//------------------------------// // Legacy of Everfree: A Hearth's Warming Tale, Part 2 // Story: The Bridge: A Godzilla-MLP Crossover // by Tarbtano //------------------------------// “Coming at yah!” The projectile sailed above her head and was skillfully caught by her partner, a robust, turquoise skinned man with light indigo hair cropped short, as the smell of searing flesh filled their noses, the popping crackle of broiling liquids accompanying it upon him reloading. “Return to sender,” Salty Sentry’s calm tone betrayed the sweat building across his brow from the intense heat. Wysteria grinned and already had the skillet at the ready, nimbly catching the oncoming mass of batter and returning it to the stove. They were both a mess, half spattered in flour and bits of grease as they prepared breakfast. The duo couldn’t care less about how messy it had gotten, it was his first day back from advanced training and they were in too good of a mood after the events of last night. Flipping the sizzling bacon after his wife had lobbed the liquid butter at him, Salty Sentry glanced about and cracked a cheeky grin before swiping low and giving her a slight slap. Wysteria yipped and jumped up a bit, almost dropping the flapjacks before shooting him and over-the-top deadpanned glance, “You seem eager.” Salty Sentry was looking away and bobbing his head slightly to the music being played in the kitchen from the radio, acting like nothing happened, “I could say the same for you ‘Missus Spear Tackle Your Husband at the drop off’.” A set of fingers walked across his shoulders before gripping him and forcing him to turn around and face her. Wysteria closed the distance very quickly and was hovering in front of him, “Oh don’t start with me now you dork, you never minded me being close to you before in public.” “Nor private,” he grunted and before she thought he’d pull away, he dove in and planted a deep smooch across her lips. Limerence of a high school relationship had blossomed into something far more powerful over the years, them managing to keep together despite a deployment and her managing to camp alone most of those times. Well out of the honeymoon phase and they still had it going strong, and it had bore fruit. The front door creaked open before either of the couple could stop their makeout session. The aforementioned fruit, completely covered in dirt and twigs, loudly bleeped out an ‘Eeeew!’ before dropping about four pounds worth of raw mud and dirt on the welcome mat to cover her eyes. “EEEEeeeeeeeeew!” Salty Sentry made to pull away but his wife didn’t let go easy, tightening to deepen the smooch a bit more and humming contently as one of her legs popped up off the ground and curled backwards; obviously playing it up to mess with their daughter. “Ick ick ick!” Gloriosa, age seven, yelped before waving her hands and jumping up and down, slinging more dirt everywhere. Thankfully the front door area never had much of anything around it but she was painting the old wood and walls with a deep shade of wet brown from the mud. Wysteria finally let them separate and snickered, turning off the stove for safety and pacing over to their daughter with her apron held up as a projectile shield. “Gloriosaaa,” she groaned with a chuckle as she peeked behind her apron, only to get a dirt clod to the face, “Afph! Hey now that one was on purpose!” Gloriosa Daisy, now sporting a set of ‘raccoon eyes’ warpaint due to covering her face with her dirty hands, stomped and pouted, “And you grossed me out on purpose Momma!” Salty Sentry shrugged and got between the two most important ladies in his life, rolling his eyes as he crouched down between them, “Come on now, peace accord.” He promptly shoved a bacon strip into Wysteria’s mouth before she could protest and turned back to his daughter. There was a moment of awkwardness in Gloriosa’s eyes as she glanced away from him and towards her mother, her body straightening up as if she was trying to be respectful to her returned father. It honestly put a crack in his heart and it took a lot of strength to keep from frowning. That just might make it worse. Instead he cracked a humored smile and nodded to the dirt at their feet. “So, heard Ma and I were cooking and wanted to make us a ‘mud pie’?” he quipped with a pat on Gloriosa’s head to ruffle her hair. Gloriosa flinched for a moment but thankfully relaxed into the pat, even as she stuck her tongue out a bit at being touched and tried to playfully bat his hand away, “Uh uh! I was bringing breakfast for Pete!” Salty raised an eyebrow, “Pete?” Gloriosa nodded rapidly and collected up some dirt in her skirt, stepping around him and her mother as she made her way to the house’s back window; tracking dirt the entire way. She reached the window by climbing up on a chair and emptying some of the dirt into a small ceramic pot situated on the side; a few green sprouts and a bit of leaves poking out over the edge. Salty watched on with a sigh, not having been privy to this among other things he missed out on. He felt Wysteria nudge his shoulder. “Wanted to teach her responsibility without it being an animal pet so I took some seeds from Mrs. Posey’s wildflowers,” Wysteria noted with a nod, “She started a month after you left.” Salty’s breath felt a bit heavier and he couldn’t keep the frown away anymore, “Right around her birthday... And then the holidays soon after I was absent for.” A hand gently patted at his cheek and gripped it so he’d look at her, “No one can blame you for missing some things. She doesn’t.” “Yeah but she’ll remember. This is the age memories really begin to solidify. She’s going to look back remembering her uncle at more early birthdays or celebrations with her than me.” Wysteria let the frown spread to her for a moment and form a cavity in her core that was no doubt nothing compared to the one her husband had. An eye cast itself to the calendar on the refrigerator, seeing the checkmark on the current date that perked her brow. “The stuff you got for everyone should be arriving in a few hours with the shipment,” Wysteria whispered as she wiped her face off with her apron, “Hows about you get her to clean herself up and then have some Daddy-Daughter bonding while finishing breakfast. I’ll go and pick everything up to give you two plenty of time.” Salty Sentry glanced to her with a bit of awkwardness and worry visible in his eyes, “You sure? You said she picked up some quirks in the letters but never elaborated. What if they pop up?” Wysteria smirked and winked, "Then it will certainly be memorable for the both of you. Now go on and remind her you don’t live in a uniform all the time. Just be yourself and she’ll recognize she gets it from you.” Salty Sentry’s deadpan leer was canceled out only by his wife kicking him in the bum behind their backs. The morning air was chilly even with the heater on, early winter having settled in. She’d have been lying to herself if she ever said the drive away from home wasn’t without some apprehension. Yes, Salty Sentry and Gloriosa seemed to be doing fine. Their daughter seemed to be bringing out some of her old self around her father when he joined in on putting some more fresh dirt around the plants, but things took a little time. Gloriosa was young and while she understood it was something important that kept her daddy away from her for over a year, she was still young and had gotten a few unspoken ideas as to why things happened the way they did. Some time together though would do excellent for them, especially in a nice calm setting like the house. Wysteria wished her own surroundings were just as placid when she saw what was coming around the bend in the hill. A thick, dark pillar of smoke. Turning the corner of the road soon revealed the source in the form of a long path of skid marks leading from a large patch of very hard-to-see ice on the road towards a large dent in the guard rail. And a few dozen meters further ahead, the back end of a smoking car sticking onto the road through the hole it had punched in the railing from hitting it at high speed. She slowed her car and peered forward, hoping against hope she would see someone standing beside the wreckage safe and sound. Instead she heard a loud, high-pitched yell from over the edge. It was broad daylight, anybody might drive by at any moment. The only ones that knew who and what she was could be counted on two fingers. Mrs. Posey was deceased, and her husband, Salty, swore never to tell a soul after she revealed it to him on the eve of their wedding night. She didn’t hesitate for a moment to park her car and come sprinting out of it while holding onto her necklace. There was a flash of green light and Wysteria leapt off the ground, nimbly landing to hit the snow in a rush as Gaea Everfree half-sprinted, half-levitated towards the wrecked car. There was only one occupant, a grown man in his late 30s or so in age. His yellow-orange skin and green hair were pocked by bruises and a trickle of blood from his forehead, evidently one of the airbags had failed to fire off which resulted in him hitting his head on the wheel. Wysteria thought he looked familiar, but couldn’t quite place his face in the midst of the panic-addled situation. The smoke streaming out of parts of the car begat gouts of flame that were beginning to burn through parts of the floor and dashboard with the glove box billowing smoke. Evidently, the impact had ruptured something under the hood that was leaking flammable substances. She had to get him out, now. Her fingers gripped at the door but the latch refused to give. The window had been rolled down and she quickly spied the lock to undo it and yanked it up; but that changed nothing. Her eyes soon came upon the cause in the form of a massive dent along the side, which had crushed-in part of the door and warped the metal to wedge it into the frame. Another attempt at the handle just resulted in her yanking it off. “Damn it!” she grumbled as she stumbled back, briefly glancing at the handle before tossing it aside. It was fortunate she’d transformed for this and even better the occupant had lost consciousness. The crystals upon her obscured necklace glowed with life, tendrils of roots sprouting from the ground at her command. Humming a melody, Gaea Everfree waved her arms in a vaguely dance-like motion to focus the magic. The vine work obeyed her command, coiling around the door while others braced against the car. They constructed in, pushing and pulling in opposite directions. More vines wrapped around the whole of the car to keep it from jostling as metal screeched and finally snapped. The door, torn free from its holdings, was tossed aside at the wave of Gaea’s hand. Privy to the fire, she summoned away the other vines to free the car and rushed back in. Now able to access the occupant, Gaea was quick to undo his seat belt and very carefully, fearing he might have neck trauma, pulled him free of the wreck to carry him away in her arms with her boosted strength. Gaea placed the unconscious man a dozen meters away, coiling some vines around him to keep him stable and immobile for his own safety, and went back towards the car. By now the smoke was beginning to choke a lot of the nearby area. “Is there anybody else in there?!” Gaea shouted aloud while waving her arm in front of her face as she surveyed the car. Thankfully the passenger front seat was empty and the trunk, unlikely as anyone was to be there, had been jostled open by the impact and revealed itself to be vacant as well. Gaea’s eyes shifted to the back seats and her heart dropped. There was a booster seat strapped to the back passenger side, half hanging off the seat it was attached to with a snapped restrain dangling in the air. And the passenger door had been opened, either by the impact or someone trying to free themselves. Someone who called out again. Gaea Everfree quickly rushed to the side of the slope and looked over the edge to see a small boy sobbing and clinging to the wall; having managing to catch himself on an outcrop he stood upon. But if he moved so much as half a meter backwards the incline only got steeper and the sheer drop into the foothill below… She shook her head, not once wanting to think of what might happen. But with the child distressed to such a degree, the last thing she could chance was starting him. If she used her vines, she might be able to snag him and bring him up to her. She could alternatively use her strength and skills to climb down, digging her fingers into the earthen side and using some vine work to ladder-climb her way to him. But either way could result in the toddler, who was already scared out of his mind, to startle and recoil back. All it might take is one backwards step. She might be quicker… or she might not be. Gaea Everfree felt a massive pit in her chest form, having a very bad feeling about this. The boy seemed to notice movement and looked up, but she ducked back before he saw glowing green and black eyes staring back at him. There was a brief burst of light before Wysteria looked back over the edge. The boy noticed her immediately and clawed at the wall with his gloved hands, dirt and tears caking his face, “L-Lady help! My daddy’s hoit an needs a big help!” Calling out for help for his father and not him, good kid. If a precarious one. “I helped your daddy, he’s laying down,” Wysteria briefly scanned for hand and foot holes, finding a scant few but knowing she’d have to make due. About as spooked as the kid was now, she started over the railing, “I need you to hang on, I’m coming down to get you! Don’t. Move!” It was as nerve wracking as it was painful and arduous. The climb down was only about four meters but it was on loose packed earth and at a 80’ angle. And going downwards at such an incline made it very hard to see what was below her. Each hand and foot had to be measured. The earth always crumbled beneath her, but it was a matter of finding what was hard packed enough to hold her for long enough to move on. One foot hole would hold fast and seem firm, but the moment she put more of her weight on it the agonizing pull of gravity would try to pry her body downwards with crumbling earth. The first three steps made her heart jump up into her throat twice. Finally she found a rock but almost regretted holding onto it, only having no choice when a cracking handhold nearly resulted in her dropping. Wysteria nearly shrieked in pain, feeling like she just grabbed onto a saw blade. The sharp, jagged spurs of the rock knifed into her skin and punched multiple gouges into her fingers that weren’t deep; but soon begat more than a few streams of red. Wysteria bit down on her tongue to keep from screaming, fearing it might startle the kid. Blinking away tears, she swung her weight to the side and managed to secure her foot on the rocky outcropping the toddler was on. After a few more handholds which entained jamming her bloodied hands into the packed dirt in a way that no doubt meant they’d need a thorough cleaning afterwards, Wysteria reached him. She couldn’t be happy enough that endorphines were kicking in and her hands were numbed to the point it didn’t feel like she’d just tried to grab on to a electric knife and then doused them in lemon juice. It gave her a chance to see just how small the kid was, not even to her knee. Eyeballing it, he had to be quite young as even Gloriosa would tower over him. “How’d you get down here?” “I tried to yell but daddy no wake up. Seat no hug me so I tried to find help,” he motioned to a slide mark on the hillside’s edge near the passenger side where the top layer of dirt and the strata under it had been brushed down, “fell.” So his straps had come undone enough to get free and he’d tried to go for help, but slipped and ended up down here? Well she wouldn’t fault his intent, just fret over his circumstance. “Okay, I’m going to get you up,” Wysteria said slowly as she crouched down, “Can you hold onto me?” The boy, no doubt the man up-top’s son given they had identical skin tones even if he had blue hair instead of green, held his arms up, “Like piggy back?” Wysteria nodded, “Yes yes, but you HAVE to hold very tight okay?” Somehow the boy seemed to understand why, looking at the sheer drop and shivering, “I scared….” A comforting arm was put around him, Wysteria slowly nodding to him as she pointed to herself, “It’s okay, I can empathize.” “Em-paul-thighs?” She quickly corrected herself, “I mean that I’m scared too.” “But you a lady, not kid,” he muttered with a perplexed expression crossing his worried face as his arms wrapped around her knee in a way she couldn’t tell if he was trying to comfort her or express his disbelief. “Adults can get very scared too,” she turned around to offer him her back so he could climb on, “But we’ll both be not very scared when we get back to your daddy. Here-” She opened up her coat’s bottom, “Climb up in there. Keep you warmer and help you hold on.” The boy nodded and did so, inchworming his way into the back of the coat and making it much tighter, but given that and her feeling his arms and legs hook around her neck and part of her torso respectively; that was a good thing. “No can see!” he squeaked. Wysteria gulped and glanced at the sheer drop, “Might be a good thing. Now just hang on now!” The climb back up meant she could see what was above. It helped to find hand and foot holes better, but the worry of constantly adjusting to ensure the boy didn’t lose his grip on her made it even slower. Too fast, and she worried, dreaded, she might jostle him out. Pausing to try and figure out a way around the rock she’d figured out was a big hunk of obsidian sticking out of the edge, she was caught off guard when a noise graced the space between her ears. It was the wind chimes again, only far, far louder than she’d ever heard before. Wysteria could practically double take. It, the noise, almost sounded like a voice made of musical keys. It was vague, almost unintelligible. Part of her mind paused to try and decipher it, only for the chimes to grow even louder and almost frantic. And they weren’t the only other noise, for what came next was the unmistakable groan of creaking metal accompanied by the pitter-patter of shifting pebbled and dirt that fell upon Wysteria’s head. The chimes roared, louder still than before as Wysteria looked up. Milliseconds ticked by and the voice within them screamed out as the Retainer of the Element’s eyes widened in horror. -“MOVE! IT’S FALLING!”- The car creaked and rumbled, the earth in front of it crumbling away and causing the wheels above it to jostle forward. It was enough to coax the entire motorized coach ahead, the nose dipping down as it began to tip over the cliffside. Wysteria didn’t question who the voice was or why she, given the feminine tone, was in her head. There was no holding to dive to the side to, no means of a normal human to dodge away from the falling car. She only focused in on the crystals and resisted the urge to grasp them. Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Magic. Each she tried to think of in the fragments of a second she had to act. She might not have been quick enough, but a surge coursed through her body; seemingly from the Elements themselves. The chimes cried out and the power hit her like a tidal wave. The transformation that usually took a few seconds was instantaneous and without her command. Gaea Everfree acted on two fronts. Her clothes having changed into her wood nymph attire, one arm hooked around to snatch the startled boy around his middle and clutch him to her. The other reached out as she kicked off. On command a root extended from the cliff face and was grabbed onto while also coiling around her wrist. Gaea gripped it so tight her bark covered finger tips dug into it. The surge was enough for it to move, swinging her rapidly to the side and pulling them out of the falling car’s path by a hair’s breadth. Gaea witnessed the painted metal pass by her face as the smoking wreck tumbled past her head. Having swung around, she braced her feet into the hard packed dirt and clutched the root. The chiming stopped, leaving her mind alone. Gaea Everfree panted a few breaths, regaining her senses through the rushes of adrenaline threatening to give her tremors at this point with how they were flooding her system. The car sailed past her, hitting an outcropping with a loud crash of crushed metal, before pinwheeling down the hillside front over rear. What finally smashed down at the foothill was little more than a smoking pile of slagged scrap metal. If she hadn't checked to ensure there was nothing else alive in the car after pulling the father out, the sight could have given her a heart attack on top of the one she already had. Two people in danger and two survivors, it certainly could have been a lot worse but she doubted it got much better. Other than the fact one of the said survivors was frozen still and looking between the bark covered arm and her. Gaea Everfree peeked at the little tyke while looking about awkwardly, hoping he didn't start screaming given he'd been gazing into black, glowing eyes. “Let's.. get you back to your father, okay?” she whispered with a slight grimace. The lad just nodded slightly, lips flattened and eyes wide in what could have been everything from awe to shear befuddlement. Thankfully with the help of a few vines she could retract back like a winch, the ride back up was exceptionally easy. What wasn't entirely easy was deciding what course of action exactly she needed to take regarding her little witness. The secret had to remain so. Even if she hadn't personally met any gunning for her powers, the multitude of warnings Posey's diary left made what was already indicated by logic probable. If magic existed, by all accounts it should be well known. If it wasn't that meant either someone or some groups were hunting down magic users for a variety of purposes, or that had happened in the past enough that magic users went into hiding and wanted to stay hidden. If Gaea Everfree was real, who could say what else was out there? She didn't regret revealing her powers in front of the boy, it was a life-or-death situation after all. But it wasn't just her safety at risk now. She had a husband, a brother and sister-in-law who visited often, and a daughter. She wanted a family life and given she and Salty were stable in more ways than one, maybe one which would get bigger over time. Sometimes she wondered if the reason Mrs. Posey lived alone outside of occasional visits and barely left her home was related to the ‘blessing’ she passed to her successor. Wysteria felt that pit in her gut again, a brief glimpse of her as an old matron living alone coming to her mind. No, she wasn’t going to have that. Which meant this secret’s security wasn’t just her safety at risk now. She set the child down and power walked along their sprinting form towards the laid out form of his father. “Hey, easy,” Gaea whispered as she kept the lad from latching onto his father’s chest and neck, “He might be hurt, doctors need to make sure he doesn’t have-” “Booboos?” She was going to say internal injuries or whiplash, but she found her audience’s choice to be sufficient, given his age, “Yes.” She paused when the boy looked at her, not powering down on account of not wanting to give him any more of a clear view of her true self. He’d seen Wysteria obscured by a scale down a hillside and while he was scared out of his mind and spent most of the climb up inside her jacket. He’d seen Gaea Everfree in broad daylight with his eyes locked upon nothing else, so her transformed state would be what he remembered. Gaea surveyed the unconscious man, gently pressing on his throat to check his pulse and held a hand over his face to feel for breath. Thankfully a good ten seconds of checking confirmed the presence of both. He’d been bleeding from his forehead but the bruise didn’t look too bad, a concussion almost certain that might need some recovery, but hopefully no cranial fractures. While it was usually a poor idea to pull someone out of a car, the smoke she’d been removing him from hadn’t caused much apparent damage and the cradle had kept his neck or back stable. Gaea summoned away the vines and looked to the boy. Before she could consider going back to her vehicle to use the car phone, a saving grace came from her noticing a bulge in the jacket pocket the man had with a telltale antenna attached. -Oh thank yooou lady luck, he has a cellphone!- She pulled the brick-sized device free, adjusting the antenna to make sure they had a good signal. A plan was being formulated as she dialed up the emergency responder line. “Yes, yes emergency. We’re going to need an ambulance… Car accident swerved off the road.. Only two, man and a young boy. The boy seems unhurt, but the man is injured and unconscious, and I can’t check for internal wounds… Highway entrance 4, Everfree National Park south entrance. Careful, icy roads.” Now for part two. “I’m sorry I can’t stay on the line. The phone battery is dying,” She felt a pair of eyes look up at her in confusion as she started to dig into the back hatch of the phone. Her eyes spied an old oak tree, covered in snow, some distance behind her as more ideas brewed. This will be very jury-rigged, but just might work. “-yes, yes just hurry! South entrance. Everfree. Highway 4. We’re on the side of the road just beyond the 3rd sign… 8 minutes, excellent!-” Gaea yanked the battery out, poked a hole in said battery with a sharp piece of simulated ironwood, and put it back in before quickly wiping down the phone along a bank of snow to remove any stray hairs she might have left on what was sure to be a highly suspicious scene. She’d been using her bark-like gloves to hold it so prints wouldn’t be an issue, but she’d do all she could to ensure it was a ‘Jane Doe’ on site just being a good samaritan. “Good, doctors will be here in a few minutes,” she muttered, partially to herself. Now for the confused pair of eyes upon her. Gaea crouched down to his level, like she would with Gloriosa when she was younger and clasped her hands, “Your mommy and daddy tell you about a secret?” He nodded slowly and she returned it with a slight smile. “Well, I am one.” “You am named Secret?” he muttered with a tilted head, “I thoughts you am a lady or angel.” Her lips pursed and she briefly cupped her chin to tap at her cheek in contemplation of a possibility. She kept herself in human form initially around the kid because she’d thought he’d scream or recoil back upon seeing her. To be honest, when she saw Mrs. Posey at night even she, someone who’d grown up on stories of the Spirit of the Everfree, was more than a little spooked. Yet this lad didn’t seem to frightened. Maybe it was because her Gaea form looked more ‘human’ than Mrs. Posey, be that individual differences or her not having been a wood nymph for as long? Maybe it was that he saw her in broad daylight and not as a pair of glowing eyes at night? Maybe it was because it was after she helped him? “Yeeeeeah, I’m an angel.” The kid gave her a look over, rubbing at his chin inquisitively, “You no look like one.” “Then why did you think I was one?” He beamed a little bit, smothering any thoughts he was afraid of her, “You act like one! You must be tree angel!” He motioned to the bark-like covering on her arms and the leafy attire she wore. Gaea grunted to herself, figuring the kid was obviously too young to read up on what a nymph was. But hey, if ‘Tree Angel’ made him think better of her, that worked. “Y-Yep, that’s me. I can come out from any tree. You were in a forest so I was around.” His eyes widened, “Any tree? Even backyard.” “Any tree, so I’ll know if you didn’t keep this a secret. You can’t tell anyone you saw,” a small smile formed, the beaming hiding a little playful deviousness, ”… my disguise.” “Disguise?” “That lady from earlier. I can make myself look like someone else, ‘play pretend’ to be a lady,” she swirled her extended index fingers in a circle, changing the thin bark covering them to a softer, more importantly green, stem-like material. To all but the closest eye, it looked like she was turning her skin green as part of some disguise. She quickly changed back to avoid him noticing, “Like a costume for Nightmare Night.” He gasped and before she could wonder or worry as to why, he pointed at her with a wide-eyed expression, “Power Pony!” She deadpanned briefly. -What…… Oh! That comic Gloriosa found once!- A ‘tree angel’ that was also a superheroine. An outcome that served its purpose even more. She shrugged her shoulders and nodded, giving the kid a thumbs up. “Yep, thaaat’s me.” The distant wail of the ambulance sirens started to blare over the highway noises echoing from the hills. They’d only be a minute or so more out. Time to wrap this up. “What’s your name kiddo?” “I Flash, Flash Sentry!” Gaea smiled and ruffled his hair as she got up, “I need you to remember Flash, I’m also a secret. Nooo telling anyone about me. No one.” She made an over-the-top shushing motion with a finger to her lip as she backed away, levitating to avoid leaving anymore footprints. “Gotta go now little Flash, doctors will be here any minute now and they can help your dad.” As she expected, the little boy looked towards the sound of the oncoming sirens and took his eyes off her. It gave her just enough time to rush to the old oak tree and, after a quick apology for doing what rot would do in a few months more, forced its trunk to snap. The timber came roaring down and flopped onto the road some meters ahead of where her car was to both drench the road in snow and block off any attempts at following her. She stole a quick glance back to confirm the ambulance pulling up before changing back. Wysteria dove into her car and put it into neutral, letting it slide back down the hill some distance before starting up the engine. By the time any of the responders might have heard the engine start up or thought to check behind the fallen tree, she’d be far out of sight. The errands would wait just a little bit more. She might look like a normal woman at the moment, but there was something Gaea-related now that she had to focus on. The sensations that came since the chimes seemed to call out to her hadn’t completely gone away, just faded. It had been years since she first heard the chimes and while both Mrs. Posey’s writing and her own experience told her there was some sort of consciousness behind them; she had never heard them actually seem to talk. Wysteria homed in on the sensation, almost transforming inside her car, but kept it from finalizing. She felt her consciousness tap into the crystals, but not fully delve within them. Like she was opening a door to peer within a chamber instead of stepping through. The sensations seemed to get weaker or stronger depending on which direction she was going, so she followed the latter knowing it would lead to some sort of answer even if she didn’t fully know the question. Taking a detour away from the alternate highway entrance before she even fully knew what was happening, Wysteria drove off to and parked at the end of a dead-end trail. The sensations got stronger and stronger the closer she got, almost overpowering her mind. Wysteria briefly shook her head and paused at grasping the door handle. This, she didn’t know what this was. It felt like something tied to her crystals was calling to her, much like it had in Mrs. Posey’s attic years ago. It was something relating to her powers for sure and might give some answers… A brief flash came to her of her family, the memory of singing a lullaby to her daughter last night and waking up in her husband’s arms with his hand upon her belly this morning. The memories were less than a day old and they were just as powerful as any magic. And far more powerful than any soul finding out about her or concerns about where her powers might lead her. Bits of fear regarding what she might become in her later years were stifled away by sheer determination. She had a family in her life, for her family was her life. If secrecy and responsibility demanded Gaea Everfree be an obscure myth, the love and responsibility for Wysteria would feel her determination not to share that fate. She’d follow the pull, but she would not blackout and submit to it. It guided her to a cave, but to her mild relief the sensation did not seem to want to control. Quite the opposite in fact. Despite the mildly chilly exterior, the cavern was warm. Not quite in terms of temperature, but in a more emotional sense. Like the warmth one felt upon looking at something they liked fondly. Like someone was looking at her fondly. It only got stronger when she reached the back of the cavern, a myriad of crystalline growths having appeared from the walls, floor, and ceiling to mildly resemble foliage. Streams of white quartz and six colorized gemstones studded them with water pooled all around. Even if the cavern was spotless, she got the sensation no one had ever been here in decades, perhaps a century. The warmth spread all over her like she was being embraced and the chimes started to jingle in the back of her mind. Wysteria closed her eyes and meditated on it, holding her hands over the necklace and focusing. Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, and Magic. Each one invoked, each one cherished. The transformation was seamless, as if a curtain was drawn off her. It wasn’t like she had an alter ego or personality, even if she worried that was so at times. It was the same as when she revealed herself to her husband in the private of their room. Gaea was her, and she was Gaea; for Gaea was Wysteria. Gaea Everfree’s black and green eyes calmly opened, being greeted to the sight of a second shadow coming from her own. One with a branched horn and loving presence. The chimes, spoke. -”HELLO… I AM HARMONY.”- Wysteria was Gaea, and Gaea was not expecting the voice to be between her ears. She jumped up and squawked in a very unrefined manner, whirling around to try and find the source. -”IT HAS BEEN-”- She looked upwards, half expecting somebody hanging off the ceiling. -”CENTURIES SINCE I-”- A visual survey of the way she came confirmed nobody behind her. -”-HAVE SPOKEN DIRECTLY-”- Gaea Everfree was just about to check the water, not questioning how she could hear somebody under the surface, when the chiming clicked one loud time and went silent. The voice came back after a few moments, now realizing she had been effectively shouting at her audience on accident. Two royals Wysteria didn’t know got it from her. -”to a mortal… Sorry, forgive my tone.”- Gaea Everfree blinked, putting a hand to her forehead as the other clutched the necklace. “A-Are you in my head?” -”Not quite. Look down.”- She glanced down towards the flickering light, opening her left hand’s fingers to reveal it to be coming from her necklace. -”I am speaking through this.”- Harmony, apparently her name, whispered as the crystals flickered in tandem with her voice. “You’re... In the crystals after all?” Gaea muttered as she marveled at them again, turning the necklace over in her fingers, “I mean I’d guessed some sort of consciousness was behind them giving the chiming but I wasn’t sure.” -”To an extent. Presume myself as a kind of spirit apart from your realm. These are my physical outreaches.”- “So they’re part of you.” -”In a manner, yes.”- Gaea pursed her lips, “Did, you ever talk to Mrs. Posey? You said you hadn’t spoken to mortals so why me and not her?” The shadow, presumably Harmony’s, shook her head, -”No, but not out of malice or lack of capability. Posey was a splendid retainer and just soul, but the Elements were weaker during her tenure.”- “Weaker? So since I have them now, am I stronger than her?” She wasn’t quite so certain of her own statement. Sure her vine work was good but some of Mrs. Posey’s diary entries mentioned growing redwoods in a day or two or knitting together a whole hill face after a landslide. Compared to that some boosted athletics or root tendrils didn’t seem like much. -”This cave is where I gave the first Gaea Everfree the Elements so my bond to your world is strongest here. That is why I can speak so directly but that might change and expand as the elements grow. I mean no offense, but the Elements aren’t for you. They’re tied to others and thus their strength grows as they do. You are proficient and can become even more so, but the Elements’ true potential is meant for others.”- Gaea Everfree’s mind clicked at the wording, “The bearers. Mrs. Posey mentioned them a few times, that them?” -”The same. At least five of them are currently alive and the Elements grow in strength in tandem with them eventually coming of age. You’ll be the first Retainer contemporary to them.”- Gaea’s hand gripped the necklace a smidge tighter as thoughts of others coming upon her and her family filtered in, especially with some uncertainties as to who exactly this Harmony was, “They’ll find me?” Thankfully, her host seemed to key in on the nervousness in her tone and the warmth intensified. Gaea almost felt like she was being hugged. -”Fate will bring you together. Rest assured Retainer, I created the Elements as a means of giving those with righteous souls power over evil or tragedy. Just as the call to retain them would only fall upon those of kind hearts, the bearers of their true power will only be good.”- Gaea sighed in some mild relief. It would maybe take some time to be fully convinced on all fronts, even if it felt like she’d somehow been acquainted with this ‘Harmony’ for longer than two minutes ago, but her nerves were being calmed. Six future heroes to further help the world? Didn’t sound like a bad prospect at all. She chanced a small smile and sigh, “So, are you speaking to me because you want me to find them?” Harmony… almost seemed to giggle. That helped Gaea out in the convincing front more than most anything could. It sounded like a humored slip-of-poise rather than anything calculated. It seemed, for lack of better terms, human; despite the odd speech pattern. -”My dear, they’d be but very young children right now. Give it time. Good is drawn to good, and the Elements are the strongest article of good in your realm. They’ll find their way to them, and you to them.”- “So what should I be doing in the meantime if I’m in a situation no other retainer has been in?” -”Safeguard the Elements and, should you happen upon them, watch over the Bearers. You’ll know when you meet them. Otherwise, keep doing good with the time you are allotted.”- Those last words made Gaea cringe in a none-too-small way, “Um.. ‘Time’... ‘Allotted’? Is there something morbid I should be aware of?” Harmony was silent, which made the cavity in Gaea’s chest form even quicker. At least until Harmony whispered in again with a slight stumble in her voice. -”Why would there be more to know, you've already been the Retainer for years… Oh... Oooh, I-I meant nothing to imply anything malicious! You will live you your sadly extremely short mortal life of just under a century- I mean you will have a lifespawn normal for your species and thus will not outlive your family and wallow in grief- I only meant you'd be able to go back to normality once the Bearers received their Elements and… urg!”- Hearing that voice once so refined and assured so rapidly double take almost made Gaea burst into snickers when the realization dawned on her. The ensuing series of assurances and apologies served to confirm it. Harmony was ancient, wise, kind, and caring. She also had poor social skills due to not exactly speaking to much of anyone often. A socially awkward magical spirit guide or goddess, not something Wysteria had been expecting. -”When the Bearers are of age to accept their roles, you will be able to retire your role, not your life. You can be free to live a happy, mortal lifespan with your duties fulfilled… Is that better?”- Gaea Everfree gave the shadow a small thumbs up even as she resisted the urge to chuckle, “Better. You’re out of practice, don’t beat yourself up magic… spirit guide… lady… Um, speaking of my role? What about the boy earlier?” -”You did speak a lot to him. Why did you say you were akin to a literary illustrated heroine?”- Gaea just shrugged, “I figured at that age, the kid was bound to blab to his parents anyways. Best to make the story as impossible as I could and take refuge there. If they do eventually come looking for me, they’ll probably then think the kid just imagined the magical powers part.” -”I was more confused about the methods, my feelings towards your actions are not in question.”- The astuteness of her tone put Gaea on a minor edge, “... Wanna clarify that? I know I’m supposed to keep it secret and all but-” -”But you did exactly what I’d have wanted a Retainer to do. The Elements aren’t for you, but you live up to them splendidly.”- That warmth returned and Gaea could practically feel a presence snuggle up beside her. It made her smile before she even realized she was. A glance to the cave entrance confirmed it had been well into midday. Between the morning drive, car incident, and drive here, she’d probably spent at least six hours away from home. The extra daddy-daughter time would be good for Salty and Gloriosa, but she didn’t want to keep them waiting much longer. Standing herself up and relaxing, Gaea looked into the cavern as if she could see Harmony in some corner of it. “Will I be hearing much from you?” -”The growing magic in the crystals could allow us to converse mentally outside this cave but.... I do not impose on mortal affairs. I have my reasons.”- The hesitation spoke a lot that Wysteria knew well. She shook her head and held the necklace closer. A small smile formed across her lips, “Who’d say you’re imposing? Sounds like you do a lot of watching but not a lot of interacting.” The pause was done in such a way Gaea could practically feel Harmony glancing aside awkwardly. -”You would not be inaccurate.”- Gaea changed back into Wysteria and tested to be sure this still worked in that state. “If you can still hear me, feel free to chime in. Sometimes the woods are too quiet and I could use the company. You're not imposing if you’re talking to a friend,” she quipped with a smile before pacing towards the exit, “Just give me some privacy and I’ll be happy to talk to you.” She walked slow, giving ample time for a response. But a half step before the exit she wondered if she'd have to do it all over again and bungled the departure in her effort to look classy. -”Thank you, friend Retainer.”- The words kept coming even as she exited the cave, confirming Harmony was still with her. And Wysteria couldn't have smiled wider. “Call me Wysteria.” ======================== Years Later ======================== It was a good night for a run. Salty was due back in the morning from his flight, Timber had been tended to and was sound asleep, Gloriosa wouldn’t leave his side, and Celestia had volunteered to babysit for the night. As she danced across the canopy and crisscrossed the forest though, the Spirit of Everfree always had company. “So I’m the fourth Retainer, has anything ever gone bad with these things before?” Gaea quipped as she pranced and bounded across generated root platforms, practicing her skills with company. -”Once, during the time of an early Retainer. The one called Blossom. Someone got one of the Elements free and abused its power. Honesty.”- Listening to Harmony’s words, Gaea paused to grab onto a branch and flung herself into the air above the canopy. In the darkness of the new moon night, the trickles of starlight reflected off her hair and skin as she levitated in midair to glide. “Abused?” She muttered with a raised eyebrow, “What happened exactly, Harmony?” -“All virtues are so when put in the proper use. But like all things, it can be used as a force of evil if used improperly. That is why the Bearers must exemplify the best of their respective Elements and the Retainers must be of moral standing to hold them. For such a insignificantly miniscule lifespan of less than a century, they need to learn it early.”- A slight warmth came with that chiming voice and Gaea smiled. Harmony was good company, even if she was awkward at first. But for a multi-millennia old deity that told her looked like anything from a horned woman to a weird unicorn to a tree, she was always amiable. And learned even if she was rusty in some dialogue. “Like how love can become lust if taken too far?” -”Quite so, Retainer-”- Gaea rolled her eyes at the label, still years later unable to tell if it was Harmony being stubborn or forgetful whenever she corrected her. -”Honesty is needed for trust, but mortals and immortals alike are emotional. Emotions are wonderful, but they can lend to one being vulnerable to some truths.”- Gaea nodded along as she went down the mental path being put before her, unknowingly heading to the fringes of the forest and towards orchards, “Like saying someone looks terrible and pathetic when they’re crying? It’s not about lying, but using honesty poorly to say what shouldn’t be said at the moment.” -”Indeed. And given the power behind the Elements, even just one can give a person a substantial boost over the layman mortal.Thankfully that case was stopped before it got out of hoof.”- “You mean out of hand?” Harmony took a moment of pause before verbally deadpanning at her audience. -”That’s what I said.”- Gaea returned the deadpan as she glowered at the blank canopy as if it was Harmony, “No it wasn’t.” Harmony, the Nexus of light magic, certainly the most powerful being across the Equestrian realms, somehow did something in her realm that gave Gaea Everfree the indication she’d stuck her tongue out at the human. Gaea Everfree, almost certainly the most powerful being in the human realm, crossed her arms and grumbled. “You said hoof!” -”Hand, I am speaking to a talking primate. I am aware primates have hands. I said hands to give context!”- “You’re fighting me, you never admit when you slip up,” Gaea snipped as she landed amongst the fruit trees. -”And you always harp over the miniscule details.”- “Oh hush up!” The ensuing jingle of wind chimes told her Harmony was doing something she professed to not having done in centuries. The Nexus was laughing. In some ways the two were akin to an employer and employee, Harmony having made the items for champions of good to use and Wysteria being both one of those champions and the safeguard until the correct welders were found. But after a year of conversation, swapping bits of stories ranging from how magic worked to what goofy thing baby Timber did, helping Wysteria practice her skills so she could help others without being seen, the human had coaxed the goddess out of her corner. For the first time in awhile far longer than Wysteria could comprehend, Harmony had a friend. That of course had brought along the worry of what would happen when the Elements were given to the Bearers, but Harmony had previously told her she was working on something. Wysteria was fairly sure the excuse of her being too good to let go as a champion was just the cover so Harmony wouldn’t be so lonely anymore and still be able to talk. Back in the present however, Gaea was just about to say something when a pull came across her. It felt like it had at the cave. Suddenly she was made aware of her surroundings, realizing she’d actually trekked a good kilometer or three away from Everfree in the dead of this night; but had always been going in a straight line. A glance back to her path confirmed it based off the hole in the trees she’d glided through and a landmark trunk or two she recalled passing by all lining up. -”Harmony?”- she thought, focusing it while holding her necklace to ensure her friend could hear her. The pull came back, even stronger now. And very directed. She got the sense Harmony was smiling. -”Shhhush… quiet… You’ll know when you can show yourself.” Gaea Everfree shrugged and hid in the canopy of a tree, blending in with it and dimming her eyes while still wondering why she was standing on the last thicket of an orchard before a house. Her answer came when the back door of the house opened and a little form came waddling out into the dark night and lightly falling snow. She was swaddled in thick bundles, looking almost like a marshmallow in a cap, booties, and earmuffs her grandmother made her wear. Thankfully she had some mobility, enough to hold the twin jars of liquid under her arms as she hurried along the dirt path with a panting breath beside her to indicate Winona. Good, she always was nervous about coming out at night without company. However her bulky attire didn’t keep her from tripping over in the snow and eating some of it. The little girl spat and shook out her tongue to free it of frost before she’d give herself a brain freeze. Her little heart jumped into her throat when she spotted the jars laying beside her, scrambling up and checking to make sure they were okay and uncracked. The panic didn’t ebb, though a shiver from the cold did briefly distract her from it as she gathered them up. But in her hurry towards a cleared space of earth several dozen meters away, she lost her footing yet again. But this time as she and the jars sailed through the air, the ground stopped coming. Having covered her face and yelped when she started to tumble, the tyke opened her peepers and beheld the ground hovering before her but not approaching. The jars levitated as well, held in small roots that sprang from the ground just like the one that held her. Awe overcame her face, especially when the vines gently set her down and a pair of hands picked up the jars to offer them to her. No words were said for half a minute as the subject of campfire stories and her friend’s recollections stood before her. Jacklyn “Jackie” Susan Apple gasped as Winona sniffled the newcomer and was rewarded with a pat, the dog acting so placid just confirming what Applejack suspected. “The tree angel…” Gaea Everfree resisted the urge to sigh and give a humored chuckle. After the crash she’d went back to find where she’d seen the thankfully-not-seriously-hurt man’s face before. She’d found it in her wedding photographs of all places. Stalwart Sentry, Salty Sentry’s cousin. Which made his son Flash Sentry the second-cousin to Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce. And this girl looked around Flash’s age, maybe a year or two younger. Given the lad’s age, she’d expected him to talk to any friends he might have had as well. At this rate she wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘Tree Angel’ was the subject of much ‘intensive’ discussion at some daycare or preschool even years later. Well, was harmless fun she supposed. Nothing to trace it back to the camp and her family, and Harmony had told her she’d know when she could reveal herself this time. Given this was the only awakened human soul for kilometers, logic said it was her. And the pull, the pull to the girl was still as strong as ever even if it didn’t tell her why. She resigned to the fact the only way to find out was to stick around. Plus, she wouldn’t in her right mind leave a little kid unattended out in the snow at night! “You seemed to be in a hurry,” Gaea Everfree whispered, keeping her face in the shadows and voice pitch low just to be sure the girl wouldn’t recognize her when she was Wysteria some time later in life. Applejack nodded, giving Gaea one of the jars and taking her by the hand before the ‘angel’ could ask why; the older party letting herself be led by the tyke. They didn’t trek far, reaching a patch of slightly raised earth on the edge of the clearing. Applejack held out her hand for the other jar and was given it back, not at all concerned about turning her back to her company as she faced the mound with Winona at her side. She knelt down and got on her knees, lowering her head and whispering. It was so quiet that had there been any other noise in the forest, Gaa Everfree wouldn’t have been able to hear her. “These holidays, I jus’ wanteded to say how t’ankful fer everythin’ I ams. I have a big bruther, a wittle sister, a grandmama Smith, a nice Auntie an’ Uncle, my other nice Auntie an’ Uncle, my cousin, my other cousin, and Winona the pupper!” The aforementioned canine squeaked contently, causing the little girl to pause and rub her behind the ears. She went back to what she’d been doing and Gaea’s curiosity had been perked as to what exactly she was doing. When she stepped around to stand beside the girl, her heart sank a little bit. Two simple graves, marked by old-fashioned capstones with the jars of rainbow colored apple jam set next to them; the names too vague with the snow cover to read. The little one had been praying atop them. Gaea felt a tiny, yet powerful frown sneak across her face and a hand come over her chest. The observation that the praying girl had not named her parents was not lost upon her, and now she had a fairly good idea why. She silently sighed and closed her eyes. Applejack’s voice got a little quieter, “So I know Ma an’ Pa can’t come to the holidays this year. I know why too…” Gaea Everfree’s heart sank more and more. -Poor thing. She doesn’t look much younger than Gloriosa.- The thought of a child not having parents. That struck home to her far stronger than to most. Parts of her never wanted to leave this child’s side, but other parts of her couldn’t help but gripe at why she had to be shown this. Experience this. It almost felt like the emotions, the cold sadness and grief, coming off the child were flowing into her because of the connection and something else. One way or another her empathy was a very potent thing. Which is why it was a surprise, but a pleasant one, when the emotions shifted. They warmed. Still pained, still wounded. But standing tall. Just as the child was against all odds. Applejack sniffled, a cold droplet falling out of her eye as she smiled, “So don’t worry nothin’ abouts me! I’ll be jus’ fine!” Gaea Everfree’s eyes opened and came upon the little girl, observing how one could practically swear she was glowing. The forest nymph couldn’t stop the question. “Child, are you alright?” Applejack looked over at her, still crying and yet somehow still beaming. A rush of wind blew past the house but seemed to slow as it came across them. Gaea could swear she heard a chime within the gales. Something that had been behind the opened door Applejack had exited through came rolling across the backyard towards them, settling upon the ground a short distance away. Winona trotted over and gently picked it up, bringing it to her master and sitting down. It was a beat up, old cowboy hat. Applejack sniffled again, glancing at the headstones before gently taking the hat from her puppy and kissing Winona’s head in thanks. She looked back at ‘the angel’ with a tear stained face, “Ma an’ Pa wouldn’t want me frettin’ over them, lots more folks who need help more. So I ain’t phibbin’ when I say I’m sad, but I ain’t phibbin’ either when I say I’m fine.” Gaea’s brow perked at what she was implying, crouching down to gently wipe a tear off Applejack’s freckled face before it froze, “You’re a very honest little girl, aren’t you?” Applejack nodded rapidly with a proud smile as she clutched the hat, “Pa said, truth that hurts is still better than a lie. Honesty is best policy.” Gaea Everfree watched as the girl looked upon the cowboy hat and felt the warmth of her necklace against her collar. As she reached for it, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of memory. As if roughly two decades ago, the roles had been reversed and she was the little girl out in the wilds gazing at a legend. Was history repeating itself? She brought up her necklace slightly to glance at it. Sure enough it was glowing noticeably brighter than before, but it was only one gem doing so this time. The Element of Honesty. Gaea gazed upon the girl again and nodded as she hid a small smile. -Not the next Retainer, looks like I will be the last one after all. She must be a future Bearer.- Gaea put her necklace away and crouched down, “What is your name, little one?” “Jackal-lin… But friends call me Applejack,” she whispered while shifting her feet. Gaea let her smile grow to a visible size, patting the little girl on the head as she motioned for the hat, “May I see?” After some hesitation, reasons to which Gaea could guess at, Applejack apprehensively placed the rim of the hat on her bark covered hand. To her relief the ‘angel’ didn’t snatch away but instead raised up slightly. “Your daddy’s?” Applejack nodded and Gaea swallowed back a bit of pity. This girl was far too strong for that. Instead she focused on dusting the hat off. “Well it’s the holidays… And I think you’re a very good little girl to be doing this and being so smart,” she whispered as she very carefully, respectful to the graves before her, placed the hat on Applejack’s head and adjusted the tie to accompany her smaller head, “Something tells me he’d be happy for you to have this.” Applejack jaw dropped slightly, taking off one of her gloves to feel at the old leather currently perched atop her head with awe. Some conflicting emotions crisscrossed her little face, but the strongest of them soon won out. Joy. Gaea sighed and smiled, opening her arms slightly as the tyke surged forward to jump up and hug her legs. Perhaps drawn in my her cold resistant warmth, Applejack snuggled in as close as she could. Children could be so trusting, but she was in good company. Gaea did what she’d do with Gloriosa, gently squeezing the girl around her back and patting it. The Element of Honesty, perched across Applejack’s head, twinkled joyfully at the prospect of being near its future Bearer. After a short while and drying her tears, Applejack shifted a bit, “B-but if honesty’s good, I am honest ‘bout worryin’ for someone.” Gaea perked her brow as Applejack pulled back and looked up at her, the ‘angel’ gently setting her down, “Who?” “Bloomberg. ‘Nother reason I came out, I came to check on him.” Before Gaea could ask why someone would be out in the cold at this hour, hoping it wasn’t some poor soul without a home or a pet left out, Applejack hurried over to just past the graves and wiped away some snow. Protruding from the ground, covered in a small scarf around its trunk, was an apple tree sapling barely half a meter tall. Gaea Everfree gave a humored chuckle and patted Applejack’s head as she stood beside her, placing her hand on the tree’s trunk. “Don’t worry, I’m the ‘Tree Angel’ aren’t I?” she smirked and winked to the future Element of Honesty, “I’ll see to this.” At the break of dawn the next day, Applejack awoke from her dream with excited breath. She ran past her sibling’s rooms, past her awakening grandmother, past the arriving car of her Aunt and Uncle Orange to zoom out the back of the house with a yapping Winona following suit. The air was taken from her lungs as she beheld the sight. A massive, fully grown apple tree stood in the corner of the massive yard. Snow lightly dappled its canopy and dangling fruit, giving it the appearance of a decorated tree as the rising sun reflected off the light ice and frost in a glimmering display. With two undamaged headstones at its base, Bloomberg’s scarf held fast around his overhanging limb. Applejack stood up on her tippy-toes, reaching and plucking one of the lowest hanging fruit. Her free hand gripped her father’s hat, having fallen to her back and dangling off her head, and placed it atop her head and ponytail braid. It was one of the best apples she’d ever tasted. Deep in the forest, a pair of glowing green eyes winked before rushing back home. She had her own family gathering to head to. But upon her return to the camp some minutes later, Wysteria didn’t ‘return from her morning jog’ to find her brother and sister-in-law waiting to pick her and the kids up to take them to the airport to greet the returning Salty. Two uniformed men, of the same attire as her husband, turned and looked upon her with a solemn frown. ======================== Their pace increased, ravenous. For so long it had been a crawl against currents and obstacles. So much joy made them move as a snail’s pace. But the scream, the agonized wail. They felt it even kilometers away. For the first time in decades, a Retainer, the most powerful magic user on this planet, was in utter agony. The Windigos drank the echoes of the pain even from so far away, absorbing it greedily. It emboldened, empowered, envigored. What was once a crawl was a sprint, and unnaturally fast one. The trio of long-limbed, gaunt forms surged out of the ocean and into the woodline at a breakneck pace. The air screamed as it was torn into and whipped into a frenzy by gales of bitter cold. The clouds above swirled and contorted from the pressure waves brought about by an astronomic temperature drop. A hailstorm, and then a blizzard was brought forth in their charge. Trees, lakes, animals, and man were flash frozen on the spot if they were too close. They cleared over a highway, running on all fours with frostbitten fingers, twisted to clawed points, digging into the concrete as they continued south towards Canterlot at inhuman speeds. Heaven and earth quaked from the cold thermal mass brewing. A freezing hurricane barreling south. They’d reach her by nightfall, mere hours. Harmony’s Magic would be torn asunder from this world before it was allowed to take root. The Retainer would be in their grasp by the call of night. To break or kill, they’d figure out which first later. They’d have plenty of chances to do both to many when this world was frozen over.