Part One: Ice Caves and Magical Artifacts
"C'mon everypony! Cadence, my brother, and their crew shouldn't be too far away now!" Twilight Sparkle's kempt mane rippled in the unforgiving winds of the Frozen North as she and the pair of two other ponies and a trio of Canterlot guards pressed onward to their destination. Her immaculately-kept violet and lavender bangs were helpless to retain their shape in the battering gusts, much to the alicorn's annoyance, as her hooves slowly braved through the knee-high snow.
Twilight was only keeping slightly ahead of the others by virtue of the warming spells she had the foresight to place upon her snow gear before departing. Not being the most athletic alicorn in the world, she had also placed spells of feather upon every item: her thick, warm and snug blue parka, snow boots, goggles, ice picks, scarf, and rucksack, making them almost weightless. Twilight had also cast these helpful little spells on her five companions as well, easing their journey up to the Crystal Mountains from the nearby Crystal Empire.
On the far horizon, the beautiful crystalline city of legend shined and gleamed in hues of violet, pink, teal, and cerulean under the milk and honey sky of the mid dawn.
Behind Twilight, a pegasus with the fur of desert sand that sharply clashed with the snow, rose colored eyes, and a long darkened mane, kept close pace. Her adventurer's pith hat competed with the goggles for space on the mare's head. Following at her rear was an earth pony.
The stallion was far more covered than either her or Twilight, and only a few stray locks of his brown mane could be seen sticking out of his parka hood. "Hey Hooves, why don't you pick up the pace back there. Like the Princess just said, the ice cave isn't a very long way's away!" She called out, craning around to look at him.
"I'd like to see you move any faster in these snow shoes, Miss Do. Besides, I wasn't really built for this type of...lovely...weather." Doctor Hooves replied in his noticeably posh accent. His voice was muffled by the heavy scarf he had wrapped around his neck and muzzle. The doctor's blue eyes squinted in irritation, well hidden under the condensation building inside his goggles.
His vexation triggered a light fit of chuckling from Daring Do. Her breath flash froze in the air in dazzling little swirls that danced around her muzzle. "I don't need to strap giant tennis rackets to my hooves to get through some measly snow." she jeered. "No offense, but I've trekked through jungles and deserts that make this place look tame."
Hooves nickered back grumpily at her and looked behind at the Crystal Empire, wishing desperately to be in one of their cafes sipping a hot beverage. His spirits lifted slightly when he found that the three soldiers around him were doing the same.
"Hey, do you happen to see the entrance yet, Your Highness?" Daring asked.
Twilight paused up ahead of them to take a look around. What primarily greeted her eyes was a series of unremarkable gray rock slides, sheer cliff faces, and the craggy forms of the looming Crystal Mountain Range far South, the direction they were heading. The glinting ice of a long-frozen waterfall, nearly the size of Neighagra's falls, lie at least a mile away to the West, sharing the pristine view with the Trans-Equestrian Railway that ran straight into the Empire from Galloping Gorge, back in the warmth of the Kingdom.
While the sights of the mountains, city, railroad, and waterfall were all picturesque in their own right, they were not of significance to Twilight right now. Everything else in her field of vision, including the cave entrance, was obscured by the stubborn snow drifts that constantly filled the frigid air with tiny, snowflake-laden cyclones. "Not quite, Miss Yearling. Sorry. It shouldn't be too long though, maybe another three minutes of this bitter wind, at the most!" Twilight had to raise her voice slightly to be heard over the howling gales.
"That's alright, I've survived worse. But hey, just call me Daring Do, Your Highness. We're on an expedition after all."
It was no secret to Twilight by now that the renowned author A.K. Yearling was, in fact, also the actual real-life Daring Do: the titular main protagonist of her best-selling adventure novel series. "Oh...right, of course, Miss Do." She replied
"What is it that Princess Cadence found exactly? Some kind of magical artifact?" Doctor Hooves inquired, catching up to Daring Do.
"If I had to bet my right hoof on it, yes." Twilight answered with growing enthusiasm, moving forward again and peering through the snow swirls. "Whatever it is, it's got Cadence, Princess Celestia and Luna, even the whole Equestrian Historical Society buzzing with interest. Cadence tells me it looks to be from Preclassical times!"
"Jolly good, how very exciting! It must be something of profound historical importance never before seen, then. Something, truly avant-garde for the entire archaeological and historical community!" Hooves paused before adding, "Well enough to justify braving such harsh tundra, surely."
Daring Do hummed thoughtfully. "Preclassical? Definitely interesting."
By now, all six had paused to talk or rest. A conveniently formed rockslide that sheltered everypony from the wind lay in the middle of their Southward bound path up the mountainside. "That must mean it predates the Princesses and Discord's rule, making it at least..."
"...two, to two thousand, five hundred years old!" Twilight finished for her. "It's from Star Swirl the Bearded's time!" The wind, ice, and snow prevented her from throwing off her parka and hovering into the air with joy.
"Erm, right-o'! Not to sound ungrateful in any way, Your Highness, but why did Princess Celestia request me, of all ponies, to be here for such a grandiose discovery? Why, I'm but a humble clockmaker and amateur historian. My doctorate is in engineering, not archaeology." Hooves seemed puzzled as he looked at Daring Do. "But Miss A.K. Yearling here has quite the proficient background in such fields, hence the Society sending her with you. That, and writing some arguably cheesy adventure novels."
Daring could tell this was Hooves's half-baked attempt at a comeback. Since he was obviously suffering in the harsh cold, she decided she would let him have his little victory. Daring glared at the stallion with the fiercest scowl she could muster without risking a giggle and ruining it. He bought it, as a noticeable grin took shape under his mile-thick layer of hoof-knitted scarves. With that, the pegasus adventurer's day was now made, at least until they all met up with Princess Cadence to see the magical artifact.
The pair's byplay had not gone unnoticed by the Princess, and while she strongly disagreed with Hooves' assessment of Daring Do's book series, there was something else Twilight wanted to correct him on. "You're wrong, Doctor Hooves." she said smugly.
"Erm, beg pardon, Your Highness?"
"You're no mere 'humble' pony who dabbles in history and tinkers with cogs and gears." Twilight's declaration struck Hooves speechless. "In reality, Celestia personally requested you to accompany us, because Cadence previously stated that the find in question involves a great deal of mechanical moving parts. You're no mere clockmaker, you're the best one in Ponyville, and possibly even the entire country. My friends are all busy back home, so it's a plus to have somepony else from Ponyville to fill the...gap...on the trip."
At that, Twilight started to trot briskly around the large collection of boulders, spurring Hooves, Daring Do, and the three Royal Guards to pick back up and get moving as well. "You may not be a true history buff like Daring Do and I, but your skills are critically needed. And, the fact that this magical artifact also involves complex clockwork technology, increases my interest in it exponentially." Twilight added, taking the lead again.
While Doctor Hooves' morale increased considerably as he considered Twilight's assertion of the importance of his role in their miniature expedition, Daring Do's own excitement shot through the clouds and out into deep space. Before Princess Twilight could announce it, she shouted, "I see the mouth of the cave! A group of guards outside are waving at us, I think they've seen us coming up."
"Yeah, you're right. Looks like we're here after all." Twilight agreed with a radiant smile, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. "C'mon!"
"Ah thank heavens, we're finally here!" Hooves explained, watching the guards approach to assist them with their gear. The crystal ponies' exquisite coats managed to shine even more brightly than their mithril armor in the sunlight as they trotted down. "I hope they have hot chocolate! Or coffee."
Daring rolled her eyes behind Hooves, as he removed his goggles to wipe them clear.
"Welcome Your Highness, Princess Twilight and company! It is a pleasure to see you all safe and sound this fine morning." One of the Crystal Guard's greeted, pulling down his muzzle scarf to speak to them. He and his comrade both had kindly, good hearted smiles that helped to alleviate the gnawing cold around everyone. The duo were genuinely happy to see them.
"Thank you, guardspony. It's definitely good to have reached this place without anypony getting lost." Twilight replied, returning their smile.
"From frostbite and Yetis." Daring Do quipped in a whisper, making sure she was in earshot of Hooves. The Doctor scowled and grumbled before donning his goggles again.
"If you will all follow me, Her Highness Princess Cadence, and Lord Shining Armor, would like to see you right away." The armored Crystal Ponies lead them into the mouth of the cave, which was dotted with scaffolding, miscellaneous excavation equipment, and thoughtfully-placed braziers for light and warmth.
Before entering in after them, Doctor Hooves paused to take a final furtive glance at the Crystal Empire in the distance. "Is it just me, or does the Frozen North seem to be...howling...at us?"
"I'm sure it's just your imagination, Doctor." One of the unicorn guards replied in reassurance. With a whisper he added, "Windigos and snow monsters scare us too, you're not alone."
"Don't worry, we have two royal alicorns and Shining Armor to back us up." The second guard threw in.
"And the great Daring Do herself, as well. It's an amazing time to be an Equestrian Guard, I tells ya!" The third mused aloud.
All four of them nodded enthusiastically, then disappeared into the icy cave. Hooves kept scanning for something hot to drink the entire way.
Princess Cadence was standing alongside her husband at a large workbench in the heart of the cave, the main cavern. The sturdy oak table was cluttered and strewn with maps, writing utensils and parchment, historical tomes, snow gear, and the occasional steaming cup of coffee. The dark rich liquid was dispensed from a frothing cauldron full of it, just a few hoofsteps away.
Much to Shining Armor's graciously unexpressed annoyance, his small army of guards and diggers constantly consumed the coffee faster than their quartermaster could brew more, thus leaving him out of the loop of keeping warm and alert. Luckily for him though, Cadence served that role far better than coffee. A single tap of her hoof on Shining's shoulder could snap him to alertness as easily as a peck on the cheek or a brief nuzzle could warm his heart like the boiler in a running locomotive.
The husband-and-wife team were currently at work studying the main reason for their being there, the artifacts. They had acquired them after a group of mining surveyors visited the area previously, tipping them off to the weird things they were digging up instead of the expected coal or gems.
Continuing the work that the prospectors had started, it hadn't been long before the Crystal Empire's young monarch finally struck something of far greater importance than even the most precious of amethysts or diamonds.
The artifacts now stood at their own pride of place on the workbench, each carefully wrapped in soft reels of silk to prevent any possible damage from outside forces. Cadence found many of the objects to be quite fragile. Some of the most fragile artifacts of them all were currently being held in her telekinesis as she hummed angelically, analyzing each. Shining Armor stood by, diligently recording her notes and remarks for each artifact on a scroll of parchment.
"One exquisitely crafted miniature iron astrolabe, inlaid with gold, with minor rust. One beautiful eyepiece, polished brass, surprisingly no rust. A...saddlebag containing scrolls, sealed with the official stamp of the King of Unicornia." Princess Cadence beamed and giggled in delight. "Which proves it, Shining! Everything here is Preclassical! It's all from the time during and just before the founding of Equestria!"
"Well of course! I already knew you were right, dear." Shining Armor declared with a smile that could rival hers. "You've got a beautiful, strong mind, just like Twily."
A few of the nearby guards smiled at the duo, the cold of the cave leaving it difficult to simply stand at attention and stare at the wall like they usually did back home. "See that there boys?" one of them asked. "With a couple like that ruling the Empire, old bones Sombra must be rolling in his snowy grave by now."
"My, how very somber a sight that must be." Another guard chuckled, sipping a massive mug of steaming coffee.
"Now, what I wonder is how all these items got here." Cadence mused, peering at the artifacts through her violet, rose, and golden locks of mane. "Obviously with the saddlebag, these are all the personal effects of a unicorn who had been traveling through here...but who? And what were they doing in such a frigid part of the world? Any ideas, dear?"
"Hard to tell, Cady. What really has me curious is the magical music box we found with the stuff, I can practically feel its magical energy radiating out from here."
"Me too. It definitely has marked itself as the most significant artifact of them all. I can't wait for Twilight to get here so we can show it to her and Miss Yearling! Hopefully they also managed to get Doctor Hooves to come along too, these ancient gears look very delicate." Cadence sighed. "I'd be heartbroken if I tried to open it and the whole thing just upright broke!"
Both ponies' senses of anticipation were relieved in an instant when a familiar voice echoed into the cave from behind them, almost causing them both to jump out of there fur from the sudden noise. Yetis were a thing to worry about in this part of the world, after all.
"Brother, Cadence!" Twilight came bounding in, Daring Do and Doctor Hooves falling far behind her. The guard who was about to announce the trio's arrival stood still next to the other two, holding his hoof to his muzzle with his mouth in a surprised 'O' shape.
"Twily!" Shining Armor exclaimed.
"Twilight, I can't say how happy I am to have you here with us!" Cadence greeted as well.
The two trotted up to the younger alicorn, and both swept her up in a massive hug, leaving Twilight a bit dumbfounded and out of breath. "Whoa you guys, I'm glad to see you too. But uh, could you let me down now?"
Shining Armor and Cadence both giggled awkwardly and set her down. Shining rubbed at his blue mane. "It's probably just the darn snow and wind, but close contact feels nice, ya know?" He looked on at his guards sternly. "If only somepony wouldn't keep downing all the hot stuff in the cave!"
All the guards were wide eyed, and one of them sheepishly hid his mug behind a nearby stack of wood crates, blushing a bright shade of crimson.
While Cadence and Twilight got into a discussion about artifacts, weather, and the goings on in both the Crystal Empire and Ponyville, Shining Armor welcomed Daring Do and Doctor Hooves in, apologizing to Hooves right off the bat for the lack of any hot drinks to spare, or even some hot soup, as it was the first thing the Doctor asked after shaking hooves with Armor.
Daring Do was quick to gently hit the clock maker upside the head with his own scarf as soon as Shining Armor turned his back to join Cadence and Twilight at the workbench. Hooves rubbed irritably at his forehead as he followed Daring over to see the artifacts.
"Amazing, just amazing!" Twilight exclaimed with glee. She ran her lavender eyes over each and every last ancient object set out, and each one seemed to become more and more interesting by the minute.
Cadence showed her the astrolabe, rucksack full of sealed scrolls, and eyepiece, as well as an abacus, other assorted instruments used by ancient scholars of the time, and mechanical devices that, like the music box, defied explanation as to their original purpose.
This lack of explanation was mainly due to the fact that, besides the music box, all the other mechanical devices were far too broken to be recognized beyond a confusing jumble of rusted scrap metal. In fact, to Doctor Hooves, the unfurnished portion of the cavern where digging was still going on, seemed as if somepony had taken a large train locomotive or similar machine, placed it inside, and violently ripped it to pieces.
"This, Twilight, Doctor, and Miss Do, is the main reason you're all here. This music box is what has everypony in such a fit of curiosity and activity back home." Cadence stated. "That, and I may have used colorful language in my correspondence to Celestia regarding upkeep costs for the Railway." she added as an afterthought, her tongue in her cheek.
Shining Armor burst out into hearty chuckle, and the pair exchanged conspiratorial winks. Cadence then cleared her throat gracefully and fetched a final artifact from the far corner of the large workbench.
Twilight's, Hooves' and Daring's eyes all simultaneously followed the cylindrical-shaped silk cloth as it flitted down towards them in Princess Cadence's aura like some bizarre new type of snowflake. "This is it then?' Twilight asked hopefully.
"Mm-hmm. Most definitely." Cadence nodded, grinning. The device was emitting a subtle golden glow underneath the silk fabric, and the glow grew with intensity as Cadence lifted the cloth away. "Behold, a relic from Equestria's mysterious, legendary past!"
"Hey look, it is just a music box.." Doctor Hooves said, narrowing his eyes curiously.
"That certainly is the snazziest-looking musical trinket I've ever seen." Daring Do appraised. She whistled in admiration.
Twilight smiled radiantly as Cadence set the artifact down on the table in front of them for her to see. Without the cloth wrapping, the music box proved to be an octagon shape, rather than a round cylinder. It was around the size of an average bowl. On one side was the wind-up key, presumably used for starting it up. Each and every side, eight around, top and bottom, was finely crafted. Gold filigree, embossed images, and a stark white layer of paint devoid of any chipping or peeling surrounded the box.
"Look at that, that's the standard of Unicornia, the unicorn head symbol inlaid with stars. This box, and everything else had to have belonged to an important figure, I wonder if they knew Star Swirl the Bearded, or any of the other major historical figures?" Twilight wondered.
"We're hoping some answers might be inside the box to solve the mystery of why all this stuff was left here." Shining Armor said. "Maybe they left a message inside, or something else."
"Indeed, Shining." Cadence agreed. "What we and the Equestrian Historical Society suspect, is that this music box may actually be a time capsule of sorts. I made this theory of mine quite clear in my letters to the Celestia and Luna."
"Well hey, why tarry then, chaps?" Doctor Hooves said with gusto. "Let's see if I can get it to open." Cadence and Shining Armor nodded approval at him, while Daring and Twilight observed attentively.
It took the stallion only a second to grab the box gently, twirl it around experimentally, then turn the key to start up its inner mechanisms. For a brief moment of dread, Hooves feared the music box's innards had frozen solid and jammed up. Then, at last, the box began to spin. "Ah, there we go! Thank Luna and the high heavens for sturdy ancient pony engineering!"
The top of the box opened up, and a ghostly but angelic melody loudly flooded the ice cave. At its zenith, the music box's golden glow became almost to bright to look at it, and Twilight and the others had to squint. Hooves donned his goggles again. "Erm, I think it's waiting for somepony to interact with it now!" He shouted over the music.
"Yeah, now's probably a good time!" Daring agreed, covering her ears with her wings. Many of the guards were doing similar actions.
"What are you waiting for Twilight? You should have the honor of investigating its secret!" Cadence declared.
"But you're the one who got to it first, Cady. Why not you?" She shouted back.
"Because, the throne of the Crystal Empire is all the prestige me and Shining Armor will ever need now." Shining nickered in agreement with a smile as Cadence raised her voice slightly higher. "Take the honor of discovery, Twilight. Trust me, from one Princess to another, you deserve it!"
Between her sister-in-law's insistence, and the building noise, Twilight could no longer resist. Without further ado, she shrugged and shot her hoof out at the musical box, then closed her eyes.
The loud sound of a howling blizzard wind filled her ears, and then her vision faded to black.
Twilight opened up her eyes, and found herself immediately engulfed in a maelstrom of lights and sounds. They all confounded and baffled her speechless as she tried to comprehend them. Magical energies whirled around as if part of a great cosmic whirlpool, and dozens upon dozens of images flashed by, moving far too quickly for the alicorn to see what they portrayed. Strings of voices, miscellaneous sounds, and even some music, accompanied many of the images.
Ears were strained as Twilight attempted to key in on any particular voice out of the auditory mess. Her body seemed to be in flight. However, most strangely, she also felt as if she were swimming in the depths of a vast, dark ocean. After a second of effort, Twilight managed to distinguish at least one voice from the massive symphony of chaos surrounding her.
"Once upon a time, long before the peaceful rule of Celestia, ponies did not know harmony." The voice declared.
The voice was instantly recognizable to Twilight. "Spike? Is that you?" she sputtered to herself, growing ever more baffled and confused, despite her best efforts to remain logical and collected. "Where are you? where am I? What in Equestria is happening?"
"Did you even read that book I gave you on obscure unicorn history?"
"Now I'm hearing my own disembodied voice too? Ugh, I swear this is the last time I touch magical music boxes anywhere, ever again!" Twilight groaned, frowning.
"It was a strange and dark time. A time when ponies were torn apart...by hatred!" Spike's voice declared dramatically.
"What the! Isn't that from the Hearth's Warming Eve play over a year ago?" Slowly, several voices and sounds were beginning to become distinctive from the background noise, and Twilight listened to each one attentively, eager to gain information that might help her make sense of what was happening. Unfortunately, the voices provided no such information, instead only leaving the alicorn with more questions as they appeared at random.
"We're starving. If we will not have food, then you will have war. All of you! This summit is hereby over."
"It's not our fault Earth Ponies are such numskulls!"
"Technology beats hoof, magic beats tech, and weather control beats everything! Our aerial war machines are unstoppable! This war should count itself lucky if it even lasts the winter..."
"Behold, the father of the amniomorphic spell himself!"
"O' Pansy grab your gun, grab your gun, grab gun! Snobby Unicorns better run, better run, better run! O'er there, o'er there! Send the word, send the word, o'er there! Tell Unicornia to beware, to beware, to prepare!"
"Each tribe blamed the others for their suffering. And the angrier everypony grew, the worst the blizzard became."
"Horned snobs coming in from the mountains and hills, winged brutes coming in from the clouds, and freak blizzards terrorizing half the entire globe. It's a tough time to be an Earth Pony in the trenches, sir."
"I tell you, ever since the Three Tribes began their 'Great War', the weather has been acting...weird. Winters are getting longer, more unpredictable. I wonder what kind of strange new weapons those Pegasi are using up there? What are they hiding in their clouds?"
"The Earth is round silly, there is no up or down!"
"Wait, horned snobs...unicorns! Brutes must be referring to pegasi. And then the three pony tribes, so...Hearth's Warming Eve, there it is again! What does Hearth's Warming have to do with everything I'm hearing?" Twilight pondered.
"Just what do we even know about this new land, gents?"
"I know you're a pegasi, and I'm a unicorn, and you, an earth pony. But why must we be enemies, can't we all live in harmony and peace for once?"
"What...what if they follow us here from across the sea, and bring the ice and snow with them?"
"Madame Chancellor? With all due respect ma'am, you're reading the map upside down again."
As the magical vortex of energy began to die down, the wise, cultured voice of a very old individual became the last of the sounds to be heard besides the chaotic whir and crackle of energy.
"That was a wondrous demonstration of advanced magic. Yours is an outstanding achievement, young Clover. One that will be remembered for all time! I am honored, to call you my apprentice."
"Thank you so much, Master Star Swirl!"
Twilight's eyes widened like dinner plates in a heartbeat. Had she heard those names correctly?
"And so it was decided, that a Grand Summit would be held, to help cope with the blizzard."
By now the magical maelstrom had abated, and Twilight now found herself in a still point in space. Her surroundings were like the void of space, featureless save for the sea of stars that silently glimmered and twinkled in every possible direction. She still felt a floating sensation, but now it felt different, directed somehow. Twilight was being pulled towards something. It was a star, a million times closer than any of the others. The alicorn squinted as the harsh light filled her eyes, until it was all she could see. She closed her eyes. When they opened again, her world had changed once more.
All the stars had vanished. Twilight was now seated somewhere, clothed in a comfortable, brown and humbly decorated set of robes that felt oddly familiar to her. She strangely could not feel or move her wings. The ice cave, as well as her brother, sister-in-law, and everypony else were still absent. Instead, seated next to Twilight on her right side, in a large, crowded two-story room she was only just beginning to analyze, were two unicorns. A furtive glance in their direction revealed them as Princess Platinum and Star Swirl the Bearded themselves.
Based on what her eyes were showing her, Twilight only had one conclusion she could rely on. Even despite the complete lack of logic to everything, it was the only conclusion that made any ounce of sense, and by now it was painfully obvious.
Opening her mouth wide, she blurted out, "I must be in the body of Clover the Clever!"
