The Return Of The Windigos
Snow Day Dash
“Yeah!” a light blue pony exclaimed as she kicked a cloud to meet its maker. The pegasus’ wings flapped as she rose higher and higher into the beautiful blue sky. She flicked her rainbow tail as breeze wafted through her rainbow mane. Her tail flicked in anticipation as a thundercloud drifted into view, distorting Rainbow Dash’s view of Ponyville. She smirked and hurtled down to make it pay for savaging the beautiful sky.
Rainbow Dash loved the feeling of the screeching wind flattening her spiky mane. Rainbow Dash had an idea that the poor thundercloud she was rocketing towards was feeling quite scared. But as the blue pegasus dove toward the despicable cloud, she saw a yellow pegasus flittering over the grey target. Rainbow Dash’s wings flared to her sides and stopped flapping, hoping to stop before making the poor Pegasus a grease spot in the cloud.
Fluttershy made a sound quite similar to a mouse’s squeak when a blue pegasus stopped four inches from her light pink mane drifting in the recently disturbed wind. Rainbow Dash’s pupils grew as fear of squishing her friend drifted away.
“What is going on, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked, as a slight tone of annoyance crept into her boyish voice. “Don’t tell me you forgot I spend my time up here busting and bruising clouds and brushing up the sky of their bits!”
Fluttershy softly said, “Actually, Rainbow, I am – was – looking for you. We have a big problem, it’s-. “
“Ooh, is it a giant rainstorm in need of combating?” Rainbow Dash interrupted while motioning fighting with fore hooves and kicking away with her back hooves.
“Oh no, Rainbow Dash, it’s the-,” again, Fluttershy was interrupted by a certain blue pegasus fantasizing about her strength in hopes of her friends relying on her to battle the fiercest foes.
“Iron Will got scared and started ransacking the town? I’ll deal with him!” cried Rainbow Dash, flying through the air like a maniac. Fluttershy quickly realized talking to Rainbow Dash when she was prideful was like talking to a brick wall in a sandstorm.
“Rainbow, we have to get out of the clouds. We have a serious problem,” the timid yellow pony emphasized to the prideful Rainbow Dash.
“Why, is it a flying penguin?” Rainbow Dash joked, her long rainbow mane glinting in the sun and being whipped by the wind.
Suddenly a huge flap of snow fell from the sky to the left of the joking pegasus, narrowly missing the blue athletic body. The semi-solid snow blanket landed next to a wilting apple tree with a loud THUMP!
“Oh,” Rainbow Dash stated lamely, somewhat disappointed at the lack of fighting.
An octave higher, the yellow pegasus whimpered, “Remember that play we did for Hearth’s Warming Eve? Well, do you remember the Windigos? It seems Twilight thinks that they came ba –,” the timid pony couldn’t finish due to another flap of snow falling on top of her and bringing her down.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she dove for her friend. The pegasus swooped below the blanket of snow and grabbed Fluttershy, tumbling down faster than the snow flap could envelope the pair. Rainbow Dash went into a controlled dive, also known as an uncontrolled fall.
The pegasi landed into a soft patch of snow and ice as the offending snow blanket fell to the ground a few tail-lengths away. Rainbow Dash sat up and shook out her mane while looking at what used to be Ponyville in horror.
Building were now boards covered in frost as ponies hooves waved around with some cuts and scrapes scattered across their four legs. Trees stuck up at odd angles and the market area was completely destroyed and was deteriorating due to the unwelcome snow day.
Rainbow Dash was feeling a tear coming when she looked over to see Fluttershy curled up like a filly in pain. Rainbow felt a bruise on her right hoof and left wing, but the pegasus didn’t care because her friend was bruised in many places, including her forehead.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash shook her friend with her hurting hooves, “C’mon Fluttershy, c’mon! Wake up!” Despite Rainbow Dash’s best efforts, her friend’s eyes stayed shut. Rainbow Dash shivered as an oncoming blizzard blew across her freezing muzzle. She looked up to face a purple and green dragon staring at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
“Wha- what happened?” Spike asked worriedly. “Why is Fluttershy hurt, Rainbow Dash, are you okay?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, “You need to tell me about the Windigos! I have no idea what is going on because Fluttershy was hit by snow before she could tell me more about what is happening.” Rainbow Dash stubbornly refused to answer Spike’s initial question about her health; the pegasus wanted to know what was going on.
Spike’s emerald eyes bored into the blue pegasus’s magenta eyes in all seriousness. He nodded, “Come on then, bring Fluttershy, I guess I have some explaining to do.
Rainbow Dash pulled Fluttershy onto her back and trotted after Spike’s retreating figure.
“Well, what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked as the added weight on her back shifted around putting immense strain on the athletic, blue pegasus’s back. Spike stared ahead and crunched the snow underneath his clawed feet.
“Spike,” Rainbow Dash nagged getting right next to the small dragon.
“Honestly, I have almost no idea,” Spike slowly replied to the blue pegasus next to him. “You see, all I know is what Twilight told me; the Windigos are coming back and they are not very happy. She also told me to get you all to the tree house library, but then she ran out with all her books, yelling to me to bring ponies to Fluttershy’s home.”
“I guess she knew about the nice little snow day we’re getting,” Rainbow Dash stated. “But I thought Windigos needed fighting, why are they here? We don’t have a war with anyone but the Griffons.”
“That’s true,” Spike said solemnly. “But two very powerful ponies could do it just fine if they had a large enough argument. I know what you’re thinking; but it is NOT Twilight Sparkle and Trixie What’s-her-face.”
Rainbow Dash looked stunned by this information while her hooves stopped moving. She then saw the dragon moving farther from her sights and she ran to catch up to him.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Spike said turning back to her. “How are you?”
“My back hurts a bit and my wings are tired, but how are you?”
Spike smiled and bowed, pretending to be an Old Canterlot dragon, “Thou speaks to thy with utmost decency, my lady.”
Rainbow Dash laughed and then tried to imitate Fancy while failing epically. Spike rolled over laughing and tossing up snow while Rainbow Dash stomped the snow in hysterics. Then the wind howled and there were hailstones falling down from the sky.
“Run!” Spike yelled as he jumped onto Rainbow Dash’s back, gripping Fluttershy’s pink mane with one hand and pulled on Rainbow Dash’s left ear. He threw his head back and let loose a stream of fire, creating a protective fire barrier between the group and the icicles.
Rainbow Dash bucked Fluttershy to push her up on the blue pegasus’s neck. She ran forward with Spike and Fluttershy on her back. The athletic pony ran forward, ignoring the added weight and a hailstone that just bruised her leg. The pegasus bolted across the icy plains like her famous Sonic Rainboom.
The feeling of running reminded Rainbow of the familiar skies now lobbing snowballs at the fast-moving ponies. The wind howled against her ears as snow was crunched beneath her hooves. The pegasus streaked faster as danger grew closer. She ran straight into a large purple force field and bonked her head on it.
She banged against the shield with her fore- hooves and yelled, “Twilight, let us in!” The blue pegasus felt Spike hop onto her muzzle as he scratched out into the protective barrier. The letters “S”, “RD”, and “FS” were carved into the seemingly steel shield. Spike breathed emerald green flames over the letters and they glowed with heat.
Rainbow Dash gasped as the shield created a dome over the group and pulled them in.
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash looked on in amazement of the perfectly protected valley. Wind blew against her muzzle, but this time it wasn’t the cold type, it was the warm soft breeze that only an earth pony wouldn’t appreciate. Lush green grass grew around the valley followed by occasional dots of flowers. Trees swayed harmoniously in rhythm, pointing to a beacon on top of Fluttershy’s home that was glowing with brilliance. The beautiful beacon swirled with blue and purple magic and was connecting to the shield.
“What has Twilight done? Brought heaven down for us, has she?” asked Spike to himself. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement with the smaller dragon. Fluttershy moaned and flipped over, but she stayed unconscious.
“Will we be able to get medical attention for Fluttershy?” asked Rainbow Dash worriedly. Spike shrugged and trudged on through the long grass. He stopped and from the side, Rainbow Dash could see Spikes pupils getting smaller in horror and fear. Rainbow Dash looked in the same direction and saw that heaven was ruined.
Ponies lay on stretchers and were being pushed into medical tents that appeared to hastily been set up. Doctors roamed around, bandaging all they could. Blood was still on stretchers from the previous ponies. At that moment, Fluttershy began to stir.
“Wha- What’s going on? Why are ponies hurt? Wha- where- who are we? Rainbow Dash, Spike, why are we here? Wha- wha- wha- WHAT THE HAY?” the timid pony yelled in fear. Her pupils ran around, taking in everything for a detailed investigation onto what was going on.
“My knee hurts,” Fluttershy said softly after falling due to an injury on the right knee. “Did the Windigos do this?”
Spike looked toward the beacon, “Maybe, we’ll have to ask Twilight.”
The Return Of The Windigos
A Beacon at Twilight (Part One)
A Beacon at Twilight (Part One)
Twilight Sparkle watched over the valley she had set her magic to protect from the cold, whistling winds spirits outside the barrier. Her horn shot pain down from it every few seconds due to the stress of holding up the beacon powering the giant shield that had been set down. She stared at the hurt ponies she was working so hard to defend as they were carried away in stretchers heading for various medical tents. Twilight Sparkle sadly sat while thinking of her fellow friends that were (hopefully) coming to think of how to send away the unwanted winds.
“Where are they?” Twilight wondered aloud as her hooves ran absently against the wooden crevices of the roof. A warm breeze drifted by, carrying the statement to another unicorn sitting on a pillow.
“Who?” asked Rarity.
Twilight looked to the side as the white unicorn shifted on a pillow. The Element of Generosity threw back her mane as her horn also sparked along with Twilight’s.
“Spike, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy,” Twilight replied sadly, longing for the sight of her assistant and the two pegasi. Her heart sped as she wondered why she had not seen Rainbow Dash’s boasting of power, now it would be a much appreciated sight.
Rarity looked to her friend and realized the Element of Magic did need comfort. The white unicorn, too, was wishing to see her little dragon friend and Rainbow Dash’s display of endurance. Rarity was about to comfort her friend with a few well chosen words of advice and utter meaningless when she spotted a green flash against the horizon. The flash of Spike’s fire. A shot of pain from her horn told Rarity and Twilight another pony or other creature entered the safe zone.
“Spiky- wikey!” Rarity called to anypony listening as she jumped off the roof of Fluttershy’s house, rushing to meet up with her handsome dragon friend. Twilight heard the call, but was not prepared for the stress put on her horn and magic. The weight of the sky could be compared to this, but in such a strange way, considering magic pushed on her instead of physical pressure and pain.
“Remember,” Twilight managed to get out. “I can only hold this beacon until noon!” The retreating white unicorn ran off, not noticing the pain and stress in the words and tone. Only a “Yes dear” trailed behind.
Twilight slumped as stress weighed her down. Alone, the lavender unicorn contemplated life, again, as hope started to retreat from her. She is one unicorn; there is a whole world of Windigos against her magic. As a tear started to form in her eye to show displeasure and sadness a southern accented pony climbed up to Twilight and sat in Rarity’s seat.
“Hey, there Twi! I thought you looked lonely, so I came to keep ya company until Rarity gets back,” the orange earth pony explained her sudden appearance. Applejack looked around and frowned at the scene of ponies with blood dribbling out of various gashes and bruises dotting some coats. She took off her hat and waved herself with it, her blond hair drifting behind her head like a flag.
“Stupid windigos! Why the hay are they here, with their ice and frosting?!” The earth pony stamped her hoof in frustration and longing to grasp at the answer everypony wished to know.
“Did somepony say frosting?!” a pink pony jumped high into the line of sight of both ponies lying on the roof. A startled Twilight Sparkle resulted in a pulse of magic swirling its way up the beacon. Applejack immediately noticed this and stood in alarm.
“Pinkie! You stop that hoppin’ around, ya hear?” Applejack scolded in anger and fear of the combating winds whistled their way into the bubble of magic. Pinkie Pie’s eyes opened in understanding as she started punishing herself by crazily speaking to her hooves and telling them to remind her never to think of a party when Twilight is saving the world.
“How are things at Sweet Apple Acres?” Twilight attempted to make small talk about the apocalyptic setting unfolding before their eyes as her mind absently wandered to the beacon.
“Fine, I think my family is safe, we have enough apples to feed Manehattan,” Applejack kicked her hooves in a worried state. “This means my family won’t last two days unless we get some more food, yep, we are so dead.”
Twilight gave a concerned look to the poor earth pony in need of comfort. Unfortunately, the lavender unicorn had no idea of what to say to give her friend an escape from her fears.
“Well, look who it is,” Applejack suddenly said with a smile moving to her muzzle. “If it ain’t Derpy Hooves, well how are ya doin there, partner?” A cross-eyed pegasus flew into a nearby tree, showering the animals passively lying beneath it with leaves of autumn.
“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” the gray pegasus asked as she bounced off a medical tent in one klutzy move of her wings. Twilight’s thoughts turned to dark worry as Derpy caused unintentional destruction that Discord himself would have been ashamed of. Applejack sighed as the blonde mane of the flying destroying machine launched itself against yet another tree.
“They’ll be back soon,” Twilight told herself aloud as the beacon above her turned a shade darker, mirroring her fret and worry. She was losing herself in an ocean of pain of separation and a sea of sorrow. Twilight Sparkle was brought out of her shell of fear by two things: a twinge in her horn from the thinning beacon and a baby purple dragon colliding into her with a loving hug.
Derpy had obviously flown away when she saw the loving circle of friends tackle each other in a beautiful hug. The beacon above the Elements and a certain dragon thickened and sent out a pulse of happiness that enveloped the whole shield and pushed the boundaries of the beacon-powered force field. The harmed ponies stared at the circle of friends and smiled in the feeling of friendship that flowed through the valley and swung on every blade of grass. The protecting force field seemed to strengthen at the smiling ponies and their feeling of life that blazed out, battling the windigos that were wishing to taste another bit of disharmony, but only tasted the fire of friendship.
The windigos circled in closer to the force field, determined to make the ponies pay for friendship.
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Author's Note:
I kid you not; this is a two parter, but I promise I will work on the second part! It is coming soon! Thanks anyway for reading!