//------------------------------// // Ch.6: Snow and nightmares // Story: Return of the Ura // by Brotato //------------------------------// Chapter six Snow and nightmares Kid fell in pitch darkness with the rush of wind in his ears. He wasn't sure how he got here, nor how long or far he had been falling, but eventually a chunk of floating grassed land approached rapidly from below. He closed his eyes and braced for the coming impact, but all he felt was the sense of falling suddenly stop, and himself standing on the island without a scratch. When he took a step to peek over the edge, another swooped from below and placed itself in front of him. As if guiding him. I'm dreaming about Caelondia? His thought echoed in the darkness as if he spoke in a cavern. He continued to follow the islands that popped up; taking random turns that lead to nowhere until he saw something ahead of him. A humanoid figure that could be barely seen against the void behind it. Only its dark feet could be seen against the green grass it stood upon. It spoke. "I've come to warn you." It said with a familiar voice that also echoed in the darkness, yet Kid couldn't place who it was. "Who are you? What do you want?" "Let it fall. You should not go back," the figure said while ignoring his questions. Before Kid could say anything else, he found himself sliding past the figure and eventually moving away. A sigh left the figures lips. "If that's the way it is... Then I won't stop you." Further he slid until the figure could barely be seen. Yet even from how far away he was, he still spoke as if right next to him. "Because my countrymen will." Kid stumbled and fell into the darkness when an invisible force pushed his shoulder. As he fell he felt the same force continued to push and shake his arm until muffled sounds replaced the sound of wind in his ears. It gradually grew in volume until two words dispersed the darkness. "Wake up!" "Mmmmph," Kid groaned. He opened one eye to see Pinkie poking him in the chest with a hoof; a smile on her face. He grabbed her hoof to stop the incessant poking, but it only widened her smile. "Yay, you're awake!" Kid ignored Pinkie and opened his other eye as his mind recollected where he was. After having the dinner at Canterlot, everypony agreed to take the train back to Ponyville. The ride was a vague blur, but he could remember finding a seat in the middle of the train and closing his eyes for a quick nap. Unfortunately the nap must've lasted the whole train ride because it had stopped moving. The insistent suggestion from Pinkie to get off the train before it leaves the station was another obvious clue. As he groggily started to get off his seat, Pinkie bounced once with a grin before continuing her way out the train while still bouncing. Kid followed suit, minus the bouncing, and found the train stopped at Ponyville train station with a setting sun giving everything a light-orange hue. With the sun disappearing from view, the cold air soon took its place as he felt a chill breeze go across the station. There wasn't much time left before everypony began heading home. "Jeeze, it took Pinkie forever to wake you up." Rainbow stated with an annoyed frown. "Four minutes and fifteen seconds actually," Twilight corrected. "I started counting when we departed," she added with a smile. "Exactly! that's like forever in Rainbow Dash time. I could've flown to my home and back several times over by now." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Then why the hay are ya still doin here for?" "So I can say goodbye, duh!" Rainbow retorted before trotting up to Kid and holding out a hoof. Kid bumped his fist against it to complete the signal. "We really kicked flank today. Think we could hang out tomorrow?" "Maybe," Kid responded while scratching the side of his head with a finger. "I still need to finish up on Twilight's..." he looked at the corner of his eye towards the purple librarian who was busy talking with Rarity. Literary torture. "Studying," he blurted out. "I need to finish up studying about Equestria. With books." He let out a sigh at the thought of those stacks of books still waiting for him. "Lots and lots of books." "Which we should totally pick back up tomorrow morning!" Twilight said happily. Kid wished he had a desk of some sort in front of him so he could lie his head against it. "How about seven?" "Of course, Twilight," Kid drew out with a sigh. "No problem. Maybe another time." Rainbow laughed at Hammer's downtrodden look before lightly punching his shoulder. "Cheer up. At least you're working with the best unicorn on the subject," she said with a grin, and earning a smile from Twilight for the compliment. "Anyway, goodnight!" The others soon said their good nights as well and departed, leaving Kid to walk home alone. Not that he didn't mind. He enjoyed alone time as much as being with friends. It gave him time to think about things. Like strange nightmares involving shadowed talking figures. It was too real; almost like reliving a memory rather than something my mind made up. What the shadowed figure stated also sounded familiar as well, but it also doesn't make any sense. What should I have let fall? The Bastion? And who are these countrymen... Kids eyes widened at that last word. He whispered the word several times over as he had a name at the tip of his tongue. Maybe if he just thought about it a little more... Ugh! why cant I remember this? "Ah, welcome back my friend!" Kid's gathered thoughts dispersed when he heard the keeper of the inn, Mr. Lime, still awake and watering some of the plants in the lobby. "Hey, Mr. Lime," Kid greeted, which the pony let out a chuckle. "Just Lime is alright. How was your trip?" For once ever since leaving Ponyville, he looked down at himself. His armor had several smell and large dents, and underneath that the leather vest and clothes had gotten soiled and torn from the tussle against the gasfellas. No doubt his face and hair was covered in dirt and sweat to complete the look of finishing a grand adventure. "Very... eventful," Kid stated while keeping it to the point. Lime only nodded with a smile before moving on to the next plant. "I'll see you in the morning, Lime." With that said, he walked up the stairs to his room. "Of course. Goodnight, Hammer." Kid found himself back in the surrounding blackness, except now he stood in the middle of the Bastion. That alone gave him the courage to explore his bleak surroundings. Everything looked exactly the same before it had crashed. All the buildings were in working order. The distillery still had plentiful stock. Even the grass under his boots held a healthy green color to them. The only thing that stood,out of the place was Rucks, who sat on a pile of bricks beside the armory. While his bushy white mustache made it difficult to tell if he was smiling or frowning, it was obvious he wasn't happy about something. As Kid walked up to him, Rucks began to talk in a sad tone. "I should've seen it coming, Kid. Now look at this place." Rucks threw his hand to the side to show the Bastion in pristine condition. "They tore this place apart." "What are you talking about, Rucks?" Kid gave him a confused look. The sound of crumbling stone and splintering wood snapped his head towards the six buildings around him. They decayed at a rapid pace as if years had become seconds. Enormous spike of black and red jutted out of the ground to rake at the black sky as the earth underneath his boots cracked and splintered to the edge of falling apart. "The Ura attacked the Bastion because of what our people had done. To get back at us for the Calamity." Rucks rested heavily on his cane as he leaned forward. "They even took Zia." Kid remembered this conversation. It was after leaving Burstone Quarry with the shard. They had torn apart their sanctuary because someone tipped them the truth about what the Calamity was made for. The only thing missing from the memory was who told them. Just like before, a name balanced at the edge of his mind, yet he couldn't place it. It was like something prevented him from remembering. "Who told them, Rucks? Who caused all of this?" Kid demanded, but to no avail. Rucks acted as if he wasn't even talking. "We need to finish what we started, and get Zia back. The Ura came from the east, so at least you know where to go to find them. Good luck, Kid." "Wait, you still haven't answered me!" Kid felt himself falling backwards as the Bastion slowly disappeared in the darkness. "Wait!" Kid opened his eyes half-way and glanced around to find himself still in bed at the hotel. The blinds were cracked open, allowing enough sunlight to light up his room and cast several orange bars of light against the wall opposite of where his headboard was. "What was in that stir fry?" Kid mumbled as he sat up, only to find he still wore his armor. Huh. I must have been more tired than I thought. He rubbed his arms when the chill in the room hit him; his body yelling at him to return to the warm bed. His stomach wasn't asking to be fed, and he didn't need to use the restroom, so the idea of going back to sleep was quickly becoming a good idea. Another hour or two of sleep wouldn't hurt. He slid back in the bed and turned over on his side. As his eyes slowly closed, he caught sight of the clock hanging in the room. It's half after nine?! He shot out of bed in a panic to prepare for today. I promised I would wake up to get ready for more studying, and here I am sleeping the day away! While he didn't enjoy studying even while in Caelondia, preferring a more hands-on approach for learning, he didn't want to break his promise and disappoint Twilight. As he began to make his bed, he noticed the strong smell of dried sweat in the sheets and himself. Ew, shower first. Worry about angry purple unicorn later. "Why is it so cold? Why is it snowing? I swear I'm going to have words with Rainbow Dash to fix this mess. Can a pegasus be bribed to change the weather?" Kid questioned as his foot sank ankle-deep in snow and hit an edge, almost making him fall face-first into the side of a building. During his shower he had the idea to ask Rucks in person about his strange nightmares since the Rucks in his dream wasn't of much help. Unfortunately real-life Rucks had awoken before him and wasn't in his room. Zia, being always helpful, told him he went to visit Applejack. Why he was over there she did not know, and while Kid would love to trudge across Ponyville to find out, he was late enough as is for Twilight's lessons. Kid would never admit it, but he was never truly fond of snow, even with Zia's coat on. Sure it was beautiful to look at as it slowly fell from the sky, but after that? It would become the enemy and make you lose your footing from uneven ground. Or worst, make you slip from packed snow turned to ice. Not to mention it always found its way in whatever crevices and openings you forget to cover up. It took longer than normal because of the deep snow, but he soon found found himself standing outside Twilight's home. He took note of the lack of snow on the front steps, which meant Spike must have cleared it this morning. However, the welcome mat was missing; replaced with a scorched rectangular outline. Wonder if Celestia has a use for a new doormat, he mused with a chuckle. He knocked thrice on the door and it flung open soon as the third knock finished. In the middle of the room sat Twilight with her nose currently buried in a large book; surrounded by piles of even more books. Normally Kid wouldn't find anything strange about this, but Twilight always at least acknowledged him upon entry. Plus her mane had several strands sticking out, which either meant she was freaking out over something, or she forgot to brush her mane. Even poor spike ran to-and-fro between bookshelves in a panic to help Twilight find whatever she looked for. "Is everything alright, Twilight?" Kid asked while hanging his coat up. The look Twilight gave him already told him what she was going to say. "Is everything alright? Yes, everything is just fine. Four inches of snow overnight despite scheduled sunny skies is certainly nothing to be worried about! No siree!" "Twilight?" "Yes?" "Please take a deep breath." Twilight's eye twitched in defiance, but she managed to relax her neck and slump forwards a bit. After several deep breaths with her eyes closed, she opened them. Her mane looked the same, but when the technique was finished she as least didn't look ready to kill someone if they said pi was exactly three. "Now, from the top, tell me what happened." Twilight rubbed a hoof against her right temple. "I woke up at six in the morning to find Rainbow Dash banging on my front door. Being that it's her day off I knew something was wrong because she should be asleep, and usually somepony pounding on your front door means they're trying to get your attention, but I digress." Twilight lifts Spike with her magic and sets him on the floor next to her. Telling him to take a break, which he is thankful for, he turns her attention back to Kid. "So Rainbow Dash comes in with a panicked look in her eyes saying that it's snowing when it shouldn't be considering that Pegasai control the weather. I asked if it's possible that Cloudsdale changed the schedule, but they never do that unless it's something small like a rain cloud for parched crops." Kid scratched his chin. "So if it's not the pegasai causing the snow... what is?" Twilight shook her head. "I have several theories, but nothing solid yet. I'm still waiting for Rainbow Dash to come back. She said she was going to Cloudsdale to get to the bottom of this and left around the same time she woke me up. Hopefully she should be here soon." The room was quiet except for Spike who was helping himself to making a sandwich, while Twilight and Kid thought over the situation. It was soon interrupted by a loud slam on the front door, as if somepony had bucked it. Twilight opened the door to find Rainbow Dash in the snow, on her back. "There's a door handle you know-ahh!" Rainbow Dash was back on her hooves and grabbed Twilight's shoulders in a flash. "Twilight! Celestia! letter! now!" she shouted while shaking Twilight like a maraca. "O-Okay j-ust s-stop s-shak-ing m-me!" "Oh... sorry," Rainbow apologized as she released Twilight, who fell on her back in a dizzying daze. Twilight managed to sit up and steady herself with a forehoof. "Spike! Ugh spinning room, go get ready to send a letter." she shouted before looking at Rainbow Dash. "Now what's the problem?" "Well, when I went to Cloudsdale's weather factory, it was utter chaos. Everypony was too busy coordinating how to collect the snow, or figure out what was causing it. I was lucky enough to get the attention of a manager and ask what was going on." Rainbow took a deep breath and shook her head. "Apparently it's Windigos." "Windigos?" Twilight's eyes lit up as she lifted a book out of a nearby pile and laid it over the one she had been currently reading. "I remember them now. They're known to feed off of hatred and other negative feelings towards others." Twilight lifted the book for Kid and Rainbow Dash to see. On the page was the picture of a transparent horse-like creature in the sky. "According to this they're known to follow around ponies who have hatred in their hearts, and the pony who is hated. Kid held his hands up. "Wait, so either somepony in Ponyville is causing this, or somepony in Equestria has a serious grudge against somepony in Ponyville?" Whew, say that three times fast. "Correct! meaning a Windigo overhead acts as an ill omen of sorts. While they can also move freely, they can't go far. Without a steady supply of hatred to feed from they quickly dissipate." "Uhm..." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head, catching the attention of Twilight and Kid. "Yeah, about that. What if there are close to 20 above Ponyville among the Cirrus clouds?" Twilight furrowed her brow. "Then we should really get this letter sent. Which mean on the double, Spike!" Spike ran in with a quill and parchment in hand and stopped beside Twilight. "I'm here! so what's this all about?" "Windigos, Spike. And there's only one pony I know who would be perfect for getting rid of them." "Celestia?" Spike offered. "Your... brother?" Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. Twilight facehoofed. "I'm talking about Princess Cadance. Hate is the opposite of love, and if there's anypony who knows how to love, it's her!" "I'm sure she does." Rainbow Dash let out a laugh, which Twilight responded by smacking her upside the head with a book.