The Long Wait
❅ ❆ ❅
"I've never seen you so angry," True Sight remarked quietly.
"I don't really... Get angry. The only one that can get me angry is Sombra, I think. I don't remember ever being that angry before learning about him," Agate huffed.
"Mm. Angry doesn't even fit, I think. Utterly furious would be a better description. Or murderously enraged, even."
"Right... Sorry about that," Agate looked away in embarrassment.
"Now now, there's no need to apologize. I know you're a sweet filly, and if someone can make you that furious, clearly, they must have done something truly heinous to cause that. Did you find out something else about what that abomination did?" True Sight reassured her in a soothing voice.
"...Yeah. I found out what he did to the Empire."
"Really now? Don't keep me waiting, then."
"He, ah... Banished them to the future. The ponies, the entire city itself. Everything."
"Banished to... What? How? Where?"
"Right where they always were, apparently. Everything is still there, or that's what that stallion said. Which explains why both you and Dreamcatcher can see them. They didn't go to a different place, they got... "Frozen in time", as he explained it."
That made True Sight go quiet for a long time, frowning in confusion. The pair kept trotting downhill, away from the inn where the Equestrian guards were stationed. As they reached the valley floor and slowly began approaching the former - or perhaps still current, in a way - site of the city, the mare shook her head.
"That sounds like madness. Freezing time? I have never heard of such an idea. Sure, Blizzard Heart could summon a cold so fierce that a rushing river in the middle of summer would freeze solid. But in all my years, I have never heard of a spirit of time that you could call on. The only things related to time we are able to do are the premonitions and visions the dreamwalkers sometimes have. Not... Freezing time like a bucket of water."
"I know. It's not something I ever heard about, either. Or even anything the Equestrians heard about, apparently. They said they had their best wiz- I mean, shamares examine the place. None of them could safely unravel the magic. They said that now they're here just to measure how long is it going to take for the curse to run out of magic. And then they'll... Wait, I guess."
"So, those were the Equestrians you spoke of? And that winged one - that was a "pegasus", yes?" True Sight hummed curiously.
"Oh yeah... Sorry for leaving you out of that conversation. Yes, they were Equestrians. And the horned one is called a "unicorn".
"Don't be silly, Agate. It's not like I would know what to ask them about even if I spoke their tongue. I wonder which bird did he steal those wings from. Hmm..."
Snorting, Agate shook her head. "I don't think that's how pegasi get wings, elder."
"It has to be. Either that, or some distant ancestor of theirs was the first one to do it, and then passed it on to his or her children. How else do you explain it? He had no feathers anywhere else, unlike birds, and he was built like any other pony, with long legs to gallop through the plains. Except for the wings, which he clearly stole. Not that I'm saying the act is not impressive, but still."
Agate opened her mouth to argue, but realized that she didn't really have anything to say to refute the mare's claims. As she giggled quietly, her mind conjured images of pegasi foals attempting to sneak up on bird's nests to steal their wings for themselves. She honestly wasn't sure whether the mare was trying to make her laugh on purpose or not.
They trotted in silence for a while until True Sight spoke up again. "So that narwhal pony... Unicorn, you said? That was an interesting bit of magic he conjured on the door. Never seen anything like it..."
"It was a shield spell, I think. The Empire's shield was a lot like it, except more of an amethyst color. And it was a lot bigger, obviously."
"I know you mentioned the artifact's power before, but that is still an impressive feat. I'm assuming the shield was crafted more meticulously than the way that unicorn did it, though. His weave was a bit sloppy in places, enough for me to mess with it despite not seeing magic like that before."
"I think you scared him, elder," Agate said with some slight amusement, remembering the guard's face. Although she felt a little bad for scaring them, she also couldn't help but feel a little tickled at them being afraid of her, of all ponies.
"Heh! Good motivation for him to shape up, then."
They kept talking with an occasional period of silent contemplation in between, making their way across the valley. Once they got close to the epicenter of the magical deadzone, True Sight shuddered, grimacing. Agate frowned as well, the area feeling extra oppressive now that she was aware that the Empire was right there, just out of reach. Picking up the pace, they galloped away, back towards the mountains.
Once they gained some distance, True Sight spoke up again. "So, what made you so angry? Was it just finding out about the curse, or something else? You seemed to be irritated with those stallions before you snapped."
"I kind of was, yes. That pegasus kept shouting questions at me and refusing to answer any of mine, so I got a little angry with him. Not nearly as angry as when I found out what Sombra did, though."
"So, the frozen time... How long until it melts?"
Pursing her lips, Agate went quiet. A few minutes passed before she shook her head, sighing. "They're not completely sure yet. But it could be a thousand years or more."
"Ah. I see. That explains your reaction quite well."
That little bit of information quite thoroughly killed the rest of the conversation. They continued on in silence, getting closer to the northern border of the valley. Agate felt like galloping through the night just to get some more distance from the place, but it was rather obvious that True Sight needed to rest. The mare's form was becoming more and more indistinct, her sharp eyesight failing as she squinted, expending effort just to see what was in front of her.
"Come on, elder, let's rest for a while," Agate urged, noticing a small abandoned quarry nearby.
"Never lost my sight before..." True Sight muttered almost inaudibly, sounding slightly shaken.
"It's unpleasant, yes. The whole world turns dark, I remember that much. Rest your eyes for a while. We're not in a rush to get anywhere, after all."
Climbing down, they curled up in a corner, closing their eyes and drifting off into the semi-sleep state spirits usually experienced.
❅ ❆ ❅
The journey back to Snowpitt took twice as long as going forward. Not only did they not push ahead as hard as they did before, they needed to rest more often, the region somehow managing to be inhospitable to spirits. True Sight would stop to look around and meditate now and then, her expression puzzled.
"Is this why your people's spirits do not manifest, Agate? It's not just the valley, or the frozen spot where your city used to stand. It's like the mountains themselves are blocking off the flow of the Breath. Even the trees and the earth here look... Dull."
"Maybe? I really don't know much about it, elder. I did go some distance away from the valley before I died, and I haven't really heard any stories about ghosts showing up in the Empire before. Maybe I was able to keep myself together because of the distance. Or maybe it even was the dark magic coursing through the region that allowed me to manifest," Agate shrugged.
"Hm. Not something we're likely to find out, I suppose."
As they trotted northwards, their expressions ranged from neutral to pensive, both ponies turning over the information that they learned from the journey in their heads, considering the various conclusions and implications of it. Over the course of a day, though, True Sight's face started turning more upbeat, the old mare constantly glancing at Agate with a calculating look.
It was an incredibly gradual process, so much so that Agate completely missed it until True Sight was grinning from ear to ear, looking like she was trying to hold in her laughter. Glancing around, the filly tried to see what the source of her amusement was, to no avail. Nothing surrounded them but the bare mountain rock and a small layer of snow.
"What's so funny, elder?"
"Well..."
"Yes?"
"You said how long the time is [probably going to stay frozen..."
"...Go on."
"But..."
"Yyyeeessss?"
"Well, I just realized..."
"..." Agate didn't even say anything, giving True Sight a flat look.
"You didn't actually say what you were going to do next, now that you know what happened and what the situation is," The mare finally finished.
Agate remained silent, pursing her lips and trotting on without saying anything. For some reason, that caused True Sight to howl with laughter, covering her face with her forelegs.
"No. Nononono, noooo... Agate, you complete madpony. Don't tell me you're seriously planning to wait a thousand years for your people to return?"
"Yeah? What if I do? What's so funny about that? As the other spirits told me, I have all the time in the world."
"Nothing! It's not funny at all, it's kind of terrible, in fact! The funny part is that I'm a fairly good judge of character, and you look like you have the backbone - figurative, of course - to actually pull it off! Ahahaha! Oh, Agate, do you have any idea what you're signing up for? Oh, there'll be legends about you and your timeless fortitude. Few spirits last over a hundred winters before they get tired and move on," True Sight explained, shaking her head.
"Gnarled Root is over two hundred, as I recall..."
"Yes, and look at what happened to her. She can barely keep herself together, her form hazy and blurry. She already forgot almost everything about being a pony, and I don't think she's going to last very long now before shedding the last bits that are keeping her here. We'll be adding her totem to the pyre in the ceremonial grounds any Calling now, I bet. Do you think you can last five times as long without giving up? Without forgetting why you're even still here?"
"I... She stayed just to help out. I have a bigger goal. I promised myself that I'd see my parents again, and I'm not going to let Sombra win," Agate spat the dark mage's name angrily.
"You have no idea what it's like to grow that old, though, ambitious little youngling," True Sight pointed out with a smirk.
"Neither do you, elder," Agate snorted right back.
"Whu- What? What's that supposed to mean? I'm almost a hundred!"
"Yes, but you're not a thousand. You don't know what it's like to grow that old, either," Agate grinned.
"This- You- Amazing. I'm witnessing a legend in the making. Oh, they'll call you "the most stubborn filly in all of existence", probably. Or "too headstrong to quit", maybe. Or perhaps just "that crazy pony that's been sitting around for almost a thousand years", heh heh."
"The thought of it really amuses you that much, elder?"
"The sheer ridiculousness of it all is what amuses me. Frozen time, strange magics... My last years have certainly been full of interesting events. Were I to hear this all as a tale from some traveler, I would ask them whether they discovered a new type of mushroom that grants you absurd visions. And then ask them for a sample," True Sight shook her head with a grin. "The situation is not funny otherwise, and I do not envy you the task you set upon yourself. Are you certain you want to do this?" She asked, schooling her expression into something more serious.
"I... Yeah. I have things to do. Ponies I know. Friends. An adoptive family of sorts. I barely noticed as the last few years went by. I bet I won't even notice as the rest of them go by, too," Agate nodded slowly.
"You might not notice as you start to forget things. Time tends to do that to you," The old mare pointed out.
"I'll remind myself. Every year, every month, every time I go to sleep. Ponies taught me how."
"Yes? Remind yourself of what, precisely?"
"My name is Agate. Pony of the Crystal Empire, my home that was stolen and hidden away in the Dream Valley by the monster Sombra. I am the daughter of Radiant Cut, my father, and Garnet Necklace, my mother. Granddaughter of Coal Hoof and Crochet Hook...
❅ ❆ ❅
They made their way back to Snowpitt just a day before the first snow of the season reached the southern plains. With how little fanfare there was around True Sight's and Agate's unannounced journey, the inhabitants of the village didn't really start clamoring to know how the trip went or whether they managed to find out something interesting. Politely telling the few curious ponies that it was a story for the Gathering, the pair went their own ways, though True Sight would visit Agate and the other spirits more often, listening to their spirit stories and talking about spirit stuff.
A few weeks passed, and the nomadic part of Snowpitt's population returned, followed by the first ponies from the other tribes soon after. After the traditional greeting between the two chieftains was concluded, the westerners poured in, including their shamares.
Agate watched as Sky Breath trotted over to Earthsong, quirking an eyebrow. "Surprised I'm meeting the even-headed half of the Snowpitt pair first. What happened, did the sharp-eyed twit finally realized that she's dull in mind and wit, and decided to hide in shame?"
"You wish, bird-brain. Maybe if you had my sharp eyes, you'd have seen me coming," True Sight crowed from behind her, having snuck up on the mare.
Whirling around, Sky Breath opened her mouth to say something, only to see True Sight's condition. In the end, all she managed was a short "Huh."
"Yeah? Finally ran out of things to chirp about?" The translucent shamare chuckled with a grin.
"Hmm. This spirit seems annoying. Perhaps I should consider banishing it... Would certainly do the locals a favor..." Sky Breath muttered with a small grin, sizing True Sight up.
"I'd like to see you try," She taunted, idly examining a hoof and projecting an air of indifference.
The westerner's elder reared up, taking a deep breath and humming a chant of some kind with a gleeful expression, only to stop as Earthsong lightly smacked her on the back of her head. "I swear, it was bad enough when I had to deal just with her. Don't tell me I'll have to wrangle you too, now that she's a spirit."
"Come on, she was asking for it," Sky Breath rolled her eyes. "Not like I can hurt her any more."
"Yes, but the rules still apply. You know that she'd fight back, and then there's no telling how far you two would take it until common sense would kick in," Earthsong chided the feathered mare.
"Yes yes, collateral damage, and all that. I'd kick her flank before she managed anything, though," Sky Breath grumbled.
"In your dreams, featherhead," True Sight cackled.
Agate managed to contain her sniggers as the two elders resumed their usual needling, trotting away. They were followed by Earthsong, who just seemed to be thoroughly done with the whole thing. Glancing around, the filly decided to pony-watch for a bit as a stream of heavily cargo-laden ponies poured into Snowpitt, moving to settle in for the winter.
❅ ❆ ❅
The northerners weren't far behind, beginning to arrive from their scattered islands a week later. Agate was a little more excited for their arrival, seeing as she had personal acquaintances among them. Waiting a little distance away out in the tundra, she greeted the passing ponies, scanning the groups for familiar faces. Some slowed down to exchange a few words with her before moving on, eager to finish the final leg of their journey.
As Agate traversed the northern reaches, her reputation with the northern tribe kept increasing, and even the ponies that she never met before gave her respectful nods as they made their way into Snowpitt. Stories about the filly were springing up amongst the northern tribesponies, including silly ones claiming that a visit from her would bring luck to that island for the season. While she rolled her eyes whenever she heard them, she learned that the best course of action was to just let the ponies have their fun.
Many of the sleighs and ponies were decorated with pieces of either citrine or quartz, Agate's searches for crystal deposits having borne fruit. Now that the supply had increased greatly, crystals no longer were such a precious commodity that only shamares and some northerners could afford to have them, not to mention the ponies from the other tribes. And even those that did already, could get a lot more now.
They were not hauling a bunch of pretty, but still heavy rocks on themselves just the decoration value, though. Given her area of expertise, Agate got asked a lot about crystals whenever she visited a new island, and it eventually led her to explaining the methods on how to charge them and recounting the story of how she taught the shamares to do it. It was harder for the average pony, but the snowponies weren't the type to quit when things got tough, and the north was saturated with magic, which made things easier. She ended up becoming a teacher during the long winter months spent in Snowpitt, sharing her skills to help the ponies light up the long night. It was odd to see how something as simple as a light source could be so valuable, but the unique conditions of the northern winters meant that Agate's knowledge was always in high demand.
Bit by bit, her lessons were trickling down and through the population, and every year, more and more travelers were carrying charged crystals instead of torches with them. Her teachings were especially appreciated amongst the northerners, given the scarcity of firewood in the largely barren islands, and the fact that almost all of them built their homes completely or partially underground. Despite the need to spend a bunch of time learning a new skill, both the smokeless nature of the light and the reusability of the crystals made it worth their while, not to mention the fact that a crystal's light couldn't be blown out by the fierce northern winds. There were already stories popping up about how ponies managed to find each other and get to safety during blizzards by following the glow, which made the filly quite happy.
Sitting down, Agate lazily scanned the latest group of dark shapes approaching her, trying to recognize any familiar features. That night, no extra light was needed - the sky was clear, and given how blindingly reflective the snow was, starlight and moonlight were more than enough to navigate through the tundra. She could still see the faint glimmers of tightly-wrapped crystals the ponies carried in their packs, though, her affinity to the crystalline magic working with little to no effort. And while she couldn't recognize the ponies from that distance yet, she did recognize a familiar crystal one of them was carrying.
"Hello, Glacier Glider," Agate greeted the one she was waiting for, once the group got a little closer.
"Well now, a welcoming committee? Just for us? What's the occasion?" The mare asked with a grin, the other ponies from Shear snorting quietly.
"I don't think one pony counts as a committee," Agate pointed out.
"Oh, you and your killjoy logic," Glacier Glider replied with a roll of her eyes. "How are you doing, then? Anything new in the south?"
Turning around, Agate trotted alongside the caravan in thoughtful silence. Flurry Spinner and Spinning Flurry showed up a few moments later, flashing the filly matching grins. The lanky teenagers had heavy packs and even spears hanging off their sides, adult responsibilities already catching up to the young twins. Other ponies could be heard sighing in relief as Snowpitt came into full view.
"Not really, no," Agate finally answered. "True Sight, the elder shamare of Snowpitt passed away, but that's more or less it for news about the southern tribe. There was... Something else, though. We went to try and look for more clues about my people, her and I. And, well... We found them. Or, to be precise, we found where they are."
"Ah... Does that mean you'll be leaving us, then? You came here to say goodbye?" Glacier Glider asked, which caused a number of ponies to shoot concerned looks her way.
"Mmm... No, I don't think so. Not for a long, long while yet."
The Flurry twins snorted and rolled their eyes as Agate went quiet again. "Ok, Agate, you need to stop hanging around shamares so much. Now quit being cryptic and tell us what's up."
"It's one of those long stories best saved for a meeting, I'm afraid," The filly refused with a small smile. "The short version, though, is that we know where my people are, but there's some magic that's preventing me from going to them. It will fade, but not for... Well. I don't know exactly how long myself, but there's no rush for me. I'll have to find something to do to pass the time, really."
"Well, at least you finally found out what happened, right? You've been trying various things for quite a few years," Flurry Spinner asked.
"Sure, It's a relief, in a way. I didn't even know if they're all still alive, or whether I was just chasing ghosts. And daunting as it is, at least I do know what I'll need to do to meet them again..." Agate trailed off, gazing into the distance.
Seeing that the filly wasn't in the mood to discuss the topic any further, the northerners changed the subject to more mundane matters. Agate nodded along as the twins told her stories of their first fishing trips and visits to other islands, idly wondering how many years it would take her to visit each and every island that the northern tribe claimed.
❅ ❆ ❅
Once the northerners were all settled in, the usual reunions of distant families, trading, feasting, and celebrating took place. Since it was only True Sight and Agate that went south, ponies from the other tribes didn't have any clue about their trip. When they heard that the pair of spirits managed to crack the mystery of the Crystal Empire, though, they were very eager to find out more. Quickly wrapping up all the official meetings, they ushered the unusual duo onto the speaker's rug.
"Alright, so... I guess I should start?" Agate pondered, tapping her chin. "This idea came about quite a few years back, actually. True Sight thought it up, but wasn't able to carry it out."
"Yeah, the creaky old bones weren't so good for climbing mountains any more. Amazing how much easier it was when I decided to leave them behind at home," The shamare chuckled.
It didn't take them long to cover the gist of what happened during their trip to Dream Valley, seeing as it was very quick and uneventful for the incorporeal ponies. Judging from the audience's expressions, they all expected True Sight to discover something by herself, which caused a wave of quiet murmurs when she got to the part where they had to give up and trot off with nothing. Hearing about what - and who - they found at the abandoned inn immediately made them quiet down, though.
They both gave their own versions of the encounter, given that True Sight didn't understand the conversation Agate had in Equestrian. There was a hushed silence and a lot of either fascinated or disbelieving looks when True Sight described the unique features and strange magic of the pair of Royal Guards in great detail, some of the snowponies looking intrigued when the elder mentioned the pegasus's "stolen" wings.
Meanwhile, the shamares listened with rapt attention when Agate started relaying what the Equestrians told her about the curse and the ways they tried to counter it. The rest of the audience were wide-eyed with shock and confusion, seemingly not sure how to even react to the news. On one hoof, they now knew what happened to the mysterious crystal tribe. On the other hoof, that knowledge wasn't of any use to them, and, more than likely, neither they nor any of their immediate descendants would be able to make contact with the Empire.
"...And, well, that's it. We made our way back across the mountains once we found out what happened. It looks like my people never really "went" anywhere, technically, which is why neither any of the trackers or shamares were able to find any traces of them. Unless the Equestrians were wildly wrong about their time estimates, or some shamare figures out how to mess with time, the only way our tribes will ever meet is when the curse runs out of power some time in the future," Agate concluded.
Her conclusion was met with a wave of whispering, which Agate entirely expected. The snowponies were really excited to find the crystal ponies, something which they mentioned to her many times. What she did not expect was for the whispers to sound concerned or scared rather than sad or disappointed.
"So it's a graveyard... Full of trapped ponies," One pony said out loud, scratching his head.
"They're... Not really dead," Agate corrected him.
"But the trap is still working, and very strong, if what you said is true. I wanted to visit the valley myself someday, but I don't think I'll be going now. I don't want to fall in and be frozen for a thousand years," Another onlooker spoke from the crowd.
"I don't think... You can really fall in... Well, not that we really know how it works..."
That started another wave of whispers, many ponies shaking their heads.
❅ ❆ ❅
Despite having spent quite a few years with the snowponies, Agate clearly hadn't learned everything there was to know about them yet, as the events of the meeting showed. Although the northern dwellers lived and breathed magic, finding a great many magical solutions to their lack of resources - spears of enchanted ice instead of steel, magical wards and runes, spells woven into charms, and so on - it was a double-edged sword.
There were just as many magical monsters, spirits, plants, and other dangers lurking in the north, and whenever they encountered something new, even the brave snowponies usually took their time to slowly and carefully learn about whatever the thing in question was, often employing the aid of shamares. The elders and mystics almost always managed to glean some knowledge from them, even if all it amounted to was "If you see it again, turn around and run..."
But when the same shamares were helpless to do or even explain anything, even the most reckless snowponies knew to leave well enough alone. Just like True Sight, not one of the shamares in the meeting ever even heard of the notion of freezing time before, and weren't able to confirm or deny whether wandering through the valley carried the risk of getting caught in the trap yourself.
Now that they were aware that there was a powerful curse put upon Dream Valley that even their wisest and most capable elders weren't able to undo, let alone understand, the interest to see the lands that their distant ancestors came from dropped to nil. Even the fact that they could potentially meet Equestrians got completely forgotten, apprehension winning out over curiosity this time around.
No more expeditions would set out to Dream Valley any time soon, not that Agate wanted them to go - she already found out what happened to the Empire, after all. It was just a little strange to see the dichotomy of the ponies that wielded strange and powerful magics with shocking ease to be afraid of a different set of strange and powerful magics.
Not that Agate couldn't understand their reluctance, of course. She didn't really think they could "fall in" to the curse, but she did remember the horrifying way the Empire looked with Sombra's dark magic pouring out over the entire landscape and blocking out the Sun. Even if they didn't see it themselves, she couldn't really blame them for wanting to stay away from a place that had such terrors unleashed upon the world.
After everything was said and done, she went back to her usual things. Talking, learning, listening to stories, with the occasional lesson about using crystals that she'd give out herself. Still, ponies noticed that she wasn't going anywhere despite her family being among those that were trapped, and it didn't take long for them to add two and two together.
"So, you're really going to wait no matter how long it takes? Even a thousand years?" Cindertail asked, awe in his voice.
"I said as much to that pegasus, yes," Agate confirmed with a nod.
"That's mad," Spinning Flurry said, shaking her head with a grin. "Is it just you, or are the rest of your people crazy, too?"
"I don't think your parents would blame you if you left, you know. I don't think anyone would, knowing the situation." Flurry Spinner added.
"Yeah, but they'll never know the situation if I don't show up. Not that they expect me to show up, mind you. No one really believes in spirits. Well, pony spirits. We do have stories of other spirits like the windigoes. Also, I'm not crazy. I just happen to be living in crazy times, apparently. None of this is normal, not for my people, nor your own," The filly replied with a shrug. "And, I suppose... I might have taken this a little personally. I don't want to allow Sombra to ruin my family's life... More than he already did, that is. I bet he doesn't even know I exist, but I'm still going to stick it to him by sticking it out."
Agate and her group of foalhood friends were having a little get-together in Warm Spring's family home, discussing their respective futures with each other now that they were older. Over time, the two families of hardy northern explorers and settled farmers got introduced to each other through Agate and each other's foals, which eventually led to Glacier Glider's family spending their winters with them. It was quite clear that the two families with diametrically opposed occupations had practically nothing in common, but they were still respectful to each other, even if the things Warm Spring did looked like incomprehensible magic to Glacier Glider, and vice versa.
"So how are you going to pass the time? Go to sleep like a bear for a thousand years?" Autumn Ash inquired, coming into the room with a bowl of nuts and berries on her back.
"I don't know if I can do that, and I don't want to. With all the things I'm doing, I barely even noticed as several years went by until True Sight passed away. I guess I'll just... Keep going. It doesn't look like I'll run out of things to do any time soon."
"Hmmm... Maybe you don't really notice the years because you don't change, Agate. It's really different for us. I still remember when adults looked like giants a few scant years ago..." Flurry Spinner said, reaching for the bowl.
"I feel bulky and weird. Hiding's way harder now, but I suppose having longer legs to gallop with is better," Spinning Flurry nodded, crunching on some nuts.
"What do you mean, I don't change? I learn new stuff, I do new things, stuff that scared me even while I was a spirit," Agate asked, squinting at the snowy twins. It took her a bit of time, but she learned how to tell the two apart, not that they made it easy.
"Yeah, but you're not getting bigger," Autumn Ash pointed out, poking her brother as an example. Despite her being a year older, the teenaged colt that was growing into stallion was almost a head taller than her.
"Well, yeah. I don't think... Spirits can grow. You probably need a body for that," The perpetually small spirit filly replied with a frown.
"The adult's spirits are big, though."
"Because they grew up with their bodies, maybe?"
"I guess so," Autumn Ash conceded.
"I don't think you're entirely right, though," Cindertail slowly said, his voice contemplative.
"Hm? How so?" His sister cocked an eyebrow.
"I think Agate did change a little bit from when we first saw her. Just a tiny little bit, though, so we didn't even notice. Try to remember the first times we saw her," The lanky colt argued, tilting his head and examining Agate from various angles.
This led to the rest of the group doing the same, squinting or trying to look at Agate from the corners of their eyes while recalling and comparing the first images of her that they could remember to what they were seeing now. After a few minutes, most of them pursed their lips, shrugging uncertainly.
"I'm not sure. I think she might be a tad different, but I can't pin it down," Autumn Ash shrugged.
After another pause, Flurry Spinner raised a hoof. "I think her mane's a little different. I think I remember the ends of her mane being crazy even. It looked almost like you could cut something with it, like the edge of a knife. And maybe she got a tiny, tiny bit taller. Maybe."
"Huh? My mane? Well, my mother used to cut my mane, and because she's a jeweler, she'd always do it very precisely. Since it didn't grow any more, I can't say I thought about it much. Or my tail, or my hooves, now that I didn't need to trim them," Agate mused, running a foreleg through her mane and trying to find a difference.
"Well, it's a bit more loose now, I think," Flurry Spinner shrugged. "Little bit longer, maybe. Not much."
"What will she do if she needs a manecut? Find a pair of spirit scissors?" Autumn Ash pondered.
The room fell into silence again as the group considered the question. After some thinking, Agate shook her head. "I'll need to ask a shamare. Thing is, I have seen snowpony spirits that don't look entirely normal. Gnarled Root, one of my teachers, is over two hundred years old, and she's kind of... Blurry, like you're looking at her from a distance, or through water. Some of the stuff they taught me included appearance, but it wasn't anything about how to look different or get bigger. As they explained, it's a matter of focus... Spirits are only held here by their will. Those that can "keep themselves together" can trot around and do stuff, like me, though it's still hard without a totem. The lost spirits of ponies with weaker wills are barely or not visible at all, their forms blurry and barely holding together."
"Why does Gnarled Root look blurry, then? She has a totem, right? Did it wear down over the years? I think I've seen it before, and it was bleached white by the passage of time," Cindertail inquired.
"Yeah, but the enchantments on it are still holding, I've seen it myself," Agate shook her head. "No, I think it's because that after all this time, she doesn't remember very well what she even looked like. So she still remembers that she's a mare, but not much else."
"So you look like this because you remember yourself looking like this?" Spinning Flurry asked, her voice getting intrigued.
"I think so... I remember being lost. Blind, deaf, I couldn't even see my own body. I remember having to sort of... Force my legs into being again," Agate mused, slowly waving a foreleg in front of her own face, reliving some unpleasant memories.
"What if you remember yourself looking differently? Like an adult?"
"Huh? But... Thats sounds weird. I can't "remember" myself looking like that, since I've never been an adult," Agate replied with a confused frown.
"She'd probably need to be a teenager first, anyway," Cindertail mused. "You can't skip ahead in the trail of life, that's what my parents told me when I wished I was bigger already."
"Back up, that's still going way too far. Everything big starts from a small seed. Agate, can you tell us if your mane is actually different or not?" Autumn Ash asked her, slowly trailing a hoof through the filly's ethereal tail.
"Well... I think it is a bit longer, actually," Agate confirmed after a few more gropes with her forelegs.
"Any clue what caused the change?"
"Well, I mean... It could have just grown...? But my hooves didn't grow at all," The filly mused, examining the underside of her legs this time. "I did kind of get a bit jealous of your crazy long and fluffy snowponish manes and tails now and then."
"Get jealous of our height, then," Cindertail chuckled.
"...Eh."
"What's the matter, Agate? You really don't care that you're the only foal left among us?" Flurry Spinner chuckled mischievously.
"I look like a foal, I'm not an actual foal any more," She grumbled. "I'm at least as old as you all are, and I already did all sorts of crazy adult stuff for years while you all were as small or even smaller than me. You kept bugging me to tell you the stories, remember?"
"Still a shortstack, though," Spinning Flurry grinned.
"..."
Agate opened her mouth, only to close it a few moments later. Pinning her ears back, she angrily scrunched at the smartflank snowpony. The rest of them laughed, hiding their smiles behind their hooves. This went on for a while, until the others were forced to give up. They knew they weren't going to outlast her. The stoic filly ended up being the straight-mare of their group in pretty much every situation, keeping her look up long after their giggles died down.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I do think that this is something you should try to learn about, though," Spinning Flurry apologized with a smile.
"Eh, well... Some adults do act weird around me sometimes. I did think it was strange how they kept calling me a "wise old spirit", though most of them managed to stop themselves before calling me "old". I guess it'd be nice to grow a little bigger. I don't want to look old, though."
"I'm sure that's fine, Agate. And, I guess... You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Stay as a filly if you want. Being young was still plenty fun," Flurry Spinner reassured her.
"I don't even know if I can, but you got me curious. Now I feel like getting bigger than all of you just to put you in your place. Either way, small "body" or not, I'm not getting younger. In my head, well... I don't know what to think, honestly, but like I already said, I've been doing adult stuff for some time now. I don't think I can really call myself a foal any more, even if I still enjoy playing around. I'll need to talk to some shamares about this, that's for sure."
❅ ❆ ❅
Finding a free shamare wasn't really an issue, given that all three snowpony tribes were in the same place for the winter, including their mystics. Still, Agate preferred talking to True Sight or Earthsong, having built up a kinship with them. True Sight, however, tended to wander around a lot more these days, which led to Earthsong being the only one of them that was at home when Agate came over.
"Well now. That is certainly an interesting question. One that I'm not sure I'll have a satisfying answer for. Not too certain that other shamares would know about something like this, either. Hmmm..."
"Is it because I'm young? I remember you - or maybe it was True Sight - telling me that foals don't really hang around or become guardians after they pass on."
"It is true, they don't. They don't have the accumulated wisdom to pass on to their kin, and very few of them have a feeling of duty towards the younger generation that adults build up as they get older. Even the very few that insist on staying with their families are encouraged to move on, and it doesn't take long until they do. You truly are a unique case, Agate."
Humming thoughtfully, Earthsong went to the firepit, puttering about with a clay pot and making herself some tea. Normally, such a sudden break in conversation would be considered rude, but Agate already learned long ago that shamares rarely behaved in a manner that was considered "normal".
With how much they were expected to know, whenever they encountered a question that they didn't have a ready answer for, shamares often had to sift through a lot of knowledge that they accumulated over the years. They could go quiet for half an hour right in the middle of a conversation, digging up every tiny little thing that might be relevant to the issue, and it was a bad idea to try and rush them. Fortunately for Agate, she wasn't in a hurry to get anywhere.
Eventually, the earthen mare spoke up once more. "There's the reverse, of course. The spirits of older ponies often look different than their bodies did, though I have never heard of them appearing completely as they were in their youth. Still, you must have noticed that True Sight's appearance changed a little. Not much - most of it was posture, as she wasn't limited by achy, cracking joints any more. And being able to do things like gallop freely or fully stretch your legs to stand tall and proud, things that you stopped being able to do a decade ago or more, does put a pony's mind back to a time when they were younger, which gets reflected in their spirit's appearance."
"So a spirit's appearance can change, but no one's ever heard of spirits getting older or growing up, only the opposite," Agate summarized.
"Mm, yes. A spirit's shape is more... Flexible than the material body. It is not my domain, but I have heard tales told by the dreamwalkers that they are capable of shapeshifting into completely different creatures when they are on their dream journeys, though they always turn back into a pony when they return. Then, there are some ponies who's bodies certainly do not reflect their spirits. If a foal shows incredible skill or maturity for their age, ponies often call them "an old spirit in a young body". Still, I have never heard of spirits trying to permanently change their look just for the sake of it. At that stage, no one really cares about their looks any more."
"I can't say that I care too much either. This isn't me trying to... Look pretty, or something. Still, looking like a foal forever will probably confuse ponies in the future. It's already confusing my friends."
"That is understandable. Still, the only advice I can really give you is that you shouldn't try to force it too hard. I could talk to you about it for days, weeks, even months on end, but the journey to adulthood, no matter how many times an adult describes it, still has to be experienced for yourself - you can't just make it happen. I still don't know what kind of path it is for a spirit, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. The small changes you described - longer mane, wispier tail - show that it should be possible."
Agate raised a foreleg, examining the appendage. Though she changed little outwardly, others sometimes mentioned that her demeanor had changed greatly from the lost, wide-eyed filly that she was when she showed up the first time, which was reflected in her eyes and look. She wanted to take a look at herself in a mirror, to see if she would be able to notice the changes that others told her about, but proper mirrors weren't something the snowponies managed to invent. Still, some northerners figured out how to make adequate substitutes from polished bits of obsidian, which were almost as good as a glass mirror, if a bit small. Making a mental notice to track down someone who had one, she nodded to Earthsong, putting her leg down.
"Alright then, I guess we'll just see what happens. Growing a bit bigger sounds interesting, but I wouldn't want to change so much my parents wouldn't recognize me any more, anyway. Thank you, Earthsong."
"They might not recognize you yet, Agate, even if you look completely the same on the outside as you always did. The way you carry yourself can have a profound effect on how others see you. There are many stories of parents that let their children out into the world, only to end up not recognizing them any more when they came back as hardened, mature adults," The shamare explained gently, shaking her head.
"Well then, even if they don't recognize the person that I might become, I hope they'll still recognize me. Whatever I might be, I'll still be Agate," The spirit thoughtfully replied, her gaze lost somewhere far away.
"Wise. Even as a mighty tree grows thick and tall, you can still see the form of the sapling that it began from in it. I'm certain that you'll be able to convince your family, even if they don't believe you at first. Still, though, this is quite a quest you decided to undertake."
Tilting her head, Agate tried to puzzle out the shamare's tone of voice. It was tinged with a bit of disbelief, but not judgmental. "What do you think about it, Earthsong? I talked to a number of ponies about it already. Most seem to think that I'll give up after a few decades, at most. A few tried to convince me not to "torture" myself and "follow the natural order", which is silly. I've been having plenty of fun so far. Only True Sight and maybe some of my friends think I'll succeed. What are your thoughts on it?"
Humming, the mare tapped her chin. "Well, there's certainly no shortage of legends and stories of brave ponies taking on seemingly impossible tasks, ones that their contemporaries considered utterly mad or suicidal. Sailing across the frozen seas to find new lands, for example. And yet, what was thought to be a foolish venture became the northern tribe's very way of life. Now, one of our duties is helping the spirits of our kin to let go and move on to their final rest, but it must be done by truly resolving whatever issues are plaguing them, not by sweet-talking or strong-hoofing them into leaving. Clearly, this cannot be done until you meet your family, and there is nothing unnatural about desiring to do that. The love for your kin is the greatest power in the world, one that terrifies even the wendigoes and allows you to defy death itself, for a time. So I say, go on with my blessing, and outlast that vile curse if you can. I won't be around to see it, but I do hope you get to meet your family before deciding to move on."
"I see. Well... Thanks again, Earthsong. For all your advice, and... Everything, really," Agate nodded, getting up from her sitting position.
"You're quite welcome, Agate. It's nice to be able to do this much, at least," Earthsong replied, her voice wistful.
Blinking slowly, Agate froze, tilting her ears. That sounded pretty strange for the mare to say. "Is everything alright, Earthsong?"
"Oh, um..." Shaking herself out of her funk, the mare gave a rather poorly faked smile. "It's fine, Agate. Just some stray thoughts. Don't worry about it."
In the past, the filly would have shrugged and moved on, taking the mare at face value. Now, however, she felt conflicted about it, wanting to know the cause of the bout of melancholy. Was this her growing up? Slowly sitting down again, Agate pursed her lips before speaking up.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Narrowing her eyes a little, the mare snorted. "Well now, it seems we have a nosy little helper spirit. I see you certainly learned a thing or two while spending time around shamares, haven't you? Ah, I forgot, Dreamcatcher is actually tutoring you... Little apprentice shamare. I appreciate the concern, but it's nothing important, and there's nothing to be done about it, anyway. I'm certain you've heard about me and True Sight? Our relationship?"
"Um... I remember someone telling me that you were a perfect match. True Sight worries too little, and you worry too much," Agate ventured.
Earthsong snorted and rolled her eyes, though there was a small grin adorning her muzzle. "You could say that. It's not without reason, though. You know that I don't panic blindly. The past few decades have been... Easy. Not a single true calamity of any kind. And I worry, because history always, always repeats. Whenever you get too relaxed, disaster strikes. There are dozens, no, hundreds of stories about seemingly endless good times suddenly going sour. I did my best to learn from my elders, but I have no true experience in dealing with serious issues. The most I ever did was find a few lost foals in the woods and deal with the day-to-day life and yearly rituals."
"Well, uh... All those ponies in the stories still pulled through, right? Otherwise, there would have been no one left to tell those stories to," Agate reasoned, thinking intently.
"And that is something True Sight would say, though with a hefty dose of snark. Perhaps you can be her replacement," Earthsong chuckled. "Either way, this is not your concern. Much as I hate it, the future is stubbornly hard to predict, and we'll just have to deal with it as it comes. And you have plenty of things to think about in regards to your own future, don't you?"
"I guess so..."
"Be off, then, and since I'm so good at it, leave the worrying to me. I'm certain there will be more experienced shamares here soon either way. Blizzard Heart is getting on in her years, and she might retire to Snowpitt next winter, or perhaps even this one. I won't be the eldest shamare in here for long."
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? I always got the feeling you were younger than True Sight by a fair amount, but couldn't quite place it."
"Hm? Oh, I'm fifty-five. I have at least a few good decades more in me, so we'll be seeing plenty more of each other."
"Alright then. Be seeing you, Earthsong."
"You too, Agate."
❅ ❆ ❅
Coming back to her clearing, Agate sat down in front of her totem.
It was something she had been doing more of since coming back from Dream Valley. She'd done it quite often, back in the day - trotting in circles, lying on her back and stargazing, thinking out loud about her situation, the strangeness of snowponies, the mystery of the Empire's disappearance. As she got busier and busier, though, actually doing things completely took over the otherwise free time she used to spend thinking about doing things.
"Huh. Back in the day... Strange to think that so much time actually passed, yet it all feels like it was yesterday..."
Idly running through the memories of the past few years, Agate slowly scanned the clearing around her, not looking at anything in particular. Half-formed thoughts and questions rose and fell in her mind as she reminisced. Would it be that simple? She'd spend a thousand years living with the snowponies, and when the Empire came back, it would seem like it all went by in a blink of an eye? Or would the sheer amount of memories overwhelm her, making her forget why she was even doing it in the first place?
Inevitably, her gaze fell on the most notable feature in the clearing - her totem. Tracing the lines and runes, she caught the glint of gold from the necklace hanging on the neck of her bust. Getting up, she slowly approached it, reaching out and caressing it with an ethereal hoof. A small smile crossed her face as she put her hoof down, taking a step back.
"No, I don't think so. I'll never forget my family or why I'm here. And I'll keep reminding myself as many times as I- huh..."
Something about the totem looked different. Examining it in more closely this time, she trotted around it in a circle, rearing up and sticking her muzzle close to the wood to look at the runes and the carvings in greater detail. After several passes, she shook her head, moving away again.
"Nothing's faded, the wood's not damaged, I can still feel the magic just fine, but... No, it's not the runes! Of course I miss something that I'm supposed to be good at noticing..."
The crystals that the craftsponies embedded into the trunk of the tree had grown. When the totem was freshly made, they were stuck inside the wood, in two parallel lines going from top to bottom. Back then, only the very tips poked out from the holes they were set in, which was no longer the case. Now, the citrine spikes extended a good hooflength out from the holes, and they seemed to have gotten a tiny bit thicker, as well. The formerly bare tree almost looked like it was coming back to life, albeit sprouting some very unusual branches.
"That's... New..."
Noiselessly tapping her hoof on the ground, Agate wondered what it could mean. The relation to the fact that she was a crystal pony was immediately obvious, but she had never messed with the totem, either on purpose or accidentally. Pursing her lips, she sorted through her knowledge about crystals.
"Okay, so if this wasn't done by me, and I assume the snowponies didn't do anything to cause this, which is highly unlikely anyway... No, crystals grow naturally in... Areas of high magic. And the totem is laced with enchantments all over... Hm."
Agate was still very much a novice in magic, but she did pick up a few things through her lessons and talking with shamares, not to mention practicing on her own. Carefully running a hoof along the totem's surface, she closed her eyes, trying to feel out the tangled web of magic that was woven on it, around it, and through it.
Everything seemed to be working just fine, which was what she expected. She was fairly certain that she would have noticed if something was off whenever she returned to her totem to sleep, but having the confirmation was still nice. In fact, the enchantments seemed to be even stronger, the extra magic stored in the crystals resonating with the runes and providing additional power.
Scanning the totem with her spirit sight to make doubly and triply sure that everything really was okay, she eventually nodded to herself, sitting down for one last task before going to sleep.
"My name is Agate, pony of the Crystal Empire..."
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And that, unfortunately, was the slowest update.
Chapter name is a complete coincidence and is not related to how long it took to put it out.
Though perhaps I won't name any more chapters in such a way that might cause them to take a long time to get written.
Uh-huh. So by this logic, snowponies stole their fur from yaks.
11550377
/impatiently waiting for the next chapter "faster than Rainbow Dash"
Will she ever visit equestria proper?
great chapter
That was a lot to take in! I hope you don’t go wild with timeskip since I would really like to see what the filly adventures will be like for the next thousand years
can’t wait for the story to end in 3023 
Anyways, I wonder if she’ll figure out how to grow to an Adult somehow to mostly blend if she explores outside the snow pony lands. It’s interesting lore they noticed only small changes which I feel like she will cause even more discoveries for the snow ponies like with the Crystals which it’s neat that the ones on her Toem are growing which makes me wonder if the other Crystals she has messed with and the other ponies as well will start growing and use the Crystals in their own way?
I have a feeling the old mare might stay a bit but not a thousand years… but maybe Glacer? Since she basically adopted Agate and a mother’s love lasts forever so I could see her doing her best to be with Agate when she could be with family in paradise.
Btw, after watching Puss in Boots the Last Wish it has me wondering… won’t it make sense for there to be someone who’s job is to catch spirits to bring them were they are destined to go? Would be interesting if Agate to face an interesting threat like that which I hope she see’s what kind of monsters are out there.
The only adventure I really want to see is when she falls into the ocean 🌊 and gets lost. I want her mind blown what’s down there
Welp, time to rest for a thousand years
Hm...clearly, this problem can be solved by applying more
powercrystals. Make an entire tree of crystal, Agate, nothing can go wrong!11550377
Balderdash! Name them things like "short gap" or "long post"
11550433
I'm still thinking that the Snow Ponies may BE the yaks.
You scared me a couple of times, jumping years into the future without warning and slipping back into the present without fanfare. It would have been much clearer if you had used subjunctive constructions like "In years to come, Agate would become a teacher..."
11550547
maybe they have yaks in past generations
11550502
Only 3023, too few
Agate shall become the northern tree of harmony.
11511946
Called it.
Nothing else clever to say this time, just wanna say seeing updates from this story always brightens up my day. Keep up the good work!
11511946
I don’t mind if she stayed as a filly that way her legend will live on forever!
Agate’s 1000 year long wait. I wonder if she’s gonna go to equestria and now that some equestrian knows that something lives in the north will they go looking for them?
That was a good chapter.
Wow. This story keeps growing beautifully.
and cue the time skips where Agate became that tribe's most memorable guardian spirit as her first friends became elders. She will remain, repeating every year her spiel and each generation will learn of her yearly speech and they too will know it by the next.
11553863
Good to know it's intentional! I just thought like, "damn, she's getting a lot of counsel from spirits right now"
God, this story has been absolutely amazing. It's so calming and focusing to read in a really unique way for me; I don't love it in the same way as I do the rest of my most favourite stories but I think it's more than earned its own place on that list. I just keep thinking about it, thinking about when I'll get to spend thirty seconds between work reading it bit by bit and then I remember I finished everything that's been written so far. I look forward greatly to more!
It’s such a good story, emotional but joyful as well. I cannot wait for Agate to hit her first 100 years and or eventually meeting Celestia.
I love how Agate runs on curiosity, patience, and sheer fucking spite.
Is this actually going to be 1,000 years? or "1,000" years? Because if I've done my math right,(a pony lives to be around 80 years old at most, 1,000 divided by 80 equals 12 and a half FULL generations, with ponies getting hitched around 25 years old and having kids at 27, then 80 divided by 27 equals almost 3 generations...12.5X3=) almost 40 generations would have passed by the time the magic fails on the curse!!!!! 1,000 years is enough time for mountains to shift, rivers to notably carve away the landscape, and stories to become legends and then forgotten! Agate would probably loose her mind/go insane or succumb to the pull of the afterlife!
Am i missing anything?! because at this point I don't see how Agate is going to stand the test of time, keep all her memories, stay in the same form, or even retain all the same love/emotion for her parents(not gain more attachments with the snow ponies drowning out her parents) without becoming the goddess of loyalty/family/honor or becoming an Alicorn. I mean she could find a "special some-pony" (and that could be close friend, adopted sibling, or significant other) to help stave off the weight of ALL THOSE YEARS to help keep her sanity but not her memories so...
Again, am I missing something here?
11574181
What does the 1000 in quotation marks mean?
And yes, it's going to be 1000 years.
11574708
"1,000 years" specifically in quotation marks is more of an artistic timescale. It sounds all fancy when an author/storyteller says, "and their slumber lasted for a thousand years..." or "for a thousand years the people were at peace..." It sounds nice and gives that ancient feel to the story/legend, but it's not entirely accurate. I can totally see the curse of Nightmare Moon/Sombrero not actually lasting for a thousand years and it is only like 300 or 500 years. Still a REALLY long time but not the gargantuan A THOUSAND YEARS long. My theory is that not only was Celestia the author of all the ancient legends, but also that she was connected to the curse and felt it's power waning and was able to accurately predict it's when it would fail. After all "history is written, and unwritten, by the victors."
11550377
And what did you name the chapter this time?
11586268
Something bad, apparently.
Is this fic dead or on hiatus?
11603126
Not dead.
Kind of hiatus, I guess. Can't find the time to write. Next chapter is largely finished, but there's a few thousand words to go.
11603707
That’s good to know. This is a great story and it would be a shame if it was never finished.