//------------------------------// // Gimme Shelter // Story: My Little Dynamite: Book Two // by Fuzzyfurvert //------------------------------// Shelter, as it turned out, wasn’t far away. Spike returned less than ten minutes after taking flight with news of a dense copse of fir trees growing around a large stony outcropping. After knocking off the icicles that were already starting to form on his wings, they set out to reach it on hoof. Within an hour they were relocated, with Twilight and Spike converting the spot into something resembling a safe place. Spike’s claws dug out the base of the outcropping, displacing snow and moss, and he stacked the smaller stones around the base of the area. Meanwhile, Twilight’s force magic snapped logs and felled trees for the walls to cut off the biting wind. Cadance helped where she could, stripping the smaller branches of their needles to insulate the impromptu cave against the stinging cold while Zecora made a fire pit and did what she could to prep kindling. They worked in near silence, focused on the task at hoof and claw. The unnatural seeming storm around them quickly blotted out the little light the day still offered until they had something that could—generously—be called a campsite. The logs and larger branches were stacked in a rough hemisphere up against the dugout overhang, the effort keeping them warm until fatigue and the snow that was quickly becoming more than shin deep sapped it away. With the advanced protections of her enchanted vestments, it took the cold longer to get to Cadance, but it couldn’t stop her shivering by the time Twilight hefted the last of the wood into place with her magic. The rest of them weren’t faring any better, but at least they weren’t being actively snowed on. The Princess sank gracelessly to her knees in the dark enclosure, the hard dirt under her a far cry from the soft beds she’d become accustomed too. “There...now, fire.” Twilight’s teeth started to clatter and she charged her horn again, concentrating on the pile of sticks in the firepit. A pale red-colored beam hit it a moment later, causing the wood to pop and smoke, but it steadfastly refused to light. “Well...horsefeathers.” “It’s too wet…” Cadance shifted her wings awkwardly, eyes on Twilight. It felt weird to hear her friend curse. Twilight, no matter how flustered was always polite and proper around her. “Green wood won’t burn easily. But I know a spell that’ll dry it out pretty quickly.” “Please.” Twilight gestured at the wood, her own tired eyes locked on the tiny curl of foul-smelling smoke rising from where she had turned up the heat. “I could really use some good news on the not-dying-of-exposure front.” Cadance nodded, her horn flaring with arcane power, but she kept her eye on the despondent sounding Battle Mage. No sooner than the light from her own spell died, there was another blast from Twilight. This time the tinder burst to life with warm flames. She blinked away tears and looked up to watch the smoke drift upward and out through the haphazard roof of downed conifers. I hope no one sees the smoke in the storm and tracks us back here. One by one, they huddled by the fire, the bit of snow that had gotten in as they completed the roof melting away to make the floor beneath the needles wet and soggy. Soon enough steam joined the smoke in the air and the enclosure slowly inched away from the dangerous levels of cold to something tolerable. Zecora was the first to succumb to sleep, her body leaning against Spike’s biped form. The dragon was not far behind and soon his light snoring was just as loud as the sizzling fire. Cadance fought the weariness, shaking her head to clear the fog that threatened to overcome her. Twilight sat beside her in silence, staring into the flames. Cadance watched the light dance in the reflection of Twily’s eyes, wrapping her wings tighter around herself. When she couldn’t stand it any more, she turned her whole body to face Twilight and whispered. “Are you mad at me?” Twilight jolted as if slapped, looking at Cadance sharply. “W-what? Cadance...I’m not mad at you. Why would I be?” “Sorry.” The alicorn sighed, hugging herself with her wings. “It’s just...well, you got distant and we were just holding each other a few hours ago.” “Oh Cady…” Twilight sighed and ran a hoof through her disheveled mane. “It’s not you. I...I’m sorry. But...it’s been what, hardly a week since I got my first mission as your guardian and I’ve nearly died three—four—times now? Equestria isn’t even at war or anything and I’ve already seen enough action to get a whole host of medals from Princess Celestia!” Twilight paused and swallowed rapidly, looking Cadance in the eyes. “Not that I regret taking the mission or anything! I’ve missed you so much, Cady. I would protect you, no matter what I faced.” The unicorn sighed, her voice growing soft. “But it’s still a lot to take in. So much at once to deal with. When I rescued Princess Celestia a few years ago...I knew my life was in danger. But it didn’t matter. My Princess needed me. Now…you’re my Princess, and you need me to keep you safe, not space out when faced with my own fragile mortality. Sorry if I was being grumpy, focusing on our survival so much is starting to take a toll.” “Twily, you are the best guardian I could ask for!” Cadance smiled gently, edging closer to the Battle Mage. “Trust that Aunt Celestia knew what she was doing when she assigned you to my detail. Learning to trust that she knows more than you do about most everything is a lesson I learned the hard way during my years abroad.” “But Cady, this last time nearly got you, and Spike, and Zecora killed!” Twilight frowned, shifting her weight where she sat. “I don’t think I could stand to lose you and them too.” Cadance got a little closer to Twilight and reached out her hooves to hold Twily’s, gazing into her guardian’s eyes. “None of this is your fault, Twily. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for bringing you into something blind. I’ve had more than a few attempts on my life now, and if that changeling is to be believed, she’s mostly behind it. Which, now that I think about it, makes a certain amount of sense.” “Tell me about it, Cady.” Cadance hung her head, resting her nose against Twilight’s shoulder. She took a slow breath, calming herself as she dug out the memories of the last five years. “These are still state secrets, Twily, even if Aunt Tia told me I could tell you, we can’t just be blabbing about my mission.” “I understand.” Twilight opened her cloak, her magic tugging it and her hood around them for shared warmth and privacy. She gently lifted Cadance’s chin with her hoof, smiling at her when they were face to face once more. “I don’t need every gory detail...yet. I just want to understand what life has been like for you all this time.” Cadance nodded. “Well, my mission was basically one part legitimate diplomacy with allied and potential ally nations. But that was mostly a cover story for my real purpose of espionage.” Twilight hissed through her teeth. “I was starting to expect that, actually. But why you? Why did Princess Celestia feel she needed to spy on our neighbors?” “From what I was told, Aunt Tia came across some compelling information that led her to believe that one or more of our allies were plotting against Equestria. Given my status as a newly risen Princess, and my talent for getting folks to work together, I was a natural pick. But she knew I was going to need more than a smile and a cutie mark enforced olive branch to find closely guarded secrets.” Cadance sighed, her muzzle bumping softly into Twilight’s. “The first year, she trained me in secret. She showed me how to read ponies and drakes and dog body language, how to wheel and deal in the courts and lounge rooms of power.” “After that, I went to the Camule Republic and started my actual mission. Aunt Tia set me up with a local that would teach me how to pick locks and spot traps, how to move unseen and unheard.” She smirked at Twilight’s look of disbelief. “By day I wined and danced with the diplomats and rulers, by night I was raiding tombs.” “When did you sleep?” Cadance chuckled softly. “I honestly don’t remember. But other than those skills, I learned something about myself out there on the sand dunes.” “Oh?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, slipping her hooves around Cadance’s barrel. “What’s that? A love for grit in your fetlocks?” “No!” Cadance reached up and bopped Twily on the nose with her hoof. “I found a way to power through the grueling conditions and the training.” She leaned slightly to the side and looked back at the blue-colored heart and filigree that adorned her flank. “I found a new side to my ‘diplomagic,’ Twily. I missed you, terribly so. When I realized that the pain in my heart was from being without you...that I loved you, that’s when it kicked in. It gave me literal strength.” She looked back at the purple unicorn, smiling. “You’ve been saving my life this whole time, Twily. My love for you kept me going to get back alive. And now...your love keeps me going to make sure we all get out of this alive.” Twilight sighed and pulled Cadance closer until they were chest to chest, looking into her eyes. “When all this is settled...we’re going to have a long chat with Princess Celestia.” “Must we?” “But before that, you are going to give me the full details and I’m not letting you go for a full week.” Cadance giggled. “Is that a prom—!” She didn’t get another word out, her mouth was too busy kissing Twilight. In a flash the last of the aches from the chill and recent struggles vanished in a pink wave of energy, leaving her relaxed and comfortable in the arms of the mare that loved her back.