Trapped in the world of the breezies, Twilight has to learn how to be a breezie and help her clan make it through the winter. And like every time learning is involved, she is quite eager
Her expedition failed, Twilight is trapped in the world of the breezies, unable to tell when, or where the portal will re-open.
In the meantime, she must do her best to survive, to find a clan, and of course-
My hoof traveled over the old parchment, carefully straightening the brittle paper to better see the illustrations. A swarm of breezies dancing around a campfire, their insectile wings spread wide open, allowing me to get a closer look. Of course, I had seen real breezies before, but there hadn’t been an opportunity to really study them up close. My eyes travelled over the beautifully detailed drawings, as if I could actually touch their membranes through the pages. Of course, I couldn’t quite trust the book, as it only contained information from second-hoof. Nopony had ever visited the breezie world before.
A loud cough pulled me out of my thoughts, and, suddenly very aware of my nose pressing against the page, I pulled up, giving the impatient conductor my most sheepish grin.
“Tickets plea- Princess Twilight!” he exclaimed, instantly losing his previous annoyed tone.
“Y-yes, sorry I made you wait.” My horn sparked to life, drawing the ticket from my bag’s leftmost pocket. “Here,” I said, hoping to distract him as I sheepishly smacked the book closed. A small cloud of dust burst out. I jerked back and shook my head, it was in my nose! A flap of my wings blew the remaining decade-old dirt away. “S-sorry again!” I wanted to yell to the conductor. All that came out was a sneeze.
“Are… are you okay?” he asked, slowly raising an eyebrow.
“I’m fine!” I took a deep breath, allowing my voice to return to a normal, calm inflection. “I just slipped up is all.” My cheeks burned. Hopefully he just took it as a sign of the loud sneeze that came right after.
“No problem.” the stallion said, showing a small, if slightly forced smile as he stamped the ticket. “Here.” There was a moment of hesitation as he looked at me, as if wondering whether he should open his mouth again. “If you don’t mind the question, what is a princess doing on a train to Dodge City?”
Anything to end the awkwardness. Plus, this was a question I loved to answer. “An expedition,” I said, smiling at his confused blink. With a spark of my horn, the book levitated, proudly displaying its title to the stallion. Facts and Myths concerning the obscure nature of the Breezies. “The portal to their world is just an hour of flight away from Dodge City, and yet nopony has ever gone through it, it’s too small.” I gave the stallion a smirk. “Luckily, I know just the spell for that.”
“That sound fascinating.” He tapped his hoof. “I should really finish my round though. Tell you what, If you went to the snack wagon in ten minutes, you could tell me more? I would pay for a coffee.”
“That sounds delightful,” I agreed, looking after the stallion as he turned to attend to the other guests. His coat was a nice shade of light-brown, with a short, dark mane. His cutie mark was made of three tickets, two of which already had a hole in them. Though somehow, I doubted his special talent was so obvious. That’d be a valid question for later, I decided, straining my eyes to make out the text on those tickets-
A sudden heat rose up in my face as I realised what it must look like to anypony else. I assure you, I was just trying to guess the meaning of his special talent, nothing else! I covered my eyes with my hooves, feeling my burning cheeks. If Rarity found out- I didn’t even want to imagine, she was already insistent on introducing me to a new stallion every other week- Not to mention, I thought, a shiver running down my spine at the memory, the time she set me up on a blind date. With another mare! And it was Applejack!
After another deep breath, I pulled my head out of my hooves and leaned back against my seat. All of this thinking about stallions and dating was just distracting me. I had an expedition to perform. I was totally going to get that free coffee though.
----
I took a long sip, tilting the cup so I could lick the last warm drops out of the plastic. A bit unbecoming perhaps, but my mane was ruffled and my cheeks frozen from the harsh, cold winds that blew around Dodge City. But the hot waking juice was enough to rekindle my spirits, the spirits of exploring, of learning! With a large grin, I crushed the cup between my hooves (If only I could make it neatly flatten like Rainbow always did) and tossed it away (before floating it neatly into my saddlebags, Fluttershy would’ve given me a most gentle tongue-lashing for littering).
I WAS THERE! Right in front of the waterfall, looking up at the hole in a wall of rock. With a surge of willpower, I folded my flared wings. Not yet, preparation! Normally, I would have made a list of all the things to take with me, what to leave behind and where to go. However, there was a little complication with that. See, I could transform myself into a breezie just fine and maintain the spell for as long as I wished… but as long as I remained in that form, I couldn’t reinforce any other spells, including the one that shrunk my belongings. I think you can imagine yourself what devastation a heavy tome could cause if it suddenly appeared in the middle of a breezie village. And that means, I thought with a heavy sigh as I slid off my saddlebags, I can’t take anything with me.No maps, no books, not even a pencil. Of course, it wouldn’t mean I had nothing, Seabreeze was going to pick me up on the other side and he’d already agreed to provide for me at the start. I would live like a real breezie! Still, I would've liked to be able to document my findings before I came back.
But enough worrying, my explorer-spirit shouted. First, discoveries have to actually be made. A grin formed as my horn lit up, the lightwaves from my magic dancing across the waterfall as it slowly enveloped my body. It felt like my insides were filled with sour, melting jelly beans, squeezed by a pair of extremely powerfuls hands, kneaded into a new form. The world grew larger. Suddenly, pain. Gasping, I turned my head to see my feathers being pulled inside my wing, feeling like a hundred needles sinking into the flesh. Just a moment later however, the pain stopped, and I sat on a large rock- that was really only a pebble, but with my new size, it could just as well be a boulder. Running a testing hoof over my head, I felt two long, spindly growths coming out of my forehead, surrounding my horn. Good. I looked up at the mountain wall, up at the large hole that was my destination. Funny, as a pony, I could have reached it with a good jump, or a friend boosting me. Now, it seemed like it’d take a day of dangerous climbing, at the very least.
Well, that’s what I’d kept my horn for.
I swear, the poof-sound of my teleporting had a higher-pitch. Either way, I’d successfully skipped an unattended flight lesson, which would have very likely resulted in injury, if Rainbow Dash could be believed about my first attempts at flying. And even more than flight, Rainbow was an expert in all kinds of crashes, so you better believe I was going to follow her advice on this matter.
Closing my eyes, I called upon my inner magic. It was harder now, I was no longer built to weave a spell as before, but I could very well complete one. Puffing out my cheeks, I channeled every bit of alicorn magic left within me. For a couple of seconds, my head throbbed, as if caught up in a terrible headache, then it faded. My horn was gone. I was a fully-fledged breezie now. I felt my feelers twitch, possibly as a reaction to my excitement. If only I had a mirror, I’d love to see how that movement looked on a breezie. I bet it’d look cute. I had to see it!
With a giddy grin, I galloped towards the shimmering portal, bursting out into fresh, cool air, the idyllic sounds of rushing leaves around me, as I set my eyes on my new surroundings.
As brief as it had been, I distinctly remembered my last visit to the other side of the portal. There was a town made of mushrooms, surrounding a castle seemingly built around a waterfall glowing in bright orange from the rays of the setting sun
This was not it.
Instead, I stood within a knothole in a tree gaping into the middle of a forest, looking up at mighty trees akin to the towers of Canterlot, which shut out the cloudy sky with a dense carpet of leaves. The ground was covered in ferns and mossy rocks, only occasionally disrupted by a patch of dry leaves.
Where am I? The question trampled through my stunned brain as I looked around the teeming plantlife. I shot a nervous look behind me at the glimmering portal. Why did it lead me here?
“Alright,” I whispered to myself, trying to get a hold of my breath. I could simply go back. Maybe the portal didn’t always lead to the same place, but that didn’t have to mean it was the wrong place. Seabreeze could very well be aware of this… quirk. Maybe he’d planned to pick me up here.
“Seabreeze?!” I shouted, noting with pride that my voice barely shivered.
No answer. Okay, worrying again. “SEABREEZE?”
Biting my lip, I weighed my options. I could go back right now, but my explorer’s spirit protested at even the suggestion. Maybe Seabreeze was just a little late, it wasn’t like the breezies had the machinations of the portal down to an exact science! And as long as it remained open, I could just wait for him. The worst that could happen was me wasting a few hours. And what explorer would I be if I just left because of simple impatience and a hint of danger? I’d be like Weary Steps, who’d famously decreed Yakyakistan unreachable after getting minor frostbite.
I would not become the laughing stock of the Equestrian science community!
That just left me with a lot of time to kill. And so much exploration to do! Grabbing the edge of the knothole for safety, I let my eyes sweep over my surroundings. There were none of the large mushrooms I’d seen the breezies use as houses (which seemed weird at first, but then again, my house is a magic tree made from crystal). The amount of ferns surprised me, but I didn’t know enough about plants to spot the tiny difference between species. If only I had taken a book with me, I could have just thrown it back through the portal. Groaning, I felt a weird pull on my forehead.
Oh, right, I had feelers! Grinning, I reached out to poke one- “By Celestia!” I gasped as I felt my own hoof, every tiny ridge. I could tell apart the individual hairs of my coat. These things were sensitive! Even now, without my hoof, there was a constant feeling of hot and cold, consistently changing intensity and direction. It was… strange. Testing, I made a quick nod, watching how my feelers bobbed up and down lazily. Something about the movement brought a silly grin to my face.
Next up, wings! They felt somewhat stiff when I tried to open them. Maybe it was just my lack of practise, but then again, breezie wings weren’t really designed for flapping. They were made to glide on the wind. I wasn’t sure if breezies even could fly on just their own strength. The fact remained: some practise would be necessary. I threw a look down the edge of the knothole. Oh, I was far off the ground, far enough to make me swallow. I may have been an alicorn for a while, but if you spent most of your life without wings you’d never completely lose that little scared voice in your head.
I blinked as suddenly, my right feeler felt like it had been lit on fire. I threw up my hoof, wondering what that was about as my wings flared out of reflex.
Alicorn reflexes do not work for breezies. The second my wings opened, a tremendous force yanked on them. The next moment, I tumbled through the air, too surprised to even scream as a gust of wind blew me away. My feeble attempts to move my wings were in vain as I spun around wildly. Suddenly, I felt my momentum shift, the breeze left, but I was falling. With a panicked scream, I kicked out my hooves, flapping my wings as I plummeted to the ground-
I couldn’t remember the impact as my head slowly rose. Everything spun around me, and my stomach seemed to be doing loop-de-loops in my body… okay, Twilight, deep breaths! The world suddenly jumped back into clarity, and with it came my extremely sore chest. “Ouch…”
The smooth, but firm thing I was lying on seemed to be a flower petal. It must have stopped my fall-- seemed like I’d gotten lucky. In a way. Chuckling, I looked up the stem to the colorful head. I’d have to find a way to get back. And recognise the right tree. Hopefully, knotholes weren’t too common here...
I could have easily missed it. A miniscule movement from the corner of my eye. It seemed to be coming from the next flower, but there was nothing over there. Except… for a second stem? Weird. It was oddly shaped too, making a sharp turn, connecting to other thin stems doing the same thing. I narrowed my eyes, following the shape until I saw two orbs of just a slightly lusher color. And it slowly, almost unnoticeably, swayed from side to side as my brain made the connection and my insides froze.
It was a praying mantis. And it was looking right at me.
I almost screamed, which would have certainly alerted the predator. A praying mantis! An insect that could strike in half the time it took a pony to blink! Vivid, unwelcome memories overwhelmed my brain. How I observed a mating ritual with Fluttershy, and without any warning, the female bit the male’s head off. And then the headless body just kept mating! How they often ate their prey while it was alive and twitching in agony! I may have been afraid of snakes, but mantisses gave me nightmares. AND NOW A GIANT MANTIS WAS STARING DOWN AT ME!
Its head slowly swayed to the left, and through the barrage of panic, I remembered something. Praying mantises had really poor depth perception. It swayed it’s head to judge how close it was to its prey. And there was something else I knew.
I swallowed, the sheer insanity of my plan enough to make my head spin, but it was my only option!
All of a sudden, I kicked out all my legs, beat my wings, all to jump-- right towards the mantis’s face. The insect reacted almost instantly, its claws lashed out, but they weren’t made to grab something that close. It hit just over my head, missing me by a hair’s breadth. And then came the fall as I dropped down the flower stem and smacked head-first into the muddy ground.
Forcing my legs to respond, I stood, fighting down the feeling of dizziness in my aching head. It could have been so much worse. Thank Celestia for cushioning muck.
A noise of rushing leaves tore me out of my dazed thoughts. The mantis, not content to let its prey escape, was rushing down the flower, menacingly clicking its sharp mandibles. Terrified, it was only the adrenaline that made me roll to my hooves, taking off just as the predator reached the ground. I was running on pure instinct, dodging ferns, vaulting over roots and pebbles. I had no idea where I was going, just away. Away was a good idea!
A horrid shriek nearly stopped me in my tracks. Gasping, I threw a look back. The mantis screeched as it ducked under an obstructing leaf. It was an ambusher, its legs weren’t made for running, the larger body unable to pass obstacles like I could. However, my small moment of elation died as I saw just how much ground those long legs could cover with each step. Tearing my eyes off the predator, I climbed over a fallen leaf, feeling my heartbeat in my throat. Running may have been an instinct, but I was not an athlete. My experiments in the Running of the Leaves had proven I could only keep up a quick pace for so long. Soon, I’d fall back! Gasping for air, I looked up, seeing a gigantic brown tower loom over me. Doubling my efforts, I ran up the mountain created by the enormous roots, wheezing, hoping for a spot to hide in. Behind me, I heard the mantis’s steps take on the same wooden tone as mine, it was so close!
Then I saw it, a root parting into two, creating a tiny hollow space! Using my last bit of strength, I squeezed into it, hoping dearly the mantis wouldn’t find a way to reach me. Gasping for breath, I waited. And waited.
Yet, instead of a hungry predator stomping over my hiding spot, I heard its mandibles clicking from several feet away, sounding… anxious. I held my head down, all my sensible brain cells shouting down on that small, curious part that wanted to investigate. So I strained my ears, listening as the mantis clicked a few more times before, and I hoped my senses didn’t deceive me, it wandered off, and quickly from the sound of it.
With that, I let go of my breath. Never even noticed I’d held it. My heart was still beating like a drum, not having gotten the memo it was safe now. Leaning back, I glanced into the green ceiling of leaves that hid away the sky and I swiped over my drenched forehead.
That. Was way too close, I decided, a shiver going down my back as I imagined those claws grabbing me fast as lightning, the much more powerful insect holding my small body down--
“WHY DIDNT I TURN BACK INTO A PONY!?” I shouted, beating on my own head. Sweet Celestia, it was the most obvious thing, and yet I had apparently decided to make anypony who’d ever called me smart choke on their words instead! Letting out an exasperated sigh, I leaned my head against the encasing wood, wishing I could simply stay hidden forever.
Eventually however, my mind refocused on the situation. I had to go back to the portal, that much was clear. I knew next to nothing about this place, which had just proven to be very dangerous. It might have been a different continent, Heck, the portal might not have taken me to the right world! Danger for the sake of science was one thing, jumping blindly into the unknown was a different matter entirely! Besides, if the portal was even open still…
I swallowed, forcing myself not to finish that thought. But one thing was clear, I had to move quick.
And that left only one issue… one that made my stomach twist to even think about. I had to go back the same way to even have a chance of finding the portal. Teleporting wasn't an option without knowing my position relative to the portal. And if I was to recognise the path I’d taken, it would have to be from these eyes, in this small form. I swallowed, knowing full well I was possibly walking right back into the mantis’s arms.
But it was the only way I could get home.
I took a shaky step back onto the grassy carpet. My head held low, twitching at the slightest noise. Behind every fern I expected those clicking, hungry mandibles. I checked every leaf above my head, remembering full well how they liked to hang upside down, waiting for prey.
My rate of progress was, as you might guess, abysmal. I was so preoccupied with the above and the behind, that I didn’t even notice the end of the meadow until it was almost too late. Suddenly, there was no more green. Instead, my hoof found no ground as I nearly fell off the hillside, a loud gasp escaping my throat as I took a step back, staring down the fall I’d almost unwittingly walked into.
I let out a long sigh, rubbing my face and telling my heart to calm down once again: I’d just have to pay more attention from now on.
I brought my quivering leg up to my lips, my breath giving the limp a brief relief from the cold. Then another shiver shook my body, and I curled up in the surrounding moss to conserve what little heat I had. The leaf I was huddled under didn’t do much for insulation. What I wouldn’t give to be back in my comfy castle bed, snuggled in thick blankets with a warm coco. Ugh, my feelers felt like they were gonna fall off.
I was lost. There was no whitewashing that fact. I had completely lost my trail in the green maze of grass and trees, and with every minute it had gotten more and more unlikely that I’d find the way back… until nightfall forced me to concede. Without light, my meagre chances would drop to an impossibility. That didn’t even account for whatever was out there, from mosquitoes to spiders and other animals I didn’t know of. Oh, I was glad Fluttershy wasn’t here, because I would have asked, and her answer would make me shiver even harder than I already was. Because of course, it was cold. I’d only managed to sleep in short spurts, each time jolted back into the waking world by another chill.
Oh, I so wished for the sun…
Clenching my clattering teeth, I peeked out from my covering leaf. The world was still shrouded in shadow, but if my internal clock was right, dawn was not far off anymore. Of course,only if this world even had the same cycle of day and night…
My stomach roared as I took a few shaky steps to regain feeling in my legs. Another thing to add to my list, food and water. Food felt more pressing at the moment, but I knew water would become a big issue before long.
So I had to either find the portal, a river, or help. And keep my eyes open for food. Turning back into my pony form would be a last resort. This sort of spell required a lot of energy, which I couldn’t afford on an empty stomach, especially as I’d either have to find an amount of food fit for a pony, or turn into a breezie yet again, which would likely leave me too exhausted to find sustenance afterwards. Or to run away if something else found me to be a good source of sustenance...
Not a good idea.
Since I had no reference point for where I was, every direction was equally wrong. After a while of walking, the patches of grass grew more sparse, starved of sunlight by the densely-packed trees and replaced by soft moss everywhere. My heart sank a little. Whatever direction this was, it was clearly not going to lead me back to the portal. I let out a sigh of frustration as I pushed my head into my hooves. How was I going to find my way back? I could barely remember what my tree looked like- no, I hadn’t even gotten a good look in the first place, I could have walked past a dozen times without noticing! I had to find help.
“HELLO?”
I shrieked back, started by the sudden loudness of my own voice as it cut through the deafening silence. With wide eyes, I looked around, hoping that someone heard it- and only that someone. Where there birds in this world? The thought was terrifying. A bird would snatch me up in the blink of an eye.
After a minute that felt like eternity, I let go of my breath. Alone. Relief and despair held each other in a shaky balance.
If there’d been more information about the breezies, I might have been able to guess where they liked to settle. I still assumed it was their world I was in, if only for it being the only thing that made sense to me. Though there was no guarantee…
Biting my lip, I continued on. Until a sudden thudd startled me out of my horseshoes. After a brief moment of consideration, I snuck towards the noise, keeping my body low, treading as carefully as I could.
Walnuts.
Water streamed into my mouth at the sight of the wrinkly, brown shells, slightly larger than myself, hiding away those delicious blessings of Celestia. I gleefully charged towards them, memories of long nights of study, with a large bowl of walnuts at my side- I shook my head, calling myself back to the present, as I knocked my hoof on the tough casing.
Breaking it with my hoof was not an option, for obvious reasons. Nor was it likely that I could carve through with a rock, at least not within a finite span of time. But there! As I circled around the second nut, there was a small, dark hole, possibly caused by falling on a rock. It wasn’t big enough for me, but I could just about squeeze my hoof inside. I’d have to widen it somehow if I wanted to plunder the nut’s meat. Biting my lip, I raked my hoof inside, leveraging my strength against a weak-looking edge of the hole. Puffing out my cheeks, I pressed with all my might, feeling the blood shoot into my face from the effort.
It bent!
Slightly.
Gasping for air, I fell to the ground, running a hoof over my heated cheeks. A frustrated whine grew in my throat, I was so close to having something to eat! My stomach howled, as if to show how empty it was by echoing its own noise. Drawing myself back up, I fought back a fit of desperation. This nut held at least twice my weight in food, if I broke through its armor, I wouldn’t have to worry about it for a week, two if I rationed it well!
All I needed was time, effort… and something to use as a lever. Looking around, I quickly found a piece of splintered treebark.
Still,it was a long and arduous process. Five times I had to stop as my lever broke and I had to look for another suitable piece of wood. Sweat soon ran over my face, growing cold in the chilly air. With burning lungs, I drew another breath, stemming my new lever into the hole, a good chunk had been bending outward at my last attempt. I threw my weight against it, clenching my aching teeth against the bark-
I fell back as a chunk as wide as my chest broke out of the nut’s shell. My limps burned as I sat upright, eagerly getting a good look as light fell into the widened hole.
Only to see it hollow, stripped of all meat by something that had come before me, and for which that small hole must have been wide enough. My lips quivered as I stared at the empty promise of sustenance, my limbs mocking me with their burning from an effort that had no point! Screaming out my frustration, I pounded my hoof into the hard shell, gritting my teeth as pain jolted through my leg. I just want something to eat, I thought as I slid down to the ground. And now I was exhausted, my teeth and limbs ached and I was hungrier than ever before! My stomach underlined that last thought with a growl.
“SHUT UP!” I hissed as I clutched my chest, curled up on the cold ground and shivered. Hot tears gathered in my eyes as I cursed myself for ever going on this failure of an expedition. Why couldn’t I just sit in a comfortable reading chair, passively picking up lessons other, clearly smarter ponies had written down during their sensibly planned exploits, but no, I had to try and learn on my own and LOOK WHERE IT BROUGHT ME! I might die here, and all because of a malfunctioning portal thing!
Slowly, I drew myself up to my legs, then wiped the tears from my face. I needed another source of food, some shelter and…. Whatever else you needed in the wild. Why had I never gotten around to reading Ponyson Cruzoe, the tale of the mule surviving on a forsaken Island? It might have given me some pointers. I shook my head as I turned around-
And found myself face to face with a breezie. With a bone-rattling shriek, I stumbled back, staring wide-eyed as the newcomer recoiled in surprise. His cream-colored coat was adorned with pale, orange shapes, like some sort of tribal markings. From beneath a wild emerald mane gleamed eyes of amber.
“Tirfan Je?”
“W-what?” I blinked, tearing my eyes from a sort of harness he was wearing. Celestia, those looked like ant skulls!
“Tirfan Je!” He repeated, furrowing his brows as he took a step towards me.
Right, breezish! Thank Celestia Fluttershy had given me lessons.“I’m uh… T-Twilight Sparkle.”
The breezie slowly rose an eyebrow, as if he was waiting for something more, but all I could do was give him a sheepish look.
“Nir zu Zulap kun?”
What about my- “Uhm, come again?”
The breezie heaved a frustrated sigh, before he repeated his words much slower: “Where is your clan?”
“My Clan?” I blinked, receiving another strange look for my hesitation. “I’m alone.”
His eyes widened at my answer. “Alone? Your clan left you?”
I nodded. Yes, it was a lie, but this breezie was showing me sympathy, and he was clearly better prepared to survive out there than me. I think you can forgive me for telling a white lie in my circumstances!
“You don’t look good.” The breezie whispered as he bit his lip, eyes traveling over my exhausted body. Then he took a skull off its harness and removed a wooden plug. Instantly, a delicious smell of raspberry entered my nose, opening the floodgates in my mouth as I thanked him before burying my face in the makeshift container.
It was so good! The sweet taste nearly brought me to tears as the crippling fear of starvation crumbled away, leaving warm relief in its wake. “Thank you.” I whispered again and again.
“Uh, no problem.” He said awkwardly, obviously put off by my exuberant reception. Tapping his hoof, he watched as I filled my stomach. “What is your name again?”
“Twilight Sparkle.” I gasped, then swallowed my filled mouth before I put empty skull aside.
“Honeydew.” The breezie said, pursing his lips at the container. Only now did it occur to me that he may not have expected me to eat all of it. He did not say anything however, giving me a moment to gather my thoughts, now that immediate survival was knocked down from my list of primary concerns. “Uhm, Honeydew, have you heard of the Galestriders clan?”
He looked up. “Is that where you are from?”
“No, but I was invited to visit them, by- a friend. Do you know them?”
“I’m afraid not, Twilight. They are not from here.” He looked taken aback. “You’re a stormchild, aren’t you?”
“A- a what?”
“You were caught by a terrible storm, and it brought you too far from home to ever return?”
Well, I did not like sound of that. Still, it was fitting enough to work, so I nodded. Somehow, I felt that explaining my status as a pony princess a hundred times his size wasn’t the right thing to do while my life might still depend on his sympathy.
He mulled over that for a minute. “I can… take you to my clan.” He suggested. “But the final decision lies with the elder. You- you did not come at the best of times.”
“Please!” I gasped with widened eyes. At the very least, they had to know where the portal was.
Honeydew gave me a smile as he took back the skull-container. “Do you have a stash of supplies you would like to take with you?”
“Uhm… no” I muttered. “I don’t have anything.”
He gave me another look of the pitying kind. “Alright, follow me. If we hurry, you can meet the elder tomorrow at sun-high..”
“It’s one and a half days away?” sun-high must be noon.
“If the gale agrees.” He said mystically before gesturing for me to follow.
“You can’t be serious.” Honeydew said, turning to face me with an incredulous look. He was breathing a bit quicker after climbing up a large root above the sea of green below. “But the wind took you here!”
“It’s not that I’m unable to fly.” I said, crossing my legs defensively in front of my chest. “No-one ever taught me how is all.”
By the look he gave me, I was getting a sneaking suspicion that breezies could be expected to learn flying on their own. Great job, Twilight. A snarky voice in my brain nickered. You made him think you’re mentally challenged.
I might as well be, I thought back drily. It’s only gonna help when I ask a hundred thousand things I should already know.
To my right, Honeydew let out a long sigh. “Your clan must be terrible.” he concluded.
“No, they’re not!” I burst out and received another strange look from him. “Just… trust me?” I asked with a smile that felt just a bit too wide.
He gave me a flat look. “I just met you.”
I just kept smiling, even as my mouth grew horribly stiff. Snarky brain? I shouted inwardly. It’d be nice to have a comeback for that. Anything?
Suddenly, I felt Honeydew’s hoof at the base of my wing, stretching it out. “You’ll be answering some questions when we arrive at my clan.” he warned me. “For now, just hold on to my tail and do what I do, alright?”
I nodded, reaching down to sink my teeth into his seafoam green tail before giving him a nod. He hesitated as he stared at me holding his tail, his feelers agitatedly bobbing up and down, catching my eyes like a cat’s toy. The ones with the squeaky mice that Opal was too lazy to chase.
It was adorable!
“Twilight?” Honeydew asked, possibly concerned by the I am going to touch you-look I was ogling his feelers with. “We’re going to fly now.”
“What?” I blinked as my eyeballs retreated from the visual seduction of those feelers. “Oh, right!” Biting down on his tail, I followed as he leapt from our elevated point and was instantly caught in an updraft, carrying him (and me) high into the air. As we reached the height of the first branches, he gently shifted to the side, leaving the stream of air in order to glide between the trees, crossing a distance in mere seconds that would’ve taken minutes on the ground.
I felt a sudden heat rising in my feelers. The next moment, Honeydew closed his wings and I followed suit, just a moment before a sudden breeze almost knocked us off course. After dropping several meters, he caught himself in the air, just as the gust of wind had passed. I furrowed my brow. The heat was gone. It seemed that my feelers weren’t just adorable (although they definitely were, and so were his), they could detect atmospheric differences. I wondered just how far the breezies could push this gift. Maybe they could help predict the weather in those places the pegasi couldn’t control, like the Crystal Empire or even the Everfree Forest!
After a while, I reacted to my feelers practically automatically, turning and beating my wings in perfect unison with Honeydew, which allowed me to focus on other things.
As he told me, I had been very lucky indeed that he found me. This late in the year, few breezies would venture off the safest paths, especially this far from the village. Honeydew just stumbled on me by random chance on his way back from a scouting mission.
“Is that where you got those raspberries?” I asked, tilting my head to get another look at those grizzly containers.
He gave a quick nod, yet his eyes were fixated on our surroundings. “Yes, about six days from here. I agreed with a Farin Gaela that we receive one of every three berries on the bush.”
“Sorry, a what?” I asked, a slight tone of annoyance beneath my voice. It wasn’t the first time he’d used a word I wasn’t familiar with and it was starting to get on my nerves. My feelers twitched in accordance.
“Mother of ants.” he explained. At least this time he spared me the odd look over his shoulder, though maybe he was just paying more attention to the environment.
“But your gear-” I pointed out, then hesitated as I mulled over how to phrase the next sentence. “Didn’t they… disagree with those body parts?”
Honeydew let out a chuckle. “They gave them to me. Ants dont think about death, a corpse is meaningless to them.” He shot a look back. “It is clear you are from far away, Twilight. Are there no ants where you come from?”
I bit my lip. “Well, yes, but I’ve never talked to them.”
“Well, they are better than bees.” he said in a jovial tone.
Just as I furrowed my brows to wonder whether or not to ask him about that, he pointed towards a rock, surrounded by grass. “Land here. We are taking a short break.”
All of a sudden, I grew aware of just how long we’d been flying. My throat was so dry I could feel tumbleweeds bouncing inside. Yes, a break sounded like a great idea. I gently angled my wings just like Honeydew showed me, landing softly on the mossy rock, almost gently enough to not stumble and fall on my face. Almost.
“I’m fine!” I blurted out before he even had a chance to comment. My nose was aching a little, but that also passed after just a moment. Still, Honeydew reached out a hoof to draw me back up. “M-my mistake.” I muttered sheepishly.
“It was not bad for a first landing.” he said neutrally, trotting over to a blade of grass, which bent under a large drop of water, a remainder of today’s morning dew. My eyes were drawn to the liquid ball. But how were we going to get it down, if we climbed up, our weight would upset the grass and it would fall, splashing on the ground, where we’d only be able to get tiny mouthfuls by licking it off the ground… Although my stomach turned at the thought, if that was what we’d have to resort to, I would do it.
“Thirsty?” Honeydew asked, following my eyes with a knowing smirk.
I nodded. And felt my jaw hit the ground as Honeydew reached up and simply plucked the drop from the grass like a ripe berry. He was holding water. In his hooves! He didn’t seem to think anything strange of it as he held the wobbling mass of water out to me. Meeting his eyes, I slowly held out my hooves as he dropped the ball into mine- and it burst the moment it connected with my hooves, splashing us both with cold water.
He smirked. “You’re a clumsy one, aren’t you?”
I opened my mouth to respond. After making absolutely no comprehensible noise, I bit my lip, glancing away as I felt my cheeks burn.
He snickered as he brought another drop, this time showcasing how he dipped his feelers into it, each drawing out a drop that was at least a good mouthful. Carefully, I mimicked his motion, sticking my tongue out the side of my mouth as my feelers sunk into the water. I let out a gasp as the sudden cold enveloped them, but it didn’t feel like water. It was like… pudding, hardening around my antennae. There was an unexpected amount of resistance as I drew them out, each yielding me with a sweet, thirst-quenching reward. Meanwhile, Honeydew had placed his lips on the drop, noisily sucking up its liquid content before tossing it aside with a satisfied sigh. “Rest yourself for a moment.” he told me as he stretched his body like a cat. “After the next hurdle, we are going to fly until the sun rises. You can hold onto my tail if you want.” His feelers twitched adorably as he winked.
The entire night… a shiver went through my body as it reminded me how badly I’d been shivering until the sunlight had made the temperature acceptable. Honeydew passed me another bit of raspberry I happily tore into.
“Uhm…” I bit my lip as I stared at my stained hooves. “Is that not supply that you need to bring to your village?”
“They’re my own provisions.” he said as he rearranged the skulls, making sure he had a full and an empty one on each side. “There gotta be some upsides to being a scout after all.” He looked expectantly into my eyes, then my stained hooves.
I didn’t follow.
“So, you mentioned a hurdle?”
Tearing his eyes from my hooves (what, did I not eat cleanly enough for him?), he motioned for me to follow.
This hurdle turned out to be a rushing river, wide enough to tear a line through the carpet of leaves that was ever-present before. Obviously, our tiny bodies would simply be swept away by the water if we did land inside, heck, our wings would probably pull us down even in still water. But why was it a hurdle if we could just fly over it?
Suddenly, Honeydew’s hoof shot out, knocking into my chest and stopping my flight as he drove me to land on a large branch spanning over about a fourth over the river.
“Careful.” he warned me as he looked around. “Never try and cross here without me.”
Exactly what I needed to hear to feel warm and fuzzy. “Why?”
“Spiders.” he said darkly, and immediately I felt he blood drain from my face. First mantisses, now spiders? Was this world not content until it made me face every sort of gruesome death you could have when you were this small?! Unfaced by my inner panic, Honeydew continued: “Normally, we could catch a fly or a worm ourselves in exchange for us, spiders usually accept that. But this time of year, the males who haven’t mated yet are searching for the biggest, juiciest prey to present a female with.” He shot me a look. “That would be us.”
YES, THANK YOU FOR SOOTHING MY WORRIES! I screamed inwardly, pacing around in my mind and barely managing to keep all of that away from my expression. “S-so what do we do?”
“There’s a spot…” he muttered as we reached the tip of the branch, and I saw exactly what he meant. There was a long, silky string heading towards the tree on the other side of the river. Some spider must have wanted to cross.
“Are you crazy?” I whispered, afraid to alert a nearby multi-eyed beast. I could almost feel their spindly, hairy legs tickle my stomach. “You want us to get stuck?!”
“We won’t.” he whispered calmly as he placed his hoof on the web. Dreading doom, I sucked cold air through my teeth, but he simply grinned, pulling his hoof off the web, chuckling to himself. “It’s just one string, Twilight. If it was sticky, how would the spider go across?”
Okay, sensible reasoning. Why were those hundred alarms in my head still blaring? But Honeydew had already stepped on the string, urging me to follow. Why was the prospect of walking into the embrace of a beast that would liquify me less scary that turning away- alone.
I let out a shaky breath as I watched the breezie in front of me carefully monitor our surroundings. As chipper as he’d just acted, he looked just as tense as I was. It must’ve been that I trusted him in matters of survival, more so than my own judgement. Even if it screamed at me that I was about to make a terrible decision.
All of a sudden, the string shook, and with it my stomach. Honeydew shot me quick look, there were no words needed. The string trembled in rhythmic intervals, urging us to hurry along as we drew ourselves forward. I could now see the form of the predator approach from the other side, hanging downwards from its silky string, drawing itself forward leg after leg. It was much quicker than we were. And if it caught us too soon, we might jump off, simply to land in a different spider’s web. And so I drew myself forward, silently cursing the circumstances that forced me to go towards the thing that was going to eat me! I could feel my heartbeat in my throat as I got a closer and closer look at the monstrous beast, one of those with legs many, many times the length of their body. To say it gave me the creeps was an understatement. It gave me the terrors, as its mandibles clicked in a way that was horrifyingly familiar.
Suddenly, Honeydew drew himself up. We’d only gotten halfway across, was that enough? But the spider wasn’t far away either! Could we go back? I tried to exchange a look with him, but his head suddenly turned to his right and he jumped off the string.
THIS IS INSANE! My mind shouted as I leapt after him, watching him slowly drop in the absence of a breezie to carry us, floating down to where my mind was envisioning hundreds of insidious, invisible webs ready to hold us down for their creators- when I felt a warm sensation rising up in my feelers.
The next moment, a massive updraft caught our wings, carrying us higher, higher in the air until we were looking down at the treetops!
“Better luck next time, six-eye!” Honeydew cheered, before he burst out in relieved laughter. And I joined him a second later.
The sun hadn’t yet risen above the treetops when Honeydew finally let out a cheer. “We’re here, Twilight.” he grinned, his hoof pointing through a gap between the trees. I muttered my thanks to Celestia through my numb lips as I set eyes upon it. Partially hidden between a large fern and a mossy root were a few dozen huts, formed like empty shells of a hunchbacked turtle. They seemed to have been built with clay, then covered with straw, maybe to increase insulation, maybe just so they wouldn’t look like dirt-igloos. Where were the mushroom houses I’d seen? Where was the castle, that one had definitely been made from stone.
This and many other questions I would have pondered on under different circumstances, but as of right now, I was simply glad for anything that offered even a hint of warmth. My hooves felt as numb as wooden pegs, my nose was running, the constant flight had drawn sweat out of my body where it then froze inside my coat while my ears throbbed in pain, as if a hailstorm was pattering my eardrums. Questions could come later, all I wanted was a warm fire, a hot shower and a steaming coco while I curled into a fuzzy blanket and read a good novel. Somehow I doubted I’d get those last two though.
With Honeydew’s help, I managed a smooth, if slow landing, even if I could swear I heard my legs pop like a breaking icicle. A few breezies were already out and about, setting up what looked like thin arcways with pieces of straw all over the village. A few looked up from their work, greeting Honeydew before spotting me. I couldn’t repeat what they said, my breezish simply not developed enough to keep up as they spoke like Rainbow Dash before she had to relieve her bladder from copious amounts of cider.
The gist of it: Me and Honeydew got to lean against the side of a hut while one of the breezies, Storm Seed if I caught that correctly, went to fetch… someone. Maybe this elder Honeydew had mentioned, though it’d sounded like there would be others, too. With a sigh, I sunk my head into my hooves, then gasped at just how cold they felt. My eyes suddenly watered and I drew a sharp breath, before letting it out in a long sneeze. “Oh, Celestia,” I muttered as I stared blankly at my snoddy hoof. “I’m getting sick, too?” What else was this world gonna throw at me, a forest fire? At least that’d be somewhat cozy from a distance!
Something warm prodded against my shoulder, causing me to let out a gasp and turn to Honeydew, whose hoof was slowly rubbing my cold fur. I almost pulled away, but- he was so warm. How could he be so warm, he’d been in the cold for as long as I had, not fair! He let out a little squeak as I pressed my side to his, reveling in the warmth we now shared.
“Y-you’re icy.” He whispered.
“I know.” So maybe he shared the warm and I shared the cold, it still seemed like a fair trade to me. “What are they doing?” I asked, pointing at the working breezies.
He blinked at me, once more giving me the feeling that I was asking something every little child should know. Well, that’s gonna happen a lot more, so just buckle down for now.
“They’re preparing for winter.”
“By raising arcways?” How was that helpful for winter? Heck, how would that help at all? How did breezies even deal with winter, considering they most likely did not have it nicely scheduled like it was in Equestria? All of those questions tripped right off my tongue as Honeydew got up, his eyes fixated on a group of breezies. My freezing limps barely even complained as I jumped up, ready to approach them, but Honeydew’s hoof held me back. He gave a respectful nod as one stocky breezie stepped out of the group.
“Welcome back, Honeydew.” He was a little taller than Honeydew, and could probably twist both our limbs in a hoofwrestling match. After the first powerful appearance however, I began to notice the many ways age had left its mark on his body, in the greying of his pink mane, the bags under his eyes and his slightly curved back. Yet his eyes were still shining brightly as they briefly swept over me. “What have you found?”
“A bush of Raspberries, Elder. Six days away.” Honeydew answered tensely. “Farin Gaela allows us to take one third.”
The elder nodded. Behind him, I saw two more breezies, a young looking mare and a stallion who could be her father. “We will send out a group to retrieve them soon.” The elder said. “But now, we have to deal with our newcomer.”
Deal with? I shot a cautious look to Honeydew, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. Well that didn’t seem worrying at all!
“Her name is Twilight Sparkle-” Honeydew began, but the second stallion raised his hoof, cutting my friend off in an instant.
“She should be capable of telling her own story.” His voice was smooth and strangely deep for a breezie, sounding a bit older than he looked. His eyes turned to mine as he chuckled. “After we get her out of the cold. Look at her, she is shaking like a fish on land.”
“A fair suggestion, Windchime.” The elder nodded. “Come along, Twilight.”
Despite Windchime’s words, the inside of the house wasn’t much warmer than the outside. Built from tiny sticks with pieces of tree bark as walls and a straw roof, this longhouse was easily one of the largest buildings in the village, one of only a few that resembled an actual house. I suspected that the entire clan could fit here at once, although some ankles would most likely be twisted in the process. The ground was covered with more hay, at very least allowing my hooves a break from the cold ground.
We sat around a little hole, in which laid a few sticks that appeared like bean capsules. The elder reached forward, cracking his hoof on one of the bulges inside the plant. A moment later, Something inside begann to sizzle, soon followed by a thin stream of smoke emerging from the capsule and an aura of warmth spreading through the rooms.
It must be some chemical compound inside the plant, but how did it work, and for what reason would it evolve something like this?
I needed a sample!
But my attention was drawn back to Windchime as he cleared his throat, eyes intent on mine while the young mare was half-hidden behind him, head lowered. “So, Twilight, is it? Honeydew mentioned you were a stormchild?”
I bit my lip, my eyes darting to Honeydew, whose lips twirled in an encouraging smile. I just hoped he’d take it well. “Not… quite.” If I perpetuated the story, they might ask questions I had no answer for. No, it was time for the truth- at least, parts of it. “While it’s true that I am from a place far away, it was not a storm that brought me here. I came through a portal. It was in a knothole, in a big tree, but… I lost it. I have to find it in order to return.”
I watched as the other breezies exchanged looks. Honeydew’s eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t meet them.
“A portal?” The elder rose an eyebrow. ”I have never heard of a portal around here…”
My hopes shattered as I stared in his even expression. “How could you not? It’s in your territory, two days away at most!”
“I have never heard of a portal, Twilight.” He repeated sternly. “Windchime, have you?”
He shook his head. “Sadly, no. The closest would be a few stories of tree spirits living in knotholes, but never about one taking you to, or from a far away place. Maybe one decided to play a trick on her?”
I took a shaky breath. A part of me wanted to jump to my hooves, declare them as liars and force them to tell me more. But they looked sincere, as far as I could tell for breezies. But what did that mean, that there really was no way back? “Can’t you help me look for it?”
The elder gave me a grim look. “It is the coldening season, Twilight. We cannot spend our time looking for a tree that may or may not exist. Especially of your description of it is so…” He pursed his lips. “Vague.”
“B-but it does exist!” I shouted, turning to Honeydew, but he only regarded me with an uncertain expression. I took a long breath. I-if the breezies didn’t know about the portal, then I had to stick around until they’d find out about it, it had to re-open at some point! “Then may I stay with your clan until the portal opens for me again?” I asked, lowering my head to the ground before the elder.
Soon, the silence grew unnerving, and I rose my head. The elder was knocking his hoof on the ground, while Windchime regarded him with a sad look in his eyes.
“Normally, I would agree without hesitation.” The elder muttered. “But you have found us at a bad time, Twilight. Winter is coming early. And if it lasts long, our stocks may not last us.” He let out a sigh. “We could give you supplies for a week-”
“You’d kill me!” I gasped, my insides a solid cube of ice. “I-I don’t know the first thing about surviving in the wild.”
“I cannot risk the lives of my clan members on a stranger, Twilight-” The elder began, but suddenly stopped, his eyes widening as the young mare rose. It was the first time I got a good look at her. Her coat was a simple white, but she was set apart by her eyes, one of which was a piercing yellow while the other shone in a flaring red.
“Elder, if I may interrupt-”
“Certainly, Kalypso.” He said hurriedly, even giving her a respectful nod. I stared with open mouth as those strange eyes turned to me.
“I have told you of my recurring dreams. I see white, I saw winter in its primal form, enveloping the land. But now, looking at this mare, I remember something else. A flash of purple, standing by my side. I- don’t know how, but I think she might be important.”
Both the elder and Windchime gave her a respectful nod, while Honeydew turned from her to me with widened eyes.
“If you say so, Kalypso, then I shall trust you.” The elder decided. “Twilight Sparkle, you may remain here until further notice. If you need a place to stay-”
I automatically turned to Honeydew. He raised an eyebrow at my reaction, but the elder chuckled. “Well, then it is decided. Honeydew, you will be watching over our newcomer for now and teach her to fill a place in the clan.”
“Sure.” Honeydew sighed, without sparing me a glance. “After a bit of recuperation. It’s been a long flight.”
“Of course.” The elder smiled.
“Don’t miss our prayers in the evening.” Windchime smiled. So he was some kind of priest. That left me to wonder what the strange mare was in order to command this sort of respect...
“Frinjiön carry us.” Honeydew replied and took my hoof, steering me out of the longhouse.
A thousand questions bubbled in my mind, about the elder, Windchime, the clan structure, Honeydew himself or the mysterious Kalypso, but I felt the most pressing as he gruffly pulled me along. “Are you okay, Honeydew?”
“You lied about where you come from.”
“I-it wasn’t really a lie.” I protested. “I’m still lost, a-and I needed your help.”
“You could have said the truth.” He stopped and turned around to me. “About coming through a portal.”
“So… y-you believe me?” I stuttered. “I don’t think the others did.”
“I think you either hit your head or you’re telling the truth, because it’s a terrible lie.” He shrugged, then suddenly rubbed his hoof over my mane. “And I’m not feeling any bumps.”
“C-cut it out.” I gasped, pushing his hoof away. “The others don’t believe me though. And I didn’t want to risk appearing crazy when you leaving me would have meant my death.”
“I suppose.” He pursed his lips. “You really were lost out there, weren’t you?”
“In more ways than one.” I nodded. “I had no idea how to survive.”
“Then you’ll need a teacher.” He smiled as his feelers began bobbing. Have I mentioned before how adorable that looked?
We arrived in what might be the smallest clayhut in the village, it hadn’t even bothered with a straw cover. “Here’s my home.” Honeydew muttered. “I don’t spend much time here, so it’s a little small.”
“No kidding.” I whispered. It wasn’t horribly cramped, but it could not fit two beds side-by-side, that was for sure. Inside were only a few personal belongings strewn over a hay floor. Another harness of ant legs, several containers in different shapes and size, some of less grizzly material than others and, half hidden behind said containers, a set of small drums. Did he play? I’d like to hear that… when I was less tired.
The light suddenly cut out as Honeydew shoved a carved piece of wood into the doorway. A moment later however, the tips of his feelers began to glow, bathing us both in warm light. Instinctively. I reached out to touch one. He jerked back in surprise, but not before I drew my hoof away with a gasp. His feelers were hot!
“What are you doing?” Honeydew asked, possibly a bit creeped out by my action.
“Just… checking. They’re warm. Can I do that?”
“You mean… you don’t know how?” Honeydew stared at me as if I had exploded into popcorn. “What were you, raised by bees?”
I could only smile and shrug.
“And here I wondered why you didn’t warm yourself up while we were flying.” He muttered, before letting out a long yawn. “Well, it’ll be warm enough in a moment, I can show you later.” With that, he sunk to the floor, letting his feelers gleam as he scooted over to lean against a wall, allowing me space to stand.
What did he mean with warming myself? I pondered as I stared at those glowing tips. It must be some sort electricity or chemical reaction in his feelers. Maybe the heat it produces warms up his bloodstream as a side effect, spreading the heat throughout the body- My string of thought was abruptly cut off as a yawn fought its way through my mouth. Honeydew had been right, his house had gotten fairly cozy after a few minutes. I slowly lied down beside him, stowing away my curious spirit for the moment. I hadn’t slept this night, and what I’d gotten that freezing night before could only generously be called “rest”. I could be excused for not exploring right away.
Honeydew let out a soft snore. I chuckled as I leaned against him, so the drums wouldn’t poke my other side. What would Rarity think of me now, I thought with a smirk, sleeping with a stallion I’ve only know for day?
With a soft, relieved chuckle, I finally drifted off into a proper slumber.
There was a wonderful moment before I opened my eyes, when I believed I was going to look up at my crystal ceiling, or find my face stuffed in one of my massive pillows.
“Twilight.” two hooves had gripped my shoulders, shaking me awake.
I groaned as my eyes fluttered open, two bright spots filling my blurry vision. Almost out of reflex, my hoof rose to bat against one. With a hiss, Honeydew stepped back. “Enough, you need to wake up, we all have work to do.”
Yes, the elder did tell me to work for my stay, I remembered as coherent thought creeped back to me. With a final sigh, I told the cozy ground goodbye as I rose to my hooves, shaking my head to rid it from the last groggy thoughts. “Morning, Honeydew.” My back would require some stretching, but that could wait for a moment. The hut was too small for it anyway.
“It’s past mid-sun.” He muttered, dipping his feelers in a large waterdrop before holding it high up, making it splash over his head. “You should wash up.”
Sleepy as I was, my hooves just weren’t quite up to performing his mysterious holding-water-trick, and so I just dropped ontop of it, soaking at least the lower half of my body. Honeydew gave me a strange look, but I still considered it a success. I did accept his help with a second drop of water however.
Freshened and awake due to the frigid water dropping out of our manes, we stepped out of the house, into a bustling community. Breezies distributing the sizzling grass to the huts while others crushed berries on a tilted stone table, catching the outpouring juices in bowls made of… actually, I wasn’t sure what they were made of, the glossy surface didn’t look like any material I knew. A shadow fell over us as several breezies flew above our heads, for some reason carrying leaves to drop them off at the border of the village.
“Twilight!” I heard Honeydew’s impatient voice, suddenly realizing I had stopped in the middle of the way. “You get distracted so easily.” he sounded as amused as he did irritated.
“S-sorry, it won’t happen again.” I said to mollify him, although I rated my chances of actually keeping that promise very low. “Could you tell me where we are going?”
He turned his head, poking the harness he was wearing with his muzzle. “I need to bring this to the storage, And we need to find you some work, hopefully in the same place.”
“What kind of work?” I wondered as we circled around the second largest house to approach a hole in the ground behind it. “Who lives in there? Did you dig the hole yourselves?”
Honeydew stopped in place, giving me a half-lidded look. “Careful Twilight, ask more questions and your mouth may create a storm.” Chuckling about his quip, he lit his feelers and climbed down into the hole. “The house is where Windchime and Kalypso live. There used to be a whole family, but when his wife passed away, her siblings decided to return to their maternal clan.” He let out a sigh as he reached the bottom of the hole, patiently waiting as I slowly caught up. I hadn’t had enough practise in this body yet.
“But why is it larger than the elder’s?”
Honeydew took a hissing breath through his teeth. “The elder may be our leader, but he would never disregard the words of a Frindrò, only a fool would go against the advice of the gods.”
Oh, they’re a religious folk. I thought to myself as a warning blared in my mind. Now, mind you, I wasn’t an anti-religious pony, I respected the differing beliefs of the many races and cultures, they were fascinating! As a child, I even believed in Celestia as a goddess. Until the divine image was shattered by having the pony as a teacher. As highly as I still thought of her, nopony could stand up to those expectations in day-to-day life. What made me cautious was that many religious folk I met were a little… touchy about having their believes critically examined. I made a mental note to tread the subject carefully.
Honeydew took my hoof as he helped me down the final steps. “That, and the elder thinks it’s too cold. The bigger the house, the longer it takes to heat up. That’s why I live in a tiny one.”
“And because you’re away all the time, anyway?” I asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Sure, that too.” He chuckled as he followed a short tunnel into what I assumed had once been some critter’s nest, now repurposed into the clan’s warehouse. It reminded me of Applejack’s barn after a harvest. Well, halfway through a harvest, anyway. There were piles of foodstuffs, from berries to nuts, some sort of grass, wrapped in bushels, hiding two large, beautiful clay vases. Strange, everything else I’d seen the breezies use so far had been strictly utilitarian. What was inside those vases to be deemed worthy of these containers?
Before I could ask however, another breezie stumbled out of a smaller section, laden with straw baskets. Thankfully Honeydew was there, catching the breezie before he could fall over them. “Sun-high, Carveshine, lazing around again?” he snickered.
“I was inspecting the material.” The breezie called Carveshine hissed, shoving away the smirking Honeydew. “I’m not wasting a few hours making a brush or a handle for your knife just for the material to break apart in a few days.”
“Well, Twilight, this is Carveshine, our toolmaker. Carveshine, Twilight is new here and I was wondering whether you could teach her a thing or two about your craft.”
“That’d take a long time before she becomes useful.” Carveshine huffed grouchily. “But I suppose I could have her work on fitting some doors on our houses, I never had the time for that.”
“Or the motivation~” Honeydew teased.
Carveshine simply groaned. “Well, fluttery one, don’t you have something to do right now?”
“I did, finding some work for Twilight.” His face fell. “And I should probably check on my family and prepare for the next scouting mission.”
“Leave your gear in my house and I’ll see if it needs some sprucing up.”
“Hold on,” I interjected, eyes fixated on Honeydew. “You’re not coming with me?”
“I’ll be checking on you, but I have things to take care of myself. Besides…” his voice got quieter. “You shouldn’t rely on me anyway. I’m a scout, I’ll be away a lot of the time.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure why I was so opposed to him leaving. It’s only been a day since we met! But, in a way, he’d been my anchor in this strange world I was now stuck in, he’d found me when I was at my lowest and brought me here, where I’d at least survive, where I could have hope to one day return home. It was hard to shake off the feeling that I still needed him.
“Well, don’t leave me waiting for too long. And… thank you, for everything.”
“Ehm, it’s okay, I-I’m sure any breezie would have done the same.” He bashfully poked his hoof at the ground, then whirled around to face Carveshine. “Take care of her, she’s gonna have a lot of questions, trust me.”
“Will do.” He murmured. “I suppose we’ll be needing the bad materials after all, then. C’mon, you can carry your own share.”
I nodded, grabbing a few of the chitin plates. I was going to learn breezie craftsmanship! I could devote a whole chapter to it- if I ever make it back to Equestria, that is.
Thank you, brain. I am now going to distance myself from your depressive demeanor. “So, Carveshine, I noticed Honeydew’s knife is some kind of tooth-”
“Later.” The breezie cut me off gruffly.
--------
Although Carveshine called the straw-extension to his clay hut a workshop, on account of it being filled to the brim so that we could barely fit inside, I decided to label it a storage shack. Quietly, to myself. Despite my initial impression, it turned out that the toolmaker worked with all manners of materials. Chitin of many different insects (the sight of a praying mantises front legs brought a cold shower down my spine), but also wood, bones I couldn’t tell the origin of, parts of thorny plants I didn’t recognize and what looked like shards of a conch! A conch, in the middle of the forest! The only way that could happen was if there was some sort of trade between the breezies, perhaps even over long distances. I couldn’t help but squee a little as I imagined caravans of breezies, maybe even clans of seafaring traders?
How long had that hoof been waving in front of my face?
Carveshine actually looked relieved as I finally reacted. 10 points for furthering my image of a brain-damaged pony. “I-I’m sorry, I must have dozed off there.”
“You’re here to work, not daydream.” Carveshine scolded as he put a couple of small vases on the ground. “Do you have any experience in craftsmanship? No, don’t answer, you wouldn’t be staring around like this if you had.”
My face grew uncomfortably hot as I tore my eyes from the vases.
“Don’t get distracted, Twilight, you’ll need your full concentration.” He warned me as he cautiously tilted the vase until a few pitch black rocks dropped into a bed of straw. The sunlight reflected from their smooth surface, drawing attention to a sharp-looking edge.
“Obsidian!” I gasped, first reaching out a hoof, then immediately drew it back. Obsidian produced the sharpest edges nature could provide, touching it was probably not a good idea. To my right, I could see Carveshine give me a strange look, his eyebrow raised high. Oh, shoot, I didn’t know the breezish word for the stone, I’d spoken in ponish!
“S-sorry for that, my clan calls them differently, is all.”
Oh, Celestia, his eyebrow creeped up even further, what did I do?
“I have not told you what we call them here. How did you know your name is different?”
Great, even my brain was stretching out the word ‘uhm’, now! “H-honeydew told me!”
“He did?”
“Yes.” my voice pitched while I nodded frantically. Why did my mane suddenly feel so hot and itchy?
Luckily, Carveshine turned back to the rocks instead of prying further into my badly kept secrets. “Well, for your information, we call them Feuerkiesel.”
“Feuerkiesel.” I repeated, carefully nudging one closer. “So, what are we making?”
“I will fix the mess your friend made with this.” Carveshine said as he took apart Honeydew’s harness. “Just look at it, weight distribution is all wrong and in another day, it’d chave his back open!”
“It’s not so bad, right?” I asked, overcome by a sudden impulse to shield Honeydew’s word from criticism.
“Of course it’s bad.” Carveshine rolled his eyes. Still, his voice lacked the previous edge. “Too many things to worry about out there to take the time for perfect work. Now, you should get some practise while I fix it.” With that, he placed one of the chitin plates before me. It looked like it’d once belonged to a beetle. I bit my lip as I wondered what he’d expect me to make of it, I’d never had an aptitude for craftsmanship, and I’ve certainly never worked with chitin before.
Carveshine’s hoof directed my attention to a corner of the plate. “You see those scratches? They’re old, weathered, will make the material brittle. I want you to shave off the bad parts. Make the edge smooth, but waste no material, understand?”
I let go of my breath as I nodded. That sounded manageable. I reached down for the obsidian shard.
“And be careful with that,” he warmed me. “It’s very sharp.”
I gave another nod as I bit down on the rock glass.
Turned out, it was much harder than I’d thought. Without magic, my face was practically pressed on the material, I constantly had to worry about not cutting myself on the horribly sharp thing in my mouth and to top it all off, I could barely see what I was doing! Still, I thought I was doing a decent job as I carved away another bit. My first instinct had been to try and cut through the chitin, but obsidian was brittle. Despite it’s incredible sharpness, it could easily break, and I did not want that to happen in my mouth.
Chink. Another chunk came off. Chink, chink, chink.
“So,” I spoke around the rock in my mouth, “what’s Honeydew’s knife made of?”
Though I didn’t look up from my work, I could hear Carveshine chuckle. “You’re insistent. It’s the front tooth of a rat, from the last successful hunt.”
This made me look up. “A rat?”
“Horrible beasts, largest in the whole forest.” He confirmed. “Large as four or five breezies, and fast. Worse than the mantisses used to be. It’s been a while since the last hunt succeeded.”
“They used to be bad?”
“There used to be a lot more of them, ‘bout a decade back. Seemed like they were everywhere, you could barely leave the village anymore. Were nearly forced to relocate. Until the bees decided they had it with mantisses snatching up their drones.” he chuckled. “They messed with the bees. You don’t do that.”
Chink, the chitin went as I tried to remember back. It was all a blur of adrenaline-fueled terror, but I distinctly remembered the mantis stopping from chasing me… and had there been a distant buzz, or had I imagined things? Maybe, the predator had fled after-
The shard hit a snag and I screamed as the taste of blood filled my moutj. Spitting out the glass in panic, I covered my face, licking over the small, but agonizing cut in my lip.
“By Heistin, Twilight, I told you to be careful!” Carveshine shouted as he observed my lip, the second vase cradled in his hooves. Inside was a green-ish salve, which stung as he coated my lip with it. It tasted unimaginably sour. “Don’t spit.” he warned me while he watched my face contort in disgust. “It’d aggravate the wound.”
I grimaced. If only I had some water to get this horrid flavor out of my mouth. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” he replied evenly, though his expression told a different story as he examined the bloody shard. With a grunt, he chucked it into a third vase. “Watch out better next time.”
Nodding, I bit down on a new shard, carefully aligning its edge with my chitin plate before gently pushing- and froze as I saw Carveshine’s glare. “What?”
“This is what you call even?” he groused, giving me a sharp look.
I stared down at the plate in response. It looked even to me. Even as I rubbed my hoof over it, it seemed fairly smooth.
“You’re not doing it right.” Carveshine said, his voice grumbled. “Use your feelers!”
Right, right. I rolled my eyes as I refocused on the slab, hoping he’d just turn back to his work while I ran my antennae over the edge. Oh, yeah, I was definitely feeling it now, it might have been fine with my hoof, but for my feeler, it was like sandpaper. But still, I’d only had these super-sensitive appendages for two days, how was I supposed to know to use them for this? And how was he expecting me to make an even edge when I couldn’t even see the difference anymore? Closing my eyes, I breathed out, feeling a bit of the heat in my chest dissipate. Concentrate, I thought as I brought the edge down to the chitin. Chink. Chink. Often, I had to pull away to check with my antennae. Somehow, I’d expected this work to be more exciting than repeating one motion ad nauseam while making no visible difference whatsoever. But it’d come, I was sure, I just had to endure the boredom.
“You talked about bees-” I asked as I once more felt the surface. Chink, chink. Still not done.
“Don’t cross them, don’t collect their pollen and they’ll leave you in peace.” He shrugged. “Sometimes they trade. But there’s not much they’re interested in. Even less they can’t get themselves.”
Huh, trade with bees. “What are they trading with?”
“Honey.” Carveshine whispered wistfully. “Never much. A few drops, and never at a fair exchange… but damn me, I still want it.”
So, honey is valuable for the breezies. Maybe that’s why Seabreeze’s clan collects pollen in Equestria? Because they need it to make honey, but the bees wouldn’t allow them to gather any in this world? Another question to add to the pile that most likely wouldn’t be answered. If these breezies didn’t know about the portal, then they wouldn’t know what the pollen was for. Sighing, I refocused on my task- and came to an abrupt halt when I saw the edge nearly cut into my feeler! I jerked back, suppressing a shout from my lips. Sweet Celestia, I’d just gotten so close to severing an ultra-sensitive body part. Oooh, I didn’t even want to think about it!
That moment, a piece of the obsidian shard broke off. The brittle stone must have cracked when I’d been startled.
Carveshine did not look happy.
“Care. Ful.” he hissed. “These things are valuable, so stop breaking them!”
“I’m sorry!” My voice was a bit more aggressive than I’d planned. But seriously, I would’ve liked to see him do better if he was stuffed in an unfamiliar body with entirely new limbs to keep track of! Grumbling inwardly, I rummaged for a third shard, grinding my teeth as I brought it up. Which caused it to chute out of my teeth, shooting down at the ground. Carveshine’s eyes widened as he reached out his hooves to catch it, his body nearly ramming into mine as he forced me to take a step back. My hoof collided with something. I almost couldn’t dare to look back. The vase with the shards balanced precariously on its edge, trembling- and then fall back on its standing, safe and sound. Relieved, I turned back to Carveshine. He looked everything but amused as he held up his hoof, and the small, very sharp rock in it. It’d left a shallow, superficial cut. I opened my mouth, but then it closed without a word. There were no cheap excuses this time, I realized as I desperately thought of a way to explain the situation.
“Maybe you should try another type of work.” he suggested before I could get out a single word.
“So, it did not go so well?” Honeydew asked softly.
I let out a frustrated groan, shaking my head to get my low-hanging feelers out of my vision. All it did was make them bounce around, increasing the distraction-factor even more. I wasn’t sure on everything Carveshine had heatedly told Honeydew. I suspected a curse or two, the type of word Fluttershy would never think to teach me, but I definitely made out the words ‘clumsy’ and ‘unfocused’. More than once.
“Alright, maybe toolmaker was a bit ambitious.” he gave me an apologetic smile. “I just thought.. Because you look a little weak-”
“Thanks, you really know how to cheer a mare up.” I replied drily.
His eyes turned away, muttering an apology as I pondered. So he thought I looked weak. And here I’d assumed my spell would’ve given me at least an average breezie’s physiology. I couldn’t help but note that Honeydew was an inch or two taller… Well, whatever a breezie-inch would be. Still, being weak was bad, especially in a situation where most every job would be labor-intensive. Sighing, I wracked my brain on any sort of work I could do for the clan. I was too clumsy for craftsmanship. Too inexperienced for scouting. Gathering? Where would I go? How would I find my way back and how would I avoid being eaten myself? What other work was even needed, I had no idea! My eyes trailed to Honeydew. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know what I can do.”
“Do you have any talents?” he suggested. “You must have done something before you came here.”
Yes, I was a librarian, great skill set to have in an archaic village. Heck, I haven’t even seen a book around here! Even my snarky brain shuddered at that realization. “Nothing that would be applicable here.” I bet Applejack would’ve had no problem in this situation, she’d teach the breezies how to build and tear down barns in a day.
“That doesn’t make it easy for me, Twilight.” he puffed out his cheeks.
Tell me about it.
“Maybe I could… carry water?” I suggested half-heartedly.
“What for?” he raised his eyebrow. “Can’t wait to wash yourself? It’s gonna get cold very soon.” he added with a concerned look.
Right, water carrying not useful for creatures that can subsist entirely from morning dew. “Isn’t there anything I can do?”
He slowly rubbed his chin, eyes staring into the busy village. More breezies than ever were trotting around, exchanging food, chatting and generally taking a break. For some reason, several groups of breezies had been gathering foliage, carrying it to a small pile wedged between a root of a nearby tree, and the fallen stem of another forest giant. It didn’t seem like material, the breezies treated it too casually. Were we going to burn it for warmth? But leaves made poor fuel, burning up fast and producing a lot of smoke.
Suddenly, I had a mental picture of a mountain of leaves covering the entire village, shielding it from wind and snow, like a hedgehogs nest. That… sort of made sense, especially with the arcways, which would ensure that vital paths in the village would remain accessible. Point for Twilight, one mystery down, fifty million to go!
“I would have to talk to a few breezies.” Honeydew finally said. I’d been so deep in thought that I almost forgot we were in a conversation. “In the meantime, you could-” his voice trailed off as he looked out of the village into the dark, looming forest. “Yes, you see out there, the bush next to the birch? The white tree.” he clarified as he noticed my confused expression.
“Y-yes, I see it.” I muttered as my face heated up. So I’d always skimped out on outdoor studies while studying under Celestia, who would’ve thought it’d actually become important?!
“Under the bush should be a little hole in the ground. Sometime in summer, I’ve put a bunch of supplies there so I could eventually make myself a more permanent outpost in the wild when I got some time off, but Heistin decided it wasn’t the time... Either way,” he continued without giving me the chance to ask about that name. “There should be enough to eventually let you build your own home once winter comes. Just put it in the storage and wait at my house when you’re done, alright?”
“Sure…” I muttered, casting a nervous glance to said tree. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with the idea of going out there alone, even if it was just a twenty minute march. Honeydew’s hoof poked my shoulder, and I turned to see his apologetic smile.
“I know, it’s not fun work, but it’s just until I can find you something better, alright?”
I nodded, wishing I knew what to say to make him come with me as I trotted out of the village.
-------
When the sun began to touch the horizon, all thoughts of danger or unease had disappeared. My shoulders burned as bricks of sun-dried clay pressed down on my back just like… exactly what they were, bricks! It was fair, I told myself. The clan took me in despite that worsening what was apparently to be a bad year, they were right to give me the worst jobs they had, I could count myself lucky that Honeydew even put in the effort to find me something better.
None of that helped as every step seemed to pulverize everything between those bricks and my bones. The first haul at least had been easy, two bales of hay, strung up with a woven rope, so thin I could barely see it. Spiderweb? That would have been a huge risk to get. It had also given me a chance to get a better picture of the village’s surroundings. A venture point that was a low-hanging branch gave me a good view of a large swamp to the east. The other directions only led deeper into the endless sea of green that was the forest, though there seemed to be a mountain range on the northern horizon if the brief glimpses I caught through the tree canopy didn’t deceive me.
Gasping, I took another step, distracting thoughts falling away as I focused on the next step. And the next…
-----
Honeydew blinked in surprise as I finally, finally arrived at his house, feeling like I could just drop down on a pile of hay and never get up again. Luckily, there was a pair of helpful hooves to catch me.
“You look horrible!” Honeydew made his astute observation. “Did something happen, I expected you an hour ago!?”
A groan rose up from my hate-filled heart. So despite all my effort I’d still performed below expectations, which had probably been low to begin with? Riveting! At this rate I’d maybe survive for a week!
“So, about the work I was promising you,” he began as he pushed me back on my own four hooves, smiling in spite of the glare that should have set him ablaze. “Don’t give me that look, this is something easy, promise.”
I neither had the energy nor the will to hide my dissatisfaction. My back still felt like it had served as the dancefloor for a herd of elephants. Whatever sort of work he’d offer, it did not include me resting! Still, if his clan threw me out, I’d be a lot more uncomfortable, real quick. So I really had no choice but to trot behind him, occasionally stretching my sore muscles.
We arrived at the only building in the village that could rival the elder’s longhouse in size. Copious amounts of turf covered the top, the yellow of hay disrupted by splotches of green grass, as if a new lawn was being raised on the roof. Imagine my surprise then, when I saw the solid stone walls nearly hidden underneath the turf. Not even the elder’s longhouse had been made with stone, nor a single other building. Why? Why was every other breezie happy with a dirt-lump of a house if this was possible?!
“Who lives in here?” I attempted to ask, but I was cut off as the door opened, revealing an elderly breezie mare, blinking at me in surprise.
“Welcome,” she said brightly. “Who might you be- Honeydew!” Her voice rose into a scolding shout. “I was expecting you an hour ago. Poor Harpie has been waiting for you.”
He flinched back, muttering an apology, unable to meet the old mare’s eyes.
“H-he had to wait for me.” I exclaimed, stepping closer to the mare. “He gave me a job and I couldn’t do it in time. It’s not his fault.”
“Defending him?” The mare asked, one eyebrow slowly rising up. Suddenly, all her anger seemed to poof into nonexistence as she chuckled mischievously. “Oh, how fast the winds can turn.”
“W-what?” I asked, a bit overwhelmed by the sudden change in tone. Honeydew sputtered, glaring at the mare.
“Oh, I’m just saying, he’s been a lone harvest mouse for a while…”
I gave her a blank look. The elderly breezie’s grin shrunk.
“Oh dear, you’re a little slow, aren’t you?”
No! In my head, a little pony threw up her hooves in exasperation. I am not slow! You breezies just talk weird! Outwardly, I put on a sheepish grin. “M-maybe, but I could learn.”
“Ehem,” Honeydew cleared his throat. For some reason, his feelers emitted light in a soft, pinkish hue. I didn’t know they could change color! I wanted to do that, too!
“I actually hoped I could leave Twilight with you for now.” Oh right, Honeydew was talking. Reluctantly tearing my eyes from his bright antennae, I focused back on the conversation. “She’s in need of work.” He gave me a quick glance. “Simple work.”
I have degrees in magical theory, history of ponykind and applied sciences… I thought as the elderly breezie gave me an empathetic look.
“Of course, you can come with me” she offered, stepping out of the doorway. “Oh, and I didn’t even introduce myself, I am Echidna.”
“Twilight Sparkle.”
The inner walls of the house were covered in smooth clay, preventing any cold air from blowing through cracks in the stone. Wooden posts held up the ceiling, while the ground was covered in what looked like sand, but had the consistency of sawdust. Suddenly, the tiny form of a breezie child zipped past, nearly ramming into me if I hadn’t backed away.
“Autumn Mist!” Echidna said warningly, causing the child to freeze in place. “Watch where you’re running, you almost hit our newcomer.”
The child apologized, but a shrill squeak tuned him out. “Honeydew!” A tiny filly shouted, seemingly attempting to choke my friend by hugging his windpipe shut. “You’re here, is this Twilight, is she your friend, Charybdis said-”
“Shhh, you’re disrupting the lesson” Echidna warned, her hoof pointing at the far side of the longhouse, where the glow of two dozen children’s antennae surrounded the form of the strange mare Kalypso, her differently colored eyes fixated on us with an irritated look.
“D-don’t disrupt Kalypso.” Honeydew coughed as he freed himself from the filly’s grip.
“Sorry…” she muttered, eyes fixated on the ground.
“Just behave around her,” Honeydew said as he stroked her mane. “Will you be okay?” he asked me as he lowered himself, allowing the filly to clamber onto his back.
“We’ll be fine.” Echidna answered as Honeydew shouldered his filly.
“Thanks. Twilight?” he gave me a smile. “I believe in you.”
“Yeah.” I muttered. Thanks for believing that I will be able to do the simplest job you could find… I kept that thought locked in my brain as I waved him goodbye. On the other side of the longhouse, Kalypso had begun a tale she seemingly recited from memory alone. As much as I wanted to listen, I forced myself to turn away and sit beside Echidna.
“Have you ever woven before?” The old mare asked as she pulled out a mass of straw.
“A little, actually.” My expression brightened as I took the straw, mentally going through the steps needed to turn it into a basket. That may be the only object I could make, drilled into me by assisting Rarity on various winter wrap-ups, but it was something! A facet of breezie life I wasn’tutterly clueless about. “Do you need baskets by any chance?”
“Yes, actually.” Echidna nodded, a little surprised. “Our gatherers will need more for when they go out to pick up the raspberries. They always drench the straw, and then it rots- we always have use for more baskets.”
And so we went to work. Though I did make a few mistakes and my product wasn’t as pretty as Echidna’s, they would do their job. After a while, I began to pay more and more attention to Kalypso. The strange mare was surrounded by foals as she told her tales, sometimes drawing something into the ground, sometimes speaking with the kids. Occasionally, a small group of children would break away from the group to play tag, causing Kalypso to exasperatedly shout after them. On a closer look, she seemed tired, the way she held herself, how she sometimes halted on a word, having to recollect her thoughts before she could continue. And yet, though she made blunders that would have made any class in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns explode in chit-chat, the children mostly kept quiet, as if they were anxious to misbehave. Was that that just how breezie foals behaved, or was it a sign of Kalypso’s status?
“Who is she?” I muttered quietly.
“Are you speaking of Frindri Kalypso?” Echidna asked.
I nodded. “It’s something about her eyes, isn’t it?”
“Our Kalypso was born with the eyes of wisdom and foresight.” Echidnae breathed reverently. “The gods have marked her for a great fate. They may even speak to her from time to time.”
Foresight? I hadn’t paid too much mind to the vague prophecy Kalypso had spouted, but if seeing the future was a breezie thing- “Is the gift of foresight common around here?”
“Oh, no, it is incredibly rare.” The old breezie smiled as she shook her head. “Windchime hasn’t even had half a dozen visions in all his years. But Kalypso, she seems to have at least two every month.”
And one included me. What were her words again? Something about winter spreading over the land and a flash of purple by her side. Ugh, it was so- not specific! I let out a groan, fixating my eyes on the back of the seer. I wanted to ask more of her, of this vision she claimed to have had. But she was busy with her job, as was I. And so I focused back on my task at hoof.
“Be a dear and watch the time.” Echidna instructed. “We do not want to be late for the praying.”
“I don’t know when it is.” I looked up from the basket I’d been making. With all the lights emanating from everyone’s feelers, it was hard to tell what time it even was.
“Just tell me when Kalypso gets up.”
“She’s going too?”
“Everyone is going.” The breezie said with definitiveness. “Hence why we don’t want to be missing.”
-----
Night had fallen over the forest, the stars hidden by clouds or the ever-present canopy of leaves, I couldn’t tell. It was as if the darkness was pressing down on our circle of light, condensing it to tiny spheres around every breezie. Except me, who struggled to keep within said spheres of others, wishing desperately I knew how to make my own feelers glow. I exhaled on my hooves, rubbing the limbs to ward off the cold of the autumn night. If only I could just go back, roll up in Honeydew’s house where it was warm. I could relax my still aching shoulders, see if I could find a reflective surface to look at that cut in my lip. Except that would make me miss the praying. I was a bit surprised to hear the spirit of exploration urging me onward, I’d assumed it had been snuffed out by the dangers of this world. But here it was, berating me for even thinking about missing my introduction into breezie religion!
A cold breeze swept over the ground, carrying the noise of rustling leaves as it tore away my foggy breath. Oh, I hoped they had blankets there…
Like a herd of flickering candles, the breezies flocked to a fallen tree, gathering in the hole left behind when the roots had torn out large clumps of forest ground. The trunk was now covered in moss and mushrooms. A solitary light shone from between the free-hanging roots. Was it Windchime? At this distance, I could only see him as a glowing ball in the dark.
I stepped into the group, glancing around in the hopes of finding Honeydew somewhere. It struck me how odd it felt that I couldn’t recognize any of their faces. Growing up in Canterlot, it was the norm, but during my years in Ponyville I’d gotten to know the ponies of the town so well that I could easily pick out at least two familiar ponies from any crowd. Biting my lip, I continued my search. Even Carveshine would be better than no-one, a familiar face-
Then my eyes fell on Honeydew, sitting in between two mares of roughly his age, running his glowing feelers over Harpie’s body, heating up the filly. I felt a bit uneasy as I approached them. If they were family, was it really my place to break into their privacy? But Honeydew had now spotted me, wearing a big smile as he patted a spot next to him.
I still wasn’t sure whether I should sit with them, but turning down an invitation would’ve been rude.
“Hello, Twilight.” He smiled, poking my shoulder with his hoof before shivering. “Ugh, you’re freezing again… Skylla, this is Twilight,” he pointed at the mare of his age, who gave a brief nod. “And Charybdis.” The other mare got up to shake my hoof while I stammered my greetings. “And you’ve already met Harpie.” He grinned as he held up the small filly.
“Only briefly, Honeydew,” I said, returning his smile. “But from what I could tell, your daughter seems really nice.”
Harpie blinked. “I’m his what?”
“She’s not my daughter, Twilight!” Honeydew exclaimed, looking uncertain whether to look appalled or break out in laughter. “She’s my little sister.”
“You’re not old enough to have children, anyway.” Skylla said coldly.
“Yes, I am.” Honeydew shot back a glare. “I’m just out scouting a lot.”
“You tend to be.” Skylla hissed, but stopped as Charybdis poked her in the side, giving her a warning look. The older breezie heaved a sigh before she lied down, having dropped the subject.
“You’re a ray of sunshine again…” Honeydew muttered.
“So, uhm… you’re all siblings?” I asked, looking from one to the other. I didn’t see much resemblance, but then again, I wasn’t sure about their gender before hearing their voices, either.
“Of course.” Harpie snickered. “What did you think we were?”
My mouth opened, and then closed again. I was not going to tell them my first impression, that Skylla and Honeydew were married, nono. Into Tartarus with that mental image!
“So, we’re here to pray, right?”
Honeydew gave me another one of those Twilight-is-slow-looks. “Yes, it’s the last moon before snowfall.”
“How do you know?” I scratched my head. “Is it from a vision?”
Celestia, I’m getting tired of that look…
“Approximately.” Honeydew said, drawing out each syllable as if it was a word on its own.
Seriously, if I was going to live with these Pixies, I really had to make them realize that I wasn’t stupid. I just had a bad feeling that that wouldn’t be easy. Especially if I was going to ask more strange questions. Like what kind of gods or spirits we were going to pray to. Still... I had to know.
“Honeydew-”
“Shhh!” He put a hoof on my lips as he looked up at Windchime. The elderly breezie had stopped fluttering around the hanging roots and was pulling Kalypso into a mid-air dance. I had no idea what was going on, but I watched in amazement as the pair twirled in the air, lit up by their own feelers. I met Honeydew’s eyes, the breezie having watched my expression during the entire display. He chuckled, scooting a bit closer. After a moment of hesitation, I did the same, protecting at least one side from the frigid air as we sat shoulder to shoulder.
Windchime had now separated from Kalypso, landing on a thick root above our heads. “My dear clan,” he intoned loudly, somehow still sounding as smooth and comforting as ever, despite having to shout. “It is the darkening of days. The year has not been kind to us. One has left our clan. Another followed Frinjiòn’s eternal breeze.”
At the last sentence, a shiver went through Harpie, who was quickly embraced by her sister Charybdis. I gave them an anxious look. I’d just learned a breezie saying. And I wished I could forget about it.
“It will be a hard winter,” Windchime continued. “We have all felt Heistin’s breath at times, and soon she shall lay claim to our land until the seasons turn once more. But though she might grip harder this year, though she might yank and twist on it, breathe over the land until her lungs ache, it is not hers. It is Frinjiòn’s, and we are his. We are breezies, and we shall endure!” He raised his hoof high in the air, his shout joined by many others, though a sizeable portion of the clan could not muster his enthusiasm. I noted that while Honeydew was shouting quite loudly, he was also one of the first to stop.
“We also have a newcomer!” I froze as I was suddenly in the center of a dozen curious looks. “You may ask yourself why we share our precious resources with this strange mare of the forest. It’s because she helps us in return. Already, she has proven herself eager, if not particularly skilled in her assistance.” That drew a bit of laughter. I snapped around, just in time to give Honeydew a warning look. The grin on his face dampened a little as he rolled his eyes.
“Twilight Sparkle came from far away, through means unbeknownst to any of us. It may be the foolery of a tree spirit, the ramblings of a confused soul, OR, it might be a sign of the gods. And it takes a fool to ignore their advice.” Panting, he closed his monologue, nodding to Kalypso, who now took the stage. Unlike Windchime, who had worn a smile during his speech, she looked much more reserved, as if she didn’t want to be here at all. She opened her mouth and I had to peak my ears to even make out what she was saying.
“As you know, the dreams of snow and ice have haunted me since the last two moons, when we saw the first signs of Heistin’s early descent. I am afraid the winter will be long and difficult. However, I don’t want to see us turning our backs on those who need our help. Twilight was lost in our forest, unable to fend for herself. I like to believe that this was the reason we took her in, not because of a vision.” Her strange eyes swept over us all, centering on a point in the crowd I couldn’t make out. “Still, she is of importance. A swirl of purple, standing by our side. I do not know of her impact on the events, but she is meant to be here.” With that, she backed away, allowing Windchime to speak once again. I did not listen, my eyes were fixated on Kalypso as her antennae darkened while she quietly snuck away!
I shot a quick look to Honeydew. He seemed entirely focused on Windchime, not even turning as I got up.
Galloping away from the crowd, I tried to keep my eyes on Kalypso. She had reached the outer edge of the light-sphere the clan created, spanning her wings as she floated away to a low-hanging branch sticking out of the fallen tree’s trunk. Spreading my own wings, I used a combination of climbing, jumping and gliding to cross the foliage until I could start scaling the tree. On this scale, tree bark made for an excellent climbing wall. Kalypso sat on the branch, eyes narrowed as she stared into the night sky, at least what was actually visible of it.
“Kalypso?”
She shot up as if I’d struck her with lightning. “Who’s there?”
I gasped as I finally pulled myself onto the branch. “I-it’s me, Twilight.”
She gave me a sharp glare. “You should be back there, listening to Frindrò Windchime, Twilight.”
“And you shouldn’t?” I shot back, grinning as I saw her recoil. “Then we both shouldn’t be here.”
“What do you want?” she asked gruffly as she looked out into the forest.
“To thank you.” That got me a surprised look. “Without your intervention, the elder might have cast me out, where I would’ve starved, or frozen to death.”
“You were in my vision.” She muttered, not meeting my eyes. “You shouldn’t thank me, it was none of my doing.”
That didn’t make any sense. “But you just said-”
“I said ‘I’d like to believe’. But that’s what I want. It doesn’t matter what I want, the vision is the entire reason.” She let out a sigh. “Still… I appreciate your gratitude, Twilight. Even if I don’t deserve it.”
I could feel my brows furrowing as I tried to make sense of this mare. So, she wanted to help me, and did so, having had a vision that I would help. But she did not believe I should be gracious, because the vision wasn’t her doing. I supposed that made sense, nopony could control their dreams, except for maybe Princess Luna. But shouldn’t she then be happy the vision had given her a way to vouch for me,?
“You are staring at me.” Kalypso said, her eyes darting away from mine.
“S-sorry.” I flushed, giving her a sheepish grin. “It’s just, I have never seen-”
“Eyes like mine, I know.” Kalypso huffed. “Maybe you should go now, I would like to have some time for myself… please.”
I was going to say ‘interesting breezie’, I thought as I climbed off the branch, leaving Kalypso to do… whatever she was doing.
The veil of dreamy dozing tore apart as a pair of hooves shook me insistently. Groaning, I sat up, shielding my eyes from the light Honeydew’s feelers were beaming into my face. “W-what’s up?” I slurred. He gave the clay ceiling a brief glance before shaking me again.
“No time for weird questions, Twilight, we have work to do!”
Groaning, I pushed myself onto tired legs. I felt like I’d just laid down in bed. Was it- oh, Celestia, the sun hadn’t even risen yet, those breezies were worse than Applejack! As I tried to reach for my drop of morning shower, Honeydew let out an impatient huff and grabbed my hoof.
“I need to wash!” I protested. Hygiene was important.
“You’ll get dirty in a moment.” he huffed as he insistently dragged me along. “Downpour last night got into the storage. Our supplies are fine, but we have to get the water out.”
“B-but… my work with Echidna-” I stammered.
“Needed here now.”
Moments later, we were both up to our chests in the dirty water, side to side with other breezies, me dipping my feelers into it to carry small drops, him somehow just reaching into it and pulling out large orbs. The sight made me almost as jealous as Celestia’s horn did when I was a foal. At least the water made the upward curve of the tunnel leading into the storage apparent, a simple measure protecting their storage from any normal flooding.
“Honeydew, what happens here when it rains really bad?” I shouted over the back of an unfamiliar breezie.
“We’ll be warned. The trees can ward off the rain for a time, allowing us to either shield the storage or get it to safety if it’s really bad.”
I gave a brief nod, mentally noting down my decision to bring the invention of the water pump to the breezies. After all, the non-intervention-clause of my expedition was dead and trampled already.
This rude awakening was my first experience of something I’d never known before: A life without routine. From a student to a librarian, followed by princess duties I’d been surrounded by it. Sure, there had been exceptional days in my life, unexpected events, but those had mostly been brief excursions from a thoroughly planned, well-regulated schedule. I could wake up one morning and summarize the following day with a high grade of accuracy.
As a breezie however, there was no such certainty. I’d woken up expecting to go back to Echidna and learn more about straw-weaving. Instead, my first task was followed by ramming thin sticks through leaves the clan had collected, making it harder for the wind to blow them away by pinning them together. Then, I was sent off to help collect more leaves myself. An hour to eat and snooze at noon, followed by an afternoon of flying out into the near forest to try and break off useful splinters from dead wood. You had to remove the wet parts to get to the useful bits, which were unfortunately also the most difficult to break off, giving me numerous tiny wounds over the course of my attempts.
In the breezie world, your ‘job’ was something you did either when it was necessary, or you would make a surplus when every other task was taken care off. It seemed the only breezie who could generally assume what the day would bring was Carveshine, and only because tools or repairs were always required. Even Windchime and the Elder would go around joining in various tasks while encouraging the other breezies.
I had no idea how they did it. In the evening, I was exhausted, mentally and physically. I hadn’t asked Honeydew how to light my antennae, hadn’t spoken with Kalypso, hadn’t even asked anyone about the portal. I feel asleep, feeling a certainty that the next would just be like this one. And a chilling uncertainty that it would be nothing like it.
It was on my fifth day in the clan that my life was about to take another turn. After delivering a load of bricks from Honeydew’s stash, I had been mercifully permitted to the easy task of waterproofing nutshell with tree sap. Then I just had to tie a thin rope around the makeshift canteen so it could be worn during flight. Compared to everything else and with an exhausting, unpredictable schedule, it was a nice opportunity to relax and have a chat with Sunny Mist, the stallion who was testing the bottles once the sap had sealed them shut.
“Kalypso is a tad strange, alright.” he benignantly told me. “Don’t worry if you’re not breaking through to her, she likes to keep to herself.” Pressing his hoof on the opening, he rapidly shook the bottle. “I suppose it sets her apart, with the gods sending visions into her head and all that.”
I nodded, frowning as I saw a thin stream of water erupt from the canteen. The more I learned about this breezie, the stranger she seemed. If Sunny Mist was to be believed, Kalypso had been born during a terrible storm strong enough to tear out trees and make the entire clan huddle underground. Both of her parents perished in her birth and as the child began to cry, the storm immediately subsided. Of course it sounded much better the way he told it. I had a feeling he’d bolstered the tale just a little bit.
Still… “poor breezie, It must be hard growing up without parents, especially in such a harsh world.” I couldn’t even imagine, I grew up in a well-off family, right at the center of the nation. Maybe Applejack could, but she at least had an extensive family to fall back on. “Does Kalpso have any other family?” I asked, looking up at Sunny Mist. “Sunny?”
He gave no sign of hearing me, his eyes drawn up to the sky, just as I felt a shadow pass over me.
“Finally!” Sunny shouted as he grinned up at a group of a dozen breezies, his antennae lighting up as he waved a hoof. Now I heard more voices, filled with joy and relief as they greeted the incoming group, which now took a long turn so they could land on a flat bed of moss outside the village.
The gatherers had came back, I realized, frowning as I slowly approached them. They’d been overdue-
I ducked away as Carveshine ran past me, nearly leaping at the breezie at the head of the gatherers.
“Euryale!” he gasped as he embraced the mare, frowning at the touch. “You’re cold, you should come inside.”
I had to agree. When I got a closer look, the returned breezies all looked worn out and tired, their windblown manes hanging over their faces, caked with dirt and sweat. Half a dozen carried between them a long, segmented body of a millipede, while the rest had baskets tied to each side of their harness, filled with a mixture of seeds, nuts and… something that looked like balls of vomit. Choosing not to think about that for now, I focused on the hushed tone in which the mare, Euryale, spoke to Carvehine, the strained expression on the gatherers’ faces as they held their loved ones, as if they were holding off just a moment before bringing bad news... Some were already leaving the scene, straight to their houses. I couldn’t blame them, I still remembered the frigid night I had to fly through with Honeydew.
The timing of his voice reaching my ears was so absolute, that I thought for a second it was just in my head. But then I heard his voice again, but it was not addressing me.
“Marsh Grass.” Honeydew huffed, landing in front of a shivering gatherer, who had split off from the crowd, plunging his glowing feelers forward as he shared their heat with the shivering breezie.
“T-thanks, honey.” he stuttered through blue lips.
Honey? My eyes quickly passed from one to the other. No, no, it was just his name shortened, a nickname, it must be.
“Looks like you needed it.” Honeydew said, his feelers passing from Marsh’s chest over his back, relieving him off his baskets, just as he let out a relieved sigh. “Apple pieces, walnut… a mantis egg cluster!” Honeydew pulled back, giving the stallion a stern look. “You shouldn’t have, it was too risky-”
“The mantisses froze over by now. We found a few, dead as can be. Ants already over the bodies, though” Marsh said, grimacing as his own feelers started glowing… then flickered, before fizzling out completely.
“You should go inside!” Honeydew gasped, his eyes widening. “I’ll get some sizzlegrass-”
“No!” Marsh protested. “We’ll need it… Kalypso was right, this winter will be bad.” Rubbing one hoof over the other, he looked up, right at where I was staring at the two. I immediately turned away, but I could feel his gaze resting on me.
“Who is she?”
“Who- Twilight!” Honeydew exclaimed. “I found her in the forest, with no idea where she was, so we took her in. She’s eager enough, but weird… doesn’t know a lot of obvious things. Like how to react when someone is introducing her!” he said, giving me a pointed look.
I could feel my cheeks burn as I came closer, wearing a sheepish smile. “S-sorry,” I muttered, scratching the back of my head. “Honeydew already told you my name…”
“Marsh Grass.” he said, giving me a cautious glance. “You’re… not staying for the winter, right?”
“I-I’m afraid I am?” my smile drained as I faced his lowering eyebrows, his gritting teeth.
“We know it won’t be easy,” Honeydew jumped in, allowing me to take a step back from Marsh. “But I couldn’t leave her alone in the forest!”
“You haven’t been out there the last few days!” Marsh snapped. “We almost lost Akantha to the cold last night, we were out of sizzlegrass. We’ve seen hoarfrost! And some of us have heard the howling.”
Honeydew jerked back, his eyes widening. “T-the winds of Fjermengard?”
“If Heistin opened the gates.”
I looked from one to the other, hoping to get more of a clue of what they were talking about. I’d picked up a few bits and pieces of their religion over my stay. Heistin was some sort of goddess of the sea, and the breezies feared her breath claiming the lands… I’d assumed they were talking about cold wind, but then what were these winds of- what was that again? “Uhm, Honeydew, what are those gates he’s talking about?”
Once again, both breezies gave me the look, though at least Honeydew was quick to explain before Marsh could question my intelligence. “Fjermengard is where Frinjòn locked away most of Heistin’s coldest winds. Every time they escape, winter and struggle rule over the land for a long time.” he swallowed. “It’s said that one day, Heistin will shatter the prison and cover the land in frozen water, claiming it as her domain forever.”
Now I got his reaction, a never-ending winter did not sound fun, especially without indoor heating.
“”But it doesn’t matter, she is our guest now.” Honeydew said firmly. “So maybe winter will be dark, and we can’t keep the millipede aside for a celebration, but would you rather she froze out there?”
“No, but this cold, it’s not natural! Who knows how long it can last.” He shivered. “Maybe I’m just overreacting. I-I need to go and warm up.”
“You should go to Echidna, she set up a sizzlepit for your arrival. For all of you”
A wave of relief crossed over Marsh’s face. “Oh, thank Frinjiòn... “ he turned to bolt away, but then gave a look back. “And… I’m sorry, Twilight. You are a guest, our worries shouldn’t be yours.”
“I-I think they concern us all, Marsh.” I responded awkwardly, not sure whether to smile or look serious. At least he seemed relieved that I didn’t rebuff his apology.
“Well, I should go speak with elder.” Honeydew muttered. “Will you be okay without me?”
I froze, sensing the rapid approach of what I’d been dreading. Of course, with the gatherers back… Honeydew would have to do his job as scout and go lead them to the berry bushes he’d found. He wasn’t just asking for right now, but for at least two weeks. But even if he would stay for my sake, it’d be wrong to keep him here while the clan was struggling. “S-sure, I-I’ll be just fine.” I stuttered, forcing my lips to twist into what I hoped was a reassuring smile as he nodded before turning to leave.
If only I could convince myself as easily as him. Even though I was in no direct danger, I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed him. There were still so many things that eluded me about breezie life, like how he was able to effortlessly tell the time, even on cloudy days. He was still my first pick when it came to asking questions,as he was at least used enough to my cluelessness to keep his looks of disbelief short. Heck, I never even managed to wake up on my own, he was always there to make sure I got out of the feathers. And lastly… he made for a good pillow when we curled up to sleep after a hard day. And none of those were good reasons to justify me wanting for him to stay! It’s just selfish…
I let out a long sigh as I watched him disappear in the elder’s longhouse, together with Euryale, who must be Carveshine’s wife. It was his job, he had to do it. Still, I thought as I glared at the ropes and bottles waiting for me, I at least want to know for how long. “Hey, Sunny Mist?” I called out. The crowd had long dispersed, many breezies taking the task of stowing away the food off the gatherers. “Can you take care of the last canteens?”
He shrugged. “I suppose I can. You’ll owe me one?”
“I’ll take a task off of you in the future.” I promised, giving him a brief hug before I ran towards the longhouse, leaving behind one stunned breezie.
I halted in front of the slab of tree bark that acted as a door (but mostly just to block out the cold outside air) and raised my hoof to knock, as I heard the elder’s voice.
“If it’s as bad as you say, Euryale, then we’ll only be able to make two or three more hauls before winter buries us.”
“Two, at most.” A mare’s voice responded with certainty. “I’m sorry, but we all need a day of rest after the flight yesterday. The wind was ever-changing in the fields, and we had no more sizzlegrass.”
“Absolutely none?”
“Not a single blade.”
“Then all the other groups will have to take more grass than before.” Honeydew’s voice followed apprehensively.
There was a silence, where the only thing I could hear was the low sizzling of the elder’s pit. Shivering, I finally knocked on the door.
“Twilight?” Honeydew raised an eyebrow as he pulled away the door. “Why are you here?”
“I uh…” scratching my head, I tried to quickly think of a reason.
You know, you could have used all that time you just spent listening on a door, while standing out in the open where every breezie in the village could see, my snarky brain snickered. I stammered, wishing for my crazy head to give me a legitimate answer, when I heard Honeydew sigh.
“Look, Twilight, I can’t say here.”
“I-I know!” I spoke louder than I’d wanted. I wasn’t sure why I was getting angry, maybe it was because he thought I wouldn’t understand, or maybe I couldn’t bear him repeating the same stuff I’d told myself. “I just…” Swallowing, I looked away. “I don’t really know, either.”
Honeydew looked about as confused as I felt.
“Well, you can stay here, if you don’t interrupt us.” The elder offered, despite his raised eyebrow.
“Thank you.” I brought the words out as I sat down a bit further from the sizzlepit than the others and stared at the ground.
Honeydew turned his attention back to the elder. “We should head out to the berry bushes next. If we take too long, Farin Gaela will no longer heed her promise.”
“We have more problems than just food, Honeydew. If the winter will be as long as I fear, then our stock of sizzle grass isn’t enough.” The elder sighed. “I’m gettin old. What is bearable for you is becoming dangerous for me. We’ll need to get more from the Highbreeze clan.”
Honeydew blanched. “B-but I have to go lead the gatherers-”
The elder cut him off “I will lead them.”
“B-but the ants!” Honeydew insisted. I could feel myself agreeing. From what he told me, ants were trustworthy, but very particular of the exact details of an agreement. If it was the elder to come back instead of Honeydew-
“I’ve know Farin Gaela from the day she was hatched. For me, she will make an exception.” The certainty with which he spoke made Honeydew fall back on his haunches.
“B-but why me?”
“Because they’re more likely to trade with you.”
I blinked, not quite sure what he meant with that, but a different thought had just popped into my mind. “I should come with!”
That drew a few surprised looks. “Uhm, Twilight? No offense, but you don’t know how to survive out there.” Honeydew said.
“You’ll slow him down.” Euryale agreed, the truth of her words making me wince.
“I-I know, but it’s another clan, right? They might know about the portal!”
Honeydew and the elder exchanged glances, while Euryale simply looked perplexed. It was clear they were not convinced. “W-well,” I continued, feeling sweat roll down my brows. “It might be a long shot, but if they do, I can go home, and I’ll be out of your manes. You wouldn’t have to feed me all winter!” I gave them a shaky smile. I wouldn’t rate my chances very high, but when my only other choices were to either go out into a freezing forest on my lonesome or to wait several months…
Euryale still seemed unconvinced and Honeydew frowned, but the elder was staring into the sizzling grass, deep in thought. “It would be nice to have one less mouth to feed.”
Ouch, I know those were practically my words, but direct much?
“Honeydew alone would be better.” Euryale said, giving me a thin-lipped look. “If she is as clueless as you say, she might hurt the trade.”
“Then maybe we should bring one more breezie they are sure to give a fair prize.” I suggested, hoping dearly I’d judged things right. “Kalypso.”
There was a moment of silence, in which the last pieces of grass finally broke down.
“That’s a good idea.” The elder finally said. “Honeydew, you will go to the Highbreeze-clan with Kalypso and Twilight. Bring as much grass back as the three of you can carry.”
Honeydew gave a quick nod before he got up. The others gave me an expectant look.
“W-wait, now?”
“Of course now.” Honeydew said as he pulled me up on my hooves and out the longhouse.
As it turned out, now did not quite mean right now. After agreeing with the elder to send someone looking for Kalypso, Honeydew had pulled me to the storage, all the while naming different items under his breath.
“Two-three stalks for each, twice. Pick… no, too cold for most insects.” He suddenly shot me a glance. “If you need to eat, you should do it now, we’ll be travelling light, it might be the last decent meal you’ll get before we arrive.”
“Y-you think?” I shuddered as I remembered my first day out in the wild, the intense fear of not knowing when or even if you’d have your next meal… part of me was already starting to regret coming with him.
He gave a brief nod. “It’s getting harder to forage every day, and we need to be quick. It’s better to stay hungry anyway, makes you more willing to get yourself going, so that the other clan can feed you back up sooner.” He actually winked! It boggled my mind, was he exaggerating or was he actually that nonchalant about a coming week of hunger and misery?!
Honeydew’s eyes darted over the collected tools in the storage, a frown appearing on his face. “Carveshine must’ve left it in his workshop again.” he groaned. “Twilight, tell him I need my gear back, he’ll give it to you.”
I nodded, a bit taken aback. He’d never given me an outright order before. By the time I came back, he had already gathered everything he thought we’d need. I was appalled by the meagre amounts of food he’d taken, two berries and a chunk of walnut for each of us, I could eat more than that in two days! Either he expected us to find quite a bit more, or he thought it acceptable for us to arrive as walking skeletons. Or gliding skeletons, I suppose. Then there were two stalks of sizzlegrass for each of us, another harness that looked a bit too small for me, some rope, a knife, a sort of cloth and a small, highly decorated clay vase about the size of my hoof.
“What’s in there?”
Honeydew frowned as he followed my look to the vase. His hoof immediately surged to it, as if he thought I could make it disappear with a glance. “It’s honey.” he said tensely.
That… was less exciting than I had imagined. I knew honey was deemed valuable, but I’d hoped for something special that only breezies could produce, some magic juice to heal injuries maybe, or gems with unique qualities. Preferably ones with a hidden ability to re-open weird, finicky magic portals. Instead, it was just food. Then again, the sheer vigilance with which Honeydew was watching me as his hoof hovered over the pot suggested it was much more than that. And hadn’t Carveshine told me how hard it was to get any honey from the bees, especially since breezies had no means to take it without their consent?
“Is this what we’re trading for the sizzlegrass?”
“What else have we to trade with?” he replied, giving the vase a wistful look. Now I was certain. A rare, never-spoiling substance highly regarded by what I assumed were all breezies, used as trade goods? It was synonymous with gold! No wonder Honeydew had been suspicious when I’d shown interest in it.
“How do you get honey?” I asked with my most pleasant smile.
“Slowly.” he answered, feelers bouncing as his gaze softened. “Rarely, we find wounded or lost drones and return them to their hive for a drop or two. More generous queens reward us for warning her of spiderwebs they weren’t aware of, but that’s a gamble.” With a sigh, he regarded the vase. “I think we were just starting to fill this one around the time I was born.”
They’d been filling this thing for twenty years. I swallowed as I regarded the container with newfound respect. And now we’re trading it away… possibly because of me. “Isn’t there any quicker way to get honey?” I asked, imploring him to tell me some sort of solution to the guilt settling as a lump in my throat.
“Well-”
“There’s only one thing bees reward generously.” A brisk voice cut into the conversation as Kalypso slid into the storage. “Ridding a hive of parasites. Got our previous elder two vases of honey just like the ones here. One he shared with the clan in celebration. I wish I’d been alive back then, the elder tells it like it was the brightest day in the clan’s history. ”Both she and Honeydew adopted a wistful look. Oh, Celestia, I’ll never be able to look at honeyed oats the same way again!
“Ehem, urgent journey?” I asked, looking from one to the other. “Aren’t we wasting time right now?”
Snapping out of his daze, Honeydew nodded. “You’re right, the more ground we can cover before nightfall the better. Are you prepared, Kalypso?”
“It looks like you prepared for me.” She noted with a glance to the three distinct piles of supplies he had built. “Though an earlier warning would’ve been nice.”
He gave her an apologetic smile. “We all just found out.”
“Besides, shouldn’t you have already known?” I quipped, reaching to poke her shoulder.
In an instant, her expression darkened. “The gods don’t send me visions for my comfort.” she hissed. “They don’t concern themselves with such banalities.”
“I-I was just making a joke-”
A hoof poked against my side as Honeydew walked between me and Kalypso. “We need to go now, keep it for later.”
I nodded, casting my eyes to the ground. Kalypso seemed… conflicted? With a sigh, she took her travelling gear and followed quietly.
The last few days in the village had been a hectic rush from one unfamiliar task to the next, never catching more than a little break. It had been frantic, exhausting… but now, as I soared through the air, seeing it disappear behind the skeleton-esque fingers of a leafless bush, I realized that it was a tiny, protective bubble I was leaving behind. Civilization. But out here, riding the cold wind between skyreaching, knarled trees akin to aging titans, I was firmly reminded of just how small and fickle this illusion had really been. That all it took was one hungry predator, one sudden gust of wind, heck, just for us to stray from this path only Honeydew seemed to know, and this expedition would meet a tragic end.
Like always, Honeydew flew ahead, rigidly looking only ahead, his head shifting as he scanned our surroundings. His antennae occasionally sparked to life, emitting a faint glow for a brief second before falling dark once again. I just hoped it was brief enough not to attract unwanted attention. My eyes darted up into tree crowns of twisted branches, trying to look for danger like Honeydew was doing. But without any idea what I was looking for, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
On reflex, my wings closed just before a sudden updrift would’ve catapulted me upwards. A short drop later, I reentered position, now behind Kalypso, who had deftly used the wind to push her onward. Maybe by angling her wings, though I wasn’t sure if they could even do that. She shot me a quick look back, and for a moment, I expected it to be a competitive grin. Instead, I saw only concern. She shouted something to Honeydew and they both slowed down a bit, allowing me to catch back up. With a thankful smile, I once more took my place in the middle of the flying order.
Once you’d figured out how to react to the sudden impulses of your feelers, which somehow always knew how the air was going to move, breezie flight was remarkably easy. On a steady breeze, you could get away with a single flap for several minutes. And when the wind became hard to deal with, you were supposed to land anyway. It was about as exerting as an elongated walk in the park. But as the sun got closer to the end of its journey around the sky and the last bits of afternoon warmth fully disappeared, with the cold sinking through the tissue of my skin, I found myself wishing it was less easy. At least pegasus flight kept the body warm. I’d already lost feelings on my hooves. My ears stung as the cold air stabbed into them like daggers, worsening with every breath, and especially every time I swallowed. Meanwhile, I was starting to regret the idea of licking over my cold, dry lips as the saliva soon grew as frigid as the air.
How long do we have to go on? My eyes drilled in Honeydew’s back, trying to force him to say it, to make him look back and see my suffering. Why didn’t he look as cold as me? Sure, he was rubbing his forelegs on one another, but he didn’t even shiver… that often. Only the awareness that taking an early break today would every day after worse was keeping my mouth shut for now, but there was a growing resistance in my head, that just wanted it to end for today. How long? How long, I wanted to ask, if not for the knowledge that the answer might lead me to giving up.
All of a sudden, a hoof reached down from above, touching my feeler. I jerked back, startled by the overbearing sensation of touch, while Kalypso gasped.
“What are you doing?” she shouted down, drawing her hoof back in.
It took my numb lips a moment to stutteringly respond. “W-w-what d-d-do you mean?”
“Your feelers, they’re freezing! You need to light them.”
Looking up, I watched her antennae spark with light, at a higher frequency than before. She was staring down at me expectantly.
“I-I don’t know h-h-how.” I whispered, mentally beating myself over the head. Of course it was important. I should’ve wanted to ask earlier. No… I had wanted to, but something had stopped me.
“You are joking.” Kalypso muttered as she stared at me with widened eyes. “How- how can you not know?”
“She did not know how to fly, either.” Honeydew admitted quietly, without turning his head, just loud enough for us to make out his words. I averted my eyes from Kalypso’s baffled look.
“But- how? Where did you come from that you don’t know these things?!” I could hear her draw a breath to say something else, but her voice froze, before she called in an alarmed tone. “Honeydew, if she doesn’t know, we have to land and show it to her!”
He grunted. “We have more ground to cover today.”
“Honeydew, if she flies in this cold, she might get injured!”
At those words, Honeydew finally turned, possibly for the first time since we’d left the village. “We’ll all be in trouble if we don’t get to the spot in time. You think this is cold?” his hoof shot out, pointing at the setting sun. “When it is gone, you will get your first real taste of winter!”
“If she freezes now-” Kalypso shouted, but I put a hoof to her mouth as I glanced at Honeydew, licking over my blue lips, flinching at the horrid pain in my ears.
His gaze softened at my pitiful look, and he soard a bit closer. “Twilight… if it’s too much, we can land now… and deal with the consequences later. We’ll just have to make haste the next days.”
Another breath of cold air froze my throat as I stared at his concerned expression. He looked so warm… his offer so tempting. “H-h-how long until we’re at your spot?”
“If we continue like now, just at sundown. But if you’re not up for it-”
“I-I can do that.” I said, forcing as much certainty in my voice as my quivering lips allowed. “It’s just a little more.”
He nodded, a miniscule smile on his lips. Suddenly, both his feelers shot out, glowing brightly as they pressed against both of my cheeks, hurting as they burned away the numb cold. The next moment, he’d drawn back, leading the way as I followed, savoring every piece of fleeting warmth he’d given me.
----
The grass crackled inside a small hole in the ground. I pushed myself closer, breathing a long sigh as my limbs thawed in the warm glow.
“You feel alright?” Kalypso asked as she lied down next to me, leaning against my side. I paid it no mind, it seemed that breezies saw this sort of bodily contact mainly as a way of preserving warmth, a thoroughly practical way to view it. One that, in this environment, I could fully understand.
“B-better.” I said, before rubbing my hooves over my cheeks. If only Honeydew’s touch had lasted longer.
“You’ve really never used your feelers before?”
“I… didn’t need them where I came from.” I muttered, averting my eyes so I wouldn’t have to face her doubtful look.
“Well, then you have to learn now. Or you’ll lose them before we arrive.” She took a long breath as we both sat up. “Focus on your antennae.”
Nodding, I closed my eyes, trying to tune out everything else.
“You don’t… have to close your eyes, Twilight.” Kalypso muttered, a bit taken aback. “Anyway, you have to squeeze them.”
“What?” my eyes opened again so i could deliver the full force of confusion I just experienced.
“Squeeze them.” she repeated earnestly. “Not with your hooves!”
I sheepishly sat my limbs back on the ground. “But then, how?”
Kalypso sighed, rubbing the back of her head. “You can squeeze inside your feelers, Twilight-” She groaned. “Ugh, it’s hard to explain, just try it, okay?”
I nodded, despite how lost I felt. I wasn’t used to having these body parts, could she not understand that?
No, and she probably never had to explain something like this to anyone. I could just envision my snarky brain rolling its eyes, if- a… brain had... eyes. UGH, even my thoughts are frozen!
“Focus, Twilight,” I muttered, rubbing my forehead as I refocused on my feelers. If I was not meant to squeeze them with my hooves, it had be an internal muscle I was supposed to pull. For a while, I just sat there, eyes closed, occasionally hearing a giggle. I supposed I had to look pretty stupid, moving my feelers in every-which direction, trying to find a way- Suddenly, as I slowly curled my antennae, I felt something unusual, a hardened nub of sorts, pressing into the muscle. Biting my lip, I tried to tense my feeler, and-
Kalypso shrieked as a sudden heat rose up in the antennae, and all the way back into my head. As soon as it appeared however, it vanished, and as I opened my eyes, I could only see darkness creeping back in, like when a fire had burned out.
Kalypso groaned, rubbing her eyelids. “Don’t flash me!” she complained, blinking in the returned darkness.
“Sorry!” I said, yet I couldnt stop myself from grinning. Knowing where it was, I consciously squeezed the nub, giggling as a flickering sphere of light surrounded us and heat streamed into my head, before spreading throughout my body. However, the first flash had left me with a bit of a headache, and I had a sneaking suspicion that I couldn’t keep them going for very long.
Still, I exuberantly hugged the surprised Kalypso, who stemmed her hooves against my chest to push me back. “You did it, alright.” she rolled her eyes, but just didn’t manage to frown like she obviously tried to.
A rustling of fallen leaves brought us both back to alertness, but it was just Honeydew, carrying a sack full of what looked like thorns. “Twilight,” he exclaimed at the sight of my glowing antennae. “Well done!”
Kalypso let out an annoyed huff.
“And of course, well done teaching her, Frindrì Kalypso.” He added. The praise only seemed to disgruntle the other breezie further.
“I didn’t do it as Frindrì.” She muttered. “Lets just decide who’ll stay up and go to sleep.”
I was about to agree, but a niggling question was circling my brain, demanding for attention. “I- thought you wanted to know where I come from?” The moment I said those words, and Honeydew’s head rose with interest, I partially regretted them. I still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to tell them. It might scare them, knowing what I was, I wasn’t sure if I could really trust Kalypso just yet… but most of all, I didn’t want to spoil this moment.
Kalypso gave me a long, stern look. “No,” she finally, slowly spoke. “Because you wouldn’t tell me.”
Wait- I would’ve if she’d asked, right? Right? I looked from her to Honeydew’s frown. Maybe I wouldn’t have, if that’s what she saw. But maybe she did see, and that’s why she didnt ask, and that’s why I wouldn’t tell her? Or is it a setup to make me say it? Or- I shook my head, trying to rally my thoughts. “Did you see that in a vision? Or do you just… assume?”
Kalypso let out a long sigh as she rested on the ground, close to the sizzlepit. “That would imply that one could tell the difference…”
The sound of my name tore through the veil of disjointed dreams. For a second, I considered simply lying back down again, but now that I was awake, I couldn’t ignore the cold air brushing against my side anymore. I tried to stretch my legs out over the ground, until a pair of hooves pulled me up onto my legs.
“The gods decide when it is day, and they won’t wait for you, Twilight.” Honeydew griped, rubbing my coat to get the dirt off.
I gave him a foul glance. One day, I’ll introduce you to Celestia, and then we’ll see who starts the day. I thought, but any response I might have planned was cut short by a jaw-stretching yawn. As I groggily stretched out my limbs and wings, my eyes swept over the tiny sizzlepit. The single stalk had long fizzled out, leaving a small husk behind, no longer than my hoof, and much thinner. It still amazed me how long it could continue to give off warmth… yet it also seemed much harder to procure than simply picking up some firewood. After it had burned down, it had just been the conserved heat of our bodies pressing side to side keeping us warm… a shiver went through my body as I skipped in place, trying to get the blood-flow going.
My eyes trailed away from the pit. Honeydew was climbing up a mushroom, trying to get an overview of the area and see what had changed from last night. It struck me that it was just the third day of our journey, and I was already getting familiar with his routines. He’d make sure everything was safe before we’d fly off. Then he would keep watch for anything dangerous, utterly baffling me with how he managed to not falter in his vigilance for hours on end. I’d never been this good, except maybe in magic history class! But those were at least fascinating. We only took breaks to eat and drink (yes, that meant no bathroom breaks…). The thorns Honeydew had picked up in the first night contained thin, edible strings of plant matter, which were either really sweet or horribly sour. I couldn’t tell them apart, but he insisted that both kinds were edible. We were not going to throw any food away, no matter how bad it tasted.
Once we arrived, mostly at nightfall, one of us would make the sizzlepit by digging a little hole and surrounding it with pebbles. The first night, Honeydew had done it, followed by Kalypso on the second. It’d be my turn tonight. Nothing too hard… if the ground didn’t freeze, which I’d overheard Honeydew mutter worriedly about. Though I supposed that cracking my hoof on frozen dirt would be my least concern in that case. Sighing, I kicked the pebbles into the pit, burying the wilted husk of a stalk so it would have no chance of reigniting.
The sound of a whimper caught my attention. Kalypso, her eyes closed, was still on the ground, her chest rising and falling with an uneven rhythm. She was slowly rolling around, hooves reaching to cover as much of her body from the cold air as she could, muttering the word “cold” over and over.
Well, well, looks like the biggest sleepyhead gets to freeze. I snickered inwardly, not caring one bit about the irony that this thought was coming from me. Still, Honeydew wouldn’t be busy much longer, and once he got done, we were supposed to move out. Plus, if I didn’t get to sleep for longer…
Chuckling to myself, I reached out a hoof, gently poking her between the ribs.
As if struck by lightning, Kalypso shot up, mouth wide open as she let out a short, bloodcurdling squeal. Her eyes darted around, her startled expression slowly waning as she focused on me.
“Twilight!” Honeydew exclaimed from above. A moment later, he landed a few feet to my right. “You should have let her sleep!”
“I-I’m sorry!” I stammered, taking a step back from both. “I didn’t know.”
“Do you think I wouldn’t have already woken her if-” he set on to say, but his voice broke off as Kalypso raised a hoof.
“It’s fine, Twilight did the right thing. It was just a waste of time.”
Honeydew’s heated look darted from her to me, before simply nodding. “Alright. The more ground we cover, the better. It’s going to rain tomorrow.”
Kalypso gave a solemn nod, and they both went to gather their bearings. I followed suit a moment later.
-----
“You had a vision.” I stated as soon as we’d taken to the air. Kalypso heaved a sigh, eyes shifting from my inquisitive look. I kept my eyes trained on the side of her face. I had to admit, I was more than a little intrigued. Scrying had long occupied a tenuous position in the magic sciences, declared unscientific for its inability to produce consistent results. I myself had once attempted to disprove the practise as a hoax for an exam. It got me a good grade, too (although I shouldn’t have tried to prove it when it came to Pinkie Pie). But the breezies had been quite insistent on Windchime’s, and especially Kalypso’s, abilities. If there was something to it, it would be a huge discovery, and if I made it back and wrote a book, I could probably fill a whole chapter with it!
Kalypso seemed a little creeped out by the intensity of my stare. “You won’t give up, will you?”
“You tell me, you can see the future.” My grin widened as she groaned in exasperation.
“It… does not work like that.” Kalypso said, crossing her forehooves. “You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand. How does it feel to have a vision?” “Confusing.” She answered in a heartbeat. “It is like a strange impulse, a niggling feeling or a warning whisper in the back of your head.”
“I take it you have no control over it?” I asked, subconsciously drawing my right foreleg over the other in scribbling motions. Celestia, I wanted my notebook…
“No.” Kalypso said sourly.
Okay, I had to raise an eyebrow at that tone. “Still, early warnings sound pretty useful. Makes me wish I had this kind of power.” If I had my own Twily sense, I could have avoided ever seeing the mantis. Heck, I wouldn’t have been blown away from the portal in the first place.
Kalypso snorted. “You have no idea. All this niggling and scrying and dreaming- I envy you, Twilight.” She sighed at my confused look. “You can’t imagine…” her eyes focused on Honeydew’s back, the stallion too far away to hear our lowered voices. “None of them can.”
“Try me.” I said earnestly. “I may surprise you.” Even if I still wondered what you could complain about with an early warning system...
“I have these… visions… all the time. They’re never clear, Twilight.” Kalypso muttered, almost too quiet for me to understand her breezish. “When I have a bad feeling about going one way over the other, I can’t tell if it’s because one is dangerous, or if I’m just feeling lazy! Or because I thought the flowers are prettier over there!” Her voice rose at the last sentence, prompting Honeydew to throw back a confused glance.
“Kalypso-” I started, but she continued, poking her hoof into my chest.
“Every time I make a decision, I have to wonder, ‘what is my gut thinking about this’, have to wonder what this little voice at the back of my head is saying. But maaaybe I’m just hungry, or maaaybe that little voice wasn’t a sign of the gods, but just my own thoughts!” She threw her head back, wiping her frazzled mane out of her face. “But can I just ignore it? No! Because maybe it’s not nothing, but a warning about a spiderweb, or a hungry mantis, or a raging rat! And it’s not always just me who’ll suffer if I mistake a vision for nothing!”
The yellow and red glare from her eyes forced me several feet away. “The clan relies on us. So I have to try and make sense of it. Do. Not. Tell me you’d like to have that.” She closed darkly.
I raised my hoof, unsure whether to comfort her or argue her point. Still, I felt like I could understand her attitude towards her powers. While she wasn’t a leader, the clan would follow her warnings, like the ponies of Ponyville would follow my instructions for Winter Wrap-Up. I knew how heavy the responsibility for those decisions could rest on your shoulders. And unlike me, Kalypso couldn’t even base hers on logic. It would drive me crazy! And Kalypso was a young mare…
On another note, this would make it really difficult to find proof for the breezies’ fortune telling abilities if-- when I’d get to write my book. A method of scrying that was heavily subjective, happening at arbitrary intervals with no control of the user was not the sort of thing to convince the Canterlot Magic Commission. But Kalypso had seen me before my arrival, there had to be something I could find out about--
I blinked, glancing at Kalypso’s sour look
“That doesn’t sound at all like how you described that dream to the clan...”
For some reason, my observation caused her to flinch. “There’s… two kinds of visions.” She admitted after a few seconds in which she avoided my eyes. “They show me brief glimpses of the future. It’s often hard to make out details, or remember them after it ended. And of course, you usually can’t tell them apart from regular dreams.”
“But you’ve had the same dream for a while, right? Was that the one you were having this morning? The one where you saw me?”
Kalypso opened her mouth, then closed it before she gave a silent nod.
“Did you see anything-” I began to ask, but she cut me off
“The same as every other time. Snow, cold, purple flash… and I’m still not sure what it means.” She heaved a sigh. “Do not take me wrong, I don’t hate the gifts the gods have bestowed upon me… but would it be that hard to just give me simple instructions for once instead of all the blurry metaphor stuff?”
“I don’t think the immortal ones know a language other than perplexy.” I chuckled, thinking of the book of the two sisters. Really, would it have been so hard to spend a paragraph describing how the elements worked?
“Maybe if we ask them really nice~” She suggested with a giggle, before soberly adding: “Let us hope they did not hear that.”
“Let’s,” I nodded, refocusing on the surrounding currents.
…….
I’d long fallen into a trance of continuous, monotone flight, when Honeydew suddenly angled his wings, drifting towards to the ground. For a moment, I soared along, dumbfounded, before I spread my wings, barely avoiding a mid-air collision. Confused, I shot a look towards the sky. If my developing sense of time was accurate, it was at most early afternoon, way too early for arrival, or a break.
“Twilight.” Honeydew called from the ground, waving a hoof. Carefully landing, I scanned our surroundings. There was no tunnel in the ground, no nuts or other kinds of food, none of the things that would usually prompt Honeydew to depart to the ground. Only a bed of grass, interspersed with moldy mushrooms that looked like they’d kill us if we tried sampling them.
Kalypso stood between us, her eyes fixated on a small rock peeking out of the ground. It was strangely shaped, almost like a skull, with two large, round holes for eyes above an elongated snout… the marking below even looked like teeth when I squinted at them, though they would have belonged in the mouth of a crocodile rather than a breezie’s. For some reason, two splinters of rotten wood were lodged in its eyes. Confused, I watched Honeydew and Kalypso lower their heads, speaking in fast breezish I couldn’t understand as they gently removed the wooden spikes. Kalypso’s hoof then trailed over the hole’s edges, while Honeydew looked up to me. “Pay your respects, Twilight.” he whispered.
I felt rather silly as I scrubbed my hoof over the rock, giving Honeydew a nervous smile as I wondered if I was doing it right.
He gave me a long look, clearly expecting something more. With a sigh, I lowered my eyes. “Uh, what is that?”
Kalypso’s chant came to an abrupt end as she regarded me with wide eyes, while Honeydew sighed, rubbing his face with an irritated expression. “Twilight, you’re looking at an idol of Styrktarmadr.”
“Right, right.” I nervously nodded, wracking my brain if I’d heard that name before in the last week. Maybe I had... but with a name like that, it would have only registered as gibberish. “W-we’re praying to a god.”
“No, Twilight, Styrktarmadr is a spirit, not a god.” Kalypso explained and I was finally, for good, completely lost.
“W-what’s the difference?” I blurted out. From the expression of both breezies while they exchanged baffled glances, I think I was really straining the bonds of believability for cluelessness.
“Spirits are of the world, while the gods created the world.” Kalypso said quietly, in a tone I’d once heard a doctor use for a mental patient. I felt my right eye twitch in annoyance.
“Good,” I muttered, clenching my teeth just a little. “And Styrk- Styrkta-”
This time, Honeydew decided to answer, luckily in a less patronizing tone. “Styrktarmadr is the spirit of all finders. Gatherers, hunters and traders alike pray for his fortune, for good findings reward those in his favor. While those without… are more likely to be found.”
Okay, I could work with that, ominous as it was. ”So, how do we show our respect?” I may not be a believer yet, but considering the things I knew lurked in the forest, I’d rather avoid the ‘being found’ part
“Well, you already disrupted the ceremony-” Kalypso hissed, but Honeydew cut her off.
“Then we have to hope he’ll forgive her, and us.” he took a deep breath before launching into the next explanation. “A long time ago, Styrktarmadr was clever enough to find the secret plans of Heistin in Fjermengard. As punishment, she blinded him by ramming two mighty trees into his eyes.”
“Ouch!” I muttered, feeling a little ill at the mental picture… breezie myths were gruesome!
“That was probably his reaction, too.” Honeydew chuckled. “But after a while, he began to relish the challenge, for now he was no longer all-seeing, and was suddenly open to discover the world in entirely new way, while he’d previously assumed he knew all. Unfortunately, the trees would rot, crawling with bugs and-”
Okay, too much! I pressed my hooves onto my ears, fighting down a sudden surge of nausea.
“Ehem,” Honeydew cleared his throat with a nervous smile. “Point is, we give him relief by exchanging the rotting spikes for fresh ones.
Okay, that I can do… I think. It took us nearly an hour, as Kalypso insisted that we had to find perfectly fitting sticks, snapping off pieces to make it fit was utterly out of the question.
“He is the spirit of finders. We‘ll have to find a fitting one, he does not favor those who give up quickly.”
Honeydew only gave a helpless shrug. I didn’t dare contradict her. She probably counted my first attempt to carve a fitting splinter as an insult to her god… spirit. I’d have to bump religion to an earlier chapter, considering how much it continued to confuse me.
Finally shoving a second stick into the rock’s hole, we all stood on our hindlegs, raising our hooves into the air as if we were trying to embrace the heavens, wings sticking far out to balance ourselves. Then Kalypso began to sing, followed by Honeydew. I didn’t know the song, nor the strange words she used, yet they beckoned me to murmur with them, roughly hitting similar notes as Kalypso’s feelers began to glow.
Suddenly, without a warning, a light breeze tickled my coat. Yet, somehow, we did not fall, our wings did not catch the air, only our feelers danced in the sudden wind. I hadn’t even felt it coming, which was a first since I’d gotten feelers! But the other breezies seemed unconcerned, murmuring with their eyes closed, Kalypso with a soft smile on her lips as her antennae’s glow intensified in tune with the wind picking up. After a few more moments, they fell dark, just as the breeze died.
Honeydew gave Kalypso a reverent nod. “I believe it is time to move on. Hopefully, with the winds backing us?”
“I hope so.” Kalypso whispered, her feelers emitting a light glow, illuminating her reddened cheeks.
-------
For a long time, I couldn’t keep my eyes from Kalypso. Had she summoned that wind, or was I simply not good enough at feeling it? I wanted to ask Honeydew, but he was flying too far ahead, and I knew not to exert my wings in an effort to catch up to him… he’d just scold me for wasting my strength. And so we continued flying until night set.
Tonight, it was my turn to build the sizzlepit while Honeydew scouted the surrounding area and Kalypso took a nap. Was it a nap if you did it at night? I’d have to ask Rainbow Dash when I came back, she was the expert.
But why were we using sizzlegrass when our goal was to get sizzlegrass? I’d asked Honeydew yesterday, and he’d simply shrugged. “What else could we use?” He’d asked. His response had left me more than a little dumbfounded. Wasn’t the answer obvious?
Well, I was going to show him today, as I placed down a bunch of splinters I’d gathered from a nearby fallen branch. There’d been a lot of those on our way, it made me wonder if there’d been a storm lately. Grabbing a thin stick between my hooves, I tried to remember the trick Applejack had shown me on that disastrous camping trip last year. I hadn’t been able to repeat it last time, but the theory was there… just twist it really quickly. Sticking out my tongue, I went to work, twisting the stick until my hooves ached. Yet, far earlier than I’d expected, I saw smoke coming from the wood. Only a minute later, an ember. Had I gotten stronger? Watch out Rainbow Dash, soon there’ll be a new hoofwrestling contender in town! Grinning to myself, I breathed on the tiny ember, watching with a pride-swelled chest how it grew into a little flame, which I gently placed into the firepit.
All that was left to do was wait, and occasionally blow into the growing fire. Just like I’d seen Applejack do… my grin faltered a little as I wondered how she was doing. She wouldn’t be worried about me- I’d planned to stay with Seabreeze’s clan for two months, leaving just before winter would come in full force. They wouldn’t know I’d gotten lost, not until we were utterly buried in snow, when it would be impossible to find us. If somepony came looking. And if the portal even led them here. I supposed it was a bad idea to go through means of magical transportation you didn’t fully understand… my experience with the portal to Canterlot High had made me careless.
Something dropped to the ground behind me. Turning around, I saw Honeydew staring at the fire, his mouth wide open, having dropped his knife. “Twilight!” he exclaimed, dashing towards me.
“Hey, Honeydew-” I began, but then he grabbed my shoulders, dragging me away from the firepit. “Hey, what are you doing?”
“What were you doing?” he hissed. “That’s a fire, why were you just standing there?!”
“Wha- it’s not dangerous!”
“Are you mad?” he exclaimed, his voice full of disbelief. “Fire spreads, Twilight, it doesn't just stay in place-” he gasped for breath, his eyes darting over the edges of the fire, clearly defined by the ring of rocks I’d placed around it. “W-why is it in our sizzlepit?”
“I made it, alright?” I grunted as I got back on my hooves, scraping the dirt out of my coat. “It’s perfectly safe.”
His mouth opened and closed, once, twice before he regained his voice. “You made it?” He whispered breathlessly. “How?”
Is he meaning to say that they have never discovered how to make fire? The discovery that had jumpstarted all others and allowed ponies to gather in societies in the first place? The ramifications of that… I couldn’t even imagine, but I could probably write a whole book on this premise, just theorizing how that could possibly work.
Although sizzlegrass served as a decent alternative, so it wasn’t really all without fire, anyway.
“It’s easy…” I muttered, trying to ignore his constant nervous looks at the fire. “You know how your hooves get warm when you rub them together? Well, if you can do something like that fast enough, you can start a fire.”
This information seemed to utterly baffle him. “Just… like that? You can make fire with your hooves?” He whispered, regarding me with wide eyes.
It made me chuckle. “No, no, not with your hooves. I could show you-”
“No.”
I blinked, whirling around to where Kalypso was glaring at the fire with a mixture of fear and revulsion.
“What do you mean, no?!” I protested, rising up in front of her. “Kalypso, I’ve got it under control, and we don’t have to use our sizzlegrass like this!”
“W-what about the spirits you’re using as fuel?” Her reply made me scrunch up my nose. It seemed just a bit too shaky to seem genuine. Even Honeydew threw her a doubtful glance.
“That was dead wood.” I replied drily. “Are you seriously telling me every splinter has a spirit in it? I don’t see you making a fuss when Carveshine cuts them, or when we rip them out of living trees for him.”
“Fire consumes.” She bit her lip, regarding the small flame with simply unnecessary caution.
“I can control it.” I assured her. “We do it all the time where I come from.” Or at least Applejack did while I watched, or read a book in the firelight, but I thought it better not to share that detail.
She and Honeydew exchanged uneasy glances, until he let out a sigh. “As long as you watch it, it is fine.” Honeydew decided. “But that means you will have first watch. Put it out when yours is over.” He threw it another glance. “Y-you know how to do that, right?”
“Of course.” I smiled reassuringly. “I just need to drop in the rocks, put a bowl on it or splash it with water. Easy.”
And so I was left alone to fight my tiredness while Kalypso and Honeydew snoozed next to one another. I sullenly regarded the seer, wishing I could snuggle between her and Honeydew, but the watch had to stay away, that was the rule. If the side of you pointing away from the fire was always cold, so Honeydew had reasoned, you were too busy turning on the spot to fall asleep. Sometimes I hated his logic.
I wondered if there was something to Kalypso’s claim that there were spirits living in the firewood. She hadn’t been sure of it, that much was clear, but how would you go about proving something like that? It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’d seen in my life. Biting my lip, I stared upwards, through a hole in the leaf canopy, at foreign stars, feeling a lurch in my stomach. I truly was impossibly far away from home if even the night sky was different. But was it a magical realm, parallel to Equestria, or another planet?
Could the breezie gods truly exist here? It wasn’t impossible, after all, we had Celestia and Luna… and me, I supposed. But the gods of the breezies seemed so far removed. From the way they spoke, they might not have even existed in their world, but rather in some... outside realm. Was that a thing? And what was up with Kalypso? Future sight? Possibly wind powers? Was that just innate magic? If only I could research her… but for that, I would need equipment, which only existed back home. With a sigh, I laid back on the cold ground, ignoring the cold air which encroached on my face. I needed to learn more. I’d abstained from asking about their religion, and what for? So I wouldn’t look stupid? The thought made me squirm, but why? It didn’t make sense, Celestia had taught me there was no shame in ignorance, only in unwillingness to correct it. And yet, I was falling right into that trap? I was being a terrible student.
Sighing to myself, I tended to the shrinking fire. It was saddening to see it go, the first flame I’d lit with just my own hooves and a stick. But the fuel had been burned up, and there was no point in adding more; my shift would soon end, anyway. I watched as it slowly burned away, vowing to wake Honeydew for his shift soon after the last glimmer died.
And so, I waited, and waited. Watching the flame flicker out, leaving us in darkness.
I hadn’t been the only one watching. As soon as darkness took hold, I could hear a rustling of dried leaves, as if something was hurrying through them.
“Honeydew!” I squeaked in panic, trying to pinpoint the noise as I shook his shoulder. He jumped up in an instant, though swaying on his hooves from the sudden motion. Kalypso, however, was still turning her head in confusion, blinking her eyes in the darkness before she lit up her feelers.
And the sphere of light illuminated a large, pointy snout, possessing frontal teeth half as large as my hoof. Screeching, the beast dashed forward, faster than its large body had any right to. Kalypso’s eyes widened as the monster practically flew towards her, scrambling to her hooves. Honeydew grabbed her shoulders, attempting to pull her away. Then it was upon them, and Honeydew let out a scream as its large teeth tore into his hoof.
Honeydew’s anguished scream tore through the night as the rat’s teeth sank into his leg. His other hoof flailed against the monster, but it was like a bear, hardly even noticing his resistance. I watched in horror as it’s paws grabbed Honeydew, clearly intending to chew off his leg right on the spot-
“HONEYDEW!” Kalypso wailed as she scurried away in panic. “Twilight, do something!”
WHAT CAN I DO? My brain screamed in panic as the rat chomped on Honeydew’s leg. It was easily five times my size!
Suddenly, Honeydew’s head shot up, defiantly glaring at the rat as his antennae glistened. The next moment, my eyes were assaulted by a blinding flash, before I heard something drop to the ground. Blinking rapidly, between dark spots in my vision I could just about make out Honeydew, a look of panic in his eyes as he dragged himself away, his right leg leaving a red smear behind him. His name on my lips, I was about to run over to help him.
Just then, the rat reared up, its high-pitched voice full of rage as it fixated its blurry, black eyes on Honeydew. He let out a wail of terror, his feelers fizzling out.
I stared in horror as I saw the monster readying itself to pounce. My heart raced almost as fast as my brain, torn between running to Honeydew or just running, what could I do? Transforming this close would kill him as sure as the rat! I had to-
I plunged my hoof into the recently extinguished fire, flinging all I could grab at the rat, just as it was about to jump. It screeched as a chunck of sweltering charcoal hit its snout, smoldering its coat as it burst into a myriad of short-lived embers. With a startled howl, it backed away, fixating me with widened eyes. “BUZZ OFF!” I shouted, fighting my grimace as I grabbed a stick, ramming it into the ashes so more embers would erupt in the air. “GET LOST!” My hoof was flaming in agony, but I couldn’t allow myself to look away from the rat, it was only its fear of fire that was keeping it away. “SCRAM!” beating the stick into the ashes again, I let out a torrential cloud of embers. The rat let out one last terrified squeak, before it whisked away into the darkness.
“Honeydew!” I gasped, flinging the stick aside as I rushed to him. He gasped, his leg pressed tightly against his body as he stared at me with unfocused eyes.
“Y-you scared it off…”
“Fire scared it off.” I explained, my heart rapidly beating in my throat as I stretched out the bloodsoaked limb. Two deep holes remained from the rats teeth, with continuous streams of blood pouring over his leg. “KALYPSO!” I screamed in panic as I pressed my hooves down on the wound. “WHAT CAN WE DO?”
She emerged at my side, hurriedly scrounging through our supplies. Meanwhile, I kept my eyes on Honeydew’s pained grimace. If he went into shock, I’d turn into an alicorn, and damn the consequences!
“H-here!” Kalypso gasped, holding up a silken bandage roll.
“Alright, now hold the wound, I’ll be right there.” I ordered.
“W-where are you going?” Kalypso’s shrill voice squeaked as I ran to the firepit.
A few seconds later, I was back at her side, holding a hoffull of colder ashes. “It’ll all be okay, just hold still.” I told the squirming Honeydew as I rinsed ashes into the wound. Ignoring Kalypso’s protests and his screams, I hastily scattered the rest on the bandages before wrapping it tightly around the wound.
“W-what was that?” Honeydew gasped inbetween strained breaths. “You put something-”
“Ashes. They sterilize your wound. That means it will stop it from getting infected.” I informed him as I worriedly watched the reddening bandages. The bleeding seemed to slow down a bit, but the hint of a slur in his voice was setting of alarms in my head. It may just be from the pain, but if it worsened… “How are you feeling? Lightheaded?”
“Only a little.” he gasped, then looked down at his leg. “Oh, this is not good…”
“If you’re feeling woozy, you have to warn me, I’ll… help.” Teleporting may not be an option without knowing where you were in relation to your target area, but if push came to shove, I could fly him back to his clan, assuming he could still tell the direction from the new perspective. Or, if things got real bad, I could try some healing magic… oh, Twilight, why did you have to pass up on that class in favor of magical mathematics?
“I’m fine…” He asserted with a grunt “We’ll need to take an extra break tomorrow-”
“Are you mad?” I interjected, thumping my hoof into his chest. “We’re not flying anywhere tomorrow, you’ll be resting!”
“We can’t just rest:” He shook his head, then groaned, pressing his healthy leg to his temple. “T-the clan needs us to come back with the sizzlegrass-”
“First, the clan needs you to come back at all.” I said sternly, placing a hoof on his chest to push him back down. “You won’t help anyone by killing yourself.”
“But the food!” he gasped, trying to reach for our supplies, but my hoof kept him pinned. “We don’t have enough to remain out here, we need to keep moving.”
Okay, that argument was harder to shove aside. “W-we’ll have to find more then.” I stuttered, giving Kalypso an uneasy glance. She only returned a helpless shrug.
Just then, a far-off rumble shook me to my bones. I whirled around, trying in vain to find a predator, before a second rumble drew my eyes to a black sky, stars hidden away by an army of dark clouds.
“Thunderstorm.” Kalypso whispered tensely.
I swallowed, a dozen alarm bells inside my head going off simultaneously. Stay away from trees. That was what my knowledge of thunderstorm safety amounted to. Great advice in the middle of a Celestia-damn forest!
“Need to find shelter.” Honeydew muttered, trying to rise to his hooves.
“You’re not going to find anything!” I hissed, keeping him down on the ground. But then, Kalypso appeared beside me, prying my hoof away before helping him up.
“He’ll have to move anyway.” She groaned as she helped stem his weight. “Come on, I think we flew over a mushroom field just before we landed.”
------
Rain splattered the ground mere moments after we hid away under a large mushroom cap. Honeydew leaned against its stem, slowly cutting open another thorn for the edible plantmatter inside. However, with just one limb, it was going to take him a while. Kalypso sat beside him, carefully keeping watch for anything that might emerge from the rain. Meanwhile, I was pacing about in the small protected area. It was like a nightmare come true. Stuck somewhere in the wild, with the one who be leading us injured, needing our help. My help! Food was running low, Honeydew really had taken just enough to get us to the Highbreeze-clan, and not a crumb more. We’d be out in two days, and rationing it out would only aggravate his condition. My frustrated sigh emerged from my mouth as a foggy cloud. Shivering in the cold air, I glanced back to my companions, who were already sharing their warmth with each other, but it would hardly be enough. Especially as the erupting drops sprayed us with tiny splatterings of water.
We needed fire, before it froze in our coats! We needed better shelter, so we’d be able to keep it burning. We needed food, so we wouldn’t face starvation in the next couple of days.
Finishing my pace around the mushroom, I gently shook Kalypso. “Watch him for a while.”
She blinked, and I was once more amazed by her eyes, yellow and red, both narrowing in confusion. “Y-you’re going?”
“You heard him. We need to find food. And shelter.”
“And you think you’re going to find it? Now?” She shook her head, feelers glowing lightly. “You don’t know the first thing about the forest, if you go, you’re not going to return!” Groaning, she heaved herself to her hooves, glowering at me. “I’m not letting you die so stupidly.”
“Trust me, Kalypso.” I whispered urgently. “You can see the future, what does your sense tell you about me?”
She looked just about ready to scream at me, but then her expression changed into confusion. “But… how?”
“Keep him safe.” I told her, before sprinting out into the rain, nearly half of our supplies in my grip.
Within the minute I was soaked, my wings hanging off my back as I shook my head to fling the water off. The occasional direct hit by the water made me wince, but it lacked the impact to do more than sting. But that wouldn’t be a problem for much longer. Looking back, I found that Kalypso and Honeydew were now entirely hidden by the rainstorm.
I took a long breath as I climbed over a root, finding myself only a few feet away from our extinguished campfire. I found a tiny spot that wasn’t really dry, but at least protected my from the falling rain as I unpacked our supply of berries, devouring them without much care or attention. I just needed fuel.
We needed more food. And, with a full belly, I would be able to get it. For the first time in weeks, I closed my eyes, reaching for a warm spark I’d hidden from this world. Within seconds, I could feel my legs getting hit by the rain as I grew too large for my cover, felt feathers pop out of my wings, quickly replacing the insectile membranes. Meanwhile, my horn sprouted from my forehead, from which shot a quick flurry of sparks before I wrestled back control over my magic.
With my horn flaring, I cast my first spell. Two arrows of silver energy shot from my horn, then curved around to sink into my eyes, forcing me to blink as the magic caused a stinging sensation. When my eyes opened again, the world was colored in deep blues, yet my hooves shone in a radiant yellow and orange. Turning in a full circle, I could see a glimmering spot back where Honeydew and Kalypso were resting… and suddenly, one zipping past my hooves. My horn flared, grabbing whatever it was in a field of telekinesis, just before it could vanish inside a hole in the ground. The rat let out a terrified squeal as it floated helplessly in mid air, dangling in front of my face.
“You’re out again.” I whispered with a glare at the offending animal which had nearly killed my friend. Kneeling down, I peeked into the hole, which must be its burrow. The entrance was nearly entirely hidden under a rock which also prevented it from flooding with water right now. It was no longer a surprise it attacked us… we had unwittingly set up camp right next to its home. If I had not tried lighting a fire today-
With a shake of my head, I forced myself back to reality, glaring at the rodent squirming in my magical grip. I remembered Carveshine’s words about rats, his tales of several clans banding together to hunt one of these vermin. If I brought one back, it would help out the clan immensely, heck, winter wouldn’t even be a problem anymore, we could even trade leftovers with the Highbreeze-clan instead of the honey. My magical grip tightened around the rat, which screamed in panic. Any breezie that did would be regarded as a hero.
But I wasn’t a breezie.
My horn flickered, loosening my grip around the rat without fully letting go. Swallowing, I sent magic tendrils into its burrow. “I hope that you’ve gathered enough to share.” I whispered as my magic pulled on something within the burrow, soon emerging with an assortment of nuts, seeds and dead insects. The animal squeaked pathetically, helplessly watching as I stole from its hoard. Was it really better to leave the rat alive, just to doom it to slow starvation? With all the warnings the breezies had about this winter, I was likely taking far too much for the rat to replace. Would it not be better, more helpful then to simply slay it, to feed a whole community which would benefit greatly from such a gift?
But I don’t think I could have. I was a pony, not a hunter. And… it was probably stupid, I knew Honeydew would call me that.
I didn’t know if I was being noble, or selfish. But I don’t think I could look Fluttershy in the eyes if I did. Have fun eating that millipede then. My snarky brain said drily.
Shut up. I eloquently hissed.
Canceling my magic, I watched the rat scurry away into its burrow, likely to mourn its lost hoard.
For shelter, I took a piece of bark, ripped from an old-looking tree, placed above a patch of soaked dirt, before evaporating the water with a drying spell. A few sticks plus a fire spell created a nice campfire. When I finally shrunk back into my breezie form, I felt a little headache from all this spellflinging after such a long magic-less timespan. And with the added two transformations, I could already feel the cold blanket of sleep try to take over. But I shook it off, I had to get the others still.
--------
Said others staggered into the shelter with widened eyes. “How- How?!” Kalypso stammered as she let Honeydew slide to the ground. I noticed that the two stayed as far from the fire as they could without entering the rain zone.
“You found food.” Honeydew muttered.
“Y-yes, yes. You should both eat something, then we should rest.” I said, fumbling my hooves.
“A lot of food.” He continued. “Where?”
“In the rats nest. I, uh… snuck into it.” I replied with a nervous grin.
Somehow, the widening of his eyes bothered me. His amazed look even more so. “That was incredibly brave.”
“I-it was gone.” I deflected, silently gritting my teeth.
“You didn’t know that.” He said way too reasonably before he pat my shoulder. “Thank you.”
The sincerity in his voice was almost too much to bear. It had been easy! I didn’t do anything except bully a small animal and probably doom it to starvation, it wasn’t brave, it wasn’t special! If he’d done it, it would’ve been a feat, but for me it had been a cakewalk! It… surprised me how much it upset me, the realization that what we struggled through, all the effort of the breezies and me had spent, that it meant so little compared to how easily I’d just been able to do it. Need food? Take it from something smaller. Shelter? Rip some materials from your surroundings and make one. Predators? What predators? I was an alicorn, I outranked all of them! And while this fact should cheer me up, right now, it only left me frustrated.
Just then, a shiver went through my spine, and I scooted closer to the fire, forcing Honeydew to shuffle forward as well, or else lose me as his heat dispenser.. At least the cold was a struggle for every being, no matter the size.
Kalypso settled beside me, giving me a strange glance. I knew she suspected something. Honestly, who wouldn’t? But how much did she know? Any moment, a god or a spirit might whisper some secret into her ear, there was no limit to what she might know. The realization made my spine crawl.
“Can you watch the fire?” I asked her, not letting my eyes meet her two-colored ones.
“I watched you do it for a while.” She nodded. “If something happens, I’ll let you know. Or just drag you two into the rain, that’ll probably be enough.”
“Thank you.” I tried to say, but was cut off by a huge yawn. My eyelids were already drooping, cutting my vision in half as I decided to just surrender all of it in return for slumber...
For the first time in weeks, it was not Honeydew’s gentle touch waking me, but a stern shake. “W-wha? Kalypso?” I muttered, blinded by the rising sun
“Of course.” The seer said impatiently as she pulled my to my legs. “I need-”
“Honeydew!” I exclaimed as the events of last night rushed to the forefront of my foggy mind. “Is he-”
“He is not bleeding anymore.” Kalypso assured me, but her reserved tone chilled me to my bones.
“But is he-”
“Shhhh!” she hissed, pointing her hoof to where Honeydew was sleeping uneasily, his belly inches from a pointy rock, which I assumed was there to prevent him from accidentally rolling onto his bandaged leg. “I want to change his bandages.” Kalypso whispered. “But I don’t… know much about treating wounds. You put some kind of dirt on his bandages?”
“Ashes.” I nodded. “It kills bacteria in the wound.” At her baffled look, I clarified: “It may stop him from getting sick.” But with a bite this deep, and what I suspected was at least a minor case of blood loss, sickness was still a serious concern. And considering the technological prowess of the breezies, an infection might end horribly… If I could beat my younger self for not choosing healing magic as a subject, I think I would give myself a concussion or two! “I just wish I could do more…”
“You’ve done plenty, starting with keeping him from being mauled on the spot.” Kalypso stated, poking her hoof roughly against my chest. “You chased off a rat, for Frinjiòns sake!”
“Well… yeah,” I muttered. “But-”
“No, I’m not hearing it.” Kalypso sharply cut me off. “The only butt will be yours over there, we’re changing his bandages now.”
Her commanding tone did what the logic of her words couldn’t. They ripped me out of my thoughts and into action, as I measured the remaining silky fabric. “There’s only enough for one more.” I worriedly informed her. “What will we do tomorrow?”
“Wash the first one.” she muttered as she gently stretched out Honeydew’s leg, shuddering as he grunted in his sleep. . I couldn’t help but follow the movement of Kalypso’s hooves as she began to unwrap, even as my stomach turned at the prospect of seeing the wounds that had caused this! I swallowed, feeling my throat tighten at the thought.
Kalypso looked up, meeting my eyes with an understanding look. “Bring me some morning dew.”
My wordless glance simply couldn’t get across me relieved thankfulness, but it was all I could give before bolting away to climb up a grass stem at the opposite side of the camp, momentarily relishing as the sunlight warmed my coat.
When I came back, shivering as both of my feelers were enveloped by bubbles of cool water, I was met with an agonized howl. Honeydew had woken up and was in the process of being pushed back to the ground by Kalypso, the bloody bandages piled on the ground next to them.
“Sorry!” I heard Kalypso exclaim as she looked up to me. “I-I hoped we could do it while he slept.”
“D-do what?” he muttered, blinking against the sunlight.
“We’ll have to clean out your wounds.” My resolve nearly crumbled as I saw the dread in his eyes. “B-be strong, Honeydew.” It was all I could say as I gave Kalypso a meaningful look, and she put a bag over his head.
“It will hurt less when you cannot see.” she informed him. Honeydew shivered as we reached for his leg.
It was… not as bad as I’d feared. Although my stomach lurched when I saw his flesh part in the damage the rat’s incisors had inflicted, there was no sign of infection. It looked… meaty, red, yet strangely dry, it reminded me of the raw steak I’d once seen in a griffon cooking book. I used to think it looked nicely colorful!
Honeydew gasped as Kalypso gently spread the edges of his wound. Swallowing the enormous lump in my throat, I lowered my antennae, letting the water sink into his wound, prompting him to let out a wild curse.
“You’ll be fine…” I tried to tell him, gently repeating the process. There were other spots where teeth had punctured his flesh, but none of them were as deep or painful as the gouging holes. Still, he showed no sign of infection and the was no sign of further bleeding. It seemed that the ashes had worked. And if he got a lot of rest, I believed he could be back on his hooves in no time!
No time being a week or two, my brain added, and my optimistic smile turned into a frown as I tried to just focus on washing the wounds.
Honeydew groaned, sweat dripping off his face despite the cool temperature. With a worried glance, I pressed a hoof to his forehead… it felt hot, but was it fever-hot or just regular-hot? I’d never been able to tell. “How do you feel?” I whispered.
“Tired.” he forced between clenched teeth. “Can you make it quicker?”
I gave him a sympathetic look as I drew my antennae from the dark red to black-ish scab surrounding the puncture wounds. “Already done.” I whispered as I gestured for Kalypso hold his leg in place while I wrapped it in the new bandages. I just hoped it would heal without the stitches I was sure it needed. Although neither me nor Kalypso were in any way qualified to perform that operation…
Honeydew let out a huge breath as we finished, then promptly inspected his bandages with distress. “How long until we’ll move?”
“Honeydew,” I snapped. “You can’t fly on your own-”
“I know.” he interrupted me calmly, yet with a grimace as he moved his limp. “I just wanted to know how long.”
“Oh… right.” I deflated, before giving Kalypso an inquisitive glance. “Uhm… at least a few days, I think?” I glanced to Kalypso. She caught my look and sighed.
“I don’t know either, Twilight. Two or three days until he should move again? That’s what it’d be if we were with the clan.”
Honeydew nodded, looking somehow both relieved and exasperated. “We could’ve been there in two days from now.” he whispered in an odd tone.
“Yeah, well, that’s not happening.” I said decisively as I stepped around the two. Honeydew gave a faint nod, but Kalypso’s forehead furrowed, as if she was deep in thought. “You don’t think we should go, do you?”
“He… needs a healer.” she said slowly, her ear flicking as she frowned. “I wouldn’t know how to deal with him getting worse. Do you?”
“But he can’t fly like this!” I protested.
“Well, I don’t need my leg in order to fly-” Honeydew threw in, but my angry glare made his jaw clench.
“You’re not in a condition to travel, in any way!”
“He may not be in a condition to stay here, either!” Kalypso countered, approaching me face to face. “We may be able to hold out here, thanks to the food you brought, but it’s far from safe. What if it gets really cold? What if the rat shows up again, or some other predator?”
“I can light a fire again!”
“For days?” Kalypso crossed her forehooves, then held her hoof out to the surrounding area in a sweeping motion. “Can you make a fire with wet fuel?” Her confrontational expression faltered for a second as she whispered: “Can you?”
“No…” I admitted, biting my lip as I stared at our empty firepit. If it rained again before tonight, we wouldn’t have a fire. Sure, we could use sizzlegrass, but that might not protect us from a rat. Maybe I could keep watch in my alicorn form, but I’d probably use up our supplies in a single night. Plus, the tiny stalk of sizzlegrass would not be enough to warm me, not by far. So if it rained…
With a hiss, I let go of my breath. “Well, what’s your alternative?” I asked, a little more aggressively than I’d intended. “That we ignore his wound and let him just fly for two more days?”
“It’s a risk.” Kalypso said, biting her lip. “We can hold him up so he’ll have an easier time, but it might still hurt him. What do you think?” she asked Honeydew, who looked conflicted, before giving me a questioning gaze.
What? My brain reeled. Why is it my decision now? I bit my lip as I tried to weigh two unknowns against another, gazing from Honeydew to Kalypso. My eyes slowly came to rest on her. “Have you seen something?”
She closed her eyes, frowning deeply. “Maybe.” she admitted after a while.
“Then what do you think?”
“I-” Taking a sharp breath, she shook her head. “I told you my visions aren’t reliable. I didn’t see the rat coming!” A haunted look crossed her face. “At least… I don’t think I did.”
“Please, just tell me honestly what you think?” I asked, trying to smile encouragingly.
“I don’t know what I’m thinking, I-” She closed her eyes, then pointed her hoof out to a spot between the trees. “I think we should go. But I’m not sure-”
“I believe in you.” I said earnestly as I scurried around our resting spot, packing up the used bandage before splitting Honeydew’s load of supplies between mine and Kalypso’s.
“Well, then we can only hope we don’t regret it.” Kalypso sighed. Maybe she believed it was too quiet to hear it. But it didn’t matter.
I hadn’t paid too much mind to the beliefs of the breezies, seeing them as curiosities, at best. Maybe, at times, even as superstition. But… hadn’t there been signs that it was more than that? Superstition didn’t explain Kalypso’s future sight. Or how she’d conjured up that wind when praying to Styrktarmadr, if that had been her doing.
And speaking of that deity...spirit, one comment of Honeydew had haunted my mind over the past night. Styrktarmadr is the spirit of all finders. Good findings reward those in his favor, while those without… are more likely to be found. Was it not a strange happenstance, that when I’d interrupted a ritual to the spirit’s honor, we had been found by something?
Of course, empirical evidence, this was not. With a sample size of one, It could easily be chalked up to coincidence. And still, if it was true, then I might have inadvertently placed Honeydew in danger. The thought was enough to make me flinch and gaze to where he was flying behind us, his legs dangling loosely under him, instead of being tucked close to his body. “Ask for a break when you need it.” I cautioned him for the umpteenth time, my brows deeply furrowed. Seeing him struggle was… disconcerting. And I hated it.
Kalypso flew ahead, wearing an expression of deep concentration, though every now and again, she let out a frustrated huff. I supposed that searching for random inclinations and feelings was making it even harder to separate imagination from foresight… unless it was all imagination, of course.
With a grunt, I pushed that niggling doubt out of my head. I’d decided to trust Kalypso. I was in the breezie world, after all. Everything was possible. I may have hurt Honeydew with my pony-like naivete. But right now, I was a breezie, living among breezies.
Maybe it was time for a bit of faith.
After a little while, however, faith was starting to wane. Honeydew had now requested three breaks in just under an hour, and now he was once again looking tired and exhausted. I closed in on him. He looked weak enough that a sudden gust of wind could knock him off course.
“Kalypso, we need to stop for today!” I demanded. Honeydew did not protest, which only increased my worry. “Kalypso!”
“Just a bit longer.” she insisted, her antennae lighting up.
“If it’s just a vision-” I shouted. Following her when both decisions seemed equally terrible was one thing, but to push Honeydew to his limit when we could be resting-
“It’s not a vision.” Kalypso exclaimed and, to my surprise, started to grin. “I can hear voices!”
“You were right!” I gasped, then cleared my throat as I realized I’d sounded way more surprised than I’d planned to. “Sorry.” I tried to apologize, but Kalypso gave me an irritated look as her hoof made a brisk, cutting gesture. Immediately, I shut my mouth, glancing at Honeydew, who was already watching out carefully, his teeth clenched.
A moment later, I could also hear them. The voices were loud, almost exuberant. Had they no worries of what could hear them? They were definitely speaking breezish, though…
On a low-hanging branch, four young-looking breezies were scattered haphazardly around a small pile of what looked like strangely-white beans. One who seemingly used one such bean as a pillow shielded his eyes before pointing up to us. The breezies jumped up from their resting places just as we landed on their branch, at a bit of a distance. Honeydew immediately broke to the ground, huffing as sweat pooled on his forehead.
“Who are you?” One of the breezies shouted as I hurriedly helped Honeydew lean against a diverging branch.
“Are you from the Highbreeze-clan?” Kalypso asked behind my back. “We’re in desperate need of your help, one of us is injured!”
“Y-yes, we’re highbreeze.” The lead breezie stuttered, seemingly a bit overwhelmed. “Who is injured?”
“He is!” I shouted, resisting the impulse to push Honeydew’s hoof upward for all to see, and instead simply pointed at it.
“How did this happen?” He exclaimed as he pushed past Kalypso to get a closer look.
“A rat attacked us.” I said, unwilling to back away as he kneeled down before Honeydew to observe the bandages.
“A rat, sure, and you got away from that.” One of the actually smirked, prompting Kalypso to whirl around.
“That’s what happened.” She hissed, shooting him a hit glare.
“Of course-” the breezie mare began to drawl, but then came to a rapid stop as she met Kalypso’s gaze. “Your eyes! Bright Leaf, Europa, look at her!”
At that, the other breezies gathered around Kalypso, staring into her two-colored eyes while the seer ground her teeth. “He needs help, not me!” She shouted, pointing her hoof at Honeydew.
As if rising from a dream, the others blinked, before they rapidly nodded. “We’ve got some remedies with us,” the one called Bright Leaf informed us, while the others began to hurriedly pack away those bean-like things. “But our healer is back with our clan. If we hurry, we could be there by tomorrow.”
“W-won’t that disrupt your gathering trip?” I asked, dumbfounded. I’d hoped for hep, but this showed more willingness than I’d anticipated.
“That stuff?” He shook his hoof carelessly at the supplies. “We don’t really need it. We can go as soon as Hippe comes back.” With that, he took hold of the two mares in their group, leading them off… somewhere. A bit overwhelmed by their sudden helpfulness, I turned back to Honeydew. For some reason, he did not look happy at the attention he got. Instead, he actually wore a scowl as he glared at the Highbreeze-breezies’ preparations. It did not fit him at all to show so little gratitude.
“What’s going on?” I whispered to him. “We’re here, they’ll take us to their clan.”
“Great.” Honeydew said, breathing out through clenched teeth. “But why it had to be me…”
Something about his voice told me he wasn’t talking about his injury. His voice was seething with an anger that felt… older.
“Why?” I whispered, lowering my voice even further.
“It’s personal-” He said, but was interrupted by a new voice, emerging from our right.
A tall, teal-colored breezie mare was gliding towards the branch, eyes widened as she stared right at us. “Honeydew?” her voice was weak, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then, her eyes trailed down to his bandage. “You’re hurt!” she exclaimed, landing right next to us, forcing me to back away as she surged toward him-
“STAY BACK!” Honeydew shouted, jabbing his healthy hoof at the breezie so that she had to skid to a halt. His heavy breathing, coupled with his sweaty mane clinging to his face gave him a mad appearance as he glared at the larger breezie.
“I’m sorry, Honey-” She tried to say, but he shook his head.
“Save it for later. Right now I’m in no mood to speak to you.”
“Honeydew, we’re here to trade with her clan, right? Don’t antagonize them when you need their help!” I whispered into his ear, but he only gave me a vexed glance.
“You don’t understand.” He took a deep breath, then pointed his hoof at the teal mare. “Twilight, meet my sister, Hippe.”
I couldn’t suppress a gasp when we first set eyes upon the Highbreeze-clan’s home. Unlike our village at the base of a tree, they’d decided to settle in a trees crown, living in numerous buildings, actual buildings in the branches, fashioned from planks of wood. Just like the clubhouse of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but a whole town of them! I wondered how they’d keep themselves warm during winter, Sizzlegrass must carry at least a chance of combustion, right? And wouldn’t strong winds make it impossible for them to leave their homes, whereas ground-dwelling breezies were much better protected?
Under normal circumstance, I would have dwelled on those questions, or bombarded the nearest breezie with an avalanche of them. Instead, my excitement took a heavy dampener as I saw Honeydew’s grim expression, while he stubbornly ignored the pleading looks of his older sister. Although Hippe had offered to help carry his stretcher, fashioned from two sticks and a portion of a leaf, he’d utterly shut down her helpful attempts. Now she was as far away as our flying formation allowed, looking as miserable as I felt helpless. What happened between those two? The question was burning in my chest, but one glare from Honeydew had told me that he was not in a mood to talk about it.
I hoped he’d never look at me like that again.
Our landing was accompanied by the looks of dozens of curious breezies. It struck me in an instant that the Highbreeze-clan was quite a bit larger than the one I was staying with. Their collective gaze drove a nervous smile on my lips, as I reflexively raised a hoof to wave, just like an alicorn should.
“Quit staring and get out of the way.” An authoritative voice at my side shouted. I whirled around, just to see Hippe step past me, glaring at the other gatherers. “Go and bring my brother to Panacea.” Immediately, the other breezie saluted, raising up Honeydew’s stretcher with their mouths. I was about to follow suit, when Hippe’s hoof blocked the way.
“Hey!” I protested.
“You need to speak to the elder, right?” she asked, casting a glance at Kalypso, who gave an approving nod.
“We’re here to trade, Twilight, remember?”
I let out a grunt, pushing Hippe’s hoof away so I could at least see where they were taking him… but they had already vanished, whether in the crowd or one of tree-houses, I had no idea. “He’ll be safe, right?” I asked, finally turning my eyes to Hippe’s.
“With Panacea he is in good hooves.” she answered, casting her eyes on her own foreleg. “It might leave him with a really nasty scar.”
Or crippled, if it became infected after all, I couldn’t help but think, yet I forced my grimace into a strained smile. “Some mares have an eye for scars.”
Hippe gave me a strange look I couldn’t quite place. “You weren’t in the clan when I left.”
“I-I’m a guest.” I nodded.
“What is your relationship with Honeydew?”
“My rela”-waitwhatnow? I stammered, struggling to find my voice as my mind tried to catch up with this sudden and baffling question. I opened my mouth to say ‘he’s a friend’, but the answer somehow got stuck in my throat. Her pointive look didn’t help much, either. Wasn’t he more of a mentor, introducing me to breezie life? But he didn’t really see me as a student. He’d kind of been my caretaker for most of my time in this world, but there wasn’t the authority I’d associate with that. And then he’d just always… been there. It was hard to explain.
Thankfully, I was saved as Kalypso let out an impatient snort. “Can we go to the elder, now? It would be rude to keep him waiting.”
Hippe jolted out of the conversation, startled realization on her face as she nodded and spread her wings. “Follow me, she lives all the way in the crown.”
Of course she would. And that unfortunately made it a bit of a chore to reach her. Breezie wings weren’t like those of pegasi, flapping them to go up simply didn’t work, we could only ride an upstream of air. As such, our route took us to circle around the tree, each time climbing just a little in altitude. I could see why an authority figure would live this way, yet it also seemed so impractical. Nothing like Honeydew’s elder. He only had a bigger house!
I glanced at Hippe’s back. She’d been with our clan, originally. What had prompted her to leave? What was the source of the hostility Honeydew showed her? I’d never seen him act like this, and then to a part of his own family? “What happened between you and Honeydew?”
Her head turned in mid-flight, her eyes displaying a mixture of surprise and sadness. “He never told you about me?”
“I… no.” I admitted. Even when I’d met Skylla, Charybdis and Harpie, he’d never even mentioned that there was another sister.
Hippe let out a long sigh before falling into a minute-long silence. Just as I was about to repeat my question however, she met my eyes once again. “He should be the one telling, you, Twilight. Just know that what I told him, it wasn’t a lie.” With that, she suddenly angled her wings, bracing her legs against the wood as she landed.
Oh. Come. On! My brain wailed with unfulfilled curiosity. What was not a lie? What. Happened?
But now Kalypso was tugging on my shoulder, sternly leading me away from answers and toward what looked like a hybrid of a treehouse and a pizza-box. “Focus now, please.” Kalypso grimaced. “Just stay on the subject, do not ask any weird questions, do not answer back to the elder and-” For a moment, she stood still, judging me with a long look. “Maybe I should just do the talking.”
With that, she knocked on a loose-looking plank.
------
I gawked in surprise as my hooves met soft, warm earth. I couldn’t imagine how many flight it would have taken a breezie to gather up the dirt just to cover the ground, but someone clearly went through the trouble. And, given its shape, it had about as much floor as a longhouse! Kalypso simply stepped past me, fixating her eyes on the breezie closest to a large, decorative sizzlepit. “We bring greetings, elder of the Highbreeze-clan. May the winds bless you.” She started ceremoniously.
A spry-looking mare rose her head, then gently snapped a stalk of sizzlegrass between her hooves and threw it into the pit, where it quickly began to create it’s telltale crackling. “I would return said wishes, but it seems you are blessed already, Frindrì Kalypso.” She couldn’t have been given the title because of her age, she looked to be in her early thirties, and there were two older stallions surrounding her, both of which had their eyes on Kalypso. I wondered which one held the title of Frindrò. I glanced at Hippe, who silently stood beside me, but a quick glance told me it wasn’t the time to ask questions.
“It is unusual for us to receive visitors from your clan unannounced.” The elder said as she gestured for all of us to take seat around the sizzlepit. I couldn’t help but let out a little sigh as I felt the pleasant warmth spread into my coat.
“Apologies, elder Mormo. The clan is in need of more sizzlegrass, and with winter drawing near, we were short of time to notify you. I hope you understand.”
The elder nodded, though I could see her lips for a thin line. “It is forgiven, Frindrì.” she simply declared before opening her hooves wide, as if about to embrace her. “Well, then, what have you brought to trade?”
Kalypso’s expression was unreadable as she opened our supplies and drew out the small, decorated vase. “This is a part of our stored honey.” she said, and I could hear a little gasp from my side, where Hippe was covering her mouth.
“I see.” The elder said, careful not to show a reaction, yet I could see the glimmer in her eyes. “How much do you need?”
“As much as the three of us can carry.”
“My brother accompanied them.” Hippe explained at Mormo’s questioning look. “He is with Panacea right now.”
“Oooh,” Mormo nodded in understanding, before grinning at Kalypso. “I think we have a deal, Frindrì.”
Now, I was not the best when it came to bargaining, just ask Pinkie about my repeated failures at Rainbow Falls, but even I knew that if your first offer was accepted without question, then you’d made a bad deal all on your own. Yet, I couldn’t say anything as Mormo reached for the vase with a satisfied grin. If I insulted her and she decided not to sell at all…
I cast a help-seeking glance at Hippe, but the look in her eyes… A seething glare at her own elder! Even the two stallions behind Mormo seemed aghast, glancing at each other behind her back as the trade was concluded.
Just then, Hippe got up. “I am glad we came to an agreement benefiting both sides.” she said, her voice kept perfectly even as she looked from Kalypso to Mormo, her eyes resting on the elder. “May the gods lay their eyes on you both.”
Mormo frowned at that, glancing to Kalypso. Then, with narrowing eyes to Hippe. For a moment, I was sure she was going to berate her for speaking out of line, but then her expression melted into a pleasant smile. “Maybe you are right. And we wouldn’t want the gods to look at us while we’re practically asleep on our hooves.” Her smile panned over to Kalypso and me. “You must be tired from your flight. Please, stay and rest, let the Highbreeze-clan take care of your needs until your companion recovers.”
“Thank you, Elder.” Kalypso formally bowed her head.
“It is our honor to have you, Frindrì Kalypso.” Mormo said with a surprising amount of honesty on her voice. “Hippe, can you take care of our guests for now?”
“Of course, elder.” she nodded, before gesturing for us to follow her outside.
As soon as we stepped out of the house, she let out a snort. “Elder Mormo forgets her honor over her desire to prove herself.”
Kalypso stared at the ground. “I’ve made a huge mistake, haven’t I?”
You could say that again, my brain snarked. You’ve been buying bread while paying for cakes. “Maybe you shouldn’t have offered her the whole pot right at the start.” I suggested carefully.
“I just- I didn’t think- we had nothing else to trade with. And in this harsh winter, I’d have thought she wouldn’t want to sell her supplies unless-”
Hippe stopped in place. It took me an Kalypso a moment to realise and turn around. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her feelers bouncing as she rose an eyebrow.
“Winter.” Kalypso explained after a moment of hesitation. “Because it’s starting early this year-”
“No it’s not.” Hippe interjected.
What? “Yes, it is!” Kalypso exclaimed. “The nights have been freezing, our gatherers could barely make it with the usual amounts of sizzlegrass, all the signs speak for a harsh, long winter!”
“You must be reading them wrong, then.” Hippe insisted. “We’ve only seen the signs of a normal year.”
“But that’s impossible!” Kalypso shouted, not realising the curious looks she was getting from the surrounding breezies
“No, Kalypso, it’s not…” I muttered. Testingly, I jabbed one of my forelegs into a path of light, frowning as the sunlight warmed my coat. “It hasn’t been that cold for a couple of days.” I whispered, realization dawning on my face as I met Kalypso’s confused stare. “We haven’t noticed, because we were distracted with Honeydew, because it’s been raining the day he was hurt, but the next morning, I haven’t frozen at all. And then we’ve been able to carry Honeydew all throughout last night! Sure, it’s been cold, but not freezing like back with the clan.”
As if struck by thunder, Kalypso seemed stunned, opening and closing her mouth as if testing the motion. “But- but that’s impossible.” she exclaimed. “We’re on a mountain, Twilight. They’re higher up, it’s supposed to be colder here, every breezie knows that!”
“But it happened.” I said, staring at my hoof as I tried to come up with any possible explanation.
Hippe only shrugged, as if to say: ‘don’t ask me.’, while Kalypso adopted a deeply distraught look. “It must be the work of spirits, then.” she whispered with widened eyes, earning a worried look from Hippe.
Then my stomach grumbled, shaking us all from our gloomy thoughts. I gave Hippe a sheepish smile. She shot back a grin. “Looks like someone’s trapping a hungry mouse.” she quipped. “Let’s see if we can rectify that situation.”
Although Hippe’s house looked like most others, in that it seemed to be designed by a bunch of foals with no idea what the others were doing, it immediately stood out in that it possessed a second floor, as well as a balcony. It might have fetched a decent price on an Equestrian market if it looked stable.. And wasn’t the size of a papaya.
“Honey?” Hippe called after rapping her hoof on the door. “I’m home.”
Wait, Honey as in-
Before I could even fully form the question, it was answered as a stocky stallion opened the door, his lush beard seeming to vibrate as he embraced Hippe. Now, she was not a short mare, so I couldn’t help but grin a little as his hooves tried their best to reach around her barrel while she gently patted his head. “We have guests, Greenfly.” She informed him as they parted from one another
The stallion quickly turned his attention to us. “So I’ve heard. You’ll be staying with us?”
“They will.” Hippe nodded. Meanwhile, I tried to simply smile without staring at his beard. It looked so fluffy. And silly. Okay, I thought as I felt the tugging at the corners of my lips. Add giggling to the things not to do.
Thankfully, I wasn’t forced to control myself for long, as Hippe brought a bowl filled with the ever-present nuts, slices of berries, but also- my mouth watered as I stared at the small orange chunks, my nose picking up a smell I didn’t even realise I’d started to miss. “Carrots!” I couldn’t help but exclaim before burying my head in vegetable goodness. I ignored Kalypso’s raised eyebrows, Hippe’s amused chuckle as the crunchy flavor filled my mouth. I was used to a diverse diet after all! The constant nuts and berries could get a little bland after a while. I really had to catch myself not to hog all the little purple pieces after discovering it was eggplant.
So this clan had a more balanced diet. It seemed that each breezie had their personal food storages too, since Hippe definitely did not leave the house for a shared supply hole. Nor had any of the breezies outside looked terribly stressed, or even busy, their chatter had been lighthearted, as if the coming winter did not concern them at all. It really seemed like they were somehow removed from the icy chokehold on the lands to the east.
“Twilight?” I suddenly felt Hippe’s hoof nudging me as she held out another, slightly smaller bowl, filled with more vegetables, as well as some sort of sticky, brownish fluid. “Bring this to Honeydew, will you?” she asked, her voice kept steady while her eyes were very intent on staring at the ground.
“Honeydew’s here?” I asked, turning my head as if I’d somehow missed him until now. “I thought he’s with your doctor!”
“He is upstairs.” Greenfly informed me as he dragged a stalk of sizzlegrass behind himself. “The others brought him here after Panacea was done with him. Insisted on being alone.” he added darkly as Hippe winced.
I nodded, giving them both an uneasy smile as I balanced the bowl on my back before climbing up the set of stairs..
Honeydew was sitting on a bed of moss, facing away from the stairs. His foreleg had received a fresh bandage, now with a colorful string wrapped around it. He held it close to his stomach, while his other hoof was… scratching on his chest?
“Honeydew?” I asked, trying to get a look at what he was doing as Honeydew whirled around, almost knocking over a small cup filled with an orange paint. His cheeks burned as he met my amused look.
I’d never really paid much mind to the orange markings on his legs and back. They never seemed to wash off, nor have I ever seen him paint himself before. I would’ve never guessed that he’d be embarrassed about it, but here he was, flushing as if I’d caught him with his hoof in the cookie jar. “What are you doing?” I chuckled as I watched his hoof awkwardly try to cover the cup, as if the act of hiding it would somehow make me forget.
“Nothing.” he muttered, slowly raising his hoof from the color.
“It looked like a something~” I said teasingly as I sat down next to him, placing the bowl of food next to his bed. “You know, you’ve almost had me fooled that it’s your natural coat color.”
His blush somehow brightened even more as he shook his head lightly, apparently not trusting his tongue.
With a roll of my eyes, I poked his shoulder. “Come on, Honey, how long have you been painting yourself?”
“S-since I left on my first scouting trip.” he stuttered awkwardly as he dipped his hoof in the color once again.
“Oh, so it’s a tradition.” I said, playing up my tone to sound understanding, though I already knew that wasn’t it.
“No.” Honeydew squeaked the words as he buried his practically-glowing head into the moss. “It’s just- only I do that.” He took a long breath as I fought a desperate battle not to break into uncontrollable giggles. “I-I was scared, so my sister painted me, called them ‘the colors of bravery’.” With another deep breath, he raised his head, meeting my eyes. “I-I know it’s silly, but they still make me feel better.”
His face was beet red. Heck, even his feelers were basking us in red-tinted light, I didn’t even know that was possible! My heart beat a little faster as I mercifully decided not to make him squirm any longer. “I don’t think it’s silly.” I assured him with a giggle. “Besides, I think they look great on you.”
“Y-you do?” Honeydew blinked, absent-mindedly brushing over one of the markings on his shoulder… which promptly ruined the mark as he accidentally drew another line. Letting out a frustrated huff, he tapped the ground, then turned to see me already offer up his bowl of water. “T-thanks.” He muttered, trying to wash the wet color out of his coat. I noticed that he had to awkwardly twist his leg in order to reach it.
“Do you need help?” I offered, setting down the water.
He gave me a surprised look. “Uhm… y-yes, please” he admitted, his almost fading blush re-emerging as he offered up the paint. “It’s a little difficult to do on your own, and with my hoof-”
“No need to explain.” I snickered as I took up the paint, then urged him to lay down beside me. Faint remainders of his marking made it pretty clear where to place the color. It reminded me of painting easter eggs. “So… when you said you sister painted you, which one do you mean?” Immediately, I could feel the tenseness in his back. “It was Hippe, wasn’t it?” I sighed. “She seemed like a good mare to me, Honeydew.”
He let out a long sigh, then suddenly his hoof reached out for the bowl of food, pushing it closer to me. He then turned it around so the side with the clear, sticky fluid was closest. “What is this?” I whispered, reaching my non-painting hoof to bring a bit of it to my lips. It was surprisingly sweet. A nectar of sugary good- actually, it might be a little too sugary for me. I smacked my lips, uncertain whether I’d prefer to relish the taste or get it out of my mouth.
“It’s honeydew.” he explained evenly.
“It- what?”
“It’s called honeydew.” He repeated, then gave me a glance as a little smile played around my muzzle. “Whatever joke you’re thinking of, don’t.”
“I-I wasn’t going to.” I lied. From hs expression, I didn’t think he bought it, either. With a deep breath, I shook my head. “W-well, anyway, don’t change the subject. We were talking about your sister.”
“If you can call her that.” he muttered bitterly.
“Honeydew, I don’t know what she did, but I’ve known her for less than a day, and I can see that she cares for you.” I insisted, reaching out to brush against his shoulder, but he jerked away. “Honeydew, please, at least help me understand.”
For a few moments, I wasn’t sure whether my words had reached him. He leaned on his side, examining the markings I’d painted on his healthy foreleg. “Hippe… she has been watching me, Skylla and Charybdis for almost as long as I could remember. I think I was about six at the time.”
“But then-” I blinked, sizing up the older mare before my inner eye. “She couldn’t have been older than-”
“Ten.” he nodded sternly.
“What about your parents?” I exclaimed.
“What about them? They’re gone.”
Something about his voice stopped me from immediately rushing over to comfort him. He sounded more confused at my question than he did sad. “So, Hippe. Was… she a good sister?” I asked, trying not to let my own confusion show.
Honeydew’s gaze hardened- but then relaxed just a moment later. “Yes,” he admitted. “Yes, she was. At least that’s what I thought at the time. She could be a little impatient sometimes, but she always took her time to help us. When I wanted to be a scout, she’d go out with me for little adventures… never far from the clan, but still. And when I was scared of my first trip alone, well.” he looked down at the paint on his forehoof, a gentle smile playing around his lips. “And then she left us.” he hissed angrily, his smile transforming into a scowl as he rammed his hoof on the wooden floor. “Went out gathering when I was just old enough to watch the others. She told me it was just for a few days. Instead, they came back without her, and now I had three younger sisters to watch out for, all while I was trying to become a scout!” his voice seethed with anger as his hoof slammed down on the floor again. I could faintly hear Hippe’s gasp, followed by her husband’s voice comforting her.
“I felt bad for her, Twilight.” Honeydew said with a grim expression. “I knew how dangerous it was out there, I was convinced she’d died. Why else wouldn’t she have come back for us?” he let out a bitter laugh. “And then, next Spring, almost an entire year later, I have to learn that she’s married some breezie from the Highbreeze-clan, got herself pregnant, and left us behind without a single word. Oh, she says it’s because of ‘mad love’, but if that was the case, why not bring the stallion to the mare’s clan, as is tradition?” he paused, then continued in a quieter, but no less heated tone. “The real reason was so she could get rid of us. Look at Hippe, free of all family obligations! Who cares that I had to pick them up without a warning, without being prepared for it at all?!” After a long, deep breath, he rested down on his side. “She can say how sorry she is however she likes, but fact is: she could’ve come back at any time. But she didn’t.”
“I-” Licking my lips, I tried to think of something, anything to make him feel better, but I wasn’t even sure how I felt about that myself. Outraged? Sympathetic? How would I feel if Mom and Dad had suddenly left me to take care of a baby dragon all on my own? And he was just one child, even if he was a little more troublesome than most, being a dragon. “I-I don’t know what to say.” I concluded genuinely.
“Thought so.” Honeydew sighed, flinching as he moved his bandaged leg to lie more comfortably on the mossy bed. “Can I be alone for a bit?” His tired voice was followed up by a hearty yawn.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to… finish… painting you?” I asked, my voice breaking as he gave me a cross glance.
“Tomorrow morning. I’d really just like to be alone right now.” With that, he rested his head on the moss, leaving me to awkwardly excuse myself as I fled the room.
-----
Quietly walking down the stairs, I found Hippe to be sitting next to a bowl of crackling sizzlegrass. Her eyes immediately swept up to meet mine. It was clear she’d been waiting here. “So?” she asked quietly, possibly afraid Honeydew could hear us.
Exhaling, I took a seat on the opposite side of the clay bowl. The grass might have made the air pleasantly warm, but I barely registered that fact. So, what? I thought, watching the larger mare shuffle around anxiously. I wasn’t sure what to think of her. Leaving her family like that, without a warning? Would I be as cold towards Shining Armor if he did that to me, growing up? But Hippe hadn’t just been his sister, she’d practically been his mother, too! My mind was reeling from the sheer attempt to understand how he would be feeling right now. Honestly, I don’t think I could.
More than ever, I wished I could ask my friends for help. Applejack would understand, that I was sure of. The others would at least give me a second opinion, so I wouldn’t feel as clueless!
“You said you didn’t lie to him.” I muttered, staring down into the crumbling grass.
From the corner of my eye, I could see her nodding. “I really do love Greenfly, you have to believe that. When I met him, it was all-” her cheeks flushed sheepishly as she wiggled her hooves in an attempt to convey ‘love’. “I was just fourteen, and it was overwhelming. I’d promised to join his clan without even a second thought.”
“He mentioned you were pregnant.” I suddenly remembered. “At fourteen?” I tried to hide just how creepy I found that thought as I watched her nod. “Where is the kid?”
Immediately, I realised my mistake as I saw her expression darken, and remembered how the second floor had been spacious, yet, aside from Honeydew… empty.
“W-we wanted to try again next year.” Hippe muttered with a faltering voice, her hoof travelling down to her stomach.
I averted my eyes. Now I was feeling sorry for her, when I just thought I could settle on being mad on Honeydew’s behalf. I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if he was really aware of that detail of his sister’s story. “You know, I think he should forgive you. I-I’m not qualified to say this, but I think you deserve it. You care so much for him. I mean,” I said as I tapped the edge of the clay. “This is right below where he’s sleeping, right?” My face lit up as I saw a weak smile emerging on her lips. “Even now, you care for him.”
“Well… I’d rather call it trying to make it up to him.” she chuckled weakly.
“Then you’re an idiot, just like him.” Kalypso’s voice swept from the next room. She had dark rings under her eyes that I must have missed in the panic of the last days. Me and Hippe jumped up at her sudden entrance, both giving her a glare.
“He’s not an idiot.” Hippe exclaimed.
“Then he’s a hypocrite.” Kalypso snorted. “You don’t even realise the full story.” Her glare swept to me. “Neither of you do. Well, reserve your judgement until you understand. Then you can judge her. And him.” With that, she left the room, not allowing either of us a chance to respond.
Blinking in confusion, I slowly turned to meet Hippe’s equally baffled expression. “What did she mean by ‘judge him’?” I whispered. Hippe simply shook her head.
Something immediately felt off as I opened my eyes, blinking against the light. Cold moss pressed against my back while I stared groggily at the wooden ceiling, wondering what I was missing.
Then it dawned on me: I was alone. For maybe the first time since I met Honeydew in this world, I woke up by myself, in my own room, something I’d taken for granted since… ever, if my memory didn’t fail me. It was odd then, that I felt myself suddenly missing the feeling of somebreezie’s coat warming my back, sharing warmth much like a blanket.
As a side note, my brain added as I tugged my hooves under my body to warm up, breezies should really, really use blankets.
From above came the sound of creaking wood, causing me to finally stir from my resting place. My ‘room’ was really just a small pile of moss, separated from the rest of the house by thin, almost see-through, white curtains.
Stepping out of my segmented space, I quickly found Hippe work on… a large, white bulb, bigger than even herself! Her brows furrowed in concentration as she unraveled a long, thin string the object was made of, disposing the removed part in a bowl of hot water sitting inside the crackling sizzlepit. After a moment of stunned blinking, I recognized the procedure. She was unraveling and degumming a silk cocoon. Normally one had to boil them in water first, but I supposed that when you were acting at this size, you could work it differently.
“Good morning.” I greeted, wondering on the implications. I hadn’t seen the breezies produce any other kind of fabric. Did that mean that everything, from the curtains to Honeydew’s bandages were made of silk? It… wouldn’t even be that unlikely, since two or three cocoons could be enough to sate a clan’s needs for a long time.
“Frinjiòn’s eye on you, Twilight.” Hippe responded, looking up from her work to gift me a smile. “Have you not been able to sleep in the last few days?”
My tired brain had not yet fully processed her strange greeting (it sounded creepier than a “good morning” had any right to!), and so it took me a moment to respond. “Y-Yes, I mean no! I’ve been a little jittery, I guess.” After what happened to Honeydew…
Suddenly, I heard a loud creaking from the stairs, as I saw Kalypso make her way down, her two-colored eyes lighting up as they spotted me. “Finally awake, hmmm? And here I thought you had begun your hibernation” she quipped with a chuckle.
“W-wait, how late is it?” I stammered, giving her a worried glance.
“Well, you missed my husband leaving.” Hippe pointed out.
“And breakfast, if we hadn’t been waiting for you.” Kalypso added, jumping the final few steps down.
“Is Honeydew coming?” I asked with a glance at the ceiling. “I uh… I couldn’t convince him yesterday.”
Kalypso snorted. “Oh, I just talked to him, and he is coming out of his hole.”
“How did you convince him?”
“I told him that it’s important he stays at least civil with his sister. And if he can’t do that…” She left her sentence hanging in the air, her tone carrying a note of profound threat.
“Did you see something?”
“Of course not.” Kalypso snickered. “The gods don’t concern themselves with our personal problems… except for Framganga, I guess. She can be a little creepy at times.” Then, in a sudden sharp whisper, she added: “But don’t tell Honeydew that. His sibling rivalry is giving me a headache.”
“R-right…” I muttered, my thoughts still hung up on her remark about their gods. How she’d so casually assumed I’d understand her. “Can I go speak with him?”
Kalypso raised an eyebrow. “Sure.” She muttered, dragging the word out as she gave me a confused glance “You don’t need my permission, Twilight.”
“O-of course.” I shook my head as I climbed up the stairs, trying to get the burning sensation from my cheeks.
Unlike yesterday, when the room had been dimly lit, almost prompting me to light my own feelers (which still tended to give me a headache over time), warm sunlight now shone through an opened… well, I wasn’t sure whether to call it a window, a door or several planks removed from the wall, but it had the same effect. “Morning, Honeydew.”
“Good winds.” He muttered, his foreleg buried in a pile of moss. There were bags under his eyes and his feelers hung on the same level as his chin.
“Bad night?” I asked, allowing him to look up before I sat down next to his bed.
With a look to his buried leg, he grimaced. “It’s been itching like crazy, Twilight, you wouldn’t believe.”
“That means it’s healing.”
Lips pursed, he deemed my response with the same annoyance I’d once given my mother when she’d said those exact words. I couldn’t help but giggle, which caused him to switch from annoyance to confusion.
“You’re so random, Twilight. A mare of mysteries.” he chuckled, then tapped his chin with his healthy hoof. “Speaking of, did anyone know about your portal?”
My jaw dropped at the innocent question. I forgot. I actually, somehow managed to forget about going home! Pressing a hoof to my chest, I took a gradual, controlled breath, before slowly extending it outwards. “I-I didn’t ask yet.” I told the perplexed looking Honeydew. “Over you getting hurt and meeting your sister and Kalypso getting a bad deal with elder Mormo-”
“What?” he interrupted, looking aghast.
“Apparently, the bad winter doesn’t seem to reach them. Your sister said it was looking like a normal year.”
“But that’s impossible!” he exclaimed. “Up here, it should be-”
“Colder, I know.” I could only shake my head. “I don’t understand either, but that’s what’s happening. You can even feel it now.” I added, holding my hoof into the sunlight.
He stretched out a hoof, looking more and more uncertain as the warm rays gleamed in his fur, sparkling a little on the painted stripes… It did look good on him. “But then, they should have a lot of sizzlegrass stored.”
“Probably.” I said darkly. “But we’re still paying with the whole pot.”
“WHAT?” If I hadn’t stopped him, Honeydew would have jumped up right there and probably hurt his leg. As it stood, he was glaring at me with fire in his eyes. “That’s… Kalypso… she took advantage of Kalypso?”
“Uhm… yes?”
“Unbelievable.” he muttered. “She tricked a Frindrì.”
“And that’s… bad?”
“Twilight!” Exasperation lied in his voice. “She’s a chosen of Frinjiòn!”
My face scrunched up as I wondered what to say to that. Obviously, that was important, I was pretty sure that god was the leader of their pantheon or something. Part of me, the part that hated feeling stupid, wanted to nod in feigned understanding. But… I was getting sick of being clueless. I was sick of not knowing things! And if anyone would explain this without creating a fuss… With a long sigh, I met Honeydew’s eyes and confessed: “I don’t know who Frinjiòn is.”
If I had assured him that I’d just seen a great white shark swim through the clouds, he probably still wouldn’t look as bewildered as he did now. “You’re joking.” he muttered, nervously chuckling as he met my eyes. “You have to be-” as his voice trailed off, I could see his expression slowly contort into disbelief. “Y-you’re serious? You can’t- HOW?!” he finally exclaimed.
“I told you, I’m from far away. Have you never met a breezie who didn’t know about your gods?”
He shook his head. “No, never. Even the far-away Tidechasers know of Frinjiòn, even if they mostly seek Heistin’s favour!”
“Who are they, Honeydew?” I asked, begged, giving him my most pleading look.
“But- why haven’t you asked earlier?”
“I…” heaving a sigh, I let my eyes sink to the floor. “I think I just hated feeling stupid. I wanted you to think of me as someone smart, like my friends do back home.” I let out a sour snort. “If you can believe that.” I almost didn’t dare meet his eyes, until I felt something warm sink into my mane. Honeydew had stuck his glowing feelers into my hair!
“I never thought you were stupid Twilight.” he whispered earnestly. “I mean… I did think you hit your head really, really hard. A-and maybe also more than once.” He swallowed, showing a sheepish smile. “But you learn, and then you saved us by knowing this stuff about fire. I never knew that ashes could clean wounds.”
I felt a warmth rising up in my head that had decidedly nothing to do with his bright feelers, which he now drew back, letting them bounce infront of his face in a way that made it hard not to grin goofily. “S-so, about your gods?”
Honeydew leaned back, puffing up his cheeks. “Kalypso could do this better than me.” he muttered. “She’s a frindrì, after all.”
“I’d rather hear it from you.” I admitted, feeling that heat rising up again as I gave him a sheepish grin. “I don’t trust her as much as I trust you. You won’t tell her about this, right?”
“How could I after hearing that?” he rolled his eyes, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked up at the ceiling, pondering. “But where to start…”
“How about Frinjìon?” I suggested. “His name seems to come up the most. Is he the leader of the gods?”
“Winds, no!” Honeydew exclaimed. “None of the gods would allow another to lead them. They’re…” He rubbed his chin, furrowing his brows in thought. “The gods come from the endless skies.” at my confused look, he elaborated: “W-when you look up at the sky, there is no end. And at night, you can see the glimmering of an infinite amount of worlds up there. The gods came from somewhere in this vast space, travelling on the everlasting breeze from world to world, sometimes moving past, sometimes staying for many, many years. Until they came to our world, where they looked upon its beauty and decided to take it as theirs. Heistin laid claim to the seas and the water. Jörgd, her patient brother, wished for the earth, and everything below it in his wish to craft it into a work of art. Meanwhile, Frinjìon did not seek to stay for long. He looked at our world and still found it lacking. He wished to find a place truly perfect, like the gods were themselves. And so, he claimed only the winds, so it could carry them away once the other had grown bored of their realms.”
Honeydew slowly shifted to a side of his mossy bed, allowing me to perch down beside him. “So, while he waited, he strolled through the lands of his friends, until he hit a peculiar sight. When Jörgd had claimed the lands, he had created many of the creatures that you can see in the world now. But as they grew up, they obviously needed to be fed. And so, he created weak, tiny worms, intended only as fodder for his creations. Those were our ancestors.”
“Your… ancestors?” I repeated, not sure if I understood correctly. “You don’t look like a worm to me, Honeydew.”
“Of course not, Twilight.” he chuckled. “But back then, we were just that. We had barely any muscles, no brains, not even clans. We had no purpose other than to feed the other creatures. And yet, Frinjiòn came upon one of us, summoning all its strength to slither out of the hole of the rat it was supposed to feed. And this, the sight of the most pathetic creation’s struggle, it made him feel something no god had ever felt before.” Honeydew’s voice dropped to a whisper. “He felt inspired. The worm he saw had dared to deny its fate, to carve a place in the world for itself. And, by learning to slither, it had grown over its boundaries and become something more. And that, Twilight, is something that the perfect gods had never managed to do.
From that moment, Frinjìon wanted to see what else we could achieve, and so he pleaded with his friend, to let him take us into his domain. Bewildered, Jörgd agree, and Frinjìon gave us his blessings.”
Suddenly, I could something brushing over my fragile wings. Honeydew’s hoof was gentle, as he followed the transparent appendage all the way to my shoulder, where it connected with the muscles on my shoulder blades. “And since then, he had watched over us, hoping that someday, we would improve far enough that we would be his equal. And maybe, one we have done that, together we could achieve something greater than perfection.”
“So,” I started, trying to replay everything I just heard in my head. “You want to be gods?”
“Heh… w-we’re trying?” he chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “W-we’re obviously still a really, really far way off, of course.” With a sigh, he added: “though, many of us think that’s silly. You probably do, too.”
I shook my head. How could I, after practically becoming a sort of goddess myself? Maybe the breezies would find their own version of Starswirls spell… or something of their own. “I don’t, Honeydew. I wish you all good luck.”
“Thank you, Twilight. A-and if I make it, the first thing I’ll do is show you how. I wouldn’t want to be a god alone” He chuckled, his feelers bouncing jovially.
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary.” I responded with a knowing smirk. Then, unable to stop myself, my hoof shot forth, tapping against his glowing antennae, feeling a silly grin on my face as I watched it bob lazily from side to side.
Although Honeydew flinched at the contact, he did not pull away, anxiously watching my hoof as it played with his dangly bits. “D-do you want to know about any of the other gods?” he blurted out.
“Oh, right.” I sheepishly withdrew my hoof, then (with all my willpower) pulled away my gaze from those alluringly bobbing lightsources- Get a hold of yourself, Twilight! My annoying brain huffed. “S-so, what are those ‘winds of Fjermengard’? It seems to be connected to Heistin...”
Honeydew took a sharp breath. “D-do not think that she is evil, but-” he shook his head with a sigh. “Well, the tale say that while Heistin chose the largest domain of the world, it was also dark, cold, and what lives there is unapproachable and… harrowing. A-and so, Heistin became jealous of her brother Jörgd, for he had chosen the beautiful lands as his own. She approached him to share, but he refused. Had she not taken more than any other god already, did not everything under the water belong to her already? Enraged, Heistin vowed that it would, and using the cold powers she harnessed from the oceans, she made made her water freeze solid, so it would cover the lands henceforth. Jörgd fought back, urging a spirit to bring the sun closer and melt the snow. Every year, this battle repeats-”
“-Winter.” I whispered, frowning. “But the way you mentioned those winds, it did not sound like something normal…”
He shook his head sadly. “No… The winds of Fjermengard were an army of frost-bearing spirits from the deepest depths of Heistin’s realm. It is said that the gods sealed them all in a mighty cavern in the northernest north, where they’re safely kept.” he swallowed. “However, when one escapes… it is always the cause of horrible winters. I-I hope the rumors aren’t true.”
“Me neither.” I muttered, following Honeydew’s gaze to the staircase. Spirits…. Suddenly, I was starting to regret the consideration I was giving their beliefs. It would have felt so much better to just put it in the back of my mind as unlikely folklore. But spirits are hard to deal with. Take it from the mare who had to battle one that could change the fabrics of reality on a whim.
The sudden noise of a shrill flute made us both jolt up. “ARE YOU DONE TATTLING UP THERE?” Kalypso shouted. “Some of us are starving!”
Me and Honeydew jolted up. Then, after exchanging a nervous glance, we both began to chuckle. “We’ve been talking for a while, haven’t we?” I asked, reaching out to help him get safely on his hooves.
He nodded, carefully holding his hurt leg to his stomach. “Lets not test Kalypso’s patience any more. Or… my sisters.” he closed, his jaw clenching. But then, he let out a long sigh. “Let’s do this.”
Despite mine and Kalypso’s efforts, breakfast was tense, dominated by nervous questions and monosyllabic answers. In the end, both siblings fell silent, attempting to simply ignore each others presence.
“D-do you have any plans for the day, Twilight?” Hippe asked.
I opened my mouth, just to realize that I had no idea. I hadn’t planned for anything, my schedule was as blank as my breezie flank! It must have been living with the breezies, constantly having to move to unexpected tasks, that had made me drop my scheduling habit. I’d just been doing what I’d been told. So… what did I want to do? The answer came from a delighted squee inside my head, from a roused spirit that had been dormant for too long. “I’d just like to help out.”
“Are you sure-” Hippe started, but I interrupted her by nodding rapidly.
“Yes, yes I’m sure.” I grinned, inwardly chanting: Explore!
----
Hippe’s husband Greenfly worked on the closest tree, an enormous old fir which towered over the high-breeze clan’s oaken home. A place she’d called ‘the farms’. Now if that didn’t pique my interest! Until now I’d only seen breezies as a hunter-gatherer society, with emphasis on the gatherer-part. What were they farming and how?
With a little sigh, I sat down on the furthest branch of the oaken tree, waiting as Honeydew trailed behind me. He’d insisted on coming along. Meanwhile, Kalypso had wordlessly left the house as soon as breakfast came to a close, not leaving any of us with a clue where she was going.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Honeydew coming with. I suspected that it was mostly because he didn’t want to be left behind in his sisters house, and I feared that he might complicate the healing process just to avoid her. If only I had some way to bring them closer again… though I doubted that a speech about the value of friendship could bridge these gaps. It’d be like trying to reach Yakyakistan with a burning matchstick for a ladder.
Heaving a sigh, I let my eyes wander, and my worries were instantly forgotten. From the perched branch, I felt like my eyes could travels miles upon miles over forested mountains and rolling hills. Clouds of fog rested in cracks, nearly obscuring the sight of a far-away waterfall, casting off a jagged cliff into the rushing river, which parted the landscape. I couldn’t see a single clearing, only small in the endless, fiery ocean of yellow and orange leaves, where the naked branches pointed at the bright, blue sky.
“It’s lovely.” I whispered, drawing a long breath of the cool air. I felt Honeydew look over my shoulder, but wasn’t ready to tear my eyes away yet. Somewhere out there was our clan. But I had no idea where. How far had we travelled? Swallowing, I looked up at our tree, the massive stem against which the clan’s treehouses appeared like nothing more than tiny specks, and felt a chill in my stomach. The world truly was massive. And for a breezie? It was titanic. Once more, I felt a rush of immense gratefulness that Honeydew had managed to find me out there. The chances for that must have been… I licked my dry lips, refusing to ponder on that any further as I gave my saviour a smile and we both spread our wings.
We met Greenfly on the tan’s lower branches. He looked up in surprise when he saw us, in his hooves something that reminded me of a brown-ish jelly-bean. He seemed a bit surprised when he heard that we were willing to help, but then a smile grew on his face as he led us to branches full of tiny, almost translucent, green insects. “They’re the last generation of aphids this year.” Greenfly explained proudly as he trailed a hoof over the back of one insect. “Right now, we’re hoping they’ll lay another set of eggs for us to store. And of course, they produce our honeydew.” He gave Honeydew a wink. But Honey only looked at the bugs with a mild expression of disgust.
Few moments later, as Greenfly picked up an aphid and tickled its belly, I shared Honeydew’s look. I did not need to see where the sticky, sugary substance actually came from. WHY DID IT TASTE SO GOOD? IT HAD NO RIGHT TO! Still, as we helped Greenfly carry eggs and refused to acknowledge his question on whether we’d assist ‘the milking’, I was in thought. The highbreeze-clan seemed to be doing very well for itself. How much of that was because of them being spared the early winter, and how much was because they enjoyed a stable food production? I let those questions swirl around in my head for about an hour, before I stomped my hoof, placing down the egg I was carrying in order to face Greenfly. I’d decided to my habit of bottling up questions when I’d confronted Honeydew about the gods, it was time to act on that.
“It is nice to not worry about food.” Greenfly chuckled when I asked. “Honeydew might start to taste disgusting without variation, but starvation hasn’t been a problem for us for as long as I could remember. However, trading with your clan is still very important to us.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “You have your own sustainable food supply as well as sizzlegrass growing around your home. I-I don’t think our clan has anything like that, we just… fly out and pick things from the area.” Swallowing, I looked around, hoping Honeydew was not around to hear that. I did not want to hurt his pride.
“And that means you get much further around than we do.” Greenfly explained somberly. “Life is not all about food and sizzlegrass, Twilight. We need medical herbs, which we buy from you every summer.”
“Farin Gaela also likes us.” Honeydew interjected, limping towards our discussion. “She allows us to take the carcasses of her deceased workers.”
“And your toolmaker is excellent. Carveshine, was it?”
“Many clans are willing to pay for his work.” Honeydew agreed, a small grin on his face.
“The trade of our clans is important.” Greenfly said with a nod in my direction, before frowning. “A shame then, that elder Mormo is betraying our bonds of friendship like that…”
“What’s up with her?” Giving him an inquisitive look, I crossed my hooves before my chest. “It seems that every breezie I meet disapproves, and she’s your elder.”
With a sigh, Greenfly shook his head. “I don’t know. She hasn’t been elder for long, so we can look after a few mistakes, but this… and to a Frindrì. Maybe she is trying to prove that our clan comes first to her, but she is choosing a dangerous path all the same. Let us hope that Myrmelsday will appease the gods and spirits to oversee this slight.”
“Myrmelsday?” Honeydew exclaimed, his expression brightening as mine twisted to confusion.
“Of course.” Greenfly nodded. “In a few days, I think. If you stay long enough, I am sure you could attend as well.”
“Myrmelsday?” I whispered, trying to form the words with lip-movement more than words as I tried to get Honeydew’s attention. But he was completely focused on his leg, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
“Maybe.” he whispered. “I’d love to be able to afford celebrating.”
The next week with the Highbreeze-clan was a bizarre mixture of ups and downs. On the third day, Honeydew developed a fever, just when we had all thought his recovery would go over without complications. For two days, he’d been tied down to a bed with a skull-splitting headache. It fell to me to nurse him back to health, as his mood would sour dramatically whenever Hippe tried to visit him upstairs. For two days, I was stuck between their animosity, trying to at least get them to talk things out, but Honeydew would barely even consider before rebuffing my suggestion. Then he rolled up, only grinding his teeth as he rode out a particularly nasty pulse of headaches, while I could do little more than bring him cool water and hope the sickness would pass soon. I even awkwardly tried a prayer to their gods, hoping that I could gloss over not knowing which one was about healing by just addressing all of them. I felt weird, silly even, whispering pleas to the ceiling, but then, what else could I do?
When the fever began to pass enough that we could rejoin daily life, we found ourselves with something on our hooves which I haven’t had since my departure from Equestria. Free time. In the Highbreeze-clan, instead of a hectic rush to prepare for an oncoming winter, they were calmly stowing away the last produce of the year, all the while excitedly chatting about Myrmeslday. None of them deemed it necessary to ask for help, leaving us with plenty of free time on our hooves. And so, naturally, I spent the days around the clan, finally able to indulge that half-starved spirit of exploration within me as I worked my way through the seemingly endless list of question I had amassed over the last weeks.
Despite their primitive lifes, the more I learned about their lives and culture, the more deep and interesting it became. In their beliefs, the world was inhabited by hundreds, if not thousands of spirits, each with their own stories, myths and motivations, often intertwining with one another in a grand tale I was probably only scratching the surface of. Then there were rituals or pleas directed at them, naturally woven into the breezies lives. I learned that back in the clan, Honeydew had gotten up even earlier than I previously thought, as he brought a drop of morning dew to each member of his family, symbolically reinforcing their bond as they all drank from it together.
There was more than beliefs and rituals, however. I learned about different and sometimes far-away clans, all of which had their own strategies for survival. The Moorwanderers, who hunted large crayfish. Or the Tidechaser-clan, who cruised the oceans in the inside of giant coconuts they used as ships, which were said to be able to dive underwater for days at a time!
Sadly, no-one seemed to have ever heard of the portal. Not that I’d really believed in it, if anyone would know, it’d be my own clan. Plus, I was getting a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn’t be able to leave until I fulfilled my part in Kalypso’s vision anyway…
Strangely, while the clan was becoming ever more vibrant in gleeful anticipation of their festival, Kalypso was growing more tense with every passing day. Soon after breakfast, she would always leave, passing by the clan-members as they erected a large wooden platform near the crown of the tree. And it wasn’t like they were unfriendly, in fact, whenever I saw her interact with one, they showed a reverence close to my own when I’d first met Princess Celestia! And yet, Kalypso seemed intent on keeping every conversation short, and then leave at the first opportunity. To be honest, I was getting a bit worried about her. Ever since she’d let out that strange remark about Honeydew on the morning after our arrival, we’d barely exchanged a couple sentences with each other. So, when I woke up on Myrmelsday, I was determined to remedy that.
As usual, I’d gotten up late. I may have acclimated to their worldview and working ethics, but those ungodly waking hours… I doubted I’d ever be able to adapt to it. Furrowing my brows, I blinked against the beam of light coming from the open door. Why was it open? And why was it so quiet? Speaking of, where was Honeydew? Since he’d recovered from his fever, he’d fallen back on his habit of waking me, but he was nowhere to be seen. I staggered out of my tiny room, looking around the empty, quiet house. Strange… with a queasy feeling, I helped myself to a slice of blueberry, decidedly not looking at the jars of sweet aphid-gunk… yuck. It wasn’t much different on the outside. Where dozens of breezies had fluttered around in joyful anticipation the night before, the village seemed completely deserted now. There wasn’t even a noise, apart from the rustling of the few remaining fall leaves.
“Hello?” I asked, first as an awkward whisper, then as a shout. “HELLO? ANYONE HERE?” I tried to look in every direction, to find anyone here, to soothe my worried mind. There was no way they could all leave, right? But even then, Honeydew would have made sure not to leave me behind, unless… unless they’d been taken by force. But for all of them to disappear, and without a trace or even waking me up, that would require powerful magic. I tried to rack my brain over what being could have such power, but most likely, it would be something I’d never heard of! “HELLO?!” I shouted once more, my voice shrill from panic.
“Twilight, why are you shouting like a madmare?” A voice came from right above.
“Kalypso!” I exclaimed, craning my neck to see her land on a nearby branch. “Sorry, but where is everyone?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” she shrugged sullenly. “It’s Myrmelsday-” she paused, her eyes resting on my face. “You… don’t know what that means, do you?”
“N-no.” I admitted, awkwardly pawing at the ground. “So, where are they?”
“Oh, they’re all here, just keeping quiet in their homes-”
“And you don’t?”
Kalypso’s face fell. “I’m getting to that.” she said heatedly, her feelers gleaming for a moment. “Do you even know what we’re celebrating?” she rolled her eyes at my shaking head. “Thought so. Myrmelsday marks an end to the battles between Jörgd and Heistin. The land was tired from their fighting, from a year of constant change from the bitter cold of the sister’s dark army of ice, and the baking heat of the sun-spirit Myrmel, who defended Jörgd’s realm. But Myrmel, from high above the world, saw the damage both siblings couldn’t, and so he spoke to both gods, convincing them to meet on the highest mountain of the world, where the consequences of their battle were clear to see for both. The siblings were horrified, but Heistin still did not want to return to her cold domain. She pleaded to her brother that though she may rule a great realm, it was a lonely reign, and that she wished to partake in the beauty of his land, if only just for a bit. It is said that Jörgd sat in silence for the whole day, contemplating. And then, at nightfall, he reached his hoof out to hers, offering his sister one season to rule the land, where the creatures could rest, and he could be at her side, and see what beauty she could create.” she took a long breath. “And thus, on Myrmelsday it had become tradition to spend the beginning of the day with your family, in silence, and prepare yourself for the festival at night.”
“W-wait, so Honeydew’s back home? With Hippe?”
“Upstairs.” she agreed. “No, don’t go to them, you’re… not family.”
I stopped in my tracks, feeling like I’d just been smacked upside the head. “Yes, of course…” I muttered as I carefully watched Kalypso, who was rubbing her temples. “You’ve been avoiding us, lately.”
“Have I?” she muttered, closing her eyes for a few seconds before she breathed a sigh. “I guess I have. Feel like we should’ve left days ago.”
“We couldn’t, Honeydew-”
“I know!” she exclaimed, her teeth gritted. “But the clan won’t know why we’re late, and with the coming winter-”
“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” I suggested. “Considering how friendly the weather is here.”
“It will be bad!” Kalypso suddenly shouted. I jerked back as she gazed at me with her two-colored eyes widened. “The visions, Twilight, they’re getting worse, every time, my dreams get colder. And I fear that it’s coming closer.” Just as sudden as her voice had risen, it dropped to a whisper. “They’re more frequent now. Almost every night, I wake up and expect everything to be covered in snow. And I don’t understand why it’s so mild here! Is there a curse on my clan, is that it? But if there is, why won’t the gods lift it, or tell me why? Frinjiòn likes me, right? Why else would I have all these visions? Why else would I have these eyes?” she took a long, shaky breath. “If only I could know things instead of suspecting them…”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. In all honesty, her outburst had taken me by surprise. “I’m sorry-”
“No.” Kalypso shook her head. “My failings as frindrì aren’t your concern. But I need to get a clearer picture. I need to… I need to speak to elder Mormo.” she closed.
“Do you need my-” I began, but she shook her head.
“No, no I don’t. She will forgive me for breaking the tradition of Myrmelsday, but she wouldn’t make the same exception for you.” With that, she took off into the air, starting her circles to ascend into the upper layers of the tree.
I sat down, watching her rise higher and higher, feeling my antennae dangle as I huffed in frustration. Seriously, would it hurt her to not wrap her words in four layers of mystery? Or was that an occupational illness for anyone in the future-telling business? With a groan, I leaned my back against the rough bark, preparing myself to wait for the evening-
“Twilight?”
I sat up. Honeydew was there, followed by a nervous looking Hippe. “There you are.” he said, looking visibly relieved. “Startled me when you left without telling us.”
“B-but I thought on Myrmelsday you’re just with family!” I exclaimed.
“You knew that?” Honeydew rose an eyebrow. “I don’t think I ever told you.”
“Kalypso just told me.”
“Well, she’s right, but you don’t know about Myrmelsday, so we have to loosen the normal rules a bit.” A grin emerged on his face as he took my hoof. “Now come, we need to get you ready for the celebration.”
“R-ready? How?” I bit my lip, wondering what I’d have to do. Maybe some sort of test?
“You’ll see.” Honeydew grinned, dragging me back into the house. I shot a questioning look to Hippe, but only saw her light smirk as she chuckled in amusement.
----
Honeydew’s room was no longer empty. Surrounding his mossy bed were bowls and containers of differing size. Some held samples of plants, others of strangely colored sand, while some emitted an acrid smell. Dispersed amongst the bowl laid instruments, some made of wood, others forged from or with chitinous plates. Drums, horns, flutes, maracas and something that looked like a primitive violon amongst others that I didn’t know a name for, it looked like a very thin windchime made of cricket-legs.
Honeydew chuckled at my marvelling stare before he picked a familiar looking bowl from the mess, filled with a thick, orange liquid.
“Do you need help?” I asked automatically. It would give me ample opportunity to ask him about everything in this room.
“No, no, Twilight, today we’re painting you.” Honeydew responded with a casual smile as he placed several more bowls beside the first one. “What color would you like?”
“M-me?” I stared down at the colors, ranging from his orange to a bright blue. Was there a right choice? I’d never been good at color coordination! I gave him a sheepish look. “Uhm…”
“You’ve never been painted before, have you?” Honeydew chuckled. “Don’t worry, I suspected that.”
“G-great…” I muttered, eyes darting back to the colors. “Do they mean anything?”
“Oh, yes.” Honeydew said with a stern nod, then gently dipped his hoof into an emerald-green color. “It is very important that you choose the right one, otherwise you will be sending a signal!”
“W-what kind of signal?” My lips quivered, and I had to bite them to keep them still as Honeydew leaned in, his eyes narrowed. His hoof suddenly shot forward, tapping the tip of my muzzle.
“That you’ll look silly!” he guffawed, before flicking the rest of the color off his hoof. “Don’t worry so much, today we’re having fun. Green is not your color though, you might wanna lick it off your nose.” As I squinted at the green drop, he chuckled. “Don’t worry, it’s edible.”
My tongue creeped forward, giving it a tentative lick. It tasted a little bitter, definitely not a main dish. Shivering, I looked for a sip of water to get the taste off my tongue. Instead, I heard Honeydew gasp as Hippe’s head poked through the staircase. Her eyes met Honeydew’s stern glance, and she bit her lip
“Sorry, I thought we were painting ourselves now…” she muttered.
“She doesn’t know how. I will be painting her.” Honeydew responded evenly, looking conflicted as his eyes darted from me to his squirming sister. Then, to both our surprise, he waved her over.
Hippe’s expression exploded into a relieved smile. “Thank you.”
“Well, while you’re here, you can help Twilight. I think she’s having trouble deciding.”
“Oh, are you?” Hippe glanced down at me. “There’s a spot of green on your nose. I don’t think it suits you.”
“I know.” Groaning, I let my tongue slip out once again, accepting the bitter taste as I watched Hippe sift through the various colors.
“Choosing a color isn’t that hard. It mostly comes down to what you want to express.” With that, she picked up the bitter green and dipped a feeler into it.
“You’re choosing the colors of life.” Honeydew observed, his feelers twitching curiously as he watched his sister start to paint her side in a complicated pattern of green lines.
“S-so all these colors have a meaning?” I stammered, feeling more and more overwhelmed with every second we were talking.
Honeydew nodded. “Yes. The most important one being that you like that color.” His feeler tickled against my ear as he giggled. “You’re thinking too much, Twilight, no-one reads much into colors these days.”
“W-well, then…” I chuckled awkwardly, trying very hard to suppress the urge to try and catch his dangling antennae in my mouth. “W-what about your colors?”
I could hear Hippe’s painting ceasing for a split-second, while Honeydew gave me a strange glance. But just as fast, the moment was gone and he was picking up his well-used colors. “I think they’d look good on you, too.” He rolled off his mossy bed, gesturing for me to lie down as he coated his hoof in the paint. “Hmmm… Do you want it just like mine, or can I try something?”
“Uhm…” I gave him an uncertain look. I didn’t like those decisions where I had no real idea of the outcomes. But Honeydew was giving me a hopeful smile, framed by those adorable feelers… In retrospect, it’s not much of a choice at all, I thought as I gave him my go-ahead.
It wasn’t easy to sit still while Honeydew applied the paint to my body. His hooves tickled and there was the awful urge to sneeze, but I needed to endure, to keep still, I wanted to see what the end result would be!
Finally, Honeydew’s hoof withdrew from my cheek, he’d been painting my face for the last few minutes, forcing me to close my eyes.
“H-how do I look?” I whispered, slowly opening my eyes. Honeydew was just wordlessly smiling at me, observing his work.
Unlike Honeydew’s straightforward marks, he’d painted me with curved, flowery lines, with out-reaching roots growing over my forelegs before blossoming into elegant patterns over my chest.
“So, uhm… do you like it?” Honeydew wore a nervous smile as he closely observed my reactions.
You tell me, I still need a mirror. My brain burst out, but there was nothing properly reflective in sight! But if it was anything like the tendrils on my stomach- “It’s lovely.” I assured him.
“Great.” his voice proclaimed more than a bit of relief. “Well, you should wait for it to dry before you go to bed.” He exchanged a look with Hippe, who was still quietly observing my painted hide. I shook my head.
“W-wait, bed?”
“We’ll be up all night!” Honeydew laughed. “You don’t want to be tired.”
------
Me, Honeydew, Hippe and Greenfly moved out when the last sunbeam disappeared over the horizon. The wooden platform the breezies had built near the treetop was already bustling with life as clan-members gathered in growing groups. Some flew around the tree, either trying to get a better look or chase each other around in elaborate maneuvers. Food laid in large piles, seemingly open for everyone to just take what they wanted. I gave Honeydew a tentative look as we landed on the outer edge of the platform. I had no idea what a breezie celebration was made of, even less where we could fit in. This wasn’t even his clan, I remembered as I opened my mouth to ask. But Honeydew’s eyes were fixated on something in the middle of the largest crowd.
Just that moment, a breezie wearing yellow paint in angular shapes held up a drop of water in one hoof, slowly letting it tip over and run down his leg. And then, with the onset of rhythmic drumming, he began to dance, somehow guiding the drop over his body with flowing, wave-like motions, first over his shoulder to the other foreleg, then somehow making it slide up his feeler, down his arched back before he tossed it back into his foreleg, expertly catching it, causing the water to wobble dangerously, but it stayed in its droplike form. Others around him began to mimic his hypnotic motions, perfectly in sync with the drumbeat. I had no idea how, as the music seemed to change in pace every few seconds.
The first dancer now grabbed the drop in his hooves, gently sliding it forward and back as he closed in on the breezie to his right. I put my forehooves on Honeydew’s back, allowing me to eagerly look over the heads of the surrounding breezies as the dancers pushed their drops together, combining them into one bigger ball of water. The breezies seemed to struggle with the large drop at first, swaying from side to side, yet still in perfect tune with the music, their hooves pushing into the drop. My jaw hit the ground as I saw the water change shape, becoming flatter, elongated. In rhythmic motions, the dancers were transforming the drop into a water… water-sausage! I couldn’t believe my eyes, but with a quickening drumroll, more breezies were joining in the dance, bringing more and more water, elongating the shape of the water now held by dozens of hooves as it curved around on itself. How were they doing this? How was this even physically possible? I stared intently as they angled the ends of the water-sausage in on it itself. They were going to create a ring. MADE OF WATER! I wanted my notebook, I wanted anything to write on while I observed-
Suddenly, I felt a hoof pushing my open jaw shut. Honeydew grinned up towards me. “Are you going to watch all day, or are we joining in?”
“Wha- join in?” I gasped, the idea had never even occurred to me, I was supposed to watch, to observe. But Honeydew’s hoof had already already grasped mine, and the next moment I found myself next to him as he grabbed one end of water-shape, drawing his hoof over it to spread out the liquid. For a moment, I could only watch in amazement, before I felt a poke on my shoulder. I stared in shock at the breezie on my other side, who offered me the other end of the water-line. My mind raced as my hooves shot out, I’d never been good at holding water! Still, I somehow managed to hold on the other end, mimicking the fluid motions of Honeydew to my left. The water felt like jelly in my hooves, slowly reshaping into a longer end as I brushed my hoof over the top of the line. It- it wasn’t that hard! I moved in tune with the drumming, motion and music unifying to guide my hooves over the water until mine and Honeydew’s ends met. A sudden surge went through my hooves as the water now flowed freely through the ring we had created. The cheers of breezies filled my ears and I let out a victorious whoop. Even more now wanted to join in our ring, adding more water to the ever-growing shape as we moved to the quickening drums.
A breezie managed to feed colorful floating stone into the ring, and we daringly took the challenge of making it float round after round by carefully raising sections of the water while another one pushed- something, I had no idea how it worked! I turned my grin to Honeydew, to ask a question or just laugh out loud, I wasn’t sure. Suddenly, an especially fierce drumroll emerged, startling me enough that I dropped the water- causing the entire ring to ripple apart, splashing outwards and soaking our coats. With eyes widened in shock, I turned to Honeydew, trying to shout an apology, when I saw him laughing. Out loud, heartily, as if he was having the time of his life. Then the other’s joined in, and I let out a relieved sigh. I-it was okay. Despite my screw-up, everyone was still okay, they didn’t even seem unhappy!
Some of the drummers now left their posts, allowing the music to change into… a vast mess of different breezies playing random instruments without any coordination to speak of. With a large grin, Honeydew pulled me by my hoof, drawing me away as breezies surged into the middle of the stage, beginning to dance. Nothing fancy like the water dancer, just shaking their bodies in whatever way seemed the most fun!
“It’s better not to take the dancefloor immediately.” Honeydew explained as he pulled me toward the piles of food. “Else you’ll get overrun. Oh, oh, you need to try this! Funny berries!”
“Funny-” I began as he held out a blueberry to me. Shrugging, I took it in my hooves and bit a hole into its skin before drinking the juice that poured out-
The sour taste immediately made it clear what he meant, the berries were fermented! I cast a quick look at Honeydew, but he was already drinking from his own huckleberry. Well, if those kinds of spirits belonged to breezie celebrations… I just hoped I’d be able to hold back, my experience with alcohol wasn’t exactly extensive.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked, my voice raised a bit as to not be drowned out by the muddled music.
“Whatever we want.” Honeydew grinned, bobbing his head with the confused rhythm.
I took another sip from my blueberry, savouring the sweet, yet somewhat bitter taste as I tried to get a better look around. The breezies in the air had started some wild game, like a mixture of tag and aerial stickfighting, yet I couldn’t discern the rules from watching. Kalypso was nowhere to be seen, but I found Hippe dancing with Greenfly and chuckled at the sight of the large mare practically tossing her undersized husband around.
“Do you want to join them?” Honeydew asked.
“W-what, dancing?” Gnawing on my underlip, I gave the dancefloor a tentative look. The art of elegant motion had truly never been my forte. Then again, most of the breezies here weren’t performing any outrageous maneuvers either… “Well, if you-” But the thoughts of dancing vanished as I saw the pan flute he was holding close to his lips. “Do you play?” I exclaimed in surprise.
“Of course I do.” he winked, then closed his eyes as he played a short, yet lingering melody. His other hoof meanwhile tapped the ground as if playing a drum. Could he do both?
“What else do you play?”
“A bit of this and that.” Honeydew shrugged. “Some flutes, the drums, clitterers and of course the rattles… but everyone can play the rattles.”
“I distinctly remember you knocking them on your own head when you first tried them.” Hippe emerged from the crowd, breathing heavily as she sat down on the edge of the platform. Well, the way she was dancing, it wasn’t surprising that she’d be exhausted. A set of odd-looking bags were tied around her flanks. I was certain she didn’t have those while dancing.
“That was supposed to remain a secret!” Honeydew huffed, crossing his legs. “And I learned quickly.”
“Yes, you did. We used to play a lot together, remember?”
Now that piqued my interest! I glanced to Honeydew, who stared down at his flute as he gnawed on his lips. “That was a long time ago.”
“W-well, I’d like to hear you two play.” I suggested, nervously watching as Honeydew shot a look at Hippe and squirmed.
“It would be like old times.” Hippe muttered, meeting his look with a nostalgic smile.
“Well…” he stole a quick glance at me before he closed his eyes, his brows furrowing. “Oh, toss it in a storm, why not?” he exclaimed before blowing once through each tube of his pan flute. “Are you ready?”
Hippe beamed as she nodded, producing a set of bongos from the bags- no, the bongos had been the bags. “Ready as I ever was.”
Honeydew took a deep breath, before starting with a long, calm note. Then, as he shifted tones, Hippe underlined his performance with a low drumroll. I leaned back, trying to tune out the background noise to better focus on their song as it grew more complex by the second. And yet, for the first time, the siblings seemed in perfect harmony as they swayed with the song, and I couldn’t help but sway with them. It was like they’d practised for years, not spend just as much time apart!
Finally, Honeydew blew a long ending note as the drumming ceased. His eyes opened, meeting mine with a nervous look. “Did you like it?”
“Like it?” I repeated, eyes wide in awe. “It was perfect! Where did you learn to play like this?”
“O-oh, it’s not special, we just do it to pass the time.” he craned his neck to the sky as he waited for his breathing to calm down. “Would you like to play with us next?”
“Me?!” My hoof thumped into my chest as I exclaimed the word. “I-I can’t play!”
“Why not?”
What kind of question was that? “I just can’t play anything.”
Honeydew’s eyebrow rose. “Twilight, if you don’t want to, you can just say-”
“No, I mean I don’t know how.”
He blinked, confusion written on his face. “You mean, you can’t play any of these?” his hoof waved out to the many instruments seen in the hooves of dozens of breezies.
“I don’t know how to play an instrument.” I explained slowly. “These, or any other.”
The revelation seemed blow his mind, as his jaw dropped. “Then… then what did your clan do to pass time?”
“Well-” I began, not sure what to say. I was pretty sure at this point that he wouldn’t have any idea what a book was. “Other things, I guess. Like, uh, telling stories? Stargazing?”
“It must be a strange, boring place where you come from.” he muttered. Then, his expression suddenly shifted into an eager grin. “Then maybe I can teach you.”
“Y-you would? Honeydew, I-I’ll sound terrible!”
“So?” he laughed. “Music is about having fun, Twilight!”
I had never assumed that music would be one of the things I’d learn in this world. But Honeydew was so eager, his enthusiasm so contagious that I couldn’t have refused. And so he showed his flute, taught me how to purse my lips as to create the smooth, clangorous sounds he could. He didn’t seem at all concerned about which note was right. In fact, I was getting the impression that there were no right notes for him, instead, he was perfectly happy just letting me play simple melodies of my own and simply laughed when I showed signs of annoyance whenever I got it wrong. He tried to show me other instruments too, like the clitterers, something that looked like a windchime made of cricket-legs, which were tied around the feelers. Then, when you lit them up, it would cause the legs to produce the same noises crickets were capable of. Some kind of electric signal must be connecting to the insect’s nerves, which would then cause the legs to move… Ultimately however, I was happy enough to stay with the first instrument. Learning one was already complicated enough.
Time flew by as we joined in the overall music, then took a place on the dancefloor, which had gotten so full that we were practically just bumping into other breezies as well as each other. But our heads had gotten heavy from the fermented juice we were now guzzling from our second berries, dulling our senses and making everything seem funnier. With fuzzy memory, I think I recalled having to crawl under several dancing pairs in our attempt to get a break.
“Let’s get to a quieter place.” I suggested, giggling as I pulled Honeydew out from under the hooves of some other dancing breezie.
“Yes… lets.” Honeydew agreed after I helped him get up on shaky legs. The alcohol was really starting to have an effect on our sense of balance now. He blinked slowly, his eyes turning at the night sky. “Hey, Twilight, you said you liked stargazing, right?”
“Y-yes!” I followed his eyes, but the lights of hundreds of feelers, as well as the gnarled branches of the tree did well to hide much of the otherwise starry sky.
------
We found a spot up high in the tree, where nothing obstructed our vision of the night sky. There was a nice area where a branch forked, creating a slightly curved surface we leaned against, pressed side by side, both due to narrowness of the branch and how chilly the nightly air was.
But the view made me forget all of that. The surrounding mountains as well as the valley had been overtaken by thick fog, obscuring everything even slightly further down the mountain. The night sky however, unobstructed from horizon to horizon, it made my jaw drop in awe. Millions, if not billions of twinkling lights shone from above. Cosmic clouds of light that I knew were the arms of the galaxy, but which I’d rarely had a chance to see. I don’t think I ever saw anything like this in Equestria- no, I knew for a fact I’d never before seen a night as brilliantly clear as right here.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Honeydew breathed the word, as if he was worried he could upset the stars by speaking too loudly.
“Incredible…” I agreed, unable to tear my eyes from the lights. “We have different stars where I come from.” The moment those words left my mouth, I regretted them, as Honeydew sat up with a look disbelief.
“You have different stars? I can maybe understand somehow not knowing the gods, but a different sky?!” he tried to meet my eyes, pleading. “Where are you from, Twilight?”
I tried to avoid his eyes, tried to look away, but found myself unable to do either. “I-” I couldn’t think of a way out, and definitely not a convincing lie, not with my head as heavy as it was right now. Briefly, I considered simply not answering, but… something in me was tired of telling those lies. And, if there was anyone I trusted with the truth, well… “I’m from a place called Equestria.” I whispered, my eyes centered somewhere on his chest. “It is a different world. The portal brought me here when I tried to visit… another place. And I’m- I’m not a breezie. I’m something you would call a pony.” I closed my eyes, hoping to avoid seeing the look on Honeydew’s face. And yet, I couldn’t help but envision the betrayal he’d feel. Anger? Worry as I finally convinced him that I was a nutcase?”
“Y-you’re not a breezie?”
I shook my head, unwilling to speak, wishing I could close my ears as easily as my eyes. Suddenly, I felt something reach around my shoulder. Before I knew, he’d slung his legs around me. And then they gently squeezed my chest.
“W-well, I’m glad the portal took you here. B-because it means I met you.”
I opened my eyes, seeing his face not too far from mine, his cheeks and feelers glowing as he awkwardly withdrew his forelegs. “Though you’re gonna have a lot of explaining to do later.”
“O-of course.” I muttered. Was he not mad? Not… something?
Apparently not, as he settled back down with a huge grin plastered on his face. “Do you really have a different sky?”
“Mhmm. I used to love finding all the star signs in the sky.” I looked up at the stars, and began to pout. “Wish I could show you…”
“I know our star signs.” he suggested. “Maybe I can show you, and tomorrow you can tell me all about your world.”
“Deal!” I grinned, then grabbed his hoof, pushed it in the air, and smacked mine onto it. “That’s what we call a high-hoof in my world.” I informed the confused Honeydew.
“Does it mean anything?”
“It used to, but now we just do it for fun.” I giggled. Then I took my snuggly space at his side. “Now, first star sign, hop, hop.”
“Patience!” he laughed, then searched the sky as he placed one hoof around my back. “This is the rat’s face!” He exclaimed, pointing his hoof upward. “See the stars that make up the incisors?”
Soon, I feel into a trance listening to his voice as he tirelessly pointed out more star signs, some of which I found, others I could only scratch my head at. The tempest was shortly followed by the mantis, after which came the prophet, all narrated by Honeydew. His feelers glowed occasionally, usually after I’d found the star sign he was pointing to, giving us both a moment of warmth and brightness as we cuddled closer together, with me now almost lying on his soft, warm chest. Combined with the alcohol, it was almost enough to lull me to sleep, but I forced myself to focus on Honeydew, whose lips moved as he searched for the next star sign, his expression so bright and joyful as he found what he was looking for, the stars mirroring in his eyes as he caught my gaze, moments before our lips met.
A second later, my eyes widened. What had come over me? My mind raced, while I tasted his sweet lips, smelled a natural scent of lavender in his coat- The alcohol, it must’ve been the alcohol! I wanted to jerk back, to apologize and explain somehow, as Honeydew broke the kiss, then slowly touched his lips as he regarded me with widened eyes.
“I-I-I’m-” I stammered, unable to even say ‘sorry’, when his hoof suddenly grasped mine.
“Don’t be.” he whispered, his antennae glowing in a shade of red I’d never seen before, lighting up his smiling features. “That was… surprising. B-but good!” He quickly added.
“Y-you mean… you liked it?” I couldn't believe my ears. Everything about this situation felt like it was supposed to be happening to another pony, Rarity perhaps, but I was just Twilight! My heart nearly stopped as he leaned closer, his lips so close to mine-
“Can I please… kiss you again?” he asked with a nervous smile, and my brain surrendered control to my heart as I tasted raspberry.
------
My mind was racing as we sat on opposite sides of the branch. Although the moment felt like it could have lasted forever, we eventually parted, trying to figure out the consequences. What does this mean from now on? My brain shouted again and again. Are we… together now? Does it mean he’s my stallionfriend? I wanted to talk to Rarity, she’d know for sure, but to me, it was completely uncharted territory, I’d never kissed a stallion before! And what about the breezie-side of things? How would Honeydew see it? Would he think it made us a couple? That I wanted to marry him? To carry his children?!
“W-what does this mean from now on?” Honeydew asked, his expression a mixture of bliss and disbelief.
YOU TELL ME! WHY WOULD YOU ASK ME?! My brain roared. “I-I’m not sure.” I muttered. “Maybe just… act like it didn’t happen?”
“I don’t think I’d want to forget about it.” Honeydew said earnestly. “I don’t want this to be our last kiss.”
My ears burned at the word, which I’d never even thought of in connection to myself… Twilight and kissing, it just didn’t seem to fit, but now, it somehow did! “Well, maybe we could try… being friends? I-I mean friends friends, I mean-”
“I think I know what you mean.” he snickered. “And I think it will make our journey back home much more bearable.”
Oh, Celestia, he was winking at me! Nervously laughing, I waved my hoof in the air, feeling both very silly, awkward and… happy. I had a stallionfriend! The thought still felt strange, like a sock that didn’t fit, but maybe if I tried it out enough, it’d start to feel better?
Suddenly, we heard a commotion from below, surprised shouts as the breezies tried to open up a space in the middle of the platform, where one breezie stood before a large bowl filled to the brim with glimmering sizzlegrass. Honeydew followed my eyes, then gestured downwards. Nodding, I spread my wings, jumping off the branch.
It was impossible to find a place on the platform, as crowded as it had become, and so we landed on a nearby house, just about managing to get an inch of space from another group squeezing on the same roof.
The figure in front of the large sizzlepit was unquestioningly Kalypso, painted in red striped all over her body, eerily similar to those common on zebras. He forelegs were opened wide at the sky, as she chanted a song I somehow couldn’t understand, even though I constantly picked out some words I knew. The other breezies stared at her in awe, as she waved her hooves in a manner I’d usually liken to a madmare, while occasionally taking a deep breath from the smoke emerging from the pit.
“What is she doing?” I hissed in Honeydew’s ear.
“A ritual.” he whispered back, his eyes wide open. “She’s trying to reach the higher plane, to get a clearer picture of what the gods are trying to warn her about.”
“And… that works?” I hoped my doubt didn’t show in my voice.
“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve ever seen it.”
Well, it seemed to impress the highbreeze-clan at least. Even elder Mormo, who stood closest to Kalypso, her eyes showing deep reverence.
“FRINJIÒN!” Kalypso shouted, her voice reverberating in the otherwise stunned, silent village. “JÖRGD! HEISTIN! BY THE DAY OF MYRMEL, I BESEECH YOU ALL!”
Nothing happened. I bit my lip, feeling something cold against my shoulder as Kalypso shouted again, her eyes fixated on the smoke emerging from the sizzlepit. Then- the entire village gasped- the smoke suddenly thickened, taking strange, swirling shapes. At one moment, I thought I saw a head much like Princess Celestia’s, but then it was gone, leaving me to wonder if I’d just imagined it. But Kalypso appeared to see more. Her eyes widened as she stood on edge, shock written in her face while she stared into the smoke. “A frozen pool? Is it the entrance? Where-” then her expression blanched. “No! No, it can’t be-” She waved her hoof, and the sizzlepit extinguished just like that. Then, Kalypso pointed her hoof out into the distance. With a sharp motion of her hoof, the fog was pulled aside like a curtain, revealing the mountainside- Completely covered in snow.
The clan freaked out, breezies shouting at one another how this was possible, others pointing at the sky, where clouds shifted themselves before the stars. They hadn’t been here before! How quickly had these clouds moved, could it even be natural without pegasi to push them?
“EVERYONE, LAND, NOW!” Kalypso screamed, just as I saw it. Like an invisible wave, brushing over the treetops as it rapidly surged toward us. Breezies dropped out of the sky, all to get a grip before the storm washed over us like a physical wave, pulling on my wings, even though I didn’t even have them opened.
“BACK TO YOUR HOMES!” Mormo shouted, her voice faintly heard over the storm, and we all rushed into the relative safety of the wooden walls, unable to do anything but watch as the storm brought the snowfall with it...
I had never experienced a storm like this before. It wasn’t the largest or most powerful I’d witnessed in my life, after all, I’d seen wild tornados escape from overwhelmed weather crews. But now there was no team of pegasi to stop the brunt force of nature, no option other than to hold on to the wooden floor of Hippe’s house, while the ferocity of the storm shook the entire tree. Desperately holding onto the wall, I could only try not to look as the floor tilted, and suppress the horrible thought that the entire house might just slip out of the branches into the roaring storm…
Never before had something made me feel this small.
Although the snow only beat against our walls, we couldn't stop the cold from slowly seeping in, clawing away at our strength while our breath turned to fog in the frigid air. Even Honeydew’s warm side did little to alleviate my stiffening limbs, aching more with every passing second, just like my alcohol-ridden head. And we couldn't even light the sizzlepit, not with how the tree was shaking. All we could do was endure…
It seemed like an eternity until the storms deafening roar became no more than a ghostly howl. I’d lost all sense of time, didn’t know whether it was still night, or even noon, I couldn't tell. Maybe I’d even fallen asleep. All I knew was that warmth suddenly crept into my skin, just as someone reached for my numb limbs, pulling me closer to a newly lit sizzlepit.
“Oh, thank Celestia!” I exclaimed as the warm glow embraced me, slowly melting the numbness from my body. Honeydew shot me a strange look, but then he sat down next to me, rubbing his freezing hooves together. I slowly put a hoof around his back, shivering at how cold it was, but I didn’t pull back. On the other side of the pit sat Hippe and Greenfly in much the same position, their thin, shivering lips shut tightly as they stared into the sizzling grass, as if urging it to burn quicker. “H-how long has it been?” I croaked, suddenly realising the painful dryness in my throat. Of course, alcohol dehydrates, and we hadn’t had much else to drink…
“I think the sun rose a while ago.” Honeydew muttered, shooting an anxious look at the door.
“We’ll go out in a bit.” Hippe said with obvious effort to sound unfazed. “Did you see if… if everyone made it?”
A painful silence grew between us as we all stared into the sizzling grass. Of course we couldn't answer her question, it’d been too hectic, with the storm reaching us only seconds after Kalypso’s warning…
“I haven’t seen anyone taken by the storm either.” Honeydew said, a bit louder than necessary. “We should remain hopeful.”
Yes, please! I gasped inwardly, looking up to the way he was raising his head, his feelers emitting a soft glow as he watched the door, a determined look on his face. I suspected he was just putting on a strong show for us, but by tartarus, it was reassuring to see. “Well, there’s no use in loitering around.” he said after another minute, his limbs creating audible pops as he got up. “Let us see what the storm has done.” With that, he pressed his hoof against the door. It didn’t move an inch. With a confused look, her stemmed his shoulder against it, while Hippe rushed to his aid. With combined strength, the door suddenly flew open, causing both breezies to faceplant into a bank of snow.
With a gasp, I rushed to help them out of their predicament, though I couldn't ignore what I saw from the corners of my eyes.
Several broken branches, victims of the ferocious storm, had either plunged down into snow banks on the ground, or got stuck in the tree. Icicles hung from several remaining branches, making us all exceedingly nervous as we stepped into the open, to join a few other breezies who were busy digging an entire treehouse out of the snow.
It was jarring. Just the day before, we’d been dancing out in the open. A few trees even had leaves left on their branches! Now, it looked like the deepest winter I’d seen in Equestria.
This wasn’t natural.
At least it seemed like everyone made it safely to their homes, as more and more joined us outside. Even a dozen breezies in the buried house soon joined us with thankful, but worn smiles. Judging from their blue lips and constant shivering, they hadn’t had any sizzlegrass in the house before the storm hit…
“Where is Kalypso?” Honeydew wondered, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the growing crowd.
“With the elder?” I suggested, looking up to the highest treehouse. Though covered with a lot of snow, it was still safely wedged between several thick branches. “Maybe we should fly up-”
But just then, the crowd let out a collective gasp as they parted, allowing a shivering Kalypso to emerge from the buried house, followed shortly after by elder Mormo. Kalypso still wore her ceremonial red stripes as she stumbled into the hooves of waiting breezies, her eyes darting around until they fell on us. “Twilight, Honeydew!”
We both rushed to her sides, helping her up. Her coat was icy. “Don’t worry, Kalypso, we’re here to help-” I began, but she cut me off.
“We need to get going.” she spoke in between the clattering of her teeth. “Back to our clan.” When Honeydew’s mouth opened to object, she made a sharp, cutting motion with her hoof. “The wind came from home. They need us back, now!”
“You need to warm up, still.” I said worriedly. Her pupils were dilating, like she was having an open-eyed nightmare. “Let us get you to a sizzlepit.”
Panting the icy air, Kalypso seemed to at least consider our words, while she scanned our surroundings. “This has been my nightmares for months…” she whispered as she took in the wintery landscape.
“I know.” I muttered the meaningless platitude as we carried her away from the crowd, back to Hippe’s home.
------
Minutes after we’d sat her down next to our sizzlepit, life appeared to seep back into Kalypso, her face regaining color as she devoured a piece of walnut like a hungry lion. Yet, her eyes never left the glimmering grass, as if she expected something to emerge from it.
“Are you better now?” I whispered as I sat down next to her, offering her a drink of water.
She gave it one quick glance before turning back to the smoking plants. “I still feel like my ears could fall off at any moment.”
“I-it doesn’t look like frostbite.” I said with a hint of optimism. “I don’t think we’ll be losing any part of you.”
“Great.” she muttered. Somehow, she made it sound like she was sour about it. “The storm, did anyone-”
“I think everyone made it.” I cut her off, offering a smile. “Thanks to you.”
In an instant, her expression darkened. “I didn’t-”
“You warned us.” I said sternly. “And that saved us. Don’t act like you didn’t do it.”
“I should’ve seen it coming sooner!” her voice rose. “I should have warned everyone, I had a bad feeling about Myrmelsday, if I’d listened to myself, it would’ve never gotten that close!”
“You had a bad feeling because you don’t like Myrmelsday.” Honeydew countered as he sat down on her other side.
“You don’t know that!” she shouted, her glare darting to him, then to me, then the ceiling. “I don’t know that!”
“We all made it, thanks to you.” I spoke softly as I placed my hoof on her shoulder. “Is that not enough?”
“No. Yes.” Grimacing, she rubbed her forehead in frustration. “We should’ve left before that.” she whispered through gritted teeth. “We need to get back to our clan!”
“Then you wouldn’t have been here to warn them.”
She whirled around to face me, nostrils flaring. But just a moment later, her expression softened and she let out a sigh.
“What… what did you see in that fire?”
Instead of answering, Kalypso closed her eyes, shaking her head. “Nothing that makes sense.” she finally said after a minute of silence. “A pond of ice, in some basin. I-I don’t know what it means. But it was cold.” A shiver went through her body. “Like the coldest of winters… I felt like a corpse.” She shifted closer to the sizzlepit, her hooves almost reaching into it, as if she was planning to burn the memory away.
“Mysterious, as usual…” I muttered, drawing a dry snort from her.
A knock came from the door. Honeydew went to open and was met with a whirl of snowflakes as Mormo stepped inside, giving Hippe a quick glance before focusing her attention on us. “Frindì Kalypso?”
“Elder Mormo.” Kalypso returned the greeting with a nod. “It is good that you came, we have something to discuss.”
“You wish to depart for your clan, I am sure.” Mormo said, giving her an uncertain smile. “We are preparing the sizzlegrass for transport as we speak, you can take as much as you want.”
“W-what about your supplies?” I injected, furrowing my brows. “Will you have enough to last a winter as… unnatural as this?”
“It grows around here, we have enough supplies to last us for two winters.” Mormo explained, the corners of her mouth twisting into a grin. And yet, her voice was shaking, her grin forced as she turned to Kalypso with a solemn expression. “We, uh… we owe you a great deal, Frindrì. Your warning saved many lives yesterday. And…” She shifted uncomfortably. “I have been a poor host.”
“You were looking out for your clan.”
“And the clan owes you now.” Mormo said earnestly. “If you wish for your honey to be returned-”
“As nice of a gesture as that is, I cannot accept.” Kalypso sighed. “We couldn't afford to carry it with us. With how things are now, we will need to carry as much of the sizzlegrass as we possibly can.”
Mormo’s face fell “So, there is nothing else we can offer you?”
“Nothing short of a miracle.”
After a moment of pregnant silence, Mormo spoke up again. “Are you sure departing from us is a good idea?”
“We have to. The clan depends on us. You should know that, Elder.”
“Yes, but…” she bit her lip. “Will you not use up the sizzlegrass just to get back?”
“No.” at that, Kalypso shot me a look. “I think we have another way.”
The elder gave me a short, confused glance. I merely shrugged, unable to suppress a small, knowing smirk.
“W-well… take from our supplies what you need.” Mormo muttered. “I- we all sincerely hope that you arrive safe and sound.” With that, she turned to leave, but froze just before her hoof touched the door. With a nervous look on her face, she faced Kalypso once more. “Uhm… would it be possible for me to receive a blessing?”
Kalypso blinked, taken aback by the request. “Uhm… okay…” she replied, throwing me and Honeydew a helpless look before placing her hoof on the elder’s forehead, right between the base of her feelers. Mormo closed her eyes as Kalypso recited: “M-may Frinjìon’s eye be upon you, may the wind bring you and you clan fortune and glory, and may- may the winter be a modest one.” She almost choked on the last sentence. “S-sorry, I’ve never done this before…” she whispered with a sheepish smile.
“N-no, thank you, Frindrì.” Mormo replied. “Come the thawing, our clan shall pay off our debt by sending you part of our supplies.” With that, she turned away, only stopping to assure us that our bundles of sizzlegrass would be ready whenever we decided to depart.
“A nice gesture.” Kalypso said darkly, her gaze returning to the sizzlepit. “But I wonder if we’ll be there to welcome it.”
“D-do you think it’ll be that bad?”
She gave me a long, conflicted glance. “It could-” with a sigh, she shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Come,” Honeydew whispered into my ear, pulling on my hoof as we left her to sit alone. “There is no point speaking to her when she is like this.”
“Like this?” I repeated.
“When she struggles to fulfill her role as a frindrì.” he sighed. “She burdens herself too much. Always has. A frindrì has the power to see things. But that seldomly comes with the ability to fix them. I don’t think she understands that.”
“She did see me in her visions.” I carefully pointed out. “So maybe there’s a chance.”
“Maybe.” he admitted. “We can only hope for the best. For now, we can only prepare for our way back.”
“R-right.” I nodded, glancing to Hippe. “I’ll, uh, see if I can scrounge up our supplies.”
------
There was a small procession of breezies following me, Honeydew and Kalypso as we made our way to the furthest branch of the tree, where Mormo waited for us with three large bundles of sizzlegrass, each enough to keep a small sizzlepit burning for two or three days. I suddenly felt a weight in my stomach as I wondered how that could possibly have enough of an impact if the winter was going to last for months...
I glanced to Honeydew, who took his bundle, awkwardly attempting to fasten it around his chest, as Hippe stepped from the crowd, holding the sizzlegrass while he tied the silky rope. “I guess that’s goodbye…” she muttered, giving him a nervous, cautious smile.
“Yes, it is.” he replied neutrally, his lips thin as she shook himself, checking if the bundle sat right.
I gave them a worried glance, unsure whether I should step in and reprimand him. Hippe seemed like she was about to say something, but then she simply nodded in defeat.
“You’ve never met Harpie.” Honeydew said unexpectedly, his gaze pointing to a spot a few inches left of Hippe. “She wants to see her biggest sister. You better be part of that group your clan is sending next spring!”
“I-” Hippe blinked, giving me a questioning glance, as if she wanted me to confirm that she heard him right. “Yes, I’ll be there. Promise.”
“And Skylla will tear you to pieces.” he added, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face, before turning to me. “Twilight, stop staring, we want to go!”
“R-right!” I gasped, tearing my eyes of the sibling as I fastened my own load, which I couldn't help but notice, was quite a bit smaller than Honeydew’s.
“We look forward to seeing you again, Frindrì.” Mormo said earnestly, barely sparing a glance at the rest of us.
“So do I. It would mean that both our clans made it through the winter.” Kalypso answered solemnly, before taking a deep breath of the cold air. We did the same, then we all stretched our wings and let the breeze begin to carry us home.
As sudden and jarring as the change overnight had been, I was struck by the beauty of the land we flew by. It was like the world had been muffled by a blanket of snow, with the only sound coming from the occasional wisp of cool wind, or the dripping from icicles starting to melt in the sunlight. It filled me with a feeling of peaceful contentment, as if I could just bury myself into a comfy little hole in the snow.
It did not take long for that impression to make way for the reality of our journey. I sniffled, trying to ignore the feeling of cold slime leaking from my nostrils down to my upper lip, where it rapidly sapped away what little heat it could. My whole face felt numb, despite the ineffectual glow of the midday sun. I breathed out, trying to direct my exhale up to my nose for just a fleeting relief of the cold. Of course, such attempts were futile, all warmth evaporated in less than a heartbeat. With a morose grunt, I wiped a hoof over my face.
The others didn’t fare much better than me. I couldn't help but throw worried glances at Honeydew, who kept his bandaged foreleg tugged closely to his body, occasionally rubbing his other hoof over it. He claimed that it just felt cold, but he never switched the legs out, you’d think the other one had frozen even more by now! With a heavy sigh, I averted my gaze, staring at the back of Kalypso, who stared sternly ahead. Shivers went down her spine, each time causing her to drop a few inches in altitude, before she regained them with an irritated huff.
I breathed out again, briefly producing a foggy cloud before our airstream dispersed it in the frigid air. About half an hour ago, my ears had begun to hurt, as if they were filled with sharp, icy shards, intensifying each time a cold breeze came up, in addition to forcing us to dive out of the way, lest it blow us off course. A few hours in, and I was exhausted in every way. But we couldn't stop, couldn't hold, couldn't even take a break. Staying in motion was the only thing that kept us warm, the only alternative to making a fire… which would prevent us from travelling far longer than we could afford to. No, we could only endure. Even as the hours passed, our bodies went numb, and the sun travelled further and further downwards, until it's light disappeared behind the treetops.
The worst part must’ve been my acute awareness of just how short I might’ve been able to cut this journey. On alicorn wings, I could finish this six-day trip in a day, sparing us of all the hassle and deprivations we’d have to face in five more days of this! I think I almost would’ve chosen to do so, if not for the niggling reasonings of my thrice-damned brain.
Because as much as Kalypso urged us to get back to the clan, and as much as she still seemed bent on pushing us to move faster, our arrival was not time-critical. As Honeydew had explained, once the snow fell, nearly all travel and scavenging ceased, it simply wasn’t worth the expenditure of sizzlegrass. Nor was our delivery needed now, we were just bolstering the supply so it would hopefully not run out at the end of winter… and I really hoped it wouldn’t. However, if I transformed, it would cause me to go hungry fairly quickly. And with the food supply as sparse as it was…
And all that didn’t even go into how we would find our way, I doubted Honeydew could orientate himself if we flew above the trees, and I was never agile enough to fly through a forest with any semblance of speed. And now I was out of practise, too. No, the only thing transforming back would do was to make our journey more comfortable, at the clan’s expense.
I don’t think I’ve ever hated my brain as much as I did now. And to think that the stupid thing used up twenty percent of my bodies energy, when it could be used for better things. Warding off that damn cold for example!
“Kalypso, are we gonna land soon?” It took me two attempts to make my quivering lips form the words.
I could only see the back of her head as she looked up at the sky, painted orange from the setting sun.”We can still-”
“Of course we will. We should’ve started looking for shelter before the sun touched the horizon!” Honeydew’s stern shout cut her off. “We can’t fly at night, Kalypso, we would freeze before the next sunrise.” He shot me glance over his shoulder. “Look for anything that would ward off the wind and where you could do your fire-thing.”
“I’ll need wood.” I shivered, letting my feelers glow. A quick surge of warmth spread from my forehead, but I had to stop it before it could grant any lasting relief. Lighting your feelers was tiring, something we couldn't afford for matters other than visibility.
Before too long, Honeydew spotted a small alcove below a protruding rock. I had no idea how he saw it, the surrounding snow covered it up almost entirely, only a small gap allowing access to the shelter. But on the inside, we found a little patch of dry earth, protected from the rock on one side and above, and by a wall of snow on the other. Like a half-cave, half-igloo.
Again, I had no idea how Honeydew had managed to spot this, in the growing darkness no less, but now wasn’t the time to ask questions. We immediately went to work, scouting the area for firewood while Kalypso remained in our shelter, scraping at the earth to create the pit we so desperately needed. Normally I wouldn’t envy her for the task, but at least she had a windshield…
Luckily, the recent storm had caused enough damage to the forest that wooden splinters and loose tree bark wasn’t hard to come by. Plus, I’d already packed the stick to light the fire with. If only my hooves weren’t so shaky! Muttering a curse, I noted Honeydew’s curious look. “W-what?”
“Are you a shaman?” He whispered.
“Excuse me?” I said, baffled by the strange question.
“You cause fiery death to the wood, out of nowhere. A-are you persuading its spirit to suicide?”
I couldn't help it. Despite my aching, numb skin, despite the freezing cold, I cracked a smile. “It’s not like that. I’m simply using friction to induce a thermal reaction strong enough to cause combustion.”
Honeydew’s head tilted as he took in what I just said. “...Twilight, are you sure those are words, or are you getting sick?”
I snickered, the conversation giving me the strength to ignore the cold as the end of my twisting stick produced a thin stream of smoke. “I’m not sick, I’m just using a natural phenomenon. You know how your hooves get warmer when you rub them together?” I waited for him to nod before I continued. “Well, that is because movement produces heat, especially when it scrapes over something solid. That’s called friction. And when I make fire, I’m basically producing all the heat you would when rubbing your hooves, but in a tiny, tiny spot, until it’s hot enough to catch fire.” With that, I triumphantly beamed down at the glimmering embers on the tree bark.
Honeydew’s jaw rested on his chest as he stared at me with widened eyes. “H-how do you know all that?”
I hesitated. He wouldn’t understand if I told him that I learned from a children physics book. “I-I guess you could say my clan taught me.” With a quick glance to Kalypso, who sat at the far side of the alcove, I added in a whisper: “ponies have used fire for a long time. We use it for warmth, light, cooking, decorations and sometimes even as a weapon.” And for steam engines, electricity and other uses that you wouldn’t understand.
“Isn’t that… dangerous?”
“Not if you prepared for it. Can I borrow your knife for a moment?” While the embers grew into a flame as wide as my hoof, I continuously fed it with strips of wood I carved from the larger sticks. “And today, the entire forest is covered in great extinguishing material.” I added with a nod to the solid wall of snow to our side.
Honeydew sighed with pleasure as he held his hooves out to the growing fire. “Y-you’re a wise mare, Twilight.”
I chuckled nervously as his compliment warded off the cold. By causing heat to rise up in my cheeks! “Uhm, y-you wanna see something cool?” I grinned, placing a stick next to a small clay pot I’d packed. Then, I held the stick into the fire, until it held a sizeable flame. “Now watch.” I said as I dropped the flame to the ground, causing Honeydew to jump away. Myself, I just calmly put the pot over the flame, before giving him an amused glance. Then, a few seconds later, I raised the pot, showing him the completely extinguished fire.
His jaw dropped as he rushed forward, his feelers frantically bobbing up and down as he stared at the once-burning stick.
“How did you do that?” Kalypso came closer, mimicking Honeydew’s bafflement, if to a lesser extent.
“I starved the flame.” I snickered as I watched their confused expressions. “Fire needs a steady supply of air to keep burning. If you limit that supply-” I gestured to the pot. “the fire burns up all the available air and dies.”
“Wow…” Honeydew breathed. “Fire spirits aren’t much for moderation, huh?”
I couldn't help but laugh ath that conclusion. How beautifully breezish!
Our little cave was starting to get cozy as Kalypso demanded we tugged in for the night. As much as I tried to push off the thought, tomorrow was another day out in the cold. My stomach growled, but I kept my eyes away from our bags. Our supplies were meagre, and Honeydew had told me it was better to go empty for a few days, using up your ‘reserves’ before refueling. I think I only went along with it because I was seriously worried we just wouldn’t have enough otherwise. This… weird looking, grey-ish, crumbly cream seemed to be just enough for one meal. And it was supposed to last us all for six days! Still, my stomach demanded something. Just a little taste…
I caught Honeydew’s look as he watched me with a sad expression. “You don’t want to eat yet.” he whispered.
“I know, I know.” With a sigh, I tore my eyes from the bag. Again. He gave me a short nod, before he slid to my side, his hoof reaching over my shoulder as we got cozy for the night. As cozy as one could be when your belly made you believe you were going to starve tonight…
Although we tried to conserve what we could from that first, lucky night, it quickly faded into memory when we were once more exposed to the freezing temperatures of the outside. Trying to distract ourselves with conversation wasn’t very successful, as we kept having to shout due to our constantly changing distance to one another, as well as looking backwards during flight simply being really uncomfortable. And so, we once more flew in silence, until we found the next shelter. This time however, we didn’t get nearly as lucky, having only a ring of frozen grass as windshield. Honeydew tried to save the spirit of the first night by giving me a lesson with the flute, but we were too cold, our lips quivering too much to produce any sort of melody, and so we had to give up, simply huddling close to one another until the fire was large enough to allow us a few hours of uneasy slumber…
On the fourth morning, I suddenly felt something cold splash against my face. With a startled shout, I rolled away from the moaning Honeydew, shaking the wetness out of my fur… wait, why was I wet? Honeydew and Kalypso also roused, glaring up at the sky- just as another drop of water hit right into our fire, causing a sharp hiss as it evaporated. Confused, we extinguished the fire with a heap of snow and prepared for our flight. Only when we were up in the air, did we realize what had caused our sudden and uncomfortable awakening. The ice was melting! The air wasn’t as frigid as the night before. Even after the first hour, I retained some feeling in my snout! The sunbeams actually felt somewhat warm. The land was still covered in snow, it would stay like this for at least a day or two, but it was slowly starting to melt off!
“What is causing this?” Kalypso asked for what must be the third time, staring in shock at a melting icicle. “I-I didn’t see this! This shouldn’t be happening!”
“Seriously?” I rose an eyebrow. “You’re going to complain about it?”
“Of course not!” she rubbed her forehead. “But I don’t understand. Why is it warmer now? None of this makes any sense!”
“No, it doesn’t.” Honeydew agreed, though his sober tone couldn't detract from his grin. “But it’s nice nonetheless. We shouldn’t question the god’s gifts, now should we?”
“I guess not.” Kalypso sighed. “I just never knew the gods were fans of surprises…”
Despite this conclusion, my outlook had grown more somber. This was inexplicable, even to the breezies inhabiting this world. And had the temperature not been better at the High-breeze clan, just before that storm hit, transforming the landscape into one of deep winter overnight? I think my mood could be best described as ‘wary’. Kalypso’s vision still told of winter. At this point, hoping for this change to be permanent seemed… to good to be true.
My conclusion would prove to be right on the very same day.
Me and Honeydew were practising the flute in mid-flight, as Kalypso suddenly let out a startled shout, her antennae emitting a sudden glow. With a gasp, I had to close my wings to avoid crashing into her. “Kalypso, why the heck did you stop?” I shouted from several feet below. Honeydew asked something similar, but Kalypso cut him off.
“We need shelter. Now!”
I think it was the trembling of urgency in her voice, the clear panic that made us forego any questions as to why and drop straight down, Kalypso darting into a nearby knothole. I Was the last to squeeze inside, breathing out, just to find my breath produce a noticeable cloud of fog.
I shivered as a terrible cold seeped into my skin, worse than anything I’ve felt before, a feeling like I’d been thrust into the opposite of the sun. Even the knowledge of the absurdity of this exaggeration didn’t help the impression as we huddled together, conserving any bit of heat we had.
All of a sudden, pain exploded in our sides as we impacted on the wooden wall, the entire tree lurched to the side as it was hit by a wave of howling wind. Snowflakes shot from the sky like a volley of arrows, undoing what little change the melting period had made. And then, an unearthly noise reached our ears. An ethereal whicker, sounding as if it could’ve been made by the storm itself, yet clearly distinguished, it’s unearthly voice seemingly echoing in our tiny hideout as we squeezed together as close as we could, biting into our own hooves to prevent our teeth from clattering as we tried with all our might to not alert whatever that was to our presence. Hours seemed to pass. Maybe they did, until the storm slowly let up. We were half-frozen when we emerged from our hideout, shivering for more reasons than just the cold.
The memory of the ghostly beast haunted us for the rest of our way as we urgently tried to make it back to our clan. But ever since that last storm, the wintery landscape seemed hell-bent on slowing our progress. The previous cold had now transformed into a freezing low, forcing us into several breaks every day. For this, we each now carried small torches crafted from thin sticks and dried-up moss Honeydew found half-buried under a snow bank. With those, we were able to light a new fire much quicker. But the cold wasn’t the only thing that got in our way. More than once, Honeydew was forced to call for a halt in order to orientate, as the storm had broken some of the landmarks he apparently relied on. As a backup, he would look at the base of older trees, sometimes digging through the snow in order to reveal some kind of special moss, which he said only grew on the side facing the star that made up the eye of the sign of the prophet… or something like that.
If those frequent breaks weren’t already enough, the wind was now in an uproar, sometimes forcing us to the ground for several hours out of fear of being blown away. Over one night, our hideout, another alcove, became completely buried in snow. We had to extinguish our fire in order to save on air while we buried ourselves out in the resulting darkness. This way, three days of travel turned into six. Supplies became scarce. The crumbly cream stuff was abhorrent as we shared it around to calm our wailing stomachs. I almost spat it out when I first tried it. “W-What is this stuff?” I’d pressed out between hacking coughs.
“Bone marrow.” Honeydew had informed me. “It is good for travel, and nothing else.”
I hadn’t asked what kind of creature it was from. I didn’t want to know. Even just considering the possibilities caused revulsion to creep up my throat. And yet, I still ate it. And though I hated to admit, it was effective at keeping us going. Until we ran out of it.
The exhaustion, coupled with the hunger was taking a toll on all of us. As soon as we rested for the night, we would drop to sleep the moment the fire was lit, except for the poor soul whose turn it was to watch it. Even our speculation about what the ghostly voice was had soon ceased as we simply focused on taking another step… catching the next breeze… all the while trying to ignore our increasingly weakening bodies.
Still, I wouldn’t complain, at least not since Kalypso blew up at me last night. I shot a jealous look at Honeydew’s back, who, although exhausted, still managed to trudge on without complaint. If only I had his fortitude, I wished not for the first time this last week. I supposed it was part of his job, but he’d never voiced a complaint, somehow managing to keep going while watching our surroundings, encouraging us to keep going and calling for a halt when we needed it… this truly was his area of expertise.
Kalypso had rarely voiced a complaint either. In fact, she hadn’t spoken much at all, though I often heard her mumble in distress when it was my turn to keep watch at night. Her dreams weren’t getting any better, it seemed.
I think I would have turned back to a pony that morning, if Kalypso didn’t repeatedly assure us that we were almost there. She had to hide a cough to say those words, her voice trembling, as if she wanted to convince us as much as herself, but I still gave in. I was frankly not sure if I could recast the transformation spell in my current condition, and the food requirement of my pony form would assure my certain starvation…
It still took us hours, seemingly an eternity, to slog the final stretch, once again unable to fly due to the unpredictable winds. It’d once again begun to snow…
I’d soon fallen in such a trance that I didn’t even notice when Honeydew stopped. Even as he spoke up, the first words uttered in hours, they didn’t reach my brain. Not until I walked right into him. He let out a surprised yelp as he staggered back, then shot me an irritated look. “Can’t you watch in front of you?”
“S-sorry, sorry!” I muttered, watching his angry glance dissipate. Those last few days had left us all with a short temper, but none of us had the strength left to stay angry for long. One of the perks of being utterly worn out, I guess…
“Well, what I was saying before you ran into me,” he said, his features slowly adopting a tired smile. “We’re here!”
My head snapped up as Kalypso shouted: “Home!”, her voice full of relief and elation. But I could only glance around in confusion. Sure, I hadn’t been paying attention to our surroundings, but there was only the usual carpet of snow between trees, nothing out of the ordinary- except for a slightly larger snowpile at the base of the tree, one I’d never have noticed if I weren’t specifically looking for it.
“A-are we really there?” I gasped, nearly dropping to the frozen ground from sheer relief.
“Yes!” Honeydew shouted, exhilarated at the prospect.
“Sizzlegrass…” Kalypso flicked a snowflake off her feeler before coughing into her hoof.
I could only agree, as a shiver worked it's way from my muzzle all the way down to my fetlocks. My entire coat was numb, half of my face feeling like it was either being tormented with impossibly sharp icicles or about to fall off. And I honestly couldn't tell if my hooves hurt more from the cold or from how sore they were! But we’d be warm, able to rest, to eat! My stomach howled, like a wolf at the bottom of a deep, empty chasm. I pressed my hoof onto my belly, groaning as I tried to ignore the painful squeezing of my organ, as it once more tried to detect something, anything inside. To no avail, of course. There it went again- no wait. I turned around to Honeydew, a smirk growing on my face. He simply let out a sigh in response.
“Don’t get your hopes up.” he muttered darkly. “Unless a miracle happened, we will be rationing.”
Well, half-portions are better than no portions! My brain shouted in defiance, not going to let anything ruin the exhilaration. Warm, rest, food! I repeated like a mantra as we slowly approached the heap of snow covering the village.
Warm, rest, food!
As we got closer, we started to make out several holes in the snow, just large enough for two breezies to pass side by side. The arcways of straw I’d watched the clan build up when I first arrived were now reinforced with wood. The tunnel walls were made of snow, densely packed and seemingly frozen over, like the interior of an igloo. I briefly wondered how those tunnels came to be, but I couldn't focus on that as I dropped into the tunnel, my legs buckling the moment the freezing wind no longer lashed against my face. Was it just my imagination, or did the snow I was lying on actually feel cozy? I heard voices from deeper within, but couldn't spare the effort to try and understand what they were saying.
Honeydew dropped to my side, quickly followed by Kalypso, as we all leaned back, allowing those aching limbs a minute to rest. Oh, Celestia, my hooves were throbbing with pain like an open wound…
“Y-you might want to get your face out of the snow, Twilight.” Honeydew chuckled weakly, groaning as he moved his hoof to brush over my mane.
“Never movin’ again.” came my muffled reply as I lazily shook off the bags of sizzlegrass. My back was nearly as bad as my hooves were!
“No moving, no food.” He replied, but even this temptation couldn't move us this moment, as we all allowed the pain to slowly subside. “WE’RE BACK!” he shouted into the tunnel, his voice echoing off of the enclosed walls.
Me and Kalypso didn’t bother getting up as clan-mates rushed toward us, almost blinding us with the collective light emitting from their feelers “You all made it!” A dark-green stallion that seemed vaguely familiar exclaimed. “We were so worried when the storm hit!”
“Of course we made it, Marsh.” Honeydew grinned weakly, groaning as he exchanged a hug with the breezie. “I never get lost, you know that.”
“I wasn’t afraid of you getting lost, but how did you fight the cold? I mean- You even brought the sizzlegrass?” he seemed utterly dumbfounded as he regarded Honeydew again. “How did you not use it up?”
“Let’s just say that Twilight here is full of surprises.” Honeydew snickered, pulling me onto my hooves despite my protests- my knees felt like they were on fire!
Marsh gave me a curious glance, opening his mouth, no doubt to ask what he meant, but he was cut off by a squeaky shout.
“Big brother!” A swift blur knocked into Honeydew, throwing his back against the wall as Harpy squeezed his midsection. “Never go away again!” She demanded, somehow both crying and laughing at the same time.
“I-I’m fine!” The dazed Honeydew muttered, gently stroking the fillies mane, seeming a bit lost at the situation. “We made it just fine.”
“C-Charybdis said you wouldn’t come back, c-cuz you were taking so long!”
“Well, she was being a butt, like always.” he assured her, though he adopted a deep frown. “But I’ll be talking with her about the dumb things she tells you.” With that, he lifted the filly off his chest (with some effort). “We’ll talk tomorrow, alright? We all need to get some food and sleep, plus I’ll have to talk to the elder, you understand?”
“Yes, I do…” she muttered, pawing at the ground.
“I’ll be with you the moment I can.” he assured her before turning to Marsh. “Can you take our bags to the storage, I think Twilight would drop dead if she had to carry them another step.”
“Harhar.” I drily commented, briefly entertaining the idea of carrying it instead of Marsh, just to prove a point… but on the other hoof, my back was killing me. Mercilessly.
------
Alone, I stumbled into Honeydew’s small home, content to just drop to the ground and not move another inch. I was given a single stalk of sizzlegrass, which I cracked open, putting it at the back where it quickly spread warmth to the clay walls. With a deep, relaxing breath, I spread out over the hay floor. Honeydew had insisted he needed to speak with the elder before he could rest, and so we’d parted ways when we reached the tunnel to his hut. Kalypso had been picked up by Windchime, the older breezie giving her a worried look as a coughing fit shook her body. Hopefully he’d be able to treat her cold. Greenfly had said that our clan was picking up a lot of medicinal herbs, right?
A knock came from the carved piece of wood that acted as a door, interrupting my train of thoughts. I first scrambled to get up, but let out a shout as my limbs complained with searing pain.
“Twilight?” Marsh Grass’s voice came from the entrance, as he pushed the ‘door’ aside. “Are you okay?”
“Im fine!” I blurted out, grimacing as I at least managed to sit up. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, uh, Honeydew’s coming soon. He’s still discussing things with the elder.”
“Uhuh.” I muttered, hoping that my annoyance wasn’t showing on my face. He wasn’t telling me anything I wouldn’t have known anyway, and worse, courtesy demanded I remain sitting up! Which used muscles that would not comply without complaint!
But then, Marsh reached behind him, bringing out the most wonderful sight of this entire week. A small bowl, filled with pieces of nut and berry, it's sweet smell coercing my nose into deep breaths and opening the watergates of my mouth. Oh, he was so forgiven!
“He thought you’d be starving about now, so he asked me to bring over your rations for today.”
If I didn’t have a stallionfriend, I would have kissed him right then and there. Instead, I simply chomped down on a piece of walnut, completely forgetting about his presence as I obliterated the bowl in a matter of minutes. He must have left shortly after I began, because when I finished licking the last droplets of berry juice, I was alone. True to Honeydew’s words, it wasn’t quite the filling meal I’d hoped for, as a hint of hunger remained, though it was merely a small annoyance instead of the previous suffering. Yes, it was a bit sparse, and I probably should’ve saved some for later, assuming that it was supposed to be for the whole day, but I couldn't bring myself to care, relishing in the feeling of, well, nearly fullness.
Stretching myself out over the hay floor, I fought against the tiredness threatening to sweep over my consciousness. Honeydew would be coming back any moment now, and I wanted to be there for him… or maybe my mind just stubbornly insisted that he was my pillow and refused to go to sleep without him, I wasn’t sure. Maybe he wouldn’t be too exhausted for a kiss, even.
Despite my conviction, I was pulled out of a brief slumber as the door once again opened and I felt a warm body rest beside mine. A smile on my lips, I turned around, facing Honeydew. He wasn’t smiling. Instead, he was looking around, as if searching for something.
“Was Marsh Grass here?” he slurred, one hoof pressed tightly to his stomach as he grimaced. “He should’ve come here to bring our food.” Then his eyes fell on the thoroughly clean-licked bowl and his gaze slowly shifted to me. “W-where’s the rest?”
“Where’s the rest, Twilight?!” Honeydew’s voice rose as he pointed at the empty bowl, his voice trembling.. I couldn't tell whether from anger or desperation.
“I-I’m sorry! I thought- I thought-” The words came out as an unintelligible stammer. Only now did it dawn on me that when Marsh had said ‘your rations’, he’d meant it for both of us. I lowered my eyes, unable to watch as Honeydew’s face fell.
“So you ate my rations?” he whispered, shivering on the spot as he held his obviously aching stomach. “You just ate them all?!”
“I didn’t know-” I tried to plead, but Honeydew threw the bowl to the ground, shattering it as he screamed.
“WE’RE ON RATIONS, TWILIGHT! I told you like a dozen times.” With a frustrated grunt, he kicked several shards into a corner.
Wilting under his glare, I slowly backed into a corner. Never, even with Hippe had I seen him… like this. He’d been the most stable of us during our entire journey, barely ever complaining about the cold or fatigue, as much as I could see it wear on him- he’d been so focused that it became easy to think he’d somehow suffered less than me and Kalypso. Now he’d reached his tipping point. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Great, you’re sorry!” he snorted. “Sorry won’t let me eat, Twilight! Or maybe you can apologize the hunger away?!”
“Honeydew, it was a misunderstanding, if we explain it to the elder, I’m sure we can get you some food.” I reached out a hoof, forcing my lips to form a weak smile as I met his eyes. “We can just clear it up-”
“Twilight.” Honeydew interrupted, his voice quiet at first as he lightly shook his head. “Has a tornado gone through your brain!? We’re! Rationing! We can’t ask for more because that’s the point, how do you not know what that means?! Have you never had to ration something before?” His feelers glowed like little flames as he snarled those words filled with incredulous anger. My back was squeezed against the wall as I swallowed, my throat impossibly dry as I croaked the only answer I could give.
“N-no. Back in Equestria, I never had to!”
Honeydew’s grimace morphed from rage to shock, his mouth, ready to scream again, now opening and closing. “W-what?” he muttered, stumbling over his own words. “Do you not have winters where you come from?”
“No, we do. But Equestria is different, Honeydew. Ponies are different.” Meeting his confused gaze, I silently pleaded for him to understand. “Ponies are bigger than breezies, and our- well, I guess you could call it our clans, they’re much larger, too.” I drew a shaky breath as he sat down, obviously finding it hard to take it all in.
“You’re not large.” he countered, holding out a hoof as if to measure my size.
“I made myself small to fit in, honey.” I explained, a little smile forming on my lips. “But winter… it has never been a problem for us, you see? We can grow enough food, and our burrows are build so we can light fires to keep us warm all the time. Heck, the pegasi decide when winter starts and we all clean it up when it’s done.”
“You clean up winter?” he gasped incredulously, forgetting to close his mouth at the end of his sentence.
“Heh, y-yes, we do. but it takes all of us at once, I-” my face fell as I realized what he would ask next. “I’m sorry, I can’t without the other ponies.”
“Oh.” he whispered, his gaze slowly hardening as he hunched over, holding his stomach. “So you can’t help us.”
“I would if I could-”
“And winter is no problem where you’re from.” he continued through clenched teeth.
“Honeydew-”
“Then why,” he cut off my worried words. “Why do we have to FEED YOU?!” What began as a growl ended in a deafening shout, sending me back into the corner as his feelers nearly blinded me with a flash of light. “You’re saying that your clan’s food never runs out, that you can end winter at will, but you need us to share our supplies, that we have to risk our lives for?!”
“I didn’t plan to, I-I just got lost!” I protested weakly, heart beating in my throat.
“You could have stayed back home, you could have come at any other time!” he cursed wildly, stomping all over what little space there was. “But noooo, you came during winter, when we struggle to even survive, but I guess that’s just child’s play to your incredible, tall pony clans, who don’t have to do the same!” I whimpered as he pointed his hoof at me, his teeth clenched tightly. “You’re weak! You whine when we travel, you’re can’t find your way in the forest, you can’t even wake up on your own! You’re-” his voice broke as he searched for the right word. “You’re a burden for us!”
“I didn’t want to!” I shouted back, hot pressure building behind my eyes as I searched his expression for anything but that burning anger. “Honeydew, I want to help-”
“If you want to help, GO FIND THAT PORTAL OF YOURS AND GO BACK TO YOUR OWN WORLD!”
My blood froze as I stared at him, turning into little icy shards which painfully cut up my insides. Something wet and salty rolled over my quivering lips as I couldn't move, his words echoing in my skull over and over. I wanted to defend myself, I hadn’t even planned to end up here- but his words still rung painfully true. They were stuck with me, and I, I couldn't do anything for them in return! “You know that if I could-”
“I don’t wanna hear it. Get out.” he hissed, jotting his hoof out to the door.
“But-”
“GET OUT!” he screamed, panting as he punched his hoof outwards again for emphasis. Lowering my head, I obeyed, kicking the ‘door’ open with a frustrated shout. With one tearstained look back, I dashed away. Honeydew looked after me, his glared softening for a moment, before he huffed and closed the door after me.
The moment he did, I sat down, leaning my back against an icy wall, ignoring the stinging feeling in my insectile wing as I pressed my face into my hooves. I’d lost him. After barely even having a chance to understand our relationship, it was gone, like an organ falling out of a dissected frog. Something that slipped through my hooves before I’d ever gotten to know it! He had been right, I was putting our- no, his entire clan in danger, just by being here. By eating! I slammed my tear-drenched hoof into the ground. If only I’d never ended up here, this never would’ve happened at all!
“Shut up!” I shouted at my brain, beating a hoof into my head. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!” But despite that, I couldn't chase away the mental images of me and Honeydew on that branch on Myrmelsday… before seeing his angry glare as he snarled at me to go away. Wiping a hoof over my damp face, I simply sobbed, hoping that no breezie would come to see me like this.
Maybe, if I’d been a little quieter, I would’ve heard Honeydew do the same.
-----
Should I not have told him? Even as the flow of tears had stopped, my mind couldn't focus on anything else as I sat in the utter darkness of the random tunnel I’d hid in. I didn’t light my feelers. No breezie should see me like this, with most likely reddened eyes and a disheveled mane, like Rarity when she was having a sad day...
If only there was some way I could help the clan, but I wasn’t close to powerful enough to stop winter! Nor could I suddenly procure a large amount of food without knowing where to look for it, and if the breezies knew, they would’ve brought it in already! My stomach gurgled, taunting me with it’s fullness, reminding me of my crucial failing to truly grasp breezie life. But how could I? My previous way of life practically spat on their efforts! How would I feel if I learned that in the future… in the future- HECK, I HAD TROUBLE THINKING OF AN EXAMPLE! But if some pony was able to instantly learn any spell I’d worked my flank off to perfect just by observing them? Honeydew had every right to be upset! Once more I felt pressure building behind my eyes, but I vigorously shook my head. No more crying, I thought as I breathed out through clenched teeth.
“Twilight?” The familiar voice was accompanied by a loud coughing
My head surged upwards as I pressed my body into the icy walls. The attempt at hiding became futile however as lights began to emanate from Kalypso’s feelers, mirroring in her red and yellow eyes as if they were glowing. “There you are.” she said, her motions stiff and slow as she approached
“H-how did you know I was here?” I was almost shocked to hear my own husky voice. I couldn't even try to sound like I was okay.
“I just knew.” Kalypso shrugged as she leaned against the opposite wall, her feelers creating a circle of light around us. “What happened?”
Wiping a hoof over my eyes, I had to bite a lip to not blurt out an answer. I didn’t want to trust anyone but Honeydew with what I was- but what if he told the others? Would the elder still be willing to offer me shelter if he knew? Would Honeydew? Part of me wanted to run back and force him to promise to never tell anyone- but how could I make that demand, especially now?
If the clan kicked me out… I could only hope that I’d be able to find my way back to the portal before I freeze to death. Or get eaten. Or starve.
“Uhm, Twilight, are you all there?” My eyes suddenly focused on Kalypso’s hoof waving in front of my face. Torn from my shocked state, I almost had to snicker. Way to further that image of the mentally challenged mare, Twi!
“I’m fine.” I assured the worried Kalypso. But what could I tell her? “I just had a fight with Honeydew, is all.”
If my answer appeased her, she didn't show. Instead, her eyes narrowed. “You fought? Over what?”
“I accidentally ate his ration for today.”
“Then give him yours.”
“I ate both.” knowing the incredulous look she would give me, I lowered my head in shame..
“Oh, that would set him off alright…” she muttered, feeling her own stomach, the memory of the constantly nagging hunger all too real still. “So he kicked you out?”
I nodded, unable to tear my eyes from the ground.
“Well, you can’t stay here moping until you fall asleep- and then get sick. Trust me, I would know.” Kalypso said, her head pulling back before coughing repeatedly in her hooves.
“A-are you okay?”
“Windchime takes care of me.” she sniffled, drawing a hoof over her muzzle. “He says it's a normal cold, so I just gotta rest and deal with the headaches and the coughing for a bit. Now follow me so I can get back to that.”
“Sorry.” I exclaimed as I drew myself up- and let out a yell as my sore muscles protested against the movement, having finally gotten a chance to rest. Still, I forced myself up, grimacing as I now mirrored Kalypso’s stiff gait. “Are we going to your place?”
“No.” she grunted, before coughing into her hoof once more. “You’ll see.”
Under different circumstances, I would have continued questioning her, but with my mind as fixated on the past argument as it was… “Honeydew said I should go back to my own world.”
“That makes sense,” Kalypso sighed. “From a practical viewpoint. We do want to preserve as much of our supplies as we can,especially with how long the winter lasts…” she shook her head. “But he likes you, so I don’t think he really meant it.”
“Well, he said it anyway.” I muttered, my gaze hardening.
“Well, you don’t have a choice.” she said sternly. “You can’t go back, so you couldn't-”
“But I could’ve stayed with Hippe’s clan.” I’d been thinking about it for the last few minutes. Her clan had all the supplies they needed, in excess in fact. Hippe would’ve probably welcomed me. And if Elder Mormo refused, well, we could’ve called in the favor she’d claimed she owed us. And yet, it hadn’t even crossed my mind until today. Why? Because I’d started to see this clan as mine? Well, even if that was true, it might not last much longer! No… it probably because Honeydew would be going back, and I wasn’t even able to imagine not following where he went. My anchor of safety in this world. That was over, too.
I furiously shook my head, trying to rid myself of that thought, when I felt Kalypso’s hoof reach for my shoulder. The next moment, the light from her feelers grew in intensity, until it revealed a clay house more than twice as large as Honeydew’s, possessing an actual straw roof, although I could only see the edges of that from under the mass of snow.There was a warm glow emanating from a door crack. An actual door, actually carved from wood instead of a slab of bark.
“Here we are.” Kalypso muttered, rapping her hoof against the door. “You’ll be able to sleep here. Don’t worry, I’ll tell Honeydew where you are.”
Before I could muster an answer, the door creaked open, and a high-pitched gasp came from the breezie filly behind. “Frindri Kalypso!” Harpy exclaimed, throwing the door open invitingly, revealing her two older sisters behind. Charybdis jerked away from a lightly glimmering sizzlepit to give Kalypso a surprised stare, while Skylla’s eyes rested on me, the oldest sister wearing a light frown.
“Sorry, Harpy, I’m only here to bring Twilight over.” Kalypso explained, before pulling up her nose. “I’m a little exhausted from the journey.”
“With you, right?” Harpy turned to face me with an excited grin. “You two and Honeydew travelled through the ice! How was it?” Her face fell as she glanced back with an annoyed huff. “Skylla says to always stay inside once the snow falls, cuz it’s not safe.”
“I’ll leave you alone now.” Kalypso smirked as I was dragged inside by the eager filly. “Good luck resting!”
Good luck indeed, I thought as I was suddenly seated between the three sisters next to the sizzlepit. Their house didn’t seem much different from Honeydew’s, although certainly more spacious. Also, their higher ceilings allowed banners of silky fabric to hang from the ceiling, before looping back up- wait a second. I had to blink and force me sleepy mind to refocus. Those were hammocks! Breezies sleeping in hammocks, three of them, each hanging lower than the one before, presumably to allow the younger sisters to climb up easier.
“So, how was it?” Harpy asked, scooting closer until our sides were practically touching.
“Exhausting.” I answered with a soft smile. “You should be glad you’re not out there. We- we didn’t even know for sure we’d even make it back.”
“Nu-uh. Honeydew always comes back.” Harpy beamed.
For some reason, Skylla let out an annoyed huff behind her back. “Maybe you should let the poor mare rest, sweetie.” she said. “I can see from here how tired she is.” From the way her eyes trailed over my face, I could tell that wasn’t all she saw.
“Aww… but I wanted to know if she was gunna marry him!” Harpy pouted.
I think I would have worn the brightest of blushes, if that question hadn’t been like a thorn rammed deep into my chest. “M-marry him?” Taking a long, shallow breath, I tried my best to form a natural smile. “Where did you get that idea?” Just look at the smile, nothing to question here…
“Well, Echidna said he fancied you-” Harpy began, just to be interrupted by Skylla.
“Echidna always has some theory like that. She was probably just teasing him.”
“But then I talked to Marsh Grass earlier, and he said that Honeydew told him he kissed Twilight.”
Now I couldn't help the heat rising in my cheeks, especially as three pairs of eyes fixated on me. He’d told him?! Without asking me first? But that sudden touch of annoyance evaporated as the all-to-recent fight came back to mind. It was over, anyway…
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” Charybdis spoke for the first time, her voice soft.
“Yes,” Harpy grinned. “Did you kiss him?”
“Shush, Harpy.” the older sister hissed.
“But-”
“Shush!” she demanded sternly, gaining surprised glances from both her sisters. “Twilight, what’s hurting you?”
Was I that obvious? Judging from her glance, it must be. After a long sigh, I told her. How we’d been so exhausted after our journey. My mistake in eating his ration. The following argument, excluding the parts about me being a pony. “And then he said I should go find the portal to my world and leave.” I closed, lowering my head. Why did it hurt so much? Eventually, I was going to leave for my own world anyway. plus, it was practical! And still, those words from his mouth- they stung. Badly.
“Well, if you do find it, take him with you.” Skylla said, glowering into the sizzlepit. “That way we’ll have two less mouths to feed.”
My jaw dropped at the coldness of her words while my mind came to a full hold. “H-he’s your brother! How can you say that?” Harpy seemed similarly aghast, though Charybdis only let out a heavy sigh.
“How I can say that?” Skylla sneered. “Because my brother is a hypocritical, skittish mouse!”
“He’s not a hypocrite!” Before I’d realized what I was doing, I’d jumped to my hooves. “And he is a brave stallion, there’s nothing skittish about him. He faced down a rat for Cel- for… Frinjìons sake!”
“Oh, he is.” Skylla snarled, rising to her own hooves. “You’ve met Hippe, right? I bet Honeydew told you all about her.”
“I-I know she is very sorry for what she did. And I think he is starting to forgive her-”
“He doesn’t have any right to be mad at her!” she hissed.
“Of course he does.” I retorted, my tone rising to match her increasing volume. “She just left all of a sudden, leaving him with all the responsibility without even a warning-”
“HIM!” Skylla’s hoof punched the air as she shouted the word. “Oh, that’s a good joke. Do you think that when Hippe left, he actually assumed responsibility? No, he was going to become a scout, so instead of taking care of his younger sisters, he’s been out in the woods smelling flowers and pocketing the best bits of all the food he found. And guess who was in charge while he was gone? ME!”
My jaw dropped. It was true, Honeydew was a scout. He’d even commented on how little time he sometimes spent in the village, that’s why his hut was so minimal after all. But the idea of Honeydew leaving his family like that didn’t seem to fit him at all… and also shone new light on his conflict with Hippe. I almost wanted to shout back, call Skylla a liar, but hadn’t Kalypso said something similar? You don’t even realise the full story. reserve your judgement until you understand. Then you can judge her. And him.
That… was a bitter pill to swallow. I watched as Harpy hid in the back of the hut, trying to avoid her big sister’s anger, while Charybdis busied herself tending to the sizzlepit.
“He’s a good breezie.” I said quietly, as if to affirm it to myself. “Maybe he made a mistake…” shaking my head, I tried to banish the memory of him screaming at me. reserve your judgement. Kalypso’s words rang in my ears as I met Skylla’s glare. Once again, I had one side of the story, a side that was bent on making him seem as ugly as possible, like tartarus I was just going take her word!
“I’ve met him as nothing else than a nice and patient stallion. Maybe he has limits, we all do, but he’s never lied to me and he has been helping me ever since I got here. And whatever you say, he is loyal to his clan, and to you. He would never forsake you and come with me through the portal.” With that, I clambered to my hooves, grimacing as my muscles ached. “I’ll see you later.” I whispered as I made my way to the door. There was no way I was going to sleep here, next to his bitter sister, instead of using his coat as my pillow. Determined to do whatever it took, be it apologize, plead or even sleep outside in the cold, I stepped outside.
And came face to face with Honeydew. We both took a step back at the sudden appearance of the other. He looked truly tired, like he’d just walked a marathon without a chance to rest. Inwardly, I slapped my brain for pointing out the obvious, that’s what we’d literally done! His movements were sluggish, just like mine, and his eyes were bloodshot- he’d been crying. Why- I was the one who cried, he hadn’t done anything worth crying about! “Twilight!” he exclaimed, his voice full of relief as he stepped closer. “Kalypso told me you would be here, but I was so worried, that you might have left without a plan.” he swallowed. “I-I’m so sorry.”
He was sorry? No, no, I was supposed to be! “Y-you don’t need to apologize-”
“Yes, I do!” his voice rose as he cut me off. “I said stupid things, because I was hungry and angry, but that’s not an excuse!”
“You were right, though.” I whispered. “I came at the worst possible time.”
“But you still came here on accident.” he reasoned, reaching for my hoof. “I bet whatever placer you were planning to go to was well prepared for you.”
“Well, yes, but-”
“Then it’s not your fault.”
“But I could have stayed back with Hippe’s clan!” I exclaimed, glaring at him, daring him to somehow absolve me from that blame. “Her clan would’ve been able to handle me better than yours.”
He fell silent, wearing a sad gaze. “It’s too late for that, Twilight. Travelling there now would be too dangerous.”
I let out a long sigh, before meeting his eyes, my lips quivering “Honeydew, I’m so, so sorry for eating your ration today, I should’ve been thinking, I should’ve known-”
“I’ll… be better tomorrow.” he smiled, though there was pain clearly written in his expression. “I forgive you, Twilight, I-” his voice broke as he searched for words, his hooves held out slightly, as if unsure whether he wanted to offer a hug or not.
Well, I was sure! Diving at him, I melted in his embrace, tension rolling off my muscles as his gentle pat of my back began to mend my heart.
Behind me, I could hear a gasp. Harpy stood in the doorway, grinning, calling for Charybdis to see. Instantly, me and Honeydew broke away, giving each other self-conscious glances.Suddenly, he took my hoof, and we disappeared into the dark tunnel,. I let out a quiet chuckle as a warm feeling grew in my chest. Maybe there was still hope for us. Maybe, if I couldn't back to Equestria, there was a life for me here. The thought ended in a giggle as the sound of one disappointed filly followed us.
Darkness is pervasive. The effect is hard to notice at first, but ponies were meant to live outside in the broad daylight, not hide away in dark tunnels under a mass of snow. Two days- had it been two days? Honeydew claimed so, but how could he tell? As far as I knew, he hadn’t left the village since our arrival, following the elders decree that none were to leave without his permission. With the winter as daunting as it seemed to inevitably become, he wasn’t willing to put anything up to chance, like clan-members being snatched up by a stray gust of wind.
As a consequence however, I was growing restless, and there wasn’t exactly much to do in the village to sate that feeling. Aside from playing music and occasionally weaving another straw basket with Echidna, there was little else you could do in the darkness and tightness of our living situation. And the latter option soon fell away too, as we apparently had to conserve much of our straw in case some tunnels had to be reinforced. Combine that boredom with the constant nagging feeling that came from never eating enough to feel even remotely full, and a dreary mood soon began to loom over the village. Breezies, I was pretty sure, weren’t meant to live in the dark either.
Heaving a sigh, I trudged through the dark passage, tapping my hoof on the wall in order to alert any other breezies to my presence. When there was no light, it was all too easy to walk into another. Okay, enough sadness, I chided my brain. Happy thoughts, go!
...I wish it was that easy.
Well, it could be worse, you could be a heartbroken mess.
Thank you, brain! I shook my head, muttering a curse at my disappointment of a mental faculty.
Though, I was glad that my first relationship hadn’t ended on that night. Although we’d both been happy to have one another again, neither of us had had much energy to spare for celebration. Both our bodies had been so sore and exhausted that we’d barely made it home before falling asleep. And Honeydew had still been starving… I don’t think it really struck me until I saw him shed tears over his meal the next day, so relieved to finally have something to fill his stomach with that he didn’t even protest as I gave him my portions, despite claiming just the night before that there was no need.
And the questions he had! Now that we finally had time alone, without worry for survival, he’d wanted to know everything about Equestria. But although I’d tried to accomodate him as best as I could, there were many things simply unimaginable to a creature the size of a harvest mouse, living in the equivalent of a stone age. Heck, the breezies hadn’t learned to use fire yet! He’d snorted in disbelief when I’d tried to explain Applejack’s farm. I assumed that the idea of any creature cultivating trees was as outlandish to him as it would be to me if they were all trees of harmony. He also seemed to have no concept of what a castle was, even though I’d seen one where Seabreeze lived. But the word, grarpa, seemed utterly foreign to him, even though I was sure I was saying it just like Fluttershy taught me.
Once again, it made me wonder just how far from Seabreezes clan I’d ended up at. A different country? Heck, even a continent?
There were more questions I wasn’t quite ready to answer, either. Like just how big ponies are. That must’ve been his favorite one, ever since I’d slipped that I was normally bigger than a breezie.
“How big?” he’d ask, brushing a hoof over my shoulder. “Can you show me?”
“No.” I’d sighed. “Changing forms isn’t exactly easy. Worse, doing it would make me hungry.”
“Oh…”
I smirked as I remembered leaning closer to console him with a kiss to his cheek. “Maybe next Spring I can show you, Honey.”
Yes, I was calling him Honey now. Oh, Rarity would die to know this…
“Well… can you at least tell me how big you are as a pony?”
“I’m, uh… a bit bigger than a rat.” I’d cautiously answered. No sense freaking him out by sharing that he could probably fit into my ear with room to spare. “Next spring.”
Next Spring… It’d been said casually, and yet it carried the fact that I’d accepted the prospect of spending all of winter in this world. There was no lead, nothing that could help me discover the portal except for searching all around the area Honeydew had found me in. And we couldn't even be sure that an area we’d searched was not it, since the portal might just be closed at the moment we’d looked! Which made it an undertaking bordering on suicide in this weather.
Spike was going to be so worried… Around now at the lastest he would expected me to send him a message, a first report on my findings, anything. I knew Pinkie had promised to watch out for him while I was gone, and she was an experienced babysitter, but... three months was a long time. And the winter was predicted to be long.
And that was if we found the portal at all, which was no guarantee. After all, the clan that lived here didn’t know about it! I might… have to consider the possibility that I’d be living with the clan and Honeydew for a long, long time, if not forever.
No, I shook my head. There is no reason to assume that will happen, I will return to Equestria!
Without Honeydew…
If I went back to Equestria, he would not be coming with me. Even ignoring the inherent danger, leaving his responsibilities to his clan and family behind would be too much to ask, It’d be cruel to do so. Plus, I severely doubted that he would, even if I did ask him. And with how unpredictable the portal had proven to be…
If I ever went back to Equestria, there was a good chance we would never see each other again. I was… trying my best to push that thought away. No need to burden our recently repaired relationship with it, there’d be time to discuss this in the future. Hopefully.
Knocking my hoof to the wall, I heaved a sigh, listening as the sound travelled through the tunnel- before being answered by another. Blinking, I squinted my eyes, trying to discern at least a rough shape in the dark. A moment later, our surroundings were brightly lit by the other breezies feelers.
Right, we could do that. If smacking myself wouldn’t make me look supremely weird, I probably would have. Shaking my head, I waited for my eyes to adapt to the sudden brightness before addressing the other breezie. “Good morning, Carveshine.”
“Afternoon, Twilight.” The older breezie corrected me.
I swallowed my question of how he could possibly know the time, there were no indications! Instead, I focused on the other thing he’d mentioned. If it was afternoon, then naptime for the breezies would be over soon-ish. Personally, I simply couldn't summon the will to fall asleep in the middle of the day, or maybe my body just hadn’t acclimated to it, but I could see why they would. Honestly, who wouldn’t want to sleep through most of the season?
“So, where are you going?” Carveshine asked, seemingly not surprised at all to see me tune out of the conversation for a couple seconds… hey!
“I was just going around.” I shrugged. “Maybe see how Kalypso is doing.”
“Better, hopefully. Windchime’s been tending to her since your return. Speaking of, can you do me a favour?”
“Uhm, sure?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise. The last interaction I’d had with Carveshine had included him wildly complaining about my clumsiness, so it struck me as a little odd that the cranky breezie would now ask me for a favour.
But Carveshine trotted closer, pulling something small from a silky strap on his side. “Give him this,” he said, pressing a small bone comb into my hoof. “And ask him if he can speak with the elder.”
I inspected the small comb as if it somehow had an explanation inscribed on it. “Uhm… speak about what?”
“I want to take some of my rations ahead of time. Euryale’s always feeling a bit down this time of year, getting used to being unable to leave the village. I want to cheer her up. So, can you tell Windchime?”
“O-of course.” I muttered, then pressed myself to the wall to let the older breezie pass. That was… strangely personal. Why did he tell me all this? I never had the feeling that he even liked me. Confused, I decided to just continue on my way as-
“Hey, Twilight!” a high-pitched voice shouted, accompanied by the sound of rushing hooves.
A smile grew on my face as I turned toward the source of the noise. “Good afternoon, Harpy.” I greeted as the filly came to a halt inside my illuminated sphere.
“It’s a little early for afternoon, don’t you think, Twilight?” she giggled.
Huh? “Then… what time is it?” I asked, feeling a nervous twitch in my eyelid.
“About mid-sun.”
“But Carveshine said-”
Harpy chuckled. “Cuz he’s got no sense of time.” With a conspiratory wave of her hoof, she beckoned me to come closer. “He’s old!” she whispered in my ear.
I drew my head back, confusion momentarily replaced with amusement from the sheer certainty with which the filly had called him old, when I’d judged him to be in his late prime. “Good to know.” I grinned down at the filly. “But you know he’s at most ten years older than I am, right?”
“That means he’s olderer than you than I’m old.” she explained earnestly.
Motioning my head toward the tunnel, I began to stride at a slow pace, allowing the filly to follow by my side. “You’re eight, right?”
“Not for much longer.” Harpy beamed, her smile seemingly brightening up our surroundings like a little, bouncy sunshine in the dark. “Charybdis says I was born when the snow melted. That means I’ll be nine when we can go outside again!”
I opened my mouth, about to quip that she’d better send me an invitation, when I realized that I wasn’t even sure if breezies celebrated birthdays. Even if they did, it’d still be questionable whether the breezies could even afford to this year. No, better to say nothing. I didn’t want to be the one to wipe that smile from her face as she stared at me expectantly. Wait…
Oh, Tartarus, she must’ve asked me a question! “Uhm…” I began, trying to gain some time. I really have to stop loosing track of conversation, it’s becoming a really bad habit! “W-what did you say again?”
If Harpy was bothered by it, she showed no sign of it. “I asked if you’re gonna be my sister soon.”
Somehow, knowing the questioned only confused me further. “Your sister?”
“Yes, when you marry Honeydew!” she explained with a gleeful nod.
At full speed, my train of thought derailed, just before dropping into a deep, spike-filled pit. “M-marry him?!” I stammered, though the words might have come out as ‘Udubuh?!’ for how much control I had over my mouth at the moment. “T-that’s a little, uh… quick, Isn’t it? Soon! I mean it’s soon!” I drew a shaky breath, wondering how the ice around us wasn’t melting at those temperatures, I was sweating for Celestia’s sake!
“Don’t you like him?” Harpy asked, raising an eyebrow, a feeler bobbing at the motion.
“Y-yes, I do, but-” If only I could somehow stuff my face into the snowy wall without her noticing.
“But what?” she actually stood still to stem her forehooves into her sides.
I am not ready to have this conversation with a child! “I need more time, alright? T-that’s a big decision!”
“Well, who else are you gonna marry? Marsh Grass?” the filly huffed pointedly, before adding in a plainly audible whisper. “He snores!”
“You’re uhm… very interested in that topic.” A massive lump had formed in my throat, one that simply refused to be swallowed down.
“Never hurts to have more sisters.” Harpy giggled. “Also, you’re weird. Fun weird. And maybe Honeydew will want to stay longer around the clan with you here...”
My face fell as I struggled for words. But before I could even form half a sentence, Harpy added: “Also, I wanna be an auntie. Will you make me an auntie?”
Okay, no, nope, nada! My brain shouted as it trampled the ‘abort topic’ button. I am not speaking of this with a child, I am not ready to- with Honeydew- Oh my… my head must’ve been on fire, that was the only explanation I could feel so hot as I fought a failing battle to keep unwanted images out of my mind.
“Twilight?” Harpies worried voice sounded muffled through a cover of snow as I plunged my face deep into the frozen walls.
“ ‘m fine.” came my stifled answer.
It took me over a minute until I dared pull my head out of the snow, and I prayed to Celestia and whatever breezie gods and spirits that none of the clan would recognize the distinct shape of the hole I’d melted with my face. Then ten more minutes to convince the gruesomely insistent Harpy to change the topic, to which she’d only relented when I’d threatened to not speak with Honeydew for a week. A promise I had no chance of keeping, but fortunately it’d been enough to get the overeager filly to back off.
For the first time since the snowfall, I was thankful to get some cool air. Thankfully, it didn’t take me much longer to finally find the tunnel I’d remembered as leading to the large longhouse, giving me an excuse to ditch my bouncy companion. Harpy was not happy to be left behind, but it only required me to exaggerate Kalypso’s sickness for her to let out a yelp and dash away before the ‘evil germs’ could rob her brain-thoughts.
Funny how I was now repeating stories that had kept me in terror during my own foalhood. You were right to terrify me like this, Shining Armor… I probably would’ve asked really inappropriate questions, too.
My hoof barely had any time to rap against the door before it swung open. “No teachings while sickness goes around-” Windchimes stern voice broke as his eyes travelled up to me. “Oh, Twilight, I did not expect you here.”
“I did!” A voice that could only belong to one breezie called out from within the longhouse.
“Uhm… right, yes.” I muttered. “I wanted to see Kalypso.”
The older breezie shot a look back, biting his lip. “You would be wise to be careful. The bad spirits can travel from one to the other, often unseen.”
“I’m fine!” Kalypso’s voice, distinct despite it's hoarse tone, claimed. A moment later, she emerged by his side. Her eyes had bags under them and her hoof was rubbing her throat as she spoke, but she wore an undeniable, if tired, smile. “Hello, Twilight.”
Windchime’s eyes darted from her to me. “She is a friend?”
“Of course she is.” Kalypso stated calmly. “Hard not to be after going through the cold like we did.” With a grimace, she rubbed her throat once more, ushering me inside with a wave of her hoof. It seemed that talking still caused her pain.
“Well, then.” Windchime looked at us both for a moment before nodding. “Twilight, will Kalypso be in safe hooves with you?”
“Definitely. And, uhm, Carveshine wanted me to return this.” I said, holding out the small bone comb.
“Ah, thank you.” he took it with a nod of his head. “And I assume he asks of me the favour?” once again he nodded, without even waiting for my answer. “Then I shall go speak with the elder, although I would not bet on the chances…” with a shake of his head, he passed the comb on to Kalypso before treading out the door. “Have fun, you two.”
The moment the door closed, I faced Kalypso with a smirk- then lit up my feelers so she could see it. “We’re friends now, huh? You know, I somehow managed to miss the official declaration.”
“Well, we all know you’re slow, so maybe it just hasn’t registered until now.” Kalypso smirked. A moment later, her expression twisted into a grimace as she coughed into her hoof.
I couldn't help but take an involuntary step back. “How- how do you feel?”
“Better.” she grumbled sourly. “Mostly, throat still a pain, but coughing’s not so bad anymore.”
“Any way I can help?” I furrowed my brows in worry as I inspected her closer. Her eyes, her posture, the way he shoulders slumped, her hooves dragged over the ground, even the way her feelers hung lower than her chin, it all spoke of immense exhaustion.
“No.” Kalypso muttered, lying down into the sandy ground where she’d built something akin to a nest for herself, covered in silky blankets.
“Visions?”
Her eyes met mine for a split-second before her head sank to the ground. “Every night now. Sometimes I feel cold when I even just close my eyes for a moment…” a shiver went through her body. “I keep seeing this frozen pond, but without any context! If I’d known the gods could be so stingy…”
“You wouldn’t have chosen this career?” I suggested.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. “It was never a choice, Twilight. I was born a Frindrì.”
There was an awkward silence as I wondered what to say to that. I think I once read that such tense situations could be diffused with a humorous remark, but the jokes evaded my grasping mind.
“So what about you?” Kalypso suddenly asked, tearing me out of my thoughts. “Finally hit it off with Honeydew?”
“Wha- does everyone in the clan already know?” I exclaimed incredulously.
“Well, yes, Harpy pretty much took care of that.” Kalypso snickered. “I don’t think there’s a breezie who doesn’t know yet. Plus, I saw you two smooching that one time you switched watch in the middle of the night and thought I was asleep.”
“You weren’t?”
“Well… I woke up.” her expression darkened for a moment.
“Right…” biting my lip, I tried to further the conversation to a topic that didn’t include visions. Or Honeydew, for some reason I didn’t want to talk about him right now. “So, are we just sitting here for a few months or does anything happen before the ice melts.”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best of topics either.
Kalypso heaved a sigh, then stroke against her sore throat and took a gulp of water from a small cup. “Normally, we’d have a ton of celebrations over winter, nearly every week. But those are for good years. It hardly feels like a festivity if you go to bed hungry, does it?” her head sank into the ground. “I think some of us will just try to sleep through as much as possible. Some will try to entertain themselves, but there isn’t much.” her teeth gritted. “And I’ve got these pictures in my head, urging me to do something when I can’t do anything!”
“Did… did anything change?”
“No.” she huffed. “I still see that form of winter, then the purple shape infront of me, that’s it. Other than the pond, which doesn’t make any more sense.” groaning, she thumped her hoof into the ground. “It’s important, Twilight, if I can’t figure this out…”
“Then what?”
She blinked, as if she hadn’t expected the question. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll starve. Maybe- maybe nothing happens, but I don’t think so. It feels important!”
“Well, if you do figure anything out, or see something new, you can tell me.” I offered, reaching out a hoof to tap her shoulder.
“Thanks Twilight.” Kalypso replied, actually seeming relieved by my statement. Then, another coughing fit forced her to bury her muzzle into her hoof.
“Are you sure I can’t get you something?” I tried again as her breathing had normalized again.
“Water would be nice.” She said with a pained smile. “And then-” her eyes darted around, as if seeking something before she shook her head. “Could you just... stay here for a while?” her voice was impossibly quiet as she asked, as if she was afraid to hear my response.
Well, there was only one answer for a Princess of Friendship to give, now was there? “Of course, Kally.” I grinned, picking up the bone-comb in my mouth. “I could also brush your mane if you want.”
“Don’t call me Kally!” Kalypso grumbled, pulling up her nose as she drank the final rest from her water cup. “But uhm… I’d like that, yes.” she added in a whisper.
A sudden yank tore me from my peaceful slumber. Red stars exploded before my closed eyes as my head rebounded from the ground.
“Twilight!” A voice shouted. “Wake up, we need to go!”
“Wha-” I mumbled, holding my head as I opened my eyes and immediately recoiled as bright yellow light jabbed into my ill-adjusted irises. A moment later, hooves grabbed my foreleg, pulling me to my hooves.
“Now, Twilight!” Kalypso’s voice tore through my veil of sleepiness.
“But-” I began, as my eyes finally adjusted to the brightness coming from Kalypso’s feelers. She stood slumped, unable to stand upright in the low ceiling of mine and Honeydew’s otherwise empty hut. “Where’s Honeydew?”
“I don’t know, no time!” Kalypso exclaimed, wringing her hooves before she suddenly grabbed mine and pulled me out the house. Blindsided by her rash action, I could only stumble behind her as she led me to two filled bags outside our hut, the same type we’d worn during our trip to the highbreeze-clan. “Put it on and follow me.” she ordered briskly.
“N-now hold on!” I protested. “What’s happening, where are we going?”
“There’s no time to explain, Twilight, I’ve seen it.” Kalypso said, shoving one of the bags into my hooves before attempting to drag me through the tunnels.
“Seen what?” I stemmed my hooves into the ground, forcing her to stop and meet my eyes, her two-colored eyes seemingly glowing under her disheveled mane.
“Your portal, Twilight. I know where it is.”
--------
Cold air beat against my face like a frigid wall as we stepped outside the final tunnel, Kalypso urging me onward with increasing haste.
I was still reeling from her revelation as we passed through the tunnel exit, nearly sending us tumbling into the snow as my legs locked up. “You saw the portal?”
“That’s what I said!” Kalypso huffed as she caught herself from falling, her heavy bag nearly toppling her over.
“How? When? Why now?”
Cursing under her breath, Kalypso let her eyes shift to the far-off trees. “It came to me in a dream just today, but don’t stop walking, Twilight. If we miss it, it’ll be for nothing!”
But despite the hurry in her voice, my hooves were locked in place as if they were shackled. “But… Honeydew, I need to tell him-”
“I’ll do it for you when I get back.” she sighed, before tugging me along, her feelers twitching as she searched for an updrift. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but we have to move now if you want to go home.”
I tried to object, but my voice died in my throat. A shiver went down my back, which had nothing to do with the temperature. Honeydew or Equestria? I’d known the choice was coming. In truth, it wasn’t much of a decision, I had duties, friends, my life waiting for me on the other side, but to face it so sudden- I wasn’t prepared for it yet! I swallowed, a crushing feeling in my chest. I’d never even had a chance to speak to him about it. To leave now held a sour taste, like I was somehow betraying him. Was I not just like Hippe? Would he resent me, just like he held a grudge for her?
“Twilight!” Kalypso urged again, grimacing as she tugged at my hooves. Breathing a long sigh, I reluctantly stepped away from the village entrance with mixed feelings. This place had offered me safety in this world when I needed it, shelter. Maybe even the prospect of a home, should I be stuck here. Forcing down the lump in my throat, I gave the entrance a long glance.
“Goodbye.” I whispered, my throat aching, as if the words had tried to resist being spoken.
------
Kalypso had prepared us well for our journey. Our bags had been stuffed with high-calorie supplies, enough to last us even if we were delayed, yet light enough to allow us to travel quickly. To ward against the cold, she had brought the stick I’d used to light fires, as well as an emergency supply of sizzle grass.
The outside was the same frosty landscape we’d grown so wary of, yet the air wasn’t nearly as frigid as it had been on our last journey. In the light of the midday sun, it was little more than a mild discomfort. Me and Kalypso exchanged meaningful looks. We’d both seen this before and knew not to trust the change. “I do not think the winds of Fjermengard are gone.” Kalypso said, casting a harsh glance at a melting icicle.
I nodded gravely, taking great care to observe the landmarks of the area we passed through. By tartarus, I wanted to remember the way this time… if I could maybe find some pattern in the way the portal worked, I may be able to return, possibly to lend help before the winter was over! If the portal allowed it. If I could find some regularity in how the blasted thing worked! But from skimming over old research logs, I knew it usually only opened a couple times a year at best, sometimes only once. The chances for me to accurately predict the next time it would open, determine whether it lead here instead of Seabreeze’s village, for which I had virtually no data to extrapolate anything from… The odds of me doing all that before this winter ended were practically nonexistent.
All I could offer the clan was a, possibly stale, sandwich from my saddlebags, assuming I’d be able to chuck it through the portal if it closed. Which Kalypso wouldn’t be able to carry.
Grumbling to myself, I continued riding the winds. At least those seemed favorable, blowing with a force neither too strong nor too weak, allowing us to cover ground at a rapid pace without losing control over our direction. When we finally settled down for the night, we’d well passed the river, flying past over the single string of spiderweb Honeydew had once led me across. We didn’t even spare a glance at the webs littering both sides of the river. Kalypso had a knife to cut us loose should we get stuck, and no spider would remain active in this cold.
“If we are lucky, we will arrive at the portal by tomorrow.” Kalypso said as she dug out the small pit for our fire. The first words spoken in a few hours, I believed.
“Mhm.” I answered, placed a few pieces of bark into the small hole before readying my incendiary stick.
“Wait.” she suddenly called out. “You need to show me how to do that if I am to travel home without you.”
“Of course, of course.” I sighed. Without me. The thought still stung, but I hoped it didn’t show in my expression as I explained to the seer how she had to hold the stick, and what to consider when gathering firewood. Leaning back, I observed her first attempts, while my brows furrowed in thought. “Didn’t you once tell me that fire hurts the spirits of the sticks?”
The question caused her to look quite abashed as she looked up from her smoking wood. “That’s… well, it kind of made sense to me at the time.”
“So, it was an excuse?” I asked with a knowing smirk.
“I thought you were mad! Causing fires, claiming you could control them.” Calypso exclaimed.
“And yet, it turns out I can.”
She frowned at that statement. “It will still burn you against your will, should it have the chance, will it not?”
“Well-”
“Then you do not control it. You merely constrain it.” With a shake of her head, Kalypso blew over the small glimmers she’d finally created, before shoving them into the rest of the firewood. We then took turns blowing into the glimmers, shivering as we waited for it to grow into a pyre large enough to ward off the cold.
“Did your vision tell you how long the portal will remain open?” I whispered after a while
“No, only that we have to hurry.” she sighed. “But we are close. I am sure we will catch it.” the last sentence was clearly meant to encourage me, for which I returned a brief smile, before huddling closer to our campfire, which was finally large enough to melt the ice out of my coat.
“Are you sure I should go through it though?”
“Look, I wish you could stay, but we don’t have enough-”
“But what about your vision?” I blurted out. “The whole thing with you seeing winter, and me standing next to you, or maybe in front-” my face scrunched up in a moment of confusion before I shook my head. “The point is, you saw me there, all the time, like it was important. Doesn’t that mean that you need me here?” My eyes narrowing, I tried to seek out hers. But Kalypso’s eyes shifted away, her hoof tapping at the ground for a solid, silent minute.
“Twilight…” she began, her shoulders rising and lowering as she took a deep breath before her head rose and she looked into my eyes. “I never saw you.”
“You-” I put on a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I must have misheard you, it sounded like-”
“There was no purple flash. There never was, I made it up!” Kalypso hissed, her eyes trailing down to my chest as she grimaced.
But- that couldn't be! She’d seen the coming of winter, right? She’d told me about her visions, I’d seen her struggling with them in her sleep. That could’ve been an unspecified nightmare though… Maybe when we were at the idol of Styrktarmardr, and she warned us of something finding us, just before a rat nearly tore off Honeydew’s limp! It could’ve been a coincidence. But after that, didn’t she confront me about going off in the middle of a storm to find food? She didn’t know that I was a pony, yet I told her to see the future, and she’d looked surprised. That HAD to be genuine! “But why?”
“Because you were helpless, and the elder would have left you to freeze if I did not say anything!” heatedly, the words streamed out of her like they’d been bottled up for a long, long time. “You would never have made it alone outside, I could see that, you were thin, freezing- I had to convince him to let you stay. Claiming you were important was the only way I could think of!”
“Was that the only time you lied about a vision?”
Settling down again, Kalypso seemed younger than ever as she let out a resigned huff. “No.” she admitted. “I do have real visions, but… not as many as the clan thinks I do. It’s because of these eyes, you know?” for a moment, she opened them widely, their red and yellow irises reflecting the firelight. “They marked me for greatness when I was born. Everyone in the clan, they believe in my abilities, that I am better than any frindrì before me. How could I be anything less than that?”
“Why didn’t you tell them?”
“You don’t know what it’s like!” she burst out. “Everyone in the clan believes in me, how could I disappoint them all?” with a shake of her head, she continued in a lowered voice. “It wasn’t even difficult. Claim you’ve mistaken a vision for a dream. Say there was a detail you’d missed or discounted as unimportant. Add one after the fact. And they all believed me so easily… they truly thought I was blessed by the gods. How- how can I go up to them and explain that they’re wrong, that I’m just- just barely even a mare yet?!” Her feelers flashed at those last words, and she covered them with her hooves. “Sorry, Twilight.”
After rubbing my eyes, I blinked until the dark splotches and flickers left my vision. “I still think you should tell them. You cannot live up to an impossible standard like that, and you will drive yourself crazy if you try. Believe me: I know exactly what it’s like.” I whispered, thinking back on my first days as a princess. The stress, the fears, the feeling that I was being crushed by an ever-growing mountain of responsibilities each day.
For a long time, neither of us spoke, as I stared into the fire, while Kalypso watched the night sky. “I do not know from what experiences you are speaking of, and I will not pry.” she finally said, her voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire. “But I will… consider your words.”
“I’ll help-”
“No, you won’t.” Kalypso interjected. I was surprised to hear her snicker. “You’ll be on the other side of your portal tomorrow. It doesn’t take visions to know that.”
“Yeah…” A strange mixture of excitement and dread played out in my head, leaving me uncertain about what to feel. “We should rest for the night.”
“Indeed.” she confirmed, before climbing over me, lying down so that her side presses against mine.
Embracing the breezie custom, I slung my forelegs around her, muttering a quick excuse to Honeydew, even though I knew he’d see nothing wrong with it. As I closed my eyes, the mess of emotions finally settled as a series of uncomfortable stomach cramps.
-----
Neither of us knew what to say as we gathered up our belongings the next day. A goodbye seemed too soon, a discussion over Kalypso’s revelation too recent. And so, with a queasy feeling in the stomach, we wordlessly tackled the last stretch of our journey.
The melting process had continued, even allowing the upper ends of grass blades to show through the snow. Icicles were no longer a danger, they’d all fallen already. Once or twice, I even thought I saw movement in the previously still banks of snow, but couldn't make out anything when I turned my head. More than once, I felt a sudden familiarity with something I saw along the way. But that was certainly just my imagination: Realistically, I wouldn’t be able to recognize anything after winter had taken hold of the landscape.
Wait! Was that a walnut tree? If I’d taken outdoor studies, maybe I could be sure, it was hard enough to tell with the leaves! Still, I felt a rush of excitement as the snow-covered ground rushed past me. This could be the place where I first met Honeydew! We were getting closer!
“Soon you’ll be with your own again.” Kalypso said, noting my agitation with a soft smile. “How does it feel?”
“Thrilling.” I gaped, my eyes darting from tree to tree, each time expecting to see the shimmer of the portal. Home. It was hard to believe it was this close. “First thing I’m gonna do, take a long and hot shower. Then sit down with a good book infront of my fireplace.” I didn’t even care about the confused look Kalypso gave me.
There! With a large hole, more a breach than just a knothole right in the center of the stem, the acorn tree appeared to tower over the rest, standing out like a donkey in a crowd of ponies. I could almost sense the twinkling of the portal from down here...
“I assume this means goodbye.” Kalypso’s comment ripped me from my awe.
“Yeah…” Celestia, I did not like this feeling, this awkward moment like there was so much I should say, even as my brain struggled to piece a sentence together. “I’m gonna miss you.”
“Same.” she smiled. “Maybe now that we know where it is, I could visit your clan someday?”
Flinching, I bit my lip. I’d never told Kalypso what was on the other side. What I was. “That wouldn’t be a good idea.” I answered curtly, consoling myself with the promise that I would explain everything when I returned. If I ever managed to. “It’s dangerous.”
“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow “You always seemed pretty starry-eyed to me. Is it really?”
I nodded. “Please tell Honeydew- tell him-” but at this moment my voice failed and I resorted to wrapping more forehooves around the seer. My friend.
“I’ll tell him, and I’ll see that he doesn’t start any dalliances in your absence. I’ll make him belief that Frinjìon himself has chosen you two to be together.” she promised with a grin, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I spread my wings and rode the air, waving my hoof as I started to ascend in a spiral pattern around the tree.
I could feel myself shiver with anticipation as I rose in altitude, cold wind rushing past my sides, but I was now experienced enough to ride it out, my feelers warning me about every little change in the wind, allowing me to quickly return to my course. Then, on my final loop, I caught my first glimpse of the portal, a gleaming edge surrounding a hole hanging in the air. My passage home. If I squinted real hard, I could make out the handle of my travelling bag lying in the dirt of the other side! My cheer was short lived however, as I watched the corners of the portal slowly constrict, it was beginning to close!
Hurriedly, I grabbed the edge of the knothole as the wind carried me past, letting out a surprised yelp as my hoof felt like I’d just plunged it into ice-water. Pulling myself into the knothole, I suddenly realized how cold it had gotten, as if we’d teleported to the peaks of Yakyakistan. A sharp pain pierced my feelers, signaling the coming of a frigid storm. I’d seen all these signs before. Glancing at the portal, I was almost about to just sprint through it when a cold howl froze me in my tracks. A scream like a dozen icebergs scratching past one another, causing landslides of ice to fall into the ocean. The sound rang in the tiny knothole, inciting the cold to creep into my flesh. But it couldn't follow me into my world, I thought as I stepped toward the closing portal, if I leapt through now, I could make it. Already, I could feel a warm breeze pushing through the passage between worlds, I could escape this winter now!
Kalypso couldn't. More than even the cold, that though froze me in place. She was back there, with this… thing, and I was about to leave her? But the portal was closing, I didn’t have time, besides, what could I even do? If I broke my transformation, I’d starve!
WHY NOW? I screamed internally, why did it have to show up now? Cursing Celestia’s name in ways that would horrify me at any other time, I shot a look through the portal, at the small bit of my dirty saddlebags. Then, I raced back out the knothole, launching myself into the middle of the cold storm.
Pain exploded in my back as the wind tore at my wings, sending my tiny body tumbling through the air, just like when I first stepped into this world. But this time, I was prepared. Reaching deep into my core, I mentally touched a gleaming knot of magic, and began to unravel. Instantly, I felt my body expand, feathers sprout from my wings as my head breached into a few dry twigs, causing me to let out a pained shout as they tore off bits of my mane. With a mighty beat of my wings, I stabilized against the wind. Without wasting time to ponder, I called upon my magic, staring at the knothole I’d just been in, sending magic tendrils through the portal until I felt what I needed. With the sound of a large, bursting bubble, my saddlebags dropped into the snow beneath the acorn.
Another ethereal scream caused me to whip around in the air. Drifting effortlessly in the harshest gusts of the storm, my glare was returned from the elongated, skeletal face of the spirit. Blowing streams of ice from it's nostrils, it seemed to measure me, forcing me to get lost in its eye sockets, each of which seemed to hold another storm within, promising decades of winter and starvation.
With an angry whinny, it broke eye-contact, rearing its hooves as the air crackled from eldritch energy. My eyes widening, I had just enough time to raise a magical shield before a torrent of wild frost magic slammed into it. Gritting my teeth, I could already feel it crackling under the onslaught.
A windigo! But they were equestrian spirits, how could they be here? Another blast of magic forced the questions out of my mind as I poured every ounce of magic into my shield, grimacing as the effort seemed to split my skull in half. Then, the attack ceased, the windigo letting out an enraged cry as it circled around, it's eye sockets never glancing away. Gasping for air, I risked a look to the ground, but could only see a thick cover of snow, no sign of Kalyspo. Was she already buried, was I too late?
The spirit roared, and once again I could feel the build-up of energy as I frantically scanned the ground. There, close to my bag, I saw a tiny flicker of light. Without taking the time to inspect, I seized it and my bags in my magic, before dropping my shield. Instantly, the windigo saw its chance, unleashing its magic in a savage beam that would’ve frozen the blood in my veins.
Accompanied by a crackle of discharging magic, I unceremoniously flopped into a field of snow. Gasping for air, I tried to ignore the searing lances of pain shooting through my horn as it tried to rid itself of the excess energy by shooting out a variety of colorful sparks. A side-effect of an overly hasty teleportation-spell.
With my heart hammering in my ears, I rose from the ground. A noise of rushing water came from behind a treeline, the spider-river, as I’d started calling it. Still in the breezie world, the first place I could think of. “Kalypso?” Forced to blink from the sunlight reflecting off the snow, I frantically looked around. But there was only snow, trees, no sign of her, only my saddlebags. Levitating them onto my back, I shielded my eyes while I scanned my surroundings, dread rising up inside me. Where is she? Did I leave her behind with the windigo? Did she end up somewhere else? Did she land… underneath me? I forced myself to stop that thought, to not jump up or lift my hooves. Any wrong move might kill her, I thought as I fought the cold claws of terror around my heart, tried to ignore the stinging sensation in my hooves that had been pressed into the snow for too long already.
A glimpse of light caught my attention. Lighting my aching horn, I gently scooped a big ball of snow around it, levitating it closer. I gasped in relief as I spotted the glowing end of an antennae inside it, then gently dropped the snow around the tiny breezie’s body. For a moment, I simply marveled at just how tiny she appeared, she could easily sit atop my muzzle with room to spare. Then my brain halted all such observations as I saw the state she was in: Shivering, with her eyes almost closed, she landed limply on my hoof, barely reacting to anything around her! She must’ve been buried in the snow since the windigo arrived, or maybe she’d been hit by fringe elements of it's attack, but what could I do?
Warm her! My brain demanded.
OF COURSE, I shouted back at my useless cerebrum. But how? It’d take too long to start a fire, my own coat is covered in snow, and I can’t use friction, one wrong move and I would kill her as sure as the snow would! With my mind raging, I did the only thing I could think of. Levitating her limp body upward, I put her on my tongue and closed my mouth around her.
Truly, one of my brightest moments.
It was hard to describe how it felt to suddenly know what a friend of yours tasted like. Salty, from the sweat I was sure, but with a hint of sweetness underneath, not as much as candy, but undeniable…
I wanted to shake my head to stop myself from creeping out… myself even more, but I didn’t dare move my head instead entirely focusing on not swallowing.
It didn’t help that said previous observations about Kalypso’s taste were making my mouth water.
Please wake up, I silently begged, nervoulsy looking over my shoulder for any signs of the angry spirit- there was no guarantee it couldn't catch up to us, still.
A sudden, terrified shriek alerted me to my friends awakening. A heartbeat later, a painful heat rose up in my mouth, forcing me to gasp for air. The moment my lips parted, Kalypso clung at them, with glowing feelers, before tossing herself out. A daring escape, if it hadn’t been for her insectile wings moistening in my saliva. Barely able to spread the weighted wings, she couldn't catch enough air to float, or even stop her descent.
Her shout when my magic stopped her fall was equally surprised and mortified. In full panic, she struggled against the purple aura holding her, before coming face to face with me. Her eyes seemed to grow to nearly encompass her entire head as her tiny jaw dropped.
“Please, mighty spirit, I am a loyal servant of Frinjiòn!” she shouted, yet it was as quiet as a whisper to me, her voice nearly as high as Pinkie’s when she’d finally consumed an amount of sugar even she later judged to be too much. “P-please don’t eat me, I’m barely worth a bite to you.”
“I-I’m not gonna eat you, Kalypso!” I said, before feeling an urge to slap myself at the astonished look in her little face. Did I think she’d recognize me like this? “It’s me, Twilight.”
“T-Twilight?” Kalypso stuttered the name like she’d never heard it before. Then, a look of shock crossed her face as she looked up and down my body, gasping as the realization dawned on her. “But that’s impossible- I-I must be dreaming.”
“N-no, it’s not, sadly.” I tried a nervous grin, causing her to flinch in sudden fear. Shouldn’t have shown my teeth… “Besides, if it was a dream, wouldn’t that mean it was gonna happen later on, frindrì?”
Kalypso’s mouth opened and closed a few times, her gaze still travelling over my body. It seemed this bit of news still needed a whole lot of digesting. “Are you a goddess?” she whispered, reverence underlying in her voice.
I hesitated. A shouted rejection burned on my tongue, I didn’t want her to speak to me in that tone, I wanted her to speak to me like she did before! My feathery wings itched, screaming for a proper preening. Though, technically speaking, didn’t Celestia and Luna count as goddesses in Equestria? Didn’t that make me one too? It wasn’t the first time I’d pondered that question, but it always seemed so… unfitting, I was still just me! And I certainly did not want Kalypso to think of me as being somehow above her.
Which would be hard to do, considering I was at least fifty breezie-heights above her.
“No, I’m not a goddess.” I explained, shaking my head.
“Then a spirit?” Kalypso bit her lip. “I-I’ve seen you battle the winds of Fjermengard!”
“I’m not a spirit either!” I exclaimed. “I’m… I’m from a different world, Honeydew already knows. Everyone there is like me.”
“They all have the bodies of gods?”
“No- it’s normal there.” I stammered. “I’m just- look, everyone in my world is this tall, and we’re… powerful, but I’m still just Twilight, okay? I-I’m still the same pony- err, breezie you met, ditzy silly ol’ Twilight who doesn’t know how to survive on her own.” Careful to keep my teeth covered, I gave her a reassuring, if shaky smile.
Kalypso’s feelers bobbed as she took a long breath. “I-I’m not dreaming, am I?”
“I’m afraid not. I’d offer to pinch you, but that wouldn’t be very safe, huh?”
Suddenly, I noticed a chill going up my spine as the wind picked up, causing my ears to stand up. Kalypso felt it too, looking up in alert.
“I’ll answer your questions in a moment.” I hurriedly told the breezie. “But now we have to go. Can you hold onto me?”
“I-I think?” Kalypso swallowed, shivering as both wind and snowfall grew in intensity. “Just put me in your ear, not your mouth.”
Ear, of course. If I was less focused, I would have smacked myself for not thinking of that earlier. As it was, I simply lifted Kalypso up to my head, where she used my mane to help her climb safely into the ear. Meanwhile, ignoring snowflakes beating against my face, I focused my magic on our destination.
For one moment, barely a heartbeat long, all sensation dissolved as the ground fell away from my hooves. Then we popped back into the world, at the next landmark I remembered, about halfway to the village.
“W-WHAT WAS THAT?” Kalypso shouted, startled by our sudden change in location. As it turned out, even a breezie’s shout could be painfully loud if they were only inches away from your eardrum.
“Teleportation.” I grimaced, plucking her out with my magic so I could rub my ringing ear. “Should’ve warned you.”
“You can do that..” she whispered, astonished. “A-and how are you holding me?”
“Magic.” I answered briefly, before placing Kalypso ontop of my head, close enough to the ear that I could still hear her, but not… too close. “Is this okay? Can you hear me like this?”
“O-of course I can, you’re loud.” she responded. “But… magic! And you could do that all along?”
Reminding myself not to nod for the safety of my passenger, I chose to answer curtly. “Yes.”
“But why didn’t you tell us?” Kalypso shouted. “Why didn’t you just teleport us to the highbreeze-clan? Why didn’t you chase off the rat that attacked Honeydew, why didn’t you at least fly us there? You probably could’ve brought us there in a day! Couldn't you have used your power to get all the food we needed?” With every question, she seemed to get a little angrier. “Why didn’t you help us, Twilight, when you were… this, all along?!”
I flinched under the last shout. “I’m sorry, Kalypso, but it’s not that simple-”
“I only see you with power enough to defy a spirit and travel by thought alone, how is it not simple?”
“First up, I struggled to keep it at bay!” I rebutted. “And even though I’m… powerful, I guess, that doesn’t mean I can just cast spells to fix problems without a care in the world!” I took a cold breath to cool my temper. Suppose I can be glad that she feels safe enough to get mad at me. “Look at me, Kalypso, how much do you think I have to eat in this form? If I stayed like this, I’d probably eat through your storage in a couple days. And if I stayed on my own, I would’ve had to find that much food, and I haven’t got the faintest how to survive out here! Believe me, as strong as I might be, you still absolutely saved my life when you convinced the elder to take me in.”
“But… when the rat attacked-”
“Sure, I could’ve chased off the rat, but you and Honeydew were too close, I could have squished you under my body. Besides, I actually did help afterwards. Remember how I found shelter and food afterwards? That was the one time I could use it to help.”
“I do remember.” Kalypso muttered.
Anticipating her next question, I hurriedly cut in: “And no, I couldn't have teleported him to safety, I can only do it with places I know, and where it is in relation to where I am. It’s pretty hard to keep a sense of direction in the forest.”
There was a moment of silence as I trudged through the snow.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
I let out a snort. “The elder would’ve let me starve out here if it weren’t for you. Letting him know didn’t seem like a good idea. Besides…” hesitating, I shot a glance at a bunch twigs we’d glided past yesterday. “It was kinda fun to be a breezie.”
“What about me and Honeydew though?” Kalypso asked, her voice carrying a strange undertone. Was she feeling betrayed? But she’d always known I was hiding something, heck, she’d been lying to me since the first moment we met! And yet, she still managed to make me feel guilty.
“I told Honeydew. Well, he knows a few bits and pieces, he’s never seen me like this and he only believes me to be as big as a rat, at most”
“Well,he’ll be surprised when we come back. You know, he told me he’d found a large and juicy berry with you, but I don’t think he expected it to be this large.” While she let out a dry laugh, I bit my lip.
“Are you going to tell the others?”
Kalypso paused. “You still want to keep it a secret?” she asked, a sudden edge to her voice. “Even now that we’ve seen one of the spirits of Fjermengard and you were able to fight it? You think I will keep that a secret from my clan?”
“I didn’t fight it, not really, I escaped!” I hissed back. “I’m sorry if you thought I could keep them away, but I can’t.” shivering, I remembered the tremendous power present in the icy bolt of the creature. Even in that short engagement, I’d struggled to match it’s strength. In an extended fight, I could only rate my chances as slim. “Maybe if I had backup, or knew a weakness of theirs, I could fend one off, but even then, using magic like this is tiring. Worse, it makes me hungry.”
Sighing, I dug in my saddlebags and brought forth my sandwich, grimacing at the way the somewhat stale lettuce, once soaked in the juice of tomatoes, was now dry as a desert. Letting go of my breath, I took my first bite, trying to ignore the guilty feeling that came with being fully aware just how much food this would be for the breezies. But one should never cast transformation spells on an empty stomach. It was too easy to accidentally take on properties of whatever food you were thinking off when you should have been concentrating. “So, it seems like hiding is still our best and only option.”
The ground raced past as I flew, the dull sound of my wings the only sound to break up the silence. Occasionally, I’d halt to search for a landmark, but then it was back to the wordless journey.
Exhausted from our excursion and her recent exposure to the windigo’s ice magic, Kalypso was now content to rest inside my right ear, where she was shielded from the wind and kept warm by the heat of my body. I wasn’t sure whether she was awake or not, though at times I thought I heard her mumble something incoherent. Not that I begrudged her the slumber… heck, I’d take that opportunity myself if our roles were reversed.
Meanwhile, the distance seemed to melt away like it was nothing, as I covered in barely an hour what had taken us six yesterday! The sheer speed with which I weaved from tree to tree still brought a rush of excitement to my heart, and I wasn’t even racing! It made me wonder how much Rainbow Dash would enjoy this if she was in my place- then again, she probably couldn't bear the slower pace of a breezie for a month.
A grin broke out on my face as I saw the familiar, inconspicuous tree and the snow bank underneath. With a muttered warning to Kalypso, I tilted my head slightly to better make out the entrance as I approached. I’d have to find it before I got too close, lest I risked accidentally stepping on the village. When I found it however, my eyes were struck by an unexpected sight.
Two breezies were engaged in a fierce wrestling match, tossing snowflakes into the air as they rolled around, trying to gain an advantage. The upper breezie’s head reared up, gasping for air before he shouted something at his opponent that my ears couldn't make out. Then he was pushed off the other breezie and I let out a gasp as I recognized Honeydew’s tribal markings. Before his foe could react, Honeydew leapt ontop of the other, twisting the other’s hoof around the back to prevent him from getting up.
Instinctively, I took a step forward, intending to break up the fight, when my brain caught up and I stopped, my hoof hovering in mid-air. Should I back up? I could try to transform now, but no, Kalypso is still inside my ear, who knows what would happen if I did the spell with her that close to me! But if I back up and convince her to jump out, I could safely-
A horrified shriek tore my out of my thoughts. Honeydew’s opponent had finally caught sight of me, his hoof jutted right at my face. Before I could react, Honeydew whirled around, his scream matching that of the other breezie as he stumbled back into the snow, seemingly trying to bury himself. The other breezie had already disappeared back in the tunnel.
“I reacted better than that.” Kalypso chuckled in my ear.
“Because I saved you from the windigo.”
“I thought you were eating me.” she replied drily.
“Fair point… but you still didn’t react that much better.” There was no response, but I wasn’t waiting for one anyway. Lowering my head, I gently lifted the snow from Honeydew’s body.
His eyes nearly bulged out of his skull as he watched the white mass float away, exposing him to me. Breathing heavily, he stared up at my head, and I could only imagine what I must be like for him. I still remembered the awe, the instinctual fear I felt when I saw the old dragon-lord for the first time, but at least I’d had the benefit of knowing that something like him existed! To Honeydew, I was something unthinkable! “I-I’m sorry, Honeydew.” I blurted out without thinking.
He blinked, confusion spreading on his face. “How do you know my-” suddenly, he got up on his hooves, and to my surprise, actually stepped closer! I was almost about to back off in response as he asked: “T-Twilight? Is that you?” he asked, his high-pitched voice wracked with uncertainty.
It was like an electric shock had through my body, causing my heart to flutter. He recognised me! “Heh… I-I told you I was bigger as a pony.”
“Y-you said you were as big as a rat!” Despite his accusatory tone, he laughed nervously. “O-oh, wait, it’s because you don’t know what rats are, right?” With that, he held up his leg, and I had to squint my eyes to make out the bandages wrapped around his hoof. “The thing that bit me, that’s a-”
“I know what rats are.” I protested, causing him to flinch back, probably from how loud my voice was. Taking a deep breath, I sat down in the snow before attempting it with a softer tone. “I’m sorry, but you wouldn’t believe me when I said I was as big as one, would you have believed it if I told you I was as big as-” My voice broke off as I blanked on an example, at least one Honeydew would understand. “-as me?”
“No, I would’ve never believed it.” he whispered, staring up at my face. “I-it still feels like I’m dreaming.”
“I can fix that.” Kalypso’s voice announced before she leapt off my head, using my horn as a jump-off point. Floating down to a baffled Honeydew, she slapped him across the face with a resounding smack. “Still here?” she grinned as he held his cheek. “Then I guess this is reality.”
Groaning in displeasure, he shot her an angry glare. But not for long, as his eyes once again travelled up my body, forcing him to crane his neck until he was looking almost straight upwards. “Why did you just leave?!” He suddenly snapped, drawing anxious looks from both me and Kalypso. “What was that? No warning, just suddenly you two are gone! Windchime was so worried, Kalypso. Everyone was worried!” With a quick glance up to me, he added: “I-I was worried. A-and you took the food, the elder was furious! Because of you, he said that no-one was allowed to even get close to the entrance! He didn’t want to risk anyone else looking for you. Not even you, Kalypso.” he paused, as if to let that sink in.
“W-wait, but you and that other breezie were outside!” I pointed out.
Biting his underlip, Honeydew looked from me to Kalypso, seeming conflicted. “I-I was going to look for you anyway. I-I’m a scout, it’s my job to do these things. Thought that maybe I could follow your tracks-”
“We flew, Honeydew.” Kalypso rolled her eyes.
“I had to try!” he exclaimed. “That’s what I told Marsh Grass, but he wouldn’t listen-”
“So you fought him?” I gasped, placing a hoof on my chest. “For me?”
“F-for both of you, of course!” he blurted out.
“Awww, that’s so cute.” I cooed, then broke out in a chuckle as his feelers began to glow with a soft, red tinge.
“S-stop that!” he hissed. “You didn’t tell me why you left!”
Just that moment, there was a commotion in the entrance, as three breezies, including the elder, poked their heads out. Two breezies at either of his sides wielded wooden spears that looked mildly less threatening than toothpicks. In utter astonishment, they stared at the scene, where Honeydew and Kalypso were almost casually conversing with possibly the biggest creature they had ever seen.
“I-I think you’ll have to wait a bit longer, Honeydew” I nervously chuckled. “Because this might take a while to explain.” Lowering my head so I could better look at the terrified breezies in the entrance, I added: “But I promise I’ll make it worth your while, elder.” Rummaging through my saddlebags with my magic, I drew out my other sandwich, placing the somewhat stale thing on the snow. “This time, I brought some food from my world.”
A shiver went through my body as the explanations went on. There was now so much of the falling snow stuck in my fur that it looked like white was part of my natural coloration. My offer of a sandwich, a substantial amount of food for a clan of breezies, had been enough to convince the startled elder to at least listen, but he did not take my words as easily as my friends did.
“A world full of spirits, just a couple day’s travel away. Almost unbelievably that we never found it.” he said, trotting in a circle. I let out a sigh. I’d given up on correcting him that I wasn’t a spirit a while ago.
“Maybe it did not want to be found.” Windchime pointed out. The priest had appeared after the elder, but he at least had believed my story fairly quickly once Kalypso had confirmed it. “Spirits can be mischievous, as you know.”
With a shake of my shoulders and a subtle shrug of my wings, I broke the snowy piles gathering on my back. Still, I saw the breezies jerk back in response to my sudden motion. Even Honeydew. Swallowing drily, I forced my eyes back to the elder, wondering who could endure the cold for longer, him or me?
“C-could we maybe continue this conversation inside?” I finally asked. “I’m cold and tired, and I’m sure Kalypso would also like a chance to rest for a bit.”
Kalypso only gave a curt nod of her head, but the exhausted was clearly written in her face, her the way her feelers hung lower than her chin and the way she was resting most of her weight on Windchime’s side.
“I agree,” the priest immediately spoke up. “Permitted or not, they both need to rest from their journey.” turning his eyes up to mine, he added. “I cannot imagine how tired you must be after facing one of the ancient spirits.”
“That may be,” the elder retorted, his hoof pointing up to me. “But how do you expect the clan to shelter her?”
Wearing a soft smile, I lit up my horn, going through the familiar motions of the spell. “Just as last time.” I said- before realizing I was practically on the other side of a sports field now.
“I see your point.” The elder sighed as I’d finally made my way over. It was clear he still wasn’t happy with the circumstances, but he only shook his head. “Rest. I want to see you in the evening at my home.”
“Elder-” I bit my lip, wishing I’d waited and figured out what to say before blurting out the first word. “K-know that I am really thankful to you and the clan. I- I want to help if I can.”
For a moment, the elder seemed astonished. Then, slowly, his lips curled upwards for a brief second before he turned toward the sandwich. It was nearly twice his height and many, many times his weight. “Rest.” he repeated softly. “You have already helped us.”
As Honeydew came up to guide my stiff, frozen limbs into the tunnel, I could hear the elder call up the others to start carving the food into more transportable bits.
Immediately upon our arrival in the familiar space of our shared hut, I dropped to the ground, tugging my hooves under my body as I did. Honeydew immediately went to work on our small sizzlepit. Soon, tendrils of warmth began to emanate from it, drawing me closer, until I felt his hoof blocking me from getting too close.
“So…” he finally began, and I immediately tensed up. “You were… more than I thought.”
“Sorry…”
“Don’t be,” he whispered, his eyes drawn to the ground. “You are what you are, I-I can’t fault you for that. And you’re right, I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me-”
“Which I did.”
“Well, you didn’t try very hard to be clear either!” anger surged briefly in his words before he fell back on his haunches. “I just… it’s hard to believe that I saved you, is all.”
“You did!” I exclaimed. “I told you, I would have starved, I don’t know where to find food!”
“But why would you come here, then? I-I can’t even imagine what kind of place you would come from, but you must have known how to survive there! So why did you come?”
Blinking confusedly, I answered: “I already told you, I wanted to learn-”
“About us?” he interrupted loud enough to make my mouth snap shut. “What would you need to learn from us? What could I teach you that you would need, we’re… we’re so small compared to you.” with that, his features fell while his feelers drooped nearly to the ground. “Aren’t we just like bugs to you? Icky, little-”
“You’re not icky!” I exclaimed in shock. How could he even think that? “I’ll let you know ponies think of you as incredibly cute-”
“So that’s what we are?” he hissed, and to my surprise, I saw tears glistening in his eyes. “Just cute? Like a maple moth?”
“A- a what?” I stammered, thrown back by his intense reaction.
“It’s a colorful moth!” he explained as his feelers began to tremble. “I hear some distant clans keep them as clan-pets…”
“I do not see you as a pet!” I gasped as I finally realized the root of the issue. Drawing myself up, I looked straight into his eyes. “You breezies are fascinating, Honeydew! It doesn’t matter if you’re small, you’re still surviving in a dangerous world! Kalypso told me of how your god saw the first breezie, and how he was inspired by your will to pull through all hardship. I look at you, and I feel the same thing. You want to know what you can teach me? I didn’t have the slightest idea how to avoid getting lost in a forest, you taught me that. Being here, I learned how to quickly dig a pit, how to better stave off the cold. You taught me how to play an instrument, Honeydew. Most ponies can’t do that.” With that, I placed a hoof on his chest. “I learned so much from you, how could I think any less of you just because you have feelers and may be a little shorter than me?”
“I-It’s not just a little!” he stammered. “You’re like a mountain! How can you- and I-?” his words were lost in an unintelligible stammer as he directed his gaze back to the ground, blood rushing into his cheeks.
“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest.” I admitted as I bit my lip. “Eventually, I’ll have to go back to my world, and I don’t know when I can come back.” I took a shuddering breath as I tried to think of what to say next, how to possibly convince him-
Instead, without really even knowing what I was doing, I leaned forward, locking my lips over his, drawing a shocked mewling from him. “You’re the only one I’ve ever kissed, Honeydew.” I gasped as I broke the kiss, leaning my forehead on his so that our feelers would entangle. “I don’t care that you’re not a pony and I don’t want another pony. It wouldn’t be you.” With a shaky breath, I closed my eyes, unable to watch as I left my heart in his hooves, his decision. Licking over my dry, shaky lips, I was suddenly worried I hadn’t said enough, that I needed to try better to convince him!
“Honey-”
In that moment, his hooves closed around me, and we gently sunk to the warm ground, our lips locked in an embrace that I wished could never end.
I did not open my eyes. Touch was the only sense that mattered right now
Hot breath hit against my neck as my eyes fluttered open. For a moment, I blinked against the absolute darkness surrounding me as a hint of panic rose up in my throat. But then, I felt a gentle squeezing around my chest, the warmth of another body at my back, and my tenseness faded as I sank into the embrace. I must have fallen asleep, my mind reasoned. While a little tired still, it didn’t come from exhaustion, nor from stress, just the sort where you’d rather lounge around in your comfy bed for a while longer.
“Sleep well?” Honeydew whispered, causing me to squeak in surprise as I jolted up, bumping his nose with the back of my head. “Ouh!”
“Sorry,” I gasped, rolling around to face him. My feelers emitted a dim glow, allowing us both to see each other. Honeydew was trying his best to smile as he rubbed his muzzle. “I-I didn’t know you were awake.”
“I’ll remember to give you a fair warning next time.” he chuckled. “How do you feel?”
“Much better.” I sighed, then nuzzled his hoof, smiling as he draped it over my side. “I’m no longer aching in thirteen different spots, I feel rested… and I’m kinda hungry.”
“I believe the elder wanted to set some food aside for when you come.”
“Oh dear, is it time already?” letting out a sigh, I smacked my lips, wondering if I could ask for ten more minutes…
“Not yet.” his hoof reassuringly stroke over my back. “We have a bit of time before we should go and clean ourselves up.”
“More time sounds nice…” I purred as I scooted closer, until I felt the warm fuzz of his chest against my cheek, heard the sound of his heart calmly continuing it’s constant rhythm. “You’re so soft.”
“Oh, Twilight,” he chuckled as he brushed a hoof along my back. “You’re soft, too.” After a moment of hesitation, he sighed. “There are no more secrets, right?”
“No more secrets after today.” I promised. “But then you’ll have to tell one of yours. Like how you can possibly tell the time in here!”
With a smirk, he shook his head. “There’s no trick here. It just comes with practise.”
While closing my eyes, I muttered a silent curse in Celestia’s name.
The longhouse was kept cozy by a generous amount of sizzlegrass the elder stuck closeby to, even as he got up to greet me and Honeydew. Meanwhile, I could see Kalypso and Windchime in the back, the older breezie carefully blowing over a steaming hot bowl of soup- wait, was that the first time I’d seen a breezie eat warm food? Or even food that was in any way prepared? I think it was!
“Welcome, I hope you have rested well.” The elder waved his hoof, inviting us to sit by the pit. As we took seat, Kalypso gently carried one bowl after the other over, until we were all situated with one beside us. It seemed simple, no more than squashed berries mixed with some hot water. But just the idea of a warm meal after all this time caused my saliva glands to practically flood my mouth. I thanked Kalypso, perhaps exuberantly so, before taking a quick sip.
It burnt my tongue. And it was still amazing. “T-thank you!” I managed to squeeze out between gasps for breath.
“Too hot?” Kalypso bit her lip. “It might be better if you waited a little, I didn’t know how long to keep it on the fire, so I pulled it off when the water started acting up!”
“You mean boiling?”
“If that’s what you call it when it behaves like water never should, then yes!”
I shook my head, chuckling. “That’s just natural when water gets hot, Kalypso.” then I blinked. “Wait, you used fire?!”
“Outside the village, I built a little firepit like you showed me… wanted to save sizzlegrass. But then I thought, what if we couldn't just warm ourselves from the outside, but from the inside too?”
After blowing over the soup one final time, I took a tentative sip, then shivered as the warm fluid went down my throat, the heat just shy of being painful, yet so refreshing nonetheless. Meeting her expectant look, I offered her a sincere smile.
The elder cleared his throat, catching all of our attention. “Now that we have discussed our meals,” he started with a hint of irritation. “I would like to talk about you, Twilight.”
Under his narrow gaze, I felt my muscles growing tense. I wanted to open my mouth, but instead it was Honeydew who spoke up. “She won’t harm us, elder. I can guarantee it!”
The older breezie waved his hoof dismissively. “That much I don’t doubt, Honeydew. But your elska has hidden much from us. Like her true form…” he tapped the ground with a hoof as he gave me a nervous glance. “I-if you don’t mind me asking, spirit, but your form-changing… Is there a danger it could suddenly stop working?” he bit his lip at those last words.
I quickly shook my head, hoping to alleviate at least that fear. “No, my transformation spell is passively cast by my inner magic, it will only wear off if I wish to. I would stay in this form, even when sleeping or otherwise unconscious.”
“Thank Frinjìon…” the elder breathed out a sigh of relief, while everyone visibly relaxed. Wait, did they think- but I’d spent nearly two weeks in the village, shouldn’t it be obvious if I couldn't hold the spell? I guess that would presume that breezies have any idea how magic works. Which is not a fair assumption to make.
I snapped out of my thoughts as the elder cleared his throat. “Now, to speak of the reason I called you here. You have… seen the Winds of Fjermengard?”
“We have met one.” Kalypso shuddered at the memory. “Twilight was just barely able to hold it off long enough for us to escape.”
“Truly, it takes a spirit to ward off another…” Windchime muttered. I let out a silent groan.
“Then this confirms our worst fears.” the elder said. “We’d always assumed, but now it is clear. Rations will have to continue, sizzlegrass has to be used sparingly. Even with your generous gift of your- your saandwetsch, we cannot know how long we will have to last in this winter.”
“Unless you can help us.” Kalypso muttered, giving me a pointed look. “Shortly after we escaped, you called it a windjergo? Wentygon-”
“Windigo. They appeared in my world before.”
“You’ve seen them before?!” Honeydew exclaimed.
“No, never seen them!” I shook my hooves in protest. “I only know of them from myths, they disappeared over a thousand years ago, I didn’t even know they were real!”
“Why did you never tell us?!” Kalypso demanded.
“I didn’t know the windigos and your Winds of Fjermengard were the same thing. From what I knew, they were only in Equestria!”
“So they came from your world?” the elder frowned.
I took a deep breath. “Possibly… but they could just as well have come from your world into mine. We never had any idea where they came from. One way seems just as likely as the other.”
“So what do you know about them?” Kalypso urged.
With a sigh, I rubbed my forehead with a hoof, causing my feelers to jiggle. “Not a lot, they were shrouded in mystery. But a long time ago, they caused terrible and unnatural winters over our lands. It took all tribes of ponies to unite in order to finally defeat them. After that, they founded the nation of Equestria, where I live now.”
“So you managed to defeat the winds of Fjermengard!” Kalypso exclaimed.
“And it took all of us!” I replied sharply, causing Kalypso to jerk back. “Our clans were large, Kalypso, many times larger than yours, and I’m not just talking about size, I mean in number. We don’t know how many Windigos we fought, but it took all of our strength to finally seal them all away.”
“Seal them…” Windchime muttered, joining the conversation next to the elder. “Like Frinjiòn sealed them in Fjermengard?”
“Not sure, but there is a universal spell to bind a spirit’s energy to something. Unfortunately, it would require me to overpower it. And… I’m sorry, but I fear even one would be too hard to handle for me, there is no way I could defeat several!” I gave each of the breezies a sad glance before averting my eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry, but against those odds-”
“I think you can win.”
My head whirled around to Honeydew. His hoof was raised just above my shoulder, as if to pat me reassuringly, yet his expression was thoughtful. “Kalypso has seen you in her vision, hasn’t she?”
With a glance, I met Kalypso’s anxious look. “Uhm, Honeydew,” she muttered nervously. “Honeydew, it might not mean what you think it-”
“Also,” he interjected. “I don’t think there’s more than one.”
Everyone in the room suddenly raised their heads, staring at him in baffled surprise.
“L-look,” he stammered, taken aback by the sudden attention. “All our stories say that the winds of Fjermengard, or the Wendergoes-”
“Windigos.”
“Those have the power to freeze the entire world.” Honeydew continued, unfaced by my correction. “O-or at least most of it. But what we have here is so…. change-y. I talked to the others, did you know that about the time we arrived at the Highbreeze-clan, it seemed to get better here? It’s because it was moving away. Then a few days later, on our journey back, it seemed to thaw, just before it travelled back.” he swallowed. “I-I mean, our forest is large, but not compared to the world. And for the winds to be unable to keep such a small part of the world frozen just seems so… weak. Unless-”
“Unless it’s only one.” Kalypso breathed, then moved her hoof over her mouth as if she’d said something forbidden.
All eyes in the room turned on me. Suddenly, the room felt decidedly too hot, I even felt sweat running down my brow. “H-hold on!” I stammered. “We have no proof of that, besides,” with that, I turned to Kalypso. “We barely escaped from it last time, remember?!”
“Twilight.” I heard Honeydew’s voice from behind me, soft despite the underlying urgency. “I’m sorry, but this may be the only chance our clan has, unless the spirit just leaves us alone.” biting his lip, he quietly added: “will it?”
My eyes turned to the ground as I took several deep breaths. “The windigos were said to have followed my ancestors to a whole new land. I don’t think they’ll let up on us.” My mouth dried up as I said the words. The frightening moment where I had to put my all into blocking just one of the windigo’s attacks was still clear in my mind. The deathly chill that resonated in the air around it: Sure, I was out of practise and unprepared, but that didn’t stop me from recognizing something with clearly more powerful magic than I had. Maybe if I knew a weakness of theirs, maybe if I had backup it would be a fair chance, but I had neither!
But if I don’t, the thought went through my head, chilling me to the bone. If I don’t, then everyone here will be helpless against it. I met Kalypso’s gaze, then the elder’s, Windchime’s. Honeydew. They were my clan. My friends! “But what can I do?” I whispered so quietly that the others had to scoot closer to make out my words. “I just don’t think I can defeat it in an honest fight, if I had something, anything to help me-” I trailed off, shaking my head. As much as they knew about nature, I doubted they had expertise in magic duels!
And yet, Kalypso’s hoof rose. “What about the pond?”
“The what?”
“When I performed the ritual on Myrmelsday, I saw a deep, frozen pond. I-I think it is important, Maybe it can help us.”
“Or maybe you were just feeling hot next to all that sizzlegrass.” I snorted. If my memory served me right, she’d had that vision after inhaling an unhealthy amount of smoke, probably coupled with a psychedelic drug of some sort. That was not the kind of thing I was keen on betting my life on!
“I dreamt of that vision again after that night, Twilight. Maybe the gods want to show us a road to victory! After all,” and with that, she leaned closer, whispering into my ear so that only I could hear: “A purple shape beside me, guarding me against the incarnation of winter itself. Yesterday, that prophecy came true. This time I promise I really did have a true vision of this frozen pond. Please, Twilight, I know I can’t ask you to trust after lying to you, but please. We need you.”
I froze at her words. Her prophecy did come true- but it wasn’t real! So- what- wait, did she lie about lying? Was it all just a happenstance of unbelievable convenience? For a moment, I felt a powerful urge to check if the sclera of her eye had turned yellow. Then I shook my head. Kalypso was my friend. She’d lied to save my life- if she did lie... With a groan, I massaged my temples. But I trusted her not to put my life at risk with a lie. No, she would only suggest it if she truly believed in it.
I took a deep breath, feeling the monster of anxiety in the back of my mind. Then I breathed out, drawing a leg out from my chest as I imagined the stress seeping out with my exhaled air. At the end, I wasn’t feeling much better, but at least I could think clearly. “If you know the way,” I told Kalypso, “then I will follow you to that pond. But if we do not find anything, we’ll go right back here, I will not fight this spirit unless it is the only option left.”
It seemed like a balloon full of pressure had been popped, as all breezies took a relieved breath. All, save for one. “Are you sure of this?” Windchime asked Kalypso, worry written clear in his face.
“I am sure.” she answered sternly. “The gods sent me this vision. I would be a fool not to follow.”
“Then I suggest you ready yourselves for the morning.” The elder drew himself up. “You should get more rest for your journey-”
“Elder.” Honeydew interrupted. “I will go with them.”
“I’m afraid we need you here.” the old breezie said, furrowing his brows. “With Kalypso being the only one able to find your destination, there is little you can do to help them. You’re one of our few scouts, if you risk yourself senselessly-”
“I’m sorry, but I did not ask for permission.” Honeydew stated clearly, even as his voice shook a little. “I told you what I was going to do. I-I am going with them.” he bit his lip as he turned to me. “If you go to a dangerous place, I want to be with you. Y-you might be powerful, but you dont know our world. I do, better than anyone else in this room!”
His announcement seemed to have left the elder speechless. But then, his astonished expression suddenly turned into a smile, and he began to chuckle into his hoof. Even a sudden coughing fit couldn't stop the amused chortling.
“You are more like your sister than you think, Honeydew. And if I cannot order you to do otherwise, I might just give you my blessing.”
“T-thank you, elder.” Honeydew lowered his head and… blushed? What? Why? Did I miss something in that conversation?
Something tugged on my shoulder, as Kalypso drew me up. “W-we might be able to reuse the fireplace to make dinner. D-do you think we could make other warm foods with it?”
My stomach churned,despite the bowl of soup I’d eaten just a few minutes ago. But in truth, I knew it wasn’t really craving for food. It was craving for flavor. And some roasted apple just sounded heavenly right now. “Let’s do it!” I gasped, beckoning Honeydew to follow as Kalypso and I ran out the door. Maybe there was a battle against a spirit ahead of me and maybe I should rest my body while I could. But having a grill party with your friends? That was rest for the soul.
The frigid air brushed against my coat, causing me to jerk back into the tunnel. Honeydew and Kalypso stepped past me, showing only slight hesitation as a reaction to the cold. His feelers began to emit a soft glow as he looked back to meet my eyes, then beckoned me to follow with a nudge of his head. Heaving a sigh, I tried to ignore the sudden exposure to the icy wind as I stepped out of the shielding tunnels.
Narrowing my eyes, I tried to pierce the dim light around us. With the light of our feelers, I could just about make out the nearest trees in any detail, roughly 15 feet away. “Didn’t you say it was morning already?”
“It is.” Honeydew directed my attention at the utterly dark sky. “No stars.”
I felt my ears fold against my head. He was right, there wasn’t a single star in the sky, instead I began to see the shapes of mighty clouds. “W-what kind of weather can block out the sun so completely?” I whispered.
“Only a truly mighty storm.” Honeydew answered breathlessly. “Kalypso, is this really the time to leave the safety of the clan?” We both glanced to the seer, whose feelers dangled in the air as she closed her eyes. Silently, I begged for her to call it off…
But Kalypso shook her head. “I don’t feel any strong winds yet. If it comes, we’ll have ample warning.”
I wanted to argue that it was too risky, that we should wait, but the words got stuck in my throat as Honeydew stepped forward. “The longer the winds of Fjermengard are here, the worse it would get.” With a glance back, he added: “Twilight, we have to defeat the spirit, but it will help the clan much less if normal winter is already on it' way.”
“But-”
“I know many places to hide during a storm.” Honeydew said, placing a warm hoof on my shoulder. “The sooner we stop it, the sooner we can finally eat however much we want.”
“Wait- can we really?” I asked, my curiosity piqued against my will.
“If we defeat a great spirit?” he chuckled. “I think a little extra rations would be a fitting reward.”
Cursed be my watering mouth, it was tempting alright. “If you both think it is the right time to go…”
“I do.” Kalypso stated with a quick nod. Honeydew shot her a glance before agreeing.
“I don’t think things will improve if we wait.” he said with an apologetic shrug.
After looking from one breezie to another, I finally lowered my head in defeat. “Alright… I just want to do something, if you’ll give me a minute.” Ignoring their questioning stares, I took a step back into the tunnel, just enough to momentarily protect me from the frosty breeze. As I closed my eyes, tuned out the distracting cold and the murmurs of my companions, I focused on my inner self, on that gleaming knot of energy at the core of my self. While traveling in my normal form would be much faster, we had no idea how long our journey was, and if we didn’t arrive before lunchtime, my chances of fighting a windigo would quickly reach zero. But a modification, that I could do!
A magenta glimmer enveloped me, as a skull-splitting headache seemed intent on crushing my brain. Just a moment later, the feeling passed and I opened my eyes again, seeing a startled Honeydew back away.
“It’s fine!” I was quick to reassure him as I rubbed my forehead, grinning proudly as my hoof came upon the tough surface of my horn. “Just making sure we’ll have a bit of magic available in an emergency.”
“Y-you’re not turning back?”
I felt my grin falter as I met my companions looks, the way they were standing close to one another, as if to seek each other’s protection while they glanced at me… like one would stare at a sleeping dragon, afraid that a loud noise could wake it. “I-I just need my horn to cast magic is all.”
“Okay…” Honeydew muttered, stepping closer with a weary expression. “Just warn us next time, alright? I seriously thought you’d accidentally…” he broke off, nervously fidgeting.
“Crush us.” Kalypso helpfully finished for him.
“I’d never!” I exclaimed. “You didn’t think I would, did you?”
“It was kind of scary at the moment…” Honeydew muttered, unable to meet my eyes.
Feeling my jaw tensen, I turned away, following Kalypso as she led us on our first steps to our new journey. I simply stared at the ground as we flew above the groumd, periodically landing and trudging through the snowy mass whenever the wind was growing a bit more wild. It was during our third such landing that Honeydew finally gathered his courage.
“So, you have a horn now…” he awkwardly began as he walked by my side, forsaking the ease of using the tracks me and Kalypso had already made.
“I can see how you became a scout, with that ability to pick out subtle details.” I replied dryly as I kept my eyes on the path infront of us.
“Y-yes,” he stammered. “Sorry, this is just… new.”
With an amused chuckle, I turned my head to smirk at him. “You’ve seen me in my natural form and you’re shocked by this?”
“I’m not shocked!” he protested quickly, before biting his lip. “But it does look really strange. And this is where your power comes from?”
“Not exactly. It’s what I use to channel my magic, giving it precision and purpose instead of just sending it out as an unrefined blast.”
“You can do that?!”
“Sure, everyone can- well, every unicorn, that is. It’s… not very impressive. For us, I mean. You know, unicorns.”
“How strong is it?” he demanded to know, his face twisting into a grin. “Could you do it now?”
“It wouldn’t be too impressive now, honey.” I giggled at his eagerness. “My magic isn’t even that strong right now.”
“Oh… so it becomes smaller when you’re smaller?”
I gave it a nod, although his assessment wasn’t entirely true. My magic hadn’t shrunk in size, or rather strength, as size wasn’t exactly a measurement applicable to magic in the first place. However, a horn tiny enough to fit a breezie body wasn’t capable of channeling much energy at a time, practically downscaling the strength of my spells with the size of my horn.
That’s why horn envy was such a great issue in some unicorn families.
Glancing to the side, I saw his eyes once again staring at my forehead. “It looks that weird?” I muttered, my ears folding down.
“Yeah…” he said absentmindedly. “I don’t think I really noticed it when you were big… it was hard to even understand how huge you were.”
“I guess…” I heaved a sigh, silently begging him to drop the subject, why couldn't he just treat me like a breezie again? He managed it just fine yesterday!
I didn’t want to look weird…
As the sun came close to the end of its journey across the sky, the wind began to take a turn for the worse. The previous wisps now became strong gusts sweeping over the forest ground, completely tying us down to the icy surface, where we were forced to plod through chest-high snow, our advance coming to a tedious crawl. Worse, the wind carried thick snowflakes, pelting us with a barrage of icy shards every step of the way.
“How long is this gonna last?” I shouted forward where Kalypso was now following after Honeydew, the scout cutting a path through the snow that we could take.
Kalypso cast an exhausted glance at the sky. Worriedly, I noticed a beat of sweat running down her face, a serious health hazard in this temperature. “It won’t be stopping anytime soon.” she replied loudly and wiped a hoof across her face, leaving ice particles clinging to her coat. “Honeydew, we need to start looking for shelter!”
He grunted, pushing through the snow that now reached nearly up to his shoulders. “Been leading us there- for a while now!” he replied, his voice breaking so he could gasp for breath. With a hoof shivering from both exhaustion and the cold, he pointed at a slightly crooked old tree right in our path. “It’s got a hole we can hide in.”
“It won’t keep the cold away!” Kalypso protested. “We’d use up most of our sizzlegrass, we should build a shelter in the snow!”
“We would get buried alive in there!” Honeydew argued. “We can’t spend the night pushing snow away, we need to rest.”
“But-”
“I am the scout here!” he barked at her. “I know what I’m doing, so unless you have a vision telling you we shouldn’t, we’re going there!”
She gave a curt nod, too exhausted to give much of an answer. Honeydew shook his head, biting his lip as he gazed at the tree that was still at least twenty minutes away. Just as he seemed to gather himself enough to push through the snow again, I laid a hoof on his shivering shoulder. “I’ll lead from here. You follow me.”
He blinked a few times, as if he couldn't quite believe it was me saying these words. “Sorry, but you don’t seem strong enough to-” he began, then was suddenly interrupted by a wave of sheer energy blasting from my horn into the snow blocking our way, catapulting it off in all directions.
“There. Blast. Like it?” I said, flashing a strained grin. With a thought, I conjured up a thin trail of smoke emanating from my horn, allowing me to ‘blow it out’. Call it childish, but magic had to come with a bit of theatrics.
Just ask Trixie.
Grinning down at Honeydew, I chuckled as he stared with an open jaw, his startled amazement transforming into absolute relief. “I love it!” he breathed in a happy sigh, even managing a smile on his tired lips. “Please, keep doing that.”
“My pleasure.” I grinned and shot another blast into the snow, leading my fellow breezies for the first time.
But even as we now galloped across the ground, we were hit by mighty gusts of wind, slowing us down as we charged for our shelter. The storm we’d suspected this morning now came to full effect, reducing visibility as more and more snow was blown into the air.
“TWILIGHT!” Kalypso’s voice screeched. The wind had caught one of her wings, it's ferocious pull causing her to slide backwards, despite her attempts to brace herself against it. Honeydew tried to help, but as he leapt at her, the storm propelled them both into the nearest snow bank. “We can’t make it like this!” she screamed as she tossed her limbs around to free herself of the snow. “We need-”
My horn erupted in light, creating a popping sound as we all found ourselves inside the tree hole.
“-help!” Kalypso finished, before falling to the ground. Even Honeydew, who looked thoroughly spooked, was too exhausted to ask many questions.
“I- didn’t know you could do that.” he simply said before falling to the wooden ground, shivering at the thin layer of snow that had found its way even in here. “We’ll… need to start a sizzle pit.”
“Just rest, I’ll do it.” I offered. But as I lit my horn, pain lanced through my skull, causing the levitating bag to drop to the ground. Honeydew jumped up as I screamed, worriedly rushing over.
“Twilight, are you okay?”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine.” I gasped, reaching up to my horn. Another startled shout left my throat, it was hot like metal that has been soaking up the summer sun!
“Y-your horn is smoking…” Honeydew muttered.
“I must have used too much magic.” I replied, even though I know that couldn't be. My magic reserves were barely touched from my weak spells. But maybe it wasn’t about overall power. Relative to my size, I’d still squeezed an unordinary amount of magic through my horn. Maybe it was some kind of friction coming from too much magic being squeezed through a channel too narrow. “I’ll just build this sizzlepit normally.”
“No, you rest.” Honeydew ordered, already back on his legs as he gathered up our bags. “You need to get some rest, more than we do. Remember, you need to be able to fight a spirit at the end of this.” With that, he nodded to Kalypso, who groaned, but also rolled onto her hooves, grasping her own bags.
“But-” I stared at the pair as they swiftly piled up the sizzlegrass in a spot they’d freed from the snow. “We could’ve done it all together.” I closed, dragging myself closer to the warm aura.
“It wasn’t that much work.” Kalypso shrugged. “How does your horn feel?”
“B-better.” casting down my eyes, I resisted the temptation to touch it. “Give me a few hours, and I should be able to cast spells like before.”
“That’s reassuring.” Honeydew swallowed, glanced to my horn, then blushed as I caught his look. “Sorry…”
“You still find it weird?” I whispered.
“I don’t want to lie… yes, it does.” he replied so quietly that I could barely make it out over the storm outside. “It’s easier to forget that you’re not a breezie when you look just like us. Now, you- well, don’t.”
“Sorry.” heaving a sigh, resting my eyes as I curled into a resting position. “If it bothers you that much-”
My voice cut off as he sat down behind me, shielding my side not warmed by the sizzlepit. “Your horn saved us right now, and it saved Kalypso before. I-I may need some more time to get used to it, but if I can love you without a horn, then I can love you with it, too.” his hooves reached around me as what he’d just said sunk in. An intense heat suddenly grew in my face as I sunk into his hooves, brushing my cheek against the fur of his leg. Quietly, so much so that he wouldn’t have heard even without the storm, I breathed:
“I love you too.”
And with that, resting comfortably in his embrace, warmed from both sides, I was ready to drift to sleep.
The tree lurched to the side, throwing us all against the wall. Screaming in shock as we were violently torn from out semi-sleep, we fell over one another, trying to get away from the sizzlegrass which was burning small holes into our coats. Suddenly, from somewhere deep below, there was an almighty crack. And with our terror-laden shouts, the tree began to fall..
My panicked scream was drowned out by the sound of cracking wood as the falling tree suddenly came to a halt. Gasping for air, I rolled away from the crooked ground littered in both wilted and still glowing sizzlegrass. With the shock leaving my body, I had to grit my teeth in order to ignore the painful burns forming where they’d fallen on my body. At my side, Honeydew pulled Kalypso to her hooves. Both of them seemed just as shocked, with him showing a nasty spot on his cheek where his coat had been reduced to blackened stubble. “Are you both okay?” he screamed over the deafening roars of the storm.
“I’m fine.” Kalypso answered. Too short on breath to speak, I just nodded. “W-what happened? Are we safe?”
“I don’t know.” he hauled himself up the now-inclined way to the exit, tightly grasping the wooden edge as he peeked outside. “It looks like our fall was stopped by another tree.” he swallowed. “But it doesn’t look too-”
He was cut off by another sound of snapping wood, causing our shelter to lurch several feet downwards before once again coming to a halt.
“It’s not safe here!” my shrill voice echoed inside the treehole as I scrambled back to my hooves, feeling my heart drumming in my throat.
“We can’t stay here.” Kalypso agreed.
“But where do we go?” I yelled, not caring if my voice cracked. “There’s no way we can build another shelter in this storm!”
“But we can’t sit here either.” she shot back. “We need to search for something else!”
“You want to look around blindly?” I felt myself growing hysterical. Please, give us a way out, I silently begged of her. The thought of stumbling blindly in this storm scared me nearly as much as just getting smashed to paste in this tree, and it was horrifyingly clearly shaping up to be our only option. Please, Kalypso, have a vision of a safe place or something! However, Kalypso only bit her lip, staring out into the storm with terrifying uncertainty. The answer, however, came from the exit, where Honeydew was scouting out the snowy masses.
“We won’t be going out blind.” he said sternly. “I know a place closeby. I’d hoped to avoid it, but-” Once more, a loud crack burst through the noise of the storm. Honeydew’s feelers stood upright in an instant as he glanced up our fallen tree. “OUT! NOW!”
In a rush, we all threw ourselves out into the open, a mere moment before the last branches holding our tree broke. With a mighty thwomp, it crashed into the ground, throwing up snow to either side.
It was only the brief moment in the tree’s wind-shadow that allowed me to throw up a magical shield around us before the storm could blow us away. Still, I could feel it beating against the purple bubble around us like a hammer to the back of my head. “Stay close!” I commanded the others, grasping their forehooves with mine. “Honeydew, where?”
Quickly shaking off his surprise at the magical shield, he pointed to a spot in the snow, at the base of a nearby tree. “Somewhere there.” he replied, before biting his lip. “I-I recognise the tree, but it may take us a while to find it.”
“We don’t have a while!” Kalypso cut in, squeezing my hoof. Sweat was now running down my brow and I could feel my horn growing hotter already.
“It’ll be easier when we land!” I cut them both off as I pulled them both downwards, landing in the thick snow. Having reached the ground, I was now able to limit my shield to a simple, aerodynamic dome, deflecting the air instead of resisting. “Honeydew, what are you looking for?!”
“Tunnel.” he briskly responded, swiftly trotting across the snow banks. “Let’s hope I can find it under all this snow.”
“A tunnel? Are we looking for another breezie clan?”
Just as he was about to answer, the snow beneath his hooves broke apart, causing him to drop into a hidden cavity.
“I-I think I found it!” he shouted upwards, grinning sheepishly at our worried expressions as we looked down from above. Cautiously, we followed after him, taking care that our hooves did not slip on ice or accidentally tried to hold on to loosened snow.
Once we’d reached the bottom, I allowed my shield to collapse and took a deep breath, allowing the heat on my forehead to disperse. A thick, earthy and somewhat foul smell caused my nostrils to flare. Honeydew, illuminated by his own feelers, stood in a dark tunnel. “We shouldn’t lounge around at the entrance.” he explained as he helped me back on my hooves.
The tunnel he led us into was unexpectedly slim, not even allowing two of us to go side-by-side. Heck, if I hadn’t lost a bit of weight since my arrival, I still might have found it cramped at some parts. What kind of breezie lives here? I wondered, narrowing my eyes as I tried to examine the tunnel walls. Honeydew’s light was dim, but the many dancing shadows made it abundantly clear how rough the walls of this tunnel were, like it had been haphazardly glued together from pebbles. Back in our village, the walls had been so smooth that you could trail your own hoof over it like glass. Reaching out now, I was shocked to realize that it was indeed not made of snow, but both soft and hardened earth. We weren’t just under the cover of snow, we were truly underground now! And our path still led downwards. Moving my head to the side, I tried to peek past Honeydew, but the path ahead was cloaked in darkness. Our world had now shrunk to a couple feet of light piercing a pervasive void. The noise of the storm was already lost to the crunching of earth beneath our hooves as our path split in two. The stench coming from them was now so strong that I covered my nose.
Behind us, I could hear Kalypso mutter under her breath: “we shouldn’t have come here.”
Honeydew came to a halt, so sudden that I almost bumped into him. “We needed shelter.” he replied, his volume restrained, as if he was afraid of speaking too loudly. “It was the only place I could think of.”
That did not help my nerves. “Uhm, Honeydew? W-where are we?”
It was Kalypso who gave the brisk answer: “We are in a burrow of Farin Gaela. Without giving them a warning, which means we’re intruding!”
Furrowing my brows, I searched my brain for that word. “We’re in an ant hive?”
“Yes.” Honeydew nodded. “B-but don’t worry, with winter ongoing, the ants will all be asleep.”
“That’s the hope.” Kalypso hissed. “Ants do not take kindly to intruders.”
“Farin Gaela is our elder’s friend.” Honeydew rebutted. “I’ve met her before, too. Even if she was up, she might help us.”
“A-and what if she doesn’t?” I asked, unable to keep my voice from stammering.
“Then… I hope you can teleport us out.”
“Back into the storm?!”
“Do you have a better plan?” his voice sounded almost hopeful as his gaze went from me to Kalypso.
Neither of us spoke. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Honeydew faced the parting tunnel once again. “I know a path through the hive that should even bring us closer to our goal- if the direction stays roughly the same.” he added with a glance to Kalypso. “I-It will take us straight through Farin Gaela’s chambers. But with a bit of luck, it should just be a long, boring walk.”
Boring was not a word I would have used, or even conceived of, I thought as I huddled closely behind Honeydew. The path had now gotten so slim that I could not spread my wings anymore, not even a little, and my head was lowered, so as to not knock it into a root or whatever had bulged out of the ceiling a few minutes ago. And we were still heading downwards, unable to see more than a glimpse of what was infront of us as we climbed through the empty tunnel in silence, the only sound being our own hooves scratching over small pebbles stuck in the ground. Suddenly, Honeydew gasped, sucking air through his teeth as he stood frozen in place, gazing at the path ahead. I followed his gaze, my heart drumming in my throat as my nerves laid bare. A stench of rancid fruit hung in the air as we quietly waited.
Then, Honeydew took a hesitant step forward, and his sphere of light revealed the ant from the darkness, about as tall as a Winona would be on breezie scale. My breath was stuck in my throat, eyes locked on the insect as it stood perfectly still, like a statue. For three full seconds we stared at the ant as though we were petrified. Then, its antennae began to move, drumming rapidly against the floor. Honeydew took a step back, the light of his feelers flickering as the insect suddenly scuttled toward us, mandibles clicking in the air.
“Halt!” Honeydew spoke quickly, clicking his tongue in a manner somewhat like the insect, yet it showed no sign of understanding or even hesitating. “We’re not intruders, the queen knows us- TWILIGHT BACK OFF!” as he screamed, he was already mid-jump, giving me no time to react as his body rammed into mine, throwing us both to the ground. Reeling from the sudden impact, I let out a panicked scream as I felt something touch my hoof, something foreign! The ant had grabbed my leg! Another scream burst from my throat as I tried to pull away, before a dull, wooden impact sound forced it off of me. Honeydew, now free to untangle himself, had delivered a strong buck to the ant’s skull, causing it to stagger back. Ichor now dropped from its mandibles as the sound of furious clicking filled the tunnel.
“Get back!” Honeydew screamed, clenching his teeth around the handle of his knife, the long tooth reflecting the light of his feelers. “That’s just a worker, We need to get out before the others come!”
But before we could get our bearings, the insect charged forward. Honeydew reached out, apparently trying to stem his hoof against its head, but instead it suddenly rose up, two if its legs lifting in the air as its mandibles sunk into Honeydew’s leg. With a pained scream, he tried to pull back, but the ant’s head snapped around, hauling Honeydew’s whole body, his back scraping over the wall as it threw him into the tunnels behind itself, cutting us off one another.
We barely had time to scream before it charged us, its legs a blur as its mandibles clicked, reddened from droplets of blood. Reeling back, I tried to kick out, hoping to keep it away as I drew energy toward my horn to blast the monster with.
In that moment, a much larger set of mandibles closed around the ant’s head. Suddenly lifted off the ground, it let out a shrill screech, before, with a tremendous crack, the mandibles closed.
I could not breathe, only stare in abject horror as the still twitching body of our previous attacker dropped to the ground before an even larger insect. Three times as tall as the worker, this soldier ant regarded us for a still second. Unable to move a single muscle, I watched Honeydew get up behind it, licking over a bloody lip. His tongue clicked, drawing the attention of the ant. Suddenly, a sweet smell pierced the thick stench. Honeydew nodded, twitching his feelers in a manner akin to the insect.
Suddenly, the ant’s head whipped back to us, as the steps of many, many crawling limbs resounded through the tunnel. After a few more clicks to Honeydew, the soldier rushed past us.
“W-what happened?” I asked the moment it was out of sight.
“It told us to go to the queen.” Honeydew grimaced, his gaze wandering over the ground for a moment before his back suddenly arched.
“You’re hurt!” Kalypso exclaimed, glancing at a thin trickle of blood running over his back.
“Just bruises!” he deflected, despite speaking through clenched teeth. “We need to get to the queen.”
“But why did the other ant attack us?” I asked, hearing my own voice pitch with panic. “What if that happens again, are we welcome or not?”
“I don’t know!” he hissed back as he stiffly trudged through the tunnel, seemingly in an effort to not strain his back. “There is only one will in a hive! They should either all be friendly or not. The only exception is if they were attacked by other ants, but then we would have met a soldier ant, not a worker! Not to mention that they should all be asleep anyway. None of this makes any sense.” he concluded with a shake of his head.
A slight rustling infront of us was our only warning before one soldier ant after the other rushed past us, not even giving us a glance as we were forced to press ourselves against the wall to let them pass. I heard Honeydew sucking in air through his teeth and I was sure this was no good for his open wounds. For minutes, we remained there, was what must be over a hundred ants scuttled past us. At times, I thought I saw a strange shimmer on more of their heads, but each time they were gone before I was able to get a closer look.
The last ant in the convoy halted before us, clicking its mandibles a few times before turning around. We glanced to Honeydew, but he only nodded before following the ant himself.
After a few minutes, following another junction, I watched Honeydew grow more tense, as his head shifted around, checking our surroundings. “This isn’t right, the larvae chambers shouldn’t be this way…”
“What do you suggest?” Kalypso hissed. “Do you think it’s leading us into a trap?”
“We’re in a hive with ten-thousand ants, Kalypso.” Honeydew whispered sourly. ”I don’t think one can be more trapped than that.”
As he spoke, the tunnel walls spread open, his glowing feelers barely illuminating the chamber’s entrance. Even before me and Kalypso added our own light, I could feel myself shudder at the sound of thousands of scuttling insectile legs. The chamber was teeming with chaotic activity, ants of all sizes running to and from everywhere in inscrutable purpose. The stench was horrifying, like a million different scents all mixed up in one thick smog upsetting my stomach. Workers ran past like an assembly line, carrying white, oval-shaped larvae to a pile at the end of the chamber. Soldier ants marched out of some other tunnel while another group came in, dragging seemingly injured ones with them.
And none of them seemed to acknowledge the three breezies in their midst as they went about their business. I could feel Kalypso’s hoof brushing against mine, the seer keeping so close to my side that she nearly caused me to trip. I was glad for the reassuring presence, but the sheer idea of falling, then being walked over by the ants-
Violently shaking my head, I tried my best to banish that thought out of my mind, it was creepy enough when they were their regular size instead of reaching up to my knee! Shivering, I glanced at a group of soldier ants breaking off their unit. They seemed to wait until several workers approached them, salivating something goopy. They’re feeding the soldiers, I realized, remembering what Fluttershy once told me. Soldier ants are so specialized for their purpose, they literally cannot eat by themselves. Makes sense, I mentally added as I watched their enormous mandibles practically encompass the worker’s heads. Those things would really get in the way.
A faint shimmer across those mandibles made me narrow my eyes. I hadn’t had a chance to get a closer look before, but now I could clearly see light dancing across those natural weapons, not like the rest of their carapace, the sheen almost looked… metallic. As if its mandibles had been coated in copper. Or maybe even bronze, I couldn't tell the difference in this lighting. Had the ants in this world figured out how to work metal?!
“Twilight.” A rough poke on my shoulder brought me back to the present.
“I-I’m here!”
“Good.” Honeydew nervously glanced around. “We do not keep Farin Gaela waiting.”
The ant queen rested in-between newly dug out holes for the many larvae, surrounded by watchful soldier ants. She was massive, larger than a normal breezie and at least four times the weight. Her mandibles clicked at out arrival, the large body shifting slightly to acknowledge our presence. Using his tongue, Honeydew responded in kind.
“Your circumstances have forced you. Your intrusion is justified.” My eyes widened as the queen spoke, her voice dry, rough, like she was gurgling sandstone. “I wish we could offer hospitality, but you have caught us at dangerous times, son of the wind-god.”
“Honored earth-daughter,-” Honeydew began, but a loud click from the queen silenced him.
“And yet, you arrive in the middle of a catastrophe. Your kind should not be moving about at times as cold as this, either. What happened at the surface that brought you here?”
“What is happening here?” I burst out, almost startling myself that I’d actually spoken. Well, no way back now, I thought and swallowed, trying to ignore the stares of all the ants around me- “We were attacked on our way here, but Honeydew said that shouldn’t have happened b-because it was a worker, and…” my mouth opened and closed as that train of thought abruptly halted. “And… and why does this place look like a warzone?! Is another swarm invading? How could they even get here without freezing?” Catching my breath, I nervously sought out Honeydew’s eyes, hoping my outburst wouldn’t get us in trouble…
“I am under attack from my own swarm, young wind-daughter. Those that have gone to the farthest reaches of the hive, ventured too far from the scent of their mother, they have been twisted.” she rose up, a bristling rage in her voice as the soldiers around her clicked their metal-coated mandibles in agitation. “ They woke from their slumber. They no longer recognize their mother, tear into their own homes like raiders of a distant swarm, kill their sisters and push back my soldiers. The lowest tunnels have fallen to them. I have left the brood-chambers as they bunched up in such great numbers that I could no longer guarantee the safety of our larvae.”
Ants turning away from their queen? I wracked my brain, trying to remember if Fluttershy ever mentioned something like this, but to no avail. Ants were practically organic machines, what could cause them to act like this?! Honeydew seemed equally confused, shrugging as I met his eyes.
“Then,” kalypso spoke up, stepping forth, eliciting a spout of rapid clicking from the queen as she stood before her. “It is not safe for us to go on our way?”
“You are a deep-eyed one.” the queen’s antennae reached down, touching Kalypso’s. “Your presence here… strange. Rare. Coincides with our disaster. What is your destination?”
Kalypso, trembling under the sudden attention and fighting not to pull away from the queen, took a deep breath. Swallowing, she took a moment to compose herself.
“T-the winds of Fjermengard are free- a-at least one of the spirits is, and we think it’s only one.”
“Spirits…” The queen hissed, “it explains this winter. But we cannot influence the paths they take.”
“M-maybe we can.” Kalypso said, raising her head to appear more confident, even as he legs quivered. “I had a vision, and assistance… a friend who might be able to stand up to a spirit, if we can get to the place in my vision, a frozen pond, out… somewhere.”
“A friend who can fight spirits?” Even with my limited experience, I could hear the doubt in the queen’s voice. “But regardless, the news of a spirit of ice... it is troubling.”
“That it is.” Kalypso agreed. “Farin Gaela, please, all we need is safe travel through your hive, to the- the, uh...” she stammered, glancing at Honeydew.
“the tunnel exit leading north of the mountain of ancient fire.”
“Y-yes.” Kalypso sheepishly nodded.
At that, the queen’s antennae froze. “Those tunnels have fallen.” she explained. “I cannot guarantee you safe passage there, wind-daughter.”
“But-” Kalypso exclaimed, her eyes widening at the news. “Our mission- we have to stop the spirit-”
“However, if you are committed to your cause,” the queen said darkly as she rose up, looming above us. “When the surface grows bright once more, we will attack the maddened. You may use this to slip by them, entering one of our deepest tunnels. It will bring you close to your destination. This is all I can offer."
The signal came as sudden as it was quiet, yet there was no mistaking it as every ant in the chamber came to a sudden halt. The difference was so extreme that Kalypso rose from her slumber, blinking against the dim light.
“Shh.” Honeydew whispered before she could make a sound. “It is time.”
As he spoke, a new wave of motion came through the crowded chamber, but unlike the previous chaotic shuffling, they now moved with unmistakable purpose as all the smaller ants opened the paths for the larger soldier ants to scuttle onwards into the tunnels, their mandibles clicking in anticipation.
“That’s our cue.” Honeydew whispered hoarsely as he rose from the tiny patch of dirt we’d been given to rest. In a swift motion, he swung his saddlebags onto his back before helping me and Kalypso do the same. Briefly, his hoof touched the little sheath on his bag where the knife would’ve been, and a look of sorrow crossed his face. As insignificant as it would’ve been in the grand scale of things, his weapon would’ve made me feel a bit safer, too. But Honeydew just lowered his hoof, facing the tunnels with a stern expression. “We’ll have to follow them and try to skirt around the battle.”
I think the fact that we wouldn’t be going right into the fighting was the only thing that allowed me to move my stiff legs as I followed Honeydew toward the tunnel. The ants briefly halted at our approach, allowing us to squeeze past before continuing just as before, so we had to adopt their pace. It forced me to push my already tired legs. It’d been hard to get much rest in the ever-bustling chamber, and with the anticipation of what was to come the next morning, we’d only caught brief naps in-between periods of silent waiting.
Swallowing, I told myself to keep going, keep following, trying my best to push away the thought of just what I was heading toward… The sound of a thousand marching ants was already enough to make my skin tingle, as I couldn't help but imagine insects crawling over my body everywhere I couldn't see. My nerves were so on edge that I almost burst out screaming when a real ant crawled past, using a brief widening in the tunnel to get ahead of us.
And this ant was friendly. Maybe that thought should’ve been reassuring, but I could only shudder. “A-are we sure this is a good idea?”
“Farin Gaela wouldn’t let us go unprotected” Honeydew claimed, but I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. “W-we’ll be going around the fighting after all.” Looking back, he asked: “are we going in the right direction?”
“I don’t think we’re going in the wrong direction.” Kalypso mumbled.
“Kalypso?” I began, “are you okay? You’ve been really quiet ever since we got down here.”
“I was?” Kalyps blinked, seemingly surprised by my observation. “I just feel like this place is wrong somehow…” she shuddered after those words. “We shouldn’t be here.”
“No surprise.” Honeydew muttered.
“The queen called you a deep-eyed one.” I said, trying to put on a smile, like we were just having a casual conversation in a casual place, not underground heading toward a hostile army.
“That’s just a name.” Kalypso took a deep breath of the musty air. “Ants believe that truth and knowledge lie with Jörgd deep below us in a great cave below an ocean of fire. They think that seers can get glimpses into the cave, where Jörgd gives us instructions or warnings.”
“And do you think that’s true?”
“If it is, I want to kindly ask if I could just get a clear look around for once instead of just glimpses.” she huffed. “I still don’t know what the frozen pond means, Twilight. I haven’t seen anything more since Myrmelsday, I’m just hoping it’ll all be clear once we find it.”
“It will.” I assured her. “I may not know all about your gods, but I have faith in you. You did find the portal after all.”
“Thank you.” she spoke the words so quietly that for a moment, I almost assumed I’d imagined them.
“No problem.” I responded, even briefly managing to wear a real smile. “Uhm, when the queen said we were moving toward a ‘mountain of fire”, did she mean that… literally?”
“I’m not sure.” Kalypso shrugged. “Windchime spoke of legends that it once housed a raging spirit, spewing fire over the world.”
“There is fire underground for sure.” Honeydew said. “I think the ants use it to make special rocks soft and hard again. It can make their soldiers invulnerable, if they survive the process.”
So those mandible blades I’d seen were made of metal! Probably bronze, judging from the color, though I could be wrong about that, considering the lighting. But what was that about surviving the process? I… wasn’t sure if I even wanted to figure this out or not.
The speed of the procession quickened. Suddenly, I was forced to step aside, squeezing myself into the tunnel walls as ants surged past, each and every one wearing those bronze blades on their mandibles.A few steps later, the light of Honeydew’s feelers touched the edge of the tunnel as it widened into another great, dark chamber, into which ants poured in, disappearing into the darkness with great haste, where I could only hear the pounding of uncountable legs into the gravelly dirt. Then, just as Honeydew was about to step into the chamber, a horribly shrill sound from deep within the chamber made us stop in our tracks while our ears folded back. Metal scraped against metal, creating small sparks in the otherwise complete darkness.
And just like that, as sound exploded in the tight tunnels, the battle for the hive had begun. In an instant, the sound of the one fight expanded hundredfold, as ants rushed in and out our limited circle of light. My heart raced as I stared into the void, but I couldn't make out a thing! Ants screamed out, a shrieking chirp, followed by rips and cracks, coming from every side at once-
“Twilight!” Honeydew screamed, barely audible over the blind carnage. He stood right at the periphery of my visibility. “Don’t just stand there, we need to move.”
But my legs were frozen to the ground. We couldn't do this, going further in was insane! We couldn't see which side was winning, we would run right into the murderants without even knowing! I wanted to go back into the tunnel, away from this crazy underground deathtrap, I WANTED OUT!
Something warm grabbed my hoof. Screaming, I nearly fell over, stumbling into a warm body. Kalypso hissed as she grabbed my hoof tighter. “COME!” She yelled.
“We gotta go back!” I tried to resist, but her pull was stronger than I was. Struggling, I tried to tell her we had to turn back, to find another way, as I shot a look back. And my blood froze as I realized I couldn't see the exit anymore.
Suddenly, an ant launched into our circle of light. Immediately, another insect engaged, their mandibles interlocking as both fought to get a bite on the other. I couldn't make out who won as we ran past them, I didn’t even know which one was on our side! My heart was beating like a jackhammer as we blindly raced through the chamber, Honeydew nearly out of sight, Kalypso at my side, ants everywhere we had to dodge as they ripped each other to pieces. Where are we going? Does Honeydew even know?!
I only had brief second of warning, a motion in the corner of my eye, before a weight rammed into my side and knocked me into a nearby wall. Dazed, disoriented it was only pure luck that allowed me to ram my hoof into the ants body before it's bladed mandibles could tear me open. While stronger, the ant was at least still lighter than me, so even my weak strike was enough to knock it back. The insect recovered quickly however, clicking it's mandibles with a bone-chilling metallic screech before attacking once more.
But it hadn’t counted on me being more than a breezie.
The next moment, a blazing stream of purple energy threw the ant back across the chamber, and for a brief second, the whole room was exposed to the naked eye. Hundreds, if not thousands of ants were locked in their merciless battle to the death, climbing over the bodies of their allies, both living and dead, to get to the enemy, wwith still more ants streaming from nearly every tunnel. And just before the light faded away once more, a large group of them raised their heads to look right at me, freezing the blood in my veins as the dark shrouded them once more.
With only a swift glance to Kalypso, I took off toward Honeydew, a scream burning in my throat, yet all air was needed just to keep my heart from giving out as I ran for my life, the scuttling of ants seeming to drown out every other noise as we reached a side tunnel. Please, Celestia, let it be the right one. I managed to spare a thought to the silent prayer before whirling around, shooting a gleaming web out of my horn, blocking the entrance behind us and allowing us to see our pursuers clearly.
If there were ants on our side, they were quickly overpowered as the swarm piled onto the shield, some even climbing atop as they sank their mandibles into the magical web, as if trying to unravel the magic by literally ripping it apart.
Worst of all, it wasn’t without success! Nearly instantly, I felt the heat rising in my horn, a result of dramatically underestimating the strength of these insects, and how much magic it took at this size to keep a whole swarm of them out. A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead as I slowly stepped back,.
In my effort, I’d missed it. The low grumbling, the rattling of the ground beneath my hooves, until it exploded into a roar of shattering earth, casting dust from the ceiling as the world began to shake. My side hit the floor, and I screamed as rocks dug into my already sore side. With my concentration broken, the barrier flickered out of existence, allowing the swarm to pile in. Terrified, I rolled onto my hooves.
The ceiling broke apart. From one moment to the other, I found myself on the ground once more, my heart hammering in my chest. Dust coated my mouth as I tried to breathe and broke out in violent coughing. My eyes watered and I waved a hoof to disperse the dust, but nothing helped as a stabbing pain grew in my chest, I had to breathe!
Next thing I knew, I was sliding across the ground, saw an orange hue coloring the cloud of dust, and my wheezing breath caught a bit of fresh, stale underground air!
“Twilight,” I heard Honeydew’s voice like it came from far away. “Are you okay?”
Unable to answer as another coughing fit took hold, I tried to haul myself up. Almost immediately, I could feel my knees buckle, but Honeydew rushed in to support me.
“Can you move?” Kalypso stepped into our sphere of light, wearing a look of worry. “I know you’re battered, but I’d rather not spend any more time down here than we have to.”
“Me neither.” I affirmed, grimacing at how raspy my voice sounded. “Who knows if this could happen again.” Narrowing my eyes, I glared up at the solid ceiling. I just wanted out of here already, to see the light of day or at least the moon again. Why couldn't it just go away?! Breathing a long sigh, I steered myself back to more rational thought. “Is this the right tunnel?”
“I think so.” Honeydew nodded as he slowly withdrew his support, allowing me to walk by my own strength again. “But I haven’t been here before, so I can’t say for sure. Not that it matters,” he added, pointing back where the rubble blocked the path. “There is only one way we can go.”
“I’d feel better, knowing we were on the right track.” I muttered under my breath as I rubbed my sore spots.
A light rumble went through the ground, causing us all to freeze on the spot. With my heart hammering, I stared at the ceiling , but the quake had already stopped, doing no more than cause a bit of dust to whirl up. Still, it took us several more moments to continue onwards.
My nerves were stretched to the breaking point as we creeped through the tunnel. We may have circumvented the battle, but there was still a whole hive of hostile ants somewhere out there, there could be hundreds heading right toward us this very moment! Every now and then, another tremor would add a new shock to my already upset heart.
Suddenly, Honeydew came to a halt, hissing as he glanced at something in front of him. After the first startled second, it became clear that whatever it was, it wasn’t dangerous, as Honeydew didn’t simply drew his head back. “You… you should come see this.” he whispered, ushering us forward.
It was dead. The realisation came almost quicker than the observation that it was an ant. An ant so dismembered, so brutally torn to pieces that I felt sickly just looking at it. Even the individual segments were cracked open, leaving parts of the poor insects as mere shards of chitin.
“I- ants don’t do this, right?” Kalypso whispered.
“Usually not.” Honeydew bit his lip. “But nothing about this is normal.”
“Well, it’s creeping me out.” she shuddered as she looked away from the corpse. “Even more reason not to stick around.”
Giving her a quick nod, I shot one last look at the remains, before- my thoughts ground to a halt as I perceived something from the corner of my eyes, a spot in which the darkness seemed even more dense, amassed around a single, flickering dot. Whirling around, I tried to get a better look-
Nothing. A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead as I stared into the darkness, even increased the light from my feelers, but still nothing!
The darkness was getting to me…
Suppressing a shiver, I followed the others. It must’ve been my imagination, being in the dark for so long, obviously you’d start seeing things…
Of course, there was something that had dismembered the ant further back. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to banish those thoughts out of my brain, yet they were like slimy eels, sliding out of my mental grasp with surprising agility.
It was eerie, only being able to hear your own sounds. Even in the forest, there had always been the rustling of leaves in the wind. Even after snowfall, there’d been the whistling of the wind or the creaking of snow-laden branches. Now it was just our own hoofsteps, resounding in our confined space.
“Something’s wrong…” I could hear Kalypso whisper. “I feel like something’s watching us.”
Honeydew silently trudged on, neither affirming nor disagreeing with her.
I took a deep breath, biting on my underlip to calm it down. “L-lets just go on.” I muttered. At least there hadn’t been a quake in a while. Something to take a degree of comfort in.
“How long until we reach the exit?” I asked.
“I haven’t been here, how would I-”
“Guess, then.” I demanded, feeling a shiver go through my body as we passed a root bursting from the ceiling. For a moment, it had looked to me like the leg of some spider-like creature.
We shouldn’t be here, I thought, unable to ignore the… wrongness I felt about this place.
“Well, we’re not going further down anymore.” he said. “So I think we’re at the deepest part, so… maybe we’ll arrive in the afternoon.
I had no idea when that would be, an hour? Two? Six? But I knew better than to ask for specif-
A faint scratching noise disrupted my thoughts, like a razor-sharp claw that almost quietly parted a piece of paper. My whole body tingling, I turned back to the source of the noise.
The root had moved. From the dark outline I could make out now hung a long, spindly leg, reaching all the way to the ground. As I watched, another slowly grew out of the ceiling, moving almost gracefully, gloomier than even the surrounding darkness.
Suddenly, I felt something strike against my cheek. “RUN!” Kalypso shouted in my face, her expression wracked by blank fear
Hearing a light thump behind me was all I needed to take off, spurned on by the sound of metal clicking on rock at a rapid pace. “It’s catching up!” I gasped, channeling energy into my horn, erecting a glowing barrier in the creature’s path, a grin growing on my face-
Before the creature sliced through the barrier like an overripe tomato. A stabbing pain tore into my horn and I let out a scream as I ran once more, my heart ready to burst in my chest.
“DON’T LOOK BACK, JUST RUN!” Kalypso screamed.
“I’m trying!” I gasped. “But I can’t keep-”
My eyes opened.
I was sitting on mulchy ground, my sore hooves resting in what I could only assume was mud. I blinked against the darkness. My feelers would only flicker when I tried to make light, as well as causing me a headache. With a frown, I poked my chest. Had it just been imagination? I certainly felt like I’d just ran for my life. And where were Kalypso and Honeydew?! Whirling around, I was about to shout their names when I clearly heard Kalypso’s voice.
“I think we got away. But we shouldn’t rest for too long. Something else could lurk in here.”
Got… away? Those words felt like a massive ball of ice in my stomach. Then it’d been real? But- what? “What was that?!” I blurted out, suddenly realizing just how dry my throat was. Nonetheless, I faced the direction I’d heard her voice come from.
A second later, Kalypso’s feelers lit up, revealing her expression, a twitchy, fearful look in her sunken eyes. “All I know was that it felt wrong, Twilight, I’ve never seen something like this before. A-and if I had, I’d probably not be here anymore!”
“So neither of you have gotten a clear look at it, either?” Honeydew asked.
We shook our heads.
“Uhm.. how did we get away?”
“Pure luck.” Kalypso sighed. “Another cave-in separated us from the monster…. You dropped to the ground shortly after, I thought it was your doing.”
My… but- causing cave-ins was insanity, I- my head hurt.
“We have very few tales of underground creatures.” Kalypso whispered. “But… maybe it is connected to the winds of Fjermengard. Remember the myth? The battles between the Heistin and Jörgd caused great damage to the world they fought over. Jörgd’s realm is the ground, earth… who says the depth of the earth do not contain horrors as terrible as the ocean? Maybe the spirits of the earth are rising to fight the spirit of ice!”
Puzzled, I rose a hoof. “That... isn’t that a good thing?”
“Are you blind?!” she barked at me, her feelers growing brighter. “Haven’t you seen the ant hive, or the thing that just chased us?! Great damage to the world, Twilight. Maybe they can fight off the winds, but who knows if there’ll be a forest left here after they’re done!” She took a deep breath before turning to Honeydew. “Get us out of here, please. I am sick of this place.”
“O-of course, Frindrì.” He nodded, and we continued our path. To the surface.
Seeing the first glimpse of light was like awakening from a dream. Compared to the previous darkness, this thin stream of brightness was blinding, like a solid white gas pouring into the depths, promising an end to the crawling inside these tunnels.
“We’re here!” Honeydew shouted with glee. Our resolve renewed, we practically ran through the final stretch, even as our eyes hurt from the sudden adjustment to daylight, despite the weary exhaustion that had set in during our long trek.
Finally, at the outskirt of the tunnel, we broke down. Cold air swept into our hole, making the ground mildly uncomfortable to sit on, but that couldn't stop us from grinning as we looked straight out the side of a steep slope. Only our exit seemed to be in a nearly vertical, rocky outcrop, which had prevented the snow from completely blocking the tunnel.
Taking a deep breath of the fresh, cold air, I started stretching my hooves- and howled in pain as my limbs cramped up, causing me to roll up on the ground.
Honeydew and Kalypso immediately rushed to make sure I was okay. To my endless dismay, neither of them even seemed very stiff in their movements!
“Hurts?” Honeydew whispered, wearing a gentle smile.
How dare you not share in my suffering?! “Y-yes…” I gasped, breathing through my teeth as pain flared through my legs. Stupid able-bodied forest-dwellers...
If Honeydew was aware of my brain’s lashing out, he didn’t show a sign as he set his bags down on the ground. A moment later, a delicious smell reached my nose as he uncorked one of the ant-skulls he used as containers. He raised the skull to his lips, drinking from it like one would from a bowl. As he pulled away, his mouth was stained in a blue-ish substance, which he eagerly lapped up. “Drink.” he offered, holding the skull out for me.
Somewhat reluctant to touch the body part after the battle we’d witnesses… sorta, I instead opted to pick it up in my magic, eliciting a surprised yelp from Honeydew as it was snatched from his hooves and raised to my lips.
A sweet taste of mulberry rolled onto my tongue as a thick, almost goopy mass, more like cupcake batter than a fluid. My surprise was easily beaten by my hunger though, as I practically shoveled the food down my gullet, moaning as delicious calories began to fill up the cavern that had opened in my stomach. I breathed a relieved sigh as I set the empty skull down, my hunger sated for the moment. Only then did I notice the giggling coming from Honeydew and Kalypso.
“You eat like you thought it was going to run away if you gave it a chance.” he chuckled. “Just like the first time we met, remember?”
I just nodded, not trusting my voice enough to attempt to speak. I already felt heat growing in my cheeks as I remembered back to how I’d devoured the food he’d offered, the glimpse of shame as I’d been certain I’d eaten more than he’d intended to share- did I really have a habit of tossing all dignity aside if I went even just a day without food?
And with hayburgers. A voice in my head pointed out.
Oh, hey, snarky brain! I almost missed you. I thought back, rolling my eyes. I could almost ignore the raised eyebrows of my friends. Instead, I simply leaned against the wall, content to just rest my legs, allowing my overtaxed muscles to untense. “I’m gonna be so sore tomorrow…” I sighed, levitating a bit of snow over and letting it melt in my mouth. Drinking like this made my gums ache, but it was certainly better than having to carry all our water with us. To my left, I saw Kalypso chewing on a sizeable chunk of walnut, her eyes closed, making her look half-asleep. “Should we really eat this much of our supplies?” I wondered.
“You’re one to ask, you glutton.” Kalypso replied dryly.
“We all need to regain our strength if we want to find the pond.” Honeydew interjected diplomatically. “Especially Twilight, she’ll need to be as fit as she can possibly be.” he added with a pointed look to Kalypso.
“But what if we don’t find it?” I argued, a bit louder than intended. “What if we run out of food first?”
Honeydew glanced out into the snowy landscape before shaking his head. “I can’t believe the gods would set us on the wrong path.” he replied, a steely undercurrent of conviction ringing is his voice.
“Though sometimes it is hard for us to determine which path they are meaning for us to take.” Kalypso said as she drew herself up. “But we are close. I can feel it.”
“Then we’ll be on our way soon.” Honeydew grinned. “We’ll just give Twilight a bit more rest and then we’re off!”
Excuse me? A part of me wanted to call him out on that remark, but it was massively overshadowed by the realization that the others were already good to go after just those few minutes! I’d thought that I’d somewhat acclimated to the physical requirements of breezie life. Now was another reminder that I was still not even keeping up.
Though, I supposed if I was feeling generous in my interpretation, he could have meant that I needed to be in full possession of all my strength, while the others just needed to endure the march to our goal. Yes, that had to be what he really meant. After all, they weren’t looking forward to the possibility of battling a powerful spirit… A shudder went down my back as I remembered the deathly cold of the windigo’s magic as it surged against my shield, taking every ounce of my strength just to not falter. I must have taken it by surprise back then, being able to resist its attack. I swallowed, feeling a lump in my throat that I just couldn't swallow down. I wouldn’t have the element of surprise this time. If it came to a fight, I’d have to match myself directly against it!
“Hey, Twilight.” I could hear Honeydew say, his tone entirely casual. “I wondered what you were planning to do after all this.”
After-? This question came so out of left field that I spent a moment just staring at him dumbfounded. “I- I suppose it wouldn’t be too hard travelling back without the magical winter, right?”
“The snow might not melt away entirely, but if it ends the ant’s problems, they might be willing to restock our supplies for our way home.” he paused, his feelers drooping a bit. “But what I wanted to ask… after all this, would you like to stay with us?”
My eyes widened. “I-” I began, but my voice broke. I’d always taken it for granted that I’d be coming back to Equestria. Sure, I had also considered how it would be to spend my life in this world, but only as a worst case scenario in which I couldn't return. But now… I pictured myself as part of the clan. Spending days of bad weather with Kalypso, discussing theories of magic and how it could pertain to her talents. Bringing small pieces of knowledge and technology to the clan and seeing it advance. Spending the nights with Honeydew, drinking fermented berry-juice with him as we made each other laugh over the silliest things… not having to leave him behind. For one brief moment, I wondered if this was the sort of life I could have here.
But then, I remembered those I would be leaving behind. My duty to the ponies of Equestria, who believed in their princess. My family, which was certainly worried sick about me and who couldn't bear if I just disappeared. And my friends, who I dearly missed, whose advise I’d craved so many times in this world.
Breathing a long sigh, I felt my antennae hanging close to my cheeks as I met his eyes. “I’m… sorry, Honeydew.” I said, feeling every word ache inside me. “But I have a life in Equestria. It’s too much to leave behind.”
“I understand.” he whispered, yet his voice rang hollow. “It wouldn’t be fair for me to expect this from you.”
We both stared at the ground in awkward silence.
“What if you come with her?” Kalypso offered.
“I can’t just go away.” he shook his head, giving me a sad glance. “I have duties to the clan. My sisters need me-”
“And that’s already like trying to steal honey from an angry bee-swarm.” she interjected. “You know Skylla isn’t going to forgive you, even if you stopped being a scout and took care of Harpy all the time.”
“That doesn’t mean it would be right to abandon them!”
“Well, you can keep trying the impossible and do both those things, or you could go with her.” Kalypso crossed her hooves.
“I- uhm…” I began, biting my lip as I tried to think of the right words. My heart yearned for him to agree, but I couldn't, wouldn’t allow myself to push him into a situation he would regret. “I would be glad to have you with me.”
Honeydew sat back, his eyes quickly darting to me before he fixated his glance on Kalypso. “Did the gods tell you what my future was going to be?”
At that, Kalypso jumped up, snarling as her voice rose heatedly. “Even if they did, I wouldn’t tell you. This is not their decision, it’s yours!”
“I-” he looked impossibly conflicted as he once again met my eyes. “I would be lying if I claimed that the thought of a world with things as big as you are… where that is normal, doesn’t scare me.” he swallowed. “And the clan needs a scout, especially once the snow melts. I’m needed here.”
“Maybe if we can find some sort of regularity in the portal…” I muttered. But I was acutely aware that this kind of study might take years, and that was if there even was an order to it.
Kalypso turned from one to the other, impatiently tapping her hoof. Eventually, she cleared her throat. “You know, I had a vision that you two were going to kiss now.”
Raising an eyebrow, I gave her a sceptical look. “I highly doubt that you did.” I claimed. The way she’d always explained it, her visions were usually strange and wrapped in metaphor, not something as clear as that!
Then I met Honeydew’s eyes as he drew closer, and my argument melted like a slice of butter in the dragonlands.
“We shouldn’t keep the gods waiting.” he whispered amusedly, his hoof reaching out for mine.
As I sank into his embrace, I saw Kalypso’s smug wink. Damn charlatan.
----
Eventually, our rest came to an end, when Kalypso poked me out of a tired stupor. With a gasp, I shook my head, trying to clear my mind.
“It’s too early to sleep yet.” Honeydew chuckled as he put on his bag once more.
“And we’re too close.” Kalypso whispered before leading the way out into the snow. The sun shone through small gaps in a gloomy sky, bathing us in a short-lived beam of light. Heaving a sigh, I began spreading my wings, feeling the muscles complain after such a long time of disuse. A small breeze tried to blow us off-track. It was gentle, yet delivering a freezing bite as it forced me to copy Kalypso’s motions in order to correctly ride the air currents. The seer was now leading, her feelers occasionally twitching in the air as he head spun around, like she was desperately seeking something she’d lost.
Unintelligible, even over such a soft breeze, I could nonetheless make out that she was mumbling to herself, at a rapid pace too. Like when I stood infront of a classroom before an exam, repeating all my notes to myself at nauseam. At least that had clear right and wrong answers. The wind slowly picked up, forcing us to correct our course, as our breath became thick fog, yet containing little warmth as I blew against my hoof.
After the slope, we had to glide around a stony hill, before we finally got inside the blessed windshield of surrounding trees, allowing us to steer more freely. And yet, the wind wasn’t just weaker…. It was like it had disappeared completely, which didn’t make sense considering how far apart the trees were, I probably could have flown through them as a pony without even paying much attention, and I was not a great flier.
“They’re old…” Honeydew said as he caught up, now flying next to me as he stared up at the trees, which I new realized were also much larger than any of the ones I’d seen before in the breezie world, their bark looking so thick and gnarly that I had no trouble imagining that they had been here for millenia, before the rest of the forest had even begun to take root. “We call them guardians.” he whispered, awestruck. “Their memories go so far back, they could have witnessed the gods themselves as they walked the same ground we do now.”
I simply nodded. While I wasn’t sure of that sentiment, I knew that trees could grow thousands of years old. If they could talk, what could they tell us about our history? What did they witness that even Celestia and Luna might have missed? Shelving those questions to the back of my mind, I simply looked over the barren trees, feeling an odd sense of peacefulness. Maybe the breezies were starting to turn me into a nature-lover. Heh… Fluttershy would be overjoyed if she knew. And yet, there was something else in the air, something that made my skin tingle-
My eyes widened as I noticed the sudden shift, like entering a snowstorm from an unheated home. The others had caught up a moment later, as we all stemmed our wings against the wind as best as we could, slowing ourselves into a controlled descent, nervously glancing in all directions, expecting that ethereal hollering to start at any moment. Yet all we heard as we landed was eerie silence, dampened by the fluttering of gently falling snowflakes.
The snow crept up to my knees as I stumbled forward in my somewhat clumsy landing. Honeydew was quickly at my side to stabilize me, but he didn’t chuckle as he usually would. His eyes were darting from tree-top to tree-top, his breath strained as he went to check up on Kalypso. “Where do we have to go now?” he quietly asked, brushing a bit of snow from her back.
“T-this way…” she whispered, her hoof jutting out at a mighty, old tree, with bark so deeply wrinkled that entire clumps of snow and ice had gotten stuck in the chasms. Meanwhile, it's branches grew so thick, they blocked out the sky, even without a single leaf adorning them.
And then, nearly causing us all to bury ourselves in the snow, we heard it, an echoing nicker, just as the windigo flew above the treetops, its empty eyesockets scanning the ground. I couldn't breathe, it was as if I’d lost all feeling in my throat. Then, the moment passed, as the spirit took seat atop the very tree Kalypso had pointed out…
Kalypso whimpered. “D-does it know?” her voice was subdued, terrified that the smallest sound could attract the adversary to come down upon us. “I-I can feel the source of my vision, it’s by that tree, but how can we get to it when it is watching?!” Even as quiet as she was, she managed to sound hysterical.
“At least it doesn’t seem like it knows we’re here.” Honeydew pointed out. His eyes hadn’t left the spirit for a moment, while it slowly drifted around the tree, sometimes passing right through a branch, sometimes snapping off another, like it was somehow both incorporeal and… not! The effect it had on the weather was clear, however. What had just been a gentle, if cold breeze had now grown into a more aggressive wind sweeping through the trees, blowing up snow into our sides, where it stung like small, sharp needles. Shivering, he turned glance at each of us. “We have to sneak past it.”
“It’s gonna kill us…”
“One way or the other, Kalypso.” he lowered his head. “We don’t have what we need to survive an eternal winter. Maybe the earth spirits will awaken and fight it off as you said, but who knows what kind of damage that could cause? Those spirits wouldn’t care if we got caught in the middle of their battle. Like it or not, your vision is our best hope.”
“My vision could be wrong… or- or I could have misread it!”
“Kalyspo!” I met her eyes, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I believe in you, okay, and- and…” I ran out of words. The whole speech I had prepared seemed to fall apart in my hooves. Taking a long breath, I grimaced as the icy air stung in my throat. “And let’s just go already, I’m freezing my hooves off!”
Despite the freezing temperature, despite our situation, Kalypso’s eyebrow rose in faint amusement. “That was terrible.” she said, a faint smirk twisting her lips. “Good to see you’re the same old Twilight!” Suddenly, she threw her hooves around my chest. Surprised by the sudden hug and the tight squeeze that followed, I tried my best to give it a dignified response. It went something along the lines of ‘hurk!’
It wasn’t easy, plodding through the snow, especially when you had to do it while evading the watchful eyes of a spirit both able and willing to turn you into a living icicle… which would then rapidly become a dead one. Thank the gods (and Celestia) that we were so small. Still, we’d first skirted below the branches of another tree, getting us out of the direct line-of-sight of the spirit. Nor did we leave any unnecessary tracks, allowing our tails to sweep the snow back into our hoofprints, helping to at least somewhat cover them. But this also made us slow, and every passing minute had our nerves laid even more bare. The temperature did the rest. Being so directly in its sphere of influence meant that there was no place the cold couldn't get to. My ears ached horribly, surging with pain each time the wind blew against us once more. My feelers were so numb that at one point, I actually checked if they hadn’t fallen off already, and my hooves felt like bloody stumps with shards of ice sticking out of them. My companions didn’t seem much better. Honeydew still trudged on bravely, but even he sometimes stopped to rub his hooves together or mutter a breezie-curse I wasn’t familiar with. Kalypso meanwhile had stuck the tip of her antennae inside her own mouth in a desperate attempt to suckle out the numbness.
Yet despite all that, we’d barely crossed half the distance. And to top it all off, the windigo had made no sign of wanting to leave anytime soon. Maybe I could… make it easier? Squinting, I could just about make out the top of my horn, adorned by snowflakes. I couldn't exactly summon a fire, that would alert the spirit for with its light, but… maybe if I cast it onto the ground, the fire would be hidden, and we would have warm vapour welling against us from below. It was hidden, subtle and, as long as I didnt overdo it, not very taxing either. Shivering, I waited until we were once more hidden behind the thick, low-hanging branches of another tree. “Don’t be startled.” I quietly told the others. With my horn lighting up, I smirked as a soft hiss reached my ears. Warmth rolled over my frozen limbs, so strong in the sudden contrast that it was on the border of being painful, like jumping into a hot tub after a visit to Yakyakistan.
But whatever enjoyment I could have had was brutally whisked away by a long, hollering shout from above. The windigo had launched itself from the treetops, surging toward our position like an eagle to its prey. With a stifled scream, I threw myself into the snow, hoping it would hide my from the spirits wrath. A moment later, I felt my back’s nerves cry out in pain as something unbelievably frigid lanced through the air, just a few inches above me.
“Twilight!” I heard Honeydew’s panicked voice. Tearing my head out of the snow, I spotted him and Kalypso wildly gesturing near a tree-stem, they’d chosen flight instead of hiding. Suddenly, a thick branch rammed into the snow beside me, entirely encompassed in ice. Rolling out of my hole, I felt my eyes widen. The windigo’s attack had torn through the tree’s branches, tearing many right off. But those at the periphery had instead frozen solid, turned into icicles more than living wood, some of them long enough to injure a pony if one landed on them. Then I heard a loud crack. Driven entirely by instinct, I was on my hooves before I knew it, running from a barrage of frozen wood plunging down, narrowly missing me as I dashed towards Kalypso’s shouts. My heart hammering, I launched myself the final few steps into the relative safe zone below the stem. They caught me, pulling my to the stem where I told my thundering heart to calm down. Then, looking up through the breach in the branches, I came eye to eye with the windigo. Its eye sockets glew in a deep blue, encompassing me in their deathly cold, freezing the blood in my veins as I felt my sweat crystallize on my skin. A scream tore it's way out of my throat as the beast’s jaw opened, an icy glow in its throat foretelling the next attack.
My horn sparked as I grabbed Honeydew’s and Kalypso’s hooves, the breezies only staring in horror as the spirit unleashed its attack.
Gasping the icy air, we popped into existence at the base of the large tree, my heart about to suffocate in adrenaline as I jumped to my hooves. This was now the second time I’d escaped the spirit by a hair’s breath. I heard the windigo’s angered scream, but I wasn’t planning to give it time to find us again. “KALYPSO!” I shouted, slapping the stunned breezie awake. “Where’s your pond?”
“I-” she turned around, fearful confusion on her face as she tried to process our teleportation. “Over there!” With that, she took off, climbing over the tree’s roots, just as I heard branches snapping and I was sure the spirit was back in the air once again.
“In that hole!” Kalypso pointed down at a tiny fissure in a large ball of roots almost hidden in the snow. With a quick look to confirm Honeydew was behind us, I followed her through the slit. Instantly, my hooves lost purchase, sending me tumbling down a steep wall of moist earth, before coming to a sudden stop. I could hear the spirit’s enraged snarl, the crackle of its magic freezing the very air, but it didn’t seem to know where he’d gone. If I wasn’t nursing a good dozen new sores from my fall, I would have sighed in relief. Instead, I had to suppress a yelp as Honeydew came to a sudden halt by smacking into my side. Able to recover first, I helped him get to his hooves before we took a look at our new surroundings.
Steep muddy walls ran below the knot of roots, creating a crater, possibly large enough for a pony foal to fit into. Rays of sunshine fell through various tiny cracks in the wooden covering. One fell right upon Kalypso, her dark green locks shimmering as she raised her head slightly to catch more of the light. The brightness and amount of this light didn’t quite seem feasible considering how dark the sky had been. Nor did these roots make much sense, since they hung above the hole as if they had grown specifically to keep this place protected. And at the very center bottom of the hole was a pool of water, just wide enough for one breezie to fit inside, twinkling in a ray of sunshine. “This is it!” I felt a smile grow on my lips as I stopped just at the edge of the pond, marvelling at the darkness of the water, there was no telling how deep it was. “Kalypso, we’re at the place you’ve seen!”
But the seer didn’t cheer. Instead, her lips trembled as she stared at the water, her expression a mixture of confusion and disbelief. “It- it’s supposed to be frozen.” she whispered quietly.
I blinked, my face falling. “Then- this isn’t the place?!”
She shook her head. “No, This is the right place, it’s just how I’ve seen it, except that this water-” her hoof shot out, plunging into the water, causing it to splash over both our hooves. “-should be frozen!” shouting that last word, she stamped her hoof, causing more mud to splash around as she twisted her head, inspecting every inch of the cavern. “So is this what I dragged you all out for? Are we too late? Too early? THIS IS JUST WATER!”
“Kalypso,” Honeydew reached out for her, but she shrugged his hoof off. “Maybe it just wasn’t what you thought it meant-”
At that, the seer whirled around, her red and yellow eyes ripped wide open. “I didn’t know what it meant! That’s why we came here, because I thought this place would have answers! W-we took a huge risk to even come here, we almost died! Numerous times, and-” a shiver went through her body, and with a shock, I realized there were tears forming in her eyes. “Don’t you get it? You followed me here because I believed this was going to help us, based on nothing! And you believed me, everyone believes me.” her voice grew hysterical as she turned back toward the pond, her feelers glowing in angry light. “INSTEAD, WE CAME HERE FOR A PUDDLE!” With a final cry, she broke down to the ground.
“Kalypso…” I began, feeling the dread begin to settle in my heart. “There must have been a reason you saw this place in your vision.”
“You are chosen by the gods.” Honeydew added sincerely. “They would never mislead you.”
“I am chosen?” Kalypso whispered, drawing herself, her face twisting into a snarl as she glared at Honeydew. “I AM CHOSEN? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?! That I constantly have strange things in my head that I have to make sense of? Does it mean that I always have to be right, or that you will keep believing no matter how much i’m wrong?! LOOK AROUND YOU! IT’S A PUDDLE!”
“M-maybe-” he admitted, taking a step back, before giving me a help-seeking glance. But I couldn't bring out a word. After all, she was right! We’d all followed her because we believed in her dream, that it would somehow help us, and now we were stuck! Stuck in a hole with a puddle and a powerful spirit outside that would attack us the moment we left… maybe we would be able to sneak out at night or something, but then what? We’d try to outlast an eternal winter? There was no way I was going to leave these breezies behind by going through the portal by myself! Maybe if I took them with me- But no! More mud splashed under my hooves as I let out an angry whinny. This was their home, they shouldn’t have to abandon it! Even if I could come back with help to drive off the spirits, who knew what it could have done to this place in the meantime? If the rock spirits or whatever rose up and their fight destroyed the landscape? And what of the other clans? We couldn't evacuate them all, not with how sporadically the portal opened! If it opened in time at all!
I bit my lips, glancing to Kalypso, crying on the ground. Honeydew, trying desperately to comfort her, even as open fear was written in his face. Both dreading their future, the future of their clan. A clan that has taken me in, even if some had been skeptical. A clan that included Kalypso and Honeydew, who had become my friends! Pressing air through my teeth, I began to ascend the muddy walls, garnering surprised looks from the others.
“W-where are you going?” Honeydew stammered. “It could still be out there!”
“I’m banking on it.” I replied, huffing as my hooves finally found a good halt on the walls.
Kalypso’s head shot up, realization dawning on her face as she scrambled to her hooves. “T-Twilight, no! You said that it was stronger than you are, we went here to look for something that could help you!”
“Well, there isn’t anything here, is there?” After a glance to my friends, I shot my glare at the roots above. “I am not letting it destroy our clan, not if I have any chance to stop it!”
Suddenly, Honeydew came into view next to me, his wings wide open to catch any wind that would help him climb. “T-then I’m coming with you.”
“We both are.” Kalypso said, climbing just behind him.
“No!” I protested. “You’ll be putting yourselves at risk for no reason!”
“No reason?! If you’re out there, that is reason enough, I am not letting my elska go out there alone.”
“It is our clan.” Kalypso whispered, even as a shudder went through her body. “We all have the right to defend it.”
I opened and closed my mouth, desperately wanting to point out how stupid the decision was, that there was nothing they could do to help me, but one look at Honeydew told me there was nothing I could say that would convince them. They would rather drag me back into the hole than allow me to go alone. As would I, for any of my friends. “Climb in my ears, and hold on tight.” I told them instead, trying to fight the queasy feeling in my stomach.
“We won’t be a liability.” Honeydew whispered the promise as his hoof briefly touched over mine.
“No, you won’t.” I replied, feeling my eyes narrow as I dragged my body out into the open. “Wait a second before you come outside.” I told him, quickly scanning our surroundings. The windigo was once again patrolling above the treetops, searching for us. Gritting my teeth, I inwardly reached for the knot of magic keeping my transformation together. Then, with a mighty yank, it was torn to shreds. Immediately, I felt energy surging into my limbs as I grew, glaring up at the surprised spirit, which stopped in mid-air, taken aback by my sudden appearance.
“Honeydew, Kalypso, hold on!” I shouted as I levitated them into my mane. Their replies were drowned out by an elongated, bone-chilling howl as the windigo shot toward us, Icy magic whirling around its body. With a gasp, I threw myself into the air, narrowly avoiding the unleashed beam of ice-magic that froze the roots below. Ignoring the complaints of my rusty wings, I soared through the trees, intent on getting more distance between us. But the spirit gave close chase, weaving through the forest just as nimbly. Breathing heavily, I summoned a shield infront of my face and straightened my body like an arrow, bursting through the branches of an oak tree.
“Dodge!” Kalypso suddenly shouted in my ear. Instantly, I beat my wings the other way, using the momentum to roll upside down, facing the windigo as another beam shot right above my head, giving me the moment I needed to summon my own spell. A line of magic shot forth from my horn, attaching itself to the windigo’s hoof, before spreading out in runic lines across its form like chains of glowing letters. The spirit hollered, an icy aura appearing over its body, threatening to overtake the seal. Feeling my eye twitch from the exertion, I poured more magic into the spell, grimacing as it began to push back against the spirit’s magic. But then, with a headache-inducing scream, it kicked out, shattering the bonds, sending me tumbling down into the thicket.
I caught myself a good metre above the ground, then spun around to face my enemy. The seal hadn’t worked. It had simply overpowered my magic! It seemed I had to weaken it first.
I spotted the windigo just above the treetops, it’s roar furthering itself in a sudden rumbling, as a squall full of whirled up snow came surging towards me like a tidal wave. Unable to dodge such a widespread attack, I summoned a purple bubble around my body, but what the attack gained in area, it lacked in punch, allowing my shield to easily weather the storm, barely causing a flinch.
Yet that was enough for the windigo, which had used to cover of the storm to close in, it’s eye sockets glinting with cold hatred as it unleashed its icy beam from a hoof’s length away. Taken by surprise and unable to flee, I could only redirect my shield, screaming as the spirit’s magic splashed against it, like an avalanche against a house. Tiny, icy particles bounced off my shield like sparks, delivering nasty bites on whatever part of my body they managed to hit. Another panicked scream burst out of my throat as I felt my horn fizzling, my skull seemingly ready to crack under the pressure. I poured every scrap of magic into my defense until finally, the pressure ceased, as the windigo’s attack ended. Glaring right into its skull-face, unable to summon even the most basic of spells in this moment, I instead struck out my hoof against its cheek.
My blow went right through its ethereal body, feeling like it had just passed through a cold shower. With a sound that almost seemed like a cackle, it struck back, hitting my ribcage like the stomp of a buffalo. I tumbled downwards, getting so low that I could use my hooves to kick myself off the ground once more, beginning to rapidly weave through the trees, constantly changing direction.
“TWILIGHT!” Honeydew shouted in my ear. “ARE YOU OKAY?!”
“I’m fine!” I gasped, heavy on breath, noting how numb my chest felt. Daring a brief look, I was horrified to see red and dark spots in my fur and skin, like an advanced case of frostbite. One thing was clear, a punching match with this creature wouldn’t turn out well for me!
Behind me, I could hear the windigo’s approach. If only I could tire it out somehow, but who knew if these things tired at all! Heaving breath for my rapidly beating heart, I could only just about hear Kalypso’s prayers in my ear, accompanied by the growling of the sky above. My horn ached, but my magic was not completely exhausted yet, though I was sure I had only one or two big attacks left in me. What I needed was an opening, a better one than last time!
“Y-you need to get close to it!” Honeydew announced, moving somewhat inside my ear.
“WHAT?” I exclaimed. “ARE YOU IN-”
Before I could finish the sentence, the windigo suddenly burst through the impossibly thick branches from the tree, it must have flown over the treetops so it wouldn’t have to weave at all! Clenching my teeth, I halted myself as it swooped right at me, magic gathering infront of its mouth for another beam. Kalypso’s whispered prayers rose in my ear.
“CLOSE YOUR EYES!” Honeydew screeched.
I had barely enough time to follow his order as an intense light threatened to lance through even my closed eyelids, leaving an intense afterglow as I opened them. But what I’d suffered, the windigo had it ten times worse, screeching in pain as its magic dissipated into nothing. Seeing my moment, I once more summoned the seal from my horn, watching as it slowly closed around the spirit. But even blinded, disoriented, it fought against the hold, driving sweat out on my forehead as it rammed it’s hooves on the seal, threatening to break it once more!
“S-stay! In! THERE!” I screamed, but it only struggled harder, frazzling the seams of my spell.
Then, I heard it even over our fighting magic, the surrounding storm and my frantic heartbeat. Kalypso sang, a prayer of I didn’t catch, yet each word thundered like a thousand war cries. The next moment, lightning lanced out of the sky, striking the windigo, which reared it’s skeletal face in the sky, it’s resistance momentarily crumbling. Another lightning lance struck the monster, followed by a relentless barrage, as if the heaven itself unleashed its fury upon the icy spirit, which could only tremble before the might of nature. Rearing its head, a scream of agony lost in the booming thunder, it offered no more resistance as the runic cage closed around it, compressing the creature into an ever-shrinking ball, before it surged downward, disappearing into the ground.
Barely able to believe what just happened, I slowly sank to the ground. The clouds above dissipated swiftly, as though they had fulfilled a purpose. Meanwhile. My eyes still ached, afterimages of the sudden thunderstorm dug into my irises, while every sound seemed muted, like the one time I’d been at a club, just worse.
“Did… did we win?” Kalypso’s voice finally pierced through the thunder-induced deafness. Anticipation and disbelief swung in her voice in equal measure.
“I think so.” I muttered as my hooves touched the snowy ground. “What was that?”
Kalypso bit her lip as she climbed down onto my muzzle, where I could squint my eyes to see her. Even now, her antennae sparked with electricity. “I-I don’t know.” she muttered, raising her hoof toward a feeler, then lowering it, as if she was afraid to touch it. “I was so afraid and I wished the gods would help us… and it felt like they did!”
“So the gods do favour you after all.” Honeydew’s voice answered, possibly from atop my horn.
“But- but why?” she exclaimed. “I’m not complaining, but why send me a nonsensical vision?”
“It brought us here.” Honeydew pointed out.
“Yes, but-”
“I think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Kalypso.” I said, feeling a soft smirk on my face as I landed near a hole in the ground, one that had once been hidden by now broken and frozen roots.
her eyes widened. I didn’t see it, but I did not need to as she flew down from my nose into the hole, the bottom of which was covered in blue-ish ice. “It’s frozen…” she muttered. “Just like I saw…”
“Then what you saw wasn’t something to help us win.” I grinned as rached down, allowing her to cling to my hoof as I pulled her back up. “It was our victory.”
“I-” Kalypso muttered, staring back at the ice. “I suppose that makes sense.” After a pause, she added: “I still don’t like my job.”
“Who would?” I chuckled. Then, all of a sudden, pain lanced through my body and I dropped forward into the snow, just slowly enough that Kalypso had a chance to jump off my hoof and safely float down
“TWILIGHT!” Honeydew shouted, shaking off the sudden drop to the ground before climbing off of my head. “Are you okay?!”
“Not gonna die…” I groaned, conscious enough to roll around so my frostbite wouldn’t touch the snow. “Ow… everything hurts.” Despite the pain, and the feeling that something had torn a chunk of flesh out of my chest, I strained my aching hooves to get up.
Honeydew’s jaw dropped open as he looked way up at the raw-looking, hoof-shaped frostbite on my chest. “This looks really bad-”
“I know.” I gasped, still short on breath as I lit my horn, gritting my teeth as I felt my magic fizzle out nearly instantly. This fight had taken nearly everything out of me, so much so that even basic levitation became a chore. At least the battle supplied me with ample supplies of broken twigs and branches I could form into a pyre. Immediately, Honeydew stepped forth, a teeny tiny wooden splinter in his hooves that he obviously intended to light the fire with. Feeling my lips form a smile, I nonetheless blocked his path with my hoof. “Thanks for your effort,” I giggled. “But allow me.”
Closing my eyes, I scrounged up a few remaining pieces of magic within me. Instantly, the pyre went ablaze, basking us all in oh-so welcome warmth and eliciting startled shouts from my tiny companions. Meanwhile, I quietly turned my frostbitten side toward the fire, gritting my teeth as intense pain surged through the frozen flesh. “I think we’re gonna stay here for a while…” I muttered, resisting the urge to touch the spot. Nothing good would come of that. “And I’ll eat the rest of our supplies once I can turn back if you don’t mind…”
“Of course not.” Honeydew said,climbing up to my head, which rested on a branch not needed for the fire yet. “I-I wish there was more I could do for you. You defeated a spirit for us!” he shook his head, amazement clear in his voice. “A spirit! Y-you are amazing, you know that?”
“We fought it together.” I whispered, knowing that my regular voice would be unbearably loud to him. “I could not have done it without you two and your bravery. Do not think you are powerless in this world. I’ve often learned that when you work together, you can defeat anything the world throws at you.” With a nervous swallow, I met his tiny eyes, my voice breathless. “If we worked together, we could defeat anything… that my world threw at us.”
The moment the words were out, I felt myself cringe, wanting to take them back, anything to prevent the possibility of those toothpick-sized hooves utterly crushing my hopes. “I-I love you, Honeydew.”
He blinked, and I briefly realized how absurd it must be for him to hear these words from such a mind-warpingly large creature. But then, wondrously, he came closer, until he disappeared from my view. Yet a moment later, I felt something tickle on my lips, and I subtly pursed them, something fluttery exploding in my chest as we shared the first kiss in our real bodies. Even if I couldn't quite tell when it began or ended.
The faint, smoky scent of sizzlegrass tickled my nostrils, tugging at my consciousness. A little smile grew on my lips as I breathed in, enjoying the simple odour like a priced flower. Something warm poked against my back, before I grew aware of the heavy, warm limbs reaching around my body, closing over my chest.
“Myrmel welcomes you, Twilight.” Came Honeydew’s amused whisper as his hoof gently brushed over mine. “I know Echidna gave you bedrest, but you’re taking it to an extreme.”
“Haha.” I replied dryly, feeling my smile crumble as pain throbbed in my chest “M-maybe I’m just better at following orders.”
Suddenly, I felt his hooves pull away, causing me to sit up, groaning as my frostbite made itself excessively known.
“Shhh, I didn’t say you needed to be quick, either.” Honeydew said. In the dim light of our hut, I watched him produce something out of his personal stash. “Hold still.” he ordered, easing me back into a lying position. Having gone through this procedure numerous times now, I quickly obeyed, allowing his hooves to smear a green-ish salve over my wound. Though I’d gritted my teeth, I still yelped a few times during the process, despite Honeydew’s gentle treatment of the blackened skin. But then, mercifully, the salve began to take effect, slowly sapping the sensation out of the wounded area, instead replacing it with a light prickle, like when your hoof falls asleep.
“T-thank you.” I gasped, slowly easing myself up again. Knowing that the damage was mostly superficial did not make it hurt any less. He immediately went in to support me as I got up on my hooves. Finally standing securely on my own, I granted him a smile, when I noticed something on his cheek. “What is that?” I tilted my head, reaching out a hoof to a reddened spot, it looked like a bruise.
“Well…” he nervously rubbed the spot, like he was trying to wipe it off. “Your, uhm… horn is kinda pointy.” he explained with a chuckle.
“Wait- so I’ve been poking you all night?”
“Since shortly after I woke up.”
“And that was?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“A-a while ago.” he muttered. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“So you- watched me sleep all that time? While I was poking your face?”
Seeing his sheepish nod, I felt my own cheeks growing hotter. “That’s so silly.” I giggled awkwardly.
“I-I thought you looked nice.” he replied, only worsening the situation in my face.
“Wish I could return that compliment, but for that, I’d actually have to wake up before you for once.”
“Which will be never.” he grinned, moving aside the slab of tree bark that acted as the hut’s door. “Now come, we’re already late for our rations.”
-----
It had been three days since we’d arrived back in the village, and the winter had noticeably lessened. The snow hadn’t fully melted yet, but Kalypso predicted a snow-free period soon, a week or two where we could once again go out to gather more food. Not only that, but she now spoke of an early, but mild winter, which would quickly transition into spring. Though she advised caution regarding her prediction, the news still lit up the clan. Before, the tunnels had practically been forsaken, most breezies simply lying in their little homes, trying to just sleep through as much of the season as they possibly could. But now, it was hard to navigate, with seemingly everyone up and about, filling the tunnels with chatting, music and playing children. And bodies, of course, making navigation in the narrow tunnels a bit of a chore. It seemed that easing up on the rations has had a profound effect on the clan.
But on the downside, there were the looks. The fact that each time we entered a tunnel, the playing and frolicking slowed down. Though they quickly resumed their activity, with only curious glances thrown in our direction, I vividly remembered the day of our arrival, as the clan praised me as a great spirit, who had come to defeat the winds of Fjermengard.
“It wasn’t me alone!” I’d insisted. “Honeydew and Kalypso had done just as much!” but I could have told that to a wall. The breezies didn’t want to hear it. At least, not the first name. Once the story had gotten out, Kalypso had earned her own share of cheers, though I wasn’t sure if she’d enjoyed it. It mostly seemed to have made her feel embarrassed. Then, irritated, until she’d stormed off into the longhouse she shared with Windchime.
Between now and then, the effect had mostly faded, yet there was something quite different about interacting with most of the breezies. An undercurrent of respect underlying every conversation, one that I didn’t feel like I really deserved. One that sort of… separated. Like I couldn't talk eye-to-eye with them anymore. Even Honeydew, who had gotten the least of it, said that he now understood Kalypso a bit better. She’d lived with that all her life.
I felt a hint of relief as we left the tunnel behind us, climbing down into the storage. “Think we’ve got enough berries left?” I asked Honeydew.
“Not if you keep picking them day after day.” he snickered, picking up one of the clay bowls, each sized to hold a day’s ration. “You need more nuts, they make a weak body strong.”
“So I’m weak?” I pursed my lips as I gave him a cross glance.
“Yes.”
“Ouch…” I muttered. “But fair enough. There wasn’t much need to go out in the wild all the time in my world.”
Honeydew paused for a moment, a look of confusion crossing his face before he started filling the bowl with pieces of walnut, as well as a few small slices of strawberry.
“You might not want to pack too much, Honeydew.” A voice came from the entrance. A moment later, Kalypso entered the storage, her eyes glancing to me. “Great skies, Twilight, you’re sleepier than a caterpillar. If you were one, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a butterfly now!”
“I’m not that sleepy!” I huffed. “You just get up really early. You’d get along with Applejack so well.”
“Who?” Honeydew and Kalypso asked.
“Applejack. A friend of mine, in my world. She also gets up every day before the sun rises.”
The two exchanged glances. “And?” Honeydew asked,
“W-well, in my world, that’s unusual.” I muttered. Then I shook my head, granting Kalypso a smile. “Nice to see you too, anyway. Here to get your rations as well?”
“Not really.” she chuckled. “You’re the last ones to get yours.”
“Oh, then you snuck in here? Want to entertain your little sweet tooth in secret?” I smirked, waving my hoof at a large vase. One that I knew her eyes would rest on for longer than she would intend them to. I chuckled.
We’d been hungry on our way back from the battle against the windigo. Having naively eaten all our supplies, I’d forced us (especially me) to fly back with growling bellies. At least, until we’d taken a quick break at the fallen tree, where we’d taken our first rest before forced outside by the horrible storm. There, Honeydew had spotted a couple of ants, as if waiting for our arrival. It had been a relief to hear that the defeat of the windigo had ended the insanity coming over the ants. However, much more so were the supplies they offered us in thanks, especially, and I would never forget the looks of shock in my friend’s faces, a vase full of honey, large enough to reach up to a breezie’s chest.
Honeydew and Kalypso had been speechless, staring at the offered honey with their mouths agape. “T-thank you.” Kalypso had managed to stutter the words, and the ants quietly left us alone. When she tapped the vase, it was with a hesitation like she expected it to disappear into thin air. “Wow…” with that, she turned to Honeydew. “Do you… do you think we should… take a little bit?” she asked nervously. “We just prevented winter, right? We could take just a little bit.” During all that, her eyes had not left the vase for a moment, a hoof already playing around the wooden plug.
Biting his lip, Honeydew had forced his own gaze away from the honey. “I-if anything, Twilight should.” he muttered, despite the obvious hesitation in his voice. “She defeated the spirit.”
“I told you, we all did.” I smiled down at him. “Go ahead. It was our victory.”
What followed, had been the purest scene of sweet delight I’d ever had the joy of witnessing. First, the breezies had only lapped up a bit of the honey, but that had already been enough to make them physically convulse and moan with pleasure at the simple taste, wiping their hooves over their lips like it was too delicious for their mouths to bear. Next, Honeydew had gotten a bit braver, cheering at the sky and thanking the gods for this opportunity, just before Kalypso started singing.
She should do it more often. Her voice was divine.
“N-not again.” The present Kalypso shook her head, finally forcing her eyes away from the vase. “It is too valuable to just eat it like that.”
“Next celebration, then.” I chuckled.
“Twilight-” she started, before taking a long breath. “I’ve had a vision.” she whispered, her expression betraying sadness. “The portal will soon open.”
“Oh…” my face fell as conflicting emotions surged through my mind. Homesickness battling with a surprising unwillingness to leave. I’d- I’d almost built myself a little life here after all! I had a clan, friends and even love. Of course I’d always known that I’d have to leave it behind, but it still hurt to have it come up so suddenly. In truth, I actually hadn’t even checked the portal those last couple days, reasoning that I deserved to rest for a bit… Really, I’d just been trying to extend my time here.
In the end, I breathed a sigh and met Kalypso’s eyes. “How much time do I have?”
“I’m not sure.” she shrugged. “But it didn’t seem as urgent as last time, so I think there is time for a goodbye.”
Closing my eyes for a moment, I nodded quietly. “Then I think we should eat breakfast on the way, shouldn’t we?”
Honeydew solemnly nodded, before filling our bowl with berry slices.
The silence of the forest was interrupted by a sudden surge of magic as me, Honeydew and Kalypso materialized inside one familiar knothole. The start of my adventure. How easily I could’ve walked back right then. To think that this entire adventure was simply caused by a moment of carelessness and a stiff breeze…
Looking up, I almost dreaded to see the glowing rift between worlds… but there was nothing. It must’ve not opened yet. I wasn’t sure whether I felt trepidation or relief as I sat back, meeting Honeydew’s glance. At least I’d have time to properly say goodbye now. Speaking to the clan hadn’t been easy, but neither had it been very difficult. I knew few of them by more than a passing glance. The only ones I’d gotten to know had been Carveshine, Windchime, Echidna and Harpy. But Honeydew… he’d been at my side for nearly as long as I’ve been in this world. He’d essentially been my anchor, a stable point in a confusing environment. Even now, he’d insisted to accompany me to the portal, determined to be with me for as long as possible before I left.
It made it really hard to come up with something to say as I met his eyes. Sadness lied in them, and yet he managed to smile regardless, a real, encouraging smile, proclaiming that he was sincerely happy for me. “It was nice having you around:” he muttered. His tone was awkward, as we both flashed shaky smiles at one another.
“You too.” I sniffled, before wrapping my hooves around his shoulders, squeezing him in a tight hug.
I hated goodbyes.
Eventually, the embrace loosened, and we stared into the air. After a while, I met Kalypso’s glance. The breezie appeared nervous.
“Uhm… shouldn’t the portal have opened by now?”
Silence, as Kalypso’s eyes shifted around. “Y-yes… I thought it would.”
Furrowing my brows, I walked toward the spot where I knew the portal would appear. Lighting my horn, I allowed my magic senses to sift through the air, in search of the rift’s magical signature. Something that would be hard to read, especially when it was closed, but at this distance, it would be like a glowing, hot ember.
But I didn’t feel anything. Nothing at all. Like the portal had never existed!
Just then, I felt a shove at my shoulder. Tumbling aside, I saw Kalypso, her eyes fixated on an invisible spot. Then, her hooves reached into the air. Then, she suddenly began to pull them apart, seemingly straining despite there being nothing- and yet, the air distorted, like the flimmering when looking at a hot street from afar as Kalypso pulled on… something! Her feelers glowing, sweat rolling down her face, she let out a groan- before, with a sound like ripping paper, a tear formed in the air. One familiar looking hole, in which the seer pushed her hooves, pulling it further open like you would open a curtain!
Wheezing, Kalypso took a step back, giving me an exhausted grin. Tiny electric sparks erupted from her feelers. “I told you… it was going to open today.”
My mouth fell open. “You- you could do that the entire time?”
“Of course not.” she deflected. “Only now did the gods lend me the power to… do… this. Whatever this was.”
I felt my eye twitch. Oh, yes, the no-clear-answer thing was definitely getting on my nerves. “And… this leads to Equestria?”
“I think.” she shrugged. “The other side looked really dry, and at the side of a river-”
“That’s the badlands!” I swallowed, staring at the open portal. “I- thank you, Kalypso. For everything. I would’ve died if you didn’t convince the elder to take me in.”
She gave me a nod, trying her best to look stoic. But I could see the tears forming in her eyes.
“A-and you, Honeydew-” I muttered, but my breath stocked and I bit my lip. “Are… are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”
“The clan… we don’t have many scouts.” he began, then hesitated. “I- it’s gonna be a mild winter?” he whispered to Kalypso.
“It sure will be.” she said, and I could see the beginning of a smirk on her face.
“Well, I’m a scout. So- it’s my duty to explore new and dangerous places.”
“It sure is.” she snickered as his expression rose and he met my eyes.
“Then- then I’d love to!” he exclaimed, racing toward me in a rush to grip my hoof. “Just, uhm-” he stammered as he glanced back to Kalypso.”could you tell the others…?”
Kalypso’s antennae jiggled with her giggling. “Trust me, Honeydew. It won’t surprise anyone.” Then, she began to wave. “Good luck in your world, Twilight, Honeydew. We’ll see each other again.”
“Is that a prophecy?” I asked, returning the wave.
“It’s a promise.” she simply replied. “Now if you don’t mind, magic me back. I don’t feel like hiking all on my own.”
“Wish granted.” I chuckled, magic surrounding my horn to shift my friend away from this place. Turning to Honeydew, I gave him a grateful smile. “Are you ready to enter my world?”
“Absolutely not.” he replied, before reaching forward to kiss my muzzle. “But I’m ready to try.”
And thus, we stepped into the rift of whirling magic, to be whisked away to another magical, wonderful realm. My home.
Lights burned in the windows of Ponyville like fireflies in the evening. Breathing a relieved sigh, I allowed my wings to rest by simply gliding along for a bit. With a mighty yawn, I locked eyes with my castle, wanting nothing more than to snuggle up infront of the fireplace…
A laugh broke out of my mouth. A fireplace! I had a bed! I hadn’t even been away that long and still I’d apparently need to reacclimate to civilization.
Though, moving the bed in front of the fireplace doesn’t sound too bad either…
A far-off swishing sound suddenly intensified before a face appeared just inches away from mine.
“TWILIGHT?!”
“GAH!” I shouted, my wings aching from the strain of stopping in mid-air. Before I could react, my cheeks were squished by blue hooves.
“YOU’RE BACK!”
“Rainbow Dash!” I grinned. “Tirfan zulip!”
“Uh… are you okay, Twilight?” Rainbow asked, backing out of my personal space
“Oh-oh of course.” I muttered, knocking my own head (which earned me another confused glance). “I’m just happy to see you.”
“Well, what happened?!” she demanded. “Spike was all worried about you when he didn’t get a message- why didn’t you send us a message?”
“I’ll explain, I promise. Can you maybe get the others to meet me at the castle?”
“In ten seconds flat.” Rainbow grinned, before zooming away.
“Honeydew?” I whispered in breezish, feeling him move around in my ear. “You didn’t say anything…”
“Sorry. T-this pony was just so large and-”
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” I whispered. “And she’s a friend, so she will too. In fact, you’re gonna meet all my friends in a moment. And I promise, none of them want to hurt you.”
----------
I’d just had enough time to get comfortable on my crystal throne when the others arrived.
“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, rushing just before the others, hooves opened widely for a crushing group hug.
I couldn't let that happen. “No!” I screeched, erecting a magical barrier in which the pink pony ran headfirst.
“Twilight?” Rarity raised an eyebrow. “What’s this about.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie rose up again, clearly unfazed by the full-speed collision. “Aren’t you happy to see us?”
“Of course I am. It’s just that I can’t hug at the moment-”
“WHAAAAT?!” Pinkie gasped, reaching for her throat before falling over on her back.
“A think what Pinkie meant to convey,” Applejack said, rolling her eyes. “Is that yer actin’ a bit strange. Would’a thought you’d be more excited to meet us?”
“I-I’m sorry, I am. But I’m more focused on-” coughing into my hoof, I took a breath, allowing my mind to calm down. “I want you to meet someone.” Smiling, I reached up to my ear, earning a set of confused glances (I was used to it now).
“Uhm…” Fluttershy tilted her head. “So, who is it?”
“Just a second- Honeydew? You can come out now, it’s safe.”
I felt a tickle in my ear as he poked his head out of my ear before climbing onto my hoof, eliciting shocked looks from my friends.
“You- you brought a breezie with you?” Rarity asked.
“But isn’t that dangerous for him?” Fluttershy said, but her voice got swallowed by Pinkie’s outcry.
“Ohmygosh, he’s so cute!” Suddenly, her face loomed just above Honeydew, causing him to let out a startled shout. “Hello, who are you, I’m Pinkie Pie, supreme party planner in Ponyville, what’s your name?!”
“Pinkie!” Applejack pulled her back. “Yer jus’ scaring him!”
“Yeah, and besides, he… doesn’t speak ponish.” I explained sheepishly, before assuring him that everything was okay.
“Ooooh, I’m super sorry!” Pinkie said, her expression morphing into a gigantic frown. “So, who is he?”
“Well, his name is Honeydew-”
“Is he a guest to see Equestria, an explorer just like you-” Pinkie gasped for air. “Is he your breezie buddy? Your Breezie Buddy Best Friend Forever?!”
“Pinkie,” I chuckled, slightly shaking my head. “He’s my coltfriend.”
For a moment, everyone was silent. Then, a sudden giggle emerged, causing everyone to turn their heads to Rainbow.
“What? It was funny.” she shrugged, meeting our blank expressions. “Wait… you were serious?!”
“Yes. I was.” I growled, my eyes narrowing at her shocked expression.
“But he’s a breezie, that’s so- not awesome!”
“Honeydew is plenty awesome!” I crossed my hooves. “He helped me defeat a windigo. Plus, with his training, I bet I could beat you at hoofwrestling now.”
“You?!” Flabbergasted, Rainbow even stopped flapping her wings, settling down on her chair. “No way.”
“So, you and… Honeydew… really are a thing?” Rarity exclaimed, grinning widely as stars glimmered in her eyes.
“Then that means,” Pinkie exclaimed. “I get to throw both a Twilight-is-back and a Twilight-has-a-coltfriend party?! Wow…” she muttered quietly, rubbing her chin as she looked up at the ceiling. “Never thought I’d get to throw that one. I haven’t even made a plan for it yet.”
“Excuse me?”
“Uhm, Twilight?” Fluttershy chimed in. “D-did you mention a windigo?”
Immediately, the sound ceased. I briefly closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Yes, I think it’s about time I tell you…”
“Well… that was somethin’.” Applejack accurately summed it up.
“And I guess your breezie friend was kind of awesome in that windigo fight.” Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head.
“I-I’m sorry, But did you say Kalypso?” Fluttershy asked, practically leaning over the table. “Like, the prophetess Kalypso? Founder of the first city? Uniter of the tribes and friend of a great spirit? The one who is said to have created the portal in the first place?”
I blinked, looking down to Honeydew, before briefly translating her words to him. He didn’t look any less confused.
“I’ve never heard of that…”
“But every breezie knows the tales of Kalypso!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “How can you not-”
But her words were cut off as Rarity practically shoved her out of her chair. “Fluttershy, darling, why must you waste this moment with so insignificant questions.” Leaning over the table to the point of practically lying on top of it, she met my eyes. “Twilight has a coltfriend now,” she purred, her eyelashes fluttering. “I want details, darling~”
