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.

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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…”