The story's title is slightly misleading.
Sunbursts heart was aflutter with excitement. In his gloved hands was a magnificent equine statue made of what he believed to be some sort of bronze with a pair of blue gemstones set into the eyes. Despite it's dulled texture, the piece was an unquestionable work of art with the creatures musculature intricately molded to the model. To his left was a young woman named Starlight Glimmer who he had known since childhood and with which he was fairly sure he had formed a romantic attachment to. Her misty breath mixed with his own in the cold air around them.
Yes, these two subjects of interest could very well be the sort of things that could send Sunburst's heart racing with excitement. But, if we're being completely honest, it probably has much more to do with the horse-shaped ice monsters attempting to break into the dilapidated building they were currently sheltering in. Oh, and the excitement was definitely, mostly, made up of fear.
This was not at all how the day should have gone.
-
Just yesterday, Sunburst had convinced Starlight Glimmer to come up with him to the old ruins of the Flint Hoof mining site to investigate it. It had been abandoned after only a few years of operation under what seemed to be shady circumstances that no one connected to the site ever wanted to talk about for some reason. Which only added to the rumors of course.
Sunburst believed that if they searched the site that they might come upon evidence as to why it was closed down. Opting to visit, or more correctly, trespass during the snowy season under the belief that no one would bother them led Sunburst to believe that this would be somewhat romantic. Starlight Glimmer also believed that the situation could lead to romance, until she realized that Sunburst had been completely serious about searching the property for evidence. She had to remind herself that her dear Sunburst was what we shale politely call a 'Scholarly Enthusiast*' and that his affections were often unorthodox.
(*A Huge Nerd)
Their search had turned out rather poorly. There were a scant few documents about employees refusing to come in or outright quitting with little explanation and not much else. But then they came upon a locked safe stuffed away behind some book cases and set into the wall of a back office. Utilizing skills which she teasingly refused to reveal the origins of to Sunburst, Starlight Glimmer was able to convince the safe to reveal its secrets. Said secrets turned out to be some rolls of cash, mineral samples that might have been gold, and one quirky little horse statue.
While the monetary bills had swiftly disappeared into Starlight's bag, Sunburst had been drawn to the statue. At the time he had also perceived a sudden chill in the air but had written it off as a background feature of the abandoned building. What followed was minute or two of Sunburst fawning over the statue and Starlight Glimmer eagerly feigning interest. And then a frosty horse-shaped thing busted through the window, full of pine needles and malice.
-
These events briefly shot through Sunbursts mind as he and his purple haired companion were once again confronted by another frost golem smashing through a wall. And as with previous encounters, the creature was swiftly dispatched by a booming flash of fire as Starlight gleefully blew it apart with the pump action shotgun she had brought along.
"Haha! I never get tired of that!" She shouted out with triumph.
When Sunburst had question her earlier about bringing the firearm along, she had responded with "Better to be packing that to have it hanging on the wall at home!" He was reasonably sure that, that wasn't how the quote went but she dismissed his critique on the grounds that she had "captured the spirit" of the meaning.
Sunburst dug at one of his earholes as for the umpteenth time in as many minuets he wondered what the early signs of tinnitus were. "Is that really necessary when there's just one? And are dragon breath rounds even legal in this state?"
Starlight gave a sigh as she loaded a fresh round into the tube. Sure, the illogical frost horses that where after them were only about waist high and could be dispatched by a solid boot to the head when alone but that was no excuse to ruin someone's fun. "Oh don't worry Sunburst, I've got plenty of shells. And of course they're legal. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to buy them locally!" She responded with a chipper tone.
Sunburst raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Where did you get them at?"
Starlight's smile got a little wider as her eyes darted away from him to look at something in the corner. "Oooh... that's not important. Hey! Think they've given up?" She responded in her best nonchalant tone, attempting to change the subject.
Sunbursts brow furrowed at that response but he decided to let it go for now. He looked down at the freshly dismembered frost creature at their feet. "I dunno. Maybe they're having trouble finding sturdy branches to use?"
Starlight's smile dropped away in genuine confusion as she turned back to him. "What?"
Sunburst pointed to the melting pieces. "Well, they seem to be using hard packed snow and ice for bodies with discarded wood as a crude skeleton. See?"
Starlight looked at the remains and sure enough, there were branches laid out in a rough skeletal structure for the supernatural quadruped. "Oh, well look at that. Guess I didn't notice. Though I am little preoccupied with the way they keep trying to shatter our kneecaps with their cold icy hooves!" She shouted in a more deranged tone than she had intended.
A look of worry came over Sunburst's face as he put a free arm around one of Starlight's own. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize how scared you were. You just seemed to be handling the very... um, unusual situation better than I was."
Starlight's pink cheeks warmed and she leaned into him. "Thanks. While I am using the weird ice horses to work through some personal stress, deep down I am pretty terrified by the whole shebang. Probably going to hit me all at once later! So, you know, be ready for that."
He patted her hand reassuringly. They stayed locked together, arm in arm, as they navigated through the main building to get back outside. As they walked they kept their ears strained for any sound of the winter wonderbeasts, but things had become eerily quiet.
As they neared one of the side entrances they had originally used to get in, Starlight perked up with a question. "Hey Sunburst?"
The tall red head jerked to a stop with her before answering. "What's up?"
"I just had a thought."
"Okay..." He nervously checked their surroundings again before focusing on her. "I-in regards to what?"
She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Well, non of this was happening until we found that statue. So... why are we still carrying it around? If we drop it they might leave us alone."
Sunburst looked down the the statue in question, he had been carrying it in his free hand as they walked. "Ah yes. That thought had crossed my mind as well. Buuut, there was also the possibility that they wouldn't let us go even if we do drop the statue. So, logically, as long as we have it, we might have options. Even if we don't actually know what they are."
Starlight blinked at this reasoning, thinking about it for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah! Okay, that checks out! I'm surprised I didn't think about that."
Sunburst let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, you are under more pressure that your willing to let on at the moment."
She gave him a warm smile coupled with a twitching eyelid. "You bet I am!"
They gave each other a reassuring squeeze before continuing down to the side hallway that would get them out of the building. There was a sudden rasping growl as they turned the corner. Sunburst let out a yelp of alarm as one of the golems leaped at them from the middle of the hallway. His leg kicked out in sheer panicked instinct and connected his boot right with the creatures pinecone nose. The impact sent a sudden jolt through his leg that went all the way up into his thigh. He may have fallen over had he not been holding on to Starlight Glimmer. As the rest of the frosty body whiplashed to pieces underneath him, a small part of Sunbursts brain that would never see the light of day quietly thanked his overbearing mother for the expensive winter boots that she had gotten him early in the season.
The door was open at the end of the hallway and between it and the couple were at least eight more of the frost golems. They stared the humans down with hollow ice sockets while bearing a full set of jagged teeth made up of snapped twigs. Starlight's sincere smile was replaced with her deranged battle-ready one as she swung the shotgun around in a manner that metaphorically slapped at least five common gun safety tips across the face. She eagerly blew the closest cold fiend to hissing pieces and grazing at least two more.
A shrill warcry screeched from her throat. "Whoooo! Come on then you little holiday horrors! You're not so tough!"
Sunburst, on the other hand, had detected the sharp clonking of frozen water to their sides and looked about to realize that other frost golems had emerged into the other hallways and were advancing on them. "Ooooh noooooooooo!" He grabbed Starlight by the shoulders and pulled her back into an open doorway to what he hoped was an empty room.
"What are you doing?" she yelled at him, "We had them in a bottleneck!"
Sunburst slammed the door shut and threw his weight against it. "They were trying to flank us!" He yelped as icy hooves began stamping and scratching at the door.
Starlight Glimmer's annoyed anger dried up at that revelation. "Really?" She quickly scanned the room. It appeared to be some sort of utility closet with a big blocky machine attached to the floor and ceiling of indeterminate purpose. An old filing cabinet sat next to it which she quickly forced across the floor with protesting screeches until it leaned against the metal door. Starlight and Sunburst rearranged themselves against the cabinet to keep as much weight against the entrance as possible. The makeshift barricade seemed to be holding for now.
The two sat there for a few moments, their hands having found one an other and grasping for some form of emotional comfort from the absurd terror that threatened them. Eventually, Sunburst broke the silence.
"H-how many shells do you have left?"
Starlight licked her lips nervously. "Um, ten I think? Sounds like there's more than ten out there now though."
Sunburst slowly nodded in reluctant agreement. "Yeah. That sounds about right."
He looked around the room to find that it only had one entrance with a small window up near the ceiling that did not appear to open. "I think we're stuck in here." Another moment of silence followed as the situation settled on their shoulders. Sunburst let out a defeated sigh. "I'm so sorry Starlight. This whole trip was really dumb to begin with and now we might die to freaky snow monsters for reasons we don't even understand."
A painful grip jerked him out of his sad bemoaning. "Hey! This trip wasn't dumb!" Starlight said in a pleading tone. Sunburst looked at her with an expression that was a mix of skeptical and hopeful.
An awkward smile appeared on Starlight's face. "I mean, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I've had a lot of fun just being here with you Sunburst!"
Sunburst snorted a laugh. "Even after the killer horses started stalking us?"
Starlight Leaned her head onto his shoulder. "Actually, yeah! That was still kind of fun! Up until they somehow got smart enough to corner us like a pack of wolves."
The impacts against the door began to steadily increase in violence as they sat there. It slowly became apparent that something rusty was being shorn away as little flecks of red metal started getting flicked across the room from above them. With the inevitable outcome looming closer, the two turned to one another with tears starting to form in their eyes.
Sunburst sniffled with a sad smile. "I love you Starlight Glimmer."
Starlight's eyes allowed her tears to flow freely. "Awwwww, I love you too Sunburst."
The couple's lips met with a warm kiss that seemed to carry on for as long as they wanted. The contact warmed them both and somehow blocked out the sounds of impending disaster. And then Sunburst's leg jerked up as he realized how absurdly cold his knee was.
"Gah!" The kiss was broken along with the illusionary safety it provided. He grasped his chilled knee. "Where is that draft coming from?"
"Draft?" Starlight looked to find that the bronze horse statue had fallen between them and just so happened to be facing towards Sunburst. Eyebrow cocked in curiosity, she picked the item up to give it a close look for the first time. While the art style wasn't to her tastes, even she could appreciate why Sunburst had been so fascinated by it. She noticed that the statues mouth was partially open and turned it around to look at it. What she found was shocking.
"There's cold air coming out of this thing!" She cried as she jerked it away from her face. The breeze was freezing on her bare skin.
Sunburst blinked in surprise. "There is?" He pulled one of his sleeves down and checked for himself. He could hardly believe that it was true. "That's amazing! Then it must be the source after all! We've just got to figure out how to shut it off!"
"Hey look at this!" Starlight's finger traced along the base of the statues neck. "This looks kind of different doesn't it?"
It was difficult to see in the low light but Starlight was right. There was a thin breach along the base of the neck as well as some discoloration on the underside of the neck. Sunbursts eye widened at realization. "I think it's a lever!"
Their discovery was interrupted by the breaching of the top of the door. The weathered material had finally given in the the relentless pounding by their assailants. An ice formed head scraped through the gap, it's rasping snarl filling the air above them with a misty cloud.
Sunburst and Starlight looked at each other with an unspoken understanding. It was now or never. Sunburst held the body and Starlight grabbed the head and both gave a grunt of effort as they attempted to bend it. With a creaking squeak, the ancient metal yielded and the statues head was forced from a high proud position to a bowed submissive one.
The icy breath ceased it's flow from the bronze lips.
Nothing seemed to happen as the struggles of the frost golem continued with it's kin eagerly continuing to force the door open. Then, the scraping got a little slower and the unnatural breathing got a little quieter before all sounds ceased. Starlight and Sunburst held their breaths, not wanted to jinx anything. The head of the advancing frost golem suddenly fell from above them and shattered on the floor, eliciting a startled scream from the two humans followed by the sounds of several other somethings suddenly collapsing to the ground outside. Another minute of silence followed as they waited it out before deciding that this was a good sign.
With plenty of heavy breathing and leveraging, they managed to force aside their battered barrier to a mess of melting snow and dead wood piled around the doorway. They let out a joined sigh of relief. It was over.
It didn't take them long to get over the mess in the hallway and back through the grounds to Sunburst's SUV. They encountered zero snow creatures along the way. Sunburst sat in the drivers side while Starlight Glimmer secured herself in the passengers seat. The horse statue and other items were safely secured in the back. Both of them took the time to just relax as the SUV warmed up in preparation for the drive back to town.
Sunburst looked over to Starlight. "Well, that didn't go exactly as planned but I feel like we still succeeded somehow right?"
Starlight hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm, yeah I guess we did. Definitely triumphed over odds back there. Real crazy time."
Sunburst nodded. "It sure was." A moment of silenced passed again as the engine continued to purr to life before he turned over to look at Starlight with a hopeful smile. "We um, we got some things to talk about a little later, don't we?"
Starlight returned the smile. "Yeah. Yeah I think we do. But later. Right now I think I really need some time with my thoughts."
Sunburst nodded again in an understanding way. "Right. I think so too."
"Also..." Starlight took in a deep breath and gave Sunburst a strained smile. "I'm realllllly sorry about this next part sweetie."
Sunburst's Orange cheeks darkened at the new pet name. "Oh? What next part?" He was immediately answered as Starlight inhaled and let out a shrill yell while clutching to her seatbelt.
"AAAAAAAAH!" Inhale. "AAAAAAAAH!" Inhale. "AAAAAAAAH!"
Sunburst cringed at the sudden noises but was able to decipher what was going on fairly quickly. "O-oh! This is that whole suppressed terror thing you were talking about earlier right?" He yelled above the screeching.
Starlight responded by nodding her head without stopping her vocalizations.
Sunburst cringed at the noised but put on a brave smile. "Right! That's okay! You get that out and I'll just get us home!" He said as he put the SUV in gear and pulled out from the site, leaving it and it's other secrets behind. As they pulled onto the main road and Starlight continued her vocal exorcisms, Sunburst tried to lighten his own mood by stating an uncomfortable observation. "Boy! I sure do hope you come to a stopping point before we encounter law enforcement somewhere! Eh?"
Starlight did not respond to this apart from continuing her terror screams.
-
And thus, our story comes to an end. With the statue recovered and safely tucked away, one would think that the Flint Hoof site would remain undisturbed by any outsiders for some time. But they would be wrong as it just so happens that a group of Canterlot High Schoolers and one dog would be drawn to the site by their own investigations about a week later. Mostly unrelated to Sunburst and Starlight's little adventure.
But that is a story for another time...