Cuddles and Other Cures for Hypothermia
Ponies were stupid.
This was a fact Prince Rutherford had known for most of his life and, with the recent alliance between Yakyakistan and Equestria, had never been more apparent. The ponies were so small and fragile and yet always insisted on doing things and helping others.
If they were smart they would stay in their little lands and not bother traversing to the more dangerous country sides surrounding them.
But they were stupid. So now, Prince Rutherford had his very own pony friend.
A pony friend who was currently lost in a blizzard on a mountain full of unpredictable terrain and wild creatures who would be more than happy for the snack.
Stupid ponies.
“Pink Pony!” Prince Rutherford called out, the howling wind stealing his words before they had even reached his own ears.
The ponies didn’t know how to live unless they could control every aspect of life. They manipulated everything with their magic and that left them stupid. They didn’t know how to grow food without talking to the plants, they didn’t know how to move something without the telekinetics and they didn’t know how to predict weather unless they were the ones planning it.
So the stupid pony friend had come to visit, even though there had obviously been a storm coming. They had planned this trip in advance so her stupid pony head just assumed the weather would be tame because they’d given the yaks time to prepare it.
The stupid yak didn’t think the pony was so stupid and didn’t warn her.
He called out again as he struggled through the chest deep snow, searching for a hint of color in the gray landscape.
The letter had appeared unexpected. The fire had simply surged and then there was a message from the pony princess. Their friend had left and the storm had hit unexpectedly. None of the ponies could come to her aid or risk being swallowed by the blizzard too.
It was a plea for help.
The prince had moved before he read the second sentence.
He had sent every available yak into the blizzard, but it was slow going. The storm was strong. Only the most experienced yaks wouldn’t get lost and frozen. He had made sure they all knew to head back to safety if they felt they couldn’t handle it.
He didn’t know how many were still searching, but he knew he wasn’t going to stop.
“Pinkie!” He called again, his voice getting hoarse. He was sure she wouldn’t be able to hear him over the wind and even if she did he had no way of hearing her in return. Yet, yelling made him feel better, made him feel like he was doing more than trudging blindly in what was probably the wrong direction.
She should be easy to find, shouldn’t she? The world up here was gray and bleak and she was colorful and bright. He just needed a glimpse of color. He just needed to find her. For every minute she was out here was another minute snow piled and hope dwindled.
The wind was growing even harsher and soon he’d have to turn back or risk himself. He glanced behind him, making sure he still knew the way back even in the chaos.
A dot of color.
The prince brushed the fur out of his eyes and squinted against the snowflakes. Yes, yes, there was a flash of pink! It was huddled on the backside of a rock in a futile attempt to shield itself from the wind. Invisible from all directions but this, he had walked right on by.
He quickly turned around and bounded through the snow. “Pink Pony, yak pleased he found you. What was pony thinking coming out in a snowstorm?”
She didn’t react when he called and didn’t even twitch an ear when his shadow fell over her.
“Pink Pony?” He said softly, gently brushing some snow off her shivering form. Her whole body trembled and he could just barely see her chest rising and falling. Besides that she was still. Tiny icicles had formed on her coat and in her tail, that she used as a makeshift blanket, and the tips of her ears and snout had taken on a blue tint.
Prince Rutherford bit his lip. “Don’t worry Pink Pony, yaks will get you nice and warm. Yaks best at fighting cold.”
He carefully picked up the small pony and with one leg tucked her into his chest, practically burying her under his fur and holding tightly so she didn’t slip. The trembling still didn’t stop even as she was engulfed by warm fur and Prince Rutherford didn’t waste another minute before bounding home.
***
Prince Rutherford paced in his hut.
He was not worried in the slightest, of course. Yaks were the absolute best at healing and, thanks to some enchanted paper Pinkie had on her, they had managed to send a letter back to the ponies informing them she had been found.
He wasn’t worried at all.
He was just a bit frustrated that he wasn’t allowed inside the healing hut while the yak doctor fussed over his frozen friend. He knew she would be fine, but he at least wanted to see her.
But the doctor had insisted multiple times to be left in peace. She had cleared the entire hut, claiming that she couldn’t trust any yak to not step on the sleeping patient or otherwise disturb her. That’s why it shocked Prince Rutherford when the doctor strolled right into his private hut, looking grumpy and carrying another one of those pony letters.
“Is Pink Pony better?” Rutherford asked, before the doctor could open her mouth, “She honorary yak. She best at getting better.”
“Pink Pony getting worse,” The doctor responded bluntly, never having been one for tact, “Yaks best at healing but ponies strange and... small. Yak ask pony doctor for advice when all that should work did little.”
Prince Rutherford did not panic but he couldn’t keep himself from shifting nervously on his hooves. “Ah, so yak upset she had to ask for pony help. Ponies know what to do, yes?”
The doctor snorted. “No, yak upset because pony advice dumb and make no sense.” She glared at the floor and mumbled, “but because working on dumb pony... dumb advice probably work.”
The scroll she had been holding was suddenly shoved into the prince’s face and, with a curious look, he opened it and started reading.
“Hello yaks, I’m Doctor Wave Function. Because of your problems with Pinkie’s condition, the Princess decided to bring in a professional. Not being able to see the patient will have its limitations to my assistance but based on-”
“Not that part,” The doctor interrupted, “That not important. Important part at end.”
Rutherford obediently skipped ahead.
“Now I don’t know a lot about you yaks, as we’ve had very little contact with each other before now, and I assume that means you know very little about us. You’re treating all her physical problems just fine but I’m afraid she isn’t going to get any better unless she has the magic to process the healing. Pony magic is almost entirely based on emotional connection. We can bounce back from something serious if we have enough friends around but on our own a broken leg could spell death. Are there any yaks there that she’s close friends with? She needs to be around them as much as possible. And, with how badly she seems to be doing, I’d prescribe a few hours of hugs at the very least. We’ll try to get to you as soon as the storm clears and get her back home, but in the meantime she needs all the love you can give her.”
Prince Rutherford slowly lowered the paper from his face and stared at his doctor. “Are ponies serious?”
The doctor huffed and irritably kicked the ground. “Unfortunately, ponies seem very serious. And Pink Pony not... reacting right. Looks bad. Can’t hurt to try pony solution.”
Rutherford nodded and handed the paper back before he stopped with a confused glance at the doctor. “But, why tell prince this? Yaks no need permission to hug pony.”
The doctor looked at him like he had lost his horns and failed to notice. “Pony doctor say ponies need friends for healing. Prince Rutherford only close yak friend to Pink Pony.”
Prince Rutherford sputtered. “That not true! Pony friends with lots of yaks. Pink little calf very friendly.”
The doctor raised one bushy eyebrow at him before walking around and shoving him out the door. “Doctor order prince to go hug pony friend before she dies. Doctor not taking no for answer.”
“Okay, okay!” The prince relented, rushing out the door, “What happen if yaks need prince?”
“Yaks deal with it by yakselves.”
The two walked across the village. The tempest raged even here but it was tempered by the mountain side, turning a blizzard into something more like a snow storm. When they reached the Healing Hut, the Doctor stopped Rutherford and looked him squarely in the eyes.
“Cold Sickness make creatures brittle. Pony doctor may have said hugs but yak says gentle as possible when holding tiny fragile pony. No fast movements, no crushing. There also hot apple cider in hut. Pony hasn’t woken but when she does get pony to drink it. Don’t take pony out of blankets either, hug around. Understand?”
Prince Rutherford nodded rapidly. “Prince understand. Prince make sure pony is better before blizzard gone.”
The doctor only gave him a small, hesitant nod. It was like she didn’t believe him. That sent a mini storm through his chest. He couldn’t reassure her further before she opened the door to the Healing Hut and ushered him inside.
The first thing he noticed was how hot the hut was. A small fire crackled in the middle, the smoke traveling out a hole in the roof that seemed to do nothing to let the cold in. No wonder no one was allowed in here, any more heat and it’d become unbearable for yaks.
Of course, what would be sweltering for a yak was probably on the border of toasty for the thin furred ponies.
There was a table in the back of the room filled with a random assortment of medical supplies and a cheerily steaming pot of apple cider. In the middle of the room was a pile of blankets with a tiny pink head poking out of it.
“Pink Pony?” Prince Rutherford gently called. There was, unsurprisingly, no response. He carefully crept around the room and settled down right next to the swaddled pony. Her breathing was soft and slow and, while the ice had melted around her coat, her face was unnaturally pale.
Prince Rutherford sighed as he carefully reached out and scooped her into his hooves. The doctor had not been lying. While ponies were usually small, and easily squishable, Pinkie now felt like she would shatter with the slightest touch.
She didn’t react to being picked up and barely shifted as he laid her on his chest. He really didn’t know what the hugging was going to do. She looked so sick with her matted fur and her mane that seemed to have lost much of it’s curl. He sat perfectly still, reassuring himself that she was indeed still breathing. It was actually frightening to see the normally energetic pony in this state. How was hugging going to fix this?
And what would happen if it didn’t work?
He tried to tell himself that the yaks would find a way to save her but, if the doctor couldn’t do anything to help her… and she was the best yak best at healing others…
He didn’t even notice he was crying until he heard a little murmur below him and looked down to see a few drops on Pinkie’s face.
Her eyes were cracked open.
“Pink Pony!” He cried, squeezing her tightly. She started coughing harshly and he immediately eased the pressure until he was cradling her like a newborn calf.
“H-hi prince…” She said after the coughing had subsided, though it sounded like she was trying to gurgled ice while she did it.
“No no no, don’t try to speak,” He quickly shushed her, gently setting her back down, “Yak get cider, don’t move.”
He could hear her shifting in her blanket cocoon as he trotted over to the table. He triple checked that he was pouring cider and not some strange medicine into a mug and reached her again just as she had freed one of her legs from the blankets.
“Pink Pony,” he chastised gently, “yak said not move.”
He curled up by her side again and pulled her into his fur. She didn’t struggle but she did blink cloudy eyes around the room.
“...where…?”
“Shhhh, drink cider,” He raised the cup to her lips, steam pooling over her pale face. It took her a few long seconds to even focus on the mug and then she only tipped forward, her forehead almost colliding with the cup before Prince Rutherford squeezed her back. “Why don’t yak help pony?”
He tilted her head back and put the mug to her lips, very slowly tilting the hot drink into her mouth. She sputtered a few drops but seemed to swallow most of the mouthful.
“Better? Doctor yak said hot drink would help pony.”
She nodded, or perhaps her head just lulled forward. Either way Prince Rutherford took that as a good sign.
“To answer question, Pink Pony is in Healing Hut. Prince Rutherford found her in blizzard.”
There was silence for a few minutes as Pinkie seemed to digest that information. Her cloudy eyes continued to blink slowly while she shifted in his arms.
Remembering what the doctor had said, Prince Rutherford tucked her loose foreleg back into the blankets. Her eyes followed his movements and then settled on the blanket cocooning her. Prince Rutherford subconsciously started running his hooves through her droopy mane, trying to comfort her or himself he didn’t know.
“...am I…”
The prince’s ears perked as Pinkie started to speak. It sounded less slurred than before but she still paused to breathe deeply after a few words.
“Does pony need more cider?” He asked, already starting to rise.
A quick shake of her head, however, sent him right back down. He gave her another squeeze, making sure not to press hard enough to hurt.
The added comfort seemed to help and she managed to cough out a full sentence. “Am I… going to die?”
Prince Rutherford froze for a heartbeat, the crackling fire seeming to thunder in his ears. He quickly snapped out of it, however, and buried his face in her mane with a comforting nuzzle. “Why pony ask question like that? Of course not. Yaks best at healing, they make you all better.”
“I know…” She turned and nuzzled him back. Her face was still cold. “I just feel… bad…”
“Well, pony sick. Feel bad not strange.”
Her breath tickled his fur, but it was at a more regular pace than earlier. “Yeah… reminds me of my soul being sucked out.”
Prince Rutherford eyed her cautiously. Was she delirious? The illness could have caused that. On the other hoof some of the adventures she had told him about were so strange he wouldn’t be surprised if she thought something like that happened too.
Either way, he didn’t want to risk upsetting her by disagreeing.
“Well… pony got better from that, yes?”
Her face scrunched up as she tried to get her tired mind to remember. “Y-yeah, but my friends… and there was a box?”
“Should… yak get pony a box?”
“It was a tree box,” She clarified.
Rutherford did not feel clarified.
He slowly started to stand. “Yak thinks Pink Pony needs more cider. It help pony insides get warm.”
When he tried to set her down, however, the pony started to squirm with in her blankets. She thrashed so hard the prince had to hold her again in fear she’d roll into the fire. She managed to get her hooves free from the blankets, yet again and proceeded to grip his fur like her life depended on it. He could feel her legs tremble with the effort of just holding on.
She didn’t need to say anything for him to get the message.
Prince Rutherford hesitated for a moment, just staring at the shivering ball of pink clinging to him. He leaned down and nuzzled her once again before taking one forearm to support her while grabbing the cup in his mouth.
“Pony come with then,” he mumbled around the cup, “But tell prince if pony hurt.”
She didn’t answer as he carefully trotted over to the medicine table and refiled the cup with the still steaming cider. Instead of trying to navigate back to the fire with legs full of cider and pony, he sat down where he was and pried her legs from his fur until she had her back pressed to him and the cup at her lips.
She drank easier now. She didn’t even attempt to grab the mug, but she drank the warm liquid as it was given to her. When she was done she yawned deeply and snuggled into the prince’s chest.
“Pony rest now, yaks take good care,” Prince Rutherford stroked her mane again as she struggled to keep her eyes open, noticing how it seemed to have curled more as it warmed.
“Yeah… sleep sounds… good…thanks...dad…”
Prince Rutherford froze as Pinkie’s gentle snoring mixed with the crackle of the fire. He chuckled to himself as he continued to stroke her mane. “Silly pony, sickness making even more silly.” He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “No worry, prince take care of pony.”
***
They stayed like that for hours with the only interruption being the yak doctor bringing them food and checking on Pinkie. The patient woke up briefly enough to take a bite or two of soup before falling asleep yet again, with the doctor murmuring in surprise at how she was recovering.
At some point Prince Rutherford must have dozed off, for he was awoken by loud shouting just outside the door. The wind had calmed down from a roar to a whistle so, while he couldn’t hear what was being said, he could tell there was an argument.
“Whas…?” Pinkie muttered from her blanket cocoon, blinking awake as Rutherford shifted to try and hear better.
“Some yaks fighting,” he guessed, patting her comfortingly, “They should know better. Fighting near healing hut-”
“We don’t have time for this!” came a sudden shout much louder than before. The door to the Healing Hut flew open as a scruffy looking Pegasus burst in.
Despite her forceful entrance, she certainly looked like she belonged in a place of healing. Her tail and mane were windblown and dirty with snow, her coat slicked with sweat as her sides heaved rapidly. Little icicles had formed on her ears and nose and her face was flushed from blue to red. There were feathers on her wings that were broken and skewed and, while she was trying to hold an energetic stance, they nonetheless flopped at her side, trembling.
The pony’s red eyes landed on Pinkie Pie and her face split into a relieved grin.
“Pinkie! Oh my gosh, you’re alright!”
“Dashie?” Pinkie asked, blinking at the intruder.
The Pegasus, who Prince Rutherford now recognized as one of Pinkie’s friends, rushed the two. He quickly put up a hoof to block her, however, before she could tackle Pinkie.
“Pink Pony sick!” He barked, “Must handle gently.”
The Pegasus stopped and stared at him as if she had just noticed he was there. She blinked several times, obviously exhausted. “What? Who the heck are you to… she’s hurt. She needs…”
“Prince Rutherford is right,” came another voice from the door, “Hypothermia victims shouldn’t be jostled around too much.”
Pinkie’s face brightened even more, her eyes completely focusing on the newcomer. “Twilight!”
The pony princess looked as exhausted as her friend. She was mostly clear of snow, but her horn had a blackish tint to it from overwork. She gave a weak, but genuine, smile at Pinkie. “Hi, Pinkie, it’s good to see you.”
Dash was apparently tired of waiting and maneuvered around Prince Rutherford to wrap Pinkie in a fond hug.
Pinkie giggled and hugged back, much of her weariness seeming to no longer trouble her. “Dashie, Twilight, what are you guys doing here?”
“We came to see you,” Dash declared, burying her face into Pinkie’s mane, “We would have been here sooner but somepony wouldn’t let me leave the second we knew you were in trouble.”
“And we almost died out there as it was!” Twilight exclaimed, trotting over to nuzzle Pinkie as well, “We had one pony hurt, we didn’t need to make it two.”
“You didn’t need to fly all the way out here for me,” Pinkie said, though she didn’t seem particularly upset. She returned her friends nuzzles happily while still being firmly pressed to Prince Rutherford’s side.
“Well, from what the letters said the doctor thought you might be in serious trouble.”
“He was talking crazy!” Dash interrupted, her voice cracking, “he was all going off about how there was no one here for you and so you could be hurt real bad and you might…”
“Which obviously isn’t the case.” Twilight patted Dash’s back in comfort, though her eyes were misty themselves. “You seem to be doing fine considering the circumstances.”
Pinkie nodded and snuggled into Prince Rutherford’s fur. “Mmmhm, the yaks have taken great care of me. They’re the best!”
“Pink Pony seems much better now,” Prince Rutherford agreed, slowly trying to remove himself from the reunion.
Pinkie didn’t let him, she wrapped one hoof around him and slid closer as he tried to move. “I always feel better with more friends.” There was a very loud growl and she bit her lip. “Though I think I should eat something now.”
“We should get something in us too,” Twilight agreed, glancing at herself and Dash, “and get cleaned up. That storm was insane.”
“I’m fine,” Dash declared, “nothing the best flyer in Equestria can’t handle. I want to stay with Pinkie.”
Twilight shot her a look that bordered between pity and annoyance. “Rainbow, you still have snow in your mane for Celestia’s sake. You think getting her colder is going to help?”
Rainbow hesitated. She glanced worriedly between Pinkie and Twilight until Pinkie gave her cheek a comforting nuzzle.
“It’s okay, Dashie, really. You go get all warmed up and bring me some soup while you’re at it. I promise I’ll still be here when you get back.”
Teary eyed, Dash nuzzled her back before shakily rising to her hooves. “Okay, fine. I guess I could go for some food. I still need to try those cake things you keep talking about.”
“We’ll be back soon, Pinkie,” Twilight called as she followed Rainbow out the door. She gave one last look back before walking into the snow, an annoyed doctor waiting for her.
As soon as the door shut behind her friends, Pinkie let out a deep sigh and fell back against Prince Rutherford. The happy smile never left her lips, however.
“Pink Pony can go home soon,” Prince Rutherford commented, prompting Pinkie to crane her head to look at him.
She giggled at his words, which then dissolved into coughing. Rutherford wasted no time filling the cup again with hot cider that Pinkie gratefully downed, drinking all of it and holding it herself.
“We’re not going to be able to leave anytime soon,” She clarified once she had finished her drink, “Not unless the storm poofs away.”
The prince furrowed his brow. “But pony friends here. They got through storm, why not take Pink Pony back?”
Pinkie giggled again and shook her head. “Didn’t you see how beat up they were? They’re the best flyers and they barely made it here. They couldn’t do that again and carry me. Nopony could.” She turned around and burrowed her face into his coat, snuggling him as fiercely as she could. “Plus, I’m still sick. I guess we’ll have to have some more healing hugs for a bit longer. Is that alright?”
Rutherford leaned down and embraced her, making sure to put the correct amount of pressure. “That alright with yak! Yak best at giving hugs to little calf.”
Rutherford bit his tongue at that slip up but to his surprise Pinkie simply giggled and snuggled deeper. “And you’re really great at protecting me too. Thanks Princey, I’m glad I can always rely on you.”
Prince Rutherford smiled and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Honorary yak always have home here.”
