I don't go back to the village. What would be the point?
I realize now that, without Marks—I refuse to think of her as Rarity—I have no idea where I'm going. I lost all of those books in the fall from Skahaben, and those are rare and expensive. Searching around, I frown. That mountain range looks...familiar...Oh, for...I swear, that damn flying city took me really far out of my way. I'm actually slightly northwest of the mountain range that Marks was talking about when we were near the entrance to Cullwood. I groan, rubbing my eyes distractedly. Just what I need right now. Pitch-perfect. What had she said about another way through?
Right, right, a mountain pass that goes through the ruins of Canterlot. She said that something about death being there, though. Is that really a good idea?
Then I consider going through Cullwood again. [1]
Suddenly it seems like a really good idea.
Swallowing nervously, I begin to trot towards the mountains. No sense forestalling it; I need to get there soon, or they're going to have Lunar guards all over the place, searching for me. News travels fast, after all. If I can get over the mountains, I might have a chance of evading them.
I quickly learn that it's a lot farther than it looks. Hours in and I've barely drawn closer. Seeing several lights bobbing on the road ahead of me, I gulp and dive away as fast as possible, landing in a thick bush and barely breathing. With any luck, they didn't...
"Hey! We know you're there, unicorn! Come out now, or we might have to start getting ugly!"
Oh Celestia he knows I'm here he knows where I am I have to stop him from killing me. Bursting out of my limited cover, I instantly jerk the leader's head to the side. A sickening crack rings across the empty road, and for a split second, everything is silent. [2]
Then bolts of magic streak towards me, exploding on the road to the left and right before a single flash of electric light connects with my chest and knocks me to the ground, stars dancing before my eyes. Grim-faced, the unicorn that struck me down stands over me, conjuring a pair of magical manacles.
Then, completely out of instinct, I take a page out of Celestia's book and ignite the entire road in roaring flames that lick against my impervious body, yelling the entire time. "Why can't you just stay away from me?! I just wanted to pass by! But you couldn't let that happen! Just stay away!" The last phrase becomes a mantra as horrified screaming mingles with my own terrified, furious shrieks, and by the end of the hellish choir, my throat is torn and raw, and the fires die down to reveal a pile of burned corpses. The stallion that held the manacles is as dead as the rest, his charred face resting only a few inches from my own. [3]
I manage to stagger to my feet, eyes wide and horrified at the destruction that I'd wrought. Half of the field around us is ignited, quickly burning away in a circle away from where I'm standing. I know I could quench it, but just as I start to, I stop. Why should I care? I don't owe these ponies anything.
I walk forward, leaving the world around me to burn.
---
By the time I arrive at the base of the mountains, I'm exhausted, both physically and magically. I'd encountered three more guard patrols in the last few hours, though due to being on hyperalert status, I managed to slip by them all. I'd made a couple of questionable escapes via magic, and that on top of that fire stunt has left me drained. I need to sleep (it's the best way to replenish drained magic), but I know well enough that I can't stop. If I do, they'll catch up to me in no time. I have no choice but to find that pass.
My search takes me all along the rocky slopes, searching for miles upon miles for some indication of a trail. Finally, to the point where I can nearly see the Cullwood in the distance, I find a disused, beaten wooden sign that points up, into the mountains. The script is barely legible, but I can make out the letters "Can-e--ot, thi- -ay." Taking a moment to think, I realize that it once directed ponies in the direction of Canterlot. Turning south, I begin my trek up the slopes.
I've barely made it four miles before it begins to snow. Well, at least there's no shortage of water. Using the word 'pass' to describe this is a gross overstatement, I grouse. The slope is so steep that I've nearly fallen all the way to the bottom multiple times, only a quick application of my ever-draining magical reserves rescuing me each time, and the addition of snow makes it far more difficult than before. The clouds high above me pour down their frosty payloads, and I glare at them.
Then I start. Did I just...?
It's gone. Huh. I swear I felt something following me just now.
Regardless, I continue. The snow is no longer a flurry; now it's something closer to a blizzard. I can barely see and the snow has begun to reach my hocks, building on itself faster than I can believe. At least the ground is beginning to level out. No consolation if I die of hypothermia, though.
Ahead of me, through the snow, looms a white stone tower, lying on its side. A black shape stands out on the side; a window! Sparing no time, I clamber through, shivering at the freezing stone, and, measuring my jump carefully, I hop down onto relatively level, if freezing, land.
Mustering up perhaps the last dregs of magical energy that I have left, I surge flames all around me, feeling heat blossom all around me and drive the cold from my bones. Sighing in contentment, I lay down, and shortly fall into a deep, recuperative sleep.
---
[1]: If I ever have to see that Sun-forsaken place again, I swear to Celestia I'll snap my own horn off.
[2]: Remember what I said about panic? Case in point.
[3]: I have nightmares about this...adventure sometimes, and this is one of the most common. I don't think I'll ever get over that horrible sight.
---
I'm awake.
Unwillingly so.
My eyes crash open, cold sweat instantly coating my fur as I hear a long, mournful howl from far closer than I would like. It's reciprocated by another within just a few seconds, and then another, and then another. The base of the tower begins to glow with a faint blue light, and my blood runs cold [1] as a wolf of pure, moving ice pads around the corner and stares straight into my eyes with glowing blue blanks.
Oh.
Oh no.
It's a Rime Wolf.
A relative of the forest-dwelling Timberwolves, the much, much rarer Rime Wolves only live in the highest mountains of Greater Equus. Animated into living ice by a similar strain of magic, they are nonetheless much, much deadlier, simply because they can breathe thousands of splinters of needle-sharp ice in a blistering hail that can rend fur from skin, skin from flesh, and flesh from bone. So, not something you want to run into at a time like this.
And from the sound of it, I'm facing an entire pack of them.
My horn glows without fail, so at least my magic works. Count your blessings, right? Anyway, as the eyes of the wolf narrow and it bounds at me blindingly fast. My answer? Something that I've been using more in the past day than pretty much any other spell. Fighting ice with fire. Logical, right?
Luckily, I barely have to use energy for this fire. The embers of the last one are still hot, after all. An inferno erupts from the ashes between us, and the creature stops as fast as possible, whining and backpedaling away from the roaring wall of fire. While this is quite a handy tool, I'm not stupid and I know that the fire can't burn forever. Not only that, but I can't stay in this tower forever, either. I need to get to the other side to reach the Chasmlands. Interestingly enough, the recent debacle with Marks has reaffirmed my faith in Celestia, simply because now, without the Princess, I have nopony.
In any event, I begin to quickly plan how to escape from this place. Window? No. Magically constructed ice creatures aren't fools, so...
Wait.
Ice.
That's the key.
A reckless smile pops onto my muzzle and my horn glows once more. I tear the fire away from the blaze in front of me. It comes as a wraith of flames that encircles my body, encasing me in a whirling orb of flames as the previous fire died to ashes. Grinning manically, I gallop straight at the beast. Unable to backpedal quickly enough, it opens its maw and exhales a glittering cloud. My shield of fire melts the ice into water and boils it into steam, leaving a trail behind me as the wolf tries and fails to turn and run.
It simply can't raise enough speed quickly enough, and I barely hear the anguished screech as my fire melts through it like a red-hot dagger piercing through butter, snapping the thread of the enchantment and rendering it nothing more that a puddle.
Near-instantaneously, the remaining wolves howl in concert. I can hear their rage and, surprisingly, pain. I wonder how they're connected. Not time for that now, though. I can do as much research as want when I get home. Right now I need to focus on actually being able to go home. Faint loping can be heard in the snow; barely noticeable, just the barest of crunches as the wolves converge on me, fire still whirling around me in an endless sphere of blazing light.
Wasting no more time in the tower, I leave, preparing to face the wolves.
UM.
THOSE AREN'T ORDINARY RIME WOLVES.
Facing me are three frigid behemoths nearly three times as tall as the one in the tower, who I can tell in an instant could just tear me in two without even caring about my shield of flames, which suddenly seems all-too-fragile. Of course, that's the perfect timing for said fire to fade away, magic too weak to support it anymore. Terror widening my eyes, I turn and bolt, hearing them follow me as I dive through the shattered gates into the massive, ancient castle.
---
[1]: Get it?
---
The inside of the castle is chilly, though not nearly as cold as it is outside. Perhaps the flames leaving was a blessing in disguise; that bright glow would draw the wolves like moths to a lantern. [1]
There's an eerie stasis to this place, and a strange feeling of peace. Unlike the feeling of decay in the Cullwood, everything is clean and sterile, a feeling of lost, dead grandeur. Nothing lives here but those wolves of clean, pure ice. As horrifying as they are, and as deadly, there's something beautifully terrifying about them.
Speaking of the Rime Wolves, they've gone silent. Quite a while ago, too. So that's neat, I guess. [2]
Wandering through the ruins, the terror of the wolves gives way to a morbid fascination that draws me deeper into the frigid stone halls. My breath comes in clouds that hang in the dead-still air, and everything seems to be tinted in a strange white-blue cast.
A door creaks loudly and I jump. I hadn't realized it, but other than the hammering of my heart in my ears, there's no sound except for the wind. Following the sound, I come upon a remarkably well-preserved door, but for the fact that it's hanging on a single hinge (the source of the creak). Nudging it aside cautiously, I gasp.
It's the Solar Court! Exactly! Even the throne set on a dais looks exactly the same. The only difference is the ice encrusting the entirety of the room.
"...Sister?..."
It's just the barest whisper of a voice, barely enough to be heard, but it's definitely there. [3]
I would miss it if I wasn't looking, but in the throne appears...
"Princess?" I whisper, struck dumb. Sure enough, there's a picture-perfect phantom of Celestia in the throne. Smaller and younger looking, yes, and so faint she's almost invisible, but...wow.
That's nothing, though, compared to what comes next.
"...Sister!..."
A small (for an alicorn) blue-purple phantasmal alicorn enters in through a hallway off to the side. A hallway that's currently just an archway surmounting thousands of pounds of rubble. Strange, she looks almost like...Oh Celestia, it is. It's Luna.
But then that would mean...
"They're sisters," I finish, the disbelief ringing in my voice echoing around the huge hall.
"...What is it, Luna? I'm going to be giving court momentarily, so you have to make it quick..."
"...That's what I want to speak to you about, Sister. I'll hold court today."
The image of Celestia sighs and drops her head impatiently, and the phantoms fade away, with a faint sob hanging in the air for a few more moments. I'm left standing, my mouth agape.
What in Tartarus was that.
Without warning, my mind flies back to a excerpt from a book I once read:
Some places in this world have a greater connection to reality than others, places where many timelines connect in complex webs. In these places, one can occasionally see and, if the connection is exceptionally strong, hear, what can best be described as echoes. These are visions of the past, intangible and unable to be influenced.
There was something else after that, but I can't quite recall what it was. I wonder if I can find any more of these 'echoes' if I explore more? [4]
---
[1]: Giant mutant death moths who can shatter lamps like pros to a fragile glass lamp with a smiley face on it.
[2]: It does sound good, huh? Trust me, it's really not that great.
[3]: Seriously, it's definitely there. I'm not going insane.
[4]: I'm pretty sure that this was a terrible, terrible decision.
---
There's only one way to go from here, a single archway behind the disused throne. Curiosity bubbling within me, I eagerly follow the pathway. It leads into what looks like a cold, dead blacksmith forge, complete with hammer and tongs. But why would there be a forge behind the Solar Court?
Ah, it doesn't matter. I get what I came for, as I realize as soon as I hear the same faint whisper in front of me.
This time, Luna doesn't appear, only Celestia. She's standing before me and next to the now-blazing forge, wearing a thick leather apron with a hammer clenched in her magic. As I watch, she drops it on the then-dully gleaming anvil that stands black and cold before me in the living world, and slowly steps over to a leather-bound book and quill. She begins to write with her magic, narrating as she does so:
"...Luna has become bolder as of late. Just three weeks ago, she demanded to hold Solar Court. I'm beginning to think that I cannot trust even my own sister. Yes, it's just court now. But have I ever asked her to hold the Midnight Forum? I reign over the day for a reason. She does the same for the night. I can't help but wonder if this isn't indicative of a deeper, more complete attempt to take complete control of Equestria. I don't know...If this behavior persists, I'll have to confront her on it."
Wow. Paranoid.
She drops the quill, moving over towards the anvil and levitating the object on it into the quench. I jolt, recognizing that piece of steel. It's the head of Celestia's spear: A stylized sun with a single elongated ray piercing out of the top. That journal entry, that fearsome weapon...Oh Celestia, this must be the start of the war, all of those years ago. The Princess had told me that Luna had begun the attacks. What else had she lied to me about? [1]
As the image fades, I curiously trot over to where she'd been writing. Unbelievably, the journal is still there. Beaten and crinkled, yes, but intact. I idly page through the journal. It's far thicker than I would've expected; I suppose that's what the journal of an immortal looks like, hmm?
The entries range from stories of childish exploits to the wanderings of a young mare, and then...nothing, for a very long time. When they finally begin once more, there's no reason for why the delay had happened, other than a mention of a cryptic entity known as 'The Chaos King', and the shattering of objects only referred to as the Elements. I wonder what all of this is...?
A loud crash rings out from behind me and I start, before realizing that it's simply another echo. The forge remains cold as a much darker, older Luna storms in, face dark with rage, passing straight through me. "...You have gone too far this time, Celestia. You dare attack those few ponies that I claim as supporters? You shall feel my rage!..." Her horn ignites in ghostly blue fire and the entire back wall of the forge disassembles, revealing another, hidden chamber behind it, constructed of black stone and empty but for a single object: a massive silver warscythe hanging on the wall. Even through the vision, I can feel the sheer bloodlust within it.
Or is that the bloodlust of its wielder? [2]
---
[1]: A lot more than I thought, even then.
[2]: Nope, definitely the scythe. You'll see eventually.