CRISIS: New World Order

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Nineteen: Emergency

It took a little over a week before Zarya received a summons from Lord-Commander Zaffir, who at long last presented her with a new assignment. She then arranged to go over it in detail with Harvey and Silver Shine the moment that she received and accepted it. This new assignment would be a true test of her worth as a knight in her mind. Harvey’s task before was important as her first official knightly undertaking, but this new one would be under His Majesty’s watch. She would make her grand-uncle proud, no, make her king proud.

The trio met in Shine’s guest chambers at the palace, where they could have a respectable amount of privacy and comfort with which to discuss matters. The room was well-furnished and warm—particularly thanks to the large fireplace present—and decorated with assorted zebra-made sculptures, vases, paintings, and rugs to make guests feel welcome and grateful towards their southern hosts. The bed was much too large for Shine alone, but most of these guest chambers were intended for visiting lords or ladies and their spouses, and Shine had no spouse with which to share it. He didn’t seem to mind having it to himself.

Their meeting began almost immediately after they gathered together.

“There is an old settlement on the southeastern border of zebra lands,” Zarya explained once the trio got comfortable in Shine’s room. “'Tis called Last Breath, for it layeth as close to the forbidden Peaks of Ruin as any zebra hath permission to tread. We art to depart as soon as possible.”

Harvey adjusted his glasses. “Ah yes, Last Breath. That would be one of the original fortress villages your ancestors built before Zeb’ra’den was even founded, wouldn’t it?”

Zarya nodded. “Yes, and 'tis the oldest and largest among them. It hath quite a storied history, for 'twas a crucial location in many battles of old. Many a hero’s legacy comes from that fort.”

“Fascinating. Why, this task of ours serves a double purpose as an intriguing history lesson, doesn’t it?” Harvey smiled and cozied up in the large, comfortable chair he’d sat in. “Mmhmm, I’m certain the fortress’s occupants are well-learned in their settlement’s history. I simply must ask them some questions. Ah, but which to ask? I have so many!”

Shine—garbed in a comfortable zebra-made robe rather than his armor—grunted and turned to Zarya. “I assume we have an actual job to do at this settlement, yes? Not just some trip down memory lane?”

“Of course,” Zarya said. “'Tis a matter of some importance, in fact, and one that we art already familiar with to some degree.”

“‘Familiar with’? What does that mean?”

“Dost thou recall that several parties of zebras—foragers, miners, and others—hath gone missing in the tundras in recent months?”

Shine hummed and nodded. “I recall something to that effect being mentioned when I first met the Lord-Commander with you. You all thought it was because of the worsening weather, but it turns out that the cynolycus was responsible for them, right?”

“Perhaps not all of them. Last Breath hath sent word of missing scouts and gatherers as recent as one week hence. 'Tis not the cynolycus’s doing, for the beast hath been slain before that, and its lair layeth too far from the fort anyway.”

“That would definitely imply that something else is responsible,” Harvey muttered. “I assume we’re not taking the simple answer of ‘bad weather’ at its face value any longer?”

“Correct, and 'tis quite troubling for zebra scouts art highly trained hunters and warriors, and art well-accustomed to the tundra and the beasts therein. For a creature, even one as fierce as the cynolycus, to proveth a threat to a team of zebra scouts, they wouldst be most dangerous indeed.”

“Well, this task sounds simple enough on paper,” Shine said with a grin. “We head to this settlement and investigate some missing scouts and such, then report back with our findings or put a stop to whatever’s causing the trouble, right?”

Zarya nodded. “'Tis the essence of the assignment, yes. A rather simple matter, but still important, for Last Breath holds a special place in the hearts of the Order’s knights.” She rose from her seat. “We leaveth at first light. The journey will be long—a week’s time or more—and then our investigation may taketh more time still. I shalt make the necessary preparations, for it may be some time before we returneth to Zeb’ra’den.”

Harvey rose from his seat as well. “Would you like some assistance?”

“‘Twould be a pleasure to hath thy help, thank you. I hath much to do and little time to do it in if we are to depart so early.”

Harvey looked expectantly at Shine, who merely grunted and poured himself a glass of wine. “When you’re all finished with that little bit of business, you two may join me for dinner. It seems like it might be the last good meal we partake in for quite some time, so we’d better make the most of it, wouldn’t you agree?”

Zarya bowed slightly. “Thy generosity is most appreciated, m’lord.”

Shine rolled his eyes. “And I already told you, you two don’t need to keep up with that ‘Lord Shine’ or ‘m’lord’ business while we’re working together. Until your king has granted me his favor we are comrades-in-arms, and referring to me by my proper title just clutters a conversation in the heat of battle and makes other zebras start acting differently around me.”

“For the record, I haven’t called you Lord Shine for days,” Harvey noted with a sincere smile. “As I recall, just ‘Shine’ will do, or even ‘Silver Shine’ if we feel like being particularly formal. Not ‘Shiny’, though. You were rather insistent that you despised that nickname unless it came from your mother.”

“Yes, and thank you for acquiescing to my request. Don’t grow too accustomed to using it though. When King Zaratite names House Silver as an ally, I shall require the proper respect as befitting my station as a lord.” Shine turned to Zarya and tilted his head. “So? Let’s hear it.”

Zarya paused, then nodded. “Thy generosity is most appreciated, Silver Shine.”

Shine leaned back in his comfortable chair and let out a content sigh. “Well, don’t let me keep you two waiting. Remember, let me know when you’re finished so that we can partake in some dinner. I must say that zebrican cuisine agrees with me rather well, so I don’t look forward to going so long without it.”

Zarya nodded again, then gestured for Harvey to follow her out of the room. Even after a week in his company—and despite being on rather friendly terms with him—Shine’s cocky attitude still rubbed her wrong, for it wasn’t the zebra way to be so arrogant about anything, even if one deserved the right to act in such a fashion. Still, he’d earned her respect in battle, so she’d let it slide. For now.

*****

Last Breath was nestled midway up a small mountain on the far southeastern border of zebra territory, just at the edge of the great tundra. It was a fortress village, meaning that it had been built in and around an old fortress which provided shelter and protection from threats, be they the winter colds or ancient monsters that no longer—supposedly—roamed the snow-covered lands. The fort had been well-fortified in its day, long, long ago, though hundreds of years without war had seen most of its defenses stripped to make room for the settlers that lived here.

The mountain itself was the westernmost tip of a chain that led east towards the Peaks of Ruin. The mountain chain was practically unclimbable except by the most skilled and fearless of explorers, save for a trail leading through the pass from Last Breath. This was the only feasible route into the forbidden mountains, as the surrounding ice fields were thin and sat atop a frozen lake which had never been properly mapped.

As Zarya, Harvey, and Shine climbed the well-maintained trail up the mountainside late that evening, their path was lit by torches whose flames flickered wildly in the harsh winds. Harvey kept his scarf nice and tight around him and had expressed great appreciation that he’d remembered to have it enchanted further for warmth. Shine, who was not used to the cold of the zebra lands, was clearly positively freezing, his frostwolf fur cloak—bought at a zebra shop before they left—and his armor not quite doing the job.

Even Zarya, born and raised in weather like this, was glad that her armor and cloak were well-crafted to protect from the elements. Everyzebra knew that the tundras around Last Breath were colder and harsher than those around Zeb’ra’den, but it was still summer so things should not be quite so awful. But this was no typical summer blizzard that swept about them, and that worried Zarya greatly.

At the top of the trail the path met with the great outer gates of Last Breath. Unlike Zeb’ra’den, the fortress was built of stone and wood in the style of the great zebra ancestors, assisted by rune-carved rock to strengthen the foundation into the mountain itself. Last Breath had never fallen in thousands of years of war, which were times before the zebras even kept much of a written history. It was a marvel of zebra craftwork and testament to zebra strength and hardiness.

All Zarya needed to do to get the gates opened for the trio was hoist up her blade and ignite the black flames. The guards would recognize the Order’s signature weapon and grant her entry without question, which is exactly what they did, allowing her and her companions to wander into the fortress grounds proper before shutting the gates behind them.

The inner walls of the fort had mostly been taken over by small buildings made of stone, which served as homes for the inhabitants that could not fit into the fort itself or who otherwise were not permitted to use it as intended—commoners, of course. They were still the best quality homes that the common zebra could ever hope to have, a reward for these folks who lived out here in the harshest region in the kingdom and assisted the soldiers of Last Breath.

As the trio moved through the courtyard, Zarya noticed another trio of zebras approaching. Two were clearly guards and dressed in identical armor and carried identical weapons. The other, a zebra stallion with a thick mustache and a short beard, was dressed in the livery of the higher castes—robed armor decorated with a coat of arms—meaning he was the fort’s current captain. The report Lord-Commander Zaffir had showed Zarya mentioned the captain’s name was Zaine.

Captain Zaine bowed briefly to Zarya first, not quite ignoring the others but addressing the only zebra in their group. “Greetings, Dame Knight. What bringest thee here?” he asked in the meter befitting his rank.

“A simple matter, never fear,” Zarya replied with a brief bow of her own. “Thou hast sent a message northwest. I am here to meet thy request. Thy scouts go missing, others too, and so thy numbers grow quite few.”

Zaine nodded glumly. “Yes, many zebras hath gone astray, and I feareth they hath lost their way. Without them here, our food stores fall low. We will not last long with all this snow.”

Zarya frowned and took a breath. “Where hath the missing been seen last?”

Zaine gestured behind him, towards the rear exit of the fortress. “Into yonder mountains they hath passed.”

“Oh my, isn’t that dreadfully close to the Peaks of Ruin?” Harvey asked, tilting his head. “I thought that region was forbidden territory to all zebras?”

Zaine turned to harvey and gave a short nod. “Yes, 'tis a forbidden place, the Peaks of Ruin. However, the mountain pass beyond the fortress is not yet part of the forbidden lands. ‘Twould taketh a full two days to reach the Peaks from here. Our foragers know not to go so far, but yonder mountains hath bountiful snowfruit throughout the year. 'Tis our own crop.”

“I have no idea how you zebras manage to grow any sort of crops in these conditions,” Shine said, shaking his head. “In Zeb’ra’den itself it makes some sense, for I have seen your enchanted greenhouses and envy your creativity in making such things work despite the constant snowstorms. Surely you don’t have a greenhouse in that mountain pass?”

Zarya chuckled. “They wouldst not need one. Snowfruit only groweth underneath snow and ice. Hast thou ever sampled its flavor? Surely thou hast made an attempt during thy stay in the capital?”

“I do remember trying them, yes. They’re a bit too sour for my tastes, but I can see why they’d be popular if that’s your preference in flavor.” Shine turned to Zaine, his expression serious. “So you say that your missing scouts and gatherers were tending to your crop and never came back?”

Zaine shook his head. “Not quite, good sir, but close. Our gatherers didst go to collect our monthly crop, but then they didst not return. Thus, I didst command our scouts to seeketh them out, and they hath not returned either. 'Twas earlier this season that these events hath occurred. I didst send a request for aid from Zeb’ra’den two weeks ago hence, so thou art here in a timely fashion.”

“How many zebras hath been lost?” asked Zarya.

“Seventeen hath vanished in the frost. 'Tis a third of our total number. Since that time, I hath little slumber.”

Zarya nodded. “I thanketh thee, dear Captain Zaine. 'Tis my duty to ease thy pain.”

“And I, thee, Dame Knight of the Black Flames.” Zaine then paused and cleared his throat. “Forgiveth me, but what art thy names?”

“I am Dame Zarya, Knight most true. These others are my motley crew.”

Shine snorted, but his mouth still curled in a little smile. “Your crew, are we? I don’t recall ever nominating you the leader of anything.”

Zarya gave him a brief glare and made to speak, but Harvey beat her to it: “Technically, Shine, His Majesty made you subservient to Zarya in this assignment in order to further your endeavors, did he not?”

“Technically, yes, but I’d hardly consider us a ‘motley crew’. We are working as a team, yes, but—”

“Ah, but the definition of a motley crew, while it might be rather informal, most assuredly does describe our group, does it not? We certainly are a roughly organized assembly of individuals of various backgrounds, appearances, and characters, yes? Indeed, I’d say we fit the definition perfectly.”

Zarya smirked. “Yes, and it doth rhyme with ‘true’.”

Shine sighed. “You zebras and your meters and rhymes. How you all can live with speaking like that absolutely boggles my mind. I’m not one to spit on poetry—I have a few poems I rather like—but I can’t imagine speaking like that in day-to-day conversation—”

Zaine rather loudly coughed. “Ahem. Good sirs? I doth believe this a conversation for another time, if I might intrude? Thou hast not yet given thy names, either.”

Harvey gasped and put a claw over his beak. “Oh dear, I’m terribly sorry, that was awfully rude of us. You went and asked us a formal question and here we go pattering about on a trifling little tangent—”

Shine cleared his throat. “Forgive the manners of myself and my feathered friend, Captain. I am Silver Shine.”

“Ahem! And I am Harvey, my good Captain,” Harvey added, grabbing the captain’s hoof and giving it a brisk shake. “Greetings and salutations! I must say it is truly an honor to be given entrance into the famous Last Breath, oh yes it is, yes indeed. Why, the history surrounding this place could fill an entire library if one were so inclined! I simply must ask—”

Shine used his magic to clap Harvey’s beak shut. “Harvey, please, this isn’t the time, is it?”

Harvey tilted his head. “No, I suppose it isn’t,” he said, muffled.

Zarya shook her head, then gestured up at the sky. “'Tis a dark night, my friends. We shalt take shelter here in the fort until the morrow and depart at first light into the mountains.” She then turned to Zaine. “Catapin, is that agreeable?”

Zaine smiled and nodded. “Thou hast a task unenviable. 'Tis only fair to lend thee a roof within these halls that art weather-proof.”

“Oh my goodness, we even get to stay inside the fort itself!” Harvey gushed, fluffing his feathers. “This is simply marvelous, yes indeed it is. Aha! This will be quite an evening of study and investigation, if I might say so myself. I suspect I’ll be up all night looking through the fortress records.”

“Just be sure that you get enough sleep for tomorrow,” Shine snorted. “Zarya and I don’t want to have to drag you around if you fall asleep or something like that.”

Zarya gestured towards the fort. “Then let us maketh haste inside, that we may partake in a meal before we resteth our heads, yes?” She then turned to Zaine and gave another brief nod. “Again, Captain, I thanketh thee, for thy kind hospitality.”

Zaine shook his head. “'Tis no trouble at all, good Dame Knight. I hath only done what seemeth right.”

*****

It was late the following evening when Zarya, Harvey, and Shine made their way through the mountainous pass and encountered the snowfruit grove that had been described to them by Captain Zaine. Snowfruit trees resembled pear trees, only the leaves were completely white—not from snow, but by their very nature—and the wood a deep purple. Also, they were not nearly as tall, for the tops of the trees were barely taller than the average zebra and the roots reached far, far into the mountain below. The fruits themselves resembled upside-down pears—fat at the top, thin at the bottom—but colored an icy blue.

It was colder, windier, and darker now than it had been the night before, as if the storm was getting worse the further east into the mountains they traveled.

Harvey was the first to speak as they walked through the grove. “This is most peculiar, if I might be so bold? Didn’t the captain say that the gatherers came through here earlier in the season to harvest these fruits? If they did, then why are all of the fruits still on the trees? It hardly looks at all like anyzebra’s been harvesting anything.”

“Even if these trees produced fruit quickly, there would still be evidence that they’d been collected, right?” Shine asked as he examined a ripe snowfruit. “These look like they haven’t even been touched at all. Even all of these tools and baskets and such look unused in any meaningful capacity, as if they were just left behind for some reason.”

Zarya, who’d moved further ahead of the others to the edge of the trees, glanced about the grove, the mountain walls, and even the clouds above them for any signs of movement. “The scouts hath left no trace, either. This snowfall doth prevent traditional tracking, but zebra scouts art trained to leaveth markers to follow. ‘Twould be easy for me to see such markers were there any to see.”

“And we’re certain they came this way?”

“'Twas what Captain Zaine hath said, and I doubteth not his words.” Zarya shook her head. “And there are no other trails through this pass to follow. 'Tis the only way anyzebra wouldst be able to travel through the mountains without a treacherous climb.”

“Perhaps there is another grove further ahead?” Harvey suggested. “After all, it doesn't seem as though there nearly enough trees here to provide the entire settlement with food for the entire season, does it? Maybe just the soldiers, but certainly not all of those civilians.”

“Hmm, it could be that maybe they started from the furthest groves before moving closer and closer to the fort?” Shine offered. “In pony farms up north, they don’t pick the entire field in a single day, after all, though I don’t exactly know the system they use. Farming is quite beneath my station.”

Zarya shook her head. “Snowfruits groweth quickly, so there would be enough here to last the fort a month or longer, then the gatherers wouldst come again to gather the new harvest.”

“Well, they have to be further ahead somewhere,” Shine grunted, trudging ahead. “No sense in dawdling about here, right?”

“That would be drawing them awfully close to the Peaks of Ruin, wouldn’t it?” Harvey muttered, tugging his scarf. “That place is forbidden. Surely you’re not suggesting them foolish enough to venture there, are you?”

“When ponies get too curious for their own good, they tend to make mistakes,” Shine said. “I imagine that every creature is much the same, even zebras and hippogriffs. The saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’ exists for a reason, you know?”

“Yes yes, but—” Harvey then paused, his head tilting oddly, as if he was listening to something. “Does anyone else hear that?”

Zarya and Shine put hooves to their ears. Zarya could hear a faint noise carrying through on the wind, just loud enough to hear it clearly. She couldn’t quite place the sound at first, but continued listening told her that it was singing. The notes were lovely indeed, high-pitched and feminine, almost haunting, like an angelic choir of some sort. Was one or more of missing zebras out there trying to use song as a signal? That didn’t seem right.

“Is that singing?” Shine asked, taking another step forward.

Zarya nodded. “'Tis a song, yes. Though I do not heareth much besides the chorus, if that is what this is.”

“The chorus?” Shine asked, head tilted. “You mean you can’t hear the lyrics? They’re faint, sure, but I can definitely hear lyrics.”

“I must agree with Zarya,” Harvey said, taking a few steps forward. “I hear no lyrics either, just a simply lovely melody. Whoever is singing this song has quite the singing voice, yes? Oh yes indeed, they certainly do. Why, just listen to that wonderful crescendo! My oh my, it’s like being back at the Astropolis Opera House in the spring concert season. Magnificent.”

Zarya looked between the two, completely lost and not convinced they were hearing the same thing she was at all. “Yes, 'tis a pleasant tone, but I heareth no substance or lyrics to the melody nor any crescendos. Merely pretty notes in a simple repeating pattern. 'Tis nothing special.”

Shine smiled and shook his head. “Then you’re simply tone deaf, Zarya, I’m sorry to say. This singer has quite a talent, and I’d like to consider myself a connoisseur for the finer things in life, song and music included. Whoever this is deserves some accolades for their performance.”

Zarya noticed that the two of them were taking further steps towards the source of the singing, which was coming from further up the path. “Harvey? Shine? Where art thou going?”

Harvey looked at Zarya like she’d just asked the most ridiculous question ever uttered. “Why, I’m following the song, of course! Isn’t it obvious that the zebras we’re searching for are responsible for this? One of them must be trying to call for help, and doing so in a much more pleasant fashion than simple screams and shouts, yes?”

“Come on, we should get moving,” Shine said, picking up his pace. “Harvey’s right, this must be one of the missing zebras. We’re here for them after all, right? We shouldn’t keep them waiting any longer, especially if they need help or are in danger.”

“I suppose so,” Zarya muttered, keeping her attention on the two of them. “Though I knoweth not why thou giveth such praise to this songstress. 'Tis a rather plain song in mine opinion.”

The trio moved along through the pass, further and further away from the snowfruit grove and closer to the Peaks of Ruin. The further they traveled the worse the storm got, until the wind and snow were sharp and biting through even Zarya’s cloak and armor. Worse yet, a fog was settling in to the point that it was hard for anyone to see more than a few feet in front of their faces, let alone keep track of the others, and yet Harvey and Shine did not try to keep close to Zarya at all.

The entire way forward, the song got louder and louder, clearer and clearer. And yet still, while Shine and Harvey continued to move onward with smiles and praise for the mysterious singer, whoever they might be, Zarya was growing more and more convinced there was something wrong with her. Why was it that the song sounded so droll and simple to her ears but not to theirs? Was she truly ‘tone-deaf’ as Shine claimed?

Eventually, the trio entered into a wider space in the pass, a circular clearing of sorts with high walls of rock. Zarya had lost track of how far they’d traveled through the mountains at this point. She knew that the snowfruit grove wasn’t too far behind them, but she also knew that they’d moved farther ahead than they should have. If any of the gatherers or scouts moved this far out, they surely wouldn’t have kept going into forbidden territory, so where were they?

“There is nothing here!” Zarya shouted over the growing winds. “We hath traveled too far. We must returneth to the fortress at once.”

Shine rolled his eyes. “And leave now? When we’re so close? Whoever this singer is, they’re just a little farther ahead. We can rescue her and the other zebras and take them back to the fort.” He looked ahead into the fog, then gasped and pointed. “There!”

Zarya followed his hoof and saw a dark figure in the fog just ahead, vaguely zebra-sized and shaped. Instinctively, she drew her sword from its sheath and approached the figure, her blade alight with fire to clear the fog surrounding her.

“Ho there!” she called towards the figure. “Who art thou?”

The figure did not respond.

“I asketh again, who art thou? Art thou a zebra? Pony? Answereth my question!”

The figure still did not respond.

Zarya grunted and positioned her blade in a defensive stance as she moved forward.

Shine grunted, clearly annoyed but still distracted by the singing. “Zarya, be careful! You might scare her!”

“Yes indeed!” Harvey added with a ruffle of feathers. “Why are you acting so strangely, my friend? Is there something the matter?”

Zarya made to retort that it was they who were acting strangely, but held her tongue for now, worried that it might antagonize them. She merely approached the motionless figure calmly and carefully. When she got closer and her flames cleared out the fog, she gasped when she saw who it was—or rather who it had been.

It was a zebra, certainly. One of the scouts, in fact, judging from his armor, heavy cloak, and the longbow strapped to his back.

He was frozen solid, as if he were made of crystalline ice.

“By Wylundr’s beard…” Zarya muttered, stepping back.

“Oh wow, would you look at that?” Shine said with a grin. “Somezebra made an ice sculpture. I bet it was our secret songstress.” He stepped further into the fog, looking about for the source of the music. “Hello? Where are you? We mean you no harm, whoever you are.”

Zarya shook her head in disbelief. “What could hath done this?” she asked herself, looking about and pointing her sword through the mists.

She could see more figures out in the fog, and so she approached them with her blade as well, clearing away all of the fog within the clearing with her black flames. Each and every figure in the clearing was a zebra, either a gatherer or a scout, and each of them frozen solid just like the first.

Seventeen crystalline statues, each of them with a look of sheer terror plastered on their faces. Many of them were cracking apart at this point, as if something or somezebra had struck them.

“Oh dear oh dear,” Harvey muttered as he looked at the statues, a grin still on his face. “Seventeen. Oh my, there are seventeen of them here, and the captain said there were seventeen zebras missing. This is clearly all of our missing zebras, and not one of them is singing. Oh dear.”

Zarya raised an eyebrow. “Harvey? Art thou well?”

Harvey shook his head as he continued forward towards the source of the singing beyond the other edge of the clearing, still grinning. “Oh no, not at all, my friend, not at all. I’m terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. Yet I still move towards the song even though all logic dictates that it doesn’t originate from our zebra comrades here, hmm? It just sounds so pleasant that I can’t help myself.”

Shine, who was still moving dumbly towards the song’s source, just shook his head in disbelief. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Harvey,” he scoffed. “Our mystery singer just happens to be an ice sculptor as well, and just as talented in that field as she is at singing. That’s all there is to it. No need to get all jittery.”

“Oh, I’m afraid that there’s a great deal to be jittery about. For example, my eyes tell me that I’m in a terribly dangerous situation, but my ears tell me that all is well and that I should press forward.” Harvey shook his head. “My mind can’t parse through the conflicting messages, and so I am terribly, terribly frightened, more so that my legs are moving despite me trying to tell them to stop.”

Zarya paused for a moment, thinking as quickly as she could. There was definitely something wrong here, that much had been obvious for a long while now, but she couldn’t put her hoof on what it was yet. What was this song the others were hearing that even now drew Harvey forward despite his sheer terror, and which made Shine into a dismissive dolt with no sense of his surroundings?

She glanced towards the edge of the clearing, where she saw another figure approaching through the fog. And another. And another. All three were distinctly zebra-shaped—or was it pony-shaped?—just taller and with more elongated forms. The fog cleared around them as they stepped towards Shine, who was furthest ahead, enough that Zarya could see them clearly now.

They were uncannily beautiful creatures, their bodies made of a smooth, crystalline, blue ice, with long manes and tails of pure white snow that unnaturally flowed against the wind. The lead creature in the bunch sang that haunting melody louder now than ever, so loud that it made Zarya’s ears ache, and yet Shine and Harvey seemed to find it pleasing even still.

And as Shine drew closer to these creatures, he started shivering terribly as though freezing, and yet he still continued forward, reaching out towards the lead creature with a longing smile.

Zarya’s eyes widened, for in that instant she knew what these creatures were. “Wendigos. By Wylundr’s flaming blade!”

She did not hesitate. Her blade ignited into a raging black fire, and she charged directly in front of Shine to strike the lead wendigo with a vicious horizontal slash through its neck.

The instant her flaming blade struck the creature, it’s head shattered apart like glass, and its body soon followed along with it. The singing stopped and the clearing went quiet for just a mere moment.

The other two wendigos reacted immediately as the third was destroyed. They were no longer beautiful, graceful beings. The blue of their icy bodies darkened; their snowy manes swept back into a swirling mist; their eyes, indistinguishable from the rest of them until now, glowed red with rage.

Gone was the singing, replaced now by their hideous shrieking, loud and piercing enough to ring in Zarya’s ears.

Shine stumbled back a little bit as the song’s effect seemed to wear off. “Wh-what just happened?” He glanced at Zarya. “Zarya? What’s going—” Then, he noticed the wendigos glaring at the two of them. “What in the world?”

“Monsters!” Harvey shouted, quickly taking cover behind one of the frozen statues. “I knew it!”

The once-calm fog in the clearing vanished, leaving the terrible blizzard to come crashing back down upon the trio, and the wendigos seamlessly swirled themselves into it, nearly impossible to see through the wind-swept snow.

Zarya clenched her teeth and swung her blade in a wide arc in front of her. “Foul beasts! Come! Face thine enemy!”

One of the wendigos gave a bone-chilling cry as it leapt out from the storm at not Zarya, but Shine, brandishing a row of pointed fangs, its hooves sharpened into points that had not been there before.

Shine quickly drew his blade and sliced it across the wendigo’s neck, shattering ice and knocking the beast aside. He made to capitalize on his blow, but the wendigo recovered quickly and kicked him in the chest as he leapt to strike again, knocking him back several feet. The impact point was covered with a layer of thick frost and had dented his armor; even the cynolycus had not been able to do that.

Worse, the great gash upon the wendigo’s neck sealed itself up with frost and snow within seconds.

“What the hell?” Shine muttered, watching in shock as his efforts proved wasted.

The wendigo charged at him again, its eyes alight with cold fury, and reared up to spear him with pointed hooves while he was still prone on the ground.

Zarya blasted through the wendigo’s midsection with a gout of flame. Its torso evaporated instantly, and the rest of the wendigo followed along with it only a second later.

“Thanks!” Shine called, letting out a breath. His eyes widened and he pointed behind Zarya. “Look out!”

Zarya didn’t even turn around to face the wendigo she knew was behind her, just swung her sword back around to cleave vertically up through its head, shattering the beast into a thousand pieces.

Once the third wendigo was vanquished, the winds and snow died down a little. Though the storm did not clear, it did weaken enough that the trio could regroup and hear one another speak clearly without shouting and see without squinting.

“What the hell were those things?” Shine asked, pawing at the dent in his armor.

“Wendigos,” Zarya said with an angry scowl. “An ancient enemy of zebrakind, creatures made of ice and snow which feedeth on hate, anger, and fear.”

Harvey adjusted his glasses, though he was clearly shivering both from cold and fear. “Ah, I think I recognize that name from the history of your Order. Those are quite ancient creatures indeed, hailing from the great civil war that spanned the continent before Zeb’ra’den was even conceived of, yes?”

“Correct, and they art the sworn enemies of mine Order,” Zarya continued, sheathing her blade. “The first Knight of the Black Flame, Lord-Commander Zincinite, founded our Order to fighteth these creatures for they were the greatest threat in the south, fueled by the Dark magic of Nihila and the hate, anger, and fear of the warring ponies to the north.”

“Wonderful, more ancient threats risen again.” Shine held his sword up to his face, then shook his head and sheathed it. “How is it that your sword could destroy them but mine merely chipped them? It clearly isn’t resistance like the cynolycus had, just a sort of healing factor, or something.”

“My blade hath been inscribed with runic markings which giveth it many traits: ease of handling, everlasting sharpness, but most importantly, the Black Flame. The wendigos feareth warmth and light, and fire doth generate both in ample supply. 'Tis their only true weakness.”

“So your blade destroyed them because it was lit on fire? Will any flame work, or just your special black fire?”

“Any fire doth work upon them, to a degree,” Zarya said with a nod. “But a typical fire doth not fare well in wind and snow. Our blackened fire can withstand even the harshest winds and thrive even under the coldest waters.”

Shine hummed, then drew his blade back out. As he held it in his magical field, he lit his horn brighter still, coating the blade in a thin sheen of light. “You say that they also fear light? I wonder if this would work?”

Zarya considered this for a moment, then shook her head. “I knoweth not, for I hath only been told of how my black flames art the means to vanquish them, for our Order was created to fighteth the wendigos, and fighteth them they did.”

Harvey nodded quickly. “Ah yes, I remember now. As I said, I read about these things in your Order’s history shortly before we met, for I wanted to research the Knights of the Black Flame before I requested aid in my endeavors. Harmonia herself blessed your Order’s founding and helped to seal the wendigos within the Peaks of Ruin.”

The trio looked out past the clearing, where the Peaks of Ruin were in full view from the top of the cliff looking out over the remaining mountains. From this close, the fearsome blizzard that raged around the frozen peaks in the distance was easy to see. It was a black storm cloud crackling with white lightning, streaked with blue that swirled about in great, sweeping spirals.

But there was something more to the blizzard than that: it was moving. Zarya knew that was not normal.

Shine saw it too: “Is that storm up there supposed to be moving like that?”

Zarya shook her head. “No. That blizzard is the result of the Darkness within the wendigos made manifest. If it doth move, so too doth the wendigos. They hath been freed from their eternal prison.”

“But I thought you just said Harmonia herself sealed them under those mountains?” Shine asked, turning to Harvey.

“According to everything I’ve read, she did,” Harvey said with a sigh. “But, after everything that happened twenty-one years ago with that unfortunate Beacon business, I’d venture a guess that things have changed significantly since ancient times, wouldn’t you agree?”

“You mean this is more of that bastard Silvertongue’s doing? He unleashed these monsters upon us?”

“Why, I haven’t the foggiest idea! Though I will say that if it is, I couldn’t even guess if he’d done it on purpose or by accident or even if he knew he’d done it at all.” Harvey shook his head. “There are a number of factors to consider, are there not?”

Zarya grunted. “We mustn’t tarry here. I knoweth not how long that storm will taketh to reach us here, but we must warn Last Breath of its coming.”

Shine gestured towards the frozen zebras. “What of our missing gatherers and scouts? Is there anything we can do for them?”

Harvey shook his head. “According to what I’ve read, the wendigos’ frost is so potent that it is fatal in this circumstance. They’ve been frozen through and through, I’m afraid, not just covered in ice. If you look closely, you can even see that they have started to crack apart.”

“They shalt be remembered,” Zarya sighed. “But as said, we mustn’t tarry. Come! Make haste to Last Breath!”

With that, the trio ran back the way they came as fast as they could.

*****

Back at Last Breath, Zarya, Harvey, and Shine quickly arranged a meeting with Captain Zaine in his personal office within the fort. The room was small with sparse decorations, mostly the things Zaine would need in his duties as Captain of the fort: a desk, some chairs, inventory logs, and personnel files, with little else to distract him or visitors who were present. A small fireplace kept the room fairly warm, at least.

Zaine’s jaw dropped when he heard the news. “Wendigos? Thou hast seen wendigos? Ancient horrors of the southern snows?”

Zarya nodded. “'Tis true. Wendigos hath returned. A fair reason to be concerned.”

“They lured your gatherers and scouts to them with song,” Harvey explained, adjusting his glasses. “Then, they froze them to death in the mountain pass. All seventeen of them, I’m sorry to say. They attempted to do the same to us as well, but Dame Zarya here was able to fight them off.”

“Ah, then the threat hath passed,” Zaine said with a breath of relief. “'Tis a shame that we hath lost so many, but—”

“Actually, Captain, the threat is far from over,” Shine interjected. “The blizzard over the Peaks of Ruin is moving. Zarya said that the blizzard moves with the wendigos, which means they’re probably coming for us, and in greater numbers than what we faced in the mountains as well.”

Zaine slumped back in his chair and ran a hoof through his mane. “This cannot be. Harmonia herself hath sealed those monsters within the Peaks of Ruin. How is it that they hath returned after so long?”

“We don’t really know the answer to that,” Harvey muttered with a frown. “I wish I could offer any sort of advice or insight on the matter but the wendigos were a threat from far before even the first hippogriffs walked the western mountains. There is little information on them beyond what the Order of the Black Flame has detailed in their historical accounts.”

Zarya grunted. “For their attack, we must prepare.”

Zaine nodded in response. “They’ll not take Last Breath. Of that, I swear. What is thy plan of defense, Dame Knight? How dost thou wisheth my troops to fight?”

“Wendigos fear light and fire. Much of each we doth require.” She then turned to Harvey and Shine. “As for thee, my friends, thou shalt make haste back to Zeb’ra’den with the commoners, for they cannot fight. Informeth the Order of the wendigos, and they shalt dispatch knights to aideth our defense of Last Breath.”

“What? And just leave you here?” Harvey said, clicking his tongue. “We can’t just do that, Zarya.”

“But thou must. Alone, I hath no chance against their numbers. I hath need of my brothers and sisters of the Order, and they will answer my call.”

“But why? Why are you staying here to defend this fortress? Why not just evacuate everyzebra to Zeb’ra’den?”

Zaine scoffed. “I expect not for thee to understand our motivations here, Sir Harvey. Last Breath hath a long history among our kind, as thou hath shown an interest in. 'Twas one of the first and greatest fortresses built by the zebras in times long gone. It hath never fallen in over one hundred battles. 'Tis part of our history. We shalt not abandon it so easily.”

Zarya nodded and put her hoof on Harvey’s shoulder. “'Tis a sacred site as well for mine Order. 'Twas here that the Order of the Black Flame stood against the frozen tide of wendigos in the final battle that drove the beasts into the Peaks of Ruin. It stoodest then, and it standeth now, and it shalt standeth forevermore.”

“And besides,” Zaine added, “were we to abandon the fort, the wendigos might catcheth us in the tundra for we knoweth not how quickly they can move. In the open, ‘twould be a massacre, and we wouldst be traveling with civilians. At least here at Last Breath we hath a position to defend and shelter to take from the storm, and the common folk can escape. The wendigos shalt not take the fort so easily, that I can promise thee.”

Harvey took a breath and nodded. “Very well, I suppose I cannot argue with such sentimentality. It would be akin to abandoning a sacred temple I suppose, yes? I wouldn’t expect anything less of the zebras, really.” He put his claw on Zarya’s hoof. “Though I will worry for you all the same, my friend.”

“That’s all well and good, but I’m not going anywhere,” Shine grunted. “I’ll stay here at the fort to help you lot shore up your defenses, and I’ll stand with you against these creatures when they come.”

Zarya shook her head. “I cannot placeth thee at risk, Shine. Thou art a foreign lord, and 'tis not my place to placeth thee in harm’s way.”

“That’s ridiculous and you know it. For one thing, Harvey can travel a lot faster if he’s by himself—he can fly, after all, so he can move across the more dangerous terrain without need for slowing, like I would.”

“Then thou canst escort the civilians—” Zarya started.

“They’re common zebras, Zarya, they won’t listen to me or even consider me worth listening to. I’ve seen how the zebras in the city look at me. Even though I’m a warrior in my own right, they don’t really respect me, not like you do. The cynolycus was your kill, not mine, so it doesn’t matter how much I helped.”

“Then I shalt order them to listen!”

Shine snorted. “Please, I don’t need anypony… anyzebra ordering others to give me respect. If I leave now, I doubt His Majesty would truly respect me, either. I’ve earned my accolades as a swordfighter, and if I have to prove myself in battle in order to get proper respect from the zebras, then so be it.”

Zarya frowned. “But—”

“For another thing, if it’s light that you need, I’ll remind you that I am a unicorn.” He emphasized his point by lightning up his horn and illuminating the room in a bright, sun-like glow. “You’ll need all the help you can get,” he concluded, dimming his horn again. “So, I’m staying right here with you. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Zarya paused for a moment, then let out a breath and nodded. “Very well, thine assistance will be most appreciated.” She turned to Harvey. “It doth seem that thou must goeth alone, my friend. Art thou prepared for the journey?”

Harvey took a breath and adjusted his glasses. “Well, I suppose that if I’m traveling alone through the tundra, it will certainly take me less time to return to the city. The Order themselves will likely take nearly a week to make the march here, though. Are you certain we’ll return in time?”

Zarya shook her head. “I knoweth not how long until the first clouds of the wendigo storm reacheth us, but we will make due with what time we can. Maketh haste, Harvey.”

Harvey nodded. “You can count on me, Zarya. I’ll fly as quickly as I possibly can.” He nodded briefly to Zaine. “Captain, I wish you and your troops the best of luck.” He then did the same to Shine. “And you, Shine, good luck. Take care of Zarya, yes?”

“I don’t think she needs anyone—zebra or pony—taking care of her, least of all me,” Shine scoffed. He clapped Harvey on the shoulder. “Hurry back.”

Harvey took a breath and left the office.

Zaine leaned back in his seat and let out a breath. “Dame, what dost thou think of our chances?”

Zarya sighed. “Poor, given the circumstances. We must hold Last Breath for two weeks against the tide from those dread Peaks. Gather thy soldiers, Captain Zaine, for their skills I must ascertain.”

Zaine bowed slightly. “It will be done, Dame Knight, and with haste. May their talents goeth not to waste.”

Zarya then turned to Shine and gestured towards the door. “Cometh with me, for I also hath need to judge the geography of the fortress that I might best put together its defenses. Thou hast knowledge of military matters, yes?”

Shine smirked. “That I do. I studied a great deal of the art of warfare in my youth when I wasn’t practicing with a blade. If you think I can be of assistance, then I appreciate the opportunity to prove myself.”

“Let us hope that we hath no need to test thy knowledge,” Zarya sighed.

*****

Zarya stood on the eastern battlement of Last Breath early in the evening, looking out towards the mountain pass beyond, sword currently at rest. Eleven days had passed since Harvey left to Zeb’ra’den and the fortress had come alive with zebra soldiers ready to stand their ground. Torches were lit throughout the fortress grounds, the soldiers had fortified the walls and barricaded the windows, and weapons had been prepared to use against their foes. All was ready.

Off in the distance, Zarya watched as the great wendigo blizzard—the tremendous storm of black clouds and white lightning—moved slowly to the northwest. That was not in their current direction, which was directly west of the Peaks of Ruins. That was the direction of Zeb’ra’den. The storm moved slowly through the sky, hardly noticeable for one without a keen eye for stormy weather, which Zarya was.

But the blizzard had long since divided itself. Another great cloud—smaller by far than the gargantuan blizzard, but great nonetheless—had split off a few days ago and even now moved through the mountains east of Last Breath towards the fort itself. Zarya had been waiting for this day since the moment the storm had split.

Tonight, the wendigos would arrive.

“Bit for your thoughts?” asked Shine, who had just come up onto the battlement.

Zarya shared a brief look with him, then let out a sigh. “Our foes arriveth within the hour. The fort’s defenders hath prepared themselves well, the fort hath been readied to weather the storm, and I hath made peace with whatever might happen. But still, I hath not purged my worries from my mind.”

Shine took a breath, then stood beside her and looked out into the mountains. “I’ve been dreading this night since the moment I agreed to stand alongside you in defense of the fort, so I know what you mean. These wendigos are not like any foe I’ve ever faced before. Even that cynolycus was a simple beast at heart, despite its intelligence.”

“'Tis not only that, but I hath worried for Harvey since his departure. He hath never traveled the tundras alone before, and I senteth him forth into the snows and ice with nozebra to guide him. I can only hath hope that he made it to Zeb’ra’den. If he did not… then I mourn not only for him, but for us as well.” She looked Shine straight in the eye. “We cannot defendeth this fort without the Order.”

“Then we will do the only thing we can do: hope.” Shine leaned against the battlement wall. “I’ve lived in pony lands all my life. Us ponies don’t believe in a pantheon of gods as you zebras do, we only worship Harmonia. But you know as well as I do that one of her foremost tenets is ‘always have hope’. Despite everything that’s happened to me and my family in the past few months, that belief is the one thing I’ve had to rely on.”

Zarya grunted and shook her head. “Thou art brave but foolish to standeth beside me all the same, my friend. Everything that thou hast worked for in the name of thy House will be in vain if thy life endeth here.”

“Nonsense. It’s no different from helping you kill that cynolycus. My life was in danger then, too.”

“Nay, 'tis not the same. At least there, thou hadst reason to defend thyself. Now, thou art here of thine own volition. Thy mother’s wish for peace cannot succeed without aid from His Majesty. If thou hadst returned to Zeb’ra’den with Harvey, I am certain His Majesty would hath granted thy request.”

“Maybe so, but I couldn’t live with myself knowing I abandoned you to the wendigos to make it happen.” Shine smirked at Zarya and nudged her gently. “Like I said, you need me here. Between your flame and my light, we’ll stand a chance.”

Zarya paused to look at him a moment, then smiled and nodded. “Then despite all my worries, it gladdens me that thou art here. I appreciate thy company, Shine. Together, we can—”

A sudden, terrible torrent of wind rushed out of the mountain path, biting at Zarya and Shine’s noses with it freezing cold. With it came a flurry of snow and a thick mist.

Zarya drew her blade and scowled. “They cometh.”

“Damn, I thought we had longer,” Shine muttered.

Zarya walked to the other side of the battlement and turned her attention out into the fort, where the soldiers were sharpening their weapons. “The wendigos cometh! To thy positions, soldiers!” When issuing commands in battle, she—and every other zebra before or after her—was not restricted by meter and rhyme.

Within seconds, shouting and movement drowned out even the sound of the wind as the zebra soldiers grabbed their weapons and set themselves up into their defensive positions. Ten soldiers in heavier armor equipped with pikes and shields placed themselves before the barricaded fortress door. Fifteen archers equipped with longbows took positions on the battlements. Captain Zaine stood with the soldiers below, armed with a sword. Four of the remaining five were tasked with ensuring the archers had arrows to loose and that the fires were stoked.

Beside each of the archers was an oil lantern protected by thick glass and a small tin of oil, together with which they would ignite their arrows to bring fire to their enemies. The pike-zebras had dipped their pikes in oil and ignited all the same, as had Captain Zaine with his sword. The two large braziers beside the gate would be their source of fire for as long as they remained lit.

The last zebra was attending the western gate, prepared to open it the instant the Order of the Black Flame arrived.

Zarya and Shine did not move from their position upon the battlement. Zarya merely ignited her sword and held it aloft. Shine, not bothering with his sword just yet, kept his horn alight and watched out into the snowy mountain pass.

And they waited. And waited. And waited.

There was no question their foes were coming and no chance for anyzebra—or pony—to question Zarya’s call to arms, for the howling shrieks of fear-fueled wendigos was echoing throughout the air, mimicking the fierce winds of the mightiest of blizzards to ever plague the south.

But still, they waited.

Until, at last, the wendigo storm came rushing through the mountain pass like an avalanche. Several dozen pairs of glowing red eyes approached the fort, shining like lit coals against the snow. The wendigos’ screeching carried stronger than the winds, and with it came such an intense cold that Zarya lost all feeling in the tip of her nose.

She hefted her sword into the air and brightened her flames so that all the fortress could see through the snow. “Nock!”

The archers loaded oil-dipped flaming arrows into the crossbows.

“Draw!”

The archers took aim at the approaching tide of ice and monsters.

“Loose!”

The archers let loose a volley of fifteen flaming arrows into the storm. There came a hideous shriek from the tide as the wendigos were wounded, but still they pressed forward without any evidence of slowing down.

Zarya called out for another volley. “Nock! Draw! Loose!”

Another barrage of flaming arrows struck into the storm and yet it still moved forward.

Shine clenched his teeth—partly from the cold, Zarya figured, but partly from worry. “Are those arrows working at all?”

Zarya grunted. “The winds art too strong for the flames to inflict sufficient wounds upon our foes in such small numbers, but 'tis better than nothing. Ready thyself, for they cometh still.”

Shine nodded and brightened his horn’s glow. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”

As Zarya called for another volley—and again as the storm still advanced without fail—she positioned herself on the battlement such that her blade pointed down towards the gate. The howling storm would crash against the doors within the next few seconds.

“Archers! Fall back to secondary positions!” Zarya called.

The archers grabbed their gear and descended from the battlements to the stairs, where they would have a good vantage point of the gate and courtyard.

The avalanche of wendigos slammed into the gates like, well, an avalanche, cracking apart the wooden barricade but not yet breaching the gate.

Zarya let loose a gout of flame down at the wendigos below. It barely reached the first few pressing against the gate itself, which gave shrieks of agony as they were evaporated in seconds.

Shine, meanwhile, launched bolts of light into the storm. It did not shatter or melt the wendigos like Zarya’s flames did, but it did stun them and crack their icy blue forms briefly, and Zarya could see that they did not recover. His light was working, but wasn’t strong enough.

The storm swept back into the pass for a brief moment, then came rushing back towards the gate again to slam into the barricades with another avalanche-like force. The barricades themselves shattered into thousands of pieces, and the gate was pushed open just slightly.

“Be ready, soldiers!” called Captain Zaine below, addressing his pike-zebras and holding aloft his sword. “We defend Last Breath! We shalt not fall!”

“For Last Breath!’ shouted the soldiers in unison.

Before the storm swept back, Zarya again blasted a gout of fire into the crowd of wendigos, evaporating two more before they could retreat. Shine blasted light into the crowd still, and Zarya saw one wendigo fall to the snow in the midst of the retreat, shattering the moment it struck the ground; his light worked well, but still was not as effective as her own black fire.

The storm swept around again and tore through the pass before slamming into the gate again, this time breaking it open and letting a torrent of wind and snow into the fort’s courtyard.

“For Last Breath!” called Captain Zaine.

Zarya turned to the other side of the battlement to see the storm slam into the line of pike-zebras like a wave crashing against rocks. At first, the line held firm, and the flaming lances that impacted the wendigos seemed to wound them greatly. But, to Zarya’s horror, the wendigos knew no fear or real pain, and so they still pressed forward, sweeping over the pike-zebras and dousing their flames.

She watched as the wendigos exhaled freezing breaths at the soldiers, crystallizing two of them instantly; she watched as the wendigos reared up and crashed onto shields with sharpened hooves, piercing metal with ease and tearing straight into the zebras behind them, killing two more; she watched as the wendigos opened their fanged mouths and greater heights to rip into the zebras behind their shields without stopping, killing another three.

Over half the pike-zebras fell in the span of ten seconds. They only shattered two wendigos in return.

Zarya let loose a gout of fire again at the wendigos, evaporating four more as they tried to descend upon the pike-zebras that remained. “Fall back!” she shouted. “Fall back!”

The pike-zebras that still stood surrounded Captain Zaine as they fell back into the inner courtyard, drawing the wendigos further in.

As the wendigos pursued, the archers let loose more flaming arrows into their number. Some wendigos were wounded and given pause; others crashed to the ground and shattered as arrows pierced their heads; still others carried on without concern for their well-being, moving on the pike-zebras as best they could.

And the wendigos did not appreciate the archers’ gifts, either. So as the storm brewed and flowed into the fortress walls, it spread outward and covered the stairs with wind and mist. The next arrows loosed wildly missed their marks as howling winds swept them off-course.

Worse still, the wendigos then ascended the stairs to reach the archers, setting upon them like wolves upon rabbits. Some archers managed to flee up the stairs and use the battlements to retreat further into the fortress grounds, loosing arrows as they went, but of the fifteen archers that had started the fight, nine were dead within those few moments, either frozen or torn apart.

Zarya and Shine could not keep up with the wendigos as they flowed into the fort. The courtyard was overrun already, and though the last of the monsters had entered into the grounds, their number was still too strong.

“We must rally to the center courtyard,” Zarya muttered to Shine. “Come!”

“Right behind you,” Shine replied.

Zarya led the way down the stairs into the courtyard proper, coming up behind the flurry of wendigos as they reached the ground. She moved forward, unleashing a torrent of flame into the rear of the storm and evaporating three more wendigos. She could hear the screaming of the pike-zebras as the front of the storm tore into them, and she could hear Captain Zaine himself howl in pain.

She drove forward, blasting every wendigo she could with black fire and thinning their ranks as best she could. Shine remained behind her, flinging bolts of light magic into the storm to keep the monsters off balance.

Zarya managed to cut a path through the storm to the pike-zebras, only to find the lot of them frozen solid. Zaine himself was fending off another wendigo with his blade—no longer ignited and thus ineffective—as it tried to freeze him solid as well—his hindlegs were already covered in ice.

Zarya blasted the wendigo upon Zaine and leapt to his defense before another could replace it. She glanced down at the captain to see that one of his frozen legs had already shattered and that his eyes were closed, but couldn’t tell if he was still alive or just unconscious.

She glanced about the battlements for any sign of the zebra archers. But the only movement she could see was that of the ice and snow of the wendigos. The archers were lost as well, and still the wendigo storm raged on.

She turned to Shine, who had just caught up. “We stand as one! Together!”

“I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine!” Shine shouted, backing up against her and drawing his light-infused sword.

The storm swirled through the fortress grounds, surrounding Zarya, Shine, and the injured Zaine. Zarya flung off flames into the storm, but the wendigos were moving so swiftly now that she could only catch one at a time, and still their number was too great.

The storm drew tighter around them, and then tighter still. Zarya noticed the storm was thinning on her end as she struck more and more of the wendigos down with each passing moment.

Then, she heard Shine grunt as if struggling. She looked and noticed that his horn’s glow was tremendously bright as he tried to drive off the wendigos that were encroaching upon him, for they had divided their forces so that Zarya had less targets to strike down. His sword was not enough to handle so many at once.

So she turned to strike at these other wendigos, leaving herself open just enough that she almost did not notice another trio of them rush at her from behind. She turned in time to blast the lead beast with fire, but the two others reached her. The one on her left was unlucky enough to catch her blade as she drove it into its head mid-charge.

The one on the right was luckier, as it managed to slam into her shoulder, knocking her several yards away. As it reared up to stomp on her, she blasted it, too, with a gout of fire.

Unfortunately, this left Shine and Zaine wide open. Shine flared his horn and his blade as bright as he could, but it was not enough to stem the tide of freezing cold. One wendigo was bold enough to draw close to him so as to blast him in the face with a torrent of freezing breath, just as Shine tore into its head with his sword.

Shine’s forehead became coated with white frost, but his horn was completely encased in crystalline ice. His pained howl was tremendous, and his light was extinguished as he fell back in agony, his sword—lightless—falling to the snow.

“No!” Zarya shouted, rising up and charging in with her blade at the ready.

She struck the wendigo responsible before it could freeze any more of Shine’s anatomy, shattering it into thousands of pieces. The other wendigos approached her more boldly than ever, for she was now alone in her defense of the fort, and in defense of the only two other living things in the courtyard.

She swung her blade left and shattered one wendigo, only for another to whip by to the right and rake her side with its sharpened hooves. She swung her blade right to shatter the wendigo that had injured her, only for another to swing back from the left to do the same to her other side.

Zarya fell to one leg as she struggled to stay upright. The cold was overwhelming. The pain was overwhelming. And yet, she had no fear, for she had stood her ground against her ancient foe with courage and honor.

So she still swung her blade at the monsters as they approached, defending herself, defending Shine and Zaine, defending Last Breath until she breathed hers. As the storm gathered together to sweep into her one last time, she held her blade aloft and aflame.

Then, a dozen more gouts of black fire tore into the storm, evaporating more than a dozen wendigos in mere seconds.

“By Wylunder’s flames!” called several voices as one. “For Last Breath!”

Zarya cast her gaze towards the source of the flames just behind her, and her eyes widened with relief.

The Order had arrived.

She saw the familiar faces of her brothers and sisters in arms, rushing forward to strike down the last of the wendigos that remained, coming to her aid like true knights.

Most of all, she recognized the face of the lead knight, whose flames blazed brightest and hottest, who charged straight into what was left of the storm without fear. It was her uncle, Sir Zircon. His mane was shoulder-length and kept in an almost-dashing semi-mess, and he was ruggedly handsome. Like Zarya and the other knights, he wore gold-dyed leather armor and a heavy white cloak. His blade, a falchion, was wreathed in black fire.

Once the storm had abated—once the last of the wendigos had collapsed—Zircon turned to Zarya and approached her in a hurry. Other knights of the Order were already seeing to her condition as well as the well-being of both Shine and Zaine.

She smiled and rose upright as best she could so she could bow with respect. “Uncle, thou hast arrived in time. To see thy face is most sublime.”

Zircon did not bow in return, but drew his niece in for a hug. “Zarya, my dear, thou art so brave. I feared thee in an icy grave.”

Zarya turned to the knights that were tending to Captain Zaine and Silver Shine. The former’s hindlegs and the latter’s horn were completely frozen and had already started to crack apart. She knew it was bad, but asked nonetheless: “We hath lost many in this fight. Be true: will these two be alright?”

One of the knights—an older stallion with a thinning mane—looked over Zaine and shook his head sadly. “I sayeth this with great disdain, but this one shalt not walk again.” He then gestured to Shine and sighed. “I knoweth little of these horns, or the magic of unicorns. But if I were to have a guess, this wound will cause him great distress.”

Zarya gulped and nodded, but said no more.

That didn’t stop her from thinking, though. Thirty-two zebra soldiers dead under her command—the only surviving zebras being the gatewatcher who’d let the Order in, and Captain Zaine, who was severely wounded. One of her newest friends, Silver Shine, also severely wounded, likely to lose his horn—and thus his magic—forever. All of it under her watch in defense of this fort. Perhaps Harvey had been right. Perhaps it would have been better to abandon the fort and flee into the tundra.

Then she felt Zircon’s hoof wrap around her shoulder. She gazed up at him and saw her uncle looking warmly down at her, a light in his eye that put Zarya at ease. She realized that if anyzebra understood how she was feeling right now, it was him. So she hugged him tight, thankful to have him at her side.

The day had been come with a great cost, but Last Breath had not fallen.

Comments

[Turquoise pony]

The trio met in Shine’s guest chambers at the palace, where they could have a respectable amount of privacy and comfort with which to discuss matters. The room was well-furnished and warm—particularly thanks to the large fireplace present—and decorated with assorted zebra-made sculptures, vases, paintings, and rugs to make guests feel welcome and grateful towards their southern hosts. The bed was much too large for Shine alone, but most of these guest chambers were intended for visiting lords or ladies and their spouses, and Shine had no spouse with which to share it. He didn’t seem to mind having it to himself.

A fireplace? Which brings up a concerning question I have about zebra Nation.
How do they grow food, and even have trees at the South Pole of a planet?

[GanonFLCL]

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Not all planets are the same, and Equestria-V's south pole, while very cold and covered with snow and ice, is more akin to Alaska or Russia in climate and terrain than it is to Antarctica. They have trees and plants that can survive in such an environment just as our world does, both real (such as spruce) and fictional (like the snowfruit trees mentioned in this very chapter), and for other crops Zeb'ra'den maintains a large greenhouse. Zebras also utilize purified snow and ice (which is just water, essentially) as ingredients in food.

[My name is R]

There is an old settlement on the southeastern border of zebra lands,

Okay, East I thought of tha prime meridian. But now South of tha South Pole? Are they measurin' by magnetic South? Cause that moves around, so it makes fer a poor regional definer. No, ya cannot go South a tha Pole unless ya go ta space, an even that's iffy.
Sure, Pandamonium uses a compass rose geography too, but given that it's purposefully built ta barely function I could see them renaming tha districts every couple decades as tha Pole shifted.

Zarya looked between the two, completely lost and not convinced they were hearing the same thing she was at all. “Yes, 'tis a pleasant tone, but I heareth no substance or lyrics to the melody nor any crescendos. Merely pretty notes in a simple repeating pattern. 'Tis nothing special.”

Some sort a siren, no doubt. I've no notion as ta tha specifics, but I don’t trust it, that's fer sure.

“I suppose so,” Zarya muttered, keeping her attention on the two of them. “Though I knoweth not why thou giveth such praise to this songstress. 'Tis a rather plain song in mine opinion.”

I do wonder why each hears it differently, though. I considered that it tried ta be appealing to each, but then why doesn't Zarya like it? For it's not primarily suspicion that seems ta guide her dissent, though there is perhaps a trace a that too.
Most curious...

“Oh dear oh dear,” Harvey muttered as he looked at the statues, a grin still on his face. “Seventeen. Oh my, there are seventeen of them here, and the captain said there were seventeen zebras missing. This is clearly all of our missing zebras, and not one of them is singing. Oh dear.”
Zarya raised an eyebrow. “Harvey? Art thou well?”
Harvey shook his head as he continued forward towards the source of the singing beyond the other edge of the clearing, still grinning. “Oh no, not at all, my friend, not at all. I’m terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. Yet I still move towards the song even though all logic dictates that it doesn’t originate from our zebra comrades here, hmm? It just sounds so pleasant that I can’t help myself.”

Ah, that moment when yer aware that yer stuck in a spell, but yer not able ta break free. Been there, it isn't nice.
Again, by Seer

They were uncannily beautiful creatures, their bodies made of a smooth, crystalline, blue ice, with long manes and tails of pure white snow that unnaturally flowed against the wind.

Ah. So windigos have siren powers now. Because they weren't terrifying enough already. Joy.

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Makes sense, their North Pole isn't even snowy three times outa four.

P.S. I agree with Zarya, this was a wound of bravery, not foolishness.