The first snowfall had painted the trees and ground white, and the cold air had frozen the pond that Kace was currently hovering over. His ice skates were tied together and looped around his neck, his scarf preventing the laces from digging in too badly. His breath puffed out in white clouds as he tested the ice at the centre of the pond, wanting to make sure it wasn’t thin enough to simply shatter when he stepped on it. His hooves felt the chill as he landed, wings still extended, just in case, but the ice was solid. Satisfied, Kace walked back over to the edge of the pond, where he’d swept off a bench in preparation, and put his skates on. He’d been skating since he was a small colt, so it took him no time at all, and soon enough, he stood back at the edge of the pond. He took a deep breath, and stepped out onto the frozen pond. His skates, freshly sharpened, bit nicely into the fresh ice, and the silence surrounding the pond was broken by the satisfying krrsh-krrsh of steel on ice. Kace intended to take it easy, let his muscles stretch up as he skated long, lazy circles, to enjoy the fresh, untouched ice, but the joy of having such pristine ice washed that away. He quickly picked up his pace, his wings unfolding, helping him make sharper and sharper turns.
It wasn’t long before his muscles began to burn, and he pushed himself harder, perhaps a bit of punishment for letting himself get so out of shape in recent months. It hadn’t entirely been his fault, but his marefriend’s baking hadn’t just been pushed into his mouth… most of it hadn’t, anyway. A grin split his face as he raced around the pond, the wind in his mane, the chunks of ice rebounding off his stomach, the ever increasing burn in his muscles, all just sent his mood soaring. A laugh bubbled its way out of his throat, and with a whoop, Kace turned on his skates, skating backwards, his hat sent flying from his head as the wind caught it, and he laughed again, finally coming to a long, gliding halt to retrieve it. He snagged the brim with his teeth, and deftly flicked it back onto his head, giving it a careful push down with his hoof, using the flat side of the blade. He gave his scarf a bit of a tug too, to make sure it remained in place, before setting off again, still skating backwards, but slower now. While his thoughts wandered, his grin faded to a more serious expression as his mind turned to the problems he’d come out here to think about.
He didn’t know how long he’d been doing laps, brow furrowed in deep thought, when he noticed a flash of purple by the bench. He smiled wide and waved at Sugar Belle, who waved back, a steaming mug held in her other hoof. She was wearing a fuzzy knitted toque, a big pom pom flopped back behind her ears, her horn hidden from view. She too wore a scarf, though hers was orange instead of Kace’s green. The pegasus slid to a halt in front of her, unintentionally spraying snow over the other side of the bench.
“Think of thy Luna, and she doth appear.” Kace said, his smile widening as he saw the thermos sticking out of Sugar’s saddlebag, as well as the skates tied to the top of it. “Hello, stranger. Fancy meeting you here.” Sugar took a sip of her drink, her horn glowing through the toque as she brought the thermos out, as well as another mug, and quickly filled it to the brim. Kace sat beside her, taking the mug with a thankful nod. He took a sip, sighing as the molten hot chocolate slid down his throat, exploding like a miniature sun in his belly, spreading warmth through his rapidly cooling muscles.
“I was hoping I’d find you, otherwise I would have walked all the way out here for nothing.” Sugar said, finishing her mug and pouring another.
“How’d you figure to look here?” Kace asked, chewing on a half-melted marshmallow. Sugar smiled, leaning closer to her partner, resting her head on his shoulder.
“I wanted to ask if you wanted to go skating with me, but you weren’t home. One of your neighbors said she thought she saw you going into the woods.” Kace clucked his tongue, shaking his head.
“Tsk. I’ll have to have a talk with her. Nosy neighbors.” They both laughed, and Kace gave Sugar a little kiss on her ear, which twitched and tapped against his nose lightly. “I’m glad you did find me out here. It’s a lot more… private than the lake.” Sugar nodded. Kace finished his drink with one final, long pull, and hopped back up on his skated hooves. He inspected the ice surface, and frowned. His skates had dug deep grooves into the ice, and the smooth surface had become lumpy and rough. He clicked his tongue, then took his front two skates off. “Get your skates on, I’ll be right back.” He said, before flapping his wings and flying upwards to the overcast clouds above. Sugar watched him go, before excitedly finishing her mug and taking off her bag, tying her white skates on quickly. She was just finishing tucking the long ends of the laces into the top when Kace flew back down, a dark cloud in his hooves. He gave it a whack, and it began to lightly rain, which immediately froze upon contact with the icy pond. He flew up and down the length of the ice, giving everywhere a nice new layer, and when he was satisfied, he gave the cloud a harder whack, stopping the rain before flying up to put it back in place. He landed next to Sugar, who was standing a little unsteadily on her skates, and quickly put his own back on. He poked the ice with a blade and, satisfied, hopped back on. Sugar Belle hesitated a moment before she followed him, her strides jerky, unsure as she kept behind him around the edge of the pond. Kace let her catch up, smiling broadly as they skated side by side.
“What?” Sugar asked. “What are you grinning about?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing. Just that you look like a baby deer learning to walk.” As if to prove his point, Sugar hit a bump, and all four legs scrambled to keep her upright. As Kace helped her regain her balance, her toque fell off. Sugar got her skates back under her again as Kace went to retrieve her toque, skating backwards in front of her to plop it back on her head. She used her horn to adjust it, then the pair lapsed into silence, only the sound of their skates on the ice filling the crisp air. They skated like that for some time, their shoulders close but not quite touching, Sugar’s plush rump brushing his occasionally, just enjoying being together. The silence grew a little thicker, and Sugar could see that Kace was struggling to find the words to say something, or just couldn’t figure out a way to break the silence. She did it for him.
“What made you choose this pond over the lake?” She asked. “Other than it being more private.” Kace shrugged.
“I learned to skate on ponds like this growing up. My dad used to take me every week, even though my mom hated the idea of me skating on thin ice and falling through.” He smiled. “I learned how to play on this sort of ice.”
“Speaking of parents, when am I going to meet yours?” Sugar asked innocently.
“Meeting the parents? Isn’t that getting a bit... serious?” Kace said, unable to stop his grin from widening across his face. “Whenever you want, really. They’re both free on the weekends.” He looked over at her. “How about your parents?” Sugar’s good mood visibly dimmed, and she shook her head. “Not on speaking terms?”
“Not really.” She gave a little, hollow laugh. “I guess they think once you join a cult, you’re forever going to be recruiting for it.”
“We could always go to them. Say hello, set things straight. If you want.” Sugar shrugged. It wasn’t something she was particularly wanting to talk about, and Kace was able to sense her discomfort. “I’m sorry. It’s just a thought, you know?”
“You? Thinking? I thought I smelled something burning.” She teased, a little weakly, and he stuck his tongue out at her.
“Oh, hush. I was doing a lot of thinking earlier, before you showed up.” He looked down at her raised eyebrow. “Thinking about us. You, mostly.” Sugar’s eyebrow raised, but she stayed quiet. “It’s just… this is a little scary. I’ve never felt this way, this strongly, about somepony before. Yeah, I’ve dated, and yeah, I’ve had marefriends but… what I feel about you is different. Special.”
“I feel the same way, Kacey.” She replied softly. “I’ve been thinking, for a little while now, that this is either going to be the worst heartbreak I’ll ever face, or it’s forever.” Kace nodded, still looking down, before he spoke softly, almost to himself.
“I never thought I'd lay my heart on the line, but everything about you is tellin' me this time…” He trailed off, and Sugar Belle finished his sentence for him.”
“It's forever.” Kace’s head jerked up as Sugar smiled at him. “You didn’t think I’d recognize the Knights in Sombra’s Service?” Sugar giggled again at Kace’s expression. “I know, I know, not their real name. And yes, I know them. One of my favorite bands. I do have a good taste in music, you know.” She moved a little closer, her breath tickling Kace’s nose. “And I’ve got good taste in stallions, too.” He smiled at that.
“I don’t know about that.” He said, his voice lowering. “But I do know you keep getting more and more perfect every day.” Sugar blushed slightly.
“You’re just saying that.” She replied, even as they grew closer together.
“Well then, how could I convince you?” Their noses were nearly touching, breath clouding together. Sugar didn’t say anything more, she just leaned forwards a tad and kissed Kace, a gentle, slow kiss that made the whole world stop.
It was a wonder that the heat of their love didn’t melt the ice around them.