Mindwipe

by Rostok

Prologue

Guardspony Watching Eye shivered at the chilling night wind rushing over Canterlot's walls. After pulling this week's night watch duty, the picture of the snow-covered fields and plains surrounding the city's perimeter had become etched into his mind; the twinkling lights of far-off Ponyville, the dark mass of the Everfree, currently enshrouded in a blizzard, were the only signs of light and change in the scenery.

Tonight however, something seemed to be inexplicably wrong, almost a nagging feeling of something he had missed on his routine survey of the landscape for travelers and caravans. Such things were rare in the deep winter after Heart's Warming Eve, with trade grinding to a halt with the snow making the long, steep road up to Canterlot treacherous to the inexperienced. His eyes passed once more towards the Everfree, and the wide valley that led south to the cities of Manehattan and Baltimare. An oval blot on the landscape, dark against the dull white of the snow, leagues from the nearest signs of habitation, blighted the vista. He took a step back, stunned.

“By Celestia..”

He had passed this point nearly four hours ago, at the start of his sweep, and he was certain it couldn't of been there before, being roughly half a mile across, if his judgment was correct. How could such a thing simply appear from nothingness, and cause an almost crater-like hole in the snowy plains of Equestria. Still puzzling, he trotted towards the guard-tower, musing over what could clear such a large and precise area. Nothing short of powerful magic, yet he had seen no flash on the horizon, no sound or hint of any spell. His mind roiled with the possibilities of ancient threats, of which only the legendary Elements of Harmony could prevent, or of some invading force, the likes of which had never been seen since the rise of Luna and Celestia.

_

Slowly pushing open the door to the guardroom, illuminated by a brazier casting light on his superior, Captain Sword Hilt, he stumbled in, his coordination sapped by the cold. Idly polishing his barding, Sword Hilt looked up inquiringly:

“Hey Watchy, you look pale boy, take a seat.”

He levitated a mug of tea up to Watching, looking concernedly at his ashen-faced colleague.

“Come on, what's up lad? The cold got your tongue?”

“Well, I... I think I saw some s... strange hole in the snow, or something. N... nothing to worry about, just must of m... missed it on my first sweep.”

“What, how big's this hole then? Must be fairly large to be seen from here. Patches of snow don't just randomly thaw in temperatures like this.”

“B... bigger than the fields next to it, almost perfectly round as well, like it was pony made or powerful magic.”

“You sure you're not just seeing things lad? A week's night shift really whacks a pony for one in weather like this.”

“Well, urm...”

“Tell you what, you show me this hole, then you trot your frozen flanks off to the barracks. I'll take the last few hours watch. Silly of the rota to send young colts like you out into the snow like this. You've earned your rest.”

_

“That is by far the oddest thing I have seen on graveyard shift like this, and I've practically spent my life living up on these walls.”

The two guards stood side by side, staring out over the plains towards the faint orange glow of dawn, observing the odd phenomena. The clear patch was both round and smooth, seemingly shining faintly in the center.

_

The squad trudged through the snow apprehensively, pushing through the long grass underneath towards the clearing, their Captain bringing them to a halt as the snow in front of them seemed to slope upwards sharply, curving towards them like a wave. The oddly shaped wall of the snow carried on as far as the eye could see, creating odd patterns and textures in the ice, shimmering and swirling in the light of the morning sun.

“This is it, ponies. Celestia knows what is in that clearing, though no movement was spotted by those night-watch who saw it.”

He turned away from them, charging a spell in his glowing horn, shining a blue glow onto the surrounding snow and ice, before blasting through the barrier of snow. Stepping through, the interior of the circle looked for all the world like an alien planet to the guardsponies, staring in shock at the strange landscape.

The tall grass of the plains had obviously been swept back by some wind or blast originating from the center, leaving thousands upon thousands of long filaments of rime frost
pointing outward like spears of ice, protecting the center of their half-mile wide anomaly. The Captain, and the guards under his command gingerly pushed on through the soft, ice-encrusted landscape, brushing past the impeding ice.

The fields of ice-encrusted grass, and surreal, frozen plants took their toll on the soldiers, causing countless small nicks and cuts to their already frozen and fatigued bodies. After a distance, the vegetation began to thin, revealing the prize waiting within the trap of the frozen crater, emerging from mists of dawn.

“Guards, two of you, with me. The rest, fan out, and check for signs of trespassers.”

Standing three times as tall as a pony, in the very epicenter of the circle, was a tall, round mound of snow. The guards stood stock still, facing the white monolith. Slowly, as if trying to avoid waking a sleeping beast, the Captain approached, sliding the cover of snow from the structure, little by little. What resembled a huge cocoon of ice, gleaming with the weak, yellow light of the winter's sun, appeared before them, shining complex patterns onto the ground around it, appearing otherworldly to the watching guards. Their eyes were fixed on it, bewitched by towering cocoon. All of this beauty and grace was lost on them however, for encased inside, curled into tight balls, were the forms of two ponies, their dead eyes peering longingly off into the distance.

Comments

[Exemter]

Short chapter, but excellently written.