Chapter 2
A warm feeling enveloped Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus awoke and gasped, glancing rapidly around her surroundings before squeezing her eyes shut once more. As air flooded through her lungs, Dash held back the sudden urge to vomit. With a few blinks and another collection of easier breaths, she opened her eyes once more, bracing herself for any onslaught of attackers or snowy void or gigantic hoof preparing to crush the poor pony which may have been lurking in front of her.
Again, her eyes slid shut.
A blinding light had enveloped the world around her, stabbing her eyes the second she had opened them. It didn’t take long for Dash to realize that the worry of going totally blind outweighed her desire to view her surroundings; she kept her eyes shut for a few more seconds. However, she reasoned that she could make do, and a few blinks later, she was able to reopen them.
With this, a soft feeling of peace grazed the pegasus’ hooves, gradually washing over her until it covered her entire body. Her expression mellowed, and soon changed to that of a smile. Stretching out her wings, she urged herself through the air, practically swimming through its warm depths. It felt absolutely wonderful. Dash’s crescent of a smile broke into a wide grin as she waved her legs about in midair. She played around for a bit more before shifting into a comfortable position. Her eyes sliding into mere slivers, she relaxed her muscles. She breathed a short, peaceful sigh.
However, in a sudden spur of movement, the white light disappeared, and Dash found herself once more alone in the cold, bitter blackness. Her eyes opened and she shifted around to study her surroundings. Her lips curled into a frown as she squinted into the darkness. Somewhere within the dark depths, she could make out a tiny, brilliant light: the very same light she had just left. The pegasus found herself floating towards it. With every inch closer she grew, the air grew warmer. It was just a bit closer. Biting her lip, she helplessly waved her wings as she willed herself towards the small light. She could practically extend her hoof and touch it.
Then, it disappeared, and the entire world returned to its former inky blackness. She felt the illusion of buoyancy disappear completely, and she began to fall. The wind flew past her face as she plummeted through the air, plunging through infinite darkness. Something in her mind was screaming for help, but another instinctual sense gave her the sudden feeling that she would be safe. It felt like she was going somewhere, like she was preparing to take an alternate train of course...
~~~
The falling sensation ended.
Her teeth grit and her heart pounding, the curled up mare opened one curious eye. She was in a room. That much she was certain about and that was enough to provoke a sigh of relief. Opening another eye, she sat upright.
Yes, she was indeed in a room—a nice room, at that. A smile dawned on her face as she turned to take a closer account of her surroundings. Before her was a decent bedspread, and decorating the walls were numerous bookshelves, all labeled with various and trivial subjects and pictures, but none listing their authors. On the far side of the room was a simple, blue door, and on its opposite side was a large painting, covered with cracks and—in some areas—signs of rot, depicting a large pony composed of green light floating above a large hill. As she busied herself with observing the room, a pleasant smelling waft of air caught her nose. She turned to the side.
On a table near the bed was a fresh loaf of bread, and small slices of lettuce and assorted flowers decorated its side. With that glance, she was able to catch sight of the floor. The place was a complete mess, even for her standards. Most of her sheets collected at the bed’s foot, where they met a multitude of scraps and assorted piles of litter. Myriad papers, plates, bits of glass, and even small piles of scrap metal were strewn about the floor, and the rest was taken up by books and notepads, all opened and some dusty.
Curiosity overtaking her, Rainbow Dash leaned down and retrieved one of the works in her teeth. Falling back onto her bed, she flipped it open across her stomach. The book was titled—in clear Equestrian at that—“Life of Natives in Modern Equestria,” and accompanied a sketch of a completely gray pony, a fur coat resting on his shoulders, standing atop a pile of snow. As the eager mare opened the book, her expression devolved into a small frown. Instead of an average book's following of a standard typed format, this one was entirely handwritten. She looked up, away from the heavy tome.
Besides that, there was a small fireplace on the room's left side, a painting of a white unicorn directly above it, the same white unicorn at the doorway...
Dash suppressed a gasp as she double took. Where did she come from? The thrilled pegasus jumped from her position under the covers into a full battle position, her wings flying out and raising a hoof defensively. Rainbow's gaze darted around her surroundings, rapidly attempting to rediscover the vanished unicorn. With a quick turn left, she found the pony again, directly beside her. This time, however, the pegasus was ready; she raised her hoof and prepared to clobber her assailant's lights out.
However, she quickly realized that the pony before her wasn't actually doing anything. It was merely standing there in a calm, collected manner, studying the cyan pegasus' every move. For the second time in what she supposed to be that day, she found herself in a standing position. Offering a quick sigh of exasperation, she dropped back onto the pillow and locked eyes with her observer.
The unicorn had remained resolute and completely still, watching Rainbow Dash with two wide, icy blue eyes. Her coat was completely white, though layered over with dirt, as was her mane—yet a slightly grayer color. Her cutie mark was that of a wide open book, a golden pen resting on one of the pages. Before her, enveloped in a blue glow, was a tray with what appeared to be a steaming hot cup of tea. As if completely unbothered by Dash's reaction, she set the tray lightly on her chest and stepped back. After a while of the pegasus simply staring at her, she nodded towards the tray and adopted a small smile.
Rainbow Dash nodded slowly and trained her eyes on the tea, trying to catch any waft of poison or harmful substance its server might be trying to slip by her. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, the cyan mare leaned forward and bit down on the cup, leaning back as she took an easy sip. However, the tea came out a bit quicker than she had expected. In an instant, Dash felt a raging fire envelop her entire throat as the steaming water poured from the cup. Her eyes widening, she spat the cup out, hyperventilating slightly as she flailed helplessly. After a few moments of this, she felt another glass pressed to her lips. Not caring bout its contents, she simply downed it. The cold liquid soothed her burning throat. It was water!
Breathing a sigh of relief she turned towards Wintry. Instantly, she felt a wave of realisation wash over her. That action didn't exactly complement her brave self image. Despite this, the mare's expression had not changed whatsoever, and she still sat there, silently regarding Dash. Measuring whether or not she should be drawn towards the mare for this or vaguely frightened by it, she nudged the tray back towards the mare and gave a somewhat supportive smile.
"Uh, thanks," she said.
The unicorn's mouth practically gaped open at this. Her eyes seeming to widen with delight, she took a step back, nervously calculating this absolutely riveting change of events. Dash however, kept her mouth closed as she observed the mare's disproportionate astonishment.
"You—You can talk?!" the unicorn squealed out. "How on Earth can you talk? What are you? Are you a native? Were you cast out by your society? How much can you remember? What's your name? Are your—“
Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on the unicorn's mouth. "That's, uh—That’s good enough. Please, gimme some time to actually talk."
As Dash's hoof dropped from her face, the white mare cleared her throat. "Oh- I'm sorry. Well, who are you then?"
Observing the mare's tentative gaze, the pegasus responded, "I'm Rainbow Dash. I'm just a pony. Now calm down." At this, the mare's eyes widened.
"A pony? You even classify yourself as an offshoot of your precise species! Oh, please tell me, where are you from? What happened before I found you? I—“ The unicorn halted, and a look of sudden realization washed over her face. "I'll go get you a warm towel." In a flash, she was gone.
Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow, but soon released a sigh. Shifting around to the end of the bed, she began to ease herself out from beneath the covers, securing a safe position before dropping onto the stone ground. Her legs wobbled as she maintained a secure position. It felt like they hadn't been used in days, even weeks. Stretching a bit, she tried to collect her thoughts. What had happened before she arrived here? Before she could create a clear thought, the unicorn reappeared.
In a second, a warm, wet towel was thrown over her head, and Rainbow Dash collapsed onto the ground. Not even caring enough to take notice, the unicorn was off, bouncing around her wide room and throwing books off shelves. Meanwhile, a constant stream of monologue exited her lips as she excitedly wondered to herself.
"Oh dear! A talking native! What a victory this is for my personal science! I could teach other ones to talk, perhaps develop my own religion! First though, I have to question this one. Oh, what to ask it first! What to do first!"
"Well, for starters, you could take this towel off my face," deadpanned Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, yes, that." With a quick aim of her horn, the towel flew off Dash's face and landed on the floor next to her.
"So, how, um—How did it happen?"
"How did what happen?" Dash drew herself up into a standing position.
"Well, I found you passed out in a small hole off the forest. I don't think a mare would normally do that on a whim."
Suddenly, the images returned to Dash. She recalled the freezing cold weather, her legs burning as she trudged through the snow, and the deep voice of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The flood of memories caused her to go slightly lightheaded for a brief moment. Then, an obtrusive thought caught her mind. She had almost died. A pegasus like herself, one of such high regard, had almost perished of hypothermia out in the very cold she was meant to control. The unicorn before her had saved her life.
"What was your name?" the pegasus asked, a curious eye turned on the mare.
"Wintry," she replied.
~~~
Wintry and Dash sat in silence across from each other, two piping hot cups of tea sitting between them. Dash paused briefly and took a sip of water as she felt the warmth of the fireplace on her back. This place was especially pleasant, even in comparison to the bedroom she had awoken in. Several more paintings adorned the wall, either of the peculiar gray ponies or the strange, green alicorn. The area was lit by several dim candles, which flickered in the window, casting light on the numerous fur rugs spread across the wooden floor. On the far side of the room was what appeared to be an iron door; on it, across a makeshift shelf, was a small crowbar. Suddenly, Wintry interrupted Dash's observations.
"So that's all?"
"That's all," Dash replied, allowing her shoulders to relax in the atmosphere of the room.
For a while, they both sat in silence, the only audible noise being the ticking of a clock on the wall nearby. Wintry seemed to be staring down into her tea, either mesmerized or horrified by it. Dash wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter; she still couldn't quite explain the odd behavior of the mare.
"So, anyway, what did you say the name of that voice was?" Wintry said, her head drifting upwards and her eyes locking on the pegasus. Dash furrowed her brow and looked upwards for a moment.
"Uh, I think it was Adam," the pegasus finally replied.
"Peculiar, simply peculiar."
"What is?"
"Nothing." Silence for a brief moment, and then she continued, "Actually… Well, I don't quite know how to explain this. You're description of this 'Adam' character was interesting. You see those paintings scattered about the walls?"
Rainbow Dash nodded.
"They're actually based on true visions I've had. For a long time, I had this strange, recurrent dream. In it, I was always face to face with that large, green thing." Wintry absently waved a hoof at one of the larger portraits.
"An alicorn, you mean?" Dash interrupted.
"Oh? What's that?"
"It's sort of a mix of a pegasus and a unicorn. I—Hold on, you don't know what one is?"
"No." The unicorn's face was painted over with a completely clueless expression.
"Oh, well, it's not really too important. So, what were you saying?"
Wintry paused momentarily. "Well, in the dream, I was right up next to this thing. Its voice was deep, just like you said. However, it was always… slightly cruel. He demanded things of me. They were related to my survival, but they were always lofty, lofty commands. I don't know. I guess I've come to view him as… something else, perhaps otherworldly."
Another period of silence followed. Then, Wintry arose and pushed her cup of tea deeper into the table. Crossing the room and adopting a sudden jubilant expression, she began to tear books from her shelf, pausing to look at the cover of each one before throwing it aside.
"What in Equestria are you doing?" the confused pegasus queried from the couch.
"Searching around… There's something I wanted to show you. I can't remember its specific name, though. I thought this would perhaps jog my memory. Aha!"
Wintry produced a thick yellow book and waved it victoriously over her head. Promptly, she returned to the couch and threw the book in front of Dash, flipping rapidly through the pages before coming to an abrupt halt. The picture before her was a large portrait of the exact same alicorn, posing in a standing, courageous pose with two lightning bugs at his lower hooves. The scale of the pony was majestic, almost on-par with somepony else… Dash's memory seemed to be slipping her again. Presently, however, Dash realized that the picture was not the main focus of Wintry's display. A single, white hoof tapped on the practically scribbled words beside it.
"Atamots," Dash read aloud, "a character from ancient native mythology, practically dating before the ponies rose to power as the dominant race. The 'Green Unicorn,’ as the natives call it, is a majestic creature supposedly responsible for the origins of the universe. So far, minimal solid evidence has been found on it, but it can be assumed that it is regarded as a deity by many of the tribes, and is worshipped quite profusely. Despite this, nothing would suggest that it actually exists." With these final words, the book snapped shut and was returned to its position on the shelf.
"Wow," Dash said as Wintry walked about her room, "that's freaky. Who wrote that?"
"I did," replied the white unicorn. "I wrote every single book you see here. It's my hard research, and I initially meant to reserve it for my eyes alone, at least until the natives..." Her monologue devolved into a collection of incoherent mutterings, before her voice rose once more as she addressed Dash. "Anyway, those details are irrelevant." She paused again, this time in silence, before speaking once more, "There's something I really want to show you."
"What is it?" the mare asked, shifting off of the couch and landing on the floor with an abrupt pat.
"It's… a bit shocking, and it's more or less solely related to my studies, but I think you'd like to see it."
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and studied the mare. The look on Wintry's face was seemingly that of pure innocence; there wasn't anything to reveal that the unicorn was lying from what she could see. If this mare had actually saved her life, then Dash suspected that she was one to be trusted. Rainbow Dash let loose a sigh, and smiled at the unicorn.
"Alright, I'll see what you have to show me."
"Fantastic!" the suddenly excited pony replied. "Hold on, I'll go gather some shoes for your head and a hat for your feet! Wait--" The mare paused and stared upwards, then shook her head. "Never mind. I'll just go get you appropriate clothing."
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and turned to look at the fire. As she felt the warmth graze her skin, she moved closer to it, finally sitting down upon the cold, stone hearth. After the nightmare she had just experienced, the warmth of the fireplace seemed so relaxing. Before she knew it, she was coaxed into a somewhat dreary state, almost hypnotic. Her eyelids drifted shut, and she felt herself slipping away into a pleasant slumber.
"Hello again, subject Dash. How are you cooperating with subject Wintry?"
Rainbow Dash opened one weary eye to look upon the fire. Two small circles of intense fire had appeared in them, practically protruding from the rest. As she stared into those flaming orbs, she could almost make out tiny ones and zeros flying across them, moving so fast she could hardly make them out in the blur.
"Adam?" the sleepy mare answered, pausing for a yawn. She almost felt as if she should have been angry, but the warmth of the fire had grown intoxicating. Any hostilities she felt quickly mellowed out into meditative peace.
"Yes, this is the control unit," he replied, his two eyes almost shifting into a devious expression.
"What're you doin' here?"
"We have decided it would be most beneficial to permit regular status updates with you, as our primary subject. Did we not speak of that? Anyway, as is stated in protocol, how realistic do you find this setting?"
"Hold on." Rainbow Dash paused, and trained her eyes on the ground. Then, she raised her head once more, turning to look behind her. "Are you saying that this entire world is phony? You made it to just—I dunno—test what I'd do in it?"
"Well, we can assume it is more or less realistic, then," Adam replied, his own eyes training on the mare. "Anyway, to answer your question, yes, in some ways. This world was predetermined many years ago. It was a habitat that was set up to simulate life on a mass scale. Subject Wintry was placed in it when she was a foal. You merely have been inserted into it to accompany her. She has, after all, never seen another pony before. We decided that our chambers would almost matter nothing if an element of cooperation was not implemented. You do, after all, enjoy adventure, don't you? We thought that this environment would be most suitable for a pegasus like you."
"Uh—Yeah, I guess," she answered half-mindedly. Suddenly, something within her clicked, and she began to feel herself returning to lucidity. "Wait a second. Why did you throw me in to that really cold place earlier on?"
"It's simple," replied the flames, its two eyes shifting into a more relaxed expression. "I was testing to see whether you could withstand those types of conditions or not. We cannot take every mare we choose for testing, you know. I guess you could say your primal survival instincts truly saved your flank back there, did they not?"
The cyan pegasus furrowed her brow as she frowned at the flames, now rising to a standing position. "Wait, that doesn't explain why you'd--"
"Farewell, subject Dash. We think your friend wants to speak to you. We will give you another checkup later on. Please, withhold your queries until then."
"Dash?" another voice interrupted. “Who are you talking to?” The two eyes in the fire swirled back into an inconsistent lick of flames. Rainbow Dash shook her head and turned to see Wintry at the doorway. She was dressed in a large fur coat, and a pair of protective goggles was fastened around her head. Levitating next to her was a matching outfit.
“Uh, nopony.”
"Ah. Well, anyway, I don't specifically know why I made two pairs of these things, but you never know, right?" the mare spoke as she placed the clothes at Rainbow Dash's hooves. "Anyway, get these on. We're going to venture out into the unknown, fighting life as it comes to us. Fantastic, no? It's going to be so much fun exploring this place with somepony else! I mean, I've never really done it with anypony else. I could take you to—Wait, Dash, is there something wrong?"
Her head snapping back up, Dash looked at Wintry. For a moment, she looked suspiciously at the bright-eyed pony, but then turned away. She shook her head, and put on a smile. "No, nothing's wrong. Let's go."
"Great!" the mare replied, closing her eyes as her own grin popped onto her face.
Dash quickly slipped on the clothing. In the warmth of the house, it was almost overwhelmingly hot, but it didn't matter. She turned to Wintry. The unicorn was watching her intently, and with this done, she turned to the large iron door. With a quick flick of her horn, it flew open. The unicorn stepped forward, onto the far side. Turning back, she beckoned with her hoof as she spoke a few confident words:
"Just follow my lead."