Word of the Day

Sastruga

Ridges of snow formed on a snowfield by the action of the wind.

Shining Armor was very stressed. The reason for this was directly related to work. Of course, since he was a prince-slash-guard captain for an empire that was struggling to make its way in a world far beyond its time, it was to be expected that he would experience some work-related stress.

This particular dollop of stress happened to come from an anonymous tip that the Crystal Empire was being threatened by an outside force. Nopony knew what that threat was or when it would rear its head and so the only thing Shining Armor could do was prepare for the worst.

For his underlings, the members of the Crystal Guard, this meant spending more time patrolling the frozen wastes surrounding the empire and less time at home with their families.

"This long patrol is the worst," one young Crystal Guard, whose name is unimportant, complained to his partner. "There's nothing out here except this stupid snow." He kicked at the snow, then let out a curse as his hoof connected with a chunk of ice. "And ice," he amended.

"Hey, at least it's a calm day," the other Crystal Guard, who was the senior of the two, said. "The winds out here can get pretty fierce. They'll whip that snow and ice right in your face if you're out on a bad day."

"How could you know that?" the younger pony asked incredulously. "You haven't been out here any more than I have! Nopony's been outside the Empire for who-knows how long!"

The senior guard pointed a hoof to direct his young companion's gaze. "Look there," he said, pointing towards an unremarkable patch of snow.

To his credit, the young guard did look at the snow for a couple seconds before admitting, "I don't see anything. It's just a bit of snow is all."

"Look at those little ridges," the older guard said. "Those are made by the wind blowing bits of snow away. If this area doesn't get fresh snowfall soon those ridges will get bigger and sharper, making this entire area hazardous to travel through."

"That's cool and all," the young Crystal Guard said, "but knowing that it could be worse doesn't make this patrol here and now any more bearable."

"True, true," the older one admitted, "but we've only got a short ways more to go before we head back. Let's keep moving." The two of them continued their trek in silence, thinking of snow.