//------------------------------// // The Whispering Mountain Pass // Story: The Red Sun Rises: Voyages // by The Atlantean //------------------------------// Midnight Shadow, Silver Comet, and Dazzleflash stood on the opposite end of the map table from Crimson Dawn. Princess Cadence and the Elements of Harmony had their shimmering images as well, nervous for the report that was about to come in. “Princesses, they staged an assault last night, and I have no doubt that you know the victor, or otherwise this report would not be getting to your ears. But in the fighting, we lost three hundred on 3rd Street, two hundred forty-nine by Tartarus Bridge, and another two hundred during the retreat from Garnet Island. Casualties are practically off the charts, with hundreds if not thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. Our military count is reduced to approximately seven hundred soldiers, ten medical officers, and no reserve. We have taken prisoners, but they could easily overwhelm us if they wanted with sheer numbers.” Crimson reported. “How long do we expect the Atlantean fleet to take? You obviously aren’t going to hold back another attack of that scale,” asked Cadence. “Four days, if they follow standard coastal routes. If not, they should’ve been here about three days ago.” Out of nowhere, a communications officer rushed in. he had some kind of ridiculous grin on his face, and that meant good news. “Sir!” He saluted. “What is it, soldier?” “We’ve received word from the fleet! They say they’re about 228 nautical miles to the southeast, holding nineteen knots! Reinforcements are only twelve hours away, sir!” “How many ships?” “Five, sir. Trinity, Tranquility, Dark Phoenix, Firespit, and Raven Nightfall.” Crimson perked up a lot more than usual. “Did you say Trinity?” “Yes, sir. Why?” “Because,” he said, a smile growing on him, “Trinity is the largest ship ever constructed. A hundred meters long, twenty meters wide, and fifty meters tall, with a grand total of one hundred forty cannons and a complement of over a thousand ponies. She is the pride of the Atlantean Navy.” Twilight saw this as a possible threat to Equestrian national security. “I can’t let that fleet come into Twin Cantons Harbor. I just don’t trust foreign military enough.” Cadence agreed with her sister-in-law. An extremely powerful fleet could wipe out Equestrian coastal cities within a week. “I understand your concern, Princesses,” Crimson replied. “But if they don’t pull into the harbor, I will lose Manehattan. Our army has taken too many casualties. And you will lose this war. It must be done.” The alicorns nodded. It was the only way for Equestria to survive. “Only one question,” Cadence asked. “How’s Celestia doing?” Two days earlier, several thousand kilometers from Equestria, the Princess of the Sun stood at the entrance to Whispering Highlands Pass, her route to Atlantis. Next to her stood a single Griffon, her guide to the Pass. “Are you sure you want to go up there alone, Princess?” asked the Griffon. He had been instructed to show her the way, but could only go this far before she had to say he could come. “I’ll be fine, thank you.” She began to walk forwards, putting one hoof in front of the other. This was as far as she had ever come from Equestria. From home. The Whispering Mountain Pass was a fiercely guarded secret of the Griffons and Atlanteans, and for good reason. It was hard to traverse, with landslides, snowbanks, and sudden blizzards being the most common dangers. Also, one could get altitude sickness, becoming easy prey to hungry predators and the occasional dragon looking for a sex slave. But, if one could make it through, they had a time gap of potentially up to a week ahead of the ships, which meant more profit. Every merchant group traveled in packs of at least ten, but twenty-five was the typical caravan size. According to her guide, one such group had recently left to Atlantis the day before Celestia arrived in Griffonstone. If she hurried, she might be able to catch up. The Griffon turned around to go home. He took one last look at Celestia before spreading his wings and flying back to Griffonstone. On the ground, Celestia continued moving her shaking legs, one step at a time. Not only did it seem crazy, but the trip was close to giving her a nervous breakdown. The cold, the threats - in fact, everything about this journey was insane. The princess composed herself and kept moving. After about five hours, she used her magic to lower the sun and raise the moon, as needed to happen. It took almost all of her energy, but she managed. Dinner was rationed hay from her saddlepack, dried like astronaut food. For her drink, she simply melted snow and drank up. It didn’t taste very nice, but that was a price she was willing to pay. At least it meant she didn’t have to carry water. The next day, Celestia woke to switch the sun and moon once again. When she finished, breakfast was exactly like the previous night’s dinner. Standing quickly, she felt a jolt along her back, and decided to build a fire in a cave when night came. The cold had caused her muscles to lock while she slept, and that was the source of her sudden pain. She telekinetically lifted the saddlepack onto her back, and continued on her journey. Walking at a fast pace down the path, Celestia figured she would come across the caravan in a few days. That was assuming they kept the standard pace of thirty kilometers a day, while she held at forty-five in a gait. If she took the sky, the princess could possibly shave off several hours. That seems like a good idea, she thought. I can get to some ponies that actually know the way faster. But as soon as she spread her wings and took flight, she was hit by crosswinds, headwinds, tailwinds, updrafts, and downdrafts. Celestia was lucky to get back down to the snow-covered surface alive. Never mind. The princess walked on. The pass went up to thirty-six hundred meters above sea level, with high winds and freezing temperatures on most of it. Clouds hung in the sky quite low, but Celestia reminded herself that she was just close to them. Wait a minute - clouds were controlled by Pegasi. They didn’t simply exist above a certain altitude, at least in Equestria. She frantically looked around, trying to find anything familiar. Nothing is recognizable in this snowstorm - wait, snowstorm? Where did that come from? She found shelter in a small cave near her location. Compared to the blizzard outside, it was cozy, albeit damp. She lit a fire using packed wood and curled up next to it for a short nap. It was supposed to be sundown when Celestia opened her eyes again. Figuring the time, she switched the sun and moon, and went back to sleep after a ration for dinner.