Beads of sweat slid down Cinders' cheek. It wasn't easy carrying a dead body around. It was even harder knowing that it was her own mother she was carrying.
Her mother died earlier that morning of a fever. She tried burying her in one of the cemeteries around town, but they were all full. She couldn't bury her in the forest because she didn't want the wolves making dinner out of the carcass. She couldn't cremate her either, as that was outlawed by the state.
Cinders trudged to her cottage, her legs trembling under the weight of her mother; the corpse was perfectly preserved by the cold. She dug a hole in her yard - just big enough to lay her poor mother to rest. It wouldn't look too pretty to the neighbors, but what else could she do?
A stallion exited the cottage - his face twisted and red. It was then that Cinders had realized she made a grave mistake.
"What are you doing on my property?!" the stallion bellowed.
"I'm sorry, sir, I-I thought this was my yard! I'll dig up the body and head home!"
"It isn't that easy!" the stallion shouted, his spit sprinkling the yard. "You think that's going to fix the damage you've done to my yard?! You've ruined it!"
A cool breeze filled the valley and light grey clouds formed in the sky. Cinders felt a very certain kind of breeze and a very certain kind of cold, but she just couldn't put her hoof on it. The breeze wasn't the kind that sent shivers down your spine - it was different: it pierced the very soul.
The stallion edged toward Cinders, making her back away slowly. "I've had it with you kids trying to be funny!" The stallion's breathing hastened to unsettling levels. Cinders could see the veins in his neck. "I'm going to make sure you never come around these parts ever again!"
The stallion lunged at Cinders. She jumped out the way and stumbled into a sprint, still weary from carrying her mother. She feared that she wouldn't have the strength to outrun him.
As the stallion chased her, she could feel the frosty touch of snow all over her body. The snowfall slowly, but surely, intensified with each step she took until it became a full on blizzard. It was baffling because the skies were clear just moments ago. Faint howling could be heard resonating throughout the surrounding area, but Cinders gave it no thought. She chose to keep running.
"I'll beat you dead!" the stallion's voice cracked. He struggled to see Cinders in the raging storm and became overwhelmed by the blizzard. He vanished into the white darkness.
Cinders was now completely blinded by snow. Her body stung all over from the freezing conditions, but she kept running. Running was all she could think to do. Against all reason, she managed to outrun the blizzard and went into the woods.
* * *
"Thanks for letting me bring Angel along!" Fluttershy said with sincere gratitude.
The Doctor placed newspaper on the floor, forming a trail for Angel Bunny. "You're welcome. Just keep him under control - I don't normally let rodents on board the TARDIS."
Angel walked on the trail until he found a part of the floor not covered by newspaper. He hovered his foot over it, as if threatening to step there.
"Don't you dare!" warned the Doctor through clenched teeth.
Angel stepped on the uncovered spot and then proceeded to run about the console, causing newspaper to fly everywhere.
The Doctor glared at Fluttershy. "No more pets."
Fluttershy frowned. It frustrated her how stubborn and unfair the Doctor could be sometimes. She knew that the Doctor had travelled with all sorts of creatures: Whifferdills, Ice Warriors, even humans! Oh well.
"Where are we going now?" Fluttershy asked as her ears perked up.
The Doctor pulled out a wooden box full of knickknacks taken from various
points in Equestrian history. He grabbed a rust colored, worn map and spread it across the console.
"I'm looking at a small town in the year 725 CE. Looks harmless enough. Ever heard of Trotchester?"
Fluttershy learned to ignore the word "harmless", especially when it came out of the Doctor's mouth. She's travelled with him long enough to know that much of their travels were anything but harmless. Even though Fluttershy wasn't really an adrenaline junky like the Doctor, she continued to travel with him because she wanted to keep on her toes.
"Not really..." Fluttershy turned her attention towards Angel, who was rolling around on the floor. The Doctor scowled at him.
"It says here that the climate is marvelous year round." The Doctor rolled up his map. "They say that the weather over there is so peaceful that the Priest of Daaw visited Trotchester to meditate. Now if that isn't peaceful, I don't know what is."
The Doctor displayed an image of Trotchester in the spring. It was a humble town made up of clustered stone cottages. A river ran through the center.
"It looks wonderful!" Fluttershy grinned. "Homey, too."
Fluttershy tended to enjoy traveling to destinations that didn't deviate too far from her normal day to day life. It would seem Trotchester would do quite nicely.
The TARDIS rumbled and made its signature wheezing noise the Doctor had grown fond of. They arrived.
Fluttershy and Angel headed for the door while the Doctor stared at the TARDIS scanner with scrunched eyebrows.
Fluttershy tilted her head and blinked, "Aren't you coming, Doctor?"
The Doctor was lost in the image displayed by the scanner. He shook his head, "Hm? What? Oh yes, I'll be there in a minute." He joined Fluttershy out the door, his head still facing the scanner.
"I need to stop putting so much trust in tourist pamphlets."
