It was a cold and unforgiving night. There was a certain majesty to the pureness of the snow, although the bitterness of the air kept anypony from looking for too long. It was beautiful, but the ponies wanted the the sun to warm the air and melt the snow, for the cold only last so long before ponies fell to frostbite.
A pony could see something else if they were looking hard enough. It was nothing more than an orange blur, but everypony knew it was the Phoenix, for there was only one. The Phoenix had the power to raise the sun to Clover the Clever, for it was Clover that cast the spells with the Phoenix's aid. When it was once again before morning, Clover stood on the seal as instructed by Starswirl the Bearded, ready to raise the sun. Clover the Clever raised his horn and cast the spell.
He felt something give, like falling down after pressing up against something. There was no magic to back him up, and no sun came to melt the snow.
~A Hundred Eras Ago~
~Prologue: Blackheart~
Down below were the lands of the ponies of Mud. There were crops withering in their fields, drooping and decaying with a good deal of snow on them. Ponies were in their huts, trying to stay warm as the bitter winds threatened to seep in. As Philomena looked to the sky, she saw ponies of Cloud in their impregnable fortresses of concentrated fluff. She took a quick check behind her at the ponies of Arcane. They stayed within the stone walls, spells cast for protection that gave their part of the world a strange glow. Philomena would return, but not yet.
Skybound was an orphaned pony of Mud. Her mother had died during pregnancy and the father was taken to jail for mixing with ponies of Mud. The poor half-breed was treated like a captive locust, made to answer for crimes. But they were crimes she did not mean to commit. She often wished to be treated like dirt. Plum Harvest, the ringleader of the orphans, was treated like dirt. Why not she?
Plum Harvest was the coolest colt around and everyone knew it. They revered him for his smooth coolness and his strength. Skybound liked Plum Harvest.
Plum had tried to get Skybound in with the cool kids, but no one would have a half-breed nearby. He kissed her in the yard when no one was looking and said he was sorry. Skybound smiled that beautiful smile. Plum Harvest liked Skybound.
The half-breed had no friends. No life to return to. So why was she crying when in Philomena's grasp? Why was she calling for Plum as she was carried away from the ground?
Still, she felt the Cloud-spirit kick in and found the sky to be a wonderful place. With the Phoenix keeping her warm, the pony could enjoy the wind running through her long, pink hair. It was absolutely exhilarating, and she almost couldn't hear a certain pony call her name.
With Skybound safely in the outpost, it was time to find the pony of Cloud.
~
Misty Moon was a respectable pony of Cloud. She had served more than the required time in the military and was the one that was learning to harness the magic from ponies of Cloud. It was in her arcane studies, in fact, that she had thought of the term Pegasus, Susel being old language for soul and Pegana being old for storm. The pegasi would have turned down magic, even if it was their own, if it weren't for the military potential. It could amplify the military power. Misty Moon was currently looking into a powerful move that she was to call "Sonic Rainboom". Her only question was who could pull it off. She would have thought some more if she weren't in the clutches of the Phoenix, unable to break free despite being in excellent physical condition. All she could do was call for Sunny Splash and hope he would make sense of her notes.
Misty Moon was highly respected and was not on board with this being carried away stuff. She hadn't had an adventure in twelve years and preferred it that way. There were too many studies, too many friends to spend time with. She was no social outcast, no idiot, no lazybones. In these sorts of stories, ponies learned lessons. Misty had nothing to learn. It was not arrogance but fact. She was exemplary in every way. Then it hit her. That's why they want her.
No one heard her screams.
~
Windfall was a very nice pony of Arcane. He did not bear the same cold heart of most of his kind, but he did not carry the same strength. In other words, he was a wimp, and trusting to a fault. He was special, though, at least special enough to be carried carried away by the Phoenix.
~
Iceheart was a mean pony. Extremely powerful, to be sure, but terrible nonetheless. No one wanted to be near her, and her only 'friends' were high-society ponies that she forced herself to break bread with. No one was smart or skilled enough to keep up with her, and she found herself wanting a challenge. She became bitter and shut herself off from all of the imbeciles as best she could. She was rich, though. She had a life, no matter how boring, and was an integral part of society despite wishing not to be. Every full moon, she'd step out and sing a song. Ponies had once approached her to listen to her song, but she gave them all frostbite on top of sunburns and teleported them far, far away.
Phoenix, please, take me away
Bring me close to all of the fae
Show me life and show me love
Show me all of the stars above
Give me adventure, give me wonder
Winter-
That was as far as she got before her wish was granted.
~
Snowstep was a servant of Iceheart, the only one she trusted and the closest thing she had to a friend. Snowstep had seen Iceheart go from a friendly and sociable pony to a distrusting husk. He always felt there was a chance for her to get better, to stop being so miserable. He wouldn't take no for an answer, have her carried away without him. He picked up the Phoenix's feather and made a wish. When he opened his eyes, he was in a small outpost, made of Unicornian stone.
~
Plum was not happy at the moment. As soon as he was accused of sympathizing with Skybound, he was told that it was okay, the feeling would leave soon and be replaced by full-blood purity. The sentiment made him sick. He had to find her.
~
With the Phoenix perched on Clover the Clever's shoulder, the introductions could begin. Clover was a quirky sort of Arcanespirit, and one of the few born in First Unicornia. In fact, only he and Iceheart could claim to be true Unicorns, along with Princess Platinum and the deceased Starswirl the Bearded. One thing all Unicorns had in common, however was their ability to sense true trouble. Not last night. No one was alerted last night. Only the Phoenix knew who could help. "Let's begin introductions, then," he said, adjusting his cloak.
"First we see a blue earth pony with a pinkish mane and golden eyes. Your name?"
"Skybound."
"A half-breed, I suppose? Well I hope the Phoenix knows what she's doing. You can't be too bad if you were chosen." Skybound would've taken offense if it weren't for her confusion.
"And what was I chosen for?"
Clover the Clever chuckled. "And what were you chosen for indeed. I didn't think the Phoenix would send a half-breed up a dangerous mountain. Next. Pale purple coat, blue hair, green eyes. Name?"
Misty was to disgusted to answer the question. "You're sending a foal up a dangerous mountain? What is wrong with you?"
"Aah!" gasped Clover. "I knew there was something up past her being a half-breed. Anyways, It's not me you're questioning but the Phoenix. Now I'll ask again. What's your name?"
"M-Misty M-Moon," said the frightened Pegasus. "I apologize oh Phoenix, please do not smite me where I stand. I will never doubt you again." The Phoenix beckoned, and the Phoenix understood.
"Next," said Clover the Clever. "Pale yellow coat, orange mane. Name?"
"I'm Windfall!," said the enthusiastic pony. "I hope we have a great time going up the mountain!" Iceheart scoffed at this, already sensing that this was one of those foalish types that thought everything was sunshine and rainbows.
Clover the Clever sighed. "Now how am I supposed to do a dramatic mission debrief if you already now the cool parts? Ah well. Next. Blue coat, blue mane, grey eyes. Oh you're Iceheart! What a wonderful surprise." He looked doubtfully at Philomena, who simply offered a smile. "Next. White coat, greenish mane, pur- say, weren't there only four ponies, Phoenix? This one wished to be here you say? And you let him? Oh dear." The other ponies were confused as to how Clover the Clever was still alive, for he questioned the Phoenix. "Oh, stop your sniveling," he said. "The whole fear the bird thing was just to scare off those annoying Gryphons." "Now there might be an extra pony but let's keep going. Name?"
"I'm Snowstep, Iceheart's servant. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Of course it is, this is the adventure Iceheart always told me she wanted."
Clover looked quizzically at Iceheart. "You have a friend?"
"Merely a confidant," said Iceheart, looking rather disinterested.
"Well you'll have to be equals on this trip. I have no time for leaders. What's that Phoenix? We do have time for leaders? And Iceheart is fit for the job, being the one with all of the magic? Very well, but she needs somepony to keep her in check. Misty Moon, you're the real leader here. Well now that that's settled-"
"I didn't agree to this."
"We can begin explanations. So first you'll have to make it to the top of the mountain where all magic was born."
"One of the oldest and tallest peaks in existence," Iceheart gasped. "You do mean the Peak of Oldentime, right? It seems we'll have quite an adventure, then." Misty Moon cocked her head in question. "Oh, I wouldn't expect a pony of Cloud to know." Misty Moon seemed offended, but kept quiet.
"No. When I say ALL magic, I mean ALL magic," Clover the Clever quickly corrected. "I mean Titan's Crossing, the-"
Iceheart continued. "-Place where the First Flower was born and began the universe. But that's so far away! How will we arrive?"
Clover smiled. "I'll teleport you there. Of course, our fancy new magic doesn't work there, but I can get you within ten miles. Then it's just ten easy miles across the Valley of Peace. Not even an ironic name! Any questions?"
Everypony raised their hoof. Clover grinned. "Good to know you're listening, but no time for questions. Then, when you get to the top of the mountain, you'll hear the Phoenix say her name-"
"But those that hear her name have the power to kill the Phoenix!" interjected Windfall.
"Bingo!" said Clover. "That's your job, since you know the spell to do so. Then the body-"
"I don't know any such spell," said said the worried pony.
"Not according to the Phoenix," responded Clover. "You're not questioning the Phoenix, are you?"
"But you just said that that was a story to scare off Gryphons."
"Hush," said Clover. "I know what I said. As I was saying, the body will fall on the flower and release large amounts of magic and we'll have enough raw power to last a good while longer. Then you descend. Now would be time for questions."
Everypony raised their hoof. "Oh the answer is no, you can't leave. Unless you want the world to end. Anything else?" A few hooves went down. "Yes, you do get supplies. A week's rations, matches and a dagger for everyone. Extra spell scrolls for unicorns. Misty Moon, as the leader, you get the book of survival tips. And you can use your magic, don't worry."
Snowstep raised his hoof. "I thought you said we couldn't use magic. So what's up with the spell scrolls? And why does the cloudy brute get?"
Misty Moon glared at him with eyes like daggers. "I AM NOT A CLOUDY BRUTE. What have we Pegasi ever done to you?"
Snowstep scoffed. "Pegasi? Is that some weird cloudy-brained thing?"
"Well I'm sorry for not wanting to be called 'pony of Cloud' all the time," she countered. "You Arcanespirits were the ones who made this dopey and inconvenient language. And which race made contractions?"
The room seemed a little colder. Ice was creeping through the doorway, though quickly chased away by the Phoenix. "That's another thing," said Clover the Clever. "I will not tolerate racism. It's bad luck and seems to be making the world colder. Although that's just a theory, I'm not sure how that would work anyways. The way magic works is since Pegasi- is that the word?- haven't been using magic at all, they still use First magic.And you ponies of Arcane are just going to have to learn First magic. It's not as hard as it sounds. Well then, I'll teleport you tomorrow morning after breakfast, then. And since there is no sun, by that I mean I'll give you a five-hour nap. Oh, and one last thing?
The five ponies leaned in ever so closely. Clover donned the most serious face in existence.
"Be done as soon as possible. Every second spent waiting is another closer to our doom."
~
The ponies awoke to twinkling of stars outside of the Unicorn castle for visitors. Breakfast was served at six and consisted of two eggs and some bacon. Meat had begun to raise ethical questions, but the winter had been too rough to afford choosiness. The five ponies wolfed down their breakfasts before trotting up the stony steps into the circular room. Clover the Clever was already there. "Now pick up your saddlebags and get going. I have the spell ready." The ponies found their bags, each colored the same as their coats, and slid them on. In a flash of blinding light, they were gone.
A purple colt finished ascending the stairs, quite out of breath. "Where is Skybound?" he inquired. "I need to see her." Grumbling, Clover place a spare saddlebag on him and stuffed his mouth with breakfast before the colt, too, disappeared.
~
It was more than bliss, for there were flowers everywhere and only a few wispy clouds in the bright sky. It was a sight nopony had seen in years, for the rest of the world had been racked with snowstorms for as long as anypony could remember. Skybound had never seen the sun. There were tears in her eyes as she took a sideways glance at the source of intense light, despite her knowledge that it was an illusion created by the oldest magics. Plum had seen the sun once as a newborn, but only the pegasi saw it regularly, always obscured somehow. "It's beautiful..." he gasped.
Skybound sighed. "I really miss Plum. I wish he could be here to see it.I can almost hear him..."
Waving his hoof in front of Skybound's face, he called. "I'm right here."
"Oh Plum," said Skybound. "It's beautiful. I've never seen the sun before, or so many flowers in one place." Iceheart was already squealing like a little filly, rolling in patches of flowers and giving the grass an occasional chew. Misty was flying as fast as she could, the flowers all bending out of her airspace. Windfall was nuzzling the ground and watching the worms. Snowstep was simply sitting and staring at the sky. It was not until ten minutes had passed that the ponies remembered that they had a mission. They took a second to assemble before Misty Moon started speaking.
"Iceheart, Windfall, Snowstep, Skybound, Extra."
"It's Plum Harvest."
"Very nice to meet you, Plum. I'll fill you in as we go along. If we push forward at a moderate rate, we'll probably make it past this whole part of the valley by nightfall, but we should pick a warm place to sleep. Remember to pick up some grass and flowers as rations as we walk. Let's continue, then." And so they went.
~
The ponies had been trotting and chatting for a while, occasionally stopping for water from cool, fresh springs and to pick up some more flowers. Skybound seemed to have an ability for sensing which plants would be good for medicine, too. She put these plants in her own bag, careful not to mix it with the regular plants for eating. As she looked, she notice a bit of frost had crept up on a leaf. With no one arguing, she supposed it was just an oddity and decided to show everypony. Immediately, Misty Moon, Iceheart and Snowstep took out their weapons. Windfall allowed his hoof to creep towards his bag as well, before slowly sliding the dagger out in a rather dramatic fashion. "What's wrong?" asked Skybound.
With a grimace, Snowstep answered. "Ice wraith, most likely. They're called 'children of the Wendigos' , and you've heard stories about how dangerous those are. But this is the valley of Peace, what would one be doing here..."
A pair of translucent fangs were instantly inches from his throat, but the deft pony managed to get around it. Misty Moon flew into the sky before slamming into the ice wraith with a magically charged dagger. It struck its tail against her flank in retaliation, causing a large gash to form. Misty fell to the ground, but was quickly dragged into safety by the two foals, still bleeding heavily. Windfall tried one of the new spells he had learned from the scrolls, causing no more than a non-perceptible buzz. Iceheart charged her own spell, managing to stun the wraith but deciding she needed more practice. It was Snowstep whose eyes glowed white for a moment before receding to normal. Suddenly, the beast was dead.
Snowstep had managed quite feat, and if one were to delve into his family tree, they would see him traced back into the First family of Arcane. This was a fact that Snowstep was proud of, that made him respectable enough that Iceheart would take him. He would've taken time to brag in other circumstances, but there was an ice wraith in the valley of Peace. And he could smell blood and vomit nearby.
Misty Moon had been patched up for the most part, but it was clear that she needed more rest. The sun showed that it was after noon, but there was still plenty of daylight left. Iceheart made the decision to scout forward and look for supplies. Windfall tried to join her, but was telekinetically shoved to the side with a newly learned spell. It ended up being too rough however, so she threw a healing spell on him. The same couldn't be done for Plum, however; he could prove useful anyways. But no matter how far they looked, they couldn't see the mountain. When they stopped looking, however, they could see the whole hulking mass. It was when stepping over a row of daisies that they could finally stare straight into the mountain.
When they looked back, there was nothing but a frozen wasteland crawling with deadly creatures, lit by the same old moon. It seemed the ice wraith had gotten in from a rift in the two versions of that space. An effect of the magical chaos, no doubt. They stepped back into the boundary and once again saw the rolling valleys and beautiful flowers. They stepped out. In. Out. In. A silence began between the two of them as they smiled, stepping through dimensions. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
They couldn't step back in.
~
"Okay, Plum. Calm down," whispered Iceheart clearly panicking. "The sun is at that weird part of the sky where portal magic stops working. We just have to make it eighty seconds."
They waited.
And waited.
And waited.
A pack of ice wraiths looked hungry and peered around the stones. There were two tasty morsels, standing in the cold. If the other four were here, they could make a mad dash to that convenient cave by the mountain. But as things were, the ponies were toast. They were so scared, they forgot to back through the portal. It was when Plum tripped on a rock and fell in that Iceheart remembered that the thing existed. Her tail seemed a wee bit shorter than it was a few seconds ago, though. But they were safe. With the new information in mind, the two ponies trotted back to where they had set up camp.
~
Night had fallen. It was time to sleep under the light of the moon. When they left this place, the day/night cycle would cease and the ponies would have constant night. But this was a sweet night, a night with floral air and a clear sky. A night with green grass and warmth.
It was the last time, for a long time, that the ponies could say goodnight and mean it.
...
A/N correction: This is the actual code for Iceheart:2X2S0F030036A8FEC9F3FE002018A8A89UI1837008000000Y096F3FEFE36361B0196F3FE5ECCFE
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