey." Cadence pressed forward to kiss Winter in the forehead, making her giggle and extend her short hooves; they both locked in a hug.
"Well, Winter," said Cadence, looking out of the window, where the sun was already shining up in the sky with a few clouds hovering around,, "let's get out there." Without so much as a second thought, Winter jumped out of the bed, opening the door and trotting out of the room. Cadence looked to one of her bags, opening it and levitating the piece of parchment she had put in there the night before. Unfurling it, she saw what she had wrote, and let out another sigh.
"There's still more than a week left before Hearts and Hooves Day. Don't lose your cool, Cadence."
She nodded reassuringly to herself, and, packing the parchment away once again, left the room, descending through the stairs towards the kitchen.
Nature greeted the two ponies as soon as they opened the door. A current of air charged with the scent of spring charged against them, warm and dry. Winter's mane flowed against the breeze and she smiled happily, trotting out of the house into the path that led out of Sweet Apple Acres. Cadence followed her at her own pace, making sure not to lose her. Soon they crossed the farm's main gate. Instead of taking the route going to the village, both ponies turned to the left, following the trail directing to the Everfree Forest. The dusty path went up a hill they climbed; Winter jumped around admiring the lush trees at both side of the road, comprising both the Apple family trees and other species from the other side, as well as the odd wild flower. Her mother followed her with her eyes, her own mind having flown away into her inner thoughts. They reached the top of the hill and began descending. From there the edge of the forest could be seen. Its nature was unchanged, as the blackened trees formed a tight, foreboding wood, unwelcoming and gloomy.
Near its edge, where once a small wooden cottage had stood, two buildings occupied its place, visible from the top of the hill Cadence and Winter were standing in. Closest to the forest, a small, wooden, one story house stood. Its presence provided a counter to the brooding atmosphere of the forest, giving out an aura of tranquility and relaxation. Next to it, further from the Everfree, a one-story cottage, bigger than the old one, occupied most of the space. Around it and inside it were installed houses and feeders for many different animals that roamed inside it, looking for shelter or food, being cared for by Fluttershy herself; taking care many woodland critters as well as pets that were sick, or whose owners had to take a leave of absence kept her fairly busy most of the time.
"Don't get ahead running, Winter. You might tumble and fall."
The filly nodded towards her mother, and both began descending, approaching Fluttershy's home slowly. A big bedflower flanked the entrance to the residence, complementing the scenery with a colorful presentation and a mix of pleasant scents that invaded their noses. The smell invigorated Cadence and Winter jumped around, looking at the different flowers with a smile, careful not to step on them. A bunny ran away from them in the other side of the field, and some birds watched them from the top of the cottage, some of them singing loudly and a couple flying over to them. A small hummingbird perched itself atop Winter's head. The small pony tried to lit a hoof to pet it, but it flew away again; she sighed in disappointment.
The door to the cottage opened, letting a small army of creatures out of it, between bunnies, squirrels, small and large birds and even a dog out of it, surrounding Cadence and Winter among barks, cries, songs and a complete cacophony of sounds. Winter looked around everywhere, marveled. Finally, Fluttershy herself came out of the cottage, looking to the point one of the squirrels pointed her to, and smiled, recognizing the princess and her niece, trotting over to them.
"Winter! Cadence! It's so good to see you!"
She closed the distance separating them in a blink, trapping them in a powerful hug, nuzzling Winter.
"Hi, Fluttershy, how have you been doing?" asked Cadence, once the mare had released them, though she kept Winter near her hooves, fussing over the filly.
"Oh, I've been fine. Last days have been a little busy since they're note here, but I can manage it. How long have you been here?"
"Just a couple days. I wanted to come yesterday, but the rain was too strong, sorry."
"Don't worry, Cadence. I'm happy to see you both now. Do you want to come inside for some tea?" replied Fluttershy, smiling warmly at the princess.
Cadence smiled as well, nodding. "That would be wonderful."
"Come on, then. I'm practically free now and it's good to have some company."
Winter led the way back to the small house while Cadence turned to look at Fluttershy.
"In a journey again?" Her question was more of a confirmation that a straight up inquiry. She received a smile from her friend.
"They parted a week ago. I think it'll be around a month."
Cadence pouted. "A shame, We wanted to meet them."
"Sorry... I think we can go to Canterlot later, I'll just have to arrange for it."
Winter pushed the door to the house open, while Cadence smiled at Fluttershy.
"That would be lovely."