The snow crunching beneath Sunset’s boots was both a familiar yet foreign one; just another reminder that her life was nothing more than two fractured pieces hastily stitched together.
It always had been, after all.
Growing up as a poor, renegade foal that was sent to learn under Celestia’s wing should have been a sign. Running away to a different world entirely to escape her problems should have been a sign. But somehow, this was a lesson that Sunset found herself learning over and over again. Sunset looked up as small, scattered snowflakes fell gently to the earth.
Weather was different in the pony version of Equestria. The air was cooler, crisper, and embedded with an invisible, magical energy the other world did not have. Pony weather was more natural, more right. Winters at Canterlot High were no match for winters in Equestria.
She tightened her scarf with her magic, exhaling slowly. All around her, fir trees stood like pillars scattered across the clearing, standing so straight and tall that they’d make the best of the Royal Guard jealous. Sunset hummed in amusement, glancing up at the sky and taking a second to reorient herself.
“Think I can give it another hour,” Sunset told herself.
She had run into a few other ponies, searching for last minute Hearth’s Warming trees. In a way, she was as well, but unlike them, she had no plans to cut one down and take it home.
Her purposes were a little more personal rather than practical.
As she continued through the forest, Sunset wondered what her friends were doing. They were probably at home, spending time with their respective families, or maybe even with each other. Sunset had received dozens of invitations (along with the slight guilt that always came with them), but knew in her heart this was what she had to do. That this was where she needed to be.
It was closure, closure she had been wanting for years now.
It all depended, however, on her ability to find one particular tree in a literal forest.
She didn’t have a tracking spell, or any signs or a compass to follow. All she had were vague memories of a time long before, of a route she'd stumbled through while snow obscured everything around her. There was no route now but the one she was forging for herself, with seas of white drowning out any other option.
Sunset blinked, a flash of brighter color suddenly breaking up the green, brown, and white landscape. She adjusted her course, heading for it carefully.
As she drew closer, making sure not to poke herself on tree branches and bristles, Sunset made out the flash of color to be a pale blue tent somebody had set up: next to the tree that was burned into her memory.
To the right of it was a very large tree. The exact one that gnawed at Sunset’s mind every time Hearth’s Warming came around.
“This is it!” she exclaimed, trotting up to it eagerly. “I… wow. I didn’t think I’d find it!”
“Hey! Excuse me!” Sunset whirled around as a voice called out from the tent. A head poked out to glare at her. “Sorry, but you can’t cut down this tree.”
“I’m not trying… to…” Sunset squinted at the face.
“Wait. Sunset Shimmer?”
“Yeah. You’re Shining Armor!”
Shining Armor emerged fully from the tent. “That’d be me! Twilight mentioned you were back in Equestria for a bit.” He extended a hoof, and Sunset shook it.
Sunset had never met Twilight’s brother in this world. She had briefly met the human Shining Armor, but even that encounter had been fleeting at best, with him leaving the house just as Sunset arrived. Yet… something about Shining felt familiar.
“So what’re you doing all the way out here?” Sunset asked, gesturing to the tent. “Most normal ponies don’t go camping in the dead of winter.”
Shining laughed good-naturedly. “I could ask you the same question! I’m pretty sure the castle’s already got a Hearth’s Warming tree.”
“I just wanted to see if I could find an old haunt,” Sunset answered. She turned fondly to the tree. “And what do you know, looks like I have.”
Shining raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Would you believe I’m here for something similar?”
The two stared at each other, fragments of memories swirling in their minds.
“One night, years and years ago?” prompted Sunset.
Shining laughed. “Why don’t we sit,” he said, gesturing to his tent. “I’ve got coffee and hot chocolate. Sounds like you’ve got a story and I’ve got a story, and I’ve got a good feeling they’re going to match up.”
Years Ago.
Sunset Shimmer scowled. She ignored the screaming headache ripping a hole through mind. Wind howled in her ears and snow slammed into her coat. And yet still, she pressed on. What other choice did she have? She forced herself to keep moving, to keep putting one foreleg in front of the other before she was frozen solid in ice and snow.
"Hnnnng. GAHHH!"
She screamed in rage again, as if her voice could rise victorious against the howling wind. The stream of magic flowing from her horn wavered, but Sunset summoned every last bit of magical reserves left in her body, focusing on the heating spell that was keeping her body lukewarm.
It was better than nothing. It had to be.
Sunset looked up, squinting through the hailing snow. She made out a tall form against the blizzard and quickly recognized it as a large tree. With nothing else to do, she blazed a path towards it. As it loomed over her, Sunset collapsed into the snow while the last burst of magic fizzled from her horn.
She wanted to scream, but there was nothing left.
As the freezing cold nipped away at her, the only thing Sunset had left in her was anger. Anger at the stupid trees that ponies would take to their stupid homes, to celebrate a stupid holiday with their stupid families.
Why did they deserve that?
Why could they have what they wanted? Who were they to be happy?!
Rage burned in her eyes, even as they began to droop. It was keeping her warm, but the cold was slowly overtaking her, numbing her hoof tips, eating away at her skin. Maybe some rest would do her good…
“Hey!”
Her eyes flew open again as a voice cut through the storm.
“Hey!” it called once more.
Sunset groaned, lifting her head weakly out of the snow.
“Are you okay?!”
A warm burst of magic wrapped itself around Sunset then, pushing back the frost. Slowly, she began to wake up. “What… who are you?” she slurred, trying to shake away the fog in her mind.
A pony appeared in front of her, bundled up in a thick winter coat, snow goggles, and a furry hat. A horn poked out of their head, glowing with a bright blue light. The figure began pulling blankets out of their saddlebag, draping them over Sunset’s body. For a second she was humiliated, but the frozen air kept her from resisting.
“What’re you doing out here?” they called. “This is no weather to be wandering about in!”
“I’m fine,” Sunset snarled, throwing off the blankets.
“You don’t even have a jacket!” countered the voice. “You’re going to freeze to death! I’m amazed you even made it this far.”
Sunset growled, glaring at the figure.
“Okay, geez. Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you turn into a snowpony,” they muttered, backing off.
Sunset huffed, glancing up at the tree. It wasn’t much, but it seemed to be slightly blocking off some of the snow and wind. It was better than nothing, she supposed.
Her ear twitched at a noise from behind her, and she turned to find the unicorn pulling several objects from his bag. In seconds, they had swiftly constructed a portable tent-like shelter. In the front was a flap that they unzipped, poking their head inside. “Give me a second,” he called. “Let me melt the snow… evaporate the water… Okay. Come on in.”
Sunset considered her options. She didn’t particularly like or trust this strange pony, but she wasn’t too keen on staying in the cold either. Besides, they didn’t seem very threatening, and Sunset was certain she could best anyone in a fight.
She shrugged and followed him inside.
The inside of the tent was small and cramped, but Sunset didn’t mind. Easier to keep the heat in anyways. The figure pulled down their scarf, revealing the smooth-shaven face of a young stallion that looked roughly Sunset’s own age. He rummaged in his bag again and pulled out a lantern, which began emanating heat as soon as he lit it.
“So,” he said. “Looks like we’ll be here awhile.”
“Unfortunately,” Sunset muttered.
The howl of wind filled the silence until he spoke again.
“I’m Shining Armor,” the stallion introduced. “You?”
Sunset sighed. “Uh… call me Sunny.”
Shining nodded with a smile. “Sunny. Okay. What’re you doing all the way out here?”
“Just wanted to get away from a few things,” Sunset answered, eyeing the stallion carefully.
As Shining bent forwards to fiddle with the lantern, Sunset suddenly noticed a patch sewn onto the shoulder of his jacket, an emblem she had seen far too many times around the castle: The crest of the Royal Guard.
She tensed, silently preparing a devastating spell. “You with the guard?” she asked carefully. Typical Celestia, already sending someone to drag me back kicking and screaming.
Shining gave a coy salute. “Almost. Cadet Shining Armor, reporting for duty.”
“Cadet?” Sunset narrowed her eyes. There was no way Celestia would send a young rookie after her. That would be insulting.
“Hopefully not for much longer, I’m almost done with training. In fact, this is one of the few things I’ve got left to do. The fabled survival patrol! Prove that you can survive on your own for a week in the wilderness.” Shining’s smile faltered. “Of course, I didn't think I’d actually need to use some of my emergency gear. Blasted storm came out of nowhere.”
Sunset nodded, still leaving her guard up. “So… you’re alone.”
“Pretty sure, yeah. The whole thing is an exercise to prove you’ll survive by yourself. If you get separated or something.” Shining glanced instinctively up to the roof of the shelter. “Supposedly some of the pegasi instructors will be watching from above and keeping tabs on you, but I’m pretty sure they had to pull back because of the storm.”
Sunset silently cast a pulse spell, but didn’t pick up any other ponies nearby.
Shining reached into his bag and pulled out a small, compact object. “Then there’s this. Flare gun. Meant to signal distress. We’re meant to use it if we need assistance during the exercise. Should be bright enough to break the cloud cover, even in this.”
“Can I see it?”
Shining shrugged, passing it over. “Sure, I guess. I didn’t put a flare in yet, but uh… be careful with it?”
“Yeah, sure.” Sunset turned it over in her hooves, watching Shining from the corner of her eye.
When Shining began digging through his bag again, she cast a quick spell on the tool: welding the trigger mechanism so that it was frozen in place. She smiled. There would be no calling for help now, no guards barging down onto her position.
“Want some water or anything?” Shining had procured a thermos and a cup.
“I’m good,” Sunset said, returning the now useless flare gun. “You’re prepared for anything, aren’t you?”
“You kind of have to be,” Shining said, pouring some for himself. “You’re not making it otherwise. It’s something they taught us in the guard, have a plan, then have another plan so if things go wrong you know what you’re doing. If THAT plan doesn’t work, then be a damn good improviser.” He chuckled.
Sunset hummed at that, silently wondering how much longer they’d be stuck together.
“What about you?” Shining asked. “You kinda… don’t look prepared for this at all if you don’t mind me saying so.”
“Eh.” Sunset shrugged, even as Shining’s words left a bitter taste in her mouth. “When you gotta go, you gotta go.”
Shining shrugged, sipping from his cup. “I guess I can understand that. Still though… Are you sure you don’t want to make a plan?”
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Sunset snapped.
“Sure,” Shining replied. “That’s what we all think, until we end up trapped in the middle of nowhere with a storm brewing outside.”
“What are you insinuating?”
Shining held up his hooves. “Nothing! Just… What’s your plan? I’m guessing you don’t want to go back to whatever it is you’re running from.”
Sunset scowled.
“So where are you going to go once this is over?”
“I don’t know!” Sunset shouted. “I’ll figure something out. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life anyways!”
“Not too late to change that,” Shining mused.
“You don’t know a thing about me,” Sunset muttered. “I don’t need your advice.”
“You know, you remind me of my sister’s babysitter, Cadence.” Shining smiled.
Sunset knew the name; some pompous royal princess that Celestia had introduced her to a few years ago. Sunset knew nothing about Cadence other than she was an alicorn, and thus likely as pompous as Celestia could be.
“She’s a great mare and I love her, but… I dunno. She’s so smart but… sometimes she doesn’t realize it.” Shining sighed, looking at the tent flap wistfully. “But that’s not the point. I’m just saying that I’m sure you’re really smart and know what you’re doing. Sometimes, though, we use our hearts to think instead of our heads.”
Sunset considered that, even if she wasn’t certain why she bothered. “So, what? You’re saying I… face what I’m running from?”
“If you want,” Shining said. “I don’t know you, really. You'll have to answer that for yourself. You’ve got to look in the mirror and ask what you want.”
Mirror.
Recognition flashed in Sunset’s eyes. A faint memory of something Celestia had said, about an infinite world beyond the veil.
A place of power.
A place where Celestia couldn’t catch her, couldn’t stop her…
Sunset licked her lips and smiled. It was perfect. “Know what? I think you’re right,” she said. “I think I know exactly what I want to do.”
Shining blinked. “Oh! Uh, great! Wow, I didn’t think that’d help you so much.”
The wind outside weakened in its howling, and Sunset grinned manically as thoughts of power whirled in her mind.
“Glad I found you here,” Shining remarked. “Glad I found this tree, too. Never thought it’d save my life, but man. I saw it up there like a beacon and I just knew I had to get to it!”
“Yeah, life's funny like that. Sometimes it gives you exactly what you’re looking for,” Sunset replied. She stood, rolling the cricks from her neck. “I think the storm’s died down, so I should get going.”
Shining cocked an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You don’t want a coat or anything?”
“Nah, I’ll manage,” Sunset said as she prepared a new warmth spell. “But if you want my thoughts on Cadence? You gotta rough her up a bit! Teach her to fight or something, play rough.” Sunset laughed, picturing the precious princess’s plight. “I’m sure it’ll do you good.”
“What? I… huh.”
Sunset winked, then dipped out of the tent. “See you never,” she whispered, waving at the shelter and trotting off. “Canterlot Castle, here I come.”
Shining poked his head out of the tent to watch as Sunset disappeared into the fleeting snow. “...What a weird mare,” he muttered, before shrugging and returning inside. “Oh well. I’m sure I’ll never see her again.”
Sunset sipped from her cup of hot chocolate. “So… you actually took that advice?”
“I did,” Shining said with a laugh. “She was so flustered at first when I asked her if she wanted sparring lessons but took me up on it. That’s kind of how we first got to know each other! And hey, they came in handy when Sombra attacked the Empire too.”
“But that was terrible advice!”
“I mean, so was mine,” Shining answered. “I didn’t know you’d go and do that!”
Sunset laughed. “Yeah… Guess I kinda did mislead you a bit.” She hesitated before continuing. “You, uh… I hope you’re not too mad at me for that flare gun thing.”
“Nah! I didn’t even notice until afterwards, when my sergeant pulled me aside,” Shining replied. “Even then I just thought it was defective, and I was extra proud I made it through the night without any support.”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Still… I kinda feel bad about it now.”
“I can get that.” Shining gestured to the tent flap. “I’ve thought a lot about that night, and everything that almost went wrong. I made it a habit to come back here each year, to protect this tree from anyone who might want to cut it down for Hearth’s Warming. I always wondered if you made it out okay. Kicked myself for not going after you, but…”
“Guilt has a funny way of hanging around,” Sunset agreed.
Shining raised his mug. “Cheers to that.”
Their cups clinked lightly, and as Sunset drank her hot chocolate she thought back to the mare she was all those years ago. She wondered if things would’ve been better or worse if Shining had stopped her, or what would have happened if she had given in to her mania and fought Shining after perceiving him as a threat.
“Hey, want some cookies? Cadance made a fresh batch before I headed out.”
“Ooh, yes please!”
As she munched on her treat, Sunset decided she didn’t care much to dwell in the past. A million things could’ve gone differently, and she spent enough of her life wallowing in regret. Today she’d just enjoy the present for what it was worth, and take solace in the fact that she had done some good through a chance meeting in the snow.
And in that moment, everything was fine and everything was peaceful.
Then: “Oh wow! This is a huge tree, let’s cut this one down!”
Sunset and Shining’s eyes sprung open as they both lept for the flap.
