supre awesome existential trip up a mountain!

"I'd like to think so," I respond. "It's only natural to try and tie the loose ends in the world, and pursuing a path of knowledge has always been at the forefront of my mind. Is it such a hassle to try opening all the doors available to you?"

The stranger looked up to the clouds, breathing lightly as the crisp winter air flowed through her lungs. "I suppose it depends on who, or more specifically what you're asking. Personally, I think that when one’s over-thinking an otherwise trivial thought process," She says, capturing my attention more vigorously than before. "And worrying too much about the little things in life, they lose track of what’s really important to them, displacing themselves in ideas. Believe me when I say that letting things like this fester can cause unwanted problems. In the end, you end up trying to find solutions to things that have never even existed, leaving everything and everypony you've ever known behind in a quest for self-satisfaction. It's...It's a nightmare."

I close my eyes and look away, searching deep within myself to find the words to argue against her reasoning. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, the thought of a rebuttal couldn't get anywhere past the idea phase.

I was...speechless.

In a cold actuality, the only thing to come out of my mouth was a sultry sigh of acceptance followed by a quick snort. "I...I suppose you're right." I stated, hanging my head. "What am I thinking? Allowing the thought that an u-ultimatum..." I say, choking lightly on the cold air (or maybe even a small wisp of fear, but the thought never really came to fruition) and coughed briefly. "...Could rip me from this reality. It's almost...It's like it's...I feel like I'm..."

"...Trapped? Forgotten? Afraid? Lost in your thoughts with nobody to turn to, even in your most desperate hour?" The stranger suddenly spoke, biting her bottom lip. From my spot next to her, I could've sworn she was further out on the verge than even myself. She...she looked how I felt. "Do you feel gripped by the agony that could only come from a thousand years of sorrow, ebbing at your soul like a leech? The black-hole sun devouring every last ounce of your sanity, rending mind from body?" She stuttered out, now emotionally in pieces. "Do you feel...Alone?"

With much affirmation, I slowly nodded my head and breathed a single word, "Exactly." And leaned into her, slowly wrapping my left forearm around her shoulders. "That's exactly what I'm feeling." And with those words, her teary eyes met with my own, saying far more than any words ever could.

In that instance, I felt something; it wasn't something I hadn't felt before, but it'd certainly been a long time. I suppose, in the end, the feeling of empathy never quite leaves the soul. I genuinely felt sorry for the mare before me, even without knowing of her personal plights in the slightest.

No matter how much I pray for the rain to wash away my strife, I'm never so far separated as to not concern myself with my fellow pony. Right here, together at the throat of existence, the mare and I sit backs against the wall in abject moment of contemplation. We know nothing about each other, yet at the same time, we know everything.

It might be too early to tell, but if the messages I was receiving were correct, I didn't come up this mountain to quit. In fact, I very well might have aided another lost soul on the pilgrimage of life in finding theirs. Here in the snowy frost fall, my mind and spirit finally felt as if they were at ease...Even if I was in the arms of an unknown.

The burdens I'd faced on my own all these years were now being shared with somepony else. In the end, I guess the only thing I needed to keep on living was a sign that I wasn't forsaken to civilization's darker half. Today, I was balanced out by nothing more than the input of a stranger, and I can’t complain.

The two of us sat for another twenty minutes in an embrace, but to me, it felt like an eternity of sorrow was being alleviated with each passing second. When we finally broke the galvanizing force between us, I could tell we'd both grown stronger as individuals.

The stranger slowly and somberly got to her hooves, exhaling a long sigh into the painfully thick air between us. "I...think it's time we go our separate ways," She suggests, looking mournfully to the now star-filled skies. "It's probably for the best."

The sudden notion of abandoning our newly forged bond was shocking to me. The thought of leaving our small corner of the world to just, go back to reality seemed almost alien after all the time we'd logged. Our unspoken symbiotic connection however, no matter how strong I'd protest it to be, ultimately had to be broken. "I...I have to agree. It's...been a pleasure." Is all I have the energy to say at this point.

Thankfully, even though my cryptic way of compliance, the stranger nodded in understanding. "Then I guess this is it," She said calmly, putting a forehoof on my shoulder and helping me to my own four hooves. "Time to move on in our lives. Green pastures and all that..." The mare utters, almost visibly shaking.

In a burst of emotion not even I could understand, I ran forwards, leaped into the air and wrapping my forelegs around my savior, and...and...began to cry. "Thank you, t-thank you, so verymuch. I have no i-idea how to say this, b-but all I want you to know is that you very well might have saved my life tonight." I choked out, practically collapsing into the mare. In the back of my head, I scolded myself for losing control so abruptly with her, but right now...nothing else mattered; I knew she understood. With her pillow-like mane, I hugged her neck and didn't let go. "You...You prevented me from doing the unthinkable to myself. I d-don't know how you did it or-- or even why...but all I know is that you did. You're my..." I sobbed. Never looking the mare in the eyes, I closed my own as my subconscious overcame rational thought. "You're my guardian angel."

Eyes still closed, I quietly wept into the comforting torso of my liberator until I could no longer bear to be without her. Opening my eyes, we met gazes and shared an otherworldly bond of emotion one last time. "I'm...I'm...And I'm happy to be called that, my little sunshine." She whispered in between tears of her own. Wrapping me close, she leaned into my left ear and breathed one last line of wisdom to me, "No matter how long the night may last, whether it be days, weeks, or even centuries, know that I'll always be there when you breathe. Don't sleep all day, my little sunshine, for as you said before, there are many doors still yet unopened..." She said collectedly, taking a moment to catch her breath. "The bad news? There is no key to happiness. The good news," She spoke again, pausing to swallow a lump in her throat. "Is that it isn't locked."

I nodded quickly, eyes still locked on hers. This was the end of it; I could feel it in my bones. No longer did my subconscious pose a threat to me, because now I know that the clouds aren't the only things compared to a coin; for if we try, we ponies can be just as comforting as the raindrops.

Without any thought, one final realization popped into my head when I looked deep into the mare’s eyes. I don’t know if it was out of tears, fear, or just my muddled thoughts, but she wasn’t any ordinary mare and, unbelievably, I’d neglected to see just who she really was until now. Deep down, I knew her…She was more than a random stranger on a mountain.

Sucking in one last breath of reality, I knew this was it; the real ultimatum. "Goodbye... mom." Was the last thing I needed to say before snapping back to reality.....