Prince of Equestria - Bonds Born of Falling Snow, Part 4

>You rub your eyes as you wake up.
>Huh…weird…no dream.
>No otherworldly voices to jabber your ear off.
>Small favors.
>You take a quick stock of your surroundings.
>So that wasn’t a dream.
>You’re in royal palace’s infirmary. The place is dark, the moon glowing brilliantly outside.
>Thankfully, you are oh so warm.
>Hmm, night. Mom must be asleep. She is always so exhausted by the time it comes to raise the moon.
>You shift on to your side. Your body groans from the effort.
>Humans were not magical creatures by design…channeling all that power likely did some damage.
>In other beds, Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle sleep soundly, monitors whirring away.
>Good, they made it too.
>You swing your legs around the side of the bed, finding cold tile.
>You notice that your hands and feet are wrapped in bandages.
>Must be a case of frostbite. Feel fine though.
>Never the less, you slip on some slippers and a robe, making your way towards the door.
>You freeze as you hear a whimper behind you.
>You turn to see the ice wolf pup, looking up at you from the base of your bed.
>What’s he doing here?
“What are you doing here?”
>The animal just whines as he gets to his paws, trotting over to you and placing his front paws on your leg.
>Aww…he’s giving you the puppy dog eyes.
“What…you hungry?”
>He snorts.
>Normally his mom would feed him.
>…
>Welp, only one thing to do then.
“Come on then, I’m sure we got something around here. Stay quiet though…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYhNHhxN0A
>If a guard sees you, then you’d probably get sent back to bed, after they called your mom.
>You’d like to avoid that for now.
>The wolf cub trots along behind you, panting as you slink out the infirmary and into the hallway.
>He takes your cues when you hide behind plants and around corners to avoid patrolling sentries between here and the kitchens.
>Smart mutt.
>You even hide behind a statue at one point, matching its pose awkwardly.
>The pup did the same thing against the back of the neighboring statue.
>You nearly blow your cover chuckling at this.
>What a guy…wolf…pup…thing…
>Before too long, you manage to make it to the kitchens.
>Mission: Accomplished.
>The pup follows closely at your heels as you open the fridge.
>Let’s see…
>Chicken breast? Must be yours, you’re the only being in the castle that eats meat besides the Griffin cook.
>They must have fixed it in case you woke up earlier.
>You sigh and give it to the pup, who takes it into his mouth eagerly.
>You grab an apple for yourself.
>You don’t have much of an appetite for meat right now.
>You look around as the two of you take respective bites of your respective midnight snacks.
>Man, this place is so creepy at night.
“…come on boy, I want to show you something.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCy4UW2r4tA
>After another sneaking mission, you and the pup make it out into the castle’s private garden.
>You draw your robe tighter around you against the chill in the air.
>The mutt seems to revel in it though.
>You take him to a flowerbed surrounding a tree.
>There’s one patch, on one side of the tree, where something truly unique grows.
>Starflowers.
“They’re real special. They only bloom at night, like this, and during the day, their flowers wilt and die, only to grow back at night.”
>You brush your fingertips around the blossom of one.
>The pup just cocks his head.
“They aren’t native to Equestria, but several years ago Mom said she buried someone here, and then the next night, these Starflowers appear.”
>You trace your fingers along the worn wood of the rotting barrel that the flowers seem to radiate from.
“Coming here when I’m sad or lonely…it always makes me feel better.”
>You lean against the tree trunk and sit down. The pup sits next to you, finishing his meal.
“Well…I guess if I’m going to take care of you, you’ll need a name.”
>The pup looks up at you, a hunk of chicken hanging from his mouth.
“How about…Fido?”
>The pup snorts and furrows his eyebrows, shaking his head no.
>Huh…must be a coincidence.
“Anon Jr?”
>No.
“Sherm?”
>No.
“Sorcerer?”
>No.
“Gadget?”
>OH MY NO.
“Hmmmm….”
>Smart mutt…
“How about…Fenris?”
>The pup yips in approval and wolfs down the last of his chicken.
>”I think Fenris is a wonderful name.”
>….did…did he just talk?
>You look up to see Twilight standing in the middle of the starflowers, idly chewing one.
>You wonder what they taste like.
“Twilight? What are you doing out here?”
>”Well…I saw you sneak out, so I followed you.”
“And you didn’t get caught?”
>Twilight takes a seat next to you, opposite of Fenris.
>”Well…kind of. I lost you, but a guard said you came out here.”
>Wait, you were spotted?
>Aww man…
>Scratch that.
>Mission: Failed.
>”Anon…I wanted to thank you for what you did…if you didn’t, me and my brother probably wouldn’t be here.”
>You blush slightly and scratch the back of your head.
“Aww…it was nothing…I just…did what I had to, you know?”
>Twilight just nuzzles your arm and smiles.
>”Still…my brother was right about you.”
“That I’m a suave, debonair young rogue?”
>Fenris does something you can only equate to laughter as he rolls on his back, Twilight giving you a deadpan look.
“Hey…it’s not that funny.”
>”Well, he said you were an egotistical, puffed up, reckless idiot.”
>ET TU, SHINING ARMOR?!
>What HAVE you been telling this filly?
>Twilight’s glare turns back into a soft smile.
>”But mostly, he said you were a true friend, who would risk himself for others without a second thought, with no thought of reward. Someone who always puts others above himself, despite his high station.”
>That’s better.
>Twilight reaches up and gives you a little peck on the cheek.
>You blush again and rub the spot, drawing a giggle from the filly.
>Man, girls. If you understood the implications of “drinking,” they would drive you to it.
“Wait, I thought you didn’t like me because I wasn’t like those storybook princes you like so much.”
>Twilight settles back down on her haunches.
>”I think I’m done reading books like that. It’s true, you are nothing like the princes who rescue the princess in storybooks…”
>She catches you by surprise as she dives into your robe, poking her head out from the top.
>Man, if she was cold, she should just say so, that jimmy-rustler.
>”…but now I know that it’s the storybook prince that isn’t the real one.”
>Man, something about that line, gives you a weird feeling in your chest.
>…
>Cooties?
>Cooties.
>These stupid fillies.
>You sigh and smile as you lean back, the three of you looking up at the full moon hanging high in the sky.
>The Mare in the Moon…
>Most everyp0ny you talk to says it’s a symbol of dread.
>For some reason, against the glow of the starflowers, it fills you with a comforting familiarity.
>Like it’s looking back at you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtFBRJFN3p8
>”Hey…Anon.”
“Yeah?”
>”They said you were singing a song when they brought us in…can you sing it for me? I want to hear it.”
>The song?
“Uh…sure.”
>You look back up at the stars, twinkling around their lunar steward.
“Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars…”
>You don’t notice both Twilight and Fenris lean against you, eyes shut contentedly.
>From her balcony above, Celestia watches the three of you with a smile on her face.
>You are growing up so fast…
>She looks up at the Mare in the Moon.
>”You would have loved him, Luna…he reminds me a lot of him. And he loves your night.”
>For Celestia, the passage of time means little to nothing. P0nies are born and die every day.
>But as she watches you, with your newest friends and companions, she can’t help but feel a twang of regret.
>She will outlive you. You will grow, live and love, then die in what to her will be a blink of an eye.
>She’ll have to cherish every moment she can.
>Celestia looks back up to the moon, silently singing along with you.
>”In other words…I love you….”