//------------------------------// // Ch. 5 Dim Prospects // Story: The Brightest Shine // by Cozy Mark IV //------------------------------// The Brightest Shine Written and read by Cozy Mark IV & Jan. McNeville Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release Chapter Five: Dim Prospects Steady Hoof woke in total blackness to the feeling of a scratchy military issue sleeping bag on hard stone. With a groan, he rolled over and fumbled for the lamp by his side, mixing in a fresh charge of chemicals and using the soft green light to take in his surroundings. There wasn't much to see. The rough stone all around him brought the last day's events back in a rush. They had won the battle against the windigos, but the sun was lost, and Commander Hurricane had left the unicorns to die in the snow while she claimed their home for the pegasi. And then he had decided to save them. Steady got to his hooves and packed up his gear, tucking it into a crevice in the wall and stretching in the hot dry air. 'Well, I couldn't just leave them behind. Hurricane has her own goals, but she probably won't care what happens to them now, provided they stay out of her way. Of course there is still the matter of how four pegasi are going to lift a pony each and still carry enough food and supplies for eight...' With a shake of his tail, Steady wormed his way down the narrow cave passage, passing Squall and Sand Storm before nearly tripping over Flare who had staked out the middle ground between the genders in more ways than one. Continuing on, Spec was still sleeping next to their Ep, but the last two spots were empty, and with a worried glance backward, Steady climbed the rest of the way up the tunnel to the surface. “Hey, give me a hoof here.” Pie asked as she lifted the comatose gray unicorn in her magic. “She stayed out all night, and we need to get her inside to warm up and sleep it off.” Steady's eyes widened as he knelt down to take Shining onto his back. “She stayed up all night? I know she's been through a lot this week, but why? It's freezing out here!” Pie trotted ahead and pushed the box further out of the way so Steady could enter the cave at a crouch. “She's always been claustrophobic, but I didn't realize it was this bad. This cave must have terrified her! I had to drug her to make her sleep.” Pie sighed and continued, “She'll be out for at least twelve hours, but I don't know what we'll have to do when she wakes up.” Steady gently deposited the snoring unicorn on the sleeping bag and paused to brush the clinging snow from her coat before tucking her in. Her beautiful black mane spilled out around her head as he propped it up with a pillow, and he couldn't help but feel protective of her. As a soldier, he had done things he wasn't proud of, and dated more than a few mares, but Shining was... different. He couldn't follow a lot of the technical details of her work, but he found he really wanted to, and now that he wasn't a sleep deprived mess, he had hoped to learn more. Unfortunately, it didn't look like she would be in shape to hold up her end of the conversation for a while, and they had a lot of ground to cover when the dawn finally came. Steady carefully turned and squeezed past Pie as he headed back to the cave mouth. “Has the dawn come yet?” “I don't know, I just woke up myself and found Shining in that condition. Did you get a look at what she built last night?” With a start, Steady realized he hadn't noticed a thing about the outside world; he had had eyes only for Shining. “Um, no, actually. It must have calmed down some though because it felt warmer and the snow and wind seem to have stopped.” Before he could say more, the two of them emerged from the cave entrance into the cold outside air. In the dim glow of his lamp, it took him a moment to realize that the mouth of the cave wasn't outside any more. Rising up, more than two stories overhead, the dome of the biggest igloo Steady had ever seen stretched up to its peak. The construction appeared at first glance to be seamless, but as he took a step closer to the wall, his mouth hung slack as he made out the outline of huge blocks of ice, each the size of a pony or bigger laid out in neat rows. All the supplies the pegasi force had left behind had been cataloged into rigidly straight alphabetical rows. “How did she...? Why would she...?” He shook his head to clear it, then turned to Pie with a look of real concern. “She did all this in just one night? All to avoid going into the cave?” “It looks that way.” “Then we need to be well underway before she wakes up. If she can lift blocks like that...” He trailed off as he looked around the dim green interior of the dome. “Where is the entrance?” The door turned out to be a sort of depression under the wall of the dome which had been plugged up with another ice block. As soon as Pie lifted the heavy block out of the way, a gust of even colder air began rushing in. The two of them quickly scurried down the shallow dip and outside into the howling snow. If anything, it had gotten significantly colder since their return, and the darkness was still unbroken, the only light coming from Steady's green lamp. “How can it still be dark outside? Did we sleep all the way through the day?” Pie shook her head, a motion difficult to discern in the poor light and over the movement of her yellow mane billowing out behind her in the icy blast. “I don't think so. If I had to guess, it should be about two in the afternoon.” The snow gusting around them in the darkness was no longer the big wet flakes left in the wake of the sun, but tiny, hard points that stung as they pelted their coats and blew into drifts like sand in the bitter cold. “But how can that be? I know some of the commanders were late getting into camp this week, but I though they were only making weak excuses when they said they couldn't tell day from night!” Pie didn't look happy about this, and had already begun to shiver badly, even after only a few minutes in the icy wind. “Can you still fly in this?” It was a valid question. Had this been a training exercise with a group of green, well fed recruits he wouldn't have hesitated to take them out for a half hour flight, telling them all the way how lucky they were for the good weather. But this wasn't an quick joy ride with empty packs. They wouldn't be landing to a hot meal in warm quarters at the end of thirty minutes. When they set out, each member of his unit would have to carry not just the supplies for themselves, but for eight total ponies and each one of them would be carrying a pony's worth of dead weight as well. While this was possible over short distances in good weather where one needn't carry supplies, the prospect of lifting all that weight, on an endurance run for days, sleeping in the snow when they could, and navigating in total darkness by compass all the while? Steady didn't look away as he spelled it out. “Not for the distance we have to go. If we set out in this, we could wind up lost, separated and frozen to death in the snow. The trip back is going to be difficult enough as it is, and it would be foolhardy to start out in these conditions. Besides, the Commander was right about one thing; with ninety percent of the windigos wiped out, it's only a matter of time until things start to warm up again. If we stay put for a week, we might even see the first buds of green starting to bloom.” For the first time in quite a while, Pie smiled. “Oh, that will be lovely! It's been frozen now for so long...” “You got that right.” Steady agreed with a shiver. “Even the pegasi tribe was nearing the end of our reserves. If there hadn't been a way to take the fight to the winter, even we would have had to give up and travel south soon.” Pie scowled. “And after all we did for her tribe, your Commander is planning to just take over everything?” Steady flinched. “She didn't get where she is by running away. In a few years, things will settle down again to they way they were before. None of the tribes is in shape to fight a war, so they'll be negotiations and such, but eventually everyone will get home again.” “Even us?” Her expression was so sad and yet hopeful that he couldn't help but smile. “I think so. The mess with the sun will fade with time, though it's not likely anypony will ever hear what really happened. It wouldn't look good in the history books if the mighty Commander Hurricane had to ask for help from the unicorns.” Pie's shocked expression was clearly visible in the dim green light. “You mean she's going to take all the credit too?!” “Well, yes. Any idea that works is hers, and any plan that fails either was someone else's idea, or it didn't happen at all.” Pie was still scowling into the darkness, so he awkwardly tried to change the subject. “Say, I don't remember a path here last night...” Pie looked down at the raised ice road leading off into the gloom and sighed. “Well, Shining was out here all night; I guess she built more than just the igloo. Want to see where it leads?” “If you can give us some better light.” Steady ribbed gently as he tried not to shiver. Pie lit her horn and they began trotting along the path which wound left and right before doubling back on itself. Along the side, large basins, like ornamental ponds had been cast into the snow, some of them connected with ice waterfalls, and a few even had snow 'fish' suspended in icicles as if in the act of jumping. The two of them couldn't help but stare. “They're beautiful...” Steady breathed. “In a messed up, sleep deprived, 'have to keep working or will freeze' kind of way.” Pie replied. The path began to climb as it returned, and it actually wrapped once around the dome of the igloo as it spiraled to the top. “Holy... is that a lightning rod made of ice?!” “She really didn't want to go into the cave.” Pie replied, eyes wide. “Look at that! There are rain gutters and down spouts carved into the surface!” “She really, really didn't want to go into the cave.” The two of them paused to share a worried look. “We need to make sure she stays asleep for a while.” Pie stated worriedly “If she could lift blocks like this? Yes. We need to find a way to keep her calm so she doesn't collapse the whole mountain on top of us.” ... A few hours later, after the others had woken and caught up on what was happening, Shining had become the topic of discussion. Nopony in either tribe was sure how strong the cave was, but they also didn't want to find out via unicorn panic attack, and a fervent whispered argument had broken out between Spec and Sand Storm. “Even if you do put a bunch of warm coats on her, she still can't stay outside forever!” “Well what do you suggest?!” Spec replied angrily. “We've got a mountain of supplies out there; there must be a stockade somewhere.” “We are not going to lock her up! First of all she's our friend, and secondly, she's claustrophobic; her fear of confined spaces is why we're worried in the first place! How would putting her in a different small box make this any better?! “No, you don't get it.” Sand Storm replied irritably, “If we have a stockade, then we have straps and horn caps.” Spec and Pie both shared a quick worried glance at the mention of the name. The prospect of sharing a tiny cave with a bunch of burly pegasi wasn't too bad given that Steady was trying to save their lives. The casual mention of a binder that rendered any unicorn defenseless, and the notion that they were readily to hoof... “I don't think Shining would appreciate waking up to find herself tied into a ball and gagged.” Pie replied uneasily. Sand Storm looked disgusted. “You can keep your sick fantasies to yourself, unicorn. If your boss is going to cave the ceiling in when she wakes up then you need to put her in a horn cap until she calms down.” Sand Storm turned and trotted up the slope of the cave towards the exit, presumably to produce the restraint, while Spec and Flare followed behind. After a short search of the inventory he dug into a basket and came back with a tapered cap that had several straps dangling from it. “There. Problem solved.” He stated flatly, tossing it at her hooves. “Now if you'll excuse me.” As he walked off, Spec ground her teeth as she tried to think up a good enough retort. “Easy there,” Flare admonished, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Sand Storm's just an asshole.” “I just... I can't believe he would suggest something like this!” Spec fumed as she held up the cap. “Magic is a big part of what makes a unicorn a unicorn!” Flare scratched the back of her neck uneasily. “Well, I hate to say it, but... I think it might still be a good idea.” “What?!” “Just until she calms down you understand.” Flare continued, holding up a hoof for calm. “It would just be a for a few minutes, right? Long enough to get her out here into the dome where she can think?” A certain part of her had to agree that, however distasteful, it was safer than hoping Shining could hold it together and not drop the roof on them all, but she wasn't going to admit it to this... this pegasus! “You wouldn't understand! It just isn't done.” With a dismissive swish of her tail, Spec turned on her hoof and ducked back under the cave entrance, only to stop dead in her tracks as she felt something splash across her back. She blinked, then slowly turned back around to face Flare. “Did you just spit on me?!” Flare raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” Spec felt her anger building as she advanced on the orange maned mare. “I'm talking about the fact that we're on top of a mountain, its way below zero outside, and the only source of heat is coming from us. What is-” Her rant was cut short as a second drop of icy water struck the end of her nose. She stared cross eyed at the end of her own muzzle with a ridiculous look of confusion on her face for several seconds until Flare began to giggle. “But... How...?” Spec paused to give Flare an indignant look that only made the snickering louder. “I don't understand; how is their liquid water here?” “You science mares are so adorably cute when you're puzzled!” Flare ribbed as she brushed past Spec to inspect the wet spot on the ice wall. “See, it's just dripping ice, and barely a drip at that. Whats the big deal?” Spec found herself blushing as she answered; “The big deal is this place has been frozen solid for a year, it's been dark and snowing since we got back, and the sun has been gone too long to have provided the heat to melt the ice. That means...” Flare raised an eyebrow once more as Spec's face lit up and she scurried back into the cave mouth and took off down the tunnel without a word. “Hey! Wait up!” They wormed there way around the others they passed in the tunnel, Spec leading them ever downward and deeper underground by the light of her horn, and as they went deeper, Flare noticed it getting hotter. “Hey, where are we going anyway?” Spec spun about with a look of childlike glee on her face, gripping Flare by the shoulders. “To find the source of the heat! Did you notice how the three mountains seemed almost like one big mountain? And how the meadow between them was almost round? You know what that means!” While Flare found herself enjoying the chase, Spec's explanation had cleared up nothing. “What are you talking about? Heat from what?” “Why, the volcano, silly!” “The what now?!” Spec was practically beaming by now, reveling in the moment of discovery. “The volcano we're in right now. It must have been dormant for a long time, but I bet there's a magma pool or some hot springs down here somewhere!” “And you want to go deeper?!” For the first time, Spec really looked at the mare behind her and made out the worry on her face. “Well, yes, we need to see what we're dealing with. Sorry, I didn't stop to ask if you were okay with this.” In addition to her unease, Flare was beginning to sweat in the increasing heat rising up through the tunnel around them. “Hey, I'm no chicken, but I am a pegasus. We aren't exactly built for work underground...” She added as she fluttered her wings in a familiar fashion. Spec couldn't help but smile. “Hey, if I can get used to the itching...” She couldn't see Flare's blush as she turned back, but she did notice the pegasus mare seemed to be following closer than before as they continued down the tunnel slope. The original tunnel seemed to be getting wider as they continued, twisting and turning as they past other branches headed up in other directions. Spec had to stop at each split and carve a number into their original route, lest they get lost on their return, but eventually, they came to a small cavern, perhaps the size of a room, where there tunnels came together and the path ahead was blocked by a cave in. “Well, I guess that's as far as we go...” Flare said hopefully. Spec didn't seem to hear her, and began to reach out with her magic, carefully shifting one rock at time as she cleared a path. Within a minute, curls of steam could be seen drifting up through the thinning obstruction, and when the last big rock was pried out of place, a wave of wet heat like a sauna washed out over them. “Ewww... It smells like rotten eggs.” Flare complained as she wrinkled her nose. “Well, yes, but it's not that bad. Come on!” Spec's blue tail gave an excited flick as she disappeared through the hole in the rubble, and with a worried sigh, Flare shook her head and followed. Even by the light of Spec's horn, the dense clouds of steam made it hard to gauge the size of the cavern they had found. It seemed that the rain water from above had been collecting here for millennia, heated by the magma far below, and settled into pool after pool of clear water. Some of the pools bubbled and boiled under the heat from deep below, and the hottest of these were colored deep blues and greens. “Wow... These are beautiful...” Flare murmured as they stared into the clear cyan depths of the bubbling water. Instead of the excited reply of science she had expected, Spec just sighed in relief. “They are. I feel so much better knowing these are here.” Flare raised an eyebrow at that. “Uh, don't get me wrong, they are pretty, but what difference do they make to us?” Spec gave her a worried glance before trotting off in a different direction. They climbed slowly uphill for a dozen yards before Spec dipped a fore hoof into one of the more shallow pools, sighed, and began to climb in. “What are you...” The white pony gave a long sigh as she lowered herself into the warm water, her mane and tale spreading out around her on the surface. After a moment she opened her eyes to look at Flare. “We've been on the road, er, wing, for more than a week without a shower. Do I really have to explain the geology of hot springs to you?” Flare blushed again, but shrugged to hide it and, dipping a hoof in the waters edge, soon climbed in as well, relishing the warmth. “Ah... Is this what a spa is like in your tribe?” She asked lazily, her unease at being so deep underground temporarily forgotten as she stretched out. Spec giggled. “Well, normally the décor is a bit more refined.” There was a pause before she continued, the worry returning to her voice as she spoke. “Flare, something is wrong.” The soldier in her was immediately awake, a hoof already reaching out for the armor she had left up high above by her sleeping bag. “What's wrong?” Catching her alarm, Spec put a calming hoof on Flare's shoulder. “Sorry, nothing like that. We aren't in any immediate danger down here, but I'm still worried.” Her heart rate dropped a bit as she turned to ask in annoyance. “Okay, then what's wrong?” Spec looked at her as though thinking about something, then just spat it out. “It's getting colder outside.” That got a raised eyebrow. “No it's not; We've driven back the windigos; It just feels colder because we've been traveling north.” “Flare, this isn't a recent problem; it's been getting colder for nearly a year and a half now. Seven months ago I helped install a bunch of temperature sensors back home, with a few up the sides of the nearby mountains. We used a powerful, long distance spell, and even at this distance it still works. This past week, all the fighting you did... it hasn't gotten any warmer.” That made Flare sit up sharply, the steam rising from her wet mane as she processed it all. “But... how can that be?! We know we got most of them; at least nine out of ten...” “I don't know, I don't understand it either, but its getting worse. I went back over my notebooks last night: The rate of cooling has been picking up, the temperature's dropping faster and faster! Whatever is causing this is accelerating.” “If you knew all this, why didn't you say anything before now?!” Spec looked hurt as she replied, “I tried to ask that night we got to land, but nopony wanted to listen; you were all so set on killing the windigos.” Flare had climbed out and was trotting nervously around the edge of the spring, the water still dripping from her orange mane and tail. “But how can this be?! We know the windigos are spirits of ice and disharmony!” When she got no answer, her attention was drawn back to a very worried looking Spec. “I don't know, but you can see now why I'm happy we found this place.” Despite the heat and steam all around her, Flare felt a shiver run down her spine. “How... How cold is it going to get?” Her answer was level, but her voice shook a little as she spelled it out. “The average temperature has been below 0º C for the better part of a year now. About six months ago it fell to -20º C, and it's only been sliding down faster since then. The last good reading I got put the average back home at around -45º, and though we've been enjoying warmer temperatures from the sun, with that gone, it may soon get even colder here...” “But I thought it was getting colder because we were going north?!” Spec shook her head, sending a fine mist of droplets flying. “It was, but not within many miles of the sun. It was putting off so much heat that we were able to hold off the bitter cold, and even after it failed, the effect would still have offered some protection for a day or so.” “But now that it's gone...” Spec shivered visibly in the warm pool. “Now it's going to get very, very cold.”