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// 0/Prologue 
// Story: Eternity Served Cold 
// by LordBlumiere 
//------------------------------//

	The barriers between Equestria and the worlds beyond were not unguarded. It was a priority that the mirrors and statues and shimmering lights in windows stayed under lock and key, only viewed and used under the most dire of circumstances. If they were to be used recklessly or carelessly, the consequences upon both Equestria and what lay beyond it would be immense.

And this was precisely why, as Celestia and Luna stood at the shivering, whirling window, neither of them could feel anything but unease in their hearts. Luna was pacing, somewhere between a walk and a trot; Celestia was stock still and staring at the colours shifting violently between the golden pillars.

“Luna.” Celestia was the first to speak up, lifting her hoof and rubbing it against her left front leg. She sighed, then continued. “I know we have… reason for concern due to this portal. But if you could stop moving for just a moment?” Luna halted in her tracks, looking over at her sister. As Celestia turned to look back, she couldn’t help but notice the look in Luna’s eyes. The most recent time she’d seen it was when they had received the news of King Sombra’s return, a memory that she didn’t want to revisit. She sighed again, straightening herself as best she could. “I believe, as a precaution, you and I should enter the world behind the window and see if the barrier is breaking down. Perhaps we can aid in its repair before it gets out of hand.”

Celestia saw the expression on Luna’s face change almost as quickly as the crack of a whip. “Sister,” Luna protested, her eyes darting back towards the portal. “We have little defenses if something were to happen. Should we not call upon your--” She took a moment to correct herself. “--ex-student and the other element bearers? We believe that they would have a far greater chance to fix what is wrong.” At that, Luna shifted away from the window and started pacing again.

“No, Luna.” Celestia stamped her hoof, drawing her sister’s attention. “Princess Twilight has been through so much in the past week. By all accounts, I shouldn’t have put her through the wringer as hard as I did.” Her voice softened for a moment. “I’m giving her a break. Heaven knows she needs it. And…” Celestia broke her powerful aura for a moment to laugh. “Luna, you and I may be thousands of years old, but I can assure you that neither of us are about to lose our magic anytime soon.”

With that reassurance, Luna managed to crack a smile. “Tia,” she murmured, and her voice was nearly teasing. She came up beside Celestia once more and wrapped her leg behind the older mare’s neck. Celestia turned towards Luna, intent on hugging her before they entered the world beyond, but it wasn’t to be.

A blast of cold air suddenly shot through the window, the swirling glass cracking and breaking into shards that shot across the room. It had only been a small crack, but the force of the frozen wind pulled the princesses towards the portal. Luna yelped and Celestia shouted, and both of them tried to gallop against the wind and towards the heavily-boarded door that signaled the exit to the portal room.

It was too much. The wind was too strong, and the cold too biting, and both alicorns were dragged forcibly back and into the portal. Light and colour swirled around both of them. Luna tried to reach out, tried to grab Celestia, but her hooves wouldn’t move far enough, and Celestia didn’t seem to notice, her eyes wide and looking at something that Luna couldn’t see. The very fabric of reality was tearing and jerking around them, and before she could get her hooves on solid ground, Luna lost hold on consciousness.


*


Celestia nudged Luna with her muzzle, her face wrinkling with worry. “Luna,” she said. “Wake up…” Her younger sister didn’t move, and Celestia shoved at her more insistently. “Luna! We need to find shelter!” It took another moment before Luna finally roused, her body shivering as she tried to stand.

“What happened?” Luna asked, voice shaking. “Where are we, sister?”

“I don’t… I don’t know.” Celestia’s heart sank into her stomach. “This place… I’ve never been here before.”

And it was no wonder why, Celestia thought. She hadn’t had a second glance at this particular portal since it appeared one clear morning. It was merely a shimmer of green and white light over a windowpane. It was nothing special, like the mirror that led to the world of humans, or the shockingly pink statue that Celestia liked to pretend wasn’t there and that Luna knew contained a much nastier secret than its inscription hinted at. This portal had been nearly forgotten, as it never caused any trouble nor made any hint to its existence other than a gradual shift in colours with the seasons.

Now, however, with the snow blowing up around them and the air freezing their coats and manes into shards of ice, Celestia couldn’t help but to wish she’d taken a look sooner. She lifted Luna up with some difficulty, and the two began to trudge through the heavy snowdrifts, looking around for somewhere warm to recover and get their bearings.

In the distance, Celestia spotted a light, and her tears of relief froze on her face. “Look, Luna--over there--” she said, but before she could start towards it Luna had already opened her wings and was flying against the wind and towards the distant light. “Wait!” Celestia called, taking to the skies behind her sister and lighting the fog with her horn.

By the time the two princesses reached the distant light, the sky had already gone black, but no stars lit the way through the fog. The only sources of light came from the town ahead and from their horns, but even then the low clouds nearly swallowed the glow. Celestia touched down first, followed by Luna, and both peered through the snow at the village they had arrived in. The huts--strangely small, Celestia thought--were nearly covered in snow, the only signs of life coming from the lights in each one. A single path stretched through the town, having been forcibly hewn through the snow, but there was no grass under it to be found. Instead, only ice covered the path, and Celestia wondered how the inhabitants didn’t lose their balance.

“Hurry! Inside!”

Luna was the first to turn towards the voice coming from a hut very near to the entrance of the town. Someone very small and standing on two legs--two!--was in an open doorway, motioning frantically through the wind at Celestia and Luna. Luna nudged Celestia softly to get her attention, then hurriedly trotted towards the small house, ducking in order to get inside.

Celestia hesitated. Whether or not she could trust the people of this other world, she did not know. But the barrier had broken, and in order to fix it, she had to gain their trust at the very least. And so, though she stalled, Celestia ducked into the doorway too.

The person closed the door, and all was silent but for the wind howling outside the hut and the fire crackling inside.