//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Branching Paths // Story: The Phoenix King // by Turtlehaus //------------------------------// The guest rooms within Castle Fjord were not made to accommodate an Ice Pony, or even a Flame Pony, but thoughtfully designed to house any normal pony that happened to visit or got caught in a blizzard. Every pony got their own room, allowing them ample space as well as time to make themselves at home, having Spike stop by each room to kick start the fireplace to offer them a warm evening. Twilight was busy unpacking all of her books concerning Ice Pony History as well as the few manuscripts referencing the Void. Spike on the other claw was sitting near the roaring fire, warming his scales as he heaved a heavy sigh of relief. "Don't get too comfortable Spike; we've still got a lot of work to do." Twilight mentioned to him. "How exactly are we supposed to help Fireball anyways?" Spike asked, looking unclear. "Well, from what we know, there is a lantern that Tea Herbal has in her possession that contains a flame from Smolder. This, in theory, could open the portal once more and give us a chance to bring him back." Twilight explained to him. "So why did we come all the way to the Frozen North if the portal is all the way back at the Ashen Fields?" Spike asked. "We don't know all that much about the Void, and opening it up again could prove to be dangerous, considering it swallowed up the Elder Dragon without much difficulty. Princess Sapphire has been doing some research here about the Void and we're here to learn as much as we can, and come up with a plan." Twilight informed him. "What if we don't come up with anything? What if it's too dangerous to open up the Void again, and Fireball is stuck there forever?" Spike asked, sounding rather anxious. "If there is anything I've learned about Smolder, it's that he's rather unpredictable and might just fumble his way out without our help." Twilight remarked, trying to ease Spike's nerves. A knock thumped through the door of the room. "Come in." Twilight said aloud. Chancellor Stone head appeared through the half open door. "Forgive the intrusion, but Princess Sapphire has just arrived." Chancellor Stone announced. Within the Main Hall of Castle Fjord stood Tea Herbal, Florence Gale, and Christie Chapel, shivering something awful as they clung to one another for warmth. Princess Sapphire stood off to the side, giving direction to the Royal Guards to acquire more basins to improve the heat of the room to better suit her guests. Even with their winter coats, the cold was proving to be a real damper on their excitement, having stepped hoof in the Ice Pony Kingdom. Although their eyes darted around the room to take in all that there was to see, their teeth would not stop chattering from the cold. "I do apologize for the discomfort." Princess Sapphire remarked awkwardly watching them shiver. "Perhaps I could be of some help?" A voice called out. From the left wing of the Main Hall strode a rather handsome Flame Pony colt, decorated in silver armor, trimmed with gold, his hide a soft grey and flames a rose red. His cutie mark bore the picture of a pile of logs lit aflame, a reference to his heritage. The colt approached the shivering ponies, flaring his mane just a bit to offer them warmth. Chapel almost hugged the Flame Pony as she quickly moved up alongside of him trying to warm herself. Tea and Florence were not far behind, crowding near him for warmth, as the colt chuckled to himself. "Captain Hearth, it's nearly seven o'clock, shouldn't you be heading home by now?" Princess Sapphire asked curiously. "My Lady, Commander Sleet has taken a personal day, I took the initiative to ensure that all field reports were delivered to the Council before ending my shift." Captain Hearth replied, bowing his head to her. "Th-Th-Th-Thanks C-C-C-Celestia y-y-y-you're here." Florence stuttered, still very cold. From the west wing several Royal Ice Pony Soldiers were wheeling out large golden basins, setting them up around the Main Hall, throwing in logs of wood and oil soaked rags. One by one the basins were lit, providing even more light to the hall while providing noticeable warmth to the area. It was still rather cold, but it seemed to be enough for Tea and the others to stop shivering. "Have the ponies from Ponyville arrived yet?" Princess Sapphire asked, glancing around. "There was talk of a group of ponies arriving earlier today, my Lady, I'm sure that they are the ones you speak of." Captain Hearth replied. "Snowflake, darling!" A voice rang out. Princess Sapphire flinched at these words. Her face slightly flushed. Tea already recognized the voice as being Sapphire's mother, Lady Frost, as Chapel and Florence stared wide eyed and mouth agape at the Queen of the Ice Ponies quickly approaching them. "Mother, hi." Princess Sapphire said with an awkward smile. Tea watched as Lady Frost scooped up Princess Sapphire in her arms, hugging her tightly as she used many different words to describe how much she had missed her. "It's so good to have you home, sweetheart. How was your trip? Are these your new friends?" Lady Frost asked happily, setting her down. "Mom!" Princess Sapphire hissed, face flushing even more. "My Lady." Captain Hearth said respectfully, bowing his head to her. Tea followed suit, bowing her head as she nudged Chapel to do the same, who in turn, jabbed Florence to bow her head as well. "Captain Hearth, I'm surprised to see you here." Lady Frost remarked. "I was just about to end my shift, my Lady." Captain Hearth replied. "Did no pony tell you? Your Uncle has come for a visit." Lady Frost asked, looking surprised. "I appreciate you telling me this, my Lady, but I see all of my Uncle's when I return home every day." Captain Hearth replied, trying not to seem ungrateful. "I was referring to your Uncle from the Ashen Fields, Captain, your father's elder brother, General Hearth." Lady Frost informed him. "Thee General Hearth?" Captain Hearth asked, looking very surprised. "I'm sure that General Sleet personally escorted him to his home earlier today, I was under the impression you were with them." Lady Frost stated, looking rather curious. "Excuse me, my Lady." Captain Hearth said quickly, eager to get home. Captain Hearth took a step before stopping short; quickly turning back to Princess Sapphire he bowed his head to her, Lady Frost, and the three ponies before rushing off to the barracks. "So it is true that the ponies from Ponyville have arrived, Mother?" Princess Sapphire asked curiously. "Of course, dear. Just as you requested, we have the Meeting Room set up for you." Lady Frost said, fussing over Sapphire's cloudy mane. "Should we just wait here then?" Tea asked, feeling so small in such a big castle. "Oh! Where are my manners? I nearly forgot about your little friends, Snowflake! They are so cute!" Lady Frost remarked, approaching Tea, Florence, and Chapel. "Mom!" Princess Sapphire shouted in embarrassment and protest. Lady Frost hugged each pony, much to the bliss of Florence and Chapel who were star struck with her beauty and regal status, but Tea was more or less embarrassed for Sapphire who covered her face to save herself from her mother's social butterfly approach to new ponies. "I tell you our little Snowflake used to never have any friends over, but after that whole ordeal in the Ashen Fields she has more over then I can count! So what can I call you girls?" Lady Frost asked, looking around at the three of them. "I'm Tea Herbal, and this is Christie Chapel. That is Florence Gale, and we just want to thank you for having us here." Tea said as politely as she could. "Oh, Sapphire your friend is so polite!" Lady Frost said gleefully. "Kill me." Princess Sapphire muttered, her hooves still hiding her face. "Don't pull on your face, dear, it will give you wrinkles." Lady Frost said flatly to her. "Your castle is so pretty! I can't believe we're talking with an actual Queen! This is like the best day ever!" Chapel blurted out, unable to restrain herself any longer. "Does the King really rule the Kingdom, or does he just take all the credit while you do all the work behind the scenes?" Florence asked, finding her own resolve breaking. "My, what sweet ponies." Lady Frost said humbly, covering her mouth with her hoof. Lady Frost leaned in close to them, her face stern while her eyes narrowed. "This Kingdom would have gone for a hay ride along time ago if not for me. Just remember that colts are dolts, mares do all the work." Lady Frost whispered to them. "Right!" Florence and Gale whispered back; already inspired by Lady Frost's demeanor. "Alright, let me escort you to the Meeting Room so that we can get this underway." Lady Frost said happily. "Where's Father?" Princess Sapphire asked a twinge of sadness in her voice. "I'm sorry Snowflake; your father is still dealing with some of the Noble Ponies. He wanted at least one of us to welcome you home and he drew the short straw. He'll see you tonight, I'm sure of it." Lady Frost replied encouragingly. Tea could see a hint of sadness in Sapphire's face. It was obvious that a King would have responsibilities to attend to, but even so it seemed to hurt Sapphire on some level not to see him. Almost like a switch, Sapphire was back to her confident self, looking rather determined as she followed along with the others to the Meeting Room. The Meeting Room was not the Throne Room as it was for the Ashen Fields; it instead was a rather large circular area that had several levels of seats for every pony to sit. It was reminiscent of the Throne Room in Castle Char, as it did have some half circle levels to sit upon but this was more to accommodate at least a hundred ponies. Even so, this room was for Noble Ponies mostly, the real Council Room where Lord Tundra was in right now would be where all the Lord and Ladies gather to speak of problems or ventures while the Throne remained ceremonial in the Kingdom of Ice Ponies. Within the center of the circular room sat a rather large crystal upon a circular table, it had a mysterious glow within it that seemed magical. Upon entering the room Princess Sapphire saw Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike sitting all together on the bottom row patiently waiting for them to arrive. Although, when every pony caught sight of her they instantly got to their hooves to rush over to her with excited voices. It wasn't long before they saw Tea, Florence, and Chapel standing behind her and immediately greeted them as well. "Do you have bodyguards now?" Rainbow Dash asked playfully; motioning towards Chapel and Florence. "These are my friends, Christie Chapel and Florence Gale, they're nurse ponies like me." Tea introduced them. "What are they doing here, then?" Rainbow Dash asked again. "They are here by my request, as are the rest of you." Princess Sapphire replied in a take charge manner. "Every pony please take a seat so we can begin." Lady Frost raised her wing, herding every pony back to the lower level of the seating area. Sapphire approached the table, placing both the lantern and the metal seal down before looking around the room expectantly. Several seconds went by of dead silence, while Sapphire continued to look about the room as if some pony was supposed to just show up out of nowhere. "Where is he?" Princess Sapphire asked, looking towards her mother. "I'm sure he'll be along any minute, dear." Lady Frost said reassuringly. "Who are we waiting for?" Spike asked curiously. The door handle clinked, swinging slowly open, as the flank of Court Wizard Floe appeared from behind the door. Every pony looked on at Floe who seemed to be dragging a rather large chest, nearly three times his size, by his teeth, magically levitating several books and rolled up scrolls above him. For such a small colt, he seemed to be faring well, but he did look rather exhausted. "Where have you been?" Princess Sapphire snapped at him. "Where have I been?" Floe mimicked her voice but rather nasally and poorly. "You should have had this all prepared before I got here." Princess Sapphire scolded him. "I've actually got responsibilities, you know, unlike some ponies that run off and get married." Floe said flatly. "Is one of those responsibilities your personal hygiene? Because you're neglecting that as well." Princess Sapphire shot back. "You want a piece of me, Snow Cone?" Floe shouted angrily, his horn brimming with magic. "You're so small I don't think you can afford for me to take a piece out of your sorry flank!" Princess Sapphire shouted back, horn glowing brilliantly. There came a sharp whistle from Lady Frost that rang so loud it nearly hurt every pony's ears. It got the attention of Princess Sapphire and Floe who pointed out both of them, giving them one hay of a stare before both of them backed off from their fight. "What's going on?" Chapel asked curiously, leaning over to Lady Frost for answers. "You could say it is a sibling quarrel." Lady Frost whispered to her. "I didn't know Princess Sapphire had a little brother." Tea whispered in surprise. "Oh no, dear, she doesn't, but they act very much like a brother and sister would." Lady Frost informed her. Floe grumbled under his breath, smoothing out the scrolls upon the table while stacking a couple of books at the other end. Sapphire was avoiding eye contact with him as she dug through the chest to retrieve some maps and loose leaf pages of notes strewn about the bottom. "Obviously." Applejack remarked. "Okay, so this is Floe the Court Wizard of the Castle Fjord." Princess Sapphire started off, introducing him to every pony. "They already know who I am, Snow Cone. Jeez, you're so dense." Floe said rolling his eyes with a sigh. At this point, Sapphire's eye had acquired a nasty twitch, having reached her breaking point faster than any pony had seen before. In one motion, Sapphire lifted Floe off the ground with her arm and tossed him into the chest before slamming the lid shut. There was a noticeable click of the latch that kept the chest from opening again. "Lady Frost! Lady Frost! Did you see what she did to me? Punish her! Get me out of this stupid chest!" Floe shouted from inside, the chest softly thumping from his attempts to lift the lid. "Aren't you going to do anything?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "These sorts of things work themselves out on their own." Lady Frost remarked. "Like I was saying before, Floe has been helping me with my research into the Void for a few years now and I've gathered some rather interesting bits of information." Princess Sapphire carried on. "Ha! You couldn't find your flank with a map and a flashlight! I did all the real work!" Floe shouted from inside the chest, it was mostly muffled but every pony could make out what he was saying. Sapphire kicked the chest with her left back leg, watching the chest lurch backwards from her. "Hey!" Floe shouted angrily, still trying to get free. "From what I have gathered from my brief, but important, findings in the Ashen Fields; I feel confident in some of my earlier hypothesizes." Princess Sapphire continued. "Those were my ideas!" Floe's muffled voice shouted. "What sort of hypothesizes, Princess?" Twilight asked curiously. "For a while now I was working under the notion that there was more than one Obelisk in Equestria. I was proven right when I went searching for the one that was stolen from us and brought back to the Ashen Fields." Princess Sapphire answered. "How did you get your hooves on their Obelisk in the first place?" Applejack asked curiously, raising her hoof. "It was given to us by some of our brethren researchers in the Ashen Fields, a short time before the Mad King declared war with Equestria. We kept it here for safe keeping, but didn't study it in any respect until I put forward some interest into its origins." Princess Sapphire replied. "I was already studying it before you showed up!" Floe shouted again. "You weren't even born yet! Stop lying!" Princess Sapphire shouted kicking the chest again. "Well… I would of if I was around!" Floe shouted childishly from the chest. "So you're saying that there are more of those giant pillars things out there? Somewhere in Equestria, right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "When Smolder had told me that the ruined mess of iron in his room was a Void Mirror, I was surprised that such a relic was still around." Princess Sapphire explained, holding up a rather old etching of a pony and a shadow on opposite sides of a circle. "Is that a portal?" Rarity asked curiously. "That is what I thought at first, but I would put my faith on it being a Void Mirror. If we are to say it is, then it would fall into my next theory of these Void creatures having contact, and even visits from ponies." Princess Sapphire continued. "Ponies would willingly go to the Void?" Fluttershy asked quietly. "I theorized that the Void was not such a bad place to be, way back when!" Floe shouted from inside the chest; craving some recognition. "It can be said that the Void creatures and ponies had a mutual relationship, some interactions, but nothing on the scale of the portal we saw swallowing the Great Dragon Char." Princess Sapphire elaborated. "Did you bring me back a scale of the Elder Dragon?" Floe asked aloud. "No." Princess Sapphire replied back. "You're a jerk!" Floe shouted, sounding rather pouty. "So, what you're saying is that these Obelisks's were made for a certain purpose, right?" Rarity asked, trying to piece things together. "I originally thought that the purpose of these Obelisk's were to bring about the end of Equestria. Thanks to that dork Smolder, who decided to use it, my theory was proven false." Princess Sapphire remarked. "Who's Smolder?" Floe's muffled voice asked. "He's the new King of the Ashen Fields, sweetheart, he's currently trapped in the Void!" Lady Frost shouted aloud for him to hear her. "Didn't you marry that pony? I guess he rather throw himself in the Void then spend his life with you!" Floe shouted, laughing hysterically. Sapphire bucked the chest rather hard, watching it lift off the ground and slam back down, but Floe was still laughing inside. "So what were they supposed to do in the first place?" Pinkie Pie asked, tilting her head. "So far, all I can tell is that it was meant to open a very large portal. Although, it seems that it takes a great amount of power to get them working." Princess Sapphire continued. "Is that little flame going to be enough to open the portal again?" Fluttershy asked curiously, pointing to the lantern. "For the meantime, this flame will be safely guarded until such a time where we will come up with a system of increasing its size to meet the necessary level to power the Obelisks in the Ashen Fields. For the time being, I want to move on to this." Princess Sapphire replied, picking up the metal seal from the table. "That's the coin you went gaga over!" Spike shouted, pointing at it. "That's… right." Princess Sapphire replied, slowly; unsure if that was an accurate retelling of her accounts. "Smolder had left me a memory, implanted within this seal, and intended for me to find it. Much like his own visions, it just took me a while to trigger that memory to activate." "How come you were able to see it?" Applejack asked curiously. "I beg your pardon?" Princess Sapphire asked, looking confused. "Yeah, you said that Smolder's dormant magic was reacting to objects tied to his family. How come you're able to see it?" Twilight asked, thinking about it. "Well that's not really important to discuss right now, the important thing is that we-" Princess Sapphire began. "I know!" Lady Frost chimed in. "Mom!" Princess Sapphire hissed, flushing a deep purple. "Our little Sapphire performed a spiritual reading with Smolder during his Coronation party. The acts are considered to be rather intimate as it allows the caster to peer into the other pony's soul. Which in turn magically, spiritually, and you could say physically links them together." Lady Frost explained, feeling rather proud of her explanation. "Am I going to be an Uncle, then?" Floe asked from the chest. There was a sudden wave of giggling coming from every pony as Sapphire's face was bright purple, kicking the chest repeatedly; mortified by this. Tea couldn't help but laugh as well; it was almost nice to not be the center of all the Smolder teasing for once. "If I could continue without being interrupted about… inconsequential thing?" Princess Sapphire asked rhetorically. "Of course dear." Lady Frost said happily. "What did Smolder say exactly?" Twilight asked, trying to help Sapphire put things back on track. Sapphire held onto the metal seal in her hoof, closing her eyes for a moment, her horn starting to glow. Turning her head she flicked a small orb of light towards the glowing rock, it was absorbed, turning the rock into a sudden light shade of blue. A sudden ray of blue light fanned up over every pony's head, revealing a ghostly image of Smolder, looking rather beaten up, and exhausted. "I wanna see! Let me out!" Floe shouted angrily. Every pony listened to Smolder's message. Tea, Florence, and Gale had heard it before but the spectacle was so cool to look at that they seemed riveted. With the message finished, the blue light retreated back into the rock, before returning to its normal glowing state. "So Smolder believes that there are more Obelisk's out there as well." Rarity remarked. "This is why I need you ponies to help me find them." Princess Sapphire replied. "How are we supposed to do that?" Rainbow Dash asked. The latch on the chest had finally come loose from Floe's constant thrashing, popping open; Floe tumbled out looking rather out of breath from his struggles. "I… had… come… up… with… plans…" Floe started to wheeze, trying to earn the spotlight. "Plans to visit each of these possible locations of where the Obelisk's might be." Princess Sapphire finished watching Floe try to breathe. "So you want us to check out each of these locations, then?" Twilight asked. "I would have each of you break up into three teams and travel to each one in hopes of finding them." Princess Sapphire elaborated. "Splitting up doesn't sound like a bad idea, we'd cover more ground that way and save a whole hay of a lot of time." Applejack remarked. "Where would we even start to look?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I… had scheduled a… expedition… to one of the… locations… some time ago." Floe began, still trying to steady his breath. "It is located near the Tenochtitlan Basin." "That's a jungle area." Princess Sapphire clarified. "So why haven't you gone to check it out yet?" Spike asked curiously. "Some pony didn't clean his study like I told him to and was grounded." Lady Frost said, eyeing Floe who looked rather peeved with her. "There is a pony already there searching for the Obelisks, we can send word that representatives of our research team will be coming to assist in its discovery. We also have strong leads on where the other two sets of Obelisks are, but we haven't started any legitimate research into finding them." Princess Sapphire elaborated. "Trottingham is the next location, their well-documented history lends to the theory that they would have had contact with the Void creatures many years ago." Floe continued. "I heard Trottingham is supposed to be lovely this time of year." Rarity remarked. "The last place is here, in the Frozen North, we've done several expeditions of our own but have had no luck in finding it." Princess Sapphire said dejectedly. "Alright, girls, how do you want to do this?" Twilight asked, turning to every pony. "If I'm being honest, I could do for some sun, and some warmer climates. I'd be raring to go to the jungle and have a look around." Applejack spoke up. "I'd like a place to stretch my wings a bit; Trottingham seems like a real downer so a jungle might just have some excitement that will be keeping me from dying of boredom." Rainbow Dash chimed in. "I have no idea what Rainbow Dash is talking about; I would jump at the chance to absorb some of the culture Trottingham has to offer." Rarity remarked. "I heard all they do is drink tea all day." Rainbow Dash mumbled. "It sounds like they just need a party to spice up that tea party!" Pinkie Pie shouted, wrapping her arm around Rarity's shoulder. "I guess that leaves just you and me Fluttershy, do you want to stay here and help us find the Obelisks?" Twilight asked, giving Fluttershy an out. "That will be fine, I want to see all the animals that live up here in the North so I can tell all the foals and fillies back in the Ashen Fields about them. I will also help try and find the large pointy things too, if I can." Fluttershy said softly. "Ahem!" Spike cleared his throat, tugging on Twilight's tail. "You can stay too, Spike. Having a dragon in sub-zero temperatures is really useful." Twilight remarked. "So it's the orange one, the blue one, going to the jungle. The white one and the pink one going to Trottingham." Floe mumbled to himself, writing it down on some parchment. "If any of you do manage to find the Obelisks or anything that will help us better understand the Void, please take note of it and send it back here as quickly as you can." Princess Sapphire urged them. "Don't worry Princess, we won't let you down." Applejack said confidently. "Just remember not to get your grubby little hoof prints all over the Obelisk when you find it." Floe commented, making a face. "Floe! I want a word with you!" Lady Frost said aloud, in a very motherly tone. "But Sapphire locked me in a chest! And kicked it! Why aren't you mad at her?" Floe whined, pointing towards her. "Now!" Lady Frost commanded, sounding rather stern. Every pony filed out of the meeting room, discussing with each other on their own personal mission, as Princess Sapphire escorted Tea, Chapel, and Florence from the room. Lady Frost stayed behind to give Floe while he looked rather annoyed of Sapphire's get out of trouble free card she had been given. "I feel like we're just going to be in the way here." Tea said regrettably, holding onto the lantern. "I did not bring you here for the sole purpose of finding Obelisks, Tea." Princess Sapphire said glancing over at her. "Then why did you bring us?" Chapel asked curiously. "Well… I… never really had… any friends before… so I thought it would be… cool if…" Princess Sapphire mumbled, her face flushing slightly. "You wanted to have a sleep over, didn't you?" Florence asked accusingly. "A what?" Princess Sapphire asked, looking confused at the term. "It's when you invite all your friends over to hang out and spend the night at your place. We play games, talk, gossip and all kinds of stuff." Chapel explained. "I… I suppose I did want something like that; if that is alright with the rest of you?" Princess Sapphire asked nervously. "Are you kidding? We're hanging out with a Princess! We would be crazy to say no!" Chapel shouted in excitement. "To-To-To be honest… The reason I wanted you to come out here is because…" Princess Sapphire stammered. "I'm… actually… worried about… Smolder and I really wanted some pony to… talk to about it." "What are you worried about?" Tea asked curiously, noticing Sapphire's uneasiness. "If I can't convince every pony to open the portal I'll be failing Smolder, and you; it'll be all my fault-" Princess Sapphire trailed off; she seemed quite rattled by the whole thing. "You know, whenever I'm worried about Smolder, I always hold this lantern close to me. I can feel the warmth of his fire, and it comforts me; it's like… as long as this burns I know he's alright." Tea said, holding it out to her. Sapphire took the lantern with her hooves, carefully holding it from the bottom, as to not frost the glass around it. She would never feel the heat from such a meager flame, but just looking at its rippling flames offered her a lot of comfort. It reminded her of Smolder's unwillingness to give up, that such a small flame could still burn after all this time with just a little and care. "Feel better?" Tea asked hopefully. "It does offer some respite to these feelings I'm having but I'll feel better when I hit him as hard as I can for leaving the way he did." Princess Sapphire replied with a smile, giving it back. I felt a sudden twinge of pain come from the back of my head. Rubbing the back of my head with my hoof I turned around unsure of why I was feeling this sudden feeling. "What are you doing?" Mira asked, carrying several stone jars in her arms. "I don't know, but I feel like some pony wants to hit me." I mumbled, still rubbing my head. I felt Mira's hand slap the back of my head. "Wow, you're right." Mira remarked, floating back to her jars.