Frozen Odyssey

By Silentpegasus

Prologue

The sound of pick axes hitting against stone filled Slate’s ears as he adjusted his hard hat that covered his dark blue hair. Slate was a stereotypical miner. He had arm muscles the size of watermelons and a thick dark blue beard that covered his mouth and chin. Black soot covered his face as he came back up to the break area and poured a hot cup of hot coffee from his dark metal thermos. The bell signaling the elevator’s descent rang through the deep caves. The large doors slid aside to show a grey winged man with dark brown hair wearing a large winter coat, making him look much bigger than he appeared.

A smile graced the miner’s face as he walked up to him with a spare mug in his hand. “Afternoon Storm.” Slate said with a hearty chuckle. “What brings you down here to my neck of the woods?” He asked as he poured him a cup.

“Oh you know, looking to move down here. Lot’s of fresh air.” The flyer grinned as he took the mug.

“Har-har.” The two clinked mugs and sipped the piping hot liquid that warmed them to the core as it cascaded down their throats.

“Damn that’s good coffee.”

“It’s always good. Aqua’s secret recipe.” The thought of his beautiful wife brought even more warmth to the miner. “So what really brings you down here?” Slate saw the man’s eyes turn a bit grim.

“There’s a huge storm coming down from the North.” Slate sighed heavily at the news. Storms were common North of the wall. A massive wall of ice that separated the mountains and the nearby village where his home was. “Our weather team is doing all we can to hold it back, but this thing is big and we’re too few. I came to let ya know.” He took one last sip of coffee before gulping.

“I hear ya.” Slate walked over to one of the radios in the break room and his voice rang over the intercom as he pressed the talk button. “Attention all miners.” Everyone in the mine froze and listened. “This is Slate Crag. Now hear this, there’s a massive storm coming in from the North. Weather teams are holding it, but it’ll be here in,” He looked over to the flyer who held up three fingers. “three hours. Stop what you’re doing, set the jacks in place and get back to the wall. Over and out.”

The flyer took the elevator back up to get the word out to the village. Slate watched as all of his men went of the shaft that led to the surface. As the owner of the mine, he was always the first to show up and last to leave. As he watched the last man exit the cave he threw on his fur coat and walked over to his team of sled dogs that had been sleeping all day in the warm kennel where all the dogs were kept. The roads this time of year were too dangerous by carriage and the horses hated the cold, so the next option was sled dogs.

He hitched his six huskies up to the sled and whistled. The dogs ears perked up and took off as storm clouds loomed overhead. The village was easily fifteen miles away so he needed to hurry. The dogs kept running as the storm started to catch up to the miner. The snow flakes were the size of golfballs and were limiting the man’s visibility.

As the man cleared the mountains he could see it, the wall. A massive wall of ice that stood sixty meters high and separated the wilds from civilization. Slate’s ancestors helped construct the wall to protect the rest of Equestria from the harsh wilderness. The thoughts of a warm hearth and his family filled Slate’s mind as he and his dogs picked up the pace. The six dogs suddenly halted and started growling.

“Ace? Something wrong boy?” He called out to the lead dog. Ace was his oldest and most reliable sled dog, fur black as night and eyes like two gold coins that could cut through darkness itself. The dog’s teeth were showing as he stared into the darkness of the evening. Slate heard the howling of wolves around him and gulped as he reached for his rifle.

He lit the lantern that hung on the side of the sled and stared out to see several silver eyes glaring back at him. The miner was surrounded. He raised his rifle and pulled the trigger, then nothing. He looked down at the gun and cursed as he saw that the trigger was frozen in place. As the wolves closed in he reached for his pick axe and got ready to fight. Slate felt a change in the wind and it sounded as though the entire area was roaring.

A white beam came from the sky and turned one of the creatures to dust. The wolves looked at one another in confusion as another of the pack was disintegrated by the unseen force. The surviving wolves whined and turned tail away from the man and his dogs. “Thank the Creator.” He said as he leaned against his sled and let out the breath he was holding.

The man’s ears perked as he heard his lead dog whine. Ace had seen it all with his owner; trolls, giants, wolves and hadn’t whined like that since he was a newborn puppy. The wind changed direction so the snow was now blowing in the man’s face. He raised the lantern and his heart plummeted into his stomach. In the light of the lantern he could see the white scales shine like diamonds. The large nostrils flaring white light with power and a pair of sapphire blue eyes that looked like two bottomless oceans.

He was standing before a creature only hinted in legend and stories he’d tell his daughter to prevent her, and those like her, from venturing outside the wall at night. With a loud crunch, the giant winged lizard landed a few feet in front of the sled dogs who quickly hid behind the sled in fear. Slate gulped and dropped his pick axe as his life flashed before his eyes.

“Human!” The beast yelled making the dogs whine even louder. Slate could smell the beast’s foul breath and gagged. “I have granted you safety from the wolves. Now you must return the favor.”

“Wh-what do you want?” The miner said trying to remain calm. “I-I have nothing of value on me.” The man heard a loud gurgling sound come from the dragons stomach. Oh Creator. This is the end. Aqua, Emerald, He felt his tears freeze on his cold flesh. I’m so sorry. He heard a hacking noise and heard something fall on the snow covered ground.

He opened one eye to see a mass in the snow. The man slowly approached the object with lantern in hand. The light shined and he saw what looked like a small boy, only a year older than his six year old daughter. His skin was pale and his hair was an icy blue. The child had on a pair of raggedy clothes and there was frozen blood on the clothing’s fabric and the pack on his back.

“Bring this child to your village, and see to his care.” The beast said as the man touched the child’s skin with his bare hand. He felt cold as ice. If it weren’t for the fact that Slate was watching him breathe, he’d think the child was dead. The creature’s voice caught his attention. “In time we shall meet again. If the child is not kept alive until such time, then you and your whole village will feel my wrath!”

The beast flared it’s wings and shot a nearby tree that turned to solid ice and crumbled into ice crystals. “Understand?” The dragon showed it’s pure white teeth, they were the size of telephone poles.

“Y-yes.” The dragon roared and flew up to the sky punching a massive whole in the clouds. For a moment, Slate could see the night sky and the moon shining high above. He picked up the child and wrapped him in his warmest coat before setting him on the sled. For the briefest of moments, the wall was illuminated by lunar light. A massive structure made out of steel, ice and stone. It stretched as far as the eye could see and stood over sixty meters in height. The man whistled again and double timed it to his village.

~~~

On the top of the wall stood a woman with dark skin and emerald green hair that went down to her back. She looked out into the darkness with her deep blue eyes, hoping to see her husband’s sled pull into the gate before lockdown occurred. She knew that he was always the last to leave the mine, but he had never been this late before. There was tug on her long fur coat and she looked down to see her daughter, Jade Coalesce. She had her mother’s dark skin and green hair, but took after her father in both strength and attitude.

“Mom, where’s dad? It’s getting late.” The girl asked.

“I know sweetie. He’s just running a bit late and-” Her eyes focused and her heart jumped. In the darkness was a familiar sled illuminated by a lantern racing towards the front gate. The woman ran towards the nearest outpost and range the iron bell that signaled the gate keepers to open the front of the wall.

Lights in the small village lit up instantly and people ran out to greet the last miner. The woman grabbed her daughter and got in the lift that soon brought them down to the ground. She watched as people crowded around the sled and were petting the dogs. Aqua rushed towards her husband and saw that he was missing his coat, only having his warm vest, wool shirt and miner pants on. His beard and eyebrows were ice covered.

She ran up to him and wrapped him in a warm hug, both in affection and sharing warmth. “You’re such a dunce.” She said with an annoyed sigh.

“I missed you too Aqua.” He said with a kiss. Slate then turned his attention back to the sled. “Where’s Doc?” He called out to the crowd. Soon a man in a white long coat and round glasses emerged from the crowd.

“Yes, what is it? Frostbite?” He asked as he looked at the man’s severely chapped lips.

“Not for me.” He walked over to the sled and picked up the wrapped boy. The crowd let out a gasp of surprise.

“Where did you find him?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you Doc.” The doctor put a hand on the boy’s forehead and felt his skin tingle at the cold sensation.

“He feels like death.” The small child let out a small groan. “Let’s get him inside so I can examine him.” The group ventured to Slate’s house. It was a simple two story stone house with smoke coming from the fire place. The man brought the child inside and set him on the couch. “Aqua get some warm water.” The woman nodded and took the kettle off the wood burning stone. The doctor grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the child’s shirt off and gulped.

“Dear Celestia.” The child had three long cuts going down in a diagonal path from his right shoulder to his left side. There was also a circular wound near the middle scratch.

“What did this? A wolf?” The woman asked.

“No, the cut size is too big for their claws.” The doctor said as he looked at the wounds. “This one up here,” He pointed to the small round wound. “looks like a gun shot.”

“Who’d want kill a child?” Slate asked as he sat down at his kitchen table.

“Couldn’t tell you. Good news is that the bullet went all the way through and the wound is for the most part healed.” He said as he started wrapping the wounds to prevent infection.

“How?” The little girl asked. Aqua spied the pack the child was wearing and started to look through its contents. She pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper and flattened it out to show a picture of two adults, a teenage girl, and a seven year old boy that fit the child’s description. The man in the picture had short white hair and green eyes, while the woman had light blue hair and piercing teal eyes. The teenage girl had long white hair and deep green eyes like her father. She looked on the back and saw four names. Sapphire, Silver, Alabaster and Cerulean.

“There’s a picture.” She handed it to her husband and continued looking. There was an old book and a metal medallion with the impression of a wolf carved into the metal. The doctor put his stethoscope away and sighed.

“From what I can tell, the boy will make it through the night.” He said as he adjusted his glasses. “He just needs some rest. I’ll be back in the morning to see if anything’s changed.” He yawned.

“Thanks for coming Doc.” Slate said with a nod. The doctor took his leave and the family was alone with the child.

“I’ll go get the guest room ready.” Aqua stated as she got to her feet. “Jade it’s past your bed time.”

“But mom.” The girl whined.

“No buts missy. Upstairs now.” The girl grumbled to herself as she followed her mother up the steps. The muscular man chuckled as he grabbed himself a beer and looked at the odd wolf medallion. He turned it over and saw some old runes etched into the back of the metal. Slate set the piece down and went up after his wife.

Ten years later.

The blue haired man woke from his dream as he felt the train pulling to a halt. Cerulean yawned and looked to his right to see the train station of the small town. The man was about 6’1,” donning a blue T-shirt and a white vest. He grabbed his large package from the cargo hold and slung it over his shoulder. The piece was about four and a half feet long. Cerulean was a very long way from home and he soon felt sweat on his forehead.

How the hell do these guys handle the heat? He thought with a groan. The man made his way through the small town. His boots clicked against the cobble stone streets. Cerulean sighed and walked down the road with his gear on his back. He looked over and saw a large tree that had a library sign out in front of it. As he turned back around he saw a wall of pink hair.

“HI!” A high pitched voice said. Cerulean took a few steps back and saw that it was a girl about a year younger than him. She was wearing apink shirt, pink overalls and pink shoes. Her hair was, unsurprisingly, pink. “My name is Pinkie Pie.” She chimed.

“Hi.” He said in an uneasy tone. “My name’s Cerulean. Cerulean Frostwork.”

“I’ve never seen you around before!” She said looking at his strange attire.

“Yeah I just got into town.” She then let out a huge gasp and zoomed away leaving a pink cloud of dust in her wake. “Wait....damn it.” He sighed.

“Need something partner?” Cerulean turned his head to see a stunningly pretty girl with emerald green eyes and golden blonde hair. His face went a bit red, but he shook it off.

“Yeah, who was that?” He asked pointing in the direction the girl ran. The blonde then chuckled.

“That there’s Pinkie Pie and before ya ask, yes, she’s always like that.” She said in a southern accent. “Mah names Applejack.” She said holding her gloved hand out to shake.

“Cerulean.” He said shaking it with his own white gloved hand. The woman had an incredible grip and he made a mental not to make her angry.

“Nice to meet ya. You’re not from around her are ya?” She said looking at his attire. Which consisted of a white shirt with a blue vest, along with white gloves and his fur coat was tied around his waist.

“No, I’m from the far North close to the Wall.”

“The what?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty off the grid.” He said as he started walking with her.

“So what brings you down here?”

“Since you live in this town I take it you’re familiar with the Harmony guild?” The girl’s eyes lit up.

“Sure do. Two of my best friends are in it.”

“You’re not?”

“Nah, it’s mostly for mages, but we got a few flyers that take on non magic needed missions. Pinkie and I do help with the food though. You’re a mage then?” Cerulean nodded and cracked his fingers. He clapped his hands together and there was a bright blue glow from his palms. When he lifted his hand there was a snowflake made of solid ice in his hand.

“Ice mage.” He smiled as the ice shattered.

“Well, that’s nifty.” Cerulean had to hold back a chuckle at the word. “The guild is that way it’s got a big sign out front.” She said pointing down the road. “But, the lady in charge is out on business. Don’t know when she’ll be back.”

“I see. Thanks Applejack. See you around.” He said with a wave. The man then made his way through the small town. Soon he came upon a tall building that looked like a miniature castle that was right on the edge of town. The man looked at the modern architecture and made his way inside to see what looked like a grand hall. The floor was stone with several tables lining the interior and several people were chatting with one another. He approached the front of the hall that looked like a bar. He rang the bell that rested on the table.

The man then felt everyone in the room eye him. Soon an indigo haired girl with a pink stripe running through her hair came out. She had amethyst eyes and was wearing purple mage robes.

“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. How can I help you?” She asked with a smile.

“Yeah my name is,” Cerulean stopped as the name hit him. “You’re Twilight Sparkle? As in the personal student to Celestia and Element of Magic?”

“Yes, that’s me.” She smiled.

“You’re quite the celebrity. Why are you working in a guild?” He asked crossing his arms.

“Well, I like learning about different kinds of magic and I figured I’d see the most diverse by working in a guild.”

“Fair enough.” He stated. “Right, my name’s Cerulean Frostwork. I’d like to join the guild.”

“Oh Creator, not another one.” Both heads turned to see a tall muscular man wearing elegant white and gold robes. Beside him were three winged men; One had charcoal grey wings, another mustard yellow and the third had chestnut brown. Twilight rolled her eyes at the man. “This guild doesn’t need anymore weaklings.”

“Hey watch it!” Cerulean yelled at the stranger. The surrounding mages looked at him in surprise.

“Learn your place commoner! I am Prince Blueblood. Nephew of Princess Celestia herself!” Cerulean raised an eyebrow and turned back to Twilight.

“So about the whole guild joining thing.” He asked.

“Sorry, I really don’t have any say in the matter.” She shrugged.

“I am talking!” Blueblood bellowed.

“And I don’t care!” The ice mage yelled back in a mock version of the Prince’s voice.

“You impudent little brat.” Blueblood said as golden electricity arced over his body. Cerulean snapped his fingers and three large snow boulders landed on the Prince, each smaller than the one before. It looked like a snow man.

“So when will the guild leader be back?” He asked looking at Twilight.

“I really don’t know. Sometimes she’s away for days. I stay here to make sure the guild is still standing until she comes back.” The mage said as Blueblood’s head came from the snow.

“I see. Thanks, I’ll see you around then.” The man said walking out of the guild. As he walked out he accidentally bumped into a girl with yellow and red striped hair. Her teal eyes sparkled in the sunlight. “Sorry about that.” He said helping her up. She was about 5’9” and Cerulean noticed that she had a sleeveless orange shirt, a skirt that had six long strands of fabric coming out from the back, sides and front. Something black was coiled around her waist.

“It’s fine. My head was in the clouds.” She said as she saw a familiar indigo haired scholar. Twilight’s eyes shrank as she saw the woman and gulped nervously. The man yawned and made his way through the small town in search of food.

Author's Note

New story folks enjoy and expect more Game of Thrones Refrences in the future.