The CMC think they saw a ghost, but what they really find is bigger than that and leads to the discovery and contact with a new yet familiar species. Let's just hope that they can be saved before everything is destroyed.
Ghosts don't exist, but the Cutiemark Crusaders swear they saw one. But since all the other adults don't believe them, they do the only thing they can think of. They go hunting for their ghost and they find a friend. A friend who's home, family and entire nation is in grave danger.
The winds howled and kicked up a storm amongst mountain peaks. Nestled up against a certain peak was a collection of small buildings with a much larger building pressed closer to the mountain. As the storm raged, however, the smaller buildings began to be ripped from their places as easily as a filly would pick flowers. It was only a matter of time before the larger building was ripped from its own place. And the moment it did, thirty or so equine forms flooded from the remains, all carrying saddlebags filled with what they could carry. It was chaos on a scale that would make Discord himself grin. And amidst the chaos at some point was a panicked green and pink mare who was hunting through the crowd for someone.
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Sweetie Belle stared up at the half gone building and gulped nervously. Even in the beginning light of sunset, the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was...intimidating, to say the least.
"Remind me why we're here again." She said as she followed her much bolder friends.
"Because we are the Cutiemark Crusaders Ghost Hunters!" Scootaloo answered.
"Yeah! An what better place is there ta look fer ghosts than the castle?" Applebloom added enthusiastically. "Mah Granny Smith always tells me stories 'bout the Pony of Shadows, that little piece of dark magic that didn't go with her when she was banished."
"Wait, so we aren't just looking for a ghost, but we're also looking for DARK MAGIC?!" Sweetie asked in alarm. Applebloom just shrugged.
"Well, it can't be that dangerous if mah sister and her friends could spend the night in here."
"Applejack and the others are full grown ponies!" Sweetie Belle retorted. "Also Rarity told me there were all sorts of booby-traps and that they were all totally freaked out!"
"I'm pretty sure Rainbow Dash wasn't scared at all," Scootaloo interjected. "But haven't they been coming here to clean the castle lately?"
"That's true," Applebloom said. "So Ah'm pretty sure its safe, so long as we watch our step."
Sweetie Belle looked up at the shadowed ruins and a shiver ran down her spine. "Still...I'm not sure if its safe to go in." She said uncertainly.
"If yer too scared ta go in, Y'all could stay out here and wait for us." Applebloom offered.
Sweetie Belle stiffened as an even bigger shiver traveled around her body. Then she glanced behind her to the deep, dark, dangerous Everfree forest. As scary as the castle was, the forest wasn't any better. Everyone, young and old, knew that the forest was filled with animal and plant life not seen anywhere else in the world. And not all of it was benign. Already, Sweetie Belle swore she could see glowing eyes amongst the foliage.
Sweetie Belle ripped her eyes from the forest and ran towards the already retreating forms of her friends. "H-hey girls! Wait up!!" She called out. As he joined up with friends, however, they all missed the ethereal form that emerged from the forest and flew into the castle.
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"Rarity's right." Sweetie Belle said softly as she gazed up at the tapestries around them. "These tapestries are beautiful." While she did admire the wall art, she spoke mostly to distract herself from the thought that she was in an ancient, booby-trapped, possibly haunted by Nightmare Moon's magic, castle. 'Well, at least I'm not outside waiting for a timberwolf or something similar to attack.' She thought.
"Yer right Sweetie," Applebloom commented. "They are rather nice, ain't they."
Scootaloo however scoffed. "Tapestries, smapestries we came here to find the Pony of Shadows so let's get going, Crusaders!"
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle nodded, though Sweetie's was more hesitant then Applebloom's. "So, how are we findin' tha' Pony of Shadows?" Applebloom asked their pegasus friend.
"We stick together and keep an eye out for anything ghostly," Scootaloo said confidently.
"And if we find this ghost, how do we catch it?" Sweetie asked.
Scootaloo paused with a thoughtful look on her face. "Huh...you know, I actually have no idea."
Sweetie Belle's jaw dropped. "You mean to say we came all the way out here to catch some sort of evil ghost, and we have NO WAY TO CATCH IT?!?!"
"Ah brought some rope." Applebloom offered helpfully.
"What the heck is ROPE going to do?!?!" Sweetie demanded, her panic beginning to skyrocket. Applebloom only shrugged, unfazed by the outburst.
"Dunno, but mah sister always pack some rope and it ends up being useful."
"Your sister is a skilled rodeo pony who knows her way around a rope!" Sweetie Belle pointed out. "Also, the rope's not going to do ANYTHING to a ghost!!!"
"What about a vacuum?" Scootaloo suggested.
"Why a vacuum? That's jus' silly." Applebloom said.
"Nuh-uh. You know that movie with those ponies who catch ghosts? They use these things that suck ghosts into boxes just like a vacuum." Scootaloo said a little proudly. Sweetie Belle facehoofed.
"Even if that isn't a completely ridiculous idea, we don't have a vacuum and I doubt that we could find one in the Everfree forest." She said, finding the entire argument was calming her nerves a little.
Scootaloo, however, frowned at the 'ridiculous' comment and almost retorted if Applebloom hadn't suddenly stepped between them.
"Alright you two, stop it." She commanded. "We should've planned a bit more, but bickering over this won't change anythin'. It's like Granny always says, 'nothin' ever gets done if yer fussin' and bickerin', so buck up and get over yerselves'. And besides, haven't we already figured out that our special talent ain't arguing?"
Sweetie giggled a little at that. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry Scoots." She apologized. "It's just that it's already creepy in here looking for a ghost and it doesn't help that we don't have a plan for when we do find a ghost. Friends?" She held out her hoof as she finished. Scootaloo smiled and took the offered hoof.
"Friends." She said in reply. "And you're right, we could've prepared better. It's just this was the only Crusading idea we had. But if you're so scared in here, why didn't you stay out?"
Sweetie Belle gave the two a deadpan look. "Gee, let me look at my options." She began a little sarcastically. "Either I stay outside in the Everfree all by myself or I go inside with my friends." A grin spread across her face. "Tough choice there Scoots."
Scootaloo laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right." For a moment they stood there in the evening light savoring this moment. Then as they began to trot away and continue their search, Applebloom suddenly shivered.
"Hoo Nelly, do y'all feel that chill?" Applebloom as she sat down and wrapped her forelegs around herself. "Whew jus' sorta came suddenly."
"It hasn't been too long since Winter Wrap-up, so maybe there still a few cool breezes around." Sweetie Belle suggested. Then she noticed the pale blank looks on her friends faces as they stared at the space behind her. Sweetie had suspicions about why they were looking like that and she didn't like it one bit.
"There's something right behind me, isn't there?" She asked a little nervously.
Neither of her friends said anything. Instead, Applebloom raised a hoof and pointed behind her. Slowly but surely, Sweetie Belle turned. Right behind her and floating off the ground was what looked to be a pony. If a pony only had a front half made of white and blue mist that shone and had solid white glowing eyes that are. For a moment they stared at each other. Then in a completely reasonable reaction, the Cutiemark Crusaders screamed.
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The CMC hadn't been seen since before sunset and none of the fillies had come home. Plus with it getting dark, Applejack, Rarity and Scootaloo's parents were understandably concerned. To say the least. So it shouldn't come to anyone's surprise that they'd all formed a small search party at Sweet Apple Acres to look for the three fillies. But just when Applejack opened the door so they could begin, all the ponies present (Apple family, Scoots family, Rarity and the rest of the Mane Six) were very surprised when Applejack was nearly bowled over by three blurs, that were quickly identified as the fillies in question, that rushed in and clamped onto their respective family members in fright.
"I'm telling you we really did see a ghost!" Sweetie Belle said as her sister worked.
"Poppycock." Rarity stated as she levitated a bolt of cloth. "No offense meant to you and your friends, but ghosts don't exist. You must've seen something else."
Sweetie Belle's expression was deadpan with a little bit of frustration in her eyes. "We all saw it up close and clear as day, there is nothing else in the world that looks like a floating pony."
"And where exactly did you see this infamous 'ghost'?" Rarity asked. Suddenly Sweetie began to fidget uncomfortably.
"Oh...well...we, um saw it at...thecastleoftheroyalponysisters." She stuttered a bit before shooting out the last part at rapid-fire speed, hoping she wouldn't understand. Unfortunately, since Rarity was no stranger to rapid-fire speech (thanks to Pinkie Pie) she understood every word.
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Later that afternoon the Crusaders met at their clubhouse, and all three of them were a little upset that nopony believed them when they said they'd seen a ghost.
"So Applebloom, how'd your folks reacts when you told them about the ghost?" Scootaloo asked.
Applebloom pouted a little. "They didn't really believe me. Mah sister even suggested I might've seen some sorta albino owl or somethin' like that."
Sweetie Belle frowned a little. "Albino owls don't look like floating pony front halves with glowing eyes."
"Exactly my point!" Applebloom shouted. "Then Applejack asked me where I'd been and I had to tell her we'd gone to the old castle. She got really upset an scolded me somethin' fierce."
"Rarity scolded me too," Sweetie said. "She also didn't believe me when I told her about the ghost. Said it was 'poppycock', whatever that means."
"Aaugh!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she banged the table. "Why doesn't anypony believe us!? What we saw was a real, honest to goodness ghost! But nopony believes it!!" In the end, the pegasus filly's head dropped to the table with a groan of annoyance.
"Well, maybe we need some sort of proof." Sweetie Belle said in an effort to soothe her frustrated friend. "Like a picture. Or some ectoplasm. Or..."
"Or a ghost." Scootaloo finished as she raised her head with an adventurous smirk. Sweetie Belle didn't like that smirk, or where this was going.
"Uh...sure I guess." She said uneasily. Scootaloo rubbed her hooves together as her smirk became a bit more devious. Finally, she stood up and began to speak.
"Girls, get ready." She announced. "Cause tonight, we're going to catch a ghost."
"And this time, we're going ta have everthin' we need," Applebloom added with a similar smirk. The two Crusaders then turned to the third in their party. Sweetie Belle fidgeted a little before she sighed.
"Ah what the heck. Someone needs to make sure you guys don't get into too much trouble." She then stood up with a smirk of her own. The CMC then clapped their hooves together and the clubhouse and orchard rang with their 'war cry' to the world.
"CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS GHOST CATCHERS!! YAY!!!"
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That evening the CMC stood in front of the Castle of the Two Sisters once again. This time they had saddlebags packed with whatever they may need.
"Alrighty then, before we go in let's take stock of what we got," Applebloom said as she slipped her saddlebags off. The other Crusaders followed her example. "Ah've got a rope, in case we need it, a helmet, a camera, a compass, some bottles of cider and a sleeping bag."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "You still think a rope's going to be of any use on a ghost hunt?"
"There are other uses fer rope beside ghosts." Applebloom defended. "So what'd you bring anyways Scoots?"
Scootaloo shot her a proud smirk as she reached into her own bags. "Check this out." She said and with a flourish, she pulled out a small, hoof held vacuum. Needless to say, her friends weren't very impressed.
"Whatcha gonna do with that, fight dust bunnies?" Applebloom asked. Scootaloo frowned.
"Ha-ha, very funny." She said drily before holding up the vacuum once more. "Laugh all you want, but this baby is gonna be what catches that ghost! Just point this at it, press the button and boom! We snag the ghost."
"Is that all you brought, or are you relying on your 'amazing' vacuum cleaner?" Applebloom asked, still very unimpressed. Scootaloo's frown deepened.
"Gee, thanks for the confidence boost Bloom." She said a little sarcastically. "And no, it's not the only thing I packed. I did bring my sleeping bag, lots of jars for samples and ectoplasm, some snacks in case we get hungry and I couldn't get my hooves on a ghost detector, but I think we can make do. What about you Sweetie? What did you bring?"
"I didn't a lot of useful things like you guys." Sweetie Belle admitted. "Just some stuff I figured would be nice to have on hoof. I brought a net, but that probably won't be of much use. I've got my sleeping bag too and a few blankets just in case. But for the most part, I also brought lots of snacks and treats."
"What fer?" Applebloom asked. Sweetie Belle shot her a look.
"Because I'm a little bit of a nervous eater! And I'm about to trot into a haunted to look for a ghost, so I wanted to have some cookies on hoof!"
"Hey, don't worry Sweets," Scootaloo said as she slung her hoof across her friend's back. "If the ghost attacks us, you can be sure that I and my trusty vacuum will take care of it."
"Still don't think that vacuum cleaner will do much," Applebloom commented casually. Scootaloo shot a glare at her friend direction, only for the earthpony filly to shrug it off like it was nothing. Scootaloo frowned at her friend for a moment longer before stepping forward.
"So what are we waiting for?" She asked her friends with a daring grin. "Let's get hunting!"
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The old castle hadn't changed since yesterday. It was still big, dark and creepy enough that it sent chills down the Crusader's spines. Even so, Scootaloo puffed her chest out and took the lead. For the most part, their walk through the castle was uneventful and when the reached the exact spot where they'd last seen the ghost, the tension raised to palpable levels. Then Applebloom stiffened when she stepped in something wet.
"Uh...Scoots?" She said tensely. "Ah think Ah may have found some of that ectoplasm."
Scootaloo whipped around to face her friend. "Really?! Where?"
"Beneath Mah hoof." Applebloom deadpanned. Scootaloo rushed forward to see, only to wilt in disappointment when she got a good look at what her friend was standing in.
"That isn't ectoplasm." She said. "It's just water." Applebloom released a small sigh and lifted her hoof. Sure enough, there was a small puddle of water beneath it. And it wasn't alone. In the light of the moonlight, she could see that there were other small puddles scattered around.
"Huh, guess some water got in," Applebloom said off hoofed.
"I guess so, but doesn't it look weird?" Sweetie Belle said as she walked up to look at the mess.
"Weird how?" Scootaloo asked, having gotten over her disappointment and rejoined her friends.
"Well, how did it get here?" Sweetie asked.
"Uh, rain?" Scoots suggested.
"But then wouldn't everywhere else be wet?" Sweetie asked. "Instead it's just this spot."
"Yer right!" Applebloom said. "Everywhere else, 'cept here, is dry as a desert. And now that I'm looking at it, it reminds me of our entryway during a rainstorm after somepony shook themselves off."
"Yeah, I was just thinking that too." Sweetie agreed.
"So somepony shook themselves off here," Scootaloo said.
"Or something." Sweetie Belle added with a small amount of trepidation. "Like a ghost."
"Why would a ghost need ta shake themselves off?" Applebloom asked. "Their ghosts!"
"I don't know, but I suddenly feel like we're being watched," Sweetie answered. Suddenly every shadow seemed to hold something that was watching the three fillies. After a moment of looking all around the room, Applebloom made a suggestion.
"M-maybe we should get movin'?" The others quickly nodded agreement and they hurried on. None of them noticed the figure watching them from a half-broken rafter before floating behind the retreating trio.
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For while longer as they explored, nothing else happened and the CMC began to relax somewhat. After some time, they thought to take a break and eat a bit. Applebloom pulled out her cider while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo pulled out their snacks though Sweetie Belle had brought more snacks than Scoots had.
"Okay, I brought chips, crackers, some cookies and water bottles." Scootaloo announced as she dumped it all on their 'picnic blanket'.
Sweetie Belle also dumped her snacks out onto the blanket. "I brought some chips, celery stalks, apples, cookies, snack cakes, cheese and crackers, carrots, blueberries raspberries, and strawberries."
Applebloom whistled impressed. "Wow Sweets. When ya pack snacks, ya pack snacks."
Sweetie Belle blushed. "Um, thanks. Shall we dig in?" She offered. Food has a way of easing fears and tensions, so it was no surprise the CMC found themselves relaxing as they enjoyed their food. The moment however disappeared when Sweetie Belle noticed a detail.
"Hey, did either of you take an extra apple?" She asked having noticed the number of absent apples didn't match up with how many had been taken.
The other two fillies looked at each other and shrugged. "Not me," Applebloom said.
"Me neither," Scootaloo added.
A chill ran down Sweetie Belle's spine. "Sooo, if I didn't take an extra apple..." She spoke slowly as the implications of what was going on slowly sank in for the other two. "...and I know I didn't take an extra apple, then who-" she never got to finish her sentence as a sudden cold breeze halted her thoughts dead in their tracks and they all turned their gaze upwards at the ethereal form just above them.
Now that they weren't screaming and running for their lives, the CMC was able to look at the ghost in better detail. It still looked like the from half of a pony with a body of blue on white mist that swirled and churning through its mane was a mix of pink and yellow that flowed up and back and its eyes were orbs of bright white light. For a moment they stared at the ghost while it stared at them. It was Scootaloo who made the first move.
"Alright! Now we can see just what this baby can do!" Scoots cried out as she pulled out the hoof held vacuum. The ghost cocked its head curiously as Scootaloo took aim, pushed the on the button and stood there as...nothing happened at all.
"Uh, Scoots?" Applebloom started with some panic edging its way into her voice. "Isn't something supposed to, oh I don't know, HAPPEN!?!"
Applebloom's shout kicked Scootaloo out of her stunned silence and she began frantically pushing buttons, hoping one of them would do something. Almost none of them did, except for the blow setting which blew the specter back half an inch before the battery died. With the vacuum cleaner dead, the three fillies froze as the ghost surged towards them...and flew past them, grabbed a snack Cake and flew up towards the rafters where they could see due to the darkness and distance. The Crusaders sat there frozen for a moment longer then they exploded into activity.
"What the heck Scoots!?" Applebloom shouted. "You said that the vacuum would snag the ghost but unless I miss my guess it didn't do anything!!!"
"I'm just as surprised as you are!!" Scootaloo retorted. "I really expected that to work! And anyway, you never really believed in my vacuum if memory serves!"
"Girls! What did we agree on about arguing?" Sweetie Belle said sternly like a scolding mother. The other two fillies automatically bowed their heads.
"Our talent and cutiemarks aren't arguing." They said simultaneously.
"Exactly. So there's no point in trying for our arguing cutiemarks." Sweetie Belle said with a smile before a thoughtful look came over her face. "Besides, we have another puzzle to figure out besides why Scootaloo's vacuum failed. Like why the ghost is taking food."
"Huh?" They both said simultaneously and Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.
"The apple and the snack cake just now. The one thing those items have in common is that they're all food items." Sweetie explained. "And what would a ghost want with food items?"
"Maybe it's hungry," Scootaloo suggested. Applebloom shot her a look.
"Ghosts are dead ponies, they can't get hungry or eat food." Applebloom pointed out. Sweetie Belle's eyes widened.
"If ghosts can't get hungry, then maybe we aren't dealing with a ghost." She figured. The other two looked at her like she was nuts.
"Uh Sweets, didn't you see that thing?" Scootaloo asked incredulously. "What else could it be besides a ghost?"
Sweetie Belle didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed the closest food item she could, a bag of blueberries, and trotted in the direction the ghost had flown. She then wrapped the blueberries in her magic and held it out as far and as high as she could.
"Um, hey! Are you hungry?" She called out and she suddenly got the feeling that there was a third pair of eyes on her. She just shrugged it off and continued. "We've got plenty of snacks here if you want some. Just come on out and we can talk."
There was a moment of silence and the CMC swore they felt a gust of wind blow past. Then they saw the ghost's head peek out over what Sweetie guessed was a rafter. It stared down right at her for a moment before floating down and stopping a few feet in front of her. Then the 'ghost' began to change. It's body shifted from a blue on white mist to a blue on a white body, its back half reformed as well, its mane solidified and its eyes went from orbs of white light to almost normal yellow and pink eyes. The end result was a somewhat lithe filly that looked a couple years older than them.
"If you're sure that it's okay." She said shyly with a slight look of longing in her eyes. Her friends just stood there gawking, but Sweetie Belle just smiled and offered the filly the blueberries.
"Of course I'm sure." She said kindly. The filly uttered a "thank you" before grabbing the blueberries out of the air and eating hungrily.
As she practically scarfed the berries down, the CMC took this opportunity to look her over. She definitely looked like a pony, but there were key differences that made it obvious that this filly was a subspecies they'd never seen before. She was taller and lither than any filly or colt they'd seen before, but she still looked like she was within their age range. Her coat was white with swirls of blue running through it, something they'd NEVER seen before, and it was thick so that it gave the filly a fluffy look. Her fetlock was feathered and had a long tuft of fur that jutted behind and just above her hooves, which were a spring green rather than blending in with her coat like every other pony. Her tail was much like Zecora's, only the part without the tail hairs was longer but not so long that it was like a lion. And her mane and tail, which were short and curled, were also pink and yellow. The last two details they noticed was the cutiemark displayed on her flanks, a trio of pink flowers with yellow centers that were blowing in a wind, and her eyes.
When the filly finished her snack and looked up at them, the Crusaders were dumbstruck by her eyes. Unlike other ponies eyes, this filly's eyes were both pink and yellow that swirled and shifted as she stared at them. It was almost hypnotizing to the point that they almost missed what she'd said.
"Sooo...I'm Flower Dance. Nice to meet you." She introduced herself.
Since the other two Crusaders were too dumbstruck to speak, Sweetie Belle took the lead in introductions. "Nice to meet you too Flower Dance. My name is Sweetie Belle and these are my friends Applebloom and Scootaloo. So would you like to come sit with us?"
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Applebloom and Scootaloo were slightly wary of Flower Dance at first, but since she hadn't actually done anything to earn their ire, aside from scaring the crap out of them, it wasn't long before their curiosity won out and they began to barrage her with questions.
"How didja do that?" Applebloom asked. "Ah mean, how'd ya turn yerself inta mist the back again? Is it some sorta spell of somethin' like that?"
"And where'd you come from?" Scootaloo jumped in. "I haven't seen you around here before. In fact, I haven't seen anypony that looks like you before."
Flower Dance, however, didn't answer their questions as she was too busy eating snacks like a hungry pony which could possibly be true. In the end, Sweetie Belle stepped in.
"Hey, calm down girls and give her some space." She said. "Can't you see she's hungry?"
"Ah, that's right. Where are my manners?" Applebloom berated herself. "Granny Smith taught me better than that. Names Applebloom, but you already knew that. Anyways, nice to meet you an' sorry 'bout Mah manners."
"It's nice to meet you too Applebloom." Flower Dance said with a smile. "And don't worry about the questioning thing. It's all good."
"So where'd you come from?" Scootaloo asked again.
"Scoots!!" Sweetie cried out but before she could say any more, Flower Dance held up a hoof.
"No, it's alright Sweetie Belle." She said calmly. "I don't mind answering questions now that I have some food in my belly. And to answer your question Scootaloo, I come from a place very very far from here. Have any of you heard of the Crystal Empire?"
"Sure we have," Applebloom answered. "Mah sister, Sweetie's sister and Scoots sister figure all went there and they told us all about it. Why?"
"My home resides in the Northern Mountains, just beyond the Crystal Empire." Flower Dance explained. It didn't take very long for the Crusaders to do the math in their heads.
Applebloom whistled. "Then Y'all are a long ways away from home. Ah didn't think ponies lived that far north. So how'd ya do that with her body? We were so certain you were a bona fide ghost! Is it so sort of spell?"
Flower Dance suddenly looked very uncomfortable and began to fidget as she looked down at her hooves. "Um...no it's not a spell. It's just something my kind can naturally do."
"Your/yer kind?" All three fillies asked with cocked heads. Flower Dance got even more uncomfortable.
For several seconds there was silence as the CMC stared at Flower Dance, who'd suddenly found her hooves to be the most interesting thing in the world.
"So, yer a windigo?" Applebloom finally asked. Flower Dance only nodded confirmation. Silence pervaded for a few moments longer.
"That is...awesome!!" Scootaloo exclaimed and Flower Dance jumped in bewilderment.
"W-what?" She asked in an equally bewildered tone. Scootaloo grinned and slung her foreleg across Flower's back.
"You heard me!" She said. "You're not as awesome as Rainbow Dash, but that's still pretty awesome!"
Flower Dance blinked. "I'm sorry, I guess I just expected you to react differently."
"Whatcha mean by that?" Applebloom asked. Flower Dance pulled out of Scootaloo's grasp.
"Well, I'm a windigo." She explained. "Don't you know the story of Hearths Warming?"
"Of course we do." Sweetie Belle answered. "Our class puts on a pageant every year. Last year, Scootaloo played...the...windigo... Oh."
Flower Dance nodded. "Because of my ancestors, your ancestors were driven from their home." She said. "That's how ponykind views us. I expected you to be scared or angry."
"But we aren't." Sweetie pointed out.
"Yeah, and besides, that all happened over a thousand years ago." Scootaloo continued. "And why would I be upset about something that happened a thousand years ago?"
"Plus, if ya look at it this way, tha' three tribes united because of the windigoes," Applebloom added. "True it was sorta like 'united against a common enemy', but that's beside the point. And anyway, Scoots is right. What happened is ancient history and there's no point in being upset about it."
Flower Dance relaxed like a weight had suddenly dropped off her shoulders. "That's good to hear." She said. "I hope other ponies share your opinions."
"Wait, doe's that mean we're the first ponies you've met?" Sweetie Belle asked. Flower Dance nodded.
"Ever since I started my journey, I've seen other ponies, but I've been too afraid to approach because I didn't know how they'd react." She explained. "So I've been keeping out of sight by traveling through wooded areas and the like. Sometimes even only at night. Then I came across this place and I've been staying here, both so I can rest and so I can pluck up my courage for the last leg of my trip."
"Oh, so you're on a trip?" Sweetie asked. "Where are you headed to?"
"Canterlot." She answered.
"Canterlot eh?" Applebloom hummed. "Yeah, Ah can see why you'd be a little hesitant. It's a pretty big city with not a lot of trees and stuff you can hide in. So why are ya travelin' such a long way?"
Flower Dance's expression became grim. "I need to see the princesses as soon as possible." She said seriously. However, before any of them could ask her why there were three sudden shouts that made all of them jump in surprise.
"APPLEBLOOM!!!"
"SWEETIE BELLE!!"
"SCOOTALOO!!"
The next instant, the fillies in question were practically tackled by their respective sisters and sister figure. Rushing into the room behind them were the three other mares. None of them noticed Flower Dance.
"Sweet Celestia Applebloom!" Applejack exclaimed. "Now what have I told you about going into the Everfree?"
"Sorry AJ." Applebloom apologized.
"Yeah, we didn't mean to freak you out," Scootaloo said.
"You three have half of Ponyville looking all over for you girls!" Rainbow said sternly. "We came here because we suspected you'd be here."
"Indeed." Rarity said in an equally stern tone. "Expect some form of punishment when we get home. Now, are you alright?"
Sweetie Belle fended off her sister's examination and pushed out of her grasp. The other two Crusaders followed her example. "Yes, we're all perfectly fine," Sweetie answered for the group. "And yeah, we figured we'd receive punishments, but guess what? We made a new friend!"
"New friend?" Applejack asked as the girls ran to flank the fourth filly who hadn't moved from her spot on the blanket.
"Sis, and everypony else, we'd like ya ta meet our new friend, Flower Dance!" Applebloom said before turning to Flower. "Flower Dance, this is Mah big sister Applejack!"
"And my big sister, Rarity!" Sweetie jumped in.
"And this is my sister figure, Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo added.
"Uh-huh." Applebloom agreed. "And these are their friends, Fluttershy, Princess Twilight Sparkle and-"
"Pinkie Pie!!" A pink pony interrupted as she suddenly appeared in front of Flower Dance. At the sudden appearance, Flower Dance let out a shriek of surprise and backpedaled so fast she fell on her back. Twilight instantly wrapped her magic around Pinkie and pulled her back while Fluttershy let out a gasp and moved to help the filly up, but she was preempted by the CMC, who was closer.
"Oh, my!" Fluttershy said as Flower Dance got to her hooves. "A-are you alright?"
"Yeah." Flower Dance said as she brushed herself off. "I'm more surprised than hurt."
"I'm very sorry about Pinkie." Twilight apologized. "She tends to get a little excited when she meets new ponies. Anyways, what are you doing out here in the Everfree forest?"
"I've sorta been traveling a long way." Flower Dance answered. "And I've been using forests and out of the way places."
"Why ever would you do that?" Rarity asked. "Wouldn't it be safer to use the main roads?"
Flower Dance started to fidget nervously so Sweetie Belle stepped in. "She didn't want to draw unwanted attention to herself because she's a windigo."
Twilight just laughed. "Oh Sweetie Belle, first ghosts now windigoes?" She said. "You girls really have active imaginations. Nopony's seen a windigo in centuries. And even if they were still around, they're winter spirits, which means they don't have bodies." She then turned to Flower Dance with an apologetic look. "No offense meant to you, but I have a hard time believing that you're a windigo. Though judging by your appearance, I don't doubt that you're a subspecies of some sort."
"I'm not offended." Flower Dance said. "But these three fillies are telling the tru-" Flower Dance was suddenly cut off by a loud grumble from her stomach. "Ah! Sorry. I haven't had a lot to eat for the past few days. Though I did enjoy some of the snacks these three brought."
Applejack cast her gaze at the 'picnic' blanket and the snacks in question. Then she 'tsked' good-naturedly and placed a hoof on Flower Dance's back. "Sugarcube, that ain't real food." She said warmly. "C'mon and we can treat ya to a meal at Sweet Apple Acres."
"That sounds good." Flower Dance said with a smile at the prospect of a meal. Then she pulled out from the farm pony's grasp. "But first I need to grab my saddlebags."
"Yeah. I wasn't completely sure about you girls, so I left them on that rafter up there." She pointed up and in the direction of the rafter.
"Hmm, its pretty high up, but I can snag it easy," Dash said. But before she could zoom up, Flower Dance stopped her.
"Thanks for the offer, but I can get up there just fine." She said confidently and the Crusaders spotted a small mischievous smirk on her face. None of the older mares noticed it however and Rainbow scoffed.
"No offense, but it doesn't look like you can climb up there, especially in this darkness and I don't see any wings on your back. So how do you plan on...getting...up...there...?"
As Rainbow Dash had been speaking, Flower Dance had closed her eyes and after a moment her body changed into that of shifting blue and white mist, her mane into pink and yellow mist and the back half dissolved into trailing mist. And when she opened her eyes again, they were now a pair of glowing white orbs. As the six mares gaped, Flower Dance flew up to the rafter and briefly disappeared from sight before reappearing with a pair of white mist saddlebags. She then floated back down and shifted back to her solid form along with her white saddlebags that were decorated with a pink and yellow flower. Even as she secured her saddlebags and helped her friends repack and set their own saddlebags on their backs, the mares remain stock still and gaping.
"Um...so are we going?" The simple question from Flower Dance snapped the mares from their stupors and they stared at her for a moment longer. Then Twilight spoke.
"Y-you weren't kidding when you said she was a windigo." Was all she managed before passing out.
❄✴❄✴❄✴❄
Flower Dance woke as the sun poured in through the window. For a moment she was confused as her mind jumped back several weeks. Then her memories came rushing back and she relaxed. After snapping from their stupor last night and waking Twilight they then proceeded to leave the forest. Twilight rushed back to her castle to do some research and the other girls left to take the girls home and inform the search parties that the Crusaders were safe. Applejack, Applebloom and Flower Dance went to Sweet Apple Acres and Flower Dance had been able to enjoy a tasty and hearty meal. The first in a long time. After dinner, she'd been led upstairs to the guest bedroom. It felt odd sleeping in her own room, but Flower Dance shook it off and climbed out to bed. Downstairs, Applejack was preparing breakfast when the sound of hooves coming down drew her attention to the stairs.
"Mornin' Flower Dance." The farmpony greeted the filly as she came in and settled in a chair at the table.
"Good morning miss Applejack." She replied. Applejack chuckled and placed a bowl of cornmeal mush in front of her.
"Hey now, none of that 'Ms' or 'Mrs' stuff." She chided gently. "Just Applejack is fine, though Mah friends an' family-like ta' call me AJ."
"Oh, okay. Thank very much for you're home and hospitality Applejack!" Flower Dance said cheerfully.
"Well, yer very welcome. But Y'all don't need ta be so formal about it." Applejack said with a kind smile.
"Back home it is the customary thanks for someone who's opened their home to you." Flower Dance explained innocently.
"Is that right?" Applejack asked. "Well, Ah can't fault ya fer havin' different customs. Jus' promise me Y'all won't go too far with her thanks."
"Okay!" Flower Dance said before grabbing a spoon and digging into her breakfast.
❄✴❄✴❄✴❄
Twilight flipped through her book studying its contents. Dissatisfied with the information, she let out a yell of frustration and threw it. Spike, who was in the book's path, quickly ducked the flying tome.
"Ugh!! Nothing! I can't believe I can't find next to nothing on windigoes!" She fumed.
"Have you tried the books from the old castle library?" Spike asked as he gathered up Twilight's discarded books. Including the one that had almost clocked him upside the head. "Those books are like a thousand years old so they must have something."
"I have tried that." Twilight continued to seethe at the lack of information. "And unfortunately, back then windigo sightings were rare to the point that not a lot of ponies didn't know about them. What information we had on them was essential 'their winter spirits that feed on hatred and fighting and make things colder'. And as if that wasn't enough, ever since the Great Exodus and founding of Equestria, no one has seen a single windigo!" Twilight then buried her head into the table as far as she could.
"And now we have a filly windigo," Spike said casually as he slid books back into their spots. Twilight's head instantly snapped up and an instant later she had teleported in front of Spike. The drake yelped and dropped his books as he backpedaled. Twilight leaned right in front of his face with eager excitement gleaming in her eyes.
"Say that again." She said with an eagerness that sent small chills up Spike's spine.
"Um...that we now have a windigo filly?" He asked tentatively.
Twilight jumped back and looked ready to be bouncing on her hooftips. "Of course Spike!" She squealed like a schoolfilly. "Don't you see? For the first time in a thousand years, we've not only found a windigo, we've also made contact with one! That's something nopony's ever done before! And now we have a chance to learn about them!! Their culture, traditions, beliefs, history, everything!!! She can teach us everything about her kind!!"
"But isn't she a filly?" Spike asked. As Twilight had been going on, the dragon had picked himself up and resumed reshelving the books. "I mean, she's a little older than the Crusaders, but we don't teach our colts and fillies everything right off the bat. She's probably still learning a few things about her culture as well." It took only a moment for that point to hit home, but when it did Twilight calmed considerably.
"You're right Spike." She said a little glumly. But before a beat could pass, she perked back, though her excitement was more restrained than before. "But that doesn't mean she doesn't know anything. Not to mention she probably isn't the only windigo. If we could take her back home, then I'm sure I could meet some other windigoes that could fill in the blanks!"
Twilight's horn lit up and she began gathering notebooks, paper, quills, and ink. "Ohhh! This is so exciting!!"
Spike cleared his throat to get the alicorn's attention. "It's great to see you excited, but I think you're forgetting that this is kinda something you should tell Celestia about."
"Ah! I nearly forgot about that!" Twilight exclaimed. "Of course the discovery, or rediscovery, of a species and possible nation would be something Celestia would be interested in. Or at the very least should be notified about." Twilight smiled and floated a quill and scroll over to Spike's waiting claws. "What would I do without my number one assistant?"
Spike smiled and blushed. "Aw c'mon. You're making me blush." He then straightened up and held the quill over the paper. "Now, what would you like to say to the Princess?"
Twilight cleared her throat to begin. "Dear Princess Celestia, its been a while since my last letter but unfortunately I have to drop pleasantries as there is a matter that I must inform you on...."
❄✴❄✴❄✴❄
A fact that not many ponies knew about raising the sun and moon was that it tended to be more taxing than one might guess. After centuries of practice with their respective celestial bodies, however, Celestia and Luna only found themselves incredibly hungry. And it was for that reason that every breakfast and dinner tended to be large and hearty.
And so thus it was that Celestia and Luna were just finishing breakfast when a curl of magic smoke flew in and solidified into a scroll with Twilight's seal. Ever since she'd become an alicorn, Twilight hardly ever sent any letters, so naturally, Celestia was intrigued as to what would print her former student to send her one. A part of her hoped it was a social letter, but she doubted that. Celestia levitated the scroll over to herself and broke the seal to open the scroll. As she read the letter, her eyebrows rose in interest. Seeing this, Luna looked at her curiously and Celestia lowered the scroll, she spoke.
"What doe's Twilight says in her letter that peaks thy interest?" The Lunar Princess asked. Celestia didn't say anything. Instead, she passed the letter to Luna for her to read. As she read, Luna's reaction was like her sister's.
"Windigoes?" She asked as she passed the letter back to Celestia. "It hath been many centuries since we have heard tell of windigoes. Save of course the Hearths Warming pageant."
"Indeed. And I must admit that I am myself curious about this new species." Celestia hummed in interest.
"Might I remind you, sister, that the windigoes aren't so much new as they are rediscovered." Luna pointed out.
"Ah, but remember that what little we knew of them was that they were winter spirits without a body," Celestia spoke. "Yet this Flower Dance appears to have a form similar to a pony. It's entirely possible that we're looking at some form of evolution of the windigoes we've known." Celestia paused for a beat then she summoned her own quill and paper. "I must meet this little windigo. Do you wish to join me, Lulu?"
Normally after lowering the moon and eating breakfast, Luna would then retreat to her chambers and sleep for much of the day since she always stayed up at night. So for a moment, she contemplated her options. "I believe I can stay awake long enough." She finally said. "I am also as curious as you are about this windigo. Though they should come as soon as possible as it was a remarkably long night for me."
"I'll send a chariot to bring them," Celestia said with a smile. After writing on the scroll for a bit, she paused and looked up. "Lulu, a thought has just occurred to me."
"What is that, Tia?" Luna asked.
"While Flower Dance is a windigo and a remarkable discovery, she is also by all accounts a young filly who is a long ways away from home," Celestia said. "And in addition, I am now asking that she come see us. I am well aware that under normal circumstances, our ponies tend to be a little intimidated by us. I can imagine that in these circumstances, she might be more than intimidated."
Luna tapped her chin in thought. "What if she were with ponies her age?" She suggested. "Did Twilight's letter not say that she made friends with a certain trio of fillies that she has mentioned before? What did they call themselves again?"
Celestia smiled knowingly. "The Cutiemark Crusaders. As I recall their individual names are Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom." She then began writing again. "I shall ask Twilight to allow them to accompany Flower Dance." With her letter finished, she rolled it up and sealed before sending it off with a flash of magic. Now that the letter was sent, she stood up and began to leave. "Now, I must prepare my fastest chariots."
Luna trotted after her and followed Celestia until they reached a place where they're paths diverged. "And I shall take a small nap so I shall be well rested and ready when our guests come. Send for me when they do."
"Of course sister." Celestia nodded. Luna nodded back and trotted towards her room. Once there she collapsed onto her bed with a sigh.
❄✴❄✴❄✴❄
"We get to meet the princesses! We get to meet the princesses! We get to see the princesses!" The CMC were chanting as the rode on their chariot with Flower Dance, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack. In a second chariot was Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
"Alright now Y'all, settle down." Applejack called out over their excited squeals. "We're just' goin' ta see the princesses cause they wanna meet Flower Dance. It's nothin' big."
"But we've never met both of the princesses like this," Sweetie whined slightly.
"Yeah, and you're saying that because you get to see the princesses all the time," Scootaloo added. Applejack glared at her. It wasn't the farm pony's worst glare, but it was enough to let the pegasus filly know that she and her friends were still in hot water.
"Y'all are only coming 'cause Celestia thought it would help Flower Dance feel more comfortable, given the circumstances." Applejack replied. "Ifn' it was up ta me, Y'all would be back home, grounded! So settle down an' sit tight. A flyin' chariot ain't no place ta be ponying around like Y'all are."
"Yes, ma'am." All three said in stereo as they settled back in their seats. Fluttershy, who was sitting next to the fidgeting windigo filly, stretched her wing out to cover Flower Dance's back.
"Hey, are you alright?" She asked softly.
"Just a little nervous." Flower Dance admitted. "I have no idea what to say to the princesses."
"Don't worry about that," Fluttershy said. "I'm sure that they won't force you to speak if you don't want to."
"But I need to speak to them!" Flower Dance objected. "The whole time I was traveling across Equestria, I've been going over what to say to the princesses. But now that I'm almost there, I've got butterflies in my stomach and the words just don't come out right."
"Oh, so you've been traveling to meet the princesses?" Fluttershy asked.
Flower Dance nodded. "It's part of the reason why I'm so far from home." She said softly.
"And what's the other part?"
"Um...well I'll explain when we met the princesses." Flower Dance promised.
"Okay. I don't mind if you want to keep it to yourself." Fluttershy said.
"Thanks." Flower Dance said. Then she glanced over the side of the chariot. "We're starting to near that castle over there." She observed as the chariot was indeed descending. "Looks like its the moment of truth."
"Hey, don't worry," Scootaloo said as she leaned against her. "Even though you already have your cutiemark, you can consider yourself an honorary Cutiemark Crusader."
"Yeah. Jus' stick with us an everythin' will be okay." Applebloom added.
Flower Dance smiled a weakly. "I hope you're right." She said a little ominously.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
Celestia was sitting on a cushion in her study looking over official documents as she waited for Twilight and friends. And Flower Dance. When her guards told her that the chariots she'd sent to retrieve them were arriving, she'd sent a Night Guard to wake her sister then went to her study with instructions given to the guards to bring them when they came. The door opened and Celestia looked up as Luna trotted in and dropped onto a pile of cushions next to her sister.
"Hey, Lulu. How was your nap?" She said casually as she lay the documents on the desk. Luna shot her sister a soft glare.
"Short." She answered simply. "I'm assuming that Twilight is here since you sent somepony to wake me."
"Even as we speak, my guards are bringing them here," Celestia said with a smile. As if on cue, the doors opened again and a guard stepped in.
"Announcing, the Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony and-" He paused and leaned down when a small orange hoof tapped his leg. An orange pegasus filly leaned up as far as she could and whispered in his ear. When she was done, she stepped back and the Guard stood back up. "And the Cutiemark Crusaders." He finished. He then stepped aside to admit the mares and fillies in question. And trailing behind was a filly that Celestia could safely assume was Flower Dance based on the description Twilight had sent her.
Celestia smiled warmly in welcome. "Hey, there little windigo." She greeted the filly. "Come here so I can look at you better."
Flower Dance hesitated then Applebloom leaned in and whispered into her ear. Whatever she said seemed to give Flower Dance some courage and she slowly started towards the princesses.
"...um...hey." She started nervously. Celestia gave her a motherly smile and extended her wing to cover the smaller form.
"There is nothing to fear here little one." She spoke in a soothing motherly tone.
"Um...sorry Princess." Flower Dance apologized. "It's just that I've been traveling to speak to both of you and now I'm choking on my words."
"You wished to speak with us little one?" Luna asked.
"Mmhm." Flower Dance hummed as she nodded. "I was in the Everfree plucking up my courage and trying to figure out how to get an audience with you. I was starting to think I wouldn't get an audience and now here I am. Bonnie, Faust and The Hearth Fire must be looking out for me."
The ponies were very familiar with Bonnie and Faust, but they'd never heard of this Hearth Fire. Twilight made a note of it to ask later and focused back on the conversation.
"Well, whoever was watching over you, I'm glad they did or else we wouldn't meet you," Celestia said with a warm chuckle in her voice. "Now little one, what was it you wished to say to me?"
Flower Dance fidgeted a little more then stilled as she gulped and braced herself. "Princess Celestia and Luna, please please help us!"
"What?" Celestia was taken aback by both her words and the shout that she released them as. The rest of the room's occupants were similarly stunned. Flower Dance just continued and this time, tears were beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes.
"Please! If someone doesn't help us, then our homes will be destroyed and we'll all disappear!!"
The ponies were severely lost as Flower Dance broke down and began crying into Celestia's chest. The Solar Diarch just sat there and let the filly release her tears as she gently rubbed a hoof up and down her withers in a comforting manner. It was only when Flower Dance's cries began to fade that Princess Luna asked the question that was hanging in the air.
"Little one, what do you mean by that?"
"It's a bit of a long explanation, and I should start with home." Flower Dance sniffed as she wiped her tears from her face. "See, our homes are located in the mountains to the far north of here. Just beyond the Crystal Empire to be exact."
"You can't mean the North Mountains can you?" Celestia asked with a look of shock. Flower Dance nodded.
"Mom says that's what the ponies call our mountains." She said.
"That's impossible!" Twilight exclaimed. Aside from the princesses and Twilight, everypony else in the room were a little lost.
"Uh, excuse me, but what's so special about these North Mountains?" Rainbow asked. "Their just mountains, right?"
"Not just any mountains Rainbow Dash." Twilight said. "The North Mountains are well known as a place where ponies have no control over the seasons or weather. It's like the Everfree forest, only its much bigger and spans the entire mountain range. When the Three Tribes first arrived here, the leaders deemed the mountains too harsh and unlivable." Twilight then turned to Flower Dance. "And your kind have been living there for a thousand years?"
"Mmhm." Flower Dance nodded. "We can't control the seasons or weather like ponies can, so we rely on the Warm season and the Cold season. The Cold season is when the mountains are covered in snow and everything is at its harshest. During the Warm season, the snow melts and we're able to plant our crops and do other things to prepare for the next Cold season. And that's how I ended up here.
Over the past few years, the Cold season has been lasting a little longer and blizzards have been leveling entire towns. This year has been the longest so far and its reached a point where we've been rationing the food stores. The last time I saw my family, was in the town Cold Shelter before a huge blizzard hit."
"What's a Cold Shelter?" Twilight instantly picked up on and raised her notebook and pen at the ready.
"A Cold Shelter is a huge building built to house the entire population of a town during the Cold season." Flower Dance said. "Small towns and farming settlements mostly use them. Not so much in larger towns or the Capital. We could see that a storm was building and were packed and prepared to leave when we'd lose the Shelter. When the roof was pulled off however, I was in my Snow Form."
"Is that what ya call yer windigo-like form?" Applebloom asked and Flower Dance nodded.
"Yes, and in our Snow Forms, we can fly alongside the winds. However, windigoes at my age tend to have little control over our flight in the wind. Before I knew what was happening, the winds picked me up and by the time I was able to stop myself, I was outside of the mountains and unable to return."
"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Just fly back in right?"
Flower Dance shook her head. "The winds surrounding the peaks are too strong and dangerous for me to fly alone. I'd need at least one adult with me to assist and guide."
"So, y'all will just have ta hoof it." Applebloom said. Once again, Flower shook her head.
"At this time of year and with out the necessary supplies? I may as well just throw myself into a Ice Wraith den. At least that way I'd die quickly." Flower Dance remarked dryly and the Crusaders glanced at each other. They didn't know what exactly she was referring to, but the message was clear.
"Point taken." Applebloom conceded. "So what made y'all wanna come here?"
"Well, from my point of view I was stranded with no way home." Flower said. "Further more, my home was slowly being destroyed by the mountains themselves and I was scared. For myself and my kind. I'd heard about Celestia and Luna and I figured that if anyone could help, it would be them. So I flew as far as the Everfree and the rest you know."
Flower Dance then turned to look at the princess cradling her in her hooves. "Please Princess Celestia." Then she turned her pleading gaze at Luna. "Princess Luna. Can you help us? Please?"
The Celestial Sisters were silent and glanced at each other, their eyes conveying messages in a way that only close siblings could. It was Luna who answered the question.
"Fret no more young one." She said gently. "For we shall do everything within our power to aid your home, your family and your kind."
Flower Dance's eyes brightened with joy and hope and in a swift movement, she rushed over and wrapped her legs around Luna's leg in a hug.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" She cried. Luna smiled and patted her back gently.
"Of course, such an undertaking will be no small feat." Celestia said as she gracefully stood up. "There are preparations to be made."
"Indeed." Luna said with a nod then looked down at Flower Dance. "Tell me young one, what sort of leader do you have?"
"Well, I don't know much about her personally, but I do know that she's called the Keeper. Short for her full title, Keeper of the Hearth Fire. She leads and protects us."
"Well then, our first move should be to send an expedition to make contact with this Keeper." Luna concluded.
"I'll go!" Twilight exclaimed a bit too loudly and she blushed when she garnered the sudden attention of everyone in the room. She coughed into a hoof and continued. "Well um, I think it would be a good idea, diplomatically speaking, to send at least one of our princesses to make contact with this Keeper. Plus it could be an excellent lesson for me for when I become a leader myself."
"And...?" Celestia prompted gently, though she already guessed the reason for Twilight's outburst. Twilight blushed in embarrassment once more.
"And I really really really really REALLY want to study windigoes." She finished. Celestia smiled a motherly smile with a slight twinkle of amusement in her eyes.
"Of course you may go." She said. "In fact, I can think of nopony better to head such an expedition. And I do fully expect you to study what you can about this new culture. After all, ignorance breeds misunderstanding which breeds the worst sorts of incidents."
Twilight fixed her mentor with a serious look. "You can count on me Princess Celestia."
"Hey! Whoa whoa, wait." Rainbow Dash said as she dropped right in front of Twilight. "So you're just going to go tromping around some super dangerous mountain all by yourself?"
"Not entirely." Twilight said. "Obviously I'll need to bring Flower Dance since she knows the mountains better than I do. Not to mention I need to help her get home to her family." Flower Dance's face lit up like a Hearthswarming tree.
"And that's it?" Rainbow pressed. "No offense meant to Flower Dance, but she's just a kid. You're going to need more than a filly with you in case something goes wrong. Which is why I'm coming with you."
Twilight smiled at her friend's declaration. "I wouldn't expect any less from the Element of Loyalty."
Rainbow Dash grinned. "Hey, how'd you think I earned that title?" She asked rhetorically.
"Course Dash here ain't yer only friend." Applejack added. "The rest of us are comin' too." The others nodded.
"While I am very aware that long journies of this nature tend to wreak havoc on ones appearance, I am willing to over look it for the sake of this little one and my friend." Rarity said confidently and without hesitation.
"I'd also like to help in any way I can." Fluttershy said softly.
"Me too!" Pinkie exclaimed with a leap and a toss of confetti. "Plus, my Pinkie Sense tells me that these windigoes need some Pinkie cheer!" Nopony could tell if she was joking or not, but Pinkie's eagerness to help was genuine and that was enough for them.
"Also, considering how the nearest pony settlement is the Crystal Empire, it may be wise to include Princess Cadence in on this journey." Luna said and Celestia nodded.
"Indeed. I can send a letter to her and you can start your journey from the Empire." Celestia said.
Twilight gasped and stars actually twirled in her eyes. "That's a wonderful idea! It's been so long since we hung out! And this time she can get to know my best friends better!"
"Yay! It'd be great if we earned a cutiemark for 'helping windigoes'." Sweetie Belle cheered.
"Totally! I wonder what such a cutiemark would look like?" Scootaloo asked.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what makes you think that you're coming?" Rainbow Dash asked with a firm frown.
"Well Flower Dance is our friend and fellow Cutiemark Crusader." Sweetie Belle answered.
"Yeah. An' Crusaders don't abandon any of their fellow Crusaders when they need help." Applebloom said.
"Plus, if we didn't find her, you probably wouldn't be planning this expedition in the first place." Scootaloo concluded confidently.
"I must admit that I probably wouldn't have plucked up my courage to come here if it wasn't for them." Flower Dance admitted.
"All very valid and commendable points." Twilight admitted. "But that doesn't change the fact that you went tromping around the Everfree forest when you've been told repeatedly that you aren't allowed near there. Do you have any idea-" Twilight halted her scolding when Celestia placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"If you don't mind, may I try?" She asked.
"Of course Princess." Twilight conceded and stepped aside to let Celestia step forward. In an instant, her expression went from her usual pleasant visage to the look of a motherly scolding expression.
"Now then young fillies, you should know by now that the Everfree isn't a place for little ones like you." She said in a firm tone that made the Crusaders bow their heads like they were being scolded. "While I am thankful that you found and brought Flower Dance, that doesn't change the fact that what you did was dangerous and reckless."
"Just please let us come on this expedition." Sweetie pleaded.
Celestia maintained her mask of stern disapproval as she gave the matter a moments thought. Then her expression softened.
"If you will stay near the group and listen to what your sisters tell you, than I don't see why not." She answered. "Of course, that is if they agree."
As she spoke the last part of her sentence, she directed her attention to the mares in question. There was a tense silence as the three mares looked between Princess Celestai and the pleading expressions of their sisters. They looked like they wanted to say no, by in the end they relented.
"Alright fine. Y'all can come if ya behave." Applejack said.
"You also have to help ue get ready." Rarity added. The Crusaders nodded vigorously.
"We promise ya that we'll be real good." Applebloom promised.
"So good that you won't even know that we're there." Scootaloo added.
"Well then, now that that's settled, I think a week is a good amount of time to prepare." Luna said.
"Indeed. You can all return to Ponyville to pack and prepare." Celestia agreed. "Then, within a week, you all can catch the first train to the Crystal Empire. I also advise the inclusion of Spike as his fire would most definitely be of use during your journey."
"And I can send reports directly to you!" Twilight concluded. Celestia nodded. Twilight puffed her chest out and gave her former mentor a smile and look of determination. "C'mon girls, we've got an expedition to get ready for!"
As Twilight turned and ran out of the room, the others let out a cheer of agreement and followed her. The Crusaders were close behind and added their own cheer.
"CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS MOUTAIN EXPLORERS! YAY!" They cried out simultaneously. The last to leave was Flower Dance, who glanced back at the Celestial Sisters before following her new friends. Now that they were on their own, Luna flopped down a cushion, looking ready to sleep even though she was still wearing her regalia.
"The younger generation truly is energetic. She commented tiredly. Celestia laughed and nodded.
"Indeed, but I have faith that I can place the future in their hooves." She said as she settled next to her sister.
After leaving the castle, the group boarded the first train to Ponyville that they could. As the train pulled out of the station and began its journey down the line, the CMC asked the question that they were dying to ask.
"So Flower, what does yer cutiemark mean?" Applebloom asked.
"Hmm? Oh you mean this?" She asked as she gestured to the mark of three flowers blowing in a wind.
"Yeah, I haven't seen any mark like it. So what's your talent?" Scootaloo asked. Even the adults were giving her attention, Twilight giving her the most.
"Well, it means that my talent is Wind Dancing." Flower Dance replied.
"Wind dancing? What's that?" Sweetie asked.
"Oh well, its this part of our culture." Flower Dance started and Twilight pulled out a notebook and quill. "A team of windigoes in their Snow Forms fly and dance in the air. It's much more amazing than that description, but honestly its hard to describe. And up until recently, I was in training to dance with the wind." She finished with a sad sigh and everyone automatically assumed that she was worried about her home.
"Hey now, honey, everthin' is gonna be alright now." Applejack said. "We're gonna do everthin' we can talk help y'all."
"Yeah! And then when we're done, I can throw everyone a big party!" Pinkie added with all the enthusiasm she had.
"We don't have parties, but we do have feasts." Flower commented.
"Ohhh feasts? What kinds of feasts? Big feasts? Fancy feasts? Or maybe luaus?" Pinkie Pie asked with all her usual enthusiasm.
"Mostly its all of us gathering together and eating good food together. Some will bring out instruments and play while others sing and dance along. Some will get together and play games too. Rough and tumble games like racing or wrestling and board games like Mancala or Chess. It's really lots of fun."
"It sounds like fun!" Pinkie agreed. "Maybe when we take care of those nasty snowstorms, then we can all have a feast!"
"Yeah!" Rainbow said cockily. "You guys probably just need a weather team. A few pegasi and problem solved." To their surprise, the filly shook her head.
"That won't work." She said. "We've already tried that and it didn't work."
"Say what now?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, it goes like this. Windigoes share similarities with ponies and one of those similarities is the fact that our kind come in three races as well." Flower Dance explained. "I'm a windigo earthpony. And so is my mom. But my dad is a windigo pegasus and I have several friends and relatives that are windigo unicorns."
The group took a moment to let that sink in and Twilight began to tremble. "REALLY!?!?" She exclaimed loudly with her quill and paper at the ready. "What are the differences between a windigo earthpony and a--mph!" She was cut off when Applejack jammed her hoof into her friend's mouth and pulled her back.
"Hey now Sugarcube, simmer down. Yer startin' ta spook her a little." True to Applejack's word, Flower Dance was currently pressed into the back of her seat. Twilight smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry about that. I was just so excited at the very idea of another breed of a familiar tribe!" She said with little stars spinning in her eyes. Very slowly, Flower Dance extracted herself from the back of her seat.
"Um...it's okay. I forgive you." She said unsteadily but growing stronger. Twilight looked like she was going to ask some questions, but Rarity stopped her by placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"Now Twilight, darling, you we love you as you are and your love of learning is a wonderful part of who you are." The white unicorn said. "But for now, I think it might be best to put your craving for knowledge on hold for a bit. After all, we've all got a big journey ahead of us that we need to prepare for."
That snapped Twilight out of it. "Ah, you're right. There's too much that needs to be done for me to indulge my love of learning at the moment. When we get home, I'm going to read what books in have on mountain exploration and survival then I'll compile a list of supplies that we'll need. Somepony will have to go talk to Scootaloo's parents so that they know what's going on."
"Thanks AJ. We'll also need to make arrangements for the animals since Spike is coming with us."
"I think I can figure that out." Fluttershy said. "I know a few ponies who wouldn't mind watching the pets. Even all the animals that I keep wouldn't be a problem."
"That's great news Fluttershy. You'll go talk to those ponies and see who can watch them." Twilight said.
"And I'll come with to help her." Rainbow offered. Twilight nodded approval and looked up to see the train slowing.
"Alright then girls, this is our stop. Let's get going!" The moment they were off the train, they parted ways. Twilight headed back to the castle while AJ headed to Scootaloo's house with the CMC, Flower Dance included, in tow. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew off and Pinkie Pie had disappeared.
❄✴❄ One Week Later ✴❄✴
A week had passed and the group was now ready for their journey. Fluttershy had asked Octavia and Vinyl if they could watch the animals since they were the only ones who were able to watch them for an indeterminate amount of time. After all, they didn't know exactly how long they would be gone. With the arrangements in place and after extracting a promise from Angel to be nice while she was gone, Fluttershy trotted down the road to her home on her way to the train station.
On her back was a large set of saddlebags specifically designed for mountain climbing and the like. They were large and filled with all the food and supplies needed for the journey. When she reached the train station, her friends and the fillies that were there were similarly packed. Even Rarity, who was known to bring piles of luggage, only had one set of saddlebags. But they were admittedly a stylish set of saddlebags.
"My, what a lovely bag Rarity." Fluttershy complimented.
"Isn't it?" Rarity flaunted lightly. "I figured since we're going to be seeing windigoes, a snowflake and wind theme would be appropriate. With some splashs of color of course."
"Of course ya dolled up yer pack." Applejack commented as she approached the station. With her was Applebloom and Flower Dance, all of them wearing packs as well. For Flower Dance, she wore a pack and the saddlebags that she'd come with.
As they trotted up the stairs to the platform, Applejack cast a scrutinizing eye around. "Alright, so where's the rest?" She asked.
"Why, whatever do you mean Applejack?" Rarity asked. The farmpony gave her friend a flat stare with a raised brow that clearly said 'really?'
"When we went on that camping trip, y'all brought a whole wagonload of luggage." She answered. Rarity tittered politely.
"Oh Applejack, a camping trip is one thing." She said. "But this time, we'll be mountain climbing. And it this case, its best to pack much lighter than I usually would."
Applejack continued with her flat look. "Twilight insisted you pack like that didn't she?"
Instantly, Rarity's head drooped and the aura around her became gloomy. "She practically supervised me." She admitted then straightened out. "But I've been trying to put a positive spin on it. Though I will miss my curling iron very much."
Applejack lay a hoof her back and patted. "Don't worry. You'll survive."
"Alright then, it looks like everypony is here." Twilight said as she and Spike arrived. "Does everyone have everything?" Everyone nodded, though Rarity's nod was much slower. "Perfect! Looks like we're all ready to go and just in time to catch the first train to the Empire!"
✴❄✴❄✴❄✴
"Are you absolutely certain that you don't need me to come with you?" Shining Armor asked worriedly. Cadence sighed a little aggravatedly. She loved her husband dearly, but with how he'd been acting the whole week as she was preparing, she was almost tempted to run into the mountains right then, with or without her pack.
"Of course dear. Remember, this isn't just an exploration, its also a diplomatic mission. As the ruler of the Crystal Empire, I have a duty to represent the Empire."
"Then why not let me, or even a gaurd come to make sure you reach your destination?" Shining pleaded. Cadence sighed once again.
"You have to stay here to protect the Empire." She said gently. "Also, if what Aunty has told me about these windigoes is true, don't you think having soldiers marching into their homeland would raise a few alarms? Especially at this time?"
"I understand all that, but I still don't like the idea of you and Twily traipsing about that mountain." Shining defended.
"We have a guide so you don't need to worry about us getting lost." Cadence pointed out.
"A guide that, as I recall, is a filly."
"A very brave filly who risked a lot to travel to Canterlot, might I add." Cadence's patience was starting to wear a little thin.
"Granted, this Flower Dance is brave. But I still don't like the idea of--" the unicorn was halted when his wife spun around and planted a kiss on his lips.
"Shiny, you know that I love you dearly, but would you please stop fussing. I'm not that helpless. In fact, I think Twilight and I have saved your flank more than you." She finished with a teasing smirk that made Shining Armor blush in embarrassment.
"Only a few times." He mumbled. Cadence smiled sweetly and kissed him again. This time it was longer and more passionate.
"I know." She said when she broke away. "And you're still my brave and daring knight in shining armor." She giggled at her own joke. "But for Faust's sake, stop fussing over me like you're my mother. Twily and I can take care of ourselves not to mention we aren't going to be alone. Remember Twilight's friends will be coming as well and they're all very capable mares. So don't you trust us or even me?"
"Mmmm." Shining hummed apprehensively as he tried to resist his wife's gorgeous, pleading eyes. And he was failing spectacularly. Finally, he sighed in complete defeat. "Yes I trust you. Just promise me that you and Twilight will come home safely?"
"We will." Cadence said with a third kiss, this time planted on his cheek. "No promise necessary. We'll all be just fine."
"Okay." He said in a more relaxed tone before pulling Cadence closer. "And before you leave, how about one for the road?"
Cadence smiled a little sultry. "I think I can manage that." And without hesitation, their lips crashed into each other in a kiss so long and deep that the guards in the hallway began to blush. Finally they broke away from each other.
"Well that was fantastic." Cadence said. "In any case, Twilight's train will be coming in any time so I've got to run. I'll see you as soon as I can!" And with that she left her husband still reeling with joy from that kiss. He was snapped out of it when he heard his guards snickering a little. Instantly he straightened and replaced his goofy grin with a serious expression.
"As you were stallions!" He said and they snapped at attention. "As you know, we are charged with the task of guarding the Empire while the Princess is away so lets not disappoint!"
A yellow pegasus snorted a little. "Yes sir and may I pose a question?"
"Yes Flash Sentry."
"Think you can teach me how to go for so long without coming up for air?" Flash asked with a wry smile and a hint of laughter in his voice.
"Shut up Flash!" Shining snapped though with the bright red staining his muzzle, the soldier only collapsed into laughter.
✴❄✴❄✴❄✴
When the train finally pulled into the station, the group disembarked and looked around for a certain pink alicorn. They didn't have to look for long as Cadence quite literally stood out from everyone else on the not so crowded platform. She'd done her mane and tail up in braids that were pinned up in a way that they wouldn't get in the way and she was already wearing her jacket, boots, scarf, hat and other warm implements.
"Cadence!" Twilight cried out and the two then proceeded with their traditional greeting. When they were done, they laughed and hugged each other. "It's been a while."
"Much too long if you ask me." Cadence said with a good natured smile. "Since we'll be starting from here, I got dressed already. You all might want to do the same. It gets pretty cold from her on."
They nodded and moved into the station where they were able to get a fair sized room to themselves. Having two princesses with you doe's have its perks of course. As they all slipped out of their packs to pull on their coats, Flower Dance, who was closest to Rarity, reached into her own bags. Noticing a flash of yellow and pink, Rarity glanced in Flower's direction. The next moment, everyone found themselves almost deafened by Rarity's squeal of delight.
Glancing in her direction, they saw that Flower Dance was sitting on her haunches blinking as she held out her forelegs in a way that suggested that she'd been holding something. Next to her, Rarity was holding in her magic a bright yellow filly sized cloak with a high collered, thick light pink sweater. Both were made from the same material and what amazed them all was the embroidery. While the pink sweater only had embroidery as a trim on the collor, sleeves and hem, the cloak was covered in it. And both were breathtaking.
"Well cover me in honey an call me a bee." Applejack said as she gawked. The others could only silently agree with her sentiments.
The embroidery in question was much more elaborate than anything they'd seen before and the general theme was flowers and snowflakes. Some of the flowers had a snowflake-like look and vice versus, all blowing in embroider wind. And Rarity was looking over it all with a look of ecstasy.
"My goodness. I have never seen such magnificent patterns or such beautiful stitchwork." She said as stars literally spun in her eyes. "And this fabric is glorious. Where, pray tell, did you get this wonderful ensemble?"
"My mom made it." Flower Dance answered as if it wasn't that big of a deal. "She sewed it, embroidered it, even wove the cloth it was made of and spun the thread."
"Your mother made all of this by hoof?" Twilight asked. Flower Dance shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's not unusual." Flower Dance replied. "Being able to sew, spin, weave and embroider is a very important part of our culture. My mom's actually teaching me those skills."
"But these patterns and stitches are more complex than anything I've seen done by hoof." Twilight said. "Even patterns done by horn!"
"Mom has told me that in all of Equestria, windigoes have the most fine tuned hoof magic." Flower said before turning to Rarity who was now stroking the garments in a way that wasn't creepy at all. "Um........can I have my clothes back now?" Rarity gasped like she'd been pulled out of a daydream, or something of the sort.
"Ah! So very sorry!" She apologized as she levitated the sweater and cloak into Flower's arms. "It was just so beautiful and the fabric! Silky soft and warm too."
"Let's not forget durable, water-proof and stain resistant." Flower Dance added casually as she pulled the sweater over her head. Rarity however, looked like she was about to swoon.
"It sounds like a wonderful fabric." She said happily. "Do tell, where do you get the materials to make such a fabric?"
"We get it when we gather together on Shearing Day." Flower Dance said as she stuck her forelegs into the sleeves and buttoned the high collar with a single button shaped like a flower with leaves on either side that had swirling patterns.
"Shearing day? Wait, do you shear your coats on this Shearing Day?" Twilight asked, eager to gather as much information as possible.
"Uh-huh. At the start of the Warm Season, everyone gathers together and help each other with shearing off their coats." Flower said as she threw her cloak across her back and pinned it in front with a clasp that was shaped like a flower cradling a snowflake.
"Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Flower nodded. "Mmhm. Everyone shears off their coats, but by the time the Cold Season returns, their coats have grown long and thick again."
"So its like sheep eh?" Applejack said ponderously. "So why do y'all make those coats inta clothes?"
"Mom and Dad have always taught me that the number one rule of the mountains is to make use of everything." Flower Dance said. "And since its so useful, we don't just use it to make clothes. We use it to make all kinds of things from clothes and blankets to saddlebags like mine." At this, she scooped up her saddlebags and put them on her back. "I wasn't kidding when I said it was durable."
"Fascinating, so what's it like being shorn?" Twilight asked. Flower Dance shrugged.
"I've never actually been shorn yet, but I've seen my family get shorn before, so I can tell you what I've seen." Flower said. "First, on the night before, everyone makes sure to bathe real good. Then they pin their manes and tails back so they won't be in the way and then--"
"Wait wait wait." Rainbow interrupted. "You've never been shorn?"
"Not yet. Only the older windigoes get shorn. I'm not old enough to have my First Shearing yet."
"So you have to reach a certain age before you can start shearing?" Twilight asked and received a nod of confirmation. "So when will you be old enough to be shorn?"
"Mom says that fillies and colts don't start courting until their First Shearing." Flower Dance said bluntly. Twilight blinked once.
"Soooooooo......around sixteen?" She guessed.
"Uh-huh." Flower said with a nod. "Dad says its like a rite of passage. It means I'm growing up from a filly to a mare. And then he starts going on how he doesn't want to lose his little filly. And he tends to be a little scary to stallions that my sisters bring home." All the adults laughed at the very fatherly actions and Applebloom instantly picked up on one of the things she said.
"Wait, y'all said sisters so does that mean ya have siblings?" She asked.
"I sure do!" Flower exclaimed excitedly. "Let's see, there's the oldest, Crystal Flake. She's already old enough that she's moved out to her own home and she has a husband. He's real nice. Next is the triplets, Wind Sheer, Rose Step and Heart Whisperer. They're a stallion, mare and mare respectively. Then there was Wind Runner. He's a competitive racer! And Sweet Step came next. She's very quiet, but she also very, well, sweet. And after Sweet Step came Sky Rider. He's very big and also quiet. But he's also very strong. Then came me and my twin sister Mountain Mint."
"You're a twin?" Scootaloo interrupted.
"Yeah, but I'm not finished yet so don't interrupt." Flower said before clearing her throat to continue. "Anyways, after us, there came Snow Bunny and like a bunny, she can be very bouncy. Then there's our newest sibling, little Green Leaf. He was actually born this past Warm Season so he's still very little."
"He sounds so cute!" Sweetie squealed. "I can't wait to see him!"
"It sounds like you've got an awful lot of siblings." Fluttershy commented and Flower Dance shrugged.
"What can I say? Lots of windigoes, including my parents, love big families. I'm not the only one with lots of siblings."
"Spike, are you getting all this?" Twilight asked the little dragon.
"Every word Twilight." The little dragon confirmed. "But I also think we've gotten a little off track. Didn't we come in here in the first place to put on our coats and stuff?"
"Ah! You're completely right Spikey wikey!" Rarity said and the dragon looked ready to fly. "Twilight, I am very sorry for pulling us off track in the first place."
"No no, its alright. Remember, I started questioning too." Twilight answered.
"And before we all start playing the blame game, why don't we get ourselves dressed so that we can get started on this expedition." Cadence cut in and everyone agreed.
✴❄✴❄✴❄✴
Flower Dance wasn't kidding when she said the winds were strong and harsh. By the time the reached the best place to enter the mountains, even Rainbow Dash had to hoof it or else she'd be blown away. Even though they were all wearing goggles to help them see better, Flower's only response to the high winds was to pull up her cloak's hood.
"Um, Flower Dance?" Cadence asked though her words were lightly muffled by the mask covering her muzzle. "Are you sure you're alright without goggles? Or even a scarf?"
"Don't worry Miss Cadence. I can see perfectly well in this snow. And we're almost there!" She shouted out so everyone could hear her.
After a few more minutes of trudging through snow, wind and ice with Flower Dance as their guild since she knew the best place to enter the mountains by hoof, the filly stopped and turned.
"We're here!" She shouted as she gestured behind her. The ponies took the time to look up at where she was pointing. Behind her was a sheer rock face that went straight up and disappeared into the snow clouds.
"This is the best way in?!" Rainbow cried out. "Even if there wasn't this wind and snow, even I couldn't fly over this!!!"
"There's a path!" Flower Dance replied calmly, though still shouting to be heard. "If you look closely, you can see it! It's narrow and hard to traverse, but its the only way! My people know it as The Mountain's Path! Also, whenever we traverse this path, the fillies and colts ride on the adult's back!"
"Right then." Applejack said before crouching down. "Applebloom, get on." The little filly complied, settling between her sister's pack and her neck. Sweetie Belle was also ushered onto Rarity's back and Scootaloo onto Rainbow Dash's. Spike also rode Twilight and Cadence scooped Flower Dance onto hers.
From Cadence's back, Flower Dance guided them to the entrance to the path and like she said, it was narrow. So narrow that they had to walk single file. Cadence and Flower Dance went first, followed by Twilight and Spike. Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity with their respective sisters came behind with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie bringing up the rear.
The Mountain's Path, as they quickly discovered, wasn't just narrow. It was also covered in ice and water making it very slick. Coupled with that and the unpleasant drop, the seven mare were encouraged to be careful where they put their hooves. This made for some fairly slow progress, but progress nevertheless. There were a few close calls, but otherwise, the hike up the path went by fairly uneventful. After hours of tiphoofing up the narrow path, a certain polychromatic pegasus was getting a little fed up.
"Ugh! It's been two whole hours, are we there yet!?" She called out in exasperation.
"Really Dash?! Yer gonna be that pony?!" Applejack hollered out in reply.
"Well excuse me for being a little fed up!" Rainbow snapped back. "It's freezing out here and we're moving at a snail's pace! And don't even get me started on how cold Spike and the fillies are!"
Glancing over their shoulders, Applejack and Rarity knew that she was right. The CMC, who were each hugging their elder sibling's neck, had nuzzled themselves closer for warmth and each mare could feel their shivering through their layers. Scootaloo had been trying to act tough, but even she was shivering. Spike was faring a bit better as one of the advantages of being a dragon, even a baby one, was the ability to breath fire. But even that had limits. The only filly that wasn't shivering was Flower Dance, on account of her being built for this kind of weather. But even she had limits and it was starting to show.
"It's not far now!" Flower called out. "Just a little longer and we'll reach a rest stop at the end of the path!"
"A rest stop?! Out here?!" Twilight asked.
"Often, at the ends or along paths, special caves will be set up for travelers and merchants to rest and warm up!" Flower explained. "These caves will be set up will what amenities are needed for weary travelers! And many even have naturally occurring hot springs! At the end of The Mountain's Path is one such cave! And it's not much longer! Just stick with it and be careful! This part of the path well known for--" she was cut of suddenly by a rumble that sounded like stone grinding stone.
"Rockslides." She finished as pebbles started raining down with increasing frequency and size. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming.
"Hayseeds." The first word to come out of Applejack's mouth in that moment, simultaneously summed up their thoughts and snapped them out of their stupor.
In an instant, Cadence's horn lit up and a shield formed over the group, just in time to block the much bigger rocks that hit and cracked it.
"I'm not as good at shields as Shiny is, so everypony, move move move!" She called out. They didn't need to be told twice.
As quickly as they could on a narrow, slick path they rushed forward. More and more rocks hit the shield and cracked it even more. Seeing this, Twilight cast a second shield just before the first broke. It was much more durable than Cadence's shield, but it still wasn't as good as Shining Armor's and it was also beginning to sport cracks as well.
"Look! Over there!" Flower Dance called out as she pointed forward. Everyone turned to look. Straight ahead, the path inclined a bit before going over a ridge and disappearing from sight.
"That's the end of the path!" She shouted. "We just need to get over that ridge and we're safe!"
This filled them with new vigor and they pressed forward a little faster. Fast enough that Fluttershy lost her footing and might've gone back down the mountain the hard way if Pinkie hadn't caught her and pulled her up.
"C'mon Flutters!" Pinkie encouraged after setting her on her hooves. "Remember, we're almost there!"
When they hit the incline, their pace slowed down considerable. The wind was even blowing against them as they pushed upwards through ice and a rockslide that was moments away from breaking through Twilight's shield. Then they climbed over the ridge and found themselves sliding a short distance down to aa small valley-like dip in the terrain. And not far from them was a cave entrance that Twilight felt was safe to say was the rest stop that Flower Dance had mentioned.
But first, she wanted to catch her breath. A sentiment that was shared by almost everyone in the group. Honestly, she felt like there were limits to how often a pony could cheat death like that. Flower Dance however, only moved away from the collapsed Cadence and surveyed the the 'valley'.
"We *huff* made it. *wheeze*" Twilight finally panted out.
"Woohoo." Rainbow replied unenthusiastically with a weak hoof pump that quickly dropped back to the snow. The others have similar reactions.
"Indeed we have." Flower Dance said. "We call this place, Traveler's Respite because this is where those who travel the Mountain's Path rest before continuing on. We are now officially in my homeland." Flower Dance then turned her gaze to the towering stone peaks around them.
"Welcome to the Northern Mountains." She announced.
After catching their breath, the group hauled themselves to their sore hooves and trotted over to the nearby cave entrance. They were all pleasantly surprised when they were hit with a wall of warm air, courtesy of the natural hot spring in the back of the cave. Using the large, metal, dish-like brazier and the small stack of wood in the cave, Cadence and Spike started a fire as the jumped into the hot spring to warm up.
"Mmmmm. This feels so divine." Rarity sighed as she sank deeper into the water so she could wrap herself in its glorious warmth. The spring was huge, almost the size of an Equestrian Games swimming pool and curved around in a somewhat bean shape with the bent in part carved into a set of steps leading down into the water. The whole thing was separated from the front of the cave by half a wall. Already, they could feel all their aches and pains melt away as they warmed up.
"Ah here ya." Applejack agreed. "Ah ain't felt this relaxed or renewed fer a very long time."
"Mom once told me that hot springs in the Northern Mountains are filled with minerals that are healthy for your body and coat." Flower Dance sighed. "I think she called it a 'mineral spa'."
"Well it certainly feels like a spa!" Rarity exclaimed. "If it didn't mean pruny hooves, than I could spend my days here in this spring!"
Everyone laughed at that and it seemed as though nothing was wrong in the world. After climbing out of the spring and shaking themselves to dry off, they made their way back to the front of the cave. A fire was burning brightly in the brazier and Cadence and Spike had prepared a simple but filling meal for them. As they enjoyed hay soup and dried flowers, Applejack decided to strike up a conversation.
"So Flower, where did this wood come from?" She asked.
"Well, customarily, the wood is replenished by anyone who comes to the cave and uses the wood." Flower Dance replied.
"Huh. Replace what you use. Ah can get behind that." Applejack hummed approval. "An I wouldn't mind going out ta collect the wood."
"You don't have to." Flower Dance said worriedly. "It's still very cold out and you just warmed up."
"Now don't be silly." Applejack chided gently. "Ah won't let it be said that an Apple, especially me, was laying about when there was a job ta do. After dinner, I'll go straight out ta gather the wood."
"And I'll come too." Rainbow volunteered. "I've done enough warming up and I think I can help AJ here with getting tons of wood. Remember, I chopped through three or four trees when I was setting up the campsite that time."
"Yeah RD, Ah remember." Applejack sighed. "Now eat yer soup before it gets cold."
With that matter resolved, the next to strike up a conversation was Twilight.
"So Flower Dance, why a brazier?" She asked. "I mean, it would be much easier to just build a pit for the fire as opposed to forging something like this. Especially in, what I assume, is a little used area. So what significance does the brazier hold?"
"The brazier is the hearth." Flower Dance answered. "And in a home, or any place, the hearth is the heart of any dwelling. It's where friends, family and even enemies gather together for many things. Eating, drinking, dancing, singing, telling stories or even just warming up together. It's a place where we grow closer together and enemies can become friends. Naturally, we hold it, and the fire it bears, in high regard."
"That was beautiful." Sweetie said quietly as she slowly chewed her food. The other Crusaders nodded, too tired to add anything else. After dinner, the CMC, who were practically dead on their hooves, were tucked into their sleeping bags. Applejack, true to her word, went out with Rainbow Dash and Flower Dance to gather firewood. The little windigo filly went with them to show them where they could get wood.
Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Cadence had gone to the hot spring, which left Twilight at the fire writing what she'd learned about windigoes in a letter to the Princess. Including a detailed report on the journey on The Mountain's Path. Normally she would leave such things out of her letters because she didn't want her mentor to worry, but Celestia had asked for such details for the relief teams she would send after contact was made and agreements were reached. Basically, they weren't just a diplomatic team. They were also a scout team.
After finishing her letter with assurances that they were all safe, she rolled up her scroll and trotted to the back of the cavern just when Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were leaving. After requesting Spike to send the letter, she sank down into the spring and relaxed. A few minutes later, Celestia sent her reply expressing her relief that they were all well and safe and her thanks for the knowledge that Twilight had sent.
When Applejack, RD and Flower Dance returned with a bunch of fire wood, they also warmed up in the hot springs before it was unanimously decided to call it a night and tuck in.
✴❄✴❄✴❄✴
After breakfast, the group packed up and started off once more. The only way out of the small valley-like dip, was a pass that went through a cliff. After traveling down this pass through the morning, it finally opened up to a much larger area. Everything was covered in thick sheets of snow, but one thing that was still discernable were the step-like formations in the terrain. And they didn't look natural.
"Hey Flower, what's with all these giant steps?" Scootaloo asked.
"They aren't steps. Their terraces. For our fields." Flower said. "Here in the mountains, where everything is on a slope with almost no flat land, terraces are invaluable to our agriculture. It decreases both erosion and surface runoff which would render this land infertile."
"Oh! I've seen these a few times before." Twilight exclaimed as she examined the terrace she was on. "I've seen ponies using these on hills and the like. Only it was smaller. So these are all fields?"
"Mmhm." Flower Dance nodded. "Or, to be more exact, these are my village's fields. My village is the first village one encounters when the come into the mountains via The Mountain's Path. It isn't a frequently used path, but we did welcome and provide shelter for many a traveler that came through."
"So this is your village?" Rainbow asked as they all glanced around the area in a new light.
"My village's fields, yes." Flower Dance said. "The actual village is this way." She then led them to a strip of land between terraces that they quickly figured out was a path. It wasn't long before they found themselves at the village. Or what was left of it. The homes and buildings had been torn apart, some leaving little more than a wall or two, and scattered amongst the wood were a myriad of household objects. They ranged from cooking and dishware to toys and games. Some items they didn't recognize or looked like something familiar with a twist.
Further into the village, they found what was left of a massive building that had been built near a cliff. The roof and front of the building had been torn off and inside there were some scattered remains of every day items. And at the center was a massive, dish-like brazier. It wasn't hard for Twilight to figure out what this building had been.
"So this is the Cold Shelter, isn't it?" She asked. Flower Dance nodded.
"There's another village Northeast of here that's a days travel away. And it's where my sister Rose Step lives." She said. "But my family and most of the village agreed that we would journey to the Capital when the storm destroyed the Shelter. That's also where the Keeper lives. In order to get there, we're going to have to travel North."
"Well then, let's get started." Rainbow exclaimed and the others began to follow as well until Flower Dance spoke up.
"Just a minute." She said. "Before I have to leave permanently, there's something I have to do."
The group looked at her confused, but they followed her anyways as they left the building and went back to town. They finally reached a place near the outskirts. There was a single house and in front of it was a stone obelisk a little taller than Cadence. It had been covered in snow, but Flower Dance brushed it all off to reveal markings that she guessed were words, but she didn't recognize the language.
A second later, she realized that she'd been seeing these obelisks around town, but had assumed they were some form of decoration. This idea was quickly shot down when Flower Dance landed, having shifted into her Snow Form to brush snow off the topmost areas, and then proceeded to engage in a sort of ritual. First she clapped her forehooves together, than placed them on chest and head then spreading them out before bringing her hooves back together and bowing. With this ritual done, she then spun about to face them.
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to someone." She announced. "This here is Mountain Frost, my former mentor and trainer."
At that moment, it clicked into place as to what this was. "This is a gravestone."
"Pretty much, but here we call them markers." Flower admitted.
"Does that mean that the other obelisks we've been seeing are all graves?" Rarity asked.
"Markers. And yes." Flower Dance corrected then confirmed. "Anyways, Mountain Frost was this cranky old earthpony windigo who mostly kept to himself for as long as I could remember. He became my mentor the day I earned my cutiemark and he took my under his wing so he could train me. Turns out that he was a retired Wind Dancer who'd come to our village in the first place for so peace and quiet before he passed on. He put me through lots of training so I could be a great Wind Dancer and I started to look up to him as a sort of grandfather figure. Sadly, he died this past Harvest Time, which I believe you ponies would call Fall. Since then, I haven't been able to learn very much since he was the only other Wind Dancer in the village."
"Hey now Sugarcube, Ah'm sure there are other Wind Dancers else where." Applejack said as she placed her hooves across her withers. "But don't most ponies usually say how they miss the ones they lost?"
"Well of course I miss him." Flower replied. "But I've always been taught that those who pass on, never leave our hearts and our sides. Their always there with us, in their teachings and how they influenced us because all life shares a connection with someone. It could be a friend, a family member, even rivals and enemies share a connection. And even when their gone, we still feel that connection because they never truly left us. That's what those gestures meant." Flower Dance then raised her hooves to go through the motions again. "First, there's how they linger in our hearts-" she held her hooves to her chest. "Then in our minds-" her hooves moved to her head. "And finally, all around us."
"And the bow?" Scootaloo asked.
"That was simply a difference of respect towards towards those who have passed on. And because he was my master and teacher." Flower Dance answered.
"Very interesting." Twilight said with a nod. "But its still very different how you bury your dead in town."
"We don't bury our dead." Flower Dance said, catching them completely off guard. "In fact, windigoes haven't practiced burial for centuries. Mom told me that we used to do that a long long time ago, but not for a while."
"Really?" Cadence asked in surprise.
"When you live on a mountain without a lot of fertile soil, you can't go using it for the dead." Flower Dance explained. "We do something else instead. First, there's a ceremony where the deceased is cremated. This symbolizes that our bodies, a gift from the Hearth, are being returned. Then the ashes are scattered in the winds which is symbolic of how we are born children of the wind and snow and are returning to the wind. Finally, a marker like this one is erected to symbolize how the deceased walked amongst us and left their mark in our hearts and lives. And how they will always linger here among us."
"That's beautiful." Fluttershy whispered with some tears gathering in her eyes. Twilight, like usual, had been taking all of this down when she noticed something.
"Wait, you said that the hearth 'gifted your bodies'. What does that mean?" She asked.
"Mother says that the Hearth granted a great gift to our ancestors, but I don't know the details." Flower Dance answered with a shrug. "Anyways, now that I've paid my respects, we should get going. We have a long journey ahead of us and we should start covering as much ground as we can before dark."
And with that reminder, Twilight straightened and put away her quill and paper. "You're right." She said. "This isn't the time or place for questions. Let's get going."
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It'd been three days they started this journey. Two since they'd left Flower Dance's village. Since then, they'd been traveling through freezing winds and snow and at some point, they'd had the climb a cliff. For their second night here, they'd had to pitch a tent to sleep in. They didn't find another Travelers Cave as they were called until the third night and it unfortunately not one with a natural hot spring. It wasn't until the fourth day of travel that they ran into anyone else. Just when they were coming out of a pass and into a wider area, Pinkie Pie spotted them.
"Oh, oh, look! More ponies!" Everyone immediately turned in the direction the pink pony was pointing. Sure enough, about a mile away and coming out of another pass was a large group of windigoes. From there, it was hard to make out distinctive traits, but Twilight felt it was safe to assume they were windigoes as well.
"Judging by how large the group is, they're most likely evacuees of another village." Flower observed. She squinted at them for a moment longer before breaking into a gallop towards them. Surprised, they took off after her.
"Whoa now Sugarcube, what's the rush?" Applejack asked once they caught up.
"Here in the mountains, its considered good manners while traveling to at least greet any other groups you come across." Flower Dance said. "Sometimes, groups will end up traveling together if their going in the same direction. In these treacherous mountains, group traveling is considered a very safest way to travel. Plus, if I'm right, its possible that I might know these windigoes."
The ponies admitted it was a sound reason and followed Flower Dance all the way to the much larger group. They almost came up short as they got close enough the see the windigoes properly. When they thought 'windigo', they expected something smaller and more delicate than what they were seeing right now. True, the adults did have lithe, graceful figures, but they were still were amazingly tall. They were probably two or three heads taller than Cadence or half a head taller than Luna. And that was just the mare they ran came up to first.
Setting aside her height, the aforementioned mare who'd seen them approach and had stopped along with the rest was dressed in a dark purple cloak and, to the delight of Twilight's inner scholar, a horn was jutting out from the hood. When they were closer, they were able to take in more details. Her coat was a dark blue and purple and when she flipped her hood off after taking a few steps forward, they could see that her mane was a pastel rainbow. The same could be said for her eyes. Twilight however, immediately zeroed in on the horn. It was shaped like a unicorn's, but was longer and more slender. And unlike a unicorn's horn, which bore a corkscrew pattern, this horn was covered in swirling lines. She was snapped out of her musings on horns differences however, when the taller mare spoke.
"Flower Dance, is that you?" She questioned the filly as she stopped in front of her. Flower Dance flipped her own hood off and waved her hoof in greeting as she smiled.
"Hi Midnight!" She greeted. She was then pulled close into a hug with the older mare and behind them, there was a buzz of activity, most of it relief that the filly was safe.
"Oh thank goodness it is you." The mare said in relief. "Rose Step has been worried sick and your mother was near hysterics when she arrived in our village."
"You saw my mom?" Flower asked and the mare released her.
"Your mother went hunting high and low for you after you disappeared." The mare informed her. "And since after your village was destroyed, our village was the last one on the outskirts of the mountains, she ended up there. It took three cups of Rose's specialty calming tea to calm her down. After that, Rose insisted that she return to the rest of the family while she'd keep an eye out for you. We've all been worried for you since."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare anyone." Flower Dance apologized.
"It's alright. You're safe now and that's all that matters. Out of curiosity though, where did you end up?"
"Outside of the mountains." Flower Dance said and the mare's jaw dropped. "I wasn't able to return on my own, but I made some friends who helped me." It was then that the mare noticed the presence of seven mares and three fillies. All of them ponies. The mare wasn't sure how to react. Neither did any of the windigoes behind her.
"Midnight, I'd like to introduce you to Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle and her Number 1 assistant Spike and Cadence." She started with the adults and baby dragon before moving on to the fillies. "And these are the Cutiemark Crusaders, Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Midnight Aurora, the best healer in the mountains."
"Oh, stop it you little scamp." Midnight Aurora said good naturedly as she ruffled Flower Dance's mane. "I'm just very good at my job." She then turned to the group. "So you all helped bring Flower Dance home?"
"Yes ma'am." Applejack answered with a tip of her hat. Midnight tittered politely at that.
"No need to be so formal." She said. "You've helped one of our own. In particular, a filly. For that, you can consider yourselves a member of the community in our book." Everypony behind her nodded and murmured agreement.
"Oh, well thank you, but the ones you should really be thanking is the Crusaders." Rarity said. "Flower Dance here had gotten as far as Everfree where these troublemakers found her. The rest of us just helped her finish her journey."
"Journey? Everfree?" Midnight asked, a little confused.
"Yes. This courageous little filly made a long journey towards Canterlot to bring this situation to Celestia and Luna's attention." Twilight explained. "That's another reason why we're here. We're envoys of Celestia, Luna and the Crystal Empire sent to make contact with your leader."
Midnight Aurora didn't answer and the windigoes behind her began whispering indistinctly. Before anyone could say anything however, a shout made everyone jump in surprise and at the sheer volume of the shout.
"FLOWER DANCE!!!"
Flower Dance was suddenly scooped up by a spring green mare with a pink and red mane who then proceeded to hug her as tightly as possible without harming or killing her.
"Oh gosh Flower Dance, have you any idea how scared I was when mom told me?!" The newcomer demanded and from that sentence, the observing ponies could make a safe guess as to who this was.
"I know Rose." Flower huffed out. "Midnight already told me. Can you let me go now? I'd like to introduce you to my new friends."
When the mare dropped her sister, another round of introductions went around. Flower Dance introduced her sister to the ponies and the ponies to her sister, Rose Step. With introductions out of way, Twilight spotted something that peaked her curiosity.
"Wait a second, Flower Dance and Midnight Aurora both have two tone coats, yet your coat is just one color." The purple alicorn muttered in interest as she grabbed Rose Step's leg to examine it better. The windigo earthpony was a little weirded out and pulled her leg from Twilight's grasp.
"Uh, who are these ponies?" She asked as she took a step back.
"Rose Step, these ponies are here as envoys from Celestia and Luna. They're here to speak with The Keeper." Midnight said.
"And to learn about you guys!" Pinkie offered. "Princess Celestia also wanted to learn what we could about you and your culture so we could better understand each other. Her exact words were-" here Pinkie stood regally and pulled off a surprisingly flawless impression of Celestia. "-'Ignorance breeds misunderstanding which breeds the worst sorts or incidents'."
Midnight Aurora nodded agreement. "It seems as though Celestia is as wise as they say." She said sagely. "If it is no problem, would you care to travel with us? We're headed in the same direction, so I believe it might be a benefit for us to travel together. Not to mention the fact that I doubt Rose Step will let Flower Dance out of her sight now that she's been found."
"Darn straight I'm not letting her out of my sight!" Rose Step declared as she pulled her sister closer. Cadence chuckled.
"How can I argue with that?" She asked rhetorically. "We would be glad to join you in your journey and I imagine that Twilight will be asking a hundred questions."
Midnight Aurora smiled then gestured at the large group as she spoke. "Well then, welcome to our caravan!"
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Dear Princess Celestia,
Since I have last written we have made contact with a village sized group of windigoes and have joined them since we're all going in the same direction. I say village sized because these windigoes are the latest victims of these snowstorms, but moving on to more important things. Now that I have a much wider variety of windigoes, I've been comparing the adults to the children and the windigo versions of the three races to our more familiar three races. First the adults and children.
The first thing we noticed was how tall the adults were. The mares are two or three heads taller than Cadence and have very lithe graceful features. The males, while half a head taller than the females and much sturdier than a female (like the stallions of our own kind), also possess lithe graceful features. The adults also possess thick coats like the children, but unlike the shorter coats of the fillies and coats (giving them a fluffy appearance) the adult's coats are much longer, giving them a more silky soft appearance.
Another thing that I found was that the two tone coat that is characteristic of their kind, while common, not all have it. Further more, the fur that they shear from their bodies is also easily dyed and enchanted. Truely, a very multipurpose cloth. Rarity squealed so loudly, I thought our eardrums would burst. As for their three tribes, while they are familiar to us, there are also very distinct differences.
Windigo unicorn horns are longer and more slender than unicorn horns and unlike unicorn horns, which have a corkscrew pattern, windigo unicorn horns are covered in swirling lines. When they activate their horns, the magic surrounding it, while similar to unicorn magic, it also has a wispy, ethereal appearance. I have yet to learn if there are also differences in spells but so far, levitation is the same. It's all so very exciting since its possible that the windigoes possess knowledge of spells that we don't know! I'll let you know if I learn anymore.
Next is windigo pegasi. Windigo pegasi have larger windspans than pegasi and their wings are also half covered in a layer of fur with the primary feathers sticking out. I've been told that this fur doesn't interfere with flight and keeps the wings warm up here in the cold weather and high altitude. Windigo earthponies don't look much different from their Equestrian counterparts, but I've been told that windigo earthponies are the best at coaxing plant life from the mountain soil, a trait that's very well valued in this climate.
Aside from these developments, its been a relatively uneventful journey. We met up with Flower Dance's older sister, Rose Step, who was ecstatic and relieved to see her sister safe. The rest of the villagers were similarly relieved to see one of their own safe as well. Rose Step told me that she's an herbalist in her village and a good friend of the local 'healer', Midnight Aurora. Midnight always used to purchase herbs from her for her patients and that's how they first met. Midnight Aurora is a windigo unicorn with calm but kind head on her shoulders. In contrast, Rose Step acts a little like Pinkie Pie and Rarity mixed together. Playful and dramatic but still very kind and gentle.
In any case, its getting late and since its a long journey to the Capital, I should get some shut eye for the trip. Ever your faithful student and fellow Princess,
Twilight Sparkle
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Rainbow Dash huffed impatiently. She was bored out of her mind as she hovered in the air. Two days into the journey, they'd spotted a snowstorm. It wasn't this infamous village destroying snowstorm, but it certainly was bad enough that it would be suicide to travel in that. So here they all were, in a large cave waiting out the storm. There was a hot spring that Rarity had immediately jumped into since she'd 'been feeling grimy' lately. At first, it wasn't so bad. But after one day in close quarters without anything to do and with no sign of the storm letting up anytime soon, Rainbow Dash felt ready to risk the storm if it meant something to do. She could tell that a few of her friends were also feeling a little restless, but oddly enough none of the windigoes had any signs of cabin fever.
"Hey Midnight, can I ask you a question?" Twilight asked, looking up from her writing and having noticed her friend's and Spike's restlessness.
"Of course Twilight." Midnight Aurora answered. She'd taken off her cloak a while ago, exposing her cutiemark which was a white staff with a white star on top and wings with pastel rainbow wings spread out while two white snakes were coiled up the staff. When asked about it by the Crusaders, she told them that it represented her ability to heal. They translated this to mean that she was a doctor and they commented on how they'd already tried for their doctor cutiemarks.....and had since been banned from the hospital by Nurse Redheart. Barring any serious injuries of course. The older ponies and dragon who recalled the incident all shivered.
Returning to the present, Twilight posed the question tugging at her mind. "Well I've been noticing my friends getting a bit of cabin fever, none of you windigoes seem very affected. Why is that?"
"Here in the Northern Mountains, storms like this aren't unusual." Midnight Aurora answered. "So its nothing new to be indoors for days or weeks at a time. We enjoy the outdoors as much as anypony would, but we also don't have a problem with staying indoors. In short, we just don't get cabin fever that easily."
"Uuugggghhh!!!" Rainbow exploded. "I'm so bored!!! There's literally nothing to do! Hey kid!" She called out to get Flower Dance's attention. When the filly looked up at her, the pegasus continued. "Didn't you tell us that time that at some point during feasts, you guys pull out stuff the do?"
"Like games?" Flower asked.
"Yeah, games!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Oh yeah, we do have games." She said as she pulled off her saddlebags and began rummaging around. "In fact, I've got a Mancala board right.....here!" She declared in victory as she pulled out a flat with her cutiemark carved into it. She opened the box to reveal a long board with six small indents on each side and two larger indents on each end. The board was decorated with flowers blowing in the wind and each indent had a line swirling in.
"My parents gave me this for my cutiemark feast celebration." Flower Dance spoke as she gathered the pastel crystal balls and began sorting four to each of the smaller indents.
"Uugh! A board game?" Rainbow groaned. "No offense, but I'm not much for board games. C'mon, didn't you mention racing and wrestling?"
"There isn't enough room for a race, though I know a few who wouldn't mind a little wrestling." Midnight commented.
"Yes!" Rainbow cheered with a hoof pump. "Well what we waiting for? Let's get going!" She exclaimed with gusto. Before she could fly off though, Applejack stood up as well
"Think y'all can add me ta the roster?" She asked. "Ah've been ta plenty of rodeos in may time and Ah'm up fer some good old fashioned, friendly competition."
"Well come on then!" Rainbow invited and the pair of ponies followed Midnight Aurora as she went to help them gather participants.
"Don't mind them Flower. They've always been the more rough n' tumble sort." Rarity said with a casual wave of her hoof. "I for one am very curious about this game. If you don't mind, I would like to know how it's played."
"Okay then. To start, you've got four pieces in each of the smaller indents and two bigger ones." Flower Dance started. "These bigger ones, called barns, are for each player. The right barn and six of the indents one the right side is for one player. The left barn and the left indents is for the other player. You move your pieces like this."
She then demonstrated by picking up the pieces and moving them counter clockwise around the board while dropping pieces in each indent.
"When you go past your barn, you deposit a piece but not if you go past your opponent's barn. The game end when one side in completely empty. If your last piece lands in your barn, you get a free turn. And if your last piece land in an empty indent, you capture that piece and all the pieces in the indent adjacent to it. When one's idents are empty, their opponent get to collect what's left in their indents into their barn then count them. The one with the most pieces wins."
"Interesting." Rarity hummed as Flower Dance reset the pieces she had moved in the demonstration. "It truely sounds fascinating. If you don't mind, I'd like to play."
"Okay, but I'll give you fair warning, I'm a champ and Mancala." Flower Dance said with a challenging smirk. "It's almost my favorite thing, seconded by wind dancing and before I earned my cutiemark, I believed that I'd get a Mancala related cutiemark."
Rarity returned the smirk with her own challenging smirk. "Oh it is on." She said determinedly.
✴❄✴❄✴❄✴
For as long as she would live, Twilight swore that she would never see another game played so intensely. Flower Dance wasn't lying when she said that she was good but even though she was a novice, Rarity wasn't going down so easily. In the end, the game ended in a tie so they played again....and again....and again.....and again.
"Wow, they're really going at it." Rose Step commented as she approached. "I've never seen anypony go hoof to hoof with my sister like that."
"Yeah. It's really cool though." Twilight said. "So where'd that game come from? I think I may have heard it before."
"Mancala is originally a Zebrican game." Rose Step explained. "Legends hold that one of our ancestors saw two zebras playing the game and he became so fascinated with it that when he learned how it was played, he brought it home to share with everyone else. It quickly gained popularity amongst and one factor for that is that it can be played anywhere and not necessarily with a board. You can draw the board into the ground and use rocks if you need to."
"It was from a time when our kind was still trying to find an identity for itself." Midnight Aurora added as she returned without Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "We have since grown past that stage, but you'll still find a few things borrowed from other countries and peoples like Equestria."
"That's really fascinating." Twilight said with a touch of awe and she began to make notes on this new information. Wait till Celestia heard about this. Later, with her notes complete, Twilight decided to go walk around.
By this point, there were groups playing other games full swing, some very unfamiliar but there were others that she recognized but with different styles. For example, there was a chess game where the pieces looked very different than what she was used to. The pawns were all carved snowflakes on these spindly little things. The rooks looked more like a castle spire, though not any castle she knew as they were twisted and curled around. The knights were rearing windigoes wearing armor and the bishops were also windigoes that were slightly older and wore robes with glasses perched on their muzzle. The Queen piece was a pair of blazing wings while the king piece was a roaring fire in a dish-like brazier. Twilight was certain that was some sort of meaning behind the pieces, but was hard pressed to figure it out.
Other games that she saw was a chess game with snowflakes, Scrabble but with some words she didn't recognize, Chutes and Ladders with hills and valleys, Boggle without the box and a few dice added, Tic Tac Toe and even a few games that looked suspiciously like trading card games and tabletop RPGs like Shining Armor used to play in highschool. Spike had actually joined one of the groups playing one of these RPGs. She could also spot Cadence and Fluttershy with a group of mares, learning embroidery and swapping stories. Eventually, Twilight reached a realization.
'Where's Pinkie Pie?'
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After gathering a few windigoes, Midnight Aurora left Applejack and Rainbow Dash in the capable hooves of Cliff Rumble, a very broad and intimidating brown and grey windigo pegasus with a darker grey mane. The two almost gaped at the size of the windigo, but held it in since it would be rude. The pegasus first took his hoof and used the tip of it to carve a visible circle into the stone floor. Big enough for two windigoes to move around. When he was done, he trotted up to the mares and spoke in a very deep, rumbling voice.
"The rules are simple." He said. "First one out of the ring loses. No punching or biting and no aiming for the head. You only go for the lower neck, body and limbs. You can buck if you need to, but don't turn this into a punching match. Got it?"
"Yes sir." Both mares answered immediately. That was the thing with this guy's voice. It demanded attention and respect.
"Hey Cliff! We gonna get started?" And windigo earthpony called out from the ring. His coat was a deep emerald green while his mane was white and a frosty blue.
"In a minute, Frosty. I just want to make sure everyone knows the rules." Cliff Rumble answered. "Now which of you wants to go first?"
"Me. I'll go against him." Applejack instantly shot a hoof up. Cliff quirked an eyebrow but nodded anyways. Applejack turned and handed her hat to Rainbow Dash then stepped into the ring as a crowd began to form.
"You go out there and show him who's boss Applejack!" Rainbow called out.
"Yeah! Show him how its done, Apple style!" Applebloom added, having arrived just in time to cheer her sister on. Scootaloo had come with while Sweetie Belle stayed with Rarity. Applejack didn't respond to the cheers aside from a nod before facing her opponent. She braced herself in a fighting pose as he did as well. The two earthponies stared each other down. Cliff Rumble raised a hoof, then brought down with a bang, signalling the start of the fight.
The two charged each other and butted heads, each pushing the other towards the outside of the ring. One advantage that Frosty had over Applejack however, was that he was bigger and was starting to push her back. Seeing that she was losing ground, Applejack quickly ducked out of the head lock and Frosty stumbled a bit, but not enough to throw him out of the ring. When he regained his footing, he swiveled around to face his opponent who was now on the other side of the ring.
For a minute they circled each other as they stared into each others eyes. All around the ring, a crowd was cheering and making a rukus. Some were cheering for Frosty and some for Applejack. Finally, the two earthponies charged again. Frosty lowered his head as he came near, but Applejack swiveled around and raised her hindlegs. The two met with a bang. Frosty pushed, Applejack dug in and refused to give him any ground. Likewise, when she pushed against him, he refused to give up. Back and forth they pushed until finally both of them ended up out of the ring.
"Tie!" Cliff Rumble declared as the two opponents helped each other up.
"That was an impressive match there." Frosty said with respect. "How'd a young filly like you get so strong?"
"Nothing much, just good hard work in the fields at Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack answered casually.
"Heh! A fellow farmer eh?" Frosty said with a grin.
"Eeyup'." Applejack answered as she took her hat from Rainbow and planted it on her head. "Ah could you were a farmer too. That's why I volunteered ta wrestle ya." Frosty burst out laughing.
"Well now, how about that!" He chuckled then held out his hoof. "I don't believe we have been formally introduced. Name's Frost Fields, but my friends call me Frosty."
Applejack grinned and heartily grasped his hoof with her own. "An' Ah'm Applejack Apple. Pleasure to meet you Frosty."
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It wasn't hard to find where the wrestling was. Just look for a large group in a circle cheering like their at a sports match. Twilight ariived at the ring as Rainbow Dash was leaving it with her head held high and her chest puffed out. Very clear indicators that she'd won the match. After shaking hooves with her opponent, Dash joined Applejack, Applebloom and Scootaloo who congratulated her. Twilight speed trotted over to the group and got their attention.
"Rainbow Dash! Applejack!" She called and they looked up at her and waved.
"Hey the Twilight!" Rainbow greeted as she arrived. "What brings you here? Here to witness my awesomeness?"
"Have any of you seen Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "I'm not sure when, but she's disappeared and I can't find her."
"Sugarcube, if Ah know Pinkie Pie, she's probably off somewhere trying ta start a party." Applejack said. As if on cue, the cave was suddenly filled with what sounded like a violin playing quickly followed by several other instruments like drums and guitars all playing a lively tune like a jig. In response to the music, most if not all of the windigoes got up and started to dance along with the music around the fire in the large dish shaped brazier. Their dance steps were lively like the music and the ponies started to feel like dancing too.
"See? What'd I tell ya? That filly just can't help but start a party." Applejack said with a smile. Applebloom and Scootaloo grinned as well before leaping in to join the fun.
"Surprise!" Pinkie cried out as she appeared right next to Twilight, making the purple alicorn jump in surprise. "Isn't this fun! When Rainbow Dash brought up when brought up what Flower Dance told us about feasts, I remembered that she also told us that some would play music and sing and dance and I thought 'that would be so much fun'! So I've been running around looking for someone who would play and I found a group willing to play so traditional windigo dance music and ta-da!"
After she spoke, the song ended and the players moved on to a different song. This one felt more powerful than the jig and had some sort of flute, but the windigoes danced to that as well.
"Very impressive Pinkie." Rarity commented, having arrived just in time to here the explanation and make Twilight jump a second time.
"Rarity! When did you get here? I thought you were trying to beat Flower Dance." The startled alicorn asked.
"Even a lady such as myself must admit defeat at some point." Rarity said as the music change to a lighter fare but with lots of drums. "Eventually, Flower Dance and myself both admitted that we were each worthy opponents then I stepped aside to let Sweetie Have a turn while I took a walk around. And it looks like she and Flower Dance chose to join the festivities."
She gestured with her hoof and the girls could indeed see the Crusaders and Spike were all dancing together amongst the windigoes. The next song to play was at first a violin solo, somewhat sad, but then it picked up pace when a drum came on and soon the windigoes were stomping their hooves in time with the music. Cadence and Fluttershy emerged from the crowd, Cadence laughing cheerily and Fluttershy smiling.
"This some party, isn't Twilight?" The pink alicorn said.
"You can thank Pinkie Pie for that." Twilight replied. "She's the one who went hunting for a band and got them to play. Things just went from there."
"Enough chit chat." Pinkie declared as she wrapped her hooves around her friends and pulled them forward. "Lets dance!"
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The music, song and dance continued until everyone was tired and it was decided that they needed to gat to sleep since it appeared as though the storm was winding down and by their estimation, they'd be able to leave by morning. As she tucked herself into her sleeping bag, Twilight pondered on how the day had gone and smiled.
"It really was a fun day today, wasn't it?" She asked her friends surrounding her and they hummed agreement. The fillies and Spike followed not to far behind after Twilight asked him to send her latest letter to Celestia.
"Ah know Ah've made some pretty good friends today." Applejack said with a yawn.
"Me too." Fluttershy whispered. "Wool Thread was kind enough to show me how to embroider my cutiemark in traditional windigo style."
"And Cliff Rumble is a solid guy." Rainbow Dash added. "Real awesome and you know that I don't give just anyone that title."
"And Hill Song and her friends played the best music." Pinkie said with aa satisfied grin. "Which makes this my first ever windigo party!"
"It's amazing how joyful and loving these windigoes are when they've recently lost their homes." Cadence said. "I really hope we can do something to help them."
"Me too." Twilight replied, feeling a touch of nervousness. "I wonder what this Keeper of The Hearth is like?"
"I'm sure she's a great pony." Pinkie said. "I mean, she'd have to be to earn the respect of all these windigoes, right?" Everyone blinked at her surprising insight.
"Who did you...?" Twilight started then trailed off. Pinkie shrugged casually.
"It was as obvious as the muzzle on your face." She said. "Remember, I pay attention to these kinds of details so I can help everypony have fun." Another round of blinks followed by sighs. Pinkie would be Pinkie.
"Well, whatever the Keeper is like, we won't know until we meet her." Rarity declared. "So we should get some rest for our long trip tomorrow."
"Goodnight Twilight." Pinkie said with a yawn then a think when she dropped to her pillow like a puppet with it's strings cut, fast asleep.
"Goodnight darlings." Rarity said with a more polite yawn before gently sinking to her pillow.
"Night' Sugarcube." Applejack said before stretching a little.
"Yeah, night everybody." Rainbow said as she settled into her bed muttering on how much better a cloud bed was.
"Goodnight everyone." Fluttershy's tired whisper was barely audible, but they heard it.
"Goodnight Twilight." Cadence said with a gentle kiss on the purple pony's forehead. "And try not to worry about that too much. You need your rest too. Big day tomorrow and all."
"Yeah, okay. I'll try not to stress it too much." Twilight said quietly. The purple alicorn was the last to fall asleep, thoughts and worries about the upcoming meeting still nagging in the back of her head s her eyes slid closed.
Cadence walked near the front alongside an older stallion called Storm Wing, who'd assumed a leadership role amongst his fellow villagers. Storm Wing was quiet and a little blunt, but he was also very kind, thoughtful and protective of his fellow villagers. Naturally, Storm was a pegasus with a dark and light grey coat and a black mane, tail and hooves. The fur on his wings were light grey while his feathers were a dark grey with yellow at the tips.
His eyes, which were a mix of black, grey and the odd streak of lightning-like yellow, scanned the path in front with growing trepidation. And Cadence had no clue why. When they'd first started traveling together, she'd gotten to know him as a very calm, collected pony. Now he was acting as though something was about to happen and he wasn't the only one. As they'd gone along, Cadence noticed that more and more of the windigoes were on edge as well. To the point where Twilight, her friends and even the Crusaders and Spike noticed. Before anyone could ask however, they reached a pass and the windigoes halted so fast, Cadence expected them to get whiplash. In addition, those who were near one of the ponies, including Storm Wings, stuck out a leg to stop them.
"Hey! What's with the sudden stop?" Rainbow demanded around Cliff Rumble's leg, which also blocked Applejack's path.
"It's Frost Fang Pass." Cliff rumbled in reply. Pinkie Pie climbed onto Hill Song's leg to better see the pass in question.
"Hmmm. Well its very frosty, but not very fangy." The pink earthpony observed.
"That's not why its called Frost Fang Pass." Midnight Aurora said with more than a hint of fear in her voice.
"So why is it called Frost Fang Pass?" Applebloom asked, peering around Rose Step's legs alongside the other Crusaders.
"Because of Ice Wraiths." Flower Dance was the one to answer.
"W-w-what's an Ice Wraith?" Fluttershy stuttered fearfully.
"One of the creatures who lives in these mountains." Storm Wing said as he turned around. "Here in these mountains, you'll find many dangerous and ferocious creature. And the fiercest of all these creatures, is the Ice Wraith. They make their dens at the tallest peaks and are fiercely territorial and vicious towards anything that isn't an Ice Wraith. And the peaks of Frost Fang Pass are riddled with these dens."
Suddenly, the seemingly innocent pass became much more menacing.
"So why don't we go around it?" Cadence asked a little nervously. Storm Wing however, shook his head.
"The safest path for miles is this pass and we don't have the supplies to make it to another path." Storm Wing said. "It may be dangerous, but with a little caution, its traversable. And once we cross it, we're less than half a day's trip to the Capital."
Cadence took a moment to weigh their options. Storm was right. They didn't have enough supplies for a longer journey and if the Capital was that close and there really wasn't any other option, then it was worth the risk. She turned her gaze to the six mares and they immediately understood what she was conveying. Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity each grabbed their sisters and pulled them close. Twilight pulled Spike closer to her and Rose Step brought Flower Dance closer to her. Cadence then turned back to Storm Wing.
"Well alright then. Let's go through the pass."
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Over the past three days of travel with the village, one constant had been the buzz of friendly conversation. They second they stepped into the pass, that buzz died. It'd already been dying since they were approaching the pass. Actually entering the pass had simply been the dying breath of any sound or conversation between anyone. As they went deeper and deeper into the pass, everyone started glancing up at the sky above them regularly and if you listened closely, there were the sounds of ghostly movements.
Twilight's inner scholar was squealing like a schoolfilly at the thought of another species to learn about and study. However the practical mare inside of her knew that this was neither the time nor the place and she kept right on walking. Glancing up at the towering peaks above, she caught a glimmer of movement in her peripheral. Turning towards the movement, Twilight barely caught a glimpse of something moving amongst the highest rocks. Unease settled into her stomach as she suddenly felt like they were being stalked.
"Midnight." Twilight whispered as quietly as she could to get the attention of the mare beside her. "Suddenly, I feel like we're being watched."
Midnight paused and moment and scanned the peaks above them, her ears twitching at every little sound. "They know we're here." She said.
Though she spoke it in a whispered tone, the other windigoes picked up on what she'd said and instantly, the tension shot up. They continued walking, but at a quicker pace and the younger fillies and colts were pulled closer to the older ponies. It wasn't for a few minutes before something happened. There was a sudden screech that rang through the air like a battle cry and then something jumped out and flew right towards Twilight. It what right then that Twilight got her first look of an Ice Wraith.
It was big and shaped like a snake with a draconic head and made of ice that flew without wings. It's eyes were two points of blazing blue light and its teeth were jagged and sharp. At the thought of that thing's teeth, Twilight snapped out of her momentary, fear-induced stupor and did the first thing that came to mind. She fired off an attack spell. The spell hit the creature in the face and for a split second it stopped its advance and screeched in fury before resuming its approach with some added speed.
"A heat spell!" Midnight screamed. "Fire a heat spell!"
Twilight heard her and in the heat of the moment, fired the first heat spell that came to mind. A stream of fire poured from her horn and toward the Wraith. Her aim was off, so she only hit along one side. But it was enough for the icey entity. It let out another screech, one of fury and pain, and it retreated back up to the peaks. Leaving Twilight on the ground panting and trying to slow her hammering heartbeats. Almost immediately, her friends converged on her.
"Twilight! Are you alright?" Applejack asked. Twilight didn't respond immediately. It took a few seconds before she slowly nodded.
"Yeah. I-I'm fine." She said a little numbly. With a couple flaps, Rainbow was up in the air and scanning the air above with her hoof shielding her eyes.
"So that's an Ice Wraith huh?" She commented. "Reminds of the Timberwolves back home. And you totally beat it back to its den! Bet you that showed it not to mess with us."
"Ice Wraiths hate heat and fire." Midnight Aurora explained as she helped Twilight to her hooves. "That's why they live in the highest peaks. Higher it is, the colder it gets. Its also why they aren't seen during the Warm Season. Anyways, that isn't the last of that. That Wraith will come back. And it'll bring the rest of the pack." Chills ran down everypony's spine.
"Which is why we need to get moving, NOW." Storm Wing added, with emphasis on the word 'now'.
Without hesitation, the group began trotting down the pass. Midnight quickly pulled Twilight to her hooves and ushered the Equestrians forward. Within twenty minutes, the air was filled with bone chilling shrieks and screams. And just as quickly, Ice Wraiths. The unicorns that were in the group, Twilight, Cadence and Rarity included, lit up their horns in preparation for what was coming. Everyone else braced themselves as well and Spike was psyching himself up as well. The Ice Wraiths circled in the air, hissing threateningly at the ones who would enter their territory.
One swooped down low to attack, but was driven away by a small stream of fire, courtesy of Spike. The second that swooped down aimed straight for Twilight and when it got closer, she could see along one side of the wraith was a trail of recently melted then frozen ice. It then clicked in her mind that this was the same wraith that had attacked her earlier and so she readied her heat spell once again. But before it could get close enough, a familiar, rainbow colored blur flew at the wraith and rammed into it with enough force that it halted its descent and hissed at this new opponent.
"You wanna go, frost breath? Then lets go." Rainbow Dash growled challengingly. "Because nobody and nothing attacks my friends while I'm around." And with that declaration, Rainbow Dash charged forward for a second tackle.
By this point, dozens of Ice Wraiths were descending. Some were driven off by the flame and heat spells that the unicorns were casting. Others, like Rainbow Dash, were fighting them off with bucks, punches and wings. Of course the Equestrians were helping were they could. Applejack was bucking any wraiths she could and Pinkie was using her party cannon to blast them. Cadence was throwing heat spells of her own and while Rarity wasn't as proficient or strong with magic like the two alicorns, she was still using what she had to telekineticly throw what she could at the wraiths. Mostly rocks, but also gems and even another wraith were all ammo that she used against them. Those that weren't fighting, like Fluttershy and Rose Step, were using their bodies to shield the children. Soon enough, the wraiths were driven off. Rainbow finished her fight with the wraith that had dared to mess with her friend by throwing it after its retreating comrades.
"Yeah! You all keep running!" Rainbow shouted after them before folding her forelegs in front of her with a proud smirk. "Well we certainly showed them. I'll betcha they won't come within a hundred yards of us."
"If you actually placed that bet, you'd lose your money in an instant." Storm Wing interrupted the celebration as he glided down. "What makes the Ice Wraith the most dangerous isn't just its aggression or viciousness. It's persistence. Even when you drive them off, they come back repeatedly until either you leave or they get you. So let's move before they get their second wind."
After that, there wasn't any more discussion. The group pressed forward as fast as they could. Thankfully, they hadn't been too far from the end of the pass and they were leaving just when the screeches filled the air once more. When Twilight turned around to look, she saw the exit to Frost Fang Pass swarming with Ice Wraiths who were shooting them glares and hissing threateningly. Eventually, the wraiths left and retreated back to their dens, leaving the pass to look as peaceful and innocent as though nothing had happened.
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The sun had begun to set they started hiking up a hill. After facing down Ice Wraiths followed by walking for the rest of the day, the Equestrians were understandably tired. The windigoes were a bit better in the regard since they were built for this and had grown up in these mountains. But even they were showing signs of exhaustion. By this point, the fillies and colts were riding the backs of the older windigoes. The Crusaders and Spike were no exception. Applebloom was riding Applejack, Sweetie Belle on Rarity, Scootaloo was leaning against Rainbow Dash's neck, Spike was struggling to stay awake on Twilight and Flower Dance was hugging Rose Step.
"Mmmm. Are we there yet?" Scootaloo mumbled tiredly. "I'm kinda tired and cold."
"It's *yawn* not far now." Flower Dance replied. "Just up this hill and we'll be able to see it."
"Yay." Rainbow said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Her pace then picked up a little.
"Oh I can't wait to take a proper bath." Rarity exclaimed as she quickened her pace. "My mane looks absolutely horrible."
"An Ah can't wait ta sleep in a proper bed." Applejack added as she speed up a little. The others followed their friend's example.
"I know you're all tired, but the view from here is well worth the effort." Rose Step said as they approached the top of the hill. The front half of the village had already reached the crest of the hill and had vanished from sight. When Equestrians reached the top, they halted at the the sight before them, exhaustion completely forgotten.
The hill the were on, was actually the crest of a small cliff on the south side of a valley that gave them a perfect view of the city before them. All the buildings, homes, businesses and even what looked the be a stadium, were all made of crystal similar to the Crystal Empire. Unlike the Empire however, they didn't look like they'd been carved out of a large crystal, rather they were built out of bricks and blocks of crystal and on closer inspection, the crystal had a frosted appearance like colored ice. All aglow in the light of sunset. And at the center of it all, a huge crystal palace.
Like all the other buildings, it was made of frosted crystal with a vibrant pink and gold color scheme. It's design was also beautiful. There was one large tower in the center, surrounded by an array of towers of varying sizes but not as tall as the central one and all had a curved twisted form that, from where they were standing, made it look like a huge pink and gold fire. And at the top of the tallest tower was something that shone like a star. For a moment as Twilight stared at that point of light, she thought it pulsed subtly. But then again, it could've been a trick of the fading light.
"Whoa." Was all that seven mares, three fillies and one dragon could say when they could speak.
Rose Step nodded as she took in the view as well. "It's quite a view isn't it?" She asked the slack jawed Equestrians rhetorically. "You should see it at night though. In the dark, the buildings shine like multicolored stars."
"It's amazing." Cadence said. "It looks a lot like the Crystal Empire, but I've never seen those types of crystal before."
"That's ice crystal." Midnight Aurora said. "It's a special type of crystal that we can make in abundance. It has multiple uses. From decoration to building material. Especially building material. In the mountains, we don't get very large supplies of wood. So larger villages and the Capital use this crystal instead of wood."
"Yeah, and my sister makes the best ice crystal ever!" Flower Dance declared with no small amount of sisterly pride. Rose Step smiled.
"She's right you know." The older windigo mare said. "Crystal Flake can make high quality ice crystal. That's why she moved to the Capital. She even gets orders from the palace and Keeper herself."
"So the Keeper lives in that glorious palace?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, but don't let the fancy place intimidate you." Rose Step said with a smile. "Crystal says that she's as humble as they come. I've heard that she chose the title Keeper because she thought that any other title would keep her aloof from her people."
"Wow. She sounds like an amazing person." Fluttershy said. Rose Step, Midnight Aurora and any nearby windigoes all nodded.
"She is." Hill Song said in confirmation. The windigo pegasus had a pale green and spring green coat with a light brown and dark brown mane and tail. Her feathers also had a brown tint and her cutiemark was musical notes surrounding a brown clay instrument that she'd told them was an ocarina.
"She's very kind and gentle and wise." Hill Song continued. "I've heard that she can a little playful, but she's still a good leader and we all love and respect her. And I have no doubt that she'll see you. But its getting a little late so we should get going so we can be well rested for tomorrow."
And just like that, the exhaustion returned and they all nodded agreement. Rest sounded really good right about now.
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Within the walls of the palace, a filly and her family were enjoying a family meal. She had been talking about how her day gone with her mother's rapt attention, when suddenly the older mare's ears perked up and she stood slightly from the table to look out the window.
"Mommy?" The filly asked, surprised. Her father looked up at his wife and frowned.
"Is there something wrong honey?" He asked. The taller mare smiled gently and settled back into her seat.
"No no, nothing to be overly concerned about." She said. "But it seems as though you were right Star." The mare addressed the younger mare across the table, who only smiled knowingly and gave a soft nod. "We must make preparations to greet our new guests tomorrow but first..." She then turned back to the little filly at the table. "...I believe we were talking about something."
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They all took the path that led down to the valley and through the large, terraced fields on the city outskirts. Upon entering the city, they all went their separate ways to see the friends and family that lived here. Some went on their own of with groups, depending on who lived where. Since they had helped Flower Dance come home and they were friends, the Equestrians had been invited to stay with their family. With how exhausted they were, how could they say no to their generosity. By the time they arrived at the two story, blue and green crystal house with window frames and a few other things made of a metal Twilight recognized as bronze, it was just Rose Step, Flower Dance, the Equestrians and Hill Song.
"Looks like this is your stop." Hill Song said as she began to walk away. "Anyways, it was great meeting you all. Take care and see you later! Oh and Pinks, if you wanna start another party while you're in town, I'll be just down the street at my friend's house so come look me up!"
"Okay! You take care too Songy!" Pinkie called out and waved as the mare continued down the street. With goodbyes done, the group turned back to the crystal house and Rose Step walked forward and knocked loudly.
They only had to wait a few minutes for the door to open. The mare on the other side was an earthpony as well. Her coat was crystal blue with curls of white and her mane and tail were a coppery gold with brown and put up in a messy bun. Rose Step grinned and waved.
"Hey Crystal. How've you been?" She greeted casually.
The mare, whom they could safely assume was Crystal Flake, blinked before answering. "Rose, you're here." She said before her face fell into a sad frown. "I suppose this means you're homeless too, huh?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Rose Step said. "And I brought some guests." She then gestured to the group. The Crystal's eyes scanned across the assembled ponies.
"Equestrians. That's a surprise." She said with a calm but surprised tone. Then her gaze settled downwards. At some point during the walk to the house, Flower Dance had jumped down from Rose Step, so it wasn't until the Crystal's eyes trailed down that she noticed her little sister. For about twenty seconds, everything was silent as the mare processed the fact that Rose Step wasn't the only sister return home.
"Oh thank goodness!" Crystal cried out as she scooped the filly up into a close hug. "Thank the Great Hearth you're alright! You've had all of us so worried!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Flower apologized as she hugged her sister back. There was a slight tremble in her voice. Crystal caught it.
"Hey now, we aren't mad." She said comfortingly. "We're just really really worried." She set the filly down and stood up. "Now, let's not keep this moment to ourselves. Not to mention the doorstep isn't the best place for this. So come in, come in."
Everyone thanked Crystal Flake as she needed everyone inside from the cold. After she shut the door, and older female voice called out from further in the house.
"Crystal, who is it?"
Crystal Flake smiled mischievously. "It's Rose mom!" She called back. "And she brought some guests! Come and say hi!" The only response she got was the sound of hoofsteps getting closer and closer.
When the older mare entered the entry hall, the first thing that popped into the Equestrians' mind was the family resemblance between Rose Step and her mother. Her mane and tail were red and pink, but more in favor of the pink with the red thin lines in the pink. Her coat also was spring green in color, but paler than her daughter's and with curls of dark emerald in it. Upon entering, she paused and took in the group. And when her eyes landed on Flower Dance, she began to tear up.
"Oh......FLOWER!!!" She cried out as she surged forward to sweep her daughter up into a hug as tears streamed down her face. "Oh oh.... you're alright. You're safe. Thank the Hearth." She cried into her daughter's coat as the filly hugged her back with tears in her own eyes. The scene was heartwarming enough that the observing Equestrians were wiping tears from their eyes. Even Rainbow Dash, in an effort to keep her tough look, was fighting against tears of her own.
"Wait, did she just say 'Flower'?" Another voice asked from the direction the mother came. Male, from the sound of it.
"As in Flower Dance? Does that mean she's here?!" A second voice asked, female this time. Then, a head poked around the corner. A filly exactly Flower Dance's age with a white mane and thin stripes of slightly dark mint green. When her gaze landed on her mother and her sister, her mint and emerald eyes lit up.
"It's her!" The filly called excitedly. "She's here! And she's alright!"
In an instant, the entryway was flooded by windigoes all clamoring to see their sister. There were mares and stallions of varying ages and colors. Some were earthponies and some were pegasi. The oldest stallion, the last to enter, was a large, brown pegasus with a grey and white mane and tail. And bundled in cloth and fastened to his chest was a small bundle that, when he moved closer, was revealed to be a yound earthpony foal that was fast asleep.
"Daddy!" Flower Dance cried cheerfully as she detached herself from her mother and lept onto his neck, being careful of the snoozing bundle. The stallion chuckled, his voice sounding like a rumble as he wrapped a leg around her.
"It's a relief to see you safe." He said kindly.
"Yeah, same here little sis." A grey and white pegasus with a spiky, icey blue and yellow mane said. "Don't go scaring us like that again. You know that's my job." At that everyone burst into laughter.
"Sorry Wind Sheer." Flower apologized a little playfully. Wind Sheer laughed and grabbed her off their father.
"Oh don't worry, I forgive you." He said, a malicious grin was spreading across his face. "But you still need to be punished." He finished in a sing-song tone. Flower Dance's eyes widened in horror.
"No! Wai-" her protests were cut off by a squeal when the stallion began tickling her. Everybody began to laugh again and the Equestrians, who were observing from behind, found themselves forgotten by everyone but Rose Step and Crystal Flake. And they all didn't feel right for intruding in on family time. Someone else however, did. By loudly clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. The newcomer was standing in the doorway at the end of the entryway hall. His coat was green with some brown mixed in and his man and tail were gold and yellow. A horn poking through his mane denoted him as a unicorn.
"I'm sorry for ruining this beautiful family moment, but if we don't eat soon, dinner will get cold." He spoke with a kind twinkle in his eye. "And I think our guests would like to join us after coming such a long way."
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After a bit of rearranging, everyone sat down to enjoy the meal. Chairs had to be hunted down and seating arrangements rearranged to seat everyone at the already crowded table. In the end, the younger children had to sit on the older ones laps and Crystal Flake promised that she'd put together another table for the younger ones. Flower Dance had been seated on her mother's lap, much to her embarrassment, but she didn't complain as much as she normally would. With everyone settling into the meal, she decided introductions were in order.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my family." She announced. "This is my mother, Rose Storm." She said gesturing to the mare who's lap she was sitting on. The mare nodded politely.
"A pleasure to meet you." She said.
"And this is my dad, Eagle Flight." Flower Dance continued. The stallion in question only nodded his head with a welcoming smile. "And you've met Crystal Flake," the mare in question waved "and this is her husband, Gold Wood." The unicorn stallion from before waved in greeting with a smile.
"You've already met Rose Step." Flower Dance continued as Rose nodded. "These are her siblings, Wind Sheer and Heart Whisperer."
The grey and white pegasus stallion from earlier nodded his head. "What's up?" He said casually in greeting.
"Hey there." Another pegasus, this time a mare, greeted. Her coat was light blue in color with swirls of purple and her mane and tail were darker purple with white in it.
"And here's Wind Runner." Flower Dance gestured to an earthpony with a light grey coat and a wind swept white and darker grey mane.
"Yo." He said with a raised hoof. For a competitive racer, he seemed a little laid back.
"And that's Sweet Step and Sky Rider." Flower gestured to another pair of windigoes. Sweet Step was a petite earthpony with a snow white coat and a red and pink mane and pink hooves. Sky Rider was, as promised, huge. Most definitely the biggest pegasus they'd seen. And he seemed like he was still and adolescent. His coat was sky blue and his mane and tail were white as a cloud with tinges of blue at the tips of his locks. There was also white on the tips of his wings and his hooves.
"Hey there!" Sweet Step greeted. "It's great to meet you all!"
"Hey." Was all that Sky Rider rumbled out.
"And this is my twin, Mountain Mint." Flower Dance introduced the filly who'd peeked into the entryway first. Her coat was a deep emerald green with some swirls of lighter green and her hooves were mint green in color.
"Hey!" Mountain Mint greeted enthusiastically. "It's great to meet my sister's friends! Welcome to our home. Which is technically Crystal's home, but still, welcome!"
"Heehee. I like you!" Pinkie declared.
"I like you too!" Mint answered.
"Don't forget me!" A younger filly called out as she lept from her seat on Sky Rider's lap. Her mane and tail were white and pale grey and in bouncy curls. Her coat was aa light brown with darker brown swirled together.
"My name's Snow Bunny!" She cried out like it was a cheer. "Nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too!" Pinkie Pie cheered then turned to Eagle, who still had a green colt bundled to his chest. "Which can only mean that this little one is Green Leaf." She finished in a quiet voice.
Eagle Flight nodded. "That's right." He said softly. "And I appreciate your efforts to be quiet. He's still very young and is very hard to get to sleep, so I'd like him when we do get him to sleep I'd like him to sleep for as long as possible."
"You're very welcome." Pinkie whispered cheerfully. "The Cakes back home have their own set of twins and sometimes help foalsit so I know how you feel. Now, enough of the chit chat, I'm famished. Let's eat!"
Amazingly, the baby didn't wake up at her shout. But those who knew her, chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie. She did have a point though. After hours of hiking and fighting of the ice equivalent of Timberwolves, they were starving and couldn't wait to dig in. So without further ado, they began eating. It wasn't until later in the meal that anyone spoke.
"So, what brings Equestrians to our mountains?" Rose Storm asked. Twilight swallowed her food and dabbed sauce off her lips before answering.
"Well, we're here on a diplomatic mission from Celestia and Luna to meet and speak with your leader." She said.
"I was under the impression that Equestrians didn't know of our existence." Eagle Flight said. "Much less the princesses. How did they know that we were here?"
"Well, up until recently we didn't know." Twilight admitted. "And then we met your daughter. Or to be more specific, the Crusaders met your daughter." As she mentioned the Crusaders, she gestured to the fillies in question, who were all sitting on their sister's laps.
"Yeah! We were trying to get our cutiemarks in ghost hunting by going into the Everfree forest and that's where we met Flower." Scootaloo explained.
"I've heard of the Everfree forest." Sweet Step said. "It's definitely not a place for fillies and colts to enter unaccompanied. But the Everfree forest is also long ways away from here. Did the winds blow Flower that far away?"
"Not technically." Flower spoke up. "I kinda ended up out of the mountains and the winds were to strong for me to fly back alone. And I was unprepared to return to the mountains on hoof. So I went to Celestia and Luna to see if they could help us. I got as far as the Everfree before I balked and hung around the abandoned castle until I could pluck up my courage. That was when the Crusaders ran into me. The first time we met, they thought I was a ghost."
At that, everyone grinned and chuckled.
"Ta be fair, yer Snow Form looks very ghostly." Applebloom defended, but in all honesty, none of the Crusaders felt like they were being mocked so they added a few chuckles of their own.
"Yeah, an when we didn't believe them, these here troublemakers figured that the only solution was ta go an hunt down the ghost again." Applejack continued as she ruffled her sister's hair. "An' when we came lookin' fer them, that's when we met yer daughter. We took her to see Celestia and she told them about what's been going on here. An' just like that, we're on this expedition ta talk with her leader, help out an' bring yer filly home."
The windigo family were quiet for a time to digest this information. "So basically, you found my daughter and then came all this way to bring her back safely and help the rest of our kind?" Rose Storm asked.
"If ya want it in a nutshell, then yeah." Applejack said with a nod. "That's pretty much how it is." There was another moment of silence. The next moment however, each of the Equestrians found themselves enfolded into a hug from the nearest windigo.
For Twilight, it was Gold Wood. Applejack was embraced by Crystal Flake. Wind Sheer pulled Rainbow Dash into a one legged hug and Fluttershy was almost completely engulfed in Sky Rider's bulk. Pinkie Pie was tackled by Snow Bunny and Rarity was embraced by Sweet Step while Mountain Mint gathered Spike and the Crusaders into a group hug. And pulling Cadence close to her was Heart Whisperer.
"With how things have been going, folks have been getting scared." Gold Wood said into Twilight's mane. "Thank you for coming to help us."
"And thank you for bringing home our little girl." Eagle Flight continued. "From now on, you can consider yourselves a part of the family. Our doors shall always be open to you and you shall always have a place at our tables."
"Well shucks, that's mighty kind of ya." Applejack said with a slight tilt of her hat. "We're just glad ta see the little one back with her family. Now Ah do believe that there's a meal that needs eatin'."
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With the meal finished and the table cleared, everyone went off to do their own thing. Green Leaf had woken up, so Rose Storm took him to get him cleaned and fed. When she was finished, she passed him on to her husband and began preparing places for their guests to sleep. Flower Dance, Mountain Mint and Snow Bunny were showing the Crusaders around the house before playing together in the main room under the supervision of Sweet Step and the Crusaders older siblings.
Cadence and Heart Whisperer were talking together since they'd both found out that they each had similar abilities. Heart, as it turned out, was a romance guru that folks would come to talk to about relationship issues. That was her special talent. She could tell how much a heart yearned for another and would help couples get together. Pinkie Pie was enjoying exploring every nook and cranny in the new house. Same could be said about Twilight. The alicorn was exploring the house as well and noting everything she could about the interior and its architecture. Every once in a while, she'd ask someone about something that caught her attention.
The design of the interior had a very warm and cozy feel. The furniture was mostly carved from crystal, but there were some wooden pieces and bronze pieces as well. And the walls were covered in gorgeous tapestries. Some were simply decoration, there were a few that definitely told stories. The main room was the largest room in the house and was circular in shape with, of course, a dish shaped, bronze brazier. The bottom of the brazier was slightly blackened, yet otherwise it was clean without one stick or bit of ash. Clearly, a well maintained brazier. The room was also furnish with some curved couches that were the softest, most cozy couches Twilight had had ever felt.
The next biggest rooms were the dining room and kitchen. The dinning room was more rectangular and was furnished with a crystal table and chairs. There were more tapestries and a door that led to the kitchen. There were counters for cutting, stirring and putting together food items. There was an iron brazier designed for cooking. There was a bar with a slight bend in it to hang pots on and a grate fixed over the top for grilling or putting pans on. And there was also a tall rectangular box made of frosted crystal. When Twilight opened the box, she was treated to a blast of cool air and saw various, refrigeratable items inside of it.
Moving out of the kitchen, Twilight had just trotted into the hallway when Rose Storm trotted downstairs with an announcement that sleeping arrangements were currently in order. Wind Sheer and Heart Whisperer already had homes of their own here in the Capital so that made things easier. Crystal still had the bigger house while those two had apartments, but it was still a load off their sister's shoulders. Rose Step went with Heart Whisperer while Wind Runner was with Wind Sheer. All the rest slept in Crystal's guest room beds or floors and the couches in the main room.
Rainbow Dash was the first to wake up. With a yawn, she stretched herself then moved over to the window and opened it for a breath of fresh air. The sun was rising slowly, giving the pegasus a good view of the neighborhood in the pale morning light. Suddenly, something rushed by her so fast that she lost her balance and started to fall out the window. Thankfully, she was able to arrest her descent with a flap of her wings. Hanging partly out the window, she tried to figure out what hit her. And all she had to go on was a blur of red with some gold and gusts of wind that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
"What in Equestria was that?" She asked herself as she gently flew back into the room.
"A Message Runner." Rainbow almost jumped back out the window at Crystal's answer.
"Sweet Celestia's mane, you scared me!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "And what's a message runner?"
"Message Runners are the fastest in the mountains." Crystal explained. "They deliver messages, letters, packages and at times, nationwide decrees and warnings from the Keeper."
Rainbow Dash took a moment to process this info. "So they're sorta like mail ponies." She summed up.
"Pretty much." Crystal said with a shrug as she came to the window. "Look, there's one making rounds."
Rainbow Dash looked out where the pony was pointing. At the end of the walkway leading up to the front door was a crystal box with a lid and standing near the box was a windigo earthpony mare wearing a bright red cloak with gold trim. And embroidered on the back of the cloak in gold thread was a stylized wing with swirling lines to indicate that it was surrounded and made of wind. Rainbow watched as she sorted through envelopes she pulled out of her red and gold bag and sticking them in the box. The last thing she dropped in the box was a fairly sized package before she shut the lid and lifted a stylized wing on the side. With that done, the mare moved on to the next house.
"So are Message Runners supposed to knock ponies out of windows?" Dash asked and Crystal laughed a bit.
"Not usually, no. But I think it's a safe guess that was Wind Sheer." She said.
"Wind Sheer's a Message Runner?" Rainbow asked. "I thought he was a stunt pony."
"He is, but he's not yet at that point where he can support himself on his stunts alone." Crystal explained. "So he and Wind Runner both work part time as Message Runners. Sheer tells me that he's not only earning bits, but also keeping himself in shape. He probably saw you in the window and figured he'd prank you a little."
Rainbow Dash frowned a little. "That little punk." She growled then leaned out the window to look in the direction he'd gone, even though Wind Sheer was already long gone. A mischievous gleam was in her eyes as a wicked smile spread across her muzzle.
"Oh I'm so getting him back." She said. Crystal laughed.
"I figured as much." She said. "But before you start plotting your revenge, why don't we go get some breakfast started. You've got a busy day ahead of you, you know."
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At breakfast, Rainbow told Twilight about what happened earlier and Twilight instantly started asked what questions she could about Message Runners and recording what she'd learned. After breakfast, Rarity insisted that everyone bathe so they could look more presentable to this land's leader and after they'd been hiking for days, she felt they felt they were all due for a proper bath. None of them could argue with that so bathtime it was. The bath however, wasn't what they expected.
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The bath was a circular room and covered in multicolored crystal tiles. At one side there were stools near faucets, shower heads, sponges and brushes, soaps and buckets. At the other side was a large, covered tub. The room was big enough for the Equestrians to step in and walk around comfortably. Though it wasn't much of a surprise since the windigoes were a bit bigger than Equestrians.
"Whoa. I've never seen a bathroom like this before." Rainbow Dash said as she flew in. "It's wierd."
"Rainbow Dash! We are guests in someone's home and of another culture! Be respectful!" Rarity scolded the brash pegasus.
"It's alright." Sweet Step said as she scooted past them and moved towards the tub. "No offense was taken. By the way though, we call this room a bath. Not a bathroom."
"Judging by how this looks, it seems as though bathing is a little different here." Twilight observed.
"You would be correct." Sweet Step said as she pulled of the cover on the tub and letting in some steam. "It works like this. First you sit there on the stools and rinse of the dirt with the hot water scooped from this bath then you get into the bath for the first soak. After that, you climb out and sit back in the stool and scrub yourself down. Then after you've rinsed the soap off, you climb back in for your final soak."
"So in order ta get clean, we have ta go through this complex ritual?" Applejack asked. "Why would y'all do that? Ain't it much easier ta jus' get in the tub?"
"Applejack!" Rarity hissed at the farmpony. "Respect their culture and traditions! That's the whole point of being a diplomat."
"Ah'm sorry. Ah don't mean any offense, Ah'm jus' wonderin' why y'all have ta have four steps ta bathing. It ain't rocket science." Applejack apologized.
"Again, no offense has been taken." Sweet Step said with a smile. "As for why we do it, well our ancestors learned of this method of bathing from this island nation to the east called Neighpon. Every day, its a very important daily ritual. For them, it isn't just bathing, its also a purification ritual. According to their religion, water symbolizes a cleaning of impurities and distractions. A sort of meditation if you will. For us, it holds similar symbolism. It helps us calm and rejuvenate. Prepare us to take on the day. It also has a certain amount of social significance. After all, aside from unicorns, there are parts that a pony can't reach on their own. Family and friends gather together to help each other and relax. Anyways, I'll leave you guys to get cleaned. Make sure you fish any hairs and debris out of the tub when you're done!"
With that, Sweet Step left the room, leaving the ponies to consider what had been said. Naturally, it was Twilight who broke the silence.
"I so need to get this down." She said as she started to leave to find a quill and paper. Her retreat however, was halted by a blue aura wrapping around her tail.
"Oh no you don't." Rarity declared as she dragged her friend back with a grunt of effort. She wasn't as good at this sort of levitation as Twilight or Cadence so it was an extra strain. Regardless, she yanked Twilight's tail with her magic until she was back in the room.
"We are going to be meeting with this nation's leader and we are not showing up looking and smelling like we just hiked through the mountains." Rarity declared firmly. Though admittedly the smell wasn't as bad as it could've been, taking dips in hot springs had paid off, Rarity still wanted them all at their best for their first meeting with this Keeper.
"B-but, learning!" Twilight protested. "I have to record this for the princesses. And I have to learn more about this!"
"All of that can been done later. AFTER we have bathed." Rarity countered firmly and adding some emphasis on the word 'after'. "When we're clean and presentable, you can learn what you can to your hearts content."
Twilight pouted a little, but in the end she capitulated. "Fine. But I will be researching this thoroughly after!" She declared as she settled into a stool. Everyone smiled and chuckled at that.
"I would expect nothing less from you." Rarity said as she took a seat of her own. "Now let's get started."
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The bath was incredibly relaxing and refreshing. When they were done, the windigoes in the house also used the bath, going in small groups at a time. Rarity was ecstatic to finally be able to set her mane in order and by the time she was done, everyone at the house was bathed and Twilight had put together an impressive report on windigo bathing rituals. Finally, they were able to leave.
"Alrighty then, if that's all, let's go meet this Keeper." Applejack declared and the adult Equestrians and Spike gathered together. Instantly, the Crusaders, Flower Dance, Mountain Mint and Snow Bunny were by their side with expectant eyes.
"Can we please come?" They begged simultaneously before anyone could ask why they were there.
"Girls, this is a very important political meeting." Twilight said. "The only reason why I'm bringing Spike is because he's my Number One assistant. Even then, I'm pretty sure he's going to be bored out of his mind."
"Nuh-uh!" Spike protested. "I'll be perfectly fine!"
"Point is, we don't want you all running around the palace and making a mess of things because you're bored." Rarity spoke up. "What kind of impression would that leave the windigoes if that happened?"
"But we'll be super good! Promise!" Sweetie Belle pleaded.
"Yeah! We were good the whole trip so we can be good here!" Scootaloo said with her own pleading eyes.
"And we really really want to meet the Keeper! So pleeeeeeeeeease?" The entire group chorused with wide eyes and puppy dog pouts. The Mane Six and Cadence suddenly found themselves at a loss. On one hoof, none of them felt it was a great idea to bring fillies to meet this nation's leader. But on the other hoof, the combined force of six sad eyes and puppy dog pouts was proving to be formidable. It was Crystal Flake who settled the issue. Coming into the hall and seeing what was going on, she laughed for a minute. This broke and dissipated the tension that had gathered.
"Oh just take them with you." She said when she finished laughing. "At their age, there's no way they can sit still for very long and Hearth knows we won't be able to handle them. Gold Wood and I are going to be in our workshop filling orders, Mom and Dad have their hooves full with Green Leaf and everyone else have odd jobs around the house or elsewhere in the Capital. Basically, it would be really helpful if they were out of our manes."
"But what about the Keeper?" Rarity asked. "Wouldn't it be improper if we showed up with six young fillies in tow?"
Crystal smiled. "Rarity, if I thought that it would be a bad idea, do you really think I'd suggest this? Remember, half of these fillies are my sisters."
"Ah, yes of course." Rarity said as she cleared her throat. "Sorry. It would be very rude of me to suggest that you would intentionally place your sisters in any type of harm. However, I still hold some concerns about taking six rambunctious fillies to a meeting with an important political and public figure."
Crystal grinned and chuckled lightly. "Oh, don't worry about that Rarity. The Keeper is very kind, understanding and good with kids. Trust me, it won't be a problem." As she spoke, there was a slight smirk like she knew something they didn't.
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And with that, the matter was settled and here they were, walking through the streets to the palace. It was late in the morning, and the streets were starting to fill up with windigoes. In the residential district, there weren't many windigoes. There were adults leaving for work and children running out to play. In the business district, things really got crowded.
Shops, restaurants, stands and other sorts of establishments were open or opening and customers were contributing their business. One building they passed by very large and grand but also very simply decorated. It was made of different shades of blue crystal and there were bronze statues over pools of water that were currently frozen over and from the way it looked, they guessed that these statues were supposed to spout water. There were groups or singular windigoes that were entering the building with what looked like bathing supplies and were exiting looking cleaned and refreshed.
Twilight gasped. "Wait, could that be the bath house?" She asked. Cadence, the Crusaders and the rest of the Mane Six looked at her confused.
"Bath house?" They all asked simultaneously. Twilight turned to them with a grin as she pulled out her report on windigo bathing and passed it to Cadence.
"Page four, paragraph six." She said with a proud grin. Cadence took the stack and flipped to the correct page and began reading out loud.
"Another important aspect of this important daily ritual is the bath house." As Cadence read, the rest of the Equestrians crowded together to read. "The bath house is in basic, a public bath for windigoes to bathe. The original purpose for this building was to provide a place for those who don't have their own baths to have a place to bathe. To this day, this is still one reason to visit the bath house. Athletes also visit this establishment after exercise and workouts in order to clean themselves. Some groups of friends have actually come as a sort of social gathering or spa day. Since it was first conceived, bath houses have become a well known gathering place and are filled with all sorts of different baths. Hot baths, cold baths, tepid baths, saunas, etcetera. For what ever reason, bath houses are one of the most popular places amongst windigoes."
"Hmm, sounds like Fluttershy and I won't miss our Spa Day while we're here." Rarity mused. "But I must admit that bathing in public sounds a little, uncomfortable. I mean, what about your privacy? I understand bathing with family and friends, but in public where strangers can see you? That doesn't sound very relaxing at all."
Applejack scanned the windigoes leaving the building and observed that none of them had any signs of discomfort and were happily relaxed and chatting away with others.
"Well Rares, either they have a way of givin' folks their privacy or that ain't an issue here." Applejack remarked. "But Ah think we got ourselves a little off track. Ain't we supposed to be meetin' someone?"
"Ain't isn't a word." Rarity quipped back. "But I do get what you're saying. We should be getting along."
Everyone agreed and Cadence hoofed back Twilight's report before they continued on. As they went drew closer to the palace, they began noticing a certain aspect of the windigoes crowding around. Amongst the average windigoes, they spotted windigoes wearing bronze armor with copper weapons. The armor design was overlapping plates strapped across the back and around the neck. There were leg guards in the same fashion along with armored hooves and a breastplate with an emblem of a shield with blazing, outstretched wings made of a small copper plate attached to the front. Their helmets were fashioned like Royal Guards but only surrounding the head and with graceful swirled shapes molded into the metal. It didn't take a genius to guess from their armored appearance and their disciplined stances that these were their guard.
"Looks like y'all have yer own version of the Royal Guard." Applejack commented as she observed the armored windigoes. "Though that really doesn't surprise me much. Makes sense fer you guys ta have some sort of military."
"Here, we call them the Hearth Guard." Flower Dance replied.
"Why do y'all call 'em that?" Applebloom asked.
"Like I've said before, the hearth is the center of the home and family." Flower Dance explained. "It's a gathering place for friends and enemies alike and is a place of warmth, light, comfort, protection and life itself. Even in the Capital, it remains the center. The Hearth Guard protects that."
"That makes sense." Cadence said. As Twilight wrote all this down, she noticed something that peaked her curiosity.
"Interesting choice in metal." Twilight noted as she observed the guards. "Copper has a number of uses since it conducts heat and electricity in addition to holding enchantments almost as good as gold or silver, but I never thought it could be used as a weapon."
"It does when its hardened copper." Mountain Mint said. "There's this special process that copper smiths use to harden the copper and make it harder than anything. We use this copper for lots of things like weapons and tools. Crystal says that a good harden copper tool is better than any other metal tool. And they last longer too."
"Amazing." Twilight said as she scribbled notes on her parchment. "When we're done meeting with the Keeper, I should go speak with these copper smiths."
"Speaking of which, we're almost there." Pinkie said, pointing at the palace at the end of the road. Up close, it still looked impressive and beautiful. And of course there were more guards around the palace than anywhere else. Before drawing much closer to the palace, the group paused and pulled the fillies aside.
"Now remember girls, we are going to be appearing before a nation's leader so be on your best behavior." Rarity said firmly.
"Don't worry sis!" Sweetie Belle said. "We'll be so good, you won't even know we're there." The three Equestrian fillies gave their sisters their best angelic smiles and it wasn't too much of a stretch to imagine halos over their heads. The three windigo fillies however liked a bit more relaxed.
"We've never met the Keeper, but from what I've heard, she's a very relaxed and forgiving person." Snow Bunny said.
"Nevertheless, we want to make the best first impression we can." Rarity said. "So all of you please be on your best behavior."
"Okay Miss Rarity." The three sisters said simultaneously but with different tones in their voices. Flower's voice was relaxed and so was Mint's. Snow Bunny however was more enthusiastic than the other two. Satisfied that the fillies would be on their best behavior, the group resumed their walk towards the castle.
As they approached the palace gates, they were met by a windigo pegasus stallion wearing more elaborate armor that suggested that he was in a position of authority. His coat was a blazing orange and red and when he pulled off his helmet, they saw that his mane was yellow and orange which altogether gave him a very firey look. They were all quiet as the stallion's red, orange and yellow eyes looked them over. When he spoke, his voice was deep but also had some warmth.
"Equestrians here in our mountains eh?" He asked in an even, neutral tone that betrayed nothing. "Well then, I'm Captain Blazing Spear of the Hearth Guard. Come with me. We've been expecting you."
That last sentence shocked the mares so much that they almost didn't follow the stallion. How could they be expecting? How did they know? They were all aware of how word traveled in towns and cities, but they'd only just arrived in the Capital. Certainly not enough time for word of their arrival to make it to the palace. Deciding to set aside their questions for later, they followed after the stallion and fillies who'd run ahead as the mares had stood in shock. Noticing how the windigo fillies didn't seem as surprised as the Equestrians, Twilight figured that this wasn't that unusual.
The inside of the palace was just as beautiful as the outside. There were crystal, bronze and copper sculptures and statuettes. Lovely accents that had been carved into the architecture and draped across the walls were glorious tapestries. Some were clearly for decorative purposes while others were remarkably detailed portraits. The detail and craftsponyship was astounding and it took the Equestrian's breaths away. And when started down a hall lined with tapestries, the Equestrians were blown away.
The tapestries here were bigger and more colorful but one thing that set them apart was that they weren't for decoration, or a portrait. Instead, they depicted scenes. The first one of these tapestries had three ponies rearing up on their hindlegs on the bottom. Two were clearly mares. One was a unicorn stitched in purple and blue with a midnight blue mane. The second mare was a two toned blue pegasus with a white mane. The third pony, an earthpony stallion, was black with light grey and his mane was a darker grey with a light grey stripe. Above them was a metallic dish brazier with a fire made of pink and gold thread. And above that fire was a large number of windigoes that looked more like what the Equestrians had grown up seeing in drawings. And they were all looking towards the fire and flying towards it.
The other tapestries had similar scenes and a few of the first tapestries had one or all three of that trio if windigoes. The rest featured scenes with different windigoes. Some featured great victories and others had a more serene nature but still held a feeling of importance.
"My goodness, these tapestries are simply gorgeous." Rarity cooed with awe. "The designs and craftsponyship is amazing."
"Ah agree." Applejack said. "Jus' look at these. Ah think some of these folks were in the portraits earlier."
"Excuse me, Captain Spear?" Twilight called out and the stallion in question glanced back at her.
"You may call me Blazing Spear and what would you like to know?" The Captain replied.
"Well, unlike the other tapestries we've seen so far these ones depict events and scenes." Twilight started her question. "Why is that? And what kind of significance do these scenes hold?"
"These tapestries depict important events and great victories." Blazing Spear answered. "All going back to the beginning of our history."
"So their like the stained glass windows in Canterlot." Rainbow summed up.
"In a nutshell, yes." Blazing said with a nod. "But in my opinion, I find these tapestries much lovelier and more practical in comparison."
"How so?" Twilight asked with a eagerness to learn in her voice.
"For starters, we are masters with weaving cloth, tapestries and embroidery." Blazing began with a light sweep of his hoof. "It is a specialty that we have perfected over centuries. All of these were woven by the masters of their times and their talents show in their work."
"They do indeed." Rarity agreed. "In fact, these patterns have inspired a whole new line!" She finished with a squeal of delight.
"As for the practicality part, tapestries provide insulation against the cold mountain air." Blazing continued. "This is something that we find invaluable, especially during the Cold Season. And in addition, if for some reason we needed to leave this place, its much easier to pack a tapestry than a window."
At some point, Rarity had pulled out a notepad and was taking notes. "Warmth and portability. Got it." She muttered to herself. "Oh! This'll be the best winter fashion line seen!"
The Equestrians only smiled at their friend. The rest of the short walk was spent in silence. At the end of the hallway was a set of tall double doors decorated with a fire motif. Blazing Spear halted and stood to the side of the doors.
"May I present to you the Keeper of the Hearth Fire!" He announced as the doors began to open. When they opened fully, he led them in then stood off to the side. The room that they had walked in was as large and as grand as the throne room in Canterlot. It maintained the pink and gold theme that had been seen and the walls were also decorated with tapestries. The roof was more twisted and tapered like they were in the middle of one of the towers.
Aside from the guards in the room, there were three mares. The first was a deep blue and silver unicorn with a white and silver mane and white hooves. Her kind eyes were a swirl of blue, silver and white. The second mare was an earthpony with a pale blue and icey blue coat and mane that was a swirl of darker blues with a single blue stripe. Her similarly blue eyes scanned them all with a spark of barely restrained excitement.
However the second their eyes landed on the third mare in the room, everything ground to a halt so fast, the Equestrians almost got whiplash. Her seat was on a raised portion of the room like in Canterlot, had a high back and was made of beautifully crafed copper. She was taller than anyone in the room. Easily two heads taller than Celestia. Her coat was a pale golden yellow with soft rosy pink swirls. Her hooves were Golden and her feathers had a rich pink tint. Her long, thick mane was also rich pink with lines of gold and it waved downwards and in a way that reminded them of a gentle fire. And poking through her mane from her head was a long graceful horn. From her position she smiled at them as her pink and gold eyes shone with kindness, wisedom and humor.
"Greetings and welcome to our nation." She greeted and the Equestrians were snapped out of their stupor then began trying to pick their jaws up from the floor. "My name is Adalia Rubaina Karasi Inessa Shamira. Keeper of the Hearth Fire and leader of the windigoes. But, you may call me Ada. Its a pleasure to meet you all."
"I uh um." Twilight stumbled on her words before clearing her throat. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle the Princess of Friendship. This is Princess Cadence the Princess of Love and ruler of the Crystal Empire. And these are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity. This is my Number One assistant Spike, the Cutiemark Crusaders, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and three of your own subjects, Flower Dance, Mountain Mint and Snow Bunny."
As she rattled off introductions, she found the shock of meeting a fifth alicorn was wearing off and judging by the looks in her friends faces, it was the same with them. Not surprisingly, none of the windigo fillies had been surprised with this reveal. A deep but lighthearted chuckle pulled Twilight back to the present.
"Oh Twilight, there's no need to be so formal here." Ada said kindly.
"Sorry." Twilight automatically apologized. "It's just.....none of us expected an alicorn."
"Of course. I imagine Equestrians would be deeply shocked with such a revelation." Ada replied then clapped her hooves together. "Nevertheless, here we are. And since you've introduced your friends, I'll introduce my own." She then gestured to the unicorn mare to her right.
"This is Star Sight." Ada introduced. "One of my closest advisers."
"A pleasure and an honor to meet you." Star Sight said politely with a slight bow. Ada then turned to the earthpony on her left.
"And this is Frosty Winds, an Equestrian expert and enthusiast." Ada introduced her. "She is also a close advisor and dear friend."
"Hi! Great to meet you all!" She greeted loudly. "And you're all from Equestria! That's so exciting! Eeeeeee!" Suddenly they realized why Frosty had been looking at them with barely contained excitement.
"Uh, yeah I guess?" Rainbow said and Frosty was now vibrating with excitement that'd only been seen that one time Pinkie drank coffee. A lot of ponies in Ponyville still had nightmares about that day. Needless to say, Pinkie Pie was forever banned from coffee. They even had her Pinkie Swear to never touch the stuff again. Returning to the present. Upon seeing Frosty Winds reaction, Ada instantly waved over Blazing Spear to lean in and talk to him.
"Have someone take her out and possibly to the infirmary if you'd please." She said and Blazing nodded. Five minutes later, two soldiers were escorting Frosty Winds out of the room.
"I apologize for that." Ada said. "Believe it or not, Frosty is really a very intelligent and kind advisor and friend. She's just very enthusiastic about meeting you. Just give her time to cool down."
"That's okay." Pinkie said brightly. "She looks like a fun pony so we should totally hang out. By the way, why did you call Frosty your friend but not Star? Is she not your friend?"
"No, she is very close to me." Ada said in answer to Pinkie's question. "But our relationship between each other is a little different and given how you all reacted to my alicorn status, I didn't think that you were ready."
"Honestly, at this point, I'm pretty sure there's very little to surprise us." Rainbow said. "So just lay it on us and get it over with." Star Sight and Ada shared a glance before turning back to the Equestrians.
"Very well." Ada relented. "Star Sight here is my daughter."
As Adalia had suspected, that was the final straw. The second the Equestrians fully processed that sentence, their brains short circuited and they all froze. Even the fillies. Adalia sat there and nodded sagely.
"Yeah, I thought that would happen." She said. From somewhere in the room, there was a soft snicker that was quickly muffled. At first glance, it seemed as though nobody had heard it, but one of Ada's ears twitched slightly.
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After a few minutes, the Equestrians came around. As Guards helped lift them up, they fully processed what was happening.
"Setting aside the fact that you are an alicorn, how is it that you have a daughter?" Twilight asked.
"Since you're a alicorn yourself, I thought you'd know that by now." Ada chided playfully. "We are not godsno matter what the ponies around us believe. We do have emotions and urges. Over the centuries, there have been times when some stallion catches my eye and we court. More often than not this leads to marriage and eventually children."
"Wait, centuries?" Cadence immediately picked up on. "How old are you?"
"Ah yes, I knew that question would come up." Ada said. "In answer, I have been around for as long as our race have lived here in the mountains. Roughly around the time the three tribes settled and founded Equestria."
"But that was more than a thousand years ago." Twilight exclaimed as she ran through the numbers in her head. "It wasn't until eight hundred years after the unification of the three tribes that Celestia and Luna came into power. That would make you almost a thousand years older than the Celestial Sisters."
She looked Adalia in the eyes and saw that she was completely serious. The alicorn then began steaming as she broke down internally. Applejack poked her friend's leg but received no response.
"Well, she's officially broken." Applejack announced and Adalia laughed a little.
"Well, in continuation of your earlier question, I am currently married but Star Sight is what you might the child of a previous marriage but that's a long story that I don't want to get into." Ada said. "Suffice it to say that I have a daughter."
"Well okay then." Cadence said. "Not that that's out of the way, let's move on. We've come here to make contact with you and to negotiate possible Equestrian help and relief."
Adalia nodded. "I imagined that would be your task. However I don't feel like now is the best time to discuss such things."
"Wait what? Why?" Applebloom asked without thinking and Applejack pulled her back.
"Consider the current state of Miss Sparkle." Adalia said with a wave of her in Twilight's direction. The alicorn still remained in the same place she'd been sitting only now she was rattling off numbers and dates.
"I doubt that she is in any state to conduct any sort of negotiations." Ada said and they had to agree. "Plus, you have only just arrived here in a nation you know almost nothing about. In order to have smooth, diplomatic negotiations, I believe it is very useful to learn what you can about the other party. Which is why I propose that we go out and spend the day out in the Capital."
The Equestrians paused to give the matter some thought. Even Twilight paused her rambling and her ears perked up.
"Hmm, it sound like a good idea." Cadence said. "We could definitely use the time to unwind after our journey and this. So I guess, let's hang out."
"Ah'm a more curious about this place so why not." Applejack added.
"Indeed. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of fashions this place has to offer." Rarity piped up. "What little I have seen so far have been an inspiration already. I may need another sketchbook because of all the material I've seen so far."
"I'd I'm looking forward to eating some windigo cuisine after eating almost nothing but hiking food!" Pinkie exclaimed dramatically as she fainted like Rarity would.
"Uh Pinkie? Didn't we eat some proper food last night at Crystal's place?" AJ pointed out.
"Yeah I know." Pinkie answered as she sprang up like a pony in the box. "That's why I said almost. Plus I'd like to try their sweet treats!"
"I'd like to come too!" Twilight called out loudly then blushed slightly when she found everyone's attention on her. "It's a perfect opportunity to learn what I can about windigo culture. So of course I want to come."
"Glad to see you're back with us." Rainbow Dash said as she slung her arm across her friend's back. "Me personally, I want to check out that stadium. I mean did you see the size of that place? I've so got to see what they do there that requires such a large arena!"
Flower Dance beamed. "We could go there." She announced. "I'd love to so you all Wind Dancing."
"For what you've told us, it sounds so cool!" Scootaloo replied. "I'm so there!"
"Me too!" Applebloom said.
"And me three!" Sweetie Belle added then gasped in realization. "And who knows what kinds of cutiemarks we could earn while we're here. Her friend's faces brightened and then they stuck their hooves out towards the third in their group. The three Equestrian fillies then knocked their hooves together and made their trademark battle cry.
"CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS IN THE WINDIGO CAPITAL!! YAY!!!!" They announced. The adults ears had flopped down in response to the sudden loud noise and three particular mares moved up close to the alicorn.
"Uh sorry bout that." Applejack apologized. "Mah sister and her friends tend to be enthusiastic about stuff like this so apologies in advance fer what kind of trouble they may cause." Rarity and Rainbow Dash nodded agreement and Ada just smiled.
"There's nothing to really apologize for." She said kindly. "Remember, I've raised children many times over and I'm very familiar with this phase in life. They'll be no trouble at all." The alicorn then turned to the only mare that hadn't spoken and addressed her very kindly.
"And what about you dear?" She asked and Fluttershy "eeped!" in response. Adalia simply maintained a calm kind attitude and smiled gently at her. "Is there anything in particular that you'd like to see?" Fluttershy didn't respond immediately but the kind smile being directed at her helped her speak up.
"Well, no not really." She admitted. "I mean nothings really stuck out to me. But I do want to come and hang out."
"Well alright then." Ada said then stood up and trotted down the steps to join them. "That looks like almost everyone. Just give me a moment." They all have her a confused look as she strode out to the middle the room and called out.
"Alright, I know you're up there so there's no point in hiding." She shouted upwards. "Come on down and introduce yourself."
At first there was no response. Then a movement caught their attention as a banner was pushed away by a filly. She was sitting on a small ledge provided by the twisting style of the roof and tucked behind a banner so she was out of sight until then. The young filly then revealed that she was a pegasus when she opened her wings and glided down to land in front of Adalia.
Now that she was down on the ground, they were able to get a good look at her. Her coat was a light pumpkin orange in color with some rosy pink on her wing tips. Her mane was also orange only it was a darker, deeper hue with a slight touch of gold that reminded them of amber. And streaked in her mane were stripes of light and rich pink. Her hooves were also a rich pink and her glimmering eyes were also orange and pink.
"Awww, who'd you know I was up there?" She said. Adalia waved her ears.
"Remember I have sharp hearing." She said. "I heard you stifle a laugh earlier. Now go and introduce yourself to our guests."
The filly skipped forward and smiled at the gathered ponies. "Hi! My name is Warm Heart! It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
"And its a pleasure to meet you too!" Pinkie said in response. "You know, you look a little like Ada here."
"Of course she does. She gets some of her looks from me after all." Adalia piped up. "Warm Heart here is my youngest daughter and a child of my current marriage. And now that she's here, we can go out now. Come along everyone!"
With that, she led the way to the door with Blazing Spear and all the fillies in tow. The others hesitated a moment before following, leaving the room empty, save for the guards.
