//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19 
// Story: The Dark City 
// by awf 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 19

Their luck held through the morning and a patch of sky before them remained open, clear enough for Ember to keep a fix on a distinctive-looking mountaintop and guide them in a straight line. They were following a valley, so theoretically they should have been able to find the way even without that navigation, but Rusty knew just how easy it would be to get turned around in a blizzard. She couldn't even rely on the sled tracks they made because the storm behind them was probably filling them in almost as soon as the party had passed. Perhaps they were outrunning the storm, Rusty thought. The amount of visible sky didn't seem to change and the full-blown blizzard was never quite upon them. The pace she had set was taking its toll, however, and they wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, especially once she gave the sled over to one of the others. After all, she had that earth pony endurance to fall back on, her friends didn't. That was why she kept quiet and pulled the Professor along a lot longer than she was supposed to.

It beat carrying the old stallion anyway.

Presently she was ready to fall over when the ground changed. It was quite sudden and Rusty stumbled to a shaking, gasping halt. Even as her lungs worked to fill the lack of oxygen she examined the snow underhoof.

A smile made its way on her muzzle, even through her panting. "It's-" she gasped, "we're... here."

The others looked around in confusion, except for Gustaf who hurried over and examined the ground. "Yep. Glacier. Going down it in this will be tricky, but we don't have a choice. I'll take the Professor."

Rusty gratefully began untying herself from the sled. "Winter, how's your magic?"

"Um, w-what?"

"Your magic. You haven't used it, can you melt some snow for us to drink?"

The mare closed her eyes for a moment and her horn flickered. It died almost instantly and she sagged, but Ember hurried to her and put his wings around her withers. Rusty didn't hear what he murmured to his friend, but they had their heads together for a while. He pulled away and Winter Shine closed her eyes and tried again, but this time Ember kept a hold on her hoof.

The magic came once more, flickering and feeble, but there. Winter was visibly straining to hold it. "P-Pot. Get a pot," she grunted.

Rusty hurried to unbuckle one of her soup pots, but Ember was quicker and produced his. He laid it on the snow in front of Winter Shine.

"F-Fill it with snow," she ordered, her eyes still closed. Ember did so, and then they all watched with bated breath.

The glow surrounded the pot and its light strengthened. At first there was no change, but then Rusty saw that the snow was growing darker. It began to melt more rapidly, clumps dissolving into liquid before their eyes. A bit of steam rose above the water.

They waited a little longer, but when Ember saw that the snow outside of the pot was beginning to soften and melt he put a hoof on Winter's back. "That's it, you can stop now," he told her.

The mare let out her breath and sagged a little as the glow winked out. She opened her bleary eyes and looked at the pot in half-surprise. "It worked?"

"It worked. You did well, sweetheart," Rusty praised. She got a grateful smile in return. "Everypony drink. If you want, there's more dry oatmeal, but we can't cook it."

They took turns sipping from the pot of lukewarm water. It was delicious and much needed after their weary slog, and it served to warm them a bit from the inside. When they were all full, Rusty drained the last few drops even though she had to force herself to drink. She'd lost a lot of water sweating with the Professor and needed to replace it, even if her body didn't know it yet. Ember accepted the pot back and strapped it beside his saddlebag, then they were ready to descend the cliff.

Rusty gave them the last bit of instruction before they started their descent: "Careful now. Everypony make sure your rope is tied securely. If you slip, don't flail, we'll catch you. Easy does it. It's more important we get down in one piece rather than quickly."

Even as she said that, Rusty cast an eye at the sky. The storm they had been outrunning was closing in. Soon, the last remnants of the sky would be hidden by white mist and then they would be lost and forced to stop. She examined Curio as Gustaf pulled him past her. The sliver lines were melted into his horn and he was still unconscious. She saw the mist of his breath, which meant he was alive, but it was worrying.

Ember followed, since he was tied directly to the griffin, and then Winter Shine. Rusty fell in step beside the mare and bumped their flanks. "Good job on that snow, Winter. You saved us a lot of time."

She got half of a nervous smile before Winter Shine's face fell. "I should- I should have been able to do that in my sleep," she murmured. "I just couldn't concentrate. I'm sorry, Miss Bones!"

Rusty didn't correct the honorific, not with how shaken the other mare looked. "We're in a very difficult situation, Winter. You did great under such pressure. I'm proud of you."

That seemed to perk her up a little and led the way for Rusty's next question.

"Listen, do you know any kind of a spell which would show us directions? Any direction. North, South. Heck, even a pointer toward Canterlot would help."

Winter Shine looked afraid. "B-But, but you know the way, right?! We're not lost, are we?!"

Rusty quickly threw a hoof around Winter's withers even as they walked. "No, no, we're fine! We've kept landmarks in sight and it's a pretty straight run from the base of this cliff. I just want to be extra sure." She thought quickly for a convenient lie which would still hold a grain of truth. "Look, we'll find civilization no matter what, but if we go slightly off course we'll run into the Ice Floe road, right? We can just follow it to town, but it'll take more time. I want to get the Professor some help as soon as we can!"

It was technically true, but Rusty didn't say that in a blizzard the road could be covered with snow. If they were unlucky and came to it where there was no signpost or marker in sight, they could miss it. With luck they'd hit the Luna Bay, but if they got turned around they could wander in the wrong direction all the way to the Crystal Empire!

"Oh. Yeah, I understand," Winter said. She scrunched up her muzzle in thought. "I t-think I know a spell to show a compass, but I'm not sure I can do it. It's pretty complicated."

Rusty gave the mare a quick nuzzle, then removed her hoof around her so they could both walk more easily. "That's okay. Will you try when we're down the cliff? It's just a precaution, so don't worry too much if you can't do it, right?"

Phrasing it that way helped and Winter managed a tentative smile. "Okay. I'll try, Miss Bones."

"Rusty, please."

That time Winter just inclined her head. There was no more time for talking because they reached the edge of the cliff and the path they had to follow was barely wide enough for one pony. Rusty Bones fell behind and followed Winter. She had to trust in Gustaf's ability to both find a safe way down as well as keep the Professor's sled from slipping and pulling them all after it. Hoof over hoof. Slow and steady, the mare told herself. She made sure to brace her legs into the hard ice as best she could. If one of the youngsters slipped the other would likely follow. It would be down to her and Gustaf to stand firm and arrest their slide.

Thank goodness for her earth pony strength and stability.

Hoof by hoof they made their slow way down the side of the cliff.





By the time the group was at the bottom, luckily with no mishaps, the storm was fully upon them. Every direction was white and large snowflakes fell in a swirl all around them. The wind had picked up slightly and it would probably get worse. To Rusty's dismay they couldn't see any sky, nor even a bit of horizon.

"I'll fly up and see which way we have to go," Ember offered, but both Gustaf and Rusty shouted him down.

"Nope!"

"You'll do no such thing, you idiot! The wind will pick you up and smash you on the cliff!" Rusty commanded.

Ember subsided a little, but his ears splayed and he grumbled mutinously: "I could do it!"

Rusty shook her head again. "Pah! Not even Rainbow Dash herself could fly in this! It's getting worse!"

The stallion had no response to that, but he still kept glaring at the sky as if it had personally offended him.

There came a squeak from Winter Shine. "D- D'you think it's the- the whatever is down in that ruin?! Causing the storm, I mean? Is it still after us?!"

Rusty grinned and shook her head firmly. "No chance! This is a perfectly natural storm for this time of year. If we didn't have the Professor to worry about I'd have us set a tent in some hollow and wait it out. It'll blow itself out in a day, maybe two, and we have plenty of supplies."

Her easy confidence helped and Winter Shine's ears lifted a little.

"Anyway, can you try your spell? Ember, Gustaf, in the mean time you two try that famous flyer orientation and pick a direction to the town. Don't watch each other. If you both pick the same way independently, we'll know it's the right one."

The two gave her a nod and walked a few paces away from each other. They started to do whatever pegasi and griffins did to find their way in a storm. Rusty stayed with Winter Shine.

"Remember, it's just to confirm, so don't push yourself too hard. See if you can do it."

The mare gave her a nod. She looked worried and Rusty suspected that on some level Winter Shine knew how critical her navigation spell would be. She still accepted Rusty's words, though, or she might fold under the pressure. "Alright. Compass. Compass. I can do it," she murmured to herself. She took a few deep breaths, then her horn flickered to life.

Rusty got her map out just in case it worked, and eyeballed the direction from the base of the cliff to the town. At least she hoped she had the right valley in mind. She retraced the steps from where she had marked the ruins and their first camp that first night out of Ice Floe. She was sure it was the right spot.

Winter Shine grunted a bit and her magic flashed on and off a few times as she struggled with it. Just as Rusty was losing hope, faint, glowing lines appeared in the air in front of the unicorn. She watched them eagerly and they slowly resolved into a circle with markings. S, E, W and N. There was a thicker line running from the center to N. It had worked! Rusty quickly dragged her hoof in the snow just under the floating compass to capture which direction was North. She added South as well, then grasped Winter Shine in a big hug.

"That's it! It worked, you can stop now!"

The mare blinked her eyes open in confusion and saw the magical compass, which made her gasp a little. "It worked?!" In her surprise she fumbled the spell and the glow around her horn faded with a quiet pop. That didn't matter, since Rusty had copied the markings onto the snow.

She lifted her map and compared it with the directions. She knew which way to the town, but didn't say anything. It wouldn't hurt to corroborate her thoughts with the colts' orientation.

Rusty stood in front of the drawing in the snow and waited for Gustaf and Ember to finish whatever they were doing. When they both looked relatively certain she called out: "Point toward the town. Both at the same time, so you don't copy each other. On three!"

She counted and the two lifted up their forelegs. They seemed to match pretty well with each other, but more importantly it matched what Rusty herself had estimated based on the map and the magical compass.

"Nice!" she praised. "Okay, let's go. I'll walk in the back, keep an eye on the sled tracks to make sure we're going straight."

Rusty knew they could still easily deviate, but she hoped it wouldn't be too significant over the short distance they had left, especially with their two navigators up front. They would keep check on each other.

The party set off once more, pushing bravely into the white, gushing storm.