Cliffside. A unique town settled in the crystal mountains. There is a rumor that there once was an entire empire in these snowy lands and a relic that kept the cold at bay. But, many believe it was an old pony's tail. Along with the idea that friendship between ponies and non ponies could spark magic. That alicorn princes and princesses once ruled the land with an iron hoof. Ponies with amazing magical abilities, able to use magic and fly too. It was every pony’s dream in a time where they no longer existed. At least it was my dream. Our government is a far cry from what the history books tell us in school.
Instead of a monarchy, representatives are chosen every few years. Each race gets two representatives. Two unicorns, two earth ponies, two pegasi, two yaks, two Zebras, etc. Though i was never interested in the politics of our land of Equestria. I was more interested in learning the history of my world. My close friend Coco and I frequented the ruins of the Crystal empire, directly under the city of Cliffside.
I slowly descended the treacherous cliff that slanted sharply into the ground. We had hidden the entrance to the cavern with snow and boards to keep the snow stable. I pulled my scarf off with my silvery aura and placed it gently into my saddle bag. The walls of the cave were closed at the beginning of the descent before finally opening up. The gray cave widens to reveal a massive, dark cavern of sunken, crumbling crystal buildings. What had once been vegetation had long since rotted and withered away, leaving black patches of decay. I stepped onto the flat ground and looked around. Glowing moss lit up the walls, giving weak illumination to the environment. The most light came from the very center of the massive cavern.
In the dead center, stood what was once a grand castle of crystals. Now, it had begun to crumble, however it still casted light from a hole in the ceiling. During the day, light filtered in from above and landed on the spire of the castle, causing the light to reflect in all directions in every color, loghting up most of the cavern with the exception of many buildings where it got dark due to shadows. I began to walk towards the castle. The place we always met, coco and i. The air hung with decay and dust. The once beautiful buildings were dull and dirty from the tomb it had sunk into. No pony else knew about this place. At least not that it was still relatively intact. It was our secret clubhouse.
“Coco?” I called into the cavern and the sound echoed, causing some of the snow from the ceiling to slide into the cave, displacing like a massive white blanket and landing a few hundred feet below where it fell
“No ones home~!” A female voice chimes in return.
“Ha ha. Come on out already.” A shape steps from one of the dilapidated buildings, letting the light fall on her. It was Coco, my fillyhood friend. She was a chocolate colored earth pony with black springy hair in a ponytail and purple tinted bangs. She always wore purple eyeshadow and lipstick in addition to her standard heart shaped earrings and pink choker. Normally, she wore clothes as well, but with how dusty it got down here, i didn't blame her for not wearing anything more.
“Hey, Ash.” She was a bigger pony, having more weight than a standard unicorn such as me. She nuzzles me under my neck in a greeting, something she had done since we met as Little ponies.
“Coco.” I gave her a playful nudge in response. “Anything new today?” Coco sighs.
“Nope. We’ve pretty much found everything thats down here, i think.” I frowned and walked a few steps towards the castle.
“Are you sure?”
“We’ve been looking for years now, Ash. I think weve found every relic the Empire has to offer.” I sighed. It wasnt that the Empire wasn’t amazing. It was. But there was something i was hoping we’d find. We had read many books about it in the library down here, but found no trace of it. The crystal heart. It was said that it was what kept the cold out of the Empire when powered by love. Since we uncovered this place as fillies, we’ve been finding treasure and relics but no sign of the heart. But, there was another reason we were searching. We were trying to find the reason… that entire races of beings had vanished from the planet entirely. Without a trace. Nopony or creatures had seen hippogriphs or dragons in decades and more recently, griffins had disappeared all at once as well.
“You’re right.” I sighed with a sad frown.
“Why dont we let sleeping ponies lie?”
“Okay.” I had wanted to save ponykind from whatever befell the other races but I wasn't sure how. Coco led the way back up the spiraling cliffside to the surface. I begrudgingly followed, glancing back at the glittering castle one last time before it disappeared around the corner. I withdrew my scarf from my saddle bags and put it around my neck with my magic.
She shifted the wood covered with snow out of the way of the cave entrance and a gust of freezing wind blew down the corridor, causing me to shiver. It brought a puff of snow with it, causing me to need to blink repeatedly in order to see again. We stepped out into the frozen winter land and covered the cave once more. We began to make our way to the expansive town of Cliffside. It was contained within a magic bubble, though different from the crystal heart. Ponies were trained in order to do an ancient spell to keep the weather at bay. Or perhaps it was technology. I didnt know. Why they built the city here in the first place was anypony’s guess. As we walked, i used my magic to cover our tracks through the knee deep snow, returning it to how it was before we stepped on it.
“Colder than usual, huh?” Coco asks, trying to make conversation.
“Yeah.” I agreed and flinched from another cold gust of wind that sent flurries into our eyes. We made our way in a large circle around the city in order to come from the side where the road sat. The road itself was void of snow, having been made with heat conducting crystals mixed into the pavement which let it melt any snow that got close, in addition to keeping travelers and merchants from freezing their hooves off. Once on the road, we both felt a sense of ease as the coldness weighing on our bones melted with the snow that clung to iur coats. I pulled off my scarf and out it into my saddle bag again. “Are you ready for class tomorrow?” I ask Coco as we began our trek on the warm road to the city we lived. She groans.
“Why do i have to take Math classes when i'm going to school for fashion?”
“Because thats how college works.”
“Why dont you have to take math?”
“Because i aced my math classes.”
“You got a C.”
“Close enough.”
“Have you decided on a degree yet?” I looked at my flank where my cutiemark sat.
“Not yet…” i sighed heavily. “Probably astronomy.”
“Your dad would be proud,” Coco told me. I smiled sadly at her.
“I know,” but my voice came out a bit thready. It was hard to think about. My father, Comet Defender, had died when a launch went wrong. Three good ponies died that day. One of them being my dad. Naturally, it hadnt been easy on my mother, nor my two brothers. I was the eldest which put me in charge of them. Regardless, I wanted to follow in my dad’s horseshoes. He had always believed in me. I wasnt about to let him down.
We stepped through the bubble that surrounded the town and it felt calm. It was afternoon and many were out and about with friends and family as there wasnt school today.
“I could go for some lunch,” Coco said, yawning. “And maybe a nap.”
“You go ahead, Coco.” She stopped walking and i paused a few steps ahead of her.
“Youre not coming?”
“I’ve got to study. Sorry.”
“Cant you study later?” I frowned and fave her a disapproving look. “Alright. I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
“Deal.” She grins and trots off to the food stands in the plaza. There were restaurants too but they could get pricey for ponies in school without a job yet. I made my way home and up to my room without any fuss. I sat down at my computer and turned it on. Of course, they were built mostly with unicorns in mind, which was unfortunate for others, but they were usable. The minutes stretched into hours and only did I realize what time it was when my phone buzzed in my saddle bag which hung off my desk. I jerked awake from my mind numbed doze and moved towards it before yelping as i fell off my chair with a loud thud. “Ow…”
“Are you okay, Star?” A female voice called from downstairs.
“Fine, ma!” I called back and sat up. “And its Ash!”
“Sorry! I forgot!” I sighed and stood, shaking off. It had been many years that i had the name but mom didnt seem to be adjusting to it well. Or she simply didnt want to. I didn’t know, honestly. My phone continued to chime and i picked it up with my aura.
“Ash speaking.”
“Hey, ashy.” It was Coco on the other side. My face lit up and i sat back down in my chair again, rubbing my eyes with my hooves.
“Hey coco…”
“Guess what time it iiiis~”
“What time?” I mumbled, starting to doze off again. Until a loud bang woke me up fully and i nearly fell over again.
“Its equestria unites day!” She shouts over the fireworks.
“Its today?” I ask, moving to my bed so i didn’t fall off my chair again.
“Yep!”
“Great…”
“Do you want to see the fireworks with me?”
“No thanks. I’m gonna go to bed. My brain is mush after all the studying.”
“Oh, okay.” She sounded disappointed but understanding. “Sleep well!” I considered my room as i roll onto my back.
My room was pretty big and was painted mostly black along the ceiling and walls. There were splatters of glittering white paint and paintings of each constellation where they were supposed to be. Along with the constellation drawn out. There were a few spots i had helped paint, too. Tiny little space men and aliens were scattered through the lower part of the wall along with some space ships. Right beside the door, both of us had signed out names once it had been finished. Starfall Ashes and Comet Defender. My canopy bed laid against the middle back wall was draped with fabric that was like the aurora and had the moon phases carved into the baseboard. I had plenty of stuffed animals and toys i didn't want to get rid of, along with some hanging ships and planets and shelves of model spacecraft. Most importantly was my bay window where my telescope sat, waiting to be used.
I picked up the stuffed animal in my aura that I always left on my bed, sitting against the pillow and waiting for me to come home. It was a stuffed duck wearing a soft, plush astronaut suit. Currently her helmet was sitting up on my shelf as it was plastic and hard to sleep with.
“How were you today, Ms. Ducky?” I smiled at her. She was my most prized possession. It had been a gift from dad when i was really young. She had gotten rather worn through time and the washer. She had stains under each of her eyes that had once been from a permanent marker spot. I had wanted her to look like me and put spots under her eyes on her cheeks. Her beady black eyes saw all i did but never judged me. Instead, she was always here for me. Before dad passed, he would sometimes hide her around the house and told me she was playing hide and seek. I missed those days. I sighed heavily and pulled out a charm wrapped up in my bandana. I held it in my hooves. Mom put some of dad’s ashes into a planet shaped charm for me to always carry around. He was always with me. Maybe he was with me as a spirit, i didnt know, but he was always close to me no matter what. I sigh and lay on my back with Ms. Ducky sitting on my chest, her black eyes meeting my green ones. “Yeah, i miss him too.” I stared at the ceiling and returned to my childish daydream. That once time, dad and i would go to space together. Explore the cosmos till our hearts were content. “I wish you were here…” i teared up and wiped my eyes. I rolled over and closed my eyes, trembling as I tried not to cry. Before long, i fell into an uneasy sleep.