The Olden World

by Czar_Yoshi

Yet Colder

Fire's horn pulsed a bright, pure yellow, conjuring a glowing orb of light tethered to her by an impossibly thin strand. She clenched her eyes, gritted her teeth, and flicked her neck, sending the light soaring up until it pierced the roiling, whiteish-blue cloud cover above, the line between her and it twisting and shaking and growing taut.

Then, it pulsed, and the storm began to reach down. A ghostly tentacle of cloud descended from the violent sea, oozing down the line toward her... except Fire was straining and pulling, like her magic was a fishing rod and she was extracting something from the heart of the storm. The cloud pillar bent and twisted, keeping itself connected to the sea above, and whatever was at the end began to take shape, a glowing ball of rapidly-swirling energy shedding little puffs of cloud like a moving statue being chiseled into form.

The end of the tendril reached eye level. Fire faced it, standing on a spur of the balcony that remained standing thanks to an intact support pillar, the floor to either side of her having been destroyed by chunks of falling roof. The last of the cloud shell cracked away, and the energy sphere shattered, revealing a vaguely-equine creature the color of clouds glued to Fire's tether. It was faintly translucent, with flailing forehooves and blinding eye sockets and a muzzle twice as long as any stallion, and its back half devolved into a billowing plume of white and blue that formed the chain connecting it to the storm above. It howled.

"Aroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

"What is...?" Gerardo blanched, stepping back and raising a talon against the waves of intense cold radiating from the thing. "It couldn't be!"

Even the yaks were cowed. The only creature who didn't gape or cringe in shock, fear or disgust was Fire, and she was far too busy fighting to control the abomination to look reassuring. "It's a windigo," she grunted, staggering and catching herself. "The demons of the old world that destroyed Unicornia two thousand years ago..."

"Those monsters are real!?" Arambai shouted, refusing to back away. "As in, still alive?"

"Heh..." Valey chuckled weakly. "Always wondered what you guys looked like. Hey, icy buddy."

"What's going on?" Starlight hissed, staring around sightlessly. "T-This feels weird! I can't see!"

The windigo shrieked again. Planting her hooves, Fire rasped, "They've always been real, living beneath the glacier of Yakyakistan. We wanted to get rid of them! In Ironridge, far beneath the city, there's a powerful source of harmonic energy. We wanted to use it to contain them... to force them into a dormant state where they could be sealed forever! Windigoes magically resonate with each other. We found that by placing them in close proximity to harmonically-charged windigo hearts, we could weaken them. So we used Ironridge's source to supercharge a heart, then meditated over these ones for years to force them into a state that would remain stable long enough to take them here! We hoped once we moved them down below, the strength of the resonance would keep them dormant forever, but when so many ponies had their homes destroyed all at once exactly when they arrived... it must have overwhelmed the strength of the harmony and given them the power to awaken! Now they are feeding on the city, and will only grow stronger..."

Valey grinned. "Uhh... oops?"

"Then we have to hurry and get back to the Stone District before they destroy us!" Dior shouted, preparing to charge and nearly throwing Valey off. "Everyone, with me!"

"No." Fire cut him off. "Don't you see how close we are to them right now? There's nothing separating us from that storm! If it was going to kill us..." She looked back over her shoulder, meeting the eyes of each and every pony, griffon and yak. "The only reason we're not already dead is because of all of you. I haven't had long to learn about the situation here in Ironridge, but I can see a lot of you have been fighting and aren't any more. Whatever you do, don't start again. Windigoes are strengthened by hatred, conflict and strife."

"The Spirit..." The mare wearing Braen's armor swallowed. "We were fighting ourselves, and the Defense Force..."

"And we've made peace with both the mercenaries who attacked us and the envoys of Yakyakistan," Gerardo added, nodding toward Darkwind, Xander and Priscilla. "Furthermore, Herman is dead, and he was a major driver of conflict."

Shinespark's eyes watered in pain, her leg still held carefully by Arambai. "In the control tower, when the Spirit were trying to destroy the hangar, it was like the storm was deliberately trying to kill us..."

"Hey!" Starlight yelled in the general direction of the windigo, fur bristling. "You hear that!? They're not fighting with each other, so go away!"

"Arooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

The windigo wailed, lifted its muzzle and strained... and the tether Fire was using to hold it in place shattered, sending the unicorn toppling backwards. The windigo sped away, galloping through the air and plunging back into the clouds, leaving a trail of ghostly blue in its wake.

"Ugh... nngh..." Fire shook her crystalline head, tears visible at the edges of her eyes. "Why did this have to happen!? Why now? Why not when we were stronger...? Why did we assume the ambassador's office would be infallible, and not take greater precautions to read the situation in Ironridge?"

Gerardo strolled over, offering a talon to help her up. "Well, on the bright side, you do seem correct about us not facing imminent destruction. All the tales I've heard agree that windigoes feed on strife and are powerless against the likes of forgiveness, solidarity, empathy and friendship. Perhaps they will simply leave and return to their glacier in Yakyakistan?" He blinked. "I wonder what keeps them there in the first place, for that matter."

"No..." Fire hiccuped. "They'll leave, all right. And they'll go down to the other districts. If all the Earth District is hating the Stone District for taking their homes, and all the Stone District is fearing the Earth District will take revenge against innocents..."

Gerardo paled. "Best, worst and most likely scenarios?"

"All the same." Fire swallowed. "Unless we could get every pony in Ironridge to make up, or find a legendary weapon we don't have access to, all of Ironridge will turn into a glacier just like Unicornia..."

"Legendary weapon?" Starlight perked up. "What kind of weapon?"

"The Elements of Harmony," Fire whispered. "The first six of the Nine Virtues. They're physical objects with immense power, and have been used to defeat disharmonic incarnations in the past. But they are in the Plains of Harmony, and even if we had them, we lack the Spark to make them manifest."

Starlight thought. "So you just need a really lot of that harmony stuff from the cave?"

"The first six?" A Defense Force pegasus looked curiously at her. "Sorry, I don't know much about Yakyakistan's religion... but what about the other three? I didn't know these virtue things were weapons. Could we use them instead?"

Fire shook her head. "No. It doesn't work that way."

With a thump, Valey dropped off Dior's back, shakily standing on her own legs. "You know," she said, moving one step at a time toward Fire. "Would it change things at all if the reason that whole 'set up some stuff in the cave' thing didn't keep them asleep was because Herman kinda had that setup trashed? Part of his plan to force Yakyakistan into a long-term occupation of Ironridge, or something, by preventing you from getting what you came for now?"

"He... broke it?" Fire's eyes widened in horror. "Why? Why would he go against a direct order from the Bishops...?"

"I told you, he was insane. And evil. And insanely evil." Valey shrugged.

"And you're sure of this?" Fire looked as if she couldn't make up her mind whether she wanted Valey to be sure or not.

Valey cringed. "Err, well... Remember not to be mad because windigoes are breathing down our backs, and all... but yeah. I was down there and totally watched it happen. Maybe even had a hoof in it myself."

"Valey!" Fire stepped back, looking hurt. "I told you how important what I was doing was when we were trapped in that security door! How could you?"

"Arooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Fire winced, eyes widening even further, and lunged forward, wrapping her forelimbs around Valey in a tight hug. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! I love you! I'm sorry!"

"Uhh... heh heh..." Valey returned the hug. "Forgiven, but keep doing that; I'm really cold. Also you're totally making me feel tingly in a different way than usual."

The storm didn't get any worse.

"Whew. Anyway..." Valey grinned, unable to help herself, Fire leaning around her neck and not breaking the hug. "Yeah. Sorry. I told everyone maybe we shouldn't, but they made a pretty convincing case for screwing with Herman, and you seemed kinda naive about the city so I figured he was pulling a fast one on you and getting you to set up some sort of doomsday device. We also didn't know then that he actually didn't know what this whole project was about. Pretty sure he had no clue about windigoes and even wanted the city intact. But that's why we stole it instead of destroying it outright."

Fire blinked, pulling back enough to meet Valey's eyes. "You still have it?"

"Well..." Valey wilted in her embrace. "Technically, we got attacked by those mercenaries over there and Ironflanks had to use all the energy to roast their rears. And then while we were passed out-"

"Wait." Fire cut her off. "Used it? How? What do you mean?"

Valey's face scrunched in thought. "I was in lights-out mode at the time, but I'm pretty sure she just used her cutie mark. Err, brand. It lets her absorb and store things, and apparently fire them back in giant lasers. Magic too, I guess?"

"That's incredible..." Fire breathed. "Supposedly, it isn't impossible for a pony to survive concentrations that high of harmonic energy, but finding a buffering agent that could protect them is extremely dangerous, and Princess Celestia herself has always asked us never to research that because of the cost..."

"That's all very nice, and all," Gerardo interrupted, striding forward, "but aren't we supposedly in a race against time to prevent this entire city from being turned to a glacier? Does this have anything to do with rebuilding this setup to harmonically neutralize the windigoes?"

"It might not need to," Fire told him, looking up from Valey. "If we have a pony who can use harmony like that, then they might be able to function as a weapon, sort of like the Elements. Where is this Ironflanks? If we could shoot the windigoes with a high enough concentration, we might be able to actually kill them like in the war forty years ago!"

"Out of the question," Gerardo swiftly countered. "The act of doing it once nearly destroyed her brand. Furthermore, she was stabbed by Herman using my sword and has been weakened to the point of being unable to speak. On top of that, the battle in the Flame District completely depleted the energy within the heart, and the small amount remaining in her body is currently powering Shinespark's airship." He nodded in Shinespark's direction. "I do suppose that explains why it is resistant to this weather, though, given that its empowerment is the antithesis of the disharmony this storm is made from..."

Valey groaned. "Yeah... and on top of that, we don't have the heart any more. It got nicked by two weirdos claiming Yakyakistan stole it from them in the first place. Howe and Neon Nova? I dunno what you did to tick them off, but try sourcing your materials from somewhere other than loopy wannabe cultists. Having enemies stinks sometimes."

"They're gone?" Fire's crystalline ears pressed harder against her skull. "Both of them? We sent two separately in case something like this happened, since we only needed one..."

"As a matter of fact, they are not!" Gerardo proudly interrupted. "Through a profoundly complicated series of events I've not been fully briefed on, myself and my companions procured the other with the intention of withholding it from an unknown adversary's devious hooves. Last I am aware, it was placed for safekeeping in Maple's room on the ship, which is docked at the next terminal over. Although, the door was locked and the key likely lost when Maple's brand failed, so we may have to smash it open..." He winced apologetically at Shinespark.

"If you put it in my saddlebags with all her other stuff, I have it," Starlight quickly announced. "If you're going to the ship, take me with you! I want to see Maple again!"

Fire shook her head. "What about the obsidian? Did you leave that there? We need it as a catalyst to make sure the heart is charged as fast as possible!"

"We, uhh... maybe didn't..." Valey shrank apologetically against her yet again.

"And you're not going to find any anywhere else in Ironridge," Dior added. "We've had a powerful contraband on the substance for the last seven years, one all the trading companies have agreed to as a matter of honor. Unless any of us are friends with an exceptionally-talented smuggling ring..."

"We are, though," Starlight quickly said. "Those mercenaries work for someone called Kero, right? He's the one who gave White Chocolate her moon glass. We've still got the empty piece she gave us in our room on the ship, and maybe they know where to get more?"

Valey blinked. "White Chocolate? Who's this? And does she live up to her name?"

Several mercenaries stepped forward, Darkwind at their head. "If you must know, yes. This isn't our first deployment to Ironridge. We were here years ago, and I helped Kero smuggle in a very large supply of obsidian. Some of our company remained here on long-term assignment between when we left and returned a year ago, and the package was left with them. If anything has been done with it, or where it is, I don't know. None of us who are here now stayed behind over those years."

"Herman gave Kero the yak ambassador's quarters in Skyfreeze for some reason," Valey offered. "That's probably a really secure place. Given how illegal moon glass is, what are the odds he'd have moved it there?"

Dior's eyes narrowed. "He gave it to this Kero? I assume that's the leader of you mercenaries? It isn't easy to transfer rights to Skyfreeze condominiums, and I haven't had any request reach my desk from Herman asking to authorize the change. He was the one who pushed for the security rules to be as strict as they are, even. If he broke protocol and gave Kero his own credentials instead, then it would be very secure."

Valey shrugged. "Can the security stuff be reassigned on death? I mean, the Varsidel quarters said the ambassador had kicked it, so there's gotta be something..."

Dior paused in realization. "...Yes. They can. As long as the emergency power remains on, in the event of a confirmable death, I as the Chancellor can reauthorize the quarters to one of us so we can get inside. But that can only be confirmed by someone with embassy credentials. My personal terminal can physically access what we'd need, but without the proper, up-to-date password from someone who works at the embassy..."

"Sorry," Fire wept, "I don't have that! The embassy affairs were-"

"Yeah, but she probably does," Valey interrupted, pointing a hoof at the candy-colored pegasus Fire had flown in on, who was shivering while lounging on an intact plush bench. "Hey, Maia!"

"What?" she snapped, eyes fearful as she got up and walked forward. "Look, this isn't my thing, all right? Ice demons are scary, and I want to go back to bed!"

Valey licked her lips. "Mmm, toasty warm blankets. I get that. But you can use the embassy terminal system, right? To, say, officially record Herman croaking?"

"Yeah..." She shifted uncertainly on her short legs, rocking her weight back and forth. "Why?"

"It doesn't matter!" Fire exclaimed. "We'll pay you whatever you want, but it needs to be done! The survival of the city is at stake, and we might have a way to save it!"

Maia's eyes widened. "Wait, whatever? As in, anything?" Her hoof shot forward. "Don't you dare let me freeze to death, and you better keep your word. And deal."

Gerardo, Valey, Fire and Dior all looked at each other, Starlight standing sightlessly to the side, Maia glancing around without a clue, and Arambai and Darkwind trying to keep calm among the other ponies. "Then we actually have a plan," Gerardo stated, slightly in awe.

"One too complicated to possibly work," Dior added. "Split up. Transfer the rights to Herman's Skyfreeze quarters and hope they contain obsidian, which is several layers of pure conjecture. Get back to the ship and fetch the windigo heart. Take everything to this cave you've spoken of and hope it is strong enough to neutralize the windigoes. Am I missing anything?"

"What's the quickest way down?" Fire asked Valey. "I know you showed me how to get there once, but that was coming from the embassy..."

"Aha!" Gerardo raised a talon. "In the maintenance tunnel connecting the other terminal to the ruined hangar, there was an emergency exit I noticed which lets out directly into the Flame District core! Seeing as the elevator shaft casing was destroyed during our battle, anyone capable of flight could easily navigate from there almost straight down to the harmonic flame!"

Arambai came stomping over, snow clinging to his black mane. "Getting a plan together here, ponies? I'm hearing slightly better than wails of despair..."

"...We have one," Fire breathed, daring to sound hopeful. "But I don't know how much time we'll have. The windigoes in the storm are still waking up and absorbing power. The faster we act, the more likely it is we'll be able to stop them, or at least weaken them enough that I can fight them. My magic... lives up to my name."

Valey shuddered. "Says the pony who can burn a tunnel through solid rock. Yeah, not arguing with that."

Fire blushed.

"Hmmmm..." Arambai gave a long glance to the Stone District tunnel. "Any way the likes of me could slow them down? Reassuring ponies, and the like? Trying to calm them down? I used to be unpopular with quite a lot of folks here, but for all I know that's thought of as the good old days now..."

"Only if you have a way to talk to ponies on the scale of thousands at once," Fire said, drooping. "Which means probably no."

"...I just remembered!" Gerardo interrupted excitedly. "The Defense Force and Spirit ponies we rescued claimed they looted a very large emergency power supply from the Water District lighthouse! It's currently on board the ship, should it at all prove useful for constructing such a system, or at the very least opening Herman and Kero's door."

Dior nodded. "Noted."

"Right." Arambai glanced back at the rest of the ponies, all of whom were awaiting orders. Xander and Priscilla had loaded their broad backs with the injured, the mercenaries were once again tending to themselves, and everyone looked ready to move. "Then if time is important, where does everyone go?"

"The Stone District?" Dior offered. "That seems to be the consensus, here..."

"No, wait," Valey interrupted. "Send them to Skyfreeze instead. Then we'll only have to split into two teams. I was just there, and it seems to be holding better than this place against the storm. Probably because of more emergency power and less ponies fighting. If the districts are full of bad juju, they might be even colder than it is up here."

"...Good idea." Arambai nodded, taking a step away.

Gerardo spread his wings. "Right, then. I myself shall ferry Starlight back to the ship with all due speed, since I believe my wings are still flight-worthy. Everyone else, head for the tower. We will take the ship and come meet you, and should we obtain all the materials we need, we'll fly as close as we can to the Flame District access point. Is that a plan?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then it sounds like a plan." Extending his talons, Gerardo gripped Starlight firmly, flapped his wings, rose, and was off.

Comments

[alamais]

"...My magic... lives up to my name."

das hot

[Davidp1522]

Thats an awfule lot of "We do x and hope that works so that we can do y and hope that works. And after all that we dooo..... something. We figure that out later. And hope it works."

It sounds a whole lot like most everything that has happend so far. Cant wait for this to totaly work out also.

[Hap]

Wait...

and Princess Celestia herself has always asked us never to research that because of the cost..."

What?

Fire is aware of Celestia and has received communication from her?

[Dream Seeker]

I like how everything comes together, with so many minor seemingly unrelated plot points adding up

[Quinch]

Even the yaks were cowed.

What you did there. I see it.

[Alchemik]

Hm. Yakyakistan has direct diplomatic communication with Equestria. Interesting. Makes sense, I suppose, since Gerardo was seeking passage that way. Does the Griffon Empire, though?

Ah, I love it when a plan comes together. For what was a daily post fic, this is one heckuva plan to assemble. But hey, it's just crazy enough to work.

[Venlinelle]

"That's incredible..." Fire breathed. "Supposedly, it isn't impossible for a pony to survive concentrations that high of harmonic energy, but finding a buffering agent that could protect them is extremely dangerous, and Princess Celestia herself has always asked us never to research that because of the cost..."

I have so many questions about you. How do you know about the Elements? Nopony knows about the Elements.

I do appreciate the implication that Celestia has always been aware of and acting against the windigoes. I’ve always assumed that; it makes many of her actions make a lot of sense.

Also, Fire hugging Valey was adorable.

REREAD EDIT: “A profoundly complicated series of events” indeed.

[sploopy slooder]

i just want starlight to be relevaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant.......do something you blind little lump, we all know its gonna happen.