The White Walk seemed endless. There was no discernible land mark in the snow, the horizon blended with the ground, it was like walking on a blank canvas; only growing tired with the cold.
Summer and Warrick Hearth led on, pulling the sled through this white world, leaving naught, but tracks in their march. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike huddled closer together, the wind was beginning to pick up, the air was getting harder to breath, and the scarves of their hoods were being drawn over their faces. Leaving only their eyes to be seen.
Floe had his attention focused on the trail they left behind, pulsing magic from his horn to see how far the last stone had placed before dropping another one into the snow. Princess Sapphire walked on, unimpeded by the cold, scanning the area for signs of anything, watching the winds whip themselves into the beginnings of a storm.
"How far have we gone, Floe?" Princess Sapphire asked after awhile.
"I've dropped thirteen of these stones about every hundred yards, give or take a couple on how well I could see the last one." Floe replied to her.
"We're getting close to be about a mile into the White Walk now." Princess Sapphire gathered from some quick math.
"It certainly doesn't feel like it." Spike said through his scarf.
"Speak for yourself." Summer muttered under her breath.
Summer and Warrick had been pulling the sled for nearly four hours now. With their heavy armor, weighted sled, the trudging of the snow, it was tiring work, but Warrick knew that Summer would rather collapse from exhaustion than appear weak to any pony. Needless to say, Warrick was starting to feel tired as well, and knew that if he pushed himself harder he would be too exhausted to help out in a fight.
"We should stop here for a while." Warrick stated slowing to stop. "I could use a rest and something to eat."
Princess Sapphire nodded in agreement. Flaring her wings, her horn flashed with a blue light, creating a wide birth of a magical sphere around their encampment, pushing all of the snow to the edges of the magical field. Beneath them was icy rock, frozen dirt, but it wasn't going to stay that way for long. Summer and Warrick unhooked themselves from the sled, each taking a direction, walking the perimeter of the area Princess Sapphire had marked out, breathing flames upon the ground to melt the ice.
The winds were beginning to pick a now, carrying with it snow that pelted the magical sphere, lightly coating it with ice crystals; it prevented the freezing winds from getting through. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike assisted with the provisions while Floe busied himself with a map of the Frozen North; attempting to calculate their current position. With the food rations being shared with every pony, they feasted upon some rather sugary treats to help them with the cold journey ahead. While Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike stuck relatively close to Summer and Warrick, Princess Sapphire shadowed Floe watching him map out their location.
"Thanks for agreeing to come along on this expedition." Twilight said gratefully to the Hearth siblings.
"I really didn't have a choice in the matter." Summer replied chewing on a rather scrumptious candy bar.
"Were you forced to come?" Fluttershy asked sounding a bit concerned.
"Summer is Princess Sapphire's Royal Bodyguard; she is charged with keeping her safe." Warrick explained to them. "She takes her responsibility quite seriously."
"I'm also part of the Knights." Summer added, feeling that it was prevalent information.
"Did you always want to be a Knight?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Ever since my mother put me a in dress, I knew that being a Noble Pony wasn't for me." Summer replied, cringing at the thought.
"I'm guessing not many mares choose a Knight's life, huh?" Twilight asked.
"While the Knighthood is all inclusive, it is still a rather taboo thing for mares to enlist in a rather colt dominated profession by many Noble Mares. There is a stigma that still remains for them to be more ladylike, rather than being a boorish soldier." Warrick explained to them.
"Well that doesn't seem very fair." Fluttershy stated softly.
"It doesn't bother me anymore." Summer stated quickly; making it rather obvious that it still did.
"Well I think it's admirable that you chose to pursue your dream, even if some ponies have such a narrow view of it." Twilight said to her.
Twilight's words really seemed to have positive impact on Summer as she smiled wide at the thought of another mare approving of her choices.
"Did you always want to be a Knight for the Frozen North, Warrick?" Fluttershy asked quietly.
"It's a family tradition for the eldest sibling to enlist as a Soldier Pony. Although, Warrick didn't need any pushing to join, Dad would fill his head with all the great things our not-so-dead Uncle Hearth did since he was a foal." Summer explained to them.
"What can I say?" Warrick asked nervously; rubbing the back of his fiery mane. "I was named after him; it only seemed right."
"He's also getting married." Summer added.
"Really?" Fluttershy asked in soft excitement.
"Yeah well, you know..." Warrick mumbled feeling rather embarrassed.
"Who's the lucky girl?" Spike asked, ribbing him with his elbow.
"It's Wendy Sleet, the General's daughter. He's marrying into his bosses family." Summer mused at his uneasiness.
"Is it an arranged marriage? Like the one with Smolder and Princess Sapphire?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Might as well be." Summer replied.
"It's not that cut and dry." Warrick chuckled nervously. "Wendy and I grew up together, it wasn't an arranged marriage, but our family was sort of hoping it would."
"What about you, Summer? Do you have a special some pony?" Spike asked suspiciously.
"Not a chance." Summer remarked quickly.
"What happened to that one colt... Wendy mentioned it a while back... Bleak! Yeah! What happened to-" Warrick thought back on it before a cupcake was magically lodged in his mouth.
"He is not my special some pony!" Summer shouted at him; flushing furiously.
No pony wanted to push the subject of Bleak any further, getting the idea that Summer wasn't in the mood to talk about it.
Princess Sapphire reviewed Floe's charting of their progress into the White Walk, noticing the area in which he thought the Obelisks to be.
"How much further do you think it is?" Princess Sapphire asked curiously.
"Maybe a few hours time, depending if my mapping is correct." Florence replied folding up the map.
"I have confidence in your sense of direction, Floe." Princess Sapphire said encouragingly.
Floe smiled to himself. Enjoying the small amount of praise that Sapphire had given him. Princess Sapphire turned towards the the others, ready to get them on the move once again. Sapphire froze for a moment, something had caught her eye off in the distance of the White Walk, it was a yellow flames rushing towards her; a flame very familiar. Closing her eyes for a moment, shaking her head a bit, she opened them again to see that it had vanished. Feeling that it was merely a trick of the eye from the excessive white that surrounded them, Sapphire dismissed it and carried on.
"Alright every pony, we need to start moving again." Princess Sapphire announced aloud.
Every pony was beginning to pack up their supplies, setting things back onto the sled when a soft clicking started to grow in size over the prevailing winds. The clicking started to flutter through the air, turning into a groan of stressed wood before three shrill shrieks cut through the wind with a chill. Everypony was rather shaken by the sudden cries, looking about in confusion by the noise.
"What in the hay was that?" Summer shouted aloud withdrawing her sword by means of her magic.
Spike stepped back behind Twilight, clutching his claws together, feeling rather frightened as he looked about. From blank whiteness of the snow, Spike's eyes locked with a figure staring back at him, it was there for a moment before the head slip back beneath the snow.
"Twilight! It's there! It was right there!" Spike shouted clutching her leg and pointing off into the snow.
Every pony turned to look at where Spike was referring to, seeing nothing but the snow. The clicking continued, it was swift, growing closer and further away at times as if it was drawing near and retreating just as quickly. Princess Sapphire and Floe slowly retreated back to the sled scanning the snow for what was making the noise.
"What is it?" Warrick asked looking about.
"It could be the Faceless One that Benny and Rupert were talking about." Fluttershy whispered sounding unnerved.
"Ijiraq..." Floe whispered visibly frightened.
"Whatever it is, it won't be getting-" Summer cut herself short as the clicking suddenly stopped.
There was a silence that hung, the winds had stopped blowing, the snow drifting softly to the ground as every pony refused to breathe and break the stillness. Princess Sapphire eyes caught sudden movement in the White Walk as an all too familiar rock sailed through the air and bounced towards the sled. Lifting her hoof, Princess Sapphire stomped upon the sliding rock to see that it was one of the magical stones that Floe had been leaving behind.
"Is that..." Summer whispered looking worried at the stone beneath her hoof.
"We're in trouble." Princess Sapphire muttered sneering at the stone.
"It can't be! I've been watching them since we entered the White Walk!" Floe stated flashing his horn with magic.
The magical stone beneath Princess Sapphire's hoof started to glow, along with the one Floe had last left a couple yards out, but the next stone glow came to Floe's left. One by one the magical stones started to radiate a light, one several yards away from the next, before the last stone began to glow; it formed a perfect circle around them.
"That's not possible!" Floe shouted in horror.
"We are in serious trouble." Summer mumbled.
"Every pony remain calm. Stay close to one another and don't hesitate to say something if you see anything." Warrick stated to every pony.
A muffled shriek echoed across the White Walk, chilling every pony to the bone, unable to figure out where it was coming from. Summer looked about, straining her eyes to see anything within the White Walk around them. Her eyes met with a large buffalo skull that simply sat within the snow, black smoke rising from the eyes, and it made her hesitate to say anything. Moments later the patch of snow beneath the skull exploded upward, the massive creature adorned in furs and thousands of branches charged towards her with great speed on freakish bird like legs. It took only seconds for the Ijiraq to reach Summer, its massive arm shot out towards her as she stood frozen at the sight of it.
A sudden flash of flames flourished past Summer, Warrick slamming hard into the Ijiraq, knocking it from reaching her. The two stumbled through the snow before the Ijiraq's got to its enormous legs, clutching the struggling Warrick in its hands before bounding off into the White Walk with him.
"Warrick!" Summer screamed.
The figure of the Ijiraq was already gone from everypony's sight as Summer took off after it. Princess Sapphire was quick to cut her off halfway out, tackling her to the ground, and impeding her from running off on her own. Spike clung to Twilight as Floe clung to Fluttershy frightened by what had just occurred.
"Let go of me! It has Warrick!" Summer shouted in a mix of anger and fear.
"We have to stick together! You'll only get yourself lost out there!" Princess Sapphire shouted back at her trying to keep her from getting up.
Summer struggled against Princess Sapphire, her anger mounting with her flames, but collapsed into the snow sobbing. Princess Sapphire kept her grip on her, trying her best to comfort her.
"Fluttershy said that if we're honest with ourselves we can convince it to let us go." Princess Sapphire whispered comfortingly to her.
Summer got to her hooves, her anger was still present, and her sobbing was subsiding. Princess Sapphire let go of her slowly, knowing she was asking a lot of her to remain here instead of going after Warrick. Brushing her nose with her hoof, Summer's horn started to shine as her sword was lifted out of the snow and erupted in flames.
"I'll convince it alright." Summer muttered menacingly.
Summer flared her mane as she turned to walk back to the sled, her fiery sword floating beside. Princess Sapphire wanted to say more to her, she knew she couldn't promise Warrick's safe return, but even as her friend she needed Summer to remain focused on her sense of duty to the others. Before Princess Sapphire could take a step after Summer, the clicking had returned, and it caused every pony to freeze. Sapphire looked about, trying to figure out where the creature would strike from next as Summer flames roared in her anger.
"Where are you?" Summer shouted out loud looking around for it.
"Don't antagonize it!" Spike hissed at her.
Floe stepped off of the sled taking a few steps towards Princess Sapphire who stood off on her own looking off into the White Walk.
"Sapphire! Come back! We need to stick together!" Floe shouted to her.
"Just remember every pony, the Ijiraq needs to be convinced to let a pony go, and to do that you have to be honest with yourself." Fluttershy stated softly.
"W-W-W-We g-g-g-got nothing to hide." Spike stammered nervously.
The arms of the Ijiraq suddenly sprang up from the ground on either side of the sled. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike screamed from its sudden appearance as Summer lunged at its arms, her sword cutting through the air, but the Ijiraq's flailing struck Summer to the side with ease. The hands closed over Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike who shrieked in terror as they were pulled beneath the snow. Floe staggered back in horror, falling into the snow trying to scoot himself away from where the sled once was.
"Twilight!" Princess Sapphire shouted in terror rushing back over.
Floe scrambled towards Princess Sapphire, clutching her leg, his breathing irregular from his fear as Summer picked herself up off the ground hissing her frustration at her inability to stop it. Princess Sapphire's horn started to brim with magic, preparing for when the Ijiraq would appear once again. Turning to look at where the Ijiraq had fled before, Princess Sapphire's eyes fell upon a familiar face that had her in disbelief.
"Smolder?" Princess Sapphire asked quietly.
"What?" Floe asked looking around at to what she was looking at it.
Princess Sapphire could see that Smolder was galloping towards her, his yellow flames rippling off of him, a smile strewn about his face at the sight of her. Sapphire stepped towards him, unsure of why or how he was here, but wanted nothing more than to reach him. The second the magic from her horn disappeared, the body of Smolder quickly faded, a forest of branches appeared from the snow, the massive buffalo skull appearing before her as its bird like legs stomped towards her.
A blast of fire impacted the Ijiraq followed by a loud thud that had it sliding to a stop. Looking down at its chest, Summer's fiery sword lodged within it. The Ijiraq puzzled at what it was, plumes of black smoke seeping from the entrance the sword had made. The sword magically vanished as Summer appeared before the Ijiraq in its place, having transferred herself in its place with her magic. Summer let loose a ferocious blaze of fire, igniting the Ijiraq on the spot, as it shrieked wildly flailing its arms at the fire. The Ijiraq pounced upon the Summer as the two disappeared beneath the snow without a trace.
"Summer!" Princess Sapphire shouted in horror.
The snow remained still. Princess Sapphire quickly starting to dig into the snow, hoping beyond hope that the Summer was just buried beneath it, but it wasn't so.
"She's gone, Sapphire!" Floe shouted to her.
Floe was pulling up Princess Sapphire's arm trying to get her away from the spot. Tearing herself away from the patch of snow, Sapphire pulled her wing around Floe, refusing to let him leave her side, and Floe wasn't complaining about it. Everything had fallen apart so quickly, Sapphire was feeling that this had been a disaster from the start, and was beginning to doubt that there was anyway out of this.
"What are we going to do?" Floe asked in a frightened tone.
"I... I..." Princess Sapphire said slowly, unsure of what to do herself.
Two large horns broke the snow, the buffalo skull rising up, fur intermixed with the branches left clumps of frost packed with it, its massive arms holding its hands together. The sounds of its clicking grew louder, standing before the two of them ominously rubbing its grotesque hands together. Princess Sapphire stepped forward, her horn shining once more as Floe pulled on her to step back.
"If you require convincing than listen carefully to my words!" Princess Sapphire said aloud to it. "We seek only to help another pony, one trapped in a dimension that can only be accessed through Obelisks within this region! I swear to you that whatever it is you seek to protect will remain unsullied! Release my companions, and I will ensure that your region is never entered again after our task is ended!"
The Ijiraq did not respond to her words. Its hands continuously sliding over one another, its empty eyes sockets of the skull billowing black smoke that quickly got swept away in the wind. Its sudden shriek shook the ground, the force of its cry knocking Sapphire and Floe back off their hooves. Its large bird like legs launched the Ijiraq into the air, its leap carrying it right over them as it dropped down hard upon them.
Princess Sapphire's horn gleamed to cast a viable shield, but the sudden upheaval of wind emanating from Floe had her turning to look at him. His horn was blazing with magic, the force of his power creating a typhoon like winds that tore his hat and cloak from himself. Floe's magic sparked sending a flash of light across the area, everything froze within a single moment of time, the snow hung within the air, and the Ijiraq hung motionless just above them. Sapphire was still free to move about, while Floe struggled to contain this spell, it was a time spell that only select Unicorn Ponies were capable of achieving.
"I can't hold this... for long... you need to get away... Sapphire." Floe struggled to say.
"I'm not leaving you, Floe!" Princess Sapphire stated, stepping towards him.
The force of Floe's magic pushed her back, now bearing his teeth down hard to keep his magic focused. Sapphire attempted to approach him again, but the snow that hung in the air started to slowly move once again. The wind was beginning to pick up as Floe's magic started to fade.
"Don't do this, Floe!" Princess Sapphire shouted pleadingly.
"I won't let it... hurt my... sister." Floe mumbled defiantly.
The light from Floe's horn slipped away, the Ijiraq's body dropped out of the air, time once more moving before the impact of its landing blasted snow and rock in every direction. Princess Sapphire shield herself from the debris, the snow settled, the rocks falling where they may, as Floe and Ijiraq were gone from her sight.
Princess Sapphire sat in the snow, unable to think of single thing to do or say. She was alone in the White Walk now, there was no reason for the Ijiraq to come for her, she was already; she had already lost everything. Try as she might, the thought of the others some how overcoming the Ijiraq, convincing it to let them go, didn't seem viable to her. Sapphire had tried to reason with it, to convince it that their reason for being here was a peaceful one, but it did nothing to sway it.
"This is all my fault..." Princess Sapphire muttered to herself.
Everything around her was white, there was nothing to be seen, except for a soft wisp of yellow fire that drifted over her shoulder. Sapphire looked over her shoulder to see Smolder yet again, still smiling, and standing before her. Getting to her hooves, Sapphire knew this was the Ijiraq trying to distract her once again.
"Please, I beg you, give me my friends back." Princess Sapphire pleaded with it.
Smolder simply smiled at her.
"I don't know what you want from me! I've told you truth! I've been honest with you!" Princess Sapphire shouted angrily at it.
Sapphire stared at him, the smile never leaving Smolder's face. A feeling buried deep down inside her was beginning to stir, her own words seeming to echo around her, and she realized what she had to do; she had to be honest with herself. The clicking had returned, Princess Sapphire could hear snow beginning to stir from behind her. Looking back she could see the Ijiraq standing several feet away, watching her contently, rubbing its hands together once more. Turning back around, Smolder still stood before her, still smiling, and she found herself feeling confused.
"You're not... the creature... are you?" Princess Sapphire asked staring at Smolder.
Smolder closed his eyes, his head nodding ever so slightly.
The image of Smolder began to thin, fading away into the snow, as Sapphire felt her heart racing. It was weird feeling, a sort of warmth that swelled in her heart, and it seemed to give her such comfort at that moment. Sapphire turned back towards the Ijiraq who was now standing before her, its hands still sliding over one another in anticipation to what she was going to do next.
"You're a spirit." Princess Sapphire began. "A very old spirit."
The Ijiraq's hand ceased, the clicking stopped immediately at her words.
"You want us to be honest about who we are, you need to be convinced, and now I now I understand what you are. Father always spoke of how our ancestors found enlightenment through spiritual means, leaving behind our brutal nature, and you were the one that helped them achieve it." Princess Sapphire stated.
The Ijiraq's branches started to creak, pieces of wood falling from its body. Princess Sapphire got to her hooves.
"This place, it is a haven for such spiritual things, it where our ancestors came seeking guidance, self-actualization, and not to get lost but to find our way." Princess Sapphire continued.
The Ijiraq's arms started to sizzle, its flesh beginning to melt away, its fur dropping in clumps into the snow.
"We were once a very spiritual, but our ways have changed much since those days. Our interests turned to statuses and wealth. Those that entered this region were frightened, not realizing what this place was, and demonized you as a malicious spirit. We turned into a monster we all feared, and you became that monster." Princess Sapphire stated in disbelief.
The Ijiraq's massive buffalo skull slipped off its head, its massive bird legs withered away, its body slumping into the snow as black smoke rose from the body. Sapphire stepped back, watching the black smoke dissipate. Before her stood a mighty caribou, a reindeer, its body ethereal with the northern lights swirling within it, its massive horns seemed mimic the movements of the lights themselves. Quickly bowing her head to the spirit, Sapphire found herself awestruck by this ancient spirit that the first of the Ice Ponies had come to revere.
Slowly lifting her head to the spirit, Princess Sapphire could see it bowing its head to her as well, seemingly grateful to her for help in remembering who it was. The spirit stood before her, it was an unbelievable sight to behold, but it seemed to be waiting for something from her.
"I... still need to be... honest with myself then?" Princess Sapphire asked slowly; feeling her face flush.
The spirit nodded to her. Princess Sapphire felt herself flush at this.
"I kind of sort of..." Princess Sapphire failed to get the words out. "I guess I feel like I'm sort of..."
Princess Sapphire could see the spirit tilting its head at her expectantly.
"I... I think... I think he's... a big stupid dork that has caused me a lot of trouble with his foolish and incomprehensible need to do everything himself!" Princess Sapphire shouted at the spirit.
The spirit seemed taken aback by this, leaning back from her sudden outburst looking rather surprised.
"I still... sort of... like him..." Princess Sapphire mumbled; her face flushing.
The spirit nodded. It turned from her, walking away from the Sapphire as the White Walk around her started to suddenly gain some color. The world around her started to paint itself, the sky being filled in, the mountains were painting themselves, and the freezing winds were beginning to subside. Sapphire watched the spirit begin to fade away, the last of the White Walk being taken with it revealed two massive Obelisks in the distance. What was even more of an amazing sight to Sapphire was a group of ponies looking about as if they had no idea what had happened.
"Floe! Summer!" Princess Sapphire shouted in excitement.
Princess Sapphire galloped towards them. Floe had heard her shouting, rushing to meet her as she scooped him up in her arms and hugged him tightly. Summer was to busy hugging Warrick who was trying to convince her that he was alright and that he didn't remember anything after being taken away.
"What just happened?" Spike asked looking at his himself; patting his polar suit.
"You beat the Ijiraq, didn't you, Sapphire?" Floe asked in amazement.
"Did you really?" Twilight asked in surprise.
"The Ijiraq wasn't a creature, but a very old spirit that had become twisted over time. No pony here has had the teachings of spiritualism as I had, and that is why no pony could commune with it. I didn't realize that what I was seeing was a desperate cry for help from this spirit, revealing itself to me as Smolder, a pony I was already trying to save. Once I realized that it could only commune through a spiritual connection I began to realize what it was and what it needed." Princess Sapphire explained to them.
"What did it need?" Fluttershy asked sounding interested.
"It needed to be reminded of what it was. Just like we do from to time. Whether it be our loyalties, our friendships, or family, we shouldn't lose sight of what is important to us." Princess Sapphire stated putting her arm around Floe.
"So what did you say to the Ijiraq to convince it to let us go?" Summer asked curiously.
"W-What?" Princess Sapphire asked in surprise; flushing slightly.
"That's right, you had to be honest with yourself." Fluttershy remarked.
"N-N-Nothing said I had to be honest with you ponies! Only with the Ijiraq!" Princess Sapphire said defiantly; turning her head in refusal.
"Smolder and Sapphire playing on the ice, one kissed the other isn't that nice?" Floe began to sing dancing away from her. " The news is spreading, there's going to be wedding-
Princess Sapphire flushed furiously sending a wave of snow over Floe with her magic to cease his stupid little song as every pony laughed in amusement. As the laughter died down, every pony turned their focus on the Obelisks that stood ominously in the snow.
"We should get to work." Twilight stated as every pony nodded their head in agreement.
Floe popped up out of the snow, feeling excited about studying these Obelisks as every pony started to unpack the sled. A sudden gust blew by, fanning Floe's mane as his over sized hat flopped towards him. With a big smile Floe scooped it up, placing it upon his head as his eyes fell upon the ethereal caribou that stood off in the distance. Floe watched it for a moment, marveled by it, realizing that this was what Sapphire had seen, as it shimmered away.
"Floe, are you ready to get started?" Princess Sapphire called to him.
"Coming!" Floe shouted rushing towards her.