Irreversible

The notoriously cold wind of December howled as it swept its way up streets and between buildings, kicking around the previous night’s snowfall and screeching a shrill warning to the ponies bold enough to brave such severe conditions.

A tired looking stallion shuffled his way through the mess, his weathered looking peacoat and stetson leaving him ill equipped to fend off the jagged edges of winter’s teeth. However, despite his obvious lack of proper winter clothing and the numbness at the tips of his hooves, he valiantly forged ahead, crawling through the city streets one deathly cold block at a time.

His trek was long and arduous, but after a left turn on Saddle Street and another grueling half block struggle, he was finally able to see it — its tell-tale red lettering standing boldly against the whipping wind and snow like a beacon.

Melody’s Music

Cornelius trudged up the steps of his home, battling ferocious gusts of icy wind all the way up until he’d shut the door behind him and was finally permitted respite from its constant onslaught. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Cornelius took to removing his coat, moving to place it on the rack by the door when the furious clopping of hooves caught his ear.

He cracked a sideways smile as he took off his hat, having only just placed it on its hook when he was tackled by something small, brown and positively buzzing with energy.

“Daddy!” It screeched, bouncing excitedly on his lap. Cornelius laughed , gently easing the excited filly off his lap before getting to his hooves.

“Hey, sweetie” He smiled, ruffling the filly’s mane with his hoof. “How’s my birthday girl?” The filly’s face almost immediately dropped, the delightful smile she’d been wearing turning a full one hundred-eighty degrees.

“You’re late,” she groused.

“Sorry,” he grinned as he brandished a sloppily wrapped rectangular box that he’d managed to hide from the excitable filly up until then. “I had to make a special stop.”

The young filly’s indignation almost immediately melted away when she noticed the present in her father’s hooves. The stallion could only laugh at the way his daughter's eyes sparkled as he surrendered the box to her, his mirth turning to surprise as he watched his normally sweet, somber daughter viciously tear through the wrapping paper surrounding her gift in only a matter of seconds.

After the wrapping paper had been done away with, the little filly wasted no time with the ornately crafted box underneath, practically ripping off the lid and throwing it aside, gasping audibly at what greeted her.

Inside the box was a brand new violin, its surface impossibly sleek and shined in such a way that it almost shimmered in the light. The filly looked incredulously up at her father before carefully setting her present aside and leaping into her father's hooves, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you, daddy! This is the best birthday present ever!” The stallion couldn’t help but smile, embracing his daughter just as passionately.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”