Prince of Equestria - Bonds Born of Falling Snow, Part 3

>Well, the storm was letting up.

>Slowly.

>Way too slowly.

>Nightfall wasn’t helping either.

>The four of you huddled together for warmth, nobody really having the strength to put up a shield.

>You.

>Shining Armor.

>His sister, Twilight, who for some reason is a lot warmer towards you, attitude-wise.

>And this young ice wolf, barely old enough to be weaned.

>Now an orphan, thanks to you.

>The pup whines and seeks warmth under your cloak.

>You had never killed something before.

>It was…

>Exhilarating.

>That’s what horrifies you the most.

>”Anon, you alright?”

>Damn it Armor, always can tell when something’s wrong with you.

“What, besides slowly freezing to death before hunger and dehydration takes me?”

>”You know what I mean, Anon.”

“It’s just…it’s nothing, Armor. Let’s focus on getting through this alive, okay?”

>Armor snorts. You know he doesn’t like that answer, but he’s in no position to argue.

>”Anon…big brother, I’m cold.”

>You look down at Twilight, currently using the two of you as a heat sandwich.

>You rub your arms, steeling your jaw to keep your teeth from chattering.

>She’s right though.

>You are all cold.

>Have to do something…

>These are your friends…your subjects, and you are their prince.

“Armor…can you cast spells?”

>”Nah man…I can barely stay awake.”

>That’s not good.

>What do you have? Wood, snow, wind, two cloaks and two wolves, one live, one dead.

>…

>You stand up, removing your cloak.

>Armor and Twilight stare up at you incredulously, the wolf pup taking refuge between the two of them.

>”Anon…what are you doing? Are you crazy?” It was Twilight who spoke first.

“Sit tight. I have an idea.”

>”B-But you’ll freeze!”

>You give the filly a wink as you gather what little magic you can muster in your fingertips, just enough to form a sharp edge.

“I’ll be quick.”

>You look at the storm outside.

“We’re going to die if we stay like this, I’ve got to do something.”

>Every nerve in your body screams at you, still not recovered from the sheer amount of energy you channeled fighting the wolf.

>With luck, that wolf will save your lives yet.

 

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCy4UW2r4tA

>You find the corpse right where you left it.

>Oh man, it is so much colder without your cloak.

>Have to hurry.

>You run your free hand along the beast’s fur.

>Surprisingly soft.

>Just think…this was alive not even two hours ago.

>And now it’s not.

>Because of you.

>Did you have a choice? Was there a third option you failed to consider?

>Was violence the only way out of that situation?

>Would it have just left with her pup if given the chance?

>Will the pup survive now?

>You shake your head as your vision starts to blur.

>No time for this…have to work fast.

>Your head aches, feeling it pulse against your circlet medium.

>You start slicing the skin, working your magically-sharpened fingers between the skin and muscle.

>The feeling alone is enough to make you vomit.

>Your teeth chatter as you set about your grisly work, trying to finish before you froze without messing things up.

>You got a big enough hunk of pelt cut away to wrap up you and everyone else, if you huddled together like hamsters.

>It’ll be revolting…but you’ll have to if you want to survive.

>As you gather the pelt up, your stomach rumbles.

>Armor and Twilight must be starving too.

>You look at the corpse again.

>…

“I’m sorry…”

>You cut off a hunk of meat.

>You also grab a branch for Twilight and Armor.

>You manage to make it back into the den before cold and exhaustion takes you.

>Armor looks up as you come back in. “ANON! You are certifiably insa-“

>He winces as you set the pelt down.

“Come on…it’ll keep us warm.”

>Armor grimaces, but he can’t argue.

>Twilight does look like she wants to argue as she looks up at you.

>She blinks as her expression softens.

>She gets up as her horn starts to glow.

>As she presses it against the back of the pelt, the fleshy bits start to dry out.

>”Does that help, Anon?”

>You can only nod as you drag it across the floor, settling down next to Armor.

>The two p0nies stare at you as you slice the hunk of meat in half, sticking one in your mouth.

>Ugh…disgusting.

>You chew as Twilight obviously shares your distaste.

>She sighs with reservation as her and Armor begin chewing on the branch.

>You offer the other half of the meat to the pup.

>He sniffs it with a whimper, as if he knew exactly where this came from.

“Sorry boy…not much choice in the matter.”

>The pup whines again before taking the hunk into its’ mouth.

>All four of you clump together as you wrap yourselves in the pelt.

>Nobody enjoys their dinner tonight.

 

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>You must have fallen asleep.

>Great, dream world again.

>You’re starting to get sick of this.

>Either that, or the raw meat is really making you sick.

>”That was amazing, boy! You’ve done your kind proud!”

>Yup. Ghost Guy’s still here.

>You feel a hand slap on your shoulder, a hand you are quick to shove off.

“Oh yes. Hooray for the human race, I killed a mother protecting her pup.”

>You sigh and sit down on a rock that isn’t technically there.

>Screw it, it’s your dream world. You do what you want.

>You don’t look up as the phantasm sits next to you.

>”First kill, huh?”

>Your silence speaks loud enough.

>”Look, Anon…I’m sorry to break it to you, but this won’t be the last time you kill. For some, like me, it got easier over time…”

>You clench your fists.

“It’s disgusting…I was taught that there is always another option…and I just…killed it.”

>The ghost sighs. “Life’s not fair, kid…You think life will turn out one way, but you find yourself forced to do all kinds of things you don’t want to.”

>He stands.

>”I mean, hell, I was torn away from my home and my people to go play defender to all of p0nykind, only to die on some godforsaken battlefield trying to get back to a home I wasn’t there to defend…”

>You look up at the phantasm.

>What a life he must have led…

>”But…a dear friend of mine used to sing to me, when the weight got too much to bear.”

>Your world starts to turn white as the phantom starts to whistle.

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0TZv9j1WhKH

 

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssex8g5vVB4

>You slowly wake up as rays of sunshine hit your eyes.

>Armor is leaned up against your side, the pup and Twilight curled together in your lap.

>All seem to be breathing.

>Blue skies shine through outside.

>You made it…

>You squint as shadows move across the light, your vision still blurred.

>Just the slightest splash of color from a pastel mane tells you who it is.

>You smile, weakly.

“Hey, mom…where you been?”

>You don’t hear a response, as guard p0nies rush in and start collecting all of you.

>Even the pup.

>You feel heavy as you are slid on to Celestia’s back.

>You know it’s hers, nop0ny else smells of sunflowers like she does.

>You can hear her on the fringe of your hearing as your head rests between her wings, gripping her coat weakly.

>”….ang on Anon, we…ospital so….”

>You feel your body lurch as she takes off.

>You smile as you close your eyes, silently singing a song you, for some reason, have stuck in your head.

>Celestia turns her head back when she hears it.

>It was her favorite.

>How do you know this song?

“Fly me to the moon…and let me play among the stars…let me see what spring is like, on Jupiter and Mars…”