From the Ashes

by Benjamin Lawe

Chapter 16: The Howling Front

From the Ashes

Chapter 16: The Howling Front

“Urgh, I can’t take it anymore!” Pinkie exclaimed, collapsing onto her back in the middle of the scorching Appleoosan desert, “It’s just too hot! I’m... I’m not gonna make it...”

Her head lolling back, the pink pony was motionless for a few moments. Having ventured carelessly out into the desert in her search for a trace of Philomena, Pinkie was essentially in the middle of nowhere, and totally exhausted on top of that. The sun continued to shine down hard on her upturned belly until a shadow was suddenly cast over her, the relief of it causing her to raise her weary head again and open her eyes.

“Let’s take a break.” the stallion standing over Pinkie said, his figure but a silhouette from her position, “Next time we see some shade, we’ll kick our hooves up and catch our breath.”

Hoisting herself up with a surge of hopeful energy, the pink pony scanned left and right, panning over the arid landscape in an urgent search for even the tiniest nook that might shelter her from what was fast becoming an overbearing heat.

“It’s no good...” she sighed, seeing nothing but rocks and cacti for miles, “There’s just no shade, Slayde!”

The unamused unicorn’s expression flattened as Pinkie Pie giggled lightly to herself, thoroughly impressed with her own wordplay. To him, what was impressive was how able she was to laugh off the fact they wasn’t any place for them to escape the heat.

“Anything will do.” Slayde replied tiredly, squinting against the sun as he too tried to find a place, “Keep looking. There’s bound to be something...”

Despite his cool tone, the unicorn was actually pretty desperate about finding some shade as well. Since his coat was a rich ashen, the amount of heat it absorbed was far above that of the pink variety.

Noticing Slayde’s visible fatigue, Pinkie Pie begun to look a little harder. She quickly noticed that the area around them had a number of pillar-like formations of tall rocks. And while their height would provide decent shade at any other time of the day, the sun was at its peak at the moment, which made them useless...

But in catching Pinkie abandon that option, Slayde’s weary brain ticked over to a solution. If they could tilt one of the stone formations so that it lent sideways, even if just a little bit, its new position would draw a shadow big enough for the two of them.

“I’ve got an idea.” he said, nodding to himself as he figured it out, “Help me out Pinkie, we’re gonna knock one of those things over a little.”

It took a moment for her to catch onto his meaning, and as she did, she found herself looking up the length of the daunting formation. And while she understood what he meant, she was a bit sketchy on how he actually intended to do it.

“Umm...” she drawled as she wondered, “You’re not gonna use magic are you? ‘Cause when I came to see you they said you shouldn’t-”

“I know, I know...” Slayde cut her off, biting his lip as he contemplated how to go about it, “But I’m out of ideas, and I’m going to melt out here unless we try something.”

“Just a little then, okay?” Pinkie Pie eyed him decisively, “The pony at the hospital said if you overdo it, you’ll be in big trouble... again.”

“Fine, only a little then.” he replied, levelling his horn, “Here goes...”

Focused on the pillar of rock, his horn glowed orange until it too became wrapped in the faintest orange glow. Beads of sweat developed on his forehead as the stone formation begun to rumble in response to his attempt to move it, but it quickly stopped, Slayde crouching woefully as it became apparent he couldn’t handle even something like this in his condition.

“Are you alright?” Pinkie asked, quickly making her way over to his side. She followed up by holding her hoof out as if to help him, but Slayde did it himself, grunting as he stood up again.

“Yeah, I’m fine...” he panted, wiping at the sweat dotting his forehead, “But it’s too much for me; my mind is still too weak. I don’t think... I don’t think I should use my magic anymore. Not for a while anyway...”

While Slayde sat there recovering, he felt a thin shadow pass over him, and in looking up, saw what appeared to be a vulture circling. He frowned to think that perhaps the creature believed it might find a meal if it hung around a little longer. And while their situation wasn’t nearly that bleak, it was beginning to feel more and more like they were in trouble with each passing minute under the intense heat.

“Then what should we do?” Pinkie asked, going back up to, and pushing strongly on the base of the stone pillar, “Maybe we can... urgh... just... oof... move it... argh... ourselves!”

“Don’t be silly.” Slayde remarked, still short of breath, “It’d take twenty ponies to get that thing to budge. So unless you’re a lot stronger than you look, we need to think of something else-”

With an ornate groan, chips of stone clattered down from the upper part of the rock formation as the whole thing seemed to shift slightly. Just as surprised as Slayde was, Pinkie brought her front hooves up before her eyes, as if to verify that she had indeed overpowered the towering object. Neither of them had noticed, considering that it only moved a fraction, but it hadn’t moved the direction Pinkie had pushed. Indeed, it had shifted in the exact opposite direction, that being toward her.

And then, as if to further their surprise, it tilted again, even more this time, and it did so while Pinkie still had her hooves up in front of her bemused face. With no apparent cause, the stone pillar continued to tilt, faster and faster, until it stopped, virtually teetering at a fifty-five degree angle.

Given the fact she hadn’t yet moved, Pinkie was totally covered by the sizeable shadow the rock formation now cast. Still bewildered, she hardly noticed the tiny fragments of rock raining down around her as the stone pillar settled into its new position.

Slayde didn’t waste much time before coming in next to Pinkie in the cool shade. “I don’t care how you did it...” he said with a sigh as he lay down there and then, “But thanks. For a minute there, it felt like I was a goner.”

Her front hooves still up, Pinkie simply let her back legs give in, collapsing into a sitting position. “It didn’t feel like I did anything...” she admitted, motioning her hooves as if recreating her pushing motion, and then wondering how the rock formation had happened to shift toward her, “Maybe your magic did something? You know... loosened it up or something.”

Next to her, Slayde sighed again. But not like earlier, this time it was strange, like the slow hiss of a balloon as it deflates. It was so weird that she looked over to the sprawled out unicorn, but as she made to question him, the realization hit her. Slayde was on her left. The sound she had heard, however, came from the right...

Pinkie’s heart all but skipped a beat to see Paragonia laying comically by her side, the black serpent sprawled on his back with his wings flat against the sand. His tiny chest heaved up and down, with a weak hiss-like coo rising every so often.

“Wowzers! You nearly spooked me right out of my skin!” Pinkie put her hoof to her chest as if to slow the heart beating inside, “You’re Paragonia aren’t you? Luna’s pet... uh, Quetza-thingy, right?”

No response. But even if he could speak a language the pony could understand, hers wasn’t a question that demanded him to answer. Pinkie Pie had been there when Luna had introduced him to the group, and while she hadn’t seen the Quetzalcoatl since, she would be at fault to have forgotten such a unique creature.

“Ohmygosh!” Pinkie blurted, several realizations striking her at once, “Weren’t you still getting looked after from, well, what happened? Are you okay?!”

In response, Paragonia planted his claws and hoisted his splayed upper-body up of the hot sand in manner not unlike a fried egg being turned over. But as an apparent master of body language, he raised a bony wing and waved it dismissively as if to indicate he was fine.

Pinkie and Slayde traded glances as the serpent’s little chest heaved as if he was catching his breath still. Neither of them decided to pay it much mind however; true to his ‘word’, he seemed okay.

“So what brings you all the way out here?” Slayde asked, rolling over onto his legs, but staying laid down, “We don’t really have anything to report back yet...”

At this, Paragonia brought his wings together, and as he drew them apart, a cunningly concealed note emerged from between his slick feathers. Holding the folded letter out at the tip of his wing like his black feathers were fingers, he offered the message to Pinkie.

“Oh yeah, I remember now...” Pinkie exclaimed as she took the note, “You were a messenger just like Philomena, except for the others!

“So this is for me then, huh?” Pinkie struggled for a second trying to unfold the message, “Thanks so much! Let’s see what it says!”

Hello Pinkie Pie. This is a message from Princess Luna.

I hope this letter has reached you in good health. Paragonia, who I believe you may remember, has been quite insistent on aiding you in your search for Philomena. I have little doubt you will find his assistance in your search to be invaluable, though I do ask you to be patient with him if need be. He has yet to fully recover from his injuries, and I expect that his flight to Appleoosa was rather taxing. In this respect, I ask that if you have anything to report back, please delay any response outside of an emergency until he is in a fitter state.

“Good thing we haven’t found anything yet then, huh?” Pinkie smiled, turning to Slayde who was reading over her shoulder, “Well, I mean... it’s not good, but, well, you know...”

The unicorn didn’t reply outside of a simple nod. There was significantly more to the letter than that, and as he had been put out of the loop for a considerable amount of time, he was determined to read on...

You may also be pleased to know that Captain Caliber is okay, and stubbornly refusing to excuse himself from current affairs despite my advice. He has asked me to remind you that if you are able to determine the fate of the two guards he sent with you and your friends, please include their status in your report. He seems quite unsettled by the lack of information regarding this matter, and also quite determined to find out if they are alright.

“That sounds like the Captain alright.” Slayde smiled in relief, Pinkie having told him all about what happened at Canterlot, “Still, you’d think he’d have more to worry about than me and Ceasler at a time like this...”

“He’s a weird guy I guess.” Pinkie replied, her eyes glued to the page, “Hold on, there’s still more...”

In regards to your friends and their progression, as I suspect you are most interested in being updated about, I am confident in writing that at the point of you reading this letter, Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s group have most likely arrived at their respective destinations. As I have not had reports of any incidents so far, it seems our efforts to stay secretive have been successful. Even so, and as much as I would like to, there is information I cannot risk reporting to you by way of this letter. By way of compensation, I leave the final part of this letter to be written by a friend who I expect you will be pleased to hear from. I wish you luck in your own endeavours.

Raw confusion melded into pleasant surprise as Pinkie’s eyes jumped to the next line. Slayde couldn’t help but brighten himself to see a wide smile slowly develop on her face.

Hello Pinkie, this is Rarity.

So sorry I missed you before you headed out again, though I must say, I am happy to hear that somepony has been sent out to tie up loose ends down at Appleoosa. And while I, of course, have absolutely no doubt that you are very capable of helping restore peace to the unfortunate townsfolk, do try to take matters, well, seriously. We all remember what the song and dance routine accomplished during our first visit.

“It wasn’t that bad!” Pinkie argued at the paper in front of her, startling the ignorant Slayde, “It worked in the end anyway! Well, sort of...”

Moving on then, I know you’re out there looking for the princess’ phoenix, but please take care of Paragonia too. He’s really quite the darling once you get to know him, and I do worry that he isn’t fit to be out and about just yet. And while I hate to echo the dear captain, I am also quite anxious to hear about what became of Mr. Ceasler and Mr. Slayde. Nopony seems to know if they are okay or not...

Oh, and if I can, allow me to assure you that I myself am fine. I dare say I am quite embarrassed to have remained in bed while the rest of you all quickly volunteered to be sent out every which way. This does conveniently lead on to the final thing I have to say, however, I apologise if I must keep it cryptic. The princess fears that conveying secrets through writing has become too risky as of late.

Even so, what I have to say to you is this. I may not be at Canterlot when you return. Nor may Fluttershy. Together, we have resolved to participate in, and undergo our own effort, much like the kind you and our friends have decided to undertake. That is all I can say really, but please do not let the secrecy worry you. I know it sounds terribly cliche, but you will understand everything before too long.

Ah, and Fluttershy says hello too. Good luck out there darling. Please stay safe.

“And that’s all there is...” Pinkie scrunched up her muzzle in thought, “Oh well! Rarity said it’s all a-okay, so there’s nothing to worry about!”

“And you’re sure about that?” Slayde took the missive from her, his eyes scanning it in its entirety, “It doesn’t concern you that those two, of all ponies, appear to be a part of some secret mission?”

“Hey now, Fluttershy and Rarity are just as capable as any of my friends!” Pinkie Pie poked Slayde in the chest accusingly, “And if they’ve decided to go and do something, then I’m all for it!”

“Even so... I can’t help but feel like whatever that something happens to be, it’s something big.” Slayde tried again and failed to pull any meaning out of the end of the letter he still held, “What’s the princess planning? What’s Caliber doing?

“And how the heck would those two ponies fit into it?”

* * * *

Far, far away from any desert, and even further from any icy mountain, the great blue sea stretched on from horizon to horizon. Parting its way through the tame sea with the whistle of wind and the flap of its sails, the patchwork ship was quiet on deck, and with good reason.

“Captain...” an ungroomed and clearly unwashed earth pony drawled from the aft, breaking the odd silence, “They’ve fallen behind again! Should we slow down?”

Getting slowly smaller in the rear view of the weathered boat was its total contrast. The massive thing was a steam-powered paddle-ship, with one great big sail and noisy wheels on either side to move it quickly through calm seas. With a bold white and blue paint job, it was the picture of official, which was undermined significantly by the fact that despite having its sails spread and its engines belching hot steam, the huge craft was failing to keep up with a ship that by comparison, was positively puny.

Hoofsteps along the battered wooden deck interrupted by a metallic thud every other step heralded the appearance of the aforementioned captain. He was a heavily muscled earth pony, and atop his scruffy brown mane sat what looked like a pilfered seadog hat. This, in addition to his left front-most iron hoof that had replaced the one he had born with, he looked like he was one eye-patch away from being the scourge of the seven seas.

Taking an authoritative stance beside his unwashed and uncaring crewmate, he squinted to see the vessel behind him struggling. “Honestly...” the towering stallion sighed, “He actually said to proceed to Canterlot at maximum speed! The fool probably never thought that hunka junk couldn’t keep up with my beauty... Ha!

“Fine, fine... let’s slow it down people.” the captain turned on the spot, waving his metal appendage commandingly, “We can’t have the Commodore getting lost now, can we?”

“Is there some kind of problem?” a bold voice questioned from behind, its owner quickly emerging from below deck, “It sounded like somepony was calling for me...”

“I didn’t hear no one asking for you, pretty boy.” the peg-legged pony grumbled, his gravelly tone more teasing than aggressive, “If anypony calls for a captain while they’re on my boat, it’s me they’re looking for.”

Taking this in stride, a pure white coated, and bold blue maned unicorn took a few slow steps forward and joined the muscular earth pony in squinting out after the massive ship shrinking in the distance.

“Sorry; a force of habit, I suppose.” the unicorn replied nonchalantly, his apology blatantly token, “And I don’t mind that you and your crew find using my title confusing, but I’ll thank you not to get imaginative with all these nicknames. Shining Armor is fine.”

“Suit yourself, squirt.” came the reply, the scruffy stallion possibly not even noticing his disregard for the royal guard captain’s wishes, “I got stuff to do up here, and you’ve got your own people to boss around below deck. So let’s let us captains do our own jobs, m’kay?”

“Just make sure the paddle-ship doesn’t lose us.” Shining Armor took a final affirming look towards the struggling ship before turning on the spot, “Don’t forget that we’re the ones leading the way back, nor that they are the ones carrying the bulk of my fellow guards.”

“Jeeze, and what’d I just say?” the grizzled stallion sighed, “Look around Shiny, I already gave the order to slow ourselves down! I can handle my own damn ship!”

With no further word from the royal guard captain as he disappeared back below deck, the unwashed and unkempt pony from earlier shambled over to his captain with an annoyed grunt, following his stare to the door that led back below deck.

“I can’t take too much more of them bossin’ us around cap’n...” he said, somewhat hushed, “How long do ya reckon it’ll be before they’re off our boat?”

“It can’t be helped, so quit your bellyaching.” the captain didn’t even look away as he spoke, “Bastards caught us with our hoof right in the cookie jar. We’d be done for in any other case.

“Let’s just be thankful they got bigger problems than us, and get ‘em to Canterlot quick fast.” he continued as he broke away from his stare, joining his crew in their preparations to slow the vessel, “If this goes the way I hope it does, they’ll be off our boat, we’ll be off their radar, and everything will be just peachy.”

* * * *

Looking into the skies above Mistmantle was like looking into another world. Ominous dark clouds swirled violently, spiralling around an ice blue core of crackling magical energy. And despite the storm brewing above, the town below was eerily quiet, out of reach of its growing ferocity. For now at least.

Looking fearful up at the spectacle, Twilight could think of no explanation and no way to make sense of the sudden change. That was, until she saw for the briefest of moments a ghostly figure seemingly galloping in amongst the chaotic storm.

“It couldn’t be...” she muttered to herself, oblivious to those around her, “Was that what I think it was?”

“Twi?” Applejack questioned, her friend possibly unaware that her voice was barely a whisper, “Did you say something just now?”

“I could’ve sworn I saw something just now, way up there in the clouds...” she elaborated, caught between her doubt and her concern, “But I really hope I’m wrong.”

“Did you wanna include us on your thought process there Twilight?” Marco asked with a sense of urgency, he and the others now copying the unicorn’s stare into the raging skies, “Because we-”

He was completely cut off before he could continue, as nothing short of a monstrous shriek echoed out, its sheer volume causing the assembled ponies to cover their ears in pain.

Sunny Day grimaced as it trailed off. He made to say something, but as if it had been summoned by that evil roar, a sudden rush of wind assailed the streets, all but knocking he and the others to the ground.

“What in tarnation is happening all of a sudden?!” Applejack cried, barely audible against the howling wind, “I know ya’ll said the weather up here’s crazy, but this ain’t right!”

By the earth pony’s hooves, Torrin literally slid slowly, his lighter body in the process of being blow away. She would have made to help the colt, but if she lifted even one of her legs off of the ground, she would be sent tumbling.

“Sunny!” Applejack fought against the wind to make her voice heard, “Do that thing you do, and stop the wind like when you helped us out before!”

Even as she spoke, the unicorn’s horn glowed softly, its occasional flickering speaking for his failure. “It’s not working!” he cried, his tone a mixture of alarm and confusion, “It’s never not worked before! I don’t understand...”

As even Sunny begun to lose his cool, Marco trudged forward against the incoming wind and put a front hoof forward to stop Torrin from slipping away any further. “We can’t stay here!” he said as loud as he could, “We need to get to shelter, now!”

As he gave the order, curiously, the wind stopped dead. As quickly as it had come, and without any apparent rhyme or reason, the raging wind was simply gone.

“What the...” Applejack was the first of them to vocalize their collective bewilderment, “What just happened?”

With no real answer to be had, she looked upward once again as if to make sense of it all. And much like as it was with Twilight, the earth pony squinted as her eyes caught something strange amidst the clouds. However, unlike Twilight, what she saw wasn’t some ghostly apparition galloping amid the storm, but something crystalline, and steadily getting larger- no, closer...

Her emerald eyes boggled as she realized. “Look out!” she cried, covering her head as if to protect it, “Something’s falling!”

Half a second later, the others didn’t need to ask what had gotten into her. Like a spear from heaven, an utterly massive and dangerously jagged shaft of ice pierced the earth only a few metres from where they stood.

“No bloody way...” Marco stuttered in shock, only one word coming to mind as he recognised the shape of the long and thin formation of ice, “Tell me that’s not what I think it is...”

No one needed to. With arcs of electricity skittering across its frozen exterior, it didn’t matter if the concept defied belief. They all knew how close they had just come to being skewered by a frozen bolt of lightning.

“Sunny...” Applejack whimpered, looking to the weather expert to make sense of this phenomenon, “What the heck is going on?!”

“I... I don’t know where to begin...” he mumbled, unable to take his eyes off of the unexplainable thing before him, “First that massive roar, and now this? It’s got to be the Howling Front... but it still doesn’t make any sense!”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Marco demanded, the electricity trapped within the ice setting him somewhat on edge, “What’s a ‘Howling Front’, and what’s it got to do with-”

He trailed off as over Sunny’s shoulder, he saw another frozen bolt of lightning come falling down from the violent skies. But as he followed its path downwards, just when he expected it to pierce the ground just as its predecessor had done, it struck the sturdy outside of one of Mistmantle's nigh-indestructible buildings.

The result was instantaneous. With the solid structure below refusing to give an inch, it was the giant bolt of ice that shattered, causing the once contained mass of electricity to explode out from its shell in a destructive flash of light. Unfortunately, while the hardened exterior of Mistmantle architecture was amazingly unfazed by the falling ice, an explosion of pure energy from such close range was somewhat in a league of its own. As the light faded away, Marco saw with his own eyes a giant smouldering chunk taken out of the overpowered building.

He wasn’t the only one to see what happened, and he definitely wasn’t the only one to look over their shoulder at the jagged pillar of ice jutting from the earth behind them, its surface still skittering with contained energies.

The whole group broke into a full gallop, Twilight hurrying Torrin along as they escaped to what they believed a safe difference from a potential time-bomb.

With Twilight and Torrin panting heavily on either side of him, Sunny bit his lip as he gazed upward into the swirling mass of clouds, half-expecting another frozen shaft of lighting to come hurtling down onto his town.

“You were saying?” Marco said from behind him, “Do you know what’s going on or not?”

“A little from column A, a little from column B...” the unicorn said without looking away, his mannerisms quite out of place considering the situation, “I don’t know how or why it’s here now, but this has happened before. But it’s too soon! It’s not supposed to- hrm...”

Marco couldn’t help but cock his head as the scientist’s explanation melded into him trying to make sense of it all himself. It was clear that Sunny couldn’t figure much out either, but just as it seemed he might suffer to his own confusion, a wave of determination seemed to wash over him.

“Look, I don’t have time to explain it properly, but I’ve got to get back the observatory.” he begun to trot off, “If this is gonna be anything like the last one, there’s gonna be a lot more of those frozen lightning bolts raining down soon! If I get a team together we might be able to discharge them before they hit the ground... and if the wind-shield won’t work then-”

“Sunny!” Twilight called out after him, “What about Quicksilver and his data?!”

“Forget it!” Sunny yelled back, not stopping on his way back to his observatory, “Focus on finding that friend of yours! You guys need to find somewhere safe!”

“Didn’t you say you needed that data stuff to fight off the storm?!” Applejack followed her friend’s persistence, coming in next to her as she called out after him, “How else are you gonna stop it?!”

“It isn’t that kind of storm anymore!” Sunny shot a single glance back before continuing, “This is the Howling Front! It isn’t something I can stop!”

* * * *

“Damn, I lost him.” Tager growled, looking left and right down the abandoned streets, “If that loud-ass ghost monster thing hadn’t thrown a hissy-fit all of a sudden I woulda-”

Her attention quickly diverted to see yet another shaft of ice come whistling down from above and imbed itself in the very middle of the path she was walking.

“Hrm...” she pondered, staring at it with calm interest despite how close it had come to flattening her, “How come only some of them are the ones that explode? It’s friggin’ weird...”

As she was obviously unable to determine they exploded when shattered, Tager also failed to recognise her luck that this particular bolt just barely avoided the corner of a nearby building.

“It’s like lightning, but it’s also, like... frozen.” Tager approached it uncaringly, leaning in for a closer look, “I wonder what they call these things?”

Putting her muzzle just that little bit too close, a rouge surge of electricity connected, giving her a significant jolt.

“Son of a bitch!” Tager swore, clenching her teeth in pained anger as she rubbed the contact point, “Stupid, uh, electric ice... electrice? No... Freeze, hrm. Bolt? This is a tough one...”

Her wondering causing her to neglect backing up, it wasn’t long before she received a second shock, somewhat more potent than the last. In frustration, Tager did what she regularly did when anything, animate or not, struck that hidden nerve within. Retaliate.

Not one to apply rational thought or restraint in her brief moment of rage, Tager whipped her wings out and took to her new enemy with a headfirst airborne charge. Shattering the ice with ease, her moment of satisfaction was met with an unexpected white-hot flash of liberated lightning.

The area in which it had once stood now smouldering black, and with chunks of ice falling all about, there seemed to be nothing left of the pillar of ice, nor the pegasus who had effectively detonated it.

“Whew, that surprised me...” Tager exhaled from a nearby rooftop, the singed hairs at the tip of her tail signifying her close shave, “I think I’m gonna call you... ‘ice’ning. Yeah, that’s a good one.

“And now I’m bored again...” she mumbled to herself, looking about herself from her new vantage point, “Maybe I should catch up with the others? Or I could try and find that Quicksilver bastard again...”

As she took a moment to consider what to do next, another bolt of ‘icening’ came careening down from the darkened skies. And then another. And another. Through widened eyes, Tager watched as frozen shafts of lightning begun to fall like rain, each one carrying the same destructive power with which she had only just been acquainted.

It was then that she saw it. Again, parading about in the middle of the swirling clouds, looking over the volley of ice it had seemingly conjured, Tager saw in full view the monstrous shape of a chilling blue, horse-like spectre. Squinting in recognition, she watched as the creature raised its head high, and despite having no visible mouth, let loose with a hateful roar.

“A windigo, huh?” she said to herself, her ventured mind part-way familiar with the legends, “I guess this crazy storm isn’t normal after all, even for this wild part of the world...”

She would have gone on to wonder what would bring such a creature here, but real danger was closing in, and fast. If even one of those electric blasts could do such damage to the buildings around here, and if they kept coming like this, the supposedly indestructible town would be little more than a smoking crater before long.

Tager prepared her wings as the gauntlet approached. She didn’t have much choice; even if the cold wind would damage her wings, she’d be in big trouble if she stayed grounded. Her thoughts drifted to the others and their safety for a fleeting moment before her survival instincts commanded her to action.

That was until she saw the flash. Fearing that another of the lightning bolts fell without her seeing it coming, her head snapped to the direction she had come just in time to see a bold arch of electricity burst upward, snaking through the sky and tagging the falling ice on its way into the heart of the maelstrom above.

Tager didn’t have time to think about what just happened or why. Being distracted like that gave her only the minimum time to get to safety. Lurching upwards with amazing speed and agility, she weaved around the incoming ice as it fell, gaining just enough distance before the first of them shattered upon the immovable hardness of the Mistmantle rooftops.

And that was all there was to it. They just broke into harmless chunks of ice once the tough stone structures inevitably refused to budge, or otherwise simply embedded themselves into the more soft ground like some of their predecessors. More importantly however, there was no explosion, no electricity, and no more broken rooftops. Tager also quickly noticed that once the initial volley was over, there didn’t appear to be any more of them coming down from the clouds. She couldn’t figure out why there had been no more explosions nor why it had stopped all of a sudden, but she did have the common sense to realize that the light from the observatory had something to do with it.

Now that she thought about it, her current confusion was familiar. Earlier, when the windigo roared and brought that massive wind along, it had stopped all of a sudden for no apparent reason. Then, as if in response, it roared again, and sent its thunderbolts down. Now that too had stopped so abruptly, and so long as those clouds still swirled, Tager wasn’t about to fool herself into thinking that this was over.

While she wouldn’t know it, her suspicions were not far from the truth. Much like how whatever Sunny had done at the observatory saved the town from being levelled, there was a force responsible for dispelling the wind earlier as well. This force, it seemed, in taking interest in the sudden halt of lightning raining down, had emerged from his apparent hiding and now stood in full view in the centre of the street.

“I guess that even through all that other stuff, Sunny’s still good for something.” Quicksilver mumbled to himself, the eyes behind his goggles scanning the raging skies, “Other than getting on my nerves that is...”

Turning from the scene as he made to continue on his way, the stallion took no more than two steps before finding his path cut off. For, standing in front of him, wings splayed and teeth grinning, was a pegasus who he recognised for all the wrong reasons.

“Remember me?” her smile widened to know her quarry was cornered, “By my reckoning, we were still in the middle of having a little chat.”

“I remember.” Quicksilver replied quickly, ever serious, “Though I thought you would have better things to do in the midst of this chaos than follow up on something like that...”

“If you’d ever ditched a babe like me at a bar before, you’d know the last thing I’d be is reasonable.” Tager pointed out slyly, further taunting goggled stallion, “I got a bone to pick with you mister, and no windigo is about to stop me from pounding in your smug face.”

“Wait, is this because I tried to get you to leave town?” Quicksilver questioned, perhaps not even able to comprehend the concept of an irrational motive, “And what’s a windigo?”

“Like I can be arsed explaining any of this!” Tager was practically fuming at the unicorn’s attitude, “You picked a fight with me, and now you’re gonna pay!”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.” Quicksilver was quick to chime back in, trying to calm the pegasus by raising his front hooves, “If you’ll think back for a moment, you’ll remember that I only confronted you because I didn’t want you to cause any trouble. But as you can quite clearly see, there is trouble enough already brewing.”

“I don’t remember nothing apart from you sticking your muzzle where it didn’t belong.” Tager snarled, “And that’s cause enough for me to wanna send your scrawny ass flying!”

“Look... I’m sorry, okay?” Quicksilver tried another tactic, “I didn’t mean to disrespect you or anything like that. So let’s not get so heated up.”

“Eh?!” Tager grabbed the unicorn by the lab-coat and thrust his insolent mug forwards so that he was barely an inch from her scowling muzzle, “Well ain’t you singing a different tune now?! Did ya wanna run that by me one more time beanpole? ‘Cause I didn’t hear an ounce of sincerity in that!”

“I said that I apologise.” Quicksilver didn’t put up any resistance, not physically at least, “It was wrong of me to try and intimidate you, and I shouldn’t have tried to force you or start a fight. It’s all my fault.

“It’s just that...” he continued, apparently the type to always include a justification with their apology, “I’ve never had to try to out an outlaw before. I tried to be cool, and it didn’t work, and it made things worse... so I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t have to do anything!” Tager released her hold, “That’s gotta be one of the dumbest explanations I’ve ever heard! And if you knew the kinda shit I’ve had to listen to lately...”

“But you get it, right?” Quicksilver questioned pointedly, re-adjusting the collar of his coat, “There’s no sense in escalating this any further is there?”

“I suppose not.” the pegasus exhaled, looking the scientist up and down, then grinning mischievously, “Perhaps we can put this behind us after all...”

Four seconds later, and Quicksilver was kneeling in the snow, nursing his upper shoulder. Of any reaction he had expected of Tager, a sharp two-legged buck wasn’t high on the list. Even so, the unicorn instantly noticed that her strike hadn’t much feeling behind it, and now that it was over with, she seemed much less confrontational to feel as though their score had been settled.

“You’re something else, you know that?” Tager returned to civility now that she was finally satisfied, “I was looking forward to kicking your arrogant ass, but since you’re secretly nothing but a big idiot, beating on you would just be sad.”

“I’m not sure if we have an understanding or not...” Quicksilver remarked as he stopped rubbing his shoulder and rose, failing to see through to what the pegasus actually meant, “But at least now we can go our separate ways in peace.”

“Just one thing first...” Tager put a hoof to his chest to stop him from walking past her so easily, “You were one of those weather guys weren’t you? From the observatory place? You seem to have some idea of what’s been going on with the storm and everything, and I wanna know just what the hell this is all about.”

“What you’ve been seeing is a storm we’ve come to call the Howling Front.” Quicksilver explained, shrugging Tager’s hoof off of his chest, “For as long as this town has been here, this storm comes every ten years, like clockwork, hitting us in the middle of winter.”

“Dude, it’s autumn.” Tager shook her head, “Not that you’d think so with all the snow I’ve seen lately. Anyway, how could you not know that?”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Quicksilver shook his head too, “This place has been here for well over a thousand years. And all that time, this outrageous storm defies our knowledge, conjuring up new phenomena in some attempt to get around all the advancements we’ve made trying to stop it. Without fail, it appears over and over again, every ten years, always trying new ways to reduce this place to rubble.

“The last time it came, for instance, it threw volleys of those frozen lightning bolts at us.” Quicksilver cast his gaze downwards briefly, “As we’d never imagined anything like it before, we very nearly lost to the storm.”

“Ah, yes... the icening.” Tager nodded in mock expertise, “I thought it was over for you guys when I saw it coming. What the heck happened there anyway?”

“Most likely, Sunny and the team generated a electrical pulse with the appropriate polarity and wattage to discharge the falling, err... ‘icening’, as well as destabilize the source cloud responsible for forming them.” Quicksilver pondered, “And although that makes it sound simple enough, the real challenge would have been appropriately tuning that electrical pulse so quickly.

“And I just realized who I’m talking to.” he continued with a sigh, changing tune instantly, “You didn’t follow any of that, did you?”

“So, they stopped the icening with lightning, big whoop.” Tager rolled her eyes, “But weren’t you saying it throttled you the last time? Why so easy now?”

“It isn’t so easy.” Quicksilver shook his head, “Normally, we get ten years to analyse the phenomenon we get hit with and develop a countermeasure for next time. But when the Howling Front came last year, the lightning was only stopped through... well, extreme measures. We at the observatory knew we needed to develop a proper solution for the next time, but we never imagined the Front would return so soon. Sunny and the rest did well to have something prepared in time.”

“Your story’s full of holes, bro.” Tager pointed out, “First you say this storm comes like clockwork, every ten years, and now you’re telling me you guys went through it last year, and again this year?”

“Last winter, as a matter of fact.” Quicksilver replied unfazed, “Now it is autumn, as you quite rightly pointed out, and the storm has come again.”

“And that makes sense to you does it?” Tager raised an eyebrow, “Just what are you trying to say?”

“Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t change the facts.” came the reply, “Every time this storm has come, it brings with it a new method to wreak havoc upon my home. And now that Sunny and the rest have thwarted what it brought the last time, the Howling Front has its new trick to reveal before it is gone again.”

“So that’s why you’re out here while the others were wondering why you up and left the observatory?” Tager questioned, “You gonna fight back the storm’s tricks all by yourself?”

“The others didn’t believe me when I told them this was the Howling Front.” Quicksilver explained, his tone dropping, “Sunny and the rest were too sure it wouldn’t come so soon after the last one. And while they seem to have realized, it’s too late now. I was the only one preparing for this, and I’m the only one willing to do what it takes to best this storm once and for all.”

“And what would that be?” Tager found her interest piqued by the unicorn’s sudden resolve, “You gonna be the hero? Save the town all by your lonesome?”

Before she could get an answer from the stallion, the air was filled by the droning roar of the angry spectre still galloping about the raging storm above. And if Tager had learned anything so far, it was what that dreadful roar was normally followed by.

“You want my advice, get to one of those tough-looking structures and knuckle-down.” Quicksilver was already trotting away, further towards the edge of town, “I can’t give you any guarantees, but it beats standing out here, knowing you’re not going to get off easy.”

Watching him go, with his white coat flapping in the wind, Tager simply stood, trying to work the strange stallion out. At first she hadn’t found him terribly interesting, but now she saw an intriguing and awkward bundle of genius, foolishness, and apparently, bravado.

“So, one last trick up your sleeve, eh windigo?” she said to herself as she saw the climax coming, the storm above brewing for its final siege, “Sorry poindexter, but I get a feeling I’ll want a front row seat for this one.”

* * * *

“There!” Twilight thrust her hoof skyward, “There it is again! Do you see it?!”

Following her urgent gesture, the group around her stared intently at the central blue mass of the swirling storm. Then, as they started to wonder what she was on about, they all saw it. Bright blue, positively gigantic, and with intense angry eyes, the ghostly creature stirred amidst the storm in full view for a moment, before its shape was lost again within the clouds.

“Oh boy, you weren’t kidding...” Applejack breathed, “What in tarnation is that thing?!”

“I see it, but... I don’t believe it.” Marco stammered, unable to make sense of it, “A windigo? Here? It doesn’t make any sense...”

“A windigo?” Torrin repeated, “I thought they were just a myth! And aren’t they supposed to only go after places where ponies constantly fight with one another?”

“More accurately, they are attracted by hatred.” Marco corrected the colt, “The more powerful the source, the more vicious the storm they bring...”

“Then it’s like you said before, ain’t it?” Applejack questioned, referring to Marco’s initial comment, “I didn’t see nopony hating anypony when we got here, and the folks seem to get on as good as any other town, maybe even better than! But this darn storm’s lookin’ to be as vicious as vicious comes!”

“That’s not the worst part...” Twilight bit her lip slightly, “I thought that when Sunny said they couldn’t stop the storm, he meant it was because it was too strong. But if it’s a windigo behind the storm, then it’s no wonder why all their gadgets and techniques are no good!”

“I don’t get it.” Torrin confessed shyly, perhaps feeling as though he should have understood, “Why not?”

“I’m actually with the kid on this one.” Marco spoke up, apparently as confused as the colt, “What do you mean?”

“Remember when we first met Sunny, when we were stuck inside the blizzard?” Twilight explained, “Granted, she isn’t a weather pegasus like Dash, but we had Tager with us, and me with my magic. But it was only Sunny who was able to get rid of the wind...”

“Yeah, he saved our hides like it was as easy to him as breathing.” Applejack nodded in agreement, “So what?”

“And then, not long after we all went looking for Tager and Quicksilver, we heard the windigo roar and a massive wind came rushing in.” Twilight continued, “Sunny tried to stop it like he did before, but it didn’t work even a little, did it?”

“But it stopped almost as soon as it started, right?” Marco pointed out, “Who says it didn’t work?”

“Don’t you remember how he explained the way they deal with the weather they get?” Twilight questioned, the bookish unicorn obviously paying due attention when they were in the observatory, “They observe weather makeup, and then use their magic or gadgets to add or change individual elements to make it normal again. If what Sunny did worked, we would’ve seen a change right away.

“Besides, the town has a permanent weather-correction shield thingie all of its own.” she added, “It’s obvious that wasn’t working, otherwise we wouldn’t have been hit by the wind in the first place...”

“We’re getting off track a little here, ain’t we?” Applejack questioned, her interest focused more on where the conversation was initially going, “Why would Sunny be able to stop the wind we had on the way here, and not even make a dent in the one we were hit with just before?”

“Well, that’s what’s got me worried.” Twilight sighed, “Their techniques work most of the time because they’re opposing natural forces. But that windigo... it’s a magical being. The source of all this crazy weather isn’t natural, so their normal methods aren’t going to work.”

“Are you sure about that?” Marco asked pointedly, “Before Sunny ran off, he called the storm by a name, and even mentioned that it had happened before.”

“I think he said ‘Howling Front’, or something like that.” Torrin chipped in again, “Oh, and when you asked him if he still wanted us to get the data from Quicksilver, he told us it wouldn’t help. Maybe he already knows this isn’t the normal kind of storm?”

“That’s likely, but I wouldn’t imagine he, or anyone here even knows what a windigo is.” Twilight tapped her muzzle in thought, “I mean, being isolated up here, it would be strange for them to know much about Equestrian myths.”

“And Sunny even said it himself...” Applejack thought back, “They can’t stop it. Maybe it’s ‘cause they never really figured out what they were actually up against?”

“In any case, now’s not the best time to focus on semantics.” Marco rethought their priorities, “Especially if we are the only ones who know what a windigo is and believe it’s the cause of this storm, what we need to figure out now is how to help.”

“Yes, you’re right...” Twilight said with a sigh, understanding, but not wanting to abandon her questions, “It might be taking its sweet time, but this ‘Howling Front’ isn’t done yet. We need to focus on what is in front of us first.”

“So then... what?” Torrin shrugged, feeling awfully useless before the swirling mass of grey clouds, “What do we actually do?”

Prompted by his obvious question, Marco did a quick stock-take, and then frowned silently. They weren’t exactly very well equipped to tackle anything like this. Three out of four of them were earth ponies, and the one unicorn, though magically able, couldn’t even work out the rubber-duckie puzzle, much less the issue of the Howling Front.

As testament to their uselessness, Marco, Applejack, and Torrin silently stared and waited for Twilight to take the lead. Overly clueless herself, the unicorn took a deep breath, and realized they only really had one option.

“Sunny.” Twilight said what they’d all expected her to say, “The only thing we can do is find Sunny again. Even if he can’t help directly, our best bet to solving this mess is through him, or maybe even the observatory itself.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Applejack turned on the spot, now facing the direction Sunny had charged off earlier, “Let’s hop to it! We ain’t got all day!”

“Oi!” A voice called out down the street, seemingly from the direction Applejack and the others now faced, “You guys!”

“Huh, well... that was easy.” Applejack remarked, her tone surprised, yet flat, “Maybe I should take charge more often.”

In moments, the figure galloping toward them was revealed to be none other than Sunny. It was as if he had come running from the observatory, right back to where he left the others in the middle of the street.

“Wow, I didn’t expect to find you lot so fast!” he exclaimed, scanning the area for a moment, “Isn’t this where I left you before- wait, have you guys seriously just been standing here the whole time?!”

“We... uh, were just talking things through a bit.” Marco answered awkwardly, though he picked up on the unicorn’s slight distress, “Why? What’s wrong?”

“I had hoped you would’ve gone and found your friend from earlier...” Sunny trailed off, gears slowly ticking in his mind, “But I guess it can’t be helped. You lot have got to come with me!”

Unconsciously, everypony’s eyes drifted to the clouds above steadily growing darker. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was going to say next.

“The worst is yet to come, I’m afraid.” Sunny said grimly, “Do you know the way back to the observatory?”

“Yeah, I think so...” Marco was confused, but compliant, “Why? What are we gonna do?”

“It might not look it, but same as any structure around here, that place is built like a rock.” Sunny replied evenly, “You four are going to hunker down for this next part. I’m gonna round up that other girl and bring her back with me.”

“I wouldn’t go worrying about that one if I were you...” Applejack stepped in, although she was uncertain about how far to elaborate on Tager’s independent nature, “She can handle herself. Besides, I’m not too sure she’d want to follow you, or any of us for that matter. It’s... well, it’s hard to explain, okay?”

“I’m not sure I understand, but I suppose it’s your call.” Sunny was hesitant, but accepting, “She ought to be safe in any old building around here anyway, if worst comes to worst.”

Abruptly, Sunny’s brain sparked and kicked back into crisis mode. Now that he had been convinced that he had ‘assembled’ all those he felt responsible for, there was only one thing left to do...

“Anyway, enough about that!” he commanded, kicking up snow as he turned, “Time to follow me! Let’s get back to the observatory, it isn’t safe here!”

No arguments there. Following close behind Sunny as he led the way back, the full group, including Torrin, kept pace for the relatively short trip back to the centre of the town.

One by one, Marco and the others entered the observatory for what was now the second time. When the last of them was safe inside, two ponies on either side of the thick doors hefted them shut, and then bolted them tight for good measure.

“That ought to do it.” Sunny said with a dull kind of satisfaction, nodding to the two scientists as they scampered back off to their own business, “We should be safe now.”

“Should?” Applejack questioned, assessing the fortress-like structure around her, “I don’t think I like the sound of that...”

“Sorry, but I don’t like to make a habit of taking things as being certain...” Sunny explained as he negotiated his way around the observatory, stopping briefly to interact with various objects around the lab, “Since we never know what’s in store with the Howling Front, I can never say anything for sure.”

“So what happens now?” Marco surveyed the familiar surroundings as he watched Sunny tinker around, “What’s the plan?”

“Uh, plan?” the unicorn stopped for a moment and faced him, “The plan is to get everypony in off the streets and under one of these Mistmantle roofs. And then to wait. Oh, and also, not to die.

“So yeah, this is the plan.” Sunny continued, perhaps sensing the concerns rising in their minds, “You guys are the only ones not already on board with it, by the way. Everypony who lives here knows the drill by now.”

“But... but we saw for ourselves the kind of damage this storm can do!” Twilight spoke up urgently, “Some of those lightning bolts took chunks out of the buildings around here! They’re not safe enough!”

“They’re still the best defence we have.” Sunny argued calmly, “Remember, we have no idea what kind of weather we’re about to get. The buildings around here are fine against temperature changes, wind, blizzards... you know, that kind of thing. No, they’re not perfect, but it’s all very dependant. We might not have any problem!”

“Might?” Applejack couldn’t believe it, her voice coming out as a mixture of anger and surprise, “And that’s your plan?! You’d rather give up on stopping the storm and have everypony hiding away, not knowing if they’re safe or not?”

“Give up?” Sunny repeated, shocking the group by reflecting Applejack’s accusational tone, “Watch your mouth, before you get carried away and say something you shouldn’t!

“Don’t you understand?” Sunny’s uncharacteristically angry tone instantly evaporated as he regained himself, “This is all we can do...”

As he trailed off, an awkward silence begun to develop. In response, Applejack put a careful hoof to the scientist’s shoulder, helping to remind each other that they were on the same team.

“I didn’t mean no harm, Sunny... I, no, we just don’t wanna see things go south up here for no good reason.” she reasoned, her voice gentle, “But, answer me honestly. Is there absolutely no way to stop the Howling Front?”

“You guys have good intentions, I get it... I really do.” Sunny sighed slightly, “But I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve had lots and lots of practice with it over the last thousand-odd years, yet I only know of one time the Howling Front was pushed back.”

“And when was that?!” Twilight questioned, her hopefulness practically palpable, “Do you know how they did it?!”

“Believe it or not, it was the last time it came, which was ‘bout a year ago now.” Sunny replied, although he sounded anything but hopeful, perhaps even dejected, “And don’t ask me why it’s here again today, because until a few minutes ago, even I didn’t believe it. Dating way, way, way back, the storm came every decade during winter. It never came late, and it sure as hell never came early.”

“So... how?” Applejack returned to what she felt to be the more important part of Twilight’s question, “How did y’all beat back the storm?”

“It didn’t work, did it?” Marco asked carefully enough, suspecting where this story may be headed, “What happened?”

“The storm came as scheduled, obviously.” Sunny continued, “This scientist, he was the better of our magic users. And since his device needed a lot of power, he and it were the frontline against whatever the Howling Front had to throw at us.”

“And that was the year it rained lightning, wasn’t it?” Twilight adapted Marco’s cautious tone, “Frozen lightning even... it doesn’t sound like something the device you described could handle.”

“Well, we had backup strategies, and plans B, C, and D through to Z, but that year in particular we were getting hit hard.” Sunny sighed, “Less than a minute in, and I thought we were done for. The thousandth year of our town sitting up on this mountain showing the Howling Front what-for, and it looked like it was all gonna get wiped out.”

“That bad, huh?” Torrin wasn’t as careful with his questions, “But it looked like you dealt with it pretty easy this time. Especially when you say you would’ve normally had nine more years to come up with something...”

“I don’t feel like I’m stressing this enough.” Sunny backpedalled, “Last year was the worst we’ve ever seen, period. It wasn’t just what kind of storm we had, but how especially severe it was. Otherwise there would have been no problem...”

“Even so, you said this was the only time someone beat back the storm.” Marco sounded confused, “Just how did that happen?”

“The observatory is called Sunny Day’s and Night’s; has been ever since my pops died and I got to put my name on the sign.” Sunny replied curiously, “My dad founded it along with a fellow called White Night, which was before I was born. Sometimes I think he named me knowing it’d be my name up there next to his one day.

“Anyway...” Sunny continued, his deviation having been rather forced, “This scientist I was talking about was none other than White Night’s kid. We were childhood friends, due to our fathers hanging out so much, which made it weird when my dad passed away and then it was me and Whitey running the observatory. I was my friend’s boss and his dad’s colleague, so we kinda drifted apart.

“He was still a genius scientist though, and when that storm roared in, he was all ready to prove himself.” Sunny got back on track, “But when it all went to heck, and he was the first in line to get swallowed up by the storm, White Night jumped in and saved him at the cost of his own life. He died, sacrificed himself I guess, and that was the end of it. As quick as it had come, the storm to end all storms was gone.”

“That’s quite the story.” Applejack was the first to speak, “And, uh... ‘that’ was what stopped the storm?”

“Yep.” Sunny nodded curtly, “Well, that’s what I reckon anyway. But I ought to tell you, none of my peers agree with me. Even so, I was there... and it’s the only way I saw it that made any sense, even if it kinda didn’t make sense. Know what I mean?”

“It does make sense actually...” Twilight tapped at her muzzle thoughtfully, “A lot of sense.”

“You’re making one of those faces again Twi.” Applejack observed, easily recognising the signs of her friend’s brain at work, “What’d ya work out?”

“Think about it...” Twilight reasoned, “Even though it was the worst they’d ever had it, that time was the only one in which they stopped the storm. And as we were saying before, the reason they have such a hard time is because they’ve been trying to fight magic with science...

“Remember, windigoes are brought by hatred.” she continued, “But this White Night guy, he gave his life to protect his son. Such a powerful act of love... what if it was stronger than the hate that summoned the windigo?”

“Uh, what’s a windigo?” Sunny asked, causing everypony else’s ears to perk, “Hate? Love? Summoning? You guys do realize you’re talking crazy, right?”

“Hrm... we didn’t think you’d know.” Twilight closed her eyes in thought, “But how to explain?”

“It might be easiest to say that the ‘Howling Front’ is just another name for a windigo.” Marco was the one to answer, “And although I’ve never heard about one striking so regularly, or even more than once in the same place, this kind of phenomenon isn’t unique.

“You see, a windigo is a mythical, magical creature that brings total ruin to places ruled by hate.” he continued, giving the most basic version of the Heart’s Warming Eve tale that he could, “Legends say that the only thing that can chase them off is love.”

“Okay then...” Sunny replied, his attempts to consolidate this new information visible on his face, “Aside from that stuff about White Night and his kid, what’s a windigo have to do with any of this? We’ve been getting this storm consistently for a thousand years, and I’ll be the first to tell ya, hatred has no home here.”

“And I believe you.” Marco answered honestly, “I mean, this storm is nuts. If it was a windigo, it should be obvious just looking around why it would come to this place. And yet... I don’t see any signs, not a single thing to back up the fact such a creature has been constantly waging war on Mistmantle.”

“I know it doesn’t make a lick of sense, but there’s no doubt a windigo’s here.” Applejack stepped in, drawing a line between the stallions, “We saw the monster for ourselves. All four of us.”

Though Sunny couldn’t know what they’d seen, Marco had to hold his tongue. There was no question about what he saw, but even if there were, he would have believed the others. They could discuss it to death, but the facts remained. There was a windigo in Mistmantle.

Again, a silence developed as nopony knew how to proceed. The storm was closing in, but so long as there was any debate, they’d spend its final phase in here behind locked doors and solid walls.

“I have a question.” Torrin spoke up, his tone making it obvious that he was worried about changing the subject, “If White Night died, why is the name of the observatory still Sunny Day’s and Night’s? You said the name changed when you took over for your dad... then how come White Night’s name is still up?”

“It isn’t.” Sunny replied easily, “Like how it was in my case, Whitey’s kid took over when he died. And while nopony calls him it anymore, his name is Silver Night. No need to change the sign, you see?”

“And you said White Night’s son was also a scientist, and a strong magic user?” Torrin’s voice drifted as his thoughts wandered, “So Silver Night... he’s also known as Quicksilver, isn’t he?”

“Gold star for the little genius.” Sunny winked, “Kinda weird it would turn out to be that troublemaker, huh?”

“Yeah...” Torrin replied, only half concentrating, “Weird.”

“White Night... and Silver Night...” Twilight rolled the names around on her tongue, “A father sacrificing himself for his son. If that’s what happened, then it makes sense that last year was the only time they were ever able to get rid of the storm.”

“So you’re still saying that the town was saved by ‘love’ without them even knowing it?” Marco replied, his tone still doubtful, “But I don’t know Twilight... I still can’t accept that there’s hate enough to bring a windigo here. I mean, every ten years for a millennium? If we hadn’t seen the monster with our own eyes, would we even suspect this town was even remotely hateful?”

“I’m still not sure I accept this talk of myths and monsters, but if my word is worth anything in this discussion, then your friend’s got the right idea.” Sunny provided his input, “I mean, our town isn’t the biggest ever, so the community’s pretty tight. And to my knowledge, which, let’s face it, is kinda vast, my town hasn’t got a history of having any major quarrels.”

“I’ve gotta say, even though a lot of this stuff’s just a bit over my head, some things just don’t add up.” Applejack gulped, not wanting to stick out too much from the more intellectual back and forth, “I mean, Sunny says they’ve been getting this storm for a thousand years running. What kinda problems could be going on in this place that would make a windigo keep coming back across all those generations?”

“This may be a bit specific Sunny, but how does this town keep in touch with its history?” Marco understood what Applejack was getting at, “I mean, is it all written down somewhere?”

“Kind of...” Sunny nodded once, “I mean, we have a good grasp of what’s been going on with the storms this last thousand years because ponies thought it was prudent to keep an archive of what happened during each coming of the Howling Front for future reference.

“Of course, they only started doing that after it arrived the first time.” Sunny continued, “Naturally, the town’s been here for quite a while before that started happening, but for whatever reason, we haven’t got much of a surviving record of what it was like back in those days.”

“That’s not too surprising.” Twilight sighed, “I mean, its amazing you have a record going back even a thousand years, though it makes sense because of the weather you got. We’ve already seen our share of disappointment trying to look back any further than that...”

“It doesn’t matter to you guys anyway.” Sunny shrugged, “If we had time I could just show you, but you’re gonna have to take my word for it this time. There’s really no bad stuff in our history. If what you say about these ‘windigoes’ is correct, then they shouldn’t be here.”

“And I’m seeing some fairly compelling evidence that they are.” Marco eyed the developing storm through a nearby window, “What the hell are we missing?”

“None of this makes a lick of sense.” Applejack sighed, “A windigo shows up when there’s no hatred... for a thousand years straight no less, and then they decide to break the habit and come twice in two years? I’m still waiting to hear a reason why all of this can happen!”

“A thousand years straight, and then a sudden change...” Torrin mumbled, all but to himself, “Hatred across generations, but no bad history...

“How is it all connected?” his thoughts were strained, as if trying to force everything into place, “What are we missing to have this all make sense?”

For a few long seconds, the colt’s brow furrowed to reconcile all the scattered pieces of information. The voices of the others turned to hash in his ears as his mind wandered on, the things he’d only just heard, things he’d heard back at Canterlot, and even things he’d wrote under the spell of prophecy, all came rushing at once to the fore. Until...

“Holy crap.” Torrin swore, totally out of place and mind, “I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of that! Oh gosh... oh gosh!”

“What’s the matter kiddo?” Marco asked, somewhat alarmed by the colt’s sudden outburst, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost...”

“Twilight... does it really take a whole village hating one another to bring a windigo?” he asked, not even registering Marco’s comment, “It could be less than that right? Well... not really ‘less’, but... it would still happen if it was bad enough right?!”

“Calm down.” Twilight tried to settle the colt, his question all mixed up, “And I don’t really know for sure. I think it just has to be strong enough. It’s not the kind of thing that one, or a general group of ponies could be responsible for.”

“What in tarnation’s gotten into you kid?” Applejack demanded, confused and slightly alarmed, “I hope this ain’t some kinda joke... this here’s serious!”

“Seriously serious... I know!” Torrin responded with a shaky voice, “It all makes sense now! A thousand years! That’s why the windigo has been coming! That’s why it’s come again so soon!”

“Hang on...” Sunny stepped forward, also made curious by that last part, “What did you just say?”

“Not what I said!” Torrin twisted the unicorn’s words, “It’s what Luna said! Actually, it’s what Luna said Neptune said!”

“Uh, Neptune?” Marco repeated, that name possible the last he’d expect to hear in the explanation, “What does he have to do with windigoes?”

“Remember when Luna told us about how she asked Neptune what he did to his brother?” Torrin asked, “You know, about the seal. And where he put it?”

“Yeah, of course... but what does that-” Marco was in the middle of questioning the colt before his words suddenly froze and his jaw hung loose, the same realization now striking him, “Oh... holy crap!”

“You too now?” Applejack raised a confused eyebrow, “What’s gotten into you guys?”

“It was right in front of our faces this whole time...” Marco said, barely saying the words as he put it all together in his mind, “Mistmantle was the place they chose. The seal... Terra was sealed here!”

“What the?!” Applejack blurted, her confusion only compiled, “How the hay do you figure that?”

“It explains everything...” Torrin answered, “Neptune said he left the job to a guild of unicorns, and that they ensured it would forever remain a secret. Mistmantle is an entirely unicorn populated town, that exists in total isolation, with no surviving knowledge of its early history... and the ‘Howling Front’ has been coming for a thousand years, ever since he was locked away.”

“And then, the storm was the most intense on the thousandth year.” Marco added, “The same time he busted out. His hatred... it only makes sense that it was what kept bringing the windigo here.”

Sunny made to interject, their apparent revelation making absolutely no sense from his point of view. However, when he looked about, the looks on the faces of the others informed him that he was well and truly excluded from whatever this was...

“It... it still doesn’t make sense.” Twilight’s brow furrowed as she tried to stay neutral, “I know what you’re thinking, but... it doesn’t account for everything. Why every ten years? Also, why would it be happening again now? If Terra was responsible for it, there should be no storm. He isn’t sealed anymore.”

“I can’t figure out the ‘ten years’ part yet, but this is definitely worth investigating.” Marco’s levelled his stare at the unicorn, “As for the storm coming back so soon, it’s the very reason that the continuous cycle has been broken that tells me Terra’s seal is here, somewhere in or near Mistmantle.”

He sighed before continuing. “I can understand if it’s hard to believe...” he said softly, understanding but determined, “But even if there was only a slight chance, I think you of all ponies would support the idea of Terra being sealed here...”

This only caused Twilight’s doubtful frown to evolve even further. “And why would that be?” she asked, now more curious as to what he was thinking than to whether or not what he and Torrin had suggested was actually true.

“Because... if we’re right...” Torrin replied, sharing a look with Marco as he answered for him, “Then we’ve found Celestia.”

Comments

[Sky Charmer]

I like it. Or should I say 'liked' it. I was fine throughout chapter 1 and the beginning of Chapter 2. But, once Celestia put him into a catatonic state, I bailed. For me, it was more interesting while nopony knew the truth about him. Of course, this is just my opinion. And you can't go off of this alone. There are still all of those other readers you have to think about. Other than that, I think that it's written well. Not many clichés, good characterization, great storyline. 7/10 from me.