Built From What Is Shattered

by Sunlight Rays

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Starlight Glimmer, Tempest Shadow
Length: 6313

Through broken snowballs, Starlight builds something magical.

Hearth's Warming Eve has once again brought itself upon Ponyville, and Starlight finds herself wanting to participate in the local snowball fight event, although she does not have a partner to do it with.

When Twilight introduces somepony she thinks will be a good match for her, Starlight is unsure whether she and her teammate will be good friends.

However, Starlight soon discovers that broken snowballs have the power of creating something new and magical.

Edited by Holtinater

This was written for BronyWriter as a part of Jinglemas 2020! For more information about Jinglemas, checkout our group!

Published 2020-12-24 15:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-12-24 15:10:00 UTC

Snowballs Shattered, Friendships Built

Snowflakes were falling from the sky when Starlight Glimmer read the announcement on the bulletin board outside the Town Hall. The piece of paper attached to the board read:

ANNOUNCEMENT

4th Ponyville Snowball Fight Event

Dear citizens of Ponyville,

We sincerely hope you are having a good holiday season! As Hearth’s Warming approaches us once again, we are happy to announce that we will once again be hosting the Ponyville Build-A-Snowfort Contest!

As you may already know, the rules are simple: find a partner to become a team with, and build a snow fort together! After that, you will have a free-for-all snowball fight with other teams! Remember, the point is to have fun and build friendships, along with a lot of exchanged snowballs!

The contest will begin at noon on Hearth’s Warming Eve in front of the Town Hall, and will continue until 6 pm! Hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

Mayor Mare

As Starlight turned away from the bulletin board and continued on her way to Twilight’s castle, she began to ponder who she should participate with.

The announcement itself wasn’t a surprise to Starlight; it had been announced two weeks prior, and she had read it numerous times while walking back and forth through Ponyville on various occasions. What was unexpected was that all of Starlight’s closest friends were unavailable for the event due to various reasons.

Trixie’s off in Manehattan with her new magic show. Sunburst’s in the Crystal Empire working as the advisor for Cadance. Maud is off at the rock farm to spend time with her family. So who should I do it with…, she wondered as she neared the doors of the Friendship Castle. She pushed open the large, heavy doors with her magic, revealing the main hall and the friendship map that sat in the center.

“Hello, Starlight!” Twilight greeted her as she emerged from one of the hallways.

“Hey, Twilight,” Starlight responded as she brushed the snow off her body with her magic. Then after a moment, she asked, “Twilight, you know the snowball fight event that’s happening tomorrow, right?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“Well, I was hoping if you had anyone that I could participate with. All my other friends—Trixie, Maud, Sunburst—are busy doing something else, and I’m sure you and your friends are already paired up with each other, so I was thinking maybe you could find someone I could do it with,” Starlight explained, a sheepish smile on her face.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Well, me and the girls are already paired up with each other… ah, wait! I think I know somepony who can be the perfect match for you!”

“Really? That’s wonderful!”

“There’s just one problem, though,” Twilight said, continuing to rub her chin with her hoof. “I’m not… exactly certain as to how she would react to being asked to participate in a socializing event like this. She’s not… the most talkative pony around, you see.”

“Oh, well, at least I ought to give it a try, right?” said Starlight as she lightly chuckled.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Now come on, let’s introduce you two to each other.”

They walked out of the main hall and into one of the hallways, trotting past numerous doors lined up along the walls.

“So Starlight,” Twilight said as she walked ahead, “have you ever met Tempest Shadow?”

“Oh, I’ve seen her walking around town a few times. Never had the chance to actually have a conversation with her, though.”

“I think you’ll get along with her quite well,” Twilight said, rounding a corner.

After walking for a short time, they stopped in front of one of the rooms. Twilight lifted a hoof and knocked on the door three times.

There was a muffled “Coming!” from the inside, followed by a few scuffling sounds and curses. The door opened to reveal a maroon-colored unicorn, and Starlight couldn’t help but notice how tall she was. She towered over her by at least half a foot, gazing down on the two of them with icy blue eyes. She also noticed that she was wearing black armor that covered her entire body, with Twilight's cutie mark painted on the plates that covered her flanks.

“You called me, Princess Twilight?” said the mulberry-colored unicorn.

“Please, Tempest, just Twilight. I came to visit because I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine.” She then stepped to the side, allowing Starlight and Tempest to get a proper view of each other. “Tempest Shadow, meet Starlight Glimmer. Starlight Glimmer, Tempest Shadow.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Tempest Shadow said as she extended a hoof.

Starlight extended hers, and the two shook hooves. “So uh, I was actually hoping to ask you something, if it’s not too much. I was hoping to participate in the snowball fight event that’s happening tomorrow, but I need a teammate for that. Twilight told me that you’d be a good match for me, so I was wondering if you’d be willing to be my partner!” Starlight explained, a sheepish grin once again floating up to her face.

Tempest merely gazed down upon her with a neutral expression for a moment. Then she gave a small smile as she quietly said, “Sure.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said I’d be willing to be your teammate. This snowball fight event sounds fun to me,” Tempest repeated.

“Well, uh, that’s great, then! It’s happening tomorrow, noon of Hearth's Warming Eve in front of the Town Hall. I guess I’ll be seeing you there?”

Tempest silently nodded, the thin smile remaining on her face. “I’ll be there on the hour. I’m sure we’ll get to have a good time,” she said, then turned around. “Now if you don’t mind, may I return to my afternoon exercises?”

“Oh, of course! I’ll see you on Hearth’s Warming Eve, then,” Starlight replied, internally wincing at the awkwardness of her own response.

As the door closed, Starlight let out a sigh she didn’t realize that she had been holding. She then tiptoed over to Twilight and whispered, “Is she always so intimidating like this? I mean, she used to be the second-in-command for the Storm King’s army, but still.”

“Nah, don’t worry. She’s not so bad once you get to know her better. I’m certain you two will make a good pair tomorrow,” Twilight assured her as they walked down the hallway back to where they came from.

“I hope that will be the case,” Starlight muttered.

…

Morning came, and Starlight woke up with a weight pressing down her heart. The previous day’s brief encounter with Tempest Shadow had given her the impression that it wasn’t going to be easy to become friends with her, and Starlight wasn’t sure if she and Tempest could be a good team.

No, no, you got this, Starlight! You just need to be careful around her and not trigger her anger. Just do that, and you won’t end up like those poor folks that Spike told me about. Yup, all’s good! Starlight thought as she began to profusely sweat, her mind conjuring up images of victims who were unlucky enough to invoke Tempest’s wrath, related to her through Spike’s tales. She glanced out the window and noticed that it had snowed throughout the previous night, blanketing the town in a soft, immaculate layer. “Gotta give credit to those pegasi to keep the weather schedule in check,” Starlight muttered as she left her chambers to have breakfast.

Noon of the day came too quick for Starlight, and it was with apprehension that she crossed the bridge towards the Town Hall. Starlight looked around as she arrived at the edge of the crowd of ponies gathered in front of the building. There were lots of ponies, but there was no sign of the telltale black armor or the magenta spiky mane her partner sported.

“You’re late,” a voice spoke from right behind her.

Starlight yelped as she whipped around on her hooves, only to find Tempest Shadow’s face inches away from her muzzle. She instinctively stumbled backward in surprise, almost falling over before regaining her composure. Tempest merely smirked at the reaction. “You scared me!” Starlight protested.

“Which is what one gets for letting her guard down. Now come on, the announcement is about to be given out,” Tempest replied, heading towards the crowd while continuing to sport a smug grin on her face.

Starlight grumbled under her breath as she followed her, making her way through the numerous ponies and struggling to keep up with her teammate. Not long after, however, Starlight found Tempest standing in the middle of the crowd. As soon as she caught up to her side, Mayor Mare appeared from the building.

“Citizens of Ponyville! Thank you so much for coming to participate in this year’s Snowball Fight Event! We all hope you have fun, and we hope to see you build new friendships!” Mayor Mare announced, her voice ringing across the many ponies beneath her. “The rules are simple: you are free to roam around town and find a good spot to build a snow fort. It does not matter what size or shape it is, for that is completely up to you and your partner. Then we’ll call time for building the snow forts at 3 pm and let the snowball fights begin! There are no bounds, no rules for the snowball fight; one can use any method to attack other teams, provided that it has no danger of harming others! Time to build the fort begins… now! May the fun spirit of Hearth’s Warming be with all of you!”

Instantly the crowd scattered, ponies scurrying to secure a good spot for their snow fort. Already ponies could be seen struggling to keep the other teams from taking over their location while attempting to fortify the region at the same time.

“So… where should we go?” Starlight timidly asked.

“Top of that hill over there,” Tempest quietly commented.

“Huh?”

“You see that hill, with a single tree standing on it? We’ll take a position there.” Tempest pointed at the hill she was talking about. “We’ll be up on the high ground, making it easier for us to defend ourselves. Now to get there before the others do….”

“Leave it to me!” Starlight shouted as she grabbed Tempest’s hoof. She lit her horn, and the two teleported away in a flash of light. They appeared on top of the hill, the pine tree standing tall and proud next to them.

Tempest shook her head as she clutched the base of her horn. “Oh, wow… it’s been a while since the last time I teleported. Forgot how dizzy it can be.”

“Oh, sorry. I should’ve asked before teleporting. Are you alright?” Starlight immediately apologized.

Tempest waved a dismissive hoof, turning towards the pine tree before them. “Don’t apologize, we’ve got work to do. Now, if I bucked this tree and gathered the snow falling from it… yes, that would do…,” she muttered under her breath as she scrutinized the tall wood before her. Then she turned with her back towards the tree before rearing up on her forelegs into a bucking stance.

“Tempest, wait—,” Starlight began. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to finish her words.

Tempest Shadow bucked the pine tree with such a tremendous force that the pine tree visibly shook and tilted. The two looked up into the leaves, then at each other as nothing happened. But then, a tremendous rumble emanated from above them, and it was all Starlight could do to raise a shield to protect herself from the mountain of snow that fell upon them.

…

Starlight breathed out as she pulled herself from beneath the pile of snow, her shield thankfully protecting her from getting buried under six feet of the cold, heavy substance. She looked around for her partner, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Tempest?” Starlight called out towards where Tempest had been standing moments ago.

Without warning, sparkling electric-blue magic shot out of the mound of snow, blowing icy particles everywhere and onto Starlight’s face. As Starlight shook her head free of crystals, she saw a gaping hole in the snow. Then a hoof shod in a black horseshoe emerged out of it, followed by another, then finally Tempest’s face poked itself above the snow.

“Well, that was a bit more snow than expected, don’t you think?” she said with a light chuckle.

“Are you okay? You just got buried under six feet of snow!” Starlight shouted as she rushed over to Tempest’s aid.

“Well,” Tempest replied as she grabbed Starlight’s forehooves and lifted herself out of the hole, “I’ve been in worse situations than this, and I managed to get out of them unscathed every time.” Upon seeing Starlight’s raised eyebrows, she let out a chuckle. “Well, okay, almost every time.”

She dusted off any remaining particles from her body and armor, then looked around, judging the amount of snow that had just fallen onto the ground. She nodded in approval and turned to Starlight. “At least that gave us enough snow to work with. Now come on, we should start building our fort.”

…

“So do you have a plan on how to do this?” Starlight asked as she picked up another mound of snow and put it aside onto a huge pile of snow they were putting aside.

“I do,” Tempest replied, her voice muffled as she used the shovel she had found in Ponyville to throw snow onto the pile.

Starlight didn’t say anything, waiting for Tempest to elaborate. When she didn’t say anything, Starlight asked, “So… what’s the plan?”

Tempest tossed the shovel aside and turned to face Starlight. Starlight involuntarily flinched as she, too, dropped the pile of snow she had been holding in her telekinesis.

“Relax, I’m not going to bite you out of the blue or anything. Well, I used to do that to Grubber, but he knew what he was signing up for, and I don’t do that to him anymore.”

Starlight stiffly nodded, then said, “Was it that noticeable?”

Tempest smirked. “Very much so. I noticed it the moment we first met. You aren’t very good at hiding your emotions, it seems.” She then sat down and scooted closer to Starlight, then patted the snow-covered ground next to her. “Come on, let’s talk for a bit.”

After a second of hesitation, Starlight moved over to sit down next to her.

“So, can you tell me what’s got you so scared of me?”

“I… don’t know, actually. The moment I saw you, I saw this… aura emanating from you that told me that you weren’t someone to be messed around with.”

Tempest let out a short laugh. “I get that a lot. I think it’s partly because of my armor. Black does tend to have an effect of intimidating others.” She then paused for a short moment. “But don’t worry. I may look intimidating, but I don’t actually try to scare others,” she added.

Starlight quietly nodded, still not meeting eyes with her teammate.

Abruptly, Tempest shouted, “Hey, what’s that?”

Startled, Starlight looked up. “What? I don’t—” Her sentence was cut short as a pile of snow struck her in the face.

When Starlight cleared the snow from her eyes and sputtered out the bits of ice that entered her mouth, it was to see Tempest laughing her head off as she began galloping away.

“Hey!” Starlight shouted after her.

“This is what you get for letting your guard down~” Tempest sang as she ran away at full speed.

She looked back at where Starlight was once more, and she realized that she wasn’t there anymore. Surprised, Tempest came to a sudden stop, looking around as she scanned the area. There was a flash of light from behind her, and Tempest whirled around—

Whump!

Tempest Shadow fell onto her haunches as her face was covered in snow, the assailant putting pressure on the cold wet substance.

When the pressure dissipated and Tempest shook the snow off her face, she saw Starlight clutching her sides as she laughed on the ground.

“Oh, this is how you’re gonna play it, huh? And I thought you were the one who thought I wasn’t to be messed around with,” Tempest growled, a feral grin on her face now as she got back on her hooves and stared down at the light purple mare in front of her.

“W-wait, Tempest—” Starlight began, but she didn’t get to finish her sentence as Tempest released a flurry of tickling spells from her horn. “Ack! Tempest, sto-ho-hop!”

“Not until you surrender!”

“Okay, okay! I surrender! I’m sorry!” Starlight squealed as she writhed under the torture.

Tempest cut the flow to her spell, and Starlight was left heaving for breath on the ground. Tempest gave her teammate a moment to calm herself down, then got her back on her hooves. “Looks like we’ve had our fun. Should we head back to our fortress?”

Starlight nodded, and together they walked back to the pile of snow they had left back under the pine tree.

…

Building the snow fortress had been a taxing and tedious job, with both Tempest and Starlight running into problems every now and then. However, they worked together and brought their heads together when such problems arose, and they were able to finish building their fortifications in time.

They had been relaxing and making sure they had built everything they needed when Rainbow Dash came over.

“Hey, Starlight. Hey, Tempest,” she said as she approached the two appreciating their hoofwork. Then she halted midair and gaped at what she was seeing. “Woah, that is one sturdy looking snow fort if I ever saw one.”

Before the three of them stood an impressive fortress. Surrounding the pine tree in a circle with two walls on its side to serve as an entrance, the snow fortress stood a proud six feet from the ground. Tightly packed bricks were stacked neatly in a zigzag pattern, with snow filling the space between them. The ground surrounding the fortress had been cleared of the snow, and Rainbow could see a glimpse of a huge pile of white glistening within the fortress from above.

“We sure did put a lot of effort into building this,” Starlight commented as they continued to marvel at their work.

Just then, a voice rang out from the distance. “All participants, you have 10 minutes to finish work on your fortress! Be prepared for the upcoming snowball fight!”

“Oh right, I gotta go help AJ finish preparing our snowballs! See you two later!” With that, Rainbow sped away towards a nearby hill, where another snow fort could be seen.

“Come on, we should prepare our defenses, too,” Tempest beckoned to Starlight as she headed into their fortress. Starlight quickly followed suit.

“Are the snowballs ready?” Tempest asked once she was inside.

“Yup! 348 snowballs all tightly packed and ready to go!” Starlight reported, once again checking their pile of snowballs they had prepared in the time they had left after building the snow fort.

“Alright then, let’s seal the entrance. Remember, our top priority is to defend this fortress.”

“Got it,” Starlight replied as she lifted several spare snow blocks with her magic. She carefully carried them over to the opening in the circular wall and stacked them, making sure that they wouldn’t fall over even if they were hit by a few snowballs.

Just as Starlight finished filling up the cracks and seams in the wall, the announcement rang out from the center of the town once again. “And that’s time! Before we begin the snowball fight, let us remind you of the rules once again! The main priority is to have fun, but we also need to keep safety in mind! Therefore, you are only allowed to attack others with methods that have no danger of harming others! With that in mind, have fun, and let the spirit of Hearth's Warming bless everypony! Time starts… NOW!” A whistle blew, and immediately the entire town of Ponyville burst into frenzied chaos. Shouts and screams of laughter rang out from everywhere, ponies giggling as they threw snowballs at each other.

Tempest and Starlight were silently watching the scenery from their fortress, safely perched on a platform they had built out of snow. The sounds of joy and festivity brought a smile to both of their muzzles.

“You know, sometimes I forget how peaceful our town is,” Starlight said, continuing to softly smile down at all the ponies who were having fun.

“Yeah, me too. Sometimes life gets too busy for me and I… forget how friendly these neighbors are.”

Starlight let out a peal of short laughter. “You’re telling me. Being a counselor at the Friendship School can be a hassle at times. I mean, I love my students, but we all have days when we wish we could just… leave everything behind and have some time and fun to ourselves.”

“Mhm…,” Tempest silently hummed. Then her ears twitched.

“You know, I—”

“Quiet!” she cut Starlight off, her ears swiveling in every direction.

“Tempest, wha—”

“Listen!” Tempest hissed, hushing Starlight with a hoof. Then her eyes widened. “Incoming enemy, 4 o'clock! Starlight, get those snowballs ready!”

“Where? I don’t see anything—”

“Just get ready to fire those snowballs!” Tempest ordered as she ran over to the direction she had sensed an enemy. “That one’s coming in hot! Starlight, get those snowballs up here now!”

“I’m here, I’m here!” Starlight shot back as she climbed back up onto the platform next to Tempest. “What enemy are you talking abou—,” she began before she stopped. Then her eyes widened.

A rainbow-colored trail was screaming towards them, a madly grinning cyan pegasus holding a bucket of snowballs and a saddlebag at her side visible at the trail’s front.

Starlight raised several snowballs with her telekinesis, poising to throw them at the incoming enemy.

“No, don’t throw them yet. I’ll give you the signal, and then you throw!” Tempest shouted. Starlight glanced at her and noticed that she was charging her horn, sparks flying from its broken tip. “Get ready…,” Tempest murmured, continuing to prepare her magic.

Rainbow was now close enough for her pupils to be visible. Without warning, she soared up into the air, Starlight’s gaze involuntarily following her upwards. Tempest’s gaze, however, remained fixed towards the front. “NOW!” she shouted as she fired her spell. The electric-blue spell charged through the air like a spear, hitting the bucket Rainbow had dropped just before pulling up and blowing it into pieces as a sprinkle of white particles were sprayed into the air.

Starlight immediately let loose a flurry of snowballs up towards Rainbow, who was still climbing into the air as she looped. Before she could react, the snowballs struck Rainbow’s wings and back, and Starlight could hear a surprised “Gahhh!” as Rainbow lost her balance and fell to the ground below. She landed into the snow with a light phwump, white powder rising into the air from the impact.

Starlight cheered as Rainbow wobbled up into the air, shaking her head as she slowly fluttered up. “That’s what you get for trying to bomb us with snowballs!” Starlight called out.

Rainbow turned around, and to Starlight’s surprise, she was still wearing that smile on her face. “Oh yeah? Don’t get so cocky, Starlight. We still have more in store for you.”

“Here ya go, Rainbow!” Applejack’s accented voice echoed over the fortress walls. Both Tempest and Starlight turned their eyes towards the source of her voice, only to see another bucket filled with snowballs flying through the air. Before any of them could react, Rainbow snatched the bucket out of the air and swung it, throwing its entire contents towards the duo caught off-guard.

“Duck!” Tempest shouted as she shoved Starlight’s head behind the snow walls. Starlight heard a grunt as her vision was obscured by the wall of snow. She kept herself low as she heard snowballs pelting whatever it hit, keeping her head covered with her forelegs. Then it was over, and Starlight looked up to see Tempest wincing on the ground covered in snow and Rainbow Dash clutching her sides as she laughed in the air, dropping the bucket to the ground.

“Told you guys to not get cocky— ow, ow!” Rainbow yelped as snowballs pelted into her, an enraged Starlight chucking them furiously at the blue pegasus hovering in front of her with her magic.

“Now that’s what you get for striking at us first!” Starlight countered as Rainbow quickly retreated out of range. Then she turned to Tempest as she brushed the snow off of her. “Are you okay, Tempest?”

Tempest shook her head free of the snow remaining in her mane, then looked up. “Oh, they’ve done it,” she let loose a low growl, a flame igniting in her eyes that made Starlight momentarily flinch.

In one fluid motion, she tore off the black armor wrapping her body, revealing a well-toned physique. She then took her horseshoes off and climbed back up onto the platform.

“You’ll soon see what you’ve done…,” she hissed towards the attackers, who seemed to be intimidated as they noticed the burning glare in her eyes.

Applejack was the first to regain her composure as she shouted back, “Words don’t mean nothin’, sugarcube! You’ll soon surrender to our might!”

“Y-yeah! We’ll rain snowballs down on your fortress until you guys accept defeat!” Rainbow shouted, backing her teammate up.

“We’ll see about that…,” Tempest murmured as sparks began flying from her horn. Though clearly frightened at the display, both Rainbow and Applejack held their ground, glaring back at the unicorns staring down at them.

All four of them narrowed their eyes, and Tempest quietly murmured to her partner, “Get ready to fire those snowballs, Starlight.”

Starlight quietly nodded as she grabbed more of the stock-piled snowballs with her magic, holding them in midair as she eyed the tension flowing in the air around them.

Then, in a moment too short to discern who acted first, it began; Applejack snatched the bucket up from the ground and scooped up a heap of snow before throwing it at her enemies; Rainbow Dash opened her saddlebag and began pulling out snowballs to throw; Tempest Shadow fired her spell, aiming for the bucket Applejack was holding; Starlight began chucking snowballs at the still-hovering pegasus, the white objects speeding through the air.

Almost immediately, chaos broke out on top of the small hill, the four ponies throwing snowballs and sometimes even piles of snow on the ground at each other. Screams and shouts rang out as snowballs and icy particles were flung around everywhere, the four ponies battling each other with a ferocity that had never been seen before in a snowball fight.

The two sides battled each other with a ferocity that matched no other snowball fight ever recorded in Equestrian history. The two teams put everything they had into defeating the other, using unconventional tactics to one-up their opponents.

Rainbow Dash was especially vicious as she attacked the two unicorns time and again, using the most out of her flight capabilities to her advantage. “AJ! I need a refill!” she shouted as she tossed the empty bucket to her partner and soared up into the air, twisting this way and that as she expertly dodged the snowballs being shot at her. She then performed a mid-air loop, hitting the apex of her climb before beginning to dive back down onto the ponies below. “Special delivery, you two!” she shouted as she opened her saddlebag. Then she emptied its entire contents upon them, a dozen snowballs falling out and raining themselves down upon the defenders pinned below.

Applejack was no less aggressive than her partner, either. Even in between supplying her partner with fresh snowballs, she made her own stockpile which she put into her own buckets and lunged them over the fortress’s wall, or even directly at it whenever she noticed a weak point in the structure. “Take,” Applejack grunted as she lobbed another bucket into the air towards the unicorns, “this!” She then picked up the pre-filled bucket of snowballs and tossed it into the air, which Rainbow snatched and soared back into the air to continue her dive-bombing runs.

The defenders were no pushovers, however. Despite the inherent altitude disadvantage they were always at, they made it up with almost-immediate reaction to any incoming snowballs and intimate teamwork.

“Starlight, incoming Rainbow from nine o'clock high!” Tempest barked as she let loose another blast of her magic, the lightning beam precisely striking the bucket soaring through the air and splintering it into pieces. She ignored Applejack’s annoyed “Consarnit Tempest, stop destroying my buckets!” as she threw several snowballs back at the orange earthpony.

“Roger!” Starlight shouted as she once again let loose a flurry of snowballs upwards at Rainbow Dash charging through the air towards her. Just as Rainbow dropped the entire load and pulled upwards, several of the projectiles struck the base of her right wing. Rainbow Dash lost balance as her right wing momentarily pitched upwards, yelping as she careened into the ground and rolled straight into Applejack who had been bunching up snow into spheres.

“Get down!” Starlight shouted, grabbing Tempest by the back of her neck and shoving her onto the ground as she created a dome around them. Snowballs pelted down upon them, splattering against the magical barrier and shattering shining shrapnel everywhere. Just as it was over, Starlight let the barrier dissipate and began to focus fire on the two dazed attackers, spraying snowballs at them as they desperately scrambled to their hooves trying to dodge the merciless onslaught of the cold unforgiving bullets.

Hours passed as the two pairs fought on, both parties refusing to relent as they lost themselves in the flickering snowflakes and the snowballs whooshing past them. The hilltop, once cleared by the defenders, was now littered with shattered remains of the icy projectiles and particles.

Then, when it seemed like the fight would never end, a whistle blew from the direction of Ponyville. There was a crackling sound, then the announcer spoke once more: “And… time’s UP! That’s it for this year’s Ponyville Snowball Fight event! Hope all of you had fun, and thanks for coming to the event! See you next Hearth’s Warming Eve!”

Immediately the four ponies stopped, ceasing all hostility. The unending stream of snowballs from Starlight and Rainbow stopped, while Applejack’s bucket of snow stopped swinging, and the magic in Tempest’s horn fizzled out as she let go of the spell she was preparing to fire.

They stared at each other for a moment without saying anything, panting as they struggled to catch their breath. Then they all burst into laughter, chuckling at the absurd intensity of the fight they had.

“Looks like… looks like y’all ran out of snowballs to throw, eh?” Applejack chuckled as she fell to the ground, clutching her sides.

“I could say the same for you too!” Tempest fired back as she, too, chuckled along with the others.

“Well, Rainbow and I gotta go and tidy our things up. See you later, you two!” Applejack said as she turned around towards her long-forgotten snow fort.

“Good game, you two! Seriously, both of you were awesome, what with your teamwork and fighting skills,” Rainbow complimented as she prepared to follow her.

“And you were quite good as well with your snowball throwing,” Tempest replied, giving the pegasus a small smile.

“Heh, I’m always awesome. You should know that by now,” said Rainbow, smirking as she continued to hover over the two unicorns.

“RAINBOW! ARE YA COMIN’ OR NOT?!” Applejack’s voice roared across the hillscape.

“Coming!” Rainbow shouted back, before turning to face Tempest and Starlight once more. “Alright, see you guys later!” Then she sped away, heading towards her fortress and her partner waiting for her.

“Bye, Rainbow!” Starlight shouted after her, then slumped against the fortress wall. “Sweet Celestia, I’m so going to be sore all over tomorrow….”

“Me too,” Tempest groaned as she stretched her body. “It’s been forever since I’ve had an excursion this intense.”

They remained silent for a few seconds before Starlight spoke up. “So… should we start tidying things up?”

Tempest let out a hum, then said, “Nah, let’s relax for a bit more. The Sun’s not going to set for another half hour. Not to mention watching the town up from here is quite relaxing.”

Starlight nodded as she shifted over so she could get a better view of Ponyville. She let out a sigh as she felt the muscles in her body finally relax, the fatigue seeping through her as she watched ponies begin to tidy up the remains of their snowball fight.

Even now she could hear the giggles and shrieks of laughter emanating from the alleyways and the streets, fillies and colts running amok as they chased one another holding leftover snowballs, while the adults busied themselves with cleaning up the snowy remains of the heated fight that had occurred. Starlight saw that even while cleaning up the broken fortresses and shattered snowballs out of the streets, everypony had a smile on their face. And that warmed her mind up more than any other Hearth’s Warming present she had ever gotten.

“Thanks for asking me to be your partner for this event, Starlight,” Tempest said, breaking Starlight out of her reverie.

“Oh, no no! You should thank Twilight for that. She’s the one who introduced the two of us to each other, you know.”

“Still, I want to thank you for being my teammate,” Tempest insisted, and Starlight could once again see her soft smile back on her face. “This was the most fun I’ve ever had in a long time, and it couldn’t have been done without you.”

“Aw, ‘twas nothin’, Tempest!” Starlight said in a poor imitation of a cowpony accent. “But seriously, I should thank you for being my partner. I couldn’t have built this fortress without you, not to mention fighting against those two.”

“Guess we’re even on that part, then,” Tempest replied, to which Starlight agreed.

After a moment of silence, Starlight said, “Say… you’re quite the talented pony. From being able to draw a plan of how to build a fortress and choose the perfect location for that to intercepting almost every single snowball or bucket flying your way…. That’s no small feat, especially when you’re up against Rainbow and Applejack working as a team. How did you learn to do those things?”

Tempest chuckled quietly. “Experience, I’d say. Did Twilight tell you about the details of my past?” Starlight shook her head. “Well, let’s just say that after losing my horn and leaving Equestria I… had some tough times before I joined the Storm King’s army. Basically I, as a teenage filly, was trying to survive out in the wild on my own, with no one to trust or to lean on for support. So, naturally, I learned my own survival skills. I just had to twist them to the right amount for this event,” she explained as she leaned against the fortress’s wall, her eyes gazing off into the distance as she reminisced upon the times she was left to fend for herself.

Starlight put a hoof on Tempest’s shoulder. “We’re glad that you’re back, though.”

Tempest nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I’m glad that I decided to follow Twilight back to pony society. If it weren’t for her, I would have never realized that I had been blinded by my past. She helped me see past my scars and reminded me of the values of friendship. And for that, I think… I think I owe her a lot for that.”

“Same here. If it weren’t for Twilight, I still might be taking away ponies’ cutie marks and replacing them with boring equal signs.” Seeing Tempest’s surprised expression, Starlight let out a burst of laughter. “It’s true! I used to believe that cutie marks destroyed friendships instead of creating them when I lost my best friend after he got his cutie mark, and so I built a town where I tricked ponies into giving up their talents under the pretense of achieving equality for everypony. It was stupid, I know, but it was what I believed,” Starlight explained, a bitter smile forming on her muzzle.

“Guess we have more in common than we first thought. From forgetting what friendship means to making our own mistakes because of that,” Tempest said, then paused. She then added, “…and, with the help of a certain princess, living a new life after being reminded of what we had once forgotten.”

Starlight turned her eyes to look at Tempest, and Tempest turned hers to meet Starlight’s gaze. Lavender eyes met turquoise cyan, the two ponies gazing at each other without saying anything.

“What?” Tempest asked after a moment passed.

“…you know, I guess Twilight was right when she said we’d be good friends yesterday,” Starlight said, this time with a content smile on her muzzle instead.

Tempest merely smirked. “Did she say that now? Guess the Princess of Friendship has a keen eye when it comes to spotting ponies who would be good friends.”

“That she does,” Starlight agreed. Then they both turned their gazes back towards the scenery in front of them, enjoying the serenity and festivity that filled the air. They stayed like that, standing side by side on their platform as they relaxed in each other’s presence. They stayed like that as the Sun slowly slid beneath the horizon and the Moon rose into the sky.

And, one by one, snowflakes began to fall from the sky once again.