//------------------------------// // Departure to a New World // Story: Cold Confrontations // by Dapper Guy //------------------------------// -Dining Area, Warm Heart Café- The sudden sensation of becoming physical again came as a shock to Cold. His senses flared up as his body felt oddly alien to him. Cold could hear the sound of his blood flowed through his veins and pumping through his heart. His ears could hear the timbers in the floorboards beneath him groan in protest against his weight. Pain lanced through his eyes as the sun’s rays burned his irises. “Well, now,” came a familiar gruff voice. “Look whose back from the dead.” Cold blinked a few times to clear away the tears from the sudden burst of light. Tuhka stood over him, an expression of joy on his muzzle. “Don’t try and get up too soon, the soul returning to its body for the first time has some, well, side-effects.” Putting a hoof down, Cold shakily stood to his hooves before falling like a new born fawn trying to take its first steps. Tuhka extended a hoof out but Cold merely swatted it away. “I don’t need help.” Trying once again, he was able to stand on all fours, however his knees continued to shake slightly as his weight seemed new to him. “You could’ve warned me at least, elder.” “Warn you of what?” Tuhka speed back to let the younger reindeer flex his legs, “That wasn’t supposed to be an easy journey. Releasing your soul from the physical confines of your body is the only way for one travel to one of the spirit realms. Once there, each deer experiences their own personal trial to further commune with the spirits.” Pulling out a chair from the table, he ushered Cold over to his side. “Sit,” he commanded. Cold’s senses found equilibrium as he sat across from Tuhka. Taking in the room around him, he felt like he was sitting in an entirely different place. He could see cracks in the ceiling he hadn’t noticed before. Small scuffs worn into the floor from so many hooves from everydeer that came to the café. “You didn’t move my body?” he said as he continued to look around the room with new eyes. Tuhka shook his head, “Of course not. There is too much of a risk in moving the physical form from where the soul departs from it. It can unintentionally cause you to be left stranded within the spirit world for long periods of time.” Cold mouthed a small ‘oh’, as he regained some small form of composure. “Now then, young Cold,” began Tuhka. “Where did you’re travels take you this time?” Cold recounted falling into a world of ice and the endless ocean beneath of it. How Vettä came to him, offering to rid him of his overwhelming despair if he undertook her trial. Tuhka’s remained calm and composed as he always was as he took in Cold’s words, save for a constant small twitch in his left ear. “Now then Cold, that copy of you, was it whole?” Tuhka leaned forward a bit, a palpable air of concern swirling around him. “I don’t understand what you mean, elder,” Cold replied. “This creature that took your form, was it exactly like you? Was it whole? Was it a shade, not unlike a ghost?” Tuhka asked with keen interest. Cold concentrated on the black and blue copyof himself, its haunting voice sending shivers down his spine. It looked exactly like him, albeit a twisted version of him. “No, it looked just like I am except for the color of its hair and its antlers,” Cold recalled. Tuhka paused for a moment, leaning back from Cold. “Well it hardly matters, young Cold. Congratulations to you though, it has been some time since somedeer your age has made the pact with a spirit,” beamed Tuhka. “Do you understand what has happened?” “No.” Cold watched as the elder’s face sag into a frown at his ignorance. “I have no clue what I’ve done and I have no idea as to what I can do with this power.” “To call it power shows your ignorance in this matter, young Cold,” snapped Tuhka. “The spirits are there to guide you, and yes, even at times, lend you their strength. In return, you offer your own strength to help the spirits when they need you. Cold leaned back into his chair, committing the information that Tuhka was giving to to memory. “Elder, what did you mean lending my strength to the spirits?” Tuhka clamped his jaw together, perturbed by Cold interrupting him. “The world is, and always will be, in a constant flux,” answered the elder. “Nature tends to balance itself out but the spirits may deem it necessary for you to act on their behalf. It may not always seem clear why the task must be done but know that it always has a meaning to it.” “Ever since the first druid communed with the spirits, we’ve always sought to maintain the balance in our lands and in this world. Releasing ourselves from the limitations imposed on us is the key to understanding the ways of the spirits.” Tuhka reclined in his seat, giving Cold some breathing room. “Each and every reindeer can hear the spirits but it is a choice to live as a druid. When you contact them, you will have to pour your own energy into the realms. If a spirits hears your call, they may come to your aid. However, be warned that if you spend too much energy, you could find yourself at the gates of death.” A small flicker of fear played on Cold’s face, as a macabre thought of him lying dead in the snow out in the tundra with no deer else around. “How will I contact the spirits?” trying to distract himself of any more grim thoughts. Tuhka, grunted and cracked his neck before responding. “Each druid has an item of great value that they’ve always held close to them.” Tuhka picked at his chin. “The item in question is one you’ve cared deeply for, one that you’ve left an impression on. Emotions leave an imprint from your soul inscribed into it, invisible to the naked eye. The spiritual tether is formed from these feelings to bridge the gap between the realms.” Tuhka pulled out an old pocket watch from inside of his cloak. The bronze lettering across the center was barely legible but Cold still could make out the name Tuhka etched into the metal. “I’ve carried this watch for many seasons. I’ve never gone anywhere without it,” he mused as he clicked it open. Cold could hardly see the hooves slowly ticking inside behind the broken glass. “Think back, young Cold. There must be something you’ve always kept by your side. The spirits may have even shown you something you remember.” Cold leaned back in thought, his head still in a fog. First Vettä used the pearl that drew out my despair, and then there was the orb of water that she used to make me swear the oath. The night before, that mountain deer was in my dream but was there anything important he showed me? Cold shoved his hooves to his ears, grinding them against his skull as he tried to assemble his memories. Ting-Ting A small chime rung out, throwing off Cold’s concentration. Sweet Hart stood in the middle of the doorway of her café, her eyes landing directly on Cold. In a heartbeat the doe scooped up her nephew into a tight hug, “You’re finally awake!” Cold felt his head beginning to swim as his overly loving aunt continued to cut off the blood flow from his head. A small tap on her shoulder let her know she was about to unknowingly strangle the life out of him. “Good to see you too, Aunt Sweet,” wheezed Cold, as he inhaled sweet, delicious air. “I was so worried, after you drank, well, whatever it was,” wept Sweet. “I tried to wake you up but Elder Tuhka said we couldn’t move you or else we might lose you.” Grabbing a hold of her nephew again, Sweet’s eyes welled up with tears, rolling down her muzzle and onto Cold’s coat. “I’m just glad you came back to me.” Releasing her nephew, Sweet walked into the kitchen and returned with a rucksack embroidered with Buckland’s emblem on it. “Somedeer came by earlier and dropped this off for you, it’s got everything you’ll need for your little trip.” Looking through the raggedy bag, Cold pulled out two train tickets, a small white book, a few gold tokens and a thick sealed envelope. Tearing through the waxed seal, a small booklet was pushed up against three leaves of paper. To Cold Hart, Congratulations on your appointment of the esteemed status of Representative of the Ministries of Buckland. Inside of your travel bag, you will find several items that will be necessary for a safe and timely arrival in Equestria. Inside this envelope will be your passport, be sure to keep this and all documents on hoof in case of emergency. The letter continued on in its minute script, detailing his entire schedule up until his arrival in the Crystal Empire. “I’m so proud of you that going thorough with all of this.” Placing the letter back inside, he opened up his passport, a rather old but still recognizable photo was glued onto the first page. Well, at least I don’t look that different from this picture. Opening up the other book, lines crossed across the page, the words business and bits were across the top. My expenses booklet, tossing it back inside of the bag. “Well, I guess that’s everything I’ll need,” throwing the rucksack around his back. “I’m afraid you’re overlooking something, Cold,” interrupted Tuhka. “We still need you to find the tether.” Furrowing his brow at the elder’s sudden interruption, he tried to make an earnest effort to recall anything that he held deeply. My cloak? No, I’ve had it for a while but I don’t really have a deep connection to it. What if there is a common theme here? What did the pearl, the orb of water and my dream all have in common? he pondered to himself. Ting-ting The bells knocked against the door frame again as Sweet shut the door behind her. An idea blossomed in Cold’s head as sudden realization came to him. Jumping out of the chair, he sprinted upwards towards his room. Opening his desk drawer, he found what he was looking for. It was there, his silver bell on a lanyard. Picking it up delicately in his hooves, he hung it around his neck. The cords of the lanyard seemed to grip his neck in a small hug as it came in contact with Cold’s body. “I take it you found it?” Tuhka stood in the doorway of Cold’s room. Hobbling over to him, the elder grasped the small bell in his hoof. “Yes, I can feel a wellspring of emotions overflowing from this item of yours, Cold. How did you know this would be it?” “On the night I first had my dream, I wore this to bed. I only just remember it now,” as he cradled it delicately like a new born fawn. “Don’t remember why I ever let this thing be thrown in the attic, I used to never take it off.” As they returned to the bottom floor, Sweet could be heard from the kitchen humming a small tune inside the kitchen. “Yes, I’ll be ready for tomorrow,” he declared, a strong feeling of pride welling up inside. “I believe you mean today.” “…what?” Cold’s sudden joy crumbed into dust. “You were asleep for, oh, I think a good sixteen hours. You will need to run to the train station if you still plan on making it on time,” said Tuhka with hardly any empathy in his voice. It took a few moments for Cold to register Tuhka’s words, the sudden news crashing into him like a runaway sleigh. Knocking over Tuhka, Cold flew into the main parlor nearly colliding head on with Sweet and the tray of cookies she was carrying on her back. Draping his cloak over his back and grabbing the rucksack, Cold tore open the door and tore off down the road. A mile long cloud of snow flurries trailed behind the young reindeer. Peering out the door, Sweet smiled as she watched her nephew disappear off into the distance beyond the roads of the district. “Well, can’t blame the young buck for not taking this seriously, I’d say.” Picking up the chairs that had been knocked over by Cold’s hasty exit, she noticed two slips of paper on the floor. The train tickets. A jolt of fear shook Sweet as Cold had forgotten to put them back inside of his bag before taking off. “It would seem our young buck forgot something of importance.” Tuhka walked out into the middle of the dining area. “Do you think you can catch up to him in time, matron?” “No, Cold’s already probably already half-way to the station by now,” Sweet said. She smiled as an idea struck her. “But I do know someone faster than Cold.” “Someone?” Tuhka cocked an eye at her at how she phrased her sentence. A few curt whistles and a bolt of black fur made its way down the stairs, flinging itself into the room. Casey sat at the ready, her tail waggling so fast it seemed to blur. “Here Casey.” Sweet’s tucked the tickets inside of the dog’s pink collar, securing them in place with a pin. “Go get these to Cold before he leaves, sweetie.” Arf. Running out the door, the lapphund made its way down the street in hot pursuit of her master. Sweet turned her attention back to Tuhka who was picking up his effects, his staff now strapped to his back. “Are you leaving now, elder?” “Yes, I believe I have worn out my welcome, dear matron.” “Oh, not at all. I-“ “Forgive my abruptness, dear matron,” half-shouted Tuhka. “But I can read it in your face that you see me as quite bothersome. To hold it against you would be quite rude, especially after how I thrust your nephew into new responsibilities.” Opening up the door, the elderly reindeer walked out into the oncoming snowstorm. “Do take care, and may the spirits continue to watch over you,” said Tuhka. The old reindeer hobbled down the cobbled road with a small kink in his step. Tuhka walked at a brisk pace, his mind wandering as he struggled against the ongoing storm rattling his bones. “Well old friend, what do the winds whisper to you?” Small grey wisps of smoke formed in the air, right above Tuhka’s head. A small, gray cloud of ash hovered above him, two sooty eyes formed within the cloud. “Yes, but he’s always been a problem fawn.” The small ash spirit merely floated beside the old reindeer, hardly being impeded by the current weather. “Well, we all shall see in the end, won’t we, Noki?” The small spirit merely continued to fight against the wind, its form never losing shape. -Platform 4, Season’s Passing Train Station- A whistle of a train whined as the locomotive took off from the station, heading down the line and disappearing from sight. Cold bolted up the platform, past the station master before finally skidding to a halt. Feels like I sheared off two layers of keratin off my hooves. Tentatively putting a hoof down, Cold let out a small yelp as he yanked it back up from the sudden surge of pain. Slowly, he treaded over to a bench and sat down, putting his burning hooves into a small snowbank. The air sent shivers down his spine, as the sweat from his sudden run began to form on his coat. “Alright, let’s see now,” he said to nodeer in particular. “Where are those tickets at? My books, letter of recognition, passport, bag of golden tokens and, what’s this?” A raggedy, brown journal lay next to the small accounting book in his bag. Creases covered the front while the broken spine hardly kept the yellowing pages from falling out. A small torn piece of paper jutted out behind the tattered cover. This journal is one I’ve carried with me for many years. It’s passed down within the druidic circle. Learn from the mistakes of the past but also recognize the triumphs of those before you. -Elder Valkoinen Tuhka Opening up the musty old book, Cold began leafing through it slowly. Each page seemed to have different hoof writing, some had pictures while others had script so incomprehensible that he wasn’t sure he’d bother to try and decipher it. Some of the pages had sparse stories, a few sentences in cryptic writing. Others seemed to go on for several pages, going into explicit details. One page stuck out to him, as he recognized the eloquent strokes in charcoal. Strength doesn’t come from overcoming the trials of life but rather the willingness to confront them. “You always full of wisdom, old buck,” laughed Cold to himself. Snapping the book close, he continued to search in vain for his tickets. After dumping the whole bag to the station floor, his heart withered as it seemed he either lost or forgotten them. “Great, haven’t even got there and I already screwed up,” he cursed to himself, thumping the side of head with a hoof. Fweet! A train whistle rung out in the air as a steam engine rolled through the station. The hissing screech of the brakes bit into Cold’s ears as the train came to a grinding halt. Two passenger cars and a caboose were the only things attached to the train. That’s the least I’ve seen a train haul before. The doors to the train cars opened slowly as a few reindeer walked out, most of them in suits and fine dresses and a few who were bare. He watched silently as they walked past him, none of them even bothering to look in general direction. “Ehem.” A small cough came from behind Cold. A station master stepped out of his small office on the platform, “I take it you’re the one who I’m been waiting for?” “I guess,” glancing around at the now barren platform. “Did you close the lines today?” “Not exactly, we had to halt all outgoing trains from this station due to the weather. The rest are all still up and running but were not allowing for large hauls so the trains will be short today.” Searching through one of his pockets, he pulled out a small white card, “Cold Hart, is it? You’re private car will be here any moment. I’ll just need to see your tickets,” he said, putting his hoof out expectantly. My own private car? They’re giving me the whole royal treatment here. “Well, I need to go retrieve my tickets from my house,” Cold replied, plastering a wide grin on his muzzle. “I hope you can make it there and back in five minutes then,” stated the station master dryly. “If we can’t leave within the next fifteen minutes, we won’t be able to pass through the storm.” “You already know it’s me, though. Can’t we just bend the rules on this?” Cold pleaded. The chocolate brown reindeer remained stalwart at Cold’s pitiful attempt to coerce him. “Fraid not, even if you showed me proper identification. Those tickets are the only thing allowing us to pass through the guard station on the other side of the crystal mountain. We need an accurate account of everydeer, if not we won’t be able to gain access into Equestria. Out of everything that I could’ve forgotten, why was I so stupid as to forget the buckin trai- Arwhoo! Casey barreled onto Cold with a unimaginable force, toppling over the unsuspecting reindeer onto the dusty, gray stoned station’s floor. “Casey, what are you doing here girl?” Two small pieces of paper pinned to the dog’s collar flapped in the air, slightly worn from their sudden venture. “You’re a lucky one, Cold,” the station master said as he unpinned the tickets from the lapphund’s collar. “And your luck just keeps going. Here comes your car right now.” A green passenger car was slowly being pushed through the station. The Buckland national emblem was painted in white on the side, surround by a wreath of maple leaves in gold. Despite its elegant craftsmanship it was rather simple in design. No extra trimmings were added to make it stand out too much. If it weren’t for the emblem, it would’ve looked like a regular train car. “Not what you were expecting?” The pair watched as the caboose was pulled off from the first train while the second moved Cold’s car to the back. “Well then, I’ll need you to board shortly, Mister Cold.” “Thanks. I wasn’t able to catch your name.” “Icy Gale and you should be thanking your dog instead of me. He’s the one who saved your hide,” he said with a cheeky smile. “She’s a she,” corrected Cold, giving the faithful pooch a loving head rub. “Now, I need you to head on back to Aunt Sweet, okay?” The lapphund stared at her master with a sad look as she whined at his words. “Don’t worry Casey, I won’t be gone long. This trip is only going to take a few days, you can handle that right?” Fweet! Casey barked as the train’s whistle rung out, signaling everydeer on the station platform of the train’s imminent departure. “All aboard!” called out Gale, waving his hoof at Cold to depart. As soon as Cold got through the side door of his train car, Casey bolted through his legs and sat in front of him. “Casey, stop, I don’t have the time for this,” chided Cold. Two station attendants greeted him as he pulled the whimpering dog by her collar back onto the platform. “I won’t be gone forever.” Heading back inside to his private car, he closed the doors behind him, a pang of regret of leaving behind his oldest friend. The train whistle sounded again, notifying everydeer on board that their journey had begun. The sudden lurch of the train finally pulling out of the station sent Cold stumbling into the wall. Shaking it off, Cold inspected the interior of the train car. Each of the walls were painted a dark shade of green, like the leaves of a tree in the midst of spring. Two blue velvet couches were against the walls of the car. Between them were several white sitting blankets with a different type of tree leaf stitched along the borders of each one. It was an old Buckland tradition to gift another deer with a traveler’s blanket with the leaves of the tree that the deer’s families were tied to. Cold’s eyes flicked over each one, recognizing only a few of them. I’m guessing one from each minister, he thought. Each one was big enough to lay on but not too large to be cumbersome to take on an extensive journey if somedeer were to travel. A small wood fire furnace radiated heat from the back, causing the back windows to fog up as a thin film of condensation covered the glass. Beneath it was a small mat of Cold felt his eyes droop at the homely feel of the train car and the blanket beneath his hooves. A loud bark interrupted Cold’s thoughts. Casey ran down the edge of the platform, her ears flat against her head as she tried in vain to catch up to the train. As his car finally passed the platform’s end, Casey ran to the edge and howled. The painful call to her master brought a small tear to his eyes as the lapphund called out to him. “I’ll be waiting for you when I get back!” Cold shouted, his voice seeming to reach his faithful dog’s ears. Soon the wind and the snow obscured his vision, as the world around him became enshrouded in a white veil.