Warm Heartsby Twisted GearsChaptersPrologue: ArrivalAwakeningHopeAdaptationRaiseGrowthPrologue: ArrivalAuthor's Note FAIR WARNING - I'm a busy (lazy) writer. Chapters may take weeks to be published; Sometimes they can be dished out in a record time. Be patient, I promise it'll be worth it, I'll try to propperly patch out any mistakes made during the writing process. Without further ado... Prologue: Arrival Night 1 of our arrival. My name's Warm Heart. I'm an Earth Pony, one of the few that knows how to write and read. My Family comes from a long line of farmers and miners -But I was lucky enough to be allowed to be taught Engineering to, alongside my Brother, Cold Hooves. He was the one that helped me get accepted into the Engineer's Guild of our town, and that's paying off now. It was so quick. From night to day, we were struck with the strongest blizzards we've ever had. Snow felt on the family's field covering it with a thick, cold layer of ice, killing the plants in the next few days, for how hard we tried to keep them warm and alive. Eventually we had to move out as the soil completely froze, but as we were heading south, we met a group of Engineers going north instead. My Brother knew some of them, and asked why they were going north. They said that somepony was going to build an arcane device that heats the ground enough to make the soil fertile again, and that it seemed to be the only way to survive this Winter, or as they called it, the Frost. At first we didn't believe them, but they provided firm specifications. Enough to convince my brother and I to change plans... But Father wasn't convinced. He still wanted to go South, with Mother and my sister. I explained them over and over that the North was a better choice, but they didn't listen. Talk became shouts, and it would've ended with hooves meeting jaws if a sudden blizzard didn't set us aside. It was quick and strong, so much that we got sepparated. I was lucky to have held my Brother's hoof during that, we didn't flew away during the strong gusts of wind. But we were alone. So we set north, following the directions of the Earth Pony engineers, for how much I wanted to cry after losing our family. For a month, we walked aimlessly through snow and desolated villages, ransacked and stripped of everything but their basements. We ate little to nothing, less than one ration of hay and packed apples a day, and we whitnessed the horrors of the evacuation effort. Families like mine, torn appart by famine and desperation, entire households collapsed by the snow's weight and stripped out of wood that was then used as fuel. Libraries worth in books and knowledge reduced to nothing in the name of survival... And we aided with that. I had to burn my favourite novel a week ago, just so we could camp inside a cave. Thankfully I still keep this diary, wich is the only thing keeping me sane at this point. We met with other refugees in the way north around two days ago. Most were intellectuals and workers escaping from the cold. Some had Foals accompanying them. Oddly enough, not everypony was an Earth Pony. Some had Unicorns, and a few Pegasi were dotting them. Most of our initial group didn't mind them following us around, as they worked hard, communicated with us, and they were in equal condition to us, even if this long Winter is surely responsability of the Pegasi. They tried to deny it a few times, but we were in no condition to argue or fight, so we just nodded and continued walking north. A day or so ago, we saw a faint column of smoke emerging from a mountain at the North-East. We thought that it was a volcano getting ready for an eruption, but it was too artificial to be that, plus there were no rumblings under our hooves or strange smells, outside our own. The Pegasi we had with us quickly flew up there and came back within minutes, and told us that it was a camp with something tall and large in the middle, jabbed on a depression within the mountainside, like a crater. Filled with a regained hope and joy, we went straight to this camp... And we found it, after climbing up the mountain and down the crater's slope. The arcane device that heats the soil was there in the middle... But it was inactive; Nopony here knows how to operate it. But some built little encampments around it, tents wedged in a circular manner around the obelisk. Not enough for all the Ponies that were here, but it was a start. The newcomers, like my brother, me, and the group I was part of, had to sleep on the ground, cuddled next to the Obelisk on the cold ground, wich was at least a flat surface to lay on. Tonight we became a larger group, the most Ponies I've seen together in one place since the Frost hit. Not everypony was an Earth Pony, however. At least half of us were, One-fourth were Unicorns and the rest were Pegasi. There were some children around too, wich was something that brought a smile to my face. They were the ones that kept the tents for now, we had to leave space for them. The last thing we want is to lose our future to the cold. There seemed to be little to no elders among the ponies I've seen thus far, wich... Isn't too surprising. Most of us were hungry, and some were sick. The Ponies that were here before us shared some rations of packed Hay with us, enough to feed the ones that were in the weakest state -Though I suspect that they are complimented with sawdust, to compensate for the lack of propper Hay. They gave me a ration too, perhaps because I haven't slept in weeks before this and looked like a wreck of a mare. I could put a hoof under my eyes, and that wouldn't be enough to cover the bags under them! But that wouldn't take a smile from me, even less when a smile is the only thing keeping us from looking back to the horrors we saw. Tonight I'll try to sleep. We'll have a lot of work to do tomorrow. There was some talk around about appointing a leader to guide us through this hard time. Most of us are workers. Farmers. A few old Guards from the Pegasus army here and there, and intellectuals dotting the fifty or so ponies huddled around what we consider to be our last beacon of hope, the one that was a frozen solid as the mountainside we were in. At least the wind whizzes above the drop and doesn't take the camp away with it. We'll try to solve our problems tomorrow, once we find somepony with a cold head and leadership skills. I really hope it isn't me. Hope is the last thing we can afford to lose. Warm Heart. AwakeningI had barely waken up, when a Stallion started shouting at us. It was a deep gravvy voice, like that of an older Pony. Peeking over after having troubles with opening my eyes, after that really, really needed sleep. It was an Unicorn for the matter. "Wake up everpony! There's work to do!", emerged from the top of his lungs. Groaning, I rolled over, holding my Diary tight to my chest. Reluctanctly, I got up, my back sore from sleeping on the cold stone below. I was glad to not have frozen to death during my sleep, the several layers of leather and cloth above me keeping my body warm for the time being, alongside with the snuggling up to my brother. Brushing off the snow that had fallen on us through the night, I looked to my side, towards my Brother. He was in the same pain as me, I could hear him curse under his breath. Eventually he got up, and slid his leather coverings off from his head, revealing his charcoal-black mane, messy and wild, and pushed it away, revealing his Amber eyes, wich contrasted heavily with his light blue coat. He got those eyes from Mother... And the unkept beard that slowly grew from his chin like if he was a goat was something he got from Father. Stretching my back and legs out, and removing my own leather cover from my head, I looked back at the Monolith that acted as the central structure of the camp we joined yesterday night. Its Onyx-black flat reflective surface gave me a good reflection of myself, and how messy my looks were. Those bags under my Amber eyes were still there, making my Yellow coat look... Well, less yellow-y and appealing. I looked up in the reflection to notice that my curly amber mane was even worse than before, flattened in one side, and stretched out in the other, to the point that one could easily mistaken me for an ill-stricken Pony. Just if I could take warm bathes again, I'd be a happier, healthier mare. But no, not with all this ice and snow... And lack of actual housing. Running my hoof around my mane would do for now. However, something felt off. The Obelisk towered well over six times over us, but its diamater was roughly of that of the lenght of a Filly. Too little to offer a strong support against the wind. Looking down, I noticed that it was wedged into the soil beneath, but not as if it was excavated into it. It was like... If the whole construct rooted into the ground itself. It also gave a strange sensation, like when I saw my little sister, trying to reach out the cookier jar while it was out of her reach. That sense of whitnessing desperation and anger, compacted in a tiny frame. However, my thoughts cleared as I heard hoofsteps behind me, so I turned over, to face the Unicorn that woke us up. He was tall. Very, very tall, but not slender at all. He was built like a watchtower, strong hooves kept his head high from the ground, his horn pointing at the sky from under his brown leather cloak. The bits that I could see of him told me that he had a gray, short moustache pointing at the 9 and the 3, and blue coat. His eyes were hidden under the shadow that his dressings casted. "A Leader has been appointed overnight. You all shall refer to him as the Captain from from now on." He stated, with a stern voice. "Today we will start assigning everypony who joined us this last night some tasks. If we want to survive the Frost, we must activate this Obelisk of Warmth. From now on, we will follow the commands and orders from the Captain, and we will follow his laws. If you do not like it, you are free to walk off from this mountain and wonder the frostland until you die. Is that clear?" He stated in a louder, even more stern tone, walking around us, his voice sounding through the strong winds above us. It was like a shout, but he wasnt actually shouting. It was... Magic. Grudgingly, we all nodded. "Yes, yes." I said, rubbing my ears to stop them from ringing so loudly, looking out and off from the few tents we had. Some of the Earth Ponies set off to collect the remains of what were crates and discarded tents left from previous expeditions. Others went off to grab bits and pieces from broken machinery, and others went to snatch some bits of exposed coal, mining away with rocks and half-broken pickaxes, leaving behind a trail in the blinding white snow. We didn't even had sleds, nothing to make the task of collecting whatever we could find any easier, so we would be hauling everything with out bare backs. "You." The Unicorn stated, pointing at my face with a hoof. Turning, I looked at him, blinking a few times. "M-Me?" I replied, caught off-guard, my heart suddently picking up on its pace, much like when I get caught distracted during Math classes. I miss those. "You look strong. You will help collecting wooden crates. Grab a saddlebag and accompany the others." He stated in an authoritative, less louder tone, before moving over to my brother. "You too." Squinting at him, my Brother shrugged. "I don't take orders from an Unicorn." He bluntly stated back at the Unicorn, with a deep frown on his face, as he collected his belongings. This caught me off-guard, he never said this kind of thing, making me stare at him wide-eyed. The Unicorn stepped closer to him, towering a head or so above him, looking down at my brother's amber eyes. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your, miserable life wondering the snow until you die, you will take orders from me. Now go, Dirt." That hurt. Not only him, but me too. That's a therm most of the Unicorn 'loyalty' used to refer to us Earth Ponies, more specifically the ones that tended the fields and worked directly under them, cleaning things and upkeeping houses. That brought a deeper frown to me and my brother, and I could see him raise his hoof and clench his teeth. I could even feel the desire from him to break the other's jaw, but he eventually lowered it, frustration packing on his face and eyes. "Fine. I'll do it." He said, before looking away. "Horned buck." He added under his breath, before walking off right past me, to a little structure nearby of hapzardy located planks and stones, wich we labelled 'The stockpile'. I was heartbroken, but this was a harsh time. Holding back my tears, I gave the Unicorn my bad eye, and quickly went to gather up my things, and I eventually ran off to get a pair of saddlebags to help out on recovering as much wood as we could. Not only because it was my designated task, but rather because I didn't want to see that Unicorn again. I took this opportunity to finally approach my brother, after that outburst in frustration. "You... You okay, Cold?" I asked, as we finally reached a pile of discarded and half-broken wooden boxes, a fair distance away from the camp, almost by the edge of the crater. Some were still filled with tools we could still use, but many others were simply empty. I guessed that they would be repurposed to build things, or perhaps as fuel. "No, I'm not." He bluntly stated, looking at me with his face lit up like a tomato; "I became an Engineer to avoid this. And now we're stuck in a hole with that... Horned plothole, working with our bare hooves. And our family is possibly dead!" He said, a tear rolling down his cheek, as he tossed his half-filled bag back to the snowy ground, with a 'Plomph!'. "I'm freezing, my everything hurts and this bucking cold will eventually kills us! I can't hold this anymore!" Blinking, I dropped my saddlebags too, and without thinking, I went on and enveloped his chest with my hooves, hugging him tightly, digging my face onto his neck. He was taller than me, and that's something I used to do whenever he was upset or sad. We shared warmth this way, and... He really, really needed one of those. I could feel it. "I'm... I'm sorry. I know that these are hard times, but we must try. We must hold and last, we'll make it." I said, looking up at his eyes, as he looked down at mines. "For Father and Mother. And little Temperate." He sniffed, and rubbed his tears away. "For Temperate..." He repeated, shaking his head. "Fine... I'll- I'll try, but I don't promise holding myself if I see that Unicorn again." Then he rose his hooves and hugged me back, gently patting my back as I held to him, squishing him a bit on that embace. I nodded onto him, nuzzling his chest one last time before finally releasing him, bits of snow falling from us. Then we got back to work, picking up our saddlebags again -And giving nervous smiles at the other Ponies that glanced at us with curious and confused looks, after the scene we made back then. Thankfully they minded their own business, though some attempted some small talk, wich I was glad to provide, and one made terrible, terrible puns about the cold through the whole day. "Tis' a cool day, eh?", "More work like this and I'll drop dead cold!", "Don't give me that cold eye!", and so on. I really wanted to hit him. That would be a good way to warm myself up. Hope"Work day is done! Put down your tools and gather up!", Shouted a voice back from the Obelisk, that same voice that could be heard from basically anywhere within the Mountain. That made us raise our heads and look back at the Obelisk in the middle, and then to the sky. Time seemed to have passed rather quickly while we were collecting crates and scraps of tents. We had spent ten hours collecting things without noticing, from morning to late afternoon. Some of us were used to such work shifts - The Earth Ponies grew used to fourteen hours of daily workshifts, tending the crops all day, or striking the earth for Copper and Iron. I was sure that the Pegasi worked for only eight hours a day, altering the weather to the Earth Ponies' needs, while the Unicorns only did four to six hours, as they only had to rise and lower the sun and moon. On this first day, they all seemed to learn the effort us Earth Ponies do every day but the Sundays, the only free day of the week that is universal for all but Unicorns. With a hungry sigh, everypony in our gathering area returned back to the centre, quickly swaying-by to deposit what we had gathered prior, and ocasionally exchange salutations and good wishes. I managed to stockpile a few crates full of wood and scraps, though shilily behind the many that my Brother hauled back and forth. All in all, we almost filled up the designated area for wood and scraps, and a little look around hinted me that we were almost halfways through with the metallic and mechanical scraps, and we were filled to the brim with Coal. Enough to last well over a week, making campfires to stay warm. But just warmth wouldn't do. We needed food, and my stomach reminded me of that. Looking at my brother, I said; "Are you hungry? I think I've got one spare ration on me... Somewhere." With that, I went back to where I left my saddlebags before going off to work, and started to check through them. Thankfully, nothing had been moved from its spot. There was a lingering trust here, enough for us to leave what little we had unobserved while we were doing our labour. Plus, we were very few, we could recognize eachother's faces and dressings with ease... And getting labelled 'Thief' here surely wouldn't be any good. As I was scavenging through my things, he tapped my shoulder and shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry, yet. And I'd rather not eat anything with sawdust on it." He added, looking up to the Obelisk, admiring its... Strange existance. Shrugging, I pulled out the half ration that I had left. That tasteless block of packed hay and wooden chips. A pain to swallow, but very, very filling. I started to nibble on it, breaking the cold, hardened exterior, until the Unicorn that woke us up started to speak... Shout, again. "Listen up, everypony!", he started, his tone lowering to a non-deafening volume after his initial screech; "We have discovered how to activate the Obelisk. But it requires a great effort and copious amounts of Coal to start up. We will need all capable hooves to build up a funnel for the Coal to go through and into the Obelisk. Us Unicorns will aid with the construction effort." He stated, gesturing towards the Stockpile. Grudgingly, some of us started marching towards the stockpile to grab up some wooden slabs, and whatever tools we would need. Hammers, nails, hinges... Anything that wasn't broken beyond repair. After chomping down the tasteless block of hay, I set myself to work too, pushing my belongings aside to make space for the construct that we needed. Everypony else did the same, depositing their things elsewere. Quickly, we organized ourselves. Some had worked in carpentry and knew what they were doing, others had built things on their own. Skills that were very usefull today. Meanwhile, I, as an Engineer that, sadly, didn't finished her course, aided with the logistics and the order of construction. First we started with a strong base for the construct, nailing thick wooden conglomerates into the rock via strong magic, then we made a leveled platform for the construct itself. After the platform was done, we worked on raising a circular structure made out of whatever wooden scraps we could piece together around the Obelisk, the aid of the Pegasi letting us build it high up, encasing the artifact itself in a protective layer of wood. Then we went to work with the feeding system, with a series of levers, gears and a set of buckets constantly rolling upwards, onto a ramp that would drop the coal ontop of the Obelisk, as it was specified by the Unicorns that made a raw blueprint for us. This all took us a grand total of four hours, with the combined effort of thirty Ponies. Looking up to our creation, we felt a sense of proudness and accomplishment. We had built a mildly functional feeding system for our last hope. Rubbing sweat off from my brow, I smiled and looked around. The others were tired, but we all had a big smile on our lips. Then the Unicorn appeared again, accompanied by other two. They all wore the same garments, a strange purple silk decorated with golden strings covering their heads and backs, like a ceremonial dressing for the old unicornian nobility. Without a word, they all located themselves in equidistant spots around the obelisk, and stated to chant strange words in a language I didn't understand. Then their horns flared up with a strong violet light with hints of green, to the surprise of us all, and pointed their horns towards the centre. At the same time, another Pony pushed the lever that made the buckets feed the obelisk, chips and pieced of coal falling into the structure... Making no noise at all, like absorbed into it, and the whole thing started to hum and crack. Then... A blinding red light emerged from the exposed bits of the feeding system, an uneasy warmth emerging soon after, like a blast of steam emerging from a pipe. So warm that some of us started to panic and quickly remove our leather coverings. I started to sweat, suddently uncomfortable in my own dressings. I looked away to avoid the light, and noticed how the snow that felt upon us started to melt. A perfect circle of exposed rock and dirt emerged from below us, product of the molten snow, as now water soaked those exposed areas. We had created warmth, enough to make a livable area in the middle of the crater! Everypony rejoiced after the initial shock. This was perhaps the first good thing to happen to any of us in weeks. Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks, as I hugged the first pony I could get my hooves on. And it was the stallion that always said some dumb pun whenever he could. "Hey hey, no need to warm up so quickly, ma'am!", he stated, with a big grin on his face. Godesses above, I really, really wanted to punch him in the face. AdaptationAfter our great success, we all felt filled with energy again. We had a driving motivation to survive this winter, one that we put to use as quickly as possible. After shoving that stallion away from my accidental embrace, and feeling a rush of red emerge to my face, I retreated towards my belongings, walking through groups of friends cheering this feat of survival. I hauled my saddlebags onto my back, and then walked towards that one Unicorn that seemed to be the voice of our leader. Whoever the Captain was, that is. Then I asked; "Sir, can I have a word with the Captain? It's important." After his attention was caught, he looked down at me, the quick movement of his head letting me see beyond his coverings. Above his blue snout and that oddly entertaining gray moustache, I saw a pair of deep violet eyes, tired and experienced. The kind of eyes that Father had. "Yes? Oh. If it is your illness, we are planning on opening a medical tent soon, worry not." He said, quickly dismissing me, much to my surprise. Although those were good news, that wasn't what I really wanted to know. "N-No, it's not that." I said, stepping sideways to get back onto his sight. "I wanted to speak to him about our housing problem. We're eighty Ponies in here, the foals taking more than half of the avaliable tents and leaving space for only ten adults to sleep under a roof. Forty ponies sleeping on tents while the rest of us freezes doesn't sound fa-" And he quickly retorted right back, cutting my last statement. "The Obelisk is emmiting warmth. It is a temporary solution to this problem, while we plan ahead. You will not freeze tonight at all. Our primary concern right now is the lack of food, missy. And we are going to focus on that right away. In fact..." He said, beaming down at me; "You, as an Earth Pony, could help with that. We need food grown in a record time, and your kind can manipulate plant growth. I pressume that you have little else to do, hm?" He was more or less right, even if I was more qualified as an engineer or a foremare over being a farmer. "W-Well, I-" "Then it is settled." He stated again, not even giving me time to start. "You will aid with the farms tomorrow. When your shift starts, gather up some seeds and plant them on the warm soil. It should be watered thanks to the molten ice. Now go, have some rest. You will need all the energy you can muster for tomorrow if you wish to earn your share of food." He said, dismissing me completely. I was about to complain, but as I rose my hoof to get his attention again, his head faced up to the sky, his horn lighting up in a bright Violet. At the same time, the other Unicorns in the camp did exactly the same, in unison, all their horns lighting up in varying colours and intensities. Even the few Foals that were unicorns did this too... And slowly, the day became night. The clouds above went dark, like if the sun was pulled down from the sky. One by one, they started to fall, like if drained out of every energy they had avaliable, until only this Unicorn in front of me remained, standing proudly for a few more seconds, until it was pitch black, the Moon soon emerging from the other side, telling us that the night was upon us now. With a tired huff, he walked away, completely forgeting about me, his figure dissapearing into the tents. Blinking, I could only sigh, and hope that whoever the Captain was, had a plan for us. We really needed one at this point. But sadly, it included me being a farmer. I shook my head, and resignated to accept this fate, walking off to a good, dryish spot by the structure we made. Just then, my Brother pulled from my tail -The most effective way we had of catching eachother's attention. Even if little Temperate hated that. "I heard you talk to that horned basta... Er. Yes, what was that?" He asked, sitting besides me, his hooves going off to gather his back, pulling off his saddlebags and dropping them next to me. This would be our spot for the time being.. Looking at him, I shrugged. "I, just... Asked him about the housing issue, and the food situation. He says the Captain has everything covered, and they assigned me to farming. They need as many Earth Ponies for that as possible... Oh! He also said that we'll be getting a medical tent to treat the sick soon."I said, looking up and back at him after I was done packing things up again, glad that my Diary was still in my saddlebags, alongside my ink and my quill. He looked at me dead in the eye, with a brow raised. "He put you in charge of farming? That's... Weird." He commented, his ears focusing on me, alongside his amber eyes. "I guess that he's trusting you after that initial scratch." "Not exactly in charge. More like... Just helping grow the seeds we have stored away somewhere." I said, looking towards the stockpile. "I really hope that there's wheat in there. I could do with a loaf of bread over these rations." "You and I, Sister. I would kill for some of Mother's cookies..." Cold grumbled, eventually laying down, enjoying the warmth that hummed off from the Obelisk. "Don't say that! Though... I would love some of them. We'll have to put them high up though, so Temperate doesn't take them all!" I said with a little chuckle, laying down vesides him, shoulder to shoulder. "Heh. Remember that one time she got stuck on the pantry? I still don't know how she got up there!" He said, yawning, tired after this harsh day of work. His yawn eventually bounced on me, as I snuggled up to his side, laying my head above my hooves, a more comfortable surface than the ground. "I... Still think that she used a bucket to get up there..." My eyes started to close against my will, the last thing I saw being the first row of tents slowly close up, other Ponies doing the same that we did. Lay down... And sleep. RaiseSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.GrowthSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Prologue: ArrivalAuthor's Note FAIR WARNING - I'm a busy (lazy) writer. Chapters may take weeks to be published; Sometimes they can be dished out in a record time. Be patient, I promise it'll be worth it, I'll try to propperly patch out any mistakes made during the writing process. Without further ado... Prologue: Arrival Night 1 of our arrival. My name's Warm Heart. I'm an Earth Pony, one of the few that knows how to write and read. My Family comes from a long line of farmers and miners -But I was lucky enough to be allowed to be taught Engineering to, alongside my Brother, Cold Hooves. He was the one that helped me get accepted into the Engineer's Guild of our town, and that's paying off now. It was so quick. From night to day, we were struck with the strongest blizzards we've ever had. Snow felt on the family's field covering it with a thick, cold layer of ice, killing the plants in the next few days, for how hard we tried to keep them warm and alive. Eventually we had to move out as the soil completely froze, but as we were heading south, we met a group of Engineers going north instead. My Brother knew some of them, and asked why they were going north. They said that somepony was going to build an arcane device that heats the ground enough to make the soil fertile again, and that it seemed to be the only way to survive this Winter, or as they called it, the Frost. At first we didn't believe them, but they provided firm specifications. Enough to convince my brother and I to change plans... But Father wasn't convinced. He still wanted to go South, with Mother and my sister. I explained them over and over that the North was a better choice, but they didn't listen. Talk became shouts, and it would've ended with hooves meeting jaws if a sudden blizzard didn't set us aside. It was quick and strong, so much that we got sepparated. I was lucky to have held my Brother's hoof during that, we didn't flew away during the strong gusts of wind. But we were alone. So we set north, following the directions of the Earth Pony engineers, for how much I wanted to cry after losing our family. For a month, we walked aimlessly through snow and desolated villages, ransacked and stripped of everything but their basements. We ate little to nothing, less than one ration of hay and packed apples a day, and we whitnessed the horrors of the evacuation effort. Families like mine, torn appart by famine and desperation, entire households collapsed by the snow's weight and stripped out of wood that was then used as fuel. Libraries worth in books and knowledge reduced to nothing in the name of survival... And we aided with that. I had to burn my favourite novel a week ago, just so we could camp inside a cave. Thankfully I still keep this diary, wich is the only thing keeping me sane at this point. We met with other refugees in the way north around two days ago. Most were intellectuals and workers escaping from the cold. Some had Foals accompanying them. Oddly enough, not everypony was an Earth Pony. Some had Unicorns, and a few Pegasi were dotting them. Most of our initial group didn't mind them following us around, as they worked hard, communicated with us, and they were in equal condition to us, even if this long Winter is surely responsability of the Pegasi. They tried to deny it a few times, but we were in no condition to argue or fight, so we just nodded and continued walking north. A day or so ago, we saw a faint column of smoke emerging from a mountain at the North-East. We thought that it was a volcano getting ready for an eruption, but it was too artificial to be that, plus there were no rumblings under our hooves or strange smells, outside our own. The Pegasi we had with us quickly flew up there and came back within minutes, and told us that it was a camp with something tall and large in the middle, jabbed on a depression within the mountainside, like a crater. Filled with a regained hope and joy, we went straight to this camp... And we found it, after climbing up the mountain and down the crater's slope. The arcane device that heats the soil was there in the middle... But it was inactive; Nopony here knows how to operate it. But some built little encampments around it, tents wedged in a circular manner around the obelisk. Not enough for all the Ponies that were here, but it was a start. The newcomers, like my brother, me, and the group I was part of, had to sleep on the ground, cuddled next to the Obelisk on the cold ground, wich was at least a flat surface to lay on. Tonight we became a larger group, the most Ponies I've seen together in one place since the Frost hit. Not everypony was an Earth Pony, however. At least half of us were, One-fourth were Unicorns and the rest were Pegasi. There were some children around too, wich was something that brought a smile to my face. They were the ones that kept the tents for now, we had to leave space for them. The last thing we want is to lose our future to the cold. There seemed to be little to no elders among the ponies I've seen thus far, wich... Isn't too surprising. Most of us were hungry, and some were sick. The Ponies that were here before us shared some rations of packed Hay with us, enough to feed the ones that were in the weakest state -Though I suspect that they are complimented with sawdust, to compensate for the lack of propper Hay. They gave me a ration too, perhaps because I haven't slept in weeks before this and looked like a wreck of a mare. I could put a hoof under my eyes, and that wouldn't be enough to cover the bags under them! But that wouldn't take a smile from me, even less when a smile is the only thing keeping us from looking back to the horrors we saw. Tonight I'll try to sleep. We'll have a lot of work to do tomorrow. There was some talk around about appointing a leader to guide us through this hard time. Most of us are workers. Farmers. A few old Guards from the Pegasus army here and there, and intellectuals dotting the fifty or so ponies huddled around what we consider to be our last beacon of hope, the one that was a frozen solid as the mountainside we were in. At least the wind whizzes above the drop and doesn't take the camp away with it. We'll try to solve our problems tomorrow, once we find somepony with a cold head and leadership skills. I really hope it isn't me. Hope is the last thing we can afford to lose. Warm Heart.
AwakeningI had barely waken up, when a Stallion started shouting at us. It was a deep gravvy voice, like that of an older Pony. Peeking over after having troubles with opening my eyes, after that really, really needed sleep. It was an Unicorn for the matter. "Wake up everpony! There's work to do!", emerged from the top of his lungs. Groaning, I rolled over, holding my Diary tight to my chest. Reluctanctly, I got up, my back sore from sleeping on the cold stone below. I was glad to not have frozen to death during my sleep, the several layers of leather and cloth above me keeping my body warm for the time being, alongside with the snuggling up to my brother. Brushing off the snow that had fallen on us through the night, I looked to my side, towards my Brother. He was in the same pain as me, I could hear him curse under his breath. Eventually he got up, and slid his leather coverings off from his head, revealing his charcoal-black mane, messy and wild, and pushed it away, revealing his Amber eyes, wich contrasted heavily with his light blue coat. He got those eyes from Mother... And the unkept beard that slowly grew from his chin like if he was a goat was something he got from Father. Stretching my back and legs out, and removing my own leather cover from my head, I looked back at the Monolith that acted as the central structure of the camp we joined yesterday night. Its Onyx-black flat reflective surface gave me a good reflection of myself, and how messy my looks were. Those bags under my Amber eyes were still there, making my Yellow coat look... Well, less yellow-y and appealing. I looked up in the reflection to notice that my curly amber mane was even worse than before, flattened in one side, and stretched out in the other, to the point that one could easily mistaken me for an ill-stricken Pony. Just if I could take warm bathes again, I'd be a happier, healthier mare. But no, not with all this ice and snow... And lack of actual housing. Running my hoof around my mane would do for now. However, something felt off. The Obelisk towered well over six times over us, but its diamater was roughly of that of the lenght of a Filly. Too little to offer a strong support against the wind. Looking down, I noticed that it was wedged into the soil beneath, but not as if it was excavated into it. It was like... If the whole construct rooted into the ground itself. It also gave a strange sensation, like when I saw my little sister, trying to reach out the cookier jar while it was out of her reach. That sense of whitnessing desperation and anger, compacted in a tiny frame. However, my thoughts cleared as I heard hoofsteps behind me, so I turned over, to face the Unicorn that woke us up. He was tall. Very, very tall, but not slender at all. He was built like a watchtower, strong hooves kept his head high from the ground, his horn pointing at the sky from under his brown leather cloak. The bits that I could see of him told me that he had a gray, short moustache pointing at the 9 and the 3, and blue coat. His eyes were hidden under the shadow that his dressings casted. "A Leader has been appointed overnight. You all shall refer to him as the Captain from from now on." He stated, with a stern voice. "Today we will start assigning everypony who joined us this last night some tasks. If we want to survive the Frost, we must activate this Obelisk of Warmth. From now on, we will follow the commands and orders from the Captain, and we will follow his laws. If you do not like it, you are free to walk off from this mountain and wonder the frostland until you die. Is that clear?" He stated in a louder, even more stern tone, walking around us, his voice sounding through the strong winds above us. It was like a shout, but he wasnt actually shouting. It was... Magic. Grudgingly, we all nodded. "Yes, yes." I said, rubbing my ears to stop them from ringing so loudly, looking out and off from the few tents we had. Some of the Earth Ponies set off to collect the remains of what were crates and discarded tents left from previous expeditions. Others went off to grab bits and pieces from broken machinery, and others went to snatch some bits of exposed coal, mining away with rocks and half-broken pickaxes, leaving behind a trail in the blinding white snow. We didn't even had sleds, nothing to make the task of collecting whatever we could find any easier, so we would be hauling everything with out bare backs. "You." The Unicorn stated, pointing at my face with a hoof. Turning, I looked at him, blinking a few times. "M-Me?" I replied, caught off-guard, my heart suddently picking up on its pace, much like when I get caught distracted during Math classes. I miss those. "You look strong. You will help collecting wooden crates. Grab a saddlebag and accompany the others." He stated in an authoritative, less louder tone, before moving over to my brother. "You too." Squinting at him, my Brother shrugged. "I don't take orders from an Unicorn." He bluntly stated back at the Unicorn, with a deep frown on his face, as he collected his belongings. This caught me off-guard, he never said this kind of thing, making me stare at him wide-eyed. The Unicorn stepped closer to him, towering a head or so above him, looking down at my brother's amber eyes. "Unless you want to spend the rest of your, miserable life wondering the snow until you die, you will take orders from me. Now go, Dirt." That hurt. Not only him, but me too. That's a therm most of the Unicorn 'loyalty' used to refer to us Earth Ponies, more specifically the ones that tended the fields and worked directly under them, cleaning things and upkeeping houses. That brought a deeper frown to me and my brother, and I could see him raise his hoof and clench his teeth. I could even feel the desire from him to break the other's jaw, but he eventually lowered it, frustration packing on his face and eyes. "Fine. I'll do it." He said, before looking away. "Horned buck." He added under his breath, before walking off right past me, to a little structure nearby of hapzardy located planks and stones, wich we labelled 'The stockpile'. I was heartbroken, but this was a harsh time. Holding back my tears, I gave the Unicorn my bad eye, and quickly went to gather up my things, and I eventually ran off to get a pair of saddlebags to help out on recovering as much wood as we could. Not only because it was my designated task, but rather because I didn't want to see that Unicorn again. I took this opportunity to finally approach my brother, after that outburst in frustration. "You... You okay, Cold?" I asked, as we finally reached a pile of discarded and half-broken wooden boxes, a fair distance away from the camp, almost by the edge of the crater. Some were still filled with tools we could still use, but many others were simply empty. I guessed that they would be repurposed to build things, or perhaps as fuel. "No, I'm not." He bluntly stated, looking at me with his face lit up like a tomato; "I became an Engineer to avoid this. And now we're stuck in a hole with that... Horned plothole, working with our bare hooves. And our family is possibly dead!" He said, a tear rolling down his cheek, as he tossed his half-filled bag back to the snowy ground, with a 'Plomph!'. "I'm freezing, my everything hurts and this bucking cold will eventually kills us! I can't hold this anymore!" Blinking, I dropped my saddlebags too, and without thinking, I went on and enveloped his chest with my hooves, hugging him tightly, digging my face onto his neck. He was taller than me, and that's something I used to do whenever he was upset or sad. We shared warmth this way, and... He really, really needed one of those. I could feel it. "I'm... I'm sorry. I know that these are hard times, but we must try. We must hold and last, we'll make it." I said, looking up at his eyes, as he looked down at mines. "For Father and Mother. And little Temperate." He sniffed, and rubbed his tears away. "For Temperate..." He repeated, shaking his head. "Fine... I'll- I'll try, but I don't promise holding myself if I see that Unicorn again." Then he rose his hooves and hugged me back, gently patting my back as I held to him, squishing him a bit on that embace. I nodded onto him, nuzzling his chest one last time before finally releasing him, bits of snow falling from us. Then we got back to work, picking up our saddlebags again -And giving nervous smiles at the other Ponies that glanced at us with curious and confused looks, after the scene we made back then. Thankfully they minded their own business, though some attempted some small talk, wich I was glad to provide, and one made terrible, terrible puns about the cold through the whole day. "Tis' a cool day, eh?", "More work like this and I'll drop dead cold!", "Don't give me that cold eye!", and so on. I really wanted to hit him. That would be a good way to warm myself up.
Hope"Work day is done! Put down your tools and gather up!", Shouted a voice back from the Obelisk, that same voice that could be heard from basically anywhere within the Mountain. That made us raise our heads and look back at the Obelisk in the middle, and then to the sky. Time seemed to have passed rather quickly while we were collecting crates and scraps of tents. We had spent ten hours collecting things without noticing, from morning to late afternoon. Some of us were used to such work shifts - The Earth Ponies grew used to fourteen hours of daily workshifts, tending the crops all day, or striking the earth for Copper and Iron. I was sure that the Pegasi worked for only eight hours a day, altering the weather to the Earth Ponies' needs, while the Unicorns only did four to six hours, as they only had to rise and lower the sun and moon. On this first day, they all seemed to learn the effort us Earth Ponies do every day but the Sundays, the only free day of the week that is universal for all but Unicorns. With a hungry sigh, everypony in our gathering area returned back to the centre, quickly swaying-by to deposit what we had gathered prior, and ocasionally exchange salutations and good wishes. I managed to stockpile a few crates full of wood and scraps, though shilily behind the many that my Brother hauled back and forth. All in all, we almost filled up the designated area for wood and scraps, and a little look around hinted me that we were almost halfways through with the metallic and mechanical scraps, and we were filled to the brim with Coal. Enough to last well over a week, making campfires to stay warm. But just warmth wouldn't do. We needed food, and my stomach reminded me of that. Looking at my brother, I said; "Are you hungry? I think I've got one spare ration on me... Somewhere." With that, I went back to where I left my saddlebags before going off to work, and started to check through them. Thankfully, nothing had been moved from its spot. There was a lingering trust here, enough for us to leave what little we had unobserved while we were doing our labour. Plus, we were very few, we could recognize eachother's faces and dressings with ease... And getting labelled 'Thief' here surely wouldn't be any good. As I was scavenging through my things, he tapped my shoulder and shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry, yet. And I'd rather not eat anything with sawdust on it." He added, looking up to the Obelisk, admiring its... Strange existance. Shrugging, I pulled out the half ration that I had left. That tasteless block of packed hay and wooden chips. A pain to swallow, but very, very filling. I started to nibble on it, breaking the cold, hardened exterior, until the Unicorn that woke us up started to speak... Shout, again. "Listen up, everypony!", he started, his tone lowering to a non-deafening volume after his initial screech; "We have discovered how to activate the Obelisk. But it requires a great effort and copious amounts of Coal to start up. We will need all capable hooves to build up a funnel for the Coal to go through and into the Obelisk. Us Unicorns will aid with the construction effort." He stated, gesturing towards the Stockpile. Grudgingly, some of us started marching towards the stockpile to grab up some wooden slabs, and whatever tools we would need. Hammers, nails, hinges... Anything that wasn't broken beyond repair. After chomping down the tasteless block of hay, I set myself to work too, pushing my belongings aside to make space for the construct that we needed. Everypony else did the same, depositing their things elsewere. Quickly, we organized ourselves. Some had worked in carpentry and knew what they were doing, others had built things on their own. Skills that were very usefull today. Meanwhile, I, as an Engineer that, sadly, didn't finished her course, aided with the logistics and the order of construction. First we started with a strong base for the construct, nailing thick wooden conglomerates into the rock via strong magic, then we made a leveled platform for the construct itself. After the platform was done, we worked on raising a circular structure made out of whatever wooden scraps we could piece together around the Obelisk, the aid of the Pegasi letting us build it high up, encasing the artifact itself in a protective layer of wood. Then we went to work with the feeding system, with a series of levers, gears and a set of buckets constantly rolling upwards, onto a ramp that would drop the coal ontop of the Obelisk, as it was specified by the Unicorns that made a raw blueprint for us. This all took us a grand total of four hours, with the combined effort of thirty Ponies. Looking up to our creation, we felt a sense of proudness and accomplishment. We had built a mildly functional feeding system for our last hope. Rubbing sweat off from my brow, I smiled and looked around. The others were tired, but we all had a big smile on our lips. Then the Unicorn appeared again, accompanied by other two. They all wore the same garments, a strange purple silk decorated with golden strings covering their heads and backs, like a ceremonial dressing for the old unicornian nobility. Without a word, they all located themselves in equidistant spots around the obelisk, and stated to chant strange words in a language I didn't understand. Then their horns flared up with a strong violet light with hints of green, to the surprise of us all, and pointed their horns towards the centre. At the same time, another Pony pushed the lever that made the buckets feed the obelisk, chips and pieced of coal falling into the structure... Making no noise at all, like absorbed into it, and the whole thing started to hum and crack. Then... A blinding red light emerged from the exposed bits of the feeding system, an uneasy warmth emerging soon after, like a blast of steam emerging from a pipe. So warm that some of us started to panic and quickly remove our leather coverings. I started to sweat, suddently uncomfortable in my own dressings. I looked away to avoid the light, and noticed how the snow that felt upon us started to melt. A perfect circle of exposed rock and dirt emerged from below us, product of the molten snow, as now water soaked those exposed areas. We had created warmth, enough to make a livable area in the middle of the crater! Everypony rejoiced after the initial shock. This was perhaps the first good thing to happen to any of us in weeks. Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks, as I hugged the first pony I could get my hooves on. And it was the stallion that always said some dumb pun whenever he could. "Hey hey, no need to warm up so quickly, ma'am!", he stated, with a big grin on his face. Godesses above, I really, really wanted to punch him in the face.
AdaptationAfter our great success, we all felt filled with energy again. We had a driving motivation to survive this winter, one that we put to use as quickly as possible. After shoving that stallion away from my accidental embrace, and feeling a rush of red emerge to my face, I retreated towards my belongings, walking through groups of friends cheering this feat of survival. I hauled my saddlebags onto my back, and then walked towards that one Unicorn that seemed to be the voice of our leader. Whoever the Captain was, that is. Then I asked; "Sir, can I have a word with the Captain? It's important." After his attention was caught, he looked down at me, the quick movement of his head letting me see beyond his coverings. Above his blue snout and that oddly entertaining gray moustache, I saw a pair of deep violet eyes, tired and experienced. The kind of eyes that Father had. "Yes? Oh. If it is your illness, we are planning on opening a medical tent soon, worry not." He said, quickly dismissing me, much to my surprise. Although those were good news, that wasn't what I really wanted to know. "N-No, it's not that." I said, stepping sideways to get back onto his sight. "I wanted to speak to him about our housing problem. We're eighty Ponies in here, the foals taking more than half of the avaliable tents and leaving space for only ten adults to sleep under a roof. Forty ponies sleeping on tents while the rest of us freezes doesn't sound fa-" And he quickly retorted right back, cutting my last statement. "The Obelisk is emmiting warmth. It is a temporary solution to this problem, while we plan ahead. You will not freeze tonight at all. Our primary concern right now is the lack of food, missy. And we are going to focus on that right away. In fact..." He said, beaming down at me; "You, as an Earth Pony, could help with that. We need food grown in a record time, and your kind can manipulate plant growth. I pressume that you have little else to do, hm?" He was more or less right, even if I was more qualified as an engineer or a foremare over being a farmer. "W-Well, I-" "Then it is settled." He stated again, not even giving me time to start. "You will aid with the farms tomorrow. When your shift starts, gather up some seeds and plant them on the warm soil. It should be watered thanks to the molten ice. Now go, have some rest. You will need all the energy you can muster for tomorrow if you wish to earn your share of food." He said, dismissing me completely. I was about to complain, but as I rose my hoof to get his attention again, his head faced up to the sky, his horn lighting up in a bright Violet. At the same time, the other Unicorns in the camp did exactly the same, in unison, all their horns lighting up in varying colours and intensities. Even the few Foals that were unicorns did this too... And slowly, the day became night. The clouds above went dark, like if the sun was pulled down from the sky. One by one, they started to fall, like if drained out of every energy they had avaliable, until only this Unicorn in front of me remained, standing proudly for a few more seconds, until it was pitch black, the Moon soon emerging from the other side, telling us that the night was upon us now. With a tired huff, he walked away, completely forgeting about me, his figure dissapearing into the tents. Blinking, I could only sigh, and hope that whoever the Captain was, had a plan for us. We really needed one at this point. But sadly, it included me being a farmer. I shook my head, and resignated to accept this fate, walking off to a good, dryish spot by the structure we made. Just then, my Brother pulled from my tail -The most effective way we had of catching eachother's attention. Even if little Temperate hated that. "I heard you talk to that horned basta... Er. Yes, what was that?" He asked, sitting besides me, his hooves going off to gather his back, pulling off his saddlebags and dropping them next to me. This would be our spot for the time being.. Looking at him, I shrugged. "I, just... Asked him about the housing issue, and the food situation. He says the Captain has everything covered, and they assigned me to farming. They need as many Earth Ponies for that as possible... Oh! He also said that we'll be getting a medical tent to treat the sick soon."I said, looking up and back at him after I was done packing things up again, glad that my Diary was still in my saddlebags, alongside my ink and my quill. He looked at me dead in the eye, with a brow raised. "He put you in charge of farming? That's... Weird." He commented, his ears focusing on me, alongside his amber eyes. "I guess that he's trusting you after that initial scratch." "Not exactly in charge. More like... Just helping grow the seeds we have stored away somewhere." I said, looking towards the stockpile. "I really hope that there's wheat in there. I could do with a loaf of bread over these rations." "You and I, Sister. I would kill for some of Mother's cookies..." Cold grumbled, eventually laying down, enjoying the warmth that hummed off from the Obelisk. "Don't say that! Though... I would love some of them. We'll have to put them high up though, so Temperate doesn't take them all!" I said with a little chuckle, laying down vesides him, shoulder to shoulder. "Heh. Remember that one time she got stuck on the pantry? I still don't know how she got up there!" He said, yawning, tired after this harsh day of work. His yawn eventually bounced on me, as I snuggled up to his side, laying my head above my hooves, a more comfortable surface than the ground. "I... Still think that she used a bucket to get up there..." My eyes started to close against my will, the last thing I saw being the first row of tents slowly close up, other Ponies doing the same that we did. Lay down... And sleep.
