Surehoof's First Ice Step


                                            >"Are you ready?"

                                            >"Yeah."

                                            >"You won't fall?"

                                            >"No way."

                                            >Edgard eyed his daughter carefully. Surehoof wasn't usually one to lie, so she definitely believed that she wouldn't fall. Surehoof also tended to be overconfident in her own abilities, though, so that kept his mind on edge.

                                            >"I'm sure she'll be fine, Eddy," Florence called between sips of her cocoa.

                                            >"I'm glad you're so relaxed about this, Floe," Edgard called back. "Even though I'm not sure how you're pulling it off." Surehoof gave a pout at her father's words. It was one of the few actions of hers that he did not notice.

                                            >She's gonna fall," Frost Rose mumbled, eliciting a roll of the eyes from her younger sibling.

                                            >"Am not!" Surehoof shot back, before sticking her tongue out at her sister. Frost returned the gesture, before her sassiness was quelled by her father flicking her ear.

                                            >"Stop teasing your sister," Edgard chided, the same hoof that was responsible for the flicking now turning to pat her mane as he always did after such treatment. His large, frankly intimidating frame belied his gentle nature, and even a tiny form of aggression like the aforementioned flick was too much for him if it wasn't immediately followed up with apologetic affection.

                                            >His attention then turned back to Surehoof, stood steadfast at the tip of the snow and staring at the ice that served as her current nemesis. One front hoof hovered over the ice, ready to take her first step on it. Her progress was halted as Edgard's hoof rested on her back. She might have thought she was ready, but he knew that he wasn't. He looked back to his wife, enjoying her cocoa.

                                            >"How are you able to relax like that?" the stallion asked, stroking his daughter's back. "You're not worried in the slightest?"

                                            >"If she does slip, you're there to keep an eye on her," Florence replied, cool as the ice that her husband stressed so badly over.

                                            >"And if she falls?"

                                            >"That's how we learn, dear. I can't tell you how many times I fell when I was first getting used to it. She can't avoid walking on ice her whole life. You may have noticed that we have a surplus of it." Another sip of cocoa punctuated her sarcasm, followed by an exasperated groan from her husband.

                                            >"Do you really think I'm gonna fall, Dad?"

                                            >Edgard sighed and shook his head, trying to keep himself from looking down at his daughter and seeing exactly what he knew was coming. Finally, he could hold off no longer, and turned his attention to her. Sure enough, there were the big, sad eyes that always had a way of piercing into his soul.

                                            >"I'm not saying that I think you'll fall, flake," he said, stroking her mane reassuringly. "I'm just saying...it's good to be careful." He turned his attention back to the ice. "Now just copy me. Careful steps, no unnecessary motion."

                                            >One large hoof made contact with the ice. For such a bulky stallion, his contact with the ice appeared to be nothing more than a feather's touch. Carefully practiced motions brought Edgard across the ice, practically defying physics and making it look like the easiest thing in the world. He pivoted gracefully as he reached the end of the floe, turning his back to the water to face his family once more.

                                            >"I don't think you can do that," Frost said with a smirk, poking her sister's side.

                                            >"Frost, please be more supportive," Florence called out, prompting a roll of the older filly's eyes.

                                            >"Okayyy," she replied, before turning back to her little sister. "You'll be fine. You probably won't fall into the water at least."

                                            >"Gee, thanks," Surehoof droned. She stared out across the expanse of ice, which sure looked a lot bigger than it did a moment ago. Then she looked up to her father, who gave her a reassuring smile.

                                            >"One step at a time, flake," Edgard said. "Come on now."

                                            >The youngest of the clan took a deep breath, then placed her hoof down on the ice. The feeling was bizarre. Her hooves were used to the powdery snow where the other three currently resided. The slick, smooth ice was alien to her. Logically, she knew that she had to have walked across it at some point, most likely when it was covered in snow as well, but dealing with a sheet of ice and nothing more was more daunting than she expected.

                                            >"Good start!" Florence said. Despite the appearance of disinterest that her current position gave off, her attention was solely on her daughter.

                                            >With her entire family's attention squarely on her, Surehoof could feel the pressure to succeed weighing on her back. She closed, then moved herself forward. Walking wasn't supposed to be this stressful, and yet here she was. She did her best to remember her father's advice. Careful steps, no unnecessary motion. Another step forward, one more iota of progress. She wasn't covering much ground yet, but she didn't need to.

                                            >"There you go," Edgard said, giving a nod of approval. His heart hadn't stopped racing, but he did his best to exude the same type of calmness that his wife exceled at. Maybe the cocoa would have helped.

                                            >Another two steps forward, and Surehoof's confidence was building. She needed to make her family proud and prove that she deserved the name she was given. A fourth and fifth step followed, and she was sure that she was almost to her goal by this point. The filly opened her eyes slowly, expecting to see her father directly in front of her, and seeing that he was still quite a distance away gave her a start.

                                            >"You're doing great!" Edgard cheered. "Just don't-"

                                            >But she did. A misstep later, and all four limbs were flailing as she tried to gain her balance. Her father gasped, stooping down into a ready position in case she slipped towards the water, but it proved unnecessary.

                                            >"Oof!"

                                            >The filly flopped onto her belly, the wind knocked out of her. The only sound in the area was the sound of Frost laughing her hindquarters off.

                                            >"Did you SEE THAT?!" the older filly gasped through peals of laughter. "Flop! Maybe Mom and Dad should have called you Unsurehoof!"

                                            >The younger filly looked back to her older sister, eyes brimming with tears, until two things worked together to soothe her: her father's embrace, and the sight of her mother twisting Frost's ear to silence her. Florence wasn't always as quick to soothe as Edgard was after a bit of punishment.

                                            >"You did fine, flake," Edgard whispered into her ear, before lifting her up and placing her on his back. "We'll try again later, okay? You'll get it."