How to Climb a Mountain

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1, Part 1: First Steps
Chapter 1 Part 2: Why is this mountain covered in spikes?

Prologue

Author’s note: This story is based on a game and as such, has music that will fit with each part of the story. The music is, frankly, incredible, so it will be located at this LINK, and I will be placing the video times for each part of the soundtrack throughout the chapters (XX:XX to XX:XX). Enjoy :)

This is it, Twilight.

Just breathe.

Why are you so nervous?

(00:00 to 00:50)

Snow crunched softly under Twilight’s hooves as she walked. The air was chilly, but her puffy blue jacket, thick brown snow pants, saddlebags, and enchanted purple snow boots kept her protected. All around her snow drifted gently down from the wild storm above. There was no way for Twilight to tell when it would end, as even if there were pegesi living nearby, they would be unable to clear the storm. A quick flap of her wings confirmed why.

She couldn’t fly.

Her magic was still there, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t seem to grasp it. At best, she would be able to soften her falls by extending her wings, but even hovering was likely out of the question. She would need magic to do that. And her horn was no better. At best, she could get a few small sparks. Even a basic light spell, the first spell any unicorn ever learned, was impossible at the moment.

And she was still only at the base of the mountain. If the mountain’s magic was this strong already, how much stronger would it get as she began to climb? Would her abilities continue to deteriorate, maybe to the point where she couldn’t feel her own magic at all? Would she eventually reach the point where she felt empty, just like when Tirek had stolen all her magic? Would it ever come back?

It wouldn’t be that bad, surely. Celestia would have warned her if it was.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Twilight continued on, passing a small lamppost with a gentle glowing light. She hopped up onto the small ledge in front of her, taking a brief moment to look at the broken green sign that lay there. It was illegible.

In front of her lay what she thought was the path to the mountain. Unfortunately, said path was broken up by a series of deep pits too wide to walk around, with the only way across being a series of wide, misshapen stone- and ice-covered pillars.

Taking a peek over the edge of where she stood, Twilight realized that she couldn’t even see the bottom of the nearest pit. She thought she saw the glimmer of a bright pink crystal somewhere in the darkness, but it was very hard to tell.

Twilight took a step back and shook her head. She was getting distracted. The pit in front of her was dangerously deep, and that she had no apparent way around. As such, she would need to be careful if she wanted to make it across safely.

Twilight took a few more steps back. A hop, skip, and a jump later, and she cleared the first jump easily.

Smiling to herself, Twilight looked up. Right above her was a ledge almost as tall as she was, completely devoid of hoof-holds, but it looked smooth and flat on top, so she sprung upwards and climbed up easily. And to make things even better, the second pillar was positioned quite closely to the first one, so she leapt again and landed—

Crunch!

Twilight’s head jerked upwards. A massive block of ice was frozen on the underside of the ridge above her, and was currently shaking. She quickly leapt to the next pillar, seconds before the perfectly rectangular block of ice fell and slammed into the rock pillar, right where Twilight had been standing, with a loud ‘THUD.’

Oh Celestia…Great start…she thought as she let out a terrified breath as her adrenaline began to wear off. That block was twice as tall as she was, and nearly five times as long. If it had hit her…

No, you’re fine. Celestia’s gift will keep you safe, she thought, reaching up to touch her coat. Her hoof traced over the bulge in the fabric, perfectly matching where the pendant was pressed firmly to her chest. She could still see its image in her mind. A perfectly flat and round ruby held in a golden wire, a picture of a mountain engraved beautifully in the center. In Canterlot, it had felt completely magicless. Yet now, Twilight could feel it faintly humming with energy, responding to the mountain she was currently walking around.

It would protect her. She knew it would.

Taking a deep breath like Cadence taught her, Twilight hopped to the top of the pillar she was on before leaping over to clear the next gap.

Following the sign shaped like an arrow, Twilight continued on across the next two pillars before she encountered her first real roadblock. While she could stand on the first half of this pillar, the upper ledge was roughly five times as tall as she was, way too tall to jump over, and with no way to edge around it to jump to the next pillar. Her only option was to climb.

I hope this works…Twilight thought, placing her right boot on the wall in front of her. With a small hum, the runes on the boot came to life, glowing a faint blue. Twilight placed her left boot on the wall, with a similar effect. Then, she jumped, and placed both her hind-hooves on the wall as well. All four boots glowed, and despite the impossibility of the situation, Twilight remained stuck to the wall at a perfectly vertical angle.

Very cool. Thank you, Celestia, Twilight cheered in her head. Moving her fore-hooves up the wall followed by her hind-hooves, Twilight climbed up the perfectly vertical surface. She could feel the boots steadily draining her stamina, but the wall was short enough that she was able to make it to the top without issue.

Only to be greeted by a new surprise.

A bird was perched on top of the pillar, looking down at her curiously.

“Hello there,” Twilight said softly to the bird. It was dark blue, with light blue wings and a yellow beak. There was something a little bit odd about the bird, yet Twilight couldn’t say what it was. Actually, she felt a little more relaxed as she looked at it.

“Kaw,” the bird called, before flapping its wings and taking off towards the mountain. Specifically, it flew towards the small, cozy looking cabin Twilight could now see as she pulled herself up to the top of her perch.

She took a moment to rest and marvel at the boots. The moment the runes had deactivated, her stamina had almost instantly returned, meaning she was ready to climb again. Celestia had explained this to her before she left, but Twilight had only just realized what her mentor had meant.

The boots would drain her stamina when active and use it as a conduit to interact with the mountain's magic, creating a sticking spell. The more she climbed, the more stamina it would drain. Once it reached a certain point, a safety spell would activate to insure that she wouldn’t drain her stamina to a dangerously low level. Once this happened, the sticking spell would become ineffective, meaning that she would start to slide back down the way she had come. Once she landed back on four hooves, however, a restoration spell would activate and use the mountains magic to restore her lost stamina, thus allowing her to start climbing again immediately.

The boots also used the mountain’s magic to help protect her legs, which, according to Celestia, would allow her to fall from great heights without having to worry about a hard landing. Yes, both the climbing and the protective fall functions would result in some net stamina loss for Twilight, but because the mountain had so much magic around it, the loss itself would be almost nothing once the restoration spell activated. So long as she took frequent breaks, Twilight could tell that her climbs would be no more draining than the jumps she had performed earlier.

Whoever invented these things was a genius. Too bad they can only be used around this weird mountain, she thought. Though I wonder if the technology could be used for something else. If we made a prothetic leg with gem batteries, could we use this technique to reduce the strain on the pony using it, thus allowing them to run or fly for longer before tiring? Or maybe use the batteries to make it work outside the mountains range? That could have some potential for search and rescue in areas that pegesi can’t get to.

Focus Twilight. You still have a mountain to climb. There will be time for studying the boots later.

Turning back to the task at hoof, she leapt to the next pillar easily, but the one after that had no ledge to stand on, so Twilight built up as much pressure in her legs as she could before she jumped. However, she was far too low, and she had a brief flash of panic that she was going to fall, but the moment she hit the side of the pillar, her boots activated and stuck to the stone with barely any slipping.

Guess I’m still a little nervous, she thought as she let out a small sigh of relief. Still, nice to know the limits of these things before I get too high up.

She climbed up to the top of the ledge and stopped dead.

The next pillar was…floating?!

There was a bottom ledge with a small railing on it, which was completely normal. But there, hovering directly above it, was another a platform. It was just…sitting there, hanging in midair as though it was completely normal for a stone block seven times her height to just be floating in the middle of the air.

I know Celestia said the mountain was weird, but she could have mentioned that parts of the mountain are just floating for no reason! This could either make my climb harder or easier, depending on where else the mountain just decides that physics don’t apply.

Given what happened back at the ridge and her own natural curiosity, Twilight decided to leap for the top one. One quick climb later and she was on top of the platform.

Strangely, it didn’t feel like it was magical. Normally an enchanted item has a certain magical feeling that Twilight could detect, a side effect of her being so strong in her magical abilities. But despite now standing on a floating platform roughly twenty hooves in the air, she couldn’t feel a thing.

Was the mountain messing with her ability to detect enchanted objects? No, she could still feel the magic surrounding her amulet, so it couldn’t have been that. Was the magic being used to keep this large rock floating in mid-air just too subtle for her to detect? But why would that be? This thing was HUGE! She should have at least been able to feel something, at least given her sensitivity to magic—

A huge gust of wind slammed into Twilight, nearly causing her to lose her balance and fall down to the lower platform.

I can think on this later, particularly when I’m no balanced on a giant floating pillar with deep pits on either side of me, Twilight thought as she regained her balance. I can always come back and study this mountain at a later date. Twilight waited to make sure there would be no more sudden gust of wind before making the final jump and landing down on the main trail again with a puff of powdery snow.

That wasn’t so bad.

Hopping up a few more ledges, Twilight passed a lit, old-fashion lamppost and arrived at the small cottage. It was small, big enough to only contain a single large room, MAYBE two. The old wood was painted a dark purple and the corners were reinforced with a newer brown wood. It had a well-worn but study brown roof with a little chimney puffing out little plumes of smoke. It also was connected to the power line running to the lamppost, so it likely had electricity as well.

Overall, it looked rather homey.

As Twilight finished her observation, the door opened and a pony stepped out. She was a light grey unicorn with a red and pink mane. Her eyes were a brilliant gold color that seemed to glow in the early night all on their own. She wore a heavy green jacket and brown pants, hiding her cutie mark from view, and walked with a slight limp. She also wore a smile that Pinkie would have been proud of.

Twilight thought it was a little strange as to why a pony would be living out here at the base of this weird mountain right near magic floating platforms, but she was distracted by the fact that the blue bird from earlier was currently sitting on the end of her horn, seemingly unconcerned that its perch was currently moving around on its own. The mare didn’t seem to mind the bird’s position as she closed the door behind her and turned to face the mountain. Maybe it was her pet?

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight called out. The mare turned around and smiled brightly as Twilight approached. “The sign back there was illegible. Is this the mountain trail?”

“You’re almost there,” the mare replied, her voice a little scratchy but pleasantly upbeat. “It’s just across the bridge. I’m Second Sight, by the way.” She pointed with a hoof, so Twilight walked a little bit forward past the house. Sure enough, there was a rickety-looking bridge just past the house.

She was almost there.

“Thank you, and you can call me Twilight,” she said, before she remembered the ridge. Given how she had nearly gotten crushed, Twilight knew that she should tell Second Sight about it, just incase the old mare needed to go back that way or knew of somepony that might be coming to bring her food. She’d hate to see anypony get hurt should more of it collapse. “By the way, you might want to send a letter to someone who can repair the path to your house. The ridge collapsed and I nearly got crushed.”

There was a moment of silence, and then the old mare began to laugh.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

It was such a deep belly laugh that Twilight found herself frowning. What in the hay could be so funny about giant falling blocks of pony-crushing ice?

“If the ‘path’ almost did you in, then the mountain might be a bit much for you,” Second Sight chuckled.

Twilight deadpanned at the older mare. “I think I’ll be fine,” she said, her tone tight. She wasn’t about to give up on Celestia’s task, especially not so early on.

“Hey now, no need to frown, dearie. I’m just teasing.” Second Sight said with a warm, apologetic grin and a wink. “You wouldn’t be the youngest pony to climb the mountain, and I’m sure a young, spry pony such as yourself will be done in no time at all. Just don’t climb too fast! It’s all about the journey, you know.” Her face fell into something more serious. “You’ve got a reset amulet right?”

“Yes, given to me by Princess Celestia herself,” Twilight said proudly.

“Ohhh, the princess sent you, did she? Well I’m sure she knew what she was doing. Though don’t be afraid to turn back if you get in over your head. This mountain certainly isn’t for everypony, and plenty of ponies have turned back before reaching the top. No shame in admitting you need more practice. Luna knows how many time I had to turn back before I finally managed to climb the mountain in one go. Those were the days! Ha ha ha ha ha.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but she found herself smiling a bit at the older mare’s joking tone before turning back towards the mountain.

“But you should know,” the mare added. “Celeste Mountain is a strange place. You might see things. Things you aren’t ready to see.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind,” Twilight said, unsure how to respond.

“Good luck youngin’!” Second Sight laughed as Twilight hopped down the small ledge next to the cabin, passed a stump with a woodcutters axe in it, and made her way to the bridge.

The bridge was made of stone and looked incredibly rickety. Regardless, and with the old mare’s joyful laugh still echoing through her ears, Twilight began to cross.

CRUNCH!

(00:50 to 1:07)

Twilight had only made it ten hooves when the entire section she had just crossed instantly collapsed! She let out a panicked scream and began to gallop, the bridge falling away behind her with every step she took.

Don’tstopdon’tstopDON’TSTOP!

There was a gap in the bridge ahead. Without stopping Twilight leapt over the gap as the last of the bridge behind her fell away, only for this new section to start collapsing too! Twilight gasped and kept running.

She could see stable ground ahead. She just had to keep running.

CRUNCH!

A segment of the bridge just front of her collapsed! Without pause, Twilight jumped, aimed directly for the remaining bridge piece still connected to the stable ground.

Only for that bridge segment to collapse the moment her hooves left the ground. She couldn’t make the jump now!

Twilight fell, her wings flailing helplessly as her magic refused to respond…

Time seemed to slow as she fell, the section of stable ground growing more and more distant.

But then…time stopped?

It was the strangest sensation. Twilight was falling, and still felt like she was falling, but she wasn’t moving. She was just…hanging there, just out of reach of safety.

“Kaw!”

With a flap of its wings, the blue bird landed on the platform above Twilight, taking a moment to peck at the ground. Twilight, still somehow frozen in time, just stared in confusion.

“Kaw!” The bird called again.

Now, Twilight was certainly not Fluttershy, and she certainly didn’t have the ability to talk to animals. However, at this moment, she was certain that she knew exactly what that bird had just said.

Dash…

WOOOSH!

Twilight’s magic responded.

Without rhyme or reason, she suddenly found herself flying upwards at a perfect forty-five degree angle, the world blurring blue around her even as her wings were forced to her sides.

“KAW KAW KAW!” The bird shrieked in protest as Twilight landed heavily on the ground right where it had been standing a second before.

How? What? Physics doesn’t work like that, was all Twilight could think as she collapsed to her knees, gasping in shock. Her magic had responded, but for the life of her, Twilight had no idea as to what it did to make her move like that. She wasn’t even sure which portion of her magic responded at all!

Earth pony? Pegasus? Unicorn? She had no idea. All that she knew was that it had let her, somehow, completely change her velocity and direction towards safety.

Sitting down hard, Twilight took a moment to try and calm down and check herself over.

She wasn’t hurt, she hadn’t lost anything from her saddlebags, and she could still feel the reset charm pressing against her chest. She was ok.

Mostly.

When Twilight moved to brush her mane out of her eyes, she stopped in surprise. Then checked her tail to be sure she wasn’t seeing things.

Her pink stripe, the one that had always existed next to the purple stripe in her mane, was gone.

You can do this.

Author's Note

So a few things:

1: Yes, this does take place in the 'How to..." Universe and is cannon.

2: Yes, a lot is not yet explained, but it will be as the stories continues, included why Twilight is here and why Celestia asked her to come.

3: Yes, the music is awesome, so I definitely recommend listening to it.

4: Yes, I will be trying to keep chapters for this short so I can update it in-between the larger stories I have going on, many of which now have really long chapters in editing.

5: Spider Twilight, Spider Twilight, does whatever a Spider Twilight does! (My fiancee deserves all the credit for that little joke :rainbowlaugh: )

So, yes, here it is! My first story that is actually based on a video game! And a really good one at that. So if you haven't played 'Celeste,' go do that.
Right now.
The story will still be here when you get back, I promise.

ENJOY!!!!!!! :derpytongue2:

Chapter 1, Part 1: First Steps

Music LINK.

A few days prior…

“Celestia,” Twilight said, smiling as she embraced the large white alicorn in a hug. As always, the larger alicorn’s fur was wonderfully warm, and the large wings that draped themselves over Twilight were lovingly soft.

“Hello, Twilight,” Celestia said, her voice soft and happy. “It is good to see you again. I’m glad you were able to make time to come see me. From your recent letters, you appear to have had quite the busy couple of weeks.”

“It’s no problem, Princess,” Twilight said as she broke the hug. “I’ll admit that things have been a little busy, what with the new castle and the magic crystal map and all, but things seemed to have finally calmed down. A bit, at least. Ponyville always seems to have something exciting going on.”

“I can imagine,” Celestia giggled. “Still, I am glad you could still make time to visit me for tea.”

A gentle knock sounded from outside the sitting room. “Ah, perfect timing as always,” Celestia said, lighting her horn. The door swung open and a maid slowly pushed in a serving cart. “Thank you, Feather Duster. That will be all for now.”

“Of course, Princess,” Feather Duster said with a small bow before turning around and leaving the room. Celestia levitated over the fresh teapot and a variety of pastries and silverware, easily setting everything on the small table in the center of the room. Twilight had a suddenly flashback to being in school, enjoying tea with the princess after a long day of work.

It made her smile.

“However, I need to ask,” Celestia said as they sat down, “Are you ok, Twilight?”

Twilight blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

“Of course, Princess. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, taking a sip of tea. Jasmine, the one flavor that always served to help calm her right before a big test. Yet something about Princess Celestia’s question made her nervous, though she didn’t know why. Was that why Celestia was serving her jasmine tea? Because something big or crazy was about to happen again?

Celestia didn’t say anything, but continued to look intently at Twilight as she took a sip of her own tea. Her face was strangely uncertain, as if she was searching for something yet was unable to find it.

“Twilight,” she said after about a minute of unusual silence. “In the past month, you have lost your old home, fought to save Equestria from Tirek, been granted a new castle by the Tree of Harmony, been given a magical crystal map by said castle, and fought against a unicorn that nearly stole your cutie mark.” Her tone was calm, as if stating simple facts, but Twilight could hear the undercut of worry in her voice.

“That is a lot to take in over a very short span of time, for anypony. Even I would struggle with so much chaos and uncertainty in such a short span of time, should it have happened to me. And I have noticed that your letters seem to be a little bit…different. They are shorter, more concise, and your wording is a bit more rigid. I just want to be sure that you’re ok. That you aren’t struggling with anything, whether it be nightmares or stress or, well, anything really. I never imagined that all of these things would happen in such a short span of time, and I would hate to think that I wasn’t there to offer you help should you need it.”

Twilight instantly felt the memories of all those events coming rushing back as Celestia spoke, but she quickly worked to push them back down one by one. No good would come from remembering her house exploding or the feeling of her special talent being robbed from her. She had lived both of those memories enough in her dreams. Instead, she put on the most reassuring smile that she could.

“I’m glad to hear that, princess, but there’s no need to worry. I will admit that things have been a little bit…crazy recently, but I’m ok,” Twilight said. “Everything turned out ok, and I appreciate your offer. I promise that if I do need any help, I will come to you.”

“If you are sure,” Celestia said, closing her eyes as thought she were making a mental note. When she opened them, Celestia smiled and grabbed a large slice of cake off the serving cart with her magic. “Just remember that I am always here if you need me, Twilight.”

“I will, Princess,” Twilight said with a nod, taking a moment to enjoy her tea before she noticed something. She had been in Celestia’s room many times before, and of all those times, things had rarely ever changed save for the contents of her desk or the book on her bedside table. However, this time, Twilight noticed what appeared to be a framed postcard sitting on top of her pile of official documents.

“Ah, I see you noticed my old souvenir,” Celestia said, pulling Twilight’s attention back to her mentor. “I found it while looking through my desk a few days back. It brings back quite a few old memories, and in truth it was another reason I wanted to speak with you today. Would you like to see it more closely?” Twilight nodded eagerly, happy for the change in subject.

Celestia’s horn lit up, and the frame was quickly yet gently picked up and brought over. Now that it was closer, Twilight could see that the postcard depicted a large snow-covered mountain at night with the words “Greetings from Celeste Mountain” draped across the top. It looked rather old, with a few noticeable folds and a slight bit of faded color at the top left corner, but it was still in fairly good shape.

“Truth be told, I had nearly forgotten I had this,” Celestia said, turning the frame slightly so both of them could see the card. “It’s hard to be certain, but I think this particular souvenir was given to me before I had even been coroneted as a princess,” Celestia said, causing Twilight’s jaw to drop open.

‘The postcard is that old!?’ Twilight thought to herself in shock. Did they even make postcards back then!?

“But seeing it again reminded me of so much that I had forgotten,” Celestia continued, not appearing to notice Twilight’s shock. “Of all the adventures I had when I was younger, of all the ponies and other creatures that I used to know back then, and of one experience in particular that made me the mare I am today. Tell me, Twilight; have you ever heard of Celeste Mountain?”

Twilight, thankfully having managed to pick her jaw up off the table before Celestia commented on it, thought for a minute, mentally paged through the many books she had read on mountains. No matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t ever recall one with such a name. And given how similar it sounded to Celestia’s name, she likely would have remembered it. Could Celestia have actually been named after the mountain? Eventually, she shook her head. “No princess, I don’t think I ever have, and I think I would have remembered it given how similar it sounds to your name. Why? Should I have? Is it related to your name? Was it—”

A small peach scone shoved into her mouth by Celestia’s magic stopped her rambling in its tracks.

“No, Twilight, I do not expect you to have heard of it, and it is perfectly fine that you have not,” Celestia said calmly, a faint twinkle shining in her eye. “It is only mentioned in a select number of books, and usually not in very great detail. Though I do still find that a bit surprising given how our names are linked, in a way. But then again I believe this lack of mention was exacerbated by the fact that reaching the mountain became incredibly difficult when the Crystal Empire disappeared.”

“Why is that?” Twilight asked, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. “Were there no trails that led to the mountain when the Empire disappeared, or was it because it was too far away from any other settlements? And is it easier now that the Empire returned and because the crystal railway was created?”

“A bit of both, actually. The mountain lies to the northeast of the Crystal Empire, and as such the Empire was the primary place where ponies would prepare for the climb. When it disappeared, the entire area became covered not only in horrible snowstorms, but also in…how can I describe them?

“Essentially, the entire area where the Crystal Empire used to be became covered in unusual magical rifts, a remnant of the powerful curse that King Sombra used to banish the Crystal Empire. These rifts were a result of the Empire being displaced in time and space, and would warp the space of the world around them. If you were caught in one, you could end up at the edge of the empire, at the center of the snowstorms, or anywhere in between.

“If you wanted to go to the mountain, you would need to pack enough supplies to circumvent the empty land to avoid this danger, and the only settlement near the mountain where you could resupply was, and still is, a small village a few miles away. But they were having enough problems on their own once the Empire vanished, and so you likely wouldn’t find much to help you.

“Given all of that, it’s safe to say that the disappearance of the Crystal Empire let to the loss of knowledge surrounding Celeste Mountain, though not so much that it eventually passed into legend like the Crystal Empire as it was still very much a physical landmark.”

“Just one that almost no pony could get to,” Twilight said, earning a nod from Celestia.

“Exactly. The only creatures that could reach the mountain reliably during that time were the Yaks. However, despite the mountain being on the border of Equestria, the Yaks do not have any settlements nearby and have never tired to claim that land as their own due to the fact that they consider the mountain to be cursed.”

“Cursed?” Twilight said, her mind now thoroughly interested. “Why would they think that?”

“The mountain, and the land immediately surrounding it, is, for lack of a better term, strange.” Celestia said softly, looking out the window. “The entire area is coated in an strange magical energy the interferes with the natural magic of all living creatures, disrupting their natural abilities. Even alicorns cannot use magic normally within the borders of the mountain, no mater how strong they might be.”

That made Twilight go wide-eyed. It was one thing to have her magic ripped out by Tirek, but to have it be made unusable by a seemingly normal mountain…

“Wait, you said we can’t use our magic normally. That implies that we could still use it, just not in the way we are used to, right?” Twilight asked.

“As observant as always,” Celestia said with a smile. “Yes, you are correct. The mountain does not take away our magic; instead, it merely changes it, altering its form into something new. Thankfully, this effect is undone when the creature in question leaves the mountain. Which brings me to the main point I wish to get to.”

Twilight noticed Celestia tense for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She then stared directly into Twilight’s eyes, making it feel as though everything else had fallen away.

“Twilight, Celeste Mountain can be a dangerous place. The magic-altering effect leaves us unable to fly or cast spells, and the path to the top of the mountain is difficult and sometime flat out dangerous. However, both my sister and I can confirm that climbing the mountain is a once-in-a-lifetime-experience, one that has helped both of us grow as ponies and overcome some of our hardest challenges. It is something every ruler should do at least once, which is why I would like you to ask if you would be willing to go to Celeste and ascend to its summit.

“This is not a test, this is not an order or something that you NEED to do, but it is something that I think will help you grow as both a pony and as a ruler. I can offer you the best tools we have available, and an item that will protect you no matter the danger you face. You can have all the time you need to prepare, and you do not need to make a decision now, but trust me when I say you are ready for this challenge. Will you accept it?”

This…was not the way Twilight thought this conversation would go. She thought they might talk about what was going on in Canterlot, maybe a new topic for Twilight to start learning as she continued to grow into her role as a princess, or just jump happily between topics like they did when she was still Celestia’s student. But this…

Twilight furrowed her brow in thought. Did she want to accept this challenge? It had barely been two weeks since she had lost her cutie mark to Starlight Glimmer, and less than a month since her battle with Tirek, both of which had been…stressful obstacles. Going on another quest so soon didn’t sound like such a good idea, especially since she was still grappling with everything that had happened recently.

But on the other hoof, there were also quite a few reasons as to why she did want to go. For one, the magic surrounding the mountain, while unnerving, sounded fascinating to study, and likely something she would need to experience first-hoof to even begin to formulate a hypothesis as to how it came about. And while Twilight wouldn’t have her friends this time, it also wouldn’t be the first time Twilight had climbed a mountain on hoof. And at least there wouldn’t be a sleeping dragon she had to wake up at the top of this one. Hopefully.

Plus, Celestia had something to protect her no matter what, so she would be safe even if the mountain was a bit dangerous. Not only that, but Celestia thought Twilight was ready for this. That she could climb the mountain as she was now. And every time Celestia had given her a challenge in the past, it was because Celestia knew she was ready for it. Whether it be Nightmare Moon or the Crystal Empire, Celestia had never given her a challenge she couldn’t overcome. And, if both Celestia and Luna had climbed the mountain sometime in the past, then there were no better ponies to help her prepare.

Besides, it might make a nice change of pace. A good few days of peace and quiet to gather her thoughts. A place where she could forget about the unfamiliar castle (if somewhat more homely after the girls had redecorated it), Starlight Glimmer, Tirek. It would just be her and the mountain.

Aside from the magic canceling, how bad could it be?

(1:07 to 4:46)

After the bridge had collapsed and her mane and tail had changed, Twilight had decided, after a few minutes to calm her hammering heart, that she should move on and continue the climb. Hopefully Second Sight would be able to contact someone to help fix the bridge so she could get back across when she was done with the climb. But she could worry about getting back once she reached the peak.

And so far, things had been mostly ok. The path had continued to have steep drops and floating platforms, but nothing as dangerous or unstable as the bridge. What’s more, she had discovered something interesting about the change to her mane and her new ability.

As far as she could tell, this new ‘dash’ magic, as she had come to call it, worked very much like her boots. Whenever she used her ‘dash’ ability, the magic that powered it would appear to vanish, only to then return the moment she touched solid, flat ground. This meant that she could only dash once every time she jumped.

As a strange side effect of this new ability, the purple stripe in her mane and tail would also vanish whenever she dashed, and would only returning once she landed back on solid ground. Twilight had only discovered this on accident when a gust of wind had blown her mane into her face while she was climbing after dashing. At first she had thought she just couldn’t see the stripe with her mane all messed up, but once she had reached the top of that ledge, the color had faded back into existence after a second or two.

She had actually stopped on that platform and tested this theory by dashing a few times and by hanging on the ledge after dashing to see if it reappeared on its own. It didn’t, and only came back when her dash ability returned. If Twilight were anywhere else, she might have been able to use this information to keep track of her dash ability, just in case the climb got more hectic later on.

However, given how strong the wind was up here and how much her mane was blown around while dashing, Twilight had a feeling that she wouldn’t be able to rely on seeing the color change when she was on the move.

Honestly, the wind just made her wish she had packed something to tie her mane back so it would stop getting in her eyes.

Regardless, so far the mountain hadn’t been too bad. In fact, most of the climb for the last hour or so had been rather nice. It was good exercise, and it had actually helped Twilight learn how to use her new ability without putting her in much danger. Most of the jumps could be cleared with a jump and a dash, and if not then Twilight was always able to get close enough that she could latch onto the wall after the dash and climb the rest of the way up.

There had been one two close calls where Twilight had just barely managed to jump between platforms, even with her dash, but the rest of it had been fairly straightforward.

As she had climbed, the snow and ice of the mountain had steadily been supplemented by bits of metal. Some small, some large enough that she had been able to use them as makeshift steps of a sort to continue along her way. She had a feeling that she knew where the metal had come from, and she was proven right when she turned a corner and found herself looking up upon an entire city!

The city in question looked to be about the size of Canterlot, yet calling it a ruin was an understatement. Many buildings had long since collapsed, the ones that hadn’t looked dangerously unstable, there were crashed airships scattered around and down the side of the mountain, and a good portion of it looked to be almost completely buried in the snow. It was one thing to hear Celestia mention an abandoned city, and another to see it with her own eyes.

Twilight had so many questions, but she also knew that she likely wouldn’t be able to answer them right now. Thankfully, she had remembered to bring a new blank journal with her for just such an occasion. That way, she could both suppress her curiosity so she didn’t take too long in her climb and so she could keep track of what she wanted to ask Celestia about later.

So she found a flat slab of metal, sat down, and immediately began writing down a few of her questions.

How old is this city? It looks at least a bit modern in design, like Manehattan, so it doesn’t seem like it would be too old.

Why was it abandoned? Was it built before the mountain messed with the magic of living creatures, and if so, was that change what caused it to be abandoned? Or was it something else?

What level of technology did they possess? Did they have more advanced technology than the rest of Equestria to try and cope with the lack of magic, and if so, why was it never brought off this mountain? Was there no need for it when magic worked, or did it just never catch on?

On and on she went, filling page after page with questions, theories, and more questions. It wasn’t until a strong breeze almost shut the book on her hoof that she realized she’d been sitting in the cold for a good twenty minutes, maybe more, and that the day was moving on without her.

It was probably best to stop for now. After all, she still had a long way to go to reach the top, and standing here thinking about the ruins in the cold snow for hours, alone…probably wasn’t a good idea.

She had to keep moving. Had to keep moving to focus on the present, and not the past month with her new home and new responsibilities and Tir—

Twilight took a deep breath, held it, and let it out.

Just keep climbing. You’re here on the mountain, like Celestia wanted you to be. This is supposed to be a break, a time to focus on yourself.

She pushed her notebook back into her bag and headed back up the path to the city. At least, despite its age, the path looked to be relatively safe.

Or at least that is what she THOUGHT until she reached the edge of the city and came face to face with a pit filled with giant metal spikes!

Seriously? WHY was there a pit filled with metal spikes each as big as her freaking HEAD!? How did those things even get here? It might make some sense if it was a bunch of sharp scrap metal that had been knocked into the pit from wind or avalanches, but it wasn’t. They were perfectly symmetrical, metal cones sticking up out of the snow, and were sharpened to a fine point! And there was another batch of them stuck to the side of a stone wall up ahead too!

Why the heck didn’t Celestia mention that this mountain was covered in spikes?! It doesn’t make any sense but it still would have been nice to know! It’s important information!

It was so insane Twilight actually took a minute to pull out her journal again and write down ‘WHY IS THIS MOUNTAIN COVERED IN SPIKES!?’ in all capital letters.

Realizing she was losing her cool, Twilight slowly took another deep breath, then let it out, gently placing the journal back in her bag and standing up. Celestia’s gift would keep her safe, so spikes or no spikes, she was still going to climb this mountain. Getting upset and emotional wouldn’t help, especially if it let other memories slip through.

Taking a few steps back, Twilight ran forward and leapt, clearing the first pit of spikes and landing on the next safe platform easily. Ignoring the sign indicating that this was a construction zone, because clearly THAT wasn’t the case anymore, she leapt again towards a wall made of metal girders. She hit the wall with a ‘clang,’ and quickly climbed to the top.

Thankfully, the wall covered in spikes was actually below where she needed to go, so she jumped off the metal platform and performed a dash mid-air, giving her the boost she needed to land on the next snowy outcropping. Jumping up on a small ledge of ice, Twilight jumped again and quickly climbed up the stone foundation before jumping up to a wooden platform near the next section of trail.

Only to pause.

For some reason she could not identify, when she jumped up that last time and landed on a wooden platform, it felt as though she was…passing through something. Some unseen barrier separating this part of the trail from the last.

But why?

She didn’t SEE anything, and she felt no physical or magical resistance as she jumped. Maybe she was just imagining things?

Focus on the climb, Twilight. Focus on the—STRAWBERRY!

There, floating magically above her, was a giant strawberry about the size of her hoof, positioned perfectly between two sets of metal girders hanging downwards. Just the sight of it made Twilight’s mouth water as she remembered what Celestia said…

A few days prior…

“These are Celeste Strawberries,” Celestia said, gesturing to the massive strawberry sitting between them. “They are a magically grown fruit that only appear to climbers of Mount Celeste. No on knows how or why they appear, but many ponies believe that they are meant to act as an extra challenge to climbers brave enough to try and collect them.”

“Are they…edible?” Twilight asked, looking up at her mentor before back to the fruit in front of them. The strawberry looked like any ordinary strawberry, save for its massive size, yet hearing that it was magically grown without the supervision of a sentient creature made her a little bit wary. She really didn’t want to have another poison joke incident just because she didn’t read the right book beforehoof.

“Yes, they most certainly are, and quite delicious,” Celestia said with a smile, her magic grabbing a knife and slicing the strawberry in half. “See for yourself,” she added, floating a half over to Twilight, who gently took it in her own magic.

Twilight looked down at it, then back up to see that Celestia had already started to eat the other half. Mentally shrugging, Twilight took a bite…

And less than ten seconds later, her entire piece was gone, obliterated by her ravaging bites.

“Mmmmmmmm…” was the only coherent thought Twilight could vocalize as her cheeks bulged from the mass of fruit within. It was so perfectly sweet and juicy and just…it was everything a strawberry should be multiplied by eleven.

“That was my reaction the first time as well,” Celestia giggled, causing Twilight to blush as she realized just how silly she must have looked. She swallowed and gave a nervous giggle before reaching for a napkin.

“So, are there a lot of these strawberries on the mountain?” Twilight asked, trying to get back on topic.

“Yes, there are. However, you will only run into one-hundred and fifty of them during any one climb,” Celestia said, nodding.

Twilight couldn’t help but think that was an oddly specific number. And also highly improbable. How could one only ever find exactly that many strawberries? And how would Celestia know that? Had she climbed the mountain multiple times and never managed to find more that one hundred and fifty strawberries? Or had she surveyed other climbers and never found anypony who had gotten more than that in a single climb? What other secrets did she know about the mountain?

“How do you know it’s only one hundred and fifty?” Twilight asked. “Has no pony ever found more? And are there any other things about the mountain I should know? And secrets or things to watch out for?”

“You will never find more than that in a single trip to the mountain,” Celestia said with certainty. “No pony has ever found more in a single trip to the mountain, and there have been ponies that have reported that upon collecting their final strawberry, others that they could see before hoof simply vanished into thin air. Even ponies who make a habit of climbing the mountain for their strawberries only ever find that many on a single trip. As far as anyone can tell, you need to leave and come back should you want to find more.

“As for other secrets, well, we wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise, now would we?” Celestia added with a wink. “After all, climbing the mountain is supposed to be an adventure. And how fun would an adventure be if you knew what was going to happen? All I can warn you about is that the path up the mountain will change each time, and the Celeste Strawberries are located in a different place as well. As such, should you turn back or fall down, your way back up will likely be a new journey all over again.”

“How can the path change?” Twilight asked, highly confused. “Are there avalanches or…”

“No, nothing like that as far as anypony can tell,” Celestia said, shaking her head. “It just…does. You will always travel through the same locations on the way to the summit, but the way to and through each area will vary greatly each time you visit, no mater how closely you try to follow your original path. I personally believe that the magic of the mountain changes the path somehow, but the exact mechanisms behind such changes are beyond my knowledge.”

“That…makes some sense, I suppose. So the path will change, and so will the strawberries’ locations,” Twilight said, licking her lips at the thought of them. “I’ll be sure to collect as many as I can my first time up.”

“Just be careful,” Celestia warned. “These strawberries are usually located in hard to reach or even dangerous places. Don’t put yourself at risk just to try and collect them. Though I will say, if you do collect them, be sure to save them. While they are good on their own, baking them into a pie or cake all at once…nothing can compare,” she finished, her smile widening.

Oh my Luna, is she drooling? The princess is drooling? Twilight thought in surprise. That must have been one good cake.

“I’ll be careful princess. I promise,” Twilight said…

Back in the present…

“Oh great. The strawberries are defying physics too,” Twilight groaned once she got her drool under control. She knew Celestia had said that the strawberries were magical, but she didn’t think that meant they would be floating high above the trail for no discernable reason. What’s worse, even with her new dash ability, she wouldn’t be able to reach it.

“But if it’s an extra challenge, then there must be a way to get it,” Twilight muttered, looking around. She could try to continue climbing the stone wall behind her, but the girders above it would likely block her path. Looking ahead, she saw that there was another deep pit, followed immediately by a rise covered in more spikes, one that she wouldn't be able to clear even with her dash, at least not from her current height. There was also a large overhang of ice directly about the spikes, creating a tunnel only about three times her height.

Hmmm…If I can find a way to climb up higher, maybe I can dash through that spike tunnel safely. But I don’t see any way to get higher up, or at least high enough that I would be able to get through the tunnel.

Other than that, the only thing she could see was a rectangular wooden platform sitting on top of a small neatly stacked pile of metal girders. Seeing no way up to the strawberry and no way forward, Twilight moved forward to examine the stack of girders. It was only a few feet high, and the wooden plank on top had a large nail in each corner of the wood. The wood itself was only a few inches thick and looked finished somehow, as thought someone had just recently polished it. It was also remarkably well preserved, showing no signs of wear or tear.

Wanting to get a better look, Twilight jumped up—

BOING!!!!

“EEEEEEEE!” Twilight shrieked as the entire platform bucked underneath her, sending her flying into the air and directly towards the spikes! “GOBACKGOBACKGOBACK!” she screamed as her hooves and wings flailed in terror.

And so she did. Deep within her, Twilight felt her magic respond, instantly spreading out from her wings and into her entire body. Her momentum was instantly halted before she swiftly reversed course to the safety of the previous platform, all without using her dash. Upon hitting the wood again, Twilight was flung back into the air, away from the spikes this time, getting just enough time to see the giant spring underneath the wood.

A giant spring!? What is this, a comic strip!? WHY IS THERE A GIANT SPRING THAT SENDS PONIES FLYING!?

Twilight landed back on the ground under the strawberry with a solid clang, her boots glowing as they softened the fall. She could still feel her heart beating against her ribs so hard it almost hurt.

“Ok, that was close. And weird. And who the heck put that spring there!?” Twilight yelled. Her only response was the gentle wind. She shook her head. “Fine, it’s fine. Not really, but I’m still ok.” She looked at her wings. They looked completely normal, and despite what just happened, Twilight couldn’t feel any magic coursing through them. Had she imagined her magic responding?

No, no there was no way she could have changed course so quickly without dashing if she hadn’t used her magic. Maybe…hmmm…maybe she needed to be in the air?

Walking forward again, Twilight took a deep breath before leaping back onto the annoying spring platform. She was immediately launched into the air again, and sure enough, the magic immediately began flowing from her wings into the rest of her body again. It didn’t FEEL like pegasus magic though, or at least not the pegasus magic she was used to. Was this some altered form of her pegasus magic?

Bouncing a few times, Twilight started to experiment. First she flapped her wings, but just like before, nothing happened and she was left falling. No flight, no hovering, and no gliding. Whatever magic was flowing from her wings, it didn’t allow her to fly.

Next, she tried to make herself move in the air without using her wings at all, even going so far as to fold them back to her sides so she wouldn’t flap them on instinct. Almost immediately, the magic responded, and she found herself moving backwards towards safe ground. After landing and getting back on the spring again, she focused on moving backwards and then moving forwards, allowing her to zigzag under the strawberry as she fell.

A few more tries later, Twilight concluded that she was able to greatly alter her course and speed when she was airborne, as long as she wasn’t going up. She could even speed up her descent back towards the ground if she wanted, but no matter how hard she pushed her magic to go ‘UP,’ she always ended up falling.

Not perfect, but she had a feeling she could work with this rather well.

As a final test, Twilight extended her wings again to see if they would alter her new control over momentum. They did not. No matter how she angled or positioned her wings, Twilight still fell and moved through the air the same way. Even trying to hold them out for as much drag as possible did nothing to interfere with her movement as she practiced a small spiral through the air back down to the spring.

Ok, so I can now dash through the air once, and I also have better control over where I land, even if I don't use my wings. That could be handy for getting through tight spaces where my wings would otherwise be too big. But I still wonder…am I using my pegasus magic? It doesn’t FEEL like pegasus magic, but could it just be that it feels different because the mountain changed it? Either way, I best get use to it.

Bouncing one last time, Twilight launched herself back towards the strawberry, then dashed directly upwards one she was underneath it, colliding with the large fruit. The strawberry almost seemed to let out a small musical hum as Twilight hit it, before gently following her through the air as she fell back to the ground. The moment her boots touched the ground, the berry vanished with a small ‘pop’ and Twilight immediately felt a small weight drop into her left saddlebag. Opening it quickly, sure enough, the strawberry was now sitting inside as thought it had always been there.

“One down, one hundred and forty-nine to go,” Twilight said with a determined nod. But since she had it open, Twilight took a quick moment to grab her journal and write down what she discovered about her magic. She also added ‘Do all pegasus experience this change, or is it only alicorns?’ and “WHY ARE THERE GIANT SPRINGS ON THIS MOUNTAIN!?’

Closing her bag, she ran back to the spring, jumped, and launched herself towards the spike-filled tunnel. When she was just below the ridge, she dashed forward through the opening, and landed safely on the other side. The only thing left in her way was a large vertical shaft created by an icy wall and a metal girder.

Hmmmm…I wonder…

Twilight leapt at the ice wall, her boots activating just like before. However, rather than climb, Twilight instead pushed off the wall and jumped upwards without dashing, now grabbing the metal girder. She repeated this process a few times, allowing her to jump between the walls while barely using any of her stamina and preserving her dash.

Neat. If I wall-jump like this, I can avoid wasting energy by climbing. Twilight thought as she felt herself pass through another invisible barrier. Spikes or not, insane random spring platforms or not, this climb is off to a good start.

Author's Note

Well THIS took a lot longer than I thought it would. A lot longer.

But then again, this was probably the hardest chapter for me to write for a good long while. Not because of story or what I wanted to happen, but mostly because trying to incorporate game mechanics from a 2D side-scrolling platformer into a 3D first-person (or first-pony in this case) perspective was actually a lot harder than I thought. Especially trying to describe how Twilight can change the direction she is falling on a whim. THAT took some time to figure out how to explain correctly.

Also, sorry if this chapter didn't have as much actual mountain climbing in it, but I thought it important to actually establish some backstory for what was happening, both to show Twilight's reasons for coming here and to give us a little look at what she's been going through before hoof. All of it will play a role later on, I promise you that.

Next up will be the next chapter of 'Freedom Shall Ring,' followed by Spero, then either the next chapter of How to Meet the Parents or this story (still deciding on which). Enjoy, and know that any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Chapter 1 Part 2: Why is this mountain covered in spikes?

After climbing the wall and passing through another invisible barrier, Twilight took a moment to look around the next step of her journey.

The ground was now a mixture of frozen ground and rock, a sign that there may have once been a stone building or sidewalk nearby. Up above hung a stoplight like she often saw on her trips to Manehattan, surrounded by nothing but a few random wires here and there. It looked rather lonely just hanging there, swaying in the chilly breeze. And just like the city she was quickly approaching, it was…dead. Broken, powerless, left abandoned in the cold snow.

Twilight found herself standing there, staring at the light. What could have happened to this city that would cause it to be abandoned? Was it built before the mountain had developed its strange properties, thus forcing their residents to flee as they lost their magic? Did the residents ever come back, looking sadly at the remains of their once happy homes?

She knew what that was like, on both counts…

No, don’t think about that now, she thought, shaking her head forcefully. Worry about the climb. Focus on moving forward.

She quickly began looking around again to distract herself. Aside from the broken stoplight, there were a few floating platforms that looked to have a mix of snow and metal girders that Twilight would need to climb to progress. Thankfully, a quick hop and dash got her to the side of one of these platforms, then it was a simple matter of climbing up the metal to the top of the platform.

There was a sign there with an unusual symbol inside a red circle that made Twilight pause. It looked almost like the ancient Equestrian symbol for ‘caution.’ However, the curves were a bit too sharp and the lines too short, making her think that it was a symbol from a different language, one possibly descended from ancient Equestrian, but not the same.

But if that was the case, then how old was this sign?

Twilight wasn’t sure, but she copied it into her journal anyways. Maybe Celestia would know what it meant. She had climbed the mountain in the past and was really knowledgeable about it, after all.

Even if she sent Discord to stop Tirek—NO, stop it. Worry about the—what?!

In her wild search to find a new distraction, Twilight caught sight of another Strawberry.

One that would be a HUGE pain to get to.

Of for—really? I know Celestia said the Strawberries might be in dangerous places, but directly over a pit of spikes? Really?

Sure enough, there was a Strawberry floating a good way in front of her, directly over another pit of somehow perfectly pristine spikes and partly blocked by another floating platform.

Ugh…Great. Just great. If I want that Strawberry, I’ll need to find a way to get it without being stabbed by a bunch of spikes!

Ugh, ok, just think, Twilight. How can you get there safely?

I can’t dash under the platform. If I did, I would hit the Strawberry, but then I would have no way to avoid the spikes. But what if I drop down on it from above? Twilight thought, looking at the next platform she would need to climb. It did look to be much closer to the Strawberry, so maybe…

One short climb later, and she was now looking down at the Strawberry. Dropping down on it and then dashing up COULD work, but she needed to be careful. This platform had a small ledge sticking out of it, so if she mistimed her dash, she would end up stuck below it with no way back up. And then it would only be a matter of time until her boots stopped helping her stay up. Was one Strawberry worth it?

Celestia had told her to be careful, but Twilight knew that both she and Luna had managed to collect every Strawberry they came across during a number of their climbs, so surely she could try to do the same as well, right? After all, if the other princesses could do it, then she should be able to do it too.

Even if that ‘it’ was jumping down towards a pit of spikes just to grab a piece of delicious magical fruit and one wrong move would mean she had no way back up and—

No, stay calm. Take a deep breath.

Twilight brought her hoof to her chest, practicing the breathing technique Cadence. Even through her heavy coat, she could feel the gentle humming of the pendant Celestia had given her. As her hoof touched the pendant, the vibrations became more acute, sending a calming energy through her whole being as she slowly breathed out.

Even if she messed this up, she was still wearing the pendant. It would protect her from anything the mountain threw at her. It would keep her safe, no matter what.

She knew it would…

A few days prior…

“This is the final, and the most important, tool I can give you,” Celestia said, holding out a small pendant.

“What it is?” Twilight asked, taking the offered pendant in her hooves. It was a perfectly round ruby, held in place with a thin golden wire and engraved with an image of a mountain that looked almost like the picture on Celestia’s postcard. Was it a souvenir too? No, if it was just a souvenir, why would Celestia call it a tool?

The pendant didn’t look all that special—and it actually looked a bit barebones if she was being honest—though that might just be because she was so used to all of Rarity’s large, fancy jewelry. She couldn’t feel any enchantments on the pendant either, though given what Celestia had told Twilight about how the mountain affects magic, Twilight wasn’t sure that any enchantments would hold up either way.

“That is what is called a reset amulet,” Celestia said, her voice taking on the tone of a seasoned lecturer. “While you won’t find any trace of magic on it right now, once you get closer to the mountain, its power will activate. I did not make this amulet, and currently no pony knows how to make them. However, they can be found scattered across the mountain, and they have one purpose as far as we can tell: to make sure no pony else dies during their climb.”

“What?” Twilight asked, her mind skipping a moment as she processed what Celestia was saying. If this mountain was so strange, it would make sense that a few ponies might not survive the climb, but for Celestia to put it so bluntly...

Was she trying to instill just how vital this pendant was onto Twilight?

“Long, long ago, many ponies had tried to climb the mountain,” Celestia explained somberly. “Many failed and simply turned around. Others, however, continued on and perished during the journey. By the time I was ready to make my attempt, these amulets had been discovered in an ancient temple most of the way up the mountain, at which point they began to appear all along the trail. And it is only because of that particular amulet that I was able to complete my journey.”

Twilight could feel her eyes widening, her gaze falling to the simple gem in her hoof.

She used this very amulet to climb the mountain? she thought, her mind caught in a mix of giddy glee at holding such a relic in her hoof and anxiety that she had to keep this amulet safe, no matter what.

“You see, Twilight, so long as you wear this amulet on the mountain, you cannot be hurt,” Celestia continued. “If you fall from a high place, if you are buried under an avalanche or a collapse of a rocky ridge, if you are attacked by some dangerous creature, this amulet will ‘reset’ you, in a sense. It will move you a short way back down the mountain, allowing you to try and continue your climb without any injuries. It is a…disorienting experience, to say the least, but it will protect you. No matter how severe the threat.”

“Wow,” Twilight gasped, her inner scientist squealing at the idea of such a remarkable spell contained in such a seemingly normal gem. Something capable of protecting ponies no matter what. How many lives could be saved if somepony managed to crack this spell and apply it to other objects away from the mountain? “And you don’t know how it works?”

“No,” Celestia said with a small shake of the head. “It only works in proximity to the mountain, and because of the distorting field, no pony or technology currently available has the potential to analyze them while they are active, so how they work remains a mystery. All that we know for certain is that they protect anyone wearing them during the climb. As far as we are aware, no pony with a reset amulet has died on the mountain, despite the danger they may have faced. As such, please be sure to wear that amulet at all times during your climb.”

Twilight did her best to give a reassuring smile.

“Of course, princess,” she said, gently placing the amulet around her neck. “I promise I won’t take it off during my climb.”

Celestia relaxed a little, giving Twilight a nod of thanks.

Back in the present…

“Ok, here I GO!” Twilight practically squealed, jumping off the ledge and aiming for the Strawberry. The fall was short, but her nerves made it feel so much longer. One wrong move and—

Ting.

WOOSH!

“Gah! I…I did it!” Twilight gasped, her boots glowing as she clung to the side of the ledge. Her back hooves had just barely reached the ledge alongside her, and there, floating next to her was the Strawberry, almost seeming to happily follow her as she climbed back up. The moment her hooves were on flat solid ground, the Strawberry vanished with a small pop, and the small twitch in her side bag let Twilight know that it was safely stored away.

She made sure to write a quick note on the hovering/teleporting Strawberry in her notebook on a new page, before climbing up the metal girders and past another invisible barrier.

It still felt so unusual to pass through, but at least it wasn’t unpleasant. Unlike Tirek—

No.

Don’t do that.

Just focus on the next area.

You’re FINE.

Said next area was…interesting. Aside from being mostly just a large drop-off, there were spikes right near the entrance, both embedded in the snowy wall to her left and on the platform of metal and dirt to her right. Though what caught her attention most was the second platform, which was about ninety percent metal with barely any parts of the mountain attached to it.

Interesting. So it’s not just parts of the mountain that are affected by this strange levitation magic. Can the magic making things float affect any stationary object? Or were the pieces of metal so old that the magic just considered them to be a part of the mountain by now? Can it make trees and bushes float as well, or does it only affect non-living things? The Strawberries are definitely in a class of their own, but it will be interesting to see how the magic affects other objects up the mountain.

She jotted down all those questions and notes in her book, just in case.

I have so much to talk to Celestia about already!

Thankfully, despite the spikes on both sides, her dash was strong enough to launch her over them, allowing her to grab the metal of the platform and pull herself up. And what she saw made her pause.

Aside from another random stoplight, the only other thing near the platform was a mechanical box of sorts on a conveyer belt that was too thin to stand on. The edges were see-through, allowing Twilight to see the complex set of gears inside it that were slowly turning despite their obvious age. Even more bizarrely, there was a set of traffic lights attached to each side, including the top. And like with the gears moving, the red light was steadily glowing, implying that the device was still powered somehow.

Well, that was curious…and suspicious.

The gears and lights had to be powered somehow, yet Twilight couldn’t see any wires or other external power sources connecting to the large box. There was a chance that the gears had an internal power source, but given their age, that seemed unlikely. Unless the mountain’s magic was powering the box somehow? And if the gears were drawing magic from the mountain, why did the city become abandoned if the residents could draw power from the mountain itself? Could something else have caused everypony to flee?

And yet, Twilight couldn’t shake her suspicions either. The only way forward was impossible to reach from her platform, and between the set of spikes she could see at the end of the conveyer belt and the fresh memory of the hidden spring that nearly sent her face-first into some earlier, she was very hesitant to trust a seemingly random and potentially magic-powered box.

At least I don’t think it will steal my magic or cutie mark—No!

Stop thinking about that!

Stop!

Twilight groaned and shook her head, focusing back on the box.

“Looks like I don’t have a choice. If you explode or send me flying in a random direction, I’m going to be upset,” she muttered, glaring at the box as fiercely as she could, trying to ignore how a perfectly timed snowflake landing on her nose ruined it.

Well, the box wasn’t responding anyways, so upon taking a deep breath and bracing herself, Twilight jumped onto it.

BRRRIINNN!

"EEEEEKKKKK!” Twilight screamed as the light turned green and the box went shooting along the track! On instinct, she activated the boots, allowing her to hang on for dear life as the box came to a jarring stop right at the end of the conveyer belt, only a hoof or two away from the spikes.

I knew it! I knew this wasn’t just some random box! Twilight screamed to herself as she tried not to collapse in shock, her heart pounding hard against her ribs and her legs trembling from the burst of adrenaline. She was so focused on trying to get her heart back under control that she nearly missed another large click. The lights on the box turned yellow before it jolted and slowly started to pull away from the edge.

Twilight almost jumped off on impulse, but a second later, she thought better of it. Her heartbeat had slowed, but her legs were still shaking badly, and she didn’t trust her jumping skills at the moment. So she sat back and took some deep breaths to relax. It was almost good that the box went so slowly, because it seemed to take forever to calm down.

That had been happening a lot lately.

Thankfully, she managed to stop the shaking by the time the box had nearly returned to its original position allowing her to shakily jump off it and back onto the previous platform. Then, the moment she was back on solid ground, she let out a small scream of annoyance and angrily pulled out her journal.

Why are there ancient boxes that go flying forward whenever somepony steps on them!? Twilight angrily scribbled, the tingling of the adrenaline in her body fueling her frustration. She just wanted to get up and pace, to kick the nearby snow and burn off the energy that still demanded her body move or fight. But she knew that wouldn’t accomplish anything, so instead she tried to take a minute to finish recentering herself.

When that wasn’t quite enough, she drew a quick sketch of the contraption and drew a bunch of question marks next to it. Seriously, what possible purpose could those contraptions have served in the past? Aside from potential lawsuits, I’m sure. She took a deep breath, held it, then let it out of her nose. Clearly hidden springs weren’t going to be the only contraptions she would encounter on this mountain. She just…needed to be careful, learn what each device did, and use them as needed to progress.

Simple.

Just keep a note of what device does what and remember to ask Celestia about them when I get back to Canterlot. Hopefully I won’t run into anything too dangerous that I need to rely on to move forward.

With the tingle of adrenaline virtually gone now, Twilight took a moment to mentally brace herself for another ride, then jumped back onto the box. And sure enough, the moment her hooves hit the reset box, another click was heard, and the box let out its cheery note as it went shooting forward again, stopping at the same place. Suppressing a shiver as her adrenaline spiked again, if only slightly, Twilight took the opportunity to jump off this time and climb up past another barrier.

Upon landing on solid ground again, she looked around at the next part of her journey. And immediately, she felt her train of thought crash as she beheld something so bizarre, she wasn’t even sure how to classify it.

Up above her was another Strawberry. However, unlike the last ones, this one appeared to have a fully functioning pair of white pegasus wings. The wings were gently flapping, making the Strawberry gently bob up and down in the air as snow continued to drift around it. Below it was a metal platform sticking up out of the ground, but what caught Twilight’s attention were the two signs.

Unlike all the previous signs with their indecipherable language, the first sign appeared to show a pony…dashing? Twilight had to do a double take, but that’s what it was: a picture of a pony blurring through the air, and while she didn’t necessarily know what she looked like when she dashed, the image was, somehow, a perfect representation of how she felt when she dashed. A perfect image of the world blurring past her almost faster than she could comprehend, yet with her in full control the entire time.

The sign also had a red circle around the outer edge, and a diagonal red line drawn directly through the image of the dashing pony. Meanwhile, the second sign had a similar crossed out circle, but smaller, and had a single large arrow pointing directly at the Strawberry itself.

Despite the strangeness of such a set of signs existing, something that still managed to surprise her despite all the crazy things that had already happened along her journey so far, she could understand the message easily enough.

No dashing. It says I need to get to the Strawberry without dashing. But how would it even know I CAN dash? Do other ponies, or other creatures for that manner, develop a dash ability while on the mountain too? Is that why there is a sign here? But why is this sign HERE, directly below where a specific Strawberry? I thought the path, and by extension the Strawberry placements, was different for every creature who climbs the mountain. Is it just really dumb luck, or is this related to what Celestia said about the path changing? Can the mountain change even small things like sign placements?

It was a good thing that she hadn’t put her book away yet, as a quick sketch of the Strawberry with wings, the rule that she apparently wasn’t allowed to dash when one was around, and her questions about how the path changed were all added to her notes before she put it away and began to look for a way up.

The Strawberry was way too high for her to reach, even if she did dash, and the large floating chunk of ground nearby had too many overhangs for her to climb unless she dashed. With no way directly up, Twilight began to walk around in search of a potential path. Thankfully, she soon found a way to progress on the other side of the floating chunk of ground.

There, floating above the steep drop, were four sections of cobblestone road floating in midair. Each piece was higher than the last, forming a perfect set of steps from which Twilight could jump and reach the top of the large chunk of earth above her.

However, they looked pretty unstable, and given what had happened on the bridge back near Second Sight’s house, she was very hesitant to step on something that would likely crumble away beneath her and send her falling down the mountain. Even as she tried to suppress a shudder at the memory of the bridge, a small bit of rock tumbled off one of the steps, as though it was taunting her.

But then, as if time itself had decided to take a vacation, that little rock floated back up in the exact path it had fallen down and nestled right back into place on the step, as though it had never fallen in the first place.

What? How? HUH?

Twilight could only stare in wonder at the step, her curiosity taking over and a thousand questions flooded her mind. Her eyes quickly tracing the steps to see if the phenomenon repeated. Sure enough, even as more stones fell away from the steps, they continued to float back into place, ensuring that the platforms were forever hanging there in mid-air.

Is this some sort of stable time loop? A self-repairing spell? Some sort of preservations spell that had gone funky as a result of the mountain’s magic interfering with the makeup of the mana flow and spell matrices?!

Whether the truth was one of those theories or something else entirely, THIS was certainly the weirdest thing she had seen so far, and that was saying something. So weird that she spent at least ten minutes writing down every note she could think of and all of her questions. She could probably do a full research paper on this phenomenon alone!

But it wasn’t until she wrote down seems to be undisturbed by nature around it that Twilight realized she’d actually have to climb the steps in order to proceed. She gulped hard and jotted down the last of her notes, trying to prepare herself. Given the shooting platform and the spring she had already encountered, she just knew that something funny was going to happen the moment she touched those platforms and interfered with whatever magic was keeping them in this strange loop. Even the fact that this wasn’t mechanical like the spring or the box wasn’t reassuring. And she also knew that she really didn’t have any choice but to jump up as there was no other way to get that Strawberry.

And she really wanted to get it, if only to prove that she could collect all of them in one go like Celestia and Luna did. Although, getting to see what would happen to those wings it had when she touched it would be a bonus.

I know Celestia said that part of the fun of climbing the mountain was experiencing all it had to offer, but I am really starting to wish she had at least given me a guide of how certain obstacles would react, she thought, shaking her head. Come to think of it, there were a LOT of times when Celestia had sent Twilight off without giving her all of the knowledge that would have let her succeed with ease. Nightmare Moon, the Gala, Discord, the Crystal Empire, Tir—

That’s not important right now…Twilight thought, taking a deep breath. Celestia likely hadn’t told Twilight absolutely everything as a way to let her solve the problems she faced on her own. After all, where was the accomplishment in completing a task if you knew exactly how to do it before you even tried? And it was because she was unprepared that she was able to bond with the girls during the Nightmare Moon incident in the first place.

Nothing unites ponies faster than a common goal that no pony can solve on their own.

And with that thought, Twilight planned her route, then leapt towards the first bit of stone street. Almost immediately, the entire platform began to crumble away, forcing her to leap towards the next one. Thankfully, a few more rapid jumps and she was clinging to the side of the large floating block, easily able to climb the rest of the way up.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” Twilight said to herself, peeking back down at the platforms. Sure enough, the three she had stepped on had already begun to reform only a few seconds after crumbling away, once again leaving a pathway back up. “At least, not as bad as that spring and moving platform.”

Or the bridge…

Twilight felt a shiver pass down her spine as her anxiety tried to return, but she stomped down on it, pushing it back down and reminding herself that she just had to keep moving forward. That she just had to keep breathing. She just had to finish climbing the mountain, then everything else in her life would be easier by comparison.

With that thought in mind, she moved over to the other side of the large chunk of earth to look down at the Strawberry.

The fruit was still just sitting there, hovering gently in place as though that wasn’t a complete distortion of the laws of physics. And as much as Twilight wanted to just jump down and grab it, she saw something that made her pause.

Directly above the Strawberry was a small hole, one just big enough for said berry to fly through if it wanted to. It was also almost perfectly smooth, too smooth to have formed naturally. Did that mean that the Strawberry would try to fly into that hole if she dashed? Was that what the sign was warning her about? If so, would it fly straight up no matter what, or would it try to fly around her if she was above it? Given its position below the hole, it seemed like it would be the former, but…

Was it worth the risk to see which scenario was correct? If she was wrong, she could lose the Strawberry. But if she was right, she would know how the Strawberries would behave for future encounters and could plan around their behavior.

After a bit of pondering, Twilight decided it was worth the risk. The more she could learn about the flying Strawberries, the easier future collections could be. She took one more deep breath and jumped off the platform, dashing so that she ended up directly above where the Strawberry was hovering. Her head came within inches of touching the hole, and the Strawberry almost seemed to laugh before flying directly upwards towards it at a speed Twilight would have never been able to catch on her own.

Thankfully, the Strawberry made no effort to avoid her, flying directly at Twilight until it touched her hoof. The moment it did, the wings disappeared in a puff of white light and feathers. Twilight fell back down to the start of the area, the now wingless Strawberry gently following her before vanishing into her bag the moment her hooves touched the ground. The boots did their job as well, glowing slightly as she landed to reduce the shock of impact to her legs.

So, if I dash when a winged Strawberry is nearby, it will fly directly upwards to try and escape. Good to know, she thought, taking a minute to write down her latest discoveries. Still, flying Strawberries? Moving platforms? Spikes!? I’ve barely even started my climb and already this mountain is nothing like I expected.

She took a moment to flip back through the book. She already had at least five pages filled with questions, and she had barely started! She sighed as she put the book away. I hope the rest of the climb doesn’t throw TOO many curveballs my way, or I might not have enough pages in the book to write down everything.

And with that, she made her way back up the stone platforms and up towards the next part of her journey.
Harmony knows I’ve had enough anxiety lately…

Author's Note

Well, this took a lot longer than I thought it would. The delay was mostly just lacking motivation for writing this one story for some reason, but I gotta say this one was pretty fun to work on again. Hopefully I will be able to write more short little chapters for it soon to help tide everyone over between my bigger chapter releases.

Let me know what you think, and feel free to join my discord server for more discussions and updates on my chapters being released.

Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Wt3HqMRrk4