That day was a day to be remembered: when the three pony tribes had finally settled their differences and founded a kingdom. It's name was not Pegasopolis, nor was it Unicornia, nor was it Earth, nor was it Dirtville. It was the kingdom of Equestria, where ponies of all three different tribes would live in peace and harmony, where no race had superiority over another. Following the example of their leaders, it wasn't long before the members of each tribe began letting down their walls of hostility and xenophobia and began befriending each other. Sure it would take some time for the different tribes to fully warm up to each other, but with the looming thought that hate and fighting would plunge them into another period of cold, bitter starvation was incentive enough for the more xenophobic ponies to preserve silence and tolerate the rest.
Clover the Clever stood from the entrance of the cave, a small smile on her face as she looked at the contented faces of her newfound friends. The outcome was just as she had predicted, but it had manifested itself in a more unexpected way. She had to admit that Princess Platinum had crushed her faith when she had informed her that peace talks had failed. Months and months of efforts to unify all three races going down the drain in just one day was almost too much to take, but unification only showed up in the heat of the moment. It came as a surprise to her when her prophecies were fulfilled through other methods like that purple heart-shaped flame, but she was not going to complain.
"Never thought I'd see this day…" Smart Cookie sighed as she sat with the unicorn, followed by Pansy the pegasus. "Just look at everypony below, gals: to see them smiling and laughing with others. It sure does warm my heart." Pansy and Clover hummed in agreement with the earth pony mare.
“I’m really glad that everything worked out in the end.” Clover’s horn glowed to materialize her small ration for the day, which she split into three equal parts to keep their bellies from being empty. “I’d really hate to die angry and cold, mind you.” The three of them chuckled at that thought, recalling the looks on their superiors’ faces all literally frozen in a perpetual scowl of infuration that would have stayed that way if it was not for the fire of friendship. Without the shadow of death looming over them, they were free to laugh at how foolish their superiors had appeared. The thought of her own superior, however, brought Pansy out of her laughter, and she couldn’t help but wonder to herself:
How are they doing back there?
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[at another place in new-found Equestria…]
The princess of the unicorns sat down, ignoring the constant tickling of the grass against her rump as best as she could as she looked towards Chancellor Puddinghead and Captain Hurricane, although she found it really tempting to examine the grass than to look at the brute- ponies sitting opposite of her. A princess like her would be stooping low to actually sit on dirt like the common peasant, and it certainly was worse that she was sitting with her ex-enemies, she thought to herself, but things did have to change for the survival of her nation. They were all unified under the classification of ‘ponies’, not ‘unicorns’, ‘pegasi’ or ‘earth ponies’ anymore, and that was the first step to them tolerating each other. They were equals now, and that meant, as firmly ordered (ironically) by their subordinates, no arguing or bickering like foals. Because of that, the three ponies had sat together in silence for ten minutes straight, but this silence was not one of companionship. It was an awkward one, as each of them struggled to find a way to apologize for their harsh words.
Well, almost all of them...
Apologize?! Hah! Who do you think I am? I’m commander Hurricane of the pegasi, and I would not stoop so low as to form an alliance with such useless beings! Hurricane thought to himself as he hid his scowl behind a gentle smile. Do they seriously take me to be that stupid to accept their friendship only to get stabbed in the back?! I know better than to trust these idiots unlike that private Pansy!
"I do sincerely apologize for my earlier behavior, you two." Hurricane held back a snort upon hearing the unicorn princess apologize. She certainly was the most snooty pony he'd met so far, and he could not see how he could even trust a single word she uttered, let alone be her friend. If all unicorns were like that, he'd personally see to the extinction of that tribe before any of his pegasi had the chance to think of marrying them. He was going to keep his pegasi from being enslaved to snobs. "It was certainly uncouth of me to make such hurtful remarks of you all, and from the bottom of my heart, let me tell you two once again that I am deeply sorry for bringing all of this upon us."
Captain Hurricane merely nodded, his mind wandering off to his initial thoughts despite the huge opening for him to bruise the princess’ pride. I must have a safety plan if any of these idiots decided to go against me. But who do I choose? Something powerful, something that has bested me before…
The answer to his question came fairly easily, but he pushed out the thought of bailing on his ‘friends’ at this very moment. The last thing he needed was to have his ponies attacked when they were the least prepared for it just because their commander threw a tantrum. Luckily, he did not find himself on the spot yet as Chancellor Puddinghead chimed in first. “Yep! We all brought this upon our ponies, and for the good of them, I think it’s time we did learn from our three subordinates. Whaddaya say? Friends?”
The chancellor held out a hoof, with Princess Platinum adding her hoof daintily atop Puddinghead's one, but Hurricane merely examined the small hoofpile. Platinum and Puddinghead gave him quiziccal looks, but that did not make him falter in the slightest as he squinted warily at the two hooves before him. It was not about him being distrustful about everything though, it was just that Hurricane never did hoofshakes so simply.
With a deep snort that lasted a few seconds (and temporarily shocked princess Platinum at how barbaric it was), Hurricane ejected a thick glob of phlegm from his mouth, onto his hoof, and held it out. Much to his pleasure, he could see her royal snootiness squirm, and his smirk only widened when Puddinghead, oblivious to Platinum’s greening face, took that as a friendly sign and spat on his hoof too. The following squelch that followed mixed two of the three ponies’ saliva together, and caused a certain unicorn to be on the brink of fainting as her hoof was caught in the middle of the drooly hoofshake.
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[8 hours later, in the middle of the night.]
After all the discord that had transpired for such a long time, it was not surprising that every single area of the camp was quiet. Everypony was sure to be tired out after the long hours of ground-covering and cold, and rest was much needed for everypony if they wanted to get back on their hooves and thrive together as one kingdom.
Everypony but one, however, was asleep.
The silhouette was quick and steady as it slipped about among the many tentages, but it did not stick around in the camps, for it did not find its business there. The silhouette was of a pegasus stallion, and he was flying out of the camp to find what he needed to sleep with a peace of mind. It was only when he was clear of the camps that he dared to pull back his hood to reveal his white mane and dark gray coat. He took one last glance back at the camps, where his beloved race was sleeping in the midst of potential enemies. He needed them to be safe, and he would ensure their safety, even if it killed him.
“Kill…” Hurricane whispered to himself, feeling one of the rarest emotions he experienced before: fear. He was looking for a guardian in an enemy, and now that he repeated it in his mind, it just sounded like a vain effort as compared to how he had first imagined it back in his camp. However, a drowning pony would cling to straw, and since he had nothing else to turn to, that left him to trot alone. To trot alone until he felt the first traces of crunching snow under his hooves and when the mournful moans of the ones he was looking for filled his ears. He could not tell if they sounded like that because of their latest defeat, but such a thing was not paramount right now. It would only take a mere second (or even less) to end his life, after all. He was vaguely aware that he was prey to them, but he kept himself strong and trekked deeper into the harsh winter, biting back uncontrollable shivers as the cold of snow penetrated the meager coverings he wore. There was no space for him to offend this enemy. Not this time.
He could not see the ones he was looking for, but their cold unforgiving presence was strong enough to assure him that they were listening as he spoke. “I know you are here, windigos. I am Commander Hurricane of the pegasi, and I wish to see your ruler.” He could make out a few sets of blue-white glowing eyes now looking questioningly at him, but he refused to falter. “I wish no harm to your race. In fact, I am here on behalf of the ponies to grant you ensured survival.”
“Ensured survival?” A low voice echoed around him as he finally made out the faint, glowing form of a windigo. His frame was at least twice the size of his counterparts, and his eyes glowed a sick red. The windigo spoke, but his muzzle never moved. “Do you know how stupid you sound, puny pony?” Hurricane stood his ground, daring himself to look straight at the alpha windigo in the eyes which were like crimson flames, threatening to burn him up to ash. “Since you seem so bent on entertaining me with what you call bravery and what I call foolishness, I will give you a choice: You either scurry off and live and live your pitiful life, or you continue standing here to discuss your deal with the highly probable chance that I will get annoyed and decide that pain is more entertaining than foolish behavior.”
“I did not come all the way here just to look at your ugly faces, windigo. I am here to ensure your race’s survival, and if you seem so bent on mocking me, you will come to find that you will regret it.” Hurricane had been told by this cute unicorn who introduced herself as Clover the Clever that love and friendship were the weapons to be used against windigos, so he thought back to said unicorn, his heart already warming as he found himself proud to call her a friend. Of course, he had realized by now that not every unicorn was as snooty as their princess was, and Clover was one of the warmer ones. When he looked up, he was slightly surprised to find that the snow around him had melted, and the ghostly equine forms kept a five metre radius from him, the disdain on their faces as clear as crystal. “We have the fire of friendship on our side, alpha, and we can easily wipe you out when we convince our ponies to colonize the ends of the world. You will have nowhere to run, and you will find your kind dwindling all because you were too foolish and prideful to accept my deal.”
“Then you shall address me by my name, Commander.” The alpha windigo hissed. “I am Hypothermia, and I will listen to what you have to offer, but my initial offer of slaying you at where you are still stands, so do not even entertain the thought that you can trample over us like we are bugs.” Commander Hurricane smirked at the windigo, but got to business anyway. After all, this place was freezing the living daylights out of him, and he did not want to test his endurance for cold here. The sooner he could get back to Equestria, the better. “Now, what is it you want from us, and what is it you have to offer?”
“Just a simple proposition, really.” Hurricane said as he placed his hood back on, because he hated the numbness dominating his ears. “We will grant you a quarter of a year at which you can run rampant and unleash your winter, as well as the ends of the earth which we will not invade. You can have eternal winter over there, and you have my promise that Equestria would never be so bold as to colonize that far.” Hurricane only realised that he was in the centre of attention of an even larger crowd of windigos when he took in an incredibly cold breath of air that caused him to choke up. “I-in turn, your race shall be bound by your oath to keep the pegasi free from harm, and should I ever call on your species, you are to listen to my every command.” The thought of slavery was not desirable to the icy creatures, and Hurricane could swear the air just got 20 percent cooler after he said that. “I swear that this does not put you into slavery! I am a just captain, and I will only command to keep our races alive and free!”
“Then we will accept your terms, Hurricane. Our survival for your race’s survival.” Hurricane nodded, but he had never anticipated the smoky, frosty breath of the alpha windigo to hit his coat and turn it into a light cyan. “I have placed a spell on you, pony, and it will sense your heart. If you ever become corrupt, you will find us standing by Equestria’s doorstep, immune to the fires of friendship, ready to rip away everything you hold dear.” The windigo stepped closer towards Hurricane, and Hurricane found that, to his surprise, he no longer felt winded by the chilly weather. Hypothermia took Hurricane’s hoof to show him, and Hurricane took note, with a jump of surprise, that he was now blue and white, not white and dark gray. “Let your coat be an eternal reminder to you that you have sworn an oath with us, Hurricane. You are free to go now.”
Despite the shocking turn of events, Commander Hurricane still managed to keep a calm composure, and with a smile, he nodded and turned to leave, but not without offering his thanks to his newfound allies first. “I am glad we have come to an agreement, Hypothermia. May your existence last a thousand years and longer.”
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[back to the present; 1001 After Nightmare]
It was that time of year again, where snow fell onto the streets of Canterlot, and it was that day of the season again, where ponies stayed home to celebrate Hearths Warming Eve. What made this time so different was that the creatures that were always the hot topic of this day were actually present around Canterlot this night: Several windigos gathered directly outside Canterlot, making sure to stay far enough from the fire of friendship that burned bright every year during the festival. As much as they detested the sight of that purple flame which reminded them of their failure, it also served as a reminder on why they still could flourish for a quarter of the year before hibernating for the rest of it. Bittersweet, as described by their previous alpha, Barren Heath during his last days. He was famous among them for leading frequent blizzards against the world even outside of winter, but a few years ago saw him unceremoniously incinerated because the fire of friendship had kindled right where he was standing. A silly death, but life goes on, and that was why they now had a new alpha windigo to lead them.
"The time has come, my brethren." Frozen Winds, the alpha windigo howled as they travelled closer towards the city gates. "Hurricane has once again called upon us for assistance, but with the flame burning bright, we can only send one of us." Looking up towards the castle once more, Frozen Winds stiffened. After centuries of silence, Hurricane had once again called for the windigos with the sacred word, but with no intention of fighting, instead, he had a wish Frozen had always hoped and prayed Hurricane would wish for. Could this really have been true? “The commander of old times has spoken… He wishes for… Companionship!”
"What nonsense is this?! Companionship?! We are not pets!" The windigo beside Frozen snorted, causing a gale to rush past the castle gates, knocking a few windows open. Frozen was fast enough to stop his fellow windigos from potentially hurting Hurricane lest they receive his wrath, but the furious windigo was not so easily appeased. "We never would stoop so low as to become the companion of a puny pony!"
The windigos continued loitering about the gates as each of them voiced their own opinions of the newest turn of events, but Frozen was the only one that was quiet, trying to reason out what caused a change of character in Hurricane. The legends had portrayed him as a hard-hearted, and cunning pony that had managed to make their very first alpha submit to his will, and the portrayal just did not add up with his current wish.
"This change is certainly mysterious, but we still have to adhere to the alpha father's deal with Hurricane.” That was something that caused all of them to fall silent. The last thing they needed was to have oblivion raining down on them because they had defied the alpha father. However, this was the part that Frozen found hard about being an alpha windigo, and that was to make choices that not every windigo would like. “The flame burns bright, my brethren, and none of us will survive for long if we tried to mingle around friendship-infested areas. A windigo foal is still adaptable, so I am afraid that sending a foal in is of the best course of action.” Frozen had anticipated the snorts of disdain he received, and truth be told, he hated himself for making such a choice too.
"If you think we would give that pegasus one of our young, perhaps you'd like to think again, alpha." Frozen Winds kept silent, knowing that his companion's words were not wrong. "Our young continue our existence, and if you want your bloodline to end, then you know who would be the best candidate!"
Frozen took a step back in shock, slightly startled by the rude tone of one of them that he commanded. But I believe it is natural that one would not part with their young so easily. Unless… "You think that pony is that useless?!" He shot back, getting a few looks of shock in return. I've seen how he is, and I'm confident that he will raise the one we sent into a strong and capable hybrid. Just imagine: we can inhabit Equestria alongside the ponies, and we'll never be starved from hate or grief ever again!"
Silence. Silence was all that existed between the windigos for a moment. Frozen's initial confidence had faded, replaced with a worried one. It was a losing battle, torn between obeying the duties he had to carry out and the support of those he led.
"Alpha." Deadpanned one of the windigos. Frozen knew that their view on this was all the same. "Just the thought of living with a pony is bizarre. How could you even think of letting one of our young be raised by them, and mate with one of them. You know better that you are defiling our pure blood by doing so." Frozen tried to find something to rebutt with, but he knew all too well that going by his way was not going to end well for him. The helplessness he felt only amplified his anger, and he found himself roaring as his patience finally broke.
"But this is something we must do in order to free ourselves from the long months of hibernation! If it means my son has to be the one going, so be it: He will be raised to be one of the best windigos you all shall ever see!" Taking off from the rest of his pack, he took on the form of a cloaked pony. The windigos, however, never moved to follow him, instead turning the opposite direction to move away from the flame that still burnt bright into the cold night. They were without leader, but that did not mean that they could find their way back to their home.
"Why does it always have to be the alphas that do stupid things to get themselves in trouble?" One of the windigos piped up after a few minutes of silent mid-air galloping. His companions snorted back at him, noting that his words were humorously true.
"I'm guessing it's just in their blood to be different from the rest, brother. But enough of the past, for Frozen knows for himself that he has been exiled. We need to find a new alpha."
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Frozen Winds silently perched himself upon the top of one of the castle spires, with his son, a smaller, less translucent windigo that could have been easily mistaken for a pony with a bleached white coat, right beside him. Just opposite from them was the room where Hurricane had fallen asleep, but the short distance did not let Frozen or his son take their disguises off. After all, their disguises also helped prevent the fire of friendship from vaporizing them at a deadly rate.
"I still don't get why we have to do this, father." Frozen looked down at his son fondly, with a hint of sadness that was, fortunately for him, not noticed by his son. He had only summoned his son to Canterlot, where they had to brave the heat from the fire as they got closer to their objective, but he did not tell of his plans, only saying that he had a surprise for his son.
A terrible surprise. Frozen thought to himself as he quietly opened the window and beckoned his son to go in.
Silently slipping through the open window, they stopped to glance at where Hurricane lay, instead feeling a slight tinge of confusion as all they saw was a rainbow colored mane. Frozen's son stared back at him with even more confusion, once again asking what the purpose of visiting this pony was. “And I thought you said his mane was white?”
"That is not of importance now, son. You just need to know that I'm sending you on behalf of our race. I'm placing this pony in charge of your upbringing, to let you flourish in Equestria so that you don't have to suffer like we purebloods do." He began harnessing his magic and grabbing hold of the foal, whose eyes had widened in realization at what was happening to him. Like any other living being who had the will to live, he struggled, struggling to break free from his father who had obviously gone insane. His father would never betray him like that! What was happening?! “Please don’t make this any harder for me, my son. You know how much it pains me to have to let you go for our race.”
“Let me go, you brute! I’m not a pony and I never want to be one!” The foal tried to harness his own magic to counter the alpha windigo, but found that his magic was already robbed from him. “Why would you do this to me?! I’m your son!”
“That you are, and I do this because I love you and I do not want you to suffer!” Frozen growled back, already wishing he hadn’t done so when he saw the foal’s eyes misting up, his coat taking on a solid cyan and his once flowing mane shortening itself into a short, solid white mane. His tail had also lost his transparency, and his irises now bore a blue hue. The last words he heard from his son before a beam struck the foal straight on the forehead was the three words any parent would never want to hear:
“I HATE YOU!”
Frozen looked on sadly at his now-pony son as he gently carried and placed him beside Hurricane’s sleeping form with surreal tears falling from his eyes that no longer glowed red. Here he was, everything torn away from him because he had listened to the alpha father’s will. It hurt him so much, but he soldiered on as he stood up and headed for the window, knowing that the alpha father would not let him down like that. He took one last look at the two of them, knowing that this potentially was the last night he lived before he found himself incinerated from overexposure to friendship radiation.
Hurricane certainly does look different, but his life force is still the same. Frozen mused to himself as he watched his son's sleeping form to rest next to hurricane, the scowl still easily seen on his face. It was a scowl that made Frozen wish that he could undo it all and embrace his son, apologizing for all the torture he had put him through, but alas, what’s done has been done, and Frozen could not take his actions back. I'm sorry, my son. Just trust me for once. I know this plan will work...