//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Cold Return 
// by Waypoint 
//------------------------------//





“Waypoint! This is Captain Crash Dummy speaking. We’ll be touching down at the Equestrian Arctic Research Station in 30 minutes. Wakey-wakey!”

The goldenrod pegasus pony stirred and blinked awake, shaking his fluffy dark blue mane out of his eyes, rolling from his back to his side, and unfurling his wings halfway to stretch them. Although the door to his suite was shut, Waypoint could still easily hear the aircraft’s speaker system through the glossy brown wood. Not that mere wood would stop the boisterous voice of Crash Dummy, his family’s private jet pilot.

Although he preferred to be woken up via his cell phone alarm, Crash Dummy always seemed really happy whenever she got to use the intercom. She had adamantly complained to Waypoint before about past clients preferring her to stay quiet while she performed her duties as a pilot, and how boring it made flying cross-country. He usually wasn’t much of a talker anyway, plus letting her vent all her thoughts to him seemed to make her pretty happy. Thus, Waypoint didn’t mind letting her talk his ear off.

Not that he had too much to say about himself. He never had much to want, being born into comfortable wealth thanks to his dad working at a large magical artifact R&D company based in Canterlot, and his mom currently the president of said company. After his stint through private school, mom suggested he take an apprenticeship at the company, learning the ins and outs of artifact smithing and handling. Without any idea about what else he’d like to do as a job and nothing else of note going on in his life, he saw no other sensible option than to accept.

One thing he would give himself credit for was his cutie mark. Branded to his flanks was a red map marker symbol with a black circle. His attributed said cutie mark to his ability to easily determine which direction north was, even without use of any of his others senses. This gave him a powerful sense of direction, and he could find his destination amongst the crowded streets of Canterlot as long as he knew the general direction of where his destination was. He’d gotten this ability during a trip to the North Pole his parents took him on when he was a foal, and it left such an impression on him that he swore he would visit there again when he was older. He visited the North Pole on his own for the first time when he was 18, and decided to make annual visits there from now on. Today’s trip would be his third visit on his own.

Speaking of his trip, he was going to arrive at his destination soon. He probably should get up and at least brush his bedhead away before going outside.

Rolling out of bed, Waypoint sleepily strode over to the adjacent bathroom and examined himself in the mirror. His mane was a right fuzzy mess, hairs going every which way, and threatening to cover his eyes entirely if not brushed. Said mane was big and fluffy enough to get in his face if not managed, and easily could cover at least one of his bright pink eyes if not brushed and at least partially constrained in a ponytail. Without doing such, he could confuse other pegasi into thinking that a flying blue furball was coming their way on especially windy days.

Waypoint chuckled quietly at the thought. Sadly, being a flying fuzzball would take back seat to actually being able to see while flying. Both him and most of his fellow pegasi found in-flight sight more important than being silly in the air. With that in mind, Waypoint took a moment to brush his mane to the right as much as he could, and tied the rest of what he couldn’t into a ponytail. That would keep the majority of his mane from getting in his face, especially considering how windy it would be at his destination. Satisfied that his mane would stay manageable enough, he nodded and made his way out the suite door.

He hardly had a chance to step into the hallway before getting almost tackled into a hug by Crash Dummy. For a mare over a decade older than him she certainly had some strength, Waypoint mused.

“About time you woke up, Waypoint! I was worried I’d need to pull you out of bed by your tail, and that would just be embarrassing! Good thing you had me wake you up, right?”

“Yeah…good thing.” He replied tiredly, slowly returning the hug. He knew the peach-colored and red-maned earth pony cared about him almost like a nanny would, but her combination of nagging and her zestful nature easily depleted his mental energy. At least she seemed happy to do all the talking, so that he could listen passively and give the minimum required response. Thus, he followed her without a word as she trotted back to the cockpit, rambling between topics of the flight so far to clients she had 10 years ago to random Equestrian politics. He was sure she could hold an entire conversation by herself if she tried.

It wasn’t until Crash Dummy returned to the pilot’s seat and disengaged the auto-pilot before she turned back to Waypoint for a response. By this time, Waypoint had taken a seat in the opposite pilot’s seat; he didn’t know the first thing about flying a jet, and Crash Dummy usually flew it solo anyway. However, it was common for him to sit alongside her when she began the landing procedures. As a foal he found touchdown to be quite exciting, and he wouldn’t lie to himself and say it still wasn’t a little exciting even as an adult.

“So, Waypoint, I’ve been babblin’ your ear off the whole time. Got a question for ya.”

Waypoint lethargically turned both head and ears to face Crash Dummy, giving her full attention and preparing to answer the question he already knew was coming.

“Why do you come back to the North Pole every year?

Yep, that was it. His parents had asked him the very same question the first time he told them his desire to visit the North Pole again, and it was a question that Crash Dummy asked him every so often. He already had his answer well-prepared for each time he was asked it.

“The North Pole is where I got my Cutie Mark as a foal. It’s an important place to me because of that. I wanted to make visiting there a regular thing, as a result.”

Crash Dummy smiled. Waypoint couldn’t help but smile a bit too. Hopefully that was a satisfactory answer, and she would not pry any further.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Waypoint. I’ve known you since you were a small foal, you can trust me.”

Okay, maybe not. Waypoint’s brief smile faded, his ears drooped, and he sighed quietly. Oh well.

“What makes you think I’m lying?”

Looking up from the flight data on the console, she turned her face slightly so she could fix her right eye’s gaze on the goldenrod pony, her smile growing into a grin. Although he wasn’t very good with facial expressions, he recognized this one from experience. This was a “I caught you” look, something he had seen a hoofful of times in the more rambunctious moments of his childhood.

“Well for starters, what you just said to me sounds more like a PR statement than an honest-to-Celestia answer. I’ve heard you give your mom the same treatment a few times, especially that one time you bumped her glass trophy off the wall while jumping all over the place. Honestly, I think you picked up that ‘PR speak’ habit from your mother.”

Waypoint slumped in his chair, ears folded. She definitely had him there.

“And secondly, I’ve never met a pony before that cared so much about where they got their Cutie Mark. Ponies only really care about getting it in the first place and how they can use it. I don’t think a pony alive would really care to visit where they got their Mark in the first place. It’s a little bit weird.”

Waypoint couldn’t help but chuckle at that comment, relaxing his shoulders. “I’m a weird pony, Crash.”

She gave out a short laugh at that response. “That you are, but we love you for being you, Waypoint. Don’t forget that.” Waypoint smiled upon hearing that. After that, Crash Dummy resumed keeping her gaze on the console, checking one last time how close they were to the landing strip. After noting that there was a little bit more time, she spoke up again.

“Ten more minutes until we touch down, by the way.”

Waypoint nodded. He noted that she didn’t pursue him further on dodging her question, and felt that he probably should give her as truthful an answer as he felt saying. After exhaling and inhaling again, he spoke, still keeping his gaze out looking out the windshield.

“I apologize for not being outright with you. My reason for wishing to visit the North Pole is not something easy for me to explain.”

Without looking at her, he could feel the warm smile radiating from Crash Dummy in response. Even though she talked up a storm, Crash Dummy could be a good listener whenever he felt ready to express his thoughts out loud. It’s something he always appreciated her for.

“Truthfully, I don’t really know the words to express why I come back here on a regular basis. Maybe it’s because I had a near-death experience on the day I got my Cutie Mark here, but even ponies who were in danger while getting their Marks don’t act like me, I think.”

“Yeah, not that I know of. Maybe you just like it there? As a place to visit again.” Crash Dummy suggested.

Waypoint thought for a moment, his lips curving into a dopey grin. “Heh, what can I say? The North Pole is pretty…cool.”

Crash Dummy froze for a moment until what he just said processed through her. She hung her head and groaned. Waypoint broke into chuckles, flopping into the back of his seat victoriously.

“Really Waypoint? That was just bad.” She replied, shaking her head.

“And yet you are chuckling! Besides, all puns are bad, and that’s what makes them good!”

She sighed and brought her head back up. “You’re a goof, Waypoint.”

He kept on chuckling a bit more, before a brief, comfortable silence fell between them. This silence was broken when a thought occurred to Crash Dummy.

“Are you coming back to see your friends on the research team every year?”

Waypoint tilted his head in thought. “They’re good ponies, but I don’t think I’m close enough to any of them to call them friends. We are friendly with each other, but I’m more their VIP Lab Rat than a friend to any of them. Not that I mind, really.”

“They all do seem to like you, though! Hmm…are you coming back to the North Pole to see one of them?”

He turned head and ears to look at her, a bit confused. “How do you mean?”

She grinned. “I’m saying, are you coming to the North Pole every year to see a mare?”

Waypoint was very happy that Crash Dummy was focused on the console, and not on him. Because of that, she could not see him freeze up, pupils shrinking and ears pricking up. Her guess landed uncomfortably close to the truth.

Not hearing a response, she turned an eye towards him. “Waypoint, are you alright?”

Before he could muster up a response, the console’s computer beeped, interrupting the both of them.

Crash Dummy focused all of her attention on the console. “Hold on Waypoint, it’s time to land.” She flipped a few switches on the console, before donning her headset and speaking into the microphone. “This is EDG-1 to EARS-ATC, do you copy?”

Waypoint took the cue, and pulled on the other headset laying on the dashboard. Even though he was not a pilot, the headset would do a fantastic job of muffling the deafening roar of the jet descending from the sky and touching down. Plus, Crash Dummy could talk to him via the headset radio if necessary, and he could hear the ATC response too.

“EARS-ATC to EDG-1, go ahead.”

“EDG-1 requesting landing on Runway 1.”

“Confirmed, Runway 1 is clear for landing, go ahead EDG-1.”

Both Crash Dummy and Waypoint wasted no time in securing their seatbelts, preparing for landing. Waypoint exhaled a sigh of relief at the timing of all this. He wasn’t ready to explain fully what his reasons for coming to the North Pole to anyone. One day he may be ready to, but today wasn’t that day.





Waypoint shivered as he stepped outside the plane and onto the airstairs, thankful for his magically-warmed dark grey winter jacket keeping him toasty. The afternoon sun hanging overhead could only do so much to heat up the frigid air, with the seemingly limitless snow in every direction and the cold wind’s icy bites to his face doing its best to counteract the sun’s efforts. It would only get a hundred times worse after dark; the moon paled in terms of providing the land with sunlight, and the wind would speed up and assault him at full force. For obvious reasons, everypony on the research team would stay inside the warm housing unit until sunrise.

Unfortunately for him, what Waypoint came here to do could only be done after dark. But that was a problem he’d face several hours from now. Right now, he had some ponies to say hello to.

For now, Waypoint carefully descended down the stairs. Normally he would just fly up and down them, but his wings were snuggled tucked inside his jacket, with him further weighted down by a small duffel bag strapped to his right side. Besides, temporarily not being able to fly was a small price to pay for not freezing to death.

“Welcome back to the North Pole, Mr. Waypoint!” the pony at the bottom of the stairs greeted. This unicorn had a nut brown body with a snow white mane, colors that complemented his white winter jacket well. The “EARS” patch sewn into said jacket, thermometer cutie mark, and name tag dangling from his neck confirmed the obvious: this must be one of the research team members. With a polite smile, the researcher extended his right front hoof to offer a hoofshake.

“Thank you for having me again.” Waypoint replied in a neutral tone, remembering to put on a polite smile.

Waypoint did not recognize this pony. The research station rotates team members in and out every few months, as the freezing cold and isolated location of the North Pole naturally was not for permanent residence. His annual visits meant that he would occasionally run into the same ponies on repeat occasions. However, there always would be new faces on the team every visit.

Unfortunately for Waypoint, this meant that every time he came here, he had to speak to a pony who knew him but not vice versa. The pegasi always had struggled with social situations with unfamiliar ponies, and had gotten himself into quite a few awkward situations as a result. One of those situations was so bad that his mother put together an impromptu PR statement to stop the details of said situation from becoming the hot new story for every tabloid in Canterlot. He shivered to the very soul at that memory.

Waypoint swallowed, took a quick breath, and collected himself. Right. Less feeling regret over my stupid-ass past self, and more getting what I need to do, done, Waypoint thought to himself. Recalling both what he practiced he would say while talking to the researchers, as well as the various social skills he learned over the years, and met his right forehoof to the researcher’s.

The researcher pony gave a very firm hoofshake before releasing his grip, almost causing Waypoint to fall over. “No, thank YOU for taking interest in our work! I’ve read the reports about you from our past team members, but it’s something else to meet you in person. My name is Boiling Point, by the way.”

Waypoint nodded. In the past, he had also volunteered to be part of any experiments being done on-base. Thanks to his generally good health, being away from the base the majority of the year, and his general willingness, he made for an ideal test subject for most low-risk experiments. Besides, he enjoyed being helpful to the team when he could. It was the least he could do for the ponies that allowed him to come and go from the North Pole as he pleased.

Boiling Point tilted his head slightly in confusion. He seemed to have been expecting more of a response, but he quickly recovered. “Right! Shall I escort you to the base?”

“Yes, thank you.” Waypoint acknowledged, verbally this time. Without further ado, both Boiling Point and Waypoint walked off the airway and through the snow, quietly making their way to the research base and the heart of the North Pole.





Thankfully, the trip between the runway and the research base was only about a 2 mile walk, made entirely over a black rocky trail that cut through the snow, with shoulder-high rails flanking each side of it; these helped designate the correct path even in the event of a sudden snowstorm.

Waypoint’s hooves walked the familiar trail as he followed behind the researcher, conversation thankfully transitioning from the awkward introductions into comfortable silence. Without conversation, and only miles upon miles of bright white hills of snow for scenery, it gave Waypoint the time to turn off his brain and move forward without thought. He frequently exhausted his mental energy from both the demanding problem-solving energy his apprenticeship required as well as navigating the many trappings of social situations, so he savored any moments where he could rest his mind.

With nothing in sight for miles, no conversation to be had, and nothing to worry about for now…Waypoint smiled, and slipped into a comfortable haze. His hooves moved without thought, moving towards his destination with no guidance required from his higher functions. His thoughts ceased.

It was bliss.

…

…

“Watch out, Waypoint!”

Waypoint blinked, snapping out of his haze. Boiling Point had lifted his left foreleg to block Waypoint from moving forward, and after taking a second to collect his thoughts it was obvious why. He was standing in front of a flagpole, and would have bumped headfirst into it had Boiling Point not stepped in. 

“You okay there Waypoint? You almost ran into that!”

Waypoint shook his head to try and mentally wake himself up. After a moment of mumbled grumbling, his brain started working again. “Sorry about that, I must have zoned out for a moment.”

Boiling Point laughed and patted the pegasi’s back with his left foreleg, Waypoint raising his eyebrows in surprise at his excessively familiar behavior. “Hah, no surprise there. Not much to see out here unless you love big blank fields of snow!” Chuckling at his own quip, he continued on, Waypoint taking in the sights as they made their way into the base proper.

About fifteen steps past the flagpole, the Equestrian Artic Research Station had been set up on a large plateau of snow. The base consisted of six black rectangular buildings, separated in two groups of three flanking a flat snowy plaza. Each building had been built on a raised wooden platform, supported by a black steel pillar about the height of a foal on each of the building’s corners. The buildings all featured metal steps, with each step layered with black anti-slip treads to prevent falling due to tracking slippery snow up and down said steps.

Each building had a symbol painted on the front (just above the plaza-facing windows) that designated what each building was for: a picture of a rising set of “z’s” for the sleeping quarters on the closest building on the west side of the plaza; a picture of an apple for the cafeteria building just next to it; a picture of a beaker on the building farthest from the entrance on the west side which clearly designated that as the main research building; the building nearest the entrance on the east side had a satellite dish picture which designated its usage for communications; the building next to that building had a box symbol, showing its usage for general storage; lastly, the building farthest on the east side had a thunderbolt picture to signify its use for the station’s main power and heating.

The only other features of the base were two landmarks, one minor and the other major. The minor one was a small bust of Princess Twilight Sparkle in the central plaza atop a stone transcribing the name of the base and the year of its establishment. The major one was the ubiquitous North Pole, stationed at the very end of the plaza past all of the buildings, and the study of it being the primary reason for the base’s construction.

The North Pole towered over the base, the gunmetal gray landmark consisting of a strange construction. The metal the Pole was made out of seemed most similar to silver, albeit deep black in color. The Pole was shaped like an obelisk, the cube-shaped base’s sides as wide as an average pony and a half and tall as two ponies. Atop this base was another pony-sized smaller base, and atop that was a tall thin pillar that tapered up to a point that reached about five stories, if the base buildings were a story each. Waypoint mused that, despite being an average flyer at best, he could probably fly to the tip of the Pole if it were not for its most standout feature.

Said feature was the powerful magic the Pole radiated. Day and night, this electric blue magic sparked and glowed, traversing around the strange obelisk in a spiral shape from the base to the top. The tip of the Pole shined like a 4-pointed star, easily visible during the day and lighting up the base at night. The strength of the Pole’s magic grew and declined for unknown reasons. On some days, the magical energy spiraled only in thin lines. On other days, the magic glowed to an almost blinding degree, the power being enough to kick up the wind.

Indeed, the North Pole stood as both the reason for the base’s existence, and the reason Waypoint was determined to come back at least once a year. He wouldn’t be able to do what he came for until nightfall, but seeing the structure again filled him with both dread and determination.

“Would you like to meet the rest of the team?” Boiling Point said, interrupting Waypoint’s musings with his query. “They should be in the research building, I’m sure they would be happy to see your face again!”

Boiling Point interrupted Waypoint’s musings with a question. He took a second to mentally catch up, then nodded. He had to wait until tonight for his task, and it would be impolite to not greet the other ponies.





No matter how much time passed, the inside of the research station always felt the same to Waypoint every time he came to visit. Fluorescent bulbs lit the entirety of the interior, the building consisting of one large room overall. Three long counters sported space a few meters wide, and ran almost the entire width of the room. These counters sported some mix of various research tools: microscopes, open journals with barely legible hoofwritten notes, crystals charged with Pole magic on stands, magicmeters with wires connecting the crystals and said meters, and open work laptops. The walls of the building seemed almost entirely covered by storage cabinets, except for the furthest wall which hung a whiteboard and associated markers.

Even if the room got rearranged every so often, it always felt familiar to him each time he visited. Such familiarity was welcome to Waypoint. Less familiar were the three ponies inside it, each handling different tasks involving the crystals. Every pony present was a research team member he had never met before, save for the lone unicorn at the end of the room.

Freezing Point was a senior member on the team, thus returned for repeat assignments more often than the others. She was of average height for a mare, with a lithe form hidden by the puffy EARS team jacket she wore. With a pale blue body and short white mane, Waypoint joked to himself that she could win a game of hide and seek simply by laying down in the snow outside. However, he doubted she would find the humor in that though; her demeanor in the past had been generally chilly, no pun intended.

As they stepped inside, Freezing Point looked up from her microscope, her expression changing at the sight of them. Waypoint wasn’t very good with facial expressions, but the clenching of her eyebrows, slight shrinking of pupils, and lack of a smile pointed to the possibility that she was not exactly happy with what she saw.

“Hey Freezing, I’m back! With our VIP in tow.” Boiling Point announced, knickering and bouncing on his hooves. His demeanor seemed to be rising rapidly ever since they arrived on base.

“Yes, I can see that.” Freezing Point coolly replied, moving away from her station to walk slowly towards the pair. “Judging by your giddiness, I take it that you want to see Waypoint take part in one of his ‘usual” experiments?”

Boiling Point nodded vigorously. The other ponies in the room raised their ears. Seemed like everypony here had read about the “experiment” involving him, and seemed quite eager to see it in action.

Freezing Point rolled her eyes, before addressing the other team members. “Alright team, listen up. North Star, get a spare magicmeter from the cabinet and calibrate it for measuring pony magic. Deep Devotion and Silver Sentinel, get a camera set up, but make sure it’s far away enough from the Pole to not have magical interference this time. And Boiling Point?” She grinned slightly and levitated a nearby notebook and a stack of pens with her magic, bringing them close to the unicorn stallion. “Get ready to take lots of notes. We’re still doing science after all.” Boiling Point took them into his own magic, and nodded happily. “Alright everyone, meet outside in ten!”

At the end of her instruction, the team members scrambled, retrieving the requested instruments with practiced efficiency. In a matter of seconds, the team had shuffled out the door, leaving Freezing Point and Waypoint in the research building. He would rather not make eye contact with her right now, not that it helped very much. Even without looking at her, he could feel her gaze boring into him with each passing second, but she had remained silent the entire time. Feeling a little awkward and unsure if he was supposed to say anything, Waypoint shuffled on his hooves a bit before trotting out the door to join the other ponies.

As expected of professions like them, the other team members had set up everything by the time Waypoint arrived at the base of the Pole. A small folding table had been erected a few steps away from the Pole, with Boiling Point at the ready with an open notebook. The camera was set up to the right side of this table on a tripod, aiming directly where Waypoint would be standing. Lastly, near the Pole stood North Star, who held the magicmeter, its wires, and suction cups attached to those wires on her back. When Waypoint stepped up close to the Pole, she wasted no time in sliding the suction cups under his jacket and attaching them to his flanks. After doing so, she reached back and pressed two small buttons on it, before walking back to the table and setting the magicmeter upon it, the wires bouncing as they trailed behind her.

Waypoint knew the drill, and the rest of them must have practiced the procedures at some point.

Freezing Point had walked up to the impromptu setup and circled around it once, likely eyeballing it for any mistakes. When she could not find any, she nodded and returned behind the table. “Final checks. North Star, the magicmeter is calibrated?”

“Yes ma’am. It’s zeroed out for Waypoint, so it will use his body’s currently stored magic levels as a baseline for our measurements.”

“Good. Deep Devotion and Silver Sentinel, camera ready?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“We’re recording, ma’am.”

“Alright. Boiling Point, ready to take notes?”

“Eager and waiting, ma’am!”

“Okay. Waypoint, begin when ready.”

Waypoint nodded, and turned his focus to the Pole’s base, only about four steps away from him now. Its magic loudly crackled and snapped above him. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, lifted his right foreleg, and pressed his hoof into the Pole.

Immediately, magic shot from the base into Waypoint. Within the blink of an eye, the magic spiraling the Pole flowed downward like a waterfall and straight into the pegasus, the magic wrapped around him in a spiral shape with him in the epicenter of it. Sparks of magical energy crackled off his ears, the tip of his hair, over the exposed portions of hindquarters, and the end of his tail. The invisible assault of magic kicked up the wind, his mane blowing powerfully enough to launch his mane tie somewhere several steps away, his mane escaping to flow freely backwards.

Although it may look like a painful experience to an inexperienced onlooker, the feeling for Waypoint was anything but. Any small bits of fatigue he had felt that day were blown away by the torrent of Pole magic. Waypoint started wiggling his torso excitedly. The magical energy invigorated him with every bit that crackled over him, like he chugged an entire pitcher of cold brew. In fact, he felt so energetic that he felt like he could fly all the way back to the Equestrian mainland from here, and felt tempted to fly off and do just that. Maybe he would settle for running a few laps around the research base later…He chuckled to himself. Maybe tonight he would, when he finally had some time to himself.

Waypoint looked back at the other ponies. The cameraponies were wide-eyed and pointing frantically at him, but dutifully kept the camera steady. North Star was watching the magicmeter with raised eyebrows, before leaning over and mumbling something to Boiling Point, who immediately started scratching down notes at breakneck speed. Unsurprisingly, Freezing Point was watching impassively. She was probably the only one here who had seen this experiment before.

After about a minute, he called out to her. “How long do you need me to keep touching the Pole?”

“As long as you wish, Waypoint.” She replied, raising her voice to speak over the rush of magic surrounding him.

Waypoint nodded. He felt almost completely reinvigorated, so further contact would probably have diminishing returns. Furthermore, Boiling Point seemed almost ready to explode from waiting to ask him questions, judging by his bouncing up and down. He was probably the only pony here that could match his level of energy right now.

Thus, he disconnected his hoof from the Pole, and turned to walk back to the team. Immediately, the spiral around him dissipated, the Pole’s magic returning to spiraling around the obelisk as before. Without the magic kicking up the wind, his mane and tail fell by the force of gravity, said mane threatening to obstruct his vision. The borrowed energy faded from him; he still felt reinvigorated from having touched the Pole, but his desire to fly cross-country rapidly faded away.

He looked at the ground around him for a moment, and frowned. Waypoint hoped he could find his mane tie in the snow. Although he had plenty more in his bag and on the jet, he hoped he could quickly find his tie before that; even a gentle amount of wind would blow more than enough of his floofy mane to obscure his vision. It couldn’t have gone far, so he would look for it after the end of the experiment.

But for now, he walked up to the table with a small smile. Even after doing that procedure several times, it still felt just as good as ever.

“I’ve never seen anything like that!” Boiling Point exclaimed, raising his hooves in excitement. “What did it feel like? Were you in pain?”

“No, it felt quite good actually!” Waypoint replied, with a little bit more energy in his voice than usual. Perhaps it was the residual Pole magic or simply being able to talk about something he had some expertise on, but he felt pretty open to giving him as much details as he wanted to hear. “I do not know why, but touching the pole makes me feel re-energized. Think of it as the Pole being a generator, and I am a battery. When I touch it, it recharges me. I’m only an average flier, but after touching the Pole for a little bit I feel like I could fly to Canterlot and back.”

It didn’t take much to see how ecstatic Boiling Point was about hearing this, and frantically wrote down everything the pegasus said in his notebook. While he was doing so, the cameraponies turned the camera towards him and questioned him as well.

“How long has this been happening to you?” Silver Sentinel asked.

“As long as I can remember” Waypoint replied. “Ever since my parents brought me here as a foal, the Pole has always given me this reaction. As far as I know, this does not happen to any other pony.”

“On the contrary, the Pole zaps us away if we get too close” Deep Devotion piped up. “Freezing Point had us all do it on our first day. Probably as a hazing ritual.”

Freezing Point said nothing, but her cheeks turning up into a grin said everything that needed to be said.

“By the way” North Star chimed in. “Your magic readings read +20 magicvolts while you were touching the Pole. Seeing how you were while touching it, I expected your readings to be shooting through the roof.”

“There’s only so much magic one pony can hold” Waypoint replied with a nod, having expected this question. “I am a pony with an average magic pool, so any excess magic the Pole tries to pump into me will simply slide off. Think of as trying to fill up a shot glass with a fire hose.” He grinned a bit; he made that comparison up on the spot, and he was quite happy with it.

“Does it give you powers? Are you going to grow a horn?” Boiling Point butted in, quickly leaning towards Waypoint and bouncing on his hooves excitedly.

Waypoint’s smile faded. As fun as answering questions about this was, Boiling Point was starting to get in his personal space. Plus, this pony seemed like he was about to go into some sort of hysteria in his excitement.

“Alright, if you don’t have any other questions, we should return to the research building where it’s warm” Freezing Point finally spoke up, grasping Boiling Point’s tail in her magic and yanking him backward without any care for subtlety. The rest of the team stayed silent for a moment (either due to having asked everything they wanted, or afraid to incur Freezing Point’s wrath), before shrugging and beginning to pack up. Professional but overjoyed with observing this experiment in person, the team ponies began packing up everything they had brought outside and heading back to the research building to reconvene.

While the other ponies were packing up, Waypoint had wandered several steps away from them in search of his mane tie. He cautiously looked over the snow, occasionally pawing at it with his right hoof in case it had gotten buried. He frowned. Surely sure a colorful thing would be easy to spot in the white snow?

“Looking for this?”

Waypoint jumped a foot in the air in surprise, wings attempting to extend under his jacket due to being startled. Doing a quick 180, he found Freezing Point a pony’s distance away from him, levitating his mane tie in her magic. He exhaled, and collected himself. After answering her question with a nod and a mumbled “thank you”, she gently flew it to him, and he took it into his teeth before attempting to fix up his mane the best he could.

“Why do you come back here every year, Waypoint?”

“Eh?” Not expecting the question, he could only grunt with the hair tie still between his teeth. He focused on finishing up tying his ponytail, in order to buy himself some time to think of an answer. He gave her a quick side eye; her expression remained the same as it did when he first saw her earlier today. Thankfully, it seemed like she was giving him some time to figure out his mane. He supposed that this question would probably come up with ponies besides his parents and Crash Dummy, so he already had some idea of an answer ready. Probably can tell her more or less what I told everypony else, Waypoint thought. Right, that will probably work.

After another few seconds to fully confirm that his tie was attached and ponytail restored, he took a quick breath and made eye contact. Her expression was back to what he surmised was a negative one, with slightly shrunken pupils and creased eyebrows. He faltered.

“I’m sorry…what did you ask me?”

“I asked, why do you come back here every year, Waypoint?” She replied a bit quicker than before. He surmised that she was getting impatient, so he should probably give her a decent answer soon.

He drew himself up, lifting his head a bit and standing as straight as he could without coming off as haughty. “This place is where I got my cutie mark. It had a strong impact on me when I was younger, so it is very important to me.”

“What’s so important about where your got your cutie mark? Nopony cares about where they got it, only what they can do with it.” Freezing Point gave him the response he expected, but hoped she would not say. He did not exactly feel like bearing his heart to a pony as confrontative as she was being. Still though, he had a good reply up his proverbial sleeve.

“Well…you see what the North Pole does to me. My talent is related to it, so I would be remiss to not see it every once in a while.”

She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “About that. There’s been a question I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you want to become a researcher and study the North Pole with us?”

Waypoint froze up. This was not a question he was expected, and somehow he knew he did not like where this was going. “No…why do you ask?”

Freezing Point kept her harsh gaze on the pegasus, Waypoint doing his best to keep polite eye contact with her, despite his rising dread.  “For the last three years you’ve come here, you’ve always done your little “experiment” with the Pole. If you work with us, you can be around the Pole as much as you please, while helping us contribute to the work we do here. It would be a win-win situation.”

Waypoint swallowed, but took a breath and continued in an even tone. “I appreciate the offer but, I already have a job right now.” Technically it was an apprenticeship for a job, but as far as he was concerned it was a job.

Her response was immediate. “Then don’t come back.”

What?

“Why?” Waypoint asked, shrinking back, ears folding.

“Because if the only thing you do down here is touch the North Pole and leave, then you’re no help to us, and you’re wasting our time every time you come here.”

Shit. That was unmistakably anger in Freezing Point’s voice. Having a confrontation with somepony was the last thing he wanted to do, especially on a trip that was important to him.

Waypoint looked away, and took a few breaths to re-center himself. Think, think…right. She may not like his presence, but the other ponies seemed to. He looked back into her eyes, and pulled together his thoughts into speech.

“How…how can you say that?” Waypoint replied, doing his best to keep his words coherent as he forced them out of his throat. “The rest of the research team seem very happy that I come by. You saw how eager they were when we did the experiment just now. Besides, if you want me to help with anything else, I would be glad to do so.”

Freezing Point’s eyebrow twitched. “This isn’t about them.”

“Then what is this about?” Waypoint startled himself with both his sudden response and raising of his voice. In a flash, his rarely-felt anger surged to the surface. “If you have a problem with me visiting, then could you not prevent me from doing so?”

The pale blue unicorn brought her left foreleg to her face, clearly stressed. Waypoint’s tension was turning into frustration; what was her problem? Why the sudden interrogation?

It took a few moments for her to look back up from her foreleg to respond. “Let me put this another way. Don’t you think you are wasting your time, coming down here?”

Waypoint titled his head, ears cocked sideways. “What do you mean?”

Her small pupils looked directly into his, staring him down. “What do you really get out of coming here the last few years? I understand coming back once after you grew up, but every year after that? If you aren’t interested in becoming a team member, then what are you really coming here for?”

Waypoint snorted, his residual anger still strong enough to be expressed openly. “That is not your concern. I come here, your team welcomes me with open hooves, and I leave a few days later. Is that not enough?”

“It is absolutely my concern, especially if it is pertaining to your safety-“

“What are you talking about?” Waypoint shot back, absolutely perplexed now. “Since when have you been concerned about my safety?”

Freezing Point straightened up. “The safety of everyone on-base is my responsibility.”

Waypoint’s head tilted even further in confusion, to the point of threatening to put him off balance. “Have I done anything particularly dangerous during my time here?”

“Well, no, but-“

“Then why bring it up? More importantly, what the hell do you want?” Waypoint almost yelled that reply, stomping his left foreleg into the snow.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she seemed to be having trouble forming words for a moment. Eventually she sighed and exhaled deeply, squeezing her eyes shut in irritation before opening them again and making eye contact with him. “Alright. Alright... As a researcher here, it’s my job to find out everything I can about the North Pole. That includes its reaction to you, Waypoint.”

Waypoint’s anger cooled down, returning to the depths from which it came. He returned to his default emotional neutrality, seeing that Freezing Point might finally stop being so confusing. His ears returned to their neutral position, and he sighed quietly. “Your team must have taken many notes on me by now. Is that not enough?”

“I…” For once, it was Freezing Point who seemed to be having trouble finding the right words. “We have. I have reviewed them, and that is what I wanted to speak to you about.”

Waypoint gestured his hoof towards her, keeping his ears pointed her way. That was enough of a sign for her to continue.

She took a step forward and looked left and right for a moment. After confirming that no one else was remaining outside, she continued. “This is not an easy thing for me to say. But, the notes taken on experiments relating to you point to a possibility that you are connected to the Pole in more than just your strange reactions to it, or how it relates to your past.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I have a hypothesis. That hypothesis is that you are connected to the North Pole in more than what we’ve seen.”

A shiver ran down Waypoint’s spine, and it wasn’t due to the cold. That made two ponies today who were getting WAY too close to touching on the truth. Thankfully, neither of them knew that, and he was going to make sure it stayed that way. Thus, he took a minute to mentally prepare his answer.

“Well?” Freezing Point prompted, seeming confused that he did not reply yet.

Okay, she has no clue she is right, and I know how to not accidentally reveal something. I think I know how I am going to reply. He stood up straight, and delivered his answer.

“That is an interesting hypothesis. In what ways do you think I am connected to the North Pole beyond what has been seen so far?” He replied evenly. Excellent. This answer provided no hints about what Waypoint knew, and put the onus on Freezing Point to drive the conversation.

“My best guess right now is that something is driving you to come back here besides reminiscing about your cutie mark. You do the experiment with the team every time you are down here, but beyond that you only stay for a day or two before leaving. You’ve been quiet about what else you want to be down here for, and I was hoping that you would care to elaborate on that.”

Waypoint shook his head slowly. “I am sorry Freezing Point, but visiting the base and the Pole are the only things I want to do while down here.”

“Nothing else that you can think of, even on a whim?” She replied, a slight desperate tone in her voice.

“Nothing else.”

Her face visibly fell from that response. He frowned. It hurt to see him make a pony sad, but it was a necessary evil in this case. “Well…I suppose all I can do is review today’s experiment notes and work with the team on this hypothesis. Thanks anyway, I suppose.” With that, she turned away, walking slowly back to the research building.

Waypoint watched her go, waiting for her to go back inside. Once she did, he let out a very audible sigh of relief. That was quite the stressful social encounter, and he was really getting tired of ponies trying to guess his motivations today. Thankfully, with the experiment over, hopefully the rest of today would be smooth sailing until nightfall.

He looked back up at the North Pole, still crackling with magic under the afternoon sun. His ears drooped, and his shoulders fell. It’s not like he wanted to lie to these ponies about his real reason for coming back every year, or his connection to the Pole. They really would not understand, how could they understand? This was something he could not explain, at least not without most likely being institutionalized.

Waypoint kicked the ground with his right hindleg in frustration, flinging a small mound of snow backwards. Can’t these ponies let him do his business in peace? It’s not like he was hurting anypony while he was here.

All of this, because of something that happened to him a decade ago. As loathe as he was to use the cliched term “one fateful day”, that was the best way to describe it.






Ten Years Ago


Two adult ponies, a male unicorn and a female pegasi, were conversing with a third adult pony about…something. Young Waypoint wavered and blinked, trying to keep himself from passing out on the spot. All he knew right now is that his parents had woken him up for a flight at the crack of dawn, hazing in and out of sleep on the ride over, and now standing out in the middle of a freezing cold runway while his parents and a pony he did not know about stuff he did not know either.

The goldenrod pegasus foal shivered, despite being wrapped from his withers to his stifle in thick winter clothes. Waypoint couldn’t follow this conversation well, and probably wouldn’t be able to even if he wasn’t currently shivering and half asleep. It was bitingly cold, he couldn’t stop himself from shivering, and his ears were constantly picking up the high-speed conversation he could not understand one word of. Needless to say, he was not having a good time right now.

Still though, he did not dare interrupt their conversation and insist they go; he learned recently that interrupting ponies when they are talking is rude. He could not just go back on the jet either, as his parents were insistent that he join them for this. He would make them unhappy if he went back inside. Thus, he’d have to wait for them to stop talking and start walking to the base. Waypoint started tapping his hooves. He always hated when he had to wait on other ponies, and unfortunately his mother liked to talk, and talk, and talk…

He looked down at the trail leading away from the airport, and supposedly to wherever they were supposed to go today. His ears perked up and his senses alerted as a new idea formed in his brain: he could just walk there now, and meet everypony there whenever they got there. It wasn’t the first time his parents let him walk places on his own, so odds are they wouldn’t be against it this time.

He tapped her on the shoulder and told her his plans. “Hey mom, I’m going to walk to the base. I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay honey, be safe and stick to the trail!” She replied and turned back to her conversation, but not before kissing him on the forehead.

With that, Waypoint perked up, and began his lone walk off the runway and to the base.

All the built-up stress he had from everything that had happened so far today was beginning to fade as he walked down the long path to the base. With only the howl of the wind to keep him company, he finally felt like he could relax. All he needed to do now was follow the trail.

Waypoint blinked, suddenly more alert than he was 5 minutes ago. The trail was rocky, yet he was standing in snow. Looking around, he realized he had stepped off the trail just now. Confused on what just happened, he got back on it, eyes staring at the ground to track it.

That’s when he noticed something very wrong: there was less trail than before. Snow had been blowing onto it thanks to the wind, and it was obfuscating portions as he walked. Now that he thought about it, the wind had been picking up ever since he started his trek, and it definitely did not seem like it was going to die down anytime soon.

Without even realizing it, Waypoint broke into a trot. He needed to get to the end of this trail sooner than later. The wind was going full force now, and he did not know exactly how much farther he had to go. He also had noticed that the trail was not a long straight between the runway and the base; he dimly recalled that he had made at least a few turns on his walk up until now.

Before he knew it, he felt more snow than rock beneath his hooves. His breathing rapidly picked up pace. The trail was 95% gone now, and there were no signs of the base anywhere in sight. He was looking left and right, desperately trying to reorient himself. The snow was blowing hard as ever, its force only being outdone by the pounding of his heart.

Ponies cannot survive without shelter for three hours. This random tidbit of knowledge shot up to the top of Waypoint’s brain. He must have read that in a book somewhere recently; he did not remember where due to all the (understandable) stress he was under right now. However, this fact shot adrenaline into the young pegasi’s body, him breathing rapidly and looking around frantically as a result. All he knew is that if he did not find the base in a very short period of time, he would likely die out here.

The trail was completely gone by now. Waypoint was standing on a mound of snow, blown over by the powerful winds. Even if he was not panicking currently, he had no idea how to figure out where he was or where to go. Furthermore, he left all his things with his parents at the runway. He had no supplies and no idea where to go.

There was one more thing he reminded from that book he read: what to do if lost. The book had said to stay in place and wait for ponies to retrace your steps and find you. Beyond that, he had no idea what he should do now, or if there even was anything he could do.

He was going to die.

Waypoint plopped his barrel down into the snow, covered his face with his forelegs, and whimpered. Odds are, he was going to die here. All alone, because he was so stupid as to go by himself on a path he didn’t know. Stupid! He should have waited for his parents, he should have not been so stupid, he should have-

Waypoint’s right ear perked up, swiveling towards the direction of something to the forward-right of him. This sudden event cut through his misery, replacing those emotions with both alertness and confusion. Was somepony out here?

He dug his face out from his forelegs and turned to look towards where his ear was pointing. All he saw was just another mound of snow. He frowned deeply. Did dying of hypothermia involve hallucinating things now? He was about to stuff his face back between his forelegs when his left ear picked up and swiveled towards something to his left. He turned to face it. He gave a startled gasp between chattering teeth.

A pony was standing there about 10 steps away, staring down at him with bright pupiless white eyes. She stood at least double the height of an average adult pony, her gaze focused straight down at the foal. Her whole body was colored dark black, so dark that it seemed like her body was like a light-absorbing void. In fact, light seemed to trace her dark form as a white outline. Her mane would reach far enough to run down to her loins, if it wasn’t currently flowing behind her of its own power. Her wings were folded at rest, and her horn was long enough to rival a princess’s.

She was an alicorn, but one nothing like either the former or current princesses.

Waypoint’s pupils shrunk, tensing up and focusing on her like she was a predator about to leap on him. This strange pony had said nothing, and made naught a sound when approaching Waypoint. She stood with an unnatural stillness, like a shadow that had come to life.

He shivered. This strange encounter almost made him forget that he was in very real danger of freezing to death. Thoughts of his lifeless body, covered in snow and never found, pierced his mind and injected despair. Amongst that despair, another thought came to him: this unknown pony had found him. She probably had a home, and a home meant shelter away from the cold. He gathered all his strength, and put forth his words.

“Please….please help me. I am lost.”

The alicorn’s ears folded, but she said nothing. Waypoint watched her for a few moments, but when no response came, he looked down at his hooves. Perhaps it was too much to hope.

“Well, thank you anyway…”

Both of his ears swiveled towards her, seemingly of their own power. He looked up, and his pupils shrunk to pinpricks in shock. She was within hugging distance, looking down at him with those same blank white eyes. How did he not hear her approach? Even with the strength of the wind, he surely should have heard the crunch of snow beneath her hooves, or the unfurling and flapping of wings had she flew to him instead, or even the telltale “poof” of magic from teleportation. Instead, she was just…here.

The alicorn slowly bent her forelegs and drooped her head down, her horn soon coming to rest on Waypoint’s forehead. The moment it did, it surged with electric blue magic, racing from the base to the tip of her horn, then flowing from the pegasi’s head down to running the length of his wings, all in the matter of two seconds. He felt a strange warmth as the magic shot over him, his shivering ceasing immediately. A strange feeling developed in his ears and wings; the best way he could describe is that there was a dull grip on them, a grip that threatened to pull him if it chose to.

“Follow.”

Waypoint jumped back several steps. The voice he heard seemed like it came from inside his own brain. It was a mare’s voice, one that sounded husky and older than any mare he ever heard, even his grandmother. He concluded that said voice must have come from the strange alicorn, but he had not seen her mouth move at all.

He blinked, and darted his head left and right. On that note, he did not see her at all around anymore. No hoofprints in the snow, or even latent magical energy hanging in the air from a recent teleport. Whatever ability she had to soundlessly teleport, she was very good at it.

Waypoint’s ears darted back and forth for a moment, before settling in one direction. He looked in that direction, only seeing a blank white field of snow. Although, he did feel that sense of “grip” on him…he closed his eyes and focused. It felt like…there was something in that direction. It felt like a magnet that, if he let it, would easily pull him towards it. Is this what he was supposed to “follow”?

He took a deep breath, and exhaled. The pony put one hoof towards the direction of the figurative magnet, then another, until he broke into a careful walk towards it.

He walked…and walked through the blank white snowy wasteland, through the strong winds and under the midday sun. Thankfully the snow was generally flat, except for the occasional hill.

Waypoint stepped over another hill of snow, and that’s when he spotted the base. He had never been so elated in his life to see some dull black buildings, but his smile grew and his ears shot up. He sprinted down the hill, accidentally tripping and flopping over to slide the rest of the distance down on his flank. It hardly did a damper to his spirits; instead he laughed clumsily and jumped up and continued on, slowing down to a trot as he got into the center of the base proper. Looking around, it seemed like no one was around yet. He continued on, the magical feeling still guiding him and growing stronger.

His trip ended with him coming up to the obelisk-shaped structure at the end of the base, magic crackling and spiraling around the spire. Was this the “North Pole” his parents had mentioned? Looking up at the tower, Waypoint felt…compelled, to it. The feeling in his ears and wings were at their strongest, the feeling of being pulled growing intensely, like two magnets of opposite polarities being held only a few inches away from each other.

Waypoint could not resist any longer. He stepped forward, and connected his right forehoof to the base of the Pole.

The effect was immediate. The magic spiraling the pole shot downwards and made contact with Waypoint, surging into him. He saw colors and shapes as a strong warmth flow through his entire body, like the magic was traveling through his veins. His wings involuntarily extended and folded of their own accord as much as they could under his heavy winter clothes. His flanks glowed a hot white, a loud “crack!” of power reverberating throughout the base.

When he finally came to his senses, Waypoint was lying on his back in the snow, several steps away from the Pole. He felt like he had been flung backwards. His flanks felt like they’d been singed.

Getting to his hooves, Waypoint shook his head and reoriented himself. Whatever happened there, he did not feel injured. On the contrary, he felt reinvigorated and warm, much unlike how he was earlier.

His ears swiveled behind him. This time, he was much less shocked when he turned around to once again see the pitch-black alicorn, who was now standing a few steps away in the middle of the base. Once more, her blank eyes were gazing right on him.

Waypoint awkwardly waved his right foreleg in greeting. “H-hello…”

Once again, she had said nothing. However, her ears turned slightly more towards him in response. This made him feel a little relieved; it seemed like she could understand him. Waypoint gulped, but continued on.

“T-thank you for helping me. You are very nice.”

“It is only right to help a foal in need.” The voice of an old mare emerged from inside Waypoint’s mind. He smiled awkwardly and nodded. He read once about unicorns who could communicate telepathically, with the right training. It probably would be foal’s play for an alicorn to do it.

“My name is Waypoint, by the way!” he said, after a moment of silence. “What’s your name?”

The alicorn slowly tilted her head. “I am sorry, Waypoint. I do not recall my name.”

Waypoint’s ears drooped upon hearing that. “That must be sad, not knowing your name. What would you like me to call you?”

“Hmm…put me into your mind as just a being of the North Pole. Just as the snow and the wind are parts of this section of the world, so too am I just a part of it.”

Now it was Waypoint’s turn to tilt his head, ears flopping over as he did so. “Calling you ‘part of the North Pole’ sounds kind of silly though…”

“You may refer to me however you wish.”

The pegasus foal mused for a moment. Being a somewhat avid reader, he had quite a few more words than most ponies to play around with. Some words would, for unknown reasons, be so memorable that he would use them as much as possible even for the flimsiest reasons. Some other words would just feel good for him to say, to the point where he would just blurt them out for no reason beyond just to say them.

As he thought, a few words he really liked lately came to mind: facet, aspect, demeanor. All of these words were similar to the word “part”, and sounded fancier than that simple word. Saying these words to himself under his breath, he thought about what the alicorn had said. She was part of the North Pole and the region it inhabited, and she had saved his life. She deserved a nice title.

And suddenly, it clicked to him.

“I know!” Waypoint yelled out abruptly, throwing his hooves in the air. “You are an aspect of the North Pole. Aspect of the North Pole…Aspect of the North! What do you think of that?”

Looking up at her eagerly, he almost missed the faint white line of a smile emerge from her muzzle. “Aspect of the North…this title pleases me.”

“Yay!” Waypoint cheered, then ran forward and hugged his forelegs. If the Aspect was surprised by this, she did not show it. She did not pull away or tell him to stop, granted.

However, a moment later her ears swiveled behind her, and back again. “I am sorry Waypoint, but I must leave soon.”

Waypoint stepped back from the hug, looking up at her. “How come?”

“Others are approaching soon, and it would be...untimely, for me to be seen. Please listen closely Waypoint, for I have three things to ask of you.”

He nodded eagerly. After saving his life, he would do anything for her.

“First, do not reveal my presence to any other pony. For reasons you would not understand, for now I must be…not known about, by other ponies. I will reveal myself when the time is right.”

Waypoint smiled a little, and brought his left forehoof up to his lips, mimicking a “shhh” motion.

“Second, return to the North Pole when you have become an adult. I have much to discuss with you, that I can not do so at this time.”

“I promise I will see you again, Aspect!”

“Third…survive, and prosper. Stay alive, no matter what.”

“Uhh…I was not planning on dying anytime soon, Aspect.”

The Aspect regarded him warmly, or rather as warm as her pitch-black features would allow. “Now, I must go. The other ponies approach. Be well, Waypoint.”

“Bye!” Waypoint made a waving motion with his right foreleg, smiling as he did so. As he waved, his foreleg crossed his vision for a fraction of a second; the very next moment, the Aspect had disappeared from view. Not sure what to do now, he plopped his butt into the snow, awaiting whoever was arriving to the base.

It did not take long until the mystery ponies arrived: it was his parents, and the researcher they had been talking to. They greeted Waypoint, his mother running up to hug him and rambling on about they briefly got turned around due to the trail being snowed over and being thankful he did not get lost on the way to the base. Waypoint just shrugged and said he did not have any problems, making sure not to mention anything about the Aspect or his near-death experience getting lost.

It wouldn’t be until everyone was settled in the sleeping quarters and removing their winter clothes for the night, that Waypoint noticed that he got his cutie mark. It was a red map marker symbol with a black dot, and Waypoint was sure it had to do with the feeling he had that guided him to the North Pole. After doing a few tests that night and confirming with a compass, he found that he could always know what direction north was, just from the feeling in his ears and wings. He would later tell his parents that he must have developed a strong sense of direction from his walk that day, which they would never know was only partially the truth.


Present Day


“You’re still out here, Waypoint?”

Waypoint blinked and shook his head, then looked over to see that Boiling Point had come up to him while he was reminiscing. A thin blanket of snow had fallen on him, which he promptly shook off. Huh. He must have been standing out there for at least half an hour.

“Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts just now.”

Boiling Point’s face went into (what Waypoint assumed to be) a confused look, but he quickly reverted into his earlier cheery demeanor. “Well, I was going to ask if you’d like to join us in the cafeteria building for lunch. We got a shipment of hayburgers yesterday, and Deep Devotion is itching to grill some.”

Waypoint gave a small smile. Hayburgers were one of his favorite foods. “I would like that.”





As stealthy as he could, Waypoint slowly opened the door halfway, shimmied his body between the door and the wall, and shut the door to the sleeping quarters. The full moon hung in the clear night sky, its reflected light assisting the Pole’s magic in illuminating the base. As expected, the temperature dropped several degrees more below freezing than earlier. Thankfully, the wind blew calmly tonight as well. Beyond the ambient crackling of Pole magic, the base held a deathly quiet.

Waypoint stood on the platform just outside the door, looking at the Pole and contemplating for a moment. He had switched out his winter jacket for a long magenta scarf tied around his neck. Waypoint chose this scarf for a few reasons: like his jacket, it had a warming spell cast on it to keep him toasty for the short time he would be out tonight. More importantly, it freed up use of his wings, which he would need in a moment. Most importantly, it was a lot easier to put on than his jacket.

He spread his wings and took flight, pushing himself upwards to clear the stairs’ guard rail before he flew toward the Pole as quietly as he could. He figured that playing “floor is lava” with the ground would be best to avoid waking up any of the research ponies. He needed to be alone for this.

Waypoint flew from the sleeping quarters to the base of the pole in a matter of seconds, making each wing flap as deliberate and slow as he could. Reaching his right foreleg below him and angling downward, he made the slowest touchdown of his young life just a few steps away from the Pole. He looked down at his hooves, and spoke quietly.

“Aspect, I have returned.”

As expected, his ears swiveled rapidly. He felt like they wanted to point directly above him. He rose his head towards the feeling, looking straight above him.

The Aspect of the North stood at the top of the Pole, all but her left foreleg balanced on the tip. Her wings were open and spread eagle, the wind around the Pole kicking up like it was being pulled towards said wings. Her mane flowed strongly behind her, and she was once more staring straight down at Waypoint with pupiless white eyes. Her familiar husky voice echoed in his mind.

“Fly with me, Waypoint.”

Nodding, Waypoint spread his wings and hovered a few meters above the snow, watching her. She leaned forward and pushed herself off the Pole, silently diving for a split second before righting herself in the air and stopped alongside the pegasus. After a moment of hovering (and allowing Waypoint’s brain to catch up with that impossibly agile maneuver), she flew onward towards the entrance of the base, with Waypoint following by her side. This was the usual ritual for them.

Just like last year, they flew over the empty fields of snow far away from the base, so they could speak uninterrupted. Unlike last year however, Waypoint felt tense about the impending conversation. He knew the Aspect would ask him the usual questions, but he did not feel like he had the usual answers. Maybe it was due to the confrontation with Freezing Point today, but Waypoint felt on edge. Not only was she getting close to the truth, but their conversation made him realize that he had a few questions of his own for the Aspect. He really hoped that she would answer them.

“How has your life been over the last year?” The question came from the Aspect, speaking without mouth moving or even looking towards him.

“The same as usual, I suppose.” Waypoint replied dully, keeping his face forward, his ears faltering. “I’m still doing the apprenticeship with my mom’s company. It involves working with various magical artifacts they got contracted to research, so part of my studies involves studying up on those artifacts and even tinkering with them a little bit. It’s hard work, but it’s going okay I think.”

“This is pleasing to hear.” The voice in his head replied. “However, I sense displeasure from you. Are you feeling malaise about this?”

“I truly cannot hide anything from you, can I?” He chuckled dryly. “I feel conflicted about it.”

The Aspect’s right ear turned towards him, but she said nothing. Thankfully, Waypoint knew this non-response meant that he was being given room to elaborate.

“I don’t feel like I should feel bad about it, yeah? It’s honest work, it lets me solve problems, I don’t need to talk to random ponies very much for it. It should be everything I would want in a job.”

“But?” The Aspect’s voice gently encouraged him.

“But…” Waypoint hung his head low, thinking for a few seconds about what the right words would be to express his thoughts. “But, I feel like my life is being chosen for me.”

“In what matter?”

“In the matter that, just like many other things in my life, it’s what my mom wants…She chose every school I went to, what sports I did (even though I didn’t much like sports, he mumbled under his breath), the trips we went on, even the other ponies I hung out with!” Waypoint took a quick breath. It was rare that he got angry enough to rant, but the circumstances aligned themselves today so he continued. “And now, this apprenticeship? Exactly what she wants; the whole family working in the company she controls. She’s made that abundantly clear, every time she just goes on a spiel of ‘oh I’m so happy our family is all working together!’. She’s getting everything she wants, but has she ever stopped to ask what I might want out of, you know, my own life?”

Waypoint snorted, the exhaled breath visible in the cold winter air. He was breathing heavily, feeling like he was about to blow a fuse in his brain. Clearly that had been building up internally for the last year, he thought glumly. He took a moment to recenter himself, and continued.

“I apologize for that outburst. To sum it up: I feel like everything in my life is pre-made, like fate. I’m a pony who is being shaped by the whims of others.”

“What would you desire, Waypoint?” The voice echoed in his head.

“I don’t really know…that’s kind of the sick part of this situation, now that I think about it.” He chuckled darkly. “I’ve been at the whims of other ponies for so long, that I hardly know what it’s like to not be.”

Both of the alicorn’s ears turned towards Waypoint now. “Other ponies…is there somepony besides your mother whom you feel controls you?”

Waypoint stayed silent for a few moments. He could just say it was a slip of the tongue, and he meant it metaphorically. However, experience told him that he was hardly a good liar. Plus, if he wanted the answers that he sought, perhaps he needed to be blunt and to the point. Waypoint nodded to himself. He was good at that.

“Well…yes.”

“Who is it?”

Waypoint sighed, and mentally steeled himself. Here we go.

“It’s you, Aspect.”

The Aspect immediately turned her head to look at Waypoint. It was next to impossible to tell her expression thanks to her features (or lack thereof), but he imagined it was likely surprise and disgust on her face.

“Why do you say this, Waypoint?”

He turned his head to look her in the eyes. Cat’s out of the bag now, so he may as well explain himself.

“I’ve been thinking about this, Aspect. You saved my life a decade ago, and wanted me to come back. You said you had ‘much to discuss with me’, yet you have not done so. You always told me ‘once you grow more, you will be ready’. Now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that you want something from me.”

The alicorn looked away from Waypoint, and he swore he saw her eyes narrow.

Unfettered, he continued. “Look, I’m extremely grateful that you saved my life. I absolutely would have frozen to death in the middle of nowhere had you not shown up. But…” He sighed heavily. “My reason for returning here is because you asked me to. My cutie mark is by your power. My life has changed because of you. Hopefully, you understand why I may feel subjected to you.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the air for a few moments, save for the quiet flapping of the duo’s wings. Waypoint’s gut twisted. Did he go too far? Was she about to scream at him? Thankfully, her voice emerged, cutting through his worries.

“Do you desire to cease contact with me?”

Waypoint’s eyebrows shot up. “No! That’s not what I want at all. I…kind of like this tradition, of seeing you every year. I just…I just want some answers. That’s all.”

The Aspect came to a sudden stop, and landed on a small mound of snow below them. With a gentle movement of her left foreleg, she guided Waypoint to land beside her, which he did.

“I understand your misgivings, and I apologize for withholding information. I will reveal that I did not do so out of malice. You recall that I wish for you to continue to grow, yes?”

Waypoint nodded, unsure of where this was going.

“A pony must learn the alphabet before it can learn words, and it must learn words before it can speak coherent sentences. To ask a foal to speak like an adult is madness.”

Something clicked in Waypoint’s brain. “Oh! So, you are saying that I need to know certain things, before I understand what you have to tell me?”

A small smile appeared on her face. “Indeed. You still have much growing to do.”

Waypoint’s ears drooped a bit. “That is true…”

“Fret not, Waypoint. Growth is a lifelong process. From what you have told me, you grow a little bit more in the time between our visits.”

He smiled a little bit at hearing that.

“However” her voice continued, “you mentioned something of interest to me. You said that your mother’s business involves magical artifacts?”

Cocking his head, Waypoint grunted an affirmative.

“I do wonder…there is a crystal, supposedly lost many decades ago. I no longer recall the shape and size of it, but it is in the same color as my magic. I believe it is a strong magical energy source, and that it originates from the North Pole somehow. I do not recall why any more, but I believe that has some connection to me. Have you come across an artifact like this?”

Waypoint dug into his memories, trying to think if he had seen a crystal that came close to that description. Unfortunately, he came up short, and shook his head. “I don’t think so. My mom’s company works with a lot of artifacts, so I can go through the records and see what comes up. Being the owner’s son, I have a lot of privileges there.” He stood up straight for a moment, imitating an authority figure, before giggling to himself.

“I thank you deeply, Waypoint. I apologize that I can not give a better description, but I have forgotten much while in this form.”

The pegasus frowned. “Yeah…I think you mentioned two or three years ago that you were not always this phantom of the North Pole, right?”

She nodded. “That is correct. I only have dim memories in my possession. The artifact I have just mentioned is one of them, and I believe it to be tied to me for an unknown reason.”

Waypoint’s frustration alleviated and curiosity sated, he walked over to the Aspect and hugged into her forelegs. “Thank you for answering my questions, and I apologize for being confrontative with you.”

“There is no need to apologize, Waypoint. Your feelings of uncertainty are understandable. On that subject matter, I have one more thing to discuss with you.”

Looking up from his position, his eyes met hers. “What is it?”

Surprisingly, she looked away. “I have vague memories of being a teacher to ponies in the past. I do not recall who I mentored, but I recall deriving great pleasure from it. After our first conversation…something came to me. A desire to be a mentor.”

The Aspect turned her head again, now looking Waypoint dead in the eyes. “I wish to mentor you Waypoint, on how to become your own pony, to stand on your own four legs and find your place in the world. Would you accept this offer, and give me the pleasure of being a teacher once more?”

His mind blanked. All he could feel right now was surprise. He definitely did not expect this, and he was not sure how to respond.

“Please take as much time as you need on this question. If you wish to say no, then I will not be offended.”

The pegasus swallowed, thoughts finally catching up to him. He…was not against the idea. The Aspect seemed to be forthcoming about what she said and could not say. Furthermore, so far all the actions she had taken had only been beneficial for him. Lastly, he already admitted that he felt like he was being driven by the whims of others; having a guide to help him become his own pony appealed greatly to him.

He could trust the Aspect of the North.

He gave her the best smile he could muster. “I accept. I will be your student. What would you have me do?”





Waypoint wiggled under his bedsheets, an unremovable smile on his face. It was rare that he felt so fulfilled from a trip to the North Pole. But with a much clearer idea of what the Aspect wanted of him, as well as feeling that he had a pony truly on his side in the world, his worries seemed a lot more resolvable than they did just a day ago.

Unlike his previous visits, Waypoint chose to depart from the Equestrian Arctic Research Base a day earlier than he usually did. Normally he would stick around and watch the research ponies do a day of their job, and do the experiment again if they wanted to see it. Instead, he had returned to the jet, letting Crash Dummy know that he had done everything he came for and they could go home.

The research team was surprised by his early departure, Freezing Point the most so. He gave them some brief goodbyes and thanked them for their hospitality, and she replied that he seemed to have more pep in his step than when he got there. He remembered chuckling and saying he had no idea what she was talking about.

Before he took his in-flight nap, Waypoint picked up his cell phone from the endtable, and reviewed some notes he took that morning in his Notes app. He typed up the important tidbits of conversation he had with the Aspect before returning to the base last night, which included a few tips on how to make his life his own, as well as a few goals she asked him to work towards that would assist with that. He scrolled to the “goals” note he made for himself in the app, and read them again.

1.       Look for the artifact that SHE mentioned.

2.       Continue the apprenticeship, but only on your terms.

3.       Make some friends.