Prompt 18 - Holiday Hijinks

Boba Pearls stuck her head into the good sized cottage near the field she usually ran in. A branch knocked down by a blast of wind had broken part of the fence and curiosity had gotten the better of the light colored, dun spotted mare. 

The door swung open as her pink skinned nose touched the wooden surface. Apparently Gwen kept the door unlocked. The inside smelled of a tempting mix of pine and peppermint, and something else as well. Apples, Boba thought. And maybe ginger. 

The mare wasn’t very tall at just over fifteen hands, and the door was wider than average, so the door was easy to get through. The hallway was decked with strings of evergreen and candles were placed in every window, though none of them were lit at the moment. 

Boba roamed further into the house, her tail knocking over a rack of coats near the door. The structure hit the ground with a muffled clatter, the fall cushioned by the coats and scarves still hanging on it. 

Boba looked around to see if anyone would come at the noise and then sniffed at the clothing on the floor before seeing if the green, fuzzy thing tasted any good. Unfortunately it wasn’t particularly appealing, the long woven strand doing nothing but leaving a few bits of something dry and unpleasant in the mare’s mouth. 

She got most of the fuzz off her tongue, but some of it still lingered as Boba moved into another room. This one had a long table and some flowers in water, so she decided to try and drink the water to get the fuzzy feeling out of her mouth. The vase was too narrow and fell over, spilling the water and the multi-colored blooms across the table, but at least she could drink the water now. 

With the fuzzy feeling gone, and maybe a few flowers munched on, Boba made her way into the next room. It was warmer, and it smelled like fresh pine. The fireplace had a small fire, and there was a green tree in the corner that had little baubles and shiny things on them. The same, green garland hung around the room and Boba couldn’t help but sniff at it. After her flower snack she didn’t eat any, but the smell was nice. 

She roamed further into the room, trying not to knock things down this time, but her tail had other ideas. The long, curly white tail knocked over a few unlit candles on a nearby table, a stack of books, and a chair before Boba made it to the middle of the room. 

She sniffed at the tree and touched her nose to the pretty, shiny red ball. It looked a little bit like an apple, but it didn’t smell like anything and it seemed more like a rock than something to eat. There was the smell of peppermint coming from somewhere though. 

The leopard appaloosa sniffed at the tree, a few of the brightly colored balls falling to the ground as the mare hit it with a little more force than intended. They shattered as they hit the hardwood floor, pieces of shining glass scattering everywhere. 

Boba jumped, or at least she jumped as much as a horse could in the confines of a house, and snatched the sweet smelling thing from the tree. It was red and white and crunched in a very satisfactory way as Boba quickly moved away from the mess she’d made by the tree. 

The kitchen was next, and it was where the smell of apples was the strongest. She liked apples and now that she’d had something sweet, really wanted an apple too. 

The kitchen was crowded with lots of pots and pans and things that clanged or clattered when Boba or her tail brushed against them, but she wasn’t worried about it now. The apple smell was definitely getting stronger. 

She knocked several plates off the counter as her curly white locks swept across the surface, followed a handful of dishes and some silverware. Something white and fluffy burst into the air as another bowl fell, coating the darker spots on Boba’s legs in white. 

The mare didn’t mind though, not when her goal was so close. There was something near the window. That was where the smell was coming from. 

She made her way there as carefully as she could, tracking white prints of flour all the way across the floor. She leaned in and sniffed at the round, brown object sitting there. It didn’t look like an apple. Not even a rotted apple. It was too big. The top was a neatly woven pattern with a curly edge, just like her tail. 

Boba sniffed it again. No, it was definitely where the smell of apples was coming from. She nosed it again and even though she was trying to be delicate, the thing fell. When it hit the floor she was treated to the familiar sight of shining white apple slices, their skins a pretty red color. 

She immediately began eating them, but they weren’t crunchy like she was expecting them to be. Instead they were soft and kind of gooey. They didn’t taste bad though and so she ate a few more until the odd, brown coating was all that was left. She thought about looking for more, but a sound from the front of the house made her pause. 

“What on earth?” 

Boba’s ears turned in that direction and she looked for another door. Gwen didn’t sound mad, but Boba was pretty sure a lot of messes had been made. Maybe if she got out before Gwen found her it’d be okay. 

Locating the garden door, Boba managed to bump it open before taking off into the field and pretending to be really interested in the sparse grass on the winter ground. She saw her rider moving in the kitchen, but there wasn’t any yelling. Not that Gwen yelled much, but still, Boba was glad to have gotten away. Maybe next time she’d just stay outside and wait for the fae to bring her a treat instead.