//------------------------------//
// Cold, Colder 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Valey crawled up a staircase, having decided that as nice as pampering and a ride out would be, she would regret it if waiting earned a case of frostbite for her hooves.

All four of them were icy, and she had been ready to drag herself along on her belly, but the numerous jagged rocks and shards of glass on the floor and below the snow were a sharp detriment to that plan. She felt raw enough from clinging to the hole's edge, as it was. So instead she crawled, moving limb by jellied limb and waiting to ensure they wouldn't give out under her.

She reached the first tier, found herself face-to-face with the giant gap where the floor had been smashed out beneath her in the fight... and saw Dior skirting the edge, making his way toward her. Their eyes locked.

"Arambai says to tell you he doesn't have any able-bodied massage mares," he shouted over the nearby wind. "He also said you couldn't move! Do you still need help?"

Valey glanced at the dull sound stone under her good wing; it had ran out of power shortly after their exchange. "Oh, I totally can't move. This is... uhh... cheating." The foreleg with the burnt hoof gave out, and she tipped over, catching herself against a wall. "And don't worry about it. You're the next best thing. Did you bring my sandwich?"

"No," Dior grunted, reaching her and using his orange telekinesis to help lift her onto his back. "Arambai did not bring a chef with him. Now bear with me, because I'm not particularly athletic."

Taking careful, heavy steps, he made his way back to the second balcony, and then the third. The shelter was lesser there, and Valey saw Arambai, Starlight, and Shinespark inside a waiting alcove by a section of roof that was somehow still standing. The wind blew just overhead, but didn't scoop down into the exposed bowl of the atrium, like a cat waiting to pounce.

"...That's it?" Valey raised a frosty eyebrow, hugging Dior for warmth. "I know we've never met, so maybe you're crazy strong... but did you really bring only yourself as backup?"

Arambai sighed. "I told the Blueleaf folks to stay home. Figured they'd only be a liability. Elise stayed with 'em, since without her horn she's not much. A few Defense Force followed me up until you made contact, and then even they went home. Smart, really. If Ironridge is about to be invaded by helpful yaks, this is the worst possible battleground for it. I've been binding Shinespark's leg so I can carry her, Starlight can walk, and apparently you're one of the good guys now." He glanced up at the howling sky. "Gotta admit, Shinespark didn't speak too glowingly of you in her letters, but you can never tell if that means you're actually a dirtbag or just her crush."

"Dad!" Shinespark weakly protested, awake and lucid and eyes still stinging with pain. She focused on Valey. "You... That pendant... How...?"

"None of your business," Valey growled, hugging Dior tighter.

"Do you mind?" Dior hissed back. "Your hooves are very cold."

Valey shifted on his back. "Yeah, that's kind of the point."

"The point is, we should be getting out of here." Arambai stood up, his aura forming around Shinespark and slowly lifting her. "Can't say I'm entirely sad to see this place go, but I'd like to not go with it. We can continue our reunion somewhere safer, and hopefully try diplomacy with the yaks."

"Dad..." Shinespark looked hurt. "The Spirit... Grenada... They're still..."

Arambai glanced over to the tunnel to the boarding room. "All right, then. They've got ten seconds to come out, play nice and come with us, but I care about you lot a little more than them."

Valey counted. By second three, there was nothing but a curtain of falling snow. By second seven, she looked away.

"I see something!" Shinespark yelped. "Dad!"

"Hmmm?" Arambai growled, looking up in interest. Valey followed his gaze.

There were ponies coming... ponies carrying ponies. Four in all were standing, and as they drew closer she could see their horns glowing, using a mix of telekinesis and their backs to carry or drag other ponies with them, most of them with weapons still affixed to their bodies. One of them had a taller frame that glinted gold in the light: Braen's armor.

"Look!" one shouted, perking up. "Other ponies!"

Another blanched. "Who else is up here but us? If they're Defense Force..."

"Then we surrender and hope as hard as we can for mercy."

"Huh." Arambai levitated Shinespark carefully, stepping forward. "Looks like your Spirit did survive, after all. For a given definition of survive, at least."

Shinespark's eyes watered, and she was speechless.

"No! There's Shinespark! She's alive!?" One perked up, and they all listened, stumping eagerly forward under their loads. "And..." They drew up, one by one. "You're Arambai, aren't you...?"

Arambai nodded.

"What are you doing back?" a chunky stallion asked, wonder in his eyes. "You've been gone for years! Have you come to save Sosa?"

"Shinespark," the mare in the golden armor said, bowing. "Our side won. The ones that wanted to listen to you. I know I shouldn't be wearing this out of respect for Braen, but it was the only way to bring it with us. We... We left the dead..." She hiccuped. "And haven't seen Grenada. Please forgive us. We just want to go home..."

"That's sounding like a common refrain, these days," Dior muttered. "Join us. We can discuss matters of justice once we're back in the Stone District, this storm has subsided and we can inspect the extent of the damages."

As they talked, Valey beckoned for Starlight, calling the filly over. Her saddlebags were still on, and, mercifully, packed with spare sandwich supplies looted from the Skyfreeze cafe. "Can't get me a sandwich, my butt," Valey grumbled, not bothering to assemble them as she stuffed bread and lettuce and gourmet toppings into her mouth by the hoofful. "Ohhhhh that feels good..."

Arambai had hefted several injured ponies on his back, using his mostly-recovered telekinesis to carry Shinespark, freeing the exhausted, injured Spirit ponies to tend to their weapons and injuries on their own. The group started moving, taking several steps through the snow to the Stone District exit.

Then, they were interrupted by a shout. "Hail, friends!" Gerardo Guillaume's voice came from a far corner of the smashed atrium, and with a flurry of wings the griffon soared nearer, eyes widening in confusion as he drew into sight. "Starlight and Valey? We left you in safety, not..." His beak dropped open. "Arambai? Whatever are you doing here?"

"I told you..." Arambai winked. "I could probably get that teleporter to send me back to Ironridge in a pinch, if anything needed beating up that badly. But it looks like you kids had it covered." He held out the sound stone taken from Selma. "Here's this, by the way. I'd love to study it if you don't want it, since it's pretty unusual technology, but let's save that for another time. Right now, we're getting out of here. With us?"

Gerardo held a talon to his breast. "Much as I'd love to, myself and my present compatriots are on a mission to... erm... prevent damage to the skyport caused by the potentially-renegade Spirit of Sosa." His eyes drifted upward, then to the weary Spirit ponies. "Though by the look of things, we're too late for the battle."

"I'll say," Valey muttered from atop Dior's back. "The Spirit kicked their own rears, but you totally missed me trashing Herman."

"...Herman is gone?" Gerardo looked incredulously at her. "And he was here? Last I saw him, he was at the top of the dam commanding the Defense Force. How much has happened while we've been flying around?"

"And where's Maple!?" Starlight demanded, biting Dior's tail so she didn't get lost.

"Back at the ship," Gerardo assured her. "It handles smoothly and appears immune to this weather, so I have full confidence in her safety. It was how we got up here, even."

Valey sighed. "So that ship really worked, huh? Lame. I could've gotten a free ride up here."

"Hold on a minute..." Arambai glanced suspiciously at Gerardo. "What ship are you talking about, here?"

Gerardo blinked. "Ah, yes, that might be prudent to mention. We discovered a power source for your ship from the Earth District warehouse, and it seems fully operational."

Shinespark and Arambai both gaped.

"Also," Gerardo noted as a significant number of figures drew into sight in the snow behind him, "I should clarify that by 'we' I mean myself, several members of both the Defense Force and Spirit of Sosa, all sixteen mercenaries we dueled in the Flame District, and a pair of mildly eccentric yaks." Seeing everyone's reactions, he quickly added, "All on the same side."





The Spirit saw each other first. As the two battered parties reunited, swapping tears and stories and explanations of why Arambai was there and how they had survived, not even caring whether they were on the same side, the mercenaries stuck to themselves, watchful and wary amid the snow. But everyone who had been present for the fight against Herman, Arambai included, were purely interested in the yaks.

"Yak Xander," one broad, smiling yak explained, completely oblivious to the mistrust sown on the ponies' faces. "And this Priscilla. Hello, ponpons!"

Priscilla gazed around, looking extremely bored next to her eager, friendly companion. "What are ponpons doing all the way up here? The storm will turn you little guys into ice cubes."

"When they say ponpons, they mean ponies," Gerardo quickly whispered aside. "Also, we've been talking and they seem quite amicable. Is there a reason for the dirty looks? It's hardly fair to condemn them simply because Herman was rotten."

"Xander and Priscilla..." Dior stepped forward, trying his best to look respectable despite having a trashed batpony on his back. "The recently deceased Ambassador Herman spoke of a military contingent accompanying a shipment here of some sort. Is this you?"

Xander pounded his hooves together. "Is not yak primary job, but still certified expert at smashing things. Went through very expensive training program which almost broke yak piggy bank. Why? Ponpons have things that need to be smashed?" He looked up hopefully.

Priscilla shoved him. "I think he asked about the shipping."

"Oh." Xander turned slightly red, grinning apologetically. "Fear not, Xander very good at shipping. Yaks were sent in advance to intercept top secret yak government delivery. Xander and Priscilla went out after rocket land, but crash site was too cold even for thick hairy yak wool. Probably magical reaction. So yaks went to hide in nearby building and wait for storm to blow over so could go back and inspect rocket delivery."

"Hmmm..." Arambai sighed, staring critically at the two yaks. "See, your ambassador more or less said to our faces you were here to invade and take over the city. Something about a government official here to give you the okay?"

Priscilla stared back, voice a perfect monotone. "We have a law that forbids invading cities. The ambassador was probably wrong."

"Well... actually..." Xander nudged her nervously. "Tell no one, but yak have second cousin who works as government bureaucrat. Once got cover from them to break law and skip jury duty. So technically have gotten government okay to break law before."

Priscilla chewed a mouthful of snow. "Whatever you say."

Valey eyed them carefully from atop Dior's back, then glanced at Arambai. "Y'know, I'm pretty sure this isn't really invasion material. If these guys are friendly, could we continue this in the Stone District? I mean, for all I know they'll help clean stuff up and then leave nicely."

"Yeah." Arambai resumed his march towards the exit. "No matter what, we're getting out of here and resuming this when we're not in danger of freezing to death. This close to the storm, it's a wonder we're still up and talking."

No one objected... except Gerardo. "I left the ship docked at the next terminal over. It seems to be weatherproof, but should I not return and pilot it somewhere out of range of the storm's wrath? After all, it is quite valuable, and I would rather see to Maple's safety myself..."

"If you're feeling up to it," Arambai said. "Where are you gonna take it that's safer, though?"

"...Right. This storm covers all of Ironridge, doesn't it..." Gerardo's headcrest lowered. "Well, at the very least, I-"

At that moment, they were interrupted by a desperate yell from the entrance. A pair of ponies soared in... or rather a pony riding a pegasus, both covered by a large weather cloak. The pegasus was clearly flagging, and barely managed to make a safe landing before collapsing to the snowy floor. "I'm so getting paid overtime for this..." she complained, massaging her candy-colored wings.

"Is Herman here!?" the pony on her back asked frantically, climbing off, her cloak drawn so closely around her that it hid even her face. "Please... He's not at the embassy, the Defense Force headquarters or the dam, which is already destroyed! This is important!"

Valey blinked, face scrunching in recognition. "Wait a sec... Fire? Is that you, girl? And did you get a ride from the embassy's one and only Maia?"

"Yes!" Fire gasped, a shrill note of worry in her voice. "Valey, you work for Herman! Do you know where he is? I need to find him and ask him what's going on! I hope I'm not too late..."

"Yeah, you might be too late," Valey informed her. "Just a little. Unless you think Herman survived me impaling his heart with an icicle and a chunk of roof at once, then dropping him into a raging blizzard. And between you and me, if he lived through that, I quit."

"Oh no..." Fire wilted. "I needed to ask him about why this city is so violent! He's been assuring us that everything's stable, but there was just a fight over a dam that left thousands of ponies homeless, and now-"

"I can answer that," Valey interrupted. "Herman was a scumbag. That's all there is to it. He pretty much just bragged about spending his entire ambassadorship stirring up every last pony in Ironridge, getting them thinking like us and them, and trying to get them indoctrinated into fighting so they'd ask Yakyakistan to break some law thing and take over the city. True story."

Fire pulled her hood down, letting her crystalline mane spill out around her shoulders. "Everyone in the city? And he's been indoctrinating it for years? No... No! Why wouldn't he tell us? Why would he do that!?"

Arambai put his hoof down. "What's all this about, here? You didn't know that Ironridge was a place full of ponies that didn't quite like each other?"

"We knew there were social tensions, but..." Fire swallowed. "Not that they ran high enough to lead to massive infrastructure attacks like these! Have... ponies been fighting? There have been fights because of this, haven't there?"

The heavily-battered Spirit ponies looked dryly at her, covered in dried and occasionally fresh blood. The surviving Defense Force members looked much the same.

"No..." Her ears folded, and the light grew dimmer in her eyes. "Then we're too late..."

"Hello? Hey!" Valey barked, trying to be heard above the wind and the ponies chattering about her unusual, sparkling appearance. "Once again: what's all this about? You're kind of spooking me."

Fire gulped again, tilting her head up toward the sky. "Well... this storm..."