Ice and Shadow

by ChronicleStone

Chapter 7: Sky and Lily

The next day:

“So, this is it? We’re really doing this?”

“Of course we are. I’m going on, and you’re not going to let me go alone, are you?”

Lily and Sky stood at the edge of the town, waving back to the crowd gathered in front of the meeting hall. It was still plenty cold, but the storm had subsided, letting the townsponies assemble to see the pair off.

“Do you think they’ll be alright? I mean, you didn’t really tell them anything. They’re just trusting that you know what you’re doing, and that when you get back, all their problems will be solved,” Lily said, sounding slightly concerned. She shrugged her shoulders, adjusting her supply-laden saddlebags.

“They trust each other. They’ve seen enough to know that their own attitudes can keep the storm away. And even if they don’t trust me entirely, you’re coming with me, and they most definitely trust you,” Sky responded. “And so do I,” he added after a pause.

Lily blushed slightly as she finished waving and turned her back on her home. Each step felt reluctant and heavier than normal, as though her body was trying to resist her mind’s desire to follow Sky Streak to…whatever he had in mind. She watched him as they slowly left Polarmino fading in the distance behind them. He still looked like the same pony that had burst into her home a few nights earlier, but now…now he seemed like so much more than just another pony. He had a story. He had motivations, ambitions, emotions…he meant something now.

And, she realized, maybe he meant even more to her than that.

They had spent most of last night preparing for their journey. Lily had been amazed at the items that Sky had in his pack: they were mostly magic-imbued items made to help him cope with the harsh environment of the frosty northern reaches of Equestria. She had already seen the weight-reduction potion (of which he had a surprisingly gratuitous amount), but he also had fire-spell orbs, which he had used to light the fires in her house and at the town meeting. There was a wide-range thermal kit, which would provide a heat source which would cover a spacious area, much like a campfire, but in addition, it was portable. There were various other items that he had simply not mentioned, though Lily figured that they each would be put to use on sometime on their journey. She had packed mostly food, like carrots, celery, and apples, which would hopefully stay fresh in the cool temperature. She only hoped she had packed enough.

They had walked several miles without speaking before Lily finally decided to break the silence. “So, where exactly is it we’re going?”

“To the windigo colony. I thought I mentioned that,” Sky said, looking over his shoulder at her.

“Oh, I meant which direction.”

“Ah, that’d be north.”

“And how do you know it’s that way?” Lily asked, eager to hear his answer.

“Because no pegasi came with you to Polarmino.”

Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “And how does that tell you where the windigo colony is?”

“The pegasi must have known that there were windigoes still living in the extreme northern reaches of Equestria. The windigoes view the pegasi as their natural enemies, since they both control the weather, to an extent. There are towns to the south of here that have a pegasus or two living in them, which tells me that they aren’t afraid of what’s south of here, but what’s north of here,” Sky explained.

Lily’s eyebrows rose, impressed by Sky’s deduction. “You’re awfully observant to pick up on this stuff,” she commented. “Where’d you learn to be that way?”

“Some of my training in the Service,” Sky admitted. “They drill it into your head to be constantly aware of your surroundings and to take note of everything. Nothing is unimportant.”

“Wow.” She could think of nothing else to way in response. “So, do you know where the colony is, then?”

“Nope.”

“What?!” Lily exclaimed. “Then how will we ever find it? Are you expecting us to get lucky?”

“No, I’m expecting the windigoes to help us out.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m supposed to be leaving. But obviously, I’m headed the wrong direction. We’re headed towards their colony, which should serve as an indication to them that we want their attention. I’m hoping to get a windigo to come to us, so he can lead us to their colony.”

“But the windigoes won’t trust a pegasus,” Lily countered. “How do you plan to convince them to take their enemy into their home?”

Sky sighed, his breath floating as a visible puff of cloud for a few moments before dissipating. “Well, I’ve got two things in mind. First, I plan to tell them the truth.”

“And the truth is…?”

“That they’re harboring an impostor, whether they mean to or not, and that the impostor is posing a threat to both the ponies and the windigoes.”

Lily furrowed her brow, obviously not satisfied with that answer. “And the second thing?”

“I hope to get lucky.”

Lily snorted involuntarily in response. “So it’s not all skill? You really don’t have a plan for everything, do you?”

Sky’s voice grew a bit softer. “It’s always good to have a plan, but things rarely go exactly as we may hope or intend. Sometimes, you just have to play it by ear and hope things pan out well.”

“How lucky are you feeling right now?”

An awkward silence followed. Lily hadn’t thought that the question was that hard. In fact, she had actually been expecting a quick, witty, sarcastic response almost immediately. She walked up beside Sky and took a look into his face, but he turned his eyes away. Clearly, he was having some sort of internal struggle.

“Sky? Did I say something wrong?” she asked, becoming concerned.

He stopped walking and turned to face her. “No. In fact, I’m glad that you asked that.” He seemed to take a moment to bite his lip before speaking again. “Lily, can I ask you something?”

She was bewildered. What was he going on about? Had the cold finally started to mess with his mind? But in spite of her concerns, she replied with a cheerful “Certainly.”

He looked about as nervous as she had seen him in the two days she had known him. “When we get back to Polarmino, would you go out with me? To dinner? Or whatever you have in town?”

Lily blinked. Had…had he really just asked her out on a date? In the middle of a barren, frozen landscape, on a mission that neither were certain to return from? “I’m sorry?” she managed.

“I know, I know, it’s a totally weird thing to be asking at the moment. But I think it’s best that I ask now. When we get back, will you go out with me?” Sky persisted.

“Um, well…” she stammered. She could feel her face blushing more and more with each passing moment. Her stomach had turned to butterflies, and she knew that not even the most powerful calming spell she could summon would help her now. But finally, after what seemed to be an agonizing eternity of trying to untie her tongue and avoid Sky’s persistent gaze, she mustered her response.

“Yes, Sky, I’d love to go out with you.”

The smile that erupted on the pegasus’ face was so wide that it was almost startling. With a call of “woohoo!” that turned into a fit of laughter, Sky leapt into the air and did a full back flip as he hovered above the ground. “Haha, awesome!” he shouted. “And you know, I feel really, really lucky.” He winked at her.

She smiled up at him. I do, too.

They continued traveling for hours, their conversation filled with thoughts of fun things to do in town and good places to enjoy an evening together (of which there was one). Sky reminisced about his days as a young colt, moving from town to town before taking up the calling from Princess Luna that fateful night in Canterlot. He told her about his family and the friends he had made, starting with Twilight and the gang in Ponyville.

“What about you?” Sky asked after he had finished. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“Oh, no, I’m an only-foal,” Lily responded. “My parents are living in Fillydelphia. I was living with them when I decided to join the expedition to establish Polarmino.”

“Do you ever go back to visit them? I mean, it’s a long way to go to get to Fillydelphia.”

“It’s been about nine months since I saw them,” Lily said, bringing the memory back to mind. “It was only for a few days. It was early summer, and the weather was cooperating, so I could afford to be away for a short time. It was great to see them again. They were doing fine, but I could tell that they really missed having somepony else in the home.”

“That’s a sign that they love you,” Sky commented.

“Yeah, but that also makes it that much harder when you have to leave again,” Lily sighed.

“Well, maybe once we take care of the storm, you can go back to visit them. I think it would probably do the three of you good to spend some time together.”

Lily didn’t respond immediately. She knew that Sky was right, but she also knew that there was more to his statement than just that. “What about you? Do you ever get to visit your family?”

Sky smiled, but Lily thought that there was a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “It’s been over half a year since I saw them, and I really do miss them. But since I joined the Service, I haven’t been able to get back. I’ve been busy studying and training, so I’ve spent nearly every moment in Canterlot.”

“Well, maybe you can ask Princess Celestia for some time off when this is all over,” Lily suggested.

“Maybe I’ll do that,” Sky said, though she took note that he was looking closely at her as he spoke.

They made camp right at sundown, in a small grove of trees that provided at least a small amount of shelter, and Sky activated his thermal kit, which shielded their site from the dropping temperatures and rising winds.

“Why is the wind starting up? We haven’t been disagreeing, so the windigoes have no reason to come here,” Lily asked, looking around worriedly.

Sky finished swallowing his bite of carrot. “I’d bet that it’s because we’re in windigo territory. They’re not being drawn to us; they’re just moving around their own lands.”

Lily quickly turned to face him as a thought suddenly occurred to her. “Wait; are we even in Equestria anymore?”

Sky shrugged. “The northern boundary of Equestria isn’t very well-defined, so I can’t say one way or another. But I figure that sometime during the night, we’ll have a visitor or two come to tell us to get lost.”

“And will you politely ask him to reconsider and instead take us to his home?” Lily asked, though there was a playful gleam in her eye.

“Something like that,” Sky admitted. He took another bite of his carrot. “I figgur vat if he hurs vat his collny is in dayjur, he whill take stoo it.”

“Ugh, where are your manners?” Lily asked, turning her face away in disgust. “Swallow your food before talking.”

There was a pause. “Sorry, old habits die hard,” Sky apologized. “I said, ‘I figure that if he hears that his colony is in danger, he will take us to it.’”

“I understood you the first time…somehow,” she teased. “But we can only hope that he doesn’t go get a bunch of his friends to come back and play.”

“Yeah. That’s got me concerned, too. But I have my lucky charm here with me, so I’m feeling confident.” He nodded at her with a wink.

“And what lucky charm is that?” she asked. Then, before he could respond, she realized what he meant. She blinked her eyes back at him flirtatiously. “Oh, of course.”

The wind sighed softly into Lily’s ear, drawing her from her blissful sleep. She grunted and rolled over, unwilling to open her eyes. The breeze persisted, and the cold bite of the air only served to jumpstart her senses even more. With an irritated groan, she rolled onto her back and raised her eyelids.

The sky was a sea of glittering diamonds set against the bottomless pit of the night sky. Streaks of color waved across the sky like streamers as the auroras danced above the cold earth. Lily’s breath was stolen away as she looked on. How had she been living here and not have noticed something this beautiful?

She resituated herself and rolled flat onto her stomach. Sky’s blanket was laid flat and empty on the ground, which startled her for a moment before she remembered how he had been that first night. He’s probably out somewhere, making sure that there’s nothing dangerous nearby.

She inspected the nearby area. The trees swayed rhythmically in the breeze. Sky had set up his heating kit between them to keep them both sufficiently warm throughout the frosty night. And, to Lily’s surprise, it was still active. Then what was that cold breeze that I felt just a moment ago?

Then she saw the strangest sight she had ever seen. Slowly approaching from a point just inside the horizon, a swarm of glowing blue lights floated back and forth like waves in the sea. As she looked on, she wondered if they were some sort of strange blue firefly, or if she was really still asleep, and the stars had come down from the sky to meet her in her dream.

Then a sudden screech pierced the air, and Lily’s heart froze in terror.

Windigoes. A whole army of them.

She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. She was frozen on the spot, unable to do anything. One windigo was bad enough, but there were dozens of them out there, all headed right toward her. She trembled as they approached, unsure of whether they knew she was even there at all. Mustering the remnants of her will, she slowly laid as flat as she could against the ground, hoping that they would simply pass her by.

“Lily, don’t panic,” said a whisper from above her.

Reacting out of instinct, her head looked straight up, where she saw Sky Streak, perched on a branch, looking intently towards the approaching wave of lights.

“Sky! Windigoes!” she whispered back.

“Yup,” he acknowledged in a low voice. “And they’re coming here. They must have seen us earlier today.”

“There’s so many of them…”

“Yeah, there are,” he admitted as he slowly dropped down beside her. He looked out towards the approaching phantasms. “But we can’t turn back now. It’s the moment of truth. You ready?” he asked, directing his gaze back at her.

She looked into his eyes and saw the concern there, but she heard the confidence in his voice. Slowly, she rose to her hooves and let her blanket fall to the ground. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

“Then let’s go say hi.”