> Warm Hearts
>  by Twisted Gears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue: Arrival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night 1 of our arrival.

My name's Warm Heart. I'm an Earth Pony, one of the few that knows how to write and read. My Family comes from a long line of farmers and miners -But I was lucky enough to be allowed to be taught Engineering, alongside my Brother, Cold Hooves. He was the one that helped me get accepted into the Engineer's Guild of our town, and that's paying off now.

It was so quick. From night to day, we were struck with the strongest blizzards we've ever had. Snow felt on the family's field covering it with a thick, cold layer of ice, killing the plants in the next few days, for how hard we tried to keep them warm and alive. Eventually we had to move out as the soil completely froze, but as we were heading south, we met a group of Engineers going north instead.

My Brother knew some of them, and asked why they were going north. They said that somepony was going to build an arcane device that heats the ground enough to make the soil fertile again, and that it seemed to be the only way to survive this Winter, or as they called it, the Frost. At first we didn't believe them, but they provided firm specifications. Enough to convince my brother and I to change plans... But Father wasn't convinced. He still wanted to go South, with Mother and my sister.

I explained them over and over that the North was a better choice, but they didn't listen. Discussion became shouts, and it would've ended with hooves meeting jaws if a sudden blizzard didn't set us aside. It was quick and strong, so much that we got sepparated. I was lucky to have held my Brother's hoof during that, we didn't flew away during the strong gusts of wind. But we were alone. So we set north, following the directions of the Earth Pony engineers, for how much I wanted to cry after losing our family.

For a month, we walked aimlessly through snow and desolated villages, ransacked and stripped of everything but their basements. We ate little to nothing, less than one ration of hay and packed apples a day, and we witnessed the horrors of the evacuation effort. Families like mine, torn appart by famine and desperation. Entire villages crushed by the snow's weight and stripped out of wood that was then used as fuel. Libraries worth of books and knowledge reduced to nothing in the name of survival... And we aided with that. I had to burn my favourite novel a week ago, just so we could camp inside a cave. Thankfully I still keep this diary, which is the only thing keeping me sane at this point.

We met with other refugees in the way north around two days ago. Most were intellectuals and workers escaping from the cold. Some had Foals accompanying them. Oddly enough, not everypony was an Earth Pony. Some were Unicorns, and a few Pegasi were among them. Most of our initial group didn't mind them following us around, as they worked hard, communicated with us, and they were in equal condition with us, even if this long Winter is surely responsability of the Pegasi. They tried to deny it a few times, but we were in no condition to argue or fight, so we just nodded and continued walking north.

A day or so ago, we saw a faint column of smoke emerging from a mountain at the North-East. We thought that it was a volcano getting ready for an eruption, but it was too artificial to be that, plus there were no rumblings under our hooves or strange smells, outside our own. The Pegasi we had with us quickly flew up there and came back within minutes, and told us that it was a camp with something tall and wide in the middle, jabbed on a depression within the mountainside, like a crater.

Filled with regained hope and joy, we went straight to this camp... And we found it, after climbing up the mountain and down the crater's slope. The Arcane device that heats the soil was there, sitting in the middle... But it was inactive; Nopony here knows how to operate it. But some built little encampments around it, tents wedged in a circular manner around the obelisk. Not enough for all the Ponies that were here, but it was a start.

The newcomers, like my brother, me, and the group I was part of, had to sleep on the stony ground, cuddled next to the Obelisk, wich was at least a flat surface to lay on covered from the biting wind. Tonight we became a larger group, the most Ponies I've seen together in one place since the Frost hit. Not everypony was an Earth Pony, however. At least half of us were, while one every four were Unicorns, and the rest were Pegasi. There were some children around too, which was something that brought a smile to my face. They were the ones that kept the tents for now, we had to leave space for them to sleep protected from the elements. The last thing we want is to lose our future to the cold. There seemed to be very few elders among the ponies I've seen thus far, wich... Isn't too surprising. The Frost took the older ponies first.

Most of us were hungry, and some were sick or wounded. The Ponies that were here before us shared some rations of presered Hay with us, enough to feed the ones that were in the weakest state -Though I suspect that they are complimented with sawdust, to compensate for the lack of fresh Hay. They gave me a ration too, perhaps because I haven't slept in weeks before this and looked like a wreck of a mare. I could put a hoof under my eyes, and that wouldn't be enough to cover the bags under them! But that wouldn't take a smile from me, even less when a smile is the only thing keeping us from looking back at the horrors we saw.

Tonight I'll try to sleep. We'll have a lot of work to do tomorrow. There was some talk around about appointing a leader to guide us through this hard time. Most of us are workers. Farmers. A few old Guards from the Pegasus army here and there, and intellectuals dotting the fifty or so ponies huddled around what we consider to be our last beacon of hope, the one that was frozen solid as the mountainside we were in. At least the wind whizzes above the slope and doesn't take the camp away with it. We'll try to solve our problems tomorrow, once we find somepony with a cold head and leadership skills. I really hope it isn't me.

Hope is the last thing we can afford to lose.

Warm Heart.
> Awakening
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had barely waken up, when a Stallion started shouting at us. It was a deep gravy voice, like that of an older Pony. Peeking over after having troubles with opening my eyes, after that really, really needed sleep I saw that it was an Unicorn. "Wake up everpony! There's work to do!", emerged from the top of his lungs.

Groaning, I rolled over, holding my Diary tight to my chest. Reluctanctly I got up, my back sore from sleeping on the cold stone below. I was glad to not have frozen to death during my sleep, the several layers of leather and cloth above me keeping my body warm for the time being, alongside with the snuggling up to my brother. Brushing off the snow that had fallen on us through the night, I looked to my side, towards my Brother. He was in the same boat I was -I could hear him curse under his breath. Eventually he got up, and slid his leather covers off from his head, revealing his charcoal-black mane, messy and wild, and pushed it away to reveal his Amber eyes, wich contrasted heavily with his light blue coat. He got those eyes from Mother... And the unkept beard that slowly grew on his chin like if that of a goat was something he got from Father.

Stretching my back and legs out, and removing my own leather cover from my head, I looked back at the Monolith that acted as the central structure of the camp we joined yesterday night. Its Onyx-black, perfectly flat reflective surface gave me a good reflection of myself, and how messy my looks were. Those bags under my Amber eyes were still there, making my Yellow coat look... Well, less yellow-y and more pale. I looked up in the reflection to notice that my curly amber mane was even worse than before, flattened in one side, and stretched out in the other, to the point that one could easily think I was struck with some disease. Just if I could take warm bathes again, I'd be a happier, healthier mare. But no, not with all this ice and snow... And lack of actual housing. Running a hoof around my mane would do for now.

However, something felt off. The Obelisk towered well over six times our height, but its diamater was roughly of that of the lenght of a Stallion. Too thin to offer a strong support against the wind. Looking down, I noticed that it was wedged into the soil beneath, but not as if it was excavated into it. It was like... If the whole construct rooted into the ground itself, like a tree made out of obsidian. It also gave a strange sensation, like when I saw my little sister, trying to snatch the cookier jar while it was out of her reach. That sense of watching desperation and anger, compacted in a tiny frame. However, my thoughts scrambled as I heard hoofsteps behind me, so I turned around, to face the Unicorn that woke us up.

He was tall. Very, very tall, but not slender at all. He was built like a watchtower; strong hooves kept his head high from the ground, his horn pointing at the sky from under his brown leather cloak. The bits that I could see of him told me that he had a gray, short moustache  pointing at the 9 and the 3, and blueish pelt. His eyes were hidden under the shadow that his dressings casted. "A Leader has been appointed overnight. You all shall refer to him as the Captain from from now on." He stated, with a stern voice. "Today we will start assigning everypony who joined us this last night some tasks. If we want to survive the Frost, we must activate this Obelisk of Warmth. From now on, we will follow the commands and orders from the Captain, and we will follow his laws. If you do not like it, you are free to walk off from this mountain and wonder the frostland until you perish. Is that clear?" He stated in a louder, even more stern tone, walking around us, his voice sounding through the strong winds above us. It was like a shout, but he wasn't actually shouting. It was... Magic.

Grudgingly, we all nodded. "Yes, yes." I said, rubbing my ears to stop them from ringing so loudly, looking out and off from the few tents we had. Some of the Earth Ponies set off to collect the remains of crates, branches, scraps of wood and discarded tents. Others went off to grab bits and pieces from broken machinery, and others went to snatch some bits of exposed coal, mining away with rocks and half-broken pickaxes, leaving behind a trail in the blinding white snow. We didn't even have sleds, nothing to make the task of collecting whatever we could find any easier, so we would be hauling everything with out bare backs.

"You." The Unicorn stated, pointing at my face with a hoof. Blinking a couple of times in surprise, he had taken all of my attention.

"M-Me?" I replied, caught off-guard, my heart suddently picking up on its pace, much like when I get caught distracted during Math classes. I'd gladly take those over this.

"You look strong. You will help collect wooden crates. Grab a saddlebag and accompany the others." He stated in an authoritative, less louder tone, before moving over to my brother, giving him a look. "You too."

Squinting at him, my Brother shrugged. "I don't take orders from an Unicorn." He bluntly stated back at the Unicorn, with a deep frown on his face, as he collected his belongings from the floor. This caught me off-guard -he never said this kind of thing, making me stare at him wide-eyed.

The Unicorn stepped closer to him, towering a head or so above him, looking down at my brother's amber eyes. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your, miserable life wondering the snow until you die, you will take orders from me. Now go, Dirt."

That hurt. Not only him, but me too. 

That's a therm most of the Unicorn 'loyalty' used to refer to us Earth Ponies, more specifically the ones that tended the fields and worked directly under them, cleaning things and maintaining houses. That brought a deeper frown to me and my brother, and I could see him raise his hoof and clench his teeth. I could even feel the desire from him to break the other's jaw, but he eventually lowered it, frustration mounting on his face and eyes. "Fine. I'll do it." He said, before looking away. "Horned buck." He added under his breath, before walking off right past me, to a little structure nearby of hapzardy located planks and stones, wich we labelled 'The stockpile'.

I was heartbroken, but this was a harsh time. Holding back my tears, I gave the Unicorn my bad eye, and quickly went to drop off my things, and then I ran off to get a pair of empty saddlebags to help out on recovering as much wood as we could. Not only because it was my designated task, but rather because I didn't want to see that Unicorn again. I took this opportunity to finally approach my brother, after that outburst in frustration. 

"You... You okay, Cold?" I asked, as we finally reached a pile of discarded and half-broken wooden boxes, a fair distance away from the camp, almost by the edge of the crater. Some were still filled with tools we could still use, but many others were simply empty. I guessed that they would be repurposed to build things, or perhaps as fuel.

"No, I'm not." He bluntly stated, looking back at me with a face that hinted his frustrations; "I became an Engineer to avoid this. And now we're stuck in a hole with that... Horned tailhole, working with our bare hooves. And our family is possibly dead!" He said, a tear rolling down his cheek, as he tossed his half-filled bag back to the snowy ground, with a 'Plomph'. "I'm freezing, my everything hurts and this bucking cold will eventually kills us! I can't hold this anymore!"

Blinking, I dropped my saddlebags too, and without thinking, I went on and enveloped his chest with my hooves, hugging him tightly, digging my face onto his neck. That's something I used to do whenever he was upset or sad -We shared warmth this way, and... He really, really needed one of those. I could feel it. "I'm... I'm sorry. I know that these are hard times, but we must try. We must hold and last, we'll make it." I said, looking up at his eyes, as he looked down at mines. His tears had frozen on his cheeks. "For Father and Mother. And little Temperate."

He sniffed, and rubbed the ice away. "For Temperate..." He repeated, shaking his head. "Fine... I'll- I'll try, but I don't promise holding myself if I see that Unicorn again." Then he rose his hooves and hugged me back, gently patting my back as I held onto him, squishing him a bit on that embace. I nodded onto him, nuzzling his chest one last time before finally releasing him, bits of snow falling from us.

Then we got back to work, picking up our saddlebags again -And giving nervous smiles at the other Ponies that glanced at us with curious and confused looks, after the scene we made back then. Thankfully they minded their own business, though some attempted a bit of small talk, which I was glad to provide, though one made terrible, terrible puns about the cold through the whole day. "Tis' a cool day, eh?", "More work like this and I'll drop dead cold!", "Don't give me that cold eye!", and so on.

I really wanted to hit him. That would be a good way to warm myself up.
> Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Work day is done! Put down your tools and gather up!", Shouted a voice back from the Obelisk, that same voice that could be heard from basically anywhere within the Mountain. That made us raise our heads and look back at the Obelisk in the middle, and then to the sky. Time seemed to have passed rather quickly while we were collecting crates and scraps of tents. We had spent ten hours collecting things without noticing, from morning to late afternoon. Some of us were used to such work shifts - The Earth Ponies grew used to fourteen hours of daily workshifts, tending the crops all day, or striking the earth for Copper and Iron. I was sure that the Pegasi worked for only eight hours a day, altering the weather to the Earth Ponies' needs, while the Unicorns only did four to six hours, as they only had to rise and lower the sun and moon. On this first day, they all seemed to learn the effort us Earth Ponies do every day but the Sundays, the only free day of the week that is universal for all but Unicorns.

With a hungry sigh, everypony in our gathering area returned back to the centre, quickly swaying-by to deposit what we had gathered prior, and ocasionally exchange salutations and good wishes. I managed to stockpile a few crates full of wood and scraps, though shilily behind the many that my Brother hauled back and forth. All in all, we almost filled up the designated area for wood and scraps, and a little look around hinted me that we were almost halfways through with the metallic and mechanical scraps, and we were filled to the brim with Coal. Enough to last well over a week, making campfires to stay warm. But just warmth wouldn't do. We needed food, and my stomach reminded me of that.

Looking at my brother, I asked; "Are you hungry? I think I've got one spare ration on me... Somewhere." With that, I went back to where I left my saddlebags before going off to work, and started to check through them. Thankfully, nothing had been moved from its spot. There was a lingering trust here, enough for us to leave what little we had unobserved while we were doing our job. Plus, we were very few, we could recognize eachother's faces and dressings with ease... And getting labelled 'Thief' here surely wouldn't do any good.

As I was scavenging through my things, he tapped my shoulder and shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry, yet. And I'd rather not eat anything with sawdust on it." He added, looking up to the Obelisk, admiring its... Strange existance.

Shrugging, I pulled out the half ration that I had left. That tasteless block of packed hay and wooden chips. A pain to swallow, but very, very filling. I started to nibble on it, breaking the cold, hardened exterior, until the Unicorn that woke us up started to speak... Shout, again.

"Listen up, everypony!", he started, his tone lowering to a non-deafening volume after his initial screech; "We have discovered how to activate the Obelisk. But it requires a great effort and copious amounts of Coal to start up. We will need all capable hooves to build up a funnel for the Coal to go through and into the Obelisk. Us Unicorns will aid with the construction effort." He stated, gesturing towards the Stockpile.

Grudgingly, some of us started marching towards the stockpile to grab up some wooden slabs, and whatever tools we would need. Hammers, nails, hinges... Anything that wasn't broken beyond repair. After chomping down the tasteless block of hay, I set myself to work too, pushing my belongings aside to make space for the construct that we needed. Everypony else did the same, depositing their things elsewere.

Quickly, we organized ourselves. Some had worked in carpentry and knew what they were doing, others had built things on their own. Skills that were very usefull today.

Meanwhile, I, as an Engineer that, sadly, didn't finished her course, aided with the logistics and the order of construction. First we started with a strong base for the construct, nailing thick wooden conglomerates into the rock via strong magic, then we made a leveled platform for the construct itself.

After the platform was done, we worked on raising a circular structure made out of whatever wooden scraps we could piece together around the Obelisk, the aid of the Pegasi letting us build it high up, encasing the artifact itself in a protective layer of wood.

Then we went to work with the feeding system, with a series of levers, gears and a set of buckets constantly rolling upwards, onto a ramp that would drop the coal ontop of the Obelisk, as it was specified by the Unicorns that made the raw blueprint for us.

This all took us a grand total of four hours, with the combined effort of thirty Ponies. Looking up to our creation, we felt a sense of proudness and accomplishment. We had built a mildly functional feeding system for our last hope.

Rubbing sweat off from my brow, I smiled and looked around. The others were tired, but we all had a big smile on our lips. Then the Unicorn appeared again, accompanied by other two. They all wore the same garments, a strange purple silk decorated with golden strings covering their heads and backs, like a ceremonial dressing for the old unicornian nobility.

Without a word, they all located themselves in equidistant spots around the obelisk, and stated to chant strange words in a language I didn't understand. Then their horns flared up with a strong violet light with hints of green, to the surprise of us all, and pointed their horns towards the centre.

At the same time, another Pony pushed the lever that made the buckets feed the obelisk, chips and pieced of coal falling into the structure... Making no noise at all, like absorbed into it, and the whole thing started to hum and crack.

Then... A blinding red light emerged from the exposed bits of the feeding system, an uneasy warmth emerging soon after, like a blast of steam emerging from a pipe. So warm that some of us started to panic and quickly remove our leather coverings. I started to sweat, suddently uncomfortable in my own dressings.

I looked away to avoid the light, and noticed how the snow that felt upon us started to melt. A perfect circle of exposed rock and dirt emerged from below us, product of the molten snow, as now water soaked those exposed areas. We had created warmth, enough to make a livable area in the middle of the crater!

Everypony rejoiced after the initial shock. This was perhaps the first good thing to happen to any of us in weeks.

Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks, as I hugged the first pony I could get my hooves on.

And it was the stallion that always said some dumb pun whenever he could.  "Hey hey, no need to warm up so quickly, ma'am!", he stated, with a big grin on his face.

Godesses above, I really, really wanted to punch him in the face.
> Adaptation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After our great success, we all felt filled with energy again. We had a driving motivation to survive this winter, one that we put to use as quickly as possible.

After shoving that stallion away from my accidental embrace, and feeling a rush of red emerge to my face, I quickly retreated towards my belongings, walking through groups of friends cheering this feat of survival. I hauled my saddlebags onto my back, and then walked towards that one Unicorn that seemed to be the voice of our leader. Whoever the Captain was, that is. Then I asked; "Sir, can I have a word with the Captain? It's important."

After his attention was caught, he looked down at me, the quick movement of his head allowed me to see beyond his covers. Above his blue snout and that oddly entertaining gray moustache, I saw a pair of deep violet eyes, tired and experienced. The kind of eyes that Father had. "Yes? Oh. If it is your illness, we are planning on opening a medical tent soon, worry not." He said, quickly dismissing me, much to my surprise. Although those were good news, that wasn't what I really wanted to know.

"N-No, it's not that." I said, stepping sideways to get back onto his sight. "I wanted to speak to him about our housing problem. We're eighty Ponies in here, the foals taking more than half of the avaliable tents and leaving space for only ten adults to sleep under a roof. Forty ponies sleeping on tents while the rest of us freezes doesn't sound fa-"

And he quickly retorted back, cutting my last statement. "The Obelisk is emmiting warmth. It is a temporary solution to this problem, while we plan ahead, you will not freeze tonight at all. Our primary concern right now is the lack of food, missy. And we are going to focus on that right away. In fact..." He said, beaming down at me; "You, as an Earth Pony, could help with that. We need food grown in a record time, and your kind can manipulate plant growth. I pressume that you have little else to do, hm?"

He was more or less right, even if I was more qualified as an engineer or a foremare over being a farmer. "W-Well, I-"

"Then it is settled." He stated again, not even giving me time to start. "You will aid with the farms tomorrow. When your shift starts, gather up some seeds and plant them on the warm soil. It should be watered thanks to the molten ice. Now go, have some rest. You will need all the energy you can muster for tomorrow if you wish to earn your share of food." He said, dismissing me completely.

I was about to complain, but as I rose my hoof to get his attention again, his head faced up to the sky, his horn lighting up in a bright Violet. At the same time, the other Unicorns in the camp did exactly the same, in unison, all their horns lighting up in varying colours and intensities. Even the few Foals that were unicorns did this too... And slowly, the day became night. The clouds above went dark, like if the sun was pulled down from the sky. One by one, they started to fall, like if drained out of every energy they had avaliable, until only this Unicorn in front of me remained, standing proudly for a few more seconds, until it was pitch black, the Moon soon emerging from the other side, telling us that the night was upon us now.

With a tired huff, he walked away, completely forgeting about me, his figure dissapearing into the tents. Blinking, I could only sigh, and hope that whoever the Captain was, had a plan for us. We really needed one at this point. But sadly, it included me being a farmer.

I shook my head, and resignated to accept this fate, walking off to a good, dryish spot by the structure we made. Just then, my Brother pulled from my tail -The most effective way we had of catching eachother's attention. Even if little Temperate hated that. "I heard you talk to that horned basta... Er. Yes, what was that?" He asked, sitting besides me, his hooves going off to gather his back, pulling off his saddlebags and dropping them next to me. This would be our spot for the time being..

Looking at him, I shrugged. "I, just... Asked him about the housing issue, and the food situation. He says the Captain has everything covered, and they assigned me to farming. They need as many Earth Ponies for that as possible... Oh! He also said that we'll be getting a medical tent to treat the sick soon." I said, looking up and back at him after I was done packing things up again, glad that my Diary was still in my saddlebags, alongside my ink and my quill.

He looked at me dead in the eye, with a brow raised. "He put you in charge of farming? That's... Weird." He commented, his ears focusing on me, alongside his amber eyes. "I guess that he's trusting you after that initial scratch."

"Not exactly in charge. More like... Just helping grow the seeds we have stored away somewhere." I said, looking towards the stockpile. "I really hope that there's wheat in there. I could do with a loaf of bread over these rations."

"You and I, Sister. I would kill for some of Mother's cookies..." Cold grumbled, eventually laying down, enjoying the warmth that hummed off from the Obelisk.

"Don't say that! Though... I would love some of them. We'll have to put them high up though, so Temperate doesn't take them all!" I said with a little chuckle, laying down besides him, shoulder to shoulder.

"Heh. Remember that one time she got stuck on the pantry? I still don't know how she got up there!" He said, yawning, tired after this harsh day of work.

His yawn eventually bounced on me, as I snuggled up to his side, laying my head above my hooves, a more comfortable surface than the ground. "I... Still think that she used a bucket to get up there..."

My eyes started to close against my will, the last thing I saw being the first row of tents slowly close up, other Ponies doing the same that we did. Lay down... And sleep.
> Raise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"...Cold? Cold!" I shouted, my squeaky voice echoing through the grassy meadow. My hooves buried themselves on the warm, spring-fresh grass below, as I looked around desperatedly for my older brother.

I knew he was around somewhere. We were playing tag just now, around the old Oak on the hill. I could see our home from up here, the whole valley, even. The sun was high up in the sky, bathing us in warm sunlight this noon. The Unicorns and Pegasi did a great job today.

"Coooold!?" I shouted again, walking around the large Oak tree. "Where are you?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes. I had lost my brother, I would never see him again. I'd never be able to hug him again, and he'd never be able to see our incoming little sister!

Mom was going to be so angry with me! I dropped down on the grass and hid my face between my hooves, as I saw Dad walk up the hill. "I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" I said with a falter in my voice, tears rolling out for my eyes.

Then I felt his hoof caress the side of my mane, soon sliding under my chin to pull my face up to him. He had a large smile on his recently shaved face, his eyes looking at me in the same way whenever I got hurt for playing rough.

I blinked a few times, and sniffed. My ears twitched as he opened his mouth to say something, but only a loud 'PSHHHHHHH' emerged from his lips.

"W-Wha...?" I asked, just as the sound repeated itself. Then everything around me dissipated into a cloud of steam, the sound getting louder and louder...





'PSHHHHHHHHHHHH!', hissed the massive device behind us, releasing the steam buildup from overnight, through an automatic pressure valve just above us.

The steam was warm enough that, instead of freezing over in seconds, it fell down as moisture. A bit annoying, but at least it wasn't cold snow. I yawned and looked around, my head still laying above my numbed hooves. I blinked a few times, slowly coming back to reality.

With another yawn, and stretching out my body to realign my muscles once more, I looked over towards Cold, who was still deeply asleep, curling upon himself. Somehow, the loud discharges of steam didn't wake him up. My sight then moved to the rest of our little settlement, towards the row of tents that flapped with the wind, and the few gaslamps that we had swayed with it, their dim light being everything we had to shine some light in this darkness. Snow still felt on everything, but it quickly melted away thanks to the aura of warmth that the Obelisk emmited. The same aura that kept us all alive through this Winter.

An aura that also sent a chilling sensation down my spine. It felt like if I was whitnessing a cow getting branded, over and over again. But there were no cows, nor ponies getting such a threatment. It just... Felt weird. Shaking my head, I looked up at the sky. The blizzard was still howling above the crater, coating the sky with a hard layer of white. It was still dark, only the moonlight getting to cross the layer of snow above us. There were no stars tonight.

I sighed, and looked further up, towards the Obelisk and its encasement. It hissed every now and then, wich each release of steam, and the feeding system dumped coal into it every now and then. Like a clockwork creation, one that we made, and were proud of. Perhaps we could install an actual clock on its side. It'd be a more reliable way to tell what time it was, as hourglasses and the sun were very unreliable. Anything made by Unicorns was unreliable in this day and age.

My sight then moved back towards my brother, a little smile forming on my muzzle. Rolling over, I snuggled onto him, laying my head upon his shoulder. It was just a dream, we were still together. Well... Two of us. Mother and Father were still gone, and so was Temperate.

I really hoped that we could eventually find them. And that they were still alive...





A loud 'BWOOOOM' awoke us all. Like if somepony had triggered a foghorn ontop of the Obelisk.

Toppling over, I got onto all fours, wide-eyed, just as my brother. "Wah-What?" He mumbled, raising up and standing tall and alert, his ears pinned back. Everypony around did the same, though some had more troubles getting up. Promeniently the ill ones.

"The day begins!" Chanted the, oh so familiar voice of that Unicorn. His horn lit up again, and so did the horns of every other Unicorn in the camp. In unison, they all pointed their horns at the sky, and much like yesterday night, they repeated the proceidure. Slowly, the darkness above was substituted by the sheer light of morning, though this time, less unicorns fell back down after this was complete. It seemed that lowering the moon and raising the sun just enough for dawn was less tiring than pulling down the sun, and raising the moon. "Gather up your tools and get back to work. There is much to be done." He stated, soon turning around and returning to his tent.

The ponies nearby grumbled and complained, comprehensively in a bad mood after being awakened like that. Being shaken, slightly jabbed or spoken to was one thing. Being awakened with a damnable foghorn is a completely different thing. Rubbing my face, I looked back at Cold. "Guess that's this camp's rooster." I commented, before offering him a weak smile.

He looked at me with a deadpan, clearly not amused by my jest. "Please don't." Cold stated, a hoof raising to cover my mouth. "I've already got a headache thanks to that, your jokes won't help."

With a pout, I rose my hoof to lower his. I didn't like the taste of rock and mud. "Fine, fine. Guess that we get to work then. You're still assigned to collection, right?" I asked, my hooves going over to my mane, combing it back to shape.

"Mhm. You were moved to farming, so you get to walk around less. Don't get too bored, else you'll start dismantling things again." He said with a sly smirk, patting my mane, undoing all the effort I was doing.

With another pout, I hit him right on the shoulder out of embarrasment. "Shush, that was only once. I managed to fix that toaster afterwards though!"

"Yeah, it set the table on fire the next day." He remarked, with a larger grin. One that soon faded as he started to walk towards the stockpile. "I'll see you around, Warm. We'll meet for dinner."

I nodded at him, before looking at my saddlebags. Neither of us had breakfast... Not like we could afford it anyways. Hopefully, if we got the farm set up and working, we would be able to have some meals ready for tonight. With a sigh, I walked over to the stockpile too, just as my brother picked a pair of empty saddlebags, pulled his robes on, and set off to collect more wood.

There, another Earth Pony approached me. He was slightly shorter than me, I thought for a second that he was a Colt. But his voice was as deep as a well, deeper than the tone of his blue coat. "You, you're the one that the horned fuck mentioned that would be joining us in the farming, yes?" He asked, with a serious expression.

I simpy nodded, surprised that so much anger could be packed into such a little frame. "Y-Yes. I'm Warm Hea-"

"Don't care, follow me." He rudely stated, gesturing at me with a hoof to follow.

Bliking a few times, I lowered my head in frustration and followed him, outside of the Stockpile, and across the line of tents...
> Growth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here." Stated the colt-sized Stallion, standing besides a wooden stake nailed into the soil. "This is the spot that the Captain designated for the first farm." He said, gesturing towards three other stakes, fairly far away. They made up a square in the ground, covering an area similar to that of four blocks of tents.

This area was inside the Aura of Warmth that came from the Obelisk, though just by the edge. It was close-by to the rows of tents, though there was still some space to install another row around the ones we already had. If we found the fabric for them, of course. Propper housing would be better, but we had to work with what limited materials we had avaliable.

Taking in a deep breath of relatively warm air, I followed the other eight Earth Ponies that were cherry-picked for this task. The majority were mares -Some in worse condition than me-, with some stallions here and there. Though they were very young, perhaps just fresh out from colthood. "Divide the space in ten, collect some seeds from that bag, and start growin'. We've got a whole camp to feed today. On the double, ponies!" The Stallion commanded, as he too, went on to grab some seeds from a twine pouch  in a corner of the farming area.

The rest of us followed without question. The others seemed to be used to being barked orders at, perhaps for working in farms, or manufactories before the Frost hit. I was used to a leading voice during classes and tutelage, this wasn't so different.

I dug my hoof into the bag, and pulled an assortment of seeds from different plants, like wheat and hay. Though there were some that I didn't recognize. They were cold to the touch, even though we were inside the range of the obelisk. That worried me a little, but they still felt... Alive, in a way.

Holding them close to my chest, I walked away and into the farm, letting the mare behind me grab her own seeds. I went to the left top-side corner, from where I could see the gathering crews come and go from the stockpile and back to the edges of the crater.

Once we all were in position, the stallion shouted from the middle of the farm. "Ponies, spread the seeds out! Give them enough space for their roots to grow! Listen to their needs, give them all the love you can muster!", then he started to sow the seeds onto the untended soil. Usually, we would've used hoes or shovels to organize the space and stirr the soil and gather its nutrients, but we were in a rush. And hungry.

We followed on his steps, spreading the seeds we had on hoof around our little space, giving them a fair spacing so they could grow. I went an extra step and digged little holes by hoof to put the hay seeds in, as I saw many ponies do back in the day. 

"Now, listen to them. Coax them into growing. Fast." He said next, taking off his boots, and digging his forehooves into the moist dirt. His eyes closed and his ears swayed, and the seeds around him germinated and grew... At an alarmingly quick pace. It felt unnatural, but those plants looked strong, edible even. Around him grew large patches of hay, some corn plants, lettuces, carrots, and some plants that I hadn't seen before. One looked like an exposed brain, purely white. I hoped that it tasted better than what it looked.

The stallion then rose his hooves, and huffed. He looked tired, like if he had spent three hours running around. "Now... Once you've made them grow, harvest them and put them in sacks. Then carry them to the stockpile. Don't let anypony take the bags. We live and die by them. Understood?" He shouted next, to wich we all nodded in unison. "Good. Now, get to work!"

With a sigh, I did the same. Taking off my boots and placing them aside, I laid my hooves down onto the soil, feeling its cold brush. The air around my hooves was warmer than the ground, but it wasn't freezing cold. It was possible to grow plants on it, and that's what I attempted to do.

I tried to conmute with the seeds. I heard nothing. I closed my eyes, and kindly asked them to germinate for me. For the camp.

I felt some of them twitch, under my hooves. A feeling I wasn't used to, but that seemed so natural and familiar at the same time. "Please?" I said out loud, to wich the plants responded by shilily peeking out from the dirt.

"You're doing well. A little bit more? Please?" I beckoned to the plants, that started to grow at a steady, fairly quick pace. With a smile, I dug my hooves further into the soil, feeling each root across the dirt.

But something felt off. The dirt felt cold, colder than the seeds that I once held. And it was getting colder every second. The plants fought against the coldness that froze the water they needed so much, growing strong upon our command. Or at least the others did. Their crops grew fast and strong, shining an unique green.

My crops looked brittle, glowing in a weak yellow. They didn't felt as strong as the others, but they taxed the soil less. At least they grew enough to be edible and looked nutritious enough...





After a couple of hours of focusing in our plants, we were done growing the first batch. We turned the little plot we were givrn into a booming assorted farm. Potatoes, carrots, wheat, hay... And plenty of other plants that I hadn't seen before littered the exposed dirt, coating it in a powerfull green colour.

All of it but my corner, wich had a more yellowy colour to it.

With another bark from the Colt-sized stallion, we started to collect seeds from the new plants, then their edible parts, and later we started trimming the overgrown sides. We got to fill the sacs we were told to fill, alongside an addition of spare plant matter. I didn't knew why, but we would need it for later.

"Okay ponies," stated our temporal Forestallion, "Haul up and to the stockpile. On the double!" He shouted, hauling not two, but three sacks fiĺled to the brim with the food that we really needed.

I picked up the two that I managed to grow, hauling them onto my back. Then I marched along the other nine, towards the stockpile.

When we arrived, we were cheered by some of the gathering crews that walked by, as they knew that we were carrying their lunch on our backs. That brought a little smile to my face.

After placing the bags alongside the others, I took a look at the rest of the camp. The first ring of tents was now surrounded by a second line of them, built through the morning and afternoon. One of the larger tents was marked with the red symbol of the Caduceus staff, telling that it was the medical post that the Unicorn mentioned yesterday. I saw some movement coming and going from it, wich meant that it was staffed and being utilized.

Behind it, a makeshift cabin of sorts waited, made out of wood scraps. It had a chimney emmiting a constant stream of steam, like if they were preparing a massive soup in there.

Hope was high among the ponies I saw. We could survive this winter.