Breaking the Ice hype blog · 9:34am Jan 16th, 2021
Got a sequel to Looking Glass coming out on Sunday. Just a three-chapter Who We Become side story, but I'm happy with it and I think y'all will like it. It follows up on a loose plot thread that I always said I'd come back to but never did lol. Click the read more to see the cover, description, and an except from chapter one!
Art fans among you may recognize this isn't Pasu's art style. While she's of course continuing to be the official WWB artist and will be doing the covers for various future WWB fics (including Coda, the story that was originally planned to release on Sunday before I wrote this one), she was on vacation when I needed this cover, so I turned to another artist, applejackofalltrades. He's done a couple other WWB pics as well, plus he's a talented artist worth checking out in general!
"Breaking the Ice" started life when I was going to write a 1k scene for the monthly prompt in a writing club I'm part of. It quickly expanded to a oneshot, then to two chapters, and finally ended up being three. It covers the whole holiday season for Sunset, from Hearth's Warming to Christmas to New Year's, her first holiday season with her new friends after the Fall Formal. Here's the description:
When the holiday season rolls around, it brings changes to Sunset Shimmer's life. Although she's never been very festive, it is her first holiday with friends, and Sunset wants to make the most of it. But along with new experiences, old memories of a burning cold lake threaten to overwhelm her and her fragile new friendship with Applejack.
I was a little torn on whether to include an excerpt since the whole fic is only three chapters, and then if I should include something plot important or just fun, but I decided it's pretty obvious to fans of Looking Glass what this fic is about so sharing some plot stuff from chapter one won't hurt 
Before Sunset could reply, she was cut off by Pinkie Pie. “Hey, Applejack! What are you doing sitting on the sidelines!”
“Didn’t bring my skates!” Applejack called back. “But y’all have fun, me and Sunset will just warm the bench here!”
Undeterred, Pinkie skated over to the edge of the ice. “How about we switch for a bit? You can borrow my skates and I’ll hang out with Sunset!”
Applejack looked away and adjusted her hat. “I appreciate that, Pinkie, but I’m not sure we’re the same size.”
“I’m sure though! We’re both size eleven!”
Sunset smirked. “How do you even know that?”
“Silly Sunset, I know lots of things about my friends!”
Applejack settled on staring at the ground. “I’m good where I am, Pinkie. Go on and have fun.”
“I can have fun watching everyone,” Pinkie said with a shrug.
Applejack winced and frowned. “Pinkie, I don’t wanna ice skate.”
“Well why didn’t you just say so, silly?” Pinkie laughed and shook her head. “No one’s trying to force you.”
As Pinkie skated off, Sunset turned to Applejack with a smirk. “Don’t tell me you’re skipping out on skating to keep me company?”
“Nah, I’m just… not a fan of ice skating.”
“Huh, thought you liked all this winter crap. Surprised you don’t like it.”
“Yeah, imagine that…”
It wasn’t what she said, it was how she said it. Half grumbled, and she glanced towards Sunset with an expression that was less than kind. It was a look she got a lot from people she’d bullied, but never from Applejack.
It was also a look that made Sunset avert her eyes. They didn’t say anything for a moment, letting the cold that encased them seep into their conversation, freezing it in place. There was the sound of Rainbow loudly challenging Rarity to a race, as well as Rarity’s polite decline, but the sounds only served to emphasize the silence between the two friends.
The worst thing was that Sunset thought she knew what the problem was, but it was something they never talked about. It was the only thing that they never talked about, a day that had been blacked out. A memory too painful to relive by the light of day, which still crept into Sunset’s thoughts when alone at night. She had no doubt it was the same for Applejack.
And that's all I've got for you until Sunday! I hope you're all excited for this fic, I know it's something people have wanted for a while. See y'all soon!
Ooh, looking forward to this. I got all caught up on WWB over the past week, you have built a magnificent world and I can't wait to see what comes next.
I mean, I'm always excited for more WWB, but I do have a soft spot for the Everton side since I started with Looking Glass.
I have yet read looking glass but have plans to read it eventually but am reading other stuff but I will read it when I get the chance and that sequel too
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Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed diving into my world, and I hope you'll enjoy this and future stories
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Well, we've got two back to back Everton stories with Breaking the Ice and then Coda after that
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No problem, I hope whenever you get around to reading it you'll enjoy it!
The way I didn't see this till now. I've actually been counting down the days till what I call "Breaking the Ice day" on the discord I have with my friends who haven't even read WWB. Needless to say, I'm excited!
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That's awesome! I'm glad to hear you're excited, because I am too