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// Chapter II: Found 
// Story: Cor Glaciens 
// by Melani-Nexus 
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Words weren’t enough to describe the raw thrill running through Luna’s core as she flew far above the snowed lands below. She had only found out about Månviken after honoring the thought of visiting the bay named in her tribute: Luna’s bay.





Expectations weren’t set nearly that high at the time, as the princess had experienced first hand way too many times that when it came to the places split under her and her sister’s name, most of her possessions were left unrecognized by their subjects and hardly ever gotten worked upon. 
Even the Celestial sea was a main route for ships of all sizes and purposes, despite being declared very recently.
So as the princess of the night visited the bay for the first time, her hopes were that at the very  least she could have a place to be at peace; the moon as her only company.
Those hopes didn’t include spotting at least 3 ponies returning from the bay’s shore; their coats moisty with salty water and bubbly foam. They seemed to be carrying freshly caught fish as the three put their effort into carrying a large fishing net that had been rolled up, and headed towards a trail that seemed to lead deeper into the land, towards the mountains’ base. Luna felt her breath catch in her lungs as she let her body lose altitude quickly, quietly floating through the air with almost no effort as the distance between her and the sandy beach below diminished.
Her silent wings and dark coat were all that she needed to become one with the night sky; landing at the beach completely unnoticed as she quietly used the environment to conceal her presence. 
The voices of the villagers sounded mixed between joyful and satisfied as they loudly conversed and made their way up the path, leaving a wet trail in their way alongside deep hoofprints.
Witnessing them put a soft smile on her lips; pressed against a large natural boulder, she tilted her head to get a better glance at the path they were following without revealing herself. Completely immersed in finding out where they were headed to, her mind only seemed to remind her briefly that they had set up a harbor with at least 5 boats anchored to them.
Perhaps she should have paid that thought some mind sooner.
A tiny hand tugged at her gown, promptly sending all the feathers on her back to a frazzled state. The princess quickly turned her head, teal eyes landing on a disheveled colt with a windblown mane, wearing moisty clothes and almost completely draped in a thick and furry blanket. Standing completely in awe at her image, his mouth was gently agape as a steady smile grew on his features and he spoke up with a high pitched excitement to his voice.
-“Are you an air nymph?”





Lunaria still chuckled at the memory; children could be really creative at times. She still had to convince the colt to not cause any alarm among the villagers upon his return, before she rose up to the skies and faded away with the shadows and clouds in a rather dramatic fashion just for his amusement. She’d bet that said colt would certainly still go around speaking of the magical entity he found that night anyways.
But unlike that night, this time she had thought of her visit thoroughly. In the same night that she happened upon the villagers, she flew upwards and followed them from the skies, letting surprise knock the air out of her lungs as the village of Månviken met her eyes for the first time.
Approaching it from above once again and fully disguised thanks to the special amulet that she carried infused with ancient changeling magic, Lunaria started to make her descent towards the path that ran straight into the heart of the village. This time she was no princess in regalia or royal gown, she was just a pegasus mare. 
Periwinkle eyes, steel blue coat, wide snowy owl wings softly transitioning into a darker shade of her main coat, then fading to a lighter tone and being sprinkled with white markings at the tip of her feathers; markings which resembled snowflakes.
A long unicornian tail was a uncommon trait for a pegasi, but she had one, displaying wavy powder blue hair at it’s tip; the same color as her long mane, which had a braid sitting right behind her ears, resembling a tiara. 
Her garments were humble, despite adorning her fairly. She wore a simple brown dress under a gray long coat that did not reach the same length of the dress; the coat was fastened together by metal buttons at it’s top, which had a small string pulling them together. At her waist, laid a belt that aided to keep the gray coat closer to her body, showing her curves a little better.
Only a few tens of meters separated her from the path, as she prepared herself for a soft landing, turning her body’s center of gravity and flaring her wings, letting the air resistance slow her down as she approached the ground while flapping her wings.
With her hooves on firm land once again, she gave her wings a few stretching flaps, finally noticing the extra weight added to the feathers due to the cold winds causing snow to accumulate at the tips. At her core, she may still be an alicorn, but the tool that the spell changing her appearance burdened onto her felt very realistic; her wings burning slightly from exertion.
“Unimportant.” - She thought to herself, smoothing her clothing that had become a tad kneaded during the flight. Raising her chin, her goal laid at the horizon. And so she started walking the rest of the way towards the village.





If Luna had to tell someone how many times she had been breath taken because of events relating to this village, it would sound amusing and nearly ridiculous, however it was exactly the case once again. Briefly flying over the village at night had hidden a big part of its beauty under the veil of darkness; but now she stood on the peak of the path leading into Månviken, taking in the surroundings and all of their grace with awe.
    	At the center of the village, a large frozen lake as smooth as glass reflected its surroundings like a mirror. Its margins littered with houses that stood at a fair distance from each other, as a group of them laid further away from the lake and into a bigger group at the background. All around them there were trees, mostly varying between tall pine trees and deciduous ones that had lost all of their leaves and frozen over, having intricate build ups of snow on their dried branches. Mountains surrounded the village isolating it with natural walls of rock, covered by a dense forest.
    	Aesthetics aside, the place was buzzing with movement and liveliness in every stretch of land or corner of the village. Stallions and mares of fairly impressive builds even for earth pony standards walked around doing their respective tasks, with the eventual aid of some younger ponies. Children and toddlers merrily played however, some seemed skillful at building snowponies, others were content with drawing, painting or even weaving fibrous plants for the making of baskets.
    	A warmth filled her chest as she tilted her head to the side, smiling at the sight in front of her. Unlike at capital, the ponies acted so naturally that it felt right, it gave her peace. Her body relaxed for once as her eyes slid shut; she let the cold breeze fill her lungs.
-“Hey, are you okay?” - A stranger’s voice broke the disguised princess out of her trance, as a hand landed on her shoulder.
-“O-oh, most certainly...” - The surprise had caused her to flinch away from the touch. Looking at the pony who approached her, it was easy to deduce that she was also a villager.
    	The mare’s features contorted with both worry and disbelief. - “I really doubt that. Most pegasi end up frozen flying around here, like most birds.” - Stepping forth, she walked around the smaller mare and rose a hand to her soft wings, brushing off some layers of frozen snow from her feathers. - “I wonder how you didn’t plummet from the sky in this state.
-“Perhaps, I’m tougher than I look?” - She sheepishly offered, prompting the tall mare to lean into her personal space with what could be best describe as a deadpan.
-“Dressed in those cold rags and being this skinny?” - She said while placing a hand around the mare’s jaw, grabbing it and turning her head from side to side as if to inspect her. - “Don’t think so… More like you got lucky that the weather isn’t all that bad today.”
-“Sounds like a-... Valid guess.” - Luna didn’t hold knowledge of the local habits, but she couldn’t mask how baffled she had become as the taller mare invaded her personal space. - “Could we-... I, ask you to unhand me?”

    	Raising a brow in temporary confusion, she did release the pegasus’ jaw and then pressed the palm of her hand to one of her pointy ears, feeling an astounding cold temperature in return. - “Sure thing, uh-...” - Pulling her hand away and taking a step back, she looked at the mare, waiting for a name.
-“Moonlit Snowfall.” - There. Luna managed to give her alias without hesitating. The taller mare relaxed a bit and gave a warm smile in response.
-“Well, put this on and come with me then Moonlit. You surely seem too far from home for any pegasus.” - Not asking for her opinion on the matter, the tall stocky mare removed her fur cloak and dumped it upon Moonlit’s body with ease, buttoning the front for her once she had managed to fit her arms into the long sleeves.
Despite the effort made to fit herself into the oversized cloak, Luna couldn’t deny that the warmth it held from the other mare’s bodyheat felt comforting, alongside the fact that it helped trap her own heat due to the furry layers of the garment. - “I surely will. Thank you for your kindness, Madam...” - it was Luna’s turn to wait for a name.
-“Just call me Diana.” - Looking over her shoulder with a bright smile, she reciprocated the inquiry. - “Now let me show you to the folks.”
    	Diana seemed quite amused with the prospect as both mares started to make their way downwards on the path; some curious onlookers already had their attention set on the duo, actually interrupting their ongoing tasks in order to let them come closer.
Swallowing dry, but quietly, Luna felt a certain flare of warmer blood rushing to her cheeks. It had been a long time since she felt excited to just meet strangers… Snuggling in the thick, luxurious fur cloak, she let a timid sigh escape her, as it turned in a big puff of steam in the cold air.
    	She hoped that her heart didn’t end up bound to this place; but deep within, that was exactly her wish.