The sun rose high in the sky, the frozen land beneath it turned into an ever expanded blanket of dazzling crystal. The only thing that could rival such a pristine image of natural beauty was the massive empire of literal crystal seen half a mile away from the highest peaks of the Granite Tip Mountains to its south. Braving these very same mountains were three teenage fillies. One was a dark-blue Earth Pony with a short, sky colored mane and tail while the other was a dark-red Unicorn with a flowing pink mane and tail. Both of them had the standard prismatic gleam shared by most of the ponies native to the Crystal Empire, but one odd trait separated them from their peers, their eyes. The blue filly had one eye that matched her coat while her other was a startling shade of blood-red while her crimson sibling was the opposite. This gave them a fair share of bullying in their younger years, but it wasn't anything they couldn't get through. Besides, their small defects were nothing compared to what the leader of their little group had to contend with. She was an odd sight to behold, a snow-white Alicorn with a two toned blue and purple mane cut short with curls that weaved around her ears like a small crown. Her tail was similarly styled and colored but left to grow into something resembling a dress' train. Draped over her back was a pair of saddlebags bearing her cutie mark, a snowflake with a heart made of diamond at its center.
"Flurry," whined the blue Earth pony as she struggled to keep up with her High Royal companion. "Are we there yet?"
Flurry Heart sighed as she turned towards her impatient friend.
"Not yet Sapphire. Just a little further."
The blue pony, Sapphire, let out an aggravated groan as she grudgingly tailed her friend as her crimson companion watched the exchange with mild interest.
"You know asking her that over and over again isn't going to get us there any faster, right?" the red Unicorn asked, tone flat as a board.
Sapphire glanced over her shoulder at the monotoned Unicorn and fixed her with an annoyed glare.
"Aw can it Ruby!" she snapped. "My hooves hurt and I'm freezing my Cutie Mark off here!"
Ruby glanced down at the red and blue chisel that decorated her sister's flanks.
"They look secure enough to me."
Sapphire turned her attention back towards her front with a low growl, various curses muttered under her breath. Flurry watched the exchange from the corner of her eye and sighed.
"Can't the two of you go ten seconds without fighting about something?"
"No," Ruby answered flatly, earning another irritated groan from Sapphire. "Believe me. I've tried."
"Well, maybe if you showed some bucking emotion we could get along better!" Sapphire snapped.
"Or perhaps you should learn to keep that temper of yours under control," Ruby countered, completely unfazed.
"Whatever, robot," Sapphire grumbled.
"Hot head," Ruby replied evenly.
"Ice Queen!"
"Brute."
"Doll!"
"Cave Pony."
"DO YOU EVEN HAVE A SOUL?!"
Ruby grinned as she through a foreleg over her seething sibling's shoulders, giving her a gentle half-hug.
"Love you too sis."
Sapphire looked like she was about to respond with an insult, but stopped herself at the last second. Instead, she just swallowed her vocal barb and with red cheeks muttered ,"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Flurry let out a soft chuckle as she watched the scene play out behind her.
"You two are so weird sometimes."
"N-No!" Sapphire snapped, face almost as red as her sister. "You're weird!"
That got another chuckle out of the small princess.
Sapphire glowered at her as she shook herself out of her sister's embrace.
"Whatever! Are we there yet?!"
Flurry Heart sighed as she stopped and turned to face her two friends.
"Yes," she deadpanned and pointed off to her left.
The two fillies fallowed where Flurry's hoof was pointing. About ten feet away from them stood a massive cave entrence. A thick cloud of what looked like fog leaked out of it like smoke form a dragon's jaws, a fact that added an extra layer of ominous atmosphere to the stone passage. Sapphire gave the cave a dithered glance before she shifted the same look at Flurry. Ruby merely raised a brow at the cave before parroting her sister's actions.
"It's a cave," Ruby intoned flatly.
Flurry let out an irritated groan as she rolled her eyes at her friend's less then stellar reactions.
"Its not the cave I wanted to show you guys, its what I found inside the cave."
"I would've assumed as much," Ruby calmly replied.
"Nothings living in there, right?" Sapphire asked, a slight quiver in her tone.
Flurry gave her friend a sympathetic smile. One of their explorations when the trio were little led them to a cave not too different from the one they were standing in front of. The big difference though was that this one wasn't inhabited by a massive Snow Beast.
"I promise," she smiled as she put a hoof on her nervous friend's shoulder. "There is nothing dangerous in that cave. And if something does show up, you've got us to watch your back."
Ruby nodded in the affermative, a faint smile decorating her muzzle.
Sapphire sighed, the tension visibly reduced with the action before she gave her company a weary smile.
"Alright, thanks guys."
But it was quickly replaced with the filly's trademark glare as she added, "But if it turns out that some pony-eating monster lives here, I'm telling your dad it was all your idea! Deal?!"
"Deal," Flurry smiled as she shook hooves with Sapphire. "Now c'mon! You two are gonna love this!"
With that, Flurry confidently trotted through the misty opening. Reluctantly, Sapphire and Ruby fallowed, both fillies on high alert to be on the safe side. What caught the twins off guard as they fallowed their fearless leader into the unknown was how hot the cave's interior was. If the two of them didn't now better, they would've assumed that they had inadvertently stepped into a sauna, not some random cave in the mountains. Much to their surprise, that assessment wasn't too far from the truth. After roughly five minutes of walking, the three fillies stood in front of a large pool of steaming water. Sapphire stared at the pond-sized hot spring with a look of slack-jawed shock, while widened eyes were the only signs of excitement from Ruby. Flurry bore a smug grin as she took in her friend's reactions to her find.
As it stood, natural hot springs were extremely rare in the Frozen North, and by extension, greatly sought after. Not only did they relieve stress in addition to the usual benefits one would come to expect from bathing in the heated water, but it gave the prismatic coats that Crystal Ponies took pride in a near polished shine comparable to a carefully shined gem. It was this trait in particular that got the attention of mares in The Empire that were looking to get a stallion's attention. Naturally, this made the use of such springs rather costly and as it stood, only some of the mid to higher nobel houses in the Crystal Empire could afford to make use of them for any repeated number of times. As far as Ruby and Sapphire were concerned, Flurry had just led them to their own private mine of Celestial Diamonds and none of the ponies present were eager to change that for the foreseeable future.
"Well?" Flurry giggled as she removed her sattle bags. "Are you guys gonna get in or stare at it all day?"
Sapphire was the first to recover and with the biggest grin a pony could make, ran towards the spring.
"BONZAI!!" she cried as she rushed into the steaming water.
As soon as she found a spot that she could lay down comfortably and avoid drowning, she let out a contented sigh, a rare look of peace decorating the fiery-tempered teen. Flurry let out a small snort of amusement at her friend's antics before she shifted her attention back to her sattle bags. It was at that moment that Ruby had managed to make it over to her, a somewhat uncomfortable look on her normally neutral face.
"If I had known we were going to do this, I would've brought a towel."
Flurry snickered as she pulled a few towels out of one of her bags.
"Got cha' covered," she winked. "Now head in before Sapphire takes all the glitter for herself."
Ruby nodded, a faint smile decorating her muzzle, as she calmly made her way to the spring. Smiling, Flurry laid out three neatly folded towels a safe distance away from the spring just in the off chance her friends would decide to turn their relaxing soak into an all-out splash fight. Next to that she spread out the various snacks she brought for when they needed to cool off. All of it was perfectly organized by size, color, and most likely order of consumption based on what she had observed in her many interactions with her friends. In many ways, she blamed her small obsession with organization on her Aunt, but while she wasn't as devoted to it as Aunty Twilight, she could still appreciate the security that a little order provided.
"Come on, Flurry!" Sapphire groaned. "Get in here before Ruby has to drag you in."
"Why do I have to do it?" Ruby sighed, enjoying the hot water's warm embrace.
"Cuz you have magic and I'm not moving."
Ruby gave her sister a half-hearted glare and said, "A small part of me wants to argue with you over that, but a bigger part doesn't give a flying buck."
Sapphire gasped.
"What?" Ruby asked, head tilted in confusion.
"Since when did you swear?"
Ruby glowered at Sapphire.
"Just because I don't make a habit out of it like you do does't mean I don't do it."
"It's true," Flurry said as she approached the steaming pool. "You should've seen what happened the time Onyx knocked over one of her paintings. I think she created a few new swears that day."
Ruby blushed as she suddenly became very interested in the hot spring's floor.
"Y-Yeah, I lost my temper that day and said some things I'm...less than proud of."
This got a shocked look out of the blue Earth Pony.
"Seriously? Where the buck was I when this was going down?"
Flurry giggled while Ruby let out a small stream of light chuckles. As she let Ruby turn into a brand new shade of red, Flurry eased herself into the water. A grateful groan escaped her lips as she let it wash away her accumulated stress and the soreness in her muscles. In spite of what many ponies think, being a Princess was a lot harder than it looked. Granted, she didn't have to go to school and put up with some of the normal migraines most had to contend with. Instead, she had to learn from private tutors that all seemed Tartarus bent on jamming everything from Advanced Magical Theory to Royal Etiquette Lessons into her head all at the same time. In the span of an hour. Add to the fact that she had to deal with constantly being watched, be it from guards that wanted to keep her safe or normal citizens who couldn't seem to see anything beyond the nonexistent crown she "wore" everywhere she went and it was a miracle she hadn't snapped under the strain. Honestly, if it wasn't for Ruby and Sapphire she probably would've had some kind of mental breakdown due to the strain her birthright put on her.
It was because of that that the young Princess found herself smiling wearily as she let the loving hug of the spring's water envelope her. This was something she needed more than her friends could ever possibly imagine. No fanfare. No special treatment. Just some time to truly be herself with two of the most important ponies in her life doing something as simple as relaxing and enjoying the moment. Of course, like most moments of peace, it was over before she was ready or willing for it to be.
"So Flurry," Sapphire giggled with a mischievous smirk. "You got your eye on anypony lately?"
Flurry blinked, then let out an annoyed sigh as she leveled a flat stare at her blue friend.
"Really Sapphire?"
"What? Just thought I'd ask," she shrugged, ignoring the slight glare coming from the Alicorn in front of her.
"First off Sapphire," Flurry groaned. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to meet anypony who isn't afraid I'll blast them to oblivion? Plus, I think Dad would put a hit on anypony who could even get that far."
Sapphire visibly cringed at that.
"Oh...right. Kinda' forgot about that. Sorry."
"It's alright," Flurry sighed. "But now that you mention it," she smirked."How are things going for you and Opal?"
Sapphire staggered back, suddenly very uncomfortable.
"Uh, well, we're making progress."
"She hasn't said two words to him yet," Ruby said, tone showing a minimal level of interest in the conversation.
"RUBY!!!" Sapphire whined, face turning beet red.
"What?" she asked, a slight hint of feigned innocence in her voice. "You've known Opal Heart for over a year now and you have yet to even give the poor colt so much as a 'hello'."
Sapphire gave her a glare that slowly shifted into a smug grin.
"Oh yeah? How are things going between you and Quartz Mark?"
Ruby raised her brow slightly at her sister's question.
"We're doing well. As a matter of fact, we're planning to meet up this weekend to talk about what steps we should take in his project."
Sapphire's jaw dropped at her sister's confession.
"You guy's are dating?! When the Tartarus did that happen?!"
A faint blush decorated Ruby's muzzle as she processed Sapphire's outburst.
"I-It's not a date. We're just meeting up to complete a project."
"Is it for school?" Flurry inquired.
"No," Ruby answered flatly.
"Where are you going to meet him?" Sapphire smiled.
"The Tornado Café,"
"Is it going to be just the two of you?" Flurry added.
"Yes."
Sapphire and Flurry shared a knowing smirk and in perfect sync sang, "It's a date!"
"You two are impossible," Ruby grumbled, face turning a brighter shade of red then her coat could ever hope to hide.
The other two fillies laughed good-naturedly as Ruby tried to recover from her needling. Just then, an unwelcome feeling washed over the young Alicorn. A feeling she was all to familiar with as she had to deal with it on a daily basis; the feeling of being watched. As subtly as she could, she took in her surroundings to better get an idea of who or what could be watching them, but nothing obvious made itself known. Still airing on the side of cation, she channeled a small amount of magic and levitated a few Frost Apples to her friends and herself. Of course this was a trick her father taught her to hide a low level Scanning Spell. It wouldn't be able to give her a detailed look at what was watching her, but it should give her a general idea of what their size, shape, distance, and intent was. As she took a casual bite out of the white apple in her telekinetic grip she took note of what the spell was able tell her.
So, she thought , careful to keep her pokerface around her friends. They're about twenty feet away from us in one of the tunnels leading deeper into the mountain. No wings or horn, roughly about our size and pony-shaped. They don't seem to have any gear on them though. Does that mean they live here?
The information the spell gave her did set her a little at ease, considering it was a single small pony, but what made her a little nervous was how hard it was for it to read the pony's intentions. It was like the figure was curious about them but afraid to make a move towards them. Like it thought they would try to hurt it. Confused, she kept the spell running a little longer just to make sure the mysterious pony didn't try anything as she continued to enjoy her time in the hot spring with her friends. Eventually, the three fillies decided they had spent enough time in the spring and after a thorough wipe-down with the towels Flurry packed, they made their way out of the cave.
"We should totally do this again sometime!" Sapphire smiled, practically bouncing out the cave entrence.
"Agreed," Ruby nodded. "It was fun."
Flurry nodded in agreement.
It was just the kind of refresher she needed, but with that in mind, she knew she was going to have to come back again in the near future. Unfortunately, it was not going to be for a relaxing soak. As the three of them started the long hike back down the mountain, Flurry levitated a small bundle of snacks into the cave mouth. A small offering to whoever called the cave home and hopefully make future negotiations go a bit smoother.
See you later, she thought, a slight smirk decorating her muzzle.
***
Flurry Heart was not a very happy pony. After three hours of boring lessons on the importance of Mana Stability in casting, she had to find a new way to sneak out of the castle. Add to that the fact that the perpetual storm surrounding the Empire had started to pick up, the young Alicorn found herself to be in a rather nonplused mood as she entered the now menacing "Spring Cave" from the day before.
With weary eyes, she took in her surroundings and frowned. Something wasn't right.
Why's it so cold in here? she thought, her breaths coming out in thick puffs. Where's all the steam?
Flurry let out a shiver as a frigid breeze passed over her from the cave's heart. This didn't make any sense! Yesterday the cave was a sauna all the way to the entrence, but now she was half way through the main tunnel to the spring and she was shivering her flank off. As she continued, the cold continued to grow until she eventually started to see portions of the stone walls become devoured by ice and snow. By the time she made it to the threshold that led to the main chamber holding the hot spring, the walls, floor, and ceiling were completely covered with ice while the room itself was flooded by a thick cloud of fog. Now beginning to feel scared, she cast her Scanner Spell on the next room. With it, she was able to make a startling discovery, not only was the Earth Pony from before there, but they were giving off a massive amount of magic. In fact, the magic coming off of the mystery pony seemed more like Unicorn magic than what she was used to sensing from a typical Earth. Not entirely sure what to expect, Flurry quietly walked into the frigid chamber. The second she set hoof into the room, she was hit with the most intense chill she had ever felt. It was as if the air itself had turned into pure cold, so much so that if it wasn't for her affinity for Ice Magic she would've choked on it. As it was, the shock was enough to get a startled yelp to slip past her lips alerting the other pony in the room to her presence.
"WHO'S THERE?!" the figure roared, their voice a near perfect imitation of her Great Aunt's Canterlot Voice if she was a stallion.
"My name is Flurry Heart," she said, a slight tremble from the chilled air in her voice. "My friends and I used the hot spring here yesterday."
The figure seemed to ponder this for a moment before answering with a booming, " AH, YES! THE THREE INTRUDERS FROM BEFORE! WHY HAVE YOU RETURNED?!"
"Well," she shivered. "I was wondering if you could find it in your heart to let us use it again in the future."
Another pause, but when the figure responded his tone felt as cold as the foggy air.
"NO. THE SPRING IS FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USES AND I WILL NOT LET OTHERS DEFILE IT. I NEED TO REPARE THE DAMAGE THAT YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS DID TO IT AS IT IS."
Flurry's ears drooped as she hung her head in shame. This was not how she thought this would've gone, but if the cave pony didn't want to share the spring then it was his choice. It was for all intensive purposes, his spring after all.
"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered, teeth starting to chatter as her resistance to the cold started to thin.
The figure huffed.
"I DON'T NEED YOUR APOLOGIES. JUST LEAVE THIS CAVE AND NEVER COME BACK."
With that, the figure began to move towards one to the paths further into the cave systems.
"Wait!" Flurry exclaimed, hoof outreached blindly in the direction her Scanner Spell positioned the unknown pony in.
In her desperate attempt to try and work something out with them, her wings flew open, quickly blasting the fog away. What she saw made her jaw hit the floor. Standing ten feet away from her stood a white Earth Pony colt. His mane and tail were long and a startlingly brilliant shade of sky blue that gave his glistening coat the look of polished marble in contrast. In fact, his coat looked more like it was made of crushed pearls than of fur. But what dominated the young Alicorn's attention the most was his eyes. Never before had she seen such a dazzling shade of green, nor had a pony looked at her with so much fear. Before Flurry could recover from the shock, the colt slammed a fore-hoof into the ground and the chilled fog from before burst out of the ground. The room was instantly filled and the nearly suffocating cold from before returned along with it.
As Flurry regained her bearings a much less menacing voice echoed through the cave walls.
"Please. Just go away."
And with that, the unknown pony disappeared into the caves, well outside the reach of Flurry's spell. So, left with little else to do at the moment, she turned , and granted the colt's wish.