Author's Note
I'm a little late to the party but here's my contribution at the Displaced multiverse. I know that there have been mixed views on these kinds of stories but I liked the premise and really couldn't get the idea out of my head. If you don't like this kind of fic, I would advise against continuing. To those that stick around, I hope you enjoy my twist on this idea.
Disturbing the Peace
(Current Day)
Summer Breeze, a still very green pegasus lieutenant of the recently assembled Crystal Empire Guard, was not having a good day. First she had to chew out Flash Sentry about inattentiveness on the job after he spilled her coffee, then she spent hours listening to her communication crystal.
She both loved and hated the three tiny crystals attached to her ear. While they couldn’t match the distance Manehattan’s cellphones could send messages, the crystals had their own positive features. Put into use by the Empire’s military just before Sombra enslaved them all, the crystals functioned as radio transceivers between troops. Even better, the wavelength used by the crystals allowed for clearer and more secure messages than the relatively new cell phones.
So she spent the morning listening to the high pitched ringing of her boss on the other end yelling about finishing paperwork that had already been filed last week; without coffee. The only interruption to the endless cycle of being called and yelled at was just before lunch, an enormous surge of magic swept through the city rattling all of the crystalline structures, including ponies, and leaving a faint static charge that lingered for hours. As soon as she walked in the door of the mares’ barracks, after a good deal of pushing and shoving of the uncooperative door, her communication crystal rang. Again. She groaned. Actually, it turned out things could get worse after all. Another phone call, no matter who it was from, couldn't be a good thing.
Once again, she answered the phone rather unenthusiastically. Maybe it wouldn’t be her boss this time? "Hello?"
"Lieutenant Breeze." It was Shining Armour, former captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard and current Prince of the Empire, which meant she was only a little wrong; it was her boss’s boss.
"Good afternoon, Prince," Summer forced a cheerful tone, despite her mounting annoyance. "Let me guess, you've got a difficult assignment for me that could possibly prove dangerous."
"What makes you say that?" He asked, neither confirming nor denying any suspicion.
"It’s been that kind of day," she responded with a sigh.
"Well, you're right," he said. Of course. Why couldn’t this day just end peacefully? "I take it you felt that wave of power a while ago?"
"Yes sir. Any idea what it was?"
"That's what you're going to find out for us. The power originated from somewhere in the mountains to the east. We want you to go and investigate the source."
"East? What about the guards stationed over there?" Her area of responsibility was in the Empire proper, not the borders.
"They are otherwise occupied," he responded. "Now, if you have a map, I'll give you the coordinates." It took her a moment of rummaging around to find a decent map. After Shining finished giving the coordinates he paused for a moment. "Be careful up there Breeze," he said, a softer note in his voice. “I know he’s been gone for a couple years now, but we’re still finding Sombra’s leftovers."
"And we could be trotting right into it," she finished. "Don't worry, you trained me for this."
“Good luck. Bring your partner, and stay safe.” He disconnected.
Instead of heading out right away, Summer decided to do a little consulting on what the power could be first. She slipped out of the barracks, grabbed her armour, and began trotting away. After a moment’s thought, she returned to grab her cloak. It was cold in the palace library.
Her consultant, a particularly large diamond dog, nicknamed Tracker for his ability to find whatever obscure piece of information you needed, was currently the sole librarian for the Crystal Palace. Usually she had to poke and prod the old dog awake, but this time he was waiting for her. "I was wondering when you were going to come down here."
Summer paused, somewhat shocked at the turn of events. "Well, this is a first."
Tracker, ignoring the comment, continued speaking. "I’ll assume that we are investigating that power surge earlier, yes?"
"Pretty good guess. Prince Armour wants me to go check it out." Tracker was acting a little different than usual. He didn't have any witty banter for her and so far hadn't tried to correct her on anything or try to convince her to get him new books. “Any id-”
"I have no idea what it is," Tracker said flatly.
That left Summer at a loss for words. Not much was known about Tracker, only that he was found three months after Sombra’s defeat with no name and no memories. It was later found that his mind had been connected to the palace library, he could remember every word of any book that ever had been or currently was shelved in the palace. Oddly it seemed that Sombra had hoarded every bit of information he could find, keeping the library very well stocked.
For Tracker to not know something meant something really strange was going on.
"What do you mean you 'have no idea'?"
"I mean in all the hundreds of years of information from several different cultures I have in my head, I have nothing about anything like this. This is either something that hasn't been seen since before the library existed or something new entirely."
Well that was comforting. When not even Tracker could give you help on something, you knew you were getting in over your head. And Summer, being the intelligent, well brought up pony that she is, was going to go looking for it anyways.
"Why do I do this?" Summer grumbled, knowing she would regret this later.
"Because you seem to lack a sense of self-preservation when it comes to your orders?" Tracker supplied.
"Let's go with that," Summer said as she turned around to leave.
"Be careful out there, Breeze," Tracker called after her. "Nopony but you visits me. It would suck to be stuck down here for who knows how many years if you die."
*****
Icy Wind had been partners with Summer Breeze for a year now and she was still absolutely ecstatic about the arrangement. First, they were both pegasi which made assignments easy because they could always be together. Not like that unicorn she had been paired with during training. He was a grump. Which brought her to her second reason. Summer was so much fun. And funny too. So when she came to tell Icy about their orders to go find the source of that weird pulse earlier, Icy was quite excited to go on an adventure.
The pair stood at the very edge of the empire, just inside the barrier keeping out the harsh northern weather. She donned her armour and cloak with quick, practiced movements and put the coordinates into the locator spell on her issued compass. "Alright Icy," she grumbled to her partner, stepping through the barrier. "Time to go have a little fun."
And by fun she meant wandering around for several hours following the spelled compass. She still didn't understand why a guard based closer to the immediate area wasn't assigned to this. There was no way every single guard east of the Empire was busy.
Either way, she was here now after forcing her way through the tundra. Summer had come to realize something: she did not like the cold. She was immensely thankful for whatever extra warmth the insulation in the armour provided, though she knew it wasn't much.
The glow of the compass faded, signaling they had reached the coordinates.
"Finally. Let's get this over with before I freeze to death," she grumbled to Icy. Summer looked over at her partner and immediately felt annoyed. Icy was rolling around in the snow, almost like she was trying to make a snow angel. The cold didn't seem to bother her at all, which Summer found to be completely unfair.
"Hey!" she said, getting Icy's attention. "Can we get a move on?" Icy looked up at her sheepishly before looking around curiously.
“Uh Summer? I think we’re here.”
That was the moment she became aware of the presence of the power. The snow had stopped, leaving the air feeling charged and smelling faintly of ozone. It was definitely coming from something in the area but she wasn’t adept enough with energy flow to tell where. Icy, on the other hand, seemed to be doing just fine. She trotted forwards a few steps, and stopped to look back at Summer. “Hey, are you coming?” Then she continued on.
Drawing her cloak a little closer, Summer followed.
For all her faults and annoying personality, this was why Summer had brought Icy along. She was more sensitive to energy patterns in the environment than Summer was. Summer supposed it had to do with her talent for sensing storms and winds. Icy could predict storm patterns, proving invaluable as she easily navigated through the harsh blizzards on the way here. If Summer were alone in the mountains, she would probably be wandering around for days, grounded by the frequent storms, and trying to find the source of this power. With Icy, it hopefully shouldn't take more than a few hours.
Thankfully, the spell proved to be in the right area. They hadn't been walking for more than twenty minutes when Icy picked up the trail leading the pair straight to a cave. It was a natural cave, as were most in this area, but this one seemed oddly new. There were loose rocks and boulders littered around the entrance of the cave and none had been there long enough to pick up snow. Some sat so precariously that a simple gust of wind would probably topple it off its perch. Summer looked up as she heard several small rocks dislodge from the cliff face and tumble to the ground.
The entrance to the cave was partially blocked by the fallen boulders but they were fairly easy to fly over. Once they reached the mouth of the cave Icy took out her spear and Summer readied her sword; there was no telling what they would find in the cave. Looking in, Summer realized it was pitch black and they wouldn't be able to see a thing. Deciding that Icy’s spear would have to be enough, Summer tucked sheathed her sword and pulled a lantern out from her bag. After a small effort with a match, the lantern lit the dark enough to see without walking into the walls.
Apparently this cave was larger than it appeared because as far as Summer could see the cave just stretched on and on. "Are you sure it's in here?" she asked Icy.
Icy looked at Summer, gave a huge grin, and continued trotting further into the cave. “Of course I’m sure. I’ve never been surer. Come on~” Her sing-song voice echoed off the walls of the cave. With a sigh, Summer followed her again.
As they walked, they could feel the presence of the power getting stronger. It was nothing like the explosion of power earlier in the Empire, but it was definitely from the same source. Summer listened as carefully as she could, preparing for something, anything to happen.
The tunnel abruptly opened up into a massive cave. What little light was coming from the lantern wasn't strong enough to reach the other side of the cave or the roof. A little fiddling with a knob increased the flame inside, making the light shine brighter, and found what Summer assumed to be the source of the power.
In the center of the cave was a massive sapphire-blue and black crystal structure. It started on the ground with a sapphire sphere, then from the right side black crystals poured over the surface of the sphere like a wave. The black crystals looked uncomfortably familiar, but lacked the malignant power of Sombra’s magic.
Something strange about the structure caught Summer’s attention. She had to crane her neck to see it properly, but it seemed as if there was something within the crystal.
Icy was the one to point out the cracks running all across the sapphire. More cracks appeared as she looked on. It was almost like something was trying to break out.
“Uh, Summer? I have a bad feeling about this. Like, we shouldn’t be here right now.” Icy crouched behind her partner.
With a deafening explosion, the crystal orb suddenly shattered, sending jagged shards flying through the air. Summer quickly ducked down and brought up her armoured wings in a shield, protecting herself and Icy from the pieces of flying death soaring through the air. Something landed heavily on the ground somewhere in the cave, causing the ground to shake.
After the dust had settled and crystals had once again settled, Summer lowered her wings to take a look around. She hadn't known what to expect, but it definitely wasn't this. In the center of the cave, where the monolith had been, was an unfamiliar shape. A young minotaur perhaps? It couldn’t be, its face was the wrong shape and there weren’t any horns. Its ears were wrong too, small and coming to points nearly hidden in the dark hair. It was dressed in a light chain jacket and had a sword at its hip. She also noticed that it was quite heavily dressed, the clothing was torn and bloodied. There was blood caked to the side of its face and on nearly every visible patch of skin.
“Summer we have a problem. A really, really big problem.”
Icy dragged Summer’s attention away from the creature by placing her hooves on Summer’s helmet and physically moving her head to face the much larger problem.
Behind the much smaller creature lay a giant blue beast, the same color as the orb that had held them both. It didn't move and in the dim light it was hard to see anything in clear detail, but Summer could see enough to make out what it was. She could see bright blue scales, a long neck and tail, massive wings and ivory spikes and horns.
They never came this far north. Their greed would destroy the Empire.
It was a dragon.
Of Scales and Riders
Written by: Orthios
Pre-read by: All of the Above
“So, what now?” - Normal speech
“May I eat them?” - Shared thoughts
“Stop!” - Ancient language
~~~~~~~~~
When I awoke, there was only darkness and the cold. Stone and frost sapped my body heat through my clothing and my skin. The only sounds I could make out were those of a snapping, a fire maybe, and my own breathing. It took a few moments to collect myself enough to realize I felt warmth off to one side, but my senses still weren’t functioning enough to tell which side. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes to see where I was. Just thinking was too disorienting at the moment.
Realizing I was slowly descending into a panic, I attempted to regulate my breathing and hopefully slow the beating of my heart down to a more appropriate level for a... a what? I could feel my body calming down but the haze still hadn't lifted from my mind. There was so much I didn't understand at that moment; where I was, what I was, if anyone else was there, if anyone else was supposed to be there, what had happened...
Feeling the panic set in again, I shut down my thoughts and decided to take things one step at a time. First, I needed to at least orient myself. Everything else could go from there. I concentrated first on my body and the sensations it was sending me. The cold stone was pressing against my back, the chill had already begun seeping into my bones. I didn't know where I was exactly but at least I knew I was lying on the ground. I could work with that. I noticed a slight weight on top of me, seeming to enfold me and give some small amount of warmth. Best guess, someone had placed something over me. A blanket maybe? My left side felt slightly warmer than my right, and my coherency finally reached a point to allow me to realize the sounds of the fire coming from my left. I couldn't feel any immediate pain but I still hadn't moved since waking up, so it was hard to tell.
After checking my general health, I finally attempted to open my eyes. The first thing I saw was the light of the fire, which immediately sent a spike of pain through my retinas directly to my brain. I exhaled sharply, squeezing my eyes shut again. Well, that sucked. Alright, so apparently everything wasn't one hundred percent yet, I’d wait a little longer then.
A little ways away, I heard a rustling sound followed by the clink of metal, boots, clacking against the stone floor. When the person drew close enough, I risked opening my eyes again, this time prepared for the searing pain.
The first thing I noticed was the inside of the enormous cave. I could just barely make out the ceiling, the dim light of the fire glinting off of veins of… something blue running through the rock. The second thing I noticed was the pair of mares, one grey and one green, standing nearby. It took a moment to figure out their tribe but I eventually picked out the wings at their sides. The third thing I noticed was the armour both had dressed in. I hadn’t seen such high quality plating like that since before my entrance into Equestria. At least not from ponies, minotaurs maybe.
"So you're finally awake," the green one said, staying several steps back from me. "How're you feeling?"
I tried to speak but my throat was too dry to make any sound. I swallowed a few times until I was able to croak out a few words. "Where am I?" I asked
"Somewhere north of Equestria. The mountains are a little hard to navigate so we aren’t sure of the exact location, but it should be easy enough to find our way out." Judging by her guarded expression and how she still refuses to come any closer, she’d probably holding something back. Oh well, we can deal with that later. She sat down and gave me a once over. "How are you feeling?" she asked again.
"Like a minotaur used me as a punching bag," I replied, testing my arms and legs. My muscles protested, but thankfully it felt more like they were stiff from disuse rather than from injury.
"A minotaur?" the other mare asked, but I brushed off the question. It was a long story. There was a low buzzing at the back of my mind that was becoming more and more insistent, until it finally burst in a single word.
"ERAGON!"
I jerked upright in surprise. Looking around for the source, I laid eyes on a massive sapphire form and was immediately ashamed of even wondering where the voice had come from. "Vivian," I let out a breath of relief.
A rumble emitted from low in her chest making the strange ponies flinch back from the sound. To me, she was obviously happy, but the mares had no way of knowing that.
"It is about time you woke up, sleepy head," her voice resounded pleasantly in my mind, giving me something familiar to latch on to. "And I don't appreciate being ignored." she added with a note of reproach.
"I'm sorry Viv," I apologized. "I’m having trouble keeping a train of thought. And I don’t remember exactly how we got here." I glanced over at the mares sitting on the ground, staring bewildered at Vivien. "Do you know who these ponies are?" I asked.
"They spoke to me," she replied, "but I did not speak back. At least they are smart enough to address me properly and not as some dumb animal. That would have... upset me. They say their names are Summer Breeze and Icy Wind and would like to know what we were doing in the crystal."
"Crystal?" I couldn’t remember anything about a crystal. My pounding head fell into my hands. "Viv, what are you talking about?"
"Hey, are you guys talking to each other?" They grey one asked, peeking over the green one.
Oh. I hadn't noticed I spoke my thoughts out loud. What a bad habit. Briefly, I considered ignoring the mares but that would be rude, and I was raised better than that. On an unrelated note, both were armed and I was not. An apology was quickly offered. "Ah, sorry. Viv was just trying to help me clear my head. She says your names are Summer Breeze and Icy Wind, is that right?"
"That's right," the grey one confirmed. That was quite unhelpful. Maybe I should have asked which was which. "So I was right about her being smart?"
"You have no idea," I sighed. Don’t get me wrong, I love Viv with all of my heart but having another person in your head at all times can make for some exceedingly awkward moments. Especially when she knows you better than yourself and makes it a point to remind you of it as often as possible. I raised my hand again but stopped before I reached my head. It finally dawned on me that it was caked in dried blood. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to remember it was my blood.
Everything came rushing back; flying over a sea of darkness, the battle, seeing Locus charge the mass of inky shadows only to be cut down, Sombra's ambush, falling prey to the spell of the Mad Tyrant, then waking to darkness and cold. What happened? Everything was blank after I fell from Viv’s saddle.
"What happened to me?" I asked aloud, hoping one of the two know something.
"We were hoping you could tell us," the green one said seriously. That’s it, she’s being called Icy Wind. I need a name attached to a being or it will drive me insane. "We were ordered to come here and investigate the source of a massive power surge, and we found you. So I need you to answer some questions for me."
"Questions?" My headache was beginning to get worse. I should be dead, right? Then why am I still here?
"We are soldiers of the Crystal Empire. We’re usually stationed in the palace but it seems all the guards in the area are busy."
"Crystal Empire? Soldiers? I don't understand. The Empire doesn’t have soldiers, especially not pegasi. All that’s there is Sombra and the crystal pony slaves we couldn’t get to." The pain was only getting worse, it felt like my head was burning.
"When you fell off my back during that final battle, I did not know what to do. I thought you were dying." Viv began speaking in my mind, only adding to the confusion. Unfortunately, the other mare cut back in with her questions.
"Where are you from? Do you have magic? That’s a silly question, of course you do. We could feel it in the Empire. I've never felt magic like yours before. What can you do with your magic besides making a big staticy burst? "
"I went after you and instinct took over. Even I am not sure exactly what I did."
"I've never seen a dragon like that before. Or something like you, either."
"I felt my magic pour over the both of us and time began to slow."
They continued to speak over each other, blending their voices into an indecipherable cacophony. It was overwhelming and all I could do was desperately press my hands against my head to stop it from bursting. The pain became too much and under the agony something broke.
Power, familiar but strange, poured through my mind as I screamed. "Silence!"
Suddenly dragon and mares alike found themselves unable to speak. The soldiers began to panic at finding themselves voiceless, though I found it hard to care as the spell pulled at what little strength I had. I made them wait for the pain in my head to subside to something manageable before I released the magic holding them all silent.
"What did you just do?" Summer, the grey one, asked fearfully before I was able to slip a word in..
"Sorry," the apology came out a little more terse than I meant it to sound, but I was still irked. "Too loud. I was overwhelmed and overreacted."
"But what was that?!" Fear had returned to panic again.
I gave her a tired look. "Magic," I sighed. Even with all the different species and different magics in this world, ponies were still dumbstruck by my particular brand of it. Before either of them could respond, I turned to my dragoness again. "Viv, what happened after I fell off?"
"I went after you," she replied simply. Now that it was only her trying to speak to me, it was a little easier to think clearly. "Sombra's spell was tearing you apart. You were dying, I could feel you slipping away. I wanted you safe and my magic reacted. It would seem what ever the magic did has finally worn off."
I frowned in deep thought, trying to remember. "Where are we now?" I finally asked a few minutes later when frustration started to make my headache worse again. There was always later to worry about trauma blacking out the memory of nearly dying.
"I am not sure," she replied honestly. "You know that even I am unsure of how my magic works. Perhaps the one called Summer will have more answers for that than I do."
When I didn't say anything for a few moments the dragon nudged me questioningly with a claw. “Uh… about that. Did they tell you which one was which?”
The dragoness rolled her eyes at me, the deep rumble of her chuckling filling the cave. “You never learn, do you? The green one calls herself Summer, the grey one was introduced as Icy.”
“Right. I had it backwards then. Probably a good thing I didn’t say their names out loud; that could have been awkward.” I was silent for a moment long, thinking, before asking "Do you think we can trust them?"
"I have never met these mares before," she reminded me. "But there is something... familiar about them. They had a chance to harm us while we were unconscious but instead waited for us to awaken." She shook her head. "I say we trust them for now. If they betrays us or attempt to harm us, I can always eat them."
I really couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. Despite her repeated threats of eating ponies that annoyed us, I still had yet to see her follow through. The green one, Summer, gave me a questioning look but didn't say anything. "Well, Viv believes we can trust you, and I can’t really find an argument against it."
"Well that's good," Icy, the grey one, replied cheerfully. "I'd hate to get on the wrong side of a dragon who could probably eat me in a single bite."
"That’s pretty much what she said." Summer paled at that but didn't say anything. Icy on the other hand, just giggled. Is there something wrong with that mare? Choosing not to follow the train of thought that accused one of the armed ponies of being crazy, I aimed for a few answers of my own. "You said before we were in some mountains north of Equestria, but I was on a plain before. Just how far north are we?"
"A plain?" Summer asked, scrutinizing me carefully. She seemed to reach some conclusion because her suspicious expression softened somewhat. "I have a friend that studies the history of the area, but I don’t think there’s ever been plains here, just ice and mountains. Currently, we’re about fifteen miles east of the Crystal Empire."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Ok, two problems with that. First, the areas around the Empire are just open plains. A little cold in the winter, but good for farming. That’s why it’s self-sufficient enough to stay independent of Equestria. The trade lines up here are questionable at best, without that source of food they’d be completely dependent on foreign aid. The crystal ponies are far too proud for that, or at least they were before Sombra got his hooves on them. Second, there’s pegasi in the Empire? You’re joking right? Sombra would never allow pegasi anywhere near him."
The mares looked at each other before turning back to me. "No, this isn’t a joke" Summer replied. She was getting more serious, something was off. "Sombra is dead. Has been for about a year now."
I was silent a moment, trying to sort things out. Sombra was dead? I... wasn’t sure how to feel about that. It was like I had been relieved of some heavy burden on my shoulders while getting stabbed in the chest. I filed the reaction away for later, there were more immediate problems to deal with before I could have a complete mental break down.
Could Viv’s crystal have taken us somewhere far from where we were in an attempt to protect me? Another thought occurred to me, what if I was looking for the wrong answer. What if it was a question of when rather than where? Terror shot through me.
"How long were we in that crystal?" I asked aloud, my voice surprisingly steady.
"I... hadn't thought of that," Viv admitted after a moment, catching onto my thoughts.
"I have no idea," Summer told me with a shrug. "Like I said, we were sent to investigate the source of the massive surge of power, but we found you here instead. I asked Tracker, that friend I mentioned, if he knew anything about the power we all felt, but he said it was either something new or something older than he could remember, and he has access to near a thousand years worth of information." That was the moment Summer finally figured out what Viv and I were thinking. "Wait, you’re saying you've been in there a thousand years? Since before the Empire disappeared?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. On a hunch, I reached out with my mind, searching for something, anything, familiar. At first I could feel nothing at all, just darkness, but slowly sparks of life lit up in my mind’s eye. I could sense the mares and the surprisingly large amount of power they held; Viv, whose mind was intertwined with my own; the fungus that grew on the rocks of the surrounding area; the few birds and animals who dared to brave the cold of the high mountain tops. I reached out as far as I could, but I couldn’t find anything familiar. Even the land itself, the very bedrock below us, felt foreign.
"We couldn't have been in there for a thousand years," I said, panicking. "That’s not possible."
"Eragon..." Viv said sadly, her voice sounded like a condemnation.
"No, it's impossible," I repeated, this time more forcefully. "If we were in there that long, it means we failed everyone, and that's not possible." I was shaking now, barely suppressing the hysteria threatening to bubble forth. I pushed back the instinct to curl in on myself and wait for everything to go back. Instead I leaned back against Viv, the strength to support myself fleeing from awful comprehension.
"What are you talking about?" Summer was starting to sound concerned.
"We couldn't have failed," I repeated again, my voice barely a whisper. Behind him, Viv lowered her head in sadness. She had already accepted the truth that I was desperately trying to deny. "We couldn't have."
"What are you talking about?" Icy dropped her spear and moved over to us, placing her face right next to mine. “Are you ok? You look sad. What’s wrong?”
I looked up at her, feeling lost; guilt-ridden, terrified, and hopelessly lost. “Everyone I know is dead, their descendants have long since withered to dust as well, one of my best friends was driven insane and killed before I had a chance to try to help, and I broke a promise to a very special filly that I would come home. I've had better days, thanks.”
Summer looked depressed but Icy took the cake. Her entire demeanor deflated, head drooping, tears welling in her eyes. “Everypony?” she whimpered.
“Everyone. Viv and I were the only ones her magic encased. They couldn’t have lived this long.” I pressed my hands against my eyes. "I really screwed up this time, didn’t I?” Sniffing a bit, I forced my hands to my sides, ignoring the red rims of my eyes. There were still other things that needed to be done. Vivian needed me to stay together. The tears and anger and terror were pushed down and locked in a tiny box. Just another thing to deal with later.
I had done this before, trapped in a new place with next to nothing. I could do it again.
Only this time there was nowhere to run and no one to hide me. I needed a plan. Somewhere to stay and a quiet place to work through my emotions before they became a problem. After that, we could decide what to do. I looked to the ponies that had climbed a mountain to find me. “Well you found what you were looking for, what now?"