“Alright, Pat,” Arx said as we stepped out of the hive and into the early morning air. “The Western Pass is a half day’s hike.” He looked up to the sky and wrinkled his face with thought. “It looks like there may be some weather today.”
“You say that every day,” I said as I tried to find that same message in the cloudless sky.
“And I’m always right.” I could hear the grin in his voice. “Cloudless days still have weather.”
“You win,” I surrendered. He smirked and started down the rough stone steps in the mountain. “But only on a technicality.”
“Regardless!” he announced, quickening his pace, “I would prefer to be hiking back in clear weather.” He looked back to me and frowned. “And since your flying ability has effectively grounded us, we need to make good time to the pass.”
As we proceeded toward the glacier trail, I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander across the landscape of the Crown, an affectionate name we had given to the mountains that sheltered the hive. The breeze rolled over the three peaks of the mountains, pulling clouds of ice in their wake. The landscape itself was a colorless reminder of the desolation just outside of the hive. Not a single plant could thrive in the eternally wintry conditions that encased the bowl-shaped valley. It was the prime spot for us, being as reclusive as we were, but we still required sustenance to survive. Love was a delicacy, but hunters and foragers could easily bring in enough food for the hive.
“You coming or what?” Arx shouted.
“Yeah!” I yelled back as I quickened my pace to close the distance between us. For such an old changeling, he was quite the hiker. During our work in the office he would always hobble about, but out here he was one of the quickest hikers I had seen. As I caught up with him, he began to speak.
“Alright. If we keep this pace, we should be at the western pass by noon, assuming there are no delays.” He paused and looked at me. I had, once again, begun to fall behind.
“Right,” I said as I cantered to his side once more.
“Are you sure you’re up for this, Pat?”
“Yeah.” I tried to sound sure of myself, but the word only came out as a whimper.
“Alright, but it is of the utmost importance that you keep up. The path we are going to hike today is no Sunday morning stroll.”
I nodded, but I was already beginning to regret my decision to tag along on this expedition. We reached the glacier, and subsequently the end of the easy section a few minutes later. Thankfully, we took a break to drink some water and gear up for the slippery ice of the frozen river. The glacier itself was something of a shield for the hive. Most intruders wouldn’t dare mount an expedition into such hostile territory. It also gave us fresh water as it was fed by the snowmelt from the mountains that shielded the Crown.
The hike on the glacier was definitely a challenging one. The path itself was well worn from years of use, but, as glaciers are rivers of ice, it had developed many chasms and fissures along its surface. Each one seemed to laugh with its own evil symphony that came from the distant cracking and crushing of ice.
“How long ‘til we get off of this glacier?” I shouted to Arx as I leapt over one of the particularly large bottomless cracks.
He paused for a moment and looked around. “I’d say we’re about halfway there. And from the look of the sun, we’re right on time.” The sun itself was just beginning to peek over the eastern edge of the Crown. It was a welcome relief for me, and the warm rays put a slight spring in my step. I was venturing out of the hive on an expedition to the unknown; Needless to say, I was excited.
“Well, then, let’s go!” I shouted as I cantered toward him.
“Hold on now, Pat,” he said as he stopped me with his hoof. “Energy is fine, but you must conserve it. Carelessness is the greatest threat to you out here.” He gestured toward the path with a nod of his head. “Every step counts.”
There, only feet beyond the rise in the ice, was a massive chasm that stretched deep into an abyss of blue darkness. If I had continued with my gleeful canter, I would have ended up at the bottom of that chasm.
I could only nod in response.
We continued down the glacier, my attention was focused squarely on where I was to place the spiked ice boots on my hooves. I guess Arx’s lesson about watching your step struck a chord, because I don’t remember much after that other than me watching my hooves. It wasn’t until we reached the glacier that I was pulled from my trance again.
“Alright, we’re here.”
“Wait, that’s it?” I asked as I turned my attention to the abrupt end of the glacier.
Arx’s chuckle told me that we were just beginning our journey.
“We still have a ways to go, Pat,” he said as he glided to the gravel strewn ground. “We’re making good time, but we need to get to the pass quickly. Come on now, Pat.”
I’d glided hundreds of times before, but I still distinctly remember the feeling as I stepped off of the glacier cliff and let the cool air catch my wings. It wasn’t every day that I had a chance to fly into a gorge. In fact, that was the first time I had gone beyond the glacier. It was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.
From there, we hiked along the frigid, glacier-fed stream toward the valley of the Bowing Forest. I had always heard legends about that place from the hunters and gatherers who would frequent it, but I had never imagined it to be so menacing. The forest earned its name from the way the trees seemed to bow toward the Crown from the constant onslaught of wind that raced through the valley.
It was a cold and unforgiving place. If trees lived long enough to reach eye level, they would be forced to curve in a respectful bow toward the Crown. There was a small amount of undergrowth; the constant wind made dispersing seeds a difficult task on a good day. I knew the stories of the evil creatures that lurked in this place were simply myths, but that didn’t keep me from shaking every time the pop of a twig echoed through the silent forest.
We were making good time, but I didn’t say much of anything as we walked through that forest. Come to think of it, neither did Arx. It was almost as though there was a certain reverence we held for the forest. Its silent, distorted nature had me completely awestruck.
The valley itself was quite the hike, but it wasn’t strenuous. Instead, it was oddly relaxing to walk through that desolate landscape. It was completely silent, save for the infrequent rustle of a lone animal or a slight breeze that would make the trees shiver. I don’t know how long I was in that forest, but time seemed to be secondary to me as I walked along the hunting path.
By the time we emerged on the other side, the sun hung high overhead. Arx finally broke the silence as he removed his saddlebag and leaned over to take a drink from the stream. Before he dipped his mouth into the cool water, he said “I think we’d best do an overview today. Something isn’t sitting right with me.”
“Hm?” I asked as his voice pulled me out of the trance of the forest.
“The valley was still today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… usually, there are gale force winds tearing through the trees, but today, there was nothing.” For the first time, I noted a sense of concern in his voice.
I looked back to the forest, and then to the Crown that the trees bowed to. Everything seemed serene and peaceful, but something wicked was hanging in the air. I wasn’t sure if I could sense it from my own intuition or Arx’s uneasiness, but it was there all the same.
Arx quickly rifled through his bag. “We need to climb to the top of this ridgeline. From there, we should be able to survey the Western Pass.” He removed two harnesses from his bag and tossed one to me. “Don’t worry, the climb isn’t difficult. These are merely precautionary. If we have to climb, I’ll start placing anchors, otherwise, consider it part of your training.”
“If you say so,” I muttered as I donned the mess of belts and rope.
“You’ll be fine. Just do what I do and we’ll be up there before you know it.” He started up the rocky route, and I was right on his tail. I had been energized by my trip thus far, but my adrenaline started to peak as we ascended the path. It wasn’t particularly steep, but the trail itself wasn’t much of a trail at all. Instead, it was more of a scar on the side of the mountain that we had repurposed as a path. It wasn’t meant for our use.
“Careful now, Pat,” Arx said as he came to a halt. “It looks like the mountain doesn’t want us here.”
“Oh?”
“There was a boulder that used to bridge this gap, but I suppose it has since rolled down the mountain.” He looked to me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Do you think you can make that jump?”
I leaned to the side, careful to keep my balance on the precarious cliff face. The ravine just beyond him must have been only a foot or two, and I had cleared gaps easily twice its size on the glacier, but the real issue was that the crevice was several hundred feet deep.
Arx looked back toward the Crown and scowled. “If you can’t make the jump, we can turn around. Something seems off today.” The mention of that feeling of uneasiness only served to make mine greater. However, I didn’t want to give up. I wanted to see this trip through to its end and get to the Western Pass.
“I think I can make it,” I said as I leaned back onto the stable safety of the cliff.
Arx’s eyes narrowed as he tried to read my posture. I was trying to remain calm and collected, but I couldn’t bring myself to stop trembling ever so slightly.
“And you’re sure this isn’t an issue?”
“No, not at all…” My confidence faded as I took another glance down the cliff.
“Alright,” Arx said as he turned toward the ravine and quickly leapt across it. He performed the action like it was nothing, but I was much less eager to carelessly bound over it.
“What are you waiting on?” he asked, “If my mind serves me correctly, the Western Pass is just over this rise.”
“I-I’m coming!” I shouted back. I quickly realized from Arx’s reaction that yelling wasn’t necessary, as he was just a few feet in front of me. I took a step back, braced myself for my inevitable failure, and threw myself across the gap.
I landed on the other side a second later and I was promptly greeted by a hearty chuckle from Arx. “It’s just a few feet, no reason to get your harness in a bunch.”
“Right,” I muttered as I hugged the ledge. Arx scampered up the mountain, fueled by the closeness to the ridgeline. I tried to match his rapid pace, but he was experienced, and it was painfully obvious that I was not.
He disappeared from my view and everything went quiet. I paused for a moment to catch my breath and take a moment to look across the landscape. That’s when I heard a distant, low rumble. At first, I thought it was a particularly strong gust of wind that had pushed through the valley far below, but as I let my gaze drift upward, I noticed the thick, dark clouds that were just starting to flow over the Crown.
“Arx?” I shouted as I started back up the trail, “Arx, you need to see this!” About a minute later I reached the top of the ridgeline. Arx hadn’t heard my shouts, but that was of little matter now. His frantic behavior indicated that he was acutely aware of the coming storm. Arx was nestled in a small dip between the two spires of the peak of the ridge.
“We don’t have much time, but we need to get the information on the Western Pass,” he said as he pointed toward the chasm in the distance.
“Right… What exactly are we looking for?”
“We’re looking for the subsistence index.”
“That’s the measure of how much food is in it, right?”
“Not quite,” he said as he pulled several tubes of paper from his bag and unrolled in the air. “It does measure food, but it also provides a good indicator as to how much food we can extract from it.” He nodded toward the mountains around the pass. “Notice how the snow caps are much larger than usual. That will bring it down quite a bit. With that much area covered by snow, it will take much longer for the foragers to get the food for the hive.
“What happens when the pass gets snowed in?”
“We have to take our hunting to a different area,” Arx said as he rolled the pages back up and placed them in his bag. “Just from the snowcover, the index is already too low. It looks like the hive will be redirecting its foraging parties, effective immediately.”
“Where to?”
Arx lifted his saddlebag and placed it on his back. “There are several bountiful locations just to our south, but it takes longer to get there. We try to hunt in the Western Pass as long as we can because it’s easier to get our resources from there, but every year the pass will close, and we are forced to move south to gather food.”
Another distant rumble punctuated his statement.
“It’s best we leave now, Pat. Eastern blizzards have a reputation for violence.”
The clouds now surrounded the Crown as an army of light wind and gentle snow, but their gentle demeanor was an obvious facade. Back at the hive, I knew exactly what was happening. They had issued an ‘all in’, and the changelings were sealing up our precious home to wait out the storm. Even the passing thought of such protection was enough to bring ease to my growing fear.
Before we started down the winding trail in the valley, Arx paused. “Shit,” he muttered as his eyes narrowed. “We’re gonna have to take a different route.” He pointed toward the forest below. If I squinted, I could just barely make out the flailing trees through the thickening fog. “The Bowing Forest will be impassable by the time we get to it.”
I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. “What are we gonna do?”
“There’s another trail, but it’s longer and more treacherous. If we’re lucky, we may just be able to avoid the storm.”
“Why is it so treacherous?”
“The trail itself follows a ridgeline from here all the way back to the hive. I’ve hiked it twice, but it’s no easy feat.”
A loud pop echoed from the valley, snapping my head toward the sound. I was able to catch a sight I hadn’t imagined could occur. A large tree had snapped from its roots and flew a considerable distance in the wind. It was unnerving to see the invisible force snapping trees like twigs.
“I think the ridgeline route is our only option,” Arx said as he turned toward the peak of the mountain. “Just keep your wits about you and you’ll do fine,” he said with a deep breath. I had a sense that he was trying to reassure himself rather than me, a feeling that wasn’t reassuring at all.
Just as Arx had said, the route was treacherous. There were several sections where I was forced to keep my hooves in a perfect line. I couldn’t risk slipping on the snow that rested on either side of the rocky ridgeline. All the while, I was keeping my eyes on the brewing blizzard that was rolling through the valley. Those two factors made me move incredibly slowly. If I had been paying attention to Arx, I would have noticed that he was quite far from where I was, but I was too busy watching the tempest that was tearing through the Bowing Forest to realize his distance. I knew it was growing more powerful from the small tongues of wind that would spray a fine powder of snow in my face. They were tentacles of the chaotic gales that were tearing through the valley.
One gust in particular was quite troublesome for me. For some reason it rolled up the mountain with incredible speed. It nearly knocked me off balance, but luckily, I was able to recover by leaning into it. My solution worked for a time, but when the gust suddenly turned into a slight breeze, it became the problem.
With nothing to brace my adjusted center of gravity, I began lean into the valley. I tried my best to recover but it was too late. Everything seemed to slow as I toppled into the valley of the Bowing Forest. I don’t remember much of the descent; all I can recall was the chaotic sliding and tumbling into that forest of turmoil and the growing feeling of despair as I slid down the mountain.
I don’t think I could have prepared myself for what I encountered in the valley. It was the one time in my life that I had truly felt hopeless.
Two things immediately struck me as I came to, dazed and confused, in that desolate world: it was bitterly cold and terrifyingly loud. The chilling winds that drove the snow through the valley screamed with the voice of hell itself. It rolled through the forest in gusts, twisting and turning the trees in a never ending barrage of chaos. It forced me to squint, lest it freeze the tears that were forming in my eyes. Through the blur I could make out the trees rocking back and forth in the onslaught of violent wind.
My entire body seized as a deafening crack echoed through the valley. There, just beyond my vision, I could hear the splintering of a tree as it succumbed to the might of the storm. Moments later, a large cloud of snow blew into my vision, presumably from the tree that had fallen upwind. That was when I realized the drifts that were already beginning to form against my body.
After the brief barrage of snow dissipated, I rose to my hooves. I cannot, for the life of me, remember why I did so, only that moments later I was standing. In a cloudy state of mind and body I tried to take a step forward, but I immediately fell to the ground as my front right leg collapsed. I must have injured it in the fall, but my mind did not process this. Again, I tried to walk, though where to, I cannot tell you, but I collapsed again. That was when the true hopelessness of the situation arose. I was cold, injured, and alone. I knew I was going to die.
That realization made my mind give up. It was then that I began seeing things that I can only describe as spirits. Now, I realize that they were simply hallucinations, but to my disgruntled and dying mind they were as real as the storm. At first, they were distant and fleeting, spirits whose lives lasted only a second or two before disappearing into the snow. I couldn’t make out their forms, but I believed that they were there. I was wholly terrified.
Soon, their forms began to approach me, disappearing and reappearing in the undulating currents of the snow-filled wind. Soon, however, I noticed that the figures themselves were whispering to me. I strained to hear their words, but I couldn’t at first. It sounded simply like the wind being blown through their figures, but as they drew nearer, I began to make out simple words. Why… was echoed across the landscape in a chilling voice of ice.
“I don’t know,” I mumbled as I tried to respond to the spectres, but all they would do was repeat the question.
Why, why… Why!
“I don’t know!” I tried to shout. I only had a few ounces of strength left, my mind was already failing me, and I was wasting my last breaths talking to an imaginary voice that echoed through the wind.
I let my head fall to the ground and watched as the sideways world began to fade. I didn’t even hear the question from the spectres again, all I could do as a final grasp on life was shout out, one final time, with my response.
“I… don’t… know!”
To me it sounded thunderous and powerful, but to spectres, it was a cry of defeat. I closed my eyes, and surrendered to the storm. I no longer felt cold or hurt. The voices of the spectres ceased and the roar of the wind muted to a whisper. Everything melded together into a ocean of the thickest of blacks as my body gave up the fight against the storm.
A sensation of flying took over my body as I let go of the last few strands of life.
A distant voice pulled me from my unconsciousness. It wasn’t heavenly. It was rather grumpy, to be honest.
“...alright?”
“What?” I weakly whispered as I rolled my head and winced.
“Are you alright?”
I opened my eyes to see a sideways fire and an old donkey sitting in my view. As my eyes slowly realized that I was no longer dead, I noticed the rock walls surrounding us.
“My question still stands,” the donkey muttered before lifting a cup to his mouth.
“What?”
“Oh, for the love of Celestia… Are… You… Alright?”
“I don’t know…” I whispered as my eyes slowly closed once more.
“Nope!” the old donkey shouted, his words forcing my eyes open once more.
“No what?”
“No, you aren’t sleeping today. You were already peacefully snoozing in the blizzard and I don’t want to have deal with worrying if you’re going to wake up again.” His tone was so accusatory that it was almost comedic.
“What happened?”
“You’re gonna have to tell me, because I don’t know why any creature would be out in this blizzard. The snails have more sense than you.”
“I fell…” I struggled to piece the words together, but my mind was growing sharper. “I fell!”
“What a revelation,” the donkey muttered under his breath. I could taste his sarcasm, but it wasn’t hateful. “I gathered that from that crack on your shell.”
“Crack?”
“Yeah,” he said as he pointed to his own right foreleg. “It’s right there.”
I looked to the location and grimaced. There was a nasty crack running lengthwise.
“I’m no expert on changelings, but I don’t think that’s good.”
It was as though the pain did not exist until my eyes saw the extent of the damage. A dull pain crawled up my leg and exited my body as a guttural moan.
“So, what exactly were you doing out there in the storm?” he asked, blatantly ignoring my pain.
“I… I was with Arx.”
“Not when I found you.” He took another drink.
“We were trying to… to survey the Western Pass…” Slowly, my mind began recalling the events that had transpired what seemed like an age ago. “The blizzard came from the east… We hiked back on the ridge… I fell…”
“Hold on, you fell from the ridgeline?”
“I… I don’t remember.”
“Alright, alright…” he surrendered as a silence descended onto us. Slowly I began to wake up. It was a long process, but it started with sound. Now I could distinctly hear the popping of the wood in the fire. Then, a minute later, I could hear the ethereal howling of wind echoing into the cave. The smell of the fire and cool stone beneath me soon took hold, as well as the visual spectacle of the rising smoke.
Feeling came last, and what little ability I had to sense past the pain in my right foreleg, I was able to feel the warmth from the fire, as well as the chilling cold from my back. I also remembered the feeling of loneliness, but I didn’t have it now. I was with someone, and that meant the world to me.
I struggled into a sitting position, turning the world to its correct orientation and drawing the attention of the donkey. I winced as I used my leg to push upward, but my exoskeleton was strong enough to support my movements with a little pain in return.
I rubbed my eyes and, in that moment, fully took mental hold of the situation. To be honest, it was pretty humorous. There we were, a donkey and a changeling, sitting in front of a small fire in a cave in the middle of a blizzard.
“Okay, question time,” the donkey said as he slid a cup with an unknown substance to me. “Who are you.”
“My name is Pat. Thank you for the drink.”
“It’s soup, but you may consume it any way you wish. Nice to meet you, Pat. I’m Cranky.”
“I already gathered that,” I said with a smile as I brought the soup to my lips.
“No… My name is ‘Cranky Doodle Donkey.’”
“That’s a curious name.”
“It fits me,” Cranky deadpanned.
“So I see,” I muttered.
Silence filled the room once more as we both took a drink from our cups. “Again, I will ask you the same question. Why were you in the blizzard?”
“I’m an apprentice to a cartographer named Arx,” I started as I placed my empty cup on the ground. “We were on a day trip to gather information on the Western Pass, but we ran into a blizzard on our way back. We decided to hike our way along the ridgeline to keep out of the valley, but I was thrown off balance and ended up tumbling down the mountain.”
“That explains the harness.”
“Hmmm?”
Cranky gestured toward my body that was still wrapped up in the straps and ropes of the harness.
“Oh… It didn’t do me much good I suppose.”
“I reckon not. Do you know what happened to your friend?”
“Arx?”
“Yeah. He’s not out there too, is he?”
I thought for a moment. Arx was a mountain goat by nature, but he was still fallible. “I don’t think so. He knows these mountains pretty well. He probably made it back to the hive.”
“I’m going to assume that’s where you two live.”
I bit my tongue. Outsiders weren’t supposed to know where the hive was. It was too vulnerable for its location to be disclosed.
“Your turn,” I said. “Why are you out here in this blizzard?”
“I’m searching for a friend.”
“Well I doubt you would find him out here.”
“Her, and I agree. I’m passing through to the Deadhorse to see if she possibly ended up there. I didn’t mean to get caught up in the blizzard, but I didn’t notice it until it was upon me.”
“I see,” I said with a wry smile, “This is for a woman”
“You bet your ass it is. I’ve been searching all over Equestria for her.”
“All over Equestria?”
Cranky nodded. “I’ve been searching for Matilda ever since the day I lost her.”
“I feel a story coming on.”
“Not yet,” he said as he grabbed my cup and filled both with more soup. “Priorities.”
I watched as he filled both cups, and I suppose that is when I noticed his generosity. “Cranky?”
“Yes?”
“Before you continue, why are you doing this?”
“Because you’re probably as hungry as I am.”
“No… I mean… Why are you helping a changeling?”
Cranky cocked his head for a moment as though he was trying to remember why he had stopped to help such a creature. “When I found you half covered in the snow, you were shouting ‘I don’t know.’ I guess it got to me because you were obviously starting to die. I didn't want to have that guilt on my heart, and I had to set up camp for the blizzard anyway, so I put you on my back, with some help with the harness, and I stumbled forward through the blizzard until I found this cave.”
“That doesn’t answer why, though.”
“Do I need to spell it out for you? You needed help.”
“But I’m-”
“Changelings need help too, sometimes. Right now, you need help realizing that fact. Here,” he said as he handed me another cup of soup. "Have some more soup."
As the storm raged on outside, we made conversation about ourselves. I told him about my trade as a cartographer's apprentice and he told me of his expeditions across the nation for this one donkey. He was genuine, despite his cranky demeanor, and he was surprising, to say the least. He had walked with ponies and sea monsters alike, sharing no distinction between them. It was obvious he valued who someone was over what they were, and that brought comfort to me.
“Sounds like you’ve been on a journey for quite some time.”
“I have, and I hope one day I’ll find her.”
“I’m sure you will. Even if you don’t, your friends may.”
“That’s true, but I’m already getting too old for this. My life is fading from me, and I’ve been considering retiring from my journey.”
“What?”
“It’s difficult to scour a country in search for a pony that you’ve met once before. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt hopeless about the situation, but the reality is starting to become set in stone. I’m probably not going to find her. Once I search the Deadhorse, I’m planning on retiring in Ponyville.”
“Hey,” I started, “When you find Matilda, I’d love to be at your wedding.”
He snickered in a dismissive way. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
We both ended up falling asleep soon after as the fire dwindled to its embers. That night was one of the most peaceful rests I had ever had. The coziness of the fire and the shelter of the cave against the hellish storm lulled me to sleep faster than anything had before.
I don’t remember what I dreamed of, but I do remember that I woke up with a stupid grin plastered across my face.
“What’s wrong with you?” Cranky said as he shook me awake.
“I don’t know,” I said as I tried to suppress my unfounded smile.
“Well, the storm’s over, so I had better get on my way,” Cranky said as he lifted his pack and walked toward the faint light from outside.
I tried to rise to my hooves, but the crack in my leg refused to hold my weight. I stumbled to the floor, but that was all Cranky needed to see.
“You probably aren’t going to be walking anywhere on that leg,” he muttered as he helped me to my feet.
“I think you’re right.”
“Where are you headed?”
This was the question that I had been dreading. A part of me didn’t want to tell him where the hive was located, but I knew that I needed help.
“I need to ask you a question before I can say. Will you promise me that you will not disclose the Hive’s location?”
“My lips are sealed.” A wave of relief washed over me as released the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Now, let’s get out of this cave,” Cranky said as he removed his bag and placed me on his back instead.
“You don’t have to carry me.”
“You’ll slow me down if I have to help you walk. Your job is to clip the bag to your back and make sure it doesn’t roll over. There should be a lot of freshly fallen snow from the blizzard so the skis will make the journey easier.”
We stepped out of the cave and into the vast white expanse of Valley of the Bowing Forest. I could barely believe my eyes at the amount of snow that had fallen through the night. Everything was covered in a blanket of crystal white that shimmered in the early morning sun. Frozen waves of snow rolled across the landscape, their soft forms belying the violence that had created them.
“Which way?”
“Do you see that peak in the distance?” I said as I pointed past his head toward the massive tip of the Crown. “Just follow the valley until you reach the base of the mountain.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“What about you?” I asked. “The Western Pass is the other way.”
“I’ll figure something out. I’ve been hiking for several hundred miles now, I don't think a slight detour will throw my plans off by too much.”
The hike through the valley was unnerving. Most of the trees had bent under the weight of the snow that had piled on their horizontal trunks. They bent into the snow, making large wooden waves that rolled through it. The infamous wind of the valley had returned once more, as though it felt safe to emerge after the violence of the storm had ended. It whipped through the trees and kicked up the white powder that covered the landscape. With each stiff breeze, a volley of ice followed moments later. This was a reality we learned rather quickly. Every time a large gust of wind would blow through the valley, we would stop, cover our faces, and let the cloud of snow pass.
This intermittent pausing made the journey through the valley exhausting and time-consuming, but Cranky was stubborn. He didn’t seem to care much about anything, aside from helping those in need and finding Matilda. He was determined, that much was obvious, but his heart wasn’t. Cranky seemed cranky on the outside, but on the inside, from what I had seen, he had a heart of gold.
We reached the edge of the mountain, and we were faced with the final stretch of our journey. The glacier that ran into the Crown still stood in our way. Its edge was steep and rough, but the ropes that the hive had put in place afforded me a relatively painless route to the top. Unfortunately, without a harness, Cranky was forced to climb it by hoof.
It took him quite some time, but his careful deliberation brought him to the top of the glacier without a scratch. From there, the hike was still treacherous, but the worst of it was behind us. I lent him the three ice boots I had and we started off toward the hive. The spikes on the shoes offered resistance against the slippery surface of the glacier, but that didn’t mean Cranky wasn’t as deliberate as before.
We arrived at the hive just as the sun was high overhead, but no one was there to greet us. The massive black structure stood completely empty in the light of the afternoon. It was unmistakably massive, but still there wasn’t any movement. It was a common practice for the changelings to retreat to the hive when there was an outsider.
“Hello?” Cranky shouted as he placed me on the ground. “Anypony here?”
I cleared my throat. “You guys aren’t fooling anyone!”
The only response came from the howling wind that whipped through the barren emptiness of the Crown.
Cranky let out a huff. “So this is the hive.”
“They’re shy.”
“No kidding…” Cranky drew in a deep breath. “I’ve got your friend here! He’s hurt and I don’t want to leave him to die out here!”
“You should probably go,” I said with a sigh.
“Well, I can’t. I need another way to get to the Deadhorse since the pass is now closed.”
I turned toward the monolithic structure and called out once more. “This donkey saved my life, but now he needs my help! He means no harm.”
Then, from one of the portals that dotted the hive’s surface, another figure emerged.
“Well look who the cat dragged in,” Cranky mumbled as it approached us.
As he drew nearer, I was able to make out Arx’s familiar form.
“P-Pat? Is that you?” Arx asked as he wiped away the tears in his eyes.
I simply nodded. The bags underneath his joyful eyes told me everything.
“I was so worried, I thought we had lost you.” He quickly drew me into a warm embrace before turning his attention to Cranky. “Thank you…”
“The name’s Cranky,” Cranky deadpanned.
“Thank you. I lost him in the storm. I should have been more careful.” Arx hugged me once again, this time for much longer. I could feel him shaking as he held me. I had never thought Arx would be one to act so emotionally, but I, too, was equally relieved.
“Well, once you two fill your hug quota, I need to talk with someone who will get me out of this place.”
“Actually,” Arx said as he rose to his hooves. “I’m a cartographer. If anyone knows the mountains around here, it’s me. Wait right here, I’ve got something I’d like to give to you.” He quickly took to the sky and raced back to the hive.
“He seems rather kind,” Cranky said. “Is that the one you were talking about last night?”
“Yeah. I’m glad he made it back in one piece.” By now, my eyes had locked onto the hive in a distant stare. Everything that had just happened was slowly replaying itself in my mind, and I could only imagine the hell that Arx had gone through to return to the hive.
“I grabbed these!” Arx shouted as he limped over to us with a large saddlebag on his back. He winced as he dropped the bag and withdrew a large scroll.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“I took a hard fall in the blizzard, but I’ll be fine,” Arx said dismissively as he turned to Cranky and unfurled the scroll with his magic. “I’ve been working on this for quite a while. It’s the most detailed map I have for this time of year. I think I may be able to plot a route for you.”
Cranky squinted and examined the page floating before him. “Where are we, exactly?”
“See the circular bowl? That’s what we call the Crown, and it’s where you are right now. Where are you headed?”
“I’m trying to get to the Deadhorse.”
“I see. That reappeared not long ago; this map may not have it marked.”
“I just need a way to get north.”
Arx trotted to Cranky’s side and began discussing his route. I turned my attention back to the hive to see a small flurry of activity. Most of the changelings were peeking from behind rocks, windows, and doors to see the strange spectacle outside. Some dared to fly high overhead, but none would approach us. For several minutes, the air was filled with “Well if you went through this pass…” and other suggestions for Cranky’s journey.
Finally, after quite a while, they concluded that he would travel northward, over a peak, and into the northern pass. From there he could easily trek the rest of the way with plenty of provisions on his route. They exchanged their gratitude and Cranky started off with the three ice shoes that I had given him. As he left earshot, Arx spoke up.
“You’re one lucky changeling.”
“Yeah,” I whispered as Cranky hopped onto the glacier. “I can’t believe it. He just showed up out of nowhere. I could be dead.”
“I’m sorry you had go through that.”
Cranky started his descent into the frozen canyon of ice that ran through the glacier. As he faded into the blue folds of the glacier I realized something. I turned to Arx and smiled. “I’m only sorry I forgot to thank him.”