Splintered

I was strolling through Whitetail Woods, just enjoying the beautiful colors of the fall leaves being bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. The songbirds were finishing their last melodies before the lovely night sky was to be painted above for the evening. It was turning into the perfect time to do something I had long forgotten to enjoy... watching the sunset.

I made my way to small clearing ahead of me that gave the perfect vantage point to watch the last warmth of light slip below the horizon. settling down on the cold ground sent a small shiver up my spine, but the sight of the red, orange, and yellow tree tops practically glow under the fading light, warmed my body, heart, and soul; pushing aside the cool feeling of the ground below me.

In only a few short months the dead of winter will bring its full and frigid weight upon the area. The vibrant colors of the fall trees, grass, and lingering flowers would be blanketed under a thick cover of snow. Although right now I was content to just sit, watch, and wait, but a small white bunny caught my attention as it hopped from out of nowhere and settle next to me. My curiosity was peaked as an animal had never been so bold as to approach me like this, so this caught me a little off guard.

I watched for moment as the little bunny looked up to me as if it needed something from me. Its tiny brown eyes trembling with excitement from something unknown to me, I felt the urge to ask; though knowing an answer would never be given. “Hey, little guy. Do you need something?”

It quickly stood on its hind legs taking a deep gasping breath, before it gave me a reply: one that I wouldn’t expect from an animal, or one that I think fits the question!

“WAKE UP!!”

My head flew from the pillow as the weight of something was launched from upon my chest. My wings had snapped open on reflex to the sudden shout awakening me, in case I needed to fly away from an unknown danger, and my heart was beating frantically within the confines of my chest, which accompanied the gasping breaths I drew in from the fright given to me. As my eyes took in the dim light in the room I calmed myself and pulled my wings back to my sides, realizing it was all just a dream. I glanced at the window to the world outside and saw the wind whipping the snow around into flurries of white.

“Damn.” I muttered quietly under my breath before a tiny squeaky voice broke the silence.

“Ow! Daddy!!” Came the voice I recognized as the bunny from my dream, and now even more than that, my daughter.

“Sorry, Daddy was sleeping. You startled me, Sugarplum.” I told her as I slid out from under the warm quilted blanket to my hooves. The cool morning air brought goose bumps to the skin under my fur as I walked over to the small filly lying on the floor.

“I know... Umm... Sorry I woke you.” She apologized as I wrapped a foreleg around her small barrel and brought her up onto all fours.

I gazed down at my cute daughter, standing there next to me. The dawn's early light shining through the edge frosted window allowed me to see her soft teal coat and tiny filly wings, which would need a good brushing and preening later; along with her long, silky blond mane and tail. Both looked as if the birds made their winter homes in it. I chuckled under my breath as she looked up with her blue, intelligent eyes, which seemed to sparkled in the warm light beginning to flood into the room. She was just so innocent and young. I hope she stays this way for a long time to come. I thought to myself as my wife's voice reached my ears.

“Honey, is that you?” She asked groggily as she fumbled around feeling for my presence next to her, then giving up when she found I was no longer under the sheets with her.

“Yeah, I just had an early morning wake up call.”

“Then... just hit the..." A long yawn interrupted her suggestion. "Snooze button.” She continued before returning her head back upon her soft, inviting pillow.

I chuckled and looked back to the filly standing before me. She looked up to me with a confused expression on her face as I made a point of looking her over, pretending to look for a button to press that would allow us to sleep for a few more minutes, uninterrupted. After a few seconds, I raised my hoof up towards her and… "Boop!" I chirped as my hoof touch my daughter's nose.

She stood there for a second, stunned, with her little wings flared from the sudden and unsuspected touch. She stared cross eyed at the end of her nose, where my hoof was only a moment before, letting me climb back in bed with my loving wife as she recovered.

“Hey! Don’t go back to bed!!” She complained as I settled in under the blanket once more.

“I think that was the volume button.” My wife grumbled as she buried her head deeper into the pillow.

“Sorry honey... I’ll try something else.” I chortled as I looked back to my daughter standing next to the bed. “Now, where could that button be?” I murmured to myself trying to suppress my urge to laugh longer.

“Where’s what button?” The confused filly asked.

“Maybe… here!” I chuckled as I gently patted her head a few times.

“Daddy!” She exclaimed the moment after my hoof left her head.

"Nope! Not there." I laughed at my daughter's cute pouting face.

“Try again.” The mare in bed next to me said sarcastically as she snuggled closer.

“It has to be here somewhere.” I said a little louder, with more fake exasperation.

I rolled over onto my side and used a wing to scoop her up and place her on the blanket, letting her sit in front of me and her mother. She still wore that cute pout that could melt the thickest, coldest ice on any heart.

“What about here? This has to be the button!” I said giving a soft poke of my hoof to her chest.

“Hehe, daddy!” She exclaimed with a small, stifled giggle.

“Hey, hon, check this one out! I kinda like it!” I told my wife as I pressed the ‘button’ again.

The smiling little filly laughed and put up her forelegs to block my incessant poking, which caused her to yelp as she fell onto the covers, effectively put her in a prone position. This drew a chuckle from her mother, as she had begun to watch our father-daughter playfulness.

“I wonder if there’s more buttons to press on the bottom.” I exclaimed aloud as I rolled the filly over.

“No!” She squealed giddily. Her little tummy was exposed to my tickling hoof, along with my wife's own hoof.

The next five minutes was a mess of girly giggles and laughs accompanied by a filly's screams of joy, not all of which came from my wife or daughter, to my eternal shame.

After we all calmed down from the 'Battle of Tickle-hill,' which ended with a truce, I found myself with my wife on top of me and my daughter on the mare’s back grinning triumphantly. We moved ourselves from the floor of the bedroom back to the bed as we all took a deep breath to farther calm ourselves.

“Well, I’m not going back to sleep.” My wife said smiling at the filly.

When they gazed over at me, they found a stallion with his face buried underneath the blanket snoring as if he were sleeping. Although the sound of the extremely loud snoring meant there was no chance anyone would be sleeping.

“But you are, apparently.” She chortled as her hind hoof met my ribs in a faux-kick.

I whipped back the blanket to see their amused faces staring at me. “Heh. Anyway, Sugarplum, why did you have to wake us up so early in the morning again?” I asked the youngest of the three of us.

Suddenly, my little girls face lit up with pure and unaltered glee. “Oh! There are presents!!” She shouted as if she wanted our neighbors’ neighbor to know.

“We know...” I said, rubbing a hoof in my ear in hopes of stopping the ringing that now resounded from it. “And now so do people in Saddle Arabia.” I groaned.

The little filly smiled sheepishly before she flared her wings and jumped off the bed, flapping them quickly to slow her descent to the floor. Her flying lesson had been paying off, as her wings had slowed her down just enough for a safe landing, and not a solid thud, as her previous attempts had ended.

“C’mon c’mon c’mon!!” She yelled as she sprinted at full speed down the hallway.

“Be careful!” My wife worriedly called after her.

“Kids.” I said with a knowing look on my face.

Her hoof met my face with no force behind it. “Let’s go, before she starts opening them without us.” She said sliding out of bed.

When I cleared the bottom step my eyes fell upon all the decorations carefully displayed around the room. The walls were strung with ropes of holly, above the fireplace was large wreath with red ribbon tied to it, and a large pine tree sat in corner of the room. Beneath the evergreen tree was a plethora of wrapped gifts: some green, some red, some small, some tall; all wrapped with love and care.

My adorable daughter was practically swimming in the gifts, looking one over, then moving on to another with quiet cry of joy at the mysteries laid before her and the prize that each wrapped gift hid. My loving wife strolled to the couch as I watched the filly examine a wrapped sphere in her hooves, obviously a ball to those who knew. A soft patting sound drew my attention to the gorgeous mare laying on the couch as she patted the spot next to her and motioning me over with small wave of her dainty hoof. As I sat down next to her, she nestled against my chest as we watched our youngest one practically dance under the tree picking out one to unwrap.

“No, young lady! You have to wait for your brother to join us before you can do that.” I playfully scold her. She brought out her weapon grade pout: big doe eyes, quivering bottom lip, and tiny whimper of protest that could bring the princesses themselves to their knees.

“F-Fine, but if he’s not down in a minute, I’m gonna… I’m gonna go and drag him here!” She stated firmly and crossed her fore hooves.

“Very well.” ‘And now we play the waiting game.’

There was a minute of silence before the sound of clip clopping coming from the stairs found my ears. The hoofsteps slowly grew louder and louder as the last of the family arrived in all his sleepy glory. As our son reached the bottom step he paused, fighting a lingering yawn, though losing in the end and letting it escape his mouth with a groan.

“Good... morning.” A groggy greeting came from the young colt, obviously still in a half sleeping state.

He continued his journey into the kitchen to fix himself a bowl of cereal, not at all concerned that there was a small mountain of brightly wrapped gifts no less than ten feet away from him.

My little girl made to call out to him, but I quickly rushed from the couch stopping her with a hoof over her mouth. Getting a disappointed 'Hurmph' and pout from my wife

“Let’s see how long it takes him to notice, alright?” I whispered into her ear softly. She giggled a bit behind a tiny hoof, and became quiet as we all waited for his eventual return.

“So, what’s the weather looking like today?” He asked from the kitchen. “I heard there’s supposed to be a flurry of snow today.”

“Oh, it’s alright. Not too terrible, considering last year.” I told him as I took my former position on the couch with a slight smirk on my face, much to the delight of my wife.

“That’s good. Don’t want to be out all day with the snow blowing in my face.” He stated idly as he munched on a spoonful.

“Yeah. Hey, when you’re done with your breakfast, can you help me with something?” I asked fighting to keep a straight face.

“Sure, what is it?” He turned to look at me, in case I had to point out something, I assumed.

“Well, there’s gonna be a ton of wrapping paper everywhere once your sister’s done with all of that over there.” I told him nonchalantly with a vague uncaring expression on my face, I then gestured towards the presents piled under the tree as if it were mere garbage that needed to be taken out.

“Sure.” He turned back around to venture back into his bowl for another mouthful. I watched in utter amusement as I knew the gears in his mind were slowly turning with the previous image that was being processed.

“Wait for it…” I whispered to my wife and daughter. I started counting down “Three… two… one…” I quickly pointed at him as the clarity and understanding of what he saw broke through his addled mind. His ears perked up and his body whipped around and within a fraction of a second he was in the presents, soon joined by his sister. They began wading through the mysterious prizes surrounding them, eager to unwrap them all.

“There’s so many! And they’re so big!” He yelled as he eyed a box that was a head taller than him.

“I know, right?!” excitedly shouted his sister.

“I’ll go clean up the bowl.” I told my wife giving her a parting kiss as they started deciding which gift to open first.

I stopped one last time and looked at the room laid out before me, and all that came to mind was ‘This could be a pretty nice Hearths Warming Day, after all.’