Through the Aurora

by Starscribe


Chapter 36: Into the Cold

It would’ve been wonderful to fly directly to their destination and get everything over with. Summer was eager to reach that portal, and confront whatever reality waited on the other side. Whether she’d be able to continue her relationship with Sharp or not, whether the portal would even work—at least the endless confusion and doubt would be over, and she could see how the chips would fall.

But there were some distractions too tempting even for her.

It was after at least two weeks of gentle travel that Sharp finally discovered the secret that would change their course. At least she could feel a little smug for taking all those scans of hippogriff books.

She wasn’t far away when it happened—perched in the window watching the stars, while he sat at the table with her tablet. Even if the finer points of touchscreens and human interfaces still eluded him, he could read through pictures without too much difficulty.

“Summer, are you awake?” he asked, voice suddenly intense. 

“It’s not even ten,” she said, turning towards him. “What’s up?”

“This book… The Historical Domains of the Principalities Hippogriff. I can’t believe you didn’t mention this sooner!”

She frowned, trying to think back through the stack of dozens of books she’d scanned. “I, uh… was that the one with all the old maps?”

“Yes!” He gestured emphatically at the screen. “All this time, they’ve known where Athemis was! They’ve known, and it’s already on the way! We could be heading there without adding more than a day to our journey, plus however long it takes to explore.”

Reluctantly, Summer rose, shaking out her wings and crossing the room. She stopped touching his side, looking down beside him at the map. From the charts she’d seen, it did seem like the marked location of Athemis was on their way. A secluded island not unlike Mt. Aris, but in the north instead of the south. Based on their current route of heading north past Equestria before flying westward across the barren northern continent to avoid Feather, it seemed almost along the way. They’d only have to go a little bit further north, and they’d be there.

“Okay, I see what you mean. Looks like the ancient hippogriffs had some pretty buckin’ accurate maps. Except for those dragons on the edge there. Our medieval maps did that too. But I don’t understand what the point of Athemis is. You’ve never even said that name before. I’m not sure why I should be excited.”

In the past, she probably would’ve asked what it had to do with their trip home. But now some part of her couldn’t help thinking, If we get blown off course and snowed in up there, it would only take a month to miss the deadline to cross back over. The experiment would end, and it wouldn’t be my fault I’d be staying in Equestria.

Sharp sighed. “Haven’t you wondered about the same questions I have? Where did the Travelers come from? Did they visit your world, did hippogriffs migrate here? Or how about all the ancient wonders they could create.” He lifted a hoof, tapping her necklace gently. “I’ve never found another object quite like that. Could you imagine what it would do for diplomacy if we could get designs for that a unicorn craftspony could recreate?”

He flipped through the book, back through several more maps. Instead of having just a few dots, there were dozens of them now, spread across the land she thought was Equestria. “According to this, there was a time when hippogriffs lived all across the world like no other creatures do today. They don’t have the same reference dates, but if I had to guess… the Windigos probably cleared them off of Equestria before moving on to pony settlements. But only their southern fortress survived, probably by retreating under the sea the same way they did when the Storm King attacked.”

“Okay, but if there were all these hippogriff settlements across Equestria, why isn’t any magic they had common knowledge to you. Shouldn’t ponies have found them over and over again? They should fill every museum.”

He patted her gently on the shoulder, grinning. “You’re… so naive sometimes, Summer. It’s adorable.”

She stumbled away from him, ears flattening and tail tucking a little. Just words, but she felt like she was in grade school all over again.

“Equestria is covered with ancient magic we don’t understand,” he continued. “Sometimes we don’t even understand the stuff we made. The Crystal Empire almost collapsed a few years ago because a baby threw a tantrum. Ponies just don’t explore much. We like staying home, staying comfortable.”

“I can see that,” she said, rubbing her head up against his shoulder. It was only fair she try and make him feel as embarrassed as she had. Though it didn’t seem to be working. “That’s why you built this little airship all on your own and went flying off to explore the world.”

“Always exceptions,” he said, not pushing her away. “But that’s not my point. My point is…” He glanced around once, up the stairs towards the helm. But Emerald wouldn’t leave it. She might be young, but when she said she’d do something, she meant it. He spoke quieter anyway. “You said it seemed like the hippogriffs were trying to hide their own history, right? Like they’d been… censoring their library.”

She nodded. “And when I was in court, they didn’t seem much more willing to talk about it. I don’t know if it’s embarrassment, or fear, or what.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know why they’d do it, but we don’t have to let them. Athemis has been abandoned since before Celestia took power, maybe longer. There are stories about all the wealth still buried there from before their empire collapsed. I don’t care about gold, but think of the devices. If we can recreate their artifice, then we’ll do more for Equestria than Feather ever could. And… probably learn the answers to those questions you were wondering about.”

She would’ve agreed no matter what he asked. Summer was happy to be here with him, where she actually felt like she belonged, instead of sacrificing years of her life to see some numbers go up on a bank account. “Will it be… dangerous? There must be reasons creatures have never gone back to this place, right?”

“No idea,” he said. “I don’t know what made creatures abandon it, so it’s hard to say if that would still be a threat after all these years. It’s going to be cold, as cold as Sleighsburg, but we’re prepared for that. We’ve still got all the jackets and boots packed.”

“Alright,” she said. “Just… remember, we can’t go back through the doorway forever. The experiment that opened it in the first place closes when winter ends on my side. We have to get back by then if you want to see my world.”

“We won’t miss it,” Sharp promised. “It’s not far out of the way. We’re only looking for the really interesting stuff. The… hippogriffs probably wouldn’t be happy if they found out we’d gone through and completely dissected the place. We’re just looking for information.”

If I’m going to be coming back to life anyway, it would be good if I can come back with more than a few awkward questions. A little delay can’t hurt. Considering how difficult the trip south had been, a little detour to investigate some old ruins seemed safe enough. There still wasn’t any sign of Feather coming to kill them. It couldn’t hurt.


Athemis wasn’t as dramatic as Mt. Aris. There was no massive spire protruding from the ocean, visible for hundreds of miles around. If it had been anything so obvious, pony ships probably would’ve found it long ago, even if it was further north than most ever sailed. Instead it took Sharp careful reference of the sextant and hours drifting over the ocean before they saw anything at all.

It mixed evenly with an ocean surface covered with chunks of frozen ice. As Summer stared over the edge of the Horizon’s railing, she first thought it was just another iceberg, one of many that filled the ocean so far north. Whatever Kate’s mad take on environmental protection, she was right about the pristine environment here in Equestria. The ponies weren’t taking chemical steps to speed the end of their ice age.

“It’s not an iceberg,” Sharp said, as the Horizon began to descend. Past the clouds they had to fight the currents of upper air, which pushed them away from the ruin. He offered Summer his scope, which she took in one claw.

One day I’m going to figure out how you hold things with a hoof.

She stared down at the ground, and sure enough what she thought was just ice actually seemed to be ice-covered structure. It was a stone fortress, coated anywhere that frost could form along its outer surface. Rather than perched into a natural crevice in the cliff as Mt. Aris, this building seemed to be the face for a larger structure, cut into the sea rock behind.

She passed the scope back. “But how do we get in?”

Sharp stowed his scope away in his belt, grinning at her. “This is the kind of adventure stories are made from, Summer. We drop down low through perilous winds, then anchor into the ice. And pray we drive the anchor deep enough, or else be stranded on an ancient building to starve.” He slammed the altitude control down, and they began to dive. “I think I see where a balcony used to be. If I get us down there, I can shatter the ice.”

Emerald turned towards them, watching Sharp with concern on her face. Her thick jacket was already covered with frost, which had condensed in her mane and frozen it. For all that, she didn’t seem to notice. She’d been born in this cold, it didn’t chill her the way it did Summer. She’d thought the icy rivers of home were cold before, but… they were nothing compared to this. “You’re enjoying this too much, Sharp. I know you, you wouldn’t do anything that risky.”

“You’re right,” he said, not taking his hooves from the controls. With one he brought them down in a steep dive towards the island, or as steep as a lighter-than-air vessel like the Horizon could manage. With the other he used the wheel to fight the wind trying to drive them back. “Because I have an excellent apprentice. If we do get swept away, I’m confident she can steer the Horizon back on course.”

Emerald’s face twisted into a mask, somewhere between pride and anger. “Hold on. Are you just trying to get me not to come with you? I want to see the ruins too!”

“You can see them,” Sharp promised. “Summer will take you after we scout them out first. Somepony needs to stay back on the ship. I’ve been studying the ancient hippogriffs, and they’re Summer’s creatures. Besides, do you want her to do it? Remember what happened last time Summer flew the Horizon?”

Summer shoved him with a claw, hard enough that he winced, turning to smirk up at her. Even so, she didn’t actually argue. Leaving Emerald behind was the smartest move, and not just because she knew how to fly the Horizon better than Summer did. The ruins of an ancient city really might be dangerous.

“I wish I could’ve asked Skystar about this place,” she muttered. The closer they got, the more she realized this island wasn’t actually smaller than Mt. Aris. It might not be as high, but it was still impressive. Big enough to build a whole city, instead of just a distant lighthouse. “She might’ve been able to tell us why it was abandoned.”

Sharp didn’t look at her this time, or even glance away from his flying. The lower they got, the more unpredictable the winds became. Summer dug her claws into the deck by reflex so she wouldn’t go anywhere, but the ponies couldn’t do that. “Depends on your source,” Sharp said. “Pony historians usually say it was the Windigos. We already know they were here, and there’s no reason they wouldn’t be hostile to everyone. Except… I don’t think that’s the whole story. Hippogriffs don’t have tribes, so I’m not sure what could create the strife needed to feed them. Maybe they got enough power feeding off the disagreements in Unicornia and the other ancient kingdoms that destroying the hippogriffs was easy for them.

Or maybe they just made up their tribes. We’ve never had much trouble inventing reasons to fight. “Just so long as we aren’t going to be ‘unleashing an ancient evil’ or something by visiting. I’m… not super clear on how all the impossible things work. But that seems like the kind of thing you find in a dead city that no one ever visits.”

“I don’t think so. Nothing in the stories like that. I think if there was going to be ancient evil in Athemis, it would follow the hippogriffs south. So we’re safe. Except that… lots of the old ruins in Equestria have traps and things to keep the ancient treasures from being stolen. If there’s anything like that, we’ll probably just turn around.”

Landing was a tricky business, so Summer stayed away from Sharp while he was actually figuring that out. Instead she found somewhere to sit by the edge of the ship, where she could keep an eye on their clearance with the ruins and make sure they didn’t tear the gasbag against the ice or anything else so catastrophic. 

Sharp wasn’t just a skilled blacksmith, but he knew how to fly his airship. During the last few minutes, they moved painfully slowly, fighting a wind off the island that seemed determined to blow them away again. 

“We have three mooring lines!” Sharp yelled, tossing one of them to the deck in front of Emerald. “Can you fly in this much wind? I need you to get it over there.” The thick rope ended in a metal anchor covered in wicked-looking spikes. “Drive it straight down, then twist the back! It should spread out into the hole and hold tight!”

Summer could only watch as the child fought the wind to fly back and forth with each anchor line. She should’ve been able to help—she was mature, and her wings were much larger. But even after a little practice at Mt. Aris, she knew the instant she took off she’d get thrown away from the island like everything else, and probably freeze once she hit the water. Unless she hit ice instead and just broke her neck.

The Horizon fought, and so did Emerald, and after almost an hour of furious flight, they finally stopped moving.

Emerald landed on the deck a few meters from her, then flopped sideways, panting with effort. “I did it… master. All… three.” Bits of snow and ice fell away from her wings, piling up around her.

Sharp patted her once on the shoulder, before making his way past her to one of the lines and pulling on it. Not too hard—even the strange properties of pony hooves had their limits. But the line held. “You did great, Emerald. The best apprentice I could hope for.”

Summer hurried over to her, removing the flask she’d been carrying and unscrewing the lid. “Here, I made some hot chocolate while you were flying. This will help warm you up.”

“Hot… what?” The filly sat up, but she seemed too weak to argue. She gripped the flask weakly, pouring its contents down her throat. Steam rose from inside, billowing around them in the arctic air. “Oooh, this is nice. Why haven’t we had this before?”

She shrugged. Because Sharp’s too lazy to make it and drinking it reminds me of home. “I can’t believe you haven’t had hot chocolate before. Living in the cold the way you do, I don’t know how I’d survive.”

“Let’s get her belowdecks,” Sharp suggested. “Then we should get down as quick as we can. I know it doesn’t feel as intense anymore, but I don’t think the wind is ever going to stop. Sooner or later those anchors are going to give. Best get our exploring done before the island can get rid of us.”

Summer stuck out a hoof, waiting until Emerald had finished drinking before lifting her gently. She might’ve just done an incredible task for them, but she was still a bird, and a kid.

She carried her up against her chest, feeling just how cold Emerald had become, how much her heart was racing from her mission, and settled her into the window seat.

“Keep the fire going,” Sharp urged. “And I know it’s hard, but don’t fall asleep. Watch the lines at all times. Even one of them should be able to hold us… but we’re not taking risks. Blow the horn if you see even one give out. And don’t try to put it back. We can’t risk you being separated from the Horizon. If they give out, just take the controls and fly back.”

“Okay,” she said, ears flat to her head. “I, uh… are you sure I can’t come? This sounds like a lot of responsibility.”

“You’ll be fine,” Sharp said. “Probably you’re already done for the day. We’ll only be gone an hour or two before we’re back. If that goes well, and the anchors seem to be holding, we can make a longer trip tomorrow.”

Emerald nodded. “I… I think I can do it. If there’s more of that hot chocolate stuff.”

Summer made her way to the range, pouring the last of it into the flask and offering it back to the filly. “Sure thing, sweetheart. I’ll do better if we get fresh supplies. With real milk and marshmallows, it would be better. But the peppermint does pretty well to mask how powdered everything is.”

Sharp waited patiently for her to finish, before offering her a jacket. “Let’s get down there,” he said. “Time to find some answers.”