> Windy Dealings
>  by Zarmflamekin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Old and New Tidings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	In their time of existence, there had not been many deals made with the Windigos, mainly that Windigos only ever seemed to strive for one thing, that being food. But the king of the Windigos, Kiwetin, had once been approached with a very interesting offer. For his kind’s help in overthrowing the pony realm of Equestria, Windigos were to be given free roam over all of Equestria and given ample support in any encroachment on other nations. Having to stick to the frigid poles since the former generation’s failure to trap pony kind before, the thought of rectifying such a failure had been far to tantalizing. So King Kiwetin had agreed to help Nightmare Moon overthrow Celestia.

And while it was easier for Windigos to find each other than any other species to spot them, Windigos were of a vagabond spirit, always in search of hate and disharmony. Kiwetin himself was merely ‘king’ in the sense that he had consumed any other Windego who had challenged his claim for control of their kind. Windigos were scattered, disorganized, and stubborn, but very powerful, and with coordination, neigh unstoppable. Which is why King Kiwetin was still a joke outside his earshot, which was a very wide birth, with hearing and movement as swift as the wind.

Kiwetin had indeed gathered his forces, almost 500 Windigos in total, a near unprecedented sighting, and was indeed, from afar, like a moving cloud of mist. The relatively long journey wore some of their ranks thin to insulate the rest of the herd, but Kiwetin had assured that the exhaustion would be worth it in the end.

Little could he have known that Nightmare Moon would snap early. Kiwetin would come to learn that two days before his arrival, Nightmare Moon would show her hoof early and attacked Celestia outright. What he had thought to be a rallying sign with her insignia upon the moon had actually been her banishment.

And with her banishment had come turncoats, some of whom knew of Kiwetin and the Windigos’ approach. Thus, the surprise raid on the capital of Canterlot in the dead of night had instead become a trap. The insulating Windigos fell from exhausted power and dead hopes, more fled from the radiating harmony of the guard, and those who remained ‘loyal’ to Kiwetin were met with the arrival of the solar, now monarch. She alone was more than enough to disperse his amassed forces.

At first Kiwetin was furious that he had been used as cannon fodder for the lunar diarch, and would soon find retribution after the fight, but when he saw that no stealth force was coming to strike the guard from behind, Kiwetin called for a full retreat to their desolate domain. If Kiwetin had anything good to come from the disaster, he now had his own simmering rage for Nightmare Moon to see him home, and power him for a little over a thousand years.

And now Kiwetin dwelled at what some might have considered the top of the world. Kiwetin found it as a place of spiteful pride, even with Celestia’s sun constantly bearing down on him, the cold of the extreme north kept him more than empowered to stare it down, as well as the traitorous face of the moon as well. He wouldn’t be here for much longer, he knew. There was a new Windigo rising in power, and soon she would come for his position. None had challenged him in six hundred years, and he had never even tried to expand south since his failure of a deal with Nightmare Moon. He had no new power to contest with her when she came.

It was with a wary eye, then, when a lone Windigo approached his position on top of the world. He knew for sure this was not her, so unless this one had a death wish, there was no reason for them to be here.

“Speak.” Kiewtin said with a bored authority, bordering on annoyed.

“Y-you have a… an audience request, King Kiwetin.” The Windigo bowed her head as she relayed the unusual report. At this, Kiwetin laughed, thunder rumbling within him from his accumulated power.

“A what? An audience?” King Kiwetin’s mirthful rumbling quickly turned into a dangerous one. “Who could possibly think they could have an audience with Us?” Kiwetin questioned the bowing Windigo as he took to as close to standing as a Windigo ever came to on the air.

“T-The Princess Luna, Your Majesty.” The Windigo replied. Kiwetin’s distaste soured into rage as his embers of resentment roared to life.

“SHE DARES!” Kiwetin stamped his hoof, lightning shooting down to the ice sheets below, cracking them apart with a thundering crash. “WHAT DOES SHE WANT!?”

“An audience was all she would say, my king.” The Windigo said quickly, her bowed state making the breaking ice a clear view to her king’s power.

“Where is she?” Kiwetin growled, his volume coming down from its deafening roar.

“The Empire’s boarder-“ Was all the Windigo could say before Kiwetin bolted straight past her toward his most contested boarder.

Since the Crystal Empire’s return and the rehabilitation of what had been frozen wastes, Kiwetin had lost his kind’s best territory since it had been in perpetual cold with vast flatlands that even a Windigo could run through for sport and easily foster new Windigo. The Empire’s capital popping back into existence had effectively shoved the Windigos out, mainly by Sombra’s own efforts to keep them away from ‘his’ ponies.

As Kiwetin approached the boarder, he could see Windigos milling about, far more than were ever naturally in one place. He directed himself toward the crowd, stopping a respectable distance away. He cleared his throat, which gave an audible rumble to all those present, making the veritable wall of Windigos turn to see their king. They quickly drifted apart to allow him to see his guest.

He strode through the parting of Windigos, ‘walking’ for only a few seconds before he saw the alicorn. She stood there stoically, her face impassive and her posture both non threating but neither cowering in her position before so many Windigo. She barely stood taller than his fetlock, but even the size difference didn’t seem to faze her. Kiwetin simply looked down at her with simmering rage in his eyes. A good three minutes were spent simply staring before Kiwetin gave a heavy snort.

“What do you want, Princess.” Kiwetin decided to try and wedge the difference in their positions.

“I came to apologize, King Kiwetin.” Luna stated simply.

This made Kiwetin throw his head back in cold, mirthless laughter. “Hahahaha! Apologize? For what Princess?” Kiwetin looked down at Luna. “For promises not kept? For my hurt pride? For my dead kind? Or your OWN FAILURE?!” Kiwetin ended up roaring, making the Windigos gathered to back up ever so slightly. Kiwetin snorted again. “We don’t need your condolences Princess. Go home.” Kiwetin began to turn to leave.

“I did not come to give condolences. I came for penance.” Luna’s tone did not change.

Confused looks were passed between the Windigos bred after the excursion, but the elder Windigos eyes began to glimmer in delight. Kiwetin returned his attention to the lunar diarch.

“And what did you think your penance would be here exactly? Frozen for your rage and disgust? Towards what exactly? Your wrongs to Windigos? To help feed us? Your sister would never allow it. In fact, I’m surprised she would even allow this meeting. I say this again, go home, for I will not stop any here from doing just what you want.” Now even the younger Windigos were just waiting to go, being allowed to sap any sort of energy from an alicorn was worth it.

“While that is a part of my plan, my other motive is to follow on my promise.” Luna stated simply.

Kiwetin now paused, eyes growing wide at the implication, but before he could guess her what implication was, Luna elaborated. “I feel the need to repent as it is, but also to help broker a deal.” Kiwetin’s eyes narrowed immediately.

“You say to follow through on a promise, only to strike a new deal.” Kiwetin began to snarl. “I may just give the clear to attack myself.”

“Something happened in Canterlot.” Luna cut in abruptly. “Changelings attacked the city.”

“That was by far a while ago Princess. I know of it.” Kiwetin replied, waiting for the Princesses point.

“Do you know why the queen attacked?”

“Her brood was hungry for pony kinds love.” Kiwetin replied dismisvly, gaining a sad smile and a small shake of Luna’s head.

“They weren’t hungry Kiwetin, they were starved. Their magic and thus means of gathering food run on the ambient love in the air amongst races. They were run to the Badlands for their mere appearance and Chrysalis was driven into a corner for a last ditch effort.” Luna’s impassive mask was broken with an exasperated sigh. “Her own pride didn’t help her brood at all, but those who crawled, yes, crawled  back to the Equestrian boarder begged for help. Without their queen’s direct command anymore, they did what most had agreed upon months earlier.”

“And this applies to us how?” Kiwetin asked, as interesting as the account was, he was still waiting for Luna’s deal.

Luna sighed. “We can’t assist Windigos as easily as we can Changelings, as your kind subsists on hate and mistrust instead of love, but some foreign delegates saw our solution and thought it could apply for you as well.”

Kiwetin was genuinely intrigued now. Not only ponies, but other races as well were looking to help the Windigo? What could they possibly think they could do? “What could you possibly do to help us?”

To that, Luna smiled, her voice gaining a bit of joviality. “It’s more of what you can do for everybody else.” Kiwetin cocked his head aside in confusion, and Luna continued. “Even without your influence, there are still those who are not… as peaceful as everybody else. So we seek to utilize your unique talents to help correct this problem.”

Kiwetin was still a bit confused at the offer, before it dawned on him and his eyes went from confused to knowingly happy. He chuckled. His chuckle turned into a snicker into a full out belly laugh. This drew every Windigos’ attention, for it was not often that a Windigo experienced such a positive emotion.

“You seek us out not only to help feed us, but punish your wicked? Bwahahaha!” the other Windigo began to look between each other as the notion sank in. The other races, who so feared and ran from them, were willing to come to them with sacrifices? Every Windigo began laughing for themselves, as odd as it sounded for harsh winter winds to laugh. All the while Luna stood before them all as still as she had arrived. As Kiwetin and the gathered Windigo’s laughter died down, King Kiwetin asked one pertinent question.

“Why? Why would we agree to this?” And to that, Luna gave a knowing smirk.

“Because we’ve become too smart.” Kiwetin gave Luna a doubtful look, and she elaborated. “Or more along the lines you’ve fumbled too much and we learned. From what can be collected, Windigos gathered food from wandering travelers and unsuspecting towns. But one too many ran and got away. Too many wrote their experiences down. And three particular ponies found a way to fend you off. Since then, the uneducated became few and far between where you’re now suck up here. Something I once offered to change, and do so again.”

Kiwetin’s mirth had now left him and his eyes narrowed. “You only seek to use us, pony.” Kiwetin sneered. “As… tempting as the offer sounds, we would merely be doing your dirty work. Hel, all of Eques’ dirty work. And who am I to expect that you would leave them here forever? A month or two at best would be any sort of sentence, and then you or the minataur or the griffons would want them back from their… ‘rehabilitation’.” Kiwetin attempted to stare through Luna’s being. “And any thought of expansion of our domain is right out anyway, which of your races would honestly give their land to us? You forget Princess, Windigo want for nothing but envy and bitterness and ways to hunt for them.” Kiwetin lowered his head to be on level with Luna’s. “You. Have. Nothing.”

But to Kiwetin’s surprise, a broad smile played on Luna face. “And what if the land we give is your hunting ground?”

Kiwetin blinked, and blinked again, sitting back to his full height. He had thought of the races shipping their unwanted to the tundra’s for them to feed, but to actually hunt? Kiwetin actually did not honestly remember the last time he had a good hunt. He looked down to the smiling alicorn. “How?”

“While you’re right that no race would let you permanently freeze any of their kingdom’s, we also think that they would learn nothing from simply being frozen in place. They must be allowed to see the error of their ways, and if to do that is to let you play with them, then that is how it shall be done. The races so far have come to a hesitant plan to allow your Windigos free reign amongst their northern boarders, and some have even begun planning spaces as to not displace those families that might be disrupted by sudden winters. You said you have no need for anything but food and a hunt, and here I have laid it out before you.”

Kiwetin was at an utter loss for words. This felt to be a much better deal than before, where ponies may resent and turn against the Windigo and they would need to fight against any other race. But now they were all willing to turn over citizens and land for them to do as they wished? Kiwetin began to mull every detail of this discussion over again.

“And what could you possibly show us for this to be any sort of truth?” A new voice rang out from the Windigo crowd. All eyes were immediately drawn to her, and all nearby bodies moved aside. One Windigo seemed to stand a head above the rest, her ice white appearance already darkening into the higher order of Windigo’s midnight blue. And only those seeking to become the ruler ever took it upon themselves to seek as much power as she seemed to have collected. Kiwetin and Luna both looked to their interrupter, and as impromptu and informal as this meeting had been, Luna found her outburst to be quite rude. “I may have only formed three hundred years ago, but I’ve heard the grumblings of elders. This can only be another trick of the Princess.”

Kiwetin knew her concern mirrored his own, but even he had not expected such a young one to be his opposition. “And who thinks they can speak in the King’s meeting?” Kiwetin growled, more out of custom than actual anger

“Kikway, King.” Kikway answered, her spite being fully realized in the confrontation. It did not pass Kiwetin unnoticed her same usage of mock titles he had used.

“Then step up and voice yourself properly, lest I rend you apart.” Kiwetin continued in his non-committal growl.

Kikway seemed to smirk as she drifted down to Luna’s level, just to show she had a stature greater than the lunar princesses’. She seemed to easily eclipse the alicorn as she began to circle. “You claim to come for penance, but only offer others. You offer us a new deal, where you had broken one already. You say the other races agree to this ‘deal’, but here you are,” Kikway looked Luna in the eye. “Alone.” Kikway began circling again, looking to see if others were as hooked on her word as she hoped, and she was more than pleased.

“Who is to say that as soon as we move to wherever you say will be our hunting ground, you do not trap us instead? As elusive as we are, we are no ghost, and any trap could be set to capture us. We Windigo are few in comparison to you ponies, but I will not let us be looked down upon.” This time Kikway looked up to Kiwetin. “Even if others will.”

Kiwetin’s anger legitimately began to rise at the accusation, but a long breath calmed him. He knew Windigo tactics far too well to fall to one mocking of pride. “Kikway does raise some valid holes in your offer Princess. Would you wish to correct her in any of them?” Kiwetin gave a knowing smirk as he glanced down to the simmering Kikway.

Luna looked between the two before she decided to not get between the two. “My offer of penance still stands. To whatever end that may come, it is my burden to bear and is in separate standing from my new offer. As having broken my promise in the past, again, I came here to uphold it, merely under a different set of terms. As for the others in agreement to this deal, how well do you think it would have been to reach any Windigo for a formal hearing? These drastic means were the only way I knew to bring your King out. And as for your accusations of entrapment,” Luna’s wings brustled. “There would be little point. Windigos have had no interaction with any species to fully understand your magic, one foolish attempt at such a feat would break your trust and leave you were you are now. It does neither us nor you to be aggressors. Upon a tentative agreement, there is to be a formal hearing of the involved races here, on the edge of the Crystal Empire lands, as to broker a truly lasting arrangement.” Luna finally huffed. “Does that answer your concerns?”

Kikway and the other Windigo were only able to stand in shocked silence, while Kiwetin smiled a very shallow smile. For maybe the first time in Widigo history, he may be the one to broker a peace treaty amongst the other races they had preyed upon for so long. As what Luna had said was true, only the most secluded villages did not know of the Windigo’s magic capabilities, and they would need that energy if they were to breed more Windigos. They could no longer work in clouded skies. But Kiwetin also knew he was old, and perhaps too lenient for his kind, and he knew what to do.

“Very well Princess, I shall agree to the meeting.” All eyes were immediately upon Kiwetin, most in shock, some in anger. And amongst the angered was Kikway.

“You honestly expect for any-“ Kikway began.

“I expect nothing, for I know nothing.” Kiwetin rumbled, tapping into his power to assert dominance. Kikway immediately fell silent. “But at the same time, I know what to expect of our ways.” Kiwetin looked down at Kikway not as a king to a subject, but an old Windigo to a new foal. “I am old Kikway, and I have heard of your rise. But you are young, far younger than I anticipated. So I feel I shall be the first of at least two things this day.” Kiwetin stood to his full authoritative height to the awe of all those present. “On this day I begin talks of peace with the races of Eques, and name Kikway, daughter of our giving wind, heir to my throne.” Kiwetin allowed for the flurry of whispers to dance amongst tose present, and in fact, more so as he sensed more Windigos had come as the discussion ran. With one stamp of lighting, there was quiet once more.

“I know we have always had our King and Queen as the strongest ruler so that they may always lead us forward. But that was in the days of conflict, for us to prosper now, we must be both strong and wise. I know to still have my strength, but I have not seen any of my time since before Luna came to me before. I would dare any to say they know more than me. That said, Kikway is the only one in the last six hundred years to even think of challenging me, and that is as how it has been.” Kiwetin looked down at Kikway. “But I dare you to say you are older than half of those gathered here.” Kikway could only look away, either in shame or contemplation, and Kiwetin smiled as he looked to Luna again. “So from today on, the old and new blood will guide us on this path, as your kind might say.” When Kiwetin caught Kikway’s eye, he quickly gestured for her to be at his side. She moved quickly as her king begged, and took a stand beside him.

“Let them know, let them all know, that King Kiwetin and Princess Kikway will be waiting for their offers.”