Ice-cold winds were blowing through Moonshines mane, and he felt the frost under his skin as he continued his journey up to the top of the mountain, where the nurse back in the village said the artifact would wait for him. At least he hoped that the tale contained a small bit of truth. Else his journey would be worthless.
He shook of the thought of doubt, it has to be true. He tried to not think about it anymore, and took step after step through the snow. He blinked as a snowflake dropped into his eye and looked up into the sky. Snowflakes started to fall down. He knew that this could possibly the first signs of a storm, but he decided not to seek shelter and continued to climb up the mountain.
Soon after the ground became very steep, sometimes too steep to walk normally, so he had to use his magic to levitate himself across those areas. But it still slowed him down, and even when he didn’t have a set time limit, he felt somehow compelled to hurry up and he got annoyed by those spots since they slowed him down significantly. He had to find a way to get up there faster, but he couldn’t think of any.
His coat was covered with frost as the snow began to fall. Icy winds blew the snowflakes in his face, and he could feel the chill in his bones. Thick flakes covered his mane and dyed it in white. Although he couldn’t see even a hoof ahead, not to talk about seeing where he stepped, he carried on, still feeling compelled not to stop there because of the snow, even if he felt the voice of reason in his mind, which whispered that he should seek shelter now, before the snowfall gets worse.
And he ignored it. He kept on walking, even if he walked through a grown snowstorm now. The winds pulled at his coat and mane, everything covered in snow and ice. He had to squint his eyes to actually see a little, but ahead of him was only white. Occasionally he took a step too far and managed to jump back before he fell down the mountainside. He couldn’t even see his hooves in the snow, so it was a hard to guess how deep he would fall if he didn’t manage to jump back in time. Even at this time, he just shrugged and kept on walking.
The wind caused serious problems already, pulling at his clothes with icy talons. If he had any reason left, he should have turned back and went back to the town or should be seeking for shelter now. He did neither. He kept on walking; he felt his goal close, like he had felt often when he was on journeys for customers.
Suddenly his thoughts travelled to Cloudfeather, back in the town’s hospital. He didn’t know why he could think of her in a situation like this, in a snowstorm and close to reaching the goal of his journey. Moonshine couldn’t help himself but to think of the words of the nurse about that ‘frozen starlight’. He shook his head, feeling a tingling on his face as the ice crystals from his mane sprayed over his face. This wasn’t the time for that!
He kept o walking until he felt the ground under his hooves loosen. He let out a scream as he crashed against the mountain beneath him and slid downwards, feeling how the rocks were breaking his bones and maltreated his skin and flesh. When the fall stopped, he hardly breathed. He felt the snowflakes gathering on his side, as he was lying in the snow.
He felt like this was the last of his journeys, as he saw a shadow above him. His vision was blurred and he couldn’t recognize the shape of it, but it didn’t even matter as his consciousness slipped away and his vision went black as the night. The last thing he remembered was the icy grasp of the chill and frost around him. Then, there was nothing else than darkness.
When he came back to his senses, Moonshine felt warmth spreading through his body. He didn’t open his eyes, but he could hear the crackling of flames and some steps around him. He opened his eyes and looked around, but he couldn’t see anything besides a campfire and the walls of the cave he was in. As his eyes fell upon his side, he saw that it has fully healed.
He got up onto his hooves and looked around another time in the cave. He sighed and stepped outside. The snowstorm was gone, the sun shone down on the mountainside. He lifted his head to the top of the mountain. It was covered in fog, but he somehow felt that it wouldn’t be too far to the top now, so he started to walk.
A half an hour later he reached the top und almost fell down. What looked like a tiny needle from the town was actually a small crater. In the mid he could see something that appeared to be an altar, and on top of it was an orb. The orb seemed to be white, and white specters were floating around it. Moonshine couldn’t tell if the specters were emitted from the orb or if they were created by the fog around.
He cautiously walked towards the orb, feeling warmer the closer he got. One of the specters parted from the others and went into the direction from where the unicorn came. As it almost close enough that he could touch it with his hoof, it took a form of an unicorn – except for the face, as it was lacking any facial features as eyes or a mouth. And still it ‘spoke’ to him.
The voice of the unicorn-specter was only a whisper in the wind, yet Moonshine could understand every single word of it: “What do you want? Do you prefer personal gain or a social life? The choice is yours to be made …” Then it disappeared into thin air.
The other specters around the orb also parted from it, each taking another shape, leaving the orb lying on the altar all alone. As Moonshine walked towards it, it began to glow with more intensity the closer he went to it. As he stood before the altar, he felt an incredible heat, and the orb almost blinded him. He longed for it, and in the moment his hoof touched the surface of the orb, it emitted a blinding flash.
The next moment he could see anything, he was back in Skygate again, in the middle of the town square. It was unusual that it was empty and nopony was there, but he knew where he was going. He headed for the train station, but as he was almost there, he turned back and walked through the small streets and sideways of the town.
Until he found himself in front of the hospital. As he was standing in front of it, he took a deep breath and looked at the gentle glowing orb in his coat pocket. It somehow assured him that his decision was the right one. Then he stepped through the door and went to the intensive care, into the direction where he guessed Cloudfeather would be.
On his way he didn’t meet a single pony, but he knew that he was going the right way. And he knew that it was the right room when he opened the door. He walked through the empty beds until he stopped at the last. The clipboard read Cloudfeather. He pulled out the orb, not knowing what to do now. Seemingly, the orb knew what it had to do; it began to glow and slowly melting down in his hooves.
The goo almost instantly vanished into the specters he saw before, swirling around the body of his friend, before they disappeared through the walls of the room. Moonshine thought he could hear small sighs of relief, as if those specters were imprisoned for a long time. The last one materialized before him for a short moment to speak to him.
“Only an act of selflessness could set us free … thank you for releasing us …” And then it followed the previous ones, leaving him alone with Cloudfeather. After he while, she opened his eyes, and he felt a relief like he never felt before, and, for the first time in his life, he felt it impossible to speak. Hu just stood there and watched Cloudfeather waking up. After she did, she looked at him, as if she knew what he had done. And then she pressed her lips onto his.
In another house in Skygate, a certain pony stood at the window, watching the specters flying through the sky and vanishing into starlight again. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to do this, but she knew exactly who could do a thing like this, and what was necessary to achieve it. She smiled and turned away, slowly fading away until nothing in the room was left but old furniture and dust.
As the night fell down and the stars were sparkling in the velvety, blue sky, two ponies, a pegasus and an unicorn left the town, side by side. They came as friends, and left as a couple.