Uplift Me So

by Rewan Demontay

Rating: everyone
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Equestria Girls, Sunset Shimmer, Windigos
Length: 5777

Forsaken to these frozen mountains, her life is dwindling. She is happily bitter, content to die alone. Until they found her. And cared for her more than anyone could.

Forsaken to these frozen mountains, her life is dwindling.
She is happily bitter, content to die alone.
Until they found her.
And cared for her more than anyone could.

An entry composed far too late to properly enter the Sunset X Villain AU competition.

Addendum: Featured on 11/6/2023.
Thank you, reading my story. I hope you find it enjoyable.

Published 2023-11-05 12:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-11-05 12:30:00 UTC

Sun And Wind

Wild winds, perhaps the fastest in Equestria, flew over the limping yellow unicorn. They were also the coldest. An infinite blur of gray and white stretched onward as far as she could see, no end in her limited, teary sight. Her body quaked as if a volcano constantly erupting–struggling to generate minuscule amounts of warmth, expending valuable energy for little return. Sunset tried to focus in order to control and stop herself. But each time she closed her eyes to concentrate, she’d be met with a furious blast or a clenched maw mushed in wet, gravely snow. Anything she did was futile. Worthless of any endeavor.

After all, her entire life amounted to nothing anyway.

Walking endlessly in dire hopes of encountering someone, anyone, was the only goal she had in mind. Maybe a random traveler, a hidden species or kingdom, or a miracle born of sheer will. Tears nearly froze on the surface of her eyes as they dribbled out. Nothing stirred except the high-pitched whistling of the blinding storm. Each crunching step fell deep into the piling snowdrifts. Rawness dug into them from the uncounted miles of dragging them over rocky, jagged terrain. Sunset could feel the ice forming in the cracking crevasses of her weary hooves. The winter air punished with every step she took, seeping her warmth bit by bit.

Exhaustion threatened as she trudged on and on and on and on. Too little magic remained in reserve to amount to anything beyond a crackle of electrical light. Most of her energy spent itself when she arrived; spells of any kind were out of the question. Out of nowhere, a strange howl echoed in the distance. Particularly harsh winds blasted upon the already freezing unicorn when she looked up, legs spiked and ready to run at even a vague color on the horizon. Squinting her eyes, Sunset swore she saw a billowing equine, so phantom it nearly blended in with the snow. She blinked and it was gone. Uneasiness crept up from spine to body.

In less than a pulse, the blizzard buried it. Just like they were happy to get rid of her.

Sunset hung her head down to continue coursing the tundra maze. Of course, her mind would induce hallucinations to keep her company. The isolating mountains loomed far above and around her, reminding Sunset of her insignificance. That she’d always been, always will be and shall continue to be a nobody whose hard work would never be appreciated, no matter how far in the ranks she rose. Everyone hated her. Crying fury broke out, and she bit the air, accidentally gashing her tongue. Sunset spat the red liquid, so it stained the ground.

Creepily, it felt like something watched, but Sunset mentally shrugged. She forced her brittle body beyond normal endurance. Sunset vaguely formed a hypothesis that she carried on by her will alone. She’d collapse, in due time, as emotions lost spark. Insanity might be nearing. Sunset snorted at the ridiculousness of her frozen predicament. She felt so foolish for not realizing the truths in her life sooner. Now she paid for it in life. Breath heaving, Sunset took a minute to close her eyes.

The memories rebuilt.

“Bite me, red dawn!” she randomly cursed to the skies.

Remembering, remembering, remembering.

“Sunset Shimmer, I am removing you from the position of my pupil.”

“Ssssshe was never worthyyyyy of your love.”

Celestia smacked the forbidden literature away, once more hiding away the precious pages she’d uncovered. Shoving it, the secret to alicornhood, away, denying her unjustly. Sunset being quaked with unmatched rage. It was her every right to become a living god! She was greater, more powerful, more skilled than any unicorn in Equestria, second only to the princess herself. Celestia had found her, alone and broken, in the streets. Taken her in. Raised her. Taught her. Become the mother she’d never had. And here she was, stripping away the years in seconds. Her entire life, the purpose of her existence, was gone at the whim of a deceiver’s decision.

“If we cannot get past this, your studies end here.”

“Ssssshe made the misssstake, not you. Let usssss help you.”

Unbridled strength flowed through her pumping veins. As the words uttered themselves, tongue movement by tongue movement, the turmoil festered inside Sunset. A contingent of royal guards in full armor and weapons filtered into the library. She almost choked on a chortle. Was Celestia so afraid of her inevitable power that she required protection when trying to exile her? Sunset grinned, almost manically it felt, as the geared-up dummies encircled the room to seal off all exits. They clearly underestimated her.

She could turn that against them due to her years of studying.

Training, sparring, pseudo-dueling her own mother to protect her from others, she’d been told. No, it’d been to protect her mother from her. No wonder her parents didn’t want her, nor did anyone else accept her. They feared her to be a monster. Time to make them right. She hated being forced what to do or not being given the attention her talents deserved. Sunset siphoned tears so as to not show weakness. She’d been playing Celestia’s game of cat and mouse, of abuse and ignorance and misdirection. Her raging heart told her it be the truth.

“You are better than herrrrr. We know it to be true.”

“You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, but you are no longer welcome in the castle.”

Such sweet irony. It’d be her castle, her city, her making the shots, soon, enough. Sunset stamped her hooves as the sentence left Celestia’s mouth. The time for games, mysteries, puzzles, riddles, the torture, would be over soon. No more keeping secrets or pretending she was the inferior one. Celestia looked away, clearly signaling the guards to move in, her decree complete. Pure exhilaration consumed Sunset as she laughed. A surge pounded in her head–an enormous swirl of electrical arcs exploded out, attacking every guard, dropping them.

One bolt struck a lock of the alicorn’s hair, burning it black.

“Unimaginable power runsssss in your veinssss. You musssst hone it.”

At that moment, Sunset relished the brief glimmer of fear bejeweled in Celestia’s awed gaze.

Sniffling–wait, why was she hearing shifting voices? Perking her ears, nothing but the blizzard’s ravaging ways caught her attention. She elected to ignore it.

Another torrent of tears escaped into the ivory void of despair, which stretched for endless miles. The vicious memories struck, struck, struck, struck, stuck, leaving no edge to forget them. Sunset bitterly breathed pain with each stinging breath of tasteless air. Not guilt for her actions, no, for they deserved it, listening to a corrupted ruler. Sunset kept her vision focused on her hooves to keep from tripping. The pain seeded from Celestia’s betrayal of stripping her one, and only true, daughter of her rightful inheritance. Mentally, Sunset vowed vengeance, despite her grim circumstances. She’d hold onto the spite until her last breath.

Another faint howl echoed in the wind, once more shaking Sunset back to reality. For a second time, it felt like something was watching her, but she dismissed it as nonsense, returning to her pointless quest. Life, life, life, slowly killing her, falling from pegasi sky to earth pony ground, combining to eliminate this miserably yellow unicorn in exile. Ascending, descending, looping the fur-splintering mountain passages. Darkness lurked here and there, edging as it did her shattered life. It could be easier to stop, lie still, and let it all go.

Her hoof delved further into a pit of frozen substance. She swam back out, gasping. How funny. She’d just been thinking of her last moments. A dark cough emptied from Sunset as she retraced steps to enter a deeper but walkable layer. No one would be coming to save her. She’d killed herself the moment she challenged Celestia’s might. Perhaps, indeed, it was hasty to attack unprepared. The snow’s soft texture amusingly tickled. Even so, Sunset knew it’d been far worth it. To try when she’d been blessed with a chance to fulfill her destiny. Now she’d die out here.

Hurt.

Angry.

Alone.

That last one sent a shiver throughout her no amount of weather could hope to produce. Weak laughter echoed in order to barely cope. Still, Sunset walked forward. Nothing better to do. At least it allowed her to entertain the possibility of staying alive despite the frozen hellscape trapping her. Endless tundra, her sole friend in her final hours. The cold started cracking her hooves hours ago. It’d just be a matter of time until she could walk no more. Sunset Shimmer, dead unicorn walking. Another grizzly, unnerving laugh.

Every ounce of muscle ached. For once in her life, if it’d be any consolation, she could be true to herself, unburdened by anyone. Free in body, mind, spirit, and will. Quite an unexpected turn of events to domino down from. Biting winds reminded Sunset of the barely stitched lacerations. The growing weaknesses presented themselves again and again as she journeyed on. The reflections of who she was pondered, bouncing about simultaneously with her struggles to plow and push for progress.

She was ambition incarnate. A lost alicorn in deserving. A unicorn was sentenced to death for her mother’s pettiness. One who was above all others, deserving of their praise. That’s who she was.

Sunset weakly smiled.

The eternal inferno inside her boiled, the last tendrils of her will fueled by it. She would die here but on her own terms. And in peace, to herself-

“Sssssunsssseeetttttt.”

Whipping her head to the left, Sunset halted. Fear took her over. The wind suddenly increased in chilliness a thousandfold.

Before her floated what she’d seen earlier. She dared to cast a revealing spell before she locked up entirely. A multitude of ghostly souls surrounded her, but she saw only a single apparition. The blizzard roared past its pale translucence of gleaning gray.

“Come with usssss. Do not give upppp ssssooo eassssssily.”

Another memory clicked.

Sunset blacked out

Sunset’s tongue moistened her dry lips.

The magical shock took advantage of the guards’ rather conductive apparatuses. Blood spat from the mouths of some of them as most fell unconscious. A few laid awake, but hardly able to breathe. Had she killed them? Sunset dismissed the thought. Firstly, they’d deserve to turn on their future queen. Furthermore, it felt surprisingly good. To unleash her pent-up feelings on these worthless lackeys. At last, something she excelled at, they’d have to respect. The shock on Celestia’s face told Sunset all needed to know. She sprung, utilizing her opponent’s confusion as she schemed on the fly.

“An unwisssse decision. Yet she also held you back.”

Sunset opted to target a few areas of Celestia’s she knew about. Fast as lightning, she summoned a bolt, targeting the alicorn’s face. As she stood, frayed by the quickest period of the time, Sunset rounded to her side. The projectile almost hit, only blocked by a last split counter. Even so, it expanded outward, grinding on the weak shield, unleashing a massive burst of white light energy that pushed her back some. Sunset reached Celestia’s hindquarters; beneath her left there was a weakened gap in the flesh from a battle long ago.

Years of knowledge, options appearing in mind. The best one flared to life courtesy of her already pepped horn. A golden dagger flashed into Sunset’s cyan grip. She slid underneath Celestia as the energy distraction spell ended. Purple-black energy infused in cracked lines along it. She precisely jammed it into the chosen location to cripple the princess. As planned, Celestia buckled in spite of immortality–she was not invincible. The dark-violet poison swiftly seeped in.

A thousand-year reign to be ended in seconds, courtesy of her own decisions. To Sunset, it couldn’t have been written more perfectly. She’d find out what Celestia teased and then denied. To Faust on restrictions. She’d carried herself on her this far in life. What more could her life be than ruling be, other than lonely, if not her entire upbringing? The relish of imagined wings tickled the blades of her back.

She’d won. She’d done it. Victory-

“Not paying attention cosssst you. Thissss we pledgggge to amend.”

-did not come as an unexpected spear grazed her side.

At the last possible tick in time, a ragtag band of assorted, disorganized guards kicked open the door to help their monarch. Celestia staggered into the wings of an impromptu medical force. The dagger clattered to the ground; the substance leaked into the injected floor. Wild walls of lethal magic danced like fire as they sprouted to life around her. Further spears stabbed her sides as Sunset barely dodged them. Fury and irritation found themselves at the center of her frantically analyzing mindset.

It became apparent that she’d have to escape or face unjust punishment.

“For thisssss alone, we wissssh to help. To asssissst you in due time.”

That left only one option. The flames flickered to searing temperatures as they closed in.

Pouring everything she had, a cyan fire of her own erupted from Sunset’s horn. The eruption caught all involved off guard. Arcs of magic pivoted in spirals. Her eyes glowed white.

In a blink, she vanished.

A frozen blanket cushioned her fall when she reappeared.

Gasping awake, Sunset remembered the voices this time. From the previous moment of lucidness, as well as the unwelcome nightmare of the circumstances forcing her teleportation. Winter’s winds, settling upon her flank, snapped Sunset’s attention to the present. Head lifting off hooves, the tiny mountain pocket entrance acted as a window to the hell she’d been rescued from by an unlikely creature. Blue-ice adorned the scraggly walls of gray and black; occasional pockets of pristine white popped up, charmingly reminding her of ice cream sandwiches.

It did little to distract from the heavily breathing lungs behind her. Gulping, Sunset braved a glance at her savior. The phantom equine, with a wisp instead of legs, lay down on the cave floor. Contrary to its ghastly appearance, true warmth plundered its eyes. Sunset felt her blood stop. Why wasn’t it attacking her? As much as she wanted to fear it, to let rip the days of rage she held from riling up herself by spitting on Celestia’s, something restrained her. Not it, nor magic. Her emotions flipped, in a switch.

“It isssss arighttttt,” it reassured

It made no move to hurt her.

Several more minutes passed.

And more.

Numerous periods of time.

It’d saved her. No one had bothered to do that before. She wasn’t alone anymore. Unbelievability clogged her heart. Nor would she die. Sunset’s dim views flip-flopped at these revelations. The hours spent realizing who she was rolled up pleasantly, as if never traumatic. The chains to her past snapped broken. Just like that. She was going to live. Now she could realize her full potential. Her mind raced. Carry out her vow to destroy Celestia and rule Equestria. Glee riled. An odd attachment linked itself to the creature.

All thanks to this creature, who helped her of its own will when it could’ve let her die. Stranger still, for all her righteous ever-present rage, she felt mellowed in its presence. She purged the mystery of how it could exist, setting aside in-depth knowledge for later. Before Sunset stood a creature of respectful capability and equality. Wanting to break the awkward silence, Sunset cleared her throat. Unintended, rude nervousness still found its way.

“W-w-what, I mean wh-ho are yo-ou?” It drained her to speak. She felt heavy,

It blinked.

“Wha-wha-why di-did you save me?” Winter’s touch strangled.

Crooked breath left its mouth. “We are the Windigos.”

“Huh?” This ran contrary to her knowledge. “But o-on-on-only one o–of yo-ou-”

“Be sssssstill with your tongue.”

Sunset wanted to question it. However, between her dysfunctional self, her need to conserve energy, and its sweetly persuasive voice, she obliged. The windigo, or windigos in one as it turned out, trotted over to her. The being cocked their head, silently asking to rest beside her. Sunset dipped to give permission–despite every reason not to. Before doing so, however, a pale white aura enveloped Sunset. They transported her father into the cave, though not too far as to lose the light. Wisps of fresh warmth caused relieving shivers. Only then, did they procure a resting status at her side.

“If thou sssssleepssss, we can heal you muchhhhh fassssster.””

A lock swiveled inside her chest, unlocking a new emotion for the unicorn. Was this…. gratitude? It must be. Everything was moving rapidly. The windigos could read intentions, They wanted to help save her life, regardless of how useless she’d been in her life. The icy chips painfully pricking her hooves dulled under the wash of realization. Sunset chortled out of nowhere, hot tears bursting. But not out of sadness or anger. Rather joy. Joy someone cared for instead of using or manipulating her for their own ends.

“Whatttt isss the matter?” the windigos questioned, perhaps worried at her odd behavior.

Sunset felt renewed. In minutes, against the days she’d spent isolated outside, subsiding on dwindling stamina and magical reserves, she felt at peace.

Massive yawns overtook her. Heart thumping, she placed her face on its comfy form. The nearly invisible front hooves held her as she voluntarily faded. Tingling magic pleasantly trekked into her battle wounds.

These were not her memories.

White wings caught her peripheral vision. The inky dreamscape copied the landscape of a famous painting depicting a mysterious battle in Equestria’s past. The edge of the mountain range soared into the icy clouds far above. Harsh plains, graced with hardy, short grasses, expanded to the horizons. Hundreds of dead, dying, and wounded spill red across for at least a mile far out along the ridge. One side consisted of twelve Equestrian legions in ancient armor. On the other, a foe kept hidden by the princess from texts now clear for Sunset to see. Tens of thousands of windigos, despite their apparition forms, were still, white blood splattered.

Seething shock bristled Sunset as she saw a white alicorn walk forth to the body of the windigo’s barely living leader. Very few of them showed signs of life. Celestia called upon the spirits of the elements of harmony. Through them, she cast a course on the wailing emotivores. To forever be one together, to collectively suffer. They cried out as they coalesced into one body. Sucking innocent and guilty together. They howled in harmonious thrashing. She banished them to roam these mountains, far away on the world’s edge, to be forgotten forever.

It didn’t matter if this happened a millennium ago or if Celestia was valiantly protecting ponies from harm. This was beyond cruel to a species doing all it could do to survive. The desire to obliterate Celestia boiled. She felt the windigos’ agony as if it were her own. As if they were one. Their thousands of years of cruel quarantine droned its experience to become her own. Too similar to her own. A time of peace and joy with Celestia, only to be betrayed for a “mistake” they’d made she’d punished disproportionately.

Sunset’s connection deepened. Years of studious neglect.

She wanted to know more, to empathize. The dreamscape shifted.

Curse it.

Next, Sunset saw herself through their eyes. Their lone visitor in nearly a thousand years. At first, though they could feed ravenously, and consume out of desperate want, they instead chose to obverse. They’d learned whatever lesson they were to absorb when Celestia forfeited them of their rights. Yet she’d forgotten about them to pursue her selfish gaining of power at the cost of others. Sunset couldn’t agree more that the princess was a heartless, manipulative monster. Just as how, no matter how she tried at friendship and accepted herself as is, Celestia forced her to exhaustively, demoralizingly try and try and try and try and try.

Their memories continued.

In due time, they fine-tuned their magic to tap into her mind, discovering her trauma. Days and nights passed as they followed her staggering trails, avoiding cliffs and crevasses themselves. For the collective, it began as a curiosity. To see how long it’d been since their fall. Find out this pony’s motivations. How she arrived at a place abandoned by the alicorns themselves. As time marched on, Sunset saw that they developed a soft spot for her. Their yearning hearts churned a stewing need to reconnect with any creature besides their lonely selves. They sensed her hatred against the same alicorn, necessitating her safety to them.

Montages of herself played out as Sunset swirled. In some aspects, they indeed saved her life to capitalize on a possibility for vengeance themselves. On the other hoof, their primary reasoning was concern for her well-being. Furthermore, they were honest, open, and transparent. Celestia, meanwhile, withheld everything from her until she’d had her fun, tiring her out. Sunset could physically feel a bond with the windigos grow as she thought on. At one point, she calculated she’d been watching memories for weeks.

Soon enough, a pounding drummed on the edges of the dream…

Stretching awake, Sunset took in fresh mountain air. Her groggy eyelids slid apart to reveal a mountainscape free of blizzards. For the first time in a long while, a sly feeling of sheer wonder overtook her. Sparkling white sheets blanketed the gorgeous terrain. Scattered outcrops of dark gray and black decorated. Additionally, the sun shone brilliantly, almost enough to blind her. It was odd to appreciate that which attempted to destroy her sanity. Battered and bruised, the ordeal made her stronger than before.

Speaking of surviving, she gazed left to the awaiting eyes of the windigos. Faint, silvery shards shimmered in them. A hard detail to miss when nearly dying two thousand times in a row. She found it endearingly beautiful. The windigos indicated to her to check her injuries. Nodding, Sunset switched to taking stock of them. Dozens of nasty scars stretched both sides, varying in size and location from neck to quarters. Scabby but skin strongly sown. Weeks later, indeed.

“Quite a time devotion…”

It beamed a shy curl in acknowledgment.

Flurries of questions rattled Sunset. No longer was she fighting the dread of perishing. Now, she could corner effort on figuring out what to do with her… friend? Was that the right word? Butterflies flitted in her torso as she tried to figure it out. Dizzy-headedness whirled for a few seconds. She supposed it a natural conflict to anyone who saved your life selflessly. The windigos were someponies to talk to. A new, pure diamond facet of a life formerly marred by toxicity carved by years of intentionally marred guidance.

“We sssssensssse we did welllllll?” it asked, shifting to warm her better.

“Indeed,” Sunset credited, her voice frosty. “I cannot thank you enough.”

“Norrrr can we thankkkk you enouuuuugh, either.”

“Why is that?” Sunset’s ears angled.

“You treat usssssss assssss a companion, in sssssspite of our species and your ego.”

“You saved my life. That’s all that matters.”

It cocked its head. “Whattttt of your powerrrrr, compared to usssss? You are ssssssuperior.”

It took naught long for Sunset to construct an answer.

“It is a fact, I am better than all the unicorns. I know I deserve to rule them… but that’s not all there is to one’s character,” she admitted. “You are willing to help others improve themselves, unlike most of them.”

“Exxxxempolary answer, Sssssssunsssssset.”

Her name nagged at her, and she spontaneously realized that they didn’t have a name to go by.

“Hm, I need a name to refer to you all as.”

“Weeeee…..” It paused. “Have neverrrrr been given ssssssssuch an honorrrrrrrrr before.”

The perfect name whispered itself to Sunset spontaneously. Her eyes lit as she accepted it.

“How does ‘Blizzard’ sound? I think it's apt.”

A few minutes passed as its facial muscles twitched; the jaw started hanging open. After a while more, Sunset fell into a routine of studying its eyes passionately. Doing so felt weird. The mountains hummed in the background in between pipes of playing wind. More and more, Sunset found herself enthralled with this creature she’d weeks ago as now, yet only had talked to for minutes. Faust, her life had been lonely to be friends this fast. She hated how Celestia’s words of ‘find a friend’ rang. Hatred stewed a bit. Such life lessons were worthless when forced. She’d teach herself, as she was now.

Eventually, its jaw closed shut with a snap, startling. Regathering herself, Sunset coughed to reconnect gazes.

“We accept.”

“Hello you all then, Blizzard,” Sunset greeted.

Blizzard giggled with a creepy charm.

The evening passed by with gentle chatter.

Sunset awoke in the dreamscape, thirsty to properly channel her power after weeks of preparation and anticipation.

Blizzard lightly nudged her forward as they gained control of themselves. Smirking, she concentrated on the spells they’d discussed before falling asleep. Her horn lit up to spread tendrils of cyan across the black void. Inside each, almost imperceptible, lie a silver strand borne of borrowing the windigos' magic. The twinkling of glass shards unbreaking scuttled into a musical rhythm. A scorching desert emerged as the unicorn extracted her subconscious to create a practicing ground. Not long later, the two broiled beneath a hot white sun.

They took a moment to be mesmerized by the new environment.

"A lovvvvvely gift, Sssssunssssset."

Pride swelled. "It’s the least I can do.”

"Truly maggggicientttt. Sssssshall we ssssssstart?" They leaned to the left

"Yes, we should begin practice."

The dreamscape's faux warmth, a tame illusion spell, buttered up Sunset all the same. She could relax and stretch as if it were a summer day–distant memories already. Magic trickled into her forehead as all her might channeled. After so long, she felt partly whole with herself. The structure of the spell spread throughout her horn. She could sense Blizzard's lukewarm presence out of sight as she stared at the dark red horizon. Paradoxically, they did not break her focus, but rather enhanced it. Perhaps a sign of the fast but sturdily built relationship.

She nearly bit her tongue at that last word. Sunset hadn't meant to think of it in those terms…. yet it didn't feel wrong. Sunset cracked her neck, for nevertheless the spell was of greater importance right now. The windigo's essence hastily anchored in her torso, streaming from Blizzard and out of her tip. It had an icy tint, a taste almost, as it took residence in the chosen parts of her horn. Beyond being required, it helped stabilize her rapidly recovering strength. The foreign influence jostled along as the ley line between them. It ground, rocking, in spite of their mutual will to weld their magics. Scarily, acting as if aware of this hard-to-fuse, near-incompatible communion.

The spell, as expected, returned fire.

Immense intensity fought Sunset as the spell progressed to completion. She closed her eyes. Sunset hummed to attune better to the feel of it. Blizzard, too, emitted a hum-like noise, perhaps intrigued by the concept. Attempting additions to the spell creased the folds of its structure. Fixing this drew forth double amounts, to add and to settle. Nonetheless, the unicorn mounted offensives. This spell would be a fraction of the ultimate manifold utilized to teleport beyond the hazy barriers preventing passage in and out. Teeth mashed on each other as the intensity grew. The dreamscape twisted to accommodate the straining, unpredictable twists.

In opposition to her efforts, the spell kept shredding each time she nearly finished the construct. It grew tighter to execute as climax agonizingly repeated. Sunset cursed Celestia for holding back in the most important areas, keeping her from being stuck in the same old repetitions of things she already knew. She’d surpass with her self-taught knowledge. Embers of rage were stoked as a grunt of bitterness growled from Sunset. Amalgamations of the magic urged her to succumb to failure. She vowed not to, no matter what. Her face clenched. Still, the burning pressure forced constant fissures that slowly begun crackling out of control-

“Let usssssss help youuuuuuuuu.”

Opening her eyes, Sunset saw strands of white, originating from the windigos’ open mouth, hovering near her horn. Concern faintly lit up their otherwise dull face. Her initial instinct was to be cutthroat. Reject the help, shun them for trying to mettle in what they could not understand. She’d figure it out on her own, damn what Celestia said about getting hurt. And yet… the friendly spots in Blizzard's shimmering eyes hollowed a pang in her heart. She didn’t have to be alone in her endeavors. That night stood in her forsaken past. She could be herself with others.

Sunset nodded. Blizzard’s wisps conjoined around her horn. Welcome frosty shudders bounced from tip to sand-roughed hoof tips. As one, they could do this. Together, Sunset thought, vengeance would be delivered, their deserved lives reaped. The spell’s final keystone ripped into place. The orange spray of volts spread far and wide. Buzzing circles crystallized in the air. Sunset twitched in anticipation at Blizzard if it met their expectations. Their curl in their lips affirmed. Sunset formed a small smile, too.

The following weeks blurred on by. Routine set in as their quest drove them from day to day, motivating them to keep surviving. Having a partner to assist in surviving a frozen wasteland tremendously accelerated survival odds. Blizzard taught her the range of mountain terrain they’d adapted to thrive upon. Entombed underneath volumes of snow, assuming one knew to look, thin insects and the toughest planets provided nutrition. Sunset, once she learned the signs, ventured beyond Blizzard’s usual territory to discover greater caches. It contributed to staving the constant thinness she grew used to. Luckily, life in Canterlot helped transition to the lower oxygen.

The unusual white rocks in their home cave proved far more valuable than expected. Blizzard found long ago the rocks were laced with the capability to channel and absorb magic. They posited they were part of the reason for the mountains’ absurd strength. On a whim one day, Sunset licked one as if it were salt. Disgust naturally screamed–she swallowed. A small tingle of energy zapped her, leaving her mane in a humorous puff. Many zaps later, Blizzard and her noticed an unnatural, minuscule rise in their magic reserves. They added it to their diets.

Sometimes, she found the best days from the small things.

Over the course of exploration and training, Sunset found a true friend in Blizzard. That she absolutely needed a friend to discover any fragment of content in life was a huge relief, yet also further fuel to the fire against Celestia for being vaguely right. They'd get her, together. It was certainly odd to know Blizzard as both as a single entity and the concentrated singularity of an entire magical race. Blizzard didn't seem to mind calling her their friend. When storms raged for days on end, they kept one another toasty, slumbering huddled in the depths of the cave.

One such day of wicked weather, Sunset gazed wistfully in the rocky depths, watching the swirling mess of white as they mindlessly blurred past, wafting freezing winds in her direction on occasion. A quick heat flash spell bluntly dissipated the blast, so she could return to the preferable warm chill the cave insulated for her. The storm felt so ambient, bizarrely peaceful, she almost missed Blizzard’s nimble hoof steps spelunk up to her. Sunset shot up to see what the emergency could be. It’d be far more dangerous for her to be out there than the acclimated windigos.

A mission flickered presently in their ghostly eyes. Judging by the silent gurgling of Blizzard’s near-translucent stomach. The possible concerns filled her mind. Lack of nutrition in times they were unable to collect could or would starve them both. This was by far the most severe storm since she’d arrived. Sunset knew she couldn’t live without them. As her partner, she relied on them. Panic greater than weeks' worth compounded as he looked up at him, standing taller, staring up at those…

The word nagged her. She’d soaked those eyes so many times these many months. There was surely word for them now, after gazing for so many hours-

-beautiful.

A redness flushed in her heat. She’d never considered Blizzard’s eyes like that before under such vivid thinking beyond fleeting thoughts. The billowing air, their frosty warm breath, exhaling over her. Something was different about them on this particular day. An epiphany rocked Sunset. The world swirled faster. Her heart thumped hotter, hotter, hotter. Barely realizing it, she walked almost right up the Blizzard, one leg wrapped over the other. Nerves overwhelmed. Silver glimmers shone in those suddenly important eyes. As if the veil only uncovered now.

“Do youuuuuu intend to kisssssss ussssss?”

Their blunt words pierced Sunset’s fragile tongue control, as if a projectile sped to greater velocities pierced her jaw to compel speech.

“I-I-I-” Sunset stammered.

“We do nottttttt mind. We perhapsssssss feel inclined to assssss well.”

Her jaw gaped a bit.

Kissing hadn’t ever popped up as an idea at all. The concept was odd–Blizzard was a collective, not an individual, technically. Yet, presented with the opportunity to, Sunset’s heart said yes, to Faust with the weird complexities of it. To this, more than anything in her life. With little thought, she pressed her hooves up to gain height; Blizzard descended their neck. The duo’s lips met in a mix of passions. Sunset tasted winter itself as she embraced Blizzard’s acceptance. Briefly, their magics sparked as one inside. The kiss lasted shortly, but the memory burned eternally.

“Are youuuu sssssatisssssfied, Sssssunsssssset?”

Biting her cheek, still in shock, she dipped her head.

“Then let usssssss ssssssset forth to ssscavenge.”

Sunset grasped their thinly outstretched hoof. Charging her horn up, the events that transpired heartbeats ago replayed. To realize her budding affections, after months, in one moment of fretting in the storm, they were now heading out. She felt embarrassed for it not dawning on her sooner. A twinge of long-held anger, too, reignited. Celestia had kept her isolated from others to her own twisted ends. It took near death, and up to now, to feel love of any kind.

She smiled as she and Blizzard ventured forth out of the cave.

Someday, they would emerge farther, out of the mountains.

And wreak oblivion on the princess in love and rage.

Blizzard smirked, in tune with her emotions, able to read her as she did them.

Sunset’s heart thumped once more.