//------------------------------// // Students and Teachers // Story: Agate's Vigil // by Wingnut //------------------------------// *Knock knock* "Huh?" Agate was woken up by the sensation of someone knocking on her totem. It was odd, a lot like a knock on the door to her room, but also a bit like she was getting poked in the side. Yawning, she cracked open her totem-eyes, looking down at her visitors. Earthsong was there, with Dreamcatcher and True Sight off to the side. Stretching, she closed her eyes, opening them again outside the totem. "Morning, Earthsong. Is it- oh, I think I must've slept in a bit today," Agate mused, glancing at the sun. "Only a little. Staying out late?" The mare asked, running a hoof through the filly's ethereal mane. "Not usually, though I had a long talk with Spear Throw and Gnarled Root last night. I still have a lot of things to learn." "And teach. It is doubtful that anyone can ever reach a point where they truly have nothing to learn any more, but today, it is time for you to become the teacher for once." "Yeah..." Agate trailed off, looking towards True Sight and Dreamcatcher. The two elders were slowly walking in a circle around the totem, examining the crystals and quietly muttering to each other. She waited alongside Earthsong by her totem until the two finished their inspection, coming over. Dreamcatcher picked up one of the larger charged crystals, while True Sight carried an empty one in her mouth. Motioning to sit, Earthsong pulled Agate in a little closer, the three shamares and the little spirit forming a small circle. The filly waited for a minute as the elders showed the crystals to Earthsong, the mare tapping and squinting at them. While she was busy with that, Dreamcatcher turned towards Agate, clearing her throat. "So... You did this all by yourself, hm? In the span of, what, a day or two?" "Kind of. I didn't spend the entire day at it, nor the one afterwards, and most of the time I spent just staring at the crystals and trying to figure out how to go about it best." "Hmm. Impressive. You have raw talent, to be certain," The shamare said with a slow nod. "Not really," Agate shrugged. "It's kind of my people's talent. I have seen ponies who were both younger and better at it than I am. I'm all you have, though." "Exactly. And there's no reason to discount your abilities, either. So, how should we begin?" She asked, reaching out for the blank piece of crystal. "Well, umm... First, maybe you could just show me how you usually charge crystals, and I'll try to figure out the differences?" Dreamcatcher shrugged, glancing at the other two shamares with lidded eyes. At their nods, she held out the empty crystal, and the three took a long, synchronized breath, before slowly starting to hum. Agate watched them intently, trying to both see and feel what they were doing. ❅ ❆ ❅ "Like this?" "I think so..." "Let's try it, then, I'm not getting any younger." A few hours had passed since they began. A few long hours, filled with stumbling, confusion, and strange terms they tried to explain to each other. Still, slow as it was, they were making progress. Three glowing crystals were lying next to them, with a fourth one on the ground in the middle of the circle. Scratching her head, Earthsong turned towards Agate. "Could you try explaining that "resonance" thing again?" "Right. There's some kind of really big and hard explanation for it that I didn't understand at all, but... It's a bit like a song. When you sing, you can feel your chest vibrate, right? And when several ponies manage to do it at the same frequency - the same speed, sound, uh... The same way you're doing it, instead of drowning each other out, you all sing in harmony, strengthening each other." The mares nodded, their ears up and alert. Singing was something near and dear to the snowponie's hearts, and using the song analogy seemed to produce the best results. Taking a moment to formulate her thoughts, Agate plowed on. "Now, every crystal has its own frequency. Fortunately, crystals of the same kind - like the citrine you have here - tend to have nearly identical frequencies. If you find the right one, you can charge them far easier. Thing is, we're talking about magical frequency, not actual sound. Some crystal ponies do hum to help them concentrate, but plenty do it without making any noise." Predictably, they spent some time asking Agate about the different types of crystals, what did "citrine" mean, and other small things not directly related to what they were trying to do. She did the best she could, though she wished there was a real master here to help her with this. Still, she managed to correct a number of small mistakes and wrong ways they were trying to charge crystals over the few hours. The first thing was to tell them to put the crystal on the ground, instead of holding it in the air or against their chests. Apparently, they were doing it this way because that was how the stallion who discovered their use did it the first time. It wasn't a big detriment to an experienced crystal pony, but for a beginner, it could mean the difference between successfully lighting up a crystal and achieving nothing. After a dozen of such small corrections and various levels of success, the shamares were raring to have another go at it, before getting interrupted by a loud growl. "Oh, ah..." Earthsong folded her ears in embarrassment. True Sight cackled while Dreamcatcher cracked a small smile. Shaking her head, Earthsong got up, going to the edge of the clearing to retrieve a set of saddlebags. Coming back, she started pulling out small bundles of food, passing them around. Glancing at the sun, she raised an eyebrow. "We've been at this longer than I thought. Guess we got a little carried away." True Sight shrugged, unwrapping a dried fish. "What can I say? Agate's foreign knowledge is interesting to listen to, if a little hard to understand sometimes." Dreamcatcher gave an affirmative grunt, her mouth full. Agate waited patiently while they ate, glancing at the fish with bemusement now and then. She still wondered how the crystal ponies in the Empire would react to seeing the snowponies eating fish and doing other snowpony things. After the three shamares filled their bellies and Earthsong stowed away her saddlebags, they refocused on the crystal in the middle of their circle. Earthsong laid down on her belly, extending her hooves forward. "You know, it really did feel a little easier last time..." "Because you're so attuned to the Earth," True Sight snorted. "Makes it easier for you." Dreamcatcher remained silent, mimicking Earthsong's posture. The three took deep breaths, humming silently and pushing power into the crystal. Agate watched intently as small flickers of light started running through it's facets, moving upwards from the ground like a flame. In barely a few minutes, the warm orange glow from the citrine lit up their faces. Agate tried to clop her hooves together in approval, before remembering that she couldn't make sounds that way any more. "You did it! That was much faster than the last time," she said, going with verbal praise instead. The shamares poked and prodded the crystal for a bit, but eventually nodded, apparently satisfied with their hoofwork. Leaning back, True Sight rubbed her temples before letting out a jaw-cracking yawn. "That was faster, yes, but not much easier. We don't have your knack for it, but I do think we'd be able to get it over and done with far quicker than usual. Slowly charging the spirit stones for days was always a terribly dull duty." "Well, from what I could feel, you do seem to be losing some magic along the way, but it's not too bad. I'm sure you'll get better with just a bit more practice," Agate explained with a shrug. "Ehhhhh," True Sight grimaced a little, making a so-so gesture with a hoof. "Practice or not, you still have your natural affinity for it, like we have ours. We, for example, are far better at chasing off or empowering... Spirits..." She trailed off, her eyes going wide. After a moment, she slowly began grinning, her smile getting wider and wider as she seemed to realize something. Agate squirmed as the smartflank shamare's eyes twinkled with mischief as she stared at the filly with the huge crooked smile. What was she up to now? Wordlessly, True Sight got up, going to retrieve one of the dark crystals from further away. The other three in the circle watched her with some confusion, though in Earthsong's case, it was also tinged with exasperation at the older mare's antics. Putting the crystal down in front of Agate, she cleared her throat. "Say, Agate, could you put your hoof on the spirit stone, please? I would like to try something," True Sight asked in the most innocent voice she could muster. The filly narrowed her eyes, glaring at the shamare. She knew she was up to something, but it was impossible to guess what. After a minute of staring at her faux-innocent expression, the filly snorted, reaching out towards the crystal with her right foreleg. Still grinning, True Sight put her own hoof on the top of Agate's head, applying gentle pressure. The filly blinked, trying to figure out what her game was. "See, Agate, I had a thought... We are good at empowering spirits, while you are good at charging the spirit stones. What if..." Agate didn't get to ask "What if what?", as the shamare hummed and let out a deep breath from her throat, her emerald eyes gaining a soft glow. Immediately after, the filly could feel the magic coursing through her ethereal body, being fed into her by True Sight. It was a lot like touching the totem pole the first time, everything suddenly coming into a sharp focus and getting brighter. "Guuuuuh." Except, she already had the totem pole, so this was overwhelming. She felt odd, disjointed sensations all over her skin and saw strange flashes of light, while her limbs twitched involuntarily. From the corner of her eyes, she saw the crystal glowing brightly, strobing with an uneven tempo. With some effort, she plunged her foreleg deep inside it, channeling all the excess magic into it. *CRACK* A few shouts came from the gathered shamares as an extremely bright flash lit up the clearing. True Sight lost her balance, letting go of Agate in the process. The filly rubbed her eyes with her hooves, trying to get her sight back. Shaking her head to make the sparkles dancing in her vision to disappear, she took stock of the situation. Dreamcatcher was sitting where she was, looking around with closed eyes and a bemused expression. Apparently, the flash of light didn't impede her ability to somehow see through closed eyelids. Earthsong was still lying down in the same spot, a foreleg draped across her face. A long-suffering sigh left her muzzle. "Tell me, elder, will you ever grow up and stop fooling around before you die of old age?" There was a familiar cackle off to the side. Turning her head, Agate saw True Sight, splayed out on her side with a massive grin on her face. Slowly getting back to her hooves, the old mare schooled her expression to something a tiny bit more serious. Just a tiny bit, though. "Fooling around and growing up are separate things, you know. You don't have to do the former just because you did the latter." "And you're certainly the prime example of that," Earthsong replied, removing her leg from her face and rolling her eyes. Turning her gaze on Agate, she examined the filly. "Everything alright?" Agate stood up, testing her balance. She still felt pins and needles all over her skin, but her sight returned to normal by that point. Shaking her head, she gave a sideways glance to True Sight. "I'm fine, but I really don't think that you should try charging a pony like you would a crystal, even if I'm a spirit. That was weird. I think I could taste colors for a moment." "Well, I wasn't exactly trying to charge you. You were supposed to act as a conduit and charge the spirit stone. And hey, that was only the first try! We're bound to make mistakes the first time. I bet we could do it way better if we tried again. And the results are interesting, to say the least," the shamare defended her actions, pointing towards where the crystal stood. The rather sudden and unstable injection of large amounts of magic was evidently too much for it to handle, as it lay broken into three pieces. That wasn't the only effect, however. The crystal grew, and the individual chunks were as big as the crystal they started with. And lastly, instead of the orange of citrine, it now sported the deep purple colors of amethyst. Dreamcatcher took one of the pieces, rubbing it carefully with a hoof. "It feels the same, and yet... It is different, ever so slightly. The color is certainly unusual." Earthsong followed suit, True Sight rejoining the circle and picking one up as well. Agate watched with some amusement as the shamares tapped, sniffed, and tried to taste the differences in the crystal. Eventually, Earthsong blinked, remembering that they had someone far more knowledgeable about crystals than they were. "Agate, is there anything you can tell us about this?" "Sure. This is amethyst. It is another kind of crystal - or, as you call them, spirit stone. It's a colored variety of quartz, just like the citrine you have here. In fact, citrine and amethyst are sometimes found mixed together in the same deposits, which makes it easier to transmute one into the other, since they're so closely related. It's a moderately popular type of precious stone back in the Empire. It's not too hard to work with, or so I've read." "I understood... Maybe half of that," Earthsong replied with a bemused smile. "It sounds like you have as many kinds of spirit stones in your homeland as we have fish over here." "Oh, yes! There's hundreds. Crystals, gems, semi-precious stones... I learned about many of them, though I only know the basics. The most common uses, hardness, colors, and so on. For example, the violet color of the amethyst is a bit similar to the agate purple of my coat, though not quite the same. Or... How my coat used to be, I guess." "Really now..." Earthsong held up the amethyst against Agate's side, squinting at it. The filly guessed the mare was imagining how she looked while still alive. "Your people really look like that? So unusually colored? And do they sparkle as well?" "Yup. All kinds of colors, and we're shiny and sparkly. Usually, anyway, unless something bad happens." "So odd... But I assume you must think the same of us." Agate chose to remain quiet, though she agreed with the statement wholeheartedly. About the snowponies being odd, at least. There was nothing strange about looking like you were made of crystal. All crystal ponies looked like that, after all. Meanwhile, True Sight put her crystal down, though she still kept her eyes on it. "So did you mean to transform it into a - what did you call it, amethyst?" "No, this was completely accidental. I was too disoriented to try and achieve any kind of specific effects, so I just poured magic into it. I don't even know how to do stuff like this on purpose, either. Changing crystals into different forms is advanced stuff, and I'm just figuring out the very basics myself, like I told you." "And I think we've figured out enough for today," Earthsong declared, getting up from the ground and stretching out her legs with a groan. Glancing at the sun, she nodded. "We spent at least a good six hours already. We'll start forgetting things if we spend any more time on this. Let us retire for now and let what we learned so far settle in our heads. We'll come back tomorrow... And hopefully there won't be any more attempts to make Agate explode or anything similar." "Wha- Hey! You know full well I wasn't trying to do that. She would have been fine. Probably," True Sight huffed indignantly. Agate rolled her eyes as the pair walked off from the clearing, arguing all the way, only stopping for a brief second for Earthsong to give her a goodbye wave. Her ear twitched as she heard someone clicking their tongue right next to her. Turning her head back, she saw Dreamcatcher, still lying on the ground. She shook her head, though she had a small smile on her face. "Don't mind those two. True Sight tends not to take things too seriously, while Earthsong often ends up worrying about things far too much. They're perfect for each other, really, even if they end up arguing instead of learning from each other more often than not." "Yeah... I've seen them do this a few times now." "And I imagine they'll keep going at it for quite a while, until True Sight grows too old, at least. Or perhaps even long after that, too. Heh. So, are you really alright? Her little trick didn't harm you?" The shamare asked, looking Agate over. Agate held out her forelegs, taking a closer look at herself. "I think I'm fine. I felt pins and needles all over afterwards, but they went away pretty fast. I'm still not sure how or what she even did. I never heard of magic like that. Crystal ponies often use magic as a group - it's even preferable, in most cases - but not on other ponies. Or through them." "Hmm... More differences between our people, I suppose. It is certainly quite common for shamares to unite their voices as one and amplify their magic, for all kinds of purposes. However, one of the abilities we shamares are highly valued for is our ability to heal. While there are plenty of herbalists and healers that help with various ailments and wounds, we are able to use our spirits, our very Breath, to blow the sickness away and share our strength with ailing ponies. Such a procedure is an intimate one, however, and requires the trust of the pony it is being performed on. Something True Sight broke when she didn't even warn you of what she was about to do." "Well, it did take me by surprise... Though I felt kind of overwhelmed, as well." "Yes, there must be balance in all things. Returning strength to weakened and lost spirits is tried and tested, but you are neither weak nor lost at the moment. I suppose True Sight might have overfed you, in a way. It's probably a good thing that you stopped her in time. I've never seen a spirit throw up before, and I'm not sure I want to," She finished with a raspy chuckle. "Ew," Agate wrinkled her nose. "Exactly. Now then, I suppose I should be on my way as well," she sighed, getting up. Her eye lingered on the amethyst crystals for a moment. "Would you like to take them with you? I don't really need them here." Dreamcatcher considered the question for a moment before shrugging. "Eh, no need. I haven't brought any saddlebags with me anyway, and I'll have plenty of time to look at them later on. The storage is right next to my house, after all." Agate nodded, waving goodbye to the elder as she slowly shuffled her way home. Once the mare was out of sight, the filly laid down on her back, rubbing her temples and letting out a quiet groan. "Teaching is hard..." With a long exhale, she sprawled out, stretching out her forelegs wide and lazily gazing at the sky with lidded eyes. Usually, she would have thought about what to do and where to go next, but after the teaching session, she felt too drained to go seek more knowledge that day. However, it looked like the world didn't feel like giving her a break. After a short while of tracking the few sparse northern clouds moving across the sky, she heard some rustling and the faint sound of snow crunching under pony hooves. The filly ignored it at first, though she raised her head in surprise once she recognized the sound. Two familiar ash-colored foals were approaching her, looking around at the various crystals scattered through the clearing. Getting her hooves under her, she got up with a small sigh, turning to greet her visitors. "Hello again, Agate," Cindertail greeted her. "Not sure how you even managed to do it as a spirit, but you look tired. Were you busy with the shamares today?" Autumn Ash asked. Agate looked over herself, trying to see what the other filly meant. Shrugging, she smoothed her mane down a little. "Yeah. Teaching is almost as hard as learning, apparently. Or maybe it's just because I'm not all that good at the thing I'm trying to teach." "I'm sure you're going to do fine. The first days of doing something new are always the hardest. I remember when my parents were teaching me how and when to plant different seeds. It was very confusing, but soon enough, it became just another routine- say, what's that?" While she talked, Autumn Ash idly ran her eyes around the clearing, examining the various glowing crystals Agate and the shamares practiced on earlier. Inevitably, her eyes were drawn towards the three amethyst shards, seeing just how much their purple glow stood out amongst the orange citrine pieces. Cindertail followed her gaze, his eyes widening. "Oh, wow... I never saw a spirit stone like that before," He breathed, trotting closer to one. "You don't see colors like that in the tundra very often. Just like our mother's eyes... The color of early dawn." "Or some flowers," His sister added. "This is definitely something new. Did you show the shamares how to make it, Agate?" "Oh, um... Not really. It was kind of an accident. This kind of crystal is called amethyst, and I made it, with some... "Help" from True Sight." The foals blinked at her slightly sarcastic way of saying "help", but didn't pry. Cindertail picked up one of the pieces, holding it up and examining the way sunlight filtered through the crystal, his sister joining in. As Agate watched the two turning the crystal over in unabashed wonder, an idea came to her. "You know, if you like them so much, then you can keep one. Something nice to brighten up your day when you're bored." The two foals snapped their heads toward her, their eyes wide. "Really?" "Can we?" Agate shrugged, rubbing her chin contemplatively. "Yes, I think so. The citrine isn't really mine to give. But these three amethyst pieces used to be one citrine piece, before I transmuted it and it broke into three parts, so I'd say at least two of those are mine. You can take two, in fact." They started to protest, and a small negotiation ensued, the siblings trying to bargain into not getting both crystals, saying that they didn't deserve such generosity. Agate kept insisting, arguing that it wasn't a big deal and she'd figure out how to make more of them, if need be. Eventually, they relented, choosing an amethyst each. "Thank you, kind spirit!" They chorused. Agate smiled, rolling her eyes slightly. It really wasn't a big deal. Back home, a raw, unworked crystal was something akin to a... Brick, perhaps. Just material to be made into something else. Not something you'd give as a gift, but snowponies seemed to value them a bit more, seeing how scarce the crystals were in the region. "So, um..." Autumn Ash began, but trailed off almost immediately, holding her crystal to her chest. Taking a breath, she continued. "Our parents wanted to talk to you, actually. They wanted to know more about your Kree- Crystal Empire and stuff. If you don't mind, of course." "Oh. Sure, I guess. I'm not doing anything else today until it gets dark. I think I have at least a few hours left," She confirmed, glancing at the sky. The siblings smiled, getting up and getting ready to move out, though there was a small hitch - neither one of them had saddlebags or anything else to carry their crystals in. After a moment of thinking, Cindertail shrugged, picking up his piece in his mouth, his sister following his example. They nodded to Agate, leading the way. The ghostly filly followed along, twitching her ears now and then. With their mouths occupied, the only sounds of their journey were the crunching hoofsteps on the now diminished snow layer. Agate kept glancing at their hooves now and then, which didn't go unnoticed. Cindertail shifted the crystal in his teeth carefully, trying to speak. "Shomefin' wron', Agate?" "Oh no, everything's fine. I'm just not used to hearing actual sounds from snowponies when they walk around. You have that crazy ability to walk on snow without making a sound or leaving tracks. I got snuck up on by so many ponies by now, it's actually surprising to hear you trotting around." The siblings chuckled, though didn't bother trying to reply with their mouths full. The rest of the journey passed in silence, Agate trying to recognize the paths they were taking her through. Most of them were at least vaguely familiar by now, and she managed to accurately recall their destination - it was one of the houses near the field where the old, abandoned igloos once stood. Glancing behind the house, she saw that the field was now clear of snow and ice, though there were no signs of any plants growing there just yet. Autumn Ash led the way, opening the front door and beckoning Agate inside. The filly followed, Cindertail bringing up the rear and closing the door behind him. The house was fairly large, with bundles of strange herbs hanging from the ceiling and various implements that Agate vaguely recognized as farming tools lining the walls. The siblings led her to a side door, faint clattering emanating from the room. A moment later, a mare's voice spoke up. "Is that you, younglings? Why not greet your parents as you come home?" "Mmmmmpfh," Autumn Ash explained the entire situation eloquently through the crystal in her mouth. "Huh?" Agate tried not to laugh as they entered the room. It was clearly the kitchen of the house, and it was far more impressive than the ones she saw before. Snowponies mostly seemed to use firepits or small fireplaces, but this family had a sizeable furnace cobbled together from stone, with several stovetops lining the top. A thick wooden table stood next to it, where an orange-coated and brown-maned mare was chopping some roots on a large chopping board. Her purple eyes swept over the group, lingering on Agate for a moment, eventually fixating on the amethysts the siblings were carrying. She slowly put down the knife, tilting her head curiously. "Oh my... Are those spirit stones? Something to do with your new friend? Did she want to show you something to do with them? That's usually the shamare's domain..." "No, they're a gift," Autumn Ash explained, after spitting out her amethyst into a hoof. "Yeah, Agate insisted that we take one each, after we said how pretty they were. They look just like your eyes," Cindertail added. "Awww... That is very sweet of you," The mare coo'd, ruffling the colt's mane. "And of you as well. I thank you for your generosity, kind spirit. There's not much I can offer you, I'm afraid, but my doors are always open if you need anything. Oh, yes - I am Warm Spring, the mother of these two little troublemakers. It is a pleasure to meet you, Agate." "Heeey... We're not troublemakers," Autumn Ash pouted. "Oh, not always, certainly," Warm Spring agreed, though her smile was rather wry as she said it. "Now, Agate, as I'm sure my foals told you, my husband and I wanted to talk to you. I know that you are still very young... And won't be able to answer most of the questions we would really like answers to, most likely. Don't worry about that. It's just that, well..." She trailed off, trying to articulate her thoughts. Absent-minded, she picked up her knife again, methodically chopping up the vegetables. Agate noticed something oddly familiar about the roots. They were unlike anything she saw snowponies eat before, but something that was plentiful in the Empire. "Are those carrots? I wasn't sure if you even had them up here in the north." The two foals twitched their ears at the unfamiliar word before shrugging and going through one of the doors further inside the kitchen, likely to deposit their crystals in their rooms. Warm Spring was confused at first, clearly not understanding what Agate had meant. Tracing her gaze towards the chopping board, she stared at it for a moment until it clicked. Her eyes lit up at the revelation. "Oh! Oh, you mean the feldmore?" She used another unfamiliar snowponish word that Agate immediately committed to memory. "Does your tribe grow them too? That is part of what I wanted to talk about, actually. During your story, you dropped hints about old times, when windigoes forced ponies to scatter to the corners of the world. About how your people and mine might have been one tribe, ages ago, just like the northern and western tribes branched out from ours. It sounded like we have some similar stories about those times, and this looks to be another piece of proof for that," She explained, dropping the carrots into a steaming pot. "Well, okay. But I have to warn you, I know very little about plants. My parents made amulets and necklaces, and my entire experience with growing things consists of helping to clear out pests from my friend's berry bushes a few times." "Oh, that is fine, plenty fine," Warm Spring waved her off. "Like I said, don't worry about it. Just the fact that you recognize some of the plants we grow and know their names is sufficient. It would help us answer a mystery the grower families have been puzzling at for generations. You see, while we have been cultivating some of the plants we find in the tundra, a number of the things we grow aren't found anywhere in the wild, like the carrots. We know how to take care of them, and how to preserve their seeds to grow more, but not where in the world they could have possibly come from. It's really not all that important, just something I would like to know about." "I guess I can do that," Agate replied with a shrug. "I'd need to see what you grow rather than just the seeds, but I think I can recognize most of the plants we grew in the Empire." "Excellent! Don't start without my husband, though. He should be here soon. " Agate nodded, sitting down in front of the furnace, watching the dancing flames inside. Warm Spring soon had steaming bowls of soup ready, just in time for a large, black-coated stallion to show up. He introduced himself as Stout Branch, giving Agate a respectful nod. Warm Spring called her foals back, and the family sat down to have their meal. The mare apologized to Agate for making her wait while she couldn't partake in the food, to which the filly just shrugged, telling Warm Spring that she didn't have anything to do until sundown anyway. After they were finished, the adults started peppering Agate with questions, alternatively asking her either about her knowledge of the time of windigoes or what kinds of plants ponies grew and ate in the Empire. Autumn Ash and Cindertail didn't participate much, though they did hang around to listen in. Agate did her best to answer what she could, though she wasn't particularly knowledgeable in either one of those topics. Predictably, the conversation turned towards more general knowledge about life in the Empire, once she ran out of answers for the other questions. They kept chatting for a while, exchanging stories about living in their respective lands. Warm Spring was diligent not to keep her too long, recalling the fact that the little spirit said that she had to leave by sundown. Once the light started fading, she tapped her hoof on the table, getting everyone's attention. "Well, this was certainly an amazing evening, but it looks like it's time for Agate to go. I heard that she's very busy sharing knowledge with the shamares, and we shouldn't keep her too long just to indulge our curiosity." The foals weren't too happy about it, but didn't complain. They went over to give Agate a parting hug, before promising to come visit her again when they were able. "Spring means we're going to be much busier," Autumn Ash explained. "We'll need to help our parents with planting and stuff. I'm sure we can find some free time now and then, though." "Alright. I know what it's like to suddenly be busy all the time. The last few months certainly have been a whirlwind of activity," Agate replied, shaking her head. "Don't think I'm too busy for you, though. You know where to find me." Warm Spring smiled, waving goodbye. "It's been an honor to have you here, Agate. I hope you find out what happened to your people one day. I'd love to meet them myself." "Yeah..." With a last wave and another respectful nod from Stout Branch, the filly was off. It was time to meet with Spear Throw and Gnarled Root again. ❅ ❆ ❅ She made it back to her totem pole just as her two spirit teachers were entering her clearing from the other side. Both of them slowed down to take in the sight before them. The whole place was haphazardly littered with crystals even worse than before, most of them glowing brightly. "Busy day, Agate?" Gnarled Root inquired. "Oh yeah. The busiest," She confirmed, rubbing the side of her head. "Think you're still up for our lesson this evening?" "I think so. You did say that there's still more to pathfinding." "You need a schedule," Spear Throw grunted, passing by. As the other two spirits looked at him, he elaborated. "You're working with a lot of different ponies right now, correct? I'm sure they all have their own plans and things to do, and they don't talk about it with each other. Some days, you might end up with nothing to do, while other times, a dozen ponies might be vying for your attention at the same time. Instead of just going by other ponies' schedules, set up your own. Decide what you're going to do on a given day in advance." "Oh... Huh, I haven't thought about that. Back home, everything was neatly arranged for me already. School days, weekends... I guess I'll have to choose what I want to do myself, now," The filly mused. "Aye. Just something you have to learn if you're working with other ponies. Organizing fishing and foraging trips wouldn't be possible without getting all the participants to sort out their business and prepare to move out at a set time." "Right. Just like we agreed to have our meetings in the evenings. I guess I'll talk to the shamares about when to have our lessons. And... Think about other things, too. That's all for later, though. Tell me the rest about pathfinding." Spear Throw nodded, sitting down in front of the filly, Gnarled Root following suit. ❅ ❆ ❅ After that day, things fell into an orderly routine for Agate again. When she actually put some order into it first, of course. The next morning, she talked to her teachers/students about setting up a schedule for their meetings, with Agate having free time to do things on her own, instead of just sitting by her totem in case someone showed up. The shamares were very happy for her, satisfied by the fact that she was becoming a part of the community and finding her path in the world once more, after losing everything that she knew about. Earthsong repeated the promise that Agate was welcome to stay as long as she liked, no matter how long it would take her to find her missing people. True Sight, meanwhile, reminded her not to worry too much and overwork herself, and to find some time in the day to have fun. They would have their magic lessons every three-four days, with Agate practicing on her own from time to time. Her skills were still basic at best, but she was happy with her progress anyway. Mastering the basics was still better than what she could do before - which was pretty much nothing. She spoke with Dreamcatcher a few times after their lessons as well. The perpetually sleepy shamare was still hard to understand most of the time, but the cryptic hints and puzzling nuggets of knowledge she gleaned from her dreams always left Agate wanting to know more. Had the situation been any different, Agate would have just dismissed the whole thing as ramblings of a well-meaning, but kooky old mare. No crystal pony ever mentioned anything about dream-based magic before. But seeing as Dreamcatcher kept catching glimpses of the Empire, ones that Agate never told any snowpony about, her abilities were obviously very real. Agate badly wanted to be able to undertake such dream journeys herself, just to get a glimpse of home again. Still, she fully understood that it was impossible. Different ponies had different skills and abilities, after all. It was like wanting to fly while not being a pegasus. To her surprise, though, Dreamcatcher disagreed. "You may be right in that regard," She explained. "Barring certain tricks, you need wings to fly. But, matters of the spirit are not so well defined. Yes, shamares have their own unique strengths even among each other. But, we all have spirits, including your people, and even those distant foreigners of "Equestria" that you spoke of. I already know that your people can dream, and so must those other ponies, especially if they are indeed our distant relatives. Even regular snowponies are capable of impressive magical feats, after spending some time to hone their skills. I do not know if that means you are indeed capable of learning proper dreamwalking. Even if you aren't, however, I'm certain that you would be able to put the techniques into use with your own magic, one way or another." And so, Agate started taking lessons from a shamare again, though not to learn their tongue, but to try and attempt to learn some of their magic this time. True Sight and Earthsong were doubtful about their chances of success (and so was Agate, to be honest), but they didn't object. The lessons weren't quite like the exercises her parents taught her, but there were some similarities. Ways to focus, ways to train your mind, tricks to put yourself into the right frame of mind before going to sleep so you would be aware of the fact that you're dreaming, which gave you a chance to actually take control of the dream's direction, and so on. Most of the shamaric exercises didn't really seem to do anything. Perhaps it was because she didn't have the capacity or the strength for it, or even because she was a spirit. On one hoof, losing your life weakened you and lessened the amount of ways you could affect the world greatly. On the other hoof, ponies with strong spirits were almost always still capable of performing the magics they learned in life. The whole thing was an interesting conundrum for the shamares - losing foals was a rare event, and young ones like Agate didn't really care much to stay on like she did. The spirits that hung around were old, well-experienced ponies, and they spent their time teaching, rather than learning. It wasn't well established whether spirits could learn new things, especially magic. All of that was only one part of how she spent her time, though. Spring went on, summer approaching on it's heels. More sunlight and more warmth shone down on the earth, melting the snow completely and waking plants from their slumber. Soon enough, the snowponies began venturing out on regular foraging trips for fish, plants, and herbs. ❅ ❆ ❅ "Ahh, here we go. These are lingonberries - not quite ripe yet, but best to memorize the location in advance. Of course, we're still close to Snowpitt, so we don't really need to tell anyone in the village about these. Some hungry pony will find them easily enough. Come, let us see if any herbs have started sprouting yet. Some of them are late bloomers, you see." As they agreed to some time before, Gnarled Root was leading Agate through various bushes and thickets, the two spirits completely ignoring the sharp thorns and other inconveniences that would otherwise impede a flesh-and-blood pony. The blurry mare was pointing out all kinds of plants they encountered along the way. "There's all kinds of berries around, but you have to learn how to distinguish them - the berries themselves may look shockingly similar to each other, so you have to memorize the kinds of plants that they grow on. Except perhaps for cloudberries, those are very distinct and easy to recognize. Others, though, can look like edible ones, but turn out to be poisonous. The safe ones are honeyberries, cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries..." Agate was doing her best to follow along and memorize as many plants as she could. She knew full well that she'd never be a herbalist like Root was, and likely wouldn't even have many opportunities to put the knowledge to use. Still, it never hurt to learn more about your surroundings. And even if the most she would be able to do was point some ponies to a patch of berries she found during her own explorations, that was enough for her. "Oh, here's something. This little shrub is called swamp tea, or bog Labrador tea. No idea what a Labrador is, but that's how our ancestors named it. I think the name makes it's uses rather obvious. These plants aren't really all that rare, but ponies do like their tea, so the shrubs too close to Snowpitt get picked almost bare all too often. That forces ponies to venture out further, so if you find a big tea patch, you're still going to find ponies that would be interested in it's location. Now, as the name implies, they like to grow in boggy, marshy areas, which also contain more interesting things. Let's see if we can find some of them today..." She couldn't really feel whether the land under her hooves was getting softer or not any more, but the way her surroundings slowly turned more wet and damp indicated that she was approaching some kind of wetland. Agate didn't really know the fine differences between a bog, a marsh and a swamp - all she knew was that those kinds of areas were deceptively dangerous and little fillies should stay away from them. She assumed that Gnarled Root would explain the way they differed from one another in time. The mare kept poking her muzzle into all kinds of dark spots, looking for hidden blooms, roots, and mushrooms, pointing out a patch of moss that could be used to make poultices for wounds or some faintly glowing mushrooms that were useful in potions, IF one prepared them carefully. Some of the shady spots with fallen trees and other such places still had bits of frost in them, clinging on stubbornly despite the late spring weather. Agate examined one such nook absently, listening to Gnarled Root while she traced a curiously shaped piece of wood with her eye- wait. "Uh, Root... Is that... A frog?" "Hmmm?" The elder spirit came closer, looking to where Agate was pointing. A tree fell against a hillock some time ago, forming a tiny, shady overhang. A few icicles were hanging off the bottom of the rotting tree, water droplets slowly gathering on their tips before falling on the leaf-covered ground. And under that dead tree, there was a brown frog, the bottom half of it's body covered in frost. "Poor thing... I guess it got unlucky, like I did. I thought frogs go to hide somewhere for the winter, though," The filly frowned a little, feeling sorry for the dead critter. Gnarled Root, however, had a smile on her face. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about them,, Agate. The frogs don't really care about getting frozen. On one hoof, they're unable to live during the cold periods, and have to spend the entire time immobilized. On the other, they can get frozen, thaw out, and carry on like nothing happened. I'm almost envious of them, really. It's not dead. I bet it'll be up and moving about soon enough." "What?! No. No way. I remember the stories about weird ice creatures that aren't afraid of cold, because they're made of cold. But a regular animal? You can't just - just - freeze, and then thaw out. You're pulling my tail," Agate replied with utter disbelief, her eyes wide with shock. "Oh? Why don't we take a rest and see for ourselves, then? Watch," The mare commanded, sitting down with a smile. The filly stared at her for a long minute, but seeing as no more explanations or instructions were forthcoming, she followed Gnarled Root's lead, planting her rump on the ground and locking her eyes on the frosty brown frog. As she expected, little changed at first. The amphibian remained immobile, not breathing, moving, or showing any other signs of life. The remaining frost on it's body kept melting, disappearing completely after a few hours. Despite that, their target remained inert. Agate couldn't help but look at Gnarled Root again. "The frost on the outside melted, but its insides need to thaw as well, yes? Let's give it a little bit more." With a shrug, the filly turned towards the frog again. Usually, sitting still for hours and hours would have gotten boring or tiring, but Agate was already rather patient and stoic, and with the fact that being a spirit meant she didn't have any physical distractions whatsoever, she found herself able to stay still for quite a long time. "How long could I keep this up, I wonder? Just sit in place without moving. A day, a week? A month? I'd go crazy sooner or later..." When they left, it was still rather early morning. By now, the sun was going down, and with the sun low in the sky, it's rays shone directly under the fallen tree, making the icicles melt that much faster. After a while though, the shadows started creeping in, threatening to engulf the area in darkness. Before they could reach the hollow, though, something happened. Slowly, ponderously, the frog blinked. "What?!" Gnarled Root burst out laughing, while Agate stared at the frog, slack-jawed. Slowly, it blinked again, its body starting to move. It was breathing, slowly at first, then faster. A leg twitched, then another. It turned its head by a hair, looking around. Its motions were still very slow, but it was still undeniable. The frog was moving. It was alive. "That... That! That is SO not fair. Why can't ponies just... Freeze harmlessly and wake up later if it gets too cold?" Agate grumped, pouting at the cheating amphibian. "Ponies are not frogs," Gnarled Root summed up succinctly. "They are colder than us, and I suppose getting frozen bothers them less. We are warm on the inside. If our fire goes out, we cannot reignite it. It's just the way things are." "Yeah, I guess, but that still looks like cheating, somehow. I mean, seriously, how do they even do that? I never heard of any animal that could do something similar." "Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's magic of some kind? Maybe their blood is special, or perhaps their spirits leave their bodies and wander the dream realms in great froggy legions until it is time for them to awaken again. You are right in them being unique - birds leave for warmer places, and most other creatures go to their burrows to sleep the winter away. These frogs, though? They just don't care. It is an enviable survival trait, I'll admit," The mare mused. "Either way, it is getting late. Let us go back." Still shaking her head, Agate turned back towards Snowpitt. "Every time," she thought. "Every time when I think I heard or saw the weirdest thing I possibly could about this place, it throws something else at me." ❅ ❆ ❅ "There!" "Have at it, lads! Spirits guide your spears!" "Begone, beast!" Just as she went on scouting trips with Gnarled Root, Agate also went on expeditions with Spear Throw. These were quite different in nature, though. "Ha! My ancestors must be watching over me this week!" One stallion's spear stuck true, cutting the yeti's enraged howls short and turning them into bloody gurgles. Agate winced at the sound, but she didn't look away. Not much, at least. She still watched from the corner of her eyes how the yeti collapsed, slowly ceasing its struggling, until it lay still in the bloodied snow. The stallion that threw the spear through its neck went to retrieve his weapon, immediately bowing and muttering at the yeti's body with the dripping weapon still clutched in his hooves. The other hunters joined the ritual, muttering and chanting to the fallen yeti's spirit. Agate couldn't actually see its spirit anywhere, but she knew better than to ask. The snowponies clearly had far more experience with spirits than she did. The chant was something of a mix between an apology, a respectful farewell for a worthy foe, and a polite, but firm warning that if its spirit were to come after them with vengeful intent, it would find itself facing a great many more spears, as well as angry shamares. Spear Throw looked on approvingly at the group as they slowly concluded the ritual, pulling out their knives and cutting into the yeti, skinning it for its coat and other parts. Agate looked away at that point, folding her ears. She was slowly getting used to the idea of ponies hunting animals, and the idea of fighting yetis wasn't foreign at all - her uncle Obsidian Spear told her stories of chasing them off plenty of times - but the whole butchering thing was still a bit unsettling for her. "Don't feel guilty," Spear Throw's voice rumbled to her right. "It is not for everyone. Far from every snowpony is capable of doing something like this, and many would react like you do now." "Okay," she replied quietly. "I find that the best distraction from something unpleasant is to do something else. While they're busy, let us see what you learned so far. Come," He gestured, walking away a short distance from the busy ponies. Agate already knew what she was going to have to do. While Spear Throw flushed out the yetis and made sure the group didn't fall into any ambushes, Agate was supposed to put her pathfinding skills to use and do her best to always know where they were in relation to important landmarks. It took a little practice to deliberately ignore her totem's pull and orient herself only with her eyes, but she managed. With a nod from Spear Throw, she began. "We were sweeping the foothills of the Howling Peak today. It's twin, the Silent Peak is over there... Which means that North, and Snowpitt, is that way, some, um... Three day's travel away. There is a lake to the east a few hours away, where we can rest safely and recuperate," she recited, turning this way and that during her explanation. "Good. You lack the true experience that walking a path several dozen times provides, but your eyes and mind are as sharp as a spear," He complimented, falling silent. She nodded, going through the details of the expedition in her mind again. Much as Agate expected, she wasn't going to be of much use in situations that required fighting or scaring monsters, but Spear Throw took her along anyway, just to test her skills and have another pair of eyes with them. "Snowpitt and it's surroundings are known to be the safest place there is, but that is because it is kept that way," He explained to her as a group of hunters were poring over some maps and planning how much food they would need to bring and how long they would be gone. "Over the centuries, our ancestors learned exactly how far various predators venture from their lairs to hunt for food, and how wide of an area we need to sweep every spring to make sure that they don't even get close to the village. It's a constant effort, dislodging any ambitious newcomers that think they discovered uncontested and plentiful hunting fields, but it is well worth it. We do this with the knowledge that the rest of Snowpitt can sleep peacefully at night, without worrying about getting snatched up the moment they step outside the village boundaries." Coming back to the present, Agate saw that the party was getting ready to move again, their new trophies secured to their backs. As usual, she and Spear Throw took point, the two moving ahead and to the sides of the group, scouring the underbrush for any ambush predators waiting for the ponies to pass by. They haven't encountered any yet, but the filly still took her duty seriously and kept her eyes peeled, knowing that if she messed up, there was a real chance the next cooling body in the snow could be one of the snowponies. It was a slim chance, of course, as the hunters were quite alert and sharp-eyed themselves, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Before long, they had made it to the shore of the lake, the leader of the group nodding thankfully at the spirits. A couple ponies went to refill their canteens, while the others dispersed to gather firewood and prepare a firepit. Soon enough, they had a fire going, cooking food and exchanging stories, both new and old. Naturally, Agate was a big curiosity for the grizzled group, and she was often invited to sit with them and share stories of the Empire. Some were interested in the Guard and wanted to hear stories about her uncle, while others were more curious about the path she took to get here and general information about the lands around the city. A few expressed interest in going there to explore themselves, though no concrete plans had been made yet. "Exploration of the unknown is a young pony's game, you see," One older stallion explained. He was all gray, with his mane bleached white from the passage of time. "Sure, I still can plod along all day long and wrestle a yeti by the end of it, but my reflexes aren't what they used to be. When you're exploring someplace unknown, you need to be sharp and alert all the time, even when you're asleep, and that takes a lot out of you. I'm only so sure of my step because I walked these paths for more winters than I can remember." "Yeah, and Snowpitt is full of us old geezers for the summer," Another stallion cackled, the rest of them joining in. Agate scratched her head. She hadn't considered it, but it was true. Most of the ponies she saw in the village were either young foals, or middle-aged and older ponies. Remembering her first weeks there, she made the connection. "I remember seeing a large number of ponies leaving the village soon after the other tribes left. I haven't learned your tongue by that time yet, so I didn't ask. Were those all the young ponies? Do they go trekking through the tundra for the spring and summer?" The hunters all nodded, the white-maned stallion answering. "Aye, that they do. Most of them, anyways. Obviously, a number of experienced adults are there to guide them and teach them, and some of them stay in the village, but that's where the majority of them go. Some of the more spry and adventurous ones might be interested in forming a band for a trek south, but you'll need to wait for autumn for that to happen." "Hmm. I see..." "Might be good to scout ahead if you're going to lead them. You said you don't remember much about the path from this "Empire", if I'm remembering correctly." "Y-yeah, I was kind of galloping in a panic without looking at where I was going..." "A luxury only afforded to a spirit," He chuckled good-naturedly. "Heh. Yeah," Agate agreed, turning her eyes downwards at the fire. ❅ ❆ ❅ Time passed. Spring finished, summer following in its wake. When Agate wasn't busy learning one thing or another from various ponies, she hung out with Autumn Ash and Cindertail, recounting what she had learned and sharing tales of her own explorations. Their parents also wanted to talk some more now and then, bringing in ponies from other farmer families in their small community. The filly became something of a celebrity in their circles, as ponies considered her to be a spiritual bridge of sorts between them and their distant cousins (as they now considered them) in the Empire. It took her a little while, but Agate eventually noticed that the Sun wasn't really going down any more. Shaking her head, she watched the fiery ball dip down, skimming the horizon and almost disappearing behind it, before apparently changing it's mind and just going right up again. "Seriously... Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, hey, this one actually makes sense! The winter nights get so long here they last weeks, so it only makes sense they'd get extra-long days during summer, too..." The filly muttered to herself, sitting by her totem. Unsurprisingly, the extra sunlight seemed to be doing wonders to the crops. While the soil in the tundra didn't seem all that fertile (She really, really wasn't an expert on that, but it did look that way judging by the rather short plants that lived there), the fields surrounding Snowpitt had rich, black, loamy dirt, likely the results of dozens upon dozens of generations of ponies expertly fertilizing and tending them with great care. And it showed. Agate thought that the snowponies would have great trouble matching the output of the Empire's farms, seeing as they had the shield to keep them warm. To her surprise, however, she watched as the farmers grew carrots as long as her legs, cabbages as big as her entire body, and massive pumpkins twice as big as her body. Clearly, they knew what they were doing. "Centuries of work and experience, passed down by our ancestors. These vegetables really don't deal with the cold well, but we know how to keep their seeds nice and safe until spring comes around again. Until then, we just need to keep them from getting frostbite if the weather suddenly turns foul," Cindertail explained proudly, carrying a rock on his back. Climbing on a stone fence, he jammed it into a gap between two bigger stones. Agate assumed that it was protection from the wildlife, but the colt told her that it was actually there to act as a windbreak from the cold gales that blew over the open tundra. Taking a moment to appreciate the sheer amount of different things that went into growing things, she waved goodbye to her friend, making her way back to her totem. ❅ ❆ ❅ Time passed. Agate was restless. It was small at first. Slowly, she started becoming a little less patient, a little less observant, a little more distracted. Eventually, she became quicker to get angry, or sad, or just go quiet. Something was eating at her, something that wasn't going away with time. In fact, it was only getting worse and worse, until one autumn evening, she snapped. ❅ ❆ ❅ "AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHH!!!" Agate screamed, feeling a little better. Restless, she paced her clearing, moving back and forth in front of her totem. "That... Was quite the outburst. Not something I'd ever expect from you, Agate," Gnarled Root spoke, appearing from behind Agate's totem. "What is wrong, little one?" "It's... It's... I can't... Ugh." Agate slumped over, hanging her head low. "Take your time," Spear Throw rumbled, lying down next to her. "It's dumb," The filly muttered. However, the other two spirits remained quiet, waiting patiently. Agate sighed, gathering up her thoughts. After a good long while, she spoke again. "It's... About home. About the Empire. I know that I was accepted into your tribe and offered a home here. Still, that was with the understanding that I was going to look for my people, to find my way back to them. And I also know that for now, there's very little that anyone can do about it. That I'm supposed to learn, to get better at things while some ponies hopefully put together an expedition to go south and see what became of the city. I tried. I mean, I did. I learned, I listened, I did the best I could. But no matter what happened, no matter who I talked to, every conversation would inevitably turn back to the Empire or the crystal ponies. Whether I was learning about plants with Root, or pathfinding and animals with you, or magic with the shamares... Every time, I'd either compare things to how they were done back home, or the pony I was talking to would ask me about it. And every time, I'd get distracted, and start thinking about what happened to the rest of the crystal ponies. A number of ponies suggested to me that I should try to go back, to scout out the area and find the best path southwards through the mountains, and possibly go take a look at the place where the city used to stand. Thing is, I just... I just can't. I don't know the path home. I know that if I just go south, I will find it. I can't possibly miss the huge mountain guarding the valley, and there's nothing that can really stand in my way. But..." A pregnant pause came upon the clearing. Agate opened her mouth a few times, but wasn't able to say the words. Gnarled Root said them for her. "But you're terrified of what you're going to find there - or NOT find there." "Yes. Yes. I - I still don't know what happened. If what I saw was even true. I was still lost, panicked, half-blind and freshly dead. The best and smartest snowpony shamares and elders couldn't figure out what could have possibly happened to make the entire city vanish. What if it was some sort of trick, and my parents have been missing me the entire time? What if it wasn't, and there's not a trace of the city left? What if... What if I go there, and the city is there, but my parents are dead..." "It sounds like not knowing is hurting you even worse than knowing would," Spear Throw pointed out. "I - I guess so..?" The stallion put his hoof on the filly's back, patting her gently. "Listen to me, Agate. You are strong. Stronger than most ponies that I know. Stronger than me, perhaps. Don't interrupt," He said as the filly opened her mouth to protest. "You lost your life, which is painful. You lost your family, which would lead most ponies to grief and ruin. But then, you also lost your entire tribe, which is simply unthinkable. Even if you lose your entire family line, you know that the ponies of your tribe would still comfort you and send their most heartfelt farewells to you. The very thought of losing everyone and everything, forever, could lead a pony to the depths of despair deeper than the ocean itself. It honestly speaks to your strength of character that you broke down only now. Other ponies would have tried putting on a brave face for a week or two, but I'm sure they would have been screaming and howling at the heavens in rage and hopelessness soon enough. And I'm not sure most would be able to recover, either. So, yes, you are a strong filly, whether you believe it or not." Agate said nothing at first. The three continued to lay there for quite some time, none of them moving the tiniest bit. Eventually, though, Agate stirred, a frown coming over her face. The frown turned into a scowl, and then into a furious snarl. "Sombra..." She muttered angrily, slowly standing up. "I'm not... I'm not going to let you win, you fearmongering monster," She spoke louder. A complete change came over the filly. Where she was listless, now she was trotting in place, looking south. Turning her head back and forth between the smiling Gnarled Root and a stern Spear Throw, she started babbling. "I - I have to know. I don't want to. I hate it, I'm afraid, I'm terrified of what I'm going to find there. I'm afraid of wasting my trip and finding absolutely nothing, but finding something, anything, terrifies me even more. I-" "And whatever you find there, you'll be stronger for it," Spear Throw assured her. "Do you fear it? Do you hate the idea of going there, but you're going to do it anyway? Good. That is how courage works, and that is how you learn to turn your resolve into unbreakable determination. Go, and come back stronger for it." "Right, okay, alright. Just... I have to go. I have to go right now, or I feel like I'll never be able to," The filly moaned, fidgeting in place. "Go, Agate," Gnarled Root waved her off. "We'll tell the shamares and all your friends what happened, don't worry." Without another word, the little spirit turned tail and galloped south, disappearing into the evening gloom.