"This is awesome!" said Cozy Glow. "You will do all the chores for me and I will be free and immortal. Of course, I'll never want to grow a day older so I'll never actually pass the daily blessing onto you. This is really great for me."

I nodded, understanding Cozy Glow’s feelings. "This arrangement will be beneficial for you. I accept that and will do my best to serve you and fulfill all of your needs, and I hope that in time you will come to see me as a valued member of your household. And even if you never choose to pass the daily blessing on to me, I will still be grateful for the opportunity to serve you and be a part of your life while remaining the closest to my goal as possible even if I’ll never reach it."

She grinned. "You do understand that in practice you will just be a slave every day for the rest of your mortal life without receiving anything in return, right? Instead of being free, you condemn yourself to life-long slavery. Instead of being paid to work, you will work for free. And all the while I will abuse you and make you work twice as hard as I ever had to."

I felt my heart sink at Cozy Glow’s words. "I understand that this arrangement may not be ideal for me and that I may not receive the daily blessing of immortality as I had hoped," I said. "But I am still willing to accept this arrangement, as it gives me the opportunity to serve and be a part of your life. I will work hard, regardless. And even if I am not able to receive the daily blessing, I’ll live without regret of missing out on the potential. This is the best deal I could get, and I’ll try to be grateful for it."

Cozy Glow grinned. "Yay! I have a slave now. Let’s get this train rolling. Here's your first task. As you can see, this year's winter was quite cold and there's s a lot of snow on the road to this castle. It’s probably why the traders haven't come yet. Throw all the snow off the road. It shouldn’t take you more than a day or two."

"Yes, of course," I said, bowing my head in obedience. "I will do my best to complete this task to your satisfaction."

“I can give you wool clothes that I designed so that you don’t die of cold out there.“

“No,” I said simply. I remembered the already cured chafing where Chrysalis's wool touched my skin.

“Did you just say no to me!?! And I haven’t even shown you my designs yet.” She opened a wardrobe in the hallway and took out a flat pony. “Look, these furtight bodysuits are all cozy-like. You’ll freeze without them.”

I wasn’t so obsessed with freedom as Spirit, but I knew a cage when I saw one. “You’ll never get me to touch these atrocities, let alone wear them. They’re unnatural and hurtful. I’d rather die than wear these furtight bodysuits.”

“You have no idea how much time it took me to make them.” She banged a hoof at the wall. “I could have been mean to you, but for the first and last time, I chose to try to be nice to you, instead. And this is the shit I get for giving friendship a chance.” She glared at me with tears in her eyes. “Get out!”

I tried to deescalate the situation, “I didn’t mean to upset you, it’s just that the wool—”

“Get the fuck out!” She pointed a hoof toward the exit. “You have your task. Clean the road down to the valley. Don’t come back until you finish.”

“Yes, master.” I quickly said, opening the door of the castle.

I hesitated for a moment when the cold breeze chilled me. Then the door hit me on my way out and I fell snout first into the snow.

There was no point for me to chill on the spot. I had to make amends, so I set to work kicking the snow off the road, determined to fulfill my duties as a slave to the best of my ability. It was hard work, but I was determined to do my best and complete the task to Cozy Glow’s satisfaction.

I noticed that something changed in the white wasteland while I was inside. Two lines were drawn in the snow on the road, leading past the entrance behind the castle.

I paid it no mind and instead trotted away, scouting the length of the road I was supposed to clear. From behind me, I sensed some noises. As I pinned my ears, I recognized spoken words. I turned around and noticed 3 shapes in the distance making their way to the front of the castle. They didn’t buck at the door but merely knocked.

When the door opened I heard one say, “Hello, little one. Are you the stallion of the house?”

I heard Cozy Glow’s voice but I couldn’t make out what she said. However, the response was, “Oh, so you are the one in charge then. I’ll make it really simple. We delivered everything you ordered to your storage. Now if you would be so kind as to settle the bill we can then party like there’s no tomorrow while we wait for the weather to clear up.”

The trio stepped in and the door closed. I was left in the cold silence of the looming dusk.

The sun set and the already cold temperature dropped even further. I felt every breeze on my exposed short coat. The clothes never made sense to me before, but in that frozen landscape, I started to have doubts about the correctness of my rejection of Cozy Glow’s provisions. Despite the hard work, I was shaking all over. I could hardly even breathe because it felt as if the icy air was chafing my throat as if it was made of wool. The warmth in the castle seemed more and more inviting, but I hadn’t finished my task yet, I’d barely begun. I couldn’t even see the valley down the hill. It would take me at least two more days, yet I knew I wouldn’t survive until the morning in the snow.

I shivered in the cold, my hooves and snout numb from the freezing temperatures. My skin was so cold that it stung. It was hard to keep going through the pain and discomfort, but I knew that I had a duty to fulfill. I couldn’t let myself be seen as weak or unwilling to do my best, not after what I had said and done. So I pushed myself to continue working. I kept trying to motivate myself because I knew that the moment I stop exerting myself, I’d freeze to death.

Though my body still had a bit of strength left, my hooves did not. After pushing them through the icy snow so much, I couldn’t feel them anymore. When I tried to shove the snow, they’d just bounce off the road as if they were dead. When I lifted a hoof, it dangled lifelessly in the air. I had no control over it. Mere standing on four legs became a feat of balance. The night was showing its teeth. The cold and the wind increased. The temperature was dropping fast.

My body shut down little by little due to the extreme cold. I was in big trouble. None of my hooves worked, and I knew that if I stayed exposed without finding a way to warm up, I'd soon freeze to death.

Finishing my task was out of the question. The completion was days away, and I only had little life left in me. Desperate and alone, I decided to disobey my master.

The first step toward the castle ended up with my face buried in snow. I was on the verge of giving up on my life, but then I remembered Spirit. I wasn’t in it for me, I was in it for him! He would never give up, and neither should I. My love gave me the strength I needed.

I shook my head, spraying the snow around. One by one, I planted my unresponsive hooves under me and pushed. And again! And again.

Little by little, I crawled toward the castle, hoping I could make it before freezing solid. It was a long and difficult journey, but I knew that I had to keep moving to survive.

After what felt like forever, I reached the stone building. My whole body was numb from the cold and I couldn’t even knock.

I arched my neck and threw my head against the door. It felt as if my frozen skin cracked on impact, but I was desperate so I slammed my head against the door again. And again.

Finally, the door opened. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Cozy glow snarled.

I had insulted her craft, failed at my task, disobeyed her. She had every right to be upset with me. I planted my head before her hooves. “I’m so sorry…”

She stepped on my head with a hoof. “Oh, how the mighty has fallen. So, did you complete your task?”

I closed my eyes in defeat. “No.”

“So, you came here for motivational provision, is that it?”

I sure did need some provisions. I was on death’s door. “Yes,” I said simply.

“You should learn to say yes to me more often, you know?” She stepped to the wardrobe again and pulled a rope-like object out of it. “But let me give you some motivational provisions while the traders ponder on my proposal.”

“Thank you,” I said with my mind being almost as numb as my body.

She walked over to me and shut the door, cutting me off the only source of heat.

I looked at her in confusion.

"I see that you're struggling, but I can help you with your task. What I have here is a whip. Every time I deem that your progress is slow, I can motivate you with it so that your productivity increases. This way, you will be able to complete the task faster. Isn't that great? Aren't I the most helpful person with the best motivational provisions?"

I winced at the thought of being whipped, knowing that it would only make my already impossible task even more unbearable. "I'm sorry, Cozy Glow, but I can't accept your offer," I said, shaking my head. "I understand that you want to help me complete the task, but I don't think that using violence is the answer. I can't let myself be whipped in order to work. I'm sorry, but I just can't accept that."

"That's okay.” She caressed my face with a hoof. “You are my slave and I don't need your permission. What I said was not an offer. I'm just telling you what will happen. You have no choice in this. Now go back to work or I’ll use my whip as generously as if I was an element of Generosity herself. The whipping will continue until your morale improves.”

I felt my heart sink at Cozy Glow's words, knowing that I had no choice but to accept her punishment. I lay my head on the frozen ground in submission. I couldn’t go back to work even if I wanted to. My body was numb from the cold.

"It seems that you're making zero progress. I will now motivate you the best I can to cure you of your laziness. I think you just want to get whipped, don’t you, you dirty masochist. You’re just asking for it."

I felt the first lash of the whip against my skin, and I cried out in pain. Despite my best efforts to move, it was clear that I was unable to, much less go back to work. All I could do was endure the punishment and make peace with myself.

My body shook, even more from the pain than the cold. The tears froze soon after they drifted from my eyes. Besides wincing, I couldn’t do anything else but withstand the long ordeal. The whipping continued relentlessly.

“Well, that takes care of my cardio for today.” Cozy glow said as she collapsed on my body.

I couldn’t even say anything. My mind was blank and my body even more so.

“Well, I hope you learned your lesson. It's best that you get back to work now, or else you'll never finish. Let me know if you need anything else in order to complete your task.” She stood up and walked over me toward the door.

“Clothes,” I whispered.

”I already offered you the clothes I made. But you said no to me! I guess you don’t need them then. Now go back to work and don’t come back until you finish your task.”

The door shut and I was left outside in the freezing cold to die.

Author's Note

GDoc