//------------------------------// // Cold // Story: Winter Aria // by Arcanum -Phantasy //------------------------------// A thick quagmire of emotions flowed in the atmosphere as five ponies watched a bed-bound colt, rapid gasps and coughs the only signs of life from him as Twilight examined his condition. Shining Armor and Cadence stared at their new guest with a mix of fascination and worry. Starlight was in a similar state, but more for her God-daughter then she was for the sick colt. For good reason, as the young Alicorn looked to be on the verge of falling to pieces. The poor filly was trembling as she watched her aunt work with wide, tearstained eyes. Terror like nothing she had ever felt before ran through her veins like it had replaced her blood. Helplessness ate away at her soul as she watched helplessly as Alto struggled to stay alive. With a soft sigh, Twilight canceled the Scanning Spell she was using to examine Alto and turned to face her family. "W-Well?" Flurry stammered, voice choked as she stared at her aunt. Twilight's face was unreadable as she turned her head towards Alto's sleeping form. "The good news is that he's stable, for the most part. If he get's plenty of bed-rest and fluids, he should be able to make a full recovery in a few weeks." "The bad news?" Shining asked, tense in the face of his sister's solemn expression. "He's suffering from a strange case of malnourishment and his immune system is completely imbalanced. Unless we can figure out how to fix that, he could end up in this condition again." The adults in the room shared uneasy looks at the news. While they were happy that the strange colt would recover, they didn't know what to do once he did. While Twilight worked to get him stable, Flurry told both her parents and Starlight all about her friend. About how she found him while exploring the mountains surrounding The Empire with her friends. About how she was teaching him how to read when he asked about it. About how he was an orphan. Starlight and Cadence stared at her with wide eyes, their hearts breaking for the colt. Shining's features were more guarded, an impassive mask hiding his emotions as he stared past his daughter towards the ill colt. Even now, his face was impossible to read as Twilight gave them her report. "Y-You can fix him though, right?" Flurry stammered. "Flurry," Twilight sighed, a sad smile gracing her muzzle. "He's-" "Don't!" she snapped, teary eyes narrowed into a fierce glare. "You're the smartest pony in the world! You can do anything! NOW FIX MY FRIEND!!!" As she said that, her eyes started to glow with power as her magic reacted to her anger. A cold wind started to howl through the room and the crystal floor beneath her hooves started to crack. Everypony reared back in the face of the young Princess' wild magic as she stared her aunt down. Twilight was unmoved by the display of power as she gave her niece a small smile. She weathered the storm as she slowly closed the gap between them and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "I'll do what I can, but first I need to know as much as I can about him." The glow in Flurry's eyes faded away as hope switched places with fear in her heart. Starlight, Cadence, and Shining all let out faint sighs of relief as the hostile magic in the room started to fade. "W-What do you want to know?" she asked. "For starters," Twilight smiled. "You said he lived in a cave in the Granite Mountains, right?" She nodded. "What kind of conditions did he live under?" "W-Well," she sniffled. "He has a tunnel that leads to a lake full of Snow Crabs and a Star Berry grove for food and he told me he would melt ice when he needed more clean water to drink. He has a hot spring that he sometimes used to cook the crabs or relax when he needed." "I see," Twilight smiled, gears already starting to turn in her head. "Does he interact with other ponies frequently?" Flurry shook her head. "H-He told me that I was the first one he's ever talked to. He's only just recently agreed to spend time with Ruby and Sapphire." Twilight's smile widened as something clicked into place. "Thank you Flurry," she smiled as she let her hoof fall. "I think I know what we need to do now." A wide smile spread across Flurry's muzzle at that. "A-Are you sure?" she asked, wiping tears out of her eyes. Twilight nodded, then turned to face the other ponies in the room. "I'm going to need some help gathering what I need, are you all up for it?" "Do you really need to ask?" Starlight smirked, playfully rolling her eyes. Shining and Cadence both nodded. "Thanks," she smiled, then made her way towards the door. Cadence and Shining followed with Starlight at the back of the pack. It was when she got to the door that she noticed Flurry's absence. Turning, she saw the filly in question standing by Alto's bed, eyes locked onto the gasping form of her new friend. "Are you coming?" Starlight asked. "Maybe later," Flurry said, a faint smile gracing her muzzle as she reluctantly tore her eyes away from Alto. "I-I want to keep an eye on him for a little longer. You know, just in case." Starlight gave her an understanding nod, then let herself out of the room. The second the door closed, Flurry's smile faded as she went back to watching her friend sleep. A soft pattering filled the room as tears hit the floor. *** "The common cold?" Cadence asked, flabbergasted. Twilight nodded, taking a seat at the royal table across from Cadence. "If what Flurry said was true, it isn't all that surprising." "What do you mean?" Shining asked, taking a seat beside his wife. "Star Berries are very effective cure-alls, but are a bit unstable if they aren't refined into potions. According to my spell, Alto's immune system is capable of warding off a multitude of deadly diseases, but some of the more common ones that we've already developed resistances to can slip past it. It may look bad, but all Alto is experiencing is his first case of the common cold. A gradual IV drip of water, nutrients, and stabilizer potions should be enough to keep this from happening again in the future." "Thank The Maker," Cadence sighed, sagging into her seat. "The future," Shining muttered, then said, "What exactly is Alto?" "I'm not entirely sure," Twilight frowned. "He's clearly an equinoid, but that doesn't exactly narrow things down by much. His scales are too thin to be dragon scales, so it rules out Kirin. He lacks any Changeling traits both internally or externally. Even the way his magic operates is different from almost anything I've seen." "How so?" Shining pressed. "Well," Twilight started, mentally raising a brow at her brother's behavior. "For example, his magic has a naturally high affinity for sound, ice, and water magic as well as trace elements of shapeshifting that I've only seen in Hippocampi magic signatures. In fact, he doesn't seem to have any pony magic at all." "Is there anything else?" he asked, face still as unreadable as it was in Alto's presence. "His body needs fish meat to function," she added, uncertainty coloring her tone. "Aside from that, there's nothing really of any note." Cadence gulped at that, but Shining was unmoved. The stallion closed his eyes for a moment, carefully weighting his options as he processed what he knew of the situation. Then, he let out a sigh and looked at a guard standing by the dinning room door. "You. Find the head maid. Let her know that I want one of the guest rooms on the third floor refurbished." With a salute, the guard left to fulfill his duty while the two Alicorns stared at him with wide eyes. "Honey? What are you doing?" Cadence asked. "Something that I'll probably regret later," he sighed. The two mares blinked owlishly at him. "What? I'm not going to just throw him back out into the snow. We've got the room and at least this way Flurry's not running around in some abandoned mine." "Maybe," Cadence sighed. "But what about Alto? He might not be too keen on the idea of being here." "I think he'll find a way to deal," he said with a stiff smile. "I did when I met your parents for the first time." Cadence gave his shoulder a playful punch as they all shared a laugh at his expense. "All the same," Twilight smiled. "I think we should ask him what he thinks about living here before we start setting up a room." "Right," Cadence sighed, then smiled as she added, "Though it is nice to finally see the colt that caught our daughter's eye." "Really now?" Twilight smirked, giving the royal couple a playful glare. "Somepony's been keeping a lot of secrets recently." "Twilight," both royals said warningly. "Relax," she chuckled. "Even I know not to stick my muzzle too far into things like this. Only a tactless dork would do something so invasive, right?" Both royals nodded, all the while chuckling awkwardly while avoiding eye-contact with the visiting Princess. Twilight's smile faded. "You guys," she groaned as she planted her hoof firmly into her face. *** Sunburst frowned behind his book as he took in the state of his God-daughter. The poor Alicorn sat at her desk, more staring at her book then reading it. The sight reminded him of a pony-shaped doll being propped up in her seat as he tried to continue his lesson. It had been two days since Alto was brought to the Crystal Empire and while Princess Twilight's procedures showed progress, the colt hadn't woken up yet. That alone put Flurry on edge. Every chance she got, she would sneak off to his room and watch him. All the while praying that he would get well soon. That they could go back to the way things used to be. The last couple of mornings featured her waking up on the floor next to Alto's bed, hopeful smiles melting away when she was greeted by his fitfully sleeping face. To say that she was a wreck would've been an understatement as Sunburst watched her go through the motions in class. This wasn't the bright and happy filly he'd been teaching for years. This was an empty shell in her shape. A sigh slipped past his lips as he snapped the book held in his magic shut. "I think we should take a break from lessons for a while." "Huh?" Flurry asked dumbly, staring up at her teacher. "You've got a lot on your mind right now and I think the Great Griffon Wars will stay the same in the history books as they have for the past hundred years," he explained with a sad smile. She shook her head. "I-I'm fine, I just...I need something to get my mind off of..." Sunburst smiled, then said, "I understand. Go off and spend time with your friends. Get yourself a treat from the kitchens. Do whatever you need to do to clear your head and then we can get back to your studies." "But, what about the other tutors," she asked. "Leave that to Starlight and I," he said with a wink. "But...Alto," she whimpered. "He's got the best doctors and nurses in The Empire watching over him. If anything happens, they'll let everypony know." Flurry stared at him, conflict plain in her eyes as she debated with herself over what she should do. Reluctantly, she nodded and went about putting her books away. Sunburst watched her, heart slowly breaking in the face of how mechanical her movements had become. As she stiffly walked out of the room, he sighed and took a seat behind his seldomly used desk. While he meant every word he said, he really couldn't stand to see his God-daughter so broken. She was normally so bright and happy, like the first sight of snow at the start of winter. But now? He groaned as he rested his head on the table. A knock on the door got his attention. "Come in," he groaned, not raising his face from the polished wood. The door creaked open as Captain Onyx let himself in. A sad smile graced his muzzle as he took in the state of his friend. "Flurry?" he asked, levitating a nearby chair in front of Sunburst's desk before claiming it. Sunburst nodded. Onyx tsked before reaching onto his belt and pulling a hip-flask off of it. "A bit early for a drink isn't it?" Sunburst asked with a rueful smile. "It's coffee," he grumbled. Sunburst raised his head at that, flashing a confused frown at the Guard Captain. "You keep coffee in a hip-flask?" "Only the really strong stuff," he sighed as he uncapped the flask. "Keeps the hooves steady." "If you say so." Onyx took a long pull, then slammed a hoof onto the desk with growl. "I hate this!" he snapped. "I hate seeing her like this damn it!" "I know," Sunburst groaned, leaning back in his seat. "But there's only so much we can do. I'm not a doctor and you're not very good at Medical Magic. All we can do is hope the doctors know what their doing and wait." "Bucking Sombra," Onyx growled, taking another swig of his drink. "If the bastard'd let me learn field medicine I could do something." "Or you would be grumbling about not knowing enough about modern medicine to be much help," Sunburst chuckled. A mirthless bark of laughter filled the room at that before Onyx took another swig. "Still," the captain sighed. "I wish I could help her. "We all do," Sunburst sighed. "But like I said, all we can do is wait." *** Ruby and Sapphire traded awkward glances as they watched Flurry down her twentieth milkshake in a row. While they could sympathize with her, even they thought this was a bit much. This was mirrored by the three new additions to their group as they watched the Alicorn order another drink with slacked jaws and wide eyes. "Flurry slow down," Sapphire said exasperated as she pulled the shake away from the emotional filly. "You'll make yourself sick!" "Give it back Sapphire," Flurry demanded, eyes a little unfocused as she reached for the drink. "You have no idea what I'm going through right now." "And this is going to help?" Ruby asked evenly. "Yes!" she snapped, finally managing to tear the shake out of Sapphire's grip. Flurry was just about to inhale her latest victim when a question from Platinum made her pause. "Are you sure?" All eyes at the table locked onto the Pegasus as she seemed to stare straight through the Princess. Flurry's coat bristled in anger as she leveled a glare at the pony. "What?" she spat, making the group flinch. "Are you sure?" Platinum repeated, unfazed by the Princess' growing rage. "Yes, I'm sure," she hissed. "Liar." The blunt delivery shocked the anger out of the Princess. So much so that she barely noticed it when Platinum casually took her drink. "My teacher once told me that it isn't healthy to keep your real-self hidden all the time. Talk to your friends. We'll do what we can to keep other ponies from eavesdropping, so don't worry too much about that." "Thanks Platinum," Ruby smiled as the trio left the table, one of them still holding Flurry's shake. "No problem," she said, a small smile forming on her muzzle. With that, the three fillies separated and took seats a couple tables away from the Princess and her friends. Flurry took in the sight with a faint smile before casting tired glances at her friends. "She seems nice," Flurry sighed. "She's getting there," Sapphire sighed. "She can be a bit of a headache sometimes, but she's a lot better then she used to be." Ruby nodded, then said, "Now talk." Flurry sighed, then told them what happened to Alto. While they were happy that he was going to recover, they worried how he was going to react to being in The Empire. Just meeting two new ponies was a herculean task in and of itself for him, but a whole kingdom? "What are they going to do when he wakes up?" Ruby asked. "Well, mom and dad want to let him live in the castle, but I don't think that'll work." "No kidding," Sapphire sighed. "And if he's as bad as you say, you can't just send him back to the caves. No wonder you're so stressed." "Yeah," she sighed. "And the dreams haven't been helping." "Dreams?" they asked. "Yeah," she mumbled, staring at the table. "They always start out the same. I come into the cave and find Alto on the floor, but then it changes." "How so?" Ruby asked, a trace of hesitation in her voice. Flurry gulped, then continued. "Sometimes, he'll fade away. Sometimes he'll turn into ice and melt away. Once I called Aunty Twilight and she just blasted him. But the worst is when I find him...and...he's already....." Tears choked the last of her words as she completely fell apart between her two friends. They threw their hooves around her in a double embrace as they helped the shaken Princess ride through her tears. In time, the tide of tears started to ebb and Flurry could think somewhat clearly again. "Better?" Ruby asked, rubbing comforting circles into her friend's back. "A little," she sniffled. "Thanks." "Anytime," Sapphire smiled. "I think I owe Platinum an apology too," she sighed, only to groan as her face started to turn a nasty shade of green. "But first, I think I'm gonna be sick!" A bright flash of magic was all the warning the twins got when their friend vanished. A minute later, loud retching sounds could be heard coming from the little filly's room. "I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing," Sapphire cringed as she stared at the restroom door. "Both I guess," Ruby frowned. "Hopefully, we can help her get through this." "Yeah," Sapphire sighed. *** The room was quiet, the only disturbance being the gasping breaths of the bed-bound colt at its heart and the hoofsteps of a nurse looking over him. It had been two weeks since the colt was brought to the castle for treatment. Since then, nurses and doctors were made to work in shifts to keep him under constant observation. This allowed them to give Shining and Cadence constant updates on his condition. The nurse gave the sleeping colt a sad sigh as she took the wet rag off of his forehead. As she swirled it around in a nearby bowl of cold water, she couldn't help but marvel at the colt's stranger attributes. Forcing herself to focus for not the first time, she fetched the rag and got ready to reapply it to the colt's forehead and change his IV bags. With her tasks completed, she made her way through the room's exit to tell one of the guards to find her replacement for the day. When the door closed behind her, the sound of sheets moving filled the room. Alto pulled himself into a sitting position, his rag falling to the floor with a wet splat. Slowly, his eyes opened to reveal hazy emerald irises. A slow, haunting howl filled the castle, a cold breeze not far behind that sent a chill down the spines of everypony it touched.