Unmarked

by Croswynd

Chapter 5: Not So Novel

Chapter 5: Not So Novel

Novell’s jaw dropped as he stared at the new arrival, all thought of admonishing the distraction forgotten as he stared at the unicorn’s blank flank. He’s...just like me, the pegasus thought, his mind working in overdrive and still going nowhere. It felt like his brain was spinning its wheels, none of the gears catching to make sense of the revelation.

“Howdy there, traveller,” Chipper greeted the teal pony, drawing those piercing eyes away from the pegasus.

“Good evening,” the pony replied in a warm, honeyed voice, a sharp contrast to his appearance. Without another word, the unicorn moved forward to the counter, placing a few bits on the wood in front of the astonished innkeeper.

“Uh, uh,” Miss Hops said, her eyes drawn to the blank flank. Novell looked over to see Chipper now staring at it, too, his eyebrows raising slightly in surprise. The teal unicorn glanced over at the Professor and bleary orange pegasus, dismissing them with a polite nod.

Recovering quickly, the owner of the establishment cleared her throat. “Wha- what would ye like, friend?”

“Iszzit my imagination or dozzat pony have no cutie merk,” Whisper blurted out in a slur, pointing out the obvious. Everypony in the room drew in an audible breath, but the mare didn’t seem to notice as she waved at Novell, a lazy smile on her face. “Hey, blank flank, you’ve...gotta shee this unicorn. He’sh like you!”

All eyes shifted to the pale pegasus then, including those of the mysterious stranger. Of course, that was the moment when his saddlebags decided to fall down, revealing his own lack of any special talent. Chipper furrowed his brows and then backed away slowly toward his wife.

“What in the hay’s goin’ on here?” the co-proprietor pony asked, his horn glowing subtly in readiness to fight.

Novell panicked, his mind still locked in a stuttered state. He glanced around the room, looking to Professor Search in silent support. The unicorn looked back at him and nodded, ready to lend his magical talents as his horn glowed in response. However, before anything untoward could happen, the honeyed voice of the stranger filled the air.

“Forgive me for my entrance, everything. I realize now that my appearance can be quite startling, especially considering there happens to be another thing here with the same affliction. However, I am not here to fight. I am simply seeking a place to spend the night.” the piercing slate eyes stared at the ponies around the room, Novell furrowing his forehead at his strange way of speaking. “If you wish me gone, however, I will acquiesce.”

Shaking his head in bewilderment, Chipper lowered his guard as the glow slowly faded from the horn. “Ya didn’t deserve that kind of treatment, traveller. Ah’m just surprised, is all. One pony without a cutie mark is odd enough, but two...”

“I should have told you,” the pale pegasus started, looking down at the ground in consternation. Way to go, Novell, you managed to make even more ponies hate you just by showing them your stupid curse.

“No, it’s fine, lad. You bein’ different ain’t yer fault,” Chipper replied, blowing out a breath and glancing at the other pony. “Y’all are free to stay.”

“They’re unnatural,” a voice shouted from the corner of the room where the four earth ponies resided. Everypony in the tavern shifted their attention to the source of the claim, aside from Whisper, who picked that moment to pass out on the counter. Three of group were staring at the ground in uncertainty, nervously glancing up at both untalented ponies before returning their gaze to the floor.

The pony who had spoken stepped forward, pointing at Novell angrily. “There ain’t nothin’ good that can come from a pony with no talent. For all’s we know, it’ll spread, seein’ as how there’s two ponies here with nothin’ on their flanks! I ain’t stayin’ here a minute longer, even with a blizzard outside! I don’t wanna go and catch this...this curse!”

Novell flinched as the pony spat at the floor in front of him, the chilling blizzard caressing his coat as all four of them filed out. One of the ponies cringed away from the challenging stare the teal unicorn was giving him, seemingly unaffected by the verbal abuse. As the last pony disappeared into the snow, the door slammed shut with a thudding finality. In the wake of their exit, the only sounds in the room were coming from the guttering of the flames and the rambunctious snore from the passed out mare.

A hollow feeling started in the young pegasus’ chest, his vision blurring as his eyes filled with stinging tears. Gritting his teeth in an effort not to break down in front of everypony, he turned toward the stairs and galloped up them, choked sobs issuing from his mouth. Why am I crying? he thought as he ran, one part of his mind clear and examining his reaction with a cold impartiality. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve been hated.

With barely controlled melancholy welling up against the bulwark he had created against the world, Novell opened the door to the room the innkeep had issued him, the slight sheen on the golden ‘3’ standing out as a blurry light on the dark wood. The welcome sense of solitude came as he slammed the door shut, what felt like a constriction in his throat falling away as the tears ran down his muzzle. The howl of the wind was a wicked counterpoint to the sorrow in his soul.

Why do you cry?

Novell looked up from his hooves, glancing around the room to pinpoint where he heard the question from. A single flame guttered in a lamp on a stool nearby, burning cheerily against the darkness. His rush of tears halted for the moment as he responded audibly. “Because everypony hates me, no matter what I do. All because of this stupid talent I’m supposed to have that I can’t ever find.”

And this bothers you?

“Of course it does,” the pegasus replied bitterly, wiping his runny nose with a hoof.

Why?

Novell blinked at the query, his sobs subsiding into sniffles as he thought about it. “I don’t like being hated. I just want to be able to trot down a street without ponies looking at me like I’m a disease.”

Other things are not you - why should what things think matter?

“Well, I....” he trailed off, not sure how to answer the question. Why did he care what other ponies thought of him? None of them were ever going to see anything but a worthless waste of space anyway, so why did it matter? The questions gnawed at him, his thoughts seeming to wind in a circle without end. Fortunately, a change in his surroundings roused him from the infinite loop.

The pegasus looked up as a glow suffused the room, the unicorn from earlier appearing in front of him - or at least, the head of the pony. Novell’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the pony’s neck sticking through the wall, quickly followed by a vaporous hoof. A few seconds later, the strange unicorn was completely in the room, transparent enough to see through to the wood behind him.

Novell backed up, fear knotting his stomach as he glanced at the door, now behind the spectral image of the teal pony. He considered calling for the Professor, but before he could open his mouth to call for help, the unicorn coalesced into solidity once more. He was caught by the gaze in the intruder’s face, curiosity rather than ill intent reflected there. They stood staring at each other for a moment before the pegasus’ own curious nature overwhelmed his fear.

“Are you...a ghost?” he squeaked, his voice still weak from sobbing. The thought didn’t bother him as much as he thought it should. Acting as if he had heard the pegasus thinking, the unicorn tilted his head to the side, the long, pale mane hardly moving as he moved. After a moment of silent deliberation, the pony replied in his smooth voice, more vibrant as it resonated in his mind.

No.

Novell blinked, moving forward slowly to touch the other with a hoof. To his surprise, he felt resistance. The unicorn felt like any other pony would. The unicorn looked down at the hoof and then responded in kind, pressing his own into the pegasus’ shoulder. The innocuous action brought a smile to the alabaster pony’s face, mirth bubbling inside his chest to replace the hollow melancholy.

“A strange custom for a thing,” the unicorn noted, speaking for the first time since he had strangely entered the room and returning his foreleg to the ground. “I have been away for quite some time if this is how things greet one another.”

“It’s not a greeting. I was just...wondering if you were telling the truth,” the pegasus replied slowly, unsure of the conversation. “About you being a ghost, I mean.”

“I have no reason to lie. Why would you assume that I would?”

The pegasus ruffled his wings uncomfortably at the question, glancing toward the bed. “Well, uhm, I’ve never seen a pony come through a wall before. I didn’t think there was a spell for that.”

“I see. You would have preferred I come through the door, like before?”

“I don’t know,” Novell sighed, rubbing a hoof against his head and sitting on his hindquarters. “Why are you here?”

The pony copied his actions, tilting his head the opposite way as before. “I heard sorrow.”

“You mean you heard me crying, from downstairs?” the pegasus wondered, taken aback. He hadn’t realized his voice was loud enough to reach the lower level. At least Whisper isn’t awake to laugh at me crying, he thought wryly. I’d never hear the end of it, then.

“Perhaps it would be better to say that I felt sorrow,” the unicorn explained in a softer tone of voice. “A tolling of discordant bells radiates from you and resonates within me. I was curious as to what would cause a thing to feel this way.”

“Uhm, okay,” Novell responded, not entirely sure what the pony was talking about. He decided to change tack. “What’s your name?”

The teal pony looked into his eyes, suddenly intense and glittering with some inner light. A moment later, he lifted a hoof in front of his face and stared at it, his horn glowing in the dully lit room. A swirl of energy appeared in the same color as the pony’s body just above the hoof, his expression changing to one of deep thought.

“I have never had a name. A thing does not need such in the mountains. It is simply enough to call one ‘thing’. The word is a catch all term that serves the purpose for addressing others.” The energy above the pony’s hoof flared briefly before returning to its former shade. “Still, I have thought of a label for myself, as an exercise in freedom. If I were to be called, I would be Pensive Coalescence.”

“Pensive, then,” the pegasus replied after a few moments of deliberation, suddenly feeling an attachment to the other pony despite how strange the unicorn was. He held out a foreleg, continuing, “My name’s-.”

“Novell,” the unicorn interrupted, placing his hoof on the pegasus’ own and shaking, the magical light fading away. Novell opened his mouth to ask how the pony knew his name already when Pensive went on. “This is more the greeting I expected. I am glad to see it has not changed. It is less strange than your earlier action.”

“How did you know that?”

The unicorn looked at him strangely, confusion in his eyes. “Hoofshakes have been around for a very long time, Novell.”

“No, no, I meant my name. How did you know my name?”

“You thought it,” the pony replied straight faced, as if it were the most obvious thing in Equestria. Pensive’s ears twitched and he looked to the side at something beyond Novell’s ken. “I should be going - your friends will be coming up soon. Good night, Novell. We will talk more in the morning.”

Before the pegasus could open his mouth to reply, the unicorn vanished into thin air. A second later, the sound of hooves came to his attention outside his door. With a creak, it opened, the Professor’s head peeking in and a concerned expression on his face.

“Are you alright, lad?”

Novell furrowed his brow, staring at the spot where the other unicorn had vanished. He had so many questions spinning through his mind, so much he wanted to know. Suddenly, a heavy weight settled on his eyes, his exhaustion from the day’s exertions catching up with him. The pegasus raised his head wearily in the Professor’s direction.

“I’m fine,” he said simply, picking himself off the floor and moving to crawl into the bed supplied for him in the corner of the room furthest from the door. The window cast a brilliant pale radiance as the moon shone through the trees and around the looming mountains. He glanced up, surprised to see the blizzard had died down, clouds no longer coating the entire sky like a heavy fog.

“I can’t excuse those ruffians downstairs,” Professor Search began, his voice rising slightly in outrage, but Novell held up a hoof, diverting his attention away from the outside.

“It’s okay, Professor. I’m...used to it,” he replied bitterly, the question of why their opinions mattered floating in his mind’s eye. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Well, of course it d-, ah, it does matter, my boy. Reacting to how people treat you isn’t something a pony can just turn off. It’s only natural you might feel grief or bitterness, but I urge you not to give in to those feelings. I know only too well how turning away from your true ideals can eat at you.” Novell felt a hoof on his shoulder, but he shrugged it away. The unicorn continued in a more sorrowful tone. “You have friends, Novell, myself among them, who would never dream to hurt you. Always remember we’re here, if you need us.”

With two ideals warring in his head, the pegasus closed his eyes in consternation, wishing everything would just go away. Fortunately, a few moments after he crawled under the sheets, unconsciousness blissfully claimed him.

*****

“Come on, Novell, up an at ‘em!”

The pegasus groaned against the sound of a voice so close to him, using his hooves to shutter his ears against the disturbance. His head was fuzzy with half formed thoughts and memories shuffling through his awakening brain. Right then, he wanted nothing more than to return to the peaceful state of non-being he had experienced unconscious. Despite his wishes, the voice continued to grate against his ears.

“Enough sleep, lad! We’ve got to get an early day behind us if we’re to make Ponyville by tonight. Breakfast is being served by Miss Hops downstairs, so I imagine you’ll want to eat before we start on the road again. As a pegasus, you really do need quite a few calories in order to do anything strenuous.”

“Uuughh,” Novell replied incoherently, a hoof rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He opened them to see the Professor’s face looking concernedly at him, no trace of tiredness in the unicorn’s expression. An impolite thought ghosted across his mind at his friend, remembering Professor Search had worked even harder than the rest of them yesterday and was still completely fine.

Blinking and shaking his mane, the Professor continued. “Ah, well then, I see you’re awake. Now I have to find out if that mare is in any shape to continue on the journey. Hmmph, even if not, I have a few spells to cure hangovers. Ah, brings back memories of my time in Uni...”

Moving with purpose while still seeming to be completely absorbed in his thoughts, the unicorn left the room, a hammering sounding from next door. “Whisper! Wake up, my dear. We’ve a long road ahead of us today!”

“Lemme alone,” the response came back, groggy if still high in volume. Novell grinned at that, levering himself sleepily out of his own bed. Even though he felt bad from the night before, he didn’t even want to imagine how the cream-soda colored mare felt.

Yawning and stretching his wings in his now daily routine, the young pegasus winced against the twinge in the appendage. At least it isn’t hurting like it was before, Novell thought as he watched his damaged wing shift through the motions. The white feathers were bright and vibrant, even if he wasn’t feeling the same way - the redness and swelling looked to be almost entirely gone. Maybe I’ll be able to fly tomorrow.

That thought made him smile again, humming under his breath as he shook his mane to clear his head. When he looked in the mirror hanging on the wall, he noticed it was curling into horns now and again. Ruefully trying to regulate his hair into something resembling civilized style, the pegasus walked out of the room just in time for Whisper to look out of her door.

“Ugh, it’s morning, isn’t it?” she questioned him, yawning and bringing a hoof to her mouth. Aside from the slight bags on her eyes, she seemed perfectly fine. “I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes. Swirley just needs to take care of a few things.”

Novell stared at her for a few moments, her jade eyes hardening into agates as the seconds went by. “Well, what are you lookin’ at, blank flank?”

“You’re not sick?” he asked, scratching his mane with one hoof.

Whisper rolled her eyes and walked back into her room, her voice trailing behind her. “Of course not, now go away. And save me some breakfast, or I’ll pound you into the ground.”

Novell shook his head in bemusement, turning and wandering downstairs. The steps creaked as he strode down them, the wood hard and springy beneath his hooves. When he reached the ground floor, he looked around for the pony he had met last night, noticing the tavern was empty save for Professor Search stuffing his face with eggs and asparagus. As he moseyed over to the unicorn, he heard humming coming from behind the counter where the Professor ate. A moment later, Miss Hops came into view, an apron tied around her front and her horn glowing softly as she prepared a dozen things in her kitchen at once.

Eggs cooked on a frying pan over a wood burning stove, sizzling spectacularly as she scrambled them with a wooden spoon. A slice of butter fell from above the pan, the rest of the stick and the knife that cut it hanging in mid air. Next to the frying pan, a big cast iron pot was filled with what Novell assumed was more asparagus, judging by the smell. However, there was a stronger smell of honey and alcohol mixing in with it all into a heady combination that seemed to suffuse the whole area.

“Mornin’, dearie,” the innkeeper cheerily greeted the pegasus as he took his seat at the bar. A plate magically whisked in front of him, a healthy measure of eggs shuffled off the frying pan, and a few stalks of cooked asparagus to round it off. “Would ya care for some orange juice?”

“Uhm, please,” Novell replied shyly, looking down at the plate instead of meeting her eyes. He didn’t know where he stood with her, especially with the way he had reacted last night.

A ‘tsking’ sound from in front of him caught his attention, his ear twitching as the matronly unicorn spoke. “Now, now, like Chipper said, there ain’t nothin’ wrong with bein’ different, dearie. Just surprised us, is all. Those ol’ trappers are just superstitious about things. They didn’t mean nothin’ by it. Now, don’t worry about all that, because you can’t eat a hearty meal with a frown on your face. I’ll grab some orange juice. A little citrus is enough to brighten anypony’s day!”

With her piece said, the unicorn levitated a tin cup and a couple of oranges next to his plate, a concentrated expression appearing on her face and her horn lightning up brighter. With her tongue sticking out for luck, the unicorn stared at the oranges as her horn sparked. A second later, both oranges shriveled up into small balls and a large globule of orange liquid bobbed over the tin cup.

“There ya are, honey,” Miss Hops declared, letting the orange juice fall into the tin with nary a splash. She popped one of the shriveled fruits into her mouth and offered the other to the Professor, who accepted it gratefully.

“Thank you, Florid. As always, you’re magical culinary skills are impressive as they are functional,” the gray coated unicorn droned in a proper voice, placing the dried orange next to his asparagus.

The other pony smiled at him fondly. “Aren’tcha still a smooth one, Search? I envy whoever ends up with a stallion like ye. Don’t tell my husband I said that,” she whispered mock conspiratorially to the pegasus, who grinned in reply. “Whatever happened to that marefriend of yers? Oh, what was her name? Caramel Stone? No, that’s silly...what was it, again?”

“Amber Fossil,” The Professor supplied, his voice curiously absent the gleeful tone that normally occupied it. Novell blinked, stopping mid chew on an asparagus wrapped in egg, and glanced over at his friend. He was startled to see a frown on the normally jubilant pony’s face. “She’s moved on to better places. I was always too distracted for her.”

“Oh, well isn’t that a shame? Still, you’re a handsome unicorn, Professor. I’m sure you’ll find someone else to spend yer time with. At least you have these two youngsters to look after until ya do, though.”

A fond smile appeared on his friend’s face at that, banishing the sadness evident in his face. “You’re right there, my dear, but my research is the only love I’ll need. The wanderlust never died in this pony and I doubt I’d enjoy settling down to start a family this late in life.”

“Just the same, I wish ya well,” the proprietor replied, turning back to her duties, the sounds of the kitchen resuming.

Novell picked at his food, at loss for words at the moment. Thankfully, he was saved from filling up the awkward silence as an orange storm tore down the stairs. Their hair ruffled as the pegasus slowed herself down, her wings beating hard. Unfortunately, the mare hadn’t taken into account the amount of speed she was putting behind her and ended up colliding with a stool next to the white pegasus. The crash took Miss Hops by surprise, the eggs in her pan flipping into the air as she flung it upward in surprise.

“Ow, ow, ow,” Whisper complained from the tangle of wood and pony. Novell, however, wasn’t paying attention to the collision prone pegasus. His eyes were riveted on the eggs heading directly for his face. He lifted up his hooves to shield himself from the omelette onslaught, already thinking unkind things about the annoying mare devil next to him.

After a few seconds of not feeling poached egg plastered across his face, he let his hooves drop, sighing with relief at the familiar, gray aura of the Professor’s magic surrounding the breakfast. A plate appeared under the mass of yellow food, which the unicorn dropped with an even wider smile.

Whisper had, by then, returned her stool to it’s rightful place and, after placing yet another bandage on her scraped knee, was staring hungrily at the egg. Swirley stared out at the world without any reaction evident in his eyes, glancing between all of the surprised looking ponies and ending with Novell’s scowling visage.

“I suppose you’ve finally gotten the Dazey out of your system, Miss Wind,” the Professor put in mildly, lifting another piece of food into his mouth as if nothing was wrong at all in the world.

“Sorry about that, dearie,” Miss Hops murmured to Novell, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead. The pale pegasus sighed in reply, looking around the room again for Pensive while trying to ignore Whisper’s strident inhalation of her breakfast.

“Looking for someone, lad?” Professor Search asked, glancing over at the fidgeting pony.

Novell nodded slowly, giving up when he saw the other blank flanked unicorn was nowhere in sight. “That unicorn that showed up last night. I really wanted to talk to him about...”

“Ah, I understand. He was quite the interesting pony. I’ve never heard of a pony without a cutie mark before you, so to find another one so soon afterwards set my imagination afire. I wonder if it’s just not spoken of or hidden throughout Equestria instead of a rare ailment.” The Professor smiled at the young pegasus, continuing, “If that’s so, then perhaps there is an easier fix, or at least research made on it somewhere in the Canterlot Royal Library. Study Mark would know right away, of course, where to find it. I wonder how his two assistants are doing anywa-”

A deafening roar interrupted their conversation, startling Whisper so badly she began to choke on her food. Her snail shifted through a rapid paradigm of colors, obviously alarmed even though his eyes remained unexcited as ever. Novell himself nearly fell from his stool, exchanging glances with the grey unicorn beside him as they recognized the sound.

“There’s no way that could be a...” the pegasus began, fright billowing in his breast like a startled bird, his wings ruffling nervously. The Professor dropped from his stool, heading for the door where the sound came from. Leaving Miss Hops to care for the orange mare, Novell swiftly followed.

“I’m afraid it is, lad,” his friend replied, using one hoof to push the square rimmed glasses further up his muzzle. “There’s a Yeti hereabouts. I wonder what it’s doing so far from the wilds.”

Keeping close to the Professor as another roar broke out, they rushed through the door into the overcast morning, another familiar sound coming from across the road the inn sat next to. Novell’s eyes widened as Chipper appeared from the forest, taunting the beast.

“C’mon, ya overgrown furball! Chipper’s got yer dinner right here! Hah!”

The unicorn said the last as he jumped into the air over the swipe of a massive, clawed fist. Instead of striking the pony like it meant to, the Yeti’s paw slammed into a small tree and sheared it in half, so powerful was the blow. Novell’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets at that, his wings spreading as his flight instincts kicked in, prancing backwards. Only the hoof of the Professor and the twinge of pain in his wing stopped him from making the mistake of flying before he was ready.

“I reckon ye can do better than that! Git over here before I come after ya, myself!” Chipper yelled, standing in a wide stance right in front of the slavering beast.

Bellowing with rage, the Yeti sprang forward in a vicious facsimile of a hug, both paws reaching out to shred the unicorn into pieces. Laughing despite the danger he faced, the bearded stallion jumped into the air and bucked, slamming both of his powerful hind hooves into the beast’s abdomen. Its attack stalled, the heavy fists reaching down to hold its wounded stomach. Novell winced in sympathy, wondering why he could feel the emotion for something that would gladly eat him if he let it.

With a growl, the massive gorilla-like animal shot out a paw, catching the snorting stallion in the side and sending Chipper into a snowbank, a puff of snow shooting out as the pony impacted. Roaring in victory, the Yeti stalked toward the pony-shaped hole in the snow, one paw still clutching its stomach.

Novell’s throat tightened as he tried to figure out what to do to help the unicorn. He glanced at the beast, Professor Search’s words coming back to him as he struggled to remember the first time he’d encountered one. Something about its intelligence being lower than the average animal tumbled out of the fuzzy memories.

Before he could come to his senses, Novell shot forward toward the slavering brute, a half formed plan already starting in his mind. With his breath coming in gasps from the adrenaline racing through him, the pegasus jumped into the air on a collision course with its furry legs. He clenched his teeth as he impacted the right one with his shoulder, bouncing off like he had the first time.

Fortunately, that was enough to distract the monster. Unfortunately, it was enough to distract the monster and turn it’s attention to the new challenger. Novell looked up, getting back to his hooves and backing away a few meters, glaring up at the monster and trying to ignore the small voice in his head calling him a lunatic.

What in the hay are you doing, Novell? Get out of there before it grabs you! Are you daft?

With a blink, he realized it wasn’t just his inner voice - it was the vibrant tones of Professor Search’s telepathic voice, unrefined in fright for the younger pony. Shrugging the thought aside, he stared into the Yeti’s eyes, noticing a flicker of slow recognition build up in the dark, beady orbs. It grinned at him, serrated teeth too big for its maw promising a painful end. Raising a paw, which had almost halved claws, it shook its fist as if to demonstrate the damage.

No, it couldn’t be, Novell thought, this time in his real inner voice. Is this the same Yeti as before? Well, I guess that means I can still outsmart it if it’s as dumb as it used to be!

The pegasus went to move his hooves to enact his plan of attack, which was a series of fast, bewildering jumps, running between its legs, and, finally, a kick in the rump. As big as it was, it would still be off balance trying to catch him and topple with the right amount of force. Hopefully by the time it recovered, Search or Chipper could drive it off with their magic.

Novell fell over as he tried to jump, his hooves suddenly becoming heavy and immobile, landing in the snow. Laying on his side, helpless before the Yeti, he looked down at his legs and realized he’d fallen into the same trap Search had before. They were covered in a block of pale blue ice, feeling starting to recede from his extremities. Oh, this is bad.

You are a troublesome thing, Novell, a cold, honeyed voice commented in his mind, sudden and shocking. The pegasus in question looked up as Pensive appeared in front of him from thin air, transparent for a moment before solidifying. The teal unicorn cocked his head at him in his odd manner, oblivious to the confused Yeti behind him.

“Behind you!” Novell yelled, his relief with seeing the other pony drowned out by the concern of the situation.

The unicorn turned slowly, staring up at the beast as his tail drooped near the pegasus’ face, shining slightly in the light as if made of crystal. Momentarily distracted by the sight of the strange tail, Novell furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out how he was going to get out of this mess. A second later, he had his answer, Pensive’s strong, icy voice directed at the Yeti.

“You are not wanted here, thing. You may not have this thing behind me, nor the other things around here. Leave,” the teal pony commanded.

A low, keening sound came from the Yeti at that, shifting into a high pitched growl halfway through. Novell watched those massive teeth gnash as the beast acted as if it were speaking. With a start, he realized that’s exactly what it was doing as another hacking sound came from the creature’s throat.

By Celestia, it’s communicating with him! Such an amazing discovery this pony has made, watching the discourse between two unlikely conversational partners, came the Professor’s silky telepathic tones, awe evident as he reflexively went into a monologue. Obviously anything under Celestia’s sun can communicate to some effect, but the sheer amount of speech the Yeti knows is astonishing.

“Leave, thing,” Pensive commanded again, pointing a hoof at the treeline. With eyes flicking over to Novell, filled with anger, and back to the pony in front of him, the Yeti growled in frustration and raised its paws as if to strike away the unicorn. A moment passed with the pegasus’ heart in his throat, waiting for the blow to fall.

Instead, it roared and stalked away, bypassing the hole Chipper was only now crawling out of. The chestnut unicorn held a hoof to his head, eyes spinning in their sockets as he tried to make sense of the surroundings. Novell, on the other hand, was staring in absolute amazement at the blank flanked pony in front of him.

You are troublesome, Novell, but I will show you the way through the mountains. Otherwise, you would only fall into more trouble by yourself, Pensive’s voice resounded through his mind as the unicorn turned to stare down at the pegasus. A light the same color as the teal pony’s coat flashed into existence, the ice melting from Novell’s legs. With his mouth gaping open, he got to his hooves, his brain struggling to understand what he had witnessed. A thought on the forefront of his mind sprang out of his mouth.

“But the pass-.”

“Is snowed in,” Chipper interrupted, wobbly walking over to the two ponies. Novell glanced over at the muscled stallion, happy to see he was physically unhurt aside from a bruise growing on one eye. “That’s what I was checkin’ this mornin’ before I ran into that furry critter. Heard y’all wanted to head toward Ponyville, so I had to make sure ye had the chance instead of walking around in all this snow for no reason. This pony,” he pointed at Pensive, “was standin’ in front of the pass like he was examinin’ it. He told me to leave and when the Yeti came out of the treeline, I got the hay outta there.” The co-proprietor of the inn looked around confusedly with his unswollen eye. “What happened to that beast anyway?”

“The thing has gone,” Pensive replied simply.

Chipper looked surprised at the other unicorn. “Gone? Ye mean ye fought it off?”

“Not exactly,” Novell said, hesitant to tell the pony what exactly had occurred. Coincidentally, the Professor chose that moment to join the conversation.

“It was quite amazing! This unicorn actually spoke to the Yeti! Spoke to it! I always knew words carried more power than any weapon, but to convince a Yeti to leave with its chosen meal untouched...this is impossible! How did you do it? What is your secret? Did you use magic?” Professor Search asked without pausing for breath.

“You are curious why the thing left, elder?” Pensive replied uncertainly, as if he expected the researcher to already know the answer. “I simply asked it to leave. There was no magic.”

“But- I- How?” the Professor stuttered, for the first time since Novell met him at a loss for words.

“We must leave, Novell. The passes are dangerous at night, so we must be through to the cave before Luna’s moon rises,” the mysterious unicorn said, ignoring Professor Search’s questions. With that, Pensive turned and headed off into the forest in the direction of the nearest mountain, one that towered over its neighbors.

“That there is a strange pony,” Chipper commented, rubbing his head with one hoof. “Well, I better go see Florid afore she comes out with a fryin’ pan.”

With a thudding sound of the inn door slamming open, all ponies present turned to behold Whisper in a fighting stance, her mouth open in a feral grin. Swirley managed to look angry with a red shell and his normally half lidded eyes slanted toward the middle of his body. Miss Hops came out from behind her, dual frying pans floating above her, horn glowing and her face thunderous. As soon as they noticed nothing out of the ordinary was happening, they looked around in confusion and spoke at the same time.

“Where’s the big, giant beast I need to beat up?” Whisper growled and squinted her eyes suspiciously.

“Chipper? Who did that to your eye? I’ll smash ‘em to smithereens!” Miss Hops veritably roared, her frying pans making a cringe-worthy, high pitched screech as she scraped them together.

Novell, the teal unicorn said sharply in the pegasus’ mind at the same moment. Novell glanced around and started to laugh out loud, falling to his back in the snow. Everyone joined in after a few seconds, the eerie mountains ringing with joy.

Pensive Coalescence shook his head at the things and sighed, waiting for them to join him as he stared at the peak above, the clouds about it growing darker and grumbling against the mirth.

Winter is coming, the unicorn thought emotionlessly.

Comments

[Malefic Scholar]

great now i have to hear Pensive s voice as Sean Bean
hes going to die inst he....