Fluttershy never thought of herself as an adventurer, but when opportunity arises, she sets out to the frozen north— the land of Arctica. This journey must be undertaken without her friends, but that doesn't mean they can't help her along a little on the way.
Still, Fluttershy has no idea what strange things lurk in the north...
Today is the last day of my voyage on the Dawn Treader. It’s been a rather interesting journey, to say the least; especially when the cook got sick. Oh, I hope he’s alright. The ship’s doctor said he would be, but... I can’t help to think of what could have happened.
We did see some dolphins on the way up, and that comforted me. They’re such playful, happy animals, even if they do have a certain... dark side to them. What animal doesn’t, though? Nature must be taken in its joys as well as its rage. From the most cuddly bunnies to the most loathsome centipedes, it is a delicate balance which deserves love, occasional... trimmings, and above all, the right to play its course.
Fluttershy set down her notebook, and placed the quill back in its inkwell. Casting her gaze sideways, she watched as the sea of clouds that spilled outside the porthole in her bunk let only a few rays of morning sunlight spill into her cabin. Today was, indeed, her last day on the ship. Fluttershy stared around at her cabin again, knowing how much she'd long for its hammock and sturdy framework in the coming months. She’d miss not only the simple yet accommodating cabins, but the friendly, industrious shipmates, the sick cook, the cheery doctor, and indeed, everypony aboard. Still, there were bigger things that called her, and who was she to shy away from that?
Well...
She wasn’t that pony anymore, though; once upon a time, Fluttershy would have hidden under her bed at the mere mention of the windswept northern plains of the Eqqus Arctic regions. Now, however, she felt like a regular Daring Do— well, less so since she had actually met her, but nonetheless, this was an adventure into a potentially hazardous area for an extended period of time. It would still take her courage.
Fluttershy slid from her chair, onto her hooves, and walked carefully over to the trunk in which her saddlebags were laying, safe and snug. She looked at the double sacks, strapped together with sturdy rope of the best weaving she could find; it was a little known fact that Rarity could also work wonders with giant spider silk to make some of the most beautiful and durable rope on this side of Eqqus.
She opened the left saddlebag to check to see if everything was in place: three canteens of water, two sacks of a hardy, arctic grain, and a stack of notebooks and quills, under which she knew were a few inkwells full of freeze-proof ink (enchanted by Twilight herself!) safely separated from everything else by a secret compartment. Twilight and Rarity together had collaborated on this piece of wilderness-survival artwork, and Fluttershy could safely say that it had come out pretty darn good.
Closing the saddlebag carefully, she changed her attention to the right bag. Inside, there were many things— most of them assorted flowers and small plants carefully separated so that they would not spill over and intermingle. Small coniferous bushes and ferns surrounded by star-petaled ice blue flowers showed the diversity in the fauna contained in this saddlebag.
There were, however, more things stowed away here. Carefully pressing a flower to the side, Fluttershy peered into another part of the bag to take note of the things there.
The first was an apple— but not just any apple; this was an apple that had a bright white sheen to it, so white it was almost blue, approaching the color of the ice blue flowers nearby. Applejack had given it to her just days before the trip. Fluttershy grinned as she carefully turned the apple over, having no doubt that it would survive the cold weather.
Right next to it lay a dog eared copy of “Daring Do: The Moon and Arctica”. This was a copy that had been owned by Rainbow Dash herself, and with some tears, had been given to her the night before Fluttershy had set off to begin her voyage on the Dawn Treader. Fluttershy’s grin changed to a soft smile at this; she had read through it on the trip over, and in addition to being a fabulous read, also held quite a few knowledgeable tricks and tips about surviving the planes of Arctica.
And fighting off yeti, Fluttershy noted to herself, and shrank down slightly. Despite her courage having tripled, if not quadrupled, in her time spent with her friends, the prospect of having to face down a yeti all by herself still gave her the shivers.
“Well, there’s a chance that I might not have to face one at all,” Fluttershy murmured to herself, in a somewhat shaky voice.
“Talking to yourself? That’s the first sign of madness, you know,” came a heavy male voice from the door of her cabin.
Fluttershy turned around with a start, wings flaring in surprise. “O-oh! I’m so sorry, you surprised me...”
The voice, which turned out to belong to the captain, burst out laughing. The captain was a robust pony, thickly muscled, and sporting a rather lush, full curly beard. He grinned, his eyes showing years of experience in the wrinkles around them. He was not a particularly old pony, maybe forty at most, but the years spent traveling around the known and unknown lands, islands, and seas of Eqqus had aged him in a wonderful way.
“Sorry about that, sweetheart.” The captain had an odd accent in his voice, leading Fluttershy to believe that he had come from the northern lands above the crystal empire; even after ages of being away from home, mixed with a thousand different crews and a hundred different accents, he had managed to cling to his own. “Just figured that I’d come and give ya a proper sendoff, ya know? Two months out at sea with somepony makes it a bit hard to let go of ‘em, ya see.”
“Oh, I understand,” Fluttershy said, giving him a warm smile. “It’s been quite an adventure on board with you and the crew as well. I’ll be sad to leave.”
“Hehe,” the captain said, his wizened grin gracing his bearded face. “I remember the first day that we set out into the Tempest Tides. Ya looked so scared, like the ship was gonna go down right under ya!” The captain flung his head back and laughed as he stomped on the floor of the boat. “But this ol’ thing has held up against stronger things than a little tropical storm; we got on through all right.”
“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy said, blushing faintly. “That was rather scary...”
“First storms always are,” the captain said, giving her an encouraging grin. “Why, I remember my own first! Terrible gale that just sprung from the Seashell Inlets out of nowhere. But we pulled on through, yielded the sails, and...” the captain let loose another loud, bellowing laugh. “Well, the ship and I are still here today, aren’t we?”
Fluttershy laughed softly along with the captain’s intense, echoing laughs. After a moment, she stopped, and cleared her throat. “Um... does this mean we’re stationed?”
The captain cocked his head, and in turn, a bushy eyebrow. “Well, any moment we should be—”
The stallion was cut short as the ship jolted to a sudden halt, throwing fluttershy slightly off balance. A loud grinding, crunching, scraping noise, as if somepony had thrown a large ice sculpture under the wheels of a speeding train, resonated throughout the ship.
“Damn newfolk,” the captain grumbled. “Don’t know aft from starboard... well, Fluttershy, best of luck in your adventure!” The captain gave her one last grin, and then sprinted off to deal with the issue. “I said go to port! Yes, I know where port is! You little...”
Fluttershy giggled despite herself, and turned away from the doorway, making it back to the only things she had left to attend to. Sighing as she reached her desk, she could see that the very sudden stopping had thrown her inkwell to the floor, where it had smashed. Stepping around the pool of ink and broken glass, she took the quill from where it rested in her journal, and shortly after, took her journal. Rushing to her trunk, she deposited those into her left saddlebag, and grabbed a little rag from near her wash bucket to clean up the ink mess.
“One last thing...” Fluttershy said right after dropping the glass-coated, ink stained rag back into the bucket. Trotting swiftly to her trunk, she used her hooves to lift out a well-needed garment.
Rarity, being the element of generosity that she was, had gone all out when she had heard that Fluttershy was heading off to the frozen plains of the arctic. The parka, which the pegasus now held in her hooves, was a pristine snow white for camouflage, and was coated with the softest, most insulating wool-silk hybrid Rarity could weave. Pockets and zippers lined the outside, but they were skillfully woven and sewn into the warm coat so that one could hardly tell they were even there. There were even pockets for her wings to slide into! Matching stockings and snowshoes lay at the bottom of the trunk, just waiting for Fluttershy to put them on.
Sliding into these garments, Fluttershy struggled a bit with her hooves to get them through the stockings correctly, but after a few moments, was feeling nice and snug in the arctic clothes. Forgoing the snowshoes until they would be of use, she tucked them neatly away in her left saddlebag. Using her wings to lift up said saddlebag, she slid it neatly onto her back, nestling it in between and around her wings carefully.
Looking around her cabin one last time, Fluttershy nodded her head in a solemn farewell to her home of the past two months.
Outside, the first thing that hit her was the brightness. The light from the sun (which showed a testament to Princess Celestia’s power, for it was able to shine all the way over here in the great north) reflected off of the ice sheets in an almost blinding way. The sky above her was a bright, pastel blue, clear as a looking glass. Turning her head, she could see the clouds from earlier advancing from the southeast.
Walking towards the edge of the boat, she looked off the side, down into the water. Small waves surrounded the boat in the grey ice water, and just feet away from them were the frost-glazed shores of Arctica.
Walking towards the ramp that would lead her down to the land, she got her first blast of the wind chill. Shivering as the biting wind rolled over her, her exposed face was not ready for the sudden cold. Closing her eyes as a way of bracing herself, she stumbled, leaning against the railing of the boat’s side.
Recovering quickly, Fluttershy trotted on her way, approaching the ramp. As she did so, she heard a familiar voice call out to her in that odd accent.
“Oi! Fluttershy!”
Turning back, she saw the captain, but he was not alone. Gathered there was the whole crew, waving and smiling back at her; even the sick cook was feebly waving his hoof in farewell.
Fluttershy blinked, and smiled shakily. A small tear of joy leaked from her eye, and she called back to them. “Thank you so much! The voyage was amazing!”
“Goodbye, Fluttershy!” they all called back in unison.
Fluttershy gave them a final smile, then turned, heading down towards the cold plains of Arctica.
***
Her first hoofstep onto the cold was exhilarating. Fluttershy may have been a meek pony, but she was slowly growing to courage, and this first hoofbeat on a new land, on a new snow, took her breath away.
Glancing all around her, mane slipping slightly from its rucked place inside her parka hood, she took a good few moments to soak up the surroundings. Trees tipped with ice like the frosted roofs of a Sugarcube Corner Gingerbread house lay to her north, blinding white plains lay to her southwest, and to the northeast, brilliant hills were a blanket that expanded over the landscape. Of course, behind her to the southeast was the ocean, but looking out after the boat as it traveled away, Fluttershy could see the beautiful grey-and-blue water full of ice chunks and little waves for the first time in its true glory. The midmorning sun sent beautiful arcs of light off the clear, cold sea.
She was not there to observe the sea, however, and pulled herself away from the glorious sight. Turning to face the woods, she caught a glimpse of several brown pony-esque creatures. Aha!
“Hello,” she called out softly, then cleared her throat and called out a bit loud. “Hello?”
The creatures, even though they were a good three hundred yards away at least, perked up and cantered over to Fluttershy. As they got closer, Fluttershy began to recognize them. They were reindeer, a relative to the deer that had built their society in the forests of Equestria. Fluttershy herself knew a coven of them that lived in the Everfree Forest just a ten minutes walk way from her home, past a large lake and a waterfall.
“So you must be the one who they foretold was coming,” the first one said, a large reindeer with enormous antlers. “Welcome to Arctica, little pony.”
“Oh, thank you,” Fluttershy said, smiling kindly at them. “Yes, I was the one that was... foretold?”
“Yes,” the reindeer said simply, and the two who had accompanied him (does of a slightly smaller size) nodded in agreement.
Fluttershy nodded back. “Well, I am her then.”
“I trust you wish to be shown where you are to be staying, then,” the reindeer stag continued. “Follow us.”
The three of them turned on their hooves, and began to leap away in an odd half-gallop, half bounding motion towards the southwestern plains. Fluttershy extracted her wings from the pockets in her parka, and took flight after them, shooting into the cold northern air.
As they traveled, Fluttershy kept relatively close to the ground, so she could best see where her guides were taking her. They were fast, however, so she found herself slowly climbing higher in order to keep a decent pace.
After ten minutes or so of traveling, they reached a field of such stunning beauty that Fluttershy almost fell out of the sky. Stretched out, for at least a mile ahead of them, were hundred of thousands of brilliant ice blue arctic roses; they were in similar coloration to the flowers that Fluttershy contained in her pack, but these were of a more natural, somewhat lighter blue, almost a grayish white, perfect for blending into the landscape.
The pegasus dropped in altitude, and slowed down, drifting over the roses and gazing at them in stunned awe. The reindeer ignored these flowers, and instead continued to bound through them. Fluttershy gasped as the deer charged thoughtlessly into the field of flowers, but as she followed them and inspected their hoofprints, she found that not a single blossom had been harmed. After that, as Fluttershy flew alongside them, she marveled at the grace the reindeer put with each hoofbeat.
Soon, they left the field behind, and were once again traveling over the frozen ice fields of the land. The ice here seemed to be thicker than where it was in the north, and if she cast a glance directly southward, she could see that large sea cliffs were pouring into the ocean, and a few rivers fed into it in other places. Arctica continued in a lovely curve around the seascape, creating a sort of half-moon bay with giant mountains of ice and snow stretching up on the farthest side of the southern bay shore.
As they little group continued, they passes ravines, large ice boulders, small little groves of arctic pine trees, and huddled groups of penguins. As they passed the polar birds, they chattered in a fast, almost inane way in their strange chirping language, and giggled as the reindeer leapt past them. Fluttershy shrank slightly; even if it was directed at her, she did not like the idea of being judged by penguins she didn’t even know.
It was another breathless half-hour through the arctic landscape before they reached the destination the reindeer and Fluttershy had set out for. Cresting over a snowy hill, the reindeer stopped suddenly, and Fluttershy landed awkwardly next to them. The feathers of her wings were covered in a light frost, making it hard for her to fly accurately. She extended one and shook it slightly to free it of said frost, and then the other, before quickly sliding them back into their little pockets, sighing slightly as they began to warm once more.
“It is there,” the stag said. Fluttershy looked over towards where the reindeer had gestured his head, and saw on the plane before her a small wooden cabin.
“Thank you...”
“Watch out for The Other. We are not sure of its motives.”
Fluttershy turned her head back to address the reindeer. “Who is—”
They were gone.
Fluttershy stared back at the house, which had a small gathering of penguins nearby. Sighing, she took flight once more, and approached the cabin swiftly.
Landing underneath the overhang that covered the porch, Fluttershy thought of the reindeer. Sure, deer all over the lands of Eqqus were known for being cryptic, superstitious, and shamanistic, but something in the tones of these reindeer when they talked about “The Other”...
Fluttershy brushed the snow and ice from the only table that sat on the porch. Debating whether or not she should sit down, the copious amount of cold weather products daunted her.
Looking out at the vast landscape before her, it set another wonderment-inspired shiver through her. She was situated at the head of a shallow glacial valley, one that snaked a long way down towards the ocean, with gradual, snowed hills hugging either side. The sun was still bearing down overhead, but she knew that it would set early. Celestia did not have much power up here, and could only keep it sustained for part of the day in the winters when her powers waned and her sister’s grew.
The entire land was a January White.
Turning away, she put a hoof against the door of her cabin, and pushed it open.
Fluttershy walked into the cabin, and gasped quietly. The interior of the house was... gorgeous. While it was one room, The bed was made, a large sea blue woolen comforter covering the entire thing, gently pushed over what she assumed were somewhat large pillows. The walls, which were made of large, tightly fitted logs, were sanded down to perfection, with the natural patterns of the wood wonderfully accented in the light from the lamp hanging off the center the ceiling.
The little kitchen area, which had a large window overlooking the shallow valley that Fluttershy had been admiring not a minute earlier, was simple: a sink sans facet (she imagined that she would be using melted snow, as pipes would freeze over far too easily), a large wood-fueled stove, cabinets mounted on the wall next to the stove, and an ice chest below the cabinets. The pegasus nodded cheerfully at this, and turned her attention to the opposite wall.
Another window was stationed there, giving a view of the forest that the reindeer of Arctica lived in, but Fluttershy was not interested in that at the moment. Instead, she looked directly beside it, where a large ornate fireplace was stationed, almost parallel to the bed. The mantle was silver; upon it were a few candlesticks with half-melted candles held in place by still fountains of wax, a small clock, and a smoking pipe. Above the fireplace hung a painting of the arctic sea, shapely icebergs and playful belugas dappling the scene. Next to the fireplace was a pile of cut wood.
Before the fireplace lay a rug, woven in fantastic spirals of silvers, blacks, deep purples, and grays. To her, it almost seemed as though it were a woven picture of the night sky. Slowly trotting forward, she sighed as her hooves touched the weaving, a wonderful soft feel that sent shivers through her body.
Setting her saddlebag down beside the bed, Fluttershy began to remove her parka. She had only now noticed that the hood felt slightly heavier than it should; the weight wasn’t consistent with the rest of the garment. However, she hadn’t worn a lot of parkas... perhaps Rarity just made it like this for a reason.
That still didn’t explain why she hadn’t noticed it until now...
Fluttershy moved on from this, and took some of the wood from the pile beside the fireplace. As she did so, she noticed that there was also a modest pile of dry moss for kindling. Taking enough for her to complete her task, she placed the soft lichen carefully in her teeth, grimacing as the bitter moss leached the moisture from her lips and tongue tip. Balancing the logs and sticks on her back, she carried all of these fire making ingredients to the stove. She carefully placed the wood inside, and set the moss nearby. Moving her head back and forth around the stove, she looked for a way to start her fire.
“Oh dear,” she muttered to herself, frowning in concern when no such thing could be seen. “How am I going to light this?”
Fluttershy looked all about, but did not see any flint which she could use to spark a fire. Beginning to worry that heat would soon be of an issue, she shivered as the cold became much more noticeable.
“Oh, what would Twilight do?” Fluttershy closed her eyes and focused hard on everything she knew about her clever friend. “Find something that will make sparks...”
For a moment, she debated sliding back into her parka, just to keep warm for the time being. As her eyes fell on the clock, however, an idea came to her.
Cantering over quickly to the mechanism, she moved it to the side with her hoof, and checked the back. Sure enough, there was a crank that connected to a large assortments of gears, just in case she needed to adjust the cogs. Taking the clock down from its place with her mouth, she rushed over and dropped it next to the stove. Running back, she scanned the mantle quickly.
“Fluttershy, you’ve got to hurry,” she muttered to herself. Spotting the pipe, she noticed that the neck had a small band of metal, possibly tin or iron, wrapped around it. Grabbing it hastily in her mouth, she rushed it over to the clock. The bitter taste of old tobacco lingered in her mouth even after she dropped it, but that was not of an issue right now.
Using her teeth to pry off the metal band, she placed that carefully on the wooden floor next to one of the stove legs, and then immediately set to work on the clock. Her hooves shakily removed the gears from each other, rendering the clock useless for telling the time, but allowing her to have two that would turn together when she moved the crank. The rest of the gears had been removed from the clock, which left just enough space for her to carry out her plan.
Grabbing some of the smaller sticks, twigs, and chunks of wood, she placed them inside the gutted clock, on the other side of the gears. The dry moss was put directly behind the place where the cogs began to pull apart due to their shape. The piece of metal was taken in her mouth, and placed between the teeth of the gears, right where they meshed together.
“Alright,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. “You can do this. Just take the crank in your teeth...”
Fluttershy put a hoof on the top of the clock to steady it, and she placed the crank in her mouth and jerked forward. She was trying her best to get the gears to move against the metal, for this was her only plan. Struggling, she heard the pieces of metal moan as she continued to press forward.
Oh, I hope this works... she thought to herself as she pushed forward even harder. Her teeth ached as she clamped down hard, but Fluttershy knew she had to give it her all, or else the chances of her surviving up here would be pretty slim. The parka couldn’t keep her warm forever...
Giving in one final push, the metal was crushed by the two gears with a horrendous crack! In the process of doing this, the metal sent out a wide array of sparks, and to her great relief, she smelt the husky aroma of moss smoldering.
“Yes!” she shouted in her muted sort of way, a giant smile across her face. She leapt into the air, wings splayed in victory. As she hovered there, her gaze fell on the mantel, and a blush grew on her face.
Right behind where the pipe had been was a book of matches, with almost all of the matches left. Sinking to her hooves slowly, she hung her head in embarrassment.
“How could I have missed that?” Fluttershy took a sideways glance at her makeshift fire starter, and jumped backwards. The smoldering moss had lit the wood inside on fire, and was now at a full blaze! Quickly, she dumped the contents of the clock body inside her wooden stove, and the rest of the wood was soon crackling merrily.
“Well, at least I’ll know how to start a fire in a similar circumstance,” Fluttershy mused to herself, grinning slightly. Her cheeks were still flushed, but at this pint, it had become somewhat hilarious in hindsight.
Loading the fireplace up with wood and moss kindling, she used the matchbook to strike up another blaze. Soon, the entire cabin was a toasty warm.
I wonder what food is in the cupboard?
Fluttershy flapped into the air, and drifted through the room towards the cabinet. Opening it, she found on the highest shelf a large sack of rice, two knives, three potatoes, a peeler, a modest rationing of hay, some dried hibiscus petals, and a bag of noodles. On the shelf below it were two pots and a saucepan, in addition to a ladle, an large assortment of silver forks and spoons, and three bowls. A plate lay in the back left corner of the bottom shelf, but it was cracked and covered in quite a number of cobwebs with their owners still there, so Fluttershy decided that the best course of action would be to forgo that for now.
“I think noodles and potatoes will be nice,” Fluttershy told herself, and she gathered the necessary ingredients up in a pot. “And that dried hibiscus... I have no idea how they got all the way up here in Artica, but I am saving those for dessert!”
Moving her pot full of food down next to the stove, she slowly removed the items from the holding spot. Peeling the one potato she had taken, she looked at all the other ingredients and came to the inevitable conclusion; she’d have to go outside and get snow for melting into water.
Striding quickly across the room, she shimmied into her parka once more, and set herself on a course for the door, stopping by the counter to grab the pot she had taken out. Now that she had noticed the heaviness in her hood, it would not go away, and even annoyed her slightly. No time for dwelling on that, however...
Opening her door, she braced herself as the wind blasted her in the face. The sudden change in temperature from the warm, cozy cabin inside to the cold, biting chill of the outside world wasn’t unwelcome; it woke the pegasus up, and Fluttershy felt herself become ever-so-slightly more perky. Pot carefully clasped in her hooves, she flew outside towards a nearby snowbank to gather the needed frost.
As she flew out, she saw that a group of penguins had wandered up next to her cabin, and had gathered around the snowbank she was considering using for her snow source.
“Aw,” she crooned, landing down next to one of the larger ones, and leaned in. “You’re so cute!” These penguins were relatively quiet and were not doing any laughing like the other penguins had, and this made Fluttershy feel much safer.
Fluttershy nuzzled the penguin with her cheek, her warm fur brushing against its cold, sleek polar coat. The penguin reached its tiny flippers up and hugged her cheek.
“Oh!” Fluttershy giggled at the friendly display. The penguin giggled in return, and went on to jabber something in its own language. Fluttershy shot it back a kind look, and the penguin blushed as well as a penguin could blush, and then gave Fluttershy a quick peck on the cheek with its small beak. It waddled away quickly, continuing to giggle in its high pitched, birdish way.
Fluttershy blushed almost hard enough to melt the snow around her. Had she just been flirting with a penguin? Laughing, she watched as the penguin jabbered to its friends, almost as if it were bragging. Certainly, stranger things had happened.
“I see that you’ve making good friends with the native wildlife,” came a soft, smooth, feminine voice.
“Oh!” Fluttershy jumped, and turned around. There was one of the doe from earlier, who had accompanied the stag with her to the cabin. “I’m sorry, you startled me.”
“The blame is all mine,” the doe said apologetically. “I apologize.”
“It’s quite all right,” Fluttershy insisted. “I’m an easily frightened pony.”
“One hopes you will not meet The Other, then,” the doe said sagely. “Although, it would take great luck not to.”
“Who is this ‘other’ you keep speaking of? If you don’t mind me asking, that is...”
The doe shifted uncomfortably on her hooves in the snow. “Well... the winds will whisper to you when you must come to learn of their truths.”
Fluttershy nodded, her face downcast. “I see...”
“Do not be disappointed, however,” the doe said. A hint of a smile could be seen on her muzzle. “I come bringing you a message from the winds, even though it does not pertain to The Other.”
“Oh?” Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.
“It is from your friends.”
Fluttershy paled. “Oh no! I hope they’re okay! Did something happen? What happened? Oh sweet Celestia, tell me they’re alright!”
The doe laughed. “Calm yourself; it is a cryptic answer as any us reindeer have given throughout time, but I think you’ll find it of no ill tidings.”
Fluttershy leaned forward, eyes wide and attentive, ears perked.
“The ash is in our coats.”
Fluttershy drooped slightly. “I-is... is that it?”
The doe nodded. “I am afraid so.”
With that, she turned on her hooves, and bounded off into the snow, back towards the forest, leaving Fluttershy sitting there, confused and cold.
Fluttershy peeled back the blue covers of her sleeping place. It was almost a shame to ruin the perfectly made bed, but she had to go to sleep somewhere, and she wanted to make sure it was as comfortable of a place as possible, even if that meant messing it up a little bit.
The entire room was swathed in a warm glow from the fire, and the air was toasty warm. The pegasus snuggled under the covers, smiling slightly as she did so. The dinner had been lovely, and she even had leftovers waiting for later consumption; Fluttershy was drowsy and full; It was almost as though she were back in her own bed, curled up in blankets, waiting to drift peacefully off to sleep.
“Goodnight, Angel,” Fluttershy whispered, before her eyes opened slowly and she realized where she was.
Perhaps it was a bit too much like home.
Fluttershy sighed, and let her head sink into the large pillows she was resting in. They were like clouds, except less wet, and they felt oh so amazing...
Her drowsiness was catching up with her, but she still turned to look over at the kitchen, and through the giant window there.
What she saw was stunning.
The night view of the valley was gorgeous. She was close enough so that she could almost reach out over the stove and touch the glass. The cold sunlight that reflected off the moon shone down over her face, and she sighed dreamily at the beauty that filled up her gaze.
The little stars in the sky made a blanket over the crisp clean Arctica landscape. Constellations Fluttershy had never known existed glittered down at her, and she could see the great splash of celestial bodies that made up the Platinum Sash, a heavenly conglomerate named for Princess Platinum. From the south, one could hardly see it, even out in Ponyville, and from the cities it was nearly impossible to view this beautiful sight.
Now it was here, fully visible, and Fluttershy was not going to waste the opportunity. Quickly fleeing from her bedside, she shot to the door, and placed a hoof on the handle.
“I really should put my parka on...” Fluttershy mumbled to herself, looking at her neatly folded parka at the foot of her bed, and then at the window, where the moonlight continued to shine down on the stove and the covers.
Pushing the door open, Fluttershy shivered through the sudden cold contrast from the outside. Walking past the door, the pegasus cringed as the snow pressed against her hooves, but she trudged on. Taking her wings up, she flew out into the night air, looking around the moonlit landscape.
It was breathtaking, fluttering in the cold air as the world was laid out in shadows and moonlight before her. Fluttershy looked around the valley and snow-dappled hills that she had viewed earlier in the sunlight, and under the cold moonlight, they looked ever more majestic then they had before. They were soft crystal mounds that trailed down to a dark, almost black sea, which a bright beam from the moon left a gorgeous shining streak down the center of.
The pegasus let out a small gasp, her eyes growing wide in the stunning brilliance that was the entirety of the place before her. Never before had she seen a landscape quite like this. There were many beautiful things that had been witnessed by her one time or another—the birth of a newborn animal, the view from the top Canterlot that overlooked the entirety of Equestria, the smile and laughter of her friends—and this was a beauty that she had never quite witnessed. There was a stillness that filled up the entire land here, and brilliance that she just couldn’t shake at all; not that she wanted to, of course, but it was nearly overwhelming.
A tear escaped from the left eye of Fluttershy, who blinked hard. She felt a swelling sensation in her chest as her face broke out into a smile, and despite being out at night in the middle of Arctica, she felt so very warm. Basking in the ethereal light of the moon, she closed her eyes, and inhaled. Fragrances beyond the fresh snow and the light smell of smoke from the chimney of her little cottage filled up her muzzle: the pine trees from the forest behind her exuded a strong scent, the barely descendable smell of old wood, petrified by long exposure to ice, from her cottage porch, and even the smell of the air itself—so cold that the temperature was actually translating into an odor.
Opening her eyes again, she cast a gaze down at the snow plain where she had seen the penguins from before. There were still there, a group of around thirty, and they were waddling about, flinging snow at each other with their small flippers, or rolling around on the powdery ground. Fluttershy smiled softly as they frolicked there, leaving little marks in the snow wherever they went.
All at once a few broke away, and tumbled together into a little patch of the bright moonlight. Holding her breath, Fluttershy watched in silent anticipation as their waddling began to become ever-so-slightly more graceful, spinning in circles and pressing their flippers together and they gyrated around.
They were dancing.
A little squeak came from Fluttershy, who’s grin widened at seeing this sight. The penguins continued to make their movements, and Fluttershy watched with growing pleasure; it was absolutely brilliant, and there was a grace that Fluttershy had not previously seen shown by the penguins.
She continued to observe them, the little polar birds flopping and twirling in the moonlit snow. One of them did an odd sort of summersault, and was caught by two others, who linked flippers and ricochet him off into the snow before the little penguin.
Fluttershy laughed despite herself; it was outstanding, the whole display, and she felt honored that she was able to experience it first hoof.
The pegasus shivered from a mix of how overtaken she was by the whole scene and because the realization of how cold it actually was had finally crept up on her. Fluttershy tore herself away from the scene, and glided down towards her porch. Landing softly, she trotted briskly across her cottage patio and pulled the door open with her mouth, wincing as the cold knob hurt her teeth and curdled her tongue.
Throwing the door open, she slid inside, and in another instant had it closed again. Flapping her wings as she advanced towards the fireplace, little bits of snow and ice crystals that had formed while she was outside melted or fell to the floor. Eyeing the wood pile by the fireplace, which was considerably smaller than it had been the previous day, Fluttershy gripped a few sticks in her mouth and added them to the fire. Repeating this a few times, she smiled as the flames flared up, growing higher and higher as they consumed the wood. Soon, the entire cabin was awash in orange light and full of a heavy, warm air.
“Ah...” Fluttershy sighed as she felt the heat wash over her, thawing her frozen fur and frosted feathers. Stretching her wings to keep the circulation running, and totted her hooves absently. Blinking hard, she felt the full effect of her fatigue hit her with the force of a freight train. It had been a long day...
Creeping back to bed, Fluttershy wormed her way under the covers, sighing once more in contentment, the perfect amount of warmth from the fire being kept close to her by the soft comforters.
“I think that’ll be the last time I leave without my parka on...” she whispered drowsily as sleep overtook her.
***
Blinking the sleep from her eyes, Fluttershy rolled over in the toasty warm bed, her mane flopped lazily over her eyes. Pressing her forehooves behind her, she sat up, looking around the cottage. Light spilled in through the window, but this was warm sun light as opposed the cold moonlight that had been cast through last night. The fire was crackling the last bit of burnt twigs, the embers still giving off enough heat to keep her moderately warm.
Fluttershy rolled out of bed, yawning widely as she did so. She carefully placed her hooves all on the floor at once, yelping slightly as she fell those few inches to land neatly and softly on the ground. Shaking her head, the pink mane that adorned it floated gently back into place, and she smiled. There was much to be done today.
January 25th, Morning,
My first day here has been wonderful! Last night I neglected to write down an entry, and it was a beautiful night that should have been recorded when I had the chance. I think I was a bit overwhelmed by the whole day, honestly.
The wildlife here is gorgeous—hopefully I’ll be able to introduce some of the new specimens I have with me very soon. The penguins are some of the cutest animals I’ve ever seen, and very friendly! I’m honestly having a good feel about this beautiful northern land.
The reindeer are just like the deer back in Equestria—cryptic and reserved. I don’t mind this at all, though! They’ve been helpful nonetheless, and I have no doubt that they’ll continue to do so.
Whipping herself up a quick breakfast of leftovers from the night before, Fluttershy trotted back to her bedside, and rummaged around for a moment before donning her parka. The slightly heavy hood still irritated her ever-so-slightly, but she was able to get over it rather easily when she remembered what had to be done.
“I’ve got a job here, after all,” Fluttershy mumbled to herself, frowning slightly as her brow furrowed. “Oh, I do hope he keeps his promise and shows up, though...”
Fluttershy banished the thoughts of the him not showing up, and trotted towards the door. Pressing it open, she quickly trotted onto her patio, and took a deep breath of the crisp Arctica morning air.
A light dusting of snow had fallen the previous day, covering up the tracks from the night before. Fluttershy gazed out over the low valley that extended out to the plane of ice that comprised the half-moon bay.
Fluttershy took to the air, and soared down, following the winds that were funneled into the valley, intent on reaching the ocean. As she flew, she thought back to the doe’s words from the night before.
“Who is this ‘Other’?” she muttered to herself as the snow began to be punctuated by rocky outcroppings that marked the beginning of the shoreline. The ground leveled out, and Fluttershy knew that these were sheets of ice.
“Well, regardless, I mustn’t forget why I’m here…” Fluttershy gently alighted the snow-covered ice, testing the strength of the ground beneath her. When not a single sound beyond her breaking the snow reached her ears, she smiled, and took a look to the east.
“Just relax… you’re here to relax.”
Fluttershy’s gaze fell on part of the ice that broke to the ocean, forming the crescent of bay. A modest group of penguins hung around the edge of the ice, diving in and out of the ocean. Her lips turned upward in a smile, and she trotted towards the group of little birds.
“They must be feeding! I’ve heard about it, but I’ve seen them do it up close… they dive in, and they scoop a fish in their beaks, and then charge back out!” Fluttershy said to herself. “Oh, it’ll be wonderful to see it first hoof…”
Fluttershy landed a few feet away from the penguins, the water rippling from the birds entering and exiting the ocean. She slowly advanced towards them, careful not to step too close to the edge. The penguins payed no notice to her, instead continuing to jump to and from the ocean.
Fluttershy's brow furrowed as she watched the penguins. “That’s odd…” The pegasus crouched down, looking at the group of penguins, then at the rippling water, and then back at the penguins.
“Where are the fish?” she asked to no one. The penguins did not answer this, as expected, and continued to jump in and out.
Fluttershy looked around nervously. What could be causing the penguins to be doing this?
As if to answer her, the penguins stopped, the final one hopping up onto the ice. A harsh wind billowed down from the valley and the hills behind them, and if Fluttershy had bothered to glance upward, she would have seen huge, dense clouds rolling in. Her gaze, however, was transfixed on the shadow rising up from the ocean underneath her.
It broke the surface of the water with a thunderous splash, waves rolling over the ice. Fluttershy jumped back, and the penguins remained steadfast in their positions. Her gaze followed the long, yellow horn that jutted up from the ocean, down to the off-white body that it was connected to…
“A narwhal?” Fluttershy gasped. “B-But… you’re supposed to be legends! Unicorns of the sea, and…” She slowly crept closer to the edge of the ice, the sea beast giving her a glance with its brown eye.
Before Fluttershy could get too close, she heard a loud, metallic snapping noise. The penguins all spun to face the direction of the noise, but the narwhal simply rested its horn against the side of the ice. Fluttershy, heart pounding, took one last look at the narwhal before following the gaze of the penguins.
Snow had begun to fall, dropping from the heavy clouds, the winds blowing the snow flakes about her and her line of vision. She could, however, just barely make out the long, thin image of some sort of creature… crouching? It was next to a long, thin pole of sorts, but the snow was obscuring it.
The wind blew to the side momentarily, and Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She could not see the figure clearly, but the long, slender pole was no discernible to her. It was almost fashioned like a… camera, of sorts. That wasn’t what caught her attention.
There were long wires attached to the device, all threading in different directions. They were glowing, but very faintly, and the snow soon got so heavy that Fluttershy could no longer see them.
The figure was now gone, and the penguins were all diving into the ocean.
Fluttershy stood there, the snow gathering higher and higher around her.
“Other…” she whispered, her voice getting lost in the wind.
