//------------------------------//
// Frost 
// Story: Winter Aria 
// by Arcanum -Phantasy 
//------------------------------//

The sun shined brilliantly through the Crystal Castle's prismatic structure as its  inhabitants went about their busyness. One such denizen took great lengths to make themselves as hard to notice as possible as she carefully crept around the mostly empty halls.
Alright, Flurry thought as a confident grin formed on her lips. So far so good. Now if I can get to the kitchens I should be home free.
She was just about to take a step forward when a soft cough behind her made her freeze.
"You know, your Highness," a calm male voice chuckled. "The best way to sneak out of your own house is to not look like you're trying to sneak out."
Recognizing the voice, Flurry turned around to meet the grinning face of a light-gray Unicorn stallion in silver armor.
"Oh, uh, hey Captain Onyx. What's up?" Flurry asked, flashing a grin she hoped didn't look forced.
Onyx Moon just smiled at his combat student as her pitiful display of deception slowly crumbled.
"Nothing really," he shrugged. "I was just doing my rounds like always, and just happened to see somepony acting suspicious."
Flurry laughed awkwardly, all the while her eyes were eager to look at anything but her father's Captain.
"You're not gonna let me go until I say something, are you?"
Onyx feigned shock and put a hoof to his face before he responded with, "What? Why, whatever could you mean your Highness? I am nothing more than a simple Guard. I lack the power to prevent you from doing anything that you wish. However," he smiled as his posture switched back to its much more lade-back nature. "If you are going to do something dangerous, it is within my power to let my Prince and Princess know."
Flurry sighed, a relieved smile decorating her muzzle as she locked eyes with Onyx. 
One of the things that she had to learn as a Princess was how to fight, both as a means of protecting herself and the ponies of her future kingdom. At first, the role of trainer belonged to her father, but after they moved past the bare basics of self-defense, it became apparent that Shinning Armor couldn't function as a suitable sparing partner for her. This led to Onyx stepping in to fill the role, to which both parties were equally grateful for. Unlike her father, Onyx had no reason to holdback any more than what was strictly necessary and he was a very patient teacher that knew when to push and when to pull back. He also never kept himself at too far a distance from his students, a trait that got Flurry to see him as something of an Honorary Older Brother. As such, the two of them developed a secret code of sorts. If she was caught in the act of doing something Shinning Armor wouldn't agree with, he would play the "rank" card. A practice that became all the more common when the teenaged filly's adventurous nature became apparent in recent years. If she could prove that she could handle it, he would cover for her, but if she couldn't, she wouldn't get very far before the Captain would have her caught in his magic field and brought to her parents for a lecture. The last time she tried to push her luck, he was cruel enough to bring her before her Aunt to receive a lecture. Those were the longest three hours of her life.
"Don't worry Onyx," she smiled. "I'm just heading out to a friend's house."
His brown eyes scanned her for a moment before his demeanor shifted into a more legitimate state of relaxation.
"Oh, that's all?" he laughed. "If that's the case I won't keep you any longer than I already have."
With that, he bowed and made to turn the opposite direction, but stopped at the last second to add with a smirk, "By the way, I think I remember the Cooks saying something about a batch of frost berry muffins getting made a few minutes ago. Might make a nice snack for somepony."
Flurry's face lit up at the mention of her favorite treat.
"Really?! Thanks for the heads-up Onyx! I was just thinking of heading to the Kitchen on my way out!"
"You're welcome your Highness," he bowed with a laugh. "Have fun on your little trip."
"Thanks, I will," she beamed.
With that, she turned and bolted down the hall opposite of her surrogate brother. Onyx only chuckled as he did the same, his pace much more sedate then his student's.
"Kids," he mumbled under his breath as he resumed his daily rounds.



***



A gentle breeze passed through the tranquil silence of the Granite Mountain tunnel systems. Only the occasional drip of water and crumble of loose earth broke the silence. At the network's heart stood a lone colt, his emerald eyes closed and body completely still. To an outside observer, he looked to be doing nothing more than impersonating a statue, but below the surface, an extensive network of activity was taking place. Slowly, he took a deep breath through his nose, all the while, he gathered his magic into his core. Then, he both his breath and magic out through his mouth with a soft whistle. Instantly, the young cave-dweller was given near perfect image of the surrounding tunnels in his mind's eye. It was a simple trick he'd developed over the years. By linking his magic to his voice, he could create a form of sonar. It wasn't very strong in open spaces, but in the confines of his subterranean home, it gave him a nearly flawless security system. Because of that, he decided to name it The Echo Spell.
After repeating the spell three more times, he let out a relieved sigh and let himself relax.
"No intruders," he muttered to himself. "Good."
Flurry Heart was going to make another visit today and the last thing he wanted was for the whole thing to be cut short by any "uninvited guests". He also refrained from using Haze due to how it cut her last visit short. As it turned out, even the Cryomancy of an Alicorn had its limits. However, she promised that she would do whatever she had to to come back the next day. It was at that moment that Alto felt something he hadn't felt in a very long time; anticipation. He was actually looking forward to today as opposed to seeing it as just another day he had to survive. It was a strange feeling for him to say the least, but not an unwelcome one.
Not sure what one should do in this kind of situation, he gave the main chamber of his home a scrutinizing look over. Aside from the hot spring, their wasn't anything else to be seen or could be manipulated. Alto let out a disappointed growl at this fact. 
"Perhaps I should have found some ways to decorate ," he muttered.
With a reluctant shrug, he stepped through one of three openings into the tunnels deeper into the mountain. As a means to kill time, he decided to take a look at his current resources. After a moment he reached the desired chamber and grimaced. The room was about ten feet in diameter with a large pile of snow at its center. Light filled the room from the ceiling thanks to the mirror-like natural ice formations that guided it through the intricate network in the mountain. With a sigh, he turned away from the chamber to move further into the tunnel network. As he did, his thoughts drifted to what he thought about his approaching guest.
She seemed nice, he mused as he took a left turn into a tunnel. Very pushy, but nice. Maybe Mom was wrong about ponies.
He stopped and violently shook his head, desperate to dislodge the treacherous thought.
No. Mom wouldn't lie about something like that. Ponies are dangerous creatures that will kill you if you aren't one of them. She proved that perfectly.
A rush of painful memories flooded his mind. A splash of red fluid tainting the snow. Screams of pain from two combatants. The thud of their bodies falling to the ground, one completely motionless while the other desperately clung to life. A pair of glazing blue eyes and a fading female voice begging him to keep a promise. And then, a silence more cold and final than the last freshly fallen flake of snow.
Alto tightly closed his eyes and willed the memories to the back of his mind. 
Stop it Alto! That was a long time ago! You need to focus on what's going on here and now.
With that, he took a deep breath and let it out. All the while, his mind managed to repress the dark memories like it had several times in the past. However, his body still trembled from the trauma they made him relive. He sighed in shame over his momentary laps into weakness, then resumed his march through his underground home. 
After a few minutes of silent travel, he came to an opening out of the tunnels. As he stepped into the light of the outside world, he took in the view just beyond the threshold.
The mid-afternoon sun shined its rays across the frozen peaks of the shorter mountains scattered in the distance in a way that made Alto think of a sheet of diamonds. At the heart of the horizon stood a glimmering collection of true gems that, while beautiful, filled him with dread. With a shiver that had little to do with the cold that surrounded him, he pulled his attention away from the view and towards the reason he made his pilgrimage. Tall white trees towered over him, their leafs a light blue with cream colored berries the size of grapes dangling among them. There were ten trees in total, all of which grew in a circle around a lake that was at least twice the size of his hot spring. As he made his way towards the body of water, he gave the trees a scrutinizing look which gradually shifted into a satisfied smirk as his gaze crossed over the last tree.
Good. it looks like they're ripe enough for harvest. They should go well with the rest of today's meal.
He stopped at the lake's coast and gazed into the still waters before him. Beyond his reflection he saw pure darkness, like shadow given liquid form. But while most would show fear in the face of such a thing, Alto merely gave a sigh of resolution. Then, with a mix of irritation and determination in his heart, he dove into the icy dark water. Not even a second later, the dark waters were filled with a bright blue light as the cave pony's body began to change. His forehooves widened until they slightly resembled fins while his hind-legs melded together with his tail and became a fish's tail. At the same time, his mane turned into a fan-like dorsal fin that started at the crown of his head and continued down his neck before it came to a stop at the base of his tail. One his transformation was complete, he took a deep breath then made his way to the bottom of the underground lake. Once there, he gathered some of his magic into his mouth and cast Echo to get a more detailed "look" at his surroundings.
What he found brought a smile to his muzzle. 
Ten feet away from him stood a large cluster of Snow Crabs, more then half of which was just the right size for fishing. Liking his lips, he slowly swam towards his quarry, careful not to alert them to his presence. The last time he tried to catch the tasty crustaceans, he was so hungry that he recklessly charged into a cluster without thinking. Most of the cluster tunneled into the ground while the bigger and bolder ones introduced him to their dreaded claws. Now he was a bit more cautious when it came to hunting them, but not any less eager to sink his fangs into them.  He slowly circled them, his eyes carefully taking note of any crabs that were both large enough to provide a meal and foolish enough to turn its back to him. eventually, he saw his opportunity as one of the largest members of the cluster crawled away from the safety of its peers to go examine a rock a whole seven feet away.  With an excited smile, Alto zeroed in on his target and before it could react, he struck. Like an eel, he snapped the oblivious crab up in his fangs before he stopped its heart with a small blast of sound from his mouth. After the poor creature went limp, he charged back to the surface, to deposit his prize onto the coast before he dove back down to repeat the process all over again. it was when he brought his tenth crab to the surface that he decided that he was done hunting and pulled himself out of the water. Once out, his body quickly shifted back to its original form. Still dripping, he walked over to his small pile of trophies with a proud smirk before he shifted his attention to the trees around him.  
Next comes the easy part.
With that thought in mind, he channeled his magic into his hooves and jumped foot into the air. Once at the zenith of his jump, he activated the spell. Instead of falling back to earth, he stayed suspended in the air, small trails of mist falling away from the soles of his hooves. Then, as casually as one would when climbing a set of stares, he stepped higher into the air until he was parallel with the nearest tree's branches and berries. He took a deep breath then let out a bellowing howl of sound into the tree's branches. A moment later, the air was filled with the rapid patter of hundreds of light-yellow berries hitting the ground. With a satisfied smirk, he made his way to the next tree in the circle to do the same to its neighbor. Five minutes later, all ten trees were liberated of their bounty, all of which was gathered into a massive pile next to the ten dead crabs.
"This should last for a while," he smiled as he took in the literal fruits of his labor. 
Still smiling, he walked over to one of the trees and pulled a large basket with rope handles out from a hole in the ground. Once he had it in position, Alto scooped as many hooffuls of berries as he could into the basket then put the crabs on top. Then he grabbed the rope with his mouth and began to pull the loaded basket into the tunnels. 
After a few quick twists and turns, Alto once again found himself in the main chamber of his home. Humming a happy tune, he grabbed three plump crabs by their legs with his mouth and dropped them into the hot spring, then stuck his right forehoof into the water. A small chunk of his magic flowed out of the submerged hoof into the warm water, then like many times before, it weakened what little cold space existed within. Instantly, the water shifted from a comfortable bath into a boiling cauldron. While the crabs cooked, he scooped out a few hooffuls of berries into a neat pile a foot away from the spring then began dragging it into the tunnels to be stored in one of the nearby chambers.  Once that was taken care of, he returned to the main chamber to check on the condition of his prepared offerings. A smug grin decorated his muzzle as he casually reached his hoof into the boiling water to be greeted by a thoroughly cooked crab upon its return. After repeating this two more times, he set the small meal beside the pile of berries he arranged earlier and set himself down beside it to wait for his guest. A wait that was surprisingly short lived, as not long after he took a seat, a soft symphony of disjointed humming could be heard coming from the northern tunnel into his domain. As the song grew louder, Alto's mind was at war with itself. Half of it wanted him to run or be ready for a fight while the other was excited by the prospect of finally talking to somepony. It was a kind of longing that he hadn't felt since he lost his mother and he was more than eager to satisfy it. Besides, he knew that hiding was pointless in regards to the approaching pony. She could find him through the Haze spell and even knew he was there before she dispelled it the other day. 
She also has a really pretty voice, he thought, a slight heat coloring his cheeks.
Once Flurry stepped into the main chamber the humming stopped, snapping the cave pony out of his musings as he looked at the filly. The look of shock she gave him made him a bit nervous, but that weakened as her expression changed into a soft smile.
"Hi Alto," she said as she cautiously approached him.
"Hello Flurry Heart," he nodded, tone just barely above a whisper. 
Once the young Alicorn was a respectful three foot distance way from the colt she settled into a comfortable position opposite of him. It was at that moment that Alto noticed the full sattle bags she carried on her barrel. This got a raised brow out of him, but otherwise, he maintained his calm mask.
Flurry giggled, which drew Alto's attention away from the sattle bags.
"Just Flurry's fine," she smiled.
"Very well," he nodded. "I'm sure you're hungry from your trip, correct?"
Before Flurry could answer, her stomach let out a loud growl. The filly let out an awkward chuckle as her face turned beet red. The sight brought a smile to his face as he motioned towards the previously ignored pile of food to his left.
"I have a few crabs and berries if you want some."
Flurry looked at the offerings and her jaw dropped.
"How did you get these?!" she gasped, shock decorating her tone.
Alto blinked.
"I collected them. There's a tunnel that leads to a grove and underground lake."
Flurry gave him a stunned blink before she looked at the crabs and berries.
"This is a Cave Water Crab! They'er so rare just one of them could buy a small castle! And these are Star Cherries! You could use these to make everything from antidotes to curse repellents and then some!"
Alto looked at the food in surprise. Though he didn't understand what she was telling him about the berries, he did understand that what laid before him was a lot more valuable then he initially thought. It still didn't change how he perceived the objects, but it did give them a bit more respect in his eyes.
"Are these really that special?" he asked, picking up a Star Cherry and popping it into his mouth. 
Gawking at him, Flurry's horn shined and a dark green book floated out of her left saddle bag.
"Are you serious?! Just one berry could cure a whole village of ponies of almost any illness!"
As she said that, her magic opened the book and flipped through the pages until it came to the one she needed. "Look for yourself!"
With that, she levitated the book towards him before letting it gently rest on the ground before him. He looked at the open book, but no sign of comprehension appeared on his face. Instead, he looked confused.
"I never had the chance to ask you yesterday, but what is this?" he asked, pointing at the book. "And what are these marks all over it?"
Flurry's jaw dropped.
"Wait, you've never seen a book before?"
Alto nodded, a little unnerved by her behavior.
"Then I guess you don't know how to read either."
Alto tilted his head in confusion then said, "What's reading?"
If Flurry could be anymore shocked, she would've turned into lightning.  Less then three feet away from her sat a pony her own age that had things that could make a Canterlot Noble drool and he couldn't even read. No, he didn't even know what books and reading was. If her Aunt found out about this, she would lose her mind at the perceived impossibility of the matter.
"B-But didn't your mom teach you?"
Alto flinched at the question, a sudden interest in the floor taking hold of him.
"N-No, she didn't," he said somberly. "She never got the chance."
The weight of those words sunk Flurry's heart like a led brick in a pond.
"You don't mean...She's?"
He nodded.
"A-And your dad?"
"A day before I was born. Mother said it was from some sort of illness."
She gaped at him as a soul crushing sadness filled her heart. The thought of loosing her parents was too much for her to handle on its own, but to become an orphan in such a lonely place was heartbreaking. She could only imagine what Alto was going through and even that was proving to be to much for her.
"I-I'm so sorry," she gasped, tears threatening to form in the corner of her eyes.
"It's alright," he sighed, a sad smile decorating his muzzle. "It was a long time ago. Thanks to what she taut me when she could I can keep our home and myself safe. I miss her, but I know she wouldn't be happy with me if I let her passing get in the way of my promise to her."
A bit of curiosity slipped pass Flurry's sadness at that last part.
"Promise? What promise?"
Realizing that he may have said too much, Alto shook his head and said, "Don't worry about it. By the way is it a good thing?"
Confused, Flurry raised a brow at him.
"Is what a good thing?"
"Reading," he said glancing once again at the book that laid before him. "Is it a good thing to know how to do?"
Flurry blinked, then giggled at the complete one-eighty the conversation took. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who felt the need for a change of topic.
"It depends on the book," she smiled. "Sometimes I get stuck reading something really boring and I can't wait to just get it over with, but when I find something really fun to read, I can't bring myself to put it down."
"I see," Alto said, intrigue coloring his tone. "Could you maybe, teach me how?"
A nervous laugh slipped pass the Alicorn's muzzle as she considered the offer.
"I could try I guess, but I'm not really a teacher, so..."
"That's fine," he smiled. "It was just a thought."
An awkward silence filled the room as its only inhabitants contemplated what to do next. Eventually, Flurry broke it with a proposition.
"How about I read the book out to you? That way we can both enjoy it."
Alto thought about it for a moment, shrugged, then nodded in the affirmative.
"That could work. Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
"Not at all," she beamed. "Just make sure you bring some of those crabs with you. I'm starving! "
With a soft smile he grabbed two of the crabs with his mouth and closed the gap between them. It was then that Flurry realized what it was about the colt's appearance that she found so odd all this time. It wasn't that his coat had a strange shine to it, he simply didn't have one! In place of his fur was a finely interlocked curtain of scales that covered his entire body. Each one was small like the ones one would find on a fish and gave off a brilliant prismatic sheen that for a moment seemed to hypnotize the young mare.
"Flurry?"
Flurry blinked out of her trance as her mind processed Alto's voice. A blush decorated her face as she realized she had been staring at him longer then what could be considered polite by most.
"I-I'm fine," she chuckled awkwardly as she took one of the offered crabs in her magic. 
With a bit of focus, she was able to strip the shell off of her meal before she sampled the delightfully tender meat. As she enjoyed the rare delicacy, a loud crunch filled the air as her companion took a large bite out of his crab, shell included. She watched him take another bite with morbid fascination, which changed to shock when she noticed his fangs. Traits such as fangs and even claws weren't anything foreign to the young Princess, as she had spent time around creatures such as Changelings and Dragons sporadically throughout her short life, but to see such traits on a pony was a very surreal experience to say the least. 
It's probably a Windago thing, she thought as she finished off her crab. 
It was then that she remembered that Alto wasn't the only one to bring something to this get-together.
"Oh! Hold on!" she smiled as her horn once again summoned something from her sattle bags. "I almost forgot about these."
The item in question was a small blue tupperware container that she levitated in front of themselves. With a smirk, she opened it to reveal  four freshly baked muffins. Each one was the size of a baseball and covered with hazy gray berries. The scent they gave off was like nothing Alto had ever experienced before and with each sniff he took, the more eager he was to change that.
Flurry took note of her friend's reaction and with a bright smile said, "Frost Berry Muffins, one of our Head Chef's best treats. I practically grew up off of these and let me tell ya, nothing can top them."
Alto looked up at her in surprise then said, "Can I..."
"Go ahead," she laughed. "Least I can do after you gave me a crab."
Elated, he scooped a muffin out of the container with his hoof and placed it in front of himself. At the same time, Flurry levitated the long forgotten book over to herself.
"So," she smiled as she levitated her own snack out of the container. "What do you want me to read first?"
"Maybe the one with the marks on the outside," he said, eyeing the cover suspiciously.
"Alright," she giggled, then cleared her throat. "Super Naturals, A beginner's Guide to Botany and Medicine."
"Botany?"
"It's the study of plants," she explained as she opened the book to the first page.
He nodded in understanding and as she started to read the first page to him, he took a bite out of his muffin. Without a doubt, it was the greatest thing he had ever eaten.