//------------------------------// // Ch. 7 Freezer Burn // 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 Seven: Freezer Burn The wait for evening was a long one. The ponies wandered listlessly around the igloo or went back into the cave as the whim took them. With a stock of supplies and the heat of the cave, the eight of them might survive the coming cold for a long time, but their thoughts quickly turned to their friends and families. If they were right, even the tropics wouldn't provide protection for long, and the images of their tribes retreating southwards with a icy wind at their backs kept them awake in the cold darkness as they waited. None of them had seen Pie or Squall since his return with the photo, and a quick search showed Steady there was no sign of them in the upper reaches of the cave. His thoughts soon turned back to Shining, still cooling her hooves in the igloo, and with a twinge of guilt, he left his search to go offer her what comfort he could. On the way back up he pasted Flare and Spec, huddled together in a small alcove, their eyes red from tears as they looked up at him. Shining was working at the table as he emerged from the cave, her black mane and gray coat making her difficult to see, especially next to Verdant, whose green coat stood out brightly in the dim green illumination of the lamps. “Where's Sand Storm?” Verdant looked over to the door block in irritation, “That fool is out there testing some new coat he found in a basket of officer's clothes.” Shining, for her part, didn't look up. Laid out before her were pages and pages of drawings and calculations, and she was feverishly scribbling something down with one of the pegasi's military issue pencils, the temperature in the igloo being too cold for ink and a quill. Steady shook his head and, picking up the camera, walked to the exit, wincing at the bitter cold as he stepped out and levered the block closed behind him. The wind had died down somewhat, and what snow was still falling was now coming in the form of tiny specs that sparkled green when they caught the light of his chemical glow lamp. The clouds were still invisible overhead in the darkness, but if possible, it felt even colder than before. Sand Storm was decked out in a full snow suit with insulated wing covers, a mask with goggles, a plethora of medals on the front and sleeves all the way down to the built in hoof boots. Steady couldn't help but smile. “What do you think soldier? Is it warm enough?” Sand Storm jumped at the unexpected voice and turned about, pulling the mask back so he could see properly. “Sorry Sir, I didn't think the Commander was going to need it any more...” “Relax Sand, you're right on that score.” He replied with a smile. “Want to give that thing a proper test?” Steady asked, holding out the camera in one hoof. Sand Storm thought about it, then reached out and slung the camera over his shoulder. “Might as well. This thing is warm! If the damn goggles didn't fog up it would be the perfect cold weather suit.” “Thanks for finding it; I didn't know the Commander kept a special stash.” Steady smiled, “I'll see if I can dig out any more for the others. You know what Shining's beacon looks like and how to follow it home right?” Sand Storm grimaced at the memory as he pulled the mask into place. “Sure; The last time she cut it off I almost crash landed in front of Commander Hurricane. Just make sure she keeps it on this time.” With a powerful wingbeat, Sand Storm was off, climbing towards the clouds as his green lamp grew smaller and smaller, before winking out as he disappeared into the invisible clouds ceiling overhead. With a shiver, Steady turned and bucked the door block open, ducking back into the warm air of the igloo that was only ten below zero C. Shining was still working on whatever it was she was doing as he approached and looked over her shoulder. The calculations and scribblings were utterly unintelligible, so after a moment he turned to Verdant to ask quietly, “Do you have any idea what she's working on?” “She's trying to find a way to modify the sun. Right now the protective spells shield us from the sun's hard radiation by converting it back down into heat and light, but it still sets things on fire if you get too close. She's trying to design a sort of... evener. Something to spread out the heat equally over an area, regardless of distance from the sun.” Steady though about that for a moment. “Why would she want to do that?” Verdant gave him an appraising look. “Which is easier to live in: A home heated by a raging bonfire, or one heated with a steam boiler?” Steady looked at her in confusion, and with a sigh, she continued. “Right. Pegasi live in the clouds.” She shook out her mane and continued “A steam boiler heats a home evenly and to the thermostat set point, so you're never too hot or cold, no matter which room you're in. They're the latest thing among the unicorn upper class. A bonfire will burn you if you get to close, and it leaves distant rooms cold and drafty. We still have to repair whatever damage has been done, but if we can build in these modifications, it would mean we could carry the sun on our backs without being burned.” Steady nodded politely. “That would be nice, though I don't understand why she-” “With everything freezing out there we could hardly light the sun outside, and what do you think would happen if we re-lit it in here?” An image of the igloo collapsing around them, two ton blocks of ice dropping from overhead while a cloud of boiling steam cooked them all to a crisp came unbidden to his mind. “Oh... Right. Sorry, I'm kind of new to this line of work.” He shook his head and put a hoof gently on Shining's shoulder. “Shining?” She didn't seem to notice, so he tapped harder, “Shining; we need your beacon for Sand Storm.” Shining responded as though he had woken her from a sound sleep. “Huh? What?... Oh, right!” She started for the door, only to have Steady stop her. “Hold on a sec; why don't you put on something warmer before you go out?” She grinned up at him, concentrated, and Steady jumped back in surprise as a transparent, gently glowing bubble formed around the mare. “I've been working on this for a while. It's not very strong, but its enough to seal in heat and warm air to keep a pony from freezing.” She smiled at him self-consciously, “This looks like as good a time to test it as any.” Steady raised an eyebrow, but followed her to the door block and endured the icy blast long enough to watch the landscape outside lit by the brilliant purple beacon of her horn. As he ducked back inside and closed the door he caught sight of Pie and Squall, their heads both hanging low as they made their way towards him from the mouth of the cave. It was no accident that as the attrition of the war with the demons had whittled his unit down, Squall had always managed to come out on top of any fight. Now, as he closed the distance between them, Steady could tell from his posture that something was very wrong. “Sir, I... I must request you relieve me of duty.” Steady had no idea what he was talking about, but there was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he asked, “On what grounds?” Squall actually sniffled, and Pie stepped over, the white fur of her face stained by the tracks of her own tears as she wrapped her hooves around him in a tight hug. “I... am no longer qualified to serve.” With a gentle nudge he pulled back his coat on one side to extended a wing, and it was all Steady could do not to gasp. Squall's wing looked fine, all the way out to the tip, but at the very end the usually smooth feathers were in disarray, and the bandage on his wing tip left little doubt as to why. His usual military demeanor collapsed as he asked in shock; “Squall, what happened?!” When he didn't reply, it was Pie who answered in a choked voice. “Frostbite. He knew he lost control and crash landed, but we didn't know why... when he warmed up, but still couldn't feel his wing tips...” she cringed. He must have explained it to her; like any bird, the pegasi steered with their wing tips, and just as clipping the wing tips of a bird rendered controlled flight impossible, so the same was true of the pegasi. The freezing temperatures must have penetrated even the thick insulation of his feathers. At a single stroke he had fallen from the upper echelons of the military, to that of a street beggar, doomed to menial labor and asking others for transport from one cloud to another. “I can't fly, Sir... I... can no longer perform my duty.” Steady steeled himself and put a hoof on Squall's shoulder, waiting until he raised his head. “Squall, you are one of the finest soldiers I know. I don't know what the future has in store, but right here and now I need all hooves on deck. You are a member of the best military on the planet, and we don't leave our ponies behind.” He glanced significantly at Pie who was still holding on tightly as he continued softly, “You aren't in this alone. A soldier has to be strong for those who love them.” A careful eye would have seen several different emotions wash over Squall's features as he processed that last statement; confusion, astonishment, and finally, something like grateful relief as he returned her hug and held Pie close. “Thank you, Sir.” Behind him, Verdant smiled warmly at the three of them as Steady continued, “Of course. We all have to stick together, or...” he trailed off as a nasty thought crossed his mind. “Squall, did you linger at the top at all?” The soldier looked up in confusion, “No Sir. It was way too cold to stay for sight seeing.” Verdant could see the spreading dread on Steady's face and asked in alarm, “What? What's wrong?” He was already galloping for the door, “It's Sand Storm! He just left to get the other photograph!” The door block was sent skittering across the floor as Steady bounded through into the bitter cold. Shining Mind turned at the noise, her beacon illuminating the whole mountain meadow a vibrant purple from inside her bubble. “Is something wrong?” “We have to call him back! Squall froze his wing tips off and if we don't get Sand Storm back the same thing could happen to him!” Shining's eyes narrowed as she processed what he was saying. “Don't you pegasi need your wing tips to fly?” “YES!” “Oh...” Shining murmured, her expression mirroring his worry, “But how can I call him-” “Fade your beacon, then turn it back up, then fade it again.” Steady coached as the shivering set in. “He'll hurry back as soon as he sees the beacon fading.” “On it.” Shining replied as the purple beam from her horn began to dim. After a moment she glanced over to see Steady now shivering badly, and with a hoof she called him over. “What are you doing? You'll freeze out here! Get inside my bubble this instant!” Steady tried to clamp his chattering teeth together as he hesitantly reached out to touch the surface of the transparent bubble Shining had formed around herself. His hoof met light resistance, then seemed to push through, and as he stood exploring this strange wall of still air, Shining frowned and grabbed his hoof, yanking him inside with a strong jerk that nearly sent him sprawling. “Wow...” It was all he could manage. The inside of the bubble was a balmy twenty-five degrees C (77 F), and though the gentle glow from the bubble obscured some distant objects and fine detail, the overall effect was not unlike being in an overturned fishbowl. “You came up with this all on your own?” He asked in awe. Shining's attention was still focused on pulsing the beacon, but she looked over long enough to explain. “It's an old military spell that never worked; it wouldn't even stop an arrow, and the glow was a dead giveaway, so it never saw use. I worked it over to make it easier to use, and for keeping warm air in, it works fine.” She paused to shift her weight, “It feels kind of like holding up a two-kilogram weight; I can keep it up for a long time, but after a while it starts to feel heavy if I can't put it down.” Steady nodded appreciation as he warmed up and took in his surroundings. The purple beacon from Shining's horn illuminated the entire landscape; even some of the closer mountains and the cloud ceiling were dimly visible, though there were no signs of the windigos to be seen. The snow had nearly stopped now, and only a nearly imperceptible rain of tiny ice crystals floated slowly down in the still air. “At this rate, those clouds won't be around much longer.” Shining commented as she looked up. “This cold is just too intense for them to last much longer. They'll soon be wrung dry, but that also means that any warmth they've been trapping will just waft away...” Despite the warmth of their bubble, Steady shivered and unconsciously moved closer to her. “Shining... How cold are we talking about here...?” “Have you ever seen a 'Second Snow'?” she asked grimly. Steady shook his head and she continued, “That's when the cold gets so intense that the carbon dioxide starts to freeze into flakes and fall out of the air as frost and snow. Dry ice snow.” Steady swallowed hard. “Can we survive that?” Shining's beacon began to dim again as she answered worriedly. “Deep inside a dormant volcano, with lots of supplies? Yes. Can the average pony out there?” She gestured to the bitter cold all around them. “Not a chance.” An image of Commander Hurricane trapped in a tiny cave, slowly freezing to death flashed unbidden to his mind, and Steady shivered again. “Is there anything we can do?” The beacon thrashed about in the clouds as Shining shook her head. “You mean can we save everypony? No. But I believe we may be able to modify the sun to protect a few of us. If I'm right, if we can repair the damage, we may be able to create a much bigger version of this,” She gestured to the bubble surrounding them, “to save what's left of our tribes.” There was silence as Shining took a step closer to Steady, rubbing up against him to share her body heat. Steady looked up with a start, but before he could speak he caught sight of something falling from the sky. “Shining, is that...” The dot resolved itself into the form of a pony, weaving back and forth as though having great difficulty following the purple beam to it's source. As Sand Storm closed in, Steady whistled out the greeting and collision avoidance calls, and with the practice born of long training, Sand Storm followed the cues and landed heavily in front of them. “Nice work Sand Storm! Lets get you back inside.” Shining dropped her bubble, letting the freezing air back in, and they quickly ducked into the door opening, Sand Storm apparently having some difficulty following them. As soon as the door block was back in place, Verdant, Pie and Squall all gathered around, Pie taking the camera and film for processing in Spec's absence. “There, that should take care of that! And what was the big idea with turning the beacon on and off like that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack up there!” Sand Storm complained as he began peeling off the cold weather suit. “Sorry soldier,” Steady explained, “But we just found out Squall's exposure to the cold up there... well it froze his wing tips.” Sand Storm stopped midway through puling a sleeve off, apparently staring at them in shock. “We didn't find out until you left, and we couldn't risk you, so we did the only thing we could think of that would get you back down here quick.” Sand Storm shook out his wings, went into a controlled hover, then landed with a huff. “Well, it looks like the snow suit works, anyway. Tell Squall I feel for him; that's just not fair.” The assembled ponies looked at each other in confusion for a moment before Squall spoke up. “Thanks Sand, but I'm right here.” Sand Storm gave a grunt of irritation as he kicked off the suit and pulled off the cold weather mask. “Well, how am I supposed to know who's here if we're all standing in the dark?” As the others glanced at the lamp over the table, Verdant gasped. “Sand, your eyes!” The others looked, and most cringed at what they saw. “Sand? Did you take the photograph with the cold weather mask off?” Squall asked in trepidation. “Well of course I did! I could barely see out of that thing on the way up, and it was even worse on the way down!” Verdant had tears in her eyes as she pulled off her scarf and carefully wrapped it around his face. “Sand? I need you to follow me into the cave where its warm okay? And I need you to not touch your face until we get there. Can you do that for me?” “Wait, why would I-” Steady stepped close and put both hooves on Sand Storm's shoulders. “Soldier? You took an injury up there, and Miss Verdant thinks she can help you. I need you to follow her and do what she says, got that?” For the first time, worry seemed to make itself heard over his usual bluster as Sand Storm reached slowly up to his face. “Why?... What happened to-” “DON'T TOUCH IT!” Verdant yelled, and Sand's hoof snapped back to the floor. A moment later she continued in strained tones, “Sand Storm, you can't see properly because you've frozen your eyes. If you touch them before they've had a chance to thaw, you'll make it even worse than it already is. I need you to follow me, look straight ahead,... and don't let go of me.” She finished, gently taking his hoof and placing it on her shoulder. Moving very slowly, she led the blind pony across the igloo and into the cave as the others watched them go. After what seemed like a long time indeed, Squall asked, “Does he have a chance?” Shining shook herself out of her stupor and looked evenly at him. “A week ago I would have said no, but since then I've learned we have an earth pony with us who can make rocks grow. Until I ask Verdant, I won't know for sure.” Squall sighed. “So all we can do is hope?” “No. What we can do is get on with the business of fixing the bucking sun!” Shining spat. “That photograph should help explain what's going on, but I would never have asked if I suspected the cost would be this high!” She sniffed as she walked over to the basket where the obsidian stones of the sun were kept and lifted them out with her magic. “Regardless of why this is happening, we're going to need the sun to get home and save our tribes. It must be repaired, and that's going to take a long time...” Pie trotted up to the table, the photo of a nearly imperceptible white speck held in her magic. She laid it next to the photo of the sun, and with a glance, Shining said exactly what she had been thinking. “Obstruction. The size and place is right, but they're both equally dimmed. Something is blocking out the sky.” “Blocking out the sky?” Steady asked in consternation, “But what in the world could-” “It could be the ash cloud from some huge volcano, it could be an interstellar dust cloud we're passing through, but we won't know until we have more information, and at the moment it doesn't matter. The point is, every scenario I can imagine is going to get worse and take years, decades, or centuries to pass.” Shining looked slowly at each of them as she continued. “As of right now, we're in this for the long haul. We're the only group of ponies who can build a sun, and that means that, whether they know it or not, we're the only hope our tribes have of survival.” The silence stretched on as she walked to the table and placed one of the obsidian stones on it. “Squall: I need one of you to go find Spec and get her up here to help. Repairing a broken spell stone is hard enough with three ponies, and we can't do it with just two. Pie; I need you to fetch a nest of rocks to form the cradle for the sun stone. It won't do us any good to mend the cold shock, only to put the red hot stone down on an ice table. Steady?” Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the way he was looking at her, but she coughed and continued, “As soon as it's possible, please ask Verdant to come join us. I don't know exactly what she can do yet, but it's going to take weeks to mend all thirty-eight stones and we need all the help we can get.”