It was the fourth day of my adventure, the fourth day of my hunt. My initial enthusiasm had greatly diminished as the cold was taking its toll on me. The cold; that cursed cold.
‘Hunt what?’ you might ask. ‘Why would the princess of friendship go on a hunt?’
It all started in the Crystal Empire. Crystal Ponies who left the city were caught in a sudden, ice-cold blizzard, and suddenly attacked by some kind of monster. Only two out of the group of sixteen escaped. They were paralysed, largely unable to talk and answer any questions we asked them. They would only continue mumbling the same word over and over: Demon.
Cadance had Shining Armour send out a patrol of guards to investigate on all of this. While everyone was happy to see that all of them returned without a scratch, they had also not found any sign of the monster, or ‘demon’ as the victims called it.
Many now thought that the demon did not exist, after all. They believed that the freezing temperatures of the frozen north killed most of the ponies, not some kind of monster. However, while the cold is certainly lethal out there, it hardly causes one to be paralysed. Something else had happened. Something worse.
I spent the following three days in the Library of the Crystal Palace, looking for anything that could refer to this kind of demon up in the frozen north. I found nothing but a small, dusty old diary. Most of the pages were torn and unreadable, but there were some that I managed to decipher. Whoever had written that diary not only saw the demon but confronted him. He was encased in an icey blizzard, knee-deep in snow as he heard an evil cackle. The only other thing I was able to make out was that he struck the thing with a spear.
I closed the book and stored it in a bag. He struck it, impaled it with a spear, I thought as I left the library, and yet it’s still alive. How?
I showed my findings to the three princesses, telling them that whatever that thing was, it must have still been alive and out there. I went on to say that the person who wrote the diary rammed a spear into the creature, but to no real effect. It seemed to have only given him time to flee, but it did not kill the beast.
That was when I made my decision. I told the three alicorns in front of me that I would volunteer to put an end to that thing once and for all, to save any future lives that it could cost.
Luna nodded, saying that I showed great bravery in the face of such a task.
Cadance, although reluctantly, agreed, as well. She told me that she was greatly worried for me, afraid that I would not return. However, she knew me well, and knew I had what it took to resolve such a dangerous task.
And then there was Celestia. She remained silent for a moment, afraid to see me face such danger all by myself. She told me I should not make such a move, that I should at least take my friends, the other elements, with me. I replied that I would not put them in any unnecessary danger, that I would do it all by myself. Reluctantly, with tears in her eyes, Celestia agreed.
Three days passed in which I prepared myself for what was ahead. Or I tried, at least. Nothing could really prepare you for the freezing cold of the frozen north, even less so when you are looking for some kind of monster or demon all by yourself.
And so, I said goodbye to friends and family and set out to hunt down that monster, that mysterious demon. And as I took those first few steps, I prayed that I had not made the wrong choice.
You wouldn’t believe how much time to think you have when you’re all by yourself, making your way through knee-deep snow. It’s the odd moments in life when we start to think deeply, you know. Like this time, when I’m on a mission to hunt down a demon in the midst of the coldest region of all of Equestria and I think about home. I think about my friends, and the things we did together. I asked myself whether I had done the right choice, whether I should have brought them with me or not.
No. No, this was all on me. I couldn’t risk having them die because of my stubborn determination to take on this thing. If anyone was going to stop it, it was going to be me, and me alone. I didn’t like the thought or sound of it, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
Days passed and the ever increasing cold drained my energy. I would look for small caves whenever the sun set to set up camp for the night, but never found one except for the second night. Even then, the cave was ice-cold, and my entire body shivered. I was unable to sleep for most of the night, and thus spent most of it inspecting my weapon and my maps. But although my sleep was restless, it was sleep nonetheless. Sleep that I desperately needed.
Visibility steadily decreased as I moved on. Every hour, it felt like I could see less and less. It was the worst at night, when the dim light of my horn was the only thing guiding my path.
It became a challenge for me to carry my rifle, as it required me to focus at least a small bit to keep it in my magical aura. On the third day, I dropped it once, and realised only half a minute later that I had done so. I sprinted back and found it laying in the snow.
The rifle itself was more of a prototype than anything else. It was charged with magic, which was converted and shot out as high-powered, lethal projectiles. This meant that I didn’t need to fire bolts of energy at it using my horn, since that required way more energy than the rifle did. Needless to say, in my exhausted state, I was more than thankful for anything that saved me energy and effort.
And so, on the fourth day, I had come dangerously close to the coldest point of the frozen north. There were no exact numbers, but scientists believed it to be over -100 degrees centigrade cold. As it turned out, they weren’t too far off.
These four days of marching through the cold had taken a serious toll on me, by that point. My hooves were completely numb, my face was burning from the intense cold and every breath felt poisonous to me. I couldn’t take it much longer; I had to find this demon or I wouldn’t make it back alive.
Shortly after, I could feel the blizzard and cold increase drastically. It was a challenge staying on my hooves as the wind and snow tried to put me off balance, but I marched on regardless. I was close, so close. I could taste it.
It went on, further and further. I felt the temperature drop to its ultimate low. I couldn’t take this for long, I felt as if my skin would fall off my body.
Suddenly, I heard something. Beneath the whistling of the wind, a laugh could be heard—wait, a cackle actually. I turned around, my gun at the ready.
Nothing. Nothing but the desolate, monotone landscape and the icy flurry of snow. I lowered my gun again, thinking myself crazy for a brief moment.
Then again, from behind me I heard that cursed, evil laugh. I jumped around, aiming my gun, but again, there was nothing there. Only me, the snow and the wind.
And yet, I knew I was no longer alone. The monster, the demon, it was there. I was no longer alone, and I realised that, while I couldn’t see it, it could see me perfectly. I had stumbled into its home, and it hated visitors.
My heartbeat quickened, and I moved on, slowly and carefully. It was as if the exhaustion had vanished from one second to the other, as I completely focused on my surroundings.
There it was again, this time right in front of me. I licked my lips and readied my rifle, staring into the unknown. The cackle returned, louder this time. I took slow, deep breaths in an effort to stay calm. The laugh became louder once more, now coming from all sides, louder and louder!
“Show yourself!” I shouted, looking around myself to see nothing but the white of snow and fog.
The demon laughed back at me with a deeper, more intense cackle than before. Suddenly, I spotted something. Two red slits, presumably eyes, shone through the thick wall of snow and fog with their glow.
Without thinking, I pulled my rifle up and shot. The loud bang echoed through the empty, snowy landscape. I looked again, and saw that the eyes had disappeared. I had the creeping suspicion, however, that my mission was not yet accomplished. It was too easy...
“Twilight?” I heard a voice say. I turned my head around, still on guard. “Twilight, is that you?” the voice said. It... sounded familiar. So very familiar. “Why didn’t you let us come with you, Twilight?” asked a different voice from behind. I jumped around to face it but once more, nothing.
“It’s mighty dangerous goin’ out all by yourself, twi!” Only then did I fully recognise these voices. They were... my friends. “What were you thinkin’? We’re your friends!”
“Yeah! Do you think we’re not worth it?” asked Rainbow’s voice. I looked back and forth as the voices went on and on, playing games with my mind.
“No. No! No, I didn’t let you come with me because it’s too dangerous!” I shouted back.
“Too dangerous? Hah! That didn’t stop us before, did it?” Rainbow replied.
“Maybe you just don’t wanna be around us anymore,” Pinkie said quietly. I could hear quiet sobbing. My sobbing.
“No! No, you don’t understand! I can’t risk letting you-”
“We understand perfectly well, dear! We’re just not worth it anymore,” Rarity said angrily. I shut my eyes and tried not to listen to their voices. I had to focus, had to block them out.
“Ya know, I’m glad we didn’t come with ya, twi,” Applejack said. “Wouldn’t wanna keep a friend like ya anyway!”
“Yeah!” Dash added.
My ears twitched ever so slightly as I heard a noise, other than the voices, from behind. My sobbing stopped.
“For all I care,” Rainbow Dash said, “You can go die!” A sudden loud, terrorising screech approached me from behind. As quick as I could, I jumped around, lifting my rifle up to my right eye, and took aim at the beast that charged at me with lightning speed. I saw its terrifying red eyes and sharp teeth through the scope of the rifle before pulling the trigger.
The gunshot silenced all for a few moments. I took a few deep, exhausted breaths, dropping my rifle to the ground. I dropped to the ground, laying on my side and laughed quietly. Relief and terror overcame me both at the same time. The demon was slain, my mission was accomplished. And yet, I couldn’t forget that image, that brief moment I saw it.
Then the wind and snow returned. My senses returned, and I could feel the bitter, stinging cold once again, whipping me and urging me to escape its wrath.
I remained where I was, laying on the ground, and felt my eyes, my heavy, exhausted eyes shut. It was over. It was all over. I could finally rest.
