A Snowy Stroll [Trottingham, and open to all]

[RoyalDice]

The air was cold, the trees were white and the sidewalks are slippery. Not the most wanted weather, but still okay for Survey to have a nice - yet careful - stroll through Trottingham. Wearing small, dark green ear mugs and sipping from his cup of steaming hot coffee. It was a rather normal winter day, with a bit of a cold chill and a faint notice of snow falling. Everywhere in Trottingham lights were lit in countless houses and most of the ponies, unicorns and pegasi were all inside, sharing fancy meals and hot drinks. Being a bit alone during the festivities though enjoying the peace, Survey didn't mind spending most of the winter alone in his house, reading books and drinking more coffee to stay awake. On Survey's back was a saddlebag, packed with his usual supplies. Some books and scrolls, quills and ink and a puzzle cube. For once, it wasn't quite as heavy as most of the times he had it stacked, though each bit of weight could increase the chance of crashing against something. Though currently still standing on his hooves, it was quite common for the unicorn to slip or plain slide across the slippery sidewalks. He had even considered wearing small mittens on his hooves to decrease the chance, but after some short pondering he decided it was better to just look out for the ice.

Survey, so far had steadied himself countless times now, but was still standing. Steam coming from his mouth each time as he talked to himself. ''I-it's.. n-not cold, atleast.. n-not very cold.. it's cold enough! Y-yes! T-That's it, r-right?'' . It was pretty cold for the meek colt, not being used to the cold weather as a result of being kept home alot while he was still a foal. However this could not spoil his mood, it was Heartwarming Eve after all! Shivering and trying to talk some hope and sense into himself, he was looking around, hoping to spot a familiar face to chat with. It didn't even have to be anypony he knew, just a friendly looking face. Though that most of the streets were quiet and snowy, there still was enough chance of spotting somepony that could be chatted with!

[RarityDash]

Ardent Fate's teeth chattered relentlessly as she walked the streets of Trottingham. Of all the many pony cities and towns she had visited, this had to be one of her favorites. There was just something in the architecture and the manner in which the locals talked that resonated with her. It felt welcoming.

Or usually it did. Right now, it just felt cold. Winter was hard on the young filly wherever she was. Her father's tattered old knight's cloak provided some warmth but never quite enough. Ponies stayed inside more, so there were fewer opportunities to offer her assistance to those who might need it. This made securing bits harder, which in turn made securing both food and shelter harder. This left her weakened and unable to train as she usually did; it was a struggle to lift her father's sword even in normal circumstances, but here in the dead of winter it was almost impossible.

As she walked slowly, not entirely sure where she was going, she soon spotted somepony walking toward her in the opposite direction. This perked her up a little. Maybe this pony was in some peril? Could he possibly have some use for a knight? He was a colt, probably somewhere around Fate's age. He looked like her too was suffering from the harsh cold, though luckily for him he seemed to have a hot beverage at his side. Fate decided to approach.

"Greetings, good sir," she said with as much of her usual dramatics as her weak body could muster. "What has you out wandering these streets alone in this bitter cold? You wouldn't happen to require any assistance with anything, would you?"

She gave a firm nod and smiled, before adding, "As a knight in training it is my duty to roam these lands, offering a helping hoof to whomever may require it!"

She stared at the colt optimistically as she waited for his response.

[RoyalDice]

Slightly surprised by the voice, Survey weakly eeped, and turned towards the voice. He tried to make it as silent as possible, so the other wouldn't hear him, sounding pathetic. The voice seemingly came from a filly, who looked a bit younger than he was. Still, anypony to chat with was always a good thing!

''O-oh, uhm.. good d-day, m-miss! I w-was merely strolling a-across these.. icy streets, looking f-for other ponies!'' he said, with his usual nervous smile and shaky voice. His smile, though nervous was still as honest as he could make it. ''A-assistance, y-you say? I... don't r-really know what y-you mean with that..'' he said, tilting his head with a bit confused expression on his face. He wasn't all sure what she could ''assist'' with, though the company of a fellow pony, filly or not was always appreciated. ''W-well, just.. some f-friendly chatter, i'd like to have... i s-suppose..'' he said, scratching his head weakly, chuckling awkwardly.

The filly looked quite optimistic whilst she asked him, so bluntly saying 'no' was pretty much out of the option for the nervous colt. He wasn't the kind of pony to just ignore others, despite how rude they could be to him. Though that this filly wasn't rude, at all. She even looked quite pleasant! ''C-care for a.. w-walk?'' he said, smiling politely, trying to hide his nervousness the best he could.

[Hurricane]

Hurricane brooded to herself as she drifted lazily through the sky, just a few feet from the ground, her huge wings flapping so slowly it did not seem logically possible for her to stay off the ground. She as in all weathers refused to wear anything, she believed that the elements, the weather, would protect her from anything too dangerous. The lights around her stung at her eyes, she had just come down to the ground from within the dark clouds far above, where she had felt much more at home. She both loved and hated this time of year, it gave her an excuse to cook up some storms without getting into trouble with the authorities which made her all akimbo, but at the same time, anyone who knew her enough to know her name knew that, this time of year, having the name Hurricane brought the same stupid Heath Warming Eve jokes. "Hey Hurricane, when are you going to lead the Pegasi to the promised land!" "Hurricane, don't get frozen in a block of ice!" She growled to herself at the thoughts of the old jokes, her wings shivering with her anger.

Glancing around her only made her angrier. All about, there were ponies, fillies and colts, stallions and mares, all enjoying each others company, having the times of their life, while here she was, as usual, alone and angry. As her thoughts darkened further, she contemplated soaring back up into the storm, and turning the delicate, fluffy snow into a powerful blizzard, a storm to be proud of, but, as she braced herself to fly upwards, she spotted a pony trotting along, almost slip over on the ice. She let out a mean little cackle, a smile spreading across her face as she thought of the almost occurance.

She decided that this colt might be quite entertaining to follow, after all, if he had slipped up once before, he might again, and this time, with more hilarious results. Sneaking back up into the sky, she snagged a little cloud, and sat upon it, floating along a safe distance from the colt. He met with a filly, and seemed to be very shy around her. Letting out a faint giggle, Hurricane smirked as she followed them, this could well turn out to be something a lot more entertaining than she had first hoped.

[RarityDash]

Fate was surprised. He just wanted to talk and walk with her? She supposed that was fine. It was something to do to keep her mind off the bitter cold after all. Yeah. It might be good to talk to somepony.

"Very well. It would please me to provide you the company you lack," Fate said giving a firm nod as she began to walk with him. As she moved toward him, she thought for a second she thought she saw somepony watching them, but examining again, there was nothing. She decided it was probably just her imagination. Why would anypony possibly be following them, after all?

"I am Ardent Fate, aspiring knight of the Holy Destrier order." Fate decided it was time to introduce herself to the colt. "But you may call me simply Fate if you wish. Most ponies do."

[RoyalDice]

Looking a little saddened by her reply about how he lacked company, however still happy about the fact that she had agreed to the offer. ''T-thank you! T-That's.. very.. n-nice..'' he said slowly, as he nodded, and looked around. His time of traveling with Brazil made him quite familiar with the feeling of being watched, however as he saw no other ponies, he simply shrugged it off.

''A k-knight?'' he chuckled a bit. ''A-atleast, i'll be s-safe a-around you!'' he said with a small laugh, before being cut off by a cough. He simply took another sip of his drink as he continued walking. ''Y-you have a n-nice name, i m-must say.. compared to mine, a-atleast..'' he said, slowly extending a hoof. ''O-oh, yeah! U-uhm, where are m-my manners.. m-my name is Survey!'' he said, awkwardly smiling at her again.

[Hurricane]

The fairly stealthy pegasus smirked once again. So she's a knight... that could be... problematic. If she were to discover that half these storms were unliscensed, I could be in some serious trouble. Maybe I should just leave well alone, now she mused, as she floated along behind them. She hadn't encountered the Holy Destrier before, but she knew authorities tended to look down upon rogue weatherponies. With a nod to herself, she turned her body, intending to make good her escape. With a heavy blast of her wings, she lifted upwards.

Unfortunately, the cloud she had chosen chose that moment to collapse upon itself, and with her weight not yet supported by her flapping wings, she fell to the ground, about as graciously as a bag of porridge. "Ahhh, buggrit!" she yelped, her wings flopping atop her form as she groaned, pushing herself up from the cold ground with a shiver. "That could have gone better..." she mused, looking up at the thin curls of cloud that were even now dissipating above her. Clicking her tongue, she stood, and used her expansive wings to dust herself down.

[RarityDash]

"Well, I'm not a real knight yet," said Fate looking down. "I'm actually not even a squire... But I'm training to be one," she started cheerfully. "So I'd say I'm sure to be a real knight eventually..."

Fate gave a satisfied nod and looked at the colt. "Survey, huh? I think that's a fine name. It's--"

Fate cut herself off when she distinctly heard something nearby. A pegasus nearby had fallen from the sky and landed on the snowy ground with a no doubt painful thud.

"Aha... somepony seems to be in peril," Fate started, almost excited by the fact. She cantered over to the pegasus and stared down at her.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you alright?" she asked readily, eager to assist the injured. "I can carry you to the doctor, if you require it."

[RoyalDice]

''T-trust my, m-my name isn't s-so g-'' he wanted to reply, but he was also cut off by the thud, caused by the crashing pegasus. ''O-oh my..'' he muttered, as he slowly trotted over to the ''crash site''.

He slowly eyed the pegasus, and quickly cleared his throat. ''..N-need.. a-any help?'' he said, now about twice as nervous, and with a faint blush on his cheek. He slowly turned to Fate. ''S-She looks like s-she's still h-healthy..'' he said slowly.

[Hurricane]

Cussing wildly as she shook herself to free her from the mild pain, Hurricane turned around, her one uncovered eye glaring across at them from behind her hair. Her wings spread out wide and she let out an angry hiss as she flinched, one of her wings was quite clearly crooked. "Damnit! No! I'm fine, I don't need help from anyone!" she said with a hiss, one of her hooves was in pain too, but she could bear that.

"I hate doctors, they're always so proddy and stupid looking," she said, trying to flap her painful wing, letting out another pained hiss as she did so. "Damn damn damn, this is just typical. I hate this time of year..." she grumbled to herself, rearing back on her hind legs, trying to stretch her muscles. "I need to walk this off..." she said to herself, trotting about in a tight circle.

[RarityDash]

"If you do insist, Miss," Fate said with a scrupulous nod as she stared at the pegasus. "Though your wing doesn't look..."

Fate stopped herself. If the pegasus said she was fine, she was fine. It wasn't Fate's place to force her to seek treatment. She likely wouldn't get a reward for it anyway.

She gave a sigh. "I don't truly care for this time of year myself," she said.

[RoyalDice]

Slightly suprised, but suddenly encouraged to take the wounded pegasus along on the walk with the filly and himself. He cleared his throath again, and trotted over to the rampaging mare. ''E-excuse me, miss? W-would you care for a walk with me a-and t-this here f-filly..'' he said, slowly pointing at Fate, with a weak smile. ''N-no offence, o-ofcourse! Y-you are v-very kind..''

''B-but, to g-get back to the point.. w-would you?'' he said awkwardly, holding up his cup of coffee for the mare.

[Hurricane]

"Hmph! Fine! If it'll shut the two of you up, I'll go with you," she said with a scowl, not wanting to let on that the pain she was in was rapidly growing by the second, and it was fast becoming difficult to even stay upright. She glanced at the colt, and narrowed her eyes a little. "That will shut you up, won't it?" she snapped, her dark red eyes gazing deeply into his.

"Why do you hate this time of year?" she asked the knight, as a way of distracting herself from the pain. "I mean, I know why *I* don't like it, all the stupid name calling and idiotic jokes, but, I bet that's not the same for you," she said, fluffing her one good wing as she fell into step behind the two youngsters.

[RarityDash]

"As a noble wanderer with little to her name, I must always find or make my home wherever I may be." Fate started to answer the pegasus' question as she walked alongside her and the colt. "This becomes difficult during the winter. It's harder to find opportunities, harder to find bits, harder to find food, harder to find shelter and the harsh elements reap their toll."

She gave a sigh. "This time of year, I find myself far more often in the debt of others than I would prefer..."

"But I'm strong, so it's okay. I'd have to be to be if I want to really be a knight someday, right?" Fate said briskly smiling at the pegasus. "But what's this about you? Why do you get teased this time of year?"

[RoyalDice]

He dropped his ears, levitated his coffee back to himself, taking a small sip from it as he took a step back from the mare. ''S-shut up.. g-got it..'' he said, weakly. He took another sip from the hot coffee cup and coughed. He slowly trotted behind the two, biting his lip as it started snowing a bit more.

He looked around again, and shook his head. Atleast they were still walking, as the snowing increased a bit, and so did the gust. He could feel the snow falling onto his nose as he shook it off. Just stay in the back, Survey.. he thought to himself, mabye they won't notice if he'd leave..

[Hurricane]

Hurricane regarded the shy unicorn, a worried expression on her face. "Hey, kid, I was just... you don't have to clam up completely," she said hurriedly, lifting her one good wing up to brush away the snow that had fallen onto the three of them. She chuckled a little, her expression softening as she trotted along.

"Well, my name's Hurricane... if you've heard the story of Hearthswarming Eve, then you'll know why that name isn't the best one to have at this time of year," she said to the knight in training, who she was feeling sorry for, even if she hated to admit it. "I don't really have any bits myself, at least, none that I don't need myself. I am, however, a pretty powerful weather pegasus. I bet I could keep you warm," she said with a grin, flapping her wings out wide, letting out a growl of pain as she twitched her jagged wing.

[RarityDash]

"That's very charitable of you, Miss," Fate said with a nod. "I certainly would appreciate any warmth I could get...."

She gave a sigh. "As for Hearth's Warming Eve, my father would tell me the story each year when the day came. Commander Hurricane was always my favorite character. I just thought she seemed strong and cool and even if her stubbornness would often get in the way at first, she always seemed heroic to me."

"I know I'd be proud if I shared her name," Fate said, giving a smile.

Fate looked at Survey then. He seemed kind of awkward and wasn't saying much. Fate had agreed to provide him company, so she definitely didn't want him to feel ignored. "What about you, Survey? What are your thoughts on this time of year?"

[Otsdarva]

"Aye and you'n take care yerself!" Douglas replied cheerily as he finished his final delivery for the night. Walking from the doorway of the residence of his delivery and back to his cart he began to chuckle. Working on Hearth Warming Eve, never in his foalhood would he had believed anypony who told him he would be working on one of the biggest holidays in Equestria. Still, when you're an independent wagoner running deliveries no one else is willing too these things tend to happen. He could only be happy he had a nice beige vest to warm himself in the cold.

Being in Trottingham was quite a surprise, Douglas had hoped to just hang around his home of Hoofington until this last minute order came in. He figured he could always use a few extra bits and happily suited up to face the weather. That was all in the past now, though. Here he was, in Trottingham, hooking himself back into his cart when he caught glimpse of a group of ponies moving down an intersecting street. He payed no heed to the group until he spotted the Unicorn at the back. Why he could've sworn to Luna that it was somepony he met some time ago. "Where do I remember him?" Douglas thought. "I know I've seen him somewhere... was it, Ponyville?" That's when it struck him, it had to be. He had to check, even if it wasn't it would be a good way to start a chat.

Giving a quaint nod, Douglas put his weight against the cart, slowly beginning to pull it. He reached the intersection and turned onto the street he had seen them walk down. Picking up his pace with the momentum of the cart, Douglas started to close up the distance between the group. The clapping of his hooves ran in rhythm with a whirling of the cart's wheels. Feeling himself reaching speaking distance, Douglas called out. "Excuse me, Mr. Unicorn... you wouldn't have ran the Running of the Leaves a few months back, would you? Survey, was it? It's Douglas, how have ya been?"

[RoyalDice]

''M-mhm, sorry.. i-it's understandable.. '' he muttered, flopping his ears back up again. ''N-no problem.. h-heh..'' he mumbled. ''H-Hope i a-am not r-rude or anything..'' he bit his lip and shook his head. Nodding weakly and clearing his throath, he took a sip of his coffe again as he got ready to speak.

''I d-don't like H-Heartwarming Eve, b-because everypony s-seems to be really happy.. b-being indoors with f-family and friends.. b-but i s-seem to never g-get that lucky..'' he says, with a weak laugh. ''P-probably because m-my family is a-always away, and m-most of my f-friends do h-have family t-they can be w-with this holiday..'' he said, another weak laugh this time accompanied by a weak grin aswell. ''B-but still, i d-do like s-silence.. i s-suppose..'' he said, with a grunt, his grin fading but still trying to look as festive as possible.

His attention shifted as a pony started talking to him. He turned around, and eyed the pony carefully, before it hit him. ''O-Oh! Douglas! It's g-good to see you a-again!'' he said, his grin returning on his face. ''I've.. b-been quite cold, b-but.. good, i suppose! H-How about you?'' he said, scratching one of his hooves with a other awkwardly.

[Hurricane]

Shaking her head, Hurricane let out a grunted sigh. "She was a strongheaded, pig-ignorant moron who couldn't spot a moral if it slapped her in the face," she said, her head hanging low. "Actually... that's pretty accurate to me, too..." she muttered to herself. "I just hate that she reminds me of myself," she said with a sigh. She glared at the newcomer with a dismissive roll of her eyes. Maybe this had all been a mistake, maybe she should just deal with her wing herself.

She regarded Survey with a light gasp. "No. No, I'm not allowing that. No-one should be alone this time of year," she said, knowing full well what it was like to be all alone... always... She slid a hoof around the colt's neck, and her good wing over the knight in training. "I'm not usually one for this kind of thing, but... we could, like, have a party? I've got some bits saved for something, might as well use them to have fun," she said, forcing a light smile onto her face.

[RarityDash]

Fate had to smile at Hurricane's suggestion. It took her off guard, but it left her feeling warm. Though her stated concerns were about the weather, she definitely sympathized with Survey's outlook on the holiday season. She was always alone, but her loneliness always took over during the holidays. Her father had always done his best to make the holidays special even when they were on the road. Even when he couldn't be with her, he always made sure a gift got back to her somehow. In all the years without him now, it had been rather hard for Fate to be cold and alone when this time of year arrived. As strong as she tried to be, as strong as she had to be, it still really just overwhelmed her sometimes.

"I know little of parties," Fate admitted shyly. "But I am very grateful for the offer, Miss Hurricane. I would appreciate nothing more than to participate in this event."

[Otsdarva]

Douglas nodded to Survey as he spoke, letting him finish through what he assumed was a mix of chattering teeth and slight awkwardness before replying. "Well, I suppose I've been alright. Had to work on the Holiday, just finished running this delivery from Hoofington. The weather has been rather drastic, hasn't it? As much as I enjoy the cold this is a little much!" Douglas laughed, looking over the other ponies Survey had been traveling with.

There was a Pegasus who seemed to be slightly nurturing a sprain of some sort. She gave Douglas a rather unsavory look at his arrival, he figured it would be better not to pry for the time being. Especially after she offered to hold a small party, Douglas didn't want to be rude by counting himself amongst them when he only just arrived. He thought a good way to at least not feel like a moocher would be to cough up a few bits as well. "If you're all planning a little party then I'd like to chip a few bits in as well. If you don't mind me tagging along? My cart's empty and I got fresh coin in the pocket!" he offered, wondering what the Pegasus had in mind.

Finally he looked over to the third pony, a young filly with a cloak resembling that of a guardspony or a knight? Douglas wasn't too sure, but she seemed like a sweet little thing. She was even well mannered from the way she had spoke to the Pegasus. This was a nice group of ponies and while he first regretted not spending the holiday relaxing at home, hanging out with this small group would surely be a more entertaining way of spending Hearth's Warming.

[RoyalDice]

''..A.. p-party?'' he asked slowly, taking a small sip from his almost empty coffee cup. He didn't really know how a party worked, neither was he ever at a party, big or small. He heard about them being ''lots of fun'' and ''awesome'' and such, but had never really partied anytime before. He doesn't really hang out with other ponies, but.. there was a first for everything, no? ''...U-uhm.. alright.. that sounds like fun..'' he says, smiling weakly and chuckles weakly.

He knew the ponies ment well, but he couldn't help it but think that the ponies were actually sympathising with him. He prefered to not be sympathised with, but this looked like he didn't really had a choice.

He shrugged it off, took the last sip of his coffee and looked around, waiting on what the pegasus would do with her idea for a ''party'' and how she was going to party, with her wing still busted.

[ThunderFlash]

Thunderflash was flying feebily overhead, shivering. He really didn't like the cold, and was much more fond of the sunshine than the snow. His teeth chattered a bit, and finally Thunder was forced to land. He came within a few feet of the other ponies that were about, but hadn't taken notice of them just yet. ""G-Geez! It's f-f-freezing..." he mumbled, folding his wings close to try and warm himself up. He'd get used to the weather eventually, but for now it was hard to cope. With another shiver, he turned to the other ponies without really noticing he was speakign to them. "Man, i-it sure is a cold o-one today, isn't it? I thought I'd n-never get done with my shift! I s-suppose the snow is kinda pretty, and th-" Thunder stopped short, realizing that he was rambling to complete strangers. He gave a few awkward laughs, but nervous ones at that. "Um, sorry. I get a bit c-carried away sometimes...I hope I wasn't intruding on anything."

[Hurricane]

(I'm so sorry about the lateness of the reply, I've been a bit under the weather of late)

A grin appearing upon her face, Hurricane spread her wings despite the pain, and reared onto her back legs. "THen let's do it!" she cried out, landing back with a wince, but she wouldn't let the pain get to her now. "So, uh... any, uh... suggestions?" she asked with a glance to the side. She hated to admit it, but, she had no idea what actually went on at a party, let alone how to organise and run one. She glanced to Survey and Fate, and then to the two older colts, a little sheepishly. "Um... I have no idea..." she admitted through gritted teeth.