All Of Creation

Chapter 2: The World That Wasn't There

The light from the crackling fireplace frolicked and twitched against the brick wall, as if it were trying to dodge the equine shadow obscuring it. As the shadow occupied itself by eclipsing the light cast on the wall, its producer restlessly paced around an unfurled map. Each corner was weighed down with a random assortment of weighty objects, all resting on a desk situated in the center of the room. The pony in question inspected the ornate sheet, vexed by the puzzle it prepared for him. Every nook and cranny of their world held its own secrets. More than could possibly be inscribed on a single piece of parchment. He knew full well that he would never be able to find them all; he would surely die long before ponykind’s hoof has been set on all of creation. No mortal equine could ever hope to see it all, but that was no impediment to Frostbite. Nothing could possibly stop him from doing his part to expand the kingdom for the sake of his fellow countryponies and their benevolent rulers. He slumped his rump down to the floor and rested his head down against the smooth wood paneling on the desk, heedlessly chewing on the compass tool held in his mouth.

“Where the heck were we, anyway? We couldn’t have gone too far... right?”

Rolling his head to the left, he tuned his attention to the flat facsimile of the western seas.

“Let’s see, the wind was blowing... North...ish? We did approach Heliopolis from the west, so that means... absolutely nothing. Ab-so-lutely nothing.” Frostbite uttered as he covered his eyes with his hooves.
The sprawling band of land that composed the known Eastern Continent snaked its way through the ocean waters, teeming with life and full of notations of every city, landmark, forest, and everything in between, to contrast the large, blank landmasses orbiting it. Was there nothing there, or had we simply neglected to look closer? The faint sound of clopping hooves could be heard from the floor above, moving closer to and then down the basement stairs. Frostbite sat upwards and turned around to look towards the sound.

“Sweetie? Are you doing alright? You’ve been down here all night, so I brought you some cocoa.” Seafoam said, descending each stair carefully as he balance the cup tray on his outstretched wings.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m doing fine. Just trying to figure out what happened on this confounded map!”

“You mean you didn’t have any idea where you were?”

“Yes and no. My crew’s unicorns sent out a location beacon so we could figure out where the nearest port was, but other than the general direction, we had no clue.”

“Well, why don’t you walk me through it, then? Maybe if you say everything out loud, then it will make sense!”
Seafoam sat the tray down on the floor adjacent to the desk, proceeding to lay down and sidle close next to his darling. He carefully set each cup on the edge of the table in front of them both. Frostbite felt the gently pulsing waves of warm steam drift up along his face, condensing into small droplets on his fur. The silent, welcoming warmth of the coca contradicted the percussion of the freezing rain pelleting the hatch door. As far as Seafoam was concerned, the rest of the world was gone. It could be an acid freezing hurricane all across the planet outside, and it wouldn’t matter one bit. They were together; they could feel each other’s touch as they rested on that floor. They were not separated by an endless expanse of sea and land, or even by a mere few miles; they were there, cuddled next to each other in the basement, and there was absolutely nothing the world could do to stop it. As he rested his head on Frostbite’s withers, the sound and pulse of his heartbeat resonated in Seafoam, beating steadily in rhythm until both ponies’ hearts beat together. Falling asleep at his lover’s side sounded like a grand idea right now. A perfect time to just rest.. his eyes...

“Hey, what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!”

“Huh? What?” Seafoam shouted, head shooting up from Frostbite’s side.

“Don’t tell me you almost dozed off that soon! It’s been what, like one minute?” Frostbite said with a small chuckle.”

“Oh, right! Uh, yeah, tell me about that map!”
Frostbite cleared his throat and adjusted his posture, getting a suitable vantage point from which to explain the map.

“Well, let’s start from home, now. That’s us, aaallll the way up here. It’s no wonder why only sailors know about Hippocampus, eh?”
Frostbite pointed to the far northern end of the continent, where notably less detail adorned the map compared to the more populous south. He proceeded to trace his hoof down the parchment, highlighting the route of their last voyage.

“After setting out, we stopped off for supplies in the Griffin Kingdom to prepare for the long journey across the Antleric Ocean, which-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You pulled into port at a Griffin village?! I thought they would chase you out before you even stepped off the dock! In a worst-case scenario, they would try and kill you!” Seafoam interrupted, stammering to spit the words out of his mouth.

“Where have you been? Griffins haven’t attacked ponies in, what, at least a century!”
Seafoam drooped his head and folded his ears in shame.

“Well, to be fair, I’ve never actually seen any of the Griffin Territories, or even a griffin, for that matter. Heck, unless you count Whitehorse City a few miles south, I’ve never really left the bay.” Seafoam replied sheepishly.
Frostbite’s eye twitched as he recoiled his body in shock.

“You... you’ve never left Hippocampus? Not even once?”

“Oh, come on, it’s not that hard to believe, is it? I mean, I’ve never really had the time nor the reason to go anywhere else. Besides, I really like my town; it’s quaint, and it has exactly what I need.”

“But, but, but that means you’ve never seen the buffalo migrations of the desert! You’ve never been able to experience the sun rising over Neighpon! Never rolled in the eternal grasslands of the Equestrian mainland, never gazed up at the floating continent of Vaporia, never even had the simple pleasure of trotting into Boardor! You’ve...”
Frostbite couldn’t help but notice the perfectly blank look on his partner’s face. To Seafoam, it was like he was speaking an entirely different language. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like for him; for his own world to be nothing more than a few square miles in the middle of nowhere. A cold, rocky nowhere, at that. How can a pony limit themselves in such a way? Did he honestly believe it didn’t matter? That the ramifications of everything happening everywhere else was never going to reach him? Frostbite continued to look at Seafoam, whose head was cocked to the side, perplexed by the bizarre silence. All he could do was sigh and chuckle.

“My little Foamy. My simple little Foamy. Of course you would never understand if you haven’t seen for yourself.” Frostbite thought as leaned over to take a sip from his cup of hot cocoa, wetting his muzzle in the warm, sugary liquid in the process.

“Well, then! I guess there’s only one thing I can do, then! Seafoam, I promise that one day, I will show you the world myself! Everything, from the lowest lows and the highest highs, you will see it all!”

He knocked his front hooves down against the map on the desk, pouring over its contents once more.

“The only question is: Where to go first? We could head south for Equestria, that would be a good place to start. Ooh! Or, we could venture further north to see the majestic penguin empire! Did you know that everything they make is made of ice? I’m tellin’ ya, everything, the houses, the roads, even the furniture! I didn’t know until I saw it myself, and boy, is it somethi-”
Seafoam snaked his head through the gap between his left foreleg and barrel, positioning himself in-between his two forelegs, effectively obstructing Frostbite’s view of the map. The two paused at immediate distance to appreciate each other’s company. Seafoam began to lean upwards towards his lover, moving slowly and fastidiously towards his mouth. Frostbite’s heartbeat hastened the closer they approached. He closed his eyes when the stallion below was immediately before him. Seafoam then opened his mouth, preparing for their encounter, and swiftly licked the still-moist cocoa off his face. Puzzled, Frostbite opened his eyes once more to discover Seafoam, snickering and blushing like somepony just told a dumb joke.

“Whoops, missed a spot!” Seafoam said playfully, reaching upwards to lick Frostbite’s face repeatedly.

“Ha ha, hey stop it! That tickles!” Frostbite shouted as he got to his hooves.
The two recklessly bounded around the study, vaulting over furniture and swerving to miss the bookcases. Seafoam buzzed in hot pursuit of a hysterical Frostbite, tongue teasingly lolling out of his mouth and waving his hooves around like a dazed clown. Whirling the perimeter of the room quick enough to whisk the papers strewn about the floor into the air, Seafoam began descending towards his grey stallion for a final lick assault. Streamlining his body, he focused down towards him, and flapped his wings in a burst of energy to catch up. Mere inches away from his goal, Seafoam laughed and wetted his tongue one more time. This was approximately the time when his head was introduced to the brick wall. The tremor from the impact shook the partition, causing the shelf immediately above to lose its roosting place, and tumble towards the floor, carrying a tall, golden trophy along with it. Frostbite gazed in horror as the trinket tumbled over itself towards the floor. Springing from his hooves, he bolted over to the scene of immanent ruin, and dove forth, forelegs outstretched toward the shiny prize. The shiny prize beat him to the punch. The trophy hit the hard floor, caving the bowl inward, chipping the side, and breaking off a handle that slid across the room. Frostbite layed frozen on the ground, having stopped just short of the crash. Surveying the wreck, his eyes began to grow moist.

“What the hell...”

“Um... Frosty? Are... are you alright? I’m really sorry, I wasn’t paying atte-”

“WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?” Frostbite shouted as he leapt to his hooves, leaning in close to Seafoam’s face.

“Wh...what?”

“The trophy! My damn trophy! The one thing that I absolutely, positively needed to keep intact!”
Frostbite was ramming his muzzle against Seafoam’s now, staring him down far enough that he would rightfully shoot right through to the other side of the Earth.

“You little careless klutz! Why couldn’t you look where you’re going next time? This thing is important! Or did I not make that clear enough?! IM-POR-TANT!”
Seafoam’s legs had turned to jello at this point, only just barely holding him up; tears were streaming down his face, splashing as they hit the floor. His mind reeled at a million miles an hour, worrying about what may happen, and his entire body braced itself for anything the worst possible and impossible outcome. Fearing his own horrifying mental picture, Seafoam forced his eyes shut as tightly as possible, finally collapsing to the floor in a wet, shivering, terrified heap.

“I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry!” Seafoam whimpered as he curled further into a ball.
Frostbite approached the equine mass in front of him, breathing heavily through his notsrils. He gradually approached him, marching each step in a deliberate gait. When he was mere inches away from Seafoam, he stopped in his tracks. Still panting heavily, he stood in place for a long while. This pony in front of him... It was Seafoam. His love. His companion. Why did he feel the need to lash out at him so violently? Frostbite recoiled in aversion of his emotions, allowing a cathartic stare to overtake his face. He lowered himself to the ground, down to the lowest point that his partner had sunk to.

“F...Foamy? You alright? I... I didn’t mean to shout at you like that. I lost control of myself, and I said things I shouldn’t have. Can you forgive me?”

Seafoam carefully opened his eyes, one at a time. His vision was blurry from the moisture and their tight enclosure. He sniveled and whimpered, but did not once open his mouth. The room itself stood as if encased in ice. Nothing moved, not one thing. Frostbite tried his hardest to look into his lover’s eyes, trying to regain any sort of connection to him once more, no matter how insignificant. He needed to see his face again. His real face. That blissful face that only the deep blue weatherpony of Hippocampus could conjure up. The face that made him feel like there were no worries in the world. That face did not return. Like a nervous rabbit, it had been scared out of Seafoam’s mind, and had no intention of recovering its locale anytime soon. Seafoam stared off into oblivion, intentionally averting Frostbite’s stare. An occasional tear still escaped from the corner of his eye as he attempted to regain emotional equilibrium. Only the crackling of the fireplace could be heard in the dead reticence of the room and its denizens. After eons of waiting upon each other, Seafoam arranged himself and got back on his hooves, continuing to give his love the cold shoulder. The silent stallion slowly sauntered to the side of the desk, picked up the empty cup tray, and continued back up the staircase. Frostbite remained in place, even after Seafoam had left the room.

“Don’t be sorry, Foamy. It’s not your fault.” Frostbite whispered as he sighed in resignation.
He began to pick up the pieces of the shattered trophy, placing them gingerly on an adjacent shelf. The engraving on the base was scuffed, but still legible. As he set the award back on the shelf, he read it once more to himself.

In recognition of the dis---ery of the Tapirus Republic, this trop-- is awarded to Fros---te and his cr-w, by order of Prin--ss C-----ia.

“One day, your majesty. I swear on my honor that when I find the great wonders of this world, I will see you again, and will tell you what I have experienced with my own eyes. But now, I have something else I need to take care of.”

Frostbite trotted out of the room, leaving only the dancing light on the wall to give life to the study.