Down The Rabbit Hole
"I'm afraid I'll need to take your mask, miss."
Needless to say, Luna was surprised to find herself outside of a theatre. The transition from the waking world to the realm of dreams had, admittedly, been seamless, but in a way, that had served to make the switch from the bedroom to Pan's dream all the more jarring. Not a word of something like this had been mentioned in 'Dreamwalking For Beginners'...
The text had stated that, in dreams, you would only be able to see details if dreamer focused upon them, and anything considered unimportant should be blurry at best. And yet the entire theatre-front was so detailed that it may as well have been real. From the massive, glowing sign (How was such a thing possible without magic?) that proclaimed this to be 'The Masquerade Theatre', down to the sidewalk with little traces of dirt, and even litter (And strange pink spots of some manner of sticky adhesive), it appeared to be a perfect representation of the real thing. There was even a booth, in which sat a masked figure, the individual who just spoke.
He was clearly a griffin, and was dressed in an odd black ensemble, with an oddly shaped hat: A tall cylinder with a flat brim at the base. It all looked strangely... dapper. The griffin's face was obscured by a white mask, a smile sketched in black upon its surface.
Confused, Luna responded to his request by asking, "What mask?"
"This one."
The figure reached out a clawed forelimb, took hold of her nose, and pulled. Something came off of her face, and for a moment, everything went blurry. When her sight cleared... everything looked larger... and the figure was holding a perfect replica of Luna's face.
"Give that back," Luna demanded, then abruptly placed a hoof against her mouth, shocked at the realization that her voice had changed. Her eyes widening, she looked around for somewhere she could see her reflection. On a discarded glass bottle she was able to confirm her suspicions: She was a filly again... and she was, bizarrely enough, wearing a crown, harness, and shoes like those that Celestia normally wore.
"Sorry miss," the griffin said, his tone surprisingly sincere, "but it's the rules of the house: Outsiders have to turn over their masks at the door. If you want to enter the theatre, you have do so as your true self."
Luna was not certain if he was speaking in jest or trying to insult her. "Are you saying," she asked, angrily, "that underneath my mature exterior, that I'm still just a filly?"
Chuckling, the griffin replied, "I don't know. Are you?"
Resisting an effort to grind her teeth (and it took far more effort than it should have), she took stock. Was she? All of her life, she'd stood in her sister's shadow. Practically from the day she was born, Luna had Celestia standing on a pedastal far above her... and the distance seemed to multiply daily. Even though Luna was a princess in her own right, having undergone her own trials and tribulations in order to ascend to an alicorn, the fact that Celestia had done so first, and with far greater speed, ease, and grace, had made Luna's own success seem strangely... hollow. And the fact that she kept measuring her own progress in comparison to that of her sister... and finding herself lacking, spoke volumes. While she hated to admit it to herself, maybe...
Maybe deep down, she never stopped being an immature little filly, trying her hardest to be like her beautiful, popular, perfect older sister...
She really didn't need a revelation like that on top of everything else she's been through this week. Still, there are worse things she could find out about herself. Steeling herself, she admitted, "Alright, maybe I am... a little."
Chuckling again, the griffin said, "Nothing wrong with being a child at heart, little lady." Pointing to a door, he added, "The entrance is that way. The show will be starting shortly. Take a seat anyplace you like."
----------------------------
The theatre was grand on a level Luna would never have imagined possible. A massive chandelier that would have been the envy of a royal palace ballroom illuminated the main theatre. There were hundreds of seats, each of them plush enough that any noble in any kingdom you could name would not object to sitting in one, so say nothing of the carpet. This was a theatre that could easily cater to kings, and it was packed nearly to capacity.
Every seat face a massive stage, which was currently obscured by red curtains. While a few noises could be heard emanating from behind, it was clear that whoever was behind them was still making preparations for the next performance.
There was exactly one empty seat in the entire theatre, and under other circumstances, she would have immediately taken a seat. However, given who her neighbor would be, none would blame her for hesitation...
"I never thought that I would see you here," Luna said, her brows furrowed in anger.
A smirk upon his face, Sombra said, "Well, believe it or not, I've always been a fan of the theatre." Tapping the seat next to him with a hoof, the tyrant said, "Have a seat."
Pulling herself up onto the cushioned chair, she asked, "And why aren't you...?"
With a mirthful chuckle, Sombra asked, "As cute as the button on a teddy bear's nose?" Laughing again as Luna blushed brightly, he continued, "Simple, your highness: For you and everypony else, I've been gone... what, three days? In Tartarus, it's been three thousand years. I've had a long, long time to come to terms with who and what I really am inside... and more than ample time to improve myself. There's a rather extensive library in Tartarus, with a number of self-help books. I've read all of them... twice. I had a lot of issues, and dark magic didn't help. While I do not consider myself reformed, I'll at least admit I am better than I was before my untimely demise."
An eyebrow raised, Luna said, "But Tartarus is a prison for monsters, not a way-station for the souls of dead ponies. How did you end up there?"
Rolling his eyes, Sombra said, "I made a deal with a very powerful being when I was much younger: In exchange for the ability to escape death once, my spirit would be bound in Tartarus for one thousand years while my body repaired itself. I thought it was a great deal, since I could do as I pleased without fearing the consequences of my actions, and after my death, I'd be gone long enough for any enemies I made to be long gone afterwards." Looking a little sad, he admitted, "What I failed to realize was just how long a thousand years can be, even under normal circumstances..."
Settling into her seat, Luna couldn't help but feel a little bit uncomfortable. This was one conversation that she'd never expected to have. Trying to change the subject, she asked, "So, you've been here longer than I have: What's playing?"
Sombra, looking a little more cheerful, pulled out a piece of stiff paper, a set of names and times showing. "You're just in time," he said, "for the classic tale, The Rise And Fall Of Avalon."
That really was a classic: The play was a reenactment of the founding, and downfall, of what was known as a legendary golden age for griffinkind, a time before the great sundering that divided the griffins into warring tribes for centuries. Avalon, the first united kingdom of the griffins, was ruled by the legendary Arthur, a benevolent ruler whose generosity and kindness to his subjects knew no bounds...
Luna's eyebrow raised as she began to suspect something, then immediately read the program for the plays that had come before. First, there was the saga of Ruggiero, the legendary griffin knight who aided his king in reuniting the fractured griffin tribes, creating the Griffin Kingdoms of the modern age. Then, there was the tale of the Clockwork Sage, a mechanical genius who created a mechanical weapon in order to save his homeland from a warlord's invading army, as well as a number of other ingenious gadgets and gizmos. After The Rise And Fall Of Avalon, the next play would be the Gray Lord, the political drama about a noble who fell from grace, then spent the remainder of his life in disguise,crafting an elaborate scheme to bring about the downfall of the one responsible for his undoing. Finally, there was The Starblade, the chronicle of how a young griffin, desperate to free his homeland from the grip of an evil immortal, took a fallen star to a legendary minotaur smith, in order to have it made into a blade whose power would shake the heavens themselves. All of these plays had a common thread...
"Our friend, Pan," Sombra remarked, "seems to have a fondness for griffin theatre... especially for the classics."
That wasn't the only thing that was ringing alarm bells in Luna's mind, though. Keeping her expression neutral with effort, she said, "I noticed. The tome I read concerning dreamwalking stated that nearly everything would be abstract here, unless it was important. Instead..." She gestured towards the audience, a griffin sitting in every seat, all of them unique, and so incredibly lifelike that Luna could not wonder if perhaps she really was in a theatre.
Chuckling, Sombra remarked, "I was surprised, myself. I have never encountered such a detailed mental defense before. I've seen minds organized into houses, mansions, even fortresses, but never a theatre. I admit, it's formidable."
Having difficulty keeping her cool, given that her mind was going a thousand miles per hour, Luna asked, "Defense? What defense? I mean, I literally just walked in through the front door."
With a snort, Sombra said,"As did I, after I was stripped of my outer shell... meaning that I would be defenseless if I were to attempt to do battle with him here. More importantly, if I had tried to enter here the way I was before my death, I would have been driven mad when confronted with my true self... or perhaps simply more mad than I already was. The only way in is to either lower your barriers and confront your own true nature, or try to break down the entrance through brute force. Given how detailed this entire construct is, it would take an attack of prodigious strength to break through." At Luna's confused look, Sombra explained, "The more detail is put into a mental projection, the stronger it is, both in offense and defense."
And given that Luna could count the individual hairs and feathers on the griffins in the other seats...
"Pandinus Imperator has an extremely disciplined, and potentially very powerful, mind," Sombra said, finishing her thought.
It made sense: The changeling was able to perform his duties, even after drinking enough liquor to drop a stallion twice his size, and only seemed slightly tipsy if he drank more than that. Moreover, even inebriated, he was able to come up with devastating political maneuvers with greater ease than even Luna and Celestia could, and the two princesses were no amateurs in that arena. All of that, and this massive theatre maintained in the imagination of the emperor, implied that Pan had an intellect to rival many of the greatest minds in Equestria. If he'd been born a unicorn, he might have been equal to Celestia or Luna in arcane talent...
Scowling, the princess asked, "That's all well and good, but what do we need to do to snap him out of his stupor?"
A smirk on his face, Sombra said, "We need to go deeper."
Now thoroughly confused, Luna asked, "I beg your pardon?"
With a sniff, Sombra explained, "Each layer of protection exists to prevent intruders from reaching his 'self', what you could consider the core of his mind, which is kept inside of the third layer. The entrance to the theatre was the first layer of defense: The only way to get through easily is to willingly render yourself defenseless, and confront what you truly are inside. Few would willingly do so, and fewer still could endure the revelation of their true nature, if they intended him harm. This theatre is the second: In order to reach the real Pan, you'll need to locate the entrance to his third layer, and the key that opens it. From there, you'll find his true self, and be able to work on getting him to wake up."
Looking around, Luna asked, "Where would the door be? And the key?"
With a sigh, Sombra admitted, "I've been trying to figure that out since he went into his stupor, and I am ashamed to say that I have no idea."
--------------------------------
Gold Coin had expected many things inside the court of the Lame Horse: He'd expected rushes on the floor, if not bare dirt, and any furniture to be found would be old, splintery, and uncomfortable. He'd expected the room to be filthy. He'd expected the court to be made up of the most disreputable-looking wretches in the city, garbed in threadbare rags, if anything. He'd expected the Lame Horse to be old, dirty, unkempt, and horribly disfigured. He'd expected the entire affair to be a perverse mimicry of the royal court. And it turned out that he was wrong on every single count.
The floor was covered with a carpet that would have been fine enough to line the floor of the palace, upon which sat antique furnishings of the most incredible quality. Everything was clean to the point that every bare surface seemed to sparkle. While he could not testify to the reputability of the assembled members of the court, every pony present was clearly freshly scrubbed, and those who wore clothing were garbed in cloth both freshly laundered and well-maintained, even if it was of modest make and material.
The Lame Horse herself, however, was the most incredible surprise: She was young, perhaps two years younger than the emperor. If the rest of the assembled ponies were freshly scrubbed, then this unicorn was so clean that you couldn't imagine her ever having been dirty, so immaculately perfect was her grooming. And with the exception of a single crooked hind leg, she was beautiful, in a way that would require a thousand sonnets worth of poetry to describe. Sporting a pure white coat, with an elegantly braided golden blonde mane and tail, and blue eyes that twinkled with good humor, she radiated charisma like a miniature sun.
And more remarkable still... Gold Coin knew this pony.
Bowing low, the colt said, "Your majesty." From the corner of his eye, he saw Shimmering Radiance's eyes widen in surprise, then turned her head back and forth between the two ponies, confusion writ large upon her features.
Chuckling, the Lame Horse, Dream Charmer, daughter of the king and the last living member of the royal family, said, "No need for that." Flexing her deformed leg, she continued, "I was disowned long ago. Royal blood or not, this leg made me 'unfit' to be ruler... which is the only reason why Sombra threw me in the dungeons during his rule, instead of killing me outright."
----------------------------
The Widowmaker turned at the sudden knock on the door. Her lair, really just a room at a local tavern, was in one of the better parts of town, so she had little reason to suspect some foalish bravo was going to try and rob her, or worse. Still, why would somepony be coming here so late in the evening?
Checking to make certain that she had nothing incriminating in view (No chance of that: She'd burned the firemail letter well before she'd left to report to Scarlet Wake, and her cloak was already packed away), she turned to the door, and said, "Enter."
A guard opened the door, and after poking his head in, asked, "May I have a moment of your time, miss?"
An eyebrow raised, she asked, "What is it?" Why would a guard be here? Obviously he didn't suspect her true identity, or he'd be here with a brigade, and would not be anywhere near so polite...
Nervous, the guard said, "Well, miss, it's like this: The royal chancellor has taken ill after the assassination attempt today, and he needs a nurse to watch over him while he recovers. The royal physicians can't do it: There's been an outbreak of Burning Throat in the poor quarter, and they've gone to care for the quarantined folks, at the princesses' request. So, we need a nurse at the palace to look after Pen Stroke, but with what happened today, almost everypony local is suspect. But since you've only come into town last evening..."
A small smile crossed her features as she asked, "I'm not suspicious?" Ironic, that.
"Well," the guard admitted, "there's a couple of others, maybe, who would be less suspect than you are, under most circumstances. But a friend of mine saw you checking in the other night, and he noticed your cutie mark, so..."
Ah yes, her cutie mark, one of a bandaged heart. It had always seemed funny to her that her current line of work, at which she excelled, was so in opposition to her special talent. She couldn't blame the guards for their error: That mark proclaimed her to be a natural born caregiver, rather than a heartless taker of lives. It was all she could do to keep from bursting out in laughter at the absurdity of it...
The assassin being asked to play nursemaid at the palace...
"I suppose I might be available for a time," the Widowmaker admitted. After all, she had three days to kill... or maybe to not kill, given the circumstances. "I'll need a moment to gather my things."
"Of course, miss," the guard said, bowing low. "I'll wait outside. Whistle when you're ready, and I shall escort you to the palace."
"How gentlecoltly of you," the Widowmaker said, smiling warmly. She was rewarded by an almost luminescent blush from the guard, who promptly pulled his head out of the room and shut the door. After the guard left, she took stock: She could take everything she had with her, since she used only magic to perform her contracts. Even her cloak was perfectly nondescript and easily replaced at will. With a shrug, she pulled it out, tossed it into the room's fireplace. In less than minute, it was gone. She needed to buy a new one, anyways. Making certain that she left nothing of her few personal effects, she picked up her traveler's bag, and turned to examine herself in the mirror.
She had to admit, for a mare nearly thirty, she was still in remarkable shape (She did lead something of an active lifestyle, after all). Her dark brown coat and black mane were as well maintained as could be expected for somepony who had just come in from the road after a long and strenuous journey and had only had a day to wash up. Good enough, she supposed. She whistled, and after the door opened, she nodded to the guard.
Blushing, the guard said, "Forgive my manners, miss, I forgot to ask your name."
It had been a while since she'd used her real name, and it wasn't as if anypony was looking for her. Smiling, she said, "Tender Loving Care."
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New Chapter Up!
This story always makes my day
TLC is a badass.
Somb-ception! Certainly the most creative outlook on reforming Sombra I've ever seen.
Also! I see that Nightmare Moon tag, don't you think I don't! My guess is that Winter is gonna bring her out, though I'm not much good at predicting storylines.
Another excellent chapter!
4539339
I have to agree with you. Also, I totally missed the NM tag. Hmm, maybe since Luna has faced who she really is, NM won't be some powerful alter ego who takes her over, but what she is when she comes into full power, or something. Something to ponder on, I guess.
The taking off the mask part.....frickin brilliant. May I ask your inspiration for that scene? It was really well done and instantly drew me in.
4539354 Lots of people didn't seem to see the Chrysalis tag on my story either.
Funny how they get overlooked so easily...
4539360
It just came to me
Good show, Sir!
4539361
Oh holy Crap, That's were I recognized your name from, you do Greene Fields (one of the few awesome Prototype fics, Prototype needs more love, man).
But yeah, I can understand it getting overlooked, I usually just look at them the first time I start reading, and by 17 chapters in, I usually forget about them.
An assassin called Tender Loving Care. Who is also going to play nursemaid.
Cannot wait to see where you take this.
Someone call Leo and that chick from Juno immediately!
Mental layers? You asked for it. I even said to myself that this felt like Inception. Also, Sombra wasn't that thorough it seems.
Why did this chapter remind me of Game of Thrones?
4539408 Thank you!
I find this incredibly amusing.
And assuming that Sombra is being genuine and isn't trying to somehow use Pan to return to power and become an evil tyrant again or anything like that, I have a feeling that Pan will owe him several barrels of libation by the end of all of this.
4539444
, I know, right? I kinda borrowed the idea from an episode of Justice League Unlimited.
Dang! This is definitely one of my favorite stories now. Great stuff man. Keep it up!
A question though.. Do you intend to finish this story? Or will it just keep on growing until we achieve interstellar travel? :P
TLC can kill. And can be a nurse. Funny how those things go against one another. Maybe she'll stop her assassin job and get a permanent position in the castle.
That sounds familiar, was she mentioned earlier in this story or am I just remembering another OC from a different FanFic?
Tender... Loving... Care...
/me already has head-cannon of Fluttershy's infamous ancestor.
I'm guessing the third layers is either the griffon actor in the third play or the Starblade because of the Minotaur Smith connection.
These next few chapters are going to be very fun and interesting
4539668 Hmmm... was the Widowmaker in the Crystal Empire at the time it would have been frozen in time?
If so, she couldn't be Flutter's ancestor.
4539736
Not if it was frozen before she got there. She was originally supposed to murder Sombra, and arrived after the two sisters so it's entirely possible that by the time she got there it was all done.
...Tender Loving Care. Really? That's... sort of terrifying.
Also, TLC x Pen Stroke OTP. I'm only slightly joking.
I wish this actually happened, it would entertain me greatly to observe those attempting to invade my mind being driven mad by my.......safely tucked away sociopathic mind corner. Easy peesy, I'd just set up OUTLAST in my head.....mwah mwah ha ha
4539826
Ah, the King's Assasin.
4539785 That's what I'm asking: when exactly did she get there relative to the Princesses in the original time line?
Before or at the time the Princesses arrived = likely got frozen in time with the rest, and thus not pre-Flutters.
After Princesses arrived = Was confused by lack of Crystal Empire and gave up assassination stuff cuz she figured she totally got trolled, and a thousand years later, we get a Flutters.
4539668
4539736
4539785
4540039
In the prime timeline, she would have died: She received a message from Scarlet Wake to go to the Crystal Empire, requesting she kill Sombra. She arrives just after Sombra was defeated, and the city gone. Not realizing her destination is banished from time and space, she continues heading north... until she runs out of supplies and freezes to death (Winter would have been raising the granddaddy of all snowstorms, pissed off at having missed a grand feast). So, in a way, Scarlet Wake and Sombra killed her in the prime timeline, and Pan saved her life in this one.
4539826
Kill 'em with kindness
4539542
I plan on finishing it, yes. It's going to be a bit long, but something tells me that no one will mind that. And I already have a sequel in mind, set a thousand years in the future, where we can see the results of Pan's deeds.
4540189
You can go as long as you want pal! I know I wont mind.
Interesting mental defense setup there, Pan. Hopefully the stripping of her mental pretenses can help Luna in the long run. And I almost half expect Sombra to turn antihero on us. Lame Horse being the last survivor of the old dynasty is something I did not expect. Oooh ... Widowmaker playing nursemaid to Pen Stroke. This will get interesting. I'd say more, but my smartphone is being bad right now.
I think I know what Luna is going to see in the third layer.
If Sombra is already significantly different than he was in life, it makes me wonder just what is going to show up in Equestria in a thousand years of real time. If one real time day is a thousand years for him, does that mean it'll be over 300 million years for him before he returns? Or am I screwing up my math somewhere, or maybe making an invalid assumption that the difference in how time passes will remain static?
Holy crap.
Oh you
Wow.... When I started this story, I was like... hmm a crackfic... oh by Bucking Nonsense... wait wasn't he the guy who published like 5 changeling stories around the same time and only completed like... 1 of them? Doesn't he specialize in shorter works.?
And for a while, the story fulfilled my expectations of being a bit of a comedic fic, but before I realized it...I was completely utterly immersed in the story.
Oh sure I have a few qualms... I'll detail them in a second, but man... I never expected this story to be anymore than 5 chapters of LOL crackfic, but with the gradual introduction of political intrigue, Pan's problems, Winter, Urchin, I ended up reading an epic adventure and actually feeling for the characters I was reading. Something that is quite difficult when writing fanfiction.
Suffice to say, your story is probably one of the best, if not the most memorable of the changeling fics I have read.
Here's why:
First of all, you break from normal Changeling fanfictions. As a writer of a decently popular changeling story (I'd appreciate it if you check it out on my user page if you have the time), I've observed there are several fairly common approaches to writing a changeling story, but you've kinda broke it all with this. Seriously. I've never heard of anything remotely similar to this premise, but you've made it work well and continue to develop and expand with it. That type of innovation and creativity was probably what made your story so popular and drew in so many readers.
But you didn't stop there, you continued to be creative and surprise us with:
a) villains who actually are scary as crap and can HURT the hero bad
b) a hero who while badass, actually has issues of his own
c) Original supporting characters that are well developed and always seem to have greater depths than you'd expect (I'm talking about Kiri (nice Japanese horror story cultural reference btw), Urchin, Gold Coin and Tender Loving Care here, as well as Morning Glory (the time travel mechanic now makes so much more sense thanks to chapter 14))
d) I think you've heard this before, but Sombra... is great. He's bad, but not quite that bad, he helps, but we can't super trust him, but this is awesome
All in all, its a level of creativity that keeps the audience on their toes and wanting for more.
And each of these creative elements is tied together by that excellently executed Terry Pratchett type writing style that can be sarcastic at times, but incredibly, mind-numbingly and OMG moment serious and dramatic at times. It forces the reader to keep on his/her toes and naturally brings up the surprises in the story as well as the characters, while remaining true to that style of writing.
Of course, with all the good in the story... there are some things (well... one thing) I have to point out that need work In my humble opinion, it wouldn't be fair if everything was positive and you wouldn't have anything to strive for.
Frankly my biggest concern ATM is Pan. He seemed... at least until recently, all too badass. I mean, first of all, while I admire his cunning and intellect, I'm not sure how to believe he figured out how to counter Winter (or at least planned a trap for him) at pre-teen/colt age... but I digress because I don't know what he has planned and children tend to have unique ways of seeing a problem. However, Pan is not only politically suave, he manages to bed Luna of all ponies (even if it WAS under the influence of a love potion), and in BASICALLY 3 DAYS, gotten the support of Celestia and most of the Crystal Empire. I do think you handled how Sombra helps Pan just right though as it was Pan's basically good character and changeling traditions that initiated this. The problem though is that even now, with Pan incapacitated... we keep learning how badass he is to have created a theatre for his psyche (which was a great idea btw, I'm not criticizing the idea) but with a mental defense that can keep a Shadowry more than 3000 year old experienced former-tyrant out of his mind...
I think you've got my point. Pan may be approaching the edge of OP Gary Stu quite soon if you're not careful... but given we're going into his psyche where he is trapped with his demons... I think I may be corrected quite soon as you've really proven your skills with this story. :
TL;DR version? Great job! Love the creativity in the story that manifests in the characters, plot and the writing style. Might want to watch for Pan getting too OP. I seriously cannot wait for the next chapter to come up. In fact I think you've pressured me to step up my A- Game for my own changeling story
,. You've basically achieved in 5 months the rating and favorite count I've achieved in a year.
Sincerely,
vren55
She is not going to kill pan. The ending would be anticlimactic and would probably stir up a riot.
Plot twists, reveals, and OMFG moments. I love it! Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
4540578 Time is not a strait line, Dont you watch Doctor Who?
lol
OH SNAP! This is amazing! And I can see him having a very powerful mind, Considering he is a Changeling he has to get EVERY DETAIL right of a person he is changeing into! Thus his mind has to be quite strong to do that.
I loved the Lame Horse! WOW thats kinda cool! The hole Idea of all of this amazes me it really dose!
I wish I was as good at making such amazing plot designs and story... :D
4539489
Sombra as Vandal Savage? Somehow, I can see it. Not very well, but a little.
Damn, I've read all of the chapters that have been posted so far and wasted an entire day when I should have been working on my own story, ah well, I have a good excuse, this story is awesome and I eagerly await the next installment!
4541170
, yeah.
Still going strong I see. I was dead certain that the time between updates would have increased by now. Great that you're not slowing down. As it leaves us readers with a fresh chapter every other day.
Keep up the good work! And thank you for delivering upon us such a great fic.
i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png
4540176 Such a single-minded individual, to risk their own life for a contract like that.
A proper assassin would scoff! Never would they push forward with a contract into such harsh conditions with no clear direction! One does not get paid if one is dead!
She'd make a good suicide bomber, though.
4543618
FINALLY!!!
4543640
You wouldn't survive a trip through hazardous territory by bringing double the supplies you need. You take enough, plus a bit for emergencies, otherwise the weight of your gear may hinder you. She'd have brought enough supplies to see her to her destination, plus enough to survive a few days of being snowbound. She would not have had enough to get her back to civilization after the Crystal Empire vanished. Teleportation does have a limit to its range.
4543941 I dunno, a few days heading back should get her to at least a somewhat milder climate. The Frozen North seems to have an impossibly abrupt boundary.
Weather on Equestria is kinda like the way it worked on the unstable Genesis Planet from "Star Trek III"!! Ha ha ha.. ha.......... eh?!
Well, it seems I have another crossover idea.... which I'll never get around to.