Fortyfour
Jarl Vidar knocked on the door to the Equestrian guest suite. He swallowed awkwardly and tapped his hoof. The palace always made him feel nervous.
“Open the door, Spike!” someone shouted from inside. Shortly thereafter the little dragon did as ordered.
“Oh, it’s you!” Spike said. He was wearing three caps at the same time and holding a clipboard and a quill. He had rings under his eyes and his scales lacked their usual shine. “Hi! Twilight, Vigg’s uncle is here now!”
“Come in, Jarl Vidar!” said Twilight. “How nice of you to come!”
“Well, you said you needed my help, so here I am,” said Vidar and stepped in. There were several heaps of clothing and gear all over the room in what could best be qualified as a neat mess. “What is it you needed help with? You didn’t say, Lady Sparkle.”
“Oh, I need help packing, see!” said Twilight. She was holding a saddlebag in her muzzle. When she saw Vidar’s expression, she quickly corrected herself. “Oh, not like that! We can do the physical packing ourselves, but we’ve never undertaken this kind of journey before. I don’t know what to put on my packing list!”
Spike showed Vidar his clipboard. The parchment held by it was rather empty, and while his reading comprehension in Equestrian was rather bad, he did recognize the question marks.
“Well,” he said, “it’s not like I use one myself. I’m used to doing this by heart and habit, but maybe I can give you some help. Is this what you plan on bringing with you?”
He sniffled and poked at the heaps covering the room.
“Well, I guess you think I’m planning too heavy a load,” said Twilight. “That’s what always happens in the Daring Do books.”
Jarl Vidar looked up.
“Oh, adventure stories,” Twilight said. “Whenever a... a civilian is traveling with the heroine, they are told they have too heavy a load. I know they are just made up stories, but that part does sound awfully realistic.”
“If anything, I’d say you have too light a load, Lady Sparkle,” said Vidar.
“Oh?” Twilight said.
“Well, maybe not, there’s a little too many socks and such here,” Vidar said. “You don’t need many spares of something like that. But you do need things like a good cup - wood is the best. We use cups that doubles as bowls, you know? Maybe your own pot. A firemaker. A knife. A shovel, a small one. You already have a sleeping roll, good. You don’t need a tarpaulin, you share my goahti with Vigg and Saga.”
“Your what?” said Spike.
“My tent,” said Vidar. “It doesn’t look like what you call a tent, so I used our word for it.”
“Oh, that thing Vigg called kota?” said Spike. “Man, aren’t those huts? Aren’t they made of wood and so on, really heavy?”
Vidar laughed.
“Vigg speak like a Sarvvikare, just like you do, Lady Sparkle, and that’s what they call a tent... or hut,” he said. “No, the model I talk about is made from cloth and light wooden beams. We carry them on the ackjas, and you can sleep with me and my daughters. They’re coming too, they are fine trackers and lariat-throwers.”
“Excuse me,” said Twilight, “I’m not sure why I need tools when I have my magic. Or a firemaker when I have magic and Spike.”
“Because I remember that your horn still hurt, Lady Sparkle,” said Vidar and tapped his own antlers. “There might come a time when you cannot use magic, and you might have to leave Spike for a while because it is dangerous for him, or get separated while we work. That’s why everyone needs those too, in case you have to rough it alone for a while.”
“You don’t need a tent then?” Twilight frowned. “Take notes, Spike!”
“No, that’s when you dig a bivouac,” Vidar said. “On a pure raid, we wouldn’t have brought the goahti and dug holes for ourselves when we had to sleep. This is not that kind of journey, but it might have to change.”
“If we meet monsters, you mean,” Spike said.
“Yes, especially if we meet Skoll,” said Vidar. “They are people, after all. Other ‘monsters’ are just beasts. People are worse to deal with.”
Twilight and Spike exchanged glances.
“And I have used the only party grenade I had,” Spike sighed.
“What?” said Vidar.
“Nothing, nothing,” said Twilight. “Anything else?”
“Well, you seem to have enough warm clothes, but I’m worried they’ll be too heavy,” Vidar said. “I think you’ll have trouble enough keeping up with us anyway, especially as you’re not a trained skier. Make no mistake - even we will wear cloaks and caps. It will be less than this, since we are accustomed to the cold.”
“I think I have the solution to that,” said a voice behind them.
“Princess Luna?” said Twilight. Luna was, indeed, right inside the door with a nervous Russ stallion holding some paper bags.
“Admit it, you came in earlier and was just waiting for your cue,” said Spike and crossed his arms.
“Hush now, young Spike, let a Princess have one of her few amusements,” said Luna and beamed. “Lady Spa... Twilight, this is what I mentioned earlier.” She nodded to the Russ, who lifted a dark piece of clothing out from one of the bags and placed it on the bed.
“Earlier... I’m sorry, Princess, it must have slipped my mind,” said Twilight and lifted the garment with her magic.
“Oh,” said Luna. “Ah well, then it will be a surprise now!”
“It’s... a black and purple full body suit?” Twilight said.
“You brought Twilight a supervillainess costume?” Spike frowned. “I thought you stopped that silliness.”
“It’s costume for law enforcement, Spike,” Luna said, “so you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s a special suit made for my Guard, for when the pegasus ponies need to go on missions high up in the sky. It’s newly made, but from an old model used before my... exile. It has special enchantments to protect a pony from the harshest weather, and is almost indestructible. At the same time, it is light as a feather and smooth as silk! Mr Sax here is a very skilled tailor and has modified it according to your measurements!”
The Russ stepped up as if on cue.
“Please try it on, Lady Sparkle,” he said. “I need to know if it is ok.”
Twilight put on the suit.
“There’s a sort of helmet as well,” said Mr Sax and pulled it out of a different bag. “And easily-carried saddle-bags, though you can only fit essentials into them.”
Twilight put them on as well.
“You’re certain this isn’t a supervillainess suit?” said Spike, arms crossed, but was ignored.
“It is really comfortable...” said Twilight and moved around. “The hole in the helmet is a little tight, though.”
“Excuse me, but why are there two batwings stitched to the sides of the suit?” said Vidar.
“Oh,” said Mr Sax and looked unhappy, “those are the wingslips, since the garment was made for lunar pegasi. When I cut the hole for the horn in the helmet, I’m certain I mucked up one of the protective enchantments. Hence, I didn’t dare just cut the wingslips away, so I stitched them to the sides. I hope nothing gets stuck in them.”
“What do you say, Twilight?” said Luna.
“Really comfortable... and what I can see of the enchantments they are really good!” Twilight said. “Thanks, Princess Luna! There’s just one thing...”
“What would that be?” said Luna.
“It feels like I’m wearing your cast-offs again!” Twilight grinned.
“In that case I’ll put the whole thing on my sister’s shoulders,” Luna said and grinned back. “When I was looking for suitable enchanted winter clothing, she reminded me of these. A bit embarrassing, I designed them myself, all those years ago...”
“Now you can go back to Klubb Niffelhel and match the dress code,” said Spike.
“Oh, don’t joke about that place, Spike!” said Luna. “Poor guests! By the way, why are you wearing three caps?”
“Because I have no enchanted magical moon-bat suit with super-thermo underwear and feel cold,” Spike said.
Luna stared at him.
“Because I’m trying not to lose them while Twilight packs and packs and repacks and packs again,” he said. “Now that Mr Vidar has said his stuff, can we please finish the packing now, Twilight?”
The flying chariots had to make three trips before they had transported the whole expedition to the treeline. Four chariots each with three to six deer bundled into each made the journey twice. On the third and last trip they carried five ackjas between them, as well as a unicorn, a moose and a baby dragon.
“So,” shouted one of the charioteers over his shoulder, a blue pegasus with yellow mane, “you live in Ponyville, Lady Sparkle?”
“Yes,” said Twilight, keeping her eyes on the other chariots who swayed precariously carrying the big reindeer toboggans.
“Well, I’m from Vanhoover myself,” he shouted.
“Oh, I’ve been there,” said Twilight, “such a nice place!”
“It’s as cold and nasty as here!” Spike muttered.
“But my brother,” shouted the charioteer, “know where he lives?”
“What?” said Twilight.
“Know where my brother lives?” he shouted.
“No idea,” said Twilight and watched the chariot next to them sway in an even precariouser way.
“In Ponyville!” he shouted. “Cause his missus got a job in a Canterlot and they didn’t want to raise their kid in no big city!”
“Oh,” said Twilight. Then she shouted: “What’s his name?”
“Blue Skies?” he shouted.
“Sorry, I can’t say that I...” Twilight began.
“Snails’ dad?” said Spike.
“What did you say?” shouted the charioteer.
“Does he has a kid named Snails?” Spike shouted.
“Yeah, he has!” shouted the charioteer. “Unicorn like his ma’!”
“Snails’ father’s a pegasus?” said Twilight.
“I hang out with him sometimes!” Spike shouted back.
“Well, tell him his uncle said hi!” the charioteer shouted.
“Can we concentrate on flying?!” shouted his mate.
“Sorry!”
“Snails’ father’s a pegasus?” said Twilight.
“You didn’t know?” said Spike. “Shoulda figured, he’s from Vanhoover. His family moved to Ponyville when he was just starting school. Before we moved there.”
They landed to rest and eat and placed themselves in a big circle around a small fire. Everypony was relieved when Twilight erected a weak spherical forcefield to act as an impromptu tent.
Spiked looked at Twilight with worry. She showed strain as she used the old spell she had learnt from her brother.
“You should be careful, Twilight,” he whispered. “Don’t overexert yourself.”
“I’m fine Spike,” she whispered back as two pegasi put branches on the fire and the others brought hot soup from their thermoses. “Better this than this cold wind, even in my new winter clothes.”
“Have some soup, Lady Sparkle,” said Snails’ Uncle.
“Thanks, just as long as you have enough for yourselves,” said Twilight and pulled out the reindeer-made wooden jug she had gotten herself since her talk with Vidar. Spike did the same.
“It’s oats and dandelion,” said Spike. “Tastes like home!”
“I’ve worked here for over a decade,” said Snails’s Uncle. “I’ve grown mighty tired of lichen and sedge and salted kelp.”
“What do you think about this... about the weather?” Twilight asked.
He just poured some soup for himself. Another pegasus, grey with a winged wheel cutiemark, answered for him.
“The reindeer - they kept talking about Winter,” she said. “You could hear the capital W. Not the ones in the cities, who pretends they are ponies or something, but the real ones, out here in the forest and the mountains.”
“They said it was the end of the world,” Snails’ Uncle said. “We didn’t believe them. Thought it was just reindeer superstition. Then things started to get...”
He tried to wave his hoof when he looked for a word.
“Scary!” said a third pegasus, light blue with a cerise mane.. “Y’understand, Lady Sparkle, we have no weather factories here. We try to wrestle it as well as we can, but we can’t control it. It’s wild weather.”
“I know,” Twilight said. “We have some wild weather in Everfree Forest, near where I live. It’s also a large problem around the Crystal Empire, which is ruled by my sister-in-law, so I get to hear about it a lot.”
“Then you must know that wild weather still have rules,” the pegasus continued. “I mean it’s like the animals in this country, of course it’s awful that they don’t have anyone to guide them, but they can eat and drink and have kids and stuff. Same with weather, it follows a pattern.”
“The reindeer say there are spirits taking care of that,” said the mare with the winged wheel cutiemark. “Believe they know what they’re talking about.”
“But this weather we have now, that’s no rules to it,” the other pegasus continued. “Like now. It’s several hooves below freezing, Lady Sparkle.”
“Yes?” said Twilight. “Are you saying it’s too early in the winter for that low a temperature?”
“I’m saying it’s snowing,” said the pegasus. “You get freezing cold or snow, but not both together. Not like this. That’s physically and magically impossible.”
“He’s right!” Spike said. “Vigg told me!”
“Amazing... just as the reports said. I should have brought the necessary instruments,” Twilight mumbled. Then she raised her voice: “I believe you, sir.”
“I’ve actually had to fight the winds,” said Snails’ Uncle. “They attacked me. Crashed. It has happened to others as well.”
“The reindeer say its spirits,” said a fourth charioteer. “Evil spirits in the wind, more than ever. So the wind hates you. I know it sounds like primitive superstition, but I believe them. Has to be the case. Never seen anything like it.”
“That’s why we volunteered when the boss asked us,” said the mare with the winged wheel cutie mark. “We’re so happy that the Princesses are doing something for us in the flying chariot business. It’s a real crisis! All our jobs are in danger, and those of the wainwrights as well. And they send the Element of Magic and everything to fix all of it!”
Spike was about to say something but Twilight interrupted him quickly.
“Eat your soup while it’s warm, Spike,” she said. “You are right, it is nice of them. But you must understand can only do my best. As can everypony - everybody else.” She tried to smile politely, then ate her own soup.
There was nothing but snow. In the summer, Spike understood, the mountains would be covered in herbs, low bushes or on their tops just moss and lichen. There would be brooks and birds and swarms of buzzing insects. Now it was one large snowdrift. They steadily skied on, day after day, raised the tents in the afternoon, cooked the food, slept. If they were lucky there wasn’t much unnatural blizzard that day. Otherwise, the ground was snow and the sky was snow. Spike’s inner fire kept him warm, but he ate much more than usual. A bigger problem was that the cold was making him sleepy. He tried to keep close to Vigg or Twilight to have someone to talk to, but Vigg was taciturn when skiing, and Twilight was out of shape and had no breath to talk.
To her shame, the unicorn had found she couldn’t keep going all day, even if the others kept their pace down for her sake. She was too bad a skier, generally untrained compared to her hosts and still recovering from her ordeal. Vidar placed her on one of the ackjas each day after lunch. She apologized profusely, but Vidar reminded her that the ill are allowed to ride the ackja, and that she was not healthy yet. Spike tried to ski close to that ackja then, as long as he could keep up, in case she wanted anything.
He noticed that Vigg always tried to pull the ackja she rode on, even if it was a different one every day. Vigg didn’t explain himself, but Spike didn’t wonder about it.
As for himself, Spike could keep going a bit further, but he also tired faster than his hosts. He usually ended up riding Kvalhissir or one of Vigg’s older cousins, Alva or Tuva. Kvalhissir was stoically plowing through the snow. He was strong and tough and a skilled skier. His problems came from not being used to the mountain environment and from his great weight. He would often sink through the snow, even when it had an icy crust already. His skis didn’t help much. The moose showed Spike why he wore heavy leg protection made of bark: the crust formed sharp ice splinters when broken, and they could slice up your legs like you peeled a carrot. Spike was a bit disappointed, he had hoped it was against Skoll bites. The scouts regularly sent out used their Sight to look beneath the snow for traces of their tunnels, but all they found were really old. Yet the reindeer kept talking fearfully of the threat of the ice-wargs snapping at you from beneath. Spike remembered his run-ins with Diamond Dogs and was happy to sit on somedeer’s back so much.
Alva and Tuva, lean, strong vajas with brown coats, were around Twilight’s age. It turned out they had very little idea of exactly how old they were. What time of year it was was important to Grazers, not what year it was. They spoke rather broken Equestrian in a somewhat rude and brusque manner. The vajas liked to push around Vigg, both literally and figuratively, and seemed to have a fondness for rough jokes. Spike guessed Vigg kept back from protesting half from respect, half from fear. They were very nice to Spike, however. Besides carrying him on their backs (which generally meant he sat between a small shield and a larger axe) they liked to hug him and nuzzle him and talk to him in the evenings. They wanted to hear about dragons and Equestria, and he tried to do his best before he became too tired. Spike still found them a bit too much: too rowdy, too loud, and too much chewing tobacco. They spread it everywhere, and you could always see where Vidar’s tent had stood.
Saga had stopped smoking on the third day and copied their habit. Overall she tried to hang close to them and imitate them in a way that irritated both them and Spike, although the sisters were polite to the little witch about it. He was uncertain why. Was she was looking for somedeer to hang out with and they were the youngest does around? Did she admire them because of they were frankly pretty cool after all? Was she simply was trying to be more like a Grazer? After all, she had made her feelings about the nomads clear. They were the real reindeer, just as the pegasus mare had said. At least, to her they were.
Twilight didn’t talk much to Saga during the days, but they had some sessions during the nights, whispering outside the tent until everyone else had fallen asleep. Spike didn’t take notes for Twilight because he was too tired, but it seemed Saga was practicing her spells somehow while travelling. She had a new idea of some kind that Twilight dissected, debated and angsted a bit about. Spike understood that it involved the ackjas and saw Saga sniffing around them in the evenings. She also started to use her firemaker cantrip to light the small cooking fires every evening. Partially it was because it was hard setting fire to the turf they dug up to use as fuel when they could (though it became harder and harder). However, Vidar had told everydeer that it also was because a fire lit by a priestess of the Night would be sacred and protect them against the darkness.
“Is that true?” said Spike.
Saga coughed and spit out some of the Sister’s tobacco.
“Now it is,” she said with a low voice. “Vidar just made it so, since he wanted to calm people down.”
“Are they... worried?” said Spike. “I don’t talk much to them, except to Vigg and the sisters.”
“I wish I was strong like them...” Saga murmured. “Yeah, they are. I think it’s mostly that you have to work hard while being scared, and then nothing happens. There are still three to five days until we reach Joukulvakt. I think if something dangerous happened they would actually feel better afterwards.”
“I think I prefer them worried, then,” said Spike.
“There’s trouble up ahead, father,” said Tuva and spat, making the snow yellow-brown. Her sister nodded.
“What trouble?” said Vidar.
The rest of the group had stopped. The reindeer looked around in worry. Saga, Twilight and Spike hung their heads out of breath. Kvalhissir exchanged his ski-staff for his giant mace, earning worried gazes from the reindeer closest to him.
“There are dead deer under the snow at the beginning of that slope,” said Tuva and pointed across the hollow they were facing, several hundred yards across, though the snowfall made estimating distances difficult.
“Must have been a lavine,” said Alva, “though the mountain to the east doesn’t really look right for it.”
“Must be Winter playing tricks, father,” said Tuva. “What do we do?”
Vidar took a long look across the hollow.
“We go west and try to circle,” he said. “We will need to get up that slope or we will never get over this part, but we don’t need to go near that... place.”
“Aren’t we going to do something about the poor... deceased?” Twilight asked. Having regained her breath she had slid closer to the conversation.
“No, they’ll lie safe until spring,” said Vidar. “We don’t have the time or the resources. Snow covers them.”
“Winter protects,” said Tuva and looked at Twilight.
“Alright!” Vidar shouted. “This is what we’ll do...”
They started to move to the west, more carefully. There was another slope there down the hollow, and skiing while leaning to the right isn’t that comfortable, especially when youy’re pulling an ackja, but it worked. Everyone moved a bit slower, for which Twilight was grateful.
Alva and Tuva took the point again and moved quicker over the side of the hollow, examining the snow before them. Almost when they were moving past the place where they had discovered the buried reindeer corpses, Saga cried out.
“Look! Hraesvalgs!” she shouted and pointed with her staff towards the air.
Everyone gasped, looked in the direction she pointed and started to shuffle backwards on their skis.
Twilight didn’t get her See The Unseen spell up in time to see them die, but she could see them burrow under the snow and into the corpses.
Moments after, eight corpses burst out of the snow and started to advance on the reindeer.
“Get an axe out!” shouted Vidar and started to follow his own advice. “Spears won’t work on holdraugr!”
“Zombies!” Spike squeaked.
“On this ackja, Spike!” Saga shouted, as she retreated towards said vehicle. “Get up!”
Spike kicked off his skis and scrambled quickly over the snow.
“You too, your highness!” Saga shouted.
Vigg stopped trying to get a big knife out from his harness.
“That’s no use, Your Highness!” she said as she stepped up on it. “Come on, we agreed to this! VIGG!”
He grimaced and trotted back to the ackja and sat on it. Spike grabbed him. Saga shut her eyes and started to chant under her breath.
“I’minthehouseofhemoonI’minthehouseofthemoonsafeinthehouseonthemoonnolongertroddingtheearth...”
“Sure this works?” Spike whined.
“Yeah yeah, I can See the magic,” Vigg said. “If she’s right no one will think about anydeer sitting on the ackja now. Or the ackja itself. That means they shouldn’t be able to see us because they won’t look at us...”
Spike sighed.
“If it works on spirits,” Vigg said and clenched his teeth around the knife.
Spike swallowed loudly.
Meanwhile, the reindeer advanced carefully on the walking corpses. They didn’t move like zombies out of a horror movie, which are after all just pony actors in green facepaint. They didn’t even move in that jerky style of, say, a timberwolf, which still animates the twigs and branches that makes up its body.
No, the reindeer corpses skipped forward like a foal’s doll moved in its muzzle when it pretends the doll is running, stiff legs and all.
Or maybe, thought Twilight, like when you move something with unicorn telekinesis, if it’s stiff and frozen and rigor mortis is only the beginning.
As the two groups drew nearer slowly (the corpses because it was the best they could do, the reindeer because they were both careful and scared) a violet sphere of shimmering force suddenly rose between them. Alva slammed her antlers into it.
“What in Niffelhel...” she murmured.
The walking corpses slammed into the forcefield, failed to penetrated it, and simply tried again.
“We won’t get rid of them this way!” Alva shouted.
“You’re right, but I’m not done yet,” said Twilight and shut her eyes. The field shimmered. “Now we can pass and they don’t,” she said.
Alva was the first to act. She thrust her head and forelegs out of the field, her axe in her teeth. Alva swung it wide and hit the closest corpse in the neck, then wrenched out her axe. It staggered and the lunged at her. As it hit the forcefield with its antlers with great force, its head broke off.
“They're deep frozen!” said Twilight.
“That’s what happens to dead meat in the winter,” said Jarl Vidar.
The headless corpse stood up again. At least it was decidedly more unsteady.
“I can’t watch!” said Spike and buried his face in Vigg’s back.
Tuva grabbed her axe and threw it at the headless corpse. It slammed into the forcefield.
“You have to touch your weapon for that to work!” Twilight shouted.
“Okay, let’s do it this way!” said Tuva. She grabbed her lariat with her teeth and rose up on her hind legs twirling it, then let go. The rope seemed to slow down minutely as it passed the forcefield, but it did get through at hit its mark, the antlers of another corpse. Tuva tug at it and the rope became tight. Then the corpse started to pull her towards the field.
“Help her!” Vidar shouted. “They have the strength of ten deer!”
Not ten but at least five deer quickly grabbed Tuva’s lariat, and it was apparently enough, because the corpse was slammed against the field and lay there, jerking its limbs spasmodically.
“Ge the others, as many as you can!” said Vidar.
Alva was the first to react, and soon had snared a second trotting dead. Five other reindeer, including Vidar, joined her in imobilizing it.
“They aren’t helping each other...” said Twilight.
“They aren’t that bright, Lady Sparkle,” said one of the reindeer left. “The hraesvalg in it is like a really clever dog, and they are greedy.”
Then he twirled his own lariat and immobilized a third, together with the remaining warriors.
“You’ve just made them less dangerous, nodeer is left to take care of them!” Twilight shouted.
Kvalhissir bellowed and rose above the snow, gripping his mace, and kicking off his canoe-sized skis..
“Well, one deer, sorry...” said Twilight. Her face was beginning to show strain.
The moose flew through the field and landed next to one of the captured corpses. His mace swung down heavily and splintered the frozen rib cage into hundreds of bloodred shards. Then he rose quickly upward to avoid the advancing corpses which were left, kicking at one who made an astonishingly high leap to catch him. It failed.
The reindeer holding the lariat around the corpse’s antlers suddenly fell backwards when its head and half its forebody were dragged through the field. Everydeer tried to scramble away from it.
“It’s dead!” Twilight shouted. “It’s okay! The spirit left it so it just counts as an item you’re touching through the lariat.”
“Alright!” shouted Tuva. “Lets get another one!” The deer who weren’t holding lariats in their muzzles cheered, most with bloodied lips.
Snaring one of the free corpses caused the remaining to shift their attention from Kvalhissir, and he dropped to the ground and crushed the head and body of a second snared holdraugr with two powerful mace blows.
This was unfortunately when Spike chose to actually look. He squeaked and buried his head into Vigg’s fur, but then he had to move it to the side and puke.
“Hey!” shouted Vigg, pretty queasy himself.
“Sorry...” groaned Spike.
The reindeer scrambled about and Kvalhissir rose and dived with his mace, and after not too long they had defeated the trotting corpses.
Twilight dissolved the forcefield. She was sweating heavily despite the cold and he breathing was ragged.
Kvalhissir landed. Without his skis he sank through the snow and almost didn’t come up. He was also sweating and winced as if in pain as he struggled, unwillingly smearing himself with frozen blood and meat.
Vigg nuzzled Saga.
“You can stop chanting,” he said, “and you can look now, Spike. It’s over.”
Saga opened her eyes and took deep breaths.
“That was disgusting!” said Spike. “Not to mention scary!”
Then he added: "Twilight! Your nose! You're bleeding!"
He rushed over to her and tried to wipe her clean with snow.
“I should have been helping!” said Vigg. “Kvalhissir had to risk his life all by his lonesome!”
“Is everydeer alright?” shouted Vidar. There was a chorus of hoarse “yes” all around. Kvalhissir, who had pulled himself up, nodded.
“Thanks,” said Vidar and bowed to him. “As well as you, Lady Sparkle. You made this much easier. Though you should have described that spell better to me aforehand, I thought it less versatile, and didn’t know when you would use it. Like you did with Saga’s magics.”
“What was that anyway?” said Alva, who spat some blood. She, like all the reindeer who had fought, had hurt their tongues and muzzles when fighting with the lariats.
Twilight was about to start a lecture but Saga interrupted her.
“It’s a variant of a charm I learnt from Lady Sparkle,” she said. “That one makes so nodeer wants to look inside a room no matter what. They cannot even remember it’s there, so anydeer inside becomes literally invisible, even to Sight, because nodeer can even imagine looking at them. This is the same but it works within whatever boundary you set, like a series of runes painted on an ackja. It works even if you’re moving, so you can make a boat or a sled or a cart invisible.”
“Though more clever people will wonder why the deer in front of the cart are moving like they do, of course,” said Twilight. “That should normally not break the spell. Even if they figure out there’s an invisible vehicle there, they still can’t focus their eyes or ears on it. We thought it best to have the young ones hide under the spell, including your cousin, who is the most important deer on this journey after all.”
“Oh,” said the vaja and looked at Vigg, who was less than happy. "So that's why you sat this one out. I thought you were being a wuss!"
Vigg scowled.
“Much as I love discussing magic,” said Twilight, “there are more urgent matters. Tell me, Jarl Vidar, if you didn’t have my magic and Kvalhissir’s might, you would have defeated those things anyway, right?”
“Well... yes,” Vidar said. “We would probably have suffered losses, but holdraugr are slow and clumsy. Even with that ambush they would have been hard-pressed to win.”
“So why did they attack us?” said Twilight. “That’s not their usual behaviour, right?”
“Hraesvalgs try to kill deer and skolls and animals so they can gnaw on the entrails and hollow out the body, Lady Sparkle,” said Tuva.
“Yes, daughter, but Lady Sparkle is right,” said Vidar and stroked his damaged muzzle. “They try to arrange accidents and lure deer astray, and they attack lone and feeble wanderers... Not like this...”
“I'm certain someone controlled them,” said Twilight. “Some mage placed the corpses here and ordered the spirits to possess them and attack if anyone passed here.”
“You mean it was a trap?” said Vigg.
“Well, it wasn’t exactly set by King Sombra, but yes, this is a classical magic trap, though I guess it wasn’t really intended to kill us all, just hobble us,” Twilight said. “In fact, I would say it was more of an alarm than a trap.”
“How do you mean?” said Vidar.
“Saga, what happens when you, erh, deactivate an animated corpse?” Twilight said. “Does the hraesvalg die?”
“Oh no,” said Saga, “they just flee. It hurts and is scary to them, is all.”
“Now, a spirit magician either bullies spirits around, bargains with them, or gets them to do things by being their friend,” said Twilight. “If a mage can get eight hraesvalgs to do something against their normal habits that will end in pain and fear for them, for any of the three reasons mentioned, he can probably also get them to come back to him after they have been defeated. So if anyone passes here who defeats his cronies, they run home and tell him about it. Meaning this mage now knows who we are, where we are and how many.”
“And that we have a stalu and a sorceress!” said Alva.
“But hopefully not that we have another sorceress, a dragon and the Prince of Tarandroland,” said Twilight and grinned, looking at Saga. “We’ll have to start being more clever with our magic from now on!”
“Did anydeer see where the spirits went?” said Vidar and searched the faces of his followers. The reindeer warriors shook their heads.
“We were kinda busy, father...” said Tuva.
“Nevermind that, then,” said Vidar. “But our scouts better watch the skies.”
“Yeah. Couldn’t that mage just have had the yucky maggoteagles fly around and watch?” said Spike.
“He probably has,” said Twilight, “but this one was a trap as well, remember? In addition, it probably means this route is extra important to him. What can you get to, going this way?”
“Nothing special,” said Vidar, “except where we are going: Joukulvakt!”
“What did you want to talk about, Mistress Twilight?” said Saga.
“I really wish the sky would be clear some nights,” sighed Twilight. They were standing higher up on the mountain slope they had camped on, having tried to put as many miles between themselves and the ambush site as possible. They were high above the valley floor below, and even higher above sea level. Like before, the land around them was white, white, white and the sky above them was grey, grey, grey.
“I would have liked so much to study the sky so close to the edge of the world,” Twilight explained. “I even brought my smallest telescope...”
“Was that what you wanted to talk about?” said Saga. “Star-Lore?”
“No, no, it just... came to me...” Twilight said, trodding nervously in the snow. “Oh, here comes Prince Vigg now!”
Saga turned and saw Vigg coming trotting up from the camp. He didn’t sink down into the snow. The ice crust held, but there was some snow on top of it, and the route was slippery.
“What does he want?” she said.
“Oh, I wanted to speak to both of you,” said Twilight, laughing nervously.
Saga said no more as Vigg them. He looked suspiciously at her, and then at Twilight.
“What did you want to talk about, Lady Twilight?” said Vigg.
“Oh, that was exactly what Saga said as well!” said Twilight and smiled widely. “Can you imagine that?” She looked from one youth to another.
“Yes, I can,” said Vigg. “Since I imagine she also wanted to know.” He looked skeptical.
“Oh, well, what I wanted to say was that I’m proud of you, and that you should know that,” Twilight said. “Both of you.” She again looked from one youth to another and rubbed her guard-suit-clad knees against each other.
“Thanks, I guess..” said Vigg and raised an eyebrow.
“That’s really nice, Mistress Sparkle, but may I ask why that is?” said Saga.
“Oh, I... didn’t say,” said Twilight. “Well, the thing is I was worried about you, that you wouldn’t take this seriously enough.”
The two reindeer stared at her.
“I mean, I was afraid you would be... immature about this whole quest thing, I mean it’s not like a... a game,” she said. “But now I’m not afraid anymore, because you showed today during that ghastly undead spooky thing that you’re really on the level and really really adult about this, and it was wrong of me. To just assume those things. So instead I’m proud of you. Really.”
“You... you didn’t trust me?” said Vigg.
“Well, the important word, Vigg, is ‘didn’t’,” Twilight said. “Because I do now. I misjudged you, see, and I was wrong. Yes.”
“Why?” said Vigg. “Why?”
“Well, I think it’s obvious, I mean I thought it was obvious,” said Twilight. “You’re young and well, act without thinking sometimes. But, and that’s important, but today you showed yourself having great self-control under pressure. So, I misjudged you. I apologize.”
She bowed awkwardly. Vigg still looked full of misgivings.
“You didn’t trust me either?” said Saga, sounding hurt.
“Well, but now I do, see, I’m proud of how well you did!” said Twilight.
“Why?” said Saga.
“Well, I know you sometimes seem to mix up reality and fantasy, is all,” said Twilight. “I mean, I real quest isn’t like a Daring Do story! But you took things very seriously and acted very level-headed today, and nopony can expect more from you. Again, I apologize for doubting you, and I assure you I’m most proud of you.”
“Okay... I guess...” said Saga. She looked away from Twilight and her gaze fell upon Vigg, who didn’t look too happy either, but was at the same time lost in thought, stroking his chin.
“Good,” said Twilight. “That we got this over with.” She smiled nervously.
“I mean... it would be a pity if this was a Daring Do story,” said Vigg.
“What?” said Twilight.
“I mean, no offense, but they can be pretty speciest,” said Vigg. “I mean, in several of the stories being the ‘native guide’ to Daring Do is like a death sentence.”
Saga smirked.
“Yeah,” she said, “if this had been a Daring Do story, we’d be speaking broken Equestrian and rolled our eyes all superstitiously and waiting for the mighty pony to save us.”
“What?” said Twilight. “I mean... it isn’t that bad is it?”
“The best movies are the ones when she’s in Equestria,” said Vigg, a bit energized, “because then it makes sense that its a pegasus that always saves all ancient artifacts and puts them in museums and such. Because in other countries, are there no local sages or heroes? Don’t they have any own museums to put things in? We have one, and we're a poor and struggling country.”
“Yeah, instead of the Mighty Pony, as I said, coming in and saving the poor natives from themselves,” said Saga. “It’s not like they’re villains or anything, it’s that it’s never anyone who isn’t anypony who is the hero.”
“Now I think you’re a bit unfair,” said Spike. “I mean, Daring Do has several friends who aren’t ponies, like that Diamond Dog guy, and I think they’re heroic enough.”
“Spike!” said Twilight. “Where did you come from?!” The two reindeer shield back.
“I brought you guys coffee, I’ve been here a while,” Spike said. “You looked like you had a serious talk so I didn’t want to disturb, but when you started talking books and movies I assumed it was okay of me to butt in.”
He held up the coffee pot that “belonged” to their tent and hearth. It was swept in a towel to keep it warm.
“Thanks Spike,” said Saga and smiled, hauling out her own jug and set it down into the snow. Spike poured her coffee. Vigg imitated her.
“I’m good, thanks,” said Twilight. “And if I might add something, I’d say that the Daring Do stories even subvert some speciest clichés.”
“How?” said Saga.
“Well, in one story she tries to disguise herself so she looks like a pagan idol, probably some image of Celestia,” Twilight said. “She is trying to fool the ‘primitive natives’ into thinking she is their goddess. However, that wouldn’t happen in reality and the natives aren’t stupid so they see through her trick.”
“What movie was that?” said Vigg.
“It was a short story collection,” said Twilight, “they haven’t made a movie of that yet. But I meant things like that. I’m sure there are stories which are worse...”
“Yes, there’s this movie, and there are like six ponies that are sent out to save the world,” said Saga and sipped her coffee. “They have to do several things in several places, and they come to this Buffalo herd, okay?”
“Yeah?” said Twilight.
“I recognize this one,” said Spike and frowned. He poured himself the last of the coffee. "I didn't get to see it because someone thought I was too young, but Rainbow Dash said it was a dragon in it that was supposed to be me..."
“And the Buffaloes need to do this rain dance to save everything,” said Saga, “and guess who must do the dance? One of the ponies! She isn’t even a dancer, and she is better than them at doing their own thing!”
“I think I saw that movie,” said Vigg and frowned, “it wasn’t really like that...”
“I don’t watch much movies...” said Twilight apologetically.
“Well, that’s the impression I got!” said Saga and pouted. “That’s just silly!”
“So, it’s lucky this isn’t any kind of adventure story, but reality,” said Twilight. “I’m sorry if it came across wrong, I just wanted to thank you for being so... good.”
“Sure,” said Vigg. “Thanks, I guess. I think I’ll go to bed now, if you excuse me...”
“Good night, Vigg,” said Twilight.
“Night,” said Spike.
“I’ll go too,” said Saga and followed him as he carefully trotted down the slope. She stopped and waved her tail at them.
“I didn’t know you watched those movies,” they heard Vigg say.
“I dunno, not much... it’s mostly because the extras have cool outfits, no matter whether they are ponies or tapirs or donkeys or whatever,” they heard Saga say with an added snort.
“So?” said Vigg. “I suppose that after Temple of Wool you wore blue woad for a month.”
“I would kick you except you’re right,” said Saga. “It looks much cooler on sheep though. You would look good in it, you have the coat. You could be that evil ram that led the cult!”
“Oh no we don’t go there!” said Vigg, and then they disappeared into the tent.
“Can you tell me why you were digging yourself a hole down to Neighpon there?” said Spike.
“I was just trying to make them understand that I had no hard feelings and so on... and I sort of thought I could bring them together by making it clear they are a good team,” said Twilight and fidgeted.
“Twilight, you’re like a mother to me and I love you, but that was really really dumb,” said Spike. “You almost made it worse. You’re just lucky they dislike the same kind of movies.”
Twilight sighed. She was about to say something when they heard a howl in the distance.
“Wolves?” said Spike.
“All the animals the wolves hunt have fled the mountains,” said Twilight. “Skolls. We’d better get down to camp.”
Spike didn’t need to be told twice.
The next day Alva returned from her scouting to the main force with curious news.
“A tursakalf?” said Vidar with concern. “In what direction was it going?”
“That’s the point, father,” said Alva. “I... can’t tell. The tracks are really strange! Tuva is there keeping an eye on it.”
“That’s usually obvious,” Vidar explained to Twilight and Spike. “It’s like a snowplow, almost literally. You can’t miss where they’re going.” To Alva he said: “Alright, I’ll take a look at them!”
“Can we come?” said Vigg.
“Yes, but be a bit careful,” Vidar said. “We don’t know exactly where this thing is, and we must avoid it at all costs!”
When they reached the tracks half a mile further ahead, Twilight understood what the scout meant.
“I see,” she said. “An ice elemental would basically leave a furrow...”
“But this looks like a series of craters,” said Vidar.
“Can they jump around?” said Saga and sniffed one of the craters. “I mean, if it did, it would leave holes like this, right?”
“Never heard of it,” said Vidar.
“Can’t it be some weather phenomenon that just looks like tracks?” said Twilight. “Natural or unnatural, give the circumstances?”
“No,” said Vidar, “nothing I’ve ever heard of... Of course, with this strange Winter...”
“See, there are pieces of thick ice here in the crater, like splinters!” Vigg said eagerly and trotted down in it. “And there is magic residue everywhere, like there would be from a tursakalf!”
“It Looks very similar to such residue, in fact,” said Vidar.
Twilight cast some spells and frowned. Spike walked around the crater Saga was sniffing in.
“Twilight, can you lift me up...” he said.
“Spike, I’m kind of busy here,” said Twilight.
“But Twilight, it’s important!” said Spike and tapped his right foot. “I need to look at things from above!”
Twilight stared at him, and then it dawned on her.
“Oh!” she said and levitated Spike up into the air surrounded by a purple glow. The others stared at him.
“Yes!” he shouted. “I thought so!”
“What?” said Vigg.
Kvalhissir bellowed and suddenly sprung into the air, repelling the earth and rising to Spike’s level.
“They’re normal tracks!” Spike said. “Like from a pony, or deer, or... or anything with four legs, really!”
Kvalhissir bellowed and nodded.
“He says he has heard stories of the ancient giants...” Saga said. She sniffed some more and licked an ice splinter.
“That’s ridiculous!” Vigg said. “We have proved that the stories of stalo was just stories of moose like Kvalhissir! No moose gets that big!”
“There were giants in the days of yore,” said Vidar, “but that was in the beginning of time. There shouldn’t be any left.”
“Maybe they’re coming back,” said Alva fearfully, “because we’re so close to the end of time.”
Kvalhissir bellowed something.
“He says they look like wolf tracks, or maybe skoll tracks,” said Vigg.
“Princess Celestia told me that the Adamant Alpha, the first Diamond Dog, was... is... a giant canine made of stone,” said Twilight. “Maybe there is a skoll equivalent?”
“I hope not...” Vidar mumbled.
“I think I know what it is,” said Saga and spat out some ice. “It’s pretty crazy but not as crazy as what you’re talking about.”
“What do you mean?” said Vigg.
“It’s a secret of the temple of Hrimfaxi, so you must never ever tell anydeer, okay?” she said. “I shouldn’t be telling you this at all but this is an emergency...”
“Could you put me down!” Spike said.
“Sure - and sure,” said Twilight, nodding to Saga as she placed Spike gently in the snow. Kvalhissir followed him. Saga looked at the others.
“We solemnly swear,” said Vidar, “all of us”. His deer nodded.
“Okay... See, there is this ancient rite to create a servant,” Saga said, “and it hasn’t been done like for ages. It’s from the very founding of the temple. If you sort of butcher a tursakalf, you can use the pieces to build a... a living ice statue, an ice... golem. You need clay from a frozen river and the heart of an enemy and all kinds of gruesome stuff.”
“Like the faceted golems employed in the Ancient Crystal Empire!” Twilight said, eyes glittering. “Eh, although you didn’t need to kill ponies to create those...”
“It’s called a mokkurkalfe,” Saga said, “and usually they built them big, to fight or do heavy labor. But big, that’s big like Kvalhissir, or a big urox... This one must be huge. It must be made from several tursakalfar.”
“Look, that would take lots of magical power,” said Twilight, “and you say this thing is a big secret. Don’t you think that if there was some wandering Hrimfaxi worshipper with that much power, some Grazer shaman or something, somedeer in Vidar’s herd or from your temple would have heard about it?”
“Lady Twilight,” said Saga and looked at her, “Princess Hrim... Princess Luna told us all about who founded the temple. He probably came up with the whole rite to begin with.”
“Right,” said Vigg and looked at Saga admiringly. “And Wiglek the Wicked wasn’t that bad a wizard.”
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Hmm. Good chapter. Keeps things moving along.
How big are we talking about here? Yikes
I wish I had any artistic skills at all, because we really need some fanart if this suit.
That was an interesting fight. I'm concerned that Twilight is still injured and isn't at full strength, but that may be the point, I suppose. Twilight at full power can simplify a lot of problems, depending on how OP she is written at least.
Heh, sneaky Twilight is sneaky.
Giant ice golem of doom? Sounds pretty awesome. And, er, really dangerous.
Haven't even read this yet, but the name sounds like a good title for a Viking Metal song.
Nice to see Vigg and Saga starting to get on again.
Ice Dragon Golem controlled by an evil mage? Call the Dragonborn!
(I know it wasn't specified as to what it would look like, I just want it to be a dragon. Because dragons.)
“Yeah yeah, I can See the magic,” Spike said. “If she’s right no one will think about anydeer sitting on the ackja now. Or the ackja itself. That means they shouldn’t be able to see us because they won’t look at us...”
I think this should be Vigg.
Also nice to see more of this.
Just yesterday I was thinking, "Boy its been awhile since Under The Northern Lights has updated, hope we get some more soon". Bam, next day you provide.
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Ursa Minor, Ursa Major... Ursa Medior? We'll see later.
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Thanks, I'll fix that.
oho YESssss... now we have the mammothine golems of ice, with their defiled skeletal core chained to the might of a brutal, cruel lichpony.
I can only PRAY Twilight gets a bit showdown with him, even if it's just a stalling move while Vigg and Saga save the day with Sanpo.
Dang it all your marvelous worldbuilding's leaking into my precious Nidus! Stop it!
2316546 Scary!!
Ooh, more Northern Lights!
So, Twilight is basically wearing a Shadowbolts costume here? I'm glad to see Saga and Vigg starting to get along again, and I'm amused that their mutual dislike of specieist treatment of non-ponies in Daring Do movies helped. (Of course those would have the same old Tarzan movie issues!)
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Sort of Shadowbolts: it's more like a special version of the design used by the batponies in Nightmare Night episode. You know how action figures can have a "scuba diver version" or a "desert combat version" (plastic camel included); this is the "high altitude version" of a batpony uniform. But yeah, the Shadowbolts version is there somewhere.
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/36617794.jpg
Huzzah!
I was beginning to fear (from the tone of some of your comments during the last chapter) you had become disillusioned about finishing. So I am really glad to see this back. It's one of my top favourites, in such heady company as Dangerous Business, Earth & Sky and It Takes a Village.
(I still haven't gotten over Spike's flank-kicking abilites, which are so obvious in hindsight. I have totally permenantly headcanoned those!)
This is getting really intense!
Looking forward to the next part, as always. Keep up the superlative work!
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To be fully honest, I am disillusioned with this fic, as well as bronydom in general. I've been close to giving up. It's just that I'm not there yet. I get by.
I'm glad I can pleasantly surprise people.
That's the sort of thing that helps me getting by.
yay!
One of my favorite fics, hope you can power through the motivation doldrums, glad to see more of it. 
Damn...wonderful to see this again.
I'm really glad to see this again.
There are rarely well-written long fiction in this fandom (for me).
As well as that, I always enjoy the story that you bring us.
For example, I enjoy teamworks, not super heroine (like Twilight) overcome everything.
Even the goddesses (Sun/Moon) need to obey the rule in your fiction.
Thank you sir!
Wow, this is AWESOME story. I discovered it a while ago, but I thought it was dead. Good thing is, that it's not. I WA...umm...WE WANT MOAR OF THIS AWESOMNESS. Really. It's epic. Keep it up. It's one of my favourite fics ever.
Okay, this is a pretty nice setup for some Death Frost Doom, I have to say. On the edge of the world, surrounded by hostile creatures shaped by a malign intelligence. Very nice scene-setting.
I don't know what's waiting for all of them, but I'm excited for how things are going to go.
Poor Twilight, though. So far out of her element now.
And the war against Winter has begun. But with Wiglek being the one controlling Winter makes it more dangerous and brutal, isn't it?
Hope to see more of it!
My only annoyance is that I wasn't interested in reading earlier near the beginning, mostly due to getting shocked at the amount of chapters 
(I didn't have a tablet at that time, so it was less comfortable reading fan fictions).
Another excellent chapter...
I see what you did there... A ram named Ram?
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Mola the Ram, I'd assume.
You earn a cookie.
I think I said it before, but it definitely bears repeating.
I love how you have incorporated all the Norse mythological elements into the story and MLP universe. I find myself flipping back through Bulfinch's Mythology and Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes in order to catch the references and puns. It certainly gives your world a deeper, richer atmosphere and setting.
2407327
You've got a bazillion, all of which at decent length. I've been reading this on and off for the last three or four days if you don't count when I started reading it last year. I feel like a moron for putting it off that long.
2470358 No, I just don't think you should make a joke about something as serious as necromancy.
Late comment, but this just keeps being awesome. World building! Character development! Frozen bird-maggot zombies!
Honestly, sometimes I think I only keep my Fimfiction account around just to keep tabs on this story.
I'm actually pretty burnt out of fanfiction as well as being a brony. Let that be a point of credit to you as a writer. You've actually managed to design characters and create a plot, on such a level, as to ensnare someone who isn't even interested in the show anymore. I think this is the only fanfction I actually want to see finished.
You've done an amazing job so far, and I sincerely hope you see this through to the end. (and then write real books)
Hey, as a fan of both stories: this is like Embers but for MLP (and you're better at exposition, and there is a distinctive lack of the Moral Myopia that plagues Embers
.). I would like to see the end of this fanfiction! And if you decide not to... Thanks for posting what you have so far. It's a good read! 
“Because I have no enchanted magical moon-bat suit with super-thermo underwear and feel cold,” Spike said.
Bat super thermal underwear?! That was a thing from Adam West's Batman wasn't it?
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Yep. Have a cookie.